AndrePope.com

Today started my attempt to become what some call a "Localvore." While I do not like calling myself this and that this is the best way to describe what I am trying to accomplish. A little research about localvores lead me to the conclusion that I actually hate labels. Basically what I am trying to do is eat locally. This includes, but is not limited to, eating out and cooking at home. I have searched out local (SC and NC) companies that I can buy at the grocery store.

Today started my first day of trying this. For lunch I went up to Piggly Wiggly and found some Radd Dews BBQ! Ohh how lucky. I bought a pint and decided to make this my main meal for the week at work. When I got home form work Heidi and I went to both Food Lion (a NC based company) and Piggly Wiggly to scout out some food for dinner. Since we did not have that much money I only bought a few products. I am not going to waste any of the food that I have at the house at present. I figure that I can just combine the new local based products whit what I already have and gradually progress to an all local diet.

Some would say that living in the South has both its advantages and disadvantages when it comes to being a localvore. For instance there is an abundance of pork products made locally. From BBQ and sauces to pork skins and sausage. This makes me a little concerned for my general health but I sure do love me some pork. The south also has a good number of farmers markets and even at my front door there is a sea of possibilities. All of these things make me very excited.

So why am I doing this? Is it to save the world, to make a statement? These may both be a byproduct but the real reason is that I want to try and get back to simpler times. Not even 50 years ago the people of Horry County ate what they grew, produced or traded. There were not so many choices. The choices you had were direct result of knowing and supporting your neighbor. You worked together as a community, you shared and you prospered. I think that today we have to many choices, we are too greedy and have no sense of community. While I know that what I am doing will have not real affect on or even get me close to simpler times it will give me a sense of what it was like. How far off I will never do but I do enjoy the fact that I am supporting my neighbor, my local butcher, farmer, or restaurant. If It does have some impact on the environment or it makes a statement about society than even better.

Please be forewarned that I am not in it to save animals or some shit like that. I don't really care if I fall off the wagon in some sort of fashion. I am not in it to listen to you bitch at me if I am not doing it right. These are my rules and I am making them up as I go along. Its my experiment that is able to go awry at anytime. But I am open to new information that you may know about local products, so please pass them along.

Here goes my grocery list:
Margaret Holmes
• Hoppin Johns
• Season Butter Beans
• Tomatoes
• Red Beans & Rice
• Cabbage
• Greer Peaches

Blenheim Ginger Ale

Carolina Pride
• Pork Sausage
• Beef Wieners
• Turkey Breast
• Smoke Sausage
• Kielbasa Sausage
• Bacon

Charleston Favorites
• White Stone Ground Grits

The Egg & I Farm - Lemar, SC
• Dozen Eggs

I look forward to finding more and more products and how they will take over in place of national brands. We will have to wait and see.

Posted by Andre at 11:31 PM | Permalink

IRON MAN! (Inset song track here)

Last night Heidi and I went to go see Iron Man. One of the local theaters had a showing at 11:00 o'clock and knowing this weekends schedule we thought that this would be the best time to check it out. The theater wasn't crowed at all which is just fine by me.

My Review:
It's good. Go see it. Get some popcorn. Great casting. Stick around till after the credits. Enjoy, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Posted by Andre at 09:28 AM | Permalink

I have a love for weird things. I can appreciate the small things. So what happens when you combine them all together? Something great... The Grilled Cheese Invitational!

The event started back in 2003 and by the looks of it has gotten bigger and better every year.

The sammich definitions are as follows:

• The Missionary Position: White bread, orange cheese (Cheddar or American) and butter or margarine only.
• Spoons: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter and any kind of cheese (or combination of cheeses) but no additional ingredients.
• The Kama Sutra: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, and any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses) plus additional ingredients.
• The Honey Pot: Any kind of bread, any kind of butter, any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses), and any additional ingredients, but a sandwich that is sweet in flavor, or would best be served as dessert.

So if you are in LA, this weekend go check it out. If not you should be at the CREATE conference.

Posted by Andre at 09:35 AM | Permalink

One of the best games I have seen is on TV right now. 56-51 Memphis with 2:45 left. Exciting!!!! If you are not watching you are missing out.

Go MEMPHIS!

Posted by Andre at 11:22 PM | Permalink

Thanks to Emerson, I have a lot to read. Emerson has hooked me up with a bunch of comics. What I found pretty interesting is the ads that are displayed on the back of comics. It is pretty cool to see ad styles form decades. Take a look at a bunch of them here.

