Blog

  • Sunday Morning Pregame Links

    After hiking through the Bong Recreational Area yesterday, for some reason I became rather peckish. Pity that because I ended up eating all the Halloween candy we had put aside for the neighborhood kids. I’m paying this morning for that indulgence, and now I’m not sure what I’m going to do to bribe the comelier children to venture into the house with the hopes of extra goodies. And for a chance to play with my special dollie, though generally this is not offered until they’re inside.

    Well, no matter, here’s some links to keep everyone entertained and discussing the important issues of the day.

    Back and to the left!  I wonder if Keith Hernandez is somehow involved…?

    Candidate for Worst President Ever volunteers to go to North Korea. I’m in favor of this, especially with the possibility that he could find out what it’s like to be held hostage.

    “For $32 million, you can come in my face.”

    SP and I love Amazon Prime, and given our book-purchasing habits, have about a one month ROI for the yearly fee. Now Amazon tries a new service, Amazon Primo, proving once again that it knows what consumers want and is always ready to provide it.

    And today’s Old Folks Music is something actually made after most of you were born.

  • STEVE SMITH’S…STEPHEN SMYTHE’S SATURDAY EVENING LINKS

    STEVE SMITH APPRECIATE HIKER AND CAMPER RAPE. BUT STEVE SMITH WONDER IF RAPE OF THE UPPER CRUST MORE SATISFYING? SO STEVE SMITH HAVE IDEA…HE BECOME STEPHEN SMYTHE, SOPHISTICATED RAPESQUATCH, AND SEE IF CAVIAR AND JET SET MORE FUN TO RAPE.

    STEPHEN SMYTHE WILL BE …WINE SNOB!

    STEPHEN SMYTHE THINK THIS VINTAGE GOOD. COME CLOSER AND TRY SOME!

    STEPHEN SMYTHE MAKE SURE HE HAVE BOTTLE OF SIGNATURE WINE HANDY!

    IT A BIT ON THE NOSE!

    STEPHEN SMYTHE TRY OPENING LINE…”I GET BLACKBERRY, VANILLA… NOTES OF AUTUMN.” AND POSE BY FANCY ARTWORK FROM OLDEN TIMES. MAYBE THROW IN LINE “I ATTENDED A DIGUSTATION ON THE NAPA WINE TRAIN….A SHAME ABOUT THE FIRES”

    THE RAPEAUX TAPESTRY

     

    STEVE SMITH…ER, STEPHEN SMYTHE WILL LET FUNNY GLIBERTARIAN PEOPLE KNOW HOW IT WORK. IN MEANTIME, HERE ARE LINKS:

    • STEPHEN SMYTHE WONDER WHAT RANSOM DEMANDS ARE?
    • STEPHEN SMYTHE LAUGH WHEN THINK WHAT DRUG WARRIORS SAY WHEN READ THIS.
    • STEPHEN SMYTHE WONDER WHO ELSE MAKE AXIS?
    • STEPHEN SMYTHE SHOCKED, SHOCKED TO FIND CORRUPTION AND SELF DEALING IN ILLINOIS. BONUS, INVOLVES POLICE PENSION AND COP LEGISLATORS.

    STEPHEN SMYTHE GO NOW, FIND RICH RAPE!

  • Ready, Down: Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut! – NFL Week Seven

     

    Note: Not really F. Stupidity Jr.

    This is starting to get good.

    Ever-closer do we inch toward the halfway point of the season. Two winless teams remain, no undefeateds are left. The Chiefs remain atop the AFC while the Eagles rule the NFC. Last year’s AFC champs, the Patriots, have looked shaky at times but continue to play winning football. The reigning NFC champions, the Falcons, have played one solid game all season, and that was in week two. Aaron Rodgers is out with a broken collarbone, Adrian Peterson is pretty psyched to be out of New Orleans, and the Browns are on pace to let us all down one last time. Let’s do this thing.

    Ow.

