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I didn't know about Firefly until it was all over, and bought the box set on spec. Loved it!
Then I did a bit of research. One of the things I loved about it was the story arc; easy to appreciate when you binge-watch the whole thing.
What amazed me is that when it was on TV they didn't show the opening two-parter, the one that explains what's going on, until right at the end after they'd already decided to cancel the show. They showed the other episodes in a random order, meaning the story arc got lost and the laws of cause and effect were broken; several consequences happened before the things that caused them.
No wonder no-one stuck with it! If I was a TV exec, and had a secret agenda to make sure a show got cancelled even though it was brilliant, how would I go about it? Well, I'd probably show all the episodes out of order, making sure that the all-important first episode which explains everything doesn't get shown until it's too late, and I'd probably change the day/time it is shown at random, making it difficult to follow even if you do like it.
I wonder why it got cancelled?
This reminds me of the story behind the cancellation of Crusade, the follow up to the hugely successful Babylon 5. The writer, JMS, has a proven track record of success in both writing and showrunning, but when TV execs and bean-counters started to tell him how to write, he wondered if they'd accept his instructions on how to count beans! They instructed, he refused. He knew that refusing would lead to the show being cancelled, but decided that his integrity outweighed his cowardice and stood his ground.
Why are TV execs so stupid in the US? So many good shows get ruined by their interference, and then get cancelled because the shows are ruined.
It's Fox in particular that's notorious for this. They shafted Almost Human the same way, and have done the episode shuffle on a lot of other shows they air (to the point that an episode refers to past events that only air over a month later).
Fox is basically the worst thing ever.
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Fox is basically the worst thing ever..
Look, Rynjin & I agree!
Subway's bread isn't as good tasting now that they stopped adding yoga mat plastic to it. But it probably is a whole lot healthier.
The Food babe uses totally wrong science. Try reading the Science babe, who has thrashed the Food babes ridiculous wrongheaded pseudo-science ideas .
http://gawker.com/the-food-babe-blogger-is-full-of-s%%~-1694902226
"This is Hari's business. She takes innocuous ingredients and makes you afraid of them by pulling them out of context (Michelle Francl, in a review of Hari's book for Slate, expertly demonstrates the shallowness of this gimmick). This is how Hari demonized the harmless yet hard-to-pronounce azodicarbonamide, or as she deemed it, the "yoga mat chemical," which is yes, found in yoga mats and also in bread, specifically Subway sandwich bread, a discovery Hari bombastically trumpeted on her website. However, as the science-minded among us understand, a substance can be used for more than one thing perfectly safely, and it doesn't mean that your bread is made of a yoga mat if it happens to contain azodicarbonamide, which is FDA-approved as a dough-softening agent. It simply means your bread is composed of chemicals, much like everything else you eat.Hari's rule? "If a third grader can't pronounce it, don't eat it."
My rule? Don't base your diet on the pronunciation skills of an eight-year-old."
I have no idea about the accuracy. But the blog DID get carried in the media AND get the bread recipe changed. So it is noteworthy.
I am not sure why some sub shops would be considered better other than the bread though... can't get any better than subway's fresh toppings. Maybe subway should do some bread recipe research to keep their dominance of the market.Let's see.
All there veggies come pre-sliced from a commissary.
Their meat is lowish end, full of filler, pre-sliced at a commissary or factory, and sliced too thick.
Plus, no prosciutto (crudo or cotto), no prosciuttini, no sopressata, no capocollo, and their salame di Sant'Olcese (genoa) is under spiced, their provolone dolce is tasteless, no provolone piccante at all, no pepper shooters or cherries, no pepper spread...
What sub chains use those things?
...
Plus, no prosciutto (crudo or cotto), no prosciuttini, no sopressata, no capocollo, and their salame di Sant'Olcese (genoa) is under spiced, their provolone dolce is tasteless, no provolone piccante at all, no pepper shooters or cherries, no pepper spread...
What in the world? I've never even heard of these things.
Besides, meat thickness is a matter of opinion, thus doesn't make a shop good or bad, just suitable to different tastes.
Having strange stuff doesn't make a shop good or bad either.
What makes a shop good or bad is how many options (not what those options are) and the quality of those options that are served, and the other standard business things such customer service.
What options are available just determines their target market. A shop isn't bad just because you aren't in the target market.
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None of that stuff is "strange" though.
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Quality of "stuff", strange or otherwise, is top of my list of requirements for a restaurant. In as far back as I can recall, Subway has been beat by every single new shop to open. Every..Single..One. Now the fact that Subway is one of America's most successful food chains is not lost on me. The fact that I think its garbage is just my opinion, a very minor one, which is why having it gets me shunned. Feel free to eat there every day if you like.
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Look, Rynjin & I agree!
Fox is basically the worst thing ever..Could be worse. For all of their crap Fox used to carry some great kids entertainment on Saturday mornings.
That, and at least they aren't left wing whackos :P
Americans don't even know what left wing means. If political ideology was a bird and Americans pointed to their "left wing whackos", people over here would say "what are you talking about? That isn't the left wing you're pointing at, it's the right shoulder."
