Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Flexing Your Points

Ok so I am not at Dickinson right now. But I do know how to get a good meal when the caf is serving dog shit or worse...honey dipped fetus. Let's be honest, it cant be chicken caeser pita every night or hot shave roast beef with potato chowder so you need to improvise. And we are still waiting for the day when Miseno's will accept Dickinson ID's so we dont have to spend our valuable Natty money there. So if you cant bring yourself to go to the caf when your entree choices are Thai Chicken Sticks w/Mango Chili BBQ Sauce or Baked White Vegetable Lasagna....try these three grizzly meals. While they may cost you a lot of flex points, its not like you ever run out of them (unless you are a Snar Legend like Tyler Gagnon.)

1. The Rainwater Special - A Spicy Roll (6.75) and Student Meal Deal of 2 White Slices and a Coke (4.00) at the Quarry.

Who would of thought that the combination of pizza and sushi could be so fucking good. Yes there is nothing better then waking up at 2pm after a night of 21 cup and wall punching then stumbling to the Quarry after you have already slept through your 1:30 class. While I hated on Durden for bringing sushi to campus, I must say it was one of the best decisions that has been made at my time at Dickinson. I have tried all the sushi and the spicy roll is definitely the best. And if you are getting pizza from the quarry, it better be white. Also make sure to get that meal deal. I have seen too many rookies get two slices and forget to get the drink. What is this amateur hour? I swear I have seen upper class-men pull this rookie move. And of course...always remember to ask for extra soy sauce. The Quarry workers will be happy to give you more.

Bonus Quarry Tip: Never order a large coffee. Order the small and just take a larger cup when you make your coffee. You will never get caught, even if the place is empty.
Also if you are in a rush to get to class and the line is out the door with people ordering specialty shit drinks, just walk to the cups, make your coffee and leave. There is a little more risk with just taking the coffee and leaving but it has never failed for me. Just remember, only do this when it is really crowded.


2. The Grizzly Snar Special - Chicken Parm (4.75) Turkey Club (4.50) and French Fries (0.90)
NOTE: Chicken Pita Melt (Vagina Melt 3.50) can be substituted for the Chicken Parm.

It brought a smile to my face when I heard they brought back the club sandwiches to the Snar. One of the most underrated meals at Dickinson. Not only declicous but healthy. A little on the pricey side but when you are this hungry who the fuck cares. While you might get a better Parm from Miseno's, the ones from the Snar are surprisingly very good. If you are not a Chicken Parm fan, you cant go wrong with a Vagina Melt. Nate Grefe taught me this after it was realized that 90 percent of the females that go to the Snar will order this menu item. I swear, next time you go just pay attention. Before I graduate, I promised that I would order it by its correct name (I just need to make sure that a male is operating the grill. But how funny would it be if I said "can I get a vagina melt" and he just started making me a chicken pita melt. ) Anyway, this is one of the most filling meals you can get at Dickinson.

Snar Tip: It is a lot harder to steal from the Snar than the Quarry. You might think you can get away with an egg on that sandwich or bacon and not tell the lady but you have a good chance to get caught and that shit is embarrassing. The easiest snag is the water when you first enter.

And while they like to be stingy on drinks, if you are thirsty, make sure to get your drink first and just down it while you are in line ordering. You can keep refilling it while you are there.


3. The Nate Grefe Devil's Den Theft Special - Pack of Red Bulls (Free), Snacks (How ballsy are you)

While this isn't really a meal, it still is very valuable. By far the easiest place to steal food on campus is the Devil's Den. Especially when there is only one worker and it is someone you know (Kali) If you are gonna steal the pack of red bulls, you will need a backpack. Single's can be stuck into pockets. While I may pride myself on my skills, there is no one better than Nate Grefe at stealing red bulls. He once came back with 3 packs of red bulls. That would cost over 20 dollars but it was free. That was like me once stealing 13 cokes from Grab n Go when they still had cans. Or the one time, Jack, Nate and I stole 29 coke cans from Grab n Go with a serious team effort.

The Devil's Den is great for that break during your 3 hour class or late night essay breaks. Suggested snacks include bag of popcorn, sun chips and fruit snacks.

Enjoy!

