Top 5 CD’s of the Year

I've let my CD collection slip over the last couple of years, but this year I re-dedicated myself to staying atop of the music scene. I'm almost an entirely rock-n-roll and Alternative guy, but I delve a little into the blues as well. So, without further ado, here are my top 5 CD's for 2008.

 

5. Blitzen Trapper: Furr: I just picked this one up the other week, but it's really a good listen. It probably borders on Christian rock, but I really like the bluesy melancholy sound mixed in with some electric guitars and solid lyrics. I play it in the office and get some odd looks, but put the title track on your IPod for a week and try not buying the CD.

4. Weezer: Red Album. I'm not sure why this CD didn't get more hype, but it is a very solid Weezer CD. Now I can understand not liking Weezer since their lyrics are a little childish and they don't have much in the way of range. But if you like fun music that you turn up while driving down the highway, then you like Weezer. This CD fits that mold and will help you push through any gym session.

3. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals: Cardinalogy. Ok, I admit it, this is a county CD. Not like Shania Twain country, but like Johnny Cash country. I honestly couldn't pick Ryan Adams out of a lineup, but he consistently puts out CD's that are well written and well produced. This guy is either living a life that is 100 times more interesting than mine or is taking a substantial amount of drugs because he writes more good music than anyone since Bruce Springsteen in the early Eighties.

2. Kings of Leon: Only by the Night. If you don't own KOL first two CD's, you are a dork. Period. They are everything that most people hoped the Killers would be; cool rock studs! This isn't as good as their first two, but they know what works and are anything but full of themselves. If you have your doubts, listen to Closer. It sounds like serious rock and roll.

1. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago. Without a doubt, the CD I listened to the most often. I first heard Skinny Love on All Songs Considered. I immediately downloaded the CD and listened to it over and over again. If I watched the first 8 months of my daughter's life on video, this CD would be playing in the back ground. The CD is just terrific. It is loaded with tons of emotions and catchy riffs. Pick up the CD and download the live concert from All Songs Considered.

ESPN - Charles Barkley outraged by Auburn Tigers' hiring of Gene Chizik

ESPN - Charles Barkley outraged by Auburn Tigers' hiring of Gene Chizik

I got to say, I agree with chuck. Chiznik won 2 games last season. I don't care about his history with the school, if you can't win 4 games a year in a BCS school, you are a bum.

I know that Syracuse would have hired Gill if it weren't for the fact that Gill was to smart to take the job, but there are some legitimate questions as to why he hasn't gotten any better offers.

Turner Gill

I'm sort of on the fence as far as affirmative action is concerned. I've always thought the best person should get the job, but I also understand what some people will do to identify the 'best man' for the job. In the case of college football head coaches, there needs to be some sort of change in the hiring process. Currently, off the top of my head, I can only name one black head football coach in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision schools and that is Turner Gill at the perennial powerhouse Buffalo. After Tyrone Willingham and Sylvester Croom each moved on, there is only one left.

What Turner Gill has done at Buffalo is simply amazing. It's one thing to take over a school like Kansas or Illinois and win 8 or 9 games a season and work your way into a decent bowl game. But to take over a team that most people have never heard of and one of the 4 or 5 teams of which I don't know the mascot, is incredible. And that is exactly what he has done at Buffalo. He just won the MAC championship last night against a heavily favored Ball St. team and will now play in what is probably their first bowl game.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, Turner Gill needs to move on. I will totally buy into the racial prejudice theory if Turner Gill doesn't get a job offer from a BCS school. First and foremost, if I was the athletic director at Syracuse, I'd have Gill and his agent on speed dial. I couldn't think of a better fit for Syracuse than Gill. He knows the area and would walk into the Big East as the second or third best coach in the conference. Mississippi State and Auburn should at least give him an interview, but Syracuse should give him the keys to the city and a hummer to get him to become the coach of the Big Orange.

