Knights of Moleskine, Spirit & Ale

We've Moved to a New Location

2010-09-18T13:32:00.002-05:00

Come one, Come all! The Knights are now....the Knights of Creation Spirit and Ale. We have just posted on our new site www.knightscsa.blogspot.com, where you can also find us on Facebook.

Please follow us on our new site.

Cheers!

Sir Hook of Warrick

Create or Die: The Art of Endeavoring to Engage Yourself

2010-05-28T06:27:00.006-05:00

Sir Bowie shared this image with me yesterday from another blog he had visited. Just a few nights before we had shared new ideas over a "few" pints on the direction of KMSA...with input from Sir Dayvd of Oxfordshire.

In essence we have come to a crosswords, one that I have visited many times on my journey in life, where we had to create or die! So, as we approach the coming official holiday that kicks off summer and the fourth anniversary of my father's death, you will begin to see less and less on this blog while we give birth to our "new and improved" version of the Knights of ??????.

It's our summer sabbatical. I invite all of you to do the same...to create or die....it truly is the art of "endeavoring to engage yourself." It's a banquet where sacred cows become the evening steak, nourishing the soul, giving it the strength to move boldly in new and better ways.

All things become new... not just once...but many times. Like a snake shedding its skin...we'll look familiar on the outside, but being reborn as Knights and Ladies with more mystery, fun, and inspiration for an even broader audience to share.

To the Knights and Ladies who have been loyal avid readers of our blog, thank you for your continued support, and know that we will be back...we might even post a few on this site from time to time. We will also inform you to our new location.

To the Knights and Ladies who we have invited on numerous occasions to write and contribute, I challenge you to embrace our main tenant, which will not change, you are "free to create without judgement!" Don't let your fears of what others think block you from becoming what you know you want to become!

Create or Die! The choice is yours! Choose wisely!

Until we meet again....

Sir Hook of Warrick, Founding Father

“Creativity is essentially a lonely art. An even lonelier struggle. To some a blessing. To others a curse. It is in reality the ability to reach inside yourself and drag forth from your very soul an idea.” ~Lou Dorfsman

Rock the Vote!

2010-05-27T06:06:00.002-05:00

My song "Traveling Down the Road" just got accepted in a MySpace music competition for a chance to win a MySpace Records contract and $10,000 in Fender gear.

OK, I know this is selfish promotion...but what are friends for?! So Knights and Ladies share the music and support Sir Hook! If I win, I'll throw one hell of a party!

Sir Hook the Shameless Promoter of Warrick (aka: dkWells)

"Hey Mister" it's Rockport II.1

2010-05-26T14:25:00.003-05:00

It appears the board is all abuzz (okay, so the buzz has worn off a little), over our 1776 - 1865 encampment this past weekend. There were many more participants than last time and some good people along with the strange and hungry. Nice, friendly people, who have some widely divergent views in some areas than my own: From the beginner, like me, to harder core, long time participants (including ex-career marines).

The weather was generally sunny, with one brief late afternoon shower after we had already setup. The temperatures were more like August weather with highs in the upper 80's and lower 90's. However at night, it got cool enough for me to need two wool blankets and Lady Gwendolyn to remain snug in her sleeping bag.

We were well fed as always by Sir Bowie "Squire Kuhn" of Greenbriar. If at any moment I was hungry, there was something to eat. As for drink, as was mentioned, there was some home brewed mixtures making their rounds, some of which didn't peel paint. They lead to a spirited discussion amongst the consumers Friday night and early Saturday morning that caused some of the people in the projects adjacent to our site to scream "Keep it down, some of us are trying to do Meth over here." Fortunately the next night, we met the city police chief who was interested in being a camp participant and not in finding 'shine.All in all a good time. Once I recover, I will be ready for another. This weekend will be day visits to The Spirit of Vincennes, a much larger encampment and places to spend money on things we really don't need, but have to have. I will end with a few images from last weekend's event.

YOS.
Sir James of Taylor

Rockport II

2010-05-26T12:09:00.005-05:00

Regarding yesterday's post by Lady Suzanne, the cabinet I worked one was actually one of Thomas Lincoln's (Abe's father). They moved to Indiana in 1816.

Anyway, I tore it apart and I rebuilt into something useful: A TV cabinet.

Okay, I really don't know that it was one of TL's (I sure hope not), but it does looks very similar to a hutch in the museum. SO.. it could have been -- that's my story and sticking to it.

Here Lady Suzanne and I are cooking breakfast for a couple of new "friends" from Rockport. (photo by Sir James of Taylor)

Here is a slide show of the event if anyone is interested:

http://ctghost.phanfare.com/4685721#imageID=100422316

Sir Bowie "Squire Kuhn" of Greenbriar (who consumed more than my share of homemade beverages of all sorts)

Rockport Pioneer Days

2010-05-25T10:05:00.007-05:00

Sir Bowie with the wardrobe panels he put together to make a television/display case.

He began with a few pieces, built and stained the rest to match and created a beautiful and useful piece of furniture for the Rockport Pioneer Village museum.
more woodworking projects in the museum

"Squire Kuhn" and his pioneer wife, the schoolmarm...with the camp kitchen, storage box to contain coolers and food, and camp chairs (all designed and built by Sir B)

Traveled through the time warp of Southern Indiana this past weekend...

listening to Reba and driving past roads named
Two Story Road and Shady Lane,
past the county roads identified only by number, or family names...
past signs for the Misty Morn Safe Company out in the country surrounded by corn that's ankle high already...
A sign to Midway ( midway of what?)
a sign advertising O'Risky real estate
a country church marquee "God's suggestions for exercise:
knee bends"
a little white farmhouse with red roses climbing midst the Christmas lights strands
the volunteer firemen passing with bluelights flashing on their pick up trucks

Some of the highlights:
enjoying the delicious meals prepared by Sir B in dutch oven cooking over the open fire,
time with Sir James of Taylor and Lady Gwendolyn, a visit by Sir Cock of the Walk and Lady Melinda...
watching the sheep shearing, candle-making, tomahawk throwing, musket-shooting, having Sunday morning church service on puncheon benches in a log church...
portraying a schoolmarm in the pioneer schoolhouse, even had a frog come spend the day inside with me finding the coolness of the dirt floor, teaching children about the old ways of learning,
sitting around the campfire at night with friends old and new...sipping homemade wines and ales...making popcorn...star-gazing and wishing on falling stars...
crawling inside the tent for a good nights sleep to get up and do it all again the next day

and coming home on Sunday evening, sunburned and sweaty, tired and looking forward to air conditioning and showers...and talking about what we'll do in October when it's Pioneer Weekend again!

Hafiz and the Sun in Drag

2010-05-25T07:12:00.006-05:00

Hafiz was a great Sufi poet born in Persia (modern day Iran) in the early 1300's and is one of the world’s most beloved poets. He is affectionately known as the “Tongue of the Invisible” and the great Poet-Seer Ralph Waldo Emerson himself remarked that “Hafiz is a poet for poets.”

The poems of Hafiz have a beautiful and musical quality, which also embody a great spontaneity. In a myriad of poetic ways, Hafiz expresses the spiritual experiences of a mystic, in love with his Beloved. Yet he achieves this in a playful and enchanting way, like other Sufi poets, Hafiz weaves themes of ambiguity into his poems. Often he will use secular images such as wine, drunkenness and human love, however these are just symbols for the divine experiences which Hafiz is alluding to.

I often go to Hafiz for inspiration and today would like to share his translated into modern English poem, The Sun In Drag:

You are the Sun in drag.

You are God hiding from yourself.

Remove all the "mine"-that is the veil.

Why ever worry about

Anything?

Listen to what your friend Hafiz

Knows for certain:

The appearance of this world

Is a Magi's brilliant trick, though its affairs are

Nothing into nothing.

You are a divine elephant with amnesia

Trying to live in an ant

Hole.

Sweetheart, O sweetheart

You are God in

Drag!

I pray that our modern day Persians remember how to live as Hafiz lived. I pray that we all learn how to live and express as Hafiz did.

Sir Hook the Sufi Poet of Warrick

Birth...Life...Death...

2010-05-23T08:32:00.005-05:00

Today marks the end of the Founder's KMSA birthday season...having celebrated Sir Bowie's surprise 50th last month at our newest Sacred Watering Hole...Legends, Sir Dayvd's this past Friday...where unofficially we believe he celebrated with his good Mates in Liverpool...and today with this errant Knight.

Birth...Life...Death...the triune cycle we are pushed into...screaming naked while our buttocks are being slapped by strangers...holds many adventures, disappointments, lessons learned and lessons given.

I've often wondered what it would be like to actually remember the traumatic journey through the birth canal into this strange new world? I have heard of those who claim to do so. I guess it's possible?

On this day, my birthday, I seem to focus more on my mother's life and death, than my own day of birth. Today I turn 53...and I have lived 11 years longer than my mother did. See seemed so old and wise when she was 42 and I just 17. Now I realize how much life she missed and how hard it most of been to give up the ghost at such a young age.

So today, the best birthday present you could give, is to love your mother...if you're lucky enough to still have one. And if not, remember and cherish the woman who carried you inside her for 9 months (hopefully) and launched you towards your destiny!

Sir Hook the Life Cyclist of Warrick

Do Your Work & Step Back

2010-05-20T05:55:00.000-05:00

From Zen Habits: The Tao of Productivity

Fill your bowl to the brim.....

and it will spill.

Keep sharpening your knife.....

and it will go blunt.

Chase after money and security.....

and your heart will never unclench.

Care about people's approval.....

and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.

The only path to serenity.

Sir Hook Who's Still Practicing of Warrick

Another Long Lost Relative?

2010-05-19T09:08:00.004-05:00

Yesterday's post on the old Kuhn Brewery in St. Louis led Sir Dayvd to send me a link to another possible long lost Kuhn relative: Dieter Kuhn, Brewmaster.

In a microbrewery in downtown Sylva, NC, German-born brewermaster Dieter Kuhn and his wife Sheryl Rudd are creating light and refreshing German beer made with wholesome grains, fresh hops & no preservatives. All beers are keg conditioned and non-filtered, making them smooth and lighter in body.

We specialize in altbeer — the style brewed in the warmer regions of Germany since the early days of brewing. ‘Alt,’ the German word for ‘old,’ is a synonym for the traditional, old way of brewing dark, top-fermented beer.

I love this image from their website:

What's a Heinzelmännchen?

Heinzelmännchen are gnome-like creatures found in the Black Forest of Germany. They are rarely seen, however always helpful to creatures and people alike.

According to German folklore, the Heinzelmännchen visit proprietors during the night to assist with chores, so when the proprietor awakes he has more time to give back to his community. They have been celebrated in poem and song for their cheerful and helpful attitude.
At the Brewery, they keep a watchful eye on the beer at night and take care of any unfinished jobs so Dieter and Sheryl can concentrate on brewing the best beer, keeping their customers happy, and helping their neighbors.

http://www.yourgnometownbrewery.com

Sir Bowie "already trying to get the Kuhn name discount" of Greenbrair

Sir Bowie "hoping there is a free beer for Kuhn sir name" of Greenbrair

Newburgh Wine Fest

2010-05-18T21:48:00.003-05:00

Putting down my glass to take this

Sir Bowie of Greenbriar, Sir William of Kegglers,
Sir Cock of the Walk, Lady Melinda of Burgh

A good time had by all!

warm up for Illinois Wine Trip in June~

Kuhn Brewery

2010-05-18T11:37:00.006-05:00

Last night I started watching a very well produced series on History Channel, America, The Story of Us!

I was disappointed that there was no mention of beer in the the first 150 years. Tobacco, yes. Beer, NO!

So, I did a quick search on the history of Beer in the U.S. Here are a few notes on the early years:

1587
Virginia colonists brew ale using corn.

1607

First shipment of beer arrives in the Virginia colony from England.

1609

American "Help Wanted" advertisements appear in London seeking brewers for the Virginia Colony.

1612

Adrian Block & Hans Christiansen establish the first known brewery in the New World on the southern tip of New Amsterdam (Manhattan).

1614

The first non-native American is born in New Amsterdam, (perhaps the first non-native American male born in the New World) in Block & Christiansen's brewhouse. Jean Vigne grows up to become the first brewer born in the New World.

1620

Pilgrims arrive in Plymouth in the Colony of Massachusetts aboard the Mayflower. Beer is extremely short on board ship and the seamen force the passengers ashore to ensure that they will have sufficient beer for their return trip to England.

A more complete list can be found at

http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/chronology.shtml

I know that some of my long lost Kuhn relatives were vintners; It's more than possible that a few were brewers.

Here is a news article I once ran across from St. Louis, 1883:

FAILURES IN BUSINESS; A ST. LOUIS BREWERY FIRM'S DIFFICULTIES.CALL FOR A MEETING OF THE CREDITORS OF THE ANTHONY & KUHN COMPANY--FAILURES ELSEWHERE.

September 20, 1883, Wednesday

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 19.--A rumor, which was soon substantiated, gained ground on 'Change this morning that the Anthony Kuhn Brewery Company, a concern recently incorporated by Henry Anthony and Francis Kuhn, of the firm of Anthony Kuhn, and Austin Voght, had succumbed to financial embarrassment.

I guess it survived that battle, but I've read that in 1922 Anthony & Kuhn Brewery of St. Louis was sold to a laundry (clothes washed in beer?).

