Shop or your neighbors will lose their jobs

You know some kids – whether in Horry County, South Carolina, or in a third-world village in Africa – had a lousy Christmas. Maybe they had no Christmas at all.

As Christmas Day gets closer each year, ministers and do-gooders remind us that Christmas isn’t about material things. They remind us to keep Christ in Christmas, tell us that it’s better to give than receive, and bemoan the intensity of our consumerism.

Yet two days after Christmas 2011, the news suggests we might not have spent enough on our friends, families, and selves.

Sears Holdings Corp. announced they are closing “between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores.” For the eight weeks ending on Christmas Day, Sears and Kmart sales were down a combined 5.2 percent. We have seven Sears stores in the greater Grand Strand area, and three Kmarts, according to the companies' websites.

While Sears Holdings hasn’t said how many jobs will be affected, The Inquisitr notes that other Sears and Kmart stores probably can’t absorb all the employees of 100 to 120 locations.

So thanks a lot, acquisitive, consumerist Americans – you obviously didn’t spend enough on Christmas this year.

Were you giving to charities instead of retailers?

Did your family decide not to make this Christmas about shopping, spending and big gifts under the tree?

Oh, that’s so good of you. Now people are going to lose jobs in an already struggling economy.

Spending at retail stores is charitable giving. If you don’t shop, someone could lose a job.

Admittedly, that’s not the full picture.

You did shop, didn’t you? Shopping wasn’t quite the issue, was it?

For one thing, U.S. retailers, as a whole, saw a 4.5 percent increase in sales during the last week before Christmas, when compared to the same week last year.

So consumerist, acquisitive Americans did a little better this year – pat yourselves on the back. Most of you simply decided to steer clear of Kmart and Sears.

That’s probably because, at some locations, Sears and Kmart stores can make for uninspired shopping experiences.

Sears and Kmart stores don’t have that Target sparkle that appeals to every middle-class mom with a Suburban. Even Walmart can be, in many locations, a more enjoyable shopping experience than Sears.

But maybe the plight of those Kmart and Sears stores – and their workers – points out something about our economy: It depends way too much on people buying things they don’t absolutely need.

For better and worse, we can’t withhold our money from Retail Land -- no matter what we're buying -- without impacting our neighbors. And when our sales-associate neighbors lose their jobs, not all of them will have the computer-whiz abilities to slip into an information-technology career.

Maybe the real issue is the sustainability of our retail economy, at least in its current form.

On one hand, as reported by The Two-Way, 120 Sears and Kmart stores would amount to about 3 percent of the parent company’s 4,000 locations, even if the executives haven’t said how many people will lose jobs. Three percent doesn’t seem like much. Just a minor adjustment.

On the other hand, consider why these stores are closing. According to Sears Holdings, for the eight weeks ending on Christmas Day, Kmart sales were down 4.4 percent and Sears sales were down 6 percent.

I don’t have a Masters in Business Administration degree, and I realize budgets are tight. So I’ll just play the dummy: I don’t understand how anything can be sustainable with such a slim margin for error. Consumers are fickle and the economy is a roller coaster, even in better times.

Perhaps this is a chance for Sears to reinvent itself. Some commenters on an NPR blog have noted that Sears more or less moved from a full-time sales staff to a part-time sales staff, and that took the appeal from the department store.

Perhaps Sears and Kmart can find an appeal like Target’s.

Old names can reinvent themselves.

Consider the brand of world-famous rock band Van Halen. Brothers Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen brought back their original front man, David Lee Roth, one of three lead singers over the years. Then the brothers added Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang on bass guitar to replace original bassist Michael Anthony.

With something old and something new, they’re getting ready to tour in 2012, and I bet tickets will sell out.

-Colin Foote Burch
(This originally appeared on WeeklySurge.com and was back-dated and re-posted here in July 2014.)

The rise of the Bon Jovi myth

Twitter, my favorite social networking site, recently became the conduit for a fake story that Jon Bon Jovi had died.

Bon Jovi responded to the false reports by posting a photo of him with a sign that read, “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.”

