We went to a restaurant for a Christmas buffet on Christmas Day, and right after that I wanted the Arby's shake but didn't have room in my stomach for it. I'm glad on Monday I was able to drink that shake and hope I do again.

Monday should be a holiday

On Monday, which was yesterday, I went to Arby's for a shake I wanted on Christmas Day, but I had no room in my stomach for it. I also wanted Lactaid Eggnog, like I saw at the grocery store one time, and a famous brand fruitcake which I don't think I've seen around this year. I wasn't able to find the fruitcake but did have the shake and eggnog... and liked both very much.

 The day before Thanksgiving, Scott couldn't wait.

                                        

Remembering the Days Before Thanksgiving... After Christmas

I went to the Nampa, Idaho Jack in the Box I go to regularly, in November, before Thanksgiving. I went to the drive-thru there. I ordered that strawberry shake (pictured).

I went to buy some groceries but couldn't find the kind of pie I wanted for a good price, so I didn't buy one. I made a pre-Thanksgiving meal of cooked cranberries, yams, and squash the day before Thanksgiving.

Because some people like to see the straw

Strawberry Shake and the straw that goes up to my mouth.

Merry Christmas!!

Iced Coffee '11-12 Winter Winner is Burger King

Cold Months

December 2011, January 2012, February 2012

Burger King was the best against McDonald's when I had iced coffee at those local fast-food restaurants in December of 2011.

Fast Food Yummy on Friday, December 23, 2011:

Friday night Iced Coffee winner: Burger King gets
a win over McDonald's on Fri. Dec. 23

Taco Bell "Mexican Pizza", one of my meals today

Before I went to Taco Bell, I wasn't feeling well because my stomach was bothering me, but I started feeling better after eating this food.

As I already pointed out

I also had Iced Coffee from Burger King not much later.

That's it in the picture.

I bought a nice shirt and was happy

Then this idea for a picture came to me.

Iced Coffee from that McDonald's was one of my last of November. I also had Iced Coffee from Burger King not much later. 

Love and Care

In the spirit of LOVE and the holidays, I just wanted to say I like everybody and everyone. We can't all win all the time in competition and sometimes we get too caught up in that and other things that don't matter that much compared to people, who matter much more than what we want and compete to get for ourselves. Try to tell someone something that will make them feel good or do something to show kindness because that really can help someone.

I was struggling and sad recently so it makes me realize other people probably are struggling or sad and I hope you feel better and I care about you.

My Holiday Comparison because of Love and to Continue Forever

Hello Kitty balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014, as seen on TV.

Below is a photo of Dolly in the snow from years ago.  This year we had to ask ourselves who is Hello Kitty? And then who was and is Dolly, continuing forever in my mind and heart. Which one is more like a human girl? Both are very cute!! Some of my friends know about Dolly, or Dollie.

This is my opinion for humor and my Love will Continue Forever

It's a good reason why I didn't put a period after Forever

Better than a giant Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon

Second way of seeing the shake

Today I went back to Burger King for a Shake

     I'm sorry I can't give you a taste. But I did go there 

  today to take this picture to show you. So I'm a nice guy!

                         Burger King OREO SHAKE

                    One of my favorite shakes of 2014

I love to see these doughnuts... very relaxing

beautiful and delicious

I have Feelings when I see Them but miss the KLC

Krispy Kreme Key Lime Cheesecake and Key Lime Cake Doughnuts This was in 2013.

                       Doughnuts, you look good in that color!

Egg Nog Shake is THERE

I like it when the holiday shakes come back to the fast food restaurants. The last time I was over at McDonald's, I saw that they have the Egg Nog Shake there.  I decided to go into McDonald's this time. When I was sitting down, I could see that this shake is beautiful with kind of like thin layers of white and golden/light yellow color. That made me feel happy. This was a very thick shake. I like that it takes effort to drink it with a straw. I like this flavor and it's a great shake. 

For Dollie: We did this because we miss you

Piglet, look at this... it's one of our favorites. You love this ... it's Supreme Croissant from Jack in the Box. 