Just some odd ramblings for today.

Sir Bowie "Kuhn" of Greenbriar

The Transformed Man!

2010-05-17T13:57:00.004-05:00

Lady Suzanne and I met up with a few Knights (Lady Melinda of Burg of New, Sir Cock of the Walk, and Sir William of Keglers) the other night at the Newburgh, Indiana Wine, Art and Jazz Festival on the banks of the Ohio River (hopefully, someone with a camera will post some photos -- hint, hint!).

Participating vintners – Best Vineyards, Blue Heron, Buck Creek Winery, Carousel Winery, Easley Winery, French Lick Winery, Indian Creek Winery, Oliver Winery, Scout Mountain Winery, Turtle Run Winery, Windy Knoll Winery, and Winzerwald Winery.

After sipping around the vintners, we went back to Sir Cock of the Walk's house for a nightcap. There, he gave me one of the most unique gifts I have ever received: A copy of

originally released in 1968 -- includes:

1. King Henry The Fifth / Elegy For The Brave

2. Theme From Cyrano / Mr. Tambourine Man

3. Hamlet / It Was A Very Good Year

4. Romeo And Juliet / How Insensitive (Insensatez)

5. Spleen / Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds6. The Transformed Man

I did a quick search to see if I could find anything at all on this (guessing that there would be little or no information available). Now, I appear to have been lost in space on my own trek, because this seems to have a very large, world-wide cult following.

So, I present, without further ado, one of my favorite cuts off the album: William Shatner Captain Kirk of Star Trek, The Transformed Man, singing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB3uVARNhmM&feature=related

Are you a Transformed Man or Woman?

Sir Bowie "Beam me up -- beam me to any planet where you can't hear this" of Greenbriar

Lost in France

2010-05-16T13:49:00.017-05:00

Its been a while coming...but I've grabbed an hour this Sunday to unload my poor camera of the weekly catalogue of historical trips it gets dragged on, and certainly one of the ongoing instalments bears grouping together and posting on what is a Knightly blog.

Its probably been mentioned before, but my involvement with the KMSA...arose when I bumped into Hook on one of my many scooches across the pond, and because he and Bowie were after an amourial for their idea of a Knights blog site...and that among the many projects I juggle daily is my in-depth study of 12th to 15th Century Illuminated manuscripts and replication of historical design...then, the heraldry crest for the KMSA was the result.

One of my pet projects of this era, is the little known life of Chretien de Troyes, a 12 Century french trouvere, a word troubadour, who in hindsight could be called the godfather of the eventual novel form, though this wasn't what he set out to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chr%C3%A9tien_de_Troyes

Much of what De Troyes put down, was eventually incorporated into Sir Thomas Malory's " Morte D'Arthur" and the Knights of the Holy Grail, 300 years later, including Lancelot, Galahad, and Gwain the Green Knight, and indeed, uncomfortable as it may be to Brits ...much of the whole Gothic medieval culture, architecture and pageantry that is associated with our image, actually came North from the lowlands of France during that time.

Even though i've been lucky enough to have been able to study some of his manuscripts for real, most recently in the Morgan Library on Madison and 36th in New York.........

..........I always look forward to continuing the regular field research trips to France that we embark on, as, much of the culture, attitudes and indeed buildings still survive in the Northern Cape. After another week there I can safely say its the land that time forgot, where you can at last bring alive much of what you study in the old documents.

I haven't got room for every photograph here...but setting off, on mountain bikes, from a first base in Ambrieres les Vallees in Mayenne,

.................we headed north passed Lassey les Chateaux, a castle we have visited many times, (and appears in the picture with me in, at the foot of every months KMSA blog) and we stopped and took a shot of it, bathing in the hot sun by its lake (see pic at top of this blog).

Outside that village is the ruins of another notable Castle (chateaux des Bois Thibault....Castle of Thibault Woods.)

...showing that castles that gradually got left outside a growing community withered over the long centuries, and got left silent to the crows and rabbits and became a source of stone.

Many tough miles north, is the medieval hillside town of Domfront, high on its limestone crags in Basse-Normand. This is deep rural France, on an ancient route between Paris and Brittany, where everyone speaks just French, even though they might know some English.

Despite its completly ruined castle, and a massive Byzantine Bascilica, which is undergoing restoration, Domfront is still a mass of ancient buildings that makes Oxford look like Manhatten. After such a hot ride in the sun, naturally a Knight's thoughts turn to beers...and the Bar au Normand, opposite the Basilica, gave us the first of many re-hydrating stops....

.............this one, being one of them there dark Lagers called Pelforth Brune, which had a heck of a kick, which we were to revisit later that evening.

After checking out the cool of the archive library, we made our way along the tiny streets, beneath the sound of bells of the new church, and found, in an original medieval house-shop, what was to me the find of the trip, that of an Artelier (craftsman) called Michael Vyse, who sat contentedly in his shop painting and carving from wood, in real time, the most fabulous illuminated paintings and relief carvings, that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Even his door "Open" sign was a handpainted masterpiece.

We talked to him for a couple of hours and he showed us his studios and all his works, and I picked out one mildly expensive piece he is going to finish for me over the next few months and I will pick up, on another visit.

After a good nights rest under oak beamed ceilings, we headed West, with new fresh legs, to take in one revamped medievel castle and two beautiful churches in this heavily Catholic country, at Passais and at Pontmain.

The castle was even more lost in France than we were before, set as it was a couple of miles off even the nearest beaten track.

The standard broad turrets of Manoir de la Saucerie had had a 16th Century makeover to them, that even Baron Munchausen would be proud of, and while in typical French style it was completely deserted, all around was evidence that workmen were making new the roof tiles, so that the interior can be brought back to life, i'd say sometime in the next four hundred years.

The interiors of the catholic churches of this region are something to behold. At Passais au Mantilly, a frieze including many worshipful Knights runs round the whole apse as if queuing up to see the Virgin Mary high above the altar

..........and if the colors of that building weren't overwhelming enough, our next halt at the magnificent catherdral built in the small village of Pontmain, to commemorate the remarkbable Vision Of Mary, by four children during the Prussian war of 1871.............(a long involved tale that is worth reading)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Pontmain

................ is like being immersed in an underwater kalidascope of fragmented blurred color, the like of which stays with you forever.

And so like the Knights in search of the Grail...the research and the travels continue, fortified by passion, beer, food and love, we sit on the stern of the cross channel ferry watching our wake, until our return.

Sir Dayvd de Oxford

Celtic Stout

2010-05-14T07:33:00.006-05:00

In keeping with Sir Bowie's theme of beers with Bar B Q...well in this case with FREE pizza for my upcoming birthday...at our Sacred Watering Hole #1...Old Chicago...I give you Celtic Stout!

When the words "Celtic Stout" float out of ones mouth, one would automatically associated it with "Guinness", or perhaps for the truly informed and adventurous, "Murphey's Stout". Neigh I say! We're talking one that is so below the radar screen (well at least in the States) that it defies description. In fact, this is one brew where Scarlet would make you "Frankly give a damn!"

O'Hara's Celtic Stout, is brewed by an independent brewery in Ireland, Carlow Brewing Company. Dark as Shaft, Heady as Guinness, Smooth as your first teenage date on the vinyl back seat of a 57 Chevy...O'Hara's Celtic Stout is one excellent beer experience!

Old Chicago some how got their hands on this hard to find gem, with 8 kegs to last until the final drop passes my lips! So, my Knights and Lady's of the Tri-State, make sure to drop in Old Chicago and have them pull you a pint...you'll be glad you did!

Enjoying my birthday pizza with me, was my son...and newest member of the World Beer Tour, Sir Ryan of Warrick. He only has 357 more beers to catch up with me, a proud member of the Wall of Foam three times running!

Even though he is Celtic by his mother's blood, he still went with a Samuel Adams Summer Ale. At least it wasn't a Bud Lite! That's my boy!

Sir Hook the Celtic (By Marriage) Stout of Warrick

Hog Heaven II

2010-05-13T08:12:00.009-05:00

No, not an Elvin Bishop album!

The Owensboro, Kentucky International Bar-B-Q Fest

(Above image from festival and used for shock value only)

Seems that we're always in search of the BEST beer to drink...

but what about the worst?

I recently read an article that stated, "According to a survey of over 2,000 people in 80 countries, the United States is number one....in the production of horrible beer."

China is right at our heels in second place.

Below is a list of worst beers in the world as rated by the thousands of beer enthusiasts at RateBeer.com. Dare to try them?

Now, before you read the list, I have to tell you this. This past weekend Lady Suzanne and I went to Owensboro, Kentucky to visit her mom and attend the International Bar-B-Q Festival.

Afterwards, Sir Lance, his son Sir Brian-still-yet-to-pick-his-official-name, and I went to a local package store to pick up a few beers for the inaugural "Let's get together and sample beers in Betty's garage while we wait for the bar-b-q to be served."

On the top shelf of the first beer cooler were the first four of these five beers:

1 Olde English 800 3.2 Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors) 0.97 50 Malt Liquor

2 Natural Ice Anheuser-Busch InBev 1.02 703 Malt Liquor

3 Natural Light Anheuser-Busch InBev 1.03 999 Pale Lager

4 Milwaukees Best Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors) 1.05 741 Pale Lager

5 Michelob Ultra Anheuser-Busch InBev 1.05 984 Pale Lager

I read this list and was SHOCKED!

Why? I'm proud (or ashamed) to say, that I've had all of 5 of them at one time or another.

For a complete list you may visit our friends at: http://www.ratebeer.com/ratings/theworstbeers.asp

Sir Lance, Sir Brian, and I opted to try a few other beers including a couple that Sir Lance had brought up from Sweetwater Brewing Company in Georgia.

Sweetwater's slogan (a fishing theme): Don't Float the Mainstream!

http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/

We did pick up one beer (on Brian's suggestion of, "This is so bad you've got to try it!"): Steel Reserve. It was awful.

I'm skipping around here, but I would have to say that the worst beer (other than ones with a surprise of an extinguished cigarette butt in it) would have to be:

Hop n Gator (which I "enjoyed" when I was 13 or 14).
Brewed by Iron City Brewing Style: Fruit Beer Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
It was some sort of "Citrus malt beverage" that made me gag!

This year's winner of our Inaugural "Bar-B-Q Festival Taste 'em If You Got 'em in Betty's Garage" tasting: Rogue's Dead Guy Ale, a German-style Maibock

Sir Bowie "already thinking a next year" of Greenbriar

The Eagle has landed

2010-05-12T10:55:00.003-05:00

This afternoon...I had to go do a job estimate, a few miles north of where I live, in the village of Cropredy ....and while I was there I thought...after all these years I had never seen the famous Eagle Brass Lectern in the church.....

Cropredy Bridge on the River Cherwell was the site of a major battle in 1644 during the English civil war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cropredy_Bridge

King Charles 1st engaged the Parliamentarian army led by Sir William Waller. The battle was a stalemate; the Parliamentarian side suffered heavy casualties but ultimately prevented the King's forces from crossing the bridge.

Prior to the battle, some of the church valuables were hidden in the River Cherwell; these included the brass eagle lectern, which was not recovered for fifty years, during which time it was damaged.

So I was keen to see this beauty from the deep after all these years too... and it is indeed beautiful, stood serenely in the silent church 366 years on.

...............and I looked at the Bible open on it.... and it was set at the Book of Ecclesiastes........ and while I'm not big on doctrine... the Big Book at its best is sometimes good at universal philosophy.......

and so as our present Parliamentary forces battles stalemate to take the crown ( breaking news...New PM.....its David Cameron ) I give you our jolly reading for Today;

Ecclesiastes 1 : verses 1 ~ 11

1 The words of the Teacher,a son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

Sir D ( all you need is Love ) of Oxfordshire.

Brother Thelonious: The Theory of Jazz

2010-05-11T07:21:00.005-05:00

I was joking with my physical trainer on Saturday when she was getting on me for making my exercises up. I told her that I was just practicing Jazzercise!

If I could describe my life in musical terms it would be "JAZZ". Improve is the key to jazz, a true American music form, and improve is the key to living a full and meaningful life.

The theory of Jazz applies beautifully to the making of beer. Last night I enjoyed the embodiment of a jazz beer, when I poured the 9.4% "Brother Thelonious" Belgian style abbey ale, brewed by the North Coast Brewing Company in northern California. Brother Thelonious is part of their American Artisan Series.

http://www.northcoastbrewing.com

The brew is dark, strong and innovative, just like its namesake, jazz great and Improve King, Thelonious Monk.

Thelonious Monk, also known as the founding father of "beebop", was a giant in the American jazz music movement, and his improve skills inspired legions of musicians to be truly innovative. To learn more about Thelonious Monk, visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk

So, today sharpen up your Improve Life Skills and Carpe Diem Vita Brevis, as the slogan on the Brother Thelonious bottle says!

Sir Hook the Improve Monk of Warrick

Hog Heaven Part 1

2010-05-10T11:05:00.006-05:00

Every second weekend in May, Lady Suzanne's and Sir Lance's hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky "springs to life" with the wonderful smells and sounds of the International Bar-B-Q Festival.

Hickory-fired smoke blends with the aromas of roasting chicken, mutton, and pork.

