Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth to y'all.

Good doggie:

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The People's Budget

The People's Budget presented by the Democrats' largest caucus; The Progressive Caucus.

Negotiations should begin here and not budge a freaking inch.

Introducing the People's Budget

"# Reduces unemployment—and thus the deficit—through extensive investment in infrastructure, clean energy, transportation and education;

# Ends almost all the Bush tax cuts, creates new tax brackets for millionaires and new fees on Wall Street;

# Full American military withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other reductions in military spending;

# Ends subsidies for non-renewable energy;

# Lowers health care costs through a public option and negotiating Rx payments with pharmaceutical companies;

# Raises the taxable maximum on Social Security."

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So, Obama's speech yesterday... yep, lots of words. Heard it all before only to see the action be contrary to the words. His speeches mean shite. Let's see what he does (not holding my breath).

Krugman's take:

The Budget Speech - NYTimes.com:

"Update: I should probably say, I could live with this as an end result. If this becomes the left pole, and the center is halfway between this and Ryan, then no — better to pursue the zero option of just doing nothing and letting the Bush tax cuts as a whole expire."

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On my list for potential write-in candidates in '12. Love this guy. He fights.

Daily Kos: Schweitzer burns GOP with red-hot cattle iron

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"But the rich folks walked to the woods where my daddy stayed...."

Domestic call leads to whiskey still | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

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Go-Go Boots Album Release Party in NorCal

Join me at Flora Springs Winery on 2/12 for a Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots Album Release Party. Free swag will be given away.

NorCal Go-Go Boots Album Release Party hosted by Flora Springs Winery

Also, allow me to introduce my new blogging associate, Thomas Becker. He knows a hell a lot about wine.

He's dead, too.

Flora Springs' Winery Ghost | A Blog by Thomas Becker

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Some reasons why the West Side is the Best Side:

Food carts: Where but Portland, the land of - Media (1 of 31) 100 trends shaping our West Coast lifestyle

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Drunkest Cities

We're number 3! We're number 3!

Drunkest Cities - Galleries - The Daily Beast

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A little something for your imaginative awe:

Gigantic Storm With Huge Tail Erupts on Saturn | Wired Science | Wired.com

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And little something for you sleepy-time nightmares:

Kayakers recount deadly crocodile attack in Congo - Yahoo! News:

"With no time to do anything but say 'Oh, my God!' Coetzee was gone, hauled beneath the green water never to be seen again."

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Orange Tossing

Amen.

Grayson: Democratic ‘appeasement’ cost us the election | Raw Story:

"'Our strategy for two years has been appeasement, and look where it got us,' Grayson told MSNBC. 'I think Democrats want to see a fighting leadership, they want to see a fighting president — somebody who actually accomplishes good things for constituents.'"

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Double Amen with a Weeellll.

Peace Sucks a Hairy Asshole - First Draft:

"Here's the problem, you gutless fucks. You had majorities. And I KNOW, okay, but all America sees is that you had majorities and you wasted them. Because that's what the GOP told them, and you said, 'buh buh buh' and couldn't point to anything you did right, not even with the unwashed hippies holding your arm up for you. You had majorities, and you had Harry Reid, refusing to be mean to Republicans by shoving stuff through. You had majorities, and you had Barack Obama acting like he was already an ex-president and could be gracious and social with these pricks. You had majorities, used them to do some stuff, and then sat back and acted like we should be grateful when we can fucking count.

We can fucking count, out here. We know what 51 means. We know what 257 means. We're not morons. And all the procedural whatsit you argue today, about ConservaDems and Blue Dogs, doesn't mean shit. You had it, and we worked hard to give it to you, and we see you calling things impossible which are just very hard, and we get fucking annoyed, because we don't get to get away with that shit. Not at our jobs and not in our lives."

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And yet, I'm not allowed to drive with a six-pack in belly. Does. Not. Compute.

As boomers age, 1 in 5 drivers will be oldsters - Yahoo! News

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Yeah, what's the big deal?

Man arrested for throwing oranges at planes:

"Police say Henio admitted to sniffing spray paint. He also admitted to throwing oranges at the planes, and said he didn't know why it was a big deal."

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In the Garden of Eden

You've just spent 69 days under the Earth's crust. What are you going to do now?

Edison Pena, Trapped Chilean Miner, Gets Trip To Graceland

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Surprised my night in '94 wasn't included. It was oh-so inspiring.