 

Ready for an End

I've been on active duty since 2003 and I have been extremely lucky to have not had to travel any further east than Adana Turkey. Brave, crazy and the working poor are headed to austere locations on a daily basis. Some come home earlier than others.

On Tuesday I got a call from an old acquaintance that I'd worked with a few times in the past. We didn't know each other extremely well, but he's one of those guys that everyone gets along with and everyone seems to know. No, not the guy who you see at the smokers lounge telling stories about the boss, but the guy who asks you how you are doing and actually looks like he cares. He called looking for someone else in my office that was out for the week. I asked him if there was something I could do to help, and he said that he really wanted someone to go visit an injured Soldier he was deployed with.

When you get a question like that, there is only one answer. I consider myself to be in the top 10 percent of the world's assholes, but I'd still never say no to a question like that. But the thought of visiting an seriously injured solider made me more than a little nervous especially after I was told that he could only answer yes or no questions.

Arriving to Landstuhl regional medical center and walking through the same doors we walked through for the birth of my daughter didn't make any of my nervousness subside. I walk up to the third floor to find the intensive care unit. Unlike any other part of the hospital I've ever been in, there was medical equipment cluttering up the entire hallway. I initially had thoughts of doctors running around yelling thing like 'stat' and 'code blue'. There was no waiting room or reception desk. This place was for keeping people alive and nothing else.

I was directed to the Private First Classes room and stuck my head into his room, expecting the absolute worst. I locked my gaze directly upon his face simply because I was afraid to notice if he was missing any appendages. I noticed right off, how young he was. He hadn't been shaven for a few days, but he only had a little stubble on his chin. They had a gown covering up his torso and down to his knees and he had some sort of inflatable devices covering each of his feet. He was noticeably groggy, but I'm certain he answered every question with a yes sir.

I felt like I had nothing to say to him. I told him that the guy I worked with asked me to say hi and tell him that everyone was pulling for him. I mentioned that I heard he was a pretty good flag football player because his team rolled over everyone during a thanksgiving tournament. The nurse said they were planning on moving him to Walter Reed tomorrow if everything remained as is.

Walking out of the building after a very short visit all I could think of was his family and what mine would be going through in the same situation. The only updates they'd get would be from the Red Cross and they'd have to just stand by to find out more until I was aero-vaced to the states. I just couldn't think of a worse situation.

So hopefully for young men like the one I met today, we'll see this war come to an end as quick as possible.

The dream is still alive?

How to Stimulate the Economy

750 billion sounds like an astronomical figure, but in comparison, it wouldn't even be enough money to support the War on Terror since 9/11. And that is just specific money for the war, not the overall defense budget. But with smart spending, the government could stimulate the economy enough and get people to stop worrying.

The capitalist system is pretty simple, it needs to constantly expand to create new jobs; otherwise the economy enters a recession, depression or some other down turn. The formula is basic; new jobs=happy economy. But it's difficult to come up with new jobs. We saw a creation of a new job market in the 80's with development of a Cold War military and in the 90's with the internet. America needs something new to stimulate the economy and I have the answer.

Go green. There are millions of potential jobs out there if the government mandated that people and business's went green. The fear all along has been that saving the environment would destroy the economy since it would increase costs. The idiots who had that idea are the ones who put us in this position. Just think of the number of jobs required to recycle. In Germany, they only pick up your trash every other week and the container they give you is probably smaller than your kitchen waste basket. But it actually isn't a problem. They give you another container for paper, one for bio-degradable and another for plastics and packaging. All of which are much larger than the residual trash can. And it's not just the individual who is required to recycle; companies have to do the same thing.

The next step in going green would be to force companies to abide by strict emission standards. This has been the biggest hang up since companies claim that costs would soar and prices would rise out of control. The simple answer is this, if goods that are imported into the US don't meet the production standards established, and then enforce a stricter tariff on those goods. That will help level the playing field between the US and overseas manufactures plus it would create jobs by requiring either the government or private industry to ensure goods are manufactured in a way that isn't severely damaging the environment.