I’m not sure how he got Heaven and Hell mixed up, but that’s not the point.

Think about how many fake things have shaped and influenced our world. Devious tweeters have also posted fake death announcements for Mick Jagger, Will Smith, Bill Cosby, and Justin Bieber. Colin Powell became the vehicle for a fake story about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. “The Girls Next Door” and “Kendra” on the E! channel became vehicles for Kendra Wilkinson’s fake boobs.

I follow various news organizations on Twitter – thus creating a personalized news feed – but the thing that bothers me about the social networking site is how quickly it can deliver false information. A few people decide to “re-tweet,” and before our national debt can jump another billion, everyone on the planet knows the news.

Imagine this scenario: Someone tweets the false news of Bon Jovi’s death, and just after that, terrorists hit power grids across the United States.

For hours, days, weeks, perhaps even months, everyone believes Bon Jovi is dead.

The nation, already in severe withdraws from television and Internet, trudges through the additional burden of knowing Bon Jovi would never sing “Livin’ on a Prayer” around a post-electricity campfire.

This mass deception further dispirits the struggling millions who don’t know how to cook over an open flame – no freezers plus no microwaves equals no meals. Livin’ on a prayer, indeed.

So while most Americans believe that Bon Jovi is dead, the man himself begins appear to groups of people and proclaim he really is alive, never died, and the death announcement was just a hoax on Twitter.

This only complicates matters.

Some claim to have seen the ghost of Bon Jovi. Others claim he has become a zombie. Still others claim that he has risen from the dead, adding that it kind of makes sense because Bon Jovi concerts were religious experiences.

But at least without Twitter, these rumors take longer to move around.

Then again, that makes the rumors into taller tales.

As the months pass, news of Bon Jovi spreads. Now some are saying he touched a darkened television set in Sayreville, N.J., and the tube illuminated with re-runs of VH1’s “Pop Up Video.”

Others now say he levitated above a crowd under a New York City bridge and proclaimed, “You live for the fight when that’s all that you’ve got.”

Many copied down those words on their tablets – paper tablets that required pencils.

But some copied down, “You live for the night,” not “fight,” so divisions form among Bon Jovi’s followers. Most people feel obligated to choose a side, so one’s beliefs about Bon Jovi become the central matter of identity in the U.S.

The "night" side and the "fight" side come up with various rituals and institutions to memorialize their founder and instill proper beliefs in their youngsters (how are those youngsters going to rebel? Become religious fundamentalists?).

Entrepreneurs invent hand-tooled leather bracelets that read, "WWBJD?" All the kids wear them.

So even in the post-electricity apocalypse, Twitter creates a new myth, a new religion, and Bon Jovi’s name lives on in a blaze of glory.

-Colin Foote Burch
(This column originally appeared at WeeklySurge.com and was re-posted here in July 2014.)

Spies like us

As Christmas approaches, I think we should note that Jesus has been appearing in a new TV show produced by J.J. Abrams.

“Person of Interest,” which appears at 9 p.m. Thursdays on CBS, stars Jim Caviezel, perhaps best known for playing The Savior in “The Passion of the Christ,” a film which had a pretty good reputation until director Mel Gibson became internationally known as a drunk-driving anti-Semite and baby-momma batterer.

Jesus, or Caviezel, plays Reese, who – for the record – only had an oversized first-century beard during part of the premiere episode.

In “Person of Interest,” Jesus isn’t always watching over you, but his employer certainly is. Jesus’s boss easily taps into massive networks of surveillance cameras and cell phone transmissions – for good purposes – in a way that ought to scare us all.

The employer, played by Michael Emerson, is Finch, the architect of a post-9/11 database that draws information from close-circuit television cameras and phone calls. Based on that information, the database predicts who might be a potential terrorist threat. Development of the database was funded by the U.S. government.

Although the machine was designed to predict terrorism, it also finds out about non-terrorists who might be running into trouble in the near future. The U.S. government didn’t want to deal with the people who aren’t threats to national security, so Finch left himself a backdoor into the system to find out who else might need help.

