Static and Wine

Review: Sunny Day Real Estate, 10/5/09, Granada Theatre, Dallas, TX.

2009-10-06T21:08:00.002-05:00

So anyone that knows me, know that I've been beyond stoked about not just the reunion of Sunny Day Real Estate (and ecstatic about the rumors of another record.....), but about the fact that they were coming to Dallas. Yes, I was prepared to shell out whatever it cost to fly somewhere else in the country, if need be, to see them. And yes, I was quite thrilled that instead of that, they decided to play a mile from my house. Seriously, I bought tickets 3m after they went on sale and I've been counting down the days to Oct. 5. I detailed here how and why I got into SDRE, but the fact remains, I was excited about the show. So last night was the night, and I went, and.....

IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!

Seriously, it was better than even I expected. And a simple straw poll of the audience, reflected a similar sentiment. My first observation, say about 30s into Friday was that it was really, really loud. To put things in perspective, not a week earlier I'd gotten a free ticket to go see The Get-Up Kids at the same venue, and while I was never a huge Get-Up Kids fan, I was intrigued.

SDRE simply blew them out of the water. It was the loudest show I've seen since Local H at the Galaxy Club back in 1997 (that show left me hearing static for 3 days), and that's from a guy that's seen Tool, Pantera, Metallica, and more punk bands than you can shake a stick at. It was freaking loud, but not unnecessarily loud....you could hear the notes, you could hear the harmonies, it was just that when they were rocking.....they were rocking. And when it was melodic, well, it was still rocking.

I did a little google research before the show, and so I was prepared for the fact that other than Guitar And Video Games, the rest of the songs would be off of Diary and LP2. Understandable, since this was the first reunion of all 4 members since those records, though I won't deny hoping to hear a little of The Rising Tide. They were on point, hitting every note and I was shocked to hear that Jeremy Enigk still had the ability to hit both alto and falsetto notes at his age (I wrongly assumed his solo stuff had been engineered a bit), and was likewise surprised to hear William Goldsmith rocking out so many fills on the drums.

At one point, my brother's girlfriend remarked to me, "this sounds just like the record!" and I think that's an apt description. There was a little artistic license taken, especially on drums, but all in all they were on....it was as moving, as powerful, and as loud as the records. And it was the best show I've seen in a long time.

Just in case anyone reading this is doing so by googling reviews of the show (as I did....), below is the setlist hear in Dallas. It's also worth noting that they made mention of the possibilities of both being back, and of recording new material, so don't real that out.

Friday
Seven
Song About An Angel
Grendel
Guitar And Video Games
Iscarabaid
Theo B
5/4
10 (i think? it was a new song?)
Sometimes
Circles
J'Nuh

How would you respond if Dallas police kicked in your door?

2009-09-14T18:06:00.002-05:00

I really should have taken a picture. I'm really kind of kicking myself for not doing it, because it was quite a sight. Sure the door itself survived, but the frame was destroyed and there were shards of wood all over the floor. The drywall took a bit of a beating too. So why, you might ask, did Dallas Police kick in my door? I'm glad you asked....

It's friday night. I'm just hanging out back in my room watching 'Max Payne' for the second time (don't ask me why.....) waiting for a friend who was coming into town for the weekend from Beaumont. T-bone is about to take the dog, George, for a walk down to the Texaco and my brother is hanging out with his girlfriend in his room.....it's a boring friday night. I mean, really boring. Then I hear T-bone start shouting, "Lock the back door! Lock the back door!!" and I hop up to lock the door in my room and grab a potential weapon. You see, a couple days earlier there'd been a break in a few blocks over on Oram St. whereby the guy had stolen some shit, cops found him, and he ran through a house to escape them...so I knew what he was thinking.

Next thing I know, I hear our front door being kicked in. I run into the hallway where I can see T-bone throwing his arms up shouting "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I live here!" and immediately think someone has broken into our house and has a gun. Then I see three Dallas police officers, guns drawn, run through our house like a scene from Benny Hill and into the backyard. Thoroughly confused I stand there for a monent, then go into the living room and ask, um, what the fuck just happened?

As it turns out, when T-bone went outside with George, he saw 3 cops with guns out and a hatted man apparently akin to the Hamburglar skulking through our front yard. He thinks the guy is going to make a move for our door, and slams the front door and then shouts for us to lock the back door. Dallas Police, thinking that he is the person they're looking for and just ran into the house, then kick the door in and point their guns at him. They then realize that the man they're looking for was actually the one that took off for our backyard (which seems pretty obvious to me...but I digress) so they run through our house only to have the suspect climbing over our backyard fence as they arrive. I should also mention that they pulled a gun on my brother when he ran into the dining room with a bat (not knowing what was going on either) and that the smartest of all of us, my brother's girlfriend.....she hid in a closet.

And then they're gone. The next door neighbor comes over, and asks what all the commotion was, and finds a Bibbentuckers bag on the side of our house containting an X-Box, some games, and a laptop computer.....apparently the burglar's loot, he left behind when he encountered police. The street becomes a Dallas Police Convention as no less than 10-15 squad cars are driving up and down the street with cops running everywhere looking for this guy. Finally we flag one down and ask, um, "sooo.....about our door you just kicked in....." They eventually send a sergeant over who apologizes and give us a case number to give to our landlord who is then supposed to claim it on insurance or somesuch.....point is, the city sure as shit wasn't going to pay for it.

The next hour is spent with cops combing our yard and asking to search our house, then a K-9 unit in our backyard, and finally an apology from the officer that kicked open our door in the first place. The entire neighborhood is outside trying to sort out what the hell is going on. I'd like to say the story ends there......but it of course, does not.

A neighbor about a half a block down is walking her dog and asks us what all the commotion is, we explain the story and I offer to walk her back down to her house (as though me and a maglite is somehow better protection than a Mastiff, but I once again digress). As we get to her house, her front door is wide open and there's a cop walking up to it. I ask her if she left her door open, she says no, then the officer asks her the same question and asks us to stand outside and he radios for backup. Within minutes 5 squad cars show up with a ten of Dallas' finest, including the obligatory good ol' boy cemonstrably cocking the shotgun as he exits the car. They enter the house shouting, "Dallas police!" and clear the house one room at a time. No one inside, but the backdoor is open. The suspect had made his way back west on La Vista and had run through her house. Then she mentions that her neighbor is out of town, and they discover that his backdoor is open (though there is no one inside....or so they say after clearing that house too).

By about midnite my friend from Beaumont arrives with his old lady, and so I leave for the evening, though apparently as of 2am they still hadn't apprehended this guy, despite having half the police force and a K-9 unit in our quiet little enclave of Old East Dallas. The night was spent with a couch blockading our front door until the landlord could get over the next day to fix it, at which point the handyman Ishmael had the quote of the weekend, saying in his thick Mexican accent, "the police....they like to do this...." and then shaking his head.

Well Hello

2009-07-06T17:45:00.005-05:00

My my, has it been a busy couple of weeks. What with the end of month of one of our most stressful months of the year at work (both Diageo and Foster's Wine Estates' fiscal year ends) bookended by two ridiculously debaucherous and alcohol filled weekends, let's just say there just hasn't been a ton of time for writing. Oh, and did I mention getting all the work done for my vacation (a week and a half in Seattle and Portland)? I've been busy to the point that I even cancelled my WAR subscription due to lack of playing time, and havent logged a minute of TF2 in two weeks. So in that vein, some Matt-related quickhits;

-I will admit to getting atleast a little general nerdiness in, as Luq alerted me to the fact that Steam (a service I've totally come around on and really, really love now)was offering EQ2 for the low, low price of $9.99 (all expansions and 30 days free included), an offer I simply couldn't pass up to atleast give the game a chance. Now it was beyond disappointing, something I fully expected, but now I can atleast add it to the extensive list of MMO's I've played and quickly tired of before and since Dark Age of Camelot, bar none the best MMO I've ever played.

-On account of the aforementioned debaucherous weekends, atleast the most recent one, I've had a nice hungover sunday which afforded me and my general uselessness the ability to lay in bed all day with the curtains drawn and watch television, in much the same way I was introduced to True Blood a few weeks back. This sunday though was dedicated to finishing season one of Dexter....all 8 episodes I had left. It was good stuff. While certainly not The Wire, and maybe not even as good as Oz, it made moderately entertaining TV and I'm going to atleast watch season two. The characters can be a little unbelievable at times, but it seems they've begun to develop them quite a bit as the season wore on. Likewise, as any good television show (read: unlike Fourth And Long, which is god awful) does, the plot thickens as the series goes on and sucks you in a bit. I'm not gonna give it the must-see status The Wire gets, but it's good enough.

-I'm now two days from vacation. Ahhhh, sweet sweet vacation. 10 days in the beautiful and not hot Pacific Northwest. And as if things could have worked out any better, after booking the dates it turned out the Rangers are going to be in Seattle this weekend (already have tickets to see them at Safeco) and Mudhoney is playing a free show in Seattle. Throw in a crab dinner, a couple rounds of golf and some time with the extended family and that makes for a pretty nice trip before I head down to Portland to spend a week enjoying the great outdoors and craft beers. Have I mentioned I'm a little stoked?

Tha said, unless you want to hear about the Rangers or how much Beringer/Sterling/BV I had to sell last month (a lot) then I really don't really have a whole hell of a lot more for you. So until I'm back from vacation, I bid you adieu.

Suny Day Real Estate reuniting, touring

2009-06-23T19:41:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure exactly when I first got into Sunny Day Real Estate. I remember hearing and liking Diary....and even LP2. I remember liking Rising Tide quite a bit too, but they were always just one of those fringe bands for me.....a band that I liked, but didn't love. When they reunited in 1997 they were a band I'd have liked to have seen, but were certainly nowhere near the top of my list....I was only 16 at the time, and truth be told I think I was just too young to get their music. I'd just started growing out of my metal phase (Pantera/Sepultura) and growing into the drunken indie rock phase (Mudhoney) where I've apparently stalled out all these years later (though I did develop quite a love for rockabilly/psychobilly music as well).

It wasn't until my early to mid 20s that I really started to get into them (somewhere between 2001 and 2005) on account of one night sitting at my computer and Diary began to play....and I listened to it in order in it's entirety. And I realized that there was something new to me about it, something I hadn't heard when I was younger. Most people get into "emo" music when they're teenage hormones are raging and they think the world is out to get them-but I was never one of those people. It wasn't until my 20s that I had the depth of life experiences to appreciate just how powerful and moving the music was. And not just that, but also how musically brilliant it was....how tight it was, how the melodies flow perfectly and how they balance the falsetto and the driving guitar. For me, it was akin to discovering Mudhoney's Superfuzz Bigmuff-something so great that I couldn't stop listening to it. Then I started listening to Rising Tide, and appreciating how similar the music was, and yet how it had grown with age.....Rising Tide was the older, more mature version of Diary. Still just as moving, still just as powerful, but the music had become so much more complex.

Somewhere around 2004 or 05, I started having relationship problems....problems that if you know me you're quite familiar with, and if you don't you really probably don't have any interest in-and I started to fall into a period of self-loathing and guilt-and it wasn't until then that LP2 really hit home, that I really got it. LP2 to, to me, is probably the most beautiful and moving rock record I have ever heard-and between a couple failed relationships and the dying of my Aunt, in many ways Sunny Day Real Estate helped me get through all that. They were able to say for me what I couldn't say myself, they brought out emotions and feelings I didn't know I had and in many ways I believe helped me grow a lot as a person. So as you can imagine, this is a band that means a lot to me.

So a couple days ago when rumors started popping up that they'd be not only reuniting, but touring....and with the original lineup, well let's just say I was ecstatic. Outside of Nirvana (obviously never going to happen) this is the band I most regret having never seen. A few dates started to trickle out....Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta.....if they weren't coming to Dallas, then I was going to fly somewhere else and see them and that was that. Period, nothing was going to stop me from getting a chance to see SDRE live. So then, you can imagine my delight this afternoon when i read at Pitchfork that they were not only reuniting and touring, but that the tour was set and Dallas was going to be a stop. You can see the full schedule at the above link, but October 5 they're playing Dallas (Granada Theater) and the next two nights Houston and Austin. Anyway, tickets go on sale this friday at 11am for Dallas-and if I can swing it, I'm going to try to do Houston and Austin as well.

In short, I'm beyond ecstatic right now.

Mighty Arrow Pale Ale by New Belgium Brewing Co.

2009-06-20T17:58:00.000-05:00

Me and hops have a very odd relationship. Always have and as far as I can tell, we always will. You see, while I accept and am totally OK with the fact that hops are a part of the brewing process, I am of the belief that the American brewer in many cases has taken the use of hops to such an extreme level as to make their beers close to undrinkable. I am of the (apparently unpopular) belief that a beer should not taste like a bar of soap (see: Sam Adams), nor should it be so bitter as to be undrinkable (see: Hop Devil among others). In much the same way as I (and most other people) enjoy a little tannin in a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon but too much ruins it, I want a little hop in my beer but I don't want to be overwhelmed with piney bitterness. Hops is the "spice of beer," and I don't want it over-hopped anymore than I want a cook to dump an entire jar of black pepper in my soup.

Hops perform two functions in the brewing process. They're used to add flavor (again, the "spice of beer") and they act as a stabilizing agent/preservative. A story I've recounted dozens of times (and oddly enough, seems to impress chicks....which I totally don't understand) is that the foundation of the over-hopped beer is the India Pale Ale (IPA), and that it was over-hopped out of necessity-not because they necessarily liked the flavor. When English beer couldn't survive the trip by boat from England to India (then a British colony) without spoiling, thus depriving the English settlers beer (a problem, I admit), some clever brewer realized if you dump a boatload of hops into the casks of beer during the brewing process, it would preserve the beer long enough to survive the trip by ship to India. Voila, now you've got Indian Pale Ale and a bunch of happy English settlers in India. A practical solution to a real problem.

It isn't that people like IPAs that bothers me, everyone is obviously entitled to their own taste in beer, its how the thought process behind the IPA has spilled over into other American beers. Sure an American Pale Ale should be hoppy, it just shouldn't be overly hoppy. It's a Pale Ale, not an IPA. And I think that's my beef with New Belgium's Mighty Arrow Pale...it follows this new trend of making Pale Ales into IPAs.

Which isn't to say it's terrible, it's just not my taste. It's got nice head and a nice body, pours a clear orangish color...from the appearance it looks excellent. But after you take that first sniff, you are just overpowered by bitterness. Sure there's a little orange, but it's mostly just floral bitterness. The taste? Well it's just more of the same. Bitter on the front, bitter on the end....a little caramel and a little citrus mixed in, but at it's heart it tastes like hops. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're an IPA person, you may very well like it.

Va de Vi Sparkling Wine

2009-06-02T19:36:00.003-05:00

In my line of work, we get to taste a lot of wines. I know-you feel bad for me, right? But its one of those things that comes with the territory, and one of the things I not only relish but also find to be necessary for the performance of my job. The portfolio I represent is vast to say the least, and while I can't be intimately familiar with every potential vintage of every wine I do sell, I do my best to have atleast an honest opinion of most everything I do sell. And while I sometimes am required to sell something that-as a person that appreciates good wine-isn't something I particularly care for, sometimes I also get the oppurtunity to sell something which I'm not only impressed with, but fervently enjoy and want to share with other people. Yesterday we kicked off a brand that I can honestly say that I feel that way about, as we kicked off Gloria Ferrer's (who's parent company is Spain's Freixenet, the largest sparkling wine producer in the world)new Va de Vi sparkling wine.

Now I must admit off the bat, I'm a sucker for good bubbly-it seems to be a bit of a family curse, as at family gatherings Champagne doesn't tend to last long. But this was one of those rare wines that I tasted and immediately thought, "Damn, thats a nice bottle of wine" and then took out to my customers and had every last one of them remark something similar and then order cases-not a case, but cases. So what is it?

Va de Vi is Gloria Ferrer's version of an "extra dry" similar to how White Star is Moet & Chandon's. But you see, in confusing Champagne and sparkling wine nomenclature, extra dry is actually sweeter than brut (the driest of the sparkling wines)-a fact that most people don't know. Brut has the smallest dosage (sweetness added to the wine during production) at 15g or less per a liter followed by Extra Dry(25g or less), Sec, Demi-Sec, and Doux in order. Want a little more wine nerdiness? In the US the regulations are lax to say the least for sparkling wines and products such as Andre Brut have over a 20g/L dosage and Cooks Brut and Extra-Dry have virtually the same dosage (25g and 26g/L respectively). The end result is American sparkling wines can label themselves as pretty much anything and while the French and Spanish have tight regulations on labeling, Americans in general don't understand them.

Fun, right?

Which brings us back to Va de Vi. As what would be characterized as an "extra dry" in Europe (it's made in Carneros, CA from Carneros grapes), it does have a bit of sweetness to it-but nothing like a spumante. It's not a sugary sweetness, but instead a very natural and fruit forward one-peaches would be the way I'd describe it. And unlike most Champagnes which are made with something like 33% Pinot Noir, 33% Pinot Meunier, and 33% Chardonnay Va de Vi is 89% Pinot Noir, 8% Chardonnay, and 3% Muscat (hence the peaches and tropical fruit). It's got the body of a great sparkling wine, as well as the structure....there's enough acid to complement the sweetness but not too much of either. In short, it's fantastic...and this is coming from someone that generally shuns sweeter wines. And what's more, it's got a retail bottle price of under $20.....which, with most Champagnes retailing at $40 or more, makes it quite the bargain-especially considering it's competitive quality-wise with most Champagnes.

It's a new product so far launched in only three US markets (Dallas, Seattle, Denver) and not found in grocery distribution, but if you happen upon it I can't recommend it enough. I'm doing a wine tasting for some friends in a couple weeks and this bottle of wine just made the list. If you're in Dallas, you can find it at Kindred Spirits, Mike's, Cork n' Bottle, Parkit Market, and Payless Discount among others. Give it a try, and please....let me know what you think. Cheers!

Fringe

2009-05-25T19:32:00.002-05:00

Back in December I wrote a little bit about the new quality TV Programming the Fall of 2008 gave us. And while Heroes has since jumped the shark for the 15th time and I'm totally checked out of that series, and House has resorted to fighting for proverbial plot scraps to maintain my attention (though the hallucination plotline this past season ended on was a good one, I just wish they'd make it less formulaic), there were some high points. No I don't mean the return for new seasons of Gangland and Deadliest Catch (though those do start this week). Nor do I mean a second season of Sons Of Anrchy (which will return in Summer '09 with Henry Rollins. No, I think what impressed me the most was the way they wrapped up the first season of Fringe.

I originally billed it as a bit of a revised X-Files, and while I still think it fits the bill there, its also a bit more linear than the X-Files was. In much the same way Law & Order does things with the X-Files there were certain linear aspects to the story (ie, plot points that carried over from episode to episode and season to season), for the most part each episode seemed to be a stand-alone episode with only a few minutes a week given to the over-arching story. Burn Notice is another show that does this. Fringe meanwhile has each episode contributing to the building of a larger story in the much more traditional format for a drama.

Semantics aside though, what's really impressed me about Fringe is how they've tied together the most confusing (don't mistake that for outlandishly absurd like Lost) and far-fetched beginning of the series and progressed it to the point where it starts to actually make sense, but becomes compelling. At the end of the first half of Season One I was really unsure of the show, but at the prodding of a few friends decided to give it another go and they were dead on-the second half of the first season they actually explained who people were, what was going on, and managed to make the characters more endearing and interesting-in other words, the series finally had life.

At this point in time, I feel fairly confident saying that Fringe and Sons of Anarchy were the best new television shows 2008 gave us, even if Fringe spilled over into 2009-and if you're something to replace a show you've lost, I can't suggest enough giving them a try.

To Be An Eight Year Old. An Eight Year Old With A Beer.

2009-05-11T20:19:00.002-05:00

Back in March I wrote a little bit about my love/hate relationship with the Texas Rangers. How they're so ingrained in me that I just can't stay away, no matter how maddening they are and how much I dislike their owner. Likewise in that piece, I wrote a little bit about a day when I was a kid....couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old....when my mother took me to a local Dallas rec center to meet a few of my heroes, the then Texas Rangers. I got to meet Chad Kreuter, Scott Fletcher, and Jeff Kunkel (whom all probably work at a Home Depot now...), got them to sign a baseball....seriously-at that point in my life, it was probably the coolest thing....ever. Now fast forward to today....

A few months back when Bob Sturm moved his blog to D Magazine's Inside Corner I became a bit of an avid reader. It's got great content, good writers, and a decent reader base that gives me an oppurtunity to interact with other Rangers fans (all 6 of us.....) during the games. Even better, about a month ago they announced that they'd do a "Home Run Happy Hour." The idea was that a few players would come out, mingle with interested fans, do some Q&A, have drinks....it would be a low key affair at the Pappadeux on Oak Lawn. An awesome idea that got even awesomer when it was announced Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Marlon Byrdand Chris Davis would be there.....and even more awesomer than that when Derek Holland, Scott Feldman, and Taylor Teagarden agreed to show up (so too did Darren O'Day, but he did not...). The event was scheduled for today at 5:30 at the aforementioned Pappadeux location, and I was stoked-while it made it's rounds on the blogosphere I knew that wouldn't have the mass appeal to make it a circus. Then Evan went on The Ticket talking about it this afternoon, and I thought it was going to be a madhouse....after all, The Ticket is the no. 1 station in D/FW for men 25-54 aka the demographic that would show up at this sort of thing. That said, figured I'd roll the dice and drive by there (its just a few blocks from a couple of my accounts....) at 4:45 and see how crowded it was.

It wasn't. At all. I walk in, grab a beer ($4 24oz beers for Happy Hour....for Dallas, that's a bargain), and walk up to about a dozen people in Rangers garb asking where the line was.....and I was in it. About ten people back. Over the next 45m maybe another 30 people show up, and by the time it was all over there couldn't have been more than 150 people. I was given a free baseball to get signed (I hadn't planned to get autographs, just wanted to shoot the shit, but hey, why not?), a coupon for a free beer (so wait, I get to meet the Rangers and get a free beer?), and stood there talking with other fans. The players finally show up, and they were awesome....each one shakes my hand, signs the ball, and we shoot the shit for a bit. After about an hour of signing at a table that ends and they get up, and start mingling with the crowd which was followed by a Q&A session with about 30 of us looking on. As you can see here, I'm about a foot from Mike Young, as well as Marlon Byrd. In case you were curious, Young says he got that hat in Baltimore but couldn't remember the name of the store. I even had a funny conversation with Derek Holland while he was at the urinal next to me (it may be a breach of male etiquette, but im ok with that), as he told me things he would like to do to a couple Hooter's girls.

They were all just really cool dudes. Michael Young was having a Shiner Bock, Marlon Byrd a Crown Royal & soda...and all of them willing to fight through autograph requests and conversation. I even talked to Eric Nadel for a while (his son apparently also went to Jesuit)-a man legendary in my mind and linked forever to Rangers baseball as their radio voice. I always wonder if players are as cool in interviews/on the field as they are in person, and in this case I'm happy to say that they are...these were good dudes. Kinsler even managed his anger quite nicely when some jackass spilled a glass of water in his lap. The entire time I was there I just had this shit-eating grin on my face....and while I know they're just dudes, most of them younger than me....they're still the Rangers. And for a couple hours I was 8 years old again, like I was meeting Jeff Kunkel.....except with a beer.

Live To The Beat Of The City

2009-05-09T12:39:00.003-05:00

A block over from my house, theres a big sign for these townhomes they're building where there once stood beautiful homes, and on the sign it says "Live To The Beat Of The City" as a selling point for said townhomes. And while I always lament the destruction of cool old houses, I must admit that all things considered, they're pretty cool townhomes. Three stories, roof decks, visually appealing....they're really not bad. What always stood out to me about them though, was the price.....each one is in the range of $300,000 which to you non-Texans doesnt seem that high, but bare with me. You see, these townhomes are literally a block away from a stretch of loud bars-which is a big part of why I live where I do, but I also rent-I can't fathom investing that much cash to buy a bad-ass townhome thats a block away from bars for 20-somethings, to say nothing of being two blocks from Ross Avenue. I write all that to say this, last night I had a bit of an encounter that made me chuckle at the idea of "living to the beat of the city."

It had been a long week, so I did a bit of a bar crawl (Barcadia, then Libertine, and then Capitol Pub) which resulted in not getting home 'til about 2:30am (thank you again Selene for the ride home!). So I get dropped off, light a cigarette and decide to sit on the stoop in front of my house for a bit before going inside. Sit there for a couple minutes enjoying the breeze, watching the drunks stumble back to their cars, listening to the police sirens....you know, 2:30am on a friday night on Lower Greenville, when a short Asian guy (really looked like a boy, couldn't have been over 22) dressed almost like a Mormon (black pants, white shirt, black tie) walks up to me and asks if he can bum a cigarette. I say sure, hand him one, he lights it and stands there for a second before motioning for me to scoot over and asking if he can sit next to me.

Ok, so guy asking to bum a cigarette off a random stranger at 2:30am? Not that weird. Guy asking to sit next to you on a dark stoop? Now that, that is kind of weird.

So I tell him that I'd prefer to sit alone and just enjoy the evening, and wish him a good evening. He just stands there for a bit looking at me in an odd way (my guess is he was on X, he didnt smell or look drunk, but he didnt look sober), and then he reaches his hand out and tries to grab my crotch. I deftly manage to parry his advance with my arm (I had no idea drunk parrying was a skill I possessed), and then he just stands there for about ten seconds staring at me sitting there looking at him with some mix of surprise and disgust on my face. He then shouts, "I just wanted to feel it!" and quickly walks away down the street.

I walk inside unable to do anything but giggle at the situation, and then ponder to myself, is that what they mean by living "to the beat of the city?"

How Not To End A Relationship.

2009-05-05T20:09:00.007-05:00

As y'all well know, it is my preference to avoid blogging about "personal things" on here, not just because I don't expect you to actually care, but also because well-they're personal for a reason. I love the internet, but I also appreciate not spreading my life to (potentially) the world at large. That said, after speaking with a good friend earlier on the golf course after work and telling him the story, he suggested to me that it was just fucked up enough to be worth telling-and so, here I am to tell it. Know that it is 100% accurate and true, becuase that's how I roll-those who know me know that truth is something important to me, and how hypocritical of me would it be to clammor for it only to spread untruths? That said, enjoy, let's begin with a little backstory.

Amanda (you'll also see her referred to Panda once, her name of choice not a pet name of mine) and I have known each other for some 10 years. In my mis-spent youth working with bands and going to clubs, we made each others acquaintance on account of liking many similar bands and developed a friendship. Later, when I created Buzz-Oven with Aden Holt and Tony Edwards she was among the first people I contacted to get on-board. We both liked a lot of bands, both had a passion for music, and knew each other. Over the years we'd see each other at shows, maybe exchange a few messages over myspace/facebook about local music-it was never a terribly strong friendship, but we were frieds. She lived in Ft. Worth, I lived in Denton and then Dallas...the logistics were just never quite there.

Then this past February, we made plans to go see Trail Of The Dead at the Granada, which she'd end up backing out of but next time she was in town I met her up at Vickery Bar for drinks and we hit it off as though I was still 19 and her 21-like we did in our youth. One night of good conversation made it clear there was something there, and so over the next couple weeks we started texting each other and making plans with each other and before you know it, we're dating. We'd both had crushes on each other in our youth, but circumstances made that impossible then-but now, hey, everything was lined up. And things were good.

We started to meet each others friends, she asks me to meet her family, we make plans for some small summer trips, we see each other 2-3 times a week (we lived 50mi apart and had jobs, so any more was tough)....you know, the things a couple does. As Sunny Day Real Estate would put it, the days were golden [as an aside, i've got stop associating exes with SDRE songs, its really ruining the band for me]. I don't feel that I'm at all exaggerating when I say that it was a very fine foundation for a fledgeling relationship, and that as we're both making plans for the future that we both also thought it had a future. We get about 6-7 weeks in, and then it all changes.

On a tuesday she starts to get a little distant, on wednesday she grows extremely so (normally we went out on wednesdays, but this particular week I had some pressing stuff for work and couldn't make it) and starts talking to me about this "great conversation" she had that night with her friends. Next day comes the call, which isn't to say I wasn't expecting it, but it came;

Matt, I just don't see a future here, and I don't see a reason to keep this
going on if that's the case.

A little unexpected, but fine. I ask her why, she says that's just how she feels. It's a fairly young relationship and while I lamented it's loss (and to be fair, sent two fairly drunken text messages about it the next night-though nothing shocking), it was what it was. Next day called to inquire further, she was vague and just said she didnt see a future again-and again, while I think that's slightly shitty, it is what it is and she wouldn't be the first girl to end a relationship with a vague excuse. We're both adults here, it happens. A week later I drop her a text asking if she still felt that way, phrased just like that, and get no response. A few nights later we're both at the Slow Roosevelt reunion show (she worked merch for them, I was just a fan). I wave and smile, she does the same-wham, bam, done...that's that. It's over [and I'm ok with that].

Or so I thought.....

Cue last night. I'd just finished watching RocknRolla with the room-mate [pretty damn good by the way], setting up a post-work tee-time with The Doss for today [I of course played like hell], and was dicking around on teh intertubed with the Rangers game in the background when I get this from Amanda. Know that we hadn't actually spoken/texted in two weeks, and that we'd been done for three.

10:09 So here's the reason

[picture from above is attached]

It's her mugging down with a dude. Ok, well that's out of nowhere and kind of shitty, but again-c'est la vie-it is what it is. And the following is the transcript of the night.

