How about some general advice from the good doctor. With a jam packed weekend full of events ranging from the UFC 81 fights to the Super Bowl. There is surely going to be a lot of drinking going down. So for those of you who don't know already, there are plenty of ways to keep from being too hanged over the next day.
I suppose I could list a couple of ideas that have floated around that sound pretty good, so here goes. These first couple are from AskMen.com,
Water: The symptoms you're feeling post-drinking are signs of dehydration caused by the alcohol. That's why you must re-hydrate yourself by drinking a lot of water when you get up.
Re-hydrating your body is the key to recovering from the hangover, and this cannot be stressed enough. You can even put some lemon in your water, it'll help soothe your stomach and will add vitamin C.
When drinking water, avoid water that is extremely cold or hot; drink water at room temperature.
Make a toast: After drinking to just about every toast that could be made the night before, some slices of plain toast could be a good idea - avoid putting jam or butter on them.
And then there is the Manswers answer to the common hangover. Prickly Pear Juice. Yep prickly pear juice. Supposedly available in your local health store, this stuff eliminates the toxins that cause hangovers. If you can't find it there try online.
Personally I try to drink a good amount of water before bed and I have been known to take vitamins before and after drinking. It works man. I'm tellin' ya. Try it. And who can forget the greatest remedy for the aching. Sleep, sleep sleep.
Oh and heres the ultimate drink if you don't want a hangover. Prickly pear margarita. Quite the conundrum. Want the recipe, go here
Thursday, January 31
Hangover Cures
Wednesday, January 30
Great Super Bowl Party Ideas
Super Bowl XLII is bound to be great without the help of any one thing in particular. But we can try. So let the old lady do her thing with the decorating and we'll take care of the man stuff. Here are a few ideas that might help put a good spin on the ordinary Super Bowl sunday.
Food. It has to be the most important part of Super Bowl Sunday. No? So here are a few ideas that I am sure everyone has already thought of but hey, sometimes pizza rolls and bean dip just aren't enough.
Wings
Every guy likes wings so couple of tips for ya. Try buying the bags of wings in the frozen area of the supermarket. They are like $10.00 for five pounds and you can do with them what you want. I prefer frying them myself but it does take a while. If you have a friend in the restaurant business, have them fry them up in their mondo friers. Then just ad your favorite sauce such as one of the many FRANK'S® RedHot® sauces.
Brats
Brats are great for any occasion. Try this out. Grill your brats on the grill even if its ninety-four below. Then throw them into a large pot or dutch oven filled with beer and water. Add a rainbow of peppers, onions and mushroom, or whatever you desire. Then season and let simmer on low heat for a few hours. Don't forget to get a good spicy mustard and then pile everything high.
Chili
There is seriously nothing like a huge bowl of hearty chili during a game. A great tip would be to make up the chili the night before. Then throw it back in the crock pot or on the stove the day of so the flavors activate like the Wonder Twin Powers, form of...steam. Sorry. Also try adding grilled steak, grilled pork, or chorizo. I sometimes add a couple cans of green chile sauce.
Those are just a few good foods that might make the Super Bowl or any event great. Along with those you might try meat ball sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, sloppy joes, fried chicken, bbq chicken, battered mushrooms, bread sticks, spinach dip, mozzarella sticks or even my favorite, dried beef wrapped around cream cheese and a pickle.
Drink! Most of us have our drink of choice but some of us are up for new things. I might suggest tomato beers instead, or set out some green olives for the daring. Also get some heavy mugs and throw them in the freezer. Mmmmmm, cold mug with beer in it.
For those of us who aren't getting a keg, you might try purchasing a large cooler for the entertaining area. Keep it close so you don't miss anything. If that won't work, use a kiddy pool and fill it with ice.
Drinking Games? I'm not talkin' those hardcore games where you drink so much you might think your actually at the game. No. Simple spontaneous games will do just fine. Try this one.
Every time the following happens you drink. Fun as hell eh?
A computer commercial comes on: Take a drink!
The chains come out: Take a shot
FUMBLEEE!!!!: Chug
Make up your own version or whatever. Just don't chug the whiskey.
Half Time Fun. There are a ton of things you can do at half time. Besides eat and go to the bathroom. If you have had too much to drink or there is too much snow on the ground for a punt, pass and kick contest. Try an eating contest.
