The Angry Jew

The rantings of an Angry Jew in The Pacific Northwest

I don’t get too much of a chance to watch The Tonight Shop, but only he could make sense of that farewell speech Palin gave.




Check out this “literal” version of Bonnie Tylers Total Eclipse Of the Heart.




You have to hand it to Obama, what he lacks in substance he makes up for in style.

After inserting his foot into his mouth up to about the kneecap over his comments on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates by saying the police acted “stupidly”, Obama invites Gates, the Cambridge police officer who arrested him over to the White House for a beer to hash things out.

Way to go Mr President.

Each man will be served his own favorite, Red Stripe for Gates, Blue Moon for the cop, and Budweiser for the prez.

Good choices all, yes, even the beer snob enjoys the occasional Bud, but apparently there are some who do not agree with the Presidents choice.

In a letter to Obama dated Wednesday, Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal strongly urges the president not to drink Budweiser, now owned by a Belgian company. Nor should the White House consider serving Miller or Coors, Neal writes, both owned by a United Kingdom conglomerate.

Neal instead suggested that the three site down with a Sam Adams Boston Lager.  Does it really matter Neal, a man should drink what he enjoys.

I do have one question though.

Three men sitting down over beers to resolve a racial incident.

Im sorry, but isn’t alcohol how most racial incidents start?

The Portland Brewers Festival is a birthday tradition for me.  I have attended every year since I moved to Portland.  I get together friends, usually make a new one or two and sample great beer from all over the country.

This year was no exception, and the usual suspects, myself, Cable Guy Dave and BBQ Brandon gathered on Sunday along with a newcomer to the group, Liquor Store Grant.

Every year we go with a plan.  We arrive at least a half hour before the first pour of the day, grab a table, and rotate around so that we can hang onto the table and sample as many different beers as we can before the crowds get too thick.  On a good day, we can get in 2-3 hours of sampling before the lines are too long and we bail out.

I had been following the festival events on Facebook and became aware of a new feature this year…The Buzz Tent.  The Buzz Tent was where all the stars of this years brew fest were being poured and entrance was to be limited to 500 people a day, who had paid an extra 20 bucks for the privilege.  Being the beer snobs that we are, we paid our money.  Our $20 dollar punch card entitled us to 8 tastes of the ten beers being offered.

The Buzz tent opened about an hour after the rest of the festival and we spent that time wandering around sampling beers in both the north and south tents.

When we reached the Buzz Tent, the tasting was in full swing.  While we sampled our first two beers, maybe three people wandered into the shaded area, fellow holders of the prized ticket.  We were reveling in our shade, our fine beers, and the overall exclusivity of the experience.

As it tends to do at these events, nature called so we all headed over to the potty farm for some relief.

On the way back, we sampled a few more beers and then headed back to our “private” tent, only, now, it was not so private.  While we were gone, they had opened the Buzz Tent to the general public, with 4 ounce tastes going for $2 instead of the usual $1.

I asked the staffer at the gate what the hell was going on.

He explained that he had been told to open it up to the general public and that our cards were still valid for samples.

Wait a minute.  I paid 20 dollars for 8 samples, so, at current prices, my 20 dollar card was now going to get me 16 dollars worth of beer.

Needless to say, this instantly kicked in my Angry Jew reflexes.

With Liquor Store grant in tow, I headed over to the token sale booth to see what in the hell was going on.

I was referred to a woman in charge, she said she was the daughter of the guy who puts on the festival.  She explained that they had not sold many tickets for the day and they didn’t want to get stuck with the beer.  Sound logic, unless your one of the putzes who paid the $20 bucks.

After a few minutes conversation she agreed to refund the full value of the tickets to Grant and myself, but then when Dave and Brandon went up to get their refund, they only got back what was left on their cards.  I guess it pays to be the Birthday Jew.

Needless to say, this small bump in the road to Beervana did not derail the rest of our day.  We grabbed some chairs, made some new friends and spent the day in the shade of the Buzz Tent.

Check out The Angry Jew on Facebook for the pics from the day.

It has been too long since I have written a review here, but, as with most things in life, good things are worth waiting for.

I am a huge fan of Asian cuisine.  It comes from having served in the Far East for 2 years back in the 80’s.  Of the few countries I was not able to visit, Vietnam has always held a curious fascination for me.  I think it is due in part watching and reading about it’s food from he who is all knowing when it comes to the Cuisine of the world…Anthony Bourdain.

It seems odd at first glance that one of Vietnam’s contributions to world cuisine is the baguette sandwich, but you have to remember, before we held our little party in the jungle, Vietnam was a French colony so it only stands to reason that some of their food would reflect that influence.

Thanks to BBQ Brandon, I got to experience a truly excellent expression of that influence at a Beaverton Sandwich shop and bakery called Best Baguette.

The picture board menu spells it all out for you.  A large variety of simple sandwiches featuring wholesome, fresh ingredients on their own fresh baked baguette rolls.

I explained to the woman behind the counter that this was my first time here and asked for a recommendation. ” What could I expect to be served if I was eating this kind of stuff in Ho Chi Min City?”, I asked.

She recommended the #4, thinly sliced grilled pork with a lemon grass-soy marinade, served with house pickled carrot & daikon, jalapeno, cilantro, house mayo and soy sauce with a Vietnamese iced coffee to wash it down, I wasn’t brave enough to try the bubble tea.

The Number 4

My friends, it was HEAVEN.

The Baguette was light and crispy, unlike anything I had ever had before.  The fresh ingredients popped and melded into a wonderful medley of flavors.  Every bite was a joy, except for the last one, which was kind of sad.

And then there was the best part….THE PRICE.

All this fresh goodness cost a mere $5.90.

How can you beat that?

Now, the “American” sandwiches cost a bit more, because of the meat and vegetables, but why would you even want to have a regular sub when you can enjoy a little taste of Vietnam right here in Beaverton?

Stop into Best Baguette and see for yourself.

Remember, tell them that The Angry Jew sent you.

Best Baguette has two locations in Portland.

In Beaverton located at  3635 SW Hall Blvd, Beaverton, OR 97005 ( Across from Standard TV & Appliances)

For the first time in a long time I am completely relaxed.

Ahhhh….life is good.

The day took a slow lazy start thanks in part to a miscommunication with BBQ Brandon.  Our plan for today was, as I understood it, was that he was going to show up at my place around 9 and help me move out my old kitchen table and bring in the shiny new one I picked up a Ikea a few weeks ago when I was out and about with the Mad Greek.

We got the tables swapped out in short order, the new one is smaller and fits my apartment better, and then it was time for me to pay Brandon back for his labor.

I was to be his back up guy.

About a month ago, Brandon had to have some major work done on his truck, blown head gasket.  He hooked up with a shade tree mechanic that was recommended by a friend.  The guy got the engine apart, found out what needed to be done, got all the parts and then, because he is Brandon, Brandon paid the guy, in full.

Do I have to really need to tell you the rest?

After three weeks of unreturned phone calls, BBQ Brandon got on line, did some research and wrote up a very respectable settlement letter as a first step to either getting his truck fixed or getting his money back in small claims court.

It was my job to witness the service of the letter.

Now this was nothing new to me.  Back in the day, I did work from time to time as a process server.  I coached Brandon on what to say and, more importantly, what not to say, and then we headed over across town to the guys apartment.

A woman answered the door and was not sure if her(?) man was home.   When he came to the door, I remembered why I didn’t do process service anymore.  This was not a small man nor was he a happy one.  The look on his face when he saw Brandon standing there with an envelope in his hand had me reach up to rest my hand on the butt of the pistol that wasn’t there.

In a very calm voice, Brandon looked at him and said…”You’ve been served”, handed him the envelope, then turned and walked away.

I watched him for a minute or so as he read the letter, then turned to leave myself.

That is the hard part, turning your back on someone you just know you have pissed off.

As we were walking away, our freshly served mechanic started in on a tradition that is as old as the justice system…screaming and yelling at the process server;

“You better get out of here before I call the police!”

Please do moron…nothing like having another witness that you were served with legal papers.

“Maybe you should learn to return a phone call!”

Hmmm…seems to me you should have learned to finish a job you started, because if you had , none of this would have been necessary

His buddy joins in.

“I’ve been a mechanic for 14 years and I think he treated you just right”

So that’s why mechanics have  a reputation as rip off artists, thanks for the history lesson Butt Munch.

BBQ Brandon and I just looked at each other and laughed as we drove away.

I can’t wait to see how this one comes out.

I am really going to get on our Safety Coordinator at work.  How did she miss this video for our training meetings?



Your slacking Jen

I’m not a parent, never had the “pleasure”.

I know plenty of them…The Mad Greek has three daughters, “Hurricane” at work has 6 tricycle motors running around his place, I guess some people don’t believe in watching Letterman at night.

Anyway, despite the horror stories I hear, it seems that kids can be a pretty cool deal and I enjoy my limited interactions with them.

I’m not a religious person either, never really got it.

I bill myself as Jewish by heritage and birth, agnostic by choice.

I guess Judaism just didn’t take when I was a kid.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very proud of my heritage and believe fiercely that a Jewish state is the only way we can insure that the words “Never Again” remain more than words.

I don’t begrudge people of faith, to the contrary, I often finding myself envying people who have faith to buoy them through trying times.  I guess I just don’t believe.

Because of my beliefs, I was incredulous when a jury returned a not guilty verdict in the case of Carl and Rayleen Worthington yesterday.  This couple, who’s religious beliefs do not include modern medicine, allowed their 15 month old to die from a treatable infection.  In fact, in the Followers of Christ church cemetery lie the bodies of 78 children, 21 of which could have been saved through medical intervention.  Apparently that same belief does not include using doctors to testify in court for the defense that there was no way to know if the infection would have killed the child.

If your God is so powerful Carl, why even bother with a lawyer?  If he can heal sick children, surely he would not allow his faithful to be persecuted.

Jury Foreman Ashlee Santos, 25, described the Worthington’s as “good parents” who “truly did not believe” their daughter was gravely ill.  “There not monsters” she said.  “There not bad people”

Of course not.  They are just religious zealots who allowed their beliefs to result in the death of their daughter.

Just a few odds and ends today.

I will be on vacation next week, but fear not, as part of my plan to keep myself out of my fracking apartment and to actually have some fun, I am going to be chronicling my adventures with a series of posts called “The Staycation Diary.”  Be on the lookout for them.

Second, The Oregon Brewers Festival kicks off this Thursday.  I will be there on Sunday, no later then 1130, first pour is at noon.  If you plan on getting there later I wish you well.  It has been my experience that by 3 you end up spending most of your time waiting in line.  Depending on my work schedule, this may change, so stay tuned for updates.  As usual, if you want to meet up with us, drop me an email.

And last and most certainly least, a few months back I took the plunge and joined the sheeple on Facebook.  I know, I know.

Anyway, if you wish to friend me on Facebook, just click the link.  I will also be putting a link on the blogroll.

Storm Large!!!

WARNING:  Contains some language not safe for kiddies or employers and it will get stuck in your head for days.




Hope to go see her one woman show, Crazy Enough, while I am on vacation next week.



Storm and Her Balls from Portland Center Stage on Vimeo.