The Wake

Sen. John McCain

In a time when consumers’ views of the economy are gloomier than they’ve been in five years, the Presidential candidates are devoting more and more rhetoric to fixing our stalled economy. While the Democratic candidates announced government remedies to help heal the situation, Republican candidate John McCain got more specific about his solution to the pending recession than ever before: let the market figure it out. Here’s an excerpt from his Tuesday speech in front of Latino businessmen:

“I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.”

But last week, the Federal …

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In the past few days, news anchors, columnists and cable pundits have been rigorously masturbating over denouncing Obama’s pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the apparent anti-American jihadist. Decades after Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton, white pundits are still acting as surprised as ever when they see a black man speak out radically against this country.

It’s 3.30 a.m. and I’m exiting through the back gate of Camden’s Roundhouse with several of my co-workers. We all bid each other farewell, and take off in our different directions towards home. Each one of is walking with a noticeable affliction given we’ve just left the all you can drink after party following the Supergrass party that night.

I’m walked with extra care and caution toward my bus stop across from Chalk Farm station to catch an N28 back to Kilburn. To protect me from the soft drizzle, four carry out boxes rest stacked atop my head. They’re filled with Chicken and Squid Paella, a Spanish dish of sticky, rice mixed with green and red peppers. It’s been wonderful, as I haven’t had to buy groceries for the last 2 and a half weeks thanks …

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Att. Gen. Lori Swanson

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is eliminating whatever remains from the Farmer-Labor Party in the DFL in a classic case of Democratic hypocrisy. Namely, 50 of her 135 or so assistant attorneys general left her office in the past year due to its constant atmosphere of stress and fear.

MinnPost.com reported this:

“Assistant Attorney General Amy Lawler said she has been put in situations that made her uncomfortable where she had to weigh her own ethical standards against pressure to help Swanson get favorable media coverage and portray herself as the friend of the downtrodden.”

This type of pressure convinced those working under Swanson to support a unionization drive for themselves, something Swanson remains …

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Here is a recent story the piqued my interest on NPR’s All Things Considered. It seems pretty crazy that some 87 years after the end of prohibition that there are such harsh laws still on the books. Then again everything is illegal in America. This is after all the land of political correctness. Anywho, listen to this great story at the link below and buy poor Dan a beer, he might even enjoy it.

Click on the link below to listen to the story.

Alabama Beer Drinkers Fight for Stronger Brews

Change?

Pundits and political junkies – from the left and right – have gotten so nostalgic about the Barack Obama bid for Presidency that they’ve started comparing his candidacy to South Dakota Sen. George McGovern’s 1972 bid against Nixon. Sure, like McGovern, Obama has broad youth support and is attempting to surprise the Old Guard Democrats by winning the Presidential nomination. But all comparisons should end there.

Obama is commonly labeled as the heroic anti-war candidate challenging a pro-war Hillary Clinton, in the sense that Obama was against the Iraq invasion from the start while Clinton helped authorize it and voted for blank Iraq War checks until last March. To the faux-mental-masturbating pundits, Obama resembles the antiwar McGovern going up against the pro-war …

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Wilco recently played a five night stand at Chicago’s Riviera Theater. Rolling Stone recapped the career spanning shows and much to my chagrin, Wilco had Wisconsin’s own New Glarus backstage.

Pre-show, the band snacks on seafood curry and jasmine rice while roadies tap a keg of the hard-to-get Wisconsin microbrew New Glarus. (”We discovered it at a venue in Milwaukee,” says Stirratt.) Tweedy, who’s sipping sparkling water and munching chips, drives each night from his nearby home. And he’s saving his fitness routine for the road. “I’ll usually go for a hike or a run before the show,” he says. The tour, which wraps on March 9th, includes a stop at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of Tweedy’s favorite venues. “It’s probably the only place that Bob Wills and the Sex Pistols both …

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It was two Sundays ago that I went down to the Oxford Arms in Camden to watch the Carling Cup final with Charles, his uncle Ola, and the usual rowdy crowd. Tottenham vs. Chelsea, two London clubs going all out for a some coveted hardware. The die-hard fans were out in full force all across London. It had been 9 years since Tottenham had last one any title, and win would salvage their lack luster year in the premiership, and ignite a celebration of riotous proportions.

