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Jersey Joe’s Year Two Round Up [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]
It’s Memorial Day weekend and not only does this mark the unofficial start of summer, it also marks my third SEASON PREMIERE! This blogumn officially kicks off my third year on F & N. Since we’re 93 blogumns in (plus 5 filling in for Ryan Dixon’s Fierce Anticipation), it’s time to update some of the great things we’ve talked about over the past two years.
May 7, 2010 [FIERCE ANTICIPATION: THE JERSEY JOE EDITION III]
In my third blogumn filling in for Ryan, PepsiCo, the bottlers of Mountain Dew released three test flavors for the summer of 2010, allowing fans to vote on which they liked best to join the line permanently. They had tried this experiment in 2008 and it was a huge success.
Mountain Dew White Out was the winner and went on sale on October 4th and is still on sale now. For a brief time, Wal-Mart Supercenters also sold 2 liter bottles of Mountain Dew: Typhoon, one of the losing flavors. In addition Mountain Dew: Game Fuel Cherry Citrus and Mountain Dew: Game Fuel Tropical were also on sale last summer to tie into the video game release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. They were discontinued in December.
PepsiCo has hinted that it has no plans to test more flavors, but a few new releases have gone on sale. Mountain Dew Xtreme (grape flavored) in available in Saudi Arabia and Mountain Dew Grape is currently on sale in Japan.
For summer 2012, a new flavor will appear in stores: Mountain Dew: Dark Berry as a promotion for the movie The Dark Night Rises. It will have a mixed berry flavor and the cans will change color when chilled. It goes on sale June 18th.
May 21, 2010 [FIERCE ANTICIPATION: THE JERSEY JOE EDITON V]
In my last outing filling in for Ryan, I balked at the idea of The Smurfs: Movie. It was released at Christmas and I avoided seeing it in the theatre. Well, I must have gone crazy one night because I added it to my Netflix cue. To be honest, it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t the greatest movie ever – but it was kind of entertaining for a bit.
May 28, 2010
In my first official outing of the Kicking Back blogumn, I discussed the newly released Star Trek slot machine that was appearing in casinos.
While the game is still available, it is getting harder and harder to find. Most machines have been replaced by Lord of the Rings slots.
A new multi-player version was released late last year called Star Trek: Battlestations. It uses some of the same elements from the original slot, but now four machines are tied together and share a common bonus round. All eligible players enter a battle with the Klingons to hopefully score a large jackpot win. This game is a great deal of fun, but the original slot with the different episodes is still the best. Hopefully, it can make a comeback with new episodes, or how about a version featuring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation… you know that can’t be too far away!
THE BURGER KING RIBS EDITION
June 4, 2010
In summer 2010, Burger King added BBQ ribs in their fast food restaurant menus. While they were basically rib tips; they took a great time to prepare, but were hugely popular and the chain sold out of their entire supply. But, the time needed to prepare the item, pretty much doomed it and it has not returned.
BK continues to overhaul their menu. Earlier this year they added a BK Toppers line of specialty burgers and a BK Chef’s Choice premium burger. They’ve also added more Angus premium burgers, chicken strips, wraps, chicken salads, and fruit smoothies.
July 30, 2010
In July 2010, my Verizon “new every two” promotion was well past due and it was time to upgrade my aging cell phone. As long as you sign a new 2-year cell contract, Verizon will cut you a deal on a new phone.
The Android X was being released that month from Motorola to give the iPhone a run for the money. I went with the Droid.
The phone was great. A giant touch screen, tons of apps, and great internet browsing.
Now, it’s nearly two years later and once again my Verizon “new every two” contract is just about up. My phone, however, is starting to take a serious turn downhill. It’s almost as if it knows the time is up.
Since December, my Android X has been prone to serious malfunctions. Once the camera flash started going off in a rapid fire sequence in a dark Las Vegas casino. A few other times, it won’t let me answer a call or connect to the internet. Most recently, I take a picture, it shows the icon in the corner, but doesn’t save it. It even lists the file size as 0kb. The only solution to all of these problems is to reboot the phone each time.
When my contract is up in just over a month, I am considering switching to the iPhone. I love my Android X, but I don’t love how it’s been going downhill and makes me worried about getting the next Android product. I haven’t officially made up my mind yet as to what to do, so I would appreciate your suggestions!
IS THERE REALLY FRUIT IN McDONALD’S REAL FRUIT SMOOTHIES
August 13, 2010
The McDonald’s in Jersey City, New Jersey where I purchased my smoothie to test, burnt down in October 2011 and has not reopened. It is mostly still standing as a burnt out shell.
Burger King has recently launched their own line of real fruit smoothies to compete.
I SURVIVED THE BURGER KING NEW YORK WHOPPER PIZZA
October 1, 2010
From what I’ve been told the New York Pizza Burger is no longer being sold at the Times Square BK Whopper Bar location, but it did appear for a while at stores in Japan.
The Whopper Bar is still open and I need to get back there and review some of their other sandwiches.
SPIDER MAN’S 30 FT. PLUNGE OFF BROADWAY
January 7, 2011
After being in the audience the night actor Christopher Tierney took his fall through the stage, I never did get to see how this show ended. They rightfully stopped the preview performance that night.
Since, the show has been massively retooled. Original director Julie Taymor was fired and the script rewritten, with an almost completely new ending. The show has been selling well and a possible version for Las Vegas is rumored.
THE BURGER KING JALAPENO CHEDDAR STUFFED ANGUS BURGER
January 15, 2011
Although I predicted that stuffed burgers would be the next craze, that didn’t happen. This item is now gone from restaurants and has been replaced by the Chef’s Choice burger.
THE BEST $1.99 MEAL WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI
April 29, 2011
Since writing about the legendary Golden Gate Hotel & Casino’s shrimp cocktail in Las Vegas, the property has undergone an extensive renovation. They are currently adding a new hotel tower and expanding the casino to add a high roller pit.
The shrimp cocktail is still available, however the original deli where it was sold – has closed for the renovation. The entire project should be complete later this year.
HOW GIANT FERRIS WHEELS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD
August 12, 2011
Construction of the two giant Ferris wheels are still a go for Las Vegas. Caesar’s Entertainment just closed the classic O’Shea’s casino and will relocate it to another part of the Project Linq site that will include the new Ferris wheel.
More details have been released about Caesar’s plans for the wheel, including offering beverage service to passengers. The ride will take a little over 20 minutes, so I hope they plan for a bathroom inside the capsules, which is currently missing.
Vegas’ other wheel, SkyVue is also still a go, construction began on March 2nd, with pouring the cement base. New photo renderings now include a giant BMW and Coca-Cola logo in the center of the wheel.
In New Jersey, American Dream Meadowlands is still at a standstill. No recent construction has happened on their wheel or the shopping plaza, itself. New designs still include the indoor amusement park and the website is still active.
DAVID LETTERMAN: AL-QAEDA TERROR TARGET
August 26, 2011
David Letterman just signed a new two year contract that will keep his Late Show on CBS until 2014. At that time, Dave will officially become the longest running late night talk show host in television, taking the crown from his idol, Johnny Carson.
September 2, 2011
Sadly, it was. The ACES train which carried vacationers from New York City to Atlantic City is now officially dead.
The northbound train I was on, was the next to the last ride for the service, which had to shut down the following weekend due to Hurricane Irene hitting the East Coast. The train operated at a major loss and the unprofitable service has been discontinued.
My only question: what happens to the trains? They were actually pretty nice!
THE GREAT PENNSYLVANIA CASINO TOUR
September 16, 2011
The Pennsylvania casinos continue to rake in record profits and now earn the second highest amount of revenue behind Las Vegas, knocking Atlantic City to an embarrassing third.
FREE TV AND RADIO CHANNELS YOU’RE MISSING OUT ON
Local TV stations continue to add more programming to their digital subchannels. In New York, Bounce TV and Al-Jazerra America can now be seen over the air thanks to these subchannels.
THE ULTIMATE FOUNTAIN DRINK MACHINE
January 20, 2012
The Coca-Cola Freestyle machine continues to appear in more and more restaurants. New chains continue to sign contracts for the machines, including Moe’s Southwest Grill. I now have one three blocks from me!
DIPPIN’ DOTS – THE ICE CREAM OF THE FUTURE COULD BE A THING OF THE PAST
March 2, 2012
In April, Dippin’ Dots accepted an offer from Oklahoma Energy to buy them out of bankruptcy for $12.7 million. The matter is now in the hands of a judge.
A TACO SHELL MADE OF DORITOS – WHAT TOOK TACO BELL SO LONG?
SPECIAL EDITION
March 15, 2012
The Doritos Loco Tacos are big sellers at Taco Bell. Thanks to it and a breakfast menu, sales have risen 5% for the chain. They predict the high sales will continue and are now working on a Taco Bell Cantina menu, which will feature upscale products and ingredients. A new Cool Ranch version of the taco is still on the drawing board for later this year.
THE 411
Name: Kicking Back with Jersey Joe
What: fun, lifestyle, pop culture, and entertainment blogumn on fierceandnerdy.com
Number of blogumns to date: 93
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:
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