This week I hit the Frugal McDougals and what did I find there? The Rock in a can. An 18 pack for $10! That's a deal.
But I noticed something strange on the can. Where it used to say Latrobe, PA, it now says St. Louis, MO. And then I remembered why I wasn't supposed to be drinking Rolling Rock. Because of Budweiser putting the people of Latrobe, PA, out of work when they shut down the plant there. Damn!
I have been trying to drink the Miller Lite, and it's not bad. It just doesn't hit the spot the way a CL does.
If you look hard enough you can probably find some reason to boycott every corporation in America. Hell, you probably wouldn't have to look hard at all.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Truth is a WHUUTT!!
From today's CA story about the new Itta Bena restaurant on Beale:
"We've always wanted to have a quality experience where locals could come, either to enjoy themselves or bring out-of-town visitors to Beale without being in a honky-tonk," said Tommy Peters, majority investor in the three B.B. King clubs around the country, including one opening this fall in Orlando.
There are Honky Tonks on Beale Street?! That is so cool!! I thought it was all hippity hop and booty shakin' clubs! But there are Honky Tonks! Country Music is alive and well on Beale Street!
Maybe I should round up the gang and go down there this weekend. As long as no one tries to bring a chai past the security guard it could be a swingin' time!
"We've always wanted to have a quality experience where locals could come, either to enjoy themselves or bring out-of-town visitors to Beale without being in a honky-tonk," said Tommy Peters, majority investor in the three B.B. King clubs around the country, including one opening this fall in Orlando.
There are Honky Tonks on Beale Street?! That is so cool!! I thought it was all hippity hop and booty shakin' clubs! But there are Honky Tonks! Country Music is alive and well on Beale Street!
Maybe I should round up the gang and go down there this weekend. As long as no one tries to bring a chai past the security guard it could be a swingin' time!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
the Truth is a Lie #5
The Evilblog has a very interesting discussion regarding the death of Country Music. I've weighed in a couple of times and intend to make a broader, more developed statement on that topic---probably here on the Leader.
But I've also got sports on my mind, basketball in particular. I just read a piece on ESPN.com about the upcoming tournament of the Americas (or something like that) which should be USA Basketball's return to glory. But what really intrigued me was Team Mexico. They've hired Nolan Richardson to be their coach. Hell Yes! I really like Nolan. I know he went sort of crazy and accused the University of Arkansas of being racist of whatever, but the man won the Final Four! With Dwight Stewart! (who I talked to one time in Planet Music on Winchester, the night or so after I got my wisdom teeth taken out and I was a little out of it. Dwight was checking out the rap CDs and I just HAD to congratulate him on winning the Championship. Best I can remember he was pretty cool. Then again, it's all a little hazy.) And Corliss Williamson. That dude was cool. Too bad his rap career never took off. And Nolan even had a white dude on the team. I don't remember his name, but he was from Massachusetts. Anyway, I'm glad to see Nolan is back in the game. He would make a good candidate for the University of Memphis job after the Tigers win the Final Four this year and Callipari jumps to a BCS school or the NBA.
And that wasn't the only thing interesting about the Mexican team. The story said they tried to get Earl Watson to play for them?! Earl Watson the former Grizzly. I didn't know that Earl was a Mexican. Maybe one of his parents is from Mexico. I don't know. If anyone has any info on this I'd like to hear it.
But I've also got sports on my mind, basketball in particular. I just read a piece on ESPN.com about the upcoming tournament of the Americas (or something like that) which should be USA Basketball's return to glory. But what really intrigued me was Team Mexico. They've hired Nolan Richardson to be their coach. Hell Yes! I really like Nolan. I know he went sort of crazy and accused the University of Arkansas of being racist of whatever, but the man won the Final Four! With Dwight Stewart! (who I talked to one time in Planet Music on Winchester, the night or so after I got my wisdom teeth taken out and I was a little out of it. Dwight was checking out the rap CDs and I just HAD to congratulate him on winning the Championship. Best I can remember he was pretty cool. Then again, it's all a little hazy.) And Corliss Williamson. That dude was cool. Too bad his rap career never took off. And Nolan even had a white dude on the team. I don't remember his name, but he was from Massachusetts. Anyway, I'm glad to see Nolan is back in the game. He would make a good candidate for the University of Memphis job after the Tigers win the Final Four this year and Callipari jumps to a BCS school or the NBA.
