Fast Food Corner

I've probably blogged about this before, but is there a better fast-food chicken sandwich than Burger King's original chicken sandwich? It's kind of crazy, isn't it? I mean, this sandwich was introduced in the 1970's, and hasn't changed much in the 30+ years it's been around.

It's simple, but effective, really. A breaded chicken breast (I'm sure it's processed - how could they get a breast to look so much like a patty - but, to me it doesn't matter). They put some mayonnaise and lettuce on (the lettuce probably to make it seem healthy), and toast the sesame-seed roll. And for some reason, nothing compares to this, and nobody can seem to duplicate it. This is one area where McDonalds falls far behind (Chick Fil-A does a good job with their own sandwiches, though).

Now, if Burger King could only make some good fries ...

Stoppage Time ...

Just some random thoughts I had creepin' and crawlin' inside my melon:

* God, I miss the pre-teen splash party ... it was the coolest thing when I was a kid. We got to go swimming at night, watch a movie at the pool, and had all kinds of contests, like the water balloon toss, and the egg and spoon races. Things were so much simpler then ... sigh!

* Tiger Woods is probably secretly thanking LeBron James for being a more egotistical jerk than he is.

* Hank Williams, I am indeed ready for some football!

* Has anybody else heard of this alcohol concoction - 1 case of bad beer (Natural Light will do), 1 case of 7-up, 1/2 gallon of vodka, and a container of Country Tieme Lemonade mix? I had it for the first time last weekend, and it was REALLY good, and REALLY potent ... I just didn't like the name that was given to this - "Mr. Skippy." There's gotta be a better name, right?

* The Rolling Stones are touring again next year ... I'm torn. I've seen them every tour since Steel Wheels, and they are my favorite Rock and Roll band in the world ... but my goodness, they're going to be near 70 ... This has gotta be their last tour (I've been saying that every tour since 1989, strangely enough), so I should probably go, right?

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's weekly homework assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: It was a bad burn. Tell about the worst sunburn you ever received. How did that happen!?!

Well, to be honest, I've never had a really bad sunburn ... oh don't get me wrong - I'm fair skinned, and could easily burn, but I've done pretty well protecting myself over the years (and after repeated exposure, I tan pretty well).

So ... I have a friend who probably takes the cake. We'll call him "The Reverend." For our senior week in high school, a group of us took a trip to Cancun, Mexico. It was awesome! And, it was also quite hot - a very dry heat ... one that sneaks up on you. I was warned about this. So were all of my friends. Most took it to heart. The Reverend didn't.

He was sitting under an umbrella the first day we arrived. We all jumped in the pool, and he decided to relax. Rev fell asleep ... for about an hour. And unfortunately, the sun shifted ... and his legs were exposed ... and they were exposed for a good 1/2 hour before he even noticed. By that point, his skin was an unhealthy pink.

The unhealthy pink continued to get darker pink, until his legs looked as if he was wearing purple leotards. He claimed he felt no pain that evening and night ... but the next morning, he rolled over, and let out a yelp as if a dog had gotten its tail caught in the hinge of a car door ... except his yelp was longer. Poor Rev could only lay there and swallow the pain for hours before doing anything about it. It was the worst case of sunburn I'd ever seen ... but all the credit in the world goes to the Reverend - he found a way to still enjoy the rest of senior week.

Wacky News Stories

Yep ... still really, really hot ...

1. On french fries in Germany possibly being significantly shorter this year due to the heatwave that has baked Germany and much of Europe this month:
"Good thing Hitler isn't the dictator there anymore ... the French would be in BIG trouble ..."
http://www.latimes.com/features/odd-news/la-odd-german-fries-reuters,0,6780559.story

2. On the "invention" of the Candwich - a sandwich in a can that looks like a soda:
"In order to eat this, I'll have to have a bag of soda though ..."
http://markonefoods.com/

3. On WalMart putting radio tags in clothes:
"Wait, maybe Hitler isn't dead yet ..."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421304575383213061198090.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

4. On a Vancouver police officer apologizing after he was caught on video tape pushing a woman with multiple sclerosis down to the ground:
"Wait, when did Barry Bonds become a police officer in Vancouver?"
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/839218--vancouver-cop-apologizes-for-pushing-disabled-woman

5. On the underground revival of cassette tapes:
"Can 5 1/4 inch diskettes be far behind?!?!?!?!?
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/07/23/the_underground_is_rewinding_to_revive_the_cassette/

Dope or Nope ...