Next, the US needs to create alternative energy sources, either by wind, sun or possibly nuclear. There are wind and solar power plants all over the place in Germany and you know what, it isn't an eye sore. Even modern wind mills are very peaceful looking. We have some that are literally in our back yard and not once have I ever said that it ruins the landscape. Acid rain destroyed forests and smoke stacks destroy the landscape much more than wind mills and solar panels.

The final step would be to mandate different farming and food processing standards. McDonalds has ruined the way that Americans get their food. Long gone are the days of a single farmer selling his cows to a butcher, a skillful butcher carving the beef to be freshly delivered to the market. Now, huge corporations hire the cheapest labor possible and mass produce food in the least sanitary, borderline disgusting way possible. Thousands of jobs would be produced if a few criteria were established. First, increase the minimum square footage required by each animal. If you've ever looked into a chicken or turkey farm, you understand what I mean. Those birds are stacked on top of each other. By increasing the required space, you'll be less likely to eat a chicken that has survived on it's of feces for the last 2 years. Second, mandate much stricter control over food processing. I'd eat happier knowing that the guy who cut my steak actually knew a little bit about cows. Third, restrict the amount and type of steroids and antibiotics that are given to livestock. Finally, require that all cattle be grain fed. Cows don't naturally eat corn, so why do we feed it to them? All of these steps would increase food costs, but that is long overdue. It will reinvigorate the farming industry and would allow the government to stop subsidizing it to death.

Overall, the government needs to change its mentality from keeping costs low, to providing jobs. The costs will take care of themselves. If something costs too much, people won't buy it and businesses will still find a way to meet the needs of the people. Eating a quarter pounder twice a day isn't a right guaranteed by the constitution.

I just wasted the last hour...

Looking up covers 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's' Day-man. For your sake, don't type it into a youtube search engine.

Police: Couple had sex in Metrodome restroom during Gophers game - TwinCities.com

Police: Couple had sex in Metrodome restroom during Gophers game - TwinCities.com
I've been in the Metrodome's bathrooms a few times and It is on the bottom of the list as far as places I'd like to have sex.

6 Shows I’m Watching

The Ultimate Fighter (FX). I've had my ups in down with reality TV, but I'm a big fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and this show is really just an extension of that. It revolves around a bunch of guys trying to get a Ten-thousand dollar UFC contract. It is amazing what a person will do for ten grand. They don't do any stupid voting or special immunity games. It is all about winning fights. The winner of each fight advances with the overall winner wins the contract. The other half of the show is all the guys getting wasted and trying their best not to get into fights at the house.

Entourage (HBO). Unless you've been under a rock for the last 4 years, you've heard of this show. I thought the first season was phenomenal, but thought the show was slipping up for during season 3 and 4. It picked up a little bit this season, but it still has some flaws. I think they've missed their mark in spreading the story line so much. I think they'd be better off focusing on Eric and Vince. Turtle and Drama are bit characters that have taken too much of role in the show. It's still worth half hour of your time.

Chuck (NBC). You have to suspend reality for a hour every week to enjoy this one. It is totally off the wall, extremely cheesy, but it also doesn't try to force laughs down your throat like most sitcoms. The show centers around a guy who has basically been thrown into the world of the CIA and NSA. Each episode has some terrible climax, but characters are easy to like, the sound track is a solid B+ and they continually bring in new hot chicks. This is a show I'd probably not enjoy if I had to remember to tune in every week, but since I steal it off the internet and watch it when I want without commercials; I've really grown to like it.

Brotherhood (SHO). Politics and gangsters, what more could you want in a drama? It doesn't try hard to make itself like the Soprano's, but it has taken too much of an ethnic line. The characters are all basically what you'd expect of politician and petty gangsters; they are dirt bags. They drink too much, do drugs and cheat on their spouses. The premise is based on a true story, which makes the story line a little more believable. I'm not sure what kind of ratings it gets, but I have the feeling next season will be its last.