(Amanda) 10:09 So here's the reason

(me)10:13 Wow Amanda, that's a really shitty way to tell me. And I really thought we were better friends than that. Why couldn't you just tell me?

(me) 10:14 I am totally cool with it not working out, and still really want to be friends with you, really I do...but that's a pretty shitty thing to do and you know it.

(Amanda) 10:15 thats whar you get for thinking frenchy [spelling errors are as they were]

(me) 10:15 and does that mean I need to get an STD test? Or did you atleast not overlap us, plz be honest

(me) 10:16 fucking Keith [the husband of a friend] that's not cool man, that's really a dick thing to do to a man.

(Amanda) 10:18 No need for an STD test she's classier than that [oh the irony...]

(me) 10:19 that's really fucked up man, what did I ever do to you or her?

[at this point, I think it's Keith sending me the messages, the syntax matched conversations. As far as I know it, in fact, was not Keith]

(Amanda) 10:26 Uh so not Panda [Amanda] here but why single Keith out...fucking girl!

(me) 10:27 because Carina [Keith's wife] Keith called me frenchy and this is a really fucked up thing y'all are doing.

(Amanda) Dude this is make out cheat on you guy....why are you such a pussy ass fagget ass bitch. Get over it frenchey. i'm better than you get over it. man up dude.

[At this point I call her phone, and this guy answers. He feels the need to tell me that I need a haircut [quite true] and is otherwise just an insulting asshole-not terribly shocking. Oh, and that he started sleeping with her two weeks into our relationship.

(me) 10:34 Ya man....bet you are. Good luck with everything man.

(Amanda) 10:36 I'm john mother fucking abbs bitch

(me) 10:37 Well congratu-fucking-lations douchewad. [I wish i'd typed asshat.....]

[At this point Keith calls me from her phone, claiming that she's wasted [oh ok, then it's all good...] and that he's had to chase her outside to get her phone. I asked him why I deserved this bullshit he said I didn't.]

(Amanda) dude, his "toungue" his longer than yours. get over it already.

(me) 10:53 Again, good luck with it all man.

(Amanda) 10:56 So far, from what i'm told im having way better luck than you frenchy. [really, am i supposed to be insulted by being called French when I am?]

(me) 10:58 Well then congratulations man, keep it up and make her happy. She's a cool chick and deserves it.

(Amanda) 11:00 you have no idea how cool she is and what shes really capable of dude.

(me) 11:02 I think I do, but I hope you maximize that and make her super happy. Because while you're a cocksucking asshole, I do hope she finds what she wants.

(Amanda) 11:09 Dude after 5 times you couldnt make ger "happy". seriously you have no fucking idea how to make her happy or whay shes capable of. get over yourself you litgle dicked fagget ass sperm burping cum guzzlling ass fucking fagget.

(me) 11:11 I'm quite over myself, and again wish you good luck.

(Amanda) 11:13 Good for you. I don't need luck i've got skill.

(me) 11:14 Well then kudos to you for that. That should do the trick.

(Amanda) 11:24 Dude I heard about all the pussy ass text and the way you bitched out at the concert and the fact that you were too girly to make her happy. just fucking man up and get ovet it.

(me) 11:25 You already said that.

At which point I, you know, went to bed....having a job and all, especially one that makes tuesdays a bitch. It was better to let this die for the night and call her in the morning. Of course, this morning when I called her, she didn't pick up [any reasonable person would have far too much shame to do so....]. Text her saying that after that bullshit I atleast deserved an explanation and got nothing, then got de-friended on facebook [oh QQ (thats sarcastic crying for you non-gamers), I'm so sad! such pain!]. It's so passive-aggressive, and yet expected.

But before I close out this story-this lesson on how not to be the biggest cunt you can possibly be to a person you broke up with a few weeks after the fact, please let me point out a few things, most notably that;

1) This was done three weeks after the fact, and two weeks after last talking to her.

2) This was done via obviously drunken text message, by a douche, from her phone.

3) Keith and I never got along that well, and I feel slightly vindicated by even his admission that this was bullshit.

4) Everything written above is exactly as was, and is the truth.

5) Who the fuck breaks up with someone-in an amicable way-and then wants to rub it in three weeks later? And why?

6) Who the hell calls someone what he called me, and then refers to sex in euphemisms?

At this point all I can really do is laugh at the situation, but I wanted to share. Hopefully someone, somewhere, takes something from this. Cheers and Go Mavs!

Soooo....its been almost a month.

2009-05-04T18:43:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, this isn't the first time I've taken a bit of an extended absence, and while the number of readers seems to have trickled down to a few dozen over the past month, I want to re-assure you, dear reader, that I am in fact back. Sometimes real life gets in the way, and you end up with this backlog of things you want to write about in the back of your head and just never quite get to them. I know it's a lame excuse, so please allow to give some idea as to what the details are of my most recent absence;

First off, I wrote a guest entry over at The Blend and have been slowly piecing together some research for a second one that turned out to be far more time intensive (and fact based) than the previous entry. Then there's work, which has been particularly brutal as a recession/depression economy doesn't mean numbers no longer have to be hit (and let me be honest, people are most certainly trading down in their wine purchases), a short lived relationship (there are no hard feelings, its over and I still consider her a friend-it just didn't work out, which is a shame), a clearing of the Tivo (there's absolutely nothing left on it, huzzah!), a couple books read (reviews will come...), a couple good shows, and of course-the old standby, a fair amount of Team Fortress 2 when I can shoehorn an hour in. Are these excuses lame? You betcha, but they are what they are.

So here is my promise to you. You will get atleast one post a week for the foreseeable future, with plans for 3 a week. I don't think thats too much to ask, and I think it's something I can do. I've got a lot to write about, and I intend to do just that. So know simply that more is coming, and that I value your reading of this blog and the emails/comments I recieve. Y'all rock, cheers!

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

2009-04-09T21:41:00.002-05:00

There's a certain irony to it. On the eve in which the City of Dallas, in it's infinite [lack of] wisdom decided that it was so flush with money that driving tax dollars to the suburbs and closing businesses via a smoking ban (or saddling them with the cost of building a patio) was, you know, a great idea.....nearly a dozen wildfires range throughout North Texas leaving the city in an orange choking haze. Truth be told, that picture doesn't do it justice.

But hey, cheer up Dallas, when you wake up tomorrow morning the black phlegm you're hacking up won't be from someone else's cigarettes (you know, assuming it ever was)-instead it'll be some combination of wildfires, cement plants, and auto exhaust.

Feel healthier yet?

The End Of An ERa

2009-04-05T21:01:00.002-05:00

Like that title? Brilliant, aren't I? What a play on words. That said, please indulge me....as I feel the need to write a little about the series finale of ER. Yes, that ER.

ER debuted in September of 1994, and just to put things in perspective that was just a few months after Kurt Cobain killed himself (which oddly enough, is 15 years today)....the show has been on for-freaking-ever. Part of the original NBC "must-see TV" lineup along with Seinfeld, it's a program for which I've got great fondness, as I watched it throughout my youth. It was intended to be a realistic medical drama (albeit, with a little soap opera style drama thrown in) which focused on the characters and not the medical cases (like, say, House) and I'd suggest that it delivered....a bold proclamation for a show that lasted 15 years....no?

What seperated ER from the pack though, was the way in which it was filmed. Filmed in a somewhat grainy form with a herky-jerky (yes that's a technical term) camera method that continually followed the action instead of existing with a focal point or three in the room. The camera was always moving, and the action always following with it-proving the point that an ER is a chaotic place-and making the cases (almost) as exciting as, say, the opening scene of 'Saving Private Ryan.' I said almost.

I watched ER live for the first half dozen or so seasons before hitting the meat of High School and then College, a time in my life in which I didn't watch that much TV, especially live TV. As such, I fell off the show's bandwagon always enjoying the odd episode I'd catch but not being up to date. That all changed though when I got a Tivo, and then totally changed when I graduated college and had 4mos unemployed to do nothing but drink beer, play video games, and watch TV (and good god, that was a good 4mos). You see, TNT ran ER re-runs twice a day and in chronological order, allowing an unemployed man with a Tivo little choice but to watch them.....all. And watch them all I did, to the point that I started at the pilot episode and caught alllllll the way up, and have since made it a point to record and watch every episode. And so on thursday, I finally watched the final episode of ER.....having watched every episode previous.

Ending a series is a difficult task. Seinfeld-a show I love-failed miserably at it. Most shows do, as tying up all the loose ends whilst simultaneously trying to give viewers their proverbial last hit off the crack pipe is a difficult thing. In much the same way we think three more Star Wars movies is a good idea, we as television consuming human beings never wants a program to end-no matter how tired it has become. ER had played through every concievable dramatic twist multiple times over the years, and likewise had churned through more characters than you can shake a stick at-a fact I was reminded of as I watched the ER series retrospective which aired previous to the final episode.

Dr. Ross, Dr. Greene, Nurse Hathaway, Dr. Carter, Dr. Benton, Dr. Lewis....that's how it started, more or less. By my count, we've had another 20+ doctors (30+ if you include nurses and staff) enter and exit the show in various ways since 1994. Don't believe me? Off the top of my head I've got Dr. Boulet, Dr. Weaver, Dr. Weaver, Jerry, Frank, Dr. Corday, Dr. Kovac, Lucy, Dr. Del Amico, Dr. Malucci, Dr. Chen, Nurse Lockhart, Dr. Pratt, Dr. Rasgotra, Dr. Gallant, Dr. Barnett, Nurse Taggart, Dr. Morris, Dr. Gates (Uncle Jessie), Dr. Brenner, Dr. Banfield and I'm pretty sure I'm missing a few, to say nothing of the ancillary characters (all four dozen of them).

What started as a medical drama that was apparently rejectd by multiple networks upon it's inception before being given a chance, morphed into a piece of TV cultural Americana, as more actors than you can shake a stick at have filled cameo roles on the show and the characters have gained a place in our TV hearts. Before TV would touch the AIDS/Civil War epidemics in Africa, ER was there with Dr. Carter doing two seasons of mission work with Doctors Without Borders. Likewise they had Dr. Benton's deaf child, Dr. Boulet's life with HIV, Dr. Romano's well known arm lost to a helicopter....I know this all sounds really crazy and soap opera-y......but it was good TV, and while sometimes preachy, it brought issues to the forefront that other programs didnt want to touch.

I was ready for it to end, really I was.....I think I'd made peace with it's incoming finale when Dr. Pratt died-the latest in a long list of characters I'd come around on only to see them meet their maker. But that doesn't mean the quality of the show was lost on me, and the cameos over the past season to sew up the loose ends did little but re-affirm for me the quality of the program. When the last episode faded to black, I felt as though my commitment to the program had been rewarded. I'm sad to see it go, but it was a great run.

And for the record, Dr. Greene was my favorite character.

Why I Keep Coming Back.

2009-03-30T20:41:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure what my first memory is. When it comes to chronologically ordering events in my life, especially those of my early life, I'm fairly bad at it. Ask me how a local sports team did in 1996-or even 1986-and odds are I can tell you, but ask me what year I first kissed a girl....and well, I remember who and where, but I'd have to do some heavy mental math to figure out what year it was. It's just the way my brain is wired, for better or worse. That said, there may very well be earlier memories for me....but among my first memories was my mother taking me to a local rec center to meet a few members of the Texas Rangers. Somewhere at my Dad's house theres still both a framed picture of the 1988 Texas Rangers as well as a Tony the Tiger baseball (redeemed, no doubt, from many a bowl of Frosted Flakes), each with three signatures on it....those of Chad Kreuter, Scott Fletcher, and Jeff Kunkel.

Now obviously somewhere previous to that I was wired to love Rangers baseball (why else would I have wanted to go meet them? or have been so excited by it?), but I remember that picture and that signed baseball....and how they were my most precious possessions for many years of my life. I didn't care that Chad Kreuter, Scott Fletcher, and Jeff Kunkel were spares...they were baseball players, and Rangers at that, and thus worth of idol status to me. And buried next to that 1988 Texas Rangers team photograph, I'm sure sits a 1989 one....a picture I remember spending hours looking at as a child. For in my mind, that 1989 team was a magical one...it was the team that would shape so much of my youth, and who's players I can still recite like gospel.

John Barfield (his name had barf in it!), Kevin Brown, Charlie Hough, Jamie Moyer (still playing), Kenny Rogers (still playing), Bobby Witt, Nolan Ryan (like everyone else, my childhood hero), Jim Sundberg, Geno Petralli, Steve Buechele (boooooooooooo.....), Julio Franco, Rafael Palmeiro, Dean Palmer, Juan Gonzalez, Cecil Espy, Ruben Sierra, Pete Incaviglia, Sammy Sosa (who wouldnt actually be relevant for another decade), Harold Baines, Buddy Bell. Those are the names of my youth, and to this day those names take me back in time to my childhood.

And it is with those names and that childish glee, that I find myself with less than a week until baseball season starts getting giddy at the fact that its almost here. Nevermind that the Rangers have been good, well, never or that we all know that this will be just another in the lifelong series of disappointing seasons. They will be bad, and by May 1 I'm sure I will be frustrated, and yet every night there I'll be....tuned in to another lousy game in a lousy season of lousy Rangers baseball, it's the ultimate lifelong 5 car pileup on the freeway you just can't seem to take your eyes off of.

The spirits of those players and the childhood memories, every year about this time, they come flooding back. And I find myself sucked back in.

A Trip To Beaumont, TX.

2009-03-23T19:21:00.006-05:00

It all started as a bit of a joke. A friend and I are sitting at beautiful Lucky Lou's in Denton, TX. six or nine months ago, as we had so many other nights. He had recently gotten his MBA from North Texas (hey, an MBA is an MBA, right?) and couldn't find a job outside of meager debt collection, which he'd been doing through graduate school. The job market just wasn't there, and he was rightfully frustrated by it. So we're sitting there, and the conversation goes a little something like this;

Friend: So I got a job offer finally, i mean it kind of sucks, but the
money's good...

Me: Oh? What is it?

F: It's for Conn's. Executive in training. Good money, thing
is...um...well, I'd have to move to Beaumont.....

Me: Where the fuck is Beaumont?

F: Outside Houston. It sucks, but I'd only have to do it for a year and
then I could move somewhere else.

M: That sucks man, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Just get a strippers n' blow fund started.

F: Huh?

M: Dude, you're going to be a well paid executive in Beaumont freaking Texas. What else are you going to spend your money on?

F: Point taken.

M: Tell you what, you get that started, and I'll drive down there and
visit, help you spend it.

And thus was the birth of the Strippers n' Blow jar [note: blow is just a euphemism for excess, there was no actual cocaine consumed]. Friend moved down to Beaumont in early December and has been there ever since saving money and only getting one weekend a month off. A few weeks ago he calls me, says he has a weekend off in March and the jar is getting full, and I should come down there. Meanwhile I'd just gotten a new car (who doesn't want to break in a new car with a road trip), so I decide what the hell-sure man, see you in a few weeks.

So friday afternoon I head down there. I'm expecting a 6-7 hour drive (truth is it was just 5 and some change), and honestly it was a fairly scenic drive. Bluebonnets everywhere, not a lot of traffic until Houston, it's really not a bad drive at all. Before I continue, let me make one small confession. I don't think I've been south of the Trinity River (i guess Arlington technically is, but you get the idea) since a river trip to Austin with my then girlfriend some 4-5 years ago. In fact, if you take Austin/San Antonio out of the equation, I'm not sure I've been south of the Trinity River since I was a child. My only memories were of obscene humidity and oppressive heat, and that combined with no actual reason to go south of the Trinity other than Austin (Shreveport is East, everything else worth going to is North), has kept me where I've been.

Truth is, Central and even Southeast Texas wasn't that bad. I mean sure, Houston is still an homage to strange smells, humidity, and urban sprawl of the highest order, but the changes in the geography from prairie to pseudo-hill country to forests to the coast is a pretty cool thing to see. Each town individually may be fairly forgettable, but as a composite there's something unique about rural Texas-sure the giant statue of Sam Houston is excessive, as is the World Capitol of Jerky, but part of me wishes I'd had a little more time and stopped in these small towns to absorb that rural Texas I've never really known. Sure they're a little over-religious for my tastes (there must've been dozens of pro-life billboards I saw during the trip) and ya, they might embrace the white trash ethos more than one would think healthy, but at the same time from the pseudo-cosmopolitan confines of Dallas it's almost like going to another country, it's a culture entirely foreign to me. I used to make occasional jaunt to Stephenville (damnit, I guess that's south of the Trinity too) with an ex-girlfriend to visit her family, and while that was an experience, many of the towns between Dallas and Houston make Stephenville look like a hotbed of culture.

Anyway, friday night I finally get down there...have a fairly skunky Dos Equis, and we head to this place called Madisons [side note, the name Madison seems to be a theme in SETEX, and I'm curious why that is] which had some awesome crab nachos (much better than they sound) and a Golden Tee machine before we headed over to the Vortex, the local Rockabilly/Punk Club. Cheap drinks, fairly cool scene (still can't figure out why they had a ping pong table though....), but a music venue you couldn't smoke in....something so absurdly foreign to me. It took me 45m to figure out why the place smelled like ass, until I lit a cigarette and was told I had to go outside...then it all made sense. And so from there to a pool hall, the lone bar in the city in which you could smoke. Capped the night off with whisky and 'Army of Darkness'. Good times.

Friend's couch sucks, i mean this thing was terrible, so I woke up slightly hungover, tired, and wanting waffles Saturday morning, so I loudly wake his ass up and we hit the IHOP before deciding to find a beach. There are three things I wanted out of this trip; a beach, seafood, and strippers. Beer is a given. We follow the not terribly informative signs until we finally end up in some place called High Island that has a beach. And by beach I mean sandy area with lots of rocks, shells, and jellyfish...but it had sand, and the water was nice enough. Had a few beers, managed to break my toe on a rock, and on the way back realize we'd both gotten way too much sun to muster the energy to head to Lake Charles and their casinos (I was jonesing for that damned Top Gun slot machine that's my bane), settling instead for a Hooters (where we were asked if we were gay....not that there's anything wrong with that....) with not one, but two pregnant Hooters girls, and then booting/rallying and watching 'Coming To America' whilst re-hydrating.

And then its back out, for a bar or two and then strip club. Let me just say this, the first place we drove by was a place called Tonga. It was a fabricated metal shed with a simple neon sign saying Tonga. That's it. It's a BYOB strip club, and from asking the townsfolk, its the worst place on earth. This would be a much better entry if I'd been but I must be honest, I said heeeeeelllllll no. So we went to the "upscale" one, the Gold Club. And I will admit, it really wasn't a bad place. Actually looked like a real club, good lucking women, bad '80s cock rock sound track, and while you had to go to a patio to smoke, I fought through it. I was really hoping to write about how terrible the strip clubs were in Beaumont, and had I gone to Tonga I probably could have, but the Gold Club....not so bad. We had a good time-boozed it up, cabbed it home, and had a nice Cracker Barrel breakfast before I started the long drive back to Big D. All in all, Beaumont's really not that bad a town. So that's my story.

But of course, thats not all. I decided to use twitter for this entire trip. As mentioned in this entry, I've been struggling for any actual use for the cultural phenomenon that has become, twitter (my username is /superfuzzbigmuf). And other than NFL news updates and local news updates, I've yet to really find one that the rest of teh intertubes can't give me. So I thought I'd twitter my trip. It probably adds nothing, but was worth a try, so in closing...here is my trip to Beaumont in snippets of 140 words or less. Cheers;

corsicana. turkey jerky and spree. and peed.3:56 PM
Mar 20th from mobile web

lost ticket signal. listening to the rentals.4:00 PM
Mar 20th from mobile web

kind of wish i was hungry so i could see if texas burger is any good.4:26 PM Mar 20th from mobile web

centerville, tx. how could i not stop at a place calling itself jerky
capital of the world?4:37 PM
Mar 20th from mobile web

honestly thought the prison in Huntsville would be larger.5:23 PM Mar 20th from mobile web

wow, black guy riding a horse next to highway outside New Waverly, TX5:33 PM Mar 20th from mobile web

why does Houston need warning signs about potential ice on bridges?6:22 PM Mar 20th from mobile web

wow, the trinity river actually looks like a river down here.7:22 PM Mar 20th from mobile web

theres something cool about listening to patsy cline driving through rural
texas.7:35 PM
Mar 20th from mobile web

in beaumont, first beer of many in hand.8:46 PM
Mar 20th from mobile web

crab meat nachos = awesome9:04 PM
Mar 20th from mobile web

better than ezra! why did i exclamate that?10:15
PM Mar 20th from mobile web

jameson and shiner at a rockabilly dive bar. good times.10:58
PM Mar 20th from mobile web

beaumont, tx: epicenter of cosmopolitan living?12:18
AM Mar 21st from mobile web

my name is ash, and i am a slave.2:26 AM
Mar 21st from mobile web

awake. not regretting army of darkness. want waffles.10:51
AM Mar 21st from mobile web

port of beaumont kind of reminds me of season 2 of the wire.12:44 PM Mar 21st from mobile web

riding dirty in Beaumont jamming to lisa loeb. now *thats* gay.1:09 PM Mar 21st from mobile web

mission accomplished. i have now peed in the gulf of mexico.3:59 PM Mar 21st from mobile web

had a 40z of Bud Ice on beach. Poured last of it to my dead homies. .4:15 PM Mar 21st from mobile web

there are not one, but two, pregnant hooters girls at the Beaumont Hooters.
Stay classy.5:39 PM
Mar 21st from mobile web

beaumont strip club? amazingly not that bad. saw much worse in arlington.12:08 AM Mar 22nd from mobile web

so ya, broke my toe earlier at the beach. i just havent been able to feel
it. nice and swollen now.2:06 AM
Mar 22nd from mobile web

isnt breaking any news here, but 'Stepbrothers' was pretty damn funny.4:02 AM Mar 22nd from mobile web

lol, walker texas lawyer billboard.2:07 PM
Mar 22nd from mobile web

Aaaaaaaaand, fin.

A Great Analogy

2009-03-16T17:52:00.003-05:00

It seems that the discussion is continuing regarding the Stewart vs. Cramer feud from last week, a feud that began with Jon Stewart calling out Rick Santelli's rant (which not surprisingly, was championed by the far right) in which he called out home-owners for taking bad mortgages and neglects to blame the banks and brokers that provided the bad loans. As I'm sure you know by now, Cramer fights back and a feud broke out between the two men which culminated with Cramer coming on Stewart's "The Daily Show" last thursday, which if you haven't seen is available here unedited, which is important since the actual broadcast of the appearance was pretty heavily edited.

Now let me preface this by saying that I enjoy the work of both men. I find Jim Cramer to be quite entertaining on Mad Money, and I find that you don't need a degree from the London School of Economics to follow his logic, its an investment show for the every-man and I enjoy it. Likewise, I think Jon Stewart is simply brilliant and his comedic analysis of the day's news is strangely better than anything CNN, FNC, or even CNBC are pumping out in my humble opinion. I like the work of both men, and don't have a dog in this fight.

But it was quite obvious from the get-go that Stewart was going to win this battle, as Cramer looked oddly sheepish at times, and the pundits almost universally agree that the "victor" was Jon Stewart. And while this is all well and good, I think it overshadows the message of what Stewart was actually trying to get at, mainly that CNBC should feel some responsibility to actually investigate what has been going on and instead of cheerleading the boom market, maybe look for the signs that things are about to go south and warn people.

I think it's an interesting discussion. CNBC is a privately owned cable television network, so what is their obligation to the public? It can't be any more or less than that of Comedy Central, which brings us public services such as "A Roast To Larry The Cable Guy" and monthly airings of PCU. And while I believe that The Daily Show is in fact a public service, Comedy Central doesn't air it for that reason-they air it because it makes them money. Likewise for CNBC and 'Mad Money.' Now is it dishonest the way they position and advertise Mad Money? I think it is, but this reminds me of the Jon Stewart vs. Tucker Carlson blow up from 2004 in which Stewart criticizes the program 'Crossfire' for encouraging partisan hackery (true) and the media at large for throwing softball questions at politicians (also true) but when confronted with his doing the same hides behind the fact that he does a comedy show, which is true, but you can't question what CNN/FNC do when you do the same thing....its likewise disingenuous. While it may be a comedy show, Stewart and The Daily Show have emerged as an important part of the public sphere, as assinine as that sounds.

Which leads us to the analogy I led off with. I earlier heard Bob Sturm make the analogy that this is akin to the baseball writers neglecting to report that the players were doing steroids, despite how obvious it was to them, and then when it finally does come out turning around and blaming everyone but themselves. I think the analogy is dead on.

A writer is either employed by the club (especially here in the .com era) or relies heavily on the club or MLB at large to provide them access to the players, to the locker room, and to the ballpark. If a writer gets blackballed and can't get a player interview or worse-can't go to the games-then that writer will quickly find himself unemployed. Thus despite how obvious it was the writers, especially being in the clubhouse, that steroids were running rampant in baseball for the latter half of the '80s, the entirety of the '90s, and the first part of the '00s the writers remained mum until it became such a story that they didn't have to fear for their jobs (remember how Jose Canseco was ostracized for telling the truth?). Likewise with "the media" you've got writers/anchors/talking heads employed by huge conglomerates with their financial fingers in all sorts of pies, and those companies would most likely frown on someone reporting that this entire bull market was little but a house of cards. So until the shit hit the proverbial fan and the reporters had no choice but to report on it, everyone remained mum and cheerled the unprecedented economic boom which would surely never bust. And it is for this reason, that I find myself siding with Stewart.

I don't believe that CNBC has an "obligation" be the watchdog the Federal regulators failed so badly at being, but I do think people should walk away from this economic disaster and know that CNBC-and the media at large-played a very large role in turning a blind eye to the underbelly of the economic house of cards, and remember that. I love Jim Cramer, but if you're putting all your financial eggs in the basket of a guy that throws plastic toys at the screen, hits sound effects, and considers himself the president of "Cramerica" then perhaps you deserve what you're getting. Mad Money is a great starting point, no doubt, but its just that and should be followed with due diligence.

I refuse to believe that with the sheer number of "economic experts" in this country, from the cast of CNBC down to your broker, that no one saw this coming. People did and were refused a platform to get the message out (it wouldve most likely fallen on deaf ears anyway, to be fair), and those whom could have actually been heard (and taken seriously) just got too caught up in the boom market to address reality. It was inevitable, in retrospect, but that doesn't mean that we can't learn lessons from it-and actually try to remember them when the next bull market occurs.

Obama Addresses Congress, the Nation

2009-02-24T22:09:00.002-06:00

So tonite we got our first chance to listen to President Obama address the nation as, well, President. Here are my thoughts;

1) Still refreshing to hear a President not stumble over his own words. I know this doesn't mean a lot to some of you, but to me it was glorious. No longer do I have to be embarassed.

2) It appears he has taken a cue from his critics and decided to be more positive towards the situation. Not overly so, he's still embracing the reality of the situation, but atleast putting a nicer spin on it. I'm not sure I like that-I really liked his blunt honesty approach, even if there is anecdotal evidence that it was weighing on investor confidence to not have him shouting roses and sunshine.

3) Nancy Pelosi was a thrashing tonite. Someone might want to tell her she's on camera.

4) I came out of it convinced that something needs to be done, but still not convinced that the "stimulus" package passed was the answer. I just don't believe it will do what he says, and that it was a Democratic version of looking out for their buddies. (see: Bush, George W.)

5) I get it, healthcare is a major drain. And I agree, but what are you going to do? I like that it's his next priority, but I really worry about what his solution will be.

6) Joe Lieberman just looked creepy.

7) Loved the faux applause and very grudging standing ovation for Ted Kennedy. It was just seething with disdain.

8) Education? I get fixing the economy, I get addressing healthcare (as the baby boomers are about to start retiring en masse), but education? Forget for a second how fucked it is, and forget that its more of a local issue than a national one. Education seems like a reach considering all the other bullshit.

9) Still loving the promise to halve the deficit by end of his first term. Likewised loved the proclamation that torture by the US is done.

10) Overall impression: he has a grasp on the magnamity if the situation, is willing to be honest and discuss it, and has a (admittedly vague) plan to tackle it. I'm not sure that I agree with him, I've got serious doubts, but it's atleast somewhat refreshing to have the President actually admit to the problems at hand and propose something.

The Woman With 14 Kids

2009-02-17T17:23:00.002-06:00

As the news breaks today that the firm representing this woman, Nadya Suleman, the one in the news recently for giving birth to octuplets, is abandoning her as a client on account of the death threats both the client and the firm are recieving, I thought it a good time to write a little bit about this incendiary issue. Truth be told, I'm a little surprised its become incendiary as it has because normally people distance from saying anything remotely bad when it comes to babies. Then again, this story has so many angles it really shouldn't be surprising. In short, the story goes like this:

Single and unemployed mother of six children decides that she wants to have more children. She had used IVF to conceive of children in the past and decides to use it again (still can't figure out how an unemployed single mother of six can afford that, but I digress). In the past they'd implanted six embryos and the result was one child, this time the doctor implants eight embryos. Except this time all eight embryos turn into baby humans, and voila-9mos later this woman is now the proud parent of 14 children, still unemployed, and thus the cost of raising these children will be the responsibility of the State of California in addition to whatever money she can get from private or religious institutions. So this story is basically the perfect storm of controversy. And I thought it might be fun to go down each one of those avenues of controversy.

