rock on
On 08.23.10, In Rants, By Riley
On 08.23.10, In Pics & Toons, By Riley
A Cartoon Standard
Few shows have captured the pop culture zeitgeist and contextualized so many references like The Simpsons have. Accordingly, the characters of the show have been modified and made hyperrealistic.
Spongebob Squarepants is seemingly everyone’s guilty pleasure cartoon. Perhaps a user on Reddit.com summed it up best:
Guys, I’m fucking sick of this. I’m almost 20 and haven’t been able to score a better job than a fucking cook at a local fast food joint. What makes it worse is that I live in a small town so business is pretty limited, and where I work is the only place that’ll hire high school graduates. I’d get the hell out of this town if I could actually drive too, but I’ve failed every damn test I’ve ever taken. I’m socially awkward, even my only other co-worker fucking hates my guts. I have repressed lust for one of my best friends too; she’s athletic, smart and a gorgeous southern bell. I love her. You know what it’s like; I’ve been friend zoned real hard. She’s my only real friend, besides this one kid, who I’m pretty sure is only hanging around me because he is mentally challenged. I guess he’s the only one that can tolerate me. And what makes this all fucking worse is that I live in a fucking pineapple under the sea.
The realism may make you question their relationship
It’s hard to imagine that the boys from South Park could actually be real children bundled up in a small Colorado town. But this might make you think again.
Not Until Just Now
A final cartoon whose characters have been hyper-modified, is one I grew up with (I’ll admit it!), Rugrats. Here are Tommy, Chucky, Phil and Lil. And check out Angelica- she looks like even more of a bitch in “real” life.
Klasky-Csupo.....squirt~
Don’t you just love the evolution and malleability of a good ol’ cartoon?
On 08.21.10, In Food & Drink, By Riley
A dessert for beer enthusiasts?
Or a beer for those with a sweet tooth?
You decide.
On 08.20.10, In Findings, By Sarah
On 08.11.10, In Food & Drink, By Sarah
Check out this lovely new thing from the nytimes.
Q&A from StoryCorps on Vimeo.
On 08.10.10, In Pics & Toons, By Riley
I saw Tim Tebow’s new haircut today on ESPN.
Tebow's new 'do
But all I could think of was Joe Pesci’s burned head in Home Alone.
Maaarv!
On 08.03.10, In Quotes, By Riley
Summer garb doesn’t allow for notepads to be kept in pockets. Accordingly, not a lot of good quotes get written down. But some were…
Manual labor always makes the domestic canned beer taste better. – Tim Shea
Meat is delicious. We’re supposed to eat it. That’s why there’s a food pyramid, and we’re at the top of it.” – Cousin Peter
You should read The Smoking Jacket. It’s the non-objectifying version of Playboy. Needless to say it’s all blank pages.” – Brian Manning
Pulled pork. There’s lots of it in Troy. – Christopher Winn
This new ionized water. It makes you younger… Well it makes you feel younger. – Co-worker Paul
Of course there is room for criticism. – Brian Ivory
On 07.30.10, In Findings, By Sarah
Every time it ends, keep hitting play for the full picture show.
Vanity Fair just got some serious downgrade points. Also, what the hell?
On 07.29.10, In Food & Drink, By Riley
Friendly’s Restaurant has released a new behemoth of a sandwich. In the television commercial featuring the Grilled Cheese Burger Melt, a man is teasing a woman with the sandwich, finally giving her a bite. Gone are the days when a grilled cheese sandwich could be enhanced with pieces of ham and a cup of soup; now the grilled cheese has become the bun for a beef pattie and toppings.
friendly's
It’s difficult to think that this sandwich was not inspired by KFC’s Double Down, a sandwich with bacon, cheese, and Colonel’s sauce with two pieces of fried chicken replacing the bun, a sandwich that received a lot of criticism when it came out several months ago.
double down
These novel sandwiches/heart attacks on a plate are nothing new though. Burger King has been offering the BK Stacker, a standard burger which can be tailored to the customers liking by the addition of more patties. The menu features double, triple and quad stackers, but if you request any amount of patties, they’ll make it for you. John McCall of East Longmeadow, Mass. Got himself an Octo-stacker:
food coma induction
But the one restaurant that always seems to be offering the newest latest greatest sandwich is Wendy’s. These sandwiches never seem to stay on the menu too long – or at least not in the spotlight. But what’s really funny is that they are listed on the website as “Old-Fashioned Hamburgers.”
Wendy’s features the ¾ lb. Triple with Cheese, the Bacon Deluxe Triple, and perhaps my favorite idiomatic term for a burger, the Baconator. When I think Old Fashioned sandwiches, I think a pattie on bread with lettuce and tomato.
At 1500 calories, the Grilled Cheese Burger Melt may be the most likely new sandwich to induce a heart-attack. But, if you’re looking to take in calories from something that’s been around for a while, reach for a Whopper. The triple with cheese has 1250 calories.
classic
Once you take a bite, though, you won’t care about how many calories are in it. It is, after all, the greatest burger available in fast food.
On 07.29.10, In Events, By Riley
The first time I saw Built to Spill was in North Carolina. I drove down with two friends, a bottle of Southern Comfort and a hankering for Burger King. It was on the Streets of Asheville North Carolina that I first met frontman Doug Martsch. The sidewalks were light by the golden glow of streetlights and abuzz with inebriated concert goers, myself not excluded. Overwhelmed by the surreality of the situation I approached Doug, who was wearing a modest unzipped hooded sweatshirt and carrying a basketball. Eager to say anything to break the ice, I asked if he had been playing basketball (a la Dumb and Dumber/ “those your skis?”).
He explained that he shoots hoops to relax before shows and that he and a few other guys from the band found a court to play at in the area. I conveyed how “totally awesome” that was and expressed my sincere jubilation in meeting him. It was at the end of this first meeting that I learned how truly down to earth and humble Doug was (as if the receding hairline and screen-printed t-shirts he often wears on stage hadn’t already revealed this). I asked if he would play the song “Liar” for me.
“Sure” he said, with no pause. So long as he remembered that I requested it, he’d play it. He shook my hand again and left for the venue – the Orange Peel, claiming that he and the band still had to write the setlist.
I retreated back to my car on the high of meeting someone I’d idolized for years. After a few gulps of SoCo and the opening acts’ set, I found myself inside the Orange Peel eager for Built to Spill to come on Stage. Not a word was even uttered when the irradiant riff of “Liar” opened the show. It was a good show.
The next time I saw Built to Spill, I only had to walk to the State Theater in downtown Ithaca from my South Hill apartment. I stood five rows from the stage, waiting to hear any song from “There Is No Enemy” which had just been released not even a week prior to the show. After I bought a t-shirt and the crowds had funneled out, I made my way back into the theater. The formidable Ithaca Police were sternly asking people to leave, to get out of the stage, “to go back home.” Naturally, I pretended that I was exempt from their commands, and shouted to Doug who was winding cords around his elbows far back on the stage. “Doug!” he finally looked up. Knowing the police wouldn’t allow me to sustain a conversation with him, I just asked, “Can I have a guitar pick?”
Doug dropped his cord, reached one hand into his tight jeans pocket, pulled out a tab and tossed it. In contrast to the noise of the show which would make my ears buzz for days afterwards, the pick bounced delicately on the worn wooden stage and slid within an arms’ reach of me. I snagged it, said thanks, and disappeared before I had to hear the police ask me to leave once more.
I’m off to see Built to Spill in Cape Cod next week. My favorite band, in one of my favorite places. All I need is some beer, a Snickers bar, and maybe a Whopper or two. I can’t imagine heaven being much better.
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