Adventures in EtOH

This is your dad's Metallica

2008-09-18T11:46:00.001-04:00

Remember a really good band in the late 80’s called Metallica? Didn’t think so. That’s because ever since “And Justice for all …” they’ve sucked out loud. Personal issues, egos, and poor choices in production killed anything that resembled the band that released “Kill ‘em All”. Gone were the mach 3 guitar riffs. Gone were the tempo and time changes. Gone were the ….. balls.

“Death Magnetic” will place those once removed balls directly on your nose, and not in a dainty fashion. Much like when Rancid released ”Rancid(2000)”, Metallica gleaned what they did best and went back to it..

“Death Magnetic” is a triumphant return. Instead of five minute gutless covers, the listener is carpet bombed with eight minute tracks that will gently remove your brain from your cranium, have sex with it, put your brain back in your head, and then smash your skull with a turbocharged sledgehammer. It’s like being shot in the face point blank with a bazooka filled with broken glass and hydrochloric acid. It’s Cloverfield on anabolic steroids.

If there was any doubt that Rick Ruben was a god prior to this release, his deification is imminent. Working with bands such as Slayer, Danzig, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys, Rick Ruben has established himself at the top of the food chain when it comes to producers. With “Death Magnetic”, Ruben has taken a shit on anyone that has ever thought of producing music. He’s that damn good. The arrangements are unthinkable. This guy knows his shit.

The track Broken, Beat, and Scarred, is probably the best example of what’s been fixed. While it is not one of the faster songs, it does not drag along. It combines a more mellow sound, but does not resemble Creed, like other Metallica offerings have. It shows maturity, but still gives a nod to the early Metallica. sound. It is distinctly Metallica, yet new.

I hesitate to call The Day That Never Comes a ballad, but it is a slower song. Much like One, or Sanitarium, it is more harmonic and introspective. The guitar is haunting, and Hettfield’s voice complements the mood. Do not fear, like the aforementioned tracks, The Day That Never Comes culminates in the usual, rock your face off fashion.

The crowning cut by far is All Nightmare Long. This song encompasses everything Metallica does well: changes, gunshot-like drums, crushing rhythm guitar, impossible bass lines, lead guitar that seems to dance with you while cutting at your very fiber, and the copyrighted Hettfield growl. All Nightmare Long is a sonic ear raping of biblical proportions.

Suicide and Redemption is 10 minutes of unadulterated musical mastery. All 4 members are on display in this vocal-less audio beat down. Lars Ulrich once again proves he is one of the top percussionists in the world, providing unfathomable changes. Kirk Hammet’s solos move effortlessly from soulful to savage, starting slowly and moving into an audio blur, and then surrender themselves back into the groove. Hettfield’s rhythm work is equally complex, and very, very tight. Robert Trujillo is just what Metallica needed; fast and punishing, but able to transverse all the changes without missing a step. This line up is unreal.

This is a nonpareil complete album. Every song is, if not a masterpiece, epic. Definitely the best album Metallica has made since And Justice For All ….. From top to bottom, there is not a weak spot to be heard.
Buy. This. Album.

Pennywise: House of Blues, Orlando 24 May 2008

2008-05-28T20:29:00.000-04:00

If you’ve seen the X games, watched a surf/skate/snowboard/moto cross video, or been around anything having to do with “action sports”, then you’ve probably heard Pennywise somewhere in the background. The Hermosa Beach based punk rock band has been a staple of being associated with the “hardcore lifestyle” for the past twenty years. Their recent releases have been a bit more mellow, but are still distinctly their own. They have, as all bands have, aged a bit. Not to say their music of late has lost its edge, but it’s not the Pennywise of ’89.

Many people would use the phrase “sell out”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although Pennywise has become more aware of the political landscapes and the truths of the world, they have stayed the same course. The frenetic pace might be a bit slower, but it still rings true. Many bands claim to do it for the fans, well, Pennywise’s word is bond; offering their last album for free on myspace. The 3 band lineup, Authority Zero, Strung out, and Pennywise was offered for $16.50.

I have seen about 6-10 Pennywise shows, including Warped Tours, and I have never been disappointed., always experiencing an excellent show. I was very excited when this date was announced, but as it got closer, there was some trepidation. The past couple Pennywise offerings have been good, with a few songs to my liking. I still visualize(if you can visualize music) Pennywise in Full Circle/About Time album modes. Not that I am opposed to slower rock bands, it’s just not what I want from Pennywise.

