Heavenly Turducken Burgers

My wife asked me to cook dinner for her birthday, and only required that I make something I thought she'd like. I have no culinary training, but I'd been playing with the idea of rethinking the turducken (a southern Thanksgiving dish), so I decided to try it.

After a discussing possible ideas with friends, I chose to cook turducken burgers (or more accurately, turducken sliders, a.k.a. mini-burgers). I can't really duplicate how I came up with the recipe. Suffice it to say it involved web research, trial and error, instinct, and guesswork.

But when grilled as suggested and topped with cheddar cheese, my homemade turducken sliders were absolutely amazing. Probably the best burgers I ever ate, and that includes the $18 burger at Craigie on Main.

So without further delay, here is the recipe.

(Note: just to cover myself legally, please make sure you handle the birds and/or meat carefully, practice proper sanitation, wash your hands and utensils often and liberally, and cook the burgers completely. If anyone asks for a "medium rare" turducken burger, give 'em a dope-slap and cook it all the way through. You will both feel better in the end.)

Ingredients:

• 7 oz. ground turkey
• 7 oz. ground duck
• 7 oz. ground chicken

(It's okay to buy these at a butcher shop or supermarket, if you can find them. But if you can't you'll have to grind your own, and that is the only difficult part of the recipe. I found ground turkey and chicken but had to grind my own duck; click here for tips on how.)

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened but not melted
• 2 small garlic cloves, finely minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
• your favorite vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• cheddar cheese (the good stuff, you won't regret it), sliced
• small buns/rolls (about 2" square, with a crust that isn't too hard)

Preparation:

Once you have all the ingredients as listed, crank up your gas or charcoal grill to full heat. While the grill warms up, here is what you do.

Slice 7 of your burger buns in half, and place them on a plate.

In a large bowl, use your hands to mix all three meats together, working them for about a minute until they are pretty well integrated. They will be slightly different colors, so it should be easy to tell.

Add the butter, garlic, sage, and parsley to the meat and mix that for about a minute or two, until the ingredients are fully integrated.

Get a plastic or glass cutting board (don't use wood!). Divide the mix into 7 portions (about 3 oz. each), shape them into small burgers, and place them on the cutting board, separated by at least an inch on each side. Size them so they will fit on the buns -- they will not shrink much during cooking.

Once the burgers are on the board, season to taste with salt and pepper (fresh ground pepper if you have it).

Pour some vegetable oil into a small bowl, and brush each burger across the top. This will be the side that goes on the grill, and the oil is there to make sure the sliders don't stick. Note: before you start cooking, check that you have enough oil to brush the other side before flipping.

Bring the cutting board with burgers, the oil and brush, the sliced cheese, and the buns out to the grill. Also take a holding plate for the cooked burgers.

One at a time, place the burgers on the grill, oil-side down. Close the lid, and set your timer for 3 minutes. I cooked them 3 minutes on a side, but that's just a guideline -- your results may vary. While you wait, this is a good time to put the cutting board in the sink or dishwasher and wash your hands again.

When the timer goes off, open the grill, quickly brush each burger with oil and flip them (it might produce some flames, don't worry as long as it doesn't get out of hand). Close the lid and set your timer for 3 more minutes.

When the timer reaches 1 minute (or 45 seconds if it's a macho grill), put the buns on the grill, place some sliced cheese on the burgers, and close the lid again. Depending on how powerful your grill is you might have to remove the buns after 30 seconds. You want them toasted, not scorched.

When the timer goes off, check one of the burgers for doneness (there should be NO PINK at all -- we're dealing with poultry here!) and either cook them a bit longer or remove them to the holding plate.

Believe it or not, that's it. Put 'em on the buns and eat 'em while they are hot. I served them without any condiments -- though you're free to improvise, *I* sure did :)

I hope you like yours as much as I did mine. Butchering and grinding the duck was challenging, but well worth the effort. The turducken burgers sort of reminded me of buffalo burgers, but when combined with the cheddar cheese they surpassed the best I ever tasted.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and especially if you come up with any good variations or suggestions to improve the turducken sliders.

Happy eating!

- Scott

PS. The only restaurant I found with turducken burgers is in Philadelphia (restaurant review and menu). They don't grind their duck (insert raunchy joke here), so they aren't as fully integrated as what I made. But suffice it to say that next time I'm in Philly I plan to stop in and try one!

