Flannel Returns With a Vengeance

Flannel is back.  Flannel is back with a fiery vengeance.  Or... flannely vengeance. This excites me because I am a *huge* advocate of flannel.

Flannel is casual elegance.  Like check out Mary-Kate here:

Casual, yet elegant.  But holy fuck, that bag looks like she skinned a fucking grizzly bear.

You know what else flannel is?

It's relentlessly mind-blowing, just like Kurt Cobain.  That's probably why he wore it.  Because he recognized that he and flannel shared a similar character trait.

Anyway, over the past several weeks, I have started seeing flannel more and more.  In bars, stores, at parties, etc etc etc.  It's making a comeback in a big way.  Since the last time flannel was "in" was the mid to late 90s, I expect that many of you have found yourselves in the same predicament that I was in last week.  I know what you are going through:

You probably walked to your closet and took a look inside.  You vividly remembered the warmth and coziness of flannel shirts that you wore in the 90s.  You thought to yourself "I have got to have those shirts somewhere around here!"  But you came up empty.  You must have gotten rid of them while in a state of temporary insanity.  "What will I do?!" you screamed! 


Well let me tell you what I did.  I reloaded.  I headed to the store and restocked my flannel supply:

I picked up three shirts and am very happy with my purchase but I really think I'm going to need more... like... soon.  Flannel is, I imagine, very much like heroin.  It makes you feel really warm and you get hooked on it.  Anyway, I've worn two of the above shirts so far and the response has been largely enthusiastic, though it has also inspired my girlfriend to poke fun at me (only because she is flannel-less).

Well I have this to say to my girlfriend:  You already know that flannel is casual elegance and relentlessly mind-blowing, but do you know what else what flannel is?

It's happiness.  Pure and unfiltered.

Check out this grainy couple for instance.  Do you honestly think they would be this happy if they weren't wearing flannel?  They wouldn't be.  No way.

So join the party-  get some flannel and flaunt that shit!  Everybody's doing it!

Continuing Analysis of Why PBR is Cool

Stumbled on this...  Check out 1:22!

$200 Million/Day Presidential Vacations! Blatant Lies. A Misc. Political Rant.

About a few weeks ago, before the midterm elections, I woke up to my alarm talking about how Obama had a trip to Asia planned.  On this trip to Asia, he would be hitting up India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea for some G20 chit chat, trade discussions, blah blah blah.  Same ol' same ol' presidential stuff as far as I was concerned, so I put on clothes, got in my car, and it was off to work like a normal American.

On the way to work, i threw on POTUS Channel 110 on Sirius.  Now, for those of you who don't have Sirius, it absolutely rules (with the exception of them eliminating the techno station "Boombox"... RIP Channel #34.  You were the best).  And one of the reasons Sirius rules is because of this POTUS station which in my opinion, presents more real facts than most news sources these days.  So this particular morning, the host of the "Morning Briefing," Tim Farley, was interviewing someone about the aforementioned Presidential trip to Asia.  Being that this was before the election, the guy being interviewed said that Obama going to Asia immediately after the elections would look like he was trying to escape the country after his Democrats were obliterated.  Of course, it wouldn't be an escape, the guy concluded, since some legitimate shit had to be taken care of there.  

So, over the next few days/weeks, I lived my life normally.  There weren't any major stories in the news.  Obama visited India.  Then he went to Indonesia.   Then he was in Korea for Veteran's Day.  And then, sometime last week, I heard the rumor that has circulated like wildfire that Obama's trip to Asia would cost taxpayers in the neighborhood of $200 Million/Day.  Now I was really late to the party on this one.  I heard this for the first time this past Wednesday.  And it made me irate because I immediately knew it was bullshit.  

I knew this was bullshit because my job essentially consists of playing "The Price Is Right" with large construction projects.  Did you know, for example, that a six building adaptive reuse project at the St. Elizabeth's campus in Washington, DC was just awarded by the General Services Administration for $58 Million?  (Award is Here. $58 M to Grunley Construction)  So what does that even mean, right?

