Throw It In The Trash

 It's that time of year again where we gather with friends and family over a plate of food. Be thankful for what we have and the people in our lives. As we gather to pass down family recipes, watch football, play cards and look for Black Friday deals. 

We also should have some serious discussions about some traditional Thanksgiving dishes that absolutely postively belong in the trash. Through my own personal taste and talking to people I know. I've compiled a list of Thanksgiving dishes you really shouldn't put on your plate. Maybe even better just dont bothering cooking it. This list has no particular ranking.

Green Bean Casserole

I love green beans or as our culture still call them "string beans". I've never had green bean casserole though, but a few people I asked ranked that on the list as trash worthy. Looking at the recipe the green beans are the centerpiece with cream of mushroom soup and frenched fried onions as the other ingredients. Doesn't sound or by the photo look very appetizing at all, and based on what I've heard I'll stay away from it.

Pumpkin Pie

 

Once late August/early September hits you see pumpkin everything. Pumpkin spiced drinks, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin lattes. Even pumpkin flavored candles, then fast forward to Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie is available in abundance. If I'm ever somewhere and a plate is handed to me with a slice of pumpkin pie is on it. I hope I'm not disrespecting anyone at the gathering who made it when I immediately toss it in the trash. 

Canned Veggies

There is a distinct difference in taste between freshly cooked vegetables and canned veggies. I get it canned veggies are convenient and non-perishable. They also are clutch for large catering events. They however don't compare to the taste of freshly cooked greens that someone put their elbow into. If you are at a residential Thanksgiving dinner and see canned veggies, make your way to your next destination.

Potato Salad

I enjoy some good potato salad, I prefer it in the summer during a cookout but that's just my preference. Alot of people love potato salad as a side dish for Thanksgiving. My brother bought up an excellent point, potato salad is worthy of seconds or the trash depending on who made it. Now the caveat is you wont know until you put a couple of scoops on your plate. A whole movie was based around the debate of potato salad and who made it. 

Cranberry sauce

Talking with a few people I must have missed the boat on cranberry sauce. I've never liked cranberry sauce and believe it's a prime candidate for the trash. I've been told canned cranberry sauce deserves that honor, but homemade cranberry sauce is a whole different ballgame. After having that conversation I thought about it and I've only ever had canned cranberry sauce. Maybe one day if someone else makes it I'll give homemade cranberry sauce a try. Until then it's trash worthy to me. 

Turkey 

To me turkey is the centerpiece of many meals on Thanksgiving, because it's tradition and many people dont want to find alternatives. That is one tradition I'm perfectly ok with fading away. Turkey is just dry as hell and I've heard the old saying just pour some gravy on it, and that doesnt help at all. The one time I had turkey and enjoyed it was when someone fried it. Even then I'm not sure that's enough to justify making turkey the main meat for thanksgiving. Throw the entire bird in the trash! 

That's my list. What are your thoughts, what dishes belong in the trash? 

Read More

Hidden Gem Theater: Strictly Business

It's the 30th anniversary of a movie called "Strictly Business". Now I love this movie but surprisingly I know maybe only 5 other people that have even heard of the movie. Which is quite a shame because it is actually a very good fun movie, and reflective of the culture back then and now.

Strictly Business stars Tommy Davidson, Joseph C. Phillips, and Halle Berry in her first starring role. Tommy's character Bobby is a mailroom clerk at a big Manhattan firm that dabbles in commercial real estate. Joseph's character is Waymon Tinsdale. A high level executive at said firm.

Bobby would like Waymon to mentor him to grow in the company, but Waymon has a stick so far up his ass he believes Bobby acts too Black for the corporate world. That is until Waymon learns Bobby is an acquaintance of Halle Berry's Natalie, who Waymon is smitten by and wants to get to know.

The two decide to partner up and help one another get what they want. As a kid when I saw the movie I just thought it was a funny movie starring Tommy Davidson who of course was making stomachs hurt on In Living Color and the guy from the Cosby Show.

Now as an adult the movie touches on so many relevant topics. Black people having to behave a certain way to be successful in corporate environments. The crab in a barrel mentality amongst Black's. The power of networking and fostering relationships. Corporate politics and racism. Going after what you want and what's more important love or a career?

Strictly Business pulled in $7 million during its box office run. Which I guess is a modest success as I'm sure it didn't receive much promotion. The lack of promotio during it's theater run and afterwards may contribute to the lack of love the movie gets. It also isn't often shown on Cable TV you may catch it on a BET station late at night every now and then. It isn't widely available on any streaming platform, Prime video has it to rent for $3.99. When it really should be available for all to see on HBO Max in my opinion. 

