The Daily Procrastinator

If you’re joining us late, please read my reviews for the first part of my trip here.

On to Berlin and the seemingly blinding array of choices that confronted me at my local biergarten. It appears that as the main city in Germany, Berlin has adopted every regional beer and put them on the largest beer menus I’ve ever been faced with. Every meal was a daunting challenge.

The beer was a lot like the label: classic, but uninspired.

At dinner in Potsdamer Platz, I opted for a Schofferhofer hefeweizen. I’m a big fan of hefeweisen, but this one didn’t really inspire like some others that I’ve tried. The aroma of clove and banana was there, but there was an underlying almost bread-like heaviness to the wheat.

As a side note, I feel that it’s my public duty to share instructions on the proper hefeweisen pour. What makes a hefe a hefe is the yeast in the bottle, which of course must be transferred to the glass. To achieve a proper pour, tip the glass and gently pour about 2/3 of the bottle in, minimizing the head. Stop. Swizzle the bottle around to capture all of the yeast. Pour about half of the remaining beer into the glass. Repeat the swizzle and pour. There you will have the perfect hefeweisen. You’re welcome.

On my second night in Berlin, I was encouraged to have dinner at a tiny burrito shop near Alexanderplatz, one that was surprisingly good, given the distance from Mexico. Yet the beer selections were abysmal. I was in Germany. Did they seriously expect me to drink Dos Equis or Corona? The answer, sadly, was yes. And then I discovered a lone Tannenzaepfle in the case. German beer for the win!

Stay tuned as I move on to Munich where my favorite beer awaits: Franziskaner Weissbier.

Science is more than your seventh grade teacher droning on about nematodes.  Science can be funny, and NCBI ROFL is proof.  Rectal salami.  The correlation between ass size and penis length.  Dolphin tattoos.  The possibilities are endless.

Read and enjoy.

Greetings, procrastinators! I write to you from a cozy little apartment in central Munich, my first contact with the Internet since leaving the US. I can assure you that, as promised, I’ve been working hard on my quest to consume and review a variety of authentic German brews.

My trip began in Baden-Baden, a charming and well-preserved resort town in a cozy little corner of Germany, near the French border. I’m told that the town managed to avoid destruction in WWII because the French had plans for annexation and wanted to keep it intact. I was visiting some friends in the area and was exposed to two local brews: Rothaus Tannenzaepfle and Rothaus Radler Zaepfle. Rothaus is the brewery of the Baden region, cranking out beers since the late 1700s.

Tannenzaepfle translates to "pine cone."

The Tannenzaepfle – the name reflecting the pine cone on the label – is a classic pilsener brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, or German Purity Law. While I tend to not be a big fan of pilseners because of their hoppy bitterness, the Tannenzaepfle was clear and refreshing, with a clean finish.

The Radler Zaepfle is one of the more bizarre finds. In a country that obsesses over beer purity, this one is a mix of beer and lemonade. I’m told that it’s fairly new to the Rothaus lineup, creating a pre-bottled product for something that people were already doing themselves at their table. I can’t say that I’m a big fan. Oh, I can appreciate the reasoning behind it, but as a girl who doesn’t even like to add lime to her Corona, lemonade and beer is just too much of a leap for me.

I also experienced the Lowenbrau Premium Pils. Now, let’s be straight up here: this isn’t the crap that was brewed by Miller and marketed under the same name. This is real German beer. It’s served with a two-inch head and has a distinct aroma of both citrus and hops. It’s a pilsener, so it’s not going to be my favorite of all time, but it had a crisp, refreshing taste that offset the pilsener bitterness, and made it a good complement to a meal of sausage and kraut.

Stay tuned for Part 2, my adventures in Berlin!

These poor kids deserve privacy. The parents need some serious counseling for thinking that this was a good idea.

I’ve already gone against my better judgement and written about Jon & Kate Plus 8 in the past (please forgive me) but I need to go there again.

I was at another cookout where people were still talking about these people.  It appears that Kate — previously believed to be the evil shrew — is now the more popular of the two because Jon has been hooking up with some young blondes of questionable character.  There is evidently Team Jon and Team Kate, and people seriously want to know whose side you’re on.

How about this: what about Team 8?  These adults are both irresponsible enough to pimp out their children’s personal lives on national television.  The kids didn’t have a choice in the matter, and someone needs to stick up for them.  I find it hard to imagine that Child Protective Services allows people like the Gosselins and Octomom to sell the rights to their children’s privacy.

