Top Ten Bands You May (or May Not) Have Heard of

It's such a crotchety old man-style statement, but I really can't stand most of the crap on American radio these days.  But there's a lot of good stuff out there on the international scene, and I've listed a few of the bright spots I've encountered here.  Some of these bands I've come across through friends, some through travel, some through random internet searches (or the greatness of Pandora).  Here they are, in all their glory.

1.  Carpark North
2.  My Vitriol
3.  Feeder
4.  Ash
5.  Kent
6.  Daft Punk
7.  Muse
8.  We Are Augustines
9.  Kill Hannah
10. The Vaccines

Top Ten Healthy Foods I Love

I love to eat.  Most people do.  In recent years, and as my diet has changed to adjust to a more healthy lifestyle, I've found several foods that qualify as "healthy" that I actually prefer to the more rich foods I used to enjoy more regularly.  Here's some of my healthier favorites.

1.  Tillamook White Cheddar cheese - The best cultured milk cheese I've bought at a store.  Sharp, creamy, flavorful.  It doesn't get much better than this.
2.  Blue Diamond Hazelnut Thins - Gluten-free cracker with an awesome flavor.  Great with the Tillamook cheese.
3.  Medjool Dates - My aunt introduced me to these on a visit to the Virgin Islands a couple years back.  I've been hooked ever since.
4.  Sweet Potatoes - bake them, fry them, mash them, do anything to them and they're fantastic.  Especially love them in the form of Fries or candied Thanksgiving-style.
5.  Red Pepper Hummus - My wife makes hummus from scratch, I often add the red pepper component myself afterwards.  Great with the Hazelnut thins or the veggies of your choice. 
6.  Garlic - I cook virtually nothing without it.  I'm nearly convinced that Garlic is good with everything.  Ok, except dessert. 
7.  Pineapple/Watermelon - I put these together because I rarely eat one without the other.  I don't even know why.  But they just seem inseparable to me.
8.  Coconut Oil - this stuff has so many uses, it's amazing.  Especially great for baking, frying, desserts, even dry skin. 
9.  Cinnamon Pecans - I buy these at the local Kroger.  Oh my...
10. Sourdough bread - my wife buys wheat berries through Azure Standard, mills them into flour, and uses this to maintain our own sourdough starter and bake our own bread.  Thick, hearty, and very satisfying.

The "If I'm stuck on a remote, uninhabited, tropical island" top ten(s)

Two in one here...the top ten items I'd rely upon for physical survival, and the top ten items I'd rely upon for my sanity. The spirit of this one being that these are items to survive, not items that you'd use to escape (like a helicopter, a boat, the wings of an eagle), and includes the assumption that fresh water is available.

First, physical survival:

1.  A good long knife. 
2.  Several lengths of rope and string
3.  Flint and steel
4.  Large tarp
5.  Fishing/Mosquito net
6.  Warm blanket
7.  Comprehensive reference guide to plants/animals
8.  Canteen
9.  Rugged, durable pack
10. First aid pack

Second, items to survive the maddening life of a stranded hermit:

1.  A bible
2.  Crank-powered weather/satellite radio (I'd like to think these exist...asking for an iPod is cheating)
3.  Wide-brimmed hat
4.  Shoes...preferably Keens for land/water use
5.  Ukelele or travel-sized guitar with extra sets of strings
6.  Frying pan...because who wants to cook everything on a stick or a rock?
7.  Pens and notebooks to document my weird life.
8.  Polarized sunglasses
9.  Waterproof jacket
10. French press...assuming I had any coffee (God forbid I have to go without coffee)

I have this weird thing for top ten lists.  Ten is a great number.  Five...too few.  Fifteen, twenty...too many.  Who doesn't love a good top ten list? 

So what's the point of this?  My own entertainment, and maybe even yours, though I make no promises.  So here we go!