They Almost Ruined The Matrix

::barely able to reach the keyboard because of shuddering::

Turns out that they almost cast Sandra Bullock as Trinity in The Matrix (OMG Yahoo! link). Bullock said in the story:

There haven't been any roles that I wanted that I didn't get, but there was a movie I wish I had done: 'The Matrix.' At the time [I was approached about it], it wasn't cast with Keanu [Reeves], and I didn't see myself with the person they wanted [in it]. Later I saw the movie and loved it. It was sexy and great because of Carrie-Anne [Moss] and Keanu.

She's right, it *was* sexy and great because of Moss and Reeves. It's tough to imagine how much worse The Matrix would have been with Sandra instead of Carrie-Anne -- which is what left me shuddering. I mean, it's my sixth-favorite movie of all time (link), and not that Bullock would have stunk up the joint, but she lacks the air of mystery and the brute physicality of Moss.

Thank goodness for small favors. I'd like to meet the person who was originally cast for the role of Neo, and buy that man the beer of his choice... just for inadvertently keeping Sandra Bullock out of The Matrix.

- Scott

What I Love about The Dark Knight

Hey all,

Just a quick post about what I really enjoyed about The Dark Knight movie, currently in release. If you read my recent post about my 10 favorite movies, it was the only 2008 contender (it's currently #18). Frankly, it surprised even me that it was that high up. I'm not really one of those front-runner, fashion-over-substance guys. But there it was, higher than a thousand other award winning movies I've seen.

Here are some of the reasons why.

***SPOILER ALERT -- If you are one of the seven people who hasn't seen this movie, there are spoilers throughout this post. So please drop what you are doing and get to your local theater before you come back!

1. For the most part, the writing is excellent. Most super-hero movies skip the nuances of language that make a lively script, all in the name of simplified lines that don't distract from the action.

The Dark Knight avoids those traps with an out-standing Joker and dialogue that moves both the story and the characters forward. One of the best examples is Batman's admonition to Harvey Dent: "You'd leave a man's life to chance?... He's a paranoid schizophrenic, former patient at Arkham, the kind of mind the Joker attracts. What do you expect to learn from him."

Not only does the scene reveal Dent's love for Rachel (in his desperation to save her) and foreshadow his eventual turn to evil, but it explains the Joker's unending supply of fresh henchmen and also makes clear that Batman will not to stoop to the Joker's methods to fight him. Pretty good for a few quick lines.

I also loved the hospital scene with the Joker and Dent, was impressed with the added "s" that morphed the message on the side of the truck into "Slaughter is the Best Medicine," and I promise to follow the Joker's advice -- "If you're good at something, never do it for free."

But the most writerly turn of phrase was when Rachel's voice-over said "If you lose your faith" just as the camera showed Harvey Dent with half his face blown off. "Faith" sounds so much like "face" (in fact, it's how a person with a lisp would pronounce "face"), there's just no way it was an accident. Good stuff from the Nolan brothers.

(Note: some of the speeches at the end are a little tedious, which is why I liked the writing "for the most part.")

2. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is as good as everyone says it is; maybe even better. He could end up with a posthumous Oscar, but that don't mean a thing. More important is his creation -- a complex, riveting, masochistic, sadistic, and sometimes sympathetic psychopath, who speaks the truth often enough that everything he says makes you pause and wonder.

His assurance that, "I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve" speaks to the impotence of traditional police work in the face of destructive, winner-take-all criminality. Batman himself proves that the Joker is right by breaking the law in order to bring the Joker to justice. And no matter which story you believe about his scars (if you believe either of them), you know something or someone seriously screwed him up, and he never hesitates to do the same to whomever stands in his way.

Ledger's lip-smacking is creepy in a Jabba the Hutt sort of way, and when he says, "Well hello beautiful," he sweeps his hair to the side like silent stars used to twirl their mustaches. The slightly bent frame, sadistic laughter at the pain of his henchmen, the sheepish looks whenever someone calls him crazy or a freak -- they all bespeak of a disturbed individual who's out to prove everyone else is just like him.

Oh, and that dialogue. I could watch and re-watch the scene where he goads the cop in the holding cell. Excellent writing with unparalleled delivery. A character much scarier than any science fiction monster.