I may have used this one before, but who cares ... most people like chicken salad, right? You know - the traditional chicken salad with chunks of chicken, onions, and other stuff mixed with mayo. It's good on rolls, rye bread, or even by itself.

Well, some people just can't leave good enough alone ... some of these "healthy" stores add grapes and other fruit to chicken salad. To me, that is a total 100% nope - I can't stand fruit with my chicken salad - it just doesn't seem .... umm .... natural.

So, what are your thoughts on this? Do you like chicken salad with fruit in it? Or is this a big nope?

80's Corner

Ladies, do you remember the Epilady? It was this "revolutionary" device to help you remove hair from your legs for months. The commercial made it look easy, but from what I was told, this device would grab your leg-hair, and violently rip it out of your legs by the root.

Somehow, that was never conveyed in the commercials. Everybody who used it was smiling ... no hint of discomfort whatsoever. But this device was a pretty popular fad for a little while.

Song of the Week...

Hockey ... one of my favorite posts ... but I just found out, it's also a name of a band. The song "Song Away" is the one they're currently pushing. It's got a Stones feel, with regards to the guitar riffs. The lyrics are kind of goofy, and I'm not really sure what they mean (probably nothing).

The video is pretty funny, in that it takes place in someone's basement during a party - and there is an awkward kid trying to get the guts up to talk to a girl, and when he finally does, the basement party picks (my god, it's like they actually recorded my teen-age life!).

Unfortunately, Youtube won't let me embed the official video, but here's the song:

Fast Food Corner

Ice ... doesn't seem like a big deal, does it? But when it comes to putting ice in a soda, it really is, apparently. Wendy's seems to be the worst culprit about over-icing a soda (adding too much ice into a cup, in order to save money on soda). Wendy's has those huge ice cubes that take up tons of space. All other fast food places seem to have the big cubes as well, again, probably to save money. On a side note, did you know there was a time when these fast food restaurants used shaved ice? It was awesome - I love shaved ice. I guess it wasn't too cost effective ... but, I digress.

A couple of years ago, I went to Chick Fil-A and got some sort of combo meal. Chick Fil-A is normally pretty good with their ice-to-soda ratio, but for some reason in this store, they basically gave me a cup of ice with just a little bit of soda. Being the passive-aggressive person that I am, I went to the Chick-Fil-A website, and complained. About a week later, I received a letter from Chick Fil-A. First, it included a coupon for a free combo meal (gotta love Chick-Fil-A!). But, it also included a letter apologizing, and also explaining some sort of mathematical equation Chick-Fil-A uses to determine the right amount of ice for a cup of soda.

That was pretty cool, but the letter went on to explain how more ice is needed for iced-tea, and again gave reasons. I had no idea there was science behind keeping your drink cold. Isn't Chick-Fil-A awesome?

Umm .... what?!?!?

As many of you know, the wife and I are expecting our first baby ... we're about 21 weeks along now. We had our big ultrasound last week, and everything went great ... except one "tiny" surprise.

You see, we had a 12-week ultrasound, and our fertility doctor informed us that we were having a boy. So, for 8 weeks or so, we had been coming up with boy names ... we found a handful we liked - names such as Reiner, Aleksander, Owen, Grant, Braden ...

Here's the thing ... in our 20-week ultrasound, the nurse informed us that we were having a girl. Truthfully, I have no preference. If the baby is healthy, I'm ok with either sex. But, now I gotta come up with female names ... so, if you have any suggestions, let me know! Keep 'em clean, by the way!

Wacky News Stories

I'm melting ... I'M MELTING!!!

1. On a of a FedEx tractor-trailer rig choking on some spicy pork rinds, losing control of his truck on an interstate and jackknifing it before coming to a stop in a muddy ditch:
"Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'What can brown do for you ...'"
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/7105813.html

2. On a man getting a DUI whilst riding a lawn mower:
" I thought the concrete was getting a bit long ..."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/7098779.html

3. On an argument over butter in a macaroni and cheese recipe turning into violence between a brother and sister:
"Gives a whole new meaning to the term, 'I can't believe it's not butter!'"
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/7064767.html

4. On unwelcome feral cats being spotted at Bush library site:
"They claimed they smelled something fishy ..."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/6968497.html

5. On an Iowa teen wearing a bubble gum wrapper dress to prom:
"I'm hoping those aren't Big League Chew wrappers ..."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/moms/6956300.html

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's weekly homework assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: Write about your wedding song. What was it and why did you choose it?

