Monthly Archives: May 2017

Sidecar Pale Ale or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

31 Wednesday May 2017

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City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents Sidecar Orange Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada, The Less Desirables Beer of the Week.

I’ve been digging the orange-flavored stuff that I’ve had lately and other than their regular Pale Ale, which I think lacks any real substance, I like Sierra Nevada’s stuff. So, I’m hoping the orange in this is noticeable. Spencer said it was good stuff, so I’m going to go on that. It’s 5.3%, so it’s just above sessionable.

BeerAdvocate has it at 84 (Good) with no Bros. Score. Untappd has it at 3.5 caps out of 5. RateBeer has it at 74, both Overall and in Style. Have you had it? What did you think? If you’ve not had it, or you just have a hankering for more, head to City Beverage and pick up your sixer. Tell them we sent you and that this is the beer of the week, and you’ll get 5% off your order. Tune in later tonight or early tomorrow and see what Caitlin, Danielle, Bethany and I think of it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Pale Ale has always been our passion, and its legendary citrus-heavy hop flavors inspired us to go down a different path.” – Sidecar Orange Pale Ale carton.

Picklebacking or: Losing a Fave

30 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in Food, The Less Desirables Network

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I’m piggybacking, or pickle-backing, on The Man Who Ate the Town food blog today. Miss Jenny’s Pickles is closing as of tomorrow, May 31, 2017. We had Miss Jenny on The Less Desirables a year or two back and we actually got Eugene to eat a pickle (several actually). I really don’t know why she closed but I think it was just hard to compete with the big name pickle brands. Whatever it is she is doing or wherever she’s heading, she’ll “pickle up!”

To read the article, go HERE. There will be a mention on TMWATT podcast later today.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“I don’t do regrets and YOU shouldn’t either.” – Jenny Fulton (Miss Jenny)

Memorial Day or: The Silver Alerts

29 Monday May 2017

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Salutations™!!Happy-Memorial-Day-2

Memorial Day, not to be confused with Veterans Day, is the day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in our country’s military. We have the freedom to write our blogs, stand up and make stupid and asinine remarks on social media about any and every single thing, hold our kids and families at night, eat where and when we want because of their sacrifice. Positive vibes and happy thoughts to the families who have lost someone or holds the memories of a long-lost loved one who may have.

While we’re mostly all off today to reflect on that, The Silver Alerts will be playing today at Bailey Park for the Gears and Guitar event that is happening. It will be Clay, Corky, Doug, Burkey and me today! It’s going to be hot and it’s going to be sunny. Bring your lawn chairs and have a great time, The Plaids (also the Silver Alerts minus Clay and me, add Sexy Steve) will be playing there as well. Oh and because the cycling event is happening around town, expect delays.

I know this post is short, but, it’s a holiday for me, too!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived.” – Gen. George S. Patton

Silent Sunday or: The Haul 5/27/17

28 Sunday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

Underdog Records closed on Saturday (through this Tuesday) for a bit of “respite.” Never fear though, I still went there Friday (twice) and got a nice haul for the weekend. This is what it looked like:Sgt._Pepper's_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band

Man… we are certainly gonna need a new cabinet soon. We’ve started on the last cube of the 8 cube cab. It’s coming. Underdog will be open again on Wednesday. You can find them at 825 Burke Street in WSNC. Listen to The Less Desirables to hear what the weekly Underdog/TLD special is. And, use Discogs for your cataloging of LPs and CDs and hit me up, we can share collections.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“It’s all the same, only the names will change. Everyday, it seems we’re wastin’ away. Another place where the faces are so cold. I drive all night just to get back home. I’m a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride. I’m wanted dead or alive. Wanted dead or alive.” – “Wanted Dead or Alive” (Sambora/Bon Jovi)

Stand By Me or: The Less Desirables Movie of the Week

27 Saturday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

a/perture cinema, the Official Movie Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents The Less Desirables Movies of the Week, Stand By Me (1986), starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell.

