Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope everybody has gotten what they want but, more importantly, has what they need!

Cereals From Beyond: ‘The Ghost of Christmas Cereals Past and Present’ Edition!

I’m back again for another post about cereals! This time I’m showcasing past and present cereals with a Christmas/winter/”holiday” theme. So crank up the heat and grab a blanket, a bowl, a spoon & some milk!

Holiday Lucky Charms (General Mills, 1990)

I remember this one! No different than regular Lucky Charms other than holiday-shaped marshmallow bits. There’s some conflicting reports (yes, conflicting reports about Holiday Lucky Charms) about what year this cereal came out in, either 1990 or 1991. There are two cereal boxes floating around and the one on the left is obviously older than the one on the right, I actually thought it looked like it came out in the late ’80s so I’m gonna go with 1990. The box on the right is from ’92. The 1990 box had cut out gift tags on the back.

Winter Lucky Charms (General Mills, 2001)

The successor to Holiday Lucky Charms. I know it’s a commercial sin to say “Christmas” on your product but you can’t say “Holiday” either?

Polar Crunch (Quaker, 2006)

I don’t really know what this has to do with winter other than the Cap’n wearing a scarf and gloves. I don’t think this cereal came back for a second year but I’d love to eat some blueberry Cap’n Crunch! Of course, it was silly for the Cap’n to try to compete with himself…

Christmas Crunch (Quaker, 1988)

The most iconic Christmas cereal of all time? What can I say? Just watch the commercial!

Ice Berry Pebbles (Post, 2006)

I’m not sure if this cereal is still kickin’ around but i remember it coming out. Strawberry Pebbles.

Winter Fruity Pebbles (Post, 2003)

I think it’s funny this is called “Winter Fruity Pebbles” yet the pieces are red & green. When I think of winter I think of blue & white. When I think of CHRISTMAS that’s when I think of red & green.

The Polar Express (Post, 2004)

This is actually a pretty cool holiday cereal. Cocoa & marshmallows. It’s amazing someone hasn’t done this more often with a holiday theme.

Holiday Rice Krispies (Kellogg’s, late ’90s/early ’00s?)

Red & green Rice Krispies but they aren’t the first holiday variation…

Ho Ho Holiday Rice Krispies (Kellogg’s, 1996)

I admit “Holiday Rice Krispies” has a bit more snap, crackle and pop to it but there’s just something really neat and wholesome about “Ho Ho Holiday Rice Krispies”. I guess with the word “ho” getting used so much these days, Kellogg’s probably thought it best to rename their holiday version of Krispies.

Holiday Fruit Loops (Kellogg’s, 2006)

Red, green and purple sprinkled Froot Loops. Sadly, I couldn’t find a better picture online but I’ve read this cereal was mainly available only in Canada. That explains all that French on the cover.

Bedrock Blizzard Pebbles (Post, 1998)

Both Fruity & Cocoa variations got their own “Bedrock Blizzard” upgrade for the holidays in 1998. Cocoa Pebbles had sprinkles and Fruity Pebbles were frosted.

Christmas Cookie-Crisp (Ralston, early ’90s)

I really miss the Cookie-Crisp Crook and Officer. =( Very weird seeing these mini-chocolate chip cookies changed to bright red and green.

Holiday Fruity Pebbles (Post, 1997)

Geez, Post, have you given us enough holiday Pebbles cereals yet? Just the standard red & green change up. Enjoy this classic Pebbles commercial!

How The Extra-Terrestrial Stole The Video Game Industry

Much has been said about about the E.T. video game for the Atari 2600. So much in fact I really have had no desire to say anything about it until I came across this:

“Just in time for Christmas” is right! Famously, the game’s designer Howard Scott Warshaw was only given six weeks to hand in a full game in order for it to be on the shelves in time for Christmas of  ’82. Even more (in)famous, the game is regarded as one of the worst video games of all time. No one blames Warshaw though. He did the best he could (we hope) given the circumstances. The hate is directed towards the greedy execs at Atari for forcing such poor working conditions upon him and being more interested in making a buck with a poor product than making a buck with a good product.

Problem is — they didn’t make a buck at all! The game was so bad it was returned by many, not bought by even more, relegated to clearance bins for 99 cents and unsold copies were dumped in a landfill! A loss of millions and millions for Atari who came out of this with much egg on their face after fumbling what should’ve been a no-brainer “make easy money” licensing deal based one of the most popular movies of all time. They financially stumbled their way through 1983 and 1984, losing $536 million in 1983 alone. The blow to Atari was not Atari’s alone to absorb though. Being a powerhouse in the industry at the time, when they suffered, EVERYONE suffered and this whole E.T. debacle contributed to The Video Game Crash of 1983.

The face of evil?

 

It’s a 7UP Christmas

Fast food and soft drink companies never become more sincere and caring than around the holidays. It’s amazing how they can all happily peddle obesity, poor health and death (the poorest stage of health) in the form of fat, sugar, carbs and calories each and everyday but somehow leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling once you see one of their Christmas-themed commercials. McDonald’s really laid the groundwork for such commercials but over the years Coca-Cola, Nabisco and 7UP used it quite well to their advantage.

Here’s a handful of 7UP’s Christmas commercials from the 1980s. The one featuring the Cool Spots is one of my all-time favorite Christmas commercials.

Bing Crosby – The Voice of Christmas: The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook

Bing Crosby – The Voice of Christmas: The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook (1998, MCA Records/Decca Records)

Disc One:
1. “Happy Holiday” … 2:27
2. “Silent Night” (Previously Unreleased Original 1935 Version) … 2:41
3. “Adeste Fideles” … 3:20
4. “Silent Night” (Released 1935 Version)… 3:02
5. “White Christmas” (1942 Version) … 3:02
6. “Adeste Fideles” … 3:12
7. “Silent Night” (1942 Version) … 2:43
8. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” … 2:19
9. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” … 2:56
10. “Ave Maria” … 2:59
11. “White Christmas” (1947 Version) … 3:05
12. “Silent Night” (1947 Version) … 2:38
13. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” … 2:55
14. “O Fir Tree Dark” … 3:04
15. “The First Noel” … 2:35
16. “You’re All I Want for Christmas” … 3:13
17. Christmas Carols (Medley): “Deck the Halls/Away in a Manger/I Saw Three Ships” … 3:28
18. Christmas Carols (Medley): “Good King Wenceslas/We Three Kings of Orient Are/Angels We Have Heard on High” … 3:20
19. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” … 2:16
20. “That Christmas Feeling” … 3:03
21. “Looks Like a Cold, Cold Winter” … 3:06
22. “A Marshmallow World” … 2:41

Disc Two:
1. “Christmas in Killarney” … 2:44
2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” … 2:47
3. “Sleigh Ride” … 2:44
4. “Sleigh Bell Serenade” … 2:52
5. “Christmas Is A-Comin’” … 2:42
6. “The First Snowfall” … 3:08
7. “Is Christmas Only a Tree” … 2:14
8. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” … 2:47
9. “Jingle Bells” … 2:36
10. “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” … 2:42
11. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” … 3:24
12. “Here Comes Santa Claus” … 3:03
13. A Crosby Christmas (Medley) – Part One: “That Christmas Feeling/I’d Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus” … 2:58
14. A Crosby Christmas (Medley) – Part Two: “The Snowman/That Christmas Feeling/I’d Like to Hitch a Ride with Santa Claus” … 3:23
15. “Poppa Santa Claus” … 3:16
16. “Mele Kalikimaka” … 2:54
17. “Silver Bells” … 3:05
18. “Little Jack Frost, Get Lost” … 1:51
19. “White Christmas” (1954 Version) … 3:19
20. “Snow” … 2:42
21. “White Christmas” (Previously Unreleased Alternate 1942 Version)… 3:01
22. “Let’s Start the New Year Right” … 2:34

Assembled in this 2-disc set is possibly the GREATEST collection of Christmas songs ever. For my money, Bing Crosby truly is “The Voice of Christmas”. The best holiday singers are from the 30s, 40s and 50s: Perry Como, Dean Martin, Burl Ives, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, et cetera, et cetera but Bing has always held the #1 spot in my opinion.

This album is about as close as you’re ever going to get to having all of Bing’s Christmas songs in one spot. It covers every single holiday song he recorded while with Decca Records. 1935-1956! That’s covering 21 years! He did a number after Christmas albums after leaving Decca but this is really everything you’d ever need — all the essentials (and then some) in their original versions.

Speaking of originals, there’s a number of duplicates on this album but after all it is The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook so it’s being done for completion’s sake. I’ve made notes about those versions in the track listing but for anyone wondering what the “main” “White Christmas” take is, it’s the 1947 version. The story behind that is that while the 1942 version was incredibly popular (coming from the Holiday Inn movie), it was too popular. The master source of it had become so worn down by all the copies of it being made that Decca asked Bing to re-record it in 1947 and that’s the version you’ll hear on radio around Christmastime or on the various holiday compilations. The 1954 version is from the movie White Christmas, which was a remake of Holiday Inn.

For the second half of Disc Two, Bing gets a helping hand on vocals from the likes of the Andrews Sisters, Peggy Lee, Danny Kaye, Carol Richards, Trudy Stevens and even a few of his sons.

What inspired me to buy this album was when I recently heard “Looks Like A Cold, Cold Winter” on a 1950 episode of Bing’s radio show. I had never heard the song before but for days I couldn’t get it out of my head. I checked YouTube for it just so I could hear it and I found no listings for the song. So I finally figured out what albums the song appeared on and came across this wonderful compilation and $7 later, it’s mine — ALL MINE!

I took the liberty of uploading the song to YouTube so the rest of the world that hasn’t heard the song can enjoy it. It’s one of my favorite holiday songs from Bing now. It’s a forgotten classic in my eyes.

If you’re a Bing fan, if you’re a fan of Christmas songs — this album is a MUST-OWN. I know there’s a million Bing holiday compilations out there (one was just released a few weeks ago) but none come close to such a massive and quintessential collection as The Voice of Christmas does. Well worth seeking out.