About 10 major teams (mostly churches) compete for "the best." Each team cooks around 1,200 lbs. of mutton, 1,000 lbs. of pork, 500 lbs. of chicken, and 300 gallons of burgoo -- a sort of spicy Bar-B-Q stew with vegetables.

Combine all that with a festival atmosphere and you've got yourself one must-do Knights event.

It just so happened that this year Lady Lucy, Sir Lance and his son(yet-to-be-officially named Sir Brian of ?), Lance's wife Julie, and daughter Jordon came in to town to celebrate Lady Suz's mother's 80th birthday.

We were off to the Ohio River riverfront.

Sir Lance, Lady Suzanne, Lady Lucy, and our newest Knight, Sir ? or ? with a mutton sandwich.

One of my favorite names (A Catholic Church) Precious Blood Bar-B-Q.

In addition to all the Bar-B-Q smoking, we also enjoyed walking the festival setting and trinket booths which, to my surprise, included a man making cowboy hats out of cardboard beer packaging:(at $30, these were a little outside my frugal budget).

Here is a tasting of the sights and sounds at this years Owensboro, Kentucky International Bar-B-Q Festival:

This was one of the smaller "backyard" teams. Can you believe it, their Bar-B-Q didn't win any ribbons!

Any U.S. festival wouldn't be complete without an Elvis impersonator. In the background is the famous blue bridge that connects Indiana and Owensboro, Ky.

Owensboro is also home of the Bluegrass Music Museum.

The street festival came complete with a booth to "See the Giant Rat Alive -- over 100 lbs" and Giant Snakes. Note the Confederate Flag -- yes, Owensboro is in the South.

More to follow, including a beer tasting event held in Betty's garage.

Sir Bowie "in Hog Heaven and have the high cholesterol numbers to prove it" of Greenbriar

Foaming at the Mouth

2010-05-08T12:39:00.005-05:00

Just in case the Colonials across the pond are watching Fox News and thinking that the UK, during and after its General Election, is a seething mass of discontent, disruption, and people taking to the streets all covered in volcanic ash, as its Political elite caught in the headlights of a Hung Parliament are horse trading like Irish tinkers for the privilege of taking the Island down the economic drain, then i hope the above picture that appeared in the press will calm their fears.

This is the Fox and Hounds on Christmas Common in my county of Oxfordshire,

http://www.foxandhoundschristmascommon.co.uk/thepub.html, and helpfully it doubled up as a Polling Station on Election Day. A typical rural haven of tranquility, meaning you can calmly sup a few foaming pints of dark ale, before placing your *X* on the ballot, and wandering back to the bar.

Unlike the Colonies; with it's 18 months of interminable political grandstanding, Primaries and pointless rallies, the UK has about six weeks of seeing these strange people out in the light of day, lying and keeping the truth from us, while we take no notice, we then vote and leave them to fight like cats in a sack for the best seats in the house, as we go back to making our own lives happy in our own way.

Sir D (who's fate is in his own hands.) of Oxfordshire

evening times

2010-05-07T14:42:00.005-05:00

Sir Bowie and Sir James and our newest home away from home

delicious dinner in the dutch oven
first night sitting out,
last night sleeping out under the stars
waking to the birds
and a breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked over the fire

a mini-vacation right in our own backyard

Beer Trash Talk!

2010-05-06T12:23:00.011-05:00

I drive past our local landfill weekly -- sometimes Lady Suzanne and I take sunset rides in my topless M38A1 (Jeep) past the dump. Ahhh, the fresh air.

Though I have been accused of being a dumpster diver (picking through dumpsters to pick out good, reusable stuff, I've actually never gone into our landfill and searched for buried treasure.

After reading the following story, I might:

According to the USA and AP, Two Columbia sanitation workers apparently couldn't stand by and let beer go down the drain. They recently took dozens of cases of expired brew from the city landfill.

Police and city supervisors are trying to determine whether the salvage was a crime — theft of city property — or just a policy violation.

A Columbia distributor, Scheppers Distributing Co., sent 1,500 cases of expired beer to the landfill on April 1 in two shipments. The first shipment was destroyed immediately, but the second, containing about 700 cases of Budweiser and Michelob Ultra, was not.

Margrace Buckler, the city's human resource director, said two Solid Waste Division workers, who haven't been identified, brought a city pickup to the landfill and hauled off about 50 cases of the beer.

I guess word spread of the acquisition and a week later, city officials reviewed video from the landfill and saw the workers drive away with their haul.

"It's not unusual for people to want to take some beer, " Scheppers President Joe Priesmeyer said. "Every once in a while, we'll have some beer get stolen by overzealous people off of our trucks," he said. "Beer is a popular product."

Sir Bowie "Get your hip waders on Sirs and Ladies, let's go searching for golden treasure!" of Greenbriar

2010-05-04T08:54:00.003-05:00

Being involved closely with Art, music and bands, as a fan and through work, it never fails to amaze me, how creativity, or indeed sport, can stimulate you to visit countries and districts and towns that under any other circumstances, you'd never think of setting foot in, discovering along the way, different ways of life, and friends, and cultures. A single reason is all we need, to take the first step, towards that end point.

Being a huge Morrissey fan, I was moved, on reading the news report below, and as ever the great man summed it up better than I ever could.

-----------oo0oo------------
Morrissey has released a statement over the sudden and unexpected death of longtime fan Melinda Hsu, who passed away on April 12. Hsu, a California native, was a frequent presence at Morrissey concerts and a well-known personality on Morrissey fan sites.

Morrissey, who singled Hsu out at many concerts, often handing her the microphone, published a touching tribute to Hsu via the Morrissey zine True to You.

"Mel was a smiling face who lent strength to every single concert, even when events were going somewhat pear-shaped," the former Smiths lead singer wrote. "I felt as if I knew Mel because she was always there -- regardless of wherever 'there' happened to be; no snowbound landscape too far, no off-the-beaten track too untrekkable.

"Morrissey echoed what many other fellow fans emphasized in their memorials of Hsu. A moderator on the site Morrissey Solo expressed his amazement that she was able to make it to so many far-flung shows: "I remember Melinda for her dedication ... so many times I would hear her report on a Morrissey show and think, 'How in the world did she make it there?' There was never a Morrissey show too far.

"But Morrissey turned modest in recognizing Hsu's and other fan's dedication to his shows. "Those who travel from concert to concert as Mel did possibly don't realize the contribution they make," he said. "They are as much a part of the night as I am, but I sometimes feel embarrassed because I think they are asking for more than there is, and, mostily, I can't give it."

"The goat-like vocals and the tipsy monologues are all that I am," he added.

Calling death an "unbreakable appointment," Morrissey was ever the brooding poet in his tribute to Hsu. "Life's only promise is its final deadline. When Mel, and others who are dear to us, depart, we should at least realize as we shuffle along living our small and persecuted lives, how absolutely ridiculous it is to be afraid of anything or anyone on this unhappy planet."

Sir D ( who last night went to one of the best 50th Party's he's ever been too........Happy Birthday sung on Helium,( i'm still feeling the effects )... Display fireworks, floating sky lanterns, brilliant food, tons 'o' booze, Whiskey by the vatload, Oysters, tons of birthday greetings for the young fella.. and "MOONFIRE" by Taschen Publishing, the present to end all presents, for moonlanding mad Tim. ) of O

Don't Die With It In You!

2010-05-02T14:03:00.004-05:00

In my case...it's the music! Don't die with the music in you...hit me square in the face like a blow from Sugar Ray himself! It's been a dream of mine, but it took almost dying twice to get my ass off the couch and do something about it!

This is the current campaign for an organization out of Nashville called American Songwriter. They publish a bi-monthly publication and a web site, as well as offer connections and support in the industry through another website called American Songspace.

I recently joined and have uploaded a writers profile and 5 pre-master demos of my songs that will be released soon on my album...titled "Open Heart-Open Mind"

http://www.americansongspace.com/dkwells

My profile picture, which will also be featured on the CD was taken in 2005, three years after my open heart surgery and two years before my broken back in Louisiana.

I'm still waiting for my songs to arrive back from mastering at Universal Sound Studios in New York, and then off to the presses. After all this time, sweat and tears...I trust the universe allows me to live to see this dream become reality within the next month.

So, whatever it is that surges through your soul, that cranks the creative motor of your mind...get off you ass and do it before you die! ROCK ON!

Sir Hook Who's Still Too Young to Die but Not Too Old To Rock of Warrick

and they're off!

2010-05-01T10:17:00.004-05:00

pretty hat: check
Kentucky Colonel mint: check
bourbon: check
stop to get bet tickets: check
pick up barbecue: check

simple syrup for Mint Juleps and baked cheesy grits:
Mom in charge

May Day?

heck, in our world it's Derby Day!!!!

We've chosen our horses and are ready to eat, drink and be merry Kentucky style!

Thinking

2010-04-30T08:07:00.005-05:00

Today we meditate on the first Tenant of being a Knight of Moleskine, Spirit and Ale....THINKING!

"I am, therefore, I am, I think?"

-Moody Blues

“When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,other things become bad.”

~Lao Tzu

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

-Hamlet, via Shakespeare (maybe?! lol)

What do you think?

Sir Hook the Thunker of Warrick

Sir Ryan of Warrick Turns 21!

2010-04-28T15:45:00.005-05:00

Sir Ryan with friend, Private Jason Brunck, who is currently in Iraq

In the spirit of the past theme of Springtime Birthday's...today my son, Sir Ryan of Warrick, turns 21. Finally he can legally drink, after earning the right to drive, vote and serve his country!

Captain Morgan on Deck

Our card to him today stated, "Here's to all the things you couldn't do...or shouldn't have done already!" Sir Ryan loves to go cruising with the family, and we took him on a cruise before his enlistment, where in the Islands he could drink legally.

Sir Ryan, Sir Hook and Lady Maegan in Jamaica

And in the land that connected their parents, Jamaica, we enjoyed Red Stripes together.

Sir Ryan, a real Knight...and a real Private Ryan...Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment.

Post Army, Sir Ryan has landed an excellent career with Action Pest Control were he now terminates termites instead of Taliban fighters!

So join this proud papa, as we welcome our fellow Knight of KMSA for a legal round of Fish Bowls this evening at Knob Hill Tavern.

Cheers!

Sir Hook the Warrior's Father of Warrick

Springtime birthdays abound

2010-04-27T11:12:00.002-05:00

Wishing a Happy Birthday to a special knight:

Sir Lance of Brentwood is "50something" today

Celebrations should commence!

Lady Suzzzzz,

who has another brother with an April birthday...
one who doesn't use this new-fangled computer much...a potential knight?

Sir Bowie of Greenbriar Day!

2010-04-25T20:00:00.007-05:00

Today is Sir Bowie of Greenbriar Day! The birthday of one of our illustrious and pioneering Founding Father's. Sir Bowie thought he had escaped this particular birthday by banishing himself to the woods, as is his habit from time to time.

However, we could not let the milestone of 50 years go by without some type of celebration! So, Sir William of Keglers and myself, along with Lady Suzanne planned to nab him unawares after their bowling league tonight in the legendary attached bar...Legends!

Above is one of Sir Bowie's pictures when he and this errant knight were co-stars of a local "B" Movie television show called "Midnight Movie King". This is where Doctor D. Bowie Kuhn would do his Rod Serling impression and my character, Dr. Meathook, would come to life.

As Dr. Meathook (now you know only part of the Hook story)...I had the distinct unfortunate opportunity to eat green slime and various other items of horrific flare created in our laboratory of fun! Sir Bowie loves all things pickled...in particular pickled eggs. So, Dr. Meathook fired up his kitchen and concocted a new recipe in honor of the KMSA Founding Father.

Above is the label to be placed on Sir Bowie's present. I feel sorry for the Heretics tonight!

To cap off this fine evening, we are honoring fellow Knight and Legends owner, Sir William of Keglers , with Evansville's second Sacred Watering Hole charter!

Should be a fun filled evening. Only those who will be attending at exactly the time this is posted will know for sure!

Happy 5oth...David Kuhn, D. Bowie Kuhn, Kuhnie, Kuhn Dog, Bowie and Sir Bowie of Greenbriar!

Sir Hook the Hot Hen Pub Pickle Eggs Cook of Warrick

Part 2 - Mystic Journey to the Land of Moors...and Knights of the Templar!

2010-04-24T19:57:00.013-05:00

As mentioned in my earlier blog this week....Lady Traci and I had the great fortune during our visit to Spain to be taken by her daughter Lady Brittany and her gallant Spanish knight Sir Roberto of Murcia to the beautiful and medieval city of Granada. Granada is set in the southern highlands of Spain, nestled against the foot of the Sierra Mountains.

Sitting high about the city is a fabulous fortress called The Alhambra (in the background behind Lady Traci and myself ). The Alhambra is the lasting symbol of the Nasrid kingdom which ruled over Granada and the last symbol of of Muslim power in the Iberian Peninsula we now call Spain today. The Alhambra was built and rebuilt as a series of castles and fortresses by the Moors from the 700-800 AD period until 1232 AD when Muhammad ibn Yusf ibn Nasr took power as the Sultan and made the Alhambra into his private palace and source of power. The Moors ruled Granada (23 sultans in all) for over 254 years until the Christian armies drove them out.

The Christians retook the Alhambra (without a fight I might add!) in 1492 and continued to add structures on the mountain top. Today...the site hosts over 6 million visitors a year....and Lady Brittany informed us you have to make reservations for your visit weeks in advance if you hope to gain access to the site on the day you desire!!