As a 9/11 survivor who apparently was assumed dead and now walks with a limp, Finch can’t chase the bad guys and protect the good guys. So Finch picked Reese – former special military agent who can take on gangs singlehandedly – to swing fists and fire bullets into non-lethal body parts while protecting innocent people in trouble. Jesus can really kick ass, and that’s the fun part of the show.

When Finch’s machine alerts him to a new person of interest, he immediately gets on his computer and accesses all kinds of personal information, files, records, and even photos. (Note to self: change privacy settings on Facebook.)

Watching the first few episodes of “Person of Interest,” I absorbed Finch’s access and quickly took it for granted. After all, Finch and ex-Jesus are good guys. As created characters, their work is ethical and intended for righteous ends. Finch has the access to the surveillance database, so why not use it?

Of course, the U.S. expanded its surveillance of its own citizens following 9/11, and that made some Americans uncomfortable. But there I am, each Thursday evening, watching someone watch surveillance feeds, watching someone spy on Americans – for a good cause. It’s a timely issue, like the end of “The Dark Knight,” when Batman hacks the cellphone networks to find the bad guys.

Many of us probably assume that the U.S. government has pulled back from its surveillance after the death of Osama bin Laden – which makes about as much sense as Lindsay Lohan telling Playboy she has learned from her mistakes while arguably making the mistake of appearing nude on 10 pages of the magazine.

At least Lohan knew she was being photographed – well, I guess she did; we’ll never know for sure. I haven’t always been sure when I was being photographed, like the time Lohan’s fellow “Mean Girls” actress Rachel McAdams jumped my bones in the elevator of The Martinique resort hotel in Myrtle Beach. I was like, “Wait! Stop! Let’s not embarrass ourselves! There might be a hidden camera in here!” Just go with it. I had to explain the lipstick smudge to my wife somehow.

I also didn’t know when I was being photographed or video-taped during four trips to London during the past two years. Closed-circuit cameras were everywhere – not just in train stations and subways, not just on buses. In England, home country to George Orwell, author of 1984, everyone accepts that constant surveillance is a necessity in violent times.

I’m not sure if the London cameras actually deter people from stealing or vandalizing – I mean, when there’s not already a community-organized riot and arson session in progress – but there were several times when I thought twice before scratching my ass.

Who would see me scratch my ass? Pick my nose? Quickly adjust my uncomfortably situated boxers?

Would the watcher think less of me? Laugh at me? Notice that my quick, private moves were especially American in form? Or worse yet, would think they were French in form?

Maybe that’s why I will continue to watch “Person of Interest.” Maybe I want to know what I and my microbrew physique look like on close-circuit camera.

Plus, I can’t stop watching Jesus kick ass and his boss navigate high-tech surveillance networks.

So maybe Lohan has the right idea. If you can’t have privacy, you might as well make a few bucks exposing your privates.

-Colin Foote Burch
(This column originally appeared in WeeklySurge.com and is re-posted here in July 2014.)

Hands have renewed purpose in 'hand-lit' craze

I heard an advertisement for Brookgreen Gardens’ Nights of a Thousand Candles.

The ad enticed me with its promise of “hand-lit candles.” I found this reassuring. I certainly think the ambiance is best when the candles are lit by hands. Candles lit by Bacardi 151 can sure trash a living room.

If Brookgreen is advertising them, hand-lit flames now have high-end market value. Soon, everyone will try to make a buck on the hand-lighting craze.

Light the Advent wreath, the menorah, or the Christmas tree with your own hand, and you’ve got something special there. Show it off and charge admission. Add a surcharge if you use short matchsticks.

Local hotels will boast about buffets featuring hand-lit Sterno cans.

Now that hand-lighting has become a commodity, hands are riding a new wave of popularity. We’d almost grown tired of hearing “hand-crafted” in Samuel Adams Boston Lager ads and campaigns for other brews. These ads usually involved extra syllables – “ha-a-a-a-nd crafted,” calling to mind Goat Boy from older Saturday Night Live episodes. Just when hand-crafted was on its way out, hand-lit saves the day.

