Happy Easter from Route 1

99 problems but a cinematographer ain't one

There's dysfunctional families and then there's the Sugimoto household in the 1967 KOREYOSHI KURAHARA film "AI NO KAWAKI (THIRST FOR LOVE)."
RURIKO ASAOKA stars as a widow who has become the mistress of her father-in-law -- NOBUO NAKAMURA, who appeared in Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story)."
Asaoka's character is obsessed with the family groundskeeper, who in turn got the maid pregnant. Nakamura's married son figures into the messy mix, too. He is openly attracted to Asaoka.
Kurahara gives us one big, unhappy family in this psychological thriller, and although Asaoka's character complains of inner torment, she has a habit of ruining everyone else's life.
No behavior is too heinous for Asaoka's character, and she manipulates with no visible sign of regret or conscience.
The movie's effect can be as dizzying as any film noir, and cinematographer YOSHIO MAMIYA can take some of the credit for that.
Mamiya also worked with Kurahara on the Japanese new wave classic "Kyonetsu No Kisetsu (The Warped Ones)" and his camera work here is just as dazzling.
Kurahara actually quit NIKKATSU after the studio upheld this film's release -- complaining it was too artsy.
In fact, Kurahara and Mamiya's artistic approach prevents the film from slipping into crazy soap opera territory.
Nikkatsu should have been grateful.

Giving the drummers some

Here at ROUTE 1, we're certainly proponents of the adage, "GIVE THE DRUMMER SOME."
So, any drummers out there, please let us know if you want some.
In the meantime, readers answer the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"Who is your favorite drummer?"
MIKE D. -- No real favorite ... maybe Mick Fleetwood or Don Henley or Tommy Lee or Alex Van Halen. Favorite drum set? Luis Cardenas', from the 1980s video for "Runaway."
RICK T. -- Todd who plays in Gene Watson's Farewell Party Band.
JOHN S. -- Neil Peart.
STEVE M. -- In rock: Keith Moon. In jazz: Art Blakey.
LAURA C. -- Peter Craft!
KERI M. -- The guy from Def Leppard.
JEFF T. -- Those 12 guys in the Christmas Song, of course.
BRIAN M. -- Neil Peart or the late Joe Morello, the longtime drummer for the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Neil could have played with Dave Brubeck, and Joe could have played in Rush.
ANNIKA H. -- Roger Taylor.
JIM S. -- Mick Fleetwood. I love the song "Tusk," though he had a lot of help on that one. But I also get bored with long drum solos.
KERSTIN H. -- Really? This question is too easy! Obviously my answer has to be Roger Taylor from Queen!
ERIK H. -- John Bonham in rock and Art Blakey in jazz. Actually, as Brian mentioned, I would love to have heard them switch roles some time!

Waking from the worst type of dream

I just woke up from the worst type of DREAM.
Not a nightmare, exactly, but rather a WORK-A-FULL-EIGHT-HOURS DREAM.
Huh? Now I actually have to prepare to go to work? 
But I feel as if I have already been to work.
It doesn't seem fair to go to work after you feel like you've put in a full shift in your subconscious.
I remember in the dream being required to painstakingly type something.
My alarm sounds like a telephone, so it initially just seemed to blend with the work setting of my dream.
Alas, it was only a dream. I still have to work eight hours.
That's why it seems like the worst type of dream. I'd rather be chased by blood-thirsty zombies.

Hoping the Bucs can snap their losing streak

Cloudy... gloomy... still unseasonably cold.
No wonder I listened to SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL to help me relax last night.
I tuned in to the PITTSBURGH PIRATES and the TAMPA BAY RAYS.
The Rays beat the Pirates, 6-2, in one of the last remaining games before the start of the regular season -- when the games count.
Although I'm a lifelong SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS fan, I'll be rooting for the Pirates to win more games than they lose.
The Bucs are in the midst of a 20-year stretch of losing seasons, and the franchise deserves to snap that futility steak.
I actually find the 20 years of losing somewhat surprising. The Pirates of my youth dominated their competition with Bay Area star Willie "Pops" Stargell leading a squad that included Dave Parker and former Giants Bill Madlock and Tim Foli.
Apart from star outfielder Andrew McCutchen, the current crop of Bucs -- including Russell Martin, Jose Tabata and Neil Walker -- seem a far cry from the players of Pittsburgh's glory days.
Still, I hope they have enough in them to win more than they lose.

