Posted by vegetable at 4:38 PM | Permalink

I've been conversing on an irregular basis with our mutual friend and comic nerd Rob about the state of Marvel's X-men comics. I was hoping that he would start posting about his beloved addiction to comics in general here on Pop 5, but, alas, he has not, even though we'd all enjoy it.

My attempt to goad Rob into posting aside, I thought I'd post my thoughts on X-men as they currently appear since I last read them in September of 1995, back before a number of horrendous things happened.

Rereading this whole thing, I've decided that this might be the most pointless post I've ever done. Plus, it's filled with conjecture and opinions based on other people's assessments of events that have occurred. oh well!

The reason I stopped reading comics altogether was the expense. Marvel upped their cover prices to 2$/issue in order to cover the cost of the new paper and inking processes they were using. Vertigo was already hovering at 1.75-2.50, depending on the title, and I have an unhealthy personality that causes me to buy alot of comics (or CDs, or books, or DVDs). So, things were costly.

While the Marvel newpaper & ink issues looked fantastic, I just couldn't afford all the titles I was reading. I managed to read Hellblazer for another year and a half, but after a few months at college -- where, surprisingly, no one read comics and the nearest store was a long walk -- I gave up. Giving up on Hellblazer at that point wasn't too hard as it was after Ennis had left and the title was going through some transitional writers & artists that really didn't get their act together. Looking back, it's probably the one comic that I would have continued to enjoy, had I kept reading.

The real story, though, is the hell that the X-men line has gone through. For the record, I have not officially returned to the fold. I've picked up a few trade paperbacks of stuff that was highly recommended by Rob, but otherwise I've avoided that weekly addiction that seems so much like crack, except that I get to keep my teeth. I don't see myself buying individual issues for a few reasons (that I'll get to below). But I can't help but be fascinated by the world of the X-men, especially since so little has changed. and yet, so much has.

I stopped reading X-men comics just after the Age of Apocalypse storyline (wherein all of the titles changed for a few months as an alternate reality took over because Xavier was killed by his own son who had gone back in time to kill him before he started the X-men [deep breath] and Apocalypse takes over the world...). It was an...interesting story that, I believe, reached its peaked in the issues right BEFORE the time shift. These were issues where Wolverine and Sabertooth had one of their many fights, but it ended with Wolverine actually severely wounding Sabertooth with a middle claw into his skull (granted, this was in Wolverine, which is an X-title, but not really). Also, Strong Guy has a heart attack after absorbing too much energy in X-factor. Basically, a bunch of really crazy stuff happens that, of course, is sorta retconned when the world is 'corrected' four months later (Sabertooth lives and eventually recovers. yawn.) I was really annoyed with how nothing really stuck after AoA, although, to be fair, Strong Guy does 'retire' and has only recently returned, from what I can tell.

The other annoying thing was the addition of some of the AoA characters that 'slipped' into the regular timeline -- Dark Beast, X-Man, Sugarman. I believe X-man (whose real name escapes me) is the most uninteresting addition to the X-men since Cypher (the one whose power was to understand any language). But I could be biased against people who can speak other languages. Stupid American school system!

Dark Beast was somewhat interesting, but seeing as I didn't keep reading after the AoA, i didn't really get a chance to see what would be done with him. I also didn't get to experience the following idiotic storylines:

Joseph/Magneto. Nothing like a storyline that is started with the intention to have Joseph revealed to be Magneto (which was blatantly obvious) only to have an editorial change years later that makes most of the previous storyline confusing and meaningless. Short version -- apparently Joseph is a clone of Magneto (clones are the first sign that an editorial decision has been made counter to the original idea) or some bullshit.

Onslaught -- it seems like this might have destroyed my ability to read X-men if I hadn't already given up. I still have no idea what this storyline is about -- Xavier's bad personality somehow became a large being with a costume (designed by one of the many manga-cartoony artists that were coming to Marvel at the time) and decided to kill the Avengers and the FF???? I'd like to blame this on Scott Lobdell, who might be the laziest writer ever (did he ever plan more than a few pages ahead when writing?), but this was clearly a fuck-up on Marvel's part, at least according to all the commentary I've read over recently.

Xavier's many personality shifts & flights from law/responsibility -- I can't say for sure, but has Xavier basically lost his mind once a year since 1998? He seems to spend more time pissing the X-men off with his omega mutant wackiness than he does teaching or doing whatever it is that he does for the mansion/school for mutants/gymnasium/rest home.

