July 14th, 2009 by sarah
Maybe we need to bring back steroids to baseball, at least for the home run derby. I was hoping for a show last night from the best players at knocking them out of the park. Maybe Josh Hamilton’s 28 home run domination over the competition in last year’s home run derby has raised my expectations, but Brandon Inge was completely blanked and Adrian Gonzalez tapped just two into the stands. Though watching the kids race and wallop each other over the balls in the outfield for their 15 milliseconds of fame was kinda funny. And some of the fans made a few outstanding plays of their own, one reaching down to scoop one just over the fence to keep Pujols in the running or another bending over the 2nd row deck wall to make a grab, just a hair away from a 100 foot introduction to the cement below. In the end, with just 23 cumulative home runs, Prince Fielder was crowned King of Home Run Derby, blasting one shot 503 feet. Read the rest of this entry »
July 7th, 2009 by sarah
I have many a fond memory from 4th of July events, from watching the fireworks over the Empire State building to engaging the crowd in chants of “ooh, ah, oh” at the fireworks display over West Point naval academy to the time a friend dropped a lit sparkler in her high top LA Gear shoe, struggling for 20-30 seconds to release the Velcro dead bolt and knotted laces before finally dunking her foot in a bucket of water. This 4th of July was no different. I spent Friday thoroughly testing my liver -it passed!- at 3 bars (Union Jacks Manatawny, Craft Ale House, TJ’s, and well… back to UJ’s) and woke up on Saturday excited to watch the explosions of brightly hued fire bombs dancing on the grass or shooting through the air later that night. While frightened dogs howl and bark and babies cry at the blast of colorful combustibles, I channel my inner pyro and fixate my pupils on the showers of sparks in all the shades of the rainbow. Tom and Kristan at UJ’s provide an informal fireworks show that last year involved a bar regular holding a martini in one hand and lighting a Rain of Fire with the other. One tipsy Roman candle stumbled sideways before firing at a ducking Kristan and Emily. As fountain after fountain were lit this year, I sat entranced, while a colony of starving mosquitos went to town on my temple and left me resembling a lopsided unicorn, or perhaps one horn shy of the devilish twin that sometimes occupies my right shoulder. 20 minutes of pyrotica and I was good. Happy 4th of July America!
July 4th, 2009 by sarah
I worked up my thirst wandering around the city Saturday morning so onto East End Brewing, arriving there just after noon for the release of Gratitude 2008, which was originally set to be released months ago but there was a slight protein burn issue that left Gratitude tasting like burnt hair. I know, you like a good keratin OD occasionally right? Thankfully (pun intended, if you caught it), Scott remade the formula and it is quite delicious. Also filled a growler of Session Ale #25, Dark Rye Kvass, brewed with 60 loaves of rye and fermented with bread yeast.
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July 4th, 2009 by sarah
No kids, no pets, no ankle bracelet monitoring my house arrest, so on Friday morning with no weekend plans, Pittsburgh came to mind.
East End Gratitude release Check
Pittsburgh Hofbrauhaus Check
Beer Passport event Check
Hotel room Priceline…
No beam me up Scotty… crap, I knew I forgot to pack something.
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July 2nd, 2009 by sarah
Am I the only one that can’t drive stick with flip flops on? My narrow feet slip out the bottom and suddenly I’m relying on a half inch of rubber to keep the clutch pedal depressed enough. This stock 55lb dual mass clutch/flywheel combo isn’t the easiest to drive anyways. It’s like it has 2 engagement points and requires a little more tickling than the other cars. So anyways, I stalled, then drove home barefoot.
