Colonial Amber

The snow was a-comin' this weekend, and my day off for the week was Thursday. It was 58 degrees outside. BREW DAY! The next in line for my little Brewery-That-Could was a basic amber ale. I titled it Colonial Amber well, just because. Early colonial American brewers probably brewed something similar to this, and North Carolina was an original 13 colony, and I wanted to wear my 1754 Albany Plan "Join or die" t-shirt. Makes perfect sense.

The recipe:

1 lb. Briess Caramel 20

6.3 lbs. Amber Liquid Malt Extract

2 oz. Cascade 7.1% alpha acid @ 60 minutes

1 oz. Cascade 7.1% AA @ 1 minute

Safale US-05 dry yeast

Easy peezy lemon squeezy. Another successful brew day on an unseasonably warm day right before a LOT of snow would be coming.

A Serious Man

Filmmakers the Coen Brothers are at it again. This time with a study on a lowly Jewish professor in suburban Minnesota who is just trying to do right amongst the loads and loads of disasters that befall him.

The trailer:


With regard to his health, work, marriage, spirituality, anything and everything is heaped upon him as he tries to make his way through the world. Obstacles abound.

The film begins with a short piece set in Poland decades upon decades ago. A stranger who helps a local man fix his wheelcart arrives at the door...to the dismay of the wife who insists the stranger died three years ago. The man is a demon, she exclaims.

How many demons show up at the door of the poor protagonist in A Serious Man? Too many to count.

Matinee score from me here.

Broken Embraces

Another evening of independent cinema at Winston-Salem's a/perture cinema. Last time it was a film from Belgium, and now...Spain: Pedro Almodóvar's subtitled Broken Embraces. Penelope Cruz....yum.

The trailer:


A back-and-forth mystery from 1992 to present-day with Cruz as secretary-by-day/escort-by-night who is discovered and fulfills her dream of being an actress...against the wishes of her elder lover. The director of the film is smitten by her and it results in his best work ever. What a film! It will be a fine piece of cinema! Until...

Disaster.

The director is blinded. The muse is....

I don't want to ruin it. Twists! Turns! Gasps! A shocking ending!

A truly remarkable film. I loved it. FULL PRICE easy....boutique theater or not.

Katrina vanden Heuvel

OK, I told you that the posts here would be quite sporadic from now on. But some gentle readers are not on Teh Facebook portion of Teh Internets, so this would be the only forum to see this news.

Two weekends ago (yes, two weekends have elapsed) was one of my beloved 3-day weekends off, so it was a trip into DC for shenanigans. A bunch of the "regular" spots were hit: District Chophouse, Ben's Chili Bowl, Lincoln Waffle Shop, Shelly's Backroom, et al. A new one on the docket was the Langston Hughes-inspired Busboys and Poets, coffee/book shop. The 14th and V Street location was the destination for lunch Friday. There was a symposium/salon sponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies concerning President Obama's first year in office. (Final grade? C-. Can't argue that.) Special guest? My not-so-secret most favorite editor EVER from The Nation magazine: Katrina vanden Heuvel. (By the way, not to be TOO creepy, but she felt and smelled GREAT.)

What a GREAT weekend!!!!

A Town Called Panic

My first venture over to the new a/perture cinema in downtown Winston-Salem occurred tonight. The inaugural Gordon showing? A Belgian stop-action animation film A Town Called Panic. Yes. Belgian. From Belgium. Subtitled.

The trailer:


Wallace and Gromit meets little plastic toys.

It's Horse's birthday (June 21...quite nice). Cowboy and Indian have forgotten. A gift! What to give their good friend Horse???? A barbecue pit. They'll build Horse a barbecue pit. Doing the calculations, 50 bricks will be required. Ordering online, with a few extra zero's added to the end of '50' yields hijinks and hilarity. The mischievous Cowboy and Indian have finally gone too far and the town is set upon its ear.

Psychedelic with its warping plot line and scene locations. A bizarre journey. But one that results in plenty of laughs, touching moments, and outright drug-induced jaw dropping. I'm not condoning illicit substances to augment the film...but it might help.

