In what simply must be the greatest news ever to hit my cerebral cortex in no less than twelve lifetimes, disgraced former mayor Sheila Dixon’s Xbox 360 – purchased using absconded gift cards for the poor – is now available for bid on eBay, according to The Baltimore Sun (“Dixon’s Xbox up for sale on eBay” 2010/03/08). This Xbox was submitted as evidence at the trial of former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. This item has been surrendered to the Maryland State Prosecutors Office pursuant to the plea agreement. All proceeds from this sale will go to Youthworks of Baltimore. This item was originally taken from the residence of the former mayor in June 2008.

Robert A. Rohrbaugh, you rule. With providence, this monument to governmental corruption and family entertainment will sit proudly on my mantle, forever preserved in a vacuum-sealed, laser grid protected vault. And by that I mean a sign that says “DIXON’S XBOX NO TOUCH!”

A++++++ WOULD BUY AGAIN!!

25 minutes later update: way way outbid

Thank God there’s this totally awesome piece of plastic in a RAINBOW OF COLORS to make your can into a bottle!!! You just plain have to love the lady at 0:32 who is DEVASTATED because she has to pour out an ENTIRE HALF CAN OF SODA on the sidewalk. Shameful shit.

We’ve all been there before. You’re sitting on a plane, bored out your skull because you forgot to bring a book or a gameboy, and some asshole has filled out the crossword AND the sudoku IN PEN in the back of the stupid inflight magazine. Desperate for entertainment, you reach out with a wincing pained look on your face and pick up the last ditch, bottom of the barrel form of airplane entertainment: Sky Mall. All the lazer guided forks you could ever want to pay entirely too much for, right at your fingertips.

Truly there is a place in this world for even the most useless products, and Sky Mall is most certainly the place to find them. Here are my favorites.

	TELEKINETIC OBSTACLE COURSE Have you ever felt like moving a ball with a fan through a hoop – WITH YOUR BRAIN?? Then this ridiculous looking piece of crap is for you!! Only $99.95!! Order Now!!
LASER GUIDED POOL CUE Are you so shitty at pool that you need to cheat and use a laser to line up your shot? Do you feel the need to put batteries in your pool cue? Then this ridiculous looking piece of crap is for you!! Only $129.95!! Order Now!!
	ELECTRONIC FENG SHUI COMPASS Are you a total moron? Then this ridiculous piece of crap is for you!! Only $199.99!! Order Now!!
SUNLIGHT 365 Do you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) and need a thing to sit on your desk that shines a bright light in your face? Then this ridiculous piece of crap is for you!! Only $59.99!! Order Now!!
	SOLAFEET FOOT TANNER Do you want or need to tan your FUCKING FEET at home or in the office?!?!?! Then this ridiculous piece of crap is for you!! Only $229.99!! Order Now!!
HEAD SPA MASSAGER BWAHAHAHAHAHAahahahahhahahaha wtf order now only $49.95.
	LIGHT THERAPY SYSTEM STICK YOUR FACE IN THIS THING IT HEALS STUFF ORDER NOW $399.95
PERSONAL INFRARED SAUNA ………..sweet jesus what the CHRIST. order now only $499.00
	UNDERWATER CELL PHONE SYSTEM WHY. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU EVER CONCEIVABLY NEED TO MAKE A GODDAMN CELL PHONE CALL WHILE SCUBA DIVING. JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST. GOOD GOD. ORDER NOW ONLY …..$1790!?!?!?!?!? GGAAAAAAAAH!!!

ORDER NOW!!!

It was a few days ago when I received the heads up about a whiskey tasting a-goin’s on at The Idle Hour, which quite frankly I didn’t even read the invitation when all I saw were the words “Whiskey” and …… ok all I saw was “Whiskey.” At any rate, last night The Idle Hour hosted a free whiskey tasting by Copper Fox Distillery, the makers of Wasmund’s Single Malt Whisky (it’s spelled that way on the bottle) and Rye Whisky.

I spent quite a bit of time sampling master distiller Rick Wasmun’s various boozes and I have to say I’m impressed. Not just with his product – the first applewood aged whiskey in the world, but with the guy himself. His journey to create a unique whiskey spanned over six years, many visits to distilleries all over the world including Scotland, and the kind of love for what he does that few of us can lay claim to. His two person team (himself included) have been driving around in a modified van, meeting and greeting with people at bars around the region and spreading the joy of whiskey for quite some time now, spending the night in the back and moving onto the next destination. I highly recommend reading his whole story here.

But how does it taste, you might ask? “Like old man breath,” one of my friends said. Just kidding. The single malt is incredible. It’s rich, fruity, and instantly warms your whole body (120 proof helps a bit). The rye whiskey is much drier, which isn’t my preference, but if that’s your thing then I have no reason not to recommend it.

Another thing that I found pretty awesome that Rick sells – DIY whiskey barrels. You can buy your own barrel and spirit as a kit, and age the stuff yourself in your own home! A damn fine gift idea I must say, and they even have a “barrelhead club” in which you can purchase future barrel kits and exchange old ones. …INCREDIBLE IDEA.

I chatted with Rick at length about the business, how he got started and how he’s occupying a niche in the market; with this lineup I’d say he’s doing a fine job of it. If you’re interested in picking up a bottle, head on over to Wells Liquor (6310-10A York Road, Towson) or Graul’s (7703 Bellona Avenue, Ruxton). Alternatively if you’d just like to try a glass, try Wine Market (921 East Fort Avenue, Riverside) or Woodberry Kitchen (2010 Clipper Park Road, Woodberry).

Cheers! Best of luck Rick and company!

Yeah at first Snuggies were kind of funny to me. The cult-member appeal, the idea of wearing the equivalent of a hospital gown made of LUXURIOUS material granting everyone the ability to answer the phone without the major hassle that a blanket might confer, I could kind of see it. Plus, the commercials are a gas.

But like most as seen on TV products, things have gone overboard. Like the Chia Pet before it, Snuggies have become insane mutations of themselves, coming in zebra pattern, dog varieties, and the dreaded Peekaroo (not an actual Snuggie brand product but far more sinister) – just to name a few.

And you’d think with 47 varieties of Snuggies and various god awful commercials associated with each one, that’d be enough. You’d be wrong. The latest Snuggie commercial features a horrendous theme song, lame ass white guys raising the roof, and families of Snuggie adorned dumbasses “Getting on their Snuggie!”

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!!!! There’s also a really horrible Snuggie Fan Club website where awful, horrible people can upload pictures of themselves and their dogs in Snuggies! Or maybe report on Snuggie bar crawls that they went on! There’s even a completely useless flash game in which you can upload pictures of your friends and have them dance in Snuggies!!! (except it’s completely broken and doesn’t work, I even opened it in Creative Suite and tried to get it to work with no success)

PLEASE STOP IT, SNUGGIES! YOU’RE KILLING US ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL