Well I couldn’t hold out any longer.  I was going to let this precious bottle of the collaboration of two of the finest American breweries just sit there and stare at me everyday as I tip toed around it, trying to let it age gracefully.  Almost 5 months have gone by and I finally gave in.  Life And Limb is a collaboration between Dogfish head Craft Brewery(makers of the legendary 90 and 120 minute Pale Ales and the wonderful Forte) and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.(one of the best Pale Ales ever).  Brewed with a combination of the house yeasts from both breweries, Maple Syrup from right here in Massachusetts, barley from the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, CA, and Birch Syrup from Alaska.

It poured a dark molasses/ruby with a khaki thin foamy head.  I could smell light maple and smokey malt and chocolate.  The first sip was a full bodied creamy texture of sweet smokiness with a high alcohol taste(10% ABV) that felt nice and warm on the back of my throat.  There was a sweetness but not Maple.  The liquorice taste from the Birch syrup was more dominant.  I also caught a cherry brandy taste.  It is almost like a sweet Rauchbier.  There was alcohol and more birch at the finish.  It was not what I was expecting but I did enjoy it.  Definitely take your time with this one.

This is one of those conflicting moments.  While this video of what looks like 3rd graders reenacting the movie “Scarface” is quite hilarious, it’s also rather disturbing.  I don’t know if these kids even know what they’re saying, but they’re doing it with verve.  I guess that’s just the natural acting ability coming out.  But am I wrong to think this was a poor choice for a grade school play?  Am I just getting old a grumpy?  Is it because I’m the father of a 5 year old and if I found out the school wanted her toplay Tony Montana’s coked out, sexually frigid, shell of a human wife, I would be a little apprehensive?  Sure.  But I can’t stop laughing.  Look at the pile of popcorn!

THIS JUST IN…

…from CBS Entertainment

OZZY OSBOURNE’S NEW SONG, “LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM,”

 WILL HAVE ITS WORLD PREMIERE DURING THE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14 EPISODE OF “CSI: NY”

Ozzy Osbourne’s new song, “Let Me Hear You Scream,” from his upcoming Epic Records album, Scream, will have its world premiere during an episode of CSI: NY, to be broadcast Wednesday, April 14 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

In the episode, “Redemptio,” a death row inmate’s (guest star Harold Perrineau, “Lost”) final request brings Dr. Hawkes (series regular Hill Harper) to a Pennsylvania prison and face-to-face with a tragic incident that he has kept secret for many years, just as a prison riot erupts and traps Hawkes inside.  The story was written by executive producer Peter M. Lenkov, with the teleplay by Lenkov and Bill Haynes.

“We were looking for something high energy and irreverent to sell the madness of a prison riot,” said executive producer and episode writer Peter M. Lenkov.  ”We immediately responded to the new Osbourne tune.  The song exceeded our expectations and brought exactly the right tone to the episode.”

“When I heard they were going to use ‘Let Me Hear You Scream’ for a prison riot scene, I thought, ‘Well, now that’s something I know about,’” says Ozzy, who spent time in prison in the U.K. for burglary before his 18th birthday.

Ozzy Osbourne’s career has spanned four decades and his music is as relevant today as ever. The multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has sold over 100 million albums worldwide – 50 million with Black Sabbath and as many as a solo artist. In 2003, he was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s “Walk of Fame.”  Osbourne is not only a legend and an icon, but is a pioneer in his genre of music. 

CSI: NY, a crime drama inspired by the drama series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” is about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in the Big Apple. 

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OK, if the Cypress Hill album preview didn’t get you high enough… Here’s another chance!

Check out the official video from Cypress Hill featuring Tom Morello!

The album is in stores on 4/20!

I have read plenty about the town of South Hadley, and the parents and students there who are anxiously awaiting “justice” for those who they believed bullied Phoebe Prince to death about 11 weeks ago.  Northwestern D.A. Elizabeth Scheibel has promised the results of her investigation sometime today and I am sure she has done an exhaustive one.

It is impossible, especially if you are a parent like I am, to not feel extreme pain and sorrow when you hear and read the details of this tragedy.  Phoebe was by all accounts a fine young girl from Ireland who was trying to adjust to life in America-and life in high school.  We can all relate to how difficult that time of your life can be.  Every little piece of drama feels like the end of the world.  “Bullying” has happened in high school since Ben Franklin came up with the concept of public schools, and when you add in the mental and physical changes the adolescent human experiences, it can be a traumatic time.  We are told that 11 weeks ago the bullying became too much, and Phoebe hanged herself.

As sad as this story is, I do not agree with the residents of South Hadley who are screaming for vengeance.  Like angry medieval villagers, holding pitchforks and torches, they scream about how justice must be done and the girls who bullied Phoebe should be charged criminally.  For what?  Being mean?  I’m sorry…but we don’t do that in this country.  Remember the old cheesy 80′s bumper sticker that read “mean people suck”?  It’s true.  But it’s also how we develop “thick skin”.  If we go into the school system and charge every kid who says something mean about another student, there won’t be enough kids left to field a baseball team.

