PhiladelphiaInjustice

It's opinion time

Although Wikipedia contributors must maintain neutrality when editing articles, I see no problem with me posting opinions on this obscure page that nobody will read.

Best Fast Food

Who has made the rule that you cannot get delicious food on the cheap? Full disclosure: As a teen, I worked as a cook/chef at a very expensive restaurant where freshness was emphasized even more than Gordon Ramsay demands. Fresh food was delivered every morning from several vendors. Anything left over at the end of the day was discarded, whether seafood, beef, chicken, dairy (except ice cream and the like), vegetable dishes, and even lemonade! At the ridiculously high prices being charged, customers should have expected at least as much.

• Fried chicken: KFC original; always fresh (never frozen) with a super tasty mix of spices. Popeye's spicy is equally fresh and receives honorable mention.
• Burgers: Five Guys by quite a bit. Most of the chains reheat frozen burgers, but everything at Five Guys is fresh.
• Fries: Popeye's with Checker's receiving honorable mention. Reheated from frozen at both chains, but as always taste is what counts.
• Chicken Nuggets: McDonald's. Yeah, they're reheated from frozen and are not 100% chicken. But so what; they still taste the best.
• Wings: KFC honey barbecue. Again, they're reheated from frozen and the sauce comes from a bottle. But taste is what counts, no matter how they prepare the food.
• Milkshakes: McDonalds; the perfect blend of sweetness and creaminess.
• Mashed potatoes: Boston Market by a huge margin.
• Gravy: Popeye's by an even bigger margin.
• Biscuits: Popeye's by a gigantic gap.
• Rice: Popeye's cajun rice. Nothing else even comes close.
• Chili dogs: Checker's. An amazing deal when they're on special for 99 cents!
• Breakfast dish: McDonald's hotcakes and sausage. Add syrup and butter to be in culinary heaven. I usually add scrambled eggs, hash browns, a biscuit, and even a milkshake for a heart attack delight.
• Hash browns; McDonald's, who reigns supreme for everything breakfast.
• Breakfast sandwiches: McDonald's; cheap ingredients but long on taste.

TV sucks

I despise most scripted television shows. They are boring, formulaic, tedious, unimaginative, hackneyed ripoffs of similarly dull predecessors. But every once in a zombie apocalypse there is a series that stands out, fabulously entertaining fiction that subtly deceives your conscious and subconscious mind into believing that it is true, thanks to superb writing, directing, and acting. To follow is my list (in order) of the three most entertaining TV shows in history.

• The Walking Dead (2010–present) Most scripted television series are superficial, predictable, unoriginal, faux Hollywood garbage. You are always aware that they are TV shows. But The Walking Dead puts you -- front and center -- at every electrifying, violent, gory, terrifying confrontation between good and evil. And everywhere else that it artistically weaves its intricate web of believability. The line between reality and fiction is so artfully blurred that it confuses our subconsciouses into believing the unreal. That is the unique, unprecedented brilliance of The Walking Dead. The directing/writing/acting mesmerizes while it legitimizes. The show has relentless tension, action, spontaneity, excitement, surprise, and most of all staggering entertainment. Yeah, TWD can get dreary at times, but enough good happens that you are always hoping and rooting for Rick and his not-so-merry band of good guys. Plus, unlike other zombie fiction which entails the dead inexplicably being reanimated after thousands of years in the ground, there is some actual science behind TWD. There really is a pathogen (the rabies virus) that infects lower animals and causes them to behave like zombies (operate solely on instinct, spread the virus by biting, slow down metabolism, increase resistance to other diseases, etc.) As for TWD's actual zombie reanimation, a similar phenomenon has been going on in Russia for years. By accident, our red friends discovered that newborns could be kept under ice water for an hour or so, become clinically dead, and then be revived just by exposing them to warmer air. That procedure has actually saved thousands of babies' lives, as it has prevented the development of disease-causing pathogens. So the idea that a human being could die and then live again an hour later has already been proven thousands of times over. And where did The Walking Dead get that epically scary theme song?

• The Wire (2002–08)

• The Sopranos (1999–2007)

Top 10 Broadcast TV Shows

The above best list is for cable television shows, which have artistic license to be more violent, graphic, and otherwise realistic. Broadcast television requires far more family friendliness and political correctness, so different evaluation standards must be applied. I have seen every episode of the top five shows at least once, mostly in the past 10 or so years.

1. St Elsewhere (the benchmark: always interesting, innovative, clever, emotional, and entertaining. About 20 cast members catapulted to huge success thanks to the show, especially Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, Howie Mandel, David Morse, Helen Hunt, Bruce Greenwood, G.W. Bailey, William Daniels, Terrence Knox, Chad Allen, Christina Pickles, Alfre Woodard, Cindy Pickett, Stephen Furst, Nancy Stafford, Eric Laneuville, and Kavi Raz)

2. Hill Street Blues (the very first ultra-high quality television series)

3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (how much more creative and original can they get?)

4. L.A. Law (slick, ingenious, fascinating, mind-blowing, and fun)

5. ER (why did George Clooney leave this exciting ratings behemoth?)

6. Boston Legal (who knew that Bill Shatner could act?)

7. Bob Newhart (the funniest man alive and recurring guest star on The Big Bang Theory)

8. Lost (artistically bizarre)

9. Taxi (star-maker of Tony Danza, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Andy Kaufman, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Carle Kane)

10. The Big Bang Theory (an awesome show but the canned laughter ruins it for me)

Top 30 Music Artists

In no particular order...

Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Katy Perry, Colbie Caillat, Lady Gaga, Train, Nicki Minaj, Led Zeppelin, Bruno Mars, Usher, Snow Patrol, Silver Sun Pickups, Kings of Leon, Elvis Presley, Rob Zombie, Stone Temple Pilots, Cake, Avril Lavigne, Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Audioslave, Radiohead, Cee Lo Green, Ellie Goulding, Rihanna, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Black Eyed Peas, Beatles, Soundgarden

Top 10 Songs

Keep in mind that I am more into melodies than lyrics but both are awesome on most of these.

1. Chain of Fools -- Aretha Franklin (ancient but still holds up and defines why Aretha is the queen of soul)

2. Pacific Coast Highway -- Nils (one of the best-selling smooth jazz singles ever but to me it is the benchmark)

3. Use Somebody -- Kings of Leon (I get goosebumps)

4. On My Mind -- Ellie Goulding (the newest song on the list and one of the best)

5. Starships -- Nicki Minaj (a hated but underrated singer and songwriter)

6. More -- Usher (this electrifying, mountain-moving single belongs higher on the list)

7. Let's Go -- Calvin Harris (another mountain mover)

8. Nothin' on You -- B.O.B. ft. Bruno Mars (Bruno makes this sound great)

9. Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera -- Maroon 5 (corny pop that somehow sounds great)

10. Vavavoom -- Nicki Minaj (another one from the despised but under-appreciated Nicki)