We loved walking through all the courtyards.....castles.....and gorgeous artwork that adorned the walls all around the Alhambra. There are acres of beautiful, well-kept gardens and fountains and pools throughout the site. It also helped that the day we visited was a beautiful sunny 22 deg C!

At days end.....Sir Roberto wanted to take us for a real treat: to a tavern that had a Knights of the Templar theme (as the Knights flourished in this area of Spain during the 12th and 13th centuries. We soon found ourselves in the El Antiquidor....and also available to a vast array of brews from around the world. Sir Richard thought...."Surely this must be a view of heaven!"

Lady Traci also took control of the camera....and made her way around the tavern to get THIS view of the Knights of the Round Table of Granada.....Legend has it that the Knights would draw lots....for who had to go out and bring in the last keg of the night.....and who also picked up the check....

Sir Roberto and I had a duel of tapas plates that night at El Antiquidor...and I was finally able to get Sir Roberto to yield to that 6th plate of fancy toasted tuna sandwiches. Sir Richard lost track of how many Alhambra Negrils (remember...Alhambra beer is brewed in Granada!) and Guinness he had that night. Good thing we had our lovely Ladys with us to guide us back to the Hotel Carmen that evening.

Sir Richard, Lady Traci, Sir Roberto and Lady Brittany had a wonderful two and half days visiting Granada during our visit to Spain. This Knight would HIGHLY advise you plan a visit to Granada if you are planning a future visit to southern Spain....and the ancient land once roamed by Moorish warriors and gallant Knights of the Templar.

Its quite interesting to note....that history of this area shows.....that the Moors pre-1200AD were fairly tolerant of other religions and nationalities in this region. It was the Christians in the late 1400s who decided it was time to put all of Spain under Christian rule....and they took control of southern Spain and drove the Moors back across the straits of Gibraltor. There are still many remnants of the Moors influence in southern Spain...and none more so than in Granada.

Lady Traci and I do hope to make another visit to Spain in the future.....and we also hope to visit some other cities (ie; Seville, Cordoba) we did not get to this trip. Adios!!!

Sir Richard Lionheart.....who left his heart in Granada!

Sir Hook Does the Hanky Panky!

2010-04-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

As a follow up to Sir D's excellent post on the Oxford Folk Fest and Morris Dancing...and in celebration of St. George's Day...I give you...

KMSA Date: July 10, 2009...Sir Hook does the Hanky Panky with the Scholars & Gentlemen Morris Dancers outside the Bear Pub in Oxford!

Earlier in the day we ran across a few of these Merry Morris Men who mentioned that they would be dancing later that evening. They are called Scholars & Gentlemen because half of them are professors at Oxford Universities and the other half are...well..gentlemen, for a lack of a better word! lol

After being introduced to Morris Dancing a year early in one of Sir D's excellent and informative blogs...we had to check it out.

While on our way to Magdelen Arms to catch the rock band, Red Ox, we came across the Morris Men outside the Bear Pub. First, we Endeavored to Engage with beers and conversation...which led to filming them...which led to Sir Hook waving his Hanky with great enthusiasm as part of the Morris Men through the streets of Oxford. Sadly, there is no footage of the Hooky Hanky Panky, but this little shuffle with a rather handsome female still tells the tale!

As we bid our farewells, the Scholars & Gentlemen told me that I was a "natural" Morris Man and should explore joining a group in the States. I prefer to save the experience for a return trip to Oxford some day.

Remember, you can Dance if you want too! It's all part of Thinking...Drinking...and Being Merry!

Sir Hook the Scholar & Gentleman Hanky Panky Morris Man of Warrick

Lucky 7-Eleven

2010-04-22T14:57:00.001-05:00

ABC's Russell Goldman reports today, "For those times a Slurpee and Slim Jim just won't take the edge off, 7-Eleven customers will soon be able to partake of more adult offerings when the convenience store chain begins selling Game Day, a budget private-label beer."

Yes, it seems that 7-Eleven has launched its Own, Private-Label Beer: Game Day!

Sold in Lite and (the higher-alcohol-content) Ice varieties, Game Day will be sold in both 12 and 24 oz. cans and retail for $6.99 to $8.99 for a 12-pack, and $1.49 and $1.89 for a single.

Cans of Game Day Ice and Game Day Light, two new beers offered by 7-Eleven, are shown in a cooler Monday, April 19, 2010, at a 7-Eleven store in Kent, Wash. 7-Eleven, home of countless beer runs, is getting into the business itself with Game Day, a store-brand lager. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo)

"American beer drinkers are seeking great-tasting beer at an affordable price," said Dan Skinner, 7-Eleven's category manager for alcohol beverages in a statement. "Even more so in this tough economy, they're looking for value and ways to make their dollar go further. Game Day satisfied two of a beer drinker's interests by offering a premium lager beer at a below-premium price."

Hmmmm? Wonder what the definition os "premium lager" is?

Sir Bowie of Greenbriar

Well and Truly Plucked

2010-04-21T06:19:00.005-05:00

"If I was a guitar i'd be well and truly plucked" sang the hearty Folk singer.. at 2am in the morning, in an over- full Irish pub on Magdalen Bridge in Oxford. He was surrounded, nay, crushed in the noisy bar by drinkers and fiddlers and accordian players, flute players and a girl even pushed into the throng with a full stand up double bass, joining in with everyone else with the raucous jam, her notes putting ripples on our dark beers.

It was Saturday and still another day to go with the annual Oxford Folk Festival. The poster above says all i managed to survive, but the reason i thought i'd bring this to the KMSA is because the sunny day in the city had born witness to an influx of Morris dancers from all over the country, to a place which is actually the Mecca of Morris dancing.

I've written blogs about Morris Dancing before on this site... But this update comes a few months after the Founding Fathers and their Femmes, visited in July and they too got the chance to actually see and join in with a troupe of the Oxford City Morris dancers.

Indeed, my memory seems to tell me that Lady Aileen took some Video Footage of Hooky strutting his stuff and waving his hanky with them..and I've been waitng , hoping that it might actually show up on the blog. (?)

For those new to us, here is a resume of what Morris dancing is about from the City Dancers website.

The Morris - An Explanation

Oxford City Morris Men perform traditional “Cotswold” Morris Dances collected from villages in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire.

Morris dancing is a custom with ancient origins. Many people believing that it is descended from pagan spring and summer fertility rituals or “good luck” ceremonies. Some of the dances we do today still reflect the origins of these ancient ceremonies, with their apparent emphasis on rebirth at May time, the seeking of good health for the crops and animals, and the hoped for guarantee of continuing fertility for all. What is certain is that morris dancers have been performing in the City of Oxford since the 15th century.

The dances survived in the Cotswold region long after they had ceased to be popular elsewhere. Even here the custom almost died out at the end of the 19th century, but for the efforts of folk dance enthusiasts who began to collect the dances. Oxford played an important part in this revival, as the first serious collecting of these dances was carried out by Cecil Sharp in Headington Quarry, in Oxford ) after he had seen morris men perform on Boxing Day 1899.

Oxford Morris Men were founded in 1938 and were formed to compensate for the temporary demise of other Oxford sides at that time. The Oxford costume - red and blue ribbons, white clothing and traditional bell pads is based on that worn by the Headington Quarry Morris dancers at the time. Since 1959 we have had the privilege of wearing the City of Oxford crest on our baldrics - thus becoming.

Each team has its history and they stick rigidly to the clothing they choose for themselves. the tradition clothing is the white romper suit style with bells on red leather strapping is the common style but many teams from in the north dress in black and black up their faces in what was the original Moorish ( hence Morris ) theme.

So there you have it. The pictures I have shown you here, I took in the town during the day, when i counted upwards of twenty different bands of dancers all performing to big crowds on plazas and squares under the shadows of the ancient buildings they were first performed under...and long may they continue through the years.

Sir O of D...

Mystic Journey to Land of El Cid

2010-04-18T18:44:00.011-05:00

Lady Traci of Pong and I had discussed for sometime the notion to make a journey across the Great Pond to visit the Ancient Land of Andalusia and the southern coast of Spain. Lady Traci's eldest daughter....Lady Brittany of New Harmony currently teaches English to young Spanish elementary school children in the city of Murcia. Murcia is about 3 hours+ southeast of Madrid.

Last week....we returned from Spain with some awesome memories of some great people and great surroundings. We definitely hope to return.....

This first account is literally an international tennis exchange....between this worthy and older Knight....Sir Richard....and some strapping young studly Spaniards named Pedro Luis Sandoval and Paco Francisco. Lady Brittany's wonderful boyfriend Roberto had made arrangements for this Knight to have a tennis exchange on the slow, legendary red clay of Europe at a nice tennis club in Molina, ESP outside of Murcia. Sir Richard is a fairly decent player in his own right...and the sometimes scourge of Wesselman Park known for frustrating younger and stronger players with his crafty game...and wingspan! He wears his Columbia fishing hat to keep his dermotologist happy....and to also make his competition NOT take him seriously.

Watching Pedro and Paco warm-up before Sir Richard joined them on the red caly court....he got a lump in his throat watching these two strapping pros pound their beautifully trained ground strokes back and forth across the dusty clay court. Now we know why Spain wins the Davis Cup world team competition every year these days!......

Both Pedro (in the red hat) and Paco are tennis pros who were products of the Spanish National Junior Tennis program and played satellite tournaments all over Europe....Paco in particular was a VERY strong player and teaching pro that Sir Richard was only able to muster a few points from in a few tiebreakers. I was then informed Paco had trained with years prior and played fairly even with David Ferrer - current top 30 in world Spanish player on ATP tour...so Sir Richard did not feel so unworthy as when he lost that last tiebreak 7-0. I was able to save some face and surprise the very strong Pedro in a thrilling 10 point supertiebreaker 10-6. Pedro had overpowering topspin ground strokes....but Sir Richard's Vegamatic-like slice backhand was able to frustrate the younger and stronger Pedro. Sir Richard does NOT want a re-match as he believes payback would be.....hell!

Afterwards....Pedro immediately insisted we partake on the club grounds...the art of tapas and drinking local favorite beer Alhambra. This Knight was overwhelmed with the hospitality...and in fact....we were all communicating incredibly well after that 5th round of Alhambra ales and 6th plate of tapas....beer IS the international language understood by all Knights. This Knight was also introduced to a favorite local delicacy of the Murcia region....Pu Puo....otherwise known as "grilled octopus". Lady Traci of Pong did all she could not to hurl....but Sir Richard made the proclamation : "Tastes like swordfish!". Pu Puo went on to become a favorite tapas of Sir Richard the rest of our 10 days in Spain....much to the chagrin of Lady Traci!

Pedro and Paco would like to become Spanish Knights of the Moleskine...in fact.....this Knight was informed that the famous movie from the 1960s El Cid was filmed in southern Spain....and the Knights of the Templar were residents of the historic city of Granada. This Knight will also give an account of our visit to this beautiful city and the world famous Alhambra (Moorish castle on mountain top overlooking Granada).

Sir Richard remembered the far-fetched accounts of his late father Sir Richard Sr....that we were in fact descendants of King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England who fought in the Holy Wars against the Moors in this region....but this Knight also remembered that the Courtney family actually came from County Cork in the southern-most point of Ireland. He smiled and appreciated his late father's gift for embellishment.

You must get to Spain someday.....its a beautiful mix of the modern....with well preserved ancient cities and architecture. Sir Richard also proclaimed that "the Spanish have the best toilets in the world!!" There is also a bakery on every corner of Spain....wow do they love their sweets and fresh baked breads!

I also want you to see how a traditional Spanish family....the Sandovals.....celebrate a normal Sunday lunch.....wow. Lady Traci and I were overwhelmed with their hospitality.

Greetings.......

Sir Richard Lionheart....of Evansville

KMSA Turns 3!

2010-04-18T13:14:00.007-05:00

Today is a proud day for this Founding Father...for today is the third Anniversary of our Merry Band of Ladies and Knights...and "Founders Day" on the official Feast Calendar of the Knights of Moleskine, Spirit and Ale!

Little did Sir Bowie and I realize how the seeds sown on this day in the bar at Old Chicago in Evansville would have grown into the international phenom we have today.

And, just a few months later, I would meet Sir Dayvd of Oxfordshire at McGrath's in Harrisburg, PA...who would later earn the title of Honorary Founding Father, and design our Coat of Arms and add so much to what we had hoped to accomplish on this day three years ago!

By the end of this year we will have published our 1,000th Post!

Sir Hook, Sir Dayvd & Sir Bowie at Hook Norton Brewery in Oxfordshire

Last July, we traveled across the pond for our first International Council. Today, we are on the cusp of adding a Spanish Chapter, when Sir Richard the Lionheart of Beaver Creek crossed the pond just few months ago and got the locals in Madrid and the surrounding countryside enthused about our Merry Band! Sir Richard will be uploading posts on that incredible adventure, which we can't wait to read and to welcome our Spanish brother in arms!

So, today on our third anniversary...the three Founding Fathers...wish you well as you explore our three tenants of the KMSA....THINK...DRINK...BE MERRY!

Cheers!

