Here we go again. Still trying to build this site. Working to find collaborators and interesting content. If you have feedback or would like to contribute, send a message to Augustocguerrero@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.
Having grown up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. puts me in a predicament. I'm a Marylander so I should follow Maryland teams, right? When I was growing up, Maryland only had the Orioles, because they didn't have a football team between 1983 and 1998. So I had the Skins (who currently play out of Landover, MD and train in Richmond, VA) At the time, D.C. hadn't had a baseball team since 1960. The constant in my sport choices were always the Washington Capitols and the Wizards (formerly the Washington Bullets)
Although I've live in Maryland most of my life, I was always minutes from the D.C. line. When I was growing up, going to see the O's play was a day long ordeal including a road trip to and from and hour long waits to get out of the parking fields after the game. This was when they played at Memorial Stadium. Since then they have moved to Camden Yards which is directly next to M&T Stadium (home of the Ravens) which I pass everyday on my commute to and from work. With it's move to build bigger fan friendly and highway adjacent stadiums The city of Baltimore has definitely made it easier for out-of city fans like myself to make the pilgrimage.
Washington D.C. has also invested in world-class sports venues within the city. In 1997 what is now known as the Verizon Center (formerly the MCI Center) opened above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro on H Street. It's where the Wizards and the Caps play. Prior to that they both called the Capital Center in Landover, MD home. When the Washington Nationals returned to the nation's capital in 2005 they played their games at RFK Stadium (former home of the Skins) In the Early part of the 20th century they were known as the Washington Senators. They did change their name to the Nationals, just before becoming the Minnesota Twins in 1961. In their heyday they played at Griffith Stadium.
In 2008, National's Park opened for business on South Capital Street on the Anacostia waterfront next to the Frederick Douglass Bridge, Is there anything more "D.C." than that for a home team? It boasts 41,418 seats. The open air style of the stadium make it for a good view from any of those seats. The food venues are extensive and feature local favorites. Along with the Red Porch, a full service restaurant in center field, they feature concessions from Ben's Chili Bowl half smokes, Hard Times chili, Dogfish Head and Flying Dog Brewery beer.
I like it because it is a quintessential "city field" It reminds me of "old" Yankee Stadium. Although it has over 41 thousand seats, it doesn't have that monster stadium feel. You can see the game from every seat and walking to and from the bathroom or concessions. Another great feature is parking is never a problem because it's only 1/2 a block from Navy Yard Metro.
Not taking anything away from Baltimore, for me Washington D.C. is a clear winner for local sports town. You have sports year round. They are all Metro accessible. The best part is you can always find a cheap ticket. I got 6 left field line seats in section 111 for 63 bucks the day of the game. Took the whole family and the best part was, we beat the Reds 9 to 4. So get out there and watch a game from time to time.
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| Hondo statue at park's entrance |
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| Honus Wagner Hall of Fame mural |
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| This article is dedicated to my old man, and the Nat's biggest fan. |
Your home bar is your shrine to your favorite libations. Whether it's wine, beer, or any array of distilled spirits. The quality of your drink is measured by age, origin and other factors in production. Another major differentiation between a good home bar and a great home bar is the tools.
We all have that plastic key chain bottle opener with a metal tab (that sometimes falls) to open beers. In the kitchen drawer is the "winged" corkscrew which also serves as a beer bottle open. Can openers have also always offered another utensil for opening beer bottles. Then you have the MacGyvers of the world that can open a beer with just about anything from a key, to a spoon, a lighter, their teeth or even another beer.
In the end, it's all about leverage, but we're not in the stone ages anymore. Let's put the down the rocks an pick up more suitable tools for the job. These days, home bar kits are a dime a dozen. You can find them in an array of finishes including wood, stainless steel and leather. Maybe get those corny themed ones that feature putter heads or your favorite team logo. I prefer my openers like I prefer my liquor, aged.
Over the years I've pieced together my bar tools. A strainer here, stirrer there. I own a handful of sommelier style corkscrews, because you can never have enough of those.
I have a nice collection of multipurpose vintage openers. I like the older variations because they were well made and some of them have up to 4 functions.
"Pierre The Sommelier" is a sterling silver winged corkscrew from the 80's. I bought from and online auction. I love it, but never use it. It sits in it's original case on my shelf.
This next one is my oldest. It's made of brass. It's carved to resemble a whale. By the shape of ring and the construction, I estimate it being from the turn of the 20th century.
This one was distributed by Sapporo beer. It's my everyday opener and one of my favorites. Mainly because it stands on end and I like the shape of the ring.
The shovel is one my multipurpose openers and the latest addition to my collection. It just looks like a simple miniature shovel.The shovel head is a scoop to get ice out of the bucket, which can also be used to crack the ice and the handle of course is the ring.
This one is known as "The Bar Boy", and has 4 functions. The cup end is a measure and mallet to crush ice. The hook at the base of the cup is the bottle opener and the fold-in corkscrew hides under the handle, which I think can be used as an eye gouger in a pinch.
