Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Cheddar Biscuits, Morningside Mustangs & Benedictine (Kansas) Ravens

The preceding week had some rather different moments for me. Monday wasn't too out of the ordinary; I ended up at a Target but nothing noteworthy happened. Tuesday was different; I went on a little bit of a roadtrip to an open air mall I hadn't been to before. That place was fine and I went in a few different stores. I had a frou-frou smoothie from some random place and it wasn't the cheapest thing I could have purchased at the mall but at least it tasted good. Dinner was at a Moe's; years ago I once saw fervent debate among some people (who are insignificant but that's another story) concerning quick-order American-Mexican places between Chipotle, Qdoba and Moe's. I have had Moe's twice in my life and sorry to say, I am not a fan of the chain and give me Chipotle or Qdoba instead. That said, I am glad I went there; on the way there I passed by an Ollie's Bargain Outlet. That is a southern chain I had actually never been in before, so I gave it a shot. A bunch of random items that are about to expire soon or is otherwise discounted is cool with me, so I should have gone to one much sooner. Random food & drink were purchased, including Halloween candy, as why the heck not?

Wednesday I did nothing and Thursday I was gonna go to a restaurant with someone but that someone was under the weather, so the trip to Red Lobster had to wait until a rainy Friday. Thus, Thursday's dinner was Wendy's, as I hadn't been there in awhile. The quality of the food I got there (or lack thereof) means that it'll be a long time before I get food from any Wendy's, even if it was that particular location only that prepared lousy food on this occasion as there had never been a problem before. Friday's Red Lobster meal was for sure better. Of course, the service could have been better and I'd have preferred it if the menu at the restaurant and the one on their website had been identical, but... at least the food itself was tasty. I had wood-grilled shrimp, french fries and a baked potato... and the restaurant's famous cheddar biscuits.

Saturday I did go on another journey. This time it was to the Daytona Beach area. For the past few years a lower division of college football (the NAIA, to be exact) has held their championship game in the city. I went to it back in 2015, where the Marian (Indiana) Knights defeated the Southern Oregon Raiders 31-14. As this is the last year the NAIA championship football game will be in Daytona Beach (starting new year it will be in Louisiana) I figured I should attend. This time it was the Morningside Mustangs of Iowa against the Benedictine Ravens of Kansas. I had no dog in this fight but I ended up sitting on the side of the stands that had the Benedictine fans, whom outnumbered the Morningside fans. I was amused that for a Catholic school, plenty of Ravens fans were quite obviously intoxicated... not just from the beer that was sold in the stadium but from what had to be many hours of tailgating beforehand. In addition, the security and cops seemingly did not care if booze was brought into the stadium as I saw hard liquor bottles out in the open! I did not partake in any of that as I had a long drive home and considering that part of the journey was in foggy weather...

As for the game itself, Morningside probably had the better team but late in the 4^th it was tied at 28; a pretty exciting game it was. Unfortunately for the Ravens, they screwed up a punt pretty badly so that one mistake allowed for the Mustangs to easily score and that final score was Morningside 35, Benedictine 28... I did feel bad for the Ravens that this was how they lost. I was happy that I did not sit by any of the intoxicated people so I did not have to move elsewhere during the game, and even with the fog and the expected poor drivers on the way there and back, it was a nice day indeed. Sunday I did not go anywhere; I slept in and relaxed even though the Bears were playing against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers. Chicago won the game and for the first time in years will be both going to the playoffs and are the division champions.

I actually won't be returning next Monday, and it's not because that day is Christmas Eve. Rather, that is because it is time for the now-customary trip around Christmas to see one of my sisters in Kansas. Henceforth, I will return on New Year's Eve and talk about two weeks worth of activities.

Schindler's List, Winter Wassail, Gelato Bars & Army vs. Navy

This time around some serious topics will be brought up. Monday I stopped at my bank then purchased some random items from the local Winn Dixie store. Tuesday evening, I went with someone to a restaurant; back this past spring I went to a Rock and Brews restaurant and thought it was pretty cool, as I talked about here at the time. Since then they opened a location in Kissimmee right by what will soon be Margaritaville Resort Orlando. Me and that other person were glad we went there as both meals were enjoyed and it was a good first impression for this other person. It was cool to eat a meal while listening to the live version of Take Me to the River by the Talking Heads or Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits.

Wednesday and Thursday I did nothing of note; Friday I returned to Disney Springs. Starting this past Friday and lasting for a week, a little more than 1,000 locations across the country are having special 25^th anniversary screenings of Schindler's List; I had seen it before, but never on the big screen and that one viewing was many, many years ago. Thus, this was an important movie I had to view again. While it definitely is difficult to watch at times due to the unflinching look at the Holocaust, it is an outstanding film and the best thing a legendary director has ever done. I also had dinner there; I was originally going to eat at one location but I got disrespected (long story I don't want to get into) so instead I had my meal somewhere else and I was able to have dessert from a new location. Wolfgang Puck just opened a new restaurant/bar and it looks to be rather frou-frou and the meals likely cost beaucoup dollars. However, there is also an outdoor gelato bar attached which offers several different desserts. The prices there weren't too outrageous so gelato is what I had and it was quite delicious.

