Archive for February 17th, 2010

17
Feb
10

Music MANday

What up my ninjas? Sorry about the late post yet again, been taking a beating this last week. The job market continues to kick your boy Neil right in the marbles on a daily basis, pair that with a lingering stomach virus and you have one pathetic summabitch. I would like to say something to our loyal readers concerning my BCS article last week. In no way do I see that scenario actually happening. It makes too much sense. Many folks close to the Big-10 were not so thrilled by my portrayal of their conference (which is terrible, I stand by that) and that they should simply take Iowa State as a 12th team. Missouri would make much more sense, as would Pittsburgh or Notre Dame as possible additions to the conference. They bring in more revenue and create a larger target market area (St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago) for the Big-10. The addition of ISU is too neat, but was necessary to make the rest of my formula work. I’ll just leave this issue closed, but fully expect Colorado to leave for the Pac-10 and the Big-10 to add another team. Obviously these moves will have massive ramifications in the College Football arena, we’ll just have to wait and see what those are.

Music MANday is gonna be a little different this week, as I thought we would switch up the usual routine of reviewing albums and recommending our favorite funky tunes. This week I will simply post 4 of my favorite music videos, designed to excite your ears and your eyes in an attempt to incorporate some aesthetic pleasure to your reading/listening/viewing experience. Here we go.

Stick with this one, I love this concept:

Awesome video from my favorite band of 2008:

I just really like this video, shows you can do cool shit on a budget:

One of my favorite videos of all time:

If you haven’t been watching the Olympics then shame on you. People have been ripping these 2010 games lately but it still continues to be one of the most exciting and competitive competitions since Lillehammer in 1994. That being said, this week’s man can only be a certified badass from the Winter Olympic spectrum.

“I’m just trying to ski in a way that’s exciting for me. It’s been an awesome two weeks, I’ve gotten to party and socialize on an Olympic level.” No this isn’t your fraternity social chair after that sweet, Olympic themed mixer with ADPi that saw an unseasonable amount of snow for October. That quote comes from this weeks man icon, Bode Miller. Aside from sharing a name with Swayze’s best character, Bode Miller is the most prolific American alpine skier of all time. He was the overall World Cup Champion in 2005, won 2 silver medals in the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002, became only the 5th man ever to win events in all 5 disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, combined, super-G, and downhill) in 2004, and is a 4-time World Champion in 4/5 disciplines.

What most people don’t know about Bode is that his parents are hippies. Yeah, hippies. He was born in Easton, New Hampshire and grew up in nearby Franconia on 450 acres in a log cabin with no electricity or indoor plumbing. This fucking kid had to walk to an outhouse to take a dump through 6 feet of snow when he was only 3 feet tall. To solidify his parents as raging hippies it may be interesting to our readers that his younger sister’s full name is Genesis Wren Bungo Windrushing Turtleheart, they celebrated the solstices, and Bode was home-schooled until the third grade. When his parents divorced Bode attended public school in NH, and then applied and was accepted to a ski academy in Maine and the rest is history.

Most people are familiar with Bode’s persona, his hard-living, unapologetic pursuit of perfection. Reporters have torn him up, ripped his credibility to the ground, calling him a waste of talent and someone who is more interested in having fun than competing. That is not who Bode Miller is. True he does like to party, but his recent Bronze Medal in Vancouver shows that he also trains as hard or even harder than he parties. He once described coming out of an alcohol induced blackout mid-way through a downhill race. WHAT?! You know how fucking hard core you have to be to pull that shit off? Sure he has had trouble with authority, he quit the US Ski team in 2007 and formed Team America (Fuck Yeah) in order to train and race the way he wanted, but in recent years he has become a father and has settled back into being the best skier that he can be (also rejoined Team USA). One thing is for sure, we are lucky to have him on our side. Bode, we here at WBPT wish you the best on your final 4 races in Vancouver. We will toast many a shot-ski to your successes and failures. We envy your ability to live on the edge of out-of-control and perfect speed. America, fuck yeah indeed.

“My actions are not always consistent. I’m super-mellow and laid back, but I’m always thinking and running 100,000 scenarios through my head. Sometimes I’m disciplined, but I like to be a total slacker, too. I party hard, but I train hard. People are going to try and figure me out and figure out my motivations, and it’s going to be a circus.” – Bode Miller

Neil McFadden

17
Feb
10

Wednesday Cup O’ Mead

Howdy friends.

I have been really busy trying to find a job (and drinking) since I got to NYC, so I haven’t had much time to work on the blog. This thing has gotten so fun, that I actually get upset when I’m not able to update or post something. But, since it’s Wednesday, and I have a little free time, I thought I’d bring yall an ice-cold, heaping cup o’ mead. In honor of this article’s subtle moniker, and because we haven’t ever had a beer article, I thought I would share with you some of finest brews I’ve had since I arrived in New York Cizzay. Since my long black ship rounded Ithaka and landed here in New Amsterdam I have partaken in a few hecatombs (all in my honor), flaying fatty thighs, eating the crispest chines. With such rich and salty meats, your noblest captain was sure to need a hearty swig of the celestial juice. If you are in New York City, the best place to buy imported, microbrew, and craft beer by the bottle is without a doubt New Beer Distributors. This place is to beer what Menelaus’ great hall was to desultory BJ’s from Helen. New Beer is basically a huge garage full of beer. They literally have EVERYTHING. You can pick individual beers from 6 packs, find rare single bottles from earlier seasons, from your standard 12 oz beer all the way to a fuckin’ magnum sized bottle of Stone Double Bastard. They separate all the beers by country, and I would say they have easily more than 1000 different types of beer at any given time. It’s actually quite overwhelming. I picked up a Chimay Triple, a Dogfishhead Midas Touch and Raison D’etra, a Stone Ruination IPA, a Don de Dieu from Unibroue, and a 750ml (ATTN BOB RILEY: I can buy kegs, but not big bottles? The fuck?) Brooklyn Local 1. I also spent some time in The Ginger Man and The Blind Tiger, two exceptional beer bars. Here is a list of my top 5 beers since I arrived. Since I’ve drank so many lately, I will leave you to read the reviews on BeerAdvocate.com, which is linked in the beer names.

Allagash FOUR

This beer is simply amazing. Enjoyed this American quadruple on tap at the Blind Tiger on Bleeker Street.

Brooklyn Local 1


Bought this big 750ml bottle of Belgian Strong Pale Ale at New Beer on Crystie St. Great value for this local favorite.

Stone Double Bastard


Had this at the Ginger Man, an absurdly badass beer bar on 36rd St and 5th ave. Probably my favorite Ale right now. Unbelievable.

St. Bernardus Abt 12

Another Quadruple, this one of the traditional Belgian style.

Chimay Tripel (White)


Maybe my favorite beer (although this is always in contention), and easily the best tripel I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. Chimay is one of 7 breweries in the world that is officially a ”trappist” brewery, that is, beer is brewed or controlled by Trappist monks.

So, if you find yourself in New York, take advantage of the incredible beer selection at almost every corner. Any Whole Foods, especially the one on Houston and Crystie (only a few blocks north of New Beer), will have a great selection. Beer bars are everywhere, and they usually have a great environment and delicious food to go along with the suds. Here is a list of my favorite beer bars in NYC (with links).

d.b.a, The Ginger Man, Blind Tiger, Rattle N’ Hum

I am in NYC until further notice, then back to that 256 for a while. Hope to see yall (no not you blogger.com troll) soon and share some cold adult beverages. Oh yeah, and pray I get a job.

Ὀδυσσεύς Bombay




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