The 5 Most Inspiring Things Ever Accomplished (While Drunk) | Cracked.com:

"If we were to draft a list of all the artists, writers and musicians who owed their muse to booze, it would pretty much just be a list of all artists, writers and musicians, period. Douglas Adams came up with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy while lying drunk in a field, Jackson Pollock turned being a violent drunk into an art form, Charlie Parker once vomited onto his microphone during a live performance, and Ernest Hemingway was Ernest Motherfucking Hemmingway. But no act of creation so thoroughly embodies the drunken arts as the songwriting of Doug Ingle, from the band Iron Butterfly."

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Again, to all y'all that put your entire lives on FB:

Facebook 'Delete' Can Take 16 Embarrassing Months

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I've got 9 out of 10. Never done the cheese cake factory probably b/c it is full of tourist.

10 Non-Touristy Things To Do In San Francisco (PHOTOS)

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Shooting Blanks

I've got absolutely nothing today.... Not quite true. I've got a load of articles that I could post and comment on, but I'm staring at them and simply can not find the drive to give a shit about the fucked up people who are running/ruining this country. This fucking country ain't Never Gonna Change and I don't think that anybody truly wants it to change... at least not the people we elect to make the change.

So, here's DBT with Kelly Hogan on vocals doing a cover of the very first song that entered my conscious as a child. I knew all the words when I was 5 years old. Freaky that they covered this tune:

Delta Dawn

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Aaaaaand..... these folks know how to party. All future parties will be a let down to the 3 year old.

Beer-Soaked Brawl Ends 3-Year-Old's Birthday Party

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Theft and Libel

This 'climategate' nonsense irks me to the enth.

The last two paragraph nails what it is really about:

Eschaton:

"Barbara Boxer is right about this:

Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.

Boxer, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said that the recently released e-mails, showing scientists allegedly overstating the case for climate change, should be treated as a crime.

This really is not even debatable. Data was stolen and then misrepresented in order to slander specific individuals, even to accuse them of criminal wrongdoing: this is what happened.

'ClimateGate' is about the contemptible methodology of powerful interests cheering on mass human suffering for narrow financial gain, full stop. It's about theft and libel. Period."

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Shocking.

Group promoting climate skepticism has extensive ties to Exxon-Mobil :

"A group promoting skepticism over widely-accredited climate change science has a web of connections to influential oil giant Exxon-Mobil, Raw Story has found."

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Earth could plunge into sudden ice age - LiveScience- msnbc.com:

"In the film, 'The Day After Tomorrow,' the world gets gripped in ice within the span of just a few weeks. Now research now suggests an eerily similar event might indeed have occurred in the past."

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And now a comment on Congress... because others write what I think so much better than I can.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"The 'world's greatest deliberative body' is increasingly being laid bare for what it is--utterly dysfunctional because of the massive egos and personal foibles of narcissists like Joe Lieberman, who can hijack the most critical of issues for their own narrow, personal reasons."

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Yup

Former MO. House Speaker charged with felony assault:

"Longtime Republican politico allegedly punched, choked and had sex with woman when she blacked out after drinking glass of wine

Former MO. House Speaker charged with felony assaultFormer Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton was charged with second-degree assault Monday stemming from a woman's claim that he hit her in the face several times and choked her"

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I need to up my staring out the window time.

Cat Cams: What DO Cats Do Home Alone?:

"Fifty house cats were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.

Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping."

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But is it low calorie?

Alcohol Pill Can Get You Drunk Without Drinking, Researcher Says

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DBT Week in Review - 11/13/09

Patterson/DBT!

40 Watt Shows have been announced!

Drive-By Truckers- Tour Dates

On sale tomorrow, 11/14 @ Noon.

Tickets for 1/14

Tickets for 1/15

Tickets for 1/16

3 Day Pass!

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Listen to Patterson Hood’s ‘Depression Era’ from ‘That Evening Sun’:

"A number of weeks ago I wrote about the original song “Depression Era” from Scott Teems’s “That Evening Sun.” It’s a breathy southern soul tune that, for my money, bests all other original song contenders this year. But considering the fact that the film will struggle to be seen, and the music branch isn’t likely to appreciate the song’s placement in the film (closing credits), I doubt an original song nomination is on the horizon."

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Patterson, Finn and Nichols. Onion A.V. folks are on top of it!

Who's the next Bruce Springsteen? | Features | | A.V. Milwaukee:

"Let’s dispense with an obvious disclaimer: There will never be another Springsteen, just as there will never be another Bob Dylan, Beatles, Zeppelin, insert your favorite classic rock band here. Furthermore, younger artists don’t need to be validated by being compared to a baby boomer favorite. Today’s musical heroes are just as valid as the legends of yesteryear. Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way: I think the person most deserving of Springsteen’s mantle is Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers."

