MEET THE BEETLES

An upscale Hong Kong grocery store is being prosecuted after a customer allegedly discovered 575 beetles in a jar of cereal he bought, officials and media reports said yesterday. The customer, lawyer Philip Dykes, said the breakfast cereal was "too organic for my liking," according to the South China Morning Post.

CITY OF BIG FLAKES

Details are out today on the late spring arrival of the Chicago location or Cereality. The Windy City location will be down in the (Froot) Loop, across from the Merc. I would have thought Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park would be a natural spot, but the Cereality folks are hoping to appeal to young office workers.

HUH?

OK, readers (or is it reader), can somebody tell me what this is all about?

To Many Britons, All This Hubbub Is a Royal Bore

By SARAH LYALL
The New York Times

LONDON -- It was, perhaps, inevitable.

In a country that can argue endlessly about such royal minutiae as whether it is appropriate for the queen to keep her breakfast cereal in plastic containers, a backlash against the second marriage of Charles, the Prince of Wales, is well under way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORNFLAKES!

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the invention of the cornflake, and the Belfast Telegraph recounts the story of the Flakes' origin as a way of introducing its new Saturday edition.

I AM CORN POP SIMMONS

Following up on a "trend" breathlessly reported by The New York Times back in December, the Monterey (Calif.) County Herald reports today on the "love affair between college kids and their cereal." (And here we thought the kids today only likes to drink and have sex.)

The Monterey story hits most of the same notes, citing the same "anecdotal evidence" The Times first unveiled, and, of course, mentioning Cereality. Perhaps the most amusing/disturbing anecdote in the article involves this young lady:

The campus stocks both sugary and healthy options, "but the majority goes for the sugar," Kaupie said.

Like Tiffany Ghiorso, who usually alternates between bowls of Cocoa Puffs and Cocoa Krispies.

"I always have chocolate because I feel like I need sugar in the morning before a long day of school," said Ghiorso, a junior majoring in social work.

For a while, the campus was out of Cocoa Krispies so she kept bugging Kaupie about stocking up. He called her one day and told her to come to the dining hall -- with an empty backpack.

When she arrived, he gave her a jumbo-sized box of her favorite cereal, "so I did not complain" any more, she said.

CEREAL SPELLER

The word "cereal" caused a little bit of controversy at the Maplesville Sixth Grade Spelling Bee in Clanton, Ala., when a young girl mistook the word for its homonym. Fear not, though, justice prevailed and the girl was able to continue competing.

HOT CEREAL

People of the Carolinas, don't be buying any cereal from someone out of the back of a van in the supermarket parking lot. A thief has made of with a big rig loaded with $60,000 worth of an unidentified cereal, after the truck's driver stopped for a rest at the Mr. Waffle’s Truck Plaza in Spartanburg County.

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD

Just what us cereal lovers have long been clamoring for: cereal in a can. "The drinks – made from a patented process - are said to resemble the crushed remains of cereal and milk found at the bottom of your bowl, but with a healthier profile." According to the Liquid Cereal web site, we can expect to see cans of Peanut Butter, Fruit Flavors (Froot Loops), and Apple & Cinnamon (Apple Jacks) coming soon. Anyone seen these or actually tried them?

A IS FOR APPLE, J IS FOR JACKASS

In an update from yesterday's posting, the bowl of Apple Jacks that mysteriously formed the Eagles logo fetched a whopping $760 on eBay. The auction winner was native a Los Angeles DJ, Ralph Garman, formerly from Philly, who was able to convince, err, bamboozle his friends into contributing to the cause.

And in other Super Bowl-cereal news, New England assistant coach and former NY Giant great Pepper Johnson got his nickname as a kid from an aunt who noticed him putting pepper on his breakfast cereal.

A IS FOR APPLE, J IS FOR JACKSONVILLE

This week, a young Philadelphia Eagles fan poured herself a seemingly routine bowl of Apple Jacks, only to discover upon gazing down at the bowl that the green Jacks had morphed together in the milk to form an Eagles logo in the bowl. In the days before the ol' InterWeb, that may have been the end of the story, but again taking a cue from the Virgin Mary grilled cheese (see the entry below), the girl has put the bowl and dried out cereal up for sale on eBay. As of this posting, bidding was up to $155.01.

Perhaps the winning bidder will send the cereal along to Eagles wide receiver Todd Pinkston, who lists Apple Jacks as his favorite cereal, or safety Brian Dawkins, whose bio includes this quote: "I wish I could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner and watch as much cartoons as my son and daughter."

GRRREAT BUY!

The Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich now has some company after online casino Golden Palace coughed up a relatively paltry $156 ($27,844 less than the sandwich fetched) to win an eBay auction for a giant Frosted Flake (rr, use bugmenot). The two-inch-by-three-inch Flake originally fetched only $25 the first time it was listed (the ebay page is still up), but after the original buyer backed out, Golden Palace stepped into the void.

CEREAL BOX LINKED TO SERIAL KILLER

No, it's some silly pun or a headline from a second-rate Onion knock-off. Apparently there's a serial killer in Wichita with a strange sense of humor. Oddest line in the story: "The station did not disclose what was inside the box, reportedly at the request of police."

UPDATE: Apparently the BTK killer eats Post Toasties.

WHEN SONNY MET LUCKY

Exciting news. Could there be a better way to start off this blog than with a product launch that any true lover of cereal will recognize as nothing short of revolutionary? Cereal lovers, may I present Chocolate Lucky Charms.

Just let those three words sit and marinate for a second.

And just in case you are not clear of the significance of this product launch, here's a quote from Jon Horn, associate marketing manager for Chocolate Lucky Charms, on the historical pairing: "Lucky Charms has been a family favorite at the breakfast table for 40 years. With the introduction of Chocolate Lucky Charms, we are excited to offer a new breakfast experience with the same colorful fun of Lucky's magical marshmallows in a delicious new chocolatey cereal."