Jumpin' At The Woodside

Click Here to go to the LIVE from The Woodside page where "Now Playing" info is also available. Or as I call it " Tunes & Brews " -- tunes for you, brews for me! And champagne too! Taking requests! If you're having trouble connecting try refreshing the LIVE page in your browser LIVE from The Woodside before clicking the link to listen to the Webcast. Here's what's coming up this evening: (All times Eastern) 7pm - Rat Pack Live 8pm - Generous heaping of cool tunes to start your evening 9pm - LIVE Jumpin' At The Woodside kicks off with "The Fable of The Booty Jam Glitter Palace" followed by requests, assorted foolishness and music 10pm - A live performance perhaps, we'll see ;~) Stay tuned for more. LIVE from The Woodside - Salud!

Click Here to go to the LIVE from The Woodside page where "Now Playing" info is also available. Or as I call it " Tunes & Brews " -- tunes for you, brews for me! A LIVE preview is spinning from my iTunes this evening (12/30), but check in tomorrow evening for the LIVE show . Taking requests! - Salud!

Enjoying some Mad Elf at The Monkey's abode. Salud and Merry Merry y'all!

Santa is in South America and soon will be here... "A Visit From St. Nicholas"

Merry Christmas Eve! NORAD Tracks Santa

Good evening all and Happy Holly Jolly Friday! Fittingly, Dave is on the jukebox singing "eat, drink and be merry!" Warmed up to the high 60s today and even after 7pm it was still 64 degrees. This time of year, I wish we were getting some of the winter weather that you're getting up north - well, except for the cold temps. Perhaps I spoke too soon as I see we may be getting the cold temps sans the winter weather next week. As promised in my last post I have a new beer I'm trying tonight. Typical for this time of year, Santa delivers and does he ever in Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve . While less intense and not as sweet as the Double Dead Guy from the other night, Santa's Reserve just may be the smoothest heavily hopped ale I've tasted. The beer is a deep red amber color and the smell of the hops are immediately evident. The consistency may even be slightly lighter than other ales, but not light in taste. The tasting notes on the Rogue Web site state...

I'm always up for trying new beers, so when I received the news article in the mail ( see photo ) from Poppa Gar recommending the Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale , I figured why not. Especially a beer that comes in a bright red bottle this time of year seems rather festive regardless of its name. I picked up a Double Dead Guy today at the Total Wine, along with another new brew that I'll feature in my Friday post. The shopping complex at this Total Wine was crawling with holiday shoppers. I could barely find a place to park and even had someone tap my bumper while leaving, but all was well. The bump happened at a very low speed and after inspection found nothing wrong. We both went our merry way. Today was a foggy, dreary, rainy day - all day. Had it been cooler, I suppose we would have had snow flurries, but we actually hit the 60s today. Enough about that, on with the beer. Like a vampire, light is one of beer's worst enemies, this is the reason many beers come in a brown bottl...

Their new album is set to be released the same date as the first show of the tour. Lots of good venues! Tue 04/14/09 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena Wed 04/15/09 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center Fri 04/17/09 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena Sat 04/18/09 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena Mon 04/20/09 Pelham, AL Verizon Wireless Center Birmingham Wed 04/22/09 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion Fri 04/24/09 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Sat 04/25/09 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt Stadium Sun 04/26/09 New Orleans, LA Fairgrounds Racetrack Jazz Fest Tue 04/28/09 Alpharetta, GAVerizon Wireless Amph. At Encore Park Wed 04/29/09 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amph. At Encore Park Fri 05/01/09 The Woodlands, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sat 05/02/09 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center Tue 05/05/09 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion Wed 05/06/09 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion Fri 05/08/09 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena Sat 05/09/09 La...