3. The story was a superb interweaving of three character arcs -- Batman, the Joker, and Harvey Dent. Batman thinks he's destroying the mob, but is stymied by the Joker because he can't understand him (and in fact, never does). The Joker knows he's more ruthless than the mob, and reinforces his image of people by getting Batman and Harvey to question their principles. And in the end, Harvey becomes Two-Face, the perfect random criminal to carry on while the Joker is up in the air.

A movie with just Batman and the Joker would never have come off, because neither of them would give in. So bringing the Harvey/Two-Face plot line into the picture was the perfect way for the Joker to think he won and Batman to hold on (barely hold on) to his sense of being good. And even though he didn't do anything wrong, in the end, Batman is a Gotham City outcast -- just as the Joker predicted. But it was Batman's choice, which gives him a way to believe that the Joker was still wrong and he's right.

Pretty interesting stuff.

4. The guys making the current Batman movies put together a very good documentary about the psychology of the Batman villains. What they didn't look at is how The Dark Knight takes a serious nod from fairy tale mythology.

In traditional fairy tales (real ones, like the Brothers Grimm -- not the sanitized/Disney-fied versions), nature is to be feared and ultimately either conquered or avoided. The woods, mountains, rivers, oceans, unknown roads -- they usually represent evil, uncertainty, destruction, randomness, and chaos.

OTOH, good is often represented by a benevolent person, a walled city, a farm, or just being at home. In other words, the good is where people assert control over the unpredictability of a random and uncaring nature.

In The Dark Knight, the Joker declares himself an agent of chaos -- which is what people in fairy tales fear. And his random destruction has people living in fear of the every day. No one is safe and no one feels safe, not even mobsters who used to control all of Gotham. And Batman clearly represents man's attempt to re-assert control over a force of nature that refuses to give in.

These themes give the mythology of Batman its cultural touchstones, subconsciously bringing to mind ideas as ingrained as the survival instinct itself. And by combining that mythology with the intricate criminal psychology of the villains that have been developed over decades of graphic novels, The Dark Knight is the first of the Batman movies to present such a fully formed and textured thematic tapestry to the silver screen.

5. The Dark Knight has no opening credits, the first movie I've seen since Apocalypse Now to eschew them. And more than just a device, it is a signal that the movie thrusts you into another reality and won't let you go until the closing credits. The action starts about 30 seconds into the movie, and doesn't let up until it's over.

6. I love that annoying whine the comes up as the movie begins. It sets the audience on edge and is repeated multiple times when the Joker is about to enter. Sort of like when they put the sound of bees in the background of The Exorcist -- just to make people subtly uncomfortable.

7. The idea of Batman imposters just cracks me up, but also seems reasonable and predictable. After all, the hero-worship of a fictional Batman is nearly a religion all to itself. Imagine if Batman was actually real -- there would be imposters everywhere!

That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed the movie as much as I did; but if you didn't, c'est la vie.

- Scott

My Ten Favorite Movies

Why "favorite" and not "best" -- check here.

Here is my list; and I stand by it completely -- at least until I change my mind. If you disagree, feel free to comment... or start your own frickin' blog (www.blogger.com).

Warning boys and girls! I am not shy about my opinions or the information I use to back them up, so there are SPOILERS ON PARADE throughout this post. So if you see a movie title you don't want spoiled, stop reading and see the movie before you return.

All-time Favorite (with over 25 viewings) -- The Thin Blue Line (1988)

I could teach a full-semester course on The Thin Blue Line, its place in our culture, its effect on our legal system, its effect on movies, and the sights, sounds, and inside jokes that make it my favorite movie of all time.

But to explain it in brief, there are several kinds of movies at the tip-top of my favorites list. First, there are movies that dazzle, excite and entertain, that are plot-driven and have a message, a struggle, or a moral that speaks to me. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a good example of that. Above those are the stunning visual acheivements that change the way you watch movies or make you reconsider what you think about culture and entertainment. Watching Apocalypse Now on a huge screen in downtown Boston is a decent example of that. And at the very tip top, above all of those, are the movies that change the way you interact with and exist in the world, that change your outlook on life itself and your place in it. The Thin Blue Line is the only movie that exists in all three categories for me.

Errol Morris' masterpiece changed what I thought of American culture and legal protections, changed what I thought about authority, changed how I conducted my life, and changed the way I listened to and understood people's frustrations, anxieties, and motives. It isn't for everyone (I know people who fell asleep halfway through), but for me, it was a world-shaking experience that shredded how I thought the world worked, leaving me to decide how to refill that void.

