Holding Steady in Birmingham, AL

So, I’m sitting on a couch that’s covered in pillows and blankets that were used this morning during the few hours of sleep I managed after 5am.  I think the weekend messed up my ability to sleep like a normal human being or maybe it just messed me up.

Either way, it’s over.  I’m now in Columbus, Ohio.  There’s an upcoming wedding.  I have little to say about it or Columbus or about anything in general, but there was the weekend, the weekend where Hector and I flew from Denver, CO to Birmingham, AL to see The Hold Steady.  Like we’re a couple of college kids. Like we don’t even remotely know how to act like adults.

Did anything amazing or life-altering happen?  Nope.  We pretty much just drank too much, saw a sweet show, and met some new friends.  So what’s the point?  I don’t know.  I’m really really tired and thought maybe I’d do a public service announcement kind of deal about Birmingham.  The announcement is real simple:  Birmingham is actually pretty cool.

On The Verge

Mark Hillary

Movie lines streamed and he fell for every woman he saw while en route to Heathrow on the Piccadilly line with the woman that just broke his heart.  [NYCMidnight Flash Fiction Contest 2010 Challenge 2.  Prompt:  Romance, Commuter Train, Ice Cream Cone]

With you by my side, I don’t need success.

Irving knew this was a line, but the line wasn’t his.  It streamed through his mind from memory like a Tourette syndrome obscenity.  Lines had been popping up all morning, lines like let’s get married again and you’re the geisha of my life. Lines came with each new woman he saw, each new jaw line, calf, and strand of hair.  Lines came as he stared about the half full train and projected himself into the future into an unknown life with each unknown woman.  At each stop, the women changed, new lines emerged.  At each stop, a new life was imagined.

Sore Egos

I’m currently participating in the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction challenge.  Round 1 was a month ago.  Round 2 is this weekend.  The results for Round 1 were posted a few days ago.  As anticipated, I didn’t do very well and was a little bummed with the results.  I placed 11th out of 20 in my group–prompt was political satire, recording studio, and air conditioner. (You can read my story here.)

I was down on myself when I saw the results, especially considering it will take a miracle to be able to make it past the 2nd round, but I figured my scoring was justified.  I saw the results late at night while scarfing down a Good Times burger after leaving the bars.  I said, “Whatever,” and went to bed.

Magic in the Air, the Brews, the Zoo

2010 Denver Brew at the Zoo.

Frankly, a long, overwritten blog post about last night is probably unnecessary; I took tons of photos and think the photos do the night much more justice.  But I’ll give a little summary, show the highlights.  Why not?  I need to do something while I nurse this hangover (a result of The Shoe, not this event).

Last night, Olive, Hector, and I went to the Denver Zoo for the 13^th Annual Brew at the Zoo.  It’s officially Denver Beer Fest week and there are tons of beer events (biggest being GABF), but Brew at the Zoo is probably my favorite.  Olive said, “Beer, ribs, and Elephants.  F#@*ing Awesome!”  My sentiments exactly.

All Together Now

Beer Bloggers Conference 2010 Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting.

So, the first ever Beer Bloggers Conference is leading up the first ever Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting.  Here’s what they have to say about it:

The tasting will take place Thursday, September 9th, at 7:30 PM Mountain Standard Time. Beer drinkers, beer bloggers, and beer journalists across the continent are invited to purchase your favorite Colorado beers, crack them open all at the same time, and then write, blog, Facebook, and Tweet about them.

So that’s what this is.  My choice:  Left Hand‘s Oktoberfest, a Marzen Lager.  Here’s a picture:

We Care a Lot… About Beer

Faith No More’s Introduce Yourself Through Beer

If it’s a sunny, Summer day and I’m driving and I have the windows down and I’m moderately pissed off that I’m driving and I don’t want to be pissed off that I’m driving, I listen to one album—Introduce Yourself by Faith No More.

This is the album before the album with the song that has the video that ends with the flopping fish (Epic). This is before Mike Patton, before Faith No More experiments with hints of country (great stuff), does music for Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (the better B&T movie). This is the time when I spend countless hours watching MTV videos (when they still played videos) and we know all the songs and are influenced and corrupted while we lie on the floor in a daze or rock out and smack each other in the face with pillows on the couch.

The year is 1987. That whole rock rap thing hasn’t really taken off yet. The music world doesn’t have Rage Against the Machine, 311, or Kid Rock (though, Beastie Boys have released License to Ill). With the rock airwaves dominated by cheesy, hair bands, we’re waiting for the Pixies and Nirvana and all that Seattle stuff. But there’s no reason to wait for that. We already have Faith No More.

A Wee Homebrew Debacle

Brewing Scottish Ale without a recipe or a clue.

According to BeerAdvocate.com, “Scottish Ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle for a caramelization of the wort. This produces a deep copper to brown in colored brew and a higher level of unfermentable sugars which create a rich mouthfeel and malty flavors and aromas. Overall hop character is low, light floral or herbal, allowing its signature malt profile to be the highlight. Smoky characters are also common.”  Some of their top-ranked examples include:  Old Chub, Dark Island, Blackfriar, and Duke of Winship.  (A full description and competition guidelines can also be found here.)

I’m not super familiar with this style of beer and I definitely didn’t set out to make it, but after a trip to my favorite homebrew store, Stomp Them Grapes, I sort of found myself on the path to do just that.

Novel Update

As some may know, I’m in the middle of writing my first novel, called Old Friend Stranger. It’s not something I’m doing because I should or think I’d be good, but something I always wanted to do since I was a kid.  Regardless of how it turns out, I’m having fun.

Now, I don’t exactly know what it’s about. I mean, I do, but putting it into a nice coherent line, in under 150 words (what you’d send to an agent), is damn near impossible. If I do that, I find myself making broad, sweeping generalizations or I find myself focusing solely on one or two characters.

Obama Hating

An appeal to the haters.

[WARNING:  I'm not a political writer; this is terribly long and possibly terrible.  I wouldn't even consider this an opinion piece but more of a feelings dump.]

Today, I want to write about something completely unrelated to beer.  I want to talk about Obama.  Why?  Because I’m sick of all the haters.

Obama’s approval ratings are low.  The economy still sucks.  People aren’t happy about the health care bill (even though they probably should be).  They want to know where all the new jobs are.  And in November, there’s a chance Congress is going to get flipped back to the Republicans making his job that much harder (in my opinion) to the chagrin of this country.

Granted, I think we’re all missing the energy and zeal he brought during the campaign.  He needs to not be so freaking cool all the time.  He’s moderately incommunicative and cloistered and not delivering the big, emotional speeches and not holding our hands and telling us how we’re going to get through all this.  And sure, he’s made some pretty big political gaffes.  But truthfully, I’m still a big fan.