Oh such a quick FULL PRICE score is given. A barrel of fun careening over the falls.

a/perture cinema

If you live ANYWHERE near Winston-Salem, NC and you enjoy film, you owe it to yourself and to the arts community to go to the new a/perture cinema. It's downtown right across the street from the Mellow Mushroom and a few blocks up from Foothills Brewing. Described rather succinctly by the theater owners themselves:

an independent theater in downtown winston salem. 2 screens, 160 seats, beer, wine, and a whole bunch of movies you’ve probably never heard of.

Outstanding. REALLY looking forward to the films they'll show. Sadly, the window for most of them is small, so if you see something you may enjoy....GO SEE IT IMMEDIATELY. It might not hang around very long.

I foresee many a 30-minute drive from Greensboro to the newest theater in the area.

Avatar in 3-D

Had a day off recently and quite thoroughly enjoyed sitting in a dark theater with crazy 3-D glasses on for over 2 & 1/2 hours. I fell in line with the hive mind and offered my own tribute to the throne of James Cameron. Cannot. Stay. Away.

Here's the trailer, which pretty much tells the whole story:

Breath-taking visuals. Seriously. Just truly awe-inspiring. A good thing too, as the incredible sensory optics are needed to trump the knuckle-dragging dialog. Who knew that in the year 2154 stereotypical military-types are still using such W. phrases as "Shock and awe" and fighting terror with...wait for it....terror.

The story? Dripping with irony and modern day comparisons. The lush and beautiful world of Pandora is a hotbed for a mineral highly sought after on our dying Earth. We've made our way to their world to obtain the precious rock, but need to protect ourselves behind a "green zone". Apparently the inhabitants of this gorgeous world are rather protective of their environment and use guerrilla tactics against the military to keep them at bay.

To coordinate a more diplomatic solution, human and Na'avi DNA are melded into clone material that can be controlled via an elaborate mind-meld. The creatures are "avatars" of the controllers. This way, humans can more readily interact with the locals and "convince" them to relocate so we can mine their precious mineral.

A Marine grunt paraplegic whose twin brother scientist has died is transferred to the Avatar program since his DNA is so compatible. He's charged with using this new skill to infiltrate the locals and "convince" them to relocate. As he spends more time with the locals, he inevitably sees the errors of his military's ways, falls in love, and eventually leads the locals against the humans.

Dances with Wolves + the Smurfs + the Iraq War + Al Gore. The human becomes immersed in the foreign customs, thereby attempting to make a social statement against war and the urbanization of greenery.

Dialog dripping with cheese overcome by FANTASTIC visuals. Still, the 3-D experience made it an EASY FULL PRICE rating. It readily overcame the script and cheap metaphors. A cinematic delight.

Farmers' Almanac Maple Porter

A couple months ago, Duke confessed to me his retirement from homebrewing. I was sad. I understand his time constraints and the lack of inspiration, but still, he won a freakin' medal and got a photo in the homebrew journal Zymurgy! Anyway, last month I was bequeathed some of his equipment (House of Gordon kegging coming soon!) and ingredients.

On another note, The Farmers' Almanac has an interesting little tidbit called "The Best Day(s) to Brew Beer in the Next 60 Days". Sweet. The website is here. It happened that the most recent good days were January 1 and January 2. Now January 1 I had to work 8-4 then there was Ohio State in the Rose Bowl at 4:30, so that was out. But Saturday January 2? Score!

Put the two together, and I'll brew Duke's ingredient gift on a great Farmers' Almanac day!

One glitch, it was COLD. 30 degrees cold. I hooked up my garden hose for my Therminator plate chiller and....something in the hose was clogged or it was downright frozen inside. No water flow through the hose. Water came out of the spigot just fine, just nothing through the hose.

Shit.

I thought about canceling the brewday, but there was not another good Farmers' Almanac brewday in the next 60 days. And I just HAD to test the Farmers' resolve. So, it was cold enough that a chill plate or an immersion chiller would not be needed. Observe the simple setup to the right! I'll go old school: stir occasionally and allow the natural heat exchange to go from hot liquid to stainless steel to outside ambient temperature. Took forever, and frankly I was a little fearful of wild yeast or bacterial infection, but screw it....the Farmers' Almanac is on my side!

