It Wasn't Just a Bad Day For Bennigan's

There was sad news out of Lakewood. Kitchen 1924 has closed. Read about it here.

And somehow the horrible food produced by Sushi on McKinney has finally caught with them as they are closing soon as well.

All of this on news on the heals of a boarderline terrible experience at The Libertine last night. After the poor food, service and diminished beer selection we saw last night, can that place be open much longer?

Random Pictures Of Things That People Have Given Me Over The Last Few Weeks That I Should Blog About

From Glenn. They only have a vague bacon flavor.


From Margaret: Brought back from Chile. Not as bad tasting as she had promised. But not great either. I think she got them at a Starbuck's down there. Get it? Frac -- Starbuck's -- Battlestar Galactica. I kill me.


From Matt: Left in my mailbox as the Currys leave for the land of Roethlisberger and Primanti's.

Sniff.

Random Stuff That I Took Pictures Of But Forgot Or Was Too Lazy To Blog About

I made this Hot Chocolate Fondant featured in Gordon Ramsay's cookbook Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy. It was one of the first things I made with my new stove? What stove, you ask?


This one. Now I have to do something about that hideous wallpaper.


Alex was naughty earlier this summer.


Furry bug I found in my garage this morning.


And finally, this Gay Not Gay candidate from the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Gas Prices Are Making People Dumb

High gas prices have me, like all Americans, mad. But I'm not mad because I have to pay more at the pump. As many of you know, I'm filthy rich. No, I'm mad because I'm tired of hearing people complain about prices and then doing dumb things about it

This video from DallasNews.Com red-lined my rage metre (like the English spelling? I'm trying to be more English-like. So please notice my liberal use of the word "cunt")

Here's the summary of the video.

Two Georgia men are biking their way to work, and saving big money without burning gasoline. What makes their commute so extreme? It's almost 21 miles long - each way.

BIG MONEY??? REALLY??

OK, lets do the math. 21 miles in an average car would be a little more than 1 gallon of gas. So, at $4/gallon, they are saving, what?, $5? Since they ride together, they could be carpooling, so really they're only saving $2.50 each way.

Wow!

Not only that, but 21 miles, for me, would take at least 1 1/4 hours to bike ride. Worst case, in a car, 21 miles would take 30 minutes. So they are exchanging 45 minutes to save $2.50. That's not even minimum wage anymore.

And this is what's infuriating me about gas prices. People don't do the math. We have these stupid ads from Chevron on The Ticket telling us that if we slow down to 55mph from 65mph, we would get an extra 30-50 miles per tank.

That means for every hour you were driving 65mph, you are now driving an extra 12-13 minutes. So, essentially, for every 5 hours driving at 65, you now have to drive 6 hours. And the savings -- 2 to 3 gallons of gas. That's $8-12. Would any of you do anything at a rate of $8/hours?

There is something more precious on this planet than money or gas, and that's your time. You only have so many hours here on Earth. Don't waste them trying to save a few bucks on gas.

Rant off.

Well, There Goes My Social Life

clipped from www.bannedinhollywood.com (AP ATLANTA) A new report today from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that HSV-1, the virus that causes cold sores is on the rise for beer pong players aged 17-21. The precipitous jump (up 230% from 2007) has caused concern for a number of school officials and parents. “This epidemic is something we should pay close attention to. We’re aware that we cannot outright prevent [beer pong], so we have provided new red cups available to all students in the dorms,” said President of Arizona State University, Michael M. Crow.

Brush with "Greatness": The Why Guy

While going for my morning Venti Espresso Frap, I ran into the soon-to-be-leaving Channel 8 Why Guy, Mike Castellucci, at the soon-to-be-closing Starbucks next to Gloria's on lower Greenville.

Yes, this dude does kinda look like the Mayor of McKinney Ave. And yes, my bar for "greatness" isn't that high.

They Call It Why Why Zed

In honor of Rush's appearance on The Colbert Report last week, the best rendition of YYZ you'll ever see from an 11 year old.



I'm not sure I could even hum Red Barchetta at 11.

Someone Broke The Dubliner

clipped from frontburner.dmagazine.com A bartending FrontBurnervian sends along this pic of one of my favorite Irish bars in town (don’t be jealous, Old Monk). Details are a bit sketchy right now, but apparently someone was running from the police, lost control of his/her car, and drove into the Dubliner on Greenville Avenue.

Where Was This On The 4th??

clipped from www.yesbutnobutyes.com

Phillip Seymour Hoffman Has Really Let Himself Go

Or has he?

My American Soulmate is Single Again

Unless she really is fucking Matt Damon.

But how will I get the stench of Kimmel out of her?

And would fucking her be the same as fucking my leader by transitivity?

If you're wondering, my All-World soulmate is Robin Sparkles.

A Must Read for P1s

Richie Witt has finally shared the whole story of the Greggo disappearance.

Wow. Who knew you could get coke at The Village.

Greatest Quake Mod Ever

I've Just Installed One In All of the Bathrooms in the Wallagio

clipped from www.yesbutnobutyes.com

Nuff Said

Thanks to Scott for updating the image.