Chris Claremont returns, again and again -- the man left in a huff, wrote some shitty sci-fi books, didn't have another successful comic and they bring him back like he's the X-men Messiah. They reboot the entire series just for his return, just in time for the first X-men movie to come out, and yet within a year he's booted off Uncanny, gets his own fucking dumbassly titled title -- X-treme X-men -- only to have that one prove itself useless by the end of its 46 issues (as evidenced by the fact that the team simply moves over to Uncanny. Where, of course, Claremont gets yet another chance to prove his usefulness until he got sick. oh, and was moved to New Excaliber and Exiles -- two titles that aren't really part of the main X-universe. I'm just amazed by the fact Marvel kept moving Claremont and retooling all the series when it was clear that other writers were getting credit for breathing new life into the series during the same period (Morrison, Whedon, and, a series I haven't read yet, Milligan with X-Statix). I can see part of the logic -- keep one writer who will appease the traditionalists while these other guys attract new readers or excite others who had become bored. And Claremont is not necessarily the worst writer ever. Apparently that goes to Chuck Austen.

Chuck Austen's reign of terror -- Rob (if you're even reading this) you deserve a medal if you actually read through Austen's time on Uncanny. I have yet to actually read his stuff, but the storylines sound like the result of a mildly retarded monkey transcribing the thoughts of a heavily retarded monkey. And that's really unfair to the skills of monkeys. I am a bit biased here since I've read the summeries and commentary from X-Axis, an X-men site that trashes Austen continuously (though does give him credit for less than stupid ideas). But here is a snippet of an Austen storyline, as described on X-Axis.com:

Austen jettisons Casey's origin story for the Church of Humanity's Supreme Pontiff - which was about the only interesting thing in the original story - and replaces him with a disillusioned Catholic nun who's been, you guessed it, the victim of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. So she sets out to bring down the Church by - brace yourself, this is the good bit - creating an evil plan to instal Nightcrawler as the Pope under an image inducer, and then revealing him as the supposed Antichrist at the same time that she simulates the Rapture. Then Catholics the world over will turn on the Church and the Church of Humanity will step in to take over!

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Wow. That's an incredibly stupid storyline." And do you know what? It's even worse on the page.

You may also be wondering how the Church of Humanity plans to simulate the Rapture. After all, that involves good Catholics being taken up to Heaven. Well, they're going to disintegrate people using evil doctored communion wafers.

I'll just repeat that. The villains are going to usurp command of Catholicism by installing Nightcrawler as the Pope and using murderous disintegrating communion wafers. No, this is not meant to be a comedy story.

Unholy communion wafers. that might be genius. But Nightcrawler as the pope? that's just silly.

Despite all of these crazy things, I've found a few things to be happy about.
Morrison's run on New X-men -- a great mixture of action and character with GREAT art (though that cover to the E for Extinction TPB is pretty bad. Emma Frost looks like she hit herself with the ugly stick for being ugly.) I was confused by some of the issues between that first arc and the Riot at Xavier's, but I am going to read it to the end of his run (and I'll possibly pick up the Omnibus that collects his entire run for $60.00).

Whedon's Astonishing -- Colossus coming back was annoying. I had heard there was a kybosh put on killing characters only to bring them back, but that's clearly was some kind of rumor or false promise as Multiple Man, Cyclops, and Colussus (and probably others) have come back (I'm not sure when MM came back. I just remember him dying of the legacy virus in issue 100 of X-Factor way back when). Anyway, the art for this is fantastic as well. And i'm glad most of the run is already available in trade b/c the delays would drive me nuts. It's good -- but not good enough to maintain momentum over the course of 2 months. Of course, I've already read through the 2 trades, so now I'm stuck waiting for the 3rd and 4th (the latter not coming out anytime soon since the series is still ongoing).

Okay. I've rambled on enough.

Posted by vegetable at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070130/ap_en_mu/people_the_police_6

So, how is it that they band performed a few years ago when they got inducted into the hall of fame, but this is considered a 'reuniting'? Are they actually gonna tour as the Police or is this a one-shot deal?

And, the real question is, does anyone even fucking care? Seriously. If I have to hear Sting sing anymore, I think I might shoot myself. with a gun full of bees!