Posted by Andre at 09:43 AM | Permalink

I ma sitting at the VW dealer waiting for for my car. It seems that there was a factory recall for two different things on my 2003 VW Jetta. One was the locking system for the front doors, the second was a break light switch. The second one was what was worrying me the most. In a nut shell my break lights do not cut off. I have to get out of my car, pop the hood and disconnect the battery cables. While I am here I am getting the temp sensor and the thermostat replaced. The are both faulty and I have been dealing with it since October.

While the first two things are under warranty the second are not. The parts price is going to be $70 while who knows on the labor. Now they are telling me I need to replace my rear breaks as well. I am going to have to hold off and let my boys in Conway do that.

Haha I just got the total bill $250. What a crock! $170 for labor, shit.

If you don't have to then don't get your service work at the dealer. Learn to do it yourself (unless you have the Pope curse!).

Posted by Andre at 10:50 AM | Permalink

I know I talk about music on here every so often. But to honest I don't get excited about it anymore. I don't seek out new music, go to shows or really care about what is coming out. However there is one exception: Jack Johnson. I have no idea why but I totally did what he does and how he does it. When I listen to jack Johnson it literately takes me away to some magical tropical place.

Well folks he has a new album out and its good. Entitled "sleep through the static" the all acoustic album is just what I expected it o be. To top it off I read this in the liner notes, "Recorded using 100% solar energy, printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, and carrying the 1% For The Planet logo." Pretty cool to me. If you are interested in checking it out for your self just swing over to the website.

Posted by Andre at 11:05 PM | Permalink

When you are geocaching and you come across a new geocache that has "swag" in it you have the opportunity to swap something out. This is something that I normally find t be a little more for the kids. However on some occasions I do come across something that I find cool and interesting. Normally this consist of a geocoin or travelbug. (Both of theses items are tracked by the geocaching website so you can see there whereabout across the world). For me keeping a swag bag is difficult. I never seem to have anything with me at the right time. However I have devised a plan to have some cool swag with me that would be cool to find while you are out on the hunt.

A Geocahce Mixtape! In theory what is supposed to happen is I make a bunch of different mix cd's, and place them in caches. Fellow geocachers would then pick them up on the hunt. They then could listen to them and when they get tired of it swap it out with the next one that they find. Maybe it would even catch on and other people would start doing mixtapes.

Here goes the first two Mix Tapes:

Songs To Geocache To Vol. 1 Soul/Funk
1) Four Piece Funky, Nitty Gritty Junky Band By: Bobby Freeman
2) Ride Your Pony By: Betty Harris
3) What Is Hip By: Tower Of Power
4) First I Look at the Purse By: The Contours
5) Ungena Za Ulimengu (Unite The World) By: The Temptations
6) Natural Soul Brother By: Danny White
7) Funky Robot By Rufus Thomas
8) Onsta La Yerbita By: Enrique Delgado Con Los Destellos
9) Sugar Sugar By: Shirley
10) Reverend Lee By: Lorna Bennett
11) 992 Arguments By: The O'Jays
12) Ebony Jam By: Tower Of Power

Songs to Geocache To, Rockabilly Edition Vol. 1 Rockabilly
1) Dragstrip Girl By: Hellbillys
2) Ruff Stuff By: The Sharks
3) Hippy Dance By: Hillbilly Hellcats
4) It's Martini Time By: Reverend Horton Heat
5) 1965 GTO By: Amazing Royal Crowns
6) Story Of My Life By: Social Distortion
7) Peterbilt By: Custom Made Scare
8) Lucky Eye By: Flat Duo Jets
9) Teenage Boogie By: Bonneville
10) Blitzkrieg Bop By: Full Blown Cherry
11) Down The Line By: The Bopcats
12) 44 By: Frantic Flinstones
13) Rock Me Baby By: The Belmont Playboys
14) Don't Go Back to Rockville By: Long Tall Texans
15) Memphis By: Dragstrip 77
16) 8-Track By: Brian Setzer
17) Rock This Town By: Stray Cats
18) Really Rockabilly By: Brian Setzer

Posted by Andre at 05:44 PM | Permalink

Yesterday SC Voted! It was a good showing for a "red" state. I was happy to see everybody who turned out to cast their vote. While I casted my vote for the underdog, I see it was well worth while. People see a change on the horizon and showed they are ready for it yesterday.

The primaries in SC gave an economic boost to Horry County. With all the media and press in town I was glad to see restaurants full and happenings all around town. With the debates last Tuesday I was glad to have participated and was able to see first hand how a production of this nature gets put together. It was great to be apart of the excitement and highly recommend to anybody out there to become involved in some form or fashion. It is going to be an eventful year.

