The Adventures of Pete

I haven't written in a while and those of you that know me know why (amazing how busy you get when you have another person living with you).  I promise you though, big things are coming =)

Everyone who reads this has played Mike Tyson's Punch Out for the original Nintendo.  Well Nintendo has finally realized the true awesomeness of the game and have revamped it for the Wii.  I have no idea when it comes out, and I don't have a Wii so I probably won't play the game anytime soon, but I think it is way cool that they are revamping this game.  Oh, the video below is a mockumentary created by Nintendo that will hopefully get you excited for the game.

In my never ending quest for the next big thing I came across something that is certainly NOT the next big thing, but still the dogs bullocks - Iron Horse's bluegrass tribute to Metallica, Fade to Bluegrass.  With a track listing as cool as the track listing of Metallica's Guitar Hero any fan of bluegrass or Metallica will enjoy this humorous and entertaining album.

Unforgiven
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Hero Of The Day
Fade To Black
One
Ride The Lightning
Wherever I May Roam
Fuel

The Four Horsemen

To top it off, this isn't the only album Iron Horse has recorded.  They've also made bluegrass tributes to Van Halen, Guns n Roses, Led Zepplin, Black Label Society, Black Sabbath, The Shins, and Modest Mouse.

Try It

Listen to It

Buy It

Cheers!

There are no words to describe the awesomeness that ensues.  As a bonus (as if you really needed one) you get to listen to Band of Horses.  If you haven't heard of them I suggest getting their album.

Cheers!

Instead of posting a link dump every sunday I've created a links page that pulls directly from my recently created Digg account.  Anything that I "digg" will appear on that list.  I will employ the same level of scrutiny for all links being "dugg" that I've used in my sunday link dump selections.  Only the best of the best will appear on that list.

Cheers!

You'd have to be crazy or lactose intolerant not to like cheese.  Even those that are lactose intolerant probably like cheese, they just suffer the consequences or find a have a medical solution to limit the effects.  For the rest of us, cheese is an essential part of a large majority of meals.  Americans put cheese on EVERYTHING - cheesy eggs, cheesy grits, cheese omelette, cheeseburger, cheese sandwich, philly cheesesteak, cheesy potatoes, cheesy vegetables, cheese and crackers, cheesy popcorn, cheese puffs, nachos, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc.  I'm sure you get the picture.

The history of cheese is actually older than recorded history itself.  Estimates range from 8000 BCE to 3000 BCE, around the time that sheep were domesticated in the Middle East.  Because animal skins and stomachs were the preferred containment vessels it was just a matter of leaving sheep's milk in one of these vessels a little too long and presto - they had cheese.  Cheese made in the Middle East and Egypt were quite salty and sour, similar to feta cheese, because of the need to preserve the cheese in the warm climate.  As cheese making made it's way north into Europe less salt was needed which allowed beneficial microbes to invade cheese and create some wonderfully complex textures and flavors.

Cheese is fairly simple to make.  Make sour milk by adding vinegar or a starter bacteria to convert milk sugars into lactic acid, then add rennet to curdle the milk.  Rennet is a natural complex of enzymes produced the stomachs of mammals in order to digest their mother's milk.  Rennet coagulates the milk leaving the curd and whey.  For soft cheese, this is the end of the process.  The whey is usually poured off and the cheese is salted and packaged.  For harder cheeses he whey is poured off and the curd is formed and pressed.  Varying the pressure or applying heat changes the final product.  The addition of salt or microorganisms such as bacteria or mold also alter the end result.  One of the most important parts of cheese making is the aging process.  This adds an incredibly complex element to the process and creates some of the most amazing cheeses.  The possibilities are endless which is the most exciting thing in my book.  There are literally thousands of different kinds of cheese ranging from soft and spreadable cheese like goat cheese and brie to hard and rocks parmesan and romano.  So without further ado, I give you my top five favorite cheeses (in no particular order, of course):

1.  Camembert - this soft, creamy french cheese is possibly my favorite cheese of all time.  Enjoy this with a full bodied Cabernet or Merlot and I promise your taste-buds will thank you.

2.  Sharp White Cheddar - The sharper, the better in my opinion.  I love that strong flavor of an aged white cheddar.  Vermont is well known for this style of cheese but there are also excellent white cheddars made in England, where cheddaring was invented (in the town of Cheddar).  Cracker Barrel White Cheddar is a great, cheap, version of this cheese that you can find at most mega marts.  I like to eat this with a hearty cracker like a wheat thin.

3.  Feta Cheese - this sour, salty Greek cheese is incredible on salads but it is even better as a chicken stuffing.  I've eaten this cheese plain as well, but your breath may not be suitable for the public if you take this route.

4.  Gruyére - This swiss made cheese is another phenomenal cheese that I could not live without.  It has a very strong smell but a slightly sweet, nutty, earthy taste.  It is a great melting cheese that goes great with French Onion soup and fondu but it is also great all by itself.

