Today's review is of an IPA from a San Diego brewery. I was walking through my local Vons shopping center and came upon a display featuring multiple different beers made by Ballast Point. I have not heard much of this brewery to be honest. Being an IPA fan and wanting to sample different beers(especially local ones), I was drawn to a 22oz bottle of Big Eye IPA. It was priced at $4.19. That's definitely a reasonable price for a decent beer. It also claimed a whopping 6.8%% alcohol content. This isn't unheard of in an IPA, but still fairly strong.
You can easily identify a bottle of Ballast Point as all of their beers have a picture of a fish on them. Thankfully, fish is NOT an ingredient. Their IPA does not disappoint. It has a bold, strong flavor and you can really taste the hops. If you enjoy really mellow beer, this is not for you. If you want something that will excite your taste buds and make you wonder how they managed to pack that much flavor into a 22oz. bottle, you're in luck.
Big Eye is easily one of the best IPA's on the market at the moment. It is the full package; great taste, decently priced, and decent alcohol percentage. On a scale of 1-10, it would easily rate a 9.5. I will have to have another bottle before giving it a full 10, but it probably could be up there. Do yourself a favor and give this a try. Remember, it's the beer with a fish on it!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
10-27-10 - Daily Deal - La Jolla Brewhouse
Just gonna share a link for anyone in San Diego looking to try a new beer or two, La Jolla Brewhouse has a special, 12 dollars for 25 dollars worth of food and beer. This doesn't apply to happy hour specials, but you can get a few drinks and a few appetizers for 12 bucks! I will be buying one for sure. I've never been here but I love new stuff!
http://dailydeal.signonsandiego.com/
Enjoy!
http://dailydeal.signonsandiego.com/
Enjoy!
Barret Orton at Survivor Series
The stage has been set. At Survivor Series we'll see Barret vs Orton. The added stipulation to this match is that Barret will fire John Cena if he does not win the title. As far as I see, this a pretty clean cut result - Barret wins the title. However, it is never that clear cut. As far as I see it, there are four possible outcomes to this match.
1 - As above, Barret wins. Likely do to Cena hitting the AA or something on him. Pretty basic, but would work. Probability - Low. Barret is single handedly carrying the WWE on his shoulders at the moment (And I know not many people will agree with me on that one, maybe another article on that soon). I definitely think Barret would be a good champion, but he is likely too young for a clean win, especially with how dominant Orton is at the moment.
2 - Cena officially joins Nexus and turns heel. The way I see this one going down, Cena lifts up Barret for an AA. Cena sets him down, and instead hits one on Orton. Barret pins Orton. After the match the two shake hands or hug and Cena finally puts on a Nexus shirt. Probability - Low - I don't think WWE has the balls to turn Cena heel yet. They just might to counter the Jeff Hardy angle of TNA. I think a Cena turn would be bigger, but then the debate would be which was better, TNA's or WWE's. They wouldn't want to help TNA.
3 - Barret loses. Doesn't matter how he loses. It could end with another DQ even. The most likely result is someone running in to interfere, but the interference would cost Barret the title. At this point Barret goes to fire Cena and we end the show. The anonymous Raw GM now tells Barret he doesn't have that power. Cena tried, and he can't make magic happen. The GM frees Cena of his Nexus duties. We might even get to see the GM. Probability - Decent. It makes the GM actually like able for the first time ever, keeps Cena in the company, and keeps the belt off Barret for the time.
4 - Money in the Bank - That's right folks. The Miz cashes in the briefcase. The way I see this going down is Barret wins. Cena might even help Barret win. So Barret is champ and Cena is free. What better way for Cena to celebrate than by destroying Barret. And I mean completely lay him out. Three AA's, then a minute in the STF. What would be a better time to cash in Money in the Bank? I can't think of one. Now Miz isn't exactly a baby face, but he is probably more popular than Barret. Kids get to see Cena free and destroy Barret so they're happy. Older fans who like the Miz would be happy. So... Probability - High. This leaves a lot of people happy and sets up an awesome match for the next PPV, Miz vs Barret vs Orton vs Cena in a fatal 4 way match. The only downside is that the next PPV is TLC, and I'm not sure if a 4 way table match would work. Orton doesn't like ladders due to his shoulder issues. This would leave maybe a chair match, but I'd almost rather just see that match.
Either way, this match should be a good one. I hope they build up the PPV with some other good matches so that it's worth buying. This ending definitely has some potential and I'm looking forward to it.
1 - As above, Barret wins. Likely do to Cena hitting the AA or something on him. Pretty basic, but would work. Probability - Low. Barret is single handedly carrying the WWE on his shoulders at the moment (And I know not many people will agree with me on that one, maybe another article on that soon). I definitely think Barret would be a good champion, but he is likely too young for a clean win, especially with how dominant Orton is at the moment.
2 - Cena officially joins Nexus and turns heel. The way I see this one going down, Cena lifts up Barret for an AA. Cena sets him down, and instead hits one on Orton. Barret pins Orton. After the match the two shake hands or hug and Cena finally puts on a Nexus shirt. Probability - Low - I don't think WWE has the balls to turn Cena heel yet. They just might to counter the Jeff Hardy angle of TNA. I think a Cena turn would be bigger, but then the debate would be which was better, TNA's or WWE's. They wouldn't want to help TNA.
3 - Barret loses. Doesn't matter how he loses. It could end with another DQ even. The most likely result is someone running in to interfere, but the interference would cost Barret the title. At this point Barret goes to fire Cena and we end the show. The anonymous Raw GM now tells Barret he doesn't have that power. Cena tried, and he can't make magic happen. The GM frees Cena of his Nexus duties. We might even get to see the GM. Probability - Decent. It makes the GM actually like able for the first time ever, keeps Cena in the company, and keeps the belt off Barret for the time.
4 - Money in the Bank - That's right folks. The Miz cashes in the briefcase. The way I see this going down is Barret wins. Cena might even help Barret win. So Barret is champ and Cena is free. What better way for Cena to celebrate than by destroying Barret. And I mean completely lay him out. Three AA's, then a minute in the STF. What would be a better time to cash in Money in the Bank? I can't think of one. Now Miz isn't exactly a baby face, but he is probably more popular than Barret. Kids get to see Cena free and destroy Barret so they're happy. Older fans who like the Miz would be happy. So... Probability - High. This leaves a lot of people happy and sets up an awesome match for the next PPV, Miz vs Barret vs Orton vs Cena in a fatal 4 way match. The only downside is that the next PPV is TLC, and I'm not sure if a 4 way table match would work. Orton doesn't like ladders due to his shoulder issues. This would leave maybe a chair match, but I'd almost rather just see that match.
Either way, this match should be a good one. I hope they build up the PPV with some other good matches so that it's worth buying. This ending definitely has some potential and I'm looking forward to it.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Bragging Rights Thoughts and Review
First - This is not a results, this 100% my views. If you want results there are countless places. Second, I feel bad for anyone who bought this themselves. Even pitching in 10 bucks I felt dirty for this PPV. It was bad.
So our opening match, Daniel Bryan versus Dolph Ziggler. I know these two both are considered good, but I haven't seen much of it up to now. Bryan has a following on the internet and Ziggler supposedly is great, I just haven't seen it in the WWE. I'm not saying supporters are wrong, I just haven't seen it ACTUALLY IN WWE.
This match changed it. Great match, great back and forth. If these two could have matches like this every time, they are going places. I think the build up could have been better, but I will say that about literally every match. I'll just get it out my system now...Terrible booking.
I mean, this is a PPV. PPV as in PAY per view. There were only what, 4 or 5 matches announced? And the ones announced weren't all that impressive. Build them up slightly. Have some trash talking from the champions, my IC belt is better than your US belt. Maybe have one of them lose to a jobber early for some shit talking. Imagine if Dolph lost to say Chavo right after Hell in a Cell. Bryan could rib him on that for weeks. So while this match was good technically, the feud wasn't there besides the PPV theme.
So we move on. Now we have a tag match? For the titles? Everyone knows the tag division in WWE is terrible, but to throw a match together is just bad. And then we get to the opponents for the title. Cena and Otunga. There are just so many things wrong with this match and the outcome. Cena wasn't supposed to have a match at this PPV so he could stay focused to help Barret, why would Barret put him in this match now? Rhodes and Mcintyre are in dire needs of a push, having the belts does at least something with two characters with nowhere to go. Why take the belts off them now? What will happen to these two now? Does it hurt the tag team division even more when the announcers view and that of the average fan is Cena just won the belts 2v1? How can we take this division seriously with stupid stuff like this.
And why was this match not announced. Even saying Nexus will compete for the title would have garnered interest. Honestly I would have been curious as to how Nexus with gold would be. I would have wanted to see this match built, but sadly, thrown together to fill time. /sad.
The tag division is so easy to build up. It can lead to easier work on the wrestlers (each is in half the time), crazy moves that aren't doable 1v1, rivalries (beat up my friend, now I hate you), and so much more. Even something as simple as giving two underused people a team finisher would add a ton. My original example, Evan Bourne and Mark Henry. First I know Bourne is injured. But imagine this. This jobber team comes up with a real finisher. Something as simple as Bourne runs into a rope, Mark Henry throws him into the air and he splashes the opponent. Is it easy...sure. Would it as least feel like a tag finisher? Oh hell yes. This division is so butchered and needs help. This just pushes the tag division down further.
Dibiase and Goldust - I like both these guys in ring work. Goldust is so great he will help elevate Dibiase here. He is in my top 5 actual wrestlers and why he isn't used more is beyond me. Dibiase has pretty good ring skills and is doing well for a younger guy. This fued will help tons. Good match, lame ending. I would have liked to see it run longer, but good spots from both guys here. And again, this feud was seen on Raw for weeks. Why was this match not announced? I this is one of the better actual wrestling matches WWE can put out. Don't throw it out at last second.
To add to this, Goldust's finisher - AMAZING. I know, it's just a spin during a suplex, but watch it. It looks really hard to pull off and looks cool no matter how many times I see it. Whoever came up with that deserves a raise.
Layla vs Natalya - Nobody expected Natalya to win. Sadly, she didn't. And this Laycool gimmick needs to end soon. I mute my TV when I see them come out. They are both incredibly hot (Layla more than Mccool) but they sound retarded. Unless writing improves, drop their mic time. The one crazy part of this match - Layla had her legs around Natalya for a while and looked like she was dry humping the air. It was so incredibly hot, even the King was like WHOA. It was really hot, definitely NOT PG. If you recorded it watch that part. It was like a match saver, even though the match mostly sucked.
Kane and Taker - Why did Nexus interfere? A Raw stable cares about the Smackdown title? Why was Barret out there? Shouldn't he have been in back getting advice on how to beat Orton from Cena? Surely Cena would have some good tips for him? Or if that is too obvious, why didn't Barret order Cena to help the assault? Why a burried alive match now? Nexus involvement just seems lazy on the writers part. So many better results could have happened. Maybe Paul Bearer buries them both! Just an idea, but Nexus....come on...
So now we have the Bragging rights match. Smackdown vs Raw. This is like the all star match of baseball 8 years ago. Pointless. I guess you can get 14 stars on a PPV, but who cares? There's a trophy that will be seen on the PPV and maybe once on Smackdown? Seriously, anyone on creative should have come up with a stipulation for this match. It doesn't have to be great, winner gets an extra draft, winner gets a free pass to smackdown for a superstar each week. I actually like this idea, it could lead to more interbrand matches without saturating them or going to one roster. My point though, there should be something. A trophy is lame, boring, and worthless. Grats to Edge for winning! He's the man! I also liked the pop CM punk got from the crowd. He's so underused, hope this shows creative he's good.
And now we get to the main event, which is also the worst match of the night. Yes, Orton Barret ended worse than the women's match. And that's hard. "Cena you must help me win!" Great, we got 15 minutes of super Cena. The only good part of this match was when Orton RKO'd Cena at the end. I posted before that he should have RKO'd Cena on Raw, so maybe someone IS listening to me!!! There was so much potential for this match. Barret is good, but he didn't get to shine here. The ending was terrible. Too many spots with Cena. I seriously thought this match could have been match of the night, but it was the worst.
There is really no reason for that. How can you take two great wrestlers with arguably the best feud and best story going into a PPV and kill their match? I can come up with at least twelve better results for this match. I won't go into them all, but here's one. No nexus interference. Ref gets knocked down. Barret tells Cena to AA and STF Orton. He does. Orton kicks out, wins. Better all around, would have seemed closer. Or how about all the times Orton went for his drop from the ropes into the ring DDT? Cena couldn't have pulled Barret out once? Seriously Orton went for it 2 or 3 times... There is so much potential here that isn't used it makes me cry.
