Are Dogfish Head's Standards Slipping?

Last night I hit up the Dogfish Head Alehouse for a reason entirely unrelated to my brother's birthday tomorrow... I swear (should I have said spoiler alert? maybe ear muffs?). And since my favorite Dogfish Head key chain bottle opener recently broke (though I haven't had the heart to actually take it off of my key ring yet) I decided that since I was there I'd get a new one.

I headed to the host counter, requested a key chain, noted the $4 pricetag, groaned, but decided to purchase one anyway.

Even though I decided to buy one, when I was in the restaurant I had immediately noticed a difference in quality from my first Dogfish Head key chain and this new one. The new key chain is noticeably lighter and much much thinner than the original one. Check out the comparison side by side:

Exhibit 1: My old Dogfish Head key chain. Well worn, and well loved. The bottom part of the shark's mouth recently bent off, rendering my favorite beverage opening device completely useless.



Exhibit 2: My new Dogfish Head key chain. At first glance it looks comparable (and even shinier) than the old key chain.



Exhibit 3: The side comparison (old opener on the left, new opener on the right). The minute you hold both of the key chains you notice a significant weight and quality difference. And here in this picture you can see how much thinner and flimsier this new key chain is. It's what, a third of the width of the old one?



Exhibit 4: The old and the new. The real and the fraud.



I should have gone with my gut in the store and not purchased such a sub-standard bottle opener. But, with my purchase complete, I tried to give the device the benefit of the doubt, and I tried it out in an effort to open a tasty beverage last night. The result?

UTTER FAILURE.

The lower part of the shark's mouth became immediately scratched and chewed up, but, more importantly, I was unable to open my bottle. You know, not a big deal, except for the fact that that one function is the entire reason this item exists.

What's up Dogfish Head? Is it the economy? A run on whatever metal you used in the original shark bottle openers? In someway an attempt at "going green"?

Or is this an indication that your standards are slipping across the board? Will your hosts now ignore customers and apathetically wave them toward open seating when they enter the restaurant? Will your beers utilize less hops, wane in flavor, and drop in quality? Will people soon respond, when asked if they'd like a Dogfish Head brew, "Nah, I'll just have a Bud Light?"

What is the next step in this slippery slope of diminished quality?

I guess that remains to be seen. My next step on the other hand is clear. I'm going to make my way back to tonight or tomorrow to demand a full refund.

Update: I did indeed return to the Dogfish Head Alehouse and request a refund. And while the quality of the bottle openers may be slipping, the quality of their customer service is not. The members of staff that I spoke with were polite and sympathetic and offered me the option of a replacement bottle opener (though one that won't fit on my key chain) or my $4 back. I opted for the bottle opener, cause it was neat, and probably the easiest solution. It's not a key chain, but it has been traveling around with me in my purse (mainly cause I keep forgetting to take it out). Behold the replacement:

Eat the Rainbow

I know the picture below isn't very good, and I know that it's pretty lame to have two post about your lunch one after another. But! I wanted to show that I am capable of preparing a lunch that consists of more than one color. Look at all the colors in this one! Celery, and pineapple, and kiwi, and strawberry, oh my! Baby steps people, baby steps.

Lunch Fail #2

My lunch is way too orange today:



Along with some yogurt and cookies I have carrots, a cheese stick, and Trader Joe's cheese crunchies. I can't imagine this is really any better than my beige lunch.

Sigh. Gotta work on this...

Fried Green Tomatoes

Last night I enjoyed my first experience with fried green tomatoes!



And these weren't just any fried green tomatoes, these were green tomatoes from the garden, grown and prepared by Chef Scott, and served with a side of pasta and broccoli.



They were AMAZING. They brought together two things I love: garden tomatoes (they always taste better than store bought ones) and fried. And let me tell you, it's a match made in heaven. He battered them lightly, so there was a nice balance of crisp outside and soft, juicy inside. I ate like four before collapsing on the couch holding my belly, but still kind of wanting more.

I sort of helped in the cooking process. Sort of... Last night I went to a local music store and had my cello tuned. Wohoo! And while I was there I bought a book of pop songs arranged for the cello. We're talking songs like "Don't Speak" by Gwen Stefani, "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne, and "She Will be Loved" by Maroon Five. There were also some random, but fun to play songs like "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Ave Maria," "My Heart will go on."

So while Scott chopped, fried, and boiled, I played. And man did it feel good. My fingers found their positions, my vibrato came back, and it felt like I'd only put the cello down for a few weeks (rather than a few years). Don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty rusty. I need to work on my scales and pacing, and my cello needs a few touch-ups as well (new strings wouldn't hurt, and I need to get my bow re-haired). But despite all this it felt good to play, and I look forward to getting back into it, and maybe taking some lessons (maybe even playing in a group?).


The animals in the house seemed fascinated with my playing (which I'm not entirely sure meant it sounded good). Ron (the cat) kept circling around, sniffing my cello and trying to sit next to me. Max (the dog) wasted no time in howling along, which totally cracked me up.

