I’ll admit it.  I’m very uncomfortable about people who drink.  My family doesn’t drink.  I don’t have many close friends who drink.  I’m a teetotaler.   When I have a party at my house I’m very adamant about not having alcohol.  Once someone tried to bring alcohol in, causing some awkward moments as they scuddled it out.

Prohibition as an idea was a good thing.  In reality Americans could not handle life without alcohol and therefore it failed.  I wish it hadn’t failed.

Think about those drunk driving deaths (9,967 in 2014); those injured in drunk driving crashes (290,000 in 2014) (source).  Can we avoid this?

Countless number of times alcohol is involved in domestic abuse cases causing violence, broken marriages, among other things. Not to mention birth defects, liver disease.

If drinking alcohol were a disease the CDC would be on it like white on rice.  Yet we see very little being done to make alcohol less accessible.

Meanwhile Tennesseans just voted that grocery stores can sell wine, ending a century old loophole.  Winedrinkers rejoice. Grocers salivated at their increased profits.  And I did a facepalm about why we are doing this and wondering how it will help our society.  I figured I’d tweet out something like “Nothing good can come wine in grocery stores,” citing  Ephesians 5:18.  I figured someone would respond with 1 Timothy 5:23.

But it something we need to ask ourselves?  Can we get along without alcohol?  Can we start making alcohol less accessible?

I consider myself somewhat of a pizza connoisseur. And within the past year or so, having moved out and becoming fully accustomed to the bachelor lifestyle, pizza has become even more important. I have pizza at least 2 time a week, usually more.
There is usually a wide range of quality and options for pizza lovers like myself. I have my favorites.

• Bellacinos – There just so happens to be 2 within easy driving distance of my house. While definitely not a powerplayer in the pizza wars, it is definitely good food. I tend to get a small sausage pizza with the cheese breadsticks. It is the breadsticks and dipping sauce that make the meal. One drawback is that they charge 50 cents for the dipping sauce, when it really should come with the sticks. I’ve eaten numerous meals of the same exact variety at the Hermitage Bellacino’s, so often that the employees know my name and exactly what I ordered.
• Pizza Hut – Probably the most filling pizza out there. You really can eat a Pizza Hut pizza and truly make it a meal and not be hungry for several hours afterwards. The ‘Huts are all around and you can be pretty sure what you’re getting. In the meantime, I have problems with the Mt. Juliet Pizza Hut. On a handful of occassions they’ve been out of the personal pan pizza dough and lost a sale. Plus I’ve seen employees eating in the food prep area, apparently a big no-no in the food score rating.
• Papa John’s – Almost always good quality. I’ve had good service from the Mt. Juliet area Papa John’s. However the Hermitage outlet is another story. Countless numbers of times I’ve walked in, found half a dozen employees in the back making pizzas…or just standing around talking, while 1 or 2 employees are up front answering phone calls. Somehow they would put the customers on the phones ahead of me…they would continue to take phone calls while I would stand there for 5 minutes waiting patiently. Then again I feel like they should train all employees all of the jobs…from making the pizzas to taking orders so that there would be no wait. Somehow it seems a bit frustrating to have so many people in the back not doing much of anything while I wait patiently for someone to take my order.
• Domino’s – Pretty much on par with Papa John’s…only slightly lower quality. Trust me, it’s good and I find myself eating there quite a bit. Mt. Juliet’s Domino’s used to have a guy there who seemed to hate working there and you could tell it when speaking to him over the phone. I haven’t seen him in quite a while…
• Store Bought Pizzas In terms of value and quality, Totino’s pizza wins hands down. You can get them for around $1 and find good taste. Tortino’s aren’t so filling. Tombstone pizza is good too, with a higher quality than Totino’s. I stay away from Tony’s Pizza (too spicy) and Red Barron (lack of taste). And I find myself exclaiming “I Can’t Believe I Just Ate a Digiorno!” After all Digiorno has some type of unnecessary doughy taste to it.

