13 Things You Should Absolutely Know about Eating Out

from BlogXilla.com

• If you make a big fuss about sending your soup back because it’s not hot enough, we like to take your spoon and run it under really hot water, so when you put the hot spoon in your mouth, you’re going to get the impression — often the very painful impression — that your soup is indeed hot. —Chris
• We’re not allowed to tell our customers we don’t like a dish. So if you ask your server how something is and she says, “It’s one of our most popular dishes,” chances are she doesn’t like it.
• If someone orders a frozen drink that’s annoying to make, I’ll say, “Oh, we’re out. Sorry!” when really I just don’t want to make it. But if you order water instead of another drink, suddenly we do have what you originally wanted because I don’t want to lose your drink on the bill. —Waitress at a casual Mexican restaurant in Manhattan
• When I was at one bakery restaurant, they used to make this really yummy peach cobbler in a big tray. A lot of times, servers don’t have time to eat. So we all kept a fork in our aprons, and as we cruised through the kitchen, we’d stick our fork in the cobbler and take a bite. We’d use the same fork each time. —Kathy Kniss
• I knew one guy — he was a real jerk — he’d go to Costco and buy this gigantic carrot cake for $10 and tell us to say it’s homemade. Then he sold it for $10 a slice. —Steve Dublanica, veteran New York waiter
• If you’re having a disagreement over dinner and all of a sudden other servers come by to refill your water or clear your plates, or you notice a server slowly refilling the salt and pepper shakers at the table next to yours, assume that we’re listening. —Charity Ohlund
• We put sugar in our kids’ meals so kids will like them more. Seriously. We even put extra sugar in the dough for the kids’ pizzas. —Waitress at a well-known pizza chain
• If you’re a vegetarian and you ask if we use vegetable stock, I’m going to say yes, even if we don’t. You’ll never know the difference.
• At a lot of restaurants, the special is whatever they need to sell before it goes bad. Especially watch out for the soup of the day. If it contains fish or if it’s some kind of “gumbo,” it’s probably the stuff they’re trying to get rid of. 10 year waitress
• Now that I’ve worked in a restaurant, I never ask for lemon in a drink. Everybody touches them. Nobody washes them. We just peel the stickers off, cut them up, and throw them in your iced tea. —Charity Ohlund
• I’ve never seen anybody do anything to your food, but I have seen servers mess with your credit card. If a server doesn’t like you, he might try to embarrass you in front of your business associate or date by bringing your credit card back and saying, “Do you have another card? This one didn’t go through.” —Charity Ohlund
• “I’ve seen some horrible things done to people’s food: steaks dropped on the floor, butter dipped in the dishwater”—Waiter at a casual restaurant in the Chicago area
• “Don’t order fish on Sunday or Monday. The fish deliveries are usually twice a week, so Tuesday through Friday are great days. Or ask the restaurant when they get theirs.” —Steve Dublanica

This Alicia Keys Album Needs to Leak Already

"Alicia Keys - Put it in a love song (featuring Beyonce) " [from the forthcoming album "The Element of Freedom" dropping on December 15th]
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I'm really crossing my fingers with this new Alicia Keys album because so far, all of the leaked tracks have been fiyah. Take a gander at the latest leak from the Keys camp "Put it in a love song" and check out the album "The Element of Freedom" when it drops on December 15th.

Breaking Down Chris Brown

Before we get started, I'd like to add that this would have been a more appropriate album cover (see below)



Than This


But hey, if you wanna dress up in one of Rihanna's old Dior leotard suit sets and pose with cartoon characters then who are we to stop you. But then again, this is why I like Chris Brown, because in a lot of ways he doesn't give a fuck what anyone has to say about his music, his life, or his persona. All personal shenanigans aside, his latest offering "Graffiti" is not a bad effort for a 12 year old, but upon completing the first spin on the ipod, i had to say to myself "this little kid is really feeling himself." Which is a shame because, including said personal shenanigans again for arguments sake, Chris Brown could have benefited from a heaping tablespoon or two dozen of humility.

Its not that the album doesn't have its spots of sheer genuine musical brilliance, in fact there are several offerings on the album that manage to be a whole lot more clever than I care to give them credit for. Such as the misplaced show opener "I Can Transform Ya" which sounds just as loud and clunky as the movie. I'm not sure who thought recording this song was a good idea, but Lil Wayne shows up wheeling around an IV bag full of that syrup sounding high as a kite while it sounds like Chris Brown and company are jumping around on a trampoline. But the lyrical content manages to be a bit of a play on words as its obviously timely. I wonder if Dreamworks is giving them any kickbacks. "Famous Girl" is probably the most clever song on the album and is the epitome of word play as he proclaims his fame and the fame of the girls he loves as a playful tug of war. The song is so obviously about Rihanna its not even funny as are several others, but this one manages to be far less groan inducing.

The groan inducing numbers are curiously tucked away at the end of the album and should have been left off entirely as the only emotion they illicit is pushing the skip button. "Fall Down" and "I'll go" are not really worth a listen unless you wanna hear Chris Brown paint himself as a martyr. Nobody cares about the pressures that come with being rich and famous (well in his case). Especially when you have one song speaking specifically to just how famous you think you are, "Famous Girl", and another "Lucky Me" where you fawn over yourself and how your "name is in the sky all over the world" for 5 effin minutes.

Of course where the album excels is in what I call its safe set (tracks 2-5). "Sing Like Me," "Crawl," "So Cold," and "What I Do," are all songs that we have come to expect from the 12 year old. Contemporary R&B offerings that maintain their PG rating by being retrofitted for the merry go round.

"Take my Time" is where Chris Brown gets his little grown man on, but lets keep it real, the track sounds like a song R. Kelly has been keeping in the cut since his "12 play" days. As my girlfriend would explain it...listening to it is the audible equivalent of slow grinds and body rolls. But the curious question is, why is Tank on this track. Given the subject matter...the song sounds very odd with Two dudes on it. Like who or how did they write and demo this and then go....you know what this already testosterone heavy track needs....more testosterone...lets call Tank. Well that was a wholly bad mistake as when the second verse kick in, the maturity level is kicked up to the nth degree, as Tank smoothly chimes in, then puts to shame Mr. Brown on his own track. After listening to this, I kept wondering what it would sound like with just Tank on the track, as when his vocals kick it, its like he is saying to Chris Brown "yeah, the song is written like this, but you have to sing it like this." Since Chris Brown is only 12, it sounds like he is about to gizz on himself at any point - as if he is doing body rolls and slow grinds while singing it.

The Daring set (tracks 8 and 9) are really where I have to give the album and Chris Brown a lot of credit. Its unusual for a commercial, male R&B artist to experiment with his music in this way but "I.Y.A." (In Your Arms) manages to turn the Chris Brown formula on its ear and give it a playful 80's inspired twist. I also like the lyrical content as its unusual for any male artist in this decade to create a song where the hooks speaks to waking up in your arms (not hitting it from the back or sexing you til 6 in the morning). Its a very nice message and an excellent song that hearkens back to the Mowtown era where a man told a woman just how much he loved her through song and metaphor. "Pass Out" is similarly in the same vein, with its frantic electro funk beat and techno musings. Although the lyrical content is a little questionable we'll "wait til you pass out"...i mean, it is a dance song so I get it, but its not the best look. Oddly, this track sounds like Chris Brown's version of "Disturbia" which he apologized for writing in "Famous Girl", but its admirable because, again, its so out of the box it becomes infectious.

Addressing the personal crap head on, I don't judge this young cat because although I don't think he is a very good artist and has yet to form his own identity in music (stealing pages out of Rihanna's playbook is not the same thing as having edge)the brotha can sing and he has genuine talent and only God can judge him. I mean he is only 12 so he will get there, but after 3 albums (the first very impressive, the second awful) he is at least getting back to producing what people like about him in the first place. That being feel good, somewhat syrupy pop tunes that make their way into your spirit and get your feet to moving. If I had to get straight to the point with the album, I would say it sounds like it was recorded in a Chuck E Cheese so that Chris could go play skeet ball and jump in the balls between recording tracks. But then again, the album is juvenile, immature, and obnoxious and Chris couldn't care less and that, ladies and gentlemen, is clever in and of itself.

CYNE's of Life for Hip Hop Lovers

They say hip hop isn't dead and CYNE creates a really good argument for the resurrection as emcees Akin and Cise Star, and producers Enoch and Speck come together one more to bring "Water for Mars", a 21 track collection of bangers to make your ears gasm. CYNE (Cultivating Your New Experience) pronounced "sign" is a group that heralds from Gainesville, Florida and their sound is categorized and heavily influenced by Left-field hip hop, rock, trip-hop, and Jazz. I first became introduced to CYNE with their 2008 offering "Starship Utopia" and the infectious title track that mashed up 70's soul with a funky baseline. Check out below for their banger "Sleep (Mexicans With Guns Remix) off the "Water for Mars" set and support the artist by checking them out on itunes and amazon.

Tank Provides Some Stellar R&B for "After the Club"

"Tank - After the Club"
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Tank is a REAL SANGER and being a real singer, he quite smoothly proclaims "keep the autotune off my voice" in his latest offering "After the Club". And for good reason, autotune and a desire to be edgy in this musical market is killing music in its entirety and I am gracious for singers who stand up and take stake to a revolution in vocal styling. Set your ear free and take a gander.

RES Proves "Black Girls Rock"

"RES - Black Girls Rock" [Available for Free Download - click on link]
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I am a huge huge Res fan, I mean I still bump her 2001 debut "How I Do", so I have been checking for new Res music for some time. Copped the Idol Warship project with Talib Kweli, but there just wasn't enough Res. Well she is back after a 8 year hiatus to bring us "Black Girls Rock", a collection of 10 moody, classic gems reportedly shelved by Geffen Records and now available for free by Res herself. Enjoy

Swine Flu Has Been Around a Lot Longer Than You May Think

Funny thing about these videos is, for one, I thought swine flu was a relatively new virus (apparently there was a similar outbreak of mass hysteria in 1976) and two, I had heard about a case on the news this year where a young woman took the vaccine and then suffered neurological problems. These videos are very very telling.

part 2