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Internet Archive: Free Download: Patterson Hood Live at Caledonia Lounge on 2009-11-04

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Patterson Hood takes up series at Caledonia - Variety:

"'A good bit of our 2000 live album, 'Alabama Ass Whuppin,' was recorded there [at the Caledonia], so we put this together as a way to say thank you to the Caledonia for 10 years of great rock here in Athens,' Hood said."

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Musicians sound call for the Louisiana coast:

"The letter (view here ) was signed by a wide range of musicians and music industry voices; from New Orleans own Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Galactic, and Funky Meters to internationally known acts like REM, Trent Reznor, Ok Go, Los Lobos and Bonnie Raitt. Voodoo performers the Drive-By Truckers, Gogol Bordello, JJ Grey & Mofro, the Knux, Parliment-Funkadelic, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Generationals, Warsaw, and many others added their support as well."

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Here are a couple of pictures of JI400 during sound check at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco last Sunday. I should have a full post up next week with pictures and a few tales.

Posted this video of The Blue earlier this week, but this is a do over for better sound. Still working on better compression for the imaging, but sound has been much improved. May still be loading, so vid quality will improve.

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Photo essay: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit @ the Larimer Lounge | Reverb

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Preservation Hall and Sony RED Distribution Announce: 'Preservation, an Album Benefiting Preservation Hall and Its Music Outreach Program':

"The complete roster of artists includes: Louis Armstrong, Andrew Bird, Terence Blanchard, Pete Seeger, Dr. John, Blind Boys of Alabama, Brandi Carlile, Cory Chisel, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard, Richie Havens, Jason Isbell, Jim James, Angelique Kidjo, Amy LaVere, Anita Briem, Del McCoury, Bobby McFerrin, Buddy Miller, Paolo Nutini, and Tom Waits."

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Muscle Shoals Sound

Mac McAnally named musician of the year | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL:

"“It was just a lucky piece of timing,” he said. “I’m just a part-time musician.”"

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Stars play auctioned guitars | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL:

"UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA - It takes seasoned guitarists such as Earl 'Peanut' Montgomery and Jimmie Johnson to notice the subtle differences in the two custom-made Benedetto guitars being auctioned by the University of North Alabama.

Johnson and Montgomery are among almost a dozen Shoals musicians who have come to Rogers Hall on the UNA campus to give the guitars a test run.

The guitars are the same model - electric hollow body Benedetto Bambinos handmade in Savannah, Ga."

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Dexateens

DEXATEENS t-shirt - all sizes - Peavy - - eBay (item 220506845914 end time Nov-13-09 17:18:21 PST)

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Music

Here's a quirky little group from the Bay Area.

Late Night Music Club: 'Beat It,' by Pomplamoose | Late Nite Music Club:

"Pomplamoose (it means 'grapefruit' in French) is a Bay Area indie jazz-pop band and is compromised made up of Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, who do what they call VideoSongs.

For those who don't know, a VideoSong is a new medium with (as Jack puts it) two rules:

1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice).

2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds)."

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Whatever.

Joe Perry: Steven Tyler has quit Aerosmith - Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 | 4:03 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun

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Bee Gees interview - Telegraph:

"The two surviving members of this legendary trio (brother Maurice died suddenly, in January 2003, aged 53, of complications from a twisted intestine) have come together to celebrate a golden anniversary, 50 years in the music business, with a new compilation The Ultimate Bee Gees. It has been a quite extraordinary career, with two distinct periods of world-beating stardom, as Beatles-influenced soft rockers in the late Sixties (their classic hits included To Love Somebody, Words and How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and blue-eyed disco singers in the late Seventies (Stayin’ Alive, Jive Talkin’, Tragedy) with a twilight period as hitmakers for other artists, including Barbra Streisand (Woman in Love), Diana Ross (Chain Reaction), Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (Islands in the Stream) and Dionne Warwick (Heartbreaker). Their catalogue of solid gold standards is rivalled only by Lennon and McCartney."

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The New York Music Project: Help Map The City In Song:

"Since its founding, New York has been an evergreen inspiration for musicians, from Gershwin to Dylan to the Beastie Boys. 'Empire State of Mind,' Jay-Z's love letter to the city, is just the latest, and perhaps greatest, in a long line of New York-inspired songs. But one day -- maybe soon, maybe not -- someone else will come along and pen a diddy about the city that never sleeps that will fully-encapsulate life in the five boroughs and Jay-Z's will be a worn-out standard, played while fans shuffle out of the new new Yankee Stadium.