5.  Cottage Cheese - Ok, some of you may not consider this to be a cheese in the traditional sense (you can't slice it and put it on a cracker) but it is still cheese to me.  I've eaten tub and tub of this delicious stuff.  Occasionally I'll add onions or pineapple but by and large this is a dish best served plain.  Michigan Small curd Cottage Cheese is some of the best I've ever had and the large curd is also quite good.

There are so many different types of cheese that this top 5 barely even scratches the surface of cheese.  Post your favorites in the comments or critique my choices if you must.

Cheers!

http://www.heptune.com/farts.html - Everything you could possibly want to know (and some things you didn't want to know) about crepitation.  I found the part on igniting one's flatulence particularly interesting.

http://www.fandome.com/video/111111/Vijay-Singh-Hits-Hole-In-One-Off-The-Water/?q=c - Those of you who golf know that a hole in one is the ultimate achievement for any golfer.  To accomplish that feat in this manner is miraculous.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/04/08/must-watch-teaser-trailer-for-mike-judges-extract/ - Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead, Office Space, Idiocracy) is set to release it next comic masterpiece in September of this year.  J.K. Simmons may be my new favorite "that guy."

http://i.gizmodo.com/5204650/scarpar-powerboard-is-the-closest-alternative-to-the-hoverboard - Really?!  I want one right now!  This thing looks AWESOME!

http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/04/08/21-fantastic-examples-of-brilliant-photography-with-humor.html - I love photo sets like this.  There are some very creative people with cameras out there.

http://www.holytaco.com/how-deal-shitting-your-pants-powerpoint-presentation - I certainly hope none of my readers have to use this presentation but should this horrific situation rear it's ugly head you will be prepared.

Cheers!

I realize it has been quite a while since I've posted here and I would like to apologize.  The break is largely due to a massive influx of new music (via external hard drive swapping with a buddy at work) and the purchase of a new ipod.  The combination has become a perfect storm of music.  Needless to say I need to create a more rigid posting schedule and stick to it.  Here is a tentative weekly posting schedule.*

Monday - This is generally a busy day for me so unless I miss a sunday link dump, you probably won't see any new posts.

Tuesday - 95% of the time I have tuesday off of work and the wife almost always works leaving me plenty of time to write a serious post.  Expect the latest article in the alphabet project to be posted on tuesdays.

Wednesday - Wednesdays will be devoted to posts on music.  Reviews, lists, mixtapes, and rants will be posted every wednesday without fail.  This is a new topic for this blog but one that I feel will receive a lot of attention.  Whenever possible I will include download links, myspace page links, and music videos.

Thursday - Might have time for a quick post about food or beer but I generally reserve my thursdays for video games with the guys.

Friday - No posts.*

Saturday - No Posts.*

Sunday - Sunday link dump.  This will be posted without fail.  No exceptions.

Monthly feature - A chapter from my upcoming novel.  This is a project that has been in the works since last June but has been put on the back-burner for a while now.  Hopefully by forcing myself to post a chapter once a month I will stop procrastinating and finish this silly little thing.

Cheers!

*subject to change

Beards are a phenomenal bit of human anatomy on the right person.  A big, burly guy with a beard is seen as a macho man.  He carries with him the lumberjack persona which, in Michigan, is a sign of masculinity and virility.  Now a big burly woman with a beard is quite the opposite.  No offense to big, burly, bearded women who read my blog but honestly, you should really consider your options - laser hair removal is quite affordable these days (link).

The history of the beard dates back as far as human history goes.  The ancient egyptians took great pride in their beards.  The royalty and high ranking members of society wore hair on their chins that was often dyed or braided with gold.  Even women of royalty wore false beards of gold tied to their heads with ribbon.  The tradition spanned almost 1500 years from 3000 BCE to 1580 BCE.  In Mesopotamia beard were oiled and dressed with tongs and curlers to create elaborate ringlets.  Throughout history, beards have been highly regarded as signs of dignity, wisdom, and virility.  Then, during the time of Alexander the Great, shaving started to come into fashion.  Old Alex feared that the beard would serve as a handle to grab and hold the solider while he was killed.  While he made a valid argument, he forgot how awesome and scary a soldier looks with a beard.  Men of the Germanic tribes were not allowed to shave or cut their hair until they had slain their first enemy.

From the renaissance to the present day beards have gone in and out of fashion.  18th century Russians with beards were taxed in an attempt to bring Russia in line with Western Europe.  In America, the beard was largely unpopular until the Civil War.  For some reason war and manliness brings out the beard-lover in all of us.  During that time many war heros and generals sported significant beards.  It is interesting to note that up until the time of Abraham Lincoln, no president wore a beard.  After Abe, every president except Jackson and McKinley wore facial hair in some form or another.  Ambrose Burnsides, a soldier in the Union army, was made famous for his unusual facial hair.  He joined strips of hair from in front of his ears to his mustache, while leaving his chin clean shaven.  His unusual sense of style became so fashionable that the term "Burnsides" was coined for the look.  The syllables were later reversed giving us "sideburns."

