Little boy hijacks school recital to sing STAR WARS Imperial March Theme

When this happens, you know someone is winning at parenting..

Sometimes when I need to laugh, I think about the time my cousin’s son took over a group rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to sing the Imperial March pic.twitter.com/wnjy2rZFFQ

— erin gibson (@actuallyerin) May 26, 2019

Hostess Cinnamon Sweet Rolls. A chance for a comeback?

This article has been moved to my new web-site!

View it here.. at www.snackcakelife.com 

A plea to Hostess.. Bring Back 'Fruit Pie the Magician'

This article has been moved to my new web-site!

View it here.. at www.SnackCakeLife.com

NEW COKE Returns! An 80's flop.. or perfectly executed conspiracy?

Yes I get excited about stuff like this happening, and yes.. I will be buying NEW COKE once again, some 30 years later!  As part of a tie in with the show 'Stranger Things' Season Three, it looks like NEW COKE will once again be released sometime this summer.  Details are sketchy at this point, but it's coming!

NEW COKE has largely been considered a PR nightmare and failure of the Coca-Cola Company. The company unsuccessfully tried to roll out a new hipper version of Coca Cola, only for it to be hated by the masses.  Or was it a failure?

Conspiracy?

Maybe I watched too conspiracy movies as a kid, but I stand by what my 15 year old self immediately thought back in 1985, and that is.. Coca-Cola knew exactly what they were doing.  It would actually be a perfectly executed ruse if this were the case.  I mean really.. let's think about this for a minute..

• 1. Release a sub par version of a classic product.

• 2. One month later respond to the public outcry and announce the return of the original product named "Coca-Cola Classic".

• 3. Release re-branded product to market in record time.

• 4. Watch their stocks soar as everyone is drunk with nostalgia, as they are reunited with a classic piece of American history and Americana.  Not to mention recapturing the market lead against Pepsi in the brutal Soda wars of the 80s!

My friends and I performed our very own taste tests and decided we liked Old Coke better than its new counterpart.  Later that week, we all went out across town buying up cases of the old formula to stash in our bedrooms.  We knew it wouldn't last forever, so we cautiously consumed it to make it last as long as we could.  In the end.. we still had much of our stash left by the time 'Coca-Cola Classic' was hitting shelves.  Once again all was right with the world.

From what I remember, I preferred old Coke to the new formula.. but didn't hate NEW COKE by any means.  I was raised on RC Cola but would also drink Coke about 30% of the time.  I'm a sucker for nostalgia and most anything retro, so I am pretty excited about this promotion, and will be scampering to buy some new.. old.. NEW COKE this summer! 

Kermit Topiary at Epcot 2019 Flower and Garden Festival

This is probably my favorite Disney Topiary of all time.  It's located in front of the France pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot.  If you want to visit him.. go to Epcot before June 4th, as they will be taking him down soon before the Epcot Food & Wine Festival starts.

Be careful when you 'Drink Around the World' at EPCOT

Have you ever decided to 'Drink around the World' at Disney's Epcot theme park?  Basically, you walk around the 1.5 mile World Showcase Lagoon, and sample beer and or alcohol from one of the 11 pavilions themed to Countries from all over the world.  You can successfully do this all day long with no ill effects IF.. you pace yourself.  However, some of the best laid plans fall short sometimes..

Florida Man gets arrested for giving frog alcohol and making him smoke

I've got a feeling 'Florida Man' is going to have a busy 2019.

WWE Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax Elite Action Figures

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of the Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey WWE Elite series action figures, and finally found some that were freshly stocked on shelves this week.  However.. I ended up leaving the store with only one of these figures instead of both.  Why you ask?  Let me show you..

First up is the Nia Jax figure.  I like everything about this figure.  Incredible likeness, superb sculpting, interchangeable heads, and the articulation is great with most of the joints hidden nicely.  Like many action figures however, I'm a stickler for quality.  Check out what I saw upon closer inspection..

The Nia Jax on the left is the figure I purchased.  It's beautiful and a dead on likeness.  The second I saw the Nia pictured on the right though, I knew something was amiss.  She actually looks a little more tired than the other figure.  This is because eyes were actually painted too high and totally changes the look of her face!  The end result gives her some nice bags under her eyeballs.  The eyes on Nia #1 look so good because the were actually painted on a rounded surface which gives them proper depth. 

The paint on the lips were also sloppy and outside of the lines, further changing the appearance of her face.  You wouldn't think such a small detail could make such a big difference, but it really does.  In addition to the sorry paint on the eyes and lips, there were black paint spots on the neck and sloppy painting on her rhinestones.

Next up is the Ronda Rousey figure.  I had such high hopes for this figure, but it fell short for me in more ways than one.  

The first thing is the outfit. It doesn't look bad mind you.. but I was so hoping for a figure with the Kilt, leather jacket and Rowdy shirt.  You know the one.. the outfit she wears an an homage to Wrestling great Rowdy Roddy Piper.  Still, this outfit also camouflages the points of articulation nicely, so I was ready to buy it.  Until I took a closer look that is.