So in honor of the long and vast history of New York in song, we're extremely pleased to introduce the Huffington Post New York Music Project. Essentially we are trying to discover, uncover, and map every single song lyric that name-checks a location, business, corner, monument, etc., in the city of New York. This can be as vague as George Cohan giving his regards 'to Broadway' to as specific as Lou Reed 'waiting for the man' on 125th and Lexington. We've put together 40 entries to start off with, but that just scratches the surface."

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Fun Stuff

Type yer birfday in:

Wolfram|Alpha

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Ambiguous Film Endings Resolved (VIDEO)

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Need to open a bottle of wine this weekend but don't have a cork screw?

Well, here you go:

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Facebook Vampires

What Kos says about Specter.

I would have much rather ran a progressive (who would have won) than have Specter as a Dem from PA.

WH may have cut a 'no primary opponent' deal but that doesn't mean jack shit if someone wants to run. The netroots will fund him/her so screw all of the national Dem orgs.

It is not like Specter is going to be a 60th vote or anything.

The only good thing about this is watching Republican heads explode.

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

"In some ways, Specter's switch doesn't give us anything much. As his statement says, he's not switching back on EFCA, he won't be a reliable Democratic vote, and he'll probably duke it out with Lieberman to be the most obnoxious anti-Democratic voice from within the caucus.

On the other hand, he was going to lose his primary and we'd easily pick up the seat against Toomey, giving us a real Democrat in that seat. Doesn't seem like a great deal.

This move is about political survival, and nothing more. Specter's overriding concern is staying in the Senate, and he'll bend whatever conviction is necessary to make that happen. And since it was clear he wasn't going to survive a primary challenge, well, he did what he needed to do. I wouldn't be surprised, if the Dems pick up a good primary challenger to Specter, for the incumbent to suddenly re-find religion on EFCA. It's not as if Specter believes in anything beyond his title and choice parking spot near the Capitol."

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Blood is on your hands Beck/Hannity/et al.

Joshua Cartwright, Cop-Killing Gunman, "Severely Disturbed" Over Obama's Election:

"The couple started brawling in their Florida apartment. Elizabeth managed to escape and get herself to a hospital and call the police, but Joshua didn't stop raging until after he had killed two sheriff's deputies at a gun range, and police officers shot him dead.

According to the police report, Elizabeth Cartwright said her husband 'believed that the US Government was conspiring against him. She said he had been severely disturbed that Barack Obama had been elected President.'"

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Damn, damn, damn. Didn't know about this. Damn!

Winery creates buzz with dream job offer:

"(04-28) 19:57 PDT -- The dream job offer is this: Get paid $10,000 a month for six months to drink wine, learn and talk about wine, eat good food, live rent free in Healdsburg and play the occasional game of poker with a laid-back staff."

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I left you behind for a reason.

The vampires of Facebook / Could it actually be dangerous to connect with everyone you ever knew?:

"From an energy perspective, Facebook is a goddamn cord-makin' wonderland, a sort of psychic Grand Central, the place where psychic energy goes to jack itself back into the mainframe. It's tens of millions of people peeking and poking and peering into the lives of those they know, those they want to know, those they like or love or hate or begrudge or secretly want to peel the pants from and lick like a popsicle in summer.

It's a notion that struck me as I realized that nearly everyone who's ever played a reasonably significant role in my life, both past and present, has since found and reconnected with me, initially via email through the digital reach of this very column over the years, but now far more actively and vividly through my Facebook profile (or, to a lesser extent, my Twitter feed). It's sort of stunning, really.

Old girlfriends, lost loves, long-forgotten friends, high school sweethearts, band mates, roommates, old nemeses, lots of former cheerleaders turned born-again Christian megamoms, and everything in between. All those old connections, those lives and chapters and periods of my life I thought I'd left behind so cleanly, so decisively, way back when? Here they all are again, like a living scrapbook, constantly renewing and updating itself. What a thing."

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Now THIS is how one goes about a bender.

Laid-off Russian stuns doctors with drinking bout:

"MOSCOW (AFP) – Russians are no strangers to vodka, but a binge by one laid-off factory worker who consumed an estimated eight bottles in a session had even seasoned doctors gasping in astonishment."

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Prison Hooch

I can't even... Just.... fuck.

