There’s a party going on right here…

Looks like Cincinnati is a good place to be for New Year’s Eve if you really want to cut loose… in a fiscally responsible way. WalletHub crunched the NYE numbers using criteria like “legality of fireworks,” “average price of a New Year’s Eve ticket,” and “forecasted precipitation” to rank cities and the ‘nati wound up #6 on the list.

After you ring in 2017, you can stick around for the beer. Cincinnati is #4 on the smartasset 2016 list of top cities for beer drinkers

 

… and we got some pub(licity) from Thrillist (“The 15 Coolest Things Coming to US Cities in 2017“) for our beer tour.

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to Blank Slate Brewing and fill my growler with their fantastic Opera Cream Stout. https://www.instagram.com/p/BOnupwelkrW/

 

Fare thee well

2016 wasn’t exactly the greatest… and not just because we lost The Greatest.

Goodnight, sweet Prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Farewell, Princess.

Godspeed, astronaut.

So long, Starman.

“And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the Lord of Song, with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah…”

Power trio to the people!

The new album from Buffalo Tom has been fully funded by their fans (including yours truly). My faith in humanity has been restored.

A note from Buffalo Tom:

I used to think it was a bit sad that bands and artists I love had to resort to crowd-funding platforms to release new music. But upon further reflection, I think it’s better this way – no meddling from the suits at a record label, and a more direct connection to the fans that love their music. Rock on!

 

 

 

 

Dems da breaks

My favorite NFL team is the Oakland Raiders. Because when you spend your formative years (ages 6-17) in Arkansas, there’s no mandatory geographic alliance to any particular team. The Raiders were on TV a lot back then, because they were really good. I liked their logo and team colors (what other reason do you need when you’re six?).

And their players were an odd collection of rejects, castoffs and misfits. I could relate to that too.

The Raiders have been pretty darn horrible over the last decade and a half (and that’s putting it nicely). No winning seasons. 10 seasons with 11 or more losses.

But I’ve stuck with them through it all. Because I’m not a quitter… although I’ve certainly been tempted.

This year the Raiders turned the corner and have been good again. They’ve had some great draft choices and made a few smart free agent acquisitions over the past few years, and those moves have paid off. This year they clinched a playoff berth more than a week ago with a win over the San Diego Chargers. First trip to the playoffs since 2002.

Then this past Sunday, playing at home against the Indianapolis Colts, up 33-14 in the 4th quarter, their young team captain/MVP-candidate quarterback Derek Carr was sacked (first time he was touched by the Colts all game) and suffered a broken fibula.

http://www.nfl.com/m/share?p=%2Fvideos%2Fnfl-game-highlights%2F0ap3000000763039%2FDerek-Carr-injured-on-sack-helped-off-field

(Carr was one of three NFL players to have a broken fibula on Sunday… bad things happen in threes apparently.) Just like that, the Raiders went from dream season to nightmare, from Super Bowl contender to also-ran.

The Raiders’ defense is pretty suspect, and it’s doubtful they would’ve gone all the way this year. But the fickle finger of fate has given Raider fans the finger once again. The autumn wind is a pirate, but apparently God is a Patriots fan.

Literally Christmas

Our 11-year-old son gave our 15-year-old son an Xbox for Christmas:

It’s the thought that counts, right?