WELL, that means that GSA (a part of the government that basically manages government facilities, among other things) is going to pay a construction company $58M over three years to completely renovate six large buildings.  These buildings are going to form the new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security here in DC.  A few of these buildings are shown below:

SO, in my mind, you are completely full of shit if you tell me that our President's overseas trip costs 300% MORE PER DAY than a three year construction project that will build part of the new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.  By the way, the $200M/day myth is debunked in 100 other places on the Internet.  So, who is full of shit here and lying to the American public?  

Well, one of the liars is Glenn Beck.  He is such a blubbery and deceitful motherfucker that I would love to kick him in the face if he ever gets within range of my leg.  But what really pisses me off, is that after shamelessly backing such a grand monetary lie, he seems to believe he is an expert on complicated economic policy:

From Business Week (BW Article on Quantitative Easing):

Open Letter

A group of 23 economists, money managers and former government officials issued an open letter to Bernanke on Nov. 15 saying the central bank’s planned bond purchases “risk currency debasement and inflation” and won’t boost employment. That broadside capped a string of attacks from conservatives including Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.

Now while the group of 23 economists mentioned above are much smarter than Beck and Palin, I find it concerning that these two clowns launched a string of attacks on the Fed in the first place.  What a country we live in where total idiots can comment on complex issues beyond their understanding, and inspire hundreds of thousands of others to buy into their lunacy.

Here is what Beck had to say about the Fed's decisions (if you can stomach looking at him... skip to 7:45):

Among the stupid-as-fuck things that he says:

1)  What the Fed is doing is probably the "Biggest bet in history and the biggest bet in the history of the planet."
This is false and a half.  The "Biggest bet in history and the biggest bet in the history of the planet was either this:

or this:

2)  He implies the US is as economically desperate as Zimbabwe


Really Glenn?  Really?  We're going to be like this now?

Every single time Palin or Beck opens their mouth, aside from an angel dying, this plays in my head:

They are that stupid.  And this concludes my rant.  Fact check the "facts" you hear!  And turn off Glenn Beck!

American Revival

As Business Week accurately reported, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is "spontaneously hip (PBR Article in Business Week)."

I have witnessed this spontaneous hipness TWICE now in a very short period of time.

Let me backtrack though.  A few years ago, I went to Rocket Bar in DC for the first time.  The very first thing I noticed about Rocket Bar was that they had PBR on special.  Being young and naive, I said to myself:

"Why the fuck is that beer on special?  It's terrible."

Now up until this point I had never had a PBR in my life, but I just associated it with Milwaukee's Best (PBR is a Milwaukee Beer too) which is, in fact, terrible.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I cracked open the $2.00 beer and found it to be surprisingly okay!  One or two or seven PBRs later, I was having myself a great night.  So that was my first PBR Experience:  Went to bar.  PBR on special.  Got hammered.  Had fun.

Fast forward to the present.  On my trip to Charlottesville a few weekends back, and at a party last night, I brought PBR to share with friends.  A six pack in Charlottesville and a 12 pack last night.  In Charlottesville, when I showed up with the booze, someone said:  "Oh sweet!  PBR!  Hook me up!" (Maybe it wasn't exactly that, but the dude was enthusiastic about the PBR, and wanted one.)

Then last night, no less than 10 people commented on the fact that PBR had just appeared at the party.  AND, it was a hot commodity.  No less than 20 minutes after I arrived, all the PBR was spoken for.

This amazes me.  How can such a moderately above average beer be so cool?

I have no idea.  We should get these guys on it. :

Mulder:  "Scully don't you find it interesting that this moderately above average beer is taking the country by storm?  It doesn't add up.  It's so cheap, yet it doesn't completely suck.  Pack your bags.  We're going to Milwaukee."


