TEST1 2018

IN TWEET: BOSTON-BASED UNREAL BRANDS TAKES THE CANDY WE ALL LOVE AND “UNJUNKS” IT. THE RESULT IS A TASTY LINE-UP OF INDULGANT TREATS FROM A VERY COOL COMPANY. EDITOR’S NOTE:  THIS POST ORIGINALLY RAN ON APRIL 20,2013 AND HAS BEEN UPDATED. IF WE FEATURE IT IN AN UNDER5 POST, THAT MEANS IT’S A PRODUCT WE KNOW, USE AND LOVE.  YOU CAN BUY THIS STUFF FOR LESS THAN FIVE BUCKS BUT, NO PRODUCT, SERVICE OR COMPANY CAN BUY THEIR WAY INTO AN UNDER5 ON RONTHINK. SPRING CLEANING WEEK aside, I will admit to having a bit of a sweet tooth. I’m not a pastry guy and I don’t like complex, fussy desserts but, oh boy, do my eyes sparkle in a candy store . It all started when I was a kid in the tiny town of Norton, MA . I used to parlay my paper route money and make a weekly trip to Hadley’s, a front porch converted into a candy counter. It was run by a kind old lady, Mrs. Hadley, and I’m sure it wasn’t a licensed retail establishment but I didn’t care. I’d buy my baseball cards , Bazooka gum, ...

“The Toolbox” is our weekly drill down of celebrities, politicians and other news makers who are trending for all the wrong reasons. From questionable thinking and general stupidity to ham-handed decision making and a death long in coming, these five individuals are among the biggest losers of the past seven days. Sure, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour can make or break a designer with a snap of her bony fingers but, even she can become a fashion victim. Witness the outcry from all quarters regarding the April issue of Conde Naste’s flagship glossy. What’s all the bitching about? The cover “models” are Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, two mind-numbing idiots who somehow captured Wintour’s clearly questionable imagination . Critics were even more peeved by her editor’s letter , a hooty bit of prose made even more laugh-out-loud hilarious because every word was meant to be taken seriously. When Buffy wants to put a stake in the heart of your publication, you know you’ve gone epic fai...

IN TWEET: DISNEY HATERS BE DAMNED! “SAVING MR. BANKS” COMES HOME IN A GLORIOUS BLU-RAY EDITION. IT’S A JOY TO BEHOLD. I worked for the Walt Disney Company from 2002 to 2006. Though I have mostly fond memories, I was never one to drink the fairy dust flavored Kool Aid. Perhaps that’s why I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed SAVING MR. BANKS . Yes, it is a Disneyfied take on a slice of film history but it’s hardly the sanitized picture many naysayers were expecting. The biggest surprise is how much of the two hour film Walt Disney ( Tom Hanks ) isn’t in. He’s an important presence who’s there for the big moments but he’s not the feature attraction. That distinction belongs to P.L. Travers ( Emma Thompson ), the author of a series of beloved children’s books featuring the character of Mary Poppins. Disney’s aggressive campaign to land the screen rights to the property (motivated, he says, by a promise made to his daughters) frames a series of extended flashbacks to the author’s tr...

IN TWEET: HELPING YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR NETFLIX SUBSCRIPTION WITH A LOOK AT “MUST SEE” CONTENT BEYOND NEW RELEASES. Welcome to “Stream,” a new regular feature that highlights great content available on streaming video services like Netflix and Hulu. We’ll take you beyond new releases and bring you movies, TV series and documentaries that are worth adding to your queue. Up first: eight “must see” TV comedies available now on Netflix. NOTE: All series featured were available for streaming via Netflix at the time this post was written. Some programming may become unavailable at a future date due to terms and conditions in the carriage deals between Netflix and content providers. Netflix has not paid any sponsorship or promotional fees for this post. If available, links are also included for Amazon Instant Video and Hulu. I’m not a fan of most adult-targeted animated series. I’ve never sat through a full episode of THE SIMPSONS or FAMILY GUY and I stopped watching SOUTH PARK ab...