First and foremost, you have the IVF debate. Once an expensive and rarely used tool to help parents unable to conceive naturally to have children, it has since become fairly commonplace and well accepted by society. The problem though, is that it's fairly un-predictable and doctors continue to push the envelope by using "controversial methods" which increase the success rate, except that they sometimes increase the success rate into twins or, in this case, octuplets. Then you've got the unused embryos which are eventually destroyed (much to the chagrin of the anti-abortion folks). IVF is the poster-boy for how far are we, as a society, comfortable with science going, and with the debate of just because we can do something, does that mean we should? Adding another layer to that debate, in this case, is that this women would never be approved to adopt a child, but it's somehow perfectly acceptable for her to go see a doctor and have more children artificially implanted in her.

Then you've got the people upset because these children are now financially the responsibility of the State of California. The fact that this woman, who already has the state on the hook for six children, can then go out and have more not naturally-but artificially-and as soon as they leave the womb she now gets a bigger check from the state every month to feed, clothe, and house them and the state is also saddled with eight more children is has to educate (albeit poorly, most likely) from ages 6 to 18.

And finally, you've got the practical question of how does a single mother create a nurturing and loving environment in which to actually raise 14 children and give them any chance in hell?

Its a really tricky subject, one that not only stokes the flames of people's opinions on issues that are important to them, but also because is there any reasonable action that can be taken to prevent this in the future?

I've always found it odd that in this country where you need 16 permits to sell alcohol, a permit to drive a car, a permit to work on your house-basically a permit to do practically anything, there is absolutely no restrictions on having a child, or six, or sixteen. Of all the supposed freedoms and "unalienable rights" that American government is supposed to grant us, its odd to me that procreation is the lone one that remains unmolested. I mean it makes sense, no one likes the idea of the government telling what you can do with your body (i mean, except anti-abortion people), or telling you that you can't have children when your creator endowed you with the abiity to do so (except for in the cases that you can't, hence IVF). There would be riots in the streets if the government actually tried to restrict procreation, and as such, despite the sheer impracticality of allowing people to procreate at will, we continue to do so.

And not only do we allow it, the government actually subsidizes it. If you're poor (enough), the government will actually mail you a check, and that check gets bigger for every child you have. And while it's a tired cliche often employed by conservatives that this country is just packed with people exploiting the system and popping out babies to pay for their crack habit (there's no doubt its happening, but not nearly as systemically as the Limbaugh's of the world would like you to believe), the fact of the matter is the potential for doing so is there-and that time and time again the American people will side with the State because, after all, it's not these kids fault that their parent(s) is batshit insane/a piece of shit/an addict and thus its not "fair" to blame the kids for their parent(s) irresponsibility in bringing them into this world despite having no means by which to support themselves, let alone their children.

It's really a thorny issue. No one likes the spectre of the State regulating procreation (a la China), but at the same time it's really hard not to be appalled when something like this happens. No one wants to see these innocent children suffer on account of their parents, but how do you balance that with a system that encourages deadbeats to procreate so they can suck at the government teet? And I'm really not sure there is an answer besides what we do now, but I'll be damned if it isn't a really shitty answer.

The Wire: Season 2

2009-02-09T17:44:00.001-06:00

If you are a fan of film of any kind, be it film (like those people who have an illogical disdain for television but enjoy movies), or myself (list of movies I need to see is lengthy, but am a tv snob), I still can't recommend enough giving The Wire a shot (and I'd be happy loan it to you) and the TV hating people I know (including vegan neighbor who has the tiniest color tv known to man) will back me up here. It's engaging, it's enthralling, it's got compelling characters and compelling storylines that reach into the deepest reaches of our shame and our guilt and brings them alive. The humanity and the realization that this is the world is what makes the show all the more compelling, and being 2/5 of the way through I'm fairly confident that I've found a winner, especially considering the dozen emails I got after singing its praises last.

Ok, so here's the deal:

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

Seriously;

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT.

Alright, I'm not going to spoil everything, but with a program as intricate as this I feel it to by neigh impossible to discuss without giving away something. That said, I was asked to update when I finished season two, and while I'm a little late (i've actually finished season 3 too, but i will write about that tomorrow)

It was good. Was it as good as season one? No, but being from a non-union and non-port city (Dallas) I do think a lack of being able to relate was a factor, as was having a bevy of classic Northeastern US jack-ass characters, which again aren't entirely relateable as a Texan. We have our share of Ziggy's down here, but it's not quite what it's like in the Northeast, and he was an instant turn-off as a character to me.

Much like season one, I thought season two started off a little slow and it took me three or four episodes to really start to get a grasp on the characters. With the "good guys" (i use that term loosely) spread amongst several deparments of BPD, a new cast of characters in the stevedores, Deangelo and Avon in prison, and the introduction of The Greek and his crew-it just took me a while to wrap my head around who everyone is. That said, once I did the season was greatness.

Using the harbor as ground-zero for the season turns out to be a great idea, as there is actually enough that goes on at the harbor to make it almost as interesting as west baltimore had been in season one. I really didn't think there would be, but between the insane drunken-ness, the smuggling of women and drugs, and the politics of it all paired with their desperation as a dying union, there proved to be plenty of good storylines coming out of the harbor, and more than enough to make a compelling season when paired with Stringer taking over Avon's crew, Stringer's taking up with Deangelo's girl, and finally Deangelos death-to saying nothing of Omar and Brother Mozone.

I didn't like it as much as Season One, but at the end I was definately ready to jump right into Season 3. I'm not sure how people were able to take the suspense of waiting weeks/months between episodes, because there've been a couple 3 hour stretches of The Wire for me as I get enthralled by the storylines.

Wow, has it already been a week?

2009-02-09T17:30:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already been a week, and I've got serious backlog of blogging that needs to get done, not the least of which are a couple guest columns I've been asked to do over at The Blend, which I've been working on (albeit slowly) for the past week. To say nothing of the two seasons of The Wire I've churned through (hence the lack of blogging, hehe) over the past few weeks, a sake review, and some sports stuff over at Cockfighting In Texas with this A-Rod stuff.

Point being, I'm not dead, and I've got some writing on the stove, I just need to finish it.

Super Bowl interrupted by....porn?

2009-02-02T18:02:00.002-06:00

In some weird cosmic twist, it seems that once again the broadcast of the Super Bowl has become ground zero for broadcasters and what they're responsible for. We all of course remember the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" from back in 2004, and this time its porn being broadcast during the game.

As the story goes, Comcast subscribers in the Tucson, AZ area were watching Larry Fitzgerald part the seas on an amazing catch and run when the signal becomes interrupted and then replaced with a porn star shaking his thang for 30 seconds before the the station returns to the game. You can view the video here (without a it being blurred out) or here if you prefer not looking at a giant penis-either way it's most certainly NSFW.

Comcast is claiming that it was a "malicious attack" on their signal, you can read their release here, to which I wonder if I were going to commit what I'm sure is a federal crime, I'd most certainly have chosen a better porn clip. That said, how how uncomfortable that must be-can you imagine sitting next to your grandmother or child and that popping on during the Super Bowl? It's awesomely hilarious.

The End Of An Error: The Inauguration

2009-01-20T21:57:00.000-06:00

I've been fairly vocal of my support for Barack Obama. It's not that I was necessarily thrilled with his policy proposals, or even enamored by the empty rhetoric that simply "change" represented, but instead I weighed the two candidates for the Presidency and went with the one that I thought offered the best chance for positive change and necessary action to drudge this country out of the stagnant quagmire in which it has fallen. I firmly believe that the last eight years have been a disaster, or more pointedly the final stages of the disaster-they have been the medical examiner finally removing the bodies from the scene of a horrific traffic accident. Never has the label 'lame duck' been more adequate than over the past year of the Bush administration, a year which has seen panic and inaction (or worse, mis-action) as the President realized that the American public had no faith in him, did not support him, and ultimately wanted to finally forget that he was even President. Short of the estimated 10 million lives he saved in Africa (kudos to Gavi for the link), I'm really not sure in a historical sense that there are any contributions George W. Bush made to this country that will differentiate him from the Herbert Hoovers of the American Presidency. But history will be the judge, and generally it is a very fair one-and I am happy to leave it at that.

That said, one thing that is clear, is that his term has finally ended. It's been a tumultuous eight years from the beginning, what with the 'Hail To The Thief' quasi-scandal that marked its beginning and bookended by an economic collapse not seen in decades, with a large terrorist attack, a couple wars, and all manner of political cause in between. It really has been a wild eight years, and while I'm not terribly fond of the idea of the current Democratic Party taking power, that has become the only solution. I'm nervous at the idea of a party that disrespects property and personal rights (see: smoking bans), favors nationalizing healthcare (is there a problem? sure, but is nationalization the solution?), restricting gun rights (and i dont even own one), expanding government and nationalizing industry (I know Bush started it, but its not a place I want to be) and mandating public service (a noble idea, but unconstitutional) having carte blanche to run ths United States of America. That said, I threw my support behind the party believing-however naively-that Barack Obama would deliver on his message of a united America, of a bi-partisan approach, on a practical approach that poached what needed to be and worked sensibly, and one that would finally make the decision on what the fuck this country is going to do in a few years when people my parents' age start retiring and wanting SS and Medicare money that just isn't there, to say nothing of flaunting the abuse of civil liberties that has been ongoing.

That said, I find myself cautiously-very cautiously-that President Obama might just actually mean what he says. If Star Wars has taught us anything, it's that power corrupts and if the history of American politics has taught us anything, its that politicians lie, cheat, and steal whilst looking out for number one. The odds are overwhelming that four years from now, we will see the same inaction, lies, and corruption that have been the trademark of the American Presidency since Dwight D. Eisenhower. That said, theres just something about the man....about his apparent honesty, his foresight, and his oratory skills that screams to me that he is the man that this country has been waiting for. Will we be duped again? We shall see, and we shall see in short order....President Obama has a lot on his plate, and the will of the American people is fickle and the patience of politicians seeking re-election even shorter. If strides aren't taken in one year-and yes I know that seems like an insanely short window, but a year from now house representatives will be looking at re-election-then this could end up a failure. Is it shitty? You betcha, but it's the reality.

And it was with that reality, that I decided to go down to Victory Park earlier today, arranging my day to be in Downtown Dallas during the speech and taking an early lunch, to watch the Obama speech. Considering it has become Dallas' defacto version of Times Square I figured there would be people down there, and upon arriving wasn't disappointed as an estimated 800 people were in the plaza to watch Obama take the oath and then give his speech. Huge turnout? No, but this is Dallas, I will take what I can-and am happy to say that the mood was electric down there. Enthusiastic, loud, and happy would be my adjectives with a fair number of Obama signs/shirts and no shortage of applause, as South Dallas came North and East Dallas came West (North Dallas meanwhile is still afraid of black people, and West Dallas is all warehouses) in a very cool experience as we all shared our common heritage as Americans, and shared our hopes that this country has finally taken a turn for the better. And so, at the end of the night and having heard Obama's speech a good three times now in full, I find myself very cautiously optimistic as the Bush administration has finally ended and now we get to, you know, fixing the damage it's left in it's wake.

Shiner 100

2009-01-19T17:35:00.000-06:00

Back in September of last year I reviewed Shiner '99, the Spoetzl Brewery's final anniversary offering before the Shiner 100 was going to pop up in 2009. Well the day the calender turned it seems, Shiner had their trucks shipping the 100 all over the state and last week I finally had a chance to try Shiner 100 for myself.

But before I get to the 100, let's review what they've done to get us here. Shiner '96 was the first anniversary beer and it was a Marzen style ale. '97 was a Bohemian Black (now marketed as Shiner Black), '98 a a Bavarian Style Amber, and as mentioned above '99 was a Helles lager. So while all have been done in an "old-world style," they've been fairly good about changing things up and brewing different styles-and honestly I've been excited to try each new one, even if they tended to be very different from an actual European equivalent of their namesake styles.

Shiner 100 follows in that legacy in most every way. It bills itself as a starkbier which means it should be strong, though it's really not that strong at 6.7% ABV (atleast compared to the 8% or 10% you will find in Maredsous) and while Shiner hasn't released a whole lot else about the style, I'm guessing it's supposed to be akin to a dopplebock, which is to say just a stronger and darker version of a bock beer-which is a good thing since bock is what Shiner does best.

Poured into a glass it has very little head (as do most Shiner brews), a nice copper/ruby/tawny color with tan head, and it laces nicely as you drink it down. The nose is fairly unpronounced smelling what I can best describe as, well, like Shiner bock-maybe a little sweeter. On the taste, it has that tinge of metallic tasting hops that is vintage Shiner bock, but otherwise very understated hops. It's primary flavor is fairly dark roasted malt, but its an extremely complex malt showcasing both sweetness and bitterness which then plays off the alcohol which is evident. It's a little more effervescent than I'd like for the style, but in the end I find myself extremely impressed. As the anniversary beer they've been building up to over the past few years, I think Shiner 100 delivers and is the best of the lot. In many ways, I drink it thinking it's just a better version of Shiner Bock-it tastes very similar but has a better mouth feel, more complex flavors, and a little more alcohol. In short, if you like Shiner Bock I'd be willing to wager you should also really like Shiner 100.

B.R. Cohn Olive Hill Vineyard Cabernet (2005)

2009-01-19T17:15:00.000-06:00

I think this is probably the fourth or fifth time that I've had a wine from B.R. Cohn, to the best of my memory each of them have been cabs, and I've come away from them fairly unimpressed. It's not that they were bad wines, quality wise they were very nice, its just that they were fairly unspectacular, fairly simple. They tasted like a California Cab normally does, and my thought process was if I wanted an unspectacular California Cab, I would be just as well off grabbing a bottle of Clos du Bois or J. Lohr and save myself the money.

This bottle however changed that opinion. I recieved it as a gift a few months back and this past weekend decided to open it up to go with a steak, and I was extremely pleased. Best I can tell it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, was aged 24 months in new French Oak, and the AVA is Sonoma County (but Olive Hill Estate Vineyard subset). The primary flavors on it were cherry with a little bit of plum and black currant and this was countered perfectly with a fair amount of oak and a softened tannin. The flavors were very concentrated and explosive and the finish was excellent. Not an oaky Cab, but instead an extremely balanced and well rounded one where each of the flavor components complements the other nicely-and complemented the steak extraordinarily. Now to be fair it's a $50 bottle of wine, so it damn well better be good, but at the end of the bottle I found myself quite pleased with it.

I'm not sure who in this economy has $50 lying around for a bottle of wine (which isn't to say I'm not hoping there are lots those people in Dallas), but if you do I'd have no problem at all recommending the B.R. Cohn Olive Hill Cab.

The Slow Painful Death Of The Newspaper

2009-01-13T17:23:00.004-06:00

It's no secret that the newspaper, atleast the newspaper as we know it, is dying. That much has been quite clear for a few years now, and the point was brought home last April when it was announced that American newspaper circulation fell 3.5% down to it's lowest level since 1946, despite the American population having essentially doubled over that same period-thus selling the same number of newspapers as 1946? Well, that's not a good thing buddy.

The reasons presented for this decline are myriad. Most people blame the internet (and by proxy our Blackberry's and iPhones) for providing instant access to news that is constantly updated and free. And while reading your phone in the restroom or during lunch isn't quite as appealing as a newspaper, it's something we're becoming accustomed too. Other people blame it on the rise of cable news networks and niche sports networks. After all, if you read the paper primarily for news-wouldn't CNN or FNC give you better information? And if you read it for sports, wouldn't the NFL Network, FSN, or even ESPN give you better information? (i hesitated to include ESPN there, as their product is so freaking bad, but I figured I had to). Others blame it on the quality of the newspapers, especially in places (such as Dallas) where there is but one newspaper holding a monopoly. I'm sure the actual reason for the decline is some blending of those, the rise of the blogosphere, and the general dumbing down of the American populace, but the why isn't as important as the simple fact that the newspaper as we know it is a dying industry.

Today we get word of the next step in the dying process, as the Dallas Morning News reports that they will now be sharing content with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a trend I'd expect to be picked up by other newspapers across the country where its possible. Beginning Feb 1, the DMN will have the beat for the Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks whereas the FWST will have the beat for the Texas Rangers-and the two papers will share their beat writers and their articles (both papers will maintain separate coverage of the Dallas Cowboys, only because they're what people actually care about in Dallas). They will also share their coverage of college sports and some individual sporting events. The decision was of course made to cut costs for the papers in the face of shrinking revenue.

You might ask, well why is this that big a deal? I mean it's just sports, right? Well first off, most of the "news" in a newspaper isn't produced by the newspaper itself, but instead taken off the AP or another wire. Outside of local news, columnists, and articles of interest-sports is the bulk of the original material a newspaper produces. So to be slashing that, well that's a pretty big deal. I'd also present to you that sports and business are the two biggest reasons the average consumer picks up a newspaper. While that bombing in Gaza or those potholes down the street might interest you, they I believe generally interest you less than your stock portfolio, the general economy, or what your sports team of choice did yesterday. So again, this is a pretty big deal.

In equally grim news on the newspaper front, it's also been announced that the Seattle Post Intelligencer has been put up for sale and will close unless a buyer is found (unlikely). Likewise Colorado's oldest newspaper, The Rockie Mountain News, has also been put up for sale and will likely close as well.

I'm quite the hypocrite on this subject. I love the newspaper and am sad at the prospect of losing them, but then like most people I rarely buy them. Sure if I grab a bagel for breakfast or am having a long lunch I will get one, but generally I too get the bulk of my news online. And of course while doing this, I don't click on any of the ads that would generate revenue for the newspaper (as little as it is), because let's face it-who actually clicks on banner ads? Furthermore, if I am looking for local news I will head over to Unfair Park (where much more honest journalism exists than you'll ever find in the DMN) and while I may read the local sports beat writers, their articles generally reak of knee-jerk reactions and are usually overtly simplistic, with much better sports discussion found elsewhere online. If it's business I'm after, I flip on the TV. The point is, I think I love the nostalgia of the newspaper-the memories of reading it as a child over a bowl of Cheerios or reading the Sunday edition-far more than I actually love the newspaper as it currently exists. I find myself thinking I like it far more than I actually do, and while I will miss the occasional good article my local newspaper gives me that I can't get elsewhere (and they are rare.....), I can't say that I'd miss it enough to actually subscribe or buy more than maybe a paper a week.

Change can be scary by definition, but I just don't see any other way. It's simply an outdated industry, as sad as that sounds.

The Wire

2009-01-11T17:09:00.002-06:00

For a few years now, I've listened to dozens of people tell me how great The Wire is and how I just had to watch it, it was the greatest show to ever be televised, etc. ad nauseum. Everyone from my leaders Bob and Dan to female friend that is a Harvard graduate (and has a spotty tv record, enjoying amongst other things that model show on Bravo), to people with whom I've never discussed television, and the critics always agree-supposedly this is one of the best television shows ever.

I was skeptical, I'm always skeptical but willing to try out new programs. And with the Tivo nearing empty and re-runs going full bore, I decided that I had the time to adopt a new show. The candidates were The Sopranos, The Shield, and The Wire-and after seeking the opinions of others, The Wire won out. The had been so much hype surrounding this show, that I completely and totally expected to be underwhelmed by it. I mean it could be great, but how could it ever live up to the hype? That said, last night I finished watching season one.

And it was awesome!

I don't know how else to describe it. What a fantastic television series-great acting, great drama, great characters, very gritty and edgy but still totally believable. I have to take my cue from those that got me to finally watch it and say that I cannot recommend The Wire enough. Go over to Amazon.com right now, pay the $134.49 for the entire series, and consider it one of the best investments in entertainment you've ever made. I have only seen one of the five seasons, and I cannot wait to watch the next four. I liked Oz, Oz was great, and this puts Oz to shame.

So consider this a public service announcement. If you haven't watched the Wire, go rent/borrow/buy/steal yourself the first season. You will thank me. And if you have, well then, feel free to rub my nose in the fact that I am quite late to the party.

The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008

2009-01-06T19:45:00.002-06:00

Pardon me, dear reader, for the prolonged and unannounced absence, its just that things get a wee bit hectic in the wine business for the last few weeks of December into the first week of the New Year. It's can be fun and it can be profitable, but also stressing and quite the timesink. Needless to say, 2008 has finally ended and 2009 is underway. So we've got that going for us.

However while I wasn't blogging for the past few weeks, I have been spending more time than usual reading, and not reading for fun (see: Ender's Game, Xenocide) but for fun and education, the most recent book being Paul Krugman's The Return of Depression Economics, an updated re-issue of his 1999 book by the same title written in light of the current economic crisis that has us all abuzz. So I thought I'd offer up a little bit of a review, knowing full well that rare is the person that would have any interest in reading a book on economics for fun, and that I am weird that way. I accept that.

While I am wired in that strange way that makes books on history, politics, economics and other social sciences strangely fascinating, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my knowledge of economics is extremely weak. In fact, a big portion of why I enjoyed this book is that in all my 27 years on this earth, this is the first time anyone has been able to adequately the difference between short-selling and long-selling in a manner that I can wrap my tiny brain around (and then, as with so many other economic concepts, wonder aloud how the fuck that's legal but I can't legally play poker or bet on football, but I digress). As I read through it I couldn't help but think to myself that in many ways, this book was like 'Economics For Dummies' as it explained concepts that even Mr. Holmes, a fine teacher in his own right, couldn't get me to understand during Economics classes in high school. Furthermore, upon explaining the concepts in a meaningful way it did a fantastic job of linking them all together.

Why did the Mexican economy crash in the '90s? Why did the Argentine peso collapse and how did they fix it? And then, after explaining them, Krugman would link the two events, link their causes and their solutions. Then he'd go into the oft-publicized Asian financial crisis of the '90s, explain it, and link it to the other two, and finally he stuck the landing and managed to offer a reasonable connection-atleast to my economics brain-between all three of those events and the ongoing worldwide economic crisis, and lend credence to the old adage that 'the past is prologue.'

He threw out just enough economic jargon to make it an economics book, but explained enough of it that I'd feel it to be pretty easy reading for anyone with just a basic understanding of the economy (ie, a high school diploma). And considering the hundreds of billions of dollars the American government is throwing at this economic mess, and the reality that this is having a profound impact on all of our lives and will for the foreseeable future, I find it have been a great read so that I'm atleast somewhat abreast of the economic events of the day. I'd strongly recommend it if you're into that sort of thing, and by that sort of thing I mean trying to keep yourself knowledgeable of current events and your [crooked] government.

We Emerge Victorious! RIAA Admits Defeat!

2008-12-23T18:25:00.000-06:00

I remember it like it was yesterday, that magical Fall of '00 and the ensuing semester in Spring of '01. It was a glorious time to be a young music fan, especially one in college. You see, universities had yet to wise up to the perils of giving students an absurd amount of bandwidth with no checks, and the RIAA had yet to fully realize the impact a little program called Napster would have on how people would access their music in the 21st century. The not so shocking result was of course tens of thousands of students downloading thousands of songs (and thats just at UNT) bringing the university's servers to the slowest of all crawls as people downloaded everything they could think of. It also answers the question how the hell did Wesley Willis ever get famous?

I don't think I can overstate how many millions of .mp3s were being made and shared, and how hammered the servers were. A simple internet search during the middle of the day would take 15s just to load a webpage. Around that same time a simple and yet revolutionary game called Counter-strike was released (Winter of 2000) to make sure that several dozen students would never make it to class again, the problem is the lag was so bad internet play was impossible and we were relegated to playing on internal servers-something which turned out to be fun as you'd run into other players in the dorm cafeterias and shoot them the death stare for pwning you previously that day-it fostered this weird community on campus. But I digress, I'm burying the lead.

By the Fall of '01 most universities in America had either put bandwidth caps on students, or outright blocked Napster from their network to preserve their network integrity and because the RIAA had caught wind and was threatening to sue nearly every American university for allowing access to pirated music. This was the genesis of the music pirate vs. the RIAA feud that has been brewing ever since. Napster was eventually shut down (to later re-open as a pay site), but the damage had been done and Gnutella clients such as Limewire and Bearshare quickly filled the void. In fact, every time the RIAA would try to shut a service down the programmers would get smarter and figure out new ways to hide the IPs of the users or would base the servers out of strange 3rd world countries. To counter their efforts, the RIAA spent millions of dollars on fighting these programs and their users (instead of, you know, improving their music or reducing the price of the records people didn't want to buy), eventually settling on a way to track the IP address of users whom they would then sue.

And sue they did, estimates are that the RIAA has sued 35,000 people since 2003, settling for an absolutely batshit insane $3,500 per a song downloaded/shared. They've sued grandmothers, single moms, children, deceased people, and people who don't even own computers. You see, the way the RIAA tracked you wasn't an exact science, but more of a scattershot strategy-the result being thousands of innocent people being sued and forced to either pay the RIAA to go away (settle out of court) or pay even more money for attorneys to fight the RIAA (of which they would re-coup none of it). The RIAA had managed to find a way to use the American Justice System to strong-arm innocent people, all in a vain effort to stop something that was unstoppable and with the rational that they're losing millions of dollars (most of which they'd have never seen, college students weren't going to buy that Journey record or Wesley Willis record, we'd download it for free but we sure as shit weren't going to buy it instead of 4 beers and a shot at the bar.

So in the midst of these insane lawsuits, have sprung up new and more secure sharing programs. Hosted off-shore, these international sites were invite-only and acted as the largest free record store in the world. Oink was one of the best known until British officials finally shut it down last year (and that didn't stop anyone, we all just moved to new sites). The beauty of Oink was you had to share as much as you took, and if that ratio became too weighted (you were taking more than you were giving), then you'd be tossed from the site-and to get tossed from that site would be punishment, as it boasted literally just about every song off every record in the world (and if it wasnt there, you could request it and you'd get it) in variable qualities and available for free at the touch of a button. It was a music lover's paradise. If you're so inclined, you can read a fantastic essay about Oink and the music industry in general here. It's a great read.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that also having arrived (several year too late I might add, again because of the RIAA blocking them) were pay music sites such as iTunes-where you could plop down $0.99 for a song, and these sites have flourished. But battle lines had been drawn years before, and there were hundreds of thousands of us that thumbed our nose at the RIAA, vowing not to buy music again (unless it's local or independent) as a means to stop feeding the bear that was the RIAA music cartel. And last week, we scored our first victory.

Fri Dec 19, 2008, LOS ANGELES - The group representing the U.S. recording industry said Friday it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service providers to cut abusers' access if they ignore repeated warnings.

The beauty of the internet, is that it bring the power back to the people, and the people have spoken. And we will continue to speak until the RIAA burns to the ground and is lying in the grave it dug for itself. So pat yourselves on the back music fans, we all deserve it. Now we just need to get these people off their iTunes crack......

Shiner Cheer

2008-12-23T17:54:00.003-06:00

If you're a fan of good beer (and who isn't?), then Winter is the season for you. I mean sure there are some nice Spring and Fall seasonal brews, and even a few decent summer ones (St. Arnold's Lawnmower comes to mind), but Winter is when breweries usually pull all the stops and make some great dark beers that confuse the palate and stretch the lines of what beer can be.

With the Spoetzl Brewery being one of my favorites on account of their still-amazing Shiner Bock (and their new series of yearly brews, capping next year on their 100th anniversary with Shiner 100), I couldn't wait to get a chance to try their Winter seasonal, Shiner Cheer.

A bit of a disclaimer first though. I can't say I'm real high on fruit in beer. I mean I love Pyramid Apricot on a nice warm day, and I'll occasionally throw a lime in a Mexican beer or an Orange slive in a Hefeweizen, but as a general rule I'd like my beer to be beer and not a beer/fruit juice hybrid. So I was a little unsure going in when I learned that it was an Ale brewed with peaches and pecans (though those are Texas staples, so it's not terribly surprising). It's been strangely tough to come by for the past few weeks, but I finally got some.

It's got an unusual ruby/brown color to it, but it pours nicely. The head comes out like it should, and in the end it looks like a beer should. Upon tasting, the first thing you will taste is that classic Shiner bitterness (I recognized it immediately from the Bock) caused by burning the malt. It's not a bad thing, in fact it's what makes the Shiner Bock what it is, but it's definately noticeable here and it lingers. The pecans are very understated, but after a couple seconds the peaches become blatantly obvious. It's strange, it takes a few seconds before the flavor of peach kicks in, and even when it does it's fairly understated-theres just enough peach to let you know that it's there. In fact, the peaches were much more evident on the nose, which I found surprising.

In the end though, I'd rate it a good beer-but not a great one. It doesn't have that heaviness that is generally associated with a Winter beer (to warm you) and that you'd expect. The peach flavor is nice, but overall the beer is generally unremarkable. A little malt bitterness, a little peach, and that's it-its honestly just a little too simple for me. I'm not sure that there's enough peach to satisfy those who like a sweeter beer, and I don't think those that like a heavy beer will be terribly moved by the peaches. I'd suggest that it's a good beer to try, and I'm glad that I did, but I couldn't see myself having it more than a couple times before the end of winter.

Twitter

2008-12-11T17:38:00.004-06:00

For atleast a year, probably longer, friend Adrienne has been trying to convince me that I needed to join Twitter, that somehow plugging myself into yet another on-line social network was going to improve my life. With Myspace and Facebook though, it seemed rather unnecessary and I resisted it. I would be lying if I didn't admit that the trendiness of it contributed as well (like with everything Apple), but primarily it just didn't seem like something I needed. I've got enough on-line timesinks as it is.

It's come up occasionally since then, and I've continued to resist, that was until it came up during a Google Groups conversation in which Adrienne wrote;

I find it bizarre that so many of you guys are obsessed with thelatest innovations in
hardware and software, video and computer games,and mp3 players/peripherals/whatever, but think that social networkingtools are worthless.

Luke, obviously you DO care about what Mac's doing, and vice versa, orelse you wouldn't be writing on 412 at all! Explain to me how,functionally, this group is any
different than Twitter or Facebook,despite it being closed to a small network
of people (which you can dowith Twitter, FB, and anything else, you know). You post links andvideos here, so does everyone on FB and Twitter. You have discussionshere, same there. You tell people what you're up to here, same there.You make plans with your friends here, same there.

The only thing I can think of is that you're turned off by the trendy-factor of these sites, or that they're too time-consuming. Yet forall that stuff I listed in the first sentence, you're all about thelatest trend. And think about how much time you
waste on the Internet anyway.

BTW, this isn't aimed at Luke, just a rant in general.

So I decided fine, I'll sign up for it and use it for one month, and at the end of said month ponder if it had in fact had any sort of positive effect on my life, or rather it just added to the internet clutter already sufficiently packed full of Message Boards, Blogs, Myspace, Facebook, News, Op-Eds, Warhammer, Team Fortress 2, and everything else I spend time on-line reading or playing.

So yesterday I signed up. Handle is superfuzzbigmuf, so if you "tweet" as they say, then add me. If you don't, well then I will tell you in a month if its anything more than another pointless internet timesink.

Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year

2008-12-09T18:05:00.004-06:00

A month after trying the Macallan Fine Oak and loving what I tasted, I decided to give the Balvenie Doublewood a try. Unlike the Macallan which was aged 10 years, the Balvenie was aged 12 years however much like the Macallan it is aged in two different oak casks, in this case a traditional oak whisky cask and an oak sherry cask. It's 43% alcohol (86 proof) and runs approximately $42.

I got it home, poured it in a nice open whisky glass, poured a little chilled water on top of it, swirled it around and then took my first sniff and then sip. Not terribly impressed. So I gave myself a few minutes to let the palate cleanse and did it again, still not very impressed.

Before I delve into why, let me issue a disclaimer; I don't particularly care for Sherry. I've had "good" Sherries before, and to me there just isn't such a thing-the nose is the only thing worse than the taste, it's just not a flavor I care for. It is because of this, that I think I was unimpressed with the Balvenie Doublewood, because the taste of the Sherry casks definitely came through heavy on the whisky. It had a little honey and a tiny bit of vanilla, but to me the notes of sherry overpowered everything else. The body on it was good although it wasn't extremely silky, although to be fair the bite on it wasn't terrible.

It wasn't a bad whisky, I mean it certainly beats the stuff you'd find in a plastic jug at your local liquor store, but I didn't find myself enjoying it anymore than say a blended like Johnnie Walker black (which would be less expensive) nor did I find it to be any more complex. There are better single malts and even blended whiskies out there for this price.

Macallan Fine Oak (10 year)

2008-12-09T17:37:00.004-06:00

So a couple months ago I decided to start a bit of a new tradition (yes, thats an oxymoron) for myself of buying something rather expensive but something I've never tried before on the mid-month payday. Sort of a gift to myself, and the first bottle I decided to roll with was the Macallan 10 which was on sale for $29.99. I was fairly familiar with the Macallen 12, but had never tried the 10 and wanted to see how they stacked up against each other.

I must say that I was extremely happy with my purchase. As the name suggests, this Scotch is aged 10 years in oak barrels, in thise case actually three different barrels-European Oak Sherry Cask, American Oak Sherry Cask, and an American Oak Bourbon Cask. The result is an extremely silky Scotch, with a texture bordering on pure bliss. Not surprisingly oak is a major player in both the nose and the bouquet of this Scotch, but what was fairly surprising was the notes of honey and vanilla on it. Between the honey on the palate entry with the silky texture it is an extremely pleassant drink. Furthermore, the aging in Sherry casks allows for a taste that lingers nicely and doesn't have any bite (from the alcohol) until towards the end. It's pale straw in color, which is to be expected for a 10 year Scotch.

I would strongly recommend Macallan 10 Fine Oak to anyone that's a fan of good Scotch Whisky.

Happy Repeal Day!

2008-12-04T21:49:00.002-06:00

Hey Happy Repeal Day everyone. It was 75 years ago on Dec. 5, 1933 that Prohibition ended and booze was merrily re-introduced to the American public. Strangely enough, it took all of hours to get the booze in...funny that, huh?

Had I been more forward thinking I would have totally had a kick-ass party for the event. Sadly, I am not. That said, have a tall one...or a glass of whisky...and give props to the forefathers that realized alcohol was actually more American than applie pie, and ignoring the ones that disagreed.

Fall Television Redux

2008-12-01T17:16:00.004-06:00

With sweeps behind us now and most fall television seasons having wrapped up and/or about to wrap up, I figured it was a good time to blog about the Fall '08 TV season. It didn't hurt either that I've been fighting my yearly sinus infection (later than usual this year) since Thanksgiving giving me plenty of time to lay in bed with my Tivo and catch up on House, Heroes, Law & Order, SVU, Family Guy, Fringe, and My Own Worst Enemy. I even tried to watch Chuck, but ya, it sucked. See? Being sick has atleast some upside.

The best new show of the season was most definately Sons of Anarchy on FX. It wrapped up last thursday with a 90 minute episode that was phenomenal. I realize I am hard-selling this show, but it's really that fucking good. Do yourself a favor and get the first season, as it's been picked up for two more seasons already and seems primed to be FX's replacement for the Shield. And I'm still kicking myself for not getting in on The Shield early. There's just something fascinating about the biker gang underworld, and this show totally delivers.

Speaking of biker gangs, I've been catching episodes here and there of Gangland on History. I'm not sure it's season pass worthy, but like Deadliest Catch is nice downtime filler. Being from Dallas I don't see gangs like the folks in NYC, LA, or Chicago do...so I find it to be pretty fascinating programming. Plus it ties in nicely with Sons of Anarchy and The Wire, which I started on Season 1 this week because Jenny won't stop hassling me about it being the greatest show ever made.

Fringe was also a nice breakout show for the Fall season. It's actually gotten progressively more interesting sicne the premier, like a show should but so many fail to do. I'm still not sure it's of the caliber of the X-Files, but it's pretty damn good. The plots can get a little far fetched, but the acting is superb. John Noble makes an excellent Walter, and Anne Tory (Agent Dunham) is strangely attractive and great for her role.

Heroes has come so close to jumping the shark (see photo at top) so many times this season, but keeps avoiding it. I'm not sure how much longer they can, as I'm really not sure how much of a future a show about people with superpowers can have, but they've managed to keep it atleast mildly entertaining as people are switching sides and doublecrossing each other every week. I watched the entire season in one night (that whole sick thing....) and I still couldn't figure out who was on who's side. I'm assuming that confusion is by design. I'm not going to try and sell you on it, were Heroes a stock I'd probably give it a sell rating, but we shall see.....I'm still watching.

Law & Order makes another attempt at replacing the great Detective Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) while also replacing Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin), this time going with Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) and Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson). And like with most L&O pairings, it's improving with time. I'm not sure you can ever replace Briscoe and Green, but these two aren't bad. Having McCoy (Sam Waterston) as D.A. while new A.D.A Cutter (Linus Roache) goes rogue straight out of the old Jack McCoy playbook has been an interesting storyline. Meanwhile Law & Order: SVU is trudging along with more subplots involving Stabler's family. Not bad, but not great, it's still SVU.....a nice spin-off of the original classic but not on par with it. And certainly not as bad as Criminal Intent, where Vincent D'Onoffrio made me insane.

House is still awesome. I know some people don't like it, I even admit to it being extremely formulaeic, but Hugh Laurie is simply amazing as the character House, and I like the direction it's going with a potential House/Cuddy romance after the drama with Cut-throat Bitch and Wilson earlier in the season. I also think the writers are doing an excellent job of fleshing out the characters of 13, Taub, and Kumar, making them interesting in the dynamic between House, Cuddy, and Foreman. Thus far this has been the best season since the one with the cop harassing House, season 2 I think.

I watched the first could episodes of My Own Worst Enemy to see if Christian Slater had anything left in the bag. Upon episode three the show was not renewed so I didn't bother with the rest of them. Slater wasn't bad, but the premise was just too ridiculous and the scope too limited, also the cast around Slater was pretty mediocre. Likewise Worst Week was really funny, but completely unsustainable, even with Red from That '70s Show. It would be like making Meet The Parents into a TV series, it's just not feasible.

So there you go, my Fall TV Redux. Cheers!

On A Bit Of A Personal Note

2008-12-01T00:30:00.004-06:00

While the exact date escapes me, somewhere around March or April of this past year (there's this weird couple month period that consisted of me drinking/working/pining over my now ex-girlfriend that makes it tough to pinpoint. Emphasis on the drinking.) I decided it was important for me to make some life changes. My lifestyle in college (or really, my entire time in Denton, TX.) had simply become too unhealthy and detrimental. So I went down the list of vices, and smoking and gambling simply weren't going to be subtracted. Nor was drinking, though moderation was a possibility. Ultimately, I decided that some level of moderation and diet change was what was necessary in my life to undo the oh, 100lbs I had put on since high school. I should own a stake in the Shiner brewery for the amount of Shiner Bock I consumed. Seriously....why isn't Shiner publicly traded? But I digress.

I say all that to say that since then my focus has been on losing weight and trying to improve my quality of life. I moved back to Dallas proper, changed to a package store route, started running/swimming, took up golf, etc.....a lot has changed in my life since I left Denton. But the proudest moment of my life since then occured this past Friday morning when I stepped on the scale and realize I had officially lost 50lbs since then. It's not an end, instead just a milestone. But that doesn't change the fact that 50lbs is a pretty big fucking number, and I'm pretty damn proud of myself. It's been a couple pants sizes (buying new clothes is a PITA), it's been re-wearing old t-shirts I'd long since out grown.

So ya, exploding high-five.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T19:43:00.005-06:00

It's strange how a holiday can morph over the years. I've always had a relatively small family, what with my mother's side living exclusively in Seattle or France and my father being an only child, as a kid it usually consisted of my parents, my brother, "Uncle" Bill (right side in photo), my Grandmother, Great Aunt, and dog Gizmo. Well my grandmother died of Alzheimers related causes back in the late '90s, Gizmo died on Halloween '05, and Aunt Chudy died this past July. And then of course my mother moved to Paris back in the early '00s. I don't say this to elicit pity, believe me it's the farthest thing from that, but instead as a way to compare Thanksgiving as a child as compared to now where its my dad, my brother, Bill, and my brother's new dog George.

The one constant though is, and hopefully always will be, Dallas Cowboys football (read my review at Cockfighting In Texas) and turkey. There's just something about a nice dinner of turkey (Greenberg smoked this year, and it was orgasmic), mashed potatoes, and having a Cowboys rout of Seattle (I gracefully waited until halftime to call and gloat to my Seattle relatives) that makes this one hell of a day. There are people that claim to hate Thanksgiving, and I just don't get them-despite everything changing, it's always one hell of a holiday.

Oh, right, forgot to go down the wines we had with dinner and after-you know since booze is a core tenet of this blog. Magenta NV Brut Champagne (which I of course loved, I love me some French bubbly), Chateau le Gay Gran Cru Bordeaux (was my request, was really craving a nice Bordeaux. And you can't beat a cork that says 'Le Gay.'), Panther Creek Pinot Noir (Shea vineyard AVA, was fantastic with dinner), and Kenneth Crawford Bluefin Vineyard Syrah (my least favorite, but I'm just not a Syrah fan). The Chateau Le Gay was my favorite, but I was really craving a nice Bordeaux-otherwise the two bottles of Panther Creek Pinot Noir were excellent, we had two different vineyard varietals, and both exceptional with the Shea being the more earthy of the two. I won't bother to mention the Magenta Champagne, because anyone that knows me knows I love most anything bubbly.

All that said, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, gorging themselves sufficiently on wine and food. Cheers!

The Bailout In Context

2008-11-26T07:32:00.003-06:00

While I've got a whiskey review and some Thanksgiving wine suggestions on the stove for when I get home from work today, thought I'd post this gem that arrived in my email box yesterday. I think it puts things in perspective nicely. Credit goes to Boing Boing;

In doing the research for the "Bailout Nation" book, I needed a way to put
the dollar amounts into proper historical perspective. If we add in the Citi
bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars. People have a hard
time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let's give this some context.
The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.
Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than
all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:
• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

Gunterama '08

2008-11-17T22:46:00.006-06:00

Not the greatest picture, on account of the carnage having started, but it gets the point across-the first annual Gunterama Wine Tasting was held this past weekend. A blind taste test (numbered bags over the wines) paired with lots of good cheese, crackers, bread, and 12 fine wines. Hosted by the brothers Gunter and attended by an intentionally small group of 16 people, the wines tasted were;

1a. Ruffino Orvieto (the casual drinking wine)
1. Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio
2. Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay
3. Lost Angel Chardonnay
4. Lost Angel Muscat Caneli
5. Vertikal Mosel Riesling
6. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
7. Norma Jean Merlot
8. Kim Crawford Pinot Noir
9. Beringer Alluvium Red
10. Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon-California
11. Steelhead Zinfandel
12. Catena Malbec

The womenfolk overwhelmingly loved the Norma Jean Merlot and Lost Angel Muscat. The Vertikal Riesling was also well-liked. Beyond that it was the expected logjam of favorites based on taste-with Nick and I loving the Kim Crawford Pinot Noir and the Beringer Alluvium, Harold loving the CSJ Cab, Heather loving the CSJ chard, but the other women preferring the Lost Angel (un-oaked) Chard. The Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc wasn't terribly well recieved by non-smokers, but loved by them-and I firmly believe the tartness of a New Zealand SB is fantastic for a smoker with a pallet for wine.

The beauty of wine is that different tastes determine different impressions. I absolutely adore a good pinot noir or an oaky cab, but I hate an oaky chard.....Heather meanwhile loved the oaky chard but wasn't on board with the oaky cab. What was great about the event was how it highlighted the tastes of people. Emily Q was certainly the most astute of the non-Gunters there, picking out most varietals immediately, but at the same time loving the merlot. Again, it all comes down to taste, and it's why I love this business.

One of the highlights of the evening for me, was presenting an oaked Chard followed by an un-oaked Chard, and seeing the difference in reactions. With a segment preferring one and another the other, it gave me a fair amount of clarity as a person that just detests-but sells-oaked chardonnays.

We ran with a garlic summer sausage, baguette, water crackers, port salud, manchego, mild cheddar, an herb blended goat cheese, brie, and some cake as hors d'oeuvres......and it wasn't just delicious, but provided greast palate cleansers.

Point is this. While we had a good turnout, we also had a turnout wanting to learn more about and appreciate wines, and in the end enjoy it. It was a succesfal event, and I can't wait to do it again next year. Shout out if a wine tasting interests you, and cheers.

Michelob Winters Bourbon Cask Ale

2008-11-17T16:53:00.005-06:00

This past summer when I was on vacation in Portland, OR and attending the Portland International Beer Festival I tasted what might be the greatest beer I've ever had-and that's not a joke. Now of course I didn't write down the name, thus making it impossible for me to find it again, but what was so amazing about this Stout was that it had been aged in Scotch barrels, and thus the taste of Scotch whisky melded so perfectly with this Stout to make it completely and totally worth the $9 a bottle MSRP. It was with that in mind that I decided to purchase Michelob's Winters Bourbon Cask Ale. For those unaware, Michelob is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, so I will admit that I tempered my hopes-but I do love the seasonal winter beers, and decided to give it a try.

It sat in my fridge for close to a week until this friday when T-bone and I each grabbed a bottle, poured it into a glass, and decided to see what it's made of. My impression? Not to great. While it may or may not actually be aged in Bourbon casks as the label claims, the taste of said casks is virtually non-existent in the beer. Furthermore, their decision to use Madagascar vanilla beans in the brewing process is a lot better in theory than in practice.

The beer had a reddish copper color, and a strong vanilla on the nose, maybe a little spice too. There wasn't much head on the pour either. Upon tasting it, one is overpowered by the vanilla, which truth be told doesn't taste terribly natural, but instead like vanilla extract. There are certainly notes of caramel malt and a tiny bit of oak, but the vanilla overpowers everything. Furthermore, the beer doesn't have a whole lot of body on it, seeming awfully light for a seasonal winter ale.

When I finished my glass, I looked over to T-bone and said, "Meh, it's not bad, but it's not something I'd probably buy again." and he agreed. While not a terribly good advertising tagline (Michelob: Meh, it's not bad, and you probably won't buy it again!), I do think it sums up the beer nicely. It's a nice attempt at making a quality seasonal ale, but it just fails to deliver.

A Programming Note

2008-11-17T07:46:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to offer a quick programming note.

Effective immediately, the Booze Of The Week selections will be no more. This isn't to say that I will stop reviewing alcoholic beverages, as that's obviously a staple of this blog, but the truth of the matter is my drinking patterns have changed as I've gotten older and sought to lose weight (hey, i'm down 45lbs since March, so it's a good thing) and I just don't drink enough beer/wine to make it feasible.

So instead of a booze of the week, I will just write up reviews as I try new things or otherwise feel inclined to review things. I've got a beer review to post shortly, and a nice Scotch review for later this week.

Godwin's Law

2008-11-11T21:23:00.006-06:00

As I've spent most everyday of the last week (coincidentally, since election night, funny that-right?) engaged in discussions, debates, and downright nasty tantrums in the annals of the internet, I thought it proper to remind everyone of both Godwin's Law and the lesser known Dodds Corollary. For in hindsight, when Mike Godwin made this law in 1990 he truly ahead of his time. The law states;

"As a Usenet [or internet messageboard/email/myspace] discussion grows longer,
the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

So simple, and yet so, so true. But of course, it wasn't quite complete without the Dodds Corollary which states;

"When debating a particular subject, if a comparison or implied connection is
drawn between the opponent's argument and Hitler and the Nazi Party, the maker
of that statement is automatically discredited and the debate is automatically
lost by the person or group who referenced the connection to Hitler or the
Nazis."

So please people, when engaged in hopefully thought provoking debate over the socio-political issues of the day, heed this suggestion. Unless its a discussion of 1930's/1940's Europe or discussing an insanely comical video of Hitler rapping, please don't invoke the H-word.

That is all.

Beware XM Radio

2008-11-10T20:56:00.007-06:00

When I bought my VW Passat, it came with a radio with a built in satellite radio reciever and a three month free trial subscription. I didn't think much of it at the time, but back then satellite radio was generating a fair amount of buzz-and I figured I could use something to listen to during commercials on The Ticket or when NPR was boring (whenever Ira Glass is on), so I called XM to give it a try.

And I really enjoyed it. The station Lucy offered a nice mix of '90s rock music, most early '90s-very little Nickelback and crap like that, Ethel offered a nice mix of modern rock tinged with new stuff (it's where I first heard Arctic Monkeys, The Shins, Silversun Pickups, and more), XMU offered a way to listen to college radio-something we've never really had here in Dallas, Squizz offered some decent metal when that was my mood, and Fungus the same thing with punk music. Fox Sports Radio was also a nice bonus, as during the holiday season I was working on Saturday and Sundays I could get sports updates. In short, for some $60 a year it was a nice buy. So I signed up for a one year subscription. Enjoyed it enough, but let it lapse. A few months later decided I wanted it back, so I signed up for another one year sub......that was 15 months ago.

So about 3 months ago the subscription lapsed. Around that same time they decided to "temporarily" take Fungus 53-their lone punk station-off the air and replace it with an all AC fucking DC station. Seriously, AC/DC. I'm sure trailer parks across America were high-fiving each other, but unless I'm at a strip club I've got absolutely zero interest in AC/DC (same goes for Buckcherry, in case you were curious). So I let my subscription lapse, knowing that if I ever wanted to renew it I could. And that's when it started.

For the last two months, I've literally recieved a call a day from XM. But not just a call, an automated call. "Dear , your XM subscription has lapsed, please call us (the gall of me asking them to call them!) please call us back at with account number . And of course, I ignored them. Fuck automated calls, if a company wants my business they can call me and talk to me at my convenience....I'm not taking time out of my day to call them and sit on hold. I'm the customer, and my money is not their god-given right.

After a month, I finally gave in and called them....I was polite but blunt, please stop calling me. CSR was very polite, took my info, and told me the calls would stop. They of course didn't. Less frequent, but they kept coming. So tonight, after the 70th some odd automated call and voicemail, I called them. Again, asked them to stop calling me and to my surprise, now they want $23 to stop calling me. Whaaaaaaaat?

I argue with the CSR for a bit-and she was quite rude I might add-before realizing she has no power, and asking for her supervisor. He gives me the same lines. I had to again, call them, to cancel my subscription. Nevermind that I expressly signed up for a one year subscription, no no, if I don't call them I have to pay them for the two months of service they "gave me" because they didn't turn off my service after that one year. You know, because if you walk into Kroger and buy a months worth of chicken, if you come back two months later you owe them for the month of chicken you didn't buy. Logical, right?

Again, I want to stress, this wasn't a repeating bill. I paid up front and in full for 1 year service. Period. I asked explicitly and was told, it is not repeating and if I wanted to re-new I would only then have to call them, as had happened the previous time I let a subscription lapse.

So why do I write all this? To let you, and hopefully everyone you know, that the folks at XM are crooks and to steer clear of them. If this is how a company treats a subscriber of almost two years, then that should tell you all that you need to know about the company. Fuck XM, I will pay them their $23, but I will make damn sure that everyone I know will listen, and that they lose more than $23 in subscriptions and bad press. The internet empowers consumers, and shit companies like XM need to be aware of that.

A New Record Store In Dallas

2008-11-10T20:12:00.002-06:00

On the heels of CD World closing up shop leaving Good Records and Bill's as the last two independent record stores in a city of over over 1.2 million people and a metro area of 5.2 million people, I figured this was worth mentioning. Jeff Liles posted a bulleting about it earlier;

Against all forms of logic and economy, Bucks Burnett, former owner of Fourteen Records on Greenville Avenue in Dallas (1988-95) has opened a new music store in Dallas.

"It is what I am calling a micro store, a business within a business."

The store name is EAROTICA and it is located within Dallas' hippest resale shop, Dolly Python, on Haskell Avenue, one mile east of Central Expressway.

"I am starting small but we (Bucks and Gretchen Bell, Python owner) plan to grow it as quickly as possible into a more full fledged service. The starting inventory is somewhat small but well curated. So far the LP's are outselling the CD's, which I think is a good sign."

The official store debut and opening party will take place on Saturday, November 15th, from 6-10PM at Dolly Python. "There will be free beer and overpriced dead formats."

EAROTICA offers a selection of great titles, new and used, in all existing entertainment formats:

LP
CD
CASSETTE
8 TRACK
4 TRACK
2 TRACK
REEL TO REEL
QUADRAPHONIC LPS AND TAPES
DVDVHS
LASER DISC
VIDEODISC
45 SINGLE
12" SINGLE
78 RPM
and others

"Too many record stores have closed the past few years, and music sales are down. Nonetheless, I wholeheartedly reject the death of music retail. Dallas needs more music stores, not less."

The store's official slogan:"For Those About To Shop, We Seduce You"
http://xivmedia. com

I drive by Dolly Python couple days a week, it's just a few blocks east of Central on Haskell, just past the Cityplace Target where you should totally stop in and by a bottle of wine. Even stopped in once, it's a pretty cool little store. That was of course before this, but I'm planning to stop in this week and see how it looks with this.

And probably to buy some vinyl too, even if my console turntable still doesn't work. Just thought I'd pass it along, if anyone wants to go to that grand opening let me know, I think I will.

Well Here We Are, Obama Is The President-Elect

2008-11-05T19:33:00.004-06:00

It's finally over.

Some two years after the beginning of what has felt like the longest election cycle ever, some seven years and change after most of the country didn't vote for the last President and the issue was hanging chads and Katherine Harris, and a few months after the election cycle hit full tilt, the election is over.

Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States of America.

If you listen to the pundits today, they're going to prattle on about the fact that he's the first African-American (please god, let that term die) President of the United States (henceforth, POTUS) and how that's supposed to be some huge accomplishment. They're going to compare him to Jackie Robinson or Martin Luther The King and marginalize all three of them in the process. Is it notable that a black man is POTUS? Sure, but it's little more than a footnote to the story of Obama, the most important chapters of which will be written starting today. The story isn't, nor should it be, that Barack Obama is the first black president.....it's that Barack Obama is the next POTUS.

After eight years of at best a general malaise, the American electorate has finally woken up and chosen a new path for this nation. It took a hell of a lot to get them there, and in some ways the perfect storm politically speaking to make it happen, but it's happened. After eight years of fear-inspired politics blending the worst of the GOP (hawkish foreign policy, corporate welfare, erosion of civil liberties) with the worst of the Democratic Party (expanded spending, expanded government) the neo-conservative experiment has finally come to a loud and resounding end. That's the good news.

The bad news is the state that it has left the USA in. To say nothing of the impending budgetary disaster that is on the horizon when the baby boomers start attempting to claim social security and medicare, President Obama will also inherit a further bloated bureaucracy, record deficits, record national debt, two wars, an energy crisis, an economic crisis which already includes $700b in government bailouts, and an America that has lost it's respect and standing in much of the world. And you thought coaching the Clippers was a shitty job.

Before I continue though, I wanted to point out one little nugget from last night that I thought highlighted excellently the difference in direction. When George W. Bush won his first election, during the speech his mantra was "I've been given political capital tonight and Iintend to spend it." And his supporters cheered, and in the shadow of Bill Clinton-their mortal enemy-they rejoiced at the great age of conservatism he was going to usher in. Contrary to that, we had Barack Obama saying, "to those who didn't vote for me, I will listen to you and be your President too" and asking for America to unite and work together to solve our problems. The difference in tone is just night and day, and I think that tone highlights precisely why Barack Obama was able to effectively rout a candidate that many people have a great respect for, a candidate that a lot of moderate liberals actually really like and respect, myself included.

It would be unfair to not comment on McCain's fantastic concession speech, and to note that despite everything in the election style John McCain should be viewed as an American patriot, a statesman, and a very good man. Had he not spent this entire election with George W. Bush as an albatross around his neck, and had he not diverted from his message to that of Republican campaign advisors, I honestly believe he could have won this election. And regardless of that and everything that's been said, I still have enormous respect for John McCain and his speech last night highlighted exactly why that is.

So....here we are....now what?

Obviously Barack Obama is going to have to build a staff. My hope is that he does so with a true blindness to party affiliation or ideology, instead appointing people based on their ability, intelligence, and vision. I would love to see Colin Powell brought back into the fold and Condoleeza Rice offered a chance to maintain her office (and no, not because they're black). I understand that he must have a staff he can trust and rely on, but if at the end of building that staff it leans to the far left I believe we will have the first indication that all this talk of bi-partisanship was little more than just talk.

In the meantime, he will be briefed further on the issues and in January inaugurated. And it is on that day, that the clock starts. President Obama will have his mandate, given not only the Presidency but party control of congress. The barriers to the change he promised will be as small as they ever are in American politics. In my mind he will have one year from that day to get the wheels rolling on the change-train before the mandate he was given begins to fade and the politics of the mid-term elections begin to be felt. The economy, the war(s), taxes, and energy are the primary issues he's campaigned on, and if by the end of that year he hasn't made significant progress on atleast two of this issues I believe the whispers of failure will be felt. If after three years he hasn't nailed down two of those issues, then I worry that the change we were promised will be little but a bill of goods.

President Obama was given this mandate, his challenge is to affect the change he promised while taking firm control of his party and reaching across the aisle to the other. If he lets the far left wing of the Democratic Party-the Nancy Pelosi's of the world-gain too much power and influence, then he will fail. He must govern from the center out, not from the left of center to maintain the trust of the American electorate. There will be a lot of bitter Democrats wanting to "run up the score" on the GOP for the next two years and he must stem that tide.

And I believe four years from now, his success on those fronts is what will determine whether we just elected the second coming of John F. Kennedy, or the second coming of Jimmy Carter.

The Greatest Thing Since, Well, When Mtv Played Music

2008-10-28T18:51:00.004-05:00

Someone over at Beyond The Veil had to just go and send me a link to this website, which just happens to be a free on-line platform in which you can browse and watch the entire Mtv music video catalog. If you go over there, please make sure you've got a few hours to kill....because it's taking my entire night at the moment.

Strangely enough 8 other people had watched the video of Mark Arm talking about grunge, and 9 other people had watched the video for Tripping Daisy's Blown Away. Also strange, it appears there was never a video for the Meat Puppet's Backwater, which I find hard to believe.

2008-10-26T23:02:00.001-05:00

If memory serves, the first time I went to the Oak Lawn Street Party (henceforth known as Street Party and occasionally known as the Gay Parade) was 1996, when I was 15. May have been a year later, but I know I was dating Alex and I was a young lad. I went in drag, though not sure why, and when I was cleaning out my childhood room just a few months ago I found the costume. Twelve years later I've probably been to a half dozen more of them, and every year it's a good time. I understand that people have issues (though I don't know why) with going to the "gay part of town" as though Oz style anal rape is a serious concern, but I learned long ago not to fight people on it and just accept it. People have their pre-conceived notions, and I'm not going to fight that.

That said, this year like most others, was a blast. Sure, there was the normal quotient of drag queens and men in little but a loin cloth and body glitter, but I've always been a firm believer in that we can all get along and when everyone is just having a good time the result is one hell of a party. Short of St. Patricks on Greenville Ave, this is probably the biggest street party of the year in Dallas. Great costumes, thousands of people, some bands, a fair amount of boozing....it's just fun. And for 8 of us, the cab fare from Lower Greenville was only $26, surprisingly low. I've got some photos which will eventually get uploaded to my myspace page, and some great memories.

Not to mention, I finally got a costume out of the headcrab hat. And many questions about what the fuck i was, along with many kudos from those who actually, you know, got it.

