The calm before the storm...

Hey Friends,

Not much of a post today, but check back tomorrow to see the brand new direction of this blog. You are going to love it. I love it already.

Some of my favorite songs from Megan's album recommendations. I'm not even going to label them. I have a feeling you've heard these:

Six Things From Friendly's...

Megan's six things from Friendly's that are so good they're disgusting (or vice versa) made me remember a few things about the restaurant from my past. Before I get to that (and I have a LOT to say about it) there are going to be some more changes around here. Change for the better. Obama-like change in the blogsphere. I'm not going into details today, because there are still a few loose ends to be tied up. But one to three of my fans complained about the lack of daily posts, so I am reponding to the masses and bringing it back. You'll get an update every weekday. I'm not telling you how, but it is coming. I'll layout the whole plan on Friday, when there is supposed to be a new list. Since there is no new list (thanks, Matthayes) I'll lay out this new plan instead. You are going to love it. I don't know how you couldn't love it. You might not love it, but you'll definitely like it. One a scale of one to ten you will at least like it.

So, Friendly's. Before we go into Megan's list of wonderfully disgusting foods from this ice-cream heaven I will tell you about (probably) the grossest thing that I have ever experienced in a restaurant. This should not reflect negatively on Megan's list, or on your desire to go to Friendly's to sample these things. I'm sure this wouldn't happen again. This might happen again. Anyway, I'll keep this really short. This happened when I was younger...I don't know how much younger, but it was at least 10 years ago. I love Friendly's ice cream. I will talk about my favorite ice cream sundae ever when we move on to Megan's list. This thing that happened to me, though. This thing was not a good thing. I sat down with excitement of the mediocre chicken fingers I was about to order, and the stand-out sundae that will be mentioned in a minute. I don't remember who I was with (was it my family? Eric do you remember this? Am I making this up? I don't think I am making this up). Regardless, I sat down and probably the worst think you could think of to be sitting next to you in a restaurant was sitting next to me. That's right. A real, human (presumably human) piece of poop. What a way to ruin a meal! Poop. In the booth of a restaurant that I was about to dine in. This was not a Twix bar. This was poop. I am willing to assume that it was from a baby, and that is understandable. No wait, that is still not understandable. Really though, don't let this stop you from going to Friendly's for any one or six of Megan's recommends. Here they are (I tried to get pictures of all of these, but then gave up):

Grilled Cheese and French Fries--I could see this being good. It would be hard to mess up a grilled cheese and french fries. Unless there was a piece of poop next to you.

Super Sundae Five-Scoop (3 scoops chocolate, 2 scoops vanilla, hot fudge, optional whip)--This is where Megan and I are obviously different people. I agree with the super sundae part. Always five scoops...if not then you probably don't actually like ice cream. But I could never get anything at Friendly's that isn't the Five-scoop Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae. Nothing in the ice cream world is better. Not even poop could mess this up (OK, that was the last poop joke). And don't say Reese's Pieces are better in a sundae than a peanut butter cup. There is no way you could justify that argument.

Munchie Mania--Is this even a real food name!?

Double Thick Milk Shake in Chocolate--Yeah, I could see this being real good as well. I'll have one in peanut butter, please.

Turkey Club SuperMelt and French Fries--I agree 100%. This is always a satisfying sandwhich. It is one of the things that if I get something else, I always wish I had gotten this. Denny's has a version as well. They are basically the same thing.

Kickin' Buffalo Strips--I am a huge sucker for buffalo strips from anywhere. I will almost always order them if they are available. And I almost always regret it within the hour. Especially if I eat them and then pile a five-scoop sundae on top soon after.

Good picks Megan! Let's have a Friends Recommend field trip to Friendly's, please. I'll have the buffalo chicken strips and a five-scoop Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae please. Hold the poop.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

I'm writing this post under the assumption that most people reading this blog have already seen Midnight Cowboy, which is now widely considered classic. Although most of our readers have probably seen it, this post is to urge those who haven't to do so in the near future. All of it's praise since 1969 is well deserved. The film's two main characters are Joe Buck (Jon Voight) and Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman). Dustin Hoffman's character name has to be the inspiration for Rizzo the Rat, the muppet storyteller from A Muppet's Christmas Carol. There is no question in my mind about this.

I'm going to say that this is one of the best, if not the best role Dustin Hoffman has ever played. His roles in The Graduate and Rainman give it a run for it's money, but his portrayal of Ratso is top-notch acting. I don't want to give away too much by revealing the plot of this movie. A very very basic overview is this: Joe Buck quits his job as a dishwasher in Texas, dresses up like a cowboy, and moves to New York City. As his money disappears upon his arrival to New York (funny how this happens) he turns to male "escorting" (?) (how else do I say this) as a means to make money. Enter Ratso who cons him out of $20 and disappears. Joe Buck later sees Ratso in a diner and takes whatever money he has on him, but Ratso offers to help Joe by letting him stay in his apartment, which happens to be in an abandoned building. The bulk of Midnight Cowboy centers around the bond of these two characters, and their dependency on one another. On a scale of one to ten, it is definitely among the best movies I've seen. Megan hit the nail on the head with this one. There is a full plot synopsis over at Wikipedia, but if you haven't seen the movie you definitely shouldn't read it. It gives away everything. I'm serious. Don't read it.