Open Left:: Wall Streeters "Can't Live on $150,000 to $180,000 a Year":

"Another snippet for the I Shit You Not File: In the New York Times, a head hunter for banks defends the $18 billion in taxpayer-subsidized bonus payouts to Wall Street executives and traders by insisting that those executives and traders can't be expected to live on $150,000 to $180,000 a year - I shit you not:"

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This is why skydiving holds absolutely no lure for me.

Soldier lands safely after skydive instructor dies:

"CHESTER, S.C. – A Georgia-based soldier says his military training helped him land safely on his first skydiving jump after the instructor strapped to his back died from an apparent heart attack.

Daniel Pharr says he knew something was wrong when George Steele stopped answering his questions after their parachute deployed Saturday afternoon above South Carolina. They jumped from 13,500 feet.

Pharr says he didn't panic because of his Army training, and he knew from watching television to use the parachute toggles to steer.

The 25-year-old, stationed at Fort Gordon, Ga., says the nonmilitary jump was a Christmas gift from his girlfriend.

Pharr says he tried unsuccessfully to revive Steele with CPR when they landed."

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Jesus prevented a review of the last play.

Snarkilicious.

Daily Kos: Kurt Warner: "God Is To Blame For This Loss":

"Tampa, FL (KE) -- Kurt Warner, the 37-year-old veteran quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, blamed the Christian God for the team's heartbreaking loss to the Pittsburg Steelers in Sunday night's Superbowl XLIII. Speaking to a pool of gathered reporters outside the team's locker room, Warner stated, 'I always credit God for my victories and earlier this week I said I had an advantage in tonight's game because of the power of Jesus. Clearly, however, Jesus let me down. And so I am not responsible for tonight's loss. If you want someone to blame, this one is 100% on the man upstairs.'"

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Now THIS is a half-time show I could get into.

Porn Clip Interrupts Super Bowl Coverage In Arizona

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Because prison knowledge is power:

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Like a Roller Coaster

Oh my!

Now here's a bit of privacy rights violation that I can get behind.

Hacker's doing the people's work!

Like Cheney but stupider.

Sarah Palin’s Yahoo account hijacked, e-mails posted online | Zero Day | ZDNet.com:

"On the heels of media reports that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was using a private Yahoo e-mail account (gov.palin@yahoo.com) to conduct Alaska state business, hackers have broken into the account and posted evidence of the hijack on Wikileaks.

An activist group calling itself ‘anonymous’ claimed responsibility for the compromise and released screenshots, photographs and the e-mail addresses of several people close to Palin, including her husband Todd and assistant Ivy Frye."

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Besides, the Repubs picked the wrong Palin to join the ticket.

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Great article on my friend's bro who just won his primary in NY.

Squadron’s Agenda - A More Open Albany - NYTimes.com:

"In just a few short days, Daniel L. Squadron has gone from neophyte insurgent candidate to wunderkind. His victory in the Democratic primary last week over State Senator Martin Connor, a 30-year veteran of Albany and onetime Senate minority leader, has made Mr. Squadron, 28, one of the most talked-about figures in New York City politics."

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Who came up with this crap idea anyway?

I've never understood vodka and Red Bull. Not even the beloved-in-Athens chipmunk.

Isn't it all just a bit self defeating?

States ask MillerCoors to pull energy drink:

"MILWAUKEE - Twenty-five states asked beverage maker MillerCoors LLC on Wednesday to abandon plans for a new caffeine-infused alcoholic energy drink.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement that the Sparks Red drink is a 'recipe for disaster' because adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages reduces drinkers' sense of intoxication."

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And, I TOLD Y'ALL!

Vegetables will kill you!

Thank jeebus I've stuck to a meat a potato diet lo' these many years.

I was doing Atkins before Atkins was cool.

Eating veggies shrinks the brain-Health/Sci-The Times of India:

"MELBOURNE: Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage."

"Brain scans of more than 1,800 people found that people who downed 14 drinks or more a week had 1.6% more brain shrinkage than teetotallers. Women in their seventies were the most at risk.

But then there's this part:

Beer does less damage than wine according to a study in Alcohol and Alcoholism.

Researchers found that the hippocampus-the part of the brain that stores memories - was 10% smaller in beer drinkers than those who stuck to wine."

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Day O' Labor

Happy Labor Day, y'all. If you're in Canada or Puerto Rico you'll be celebrating Labour Day. Yeah, aren't y'all all cool with your 'u'. That's just too fancy for most Americans. We like to dumb it down, dontcha know.