Mom said you can see us, so I hope you also see the Jack in the Box where I went many times to get this for us.

I hope this can be seen from heaven.

I will put more pictures on here from various times. As the star of this blog, Dolly "piglet" was funny because she loved food so much, and I miss her. 

Dollie was a cute and beautiful dog. But the Dolly who joined me for a snack in the late hours, one side or the other of midnight, was really a lover of food and same as me, part piggy. These are photos of her relaxing on the grass a couple of years ago.

Oh! There wasn't any food in this photo. Amazing!

Looking back at 2012 from tonight

This is brand new -- picture on Friday, October 17, 2014 -- and shows that I get stuff done fast, sometimes.

I was driving on this road a couple of minutes before the picture was taken and I was listening to "Take Care" by Drake, featuring Rihanna, playing on the radio. It had been quite a while since I heard this song when I was driving around in the dark. It's a great song. Drake is added to the Best Pop Singer of 2012 List and the number 1 Best Pop Singer will be decided from that list which can be seen on The Overcast Inside, my music reviews and lists blog. 

Dollie

I Love You, Dollie !!!
I Miss You, Dollie....                    

Dolly

I Love You, Dolly !!!
I Miss You, Dolly....

Shake and then fireworks

    NEW    SALTED CARAMEL 

             Real Ice Cream Shake

I didn't have high expectations for the evening. In fact, I didn't have a specific plan after going to the grocery store -- where I didn't buy anything because someone walking around in the store appeared to be sick and trying really hard to give it to the other customers. I was very disappointed. (And believe it or not, it was one of those grocery stores where people shop for organic and other healthy foods.) With my mind pointing in the direction of returning for sleep, I started driving and also wanting to get a shake.

I am glad there's a Jack in the Box restaurant before I make a turn, and this shake really was worth going to the drive-thru, then turning around and going back and thinking about going in a store. I was about ready to get out of the car, when someone pointed up in the sky and I thought they were pointing over my car. Were spaced-out aliens from a spaced-out place up above me somewhere going to take me to a nicer place? No. 

But Yes, I really liked this shake. 

Note: McDonald's Action refers to the most recent photo below. 

McDonald's Action

As I think back about some of the McDonald's I've been to, that place and time was one of the best.

McDonald's Iced Coffee was great back at that time. There wasn't much competition, if there was any at all. 

Big Year for Hits

It's Hip-Hop 'n' Roll slightly over the Cool R&B? Not official genres, just what I'm thinking.

Then it's a hard-rock song, but my list gets right back to confusing some people. I'm not too confused though, because some Soul, R&B, and Disco songs of the past belong in rock lists.  And of course this is my opinion, so then this 10 Best Rock Songs of the first half of 2014 makes sense to me.

I posted the list on The Overcast Inside. 

Rock gets rolled by the best radio hit this year

It was Tinashe vs. Katy Perry.

"2 On" YouTube Audio vs. "Dark Horse" radio single.

Tinashe was very close to #1 with the song "2 On" featuring Schoolboy Q.  The best sounding "2 On" was listened to on YouTube: Tinashe - 2 On (Audio) ft. SchoolBoy Q
TinasheOfficialVEVO

I just thought the radio single "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry and featuring Juicy J , was a little better.

"Temptation" by Sebastian Bach is also very close to the top of the Rock list and is at #3. He is a great singer but so are Tinashe and Katy Perry.  I didn't hear his song on the radio but I did hear the other two songs on the radio many times, and while "Dark Horse" radio single of Katy Perry is #1, the song "Temptation" from the official video on YouTube is my choice for #3, and YouTube Audio version of "2 On" by Tinashe (described above) at #2 on the list.

Top of Rock: Cool R&B vs. Hip-Hop 'n' Roll?

At first, this list of songs almost has a feel to it like the '80s -- though many of the names have changed -- as the song at #2 on my list is R&B (type of) song but with lots of cool sounds. The song at #3 is by a hard rock/heavy metal singer who gained fame starting in the late '80s as singer of a that-era-style hard-rock & metal band.

But now I'm going to stop thinking about the past and just write about this year. It's 2014.