Saturday and Sunday I did nothing at all; with how rainy Sunday was I was happy to stay in. That night I did see the Chicago Bears upset the Los Angles Rams (one of the best teams in the league this year), which was good. Saturday afternoon I watched the big Army vs. Navy football game, which has been a big deal for many decades now and have had a rivalry on the gridiron since the 1890's. I never have a stake in who wins-I just hope for a close game, which it usually is in recent years. As I have broached some serious topics this time, it will seem gauche to mention how Florida traffic is still atrocious and more than once in the past few weeks an accident has almost happened to me due to the stupidity of others, so instead I will note that late last month while I was at Trader Joe's I purchased a container of a drink known as Winter Wassail. This was unfamiliar to me so I was curious. It's a spiced fruity drink from the UK that's been around since the olden times and finally having tried it recently, it's not bad.

When I return next time, I definitely will have more to discuss.

Passports, Brutalist Architecture & The Possession Of Hannah Grace

The end of November did not arrive like a lion. Last Monday and Tuesday the only thing of note I did was help a parent book an airline flight-while doing that I saw another example of airlines being scumbags and raising their prices if you look at the site too long or too often. The way to combat that is either by clearing your browser cache or looking at it in incognito mode. If you have no idea what I am referring to, hopefully you can have someone else explain it or are able to look it up online. Wednesday was more interesting. I went to the local Walgreens to have a passport photo taken; you see, I need to renew my passport before I can renew my drivers license in a few months. Thus, might as well get on the ball now. The older lady doing that had some technology problems but I understand as she was an elderly person so no way could I be a heel there and it took only a few minutes longer than expected. 

After that I went to Orlando to visit some places I hadn't been to in a few years. First was Smashburger, which offers tasty food and all... but in Central Florida there is a plethora of good eatery options. They now have the option of building your own burger and thus I had one with a pretzel bun... as I also got a specialty shake (which included peppermint) it was a pretty good meal. After that I wandered around the Orlando Fashion Square Mall, which is doing poorly compared to how it has been in the past. At least I went to a clearance store of the Southern department store chain Dillards, and got a pretty good shirt for a pretty good price.

Thursday and Friday I did nothing at all; Saturday night I finally went somewhere due to boredom. I hadn't use my AMC Theatres A-List app in a few weeks so even though there isn't much that is out now or will come out this month that I am too terribly interested in, my schedule and that of the AMC lined up where the only thing I could see that I had even a modicum of interest in was The Possession of Hannah Grace. I know many hate it but for me it was OK. Unfortunately for it, a lower-budget movie with a similar plot (weird things happen with a corpse at a morgue) was done a lot better with The Autopsy of Jane Doe, starring Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch. That came out a few years ago and between the two I definitely recommend Jane Doe. The funniest thing for me is that in Hannah Grace, it was set and filmed in Boston; the building they used for the hospital/morgue was designed using Brutalist architecture and well, those around Orlando should know what I mean when I compare it to the big library building that is in downtown Orlando. I mean, it was quite similar. I'll presume that building they used in Boston wasn't actually a hospital.

Sunday, I went into town to get one Jersey Mike's Subs for me and one for someone I know; this was a good move on my part. Another good move was not going anywhere to see the Chicago Bears play against the New York Giants. Starting Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is still injured so once again their backup had to start and from what I understand his performance was not good... no surprise the Giants won in overtime despite being a pretty bad team. When I return next Monday, there are some ideas as to what will be discussed.

Thanksgiving, Auto Shows, Voodoo Doughnuts & Metal Health (Bang Your Head)

This was another one of those weeks where not a lot happened but there still were some interesting moments. Monday, I went with someone to a Sam's Club in an Orlando suburb-they are a member, unlike me-and several items were purchased there. As I imagine not too many are interested in hearing how they changed their layout since my last visit, I'll skip ahead and mention how the person I was with wanted to eat dinner at a Five Guys Burger & Fries, so I obliged. That went fine and unlike the crowded joint I was at the last time I was at Five Guys, hardly anyone was there despite it being in the 5PM hour. Tuesday through Thursday, nothing to really talk about except that Thanksgiving was the customary meal that I have with some family members, and this time around my aunt was also present. It was a nice day... oh and the Chicago Bears also played early in the afternoon, against the Detroit Lions. The Bears won and this was without their first string QB playing due to injury. The Lions are so lousy they lost to a backup-Chase Daniel-who has hardly played at all during his time in the league.