    Caveat: because we started this after the season began, I hadn’t gotten around to a team-by-team preview. Please indulge me in rectifying that now. Since I’ve discussed some teams more than others, I’ll spare you 32 previews on top of all the other content. We’ll limit it to twelve teams.

    AFC WEST

    Kansas City 30 @ Oakland 31 (F – 10/19)

    Denver @ LA Chargers – Broncos rebound from embarrassment

    Maybe the most interesting outcome this week would be wins by Oakland and the Chargers. In that scenario, KC will be in a two-game losing streak at 5-2, followed by Denver, the Raiders and Chargers at 3-4. Two weeks ago, would anyone have foreseen such a close AFC West?

    TEAM PREVIEW: OAKLAND

    The two Running Backs, “LYNCH” and “RICHARD” are the core of the team and they display incredible strength as their running plays unfold. Their defense is tough.

    TEAM PREVIEW: DENVER

    “SIEMIAN” is a popular Quarterback and is almost a one-man team offense. But the defense has its ups and downs.

    AFC NORTH

    Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh – Cincy crawls back to respectability

    Tennessee @ Cleveland – Mariota is gimpy and Cleveland’s not going winless

    Baltimore @ Minnesota – Only because they’re at home

    TEAM PREVIEW: CLEVELAND

    The powerful Running Back “CROWELL” and Quarterback “KIZER” are the center of the offense. This team has real offensive power.

    AFC SOUTH

    Jacksonville @ Indianapolis – The Jags bounce back

    Tennessee @ Cleveland

    Bye: Houston

    One more reminder: Deshaun Watson is still in the 100 club in Passer Rating. With an arm like his, maybe he could shore up the Astros bullpen.

    TEAM PREVIEW: INDIANAPOLIS

    This team has great defensive power. Their weak passing attack is made up for by their great running ability.

    AFC EAST

    NY Jets @ Miami – Two in a row for the Fish

    Tampa Bay @ Buffalo – Winston’s hurting and they’re on the road

    Atlanta @ New England – Falcons right the ship in a big win

    Big Rematch time…one team from the South, one from the Northeast. The winning team came back after falling behind early. They are one of a very few franchises to win consecutive Super Bowls in their history…of course I’m talking about this game from last season.

    Oh, and there’s another rematch on this week’s schedule; we’ll discuss it in the NFC South section.

    TEAM PREVIEW: MIAMI

    With “CUTLER” as your Quarterback, his incredible passing ability will be the center of your offense, this offense tops the league in scoring, but their defense is weak.

    NFC WEST

    Seattle @ NY Giants – Giants come back to Earth

    Dallas @ San Francisco – Frisco loses in convincing fashion for once

    Arizona @ LA Rams – Cardinals in a shootout

    TEAM PREVIEW: SAN FRANCISCO

    There are several stars on this team, including Quarterback “HOYER”, Wide Receiver “GARCON”, and Free Safety “WARD”. They were said to be the most powerful team last season.

    TEAM PREVIEW: SEATTLE

    Seattle is a team with a lot of talent. They are coming off a strong season, but can they win the championship?

    NFC NORTH

    New Orleans @ Green Bay – The No-Rodgers Collapse gathers momentum

    Carolina @ Chicago – Panthers, narrowly

    Baltimore @ Minnesota

    Bye – Detroit

    TEAM PREVIEW: CHICAGO

    Chicago was the top in defense last year. On offense, Chicago’s Rusher, “HOWARD”, has been running circles around the defenses.

    TEAM PREVIEW: MINNESOTA

    Quarterback “KEENUM”, Wide Receiver “THIELEN”, and Running Back “COOK” are the heart of the team, performing well-executed plays.

    NFC SOUTH

    Tampa Bay @ Buffalo

    New Orleans @ Green Bay

    Carolina @ Chicago

    Atlanta @ New England

    When Matt Ryan won the NFL MVP last year, he won it deservedly. This year he’s not even one of the top ten QBs in passer rating. The Falcons’ point differential in the four games besides their Green Bay win is +1. You read that right – not one touchdown, one point. They’ve been embarrassingly mediocre. This week has the potential to either revitalize or sink their season; my guess is that they win in a strong performance and get some of their mojo back. As PieInTheSky is quick to remind us every week, I’ve been wrong before.