Sir Hook of Warrick

Billy Joe Wants His Bullet Back

2010-04-16T06:41:00.002-05:00

I always have a hard time conveying what Country Music I do like and what CM I don’t like (music wise anyway) in general enough terms… so maybe this will clear it up and why:

It’s the old-school uber redneck man’s man wild west mentality type of country music I enjoy. The simple. The honest.

I don’t know what the heck happened to that movement. If you look back to the days of the “family singing groups” dropping gospel garbage on A.M. radio consoling the uneducated masses across the plains with peaceful sounds of a better tomorrow coming once your carcass is full of worms, the reckless fun-loving lyrics and antics of bands like the Outlaws was a welcomed breath of honesty in a nation steel guitar’ed to sleep with package mediocrity.

The only saving grace is that those earlier ninestone cowboys faded away into CMT informercials and desolate county fairs.

Unfortunately the “new country” isn’t much different. Neither, of course, is anything music/art/entertainment-wise. Safe begets wider marketability and profit. And it’s a lot easier to sell cookie-cutter subpar horseshit than it is to cultivate a following for a creative genius.

None of that is noteworthy but it is what makes someone like Billy Joe Shaver so amazing. At 70 some odd years old he’s been around the barroom… but unlike your grandfather this man isn’t a withered old Gabby Hayes in need of a new hip.

He’s been covered by… everyone. Played on stage with… everyone. And yet a gigantic chunk of the general population has no idea who his is or that he wrote that song they sing in the shower.

And best of all (to me anyway) is that this old country nubbin is still full blown nuts… more punk than any skin head, more “gangsta” than any 18 year old with grill. You think you represent? You think you don’t let nobody be disrespectin’ you? then take a look at this:

On March 31, 2007 Mr. Shaver shot a guy, Billy Coker, in the face with a .22 caliber pistol… (to quote Mr. Coker’s testimony he was shot in the “Moustache Area”… which is a fantastic description.I think it should be used instead of whatever the hell the correct biological fancy latin words for that part of the face are).

In the face, son!

It was ruled self defense this week at a court in Waco. And then Shaver.. keeping with the old school country mentality (that whole “crazy” thing I mentioned) dropped this to a crowd before singing "Georgia on a fast train" at a show later that night in Houston:

“They asked me [mumble ]what are you going to do about this boy you shot? I said I’m getting the damn bullet back. That’s true. [laughs] You all think I’m joking. I mean it. Walking around being famous with my bullet in him. Stealing all my press.”

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2010/04/12/billy_joe_shaver_wants_his_bul.html

And that’s what crazy smells like. That’s the only kind of country music and musicians I like. Boot-scoot your-achy-mmm-bop cack out of here.

My question… my only real question… is how does he plan on retrieving the bullet? I hope… for the sake of up holding his bad ass wild west persona… he doesn't try to shoot it out.

Sir D of O

Am I a Sheep?

2010-04-14T18:42:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Sir Dayvd mentioned a "idiosyncratic alternative black lager: Zeitgeist."

http://www.zeitgeistbeer.com/

What an interesting web site with way cool language and art work by Heather Brennan, see more of her work here: www.heatherbrennan.carbonmade.com

From her site:

I am currently in 4th year Illustration at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. I recently produced artwork for a beer label and website for beer company Brewdog www.zeitgeistbeer.com

My interests include photography, film, computer games and contemporary dancing.

Today, as I was fighting the good fight at work, I thought of a line from their site:

"The slaughterhouse of conformity is not my destiny." (unfortunately, if feels that way at work most days).

So, I was thinking, Good Knights...

What does "The slaughterhouse of conformity is not my destiny" mean to you?

Sir Bowie of Greenbriar

This Dude is One With the Universe

2010-04-13T10:04:00.005-05:00

Well, much to the disdain of Sir D, I am now officially an ordained priest of The Church of the Latter-Day Dude! My official documents arrived in the mail, complete with a letter of good standing so that I can perform marriages, etc.

The letter states, "This letter is to certify that Reverend David K Wells was ordained as a Dudeist Priest on March 17, 2010 and continues to be a member in good standing of the holy order of ministers of The Church of the Latter-Day Dude.

As a minister, preacher and official representative of our worldwide faith we ask that you recognize the Reverends authority to preside over any religious, sacred or ceremonial ritual, including marriage, funereal services, religious counseling, christenings, and blessing or consecration ceremonies.

Sincerely yours, Oliver Benjamin, The Dudely Lama of Dudeism."

The effect took immediately, transforming me into a mirror image of Eddy Murphy and then....

....into a unibrow cross between a human and a manatee, with my cells vibrating violently until finally....

...I am one with the Universe! So remember, now I'm everywhere...so make sure you Think, Drink and Be Merry...Dudes!

Sir Hook the Reverend Dude of Warrick

www.dudeism.com

P.S. Charitable donations always accepted!

Find Waldo

2010-04-12T11:21:00.004-05:00

As mentioned on comments on Sir Hook of Warrick's blog, Lady Gwendoline of Kensington and I, also attended Saturday night's ROSI flat track roller derby bout. It was her first ever and my first for this team. Evansville has two and I have friends on both of them.

I shot a number of images at this event. As I try not to shoot with flash, I was testing out my newish camera at a high ISO from 2000 to 5000 and a new (used) 70 - 200 2.x lens. While editing the 230 plus images, I happened to noticed a familiar figure in the background of some that, alas, didn't make the final cut. Last night I e-mailed Sir D of G saying I thought I had captured this elusive image and this morning with the blog, it was confirmed.

As Sir Hook of Warrick was on the opposite side of where I stood and sat (All three of us in the suicide seating), no shots were blocked in the making of this film.

ROSI

2010-04-11T09:21:00.012-05:00

No, we're not talking about Rosie the Riveter...though her strength of character was birthed on the banks of the Ohio River here in Evansville making LST's and P-41 Thunderbolt's during WWII. We're talking ROSI...the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana...who embody the strength and determination of Rosie the Riveter wrapped in an athletic and skillful body providing thrills, chills and just downright fun at Swonder Rink in Evansville!

$6 tickets and $1 PBR beer provide the best sports entertainment value you can find anywhere! ROSI is the only non-profit roller derby league in the area, part of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, who not only entertain, but also donates their time and money to charitable organizations throughout the area.

Getting stamped at the door with a skull and cross bones inspired this errant Knight and part-time pirate that I was in for one hell of a night!

Part of the fun, is the creative use of names by the players, coaches and referees. Above is Miss Embowel, one of the refs for the evening. The name says it all! We would find other names like, Suffragette Kitty, Virgin Cherry, Armia Death, Chesty Copperpot and Sailor Scary.

Here's Lady Allwinky of Warrick with our massage therapist, Dana Darnell, who will soon be skating for ROSI in their next home match. Dana is the reason we were introduced to this fantastic sport! Dana originally hails from Chicago, but tonight the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana were taking on the Shade Brigade from Chicago....and they kicked some City Girl Ass!

Here's one of the Jammers scoring points for the Chicago team. Jammers are identified by a star on their helmet, and they have 2 minutes to get as many points as possible in the Jam.

Here's Hurtz Donut, one of ROSI's excellent Jammers taking her speed ahead of the pack to score points for Southern Indiana.

Some of the most fun action is when Sailor Scary, who's face adorns the program, takes the floor as a Jammer. Here she is pictured Jammer on Jammer. Shortly after I snapped this shot she took out the Chicago Jammer and starting yet another breathless scoring spree!

Sailor Scary stirs up the crowd after scoring 10 points on that Jam. She's an excellent athlete and natural born entertainer.

Here, Sailor Scary strikes a victory pose for my camera.

The final Jam is called and the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana celebrate a 119-44 victory over the Chicago Shade Brigade.

Here's Sailor Scary giving her little sister and mother a sniff of what a hard-earned victory smells like!

And of course, no fine Knights Night would be complete without Sir Hook of Warrick getting his picture taken with the star of the evening!

We're hooked...(pardon the pun)...and plan on attending the rest of the home season this year. To learn more about ROSI you can visit their website: www.rollergirlsofsin.com.

Or course, I don't know if they planned that domain on purpose, but I guarantee that you will be in for a "sinfully" delightful time!

Sir Hook Who's Roller Derby Name Will Be the Back Cracker of Warrick

Agent of Anarchy

2010-04-10T12:54:00.009-05:00

1946 ~ 2010

There are not many people who I have been slightly envious of, but Malcolm McLaren, was one of them. For 35 years now I too have tilted at the same bourgeois windmills he so mischievously rode against...but I have found it takes an extra level of "give a damn" and confidence to change a society, which he literally did and whose legacy has made my life positvely heaven by doing it.

Malcolm concocted the Sex Pistols, yes. He also steered the New York Dolls toward their premature demise, brought hip-hop to London and nicked the drag-queen pose called voguing long before Madonna. The wily impresario, who died a couple of days ago at age 64 after a long bout with cancer, undoubtedly had his fingers in a lot of pies.

Rock-& Pop in the 21st century is Andy Warhol's version of artistry -- reproductions, distillations, provocation. McLaren saw it coming a long time ago. "Malcolm McLaren Invented Everything," blared the headline to a 2007 interview feature in Vice magazine. He surely appreciated the hyperbole.

If McLaren saw the Gaga world coming, it was because he worked in visual terms at least as much as musical. The co-proprietor with then-girlfriend Vivienne Westwood of an early-1970s London shop located on the Kings Road called Let It Rock, he kicked against the supposed ideals of the hippies -- "hippos," he called them -- by reintroducing the Edwardian fashions of the teddy boys of the 1950s, when rock 'n' roll in Britain was an anarchic reaction to the country's squalor and repression.

They soon renamed the shop Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die, which in turn became the bondage-gear boutique Sex

and, finally, Seditionaries, where McLaren delighted in the fact that the place was so derelict there were rats running around beneath the cash register. To Westwood's distress, McLaren had a habit of changing the store's theme just as its underground loyalists gave way to a wider, more mainstream clientele. "Whenever it started making money, I closed it down," he recalled.

Managing the New York Dolls, McLaren had an idea that the glammy prepunk band would provide a forum for debating "the politics of boredom," a subject the Sex Pistols, the Clash (managed by McLaren associate Bernie Rhodes) and countless other punks would soon adopt as their own. He claimed he brought a new, confrontational look back to London from New York, the ripped T-shirts of a New York scenester named Richard Hell, who would soon co-found the bands Television and the Voidoids.

The Sex Pistols, who famously auditioned Johnny Rotten in the Sex shop, where he sang along to Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen' on the jukebox, brought McLaren his own taste of fame when he was arrested after organizing the group's infamous boat ride down the River Thames during the Queen's Silver Jubilee. In the fictionalized documentary 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle,' released in 1980, two years after the Sex Pistols' implosion, McLaren gleefully played himself as the "Embezzler," claiming a Svengali role which Rotten, who would successfully sue his former manager, has loudly disputed over the years.

"Frustration is one of the great things in art," McLaren once wrote in a college notebook. "Satisfaction is nothing." Though his greatest achievement, the agitpop Pistols project, flamed out like the celluloid in 'Inglourious Basterds,' McLaren was just lighting his match. Whatever his indescribable forte was, it was not sitting still.

In the early '80s, he created Bow Wow Wow installing 13-year-old Annabella Lwin as lead singer -- as a New Wave tribal-drum jump-rope crew, helped introduce hip-hop to London with his own 'Duck Rock' album (with artwork by Keith Haring), and dreamed up visual styles ranging from a pirate theme popularized by Adam and the Ants to the multilayered, bag-lady "Buffalo Gals" look named after his bubblegum hip-hop hit. He proposed himself as manager of the young Red Hot Chili Peppers, then backed out after seeing the band perform. He collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa, Bootsy Collins, Jeff Beck and Françoise Hardy.

In later years, he found other receptacles for his creative juices, threatening to run for mayor of London and co-producing the film version of 'Fast Food Nation.' And his own music, so often charmingly inept and pretentious, hung around: Eminem and the Coup were two of many rap acts who sampled his songs, and Quentin Tarantino, the music connoisseur, featured McLaren's 'About Her,' a woozy rip-off of the Zombies' 'She's Not There,' on the 'Kill Bill Vol. 2' soundtrack.

To many he was an infernal windbag and full of arrogance....but that as anybody who is involved in the Music Industry is an outsiders thumbnail sketch of everyone who manages bands, and largely a result of his voice which sounded supercilious, upper class and lazy in tone. He was anything But.

Transforming the fashion and art and music industry by potently combining all three as a fist against the woolly establishment, will never be emulated again, as the embers of it all are now an unshockable staid middleage..

The UK then was ripe for shocking in the seventies, and even tho we are now in the depths of Simon Cowell dominated dross, it will take an even bigger upheavel to shake that off, without someone sneering that its all been done before, by Malcolm McLaren.

He taught me you can only be first in life, everything needs that different twist......and even if you don't feel you have original creativity in your bones...you can combine other peoples originality, to create movement, or a Movement in life.. He was the great Conduit, the great delegator, instigator, ... in short he was to paraphrase the ex Pistols album title, The Bollocks, and I miss him already.

I was even moved just now to dig out the original punk T-shirt that I bought at SEX in the seventies and offer it up to my frame which now has a bit more timber on it than the skinny white boy who wandered the Kings Road looking for action.

