Late Night Rabbit Holes

You know how it is. It’s getting late, but it’s not that late.

You’ve either streamed everything you currently find interesting, or you’re totally overwhelmed by too much choice. Reading seems like work. It’s a little too late to start playing music and wake up the rest of the house (who are quite sensibly sleeping at this hour). You could just go to bed, but you’re just not quite ready yet. Housework is out of the equation completely. So where do you turn?

YouTube. And you’ll stay there for hours. Apart from the standard dog/cat/cute kids/AFV-type rabbit hole, the possibilities are pretty much endless. We’ve all got our favorites, of course, but in case you’re looking for something new to check out, I’d like to share some of my go-to channels with you.

Okay, so these are actually all pretty well established, but chances are you may not be aware of all of these channels. If any are new to you, why not give them a chance? If you know them all, maybe check back in on your YouTuber friends. They probably miss you.

LOST IN THE POND
-Laurence Brown discusses the differences between American and British culture. Sometimes this pertains to linguistic differences, sometimes the differences in how we live our day to day lives, holidays, cultural (and pop cultural) differences, and more. Laurence is a native Briton, but has been living in America for years with his wife, and has recently become a full fledged citizen. Being a bit of an Anglophile myself, I very much enjoy this channel, both for the information and the humor. Or, humour. I read that last sentence in Laurence’s voice just now in my brain, and if you’ve ever heard him speak, you did too.

ASHLEIGH BURTON (AKA Millennial Movie Monday)
Ashleigh (or awkward Ashleigh as she is known on social media) is a Millennial who watches older movies for the first time, reacts to them and discusses her feelings about each film. The reactions are recorded live, but heavily edited due to copyright laws. I know some people don’t like reaction videos, but I do IF the subject is interesting, and IF the person(s) doing the reacting is likeable and fun to watch. This channel has plenty of both. Ashleigh is very much at home in front of the camera (sometimes a little too much-but in a fun way) and is very good at verbalizing her thought process and emotional reactions. She covers all sorts of movies from cult classics to blockbusters, and while I don’t watch any reactions to movies I have not seen myself, when I do watch I have a good time. Movie buffs, check this one out.

LOST IN VEGAS/ROB SQUAD REACTIONS
This is a two-fer, since the channels are both fairly similar. Both channels are run by African Americans reacting to a wide variety of music.

Lost In Vegas tends to be a bit more extreme in their musical choices, and have more of a “street” vibe (you have no idea how old I felt typing that). Thee guys also tend to break down the music a little bit more from a critical point of view, and can be a little harsh when they feel the need. Yet they virtually explode with delight when they find something they love and it is a joy to watch. George and Ryan are awesome.

Rob Squad is kind of the other side of the coin. Hosted by Jay and his wife Amber, these reactions tend to be a little more positive overall. While they do still break the songs down both musically and lyrically, much more credit is given to the vibe of the song and how it makes them feel. The goal here is to spread positivity through sharing musical experience and I am here for it. They also do some movie reviews, if you’d like to investigate those.

THE TRY CHANNEL
A rotating cast of Irish people try food and drink from around the world. It goes pretty much how you’d think. While I don’t always agree with their opinions on the American foods, the reactions are often hysterically funny. Watch enough of these videos and you’ll find your favorite TRY channel personalities (Dermot Ward and Justine Stafford are mine), and, maybe, some new foods to try yourself.

DAVE’S ARCHIVES
I’ve mentioned before how I like to watch old commercials at night before bed, partially for the nostalgia, but also because it helps clear my mind before bed and has a calming effect. Well, there are quite a few channels to choose form, but Dave’s Archives is the most expansive. It’s fun to see how many commercials in a given collection I remember, how many I don’t, and how many I had forgotten about until they come back to life on my screen. It’s also neat to see some big time actors before they were famous hocking burgers and soda. Thanks Dave, if that is your real name, for keeping the memories alive.