Friday, I did what I've done pretty much every Black Friday since I moved down here and that was go to the Orange County Convention Center and experience the Central Florida International Auto Show; that is where many manufacturers bring their 2018 or 2019 models for people to look at up close. As always, vehicles like the Corvette and Camaro are pretty popular, and certain demographics love the giant trucks... some of those are outrageously expensive now, as in $70,000 or more! I ate dinner there and I sat by the area which Jeep set up that had a simulated off-road course, and I got to faintly hear some old-school R&B... that to me was a plus. On the way back I went to a Trader Joe's as I hadn't been there in awhile; I picked up a few random items. Also on the way back I heard the 80's heavy metal song Metal Health (Bang Your Head)-by Quiet Riot-twice on two different radio stations. That was a win to me; this may say a lot about my tastes considering I recently bashed Post Malone and here I am praising 80's heavy metal... but I have no regrets about that.

Saturday I did nothing; Sunday, that was interesting. I went to Office Depot to purchase a few items... after that I had a late lunch at PDQ as my last visit was long ago. In the evening, I returned to Universal Studios CityWalk for the first time in about three months. The only thing new there was that the AMC Theatres is now a Cinemark-I have known about that since the change was made in September. I had a drink at one of the bars... a beer was ordered but I received a cocktail instead. As the random thing I had tasted fine, I did not get mad at the bartender for the mistake. In addition, I finally tried out the Voodoo Doughnuts that opened there earlier in the year. The two doughnuts I got (an orange creamsicle and one with Cap'n Crunch) were very tasty. What an interesting place that was... and their two slogans say a lot. The first is “The Magic is in the Hole”-there is a good reason for me to snicker at that, and it is their other slogan. If you order a set of doughnuts they are put into a pink box and well... emblazoned in many different places is the phrase “Good Things Come in Pink Boxes.” No comment...

Next time around, nothing is on the agenda as of yet.

Zaxby's, Flanagan's, Typical Nonsense & Mountain Dew Merry Mash-Up

Even for me, not a whole lot happened this past week so this will be a little shorter than usual. This past Monday, I went to the local Zaxby's restaurant in town. I had been to other locations of that Southern chicken-focused before but for some reason I never had tried the one only a few miles away from me, even though I think it has been there for two years now, if not longer. That was a fine meal I got from there on this day so I should frequent the place more often. Tuesday and Wednesday, I did nothing of note, except that I stopped at a convenience store and purchased a 20 ounce bottle of the newest limited edition Mountain Dew: Merry Mash-Up, which is the odd-sounding combination of cranberry and pomegranate. It was actually not half-bad.

Thursday, that was a hectic day-I say that only due to how wretched traffic was. Two of the main drags I took to the Orlando-Sanford Airport to pick someone up ended up being traffic jams due to accidents. Thus, I had to take alternate routes to get to the random “sports pub” I stumbled upon online the night before. I saw high ratings for Flanagan's in Longwood so I gave it a shot. It was a smoking establishment-which was news to me-but while I am not a fan of cigarettes I was able to put up with that. Many states (including Illinois) has banned smoking in restaurants and clubs but not Florida. At least the food was good, the staff was fine, the music on the jukebox included the entirely of Rush's 20 minute song 2112, and some random guy even paid for my beer. I picked up that person from the airport and on the way back I not only passed by another wreck but some A-hole drove by me going AT LEAST 100MPH... regrettably he wasn't the one who later crashed and I was crestfallen a cop car wasn't around at the time.

Friday through Sunday I really did nothing at all, unless people want to hear about my trip to Walmart to get some miscellaneous items. At least there were things I could do at home, like watch LivePD and halfway pay attention to football... even the Sunday night Chicago Bears game against the Minnesota Vikings. Chicago won 25-20 as they finally faced better competition. There was the typical nonsense that has ruined the NFL and it had an impact on the game, but at least the Bears won.

When I return a week from today, I should hopefully have more to discuss; at least I know of a few things I'll be doing.

The Oviedo Mall, Overlord, Die Hard & Pretentious Twaddle

The preceding week had some interesting moments along with days where I did not do much of anything at all. Monday the 5^th I went to two stores in my town. The first was Walmart to pick up a few items; the second was Winn-Dixie. I hadn't been to a W-D in years as I did not feel like it. What inspired me to finally return was that online I randomly stumbled upon news that they remodeled the local store. Once I went there, I discovered this to be true. My trips there will be at least once in a blue moon to purchase random products. Tuesday, after I voted I went to a movie theatre to watch a motion picture. Now, in the past I've talked about the late 70's European horror film Suspiria. That has many fans; even they can admit that the storytelling and logic isn't always great, but the colorful visuals and musical score are great. As I mentioned last fall, I got to see it theatrically and that was a fun experience.

