From the moment that Lord Gerardo proposed the idea of a Friday video feature on this here blog, I blurted out, “You realize that I’m going to feature ‘This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide’ by the Kings once a month, right?” And G was totally down with that, as he loves that song as much as I do. The band’s guitarist Mister Zero even made a fantastic video of the band playing the song, culling 20 years of concert footage and even their appearance on “American Bandstand” into one incredible video. It would be perfect.
There is just one small problem:
Yep, in another brilliant display of Finders vs. Keepers, that clip is not available for embedding, or even allowed to be viewed at all on YouTube. For now, anyway. Hopefully they’ll be able to sort this out, because we’re dying to show you that clip. Fortunately, we have another clip that’s just as good. Fans of early MTV – as in first-year MTV, which was unlike any other year in the network’s history – will recognize this one. Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone.
Our friends at Maker’s Mark were kind enough to send us a bottle of their signature Kentucky Bourbon along with some great drink recipes. We chose this one as everyone gears up for Memorial Day and the unofficial beginning of the summer season.
Kentucky Lemonade Yield – 1 serving
Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 parts Maker’s Mark
* 1/2 part triple sec
* 4 parts of lemonade
* 2 parts lemon & lime soda
Directions:
Pour Maker’s Mark, triple sec, lemonade and soda into a shaker. Shake and pour over crushed ice.
You’ll easily recognize Maker’s Mark as it’s sold in squarish bottles and sealed with red wax that drips from the top. The signature look is one of many reasons this is a great addition to your home bar. Try the drink above for your cookout this weekend and your guests will be very happy . . . and refreshed!
This week’s Happy Hour entry is a wine review to get you ready for summer. Gabe Sasso takes a look at several wines from Grüner Veltliner. It sounds like the kind of wine your lady friend would like as well, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
One of the wine varietals that has been making its presence known the last few years on U.S. shelves, wine lists, and the like is Grüner Veltliner. This is a white grape that’s predominately grown in Austria. It’s a grape that often produces crisp, aromatic wines that are particularly well suited to pair with a wide array of foods. Depending on the style in which it is made, as well as the provenance of the grape source, the wine can also have the propensity to age quite well. Other wines from Austria are starting to find more room on our shelves too. On the red side of things, Blaufränkisch is a noteworthy varietal that we should be seeing more and more of, as time goes on. Grüner Veltliner, though, is the entrée for many wine lovers into the joys and complexities of Austrian wine. Today I’ll look at three examples that provide excellent quality, and value, and a cross section of Grüner Veltliner styles.
Everyone talks about how great it is to be a work-at-home writer, but it’s a slippery slope. Once you lose that daily physical interaction with fellow co-workers, you soon realize just how little upkeep you need to perform on your person. Your morning shower suddenly turns into an every-other-morning shower. Your office attire downshifts from professional to semi-casual to, “Do I really need to wear pants today?” And your shaving habits…? Well, let’s just say that Grizzly Adams’ attorneys called, and the phrase “image misappropriation” came up.
Maybe that’s why, when Gillette contacted me and offered me the opportunity to serve as a so-called Gillette Pro, I decided it might not be such a bad idea to say, “Sure, why not?” Mind you, their offer of sponsorship may possibly have expedited my acceptance…but I digress.
For the next several months, I’m teaming with Gillette and serving as a…hmmm, what’s the best phrase to describe this gig? I’ve heard the term “spokesblogger” bandied about, so I guess that’ll work as well as anything. It would be disingenuous to suggest that I’m doing this entirely out of the kindness of my heart (I believe I touched on that moment ago), but beyond simply assisting in spreading the gospel of Gillette in a sponsored-conversation format, I’m getting the chance to step outside of my usual pop culture comfort zone and get a bit more personal. That doesn’t mean you should expect to see a piece entitled “What Shaving Means To Me,” because, well, that’s just a bit too on-the-nose, don’t you think? But with that said, I have been cultivating and chopping whiskers for the better part of 25 years now, so I’ve amassed a decent stockpile of material on the topic…some of it even worth reading!…and I plan to start writing my first column just as soon as I feed the family of birds who’ve taken up residence in my beard.
