Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
Hillary Taps Virginia Senator Tim Kaine!
I got an email from Hillary today. Everybody’s heard the news by now, but we donors and supporters got the scoop before the media… Well, about 30 seconds before, but that counts! Flashes big grin…
Sen. Tim Kaine is a very able public servant. This former Governor of the State of Virginia is a man of vast experience and was an excellent choice. Virginia is a swing state, this pick makes sense strategically. And unlike Sen. Warren, his successor in the Senate will be chosen by a Democratic Governor.
The Ochre Ogre will not set foot in The White House. Without a doubt, this election is going to be one for the ages. Hillary’s ready. Tim’s ready. So am I.
To read a good and detailed feature on Sen. Kaine joining the Democratic ticket, follow this link.
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Orlando Brewing is a Hidden Gem in Orlando’s Sodo District
To this beer lover, Orlando Brewing is a truly unique establishment. Central Florida has its share of microbreweries, but none plowing the same ground, so to speak. You’ll find this low-key establishment in the southwestern corner of the downtown area, just west of ORMC and the other major hospitals. I love the intimate and somewhat-vintage feel of the place; nothing fancy here, just a smallish, local brewery with good craft brews and good staff. It is a real, working brewery, of course. I think of O.B. as a mid-sized, local brewery with a simple but cool pub built on the front end. It’s no surprise that you find it in a thoroughly industrial area. But that only adds to its charm.
Unlike some microbreweries, they don’t sell anything they don’t brew right there. If your tastes are fixed mostly on your typical American lagers and not so much on heartier beers, you may not be too enthusiastic about the place. But that’s what craft beers are all about. Orlando Brewing is like any other local, small-batch brewery. They’re all about making and marketing unique, hearty brands with lots of flavor and a big kick.
The place has a loyal following. I like how there’s always enough patronage to make it seem alive, but not so many folks that it’s impossible to find a seat and you end up shouting your order at the bartender.
They’ve thought up some amazing brand names for their products. Pompous Ass is, without a doubt, my favorite! If you can’t decide, the sampler is not a bad option; they set up four of their brands for you in sample-sized mugs at a decent price.
The fare in any microbrewery comes with a slightly higher price tag than the lagers a lot of us drink most of the time. But you’re paying for a hand-crafted brew, made right there in your neighborhood. That’s worth something. Which reminds me, be sure and ask for the brewery tour. Done it twice, loved it! I don’t think there’s a regular schedule for that, but they always seem very accommodating at Orlando Brewing.
There is outdoor seating. Bring your taste buds, your friends, and some cash. Don’t bring the kids. And you better use your GPS, it is a bit off the beaten path, literally and figuratively.
The Home Page for Orlando Brewing is as well-crafted as one of their beers. If you’d like to have a look at it, click on this.
The NBA is Moving the 2017 All Star Game out of Charlotte
Four months ago, the State Legislature in North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as House Bill 2. The bill nullified the City of Charlotte’s newly-passed ordinance forbidding discrimination against LGBTQ citizens, mandated that transgendered people use the bathrooms that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificates and took away the right of anyone to sue in state courts if they believe they had been discriminated against for just about anything. It also took away from cities and counties any authority to set a minimum wage or make any ordinance pertaining to child labor.
I’ve followed this story closely and I’m quite sure that the bigots in the N.C. Legislature who put together this bill did not anticipate the blow-back. It was swift. Though the opinions of the people of North Carolina are mixed, a lot of people, celebrities and businesses were up-in-arms over the law and said so.
Sports organizations and leagues have been adopting strong and unambiguous non-discrimination policies for quite a while that include LGBTQ people and they joined in on the strong and vocal protestations about HB 2. The NBA made its displeasure known right away and went on record as saying that pulling the 2017 All Star Game from Charlotte was a possibility if the law was not scrapped.
Well, today–after much discussion with North Carolina–the league announced that they were, in fact, pulling the game and beginning the search for a new host city. This is a very big deal. The city will lose a 100 million dollar boost to their economy. This is in addition to millions of dollars already lost from other people, businesses and organizations nixing business dealings with the state.
For details about the NBA’s decision to move next year’s All Star Game, click here.
For a concise and objective summation of North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, follow this link.
Governor Pat McCrory and his cronies in the legislature are standing firm. I can’t envision any scenario where the state’s lawmakers would repeal HB 2. They’re going to go down with the ship. And it’s a crying shame that the economy of North Carolina is going to go down with them.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Bulldog Plays Solitaire. A lot.
It’s a truism that if you know how an individual spends his or her time, you’d know a lot about that person. I suppose that’s true.
Here’s a confession: Ol’ Bulldog here spends quite a bit of time playing Solitaire.
There. The truth is out.
I think I played my first hand around the age of fourteen or so. I can’t even remember who taught me how to play. Obviously, this was way before folks played games on a PC or mobile device. There I was with a deck of real frickin’ playin’ cards, hijacking the dining room table, playin’ that game for hours. Not that I didn’t do “outside stuff”, too. All boomer kids played lots of tag, hot-pot and sandlot baseball. And dodge ball, kick ball and tether ball. We did all of it. But I loved Solitaire then and I still do.
I would sometimes play on my bed with the desk chair pulled right up to. Another confession: I’d rarely make my bed unless I was going to play. The cards don’t lay flat on a bed unless it’s pretty damn tidy! Got the visual yet?
That got me into collecting playing cards, too. Still have about a dozen decks in a storage place; my faves are the Pepsi cards and the zebra-backed ones. It doesn’t get any better than that! I’d had up to twenty or so decks, not sure how many of those I could lay my hands on if I made the trek to storage and started lookin’ around… Hoping the Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles deck is still there…
We played a lot of poker in college. A couple of card sharks on my floor. But I’d play that classic game of 52 now and then. With headphones–the kind we had in the ’70s that weighed about ten lbs–wrapped around my head. Led Zep, Muddy Waters or The Allman Bros cranked up to 10.
These days, of course, it’s so convenient to play on a tablet. One of my fave time-wasters. Oh, no! Make that my absolutely fave. Nothing comes close. I don’t play any other games; downloaded Missile Command and some other classic Atari Games, but I don’t put down the Solitaire long enough to play the others. Yeah, it’s an addiction. I don’t deny it.
Hey, I broke 4000 for the first time yesterday. It was a rush, but not that big of a deal–pun intended–as I don’t really chase points. It’s a bit like wine drinking; it’s better and more fun if you pace yourself and go for max enjoyment and not for shear speed. Not too different from the way I travel; I like to get off the interstate sometimes and check out the local stuff, rather than just jetting around at 80 mph for the sake of making time. You know, the journey, not the destination.
Solitaire. Not a bad past time for a dinosaur like me. But I’m not entirely old-school here; while my fave decks of 52 are languishing in storage, I’m in the recliner with my Kindle Fire, playing an ancient game on a 21st Century tech toy. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Bill and Eli Perras, Florida Folk Musicians Extraordinaire
I’ve had two great musical partnerships in my life. One of them is on the acoustic or folk side of the musical universe; it’s the work I was privileged to have done with husband and wife duo Bill and Eli Perras.
They invited me into their musical world many years ago when they were still billing themselves as “Bluesgotus!” Those were the days! Yeah, lots of folks thought it was “Blues Goddess” and tried to find the site on the world-wide web! If the latter name for the delightful, amazing, blues-soaked couple had been for real, one wonders what a proper role for Bill might have been! Well, playin’ the guitar, of course!
At any rate, they’ve paid their dues, many times over and they’re known–very well known–simply as Bill and Eli Perras these days. And they’re still out there after many years, writing, singing, playing and traveling. Bill is one of the best finger-picking guitarists around and Eli’s original songs are a treasure. Together they’re as good and as real as it gets in the Sunshine State.
If you’d like to know more about this “dynamic duo” of authentic folk and blues music, visiting their home page would be a good start. Note well what the critics and other artists have said about them. Although they’re not traveling as much as they did for the last two decades, you can still book them and see why they’re thought of so highly by others in the folk community here in Central Florida and beyond. And tell ’em Bulldog sent ya!
Fuel, the new barbecue joint next to The Alley in Sanford
If you’re into bars in Sanford’s historic district and like live music, you probably know about The Alley. They’ve been around for about twelve years now and everyone who’s anyone has played there. In addition to the killer music, they’ve got cold beer, a full bar, good help and loyal customers. What more could you ask for? Yeah, you’ve got it: good chow.
Along came Fuel. This new barbecue joint is on the south side of The Alley, in the new addition that came from the major renovation and expansion completed about six months or so ago.
I had heard quite a lot about it from friends and had to go check it out. I’m glad I did. The design is suitable for any good barbecue joint, looking not too “uptown” but not looking like a dump either. Not always an easy balance to achieve, but they did well with this addition. I imagine it took at least three expert carpenters with massive tool belts and beat up pick up trucks to pull it off! Seriously, the perfect “feel” for an eatery of its type.
And the food is quite good. My pulled pork dinner was tasty, the sides were filling and as good as any I’ve had. And I’ve had them all. There was gobs of pork in the baked beans–as there should be–and they were not too sweet. Sugar is a common ingredient in baked beans, but they didn’t get carried away with it at Fuel.
The green beans really got over with me. I honestly have never tasted better. Those alone would have me coming back! And I enjoyed the collard greens as well, could have eaten them all day.
Anyone who knows me knows that I really focus on side dishes in a barbecue joint. Theirs at Fuel are way better than most and are served in ample portions. Service is a really big deal, too and the crew at this new spot in downtown Sanford was friendly, helpful and efficient. What’s worse than a place with good chow, staffed by an indifferent, poorly-trained staff? Few things I know of!
The patio seating on the south side is so cool. A really nice ambiance, especially if you’re dining after dark. If you like blues music and good barbecue, Fuel at The Alley is heaven-on-earth! Park Ave between 1st and 2nd Streets. Hope to see your face in the place soon!
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
A Dark Tale of 49 Murdered by Hate, revisited
The story of the slaughter of 49 partiers at Pulse has been told many times. By a thousand journos and bloggers. Orlando and her people are still coming to grips with what happened there in the early morning hours of June 12th; all the more so today as we’re exactly one month from this sad and shocking spectacle. The memorials still attract many people–from around Central Florida and all over the planet–on a daily basis.
Like so many of us with deep roots in this marvelous city, I’ve read a lot of the coverage. Every media outlet in the country has been all over this story, and they should. Because I worked part time in radio news way back in the day, I’ve always enjoyed critiquing the media and I must say that I think so many around here have done great work on this heart breakingly-awful story. WKMG, our local CBS affiliate is among them. I’ve been a loyal viewer for many years and think they’re showing the rest of us how it’s done.
The Orlando Sentinel has never shone more brightly. I say that as one who’s been reading their work for half a century; we go back to when The Sentinel landed in the driveway every morning and The Evening Sentinel-Star was tossed into the same spot mid-afternoon each week day. It was a welcome thing, back in the ’60s and ’70s, to have a paper to peruse after dinner.
Today’s article in The Sentinel about how our city and its people are doing a month after the tragedy is first-rate. To catch that, follow this link.
When I think about Pulse, I eschew thoughts of hate, trauma and death and instead focus the good times had with musical colleagues back in the ’90s when the club that would later become Pulse under the new owners was a well-known Italian eatery. Dante’s served up good Italian fare and liberal helpings of local music. Good times. If any of us could have had just a moment’s premonition of about what would one day happen in that place, it would have been world-altering.
In a previous blog posting here I said that if the shooter’s goal was to make our city cower in terror or turn on one another, he failed miserably. This community has never been more united. The messengers of hate who tried to kick Orlando when she was down have learned that this community thinks they’re really sick. Yeah, I’m speaking to you, Prosecutor Ken Lewis. Sorry, make that former-prosecutor Ken Lewis. Fits my concept of justice precisely.
We’re remembering and celebrating our brothers, sisters, children and friends who didn’t make it out alive. Praying for the survivors and doing what a community can do, in a material way, to help them move forward with their recoveries and their lives.
Watching that unfold is greatly consoling. Chronicling it for this community and the world is exemplary. As I take in the many stories carried by our local TV stations and The Sentinel 30 days down the road, I’m reminded of one more reason that Central Florida is an excellent place to live, thrive and survive, filled with many caring and generous people. The slogan #OrlandoStrong is not merely a feel-good phrase, it’s a statement that sums up well the true character of this community.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Great and Authentic Florida Eatery on the Banks of the St. Johns
My companion and I enjoyed lunch recently at the Swamp House Grill in DeBary; it has become a fave spot for me in east Central Florida. The food is fabulous and the service is consistently good.
I had my usual: the blackened seafood trio. I enjoy that one so much, I rarely order anything else.
This gem is just a bit off the beaten path but very well worth it. There are eco boat tours leaving from the dock right behind the restaurant several times a day and they usually feature live acoustic music on the weekends. They do have a full bar and a good beer selection. That’s a “must have” for me and just one more reason why I like this place.
The Swamp House Grill is family friendly, their authentic Florida fare is moderately priced and the setting is idyllic. I’ve got to say that it’s become my favorite eatery in all of Volusia County. I recommend it highly.
