It is the Summer of 2003. Universal Pictures plans on releasing "The Hulk", a film based on the Marvel comic book that they hope will be a big money maker and develop into a franchise. Accompanying this release, there is a huge blitz of toy marketing, including big green foam fists for kids to wear and sock eachother with. The movie tanks, the possible franchise dies, and all the merchandise ends up in the discount bin.
It is the Summer of 2005. 20th Century Fox plans on releasing "The Fantastic Four", a film based on the Marvel comic book that they hope will be a big money maker and develop into a franchise. Accompanying this release, there is a huge blitz of toy marketing, including big orange foam fists for kids to wear and sock eachother with. The movie tanks, the possible franchise dies, and all the merchandise ends up in the discount bin.
A word of warning: Studios should now be wary of any Marvel property which could lead to marketing big foam fists. It's apparently the Kiss of Death.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Chicken Caesar Review: T.G.I. Friday's
And once more we find ourselves at another whimsical Bar & Grill joint. It remains to be seen whether T.G.I. Friday's has anything over places like Applebee's and Bennigan's. Their Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, which is priced at $8.99, contains crisp romaine lettuce tossed with their Caesar dressing and topped with slices of chargrilled chicken, Parmesan cheese and croutons.
The chicken dominates here, with a strong smoky flavor that reminded me of backyard grilling when I was a kid. Alas, though there were some cuts made into the whole breast, they did not go clean through. So we don't even have strips to deal with and much cutting must ensue in order to eat the darn thing. As for the rest, the lettuce is chopped nicely and properly tossed with a dressing that could stand to be just a wee bit stronger. The croutons and cheese were pretty much just there and are on the whole unremarkable.
In the final result, this salad rates higher than Bennigan's but lower than Applebee's. I'll give them points for nostalgia on such a flavorful chicken breast, but the least they can do is learn how to cut it thoroughly.
The chicken dominates here, with a strong smoky flavor that reminded me of backyard grilling when I was a kid. Alas, though there were some cuts made into the whole breast, they did not go clean through. So we don't even have strips to deal with and much cutting must ensue in order to eat the darn thing. As for the rest, the lettuce is chopped nicely and properly tossed with a dressing that could stand to be just a wee bit stronger. The croutons and cheese were pretty much just there and are on the whole unremarkable.
In the final result, this salad rates higher than Bennigan's but lower than Applebee's. I'll give them points for nostalgia on such a flavorful chicken breast, but the least they can do is learn how to cut it thoroughly.
Monday, January 09, 2006
And it wasn't even his birthday
A story out of New York City (Via Boing Boing):
A mother in New York is suing an Applebee's restaurant after her 5-year-old son was allegedly served a Long Island Iced Tea instead of apple juice.Or because he is five years old.
Cynthia Pereles said she took her son Seth to dinner at the franchised restaurant in Battery Park City and ordered him an apple juice.
Pereles said she did not realize her son was drinking a concoction of white rum, gin, vodka, triple sec, Coke and sweet-and-sour mix until it was too late. The boy's eyes became glazed and he began to laugh uncontrollably, according to a report.
Pereles said the restaurant admitted the mistake but she is still suing for $75,000. "When you're looking at your 5-year-old and you're asking him, quiet down Seth, sit still and you see that mentally and physically he cannot comply with what you're asking him to do because he is under the influence," Pereles said.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Maybe he'd be better at the electric slide
In addition to the big magazine subscriptions my library receives, we have a handful of obscure titles that are donated to us. One of these is News of Norway, a quarterly publication whose Summer issue's cover has been staring at me and begging for a punchline for months now. Well, I'm finally giving in:
"No, Mr. President, that's not quite how 'The Robot' is done."
Thursday, January 05, 2006
No towels for you!
An update on the New York trip we're planning: The previous hotel we were considering, the Pickwick Arms, has been disqualified due to raised prices. The next one we've stumbled upon is the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca.
The biggest pluses are the reasonable rates, the subway stop right outside the door and the penchant for utter cleanliness (according to the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Tripadvisor). The minuses are the cramped quarters (which I'm beginning to learn through my research is the norm in New York City), the noise level and the rather curt, sometimes rude staff.
Looking at these qualities, especially the one about the staff, it occurs to me that we may have stumbled upon the lodging equivalent of the Soup Nazi. Which, when you think about it, is a perfectly New York way to stay in the Big Apple.
The biggest pluses are the reasonable rates, the subway stop right outside the door and the penchant for utter cleanliness (according to the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Tripadvisor). The minuses are the cramped quarters (which I'm beginning to learn through my research is the norm in New York City), the noise level and the rather curt, sometimes rude staff.
Looking at these qualities, especially the one about the staff, it occurs to me that we may have stumbled upon the lodging equivalent of the Soup Nazi. Which, when you think about it, is a perfectly New York way to stay in the Big Apple.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Forest Whitaker Quote of the Month: January 2006
With the new year comes a new actor for my Quote of the Month series.
Forest Whitaker is similar to Yaphet Kotto and Keith David in that he's a black actor. He is dissimilar in that he doesn't possess the uniquely deep voice or the huge presence of the previous two subjects. But whereas these attributes pegged Kotto and David into the role of heavies most of the time, Whitaker has quite the varied resume playing all sorts of roles, which makes him all that more interesting to watch.
The first time I noticed him was in Good Morning, Vietnam, where he played Adrian Cronauer's (Robin Williams) pudgy, slightly geeky sidekick Edward Garlick. One of the best non-Williams lines in the film is during a scene where hate mail is read concerning the horrible radio performance of Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby), who is subbing for Cronauer:
Forest Whitaker is similar to Yaphet Kotto and Keith David in that he's a black actor. He is dissimilar in that he doesn't possess the uniquely deep voice or the huge presence of the previous two subjects. But whereas these attributes pegged Kotto and David into the role of heavies most of the time, Whitaker has quite the varied resume playing all sorts of roles, which makes him all that more interesting to watch.
The first time I noticed him was in Good Morning, Vietnam, where he played Adrian Cronauer's (Robin Williams) pudgy, slightly geeky sidekick Edward Garlick. One of the best non-Williams lines in the film is during a scene where hate mail is read concerning the horrible radio performance of Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby), who is subbing for Cronauer:
Edward Garlick - "From a Marine in Da Nang: 'Captain Hauk sucks the sweat off of a dead man's balls.' I have no idea what that means, sir, but it seems very negative to me."
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