New wine named for Dr. Dre album

“It must be a “G” thang.
Richard Betts, sommelier at the Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., and Dennis Scholl, a Miami-based art collector, took their cue from one of hip-hop’s defining albums when it came to naming their latest Betts & Scholl Barossa Valley Grenache. As Betts explains it, blending sessions are normally serious work, [...]

You can’t win if you don’t play

This is a video of a poor son of a bitch whose friends, using his own TiVo system, fooled him into thinking he’d won the Texas lottery.
Essentially they taped the lottery numbers from the day before and then, the next day, bought him a ticket to match. They then played the old lottery footage – [...]

Sips: Gin Martini at Much

Much Restaurant and Martini BarDrink: Gin Martini
Rating: Four swizzle sticks
The Skinny: All Martinis are not created equal. In fact, as any bartender worth his salt will tell you, there is only one true Martini: Gin, a splash of vermouth, shaken in ice and served in a conical glass, take or leave the olive.
Despite the popularity [...]

Willful disregard

“Willful disregard of a law is potentially an impeachable offense. It is at least as impeachable as having a sexual escapade under the Oval Office desk and lying about it later. The members of the House Judiciary Committee who staged the impeachment of President Clinton ought to be as outraged at this situation. They ought [...]

a poor little kid in the lungs of new york

Jesus Christ.
Ryan Adams has released a third album this year.
It’s called “29″ and is his third solo album – the two others this year produced with his band, The Cardinals.
Every time I roll my eyes and Ryan Adams and begin to think he’s gone in a direction in which I’m completely disinterested he does something [...]

The year’s almost over. Time to drink up!

Stocked our liquor cabinet today. Plan on breaking out the blender we got for Christmas for Margaritas before long – but we were low or out of just about everything anyway.
Got into an interesting conversation with my friend Amanda – a big Margarita fan – about which Tequila she prefers and why. Here’s what I [...]

Couldn’t Call It Unexpected #89,567

“[T]here are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. [...]

A big pat on the…back…for Adam & Eve

HILLSBOROUGH (AP) — A sex toy and video mail order business, once picketed by ministers and searched by postal investigators, has been named business of the year in Orange County.
PHE Inc., the parent company of Adam & Eve, is a top citizen and a major taxpayer, said Margaret Cannell, executive director of the Hillsborough-Orange County [...]

Hurricane Relief at Giovanni’s

The Hurricane Relief is one New Orleans bartender’s answer to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It’s an oddly festive drink to have come out of such tragedy. But, then again, finding this sort of light in darkness is very New Orleans.
—
Full drink column here.
This was a strange one. Gretchen and I just decided to drive [...]

Wake up call at the Washington Times

From an editorial in the ultra-conservative Washington Times by Bruce Fein, former Associate Deputy Attorney General under President Reagan:
“President Bush presents a clear and present danger to the rule of law. He cannot be trusted to conduct the war against global terrorism with a decent respect for civil liberties and checks against executive abuses. Congress [...]

Define "Free Speech Zone"

In case any of you missed this…
The controversy over UNCG’s “Free Speech Zone” policy – by which students must apply to protest or demonstrate 48 hours in advance and confine themselves to specified zones – finally seems on the verge of boiling over.
On November 16th a group of Libertarian students held a quiet protest on [...]

SIPS: Hurricane Relief at Giovanni’s

Joe KillianGo Triad12/21/05
Giovanni’s
Address: 5831 High Point Road, Greensboro
Hours: Restaurant 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., bar 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Telephone: (336) 852-8890
Drinks Specials: Nothing posted, but try the extensive wine selection or ask any of the friendly bartenders to surprise you. You won’t regret it.
Website: Nope
Drink: Hurricane Relief
Rating: [...]

Federal Judge: ID not Science

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) — “Intelligent design” cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial.
Dover Area School Board members violated the Constitution when they ordered that its biology curriculum must include the [...]

A long weekend

Connecticut trip at an end.
Saw a lot of old friends, had a lot of fun – and it’s always a little sad to leave again. But one of the best parts of a really good trip is realizing that you’re looking forward to going back rather than dreading it. More on the trip to [...]

SIPS: La Dolce Vita Martini at Speakeasy Tavern

Joe Killian12/15/05
Speakeasy Tavern
Address: 1706 Battleground Ave., Greensboro
Telephone: 336-378-0006
Drink Specials: Any of their 10 specialty martinis are half off on Thursdays. On Mondays buckets of domestic beers (6 bottles) are $12 and the wings are 24 cents.
Website: Nope.
Drink: La Dolce Vita Martini
Rating: Three swizzle sticks
The Skinny: I’m not a [...]

Leaving on a jet plane…

…And I know exactly when I’ll be back again.
Am leaving here tomorrow afternoon and landing in Connecticut tomorrow night. Will catch up with old friends, soak up some holiday cheer (and, in all likelihood, my fair share of holiday booze) and wing my way back South on Monday, the 19th.
At which point I’m going to [...]

When good blobs go bad…

Demonstrating their drive and commitment to freedom Iraqi citizens killed beloved McDonalds character Grimace with their bare hands after the giant purple creature inexplicably blocked polling booths early today. Experts point to Grimace’s beginnings as a McDonalds villain but others contend that Grimace has, for years, been an affable and productive citizen of McDonaldland friendly [...]

Batman tattoo? You call that hardcore? HA!

When the Batmobile rolls around town, Clint Young is a star. Under his mask, Young, who portrays the Batman of the 1960s TV series, is a dead ringer for Adam West, who played the TV role.
For a little boy who learned to tell time because his favorite show was on at 6 o’clock, there’s [...]

He’s also returned the "interns"

House Speaker Jim Black plans to return $6,000 in campaign contributions that a topless-bar owner and his wife gave on Election Day last year.
Jerry Golding, who owns Dockside Dolls in Alamance County and other bars in South Carolina and Ohio, gave $3,000 to Black’s campaign on Nov. 2, 2004. Golding’s wife, Jeri, gave another $3,000 [...]

Liquid Kryptonite at Club Kryptonite

Joe KillianGo Triad12/8/05

Club Kryptonite
Address: 2437 Corporation Pkwy, Burlington
Telephone: 229-4699
Hours: Open Wed – Saturday nights until 2 a.m., women free all night Wed & Thurs., until 11 p.m. on the weekend.
Drink Specials: Tons. Thursday Night Jump Off is the winner with 25 cent drafts and $3 LITs.
Web site: http://www.clubkryptoniteburlington.com/
Drink: Liquid [...]