Morris' keen eye for detail and poignant visual imagery frame the story in the everyday -- in ways that should scare people more than they dare to consider. And to tell his story of justice turned upside-down, Morris turns the story's principles inside-out, leaving the viewer fully aware that someday it could all come crashing down on them for no good reason.

Morris' use of a soundtrack (by Philip Glass) and re-enactments seem quaintly dated to some. But given how often imitated the movie has been in news magazines and other documentaries, it's possible that The Thin Blue Line is the most influential movie in history. And rightly so -- it was a breakthrough in so many ways there just isn't time to list them all.

And just in case you think I'm alone in my opinion, The Thin Blue Line has been universally hailed. In fact, it received 100% positive reviews from critics when it was released (noted at rottentomatoes.com). And to see how difficult it is to get complete consensus about a movie, here are some movies that did *not* receive 100% positive reviews from the critics: Gone With the Wind, West Side Story, The Godfather Part II, and Schindler's List. There is almost always a party-pooper, but not with The Thin Blue Line.

And as one final proof of how deeply this movie affected to me, consider this: every time I go to the movies -- every single time -- when the lights go down... *just* before the main feature starts, I hear the haunting bars of Phillip Glass' soundtrack. For all that, and for many other things, I owe Errol Morris, Phillip Glass, and the main protagonist, Randall Dale Adams an eternal debt of gratitude. Thank you, guys.

Second Favorite (3 viewings) -- The Abyss: Special Edition (1993)

If you saw the original version of The Abyss and thought it was interesting but just okay, you are not alone. I went on opening night (even have the button they gave me to celebrate the movie's release), and that's how I felt. Turns out that the studio ordered director James Cameron to cut a half-hour before they would release it. The resultant neutered version of the director's vision lacked subtlety and felt rushed.

In 1993, Cameron released the full version, first in theaters and then on home video. I saw it at the movies, and the amount of tension and character development added by those 28 minutes will astound you.

In the original, the main players were under pressure from the physical depths at which they worked, their own past entanglements, and one person's growing instability. In the Special Edition, pile on pressure from geopolitics, a stunning reality at the bottom of the abyss itself, and an ending almost too nerve-wracking to consider, and you understand what those 28 minutes meant.

There are at least two bad scenes, which would normally have kicked the movie off the list. But the rest of it is amazingly intense, beautifully written/edited/directed/shot, and extremely well acted, and subtly poignant.

Easily my favorite of Director James Cameron's three movies set in and around the water (the other two are Piranha Part Two: The Spawning and some overblown schlockfest called Titanic).

Third Favorite (4 viewings) -- Taxi Driver (1976)

Rarely will you see a performance with such range and power where the actor makes every moment a single step closer to the unbearable core of human frustration. Robert DeNiro is so good in this, I defy anyone to find a single frame where he is anything less than mesmerizing and authentic.

The movie also featured the knock-out combination of director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader -- both of whom have created some of the grittiest and most iconic movies in history. Truly an exception that proves the rule that movies with voice-overs are never any good.

Fourth Favorite (4 viewings) -- Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (1992)

If you saw the original and were confused, couldn't get past all the rain and blue lighting, or were bothered by the voice-over, I implore you to rent The Director's Cut. Sans voice-over, and with several scenes restored, the story is deeper and more coherent. And it is layered enough to warrant a second viewing, with stand-out performances in support of Harrison Ford's title character.

And while Ford is very good, Rutger Hauer steals every scene as the often brutal but sometimes compassionate Roy Batty. His character arc proves that being born doesn't make you human, your humanity does. Unquestionably Ridley Scott's best movie, and the Director's Cut is more than just one cut above the original.

Fifth Favorite (25+ viewings) -- West Side Story (1961)

I know it was a rip-off of some guy named Shakespeare, but remember, the story was probably over 1,000 years old when Billy-boy from England put pen to paper. Classic stories go back further than we will ever know.

It is difficult to pass this movie on television and not stop to watch it the rest of the way. But even though I'd seen it a dozen or more times on the tube, I was absolutely blown away when I saw it at the Wang Center in downtown Boston (the screen there is probably as big as a drive-in screen). If it ever plays at a revival theater in your area, make your best effort to catch it. It beats the hell out of plunking down $10 to see the latest release.

