It’s Memorial Day weekend and not only does that mark the unofficial start of summer, but it’s also my SEASON PREMIERE!   This is my 141stblogumn (plus 6 for Fierce Anticipation) and kicks off my fourth year on F & N.  To start the new season off right, I want to update some of the great things we’ve talked about over the past three years.   THE SMURFS MOVIE Fierce Anticipation: The Jersey Joe Edition V – May 21, 2010 In my fifth fill in outing for Fierce Anticipation, I reviewed the live action Smurfs Movie.  Now, fast forward to 2013 and The Smurfs 2 will hit theatres on July 31.  While the first movie was set in New York City, this sequel is set in Paris as the gang tries to find a kidnapped Smurfette. I will probably skip this one.   THE BURGER KING RIBS EDITION Blogumn #2 – June 6, 2010 In my second official blogumn, I reviewed how Burger King went completely in a different direction by adding BBQ ribs to their menu.  While they tasted pretty good and sold out fast, the slow preparation time doomed them from future sales. But, Burger King hasn’t given up on ribs.  This summer, they are serving up the new Burger King Rib Sandwich to rival McDonald’s mega-popular McRib.  The sandwich is being served for a limited time only.   I SURVIVED THE BURGER KING WHOPPER PIZZA Blogumn #16 – October 1, 2010 Another discussion of a wacky Burger King product: their spin-off franchise Whopper Bar in New York City’s Times Square was serving up a $12 Whopper Pizza known as The New York Pizza Burger. The New York City Whopper Bar location closed last year.  However, locations are still open in other cities....

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. MOUNTAIN DEWMOCRACY 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. THE SMURFS MOVIE May...

Who doesn’t love a spin on a Ferris wheel? How about taking a ride high above the skylines of two popular American cities? A small Ferris wheel building boom is underway and the skylines of New York and Las Vegas could be in for a major change. While both projects have been on the table for years; our lagging economy has pushed back their opening dates. Recent developments have given them both a major step forward, reigniting hopes of taking tourists high in the air. I must admit, I get a little nervous about riding the super high wheels. I feel much safer on the ones with enclosed carriages. The one at Six Flags Great Adventure, and another on the amusement pier at Wildwood (both in New Jersey), are a little bigger than I can handle. When I was a kid, you couldn’t get me on one. I still shudder at the thought of riding one at some of the shady carnivals, but I’m more than happy to climb aboard the greatest of them all – The Wonder Wheel on Coney Island. Since the London Eye became a major tourist draw after opening in 2000, some US developers have added the wheels as a perk to some high profile construction jobs. Just a short train ride outside of Manhattan, is the new Meadowlands Sports complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, currently home to the New York Giants and New York Jets. As part of the redevelopment of the area, along with the new stadium, came construction of the IZOD Center (a concert venue and arena) and the Xanadu Meadowlands (a giant shopping mall.) The stadium and the arena opened to much fanfare in both 2010 and 2009 respectively. But, the mall that is a...