Halloween Playlist

A Halloween playlist would not be complete without these classics:
 
"Purple People Eater"-Various Artists
"Ghostbusters"-Ray Parker Jr.
"Monster Mash"-Various Artists
"Thriller"-Michael Jackson
 
But here are some other songs to get you in the SPIRIT:
 
"Halloween" - Dead Kennedys
"Halloween" - Helloween
"Spooky" - Dusty Springfield or Clasics IV
"I Want Candy" - The Bouncing Souls
"Put a Spell On You" - CCR
"Witchy Woman" - The Eagles
"Live Forever" - Oasis
"Zombie" - The Cranberries
"Children of The Grave" - Black Sabbath
"Fear of The Dark" - Iron Maidien
"Running With The Devil" - Van Halen
"Zombie Brain Train" - The Turnbucklers
"Werewolves of London" - Warren Zebon
"Ghostriders in The Sky" - Johnny Cash
"Frankenstein" - Clutch
"Zombie Crawl" - Somerville Town Drunks
There are a couple bands dedicated to the day or just pure evilness, so just about any song would work. Here are a few of my favorites:
 
"Halloween", Halloween II", "Monster Mash"-The Misfits
"Feed My Frankenstein", "Teenage Frankenstein", "Welcome To My Nightmare"-Alice Cooper
"Diary of a Madman", "6 Feet Deep", "Deathtrap"-Gravediggaz

And of course anything from Vampire Weekend, Rob Zombie, White Zombie, The Zombies and EVERYTHING from The Zombeatles.

Here's a couple more from the MurderingMixtapeMonsterMandy

"Evil Ways" - Santana 

"Don't Fear the Reaper" - Blue Oyster Cult - who needs more cowbell? I DO!

"The Freaks Come Out At Night" - Whodini

"Centerfold" - J. Geils Band or Against All Authority - ok so it's not such a halloween song, but it's sure to please all those slutty angels.

"Devil with the Blue Dress On" - Shorty Long - Ditto for the slutty devils.

"The Nurse" - The Slackers - You get it by now right?

"Murder was the Case" Snoop Doggy Dogg

"The Cool" - Lupe Fiasco

"Ghost Town" - The Specials

"Lucifer" - Jay-Z

"How I Could Just Kill a Man"  - Cypress Hill - Has this been used in a horror movie? cause it should be

"Vampire" Antsy Pants

"F.V.K. (Fearless Vampire Killers)" 

In Loving Memory: Joey Kohut

It’s been a couple of weeks since Eddie “The Editor” Chops contacted me to let me know La Palabra was going back into print, and that I could write about anything I wanted to. I was psyched to hear it and excited at the prospect of another dozen or so people trying to decipher my ramblings. But here we are less than a week before the deadline, and I’ve got nothing. I’ve been having trouble getting ambitious about much of anything as of late. For those of you who don’t know my cousin, former band mate and longtime best friend Joey Kohut died in early June during the zine’s sabbatical. His years of alcohol abuse had caused him to have seizures on a pretty regular basis that were eventually fatal. Now I’m not here to demonize alcohol (it’d be career suicide in a zine whose board of directors is largely comprised of a group called The Somerville Town Drunks) I’m here to point out that there’s really something to the theory of drinking being a serious problem when you do it alone too often. Those who knew Joey prior to his reclusive last few years knew a fun loving, confident, dynamic little imp of a man who while very much an instigator would happily offer whatever assistance he could to friends and strangers alike. He threw all of himself into everything he did. Sadly that last part remained very true with his drinking. It began as with many of our peers in high school as a rebellious thing. In the beginning the goal is to get as drunk as possible as fast as possible preferably for as little money as possible. Eventually the connoisseurs learn what they like and what they don’t and only go with the former. As crazy as it sounds they might even moderate their intake and savor things. But Joey was always “all or nothing” and looked at such things as half-assing it. In many facets of his life this mindset was admirable, but when pertaining to his love of straight vodka it was not conducive to longevity. When he and I first became enthralled with punk rock and ska followed very shortly by learning about the existence of the local scene it provided us with all of the excitement and catharsis we needed. Our fascinations with the genre and the culture seemed to be focused on different features of it. While I was more into the camaraderie and the actual creative output Joey seemed much more interested in the chaos and the rebellion. Binge drinking was definitely idealized among the factions who focused more on that particular element of things. When the passions for the music and culture were combined with the drinking Joey’s outlook on attending shows gradually shifted. They started out being expressly about the music. Shortly after that it remained mostly about that with the added incentive of being able to get drunk before, during or after the show. Somewhere a little further in those last two parts were reversed and shows became a place to drink with the added incentive of seeing bands. Not much longer after that he decided he’d cut out the show part entirely and just focus on the drinking. The money spent on gas and the cover charge seemed better suited for purchasing alcohol and holing up in his room. Readers if you take anything from this please avoid that path. Everybody’s got their vices, and that’s fine, but don’t live solely to feed said addiction. I was told this was a double issue, and that I could contribute two articles if I saw fit. This more melancholy offering was to mourn the death of my cousin by circumstance and friend by choice while the second one is about celebrating his life.

Joseph Walter Kohut was born January 25, 1983 in Flagstaff, Arizona. I was born six months prior. My mother and I flew out to visit my newborn cousin and his parents, but for obvious reasons I don’t remember this trip. Somewhere shortly after this they all moved back to Jersey where both of their families lived. Many of my earliest memories of family outside of my parents are of bonding with the cousin of mine I was closest in age with at our grandfather’s house. However since we were both only children and not accustomed to having to share anything be it toys or attention we didn’t much care for each other in these earlier years and would often fight. I don’t remember when Joey’s parents divorced, but it was definitely sometime prior to his being old enough to attend school. After that my parents always tried to include him in things we did as a family and in time we grew closer. As my father would make me mixtapes of songs he thought I’d enjoy from his records I’d copy them for Joey, so we bonded predominantly over music since well before either of us took up an instrument, but once I got my first guitar and he quickly followed suit we became pretty much inseparable. We’d each boast at our respective middle schools to our classmates about the band we were in with our awesome cousin despite minor details like not even knowing basic chords yet or not having a drummer. In the years that followed we got better and had been in actual full bands together from 1996-2008. Somewhere closer to the beginning of that time we became aware of the local punk and ska scene and quickly switched over from ripping off Nirvana style riffs to trying our damndest to write punk rock. Shortly after the turn of the century he realized he was much better at drums than guitar. For as close as we were and for all the common interests we had we were also very different. Joey was fearless and indestructible when it came to anything on wheels. From what I’ve heard from mutual friends of ours that went to school with him he also didn’t seem to be messed with much as he seemed to know from much earlier on not to show any sort of reaction to douchebags trying to get a rise out of him. He also from his youngest days on through his last years never grew out of his love for any toy that transformed from one thing to another, anything pertaining to martial arts, horror movies or weapons. In 1998 he was the first of us to chop the long grunge hair we both had into a mohawk. He shaved my first one in for me the following year. He also lacked any sort of fear/level of caution for handling animals domestic or otherwise. Part of me always laughs thinking of how he should have parlayed that into a career as one of those animal experts you see on talk shows just without the knowledge they exhibit just him being like “umm yeah this is an alligator. They hate when you taunt them like this”. One of an infinite amount of fond memories I have of him involves a trip we took to Merrill Park nearby his house where we often grew up killing time looking at the various animals. One of the small turkeys got loose, and he just scooped it up without any hesitation and walked around carrying it for a while. The turkey seemed oddly at ease with this. Joey’s summation “yeah he’s chill. He’s just like “hey what’s up? I’m a turkey”. After he returned the bird to the proper side of its enclosure he wanted to playfight. He fancied himself a master of several forms of martial arts despite having only seen movies as opposed to taking any kind of formal lessons. His usual go-to style was drunken fist as he’d seen Jackie Chan’s “Legend Of Drunken Master” a few dozen times too many. I, who actually had taken karate for a few years from elementary school into my early teens, would humor him and impress people watching by being surprisingly nimble and flexible for a fat guy. This particular bout however ended with me splitting my pants when trying to perform some kind of head level kick. He was both a blood relative and my best friend, and the world will forever be a much lamer place without him. IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOSEPH KOHUT 1983-2011.

Beer Taglines

I love beer taglines.  These are some of my favorites:

Miller High Life - "The Champagne of (Bottled) Beers"

New Castle - "The One and Only Brown Ale"

Budweiser - "The King of Beers", "This Buds For You"

Ballatine Ale - "America's Largest Selling Ale"

Colt 45 - "Works Every Time"

Schaefer - "Schaefer is The One Beer to Have When You're Having More Then One"

Schlitz - The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous"

Mickey's - "Fine Malt Liquor"

Schmidt's - "The Beer That Grew With The Great Northwest"

Milwaukee's Best - "Classic Taste at it's Best"

Golden Anniversary - "A Great American Beer"

Hamm's - "From The Land of Sky Blue Waters"

Miller Lite - "Tastes Great, Less Filling"

Old Milwaukee - "It Doesn't Get Any Better Then This!" 