You mean FGCU isn't some new texting slang?

I haven't followed COLLEGE BASKETBALL as closely this season as in years past, but DUNK CITY made me sit up and take notice this weekend.
"Dunk City" is a nickname associated with FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY, an unlikely basketball powerhouse whose common abbreviation, FGCU, looks more like text-message slang than a symbol of hoops greatness.
Last night, the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast beat SAN DIEGO STATE, 81-71, to become the first 15th-seeded team to reach the SWEET SIXTEEN of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Florida Gulf Coast only opened in 1997 and is in only its second year of postseason basketball eligibility.
Most people -- myself included -- only became cognizant of the school after they had upset second-seeded GEORGETOWN in their tourney opener.
Now, most neutrals are cheering for this unlikely "Cinderella."
I will, too, unless they ever play MY BELOVED OREGON DUCKS, who also reached the Sweet Sixteen this year.

Where are you now, Chico Roland?

CHICO ROLAND boasts one of the most remarkable stories for a film star.
In America, Arthur Lourant reportedly worked in his cousin's dry-cleaning business in Los Angeles. In Japan, Lourant was one of the busiest actors of the 1960s under the stage name "Chico Roland."
Roland appeared in numerous Japanese films and television shows throughout the 1960s.
According to a 1963 profile in "Ebony," Roland was a jobless, discharged veteran of the Korean Conflict who parlayed a passable resemblance to Sidney Poitier into a career as an actor in Japan.
The profile reports Roland spoke seven languages and approached Japanese dialogue in a unique manner: He wrote his dialogue in Romanji (the Japanese phonetic spelling), memorized it in Spanish, then spoke it in Japanese.
This morning, I watched him starring with TAMIO KAWAJI in KOREYOSHI KURAHARA'S 1964 film, "KUROI TAIYO (BLACK SUN)."
Roland plays an AWOL G.I. accused of murdering another American.
On the lam and wounded, he holds Kawaji's jazz-obsessed squatter hostage, until the pair eventually form an unlikely alliance of outcast and fugitive.
There's not much information about Lourant/Roland online -- just references to the "Ebony" profile and a newspaper story about a man named "Arthur Lourant" accused of assault on a school bus in Tucson, Ariz.
I doubt this Lourant is the Japanese film actor.
It appears that Lourant has receded into Japanese film history, only to fleetingly emerge on DVDs.

Obligations vs. the Bowie book

DAVID BOWIE first recorded a demo version of the song "ZIGGY STARDUST" in March 1971 -- before the recording of his "HUNKY DORY" album that preceded Ziggy's namesake album.
This fact was one of many I've learnt while reading "THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD: DAVID BOWIE AND THE 1970s" by PETER DOGGETT.
All I have been doing this week (when not working) is reading about Bowie, reading about Bowie and watching films about... no, not Bowie, JAPAN.
Still, Bowie wore the occasional kimono, right, so it fits.
All I want to do today is stay home and read my Bowie book.
Unfortunately, obligations keep sending me out of the house on errands -- with more to come.

The tale of a man, a Jeep, his manager and some reporters

I enjoyed a 1962 movie last night that combined romantic comedy and drama with a media satire that would work as well in 2013 as it did 51 years ago.
KOREYOSHI KURAHARA'S "NIKUI AN-CHIKUSHO (I HATE BUT LOVE)" stars YUJIRO ISHIHARA as a popular Japanese media personality who begins to feel suffocated by both his crowded public appearance schedule as well as his lovestruck and demanding manager, played by RURIKO ASAOKA.
The star decides to abruptly cast aside his work and his fame to perform a humanitarian mission -- driving a Jeep the length of Japan to a doctor in a remote village in Kyushu (the most southwesterly of Japan's four main islands).
His manager obsessively follows him, her idea of love bordering on the mentally unstable and possessive variety.
Hordes of reporters and cameramen also follow him on his journey -- and he ironically becomes even more popular as a result.
There are several scenes reminiscent of the great PRESTON STURGES classic "SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS," in which a film director's journey to find real meaning in poverty is initially chronicled by a trailing team of movie officials and reporters.
A similar scenario occurs to Ishihara, whose growing fame during the journey means he can't even stop in roadside cafes for fear that crowds of well-wishers could disrupt his 900-mile journey.
It's a film well-worth seeking out.