Folks in NOLA and the Gulf Coast be safe today. Ol' Dirty Gustav seems to have shrunk to a category two which is good.

Stay safe and fill your day with folly.

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What this article doesn't tell you is that the big rig collided with a orange juice truck and a fine time was had by all.

Vodka spill staggers traffic on Highway 101:

"(08-28) 13:05 PDT SUNNYVALE -- Traffic on Highway 101 in Sunnyvale is slow because of an overturned big rig that spilled vodka over the roadway."

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What the hell is wrong Adam's Township. I mean this isn't the dildo ban in Alabama, but come on.... Can't a girl release her inner stripper without fear of arrest?

Town Sued After Nixing Pole-Dancing Studio:

"A woman has sued a town that refused to allow her to open a dance studio that featured pole-dancing exercise classes on the grounds it was a sexually oriented business.

Adams Township officials violated Stephanie Babines' right to free expression by denying her an occupancy permit, the American Civil Liberties Union claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Pittsburgh."

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Cocaine's a hell of a drug.

Modesto man tries to amputate own arm:

"Police say a man tried to cut off his own arm at a restaurant in Modesto, Calif., because he thought he had injected air into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would die unless he took drastic action."

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Douchebag of the decade.... Axl Rose

Bismarck Tribune Online - World and National News:

"LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal authorities say they have arrested a blogger suspected of streaming songs from Guns N' Roses unreleased album, 'Chinese Democracy,' on his Web site."

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Waffle House Wedding

Some nice work in this YouTube titled 'Baracky II"

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Too damn close of a call.... and of course a lying federal agency.

'Lookin' out the window..... And I'm scared shitless....'

EXCLUSIVE: FAA Tapes Reveal Drama of Obama Jet Incident

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Smart. Like a college student is suppose to wait until his/her Senior Year to drink....

I had my 21st birthday party in a bar that I had worked at since I was 19.

College presidents seek debate on drinking age:

"College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus."

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In related 'no-shit' news.

People Really Do Look Better When You Drink :

"For the first time, scientists have proven that 'beer goggles' are real - other people really do look more attractive to us if we have been drinking."

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Yeah.

Waffle House Wedding

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This Buds not for You

Almost missed this one due to Trojan King.

Fellow blogger Roger at Legal Schnauzer who works... or I should say worked... at my alma mater UAB was recently fired for expressing his First Amendment rights.

Alabama US Attorney denies any involvement in university editor's termination:

"The abrupt dismissal of a veteran University of Alabama employee who blogged about the firing of seven US Attorneys has added a bizarre new twist to allegations that the state's US Attorneys targeted political opponents for prosecution.

Roger Shuler -- a high-profile blogger and leading critic of Alabama's judicial system -- has written extensively about alleged corruption among U.S. Attorneys for over a year. In particular, Shuler focused on two US Attorneys from his home state: Alice H. Martin of the Northern District and Leura G. Canary of the Middle District"

Shuler's initial goal as a blogger -- at his personal blog, Legal Schnauzer -- was to expose the corruption of a local lawyer and his allies in the local judiciary, he says. His posts decried the tactics of Alice Martin, US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. Martin attempted unsuccessfully to prosecute Don Siegelman for allegations of attempted bid-rigging in 2004, only to have the case dismissed with prejudice.

Rogers doing great work and if you feel like supporting him he's got some names and numbers to call in his link below.

Legal Schnauzer: The Power of a Raw Story:

"If you ever hear anyone say something like, 'I don't really think Web sites and other forms of 'new media' make much of a difference in journalism,' please send them my way.

I will straighten them out.

Since Raw Story on Friday afternoon broke the story about my termination from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), traffic on Legal Schnauzer has more than tripled from what I would normally see on a Friday and Saturday. And that's on a weekend in the middle of summer vacation season."

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Even the Chinese are taking Schnauzer off the menu

Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics

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In crappy American beer news.

This Bud Might Not Be for Them - WSJ.com:

"ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Moore took the news that his beloved Budweiser could soon fall into foreign hands very personally: He decided he would scrap his plan to get the logo of the King of Beers tattooed on his right rib cage.

'I'll tell you one thing,' said the 21-year-old concrete worker during his lunch break at The Brick of St. Louis bar, in the shadow of this city's storied Anheuser-Busch Cos. brewery, 'if Budweiser is made by a different country, I don't drink Budweiser anymore. I'll go back to Wild Turkey.' (Wild Turkey, a Kentucky bourbon, is owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard SA.)"

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But there could be an upside. I loves me some Stella.