Our wedding song was "All I want is you" by U2. If I had my way exclusively? Sure, I probably would've chosen a Stones song, but hey - life is a compromise. And the compromise was this - we can have a Stones song for the bridal party dance. The choice for that one was obvious - "Waiting on a Friend."

But, why did we choose a U2 song? Well, that again is a compromise. If we throw the Stones out from my side, then we have to throw Madonna out from the wife's side, and then we'd have to throw out The Who from my side, and we'd throw out Janet Jackson from the wife's side ... and so on, and so on, and so on ... until we reached U2. Well, both of us really like U2, and they had a couple of good contenders for songs.

"One" is probably far too popular of a song to have as a wedding dance. But "ALL I Want Is You" gets forgotten quite a bit. The lyrics are fantastic and memorable, and it's just a really good song to slow dance to. I'm happy with our choice, personally.


You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold

But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night

You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbour in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night

You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold

All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You...all I want is...
You...all I want is...
You...all I want is...
You...

Dope or Nope ...

It seems like every time I watch a baseball game now, I notice fans in the background on their cell phones waving at the camera, or making some stupid face at the camera. I HATE THIS! If I ever had seats in a location in which I had a good chance of being on camera, I doubt I'd even notice the camera ... I can't stand this! The last thing I need to see when I'm watching sports is fans on their cell phones asking their friends if they can see them on TV. It takes away from the game in my opinion.

What are your thoughts? Do you like this? If you were at a game and the camera was pointing at you (at least in the background), would you dial a friend?

80's Corner

Remember Laser Tag? Yep - it started in the 1980's, and you could actually buy laser tag gear in places like WalMart, K-Mart and the like. I doubt you can do this anymore, but they do have Laser Tag "arenas" around the country, where you can take your laser tag skills and see how they compare to others ... I think we have one in the King of Prussia Mall (or at least we used to have one).

My friends and I all had Laser tag gear, but all we had was the gun and the hit-counter thingy that you placed around your chest. In the outside, Laser tag wasn't very good - I don't think the hit counter thingy performed well in the outside, but I hear it's supposed to be pretty cool indoors.

Ah, I can still remember running around with my laser tag gear and my acid-washed jeans ... good times.

Song of the Week ...

The D4 is an Australian rock band that had moderate success in Europe, and hardly any success in the States (shocking, I know). Surprisingly, I discovered this band when I was in a Tower Records store about 9 years ago (god, I miss Tower) ... they were one of the featured artists that Tower was displaying, and I sampled the CD, and immediately purchased it.

The band is very raw, and almost "garage-ey," but definitely a little more refined. They've only released a couple of albums, but it seems they've been influenced by bands like the Ramones (and even possibly the White Stripes ... although, they seem to have come out around the same time).

Their album, 6Twenty, is a pretty good listen all the way through. The one song I particularly enjoy is called "Heartbreaker." Starts off with a rolling drum beat and bass, and builds into a very cool chorus of "I wish I never would've met you at all," while the lead singers screams "Cryin'" over and over. Another great song overlooked by American mainstream radio.

Fast Food Corner

Boston Market was once named Boston Chicken ... back in the day when they only served ... you guessed it ... chicken! Sure they sell other foods, like ... gulp ... ham, but in my opinion, they still do chicken the best.

My favorite meal is the chicken carver sandwich. Believe it or not, it's actually on the "healthier" side, as far as fast food goes. Here's the way it's described on the Boston Market website - Rotisserie chicken with dijon mayo, cheddar, tomatoes and greens on a white or multi-grain roll.

They do a pretty good job of piling on the chicken, so you should probably get a fork, so that you can easily pick up the chicken that has fallen from the roll. And speaking of the roll, it is of really good quality (as I've said before, the roll is the most underrated important part of a sandwich).

I usually get it with a side of corn ... now I'm pretty sure the corn isn't the healthiest, because it tastes REALLY buttery, but that's the way I like it. Just plain delicious - and more of a guilt-free fast-food eating experience.

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment! This week, I chose the following prompt: Write a funny story involving socks.

My college roommates and I hardly ever agreed about music ... well, let's just say I hardly ever agreed with them on music. I was (and still am) an HUGE Rolling Stones fan, and many a night, we'd have a similar argument as to which band is the greatest rock band of all time.

This one particular evening, as I was boiling some noodles, my roommate "Mung," probably just trying to get under my skin, proclaimed that Nine Inch Nails is the best band of all time. This immediately threw me into a tizzy ... how could he possibly claim that a band that had only been around for a handful of years was better than a legendary band that, at the time was celebrating 30 years in the business?!?!?!?