A book to keep me warm -- since spring won't

If this SPRING is going to be more like WINTER -- it's currently 9 degrees Fahrenheit outside and yet another snowstorm is targeting us this weekend -- I might as well have something good to read while bundled up inside.
"THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD: DAVID BOWIE AND THE 1970s" by PETER DOGGETT is a song-by-song examination of the British rocker's peak creative output, viewing each track musically, lyrically and in the light of Bowie's influences and within the context of the decade.
"No other pop artist (in any medium) was as restlessly inventive in the seventies as David Bowie," Doggett writes. "None took as many risks, so obsessively avoided the safety of repetition, or stretched himself and his audience so far."
I  am currently reading about Bowie's early life as Dave Jones of Beckenham, and I am learning a lot about the rock star's earliest influences.
If I have to be stuck in my house because winter doesn't know when to quit, I might as well enjoy a good book.

'A Clockwork Orange' meets 'Breathless' in Japan

If you ever see "KYONETSU NO KISETSU (THE WARPED ONES)" you are unlikely to ever forget it.
KOREYOSHI KURAHARA'S 1960 film stars TAMIO KAWAJI as an anarchic delinquent embarked on a seemingly nonstop, amoral rampage.
He reminds me of Alex in "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE." Kawaji's jazz-loving character rapes and pillages his way through the film -- while taking time out to mock modern art and classical music (one of the deviations from Clockwork's Alex).
Kawaji is a familiar face for fans of NIKKATSU studios productions of the 1960s, and he features in five films we own on DVD, including a pair of Seijun Suzuki yakuza freak-outs and even a monster movie.
"Kyonetsu no Kisetsu" is nothing like those. Although it was originally marketed in the United States as a dubbed "sexploitation" flick, it is the closest thing to Jean-Luc Godard's "A Bout De Souffle (Breathless)" you'll ever see.
It's full of jump cuts and jazzy music and camera angles that take in more of the tops of buildings than the character's faces.
It's an artistic marvel whose characters' disregard for other life makes you squeamish.
Once you see it, you'll never forget it.

Surviving the snow with "Station to Station"

We decided it's time for some DAVID BOWIE today.
SNOW keeps falling, winter won't leave us alone, so we're fighting back with good music.
Today's selection is the 1976 album, "STATION TO STATION" (or, as it says on the cover:  "STATIONTOSTATIONDAVIDBOWIE").
It's the one with "Golden Years," "TVC 15," "Stay" and several other songs that taught the post-punk bands what to sound like.
It doesn't the snow away -- goodness knows what will accomplish that feat -- but it's still a great album.

Kurahara's perfect little noir

KOREYOSHI KURAHARA pulls out all of the stops in his 1960 film noir, "ARU KYOHAKU (INTIMIDATION)."
I watched the film this morning, before heading to work.
The director includes betrayals, a point-of-view bank robbery scene, extreme closeups of characters' eyes and more than one plot twist.
Ko Nishimura stars as a stuck-in-a-rut provincial bank employee who endures humiliation as his childhood friend -- played by Nobuo Kaneka -- ascends up the corporate ladder with little regard for who he harms along the way.
Nishimura's many other film credits include "Daibosatsu Toge (Sword of Doom)" and "Biruma no Tategoto (The Burmese Harp)."
Kaneko has appeared in a number of Nikkatsu studio productions I love, including "Yaju No Seishun (Youth of the Beast)."
Kurahara keeps this taut thriller moving. It's only 65 minutes long, so it's all story and action.
It also proves the Japanese were very adept at noir. Kurahara got the genre completely right.

How we'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day

We'll we wearin' green this weekend, as Sunday marks ST. PATRICK'S DAY.
ROUTE 1 readers answered the following FRIDAY QUESTION about the celebration of all things IRISH:
"How will you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?"
RICK T. -- Playing music and having fun.
SANDYE V. -- Definitely making the traditional corned beef and cabbage. Love it, even though I'm not Irish.
JOHN S. -- Wondering why so many refuse to publicly say "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending non-Christians, but will joyfully celebrate, parade, drink, and decorate for SAINT Patrick's Day.
KERI M. -- Maybe have people over. Hopefully not work.
ERIK H. -- Unfortunately I have to work, but I will definitely listen to my Lá Fhéile Pádraig Irish music playlist. It's got 101 songs and lasts for six-and-a-half hours. 

