This is a traditional duet on which a man and a woman sing sweet nothings to each other if not under moonlight then the streetlights shining in thru the bedroom windows. It’s Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright, but it may as well be Nat King Cole and Lena Horne as their melodies embrace over a graceful orchestral score.
my rating : 4 of 5
1979
This song should end at about the 3:41 mark before Shaquille O’Neal enters the court. His verse is decent enough, aside from the faddish “95” reference, but the song would be better without him. Michael Jackson holds his own (“crotch”) vocally; there are some funky harmonies happening here; especially during the peaks when he starts doing his signature ad-libs.
my rating : 4 of 5
1995
“Plantains are high in fiber and resistant starch,” the bag reads, “which makes them a great crispy alternative to potato chips.” They also taste about as good, which is telling considering the fact that there are only two other ingredients; sunflower oil and salt. You may also be surprised to realize they’re not at all sweet but rather savory.
my rating : 4 of 5
They shouldn’t have changed the style of the chorus at the end and Dres should’ve followed Posdnuos/Trugoy’s flow/echoes in his verse. Otherwise everything about this song, from host Mike G’s introduction to the random shoutouts at the end, is just right. Kudos to Prince Paul for the funky beat and quirky “ball” samples.
my rating : 4 of 5
1991
Angie (Bastian) says on the bag that this Popcorn “is made with real, simple ingredients”; “you know, ingredients you don’t have to scrunch up your face to say”. The list is indeed impressively modest, which wouldn’t mean much if it didn’t make for a “flavorful snack”. The taste holds up though, thanks mostly to the powdery White Cheddar coating.
my rating : 4 of 5
This French Ice Cream, a Van Leeuwen “limited edition” for the fall (“autumn”) season, would’ve been better as just Cinnamon Roll. The Pumpkin bit, while far from overwhelming, does its flavor no favors. Still it tastes good enough to eat and enjoy as you prepare for the cold of winter.
my rating : 4 of 5
Peach has sneakily become one of my favorite artificial fruit flavors. The real thing; a fresh juicy peach; is also a treat, but this Energy drink, which has “zero sugar”, is also “0% juice”.
In regard to taste, it goes down as easily one of the best Monsters while the can reminisces upon The Summer Of Love; not the BLM/Antifa riots of 2020 but the hippie movement of 1967.
my rating : 4 of 5
“We marinate our high-quality pork in a blend of garlic,” the bag reads, “soy sauce and brown sugar that’ll make your mouth water.” That’s if yours, unlike mine, has a chance to water in the time it takes to start wolfing.
These Snack Bites are essentially human doggy treats; not in the sense some Koreans might anticipate; better than most other meaty alternatives. It’s the “bold, delicious” blend of sweet and savory that sets it apart.
my rating : 4 of 5
This tastes like a regular Milky Way to me. If there’s a hint of Cookie Dough; the wrapping seems to promote the fact that it’s an “artificial flavor”, oddly enough; it’s virtually undetectable. Perhaps it’s based on a dough used to make caramel chocolate cookies that taste like candy bars.
my rating : 4 of 5
You might think the concept of this candy bar, originally marketed in the 1920s, has to do with Babe Ruth; the baseball player; but it’s supposedly named after (president) Grover Cleveland’s first daughter. The taste; it’s made with “dry roasted peanuts, rich caramel and smooth nougat” coated in chocolate; suggests she was a good girl with a sweet disposition.
my rating : 4 of 5
If we’re including all the Prelims, 300 is indeed the most stacked UFC event ever. It’s the main card that disappointed fans around the world, particularly the main event. It should’ve been Conor McGregor versus Michael Chandler. An Israel Adesanya title bout against Dricus Du Plessis or Alex Pereira would’ve also sufficed. The announcement of Pereira versus Jamahal Hill was, at best, anticlimactic.
It was also odd to include Bo Nickal; a bout that, though more competitive than expected, rather because of it, disappoints even the prospect himself. Still he remains undefeated. It gets better from there as Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira provide perhaps the best fight of the night. The best moment happens in the next bout as BMF Max Holloway ends Justin Gaethje in spectacular fashion.
The other best moment; Zhang choking Yan earns an honorable mention; is Jamahal Hill getting knocked out. He claimed, in a prefight interview, that Pereira “is not on my level”. He’s right in a sense as the bout ends with Pereira standing and Hill on his ass. The champ further marks his legacy as a future goat. Hopefully the aforementioned Adesanya trilogy (pentalogy) happens eventually.
my rating : 4 of 5
2024
The Strawberry topping, called “filling” on the ingredients list, contains only bits of the fruit. It’s basically strawberry jam, but it does its job. The best part is the French Style Cheesecake itself; the actual cream cheese; as is often the case. The Mousse label seems superfluous though; this is cheesecake in a cup; and there should be a hyphen between French Style.
my rating : 4 of 5