Top 3 - Beverages

It is Thursday, which means that it is time for this week's Top 3. This week we are taking a break from Music and putting the focus on beverages. Note: Number 1 is meant to be the best. Someone thought that Christina was my number 1 female vocalist. No way. It is Aretha all the way. If I am confusing people by counting down to one, then I'll consider changing it I guess. But for now it is 3 (third favorite), 2 (second favorite), 1 (most favorite).

Top 3 - Beverages

3. Water with Lemon



I start by putting a couple ice cubes in the cup or glass, then I get the lemon wedge and squeeze the juice on the cubes and drop it in the glass, then I put more ice cubes on top of the lemon wedge and bring the cubes all the way to the brim of the cup or glass, then I fill it with water.

This beverage has only been in my life for the past couple years. I never used to drink a lot of water until I got a fridge that had a water / ice dispenser. Water alone is not that great, but when you add the lemon, it becomes very refreshing.

2. Pibb Xtra



Pibb Xtra and Dr. Pepper are not the same thing. Both have 23 flavors, but Pibb has something Xtra that Dr. Pepper does not have. Cinnamon. I am one that believes that Cinnamon to men is what chocolate is to women. I drink Pibb Xtra not only for the taste, but it is loaded with sugar and caffeine. For a non coffee drinker like myself, that is a plus to my workdays. If you are currently drinking Dr. Pepper, make the switch and let me know what you think.

1. 2% Milk



It must be 2%, not 1%, not skim, 2%. This is and will always be my top beverage. I drink milk every night with dinner. To me it goes with any meal, and is even great all by itself when you are thirsty. I grew up in a milk family. We always had all three kinds 1, 2, & skim. My dad and sister drank skim. My brother and mom drank 1%, and my mom and I drank 2%. My mom floated from 1 to 2 as needed.


Bottom Line - If you are thirsty, don't offend your taste buds. Get something good to drink.

Top 3 - Female Vocalists

Most of my Top 3 entries will most likely be about music. This week it is the female voice in music.

3. Christina Aguilera



I hardly listen to her music at all, but I can't deny her vocal talent. She has the chops that can give me chills on occasion. If I had to provide a song reference, I would go with her version of "Have yourself A merry little Christmas".

2. Lauryn Hill



I have always enjoyed Lauryn Hill's voice. It is unique with a low register and her pronunciation make it even better. When singing she has an undeniable range which gives her access to many different styles of music. I like to hear her talk also.

1. Aretha Franklin



Do I even need to explain? Enough said.


Bottom Line - "If a song's about something I've experienced or that could've happened to me it's good. But if it's alien to me, I couldn't lend anything to it. Because that's what soul is all about." - Aretha Franklin

Top 3 - Awkward Concerts

I have decided to take the infamous "Top 5 things" from facebook and adapt it down to 3 things and make the lists to the subjects I like where each thing has an explanation or personal reflection.

Top 3 - Awkward Concerts

3. Travis Meeks - The Mad Frog



Travis Meeks is a highly talented jerk. He fronted the band "Days of the New" then once they made it big, he fired his band saying they were not worthy to play with him. He continued to make 2 more albums and his former band started "Tantric" in which competed with him and became more popular.

He was playing a solo acoustic gig at the Mad Frog. I had seen him at Bogarts with a band a year before and he was stellar. When he came out to play at Mad Frog he sat in a chair with his acoustic guitar and a mic. He was a mess. At one point someone yelled "Play some Tantric" in which Meeks replied "Is that a threat, or a challenge" then he changed the subject and moved on. Between every song he took 5 minutes to re-tune his guitar while people badgered him. It was a disaster show in which obviously he needed to play to get some money for his meth addiction.

2. James Brown - The Taste of Cincinnati



JB was listed and advertised to perform at the "Taste of Cincinnati" so I went down to check it out. There were tons of people crowded around the stage in anticipation. The time in which he was supposed to start came and went. About an hour after his start time, 3 long limos pulled up and several guys in suits got out and stood around for like 45 minutes. Finally one of the suit guys came to the stage to do a mic check. Another 15 minutes later here comes JB to the stage. A loop beat started playing and JB started repeating "Killin is out, School is in" while a hype man would throw in yeahs and uh huhs. It lasted about 2 minutes and then it was over and JB walked off stage got back in the limo and I never saw him again.


1. Wesley Willis - The Southgate House



I went to see this guy in concert after hearing about him from many of the bands that I was currently listening to. The bands listed him as an influence, and I happened to catch a small sample of him in a video that was intriguing enough to make me curious. I went to the show not knowing what to expect. The Southgate House was packed to the max. When the opening bands were playing, there was a long line of people waiting to visit his merch booth to buy his cds and his artwork. Wesley was also hanging out giving people headbutts. I found out that he was paranoid schizophrenic. He had to be walked to the stage which had a keyboard and a mic setup. He then promptly hit buttons in which cheap keyboard loops would play and he would ramble about Batman, or Osama Bin Laden, and many other people using the same keyboard loop over and over. It was utterly horrible, but the crowd went crazy after every song. I didn't get it at all. It seemed to be a huge money scam in which I contributed to by paying to see this guy. I left after the third song.

Bottom Line - Taking risks on thing you don't know much about could turn out to be very benefitial. Then again they could also be a waste of time and money.

Camping

Something about camping puts me in a deep state of relaxation. Just being at a campsite puts me in a trance. Throw in a campfire, some food, and spontaneous naps and I'm in heaven. Last weekend my parents (Mark and Lor) went camping at Winton Woods which is less than 10 minutes away from my house. Although we didn't stay the night, we went Friday night to hang out and then most of the day on Saturday. It was relaxing. It was Lydia's first ever camping experience and surprisingly she didn't try to run into the fire the whole time like I thought she might.

Friday night we had ribeye steaks, with grilled corn and the camping custom potato/carrot/onion/cheese all in one mix.



After dinner Friday night we went for a walk and Lydia got to walk Zoey.



Saturday during the day I tried to sneak in a nap in the pop up trailer. Then the fam joined me.



The dessert after Saturday's dinner was fantastic. Strawberries and blueberries cooked with croissants over the campfire. Wow, this stuff was amazing.



Bottom Line - Family + Outdoors - Stress = Camping. Camping = Relaxation

Chief Josh

When I was little I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I've always wanted to be an Indian. If playing Cowboys and Indians, I always wanted to be the Indians. As a child, I always replicated their awesomness while playing in the woods, I had a couple of books about them in which I was always looking at pictures in, and I even developed a re-occuring fever dream involving them.

In my junior year in high school when we were forced to look at all of the college program choices, there were no choices to sign up to be an Indian. The closest I could have been to becoming an Indian was to become an actor for the outdoor drama "Blue Jacket" or "Tecumseh", but even then I don't get in because I have blonde hair.



Maybe my dreams were unrealisic, or maybe I should have gone for it. I just know that to this day I am still facinated with Indians even if they never smile, and I will strive to learn more about them and maybe find a way to be a chief one day. I am still working on my indian name.


Bottom Line - When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? How did it work out for you?

O.I.B.

The day after Zak and CC's wedding, the j-stegs along with l-steg took off on a 12 hour drive to Ocean Isle Beach for a 1 week tenure. This is the second year of participation for Lydia and I in this annual weekly event. This year there were 20 people all in one beach house.



Now that Lydia is mobile, she had a great time running in and around the water. She also got to run around with her second cousin Harper.







It was a nice relaxing trip and time with family. I'm looking forward to next year.

Bottom Line - Vacations always seem too short. It also seems that you need another week of vacation to recover from vacation.