Good evening all and Happy Friday! How about a joke to start off... What are the two dirtiest animals on the farm? Brown chicken, brown cow. I'm not a big "joke guy," but sometimes the simplest ones always seem to get me. BTW... if you didn't get the above joke, sing the answer. There are two other super simple jokes that for some reason always get me. In no order... If you're American in the living room, what are you in the bathroom? European! And the other one is not so much a joke, but just goofy. My butt is broke, it's got a crack! OK sorry for the trip to 5th grade, but had to relate the other two after starting off with the "Brown chicken, brown cow." Hope everyone is having a good start to the weekend and enjoying the biggest full moon of the year . Although I'm thoroughly enjoying my Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, The Lazy Acres Crew made me jealous when they sent me the pict of their 2nd margarita at Senor Pique's. Salud, Fearys! Od...

Strung the outside Christmas lights this weekend. Ayecarumba, it's been cold here. I thought this was the south! Yesterday was so cloudy with dampness in the air, if it had been just a little bit cooler I think we could have gotten some snow. Instead just some rain shortly after nightfall. Our low tonight is supposed to go down to 23! At least it looks to warm up later this week. Oh yeah, by the way... the EAGLES BEAT THE GIANTS!!! Booyah!

Happy Friday, or should I say a Holly Jolly Friday! Also Happy Repeal Day ! Sorry to be away from posting for awhile. I have been updating the Twitter from time to time, but have not had a chance to make a proper blog post.  Let's see, well what's happening right now... I'm enjoying a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Ella Bella just dropped her toy mouse behind me wanting me to throw it for her, and the jukebox just went from Dean Martin to The Isley Brothers -- some things never change :~) The jukebox is actually spinning a new playlist I created the other day. It's called "Woodside Christmas" and combines all the tracks from the regular Woodside playlist along with all the tracks from my Christmas playlist, which includes everything from Frank, Dean, Nat, Jackie Gleason, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Bing and Boston Pops on up to and including South Park's "Mr. Hankey's Holiday Classics." Almost forgot Ray Charles, who just came on sing...

I just finished what has become a November tradition with me. I watched " The Fortune Cookie " the 1966 film classic with Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, their first teaming, and directed by Billy Wilder. Wilder directed Lemon six years earlier in what has become a holiday classic and tradition for me " The Apartment ." I also find it very comforting to watch these movies, and older movies in general, right around dusk. Not sure why, but for me there's nothing like starting an old black and white film just before sunset, such as " Holiday Inn " which I'll probably watch in the next couple weeks, and then finishing when it's dark but still early in the evening. Don't know why this is, but for me feels like the best time to watch these movies. Speaking of holiday classics, I saw that TBS is airing " How the Grinch Stole Christmas " - the 1966 animated classic - tonight before a holiday episode of what has to be one of the most unfunn...

The air is cooler, the days are shorter and the festive brews are hitting the shelves. So far I've had the Sam Adams holidays brews, Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale and yes even the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale! Not all in one sitting, but over the course of the last couple weeks. I may be one of the few people who noticed, but they changed the photo of the cabin on the label of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. It used to look like a cabin at sunset that had a fire burning inside , but I noticed now it looks very much like middle of a wintry day and the windows are darker. Don't get me wrong, I still love the brew and their label will always be one of my festive favorites, but for what it's worth I like the older version better. Speaking of the holidays, even the new Sirius XM channel lineup features the Holly channel that has already started playing holidays hits. I'm actually excited about the merging of the channels and getting to hear the best of both wor...

Phillies World Series Champs 2008! Booyah!!! - Salud!

My sister, we'll call her Momma Lou, is a huge Phillies fan. She's an Eagles fan too, basically a hometown sports girl - nothing wrong with that! She and a friend are as close to ground zero for the World Series tonight as you can get without being at the game itself. They're at Chickie's & Pete's , just a few blocks from Citizens Bank Park where Game 5 is about to get underway. She's been calling with updates and sending picts. The photo to the right is of Eagles head coach Any Reid who was at Chickie's for a Comcast SportsNet interview. The photo below is a collage of photos she sent to give you a flavor of the pre-game atmosphere - Chickie's & Pete's are famous for their crab fries. As for yours truly, I'll be watching the game on the ol' big screen. Got Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale and BBQ chicken on tap this evening. GO PHILS!!! - Salud!

Remember those old Budweiser "Wassup?" commercials, here's an update for our times.

