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If you read a lot of contemporary literature, you know there is a lot of it. Nevertheless, when you think about who is prolific and has the true artistic prose, there is but a handfull of them. Now we are fewer by one.  By that, I certaintly do not begin to include myself among them. Not only am I lacking in the art, I am totally lacking in the work ethic.  Updike wrote tons of novels, some of them really beautiful. Not Poorhouse fair, which was decent, but his later works like “Toward the End of Time” and “The Beauty of the Lillies” were magnifiscent in their scope and methodalogy. Anyway, I read a lot of Bellow, Updike, and even Crichton over the years, but I especially loved Updike.

Look, he was a major risk taker. He wrote so graphically about sex, bodily emissions, even foul human odors. I too want to write about bodily emissions, and yet I don’t.  That proves my arguement. Anyway, the guy was able to write riduculous fantasy such as Brasil or the Witches of Eastwick, beautiful family stories,  and then amazing series like the Rabbits.   This year, we lost Updike, a liberal thinker who lived in New Hampshire and who was a true artist, and we also lost Michael Crichton, a brilliant forumula writer who was a conservative who really made you think about science, technology, politics and facts. I am going to miss them both greatly.

Well, here we are Football’s greatest extraveganza, the Super Bowl. I will be spending it drinking pitchers of Olde Saratoga Lager and eating chicken wings at the Hop Devil Grill. Deals and steals available.  Meet me there at 4 PM for some tail-gating.

So, in other news today Belmont, CA has banned people from smoking in their own apartments.  The question is: What do I think of this?  On the one hand, laws are becoming more and more intrusive and no doubt many people feel that Big Brother just won ‘t get off of their backs.  By the same token, why don’t we just ban tobacco products?   The stuff is an addictive poison, is it not? Lets just make tobacco illegal.  Oh, wait, we can’t do that! People are rich from tobacco. Its big business.  Oh, what a world.

On the Economic front, one would think its about time that local governments get off the backs on small business.  Excessive regulations,  particulary overzealous enforcement of drinking laws and the like should be seen as superfluous.  Under this new regime of responsiblity, I would like it to be understood that people need to be responsible for their individual actions.  For example, if someone drinks at a bar and then goes out and gets into some kind of trouble, the bar owner, even the bartender, can be held liable. What kind of crap is that?  Drinking is legal, and can anyone truly say they can measure the effects of alcohol consumption in everyone, casually?  It is an unfair burden.  Grow up peoples.

Milk. Damned great acting in that movie.  Sean Penn has always been one of my favorites. He can play any kind of a role, but he always challenges himself.  In this movie he plays a gay activist in San Francisco, 1970s period I think.  Just amazing acting. I think there is no doubt; he deserves the Oscar.  Pitt better not get it over Penn. I’ll be pissed!  There is some guys kissing and stuff in this movie, which can  be a little weird, but hey, get used to it. Its a whole new era!  I’ve certainly come a long way from my homophobic days. I don’t get the creeps any more. Now its a walk in the park.

I didn’t have any beer last night.   Thats right, I can make it through the day and night without alcohol. In fact, my nights are better without alcohol.   I sleep more soundly if I completely eschew alcohol consumption, at least in the last say 4 hours of the day prior to sleeping.   Although New York is a late night eating town, I favor dining early. Then having a beer or two. Then not for a couple of hours.  Then reading in bed before I pass out.  Its a personal thing.

You remember that old Star Trek Movie? I think it was “The Search for Spock”.  Scotty says to Kirk, “There be Whales Here”.  Anyway, thats where I got my line. Nothing is original anymore.  Speaking of Star Trek, there is a new movie in the works coming out in May.  Young Kirk and young Spock. Should be weird. I look forward to it. I am more than  just a major beer geek. I am an all around geek in ways.

We had some tasty beers last night with Jim and Joe of Flying Dog Brewery.  Barrel Aged Gonzo, ’nuff said. We know that is big and bad.  Have you ever tried the Schwarz?  Its a double, smoked Schwarz and damned tasty at that. I know, I know, the big beer sites don’t give Flying Dog the cred they deserve, but I tell you this is an all around solid brewery.  Double Dog Pale Ale? 11.5% ABV and hoppy as a poppy.  Make that your last pour because once those hops grab a hold of your palate, well, its all over baby.

Tire Bite is a good, easy drinking Kolsch style, real good for folks just wanting a beer. Nothing fancy, just easy and breezy.  If you are looking for something a little more full bodied, not hoppy, go for their Old Scratch Amber Lager. Its a hit right down the middle of the plate for a lot of people. Like I said, Flying Dog has a beer for everyone, and the guys who run the brewery are cool.