A hot dog eating contest, a hot wing eating contest or even a twinkie eating contest. Hey, whatever floats your boat. Just make sure everyone agrees on the rules. Try these out.
Criteria: Must eat as much or as many in time frame aloud
One round of eating: 2 minutes
Disqualification if: Vomiting or cheating
That should take care of half time. I have a feeling that it would bring laughs upon laughs. But so would a drunken punt, pass and kick contest in the snow. Hey, try that after chugging a beer and spinning around ten times. No?
Other Games. I am sure some of us have time for tons of fun. Well instead of seeing who can pee there name in the snow the best maybe try one of these ideas.
Gamble
Low stakes or high? It doesn't matter. It's the thrill of the win. Try placing a bet on who will win, who will be MVP, or the point spread.
Fantasy
Got this one from www.evite.com, "Start your party before game time so you can psych everyone up. Everyone loves to root for their favorite player, so up the stakes a bit by having everyone draft a Super Bowl fantasy player: Have a bowl with star players' numbers written down on pieces of paper. When guests arrive, they pick a player to cheer on (again, separate the teams into two bowls so fans aren't rooting for the wrong team)."
Have fun and let me know about it.
Man Tech....The Torch!
Figured more technology was in need, so I found this nifty little gadget.
Story found at www.engaget.com
The Torch. Yes thats the name of this flashlight meets Armageddon which is being considered for the Guinness Book of World Records for its ability to cook up an egg, incinerate paper and even light up a smoke.
Average in stature, but deceiving. This puppy packs some heat with no pun intended. The Torch kicks out 4,100 lumens of intense light emission.
I am about to go scientific on your heinies with the help of wikipedia.com,
If a light source emits one candela of luminous intensity uniformly across a solid angle of one steradian, its total luminous flux emitted into that angle is one lumen. Alternatively, an isotropic one-candela light source emits a total luminous flux of exactly 4π lumens. The lumen can be thought of casually as a measure of the total "amount" of visible light in some defined beam or angle, or emitted from some source.
So there you go.
You can run out and get one of these bad boys and really torture some ants or even small animals (I do not approve of animal torture). Or you could just watch this video of The Torch in action.
Tuesday, January 29
Mile High Club Anyone?
Looking for the easiest way to join the ever exclusive " mile high club " well the folks at Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de have made it almost as simple as buying a ticket. Recently reported on www.reuters.com the german based travel agency has started selling tickets for 499 euro (735$) for a trip from the eastern town of Erfurt to a Baltic See resort departing July 5th 2008 in which the passengers are allowed to fly naked.
Ticket holders will have to follow a few simple rules however, such as, boarding and deboarding the plane while clothed "I wish I could say we thought of it ourselves but the idea came from a customer," Enrico Hess told Reuters by phone. "It's an unusual gap in the market." "There are FKK hotels where you can go into the restaurants and shops naked, for example," Hess said. "For FKK fans -- not that I'm one of them -- it's nothing unusual."
Hmmm, well I know how I plan on spending my summer vacation.
For The Family Man....Fighting Is Good...What?
I might occasionally throw something up here that relates to the fathers out there. Being a father, I know the ups and downs that relationships with both the children and the spouse develop. So if there is something out there that has enlightened me, I will gladly share it.
Before having kids my relationship was just as it is now, but with a lot less responsibility. The old lady, as I will call her, is the type that grew up strong minded and independent and that leaves me in the shadows at times.
You might think that having children would change her sense of independence since we would depend on each other a lot more. But it did not. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, " No change in circumstances can repair a defect of character." Not that she is damaged goods or anything, but I try hard to be that alpha male figure towards my relationship and towards my two great boys, respectfullly. I try hard to give 110% towards my family.
She also has that alpha female stigma. So we clash like bonded titans.
There are myths going around that certain behaviors such as going to bed angry or even fighting in front of the children is bad for the relationship.
But there is more good news than saving money by switching to GEICO®. In an article by Fernanda Moore of Parenting.com she gives hope by dispelling some of these myths.
" Myth: Never go to bed angry
"It sounds reasonable -- why risk letting a fight smolder overnight only to flare up again the next day? Better to resolve things, sleep soundly, and start fresh.
"What we say: Just agree to disagree until morning -- especially if it's midnight, there's no resolution in sight, and you're dying on the vine. After all, not every argument comes with a built-in time limit."