Posted by vegetable at 5:13 PM | Permalink

This weekend, I went to my first Latin dance class, attended Mike's photo exhibition with most of his family and most of Pop5, played the Wii, and got sick. I also made bread with my newest kitchen toy, a bread machine.

My mom got me one for Christmas, but it was late arriving, so I didn't get it until this weekend. And yesterday, I tried it out for the first time.

I ended up having to make two batches, because I seriously messed up the first batch. After reading all about the delicate ratio of ingredients needed to make the bread perfect, I figured I would increase my chances of success by weighing my ingredients with my little kitchen scale. So I weighed out three cups of flour - since one cup is the equivalent of eight ounces, I measured out 24 ounces. When I went to check the dough, it was much too dry, and I ended up adding a lot of water. I started to suspect I had done something wrong, so I looked on the internet at the King Arthur flour site, where I found that the flour ratios are of course in volume not weight - a cup should only be approximately four ounces. So not only had I put not enough yeast to match my flour and water parts, but I had put in almost double the dough my bread machine could handle. So I stopped the cycle and tossed the dough.

Dough, dead and wrapped in plastic. I threw it into the garbage, where it proceeded to rise and take over my kitchen, until I was able to beat it back with a wooden spoon.

So for the next batch, I didn't try any new innovations, but used the classic spoon and level method of measuring out my flour. And I checked it at the specified point, to make sure.

Now, I have never made bread before, but, as has been the case many times in culinary efforts, I benefited from having seen my mother do it many times. So when I saw this in my bread pan -

- I knew that was not the sticky ball of dough I was supposed to see. The problem this time - too little flour. So I added and adjusted until I saw what I wanted to see. This:

My instincts proved good, and before long, I had this:

That's Mike presenting, by the way.

This is a simple white bread recipe, on the Basic setting, with a medium crust. The crust was really yummy and crunchy on the ends, but not too hard, kind of like the perfect dinner roll texture. The middle of the bread was softer, and it was perfectly baked all the way through. I couldn't wait very long to cut into it, and it was hard to cut because it was so soft. If I waited longer for it to cool, it might be easier. But it smelled wonderful while baking, and it tasted that way, too.

I've already started looking for recipes to try out, and I am looking for a good one for cheese bread. I am stating now for the record that if I find a really good recipe for cheese bread, I may never again leave the house. Except to buy more ingredients for cheese bread.

Posted by Victoria at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/01/28/bill-would-ban-sale-of-products-made-in-sweatshops/

Two points:
1) I realize that posting this will mean we are now being monitored as possible communists. Which is hilarious, because communism sucks (in practice) as much as capitalism sucks (also in practice). So there.

2) in terms of the bill, i'm interested to see what the definition of 'sweat-shop' is and how the working conditions are going to be monitored.

Posted by vegetable at 4:51 PM | Permalink

Some photos from our recent travels north. These were shot with my Canon AE-1 - I am afraid the meter might be going, because they came back a little overexposed. It was a very sunny day. I fixed it a little in Photoshop.

This is downtown Providence. The far building looked like it was shimmering - you can kind of see it in the picture.

A bar/pub? I don't know, it wasn't open.

This was a black and white photo studio that was completely empty on the inside. Apparently black and white photography is not that profitable.

This was near the Rhode Island School of Design.

The drawbridge in Mystic, CT.

A boat in Mystic, CT.

Unofrtunately, I cannot claim to have taken this photo. In fact, I stole it from Gizmodo. I liked their additions, though. It is a commentary on the upcoming Vista as compared to OSX.

Posted by Victoria at 9:51 AM | Permalink

Posted by Buddy at 2:40 PM | Permalink

While President Bush attempted to bring in ratings for all the major networks, Veronica Mars premiered in the first new episode of the 2nd half of the season. Mostly it was standard a Mars-style one-shot episode with a few bits about the mystery we all knew was going to happen -- who shot the Dean?

But the real mystery is this: Is Veronica a dumb-ass slut?

Seriously, I realize that Piz has a stupid name and a haircut rejected from the OC makeup room. But COME ON. Is she that dumb to think Piz was encouraging her to go back to that bum-fight taping douche who lives in a freaking hotel with a guy who takes polaroids of his own genitals? (a hilarious moment, nonetheless)

Seriously. what is wrong with this woman?

My guess is that what's-his-name gives Veronica herpes, cementing their relationship until she finds a dating website specifically for people who have herpes (and thus can have unprotected sex without the guilt of spreading the 'incurable itch.')

Posted by vegetable at 10:33 AM | Permalink

So, I'm a daily visitor to Best Week Ever.tv. Today they posted a video by Donnie Davis, a man who claims to be a reformed homosexual. That's right, he once was lost but now he's found. God. he's in love with a man, a man named God. Does that mean he's gay? Is he gay for god? You betcha.

But aside from paraphrasing Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it also made me check out his 'ministry's homepage:

http://www.lovegodsway.org/

They have OSCAR WILDE on the homepage. He, apparantly, was a reformed homosexual too.

Yup. It's a laugh riot. Check out the list of bands that might be gay or have pro-gay messages. It seems that Elton John (who is the very last one on the list) is definitely gay, but Morrissey is "questionable." How is Morrissey QUESTIONABLE?
The list of 'safe' bands is pretty short. But, repent, it has CYNDI LAUPER.

Oh. this site gets better and better. Rob, maybe you shouldn't visit it. The power of Christ may compel you to not be gay anymore. Or it may compel us all to find this guy and laugh at him. for a full day.

There's also a video for Davis's song, “The Bible Says (God Hates Fags)." The question at BestWeekEver.tv is whether this guy is 100% serious or a completely hilarious parody. If he's not a parody, then I hate America.

Posted by vegetable at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So, I don't normally watch Deal or No Deal. But sometimes I cannot resist the greasy lure of Howie Mandel's bald head. Tonight, a woman -- who was billed as a NASCAR fan (and thus the briefcases were 'checkered flags'). She even said she wanted to use her winnings to start an animal shelter, so I figured i should root for her. But when she turned down 82,000 and never got anywhere closer, the show became a hilarious example of bad television. At one point she elimnated the 1,000,000, the 400,000, the 750,000 and the 50,000 briefcases in less than a minute. Did she quit with the 28,000 she was offered? no.

what did she go home with? $500. But the best part was that NBC had to spend 10 minutes with this undramatic conclusion since it had a Heroes preview slated for the commercial break.

which reminds me, i have to go get my wife so she can watch the other NBC crapfest -- HEROES.

SNAP!

Posted by vegetable at 9:00 PM | Permalink

Posted by Buddy at 3:19 PM | Permalink

So I was having trouble coming up with a good present for Mike for Christmas this year. I asked him if he wanted a Nintendo Wii and he demurred. He wasn't interested in another gaming system. He wanted something practical, books on design and typography.

But he and Buddy one night decided they wanted to rent the Wii from WOW! Video just to see what it was like. And I think you all know where this story is going.

Buddy Wii-Boxing

Well, it took them at least an hour to just create the avatars. And although I have several grounds for not wanting actual photos of me up here on this site, I won't hold my objections against my Wii avatar. I will mention, however, that it is entirely Mike and Buddy's doing, which may account for its permanent scowl.

Wii Victoria

Wiii Mike looks like he is wearing eyeliner. Oh well, he is a fan of The Cure.

Wii Buddy is the only one of us who's natural state is smiling.

They also made a Wii Rob, but when Real Rob stopped by later, he totally redid himself. And there was a Wii Rama, who promptly started talking to all of the girl Wiis in the Wii room. This is not even a lie. Also, I won at bowling. Over the course of the rental period, the guys got better and eventually beat my high score, but I refused to play again, so as far as I am concerned, I am totally undefeated.

Of course, Mike changed his mind and now he wants a Wii. Of course there are still absolutely none to be had. So maybe for Valentine's Day, instead.

UPDATE
Both Buddy and I were able to purchase Wii's the day after I posted this. Which means countdown to the repetitive stress symptoms caused by Wii Bowling.

Posted by Victoria at 1:49 PM | Permalink

Sausage. ha!

Posted by vegetable at 6:03 PM | Permalink

Here a list of the top 20 guitar solos. I took some of the songs off because either I felt they sucked or they were not a true solo (example - Hotel California has a duo, Don Felder/Joe Walsh, playing a solo. Not really a solo now is it....)

1 Stairway To Heaven Led Zeppelin
2 Eruption Van Halen Van Halen
3 Free Bird Lynard Skynard 1975
4 Numb Pink Floyd The Wall
5 all along the watchtower Jimi Hendrix
6 Crazy Train Ozzy Osbourne
7 November Rain Guns 'n Roses
8 One Metallica
9 Crossroads Cream Strange Brew - The Very Best of Cream
10 Voodoo Child (Slight Return) Jimi Hendrix Experience Hendrix (The Best of Jimi Hendrix)
11 JOHNNYBGOOD Chuck Berry
12 Pride and Joy Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble Greatest Hits
13 Bohemian Rhapsody Queen Greatest Hits I II & III Platinum
14 Time Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon
15 Fade To Black Metallica
16 Aqualung Jethro Tull Aqualung (25th Anniversary Edition)
17 Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana
18 Mr. Crowley Ozzy Osbourne The Essential Ozzy Osbourne Disk One
19 Stranglehold Ted Nugent
20 Paranoid Android Radiohead OK Computer

Posted by Buddy at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So, I'm teaching a writing class at Rutgers and my theme for the semester is immigration. it's nice to have a theme -- it helps me pick out related essays for them to read and it helps the students focus on something in their writing. I like to do a little introduction at the beginning of the semester and so I was doing some research and found this little gem of a website that made me laugh:

http://www.petitiononline.com/FreeLady/petition.html

The idea itself isn't so hilarious -- it's a petition to remove the poem about the 'tired and poor' b/c that's just encouraging immigration, dagnabit! The really funny stuff is in the 719 signatures of the petition. Everyone gets to sign AND comment! HILARIOUS stuff:

529. robin abbott
"PLEASE LEAVE US IN PEACE SO THAT WE CAN TEACH ARE AMERICAN BORN CHILDREN ARE HERITAGE THAT THERE FOREFATHERS FOUGHT FOR THERE ARE FAMILYS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE THE COUNTRY BEGAN THE FOREFATHERS MADE THESE LAW FOR THOSE FAMILY SO AS FAR WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO SO WE ARE NOT"
So, is she writing in capitals to suggest she's shouting?

520. Sharon
"Try running a business with only American Citizens today and see how for you get with your company. If you want any real or hard work done you better have an alien because Americans only know how to sit at desks and machines. We are becoming a sad, sad place!!!!"
This is one of a number of comments that seems to be more annoyed with America than with immigration.

604. Russell F. Gale
"It's tragic that a poem written by a socialist anarchist should be associated with Liberty Enlightening the World!"

547. Mike Miley Patriotism is NOT Racism
546. Katie Miley Patriotism is NOT Racism
I bet after signing the petition, these two had hot sex on an American flag with Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" blaring to cover their shouts of ecstasy....

668. sheri bassham
"I live in Ector County Texas, where caucasians are the minority. However, we do not recieve any type of benefit for being the minority. As a matter of fact, the group of white folks in this county are footing the bill for the massive group of people who cannot contribute to the greater good, for all sorts of reasons, but one being that they do not speak English, they are very committed to Mexico, flying the Mexican flag, and celebrating Mexican independence day but not the 4th of July. .Their families live in Mexico and that is where they send their money. They are taking from Ecto County and not contributing. I really resent the fact that they are on medicaid and get scholarships to college all at my expense"

647. W. Martin
"Just one problem we have had is they stole our daughter's car from her work place. She was 7 months pregnant and lived 16 miles from work. There went her only means of transportation. The three who broke into it, hot-wired, stole and wrecked it during a cop chase were children, ages 13 and two were 11 yrs old. I only had liability, they were all illegal."

Someone's not taking this seriously:
641. Huffington Howell III
"I used to be in favor of amnesty, but that all changed last week when Lupe put too much starch in my favorite dress shirt. Now I want all brown people to leave. Viva America!"

I'm not sure if this is supposed to help or hurt the cause:
634. Cecilia Sims
"I am the daughter of an immigrant"

This one makes me wish English were the official language:
626. Donna Avent
"I am sick and tired of problem with illegal aliens and stop more more new immigration because America are fullest. Too many people and highest price houses because of too many people. Stop both legal and illegal immigations. I am tired of competion jobs because of low pay. Stop both legal and illegal immigrations. I am crying because I can not afford to buy house because too expenisve houses because of too many immrgrations I am tired of them . Close all borders Now because America is Fullest!"

my favorite
16. Ima Bigot
"YeeeeeeeHaaaaaaawww!"

