On The Menu #1: Turkey McNuggets

As a feature to this blog I'll have a segment called 'On The Menu' where I will discuss food and drink choices. 

This time I am talking about Turkey McNuggets. First off I was wondering recently does anyone remember 'Turkey McNuggets' from McDonalds in 1997?? I remember them but could not find any evidence of their existence on the Internet? Was I living in a parallel universe for 2 months in 1997?? Thankfully I sent this message out on Facebook and some of my Facebook friends confirmed that Turkey McNuggets did in fact exist back then. Seriously I remember eating those between Oct-Dec 1997 as a Christmas promotion McDonalds was doing, and they even had cranberry dipping sauce as a option. But thank God someone on Facebook remembers, for a moment I thought maybe I had crossed over to another universe, one where Turkey McNuggets exist, 'Fringe' style.  

But now that I know I am not going insane I'm making a personal appeal to the McDonalds Corporation. They should bring back the Turkey McNuggets, not just as a Christmas promotion but all year long. Being a fan of Turkey I'm sure that it would have to sell better than other things on their menu and they were excellent and would sell well I'm sure. 

Also if anyone from McDonalds is in fact reading this also bring back the McPizza!

Blog #20: Canadian TV

Being a Canadian dude I am very proud of some of our TV having been made and currently being made up here. The shows mentioned here are Canadian made shows aimed at a Canadian audience, which wouldn't include shows like 'The X-Files', or 'Battlestar Galactica' or 'Being Human' for example, those are shows made up here but made primarily for American audiences in mind. But here is a list of some of my fave Canadian TV:

The Best (In My Opinion)

- North of 60

A great show about Native people living in the North and the soap opera-ish happenings up there. I loved watching this series and it is perhaps the best Canadian drama ever made in my humble opinion.

- Trailer Park Boys

One of the funniest TV shows ever made. Whats scary is I have met people in real life like the ones portrayed on this series...

   

- Corner Gas

 This is the funniest Canadian TV show in my opinion. Great humour, great cast, great guest stars, just a great Canadian comedy gem!

-The Kids in the Hall

Another comedy gem produced by SNL's Lorne Micheals!!

From My Childhood:

- Babar

 The great Canadian cartoon, I loved this as a kid and I remember my Mom hating it.

- The Beachcombers

This show aired when I was little and I do not remember much of it, but I do remember the old grumpy character 'Relic'. He was great.

- Danger Bay

Loved this show, but don't remember much other than it took place at an Aquarium, there was a helicopter and the Dad went on to star as the Doctor on the new 'Battlestar Galactica'.

- Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High (80's & 90's series)

This was a great groundbreaking show that my parents allowed me to watch when other parents refused to let their kids watch it. There was sex talk, abortion, suicide and a lot of other controversial topics addressed on this series.

- The Edison Twins

Again don't remember much but if I remember correctly it was a show about 2 teen twins (boy and girl) and their chubby little brother solving crimes using science. Maybe this is what CSI was based on??

- Fraggle Rock

I didn't realize this was made in Canada, but it is listed as being just that. Loved this series, definitely my favourite Henson series as a kid.

- Fred Penner's Place

Loved this show as a kid

- Good Rockin' Tonite

A must watch on Friday nights in the 80's. Best 'new' music videos played.

- Hockey Night in Canada

Not really a show, but a must watch in many Canadian homes during the hockey season on Saturday nights.

- Kids of Degrassi Street

BEFORE Degrassi Junior or Senior High there was the Kids Of Degrassi Street. I don't remember much about this series.

- The Littlest Hobo

A must watch for most Canadian kids in the late 70's and into the 80's. I had often wished that dog would find my house so I could adopt it. 

- Mr. Dressup

Again a must watch for most Canadian kids in the late 70's and into the 80's. I often wondered was Casey a boy or girl?

- The Nature of Things

Informational/Science show hosted by David Suzuki

- The Raccoons 

A great Children's animated series from the 80's.

