On this episode

• Mike Westfall (@fallwestmike), a hand-animated woodland owl delighted to see a fast food mascot in my front yard.
• Joey O. (@ImGonnaDJ24), from Y-Not Radio and Words with Nerds.

Topics and tangents

• Grape jelly is good on Sausage McMuffins. Don’t @ me.
• McDonald’s Wiki, which of course exists, runs down all 7 versions of the “Happy Holidays” ice-skating commercial. Yes, there are seven edits of this one classic commercial, and they’re all on YouTube:
  1. 1982 – the original, with King Moody as Ronald and the “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle variant.
  2. 1983 – with the “McDonald’s and You” jingle variant.
  3. 1984 – with the “It’s a Good Time for the Great Taste” jingle variant.
  4. 1986 – with Squire Fridell as Ronald, the version I remember most.
  5. 1988 – with Fridell and the original jingle.
  6. 1990 – with Fridell and the “Food, Folks and Fun” jingle variant.
  7. 1991 – with Jack Doepke as Ronald, bad lighting, and The Wish that Changed Christmas.
• Star Wish commercial.
• Runaway commercial.
• King Booker, in example.
• Squire Fridell as Ronald McDonald in Mac and Me.
• Paul Rudd’s ongoing Mac and Me prank on Conan O’Brien.
• Grimace’s last appearance was at Dodger Stadium, though as we know, nothing can kill the Grimace.
• The self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Entertainment McDonald’s,” now known as “Epic McD,” in Orlando, Florida, is home to an animatronic Mac Tonight that hangs from the ceiling.