As of today, McLaren's otherwise empty homepage still says, "Malcolm will return shortly." For all we know, this master of pop orchestration may be just plotting his next move,

..............either way i'll be raising a toast to the Grandmaster Flash, when I am stood in front of a stage tonight with hell bent music blowing the froth off my pint.

Sir Dayvd of Oxfordshire

UK Knight in Wrong Job Shock

2010-04-09T07:29:00.003-05:00

Warehouse workers and drivers walked out for a second day today over the new rules, which came into force on April 1.

Jens Bekke, a spokesman for the world's fourth biggest brewer, said: "Previously, there has been free beer, water and soft drinks everywhere.

"Yesterday, beers were removed from all refrigerators. The only place you can get a beer in future is in the canteen, at lunch."

Mr Bekke said drivers retained an old right to have three beers per day outside lunch hours, and warehouse workers claimed the same right.

He said: "Because of that, the warehouse staff went on strike yesterday, with other staff striking in sympathy."

Bekke said as many as 800 had walked out on Wednesday, with 250 still on strike today.

The Confederation of Danish Industry and trade union 3F have agreed to look into the dispute.

There have been no shipments from Copenhagen today, but Carlsberg is expecting the financial impact of the strike to be minor.

Mr Bekke added that Carlsberg's trucks have alcohol locks so drivers would not be able to drink too much and drive.

Sir D (who dreams of free beer) of O

All is Ours Day

2010-04-08T09:26:00.005-05:00

According to: http://www.holidayinsights.com/ today is All is Ours Day.

When : Always April 8th

All is Ours Day is is bound to be a spectacular day for...... us.

Think of the concept. Imagine the possibilities. The creator of this day was absolutely brilliant. What a great day this will be.

The creator of this day was absolutely brilliant. Let's dissect the meaning and intent of this great day. We will do so by examining the title of this day, word for word. It begins with the word "all". For such a little word, it's all-inclusive. From a possessive standpoint, therefore, we are talking about anything and everything we want.. The verb "is" is sort, sweet and definite. It leaves no room for doubt or question.

Finally, the creator chose the word "our" rather than the word "mine" This is a vital decision allowing us to completely enjoy today. The greatest events, and the best things in life, are those that are shared. The only thing the creator left out is the definition of who "Ours" represents.

That is left up to you.

Also

A few other April Notes according to the site:

Flower of the Month: Daisy, Sweet Pea
Birthstone of the Month: Diamond, White Sapphire
Astrological Signs: Aries March 21 - April 19; Taurus April 20 - May 20
The Moon this month is called the Egg Moon, Grass Moon, Hare Moon.

And finally, April is NOT the month (or any month for that matter) to open a beer in a Police Car -- especially if you're a teenager.

From the Smoking Gun Website:

APRIL 7--Meet Tasha Lee Cantrell. The 19-year-old Floridian was riding in a car early Monday morning when the vehicle's driver was pulled over and arrested for DUI. As a tow truck arrived to remove her friend's car, a stranded Cantrell asked Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Deputy Mitchell Landis for a ride home to her Fort Walton Beach residence. Landis agreed, but only after checking Cantrell's purse for any contraband, according to an offense report. While chauffeuring Cantrell, Landis heard the teenager "open a can of some sort" in the back of the cruiser. "As I looked at my in car video I observed Cantrell drinking out of an unknown can." Landis stopped his car and, upon further investigation, determined that Cantrell had popped open a can of Steel Reserve, a malt liquor known for its high alcohol content. "When I opened the rear passenger door I observed Cantrell attempting to hide the can between her legs. I retrieved this can and noticed it was Steel Reserve Beer," reported Landis, who immediately arrested Cantrell for underage drinking. Instead of being shuttled to her doorstep, Cantrell, pictured in the below mug shot, was rerouted to the sheriff's office, where she was booked on the misdemeanor charge (end)

Steel Reserve is an American lager owned and produced by Steel Brewing Company. MillerCoors LLC is the company listed on Steel Reserves' Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions pages. The drink comes in "Black" and "Silver" varieties, also known as "Triple Export Malt Liquor" and "High Gravity Lager," respectively. Its primary claim to fame is its unusually high alcohol content (at least for U.S. of 8.1% ABV) and low price.

Just a few April ramblings from Sir Bowie of Greenbriar

2010-04-06T09:25:00.003-05:00

Our good friend Benjamin Franklin missed something when he stated that two things are certain, death and taxes. I know of a third. As the days get longer and warmer, the grass grows tall -- and the weeds even taller. One weed that is always certain to dominate my yard is the Dandelion.

One other thing is certain: What is one man's weed is another man's... beer!

Although beer has been brewed since the dawn of civilization, hops did not become a popular ingredient in it until about 400 years ago. Various cultures used all sorts of native herbs, spices and vegetation as bitter flavorings to counter the sweetness of the malt -- including "weeds" such as dandelions.

I introduce Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing's Dandelion Ale (part of their special Lips of Faith series). Along with the hops, they added fresh dandelion greens and grains of paradise as bittering and flavoring agents.

From their web site: Brewed in collaboration with our talented friends at Red Rock Brewing in Salt Lake, Dandelion Ale is another unique offering in New Belgium's Lips of Faith Series. Inspired by the great hop shortage of 2008, dandelion greens were used as they have a natural bittering effect much like hops. Reveling in the freedom of the Belgian brewing tradition, we thought this ubiquitous weed would make an interesting addition to a traditionally hopped beer. The result is a blond ale brewed with toasted pilsener malt, flavored with fresh picked dandelion greens and grains of paradise. Dandelion Ale is hazy and light gold in color with peachy aroma and a Belgian yeast strain. It has a unique bitterness, subtle maltiness and a creamy mouthfeel.
Alcohol is 7.8% by volume.

Now, what if you can't find Dandelion Ale?

Why not try making your own?

The following article is from http://www.associatedcontent.com/ (not from personal experience):

You can make your very own dandelion beer at home easily and very inexpensively. In only ten days, you can have a batch of homemade dandelion beer made from this beautiful herb that you once thought was a menace to your lawn.

You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make dandelion beer. The first ingredient is sugar. You'll need about one pound of regular cane sugar.

Next, you'll need about an ounce of cream of tartar, a half ounce of ginger, five quarts of water and one tablespoon of yeast. You'll also need a large fermentation container. Anything can be used as long as it is not made of metal. Make sure the container is clean and dry before beginning.

And, of course, the most important ingredient you'll need to make dandelion beer is the dandelion. You can use any mixture of roots and leaves that you have or are able to gather. In total, you'll need about one half pound of dandelion in the form of roots and/or leaves.

Step #1
The first step you'll take to make dandelion beer is to put the sugar and cream of tartar into the clean, dry fermentation container. Then, wash the dandelion leaves and/or roots and coarsely chop the herb material.

Step #2
The next step you'll take to make dandelion beer is to boil the coarsely chopped dandelion with a half ounce of grated ginger and the five quarts of water for about ten minutes. Strain into the fermentation container using a clean, muslin or linen cloth. Stir the mixture well until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes before adding the yeast. It's best to let cool until the mixture is about 98 degrees in temperature. A candy or other food thermometer is good for checking the temperature of the liquid. If you don't have a thermometer available, just let it cool for about five minutes but not much longer. You don't want it to get too cold.

Step #3The next step you'll take to make dandelion beer is to dissolve one tablespoon of yeast in some water and then add it to the mixture in the fermentation container. Cover the container with a clean cotton cloth and allow it to ferment for about seventy two hours.

Step #4
After seventy two hours have passed, siphon off the dandelion beer into clean and sterilized bottles. Cap tightly.

Allow the bottles to sit on their sides in a cool, dry place for about seven days before consuming. After seven days, the dandelion beer can be chilled and this is definitely recommended before drinking it.

Ten days have passed and now you have a batch of homemade dandelion beer! This recipe makes about fifteen bottles of dandelion beer but feel free to make more than one batch at a time.

So, there you have it. If it's good advice to make lemonade when life gives you lemons...
What do you do when life gives you dandelions?

Make beer!

Sir Bowie of Greenbriar

The Da Vinci Mode

2010-04-05T07:47:00.005-05:00

Idly watching TV tonight, that arch-Movie of super-product placement the 2002 remake of The Italian Job, (with is wonderful use of the BMW Mini cars that are created in Oxford UK) shows up on my screen while i am reading the Sunday newspapers. Before I become uninterested, something catches my eye that sends me scurrying to the computer to check it out.

Mos Def is seen reading a book in the movie, and as plain as day the cover shouts out 'HOW TO THINK like Leonardo da Vinci'.

Well a true Knignt of the KMSA needs no further urging and i'm off the couch and online almost in one move.

Author Michael Gelb says there are seven critical principles that need to be followed for success, whether you're learning a new language, studying to be a gourmet chef, or just hoping to be more effective on the job:

Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life.
Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.
Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience.
Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination ("whole-brain thinking").
Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; "systems thinking."

Gelb discusses each of these principles in relation to what da Vinci accomplished, thereby giving this book a built-in history lesson. The illustrations from the master's work and time add a nice warmth to the work.

So far so good. The bulk of the reviews on Amazon seem positive too, such as this one :

Much has been written about Mind Mapping, speed reading, theories of multiple intelligence, and how to integrate mind and body. Having read Michael Gelb's books and attended one of his seminars, I had used many of the techniques with some success, but felt that the brass ring was still just out of reach. Michael's comment was that to take it to the next level you have to change the way you think. Sometimes it takes a human example to understand how something works in practice. "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci" points the way better than a hundred books explaining the theory alone. It breathes life into each of these ideas, and offers you a cornucopia of ways in which to pursue your own personal path and passion. It challenges you to make your own future and rediscover the past. Best of all, it works!

So there you have it...its in the shopping cart and on its way to my house as we speak...and lets hope before long I am smiling like the Mona Lisa.

Sir D (the culture vulture) of O

I'm an Egghead!

2010-04-03T15:21:00.005-05:00

Lady Suzanne and I helped the Easter Bunny this morning fill plastic Easter eggs. In the "old days" we would decorate real hard boiled eggs. Today, that tradition is over (and not easy).

According to tradition, an egg is a symbol of new life and is used at Easter as a symbol of Jesus' resurrection. The outside of an egg looks like a stone and so it is a way to represent the outside view of Jesus' sealed tomb. Inside the egg is the new life of a baby chick ready to break out and so this is a way to represent Jesus' new life as he rose from death.
People would decorate eggs to give to members of their family at Easter as gifts.

Since I don't have any personal decorated eggs to share with you, I thought I would post some images that have been forwarded via email -- they truly are
egg-ceptional

Unfortunately, I don't have the name of the creator(s), but I don't think he or she will mind my passing them along.

Have an eggciting Easter! Sir "The Easter Bowie" of Greenbriar Below, Sir Bowie finding an egg -- many, many years ago!

April Fool's Day Officially Cancelled Yesterday!

2010-04-02T09:03:00.002-05:00

Clowns all over the world went to the streets in protest yesterday after they discovered that April Fool's Day had officially been canceled (there one U.S. spelling and one U.K spelling)!

Thankfully, April Fool's is not really celebrated too much in my world; I'm not much of a "play jokes and pranks on people type of guy."

Having said that, I do enjoy a good prank pulled on the public. I mentioned this to Sir D yesterday and he shared this:

"Today's April 1st TV (BBC) efforts were that a) major soap stars were going to be put on a limited number of bank notes....b) that zoo was in trouble for interviewing only people over 6ft 2" to be keepers for their Giraffe enclosure..... and c) that old chestnut...of the AA motor repair guys who come out and fix your cars (AAA in USA ) were being equipped with James Bond like jet packs.

TV News pranks are nothing new. Here are a few from the Top 10 List:

Here’s our list of Top 10 April Fools’ pranks from around the world, much of it inspired by the Museum of Hoaxes website.

ENGLAND: 1957: A BBC news show announced Swiss farmers had grown spaghetti, showing footage of peasants pulling spaghetti down from the trees. Viewers believed it, calling into the BBC to ask how they could enjoy their own spaghetti crop. The BBC replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

SWEDEN: 1962: The sole television channel in Sweden was still black-and-white, but on April 1 it announced that viewers could easily convert to color. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, said to pull a nylon stocking over the box. Supposedly, thousands of people actually tried.

UNITED STATES: 1992: National Public Radio announced that Richard Nixon, after living nearly two decades in disgraced retirement, was running again for president. His new campaign slogan was, according to NPR, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again."

FRANCE: 1986: A newspaper, the Parisien, reports the Eiffel Tower will be deconstructed and rebuilt in the new Disney World opening in Paris.

ITALY: 1919: Venice woke one April 1 to find horse manure littering the streets, odd since the city of canals had few horses. The British prankster Horace de Vere Cole, who was honeymooning in Venice, had transported a load of manure from the mainland the night before with the help of a gondolier and had then deposited small piles of it throughout the Piazza.

GERMANY: 1915: In the midst of World War I, a French plane flew over the Germans and dropped what appeared to be a huge bomb. Rightfully alarmed, the German soldiers fled. But instead of an explosion, there was a bounce. The Germans crept back to the load and discovered it was a football with a note that read, "April Fool!"

(We can't find any source aside from the Museum of Hoaxes for that last one – if you can shed any light on it, please send us a comment.)