The Office (NBC). At some point I thought this was the funniest show on television hands down. I'm not sure what the writers had in mind when the made Michael a complete asshole, but it hasn't worked. The brought in the chick from the Wire and tried to hook him up with her, but it totally didn't work for me. I've never once met a girl who was that weird or who'd put up with a jerk like that which made it feel very phony. Hopefully they come up with some way to turn it around.

Friday Night Lights (Who the hell knows?). My all-time favorite book is made into a TV show that has nothing to do with the book. Yeah, it centers on a high school football team and the town that is obsessed with it, but book was considerably rawer and didn't have nearly as many positive things to say about the town. But after dropping down last season, this season has really been great. They've done away with the unbelievable story lines (except for the idea that Riggins is 18) and made it a serious drama with a little football mixed in. I'd never watch the show if it weren't for the title and I think there are probably millions of women out there that aren't watching it because of the title. Bonus: Hot chicks galore.

 

 

Auto Industry

There is a large amount of speculation about what is going to happen with the American Auto industries big three. The question is, whether or not to give them $25 Billion dollars in government funds in order to survive the next year. What happens after that? The big three supposedly has a game plan to turn into money making companies by cutting health care and retirement costs while also introducing new automobiles that people will actually want to buy.

I'm not going to bash the big 3 anymore than they've already been bashed. If you need some fodder, watch Roger and me and listen to the White Stripes. But what I will do is speculate on what is going to happen.

Currently, the Republicans are standing firm on not supporting a relief plan for the big 3 and by the time they lose their spots in the House and Senate, the big 3 will already be screwed. So in order to make a relief plan that the republicans would support and GW would sign, they'll need more concessions from the auto industry and specifically from the United Auto Workers (UAW). Republicans have never, ever been know as pro-union and would do well with their deep pocketed supporters if they were able to stick it to one of the most powerful unions in the US right before they lose all power in legislative and executive branches.

I imagine that the republicans will ask for the 2010 UAW concessions earlier than originally planned, so the employee's health care benefits and retiree benefits will take a hit one year prior to what was originally planned.

The UAW is not a halo angel, but this situation reflects a greater problem in the US economy. The individual employee and/or union is responsible for providing health care and retiree benefits. Because of that, those companies who do provide it have become uncompetitive in the global economy. You don't think so? Take a drive across Alabama. There are thriving auto plants all across the state, but none of them are American owned. Hyundai, Mercedes and Honda all have plants there. But what separates them from the big 3 is that they don't provide union wages or benefits.

You may think, 'well, it works for them, so why not for the big 3'. If the big 3 doesn't provide health care for its employees, they won't get health care. If Honda doesn't provide health care for its employee in Japan, they are still going to get health care. Their government provides it. Germany? Yep. Korea? They get it too.

Now you right wingers will say 'but our health care system is the best in the world because of competition'. How good is the best health care in the world if you don't have access to it?

So our auto industry is on life support and it's only a matter of time before they get a bail out. But just look at how they'll change along with the work force.

Brett Faaav rey

Did you check out the game yesterday? The opening drive by the Jets was simply jaw dropping. They moved down the field against a top 3 defense with no problems. Favre lazered throw after throw into the chests of his receivers and the play calling was such that the Titans were constantly on their heals. They just looked like a complete team.

I couldn't imagine saying that at the beginning of the season when it looked like Favre and Coles where arguing with each other over some ex-girlfriend or something. But now it looks like Coles realized that maybe Chad Pennington and is bubble gum arm wasn't the best guy to have throwing the ball to you and that Favre puts him in better positions to make yards after the catch. YAC is something we just didn't see with Pennington. His little hitches and swing passes usually stopped where the ball was caught.

Compile that with a semi-dominant running game, and the Jets laid the wood to the Titans. If they can somehow play at this level for the next 8 weeks, we'll see them in the AFC championship game.

