Top Ten Ethnic Dishes

Ok, this will be hard. Lets see how it goes.

10. Seaweed Salad - A Japanese concoction that sounds like something you'd eat on fear factor. Or, if you were a homeless person on the beach. But trust me, it's GOOD. Assorted seaweeds tossed with a little red chili, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Served room temp, like it's right from the whale's bowels.

9. Crab Rangoons - A fried chinese appetizer of a cream cheese scallion crab dip, encapsulated in a deep fried wonton. Waiter? An extra napkin for my drool, please.

8. Spinach Pie - Phyllo dough, sandwiching a solid spinach filling. Sounds stupid I guess. But the Greeks do something special to it to make it the perfect texture, and the perfect taste.

7. Guacamole - A Mexican dip of avocado, lime juice, chopped tomatoes, onions and garlic. I make the world's best homemade guac. Oh man. I want some right now.

6. Tako Su - The simplest of dishes on my list. It is a Japanese appetizer. It is sliced octopus, sitting in ponzu sauce, served with daikon and cucumber. If I could eat it every day, I would!

5. Yellow Curry - I love this spicy, creamy, beautifully colored Thai dish. I choose to get mine with duck as the protein. And when done well, you seriously can't resist it. It's got the meat of your choice, assorted veggies, and pineapple, all in an indescribably flavorful yellow curry sauce.

4. Calzone - I'm not sure how authentically Italian calzones really are, but I'll give them credit anyway. I freakin LOVE calzones. Even now, as a low-carb enthusiast, I really just enjoy the innards of a righteously stuffed calzone. I especially love the freedom. You can put whatever your heart desires in that hot pockety goodness.

3. ThaYetTheeThot (Green mango salad) - A traditional Burmese salad, of shredded fresh sour mango mixed with shredded cabbage, shallot, dried shrimp, roasted chili flakes, ground peanuts, and cilantro. Sounds like a weird mish-mash or flavors. And I will admit, it's odd in the first taste. But it quickly becomes addictive in it's complexity.

2. Fish Mahkani - Swordfish cooked in a tandoori oven, then plopped into a rich, creamy, tomato cream sauce. It's an Indian dish that is so warm, spicy, and hearty. Mm!

1. Naruto - Seriously. This japanese appetizer is like a platypus. It is so majestic and heavenly that it's nearly impossible to comprehend. Like most maki, it varies from restaurant to restaurant. But the basic concept is the same, crab, assorted fish and veggies, wrapped tightly in the most thinly slice blanket of cucumber, sitting in a wading pool of ponzu sauce.
Not only is it exquisite to the taste buds, it is also so meticulously crafted, that you feel guilty munching on it.

Soda that'll rock your socks!

1.) Moxie—Hells yeah! This stuff is great. Definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but well worth it once you do. On a side note, it's one of the few soda's that has a diet version that tastes very close to the original. I love you gentian root.

2.) Dr. Pepper—If you don't like Dr. Pepper I'm pretty sure it's legal for me to shoot you in the face. With 23 flavors mixed together to make one of the best liquids to hit your tongue, it's not only awesome, it makes you burp like a son-of-a-bitch! Diet Dr. P is okay, but a pale shadow of an imitation of the real Dr. Also, knock off products rarely do it justice. Dr. Thunder, Mr. Pibb, etc. none are bad, but the real Dr. is what I order.

3.) Cream Soda—A&W or IBC. mmmmmmm Don't be fooled by generic cream soda, or even the Polar brand. You get a good cream soda, and it's instant nirvana. I'm not talking that crappy band, I mean that place where everything is right.

4.) Rootbeer—This one is a little tougher, I like Barq's, A&W, Mug, IBC... Once again, NOT GENERIC, they just get something wrong in the mix. I've tried all sorts of micro-brew rootbeers, but usually to no avail. They're almost cinnamony, or clove like, it's really rather odd. Moral of the story is, a good rootbeer, is almost a substitute for a good real beer.

