Dewmocracy ... it begins

I'm a sucker for stuff like this: Mountain Dew is releasing three "Dew Drinker Designed" flavors and letting the Dew Drinking Public vote for which flavor they like best.

I remember the first time I got involved in a promotion of this nature. It was when the M&Ms were adding another flavor. It was going to be either blue, purple or pink and the phone voting was free, so my sister and I (and my mom) just jammed that thing, we must have voted for blue a hundred times. And sure enough, blue won! I was like 10 or 12 at that point, so that was pretty rad. My first election!

I had seen the dystopian Dewmocracy teaser commercials like a month ago and I didn't think much of it, but today I saw Mountain Dew SuperNova at my local grocer and picked up a bottle. It's "Dew with a blast of strawberry melon flavor and ginseng." As it turns out, the other two flavors also involve ginseng. Voltage is raspberry citrus and Revolution is "Wild Berry fruit flavor."

The SuperNova is quite good. It's mostly a strawberryish Dew flavor because I think the melon aspect blends in with the native tartness of the Dew. But it would probably be my second-favorite non-original Dew flavor behind Code Red (of course Game Fuel would be up there if it'd been made a permanent flavor) if it wins the vote.

And so the voting at Dewmocracy.com doesn't begin until June 1, but after that the polls are open for a month of soda swilling and smack talking (there are message boards for people to "campaign" on). I'll let you know how the other Dews stand up to this one, but for now SuperNova looks to be tough to beat in my book.

From Internet exile: My first Montecristo

On my way home from my mom's place the other night, I stopped at our fancy schmancy liquor store, Chalet (Best of Elkhart entry coming up soon), and picked up a couple cigars. They were the first cigars I've ever bought on my own, and I don't know much about cigars other than I know Montecristo is one of the more revered names in the business. I was thankful to find Chalet had a broad selection of Montecristos available, ranging from around $3.50 per cigar at the low end all the way up to $14 a piece for the bigguns.

So I decided to get two: A Churchill for $5.80 and another, bigger one that I forget the name of at this point for $8.30. I got home, poured myself some Jack Daniels No. 7 on the rocks and lit the Churchill on my back patio. What followed was an hour of blissful smoking, ensconced in velvety haze, positively high from the relaxation of it. The smoke, woody and caramely, made the whiskey taste even better, and the whiskey made the smoke taste better.

A sip here, a puff there, a relaxed sigh, repeat. Through the sunset. It was an absolutely wonderful way to spend part of an evening and I look forward to carving out enough time to smoke the other one. I also look forward to buying more cigars and finding an ATR-appropriate balance between quality and value. I'll keep you updated.

I won't have Internet at home for probably another week or so, though, so hang in there with me.

Dixie Chix: McDonald's Southern Style Chicken

The South shall rise again! Well, at McDonald's anyway. The restaurant chain unveiled a passable version of Southern sweet tea earlier this year, and is now rolling out two chicken sandwiches supposedly based on Southern tastes.

To be frank, the breakfast version of this sandwich (with biscuit instead of hamburger bun) looks not only more delicious, but also more authentic than the regular version. But I can't wake up in time for MCD breakfast, so the regular version is what I've tried.

I'm not sure what's supposed to be Southern about this particular chicken, but I will say it is significantly heartier, juicier and generally more delicious than the regular McDonald's chicken offerings (save the McNuggets, which I'm hopelessly addicted to, regardless of how little they resemble chicken). In fact, the new breaded chicken fillet is comparable to the Wendy's chicken fillet, only perhaps even more juicy.

And the chicken is on full display here, presented only with a bun and two pickles. No mayo, no Miracle Whip, no gravy, no melty cheese ... pretty much nothing I would associate with the South. Maybe if these were Kool-Aid pickle slices I'd see the connection, but frankly I'm puzzled as to why juicier chicken = Southern style.

All that said, though, this is a pretty hearty sandwich for the price, and I enjoy the chicken flavor thoroughly. It won't be enough to keep me from my 10-piece Nugs next time, but lately there's not a lot that could in the fast food world.

Chris Matthews: Scholar, poet, gentleman

When you make a historical reference to Chris Matthews on "Hardball," you'd better know what you're talking about. The man knows his stuff, he's insatiable when it comes to history. Oh, and he doesn't suffer fools gladly.

Jim's a genius: Jamie Lidell's "Little Bit of Feel Good" video

Buy the album, dammit.