Hand-lit candles and hand-crafted beers aren’t the only new contributions of the five-finger gang. Hands have found new ways to promote actors and recording artists. Recently, for educational purposes, I was researching “famous pictures of all-natural tweeting birds” on the Internet. Search result? Top nude celebrity photos that have appeared on Twitter in 2011. This had nothing to do with tweeting birds, but I believe in learning from mistaken Internet searches. I learned hands have delicate and complex abilities to display both male and female parts of celebrity exhibitionists.

Hands have also become associated with South Carolinian activities, and I don’t mean pulling triggers. I mean a special image on a U.S. 501 billboard from Smoke Free Horry, our local self-appointed health nannies. In the image, a woman – presumably a South Carolinian – is displaying her very pregnant belly with one hand while holding a cigarette in the other. Surely the presence of pregnant smoking women is one of our state’s most endearing qualities – how else could other states look down on us?

But as the South enters the 19th century, we insist our women are no longer barefoot and pregnant. They’re smoking and pregnant. And our hand-lit cigarettes are neither light nor low on tar. If we’re going to hand-light something these days, it’s going to be something worthwhile, like a Marlboro Red, a beachwear store with good insurance, or a bottle rocket aimed into the wind.

Our hand-lighting is now reserved for special occasions, like frying a turkey for the holidays, or inviting our friends and neighbors to special events. So even in an age of lighters and electric grills, I believe the match, like the dead-wood book and the LP vinyl record, will always be with us, even if it becomes a little more upscale.

-Colin Foote Burch
(This column originally appeared on WeeklySurge.com and was re-posted here in July 2014.)

Adam Carolla rants about Occupy Wall Street

Smoke-free bars? Really?

Here's a bad idea: A smoking ban in Myrtle Beach bars.

As WBTW-News 13's Mason Snyder reported tonight, "Next month Smoke Free Horry plans to present Myrtle Beach City Council with research its done that shows the negative health impact second hand smoke has."

If smoking is legal, businesses ought to be able to choose whether they will allow smoking -- especially bars and restaurants.

Here we go again with the never-ending confusion between "freedom-to" and "freedom-from."

We ought to just allow as much "freedom-to" as possible, and let the people who want "freedom-from" go somewhere else.

That includes me. I'm a non-smoker.

If a business owner wants to establish a bar and allow smoking, does that mean everyone has a divine right to go into that bar on his or her own terms?

Should we worry about the sensibilities of animal-rights advocates by banning steak from steakhouses? Does an animal-rights advocate have a divine right to enter Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery and remain un-offended?

Sure, cigarettes are unhealthy. So are cheeseburgers and everything else on the McDonald's menu.

Just keep Horry County a truly Independent Republic.

Art, Car, Bike, and Stunt Show -- La Familia: A Benefit -- for a local woman diagnosed with leukemia

Jess, the woman who cuts my hair, gave me a flier about an upcoming Art, Car, Bike, and Stunt Show set up to benefit a local cancer patient.

Here's what the flier says:

"La Familia: A Benefit" hostedy the The Elite Company will be held Saturday, December 10, 2011, at SBB 4 Corners in Murrells Inlet, SC, from 10 am until midnight. We hope to not only raise awareness about leukemia but, also money to help a local family who as been affected by it.

All proceeds will go to help local artists Michael "Crackie" McDonald and his girlfriend Brittany Riddle who has been recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is currently underdoing treatment.

The American Cancer Society will also be on hand passing out information on all forms of cancer as well as taking donations for their Relay For Life.

The event also has a Facebook page. Call Elite Ink Tattoos at 843-448-4708 or email lafamiliamb@gmail.com for more information.

Big big big words on winter beers

First, let us direct our attention to Paste Magazine, where Josh Jackson has blogged a review of 10 winter ales, which you can read right here. Second, allow me to talk about some of the new and winter brews we'll be able to find in the Myrtle Beach area -- and I talk about them in my latest column. Enjoy!

Crafty Rooster Beer Festival THIS WEEKEND! Brewing At The Beach tomorrow!

