Breakfast Meats

It's rare that a weekend will go by where Emily and I don't fry up some bacon. Sometimes we make breakfast sandwiches (a very fine art), sometimes the bacon is a side to some pancakes, and sometimes the bacon is just awesome by itself. We've also saved the "drippings" on account of my New Mexican cook book, which calls for many things to be "browned" in bacon drippings.

I'm quite fond of breakfast meats, like bacon & sausage. However, one must tread cautiously; any bacon that boasts itself as microwaveable should never be consumed. Also, none of this Turkacon. Bacon should be thick, a little fatty and be cooked with both crispy and not-so-crispy elements. Sausage is a switch hitter though, tasty in both link and pattie forms (and otherworldly when added to gravy). Not only are bacon & sausage delicious, but they serve as a great alternative sopper if you don't have a biscuit, toast or some other more traditional sopping side.

What other breakfast meats are there?

For one, there's the mysterious & legendary loaf called Scrapple.



There's also this guy, which can be tasty when it's fried a little and eaten with over-easy eggs.



Of course you can't forget this heart stopper.



And an also very course-versatile meat, eaten alone, on biscuits, or soaked in egg yolk...the forever salty country ham.



UPDATE: I forgot two major players...

S.O.S. as we referred to it, shit on a shingle, ala cream chipped beef.



And... the mighty, mighty, Corn Beef Haaaaaaaaaaaaa....sh.

Dylan Goes Electric - Again

Say it ain't so, Bob! ;)

NSFW

Chasing More Balls Around on a Field

One man's boot in the face is another man's studs to the chest.

Chasing Balls Around On A Field

Futbol studs and prosthetic legs... the new weed grinder? Always remember though, try not to sneeze while you're doing your rolling.



This goes out to the idiots who insist that soccer is a game for [insert insecure compensation slang here]. Ok, granted, they don't line up every few minutes and run into each other as forcefully as possible.

AMERICA!

A Politic of Boredom

Twas atop a mountain
with mold in my belly, two gloves and a ball
where eye find the American eye cannot

Or from seasons first
in the unjusted den they call Rodeo
where eye took to the washroom and wept

Not for romance
but for star bangled manner
— the pain of being man 'fore one other man's stand

Twas not the grass eye itch
but sacred cow and play on stage
— rope and teleprompted prayer

Lonely come Patriot
my country play for me
— eye fear eye can, owe one debt to thee

Happy 4th Weekend

Remember when America did cool shit?! Click the link in the video. See you tomorrow, J.

Closing Time

It took me a while to appreciate Rivera. Now in my post baseball days and being a former closer myself, I've had the "Rivera question" posed to me on a few occasions. This is a great explanation. You must appreciate that virtually no one else in baseball throws this pitch, so hitters just simply aren't used to facing this type of movement. Also, this cutter is an extremely difficult pitch to throw. In pitching, you're taught to remain relaxed and loose on the ball. The amount of space that exists in between your palm and the ball will determine a pitches velocity, and your grip can determine the movement. Applying pressure with certain fingers is counter intuitive. Many pitchers get great movement on their fastballs, like Greg Maddux, who is a pitcher that survived and flourished for many years throwing virtually one pitch, but mastering location and rhythm. His fastball however, "broke" naturally, fading and sinking into a righty and away from a lefty. Rivera's cutter is a paradox that comes as a result of his discipline and technique in applying pressure on the ball, most likely aided by his long fingers. Another pitcher who had long fingers and astounding "stuff," this guy.

It Might Get Loud

I found this trailer for "It Might Get Loud" on my friend's blog, similarly titled "It's Not Loud Enough." Looks pretty, pretty, pretty good.

The Black Stars

Zoo York

DEATHBOWL TO DOWNTOWN "Soul Artists" from Six Stair on Vimeo.

North Korea Destroys Brazil 12-0 in World Cup Play

With the closed and censored news of North Korea's State News Agency, I can only imagine how the match between North Korea and Brazil was reported on State television yesterday. If previous news stories about Kim Jong Il are any indication, I imagine my headline may not be too far off:

1. Kim Jong Il is the best golfer in history. Tiger Woods isn't fit to tie his golf shoes or clean his clubs. Kim shot a 38 under par, complete with eleven hole-in-ones in his first time golfing.
2. A true renaissance man, Kim Jong Il has also flown fighter jets and has written several operas.
   
3. According to school texts, When Kim Jogn Il was born there were spontaneous rainbows seen throughout North Korea and Spring came early in February.
   
4. Little children are taught that Kim Jung Il doesn't produce urine or feces; he transcends those basic human functions.
   
5. Kim Jung Il defies the inevitability of aging by injecting himself with the blood of virgins.

The entire team, called "Chollima" (a winged mythical horse) by the North Koreans is being sequestered behind the tightly guarded gates of a remote hotel in northern Johannesburg. Even their meals are brought in from North Korea; we wouldn't want the devil Americans to poison their food and ruin their chance at winning the World Cup. After all, when the soccer team losses some of the players are sent to coal mines as punishment for their poor performance on the pitch. Even worse, according to the AP, "some of the feted players from the 1966 team were said to have been sent to one of North Korea's infamous labor camps for squandering a promising 3-0 lead to lose to a Eusebio-led Portugal in the quarterfinals."