Stand_By_Me_1986_American_Theatrical_Release_Poster

©Columbia Pictures

 

Per IMDb: “After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing boy.”

The film starts with a writer (Richard Dreyfus) sitting in his car in the middle of a field with a confused, not-able-to-believe-it look on his face. He rereads a newspaper article about an attorney who was stabbed to death while trying to break up a fight in a fast food restaurant. This leads him to start telling a story of his childhood, his best friend, who was the attorney and two of their pals, who were a bit challenged in their own way.

The story is about Gordie (Wheaton), Chris (Phoenix), Teddy (Feldman) and Vern (O’Connell) and their trek to find the dead body of a boy their age that had been hit by a train and a county-wide search was going on to locate him. Turns out that Vern overheard his brother Billy (Casey Siemesko) and his fellow hoodlum Charlie Hogan (Gary Riley) say they found the body while ditching a stolen car. Vern knew the vicinity where the body was from the description his brother told. Billy and Charlie were part of a bigger gang involving Chris’ brother Eyeball (Bradley Gregg) and Ace Merrill played by a very young Keifer Sutherland. It was a race to find the body if anyone did.

Gordie’s brother Dennis had been killed in a car accident earlier that year and his parents had pretty much written him off. Chris’ whole family were pretty less desirable, except Chris, who tried his best to do the right thing and set the peace. Teddy’s dad was a former veteran who probably suffered from PTSD (although that wasn’t mentioned) and had a bit of a drinking problem. He held Teddy’s ear to a stove and burned it half off. His dad was in a mental institution. Vern was an overweight kid who was a bit of a screwup, but he was a lovable screwup. Any more and I’d be giving away all the good parts. Watch it for yourself.

I have stated before and I’ll state it again, I love films where adults are recounting their childhood with VO (voice overs) as the narrator. The Sandlot was another of those and Now and Then was another. This happened to be narrated by one of my favorite voices, Richard Dreyfus.  He didn’t step on the story too much. He actually allowed the younger actors to take charge and tell their story and each of them were fantastic in their roles. Wil Wheaton went on to play on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Corey Feldman was a staple in many late 80s films, especially alongside Cory Haim. Jerry O’Connell grew up to be a non-fat kid that is a pretty good actor and is now married to Rebecca Romijn. The tragedy, however, is River Phoenix who passed away from a drug overdose at the age of 23 just outside of Johnny Depp’s Rainbow Room Lounge in LA. Such talent that was snuffed out by fate and bad decisions.

This happens to be my second favorite film of all time, right behind another adaptation of a Stephen King work; you’ll have to wait for that one. The pie eating scene from one of Gordie’s stories is both gross and hilarious all at the same time. Rob Reiner did a fantastic job of directing this and the screenplay adaption was spot on with little divergence of the original work. Again, watch it.

Rotten Tomatoes has it at 91% Fresh with an Audience Score of 94%. Wow. IMDb has it at 8.1 stars out of 10. It’s only available via Netflix‘s DVD.com I have it on DVD and it was one that was watched with my son, 3B. I rate this film 5 stars out of 5. One, I think it’s worth that rating and two, it holds such a nostalgic place in my heart. The soundtrack is fantastic as well and I wore out a copy of it on cassette and now own it on CD. Have you seen it? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree with me? What would you like to read/hear me review?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” – The Writer

And It Starts or: Grab That Oh Shoot Handle

26 Friday May 2017

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Salutations™!!unnamed

I’m going to keep this short (surprise) because I’m still trying to catch my breath and steel my nerves. The day came that I sat in the passenger’s seat in my Soul I call “Nigel” and look to my left and see my baby boy, my little, itty boy in the driver’s seat and we were not in the driveway. We were on a real road, with real traffic and real danger.  Now, when I say “little” and “itty bitty,” I’m talking about my 15-year old, 5’9″ young man.