Driving to Orlando, I mentally ran down what I thought the set list would be: open with 2 older songs, then play a chunk of 3-5 new songs, back to an old standby, 3-5 more new songs, throw in 1-2 more oldies, then end in “Bro hymn”, as they always do. Were that to happen, I would be perfectly satisfied with my expenditure of time and money to go to Orlando to see a band that I am a huge fan of. I was going to pony up my $16.50 and watch these guys do a victory lap, and thank them for all the memories.

I can’t remember when I’ve been more wrong.

To describe my Pennywise experience succinctly: It was like being attacked by a 50 foot yeti made of fire and cholera, and that yeti is well versed in martial arts.

A few of the highlights: The crowd of about 1500 chanting “Fuck Authority”, in unison, middle fingers in the air; the band asking the crowd what songs they wanted to hear, and then actually playing those songs. They played “My own country”, a request, prefacing it with: “We haven’t played this in 5 years, so if we fuck it up …. “, and then they nailed it. The crowd rapport was great, as well:

Jim (singer) “I haven’t drank this whole tour, but tonight, I’m getting fucked up with you, Orlando”

Crowd: “yeeeaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, beers in the air.

Fletcher (guitar) “It’s the second show of the tour”

Much of the show was a blur, not because of the Budweiser, but due to the fact that I was truly ecstatic, all the songs ran together, in a sonic wall of unadulterated joy. It all ended with the song “Bro hymn”, a song about a fallen friend that everyone can identify with. I guarantee if you hear that song one time, it will stick with you forever. The baseline, the chorus, is perfect in the context of the song. It is an unforgettable track, and to hear 1500 people singing “ …. If you die, I die; that’s the way it is”, will definitely make an impact on you. The rise and fall of the chorus is haunting, to say the least, and the listener bobs about on a sea of whoa’s.

The show was awesome, not in the fact that I was given a political message or was wowed by musical prowess; because that wasn’t the case. Pennywise did exactly what all of the 1500 people wanted: they came in and rocked 1500 people’s faces off. Jim, Fletcher, and the boys played the songs that got the crowd going, that got the pit stirred up like a downed hornet’s nest, and made me hoarse from yelling. They were the Pennywise I remembered, not 35-40 year old guys that I thought were playing a final farewell before heading it in. And it was glorious.

Duty, Honor, Country ?

2008-04-28T09:33:00.001-04:00

Hero? I think not. I have no idea why anyone would celebrate this young man's fortune.
Having served ten years myself, I feel like Caleb Campbell is shirking his responsibility. Many people are trying to compare him to Pat Tillman, and nothing could be further from the truth. Pat Tillman left his contract to go serve his country. Campbell is dodging his duty that he signed up for to go play football.
Harsh? Yes. The fact is that Campbell went to West Point. He signed up to be an officer in the United States Army. Your tax dollars paid to house, educate, and train him to serve and defend this country. Now, he can take all that, and make a living in the NFL. Other athletes attend state schools on scholarship, but the athletic programs and merchandise offset that cost. At Army, this is not the case.
He still has to make the roster, but unless he fails, he won't be in any army I was a part of. The US Army says he'll be a great recruiting tool. Really? Showing people they can sign up and then not actually live up to their end of the deal?
I'm all for someone making vast amounts of money playing in the NFL; as long as they don't already have a commitment to serve their country. I couldn't believe the people at the draft chanting "U-S-A-U-S-A". This man is not any hero. He's someone that might renege on his own word. The US Army has a motto: "Duty, Honor, Country". I guess he missed that class.

Recurrence

2008-04-10T13:38:00.000-04:00

Today, the wind isn’t like it was yesterday.
It signals a change. Today, I feel summer.

I actually FEEL summer. Not the full on, heat waves rising off the pavement, sweltering Florida in August summer, but it’s still here. The Summer Solstice is still months away, but summer is here. The wind is lighter, and you can sense the heat from the ground up, not just from the sunlight. The shadows are getting shorter, and the sunlight becoming richer, filling in the pale shades of spring. It’s a subtle change, but it’s definitely there.