Posted by Andre at 10:53 AM | Permalink

I am amazed when ever someone sets out on their own and just puts something out there. It is a real accomplishment to lay it all out there for the general populous to consume regardless of its medium. I admire anyone who says "fuck it I think I have something that is worth broadcasting so here it is." Many people talk about doing this all the time but most are too lazy to really do anything about it. So when someone goes the extra mile and actually puts it out there I have to give them props. It doesn't matter if its your cd, a self published book, or a piece of art for sale, its all the same to go out there on the limb all by your self. To all of you out there who continue to do this I appalled you.

However most of the stuff that I come across that is self published, or is an artistic endeavor is crap. Not much thought or effort was put into the final product. It lacks originality and usually bites someone's else style. Most seems rushed, to the point that says "I did it because I could." While it is still admirable to take it to the next level and put it out there I think most people should take a little more time and polish up the finish piece before releasing it to the world.

Every now and then you come across some DIY stuff that is the full blown real deal. Blood, sweat and tears were poured into the work. The artist themselves are still wondering if it is done. If not for the pushing of friends and family the work of art, cords of a song or prose of the pen would still be on the shelves of the artist. But thanks to the constant pushing some works do see the light of day to be consumed by the masses. Some works end up the walls of strangers. Some end up bumping out the speakers of passing by cars. Some end up getting blog post written about them...

A little while ago a new found friend gave me his cd to listen to. That gentleman's name was Chris Yale, the cd "Well Enough Alone." I listen to it constantly. It is well put together, thought out and polished. The first track, "Something I Remember" is the perfect introduction to the album and the closing track "Just No Way" closes out the album seamlessly. By far these are my favorite tracks. It just goes to show, how you polish your craft can really set your hobbies and passions apart. I know it was a struggle to put it out there but I am so glad he did. It has given me a new found respect to something I have forgotten about: "Art is about what you enjoy." I can tell through his album that Chris enjoys his music. Its not just a hobby but a passion. I admire that. I personally have lots of hobbies but very few passions. I encourage anyone out there who is the mood for some good ol american music (think Tom Petty mixed with Mellencamp) to give it a listen.

Chris Yale's Website

Posted by Andre at 07:36 PM | Permalink

For Christmas one of my good friends got me this book: The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World by Alexander Roy (He finished first in the 2006 Gumball 3000). I have gotten three chapters into the book and its most excellent, but what has really gotten my attention is a few things that it has already turned me on to.

The first a cult film called C'était un Rendez-Vous (1976) - by Claude Lelouch you can check it out on YouTube here and read about the mystique behind it here.

The second is a movie getting ready for release called 32 Hours 7 Minutes about the real Cannonball Run. Defiantly check out the trailer for it.
http://www.32hours7minutes.com/

Posted by Andre at 12:25 PM | Permalink

While I struggle to get my little project off the ground I still keep at it with my constant eating habits. Here in South Carolina you can find many different types of BBQ: pepper-vinger, mustard, light and heavy tomato based. However one type I haven't been able to find is Mongolia style BBQ.

I was first introduce to this style while doing a short stint in NYC. There was this little hole in the wall restaurant just down the block from where I worked at the magazine. It was pretty cool to see men with long staffs slowly turning food over on these huge stone grills. Mixing meat and vegetables and special sauces it was a new method to the traditional BBQ that I grew up on.

There is a big mystery behind the origins of Mongolian BBQ. While this is the same case with every type of BBQ, I tend to believe this version of its history a little more than the others:

Mongolian BBQ originated centuries ago in the Far East during feast for Genghis's Kahn's Mongolian army. Soldiers would gather together and prepare cuts of meat and vegetables using their swards. Each warrior would then cook his own food on his shields, heated over a hot fire.

Since my NY days I have come across a few different restaurants that have served this type of cooking, but none that really stand out. I would love to find one that could rank up there in non-southern style BBQ restaurants.

Ohh well I guess we will see. Now I am off to the China Buffet to sample on some of there supposed Mongolia style cooking.

Posted by Andre at 12:20 PM | Permalink

This is an invite for all of you out there to join us all at the Roundtable Art Show tomorrow night. With about 25 artist on display, light hors devours, and a full bar there is sure to be something for everyone. I do believe that this is there fifth year doing the holiday show and it has gotten better year after year. Some come out and see some great art at the Sheraton Hotel on 21st and Oak Street (convention center) tomorrow between 7 and 9.

