Videos

Why Does Austin Texas Have Six Congress Persons?

austinGerrymandering has a long and proud tradition in the state of Texas. Republicans have been firmly in control for years. In 2012, the Texas legislature redrew the lines for Congressional districts. Austin, famous as an island of weirdness in a deep-red state, presented a challenge: how to prevent a liberal area from sending a liberal politician to the Congress. Republicans were up to the challenge, however. They carved Austin up into six districts, one stretching in a narrow eighty-mile band all the way to San Antonio.

Here is the Daily Show’s portrait of Austin:

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Spending Too Much Time on YouTube

The problem with YouTube is that once you start – doing serious research, of course – you get distracted by the endless panoply of videos. Before you know it, hours have passed.

On the Johnny Carson show, big-name guests, instead of moving down the couch when their time was up, would have to leave for some presumably important commitment. Here’s Steve Martin:

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More About Beer Marketing

Rainer wasn’t the only Northwest beer with clever commercials that couldn’t keep it in business. Blitz-Weinhard marketed itself as “The Beer Here.” Today, it’s another brand from somewhere.

Henry Weinhard opened his Portland brewery in 1856, three years before Oregon became a state. For decades, Blitz-Weinhard was the largest-selling beer in Oregon. Pabst Brewing bought the company in 1979; sold to G. Heileman in 1983; Heileman’s bankruptcy in 1996 prompted sale to Stroh Brewing Co; Stroh sold to Miller in 1999; Miller immediately closed brewery and moved production up I-5 to Olympia; Miller closed that brewery in 2003 and contracted with Full Sail in Hood River to brew the brand; Miller became MillerCoors in 2007; Full Sail contract ended in 2013 and now Henry Weinhard’s is brewed… somewhere.

The brewery, adjacent to Powell’s City of Books, is now the Brewery Blocks, a conglomeration of condos and apartments, offices, trendy retail – Whole Foods, Sur la Table and others – and a location of MillerCoors franchised Henry’s Tavern.

But that’s not what this post is about. It’s to share the story of Schludwiller beer, a fictitious California brand and attempts by intrepid truckers Vern and Earl to bring it into Oregon. The Schludwiller truck actually was used by the brewery to distribute its beer and could be seen traveling the highways throughout the state.

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