You Thought Your Break-Ups were Bad?

2008-10-24T17:34:00.003-05:00

Just a funny story from some canadian website to end the week on a high;

Woman 'kills' ex-husband in online world
The Associated Press
A 43-year-old player in a virtual game world became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona, Japanese police said Thursday.
The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his ID and password to log onto the popular interactive game Maple Story to carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in the northern city of Sapporo said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy. "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations. The woman, a piano teacher, had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.
She has not yet been formally charged. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison or a fine up to $5,000 US.

Best response I've heard? Atleast she didn't go digital Lorena Bobbitt and hack off his e-peen. What a strange world we live in.

Robert Mondavi Private Selection Vinetta

2008-10-23T17:21:00.003-05:00

While at the aforementioned wine tasting yesterday I tried quite a few fantastic wines. And I'd love to make Far Niente Cabernet or something of it's ilk the booze of the week, but the fact of the matter is none of us can afford to buy something like that for anything but the most special of occasions. Static and Wine supports alcohol consumption on a regular business, not the teetotaling consumption only on special holidays that some folks endorse. Moderation and safety are obviously key, but wine should be a part of people's lives. So as I stumbled upon one of the more underated and affordable wines I've had in a while, the little hamster started running on it's wheel in my head and I knew I had a lock for BotW. So without further adieu, Robert Mondavi Private Selection Vinetta is this week's selection for Booze Of The Week.

This is an extremely affordable (~$10 a bottle) wine that over delivers for it's price point, but first thing's first, what is a vinetta? Well the word Vinetta, while sometimes used as a name, is just a variant of Vincentia, the latin for vineyard. In this case though, vinetta is the name Robert Mondavi uses for it's bordeaux-style blend. It's a blend of 68% cabernet, 14% merlot, 11% petite verdot, 5% malbec, and the elusive 2% cab franc. Why they chose to call it vinetta is anyone's guess, but I will tell you it is quite lovely.

While a little fruitier than one would expect from an actual Bordeaux, I think it's a fair comparison. It's a well balanced wine that has a fair amount of staying power but not overly tannic or heavy. The nose is mostly oak and plum while the taste is cherries, cocoa, licorice, and a bit of smoke and/or oak.

It's available in both 1.5L and 750mL sizes, has a faux cork, and the fruit is from the Central and North Coast Appellations. I'd pair it with grilled meat (though it might be a little underwhelming for a big steak, think lamb or pork) or blue cheese.

It's one of those rare few bottles of wine that overdelivers on it's price point, then again that's true of most Robert Mondavi wines (if you can find a better Sauv Blanc than Woodbridge for $9 a 1.5L I'm all ears). I could easily see paying $14.99 for this and consider it quite the bargain at $10. So there you have it, you know the drill, drop me line if you've had it or if you find yourself grabbing a bottle this weekend. Cheers!

More Fun Than Should Be Allowed In A Coat And Tie

2008-10-22T18:05:00.006-05:00

I won't lie, there are most certainly some very nice perks to being a wine salesman. I mean sure, there are plenty of drawbacks-as there are with any sales position- but those of us in the business often pontificate on the fact that atleast we're not selling copy machines or cars. We're selling a product that's arguably not a necessity, but instead a luxury item and something that people enjoy. And best of all, no matter the economy or personal mood one truth always remains-people drink. Celebrating? Have a drink. Depressed? Have a drink. Unlike many luxury items, it takes a lot for people to turn their back on alcohol. That aside though, one of the greatest perks is being able to taste so many great bottles of wine.

Today was Glazer's 4th annual "Big Reds & Bubbles" tasting, and the second I've attended. Much like the yearly TPSA Convention (if you ever get a chance to go, do yourself a favor and do it) except without the spirits and beer, this is basically a giant room with 30 some odd wine suppliers showcasing their best of the best for customers (and salesman, hehe). Each one has a table with somewhere between 5 and 10 wines available to taste and they're more than willing to not only pour you some, but also educate you on the wines. It's a fantastic experience, and one I can't recommend enough to everyone if you ever get the chance (and if you're into wines and/or in the retail alcohol or restaurant business, lemme know and I will try to get you an invite next time).

Most people made the obligatory beeline for the Cristal when they got there (which I'd like to add is quite over-rated), but then like me found themselves preferring Roederer's L'Ermitage Cuvee which is quite possibly the best Champagne I've ever had, though the vintaged Moet and Veuve Clicquot offerings were also great as was Gloria Ferrer's vintage cuvee and the Cuvee Louise from Pommery. Most people that know me know that, like my father, I'm a sucker for the bubbles....we're a family of Champagne lovers. You put the bubbly in front of us and it doesn't last long.

Which isn't to say that the reds weren't also magnificent. I was a little disappointed that BV didn't showcase their Rutherford (Rutherford Dust is one of the more delicious, and curious, regional wine qualities), but the Dulcet, Tapestry, and Georges de Latour were mighty fine, especially sitting next to the Sterling 3 Palms Merlot, Sterling Reserve Cabernet, and Navarro Correas Ultima. On the whole I thought Diageo had one of the better tables. Other notables included the Far Niente Cabernet (still amazing), Allegrini's fantastic Palazzo Della Torre, each of St. Hallet's shirazes, the J. Lohr Cuvee Series, St. Clement's Orropas, and 75's Sauvignon Blanc (what can I say, I'm a sucker for a dry, slatey, grapefruit style Sauv Blanc).

In the end, it was a fantastic afternoon, I tasted some 60 wines-and I was even disciplined enough to pour and/or spit out a lot of really nice wines and pace myself. I'm almost shocked at my sobriety.

The Political Sign Game

2008-10-21T22:14:00.005-05:00

After my brother bought one last week, and subsequently had it stolen (no shock there), I decided today that it was finally time to get myself an Obama yard sign. Now I of course bought two ($5 a piece, fyi) knowing that the one in the yard would be vandalized and/or stolen, and put the second one on our balcony where a thief would have to be very James Bond to get it.

I say all that just to say this. Most people have no idea where to get a presidential yard sign. I actually had to do a little research myself to find it. So if you want an Obama, or any Democrat, yardsign, in Dallas you need to go to Parry Ave. just east of Exposition to find the Dems HQ and you can have your very own for $5. And while you're there, stop into Amsterdam Bar and grab a beer. Should you want a McCain, or other GOP yardsign, in Dallas you go to the GOP HQ on Greenville Ave. just north of Lovers. Both offices will also give you a list of places to early vote if you're into that sort of thing.

Me? I prefer voting on election day. And am voting against every incumbant and encourage you to do the same. Yes, that includes voting against Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson in the House, who drives me just up the wall.

Max Payne

2008-10-19T16:37:00.002-05:00

So I went to go see Max Payne this weekend. On opening night at that, something I haven't done since a Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars movie, although it wasn't really by design-just a free night and finding someone willing to actually go with me what with the terrible reviews and all. Although I will admit I was fairly excited to see it, what with being a huge fan of the games and all. I absolutely loved both of the games, and outside of Half-Life, Half-Life 2, and arguably No One Lives Forever they were my favorite first person shooter (guess it was actually third person, but hey, it's a shooter). Great games, complete with a good story line (strangely enough, I remember there were rumors of a movie with the first one) and good game play. But the games aren't the point of this, the movie is.

The cinematography was amazing. Done in a very film noir style, the lighting, sets, and constant falling snow gave the movie a great vibe. It was actually quite loyal to the style of the game, and it gave the movie a great starting base. The problem is, I'm starting off this review by talking about the cinematography...and that's not a good sign.

I will be upfront, I'd give the movie a C, maybe a C+. And that's coming from someone that knew and loved the story going in, and really enjoyed the game. Much like Hitman (which I really did enjoy) I really, really wanted to love this movie. And while I'm not totally sold on Mark Wahlberg, or even Ludacris, I do find Olga Kurylenko to be amazingly hot (sadly, no nudes like in Hitman, and I feel like a teenager asking for boobies). The problem is this, the movie didn't know what it wanted to be. The first 20m or so were extremely slow, and throughout the rest of it they would introduce ancillary storylines that weren't at all crucial. Then on top of that, the tried to shove in the storyline from Max Payne 2 on top of the original, and the result was this garbled mess of strange tangents that weren't advancing the plot combined with unexplained parts of the story that, well, really kind of needed to be explained.

When the movie is over and you look over the storyline presented you see holes, but not glaring ones....it's a complete story. It's just that while you're watching it you feel as thought it's garbled and could have been done so much better. You see a few good action scenes, but also some really completely unbelievable ones. And in the end, it just felt incomplete. I think that's my best description, it seemed like a long and yet incomplete movie without any real drive or purpose.

Debate No. 3

2008-10-15T23:19:00.003-05:00

First off, this was most certainly the best of the debates. It was the first time it actually felt like a debate, the first time the candidates actually challenged each other, and the best moderated of the three. Last time was a bit of a snoozer with the first being a feeling out process, so I felt this was a nice cap to it-though I would love to see a couple more.

What actually shocked me about this one was not the attacks, those were expected, but the uncertainty in victory. While the polls are still being run, I was surprised to find that when surveying people I knew afterwards, they tended to think the other won. The big Obamaphiles I know thought McCain had won it and were doom/gloom, meanwhile the McCainiacs I know thought Obama won it. Strange, really.

Me? I thought Obama won it handily. In fact, I thought while this might not have been his best performance (as Paul pointed out, he stumbled over his words quite a bit) as an orator he did the best job yet of refuting the McCain criticism and laying out plans. I thought the only clear victory for McCain was in the way he twisted Obama's vague syntax to make him appear more like a politician. Meanwhile, I thought he completely dropped the ball on the abortion question (don't kid yourself, pro-life crazies are a huge swing vote for the GOP), refused to get into specifics in most cases, and while he tried to play the Ayers card was rebuffed.

In the end though, I think it comes down to this. I don't make $250k a year, nor do you most likely....nor do most if not all of the people we know. When Obama says he's going to give us all a tax break, McCain responds with saying it will affect small business, and Obama then responds that it won't affect 98% of small businesses....well....how can he not win? And McCain sounded so muddled and pro big business in his responses, while CNN thought McCain won the first half hour I thought it sunk him. Then again, we shall see what the polls say, in the meantime my notes;

-Fucking John McCain blinks every other second. Is that a medical condition? Because it's driving me insane.

-A few minutes in starts the Joe the Plumber nonsense. Obama originall dodges it, then roundaboutly addresses it-thing is, the dude is buying a business....he's increasing his income. Since when do our taxes not go up when our income goes up?

-McCain then goes hardcore at painting Obama is a socialist. All the FNC conservatives are fist pumping and pelvic thrusting in their living rooms. The rest of America heard what Obama just said about, you know, lowering your taxes.

-This MacAllen 10yr old Scotch I bought for tonite is fucking orgasmic. Seriously. The honey on the palate is completely unexpected.

-McCain dodges the specifics of what he will cut, and while Obama did a partial dodge, McCain dodges it and then brings it back to energy.

-I can't recall a case where a candidate trashes his party's incumbent President like McCain has. Crazy to me how low the public support for Bush is, and how the candidates are distancing. Being associate with the President right now appears to be akin to being a pariah.

-McCain shows support for the Cowboys losing. I regret my vote for him in the 2000 primary.

-McCain states that Sarah Palin "understands that autism is on the rise." What the fuck does that even mean? Who doesn't understand that, and why does that make her qualified?

-Obama finally broaches the Ayers topic himself (previously he'd only mentioned ACORN). Obama does a great job refuting the Ayers connection, but a very poor job regarding ACORN, never addressing why money went to them. The former was a win Obama, the latter McCain.

-I understand amongst intellectuals, or atleast those involved in politics, the litmus test regarding SC judges is somewhat an issue. Thing is, to the majority of America I don't think they give two shits. McCain prattles on about litmus tests and experience instead of taking the clear victory amongst pro-lifers given to him. Mind you the pro-lifers are never going to support Obama, but their lack of support for McCain is alarming for him, and his bobbling of that question appalling. He needed to come out hardcore in support of pro-life SC judges, and he muddled it.

-McCain talks about "gold caddilac insurance plans" and then moves on to cosmetic surgery and.....transplants? Yes, he said transplants. I really fucking hope that was a mis-speak, because I'm not sure a heart transplant counts as luxury surgery.

-It's amazing how healthcare, education, and abortion have become ancillary issues. Money talks, and people are losing it.

-Over the past decade there's been this strange shift to where we think people are entitled to college education. Why is that? Obama mentions people graduating college with debt...and while I personally was blessed, I'm really not sure what the problem is. Why is it the governments job to help you get through college? They offer you education through high school, why is that being extended to college?

-I've never heard about this Troops To Teachers program, but it scares the hell out of me that McCain says a soldier can become a teacher without any training or certification. That sounds like a terrible idea.

-And finally, McCain tried to pull the heart strings of the American woman with his silly Sarah Palin understands special needs children thing. The woman has a six month old child with Downs, and yet she's now supposed to know "more than most" about special needs children? She's supposed to be an expert on Autism? That's as absurd as his claim that she's an expert on energy. A baby's a retard at 6mos old regardless of disease, if she thinks that's given her some special knowledge on special needs children then she's in for a rude awakening when the kid turns 2 or 5 or 15.

Jose Cuervo Tradicional Reposado

2008-10-11T22:28:00.003-05:00

As it often does, this week's BotW selection found me versus me finding it. As there I was at El Guapo's in Denton, TX. trying to decide what to drink, not wanting the sugars of beer or wine, and opting instead to order Sauza Hornitos, my standard tequila, on the rocks when Big D the Bartender told me I wanted the Tradicional instead. I insisted no, I prefer the Hornitos, but he insisted as well-and being a friend of mine he can do that-and poured me the Tradicional instead. With three cubes and a wedge of lime which I didn't find myself needing. It was an exceptionally smooth, albeit unspectacular tequila, and on account of being in my belly and tasty is this week's selection for Booze Of The Week.

Before we go into the tequila itself though, a few tequila basics. Tequila is distilled from the Agave plant generally in the Tequila region of Mexico which is near Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. It is similar but not the same as Mezcal, another spirit which most folks know for the worm in the bottle. There are two types of tequila, mixtos and 100% Agave. Mixtos use up to 49% of other sugars in the fermentation process where as the latter is obviously 100% agave, with the best tequilas being 100% blue agave. As with other spirits, there's also an aging classification system with tequila. Blanco (or silver) tequila spends less than 2mos in oak barrels, oro (or gold) is blended with aged tequilas, and mixed with coloring and or sugars, reposado tequila is aged between 2mos and a year in oak barrels, and anejo is aged 1-3 years in oak barrels. Recently an extra anejo category was established for tequilas aged a minimum of 3 years in oak so ya, they've got that going for them.

Normally at this point I'd also go into the history of Jose Cuervo, but it's a really long and strange history. Suffice it to say that there have been several different Jose Cuervos, although José Antonio de Cuervo was the original in 1758 with a grant from Spain for the distillery, and that tequila was the drink of the masses and/or proletariat during most every war and uprising within Mexico. For such a weird beverage it has an equally weird history.

As for the subject here, Jose Cuervo Tradicional Reposado, it is obviously a reposado tequila-and beyond that a fantastic entry level high end tequila. On account of a shortage of Blue Agave a few years back tequila tends to be fairly expensive for anything but the most rotgut, and as a result of that and our familiarity with the Margarita, most people have little regard for high end tequila. This however qualifies as a higher end tequila, and at ~$25 a bottle isn't prohibitely priced. It's quite smooth, although you can definitely taste the alcohol, with a little bit of smoke and wood on the taste and a fairly long finish. It's very indicative of a reposado tequila, and a nice entry level selection for those not wanting to spend the money on a high end tequila which can easily run $50 a bottle.

The Delta Lodge

2008-10-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

Mark Twain once said, "reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated." I'm not going to necessarily apply the line to the fate of the Delta Lodge, but after a year or more of hearing from folks that the Lodge was dead, I won't deny that it came to mind today during the organization's National Convention. But more on that in a bit.

Most people know that I spent my first semester of college at SMU in Dallas on account of having aspirations of a career as an attorney (I've since discvored that while I do enjoy the law, law school just wasn't for me). And while I did enjoy my time there, and really I did, about midway through that semester I realized that it just wasn't for me, and that the outrageous tuition was just that. Upon this realization, I made the decision to transfer to the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. and my fate was sealed. And while I enjoyed UNT more than SMU, and the cost was much less, after about a year there I had a fairly limited circle of friends, a failing relationship, and I felt the need to broaden my horizons, to improve my collegiate experience.

I'd considered the fraternities at SMU, and decided they just weren't for me. When I got to Denton I'd heard a great deal about the Delta Lodge, infamous for Fry St. Fair, their toga parties, and their persona as the twin brother of Delta Tau Chi of Animal House fame (which is fictional, for the record). I'd rushed the fraternity a couple of times, but backed out of pledging-the idea of joining a fraternity just didn't seem like a good one. In the fall of 2002 however, at the age of 20, I decided to take the plunge and go for it. I still remember vivdly the day I decided to do it, it was a brother's barbecue (note to those not familiar, Delta is a co-ed fraternity. and yes, that's weird) at the still infamous Fry House, but this was back when the abandoned (and haunted) hospital was across the street instead of the current overpriced apartments (also haunted). I also remember the way the people I know looked at my like I was on fire when I told them I was not only joining a fraternity, but joining the Delta Lodge. But I was stagnating, and it was something I had to do for myself, and so I did it-and after a series of strange events I won't bother recounting because if you lived in Denton in 2002 you probably remember, I became a member. But you see, that's not all I remember.

For while that place brought me a more than moderate amount of weight that could be attributed to excessive beer consumption, or my succubus of an ex-girlfriend, or a broken foot and road rash on account of getting hit by and thrown off of an automobile whilst wearing a bedsheet, at the same time it brought me so much more, and I was reminded of this as I sat there today. Of the confidence in myself I gained, of the maturation in me as a person, of the mastery of beer-die, of the first woman I ever really loved, of the lifetime's worth of great (albeit debaucherous) memories, and most importantly all of the good people and great friends I met. Like most any organization it had it's dead weight, but a few years removed from college I look back at the people I met, many still very good friends today, and I think little but fond thoughts. And even more impressive has been watching us all grow together, from terribly immature and melodramatic college students (you can't fathom the drama, believe me) into strangely drama-free and rational adults. It really does bring a smile to my face, and it also brings me back to where I started.

Considered dead in December of 2007 when the lone chapter was suspended and a buyer was sought for the monstrosity of a house at 1305 West Oak St. in Denton, TX, now a Campus Christian Center, it appears as thought the organization will survive. It seems quite clear that it won't be as a collegiate fraternity (not that the Lodge ever bore more than surface resemblance to a classic Greek fraternity anyway), but instead as a social organization in the vein of the IOOF or Water-Buffaloes. How that organization will be built and how it will function is a subject of debate at this point, but there are many of us to whom it is very dear collaborating on that, and in the end I wrote all that to say this;

If you're a member, and many of my readers are, do yourself a favor and get involved with this. It can be as simple as just registering at the new website or as in depth as getting your proverbial hands dirty and helping to craft a new organization out of the ashes of the old one. Much like with politics, if you don't get involved you forfeit your right to bitch. And to the outsiders whom have in the last year mocked the demise of the Lodge, let me just say that "reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated." Or atleast they might be.

Is there a better feeling in the world.....

2008-10-08T19:50:00.001-05:00

....than getting to call the cable company and tell them you want to discontinue service.

Ok, maybe sex. Or free money. Or a good football game. Heroin's apparently pretty good too. Ok, there are a lot of better feelings.

Point is, it's such a liberating feeling to call the cable company and tell them to take a hike. Oh why did I want to disconnect my service, the "retention specialist" asks? Because you don't have NFL network. And your picture quality sucks. At which point he of course tells me that the NFL is greedy and they're trying to negotiate something and hey, I still get the other football games. At which point I of course respond that that's fantastic, but it's not the NFL network.....and you didn't even address the terrible picture quality. Oh, is there anything you can do to retain my service, you ask? I said sure, free HBO and Showtime. And then he grudgingly admits defeat.

Victory is mine. Soon the cable will be gone, replaced with sunny happy AT&T U-verse and it's more channels, faster internet, better picture quality, and a free DVR that will record four shows at once. Oh, and the NFL network. And just in time for Winter.

Presidential Debate No. 2

2008-10-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm intentionally avoiding the post-debate talking heads to provide myself better, and less influenced, perspective on the hour and a half of hot air I just witnessed. I don't know why I enjoyed Presidential debates (nevermind that they're not even a real debate), as when they end I always find myself in the same position-shaking my head at all the bullshit the candidates tried to spoonfeed us, and further shaking it at the thought that people really believe them. But I guess that's why they have debates on tuesdays (no football) and broadcast it on all networks to avoid actually entertaining programming....and in the end, I owe it to myself and this blog to patiently sit through the debate with an open mind, open eyes, and a wee bit of Cutty Sark, which may or may not have been on sale and made the debate much more palatable.

So ya, my analysis. I think if one went into this debate with no knowledge of the current political landscape and as a truly middle of the road candidate, one would give the nod to Senator John McCain in this one. I thought, while at times sounding a little too Washington (to some folks that's statesmanlike, its really relative), he overall seemed to have the better grasp of the issues, especially when it came to National Security and while he made jabs at Senator Obama, he resisted the temptation to go for the jugular which I think would have backfired. In fact, I was quite surprised by the lack of attacks within the debate, expecting quite the opposite. And I was utterly shocked that McCain didn't reiterate the talking point VPILF Palin had been pushing earlier this week of Obama's "association with terrorists" referring to William Ayers. Obama had many great moments, I just thought McCain had a few more and a better protrayal of himself.

Yes, I would give McCain the advantage and a slight victory in this debate. That said, going into this debate with knowledge of the current political landscape, I think he didn't do what he needed to do. I think it's close to impossible for a GOP Presidential candidate at the moment in light of the proverbial shit hitting the fan the past few weeks (and especially past couple days) with the financial markets to distance himself far enough from George W. Bush, and furthermore to build any sort of credibility when the GOP has held the Presidency for the last eight years and congress for most of them. McCain's task is gargantuan, and as such I thought he had to have an incredibly good performance tonite to try and stop the bleeding that the polls indicate is occuring. With a month to go Obama is starting to run away with it, which shouldn't be happening, but is on account of this economic mess. So McCain tonight needed not only an Obama fumble, but also to pick up the fumble and return it for a touchdown. Or he could have blocked a field goal and returned it for a TD....the analogy holds. Genius, right? Point being, Obama didn't turn over the football and McCain wasn't able to score some convincing points. And now, to my notes;

-To open the debate Brokaw says that the world has changed in the past 12 days. Could that favor Obama?

-10m into the debate both candidates still looked really uncomfortable and shaky in the debate. And there's something really odd about having them just pacing around during questions, or sitting in strangely tall chairs. I liked the questions, but the pacing was just weird.

-When confronted, both candidates refused to acknowledge the 300lb gorilla in the room, namely that the economy is going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better. Really a little disappointing that they wouldn't admit what we all know. Hell, have you checked the Dow today?

-McCain wants to renegotiate home mortgages with the bailout plan? I know the plan allows for it, but it's a little surprising.....and a welcome change in policy-even if I still loathe the bailout. But if you're gonna do it, you might as well use it to bundle mortgages and use that buying power to renegotiate them.

-I'm not sure if the audience is in their formal attire, but if so, these are some of the worst dressed people ever. Mis-matching clothes everywhere, to say nothing of their terrible wording of their questions.

-McCain admits that Social Security benefits will have to be altered so as not to bankrupt this country. He may have ignored the other 300lb gorilla, but kudos to him for acknowleding this one.

-McCain refuses to prioritize issues (presumably to get back at Obama saying McCain couldn't do multiple things at once back when he suspended his campaign), Obama prioritizes them energy, healthcare, and then education. Strangely enough, to this point, McCain puts a lot more emphasis on energy while Obama put the emphasis on healthcare-which befuddled me.

-Obama compares his 10 year plan to energy independence to JFK's 10 year program to get to the moon. Nice move.

-I understand an am equally annoyed by the candidated running over and refusing to stay in the allotted time, but does Brokaw really have to be a broken record about it?

-Why is McCain so in love with Nuclear Power? I understand it as a component of energy policy, but he repeatedly cites it over wind or water or even solar. This isn't 1965.

-So Brokaw asks this great question about whether we need a Manhattan Project or a Silicone Valley like approach to the energy problem-a fantastic question-and McCain dodges it while Obama is never even asked the question. That was a great question.

-I don't get McCain repeatedly saying we need to drill for more oil now to "bridge the gap" on energy when just last week even VPILF Palin didn't refute that it would take 10 years to access to the oil we'd be drilling for. Even if the drilling did reduce prices, there's no way that would hold up-it's really a poor stopgap.

-At 9:10pm CST I switched over to CNN for a few minutes. They're running with that stupid tracker again this week, and again it's "Uncommitted Ohio Voters." I guess the Cleveland Browns fans need something to feel good about.

-Why the fuck are we talking about Pakistani territorial sovereignty? Seriously? That's important? With everything going on, we're going to discuss Pakistani territorial sovereignty? And the worst part was, it was a heated topic

-One thing about what Obama is saying, can you imagine if on 9/11/01 the American public had been told that in a debate on 10/07/08 we'd still be arguing about finding and killing Osama bin Laden? Over seven fucking years later, dude's still alive and well.

-At 9:25p we get the obligatory Israel question. Why the hell are we talking about Israel? Again, with all the issues, is that seriously concerning anyone right now?

-If you're John McCain's age, his wife is the American dream. Just saying.

-Did it strike anyone else strange that while McCain is just shaking hands and talking to people, the audience are all whipping out cameras after the debate to take pictures, both of and with, Obama? I didn't see any camera angles of that going on with McCain. The Obama effect is just so strange.

Appaloosa

2008-10-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

In contrast to most saturdays, I decided this saturday to forego College Football for a few hours, along with work, working out, and Warhammer (but fear not, i squeezed them all in later) and to get a few friends together and go see a matinee. I'm not sure why, what with Burn After Reading also in theatres , Max Payne arriving in them next week, and having pre-screening passes to see W. next week, but we decided it would be a nice day for a $5 noon matinee and to roll with Appaloosa, I'll admit at my suggestion. In case you've missed it, here's the trailer.

It's a western based in New Mexico Territory in the 1880s. Starring Ed Burns (who also directed it), Aragorn (or Stryder....or I guess Viggo Mortensen, if you don't follow me here), and the fairly unattractive Renee Zellwegger who looks absolutely terrible in this movie. The trailer offers glimpses of a standard western movie reminiscent of Tombstone which is action packed, full of gun fights and injuns and cowboys...you know, a western.

Well, Appaloosa wasn't quite that. I mean it was in the West, and it had a few gunfights, and occasional action, but the film was built around the characters and the dialogue and not testosterone and violence. Not saying that's a bad thing, the characters were fairly deep and likeable (or hateable, if you will) and the dialogue was good for more than a few laughs, just that it is what it is. A fair amount of the 2 hour film is spent with dialogue between Virgil (Harris) and Everitt (Aragorn) in what amounts to a fairly strange friendship/partnership-and I will admit there are some great conversations, some ending almost Seinfeld-ian. It's just that I wasn't prepared for witty epithets and dialogue going into a Western-and the trailer didn't exactly prepare me for it.

For instance, here's the decscription of the film;

When two gunmen, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, arrive in Appaloosa they find a
small, dusty and lawless town suffering at the hands of renegade rancher Randall
Bragg. Bragg has not only taken supplies, horses, and women for his own, but
also has left the city marshal and a deputy for dead. In Bragg they find an
unusually wily adversary who raises the stakes by playing with emotions. It is
now up to Cole and Hitch to stand against the actions of the renegade rancher,
which have already taken their toll on the town.

And while all that's true, the bulk of the movie isn't spent on that. Without spoiling it, just let me say that while all of those things do happen, they're not the bulk of the film-instead it's dialogue and the dynamics of relationships (with Zellwegger's character looking remarkably familiar to me). Again, not bad....really, it wasn't a bad movie. Southwick liked it, compared it to the infamous Unforgiven, which is fairly high praise.

Me? I was lukewarm in the end. It was good, but not great. I'm glad I saw it, I did enjoy it, but it's not one of those movies you tell people that they absolutely must see it. If it were being graded, maybe a C+ or B-. I'd say it's a great home movie, not a great theater movie (though the sound on the shotgun firing was pretty cool, as strange as that sounds). It's a great movie for a bored night at home to grab off PPV, Tivo, or Blockbuster.

Maredsous

2008-10-03T19:55:00.000-05:00

Originally I had something else in mind for this week's selection, but between yesterday evenings trip to happy hour at the Cock and Bull and the couple bottles that T-bone left in my fridge before he left this weekend, I'm calling an audible at the line and choosing Maredsous as this week's Booze Of The Week.

One disclaimer though, there are actually two different types of Maredsous. They're quite similar to each other, but one is generally draft only and is 8% alcohol whereas the bottled version is 10% alcohol. There's also a blonde that's 6% but I've never seen it, so I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist. The Maredsous 8, as the 8% version is called, is a dubble ale which is a designation simply that it is stronger than a pilsner but weaker than a triple, which is what the Maredsous 10 is.

Maredsous is often confused with Trappist (or Abbey) ales which are actually produced in a monk's abbey, as has been the tradition for hundreds of years. Chimay is a prime example of this, except that Maredsous is not actually produced at the Maredsous Abbey but is instead licensed to another company (although the Maredsous Abbey does produce Maredsous Cheese). It's also worth noting that the producer of Maredsous (Duvel Moortgat Brewery) are also the makers of Duvel, which was founded in 1871 (Maredsous only dates back to 1963).