U.S. beer drinkers could toast Anheuser takeover :

"NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Beer drinkers could reap some unexpected short-term benefits as Anheuser-Busch's 'King of Beers' becomes a vassal in a much larger empire run by Belgium's InBev.

Once InBev's $52 billion takeover of Anheuser gets approved, it will be able to use Anheuser's far-reaching U.S. distribution network to sell its own beers, introducing brews such as Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe and Staropramen to drinkers across the United States.

'That could be one of the secret upsides' to this deal, said Harry Schuhmacher, editor and publisher of Beer Business Daily. 'You can get a Stella anywhere in New York, but you can't get one anywhere in San Antonio"

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Mostly Ghostly Video

Check out the video for Ghost to Most by Jason Thrasher:

A Ghost To Most

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I'm torn on this one. I like my steaks bloody rare so I'm wondering how they'll produce the blood in the fake steak.

Then there's also the 'fear of death' hormone that's injected into the meat right before slaughter and that taste real, real good.

I don't know, man, I don't know.

Animal activists offer million dollars for test-tube meat:

"Steaks out of a test-tube? The animal rights group PETA is putting up a million dollar reward for anyone who by 2012 can grow in-vitro meat that looks and tastes like the real thing.

'In-vitro meat production would use animal stem cells that would be placed in a medium to grow and reproduce. The result would mimic flesh and could be cooked and eaten,' People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in a statement."

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Having lived in Phoenix I can attest to mass delusions but there may be something to this one.

Mystery lights reported over Phoenix:

"People are looking for an explanation for mysterious red lights that appeared in the north Phoenix sky Monday night, reminiscent of a similar event 11 years ago."

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NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Damn beer prices are already through the roof.

'WARM' BEER CRI$I$ - New York Post:

"April 22, 2008 -- High beer prices are on tap, and global warming could be to blame.

The environmental crisis has hit suds-lovers where it hurts most - at the bar and in the wallet - as prices of grains and hops soar, activists said yesterday."

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Siren Song of the Snorg Chick

Closeted Lindsey, Trader Joe and McSame

The Saddest Effing Picture Ever.

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How a candidate runs their campaign is how they will run the country.

Hillary's Campaign Refused to Cancel My Contribution Plan:

"In a recent article on the Politico, Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills, it was reported that Hillary's campaign isn't even paying its own bills. In an interesting irony, as of February 29, her campaign owed $200,000 to a health insurance provider, which had not been paid in three months. As soon as the media found out about it, her campaign decided to pay it off."

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Ummm, d'uh. Why do you think strip clubs exist?!?

Sex and Financial Risk Linked in Brain :

"WASHINGTON — A new brain-scan study may help explain what's going on in the minds of financial titans when they take risky monetary gambles _ sex. When young men were shown erotic pictures, they were more likely to make a larger financial gamble than if they were shown a picture of something scary, such a snake, or something neutral, such as a stapler, university researchers reported."

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*sniff* *sniff* 'God Bless America... Land that I love....'

Beer lovers toast 75 years after return of legal suds :

"It has been called everything from a noble experiment to a stupendous blunder.

Seventy-five years ago today, beer started flowing again, marking the beginning of the end for Prohibition."

But April 7 was the date that newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt, armed with 57 percent of the popular vote, tweaked the law to allow for the sale of beer, creating a sudsy slope that led to full-scale repeal of the 14-year-old law.

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Oh Snorg chick. T-shirt temptress. Your siren song is oft the focus of my day dreams. Could it be the short-shorts? Or is it you snaggled smile that sets my heart a flutter. (Call me!)

(I'm spending WAY too much time on MySpace)

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Yeah, That's the Ticket

Because 'coverage' by the traditional media sucks. Why not lie to the public and tell them that the primary race is oh so close and that my-my anyone could win this neck and neck race. It's called 'ratings'. Screw journalism.

Simply not the case. Hillary can't win. Her goal is to so split the Democratic Party that McCain wins the presidency then 'Hillary' can take over in 2012. She knows if Obama wins he's in for 8 years and she'll have not shot at the Presidency in 2016 b/c she'll be 68. Not even Bill will want to eff her then.

Story behind the story: The Clinton myth:

"One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning."

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Wait. Do you smell that? Smells like fire. Smells like pants are on fire. There must be a liar-liar in our midst.



It gets better. You can always trust the traditional media to pick up on a lie... well, a lie by a Democrat. They seem to be impervious to the lies of the Republicans. The smell of money must throw them off.