Overall, I give this a 3 of 10 stars. Terrible PPV. First match was good, nothing else worth even watching. Felt like a Raw. Random matches, bad stories....just....bad.
So our opening match, Daniel Bryan versus Dolph Ziggler. I know these two both are considered good, but I haven't seen much of it up to now. Bryan has a following on the internet and Ziggler supposedly is great, I just haven't seen it in the WWE. I'm not saying supporters are wrong, I just haven't seen it ACTUALLY IN WWE.
This match changed it. Great match, great back and forth. If these two could have matches like this every time, they are going places. I think the build up could have been better, but I will say that about literally every match. I'll just get it out my system now...Terrible booking.
I mean, this is a PPV. PPV as in PAY per view. There were only what, 4 or 5 matches announced? And the ones announced weren't all that impressive. Build them up slightly. Have some trash talking from the champions, my IC belt is better than your US belt. Maybe have one of them lose to a jobber early for some shit talking. Imagine if Dolph lost to say Chavo right after Hell in a Cell. Bryan could rib him on that for weeks. So while this match was good technically, the feud wasn't there besides the PPV theme.
So we move on. Now we have a tag match? For the titles? Everyone knows the tag division in WWE is terrible, but to throw a match together is just bad. And then we get to the opponents for the title. Cena and Otunga. There are just so many things wrong with this match and the outcome. Cena wasn't supposed to have a match at this PPV so he could stay focused to help Barret, why would Barret put him in this match now? Rhodes and Mcintyre are in dire needs of a push, having the belts does at least something with two characters with nowhere to go. Why take the belts off them now? What will happen to these two now? Does it hurt the tag team division even more when the announcers view and that of the average fan is Cena just won the belts 2v1? How can we take this division seriously with stupid stuff like this.
And why was this match not announced. Even saying Nexus will compete for the title would have garnered interest. Honestly I would have been curious as to how Nexus with gold would be. I would have wanted to see this match built, but sadly, thrown together to fill time. /sad.
The tag division is so easy to build up. It can lead to easier work on the wrestlers (each is in half the time), crazy moves that aren't doable 1v1, rivalries (beat up my friend, now I hate you), and so much more. Even something as simple as giving two underused people a team finisher would add a ton. My original example, Evan Bourne and Mark Henry. First I know Bourne is injured. But imagine this. This jobber team comes up with a real finisher. Something as simple as Bourne runs into a rope, Mark Henry throws him into the air and he splashes the opponent. Is it easy...sure. Would it as least feel like a tag finisher? Oh hell yes. This division is so butchered and needs help. This just pushes the tag division down further.
Dibiase and Goldust - I like both these guys in ring work. Goldust is so great he will help elevate Dibiase here. He is in my top 5 actual wrestlers and why he isn't used more is beyond me. Dibiase has pretty good ring skills and is doing well for a younger guy. This fued will help tons. Good match, lame ending. I would have liked to see it run longer, but good spots from both guys here. And again, this feud was seen on Raw for weeks. Why was this match not announced? I this is one of the better actual wrestling matches WWE can put out. Don't throw it out at last second.
To add to this, Goldust's finisher - AMAZING. I know, it's just a spin during a suplex, but watch it. It looks really hard to pull off and looks cool no matter how many times I see it. Whoever came up with that deserves a raise.
Layla vs Natalya - Nobody expected Natalya to win. Sadly, she didn't. And this Laycool gimmick needs to end soon. I mute my TV when I see them come out. They are both incredibly hot (Layla more than Mccool) but they sound retarded. Unless writing improves, drop their mic time. The one crazy part of this match - Layla had her legs around Natalya for a while and looked like she was dry humping the air. It was so incredibly hot, even the King was like WHOA. It was really hot, definitely NOT PG. If you recorded it watch that part. It was like a match saver, even though the match mostly sucked.
Kane and Taker - Why did Nexus interfere? A Raw stable cares about the Smackdown title? Why was Barret out there? Shouldn't he have been in back getting advice on how to beat Orton from Cena? Surely Cena would have some good tips for him? Or if that is too obvious, why didn't Barret order Cena to help the assault? Why a burried alive match now? Nexus involvement just seems lazy on the writers part. So many better results could have happened. Maybe Paul Bearer buries them both! Just an idea, but Nexus....come on...
So now we have the Bragging rights match. Smackdown vs Raw. This is like the all star match of baseball 8 years ago. Pointless. I guess you can get 14 stars on a PPV, but who cares? There's a trophy that will be seen on the PPV and maybe once on Smackdown? Seriously, anyone on creative should have come up with a stipulation for this match. It doesn't have to be great, winner gets an extra draft, winner gets a free pass to smackdown for a superstar each week. I actually like this idea, it could lead to more interbrand matches without saturating them or going to one roster. My point though, there should be something. A trophy is lame, boring, and worthless. Grats to Edge for winning! He's the man! I also liked the pop CM punk got from the crowd. He's so underused, hope this shows creative he's good.
And now we get to the main event, which is also the worst match of the night. Yes, Orton Barret ended worse than the women's match. And that's hard. "Cena you must help me win!" Great, we got 15 minutes of super Cena. The only good part of this match was when Orton RKO'd Cena at the end. I posted before that he should have RKO'd Cena on Raw, so maybe someone IS listening to me!!! There was so much potential for this match. Barret is good, but he didn't get to shine here. The ending was terrible. Too many spots with Cena. I seriously thought this match could have been match of the night, but it was the worst.
There is really no reason for that. How can you take two great wrestlers with arguably the best feud and best story going into a PPV and kill their match? I can come up with at least twelve better results for this match. I won't go into them all, but here's one. No nexus interference. Ref gets knocked down. Barret tells Cena to AA and STF Orton. He does. Orton kicks out, wins. Better all around, would have seemed closer. Or how about all the times Orton went for his drop from the ropes into the ring DDT? Cena couldn't have pulled Barret out once? Seriously Orton went for it 2 or 3 times... There is so much potential here that isn't used it makes me cry.
