Right in the Feels

I was going to make a post about how Survivor 48 was a wholesome season and a breath of fresh air after the horrible showings they’ve had recently and a triumph of the human spirit as the commercials put it...but apparently I’m in the minority on that opinion. Turns out more people want the cutthroat gameplay and were actually on Thomas’s side. I’ll agree that, since I was barely paying attention during the episode Star was voted off because I was busy doing other things, but it turns out I didn’t need to because nothing happened, it could get a little boring at times. I still enjoyed it, though. It was nice to see people doing the morally right thing instead of the underhanded sneaky thing for a change. I miss the Ponderosa videos because it was all about the cast being genuine people just chilling on the island, and this season was a good substitute for that.

‭I also want to talk about my experience watching Daniel Tiger for the first time. It’s a long-running show on PBS recently discovered by my three-year old, so naturally we have to have it on all the time now until she gets tired of it and goes back to one of her other current obsessions (it’s July and she can’t get enough of Frosty the Snowman right now). It was the Thank You Day episode in which the wind blows away the thank you notes but Mr. McFeely gathers them up and returns them on his way to the party. I don’t know, something about him showing up notes in hand (or bicycle basket) and singing his jingle hit something buried deep within me and my eyes started watering like I was going to cry. I don’t even remember much about Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood or what it had even meant to me as a kid. I remember some of the puppets, and the character models look just like them...except then I remembered Lady Elaine looking different and acting like a total bitch, so this new version of her is an improvement. Another noteworthy character is Baker Aker. Again, I watch too much TV with my daughter, so it’s fresh in my mind, but Baker Aker sounds just like the Rhombus of Recipes from Elmo the Musical. I can’t find any acting credits on that segment besides Kevin Klash, so I can’t prove they’re voiced by the same person. Some Sesame Street actors do work on Donkey Hodey, and that’s another Fred Rogers spinoff, so it’s entirely possible. 

‭Other than that, I’m looking forward to the new season of Ascendance of a Bookworm next spring. I'm still waiting on volume 10 of the Part 2 manga so I can start collecting Part 3, which is running concurrently with Part 2.

Blog #500

It’s the 500th blog on this website, and I’m going to begin by talking about food. There was another seasonal Chipwich called Snow Day. It has chocolate cookies and vanilla ice cream with mint pieces. S-Tier.
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Burger King milkshakes are good now. They come in one size, which is medium, but they’re still really good. The chicken snack wraps are ass, though, which is really too bad. The Wendy’s one sucks too, but the ones from Jake’s Wayback Burgers are the clear winner. McDonald’s is supposed to be bringing the snack wraps back, though, so we’ll see about that. The Wayback chicken sandwiches are great too. It might be the one near me, but it seems like the Popeye’s chicken sandwiches have gone down in quality. The Burger King Original chicken sandwich has always been my go-to, but I wouldn’t try to put pickles on it.
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Both my grandmothers had signs up in their kitchens claiming ownership of them - Doris’s Kitchen, Helen’s Kitchen. My mom and my mother-in-law didn’t have that, nor do they now that they’re grandmothers. I sure as hell don’t. I don’t even have my own space in the house, and it if I did it wouldn’t be the kitchen.
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I haven’t had a lot of luck with ordering books online lately. I wanted to get Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card volume 16, but only the Kindle version has the correct cover. Every website shows the print version as volume 10, like it’s some kind of conspiracy. Not even ebay has a picture of the actual product, just the cover image like everyone else. I can’t even get Ascendance of a Bookworm manga when they come out because it’s Kindle only for months before the print version finally comes out, if it comes out at all. The Kindle posts a large file warning too. I can’t even get the books I want for my daughter either. I tried to pre-order a Toy Story pop-up book that was supposedly coming out on her birthday, but the other day I got an email that the release date was now TBD. There was a Finny the Shark book that was supposed to come out on her birthday too, but that got pushed to July. I tried to buy a Wiggles book from ebay, but the seller has been unresponsive, and I’ll probably have to cancel it to get my money back. I haven’t had much luck with online vendors in general. Another ebay seller canceled my order because they claimed I had a bad address. There’s also a website for a bakery in Ohio that’s still operating like it’s still in business, so I placed an order for Valentine’s Day, but they never shipped it. They didn’t answer the email or voicemail, so now my bank’s looking into it. I want to support small businesses, but I don't think I can trust many of them now.