It has some of the best movie music of all time, "Tonight" is my favorite song in musical history (just edging out Garland's "The Man Who Got Away" in A Star is Born), and the final scene is about a close as a movie can come to making me cry. And the list of wonderful scenes go on and on -- the opening credits and fights, the fight scene under the highway, Tony and Maria's pseudo-marriage, that final scene -- all wonderful all the time.

IMO, if West Side Story had never been released and instead were discovered and released this year, it would be an Oscar contender for at *least* nine awards. Not bad for a 47 year-old movie.

Sixth Favorite (20+ viewings) -- The Matrix (1999)

Tough to believe that a movie about a bunch of geeks who turn to terrorism to save an imprisoned humanity could be so bloody good. But there's the plot in a nutshell.

What I love about the movie is the mystery of the first few weird twists, followed by the ginormity of the revealed mission, with the artistry of the fight scenes, augmented by the fact that they *always* seem to be fighting on at least two levels at the same time. Sure, the Christ symbolism is a little thick, but the action is fierce, the acting is spot on (Keanu Reeves, excepted), and the Wachowski brothers were never as good and will never be better -- guaranteed.

Besides, I could watch over and over the scenes from the moment Neo walks into the military building until the helicopter explodes. Probably my favorite sequence in any movie ever.

Seventh Favorite (7+ viewings) --Memento (2000)

So imagine this pitch in a Hollywood office: "A guy whose brain injury cost him the ability to make new memories tries to track down the man who killed his wife in the attack that caused his injury, all the while trying to decide who to trust and what to believe about the evidence he has and the world around him. Oh... right, right, right -- and we're going to tell the story *backwards.* Isn't that genius!" I imagine they got kicked out of a lot of offices with that one :(

But hey, can't argue with success. Director Christopher Nolan and his brother (screen writer Jonathan) made a unique, puzzling, and ultimately intriguing movie that absolutely can only be understood upon re-watching -- maybe five or six times (just kidding... well, maybe not kidding after all).

And for all the confusion and decoding that goes on, it's the little scenes I love. The one where Natalie (Carrie-Ann Moss) takes all her pens and leaves for five minutes so she can return to a Leonard with no memory of what just happened. The chase scene where neither you nor the character knows who is chasing whom. The one where he hires a prostitute to re-enact his last night before the attack, just so he can feel normal for the few seconds until he realizes she isn't his wife. A well-crafted, carefully considered, excellently acted, and immensely satisfying movie. I own it, and will enjoy it for years to come.

I do have one unanswered question -- who is Leonard talking to on the phone? If you've figured out the answer, please let me know.

Eighth Favorite (20+ viewings) -- The Terminator (1984)

No BS, no voice-over, no coddling, no prisoners, just plot-plot-and-more-plot. This movie might have the least fat of any movie I've ever seen. If he'd never released the Special Edition of the Abyss, this would be my absolute favorite James Cameron -- with no close second place. Perfect casting, and tension that just doesn't quit. The action was mind-blowing at the time and holds up well, and (this is rare) there isn't a single moment when you believe the heroes of the movie are safe.

Before The Terminator was released, I thought movies were all going in the direction of Steven Spielberg. But Cameron's plotting and style of direction ended up being more influential than Spielberg's. Oh, and both Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger are *much* better in this movie than the sequel. And of course, this one has a bunch more classic lines than the sequel.

Ninth Favorite (4 viewings) -- North By Northwest (1959)

Hitchcock sometimes overindulged (The Birds) or went far beyond believability (Vertigo) or was just too clever for himself (Rope). But N-by-NW is in a league all its own -- the most well conceived mistaken identity flick I have seen to date.

Cary Grant's clever escape plans and two of the most iconic scenes in movie history (the crop-duster chase scene and the climactic cliff-hanger on Mount Rushmore) make this one a joy to watch. Like The Terminator, it's all plot, but Grant pulls it off with panache and wit that only he possessed.

Tenth Favorite (10+ viewings) -- Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992)

It's not difficult to imagine why so many people haven't seen this movie. A film about real estate salesmen, based on a play, with a grand total of zero action and love scenes combined. A small budget movie with few sets and characters that don't fit the stereotypes we're used to.

