Zum Stammtisch

Ah Zum's. Officially my second favorite restaurant. The food is vastly superior to my number one pick, Croxley's . the only thing keeping Zum's back is is limited beer selection. Ah well, I truly go there for a food anyway. It must be experienced.

it's not just the food and decor. It has a local neighborhood feel to it. I went yesterday with some people from work. I got there first thanks to my exceptional driving skills, my intimate knowledge of the Forest Hills area, and blind luck. Three minutes later and I would have been stuck on the Inter-Boro thanks to a semi. So I get in the bar and order a Spaten Oktoberfest. I sat in the corner of the bar and watched. Mostly old guys crowed around a TV watching the England/Portugal game. I watched a scene out of Cheers. As people spilled into the place, the 5 guys watching TV yelled out the newcomers name. Usually there was a nickname attached. Most people at the bar had a nickname.

my only complaint would stem from a perceived mistrust of strangers. I've been there before but not with and frequency. When I sat at the bar, the bartender ignored me. Blatantly. Our eyes me, I lifted my right hand (with a $20 in it) which is the universal sign for serve me a drink, and he just stayed at the other end. 4 minutes later, he wandered over because he had to get some Jaeger, so he took me order. when my friend arrived, I noticed the stink-eye they received from the bar crowd.

But hey, it's a local bar. It's their bar. I don't care. The restaurant part is populated by nice people.

Go there!

The Second Coming

I'm sick of people saying that Johnson's and Berg's deaths are unique aberrations to Islamic terrorists. These beheadings were in retalation for the US's invasion of Iraq. How do they explain the 6 US citizens executed in the same fashion in the Philippines? They can't of course. The truth is, the current Jihad against the West and Christianity has been smoldering for decades in dozens of conflicts around the world.

And what have we done? Strike at the enemy? Yes and no. Afghanistan was a needed step. Iraq, I have issues with. In the war on terror, there were several countries higher on the list. But now that we've completed that task, is the war going to continue? Are we going to strike at Al Quida's strongholds? No. Self-hatred of America and defeatism have ground our momentum to a halt. But our enemies aren't holding back. We've distrupted their networks, and I truly think they were given to pause by our response to 9-11-01. It was a dramatic departure from previous administrations. However, Al Quida still has resolve where as the US has lost it's nerve.

I'm reminded of Yeats.

Things fall apart
The center cannot hold
And a blood dimmed tide
Is loosed upon the world

Nothing is sacred
The ceremony sinks
Innocence is drowned
In anarchy
The best lack conviction
Given some time to think
And the worst are full of passion
Without mercy

Surely some revelation is at hand
Surely it's the second coming
And wrath has finally taken form
For what is this rough beast
Its hour come at last
Slouching towards Bethlehem to be born

An interesting little experiment on Obedience.

http://www.new-life.net/milgram.htm

beer

This came up the other day as it so often does; Best Beers. What's the best beer? Well, I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert. An afictionado if you will. So right here is Tom's top ten beer list:



1) A tie Maredsous 8 and Sam Adam's Fezziwig(seasonal)
2) Spaten Optimator
3) Paulander Hefe-Weizen
4) Sam Adam's Oktoberfest
5) New Castle Brown Ale
6) Blue Moon
7) Smithwick's
8) Hoegaarden
9) Bass Ale
10)Kirin Ichiban