Success and failure is a State matter, so it's a good thing the team performed so well against the Brazilians, not because it's good for soccer, but because it's good for the lives of these young athletes.

The Armpit Collection XXXIII: Before the Dark Side

I recall a delightful evening in Norfolk, VA when some fellow friends and I went swaggering into a club to see a rejuvenated rock n roll band. Freshly reformed and rehearsed, the Black Crowes played a handful of covers over their two (?) sets. One of those covers was "Fearless," a song that I knew quite well at the time. Though the original version is quite rhythmic, it's tame due to it's acoustic production. Hearing it fleshed and attacked, overdriven by electric guitars made a lot of sense. Sadly, the crowd on hand couldn't replicate the overdubbed field recording of "You Never Walk Alone" chanted by fans at a Liverpool F.C. match.

Meddle also contains a song that has made it's way on to as many J Seger mixes as any other song, "San Tropez."

Never Forget

Scary, aren't they? Please play this video everytime Germany scores a goal in the World Cup. Also Germans, from my internet porn watching experience, enjoy using feces as a sex toy. I'm serious, search for "shit porn" and I'll bet you 5 bucks you'll be watching something from the Fatherland... I wouldn't write it if it wasn't true.

Taking the Law Into Yer Own Hands

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! WORLD CUP! OIL! WAHOO!

Remember, We're All Humans

I'm watching the World Cup. I find this to be the only sporting event I get excited about at this point in my life. This is probably because:

+ Obviously I'm a Communist
+ Scoring and Winning is meaningless to me
+ I could care less about American character
+ All illegal immigrants should be given citizenship
+ I'll do anything Europeans do
+ I wish I was European and try to stretch my family lineage that way when asked by others
+ I don't want kids to get hurt or fail
+ I don't want kids to learn anything about life from American Sporting
+ I care about other people in the world more than Americans
+ Seeing men run after and kick balls is exhilarating
+ I have a foot fetish
+ The drama in pretending to be injured should be brought to the attention of the Screen Actor's Guild
+ I never have and never will vote Republican

Some truth in the matter is that America is average at Soccer. We don't dominate the rest of the world like we do in just about every other major sport (the ones we invented). This is a game that requires humility, finesse, and patience, not exactly the adjectives you use when making a pitch to the American Consumer Market. I think the idea that America has to get lucky and work very hard in order to be successful in the World Cup is frustrating to some media-ists.

THIS ARTICLE prompted this Blog post. Originally, I was going to do a more personal, passionate post about the World Cup, how I've ordered cable and DVR because of it and how it is a great way to enjoy something that is truly meaningful to a lot of people <<<< humans, you know, the things that WE ARE.

I could care less how popular Futbol becomes in America, obviously Americans care about other sports more, fine. What I do care about is when when something like the World Cup is used as a political vehicle to ambiguously lay claim to "the way America really is." I wouldn't question any of our contributors or readers dignity by responding to many of the wildly irrational points raised in the aforementioned article. The best thing to remember is that...

The World Cup isn't about America, it's about People Coming Together to Play a Game.

Before I Kick The Bucket List: Demolition Derby

I'll send everyone I know invitations out similar to wedding announcements to attend the last hurrah and swan song for my '86 Thunderbird. The adrenaline alone would compensate for my desire to exchange rust and dust with tons of sunsetting metal clad machines in an otherwise controlled enviroment. This boat could do some damage and provide an adequate amount of buffer safety for myself in the meantime. Of course I would ride to win so regardless of the outcome, tears will drop. Two words...Washington County Agriculture Expodition.

The Armpit Collection XXXII: Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon - The Chess Box Set

This is one of the best record purchases I've made over the past few years. 3 discs of the finest modern blues, the guy basically wrote everything. A blueprint of the rock n roll that was to come.

The Best Cigarette

I thought of this with Luke's song post a while back but didn't take the time to post. I am a woesome companion. Nevertheless, here is a good one by Billy Collins for all those quitters out there:

There are many that I miss
having sent my last one out a car window
sparking along the road one night, years ago.

The heralded one, of course:
after sex, the two glowing tips
now the lights of a single ship;
at the end of a long dinner
with more wine to come
and a smoke ring coasting into the chandelier;
or on a white beach,
holding one with fingers still wet from a swim.

How bittersweet these punctuations
of flame and gesture;
but the best were on those mornings
when I would have a little something going
in the typewriter,
the sun bright in the windows,
maybe some Berlioz on in the background.
I would go into the kitchen for coffee
and on the way back to the page,
curled in its roller,
I would light one up and feel
its dry rush mix with the dark taste of coffee.

Then I would be my own locomotive,
trailing behind me as I returned to work
little puffs of smoke,
indicators of progress,
signs of industry and thought,
the signal that told the nineteenth century
it was moving forward.
That was the best cigarette,
when I would steam into the study
full of vaporous hope
and stand there,
the big headlamp of my face
pointed down at all the words in parallel lines.