He’s Hardrock, He’s Coco, I’m Joe! – Stop Motion Christmas TV Classics [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] Dec07

He’s Hardrock, He’s Coco, I’m Joe! – Stop Motion Christmas TV Classics [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]...

Ask anyone that grew up in Chicago or Western Pennsylvania about Hardrock, Coco and Joe and you’ll instantly bring a smile to their face. Three black and white Christmas stop motion classics have been airing on television stations since the 1950’s. They still delight kids of all ages to this day. Suzy Snowflake, Frosty the Snowman, and Hardrock, Coco, and Joe: The Three Little Dwarfs are two minute and 45 second short films that were broadcast on only two television stations in the US, WGN-TV in Chicago and WJAC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Johnstown, PA. Originally produced in the early 1950’s, these short films aired annually as part of children’s programming to get the little ones fire up for the Christmas season. These classics were seen by so many families over the years, they have become a holiday season tradition that even adults now look forward to. As the kids grew into adults, and children’s programming dwindled, their airing would no longer be restricted to just kids. On WJAC, they can be seen airing all over the programming schedule from prime time to Saturday Night Live to Channel 6 News 11 at 11. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania as I did, I would watch these over and over every year on WJAC. My grandmother still stops and pause for a moment to check them out, while she’s flipping through the channels. While the stop motion is very low budget and crude by today’s standards, those who grew up with these shorts have a special place for them in their heart. Seeing these as a kid, I knew Christmas is here! Thousands of viewers have checked them out on Youtube. Let’s take a look at each and uncover some little known facts! HARDROCK, COCO, AND JOE: THE THREE LITTLE DWARFS...

King Cakes – The Cake with a Baby Baked Inside! [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] Feb24

King Cakes – The Cake with a Baby Baked Inside! [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]...

Why would anyone bake a tiny baby doll inside a cake? The king cake is a succulent and fun way to celebrate Mardi Gras. It’s time to introduce everyone to this dessert that’s just a darn good time! A few years ago, a friend from New Orleans introduced me to the tradition of the king cake. The large and colorful cakes are a part of the party fun at Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras (or Carnaval) is several days of eating, parades, dances, and partying. The celebration comes to a head with Fat Tuesday, the last night before the Catholic Lent season begins, and at which time the faithful are expected to fast and obey church law. There are many different varieties of king cakes and countries around the globe have their own versions, with many being served at Christmas time. The cakes are usually decorated in Mardi Gras colors: purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Some of these high fat cakes are deep fried like a donut, while most are baked with some type of inner stuffing such as cream cheese, strawberry, or in true Louisianan style – cinnamon. The cakes are then coated with icing and sprinkles. I’ve enjoyed some on several occasions and each time it reminded me of eating a gigantic cinnamon bun. Most feature a small, plastic baby baked inside which is meant to resemble baby Jesus. Finding the piece containing the plastic kid, designates that person gets to receive special treatment such as “king of the day” and in many cases is expected to provide the cake for the next celebration. The host of the party can purchase a cake without the baby baked in, and insert into the cake just before serving to have an idea of where it is. ...

Movie Night, Sharing the Familiar [Secret Life of an Expat]

Last night I forced M to watch Stand by Me. I say forced because, it was already 10 pm, and we’d just watched Pirates of the Caribbean, At World’s End, full of squid-faced special effects and swashbucklery. But after that I wanted something, I don’t know, familiar? If I had been in the states, I would have been happy to turn on the TV and sit through a rerun of Law and Order, but in France, I went to my pile of DVDs from the library. Knowing nothing about the film but what he read on the DVD jacket (1959, four boys go on a camping trip to find a dead body in the woods), M wrinkled his nose and said “Okay, but don’t be mad if I fall asleep.” I said we only had to watch half of it, I was just craving something familiar. Stand by Me, directed by Rob Reiner, tells the tale of four, twelve year old, small town boys who walk 20 miles on train tracks to see the body of a dead boy in the woods. It came to theaters when I was twelve years old myself. It was especially popular among twelve year old girls for its casting: Will Wheaton as the thoughtful future writer boy, River Phoenix as the misunderstood hoodlum with a heart of gold, Corey Feldman as the war obsessed son of a crazy WWII vet and Jerry O’Connell as the wimpy, fat kid who knows the location of the dead body. A young, hot, Keifer Sutherland is their nemesis, and Richard Dreyfuss’s gravelly voice narrates the thing. The issues these boys were struggling with were far beyond anything I would ever know, but I still cried with them, and there is enough suspense...