There are plenty more channels out there, of course, but this is a pretty good group of channels to keep you busy for a while. As for me, it’s late as I type this and I need to go to bed soon. Maybe jus a little YouTube before I drift off…

Not Loving This

Okay, so, McDonald’s, right? I have issues. Things have changed man, and I don’t mean the food.

McDonald’s used to be a lot different. It used to be fun, bright, and colorful. Along with the 1970s brown decor were splashes of red and yellow to brighten up the place. The color scheme changes slightly on the 80s but was still identifiably and unmistakably McDonalds.

Kids were rewarded with trips to McD’s for good grades, academic or athletic achievement, or even just good behavior. Every kid loved going to McDonald’s and getting their happy meal with the free toy inside, no matter how crappy the toy may be. We loved collecting those, and also begging our parents for an extra buck or so in order to get the collectible Garfield or Peanuts glasses.

Their advertising was great too. Like the restaurant itself, the ads were big and happy, bright and beautiful. Sometimes they told a nice story. Remember the one with the senior citizen going back to work? Or how about the commercial with the little girl’s recital? Heartwarming stuff to be sure.

There were more campaigns you’re sure to remember as well. “You Deserve A Break Today” was a big one. Remember which sandwich kept the “hot side hot and the cool side cool”? Sure you do. The McDLT. Remember when they started staying open for late nights and the Mac Tonight campaign had us all singing along?

Then, of course, there were the McDonald Land characters. Ronald McDonald took us to a fantasy world full of Fry Guys, little puppet McNuggets, Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar, and, um, whatever it is that Grimace is supposed to be (someone once said a taste bud, but I have no idea how correct that is), and more. Some have called a few of these creations creepy in retrospect, but as young children, most of us loved the characters and their silly adventures as much as we loved going to the restaurant itself.

But that’s all changed now. Somewhere along the line, the vibrant colors all went away and were replaced with drab, boring shades of tan and beige. McDonald’s decor has gone from tesembling an excited child with a joyful future to that of a depressed middle-aged man who’s given up on the even the most remote possibility of fun. Which, of course, mirrors the fates of its core audience, but still. Next time you go inside, take a look around you and notice how drab and awful your surroundings have become.

The ads are just bad now, too. Dull, uninspired, and boring, it’s a shame what the once brilliant McDonald’s ad campaigns have become. They have officially “Ba dap ba ba bad” their way into irrelevance. I’m supposed to be loving this? I think not.

The last straw has to be this whole “Grimace Shake” fiasco. Problem one is the fact that nobody can seem to agree on what the purple concoction actually tastes like. Problem two is, although they brought our beloved Grimace back, they changes him into a three year old boy…er…thing, instead of the ageless, Dim-witted, but good hearted lump we all knew and loved.

Okay, so I was actually excited at first that they brought Grimace back. “If this takes off,” I thought to myself, “we might actually see the McDonald Land characters come back, and Mickey D’s become a happy place again. They a re actually fixing it!” My celebration, however, would be short-lived.

What happened next was not McDonalds’ fault, but instead that of the social media menace known as Tic Toc. Or was it Twitter? Doesn’t matter. Anyway, the “Grimace Shake Trend” started when some little punk with no respect posted a video wherein people who drank the Shake immediately died. Funny in an anarchic way I suppose, but then it became a “thing” and just about everybody with a cell phone started doing it too, all trying to outdo one another by making each video feature more “gore” in the guise of purple shake being strung everywhere.

So, as a result, the promotion has basically been ruined, and unless the McDonald’s people are willing to let their characters be perverted like that, the characters have virtually no chance of coming back. Thanks for wrecking it, Tic Toc, or Twitter, or whatever. Now instead if a bright, happy Mcfuture we have to go back to a drab, boring, no future, which may make for a great Sex Pistols song, but sucks for a Hamburger joint.

Look, McDonald’s is in no danger of folding anytime soon, I know. It’s still fast, convenient food that is tasty, and will satisfy when you want it too. It’s just that it used to be an almost magical thing and I feel like it could be again. But we are a long way off, and we’ve got a long way to go.