I will take a break now.

Versus a hit song better on YouTube

"Hits" and "party" radio (stations) were playing "Dark Horse" and "Fancy", two very popular hit singles of 2014. It didn't matter to me that I didn't hear those songs on rock radio, since I clearly didn't expect it. Besides, I also listen to songs on YouTube. One song I've heard on the radio sounded better there. 

Katy Perry vs. Iggy Azalea?

I want to do some of this right here. It's almost like LIVE except of course you will read it later.

This began as a comparison between "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry (ft. Juicy J) and "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea (ft. Charli XCX). That's one reason why "Dark Horse" released last year, could be #1 on my Rock Songs list for the first half of this year. Also, it was played a lot on the radio when I was driving around. And the official music video for "Dark Horse" was put on YouTube this year. 

I thought it was going to be "Dark Horse" vs. "Fancy" but then that changed...

Number 1: Katy Perry "Dark Horse" ft. Juicy J

Katy Perry has the No. 1 song on my list of 10 Best Rock Songs of the first half of 2014.

To many this will be thought of as a song from another genre, and that's true in a sense, I also feel it's a hip-hop pop rock song. "Dark Horse" was released in 2013 but I feel it sort of built momentum and popularity as it was played more and more often by FM radio stations in the first half of 2014. 

A key point here is that the radio made a big difference this time. Hearing songs while driving around, waiting to get into a fast food drive-thru or while eating the fast food, is something I enjoy. I heard the song "Dark Horse" frequently and just about everywhere I went this year. Note: "Dark Horse" was already on my lists 25 Best Pop Songs of 2013 and 25 Best Rock Songs of 2013.

I hope to post more on the first-half of 2014 Number 1 rock song (please refer to the post above).

I have decided to announce something important about the rock list for the first half of 2014 -- right here. The list, however, will be published on The Overcast Inside.  Getting information about song titles -- especially whether words are capitalized or not -- has been very difficult and it's wasted a lot of my time. This is also a problem about some band names. The music industry needs to make this easier for writers/reviewers and fans. Do you think we're mind readers?

Pop 10

Top 10 Pop Songs list for the first half of 2014

1. Shakira, Empire

2. Ariana Grande, Problem ft. Iggy Azalea

3. Shakira, Can't Remember to Forget You ft. Rihanna

4. Flower,  熱帯魚の涙
"Nettaigyo No Namida (tears of a tropical fish)"

5. Iggy Azalea, Fancy ft. Charli XCX

6. Usher, Good Kisser

7. Morning Musume, Beyond the time and space

8. Chris Brown, Loyal (Explicit), ft. Lil Wayne, Tyga

9. Trey Songz, Na Na

10. Kiesza, Hideaway

*Note: This is my list (and my opinion) based on listening to many songs, comparing songs, reading, and research.  There were several other songs that were great, too. 

Extra Note: This part about the song by Flower was added later, from information provided on Flower Official YouTube Channel:  "Nettaigyo No Namida (tears of a tropical fish)"

Sorry, I didn't see that earlier because it was small in the description. I have added that up above in the list.

Pop 10

Top 10 Pop Songs list for the first half of 2014

1. Shakira, Empire

2. Ariana Grande, Problem ft. Iggy Azalea

3. Shakira, Can't Remember to Forget You ft. Rihanna

4. Flower, Tears of Tropical Fish  

   熱帯魚の涙

5. Iggy Azalea, Fancy ft. Charli XCX

6. Usher, Good Kisser

7. Morning Musume, Beyond the time and space

8. Chris Brown, Loyal (Explicit), ft. Lil Wayne, Tyga

9. Trey Songz, Na Na

10. Kiesza, Hideaway

*Note: This is my list (and my opinion) based on listening to many songs, comparing songs, reading, and research.  There were several other songs that were great, too. 

Extra note: I have also seen a translation of the Flower song title as: Tears of a tropical fish

Shake Overflowing

Arby's ORANGE CREAM Shake has great flavor and it's yummy!