The hodgepodge makeshift recipe:

4 oz. Briess Special Roast

4 oz. Caramalt

4 oz. Belgian Debittered Black Malt

4 oz. Chocolate Malt

4 oz. Caramel 60L

2 oz. Caramel 40L

6 lb. Gold LME (Liquid Malt Extract)

1 oz. Cluster hops, 7.2% alpha acid @ 60 minutes

2 lb. Grade B Maple Syrup @ 0 minutes

Munton Dry Yeast (the Activator Smack Pack of London Ale did not activate nor swell)

In one week upon transfer to secondary fermentation, another pound or so of maple syrup will be added for more mapley aroma in the finished product.

OG (original gravity) 1.055. In the "robust porter" range in the grand scheme of things. Good to brew again. It's been a while. Even with the time consuming cooling scenario. Good brewing karma...the Almanac said so.

One lonely December 2009 post

Post #601.

Been a while, eh? You still come around here? You still on the edge of your seat waiting for an update? Or have you given up? I wouldn't blame you. Why keep coming back when I don't update anything for over a month. This being said, the muse to type something relevant or witty or newsworthy on these very pages has seemingly disappeared. The urge and wanting to do so is gone. Those who follow my oh-so-interesting (sarcasm) adventures already do so on the interwebs via The Facebook or The Twitter. Here on The Blogger?....I just don't "feel it" at the moment.

So maybe in 2010, there will be an update on a brewday or a movie or something interesting I've done. But for the most part, the urge to share these types of things on this medium has subsided greatly. I guess I'll be around, just not so often. Try not to wait up.

So to recap December 2009 in one fell swoop:

The Fantastic Mr. Fox / Chargers game / Great Lakes beer school / Steelers game / Dave Matthews Band concert film in 3-D / nasty snowstorm that canceled my yearly A Christmas Carol theater excursion / wicked bronchitis.

Here's to an improved 2010. Finally, a vigorous and hearty FUCK YOU to 2009 and the events that threaten to ruin me as the entity you previously knew.

Chicago - Day 3

Sunday saw my Chicago weekend trip come to a close. I debated whether or not to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Robin mentioned the Art Institute of Chicago as an option. I had one afternoon to do something, and I knew that it would have to occur after lunch of deep dish Chicago pizza at Giordano's which was just two blocks from the hotel near the Sears, er, Willis Tower. Outstanding. (And I'm insanely glad the chick in the boots turned ever so slightly for the nice ass profile shot. Kudos to you fine lass!)


So, instead of just seeing ONE landmark for my final Chicago afternoon, I chose the best of them all: double decker bus tour. Two+ hours driving around town and seeing the sights. Touristy? Yes. Cheesy? Quite possibly. But it afforded me a trip all around town in one fell swoop before I had to depart.






A great weekend chock full of activities and sights. A lot of fun was had. The concerts were stellar. Now, back to reality...

Chicago - Day 2

Woke up Saturday excited and ready to go. My first day in Chicago was a BUSY fun-filled one. Today looks to be another great day out of town for more friendship, more beverage, and more Pixies.

Hopped on the "El" train again and traveled northward to meet up with Jonathan and Robin again. Stopped off at their place to meet Lily and Alice: two chihuahuas of infamous repute. After an interesting and novel display of barking, it was time to lay on the floor and get my ears and nose cleaned out by voracious tongues. Dogs rule.


We walked over to the El through their neighborhood and had lunch at Belly Shack for some Asian/Latin fusion sandwiches. Meatball pita with noodles for me. Appetizers of maple squash and fried plantains. Tasty.

Bellies full, we make our way over to another of the best bars in the land: The Map Room. The Ohio State/Michigan game was on the TV, Great Lakes Brewing's Edmund Fitzgerald Porter was going down the chute, and on a Saturday afternoon the bar became more and more lively with patrons. The place is just so cool. National Geographic magazines line the shelves on the wall. The wallpaper is comprised on (surprise!) maps. Belgian lambic Cantillon Lou Pepe quickly became a winner as more and more goblets of the tart nectar were ordered up.