You know, come to think of it, this Gillette Pro thing really couldn’t have come at a better time.
If it seems like the good fights never come to your city, now’s your chance to do something about it. AMP Energy and the WEC are sponsoring the Hometown Takedown, a competition that will allow consumers to choose where the next great WEC event happens. AMP Energy proudly sponsors the best WEC fighters, including Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez. With more than 30 eligible areas across the country, it should be easy to find a kickass location to see your favorite fighter in your hometown. Just in case there’s nothing close, or in case your city doesn’t win, they’ve got you covered. AMP Energy has partnered with the WEC to offer an all-expense-paid trip to see the Hometown Takedown.
Today we’re premiering the new spot above featuring Faber, Mendes and Benavidez. Urijah Faber is thrilled to be a part of it. “I’ve always said I’ll fight anyone, anywhere – and now I’ll get a chance to with the help of MMA fans nationwide. My partners at AMP Energy created the ‘Hometown Takedown’ contest which gives MMA fans in 30 cities across the county an opportunity to bring a fight to their hometown this December. No question, we’re giving fans unprecedented access to the sport and athletes while raising the awareness of the WEC on a national scale. MMA fans just need to get involved and vote often for their area.”
Pat Santangelo, Assistant Marketing Manager for AMP Energy, said, “I’m not sure if the ‘Hometown Takedown’ is the first time a major sport has allowed the fans to decide where an event will take place, but I can’t think of another instance. With the help the fans and our partners at WEC, Hess, Maverik, and Versus, AMP Energy is going to bring the best MMA fighters to the most hardcore fans, wherever they are.”
Voting is simple. You can cast a ballot for your hometown on the web or by texting your vote to a secret number, available only at Hess and Maverik stores across the country. Those who vote will be automatically entered to win the event package, representing either Hess or Maverik for the world’s fans. This is your chance to bring the WEC to your backyard. Get the word out, and get voting!
Bullz-Eye publisher Gerardo Orlando recently spoke with Richard Roeper about his new book – “Bet the House.” Roeper loves to gamble, so he came up with a great idea for a book after seeing Morgan Spurlock’s documentary “Super Size Me.” Roeper concocted his own 30-day challenge – he would bet at least $1,000 per day of his own money every day over a 30-day period. It’s a great read and we highly recommend it if you like to gamble. Roeper tries just about every form of wagering he could think of, from poker to a coin flip. He covers blackjack, slots, craps, sports betting, horse racing and much more, along with numerous trips to Las Vegas and some great stories about the Kentucky Derby.
His stories about some of the characters you run into when playing poker are hilarious.
BE: Some of the funniest parts of the book were the references to some of the other poker players you played with – the stereotypical, young poker player with the trucker hat, sunglasses, headphones. Talk a little bit about that because we’ve all run into those characters when we’ve played poker.
RR: Well yeah, it’s been about what…six, seven years now since the poker boom really hit, in the early 2000’s. So you know, you get a lot of these young players who, you know they were 14 or 15, watching the World Series of Poker and they have really been influenced by it, to me, in a comical way. Where they see these guys on TV with the sunglasses and the headphones and the Ed Hardy t-shirts and all that stuff. And they all think that they’re the next sensation and they’re so, you know, so serious and…unfortunately, it’s also given a lot of people license to really behave badly, in a boorish manner at the tables. And they don’t get it that if you’re Phil Hellmuth, you get away with it because you’ve got 11 bracelets and you’ve created a persona. If you’re some kid playing at a charity tournament in Chicago, you know, lighten up, get over yourself.
BE: Yeah, it’s hilarious when you run into those guys.