I don’t drink alcohol. Never have and probably never will. Nor do I allow it in my house. Years ago I would have been offended in social situations to have my friends and aquaintances drink in my presence. Yet I’m now becoming more and more accommidating and flexible. I realize that drinking is part of life for some people.
I’ve always been told by my religious leaders that social drinking is definitely a sin and that we should always stay away from it. Yet we find that Jesus’ first miracle is turning water into wine in a wedding feast. We are told that the wine they used wasn’t as potent as it is now. Not being a Biblical historian I’m inclined to believe them. Yet the water to wine scenerio is there, pointing to the fact that alcohol was part of their diet in Bibical times.
Consequentally one’s social preference on drinking has alot to do with the social mores taught by their religious leaders. For example I’ve heard stories of Catholic priests having a drink at certain social gatherings. Yet for us church-of-Christ raised people you would never see alcohol at an event attended by fellow church members.
Other more liberal Christian denominations must teach that drinking in moderation is acceptable. That must be the case, or else we’d be still living in prohibition.

Usually on Saturdays I go down to the neighborhood Bellacino’s for lunch. My usual intake involves a small sausage pizza and garlic breadsticks with sauce. While I am waiting on my meal this guy comes in an passes around these small pieces of paper to customers in the restaurant. On the paper say “Hello, I’m deaf. Please buy my pamplet of deaf information,” or something to that effect. The first time he came in I read his pamplet and felt guilty afterwards for not giving him any money. The 2nd time on a different day I was just flat out annoyed at him. I refused his pamplet, strongly considered writing him a note telling him to get a job; and thought about telling Bellacino’s management.
It’s not that I don’t have compassion. I just don’t think it is appropriate for people to come in and beg for money in an eating establishment. If he had hit me up on the street, I wouldn’t have had much of a problem with it. However when I am trying to have some peace and quiet, it is very annoying (especially multiple times) at the same place.
Who is to say this guy isn’t deaf? What if he is a scam artist? Besides I think in this day and age, deaf people can get jobs and earn a living without having to beg multiple times at the local Bellacino’s.

When one thinks of a fast food burger a couple of restaurants come to mind. It is interesting how different McDonald’s and Wendy’s are to each other.
Let’s talk food quality. Rarely if ever do I get a burger from Wendy’s that is not high standards. Juicy. Warm. Excellent.
At McDonald’s the Forrest Gump worldview is in effect as you never know what you might get. I’ve had buns which were stale; burgers with too much or too little ketchup on it. Messy. Employees at McDonald’s might just not care. It is rare to have someone at McDonald’s to make a career of it.
McDonald’s caters primarily to children, and parents who want a fast and easy meal without much cleanup. There is always something on the menu for a picky child. Having a Kid’s Place playground also helps attract children.
Wendy’s has no such playground. Their clientel appears to be mostly adults. Having a salad bar rather than a playground shows the direction Wendy’s is heading.
It is unfortunate that Wendy’s gets to be the #3 or #4 burger restaurant in the US, while the lower quality McDonald’s gets top billing. I recently watched the Biography of McDonald’s Corporation founder, Ray Kroc, on A&E. Kroc was concerned mostly about making a buck, rather than food quality.
I’m getting hungry. I guess I’ll stop by Wendy’s soon. Perhaps you’ll even have a religious experience at Wendy’s.

