Greenman: Day One

Yeah, finally got to go in and start the greenman tattoo. I'll have two more sittings to finish it. We only managed to do the line work today. It's that effing HUGE! ;) I'm seriously amazed he managed to do Ed's shading (even though Ed went back for more a few days later, which... Ouch!). There are a lot of lines in this puppy.

Good times. I'll post an after pic once I wash it. Here's the full outline after the first wash. Fish at Work Originally uploaded by Jake Sutton.

Update: More of the same at my Inked, Inc. blog.

The Two Year Kettlebell Cycle

Actually, it was more like two and a half years ago that I first noticed kettlebells, thanks to (the now humbled and retired) Kostya Tszyu. Since then, I've actually seen kettlebells on TV a few times. One show was totally unrelated to fitness (it was probably a home renovation show or something), but the featured "real person" was a kettlebell trainer, and they showed him doing his thing.

Now BuzzFeed says it's the latest craze. (They do have some good, recent links, it should be noted.)

Go figure. ;)

Climbing Plastic Rocks

(See what I did there? Double meaning. I'm clever!) After at least 7 years of not climbing anything harder than a ladder, I went to the Boulder Rock Club last night with Peter, my former co-worker and now neighbor, and his fiance Ann. I wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was certainly mildly depressing motivational.

The first hit to my ego was just digging up my old gear and trying on my old harness. I got excited when I realized it was a size large, but then I realized that's "large for climber types" and not "large for fat American types". And so I had to wander over to the world-famous Neptune Mountaineering shop and (*sigh*) get myself an extra-large climbing harness.

At the gym, I climbed a few "ladders" (nothing past vertical, thanks) in the 5.7 and 5.8 range, and it was plenty tough for me. I'm only mildly sore today, but I was embarrassingly exhausted after my four climbs. My one attempt at playing in a bouldering cave convinced me that being overweight and understrong are a bad mix. Hauling my 200+ pounds around by my now-sissified fingertips just wasn't going to happen. Meanwhile, Ann, who is a tiny pixie of a person, was flinging herself up 5.9s and a 5.10 or two. Why do I always choose to climb with these annoying Asians? ;) (That's an inside joke, y'all.)

It was cool though. I suppose I'll try to keep going (I bought a new harness, after all.), and hopefully this will add an extra kick to me current "get the hell back in shape" regime.

The Lucid Challenge

I finally got my order of Lucid Absinthe a week or two ago. The time has come for me to do a side-by-side face off with the other absinthe I had in house. (Yes, by "time has come" I mean "The Wife is out of the house".) Fair warning: The challenge involves me consuming two glasses of absinthe. Expect this first draft to be fine-tuned when I'm in a more sober state.

And so we go...

First an introduction:

Lucid Challenge: Bottles

  1. Brand A: La Fée Absinthe Parisian -- My brother-in-law, Chris, gave me a bottle of this last year when we went out to visit him in LA. While we were there we also helped him consume some other brand that he'd had delivered along with this one. (Perhaps he'll remind of of the brand?) My usual mode of consuming this one is the so-called "French method" with sugar and cold water.
  2. Brand B: Lucid, of course. So far I've been having this one with only the cold water. I read that absinthe geeks don't go for the sugar, so I thought I'd try it.

Now, let's get to the good stuff tasting notes:

How is it straight up?

Lucid Challenge: Straight

  1. La Fée Smell: Hmmmm.... Nyquil? Taste: Black jellybeans. Very strong. Like fire in the back of the mouth.
  2. Lucid Smell: Much softer. Sort of herbal. Taste: Herbal again. Still a twinge at the back of the mouth, but not as strong. Tart, almost citrus, finish.

What about with the water?

Lucid Challenge: Louche

I decided to continue abstaining from the sugar. I put ice in a martini shake, poured Brita-filtered water over the ice and gave it a good shake. I added water to the absinthe only until the louche was achieved.

  1. La Fée Taste: Oh, yum! Sweet liquorice! Who needs sugar?
  2. Lucid Taste: Much more subtle, almost weak. Super easy to drink.

Who wins?!

Well, I like them both, really.

