Shame. And Astro Boy.

I knew this day would come. The day when I shake off the shame of not blogging since Christmas. This blog is dusty, and I can really only blame myself. I got lazy. I got apathetic. I really lost the whole reason for blogging. I got a few hits, specifically the Pudding Pops article, which still remains my most read. I felt the need to write about things that would get me hits, rather than things that would make me happy. So I did, and that didn't happen, so I got tired of all of it.

But I've got the bite again. The drive to blog, to write about stupid shit that makes me happy. If it gets hits, cool, whatever. If it doesn't, at least I will have written about something I truly love, or at least like a little bit. The point is to keep writing, to keep doing what I love, what drives me. Either I do that, or my life has little purpose and I sit around watching Law & Order re-runs and eating hot Cheetos. I don't want that to be my life.

So, to make a long cliche short, I'm back. Hopefully blogging at least once a week, as much as three times a week. It's a goal. I even bought a white board to write it on and everything.

I feel like I should write about something to make this more of an article, so I'm gonna say a couple words on these Astro Boy movie toys.

Halloweener #6 - McBoo Pails!

Most of us have fond memories of Halloweens past, of filling our candy buckets with delicious treats, of finding the odd old person who would give us full-size candy bars, etc. While many of us used old pillowcases or whatnot for our treat swag, the luckier among us had McBoo pails at their disposal. One of the greatest seasonal Happy Meal promotions of the late 80s/early 90s, McBoo pails were sublime, a lofty bar that other McDonald's toys would try and fail to reach. Strangely, after the first few years of productions, the pails mysteriously disappeared. Lucky for today's children and nerd adults, they're back with a vengeance. Die Hard. I'm cool.

This revival isn't without precedence, however. McBoo pails made a semi-appearance last year, with Mr Potato Head branding. These came with sheets of stickers to decorate the sad blank potatoes on the bucket with various costumes. I bought one, of course, but it really wasn't a McBoo pail. The buckets of past years never had any branding, opting for a collection of non-copyrighted ghost and witch faces. These were the real deal McBoo pails, and this year's collection is a wonderful throwback while still moving forward in design. Cripes, it sounds like I'm talking about something way more important than a bunch of plastic containers with Frankenstein faces on 'em.

As we can see here, I opted for the chicken nugget meal. Obviously, you can get the hamburger or cheeseburger or whatever. They have an option to replace the fries with healthy apple slices, I guess, but if that's your prerogative, healthier choices exist. If you are one of those health types, I'm sure you're looking at this picture with disgust, but I should remind you, you don't have to eat the food. Hand it to a street urchin. They'll repay you with a spell to protect your home against wily invaders or something. What's an urchin?

Here we see the plentiful stickers each bucket comes with. Without these, the pails are rather plain. The greatest part of this is it comes with way too many stickers. You can go the route I did and make several faces for your buckets, or stick 'em somewhere else, like a notebook or your little brother's eyelids. Just don't put them somewhere you have to look every day, or you'll be looking at a jack-o-lantern in July, and that's just sad.

I seriously can't recommend these babies enough. Even if you're too old for trick-or-treating, they make great containers for handing out candy on All Hallows Eve. McDonald's came out with two varieties this year, a jack-o-lantern version, and an arguably more deluxe green Frankenstein themed one. I managed to snatch up both, and being an adult male buying children's food is no picnic. No pun intended.

Okay. It was totally intended.

BONUS! THE MCRIB IS BACK!!!

YES! The delicious little sandwich that actually couldn't for unknown reasons is back! I'm assuming it's for a limited time, as it has made it's return for a short period in the past, only to be forced back into the McDonald's vaults to rot for another year. I get mine plain, that is, without the pickles and onions, because that's just how I roll. Don't judge me. I only want to love. Between the McRib, McBoo pails, and the current Monopoly promotion, there's really no reason not to eat at McDonald's every day and get monstrously fat. Except if you're one of the aforementioned healthy types. No one likes you. You ruin every party. jk lol

Halloweener #1 - Fake Organs!

The month of October is upon us, and with it comes changing colors, falling leaves, colder weather, and creeping dread. Yes, my second favorite holiday, Halloween, is quickly approaching, and in celebration of it, I'm doing reviews of my favorite goodies of this unholiest of traditions. While I'd like to have gotten started sooner, I'm satisfied with having the time to do this at all. So, lets get this thing rolling.

A recent trip to the dollar store unearthed these goodies, along with several other oddities that I'll be unleashing in the coming days. Not to get off topic, but I'd like to say how integral dollar stores are to my holiday traditions. It's a great feeling to have a whole house decorated for a particular day, but to do it for under $10? Just wonderful. Plus, it makes me feel powerful to go into one of these stores with a twenty dollar bill and know nothing is out of my price range. I wind up going insane, blacking out, and waking up in the street with a hundred cans of expired gravy. Not my proudest moment.

Anyway, back to my subject. There was a more varied selection, but I stuck to the basest of organs, the brain and the heart. I've wanted to buy these since the first time I laid eyes on them. The fake butcher wrap is an amazing touch, and keeps them from being just another prop. Possibly my favorite feature of them is the "Nutrition Fun Facts" stickers on the wrapper. Lame jokes like "Fat Content - Clogged" on the heart make them more than a grim decoration, and they managed to sneak a Silence of the Lambs reference on the brain's label.

There's a few nice applications I can think of for these lovely little things. Sure, you can leave them on the table next to the food at your Halloween party, but add a small tube and hand pump to the hollow rubber heart, and you've got a beating creepshow. Stick them in your refrigerator to startle your family, or better yet, slip them in the meat case at your grocery store for an even bigger fright. Plus, if you're morbid like me, you can keep them out out-of-season for a great conversation starter. I can think of worse ways to spend a buck.