Posted by Andre at 09:12 PM | Permalink

This goes out to Emerson Brown for hooking me up with new music to check out. I think this may have gone under his gaydar. But before you pass judgment know that this is for Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales.

Yes that is Sarah Michelle Gellar!

Posted by Andre at 09:49 AM | Permalink

Work has been really busy as of late. I have been putting in lots of hours. In doing so I find that the free time I do have is very special to me. With that I haven't been really publishing any real content on the blog. Its been a lot of fluff so as I don't have to think to hard. However I have been doing some really cool stuff at work that I haven't got to talk about.

I have also had some health issues. I won't be getting into much depth as far as that other than I am getting old and that my emergency bill I just got is going to cost me about $1500 (and thats after my insurance picked up part of the tab). OUCH!

So be on the look out for more in depth post that actually have some substance.

Posted by Andre at 11:19 PM | Permalink

On the second meet up of the Grand Strand Bloggers we tippled in the amount of participants. It was good times all around. He is a few picts.

A super special thanks to Mr. Yale for a special surprise of buying me this book:

It is much appreciated and I look forward to repaying the favor.

Posted by Andre at 08:25 PM | Permalink

A few quick picts of Bobby's octopi!

Posted by Andre at 01:58 PM | Permalink

One part of being in the south, rasied in the south and/or being a southern is its food. Southern food is a symbol of family, tradition, culture and pride. However - for sometime, I think the south has been loosing its identity, its essence, its flavor. While I have my own ideas in the oven it is a pleasure to see others with the same thoughts.

The Southern Foodways Alliance is an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture with headquarters at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Southern Foodways Alliance documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South. We set a common table where black and white, rich and poor -- all who gather -- may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.

Posted by Andre at 08:11 PM | Permalink

For those that don't already know there is a huge BBQ contest this weekended and yours truly will be one of many judges. If you get the opportunity try to come out. Its at the old air force base and it will also have a car show, live music and a movie on the lawn. Ohh yea did I mention a comptive eating contest: BBQ Sandwiches?

Good times all around.

Posted by Andre at 10:15 PM | Permalink

Where are your red, white and blue banners America? Where are your "Made In America" stickers? Where is your pride, your self reliance, your self preservation? Now is your time to take the global market place back.

Buy American! Why? Otherwise you might get lead poising, metal shavings, food poisoning or some other crazy disease, illness or faulty product. With all of the global marketplace in upheaval due to recent recalls on all sorts of products, America should be responding in full force. I want to see tv commercials, billboards, radio commercials, print ads, stickers, grass roots campaigns, online campaigns - everything America can muster to exploit the hell out of the situation.

America now is your time to shine, to show why it does matter, to show why American products are better. America this is probably your last real chance to show people why it is important to keep manufacturing jobs, productions lines and assembly plants here in the sates. America if you don't act now and really take advantage of the situation, the world and the Americn people will pass you by.

So America I strongly urge you to use the media attention to your full advantage. Spend some more to make everybody aware of the crap we are importing. Informed people make informed decisions. Where ya at America? Let's see that ad campaign, lets see you bring it back!

I'm waiting (but I don't think it will happen).

Made In America Links
http://www.madeinusa.com/
http://www.amtacdc.org
http://www.buyamerican.com/

Chinese Poison Train
http://consumerist.com/consumer/chinese-poison-train/?view=full

Posted by Andre at 12:45 PM | Permalink

I will be starting up a BBQ consumer report type blog sometime in the near future. The plan is to get it up and running then use some of my BBQ contacts to find a few writers to help contribute to the blog. But before I kick this off I need to go ahead and start working on some content and some base criteria of how to write a review for restaurants, sauces, history etc. So right now I am in the planning stages.

Thanks to everybody for their input with the naming of the blog. I am still not 100% sure yet but I am leaning towards Pit Masters. We shall see. Here is the logo that I am thinking of going with.

Posted by Andre at 12:40 AM | Permalink

Everybody has an opinion. Some choose to voice it while other do not. People who choose to voice their opinion do so in many different ways.

One individual that I hold some respect for in voicing his opinion is Henry Rollins. I have to admit that I pretty much agree with everything he has to say. He is well versed and it all comes form real world experience. I admire Henry Rolling being able to talk about real life experiences and translating them into action. He has used his qusi-social status to gain himself a podium to speak his mind from. While it seems as if a lot of his former music background counterparts have gone off in other directions, Henry Rolling is still out there on the front lines trying to make a difference or a least trying to get other people off the asses and take a stand. I admit we are all lazy, the country is going backwards and all we care about is what the next color iPhone is going to be. So I just wanted to say s "Thanks Henry Rollins for giving a damn. I wish we could all be a little more like you."