Overall, I give this a 3 of 10 stars. Terrible PPV. First match was good, nothing else worth even watching. Felt like a Raw. Random matches, bad stories....just....bad.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tower 10 IPA Review
Recently I sampled the Tower 10 IPA made by Karl Strauss brewing company. The company is located in San Diego and claims to be the first micro brew. They had a few other 22oz bottles, but being from San Diego I decided to give a local one a shot.
Sadly, this beer was disappointing in comparison to my last two IPA's. Granted, the last one I had was from Stone's. Maybe I got a bad bottle, but this just didn't have the regular IPA blast one normally expects when opening a bottle. You know, that bitter, hoppy flavor on the first sip. It had a little, but was much closer to a dark beer or ale.
On their website they have the following to describe the bitterness:
"IBU- International Bitterness Units, a system of indicating the hop bitterness in finished beer. A light American lager may have around 10 IBUs, an English mild ale around 20 units, an India Pale Ale 40 or higher, an Irish stout 55 to 60 and barley wine 65-85."
I actually wrote the first part about it tasting more like an ale before reading that. So I may have purchased a bad bottle, or this beer may just be weaker than most. If you really like the strong IPA flavor, this beer is not for you. If on the other hand you want to venture into the world of IPA's and like ales right now, give this a shot. It is much more mellow than most, and may open new beer worlds to you!
6.5% alcohol by volume, not bad, gives a decent kick.
Overall, 2.5 out of 5 stars. I didn't hate it, but wouldn't buy it again.
Sadly, this beer was disappointing in comparison to my last two IPA's. Granted, the last one I had was from Stone's. Maybe I got a bad bottle, but this just didn't have the regular IPA blast one normally expects when opening a bottle. You know, that bitter, hoppy flavor on the first sip. It had a little, but was much closer to a dark beer or ale.
On their website they have the following to describe the bitterness:
"IBU- International Bitterness Units, a system of indicating the hop bitterness in finished beer. A light American lager may have around 10 IBUs, an English mild ale around 20 units, an India Pale Ale 40 or higher, an Irish stout 55 to 60 and barley wine 65-85."
I actually wrote the first part about it tasting more like an ale before reading that. So I may have purchased a bad bottle, or this beer may just be weaker than most. If you really like the strong IPA flavor, this beer is not for you. If on the other hand you want to venture into the world of IPA's and like ales right now, give this a shot. It is much more mellow than most, and may open new beer worlds to you!
6.5% alcohol by volume, not bad, gives a decent kick.
Overall, 2.5 out of 5 stars. I didn't hate it, but wouldn't buy it again.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wade Barret's Title Belt
Heading into Bragging Rights Wade Barret has a chance to take the title from Randy Orton. There are numerous debates as to whether or not Wade Barret is ready to be champion or if Orton should even drop the title in the next few months. One thing is for certain, Barret will eventually be a champion. And I just came up with a wonderful idea.
Assuming Nexus is still around when Barret wins, the spinner belt needs to be changed for his win. In the middle, the standard WWE logo should be replaced with a blinged out Nexus logo. Obviously the next champion could go back to the old logo. Could you imagine how this would look?
Also try to imagine the heat put on Nexus when Barret orders Cena to carry around his Nexus Championship belt.
Assuming Nexus is still around when Barret wins, the spinner belt needs to be changed for his win. In the middle, the standard WWE logo should be replaced with a blinged out Nexus logo. Obviously the next champion could go back to the old logo. Could you imagine how this would look?
Also try to imagine the heat put on Nexus when Barret orders Cena to carry around his Nexus Championship belt.
Monday, October 18, 2010
WWE Raw 10/18/2010 - Thoughts and Views
It's Monday and that means...Beer and Raw! Here are some of my takes on WWE Raw tonight, just kind of free writing while watching.
Why did Michael Cole emphasize Anonymous so much? Hopefully it won't be anonymous much longer. Thank god Teddy Long removed the laptop. I hope he burns it permanently.
Why did Raw get destroyed? I would have liked to see a fair fight.
Is Ezekiel Jackson the 7th member?
Man, the Hart Dynasty is the last decent tag team in the WWE. This match ends with them feuding. Please don't break them up. Maybe they'll do the smart thing and tease a break up but give them the gold. Imagine the harts with the tag team belt and the women's title!
I'm glad that Dibiase and Goldust are being used. With the two hot valets, this could be a great angle. I'd like to see both rise from this feud to higher levels. I know Goldust is older, but he is a great performer. That finisher is pretty epic.
Orton and Cena versus Harris and Mcgillicutty. I was really looking forward to this match. The two faces of the WWE with different personalities teaming up. Add in the fact you have the Nexus factor who will be Orton's opponent on Sunday and are Cena's nemesis. The ending wasn't horrible, but could have been so much better. I would have loved to see Cena go for the handshake at the end, only to end with an RKO. WWE is turning Orton into Cena, and it is hurting his character. What would have been the best way to keep him as the anti-hero? Destroy Cena. Nexus could have still destroyed Orton at the end. The end result would have been similar.
I will say though, the heat Barret is generating is amazing. This is heat that hasn't been seen in a while.
Ok, so a champion versus champion ship match now set for Bragging Rights. That could be a good match. Let's hope it's good. Wait, a diva botches throwing a bucket of glitter? Seriously? Wow... Can the divas get a real part on the show instead of dancing with Daniel Bryan?
Funny I say that...Next match is Alicia Fox vs Natalya. Alicia is sexy, I will give her that. Ok, a 20 second match...WTF. And now Laycool...come on. Most annoying team ever. There is a difference between a good heel and just annoying.
Good promo, kinda strong self promotion, but I'd agree with lots of it.
Barret and Cena shown in the back. I hope that they end with something huge.
Who the hell is this kid? I guess he's in Knucklehead...but a relative unknown at the moment. Crowd is silent it looks like. The whole smackdown team is out. This could really end crazy.
OH SNAP. I'm actually looking forward to this main event. A huge battle royal! Starts off slow, but getting better. All the low card people going out early. I will predict the final two are Miz and Show.
Gallows is still on Smackdown...is the straight edge society done? I hope so. And get Hornswoggle off the mic. He's as bad as laycool.
SPEAR! Ok, I was wrong on the ending. I'm a big Edge fan, so I'm glad to see him get this push.
Raise my hand? That ending was horrible. I can't believe they didn't end with a cliff hanger.
Why did Michael Cole emphasize Anonymous so much? Hopefully it won't be anonymous much longer. Thank god Teddy Long removed the laptop. I hope he burns it permanently.
Why did Raw get destroyed? I would have liked to see a fair fight.
Is Ezekiel Jackson the 7th member?
Man, the Hart Dynasty is the last decent tag team in the WWE. This match ends with them feuding. Please don't break them up. Maybe they'll do the smart thing and tease a break up but give them the gold. Imagine the harts with the tag team belt and the women's title!
I'm glad that Dibiase and Goldust are being used. With the two hot valets, this could be a great angle. I'd like to see both rise from this feud to higher levels. I know Goldust is older, but he is a great performer. That finisher is pretty epic.
Orton and Cena versus Harris and Mcgillicutty. I was really looking forward to this match. The two faces of the WWE with different personalities teaming up. Add in the fact you have the Nexus factor who will be Orton's opponent on Sunday and are Cena's nemesis. The ending wasn't horrible, but could have been so much better. I would have loved to see Cena go for the handshake at the end, only to end with an RKO. WWE is turning Orton into Cena, and it is hurting his character. What would have been the best way to keep him as the anti-hero? Destroy Cena. Nexus could have still destroyed Orton at the end. The end result would have been similar.
I will say though, the heat Barret is generating is amazing. This is heat that hasn't been seen in a while.
Ok, so a champion versus champion ship match now set for Bragging Rights. That could be a good match. Let's hope it's good. Wait, a diva botches throwing a bucket of glitter? Seriously? Wow... Can the divas get a real part on the show instead of dancing with Daniel Bryan?
Funny I say that...Next match is Alicia Fox vs Natalya. Alicia is sexy, I will give her that. Ok, a 20 second match...WTF. And now Laycool...come on. Most annoying team ever. There is a difference between a good heel and just annoying.
Good promo, kinda strong self promotion, but I'd agree with lots of it.
Barret and Cena shown in the back. I hope that they end with something huge.
Who the hell is this kid? I guess he's in Knucklehead...but a relative unknown at the moment. Crowd is silent it looks like. The whole smackdown team is out. This could really end crazy.
OH SNAP. I'm actually looking forward to this main event. A huge battle royal! Starts off slow, but getting better. All the low card people going out early. I will predict the final two are Miz and Show.
Gallows is still on Smackdown...is the straight edge society done? I hope so. And get Hornswoggle off the mic. He's as bad as laycool.
SPEAR! Ok, I was wrong on the ending. I'm a big Edge fan, so I'm glad to see him get this push.
Raise my hand? That ending was horrible. I can't believe they didn't end with a cliff hanger.
Matt Hardy Videos
First of all, don't watch his videos. He is trying to be edgy when he isn't. He even had the balls to say other people were making youtube vids because of him.
I watched some of Melina's video's and they were interesting. I got to see the woman behind the wrestler. Her video made her seem more connectible, a real person, somebody I would enjoy rooting for. The one Matt Hardy video I watched was nothing more than incoherent whining. Unless his ultimate angle here is a gigantic baby we're all supposed to hate, he's doing it wrong.
If Matt Hardy thinks he caused a trend, we would see more crying. The other superstars are at least posting something interesting. Sure you might have been mis-used in WWE, but tons of superstars are. Kane was mis-used for 7 years and is now the champion. Why this changed, I don't know, but change can happen.
Anyways, I would watch another Melina video. She did youtube like it should be done. Hardy embarrassed himself. I actually would have agreed he was misused in WWE before this youtube fiasco. Now I think he is just an annoying brat. Frankly, I would turn off TNA if I saw him there.
I watched some of Melina's video's and they were interesting. I got to see the woman behind the wrestler. Her video made her seem more connectible, a real person, somebody I would enjoy rooting for. The one Matt Hardy video I watched was nothing more than incoherent whining. Unless his ultimate angle here is a gigantic baby we're all supposed to hate, he's doing it wrong.
If Matt Hardy thinks he caused a trend, we would see more crying. The other superstars are at least posting something interesting. Sure you might have been mis-used in WWE, but tons of superstars are. Kane was mis-used for 7 years and is now the champion. Why this changed, I don't know, but change can happen.
Anyways, I would watch another Melina video. She did youtube like it should be done. Hardy embarrassed himself. I actually would have agreed he was misused in WWE before this youtube fiasco. Now I think he is just an annoying brat. Frankly, I would turn off TNA if I saw him there.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Easiest Way to Peel Garlic
For those who know me, I use garlic in all my recipes. A lot of it. There are two options to get this garlic. A jar of minced garlic which is pretty expensive, or whole cloves which go for as low as $2 a pound. Anyone who has peeled garlic knows the skin doesn't always come off easily. Here are two easy ways to peel garlic.
First - If you have a kitchen knife - something with a relatively long blade - This one is simple. Take your knife and cut the tips off both ends of each piece of garlic. After cutting the ends, place the flat part of the knife over the garlic clove and hit it with the bottom of your palm, where your hand meets the wrist. This does two things. It separates the skin from the garlic and crushes it slightly, allowing its flavors to flow into food during the use of it.
The second option - Take a cup of cold water. Add 2 ice cubes to it. Again, cut the tips off of each clove of garlic. After cutting them put them in the cup of water. Let them sit for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, remove the garlic. The skin should peel off easily.
Once skinned, you can mince the garlic or use them for your purposes. Enjoy!
First - If you have a kitchen knife - something with a relatively long blade - This one is simple. Take your knife and cut the tips off both ends of each piece of garlic. After cutting the ends, place the flat part of the knife over the garlic clove and hit it with the bottom of your palm, where your hand meets the wrist. This does two things. It separates the skin from the garlic and crushes it slightly, allowing its flavors to flow into food during the use of it.
The second option - Take a cup of cold water. Add 2 ice cubes to it. Again, cut the tips off of each clove of garlic. After cutting them put them in the cup of water. Let them sit for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, remove the garlic. The skin should peel off easily.
Once skinned, you can mince the garlic or use them for your purposes. Enjoy!
Monday, October 11, 2010
WWE Raw 10/11/10 Review
Tonights Raw was done to establish Raw's team for the PPV in two weeks, Bragging rights. Lets break it down by segment.
