Baltika beers are pretty good, although I don't know any Russians that will drink it. That being said, if you want to get them, in all their versions, just go to a Russian neighborhood. All of the stores in Bensohurst, Brooklyn, for example, carry at least 3 versions of Baltika. And they're pretty cheap, to boot.

That's some funny stuff! However, notice that the NorthEast and California call it soda? Two opposite ends of the country, and completely separate from the North and South distinction. Well, they do call us the "elite". Ha, ha.

As far as I see it, "Soda water" is seltzer; "Cola" is Coke or Pepsi (or RC...); "Pop" is short for "soda-pop", which I think is cute, if you're a girl or age 12 or under.

Then again, I don't drink soda, I drink water.

Mad Men is my favorite show,and I eagerly await it's return. My Sunday schedule has been cleared of distractions so that I can watch. Because of this show, not only do I feel that smoking has been re-glorified (I like an occasional cig), but I also now drink an Old Fashioned at the bar. However, it's not the prohibition-era kind with fruit. According to Esquire's drink master and historian, David Wondrich, the fruit was added to many cocktails because cheap bootleg liquor tasted awful. Here's the proper way to make it:
http://www.esquire.com/features/drinking/most-pop...
Keep in mind, you actually have to _like_ the taste of bourbon, otherwise don't bother. Same with Martini's; if you don't like the taste of Gin, then don't drown it out with olive juice - drink something else!

New Paltz is a great town and it has the best rock climbing on the east coast. Taking the road up to Minewaska you can look up and see some of the worlds greatest climbers "doing the Gunks".
In fact, the place is so awesome, I stayed in college there for 5 years instead of 4 so that I could have an extra year of climbing and hiking while my parents were still willing to support me.

By the way, espresso has LESS caffeine than coffee because the longer you roast the lower the content. You get more flavor, hence the sensation of a stronger coffee, but significantly less caffeine than in a city roast.

That being said, espresso (or "expresso" for my Nu Yauk friends) is the way to go. Double shot with hot water and you have an Americano, the best substitute for a regular coffee.

The Federalist Papers are a series of essays written by three (possible more) men, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. To say that they represent the entire group of authors who penned the Constitution would be a mistake. It was the attempt of a few to get the people to agree to adopt the constitution. But it is still just the ideas of three men.

I am not denying that there was looting and lawlessness. I had expected that that would be brought up in response to my statement, and so I should have headed that off at the pass. My mistake. But I do have family and friends in NoLa. I know how scared people were and just how dire the situation was. People needed protection and to protect themselves. A personal firearm would no doubt have helped people to feel safer. But that is not what I am talking about. I am referring to the defense of white neighborhoods from poor blacks. See the references here:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090105/thompson
http://blog.nola.com/notesonneworleans/2008/12/wh...
(with video)

OK, so some "bad apples" spoil it for the rest of us upstanding citizens that just want to enjoy the feel of shooting powerful weapons at harmless animals and target practice. But I say, it is the rotten apples that spoil the barrel. Unless the rest are willing to stand up to the rotten apples, and denounce their behavior, we have no choice but to create laws that happen to ruin it for everybody. The NRA refuses to give up anything or to approve laws that are only meant to keep us all safe.

First of all, if "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State" is a preface to the rest of the statement, then yes, it is a sort of precondition. If militias are not necessary, then neither is the necessity of gun ownership. But let's face it, the forefathers could NEVER have imagined the world we live in, that's why the ability to amend the constitution was written into our laws. If we were ever attacked on our own soil, the forming of militias would not be the way to defend our country. If you want to defend us, join the military where there is unified leadership. Otherwise we end up with what happened during Katrina where people were shooting at civilians who were trying to cross bridges into the non-flooded neighborhoods. Basically, they were trying to keep the poor blacks out of their pristine neighborhoods. By shooting at them. Not rioters or looters, but people just trying to survive. I don't think that's what the forefathers had in mind.

Second, I don't think it is a legitimate argument to use D.C. V Heller as your precedent. If you had used an opinion of the court that wasn't evenly split between democrats and republicans, I might agree with you. But let's face it, legislating from the bench happens, and conservatives pander to the NRA, while liberals pander to the progressives. However, the case is about the DC ban on possessing handguns, not "arms". It is specific and HARDLY puts the case to rest, as many of you would like to believe. It is a very isolated case, at best, and leaves much to be decided upon.

Let us remember, countries with strict gun laws have less gun violence. Mexican drug gangs are using our guns and ammo to kill our border police. Militias in other countries are using our weapons to kill our soldiers in the field. We simply produce way too many guns for whatever need there may be. But, that is beyond the scope of this article.

So, as I said, anything worth doing is worth doing well. I have used guns and I do enjoy. My primitive/lizard part of my brain gets a big charge when I shoot. Just as it does when I downshift a sports car, or make it to the top of a summit when I climb. But none of those things are necessary.