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Which is one reason why the Publix deli is better than Subway. Relatively fresh baked bread, Boar's Head meats, some pretty good cheeses and sauces.
Only thing I don't like about them is the vegetables (besides the lettuce, which is always nice and crisp) look pretty sad...but they're about the same as Subway in that regard, so still a net win.
I like their Salsalito Turkey sandwich and Jerk Turkey sandwich.
Primo's has all of that and more on the menu. I think Slack's does as well.
I live in Michigan Not Pennsylvania.
Those are primarily located in eastern Pen.|
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Quality of "stuff", strange or otherwise, is top of my list of requirements for a restaurant. In as far back as I can recall, Subway has been beat by every single new shop to open. Every..Single..One. Now the fact that Subway is one of America's most successful food chains is not lost on me. The fact that I think its garbage is just my opinion, a very minor one, which is why having it gets me shunned. Feel free to eat there every day if you like.I've been to the occasional local deli/sandwich shop place that's just nasty. Subway's tolerable. I know what I'm going to get and I know it's not going to be too good or too bad. That's what chains are for.
Yeap good point about consistency. For me Subway is consistently bad and that certainly doesn't excuse every shop that is not subway. I take em as they come.
None of that stuff is "strange" though.
That depends on where you are from. Some places consider insects to be perfectly normal foods, such as grasshoppers or snails, while others find the thought of eating those things to be gross and deviant.
++++++
Also, I stated earlier that there are both good and bad Subways in my area. Thus I take each shop and judge it individually rather than judging by the name over the door.
+++
Strangely, most of the alternative sandwhich shops mentioned I haven't heard of before. I also noticed that no one has yet mentioned Quizno's.
Well here in the US, "ham" is not a weird food.
@Krensky
*Thanks for telling me what they are, though most are still a complete mystery. Of course, I tend to stay away from anything like salami, pepperoni, or anything even remotely spicy. I also stick with mozzerella cheese for sandwhiches.
**Not objectively false. It is subjective. Food is an art, not a science. Treating like a science will only lead to epic failure. What one person enjoys, another will hate. Heck, in asia, they let certain foods literally rot before eating them. Standards of quality is the closest to objective that you can get in food, and even then, opinions can still vary a bit.
*** I don't go to the local deli counter, so I wouldn't recognize anything found there, but like mentioned above, location, location, location. Each location will have different standards of what is found. (Assuming here that you are referencing the deli counters like those found in a supermarket, which I haven't seen any that sells sandwhichs except the world market which is too expensive for me. Then again, maybe they just never advertised.)
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**Not objectively false. It is subjective. Food is an art, not a science. Treating like a science will only lead to epic failure.
This statement is, actually, objectively false.
Look up molecular gastronomy some time. It is literally the science of making better tasting food.
Certain foods taste better prepared in certain ways. Whether that's thickness of cut, fattiness of meat, how it's cooked, what seasonings best complement the natural flavors and so on varies by dish, but it IS a science.
Personal taste may still vary, but generally speaking well prepared food tastes better, regardless of outliers who prefer something less so.
In this case, thinly sliced deli meats have more flavor.
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Americans don't even know what left wing means. If political ideology was a bird and Americans pointed to their "left wing whackos", people over here would say "what are you talking about? That isn't the left wing you're pointing at, it's the right shoulder."Look, Rynjin & I agree!
Fox is basically the worst thing ever..Could be worse. For all of their crap Fox used to carry some great kids entertainment on Saturday mornings.
That, and at least they aren't left wing whackos :P
In the U.S., you have a party that is right wing (Democrats), and you have a party that is very right wing (Republicans).
And to the right of that is Fox 'News'.
Americans don't even know what left wing means. If political ideology was a bird and Americans pointed to their "left wing whackos", people over here would say "what are you talking about? That isn't the left wing you're pointing at, it's the right shoulder."Look, Rynjin & I agree!
Fox is basically the worst thing ever..Could be worse. For all of their crap Fox used to carry some great kids entertainment on Saturday mornings.
That, and at least they aren't left wing whackos :P
In the U.S., you have a party that is right wing (Democrats), and you have a party that is very right wing (Republicans).
And to the right of that is Fox 'News'.
Not really true.
The left supports socialism... even if in much smaller doses than Europe is used to. That still makes it a leftist party just not extreme left. So it is more like the left shoulder.| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I once heard Fareed Zakaria comment that "The U.S. political spectrum fits comfortably within the center-to-center-right part of Europe's spectrum." If we ever manage to let go of the electoral college, that just might change.
In any case, I'm proud to be a left-wing wacko! Shun away.
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I hate talking politics.
We're still making confessions here, right?
Edit - Well, with people who already have their mind made up. Neutral opinion individuals don't usually bother to talk, and those with strong opinions never bother to listen, so it's a waste of time.
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**Not objectively false. It is subjective. Food is an art, not a science. Treating like a science will only lead to epic failure.This statement is, actually, objectively false.