Happy Autumn Eve to one and all! I'm listening to my very own Halloween Mix this evening - the 2nd CD is coming to a close - and enjoying a Stone IPA . It's got a very nice aroma and taste, a classic IPA from San Diego County, Calif. There's a gargoyle on the label so fits in nicely with the time of year! Today marks two rainy Fridays in a row. Last Saturday I swept all the acorns on the driveway and patio into the yard. Looks like I have to do it again this weekend. They're really piling up! The Halloween Mix has now moved on to the third CD. I never look on it as "finished." There is always room for improvement. For instance, I think the first CD is very strong, but probably could benefit with the removal of at least one song. Perhaps next year I'll re-work the entire mix, who knows? - Salud!   Halloween 2008 - Disc #1 1. Autumn Leaves (Harry Potter Mix) – Morbid Miles Davis (4:45) 2. Moondance – Van The Invisible Man Morrison (4:35) 3. Witchcraft – Frig...

Happy Friday to one and all! Tonight, my glass saw the Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale that is like silk for the IPA lover and a Smuttynose IPA from NH. I've had Smuttynose before, but not their IPA. Their IPA has a similar style to the Bells Two-Hearted Ale. I like it, but different than my usual IPA. The color is not as dark and the taste is more light and fruity than the bolder IPAs that I traditionally enjoy. I picked up my beverages this evening from this little, funky market near The Penguin , which has been featured on the Food Network. The market is a cool little joint, even has its own bar, but prices higher than Total Wine. Not a regular stop, but they definitely cater to the beer lover, and I could see myself being a repeat visitor on occasion. - Salud!

Grey evening here at The Woodside, actually already dark as I type this. Catching up with what's going down at The Woodside this week... Dave has been Twittering away and I have joined in along with the Lazy Acres crew - Big Daddy Acres and Momma Acres . Mostly just random thoughts shot out into the proverbial Internet super-highway. But, I think a good way to look back on the week that was and consolidate into a blog posting. I have been working on my latest update to the Halloween Mix. This is big news as it will be the first time I've added an entire CD to the Mix since 2001, I believe. It's been a two-CD Mix for quite awhile now and this year with the addition of the third CD is quite a breakthrough. Last night I think I got close to rounding out the song selection, but the Halloween SFX still need to be added. Also, rather than pull apart what I've already done with the two CDs, this new CD will be standalone much like the two original CDs. I'll leave it up ...

Since I had the roof replaced I've experienced an increase in "things that go bump in the night." Acorns have been falling from the trees, landing on the roof and then rolling down the length of it. I don't recall these noises before, probably because before the roof was replaced there were actually two layers of roof shingles. Now that there is only a single layer of roof shingles, I hear the acorns dropping very distinctly. The first time I heard them I was startled, but quickly deciphered the strange noise. At least it's not a ghostly infestation. - Salud!

If you love the taste of hops along with the color and aroma of a fine pale ale, get your hands on some Sierra Nevada Wet Hop Harvest Ale . I found one of these and the smoothness of taste left me without words -- Aye carumba that is one fine ale! FYI, It's only available in large, single bottles. Go on and get ya some. - Salud!

Finally found me some of the new Budweiser American Ale! Very nice aroma and color. Has a clean taste. Not as hoppy as the IPAs I normally drink, but still very good. Bravo Bud. - Salud!

Nothing spooky On Tap this evening, just your average everyday Rolling Rock for this "Joe Six-Pack." Temps have been very seasonal here, looking to drop down to 48 here overnight. My running schedule fell off a bit in September, but already have two runs in for this week and Saturday I'm due for a date with the lawnmower as grass-cutting season winds down. Looks like the gas shortage is slowly starting to ease up. Many stations still without gas, but the ones that do have it seem to have shorter lines and many without lines at all. I filled up earlier this week with some help from the Charlotte Observer online fuel map. I filled up without any wait at all, although I paid $3.99 a gallon! I'm sure the price will start to come down once our shortage crisis is over. In other local news... Wachovia was set for a takeover by Citigroup, but now it looks to be eaten up by Wells Fargo. Let's hope it's Wells Fargo who comes out on top in this debacle, which would be a ...