If Elizabeth Scheibel announces criminal charges against these “bullies” today, it will be a complete over-reaction to the politically correct parental crowd who wants to walk through life holding their child’s hand, bumping them up to the starting line-up in soccer, intimidating educators into giving them grades they didn’t earn, and forcing an employer to hire them despite the fact that they have zero qualifications.  Bullying is awful…bullying on facebook and social networks is worse…but it is not criminal.

These bullies should be identified by the school and kicked out for good.  Let their parents (who obviously instilled zero values in them and certainly didn’t spend much time monitoring their facebook posts) find someplace for them to bully each other all day where they can’t interfere with kids who want to learn.  Let everyone know their name and know that they are mean girls who can’t be trusted to participate in society in a valuable way.  But don’t charge them with a crime.  We don’t arrest you for being mean in America.

WAAF is running a Slash Radio Takeover on Thursday at Noon! Details here…

But, if you just can’t wait until then to get a taste of the new album, here you go!

Click here for a FREE DOWNLOAD of ‘Watch This’ featuring Duff & Dave Grohl!

The Saison style was originally brewed in the Winter months to be enjoyed the following Summer by field workers.  It’s light body and fruitiness made it refreshing on hot, sweaty days and the relatively low alcohol content made sure that the workers didn’t get to shit-faced at lunch.  The Saison Vielle Provision Dupont has all of those qualities.  It pours a bright golden with a thick, plentiful head.  The aroma from the goblet was fruity with a hint of vanilla and citrus.  The same could be said for the first taste with a hop finish.  There was also a hint of coriander.  Combine that with a light body and high carbonation and you have a very refreshing drinkable beer.  Have some ready for hot days by the grill.

I am a huge fan of Dogfish Head Brewery, especially for their intrepid pursuit of the extreme.  It’s not always to my taste, but you have to give it to them for pushing the envelope.  Their Pangea is a malt beverage brewed with crystallized ginger. Named so because they take ingredients from each continent(water from Antarctica, rice from Asia, European yeast to name a few)  Like most Dogfish Head brews, the aroma and taste are quite complex.  It poured a copper color with a foamy off-white head with an flowery hop and ginger nose.  The first sip was not an overpowering ginger experience as expected.  The ginger was subtle combined with a sweet creamy feel and hints of spice, cinnamon and clove.  A hop and caramel taste lingered at the finish.  It doesn’t slap me out of my boots like the 120 Minute or the Forte, but I would definitely drink more.

Stoners everywhere are anxiously awaiting April 20th, no… Not just because it’s 4/20, but because that’s the day that we get the new Cypress Hill album Rise Up!

I’m sure that you’ve heard us play the title track featuring Tom Morello on guitar, but if you want a better idea of what the entire album is going to be like…

Check out this video!

Let me know what you think!

Threats of violence, hoping for a slow death, breaking windows, and racial slurs.  This is no way for the citizens of the greatest Democracy on the planet to act. Here’s a lesson from the Masters:

Tom Hanks is going from ‘HBO’s The Pacific’ to Green Day’s “American Idiot”?

It looks that way!

What do yout think? Would you go and see this?

From deadline.com

EXCLUSIVE: The Green Day-fueled American Idiot doesn’t bow on Broadway bow until April 20. Already, talks are underway with Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman to turn the musical into a feature film. American Idiot uses the songs of punk band Green Day to tell the coming of age story of three small-town guys. One joins the armed forces, another moves to the city and gets mired in a drug habit, the third stays home and gets his girlfriend pregnant. There is little dialogue beyond the Green Day tunes. The musical is directed by Spring Awakening’s Michael Mayer, the music supervisor is Tom Kitt and Green Day and its lead singer/songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong were very involved. The musical first opened at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman producing, and it begins previews this week at the St. James Theatre.

Playtone’s last stage-to-screen transfer was the Abba musical Mamma Mia! Critics might not have loved it, but audiences sure did. The film grossed $610 million worldwide, becoming one of the biggest hits in Universal Pictures history. Hanks and Goetzman have a first-look deal at Universal, but the producers will sew up the movie rights before giving the studio first crack, I hear. They just set up Larry Crowne at Universal, with Hanks directing and starring with Julia Roberts.

Universal, which keeps threatening to start movement on a feature version of the stage hit Wicked, is on a faster track with In The Heights, hiring Kenny Ortega to direct a movie version that is expected to star the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as the bodega owner who plans to use a lottery windfall to retire on a beach in the Dominican Republic. New Line is turning the Broadway musical Rock of Ages into a film, with Chris D’Arienzo adapting his book into a script and directing a coming of age story that is homage to hair band anthems.

All of this indicates that the movie musical’s heart is still beating, despite the box office disappointment of Nine last year.