Last night there were a lot of T-Shirt give aways.  I got my flying dog fashion. Love their logo and artwork. If you didn’t get anything last night, maybe you weren’t where you ought to have been: Hop Devil Grill. Just sayin.  Cheers

So much for global warming. This is a cold winter. I had to dig out the long-johns this morning.   There is nothing worse than cold legs walking around outside, and long-johns are really the only answer to this kind of cold.  I didn’t do any blogging yesterday, or anything else, because I was holed up with a stomach virus. The night before I gave it all up, and all day yesterday I was in a mental coma, just laying in bed sleeping. Ididn’t even read!  For anyone who knows me, me sleeping all day and not even reading must mean I had it bad. So, I needed the sleep, I got it, and now I am back.

Can’t say I am not disappointed with Philadelphia blowing the championship game,  mostly because I figured Pittsburgh and Philly for a much more interesting geographical matchup. Who cares about Arizona anyway? You ever been there? Hot as hell, even in the winter, and its a desert for beer too.  I can’t think of a single good brew from Arizona.  A few years ago I was in Tucson, where I enjoyed at least some Southwestern style eats thanks to the big Mexican population there.  It was like 95 degrees even in April.  I remember driving south on the highway and seeing those big cacutuses, the kind from the Saturday morning cartoons I watched as a kid.  They were cool looking. I couldn’t imaging living in that kind of hot desolation, though.  Hot and dry.  

Nevertheless, we have the Flying Dog event at Hop Devil Grill this Thursday night. That follows the inauguration of Barack Obama as POTUS on Tuesday, tomorrow. Its a busy time.  Then in a couple of weeks, the Superbowl featuring no less than two different breweries from Pittsburgh, Penn and Iron City, and nothing at all from Arizona.  Have a Mendocino Red Tail Ale. At least its like a Cardinal. Mo later.

Still watching films. Started to see a megavideo about the money supply.  Watching it makes you pissed off. You should see it. Its called Zeitgeist Appended.  I studied finance in college, learned all about the money supply, but I don’t think we were actually supposed to have any opinions about it.  We were just supposed to learn how to make money, or save on taxes somehow.  Thats what they teach you in finance. Of course, a lot of these courses are being re-thought right now. The thing about the movie is that they really try to show you the pervasive influence of the elite in banking, etc and the shite they pull off around the world, and here at home.

Word in that Ommegang has a new beer out.  Some kind of Obama brew; so come to either Hop Devil Grill and/or David Copperfield’s to watch the inauguration.  There will be all kinds of Obama goodies.  Maybe even a Hawaiian dish or two on the menu. What is poi?   Either way, a lot of people should be on hand to watch the historic moment with.  We’ve had multiple groups in working on the heat at both places.  Copperfield’s seems fine.  At Hop Devil Grill, the lounge/Belgian room is very warm;  the rest of the place isn’t heating up as much as needed. More work on that today. Nothing a couple of shots of fine tequila can’t fix though. Cheeahs.

Man, can you believe it? We’re even being spammed by the Culinary Institute of America! These aren’t comments or questions, just bot links and ads! 

Speaking of movies, I had the great opportunity to screen Revolutionary Road starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.  This was a real acting movie, and although DiCaprio was good, Kate stole the show. I was pleased to see others agree when I saw this morning that Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama.

The story is pretty heady stuff. Very emotional. Its about a 1950’s era family living in the suburbs on Revolutionary Road, where they had a nice middle class home.   The couple had been fighting. I think the idea was that April (Winslet) was a little fed up with the mediocrity of middle American existense. So, her husband, DiCaprio and she fought a bit verbally, and he even went off to the secretarial pool at his office and plucked himself a ripe, young tomato for a brief affair.  He comes home from the tryst which followed a fight night to a tear jerking (for him) surprise birthday party for him that the wife and kids cooked up. Then his wife hits him over the head with the idea they sell the house and move to Paris, a fantasy he discussed with her during their courting days.  

Initially, DiCaprio is shell-shocked by the idea, but gradually agrees to do it.  This no doubt brought him a sense of relief and freedom at the office, so much so that he rashly pulls off a risky letter to one of his clients that turns out to be a brilliantly accepted move, and results in the job offer of his dreams. Later, he admits to April that he doesn’t want to move, that they can be happy in the middle class town, even get a bigger house, etc. April becomes very upset with the idea, and after a night at the bar winds up having sex with the male component of a couple they hang out with in the front seat of a car.