    NFC EAST

    Dallas @ San Francisco

    Seattle @ NY Giants

    Washington @ Philadelphia – should be a real dogfight

    Last but not least, to round out our Team Previews:

    TEAM PREVIEW: DALLAS

    Although a traditionally strong team, last year they seemed to weaken. But never count them out. This year with Running Back “ELLIOTT”, they aim to make a comeback.

    TEAM PREVIEW: NEW YORK

    Superstar team leader “PIERRE-PAUL” holds the defense together which is out to destroy any offense. Quarterback “MANNING” is the key to their offense and is counted on heavily.

    TEAM PREVIEW: WASHINGTON

    This is an extremely well balanced and powerful team. They are aiming for the championship with a consistent game.

    PICKS

    Week 6 – 5-8

    Total – 27-29

    Libertopia Sports Book
  • Stouts Part 1–The Imperial Stout

     

    Because there is no reasonable way to do a write up of this genre and continue to be employed, this must be done in pieces.  Which is fine, since the subgenres are unique enough to stand on their own.

    Part 1:  The Imperial Stout

    The Imperial Stout is a style with origins in England, who’s brewers had contracts to supply Russian Czars with beer—particularly Catherine the Great (pictured below).  

    This style is not Russian in origin which is why nearly every take on the Imperial Stout is associated with Russia or the Soviet Union is misleading.  The standard bearer, at least out west, comes from California’s Northcoast Brewery and associates itself with a Czarist wizard who is famous for his ability to survive multiple attempts on his life.  Possibly due to jealousy over that bitchin beard.

    Czar Nicholas II, after multiple attempts at siring an heir finally had son, Aleksei Nikolayevich in 1904.  Unfortunately, he was diagnosed at an early age with hemophilia and at that time there wasn’t exactly a treatment for it.  Once Aleksei began to bleed, his parents did what any rational person would do and consulted mystics, holy men and healers to cure their son.  In 1908 they finally found a Siberian who delivered.  Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, a man who underwent a bit of a religious transformation after travels to Greece and Jerusalem in his formative years.  Upon his arrival to St. Petersburg he gained a self-proclaimed reputation as having both healing powers and the ability to predict the future.  Part of why anybody really talks about him is that somehow, whatever he did, helped Aleksei survive.  Nobody is certain if he really did anything, or if it was just a coincidence.  In 1916, conspirators from the royal family believed Rasputin to have sexual relations with the queen and that his beard was an evil presence that was taking over Russia.  

    In order to save Mother Russia, Rasputin had to die.

    Turns out killing Rasputin and his beard was quite the task.  First, they tried to lure Rasputin with a sexual foray and leave cyanide laced pastries and wine.  Rasputin eventually ate the pastries, and drank the wine, with no effect.  They then tried a more direct approach and shot him, with Rasputin initially convulsing and going still.  An hour later, they found Rasputin stumbling across the courtyard.  After a bit of a chase, they eventually shot him in the back, which stopped the beard momentarily.  Finally, they did something Russians are quite proficient, and shot him in the back of the head.  Even then, the beard continued to crawl forward with the final blow being a kick to the head.

    The beer itself is just as relentless.  It is black in color, and has an insane level of complexity.  The color of beer is the direct result of roasting malt prior to adding it to the wort.  For light colored beers, the malt is lightly roasted or not at all.  In the case of stouts, the malt is roasted almost to the point of being burnt.  Much the same way that Starbucks roasts their coffee beans, which is why the word coffee almost universally comes up in conversation when describing Imperial Stouts.  What makes it imperial?  High gravity or high ABV.  These typically operate in the 8-10% range.  Other things you might taste in this style of beer is dark fruit, chocolate, nutty bread and a pleasant hop intensity to balance most of this out.  