We argued, screamed, yelled, and cursed each other ... and this went on and on until my noodles were done boiling. I proceeded to continue arguing as I strained the noodles ... unfortunately, I didn't strain them in the sink. In all of the commotion, I forgot what I was doing, and ending up straining the scalding hot water onto my feet! Now, thankfully, I had socks on, and I think this helped to keep the burning to a minimum.

The good news is that the argument ended pretty quickly after that ....

Dope or Nope ...

LeBron James is the current king of basketball ... many, many kids look to him as a role model and hero. However, what he did this past week was certainly controversial. Basically, he decided that he needed a 1-hour tv special to announce his free agency intentions. Never before has something like this happened.

In a sense, he let down the city of Cleveland by leaving for Miami. Two schools of thought here - LeBron was interested in winning a championship, and decided to skip the max contract and the chance to be "The Man" in Cleveland (or Chicago or New York), so that he could play on a "super team" to win championships. OR, Lebron is a self-centered jerk, who could care less about his home-town, and only cares about himself, and this is why he decided he needed a 1-hour special to make his announcement, thus screwing his city on national television.

So, what are your thoughts? Did LeBron do the right thing? Dope or Nope?

80's Corner

We all have MP3 players that we carry around, work out with, plug into our car, but there was a time when we didn't have MP3 players ... oh it's true ... it's damn true! Back in the day, we had transistor radios which we carried around ... they sucked. Sony realized this, and created the Walkman. There were all kinds of Walkman players - some with cassettes, some with cds, and some with just the radio.

It was awesome - now, we could play our own music on the go! We could jog and listen to the latest Foreigner cassette (cds sometimes skipped with a bunch of movement), and didn't have to carry those annoying transistor radios with those long antennas around anymore. We were in heaven! Could life get any better ... apparently so. But still!

Song of the Week ...

Van Halen is an interesting band ... Lindsay Lohan thinks this band is unstable. Eddie Van Halen can't seem to decide on which lead singer (or bass player) to keep in the band, and the antics of this entire band has probably kept them from becoming an even bigger super group over the years.

Still, they are very resilient. They started with David Lee Roth, and had much success. When Roth decided he was too big for the band, they plugged in Sammy Hagar, and became a different band (sound-wise), and were still successful. Then, when they produced their first greatest hits album, they brought Dave back for a couple of songs, which angered Sammy. Then, they made amends with Sammy, which angered Dave. Then, they threw Sammy and Michael Anthony out of the band, and brought Dave back, along with Wolfgang Van Halen (on bass). Phew ...

Anyway, they haven't really produced much music in recent years, which is sad. But there are a couple of relatively "new" songs they did. One was Human Beings (which was on the soundtrack for Twister), and showed the band could still kick it. You hardly ever hear this song, but it rocks, and is probably the last good Van Halen song Sammy will ever be on.

Another great "newer" song is a song Dave recorded on the greatest hits album, called "Me Wise Magic," and it showed that the band could go back in time and have a little fun. It also showed that Dave could still hit the high notes. I'm wondering if they'll produce more music with Dave ...



Humans Being


Me Wise Magic

Fast Food Corner

About a month ago, I mentioned that Chick Fil-A was adding a new menu item - the spicy chicken sandwich. As you may remember, I had my doubts ... Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich is far from hot or spicy. I didn't expect much from Chick Fil-A's version.

Folks, while not overpowering, it certainly provides some punch. The heat is just right, and is a terrific addition to the Chick Fil-A lineup. No, I did not produce any sweat when I ate it (usually a good tell-tale sign that the food is spicy), but that's ok. For a fast-food restaurant, this was a heckuva "production." I was very impressed with it.

Weekly Homework Assignment

It's time once again for Mama Kat's Weekly Homework Assignment. This week, I chose the following prompt: A collector you know.

I have a friend who is absolutely nuts about collecting autographs. He routinely waits outside the major stadiums in South Philly, getting famous athlete's autographs. He's done it for years. I remember going to a Sixers game with him when we were in high school, and waiting by the players' entrance/exit ramp for autographs - I remember getting a couple of autographs from some no name Boston Celtics players.

He's gotten autographs of famous actors too. Philly has been alive with movie and TV show tapings the past 10 years or so, and my friend has taken full advantage of this. I believe not long ago, he actually got Mark Walberg's autograph.