Right off the bat I could tell something looked off, and it was poor Ronda's hairline.  It's way too high and totally changes her appearance.  I swear.. there must have been an error of some sort on the master mould, making her hair sit too far back on the head.  What's more, it was a defect that was obvious to quality control, because they made a feeble attempt to correct the error.  You can see where they painted the side of her head with the same color paint, in a sub par attempt hide the mistake.  I know there are paint variations in action figures, which is why I always compare multiple figures and pick the cleanest looking figures of the batch.  However, this ridiculous excuse for an 'Elite figure' has the same shoddy craftsmanship on every single figure I've seen.  I've even seen other reviews and showcases online where they don't even mention it!  If I was Ronda Rousey, I'd be super ticked off.  Heck.. I'm ticked off for her!

Other than that major problem with the hairline, the face on this figure was somewhat of a decent likeness. They even included the mole under her left eye.  I think the smile throws it off a bit, but maybe that's just because I'm not used to seeing her smile like this. I think a smirk or frown would have cinched it perfectly.

So while I'm perfectly happy with my Nia Jax fig, I'm bummed that I'm going to have to wait and see if they make another version of a Ronda Rousey figure that looks better than this latest incarnation.

Book Review - BIGFOOT Activity Book

I haven't performed a book review of any kind for quite some time.  However, when Fox Chapel Publishing reached out to me and offered to send me a copy of the BIGFOOT Activity Book for review before the book's release, I jumped at the chance to do so.

For one thing, I was absolutely obsessed with BIGFOOT as a young boy.  Also, activity books were a favorite pastime of mine when I was younger.  I was very curious to see how author D.L. Miller would combine two of my biggest childhood obsessions.

Right off the bat, I was super impressed as I flipped through the pages of this book.  Inside the BIGFOOT Activity Book, children aged 5-12 will discover 136 pages of whimsical mazes and riddles, search & find puzzles, word games, coloring pages and more. Fun facts help young readers learn more about the world we live in.  And, a bonus 8-page section includes more than 80 free animal stickers (including a page of Bigfoot stickers which you can color!)

While the book has some Bigfoot puzzles, games, and activities, it's not solely Bigfoot themed.  There are super informative activities and brain teasers, and opportunities for kids to be creative and artistic.  Bigfoot isn't even seen on many of the pages, but then pops up when you least expect him to.  It's art imitating life in a way! I was also impressed at how much a child can learn from simply working their way through this book.  From Chicago to Madagascar, there are fun facts and tons of new things for kids to learn about places all over the globe.

This book is sort of a throwback in many ways.  It's everything I looked for in an activity book as a kid. I would have loved to have this book on one of my Dad's famous nonstop 24 hour road trips!  In this day and age of digital entertainment and instant gratification, any kid would be well served getting their brain to work in an entirely different way, by working through activity books such as this one.

The 'BIGFOOT Activity Book' is one of those books that provides a kid with so much fun, they don't even realize how much they are learning as they go.  I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  Heck.. I personally had a blast working through some of the word games, art challenges and riddles.  I haven't been this impressed with an activity book in quite some time, and believe me.. I have bought a ton of them for my own kids over the years.

Book will be available for purchase on 

June 10, 2019 but you can preorder now!

Author Biography
As with Bigfoot, D.L. Miller is a bit on the reclusive side, rarely seen in public, spending most of his days sketching from his studio located amongst the mighty oak trees only found in the deep dark woodlands far off the beaten path. After spending decades learning the habits of the elusive bipedal humanoid, he has finally agreed to share his illustrative journals that capture the sightings of this larger-than-life creature that has mystified generations.

I miss a good Mexican PandaRia err.. Panaderia!

While I love life in the Southeast.. there are a few things I definitely miss about living in the Western part of the U.S.   One of them is the abundance of the Mexican Panaderia.

Also known in 'Gringo Speak' as Panda-rias

A Mexican Panaderia is typically a small family run bakery that serves traditional Mexican pastries, cookies, bread, tortillas, and if you're lucky.. tamales and menudo!   Whenever I wanted fresh hot corn or flour tortillas, there was always a Panaderia close by in Northern Colorado.  I absolutely loved the breads or.. 'Pan' especially the Concha!  This Mexican Sweet Bread also known as Pan Dulce, is what you can see our furry friend snacking on above.

I didn't eat it very often, but whenever the craving hit, it was always easily satisfied.  Lately fresh conchas and bolillo bread, have been weighing heavy on my mind.  More so than the Concha.. I used to often buy sweet soft Empanadas filled with pumpkin or apple.  It was a sweet treat that was incredibly healthier than your run of the mill snack cake or pastry.    I'm sure there are Mexican Panaderias around central Florida.. so I may have to take a mini road trip to find one on my next day off.  I have noticed a few convenience stores selling packaged Conchas, so I may have to give one of those a try to squash my craving until I can find the real deal.

Me.. when I think about future plans for EPCOT

There's lots of big plans for Disney's EPCOT theme park soon. For major fans of the honest to goodness retro Epcot, a Cat like me is both optimistic and stressed..

g

EPCOT Living with the Land Greenhouse Ride-Through at 3X Speed

Even at 3X the actual ride speed.. I still find this quite relaxing.