I Guess They're Trying to Figure Out How To Charge For On-Time Arrivals

clipped from www.dallasnews.com American Airlines again ranks last in on-time arrivals 10:45 AM CT For the third straight month, American Airlines Inc. finished last among 19 U.S. carriers in on-time arrivals in May, with one third of its flights arriving at least 15 minutes late.

Bacon Mania on Salon.com

Even the left is getting on board the pork belly train.

clipped from www.salon.com July 7, 2008 | I stumbled across an Internet link several months ago that made me gasp. At a time when Amy Winehouse implodes via RSS feed and Mini Me has a sex tape, genuine surprise is as hard to come by as affordable gas. But this link was fascinating and repellent at once. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce: the bacon bra.

New Euphemisms

Wrapping my ground-squirrel in a sweater vest.


Bathing the Monkey.


Albino Kagaroo Standing At Attention.


Bowling the Ole Hedgehog.


Uhm. Maybe this one isn't so new.

From the painfully adorable Cute Overload

My Favorite Tex Mex Gets Some Love

clipped from www.dallasobserver.com The restaurant used the "Original" formula—it targeted an Anglo audience. The Original of Fort Worth became a favorite haunt of Fort Worth bluebloods including Amon Carter and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's son Elliott. President Roosevelt raised the profile of Tex-Mex when he ate at The Original with his son during a visit to Fort Worth in 1937. If you want to sample real old-fashioned Tex-Mex, order what FDR ordered, now known as the "Roosevelt Special." It's a fried-to-order chalupa shell topped with beans and cheese, a crispy beef taco and a cheese enchilada in chili con carne topped with a fried egg. Cheese enchiladas served in chili con carne—not thin, meatless chili gravy, or authentic enchilada sauce—are the hallmark of real Tex-Mex, according to 78-year-old Fort Worth sportswriter and Tex-Mex expert Dan Jenkins. What else does he look for in a great Tex-Mex restaurant? "There isn't a goddamned fajita within 10 miles of it," he told me.

The Perfect Side Item for Chocolate Easter Eggs

Requested Ticket Bit: Country Cream

From deep within the bowels of my Ticket archive this requested bit was found. Corby recently mentioned how he was almost fired over it and has not been replayed since it was replayed on the Rant.

Oh, and is it just me, or does Greggo sound a little stuffed up?

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday USA

Star Spangled Banner
by JibJab

I've Learned So Much

Corby has been on a roll with potty training songs. This is my favorite. And it's good to see that Erkel can still get work.

Suck It, Hatahs!!!

June was my most bloggy month since Walkabout filled September. So those who keep complaining that I'm not blogging enough -- two words.

SUCK IT!

Just A Typical Weekend at the Wallagio

I expected to see The Jester's name on the byline of Top Ten College Drinking Games.

Beer Pong #1. Was there any doubt???

What is a Female Douchebag?

Ghostbar Dallas - 2nd Anniversary Slideshow from N9NEGroup Dallas on Vimeo.

This topic was heavily debated recently and no clear consensus was formed. So if anyone has an idea about what to call a distaff douchebag, lemme know.

And to get you in the mood, here's the Ghostbar's 2 anniversary video courtesy of Unfair Park.

Enjoy.

The Return of the 70s

"All of this has happened before. And all of this will happen again."

-- Leoben

I've been feeling like I'm reliving my childhood recently. No, it's not an overdose of my Peter Pan syndrome. Much of the news of today makes me think back to my elementary school days. For instance:

1. Gas Price Crisis -- Then it was caused by OPEC mad at us for supporting Israel. Now it's caused by speculators. Either way, it's all that people are talking about and I half expect the return of the AMC Gremlin or Chevy Chevette.

2. An unpopular war -- Vietnam was probably more unpopular. Those fucking, spoiled baby-boomers were getting drafted into it, and we couldn't have that. And, with 200 teevee channels, we have more of an opportunity to look away and ignore Iraq.

3. An unpopular President -- I'm fairly positive that had Bill Clinton not been Impeached, W would have been one week after the Dems took control of Congress. And the only reason Nixon wasn't impeached was that he resigned first. So I guess the idea of President Cheney is also keeping the Dems at bay.

4. The Mustache -- The cheesy 70s mustache is making a comeback. Like when you first hear a new word, and then you hear it all the time for the next week, this part of my theory didn't reach my consciousness until last week. While enjoying the weekly Rahr Brewery open house last Saturday I noticed a dude that was a Steve Prefontaine starter kit (only with a decidedly doughier body). Then, earlier this week, I started noticing more and more dudes with the same 70s style mustache. Finally the theory was finalized when I saw Jason Giambi's roided up, mustachioed mellonhead.

So get ready for all kinds of 70s things. There's already talk of a return of The Gong Show and Match Game. Can Pet Rocks, Mood Rings and Est be far behind?



Steve Prefontaine.


Jason Giambi

Happy Canada Day, To America's Hat