Late, late Friday afternoon cocktail

Couldn't be helped this week. Sometimes the office calls, and all hope of making happy hour vanishes.

Summer ends this weekend, as does the Milwaukee Brewers' chances of making the playoffs. Maybe because it's the end of summer, or the Milwaukee Brewers are playing the Cincinnati Reds, or to celebrate JB Van Hollen's lawsuit to try make Wisconsin voting less like a banana republic, I thought a cranberry recipe or two were in order.

Rum Runner
Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 oz Malibu rum
* 1 oz Blackberry brandy
* 3-4 oz Orange juice
* 3-4 oz Pineapple juice
* 3-4 oz Cranberry juice

Mixing instructions:

Mix all ingredients in glass & add ice.

The "Holy Autumn":

1.5 oz cranberry vodka
1/4 oz Chambord
1/2 oz cranberry juice
garnish with 3 fresh cranberries

And of course, the cosmopolitan.

Rules are rules

A Little League in Cincinnati has decided to enforce Major League Baseball rule number 4.06(a)(2), no doubt to encourage good sportsmanship.

“No manager, player, substitute, coach, trainer or batboy shall at any time, whether from the bench, the coach’s box or on the playing field or elsewhere, use language which will in any manner refer to or reflect upon opposing players, an umpire, or any spectator.”

Fine, whatever, no chatter from the bench. Kids will not allowed to be kids.

But c'mon, this is the rule they're choosing to take seriously in Cincinnati? The home of Pete Rose Way? You want to teach the kiddies about good sportsmanship, take the street signs down honoring the man who recently admitted he not only bet on baseball, he bet on his own team. Maybe the bench chatter in Southern Ohio should have the Pete Rose exception: Hey bettor bettor bettor...

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Number 2?

In a look at chili served around the United States, Real Chili was ranked 2nd best in the country by Jane and Michael Stern of Roadfood.com. (Ht: GOP3)

I dunno, number 2? I've had better chili in more than a few places. Truthfully, I've never seen the great attraction for Real Chili and I don't rate them any higher than George Webbs.

The lovely Doreen from Waukesha would insist Skyline Chili is the best and it is a "must stop" whenever we visit Cincinnati.

But I would question the national ranking of any kind of food that is better prepared at home.


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Some quick notes

Dennis York steps out of the shadows briefly to send an open letter to the victims of Katrina.

Jessica McBride's readers referred here by this post, I think she meant for you to go here.

Blogging will be light to nil the next few days, with not an expected change until after Labor Day. Between the family's annual peregrination to Cincinnati for the Labor Day weekend fireworks and our company's efforts to get our branches up and running again in the hurricane affected area I've been a little busy.

With any luck we'll have photos from Cincinnati of the fireworks and the Holcomb Labor Day weekend pig roast.

A loss in the family

I have to apologize for not posting the last two days. One of my wife's uncles passed away which resulted in a trip for her to Cincinnati for the funeral. I remained in Waukesha (due to a recent change in employment) with the children and the dogs, and they demanded my full attention.

My wife's uncle was the oldest of seventeen siblings, and the population of Cincinnati has always been very kind when I visit. I did not know my wife's uncle as well as I would have liked but I can truthfully say he was loved and respected by his entire family, and he will be greatly missed.