Miller - "It's Miller Time"

Hot Chick Movie Review

Recently I saw the movies Sucker Punch and Whip It, 2 movies my girlfriend and I wanted to see.  I was excited about both of the movies because the casts were loaded with a bunch of hot actresses so how bad could they really be, right?  I mean I've sat though Jawbreaker a couple of time just to watch Rose McGowand and that Gayheart girl, just because I think they're hot.  So if these movies have any plot they shouldn't be so bad.  My opinion of these 2 movies could not have been more different though.  This is what I though of these flicks:

Whip It - Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page and Juliette Lewis are hot enough to make just about any movie watchable.  Throw in Eve, the drunk chick from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Maeby from Arrested Development( What can I say I like her freckles), and a career stunt girl(she doubled for Uma in Kill Bill) and you got yourself a cast.  I'm not gonna lie, I really liked this movie.  The girls all got funny names, like Smashley Simpson from the Hurl Scouts squad and Eva Destruction from the Holy Rollers.  Jimmy Fallon and Daniel Stern (from Home Alone) are also good, plus, I found out that there's a 3rd Wilson brother and he's even funny in it.  It's also got a decent plot, pretty good soundtrack and it's kinda a girl power flick so your girl will probably even like it.  Even the anoying chick from SNL that I can't stand (Kristen Wiig) isn't anoying.  This movie is definatly worth a rental and the time it takes to watch the movie.

Sucker Punch - This movie ISN'T even worth a $1 Redbox rental or the time it takes to sit though it.  Sucker Punch?  That's what this movie did to me.  I remember the comercials and it looked like some blonde chick dressed like a school girl fucking shit up with swords and guns and shit.  I can sit thru 2 hours of that, well,  at least that's what I thought.  The fight scenes are lame and the plot makes no sense.  I've seen cartoons with a more sensical plot.  This movie was a XXX sex scene away from being a porn.  Actually I think most porn I've watched has had better plot lines and acting.  Oh yeah, the acting is terrible also.  Real terrible.  Even hot ass Carla Cugino, who plays some old Russian bag, looks like an idiot in this flick.  Corky from Life Goes On could have directed a better movie.  The cast of girls is really hot, but if you wanna watch something with hot chicks that makes no sense I suggest your local Spanish station.  Don't see this movie. 

Issue #8 Kid Nichols Interview

Bob-Sings/Guitars

Casey-Drums

Kyle-Bass/Sings

Greg-Guitar

LP: Lets start with the standard band interview questions - How did you guys meet, how long you been around, where are you from?

B: I will take the lead on this one

G: Bob will take everyone

B: I'll take the lead and let Greg finnish.  Well me and him (Greg) were in a band together that wasn't very good.  We stopped playing after a while and we asked Kyle, who we knew through a friends band, to play bass and got Casey, Greg's friend to play drums.  Now you guys fill in the gaps.

G: Me and Bob have been jamming in one way or another since we were fifteen, and Me and Kyle were in a cover band for shits and giggles for awhile.

LP: So you guys are all from the same town?

Everyone: Middletown.

LP: So do you guys know Knowshon Moreno?  Is that your boy?

B: He went to high school with my wife's sister.  They were in the same grade.  He's actually a really nice guy.

LP: So you've known each other for awhile and your all from Middletown, How long has Kid Nichols been around?

G: About a year, about a year this month.

K:Me and Greg were in a cover band for like 3 years playing bars and Casey used to come out an see us and we started talking about old punk albums and we started learning them and Greg contacted Bob

B: And was telling them that I missed being in a band and we should get together and make music

K: I did both (cover band & Kid Nichols) for a while and then just backed away from the cover band completely

B: Yeah, you were doing like a 1/3 of one and 3/4 of the other (Eds note- nice math)

K: The cover band just stopped being fun

LP: So I saw you guys opened for TSOL and Shot Baker at Santos Party House- How did that happen?  How sore are you knees from that one?

B: Greg's still cleaning out his mouth in that one.  Very, very, very soft hands.

LP: Not Andy Diamond soft though

B: No his are like babies hands

LP: And very white teeth

B: And a very well manicured moustash.  I must say Andy knows how to take care of himself.

G: I just had an email communication with the dudes from Rocks Off when they were booking the Souls booze cruise and just keep in touch through emails.  I asked him did he have any shows and he said how bout TSOL at Santos.  What was I gonna say "No we don't wanna play with TSOL".  It actually wasn't that hard getting on that show to be completely honest.