Posted by vegetable at 8:41 PM | Permalink

So I just bought the Toast, and now do I need to buy this too?

Posted by Victoria at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So this week has been a busy one, what with the starting of new classes (ugh) and the traveling (but no photos yet). On Saturday, Mike and I met some of his friends in NYC, and we headed out to the Brooklyn Museum, which is hosting special exhibitions by Annie Leibovitz and Ron Mueck. Everyone probably knows who Annie Leibovitz is; Ron Mueck is a sculptor who builds larger (sometimes smaller) than life sculptures of people. Verdict: CREEPY. High points of this NYC visit: figuring out how to get there by train from the Hamilton station (very easy, cheap, and convenient); dinner in Little Italy; and finally going to Brooklyn, which I have never done, even though I lived in NYC for three years. Low points: now, I have a tendency to exaggerate, but it is no lie that there were at least a million people in the museum that night. On the first Saturday of every month, Target hosts extended hours at the museum, until 11pm, and free admission, and it was so crowded in the special exhibition section that we were brought to a standstill for minutes at a time, surrounded. The exhibits were interesting (except CREEPY), but I definitely think I need to go back to see them, and the rest of the museum. There were just too many damn people.

Then, Monday night, Mike and I headed to Providence, Rhode Island, to visit the Rhode Island School of Design, which I know mainly as the alma mater of the Talking Heads. Everything about this short trip was good: Providence is a beautiful little city, we stopped in Mystic, CT on the way back, where we took photos and ate a nice lunch, and we timed it perfectly so the trip back on 95 through Connecticut, past NYC, and down the Jersey Turnpike took just the amount of time it should take, with no standstills and accidents.

And when I got back to work this morning, there was news of the new iPhone (the Apple iPhone, that is), a brand new Toast with Mac-enabled Tivo-to-Go (which I will download when I get home), and the Official Favorite Band of 12-Year-Old Boys will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I am very afraid that this will prompt Mike to play their music loudly to celebrate.

Posted by Victoria at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Buddy at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've had it. Or, enough of it. And by 'it' i mean 'the pop shop's inability to do what most fast food joints that employ high school dropouts and criminals get right -- my fucking order.' That's right, I'm boycotting the place that serves amazing grilled cheeses and even accommodates vegetarians with vegan cheese and veggie patties and even vegan hot dogs and breakfast sausage! I'm forsaking it all, because 90% of the time, they fuck the easiest shit up. And I say this with great respect for all my friends and relatives who have served food honorably in various shitty restaurants. In fact, if given the choice between supporting our troops and supporting America's food servers, I'd fucking salute the waitstaff in a second. Sure both groups have bad apples that fuck things up -- often with the same spiteful behavior and bodily fluids. But, man, do waiters and waitresses put up with a lot of shit that's probably just as emotionally scarring, in the long term, as trying to figure out who's an insurgent and who's just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you've been screwed on a tip over a thousand times in your life, you'd probably be ready to fight in a quagmire just for something new to get angsty about.

As always, I've digressed. Back to The Pop Shop.

Laura and I have only had a couple of occasions where we got what we ordered without issue. In fact, I don't think our desserts have ever been wrong and their milkshakes are pretty good. They get hot chocolate right. We have been to this restaurant at least 10-12 times in the past year. This may not seem like alot, but I'd say we've gone about once a month, which is more than we've been to any other Collingswood restaurant. The only place we've probably eaten at more regularly is King of Pizza and Saladworks. The best part about the Pop Shop, though, is that my meat eating friends and family can find what they like, and the wife and I don't have to settle for side salads and cheese based appetizers. God -- I sound like such an asshole at this point. Oh well.

Here is a list of examples that I'm trying to recall off the top of my head:

Laura's first visit was during opening week, but considering it is indicative of some of the same issues we've had, I'll include it: they waited an hour to get their food, which was breakfast stuff. drinks were ordered but never brought. The food was also not prepared well. Again, first week, so this isn't a big deal. except that they have only improved the amount of time it takes to serve people.

