Taken at a Swans show in DC last year...I was close enough for a good shot, but I was deaf in the right ear for 3 days...

The Sloths

No, but I'll put on my HIGH PRIORITY list.

Hey, glad you enjoyed it! Man, Vancouver, I am envious. Have a great weekend and trip!

Have you tried [Imperial, maybe?] Steelhead's IPA (CA)?

That article you sent was super interesting... thanks.

I'm super jazzed as I'm off to Vancouver this weekend - it's the one and only place you can get Red Racer IPA on tap instead of in cans.

* The largest American-owned brewing company doesn’t sell beer in Oregon. Miller, Coors and Bud are now owned by foreign companies, which left Sam Adams on top until last year, when it was surpassed by Pennsylvania’s Yuengling. Founded in 1829, Yuengling claims to be the nation’s oldest brewery.

* Oregon doesn’t have the most breweries in the U.S. or the most breweries per capita. With 245 breweries, California has by far the most. Tiny Vermont has only 21 breweries, but the most per capita. Oregon has 121 breweries, which is third most total and second most per person.

* Beer styles go far beyond “light” and “dark.” There are 83 different styles judged at the Great American Beer Festival, including sour beers, oatmeal stouts and barrel-aged beers stored for a year in whiskey barrels before bottling.

* Beers made with herbs instead of hops are called gruits and were popular until the 1500s. They’ve seen a minor revival in recent years, partly spurred by Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch, a brew developed from an analysis of the 2,700-year-old drinking vessels found in the tomb of King Midas. Portland’s Buckman Brewing, housed inside the Green Dragon on Southeast Yamhill Street, is a leader, flavoring beers with chamomile, ginger and sweet potatoes.

*
Dark beers are not “heavier” in calories than light beers. The color of beer depends on how long and hot the barley was roasted. Stouts, which use darker malts, are often lower in calories than brighter beers. Guinness, for example, is lighter than Heineken, Budweiser, Miller or Stella Artois.

* Some beer goes bad, other beer gets better with age. Mass-market lagers like Budweiser and Miller are best at their freshest. Full Sail’s Session lager, for example, is meant be consumed within 120 days, says brewmaster Jamie Emmerson. However, some high-alcohol, bottle-conditioned styles, including Imperial stouts and barley wines, can be cellared for years to allow flavors to mellow and mature. Portland’s Hair of the Dog is a leading advocate of bottle aging.

* The top-selling craft beer in the U.S. is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Oregon’s top offering was Widmer Hefeweizen, which ranked seventh among craft brews in 2010.

* The world’s largest beer market is China. The most popular Chinese beer—and the top-selling beer in the world—isn’t well-known Tsingtao. It’s Snow Beer. Tsingtao is China’s biggest export but a distant second domestically. The almost-clear Snow Beer is not available outside China and moved 16.5 billion pints in 2010, twice as much as Bud Light, which is second worldwide.

* The most popular imported beer in the U.S. is Corona. Heineken holds second place, followed by Modelo Especial and Corona Light. Mexico sends the U.S. five of its 10 most popular imports. This is a recent trend. A decade ago, Guinness (Ireland), Foster’s (Australia) and Amstel (the Netherlands) were in the top 10 instead of Tecate, Dos Equis and Corona Light.

* The world’s No. 3 beer market is Brazil, a nation now ahead of Germany and Russia. Skol is Brazil’s most popular beer.

Also, for real hop-heads, A new era of Oregon hops will better your brew.

I agree, you get what ya pay for. I myself like those Belgians and micros.

'Sfunny that that Belgian multinational owns Bud, the flagship o' watery piss-beer...

Holy crap, a 2.8%? Even them Utah mormons have heady'r beer than that!

Weak beer just means people are going to buy more of it. With cmeans more times to tip the bartender, more money spent (do they honestly think people are going to lower the price of a pint cos it's weaker?!)

Personally, nothing is going to turn me away from my 8% and above - but I suppose some folks like the watery, pissy lagers that macrobrews churn out. 

But this is ridiculous, really!

Feb 11th 2012 | from the print edition [via Economist]

*
*BRITAIN is known for its lager louts and beer bellies. But after two decades of drinking strong, continental-style lagers, their beer is weakening. Several brewers have launched new lower-alcohol lines in the past five years, including a new range of 2.8% brews. Even flagship brands are getting weaker.

Carlsberg Export, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Beck’s and Cobra are all cutting their alcohol content from 5% to 4.8% in Britain. The shift is small—brewers hope consumers will not notice—but it will save money at a time when ingredients are pricey. Duty on beer, which is paid by producers, accounts for a large part of its cost. Of a typical £3 ($4.75) pub pint, around £1 is tax, far higher than elsewhere in Europe. Unlike wine and cider, beer is taxed on a sliding scale according to its strength. For big brands, a small adjustment can make a big difference, notes Neil Williams of the British Beer & Pub Association, a trade body.
In this section

* Pulled hither and thither
* Just more of the same?
* »Brewers’ droop
* A legal bombshell
* Natural selection
* Keep calm and carry on
* The Midlandstand
* The death of meritocracy

Reprints
Related topics

* Europe
* United Kingdom

It is smart to get drinkers used to weak tipples, since the government seems determined to raise the cost of getting drunk. To lure punters some supermarkets and booze stores currently sell alcohol at a loss, but from April 6th they must charge at least the duty and sales tax due on a drink. The Scottish Parliament is considering a bill to introduce minimum pricing per unit of alcohol; David Cameron, the prime minister, is keen on this idea. And duty is likely to rise again in the March budget.

Beer of less than 2.8% alcohol by volume made up less than 1% of drink sales in 2010, but retailers clearly think it is a promising niche: since January Tesco has stocked 11 types. Such brews are much cheaper—a tax tweak cut duty on very weak varieties from October 2011.

These changes, it is hoped, will improve people’s health and the economy: alcohol-related visits costs the National Health Service more than £3 billion a year in England. But the exchequer will lose out on the extra duty. And a small shift in strength will do little to cut Britain’s binge-drinking habit, which is often fuelled by wine and spirits.

The question is whether diluting pints will also dilute their appeal. Brewers in Britain are already shedding customers. Although beer is still the nation’s favourite tipple, its market share has shrunk from 76% of all alcohol drunk in 1956 to 37% now, according to the Institute of Alcohol Studies, a think-tank. For much of that time overall alcohol consumption per head was increasing. But that trend reversed in 2004.

Microbreweries and other small beermakers are already gaining ground on big brands. Pete Brown, a beer writer, reckons that by skimping on alcohol mainstream beers are becoming “progressively more bland”.

What did Vonnegut say? "Only the crazy want to be President", something like that.

My theory is that (supposedly) the Dems have progressive values sewn up, so the Right has to get crazier and crazier, to cater to the cranky oldsters who almost alway vote, and vote Republican.

They really are off on a planet of their own, Planet Kwazy!

I've heard that, first of all, you need to be rich to run (Ah, here it is, "It costs between $50 million US Dollars (USD) and $100 million USD to begin to ... have decided to raise all their own money to run for president." Link and Here )

Since Obama was elected (and I *actually* voted, and voted for Obama) I've become sooo distrustful of any pols., and intend never to vote again. This lesser-of-2-evils thing is for the birds. Bill Maher said Obama is where Eisenhower was back in the 50s, and the GOP is off-the-charts, God knows where. We are screwed from here on out, essentially.

Glad yer news is covering something essential, ours isn't (I really rely on Twitter for that). The Beltway and their backers have the news circuit sewn up, even Huffington Post or the comics like Jon Stewart are afraid to go too far out in bringing sunlight on these dirty dealings.

Obama won't prosecute Bush, and no-one will prosecute Obama for what he's done.

Our Democratic Prez is furthering Bush's goals, and hollowing out our justice system/individual rights.

The idea of "America" is a sham from here on out (probably was anyway).

Dave

Hey dave: The situation in the US is followed extremely closely here in Oz. And i have to say, it's nice hearing a non-Oz opinion from our political commentators. It helps me not to get too angry when I hear the news. Sometimes.

That said, I cannot understand, given the population of your country, why there aren't better people running. Sure, I've heard the usual reasons.

But really, are these men and women the best your country has for leaders? Romney is the best the Republicans can muster up? Obama was the best of the Dems? Doesn't seem that way to me.

Then again, would you want that job? Our news is largely ignoring the elections there and focusing on what is going on in Syria. Is the election crowding out real news?

Here

Are you disappointed in the Obama presidency?

I'm very, very disappointed by his foreign policy. It obviously goes against everything that I believe. Having said that, it seems that the alternative to re-electing Obama would be such a heinous disaster for this country if you look at the candidates on the other side. I find it hard to find any value in any of them. They are lackeys for the grossest machine . . . to a man and to a woman.

Thanks for all the info guys!

Haven't heard of the freelancers union before, will have to take a look at it. Maybe I'll set up a profile there  as well.

Have any of you joined the Freelancers Union?

http://www.freelancersunion.org/

I just stumbled across it a couple of weeks ago and joined... mostly out of curiosity. I don't really consider myself much of a "designer" or anything, even though I have dabbled in flyer art and album design in the past. I'd like to get into "freelancing" other talents, though, such as voiceover work and copy editing/proofreading, so I figured I might be able to use that site for that stuff, if nothing else. Click here to see my profile.

Oh, yeah, Occupy Portland is still in effect, they stay in touch w/ other groups and aren't going anywhere. No camping yet, might start up again, though.

I really hope we send delegates to this thing, and what's more, get action. Some of that stuff is just blue sky grievances, but quite a bit is doable. Change the government, then you can change bad decisions (let's hope)...

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
“I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.”

{I believe she suggested South Africa's, 'smore modern.}

Makes for some incredible reading dunnit? Thanks for posting this here. What's the action plan? Anything for you locally where you are dave?

Here Comes Occupy Wall Street 2.0?
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 11:43 AM [via slog]

{I freakin' love this!!}

A website called The 99% Declaration has just popped up. It begins:

BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE, THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in order to form a more perfect Union, by, for and of the People, shall elect and convene a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY the week of July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia to prepare and ratify a PETITION FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES on behalf of the Ninety-Nine Percent of the People of the United States to be served upon the United States Congress, United States Supreme Court and President of the United States prior to November 6, 2012.

It's a hugely ambitious plan, announcing that the people "shall elect two Delegates, one identifying as male and one identifying as female, by direct democratic vote, from each of the existing 435 Congressional Districts, to represent the People" at this assembly.

Frankly, I'm surprised the teabaggers didn't pick up on that "petition for a redress of grievances" stuff. It's powerful Constitutional language. The site goes on to list 21 different issues that may or may not wind up in the formal petition at the end of the national general assembly, including "Elimination of the Corporate State," "Term Limits," "Debt Reduction," "Jobs for All Americans," and "Review and Reform of the Federal Reserve Banking System." Will this become the second iteration of Occupy Wall Street?

And what do you think?

LINDA LOVELACE!

Well, hello:

And another of Linda Vaughn

Heres another shot of Shirley Muldowney racing:

Bloody hell -- there is no safe haven any more?

It's too awful to contemplate. NO! Damn, and here I was practicing my Kiwi. :-(

That Occupy group in the City here is looking better every day. M

dave said:

Hey, Mel, don't sell the home yet.

InternetNZ @InternetNZ

RT @techliberty: In case you missed it over the weekend, NZ police defend censorship of political website: Police defend censorship of website

Hey, Mel, don't sell the home yet.

InternetNZ @InternetNZ

RT @techliberty: In case you missed it over the weekend, NZ police defend censorship of political website: Police defend censorship of website

"INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS " IS PRETTY FUCKING AWFUL.....NO SURPRISE , THERE , I GUESS. i remember "The Alien Factor" being a real stinker , but I have'nt seen in about 30 years. It's only saving grace being the animated monster sequences by Ernest T. Farino , whom I knew in passing. Farino went on to do the Pillsbury  Doughboy commercials.

"The Super Soul Brother" , with Wildman Steve (Contemporary to Rudy Ray Moore , I saw the two of them on a bill with La Wanda Page. Guess who was the filthiest? Your Aunt Esther , of course. ) is a no - script , no - production values having waste of time , except it has the WI - I - I - I - I - I- IIIIIILD MAN , who's hilarious , when he's on.The alternate title was "The $250,00 N*****" , I kid you not.

Did we already discuss "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" , yes , it's one of THEE worst. A non - Director (Robert Stigwood) directs , and several of the performers were singers , but not actors , save for George Burns , Steve Martin and Donald Pleasance. ALL GIVE THEIR WORST , LIKE THE REST OF THE CAST....THE MOVIE CULMINATES WITH THE BIGGEST HOLLYWOOD /ROCK'N'ROLL COCTAIL PARTY....TINA TURNER , A LONG WAY FROM A COMEBACK ,GETS PLENTY OF SCREEN TIME , AS DOES JOHNNY WINTER , AND , WOULD YOU BELIVE , JOHN MAYALL? JIM DANDY IS IN ALL THIS MESS , TOO , BUT , IMPOSSIBLE TO LOCATE.  ALICE COOPER WEARS A HORRID MOUSTACHE , THAT WOULD GET HIM LAID LIKE CRAZY , TODAY ,  IF HE DID'NT ALREADY HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WIFE.

Was Wendy O. really supposed to be a teenager? I know most of the other women were SUPPOSED TO be teens....I took a date to see "C.H.U.D." when it came out. We were both kind of bummed that it was'nt worse than it was ! I like Humanoids From The Deep a lot , tho'.  I'll watch out for "Razorback" ....Ever seen "Pigs"?.
 
electrocute your cock said:

Reform School Girls (with a 37 year old Wendy O Williams playing a teenager!)

C.H.U.D.

Combat Shock (or American Nightmares for the directors cut)

2019 After the Fall of New York

The Bronx Warriors

Razorback, 'cause how can you go wrong with a film about a giant killer pig