So many questions…

Well, well, well.

Someone other than my wife and TW Geek is tracking this little old blog. What a legitimate surprise. To that end, I received a question via email regarding a potential follow-up to the Hopewell Culture post.

Q: Did your mom enjoy the mounds in Ohio or not?
A: She did. In the end, she’s really all about history and places off the beaten path. We are very different but we have that in common. Most probably it’s common between us because I learned it from her. Now…country music. No. I did not get that from her. She can keep it. I want no part of it. Well…except for k.d. lang, Lyle Lovett and (perhaps) The Dixie Chicks. I know that I don’t even consider two of those three to be country artists.

Q: Reading about your beer–did you ever consider making your own?
A: As a matter of fact, way back in the tunnel of time I made beer with TW Geek. It stunk up the place something fierce (and not in the Christian Siriano way). I remember it being barely drinkable. Two days ago, apropos of nothing, I turned to my wife and told her I wanted to try homebrewing. I think that I might be able to spend more time, effort, and money to do it up right this attempt. I harbor no illusions that the first batches will be any good. But I do have hopes for something drinkable eventually. At present, I am in the research phase. Oh…and I know that I will not be bottling. I plan to keg it. The hassle of bottling is not something I want to deal with. I also do not have the space for a bunch of bottles. I’m sure to revisit this topic occasionally as I take my baby brewing steps.

Have you ever been on a brewery tour? They’re universally similar and the main goal of attending one is the sample room at the end. If you’ve seen one brewery line, you’ve essentially seen them all. I’ve done the Anheuser-Busch tour twice now (now with extra Belgian goodness). What’s fascinating about that tour is that they have free samples at the beginning and at the end. It’s well worth the free admission. You get to mill about in a waiting area where you can purchase pretty much anything that’s been licensed with the A-B brand. Then…you get to see stables, maybe horses, and fake assembly lines. The architecture and design is generally fascinating but you can see the looks on faces and here the barely audible murmurs of, “Get this damn tour over and get me to more free beer!” It’s the same look you see on any brewery tour. No one really cares about your beechwood aging, or the number of bottles you brew fill per minute, or whether you’re infusing Belgian chocolate into your malts. In the end…it’s all about the samples.

Look! An old beer wagon. Where's Friar Tuck?

Note the pre-tour beer in hand.

See...horses...

More horse stuff...where's the beer?

Now…winery tours are another beast entirely and worth a separate post. I actually have a long history with those. I anticipate a multi-part series.

Mirror Universe…

In keeping with the inspiration provided daily by TW Geek, I too will talk about the content of my fridge. Nothing more fun than that…

Oh right.

Regardless, let’s continue.

I too have the Sam Adams Harvest Collection 12-pack in my fridge. In truth it was recommended by TW Geek just the other day. I’m generally pleased with the flavor and quality of most of the Sam Adams varieties. The Harvest Collection seems to have only winners. I did have one of their varieties earlier this year that left me looking for a tongue scraper. The blackberry witbier was, to me, almost undrinkable. The flavor was not at all fruity and refreshing. It was also too unfiltered. I was leaving an ounce or more in the bottle due to the amount of sediment. It was not pleasing. Now…before you comment…I do like unfiltered beers but this one just did nothing for me.

The rest of the fridge…ah..you don’t care…let’s end this nightmare. Suffice to say there is food and beverage of varying degrees of freshness and edibility in there.

In other news…my football prediction was completely incorrect. I was nowhere in the vicinity of the right score or even the winner. Arkansas played well and they have a very promising young QB. However, they need some work on defense. Allowing 52 points is not the way to help your on-fire offense.

Other than that today was uneventful. Played a bunch with the little dude. We were stuck in due to the rain but it was fun. Tomorrow we have a group play-date in the evening and if the weather permits we’ll take the fancy new off-roadin’ tricycle out for a spin. Photos hopefully soon.

Lost Indian City…or…Prison?

So my buddy TW Geek posted a fairly interesting piece about Cahokia Mounds.

I wonder if he and Chet know about an even older network of mound builders in North America?

Around 10 years ago I was returning to Arkansas from Upstate NY by driving across the country. On this trip in particular, I was traveling with my Mother. That’s a separate series of stories.

As we traveled, our intention was to stop at places of interest. After scanning our travel atlas, I picked a National Historic Park that I was completely unfamiliar with. My recollection is that this was a place my Mother did not want to stop. I persisted and insisted. We were not good traveling companions.

So, what is this place? Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. It’s much smaller than the Cahokia Mounds but also much older. This site was in use between 200 BCE to approximately 500 ACE. There is evidence of relatively advanced network of cultures that spanned the eastern portion of the US from the Atlantic to the Rockies. Evidence of trade and currency. The thing is…no one is quite sure how the mounds were used. Also…these were distinctly different from the Native Americans we typically think of from early American colonial history and expansion. Again, there is no certainty on the hows and whys behind the decline ad break-up of the culture and trade. Fascinating. Kinda makes you wish Leonard Nimoy was still doing In Search Of.

And where is this place? Just outside of Chilicothe, OH. Never been there? Well…when you’re visiting the local correctional facility…it’s just across the street. Seriously. A National Historic Park that’s open and mostly outdoors with lots of signs about not stopping to help or pick up strangers. It was definitely odd.

Don’t believe me? Check the map.

Alas, I have no photos from this trip. The museum was informative but seemed underfunded in the way a lot of these smaller, less flashy Historic sites tend to be. The outdoor park was small, as you can see on the map, but the weather was excellent and it made for a nice little hike. I believe these mounds had been excavated and rebuilt, regardless, I didn’t feel comfortable climbing them. Also, Mom was not up for it.

Just remember that history is all around. There’s always something just off the beaten path that’s worth a little of your attention; even if it is across from a prison.

Happy New Year: Shana Tova!

Tonight at sundown it’s the beginning of Rosh Hashanah.

For those not in the know, that’s essentially Jewish New Year. I don’t know much about the holiday itself but you can read up on it yourself here if you want. I’ve only been to Temple once and only participated in a single Seder so I’m not wholly up on Jewish traditions. Still, I try to be ecumenical and my Godmother is Jewish so I try to keep track of at least the High Holidays.

Shana Tova is the traditional greeting on Rosh Hashanah which in Hebrew means “A Good Year.” Who can argue with that sentiment any day of the year?

I know TW Geek will give me grief for a video post…but I can guarantee that I found it independently and not taken from another source.

That said…I am seeking beer suggestions. Something nice and tasty for the Fall. I hope to hit the liquor store later this evening.

Lastly…my college football pick: Arkansas – 27 / Georgia – 24. Have fun if you get to go…otherwise it’s on ESPN on Saturday night.

Return of the king?

Okay…maybe not so much a return of the king as an embarrassed slinking back into the room and hoping no one noticed I stepped away for…oh…eight months.

Seriously. I am under no illusions that this little place remains on anyone’s radar or RSS feed. So it’s clearly all about some self-love then.

Wait…there is another reason I’m back. There’s a friend of mine who needs a kick in the pants to keep up with his blogging. Bragging about how he was going to blog for 9-days straight forced a question from me about day 10. Is it like the Bible and the creation story? Except in this version, “On the tenth day He rested.”

My call to action is to make it daily with no need to crow about streaks. Hell…if we’re talking streaks, I’m officially wimping out and ending my 240-day streak of non-blogging. That’s a pretty good run. It’s amazing the things we give up for our friends. I do it because I care.

Now…go take visit TW Geek. This guy brings more geek to the game table than Knights of the Dinner Table.

As for me…well…I like a challenge. So I’m going to blog daily until TW Geek misses a day. Then I’m going to go one day more. Just because I can.

*drops gauntlet and smiles*

Change and Hope

Like so many blogs and pundits…I’ll take the words ‘hope’ and ‘change’ as the buzzwords for the day. Fascinating transfer of power. Amazing speech. Good luck…we’re all going to need it.

The New WhiteHouse.gov

Dear Zachery

I just got done watching Dear Zachery.

I’m not into true crime shows at all.  Sure I like cop shows and mysteries; but not so much the real thing or the stuff you’d see on Court TV.

This was different.  Gripping, emotional, powerful. If it doesn’t affect you, your heart is beyond repair.

Please find a way to see it.

What am I reading?

Short post inspired by the previous one.

I am reading: The Quirks & Quarks Guide to Space (Christmas gift from my wife and I’m loving it).

Also, while doing some mid-winter cleaning, I found a book I bought but didn’t start for some reason.  It’s a series of essays (commissioned, I’m sure) on Superheroes and Philosophy. Enjoyable and a small survey of different philosophical disciplines as viewed through the lens of heroes who wear funny costumes and capes.

Another List…

So…time for another list to challenge us.  It’s a bit dated but I don’t think anything on it has changed in the intervening nine years.

In 2000, a board of authors and literary critics created a list for Random House of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century. This is that list. I’ve bolded the works that I’ve read.  What’s cool is that on the Random House site, they actually include a rival list from a rival from the students of the Radcliffe Publishing Course.  I’ll post it soon.  To my tastes it’s more accessible and there are many more on that list that I have read.

Please, to enjoy…(and I need to read more…clearly)

1. (1922) Ulysses James Joyce
2. (1925) The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. (1916) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce
4. (1955) Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
5. (1932) Brave New World Aldous Huxley
6. (1929) The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
7. (1961) Catch-22 Joseph Heller
8. (1940) Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler
9. (1913) Sons and Lovers D. H. Lawrence
10. (1939) The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
11. (1947) Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry
12. (1903) The Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler
13. (1949) Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
14. (1934) I, Claudius Robert Graves
15. (1927) To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf
16. (1925) An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser
17. (1940) The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers
18. (1969) Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
19. (1952) Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
20. (1940) Native Son Richard Wright
21. (1959) Henderson the Rain King Saul Bellow
22. (1934) Appointment in Samarra John O’Hara
23. (1938) U.S.A. (trilogy) John Dos Passos
24. (1919) Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson
25. (1924) A Passage to India E. M. Forster
26. (1902) The Wings of the Dove Henry James
27. (1903) The Ambassadors Henry James
28. (1934) Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. (1935) Studs Lonigan (trilogy) James T. Farrell
30. (1915) The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford
31. (1945) Animal Farm George Orwell
32. (1904) The Golden Bowl Henry James
33. (1900) Sister Carrie Theodore Dreiser
34. (1934) A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh
35. (1930) As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
36. (1946) All the King’s Men Robert Penn Warren
37. (1927) The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder
38. (1910) Howards End E. M. Forster
39. (1953) Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin
40. (1948) The Heart of the Matter Graham Greene
41. (1954) Lord of the Flies William Golding
42. (1970) Deliverance James Dickey
43. (1951-1975) A Dance to the Music of Time (series) Anthony Powell
44. (1928) Point Counter Point Aldous Huxley
45. (1926) The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
46. (1907) The Secret Agent Joseph Conrad
47. (1904) Nostromo Joseph Conrad
48. (1915) The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence
49. (1920) Women in Love D. H. Lawrence
50. (1934) Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller
51. (1948) The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer
52. (1969) Portnoy’s Complaint Philip Roth
53. (1962) Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov
54. (1932) Light in August William Faulkner
55. (1957) On the Road Jack Kerouac
56. (1930) The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett
57. (1924-1928) Parade’s End Ford Madox Ford
58. (1920) The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton
59. (1911) Zuleika Dobson Max Beerbohm
60. (1961) The Moviegoer Walker Percy
61. (1927) Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather
62. (1951) From Here to Eternity James Jones
63. (1957) The Wapshot Chronicle John Cheever
64. (1951) The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
65. (1962) A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
66. (1915) Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham
67. (1902) Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
68. (1920) Main Street Sinclair Lewis
69. (1905) The House of Mirth Edith Wharton
70. (1957-1960) The Alexandria Quartet Lawrence Durrell
71. (1929) A High Wind in Jamaica Richard Hughes
72. (1961) A House for Mr Biswas V. S. Naipaul
73. (1939) The Day of the Locust Nathanael West
74. (1929) A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway
75. (1938) Scoop Evelyn Waugh
76. (1962) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark
77. (1939) Finnegans Wake James Joyce
78. (1901) Kim Rudyard Kipling
79. (1908) A Room with a View E. M. Forster
80. (1945) Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh
81. (1953) The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow
82. (1971) Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner
83. (1979) A Bend in the River V. S. Naipaul
84. (1938) The Death of the Heart Elizabeth Bowen
85. (1900) Lord Jim Joseph Conrad
86. (1975) Ragtime E. L. Doctorow
87. (1908) The Old Wives’ Tale Arnold Bennett
88. (1903) The Call of the Wild Jack London
89. (1945) Loving Henry Green
90. (1980) Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie
91. (1932) Tobacco Road Erskine Caldwell
92. (1983) Ironweed William Kennedy
93. (1965) The Magus John Fowles
94. (1966) Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
95. (1954) Under the Net Iris Murdoch
96. (1979) Sophie’s Choice William Styron
97. (1949) The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles
98. (1934) The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain
99. (1955) The Ginger Man J. P. Donleavy
100. (1918) The Magnificent Ambersons Booth Tarkington

Jamaican Blue Mountains

Oh, I think the best thing about the Jamaican Blue Mountains is surely the coffee. As mentioned a few posts ago, I came into possession of some super-fancy and very expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. We, Last night we had a tasting and made a pot.

Oh boy. First…I don’t think I have a very sensitive palate…but I’ve got to say that it was as fine a cup of coffee as I have ever had. Bold, rich, slightly earthy, not at all spicy, and with an aroma that would be the archetype of coffee aromas. I found it supremely satisfying and would love more…I just cannot (at this time) justify the expense.

I have enough for another pot. I look forward to it.

If you find yourself with an opportunity to try some of this coffee, you should…it it decadent. And beware blends. The local Fresh Market sells a Jamaican Blue Mountain blend but I don’t know the bean ratio but it’s got to be low since it’s running around $20 a pound instead of the $99 a pound that you see for a bag of pure Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

And the Omnivore list has another item knocked off.