And that wasn't the only thing interesting about the Mexican team. The story said they tried to get Earl Watson to play for them?! Earl Watson the former Grizzly. I didn't know that Earl was a Mexican. Maybe one of his parents is from Mexico. I don't know. If anyone has any info on this I'd like to hear it.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
"You're Kind of a Snob" part 3
On a lighter note, I've been thinking again of finding a new regular beer. Coors Light has been my favorite for quite some time, but several factors have lead to me searching for a new go to brew. They are:
1. Coors shut down their plant in Memphis. This was convieniently timed to coincide with the year they would have had to start paying some taxes to the city.
2. The Coors plant in Memphis was unionized. And I don't think that the other facilities are.
3. I found out that Miller Beers are made by workers who belong to the U.A.W. The U.A.W. is my favorite union so I thought it would be cool to support them.
4. My favorite NASCAR driver, Kasey Kahne, is very likely going to be driving the Budweiser car next year. And that's gonna make it strange to put a CL in my number 9 huggie.
So, it might be time to make a change. But I do have a couple of guidelines. My new beer is going to have to be a main line domestic. No "sub-premiums" like Busch, Natty, or PBR. And no high dollar micro brews like Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada. I like a S.N. every now and then. But they cost like 8 bucks a six pack. 8 bucks is too much for a regular, everyday beer. This rules out imports too. I am pretty sure I could make Tecate my regular beer if I lived in Mexico, but since I live in Nashville I've got to keep searching my other options. Plus, I might get tired of the lime eventually.
That leaves me with the Big Two: Budweiser and Miller.
I really like a Budweiser every now and then, but when I come in from the gym (yeah, i go to the gym sometime. I'm 35 years old and I like to drink a cold beer. this requires some time on the treadmill every now and then) the King of Beers is just to heavy. I like a draft Bud Light at the ballpark. But, maybe it's because it's the prefered beer of my dad and my uncles, Bud Light feels kind of old. And it lacks a certain style. I can drink it at the house, but I feel decidely un-hip when I order it out at a bar.
Among other Anheuser-Busch Brands there's Bud Select which is o.k., but a little girly and I'd be just as (un)likely to order a Michelob Ultra (also an A-B product,) and Rolling Rock. There was a brief time back in 1997 that the Rock was my beer of choice. It was always good, but for then I moved to the CL. In late 1997-early 1998 my weight was really going up. And moving to a light beer seemed like a good idea. But, since I no longer have the weight issue due to my frequent trips to the gym and a serious decrease in my CL cunsumption, it might be time to reconsider the Rock. The Rock in a can's relative unavailabilty might be a little problem (I've been trying to pre-cycle,) but I could probably get over that.
So, if I want to stick with my driver and go with a Budweiser affiliated brand I might try Rolling Rock.
But what going with the product that will support my favorite union, the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agriculural Implement Workers? (The union that was brought to prominence the greatest of the labor leaders, Walter P. Reuther.)
Here are my U.A.W. made Miller Beer choices:
Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Genuine Draft Light, Miller High Life, Miller High Life Light, Milwaukee’s Best, Milwaukee’s Best Light, Milwaukee’s Best Ice, Leinenkugel’s, Sharp’s (non alcoholic), Mickey’s Malt, Mickey’s Ice, Hamm’s, Hamm’s Draft, Hamm’s Light, Icehouse, Miller Lite Ice, Red Dog, Olde English 800, Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, Henry Weinhard’s Blue Boar Pale Ale
Does that say Miller Lite Ice? Yuck! I guess that's a light Icehouse. Ice beer is BAD news. Ice beer is a headache the likes of which I never want to experience again in my life. And I don't even know what the hell the rest of that stuff is. I think it's all malt liquor.
Taking away ice beers and sub-premiums, I am left with Miller Lite, MGD, and MGD Light if I want to be in solidarity with my U.A.W. brothers and sisters.
