Sunday, November 27, 2005

Home brewer? Need a cheap way to control the temp of your fermentation carboy? We went to Boxer (a restaurant supply store) in Portland and bought a big tub (~1.5ftX1.5ftx2ft). Then we went to a local tropical fish shop and bought a submersable water heater (make sure it goes below 70) and a submersable pump to keep the water moving. Threw the pump & heater in the tub, poured ~10 gallons of water in, placed our carboy in the water, and our hefeweizen has been sitting happy at 70.4 degrees ever since. Total cost ~$60!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Went to Kalga Kafe last night, a very nice place. Nice and dark atmosphere, and every table is a window seat. They have a bevy of vegetarian international goodies from Mexican to Japanese, but seem to specialize in Indian and Thai. I had the Thali plate, an Indian sampler with Dal, a potato, pea and cabbage mix, a yogurt and cucumber side and rice pudding. Got it medium and it was plenty hot, and very delicious. Wife got the Pad Thai, which was also wonderful. Service was pleasant and attentive. My only gripes were that the food was served on metal dishes, and some of the food picked up the metal flavor, and that my Oatmeal Stout was served too cold. Maybe that's what you serve bud at, but when the beer has actual flavor you want it a bit warmer so your taste buds can sample all the nuances, ok its a minor gripe. Main dishes topped out at $10. Overall a wonderful evening was had by all. 4147 SE Division St. 503-236-4770

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Here's some other brews from around the world that I've enjoyed
Heubacher Hefeweizen (Heubach, Germany)
Brauwerij 't IJ Tripel (Amsterdam, Nederlands)
Belle Vue Geuze (Brussels, Belgium)
A La Becasse Lambic (Brussels, Belgium)
plus a great pale ale at a little brew pub in Florence Italy.
Microbreweries of Portland OR
BridgePort
Portland Brewing
Widmer
Rogue (close enough + they have a pub in PDX)
McMenamins
Lucky Labrador
Full Sail (again see Rogue comments)
Alameda
Laurelwood
Amnesia
Roots Organic
Tugboat
Hair of the Dog
New Old Lompoc
Tuck's
+ a new one is going in on NE Alberta

A couple others from around the state, which I've been to...
Pelican Pub
Bend Brewing
Deschutes

Oregon Brewers Guild
Oregon Brew Crew

there's more, its seems like every Portland neighboorhood has a brewpub, and many of the smaller towns around the state have their own brewpubs. Its exciting to try all wonderful flavors!

Beer Expedition
Real Beer
Beer Hunter

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

So apparently the NCAA doesn't want schools to have their team names reference Native Americans or their tribes, like Seminoles or Utes. My question is what is the difference between Fighting Illini or Fighting Sioux and Fighting Irish? Seems to me they need to treat all references to races/ethnicities equally or they're headed for a heap of legal problems. Seriously though, if you can explain the difference (legally speaking of course, I think I could point out where Illini and Irish are from on a map) I'd like to know.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

2003_0829_113543AA


2003_0829_113543AA
Originally uploaded by MuddyRavine.
upcoming.org for Timbers dates

137LeonsbergSmartTower


137LeonsbergSmartTower
Originally uploaded by MuddyRavine.
I like Smarts!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

On the Zen Touch on the way to work today.... Fluke, Placebo, Amon Tobin, Madvillian, Johnny Thunders & Testament. What a great mix.

Also, Portland Timbers tied Seattle in the 85th minute last Saturday to scrounge up 1 pt. 6 more games left, 4 on the road to seal 6th place.

Sunderland AFC plays at home today vs Manchester City.... Allez Black Cats Allez!

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Currently listening to a whole bunch of EARLY punk like the Stooges, New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders and the Hearbreakers and Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Also finished reading Please Kill Me an oral history of the early punk scene. will update later.... GO TIMBERS!
So, WOW, the Timbers Army is gettin HUGE!!! Section 107 in PGE Park was packed last Sat for the preseason game against the Seattle Flounders, which we won 2-1! Another BIG preseason game coming up, tomorrow, Wed April 13th vs the LA Galaxy of the MLS @ 7pm. For more info on the Timbers Army check out soccercityusa.com and the Message Board for all the latest news, rants and gossip. The regular season starts April 23rd vs. Toronto at PGE Park @ 7pm. Also, feel free to join the Timbers Army at the Bullpen before and after the games... ya never know, your favorite Timber may even show up!

