Things to do in Cinci when you're dead...

...Or on a business trip; whichever comes first.

I just spent the last couple of days in Cinci on business. Its an interesting city that seems to have more of a Kentucky feel to it than an Ohio one. Of course the line between Kentucky and Cinci is pretty thin so its understandable. In fact the Cincinnati airport is physically located in the state of Kentucky.

So what do you do when you're there if you have some free time to kill? Well free time isn't something that I had a lot of but here's what the burg has to offer.

Chili. Apparently they're known for their chili there. (I just used all 3 "there's" in one sentence. How cool is that?) There are quite a few spots to take this offering in but the folks that I talked to say that Dixie Chili is the best. If you're in a hurry try Gold Coast or Skyline. There are more of them available (Dixie only has one joint).

Check out the Architecture. There are some really cool buildings in Cinci. One of the coolest ones I saw is a condo for the rich and famous (read Cincinnati Reds). Everyone has different tastes though. A jaunt through the college campuses of Xavier and U of Cinci will expose you to several different architctural styles.

Kelly Red. Definately the most fun I had during the trip. While in Cinci be sure to spend an evening with Blues singer Kelly Red and The Hammerheads. Sing sings (boy does she sing), she laughs, cries, dances, drinks & makes every patron feel as if they are sitting at their own personal concert. Never heard of her before? No problem. Never met her before? Who cares. She certainly doesn't. By the time the first set is over she's been over to talk to you and made you feel as if the two of you will be fast friends for the rest of your lives. She takes requests but be sure to ask her do sing "You Knew Better".

My favorite thing to do outside of hangin with Kelly was try to get free shit because I share a name with one of Cinci's favorite sons. To be fair, it was more of the people I was with trying to get free shit for themselves because of it but now I'm just splittin hairs. Mostly it just resulted in meeting some pretty interesting characters and hearing a lot of cool stories about folks' lives.

Oh and here's a quick tip for you air travelers. Because of the foot surgery I had a few months back I sometimes use a cane to relieve some of the discomfort. If you think you're going to find yourself sitting at the aiport terminal with several dozens of your soon to be close personal friends take a cane. When they call for the pre boarding of passengers that may require assistance hobble up to them and go store your shit in the overhead compartments before they all fill up. You don't want to be holding people up because you're a gimp do ya? Of course you don't.

**Wanted**

Do you have a blog or a my space page? Of course you do. Create your own wanted poster here.

aagro.blogspot.com

WANTED FOR THE BLATANT ATTACK ON DUBYA'S REGIME

$6,400

Or maybe you're more curious about your chances of surviving if the world should go the way of Resident Evil of Dawn of the Dead. The answer is available to you here.

A Heart Beat Away

At that same party I mentioned earlier I said that the only thing that scared me more than the thought of Jeb Bush being president some day was three simple yet frightening words. "President Dick Cheney". *chills*

Here's and interesting article on a different perspective for choosing the Vice President.

A Better Way To Pick A VP

It won't balance your checkbook or cook your food but...

If you're not careful it might entertain you.

This weekend the Admiral and I went to a part hosted by one of her burlesque friends. It was a nice enough crowd and all in all I had an ok time. Hell I even picked up a new joke, which i will unveil in a few weeks at "The Coral".

We drank cocktails, looked at photos that folks had taken, discussed politics...good tims, good times. One of the many topics during the course of the evening were TV shows. A small group of us shared a passion for Sci Fi and we talked about some of our favorite shows. Of course anytime a group of peole are talking about TV someone is going to pipe in and utter the words, "I really don't watch a lot of TV". Followed by the inevitable diatribe on why TV is bad for you.

I'm sad to report that this instance was no different. Interestingly enough was the question that was posed by the "TV is evil" protagonist. She turned to me and asked, "what TV show has emboldened your soul?" Unfortunately someone interupted us before I could answer and we never did return to the conversation.