" Myth: Don't fight in front of the kids"
"When moms and dads fight, it's scary. Babies can tell when you're angry (and will probably get upset) and bigger kids will worry that the two of you are on the verge of a divorce."
"What we say: It can be valuable for children to see their parents work through a disagreement with good will. Kids also need to learn that even people who love each other don't get along perfectly. "It's unrealistic to expect no conflict," says Smith. "If you never have a difference of opinion with your spouse, then you've obviously found someone who agrees with everything you think. How boring!"
"In other words, it's fine -- even healthy -- for kids to witness your arguments. But there are caveats. (Aren't there always?) "When you argue in front of your kids, it's important to fight fair," says Reivich. "Instead of shouting 'You're a lazy slob!' say 'It really bothers me when you don't take out the trash.' Take issue with the action, not the person, and don't hurl insults." So if the fight is too intense, or there's no resolution in sight, table it until the kids aren't around."
These are only a few of the myths discussed in this article. You can read more at
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/01/29/par.parenting.myths/index.html.
For The Bachelor....How To Tie A Tie
For those bachelors out there, and I know there are many, I would like to dedicate a periodical piece to you. We'll start by helping those on the business venture. We all might one day need to present ourselves as respecting, professional or classy.
I understand the complications with such a task but I believe it is a necessity that all men know how to live with at least a mild to medium sense of refinedness. We will start small and work our way up. We will explore the unknowns of the sophisticated world and dig deep into the pits of bachelorhood in the hopes of renewing that image that some might find stinky without even smelling it.
And then you will go back to the couch, put one hand on the remote and the other in the pizza box. Because we can't give up that which we love.
So in regards to that, here is a tip on how to tie a tie. Remember to take in the step by step pictures so you won't forget. And if you do forget, just go with the collar. That is always nice.
Man Tech....Portable Beer Pong!
It's a different sort of technology but if you get a kick out of new stuff you enjoy playing beer pong than this is for you.
It's portable beer pong to the fullest. Known as "Pong-a-Long" Check it out at www.pongalong.com,
"We have a new regulation beer pong table freshly added to our collection which is sure to be the hit of the party. Our beirut tables will positively transform your life more than the machine that turned Steve Erkel into Stefan Urquelle. :) "Did we do that??"
These professional table range from 7 to 8 feet and fold nicely into a 2 x 2 briefcase. It has a melamine surface, whatever that is, and now comes in a new black GT model with brushed aluminum frame.
This will surely impress the ladies. So go ahead and buy one online. They're priced at $64.99 and ship within 24 hours.
The Brew World....Now That's Expensive Beer
This could be the first of many beer articles here on The Manalyst. Because we all enjoy beer. So we might as well go into the dark depths of the brew world and see what we come up with.
Carlsberg A/S ads have said that it is, "the best beer in the world." Well I suppose at nearly $400.00 a bottle it should be.
Carlsberg is just one of many gourmet brewing companies in Denmark where microbreweries are sprouting like wildfire. The prune and caramel flavored Vintage No. 1 is said to have exceptional quality and is pretty exclusive as said by Christian Weinberg of Bloomberg.com,
"The brewer, Scandinavia's biggest, introduced a beer today (Jan. 25) that costs 2,008 Danish kroner ($396.47), the price being based on the year of its introduction. The Vintage No. 1 brew will be sold at three Copenhagen restaurants, including Noma, a holder of two Michelin stars and the world's 15th-best restaurant in 2007, according to S.Pellegrino."
Carlsberg brews over 150 brands of beer and are sold all over. The Vintage No. 1, however, probably won't be exported any time soon. And that is disappointing. I would love to see what makes this brew superior. Wouldn't you?
I personally enjoy darker, flavorful, high point beers and this one seems to fill my requirements. At 10.5 percent proof it is said to have hints of vanilla and oak from the French and Swedish wooden casks that it is stored in.
Well that all sounds fine and dandy, but I'll still take an ice cold glass of $2.00 malt liquor. That suits me just fine.
Monday, January 28
Is Ronald McDonald Getting Old?
by Karsten Lunde
After a brief stop at McDonald’s on 23rd Street for a quick dinner, I noticed something as I glanced around the dining room and this time it wasn’t light-up sneakers, neglected trash, or even globs of ketchup on the beverage bar.