Why Bill Simmons is good: Secret blog

If you want to know why I still read Bill Simmons on ESPN.com and defend him to his detractors as one of the better sportswriters/analysts around, check out this piece he did in 1996 while covering South Boston High's basketball state championship defense that season. He just posted it to his own Blogger page (that's right, he's going behind ESPN's back) and I've been reading it all night. It's 15,000 words of unadulterated basketball love about a group of people who also love basketball and life despite the hard times. It's beautiful, knowledgeable, carefully written stuff.

The twists and turns of a high school season are more pronounced then college or professional campaigns. Just when you think a team looks unbeatable, the smallest thing can happen and they don’t look so invincible any more. During a preseason scrimmage against Gloucester on the 7th, we witness Southie's best half of basketball for the next two months. The Fishermen can't move the ball twenty feet against Southie’s vaunted fullcourt press before Mack, DePina or Roberts force a mistake. After four minutes the score is 16-5; after five minutes, 24-9; after ten minutes, 46-18. The Gloucester coach looks as if he wants to throw up. It's hard to imagine a high school team playing better basketball.

Just as quickly, it ends. Midway through the scrimmage, Lewis suffers a hip pointer just minutes before Mack suffers a hard fall and limps off with torn knee cartilage. With Lewis hobbling and Monty forced to rest for two weeks, that unmistakable aura - the swagger, the bored look of domination - goes with him. Although Southie eventually finishes the season with a 20-1 record, something vanishes when Mack goes down, an unwavering collective confidence that the Southie boys can’t be touched. This became clear on December 29th in Milton, a snowy Friday night in which Milton packed its gym with crazed fans cloaked in blood-red and pining for an upset. Before tweaking his knee, Mack had been Southie's go-to guy, the one who always came through with clutch shots and rebounds. Now that he’s playing tentatively and DePina and Roberts have stepped up, the chain of command has been altered. At least for the time being. Battling a senior-laden Milton team that reached the Division Two semifinals last season, Southie doesn’t look nearly as healthy or hungry. And that’s why they fall by five.

Blu's Argentinian Animation

So a graffiti artist/team in Buenos Aires decided they'd spend A LOT OF TIME painting on public walls to create what's probably the coolest animation I've ever seen. Thanks to Penny Arcade of all places for sharing this.


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

So fresh: Jamie Lidell's "JIM"

When I heard Jamie Lidell's "Multiply" for the first time, I described the sound as equal parts Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson. It was pop and it was soul, it was electronic and organic, and it was brilliant. It still is brilliant.

So when I got Lidell's new album, "JIM," in the mail last month, I was expecting a progression of that sound, but I didn't know where it would lead. I'd heard the first single, "Little Bit of Feel Good," and was struck by the stone-cold funk groove of it, but I didn't know what to expect from the rest of the album.

Well now that I've digested it a bit more, I can say he's moved from Jacko/Smokey to Otis Redding/Billy Joel/The Four Tops. It's more piano, more horns, more sunny melodies and more of Jamie Lidell's utterly fantastic singing voice. The first track, "Another Day," would be the best track on any Billy Joel compilation ... if it was a Billy Joel track. "Out of My System" wouldn't sound out of place on a Temptations greatest hits collection. "Rope of Sand" is a beautiful, heartfelt track in the tradition of Otis and Al Greene and ... hell, I'll throw Stevie Wonder in there, too.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this guy has great influences. It's not overtly derivative but it's clear he's grown up admiring some legendary musicians. And he's found a way to take the best bits of all of them and incorporate them into a sound that's innovative and an homage to the past at the same time.

Not only do I Recommend you go buy "JIM," I also suggest -- once again -- that you get "Multiply." Jamie Lidell is the cure for what ails you.

Recouping with Labi Siffre

It was a wild and wacky weekend with visits from sister and mother, plenty of shopping and plotting to move to another apartment. The next couple weeks will bring yet more craziness, so I want to apologize not only for the radio silence this weekend, but also for the sporadic posting for the next few weeks to come.

That said, when I want to relax lately, I go to YouTube and I find this video and I chill out:



Labi Siffre has had some of his soulful, sunny tunes sampled for rap songs, including "My Song," which is the basis for Kanye West's "I Wonder."



I really need to go get that greatest hits compilation.

Illmatic: Gnarls Barkley's "Going On" video

The more I listen to "The Odd Couple" the more it grows on me. I may have to give it a full recommendation here soon.