Look up molecular gastronomy some time. It is literally the science of making better tasting food.
Certain foods taste better prepared in certain ways. Whether that's thickness of cut, fattiness of meat, how it's cooked, what seasonings best complement the natural flavors and so on varies by dish, but it IS a science.
Personal taste may still vary, but generally speaking well prepared food tastes better, regardless of outliers who prefer something less so.
In this case, thinly sliced deli meats have more flavor.
I also agree it is false, but for a very different reason.
I'm a professional chemist. As in, my professional career is chemistry. I'm degreed in toxicology, chemistry, and forensic science (highest level is masters).
I very much treat my cooking like a science and I'm one of the better cooks in my family, and nearly every chemist I know enjoys cooking. Hell, our resident chemistry expert at work (who also happens to be *the* world leading expert on GC Columns) owns his own restaurant and has had many of his recipes published.
Cooking can be an art, but it can also be a science. Both are fantastic ways to approach cooking, and both can lead to some fantastic meals.
That's not a different reason. Molecular gastronomy is largely about chemistry.
Flavor is all chemical reactions.
If this goes much longer we should take it elsewhere but for a little bit longer: ...
Edit: Confession that'll get me shunned. I like talking politics and related things on these boards.
Yes, you guys need to take this elsewhere, there is a forum for politics and this aint it. Sorry.
Not gonna shun you as I do too, but let's takes this out of Gamer Talk!
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Art and Science are not mutually exclusive. There's overlap between the two, and even some math thrown in for good measure.
There really is only one political party in the US. However, that party has factions which have differing opinions on how to take money away from the general populace and give it to their friends. They have set up a very convincing, to people generally ignorant of politics, us vs them scenario and buried it under a mountain of arcane legal precedents.
It was just a brief exchange, no need to shunt these posts off to a different forum.
...bet ya 5cp it continues. Bet ya! Come on, 4 to 1 odds! You stand to make a commoner's day wage at that rate.
Oh, wait, I already won.
The Firefly discussion has been way longer. Don't we have forums for TV and movies? ^_^
In my defense, I only posted twice on that. Two incredibly inflammatory comments, apparently. (Though it's probably a sign that your fandom is a bit too much if the comparison of a show as a solid B but not quite the A+++ everyone says is enough to incite you to absolute aghast.)
...Okay, three times, but only if you count the parenthetical reference, which was more commentary on attitudes than the show itself.
The difference is, as I said, people don't want to change their perspective on politics. Even the most adamant Whedonite is more willing to admit the almighty Joss is capable of mediocrity than 999,999/1,000,000 people are that their personal perspective in regards to politics is anything short of perfect, and that anyone disagreeing with them is anything less than a close minded idiot or prick with an agenda.
If you care, you don't want to listen. You just want to prove the other person wrong.
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Anyway, back to sandwiches. If you really care about quality, you're making it yourself!
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Anyway, back to sandwiches. If you really care about quality, you're making it yourself!Some things are too important to leave to amateurs.
If you care as much as I do about food, 9/10 times the employee is the amateur.
That's not a different reason. Molecular gastronomy is largely about chemistry.
Flavor is all chemical reactions.
Molecular gastronomy is about biochemical reactions within the digestive system (and for those that don't know, the digestive system starts with the mouth - so taste canbe involved). Very different from food chemistry. One is about what happens to food when it enters and traverses our system, the other is about the chemistry of flavor as well as nutrition. Both are related, but an expert in one field can very easily know little about the other field. :)
That's not a different reason. Molecular gastronomy is largely about chemistry.
Flavor is all chemical reactions.
Hrm :/ Voltage-gated Na+ channels, CYP enzymes, and G-protein receptors, while technically chemistry (because everything is chemistry) really isn't about reactions so much as it is about pathways.
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Hrm :/ Voltage-gated Na+ channels, CYP enzymes, and G-protein receptors, while technically chemistry (because everything is chemistry) really isn't about reactions so much as it is about pathways.That's not a different reason. Molecular gastronomy is largely about chemistry.
Flavor is all chemical reactions.
Sociology is just applied psychology. Psychology is just applied biology. Biology is just applied chemistry. Chemistry is just applied physics. Physics is just applied mathematics. :)
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**Not objectively false. It is subjective. Food is an art, not a science. Treating like a science will only lead to epic failure.This statement is, actually, objectively false.
Look up molecular gastronomy some time. It is literally the science of making better tasting food.
Certain foods taste better prepared in certain ways. Whether that's thickness of cut, fattiness of meat, how it's cooked, what seasonings best complement the natural flavors and so on varies by dish, but it IS a science.
Personal taste may still vary, but generally speaking well prepared food tastes better, regardless of outliers who prefer something less so.
In this case, thinly sliced deli meats have more flavor.
That may be true. But taste is not the only factor in food enjoyment.
I like my deli meat sliced more thickly because I enjoy the feel of chewing thicker meat.
Same reason I dislike cuts of steaks that are typically "tender" or "melt-in-your-mouth".