Yes, I noticed all those things too. But something struck me while I sat, hunched over in a stool, glazed over from grease and salt and monosodium glutamate.
McDonald’s is no longer a place to hang out with Ronald, Grimace, and the Fry Kids. No, in fact somehow, over time, the interior decor has transformed from warm yellows and reds to softer pastels and flower motifs. Even the plastic seats are now covered with powder blue and soft green and a mauve that would make even Edgar Degas throw up in his fries. The geriatric interior design of today’s McDonald’s restaurants rivals that of your average nursing home. The only things missing are a player piano and the smell of gravy.
Today, I call on McDonalds to rethink its interior decoration. Revert back to the reds and oranges and yellows that delighted me as a child. Let me once again feast with Grimace and the Fry Kids. Release the Hamburglar from his prison.
McDonald’s made billions NOT with gourmet coffees and premium chicken, but with Cheeseburgers, fries, and an ingredient missing today—FUN!
Karsten Lunde is a radio disc jockey in Lawrence, Kansas. Visit his personal Web site at http://karsten.lunde.net or check out Lawrence's X-92.9 online at www.x929.com.
E-mail: Karsten@x929.com
Not So Manly....Ryan Whitman
Ryan Whitman, of Portland Oregon is serving a 4 year term in jail. For what you might ask? Try for using a 100,000 volt stun gun on his 18 month old son. Called a Dragon Fire, it is stronger than the tasers used by police officers.
I must express how non-man this is and how stupid this person must be. The article talks of how Whitman wanted his son to grow up to be the toughest cage fighter ever. How he wanted to make his son tougher. He was said to have used it on his son at least twice last year.
The boy is recovering from heart damage and leg muscle damage. Whitman was convicted and is serving a four year stint. His case was that his wife had told him he would be sorry and the next thing he knew he was in handcuffs.
Okay, I don't know what to say here. This guy must be either out of his mind to think that simply tasing your child will make them successful in anything. Well, I might argue that the child might grow up to hold a different sense of violence which might make him mentally obligated to prove himself as strong or thick skinned. I would hardly call that successful in most aspects of life, unless he grows to be a mobster or assassin. Which are only cool in movies and sometimes on Sundays after church.
But seriously, it would only do harm for everyone involved. I guess I just don't see the logic in it. Why not start pre-elementary training with the kid. See if you can teach small actions instead of negative crap.
I have two boys and honestly I can't wait for them to start showing interest in wrestling with me. I currently wrestle with my one and a half year old and he just laughs. Not cries. I cry sometimes, but that's besides the point.
Bottom line, four years just isn't enough. Check out the vid here
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2008/01/28/tan.or.toddler.stun.gun.katu
Thoughts?
Man of the Month....BJ Penn
I think B.J. Penn should be honored as the "Man of the Month" for his accomplishment on January, 19. Some of might not realize the struggle. "The Prodigy" was once credited and in most cases still is recognized as the toughest man in the world.
Growing up in a wealthy environment, Penn would find his niche in that of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu where he was the first non-Brazilian to win the Mundial World Championships. He started out stronger than most on the mixed martial arts scene with three straight wins and then losing a decision to Jens Pulver, who he would later finish in the second round. He then went on to fight some of the best in the world.
But some would say that Penn didn't take his role in mma seriously. For someone known as "The Prodigy", expectations were high and B.J. thought his wins would come easy. He didn't train for many fights and thoughts on the "woulda couldas" still roam the internet. This is better explained in a Psychology Today article,
"Betting on a prodigy, however, is anything but a sure thing. The majority of childhood prodigies never fulfill their early promise. "Perseverance is a key part of it," says Robert Root-Bernstein of Michigan State University. "Many of them say that their expectations were warped by their early experiences." When success comes too easily, prodigies are ill prepared for what happens when the adoration goes away, their competitors start to catch up and the going gets rough."
But the fight that he presented on the nineteenth was far from lackluster and far from an overconfident B.J. Penn. He was in shape and he was serious. Taking on an incredible athlete in that of Joe Stevenson who was on a role was no easy task and he dominated.
I believe it is safe to say that we may see a new B.J. Penn in the future. He was quoted saying in a Thomas Gerbasi interview on UFC.com,
Where will B.J. go from here?
Your thoughts?