I think I mentioned him getting his learner’s permit a couple of weeks ago. Well, it was time for me to ride with him today. We practiced parking, driving on Peters Creek Parkway and some 2-lane roads. He needs to work a little on his turning – some he doesn’t break enough, some he breaks too much – but otherwise, he’s doing a pretty good job. He was straight in the middle of the lines and while I did hold the “oh shoot” handle the whole time, I didn’t have to squeeze it too much. I was proud of him, he’s growing up. He’s got a long way to go but it’s a good start. He’ll be fine eventually. I’ve just got to keep with him. We’ll do it again, soon. Just keep me in your thoughts.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Driving is a spectacular form of amnesia. Everything is to be discovered, everything to be obliterated.” – Jean Baudrillard

Echo or: Surfing with the Alien (Eugeology Entry 20)

25 Thursday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

Joe_Satriani_Surfing_With_the_Alien

©Relativity Records

 

I was a bit indifferent about last week’s album. Not if it was good or not, it was, just how I felt about it. Eugene obviously enjoys it (it’s his list), I don’t know how Jon will feel about it. But, man, we’ve already done 20 weeks of this. 2/5 of the list is down. Well, let’s hit it, then?

#20 – Surfing with the Alien by Joe Satriani.

I’m going to go ahead and say that compared to last week’s flash and boasting, this week’s album has soul and feeling. The grooves on this album are non-stop and the melodies are fantastic. While there are few that can touch his playing, Satch wows you with his blues riffs, his driving rhythms, his command of the entire song. Don’t get me wrong, he still blazes, like Yngwie, but I just feel as if he does it with more feeling and flair than “look how fast I can go.” Satch has his classical moments, too. Just listen to “Midnight.” He can also jump from melodic to in-your-face and back again in the blink of an eye. Example: “Circles.”

Like Yngwie, Satch is playing all the non-drum parts on this album. So, he truly dictates the entire feel of the song, not just from the guitar driver’s seat but from the backbone forward. I have to admit, too that I hadn’t heard most of this album. There have been songs that have been in commercials and perhaps a video game or something, but this is the first time listening through (well, I’m up to seven listens for this round). I thought Stu Hamm was playing bass with him, but not on this album. I have Flying in a Blue Dream (1989) and I know Stu played on a few of those.

This will probably be my shortest review (I know it is so far) but I feel if I keep writing, I’m just going to start overusing adjectives and adverbs. Here’s all you really need to know. This album is phenomenal; it’s tasteful, imaginative, grooving and you can get lost in it. It’s good for background, it’s good for foreground.

My favorites on the album are… Well, start from the beginning with the title track and when you reach the backside of “Echo,” that’s my favorite song.  And, let’s stop a minute to appreciate the cover. As a comic book geek, I’ve always loved the fact that the Silver Surfer graced the cover and from what I can tell, the hand of Galactus is on the other side. Pretty cool.

Thanks, Eug for this one. I really did enjoy it. I can’t wait to see what you and Jon think of this.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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““Globally, the idea for the album was to celebrate everything that I really liked about electric guitar, my roots, and the players that I still really like.” – Joe Satriani in an interview about Surfing with the Alien with MusicRadar.com

Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

24 Wednesday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables presents The Duck-Rabbit Amber Ale from The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, The Less Desirables Beer of the Week.amberale

I don’t know that I’ve ever had this particular brew from Duck-Rabbit. I’ve had plenty of stuff from them and I like just about every bit of it. They’ve got themselves a darn good thing going. From their signature milk stout to their brown ale to their Imperial porter, they have a lot of great beer. This should be no exception.