But that's not what you care about, you want to know more about the beer itself (unless you've already had it). So I will tell you that it's pretty widely available at specialty stores and pub-style bars in the US before telling you that for such a high alcohol beer, it's amazingly smooth and sweet. There's a little more hop and spice on the Maredsous 10, but both of the beers share a characteristic of being dark beers that are not bitter on account of the burnt malt, but instead strangle sweet, and as a result one of those trap beers that's so good you don't realize how drunk out of your mind you're getting as you drink it-consider that a pint is the equivalent to almost two pints of your average American pilsner, and you know why this beer has produced so many drunken nights for so many folks.

It's also worth noting that Maredsous is bottle-conditioned, meaning that it's fermented in the bottle and can last several years if stored upright in a cool place, unlike most beers which spoil in a matter of months. It also means there will be a fair amount of yeast and sediment in the bottle, so be prepared.

But ultimately, the charm of this beer is that it's a dark beer that doesn't taste quite like a dark beer, but at the same time is a great cold weather beer that's chock full of alcohol. And while I envision this re-appearing as the BotW come December or January, its also this week's Booze Of The Week.

The VPILF vs. the Man With The Creepy Forehead

2008-10-03T11:25:00.000-05:00

Well now, that was much more interesting than the first Presidential debate. I almost wish we could have another VP debate. I took notes last night as I watched it with Stacey and T-bone, but before I go down those I want to say that I think Biden won the debate handily. The media seems to be running with it was either a draw or a slight edge to Biden and conservatives are generally holding to it being a draw. In reality, I think Biden beat her pretty soundly. The problem is that people went into it with such low expectations for Palin that the fact that she didn't sounds simply retarded somehow makes this a draw. That's absurd. If you judge it based solely on the debate and without political persuasion or expectations going in, it's pretty clear that Biden won. Which isn't to say Biden was without questionable comments-as I will point out below-but instead that he simply sounded as though he had a much better grasp of the issues. Now, some of my observations;

-Biden starts talking about controversial issues he's been working on. What is the first thing he cites? Violence against women? How is that controversial, unless he's advocating more of it.

-The first, and it was weak, attack from Palin was regarding Biden's year in the senate, and how that made him an insider. In the same breath she then praises John McCain as a maverick, apparently unaware that he's also been in the senate for 20 years?

-Five minutes into the debate, Palins has said "darn right" three times. Thankfully she stops at three.

-At 8:09pm CST the GOP officially abandons the notion of personal responsibility as Palin blames the entire financial crisis on "predatory lenders" preying on the unsuspecting public. Please, that's ridiculous. On top of that, she then asks for more government oversight and more government involvement....it sounded like Bush.

-Biden hammers Palin about McCain's constant votes to de-regulate, she dodges the question. The moderator asks if she'd like to answer, she dodges the question. I mean flat out doesn't even reference it, instead falling back to energy.

-Ten minutes after askin for more government involvement, Palin says that, "government isn't the solution, but the problem" and promises less government. Um, which is it?

-Palin claims energy is her area of expertise and keeps coming back to it in spite of the questions. At this point in the debate, approximately 30m in, she sounds lost. She sounds as though she's reading from a set of rehearsed talking points in spite of anything Joe Biden says and in spite of the questions actually asked of her.

-Biden proposes not just adjusting the interest on bad home loans, but adjusting the principle. Um, what? So the bank is just going to give the customers money? This made absolutely no sense.

-Why does Biden keep numbering his answers? Stacey points it out and it after that it annoys me everytime he does it. Every answer was first this, second that.

-Palin brings it back to the 05 energy bill that Obama voted for four times. Is that all she's got? Because a 3 year old energy bill really doesn't sound like much, especially when Biden pressed her on it taking 10 years before we'd see a drop of the oil she's proposing drilling and she doesn't address that.

-I had to rewind it to be sure, but yes, Palin did in fact call him General Betrayus.....that's a pretty bad freudian slip.

-At 8:43pm Palin made her first succesful rebuttal of Biden and it was regarding Iraq. This was the point in the debate where she started to sound not just comfortable, but competent. If you watched the last half it was a draw, the thing is, if you watched the entirety of it she was beating soundly.

-At 9:05 I switched it from FNC to CNN which again was running their little meter at the bottom of the screen. And while I have no idea how they're measuring this weird little graph, I'm even more confused on why this week it was measuring "uncommitted Ohio Voters" which as Stacey pointed out is poorly worded....are these single voters? Bad in relationships? Or just undecided?

-At 9:14 Palin says that John McCain has tapped her. We all laugh. Especially since it was 20s after I commented how nice her ass and legs looked, and the third time T-bone made a really creepy comment about how he would have her.

-Why was there so much argument over the role of the VP and whether it's more executive or legislative? Besides it being a pretty clear issue, it was a really weird avenue for the debate to go down as they ended up arguing about Dick Cheney.

@Congress

2008-10-01T22:30:00.000-05:00

The following is the letter which I both e-mailed and literally wrote and mailed to my congressman. Knowing that the Senate was going to rubberstamp this thing, I didn't see much point in sending one to Hutchinson or Cornyn. Anyway, thought I'd share;

Dear Rep. Johnson,
As a constituent of yours, I felt it necessary to alert you to mysevere disdain for the $700b bailout package being debated in congress, and urge you to vote against it.
Like most responsible Americans, I did not take out a loan in excess of my means, or attempt to purchase a house outside my means. Furthermore I am well aware that the stock market is a risky proposition and while much of my savingsare tied up in stocks and my 401k plan, I am willing to take the short term hit to improve the long term health of the American economy. It's going to get worse before it get's better, I understand and accept that.
I find it extraordinarily disturbing that the American government hasseen it fit to even consider this package, one that further erodes at the free market and once again bails out the haves on Wall St. in the face of the rest of America that is already struggling in this economic recession. The estimated $2,300 cost per every man, woman, and child in the United States tied into this bill is simply unacceptable.
This may or may not turn into a crisis, but it needs to be a crisisthat resolves itself and not one that is again patched with a band-aid solution only to re-appear months or years down the road with taxpayers already holding the bag. I implore you, please do not vote for this bill, and please convince your colleagues to join you in voting against it.
It's not only prohibitively expensive, but it is recklesslyirresonposible.
Sincerely, M.A. Gunter

And that's all you're going to get out of me tonight. After 9 hours of holiday meetings at the office today, I'm going to enjoy a glass of Scotch and an hour of Warhammer Online and then sleep.

Regarding Meridian Room and CD World

2008-09-30T22:06:00.000-05:00

This morning as I was having breakfast I was alerted to the fact that a couple of Dallas institutions were closing. And when I say institutions, I mean great establishments that were quite dear to me and I am quite sad to see them go. Per this entry at Unfair Park though, and it is indeed true, both the Meridian Room and CD World both closed yesterday.

People have often been known to argue about it, especially with Bill's and Good Records, competing in a city notorious for not just lacking support for local musicians, but of being often culturally void and fickle, but I've always felt CD World to be the best record store in this town. As a teenager I treasured my visits there, often unloading what at the time seemed to be an absurd sum of money on Mudhoney CDs, Nirvana t-shirts, and assorted vinyl, stickers, and buttons. It was conveniently located in East Dallas (as opposed to Good Records which didn't exist until I was a senior in High School, and Bill's which was in Richardson then), had bargain prices with $8 CDs, and an assortment of general crap which any music fan would love. And unlike Bill's, it was actually organized. And as I got older, the store just kept getting better as I did enjoy perusing the bargain bin of $3 CDs and for every Mariah Carey or Guns 'n Roses CD you'd come across a gem like a hard to find Seaweed or Stanford Prison Experiment record.

And while I may be responsible in some small part for it's demise, what with my complete and total embrace of on-line music piracy (with the exception of local bands), it doesn't mean I'm sad to see it go. In the height of my hypocrisy, there really is still something magical about the record store experience, and I really will miss CD World. As a parting gift though, I did get my ticket for Mudhoney there a few weeks back.

So as though that weren't enough of a bummer day, as the stars aligned also closing yesterday was the Meridian Room. Besides having a killer Guinness Steak Sandwich and half-price food on wednesdays, Meridian Room also provided me so, so many memories. For while I live walking distance from both Lower Greenville and Lakewood, I've always loved Expo Park. It's like Deep Ellum except without the douchebags, trendy bars, and cops. I have fond memories from high school of spending afternoons in what is now Amsterdam Bar (it was then New Amsterdam Coffee Haus) drinking coffee, reading, playing chess, watching 'Walker, Texas Ranger' filmed on the street in front, and buying cigarettes. But this isn't about Expo at large, or Amsterdam, it's about Meridian Room.

The Meridian Room, well, it was a one of a kind place. With Expo Park being right on the cusp of South Dallas, it was the farthest tip of civilization, and yet it was a great European style bar serving fantastic food and great beer (even if Blake is still bitter they got rid of Boddingtons on draft). Flanked by a dive bar (Bar of Soap, also now closed), a '50s style barber shop (Rob's Chop Shop), and what used to be a very strange antique store before becoming the short-lived Sloppyworld-Meridian Room joined Amsterdam Bar in bringing just a touch of drunken class to a chaotic and yet fantastic neighborhood. Whole inside you had so much fun you forgot about being propositioned by 6-month pregnant Mexican hookers as you entered the bar, or the crackheads that would wander over from South Dallas.

Beyond my normal patronage, every year I would meet my out of town friends there for drinks right around Christmas time, including the weirdest reunion ever last year of Elementary School people, which turned out to be a blast. And despite living in Denton, I spent a great many nights there with my now ex-girlfriend, with T-bone, with Trish, with Jordan, and with all manner of people. Maston made the strangest marriage proposal ever there, followed by Stacy's now ex-husband finding some great tacos. And while I do enjoy the Libertine, and it helps that it's 3 blocks from my house, I will always have a place in my heart and a little sadness regarding the closing of the Meridian Room.

So as the Meridian webpage says, Civilization Began With Distillation, and Cheers!

Ocean's 12

2008-09-29T22:43:00.001-05:00

There's this part of Ocean's 12 (prequel to Ocean's 13, sequel to Ocean's 11) where the crew is planning a heist of this extroardinarialy rich man. He's got this extraordinary collection of rare historical and art pieces, but he's an OCD shut-in with absurd security measures to protect his stuff and no designs on ever leaving the house. I often think to that, and then think that if I were a professional athlete (which I'm most assuredly not) I might consider that approach.

I mean, consider Pac-Man and his various scrapes with the law. I'm not excusing the guy, but if I were a millionaire celebrity I highly doubt my experience at strip clubs would be like it has been. But that's not the point. The real reason I bring that up is this;

Jackonsville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier , shot while sitting
in a car outside an apartment complex earlier this month, is paralyzed below the
waist and his left leg was amputated, his doctor said Monday. Collier was on a
ventilator for about three weeks and has no memory of the shooting, said Dr.
Andy Kerwin, a surgeon for the University of Florida at Shands Jacksonville
hospital.

"His overall condition has improved greatly," Kerwin said. "We expect him to be discharged soon."Kerwin said Collier suffered 14 bullet
wounds to the back, left groin, left legs and right buttock. In addition, a
bullet severed his spinal cord, causing the paralysis. The amputation was the
result of damage to his left leg and groin, where blood clots formed. Five
bullets alone were removed from his urinary bladder and the 26-year-old player
also had bouts of pneumonia, infections and renal failure.

I am sure there are other circumstances at play. I am sure there's a lot more to this story. But can you imagine being a 25 year old man playing in the NFL-in line for your millions-a physical specimen and a rare talent, and have it all taken away?

Furthermore, can you imagine that same incident taking not just the use of your legs, but also a leg proper? It's just a sad story.

When God Closes A Door.....

2008-09-28T19:29:00.000-05:00

It started as a simple proposition. Monique had asked if T-bone and I wanted to join her and some other people friday evening at the Lakewood Landing to watch the Presidential debate over a hamburger and some cheap beer. Sounds like a pleasant evening, no? I mean combining alcohol with your civic duty is a win-win situation, leading me to wonder how much higher voter participation would be if you got a voucher for a free 6-pack every time you voted, but I digress.

So friday night arrives, I call up some other people, and we decided to make an evening out of it. Start there, watch the debate, and see where the night takes us. There's just one problem....the Landing? Well, they said no dice to watching the debate there. Seems someone forgot to, you know, ask the bar first. So there we are, all planning to meet up but with nowhere to go. At which point, we begin going down the list of alternate bars.

Amsterdam Bar? They usually show it, but they don't want the, ahem, less than enlightened folks attending the State Fair to stop in and create a less than pleasant situation. Besides, the State Fair is a block away and who wants to fight through that traffic? Which also rules out the Meridian Room. Having spent the weekend before (and too much money) at Cosmos, we rule it out and call The Tipp. No dice, they're not showing it. Likewise for the Libertine, and we even called a hail mary and called the Cock & Bull. You getting the theme here? What seemed like a simple task has become nearly impossible....we can't find a bar that will show the debate. Eventually we end up just going to the Dubliner and they graciously allow us to watch it. And serve a really lousy french dip sandwich.

And for my liver's sake the evening probably should have ended there. But it didn't, Nick and Austin talked me into going to the Old Monk which it turns out was having it's Oktoberfest. Which means high alcohol beer served in gigantic 1L glass mugs (which would make as good a weapon as a drinking receptacle, these things weighed like 10lbs). Funny thing about drinking beer in 1L servings, you don't realize how much you're drinking. And while I had a great time (somehow running into a co-worker and three people I hadn't seen in years), it completely ruined my weekend as I spent the entirety of Saturday lamenting my age and inability to drink like I once did.

What I Wouldn't Give For A Tivo Brain Implant

2008-09-26T18:36:00.000-05:00

I'm not gonna lie, Warhammer Online is most assuredly a part of why I've been conspicuously absent from blogging the past few days. So to has work, with a couple of unexpected things coming up and some more on the horizon for next week, but the work excuse is boring-it's much easier to blame it on Warhammer.

But also factoring into the mix, is television. Over the past few weeks some of our favorite shows have returned, but this was the big week where everything returned and the new shows debuted. So needless to say, the Tivo has been working doubletime to record everything as needed and provide it to me commercial free during non-primetime hours.

Let me start off by saying do yourself a favor, get into Sons of Anarchy on FX. It's brilliant, it's great, and wildly entertaining. As I mentioned in this entry when I was previewing the Fall TV lineup, it reminds me a lot of Oz, without the carte blanche HBO had for violence, sex, and swearing. And while I wasn't sold on the first episode, after three episodes I'm totally on board. And it seems I'm not the only one. It's not too late, this wednesday is just episode four and FX re-runs everything into the ground. Get on board, it's freaking great.

Speaking of great, last night's season premiere of The Office was fucking hilarious. There has been the occasional dud of an episode, and last night was certainly not one of them. I wasn't positive they could make this hour long episode thing work, but they have. Those writers need to get a raise, because I haven't laughed that hard in ages. It was awesome. Jim and Pam finally got engaged, Angela's cheating on Toby with Dwight, and Michael in fatsuit doing that character is hilarious.

ER returned as well. I can't believe they killed off Dr. Pratt. I really liked that character, and while I've long been an ER fan I think even I am ready for the show to finally end. They've killed off so many good characters over the years, it just gets tiring. Couldn't they just keep killing off secondary characters like that Army reservist doctor (Dr. Gallant?) who died in Iraq and Dr. Romano instead of Dr. Green and Ray?

All that, and I've still got to get through this week's episodes of Fringe, My Name Is Earl, and Heroes. Life's rough, huh?

White Horse Scotch Whisky

2008-09-26T18:23:00.001-05:00

I am well aware that the odds are, you're probably not a big whisky drinker. Even lower are the odds that you're a Scotch whisky drinker. I understand that whisky isn't for everyone, really I do. But the thing is, I am a big fan, and this is my blog-and I've absolutely fallen in love with White Horse Scotch over the past month or so, and it is for that reason that it's this week's selection for Booze Of The Week. Well that and I haven't delved into the realm of spirits yet, choosing instead beers and wines thus far.

White Horse was originally distilled in 1861, and was used as the carriage whisky for the White Horse Inn in Edinburgh (hence the name). It is a blended whisky, containing 40% single malts including the infamous Talisker Scotch whisky. Talisker is well know for being an extremely peat-y single malt (unlike other whiskies, Scotch's malted barley is cooked in peat-fueld kilns which gives it that smokey flavor), and that taste of peat definately translates to White Horse. It's a mellow, full-bodied Scotch with a fair amount of honey and peat in the taste profile.

It's not a starter whisky, but instead a nice bridge between blended whiskies and single malt whiskies, giving homage to both. Some folks swear by blended Scotch's like Johnnie Walker, while others swear by single-malt whiskies like MacAllen. I think this is a scotch that can satisfy both palates, and that is why it's this week's selection for Booze Of The Week.

Warhammer Online

2008-09-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

I would never claim to be an expert on MMORPGs (short for Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games, and shortened further to MMOs). As a lad I spent a fair amount of time playing the original Everquest until I got frustrated with having my Savant's Cap looted for the 14th time (yes, was a pvp server, you will see a theme). I played the original Neverwinter Nights on AOL, back when a 56k modem was the shit and you paid by the minute for internet access-and my parents almost killed me for it. Before EQ and after NWN I spent a fair amount of time playing text-based MUDs (short for multi-user dungeons) such as Gemstone III and Dragonrealms. After a few year break, my second year in college I got talked into Dark Age of Camelot, in which I spent over three years-and which is still my favorite MMO ever. During and since I've flirted with and/or had short stints with Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft (sold my account for $500 to buy my girlfriend at the time a Valentines gift), Lord Of The Rings Online, and finally a few months back spent about 5 weeks with Age of Conan before realizing it was fucking terrible.

The point of all this isn't to stroke my own ego, as though admitting that i've wasted chunks of my life on pointless MMOs is some sort of badge of honor (and let me assure you, it's not), but instead to give some credence when I claim that I do, in fact, have some experience with this genre. And while me and MMOs tend have a very bad relationship, ever since the death of Granarc and my soon-after departure from Dark Age Of Camelot (henceforth known as DAOC), I've been looking for the next one. The one that will finally grab my attention, will depart from the tired MMO formula and offer me something new.

And finally, I think I've found it.

Warhammer Online (henceforth known as WAR) isn't perfect. As someone that didn't participate in beta and did barely any research into it going in, I was extremely frustrated with it early on. The game does an absolutely abysmal job of explaining itself. When you start, short of some vague tooltips, you're on your own to figure out wtf you're supposed to do and how things work.

But while it's not perfect, it's damn good. For transparency's sake, I'm currently sitting pretty as a rank 13 (of 40) Goblin Shaman (see picture above) on Phoenix Throne server, so no I'm not at the end game and it could easily shit a brick for the last several levels after a promising start the way Age of Conan did. I'm just reviewing what I've seen.

In the classic Mythic way, leveling is slow. Over the first week I've got 24 hours /played and that's gotten me to level 13, and while there are only 40 levels I'd consider that a bit slow. That said, unlike classic Mythic levelling isn't a grind to end all grinds. If memory serves I was sitting somewhere around 50 days /played when I hit 50 on DAoC, and it was even worse for EQ, this isn't nearly that bad. More importantly though, levelling is a blast in WAR.

RvR (their twist on player versus player combat where its instead realm versus realm, as it was in DAOC) is a core element to leveling, you secure not only a very nice return of XP for your time through RVR, but you can do it starting at level 1. That's right, there's no carrot and stick where you have to grind PvE (player versus enemy, against the AI) to get to the fun stuff (PvP). From the get go there are scenarios (instanced RvR engagements, much like in World of Warcraft) set up for each set of 10ish levels in the game (insuring a relatively even battlefield) that will provide you with not only the XP to level, but also Renown Points, which are just as they sound-and are spendable for items as well as garnering ranks and titles.

So if you're a PvP junkie like me (needing the thrill of fighting others rather than a silly AI), you can queue up for a scenario at anytime, anywhere, and go about your PvE business-the game will alert you when a slot opens up, and you can enter it, and when it ends you're right back where you started. It's beautiful. Seriously.

The PvE is pretty straightforward. The game seems very soloable, although there is grouping to be done if that's your thing. There's a very nice mix of classes between the races, with lots of unique roles and abilities, and most importantly a fair amount of customization. No one likes being pigeonholed into a role, and you've got options.

And in the classic DAoC twist, beyond the PvE and instanced RvR, there is world RvR. Even at lvl 10, there are overlapping zones where you will run into your enemies and be forced to fight or flee. There are world objectives to be captured, and bonuses to be had as a result. It's the coup de grace that WoW never had-RvR not only matters, but isn't bottled up into instances.

If you're a DAoC fan, buy this game. If you're a soured WoW player, buy this game. If you made the mistake I did thinking AoC would be worth a damn, don't let it sour you and give WAR a try. If you're still playing CS, then don't bother.

Seriously, it's good....it's damn good. It's fun, lots of fun.

The Gin Craze and Gin Riots

2008-09-22T18:16:00.000-05:00

I have this friend, hitherto known as Southwick, whom happens to be one of the few people I know on this earth with an equal love for good gin. I know some Tanqueray drinkers, a few Plymouth drinkers (not bad, it was Winston Chuchill's gin of choice....), and of course the obligatory Bombay drinkers (as though they're devoid of any sense of taste). Even my brother, my own flesh and blood, is a Hendricks gin drinker (look, the Scots can make damn fine whisky, but not gin). But you see, Southwick, he understands all too well that the best gin this planet has to offer, is Beefeater London Dry Gin. You know, the one with the 11th century Tower of London guard on the label-known as a beefeater because their pay included large chunks of beef to keep them strong.

So what's the point of all this? Well there really isn't one, other than to thank him publicly for the Beefeater of his I drank last weekend. Well, that and I was doing some reading earlier on one of the periods of history that's always fascinated me, namely the Gin Craze of the 18th century-the pre-cursor to the '90s crack epidemic, and on account of Wikipedia having terribly little information on it, I thought I'd write a little about it.

Gin, originally known as genever, was invented in Holland by a doctor named Franciscus de la Boe, also known as Dr. Sylvius. It was primarily a Dutch thing, with little exposure to the rest of the world. That all changed in 1689 though, when William III-a Dutchman-took over the English throne. The King made it the official pouring spirit at the palace, and later decided to introduce the drink to the masses, in what turned out to be a pretty huge mistake.

You see, previous to this watered down beer was the beverage of choice across most of Europe. The alcohol in the beer made it safe to drink (as opposed to water) and yet the alcohol content was low enough to make it hydrating. So in what sounds like actually a pretty entertaining existence, people lived life pretty much perpetually buzzed. As alternatives to beer you had wine and brandy (which were almost exclusively French, so unavailable during the dozens of wars), Port and Madeira (the American colonial drink of choice) from Portugal, and Sherries from Spain-all of which were stronger but also more expensive and not available regularly to the common man.

So when William III brough gin to the masses, he thought he was doing them a favor, while at the same time thumbing his nose at France as he increased taxes on French brandy to fuel an increase in English gin production. As it turns out, with it being so easy to make (it's just neutral spirits steeped in juniper berries and other botanicals) and virtually untaxxed, within 20 years it became readily available in large quantities at very low prices to everyone in London. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that you had a series of economic policies resulting in decreased food prices and increease incomes, so people had a fair amount of disposable income. By 1725 you had over 6,000 shops where gin and other spirits were sold-and that's in just London, at the time a city of 700,000 people roughly the size of Columbus, OH. And that doesn't take into account the people selling gin like 18th century ballpark hot-dog vendors on the streets, nor the market stalls and even wheelbarrows (seriously) that people wheeled around town full of gin for sale.

So as you can imagine, this sort of becomes a problem. As Lord Harvey wrote at the time, "drunkenness of the common people was universal; the whole town of London swarmed with drunken people from morning till night." The cities population began to plummet as people literally drank themselves to death, at sunrise each morning bodies lined the streets of the working class neighborhoods of London, both living and dead while the gutters were filled with shit and vomit. Women, whom actually drank more gin than men (it was also called Mother Genever and Mother's Ruin), were consistently miscarrying as they drank themselves senseless and destroyed their fetuses. In case you think I'm overblowing isolated pockets, this wasn't an isolated things-this was occuring across nearly the whole of London.

Whole industries went bankrupt as their employees wouldn't show up to work, instead choosing to drink gin all day. There are even a dozen reports of spontaneous combustion in London that were reported in London and attributed to gin, which was being distilled most everywhere it possibly could be within the city, and with no regards whatsoever to quality. So as you can see, England had a wee bit of a problem on their hands. While I think we're all pretty much universally united in agreement that drinking is good, having the majority of your workforce be consistently plastered, unwilling to work, unable to pro-create, and dying in the streets isn't exactly a feather in the cap of a King.

In response, the Crown drew up Gin Acts in 1729, '33, '36, '37, '38, '43, '47, and 1751. The problem is, the proletariat didn't like the Crown trying to take away their gin, and in 1743 riots erupted across London resulting in several deaths and a great deal of damage as people took advantage of the last of the cheap gin. At the time of the riots, an estimated 11 million gallons of gin were being made in London, or approximately 14 gallons for each adult male. By the time the Gin Act of 1751 was passed, excise taxes on gin had grown 1200% since the year 1700. In the end though the laws, paired with a few bad harvests resulting in a large decrease in disposable income, worked and by 1757 the Gin Craze had faded.

That's Crazy Man, You Can't Control What The Blog Do

2008-09-19T14:45:00.001-05:00

A week or so ago, the following video surfaced on teh intertubes;

It's of Dallas Maverick's forward Josh Howard "disrespecting" the singing of the National Anthem by saying he's black and he "doesn't do that shit" before claiming the merits of Obama.

And while of course the video riled up so many peoples sensibilities, personally I couldn't give two shits what Josh Howard thinks about the the National Anthem or politics, just as I don't care that he smokes pot in the off-season. My concern with Josh Howard starts and stops with his performance on the basketball court. But of course, I'm in the minority, and a great many people are "outraged" at his disrespect for America (is there a point where blatant nationalism is going to run it's course?), of which many seem to be active military, military veterans, and racists. Also not surprising-everyone's got an agenda. I'm betting a bunch of San Antonio Spurs fans are all over it too.

What is interesting though, is how many of them wrote e-mails to Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. And what's even more fascinating, is that Cuban decided to publish many of them-names and e-mail address included-on his blog, Blog Maverick. The following are just a few excerpts, you can read all of them at the above link to Cuban's blog.

Author : Barack Obama (IP: 64.12.117.196 ,
cache-mtc-ah04.proxy.aol.com)
E-mail : Nigga4life@coon.com
URL : http://Watermellon
Whois
: http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=64.12.117.196
Comment:JOSH
HOWARD IS NOTHING BUT A DUMB COON NIGGER. SOMEONE NEEDS TO
TEACH HIS MONKEY
ASS SOME DAM RESPECT FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Classy stuff, eh? And while that guy was smart enough (despite being an obvious idiot) to use a fake name and e-mail address, a lot of people were not so smart. We start with the very compelling and well thought-out "if you hate America then leave" argument from this guy;

From: “Billy Leto”
To:
mark.cuban@dallasmavs.com
Date: 09/18/2008 09:20 AM
Subject: are you
kidding me?
MC,
Tell Howard that him and Hussein Obama can go to another
country and live if they don’t want to support our symbol of freedom.–

I don't think there's any question which way that guy is going to be voting in November. And man, with that sort of impeccable argument I just don't see how Josh Howard can do anything but move to China. Speaking of which;

From: George Bannon
To:
markcuban@dallasmavs.com
Date: 09/18/2008 08:25 PM
Subject: MARK &
TEAM NEED TO MOVE TEAM AND YOU TO MOSCOW RUSSIA OR CUBA OR CHINA ETC.ETC.

1ST STRIKE - YOU HAD THE ANTI-AMERICAN CANADIAN PIG VOMIT ON YOUR
TEAM

2ND STRIKE - YOU FUNDED ANTI-AMERICAN/TROOPS MOVIE

3RD STRIKE - “I DONT DO THIS SHIT’ DURING MY NATIONAL ANTHEM
- THIS NATION MADE YOU PIG VOMITS RICH BEYOND MY DREAMS AND THIS IS HOW
YOU REPAY US. THREE STRIKES YOUR OUT! TELL PIG VOMIT HE IS FREE TO MOVE OUT OF
MY COUNTRY ANYTIME HE WANTS. TRY CHINA,THEY HAVE FREE SPEACH -
NOT!

Apparently he's so angry he couldn't be bothered to turn off the capslock. You know, or make any sort of rational argument or point....or anything that's remotely even readable.

And while the bulk of them were just eye-rolling diatribes about how he disrespected American and they won't watch basketball anymore or go to Mavs games or blah, blah, blah, sadly a great many of them were of course, racial in nature.

From: “stephen rogers”
To:
Date: 09/17/2008 09:34 PM
Subject: Ask
Mark Cuban
Mr. Cuban,

Just saw your nigger Josh Howard disresepct the national anthem
because he is black. According to the news you say he is a really great guy. Of
course he is because he makes you lots of money you greedy bastard.

You would rather sell out your own country that my dead father fought
for in WW II than than lose a buck by firing this black bastard.

You are nothing more than a nigger slave owner milking him for all his
black ass can get you.
YOU, SIR IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY. YOU AND
THAT NIGGER YOU CALL NICE.

There’s lots of black dick on that team, get busy. White power is
coming back because of race traitors like you.