B: That was a strange day because I was the first to get there and I didn't know who worked there or who booked the show or anything, so I just walked in with me gear and said to someone "Hi, I'm from Kid Nichols" and the dude was like "Hi, I'm from TSOL" and I'm just like "You sure are, you sure are." It was weird cuz he didn't know who to talk to either.  Those guys were real cool though.

K: They weren't all holier then thou.  They hung out with us for awhile telling stories.  Their tame stories destroy our craziest ones. 

LP: Let's talk about where the name Kid Nichols came from?

B: Me and Greg, when he would be at work and I would be home on the computer, would trade off ridiculous statistics on baseballreference.com and would basically send each other links.  Check out Old Hoss Radbourn or 3 Finger Brown, and Kid Nichols was just one of the guys.  When it came to naming the band I thought it kinda sounded rad.  Me and Greg were dead set on the name but were hesitent to bring up to the other guys.

K:  At first I was thinking Nickels.  Like dimes and nickels.  I was like your not talking about the turn of the century baseball player are you?  It's a rad name.  Why wouldn't I want to be in a band named Kid Nichols.

B: And then Casey was like "sure, whatever"

LP: Drummers never seem to give a shit about anything band related.  Are you a typical drummer or do you actually care what happens?

B: He's the the producer of the band.  He's definatley not the not give a shit drummer.  He gives a lot of shit.

K: The second song we wrote was his song.

C: I stay up till 4 in the mourning cutting up and mixing practices, producing songs and sending out to these guys.

B: It's not just a clever name he IS actually our producer.  He's producing the record.

K: Every practice we have he spends time setting up stuff to record and cuts the stuff up and tells us what should be where. It's rad.

C: Besides that I actually produce the songs that are gonna be on the record.  Recording practice is not much producing.

LP: Should we talk about the album?  Do you wanna talk about the album?  We should talk about the album?

B: Sure we can talk about the album.  We recorded drums, guitar, and bass at the Boombox studios in very very ass south Jersey with our boy Donnie Switchblade, of The Rumblers, and we're doing the vocals with Casey here.

C: Yeah I'm just enginering  the vocals and adding other shit, so right now were still building some of the songs with vocals and harmonies and melodies.  But it's good that these guys are in town.  A couple of nights a week we try shit.  Just hum something, does it fit, doe it work?  Let's try it.  Some shit you like, some shit you don't.

LP: So when can we expect this album to be done?

B: Gun to my head I'd say September.  Well if all goes right.

C: I don't wanna put a date on it.

G: September or October.

LP: I won't print a month.  How about I say a Fall release.

B: Autumn.  A quarter 4 release.  We don't even have a name yet.

LP: So who are the baseball fans in the band?

Everyone: We all are.

B: It's not so much we're fans but stat heads.

LP: So whose your team?

B: (While wearing a Red Sox hat) Mets

G: You're only wearing it to get a rise outta Yankee fans

B: So It would be like you wearing a Braves hat to get a rise outta me

G: Well I wouldn't do it

B: I don't care if you do it.  It wouldn't bother me

G: I'm a Yankee fan, that's why I wouldn't do it

K: Yankees

C: Mets

LP: Anything else you guys wanna say?

G: We're playing the Trash Bar September 1st

K: Facebook.com/kidnichols

LP: Oh shut up.  You didn't just plug your Facebook page.  Wanna plug your Tumblr while you're at it (http://kidnichols.tumblr.com)?

B: What team did Kid Nichols play for Greg?

G: I think the Boston Beaneaters or something

LP: Boston Beaneaters are correct.  They were the Original Atlanta Braves (Kid Nichols picture and retired number are on display on the outfield wall at Turner Field in Atlanta)

G: Good cuz if it were the Red Sox then Kid Nichols would not be the name of the band 

B: Greg won't eat Boston Baked Beans

K: He's a Manhattan Clam Chowder guy

http://twitter.com/kidnichols

http://kidnichols.wordpress.com

http://bandspace.com/kidnichols

Now The Water's Boiling

Chops' Chickpeas

super easy snack or side dish.  Makes 3.5 servings

1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans

1 packet of sazon

1/4 cup peppers (red, green or whatever color you want)

crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all the ingredients (except crushed pepper)in a pot (or pan), cook for about 10 minutes, add pepper flakes on top and serve.

