New Feature : Song of the Day
In an effort to incorporate some the the web 2.0 things that I use on a daily basis into this blog I’ve decided to add a new feature. It’s the song of the day. I listen to music pretty much all day at work and it’s the first thing I turn on when I get home. There’s usually a song that’s my favorite for the day, so I may as well share it. Also, since I’m counting tweets and scrobbles toward my effort to radiate inkernet love this will give me one more baby step that I think I can accomplish on most days (if not every day).
I’ve bee thinking about this for a while and I’m still working on the best way to deliver it. I have used songza to embed tracks in the past, but the pre-loading is a bitch on getting the ol’ blog to work smoothly. Once I get 3 or 4 all on the front page things really start to lag. I decided to use the journal feature of my last.fm account, and publish the feed in the blog header. I’m still not in love with this method. I’d like to have a one-click to play solution that still used RSS, if anyone has any ideas let me know.
Anywho, if you’re up for it subscribe to the song of the day feed and maybe even take the time for the 2 or 3 clicks to play the song. Also, friend me up on last.fm and use the comments feature on my journal page to let me know what you think (or e-mail me, tweet me, or post a comment on this post). I’m always interested to know what people are listening to and I love to share new stuff that I like (as all of you out there with CD-R’s with illegible sharpie scrawl from me know). Finding new music FTW!
Beer-a-pa-looza
Thanks to the generosity of my friend, co-worker, and now boss Jason, who scored me a ticket, I was able to check out the Great Taste of the Midwest on Saturday. For those who don’t know what this thing is all about, let me run the numbers for ya:
150 brewers
500 craft beers
5 hours
4-6 ounces at a time
I live-blogged all of my tasting via twitter (where you should all follow me). Here’s the recap
tweet 1:Rockys revenge and twisted pagan derailed ale kick off the tasting
After acquiring a second scalped ticket and convincing Carl to come and meet me, I started off with something that I had tried at the no-crap-on-tap beer tent at the WORT block party a Rocky’s Revenge from the somewhat local Tyranena Brewing. I followed it up with a Twisted Pagan Derailed Ale from Superior, WI. Nothing unexpected so far, both solid.
tweet 2:Stonefly moustache ride from mke is next
This one attracted my by the trout fishing themed decor at their tent. Quite a name too.
tweet 3:Kuhnen ipa @ room temp, nose is awesome
This IPA from Kuhnhenn was served a tad warm and although the hops instantly attacked the nose, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, I usually don’t go for IPA’s. I think that the temp had a lot to do with the big flavor.
I ran into Jason taking a break from his front gate duties at this point, I left him in high spirits to go and meet Carl with his ticket at the gate.
tweet 4:Muskie honey double maibock
This brewer was based in Hayward, I was trying to favor the local stuff that I hadn’t tried yet.
tweet 5:Titletown brewing red ale and root beer
In front of the titletown brewing tent, based in Green Bay. We ran into none other than Heather Hardy. She pointed out that we always run into each other at beer festivals (Bockfest, WORT, etc.), I had not rebutal. Based on a recommendation we tried their root beer for a quick break from beer, and it was awesome. Very low carbonation, syrupy, but not too sweet. I had the red ale, Carl tried the cream ale I believe.
tweet 6:Surly curios and smoke, smoke is liquid beef jerky!
After meeting up with Jason again and getting some recommendations we tried some Michigan brews. At the Surly tent I got a Furious and Carl got a Smoke. My was super dry hopped, comparable to Hop Slam. Carl gave me a quick taste of Smoke and I thought it was awesome. Just like liquid beef jerky, and I mean that in a very good way. This was what I wished New Glarus Smoke on Porter Would have been.
tweet 7:Khunnhenn black currant strong, jammy, delicious
Next on Jason’s strong recommendation was another from Khunnehenn, this time the black currant cassis. This stuff was crazy. This is what Gary Vaynerchuck would call a fruit bomb, but in beer form. It had a great currant flavor without being sickeningly sweet. We could tell it was high gravity stuff, but it didn’t have a weird all-alcohol hot back end. This was definitely a favorite and very memorable.
tweet 8:Lazy mutt Swiss amber was in there
Since Katherin likes Lazy Mutt (I’m not a fan) Carl wanted to stop into their tent to try their second offering, the Swiss Amber. It was OK, solid but not memorable, with very little of anything on the back end.
tweet 9:Finished up with rush river small axe golden ale from river falls…my roots
For the finale I just wanted something clean, cold, and summery. I hit up the Rush River Brewing tent as soon as I spotted it. I’d had a couple of their offerings in the past without much of an impression, but I had to support them because they’re from River Falls. The Small Axe Golden Ale fit my criteria well. I good summer beer to compliment an absolutely perfect day for tasting beer. By this time it was time to make good on my promise to help Carl with some landscaping, a good way to sober up before driving home.
Thanks to Jason for the ticket, Martin for dropping me off at the park, Carl for the tasting help, and Katherin for letting me talk Carl out of his chores to come and drink beer. Next year I’m definitely going to try to make it again, hopefully with a full posse in tow.
