u/Consistent-Water-887

Had a debate over beers last weekend about the best character in TV history. It made my think about who my all time favorites were.

The debate was among 5 of us and the picks were pretty varied, including Homer Simpson, Walter White, Tony Soprano, Lucy and mine, which was Omar from The Wire

Here is what I came up with as my top 10:

1. Omar Little, The Wire — one of the most original and unforgettable characters ever written.
2. Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights — Tough, with soft spots. Great coach. Winner. I wish he were my coach
3. Leon, Curb Your Enthusiasm — Some of the best lines ever uttered and he has an incredibly high batting average on his jokes.
4. Sam Seaborn, The West Wing — Most people would say Josh from the West Wing, but Sam was smart without being smug, funny when he wanted to be and seemed like a great dude. I could have picked anyone from this show and felt right.
5. Hayward, The White Shadow — The greatest show that people today don't know about. Hayward was a quiet leader, a great player, and added comic relief.
6. Mike Ehrmantraut, Better Call Saul — Such a badass and maybe the calmest tough guy in TV history.
7. Saul Berenson, Homeland — I truly believe this is what a CIA leader would be like.
8. Sam Malone, Cheers - Everything about him was awesome. Played the dumb-guy role really well, but had a lot of smart moments. "G-G-GROIN INJURY!"
9. The Fonz, Happy Days - My favorite show when I was little, I watched every episode with my dad. I loved everything about the Fonz and had Happy Days sheets on my bed...

No one from Seinfeld, because I couldn't pick one, but they all deserve mention, even some secondary characters like Frank, Mickey, Peterman and Morty.

Update: I forgot about Wayne Jenkins from We Own This City. Bad guy but incredible character played brilliantly by Jon Bernthal.

What is everyone else's?

Mick and Keith are 82 and the Stones are still making good music!

Keith Richards has probably lived the world’s "hardest" life and is 81, still making and playing music and not slowing down. Mick still has a ton of energy.

The 2 songs they recently released are good, I am excited to hear more on the full LP. I had heard they were releasing songs under the name "The Cockroaches" but hadn't listened. I liked "Hackney Diamonds" the album they put out in 2023. I guess I am a sucker when the legends make new music.

It's a wonder how they are still going, but I love it! What does everyone else think?

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I'm more pissed this morning than I was on Tuesday.  I really want to beat the Knicks, I fucking hate KAT and even though I watched him a lot at Nova, Josh Hart is a punk.  Brunson is not hatable, but he is too good. OG is killing the Sixers, they have no answer for him. The only conclusion is they are the better team.  Damn.

Anyone have any positive thoughts on the rest of this series?

I have recently gotten into musicians' memoirs and have really enjoyed them. My list is below, any other suggestions?

Story Teller by Dave Grohl - Such a fun book. You don't need to be a fan of Nirvana or Foo Fighters to enjoy this book. If you like music even a little, you will enjoy it. My biggest issue with this book was it took me too long to read because I kept looking up clips of events he described. Not a terrible problem. This was one of the best memoirs I have ever read.

Waiting on the Moon by Peter Wolf - Again, you don't need to be a big fan of Peter Wolf or J Geils Band. A lot of fun stories with iconic musicians and celebrities. I would have liked more stories about when J Geils blew up in the 80s with " Centerfold " and "Freeze Frame," but still very enjoyable.

My Cross To Bear by Gregg Allman - I am a huge fan of the Allman Brothers, so I loved this more than most. It was not particularly well written, but it showed how ABB came to prominence, had a lot of great stories, really showed the dynamics of the band and their relationships. Because of my ABB love, I loved this book, but I would recommend to others even if they are casual fans.

Brothers by Alex Van Halen - I am also a big fan of Van Halen, so I really enjoyed this. I would really only recommend to other VH fans. I wish it went into more about their time with Sammy, but from childhood through the end of the Dave years, this was a great telling of VH

Uncool by Cameron Crowe - Not a musician but about music and some awesome bands, including ABB (see above). If you are a fan of Almost Famous, you will like this book. You'll recognize several stories and this goes deeper, and there are more. I pictured Patrick Fugit as Cameron (he played William Miller in the movie) and Frances McDormand as the mom.

Only God wiill Judge Me (Tupac Shakur) by Jeff Pearlman - Not a memior, more of a biography and I am only about 25% through, but its very interested so far. Learning about who Tupac was, his impact on the music industry and his relationships. I am looking forward to the rest.

**UPDATE

I forgot to mention “Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast - is mostly about her relationship with her mother, not so much about band or the music, but was very well written and an enjoyable read.

What recommendations does everyone else have?

The expectations coming into this visit were through the roof. Del Rossi's is often called the best cheesesteak in Philly and on almost everyone’s top 5 list.  It DID NOT disappoint. 

The roll, baked in house, was fantastic, right out of the oven with the exact right crunch.  The amount of meat was perfect, some other top-rated ones had a lot of meat, sometimes too much, not the case here.  When first looking at it, it seemed like the onions would overpower the flavor, but it didn’t.  Each bite was an almost perfect mix of meat, onions, cheese and roll.  In the end, the roll was truly what made it great. The meat wasn’t the absolute best I have had (it was very good), Verona and Johnny’s had more flavor, but the mix of all the key ingredients on the amazing roll showed me why Del Rossi’s has so much hype.  And the hype is absolutely warranted. I didn’t have any nits to pick with this one.

It is really hard to compare to my current top 2, Johnny’s in Bryn Mawr and Verona in Maple Glen (we haven't officially reviewed Angelo's yet), and while I will likely get some hate for it, I cannot put it #1 over Johnny’s and only a fraction over Verona. The fact is, we are beyond lucky to have so many options in the city and suburbs that are all incredible. 

It earned the strong A with a 9.5 score. It was completely worth the 45 minute drive in traffic and I will 100% go back.

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I was upset I missed it last year -- Seeing Warren, Derek, Jaimoe and the gang would make me so happy

This might be as excited as I have been since we started Cheesesteak Club about a year ago. One of the guys said he wants to get Pizza as an appetizer. I definitely want to try their pizza, but I cannot have appetizers before an official Cheesesteak Club visit in order to do a proper review.

What an incredible show! Opened with "Tahitian Blue." Encore was "Peaches and Cream" and "Zebra." The best part of the night was the insane jam on "Doing Just Fine " into the "Ocean" solo where the rest of the band leaves the stage. Ocean live is an experience that you can't describe. I don't know how he does that with his hands and arms. The energy, talent and emotion that go into that are insane. And then the band comes on stage, he tells a story about loving his wife and family and they go into "King of California."

Two and a half hours with no breaks, unbridled energy, great music and fun crowd interaction. It lived up to my expectations and then some.

Here is what I captured for the set list - I would have loved to hear Funky Tonight and Ragged Mile, but was not disappointed.

Tahitian blue 

Going solo 

So sorry 

Better than (with a cool banjo intro)

Outta my head 

Blame it on me

Gets no better 

The way back

Wade in the water 

Doin Just Fine

Ocean

King of California 

Used to Get High

Treat yo mama

Tripping on you

Close to you

Encore

Peaches and cream 

Zebra

Philly tonight. Can’t wait for this one.

Looks like “Ocean” has been a lock on this run… the real question is do we get “Take” or “Funky Tonight”?

Anyone been to a recent show and have a feel for it?

I’m through episode 5 and enjoying it. Reminds me of shrinking on Apple. Steve Carrel and John McGinley, old comedy winners, are great. Dylan is a great character. I’m really enjoying it. What does everyone think?