Ask Uncle Sal: Hairdos and hammocks

Dear Uncle Sal, what is the deal with women and the hair salon? My wife goes every other month. She spends $150 and two hours at the salon, then she's pissed at me because I didn't notice that she had 1/8 of an inch trimmed from the ends of her hair. Inconsiderate Idjit

Ah yes, the hair issue. I tell ya, Inconsiderate, if I had a buck for every time a broad got mad at me for the hair issue, I'd prolly be retired on some Pacific island. The thing is, ya wanna think that women are being hornswoggled in this whole thing. Why pay $150 fer a haircut that ain't even noticeable? Well, there's a few things at work here.

• First off, no guy ('cept maybe a politician, and who wants to hold them up as an example of anything) would pay that much for a haircut. And why? Because we don't feel the need to put guilt trips on our women. Heck, ya can tell her until yer blue in the face that ya feel unappreciated. All she's gonna hear is BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. So obviously this hustle ain't gonna work if it's men paying that much fer a haircut. 
• Now, that tells me that the hairdressers are in on the flimflam. After all, them lady hairdressers gotta get their hair cut too. 
• So the question is why this conspiracy? Well, that $150 yer wife spends is worth it a) for the guilt she can heap on ya and b) for the makeup gifts she can get outta ya. 

Either that, or yer wife ain't really goin' to the hair salon at all.

Dear Uncle Sal: looking forward to hitting the beaches this summer. What's going to be popular for wearing, or should I just stick to my go-to pink satin banana hammock? Can't Wait in Calabash

I don't wanna see nothin' like this.

Well, Can't Wait, after I read your question, I took three hot showers where I used steel wool for a washcloth. Unfortunately, I still didn't feel any better afterward. Now listen. I ain't one to judge what someone wears. Ya can wear whatever ya want. After all, yer an adult (I'm assumin') and ya don't need any permission from me about what ya should wear. I'll just say two things about the banana hammock. First, I hope you and I ain't hangin' out at the same beach because that sure ain't sump'n I wanna see. Second, I can't imagine any time or place ('cept maybe somewhere in Europe) where a pink satin banana hammock would be acceptable beachwear. I can't say for certain what'll be popular for wearin'. I ain't no fashion expert. All I can say is, how about a nice pair of boardshorts, buddy? They even got 'em in floral designs if ya want.

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7 x 7 link award

Well, yours truly has been mentioned by the good folks at 3 Guys 1 Movie in their 7 x 7 link award post. OK, so it was actually my Examiner profile that was mentioned in that post. However, when I write for Examiner (one of my many outlets), I write strictly about music. So, let's get right to it...doing it strictly by the book. And if you know me even a little you know that strictly by the book is not the way I ordinarily do things.

1. Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you. Ummm, there are probably loads of things that people don't know about me. But here goes: I am relentlessly prompt. Or I was before I had my two kids.
2. Link to one of the posts that best fits the following categories: most beautiful, most helpful, most popular, most controversial, most surprisingly successful piece, most underrated piece, most pride-worthy piece.
3. Pass this on to seven other blogs.

• Most beautiful - Well, personally I think it was a thing of beauty when I was able to twist the words of "Me and Bobby McGee" into the clincher for Episode 126 of the Uncle Sal Chronicles.
• Most helpful - This would have to be the edition of Ask Uncle Sal entitled Erection Set.
• Most popular and most controversial - Not everyone agreed with it, but my Examiner story "Thanks for Nothing, Morrissey" got quite a lot of reaction. That, and my piece about Utah County Swillers.
• Most surprisingly successful piece - My recent piece about the Poxy Boggards St. Paddy's Day show did amazingly well.
• Most underrated piece - Jeez, I have no idea.
• Most pride-worthy piece - This has to be Episode 100 of the Uncle Sal Chronicles, not only because it was a big milestone, but also because it was the only time any episode included more than one clincher (it has three).

Passing it on to seven other blogs

• Paddy Rock - It is what you would expect from the name: a site (complete with podcast) dedicated to Celtic punk. Lots of good show reviews, CD reviews, and bands you should get to know.
• Bob Whitehand's World of Music - Very thorough pieces on music artists new and old.
• Voodoo Funk - This guy has the market cornered on west African funk.
• Meeting Boy - This guy has some pretty acerbic observations about office life.
• This is probably pretty unexpected, but fyeahtattoos on Tumblr shows lots of cool photos of tattoos.
• New Dad in Training - He runs half-marathons, he has a newborn at home, and he's a big Buckeyes fan.
• If you've ever read Uncle Sal, you know I have a thing for wordplay. So does the person behind Wordplay Wonderland.