Side note (I do not endorse stealing, that shit is wrong. But when you are hungry and trying to get grizzly....anything goes. And as long as you are stealing from Dickinson and not someone else, its cool. I mean come on, I am paying over 50 thousand to go there, im not paying the 2.20 for a red bull...fuck that)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Music Review - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks


Since their second album The Tyranny of Distance (2001), Ted Leo & The Pharmacists have been playing guitar driven politically motivated lyrical pop sounding jams. Throughout the decade, they have reached musical highs with their 2003 effort Hearts of Oak and one of my personal favorite albums Shake The Sheets (2004). It was songs like "Me & Mia," "Counting Down the Hours," The High Party" and "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone," that pulsate the ears and immediately attract the listener to Leo's riveting guitar work and songwriting prowess.

At some point, Leo cranked everything out of proportion with the unbalanced and drawn out clunk sounding Living With The Living (2007). Besides a couple songs, Leo seemed to jam pack a million things into one album that is far too long and muddled together with pretentiousness and verbose lyrics. The album closer "C.I.A" is the only true redeeming quality from this lackluster effort.

A new decade might have brought Ted Leo & The Pharmacists most complete and well rounded work. The Brutalist Bricks, released on March 9 puts it all together and is a continuation of what Leo does best. It is sharp sounding pop numbers with a splice of punk from start to finish with Leo delivering on almost every track with some of his best lyrics. Leo strums his signature guitar sound on each track with blistering fury. The opening track "The Mighty Sparrow" lets the listener know whats in store with Leo bursting forth "When the café doors exploded, I reacted to, reacted to you." It is a return of what Leo does best. He is able to bring forth a sense of passion and frenzy while his lyrics remain poignant and evocative.

The albums first half is fast paced that present classic sounding Leo tracks like "Mourning in America and the albums first single "Even Heroes Have to Die." There are the best examples of what Ted Leo, Jersey pride and all, is about. Catchy sounding melodies and bouncy guitars.

It is the middle of the album that Ted Leo takes his music to the next level. The stretch of songs "Bottled in Cork," Woke Up Near Chelsea" and "One Polaroid a Day" are the bread and butter of the album and it presents some of Ted Leo & The Pharmacists finest work. "Bottled in Cork" will immediately become a favorite with Leo repeating the melodious chorus "Tell the bartender I think I'm falling in love."

"One Polaroid a Day" presents a rare gruff sounding Leo substituting his usual falsetto, on a bass driven banger about the fleeting highlights of someones life "But in the time it takes to turn the cameras on, you can keep on clicking but the moments gone." He executes this change of pace flawlessly.

The five songs that conclude Brutalist Bricks are above average sounding works from an accomplished and mature songwriter. The two that really stick out are "Bartolomeo And The Buzzing Of Bees" and the album closer "Last Days."

While I feel this falls just short of Shake The Sheets, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists return to prominence with their most well balanced and musically diverse album. There is a heart and soul in Brutalist Bricks that was absent from his previous album Living With The Living. Leo brings a focus and new energy in delivering his usual pop/rock numbers that he first introduced in 2001. A new decade and an invigorated Ted Leo is just what I needed.

Overall Rating: 3/4

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Sunday March 7th

Best day of the year by far. HP Allstarz draft and the Oscars in one day. My picks for the pool are

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: James Cameron
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique
Animated Feature: Up
Foreign Language Film: A Prophet
Original Screenplay: Hurt Locker
Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air
Score: Up
Song: Crazy Heart
Cinematography: The Hurt Locker
Documentary: The Cove
Art Direction: Avatar
Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Taking some gambles but this show should be exciting. The acting races are more or less set which means seeing one upset would be pretty cool. The real decision comes in the Best Picture and Best Director race which has not been this close in a while. Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker make these awards worth watching.

Changing subjects to baseball... (I actually once talked about the Mets here)

I know it's just one game in a Spring Training game but Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia looked impressive in his first appearance of the year. His stuff was electric and showed that he has a chance to make the opening day roster. The final slider he threw to strikeout Cameron Maybin was downright nasty, 95mph on the black. We might have something here. But like I said, it was one spring training appearance in early March.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100305&content_id=8694714&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym