I think this is it. Via Engrishfunny.com

via Nicole Dabbs.

The number of Chinese people eating there was a testament to its quality and the number of cartoonists eating there was a testament to its affordability.

Ben Towle on the crowd at the Fortune Star Buffet in Rockville, MD, during SPX.

Parent Dish reports on a Daily Mail story about a dad who suddenly realized that Maoam’s candy wrappers were filthy as hell:

“The lemon and lime are locked in what appears to be a carnal encounter,” the chap said. “The lime, whom I assume to be the gentleman in this coupling, has a particularly lurid expression on his face.”

The British have a particularly proud tradition where sweets are concerned, and a penchant for what many would call “cheeky” slogans and packaging — the Yorkie bar, for instance, is famously “not for girls,” because presumably its massive wad of chocolate is something no woman could withstand — so this colorful packaging would seem to be a bit tongue in cheek. That said…it is also, obviously, the official candy of “Pastilles Gone Wild!!!” PR as a Haribo spokesman said, ‘This jovial MAOAM man is very popular with fans, both young and old.’

[Thanks to Steven Stahl for the link.]

You know how it is, you’re a little tuckered out from smashing dragon turtles with your +45 Clout Mace, whilst wearing your Imbued Plate Greaves and need a pick me up. Shall it be mead…or MOUNTAIN DEW? As all true nerds know, the almost-popless, caffeine and sugar packed drink of champions has the real life effects effect of a mana potion.

We’ve often noted our love of Code Red, the gamers/hackers version of Mountain Dew, which is even more powerful and frightening. Only the fact that it makes our eyeballs feel like they are covered with tiny gnats made us stop drinking it a while ago.

However, we may feel the need to explore further Dew varietals. Two special limited edition drinks that tie in with the World of Warcraft have been released: Alliance Blue (Mountain Dew with a punch of wild fruit flavor), or Horde Red (Mountain Dew with a blast of citrus cherry flavor).

We’re not sure what “wild fruit” flavor is, but it may be the elusive “blue” taste we’ve been searching for since Pepsi Blue went down the drain. We await product samples to conduct out own highly supervised experiments.

Apparently there’s a whole big Mountain Dew/World of Warcraft promotion going on, which you can learn about here. There are contests, freebies, and so on. What would E. Gary Gygax think of this?

We had a conflicting deadline so no real posting until later…maybe…except to say that we’ve started drinking coconut water, the new fad drink, and wow, it REALLY WORKS. All that potassium and vitamin C gives us clarity and happy tummy all in one. Last night we muddled up some expensive cherries and threw ‘em in the glass for a super vitamin boost and that got us through the night.

That ends our NUTRITION MINUTE WITH THE BEAT.

With a new locale — the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington — this year’s MoCCA crowd will have to find new hangouts and new luncheon spots. But fear not! Since it takes place in The Beat’s veritable backyard, we’ve eaten lunch at every place near by, and we’re happy to tell you that Rose Hill/North Gramercy/Flatiron, whatever you call it, offers tons of tasty, inexpensive chow. So here’s a few places to consider. Clip ‘n’ save!

Technorati Tags: Mocca 09

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Abby Denson reports from a fashion show that kicked off the Chocolate Show, a convention for the chocolate trade. Mmmmmmmm. The theme was superheroes, and the fashions were made from confections. For instance, Wonder Woman’s hair was made from black cotton candy!

This chocolate Astro Boy wouldn’t last long around us, that’s for sure. Many more mouthwatering photos in the link.

Last night, we managed to catch two episodes of the US version of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, which is titled just Kitchen Nightmares. The star’s removal from the name wasn’t the only change. Instead of the UK original’s set-up, in which we experienced bland sauces and crematorial grilling through the eyes of master chef Ramsay, complete with his biting narration, now it’s more a typical US story of redemption. The clueless owners, indifferent chefs and long-suffering waitresses are interviewed, giving their sides of the story, and we never hear Ramsay’s thoughts.

While the show remains compulsively watchable — last night’s tale of three muscle-bound bozos trying to run a seafood restaurant on a frozen lake was hilarious, especially when one of the goons was cautioned for talking to patrons with his head cocked, “looking like a chimpanzee in the zoo,” — the show is significantly less entertaining when the most entertaining thing about it — the star — is toned down. (Ramsay’s legendary swearing is not only bleeped but his mouth is masked so we can’t even lip read.) In the UK version, Ramsay is clearly the hero, traveling from hapless pretentious bistro to chronically mismanaged brasserie, dispensing some sharp words and the classic advice to grill fresh local produce. We don’t really care about the staff of the various restaurants — they’re just foils for Ramsay’s cooking advice.
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Halloween! Cupcakes! Skullies! Part 1 via Tired Fairy.