It's never been a big deal to me. I mean, I have a few autographed pictures of athletes, but it's not a priority in my life. I'm not enamored by this is what I'm saying. Heck, I worked as a PR intern for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1996, and met many, many famous people. I never had the urge to get an autograph. In fact, I'd rather not be "that guy." It just seems like many of these autograph hounds are royal pains in the butts.

But, hey, I guess it's a better hobby than drug use, right?

Wacky News Stories

My God ... 100 degrees! Is there anything more to say?

1. On a mother and a daycare teacher trying desperately to free a 15-month-old baby boy from a locked car in the scorching heat Monday after emergency services refused to send help:
"Hmmmph ... looks like 911 has even outsourced their services overseas ..."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/07/06/14623696.html

2. On a quarrel between occupants of two vehicles at a McDonald's restaurant drive-through in southern Finland erupting in gunfire Tuesday, leaving three men dead:
"Guess we can't really laugh at that 'Give me back that Filet-o-Fish' commercial anymore, can we?"
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/07/06/finland.shooting/index.html?hpt=T2

3. On a Porn star offering oral sex to Twitter followers if Dutch win World Cup:
"What happens if the Germans win?"
http://guyism.com/2010/07/bobbi-eden-dutch-porn-star-offers-sex-to-twitter-followers.html

4. On a fire at a New Hampton telemarketing office causing minor damage:
"See, this is where you wish the 911 operators would refuse to assist ..."
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/97856404.html

5. On a man who was arrested for masturbating in the electronics department at Walmart:
http://www.wdsu.com/news/24141800/detail.html

Dope or Nope ...

Bluetooth headsets. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will. You've seen people walking up and down the street with them on. What are your thoughts? Personally, I'm not a fan of this. If you're walking down the street, and you have a bluetooth headset on, and you're talking on it, it looks like you're talking to yourself, and you should be in an insane asylum.

I have no problems with the headsets in the car. I think this is a MUCH better option than driving and holding your phone up to your ear ... just my personal opinion. I have a headset, and I ONLY use it when I'm driving. (Oh, and don't get me started on the driving texters ...).

So, what are your thoughts?

80's Corner

Here's something interesting that I found. Do you realize that Microsoft Word first made it's debut in the 1980's? Pretty fascinating, huh? I remember having some kind of word processing software for my Commodore 64 that I NEVER used ... I only played games on the Commodore. Anyway, I can't remember what the software program was.

But, here's what PC World had to say about Microsoft Word 2.0 - This second version of the world's most popular word processing software—well, now at least—boasted an expanded Spell dictionary, better integration of the mouse, and some really long load and save times.

Good times indeed! Now, we have a ribbon ...

Song of the Week ...

A band that just never seemed to peak ... well, I guess that could describe a bunch of bands. But, was there another band as hot as Tears for Fears in the mid 1980's? They just seemed to have that "it" sound ... like we'd be hearing a lot more from them. Sad that they couldn't get along (and their solo stuff, for the most part, was uninspiring).

Now that we're smack dab in the middle of the summer, a song that reminds me of this time of year is their uber-hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." The opening screams summer-time ... almost like something you'd hear in a Beach Boys song. The title of the song itself gives you what the song is about - a quote from Curt Smith (a band member) - "The concept is quite serious – it's about everybody wanting power, about warfare and the misery it causes."

But for some reason, I don't get misery out of this song. Maybe it's because it was played at the end of Real Genius (by the way, if you've never seen this movie, I don't know if I can be friends with you). Maybe, it's because ... well, it came out in the summer-time, and when I was growing up, I LOVED the summer (who didn't?).

Fast Food Corner

It's summer-time ... and that means one thing ... MILK SHAKES!!!!! The fast food chains have 'em. Now, I normally don't go to a fast-food place for milkshakes. In and around the Philly area, there are many, many better options. But, I have, on the occasion broken down and tried milkshakes at fast-food restaurants.

Wendy's, in my opinion, is probably the best. Their Frosty kicks some serious butt. Not too hard, and not too soft. Plus, it tastes like real ice cream. AND, if you want fancy, Wendy's has fancy milkshakes too (I've not tried these yet, though).

McDonalds probably has the most disappointing milk shake. First, I'm not sure if they even have milk in it. Second, it's WAY too hard - you could get an aneurysm trying to suck the shake through a straw. And, it's a little too sweet for some reason. McDonalds seems to have done an overhaul on other items, like their coffee. Why not overhaul the shake?

The one place I want to try is Sonic - they probably have a great milk shake. And, as of right now, it's still too far of a drive to just get a shake at Sonic (but soon, I think we're getting a Sonic in good ol' Delco!!!!).