I watched the movie Supersize Me, a documentary which a man decides to eat McDonald’s food exclusively for 30 days. The movie brings up some good points in America.
One issue the movie brought up was how schools are catering to the junk food tendencies of kids. A balanced diet is just not happening in the school cafeteria anymore. Cafeterias are giving students what they want and not necessarily what they need. I’d suggest getting rid of the coke machines all together. Kids get enough cokes at home. And, as the movie pointed out, reducing caffine consumption tends to make for a better learning environment.
By the end of the movie, Morgan experiences bad health and his doctors are begging him to stop doing his experiement. You’d tend to expect this for someone who eats McDonald’s food exclusively. Why is this any surprise to anyone?
I get the feeling that Morgan comes from an environment which detests fast food. His girlfriend in the documentary is a vegan, which in itself is an extreme.
Before seeing the movie, I didn’t eat McDonald’s much at all. After seeing the movie, I choose not to eat McDonald’s unless I’m in a situation where I HAVE to eat it. In that case I’ve eaten there twice since seeing the movie. One was when I was with a church group going skiing. The other time was somewhat as a joke when seeing renting this movie.
I do eat fast food alot. Probably too much. The fast food places which I frequent are Wendy’s and most all the pizza places. Lately I’ve been trying to find a good deli sandwich. And you’d be surprised how many deli shops there are around town. I probably am paying for my fast food passion. I’ve gained an inch on my waist.
We as an American society aren’t going to change our fast food ways too quickly. We’ll constantly be on diets and constantly complaining about our weight.

Wednesday night I got Pizza Hut’s Dippin’ Strips, along with a large sausage pizza. In leiu of getting a topping on the Dippin’ Strips, I decided on extra cheese, making it more of a deluxe cheese bread.
The ‘Strips come with 3 dippin’ sauces: Ranch, Marinara, and [faux Papa John’s] Garlic. I passed on the Ranch and Garlic and opted for the Marinara.
The pizza itself is considered a “large” although it isn’t big enough to feed a family of 4. I could have eaten it all myself, and I don’t even consider myself as having much of an appetite.
I’m imagining Pizza Hut’s experimental kitchen. Chefs trying to find new ways to market their product. We saw the stuffed crust. We ate the 4 small miniature pizzas in one. These Strips are just a new way to market their product. A gimmic if you will. If it wasn’t so expensive it might be good. As a matter of fact I make it a point NEVER to buy from Pizza Hut unless I have a coupon.

Wednesday night – Papa John’s before church (it’s a family tradition)
Thursday lunch – Papa John’s leftovers
Friday lunch – Fletcher’s pizza
Saturday night – Papa John’s at my sister’s
Sunday night – Tombstone Pizza
And who said you can never have enough pizza. I think it’s ok as long as you have a bit of variety. Like pizza from different francises.
Hey. What can I say? I enjoy pizza.

Demand for KFC Soaring in China

I ate at quite a few KFCs in China. Not being a big fan of them in the US, I wasn’t too big of a fan of them in China either. But it was a welcomed change from McDonalds.

1,000 McDonald’s restaurants in China? I’m guessing Ronald’s reach will go into the deepest parts of China, not familiar with western culture.
McDonald’s are literally everywhere in China. Sometimes one sees them more often than McDonald’s here. The difference in McDonald’s and KFC is that Chinese McDonald’s tastes and looks like McDonald’s. KFC’s chicken portions are much more small than American portions. It wasn’t unusual for a customer to get a miniature leg…more of a kid’s meal.
I distinctly remember eating at a KFC in Xi’an, just down the street from the Hotel I stayed at. It was a fresh oasis in a land of chopsticks. I’m not into eating weird food, so I really did eat McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut each chance I got.

Found an interesting article about Pizza Hut in China.
Some quotes:

“Pizza Hut is an expensive place to dine in China. Therefore, the decor in the restaurant reflects this. It is very upscale, similar to if you walked into an upmarket continental restaurant in the West.”

I’ve been to a couple of Pizza Huts in China. One I distinctly remember. It was at the top of building in downtown Shanghai. It did have nice decore. I remember the personal pizza was a bit small, but delicious.
One thing about China is that you had to search for a pizza in China. It wasn’t on every street corner like it is here. And no Papa John’s or Dominos. There was a Pizza Hut and Pizza Inn. (Both good pizzas considering the situation). I am under the impression that the Chinese do not like cheese. Instead they use Tofu on everything in place of cheese.
No wonder the Chinese are oppressed.