Garbage Pail Kids - Halloween Themed Cards

So I'm getting my hair cut the other day and my eyes drifted off the dapper Halloween Addict in the mirror to the stylist's toolbox sitting on the counter. And I see this decorating the side of it...

Wow!

Though technically the gross factor of Garbage Pail Kids cards allows them to be lumped in to all that is scary and Halloween-like, I wanted to know if there were any other Garbage Pail Kids cards that were SPECIFICALLY Halloween-themed.

So I hit the wide wide world of web to see what I could dig up. Thanks to Wayne's Garbage Pail Kids References I only came up with two and they are displayed for your enjoyment. Jacqueline Lantern and Jack O. Lantern.
Ha. 'Natch.

Even CUTTING HAIR can lead to Halloween!

Halloween Candy in Easter Disguise!

So I'm in my local Rite-Aid today and decided to take a little trip down the Easter candy aisle. I'm a big jelly bean fan, and therefore Easter is a great way to stock up on various incarnations of my favorite treat.

My eyes settled on a bag of a Wonka product. I consider Mr. Wonka a God of Candy and approve of everything he creates, excusing the awful bastard spawn called banana flavored Runts. Well this particular item I had never seen before and was labeled "Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans."


Liking Nerds and interested in the novelty of a new Wonka product I bought the bag (on sale for a $1.50!!!). Imagine my delight when I got home and tasted the product only to realize that the "Bumpy Jelly Beans" were just multicolored versions of Wonka's Halloween-only product "Giant Chewy Bumpy Warts."


These tasty morsels were available in the Wonka "Creepy Treats" pack (check out the awesome profile of the Creepy Treats pack on Branded in the 80s HERE).
Here I got a whole bag of different flavored bumpy-warts and without the disgust of the Runts "Fungus Toenails" (which were just my arch-enemy banana Runts).
For those of you who want to know what they taste like: imagine a chewy Nerds flavored jelly bean, in a crunchy Nerds coating. Mmmm Nerds-tasty-tastic.

My point: there's no better feeling than craving Halloween candy post-Halloween and being able to openly buy it in stores in the months of February through April.
So get out there and stock up! This stuff keeps for a while per my post from a few days ago.

Halloween Rant - Current TV

Though I don't necessarily agree with all that makes up this rant... it's amusing, Halloween-related and I'm in need of a post for today.

WATCH!

Diary of the Dead - Limited Release TODAY!

It's times like this when I count my lucky stars that I live in a major city. George Romero's latest zombie movie "Diary of the Dead" hits theatres in limited release today. So if you're one of the lucky few to live in a city running the film, go see it!
It's independently produced!
It's Uncle George!
It's zombies!
Go!

Valentine's Day - Halloween Addict style!

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Whether you believe in this holiday as a way to show your loved one how much you mean to them, or as a holiday invented by Hallmark to get you to spend your hard earned money on a foofy greeting card and some bad chocolate... there are some ways a Halloween Addict can inject some black and orange into the red and pink of February 14th.

Watch a Movie: There are plenty of Valentine's Day and "love" themed horror movies out there. From campy to schlocky to classy. Pick one!



Gross Dessert: Chocolate and cheesecakes are loaded with fat and calories. How about some delicious low-fat jello? How about that low-fat jello in the shape of a heart?
A HUMAN HEART!
Whip up your own zombified Valentine dessert with this heart shaped jello gelatin mold. Serve chilled during your favorite love story zombie movie... Cemetery Man starring Rupert Everett---he's dreeeeamy.



Mentioning the Unmentionables: Though Victoria's Secret doesn't put out any black and orange underthings on this day, it doesn't mean that there aren't some options. Thanks to the magic of Cafe Press and Zazzle you can design your own boxers, thongs, etc. emblazoned with the Halloween iconography of your choice. Or search the community to find items already created that fit your er "needs."

And with images of underwear: I leave you.

What's the shelf life of Halloween candy?

Ok, show of hands: how many people still have Halloween candy squirreled away?
Anyone?
Just me, huh?
Liars.

Well I've still got some Halloween candy and I was jonesing for it today when I stopped to think, "Huh. Well it HAS been over 4 months... I wonder how long Halloween candy stays good for?" A little poking around on the internet and I came up with an answer. I don't know if it's THE answer... but it's some kind of a guide at least.