I can hear the beach sand crunching underfoot; feel the sand baked to almost furnace like temperatures on the bottom of my feet. I feel the thirst that is so hard to quench that it leaves you breathless from trying to intake liquids to satiate. Instead of there being a hint of salt in the breeze coming off the ocean, the smell permeates the air, deep and rich, it fills the nostrils, announcing it’s presence, rather than alluding to it. It’s amazing how the sun solicits fragrances from seemingly mundane items and objects: asphalt, car interiors, grass, etc.

Things are starting to come alive again; the plants are getting prepared, much like soldiers readying themselves for inspection. Not quite at full attention, but you can sense that they are primed. A slight buzz is audible, as well. The insects are starting to signal that they are there. The incessant cacophony will be almost overbearing in a few short weeks.

The biggest change is in the sun. Sol is making the change from light source to heat source. It is the one constant in the Floridian summer. Never wavering, steadfast, domineering, overhead convectionary star. Giver of life and the sapper of strength. It will be overhead, bombarding us with cosmic rays for the next six months.

I, for one, welcome our returning solaric overlord.

Shit you should be listening to II

2008-04-09T09:14:00.000-04:00

Around 5 years ago, a female acquaintance(read:hoochie that I met at a bar) asked me if I wanted to go see a band in orlando(45 min drive). She said she would buy me a ticket and beer at the show. That was the best money I've ever spent. The band was Authority Zero.
At that point in their short career, they had a minor hit on MTV called "One more minute", a beachy kind of anthem. I had heard the song, and it was catchy, and identifiable with the area I live in and the crowd I was hanging out with. The show was at the Social, an Orlando bar synonomous with punk/alternative bands that held about 300-400 people. A sparse crowd was there, giving me ample opportunity to see the band perform. I would have to rank them in the top 10 bands I've ever seen live, having seen well over 500 shows from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Slayer to Jane's Addiction.
The album, their first complete album is called "A passage in time", and I would rank it in my top 25 complete albums of all time. The album contains 13 tracks, ranging from Irish folk song to straight old school punk rock, reggae to ballads. The group can transition from one style to the other song by song, or within the same song. The band I would compare them to is Sublime, only for the reason that they can seamlessly switch back and forth from the different genres, not for musical style. The musicianship is excellent, lyrics are provoking, and the live performances are a must see. I see them EVERY time they come to Orlando.
The band itself is also very, very fan friendly. By that, I don't mean they'll bang your girlfriend, I mean that they'll talk to you if approached, and always hang out for beer after the show.
They've released 3 albums since then, but the best is "A passage in time". All of the albums are worthy of a purchase, but cut your teeth on the first, and then you can see where they've gone with their music. For acoustic, check out Jason DeVore, the lead singer's solo album. Also very good work.

MYSPACE

Shit you SHOULD be listening to.

2008-04-04T12:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I’m by no means a critic in any professional sense, but I will treat(?) you guys to my insights on things that I think are damn good. Or, are damn bad.About 2 months ago, I stumbled across a video of a couple playing acoustic guitars. The reason I clicked on the video was the title: "Acoustic performance of Orion". Being a fan of old Metallica(And justice for all and anything prior to that), I was, to say the least intruiged. This was one of the best choices I’ve made so far this year.Rodrigo y Grabriela are a real-life couple who happen to play acoustic guitars together. Their style could be classified as "Flamenco", but it’s so much more. I, myself am a fan of musicianship, not sticking to any one genre of music, and this couple doesn’t either.Rodrigo and Gabriela are from Mexico and played in the spanish/Mexican metal band Tierra Acida(also another band you should check out). Since then, they have moved to Ireland, and perform around the world.They play a mix of covers of rock and metal songs along with their own tracks. The covers have the odd ability to stay true to the original, but at the same time sound completely different, in the best possible way. The originals they do are Flamenco, but don’t sound like they are. If you are a fan of guitars in any form, you must hear these two do their thing. It is nothing short of amazing.