Miller Lite is good to drink if you are doing something outside, and it is hot. It is also good to drink if you have to drive somewhere. It is very low in calories, carbs, and alcohol. Which makes it low in the important area of "Kick." I have only the slightest familiarity with any beers from the MGD line. Though I would be willing to give one a try.
The problem is that I just don't like any of these beers as much as I like Coors Light. A CL hits the spot like a DC if you know what I mean. (And if you don't know, DC stands for Diet Coke, the official soft drink of the Maximum Leader.) Other beers are o.k., and I enjoy them every now and then, but they just aren't the same.
I can go with what I like. Or I can go with my principles. This is going to be rough.
1. Coors shut down their plant in Memphis. This was convieniently timed to coincide with the year they would have had to start paying some taxes to the city.
2. The Coors plant in Memphis was unionized. And I don't think that the other facilities are.
3. I found out that Miller Beers are made by workers who belong to the U.A.W. The U.A.W. is my favorite union so I thought it would be cool to support them.
4. My favorite NASCAR driver, Kasey Kahne, is very likely going to be driving the Budweiser car next year. And that's gonna make it strange to put a CL in my number 9 huggie.
So, it might be time to make a change. But I do have a couple of guidelines. My new beer is going to have to be a main line domestic. No "sub-premiums" like Busch, Natty, or PBR. And no high dollar micro brews like Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada. I like a S.N. every now and then. But they cost like 8 bucks a six pack. 8 bucks is too much for a regular, everyday beer. This rules out imports too. I am pretty sure I could make Tecate my regular beer if I lived in Mexico, but since I live in Nashville I've got to keep searching my other options. Plus, I might get tired of the lime eventually.
That leaves me with the Big Two: Budweiser and Miller.
I really like a Budweiser every now and then, but when I come in from the gym (yeah, i go to the gym sometime. I'm 35 years old and I like to drink a cold beer. this requires some time on the treadmill every now and then) the King of Beers is just to heavy. I like a draft Bud Light at the ballpark. But, maybe it's because it's the prefered beer of my dad and my uncles, Bud Light feels kind of old. And it lacks a certain style. I can drink it at the house, but I feel decidely un-hip when I order it out at a bar.
Among other Anheuser-Busch Brands there's Bud Select which is o.k., but a little girly and I'd be just as (un)likely to order a Michelob Ultra (also an A-B product,) and Rolling Rock. There was a brief time back in 1997 that the Rock was my beer of choice. It was always good, but for then I moved to the CL. In late 1997-early 1998 my weight was really going up. And moving to a light beer seemed like a good idea. But, since I no longer have the weight issue due to my frequent trips to the gym and a serious decrease in my CL cunsumption, it might be time to reconsider the Rock. The Rock in a can's relative unavailabilty might be a little problem (I've been trying to pre-cycle,) but I could probably get over that.
So, if I want to stick with my driver and go with a Budweiser affiliated brand I might try Rolling Rock.
But what going with the product that will support my favorite union, the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agriculural Implement Workers? (The union that was brought to prominence the greatest of the labor leaders, Walter P. Reuther.)
Here are my U.A.W. made Miller Beer choices:
Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Genuine Draft Light, Miller High Life, Miller High Life Light, Milwaukee’s Best, Milwaukee’s Best Light, Milwaukee’s Best Ice, Leinenkugel’s, Sharp’s (non alcoholic), Mickey’s Malt, Mickey’s Ice, Hamm’s, Hamm’s Draft, Hamm’s Light, Icehouse, Miller Lite Ice, Red Dog, Olde English 800, Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, Henry Weinhard’s Blue Boar Pale Ale
Does that say Miller Lite Ice? Yuck! I guess that's a light Icehouse. Ice beer is BAD news. Ice beer is a headache the likes of which I never want to experience again in my life. And I don't even know what the hell the rest of that stuff is. I think it's all malt liquor.
Taking away ice beers and sub-premiums, I am left with Miller Lite, MGD, and MGD Light if I want to be in solidarity with my U.A.W. brothers and sisters.
Miller Lite is good to drink if you are doing something outside, and it is hot. It is also good to drink if you have to drive somewhere. It is very low in calories, carbs, and alcohol. Which makes it low in the important area of "Kick." I have only the slightest familiarity with any beers from the MGD line. Though I would be willing to give one a try.
