- A perfect steak is tartare to medium rare. If you prefer it cooked beyond that, just order the chicken tenders.
- Ebenezer Scrooge was deeply misunderstood.
- Congress needs to pass legislation that will remove lawsuits requiring significantly complex scientific, medical or technical knowledge from adjudication at jury trials. There need to be specially educated and trained panels of judges who resolve these cases. See: Erin Brockovich and the crusade against PG&E, which was a public relations victory over both science and the law.
- The Outer Banks is as awful as Stranger Things is brilliant.
This requires some context. The Pate brothers, who developed The Outer Banks, were born in my hometown of Winston-Salem, grew up in Raeford, North Carolina, and went to UNC Chapel Hill. Although it's likely they spent a lot of time vacationing on the Outer Banks, you would never guess it from watching the show.
- Originally intended to be filmed in Wilmington (on the coast but considerably south of the actual Outer Banks) the location was hastily changed to the area around Kiawah and Charleston, SC, after the eastern NC redneck dominated state legislature passed that ridiculous "bathroom bill" in 2016. But when your show is titled and built around a geographically identifiable location (see: Yellowstone), using a stand-in diminishes the authenticity. In one episode, the intrepid gang visits a lighthouse, which looks entirely unlike any of the iconic OBX lighthouses.
- The writing is lazy. The culture war depicted in the series between the Pogues and the Kooks is given no motivation beyond money and social status. The lead teenager role is a character named "John B", and his friends call him by name at least 5 times in every conversation. No one talks like that! I have no idea if it's a writers' tic or they were secretly trying to turn the show into a drinking game, but it's incredibly annoying.
- The premise of the treasure hunt is fun and not as far-fetched as it seems. The area around the OBX is called the graveyard of the Atlantic. There are more than 2,000 known wrecks, with the earliest dating back to 1526. Blackbeard and his pirate crew spent years living in and around Beaufort, NC, on the southern end of the Outer Banks. The wreckage of his ship, the Queen Anne's revenge, was discovered outside of Beaufort Inlet, and rumors of his buried treasure have persisted for generations. There is so much history, legend, and real life ups and downs of barrier island life to explore and yet the writers seem to have all been holed up in LA with travel brochures.
- I will charitably assume there was no actual wardrobe department, because it's jarring how bad the clothes are.
- Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete of my generation and it's not even close. His highlight reels barely do him justice but they are still incredible to watch. Him running up the outfield wall remains one of my favorite clips of all time.
- Though for spontaneous, bro athleticism, this is still one of the funniest videos I've seen.
- Western North Carolina bar-b-que, with it's slightly sweet, tangy, tomato based sauce is far superior to vinegar-based Eastern North Carolina bar-b-que. That chorus of shotguns being racked is why this is by far the most controversial take on this list.
