October 1, 2011

Wall Art in Williamsburg.



Smorgasburg in Williamsburg is worth the trip.



Right on the East River, that is the Yogi Berra Ferry arriving.



Shorty Tang's features Cold Sesame Noodles from the old Chef at Hwa Yuan on East Broadway. They are spicy and delicious.



Bocata has a great sandwich.



As long as I was in Williamsburg, a Brooklyn Brewery Tour was mandated.



Lots of new machinery, big upgrade.

Brooklyn The Companion, an American-Style Wheat Wine Ale , 10.0% ABV, was sampled and judged excellent.

From the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law) adopted in 1516 by Duke Albrecht the Fifth of Bavaria:

"Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.”

Beck’s uses cultured yeast as an ingredient, which was later approved in an amendment to the original purity law. Modern brewing techniques do not need these purity laws, though nice marketing ploy by Beck's.



Lets Go Yankees !



From Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post:

"Red Sox, report to the River Styx at dawn.

These days, there’s no boatman in a dark cowl to take you over to the other side where the souls who wail for eternity are found. They’ve got an elevator now. Just push the “down” button. Don’t worry; you can’t go too low. Pick any rung. Mr. Dante has fine punishments arranged at every level. New rules: No more eternal damnation. They let you out next opening day to try again. Excuses, fine, they’re permitted, too. But for now: Go to hell. "



Well, if I'm going to read Rumsfeld's memoir, I should include the Darth Vader of VPs. A review in the LA Times quotes Col. Jessup from "A Few Good Men":

"We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns… my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall."

September 29, 2011

Epic night of baseball last night.



Nate Silver's blog on the New York Times Website brings forth a new curse emanating from a Bill Buckner themed episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." From the day that the episode aired on September 4, 2011, the Red Sox went 6-18.

From Nate Silver:
The Red Sox had just a 0.3 percent chance of failing to make the playoffs on Sept. 3.
The Rays had just a 0.3 percent chance of coming back after trailing 7-0 with two innings to play.
The Red Sox had only about a 2 percent chance of losing their game against Baltimore, when the Orioles were down to their last strike.
The Rays had about a 2 percent chance of winning in the bottom of the 9th, with Johnson also down to his last strike.

Multiply those four probabilities together, and you get a combined probability of about one chance in 278 million of all these events coming together in quite this way.



Boston Globe on John Lackey: "Not only is he coming off the worst season a Red Sox starting pitcher has ever submitted, but he's a miserable, dim, finger-pointing, unaccountable wretch of a teammate, and those may be his good qualities. "



Carl Crawford's salary in 2011 is $14,000,000.

Boston Globe on Carl Crawford :"Carl Crawford, the player Damon helped replace in Tampa at a fraction of the cost, plays with such timidity. What has happened to that dynamic player who tormented us all those years while he was in Tampa Bay? And is he gone for good? Because right now, he's Coco Crisp with a lousy glove."

September 27, 2011

Their collapse has been epic. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.



September 23 to October 21: Participating eateries this fall are Almond, Asiadog, Bar Suzette, The Cannibal, Fatty Snack, Graffiti | Mehtaphor, Hong Kong Street Cart, Hot Blondies Bakery, ilili, Junoon, Macaron Parlour, The Milk Truck, Momofuku Milk Bar, Nunu Chocolates, Perfect Picnic, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Roberta’s Pizza, Robicelli’s, Sigmund’s, Spices & Tease, Stuffed Artisan Cannolis, and Wafels & Dinges.



Channeling Lost, Blade Runner, Avatar, Stargate and Jurassic Park. Wasn't going to watch it but nothing was on. Not bad, Stephen Lang is impressive.