1. IRAQ: 1998: Even in Iraq they celebrate April Fools' Day, calling it Kithbet Neesan, or April Lie. When Saddam Hussein was still in power, an Iraqi newspaper owned by his son, Uday, declared on its front page that President Clinton said ''it was time for lifting the sanctions.'' (The UN had imposed sanctions after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.) Saddam was probably not amused.

And finally, my favorite from this year:

Handout photo obtained on April 1 from the Statens Naturhistoriske Museum shows a mermaid skeleton placed on the rock where Copenhagen's famous 'Little Mermaid' statue habitually sits, as an April Fool joke. The statue is on its way to Shanghai for the World Expo.

Photo: AFP/Newscom

Now come on, that's just brilliant!

Sir Eiwob of Raibneerg

UK Beer News: Putting the ale in Female, and Black lager

2010-04-01T08:25:00.001-05:00

This is not an April the 1st joke. It may be, ahem, beerly believable for fans of a pint but it seems men have women to thank for their favourite tipple.

Jane Peyton, an author and historian, says the fairer sex are behind the popularity of beer, and have been involved in its production since brewing began between 7,000 and 9,000 years before Christ.

And in Britain, it was women in their role as homemakers who drove the beverage's popularity as a home brew in the Middle Ages.

Back then, drinking ale was more common than water for most people, even children, because water was often contaminated.

Only over the past 500 years have men started to muscle in on the act, when commercial breweries began to be set up and the product was taken out of the home.

Mrs Peyton said: 'For thousands of years women brewed beer. It was part of the daily diet and therefore part of a woman's domestic chores to produce.

'I can imagine it will come as a shock to many men, but they've got women to thank for their beer.

'It is only in comparatively recent times that men became involved in the brewing process.'
Known as brewsters, women brewed the vast majority of ale drunk in Britain until the 14th century.

In Britain today, only 13 per cent of women choose beer over other drinks, compared with 40 per cent on the Continent.

All this appears in the news on the same day I read that Guinness is trialling a black lager to tap into a growing segment of the lager market.

The drink — simply called Guinness Black Lager — offers consumers a new “refreshing lager” taste in comparison to the distinctive flavour of the traditional dry stout parent brand, as it is brewed like a lager but is made black by malting the barley for longer.

The new product, which is served in 330ml bottles, is being trialled in Northern Ireland, supported by a new advertising and marketing campaign plus in-bar promotions.

“Guinness Black Lager, like all lagers, is characterised by its refreshing taste,” said head of Diageo Northern Ireland, Michael McCann.

“The addition of Guinness expertise, roasted barley and a late hopping imparts a taste that is unique among lagers.”

Sales of black lager are reported to be soaring in the UK, with offerings such as Budvar Dark and Brewdog's Zeitgeist both recording an increase in demand in the past year.

Sir Dayvd ( who as a dark beer drinker, can feel himself being targetted ) of O

The 30 Worst Album Covers

2010-03-31T09:32:00.003-05:00

Album covers can be iconic pieces of art. Visual snapshots that capture the zeitgeist of a moment or a movement: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Bauhaus -- The Sky's Gone Out, The Beatles -- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Jimi Hendrix -- Electric Ladyland: All amazing.

They can also be weird sketches of a man snogging a dog (whose tongue is that?), a la the latest release from Ariel Pink.

But that's enough inter-species erotica for one day... What I'm more interested in is other bad album covers. More precisely, the worst ever album covers. So I've found them -- which didn't take too long. Whittling them down from hundreds to the best 30, that took time.

So keep reading for gems including Bajo, The Faith Tones and Boys Town Gang.

The Rolling Stones -- Dirty Work

Not many people mention The Stones awkward 80s period.

ManOwar -- Anthology

"Dad was in a band, when he was younger... No they never released an album, ever."

Ira North -- If I Were A Woman

You'd be lonely.

Bajo -- Ja Sam Ranjen Kao Ptica

Ja Sam Ranjen Kao Ptica, which roughly translates as "I like coarsely ground wheat," was the biggest selling album in Albania in 2006 (yes I said 2006). Bajo is also technically Albania's second biggest export after methylated spirit.

Deathkorpz -- Metal Tit

On wheels!

Neil Young -- Everybody's Rockin'

Old man take a look at my life... I've made mistakes.

Richie Family -- Bad Reputation

And frankly, I can see why.

Rod Stewart -- An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down

For what exactly Rod? Snatching children? Because that's what it looks like.

The Faith Tones -- Jesus Use Me

Are you using Jesus as an expletive? No? So like really? Like... that? Oh right, as a warning.

Swamp Dogg -- Rat On

Ah the album is called Rat On and on the covers he's on a rat. Clever.

Whitesnake -- Love Hunter

I'm not sure if this is the worst album cover ever, or the best.

David Hasselhoff -- Night Rocker

His guitar isn't plugged in? To be fair, that's the least of his problems.

Foster Edwards' Orchestra -- What's Next?

A horrific accident?

Crosby, Stills and Nash -- Live It Up

Hot dogs, on the moon, on sticks, with workmen -- seems obvious when you think about it.

Boys Town Gang -- Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Won't be taking our eyes off you either lads, especially around our gran.

Wolf -- Wolf

This is just awful. Wolful.

Leif Garrett -- Feel The Need

I won't be feeling anything Leif, not while there's an ounce of strength left in my body.

Ken -- By Request Only

You'll be waiting a while then, Ken.

Eulenspygel -- 2

You think this is sick, you should have seen the cover of Eulenspygel 1.

Orion -- Reborn

Is it just me or does Orion look like a divorced superhero?

Battle Axe -- Burn It Down

Pretty sure our mate Billy Davies drew this in his Resistant Materials exercise book.

Christian Crusaders -- With Al Davies

Nice..

Europe -- The Final Countdown.

Did the eighties not have eyes? Could they not see what they were doing?

Twisted Sister -- Stay Hungry.

The worst part of the cover is the dude's hair.

Kate Bush -- Kate Bush.

Kate! What are you doing? I thought you were cool!

Big Bear -- Doin Thangs

Hopefully learning how to spell. Zing.

Millie Jackson -- Back to the s_ _t

Millie has kindly illustrated the metaphor of her album's title by having herself photographed on a toilet, which is nice of her. (Why has she got her shoe in her hand?)

Wham! -- Bad Boys

Ahem. You do it, this one's too easy.

John and Yoko -- Unfinished Music

Proof that she ruined everything.

The Beatles -- Yesterday and Today

The good old days, when album covers were sedate and sensible.

Sir D ( Evidence there was a Then Now ) of O

Another Knights Road Trip?

2010-03-30T09:08:00.004-05:00

But first...

Sir Norman wished me a "Happy Easter Season" today by sending me this image:

Which got me curious about Easter and Beer. Are there Easter beers out there? Surely (and stop calling me Shirley), there must be a beer that helps us celebrate the Lenten season the way "the monks of yore" did.

There is the Carlsberg Group: If you want to try a different approach to Easter, then you should plan a visit at Carlsberg to taste the Easter and Spring beers and learn a bit about them as well.

And then there is Gouden Carolus' Easter Beer (3.97, 10% ABV) -- reviews as a dark beer, ruby-red colour, and somewhat spicy.

Which leads me to our next road trip. But first...

Speaking of beer and Easter. Here are the rules for your very own Easter Beer Hunt (from beeronthewall.com):

There comes a time in each of our lives when we outgrow some of the very fun things that we truly loved to do as kids: Waiting up for Santa on Christmas Eve, sorting our candy after a very productive evening of trick-or-treating, and of course, the all-important Easter Egg Hunt on Easter morning! Unfortunately, we can’t help you with Santa or the trick-or-treat thing, but we do have a fabulous idea to bring back the joy of the Easter Egg Hunt for that kid in each of us.

What we had in mind doesn't have much to do with Easter eggs, but more to do with Easter beer. There are actually many groups scattered around the globe that have perfected The Easter Beer Hunt tradition and are sure to continue it for years to come.I t works something like this:

First, the people involved must have a genuine appreciation for beer. Secondly, they must have a genuine appreciation for having fun. If you have both pieces of this puzzle, then you have what it takes to put together a really great Easter Beer Hunt!

1. Get a bunch of different brands and styles of beer. The better the mix, the more fun it will be for the “beer hunters.” We recommend about 8 to 12 beers per hunter. Some will get more and others less, but it guarantees at least a nice, mixed 6-pack for even the slowest of gatherers. If you know what some of the hunter’s favorite beers are, throw a few of them in as well - there is sure to be some trading going on when all is said and done.

2. Decorate the beers. Use your imagination and be as creative as you can here. Paint, ribbons,Easter stickers, construction paper, gift bags… you get the idea. Just make ‘em really cool and fun to find!

3. Gather the hunters. This can be from one to as many people as you want.

4. Hide the Easter beers. Again, creativity is very important here. Don’t make it too easy, but make sure no beers remain un-found - that would be a dirty shame.

5. Now there are two standard ways of conducting the hunt, however, feel free to make your own rules. If you have a bunch of guys who just want to party, then they must drink each beer they find before they can hunt for the next one. Be sure its not too hot out because it’s no fun drinking warm beer. If you want a somewhat mellower experience (no drunks), conduct the hunt in the traditional manner... Find a beer, put it in your basket. Use 6-pack carriers for the hunters to gather their beers in.

6. The most important rule of all - Have Fun!
For videos, just search "Easter Beer Hunt" and dozens will show up!

Now, the road trip. But first...

A little history. The Easter beer mentioned a long time ago at the top of this post is Gouden Carolus of Brewery Het Anker -- one of the oldest breweries in Belgium. The brewery first appears in the records of the city of Mechelen in 1369.

In spite of that small-scaliness , a large part of the beer has been nevertheless intended for the foreign country market (Japan, Mexico, United States, Denmark, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Canada, Australia, Poland, Vietnam and others).

Now, what about that Knights Road trip?

In August 1999 Hotel Carolus is opened in the old stockrooms of Brewery Het Anker. This hotel is unique in Belgium, it is the only hotel that is on the site of a still functioning brewery.
I say ROAD TRIP!

Sir Bowie "Have a Hoppy Easter" of Greenbriar

The Best Defense is Offense...Unless You're Driving

2010-03-30T05:55:00.001-05:00

You'd think that after driving for 37 years I might be able to get it right. However, during that time frame I received about 50 speeding tickets (actually, I've lost count), totaled three cars and one motorcycle, been in the hospital twice...once in a comma and the latest breaking my back, all my ribs, my left collar bone and shoulder.

Today, I am finishing my online "Defensive Driving" course for the 8th time in Indiana. In fact, as you can see above, they have finally changed the name from "Defensive Driving" to "Driver Improvement".

Perhaps that change in title will finally stick? Well...I doubt it!

You see, I believe that the best defense is offense...and that carries over into my driving habits. Hell, I even made Sir D want to have "freakin' kittens" while driving in England last summer.

OK, I admit my limitations, and in this regard, it is that I refuse to let a few "rules of the road" get in my way. Stupid?...perhaps, Bull-headed?...hell yes!

Face it, I should have been a Formula One or Indy driver, Fighter Pilot or Tank Driver for Patton.

I have learned this time; however, that if your engine begins to overheat, you should turn on your heater to full to draw the heat away from the engine.

Now, back to class.

Sir Hook (Who Was Known in Fairfield in His Teen Years as Hot Wheels Wells) the Professor Extraordinaire of Driving Improvement of Warrick

The Shirt of... part II (a.k.a.) Shameless Plug

2010-03-29T10:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Sir Dayvd introduced us to The Shirt of Hurt!

Today, I wanted to introduce you to The Shirt of Wort (beer that is).

If you haven't checked out the KMSA Shoppe, scroll down the left side of this site and click on KMSA Shoppe.There you'll find a "if we don't have it, you don't need it" list of KMSA items, including:

Shirts (short)

Shirts (long)

Outerwear

Kids Clothing

Hats & Caps

Bags

Fun Stuff

Pets

Home & Office

Mugs

Buttons & Magnets

Cards, Prints & Calendars

Stickers

You can even pick up Intimate Apparel such as

Sir Bowie "they're not as uncomfortable as I thought" of Greenbriar

The Shirt of Hurt

2010-03-27T12:56:00.005-05:00

Anyone got a flaming match??

With Obama signing a new Nuclear treaty with Russia, so soon after pushing through the Health Reform and the GOP promptly throwing their toys out of their prams, it seems an ideal time to show the KMSA something that has been the talk of this island's menfolk this past two weeks. The Shirt of Hurt.

The Shirt of Hurt is the brainchild of Broadcaster Danny Baker on 5Live Radio (which is mainly a BBC Sports and topical debate channel), and was brought to prominence to raise funds for the Sport Relief Campaign to raise funds to help transform the lives of poor and vulnerable people, both at home and across the world’s poorest countries.

Soccer tribalism in this country is unbelievably fierce, and the premise of the Shirt of Hurt, was to be sponsored to wear the team Shirt of your bitterest rival and be photographed in it, and the longer you wore it the more money you earned.

This has sparked a wonderful good natured debate between strangers in Bars and pubs up and down the island. On the surface, to most grown up adult minded people it is no problem....or is it?

Sports shirts to a great many men define who they are and the way they think. From Heraldic times through the ages Men have shown their "True Colors"

The joy has been, watching on TV...known sporting celebrities, who have spent a lifetime playing and supporting a certain team from Childhood...(probably introduced to them by their fathers) wriggling in the glare of the lights as they are put on the spot when someone brings a rivals shirt on for them to wear.