Thanks for indulging this rant. Let’s all grab a quarter pounder, or maybe some nuggets and fries, and meet up here next time for another edition of MonDaves.

Fun Fact: In All Her Years My Wife Has Never Had An Ice Cream Headache. Anyway…

Summer is almost upon us. Well, not really, I know, but Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of Summer in the U.S. and that’s good enough for me. Since we are only a few days away from kicking off the season I believe it’s time to discuss the plan for this year.

Summer is my favorite season, With as much as I go on about Christmas on this blog, you’d be forgiven for thinking I was a Winter guy, but nope. Not even close. I love Christmas but Winter is just depressing. So Summer it is.

While I enjoy most Summers, it does seem that some years are better than others. In fact, some have been taken away from me in recent years. We are all just now beginning to get back to some semblance of normal after COVID (which is not really going away, but it has lost its emergency status, so that’s something). A few years back I lost most of my Summer to a bad shoulder injury. Every year I long to have a Summer like those that I was so fond of in my younger days. Obviously being an adult limits anyone’s Summer fun, what with work, financial and other responsibilities having to take top priority. Still, I believe that if I am intentional with the way I approach my Summer, I can get close.

This Summer I plan to make the most of the season in the following ways:

-I will go walking more. I have mentioned the many park and nature trails available to me in my own town and the surrounding areas. It’s not the mountains, but for landlocked suburbia, the trails ain’t half bad. As much as I enjoy going out for long walks, I have slowed down a little bit, and I didn’t keep it up all Summer last year. There’s really no reason for that, so this year I will make it a point to try and walk all the trails available to me.

-I will cook out more. It’s just about time to break out the pellet grill again. I enjoy cooking this way, and there are a few more recipes I am wanting to try. I’m getting exited and hungry just thinking about it!

-More family fun days! What many outsiders don’t know about St. Louis is the number of free attractions we have in this city. Our zoo, for example, is consistently voted one of the top zoos in America, and it is absolutely free to get in. The much renowned St. Louis Art Museum, Science Center, and the Missouri History Museum are all free as well. Other attractions like the Botanical Gardens and Gateway Arch museums have nominal, affordable fees. Then there’s Laumeier Sculpture Park, Cahokia Mounds, neighborhoods like the Delmar Loop and Main Street St. Charles, and dozens more. We haven’t been to many of these places in the last few years so I think it might be time to get back out into the city and show some love for our hometown.

-Speaking of hometown love, SPORTSBALL! St. Louis is a big sports town, and while my interest in most sports is passing, or “fair weather” perhaps, it is fun to attend a game in person. Earlier this year my son’s school band played the National Anthem at a St. Louis Cardinal’s Game. This was back in April and it wound up being an abnormally cold day so we were freezing but we still had fun. We talked about maybe going back on a nicer day when we could enjoy the weather more, so that may be in the cards, no pun intended. I would also like to take in a St. Lois CITY soccer Club game if I could swing it and it’s not too expensive.

-Like Sheryl Crow, I’m gonna soak up the sun. A family vacation is coming, though some particulars are still being worked out. We try to do a mix of chill days and fun days wherever we go, but this one has the potential for more relaxing moments than adventurous ones. More on that later.

-This Summer I am going to try to just be. I want to try to enjoy the moments more. I want to take in the smells of fresh cut grass and smoke from the barbecue. I want to linger in the morning sounds of songbirds and the crickets at night. I want to listen to the Summer rain as it hits the roof and the concrete while I feel the breeze as I sit on my porch. I want to take in more sunsets and catch more lightning bugs. Let’s face it, there are only so many hours in the day, and the bulk of Summer is gone in just 14 weeks. When you factor in work and other commitments, that’s not much time. So this year I am really going to try to take it all in.

There are other things to do too. Visiting the pool, going to concerts, going out for ice cream, slushies, and snow cones, what have you. Whether I check off everything on my list or not, I am preparing for a wonderful Summer. I wish the same for you, wherever you may be and whatever your plans.

See you next week.

Have You Been To Wally’s?