BTW
Henry Rollins is on a spoken word tour. If he is playing around your town go check him out even if you don't agree with him. Its worth a listen.

Posted by Andre at 03:49 PM | Permalink

Check out our mugs if we were a Simpson's character!


The new movies website has a pretty cool character building program that is similar to that of the Wii's Mii charactor builder.

Posted by Andre at 06:44 PM | Permalink

Sunday marked the first meeting of the Grand Strand Bloggers. I use this term lightly cause its not just bloggers but podcasters and video casters as well. It was a good meeting, an introduction of sorts to people with a similar interest but who manifest their talents in different ways. We went over a lot varying topics none of which had too much to do with nerd talk. It was a great initial meeting with more soon to follow.

For more on the coverage check out Evil Genius.

Posted by Andre at 10:02 PM | Permalink

The Wii is great. Nintendo got it right as far as I am concerned. Forgoing the graphics war between the 360 and PS3, the Wii looked more at playability - which to me equals fun.

I have had mine for a few weeks now and until this very night haven't bought a single thing for it. This is due to all the cool features that come standard on the Wii. Four interactive sports games come with the console as well as interactive Wii channels. These include a news and weather feed, an internet channel that connects wirlessly via an Opera web browser, a voting channel, a Mii channel and a photo sharing channel. These channels add hours and hours of enjoyment at no extra cost.

However, one of the reasons I purchased the Wii in the first place was to download and play old school games.

The Wii's online shopping channel is set up simple and affectively. Heidi and I loaded up with Wii points ($20 = 2000 wii points) and went shopping. Broke up into 5 categories by system type (NES, SNES, N64, Turbo Graphics and Sega Gennis) Heidi knew she wanted to get Mario Kart from the N64. This ran us 1000 Points ($10). While I went for the Mario for SNES featuring Yoshi for 800 pts. You can also purchase hardware form the store but since Heidi and I wanted o play right away we went over to Best Buy and purchased the Old School controller for $20. We were off and playing in no time.

The Wii has lived up to the hype and then some.

Posted by Andre at 11:11 PM | Permalink

So I know I am supposed to post more on Costa Rica, but I am sitting on my new couch in my newly furnished house watching my new tv. Its really nice to be able to do this from home while enjoying all of my new comforts (such as cable tv) of home.

I have never been a big fan of tv but I can see how it can easily become part of your daily life. So is the case for this very afternoon. I sat down to pay bills to find out that the one and only Road House was on. (I know I am getting old when I just want to watch Swayze and Juan Claude movies). I quickly burned an hour and a half catching up with James Dalton and crowd. After which I flipped some channels to find out that I missed the first hour of the VH1 Hip Hop honors 2006. But thanks to my new cable I was able to start the program from the begining without missing a single act. The 2006 Honors are really good paying tribute to both East & West coast. I recommend swinging over to VH1 to check out online clips of the Beastie Boys and Rakim.

PS I promise to post more about Costa Rica. If you want to check out the new house dwellings please stop by the House Warming on Sunday from 5-9. Yes you are all invited.

Posted by Andre at 11:09 PM | Permalink

Here goes a free one for ya.

In the very near future 3D printers will be the norm. The price will come down and they will be a common as the ink-jet in the next 4-5 years. While some company are jumping in now, I think it would be a little better to only wade in the waters of 3D printing. Instead off offering protyping services now how about coming up with a list of goods that people could just purchase the plans for and download them directly to there 3D printer. For instance you could come up with a cool model car, and offer the printer files for cheep. So instead of offering the actual car for say $19.95 you could just offer the plans to print your own car for $3.99. If you follow this model now and start building the printer profiles by the time the 3D printers hit the mass market you would already have a whole catalogue of products to sell.

Hey just an idea, now somebody out there take it and run with it.

PS I know my comments are broken. I am trying to figure out how to fix it now. Please be patient.

Posted by Andre at 05:14 PM | Permalink

I admit it I am lazy when it comes to a few things. One of these things is politics. I see all of this crazy stuff happen all the time but I don't ever do anything about it. This is mainly for one or two reasons. The first being I am really uneducated when it come to politics. I understand the basics but that is really about it. Being uneducated makes me shun away from having discussions about the things that really make me ticked off. Which leads me to reason #2: what can I really do? I know i could bitch and complain about it but to whom? Most people already have their oppnion and won't be swayed from it. This is mostly due to the fact that they are in the same boat as I am in as far as being uneducated in real politics, however the difference is they think they know what they are talking about. I know down at its core I am just too lazy to learn more about it to make strong arguments about my case.

There is one guy out there that does know a little on what is going on and he is trying to raise awareness. Check out what Lee Iacocca has to say!

Posted by Andre at 12:29 PM | Permalink

I was recently featured on a local restaurant website concerning me being a BBQ judge. You can check it out at: http://www.myrtlebeachrestaurantnews.com/

The funnest part is it says, "Andre Pope of Socastee."

Posted by Andre at 09:07 AM | Permalink

I have been fortunate enough lately to listen to some really good music. However to get the good music I had to listen to bunch of so-so and bad music. To help all of those out there here goes a quick breakdown.

1) Black Milk - Popular Demand - Hip Hop
Good Beats, Slow and Un-thought Provoking
Verdict: Pass

2) Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City - Dreary Dance Rock
A Good Mix But Gets Old After A Little While
Verdict: Worth A Listen

3) Chromeo - She's In Control - Pop Dance Rock
Poppy Fun & Danceable
Verdict: Put In On Your Ipod And Dance Your Ass Off

4) DJ Muggs VS GZA - Grandmasters Remix - Rap
Noting Special Or Notable
Verdict: You Can Do Without

5) From Autumn To Ashes - Holding A Wolf By The Ears - Metal Core
A Good Solid Album
Verdict: I'm Getting to Old For This

6) Ghostface Killah - Hidden Darts - Rap
Some Of The Best Beats This Year, Strength In Delivery
Verdict: A Sure Shot Purchase

7) Hieroglyphics - Over Time - Hip Hop
A Collection Of Their Stuff Over Time
Verdict: You Should Already Have Most Of It

8) Jennifer Lopez - Como Ama Una Mujer - Pop
All In Spanish
Verdict: I Could Not Listen To It

9) Lamb Of God - Sacrament - Metal
Solid Metal Album
Verdict: Worth A Peek Into Forgotten Metal

10) VA- Erotic Lounge Vol 1-4 - Electronic Lounge
Very Chill Lounge Music
Verdict: Borrow From A Friend, Program & Chill

11) Merle Haggard - 40#1 Hits - Country
Remastered Merle Haggard
Verdict: You May Have A Lot Of This

12) Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion - Dance Pope Rock
The closest thing this generation has seen to Queen
Verdict: Pick It Up You Won't Regret It
* I am not a fan of the 2nd track, but its still fun

13) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Alt. Rock
A Steady Growing Album From A Group That Has Been Around For A While
Verdict: All your friends already have it, just borrow it

14) Project Jenny, Project Jan - EP - Electronica/Dance
A fun album with good beats, its like a science experiment
Verdict: Good Luck In Trying To Find It

15) Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation... - Rap
You know the deal
Verdict: If you don't have it, then you suck

16) Redman - Red Gone Wild _ Rap
Not eccentric as past ventures, beats are just ok
Verdict: Pass

17) Robin Thicke - The Evolution Of... - R&B
Take Justin Timberlake and mix In Michael Buble & There You Go
Verdict: A must, I love this album

18) Thievery Corporation - Versions - Trip Hop
Take some really good hip hop beats slow them down and add random elements
Verdict: Really good to chill to

19) Timberland - Shock Value - Hip Hop
Sounds like all the stuff he left out from everybody's else's album
Verdict: Not Worth Picking Up

20) Willie Merle & Ray - Last Of Breed - Country
The way country should should, solid all the way through
Verdict: A Classic To Pick Up

Posted by Andre at 11:34 AM | Permalink

The new movie and the new book out this summer. It looks as if Amazon is already taking pre-orders for the book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" I am excited for it release, partly to hurry up and wrap up the series. Its going to come out roughly around the same time as the new Harry Potter movie so it should be lots of Potter mania this summer.

To pre-order click here:
Deluxe Edition
Standard Edition

Posted by Andre at 01:53 PM | Permalink

I was searching for a graphic design term I use quite often and actually came across this cool little site for Grills!

I know there was a direct corrolation between Graphic Design and BBQ.

Posted by Andre at 06:39 PM | Permalink

SCBA
www.scbarbeque.com
CLASS 1/20/07

Taught by the president of the SCBA
Background as a wine judge.

