.....an American city almost perished. Thank Allah/Gaia/Darwin that we are still here today after one of the most horrible days in American history.

Yes, friends, it is another Belgian. This time, we are having a look at a sibling of my favorite beer of all time, the St Bernardus Abt 12. This one is the Prior 8 - a Beligan Dubbel - one that my coworker swears is superior to its well regarded older brother. He is categorically full of shit, but this is not to say it is an unworthy drop.

With no further hesitation, here is the Prior 8:



The picture is crap because I took it on my Motorola Razr. Trust me on this, it is a dark brown with hints of red, although not as murky as the Abt 12. It fizzes gently, and offers an aroma of caramel and malt.

By the way, if you are going to drink this beer, or the Abt 12, or any of the Belgians I am inclined to like, please do us all a favor and take it from a goblet like the one in my picture. Gracias. Oh, and buy it at Consumer's - but more on that later.

Okay, now to the payoff. How does it drink? Well, your nose's mama didn't raise no fool. Strong flavors of caramel and malty goodness await you. Other reviewers have claimed hints of cocoa and fruits such as apricot and fig, but my palate has been muted by God knows how many cigarettes.

There is a slight warming sensation like you would get with the Abt 12, or for that matter, a Port wine. This is one of my all time favorite moments in alcohol. It weighs in at a stout 8% ABV, and delivers a happy drunk that is consistent from the first few sips until the last gasp. This is one fantastic brew.

I picked this up while at Premier Gourmet, while Josh fucked around for some coffee dripper and associated beans (good coffee, but more on that another time). Premier charges $8.99 for this bottle and a whopping $10.49 for the Abt 12. You can get the same products at Consumer's for $7.99 a bottle (the Abt 12 chilled no less - I DARE YOU to open one of these up warm). Why would you not go to the cheaper place?!? I have hung out with young Mr. Notarius on an occasion or two, and the first opportunity I get I am going to bitch to him about it.

The final score? I forgot how we rated these beers, but I'll give it 4 of 5 Goblets, because it is overall a very worthy beer that delivers on everything most people expect of a Dubbel. It ain't the Abt 12, with all of its banana/clovey/spicy yumminess, but if you want a Dubbel this isn't a bad place to start or finish.

Happy drinking!

Having a religious background is by no means a trump card in the debate over morals, but it also is not a liability or a mental defect. Of all the people I know who have been brought up in this tradition, not too many of them practice their faith anymore, yet they did not turn out to be rotten apples or people to be feared.

There are times when it is very hard for me to justify religious faith as a positive force in the world, because we see the signs all around us that it can be used as a tool for destruction. It is mystifying to me how one of the most effective methods of encouraging harmony, love and unity can also be one of the most destructive tools in our arsenal.

We are very good at creating tools of destruction and methods of segregation, but we are not very good at creating or sustaining social movements which encourage things like harmony, love, mutual respect or a sense of unity. Why does it have to be that way? Not to go all original sin on you, but I think it's because we are not built that way. We prove it all the time, religion or no religion.

So I think you fight bad ideas with good ideas. Hate with tolerance. Disrespect with respect. Follow the example of the best people we have known. Here, we fight the radical religious right with a better vision, provided by people motivated by justice, not by power. (e:Drew) and (e:Janelle) are very good examples of local people who seem to live this way.

If a child is curious and wants to learn more, I see no problem with satisfying her curiosity. I am by means no expert, but in my opinion Tony and Meg are doing this in a responsible way. Remember, she will eventually make her own mind about this stuff just like we did. It will either be very important to her, not very important to her, or used as a springboard for exploration.

Stifling the human mind, or putting a lock on it is probably the greatest sin I can think we can commit against each other. Let's not ever allow that to happen here, whether we are religious or not.

And you guys know me...I'm the last one to gratuitously bollock Christians or Christianity.......but there are some real winners over on the Evangelical right. I don't really talk about it, but I do a lot of debating with people from all over the political spectrum outside of this site.

Tell me this - when someone quotes the Book of Matthew to determine why he has the right to judge and condemn people:

Matthew 7 (King James Version)


15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Why would that person then whine and complain about you being guilty of the sin of omission when you "only" quote parts of Matthew 7 that allude to the exact opposite conclusion?

It is called being a HYPOCRITE, and using the words of Jesus to justify hatred and condemnation of people you don't see eye to eye with. You people already know this, but their version of "faith" is poison.

You know what I think? I think Jesus would share a table with the gays, the junkies, the whores, and everyone else who these assholes condemn. I think Jesus would curse the small-minded fools who pretend to speak on his behalf in this way.

Frankly, I'm done trying to debate them. They are useless. I believe in Social Darwinism to an extent. The radicals on either side can piss off as far as I'm concerned and be relegated to nothing but sideline spectators.

At least for humor, we have the LOLcat Bible!



"At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz."

(Also posted on another blog of mine, which I rarely use)

It's getting harder for me to not take it personally when someone's demons overcome them. I wonder what the hell went through Heath Ledger's mind in the last few weeks of his life.