The opening scene with the Miz and Cena was interesting at first. Then it went bad. Miz was already established as the leader of Team Raw. Nobody questioned it. Why even have Cena contest that. Barret coming out and shutting Cena out would have been a good angle on its own. The resulting match shouldn't have happened as we pretty much knew the outcome. Bring in more anonymous GM and the fans tune out. /yawn.
Next was the R-Truth vs Ted Dibiase match. This is an interesting feud as they both have hot valets to go with them. The problem is, Eve might be smoking hot, but she's not over with the fans. Why didn't they pair a diva who was more over with truth? Maybe the Bella's or Gail Kim. This could have let to more legit mixed tag matches. Another big thing...R-Truth's new music. The two biggest problems...Getting crunk on a PG show? Yeah, let's promote alcohol to minors. That, and fans don't cheer for it. His old music fans yelled at EVERY what's up. As for the Golddust angle, I personally think Golddust is underused. He has mic skills and is one of the best in the business at wrestling. I understand he's getting this feud to promote his book, but it will help Dibiase more than dust. I really hope this ends well because it could be a great feud and help both shine.
Next - Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd. The match these two put on was easily the best of the night. These two are both great wrestlers and when they master the mic, will easily be top stars. The two best moves this match - The side russian leg sweep off the second rope by Kidd and the finisher by Morrison. Both showed great athleticism and were absolutely AMAZING to watch. Kudos to these two.
Santino vs Ryder. Two jobbers looking for a spot at Bragging Rights? Is this really happening? I like Santino but his gimmick needs to change. He can keep the comedy but needs to be less of a jobber. He could easily help build someone in a tag team, but keeps getting stupid gimmicks and stupid matches. Another fault of creative, similar to not using Golddust. Match was okay, but nobody really cares. What's with the Tamina gimmick too? We haven't seen the Uso's in weeks, so who cares about Tamina?
Gabriel vs Orton - This match was pretty good. Gabriel is clearly a future superstar. I would like to see him feud with someone closer to his size. Two high fliers could put on such an amazing show. My preference would be to see Gabriel team with someone like Evan Bourne(Though unfortunately he is injured). Gabriel vs. Morrison in a mid card feud would be amazing. I don't see him getting far with Nexus unless WWE decides to put a tag title there.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus - This is another match that shouldn't have happened. It did nothing by leave the fans confused. Why is Bryan fighting Sheamus? Why is Sheamus destroying him? Why does Bryan still have that lame music? Why is Michael Cole so annoying commentating this match? Why isn't a champion being built up? Doesn't this make the title look meaningless? With a PPV now a week away, if Bryan isn't in the Raw vs Smackdown match, who is hi US title opponent? Why would we want the US champ in the bragging rights match instead of a title match? Too many questions...no good answers. Pointless match and bad for the WWE.
Welcome back CM Punk!!! I personally think Punk is one of the best. He has mic skills, is good in the ring, and the ability to get fans into the show. For those wondering, Bourne needed surgery so the injury was done to write him off for a while. Great match by these two. Kind of short, but what can you expect with an injured Bourne right? This also helps Punk keep his heel appearance and makes us wonder what he'll do at bragging rights.
Natalya and Laycool - K seriously. Get rid of Laycool. If their gimmick was to be hot, it's failing. If their gimmick is to be funny, it's failing. If their gimmick is to get people to change the channel...it's working. Not kidding. Last week I changed the channel during their match. Today I changed it during their promo. I hope Natalya wins because Laycool is KILLING ratings.
Miz vs. Cena - Good match. I would have liked to see a clean ending to this, but Cena still won't lose for some unknown reason. The Mcgillicutty(spelling?) and Harris angle is really weird. They're supposed to be joining nexus but cost Cena another match? Now it's a threat to Cena, lose and I'll let them join? What? Stupid angle. I haven't seen much of these two but hear they are pretty good. Putting them in Nexus as is will just bury them. A tag title push or a Smackdown Nexus would have been more valuable. This is just a dumb angle that doesn't make sense and certainly doesn't make me want to watch Raw next week. Does Cena win? Who cares. Do they join? Who cares? The only redeeming aspect to the end was Barret telling Cena he can't see him. I actually laughed. Barret can work the mic, I give him that. If I were on creative I would be looking for ways to make Nexus huge instead of the boring quagmire it is in now.
Overall, pretty lame show. I guess we found out who was on team Raw, minus the mystery spot that is probably 99% Cena. I mean would WWE really have a PPV without Cena in a match? I doubt it. My biggest issue is besides the picking of teams that have no impact past this PPV, nothing was done to build it. We should have seen a Nexus vs Orton situation. We should have set a US title contender. We should have built something, maybe with a Smackdown invasion at the end. There is no real story still for Bragging Rights and means fewer sales and a boring PPV. Good luck with this PPV WWE, you'll need it.
The opening scene with the Miz and Cena was interesting at first. Then it went bad. Miz was already established as the leader of Team Raw. Nobody questioned it. Why even have Cena contest that. Barret coming out and shutting Cena out would have been a good angle on its own. The resulting match shouldn't have happened as we pretty much knew the outcome. Bring in more anonymous GM and the fans tune out. /yawn.
Next was the R-Truth vs Ted Dibiase match. This is an interesting feud as they both have hot valets to go with them. The problem is, Eve might be smoking hot, but she's not over with the fans. Why didn't they pair a diva who was more over with truth? Maybe the Bella's or Gail Kim. This could have let to more legit mixed tag matches. Another big thing...R-Truth's new music. The two biggest problems...Getting crunk on a PG show? Yeah, let's promote alcohol to minors. That, and fans don't cheer for it. His old music fans yelled at EVERY what's up. As for the Golddust angle, I personally think Golddust is underused. He has mic skills and is one of the best in the business at wrestling. I understand he's getting this feud to promote his book, but it will help Dibiase more than dust. I really hope this ends well because it could be a great feud and help both shine.
Next - Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd. The match these two put on was easily the best of the night. These two are both great wrestlers and when they master the mic, will easily be top stars. The two best moves this match - The side russian leg sweep off the second rope by Kidd and the finisher by Morrison. Both showed great athleticism and were absolutely AMAZING to watch. Kudos to these two.
Santino vs Ryder. Two jobbers looking for a spot at Bragging Rights? Is this really happening? I like Santino but his gimmick needs to change. He can keep the comedy but needs to be less of a jobber. He could easily help build someone in a tag team, but keeps getting stupid gimmicks and stupid matches. Another fault of creative, similar to not using Golddust. Match was okay, but nobody really cares. What's with the Tamina gimmick too? We haven't seen the Uso's in weeks, so who cares about Tamina?
Gabriel vs Orton - This match was pretty good. Gabriel is clearly a future superstar. I would like to see him feud with someone closer to his size. Two high fliers could put on such an amazing show. My preference would be to see Gabriel team with someone like Evan Bourne(Though unfortunately he is injured). Gabriel vs. Morrison in a mid card feud would be amazing. I don't see him getting far with Nexus unless WWE decides to put a tag title there.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus - This is another match that shouldn't have happened. It did nothing by leave the fans confused. Why is Bryan fighting Sheamus? Why is Sheamus destroying him? Why does Bryan still have that lame music? Why is Michael Cole so annoying commentating this match? Why isn't a champion being built up? Doesn't this make the title look meaningless? With a PPV now a week away, if Bryan isn't in the Raw vs Smackdown match, who is hi US title opponent? Why would we want the US champ in the bragging rights match instead of a title match? Too many questions...no good answers. Pointless match and bad for the WWE.
Welcome back CM Punk!!! I personally think Punk is one of the best. He has mic skills, is good in the ring, and the ability to get fans into the show. For those wondering, Bourne needed surgery so the injury was done to write him off for a while. Great match by these two. Kind of short, but what can you expect with an injured Bourne right? This also helps Punk keep his heel appearance and makes us wonder what he'll do at bragging rights.
Natalya and Laycool - K seriously. Get rid of Laycool. If their gimmick was to be hot, it's failing. If their gimmick is to be funny, it's failing. If their gimmick is to get people to change the channel...it's working. Not kidding. Last week I changed the channel during their match. Today I changed it during their promo. I hope Natalya wins because Laycool is KILLING ratings.
Miz vs. Cena - Good match. I would have liked to see a clean ending to this, but Cena still won't lose for some unknown reason. The Mcgillicutty(spelling?) and Harris angle is really weird. They're supposed to be joining nexus but cost Cena another match? Now it's a threat to Cena, lose and I'll let them join? What? Stupid angle. I haven't seen much of these two but hear they are pretty good. Putting them in Nexus as is will just bury them. A tag title push or a Smackdown Nexus would have been more valuable. This is just a dumb angle that doesn't make sense and certainly doesn't make me want to watch Raw next week. Does Cena win? Who cares. Do they join? Who cares? The only redeeming aspect to the end was Barret telling Cena he can't see him. I actually laughed. Barret can work the mic, I give him that. If I were on creative I would be looking for ways to make Nexus huge instead of the boring quagmire it is in now.
Overall, pretty lame show. I guess we found out who was on team Raw, minus the mystery spot that is probably 99% Cena. I mean would WWE really have a PPV without Cena in a match? I doubt it. My biggest issue is besides the picking of teams that have no impact past this PPV, nothing was done to build it. We should have seen a Nexus vs Orton situation. We should have set a US title contender. We should have built something, maybe with a Smackdown invasion at the end. There is no real story still for Bragging Rights and means fewer sales and a boring PPV. Good luck with this PPV WWE, you'll need it.
WWE Raw Anonymous GM Dilemma
The anonymous GM has been a staple on Raw since Nexus debuted months ago. This GM was hand picked by Mr. Mcmahon and delivers his decisions via email to Michael Cole. Clearly the GM was made to appear to be a person of great importance, but this is where the problems arise. Nobody cares anymore. It has been months and the closest thing we have to identifying him is the rumor that Chris Jericho knows who it is. So let’s get down to each individual problem of this GM scheme.
The GM remained anonymous supposedly to protect his identity from Nexus, fearing an assault similar to the one dealt to Bret Hart. This is a fine premise. When Nexus was tearing apart Raw and then laid out Bret Hart, Mr. Mcmahon, John Cena, and others, it would have made sense to be a little scared. Currently, Nexus isn’t a threat. The last rampage they went on was…the night they came in? They’ve taken out people, but generally part of matches. None of their victims have been out of action since Bret Hart. Nexus also lost three members. The Nexus of old has weakened. There is little reason to fear them. Keep in mind, as GM, he has a golden ticket. If anyone touches him they’re fired. Even better now, an assault by a Nexus member frees Cena.
Through all this, the GM hasn’t even developed as a character. The decisions he makes are no different than the matches created by the guest hosts of the months before. They could be made by anyone. We don’t see his personality, who he favors, who he dislikes, what his goals are, why he’s making matches. Ultimately we don’t see where he’s taking Raw. A plan for the show should be the motive behind all of a general manager’s decisions. As fans we just don’t see any continuity. To make a character stand out, the fans have to progress with him. He has to grow. There has been nothing like this to date sadly.
To make his character even worse, the two people who actually started stories that could have eventually have led to the discovery of the GM (Edge and Chris Jericho) been traded or taken time off. I can’t imagine that the feud with Edge was all done with a long termed trade planned. It’s most likely Edge or Jericho was supposed to find the identity eventually. Now we have an anonymous general manager who has no personality, no feuds, and no friends. Your average person hears the email beep and thinks boring. What is said by the GM could be said by anyone.
Having established the GM remaining anonymous is meaningless at the moment, we need to decide who could actually be the GM and how to expose them. There are three obvious choices.
First, a WWE legend. Who exactly doesn’t matter. It could be any legend as long as they are well known by the crowds. They could fit in with the original angle and fear a similar fate to Bret Hart. They could try and turn Raw into a Raw they remember and could be a great change. It could be Teddy Long and help the members of Nexus who got kicked out. It could be HHH, recuperating or maybe he used his wife for the powers. The Rock or Austin or HBK would be cool, but would be a tough sell to the crowd. Fans don’t want to remember the great pasts of the three with the recent GM stint. And fearing anyone doesn’t really fit their characters.
Second, a new Nexus member. What better way to finally establish credibility to Nexus as owning Raw? Perhaps the GM could be a friend of Cena’s and encourage him to fully join Nexus. Maybe even eventually have Wade Barret be the GM. The fearing Nexus could have been a red herring. WWE tried to use red herrings at the start of the angle with things such as past stars catch phrases being used.