Still had I gotten the chance to prepare a retort it would have been something along the lines of IT'S ENTERTAINMENT YOU NINNY! (I've always wanted to call someone a "ninny") It won't balance your checkbook, provide you with inner peace, cook your food, or cure cancer. But if you're not careful it just might provide you with some entertainment. There are other ways to be entertained, and TV is not for everyone but for fucks sake allow those of us who enjoy it to do so without the holier than thou speaches.

BTW Survivor China starts this Thursday on CBS. Here now are a few shows that I am really looking forward to wasting my brain cells on.

Come with me if you want to live
The Sarah Conner Chronicles - starring Lena Headley (of among other things The 300), Summer Glau "River" from Firefly plays a T-girl (no not that kind you sicko) the kind that can toss a car 30 yards with the flick of her tiny little wrist. It's the story of Sarah and her plight to protect her son from a future that scares the crap out of her. But don't take my word for it...watch the trailer for yourself. (Please Fox, don't screw this up).



A Classic Reborn
By now you've already heard of this one but if the clips and trailers are any indication its going to be a good one. The Bionic Woman returns this fall to NBC and if you haven't heard already it will be visited from time to time by Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck of BSG fame). This time around Jamie Sommers is played by Michelle Ryan (a mostly unknown actress that is sure to make an impact on the industry after this). This show looks scrumdiddlyicious.




There are a few others that I will mostly likely not watch because there just isn't enough time and I don't have TiVo. But hey, that's what DVD is for. Some of the best shows I've seen were ones that were watched on DVD one episode after the other.

Other shows worth checking out:

• Damages on FX. I saw the first 4 episodes of this one day during one of those pimp the show out marathons. Good stuff.
  
• Painkiller Jane. Friday nights on the Sci Fi network. Its a good show and worth the time if you're home that night and still awake.
  
• Pushing Daisies. ABC attempts dark quirky humor. I'm undecided.

Sorry but I'm home sick today and I've gotta run...there's a movie comin on I don't want to miss.

Four Score and 7 years ago...

So right off the bat I need to say that I went 6 - 0 last week in Fantasy Football. I can't remember the last time I did this so its not only noteworthy but it also means that I was deserved of the much promised nice bottle of Scotch. Yay for me. Is it bad when the guy at the local liquer store doesn't card you because you're a regular?



When it isn't Football season I spend my fair share of time "You Tubin" as (Cyemm would say).

Here's a couple of quick vids that have caught my eye over the last week

The first is one of the few things I watch on a reoccuring basis. It's Philly D TV

Joel on The Soup promises to keep you in stitches

The Sunday Ritual

Every Sunday morning for the last 6 years during the NFL season I go through the same ritual. I've grown rather superstitious about this ritual and how it affects my longstanding success in the Fantasy Football community. It's gotten so bad that if I don't follow the ritual a sense of dread comes over me for the majority of the day. Say what you will but most of my money league losses have come on days when I strayed for one reason or another. The fanatical rites go something like this:

6:45 - 7:00 UP and atom kid its time to get movin. This is done regardless of how late I was out the night before. I've even come home so late that I decided just to stay up all night so I wouldn't risk jinxing the whole damn thing.

7:00 - 7:30 Watch The Sports Reporters on ESPN. There are some instances when the show just isn't on for various reasons. In these instances we fall back on CBS Sunday Morning just to keep up on current events. There will also be constant channel flipping just to get the eyes ready for multiple TV watching.

7:30 - 8:00 Shower and hit the computer. This is a chance to clean up and catch up on any late breaking news in the NFL. Somebody didn't practice. This guy didn't make the trip. Others aren't quite as injured as we thought. The weather has taken a dramatic turn.

8:00 - 9:00 Watch NFL Game Day on ESPN and finalize the line-up(s). In truth the line-ups should have been finalized already. Last minute changes to ones starting line-up rarely work out. They work so infrequently that I've adopted a rule to not do it unless the guy I'm replacing isn't going to play or has a much worse injury that was previously let on. This is really just down time to watch Boomer and the gang before...

