What a year it has been.  I haven’t experienced a year quite like this.  At the end of the year, everyone comes up with resolutions about things they want to accomplish in the coming year.  Tops on these lists are things related to exercise and weight loss, quitting of a bad habit, organize things, or some personal life accomplishment. 

I have never been one for resolutions so I will go another year without making them (and therefore can’t break any of them and go thru the guilt complex that comes with breaking resolutions!!!).  I will however make a few predictions for this upcoming year as it relates to my interest.

1. The Arkansas Razorbacks will improve in football this coming year!
2. The St. Louis Cardinals will finish with a better record than the Chicago Cubs
3. The Lakers will be in the NBA finals again this year but will win it all!!
4. I will run a 5k this year (I am not a runner but figure why not, all my friends are getting into marathon running so I will dip my toe in)
5. Politics will matter less to people now that the election is over
6. I won’t get any taller this year and will get a year older

Most of these are hopes of mine but the last I can see is accurate.  I will however vow to blog more next year to keep you all informed of things going on here at Walmart as well as stuff I see or opinions that I have.  Enjoy the final day of 2008 and get ready for 2009!!

RH

I am sure you have seen the commercial where the gift of a wireless phone changes Santa Claus into Claüs.  I know I am biased, but I simply love this commercial. 

Now that Claüs is done with his duties for this year and you have untied all the bows, unwrapped all the boxes, rummaged through every stocking…some wishes may have been forgotten as he was texting his posse.  If a phone was missing from your stash, let me recommend a few below.

Palm Centro (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint)

You can go Centro just like Santa.  This device is a cool full-keyboard phone with a touch screen.  It is pretty compact and is very aggressively priced (Free on AT&T and Verizon)!

LG Dare (Verizon)

A full-featured touch screen phone, with a 3.2 Megapixel camera, GPS, and full Web Access.  You can come in today and get it for only $99.88 for either New or Existing Customers with 2-Year New or Qualified Upgrade contracts!

LG Vu (AT&T)

Another great touch screen phone with all the features.  Best additional offer is that in certain markets you can also get Live TV.  No, not TV clips…actual live television programming on your phone.  Killer application.  This is only $48.88 for New and Existing customers.

Blackberry Pearl Flip (T-Mobile)

Great texting device with a hybrid keyboard and Blackberry’s only flip phone.  Really slick looking phone and is a steal for only $28.88 out the door for New and Existing Customers.

I would be remised is I didn’t link this: http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/8873.aspx

And as Santa would say:  mry xmas 2 all and 2 all a gud nite ;-)>

Yes, it is coming up on one of my favorite times of the year. As I write this, the Steelers lost to Tennessee but remain firmly in the playoff hunt. I am of course referring to the National Football League and the SuperBowl. Surely this event needs no introduction. If the Black ‘n’ Gold are able to advance, I plan on hosting a party at my house with some friends.

Now, we normally talk about gaming and technology here. We will cover that at the end, have no fear gentle reader. If you plan on having such a party like I may be, you may want to check out these items. I expect that many of these will be consumed by friends and Family at the Muha household if my team advances through the playoffs.

A classic and still a favorite is Franks in a Blanket. This package retails for a mere $9.88 at Sam’s Club and will keep your guests satisfied. If that was not enough, be sure to check out the pick ‘n’ pack Frito products. You get two bags for just $5.88.

Another item that is sure to please your hungry fans are the Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts. These are a great value at Sam’s Club for $10.87 (except AK and HI).

All this food writing is making me hungry so I will only list a few more. Do not forget the Meatballs (one of my favorites, with a little sauce to spice them up), Mozzarella Sticks and Cheddar Cheese Poppers. Seriously, Sam’s has you covered with some great food items to make your Super Bowl party, well pardon the pun, Super!

All that said, if you are hosting the game, it may be a challenge to have your friends gather around the 12” Black and White television. You may consider upgrading while at Sam’s Club.

