Overrated Shit No. 2: Pizza King

Yummy. Let's eat pizza.

I’m probably going to make some enemies with this one. Few things are sacred in this world. In eastern Indiana, you don’t mess with the King.

To start, I will concede that I occasionally love me some Royal Feast. Greasy, cheesy, meaty … mmmmm. Calling in your order from the telephone at your table is fun. For those of you who have been to Clara’s in Richmond, you’ve seen the double-decker bus that is in the middle of the restaurant. Pizza King does do some unique things, and its product is good cheap pizza.

The problem is, that while it tastes like good cheap pizza, it doesn’t cost like good cheap pizza. It’s a bit pricey for what it is. In general, I’d rather eat pie from the now-defunct T-Dubs, local fave Greeks or even Papa John’s. I’ll either get a better pizza (T-Dubs and Greeks) or a better deal (Papa John’s).

Another reason I’m not ringing the king anytime soon: The way the ingredients are all ground up reminds me of the student sausage scene from Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Not appetizing.

Sorry, Pizza King. You are overrated.

The bring down

On the one hand, when I’m writing and I come up with something unexpected, something that wasn’t part of the plan, I’m excited. The muse has been benevolent, solving a problem, filling a gap, sending me in new and exciting directions.

On the other hand, then I think to myself, “Why the %$@& didn’t you think of that already?”

Writers … we don’t win even when we win.

Feeling the ‘Hunger’

I enjoyed reading the Hunger Games series. I thought it was well done as a tragic adventure story for young readers, and for more mature readers, Suzanne Collins does a deft job of selling her take on the future and its celebrity culture, reality TV, political manipulation and the constant struggle of an elite class to accumulate as much power as they can.

I’m also pleased because it’s a book my daughter can read that gives her someone to look up to and identify with in a positive manner. Katniss Everdeen is brave, loyal, smart, self-reliant and inventive. She’s also a disaster at personal relationships and is tone deaf to the politics of any situation. In other words, she’s human. She’s also a terrific, tortured main character. For a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan like me, I know these sorts of heroines are rare and am left wishing each of the three books in the Hunger series was about 200 pages longer. And though her love relationships tend to be complicated, Katniss isn’t stuck making a choice between two boys who aren’t good for her. On the contrary, both are solid citizens and love her completely, which helps make the choice even more difficult.

The type of character that seems all too common – and I hope my daughter will avoid showering her affection upon – is exemplified by Bella Swan. She gives up all of herself for someone who is cold, distant and bloodsucking. Her other choice is a shape-changer that, on a bad day, would eat her alive and pick his teeth with her bones. Bella sacrifices her life, although she’s reborn as a vampire, for Edward. Her adoration is blind and stupid. Her actions are foolish and usually with little thought for anyone but her and her undead lover. Her life is Edward’s, not her own, and by her choice. It’s not how I want my little girl to think about her relationships with boys, and I’m not sure why everyone seems to think it’s so romantic in the Twilight series. On the contrary, it’s pathetic.

Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick with Katniss, and encourage my daughter to do the same.

Overrated Shit No. 1: Sorry

I make no apologies for my loathing of Sorry. This game isn’t about winning; it’s about trying to make sure no one else wins until one day, maybe, way too long after the game first started, someone lucks into a victory. It’s hard to get a piece out of Start, then it’s way too easy to get a piece kicked back to the beginning. The last time I played, we went through a deck and half of cards before I got my first piece out of the starting area. I wasn’t playing the game. I was watching it.

There are so many better options out there: UNO, Go Fish, euchre, double-deck euchre, Battleship, Monopoly, etc. Games with better tempo, better strategies, games that entertain and engage instead of frustrate and enrage.

Sorry, Sorry. You are unworthy of the hype.

‘Dead’ wrong

http://www.timshay.com

Not all that long ago I was bitching and moaning about the first half of the second season of The Walking Dead. The pace had slowed considerably after a tight, fast first season. Not one. not two, but three children were put in danger to up the ante. … And more.

Well, they showed me, didn’t they? The slow pace let the underlying problems of the main characters simmer until they were ready to boil, even explode. Shane (pictured above) is full-on scary, so much so that only Andrea – who is blinded by her own anger – doesn’t realize how dangerous he is. Lori is starting to play Rick against Shane. Rick’s ability to walk a line between Patton-like hardass and caring leader gets strained even further. Glenn and Maggie continue to get closer, and the results of that coupling have really helped round out Glenn’s character. Even the relationship between Daryl and Carol, at first seemingly a minor subplot with little if nowhere to go, continues to be interesting and could lead to more interesting situations with those two characters.

Fortunately, on my initial post, I have myself an out, noting that this slow, dragging first half of the season could be a set up. And it was. Thankfully. Can’t wait for the next new episode.