BeerAdvocate has it rated at 78 (Okay) with no Bros Score. Untappd has it at 3.41 caps out of 5. RateBeer has it at 42 Overall and 50 in Style. Those numbers aren’t thrilling me, by any means. It’s a 5.5% ABV brew, let’s hope it doesn’t let us all down. Have you had it? What did you think? If you’ve not had it or just have a hankering for more, head down to City Bev and grab your sixer. Tell them it’s the beer of the week and get 5% off your order. Tune in later tonight or early tomorrow to hear what Caitlin, Danielle, David and I think of it. On what you ask? Well, the award winning podcast, The Less Desirables, that’s what! Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Naturally High in Flavonoids” – The Duck Rabbit Amber Ale Carton

 

Bond, James Bond or: Moore for the Money

23 Tuesday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

Today we lost our first Bond. At the ripe age of 89, Sir Roger Moore has passed away. He was the cleverest Bond, the snarkiest Bond and the gadgets were cooler and more over-the-top. Everything in the early 1970s and up to the mid-1980s was about excess and bombast. roger-moore

I enjoyed all the other Bond films, as well, even On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I thought Lazenby did a fine job, and the storyline was pretty good on that film. But, there’s something about the time and feel of the Roger Moore Bond films that stayed with me the most. It started with Live and Let Die in 1973, then The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), a brief departure from the planned track with Moonraker (1979) to capitalize on the Star Wars craze, For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and finishing with A View to a Kill (1985). Like Sean Connery in Diamonds are Forever (1971), you can tell Sir Roger is peaking in the Bond “age parameter” category by the time he got to A View to a Kill. He was starting to push it in For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy, but he ran the course and it was time to go, but he did it with dignity.

I think it funny, too, that Eon Productions thought Connery looked too old and then they hired Moore, who is actually two to three years older than Connery. He just aged better, I guess.

My son, 3B, and I have been watching all the Bond films starting at Doctor No and we have gotten up to finishing For Your Eyes Only. I sent him a message that Sir Roger had died and he was like… “who?” I rolled my eyes. When I explained who it was, he said, “oh…” I think he’s enjoying the films, just at 15, isn’t paying too much attention. I get it, but he always asks if we’re watching one today. So, I guess he’s paying more attention than I give credit, just not to who is in the picture.

I have seen all of the films, at least up to The Living Daylights (1987) probably around 30 times each. Daylights on to Die Another Day (2002) around 10-15. I have seen the Daniel Craig films at least twice each. I usually watch them in order so I have been watching the older ones more times, obviously.

I rate my love of James Bond up there with KISS, Disney and Star Wars. Even against Star Wars, I’d say James Bond is my favorite film franchise. And, Sir Roger is definitely part of the reason for that. Were his films the best? Nope, but they’re good enough for me. Rest well, Sir Roger Moore, you were fantastic.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“There’s no sense going out half-cocked.” – James Bond (Live and Let Die)

Groggy or: Blue Days, Black Nights

22 Monday May 2017

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Salutations™!!sleep-deprived-student-425x270

My sleep last night was awful. My sleep the night before was also awful. My days have been fantastic, but it’s starting to catch up with me today. I don’t know what it is, is it the CPAP? Is it just me being fat? Is it a renewed Tourette habit? I don’t know.

What I do know is that, I’ve been falling asleep downstairs in my chair lately, more so than usual and then when I get upstairs and climb into the mountainous bed, I can’t get to sleep right away. That, or I just fall asleep without my CPAP and then wake up gagging and chocking and that keeps me awake. I don’t really know. The BCPF said, this morning, that I was a bit fidgety and was most likely talking in my sleep.

What I do know is that today, I’ve fallen sleep twice in the studio. Once after breakfast and once after loading up Fan Interference’s weekly episode. I’m groggy and half out of it. I’ll be fine for the podcasts tonight (The Beer Dads) but I may not make it through WWE’s Raw tonight. We’ll see. All I know is that I need some real sleep, with masktime, soon. I’ve cut this post extra short because I feel like I’ll start rambling. I’m okay with interaction, but sitting here by myself, is rough. Oh well…

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I hear the secrets that you keep when you’re talking in your sleep.” – “Talking in Your Sleep” (Canler, Skill, Palmar, Solley, Marinos)