Beards have long been an important part of many major religions.  Prominent greek gods such as Zeus and Posiden are always portrayed wearing a beard.  Almost all middle eastern religions consider the beard to be an integral part of a man's body and that it should be preserved, maintained, and respected.  In Islam, there are many scholars who believe the beard is mandatory, though shaving for ritualistic purposes is equally respected.  Orthodox Jews prohibit the use of single blade razors to cut their beards as the single blade against the skin "mars" the beard.  Only scissors are permitted as they have two blades and therefore do not come in contact with the skin.  Hasidic jews, however, do not remove or even trim their beards.  In Christianity Jesus is always portrayed wearing a beard.  Beards in Catholicism are worn to show vocation and in Eastern Orthodox Christianity all members of the clergy wear a beard and at various times it was required that all members wear a beard.

With such a long and rich history, there have been countless styles of beard worn throughout the world.  Every year there are beard and mustache competitions that showcase the finest examples of facial hair growth throughout the world.  Here are just a few examples of some truly awe inspiring beards:

The freestyle competition (the second and forth from the left are excellent examples of this style) are by far the strangest beard styles but the rest are true masterpieces of facial hair growth.

My reason for writing this article, aside from giving you a bit of useless knowledge, is my way of mourning the loss of my beard.  Barely two hours ago I ended the life of my glorious beard.  We had a great winter together and that beard always kept my face toasty warm.  My beard got lots of compliments and decreased the number of times I was carded buying beer (which is both good and bad because they are supposed to card me if I look younger than 35... did my beard really make me look close to 40?).  But the cold season has ended and spring is just moment away.  It is always sad to see the remains of a 5 month project laying there, lifeless, at the bottom of the sink.  My new razor cut each hair down like trees in a rainforest.  It all went so quickly I didn't even have to time to savor the humorous parts of the process (seeing myself with a goatee, fu-manchu, mustache, and hitlerstache).  So goodbye old friend.  You will be missed.  Not by Sarah, but you will be missed.

For more information on beards please visit http://www.beards.org/

Cheers!

I've just now decided to base the next 26 articles i write (excluding link, video, and image posts) on letters of the alphabet.  The first article will be on a topic starting with the letter "A" and the last, "Z."  As cool as it would be to actually write about each individual letter, I think it might get a little boring after "B."  So without further delay, I give you Part A of my Alphabet Series.

The alphabet has a fascinating history which bears a short discussion.  The alphabet we use today is known as the Latin Alphabet as is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world.  It is a direct descendent of the Greek alphabet developed by the Romans to write latin.  In its infancy, the Latin alphabet consisted of 21 letters - ABCDEFZHIKLMNOPQRSTVX.  The letter C was used for both a G and K sound.  Later, the Z was dropped and replaced with a new letter, G.  After the roman conquest of Greece the letters Y and Z were added to the alphabet.  During the middle ages the letter W was introduced to aid in the pronunciation of germanic words.  It was also during the middle ages that I and U were distinguished as vowels while J and V were consonants.  Prior to this the letters were interchangeable.  Writing style changed frequently during the middle ages until the invention of the printing press.  It was then that the written latin alphabet began to become standardized.

As the latin alphabet spread additions were made to adapt to new languages.  I consider this to be just one more reason the Romans held such an immense empire for so long.  Their ability to seamlessly integrate themselves into every culture they conquered was genius.  In England, the latin alphabet was expanded to include several runes - wynn, thorn, and the irish letter eth.  Eventully wynn became w and thorn and eth were replaced with "th" thus eliminating the need for two extra letters in the alphabet.  Yogh was another letter added at one point but it too was eliminated in favor of "gh."  AE (æ) and OE (œ) are ligatures that were derived from Anglo saxon runes as well but were never truly replaced in the alphabet.  They are occasionally used when writing latin words or in dictionaries for pronunciations but by and large these ligatures are ancient history.

Creating an alphabet to represent a language was no easy task and I applaud the efforts of the Romans for creating such a masterpiece in only 26 letters.  In contrast, the alphabet in Cambodia has 74 letters and there are roughly 6,000 - 7,000 characters in written Chinese (40,000 if you count obscure characters).  This number is deceiving because chinese characters are not individual letters that make up words but words themselves or even complete thoughts.  Regardless, I do not think I would be able to create a series of unique symbols that correspond to individual sounds.  Well done Romans, well done.

My favorite letter has to be "S."  It is my favorite letter to write because you can write it so many ways.  We've all made the cool old english S with the six vertical lines connected by diagonal lines and the letter itself reminds me of so many wonderful things.  Summer, snowboarding, Sarah, smiling, sunshine, soul, etc.  Anyone else have a favorite letter?

Cheers!