- Road to Avonlea

As a kid I watched this show with my family. This is where actress Sarah Polley got her start.

Other Great Canadian TV

- The Outer Limits (90's series)

- Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal  ( A great 90's Science-Fiction series starring Matt Frewer)

- Rick Mercer Report   (News/Comedy/Satire: Think a weekly 'The Daily Show' for Canada)

- SCTV  ( The classic Comedy/Sketch show which was filmed for a few years close to where I live. John Candy and many other great comedians got their start on this show)

- Video Hits  ( A must watch Music/Variety show in the 80's)

Blog #19 : About The Author

As I write these blogs it occurs to me that you the reader may not know too much about me. So I've decided to do a segment called 'About The Author' where I have taken some questions off the internet, and I will will answer them honestly and to the best of my ability. I'm hoping you will enjoy this entry.

 

 

 

 

 

• What was your pet name when you were a kid?

My Dad came up with the nickname 'Ben'. Apparently named after a football player he liked. It stuck around for years and my Aunt Elaine still calls me Ben. I actually don't mind the name Ben.

• If we say, we are here to help others, what are the others here for?

To help others and help me.

• Relate the most funny incident in your life. Or what was the funniest thing you did as a kid?

Pee on a Red ant pile, not a very smart thing to do. Apparently Red Ants do not like the golden shower. Can't say I blame them because that is one fetish that makes no sense to me. No way would I want anyone peeing on me. Weirdness I say.

• Which was the naughtiest prank you played in school?

I feel really bad for this one, even 16 or 17 years later. Our Drama teacher had just painted her walls black and told us specifically not to touch the walls because it would leave a mark until she put the clear coat on. Anyway for some reason that I cannot explain to this day I decided to use my finger to write out my friends name on the wall. No one saw me and I quickly moved away from the scene of the crime. Before the end of class our teacher found the name on the wall and went nuts!! She completely lost it on my friend, my friend of course was taken by surprise and had no idea what she was talking about. I couldn't believe how angry she was, and rather than admit it was me I kept quiet for fear of her wrath. My friend, innocent as he was was sentenced to noon hour detention where he had to repaint all her walls. As bad as I felt I never did admit to the crime and it was many years later I told my friend, i bought him a beer for his troubles.

• Who was your first crush?

Princess Leia in her gold bikini.

 

• Which was the most embarrassing moment of your life?

I had some legal problems about 10 years ago that I was very ashamed of. Nothing too serious just a mistake I made and paid for it.

 

• List five things you would need to survive, if left alone on a deserted island.

Water, food, TV/Satellite, Reading material (books, comics, etc), my Wife Crystal (or Natalie Portman could substitute if Crystal were unavailable)

• If the universe is everything, and scientists say that the universe is expanding, what do you think it is expanding into?

The Multiverse.

• Why are boxing rings square-shaped?

Because the first boxing ring was circular but it was punched into square shape by Chuck Norris himself. Now they are made that way as tribute to the greatness that is Chuck Norris.

• If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con', is 'progress' the opposite of 'congress'?

Of course it is.

• If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Yes that is why Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian are role models for our young women of today.

• Would you believe in a liar who admits he is one?

Absolutely because we are all liars. We lie all the time to others and to ourselves. Most of us lie for good reasons, for example when someone asks me for an honest opinion and I know my honest opinion will devastate them I do not give them an honest opinion. Our heads of state lie to us all the time to get Elected into office. I lie to myself to, especially when it comes to eating things I know are bad for me. That cupcake couldn't have too many calories...

 

Anywho that is all for this 'About The Author'. More to come. Check out my other blogs for more questions that get answered by yours truly. And as always let me thank you for taking time out of your day to read this blog. Please leave a comment below. Have a great day!

 

 

 

Blog #18: Have You Seen My Wallet?

Last Christmas my Sister and Brother-In-Law gave my family and I passes to the West Edmonton Mall 'World Water Park' and WEM's 'Galaxy Land'. And it was a great Christmas gift as it gave our family time to spend together doing fun family activities. The Water park is an indoor water slide facility while Galaxy Land is a big indoor amusement park located in the former largest shopping mall in the world. Last Saturday we went to the water park and all was well. We rented a locker to protect our valuables while we swam. At about 3:20 I decided to get out of the pool and get dressed. So I removed my items from our locker, making the mistake of setting my wallet on top of our locker, and forgetting it there. I got changed and made my way to the lobby before realizing I had left my wallet on top of the locker. This was about 5 minutes after I set the wallet out. When I returned to the locker my wallet was gone. I searched everywhere, filed a report with mall security and even talked to an Edmonton Police Officer, but by the end of the weekend my wallet was no where to be found which leads me to the logical conclusion that it was stolen.

 

At first it was hard to accept that someone would steal my wallet but that is the only logical conclusion. Some low life stole my wallet after seeing it sitting there on top of the locker. So now I had to cancel my credit card, get replacement cards issued to me, call the Canadian Credit Bureau's just in case someone tries to steal my identity, and buy a new wallet. I ended up getting a 'Batman' wallet on a chain.

 

 

 

 

But it really bothers me that there are people out there that would do such a thing. I hear about it all the time on the news but never have I been a victim of something like this. Granted it was my own stupidity for forgetting my wallet for 5 minutes on top of a public locker, but still it takes a low life scum bag to steal someones wallet. Thankfully I am in the habit of never carrying cash on me, I'm a debit/credit card user all the way, and this time it saved me from losing some serious cash. As of yesterday when I contacted the Canadian Credit Bureau's no one has tried to use my identity, so that is good. But talk about a heart pounding ordeal when you realize your wallet has been taken. But it could have been worse I suppose.

Postcards from me to you!

Hey there friend this is Chris with something to give you, and something you can give back to me. Sounds mysterious but it isn't. Last fall my fellow blogger CT from the 'Nerd Lunch' blog did something awesome for his readers, and I liked it so much I'm doing it for you. It goes like this: I have a book of 'Bone' postcards, 'Bone' being the comic book character created by Jeff Smith. If you would like me to send you a free 'Bone' post card I would be happy to do that. The only thing I ask for in exchange is that after you receive the postcard in the mail take a picture of yourself holding the postcard and e-mail that picture to me so I can post it on my blogs. It's a neat idea for me to connect to my readers, and for them to connect to the blogs. 

So if you are interested send me an e-mail with your name and full mailing address to: chrisloc1701@gmail.com

and after you receive the postcard send me your pic with the card to the same e-mail address, and please specify which of my blogs you prefer to read and I'll post your pic to that blog.  

I'm hoping to have at least 24 people respond to this, because that is all the 'Bone' postcards I have. If this little experiment is a success I'll be doing more of these postcard exchanges in the future. 

Hope to hear from you!

- Chris

Beer Goggles: February 2012

As part of my 'Random Nerdness' Blog I have decided to include a monthly update I am calling 'Beer Goggles' where I will share a brief outline on what I am drinking, reading, viewing and listening to for the month.

Beer: I have been enjoying Molson Export, Big Rock Honey Brown and Alberta Genuine Draft again by Big Rock. Molson Export is a beer that seems to be popular in Eastern Canada, but we cannot always get it in the west, and it's been about 5 years since I have seen it here, so when I found it in the beer store I had to get it. It is the best Molson beer in my opinion. I really enjoy all the beer from Calgary's 'Big Rock' brewing company and their Honey Brown is one of their best premium beers. Alberta Genuine Draft is a cheaper beer, but it is an excellent draft and I love me the draft.

