Thursday, January 31, 2013

Things I don't like.

  • Romance films. Unless they're funny. I like to laugh in real life with people I like, so why would I want to watch unfunny people fall in love?

  • Great big vehicles. The Forester is pushing the limits of the amount of sheet metal I care to herd around on a daily basis, any more than that and driving starts to get a little too close to work for me to really enjoy it. Plus, you can't convince me that big, tall stilty vehicles don't just tip over occasionally for no reason whatsoever, like, while they're sitting in parking lots and stuff.

  • ______ versus ______ consumer goods arguments on the internet. Apparently there are people who roam the internet picking fights with people who have made different purchasing decisions than they have. Seriously? Like, if you find out that somebody bought an iPhone, you must publicly crush them or you'll look like a fool for buying a Droid? Or vice versa?

  • Rice and legumes. Sure, they turn up in some decent dishes, but just by themselves? Not a fan.

  • While we're on the topic of food: Green peppers on pizza. Keep that crap off my pie.

  • '70s Hanna-Barbera kiddie cartoons. Even at that tender age I knew something was very wrong with Scooby Dum. And whoever did that Disco Era reincarnation of Tom and Jerry where Tom and Jerry were non-violent BFFs should be staked out on an anthill and set on fire, then run over with a tank.

53 comments:

  1. When I make pies for the wife and daughter they are loaded with green stuff, including (God help me) pineapple.

    Pies for me invariably use a whole pound of italian sausage, sometimes a pound of pepperoni, and if I have some leftover, some ham. Cover in cheese until you can't see anything but cheese.

    Later, as the shreds of skin hanging from the roof of your mouth threaten to choke you to death in your meat-engorged sleep, you have dreams of chasing wildebeest across the African plains.

    ReplyDelete
  2. But... what about the Ford Earthf****r???

    http://blog.robballen.com/Post/11003/well-that-escalated-quickly

    ReplyDelete
  3. Only green vegetables I'll willingly eat are pickles. And white grapes, which are actually pale green.

    ReplyDelete
  4. '70s Hanna-Barbera kiddie cartoons. Even at that tender age I knew something was very wrong with Scooby Dum. And whoever did that Disco Era reincarnation of Tom and Jerry should be staked out on an anthill and set on fire, then run over with a tank.


    One wonders how a knuckle-dragger like you can operate a TV remote. Tho I do agree on the Disco Era T&J deal, same goes for later Scoobee Doo. But Space Ghost, Johnny Quest, Yogi, The Flintstones, Hong Kong Phooey, Captain Caveman!? are you kiddin' me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I will say on a long highway drive it is hard to beat a new Suburban.
    We'd load the boat up and drive to Ft. Leonard Wood or APG in comfort.

    Gerry

    ReplyDelete
  6. Try Silver Linings Playbook. Its the most non-traditional romantic comedy I've seen in a very long time and I suspect you might enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm sort of with Joseph. Just not about the remote thing.

    Although my love of cartoons from that era might be more fond memories than anything. If I watched them now I might not enjoy them as much.

    For example I stumbled across The Herculoids a couple years back (1981 variant) and couldn't believe I actually watched it when I was young.

    ReplyDelete
  8. On vehicle size, it all depends on your comfort level. I'm kinda opposite... S10 Blazer is about as small as I'm comfortable entering/exiting. I much prefer Chevy/GMC full size pickups. I don't care much for lift kits... those do look more likely to flip. As for tall trucks flipping over sitting still, a bad enough wind could do it... or maybe the cow-tippers got bored and decided to try something heavier.

    I'm kinda picky about pizza too, but I don't tend to like Italian food that well. My pick... Pizza Hut... beef, peppers, onions, mushrooms... They used to have a Sicilian and a garlic chicken... I liked both of those back then.

    I never could place what was wrong with "Scooby Dum". For a while I ignored it and thought it went away. Then there they went making it into movies I didn't watch.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joseph,

    "But Space Ghost, Johnny Quest, Yogi, The Flintstones, Hong Kong Phooey, Captain Caveman!?"