Know what you get when you cross a nigger and a white nigger lover ?
a WHIGGER. THAT IS YOU !!!!

Mark WHIGGER Cuban.

A White storm is brewing Mr. Cuban, you and those niggers like you better
evacuate.

heffernan2@aol.com to
mark.cuban
show details 9:29 AM (14 hours ago)

“I don’t even celebrate that shit. I’m black.”

You & Howard…two peas in a pod.Don’t think we’ve forgotten about
that Brian De Palma anti-military propaganda film, “Redacted”, that you
produced, CubanYa might tell Howard the next time you talk to him, that if
not for America, he’d probably be throwing spears in Africa
someplace instead of free-throws.

Semper Fi,
M.E. Heffernan

That's just a nice sample of the great display of American idiocy being put on display for all the world to see at Blog Maverick. If you've got a few minutes read through it, seriously-it will blow your mind. I mean we all knew that these people existed, but to see them put on display without internet anonymity is a great thing.

Czechvar

2008-09-19T14:45:00.000-05:00

Whereas last week I offered up a brown ale as my selection for Booze of the Week, I thought this week I'd change things up a bit. Yes it's still a beer, but it's still great beer drinking weather outside, and great beer drinking entertainment inside (football). Instead, I thought I'd just offer up a different style, and it is for that reason that Czechvar is this week's selection for Booze Of The Week.

A lot of people are down on pilsners, for the obvious reason that most of your generic mass produced American beers are done in a pilsner style. But there are a lot of great pilsner beers out there, with the best known probably being Pilsner Urquell, and the pilsner style doesn't mean generic and tasteless. Pilsner beers were originally developed in the 1840s in Plzeň, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) as an alternative to the Bohemian ales that had been produced up to that point which were dreadfully inconsistent and often downright terrible. So the citizens of Plzeň formed their own brewery now known as Plzeňský Prazdroj where they expounded on the German experimentation with lagers (lagers are bottom fermenting beers, as opposed to ales which are top fermenting) to create their own style of lager, now know worldwide as Pilsner lager.

Czechvar, as it's known in the United States (it's known as Budvar in the Czech Republic, but despite pre-dating Budweiser couldn't use that name here for obvious copyright reasons), is one of my favorite pilsners. It's a very light lager beer, with a clean palate and a crisp but not overpowering taste of hops and little to no malt. I can attest to the Czech Budvar being a fair bit better than the Czechvar by the time it gets here (much like Heineken is a little better in Holland), but it's still a fantastic beer, and a great example of a good pilsner, of what a pilsner should taste like. So grab yourself a bottle, raise a glass, and think about the tiny town of Plzeň.

Fishing, Golf, Beer, Football.....

2008-09-16T23:15:00.001-05:00

And so just like that, it's finally time to take the rest of my vacation for the year. What with my employer forbidding vacation in October, November, December, and most of January that leaves a pretty small window to get it in. And having three days left, I'll be damned if I wasn't going to take it.

This will be the first time in a while I've taken a vacation and not traveled (Shreveport, Las Vegas, Portland, etc.) but the weather is fantastic. So, I will spend most of the next few days outdoors. Fishing tomorrow followed by a little golf, then golf on thursday, and golf on saturday followed by beer drinking and watching college football, both in Denton.

I tell you all this just to say hey, if you're in Dallas thursday and want to play some golf, or in Denton on saturday and want to play...lemme know....we could use some more. And further to say, I don't have shit to do for the next few days, so if you've got something going on gimme a shout.

And Here I Thought Nobody Read This

2008-09-16T00:13:00.000-05:00

But apparently the promo people for Newcastle do........

Or else they just spend every morning doing a google or icerocket search regarding their product. Regardless, with Newcastle last week's selection for Booze Of The Week, I got this today;

Hi Matthew,

I work with Newcastle Brown Ale and we’re glad you chose NBA as your blog’s “Booze of the Week.” Although we do love it year-round we agree that it’s a great fall weather beer. Since you also write about music we thought you might be interested in NBA’s latest news: Newcastle Brown Ale is offering music fans the chance to go to the Glastonbury Music Festival in England – free! I’ve included the official announcement below. I hope you’ll include this in an upcoming article or round-up. If you’d like more info, please let me know.

Cheers, Kat Kirsch

I won't waste your time with the press release they attached, the gist of it being that they're doing a contest to win an all expenses paid trip to the Glastonbury Music Festival, with the 10 runner ups getting a pretty bad-ass guitar which would probably be much more impressive if I actually played guitar. Anyway you enter by mailing in an entry form found at grocery stores.

Newcastle Brown Ale

2008-09-13T16:57:00.000-05:00

It's starting to cool down outside, so it's time to jettison those watery Pilsners which make for a decent hot weather drink but can easily be substituted with something darker as the weather gets cooler. Which isn't to say it's cold yet, so while it might be a little early in the year for a nice dark Porter, it's perfect for a nice Ale. Especially if you're in Texas getting pelted with rain and wind right now. And so, Newcastle Brown Ale is this week's selection for Booze Of The Week.

As the name suggests, Newcastle is a Brown Ale, and in many regards it's as generic a brown ale as you're going to get. Not heavily aromatic, not overly hoppy, and most certainly not overly complex. It's a simple beer with a slightly nutty and caramel taste as a result of the roasting of the malt (which is what gives it it's color). Some people claim to taste notes of peach with it, something I don't get at all-but that's half the fun right? It's a great introduction to brown ales, and more importantly perfect for sipping in the cool fall weather.

In Newcastle, the beer is often called simply "dog," with the name being a euphemism of "I'm going to go walk the dog" or "I've got to see a man about a dog" which means you're going to the pub. It has been brewed in Tyne & Wear, England since 1927.

So grab yourself a pint or a six pack, have a few drinks, and of course let me know what you think. Cheers.

Two Phrases That Destroyed American Culture

2008-09-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

With all due apologies, I'm going to be a little busy over the next couple days and unable to waste your time in a satisfactory manner. In fact, I'm unable to bring you anything original even tonite, but I wanted to leave you, dear reader, with atleast something to chew on as you enter the weekend. So I leave you this, shamelessly stolen from Violent Acres but since it's two years old and I gave them credit, well, I don't feel all that guilty. So check her blog out to further assuage my guilt, please;

Every time I promise myself that I will work on controlling my temper, I always end up making a scene.

This time, it wasn’t my fault. All I wanted was a bagel. A bagel, a cup of coffee, and perhaps a spot near a window where I could idly watch the traffic go by as I browsed through the newspaper and licked cream cheese from my fingers. But apparently the Gods were not on my side.

Today I got in line behind a middle aged woman in a fur coat who was barking orders at the poor bagel girl like she was a dumb misbehaving dog. Fur Coat was ordering multiple bagel sandwiches from a list, but instead of ordering them in such a way that would make sense, she was attempting to order them all at the same time. The Bagel Girl was obviously confused and you could tell by her shaking hands that Fur Coat’s harsh tone was intimidating her. Finally, Fur Coat snapped, “I said light butter on that bagel! Light butter! Jesus!”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I cut in, “You don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”
Fur Coat glared daggers at me and stated, “I’m not.”

“Well, I beg to differ.”

With a disgusted ‘Hrmph,’ Fur Coat went back to her overly complicated order, but she did so quietly and even managed to begrudge the poor girl a ‘Thank you’ after she was finished.
I have a theory about asshole customers: I think they only act that way because no one ever calls them on their bullshit. The poor kids behind the counter can’t stand up for themselves lest they lose their jobs and other patrons look the other way claiming ‘it’s none of my business.’
Fuck that. When I see some self important asshole verbally degrading a teenaged kid with dead eyes behind a counter, it ruins my day. So, I say some shit. Besides, I feel that if I stay silent, I am almost giving an abuser permission to act like a raging asshole. Ignoring their behavior suggests to them on some sick level that what they’re doing is Ok.

It’s not OK.

The phrase ‘The Customer is Always Right’ is the single worst philosophy that has ever been adopted by American culture. It gave an entire generation of people the green light to be as impolite, unreasonable, and demanding as their little hearts desired because they were always going to be considered right. It destroyed the entire concept of courtesy and rendered manners obsolete. People began to treat their peers in the service industry like incompetent morons, lacking in feelings or human dignity, who deserved to be browbeaten and abused for no other reason than they had the audacity to run out of a particular brand of coffee.

Furthermore, instead of suffering negative repercussions for their appallingly disrespectful behavior, they are awarded with free coupons and plenty of ass kissing. In reality, they should be shunned and humiliated for behaving like such self absorbed little children.

Speaking of respect, another idea that has ruined American culture is the one that states, ‘I don’t give respect freely. You have to earn my respect.’ This one is most often uttered by punk kids with bad attitudes and black fingernail polish.

Fucking gag me.

I mean, how egotistical does one have to be to automatically assume that their respect is so fucking important that one must jump through multiples hoops in order to earn it? How about we give people respect because they are humans with lives and feelings just as important as our own? Why not give people a default level of respect and more or less can either be won or lost based on the behavior of the individual? The loss of respect is something that should be based on actions. The idea that that one must win basic respect in the first place is incredibly belittling. How narcissistic can you be to embrace that ideology?

A few Sundays ago, my husband and I went out to breakfast. If anyone has ever attempted to go out to breakfast on a Sunday morning, they know that restaurants are usually packed around then. We were finally seated and our server was not only very busy, but also a new employee according to her ‘Hi! I’m new!’ nametag.

I’d like to say that everyone in her section was very understanding. The place was a madhouse and she was obviously out of her element. I wish I could say that the patrons in that restaurant were mannerly and polite and treated her with even an ounce of dignity and consideration. But, if I did, I’d be fucking lying.

Nearly everyone yelled at her or condescended to her like she was a stupid little child. One guy ordered a side of ‘home fries’ and reamed her ass when she brought him French fries. Had he looked at the menu a little closer, he would have seen that ‘home fries’ weren’t listed. This particular restaurant only served French fries or hash browns. Her mistake was understandable and he was basically yelling at her because she didn’t read his mind accurately enough.

But let’s all forget about that for just a moment. Instead, I want to point out that there are a multitude of things that can go wrong in one’s life. Death, illness, and poverty just to name a few. Yet, here I was watching a grown man lose his fucking shit because he was going to have to wait 5 minutes for a side of hash browns. Suddenly, I lost my appetite.

At this point, the angry little man demanded to speak to a manager and a kowtowing corporate whore scuttled over with free coupons and many apologies. The angry man furiously demanded that his waitress be fired right that instant. Over hash browns.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I leaned over and interrupted, “When you’re finished talking to this man, I’d like to speak to you. I have the same server.”

The angry man smiled smugly, no doubt convinced that I was going to back him up on his quest to get a new girl fired because he had to wait 5 fucking minutes.

The manager finished with him and moped over to my table ready for his second tongue lashing of the day. I surprised him by loudly saying, “I just want you to know that our server is doing the best that she can. She’s been trying very hard and has been very sweet to us even though that asshole has treated her so poorly.”

The manager suddenly looked panicked and started shooting terrified looks at the table that just finished reaming him out. “I know,” he whispered fearfully, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to fire her.”

And while I was pleased to learn that this particular manager wasn’t going to fire the new girl based on the whim of some fat ass piece of trailer trash, I was disappointed that he rewarded said trash’s temper tantrum with free food. I long for the day a manager walks up to a table and says, “How dare you treat my employee this way. Get out now.”

I’m sure they want to, but that ridiculous policy ‘The Customer is Always Right’ silences them. So until we banish that phrase from American culture forever, I suggest we quit looking the other way when people behave like scumbags.

After all, technicalities may suggest that they are always right, but that doesn’t make them any less an asshole.

So long as he has his trusty crowbar...

2008-09-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

I find myself quite a bit less worried if by some chance the CERN project opens up a portal to an alien dimension.

Fall Television Preview

2008-09-09T20:51:00.001-05:00

With the return of football to the airwaves and our lives, also comes the return of new television programming. Other than a few cable networks (USA comes to mind), most networks coincide their new programming with the fall so that they run into sweeps (where as I'm sure you know, the ratings really matter to the network suits). This is obviously not a revelation, if you've been watching any amount of television over the past few weeks you should be well aware that Heroes, Lost, House, The Office, Terminator, Law & Order, and The Shield are all returning (unless you've perfected Tivo-ing through commercials) along with a boatload of other shows-you can't help but notice as the networks cram it down our collective throats.

But with the return of these staples, always comes the debut of new series' like this year's redux of Beverly Hills: 90210. Most of these series will end up being complete and total failures (see: Cavemen), but occasionally you will get something of quality. Think of it as the networks wielding one giant shotgun and firing blindly and just praying something hits the target.

After football on Sunday I watched one of Fox's new offerings, Hole In The Wall. It's a spin-off from an Australian gameshow that was originally ripped off from a Japanese gameshow. The premise is that theres this wall coming at contestants and they have to contort themselves to get through the wall lest they get pushed into water. Or for more television gold, if they're really fat they'll just fall through the wall. Yes folks, this is primetime television. And yes, it's as stupid and mindless as it sounds.

Will it survive? Probably, atleast for a little while. I'd imagine the slapstick spectacle humor will fade with time and the show will fade with it (think: Man Getting Hit In Crotch With Football from that episode of The Simpsons), but in a country that's given Jeff Foxworthy multiple fifteen minute sets of fame and is somehow enamored with Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? when American Idol is off-season, well let's just say I'm not convinced the American public won't suck up just about any show. If you want my take on the shows, it's this: if you're really, really fucked up-I'm talking absolutely hammered-and don't have any friends who will talk to you and your internet isn't working, well then by all means give it 30m of your time. Now that's a ringing endorsement.

Which isn't to say that all the television this fall will be terrible. Heroes returns in a couple weeks, House returns next tuesday, and we've got two more weeks of the very, very under-rated Burn Notice on USA. And I guess I should mention Lost for those of you into that (I personally just can't get into it). And there are a couple new shows that I've got interest in.

The pilot episode of Sons Of Anarchy on FX showed a lot of promise, I'm interested in seeing the second episode this week. It's a show about a California biker gang (think: Hell's Angels but smaller) and the ebb and flow of the criminal landscape, where the black gangs, Mexican gangs, white gangs, and the smaller players all compete for a piece of the pie running guns, selling drugs, etc. It's like Oz on motorcycles and not in prison. And without the anal rape. Knowing FX they're running that pilot into the ground, so give it a shot if you've got a spare evening.

And finally, there's Fringe which debuted tonite on Fox. It seems to be the most critically hyped show of this fall season, with most critics comparing it favorably to the X-Files. As far as I can tell the only real similarity it has to the X-Files is that both deal with the paranormal and/or strange government experiments to mimic the paranormal. Fringe doesn't have the acting of the X-Files or the great duo that was Mulder & Scully. It also appears that it will delve far into the character's personal lives (and sadly, love stories) and be much more morally black and white whereas the X-Files usually dealt in shades of grey. Then again, they could surprise me and take the show in another direction-the plot twist at the end of the pilot episode was enough to atleast get me back in front of my TV to watch next week's episode (along with the fact that House immediately follows it, hehe). It's not bad, I don't want to make it sound that way-it's just that it's not the X-Files as they are trying to make you believe, atleast not yet. The pilot episode ran just over 90m with very limited commercials and will be re-airing Sunday night after football if you're interested in giving it a try.

And finally, the Max Payne movie starring Mark Wahlberg is set for an October 17 release and looks as though it's going to live up to the film noir with John Woo style action of it's namesake. Yes I'm a sucker for video game spin-off movies, especially for games I like (see: Hitman), but this looks really good. As does Burn After Reading.

Lesson No. 1: People Like Free Stuff, It Doesn't Matter What It Is

2008-09-09T18:33:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my father finally finished dropping off the last boxes of "my crap" from his house. Which isn't to say that I or my brother aren't welcome there anymore, just that he's been re-doing a lot of the house and needed to get rid of this stuff, so he boxed up most everything that Andrew and I had left there from our childhood, put it in giant boxes, and left them on our door step. Awesome, right?

Of the three giant boxes of crap I got, half of one was Andrew's, two of the boxes were sorted through and disposed of, and i kept about half of one box which will soon find it's way back to his house to be re-hidden somewhere that's not my house (I just don't have room for it). The contents of the boxes was an interesting mix of things from my youth and extra stuff my dad dumped into them just to get rid of it. You know, like 5 wine decanters (to be fair, I did sell one for $100 on ebay), 2 champagne buckets, and a set of dishes of which he broke most of in transit. Also in the boxes; several dozen high school love (and non-love) letters (including a few from people I have no recollection of at all) that made for a nice trip down memory lane, some porn mags from ~1997, old issues of Rolling Stone, Hit Parader, and Spin, reference letters for college, some old tapes from my days as a failed drummer, old show flyers, look-it was mostly just crap, and now trash.

But also included in the boxes was a big plastic crate of children's school supplies. And while this is something I've obviously got absolutely no use for, I didn't see any point in just throwing them away. I mean it had paper, colored pencils, pens, markers, regular pencils, a hot glue gun, folders, dividers, binder pouches-it was like an entire years worth of school supplies for a couple of kids, or for someone into crafty things. And I'm pretty sure that stuff is expensive, or atleast it adds up. Thing is, I called most of the teachers or crafty people I knew and no one really wanted it. And so it's just sat in my house for the past month or so, until I just couldn't stand looking at it anymore. So in the midst of cleaning yesterday I picked it up and took it out to the curb along with a cardboard box and a sharpee, and the picture above is the result.

Drew up a sign on the side of the box advertising free school supplies, and left it on the corner next to my house facing Matilda Dr. Then I walk across the street to return the neighbor her sharpee (mine was dry), and when I'm walking back-it hasn't even been 3m yet-there's already a guy pulled over looking at it. He asks what's in the box, I tell him school supplies, and he starts to take it-then I ask him if he has kids, he says no, and I ask him to please leave it for someone that does. He moans a bit, but he does, and 2m later another car pulls up-this time a Mexican woman (so we know she has kids.....) gets out of a minivan and picks it up, and voila-they're gone.

Moral of the story? Put a sign that says Free on the side of the road and people will stop and look to see what it is and probably take it even if they don't need it. Seems to me like this would be a great means of disposing of biological and nuclear waste, while simultaneously taking care of natural selection.

Mudhoney Comes To Town

2008-09-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

I think most everyone has a favorite band. I'm sure there are people that don't, I just don't feel like I know them. I mean, everyone has that one band. For me, especially with Nirvana being long-since dead, it's been Mudhoney since as long as I can remember. In 2001 when they came to Trees, I was ecstatic-and honestly expected it to be my one and only chance to see them outside of a trip to the Pacific Northwest. So imagine my glee when back in May I found out they were coming back to Dallas, this time to the Granada on Sept. 5. There may or may not have been a couple exclamations of joy and/or fist pumping.

Look, I don't expect you to understand why I love Mudhoney. I don't expect you to completely understand the role the band played in the history of rock music, nor do I expect you to really care. The ship sailed a long time ago on me trying to convince people of their greatness (though I have had a fair amount of success doing so for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Sunny Day Real Estate). For the last several years they've been that little band that I love and just understood that others didn't. And the people that know me have just dealt with the fact that I have this strange obsession with a distortion-driven band from the early '90s that has virtually zero radio air-play and has settled into some blues influences over the past few years.

So what did I think of the show?

Well I thought it was awesome, of course. What did you expect me to think? I can't say I'm a terribly huge fan of the encore they did (hasn't that encore bit run it's course by now?), and I'm still a little miffed that it started and ended so early (I ended up missing three songs on the front end), but fuck-it was Mudhoney and they were good. Considering Superfuzz Bigmuff came out in 1988, I thought they did a pretty good job of playing a set that spanned the entirety of their 20 year career without ignoring the early career stuff they were known for, and throwing in a few b-sides found on March To Fuzz. I was also very pleasantly surprised at the size of the crowd, it seemed to me like it was a fair bit larger than the aforementioned Trees show in 2001.

That said, the venue, ehhhh.....I can't say I'm sold on The Granada. I love the concept of the Granada, on old movie theatre converted to all-ages music venue that has a nice setup (although not great sound) and is centrally located. In theory it's a pretty cool place. In practice, it's non-smoking (i just can't get behind a non-smoking club) with not-so-great sound and apparently bar Nazis. I got denied a shot of whiskey because I'd ordered one 30m earlier, and while I wish there were more to the story, there's just not....I was sober and just wanted a shot to go with my beer (Mudhoney is best experience with alcohol, and since the show started early I hadn't gotten going). I understand being cautious and I understand the TABC sucks, really I do, but as I told the guy, "look at me, do you really think that shot of whiskey is going to leave me wasted? Not to mention I'm walking home...."

That unpleasantness aside, yes, Mudhoney fucking pwned. And you should have been there. Oh, and thanks to Nick for having us at his party afterwards...sorry if Ian and I were a wee bit intoxicated at that point.

Shiner 99

2008-09-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

With all due apology to those of you that live outside of Texas and/or don't have access to a Whole Foods, Shiner 99 is this week's Booze Of The Week. If you can't get it, well, that sucks for you. For what better beverage to mark the beginning of football season and the total waste of a day that becomes Saturday and Sunday, than ice cold beer. And no, just any beer will not do, no sir, we want something to mark the importance that is this weekend, and this is probably the best new beer outside of Portland I've tried in the past few years.

Shiner 99 is the most recent in the yearly series of craft beers Shiner (best known for their Bock) has been running out, culminating next year with their 100th anniversary. It is a Helles style lager, Helles meaning "bright," so it's got a golden color and a noticeable malt sweetness. It's also got a bit of hoppy spice, but is certainly not overly hopped in the vein of an IPA. It's most certainly not a heavy beer, instead it's a relatively light beer but with a lot more body and in my opinion flavor than your traditional light beer. It runs on average about $6.49 for a 6-pack, has 4.9% alcohol by volume, and an 18 IBU.

Helles style beers were pioneered in Munich in the 1890s as a fearful response to the growth and popularity of Pilsner beers, which were brewed in Bavaria. As a result, it's similar in body and spice to a Czech pilsner but also had that German malt that is standard of a Munich beer.

So pick yourself up a 6-pack, get it nice and cold, and break it out Saturday afternoon. Just be sure to save some for Sunday too. And as always, feedback is encouraged-let me know what you think!

The Image Of Modern Rock Musicians

2008-09-03T16:58:00.000-05:00

I've been on a bit of an ebay kick of late as I try to get rid of some of the relics of my youth that my father dumped on me as he's been re-doing his house. A Dimebag Darrell Pantera guitar pick, a Soulfly pick, a Sepultura drumstick, a signed Drowning Pool CD, the 1997 Kill Rock Stars 7" vinyl record collection-you know, stuff that I once thought was pretty cool but now just goes into boxes and takes up space I don't have (although I can't hide my glee at getting my entire vinyl record collection back). All these things are just sitting on or next to my desk, and among them is a poster for the band Slipknot that I somehow ended up with. I keep looking over at it and thinking two things;

1) About the time I encountered Slipknot. It was Ozzfest, I think 2001 but I could be off a year in either direction, in Dallas. Anyway I was working for Drowning Pool at the time and was backstage with T-bone as we're moving around some equipment and just taking in the sights. This shitty nu-metal band called Slipknot had broken that summer, they were the next big thing. They were also playing before Drowning Pool. So as their set ends, they leave the stage and walk by me. I give the little silent nod meant to signify, "hey man, nice set" that you give to any band. To which one of the masked members shouts, quite loudly, "hey! we're not signing autographs!" as the band literally pushes it's way past me. I couldn't have picked the members of this band out of a lineup, and they had the self-importance to think that I had any interest in all in their autograph. It spoke volumes about them.

2) How do people fall for their act? I mean their entire act is about image. They join the long line of metal bands since KISS that's increasingly pushed the envelope to try and portray an "evil" image to sell records. Which then leads me to the broader idea of image in rock music, something I've pondered quite a bit over the years and thought I'd write about here.

You see, every artist has an image. As my homeboy Mr. Advertising, or any business student would tell you, creating an image is part of creating a brand. And creating a brand is paramount to successfully selling anything. Be it an automobile, toothpaste, or music the people in the suits strive to create a brand for their product, helping to ensure it's longevity and profitability. Perfecting this technique is what allows them to give the world the New Kids On The Block, Spice Girls, Brittany Spears, and more recently the Jonas Brothers. Those are the extreme example, as they're musicians (and I use that term loosely) put together with the sole intent of creating an image they can parlay into a brand and into millions of dollars. But you see while every artist has an image, what I always wonder is how often that image is authentic and how often it's been contrived by the men in the suits.

I think a great case in point for this, is the Sex Pistols. When they formed in 1975 as a part of the UK punk scene, what were their intentions? Were they really punks, decrying the establishment...were they sincere to their image, and to that of '70s punk? Did they really believe it? Or was their formation and subsequent fame nothing but a means to a paycheck. Maybe they were originally true to their image and the spectre of fame and fortune just proved to be too much? Regardless, 30 years later when they refuse to attend their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because it's a "piss stain," it's really hard to give them any credibility whatsoever when they've whored themselves out to do five reunion tours so they can pay the bills. The punk ethos has always been opposed to success, and while apparently Rancid has been able to navigate the dichotomy between the two (being punk and somewhat popular), Green Day was never so lucky. When Green Day hit it big, the punk community turned their collective backs on them.

That said, Green Day hasn't abandoned their image. With American Idiot and their subsequent political records and songs, Green Day has maintained a punk image, albeit in the mainstream. What I always wonder, is how much of that is being created and encourage by agents, labels, and A&R reps and how much of it is organic.

The one that always gets me, is Nirvana. It's not secret to anyone that's known me for a while that I was a huge Nirvana fan in my youth, and still am to some degree. Much like most of the early '90s bands, their image was as uncaring, as being about the music. It's an off-shoot of the punk ethos, just without the political bent, and it's the antithesis of the '80s glam rock image which was about not caring and doing things to excess while at the same time caring about your hair, makeup, and making the show a spectacle. Throughout their career, in interviews and in press releases, Nirvana was marketed as just that-a grunge band that didn't care about anything but the music, there was no elaborate shows, no high fashion, no over-production. With slight twists, most of the early '90s grunge bands fall into that image. Sure Pearl Jam had a little more of a political aspect to them (see: the Ticketmaster Anti-Trust Lawsuit) and Soundgarden a little bit of an arena-rock feel, but as a whole the group shared a similar image.

And it's the fact that they shared it, and just how it was the opposite of the '80s Glam Metal thing, that's always had me wondering-was it organic or was it something contrived by the suits? The music is good, so I guess on one hand it's pretty irrelevant, but it's still something I wonder. It's the same way I wonder who was the first gangster rapper and how many of the subsequent ones were organic and how many were failing rappers that realized if they jumped on the bandwagon and adopted the gangster image they could sell records and make a nice living, much the same way Pantera went from glam to metal and Diamond Darrel became Dimebag Darrell.

A part of me wants to believe that all artists (excluding the NKOTB's and Spice Girls of the world) are organically who they were when they start, and that when and if they reach fame and fortune they will continue to be who they were before. I think we all want to believe that. But then I think about the Marilyn Mansons and Slipknots of the world, and realize that it's just not the case. Nobody puts on "scary" masks and decides to adopt generic faux-metal/hardcore as their sound because they're true to the music, they do it to make a buck. If disco had been the counter-culture trend, I imagine Slipknot would be a disco act with a less threatening name. And I guess in the end that's ok, so long as we all realize it, the sad part is all the naive high school kids that buy it hook, line, and sinker and really believe that these guys care about the music. And then I think back to Rage Against The Machine, and how much I loved them in high school, and wonder if I'm just that naive kid having grown up a bit.

I'm Now A Nielsen Home

2008-09-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

Got a postcard in the mail today from Nielsen, you know, the TV ratings people. Apparently our house has been randomly selected as a Nielsen home and we've been requested to fill out some questionnaires regarding our television consumption.

Why do I have a feeling that we're going to be the statistical outlier to the American majority that's watching the crap on the major networks. Other than House and Law & Order, I don't think there's a single program on the major four networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox) I watch even rarely (excluding of course Sports). T-bone watches the Mid-day news, and I think that about covers it for this household.

USA, TNT, History, Discovery, Cartoon, CNN, FNC, and Comedy make up the bulk of our television consumption, and while nationally I am most certainly in the minority I like to thing that among college-educated people between ages 20 and 35 this would be atleast a little less of a minority.

Regardless, this being a Nielsen home is nothing but good news for Burn Notice (damn you and your 3 week break before finishing the season), NCAA Football, the NFL, and Dick Wolf (creator of the Law & Order Franchise).

The Thompson Speech

2008-09-02T21:32:00.001-05:00

I hate that this blog is getting so political. Really, I do-but there's just not really a whole lot else interesting going on right now. And while politics often does beat me to death, I've always been fascinated by Presidential election season. The way those of us interested in politics often cease to be rational human being and instead become totally irrational idealogical zealots that foam at the mouth whilst attacking our ideological adversaries. I try to keep this to a minimum (although Bush has made it really, really difficult), but I see it all around me. Hey, atleast it makes things interesting-and after the election everyone has to apologize to each other as the ideological fog lifts and they realize that they were being an asshole, which is also quite entertaining.

So, here I am watching the Fred Thompson speech. It was a good speech, a great speech. If you'll indulge me, I'd like to comment on a few of the points he made.

-First off, the biggest applauses of the night came when he made pro-life statements. It never ceases to amaze me, but I really think that most of the people that go to the RNC-and to most of the party's base-that really is the biggest issue. That's it. They don't care about taxes, defense, whatever-all they really care about is abortion. Which isn't to say liberals aren't generally passionate about being pro-choice, it's just that doesn't seem to be the only issue that really matters.