This one is similar to the Bar Boy, but a bit more refined and polished, made to look like a pipe. The cup is a measure an ice crusher. The handle has a indent to open bottles. When you unscrew the handle, the cup becomes a corkscrew/emergency eye gouger.
Next time your at a thrift store or at a yard sale or at a antique shop keep your eyes peeled for a nice vintage piece to make your bar complete and frankly class up the joint. Cent'anni!
As a butcher, summertime is synonymous with one thing, grilling. Well depending on what part of the world you live in, you can grill everyday. I of course live in the Mid-Atlantic, and if you've been keeping up with the weather, you should know that winter was a pain this season for us. Spring really never happened, and now Summer has unofficially started, so people are looking to do some grilling.
There is nothing like getting a fire going and throwing some meat on the grill on nice day. A beer in one hand and tongs in the other. A couple of years ago I invested in a nice heavy duty grill/smoker licensed by Kingsford (the charcoal people) It's got a temperature gauge and when I bought it, you could raise and lower the pan that holds the coals.
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Nowadays it's very broken in. It's sooty, greasy and seasoned. Perfect for grilling. Last year I started cooking with logs. It's the best thing I could have done. I start with hardwood coals and use them to get the logs going. It makes for longer burning and a more uniform cooking area and the smoke adds flavor.
So you want to invest in a grill? Your going to need 2 things, a nice multi-purpose grill and a chimney starter.I know what your thinking, what the hell is a multi-purpose grill, and what's the chimney have to do with grilling? First by multi-purpose, I mean a nice heavy iron construction component. Something that can handle charcoal or wood. The bigger Weber comes to mind. If you go to Walmart, you can find larger non-gass grills, with wheels and side table like mine for around $150. I picked up mine, as soon as they arrived, in early spring for a 100 bucks. In the summer the price goes up because of demand, and later in the season selection is limited.
Now as for the chimney starter. It's exactly what is sounds like, a apparatus use to start fireplace (chimney) fires. It basically an iron cylinder with a handle. You put your coals in the top and light it from the bottom. In 10 minutes, it get your coals nice and red without the use of lighter fluid.
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| Stuff newspaper in the shallow bottom chamber of the chimney starter |
Now that the coals are hot. You have two options. You can start cooking or wait the extra 30 minutes and throw some logs on top. I use fire wood that I keep around for the fireplace. It's a bit smokey at first, but once you get the all the logs going, you'll be alright.
At this point you can start cooking. Remember one thing, the center is the hottest part of the grilling surface and where the flames are going to be. So anything going in the center can be moved to the perimeter once it's got good color to finish cooking. They recommend not flipping too much, but with a live flame, check it every 10 minutes to see if it's not burning. What I do once it "looks" done, I put it on the upper rack to let the residual heat finish cooking it for another 10 minutes.
Cymande pronounced sah-mahn-day is a British Funk group that debuted in 1971. Their sound was Funk mixed with Calypso, Reggae and African rhythms. Not surprisingly their members were from Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Vincent. Today I will discuss their self titled debut. The cover art is an illustration of a man with a dove over his head, fitting since cymande means dove in Calypso.
Side 1 starts with Zion I, a very Rastafarian derived track with a chant over a Calypso beat. The second song is One More. This song is a more laid back blues rock instrumental lead by guitar over a bongo beat. After that it gets native with a percussive African beat explosion. The track is called Getting it Back. The singer's Caribbean accent comes through. This one transitions to a more pure Funk sound.
Yes, it is blue vinyl
Side 2 begins with Dove, which starts with congas and guitar resembling a Santana intro. It basically keeps the same rhythmic pattern throughout with the addition of drums and base and a guitar solo.
The next track is the song that helped me discover this band. It's called Bra. I first heard it in the Edward Norton film, The 25th Hour. It took me years to figure who did it. One day at work it came on over the speakers. Since they used a form of satellite radio I looked at the receiver and immediately read what I've been longing to know.It's such an infectious funk song. Horn heavy, with a great hook, "but it's alright, you can still come on" Then halfway through comes the breakdown. Cow bell and base drum that builds up a return to the original horn laden beat.
My second favorite song on this album follows, it's called The Message. It's got a Calypso feel with a heavy organ riff. Ras Tafarian Folk Song concludes the album. It sounds exactly like the title.It starts with a dedication to the world's first "hippy" A very militant sounding chant and march I imagine accompanies it.
Overall I give it a 6 out of 10. I love a good horn section. I also like that they represent their cultures in the music. They weren't super commercial. They were a sleeper until guys like me started sampling their tracks and putting their songs in films.
Overall I give it a 6 out of 10. I love a good horn section. I also like that they represent their cultures in the music. They weren't super commercial. They were a sleeper until guys like me started sampling their tracks and putting their songs in films.
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