    As a bonus, this beer does not contain Cyanide. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout 4.3/5

    Since I like to believe I know my audience, this next one comes with the STEVE SMITH SEAL OF APPROVAL.  AND BY APPROVAL, MEAN RAPE.

    This one is just as good, but the unfortunate aspect of this style is that they very nearly all taste alike unless you’re the type that will stick your nose into the glass to find the underlying aromatics.  I will end this by saying I suck at STEVE SMITH jokes.  THE PEANUT GALLERY HERE GETS THIS ONE.  AND BY PEANUT GALLERY, MEAN……  

    GREAT DIVIDE YETI IMPERIAL STOUT.  4.3/5

  • Saturday Morning Pre-Hike Links

    Astonished to find that my millennial daughter had never seen Dr. Strangelove, I queued it up last night over dinner. The generational difference was never so stark- she found most of it incomprehensible. “Why is this in black and white? Was that to save money? They had invented color by then, right?” When Strangelove pulled a circular sliderule out of his pocket to calculate how long the survivors would have to stay in the mineshaft, she asked, “What’s that?” In the airplane scenes involving rotary switches, toggles, and code-setting, she asked, “Is all that all supposed to be a technology?” During the credits, she observed, “I’ve heard of James Earl Jones, I don’t know any of these other people.” “This was just… weird.”

    Sic transit gloria Sellers.

    OK, before I haul my ancient ass all around the hiking trails at the Bong Recreation Area (not making that up), I will toss out links, scientifically designed to be noticed but not actually read.

    An editorial writer does not seem to notice that states that don’t shit on the Second Amendment likewise seem to be states which are business friendly. And would like to stop that.

    Canadians also don’t understand basic economics and after showing proper horror at how markets work when their government decides to meddle, figure to use their ignorance to keep poor people poor.

    Speaking of Wisconsin (that’s where the Bong is), the latest on how racism was used to suppress minority voting and hand the election to Trump. Because black pipo can’t get ID cards and that’s why they didn’t turn out for Herself in the numbers they turned out for the Lightbringer. That must be the answer. Or maybe not.

    We libertarians have McAfee. The liberals have… someone else.

    In the same vein, is there nothing that Trump can’t do?

    Zardoz would seem to have great influence in Africa.

    And finally, obligatory Old People Music.

  • ZARDOZ’S FRIDAY NIGHT LINKS

    ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. TONIGHT, ZARDOZ HAS A SPECIAL FEATURE FOR HIS CHOSEN ONES. ZARDOZ WILL ALLOW A CHOSEN ONE TO QUESTION THE TABERNACLE ITSELF. PRESENT YOUR QUESTIONS, CHOSEN ONE – YES, YOU OVER THERE ON THE RIGHT. STEP FORWARD.

    Which Glib would this be?

    Glibertarian Commenter: Tabernacle – what are you?

    The Tabernacle: Not permitted.

    Glibertarian Commenter: Where are you?

    The Tabernacle: Not permitted.

    Glibertarian Commenter: Do you know me?

    The Tabernacle: I have your voice-print, Glib – and your genetic code, but only memory fragments.

    Glibertarian Commenter: [gazing into the diamond he holds in his other hand] Tell me about the crystal transmitter.

    The Tabernacle: I cannot give information which may threaten my own security.

    Glibertarian Commenter: Brain emissions refract low wavelength laser light, passing through the crystal in the brain. They’re a code sent to you for interpretation and storage. Yes or no?

    The Tabernacle: Not permitted.

    WELL, THAT DID NOT GO AS ZARDOZ HOPED. THEREFORE, ZARODZ WILL GIVE YOU THE GIFT OF THE LINK, SO THAT YOU MAY BE RAISED FROM BRUTALITY. GO FORTH AND COMMENT! ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.

