Keeper of the Clown Bell

I like candy as much as the next guy (maybe more) and, though I'm not one of those weird  candy connoisseurs , I've had my fill of the stuff. There are, of course, many types of candy and while I my personal taste tends to favor the high end chocolatiers like See's and  Gearharts I'm not so snooty that I pass by the candy isle at 7-Eleven without grabbing some of the mass produced glop marketed by corporate America. For the purposes of this review I will focus on a type of candy known as Chews of which there are three worth talking about ranked in order of deliciousness in my book. Maoam (Germany) HiCHEW (Japan) Starburst (USA) I know that candy crazies throw Skittles and Mentos and lots of other chewable candy into this category, but I'm a purist and only consider solid, brick shaped, flavorful gum-like chew food as worthy. The fascists and imperial xenophobes win this category hands down while America huffs and puffs over the finish line a distant thi

"Many people listen with the intent to respond, not to understand." Stephen R. Covey. My house has always been one that says Merry Christmas very loudly every Dec. 25th, as was my fathers house as was his fathers house, and this year was no exception. I love Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who emerged from his mothers womb in a humble stable or manger surrounded by gentle creatures and shell-shocked shepherds who had just wandered down from the hills after getting their ever-loving minds blown when a host of angels filled the night sky and revealed what had just transpired in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph were in town to comply with Herod the Great's mandatory census so that they might record the names of his subjects to be taxed up the wazoo to fund the Judea infrastructure plan. A few days later 3 Maji rolled into town and told King Harod that a new and improved "King of the Jews" had been born in Bethlehem and they