MORE IN THE LINK!!!

As if the glum economic news wasn’t enough, they are now destroying our chocolate: Melamine-tainted milk from China has forced the withdrawal of several of Cadbury’s English confections:

Cadbury, the British confectionery giant, is the latest victim of a tainted milk scandal that has left at least four babies dead in China and the company has withdrawn 11 chocolate products made in Beijing.

The company said that tests on items from Cadbury Eclairs and bulk packets of Dairy Milk had raised concerns and the sweets sold in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia had been recalled as a precautionary step.

Look, dying infants means this is NO JOKE, it’s as serious as hell, so we’re really not trying to make light of this. The melamine (basically ground up plastic shit) was added to the dairy product to give it added body and up its protein content. Last year, melamine contamination in pet food is suspected to have caused the deaths of many animal companions and caused a giant pet food recall.

If you’ve ever tasted the English version of Cadbury’s, you know it is far, far superior to the domestic version. It’s one of those things that makes life bearable. The idea that our choccies are now contaminated is a gloomy one.

Our suggestion? Keep a cow in the back yard, or on the roof or whatever. These days, it couldn’t hurt.

Everyone knows that global economic woes are eliminating things like gas-guzzling cars and rising prices have forced many changes in our daily lives, even as there’s been forced belt tightening in countless households. But now they’ve come for our candy. It seems that due to rising prices, Hershey has stopped putting cocoa butter in some of its products…forcing a change in labeling :

Products such as Whatchamacallit, Milk Duds, Mr. Goodbar and Krackel no longer have milk chocolate coatings, and Hershey’s Kissables are now labeled “chocolate candy” instead of “milk chocolate.”

What’s going on here? On Friday, TODAY consumer correspondent Janice Lieberman reported that Hershey’s has switched to less expensive ingredients in several of its products. In particular, cocoa butter — the ingredient famous for giving chocolate its creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture — has been replaced with vegetable oil.

The removal of cocoa butter violates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s definition of milk chocolate, so subtle changes have appeared on the labels of the Hershey’s products with altered recipes. Products once labeled “milk chocolate” now say “chocolate candy,” “made with chocolate” or “chocolatey.”

“Chocolatey.” “It’s chocolatey.” Can you imagine it??? Here at Stately Beat Manor, Krackel has long been one of our favorite treats, especially in those mini sizes so prevalent during the Halloween season. However, we will not — CAN not — condone this switch over to the waxy, vaguely chocolate-like substance that so many American candies have become. We know milk chocolate — or even better, dark chocolate — when we taste it, and if this is what it’s come to, we’ll just do like Charlie did, and only allow ourselves one anxious bite a day of the real thing–until it’s gone.

I like Moby’s tea.

As The Beat wanders each week through a cramped Gristedes, pushing a tiny, child- or midget-sized cart through narrow, stacked-up aisles, hoping against hope to find a fresh pepper or garlic clove in the bedraggled produce area, our thoughts often return to the wonders of Ralphs, the California-based chain which has — let’s be honest here — far superior greens than any Gormenghast-like NYC grocery store. Now we have another reason to wish to live near a Ralphs — shopping there can directly benefit the Hero Initiative:

One supercool thing about Ralphs is the Ralphs Rewards card. It’s your standard grocery store “club card” that gets you discounts and whatnot. But you can ALSO register it with a Ralphs-approved charity, and EVERY time you shop and use the card, Ralphs will kick in a small percentage to the charity of your choice. It costs you, the consumer, NOTHING. It’s just Ralphs kicking in a couple bucks to good causes. See where I’m going with this?

Yes, The Hero Initiative is one of those Ralphs-approved charities, and since Ralphs just switched over from Ralphs Club cards to Ralphs Rewards, we need YOU to re-register your card for Hero, which is easy as pie (tho’ not quite as tasty):

Hit the link for instructions, and enjoy some nice fresh arugula.

Batman flavored ice cream:
Courtesy of Marion Vitus. What does it taste like? It appears mysterious, cool and aloof…like the man.

Three out of three people we surveyed today agree that Dunkin’ Donuts coffee now tastes like complete swill.

Macworld: News: Apple Event - Live Coverage

UPDATE: Early adapters suffer flames of purgatory:

This *** big time I had to quit partying for a month to scrape up money for the iPhone. I feel terrible! $200 is quite a lot of money, especially for a student. They even deleted my thread Very unprofessional)

§ Toronto Fan Expo link round-up at Sequential.