We choose to go to the moon

We’re back!

The Daily Procrastinator writers missed a lot while we were out for the month of July, not the least of which was the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.  Unless you were living on a deserted island, you probably already learned nearly everything you needed to know about this historical event.  But just in case you didn’t, I’d like to direct you to a favorite site of mine, Badass of the Week.  In honor of the moon landing, I present Buzz Aldrin, Badass.

Our name says it all.  We are committed to procrastination.  And, in the spirit of procrastination, we will be taking the month of July off.  Some would call it a vacation.  We call it summer procrastination.

Wish you were here.

We’ll be back on August 1 with the “What’s TallGirl Drinking?” tour of the beers of Germany.  I’ll be taking detailed notes and will do my best to arrange for daily updates, internet connection permitting.

Until then, enjoy your Fourth of July celebrations, stay cool and please, follow our lead and don’t work too hard.

Readers, you will laugh at this: I just got my first video game system. Ever. How I find myself hanging with the crowd on this blog is a mystery to me. Nevertheless, I am the proud new owner of a Wii, and perhaps even more exciting, a Wii Fit.

Where are the sweaty users, collapsed in a heap on the floor?

The Wii Fit package features four happy people doing exercises. They’re dressed in white, smiling and generally having a good time. And I’ll admit, the first time I tried the Wii Fit at a relative’s house, I felt the same way. I had loads of fun as I stood there in my street clothes and bare feet, going through the motions without breaking a sweat.

And then I got one for my birthday.

Now, let’s set the stage for this. I work out between four and six days each week, depending on my schedule. I used to own a Pilates and yoga studio. My blood pressure is low, my cholesterol rocks, my BMI is awesome. I’ve done two half marathons in the last two years. I am the sort of person who takes their exercising seriously. Today, I tried the system out at home for the first time, wearing workout clothes and really doing the exercises.

The Wii Fit kicked my ass.

There’s no other way to explain it. I went through the poses one by one, Yoga section first. Breathing? Check. Half Moon? Check. Warrior? Bring it on. But then I got to the Strength exercises. Holy Christmas! The Push-Up and Plank? Brutal! Jackknife, done in pace with the whistle? Stunningly hard.

It wasn’t long before I was huffing and puffing and breaking a sweat. And don’t let the “fun stuff” fool you. The Aerobics and Balance Games may look easy, but it doesn’t take long before you’re pretty much wiped out. As I turned off the console and collapsed on the couch, I couldn’t believe how much of a workout I’d gotten from a video game. And I can’t wait until tomorrow to try again and hopefully beat my scores from today.

It's a beautiful day for a new era in baseball.

Fans, rejoice!  Donald Fehr, head of the MLBPA, is resigning.  As the head of the union, Fehr has done his best to drag the sport through the mud with his campaigning against tougher drug policies in the sport.  And we all know how well that worked out, right A-Rod and Manny?

Now, if we can just get Bud Selig to join him, maybe there will be some hope for saving the sport for future generations.

Don't call her TallGirl . . . Call her BEER GIRL!

Dear Internet, I am hereby preparing you for a future event.  In six weeks I’ll be departing for Germany for two weeks of sightseeing and, of course, beer.

It is my heartfelt desire that you can share in this experience with me.  How?  I, TallGirl, will take it upon myself to sample as many German beers as I possibly can and report these results back to you, our loyal readers.

I’ve found a list to get me started, but let’s be honest: these beers were probably reviewed by beer aficionados.  These are the kind of people, like wine people, who can detect notes of clove or banana or the mint plant on a neighboring farm.  I am not one of these people.  My reviews will be much simpler, highlighting drinkability and enjoyment.

So keep your eyes open starting August 1 for this valuable public service, only from The Daily Procrastinator.

I’ve been a big fan of the Greatest American Rock Band series from FlashCap, but because I’m a writer, I struggle with listening to music with vocals while I’m working, especially music that I know the words to.  None of my clients want the lyrics to “Hot for Teacher” interspersed with their web content.

Therefore, I present to you my favorite mellow music: Acoustik Guitar by John H. Clarke.  This guy is good.  Period.

Watch him play via YouTube.  Trust me, it’s worth a moment of your time.