Some Sporting celebs have paid large sums of Money so they Don't have to wear the Shirt of Hurt.

Me?, Well I figured I was more than mature and above all this nonsense and would happily wear any of my rivals Soccer shirts. I am a Chelsea supporter, and my most uncomfortable closest rivals are Arsenal. So if someone brought me an Arsenal shirt, (pictured at the top) or even a Manchester Utd , or Liverpool Shirt, would I wear them and a smile and without pulling a face as if I was sucking a lemon? The truth is...I could wear them, but not without pulling a big face.....don't ask me why...maybe its a guy thing.

So all you knights out there...whose Shirt, would five guys have to hold you down struggling as they put it on you? Which Team would you hate to don their colors and stand cheering in their fans end for five minutes?

In times of Charity, and Patriotism, and helping each other for the common good of man...most people here have good naturedly put their shoulders to the wheel, and this is why we have all been vastly amused at John "across the aisles" McCain's refusal to support any other legislation this year in the Senate. John better start wearing the Shirt of Hurt for Uncle Sam.

Sir D (who will be supporting Italy and Brazil in the World Cup because they play beautiful soccer) of O

Sweet!

2010-03-25T08:46:00.004-05:00

Oh sure, it's no Wimbledon, Football World Cup, or Head of the River Race, or The Ashes,or even an eye-gouging Rugby match, but...

a little thing called the NCAA Basketball Tournament is pretty big here in the States.
And I'm sure more than a few Knights will crack open a cold beer or two and watch the Sweet 16 starting tonight.

Here's a fun fact: If your Final Four prediction was the most unlikely combination of Cornell, Butler, Saint Mary's and Northern Iowa YOU STILL HAVE A LEGITIMATE CHANCE!

JOEY JOHNSTON of The Tampa Tribune, put together these 16 fun Sweet 16 things to keep in mind as we enter another crazy weekend of college basketball:

1
What's a Farokhmanesh?
It's Northern Iowa senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh (Fah-ROAK-man-ESH), the no-conscience shooter who clinched the upset of Kansas with a stunning 3-pointer. He's our all-name team MVP and he brings to mind a few favorites from past Sweet 16 events:
•Fennis Dembo, Wyoming (1987).
•Exree Hipp, Maryland (1994-95).
•Baskerville Holmes, Memphis (1985).
•Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia (2005-06).
•God Shammgod, Providence (1997).

2
Sweet 16 all-name runner-up: Tweety Carter, the point guard from Baylor.
He arrived as a scorer - 7,457 career points as a Louisiana high-school phenom attested to that - but Carter has matured into a top-flight floor leader. Tweety's given name is Demond (pronounced DEE-mond), but acquired the nickname because of the crying sounds he made as an infant.

3
Cornell is 1-0 vs. Kentucky (82-77 victory against Adolph Rupp's Wildcats, an eventual 13-13 team, on Dec. 28, 1966, when the Wildcats had Pat Riley and Louis Dampier, one season after UK fell to Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA final). UK is 11-3 all-time against Ivy League teams.

4
Kentucky is headed to Syracuse's expansive Carrier Dome, great news for the legions of ticket-hungry UK fans. But do they remember this? Kentucky is 0-3 all-time at the Carrier Dome, including two regular-season losses against Syracuse.

5
This is the 11th time for West Virginia coach Bob Huggins to earn a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. On eight of those occasions, all with the Cincinnati Bearcats, Huggins' team failed to reach the Sweet 16.

6
We have the possibility of an All-Big Ten final in the Midwest Regional (Ohio State-Michigan State). In the past 100 NCAA regional finals, conference rivals have been matched just eight times:
2009: Villanova def. Pittsburgh (Big East).
2002: Oklahoma def. Missouri (Big 12).
2000: Wisconsin def. Purdue (Big Ten).
1992: Cincinnati def. Memphis (Great Midwest).
1992: Michigan def. Ohio State (Big Ten).
1990: Arkansas def. Texas (Southwest).
1988: Kansas def. Kansas State (Big Eight).
1987: Providence def. Georgetown (Big East).

7
Since capturing the 2001 national title, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has lost five of his past six appearances in the regional semifinals.

8
There are two former Hillsborough County players in the Sweet 16 - Butler junior guard Shawn Vanzant (Wharton) and Cornell freshman guard Johnathan Gray (Berkeley Prep), a former student manager who was added to the team in December.

9
Connections? Last season, Michigan State had its sights set on Detroit, site of the Final Four, and it reached the championship game. Spartans coach Tom Izzo just toppled Maryland at Indianapolis, where he won his only national title (in 2000 with Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, et al) and toppled overall No. 1 seed Louisville in last season's Midwest Regional final. Now it's off to St. Louis, where the Spartans defeated Kentucky in 1999 to earn the first Final Four berth under Izzo.

10
Larry Harrison, the West Virginia assistant coach, once helped to launch Tampa's Riverfront Park Summer Basketball League. He also served as assistant at Jefferson High School and Hillsborough Community College. Now he's the longtime right-hand man for Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins.

11
The second-round loss by Kansas once again means the NCAA Tournament's overall No. 1 seed has failed to win the national championship. Since the overall No. 1 seed debuted in 2004, only the 2007 Florida Gators have gone all the way.

12
Ohio State vs. Tennessee in the Midwest Regional semifinals is a rematch from 2007, when the Buckeyes rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Volunteers 85-84 in a regional semifinal at San Antonio. The coaches remain the same (Ohio State's Thad Matta and Tennessee's Bruce Pearl). Star players David Lighty of Ohio State and Wayne Chism of Tennessee played in that game as freshmen.

13
Three double-digit seeds have reached the Sweet 16 (No. 10 Saint Mary's, No. 11 Washington and No. 12 Cornell), duplicating the feat of 2008, when No. 10 Davidson, No. 12 Western Kentucky and No. 12 Villanova pulled through. There were no double-digit seeded teams in last season's Sweet 16.

14
The state of Texas tied an NCAA record by sending seven teams to the NCAA Tournament (California did the same in 2002). Fittingly, the last team standing, the Baylor Bears, is headed to the South Regional Sweet 16 event at Houston's Reliant Stadium, site of next season's Final Four.

15
It's the 30-year anniversary of Purdue's last Final Four appearance - when Coach Lee Rose and Joe Barry Carroll led the Boilermakers into Indianapolis, some 61 miles from Purdue's campus. Note: The Final Four is back at Indy.

16
Purdue's overtime win against Texas A&M assured the Big Ten of having the most successful opening-weekend of the multiple-bid leagues

THE SCHEDULE (Eastern Times)
Thursday
East Region (Syracuse, N.Y.)
No. 2 West Virginia (29-6) vs. No. 11 Washington (26-9), 7:27
No. 1 Kentucky (34-2) vs. No. 12 Cornell (29-4), 9:57
West Region (Salt Lake City)
No. 1 Syracuse (30-4) vs. No. 5 Butler (30-4), 7:07
No. 2 Kansas State (28-7) vs. No. 6 Xavier (26-8), 9:37
Friday
South Region (Houston)
No. 3 Baylor (27-7) vs. No. 10 Saint Mary's (28-5), 7:27
No. 1 Duke (31-5) vs. No. 4 Purdue (29-5), 9:57
Midwest Region (St. Louis)
No. 2 Ohio State (29-7) vs. No. 6 Tennessee (27-8), 7:07
No. 5 Michigan St. (26-8) vs. No. 9 Northern Iowa (30-4), 9:37

And finally, for no other reason than I love old photos, I present the Marathon Brewery Company's Wee Willy Basketball Team from (Marathon City Brewing Co. 1881 - 1966 Marathon, Wisconsin).

The team won more than 500 games while losing 50 during the 1940's and 1950's.

So fellow Knights, enjoy your favorite beer and watch a game or two.

Sir Bowie "who can't even dunk a do-nut in a cup of coffee without breaking his neck" of Greenbriar

A BIG F'ing Deal!

2010-03-24T10:13:00.006-05:00

I honestly don't know whether or not this Health Care Reform / ObamaCare Bill is going to help me or just slightly injure me (if not kill me).

I do know that, to quote Vice President Biden, it is a "big f'ing deal!" How big? So big that it took President Obama 22 pens to sign.

22 Pens?

President Obama signs health care reform legislation during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. At his left are two boxes of extra pens. (Reuters/Jason Reed)

In a longtime tradition, the president put his signature to the bill using almost two dozen commemorative pens, which were handed out to key congressional leaders and others who helped pass the legislation. It took the lefty more than 90 seconds to pick up each of the 22 pens and make a small portion of each letter in his name.

Sound like a joke? It's not. But, speaking of "Health Care" and "jokes," I present some here for the fun of it (most obviously written before Sunday):

"If conservatives get to call universal healthcare 'socialized medicine,' I get to call private, for-profit healthcare 'soulless, vampire bastards making money off human pain.'" --Bill Maher

"President Obama is turning up the pressure on Congress to pass this health care reform. In fact, he's telling Democrats, if they don't vote for this bill, he will go out and campaign for them in November." -Jay Leno

"The health care overhaul will extend coverage to 30 million people who are uninsured, or, as Walmart calls them, employees." –Jimmy Fallon

"There's a lot of controversy over this section of this new health care bill that says if you don't buy health insurance, you can go to jail for five years. They say it'll prevent freeloaders of the system. Yeah, but — well, if they do go to jail, won't they get free health care for five years?" –Jay Leno

"And the Postal Service announced last week the Post Office lost $3.8 billion last year. I've got a good idea. Let's put the government in charge of healthcare! Fantastic idea!" –Jay Leno

"The healthcare reform bill now includes a tanning booth tax of 10 percent. You know what this means? This whole thing could be funded by the cast of 'Jersey Shore.'" –Jay Leno

"Congressman John Boehner told a crowd of protesters yesterday that the new health care bill was the 'greatest threat to freedom he's ever seen.' And then the Taliban was like, 'Uh, helloooo? What?!'" –Jimmy Fallon

"Hey, the health care bill (is) 1,990 pages long and costs $894 billion dollars. Or $2.2 million per word. That makes them the most expensive words to come out of Washington since 'Mission Accomplished.'" --Jimmy Fallon

"Barack Obama has been working hard to push his healthcare proposal. Obama still wants the bill to be bipartisan, but he's a realist, and given the near unanimous Republican opposition he's facing, now says he'd be satisfied if the bill was just bicurious." --Jimmy Kimmel

"President Obama has been explaining his healthcare plan now to senior citizens. And yesterday, at a town hall meeting, he promised the crowd that he will not, quote, 'pull the plug on Grandma.' Then, there was an awkward moment when Grandpa stood up and booed." --Conan O'Brien

~Compiled by Daniel Kurtzman

Have a healthy day!

Sir Bowie (with a little help from Bill Maher) "who thinks it's ironic that Sarah Palin is so against the ObamaCare's killing of old people considering that she's the one who smothered the life out of the McCain campaign" of Greenbriar

It's not everyday that, while driving to work in your truck, you run over and kill a goat.

2010-03-23T09:16:00.008-05:00

Fortunately, this was not one of those days... again!

But, it is Springtime.

And Springtime traditionally means Bock beers: a bottom fermenting lager that generally takes extra months of lagering (cold storage) to smooth out such a strong brew. Bock beer in general is stronger than your typical lager, more of a robust malt character with a dark amber to brown hue. Hop bitterness can be assertive enough to balance though must not get in the way of the malt flavor, most are only lightly hopped.

I'm not exactly sure the true origins of Bock beer. I have read that in medieval days German monasteries would brew a strong beer for sustenance during their Lenten fasts. Some believe the name Bock came from the shortening of Einbeck thus "beck" to "bock."

I do know that this beer has become a symbol of better times to come and moving away from winter (though it was also brewed for other special occasions and religious festivals such as Christmas).

According to an article written by Jay R. Brookal: March used to signal the end of the brewing season in the days before refrigeration, when the weather became too warm to brew. In Germany, they brewed beer for Oktoberfest, known as Marzen — German for March — in the waning weeks of the season. It was then laid down to age until it was ready, just in time to celebrate Oktoberfest. Today, of course, marzens are made year-round.

Similarly, in France and Belgium, they brew a beer known as Biere de Mars, or March beer. It's similar to the Biere de Garde style — light and malty with a hint of spices — but is meant to be enjoyed immediately and not aged for any length of time.

Others believe it is more of a pagan or old world influence that the beer was only to be brewed during the sign of the Capricorn goat, hence the goat being associated with Bock beers (There is another explanation below).

Which leads me to Bock beer labels and advertising posters (for no other reason than I love the visuals):

This poster is one of a series of reprints of original advertising used in the early 1900's by the Spaten Brewery. The discovery of these vintage advertising posters was found buried deep in their warehouse in Germany.

German's rank their bockbiers as the most malty and heaviest lagers in the world and warn they are to be sipped not guzzled. Generally little hop aroma in the nose or on the finish and little bitterness, with colour that can range from blond to black. Many Bock beers feature imagery of goats on the label. Bock means billy goat in German.

1882 Early American Bock Beer bar poster.

Yes, it's Springtime. Go Bock and have another beer!

Sir Bowie of Goatbriar, I mean Greenbriar

Happy Birthday

2010-03-22T10:45:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to Lady Suzanne!

Today's she's [html text error]