-I really have a hard time finding a Republican denouncing bureaucracy credible. George W. Bush has got to have overseen the largest growth in American bureaucracy since LBJ, if not Franklin Roosevelt. I understand anti-bureaucracy was once a Republican platform, but I think that ship has sailed.

-Likewise, I really have a hard time finding a Republican denouncing rampant spending after the past eight years. Again, I know on paper it's a Republican platform-but come on, you can't pretend that the debt hasn't ballooned.

-I love, I really do, that McCain has continued to be so against pork barrel spending and congressional earmarks. In fact, to me, that was the best point Thompson made about him. If John McCain would really eliminate pork barrel spending, well then he would be a fantastic President. The thing is, does anyone really believe he will do it?

-Ok, not to be petty, but how is it Democrats are so, so much better looking on average than Republicans? If you compare the audience of the two conventions, it's just night and day. On the same note, the RNC has far fewer visual pleasantries than the DNC did. The arena is bland and other than the projector behind the dais the RNC appears oblivious to 21st century technology. Other than being broadcast in HD, it looks like the 1984 RNC. I know it's not really relevant, just saying....

-I'm a little surprised that the GOP is still pushing the inexperience angle against McCain, I really thought they'd abandon that after making Palin the VP nominee. I really think that could backfire if they keep pushing it.

-Ok, small note on the Lieberman speech. The applause Lieberman expected when he mentioned that John McCain was going to do something about global warming? Well, let's just say it never happened. Funny stuff, as Lieberman is definately using the Democratic buzzwords to talk up McCain. Oh Jesus, now he's praising Clinton? What the fuck is Lieberman thinking? And that applause was even smaller.

-I wish they were televising Ron Paul's quasi-convention from tonight. I'd actually like to watch that.

-Tee hee, you can tell it's a network with a possible liberal slant (ABC at the moment) when they break away from the Lieberman speech to show footage of the police tear gassing protestors outside the RNC.

-Ok, seriously, we get it.....McCain was a POW. He's a veteran. We get it.

Now, time for some TF2. Cheers.

Well Atleast He Got A Photo-Op

2008-09-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

I could hear the frothing at the mouth from here. The GOP was just a seventy miles from having one of the greatest PR oppurtunities ever drop right in their lap. Can you imagine, the Republican National Convention airing on every major network not as a political masturbation session, but instead as a high profile telethon to raise money for victims of hurricane Gustav? John McCain knee deep in water doing photo-ops providing aid, George Bush butchering what on paper was probably a moving speech, and the Republican Party looking like a party of charity and caring. Can you imagine the heartstrings Palin could have pulled with her womanly touch? Sadly, for them, it wasn't to be.

Instead McCain gets a couple photo-ops that will be forgotten and news of the hurricane is overshadowed by the fact that the VP candidate's 17 year old daughter (no word yet on if she's hot) is 5mos pregnant with a bastard child. But fret not right wingers, she's going to keep it (there, let the sigh of relief out). Oh, and she's going to marry the bastard's father. Now that's family values. What a happy story, now I totally understand why we don't need abstinence education in schools.

I guess that's all sort of burying what's really important. Despite the idiocy of, you know, choosing to live in a hurricane zone, it is nice to hear that apparently the death and destruction wrought by Gustav (what a great hurricane name!) will be minimal. Unless the storm drops a lot of rain upstream that then rushes down the Mississippi and it's tributaries and breaks them, the levees appear that they will hold. Whaddya know, George W. Bush did something right :p

That's all you're going to get out of me today. I've got more college football to watch, as it's only halftime of Tennessee @ UCLA, and that game could put me close to tripling my money on the first weekend of NCAA football, despite that Clemson fiasco. It's the little things in life......

Oh, have I mentioned lately that Mudhoney is playing in Dallas friday at the Granada? First show here in six years? And yes, I am that stoked. It shall be a glorious evening. Let me know if you're going to be there, there shall be some (not so) mild pre and post show drinking. After all, Mudhoney is best consumed with alcohol.

Smoking Loon Pinot Noir

2008-08-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

Smoking Loon Pinot Noir is this week's selection for Booze Of The Week.

It's the end of the month, and as we all try to stretch out that paycheck over the last weekend of the month, you will find this to be an extraordinarily affordable wine at $9.99 retail that consistently over-delivers. Finding a pinot noir under $10 is tough, finding a good one is even tougher, and finding a good one that is from California nearly impossible. This wine delivers on all counts.

Dark, ruby red in color, it has a strong nose with lots of cherry. On the tongue it's got strawberry, cherry, a tinge of black pepper and a bit of oak and it ends with a smooth, excellent finish.

I know you're thinking to yourself that red wine in the summer doesn't sound terribly appealing, but this wine is very light, not at all heavy and makes fine summer drinking. It can also be paired with most foods as it's not at all overbearing. It's a great wine for sipping while you cook and then drinking with your meal.

Give it a try, and as always, please let me know what you think.

And The Viking Vote Goes To.....

2008-08-29T15:13:00.000-05:00

Just in case you were wondering which way the Viking vote is leaning.......

Thanks to Luq for the most awesome photo.

So McCain goes with a VPILF.....

2008-08-29T14:51:00.000-05:00

Just to be clear from the outset, ya, I'd hit it.

Also, I wish I were the one clever enough to come up with VPILF, but alas, that ship has already sailed and you can visit the VPILF website. God bless the internet.

That aside, wow, what a choice. Sarah Palin, the Republican Governor of Alaska. I generally dislike the small-state running mate (see: Joe Biden) because I've always thought a VP adds little to a campaign if they can't help you carry a couple states you wouldn't have otherwise. That was part of my dislike of Obama's biden pick, and it rings true here as well. Everything else about this pick makes McCain look like a genius.

All the lip service at the convention aside, I'm not convinced the Hilary voters are jumping on the Obama bandwagon, and I think it's very, very possible that a women veep behind an old man with health problems could draw a fair amount of the aforementioned disaffected Hilary voters. The media is running with the fact that she hunts/fishes for some reason, I think the bigger point is that she's a mother of five including a child with Downs and a child getting shipped to Iraq in a few months. Women tend to be more emotional voters than cerebral ones (i swear i read that somewhere) and I can see her playing that story to garner a nice chunk of female voters.

Furthermore, she's got the right kind of views for the conservative base of the GOP. She's pro-life and pro-gun. Not that the latter matters, all the nutjob far righters really care about is abortion-and now she gives the McCain ticket credibility to them on it.

Which isn't to say it's a perfect choice. She does take away the inexperience attack the McCain camp is consistently leveling on Obama, and it remains to be seen whether or not she will be as effective an attack dog as Biden, but I think the positives far outweight the negatives for McCain. She also does have some supposed expertise on energy on account of being the Governor of Alaska, but I'm not sure how that will translate to the campaign proper.

In short, I think it's a bold and genius pick from McCain. I think this election just got a lot more interesting.

Ok, Enough About Politics

2008-08-26T20:36:00.000-05:00

Although I do want to thank Paul for the banter back and forth we've had regarding Obama the past few days, and especially for the snippets he sent me today (see: comments) and for the discussion on Obama's energy policy that I will get around to having with him at some point when work isn't so busy.

Speaking of work being busy, you know what with it being end of month and tough to sell much wine in Texas in August regardless, today I will just leave you with an interview I found fascinating. It was mentioned earlier today on The Hardline and I thought I'd dig into it a little further once I got home, and now I think I might just buy the book. Or wait for T-bone to Netflix the movie. You know, one or the other.

Point is, knowing Hitler never had any children I never gave much thought to whether or not Hitler had other relatives, let alone relatives in the United States. And I think the part at the end where the great-nephews made a pact to never pro-create so as to end the Hitler bloodline was pretty interesting. You can find the following here at CNN.

-------------------------------------

(CNN) -- Adolf Hitler left no offspring when he died in his bunker in 1945. But he wasn't the last of the Hitler line. He had a nephew, William Patrick Hitler, who grew up in England, moved to America, and had three sons.

The story of those Hitlers is told in a new documentary, "The Last of the Hitlers," based on the book of the same name by British journalist David Gardner. CNN's Paula Zahn spoke to Gardner on Tuesday's "American Morning."

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Very remarkable story to share with you now. There are three brothers who live normal, anonymous lives with their mother in a modest house in Long Island, New York. But the three men have a darkly unique heritage. They happen to be the great nephews of Adolf Hitler, the last known living relatives of the murderous tyrant.
A new documentary, called "The Last of the Hitlers," tells the story of the brothers, and their bizarre pact with each other never to have children in order to sever the bloodline of their infamous relative.

The film is based on the fascinating book of the same name by journalist David Gardner, who joins us now from Los Angeles, California.

So David, how did you find these brothers?

DAVID GARDNER, AUTHOR, "THE LAST OF THE HITLERS": Well, it was a long journey. About 1995, I was working with a news agency in New York, and I was asked to try and track them down, track down William Patrick Hitler, who was Hitler's nephew. There had been some cuttings, old newspaper cuttings, from before the Second World War, and that's pretty much the last anyone heard of him.

So, I kind of started with a phone book, looking under Hitler in the phone book. Didn't get very far. It was a long journey. Took me about four years to find the family.

ZAHN: And once you found them, what proof did you have that these men were actually related to Hitler?

GARDNER: Well, for a start, I had birth dates, and documentary evidence before I actually approached the family, and then when I actually knocked at their door, this is the first time anyone had actually knocked at their door for 50 years. So it was something of a shock to them, but William Patrick's widow confirmed that her husband was indeed -- or had indeed -- been the nephew of Adolf Hitler.

ZAHN: Sorry -- sorry. I was just going to refer back to the head shots we just saw. There didn't seem to be any overt physical resemblance to Adolf Hitler. What were the similarities you found, if any, between these nephews and their uncle?

GARDNER: Well, I think that is the point. Apart from a very vague resemblance in looks, these -- this part of the family is so far removed from Adolf. They've lived all-American lives. They live in a small town in Long Island. ... They were born in America, and these are the American Hitlers, in effect.

But they've lived very different lives to the one that the Fuhrer lived, and indeed, a different life than then one their father lived. Their father actually grew up in England, spent six, seven years in Germany in the 1930s, where his uncle gave him a job, and then he came to America just before the Second World War, and the family's been here ever since.

ZAHN: Tell us a little bit about this blackmail letter that you learned of. Who had the letter and what did it tell us?

GARDNER: Well, William Patrick, as I said, was working in Germany in the '30s, and he'd gone there hoping to benefit from his uncle's position. At that time, having a Hitler in Germany, there was a good chance he was going to get a good position, but he found that he was kind of knocked around -- he worked at a lowly bank job, he worked in a car factory, never really getting any decent money or any position. He sent a blackmail letter to Adolf, basically saying: If you don't give me a better job and treat me a little bit better, I'll go public with the speculation within the family that Hitler himself had a Jewish grandfather.

ZAHN: Whatever became of that threat?

GARDNER: Well, in fact, Hitler kind of bowed down to it, this lowly nephew, and did give him some money, which is kind of curious. I mean, of all the terrible things that Hitler did, the one person that stood up to him seems to have been his own nephew, and who went away with the equivalent now to a quarter-million dollars.

ZAHN: Let's talk about the reality of the lives these nephews live. Did they all change their names so they could live in relative obscurity here?

GARDNER: Yeah, that's the case. In fact, when William Patrick, Adolf's nephew, came to America, he went on to serve in the U.S. Navy and fought against his uncle. But after the war, obviously, it became clear that having the name Hitler was not a good thing to have. And he changed his name, and went on to have -- to marry, have a family, and they lived in total anonymity. That was for the last 50 years.

ZAHN: And David, is it true the nephews signed a pact making the agreement that none of them would ever bear children so that the bloodline would basically stop with them?

GARDNER: They didn't sign a pact, but what they did is, they talked amongst themselves, talked about the burden they've had in the background of their lives, and decided that none of them would marry, none of them would have children. And that's something that -- a pact they've kept to this day.

ZAHN: Well, it's amazing, it took you four years to find them. The story is absolutely fascinating, as is the book. We very much appreciate your getting up at this ungodly hour on the West Coast to join us this morning.

GARDNER: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

Barack Might Just End Up My Homeboy

2008-08-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

Alright, I guess it's time for me to go on the record here, and admit something I'd rather not. I don't hate Barack Obama. I don't even dislike the guy. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I rather enjoy listening to the man speak....he's a great orator and his rhetoric can be quite inspirational. After 8 years of a President whom couldn't speak his way out of a paper bag, it's a fantastic change of pace. I even agree with the man on a fair amount of issues, but before we get into those, let's get into what has led me to this point.

I used to adore John McCain. Atleast I thought I did, and while that adoration might have been due to a lack of scrutiny is very possible, at the tail end of the 20th century and in the 2000 primaries I thought John McCain was the man. The first time I ever cast a ballot in a federal election, it was for John McCain in the GOP primaries. When he got bounced in said primaries, I quickly ran back to the far left and cast my vote in the general election for Green candidate Ralph Nader (how many voters in America voted for McCain and Nader? I bet I'm one of like five). I was, and still am, sickened by the role of special interest money in politics (sure, there is money funneled in by good causes like teachers groups as well, it's not just Big Oil or Tobacco), and while McCain/Feingold was by no means perfect, it seemed like a nice starting point for a solution. I respected that John McCain shared my disdain and sought to fix it, and in the process reached across the aisle to do so. I also respected that John McCain was a veteran and a POW, and more than anything I respected the speeches and straight forward manner in which he campaigned in 2000. Sure, some of that Maverick thing was spin from his campaign, but he played the part so well. Whereas George W. Bush's campaign tried to play the cowboy angle making Bush more like a Blazing Saddles cowboy than Wyatt Earp, John McCain really did come off as the freewheelin' straight talkin' cowboy.

What's not to love?

And since the 2000 election, he had maintained that persona. I actually did agree with him that we needed to stay in Iraq (if you're going to go to war, then you've got to finish the job, even if I disagreed with the war in the first place), and when he came out against the Bush administration on torture, I was again elated. Of course then came the last six months, where that John McCain somehow died and was replaced with a GOP puppet that parrots each and every one of the failed policies of the past eight years. I don't know what happened, and I can't pretend I'm not extoardinarily disappointed-but the writing is on the walls, and it's clear that this isn't the John McCain of old.

Thing is, at the same time I've been intrigued by Barack Obama all along. When Obama was in Dallas I attempted to go (failed), and while I was a McCain supporter I was curious to see what Obama was going to bring to the table. Now this wasn't something I'd readily admit, being a recovering liberal (I will get into the actual politics in a bit), I found that it was far more enjoyable-and informative-to chastise the members of the Cult of Obama and see what sort of opinions and facts shook loose while at the same time doing my own research on the side. I was one of those few voters that was actually planning to go into this process open minded.

My biggest beef was never really with Obama himself, but moreso with the Democratic party. I'm a left leaning moderate, but I absolutely hate the Democratic party. Not only have they repeatedly proven their incompetence, they're the type of folks that get behind nanny state programs to satisfy the uninformed housewives screaming, "but what about the children?" instead of tackling real, modern, and important issues. As Gorbachev found realized, speeches on class warfare and promising to make this world a better place one smoking ban at a time doesn't work-I want substance and a plan, and the Democrats have been unable to give any sort of coherent plan for anything since Clinton crafted one himself. The 2000 election never should have been as close as it was, and 2004 gave us one of the worst campaigns in the history of campaigning with John Kerry-these people can't even get elected, how the hell am I supposed to trust them to govern? But I digress;

I still have severe reservations that Obama is a populist by word only, that these speeches are going to end up being pie-in-the-sky rhetoric and that when he is elected, he will settle in as President and instead of Big Oil getting it's day in the sun Trial Lawyers will. That he will do what the Democrats and Republicans do when they win power, which is namely just shift the power to a different group of special interests. But if I put that skepticism aside, I do see an engaging and progressive President. Sure I'm mildly annoyed when on his website he lists Disabilities just below defense and the economy on his issues (not that I have a problem with the handicapped getting into libraries, just that i don't think that should be among the Presidents primary concerns).

But I am not only willing to give the man a chance at this point, I am leaning towards him. I still shudder at his plan to leave Iraq before the end of 2009, but I back him on privacy and civil rights. I think his energy policy, especially with the breakthrough in Solar Energy Storage last month, shows a lot of promise, even if I hate some of the environmental measures. And while I laugh at his claims that he's concerned about the national debt and paying it down, especially while he touts nationalized healthcare, I do believe he's got the foundation of the most advanced policy regarding technology well, ever.

In short, it's pretty much a split for me, I disagree on issues with him just about as often as I agree. And yet, that's somehow more than the new John McCain. So I'm guessing it's time to choke it down, and accept that Obama is the better choice-even if he's not the best.

King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters

2008-08-24T18:46:00.000-05:00

Alright, so after hearing the buzz for the past few months, including a feature on "Bad Radio Reports," and getting stiffed by a friend who Netflix'd it and then returned it before I called him to borrow it, I finally got around to seeing King Of Kong this afternoon.

For those of you maybe unaware, the film follows Steve Wiebe a science teacher from Redmond, WA as he decides to try and attain the world record score for Donkey Kong, completely unaware of the politics of competitive gaming, and unaware of what a douchebag Billy Mitchell is (the guy pictured above, and that picture doesn't begin to express his asshattery).

Billy Mitchell and his nerd minions (as though I've got room to talk, but shit, I'm the Fonz compared to these guys) take this very, very seriously and will stop at nothing to stop this new guy, whom seems totally normal with a family and two kids, from breaking Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong record which has stood since 1982.

I don't want to say too much, I don't want to spoil it-it's too awesome. Grizzly Man and Timothy Treadwell was a good documentary, but this one is great. The cast of characters and their motives are just so insane. The lenghts they go to both getting and stopping the record, the rolling eyes of Wiebe's wife as she puts up with it all, and the self-importance and low grade fame Mitchell and his people assign themselves is priceless. The director does a great job projecting Mitchell as the antagonist.

It's good stuff, not terribly deep but a fascinating and lighthearted documentary most anyone who's every played Donkey Kong or Pac Man could enjoy.

EDIT 08/25: As it turns out the Grizzly Man Returneth as The Grizzly Man Diaries, another documentary using Timothy Treadwell's grizzly bear footage, will air on Animal Planet beginning August 29. Awesome.

And the winner is.......

2008-08-24T17:48:00.000-05:00

.....Joseph Biden, whom in this picture looks like an older Val Kilmer. Can't you see him with the thin mustache claiming that he's your huckleberry or saying, "Wyatt" in that southern drawl that epitomizes pretty much the best role Val Kilmer ever played? I sure can.

But I guess that's burying the lead. The story is that, inexplicably, Barack Obama has chosen Val, errrr, Joe Biden the senior Senator from Delaware and known plagiarist, as his running mate. The pundits are claiming it is meant to bolster his "foreign policy credentials" because of the high ranking Senate committees he's chaired.

Well, why didn't you just say so. Now I understand completely why a guy campaigning as an outsider and promising change would nominate a career politician (sixth longest serving time amongst current Senators) that was just talking shit about him mere months before. But I guess sacrificing the entire campaign platform is so totally worth it when you'll win Delaware. I mean, it's Delaware....they've got crab cakes and....umm, I was gonna say Dunder Mifflin but I think that's New Jersey. So Delaware has crab cakes, and now Obama has Delaware. I think they also have a lot of Philadelphia Eagles fans in Delaware too, so when Obama needs people to throw snowballs filled with batteries and cheer on life-threatening injuries, he's got that covered to.....and crab cakes.

It's a running joke that the Democrats can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and I'm like a proud parent watching them do it again. It's so sad it's funny. Which isn't to say that Obama is going to lose this election, I mean considering his opponent....well maybe this is just Obama handicapping himself, you know, to make it a fair fight.

But, just in case you wanted a better reason to dislike Xerox Joe, you know besides my incipid ranting, he is pro-RIAA and anti-privacy. Haven't found anything about him regarding Net Neutrality, though he did vote for the Iraq war. So ya, we've got that going for us. I gotta say, I'm pretty damn disappointed in Barack Obama today.

Booze Of The Week - Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc

2008-08-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

So as part of expanding my blog from it's myspace beginnings to the intertubes at large, I wanted to debut a weekly column that would highlight my professional expertise. So every week I will post a new item, be it beer, wine, or spirits that I'd like to suggest you give a try. If you've had it, please let me know what you thought....and if you haven't, well why not pick it up, give it sip, and them let me know what you think.

Much like good food, part of the joy of good drink is discussing and sharing it with friends. And since it's part of my chosen career to try new things, I felt it would be appropriate to then share the best with you, dear reader. So without further adieu, this week's Booze Of The Week is Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc

Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite summer wines. While some middle-tier Sauvignon Blancs tend towards a more round and fruity style, this one maintains a very nice crisp citrus taste that finishes nicely, not evaporating in your mouth within seconds, but instead lingering so you get to truely experience it. And the best part? It generally retails right around $9.99, the juice most certainly outperforms it's price point and is a great value.

I think it's a fantastic pre-meal wine, opening up your taste buds for the meal ahead. That said, it also pairs very well with a meal, especially seafood. The lemon, lime, and gooseberry flavors blend seemlessly with sushi, fish, shrimp, and scallops. And while most people would go with a Riesling for spicy food, I've had this Sauvignon Blanc with Vietnamese food a couple times and it's a perfect compliment-it's heaven with a spicy shrimp imperial roll.

It's from the California Appellation and the winemaker is Mick Schroeter. And while Geyser Peak also makes a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon (their 2003 vintage especially was fantastic) and a nice Meritage, the Sauvignon Blanc is the best known of their wines, and for good reason. Nicely chilled, it's an absolute delight. So grab yourself a bottle, and let me know what you think-I think you'll love it.

/facepalm

2008-08-22T01:52:00.000-05:00

I know we've all had them, but today was just one of those days. You know, those days. A quick timeline, if you will indulge me;

7:30a: A call from the office hits my voicemail, informing me that 18 cases of mine had been rejected by an account. I assume they've got the wrong salesman since I sent nothing. You know, since they're doing inventory today.

8:00a: A call from my district manager informing me that I have approximately 20 cases of product shipping to said account today, and that I need to be there to build the display. Oh wow, that explains that.

8:01a: I call my direct superior asking him wtf is going on. He said it was just sprung on them, someone dropped the ball and forget to inform an entire sales force and their management that 20 cases were auto-shipping.

8:02a: I curse the day.

10:30a: I get to said account. I get chewed out by the reciever whom says they will continue to cut the cases if they get re-shipped. I then get chewed out by the store director asking me why the fuck would I try and send 20 cases they don't need on their inventory day.

10:31a: I explain to said store director that I didn't know they were coming, and had literally just found out after they'd already been cut. He says he got the memo on them from corporate, but doesn't want them despite their being a mandatory program, and to come back and see him tomorrow. I explain that they're going to automatically re-ship and that it's going to cost me $20 off my paycheck if he doesn't take them, he tells me it depends on his mood in the morning.

11:30a: Get to a couple account near South Dallas on Lamar, orders are terribly small. Get reminded by the buyer that they would be larger if we hadn't lost The Wine Group as a supplier. I /facepalm as I cringe again at the money that's costing me, needing no reminder.

12:00p: Lunch. It's good.

4:00p: Get home, decide it's time to deal with the boxes and boxes of crap from my childhood and teenage years my father decided to dump on me due to his remodeling. Sort through them.

5:30p: Realize it's gotten strangely warmer. Then realize the A/C isn't working. Awesome, just awesome.

7:30p: A/C still isn't working. It's really fucking hot.

9:00p: This week's episode of Burn Notice comes on. Sure it's hot, but it's a good episode.

10:01p: Burn Notice is over, and somehow it keeps getting hotter. Outside is nice, inside is miserable.

11:15p: My computer has crashed thrice during the last hour due to over-heating in the gfx card. TF2 is ruined for the night.

11:45p: I realize my only sanctuary is on the patio with the fan on, get a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to entertain me along with cellphone internet.

And there you have it, one shitty day. Although here we are at 2am and the A/C is finally working again, so bed has me in it's grips.

No Deliverance

2008-08-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

So inspired by the review in today's Quick (now you see why i hate it? cost me $16) that likened it more to Rubberneck than to their other records, I picked up a copy of the new Toadies record "No Deliverance" this afternoon. No, I didn't just pick up a copy, I actually bought a copy after T-bone guilted me into my ethical obligation, namely that you don't pirate local music. Fine. So i stopped into Good Records and have spent the afternoon listening to it as I worked.

I've been through it about three times now. It's good, but I wouldn't say great. If memory serves, and it's going to have to because I'm too lazy to do actual research (although you're welcome to correct me), when Rubberneck came out it did so to little fanfare. In fact, the record was considered a flop sales-wise until some radio station in Florida picked it up and put 'Possum Kingdom' in regular rotation. A few months after that it caught on and slowly got national airplay, eventually resulting in the record going platinum a couple years after release.

The reason I wrote all that was to convey this point: Rubberneck was so damn good that it couldn't be held down. It wasn't a seminal record in the way Nirvana's Nevermind or Mudhoney's Superfuzz Bigmuff spawned an entire genre of music but I don't think you could do any sort of credible collection of '90s rock music, especially post-grunge, and not include 'Possum Kingdom' and mention of Rubberneck. It was that good.

So for me to pick up No Deliverance and expect anything close to that, well, it was foolish. I had my expectations simply set too high. Which isn't to say this is a bad record, because it most certainly is not, and in fact it does have some qualities reminiscent of Rubberneck. Gone are a lot of the effects and polish that were on Hell Below, Stars Above with the band returning to a more raw sound with just basic distortion. The records do sound similar. The songs are good, not great, but they've got some catch to them and they're guitar driven. Which is almost an insult to the fantastic drumming Mark Reznicek does on the record, and it's not meant to be. I think it's his best work to date.

I think my biggest complaint, and others may very well disagree, is the way Todd (now apparently Vayden Todd for some reason) screams through the entirety of several of the songs. I like his scream, but with the Burden Brothers (and probably from live shows) he picked up this penchant for screaming through the entirety of songs, instead of singing and using the scream for effect (think: "Do you wanna die?" in 'Possum Kingdom' or the climax of 'Away'). It just makes the songs sound forced, and more than anything it makes them just run together. For what it's worth, Dave Grohl has started doing the same thing with the Foo Fighters, and it's turned me off of them as well.

In short, I will say this. If you like the Toadies, you will like this record. If you're lukewarm on them, you will probably be lukewarm on this. Compared to the crap that passes for mainstream radio these days (and you kids get off my lawn!), it's really good and I could totally see seventeen year old me loving this record. Twenty-six year old me thinks it's good and has some good tracks (I dig 'So Long Lovey Eyes' and 'I Am A Man Of Stone') and was worth the listen, but it's not going to change my life.

Is McCain as shallow as Bush?

2008-08-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

This op-ed from Jack Cafferty for some reason resonated with me when I read it earlier. For all his faults, Bush's being "simple" is the one that just drives me the craziest, and I'd never really considered McCain in the same light. And so for a guy currently undecided between McCain and the Cult of Obama, it really made me think and has me finding myself leaning closer and closer to Obama the farther we get in this election. Anyway, here's the article in it's entirety (who cares if it's considered bad-form to re-print an article in it's entirety):

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Russia invades Georgia and President Bush goes on
vacation. Our president has spent one-third of his entire two terms in office
either at Camp David, Maryland, or at Crawford, Texas, on vacation.
His time away from the Oval Office included the month leading up to 9/11, when there were signs Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America, and the time Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans.
Sen. John McCain takes weekends off and limits his campaign events to one a day. He made an exception for the religious forum on Saturday at Saddleback Church in Southern California. I think he made a big mistake. When he was invited last spring to attend a discussion of the role of faith in his life with Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, McCain didn't bother to show up.

Now I know why.

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. "It means I'm saved and forgiven." Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries. McCain then retold a story we've all heard a hundred times about a guard in Vietnam drawing a cross in the sand. Asked about his greatest moral
failure, he cited his first marriage, which ended in divorce. While saying it
was his greatest moral failing, he offered nothing in the way of explanation.

Why not?

Throughout the evening, McCain chose to recite portions of his stump speech
as answers to the questions he was being asked. Why? He has lived 71 years.
Surely he has some thoughts on what it all means that go beyond canned answers
culled from the same speech he delivers every day.
He was asked "if evil exists." His response was to repeat for the umpteenth time that Osama bin Laden is a bad man and he will pursue him to "the gates of hell." That was it. He was asked to define rich. After trying to dodge the question -- his wife is
worth a reported $100 million -- he finally said he thought an income of $5
million was rich. One after another, McCain's answers were shallow,
simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has -- virtually none. Where are John McCain's writings exploring the vexing moral issues of our time? Where are his position papers setting forth his careful consideration of foreign policy, the welfare state, education, America's moral responsibility in the world, etc., etc., etc.?

John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval
Academy at Annapolis. His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the
Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being
admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again
whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet.
He no longer allows reporters unfettered access to him aboard the "Straight Talk Express" for a reason. He simply makes too many mistakes. Unless he's reciting talking points or reading from notes or a TelePrompTer, John McCain is lost. He can drop bon mots at a bowling alley or diner -- short glib responses that get a chuckle, but beyond that McCain gets in over his head very quickly. I am sick and tired of
the president of the United States embarrassing me. The world we live in is too
complex to entrust it to someone else whose idea of intellectual curiosity and
grasp of foreign policy issues is to tell us he can look into Vladimir Putin's eyes and see into his soul. George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself. He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in
debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our
government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been
a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country
ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic
one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has
been.

I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like
him.