Watching Baseball on a Sunday Night
I think it’s true that watching baseball on a Sunday night is an excellent way to spend the last few hours of a summer-time weekend.
Got the Giants and the Diamondbacks on the tube right now. Giants are up 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Whoa, now the Giants have runners on second and third. Two outs. This one has been a good contest, looks like it’s going to get better.
That Sunday night transition is never easy for me. Getting from weekend mode back into work mode is a transition. Not sure exactly why, but it’s a huge and somewhat difficult transition for me to make, even though it comes up on a very routine basis, to state the obvious. (And, yes, I’ve posted on that subject before.)
And right now, a good baseball game is helping me ease into that very different “back to work” mode. I’ll take it.
Well, the D-backs just got the third out, so those two SF base runners have been stranded. I wanted to see a little more offense, but oh well. Four innings remain. Should be some fireworks left.
This long-time Yankees fan has got to switch from full baseball mode to baseball and dinner-making mode. Almost 10:00 PM and I do still need to eat. But watching 18 guys knock a hardball around a diamond, with 30,000 fans cheering them on, is a cool way to spend the weekend’s waning moments. About dinner… Hot dogs, maybe?
Side note: another post is coming about my love of sports in general. My interests are quite wide-ranging, and sports is one of the big ones.
Photo credit: “Bulldog Ben” Basile 2016
Hillary in Handcuffs! NOT!
I’m not at all surprised that FBI Director James Comey announced that no charges are appropriate and that none will be brought against Hillary Clinton or anyone else on her staff in the dust-up over her use of a private e-mail server during her tenure as Secretary of State. Some folks were quite surprised. Shocked. Some folks had their world rocked when Comey, a Republican who has been highly praised by conservative lawmakers in the past, made the announcement in a surprise news conference yesterday. (Meaning July 5th.)
For many of us, this is more than a little amusing. Many legal experts had said repeatedly that it would happen–or not happen–that way, but the Hillary haters would have no part of that!
Of course, I know that people who live in the Fox News bubble were told by their legal “experts” almost daily that she would, in fact, get cuffed and stuffed at any moment! Andrew Napolitano from Fox was leading the chorus.
But all the while, folks in the legal field who had no ax to grind were telling readers and viewers that the chances of Hillary facing charges were very small. I read at least four different articles to that effect in the last 60 days. But I know that a huge chunk of people who thought they smelled blood in the water would never see nor read any article like that. Their heads were pointed in a different direction, and they had lots and lots of sources who wanted Mrs. Clinton to get smacked down by a Grand Jury so badly that they talked themselves into believing the Republican talking points were true.
Of course, they had a fail-safe strategy; if they were right and the FBI recommended charges, they were geniuses and Hillary was finally getting what they believed she had deserved since the Whitewater and Vince Foster days.
And if they were wrong and no charges came down, they could explode with outrage and claim that the outcome just proved that Hillary–master manipulator and paragon of evil–had “gotten to” Director Comey and used some kind of very special and very evil mojo to get Mr. Comey and A.G. Lynch to shut it all down!
And, of course, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
I’ll certainly allow that Bill handed the haters more ammo when he met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix last week. I don’t know what that meeting was all about, but it’s crazy to think that if the Evil Clinton Cabal was going to get the AG to squash the investigation that they would summon their minion to a secret meeting just a few days before the inquiry was complete.
The fact that charges were not brought and that investigation has now been closed should not have been a surprise. The rock-solid certainty with which many believed it had to go the other way bordered on delusion.
I think there’s a definite parallel to the behavior of the right four years ago in the lead up to the 2012 Presidential Election. A huge chunk of the right wing hated Barack Obama so thoroughly that they truly believed Mitt was going to kick his ass on election day. Of course, it was ridiculous to believe that when all but a few polls–especially the ones that had proved the most reliable in previous elections–said that Obama was well in front of Mr. Romney. But they wanted that gay, commie, Muslim pretender-to-the-throne out so badly that they showed up at their pitiful victory parties on election night fully believing that their dream of “taking their country back” was about to come true. Not the best election night victory parties ever… Frowny face!
Writer Will McCleod came out with an excellent piece in Daily Koz today that deserves a wide reading. If you were sucked in by the hucksters who were selling the “Hillary’s goin’ down” gospel to all who’d listen, you should read it from start to finish. Thousands upon thousands of Americans’ jaws hit the floor Tuesday morning as Mr. Comey read his statement. For many of us that was the real surprise.
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet. 
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