    The first four on that list are from the '60s, and are therefore okay. The last two make me question my childhood tastes... (Well, Hong Kong Phooey does; I never did like Captain Caveman.)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I woulda thought Quick Draw McGraw was an early role model - Sneaky, snarky, and always packin heat. And with an alter-ego.....Ole'! KABONG!!
    And wadda ya got against sweet peas? £B^D}»

    ReplyDelete
  11. Now I have the Hong Kong Phooey theme stuck in my head.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cartoons... there were a few decent ones done for TV, but mostly the ones that assumed the viewer had at least a third-grade education (e.g. not so much Rocky&Bullwinkle themselves, but the Peabody, aesop, and fairy-tale segments of the show).

    Otherwise, compare TV cartoons, even of the late 1950s, to cartoons of the 20s-40s: which expected kids to be able to read, or at least intuit, "Dynamite" on a box without a character reading it aloud? Or understand "What a Maroon?" was supposed to mean from Bugs? Not that the latter would get by today anyway.

    Of course, my grandfathers would both be disparaging of my education since I was not reading both Latin and Greek by sixth grade.

    ReplyDelete

  13. My 5 year old daughter shares your distrust of legumes. However, last weekend we made what we call "Chili-like-substance" (various people in our family are sensitive to spicy/peppery food, so it's very mild) and Grandma enforced that the 5 yo was NOT allowed to give her beans to her sister, and had to eat them. To our surprise, we heard "Hey! When did beans start tasting so good?" from the tyke table.

    There's hope for that one yet. You Tam, I don't know. I'm sure my 5 yo would share her Grandma with you if you want... LOL...

    s

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bowlderized Road Runner cartoons, wherein the coyote falls off a cliff but the scene cuts before the puff of dust from his impact on the desert floor, madden me.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Big tall stilty vehicles... parallel parking my old F-150 on a steep uphill street in San Francisco was an experiment in terror. I had the disconcerting feeling the thing was just going to tip over and roll/bounce all the way back down to Noe Valley.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Heh, brand loyalty....

    My computer of choice is the MacBook Pro, while I have an Android-powered phone. The only reason I don't have the iPhone is that my provider does not yet offer it, although I do like my Android.

    I observed on my blog a while back that I wonder how many people with iPhones would look down on me for having an Android, while they run with Windows because the Mac is "just an overpriced toy" or whatnot...

    ReplyDelete
  17. I like my Escape. Or as I call it sometimes, my Excape. (Possibly racist imagery about where the latter would be likely to happen excised before publishing.)

    And yes, whoever reinvented Tom and Jerry needs to be staked out on an anthill. The old ones were the best. I laugh uncontrollably whenever I think of Tom getting his paws slammed in the window by Jerry.

    Yes, I'm laughing uncontrollably even as I type. That there shit was some fun-eee.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Speaking of education, back in the 80's Heinlein wrote about what his father's high school had required for graduation, and lamented that his basic education wasn't as good.
    Then you compare Heinlein's to the next generations', let alone now...

    I grew up in a small town with some very old-fashioned teachers. Dad got a transfer to a city with more 'modern' teaching ideals when I started high school; the average behavior in the classes, let alone the level of a lot of the instruction, was shocking to me(not the most discerning of critics).

    By the time I had kids in school...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Education levels? It is all relative. Waaay back in the early '60's, I was in early grade school, but on am Air Force base. Dad retired, and I ended up in a medium sized city, with the local level of education system in charge. In DoDs (Dept of Defense School) 3rd grade, I was getting the basics of trig down, and studying how greek and latin were base starting points of language. In public school 2 weeks alter, the whole class was still trying to add more than 3 two digit numbers. Language skills and the study of English? Try taking more than 4 attempts at spelling 'house' correctly..

    Tom and Jerry, and of course the OLD Bugs Bunnny and the Sheepdog/wolf with the sheep herd cartoons ruled. Sheep dog and wolf punch in for work, "Hi Ralph, hey Jim" then watch the clock to start the raid on the sheep was just classic.

    BTW, slices of Yellow and Orange Peppers need to be lightly stir-fried with olive oil before putting them on pizza.....

    Kaeghl

    ReplyDelete
  20. With you on the green peppers. Makes everything else taste green peppery.

    gfa

    ReplyDelete
  21. My problem is anything ITALIAN when it comes to food. Why?

    Well, I can't warm up to melted cheese. Garlic upsets my stomach to the point of pain and I've never understood the culinary attraction of tomato sauce or even tomatoes.

    So, if you take those 3 ingredients out of Italian food what's left?

    Basically some sort of pastery that I think the French and Germans make far better...