Don't miss the Crafty Rooster Beer Festival in Conway this weekend! The fest will be held at the Farmers Market (not Crafty Rooster) at 217 Laurel Street, Conway. Hours run 5-10:30 p.m. today (Friday) and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday (tomorrow, Nov. 12). What better thing could you do on 11/11/11? CLICK HERE for more information! Also, don't forget Brewing At The Beach, taking place at New South Brewing Co., 1-6 p.m. Saturday (tomorrow, Nov. 12). My advance story on Brewing At The Beach is this week's cover story in the Weekly Surge. Read it here.

I'm so glad Tolkien is dead; he should never have to see this

Do you home brew?

Then I would love for you to participate in my upcoming cover story for the Weekly Surge. Please email me at beerpour@yahoo.com, share your phone number, and tell me when the best time to call would be. Thanks! Colin

Occupy Halloween

 

Please join me on Facebook!

Click HERE and please "Like" Beerman! Thank you!

Beer Maid at Liberty

The hostess is a beer maid at Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery at Broadway at the Beach.

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Beer Maid at Liberty

Today, the hostess at Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery in Myrtle Beach was dressed like a German beer maid.

Officials of The Episcopal Church take new action to punish free speech | Commerce & Arts

Proving that certain "liberals" aren't truly liberal . . .Officials of The Episcopal Church take new action to punish free speech | Commerce & Arts:

'via Blog this'

The best use for a bad beer: Fly trap

Fortunately, when I have bad beer in the future, I’ll have a use for it. My Dad emailed me a link for an online list of household uses for beer, like drinking enough of it to drown out the to-do list of my wife and the whining of my three daughters. Just kidding. One of the household uses was a fruit fly trap, which already proved useful when my juicing efforts attracted dozens of the little pests. Here’s how the trap works: Take a small glass jar, fill it about half-way with beer, and cover the lid with plastic wrap. Poke a small hole in the middle of the plastic wrap. Set it out in an area where fruit flies congregate. The flies, like some freshmen I know, aren’t as smart as they are annoying. They find their way into the jar, but they don’t find their way back out. One morning, I found a dozen of the little buggers floating in the eternal sleep of beer. I’ll call that a happy ending.

Beers at Oktoberfest

I'm drinking New South Oktoberfest at this event: bit.ly/dmboktob

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Beer Maid with Jello Shots at the MB Oktoberfest

 

Bud on the left, N'Tranze performing on the right, Atlantic in the background

At the Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest 2011

 

More N'Tranze on stage

 

The nearby Bowery represented in the crowd

 

N'Tranze on stage at the Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest 2011

 

More Lera Lynn

 

Lera Lynn at the Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest 2011

 

Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest: Lera Lynn in action

 

Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest 2011

Lera Lynn perform at the Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest.

 

Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest: Lera Lynn on stage

Lera Lynn perform earlier today at the Downtown Myrtle Beach Oktoberfest.

 

I spend more time blogging here:

At liturgical.wordpress.com .

Guess what got left at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany?

This year, the festival's lost property office reported receiving a live, eight-centimeter-long grasshopper, a Viking helmet, two crutches, an electric wheelchair, a rucksack containing two foldable camping chairs, a case full of musical notes, 1,300 items of clothing, 520 wallets, over 1,000 identity cards, 390 mobile phones, 370 pairs of eyeglasses, 90 cameras, 80 items of jewellery and watches and 425 keys. Read more here. . Speaking of Oktoberfest, are you going to Myrtle Beach's Oktoberfest tomorrow?

.

Sexiest beer commercial, ever

Here's the YouTube link: Go!

Do you live in the Greenville area?

Thomas Creek Brewing Company will have a big bash on October 29. Find out more here.

How cool to see some friends from my Sun News days! Here's where to go if you want to join us -- bit.ly/mbokto

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

hello!

One of the friendly servers here.