The problem is that I just don't like any of these beers as much as I like Coors Light. A CL hits the spot like a DC if you know what I mean. (And if you don't know, DC stands for Diet Coke, the official soft drink of the Maximum Leader.) Other beers are o.k., and I enjoy them every now and then, but they just aren't the same.
I can go with what I like. Or I can go with my principles. This is going to be rough.
MEMPHIS --- Part 1
Ever since I moved to Nashville, almost a year ago now, I've read the Commercial Appeal on line. And I often feel much more involved and interested in what's going on in Memphis than I do to what's going on here. Nashville really just feels like a place that I am staying. Memphis feels like home.
The last couple of days I have been really bothered by something going on in my hometown: the beating of a 51 year old Collierville man by a 21 year old security guard on Beale Street.
The story goes that the man from Collierville and his wife were celebrating their 25th anniversary with a night at the new Westin Hotel downtown. They were walking back to their hotel when they crossed Beale Street at Beale and Third. The wife had a cup of tea, and the security guard told her that she could not bring it onto Beale Street. The man attempted to explain to the guard that they were not going onto Beale Street. They were going to their hotel. An argument followed, and the guard slammed the older man onto the pavement, critically injuring him.
I do not know what words were passed between the men. I do not know the security guard's side of the story. I do know that the guard's actions were so far out of line that he has been charged with aggravated assault and is currently sitting in the Shelby County Jail on a $25,000 bond. And I know that one couple's 25th Anniversary was completely and utterly ruined. And Downtown Memphis is going to take another serious hit in the public relations department. Beale Street is going to become a "Steer Clear" zone for a lot of folks---if it wasn't already.
This story is so disgusting to me. I imagine my folks coming in from Cordova to spend a special night at the Westin or maybe just go for a nice dinner downtown. They might go for a walk a cup of coffee from Starbucks before heading in. I imagine them running into a young security guard with a bad attitude....and well, I don't even want to think about the rest.
Just this past June the anthropogist and I went to Memphis for a party, and, because we had not seen each other in a while and neither of us live in Memphis anymore, we decided to splurge on a night at The Madison. We had a great time there, and being back in Downtown Memphis was awesome. And it should have been for that way for the couple from Collierville. But intsead of a night of celebration, their lives were horrifically changed forever. And the city of Memphis is going to have to step up and do something about this or all of the work that has gone into making Downtown Memphis so wonderful is going to be for nothing.
The last couple of days I have been really bothered by something going on in my hometown: the beating of a 51 year old Collierville man by a 21 year old security guard on Beale Street.
The story goes that the man from Collierville and his wife were celebrating their 25th anniversary with a night at the new Westin Hotel downtown. They were walking back to their hotel when they crossed Beale Street at Beale and Third. The wife had a cup of tea, and the security guard told her that she could not bring it onto Beale Street. The man attempted to explain to the guard that they were not going onto Beale Street. They were going to their hotel. An argument followed, and the guard slammed the older man onto the pavement, critically injuring him.
I do not know what words were passed between the men. I do not know the security guard's side of the story. I do know that the guard's actions were so far out of line that he has been charged with aggravated assault and is currently sitting in the Shelby County Jail on a $25,000 bond. And I know that one couple's 25th Anniversary was completely and utterly ruined. And Downtown Memphis is going to take another serious hit in the public relations department. Beale Street is going to become a "Steer Clear" zone for a lot of folks---if it wasn't already.
This story is so disgusting to me. I imagine my folks coming in from Cordova to spend a special night at the Westin or maybe just go for a nice dinner downtown. They might go for a walk a cup of coffee from Starbucks before heading in. I imagine them running into a young security guard with a bad attitude....and well, I don't even want to think about the rest.
Just this past June the anthropogist and I went to Memphis for a party, and, because we had not seen each other in a while and neither of us live in Memphis anymore, we decided to splurge on a night at The Madison. We had a great time there, and being back in Downtown Memphis was awesome. And it should have been for that way for the couple from Collierville. But intsead of a night of celebration, their lives were horrifically changed forever. And the city of Memphis is going to have to step up and do something about this or all of the work that has gone into making Downtown Memphis so wonderful is going to be for nothing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