RODGAB/

MYSPACE

The most joyous hurt

2007-09-11T09:44:00.000-04:00

It's funny how the actions of twenty year old young men I've never met that are two thousand miles away affect my life.
I'm talking about college football here. The cause of my greatest joys, besides my son, obviously. And also the cause of some of the worst pain.
Every year around the beginning of June, hope springs anew. It's a new season, there are new players. There are older players returning with experience. The coaches have new schemes. The team has a new attitude. There is plenty of newness to hope on. And, as it turns out, ninety nine percent of the time, it is just that - hope.
The fans all start postulating and predicting. Rival fans start trash talking. All that is heard is: "If "x" happens, we can't be beat.." Thoughts of trips in January are prevalent. Everyone has hope. Maybe not to win it all, but hope. Hope to beat one team or the other. Or Hope just not to lose too badly. But, still, there is enduring hope.
All the predicting, postulating, trash talking and hope changes throughout the season, conforming itself to the endless myriad of results that play out. The rollercoaster rolls on, dipping and diving, peaking and falling in increments of seconds, minutes, and games. Seconds can last hours, minutes can fly like seconds. Grown men cry. Grown men yell. Grown, adult males throw things like children. And it's a beautiful catastrophe.
College football is a place where you can feel horrible Even if you win. Or you can find solace in a team other than yours losing( I see you Notre Dame). College football is a place where a guy dressed up like a huge nut can inspire hatred. College football makes grandmothers shout obscenities that would make a sailor blush. College football makes two shirtless, sweaty guys with back hair hug.
College football is all these things, and I love every bit of it. In a masochistic way, I like the agony. After the pain, there is joy. Joy in winning, or just joy that the pain has ended for now. I can see a Michigan sticker or a car and yell "Go Blue" as I drive by. That person will either feel my pain or know my joy. That person is my compatriot, even though I have never spoken to them. This fact make me smile deep, deep down inside.
So far this season has been nothing but a giant let down. The thing is, I know it's always gonna be like that. It's akin to the hot girl that you've always wanted, but knew was a trainwreck finally spending the night. And you start to think: "This could go somewhere".You know it will end badly, but you still have to try. You know you will end up in the fetal position on your bedroom floor screaming "WHHHHHYYYYYYYYY??". You know, but still you love. Moth to a flame.
Fuck it, Flame on.

Reviews and Surf expo blog.

2007-06-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

The following are older blogs, but I liked them, so I reposted them here for all to see.

Review 2

2007-06-15T16:27:00.003-04:00

So, in my quest to broaden my musical horizons, I download the new, "hot" act, Panic! at the disco. A former co-worker of mine selected the album "A fever you can't sweat out" as one of the ten best of 2005, so I decided to give it a listen.
Ok, iPOD loaded, new day at work, I've already drank my coke, and I'm set up to start working.Clear headed and in a reasonably good mood, let's do this. Earbuds in, press play.
A kinda cool intro plays, sounds like someone tuning a radio to different stations, then lapses into some acoustic guitar and the usual, young melodic voice singing about teen angst. Then the drop hits and some moderate rocking occurs. Ok.... not as terrible as i expected, I can at least get through this song. Wait ... what the fuck ? a late 80's synth break ??? hmm .. pulling out all the stops on this one I see.
Song 2, more painful, longing lyrics about how hard life is. SKIP SONG.
The third track starts with the cheezy 80's synthesizer, and a drum machine. There's a reason that shit died in the late 80's .. it was garbage.I find myself suddenly thinking about where the nearest Stabucks is.I feel like I need more black on, and my wrists feel naked, like I need some wristbands. I find myself having ill feelings towards my mother.
Well, I made it through 4 songs before I tapped out.
So, in retrospect, you can probably get a New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, or Dead or Alive CD in the bargain bin for about 5-8 dollars cheaper and hear the same shit. These artists are in the bargain bin for a reason:they suck ass. People figured it out in the late 80's, and it still applies today.
As I always do, I will suggest a substitution in your music catalog for this garbage. The album I chose to cleanse my ears with was: "Van Halen" by Van Halen. Plenty of songs about love and the tough life as a youngster. By the time "Janie's cryin'" was done my balls had actually dropped back in to their original position, and I was thinking about buying a truck.

Idiots..