Judging Class AM
About SCBA PM

Sauce Class & Cooking Class This Summer

"The BBQ Culture In South Carolina"
The Unrecognized Capital
Invented Here In SC In The 1500's
4 Different Kinds Of BBQ - Light Or Heavy Tomato Base, Mustard Base, Vinegar Base

Marketing, Promotion & Advertising To Get SC On The Map
"It's all about the BBQ!!!!!"

3 Rules To Spread The Gospel
"Toot Your Own Horn"
"Turn Out The Best Judges"
"Carolina Q-Cup: Education Public on all four types of BBQ"

JUDGING

Reason To Have Judging Structure
Make a uniform structure in order to level the playing field

What Is Looked For In A Judge
Fairness - Just be fair
Objectivity - Try to eliminate bias. Preserve The Order. Eliminate inappropriate remarks, body language etc.
Consistency - In the individual Judge. Consistency in the judges table.

Criteria In Judging
Appearance - "Do you want to take a bite?" "Is it swimming?" "Do you see fat chunks?"
Aroma - Know the difference between types of sauces and use it to your advantage. ie. See Interesting Facts
Tenderness - Watch for the difference between tender and "mushy."
Taste - Use personal taste but be aware of the four types and what is in the genetic make-up of each type.
Overall - Should recap your other scores in the the other areas. Don't let it contradict your other scores.

Scoring System:
SCBA works on a build system and weighted system.
Work with decimals. Just like working with a 100 point scale.
SCBA does not do "on-site" judging, only blind judging.
Novice judges (AKA Myself) are hypercritical.
Pace Yourself. You have a lot to eat!
Assume nothing.
Reevaluate your scores.

The Rules
(As per how I heard them. These were not stated as rules per say, but is my interpretation. No actual handout was giving.)
* Palette has to be clean before judging. No soda, tea, beer etc. before judging.
* SCBA keeps all judges scores for all of the test.
* Can't talk about the BBQ with the other judges while judging.
* Judging is on a 1-17 scale. The average score is 13.7. Use this as your scale. 13.7 is average. You would possible go back to eat more of. Anything lower you wouldn't go eat again.
* Table captain can change your score.
* Normally don't ever taste and judge over 8 spots of BBQ. Max is 10.
* Scores tend to go lower over time.
* Temperature affects taste. Don't let it influence your judging too much.
* Be generous. If you are going to error the error on then high side.
* Run with the pack. Don't be too high or too low.
* Three off rule. If you are three off of the general consensus score then it is normally you with the with the problem.
* Normally need to judge about 1/2 cup of BBQ.
* In case of a tie in judging, you go back to the sheets and recalculate the taste column only. If for some reason there is still a tie you then calculate the tenderness.

Lessons Learned And To Be Learned By
"My BBQ Is The Best"
To truly be number 1, you go threw the MBA BBQ Circuit in SC.
Don't fall into the trap of this "BBQ is number 1."

"It can all be good!"
Good BBQ is good, no matter what type of BBQ it is.
Separate personal taste from favorite type of BBQ.
Be judgmental not bashing.
Know the difference between quality and personal biases.
Do not pre-judge.
Don't have prejudice.

"Be judgmental"
You are here to judge not be entertained.
Lay it all out there, be fair and critical.

"Don't screw the cooker."
Mountain Effect -
Due to the nature of hunger your first bite tends to be one of the best. But this is a basis judgment. It tends to be the middle one that you try will get the highest score and then goes down the mountain after that. Be flexible with your tasting. Understand your personal flaws. Make sure the cooker gets his/her fair stake no matter what spot you judge them.
Be consistent with your judging. But continue to learn about BBQ.

"Decent Judges But Terrible Scorer"
Understands the judging process but not the scoring process.
Most of the time judges rate in the same order but tend to have overall lower scores than the rest of the judges.

Interesting Facts Or Comments Overheard:
2 Out Of 3 Cookers In SC Use Gas
Normally pulled meat wins, over all others in SC.
In KC sliced never wins.
Tomato Kills Odor / Mustard does not
NC BBQ is sponsored by Department of Agriculture

Things To Check Out:
National BBQ News
Kansas City Has A Certification as well - Largest Operation In Country
Kansas City Royal BBQ Competition
Memphis In May

Posted by Andre at 10:06 AM | Permalink

I came across this ad the other day in an old comic. I thought it was pretty cool. Upon further investigation I think that the ads in older comic books have a very peculiar design since to them that I really enjoy. If you ever get a chance I suggest you look threw a few ads in old comics - you will find tons of cool toys and gadgets that you have forgot all about - its just as good as reading the comics themselves!