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Daily Kos: Hillary: "I Took Her Stuff & Then I Left":

"Sen. Clinton, I do believe your pantsuit is on fire. Geez . . . you'd think that someone that was married to Bill for all these years would be a better liar. I don't think rapid fire, you know, stammering helps, you know, convince people that, you know, your telling the truth. Maybe that's just me.

Memories are strange things. Especially under the stress of, you know, sniper fire."

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After that whopper, Daddy Needs a Drink

Hawking the green fairy: Will absinthe outlive its 15 minutes?:

"In fact, as legend goes, America's very first cocktail was made with absinthe. It was the 1830s and New Orleans apothecary Antoine Peychaud used to entertain his pals after hours at his pharmacy in the French Quarter with his own concoction of brandy, absinthe and a bit of his secret bitters. The drink would latter be called a Sazerac and was served at coffeehouses all over town."

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Housework Gets a Chub

Recently discovered that a fella I went to high school with has created the fastest growing micro brew company in the U.S.

Dale Katechis, visionary:

Check out a great video on his website describing the beers and process.

Another Shoals Area, AL success story.

Oskar Blues: Our Beer (Restaurant & Brewery - Lyons, Colorado)

Style Weekly : Richmond's alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion:

"When it comes to beer, the can has never known the glory of the bottle — it has always gotten a bum rap. Dale Katechis and his Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery have organized their own personal blitz to overhaul the image of the lowly can, provided their product is in it. Oskar Blues is the nation’s first craft brewer to can its own beer. And outside the Centennial State, the only place you can get the stuff is in Virginia. Like most funky ideas, canning high-end beer started as a lark. Katechis and brewer Brian Lutz “kind of laughed about the idea of putting big, heavy beer in a can,” Katechis says. “One day we stopped laughing and just tried it.”"

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10 to 1 a chick wrote this article.

Housework Gets You Laid:

"The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more sex."

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Obsolete Skills: Skills/Skills

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My friend ABAT sent me this link of tales and pictures from an Americana festival in NZ. My plan is to be at the one next year.

Hey, it seems at least one other country doesn't hate the U.S. at the moment. Give us time, ABAT, give us time.

PHOTOS: Americarna in NEW ZEALAND.....What an EXPERIENCE!!! - THE H.A.M.B.:

"I've been back for a little over a week now, but WOW what a trip!

OK, a little fine print here. This post does contain some off topic (for the HAMB) photos. This post is meant to do more than just show old cars. It's also meant to feature an amazing country and its even more amazing people. That's why there are so many people shots - they really had an impact on me. This may be my longest post ever. I had to try and edit down from nearly 2800 photos.

In August, at the Goodguys West Coast Nationals, I was approached by the promoter of a car show in New Zealand to come check it out. All the details were worked out and I waited for February to come. Goodguys was going to be my link to another cool event.

The flight out was great because I was surprised at the check-in counter with an upgrade to first class. Waited on hand and foot, a full-on flat bed and your own cubicle is definitely the way to travel!

I arrived in New Plymouth after about 16 hours of travel in pretty good spirits. Hell, I had a killer week ahead of me in a beautiful country looking at old cars, who wouldn't be stoked?"

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Drunk Girls

Not that this should matter one damn bit... but, unfortunately we WERE settled by the Puritans (damn my ancestors for not being criminal enough to be sent to Australia).

Official: NY Gov Caught on Wiretap:

"A law enforcement official has told The Associated Press that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution ring was caught on a federal wiretap.

However, the story hasn't fully been told. Spitzer's wife, Riskay Spitzer, was already suspicious of her husband so she asked if she could Smell His D*ck after he came home late one night, recently.

Moral of the story? Boys, always wash up before you come home to your hood rat wife. Oh, and always check for a federal wiretap when ordering a ho' on Craigslist.

'Cause, you know, the feds don't have anything bigger to worry about. Seriously, they don't know where the eff bin Laden is but they can tell you in a heart beat where a Democrat's dick has been.

Hullabaloo:

"Obviously Spitzer's in big trouble and is very likely to resign. When you build your career as a self righteous crusader, you don't get the benefit of the doubt on stuff like this. But there are questions that should be asked. It is unusual to release the names of johns and it's weird that we still don't know why the feds were wiretapping on some seemingly inconsequential prostitution case in the first place. Is that something the feds spend a lot of time doing these days?"

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Drunken History Lesson's (NSFW)



My favorite one:

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The best piece of performance art in the history of mankind. I 'highly' recommend enjoying some pie before you settle in to watch this one.

Awesomeness!

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