From here, we walked some blocks over to Piece Brewery & Pizzeria for (surprise!) beer and pizza. The beers here have a decidedly, um, naughty air. I asked for something hoppy, so instead of their Full Frontal pale ale the waitress suggested the Camel Toe IPA. Giggle giggle. Also, some tasters of their Moose Knuckle barleywine were presented. Tee hee hee.

With excellent public transport instructions from my Chicago hosts, I hopped on a bus, then the El, and again arrived at the Aragon Ballroom for my 2nd concert in two nights. Another great set. Now since they're playing their Doolittle CD in its entirety, the bulk of it is the same. However, they ended with my two all-time favorite Pixies songs, making it the best night ever.

1. Dancing The Manta Ray
2. Weird At My School
3. Bailey's Walk
4. Manta Ray
5. Debaser
6. Tame
7. Wave of Mutilation
8. I Bleed
9. Here Comes Your Man
10. Dead
11. Monkey Gone To Heaven
12. Mr. Grieves
13. Crackity Jones
14. La La Love You
15. No. 13 Baby
16. There Goes My Gun
17. Hey
18. Silver
19. Gouge Away
20. Encore:
20. Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
21. Into The White
22. Encore 2:
22. Holiday Song
23. Something Against You
24. Vamos
25. Where Is My Mind?
26. Encore 3:
26. Gigantic

Chicago - Day 1

I've been home for a few days now, so I guess it's time to post about my 3-day weekend in Chicago. Why Chicago? The 20th anniversary of the seminal Pixies album Doolittle. The band went on a small tour to celebrate and will play the album in its entirety. The closest town they were coming to for me was Washington, DC. But those dates occur the Monday/Tuesday after Thanksgiving. And as a retail grunt, those dates are virtually impossible to get time off for. So looking at the tour schedule, Chicago fell on my normally-scheduled 3-day weekend off.

HELLO CHICAGO!!!

I was supposed to fly out of Raleigh Thursday night (an hour away but super cheap Southwest fares), but that FAA computer glitch from that morning rolled along and affected later flights. I thought I'd be out of the woods with my 6:30pm flight, but it ended up delayed 4 hours...making me miss my connection. Soooo....EARLY Friday morning it was. In bed by 10pm, up at 3:45am to have enough to time to drive over to make the flight.

By 8:30am Friday I am in Chicago. And by 10:00am I am here:

103 floors up and 4 feet out. "The Ledge" on the Sears, er, the Willis Tower. Took a cab from the airport, dropped off my bags at the hotel, then walked the 2 blocks from hotel to the tallest building in the U.S. Incredible views. Ears popped constantly on the elevator rides up and down. Unbelievable structure.


Chicago is a great beer town. Fellow beer geeks Jonathan and Robin moved from Chapel Hill to Chicago a few years ago. Since I was in town, we planned to meet up and do some pubcrawling together. First stop for lunch? The Lincoln Park neighborhood and Goose Island - Clybourn. A tasty burger with bacon of course was my fare. Delicious Belgian-inspired Matilda, offered a sample taste of their new altbier, then their dark Belgian Noire, Imperial Brown Goose, and finally a Black Cat Espresso Stout. (Wow, we went through a bunch of beverages didn't we?)

From here, it's to a divey bar with plenty of taps called Local Option. Just had a couple here, most notably the hoppy sensation from Three Floyds Brewing Co., Dreadnaught. On tap. Hear that Bones? Dreadnaught on tap. It was quite delicious.

From here, it was to one off the better beer bars in the country let alone Chicago: Hopleaf. Surly Brewing's Bender and a Stone/BrewDog collaboration called Bashah were the hits. Robin got some sort of muddy silty creation from Belgian brewer Wostyntje: Mustard Beer. Looked absolutely disgusting, but was actually pretty tasty. Looks nasty. I mean, look at it:

For dinner, I did have a delicious sammich: a CB&J. Cashew butter, fig jam, and gruyere cheese. Serve it with mac-n-cheese? Sold! YUM!!!