2007-06-15T16:27:00.001-04:00

All music is Emo, you sheep.
It vexes me to see a genre of music called "emo". I know that the music industry is a business, and it's a profit driven beast, but music itself is emotions.
Although it is a brilliant marketing scheme to coin the term "emo" and embrace the disenfranchised youth of today with a sense of belonging, it makes me ill that young, intelligent individuals would fall prey to such a ruse.
To me, a young man whining about how the head cheerleader wouldn't go out with him because his parents bought him a focus instead of a lexus doesn't really stir my emotions. Granted, there are different kinds of trauma for different people, but a middle class kid bitching about having to drive 30 munutes to get a good latte does not make me want to change the world.
In their quest to be more obscure and irreverant, the young people have grabbed ahold of everything that was jettisoned by the earlier generations as garbage, and "broken new ground" in music.They have excavated all the things that earlier acts have abandoned because they didn't work, and renamed them "indie", "garage", or the almighty "emo".
"Emo" seems to be carte blanche for someone to be weird and depressed just to be fucking weird and depressed.The fact that they can be categorized should go against the very fiber of what they stand for, yet they embrace the "emo" tag.
It seems that they want to say that their emotions come out in their style of music. To the world, I pose this question: What music does not express emotion?
There are obvious and not so obvious examples of this in ALL music classified by the music industry.For example:
Pantera's "Fucking hostile" tells the tale of a person's friends talking shit about him, and how it makes him feel. Common occurence and very moving, even though it would not be tagged "emo"
Lil' Wayne's " I miss my dawg" is the story of two friends divided by their own friends and how much Wayne misses his boy, Juvie. Another circumstance nearly everyone could identify with, however, not labeled "emo"
Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" is about how a man feels when he's cheated on.
Some not-so-obvious examples :
Tag Team's "Whoomp, there it is" is a song riddled with emotion. It's a feel-good story about you and your boys at a club hearing your favorite song, all looking at each other, and going "Whoomp! there it is" and dancing your ass off for no reason. We've all been there.
Destiny's Child "Bootylicious" is a song about feeling so inadequate that you can't talk to the pretty girl at the club. I, myself can identify with that.
Limp Bizkit's "I did it all for the nookie" relates the tale of a young man's quest for tail, and how he hates himself for it.
Irish folk music makes me happy, classical music makes me contemplative, speed metal makes me want to destroy villages, hip hop makes me want to bob my head, ska provokes me to jump .. basically, all music evokes a response, so to categorize one type as "emo" baffles me.
EVERYONE feels young and awkward.Just because some marketing company puts out a uniform and a soundtrack for youth feeling shitty, doesn't mean that the youth need to take that as gospel.
All music is inspired by and made from emotions, including greed.
Wake the fuck up.

Review 1

2007-06-15T16:26:00.001-04:00

I loathe MTV, and everything about it(except fot the occassinal NEXT viewing), but it got me yesterday.
I was flipping through the channels, and was called away from the TV mid-flip. I came back to see the last 30 seconds of some band on TRL. The lead singer has looked kinda like a cal punker guy, and the band looked cool as well. The played what sounded like some old 80's metal and a little punk.The little snippet seemed like it was o.k., so I watched and found out who they were. The band was Avenged Sevenfold.
I go to my favorite website, and download the entire catalog, wanting to check these guys out. I've seen their name alot, and was truly interested to see what these guys are about.
O.k.. I'm at work, cue up "City of Evil" on the iPOD. Ready to rock. First song starts, guitar crunching, the lead guitar wailing away over it. Alright, I'm digging it. Then the singer starts singing, and it all goes to hell. More wailing guitar that sounds like medievil harpsichord music over crunching guitars. This song is 8 minutes long ? Why do the choruses sound like a Warrant song ?? Why is that lead still playing the same riff ??
Phew ! .. Song 2 starts. Hmmmm Same guitar, same vocals, same chorus. Weird. This is track 2 ? yes.
Track 3. Wow, it's the same lead, I guess the Avenged guys really like that. Oh, and there's the same chorus, as well.
So, it turns out all the tracks are pretty much like that, and I for one, am not a fan. I listened to 2 other Avenged albums that sounded exactly like the first one I listened to.
My summation on Avenged Sevenfold: A band wanting to sound metal,punk, and harmonize all at once. Basically, if you combined Iron Maiden, Pennywise, and had some backing vocals by Dokken, you'd hit it right on the head. It doesn't work, never has. Ask Yngwie Malmsteen So, some agency found a burgeoning hair band, did a punk/retro/emo make over, and threw them a bible and said "write songs from this book"
If you wanna hear a band that does one thing, but does it correctly, listen to a little band I like to call Slayer. They haven't veered from the course by one inch. Check out "Reign in Blood" or "Diabolus en Musica". Fuckin' A right.
This is my first review, if it's well received, I'll do more.
Next up : Panic! at the Disco.

