Jeffrey Olsen

So we really didn’t care much about the actual football game this year, but most of the family gathered at my brother-in-law’s home to watch it anyway. I think the consensus for most of us was that we would have rather seen San Francisco vs Baltimore. At any rate, the commercials were still entertaining for the most part, and some PG-rated ones stood out above the rest. I must explain that a big factor in rating these commercials was not only my personal taste, but also the response from the family as they watched. So without further ado:

Big thumbs down to GoDaddy, Kia, Toyota, and Fiat for pushing the limits of taste and decency.

Honorable Mention: M&Ms “Just My Shell”, Volkswagon Dog, Chevy: “New Grad,” and all the Doritos commercials were pretty good, but just not quite Top 5 worthy this year.

5. Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt

Some of the girls were talking about how dreamy John Stamos still is, and then everybody had a good laugh.

4. eTrade: Fatherhood

Still love the eTrade babies.

3. Careerbuilder.com: “Business Trip”

Monkeys always make for good viewing. The room was laughing pretty good with this one.

2. Acura: “Transactions” with Seinfeld

Lots of Seinfeld fans in the family. The extended version (this one) is funnier.

1. Honda: “CRV’s Day Out” with Matthew Broderick

This one is so well done it has got to be an instant classic and ranks right up there with many of the best Super Bowl commercials of all time. I’ve watched it multiple times, and it still cracks me up — kind of like the movie this is based on.

Ice cream is a way of life around our household. I have found over the years that ice cream is an excellent cure for whatever ails you: heartburn, anxiety, depression, heat stroke, hypoglycemia, insomnia, and sore throats to name a few — often priced at a fraction of brand-name pharmaceutical products. Rarely do we end a day in our family without a small bowl of frozen confection, so we go through a lot of ice cream at our house.

Lest you wonder about my background in ice cream, well, I helped pay my way through college by working at the BYU Creamery in Provo, Utah, for over three years. (This was in the old store next to Deseret Towers, not the new one on Ninth.) It should be noted, however, that I was never involved in the production side of ice cream making. No, I was only involved in the consumption side — making shakes, cones, sundaes, etc. Often we would be asked for recommendations , so we had to be familiar with all flavors and would occasionally try small samples whenever the store was empty. I do miss the creamy richness of Creamery ice cream as they did not skimp on quality. I must emphasize that I have yet to taste a flavor of ice cream that I do not like, but there are certainly some flavors that I prefer over others. My least favorite Creamery flavor had to be either Cherry Cordial or Witch’s Delight (black licorice and vanilla); least favorite item to make had to be a Roasted Almond Fudge shake – that was the hardest ice cream to scoop, hand-pack, and mix (the shake tasted good, but it was sure hard on the arms to make it). I can’t say that I had ONE favorite flavor at the Creamery, and I have excluded the Creamery ice creams from this list in order to avoid any bias (and because they would probably populate the entire list). At any rate, I do miss working at the Creamery, and if we lived closer, we would probably visit it much too often.

When selecting ice cream, there is a delicate balance between affordability and quality, and for me, many of the fancy flavors are either too rich or too unhealthy (not that any ice cream is necessarily healthy, per se). You definitely want to avoid the half-gallons under $2.00 unless you are providing refreshments for a Young Men’s activity, but on the other hand, the most expensive brands don’t always give you the best bang for your buck. With that being said, these are currently the Top 5 Ice Cream Flavors in our household:

Honorable mention: Dreyer’s Drumstick Sundae Cone, Dreyer’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Meadow Gold Bear Attack, Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic, Blue Bunny Super Chunky Cookie Dough , Edy’s Loaded Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup or Butterfinger,

 5. Dreyer’s Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookie

Can you really go wrong with Girl Scout cookies and chocolate ice cream?

4. Meadow Gold Cake Batter

There are several cake batter types on the market, but this one actually tastes good and is not too sweet. It is a yellow cake batter for the base ice cream with a chocolate fudge ribbon and cake pieces swirled in. The chocolate is not too overpowering, and the cake pieces give it just the right texture.

3. Haagen-Dazs White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Ice Cream

Very decadent and rich, but if you love white chocolate, this one is awesome. A little goes a long way, and you may need to jog an extra 3 or 4 miles the next day if you eat a whole pint in one sitting.

2. Blue Bunny Red Carpet Red Velvet Cake

This is a newer ice cream and I was a little skeptical at first, but it is actually pretty good. There is another new one with White Chocolate Macadamia Nut that I have not tasted yet, but could easily land in this spot just based on the description (BYU Creamery had a similar Macadamia nut flavor that is scary good).

1. Farr premium ice cream Chocolate Peanut Butter

The key is the chocolate ice cream, which is creamy and smooth. Throw in some big chunks of peanut butter, and you have a masterpiece. Farr brand is easily the best on the market for all the chocolate-peanut butter ice creams that I have sampled. (Sorry, I couldn’t find an image, but look for it at a store near you.)

Well, I finally have a moment to add a new post to my blog. I have been working furiously the last few weeks to get my debut novel ready for publication. It took almost 3 weeks to get the paperback version submitted, then another week or so for the ebook version. I am now waiting for the review proof to come in the mail so I can check for errors, and on the electronic side, I am waiting for final clearance to see if I formatted it properly for inclusion in Apple, Barnes and Noble, etc for each of their ereaders. So, I figure I had better get my website updated as people start getting the chance to read my book.

On that note, I figure it is time for a Top 5 List. This time, my Top 5 Disney Animated Features. I am not including Pixar in this list, as those should be a list all their own. I am also excluding any that included live action, such as Mary Poppins or Bedknobs and Broomsticks. According to Wikipedia, there are 51 movies on the list, with 2 more in the works, but it started with Snow White in 1937 and the most recent was Winnie the Pooh this past July. So without further ado:

Honorable Mention (because there are so many worty choices that make only 5 difficult):

• The Emporer’s New Groove — this one is downright funny.
• Alladin — this one is also funny, and good songs.
• Cinderella — great songs and story (see also Sleeping Beauty below)
• The Lion King — currently the second highest grossing animated film of all time thanks to its 3D re-release this year (Toy Story 3 current #1), but overexposed, just seen it too much to enjoy sitting all the way through it again.
• Tangled — great animation, some very funny parts, a little uneven in parts and not all songs equal.

The Top 5:

5) Hercules — I really liked this one and feel it was underrated when it was released. A lot of very good songs, funny, and exciting. James Woods was awesome as Hades.

4) Sleeping Beauty — Could have been Cinderella, but I had a crush on Princess Aurora. Plus, the villian, Maleficent, is one of the best ever.

3) The Little Mermaid — Jump start to Disney animation renaissance. A lot of these songs are still my favorites, and it was refreshing and fun. I really enjoyed watching the stage version down at Tuacahn this past summer.

2) Beauty and the Beast — there is a reason it was the first animated film ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1991 (lost to Silence of the Lambs). Stunning animation that blended computer and traditional techniques, the songs were all wonderful, and the voices were perfectly cast.

1) Robin Hood — this was the first one I remember seeing as a youth, and this was in the days before VCR, when we would go to the drive-in movies in our little Toyota station wagon. I got a story book and a record and listened to it over and over.  It has been my favorite for a long time, and still is.