I can easily imagine the Lucid as being a more authentic experience; the La Fée is much more artificial-tasting. That said, I really do enjoy the sweetness of the louched La Fée. Is the Lucid worth the extra cost (the trouble to get it is pretty much the same, since I had to order it from New York)? I'd say sure, if only for the experience. Once it's actually stocked at my local package store, it will definitely be a regular buy for me.

So yeah... Try it. You might like it. Just do us both a favor and don't bother if you know you don't actually enjoy liquorice flavored booze, OK? ;) Seriously -- I was the kid who made himself sick by eating a whole bag of black jelly beans. I'm made for absinthe. If you aren't, don't bother. You're not going to want to drink enough to see green fairies anyway.

You should be stronger than me.

Well, Amy Winehouse is finally going to rehab ("No, no, no!"). Mad props to WWTDD for summing up the story perfectly:

Winehouse, who collapsed last week after taking a cocktail of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and the horse tranquillizer ketamine, is now thought to be wait did that fucking say "heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and the horse tranquillizer ketamine"?  HOLY SHIT!

...

This story about a porn star called Mia Rose being banned from World of Warcraft for... um... being a porn star is hilarious. Where's the logic in that? Wouldn't you want people to think hot sluts played your game?

...

David Allen should be announcing the winner of his tattoo giveaway today. Of course I entered, but I'm really rooting for his mom.

Is that a marmoset under your hat or are you just glad to see me?

I find this story hilarious: Man Smuggles Monkey Into NYC Airport

The monkey escapade began in Lima, Peru, late Monday, when the man boarded a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Alison Russell. After landing Tuesday morning, the man waited several hours before catching a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport.

During the flight, people around the man noticed that the marmoset, which normally lives in forests and eats fruit and insects, had emerged from underneath his hat, Russell said.

"Other passengers asked the man if he knew he had a monkey on him," she said.

Too good!

...

In other monkey news: Escaped Monkey Recaptured in Miss.

Oliver was apprehended at Tupelo Stone & Masonry, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported, six days after leading park staff on a chase through the park's trail system before eventually eluding them.

So, one primate in the wrong place altogether and another one finally return to its proper home. I'm sure there's some sort of life lesson in that...

Leopold's Gin

My friends, allow me to introduce you to Leopold's Gin, a small batch distillation that will make any gin lover happy.

Leopold's GinFirst, it is an American Gin. Master Distiller Todd Leopold handcrafts every batch in a small 40-gallon copper still, blending uniquely American botanicals like hand-zested Florida Oranges and California Pummelos. These components lend citrus notes to the gin, and help distinguish American gins from their English counterparts.

It truly is a bit different, but positively delicious. One friend said, upon tasting a sample: "It tastes like Christmas!" My response was that The Wife said that about all gins, but he rejoindered that it was more than that and that he detected hints of candy canes and mistletoe (or some such nonsense -- I was blootered at the time, to own the truth). It's nowhere near as "different" as Hendricks with it's cucumber-infused flavor, which is how I found Leopold's in the first place -- they were side by each on the shelf at my local Total Beverage.

Last night, I put the gin through its paces by sampling a G&T and a martini and both were remarkably tasty. We followed that with a Hendricks & tonic and were slightly disturbed by the fact that we actually craved more afterwards. We abstained, however, as it was bedtime on a school night. I'm happy to report no ill effects this morning (aside from the usual case of the Mondays).

Treat yourself sometime. You will be pleased, I guarantee.

Walk for Danes

My mother is turning into a crazy cat lady... Except it's with Great Danes. The truth is she's gotten involved with the local Great Dane rescue and has ended up adopting a couple and fostering a couple. That's a whole lotta dog for one house. My dog, Mingus, doesn't much care to visit Grandmama's house anymore. ;)

The point of the post, though, is that she's gotten more involved in a professional capacity. Just one of those involvements is fund raising:

So, I've been busy, busy, busy with the whole Dane Rescue thing, and we are planning a dog walk in Cherry Creek State Park sometime in September. We're looking for corporate sponsors, t-shirt donors, pledge collectors, contributors to a silent auction, and of course walkers. If you have any contacts that might be able to help on any front, let me know.

So, let me know if any of you fine people can help in any way.