All right, let’s get something out of the way up front: we chose “Burn It Down,” the debut single from Under the Influence of Giants spinoff band Awolnation, less for the video – which was made by a fan who admits that the clip itself is “crappy” – and more for the fact that this song kills, a straight-up rock ‘n roll freakout along the lines of Little Richard fronting the Hives. Better yet, the song is available for free download (no email registration required) on our music blog ESDMusic. Spin this at whatever party you’re attending tonight, and watch the place explode. Burn it down, indeed.
It all started with a plane crash, but in the six years since “Lost” premiered, ABC’s hit drama has become about a lot more than just a group of castaways trying to get off an island. From polar bears and smoke monsters, mysteries and revelations, and enough jumping back and forth in time to give audiences their own nosebleeds, it’s been one helluva ride. With the series finale only a few days away, however, it’s time we finally come to grips with the fact that our favorite show is ending for good.
At least it’s going out with a bang, as last Tuesday’s lead-in to the finale appears to have set the stage for what is sure to be an incredible farewell. On Earth-1, Jack has agreed to remain on the island as its new protector (while Kate, Sawyer and Hurley celebrate the fact that it isn’t them), and Smokey has devised a new plan to exploit Desmond’s superhuman resistance to electromagnetism by blowing up the whole damn island, hopefully breaking his centuries-long imprisonment in the process. And over in Earth-2 (a mirror universe that’s like some kind of “Matrix”-esque simulated reality where the Losties aren’t cognizant of their Earth-1 lives), a recently awakened Desmond has begun to dole out his own version of the red pill by jogging their memories and assembling them all together at a concert in Los Angeles. How this will tie into the lives of the surviving Losties on the island remains the biggest question of all, but I think it’s safe to assume that it’s one the writers plan to answer before it’s over.
And don’t forget, I’ll be live blogging the series finale this Sunday starting at 9PM EST over at Premium Hollywood. ABC will also be airing the original two-hour pilot Saturday night, a two-hour preview show Sunday before the finale, and a special edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” directly after. If that’s still not enough, be sure to check out our brand new Lost Fan Hub for interviews, DVD reviews, and much more.
To help get you in the mood, I leave you with this, a somewhat upbeat look back at the many deaths that have occurred throughout the course of the show. Enjoy.
Does the idea of caffeinated beef jerky scare you? Or does it literally get your blood pumping? Well, one taste of Perky Jerky, a new beef jerky coated with caffeine, and it should do the latter without doing the former anymore. Seriously, this stuff not only gives you a bit of a jolt via Guarana (1 oz. of jerky has about as much caffeine as a can of Red Bull), but it tastes delicious. The second ingredient after beef is soy sauce, so as you can imagine you get a really nice flavor similar to that of teriyaki. And really, do you know anyone that doesn’t like the taste of soy sauce or teriyaki? So let’s review…Perky jerky tastes good, gives you a lift, and also gives you some protein to fill you up so you won’t feast on chips or cheese puffs when you’re hungry. Sounds like Grub For Guys heaven, doesn’t it? And no, it’s not too good to be true. Go try it for yourself!
Note: the press materials say that Perky Jerky may not be available yet where you buy jerky, so visit www.perkyjerky.com for more info and be sure to ask your local convenience store to carry it.
Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr poses for GQ this month in a killer pictorial. Miranda discusses a number of topics with GQ, including the poor guy who got busted looking at her photos on his computer while his colleague was being interviewed on television.
GQ is also running a run contest where you can win a $1,000 shopping day at Victoria’s Secret with Miranda Kerr who will be your shopping adviser for the day. Click here to enter.
See the full slideshow of Miranda’s photos over at GQ. We also have two photos from the shoot for you after the jump.
Our friends at Maker’s Mark were kind enough to send us a bottle of their signature Kentucky Bourbon along with some great drink recipes. We chose this one as everyone gears up for Memorial Day and the unofficial beginning of the summer season.