Posted by Andre at 07:11 PM | Permalink

Not really but with the advent and push for more and more on-line content it sure has made it a lot easier for me to watch shows I would otherwise miss. I have never watched that much TV but with me having to work late and needing background noise I have found myself turning on CBS. They have a new thing called InnerTube.

InnerTube is CBS (and the first network) attempt to draw online viewers to watch their shows. You can pick from a variety of shows to watch. They have full episodes of most and snippets of others. I have watched all episodes of CSI, SHARK (I love this show) and Numb3ers. The real gem of this is I have been turned onto a show called SMITH with Ray Liotta. Its great so far and I still have a few more still to watch. InnerTube still has commercials but its only one and its only every 12 mins. So far I am pleased with this version of online viewing. I have experienced a few problems with their system but nothing to bad.

Now it also looks as if NBC is trying to get in the mix. From now until the second half of the season starts in mid January you can catch up on all of the Hero's episodes. Since I haven't watched but one it should be good to get caught up.

A quick recap on some other things I have been watching:

TV:
HOUSE MD Season 1,2 & 3
Las Vegas Season 4
Shark
Smith

Movies Of Notable Intrest:
Casino Royale
--Best Bond Movie of my time
Lucky # Sleven
--Great movie, a little more polished and less kaotic than Pulp Fiction or Usual Suspects (not as good as those two either but on par)
Christmas Vacation
--Great Christmas Film
Stick It
--Laugh now but it was really good.

Posted by Andre at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Most people know I am a very jaded person. I hate a lot of things. While I am quite use to this, I now know that it can leave me somewhat close minded. However I do have a great person that helps me open up my eyes every now and then: My Wife.

For the past three years Heidi and I have been talking about going to see The Night Of 1000 Candles at Brookgreen Gardens. For the previous two years we haven't made it. This year was different.

You see I hate going to Brookgreen Gardens. At least that is what I thought. I haven't been there since 8th grade. However I hear people talking about it all the time.

This talk is all the same AND I MEAN THE SAME. "Brookgreen is so perfect for a date." "The most romantic spot to take a date." "I went with (enter any name here) on our first date." And so on.

This is what I thought was so pathetic and cliché. I am pretty sure every girl in Horry County has been taken there for some kind of date. How uncreative. This is for the most part why I have swore it off. I think Myrtle Beach has so much to offer and Brookgreen Gardens is just one of the many things. Heidi and I have focused on other things of interest and have never been to the gardens together.

That was until last Saturday night. That was until I opened my eyes and saw what everybody else was missing. Brookgreen is an amazing place. It isn't amazing because of its romance, it isn't amazing because its such a great date place. It's amazing for its sculpture and artistic quality. It's amazing for its natural animal preserve and conservation efforts.

I am still a jaded person but I have shifted my hate from Brookgreen itself to the uncreative, unimagtivative people that state its a place for dates.

When is the last time you heard that the Louver is a great place to take a date. The Louver is known for its art as well as Brookgreen should be!

Posted by Andre at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Just got in some new Pez. These are from Europe and were never released in the US. I know they make Heidi happy cause they are all characters that Heidi really likes.

Posted by Andre at 01:57 PM | Permalink

A new product is under our belt at 803, ParkingStickets. It has been a long time coming but its finally done. The idea, the website, the product, the production...now all we need to do is get the word out. So go check it out, tell your friends and STICKET to parking violators!

www.parkingstickets.com

Posted by Andre at 06:06 PM | Permalink

This weekend I finally got off te beaten path and headed out into the Waccamaw river. Mark Allison from Surf City Surf Shop just got in a few rental kayaks and I wanted to try them out. Also our new employee was feeling a little culture shock moving from DC to Conway so I wanted to show him some of the finer things that our beautiful area had to offer. So we loaded up the kayaks and headed for the river.

Continue reading "The Adventures Of Huck Finn" »

Posted by Andre at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So today I signed up for a new pay-per-click ad service. It's called AdBrite. I found out about it through a friend's site so I decided to join up. Since AdBrite has a referral program it was a no brainer to sign up through him and give it a test drive. (if you would like to join through me just click on the little "Your Ad Here" button, so I can get the referral.) I have used other services before on various sites and I thought I would give another one a try. So we will see how it goes.

By the way I also have a donation button on the side. The plan is to have all procedes go to "Trailer Freedom Fund." I will post more on this real soon.

Posted by Andre at 10:05 AM | Permalink