(ROUTE 1's FRIDAY QUESTION WILL RETURN IN TWO WEEKS)

"I thought you knew how to kill the monster?" "Me? I thought you did!"

It was a familiar scene from my childhood.
We had reached that crucial time in a Japanese KAIJU EIGA (monster movie) when the authorities have exhausted all possibilities and finally admit to having no idea how to rid themselves of the monster ravaging the community.
All that is left for them is to step back and let the kids/friendly monster/tiny people from faraway island/other unlikely ally present the solution.
I remembered these countless scenes last night while watching an old favorite on DVD.
"GAMERA TAI MAJU JAIGA (GAMERA VS. MONSTER X)" relies on both kids and a friendly monster to shed OSAKA of the monster-scourge tearing the city to pieces.
There's a twist, of course.
SPOILER ALERT: The kids actually have to perform an operation of sorts inside the friendly monster, traveling into the creature's gut via a miniature submarine.
The far-fetched plotting of Japanese monster movies never troubled me as a youngster. I was a devoted fan of seeing gigantic creatures fight each other and smash buildings and railroads to bits.
Watching these films now, I scratch my head at the ludicrous elements while smiling at the memories of Saturday afternoons in front of the TV, waiting for those times when the authorities finally threw their hands up in the air and exclaimed:
"How do we stop this thing?"

You know it makes sense: Film composers emerging from inventive bands

I suppose in hindsight it makes sense, but at the time I had no idea that the frontmen of three of the most wildly inventive bands of my youth -- MARK MOTHERSBAUGH OF DEVO, DANNY ELFMAN OF OINGO BOINGO and CLINT MANSELL OF POP WILL EAT ITSELF -- would eventually emerge as lauded film composers.
I certainly couldn't envision "Jocko Homo" evolving into "The Royal Tenenbaums" soundtrack, "Only a Lad" evolving into the "Edward Scissorhands" soundtrack or "Def. Con. One" evolving into "The Fountain" soundtrack.
I'm listening to Pop Will Eat Itself today, recalling how the STOURBRIDGE band combined rock, rap and dance music well before many of their contemporaries.
I guess that's why it shouldn't surprise me that the leaders of these three bands should grow into composers roles -- they always seemed to be pushing against musical boundaries.

Looking at life in Japan

It could be the SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE SENDAI TSUNAMI, or the arrival of BASEBALL.
Whatever the reason, I've been reading my JAPAN books this week.
Last night, I read more of "'SALARYMAN' IN JAPAN," an illustrated look at the white-collar workers who powered Japan's postwar economic rise.
The book examines the details of the lives of millions of Japanese workers, from their commute to what they eat at lunch.
It is fascinating to me. It is a look at a life different from mine, but with enough similarities that it is slightly recognizable, too.

A song that sends me back onto a boat

I've always associated certain songs with certain times and locations.
"DON'T LET ME DOWN GENTLY," by THE WONDER STUFF, is a case in point.
I hear the 1989 single and I am transported to a sunny, warm day on a boat on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER, shortly after JILL and I were married.
I hear the song now, and I seem to still see the boat cutting through the water.
My raging SPRING FEVER led me to play the Wonder Stuff on iTunes today. There might be lingering rain showers or snow flurries today, but once the playlist hits "Don't Let Me Down Gently," I know I'll be back on that boat -- far away from winter.

Enjoying some Monty Python before work

I am reading an old favorite before I have to head to work today.
"MONTY PYTHON'S BIG RED BOOK" is a 1975 collection of material culled from the first years of the BBC-TV comedy series "MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS."
The book's contents have kept me laughing since I was a kid.
"Vote Wisely Vote Silly," reads a mock election pamphlet for the Silly Party contained in the book. "A Silly Government would raise the school leaving age to 43, encourage naughtiness in high places and maintain confidence in British Silliness abroad."
The book does a fine job itself on that latter campaign promise, with music and lyrics for "Spam" and "The Lumberjack Song," news of the big fight between Ken Clean-Air System and young schoolgirl Elaine Griffiths, Fellini in conversation with Mrs. Rodgers (Rodgers: "Shove off, or I'll call the police") and "The Greatest Upper Class Race in the World" -- the twit race.
There's a lot of laughter contained within these pages.
Heck, I am so inspired, I'll probably listen to the Monty Python albums I have on iTunes while driving around in the car today.