This was quite a surprise! I think most of us want more for our money. Okay, maybe this was a bit extreme but I was a happy guy, smiling and laughing once I got back to my table. (sorry, no suspense)

When the Arby's worker had the shake ready and waiting on the counter, it was obvious the cup was too full and almost ready to overflow.

Maybe more later.

one of my favorite photos

May, June, whatever...

May was a good month, but not much was going on. I sure hope June will be better and more fun. Trying not to sound exactly like everyone else, I won't speak of the season (it will be), or mention it by name, just put what I want to do and that is be alone. I don't like the hot sun in the afternoon, so I'll drink shake, iced tea, or iced coffee, or other fast-food restaurant drink at night time or evening. I didn't like the iced coffee at fast food restaurants as much lately because they were too weak and not enough coffee. Maybe shakes are what I want now. 

I decided not to change that post after all so I put it back on here. Instead, I will add to it. Sometimes it's that way.

I decided I'm changing my last post. 

some Me, some about my Music, some Fast Food

There are some new fast foods. I was over at Burger King to get the iced coffee, I did see some chicken strips that I want to eat. My goal though and money in my wallet was to buy some herbs at the store and also buy a toy for Dolly, because a visiting dog chewed up her little stuffed animal toy. I felt very sad about it. So far, I didn't find a good toy.

The iced coffee was good, but now the iced coffees don't seem as strong in coffee flavor as they used to be. I notice a lot of iced coffees of the major fast-food restaurants are kind of weak and very light shade with maybe too much cream, creamer, or whatever they are using. It still tastes very good sometimes but not the way they used to be.

People want an update on me? I don't know. Just for the fun of it, I wanted to do a vocal cover of a song. But I don't like it when someone else tries to take the place of a singer in a band. I don't want anyone to think I would ever want to do that. I'm not much into covers or remakes of songs, however some (not many) will make my rock and pop songs lists on occasion. Of course that's separate from my own music and I do my best to be fair and objective, but am I perfect? no because nobody is. What my thing is that I like to look up to some of the great rock stars and pop stars and I appreciate them and admire what they did. But covers can be fun, I suppose, though not necessarily my thing.

I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing... I play guitar now for four years every day except if I'm so sick I can't sit up or if the guitar is getting a new string or something. Then I catch up immediately. I just play an hour or more a day but am consistent and keep thinking about notes and chords and just the stuff that is my style, etc. Maybe someone knows about 'fin' and 'NW' from my songs but those are just part of song titles and it's like, let me see what I can do with five strings on this guitar. Is NW North-West or No Water and what is the fin? Okay, that should be for extra credit. lol All my stuff (songs) so far is acoustic or singing and I have some genre/sub-genre words or terms I use to describe it but I think it's obvious I like strange sounds and stuff that is essentially me aiming for maximum alternative acoustic guitar, etc. my way is to Have Fun, don't let the world make me feel like I can't be who I am. I don't know... well, i do try for something and hopefully more.

Anything else? Yeah lots. I want to go back to writing about Fast Food most of the time, but also I don't want to stop reviewing rock and pop songs and making those lists. Also, I have songs of my own come into my mind and lyrics and stuff constantly and so there's almost way too much. I don't want to say what I'm going to do because I don't know.

Volume Down, Songs Still Great

I just thought, yeah, turn it down if someone is sleeping in the other room, or if you really want to think about the notes and chords you're listening to or playing. I have been doing that for a long time, sometimes, especially in the early morning. I do occasionally listen to songs loud in volume too, but not too loud. Be careful, people!

Courtney Love has a new song, "Wedding Day", and I heard it the first day the song (Audio) was on YouTube. I keep going back there each day, listening again and again, but I really do need to be fair to all the other singers and bands out there. Courtney's song is a great song and while I have no idea how this song or any of the other songs I mention will do in my very own half-year or full-year rock songs and pop songs lists, I do know I like it a lot.

The best radio single to listen to when I'm out driving around could (still) be Shakira "Can't Remember to Forget You" ft. Rihanna. It could be if they played it but I haven't heard it on the radio lately. Did radio DJs forget to play it or are they on to Shakira's new single? I don't know but I haven't heard it on the radio much lately either.

