Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on March 05, 2024, 03:31:37 PMYeah...a lot of taverns, pubs, and nightclubs have a short shelf life. I don't know if you ever got over to the North 40 in Ithaca, but that was a fun place to go like the OP. They brought in big name bands back in the 60's and early 70's...I remember seeing Tommy James and the Shondells there, playing as if they were a local band at a local watering hole. The place burned down, but was rebuilt and changed into "Lakewatch Inn", a wedding venue without the electric checkerboard dance floor. Place was crazy fun

The Esprit/Eclipse (locally known as the clit because of the abundance of women) in Binghamton was also a place where crazy stuff went down...but it's gone. As is Flashbacks with the lighted checkerboard dance floor and music from the 60s-80's. Also gone, The Blue Moon on Old Vestal Road, West Side Cheers, Edigans, Shenanigans, even the Number 5, and Country Bobs no longer exist. Party on the Patio every Saturday night was a blast...it's gone. Such is the life of taverns and bars. Some are still around, like Rathskellers (we always called the "Rat Cellar"), an underground nightclub beside the Grand Royale Hotel on State Street. But it's no longer packed like the old days...the fun days no longer exist in this town

Wow, I remember a lot of those bars you mentioned, Ric. Not surprised they're all gone now. I was probably in all or most of them, at least once or twice. But I didn't hang out at bars around the Binghamton area too much for the most part, as I lived on the west end of Broome County. Although back in those days I was heavily into the city softball leagues and we would usually stop in at the closest bar following a game or tournament for a beer or two, but then head closer to home for a majority of our post game celebrations. The one bar I do remember spending some time in was The Little Jewel, just south of Binghamton on Rt.7 But mostly because I was able to get served there as early as age 17, and also because they always had Bob Seger's Live Bullet album playing on their sound system. It was my first introduction to that classic album.

Quote from: TDToomer on March 05, 2024, 02:34:48 PMMy tastes have evolved with beer to the point I cannot drink any of these water downed mass produced lagers anymore. I call them college beers of the past. Give me Barrell aged Baltic Porters, Milk Stouts and NEIPAs. There is so much great craft beer in the USA now. Please tell me I am not the only one who visits Tree House who are arguably the most successful craft/independent/destination brewery the USA. 

@TDToomer I would agree, most of the mass produced lagers and pilsners in the US are pretty poor. The difference between the more common American lagers/pilsners vs. a Czech pilsner or German lager are like night and day. Luckily for us there are some US brewers who are knowledgeable and dedicated enough in their craft to brew them the right way.

I have a garage fridge full of beer, and the style I have the most of is bourbon barrel aged stouts, most between 10-15%abv, with some brewed 10 years ago or more. I'm also a homebrewer, and currently have 5 beers kegged and drinking - A Milk Stout with coconut, a Scottish Ale, an Irish Red Ale, an American Pale Ale hopped with homegrown hops, and a British Style Best Bitter. Additionally I have a ~10% Imperial Stout currently fermenting that I'll "cellar" until fall/winter time.

I also enjoy a well made neipa, although there are an awful lot out there that aren't made well. Tree House Brewing is certainly among the best when it comes to neipa's. I've never been to the brewery, but I have had quite a few of their beers. Top notch.

Speaking of neipa's, they are a very challenging beer to make, even for professional brewers, but especially so with my setup. I'm planning on using what I've learned over the past year or so and brew one later this spring. I'm hoping for the best.

Here's a picture of a neipa I brewed back in 2020. Certainly not in the same league as Tree House or other top examples, but it was still as good or better than some of the commercial neipa's I've had. I used copious amounts of Citra, Mosaic, El Dorado, and Strata hops in it. 

Since it's officially derailed....I'm a huge fan of Genesee Cream Ale, have been since my college days. It was likely a contributing factor as to why I dropped out. Genny Cream is the best cream ale I've ever drank, I'd love to try brewing it some day. I'm actually wearing a Genesee Brewery t-shirt right now. Last time I was in NY, in 2022, I drank some cream ale and also stocked up, bringing some back to California with me. Reminded me of the old days. In brewing circles it's rumored that Genesee ferments it with lager yeast, so, if true, I guess it's not technically an ale.

Early on, in my teens, I didn't especially like beer but just drank it because all my friends did. But I soon warmed up to the taste and Schlitz became my first favorite, drinking it in the early to mid 70's. Then they changed the recipe and it went to hell. I've recently read that whoever owns the label now is brewing it to the original recipe, or close to it, and it's supposedly tasting good again. I can't get it out here or I'd try it for myself.

Ric mentioned $1 beer night. Back in the mid-late 70's I remember 50 cent bottles of Molson Golden every Wednesday at The Other Place, (aka The O.P.), right across Bunn Hill Rd. from SUNY Binghamton. Never missed it. They also had bands occasionally, and I once saw The Talking Heads play there around the time their debut album was released.

Lastly, I'm a big fan of Ommegang. They brew some very good Belgian style beers. They're hugely sought after in the trading circles in areas where distribution doesn't reach. When I was living in NY, and working in Field Service at IBM, I had The Baseball HoF as one of my customers. Of course that was cool. I'd always tried to time my visits there for mid afternoon. Then after that I'd stop off at Ommegang to grab some beers to bring home. This was before they ramped up production and their beers became easier to get. Plus they used to have a release or two that was only available at the brewery.
The good old days.....