A cross between Rage Against the Machine/Cake/Veruca Salt/Eminem

I'm probably a little behind the curve on this one, but I've been listening to this band called 'Flobots' and the best way to describe is like a cross between those 4 bands. There songs are just catchy enough to be played on top 40 radio, you've probably heard 'Handlebars', but their lyrics are extremely powerful. From the music I listen to, their music most reflects what we just witnessed in the recent election. A significant swing in people voting for the welfare of mankind, and not for war profiteers and campaign's based on religious propaganda.

Give the CD a listen. I believe it will wake up some of your emotions.

Battle for the Axe

I hate the Badgers more than blisters on my feet and public bathrooms. They make my stomach turn. I mean Madison is a nice town, but it has stupid cows everywhere, no strip bars and I've always had a hard time getting something to eat at 3 in the morning. But the Onion started there and it's fun to get drunk there. But the Badger fans and the team are assholes. For whatever reason, they are extremely cocky. I've heard people call Minnesota East Wisconsin in terms of college football recruiting. Which is fine, except for kids in Minnesota generally don't play football. They play hockey.

The games have been close recently, but it has made watching them excruciating. Watching the Gophers punter drop the ball and flail around haplessly in 2005 was the worst sports memories of my life. It felt like drinking a shot of Bailey's to chase a shot of Jose Quervo. I just wanted to vomit. But sports are about hoping for something different and I'll always remain hopeful. So Badger fans go eat some cheese, choke on a brat and try and remember the good old days when Brett Favre was your QB because the AXE is going east this year!

Wagering on Football

There are a few things I've been doing since as long as I can remember; sleeping naked, picking my nose, playing video games and betting on football games.

I've been betting something on football games since the first time I watched a game. It started out with my step dad saying 'if the Viking's win, we can get dairy queen'. Of course he wanted Dairy Queen more than I did, so he only did that in games they were heavy favorites. But that parlayed into him explaining what the number next to the teams represented in the newspaper. Then we took it a step further, we'd each pick all the games every week, and the person who picked the most correct games, would win 5 bucks at the end of the year.

Soon that moved into me betting football cards and lunch money on all football games. In junior high I bet a friend on a Monday night football game that if team X won, he'd have to wear a Herschel Walker jersey to school the next day. Which doesn't sound all that bad, but Walker had been a huge bust for the Vikings and had moved on a few seasons before then. He actually gave me some money at lunch and said he couldn't handle wearing it the rest of the day.

I never used a bookie, but I did make small wagers with friends and during every trip to Vegas. But then came internet gambling. I had been a huge fan of online poker, but online sports books took it to the next level. I bet during every week in football and I have for probably 6 or 7 years. Do I have a problem you ask?

What constitutes a problem? I've always wagered within my means. I make enough money that I could bet 50-100 a game, but I actually only bet 15 a game unless I really like it than I'll go up to 50, but that only happens once or twice a year. Plus, I've been successful. Last year I lost 75, but the year prior I was pulled in 300. Since I've been an adult, I've never stolen for gambling money, nor have I spent Lucy's college money (even though I joke about it). It actually seems like one of my more reasonable hobbies. It is step above drinking German beer and way ahead of video games.

Lazy Bastard

I'm sure you've been dedicatedly checking this blog waiting for the lazy blogger to start posting again. Well, I'm making an effort to start posting on a regular basis. I still have a bunch of drunken stories I've yet to share, so I put some of those up while covering some politics and gambling.

So you ask, what the heck have you been doing with yourself all this time? Aside from being a new dad, I've become addicted to the stupidest game on the internet called What If Sports Gridiron Dynasty. It's sort of like college fantasy football, but for bigger nerds.

And of course, I've been gambling. This college football season has been a disaster for me, but the NFL has saved my ass. I'll explain more later.

Canoe Report

Well, we all made it back alive. As I said on my last post, I was heading up to the boundary waters canoe area for a trip with a couple of friends. None of us were are the most avid outdoorsmen, so there was a little bit of nervousness by basically everyone that we'd get lost in the woods or eaten by a bear. But were all back safe and sound and had a terrific time.