    All The Best,
    Frank W. James

    ReplyDelete
  22. Those San Francisco streets are steep. When you get in to drive off, the seat belt feed ratchet would be activated by the impact pendulum. Had to back out and change the vehicle's angle to get the belt to un-spool so you could buckle up.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Green bell peppers on pizza? No.
    Green jalapeno peppers on pizza? Oh, HELL yeah!

    As for cartoons, well...
    I think Bugs Bunny said it best after seeing Hansel and Gretel being lured into that cannibal witch's house:
    "This looks like a job for the MASKED AVENGER!! But, seeing as he isn't around, I guess I'll just have to take care of it myself."

    Aaaand... Bugs took care of it, alright. Along with Blacque Jacque Shellacque and that little Martian so-and-so.
    Hanna and Barbera were a pair of liberal clots by comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Note to self: Have green pepper and lentil pizza delivered to Tam's house...

    ReplyDelete
  25. Romance films, yes. But, really funny, not gently funny. I can't handle romance (or anything else) films where I get the vague feeling somebody must be dying and everybody's just being nice...

    The versus argument. Identity and product are not linked. Or maybe I'm wrong, there's an awful lot of brand acolytes out there...

    Green peppers on pizza. If I want pepper on my pie they have that jar of crushed red flaky stuff...

    70s H-B, I always feared I had a deficient humor gene. Even as a wee laddy those things just left me feeling...insulted...

    JSG

    PS: Did you ever get stuck seeing any of the Captain Planet dreck? I think I got stuck listening to it in a restaurant or something. I remember I couldn't/didn't want to flee. The condescending doctrinaire nature of it all...blech! Bring back chummy T&J.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Size is relative. Try driving a single axle trash truck around for a while. My '65 Mustang felt like a go kart after work. And yeah, you can tip those trucks over. Raise that tail section on soft ground at the landfill, and it might. Trick was to activate the unload ram as soon as possible and get a tail of compacted trash out the back end to act like a stabilizer.

    Always wondered how many bodies might have been disposed of there by the manager, who was an officer in one of the area motorcycle gangs. Nice guy, though.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I will note that the little-known yet iconic Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is the exception that proved the rule all '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoons except Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch sucked.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Worse even than Hanna-Barberra was the Sid & Marty Krofft Crap Factory. things just go straight south from H.R. Puffenstuff.

    I don't like green peppers on anything either. It turns out to be the only thing I taste.

    One thing I discovered quite by accident while downrange in '09 was fried eggs and white rice. The security on our base was run by Ugandans and Nigerians, and they all ate white rice and fried eggs for breakfast. I tried it once and it's pretty good. I'm a "peasant food" kind of guy anyway so you can see how it would appeal to me.

    gvi

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beans and rice is all about Vegetarian fanatics trying to avoid permanent neurological damage due to protean deprivation.

    It should be considered desperation survival food, not high cuisine.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Or protein, even.

    I'm not sure what Protean Deprivation entails ...

    ReplyDelete
  31. Black beans and rice are good...provided you cook them with enough smoked bits of Mr. Piggy to make it so.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Pizza in Japan is wild. They'll put anything + the kitchen sink on it. Wany one w/ shrimp, tuna and crab? Sure!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Green bell peppers are the work of the devil.

    ReplyDelete
  34. None of you youngsters seem to remember the wonders of SuperMarionation. How can anyone not marvel at the likes of Fireball XL5 or Supercar?

    Other memories from my childhood include Underdog and Super Chicken. Jonny Quest was also a favorite, but when did it become an icon of the gay crowd? The mind boggles.

    And let's not forget the non-cartoon Captain Nice and Mr Terrific

    ReplyDelete
  35. Rice, legumes & green peppers on pizza, you are sooo correct. Not in my world either.

    ReplyDelete
  36. TAMARA

    RECOMMEND TO YOU "BRINGING UP BABY" CARY GRANT KATHRYNE HEPBURN ET AL

    ANYBODY REMEMBER "CRUSADER RABBIT"AND HIS SIDE KICK "RAGLAND T TIGER" ?

    THE REASON A AUTO (OR A SHIP) BECOMES
    UNSTABLE AND TURNS TURTLE IS BECAUSE THE CENTER OF GRAVITY GOES NEAR OR ABOVE THE META CENTRIC HIGHT TO REDUCE THIS BALLAST DOWN LOWERING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY - NEXT TIME WE WILL DISCUSS FREE SURFACE EFFECT AND WINDAGE HAPPY MOTORING !