Quote from: Ed Vette on March 05, 2024, 12:46:58 PMThere are a couple of good Brewing companies in Cooperstown. I gave up beer years ago but I liked their brew.
https://www.cooperstownbrewing.com/
https://www.ommegang.com/

Schultz and Dooley glassware are in regular rotation at my house. Just took this pic after seeing your post, Ric.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on March 05, 2024, 10:40:56 AMThere used to be a sports bar in Binghamton that had Tuesday Night specials: 1.00 for Rolling Rock "ponies" and "nickel wings"...my only experience with RR...not terrible...better than Genny, IMO (not saying much)

Schlitz is actually a great beer, and you can still get it at specialty beer houses. Tastes a lot like Yuengling. Utica Club is coming back in style in my area which is also a good beer...again, IMO

I have lots to say about this, but I shall bite my tongue so as to not derail this thread further. 

Quote from: Painter on March 05, 2024, 10:13:06 AMPrecisely right, lively golden, crystally clear...sorry, I don't know why I thought of Ballantine Beer, but you nailed it, Rich. Spot on.

Cheers!

Perhaps you're just dreaming of three more rings, @Painter 

Quote from: ozzie on February 24, 2024, 03:15:17 PMIf you try it Sem, let me know what you think.

OK @ozzie , so I just finished season 1 of Fisk. I like it for its sometimes subtle humor, other times outrageous humor, (no laugh track is a bonus). But it's mostly laid back humor, like you mentioned, in a common sitcom formula - a small quirky core group, and the crazy characters that pass through. Similar in that way to American shows like Night Court, Barney Miller, and Newhart from years ago. Due to the accents, and at times quieter dialog, I have to watch with closed captions. And even then find myself having to pause and rewind quite a bit throughout each episode so not to miss anything, but I don't mind doing that. I really like the main character, Helen. Such understated sarcasm. Thanks for the recommendation. I'm enjoying this series.

Just spitballing here regarding Evan Neal.

*Slow*
I think there may be three distinct types of being slow. Which is it?

  - is he just physically slow? (physical)
  - is he just slow at processing? (mental)
  - is he just naturally slow at reacting? (combination of both).


I coached youth basketball for years. Age 14-15 for a few years and 16-18 for my final years.

We had some kids that were physically slow. No matter how much they practiced, no matter how fast they processed what was in front of them, they were just slow moving, physically.

We had kids that could play fast but kept getting beat to the spot because it took them too long to recognize and process. These kids would generally get better as the season went on, mostly due the the hours spent practicing, and their processing time became became quicker.

And we had kids that were slow at reacting to what was in front of them. These kids I used to call "watchers" (but only to myself). You could watch their eyes and/or head track what was happening in front of them, prior to moving. In other words, unlike the previous group, they processed fine. It just took them a couple extra milliseconds to physically react.

The second two examples are similar, if not related, yet distinctly different.

Finally, during all my years coaching we had two kids whose quickness
was above the rest of the team and league. They both went on to play college soccer and both played in the NCAA Division 1 Soccer Tournament.

Until I actually see him at Guard I can't have any confidence that Neal can be successful there. However if the coaching staff thinks he can be a plus Guard then I would welcome the opportunity to see him try to resuscitate his career there.

I am against drafting another LT only to have him switch sides and hope he can become a top RT. Draft or sign a RT!!

I know a lot of you are "car guys," I've just never been one myself. My strategy is to buy a 2 or 3 year old car in good condition and drive it until it needs to be towed the the junkyard. I do keep up on the scheduled maintenance religiously, especially regular oil changes. My current car is a 2005 Honda CRV that I bought with cash in 2007, after the largest percentage of depreciation happened. Today, (knock on wood) it still drives like the day I bought it, and owes me nothing. Later this year, when the 2025 autos come out my CRV will be 20 years old. It has less than 170k miles on it, and I drive it nearly every day. From a maintenance perspective it's the most trouble-free vehicle I have ever owned. The body, outside of some parking lot dings, is in good shape, (nice to be free of the winter salt/hassle). I hope to keep driving it for a few more years.

The most fun car I ever "owned" was a '93 Alfa Romeo Spider convertible. About 8 years ago my brother-in-law, who owns the vehicle, took a work assignment for 6 years in the UK. He didn't want to take the car with him, and didn't want to risk storing it for that long. So he signed the title over to me with the understanding I sign it back over to him when he returned. Better to drive it occasionally than to store it for that long. There's a lot of back-mountain winding roads around me, and my wife and I would often take it out for long rides in the country.

Here's a pic of my favorite mountain road. I'm sure I have pics of the Alfa on my old computer but, unfortunately, not on this one. Note to self: I should probably retrieve some of that data someday soon.

Walter White was a successful HS chemistry teacher with a brilliant scientific mind. His stage 3 lung cancer diagnosis drove him to make sure his family was financially secure after his eventual death...by any means possible. Once he started down that path his descent was swift and deep.

Jimmy McGill was a slacker his whole life, always looking for shortcuts to reach his life's goals. Due to this character flaw he was unwilling or unable to ever reach his dreams through hard work and dedication. But instead he always looked for the easy way out. While he accepted that he was life-long shirker, he still yearned for approval and acceptance from those closest to him - his parents, his brother Chuck, his love Kim, and also from Howard.

That each character was so deeply and terribly flawed is what made for such compelling viewing. In my opinion the two series were among the best I have ever seen.

To Rich's question, I vote it's a tie.

It's February. Believe little of what you hear and less of what you read.
Not at all worth getting one's self twisted in knots over any of this.

I don't know anything about this. Is it a new series? I bailed on the original series about the time Alpha showed up. I just lost interest in it after I felt it ran its course and then just became too stupid to watch. Stupid dialog, stupid decisions, just horrible writing. I did watch a few episodes of Fear the Walking Dead, but that seemed even worse so I gave up on that one too. So, there's yet another one out there now? No thanks, I'll pass.