5.) Jolt—I'm a caffeine fiend. Addicted even, I love the stuff, it's the only way I can wake up. Jolt is a great pick-me up. And it comes in all sorts of flavors. I personally like them all. But plain ole Jolt Cola is a bit on the sweet side, but not sickeningly so like Pepsi. BLECH! Man I love Jolt, in all it's incarnations.

Top list of people I can't stand listening to talk... (no particular order)

Dr. Phil - Okay, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there who can't seem to figure out a logic problem as simple as which of these shapes fits into a round hole, a triangle, a square, or something round. But do they really need some arrogant, middle-aged, balding man with the charisma of a tree stump to point this out? Does he really think he's helping these people? It's shows like his that are helping to dumb down American intelligence. Just give it up.

Spike Lee - Angry can be funny, angry can be intelligent, angry can prove a point, just listen to some Lewis Black. But anger aimed at the same topic over and over in such a way that really does nothing but make you sound like a broken record of race wars really doesn't help you case. Yes, racism exists, I get it. Okay, people of other races and cultures don't get a fair shake. Sure, I see that. But when all your complaints, rants, and movies are all race biased, you're not helping. Making all black comments is just as racist as all white. Just a different side of the coin. Same point pretty much goes for all racial comedy, heaven forbid a white guy makes a race joke...

Any generic feminist - I'm calling bullshit. You're not looking for equality, you're looking for superiority. I'm choosing feminism, because it's the first one to pop into my head, but pretty much any genre of gung-ho idealism fits. People looking for a way out of working hard for what they want and point the blame elsewhere, that's what it comes down to in my head. Women don't get a fair share, okay, so work hard and make "us" respect you. Show "us" your ideas and prove they are actually good. Don't right a speech about how historically the female mind has been oppressed, show us you shouldn't be. You can shove all the stats you want down my throat, it's only going to make me NOT want to listen to you even more. Numbers can be skewed to prove any point, ask any politician. I'm not saying I don't agree, some of the smartest people I know are female, and they do deserve a fair share of the pie. Just get off your soap box, and use it to prove your point, not preach about it.

Tel-evangelists/ religious zealots - I guess I just don't like being preached at and having someone else's views forced down my throat. I can think for myself. Unless you can prove your religion is the one true idea of God, or if you can prove with FACTS that God even exists, hand me a pamphlet and let me read it. No need to force your ideas down my throat and tell me I'm a horrible person, for not agreeing with you. Maybe you're an evil person for not listening to others.

TOP 5 QUICKIE

My Very Favorite Top 5 Songs About Murder (or Scary Shit!)
(Not that nice Tears in Heaven stuff)

1. Jigsaw Girl - The Toadies

"Give me your hand and I will hold it forever
On my nightstand in a box with your love letters
I love you dear, and I know we will not be parted
I'll keep you near, scattered around my apartment"

2. Jenny Was A Friend of Mine - The Killers

"We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go " ( alternative version says - She kicked and screamed as I held her throat - which I prefer!)

3. The Intruder - Peter Gabriel

"I know something about opening windows and doors
I know how to move quietly to creep across creaky wooden floors
I know where to find precious things in all your cupboards and drawers
Slipping the clippers, Slipping the clippers through the telephone wires
The sense of isolation inspires, Inspires me
I like to feel the suspense when I'm certain you know I am there
I like you lying awake, your baited breath charging the air
I like the touch and the smell of all the pretty dresses you wear
Intruders happy in the dark
Intruder come, Intruder come and leave his mark, leave his mark"


4. Maxwell's SIlver Hammer - The Beatles

"But as she's getting ready to go,
A knock comes on the door.
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head.
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead."


5. Posed To Death - The Faint

" I feel a warm resistance
Beneath the outer layer
What once moved living organs
Leaks through a thin veneer
Blue blooded royal body
Elegantly posed to death "

Shannon's Top 10 Lyricists List

Lyrics are something very close to me. And for that reason I can't possibly pick an absolute FAVORITE. So this top 10 list, is in no particular order.

#10. Warren Zevon
His lyrics are diverse in subject, style, and demeaner . . . but his humor, and clearly unconventional wording and timing is prevalent in every single song. I think his songs are superbly awkward and often painfully resonant.