So what do you do when you’d like to take a road trip, but you don’t have the cash or, more importantly, the time to do so? Simple. You grab the fam and make a run to Wally’s!

What’s Wally’s? I’m glad you asked.

Wally’s is a service station superstore with two locations in Missouri and Illinois that bills itself as the “Home of the Great American Road Trip” and honestly, they are killing it. Sure, it’s a filling station, but it is also so much more and, truth be told, a fun destination in its own right. While I have only been to the Fenton MO location, I can testify to its kitschy (yet family friendly) awesomeness. This is not a truck stop, but a travel center.

Spanning 36,000 square feet Wally’s includes:

-72+ filling stations
-Electric recharging stations
-Large, clean, family friendly restrooms (20 women’s stalls, 10 men’s stalls/11 urinals)
-In store Wi-Fi
-Coffee Bar
-Super large beverage stations including multiple fountain drinks and “Sloosh” machines
– BBQ carving station (for sandwiches)
-Beef jerky and Summer Sausage station
-In house bakery
-In house Pizza
-Pop Corn Station
-Ice Cream Station
-Road worthy snacks, both mass produced and Wally’s exclusive
-Camping Gear
-Loads of Wally’s merch
-Books and Toys for the kiddos
-Their own Spotify playlists
-An adorable bear mascot (and his friends)
-Tchotchkes galore

On our family excursion to Wally’s we all got lunch there. The kids had pizza slices and pulled pork sandwiches, while the parental units both opted for sliced brisket sandwiches. The BBQ is surprisingly good and highly recommended. The kids all enjoyed their slooshes too. I can’t report on the pizza slice since somebody didn’t share, but it was devoured quickly and received a thumbs up. We also returned with some excellent cheddar popcorn, yummy gummy candies and some malted milk balls that put your average Whoppers to shame. I also picked up some jerky (original and honey jalapeno) that will be accompanying me to work for the next week or so.

What I like most about Wally’s is the vibe. A gas mart/convenience store that big is pretty ridiculous when you think about it, but there’s a sense of humor to it all. There’s a very 70s feel to a lot of the merch and decor, but in a way that is both nostalgic and “contemporary ironic” which is a style description I just made up, but it fits. I especially like the murals of family road tips on the walls, and of course, Wally Bear being everywhere. The 70’s styling on the soda machines with retro logos are an especially nice touch.

Okay, now it’s time to address the, well, not elephant, but the other animal in the room. By now most of my readers from the South will be shouting at their screens to let me know that Wally’s seems to share a business model and a lot of the same attributes as a certain well loved chain with a beaver for a mascot that more or less does the same thing. Okay, sure, I won’t argue that.

However, Southerners, you’ve had that particular chain since 1982, and you haven’t shared with us. So being Mid-Westerners, we pulled up our bootstraps and we made our own. And it rules. Besides, bears are bigger, better, and badder than beavers any day of the week. So there.

Anyway, non-existent rivalries aside, next time you’re passing through on a road trip (or even if you just find yourself in the area) stop in at Wally’s. Get yourself some gas, some grub, maybe a t-shirt or a hat, and get back on the road with a smile on your face and a belly full of goodness.

Wally’s. home of the Great American Road Trip, and MonDAVEs approved.

This was NOT a paid advertisement, by the way. I just really dig Wally’s.

See you next week.

An Acrostic for November That Those Of You Who Are Into Cross Stitch/Needle Point Will Want To Make A Sampler Of, I’ll Bet.

Now it starts getting dark early.

Oh yeah, and Thanksgiving will be here before you know it.

Very soon the temperatures will fall.

Embers from the bonfire will dance through the sky (or something poetic like that).

Movember is stupid. Stop it. Y’all look like poster boys for “Stranger Danger” and I don’t want my kids anywhere near you.

Boy, this is harder than I thought it would be.

Everyone is really more focused on Christmas anyway.

Really thought this was going to be a lot better. Sorry guys.

Come back next week when I promise to actually have something decent to write about. Please?