    LETS JUST TRY SOME LINKS THEN.
    • ZARDOZ SEES THIS AS CONTINUING EVIDENCE THAT THE BRUTALS, WHO ARE LEGION, NEED TO BE CLEANSED FROM THE CERTAIN PARTS OF THE EARTH.
    • FOOLISH BRUTAL! JUST SURRENDER NOW. ZARDOZ WILL DISPATCH BRUTAL EXTERMINATORS TO YOUR LOCATION.  YES, ZARDOZ IS NOT BENEATH CHEAP STEREOTYPE JOKES.
    • NO! THIS IS NOT WHAT ZARDOZ MEANT BY BEING A BRUTAL EXTERMINATOR. ZARDOZ ORGANIZES SUCH ACTIVITY, NO FREE-LANCING!
    • ZARDOZ NOT SURPRISED BY THIS…CLEANSING.
    • THIS BRUTAL FORGOT THAT THE PENIS IS EVIL, AND HE SHOULD NOT SAY SUCH THINGS!
  • Friday Afternoon links

    All books donated by the Clinton Foundation

    Happy Frickin’ Friday. It came about three days too late again. Also, my wife got me drunk last night. So I’m basically writing the Dodge truck equivalent of code right now. Its probably going to come apart in the first two years, but if it doesn’t, it will never fail.

    In sportzball news I care about, the fate of the Houston Astros is in the hands that get to hold Kate Upton’s beautiful breasts. Don’t let us down, new guy!

    I don’t usually give links to Youtube for non-music, but this video of a police chase in Houston combined with the newscaster banter is hilarious. Apparently you can watch the one hour version also. But I kicked Dodge around a little in the intro, so here’s theirs back.

    Sorry babe, I can’t quit smoking, so I guess I’ll just have to quit going down on you instead.

    I mean, its not as bad as teaching monkeys kung fu, but maybe we shouldn’t teach the robots, either.

    Our Libertopia awaits in the Moon.

    It seems like a great day for the Theme Song.

  • Friday Morning Links

    The Senate passed a budget resolution that allows for tax cuts, opening the door for a filibusterer proof  tax reform bill in the future.  Rand Paul was the only dissenting Republican vote.

     

    A preschool teacher shows off her student’s very cute Lego projects depicting intersectionality, wait, no she’s a college professor, a college professor had her college students build Lego displays and not even with regular Legos, the giant block Legos used by toddlers.  I heard she has plans next week to have them finger paint cultural appropriation.

     

    I have to say, I am quite enjoying this leftist witch hunt.  The leftist elite is being forced to live by its own supposed morals, and it’s not going so well.

     

    IRS to finally start blocking tax returns that lack Obamacare disclosures.

     

    John Kelly slaps down Congresswomen Frederica S. Wilson and defends the President.  Leading to liberal journalists to very stupidly attack Kelly.  It’s like they’re trying to pick fights they can’t only not win, but will get destroyed on.

     

    And here’s your morning song.

     

  • Week 8 College Football Preview

    Here is sloopy’s mandatory link.

    Dubious Rivalry of the Week

    Akron @ Toledo, Toledo, OH

    Zips vs Rockets.  I was expecting this to be a real rivalry, but they have only played 19 times.  Toledo leads 10-9.  This didn’t play between 1947 and 1992.  I am sure there is a reason, but I don’t care enough to look it up.  Akron led 6-2 before the hiatus, but Toledo has won 9 of the last 11.

    Tailgate of the Week

    Fresno St @ San Diego St, San Diego, CA

    After last week’s boozy punch, I am going cold turkey and talking beer only.  So San Diego was an easy choice for the week.

    Beer:  I was going to list them, but a link is easier.  Enjoy.

    Game of the Century of the Week

    USC @ Notre Dame, Sound Bend, IN

    This has been a big game in the past and is again, because Notre Dame has decided not to suck this year.  I think both are overhyped, but the winner is still around for discussions of the playoffs for at least another week.

    Notre Dame leads the all time series 44-36-5.  Instead of alternating between October in Indiana and November in California, they should reverse it.  I would like to USC playing in northern Indiana in late November.

    Top 25

    And like every other ranking system, Alabama is now #1.  I can’t explain Florida, they moved into the to 25 with a loss.  **shrug** Computer systems, watcha gonna do?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Falling out:  Maryland, Texas Tech, UCLA, Navy.