Skateboard, lederhosen, and 2 live

2007-06-15T16:25:00.000-04:00

A few blurbs about my weekend at the surf expo:
I met some really cool people that I figured would be assholes. I was wrong. Inversely, some people that I do know and thought were cool were assholes when in the presence of "the industry"
Girls that are bitches to a 6'4 black guy with platinum teeth on Fri night have a completely different attitude on Sat when they find out he's a pro skater. You know EXACTLY who you are.
Most heard quote Fri night: Oh, you're THAT guy.
Volcom booth was out of control. Free Hienies, pretzels, and Jager. Complete octoberfest theme, but it was called "Sausagefest". Brilliant. Anytime there's a guy in a suit crowdsurfing and drinking jager straight out of the bottle while techno polka music plays at 4:30 on a Sat afternoon and 50 people are shouting "EAST COAST!! EAST COAST", that's a fucking party.
Most overused quote during skate contest: "Coming in hot"
Apparently my buddy Kenny is a magician or has magic pants. Throughout the weekend, beers kept appearing out of his pockets.
I was actually happy to see someone from my past engaging in the same, horrible, self destructive behavior. They deserve the life they are living.
Free Mich ultra is still fucking horrible.
It was nice to see the beer bong making a comeback.
2 words : REEF GIRLS
2 live crew are pretty good, especially for free.
Most heard quote from Big Hughes " Stupes, kid, stupes.
Southern Comfort is evil and is now banned from my metabolism.
Smoking hot girls sometimes don't care what kind of ride you push. Sometimes.
Best nickname: Peterdong
Most heard quote on Sun : "Ugh"
I learned I'm not photogenic. At all.
I smiled. Alot

Bear with me ...

2007-05-17T15:37:00.000-04:00

The going will be sluggish at first, so hang in there, people.

Origins ....

2007-05-16T08:47:00.000-04:00

In the beginning, I remember alcohol.
There is about a six week period that I can think of that I didn't see my grandfather with a beer in his hand. He had Just had a quadruple bypass(in the eighties, that was a MAJOR operation), and the doctors said he had to. That lasted about a month and a half. He would literally drink more than a case a day. Every day. Busch cans, with actual pull off tabs. Hell, I even remember when the cans were made of tin. Pop would usually start around 10 o'clock(AM) and continue through the day. Now, mind you, I said he would drink, not appear drunk. I can count on one hand the number of times I'd seen him sloppy. He would drink while doing anything: fishing, hunting, carpentry, and driving. He died of heart failure when he was 59.
My Aunt, Stevie(Stephanie) preferred rum, and assloads of it. She sailed with good 'ol Captain Morgan on a daily basis. That woman drank as much as I've ever seen anyone drink. One of those big, handled bottles of the Captain a day. Mixed with coke in one of those refillable seven-eleven Big Gulp cups. Now, she would get tanked. The bad kind of wasted: emotional, stumbling, rambling, and violent. The kind of drunk that wouldn't leave you alone, grabbing on to you and slurring "no ! listen to me ..". She died of Hepatitis C in her 30's.
I wasn't around my father until I was probably 16 or so. My mother and he split when I was around a year old, and I didn't have any contact with him until I was 16, purely his choice. My father works in New York City, and is a really successful CEO of a stock market research firm. Dad drinks Vodka, on the rocks. Dad drinks a bottle of wine with dinner. Dad drinks beer while golfing. "It's Coors LIGHT." Dad doesn't drink beer before noon, and liquor before 5PM. Although after five, he'll put down four Stoli on the rocks before he eats and then a nice red bottle with the food. Dad believes he doesn't have a problem with alcohol because he follows strict time guidelines. dad is a happy drunk, glazed and smiley. Dad is still kicking and runs marathons.
Mom. Mom drinks white Russians. That's vodka, Kahlua, and white milk. It smells and tastes repulsive. She calls them "cocktails". My mom is living with her mother to help take care of her. Grandma doesn't like for my mom to drink, so my mother hides her liquor in an antique baby crib in her room. Mom is also a sloppy drunk, slurring and emotional. Mom died when she was 56. They brought her back to life in the ambulance(this story will be relayed in another post).

The intent here is not to cry "I never had a chance", it's some background for future posts. My life, so far, has been interesting, to say the least. I've had many adventures, and will post about them here. These forays occur more often than not in the vicinity or under the influence of ethyl alcohol, hence the blog name. The following will be accounts of my life, feelings about certain events or people, and a little introspection. It will not, however be a day - to day account of my drinking, etc. Read if you'd like, comment if you will, or feel free to move on.