Loneliness and frustration
We both came down with an acute case
And when the lights came up at two
I caught a glimpse of you
And your face looked like something
Death brought with him in his suitcase


#9. Alanis Morrissette
I am consistently defending her against the Angry Chick label. You can't judge an artist by one song, damnit! Ok, Angry Chicks aside. . . Alanis writes in the same vain as Warren, where her lyrics are almost too much for the song, and it's a struggle to fit them all in. And I like that. Big words, big meanings, and sometimes require a little thought. There is something strange about Alanis' writing that makes me feel an almost creepy kinship to her. From album to album you can literally hear her growing as a person. And each album has been realized at just the right time, with just the right songs that it hits me in a very personal way.

I bet you're wondering when the next payback shoe will eventually drop
I bet you're wondering when my conditional police will force you to cough up
I bet wonder how far you have now danced you way back into debt
This is the only kind of love as I understand it that there really is

#8. Rob Thomas
I think sometimes, catchy guitar riffs and dancy breakdowns take away some credibility to the lyrics. And maybe people don't notice them as much. While I love the infectious melodies of all Rob Thomas/Matchbox Twenty/Tabitha's Secret songs, the lyrics still grab me. He has written songs for (and with) so many other artists, like Willie Nelson! (I found it VERY hard to pick just one line, or one verse for him. The songs so whole on their own, it hurts me to take sections, without context)
So scream you, out from behind the bitter ache
Heavy on the memory, you need most
still want love, ugly, smooth and delicate
not without affection, not alone

And instead of wishing that it would get better
man you're seeing that you just get angrier

And it's good that I'm not angry
I just need to get over,
I'm not angry, anymore

Cry when you cry, run when you run
love when you love
represent the ashes
that you leave behind

#7. Peter Gabriel
*sigh* I almost didn't want to put him on the list, for the fact that having to pick ONE lyric to post is causing me a panic attack. His lyrics are smart, diverse, and sometimes wacky. He writes a lot from dreams, and I think that is cool!

Lord, here comes the flood
We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
If again the seas are silent
in any still alive
It'll be those who gave their island to survive
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.



#6. Waters, Gilmour, Wright
I have to combine these guys, because honestly, I am not sure who had the heaviest influence, but Pink Floyd lyrics are incredible. I think it takes a lot of talent to make insanely incredible music, and be able to write lyrics that can equal it.

Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
An echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine.


#5. Jim Steinman
Say what you want about Meatloaf's power ballads, you listen to them close and tell me that they don't have fabulous lyrics! Jim has a flair for the dramatic, but he creates in-depth stories in such a small amount of time. You gotta respect that!

And all the gods come down here just to sing for me
And the melody's gonna make me fly
Without pain
Without fear
Give me all of your dreams
And let me go along on your way
Give me all of your prayers to sing
And i'll turn the night into the skylight of day

#4. Billy Joel
You see, I tend to guage songwriting by goosebumps. This guy has some lines that deliver the goosies even the thirteen hundredth time I've heard them.

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

#3. Diane Warren
Everytime I look at a list of songs she has written I am awestruck. Obviously quanitity doesn't mean quality. But, in general, hers is equal. She writes great pop songs that are catchy and genius, but she's an awfully good heart-string tugger.
Just look at this list. . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Warren

#2. Roy Orbison
So, this guy will be much higher up on my best singers list, for sure. But that doesn't diminish his song writing skills. But man, that VOICE!

Tonight at midnight you came by
I shook my head, tried not to cry
Halfway weeping, halfway sleeping
Tossing, turning, trembling, burning
Here it comes, heartache

#1. Jason Mraz
Like Alanis, he squeezes an excessive amount of words into one song and somehow makes it work to his advantage.
Another goose bump creator.

Oh love it's a brittle madness, I sing about it in all my sadness
It's not falsified to say that I found god so inevitably well,
It still exists pale and fine. I can't dismiss
And I won't resist and if I die well at least I tried

And we just lay awake in lust and rust in the rain
And pour over everything we say we trust
It happened again, I listened in thru hallways and thin doors
Where the rivers unwind, rust and in the rain endure.
The rust and the rain are sins