Samuel L. Jackson before he became cool ass Uncle Sam has a role in the movie, Sam Rockwell who I only knew as the leader of the wannabe foot soldiers in Ninja Turtles has a role, and Jodeci have a brief part before they dropped their first album. Speaking of which, the movie is backed by a fire new jack swing era soundtrack led by Jeff Redd's single "You Called And Told Me"  courtesy of legendary Uptown Records. 

All which contributes to it's legacy in my opinion. It's a hidden gem deserving of so much more love and I highly suggest checking it out if you get the chance.

Read More

The Movies That Made Us Wishlist

/ 

Netflix recently released the third season of The Movies that made us, featuring Robocop, Aliens, and Coming To America as the topics of the season.I'm already anticipating season 4 and I'm not even sure if the series has been renewed or not. The series covers most films that had an hold on pop culture in some way, shape, or form. As I frequently do when it comes to shows like this, I decided to compile a list of movies I would like to see covered in the next season or beyond.

The Lost Boys

I'm not the biggest horror film junkie but 1987's The Lost Boys is one of my favorite horror movies. I'll take a vampire movie over a zombie or slasher flick any day of the week. Starring Keifer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz and 1980's superstars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman also known as the Two Corey's. The movie is a cult classic and from what I've read was originally developed as a completely different movie, and apparently had a teaser after-credits scene before that was really a thing. There have been a couple of B-movie sequels and a planned TV series that cant get out of development hell. Which goes to show how much the film is loved. The story of how The Lost Boys came to be needs to be told.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 

"Be Excellent To Each Other" and "Party On Dudes!" are two famous quotes said by two slacker's who just so happened to have the future of humanity in their hands. Starring Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves who must travel through time (another favorite of mine) to keep history on the right path. This is another movie that experienced road blocks during filming and releasing. I read somewhere it was actually supposed to be released a whole year before it did, due to Orion Pictures (an 80's studio juggernaut) experincing financial issues. The Bill and Ted franchise spawned two sequels, a television series, cartoon, toys, cereal and an entire legacy. Let's see how it got started.

Jingle All The Way

We're now in the holiday season and one of my favorite holiday movies to watch is Jingle All The Way. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father who spend's Christmas eve frantically searching for the hottest toy of the year Turbo Man. The plot had to be based on the Power Rangers craze of the early 90's, I remember my mother telling me her struggles to get me Power Rangers figures for Christmas. Technology has taken over the toy frenzy of a new everyone must have toy, but Jingle All The Way is available every holiday to remind us of the good ol' days. We deserve to see how the film came to be.

Clueless

Clueless the 1995 classic starring Alicia Silverstone, StaceyDash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, and Breckin Meyer. It's a teen comedy known for the slang, soundtrack, fashion and display of teen life in the 90's for rich kids. I loved the movie as a kid I just thought all the characters were cool and looked forward to my high school years (turned out to be nothing like the movie obviously). The movie made Alicia a bonafide star for a period of time, spawned a TV series, several copycats, and a planned reboot . It's impact on pop culture and the stars it created years later would make for an worthy episode.

The Nutty Professor 

In the 1980's Eddie Murphy was everywhere and on top of the world. It seemed like he had the midas touch for success from SNL, Delirious to 48 hours, Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop I and II, Eddie Murphy Raw, and Coming to America (which is covered in season 3). Even his movies that divide his fans like The Golden Child and Harlem Nights are still good movies, hell he was even shoehorned into an movie (Best Defense) to increase the chances of the movies success. In the 90's that touch was wearing off, Another 48 hours was a dud. Boomerang is a classic, but The Distinguished Gentleman was not well received along with Beverly Hills Cop III and Vampire In Brooklyn (which I love).

Anyway his success turned around in 1996 when he starred in the remake of the Nutty Professor playing main character Sherman Klump, his alter ego Buddy Love and Sherman's family. The movie is hilariously funny, showed Eddie Murphy's range in playing multiple characters. The soundtrack still hits today, and if you watch it now you'll still laugh. I'm sure the story of how the reboot came about and how Eddie got involved is not an average story for film development.

The Sandlot 

Ask any 90's kid their favorite sports movie of that decade and the answer is more than likely The Sandlot or Mighty Ducks, depending on their preference. While I have a special place in my heart for both films and think the story of both deserve to be told. I think Disney would keep The Mighty Ducks close to their chest and capitalize on that film's story on their own platform, especially with the 30th anniversary next year. Back to the Sandlot, the movie is the ultimate be a kid, get into stuff with your friends, adventure film.

At it's core the movie is about life long friendships, which the older you get you learn to value more often. Some good baseball, funny moments, and very quotable lines are sprinkled throughout the film. I would love to hear about what inspired the story, it's development process and the fun of playing baseball during filming. Transport me back to the sandlot in the 1960's for an episode.

Read More