Well, if you haven't seen it, here's a few reasons to rent the DVD. Jack Lemmon. Al Pacino. Kevin Spacey. Ed Harris. Alan Arkin. Jonathan Pryce. And it features probably the most entertaining 7-minute acting job around -- Alec Baldwin's "motivational" speech to the gathered crew. Also, the playwright is some guy named David Mamet, one of the most influential writers in Broadway history.

The movie itself is a great study in desperation, rebellion, guile, and power. And it's amazing how quickly each of those things can shift from person to person. Think you know whodunit? think you know who has the upper hand? Think again and wait about three minutes -- the whole thing will turn on its head.

The performances are deadly serious and exactly what you'd expect from a cast that good. And having seen it over ten times, I *think* I know exactly what happens. But I can't wait for the next time; just to be sure.

So that's the top ten. Here are the ten that just missed the cut:

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai features Forest Whitaker as a silent assassin taking on an aging mob. Much more interesting than that makes it sound, and I defy you to find an assassin better at his job in any other movie.

Twelve Angry Men might have the most impressive ensemble cast of all time. Twelve stars on the same screen, all working within the confines of a single room. My favorite adaptation of a play this side of Glengary Glenn Ross (or Stalag 17).

A Close Shave is my absolute favorite animated movie -- a classic from Aardman. How can you dislike a movie with a naked sheep called "Shorn"?

Top Secret! won't win any awards, but I think this Abrahams/Zucker/Zucker production is much tauter and funnier than their classic Airplane movies. The East German Swim Team, the scene shot backwards, the best use of the Jaws theme (outside of Jaws), making fun of Pac-Man, all in perhaps the best spoof of an Elvis movie ever -- what's not to love?

Pulp Fiction was a tour-de-force when it came out, and I'm still fascinated when it comes on the tube. Think Tarantino will ever tell us what was in the briefcase?

Jaws. Been there, seen that, about a hundred times! *Still* can't go into the water :(

The Elephant Man is my favorite David Lynch movie, and probably the only one I'd recommend to the un-Lynch-initiated. This was back when he still had people reigning him in -- maybe he'd be better off if that was still the case.

The Dark Knight is another effort by the Nolan brothers, and could well be in the top ten sometime soon. The more I see it, the better I like it.

Singin' in the Rain -- an interesting and funny story with great songs and a wonderful job by Donald O'Connor.

A Fish Called Wanda is what I want to watch when I need a more intelligent laugh than Top Secret! can give.

So that's the list. If you think you are getting this whole "favorite" thing, give me your favorites. And expect to see more favorite lists in the future -- this was a gas to put together.

- Scott

Hit Me with Your "Favorite" Shot

We've all seen "best of" lists, where different groups of people inevitably choose the same films/plays/games/albums/artists/athletes of the year/decade/century/millenium/forever. You've seen and heard them before -- "And the best film of all time is, well what do you know... Citizen Kane! That's right, Orson Welles' classic is #1 again! And ummm, what can we say that hasn't already been said... about this masterpiece, uh this icon of... Hey! Call my agent and get me the hell out of this job, will ya?!?"

The lists are largely useless. Once they've been done, there's no need to do them over and over. You could make the case for redoing them once a decade for categories that are still vibrant and growing. Anything beyond that is a waste of time and energy.

But there's a deeper problem with these types of lists, and it lies with the word "best." A person who declares something the "best" is naturally in a position to defend that choice. So it's safer to choose Citizen Kane than Weekend At Bernies. That's why so many different groups come up with the same list. After all, any group or person who chooses something other than Citizen Kane as the best movie of all time you might never live it down, and will have a lot of explaining to do.

To make this stuff more interesting, I humbly suggest substituting the word "favorite" for the word "best." I think "favorite" opens up a whole new way of discussing things, and that discussion provides a much deeper and clearer window into the person or people involved.

I am always much more interested in people's favorites than in what they think are the best. People usually have some basic understanding of why something is their favorite, but the fact that it's "a favorite" (and not "the best") means they don't have to defend the choice. A favorite is about emotion and feeling, not about logical constructs and groupthink opinion.

And with 6.7 billion people and thousands of topics to cover, that's a lot of interesting opinions and ideas. Sounds like a lot more fun than 6.7 billion lists with Citizen Kane at the top, doesn't it?

I'll submit a separate post to show you what I mean, and you can join in when you get the hang of it.

- Scott