After a year in South Florida, I’m finally starting to find the local beer scene. I’ll be going to a tasting soon and I’d love to bring along some of the Boulevard Smokestack beers. What’s their availability like these days? Are there stores that have them in stock pretty much all the time, or do they still sell out quickly?
Podcast recommendations are all I have in me
Well, I’ve been in Florida for almost a year now. The best thing about Florida? The Pure Imagination radio show. The show is wonderful mix of music and storytelling. We first were exposed to it at a live performance down in Miami, but I’ve since been working my way through all the back episodes of the show via their podcast. If you’re not in Florida you can’t attend their live events, but the podcast is not to be missed.
Highlights from what I have listened to so far include “The Unseen Seagal”, an accounting of the lesser known works of Stephen Seagal. And last year’s Post Christmas Special, an almost This American Lifesque portrait of the lives of North Pole elves.
Currently marking my calendar for the next live event on February 7.
Quick Thoughts On The Game
I only watched the first half of the game last night, but I did get to see all of Rodgers’ playing time. I think Aaron Rodgers is going to be good enough. We have a talented, young team and I’m glad that AR is going to have a chance to mature with this team. I think now is the right time for him to get his start. We’ll take the division this year.
Also, I am personally embarrassed that I do not own a Donald Driver jersey. That guy is a damn freak. Running through defenders like that in a pre-season game? You are hardcore, sir.
Am I The Only One Who Gives A Fuck About The Rules?
Yup, Hillary is in fact playing hardball. Not a surprise, but still disappointing. Not only does Clinton want the Florida and Michigan primary results to be counted, it sounds like she and her people are starting to say that the results should be counted as they stand.
Hey, I’m all for every vote counting. Really I am. Hillary says:
1.7 million Floridians turned out to vote. They clearly believed their votes would count. And I think there has to be a way to make them count.
And I agree. My problem is that so many others who were quite explicitly told that their votes would not count may have, very sensibly, decided to stay home. What about their votes? I think that if we want to seat the Florida delegation, and we should want to seat the Florida delegation, we really need to have another primary or caucus. Doubly so for Michigan, where millions who wanted to vote for Obama didn’t even have the opportunity to do so. What about their votes?
Finally, Hillary just needs to admit that if they hold another election in Michigan, one that is not, you know, a banana republic style one-candidate ballot, she is still going to be behind Obama in both the popular vote and in the pledged delegate count. Her only chance to win the nomination will still remain convincing superdelegates to go against the clear will of the voters.
Hillary, can you please, please stop being so, I don’t know, Clintonesque?
Just stop for a moment and think about what you’re doing here…
Brett. I know you have your press conference scheduled this morning. It is not too late. Just step up to the podium and say that you’ve had a few days to think about it, and you just can’t hang it up yet. Come on, one more season. Hell, pre-announce your retirement. Imagine the motivation of the rest of the team knowing that this is your last shot.
Come on, just one more year. One more year.
It Begins
And more election fun. Now apparently Florida and Michigan want their damn votes counted. I mean, we all knew the Clintons weren’t going to go down without a knock-down drag-out fight, didn’t we?
On the plus side, there is talk of having a re-vote in those two states, which would be nice seeing as Obama wasn’t even on the damn ballot in Michigan. Also, if they re-vote in Florida, I’ll totally be there to fuck it all up. (I think that fuck*ng up elections is what I’m looking forward to most about moving to Florida.)
Six more weeks of primaries? Please, please kill me.
No Tony, it’s not that I don’t care about the election, but priorities are priorities. As for McCain taking the nomination officially? Yawn. The only news is that it is now official that the Republican Party will be running on the War Forever platform in the fall.
As for the Democrats, Pennsylvania’s primary isn’t until April 22? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re telling me that we have to put up with almost two more months of Hillary and Obama tearing each other down while McCain just sits back and takes the occasional potshot at both?
And please, Hillary. Don’t even start talking like you’re the front runner now. You’re still in a deep hole, and the couplefew delegates you picked up last night haven’t saved your campaign yet. While I’m giving advice, can I also suggest that you perhaps stop running ads that play into John McCain’s hands? Do you really think that voters cowering in fear of The Terror are going to vote for you over McCain? Or I don’t know, maybe they will. I have a very bad feeling about how hawkish a Hillary presidency could be. She voted for the Iraq war, firstly. (And yes, go back through my archives and you’ll find I supported it at the time too. I’ve never claimed not to be an idiot though, and I’m not running for President.)
But more than that, it just seems like a Hillary foreign policy is just going to be more of the same. Obama says that he would meet with the leaders of foreign countries that we have disagreements with and she uses it against him. Ugh.
Texas and Ohio, I’m very disappointed in you. You had a chance to put Hillary out of her misery, and you failed. The groundhog saw its shadow, so I guess we have six more weeks of campaign ahead of us. Thanks a bunch, Texohio.
Oh yeah, also: Hillary can not win against McCain.
Well what’ve you got, Mr. Rogers?
I’m still kind of sitting here hoping that it all turns out to be a rumor that got out of hand, but as of right now it looks like Brett Favre is retiring. (Hey, there still isn’t a story on Packers.com!) That’s too bad, after last season I was really hoping for one more year, and I know I’m not alone in that. I’m sure any day now Gerg is going to pull out that email I sent a few seasons ago saying that it was time for him to hang it up. I told him at the time that I’d deny it if he ever told anybody, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s flip-flopped on Favre these last few years.
At 32 years old I’m just barely old enough to remember a time when Brett Favre was not quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. We have a young and talented team, and I think it’s too bad that Brett won’t join them to get one more ring, but I think that even without him the Packers will be contenders this season.
Thanks for 17 great years, Brett. It’s not going to be the same without you.
Now It Can Be Told
Well, really I’ve been free to tell for a few weeks now, and many of you already know. Looks like Bex, Harry, Gimpysoft and I are moving to sunny Boca Raton, FL. I’ll be leaving the local telecom and going to work for Multiply, a social networking site. You can find me on there here, so feel free to sign on up and add me as a friend to keep track of my goings on down in Florida.
I’m no stranger to moving. I never spent more than six years in any one place before I graduated high school, and attended college in both Houston and Fayetteville, AR. However, at this point I’ve lived in Kansas City longer than anywhere I’ve previously lived, and feel a stronger connection to this town than anywhere else. I’m going to miss this town, and I’m going to miss all the people we’ve met. I’m sure we’ll make it back often.
Bex is not quite as used to moving as I, and she is having good days and bad days with respect to the move. (I think the days when she is looking forward to the move coincide with the days where the temperature is below 32°.) All in all though, we think it’s a good move for us and we’re both looking forward to it.
I have two weeks left at the telecom, and I’ll be spending nights and weekends until then finishing up my work on Fort Awesome. I think that Fort Awesome will go on the market around the time that we move, which should be March 20 or so. Anybody looking to buy a starter house? Anybody looking for part-time work helping me build out a bathroom? I pay in Boulevard and Waldo Pizza.
The Wire: Season 5
I haven’t had time to say much to say about The Wire this season. I gorged myself on the first seven episodes early in the season, then had an agonizingly long wait for episode eight. I watched eight and nine On Demand, and now found out today that the series finale won’t be put up On Demand, presumably to avoid spoilers. Arrrgh! Two weeks to wait?
In the meantime, I’ll be catching up on my The Wire reading. I was reading Wire blog Heaven and Here during season 4, but kind of avoided it this season. At least I can go back through it and catch up on their season 5 posts while I’m waiting for the finale.
I also recently found Marc Singer’s blog, where he’s doing an excellent deconstruction of the season so far. One more way to get my fix and kill the time between now and Sunday, March 9.
Sadly, after March 9 I don’t think there will be any way I can continue to justify my subscription to HBO. I’ll be back for David Simon’s Iraq War mini-series Generation Kill, but there’s not a lot else I feel like I need to keep the subscription for.