I am not even the biggest fan of his in the world, but in a sense I have walked a mile in his shoes.

I know what it's like to be locked into depression, and to rely on drugs and booze to get you through the day, barely. No sleep, no rest, no relief. And it appears that you are so damned alone and isolated. Your mind is going a million miles an hour.

Why didn't he just get help for his problems? Well, it's not that easy, despite what you may think. Shit, even TALKING about it is difficult. You think about:

- What if people discriminate against me in employment?
- What if this means that girls aren't going to like me?
- What if this distances me from my friends?
- How are people going to view me from now on?

You formulate all of these things and more in your head, reasons to deny yourself the help you need. Getting help was one of the most terrifying and difficult steps for me to make in my life, and I bet it was just as hard for Heath to reach out to people and get over his demons. From what I've read he isolated himself, something I can relate to.

Eventually, you have to decide for yourself, you know, fuck the employers who might discriminate, fuck the women who might not like you for it, and the people who distance themselves from you for it are not your friends. The people who misunderstand are 100% ignorant and their opinions are worthless.

What's more important than any of that crap is for you to be happy and live a good, healthy life. You are who you are, pock marks and all, and that's okay. Maybe if Heath could have seen this in time he would still be with us.

In case you did not see it, Jim Wallis made an appearance on The Daily Show. The interview is up on streaming video (look under "Coming Up Next").

I have a new one! Hallelujah!

Now I might take some of this Christmas money and buy some new pots and pans. Any recommendations?

It's just on my left side. I've had it for a little less than a week. I thought maybe I slept on my side wrong and that's why things were weird, now thought after a few days I really don't know.

I mean, it's not like piercing pain. It's more like someone is rubbing their knuckle into my chest. I really hope it goes away. I am recovering from a cold.

Other than that, not much to talk about!!! Another day, another dollar.

Thank you for responding, peeps. I have a tendency to overthink this crap sometimes, a tendency which I am trying my best to resist.

My resolution is to slam the door closed on the negative phase I have gone through. I think the last year and a half or so has been great, but before that I constantly had a thundercloud over my head. My twenties haven't been what I had hoped for.

And now, looking back, I think "Oh my God, what happened to me?" and I see how much time and opportunity have gone to waste. I really don't want that to happen anymore. I want to do so much, and catch up on everything I've missed.

Moments like this past weekend really remind me of that. Kinda got caught unprepared.

I will answer your comments now:

(e:Libertad) - Yeah, crazy, exactly. This stuff doesn't happen all the time. Totally blindsided me.

(e:Paul) - Yes, exactly right. Straight men don't get under a blanket with each other. I am not sure that the chick actually wanted this, or whether she misspoke.

(e:Ajay) - I'm going to be a lot better prepared next time. I have already written down a list, and started completing it. Might be a good time to practice a recipe or two also, yes?

(e:Metalpeter) - I don't know, man. You see, the girl that was hanging with my buddy...well...I doubt anything really is ever going to happen between them, and they both know it. Both girls sort of have to be down with it I'm sure. I don't know if either of them are. Both get plenty of attention, might have better things to do.

Honestly, if all that ever happened was that they came down, went out with us, had a few laughs and a few flirts, I would be fine with it. I'm fine with just going out and having a good time. I don't need to game her or rush anything or see how fast I can get in her pants. Whatever happens will happen naturally, even if it is nothing.

Now that I'm sober, I'll re-post the story.

Went over to my buddy's house last evening to watch some football. The Pats won of course, for those of you who did not watch.

We then got a phone call. Buddy said that we might meet some girls out for some impromptu, no strings attached fun. Okay, well, I wasn't exactly prepared to go out, but what the hell, it's just a couple of dart games and some beers.

We get there and I'll be damned if we weren't lucky enough to hang out with a couple of really lovely women. The short one says to me "Where are our drinks?" to break my balls and I replied "This ain't UNICEF!"

Man, Josh, you would have been proud, I served as a fantastic wingman. They told my friend how fun I was, and that we should the four of us go down to Allentown next weekend for a change of scenery.

Then it gets interesting, one of the girls (not the one I was paired with) decided the after party was at my friend's house. Man, shit, I wasn't prepared for that. I was nasty grubby, no shower, no shave, sweating like a whore in church because of how hot it was in the bar. All I was ready to do last night was watch football.

We played Trivial Pursuit for a while, then the girl who invited us to my Buddy's place decide the four of us should huddle under a blanket and watch a move. *BZZZZT* I don't think so, lady. It's 3:30 AM and I am nasty and anyway I want my own bed.

So my friend and that girl stay, while the other girl and I leave. I hope she didn't take it the wrong way. I'm sure I looked hesitant and disinterested. Maybe she was just being a wingman like me and just wanted to make it through the night. I got her number and everything, and brought up next weekend like they did earlier, but I don't even know if I should bother. I see an answering machine in the future when/if I call.

At the very least, even if nothing else comes of it I had a good time.