9:00 - 9:15 Head to The Winchester. It's real name is Sluggers in Kingsgate and it is hands down the best sports bar in the Seattle area. For the past 6 years I've been going there and sitting in the same section. Most days you'll find me in the same chair but there are times when someone dares to beat me there. Last year on opening day was one of those moments. A couple of newbies got there pretty early and the owner actually told them they couldn't sit there and that the seat was reserved. Keep in mind I hadn't been in there for 3 months prior to that.

The Winchester has over 30 tvs (6 of which are big screen) and they show every game. Last year there was a power outage in much of the Seattle area and I was forced to go to a different sports bar. They managed to show less than half of the games being televised and you had to walk all over the bar to see what was happening in any one game. At the Winchester you can sit in several sections and see every game. It simply cannot be beat.

So if you're in town and you happen to stop in there come say hi. Mention this post and I'll even buy you a pint.

Drink Of The Week

In honor of the first week of the NFL season I thought I'd bring back the DOTW. And since I've got it set in my head what I'm going to have tomorrow at The Winchester I proudly announce that the DOTW is...

THE BLOODY MARY

The Bloody Mary was created back during the opening stages of World War 2. Most date it to the 1939 time frame but there is apparently some controversy as to who invented it. What's most important to me about this tasty beverage is the ease with which it can be made. You can purchase a Bloody Mary Mix at just about any of the local grocery stores. Combine that with Vodka and viola you're done.

The latest listing of ingredients looks like this:
Tomato Juice
Vodka
Tobasco
Worcestershire Sause
Salt
Pepper
Horse Radish (optional)

The orginal recipe was simply Tomato Juice and Vodka. Your local pub will charge $4 - $6.

My tip of the day is that if you're making it at home see if you can get your hands on some Celery Salt. It's healthier (about a third of the sodium) but you won't lose any of the salty taste. Celery Salt also goes really well on popcorn, steaks, pork, chicken...hell just about anything you can think of putting salt in you can use it instead.

One last thing...for the love of all that is holy don't drink one after 6pm. That's just wrong.

If you like science fiction

Give this a shot...

The name of the show is Sanctuary and it stars a new look Amanda Tapping (Stargate SG1). Right now its only available online. You can purchase the Webisodes at http://www.sanctuaryforall.com/ but the first few of them are available courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/.

The premise:
Stem cells, gene therapy, transplants, cloning… The very meaning of the word “humanity” changes daily in the modern world. But there is a darker side to the evolution of mankind, a truth only a few brave souls are willing to face:

There are monsters loose in the world. And they are the key to the future of our race.
Each webisode of Sanctuary follows the exploits of Dr. Helen Magnus (AMANDA TAPPING, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis) as she seeks out all manner of terrifying and monstrous creatures. She is aided in her quest by her reluctant protégé Will Zimmerman (ROBIN DUNNE, Dawson’s Creek, The Big Hit, Species 3) and her intrepid, if somewhat reckless daughter Ashley (EMILIE ULLERUP, Battlestar Galactica). Together they will be drawn into a frightening and mysterious world populated by beings that defy explanation.

I've watched the first 17 minutes and its definitely intriguing. For your viewing pleasure here is the trailer for the show.

Opening Day

One of my favorite days all year is finally here. It's the opening day of the NFL season. After watching the festivities I have a few things to say.

• Rich Eisen is still an obnoxious twit


• Al Michaels is still the best play by play guy around


• John Madden is still the King


• Faith Hill still looks hotter than Anna Korna Kova ever has or will (long story)


• Kelly Clarkston has really parlayed that whole American Idol thing into something big. Good for her.


• Faith Hill also sings the NBC theme song better than my beloved Pink.


• Despite leaving the game with an injury on the first play from scrimmage Joe Addai looks like a stud (143 total yards 1 TD).


• Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning


• Reggie may be better than Marvin


• Drew Brees is back to being Noodle-arm Drew


• The Colts still look Super

Throughout the season I'll post the results of my 6 (yes I said 6) Fantasy teams. If I manage to go 6 - 0 one week I may have to treat myself to Macallan 18.