Two funny stories from the trip;

We took a tow boat to our first portage. This allowed us to cut out 3 hours of canoeing on or first lake and dropped us off at a location that was canoe only. Anyways, as soon as we are getting dropped off, Aaron fell butt first into the water. So we had basically not even started our trip, and someone had already fallen into the water.

On the last morning of our trip, Brian decided to help out with the cooking for the first time and attempted to heat up some water with the small propane stoves we had. They were fairly simple to use and we had used them for every meal that required any sort of cooking. Well, Brian did a couple things wrong and a few minutes after he started the burner; most of it was engulfed in flames. He was able to bat it out with a cloth and turn down the heat enough to fix the problem, but we were pretty close to burning down our site.

The misquotes and fly's were terrible, but I kept saying that if it didn't suck a little, everyone would be there and it wouldn't be as cool.

Canoe Adventure

Alicia gave me the green light to take a well earned guys trip to Vegas while we are in the states this summer and I actually told her I had something else in mind. Brian, Aaron and I are taking off tomorrow for a Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip. We'll be leaving out of Ely MN for 4 day 3 night trip. We'll focus most of our time on fishing, taking pictures and trying not to get eaten by bears.

As soon as we get back, I'll post some pictures and a summary of the trip. Publish Post

Don’t Boo the Stripper

Friday night was our usually night to go out. We'd usually start out by getting something to eat at some sort of greasy spoon or with some crappy bar menu. Tim and I still weren't of age, but we'd been using our fake ID's for so long that it was second nature. I had gotten mine from a friend's brother who looked nothing like me and was at least 3 inches shorter and Tim was actually using Aaron's ID, so we always had to go in the door separately. Just another point that proves the drinking laws in the US are stupid. We had used the ID's so many times we were now getting in without them even taking a look at the ID. This Friday started like any other; Food and beer, followed by more beer and booze. Maybe some dancing and vane attempts at picking up women ending with us passing out on the ride home. This trip had an additional stop near the end of the night I was drunk by then and was actually looking forward to going home. And not just a little drunk, but the kind of drunkenness where you make out with fat chicks and eat a 12 pack of white castles. But on this night, I'd have to settle for booing at strippers.

We ended up at the Detour, a Fairbanks bar that attracted the most young people. Our rule at the detour was no matter what was going on, as soon as they played "Come on ride the Train" twice, we had to leave, no questions asked. It was inevitably going to happen because the DJ only had 15 songs, so as soon as the song was played again, we were out the door. I was clearly ready to pass out in the back of Aaron's 318ti, but he and Tim insisted on going 'sailing', which was code for going to the Showboat. It was a local strip bar that could have passed for Porky's but with uglier women and no booze., It had the same wood siding with a cheesy neon sign that said Showboat.

Tim was like a pit-bull when it came to strip clubs. Once his mind was made up it was going to happen, it was easiest just to go there before he started getting pissed At the time, we were young single guys who on a normal night had a better chance at getting frost bite than getting a phone number from an attractive woman. Tim and Aaron dragged me in. Not that on most nights I wouldn't have wanted to go, but on this night I was well past my limit and had to get up at 7 the next morning for a day of manual labor on friends farm. Assuring me that a further good time awaited and that they'd cover my 20 dollar At that point I had nothing to lose but another hour or two of sleep and maybe a few singles.
The cattle prodded me through the door, picked up my cover charge and got a me a coke in a plastic neon purple glass shaped like a Mai tai glass with the 'showboat' on the side. Tim had an extensive collection which I'm sure his wife has since destroyed.

The boat was scarcely populated. It was about a 4 to 1 girl to guy ration which was normally a bad situation. For those who have never ventured into a gentlemen's' club, these girls are like vulcher's, they will keep hounding you for dances until you either leave or give in. And to have no one else in the club meant that they could all spend their time harassing us. But on this night, our stay wouldn't be long enough for it to matter.