Ask Uncle Sal: Football and flat bottoms

Yeah, yeah. I know it's been a while since the last installment. I got myself into a tight spot in Carbondale with an illusionist, his busty redheaded assistant, a jar of marshmallow creme and a tube of super glue. Now onto yer questions.

Do you think Urban Meyer will use any unfair recruiting practices at Ohio State? Wants Trustworthy Footballmen


Well WTF, I don't wanna cast any aspersions on anyone, but I reckon he prolly will. Heck, he comes from the SEC and ain't no conference uses unfair recruiting practices more than the SEC. But hey, last I checked this was college ball, not elementary school where everythin' needs to be fair. And also the last I checked Urban Meyer wasn't hired to run a group of choirboys. He's there to win football games and national championships. Way I see it, if yer gonna do that, yer prolly gonna step on some toes.
Say, that reminds me of when I played tight end and linebacker for ol' Cotton U. Our rival was the Fightin' Catfish of Gantry University. Now, when I played, Gantry had this big ugly (I tell ya, this guy coulda been the inspiration for one of Keith Jackson's favorite terms) defensive end name of Ugly Stick Foster. (I'm sure that ain't the name his mama give him, but that's how we called him.) And ya know what was his best pass rushin' technique? Soon as the ball was snapped, he'd move in and stomp on yer foot with them big ol' size 17 cleats. Then while yer howlin' in pain, he'd just push ya over and run at the quarterback. But I tell ya, one time on the receivin' end of that and ya modify your own technique. Next time I saw him raising that big ol' hoof to stomp me, I got both hands under his arms and yanked his armpit hair. Ya wanna see a big slobberin' bull stop in his tracks, try that.
Anyway, like I was sayin'...it's football. Fairness has got nothin' to do with it.

My friend and I go fishing every weekend. He's got a round-bottom boat and I've got a flat bottom. He says his is better cuz of the shape. I say fish don't care. Who's right? Flat-bottom girl


FBG, I hope you didn't make a wager with your friend about who I say is right because the answer is you both are. You're right that the fish don't care. Yer yanking 'em outta their home and throwin' 'em into a boat so I reckon they don't really care what shape is the boat yer puttin' 'em into. Yer friend is right too though because no guy likes to see a woman with a flat bottom.

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Ask Uncle Sal: Reuben and the stains

Yeah, I know it's been a while since the last edition of Ask Uncle Sal. I had a little situation in Sioux City with a Mongolian go-go dancer, an accountant, a billiard ball, and two quarts of mescal. Now onto yer questions.

How much sauerkraut is too much on a reuben? Navigating the Sandwich Islands

I'd say this depends on yer personal taste, but ya really can have too much sauerkraut on a reuben. I can't say fer sure what measurement is too much, but the thing is ya don't want the kraut to overpower the corned beef. If ya take a bite of yer sammich and ya taste sauerkraut and not much else, then I'd say ya got too much on there. Now I'm in the mood fer a nice reuben. And ya know what goes great with a reuben. Well, I find a cajun martini goes pretty well with just about anything, but when I order one of these, I like to have a witbier with it. Mmmmmm reuben and witbier.

I'm thinking of building a deck. Do I stain it or leave it raw to go gray in the sun? Deck the (Chippewa) Falls

Look here, Deck. The important question is when are ya gonna have the first kegger on yer new deck? And I should hope I'm invited. Say, that reminds me. I was at a kegger on a deck Oconomowoc one time and there's this big fella name of Tiny Armbruster. Now, Tiny could drink, which ain't surprisin' for a guy musta weighed 300 pounds. What was surprisin' was that he wanted to do a keg stand. As ya might imagine, there wasn't a whole lot of people rushin' to hold him while he did his keg stand, but finally he talked some folks into it. There he is doing a keg stand. I tell ya, someone shoulda put a timer on it. He's doing the keg stand, then all of a sudden he just erupts with this big sneeze. Not only sprayed everyone nearby with beer, but he also fell. Of course, the people holdin' him all crashed to the deck too. Brand new deck and Tiny just splintered a coupla them boards. As for yer question, I say stain it. Lettin' it go gray might be good for black and white photos, but you wanna keep that deck tip-top, you should stain it.

Gotta question for Uncle Sal? Fire away.

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