Comics & Books: 'Invincible' by Image Comics is my favourite comic book period. Robert Kirkman as created the best character in comics today and the art is amazing. 'Fantastic Four' is the best comic book from Marvel Comics in my opinion and Jonathan Hickman is an amazing writer. It is beautiful and intelligent. I also picked up the trade paperback 'Astro City: Life In The Big City' by Kurt Busiek. I never have read 'Astro City' but I have heard nothing but great things about this series and I am looking forward to reading this book and future trades. I am also reading 'Mercury' a novel by Sci-Fi writer Ben Bova. Bova is one of my favourite novelists and I have read his trilogy of 'Mars' novels and loved them, so I decided to collect his other 'planet' novels and read them. Mercury is my first planet book to read, then I have 5 more to read after that.

Viewing: I am currently watching season 2 of the North American version of 'Being Human', which is a great TV series about a vampire, werewolf and a ghost living together as roommate's. Sounds a bit weird but it really is a great series and I purchased the first season on Blue-Ray and I intend to re-watch this awesome series.

Listening: Having a long drive to work every workday I tend to do a lot of listening. 'The Atomic Geeks', 'Nerd Lunch' and 'Classic Film Jerks' are all great podcasts I love to listen to. Some other great podcasts I listen to are: 'iFanboy', 'Comic Geek Speak' and 'I Sell Comics'. I've also downloaded some great audiobooks I hope to crack open this month: 'Bradbury 13', radio-like drama's about some of Ray Bradbury's classic sci-fi tales. Also 'World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War'.

Well that is all for February's 'Beer Goggles'.

Cheers!

Blog #17: Family Matters Part III

 I am continuing with my stroll down memory lane with my family. Here's a tale of intrigue, suspense and good ol' family fun. Enjoy:

Drunk For The First Time

Back in 1994 my cousin Danielle's grad party was being held at her parents place, which worked out for me cause I was only 14 and not old enough to go to the party. But I could have a sleep over at Lenny's house and if we should happen to walk outside into a party in progress they couldn't kick us out. It was Lenny's house after all what could the organisers do? Lenny and I went to the grad dance and Uncle Ron picked us up around 11 pm. We were the envy of all the other junior high kids who weren't old enough to go to the grad party. When we got to Lenny's place Uncle Ron told us:

"Now you boys behave yourselves" but he said it with a grin on his face. Lenny and I looked at each other and knew what he REALLY meant: If your gonna misbehave don't get caught!

So Lenny and I went to the party. One thing you have to remember is that I had never ever been drunk before at that point in my life, and neither had Lenny. But that night changed all that, we went from being teenage junior high boys to being drunk teenage junior high boys. Almost every senior high kid there thought it was cool that we were there and began to feed us thirsty boys with alcoholic beverages. Later on at one point I was staggering around and Aunt Rita came up to me and wanted to know what was in my cup.

"Pepsheee" I replied.

"I think there's more than pepsi in there" she replied.

As the night wore on I got drunk, more drunk and stupidly more drunk. I got so drunk I forgot what my Uncle Ron looked like cause at one point he came up to me and said:

"Chris you've had too much to drink. Time for you to go to bed!"

I think I might have told him to f-off. Uncle picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and began to carry me to bed, keep in mind I was about 210 pounds and 6 foot 0, he's got super strength!!!

"Put me down you c@&%sucker!," I began " Or I'll get my Uncle Ron to kick your ass!"

I was literally out of my mind. I think Uncle said I began to giggle and laugh as he carried me and I was saying "Holy shit he's carrying me!"

I fell asleep and at some point I puked all over Lenny's prized "A-Team" sheets, ruining them and they had to be thrown away, sorry Lenny.

The next day the nightmare began. Mom came to pick me up and heard all the stories of my drunken doings by everyone who saw me. Mom laughed about it until we got into the car. I sat in the back seat, Mom looked into the rear view mirror and said: " You are so dead", and she said it with all seriousness. We got home, she told Dad all the stories and he just shook his head in disgust and went outside to mow the lawn. My head was pounding but Mom told me the Tylenol was off limits! Throughout the day at random times Mom would grab me by my ears and shake my head. To top it all off I was grounded for 2 weeks.

I'll always remember Danielle's grad as the night I first got drunk, but most of all I'll remember the pain I suffered the next day!

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Till next time...