If you're a fan of the Boston-based Irish Punk Band, theDropkick Murphys, today is your first chance to buy tickets for the band's famous St. Patty's Day Weekend shows. A limited number of tickets will go on sale today at 4pm EST on theDropkick Murphy's website.
These shows are a blast, so if you are in the Boston area, get yourself some tickets. We usually go to the Saturday night show and attend theBoston Bruinsgame in the afternoon before the show, but it doesn't look as though the NHL is going to cooperate.
If you don't get tickets today, the rest of the tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, December 7th at 10:00am. Tickets can be purchased online atwww.nextticketing.com, in person at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, MA or by phone at 617-423-6398.
If you haven't heard it yet, check out the "World Champion Red Sox Anthem"* by the band Frickin' A. It's actually a Christmas song with some scathing anti-Yankee lyrics. What could be better than this:
"Have a Merry, Merry, Merry Frickin' Christmas All you New York Yankee Fans can kiss this The tree the gifts the mistletoe kiss Swing, a miss Steinbrenner's really pissed...."
The special edition CD is available now in stores in the Boston area and atAmazon.com.
If you're not cooking tonight, pick up the Jones Soda Holiday Pack. It can serve as a substitute for Thanksgiving dinner. The pack includes five new "flavor filled, tasty holiday sodas": Turkey & Gravy Soda, Cranberry Soda, Mashed Potato & Butter, Green Bean Caserole, and Fruitcake Soda. Yummm.
What should hockey fans do right about now? The baseball playoffs (yeah Sox!) offered a damn good consolation for lack of an NHL opening night, but what now?
Here are a few suggestions:
Does anyone else wish that ESPN would start airing hockey games from Europe? (Ok probably not), but I bet Davos Switzerland featuring Joe Thornton (from the Boston Bruins) and Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets) would be entertaining to watch. Here is an HC Davos clip if you need a hockey fix...uh...and you speak German. Das Eiiiishockey!
If you're a Colorado Avalanche fan, navigate over to the Denver Post. The writers there report on an Xbox Video Hockey League season played by 8-14 year olds. No comment here. My Playstation league is better.
At the Drunken Bleachers headquarters, we've decided to make a vat of homemade Kahlua - really for no particular reason other than to fill a few minutes of time that would have been spent watching the NHL. Here is the recipe if you want to try it at home:
4 Cups water
4 Cups granulated sugar
1/4 Cup Instant Coffee
1 Quart Vodka
1 Vanilla Bean or 4 tsp Vanilla extract
Directions: Combine sugar and water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add instant coffee and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla bean or vanilla extract. Allow to cool. Add vodka. Pour into JUG or dark bottles. Let stand for 2-3 weeks.
Sip slowly and try not to think sad thoughts about hockey.
Well, it’s election night and I’m nervous. I’m nervous because Bush is doing pretty well for himself in the Electoral College. Now that I think of it, Bush’s record in the Electoral College perfectly reflects his record at any other college he has been involved with: Barely getting by. Passing only with the help of his friends in high places.
I digress. Let’s get back to the butterflies (seagulls) in my stomach. I was trying put my emotions in perspective by comparing this level of anxiety to other events in my life. Here are some examples:
-I am more nervous now than when I made my first confession. -I am more nervous now than I was on my first date. -I am more nervous now than I was before I played in the State Championship rugby game three years ago. -I am less nervous now than when I was mugged in Schenectady, NY.
That’s when I realized something that made me feel uneasy. I am LESS nervous now, than I was before Game 7 of this year’s ALCS. It was hard to admit this to myself, but it’s true… and if this is true, then something is seriously wrong.
What does this mean for America, if anything… Analysis:
a.) The Electoral College has left me feeling a bit disenfranchised. Living in Massachusetts, I know that my state will go for Kerry, I feel that the situation is entirely out of my control. I normally don’t worry about things I cannot control. WHAT IT MEANS FOR AMERICA: Do away with the electoral college!! It’s archaic, it anachronistic! If we used the popular vote to decide, not only would the majority rule, but EVERY vote really would count.
b.) There’s no difference between the candidates. I don’t believe this one, but I hear it a lot. I think that the candidates do have huge differences, but one could make a case that they are overwhelmingly similar when the big picture is considered. WHAT IT MEANS FOR AMERICA: The laws of economics apply here: Competition is good for the consumer. The two party system is not the best system for America. We need more choices. This is not likely to happen anytime soon. c.) I’m a young Boston Red Sox fan with no perspective whatsoever. It’s definitely possible that I have been rooting for the sox for so long, and with so much energy, that I have lost my ability to judge what’s actually important, and perhaps I am not even supporting the right candidate. I know Susan thinks so.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR AMERICA: Nothing! This third choice is my own problem. Sure I COULD blame society… but I hate when people do that. Society is responsible for many things, but people use it as a scapegoat way too much.
OOOOKKK…I’m starting to rant, rave, and preach….I’d better go watch The Daily Show’s election coverage… Real News…
Can I cross between sports? Did the Sox and Patriot swap karma? I'm not sure but the Pats looked pretty awful today. This shouldn't be too surprising since just about everything looks awful after waking up with a Post Boston Red Sox Victory Parade Hangover (PBRSVPH). The PBRSVPH is the hangover by which all others should be measured. This is because it is the result of a day much like the following:
6:00am: Wake up call. Get in shower, do not turn on water. Instead dump four bottles of chilled, cheap champagne all over yourself. Now turn on the water and shower as normal.
6:45am: Mix 1/2 Gallon of mimosa's, drink said half gallon while riding the T to copley square.
7:04am: T stop: Boston University West
7:06am: T stop: Boston University Central
7:08am: T stop: Boston University East. It's a little past seven in the morning and I'm rocking a pretty good buzz. This is something that hasn't happened since college, and will probably never happen again. I'm OK with that. What I'm not OK with is BU students aversion to WALKING. Three T stops, all roughly 100 yards apart? I'll tell you what happened to BU students: They grow up to become the people who drive around parking lots for up to 10 minutes waiting for a parking spot in the first few rows rather than park in the back. They will waste all that time to avoid a 30 second walk from their car to their destination... I know that I'm getting off track hear in order to complain but you have to understand that I'm suffering from PBRSVPH.
7:37am: Arrive at Copley Plaza. Post up on the step in front of Boston Public Library. The parade will pass by here at approximately 11:00am. That means standing in the rain for 3.5 hours, in a crowd, without and bathrooms around. At this point it would seem appropriate to remind you that I and the two women I am with [we will call them J. and K. Wing] have consumed 1/2 gallon of mimosas and an equal amount of coffee. This might not be a huge problem for me, but it was a huge problem for the wing sisters.
9:42am: Problem solved. Don't ask.
11:03am: The moment I've been dreaming about for most of my relatively young life: about 6 feet away from me, David Ortiz rolled past me in a Duck Boat, hefting the World Series Trophy. In Boston.
12:01pm: Reflect on the fact that we just saw a Red Sox players holding the world series trophy in a Duck Boat over some beers and food at a Boylston Street Bar.
4:45pm: Return to my apartment in Allston. Nap.
6:30pm: Wake up, realize that I have no costume for the costume party I am supposed to attend in two hours. Run to thrift store and purchase lots of drab green clothing.
9:00pm: Attend party as retired Red Sox numbers in right field at Fenway park.
1:00am: Leave party, go to bed... PBRSVPH already setting in.
8:37am: Wake up, wonder what died in my mouth. Commence PBRSVPHRDBGTAAYCEB (Post Boston Red Sox Victory Parade Hangover Recovery Day By Going To An All You Can Eat Brunch.
10:45am: Former college roommate Greg remarks that the first three letters in PBRSVPH are PBR, which is his favorite beer.