JC Heights Liquor Store review

I live within walking distance of about 15 liquor stores.  These are my favorites:

Lee's Liquors(Congress and New York)- This is the closest to my apartment and the one I visit the most.  Good selection of 1/2 pints, $2.50 Olde English 40's(cheapest in the neighborhood), and a bunch of different tallboys.  But the best thing about this place is their buy a bottle of wine and get a tie for 10 cents promotion.  That's right, when you walk in you see tons of ties around the bottles of wine.  I don't get it but it makes me laugh every time.

Ace(Congress and Cambridge)- Ace is the place.  Tons of 1/2 pints(more then I think I've ever seen in a liquor store), Colt 45 and O.E. 22's, and a nice dude behind the counter.  Probably my favorite liquor store in the neighborhood.

Willie's Liquors(Central Ave)- They got Boone's Farm here($4).  That's the only thing I've ever bought here because I gotta pass Lee's and Ace to get here.

The Palisade(Palisade and Hutton)- This is probably the best liquor store in the heights.  Great selection of beer, from cheap shit to lot's of micro brews, 22's, plus it's one of the only liquor stores with a ample selection of actual hard liquor.  Good prices too.  This is the store I go to when my girl wants beer.

Central Ave Wines(Central Ave)- Alright, this one is not really walking distance but it's got 3 things these other stores don't have.  1. A website(Centralavewines.com).  How many liquor stores have one of them.  2.  Billboards.  Yeah that's right, billboard advertisments all over the city.  You know these guys gotta be ballin' with billboard money. 3.  Coupons.  I got to admit, the first time I bough beer with a coupon I was a little embarresed but twelve Coors 24oz tallboys for $9.99 is nothing to be embarresed about.

Not so famous 2 sport athletes

Everyone remembers Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson but do y'all remember these not-as-famous 2 sport athletes.

1. Dave DeBusschere- You should actually remember this dude because he was a two time NBA champion(both with the Knicks) and one of the greatest power forwards of all time(one of the NBA's 50 greatest players and a Hall Of Famer).  But, if you do remember him, you probably don't know that he was a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox.  His baseball statistics weren't quite as good as his basketball ones, 3 wins - 4 losses - 1 complete game (it was a shutout though) - and 1 hit in 22 at bats, in his short (April 1962-September 1963) MLB career.

2. Danny Ainge- Here's a guy you should also remember(or should know because he runs the Boston Celtics right now), but this guy(also a 2 time champion as a player and 1 as a GM, all with the Celtics) had a very forgetable baseball career like Mr. DeBusschere.  Ainge was a utility player for the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting a mediocre .220 with 2 home runs and only 146 hits in 211 games.  He is however the youngest Blue Jay ever to hit a homer at 20 years and 77 days.

3. Brian Jordan- Now this guy is probably remembered more for his baseball career then his secondary profession, patrolling the secondary for the Atlanta Falcons.  As a baseball player he was a respectable .282, 184 homer runs, and 821 RBIs.  I loved this guy because I worked with a Mets fan and this guy KILLED the Mets while he was an Atlanta Brave, and it burned this guy up that it seemed like BJ was up at bat whenever the game was on the line.  BJ was however,  was not just an outfielder.  He was drafted by the Bills in the 7th round of the 1989 draft.  After being cut he was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as a safety(he didn't play for the Braves and the Falcons at the same time like Neon did though).  In only two years he did rack up 5 picks and 4 sacks while working his way through the St. Louis Cardinals system as an outfielder.  Once the Cardinals offered him a bunch of money to play baseball, it ended his football career.

4.  Willie Gault- Now this guy is an American hero.  Not only was he a part of probably the greatest NFL song ever(the Super Bowl Shuffle) he was also an Olympic Athlete.  Willie would have been a two-time Olympian if the US did not boycott the 1980 Winter Games(he was a member of the 4x100 meter relay team), but he did make the 1984 Winter Games(as a bobsledder)  In the NFL is where he made his money while being a pretty good wide receiver and kick/punt returner. 

5. DJ Dozier- Now this guy was not a very good player at either sport, but he did make to majors in both.  As a running back for the Vikings and the Lions he played only 4 seasons compiling 691 yards for 9 TDs.  But DJ's baseball career was even shorter and less prolific.  As an outfielder for the New York Mets he batted a lowly .191 BA with 4 stolen bases, 19 strikeouts and 1 error in the outfield.  The reason why this guy made the list - I was there when he commited that error, that led to runs, and the drunk guy next to me heckled DJ to no end(he kept yelling "Ya can't catch a football OR a baseball!!!)  That's the only reason why I remember him at all. 

Honorable Mention - Julius Peppers - College basketball as a very good Power Forward at UNC and then as a defensive end in the NFL, Kenny Lofton - College basketball as a point guard with Lute Olsen in Arizona and many years in the MLB, Donovan McNabb - Final Four with the Orangemen and a Pro Bowl quarterback, Drew Henson - Topped out in football and baseball at Michigan, but the Yankees AND the Cowboys both wanted him at the same time, Jim Brown - Ask Grandpa and he'll tell ya he was the greatest running back of all time, but, ask anyone who saw him play other sports at Syracuse(basketball, lacrosse and track) and they will tell he was one of the greatest athletes of all time, Jim Thorpe - the greatest athlete of all time.  Olympic Gold Medal winner in the pentathlon and decathlon along with being a professional baseball, football and basketball player.

Pater-Son

The Great Falls of Paterson

Awhile back I read an article entitled "New Jersey's Bucket List" and it was exactly what you would expect it to be - a list of shit to do in New Jersey before you die.  Most of it was either stuff I had no interest in or stuff I've already done.  The one that really got me was number 10 "Visit the Great Falls in Paterson".  I didn't know much about Paterson except 1. It was hood.  I mean the movie Lean On Me was about Paterson's Eastside High School.  2. The Colt revolver was invented there.  That's right, the gun that won the West was invented in a cold, hard industrial city right in our backyard.  3. They had falls.  Great ones apparently.  Well leave it to the boardem of unemployment and the suggestion of a magazine and next thing you know I'm on Rt. 80 following signs for downtown Paterson one day to check it out.  When I got off the exit I realized some stuff.  Number 1 - I was correct about number 1, it WAS hood(at least hood looking, a Colt probably would've calmed my nerves) and Number 2 - there are falls and they're great.  I parked in the lot at 65 McBride Ave and checked out the statues, plaques and monuments (you can actually ring the bell, you'll see) they have describing the Falls and the factories that helped shape New Jersey's third largest city.  Then walk across the street to the foot bridge that crosses right over the falls.  From here you can see the 77 foot drop into the Passaic River and get a good look at the mills that have powered Paterson since 1793. Continue across the bridge and down the path and you'll find a set of stairs that will give you a different view of the falls.  After that you can go to Libby's (98 McBride Ave), one of the state's many legendary Hot Dog joints.  That's it, there doesn't seem like a lot of things to do in Paterson and if there are I didn't want to find em.  But the Falls are great and I agree with the author of the article that it should be on everyone's New Jersey bucket list.  Two suggestions I have are go during the day and don't go alone.  

The Jersey Jumper

Sam Patch came to Paterson to work in one of the many factories that surrounded the Falls in his early twenties.  One day he decided he would jump from rocky cliffs into the turbulent waters below, all 77 ft of it.  On Sept. 30, 1827 a large crowd gathered to see the new Chasm Bridge open and Sam took the leap and lived to tell about it(he actually made the jump several times).  He later was quoted by the papers as saying "There's no mistake in Sam Patch".  The Jersey Jumper was born.  Almost a year later he jumped from a mast of a ship that was 90 ft high into the Hudson for a huge crowd gathered on the Hoboken waterfront.  Sam gained fame and fortune jumping from bridges and cliffs, and in 1829 made his most famous leap - over Niagara Falls.  This guy jumped Niagara Falls.  That's pretty badass.  His next stunt didn't end so well though. He tried his luck by jumping the 125 ft high cliffs of the Genesee River (Rochester, NY) and died when, according to an autopsy, he suffered a ruptured blood vessel caused by the cold water.  That's how the Jersey Jumper's life ended but his legacy will live on forever.

Now The Water's Boiling

Chop's Chicken Chile Recipe
There’s really nothing special about this chili recipe but when I made it a few weeks ago it tasted truly amazing.  It’s a slow cook recipe so I hope you got some time on your hands, but it’s super easy and totally worth it.  Feeds 4 (or 2 stoners).   

Ingredients

About 1 pound of chicken breast

1 can of diced tomatoes (I use Rotel or something with green chilies in it)

1 can of black beans

1 packet of chili seasoning (Lawry’s, McCormick’s or something like that)

¼ - ¾ cup of diced red and green peppers

¼ - ¾ cup of corn (I use frozen, but canned work also)

Optional- Shredded cheese and/or sour cream

1.  Combine everything (except peppers and corn) in a pot, preferably a crock pot, and set it to low and let it sit for about six hours.   Check on it every hour or so, stirring it when you check.

2.  After the chicken breaks apart by stirring it, add the peppers and corn.  Cook about another hour.

3.  Serve with shredded cheese or sour cream, or both.

4.  Crack a beer and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

If your chili is to dry add a little chicken stock.  If it’s a little runny, add some flour to thicken it up.

You know you're from Jersey if...

I’ve seen about a thousand of these lists but they still make me laugh.  These are some things I haven’t seen on one of these lists yet.

You know you’re from Jersey if…

-You refer to Bob Seger as the “poor man’s” Bruce Springsteen

-You’ve been to the places in Kevin Smith movies

-You can name the one bad pizza place in your county

-You pronounce Newark as one syllable, not NEW-ARK like how those idiots from Delaware say it

-You criticize where everyone else is from

-You don’t really know what grinders, heroes, po boys or hoagies (beside Hoagie Hut) are, but you could pick a Tastee’s sub out of a lineup

-You know no one farted, that’s just the way Elizabeth smells

-You’ve been getting wasted in Seaside since the night of your senior prom, not just the last 2 summers like some people

-You actually like the Nets

-You curse a lot but don’t give a shit about it

-You don’t mind traffic circles and think they’re actually kind of a good idea

-You don’t eat at chain Italian restaurants

-You consider “Boardwalk” food a food group

-You know that if it smells like Bayonne…well, if you’re from Jersey you know the rest

Issue #6 Love/Hate

LOVE:

1.The Oakland Atletics, 2.New Jersey, 3.the movie Pulp Fiction, 4.90’s hip hop, 5.big asses, 6.the songs “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Break My Stride”, 7.Latin food, 8.not texting, 9.porn ,10.The Beach Boys, 11.being lazy on Sundays, 12.Timberland boots, 13.HJ’s, 14.80’s pop music, 15.Robert Redford movies, 16.Redman, 17.rodizio and sangria, 18.passing out wasted drunk, 19.whiz wit-out cheesesteaks, 20.St. Ann’s Festa, 21.making out like teenagers, 22.”this one’s on the house” drinks, 23.ska for people who hate ska, 24.cursing, 25.cooking, 26.the phrase “off the chain”, 27.the book A Clockwork Orange, 28.a cup of tea w/ a shot of Jameson, 29.thermals, 30. The Simpsons, 31. Italian food in the Northeast

HATE:

1.mayo, 2.people who don’t clean the snow off their car, 3.the song “Drop It Like It’s Hot”, 4.The Red Hot Chili Peppers, 5.last call, 6.beershits, 7.Phil Collins, 8.shaving, 9.having to go to work, 10.tricked out cars, 11.Nicolas Cage, 12.eating healthy, 13.the comic strip The Family Circus, 14.the Rutgers footbal program, 15.paying for parking, 16.raking leaves, 17.banana candy, 18.that “what up with that” skit on SNL, 19.Lil Wayne, 20.wearing my seatbelt, 21.people who wear beanies in the summertime, 22.J.D. Salinger books, 23.Rt 78, 24.mushrooms, 25.cleaning up after cooking, 26.constant complainers, 27.swagger jackers, 28.exercising, 29.TNS on crew neck shirts, 30.people with coffee breath, 31. Italian food anywhere but the Northeast

2011 MLB Predictions

It's opening day for the 2011 baseball season today and here are my predictions:

AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Oakland Athletics
AL Wild card: New York Yankees
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzales
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: Colorado Rockies
NL Wild Card: Atlanta Braves
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Zack Greinke

World Series: Oakland over Philadelphia

The end?

Looks like Sports Illustrated is a fan of La Palabra's work.

Why me, why me?

This is a move that I think one day might land this guy in the Alco-Hall of Fame

Alco-Hall of Fame

Some people never drink a drop.  Some drink only occasionally.  Some others drink often, and there’s a few that drink constantly.  But even fewer live alcohol.  These man below changed alcohol.  The three men Jasper, Adolphus and John changed the way alcohol was made, advertised, transported and ultimately consumed.  Without these men, Mickey, Keith and Andre might not be here today.  But these three men on the right belong here also.  They showed that you could be a true master of your profession and be drunk off your ass most of the time.  All three of these men are Hall of Famer’s in their respected craft and now are being honored once again.  Without any more hesitation, I present to you:

The Inaugural Class of the Alco-Hall of Fame

Jasper Newton Daniel-“Jack” b.1850-d.1911

He learned how to make whiskey from a Lutheran Minister at the age of 10 and, at age 11, ran whiskey to soldiers as far south as Huntsville, AL (From Lynchburg, TN).   At 13, he took over the business from the minister and at 16 was making quite a living distilling whiskey.  Was one of the first in the US to age whiskey and worked tirelessly to improve the taste and character of his whiskey.  Never a stranger to wacky promotions, he advertised his whiskey through crazy promotions, hot air balloons, and even the Jack Daniel’s Original Silver Cornet Band.  All of it paid off in making Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey one of the most recognizable labels in the alcohol world.  The whiskey is a 7 time gold medal winner.

 Adolphus Busch-b.1839-d.1913

He was born into the business as his parents worked in winery and brewery supplies.  At age 17 married into the Anheuser family.  When his father died he inherited some money and used it to start a wholesale brewer’s supply store.  Four years later he bought into Eberhard Anheuser’s brewery.    Sometime in the early 1870’s he started pasteurizing his beer and by the middle 1870’s and early 1880’s he developed a system of artificial refrigeration, refrigerated railcars, and rail side ice houses.  He turned Budweiser (introduced in 1876) into the first national beer (before that beer was a very local thing, not available much more than a couple miles away from the brewery it was made).  Later, he introduced Michelob, America’s first specialty beer, and was an early proponent of bottling beer.  He was also the first in a long line of brewing Busches that includes August Busch IV, who still sits on the board at Bud/InBev.  He basically changed the way beer was sold, bought and consumed.

 John Jameson-“Glorious John Jameson” b.1740-d.1823¹

Although he was born a Scot, he died an Irishman.  He bought the Bow Street Distillery in 1780 and started making his name sake whiskey.  A stickler for the best ingredients, he was known to pay top dollar for the very best and even personally select the barley and casks being used.  He even went one step further in using triple distillation instead of the standard double which was used in Scotland at the time.  Paid his employees top dollar and even drank with the men after work.  He was also known to throw some of Dublin’s best parties at his Bow Street location.  Jameson is now the #1 selling Irish whiskey in the world.

Mickey Mantle- “The Commerce Comet” b.1931-d.1995

Mickey was the most popular player, on the most popular team, playing the most popular sport, in the largest city in the US, and took full advantage of it.  By all accounts he played as hard under the neon lights as he did the stadium lights.  Drinking buddies with Billy Martin, Whitey Ford and many other teammates along with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.  Got into a massive brawl with teammates (including Martin, Ford and Yogi Berra) sticking up for Sammy Davis at The Copacabana after somebody was yelling racial slurs at Sammy.  He later testified in court, under oath, “I was so drunk I don’t know who threw the first punch.”  Checked into the Betty Ford Clinic after he was told “you’re next drink may be your last.”   He received a liver transplant in June 1995, as his original one was damaged by alcohol induced cirrhosis and hep C.  After the transplant he was quoted as saying “if I knew I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myself.”  He died in August later that year.

Keith Moon- “Moon the Loon” b.1935-d.1978

Rock and Roll’s history is full of users and boozers but, Moon stands alone.  Moon, drunk at his 21st birthday party at a Holiday Inn began the celebration by blowing the toilet in his room to pieces with dynamite.  He then allegedly drove a Cadillac into the hotel pool (Moon definitely drove a car into the pool; he says it was a Lincoln Continental though).  Then, On January 4th 1970, Moon was involved in a car-pedestrian death outside the Red Lion pub in England.  While trying to escape hostile patrons from the pub that had begun to attack his Bentley, Moon, drunk, attempted to take control of his car, which in the melee, ran over and killed his friend, driver, and bodyguard Neil Boland.  Moon’s charges were dismissed but still, he did it.  Moon was also in a drinking club with Alice Cooper called “The Hollywood Vampires”.  Friend and fellow drummer Ringo Starr told Moon that if he kept going the way he was he would eventually kill himself. Moon simply replied "Yeah, I know.  Moon finally did kill himself with a lethal dose of booze and pills.

André René Roussimoff- “Andre the Giant” b.1946-1993

I think one thing is certain and un-debate-able, there has never been a bigger drunk then this man.  He was a fan of good beer, whiskey, wine and cognac but when the good stuff wasn’t around the cheap shit would do.  Andre was once rumored to drink 114 beers and then have wine with dinner.  When an anesthesiologist asked him how much hard alcohol it took to get him drunk Andre replied “2 liters of vodka and I start to feel a buzz.”  On top of all that, Andre was always the driver home (and I’m sure no one ever tried taking his keys).

¹ I am upset that I couldn’t find a useable picture of Mr. Jameson for the Hall.  Anytime you search John Jameson and photos you just get back pictures of bottles and Jenna Jameson.  Even on Jameson’s company web site there was not a useable photo.  Oh well, enjoy the photo of the bottle.