Scully:  "Mulder, there have been plenty of instances in history of brands making comebacks in a big way.  I don't think that there are any unexplained phenomena behind this.  You're chasing ghosts."


Mulder:  "Why can't you accept that the re-emergence of this beer is the direct result of alien propoganda?"

Right, so anyway, why is PBR cool?

I have no idea.  It's cheap, it's good, and... the can is really fucking cool.  I think that's the kicker.  The PBR can screams America, and it is classically modern.  Wrap your heads around that oxymoron.  Seriously though, it's gotta be the can.  The can looks so awesome that  you *think* that the beer inside is awesome as well.  Anyway, that's my take on the mystery.

I encourage you all to show up at your next social event or important work meeting with a good amount of PBR.  Then report back with the reactions!

Really, you should go get some PBR.

Marine Marathon

For the four of you that read my blog, you may remember that I was training for a marathon...


Welllllll... that didn't work out so hot.  Training was going okay, but then after back to back weekends involving 14 and 16 mile runs, my back and legs screamed for mercy.  I would get shooting pains down the back of my back, ass, and legs, and they weren't going away.  So I did what champions do when they are beaten:  I gave up.


But one man who did NOT give up was my roommate from college:  KARL.  Karl ran the Marine Marathon like a hummingbird on cocaine.  His time was a speedy 3:09.  For those of you that don't speak "runner," that is a SMOKING time.  Let's analyze Karl's greased-lightining successful 26.2 mile scamper, shall we?

Here comes Karl at Mile 10.  He is hauling ass.  Look at the smile on his face!

 Here comes Karl at Mile 26.  Look at my excellent photography.  Look how the subject is centered, and also looking at the camera.  If you would like me to photograph special moments in your life, please contact me.  I will do Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, graduations, baptisms, etc.  

Immediately after the race, the marathoners looked like zombies.  They were all wobbly and definitely all looked like death.  How fitting that this race was on Halloween.

Now we get to the good stuff!  15 minutes after the race ended, Karl began puking rivers of Red Powerade.  It was SO COOL.  It was really funny when he puked, and then had to scream "Noooo watch out I just puked there!" as a 2 year old almost merrily wobbled into his pile of vomit.  

After the Powerade came out, it was naptime for Karl.  Poor kid deserved rest.

Later that day, I myself took a well-earned nap.  Walking all over a marathon course to watch the runners is tough work, and certainly not for the faint of heart.  

Weekend Travels Have Minimized the Blogging Effort! Part 2/2

Alright!  Part 2 of my travels brought me to Philly two weekends ago. 

The trip was oriented around a concert (I saw Phoenix), but the highlight of the trip was the Philadelphia Magic Gardens.  If you EVER go to Philly, you MUST check this place out!  It costs a few bucks, takes about an hour, but leaves an impression!  It's truly one of a kind...

Alright... so what is it?  Well, it's this house (a rowhome) and some adjacent courtyards that this dude (an artist) has completely pimped out in mosaic.  

Here's the basement.  Totally sweet.  Awesome mosaic stuff on the walls and ceiling.   

This is one of the alleys... 

 In the courtyard, there are numerous stairways and arches built... out of bottles, bike wheels, and... who knows what else!

This picture didn't come out so hot, but it's the entire side of an adjacent rowhome... So, that mosaic is basically 40' tall by 50' or so?

This is my favorite picture that came from there... You can see the arches that were built on the left, and the cool art that forms the face just to the right of the picture's center...

I got a little bit artsy with the picture taking-  The funny thing though is that this picture inadvertently captured my girlfriend's reflection... She was standing a good 10' from me...

Naturally I had to have her replicate the procedure to take my fragmented picture!

Another alley just outside the house...

Again, this is in the alley.  I don't know who painted their garage door like this, but God bless you Sir or Madam...  You are truly great.  

This was completely separate from the Magic Gardens (not even a block away), and gated off to the public, but it looks to be another work by the same artist...

In summary, check this place out!