   

Rainbow - April 2013
Photo by Scott McLean

Two Photos of one Shamrock Shake in 2013

2013 better Luck with the Shamrock Shake

McDonald's McCafe Shamrock Shake can look pretty good in photos. This year, however, my luck ran out. Two of the shakes were weak in flavor, which means they weren't very 'minty' tasting. One of those shakes wasn't at all like I thought it should be. I kept trying to get a good Shamrock Shake and good picture. Maybe I will put a shake picture on here, but a picture from last year would be better.

Turn On... this Song

Best music to listen to when going out? I have heard so many songs on the radio and it's hard to remember. This is 2014 and I want to hear songs that have some action and excitement. When I'm driving around, I hope to hear "Can't Remember to Forget You" by Shakira and featuring Rihanna. The video is good but I don't watch it while I'm driving because I don't want to wreck, and also don't want to feel too good. These young singers are beautiful and there's too much going on in the music video to describe in a fast food blog. Oh yeah, that's right this is me here and like I said before, besides fast food I will also write about the things people talk about when they go out for food, soft drinks, or whatever. My goal at the moment is to kind of cancel out the negative comments on YouTube. In my opinion it's a great song and I like it a lot.

So it's good to be positive, though I doubt that when I'm driving around I'll see any young women a tenth as pretty as them. What's much more important, the song rocks and it's fun to listen to and watch!

Halibut Sandwich from Arctic Circle

My recent fast food was from Arctic Circle restaurant: Halibut Sandwich and Tater Tots. The sandwich was good, and bigger than I expected. The Tater Tots were oily but with the halibut sandwich were a nice meal (not a meal listed on the menu) and if this is possible and I say it is, made fast-food sense to me.

I had two iced coffees, one from Jack in the Box and the other from Burger King. It was a fun night of fast food, and with my notes on iced coffees, now I'm getting ready to decide on the best iced coffee for the most recent period of time.

Having some problems and maybe I will post tomorrow.

Feel That! Vibrations free of Equations

I ought to do that headline over again as a song title or something similar. Alright, why not. Anyway, Friday wasn't exactly an unpredictable response to what happens here when fast food comes home. Fast food, come home! Okay, that was cute of me. You remember Dolly, well she was very excited when I walked in with fast food. Some say/spell her name Dollie, but to me, besides Dolly she is Piglet or Chublet (I pronounce choo-BLAY) even though she has a better shape now, because she still loves food that people eat -- and way too much. I have a better shape too (than several years ago, when I lost weight) but we're not necessarily in shape because I train (training my stomach) so I can eat foods that have vegetables. So yes, I eat salads. Sometimes raw vegetables bother my stomach, so I'm trying to take on raw vegetables on a daily basis. This may not last but I've been doing that for a couple of weeks. Anyway, back to this dog whose favorite food is... hmmm (I'm pretending to be deep in thought)... whose favorite food is... any style of cooked chicken, pizza, Chinese food, fish, and many more, but fish from a fast-food restaurant was what we (the people, plus you know who) had Friday. I know I left out many of Dolly's favorite foods because just about every time she eats it's her favorite food. Fish was her favorite on Friday, so let me focus on fish.

Is February a good month to drink iced coffee, or not? I don't know. The cold weather usually doesn't keep me from drinking iced coffee, iced tea, and shakes, but it hasn't been cold here much in the last two weeks. At least not for me. I went to the McDonald's drive-thru and got the Shamrock Shake. It was the first time this year I had it. I liked the shake. Before that, I went to the same drive-thru and ordered iced coffee. In between, I drove around and listened to the radio. It's more relaxing not having to think so much about songs and just listen for some fun and happiness. Now I'm thinking about iced coffees and trying to figure out which one was the best. It's hard to decide. Burger King, McDonald's, and Jack in the Box are all very competitive and in February I feel their iced coffees have been very good or better.

2013 - Hot Cinnamon Shake at Jack in the Box

I missed this shake in 2014 and though I wasn't totally in love with this shake last year, I did want it again, so that says something. 

