Good Things
[2008-05-26 05:30]
I often focus on the negative (type D, you know), as this blog probably demonstrates. And so much makes me crabby lately (I just watched Maxed Out, and was infuriated by the people depicted who actually enjoy other people's misery), that I figured I'd better post something positive before my head asplodes.
Despite my kvetching, there are some things in this world that I do like, some of which are listed below (in no particular order):
Sweet Home Farm granolas. It's yummy and the fact it comes in a milk carton amuses me.
Lolcats: I'm not immune to cute and some of these are very funny. My favorites, oddly enough, aren't cats.
Cute Overload: for full-kitten cuteness, you can't beat this.
Phở: I'm not a fan of soups in general, but I dig the phở. To me, most soups aren't filling or get boring in flavor after a few mouthfuls. Phở, on the other hand, has a great mixture of flavors (with the added basil leaves and jalapeno peppers) and textures (soft noodles, crunchy bean sprouts, chewy meats), and a cauldron-sized bowl usually costs less than $10, which means I can (and usually do) stuff myself silly.
Battlestar Galactica: Well written, well acted, and more accurate physics than many other shows set in outer space. Bonus points to the Sci Fi Channel for making it possible and easy to watch reruns online.
Lost: I know the show just strings us along, but I still enjoy it. My favorite characters are Sawyer and Sayid.
On the other hand, ABC, the network that runs Lost, loses points for their online experience. First, I believe their website requires both JavaScript and Cookies to be turned on. Since I usually block cookies and disable JavaScript, ABC's website is effectively disabled to me. Worse, if I turn on JavaScript, the site falls into an infinite loop as it repeatedly attempts to set cookies and fails. Bad programmer, no donut. Secondly, in order to watch previous episodes online, you have to install some special software. There is no technical reason to require extra, non-standard software, so ABC must do so for some business reason. Since I refuse to install the software (ever since Sony released CDs that secretly installed a rootkit on computers), that means I can't watch old episodes. Actually, since I missed an episode, I broke down and decided to install the frakking program on my laptop (which I rarely use anymore). Turns out the installer for Mac computers doesn't work (file missing, or some such problem). Epic fail, ABC. Epic. By contrast, the Battlestar Galactica site doesn't require cookies, uses Flash to stream its episodes and "just works" on my Macs.
Top Chef: I don't like reality shows much because I know the drama is often staged or manipulated by the producers. I guess I also don't care that much about the participants (I don't care who marries whom, who sleeps with whom, who schemes with and then betrays whom, etc.). Yet, I like Top Chef because I enjoy seeing what the contestants come up with in the challenges. Basically, it's food porn -- two of my favorite things.
Deadliest Catch: this is the other reality show that I like to watch. It's really more like a documentary than other reality TV shows, which is what I think I like about it.
Pie: I used to like donuts more than pie, but I think that's starting to change. My favorites are dutch apple and pecan.
Tillamook Yogurts: Until recently, I did not eat yogurt much (probably less than a dozen tubs in 10 years). Being lactose intolerant, yogurts often disagree with me. Then, one day, I decided to try some yogurt again and found that Tillamook's brand goes down pretty well. I also like their flavors, especially the citrus ones (lemon, lime, orange creme) and vanilla flavors.