fractionofoxygen

moving to a city with plenty of halal carts felt like culture shock; what do you mean there are food options lining the corners serving up high-quality meat in large portions inspired by south asian and greek cuisines at a remarkably affordable price? am i still in america? yes, you're just at a halal cart. despite the seemingly consistent menu, there is a wide array of variability in what you could get. how finely chopped is my chicken? my salad? how oily is my rice? is this guy a chaser? will he not give me hot sauce because i'm white? does he have green sauce? the list goes on. most halal guys (bar the chasers) are incredibly kind; if you settle into an area near these carts, you're bound to develop a rapport with "your guy." the reason i give halal carts five stars is not because i've loved every chicken over rice i've had, nor is it because every interaction i've had at a halal cart has been nothing but pleasant (although most of the time, both of these are true). it's for what the halal cart represents, especially in a place like america – people deserve to eat; and i'm not talking settling for soy extender ground beef from taco bell, i'm talking real food. halal carts, especially in these isolating individualistic cities, serve as oases of being cared for.

THE fast food burger chain. uncompromising menu. quality and fresh ingredients. affordable prices, especially for california. their workers get paid a living wage. the burger? incomparable. get the double double to achieve the ideal ratio of all burger components. are you a baby who doesn't want raw vegetables on your burger? does somebody want grilled onions? well don't spit out your pacifier because they'll kill it at that too. their drink selection is powerful – they got dr. pepper, pink lemonade, fresh brewed iced tea, and a whole roster of quintessential american beverages. is the docking half a star because of the fries? no. say what you will about them, you'll never find a place that does fries like this, where you can really appreciate the potato for what it is. still don't like it? order them light well or get them animal style. keep that pacifier in. is it because of the milkshakes? no. they're perfectly designed to be a proper accompaniment to your meal. then why only 4.5 stars? the unfortunate reality that not every location is equal. sorry texas, if you want to really eat in-n-out, you gotta go to california.

truly one of the most underrated genres out there. so much underappreciated musicianship that unfortunately gets overshadowed by it's "cool factor", or lack thereof. both first and second waves had this unbridled confidence that came with the understanding of ska as a dance music, a symbol for racial unity; the image created by bands like madness mixes a meaningful intent with humorous personas. as third wave came into the fray in the united states, melding with the 90s punk sounds, some bands came out with orchestrations more bombastic than seen by any of the bands seen before, such as streetlight manifesto and asob, whereas others embodied the corny sound the genre is stereotyped as, such as reel big fish (although turn the radio off is still a defining album). progressing into the modern day, where talk of "4th wave ska" and genre-bending still persist in a subsect of culture, the genre has seemingly failed to meaningfully progress; it feels like there's been a stagnation where new bands don't feel like a continuation of ska, but rather a dilution. instead of approaching ska as a genre worthy of respect, it feels saturated by lyrics attempting to be political and socially conscious but coming off as trite and by music that sounds like overlaying horns onto commercially viable pop punk. this is only really passing judgement at the bands that float to the top, where someone who isn't particularly invested in the world of ska would find them and not take these bands seriously; every generation of ska feels like a caricature of the previous, and it's reached a critical point where the genre has failed to even take itself seriously. ska is in need of a revival of its confidence, a desire to be itself.