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

More from Oktoberfest

Mike Shank created the perfect day for this Oktoberfest.... Continues until 7 today and again tomorrow. Info here: bit.ly/mbokto

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

The scene from Oktoberfest

Come join Oktoberfest at The Market Common -- details at bit.ly/mbokto

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

HELLO

One of the friendly servers here at Oktoberfest.

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Shock Top car at Oktoberfest

Come join us: bit.ly/mbokto

Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!

Great photos from last night's Highland Brewing beer dinner at Mellow Mushroom in Myrtle Beach

Check out Louis Keiner's photos here.

Tomorrow (Thursday) evening: Highland Brewing Co. dinner at Myrtle Beach Mellow Mushroom

Tomorrow evening at the Mellow Mushroom in Myrtle Beach (21st Avenue North near U.S.17 Bypass) Highland Brewing Co. will host a beer dinner. Starts at 7 p.m. Call 843-444-1122 for more info.

Big deal at Shamrocks Bar this weekend

According to the Shamrocks Bar Facebook page, "hey everyone, this weekend is huge for us!! check out drinkdraft.com and their official launch party this saturday @ 8pm. they are buying the first 100 yeungling drafts!!! draft girls handing out schwag, it's going to be an awesome time. The inklife tour will be hanging out all weekend after their shows!!! and it's fall bike rally!!! we are going to be jammin all weekend!!! stop by for some fun and t meet some awesome people." Kings Highway and 26th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach! For more, go here: Shamrocks Bar:

'via Blog this'

All Saints Church in Avenue, Maryland

 

The Burch memorial window inside All Saints Church

I had to take this at a slightly downward angle. The window is in memory of my great-grandparents.

 

Inside All Saints church in Avenue, Maryland

 

Bacon Beer

PJ Lifestyle » Chick Beer: Burp-Free Empowerment for the Ladies

No, really -- it's Chick Beer! PJ Lifestyle » Chick Beer: Burp-Free Empowerment for the Ladies:

'via Blog this'

Police: Driving Teacher Offered Wine to Students | KCRG-TV9 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather | Local News

Hat tip to Drudge Report: Police: Driving Teacher Offered Wine to Students | KCRG-TV9 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather | Local News

Tap list at The Crafty Rooster in Conway

From my recent visit:

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Tap list at The Crafty Rooster in Conway

From my recent visit:

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

America's best beach bars - CNN.com

Have they never been to Bum's Beach Cafe??? -- America's best beach bars - CNN.com

Japanese craft beer: There's more to the Far East than mass-produced lagers. - By Mark Garrison - Slate Magazine

I'm now officially in the hunt for Hitachino Nest: Japanese craft beer: There's more to the Far East than mass-produced lagers. - By Mark Garrison - Slate Magazine

15 Countries That Consume The Most Alcohol - CNBC

Follow the liters per capita. Interesting: 15 Countries That Consume The Most Alcohol - CNBC

Japanese craft beer: There's more to the Far East than mass-produced lagers. - By Mark Garrison - Slate Magazine

"Before 1994, microbreweries were illegal in Japan." But check out what they're doing now: Japanese craft beer: There's more to the Far East than mass-produced lagers. - By Mark Garrison - Slate Magazine

Making Love, Not War During the Vancouver Riots

Wow! Making Love, Not War During the Vancouver Riots

A growler prowler - Weekly Surge - Beerman - WeeklySurge.com | Myrtle Beach's free alternative for entertainment, news, and lifestyle information

Good news in my latest column: A growler prowler - Weekly Surge - Beerman - WeeklySurge.com | Myrtle Beach's free alternative for entertainment, news, and lifestyle information

In Germany, Oktoberfest beer prices to crack €9-mark - The Local

Oktoberfest beer prices to crack €9-mark - The Local

Maggie, Audrey, and I on Liberty Island

 

Audrey and Audrey!