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Currently listening to: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds. Finally broke down and bought it after almost 40 years (holy crap!) of rave reviews. I really like most of it. Could do without stuff like Lets Go Away For a While. I got the version with the original mono mix and the 1996 stereo mix. The stereo mix is almost too cleaned up. When you have that first drum hit at the beginning of Wouldn't It Be Nice, the original has just a little distortion on it which gives it a nice kick, a little crack. The new undistorted mix with too much reverb on it looses the impact. I love the timpani, there just isn't enough timpani on rock albums these days. Sweet album, I could go over all the highlights but you already know them, and if you don't you should buy this album!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Just got back from Everyday Music (the one on W Burnside) and bought these...
Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
I'm so tired of music critics and supposed alt-indie-better-than-thou-hipster-rock-fans spewing off about how some new band or album sounds like their favorite band, and how they discovered the most original band first when they were only 12 and everything since is just a rip-off of that. Well, to all those folks, blow it out your ass. I don't care if something sounds vaguely like something else. Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin were just ripping off American Blues which was ripping of traditional African music so this is all a moot point, I just covered the history of pop/rock/rap/R&B/techno/soul/metal/punk in one sentence. Which brings me to Kasabian. I'm tired of people saying they sound like The Stone Roses and Primal Scream and then dismissing their album. Yes, if you look down a couple posts I do the same thing... or do I. Go ahead read it, I can wait a couple minutes.... no really go ahead, its short.... you done yet? ok, So you'll notice I DID NOT do the same thing. I used a little something I borrowed from CMJ: RIYL, that's right Recommended If You Like! Its a quick and easy starting place, lets you know if you like those bands you'll probably like Kasabian and vice versa. I tried to explain their sound before I even got to the RIYL, but used it as a nice little summation. So, does Kasabian's album have some resemblance to those other bands? Yes. But also, does Kasabian's album rock? Yes! Is it good? Yes! Should you buy it? Yes! If you'd rather worry about what your hipster friend thinks, then piss off, if you want a great album, whith great tunes, a swagger, some funk, a little darkness, some in-your-face groove, then go buy Kasabian!

Monday, March 14, 2005

On four.... FOUR! The thumping 4 on the floor rhythm kicks in. Burried layers of guitars and fuzzed synths hide behind Guy's smokey half speed vocals, and thus Fallen Angels by Elbow sucks you in to it's droning haze. You may not even realize for a few listens that there are extremely few chord changes in this song, but when they hit... its oh so rewarding... who's ever heard of a one chord chorus, then bam you get sucked in just as the chorus fades. Mid-way through after one such chord change, a slapped guitar 'solo', more like tasty specially chosen notes, signals an instrumental break with more layers of ooohs and aaahs. I gotta say I really dig this song. It is repetitive but never boring, straight forward but has many hidden angles. There are so many layers of sound in this song, you could listen to it 10 times in a row and find something new each time. Then at the end, you keep thinking you're gonna your reward and they drag you out, no chord change, you get nothing and you'll like, like a big tease, so you hit rewind and start all over and over and over!

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Woah, saw Kasabian at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland last Wed. What a great gig! They had lots of energy. The set was a bit short as they were opening for The Music, who I found less exciting. Kasabian is a great mix of high energy rock and roll and techno. So many bands coming out right now are trying to outdo each other in how low-fi they can sound, but Kasabian bask in the technology, use it to their advantage. Pumping basslines, driving guitar, funky beats and catchy vocals, very sweet. Of course that's just the first song, they can slow it down a bit, make things a bit spooky, dramatic, darker, but always with a great beat and an underlying energy. Check out the long intro to ID, then the drums kick in, propelling the song forward. Recommended If You Like:: Pop Will Eat Itself, Primal Scream, The Stone Roses, Oasis, Chemical Brothers, LCD Soundsystem, Junkie XL.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Holy carp, The Poppies are back and are playing 5 gigs in England.... wwwoooooaaarrrgghhhh. First shows in 9 years. If you aren't familiar with Pop Will Eat Itself, think Buzzcocks meet the Beastie Boys meet 808 State. They were one of the first to blend rock/techno/rap. I first came to know them on their classic album This Is The Hour, This Is The Day, This Is This! But didn't get to see them until the Dos Dedos Mis Amigos tour at the Metro in Chicago in like 1993, then they dissapeared up their own asses, Clint doing soundtrack work, the other dude in Bently Rhythm Ace and the rest doing bugger all. Anyway, if you're into Kasabian and wanna know about their influences check out PWEI!!!!

Monday, January 24, 2005

Blogging's kinda dumb. I never read anyone else's blogs, why should anybody read mine?