Doing it for the kids... even though it will mean I can't have kids

So I have a few posts I want to get out there before I run away and most other people run away for the holiday. This is probably the most important in terms of message and purpose, so lets get it out of the way. In some small way I attempt (read: ATTEMPT) to make the world a better place every year. My efforts are usually no more than a butterfly's flap of the wings in the big picture, but I like to do it none the less. This year, masochism seemed like the perfect choice. For the low low cost of however much I can get you to donate, I am going to run, not jump, and them fully submerge myself in the Atlantic Ocean on January 24th in Baltimore. (OK, so it is the Chesapeake Bay, no need to get bitchy over it.) Along with thousands of others, I will attempt to help raise a record amount of dough for the Special Olympics. My team, "Significant Shrinkage," Aims to raise $1,000 and we are only to about $400 now. While I am the leading participant at this time, I wanna be even more kick ass and do more. What the hell, I want to grovel at your feet more and tell you all what wonderful people you are for parting ways with your $5, $10, $500 donations.

Seriously, the Special Olympics is an important and needed event in this world. The economic crisis throws so many charitable organizations in risk this year, and they need our support more than ever. I would love for you to help with this cause, but even if you don't, try and help somewhere else. Donate your time to ring a bell for the Salvation Army, serve food at a shelter, or donate old winter wear and blankets for the needy. Me? I am donating my nuts to mother nature... and I would like you to pay homage to them in coin.

To contribute to my hypothermia, follow this link. Yes I promise pictures when it is over and I can no longer have children.

30 lbs. Short of a Six Pack: Raspberry-Kahlua-Nog

(30 lbs. Short of a Six Pack is a recurring feature which reviews a beer from the point of view of a guy who knows nothing about beer except for that he loves it. And it loves him. So go quench your thirst my friends.)

So as my first two 30lbs. segments pointed out, it is the season of holiday parties and festive beers. Well, at a recent holiday party I played the white elephant game. I have no idea why the game is called that particular name, all I know it as is "you get to steal someone else's gift and it is fun". Well I got to go very first, and this meant I was walking away with whatever gift I wanted at the end. You Better believe I took the alcohol. A nice little Kahlua gift set it was. Cup, liter, and some samples. So this may not be a beer, but gosh darn it, I have a holiday drink and I might as well review it for you. Now how did I turn Kahlua into a holiday drink? Eggnog! Just so happens I know a pretty simple recipe for some holiday cheer...

1. 2 parts Kahlua.
2. 1 part vodka.
3. Mix with Eggnog.
4. Stir.

Now for this lil drink I chose Absolute Raspberry for my vodka. I am one of those guys who likes raspberry and chocolate, so this works for me, Or I at least think it will. So how does this contraption taste? Well first off I put way too much vodka in, think I'll pour a little more eggnog in after a few gulps. Obviously the type of vodka and eggnog you choose will affect this taste incredibly, but my raspberry-Kahlua-nog is pretty darn tasty. The first thing you gain note of is the crisp taste of the absolute, as flavored abso tends to do. As you begin to swallow the Kahlua really kicks in and then the aftertaste is all owned by the eggnog. This is truly a hearty, sit by the fire and watch the snow fall with loved ones beverage. It is a little hard for me to get into the mood as it is 50 and pouring rain in Baltimore right now, but I can sit back and close my eyes and imagine the slush of Michigan... oh yea... there it is.

So obviously Beer Advocate is not going to review my eggnog contraption, but that is beyond the point. I hope you at some time this holiday escape from the shopping, the crazy family and nutso chaos, and steal some moments for the good old hearty holiday drink. If you go for the ras-Kahlua-nog, smile and think of me.

Happy Holidays booze hounds.

Just like Ugs, a classic winter mistake

I have been sitting on this one for awhile, waiting to see what other angle or aesthetic drags itself from some unknown hole to be judged and valued. Yes my friends, the NHL will hold the 2009 Winter Classic on January 1st, with my beloved Red Wings facing the bastards from Chicago. The game takes place in one of the top three holiest baseball shrines ever, bubblegum field.

I voiced thorough disapproval over the game last year, to which Penguins fans told me I was jealous and I would change my tone if the Red Wings had a national spot light like that. Well, here I am to say that as the day fast approaches, and new details seem to have subsided, I remain opposed to the game. That is not to say I won’t watch with great interest.

Several things about this whole event irk me. First is the basic molestation of the NHL and its relevance as a brand. Yes this is America folks, a place where sports and championships mean squat unless paying customers buy in. The Stanley Cup would be played for in some back room poker game if zero people paid to watch competition for it. So on this day, the NHL has said “Hey, we cannot alter our game, promote our stars better, or hire a better commish to raise ratings, so let’s go act like a circus act for attention!”

This is all the Winter Classic amounts to, a ratings pull. I will not accept the “heritage of the game” roots argument. Maybe when the League pulled off the Montreal versus Edmonton game several years ago as an exhibition match; that was fine and dandy. Now when they send teams overseas for actual regular season contests, as well as this, I see them for the misguided ratings whores they are. Look, I would work for ratings too, but I’d do it through star recognition, rivalry building, cheaper access, not a side show.

No, now that they show this game as a “centerpiece” yearly, I think it is a gag. This is an event waiting for disaster. NHL players are world class athletes. They play at a faster speed than any athlete on the planet, and on the most volatile surface any game is held. Until they take up rocket-bike polo on the top of a volcano, hockey is the fastest sport. (Sorry NASCAR, I won’t even go there today.) For those of you unfamiliar with ice hockey, the ice itself is a science. Well paid men work day and night to ensure the ice stays as perfect as possible Not only does this make sure the puck plays smoothly, but that million dollar athletes do not hit a rut and blow an ACL.

So what happens when an ice rink is built outside in conditions you cannot control? You ask for disaster. Sure, last year was pretty. Snow falling, cold Canadian weather blowing into Buffalo. Beautiful. What happens when unseasonably warm weather brings rain or ruins the ice in Chicago? The zamboni already had more ice time than Crosby in Buffalo, so what then? It better not be the Red Wings young superstar player who tears a knee on a rut that would not have been present indoors.

Outside of the quality of the game, I just dislike the approach. True hockey fans bitched about the Fox Trax puck, idiot-proof explanation of the rules and commentary, why do we accept a blatant pull for some of the NCAA Bowl game ratings on New Years Day?

My intelligent argument aside; I hate the Wings’ jersey; the classic wheel from the glory days would have been better suited. I think the old non-Tigers English D just confuses people and was used by the club for a short period of time for a reason.

This is not to say I won’t watch, cheer and hope for a favorable outcome on the 1st like other Wings fans, but I’d rather do it at a traditional Joe Louis New Years Eve game. Let someone else from a team without history get sacrificed.

Mmmm... Stuffed Kramer

I get to fly home to the mitten today for what is fast becoming one of my favorite holidays if it wasn’t already. This is my second Thanksgiving away from home and now more than ever I enjoy building new traditions. Making my brother pick me up from the airport; playing the “but I never get to come home anymore!” excuse during dinner clean up; stealing all the good parts of the turkey because I am the long lost son, ect.

For real though, this for me is where traditions really become important. This trip will mark the second such year I stay up till the sun breaks on Thanksgiving eve playing video games with my bro, it will be a third annual football match at Brooklands between college friends, and it will be one of a very few occasions I get to celebrate with my Three B gang out at the bar Saturday.

Top all of this off with a trip to see the Red Wings Friday and it might as well be Christmas. So a happy holiday to you my friends. Travel safe, eat too much, and god forbid please do not watch the entire Lions game. Depression sets in after the holidays, not during people.

Happy Thanksgiving.