SOTD #1
I’ve had Grand National from the John Butler Trio in my ears all week…keeping me happy. Can’t wait for the Madison Roots Festival!
The Best Fracking Show on TV
Today at work my old boss Bart and I were excitedly disscussing the much anticipated return of Battlestar Galactica this Friday. We talk about the show from time to time, we’re both big fans. I was introduced to it by my little buddy Ashton, who came to my apartment to watch it in college. Without fail Bart and I get a little bit of ribbing for being so into a “sci-fi” show. We tried to explain that it’s really only the setting that makes it a sci-fi show, it’s really a show about problems that are going on even today. Of course there were some smart ass comments like “yeah, I had a hell of a time getting my spaceship started to get to work today.” It’s frustrating to try and sell this show to other people, I can understand their reluctance, the Sci-Fi channel has churned out some real turds. Everyone who gives it a chance though (Kath and Carl, Amy and Marty) ends up loving it. It’s first and foremost an amazingly well written, acted, and directed human drama. It tackles some pretty huge themes; religion, politics, morality, justice, racism, and the true nature of man, and it does it well. A lot of parallels can be drawn with stuff happening in the world right now, but it’s not preachy.
The show was called the best show on tv in 2005 by Time magazine, Rolling Stone, and New York Newsday. It also won a Peabody award (that’s a big deal) and it hasn’t lost a step since then. The upcoming season is going to be the last, no fading into mediocrity for the Galactica.
Spoiler Alert: if you aren’t caught up and want to eventually, which I highly recommend, don’t watch this.
Forward Motion
There’s a pretty good article in this weeks isthmus about one of my absolutely favorite Madison area bands (Neenah, actually) the Blueheels. I had been picking up some buzz about them for quite a while before Carl and I actually got to see them at the Wily Street Fair. Their first album Long Gone is great, but to see this band live is absolutely worth it. They’re often at the Old Fashioned or Cafe Montmarte for Madison shows and can often be found occupying the same haunts of Blake Thomas and Josh Harty (more favorites)
There’s one song in particular that I’ve been hankering for and can’t find a recording of anywhere about an Indian shaman that takes in a beaten and abandoned former hooker and makes her well with the help of a magic electric blanket…or something like that.You can get Long Gone in all the usual places…iTunes, CD Baby, the record store.
don’t think twice
I do not feel that anyone has the right to be upset with me because I never provided the answer to some question they never asked.
I do respect anyone’s right to ask me how I think, or feel, or act the way I do about anything.
I do not always answer these questions in a straightforward, believable, or understandable way, I’m a work in progress. Feel free to call me out on this, I’ll extend you the same courtesy.
I do not have a problem with telling you that it’s none of your damn business.
I do not feel that some parts of my life are anyone’s business but my own. I’ve never been the type to call anyone up on the phone and unload all my feeling about my latest crush or my deepest fears…just ask my mom. I’m unlikely to change.
I do hate gossip. Unfortunately sometimes our culture tells us that we’re not only entitled to it, but we’re also obligated to participate in it to be a good friend. Don’t buy that shit.
I do not value any relationship, romantic or friendly, less because I feel this way, please don’t think that this is the case. Not only can great friendships exist without full disclosure, sometimes they depend on it.
I do sometimes feel as though I am seen as some sort of “pet project” by others. “Aw let’s set up Justin.” “Wouldn’t Justin and what’s ‘er name make a cute couple.” etc.
I do not think anything sounds as repellent to me as being in some sort of inorganic, artificial relationship because someone else tried to steer me that way. You know how little kids get to a stage where they want to “do it myself,”…I’m still there.
I do understand that the road to my irritation is often paved with the good intentions of others.
…and it doesn’t mean I don’t still appreciate them.
Good Easter
Happy Easter inkernet
“Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.”
Hulu
Hulu’s out of beta, everybody!
What is Hulu you may ask?Well it’s free (as in beer) streaming tv shows, movies, and clips of tv and movies (think dick in a box).
Is there any good content? You may ask.
Arrested Development, Firefly, 30 Rock, The Big Lebowski, The Usual Suspects…in short, hells yeah.
What’s the catch? You may ask.
Well, you will have to watch a couple of short commercials or maybe a movie trailer followed my an uninterupted stream, I think it’s worth it.
Everybody Bitches There’s Nothing on the Radio
Just so that Hecker doesn’t have the market cornered, I decided that I can throw out the occasional music recommendation. So here goes…
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been totally addicted to the latest from Iron and Wine. This is actually just one guy, Sam Beam. You may know him from the ever popular Garden State Soundtrack and a couple subsequent commercials (m&m’s for one) and Nick Drake fans will recognize his vocal style. Such Great Heights was actually a cover of a Postal Service song, that eclipsed the original.
I think that just about every song on The Shepherd’s Dog is better than that song, which is saying a lot. Resurrection Fern is a favorite of mine for a haunting and melancholy song and The Devil Never Sleeps for some more upbeat fare.