We grabbed a table at center stage close to sniffers row but not on it. This way there was no implied obligation to tip the girls during every dance. We could choose who and how much we tipped. There are few things more awkward in the world than being on sniffers row when an ugly girl starts dancing. You really only have 3 options; you can walk away like you have to use the bathroom but have the possibility of either losing you spot or getting called out by the girl, her friends or the DJ. And for the most part, no one wants to be the asshole, especially in a room full of women. Second, you can sit there and hope she is cool with you not tipping her. This is seldom the case and really only works in places that are crowded and the songs short. Finally, you can tip an ugly stripper. Sometimes this is the easiest thing to do, but you fear the possibility of her following up her stage dance with a lap dance/drink request later. So your one awkward moment turns into two awkward moments

**Side story** This follows with the previous scenario. An old friend told a story once of being on sniffers row and he put down a dollar for one of the girls dancing. He said she had sunglasses on at first but took them off at the beginning of her dance. As soon as she took them off, he noticed that she was cross eyed so quickly grabbed his money and took off. It sounded funny with his Florida accent "the bitch was cross eyed. I'm not giving some cross eyed chick my money."

I was in very rough shape I could barely walk on my own, my stomach was queasy and I was closing one eye because I was seeing double. My buddies gave me a couple of bucks to give one of the stage dancers. I approached the stage as cavalier as possible and went through the routine. I commented after about how she needed a shower. I then began lying my head on the table like only drunk people can. Looking for sleep in the world's worst place to sleep. Aaron and Tim tried to wake me, but I was near gone. Sometime between sitting down and the end of the night, I started booing while my head was resting on the table. I'm capable of being a loud person, so amplifying that by resting my head on the table, made the boos extremely loud and almost an echo

And to no one's surprise, the dancer on the stage was not so happy with me. "Shut him up!" she screamed and pointed at me while Aaron, laughing historically, tried vainly to wake me from my daze and get me to stop booing at the young lady. He pulled me to my feet and I responded by motioning to the bathroom. I took two drunken wobbly steps towards the door and the bouncer had seen enough. He grabbed my left arm behind my back and said that I needed to leave.

"That's my bad arm dude; can you use the other one?" I asked as he quickly pushed me to the door like a two wheeled dolly. I think he thought I was trying to be a smart ass and maybe take a shot at him, but I was really just trying not to reinjure my shoulder. But I guess being bouncer wouldn't be a very good job if you couldn't throw people out the door onto the gravel parking lot. "I'm going to come back tomorrow sober and beat your ass!" I said while whipping dirt off of me.

Tim came out the door very angry. "Dude, I didn't even finish my fist pop! What the fuck did you do that for?" Aaron was still laughing his ass off and couldn't believe that I had just booed at a stripper.

"Dude, you just booed at the fucking stripper." Aaron said, still laughing.

College Football

Sorry ladies, but college football is nearly back in full swing. If you are any sort of fan, you've probably already picked up at least one preview magazine and have read through ESPN.com's conference by conference preview.

Now, being a sports fan is not what this blog is about. I'm hear to talk about gambling! And if you are into betting on college football, then there is one thing you must do and that is to read Phil Steele's preview magazine. There is no other magazine or source out there that comes close to providing the in depth coverage that he does. It is just ridiculous the detail that goes into his magazine.

If you usually choose your mag's based on the number of cheerleaders and glossy pictures, then save your money because his mag doesn't have any of it. What he's got is a comprehensive break down of every BCS school. To call it comprehensive is probably selling it a little short. It is very close to being an college football almanac with some very good analysis of each team included.

If you are going to wager this year invest in this magazine.

Welcome back!

It has been many moons since I last updated my blog, but I've always meant to keep writing and thought my vacation would be a good time to get things rolling again. I'd like to add a different flair to the blog by not only covering topics important to the Socialist Gambler but also cover some funny stories from my past. I've always wanted to put it to paper but I've never had a reason to. We'll this blog is my reason I guess.