Given Camden’s proximity in North eastern London, and it was primarily Tottenham fans filling the pub with their crisp, white jerseys, scarves and t-shirts. I had on my own Tottenham jersey, number 25 Aaron Lennon, which won me the favor of some particularly boisterous Spurs fans in the back. …

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Peanut B. Pipsqueek becomes entranced by the roar of the shaver, like a snake to his charmer.

A Mesmerized Cat

As my computer seems to be in good shape now I can return to “real” life. I’m not sure if this guy has to much time on his hands or what, but who doesn’t want a beer launcher? Sir, my hat is off to you, you’re a gentleman and a scholar.

The Beer-Launching Refrigerator

On Saturday February 10th I was in Camden for the day, losing myself amidst the market mayhem. It’s like a whole other world. You’ll enter one of the markets at point on Camden High Street, and emerge and hour later hundreds of feet down the road, with no idea of how you got there.

I took out my headphones and enjoyed the sites and sounds as the colors of the crowds burst into life. The smells of delicious ethnic foods overwhelm your senses, and leave you no choice but to indulge. I’ve developed a trick for getting discount dishes from these vendors. You just walk by and look casually interested. The eager salesman will start a dialogue, all you have to do is look like his rhetoric is making even the smallest of effects, and he’ll …

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The race for top songs of the summer is going to be a heated battle. With mammoth releases set to drop in every genre, it’s hard to tell which albums will make the splash. There are a few certainties though, particularly in terms of what the club and bar DJ’s will be playing to get patrons off their feet and dancing.

Firstly, Dr. Dre’s third full lenth LP, Detox, is scheduled to flood the airwaves this June. He’ll be releasing each of the 12 or 13 tracks as singles. There won’t be a city block safe in the country safe from the earth shaking beats.

One of my all time favorite groups, NERD, will release their long anticipated third album, N3RD, sometime in late Spring. Given Pharrell and Chad’s consistency for boundary pushing, line blurring beats, …

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I yearn for a time when we didn’t have computers or instant communication. I look back at a simpler time, while I look forward to a relaxing summer breeze. Damn Windows Vista and Final Cut Pro. I’m not sure what this has to do with beer, but I sure could use one. The past year has been full of great experiences (ie London, Summer in Minneapolis, New York, etc), but some kind of technological voodoo has been following me. First my brand new digital camera broke when I was in England, TWICE! Then I spilt tea on my six month old laptop and a few months later the culprit was my fancy dancy cell phone. It’s like I’m running on a treadmill and getting nowhere. Fix one problem and bam, there’s another.

You may be …

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My days of running the point for the Imperial College Medical Basketball Team may be numbered. Team captain, Xu Wang, has grown weary of my months worth of excuses for not yet paying my dues. A hefty forty pounds, which I’ve been able to avoid through an intricate web of stories. However, he’s finally layed down the law, “pay at the game or you’re out.” We’ll see what a few carefully worded emails can’t do, but here’s a summary of our season so far.

We’ve lost four of the five games we’ve played since I’ve joined, but this is not to be taken as a poor showing. It’s a step up from last year’s zero win season. Coach Yanni (the one kneeling in the center dressed in all purple) , enjoys flashy/ stylish play, which …

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Last Sunday (or was this a few weeks ago…) I went down to Trafalgar Square for the Chinese New Year Celebration. They had a large stage with several Kung Fu and dance acts. I then went over to the China Town area for some authentic Chinese cuisine. The festivities concluded with the last of a series of hourly fire works displays in Leicester Square. I then separated from my friends, and went to go find a pub that was playing the Cameroon v. Egypt match before going to a concert in the area that night. It was the final of the African Cup of Nations. I went to four different pubs and they were all playing the Liverpool v. Chelsea, a regular season premiership match up.

Finally, I tired out the Basement Bar. I went …

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