In the fall of 2003, I was fortunate enough to find and snag this ‘88 Lachsilber (Salmon Silver) BMW M3 - chassis code E30. I could go on and on about the history of the E30 M3… so I will:

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The new Lamborghini Reventon has been revealed at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show.

It is completely carbon-fiber and produces 650hp. It will cost around $1.4 million.

Take a look at some of the photos.

I assume that this is Lamborghi-.. err.. Volkswagen’s version of the Enzo. But I gotta say, it is the ugliest Lamborghini I have seen since Audi took over.  The nose looks like the beak of a cartoon chicken and the lines are a bit too sharp and rigid for me. But let me clarify, no Lamborghini is or has ever been ugly. The Reventon just doesn’t immediately attract me.

The Murcielago and the Diablo are muscular in appearance but have very fluid lines that designer Walter de Silva brought together beautifully (IMO). But so far, at least from the front, this new Reventon harkens back to the 1980s with Countach’s where you could poke your eye out if you looked at the car from the wrong angle.

What do you think?

 Becherovka is new to me. It is a Czech, herbal-based liqueur that apparently has been around since the early 19th century. It claims to aid digestion.

My girlfriend received it as a gift from her sister’s neighbor(s) who apparently down the stuff like iced tea. Its supposed to be served ice cold and is in the same class of booze as Jagermeister, Absinthe or more potent Schnapps varieties. It’s 76 proof. Here’s the Wiki on it.

I sampled it the first night she brought it home and it is very similar to Jagermeister. It has some sweeter honey notes, very pronounced cinnamon and even a bit of nutmeg. Even though that sounds lovely, I can’t say that I enjoyed it too much. It started clean but finished very harsh and I was barely able to finish the glass (shot; sipped).

But I will say this: it cleared my stomach ache right up! Next time I eat too much or mix too many funky foods together, I’m going straight to the Becherovka because it did the trick. Like my gf’s brother-in-law said: “It tastes like medicine, it oughta work like medicine!” (paraphrasing :))

Have you ever had some of this interesting Czech export? Please share any stories that you can, uh… remember

That’s right. M & T Bank Stadium, specifically its parking lots, in Baltimore, MD has been ranked as the #1 place in the country for tailgating. This, according to an alliance of tailgating experts and a couple of companies that have an interest in such things (KVH Industries and DIRECTV).

This list ranked the following cities by their “tailgating-friendliness”:

1. Baltimore
2. Denver
3. Houston
4. San Diego
5. Cincinnati
6. Miami
7. Tampa
8. Kansas City
9. Buffalo
10. Philadelphia (tied)
10. Phoenix (tied)
12. Washington, D.C.
13. Green Bay
14. Jacksonville
15. Oakland
16. Indianapolis
17. Nashville
18. New York (tied)
18. Pittsburgh (tied)
18. Boston (tied)
21. San Francisco
22. Cleveland
23. Charlotte
24. Los Angeles
25. Minneapolis
26. Dallas
27. Chicago
28. Atlanta
29. New Orleans
30. St. Louis
31. Detroit
32. Seattle

If you’ve ever tailgated at M & T, you have to agree. The fans go all-out and the concrete floods with purple & black. I’ve seen conversion vans completely re-converted into purple Raven-mobiles, grown men dressed in more purple than Prince on a bad day (with feathers!) and I suspect that more beer is consumed in those parking lots than the gas it takes to get there. Quite often there are scantily-clad ladies around as well.

If you haven’t tailgated @ M&T and have no idea how to start, it’s easy:

1. Put on something purple and/or black.
2. If you’re a female, make sure #1 is tight-fitting or attention-grabbing (note: referee uniforms go over very well).
3. Bring a little cash, an empty stomach and as much beer as you can carry in a plastic bag.
4. Get your butt down to the M & T parking lot via Light Rail or carpool or whatever!
5. Follow the smell of great food, pay the chef of your choice about $10 and eat your heart out!
6. Watch (there are usually big screens floating around) or listen (lots of radios blasting) to the game and enjoy!

It’s about time that the Ravens Roost got the credit it deserves!

For a very long time, I found that the music on the radio and in most mainstream channels was formulaic, repetitive and generally insulting to my intelligence. So I ended up turning to the classic rock stations because they at least had artists I could appreciate and respect even though they became way overplayed as well.

Fortunately, thanks to the beauty of “the internets”, I discovered Radio Paradise.   Read more »