Don't know if you've been following the gas shortage in the southeast in the news, but my post from last Saturday was only the beginning. Stations ran out of gas all over Charlotte this week, and the few that did have gas had lines of up to 50 cars. Lucky enough to have gotten gas on Saturday, I still had a half tank when the situation rose to dire levels on Thursday. I worked from home today in an effort to conserve the gas I had, and with the all-day rain seemed like a good idea all around. Shipments are expected today with hopes that the situation will get back to normal by next week. As you might expect, there were reports of fights breaking out as people grew impatient while waiting in line for gas. Gas lines remain today; deliveries still promised ( Charlotte Observer ) As for me, my work day has come to an end and I believe a cocktail is in order on this dreary Friday evening. Gettin' all autumnal up in this joint. May need to throw on a sweatshirt tonight. - Salud...

That's a Smithwick's and Guinness Black and Tan.

Had to search for a gas station that had gas for sale today. Most near the house were not pumping. When I finally did find one with gas, I was greeted by the sign above on the pump. I pumped my 10 gallons at $4.09 a gallon and went on my way. Hate them hurricanes!

Maybe a bit premature, but Fall begins Monday and with temps here currently at 71 and predicted to fall overnight to 55 degrees, I'm feelin' downright Autumnal! What better way to welcome the Fall season than to break out the Halloween coffee mugs. Ah, makes me feel all warm and cozy already! Of course the coffee mugs will make their actual seasonal debut tomorrow morning, while this evening I'm enjoying the Fall flavor of a Sam Adams Octoberfest. Some "Soulshine" for ya, just because... - Salud!

Even with 2 players yet to play (Willie P. and WestB.) looks like Lazy Acres St. Lou Screw has the drop on me, putting up too many points for me to come back. Oh well, hey the Giants started out 0-2 last year and look what happened to them. Hasta Lasagna, y'all. If you're feeling the hot and humid weather we gots here - stay cool. - Salud!

Week 2 and The Hoochies are up against the Lazy Acres St. Lou Screw. Have a fine Mad Hatter IPA from New Holland Brewing in Michigan. Thanks Monkey for making me try these. If you like that hoppy IPA taste, the Mad Hatters are loaded with flavor. I had to order the SuperFan package today as part of the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket. I guess the GameMix (8 games on one screen) was only on for the first week for peops with Sunday Ticket and no SuperFan. I was fine for letting it go for the week without the GameMix, but then I noticed a number of the games were not in HD. That was when I had to go with the SuperFan. Pretty good, ordered online and TV updated within couple minutes. With that, gives me all games in HD! Win or lose today against The Screw, I have a very nice porterhouse steak for the grill paired with a Casillero Del Diablo Cabernet - Devil's Cellar baby! BOOYAH!!!

First time I've seen Leinie's Octoberfest here. Now if we could just get their Red Lager that would be sweet! Last time I had Leinie's was at the Dave Matthews Band show outside Chicago when Parliament Funkadelic opened.

Just a quick note... the yellow jackets are dead! I probably could have removed the glass bowl after a few days, but I wasn't taking any chances. I left the bowl on there for a week! I forgot to take photos before I shoveled over the now silenced yellow jacket nest, but I assure you there was nothing left but a pile of dead yellow jackets inside. I saw nary a one in the yard. Ah, safe to cut the grass without fear of getting stung once again!

Ah, an early essence of autumn in the Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale brewed annually each fall. While its taste for me heavily foreshadows their Celebration Ale , a winter holiday tradition, the Anniversary Ale is a heavenly hopped brew none the less. The Oktoberfest brews are slowly making their way onto the shelves. The Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, always an early arrival, is already available. I may have mentioned this before, but I have yet to find a bottled pumpkin ale I like. To this date, the only pumpkin ale I truly enjoyed was the Pumpkinhead Ale only available at The Beer Works in Salem, Mass. - Salud!

This happened sooner than expected, but with the way the top of the old water heater looked and with The Monkey's recent water heater debacle I thought best get this done sooner rather than later. The connections on top were leaking causing the corrosion that I could see was spreading. Before After

LeRoi Moore 1961 - 2008