Halloween Haul

Ghost Toast Kit Kats - orange colored chocolate with cinnamon french toast wafers.I usually don’t like the orange colored chocolate (or orange colored cream in Oreos) but the wafers are so good I don’t mind it. A-tier. 

‭Werewolf Tracks Reese’s Cups - vanilla topped Reese’s cups. I ate it upside-down and still didn’t really taste the vanilla. It’s still a Reese’s so it’s still good, but come on. And they’re thin too. B-tier.
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Waffle Cone Hershey bar - exactly what it says on the wrapper. I didn’t think it would be as good as crisp rice, but I was wrong. This is S-tier.
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Chocolate Lava Reese’s Cups - Reese’s Big Cups with chocolate syrup at the bottom. Better than the caramel version. A-tier.
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Vanilla Kit Kats - vanilla flavored Kit Kats...in America. It's a good substitute for the Japanese vanilla ice cream Kit Kats. A-tier.
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Basic Witch Chipwich - white chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin ice cream. The ice cream's really good but I wish the cookies were better. A-tier.

An aside about Vox Machina: Either revive someone right away or don't do it at all. Did Kashaw really die for this? Although to be fair, cartoon Zahra and Kashaw were akin to Sailors Uranus and Neptune from the 90s anime while actual play Zahra and Kashaw were akin to manga/reboot anime Uranus and Neptune.

Ode to Summer

Pink Lemonade Kit Kats sound like a bad idea. I didn't try the regular lemon ones, but this seems like they took those and dyed them pink. They're not bad - they taste like those lemon frosted cookies Archway makes. Pink lemonade tastes maybe a little more tart or sweet than regular lemonade, and that's sort of what I was expecting.

Chips Ahoy S'mores cookies are worth it for five dollars.
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True Blue Bakery Chipwich Tier List:
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S Tier or Perfection - Life is Shortcake: shortbread cookies and strawberry ice cream, easily the best if that’s what you’re into; What the Fudge: chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream with fudge swirl, it’s as delicious as that sounds.
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A Tier or Instesting - Cookie Monstah: chocolate chip cookies and cookie dough ice cream, double the pleasure and double the fun; Thiq Mint: chocolate chip cookies and mint ice cream coated in chocolate chips, a step above if you like mint.
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B Tier or Basic - Hot Shot: chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream coated in sprinkles, a classic; True Blue: chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream coated in chocolate chips, good but not great.

C Tier or Boring: Black Sheep: Oreo cookies and vanilla ice cream coated in crushed Oreos, tastes like an ordinary ice cream sandwich; Gon’ Nutty: peanut butter cookies and chocolate ice cream, I appreciate the idea and the chance they took with it, but I didn't like it.

Survivor 46 Sucks

This may be the worst season of Survivor I've ever seen. We've seen under-performing tribes get cut down in the beginning, but the first three Yanu to be voted out were even more pathetic than the ones in a previous season. There was an early med-evac where someone left with an idol in their pocket, and then someone else got voted out with an idol in their pocket. Then the merge happened, and I thought things would get better, but I was wrong. The two on the bottom this week were targeted because of their emulation of past players. Perhaps this show has been going on too long if Venus being compared to Parvati early on made people ostracize her and “super fan” Moriah saying her favorite past player was Aubry led to her being voted out. This is on top of Venus' being too forward with her strategy and Moriah being on the wrong side of her tribe's first vote, but they should be judged on what they do versus what past players have done that may predict their future actions. Parvati and Aubry aren't here, but Jeff's here forever! 

I also find it interesting that the word “super fan" has been used both to describe an asset to solving a puzzle as well as a threat. It hasn't amounted to anything, either, as said puzzle wasn't solved correctly. At this point, people are playing paranoid. The preview made it seem like they're about to turn on each other at the drop of a hat. I didn't have any faith in what I think of as the “plus-one" alliance, especially since Tim hadn't even told Maria that she was in it; she's keeping her options open but she didn't ask to be in it - she has the Charlie's Angels alliance or at least just her and Charlie. Tim and Maria have been the weakest links in challenges, even when their tribe still won. An all-women alliance is never going to happen either. I don't particularly think Charlie is in any immediate danger; he just happened to be the only man who could be voted for alongside five women and still hasn't had any votes cast against him. There isn't really anyone I'm rooting for right now. The boot order going forward might be interesting depending on who wins immunity and how the tribe is split up for the double elimination.

Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Predictions

-There is no way the line “Charlie told me to stab so I did” isn’t going to come back and bite them in the next season. It was too well-enunciated not to be important. Since Niffty goes catatonic when the camera is on her, it makes sense that they had to stop rolling and get that statement from her in the first place.
‭-Emily is going to want to tell Charlie right away that Sir Pentious made it to Heaven, but maybe Sera is going to prevent her from doing so. There’s also the matter of him getting settled there, and he might have a rough go of it with Lute and the remaining Exorcists around. A best-case scenario would be he befriends Angel’s sister and tells her all about him. He also pines for Cherri Bomb. Over Valentine’s season, my work was playing “Stacey’s Mom” on the radio and in my mind that became Sir Pentious singing “Cherri Bomb has got it going on, Cherri Bomb has got it going on, Cherri don’t you see you’re the only one for me?” etc. If all goes well for him in Heaven, he could gain a reputation as Saint Pentious the Penitent and maybe build more Egg Boiz (as they are constructs and didn’t manifest in Heaven with him).
‭-Depending on how involved Lucifer is with the hotel, and if Adam does indeed become a sinner and resides there, there's going to be an awkward love triangle when Lilith shows up to do whatever Lute asked her to. Charlie having to deal with reforming her mom's ex while going through some divorced parents drama is going to be very hard for her. More Rosie and Alastor would be appreciated.
‭-The V's? Apparently they’re going to be focused on in season 2. I don't know what they think is going to happen, but between Lucifer and Alastor (and the other overlords) there isn't a power vacuum in Hell. It's nice that they've clarified Angel's contract only applies to the studio since that does away with the notion that Val could use Angel to destroy the hotel.
‭-Will we see Eve? Roo was hinted at for the final season, but no talk of Eve or her three sons, let alone where they ended up. The Bible is full of people who do bad things, but some get forgiven and some don't. I doubt the show will bring up real life people who should've ended up in the lowest circle, but they should definitely stay there.
‭-New hotel residents besides Cherri and Adam, if that even happens? Will Mimzy return? She really should have had her own episode instead of having to share one with Lucifer.

Nostalgia

I didn't know there was a live action pilot for the Popples in the 80s, so I looked it up and watched it. Oh boy. The plot has the parents donate the box the Popples were living in to make more space in the attic for the play room. The Popples didn't exist before this, so I don't know what used to be in the box. The parents donated it without letting their kids know, much to their dismay. The parents' defense was that it was a surprise so they didn't have to tell them and that they were being ungrateful. They offered to take them to the zoo to make up for it but instead the kids insisted on going to every Goodwill in the area until they found the box.They find the box after closing time in the last store they go to, otherwise we wouldn't have a show. Real life doesn't work that way. In real life, you get laughed at and told to leave. Apparently that's just what adults did in the 80s and 90s - donate your stuff without your knowledge or consent and laugh at you when you try to get it back to no avail. I'm glad the whole show wasn't live action - the puppets weren't bad but the cartoon is easier to look at. The musical number was very Chuck E. Cheese-esque but in a good way.

‭I've been watching The Unlucky Tug's videos on Thomas the Tank Engine characters - Sodor's Finest. He did bring up some good points about Diesel, that in some cases he's just a clutzy guy getting into trouble when he's not actively screwing over other characters and giving all diesel engines a bad name. Yes, there ended up being other characters who were diesel engines, which makes it more ridiculous that he was just named Diesel. Then there was other imagery that justify is characterization as a villain, either surrounded by flames in the background or slithering out of a dark tunnel with an evil look on his face. There was even an episode called “Springtime for Diesel." You know who else it was springtime for? Yeah. And that was in the later series when they were trying to make him more sympathetic. The new chibi animated show makes him look cute too. I never liked him, especially since my favorite characters were Duck and Toby. Diesel gave me nightmares.