    ReplyDelete
  37. Navigator -- have you considered decaf?

    On topic: When I see '70s-era cartoons, or children's entertainment in general, I have to remind myself that Candle Cove wasn't actually a thing. Although something tells me it might have been considered an improvement over the contemporary fare.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Old Looney Tunes, especially Bugs Bunny, for the combination of semi-sophisticated and slapstick humor. Roadrunner for the inventive mayhem. George of the Jungle for the puns. (And the other 'toons in that show were pretty good, too. :-) )

    I actually like green peppers. And red, yellow, orange, etc. With some kind of meat, like a ginger-beef stir-fry I like to make.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Stuart the Viking4:57 PM, January 31, 2013

    On brand identity. A few years ago I picked up a MacBook. Not because I liked Apple or anything, but because with OS X, what you were getting is a UNIX back end with GUI front end. Sure, I could have just gotten a notebook and put one of the free UNIX-Like OS on it, but OS X is actually supported and works without me having to do all the work of MAKING it work (like I would with a Linux or BSD) Unfortunately, people saw me with a Mac and started treating me like I was a Mac snob or something. When showed up with an Android phone people freaked out like I had changed political parties or something.

    I think with some things, brand identity has gotten so common it has become the norm, not the exception.

    s

    ReplyDelete
  40. "Things I don't like."

    Whew! Missed the cut; good thing it wasn't a top (bottom?) ten list. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Owning a Mac means people will make time to confront you about it.

    I am sick of the impression that I need to justify my preferences to others.

    Glock v 1911.
    Mac v PC.
    6.5 v 6.8
    AR v AK
    Ford v Chevy
    Rice v Harley
    Beans v Godless Abomination Which Shall Never Be Called Chili

    ReplyDelete
  42. McThag,

    Linux
    7.62x54r
    1987 Mercedes 300 SDL

    ReplyDelete
  43. Eh, well, considering I'm saving up to buy a millenial F-350 diesel, throw in a Banks kit and chip it, I'll make sure to check the grill periodically.

    Torque at altitude is my goddess.

    If it ain't got 10" of ground clearance up here, the majority of the county is only wishful thinking!

    That being said, folks who eat pickled okra are proof their EPROMS UV shield failed a long time ago.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Og: If the pineapple you're putting on the ladies' pizza is green, you might want to let 'em ripen a bit longer. ;)

    Tam: I love all God's little metal chilluns. Big ones, small ones, two wheels, three wheels, four wheels, 6 wheels, petrol, diesel, you name it.

    There's just something comforting about piloting an old early 70's Detroit Battleship around. :)

    ReplyDelete
  45. perlhaqr,

    "There's just something comforting about piloting an old early 70's Detroit Battleship around. :)"

    My first car was a Gran Torino, so I get that. Besides, I'm not sure one of those has ever tipped over, even being drifted sideways into a curb at triple-digits. :D

    ReplyDelete
  46. being shamelessly omnivorous there are very few things i Wont eat. well, except fish sticks. my kids are big now so we don't have to suffer through that particular abomination. at the local Korean place i've eaten several things that i really couldn't identify, but were very good. btw, try basmati rice. it's the very bestest. :)

    Bugs Bunny and similar era cartoons. even my kids get most of the jokes.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Much to my delight, Robert.
    It's hard to beat stacked invertebrate and mammal on the same pie.
    They can keep the corn, though. Once off the cob, it's trout bait.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Joanna: We think NAVAGATOR is posting via morse code from Mars.

    Whoever sent him there didn't put a shift key in his baggage with his transmitting equipment.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Oh, and a diesel '82 Suburban here. With almost 400,000 miles on the odometer. Any passenger vehicle that assaults me will be crushed.

    And if you don't bother making turns, you can't tip over.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Much to my delight, Robert.
    It doesn't get much better than stacked invertebrate and mammal on a pie.

    They can keep the corn, though.
    Once off the cob, it's trout bait.

    ReplyDelete
  51. We think NAVAGATOR is posting via morse code from Mars.

    I'm picturing him as one of those old timers who thinks you have to shout into the phone on long-distance calls.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I liked much of "Love Actually". Hugh Grant as UK PM, and his assistant/love interest. Emma Thompsen is always great ("Junior"!).

    And "Hitman" is a nice, quirky loves story.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.