Lastly, Michael Cole. WWE is big on him right now. It would turn him into an instant heel. He’s already out at ringside. He already speaks for the general manager. He could just say he didn’t want to be attacked again. He could even say the laptops were fake the whole time. This would create tremendous anger towards him, something the WWE is trying to push anyways. The only downside is that when people in power commentate, their credibility drops and quality suffers. When Bischoff was calling Nitro AND part of nWo, he was less believable as an announcer. Michael Cole already has six different personalities, trying to be heel but liking Cena? This would just make his character harder to perform and he would probably mess it up in the minds of observant fans. While Cole would make sense, I think it would overall be a bad move for Raw.
So how do we bring out the GM? Well, we develop a personality for him. Show anger or support for someone. Help promote a wrestler into a spot he might not normally be in. He could even try to destroy a fan favorite. Make the fans think this is unfair. Make the fans ask themselves, “What is he doing?” Through the chaos, subtle hints should be dropped, along with a few red herrings. At the end, we should all be thinking it’s obvious who the GM is, and then throw us someone we didn’t expect.
Or…My favorite idea. Going into Bragging Rights, if team Edge wins, we get to find out the GM. It would be a good stipulation for an otherwise pointless match. I would sure as hell be curious as to who wins. I would be pulling for team smackdown all the way. End the stupid. Why they didn’t finish this earlier with both Edge and Jericho is beyond me, but it needs to end as soon as possible. The fans are over it, WWE seems to not have any direction with it, and without a change soon it will continue to hurt ratings.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Group Chic-Fil-A Deal
For those of you who live near San Diego, CA - Groupon has a deal where you can get 2 for 1 chicken sandwiches. There is a limit of 1 groupon per person, but this looks like a great deal.
I personally have never tried Chic-Fil-A, but this seems like a great time to try it, especially at half price! Here's a link below.
http://www.groupon.com/r/uu5154563
I personally have never tried Chic-Fil-A, but this seems like a great time to try it, especially at half price! Here's a link below.
http://www.groupon.com/r/uu5154563
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Poker Player Karma
This was an interesting hand that took place at a $2-3 NL game in CA. Player A makes it 12 preflop. Player B reraises to $35. Player A makes it $125 to go still pre flop. Both are deep, roughly $1,000 stacks. Player B goes into the tank. Player A tells player B, just call and we can check it down. Player B agrees.
Flop comes down 8 5 2 rainbow. Player A says $150. Player B says WTF I thought we were checking it down?! Dealer says that he can't enforce a check it down agreement and has to give player A the option no matter what. Player B asks if he calls the $150 can they check it down from there? Player A finally says ok. Another 8 hits the turn. Player A says all in, roughly $750. Player B goes ape. Dealer can he really do that? We were supposed to check it down twice.
Dealer stays calm, just says the bet is to you $750. B's almost yelling. What are you betting for man, I thought it was check it down? You got aces don't you? Kings any good? You really got aces? Player A has a stupid smile on his face but doesn't really say much. Player B again asks kings any good or you got aces? After about a minute player B says I thought we were going to check it down, but whatever I call.
Player A gets really happy "Of course I have aces! Kings no good" and flips his hand up. Player B doesn't do anything. Dealer puts out the river card - A queen. Player A says thank god no king on the river. Player B calls a floor and asks if he can take back the extra $800 put in after the flop. Floor says no, says the action stands. Player B looks at player A and asks him if he can take back any as a nice guy. Player A says no, it's his money now. Player B says whatever, fakes as if he is going to muck, then flips over QUAD 8's.
I have never see someones face turn from absolute joy to anger/horror so fast. This guy thought he was going to scoop a $2,000 pot and instead walks away broke, all because he wouldn't honor his part of the agreement. The whole card room was pretty much watching this pot play out (as that is a fairly large pot) and the eruption at the end was amazing. Player A exploded a bit, but that didn't last long. He left a minute or so later. I can only image his thoughts the rest of the day..."WHY DIDN'T I JUST CHECK IT DOWN?!"
Flop comes down 8 5 2 rainbow. Player A says $150. Player B says WTF I thought we were checking it down?! Dealer says that he can't enforce a check it down agreement and has to give player A the option no matter what. Player B asks if he calls the $150 can they check it down from there? Player A finally says ok. Another 8 hits the turn. Player A says all in, roughly $750. Player B goes ape. Dealer can he really do that? We were supposed to check it down twice.
Dealer stays calm, just says the bet is to you $750. B's almost yelling. What are you betting for man, I thought it was check it down? You got aces don't you? Kings any good? You really got aces? Player A has a stupid smile on his face but doesn't really say much. Player B again asks kings any good or you got aces? After about a minute player B says I thought we were going to check it down, but whatever I call.
Player A gets really happy "Of course I have aces! Kings no good" and flips his hand up. Player B doesn't do anything. Dealer puts out the river card - A queen. Player A says thank god no king on the river. Player B calls a floor and asks if he can take back the extra $800 put in after the flop. Floor says no, says the action stands. Player B looks at player A and asks him if he can take back any as a nice guy. Player A says no, it's his money now. Player B says whatever, fakes as if he is going to muck, then flips over QUAD 8's.
I have never see someones face turn from absolute joy to anger/horror so fast. This guy thought he was going to scoop a $2,000 pot and instead walks away broke, all because he wouldn't honor his part of the agreement. The whole card room was pretty much watching this pot play out (as that is a fairly large pot) and the eruption at the end was amazing. Player A exploded a bit, but that didn't last long. He left a minute or so later. I can only image his thoughts the rest of the day..."WHY DIDN'T I JUST CHECK IT DOWN?!"
Welcome!
Greetings everyone. As you can guess by the site, Foodpokerbeerwrestling.blogspot.com will be a blog relating to food, poker, wrestling, and beer. I know the 4 topics aren't completely related, but I feel I have a strong understanding of all four fields. I will try and rotate my topics so one doesn't get all the attention.
It is my hope to give people advice and a better understanding of the following:
- Recipes
- Reviews of different beers
- Reviews of restaurants
- WWE reviews
- Poker advice and news
Tune in and I hope to make this a good site!
It is my hope to give people advice and a better understanding of the following:
- Recipes
- Reviews of different beers
- Reviews of restaurants
- WWE reviews
- Poker advice and news
Tune in and I hope to make this a good site!
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