Initially rated X for some scenes that were pretty risque in the late 60's, it is the only X-rated film to ever receive an Academy Award. Soon after it's release the film was re-submitting for rating and was lower to a more standard R. Here is a trailor, in case you aren't convinced. The ending scene in the trailor, where Dustin Hoffman says "I'm walkin' here" is a classic among classics. Enjoy!

Megan Rogers

Special thanks to Megan, who, like Ricky B is keeping this blog going! Megan has a list of 30 things here, and although I don't require a specific number, it is nice when the fit in all perfect and neat like this.

I'm not actually sure when I met Megan...could it have been at Sunday baseball? Could it have been through either Eric or Jessica? I really, really don't know when the initial meeting was. But I do know it was a while ago, and I do know that she rules, and so does her list. This past summer she reintroduced me to the joys of camping, which I liked, but I think I most liked the post-camping shower. I think that was the best part, and I think she might have warned me that it was one of the best parts. Also, I don't know that there is a person in the world with a stronger love for Little Havana's on a Sunday morning (unlimited Mimosas!). I have Megan to thank for that as well, and now recommend the place to any out-of-towners looking for a good breakfast experience. I must say I am a sucker for pictures with animals, which is why I chose this one (is that a seal?) It's great. Additionally she is the first of two people I know with a pet named after Audrey from Twin Peaks! See her list below for a Twin Peaks recommend. Onward!:

Music:

6 Albums Having Nothing to Do With Morrissey:
Roxy Music - Roxy Music
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
The Clash - London Calling
David Bowie - Hunky Dory

Books:

6 Really Great Fiction Books:
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (my favorite is actually Speak Memory, but that's non-fiction)
Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.

Movies:

6 Movies That Aren't The Big Lebowski:
Ghostbusters
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
Easy Rider
Midnight Cowboy
FUBAR
Usual Suspects

Miscellaneous:

6 Reasons to Own a Television and DVD Player:
Twin Peaks
Orangutan Island
Absolutely Fabulous
21 Jump Street (Seasons 1-3)
Fishing With John
Tom Goes to the Mayor

Food:

6 Things From Friendly's That Are So Good They're Disgusting (Or Vice Versa):
Grilled Cheese and French Fries
Super Sundae 5-Scoop (3 scoops chocolate, 2 scoops vanilla, hot fudge, optional whip)
Munchie Mania
Double Thick Milk Shake in Chocolate
Turkey Club SuperMelt and French Fries
Kickin' Buffalo Chicken Strips

Lower your expectations and Bon Iver

OK, we're back from a brief hiatus. Sort of. I am beginning to realize that my attempt at daily posting on this blog was a little bold, and I am pretty amazed that I was able to keep it going for this long. So as an act of quality control and time control I'm going to have to scale it back slightly. We'll still have our weekly updated lists on Friday, and if there isn't a list to post then there will still definitely be a Friday post always. Tomorrow we have a great list from Megan that will go up, and will blow your mind. Still a lot to cover from this Ricky list, but I'm really going to have to get ahold of some of the stuff because I don't have any of it. I don't think I'm going to set a schedule of posting, like Monday, Weds, Friday unless that is something you really want to see. It will still definitely be about 3 times a week. Then once we have the Megan post we'll go back and start getting into some of these old lists. Still waiting on a Matthayes, and TJ has already started his Recommends list number 2. Don't let him lap you...you should make a second as well. Anyone make one of these Gittings recipes yet? I could really go for some curry right now.

I'm pretty sure most of the readers of this blog already know about Bon Iver. This comes from the Gittings list and he strongly urges you to check out For Emma, Forever Ago. He also recently released an EP called Blood Bank which is good, but not quite as good as Emma. I stand behind both of these picks. Here is his website to check out, and a pretty comprehensive Wikipedia entry (the part about For Emma, Forever Ago is particularly interesting). The album is pretty soft and contemplative, mostly (if not all) acoustic. But the arrangements are very thick, with layers and layers and layers of vocals that sort of remind me of Dinosaur Jr's "Feel the Pain" where whatshisname sings in octaves. I was curious how he recreated it live and according the wiki entry he depends on his audience to sing along to achieve the vocal layering of the record. This youtube clip is him performing by himself, but I really recommend you check out the album. Oh, and not suprisingly it is available from (the awesome) emusic.com. Here is Flume from For Emma, Forever Ago:

Ambulance LTD Update

The two recommendeerers of the Ambulance LTD album hated the video I posted. It's not very good, is it? Anyway, here is Ricky's song suggestion from the album. Hopefully this hits you a little better. Ambulance LTD's Anecdote:

Ricky and Beyond

Friends Recommends is going out of town for a couple of days. We'll be back in action on Thursday. My goal was to have three posts all ready to go and set them to automatically post each morning, but that was totally unrealistic. Something about hindsight and 20/20 vision.

New lists have started to come in. After this week with Ricky B. we have a brand new Megan list that is going to knock your socks off. And we're still waiting for that slacker Matthayes...

Anyway, I think there is some great stuff on this Ricky list, but I admit that I am pretty unfamiliar with all of it (minus Inherit the Wind) so it's going to take a little bit of time. I am especially interested in his book picks, but seeing as they are books they are going to take me a lot of time. The Ambulance LTD self-titled LP pick came to Ricky via Mike Gittings recommend. I don't know this band, but here is a video anyway. This is from the recommended LP. I'm not quite sure how I feel about these guys yet. This is Primitive (The Way I Treat You):