'90s music and soccer mags transporting me back

It's a rainy, gloomy day and I'm feeling the same way.
I'm cheering myself up with some 1990s favorites -- MANSUN, KULA SHAKER and old copies of WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE.
It's great to read 17 or 18-year-old copies of the magazine, remembering how I gleaned my EUROPEAN FOOTBALL information before I had unlimited access to the Internet.
Mansun and Kula Shaker are two bands I enjoyed as JILL and I made the transition from Oregon to Iowa, and our transition to parents. Hearing the music today brings back so many memories.
The reading material and the listening material help to transport me back to earlier days.

What we like to do during storms

We're preparing for the transition from SNOWSTORM to THUNDERSTORM here at ROUTE 1 H.Q.
While we make the switch, readers respond to the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What's your favorite thing to do during a storm?"
RICK T. -- Watch it from inside.
STEVE M. -- Have a fire. We have a wood-burning fireplace.
JOHN S. -- Hope and pray for thundersnow!
KERI M. -- Watch it.
ERIK H. -- I like to watch hockey during snowstorms while snowplows rumble past our house. I like to watch lightning during thunderstorms while thunder rumbles over our heads.

Losing a true Canadian original

It was fitting -- I learned about the death of STOMPIN' TOM CONNORS last night while watching a HOCKEY game.
Connors' "THE HOCKEY SONG" provides the remarkable, lasting legacy of the CANADIAN country singer. The song plays in hockey arenas throughout North America.
Connors' other songs, tunes that include "Canada Day," "Bud the Spud" and "Sudbury Saturday Night," reveal his deep love of the nation he called "the greatest country in the world."
His country loved Connors, too.
Last night, Prime Minister Stephen Harper tweeted:
"We have lost a true Canadian original. R.I.P. Stompin' Tom Connors."
I couldn't have said that better myself, so I retweeted his appreciative words.
There was a true Canadian original lost.

No Gordie Howe hat trick for us

While watching the RANGERS play the FLYERS last night (a 4-2 win for New York), the girls and I began discussing one of ICE HOCKEY'S more unusual statistics -- the "GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK."
 Named for the Hall of Famer skilled with stick and fist, a Gordie Howe hat trick occurs when a player accomplishes three feats in a single game:
1. Scores a goal
2. Provides an assist
3. Gets in a fight
Retired wing BRENDAN SHANAHAN is acknowledged as the leader in the unofficial list of Gordie Howe hat trick players.
Sadly, we didn't one last night.

50 years ago we lost Hawkshaw, Patsy and Cowboy

It was 50 years ago today that a plane crash robbed music of a trio of COUNTRY MUSIC stars.
PATSY CLINE, HAWKSHAW HAWKINS and COWBOY COPAS had traveled to Kansas City to perform a benefit show for the family of "Cactus" Jack Call, a country disc jockey who had been killed in a car crash.
The trio decided to fly home to Nashville in a plane owned by Copas' son-in-law, Randy Hughes.
The flight encountered bad weather and crashed in a forest outside Camden, Tenn., about 90 miles from Nashville.
I'm marking the sad occasion by listening to Hawkins, one of the unsung, true icons of the genre.
"Dog House Boogie," "Soldier's Joy," "Twenty Miles From Shore" and the posthumous "Lonesome 7-7203" are among the Hawkins hits on a 15-song playlist on my iTunes.
Cub Koda writes:
"Described as 'the man with 11-and-a-half yards of personality,' Hawkins was a warm and engaging performer both on stage and on records, able to pull off a wide variety of material, from maudlin weepers to uptempo novelties."
Hawkins' star began to be eclipsed during his life -- "Lonesome 7-7206" was intended to serve as a comeback single before his death -- and even today his tragic demise is recorded as almost an after thought to a plane crash notable to most for claiming the life of Cline.
I'll play Hawkins all day. It's the only way I can pay him tribute.

Today's episode...