According to THIS posting it varies on the type of candy. For instance:

BUBBLE GUM - Most gum such as Bubble Yum or Bubblicious Bubble Gum is good for anywhere from four (4) to six (6) months and this guideline applies to regular gums such as Chiclets, Dentyne, Trident, et al

CANDY BARS - The average shelf for a chocolate candy bar is anywhere up to six (6) months, however, certain candies such as Necco Wafers, Smarties, Starburst Fruit Chews or Nerds can last considerably longer due to their consistency.

GUMMI CANDY - Most gummi candies such as gummi bears, peachy penguins, strawberry puffs, etc are good for up to (six) months although they will diminish in quality if exposed high temperatures.

JELLY BELLY JELLY BEANS - The manufacturer suggests that the shelf life for Jelly Bellies is up to eight ( months.

JORDAN ALMONDS (CONFETTI) - We are frequently asked about Jordan Almonds as they are often purchased in advance to be used for celebratory events such as anniversaries, baby showers or weddings.

Although the shelf life is said to be up to five (5) months, we suggest that you do not hold them for longer than two (2) to three (3) months to ensure that they are absolutely fresh.

LOLLIPOPS - Most lollipops have a long shelf life but it is important to remember that exposure to high temperatures can cause the candy to permanently stick to the wrappers.

Although most lollipops can last up to six (6) months, it is important that they are stored in cool environments.

M&M's ® CHOCOLATE CANDIES - According to the manufacturer, the life span of M&M's ® is up to thirteen (13) months providing that it remains in it's factory sealed package and not exposed to heat.

NOVELTY CANDY - Most novelties candies are nothing more than candy such as bubble gum or dextrose encased in a plastic outer shell. The life span of most novelty candies is six (6) to eight ( months and depends on the type of candy chosen.

UNWRAPPED BULK CANDY - Most unwrapped bulk candies remains fresh for five (5) to six (6) months, however, certain items such as Candy Roll Wafers, Runts,Rock Candy Strings and Candy Blocks will last longer due to their consistency.

Candies such as Good & Plenty, Licorice, Mexican Hats or Red Dollars tend to taste better when fresh and we suggest that you store them for no longer than two (2) months.

Chocolate candies such as Bridge Mix, Chocolate Pretzels, Double Dipped Chocolate Peanuts or Malted Milk Balls tend to have a shorter shelf life and this applies to any candy that has peanuts as one of the ingredients,

WRAPPED BULK CANDY - Most wrapped bulk candy remains fresh for five (5) to six (six) months especially if it is a hard candy such as a Butterscotch Disk, Starlight Mint or Root Beer Barrel.

Softer candies such as Caramel Creams or Brach's Royals have a shorter shelf life due to their consistency.

Certain candies such as Anise Squares, Brach's Ice Blue Mints, Jolly Ranchers or Sour Balls have a much longer shelf life and are ideal for long term use....and Atomic Fireballs seem to last forever...

So there you have it.
As always, I'm going to exercise caution and hope this posting wasn't written by a crazy person. If you don't hear from me in a few days please start looking for me.

I'll be the guy sprawled face down on the kitchen floor surrounded by gummi bears.

FREE Halloween Digital Resouces!!!

Man where was this link back in October, eh?

Just stumbled across Design Bliss's huge list of FREE Halloween graphic design resources compiled on one convenient page.

They've got links to everything Halloween on here. Icons, fonts, wallpapers, stock photos, vector graphics, clip art, blog templates, Photoshop brushes and more more MORE.
All free free FREE!

Check it out and bookmark for later this year!

English... OF THE DEAD!

Just read about this on Video-Game-Forums via Kotaku: Turns out Sega is making a game to teach English to Japanese via a game called "English of the Dead" for the Nintendo DS.
Apparently zombie hordes attack spewing Japanese words and you need to translate to English via your touchpad. Wow. Look how far we've come.

Check out the link HERE for pictures from a scanned Japanese magazine.

Who says zombies are only good for eating the living?

George Romero's Birthday!

The grandfatherly-looking father of the modern zombie film, George Romero, turns 68 today!

Go celebrate by watching something from his "Dead" canon of work.
Continue to wait patiently for the latest installment Diary of the Dead which comes out in limited release next Friday the 15th.