Wow, week 8 already. Time flies when you're driving to West Lafayette tomorrow. We're stopping at this place called "The Beef House." Here's a sample, www.beefhouserolls.com. I'm thinking the Hungry Heifer. Mmmmmm.
I've never really done West Lafayette. We've usually stayed overnight in Danville. Do the initials O-T-B mean anything to anyone?
This will be new. But what can you learn about a town when you have, what, eight hours of free time to spend, with six of those being sleeping hours.
I'm guessing an eight-hour nap will be in order after the Beef House. I'll have some sort of beef boomer deal that'll put me out until the big bass drum rolls into Ross-Ade.
Should be a nice day to tailgate. Anywhere is better than here and the SCUBA gear you would need.
From the iPod (the jukebox should be a little more upbeat after last week, huh folks?):
"Hold on Hope" -- Guided by Voices. "Invitation to the last dance. Then it's time to leave. That's the price we pay when we deceit." Not real big on this GBV song, but your girlfriend will like it.
"Road to Joy" -- Bright Eyes. "So I'm drinking, breathing, writing, singing, every day I'm on the clock." Not a lot of joy in this puppy, I just searched and there it was. It seemed like a good idea. There might be a little anthem in it.
"Four Winds" -- Bright Eyes. "They're poring over Sanskrit on the Ivy League moons, while shadows lengthen in the sun." I guess this means don't study. Or at least don't major in a 1,500-year-old dead language. I really like this song. You'll embrace the fiddle again.
"It's Hard to be a Saint in the City" -- Bruce Springsteen. "I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova. I could walk like Brando right into the sun, then dance just like a Casanova." The columnist, who is, in fact, blue and weathered, is breaking from the pack and going to see Bruce in Chicago on Sunday night. I'm jealous, but I can't complain. Saw Wilco last Sunday in IC. Fantastic.
"The Thanks I Get" -- Wilco. "Is that the thanks I get for loving you? Is that the thanks I get for telling you the truth? . . . You say you want to communicate, but you won't hear what I say." This is the one from the Volkswagen commercials. There was a day when I would've cried sellout, but I've been dropping Benz Beverage Depot's name here for months hoping for such endorsement riches. So, there, I'm a sellout too. (It hasn't happened. They don't know who I am. I'm pretty sure this whole deal here is just Greg and me and I'm cool with that. BTW, I owe Greg a six pack of his choice. Blues 3, Blackhawks 1. Don't bet with your heart, I know, I know.)
Libation
Superfly I.P.A. -- Brewed by Oaken Barrel Brewing Company in Greenwood, Ind. (hometown of Iowa linebacker A.J. Edds), this sounds like a nice, hoppy amber. Here's what "BEERchitect" wrote about it on BeerAdvocate: "Bittered for effect, but without that 'bite' in the back of the throat. Sweetly pronounced alcohol doesn't create a drying sensation, rather lands a juicy moistness to the mouth. Very easy drinking for such large hop flavor. Good job Oaken Barrel!"
Of course, the Old Oaken Bucket goes to the winner of Indiana-Purdue. So, now you know they have actual uses for old oaken things in Indiana.