§ Round-up of cupcakes in comics courtesy Rachel Kramer Bussel:

§ Jon Spencer Geek explosion interview at Daily Cross Hatch. BTW, Spencer’s wife, if we recall, is Boss Hog’s Christina.

What are you reading [comic-wise, naturally]? The Pushman & Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Silverfish by David Lapham, B.P.R.D., Fear Agent, Batman, Jeff Smith’s Shazam, The Pride by Brian K. Vaughan, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and anything by Sfar and/or Trondheim.

Harvey Pekar’s appearance on No Reservations aired last night but we’re sure you can catch it in reruns.

It seems that television favorite chef Jamie Oliver, is going to become a cartoon. but not just any cartoon — an AARDMAN cartoon.

Jamie Oliver is to be immortalised as a cartoon character by Wallace and Gromit creators Aardman Animations.

The celebrity chef will be presented as a 10-year-old cartoon version of himself in the show called little j.

The series, made by the Bristol-based Oscar winning animators, follows little j on a quest through a surreal cartoon world as he searches for the secret of becoming a great chef.

The cartoon, aimed at seven to 11-year-olds, is populated with bizarre characters such as a depressed ham and a mad scientist called Eggs Benedict.

The show will have 52 11-minute episodes. Guess the popularity of cartoon cooks evidenced by RATATOUILLE is spilling over.

From England a shocking tale of good turned to the dark side: A watchdog group called Which? has determined that cartoon heroes are being used to sell unhealthy snacks to children:

Spidey was blasted for backing sugary Nesquik Chocolate Flavour Cereal, while Scooby-Doo Mini Pizza Breadsticks were found to be high in salt.

A Which? spokesman said: “The companies which own and use these characters need to review their policies.”

Marvel, who own Spider- Man, said they did not have “a specific policy” on using their characters in food marketing.

Scooby-Doo owners Warner Bros said their characters were used “in a responsible manner”.

Meanwhile, in the US, where kids are even tubbier than in the UK, several cartoon nets have

already vowed to be more mindful

Cartoon Network Friday joined the growing list of media companies joining the fight against childhood obesity.”Cartoon Network will limit the use of its original characters related to its company-owned original series targeted to children under the age of 12 to food and beverage products that meet specific nutritional criteria,” the network said. That came after Discovery Kids and Nickelodeon had made similar pledges

Bring back Count Chocula. That would make everything OK again.

¶ New studio: Atomic Revolver as introduced by B. Clay Moore at CBR:

Me, Tony Moore, Jeremy Haun, Jason Aaron, Jason Latour and Seth Peck. The main goal is to pool resources and brainwaves. We’ll be sharing a group blog and website, exhibiting together at cons, which most of us do already, collaborating on projects in various media, and leaning on each other for inspiration and creative guidance. This weekend, Tony, Jeremy and I will all be snuggled together in Artist’s Alley at Wizard World Chicago [tables 5500-5504], but we have plans for a massive con presence to “officially” launch down the road.

§ Bill Willingham interviewed at The A.V. Club on the origin of Fables:

I write the worst proposals for projects, in the history of writing, or proposals, or projects. They’re all a mess. There’s almost two things you have to do to work in the business. You have to be good at getting the job, and good at doing the job. I’ve never been good at getting the job. Just by the nature of the fact that I was involved in it, it was a disorganized mess. I would cringe to look at that original proposal now, but they seemed to like it. It caught on. Jeanette Kahn was still at DC at the time. She was on her way out as the publisher of DC, and heading to Hollywood. She got a look at the proposal at this early stage and said, “This could be a good movie property, so, yes, we’re accepting this.” The rest was history.

§ French teen arrested for making his own translation of Harry Potter

A French teenager suspected of posting his own complete translation of the latest Harry Potter book on the internet has been arrested. The 16-year-old, from the southern city of Aix-en-Provence, has been released but could face charges for violating intellectual property rights. The official French language version of the final book in the Potter series is scheduled for release on 26 October. Police have closed down the website it was found on and are investigating.

Link via Colleen who wonders if this will have a chilling effect on scanlations.

§ Chris Butcher talks lunch at a local food blog:

You’ve got $10 to buy lunch – where do you go?

Well if I’ve got $10 for lunch that means chances are I’m at work at The Beguiling in The Annex (just around the corner from Honest Ed’s!). 9 times out of 10, my lunch choice is hitting up Roti Palace (744 Bathurst Street) for a goat roti (spinach, no hot sauce) with an order of doubles. I love their roti, so much so that I usually have to avoid having it more than once per week - I’d hate to get sick of it!

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