Now, there is a remake of it, but they only took the basic plot synopsis and went in other directions. Many film fans love it but me... pretentious claptrap is my opinion. The movie brags about having “six acts and an epilogue” and it's 2 ½ hours long. Most of the added material was superfluous and pointless; while not everything about the movie is bad, what made me ultimately hate it was that after a laughable finale (one of a few times where there are pretty gruesome moments that become silly because they go on for WAY too long) the epilogue bored me to tears and it just would never end. IMO, stick with the original Argento movie.

Wednesday I did nothing but Thursday, I had to make yet another airport journey; this time it was dropping off someone in Sanford; on the way back I stopped at the Oviedo Mall as I hadn't been there in years. The place was different since my last visit but to be honest, I will only make it out that way once in a blue moon as there aren't too many reasons for me to make that long drive-not to mention pay all those tolls. One eatery I like to try in the future but I will talk about that another time, once they are open. Friday and Saturday were nondescript, unless people want to hear about me going into town to pick up pizza. Veterans Day was more interesting for me. The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 34-22 (as they should have) then I went to Disney Springs to see two movies.

The first one was Die Hard, a personal favorite of mine; this was not the first time I've been able to see that theatrically. Even thirty years later I still say the movie is incredible so I am glad I had another opportunity to partake in it... this time it was presented by TCM and Fathom Events. I then left that AMC to walk around Disney Springs a bit (where I enjoyed the holiday decorations they have up) before returning and seeing Overlord. That was the B movie I expected it to be; it is silly yet fun as it delivered plenty of gore and violence. Also, what a movie to see on Veterans Day, something about D-Day... and Nazis doing evil experiments to create super-soldiers.

When I return a week from today, I have a few ideas in mind as to what I'll be discussing.

Post Malone, Halloween, Broken Strings Liquid Vinyl & Flintstones Vitamins

Yes, for once I'll talk about modern popular music. For a long while now I've thought that most modern popular music is just terrible so I don't even bother trying to follow it. Post Malone... first off, he's a white rapper so points off right away. What he calls “music” is manufactured nonsense AND all he does is Autotune garbage. I only need to hear snippets from a few songs to have my mind made up... actually, to be honest I mostly had my mind made up after first viewing his repulsive physical appearance! 

Anyhow, a few days ago on Twitter I retweeted a Washington Post article where a music critic just eviscerated Malone and modern popular music in general after a festival appearance. Many colorful phrases were uttered and I thought it was great. Well, someone I know did not like the article and gave some reasons why. I am not going to argue with him about it as I know no one's opinion will change after a tete-a-tete so it would be a waste of time. Why he and millions love that “music”, I'll just never understand; the fact that afterwards both Malone and his dad became real butthurt about the article and started harassing the writer... “trash” is the word that comes to mind. I am much happier listening to old tunes I am already familiar with or exploring songs from the past that are new to me. Now, back to business: 

Last Monday, I went with someone to the local Applebee's. Regrettably, things did not go great there. The service was fine and I can't complain about my meal, but the someone tried the riblets and hated them; to me they did not look too appetizing. Plus, when we first walked in, some ghetto (and terrible) modern music was playing; eventually they changed it to a station playing older tunes but it suddenly became LOUD and again, like the previous week I wasn't a fan of that. Tuesday I did nothing and Wednesday was Halloween; unlike in the past few years, a decent amount of trick or treaters came around and that was good. I will always have fond memories of going around the neighborhood with my two sisters and mom each Halloween season when I was a little kid... oh so many years ago. On that night I had a locally made drink that was supposed to make you not as hungover... I had it before I consumed some alcoholic beverages. I am not sure if it had any effect but amazingly, it tasted just like the orange Flintstones Vitamins I had when I was a real little kid. Even after a few decades I still have not forgotten such a distinctive taste. 

Thursday, I went to what is now known as ICON Orlando 360, which is the area around the ICON Orlando 400 foot tall Ferris wheel. It'd been awhile since I roamed around there; I ate at the Yard House, a place I had been before. Dinner was consumed and so was some craft beer. The one I'll mention is the local concoction known as Broken Strings Liquid Vinyl, which is a dark IPA. Sounds odd, but it was fine. I also went into Shake Shack for a shake... wise decision on my part. Friday, I will not mention all I did but I will bring up the visit to the nearby Twistee Treat... it is outdoor buildings shaped like ice cream cones and as someone I know had a 2 for 1 coupon about to expire, we went there. Getting rained on while waiting for the treats was no fun, but at least said treats were tasty.

The weekend I did nothing at all; Sunday was a rainy day so being at home was A-OK. At least the Chicago Bears easily defeated the Buffalo Bills... sure, the Bills are now terrible and had to start a terrible quarterback, but it is still a blowout victory. When I return a week from today, hopefully I'll have more to discuss... and there will be less in the way of salty takes.