It's like a spicy love relationship, and somebody once told me opposites attract. So far, 2014 has been a rather boring year and that goes for life and fast food. 

I feel the color of the shake was darker than my photo shows. The photo information says I didn't use the flash, and as I recall it was very light in the restaurant. From what I could see, the shake was a dark shade of pink or a light shade of red. 

Mainly at this moment, I just want to see some of my photos because maybe it will cheer me up. I also need some food love and food certainly has loved me in the past.                      

Mudhoney had the Number 1 Rock Song

The order of the songs in the list of 2013's 25 Best Rock Songs started the same way as it did for the 10 Best half-year list. (Both lists, like others I've posted, are my lists and not based on numbers, popularity, or other lists out there.)

Mudhoney's song was Number 1, then Alyssa Turkowski and Black Sabbath had the next two songs on the list. This was by no means a certainty in the days before I finished the list. Some other songs were considered for the top 3. I just think these were the three best.

You can see the rest of the list on The Overcast Inside which is where I review songs and publish lists of songs.

Saturday is to music as eating out is to Saturday and music

Some readers remember when I said (wrote, that is) there would be other topics I'd mix in with my writing about fast food. That's why music is occasionally a topic here. Same as when people go out to eat or hang out drinking an espresso drink, coffee, soda pop, or other beverage.

So then, please look up above in the blog.

From my 2013 notes on Wendy's fries

Ok, I found the notes from last year about Wendy's fries. I ordered the Large NATURAL-CUT FRIES w/Sea Salt. I could see the fries were a beautiful golden to light-brown color. I wrote the word great with exclamation mark and underlined: great! 

I went back through the drive thru to the pick up window and bought the 6 pc. chicken nuggets. Also, great flavor and golden color, the nuggets were delicious with Barbecue Sauce. I have photo of those too, but it doesn't show how delicious they are and also in reading my notes I see that in the nuggets serving container was on it's side in the Wendy's bag and a few fell out so I had to put nuggets back in the serving container. In other words, it's not the way it usually looks. 

25 Best Rock Songs of 2013 Heavy and Hard, but also Alternative and Pop

After I thought it was a very hard and heavy rock and metal year of 2013, as I compared many songs the last two weeks, the songs and bands quickly proved to me 2013 was a very alternative-music type of year. There are hard rock and metal songs on my list 25 Best Rock Songs of 2013 but clearly alternative and several pop songs are on that rock list. Congratulations to those bands and artists. I posted the list tonight on The Overcast Inside. It's my list and part of my opinion.

I really shouldn't... S l o w y o u d o w n

Hmmm... I didn't find my notes yet. I have stacks of papers, mostly my notes about fast food, notes with some thoughts about songs or circling song titles and recording artists or bands so I can go back and listen again, then also my own lyrics and song titles. I need to get organized. It's funnier to be this way though. I don't know, well yeah, it's not very efficient or fast. I'm taking a break for a few hours to celebrate one of my songs released more than two years (I accidentally typed tears, then corrected it to years) ago. Is that one of those slips? It's almost like an anniversary. I'm not sure if that compares to barital mliss. I reversed those letters on those two words. I'm sure I can find a song in that somewhere, to just plain confuse a bunch of people who took too much math but not morals 101. I mean the ones who watch humans. Aliens? Everyone can read my blog because I'm great and all, but respect and God are both important. Where will you go after this? I think I'm going out for fast food after this, or sometime soon. Hope everyone is confused because that makes you think.

2013 & Wendy's french fries

I have my 2013 notes about this somewhere...

I'll be back when I can find the notes.

Pop Over to "The Overcast Inside" where my 2013 Pop list will be 'Heavy'

The Pop list will be 'Heavy' this year. (It's not done yet.)

Watch out! The metal and rock bands could take over both the 25 Best Rock Songs and the 25 Best Pop Songs of 2013.

There will be pop songs too, but the rock and metal bands have some of the best songs on my rock and pop lists. I will be posting those lists on The Overcast Inside which is not the music underground, but sometimes it's under clouds on the inside, which is sort of like saying bringing bad weather inside of us but we can lighten up by thinking about music.

Happy New Year!