From here, we parted ways as I had a PIXIES concert to go to. They performed at the beautiful Aragon Ballroom. It was so sweet to see them live!!! People were cramming to get centerstage, but I was interested on hanging around towards the right of the stage in front of uber-cool bassist Kim Deal. Got it. Right up front. Leaning against the barrier. NICE!!!! The concert was a dandy. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

1. Dancing The Manta Ray
2. Weird At My School
3. Bailey's Walk
4. Manta Ray
5. Debaser
6. Tame
7. Wave Of Mutilation
8. I Bleed
9. Here Comes Your Man
10. Dead
11. Monkey Gone To Heaven
12. Mr. Grieves
13. Crackity Jones
14. La La Love You
15. No. 13 Baby
16. There Goes My Gun
17. Hey
18. Silver
19. Gouge Away
20. Encore:
20. Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
21. Into The White
22. Encore 2:
22. Isla De Encanta
23. Nimrod's Son
24. U-Mass
25. Velouria

John Hodgman

Drove over to Salem College after work Friday for hors d'oeuvres, wine, discussion, book signings, photos, mingling, and VIP seating within an austere and bucolic setting. Salem College was the setting. John Hodgman was the reason. Sound elitist? I hope so, you fucking bloody commoner!

Brandy and robustos in the drawing room, anyone? From April, 2008:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Hodgman - Elitist Persecution
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

A book tour commenced to celebrate the paperback release of his book More Information Than You Require. Winston-Salem was the only North Carolina stop on his tour. Heard about it on NPR as the alarm clock went off one morning at 7am. In a sleepy haze I thought I heard that John Hodgman was coming to Winston-Salem. No, that couldn't be true. Alas, upon checking WFDD's website, it was TRUE! Instead of the usual 7:00pm auditorium-only ticket, I opted for the 5:30pm pre-show meet-n-greet on campus. What a treat! Hodgman was genuinely pleased to meet those of us who were there. With a warm and caring smile he engaged us all individually with empathy and care. It was really pretty sweet.

Books were signed. Wine was drunk, specifically for me the Cupcake Merlot. Photos were taken. Schmoozing and mingling were occurring. Then it was time to walk over from the fancy campus house to the auditorium and our VIP front 4 row seats. Life is indeed difficult. He spoke for almost two hours in a loosely moderated Q&A forum.

It was indeed a fantastic evening.

Darwin's Meditation for the People of Lincoln

Drove over to Raleigh and the campus of NC State to see yet another performance by Daniel Bernard Roumain, otherwise known as DBR. This piece, a multimedia production entitled Darwin's Meditation for the People of Lincoln. Two iconic figures born on the same day in 1809. DBR wonders, what would they say to each other if they met? The performance and the piece can be best described by the man himself:



Not knowing what to expect, some "modern" portions of Act I were oddly intriguing. I suppose I had it in my mind that traditional melodic measures would flow. Act I included many sporadic notes and off-tempo beats. Once I settled into the show, it really opened up for me and I enjoyed it immensely.

The treat before the 8pm show was the 6:45pm discussion in the student center on campus. Got there right as it began, and no one was sitting in the very front row! Hell, I'll sit there! Great to hear his thoughts on the piece firsthand. Also cool to hear his tackle audience questions with humility and grace. And finally, even better for him to offer to shake my hand after the discussion. I squeal like a girl.

Oleanna

Triad Stage season pass night, this time for David Mamet's Oleanna. A two-person play of "he said / she said". College professor and young co-ed. What happened? What can be proven? What crime is defined? Each sees the proceedings with their own eyes: How could the professor DO that to the student? How can the student try to RUIN the professor?

The characters names are Carol and John. So what is Oleanna? Oleanna is a utopian vision of society. Whose vision are we striving for? Whose dreams should be squashed in reaching these heights?

An uncomfortable performance. Couldn't get comfortable in my seat watching it. But that's the point.