I forsee much more cello playing (and hopefully fried green tomatoes too) in my future.

Then Sings my Soul...

It's been a tough week, and it's only Tuesday.

Sunday night, around 9:30 pm, my Nana (my Dad's mom) passed away. She'd had a stroke about a week before. This loss is made harder I think, by that fact that we so recently lost my Grandma (my Mom's mom), and are still recovering from that.

They were both very special, and very different ladies. My Nana was from the South, and when I heard her speak (she was a woman of few words) she always had a bit of that Southern twang. She raised five children in a small two bedroom house (which she still lived in up until her death, thanks to the care of my Uncle Steve). She was a tall woman, at least in comparison to my Pop-pop (his nickname was "Shorty" to be fair), and a constant uncomplaining caretaker (always making sure everyone was fed before she herself sat down and ate).

While, like I said, she wasn't a big talker, she was quick to smile, and it was always sweet and genuine. Even though she lived a long life, she was 87 when she died, its still hard to lose her.

Yesterday my family spent the day together, enjoying each other's company and support. But last night I spent some hours alone, and realized I was grieving more than I had really acknowledged.

I've recently reclaimed my cello from my parents' house and last night all I wanted to do was play. Unfortunately 4 years of sitting in a basement has made my cello nearly impossible to tune, and I haven't yet taken it to a shop to get it checked out and tuned up (this is on the schedule for this week). So I tuned to the next best option: listening to music. And through my Pandora Duhks station, I came across a collaboration between Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer. The combination of Bela Fleck on the banjo and Edgar Meyer on the bass really grabbed me, and I found myself able to sink into the music and nourish my soul...



Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ~Maya Angelou, Gather Together in My Name

Listenin' to my stories

So I've recently discovered this newfangled media called... podcasts! Okay, just kidding, I'm not that far behind the times. But it has only been recently that I've started downloading them to my iTouch to take them with me on the go. They're great for car trips, metro rides, and other iPod-able moments.

While I've dabbled in numerous NPR podcasts (Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me; Story of the Week; Car Talk; All Things Considered; etc.), podcast columns (Savage Love), and other randomness (Travel with Rick Steeves!), my favorite podcasts are ones that tell stories. And so I thought I'd share.

This American Life
I love This American Life so much that I will take it in any form that I can get it. I stream archived episodes while I do data entry, I went to the movie theater to see the live broadcast of the show, and now I download the podcasts.

I love this show for a myriad of reasons:

1. Ira Glass is wonderful (his voice, his tone, his glasses)
2. The music and formatting is quirky and fun
3. The stories are excellent

It's cliche to say that truth is stranger than fiction, but man oh man is it true in the case of this show. Babies switched at birth, out of control sleep walking, kidnapped kids, seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up.

Other stuff is less ridiculous, and more heartwarming, funny, or poignant. These are a few of my (current) favorites:

1. Break-Up - Thoughts on losing love, and an awesome section where Starlee Kine consults Phil Collins on how to write a break-up song.

2. What I Learned from Television - Which at one point brings together two things I heart: Ira Glass (as mentioned before) and the OC.

3. Classifieds - Exploring the real people behind classified ads. I particularly liked the band bit and the section on people and their dogs.


The Moth
I first heard about The Moth through This American Life, which featured one of their stories (I think it was the one with Bill Clinton's press secretary). The Moth is a "not-for-profit storytelling organization." Their podcasts feature live performances of people telling real stories without written notes.

So far, most of the stories I've heard through The Moth are really funny. They are so good for car trips. I think I like them because they're complete stories told by one person (who is usually the main character in their story) and they last about twenty minutes or so on average. You can listen to some of the stories on The Moth website, or get them through iTunes.



Story Corps
I heard about Story Corps through NPR, which features them on their website and in weekly broadcasts.

I was first drawn to Story Corps cause I thought it was such a cool organization. They have these booths in a couple of cities and a traveling airstream trailer where people can go in with a loved one and record stories and memories. Story Corps has loved ones and friends interview each other (rather than have a stranger doing the interview) because it helps them connect, its an act of love, and it can allow stories to delve deeper.

The stories featured in the Story Corps podcast tend to be very short (usually less than 10 minutes), but sometimes that's all you need. I especially like the stories from their Memory Loss Initiative, a program that encourages people with memory loss (often caused by Alzheimer's or dementia) to share their stories.

Less Pants, More Fun

This weekend on our 4th of July camping extravaganza Sian wore the cutest pair of sweat-shorts. I commented on how much I liked them and she let me in on a little secret... they were cut offs!

With the temps higher and frolicking to be done there's just no need for full length sweatpants. Sweat-shorts on the other hand are just what summer ordered.

I know it's not a novel idea, the whole cutoffs thing, but for some reason I hadn't really thought about it for my own wardrobe until Sian mentioned it. And ever since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I've been making a mental list of pants and capris I never wear cause I don't like their lengths, and tonight I did something about it. I had a bit of a pants party*.

The minute I thought about pants with length issues I thought about these striped linen pants. I think I've worn them maybe twice (if that) due to their unfortunate length. They're just oddly too long. I haven't gotten rid of them though cause they're so darn comfortable. Cutting them down was the perfect solution. And now I think I may just have a new favorite pair of Bermuda shorts (I'm even wearing them now whilst typing this). Check em' out:



Here's a close-up so you can get the full-on striped experience. Loooove these:



Next on the chopping block were a pair of red capri sweatpants that I used in my Lobster costume two Halloweens ago. They've always fit oddly so I never wear them. But now, they're excellent sweat shorts!

Before (booooo):



After (yay!!):



And finally, the last pair, blue sweatpant high waters. That's right, high waters. These pants were far too long to be called capris and far too short to be called pants. They didn't look the best, but they are seriously the most comfortable sweat high waters ever. Now they're the most comfortable sweat shorts ever! I may have to wear them every day (if I'm not wearing the stripey linen cutoffs that is).

Before:



After!:



I'm done for now, but I have to admit that was pretty fun. I kinda want to make some more. I think all the pants in my closet are trembling in fear, worried they'll fall victim to cut-off crazed Lis.



*Brick Tamland: I would like to extend to you an invitation to the pants party.
Veronica Corningstone: Excuse me?
Brick Tamland: [struggling] The... party. With the... with the pants. Party with pants?
Veronica Corningstone: Brick, are you saying that there's a party in your pants and that I'm invited?
Brick Tamland: That's it.

Overloaded by Cuteness, One day at a time

Every year for Christmas my Mom gives my brother and I each a daily calendar for our desks at work. She picks them based on each of our interests and then goes through and writes us little notes and inspirational quotes. Things like:

Thursday, January 1, 2009: So what are your dreams for 2009?

Saturday, Februrary 14, 2009: Mom and Dad love you lots! Happy Valentine's Day!

Friday, April 24, 2009: "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

Tuesday, April 7, 2009: "Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says: 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." - Mary Kay Ash

Thursday, November 12, 2009 (that's right, I looked into the future): "Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings." - Arthur Rubenstein.

It's her way of sending us notes now that we're in our late (gasp!) twenties and she doesn't pack our lunches anymore (though to be fair I think that stopped in 6th grade). Just before this past Christmas, knowing that a daily calendar was probably in the cards, I put in a request for the most coolest, greatest, CUTEST calendar out there: The Cute Overload Calendar. Apparently I was pretty good last year, cause my wish was granted.

And let me tell you, this calendar is awesome. Every morning I'm greeted with a color photo of some adorable (often baby) animal. And I have to admit, it makes my day a little brighter. The only problem is, I have trouble throwing each day's photo away, and so I've been collecting my favorites...though I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them (cute paper airplanes? adorable wrapping paper? snuggleable note paper?).

Some of the pages feature the Rules of Cuteness. These very scientifically proven rules explain actions and elements that are always cute. For example, #5: Fisheye lens + baby animals is always cute. Or, #8: If you can eat your furniture, you're cute. Or, #10: If you haven't grown into your feet yet, it's cute. So far on the daily calendar I've gotten to Rule #25: Dangling paws are cute.

My collection of the Rules of Cuteness:

I have to admit, the dog pictures tend to be my favorites. Here are a few I particularly liked:

Puppy!!

Cute or sad? Both! Sute!

Corgies rock my world.

I also tend to have a soft spot for rodents:

Awwww.

Hedgehog fail for the (cute) win!

And who doesn't love a panda?

Pretty much its the greatest one-a-day calendar ever. They should totally hire me as their spokesperson. I could be the Billy Mays (may he rest in peace) of cuteness. "Hi! Cute calendar spokesperson here."

Learning to Run: Fireflies

Last night was busy. There were errands to run, laundry to wash, and groceries to buy. And by the time they were all done it was already 8 pm and the sun was beginning to set. But time of night be damned, I still wanted to run. And so did Scott.

We threw on our running clothes and hit the road, in the direction of our new favorite route. This route follows a couple of connecting path and cuts through a park, forming a satisfying circular loop (I really enjoy not having to turn around and double back). Even though the route parallels a major highway for a bit there's still a sense of isolation and disconnectedness. Despite the background lull of passing cars there's a stillness and quiet that's especially present at night.

Our run began at dusk, and the night gathered around us with every subsequent step. And with every degree of light we lost, another handful of fireflies would emerge. Two thirds of the way through the run the woods, bushes, and sky around us were filled with swarms of fireflies. Like sparkles of light dancing on a lake, or stars twinkling in the sky.

I ran without music last night, and found it easy to sink into my thoughts and just watch the light show the fireflies were putting on. It was peaceful and spiritual, and I found myself full of thank yous and gratitude. Grateful for strong legs, grateful for a beautiful place to run, grateful for Scott introducing me to running and helping me keep it up.

It was an excellent run; not only beautiful but fast and challenging. Scott estimates we ran 3 to 4 miles in 37 minutes. It left me wonderfully tired and relaxed, ready to grab a good dinner and wander off to bed.

Update: We mapped it. 3.4 miles!