As for my personal experiences:
-Forgotten French fry order. -- i ended up cancelling it because the waitress took so long to do her 'check-up' visit that i was half done with my meal. and who wants a fresh basket of fries when you've eaten half your grilled cheese already?
-Forgotten drink. -- how this happens when drinks are usually the first thing they do is beyond me.
-French Fries were raw. -- You all know that this place makes dark fries. they're never burned, but they never look like the yellow-fries of McDonald's and Wendy's. So, how do the chef and the waitress create and serve uncooked fries?
-Took Laura's order for a strawberry milkshake and then took 15 minutes to make it. because, even though she was standing right by the counter, they managed to forget she was there.
-my sister ordered shoestring potatoes and she got potato wedges. -- These two things do not look alike. They are simply made from the same material. This would be like getting tomato sauce when you order a bowl of tomato soup. or some such nonsense.
-last week laura had to send back her grilled cheese because it had not been grilled. the cheese was still solid, the bread was as pale as a goth boy on halloween. I mean, seriously -- the preparation instructions ARE THE FUCKING TITLE! Who is cooking back there, a team of thumbless chimps with learning disabilities?

Tonight, however, was the trifecta. plus 1! Now, it's Monday night, and there are only about 2 tables with people, but apparently not one of the 5 employees (including the manager and the hostess) saw the need to clean off any of the tables. The booth next to ours didn't get bussed or cleaned for ten minutes. We were seated at a booth that had a few puddles of syrup on it. Apprently the hostess was tricked because there was already new silverware on the table! See, so it was supposed to be clean. I guess. Did you ever stick your hand in syrup when you weren't expecting it -- I don't mean that you're eating waffles and you get syrup on you. I mean, like, you do something natural like open your menu and rest your hands on the table and feel syrup. So, i wash my hands, but to no avail because there's syrup on my menu, too. I'd sigh at this point if i wasn't so disgusted.

the not-so-funny thing is that I actually waved over the hostess and asked her if the table could be cleaned or if we could move. She quickly grabbed Windex and a rag -- and then says "I looked at it when I was seating you and thought I saw something..." What the fuck does that MEAN? did she hope we'd miss it? "They'll never notice the pool of syrup, the fools!" I guess it was some kind of apology/ass-covering. But really "I thought i saw something?" She might be the worst hostess ever. And that's not a job that really requires much (when compared to the other jobs at a restaurant or a glass sorting factory. "Green glass goes there; clear glass, over there. I sort glass. That's my job. It was hard. but now, I know it by heart!")

Then i get my orange juice. in a glass that had more crust stuck on the inside than I prefer in my juice. I prefer none, if you're wondering. Then I take out my fork out and the prongs of my fork are sticky. Did a fucking bottle of syrup explode in this place? Maybe some kid fucking ate too much and burst into a million fat pieces. fucking fat kids in this country.

So, Laura and I order our simple meals (we both got omelets) and keep our fingers crossed. When the food comes out it looks great, though Laura's toast is a bit pale (they can't seem to toast shit in this place. I wonder if they're holding the bread over a fucking match to save money).

So, let me rephrase: everything looked good. And then I see the fucking bacon in my omelet that I had specifically asked to be left out. And the waitress wrote it down! I saw her scribble. Maybe she scribbled "asshole wants no bacon" but she wrote something. The waitstaff manages to take instructions, and they're always really nice about fixing mistakes, but the kitchen people seem to screw things up every time. And then the waitstaff manages to miss the fact that things are missing or un-cooked or dirty. Okay -- noticing bacon in an omelet is not something I would expect from a waitress, even though she only had 1 other table at this point. But seriously, how did our waitress last week bring us out a fucking grilled cheese that wasn't even lightly tanned? wouldn't you stop to think -- huh, grilled cheese should be grilled. It's pretty fucking logical.

So, yeah, mock me for expecting too much. But we've given this place so many chances that it's finally time to say goodbye to the Pop Shop. I imagine the fact that children make up 80% of their clientèle explains why the place is still in business. I've never seen a kid send back anything. Fat pieces of shit.

Posted by vegetable at 1:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't like putting commericals up but I thought this one was funny and I like Bruce Campbell.

Posted by Buddy at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby and leaves the building. In the evening, he gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in the elevator - or if it was raining that day - he goes back to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to his apartment. Can you explain why?

Posted by Buddy at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This a Profile test I guess to see how other think of you compared to how you see your self

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Buddacon

Posted by Buddy at 2:49 PM | Permalink

I don't know if all these character will be available for the US release.

Posted by Buddy at 1:20 PM | Permalink