 

Drunken Sailor Recipe - Imbibe Magazine

Brooks Reitz of Fig in Charleston submitted this recipe to Imbibe magazine: Drunken Sailor Recipe - Imbibe Magazine

Bavaria – The Beer State | The Polish Magician

Beer & travel -- two of my favorite things! Bavaria – The Beer State | The Polish Magician

John Elway Sounds A Sour Note About Band With Same Name | ThePostGame

A punk band named Elway, for real: John Elway Sounds A Sour Note About Band With Same Name | ThePostGame

Plato's Myths (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Plato's Myths (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

I'm the Beerman... I swear - Weekly Surge - Beerman - WeeklySurge.com | Myrtle Beach's free alternative for entertainment, news, and lifestyle information

New column posted online and available in print around Myrtle Beach: I'm the Beerman... I swear - Weekly Surge - Beerman - WeeklySurge.com | Myrtle Beach's free alternative for entertainment, news, and lifestyle information

CraftBeer.com | American Craft Beer Week Highlights and History

CraftBeer.com | American Craft Beer Week Highlights and History

From Myrtle Beach's Gordon Biersch

FIND MYRTLE BEACH'S GORDON BIERSCH HERE.

What to do? Drum Circle and Coastal Uncorked

From the Myrtle Beach Full Moon Drum Circle:

Sat. May 14th, Myrtle Beach Full Moon Drum Circle, Hours 6-9:30 pm. We will be at the State Park in Shelter 6-B. Go toward the ocean, turn right, and listen for the drumbeat. We will be there, rain or shine. Drum Circle is growing! Come out and help create the vibe. Hope to see you there.

And, of course, Coastal Uncorked is in full swing.

Are you going?

The New Inquiry - Under(der)known Writers: Lev Shestov

The New Inquiry accepted my suggestion of Lev Shestov as an Un(der)known Writer. The New Inquiry - Under(der)known Writers: Lev Shestov

The difference between corporations and governments

Corporations bilk people; governments execute people.

The Intimate Orwell by Simon Leys | The New York Review of Books

Great essay/review of two books related to Orwell: The Intimate Orwell by Simon Leys | The New York Review of Books

How much do you pay per gallon for ... Guinness? Red Bull?

This info-graphic is genius -- must read:
fitter, happier, more productive....

I accidentally became a judge for Battle of the Bands at Abuelo's on Cinco de Mayo

I was walking about of Coastal Grand Mall around 5 p.m. after a quick visit to GNC when I got a call from Hunter Jordan, who was at Abuelo's for a fundraiser for the youth at Trinity.

Hunter said Chris Mowder of Listen Up Myrtle Beach needed another judge for Battle of the Bands at Abuelo's -- could I do it?

As a matter of fact, my wife and kids are still out of town.

So of course I went over.

Tonight I heard from these bands, all of which made for a great party:

Bitterseed

Coman Sproles & Celtic Bluze

Treehouse

Eddie Ate Dynamite

Prowler

Below the Bassline

And the winners were:

3rd place: Coman Sproles & Celtic Bluze

2nd place: Prowler

1st place: Eddie Ate Dynamite

Hey -- each of these bands deserves a listen! Check out their music by clicking their names above. Cheers!

New book on Bob Dylan

For a post with links to the new book, The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait, and the AP's review, click here.

Neighbor

 

Music: 'Plan, Steal, Drive' by Kinski

Find more Kinski songs at Myspace Music

Upcoming in the Weekly Surge

My next column in the Weekly Surge describes another beer dinner -- this one with Highland Brewing of Asheville, N.C.

Plus, I offer a sneak preview of the Myrtle Beach Gordon Biersch's gluten-free beer.

Look for the next edition of the Weekly Surge on Thursday!

Three short primers on pairing beer and food as the grilling season begins

Would you like some suggestions on pairing beer and food?

Would you like to see how others have paired beer and food?

And how to pair the right beers with grilling cuisine?

I've been writing about these topics for the Weekly Surge and Blogcritics.

Allow me to point you to three articles available online and free of charge.

1. A Perfect Pair: Matching Brew and Barbecue, Other Grilling Too

2. Brewmaster Dinners Offer Pairing Advice

3. Call That A Bargain

Enjoy your summer -- and your beer!

