This is kiiiind of a weird post for October 1st, but I think it fits.
I ran into something I just had to share. This is a news program produced by CBC Saskatchewan in 1996.
I just love any sort of paranormal TV show from back in the 90s. I started watching shows like In Search Of... well before The X-Files first aired, but you can't argue that the popularity of the latter resulted in UFO and alien specials being produced en masse by just about every network.
What I wanted to point out is that you couldn't even escape these sorts of reports in the news! Just throwing on your local TV station on a random weekday would lead to a spooky little story, complete with eerie music and sound effects! And especially leading up to Halloween.
So, if you're into this sort of thing I'd suggest you give the video a watch. It's a trip! I do want to warn you, though, there are some images of mutilated animals that could be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is definitely advised!
I scored a bottle of Mountain Dew VooDew and the new Oreo Coke about a week ago and they were just sitting in my refrigerator, so I thought it might be fun to record a video trying them out!
Check out the video, if you're so inclined:
Also, now that it's official I hope you're enjoying the fall! I've managed to watch some of my favourite classic horror movies so far, but I haven't had an opportunity to do anything that really suits the season. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify that soon.
It's mid-September as I write this and, for me personally, it might as well be fall. The leaves are already changing, the nights are getting cooler, and the PSL is available at Starbucks; it's a beautiful thing!
All that said, I felt remiss just moving on and not acknowledging some of the great summer snacks and promotions I've enjoyed over the last few months.
In my last post, all the way back in (checks notes)... June, I was begrudging the lack of summer promos I was seeing from the usual suspects, like Lay's, Pepsi, and Coca-Cola.
What I would say is that instead of going for the usual fare, there were some weird swings this summer, but overall it actually ended up pretty okay!
This is just going to be a photo dump of junk I enjoyed over the summer months, but I'll add some commentary.
McDonald's Summer 2024!
McD's never fails to disappoint and I must say, they've been showing Canada some serious love lately. First, we finally got the Grimace Shake, which dropped in the US last year. It didn't knock me out colour-wise, but it tasted great! They also brought us the Orange Cream Pop Shake, which tasted like a Buried Treasure and was a serious highlight.
Finally, I have to mention the Throwback Meal, which came with three retro dipping sauces, Garlic Parmesan from the 80s, Szechuan from the 90s, and Jalapeno Cheddar from the 00s. The Szechuan sauce was amazing - I didn't try the others - but the retro packing that homaged all three eras was the highlight, honestly. It was serious trip!
This was also topped off with McShaker fries, which offered a variety of different flavours over the summer. I only tried Tzatziki and Ramen, but they also offered Masala and Churro. They were kinda messy, but delicious! I hope we get more of these in the future!
Soda Pop!
I think I've gushed about all of these on my social accounts, but at a high level: Sprite Chill Zero Sugar was amazing and was very short-lived. Sprite Chill is still in stores, I believe, but the Zero Sugar (which was far superior to the full sugar version) disappeared quickly.
We got Mountain Dew Summer Freeze! This dropped in the US last year, but we finally got it and it was amazing. I think my favourite of the summer, however, was the Dr. Pepper Strawberries & Cream. This also dropped some time ago in the US, and I actually imported it months ago, but it was nice having it as a regular offering for a while.
I still missed seeing Pepsi Throwback on shelves, but Peach Pepsi was a nice distraction, even if I only tried it the one time. It was tasty, though! I saw the Zero Sugar version once, but didn't buy it and I never saw it again. I would've liked to have tried it!
More Chips!
Doritos dropped a trio of Late Night flavours, which is something they've done in the past. I feel like I've had all these flavours before, but it was nice to have something different on shelves, as least! I think Fully Loaded Nachos was my favourite, but there was also Sizzlin' Cheese Burger and Creamy Jalapeno Popper.
Ruffles dropped another KFC collab! They've offered KFC flavoured chips for a few years now as the occasional promo, but this year they added a Zinger Sandwich flavoured chip, which was just a spicier version of the old flavour, but on a double crunch chip! It was meh.
Miscellaneous!
Wendy's had an orange cream milkshake thingy of their own this year. It was simply white Frosty mixed with orange soda, but it was tasty!
I don't talk about Smarties enough. I know they're only in the UK and Canada, but they are the superior candy-covered chocolate. That's right, I said it. This summer they had a strawberry variety, which was just okay, but I just like to see Smarties taking the occasional swing!
That's probably not everything, but I think it's the big hitters (what's up with the sudden baseball references). All-in-all, it was an okay summer!
I posted a video earlier this week about the return of Hostess potato chips, which although it technically dropped in the summer season, I'm not considering a summer promo. Especially, as it appears that they're here to stay. You can check that video out here, though, if you're so inclined!
Anyway, here's to the autumn proper! It's less than a week away. As I mentioned, I've already started my usual traditions, which includes lots of tiny sized junk food and horror movies, but it was nice to cap off summer and put a bow on it.
I'm still kind of in shock about all this, but last night I was stunned to find out that my favourite potato chips - a snack I absolutely adored as a kid, but was lost due to a corporate takeover in the 90s - had returned.
That's right, Hostess Potato Chips are back!
Now branded Munchies, the greatest potato chips of all time are back on store shelves in Canada and I'm over the moon!
I think this video says it all. I'm sorry for the poor quality. I slapped this thing together pretty quickly and didn't test any of my equipment first, but I just had to document this moment.
In the video description you can also find links all sorts of blogs I've written over the years gushing over Hostess Potato Chips, if that's your sort of thing.
Anyway, if you're in Canada, get to your local grocery store and snag you some Munchies! And tell 'em RyHo sent you!
