The Holiday season is here, evidenced by the lit-up tree in my living room, the boat parade tooting along the Petaluma River, and Jennifer’s stockpile of toy donations preventing me from accessing my turntable and bookshelves T through Z. Christmas chaos… not to mention carols, shopping, and panic… will soon be unavoidable.
Friday night seems to be as much about celebrating the things you managed to get done over the course of the week as it is about recognizing that there were a few things that just plain aren’t going to get done, things that are just going to have to wait for Monday. In that spirit, I’m marking this Friday night with a Boatswain Twin Screw Steamer Double IPA, a $2 bomber from Trader Joe’s.
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. Last weekend, I was up at BizarroCon, sharing good company, good beer (including some incredible home brews), and a love of strange literature with a hundred awesome people. I returned to Petaluma via train (reading an outstanding manuscript on the ride back), arriving home revitalized and re-energized (in spite of an impending nasty cold) and kicked off a Thanksgiving Twitter fundraising challenge, #FeedCthulhu, that raised more than $750 for hunger relief.
Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, call it what you will, the holiday not only commemorates the end of the War to End All Wars (ah, if only that name had been more accurate), but also pays tribute to those who serve this country (too often giving all). Plus, it’s a whole lot of elevens–particularly this year. And who doesn’t like the number eleven?
Tonight, I’m kicking it with a Pretty Things Jack D’Or. It’s a Saison Americaine. And there’s a lemon with a mustache on the label. That bodes well.
I started the day out right, wandering downtown with Maddie and Jennifer after breakfast, stopping by Acre for a bittersweet (soy) mocha, checking out the Dia de los Muertos window displays, and then heading back home for some serious reading. Now I’m enjoying a Sanctuary–a Belgian-style Dubbel from Hood River, Oregon’s Full Sail Brewing–with music on the TV and a bit more reading planned. How’s Sanctuary stack up? Let’s see…
It’s been a good week, with a handful of projects resolving nicely, good reviews on a couple of books I’ve recently worked on, and an e-mail to let me know that my short-short story “Jamie” will be appearing in next week’s issue of the North Bay Bohemian and that I’ll be reading the story at the Java Jive event at the Sebastopol Copperfield’s next Wednesday.
I’ve had Dogfish Head Punkin Ale recommended to me a few times lately. Not one to ignore a testimonial, not to mention being a fan of Dogfish Head’s other offerings, I had to try it. This one’s “a full-bodied brown ale brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, & nutmeg.” And how can you not like the “punk” pumpkin on the bottleneck?
One of my biggest literary influences is Hunter S. Thompson. Progenitor of Gonzo journalism, unapologetic gun nut, and political raconteur, Doctor Thompson was a true American original. Flying Dog Brewery, originally of Aspen, CO, but now located in Frederick, MD, was started by Thompson’s friend and neighbor George Stranahan, and has distinguished itself as a brewer of Adult Beverages that exemplify a particularly Gonzo attitude.
Everybody loves the Farmer’s Daughter. She’s one of those great stock characters of literature (and the subject of more than a few dirty jokes, usually involving a Traveling Salesman). Depending in the needs of the narrative, she can be plucky, optimistic, and naïve, or seductive, manipulative, and dangerous.