Our TV buyer tells me that this Television has dropped to $998 for the 40” version. The 46” and 52” versions are priced at $1298 and $1997 respectively. They are all 1080p widescreen picture in picture units. Of course, Samsung is the official television of the NFL. These units can make all the things you want to see on the big screen look amazing. What an incredibly cool way to watch your favorite teams, play games and watch movies.

OK, you have the food, you have the television and now we are almost set. This brings us to gaming. You knew you were not getting away from here without some cool gaming news. Bruce Springsteen has a new album coming out called “Working on a Dream” on January 27^th. It has also been announced that The Boss will perform at halftime during the Super Bowl. Activision is providing a great value to Guitar Hero World Tour owners. They are releasing two Bruce Springsteen tracks as downloadable content for the PS3, 360 and Wii from 1/27/09 and 2/4/09 at no additional charge. The tracks are the new “My Lucky Day” and the classic “Born to Run”.

So, I will continue to cheer for Blitzburgh, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Jeff Reed, James Harrison and Coach Tomlin. We are working on our 6^th Lombardi Trophy and that would help fill out the trophy room at the Rooney’s. If the boys from the Steel City go all the way, you can be sure there will be at least one party in Northwest Arkansas.

You can have a great Super Bowl party regardless of who makes it to the big game as well. Just start off right at Sam’s Club. If you are a Guitar Hero World Tour and/or a Bruce fan, you may want to entertain your guests with a little theatrics of your own. Who is ready for some playoff football?

It is coming to the close of another year. With that thought in mind, we kicked this one around the office and solicited the opinions of many folks to come up with these. Our team has put together our choices for Games of the Year (GOTY) and some honorable mentions. Like any other list that comes out this time of year, there will be plenty of disagreements and maybe some agreements.

Regardless of the selections, one thing is certain: this has been a fantastic year for gaming. As a buyer and an enthusiast, it sure has been fun. Our criterion?  We only had two:

1)                          The game had to be available on the platform (or in the case of overall, not platform specific).

2)                          AND released in this calendar year.

We gave our panel a very large sandbox in which to play. They took advantage of it as you will see below.

So, with out any further delay, here are our categories and winners for Games of the Year.

CATEGORY: Sony PlayStation Portable

3^rd place – Shaun White Snowboarding

2^nd place – Patapon

WINNER – God of War: Chains of Olympus

CATEGORY: Nintendo DS

3^rd Place – Final Fantasy IV

2^nd Place – Lego Indiana Jones

WINNER – Guitar Hero On Tour

CATEGORY: Nintendo Wii

3^rd Place – Super Smash Bros Brawl

2^nd Place – Wii Fit

WINNER – Mario Kart

CATEGORY: Microsoft Xbox 360

3^rd Place – Fable 2

2^nd Place – Grand Theft Auto IV

WINNER - Gears of War 2

CATEGORY: Sony PlayStation 3

3^rd Place – Resistance 2

2^nd Place – Little Big Planet

WINNER – Metal Gear Solid 4

CATEGORY: OVERALL GOTY (not platform specific)

3^rd Place – Wii Fit

2^nd Place – Resistance 2

WINNER – Fallout 3

Before we went to print this, there was lots of jostling back and forth from our distinguished panel. One interesting note, Fallout 3 was a pretty clear winner for the overall GOTY. Each of us was limited to a 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place vote by platform and by overall GOTY. As the buyer, I broke all ties.

Congratulations to all of the winners and honorable mentions. While it does not have the cache of the Oscars, Emmys or other awards, we think it was fun to do. Hopefully, it may spur some discussion here on-line. What is missing from our list? Where are we wrong and where did we get it right?

One week 'til Christmas and I'm getting really excited! And, with that excitement comes some exhaustion! So much to do and it seems overwhelming. I imagine you are all as busy as I am getting ready. Finishing up Christmas gift shopping. Writing out and sending the Christmas cards. Getting the house ready for guests. Getting ready to feed those guests. Prepping for travel. This week I saw for the first time one of the Walmart Christmas ads and it was adorable, and a good reminder of why all the prep and running around is worthwhile. Check it out …