Saturday: Beer dinner with Highland Brewing at For What It's Worth

Shae Dannemiller, recently of Landmark Resort in Myrtle Beach, has moved to For What It's Worth, where he will be hosting a dinner paired Highland Brewing Co.'s beers. For What It's Worth is located at 7710 North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, SC. The cost is $40 per person. Call 843-497-5000 for more information.

Myrtle Beach SkyWheel this morning

I took below photo this morning, from about the 31st Avenue North beach access, looking south. Read more about the SkyWheel here.

 

Target Daily Deals - Save Over 30% on Men's C9 Watch Assortment

Serious deal at Green's in Myrtle Beach

Who cares if spring has sprung? Awesome beer is awesome beer, and Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale, six-pack bottles, is on sale for only $4.49 (cash price) at Green's Discount Beverage in Myrtle Beach. I have photographic proof: yfrog Photo : http://yfrog.com/h4gmzjsj Shared by cfburch4

A car that runs on bourbon

I'm not making this up: A car that runs on bourbon, and "really purrs" on Maker's Mark! See the GQ article here.

Lev Shestov homepage - site Leon Chestov

Lev Shestov was a friend of Martin Buber, Edmund Husserl, and Nikolai Berdyaev, yet his own philosophical writings are not nearly as well known as theirs. However, this site includes full texts of some of his books, translated into English: Lev Shestov homepage - site Leon Chestov

Myrtle Beach International Film Festival

Running this week! Details and schedule here: MBIFF

Possum Ego: A Prose Poem Anthology

Old post, but it uncovered a good prose poem anthology. Possum Ego: A Prose Poem Anthology

Britney Spears, Jimmy Kimmel get tattoos

n+1: Why Bother?

Wow. Dynamite article for the humanities. n+1: Why Bother?

The Stump Jump Shiraz

An outstanding Australian red with a 90 rating (from one of those big wine mags) at the Myrtle Beach Costco for $7.99. Yummy. Buy it.

'Mind Maps'

This "Mind Maps" idea is interesting; looks like it has potential: Linkbee: http://successopedia.blogspot.com/2011/03/tony-buzan-mind-mapping-maximize-power.html

Hey! You!

Why can't you be more like the people in the advertisements?

A few links for today's ENGL 201

Kevin Young, "Aunties"


Wislawa Szymborska, "Advertisement"

Rhina Espaillat, "Weighing In"

Campbell McGrath, "Nights on Planet Earth"

I'm intended for a mature audience . . .

. . . but have yet to attact one.

Surveillance, San Francisco-Style | Cato @ Liberty

Oh, this is just wonderful. Like London's ubiquitous cameras: Surveillance, San Francisco-Style | Cato @ Liberty

The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome

The end of the semester, explained: The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome

For Lent, man can live by beer alone

Yes, at least one man is fasting and drinking only beer and water during Lent. Read the CNN article.

So what's your favorite Grand Strand brewpub?

Vote at the box on the top right of this blog!

Links for today

Three links for today:

Anything But Standard


The Pardon


Losing River View Farm

Summit Celebrates The Return Of Legal Beer | Brookston Beer Bulletin

Summit Celebrates The Return Of Legal Beer | Brookston Beer Bulletin

Beer sales versus craft-beer sales -- the backdrop of Anheuser-Busch's purchase of Goose Island

Beer sales are down 1 percent, but the craft-beer portion is up 11 percent, according to American Public Media's Marketplace.

Marketplace reported that statistic during this report on Anheuser-Busch's purchase of Goose Island, a craft brewery in Chicago.

Malty Hops: Skull Coast!

Pics of me at the 3rd annual Myrtle Beach Beer Fest: Malty Hops: Skull Coast!

Skull Coast!

Yesterday concluded the 3rd annual Myrtle Beach Beer Fest. When I saw the Skull Coast Ale Company pirate on Saturday, I had to get a photo with him. My daughters love pirates, but they were out of town this weekend. So I sent them a photo. Skull Coast's Maelstrom IPA and Gallows Point Dead Man's Porter were outstanding. Find them and drink them. I'll certainly write about them in my next Surge column.

And here's me at my best on Friday evening: