Words On Wednesday

I went to Lidl for a dutch oven and left with an interesting new wheat beer. The search for the dutch oven may have been unsuccessful, but I wasn’t disappointed with the Hypnotic Beast Apple Cinnamon Wheat Ale. I really don’t go to Lidl often, nowhere near as much as I should. Pretty much everything they have is really good and super cheap, and their fresh bread display smells heavenly. Still, they’ll advertise a sale every now and again that entices me inside. Case in point, they advertised a ceramic dutch oven similar to Le Creuset at a fraction of the price. I’ve never used a dutch oven, nor do I really need one, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to pick one up. Unfortunately, they were completely out of stock by the time I got to the store. That happens for most of the items I see the advertisement for, but I still go in anyway just to check. While I was there, I decided to hang around and shop some. I looked over their bread, and almost bought a few baguettes and a couple of...

I embarked on this book report endeavor for several reasons: partly because I was interested in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” myself, partly because a friend recommended it as his personal favorite book, and partly to prove to my 12th grade AP Literature teacher that I would stick to my word and read a book that I swear wasn’t required reading in that class, but she claims was. I started reading it for the first time (in my memory) back in college. I hadn’t previously read it, and I recognized that it was a classic work of literature, so I determined that I should read it for my own personal improvement. Unfortunately, I got distracted at some point partially through the novel, and didn’t finish reading it during that attempt. In any case, I did finally get around to consuming it in audiobook format, and am now a more well-rounded person because of it. As far as the setting goes, “Brave New World” is standard dystopian fare. Reproduction is left to labs, and human coitus is ...

I LOVE Mountain Dew. Or is it MTN DEW? In most cases, Mtn is an abbreviation for Mountain, but we still pronounce the full word “mountain.” Either way, that citrusy soda from PepsiCo is my jam. I saw a new version of the original flavor, so I had to try it. Pretty much every day with lunch, I have a 12 oz can of Diet MTN DEW. Yeah, I realize diet drinks aren’t great for you, but I’m more concerned about the sugar intake than the seemingly minimal effects of artificial sweeteners on my body. Plus, as I said before, I love MTN DEW. I can’t say I would go so far as to  bathe in MTN DEW scented body wash , but I really like it. I’ll admit that Diet MTN DEW doesn’t taste quite exactly like the original, but the flavor is pretty close. Close enough that I’ll accept the difference in exchange for the lack of calories and sugar. On a recent run to Walmart, I noticed three distinct shades of color from a stack of MTN DEW boxes in the center of an aisle. Curious, there are normally on...

I traditionally do not care for wine. This Moscato from Costco, however, may be the exception that has broadened my horizons to include other styles of wine. Even if I typically prefer beer or distilled spirits, I am now at least willing to try wine on occasion. Wine 101 My first experience with wine was not a positive one. Soon after I turned 21, about the same time I bought that awful bottle of Southern Comfort , I decided to pick up some wine. I had no idea what I liked or disliked, as I had never tried wine before. I went to my local Food Lion (we didn’t have an Ingles nearby), and picked up two bottles at random. If I remember correctly, they were both Yellow Tail, since I didn’t care to spend a lot on something I might not enjoy. I don’t remember one of the styles, but I know the other was Merlot. If you’ve never had Merlot, it is a moderately dry wine. At the time, I knew nothing about wine, and even now, I don’t know much. I realize now that I hate dry wine. Like ...

I really wish Nintendo had a trophy system on the Switch. It’s a topic that has been discussed back and forth, with plenty of evidence for  or against  them, so I won’t try to assert my opinion as fact. Personally, I would just like it better if trophies were available. As a confession, I used to be a self-proclaimed “trophy whore.” On my PS3, I would specifically seek out games that I could get the platinum trophy for, essentially the mark that a game has been finished completely. If I walked away from a game without the platinum, I felt like I wasn’t getting my money’s worth. When I finally did get platinum for a game, I could confidently say I had milked it for all it was worth and continue onto the next game. Back when I had more time to play video games, this wasn’t an issue. Gaming took up the bulk of my free time, and there was plenty of that to go around. If anything, I was more concerned with making sure I had enough game to fill up my time, rather than enough tim...

After numerous discussions with my wife, I finally got around to reading Gary Chapman’s “The Five Love Languages.” While it is sheer coincidence, there probably couldn’t be a more appropriate book for this month, given Valentine’s Day is this Friday and this book deals pointedly with love. I picked it up originally after several discussions about how my wife more appreciates acts of service than any other love language. She gained exposure to the concept of love languages through various radio interviews, and knew of Dr. Chapman’s book, though she hasn’t yet read it. When she suggested it may help me understand, I took her suggestion and picked up the audiobook. My goal, as is probably the goal of many who pick up the book, was to become a more loving husband. I certainly care for my wife, and I wanted to be able to make her see that more thoroughly. If the proliferation of the book were any mark of its success, it couldn’t hurt to read. Dr. Chapman is no stranger to various bes...

I want to try my hand at freelance journalism. At one point, I looked into getting a side job with a local newspaper. That endeavor never panned out, but I’m still curious if I could write for a news outlet. As a start, I figured it may be a good idea to do my own reporting here. What appeals to me about the idea of freelance journalism is how self-contained it is. I attend an event of some sort, take pictures and observe, and then I write up a summary and description of the event. Throw in some of my own pictures, and you have a nice little overview of the event from my perspective. Concerts, festivals, any unique event could be a potential story. Spartanburg’s Spring Fling is one street festival I’ve attended for several years, and serves as the kind of event I might cover. There are vendors and shops, but there are also individual sub-events. The bike race usually occupies the first evening, and there are several concerts and dances throughout the course of the weekend. Even if I do...