In which our hero attempts to deny the existence of the coming SNOW STORM by playing VAN HALEN'S 1978 DEBUT ALBUM very loud.
"Oh, oh, ohhhh, Jamie's cryyyin!"
It wasn't cool for me to pay attention to VAN HALEN in their heyday -- I was too "alternative" to be bothered -- but in the intervening years I have grown to appreciate virtuosity, and guitarist EDDIE VAN HALEN has it in spades. Vocalist DAVID LEE ROTH struck me as horribly overblown, but I now understand the role Hollywood-style perception played in this epitome of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ROCK 'N' ROLL, too.
I have no qualms admitting now that the band's debut album sounds great.
Besides virtuosity, my appreciation of musical originality has deepened -- probably because so little of it seems to exist these days.
 That's another reason why my "Van Halen" attitude has changed during the past decades.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing in "All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock," praised the album's originality:
 "The still-amazing thing about 'Van Halen' is how it sounds like it has no fathers. Plenty other bands followed this template in the '80s, but like all great originals, 'Van Halen' doesn't seem to belong to the past and it still sounds like little else, despite generations of copycats."
This music also reminds me of sunny California days -- yet another reason to listen, as a snow-packing storm barrels down on us again.

"Operator, put me through to some warm weather, please"

"Hello, WARM WEATHER? Yeah, this is DUBUQUE, IOWA calling. We need you to finish up your WINTER VACATION and come home. Why? Well, beginning at midnight tonight we're supposed to get ANOTHER SNOW STORM. Yeah, I know, and this one is tabbed to bring us either 6-10 inches or 9-15, depending upon which DEPRESSING FORECAST MODEL you choose to believe. All I know is, that's a lot of snow and everyone I know is tired of it and has SPRING FEVER. Heck, the girls had spring fever so badly last night, they only wore sweaters out to dinner, even though the temperature was in the low 30s. So, I'm not sure what you're doing right now on your vacation, warm weather, but I wish you could come back soon. We're just not ready for more snow."

I love Saturday with erasure

ERASURE have always contributed to the soundtrack of our family.
I can remember long drives through the "outback" of eastern OREGON accompanied by the synth-pop duo's 1988 album "The Innocents" and early 1990s singles such as "Star," "Chorus" and "Love to Hate You."
I'm watching some music videos for those singles this morning, including the appropriately titles "I LOVE SATURDAY."
"I Love Saturday" came out in 1994 and featured on the album "I Say I Say I Say." We played that album frequently in our home in Lakeview, Ore.
Written by erasure members VINCE CLARKE and ANDY BELL, "I Love Saturday" was produced by yet another synth-pop legend, Human League and Heaven 17 co-founder MARTYN WARE.
The rest of the house is still sleeping. I'm going to slip in my earbuds and watch the rest of these erasure videos.
I *do* love Saturday!

Our favorite candy bars revealed

Ever get that sweet tooth where only your favorite candy bar will do?
ROUTE 1 readers know the feeling, and reveal their own favorites by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What's your favorite candy bar?"
KERI M. -- Peanut Butter Oh Henry, Wunderbar and Milky Way/Mars Bar.
INGER H. -- Lion bar! But that you can only get in Europe. Quelle Dommage!
JIM S. -- 1. The plain old Hershey bar. Being a "Top 10" kind of guy, here are my others: 2. Nestle Crunch; 3. Three Musketeers; 4. Milky Way; 5. Kit Kat; 6. Mars Bar; 7. Twix; 8. Peanut Butter Cup; 9. York Peppermint Patty; 10. Butterfinger.
STACEY B. -- Hershey's Cookies N Creme.
SANDYE V. -- Dark chocolate Dove bars. I love the little square mini versions.
JOHN S. -- Frozen Snickers.
MIKE D. -- When I was a kid, my favorites were Willy Wonka Super Skrunch and Sprint. The latter was similar to a Kit Kat, which is my current favorite, along with Twix.
RICK T. -- Nestles Crunch.
BOB H. -- Snickers original bar. When I met Oma, I was on a “Snickers Diet.” I ate a Snickers and drank a cup of coffee for lunch every day. I was very satisfied and didn’t have to eat again until dinner. I lost about 20 pounds over a relatively short period of time.
STEVE M. -- Butterfinger for sure.
ERIK H. -- The Australian bar Violet Crumble is my favorite. You can find it occasionally in the U.S. "It's the way it shatters that matters" is the slogan. The Canadian bar Coffee Crisp is a close second, and was my favorite as a kid after eating it during trips to British Columbia.