April winds up getting pregnant some time later, which is followed by an abortion suggestion by her (no doubt because she thinks she is pregnant with the help of the  friend’s semen) but the idea never comes to fruition and more fights with DiCaprio result from his desire to take the job and not make the big move, as well as the abortion desire of April. At the end, April attempts to abort herself in the family bathroom while the kids spend some time away.  This ill-fated attempt causes her to call an ambulance, and a call from the hospital winds up with DiCaprio in the waiting room when he finds out that April dies.  All in all, a compelling film I highly recommend, not least because of Kate Winslet’s dramatic performance. 

Ultimately, Mickey Rourke also was quite deserving for his role in the Wrestler, a film I will discuss at a later time.  That’s it for me, I am heading upstairs for an Arrogant Bastard Ale.  I feel like some big hops tonight.

Killed most of the spammers. I used to get hundreds of spam messages a day here, now its down to just a few a week. I guess there really is a limit to how many ‘bots are trying to sell drugs or sexual enhancement.  Thank you all for your kind letters. I still go through them. One of these days I will post the “best of”.

I titled this “oops” because my recent newsletter went out saying Clipper City was from New Jersey, when I know darn well that they are from Baltimore, MD. I meant to say, “Cricket Hill”.  My apologies to my good friend Rick Reed, owner and master brewer of that fine beer making company.  Anyway, go Giants!  Thanks to Mike Burmil, SKI key accounts beer rep, former manager and bartender at Hop Devil Grill for pointing this out to me so early in the morning.   Like I told Mike, folks: “I need an editor”. I just rip this stuff out, and run it through a spell checker.  Nobody edits for me.  At least, nobody would notice that. I do run it by a few folks prior to emailing it, but anyone might be looking for glaring misspellings or some other sort of typo. Most of these guys and gals wouldn’t know the details on brewery location.  Ahh. Gotta go. Work calls.

I also saw  Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.  This is a very good movie, mostly due to the acting prowess of Clint.  I’ve seen all his movies, some of them multiple times.  Who would have known, back in the old days when he was doing all those cheap spaghetti westerns, that Clint Eastwood would become one of our greatest actors and directors?   He really just keeps getting better, despite the fact he is so wealthy, successful and getting old. Whatever drives this guy, it really comes out in films.

In Gran Torino, Clint plays an old school, middle class retired guy that owns a cherry, vintage Gran Torino.  His neighborhood is changing, and there are a lot of immigrants moving in, a fact that he initially resents.  Grumpy, with a “take no crap” attitude, he comes to know some Asian immigrants who move in next door.  While Clint bangs down beers, he comes to love and respect these immigrant neighbors, and he wants to protect them from gangs roving the neighborhood.  

Anyway, without giving up all the details all of whichI can’t remember anyway,  suffice it to say that if anyone earns the Best Actor award, Clint at the least should be in the running.

Now, get your arses down to the Hop Devil Grill for beer, burgers and football!

As promised, I am back to talk about movies.  First, however, I want to vent about one of my pet peeves.  You know how some people say they are interested when they really want something?   If you want something, just say it. Interested is not a substitution for “I want”, or “I will buy if you meet my conditions of satisfaction”, is it?  Just a pet peeve is all. I have more. 

OK, first of all, I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I think Brad Pitt is a good actor, I do. Really.  This movie, however, was not a film where I saw sheer acting ability on display.  Sure, concept was good, and makeup was really great, but I just didn’t see the acting where Brad could even hope to get a Best Actor oscar.  I enjoyed the film, but it is being highly over-rated. It was a good movie; not a great film.  How can I describe it?  It was Forrest Gump-ish in a way.  A guy is born old, and turns young. Cute, different, but the script was a little weak and the whole story was a touch boring.  

Pitt’s girlfriend,  Anglina Jolie, however, did a great job with Changeling.  This is a period movie and Angelina looked great, and her acting ability was very much in the forefront of this film. I highly recommend it. True, I am not a real film critic. I can barely describe movies except to say whether the acting, action, etc. was good, so take it for what it is.  One thumb up for Benjamin Button, and two thumbs for Changeling. Cheers

Roll up, for the Magical Mystery Beer, its hoping to take your breath away. .  Well, maybe not. Every have a mystery beer?  Thats a bottle of unmarked, unlabled brew.  If you collect and drink as much as I do, you will on occasion come across this phenomenom if you aren’t careful.  

I just found one. Its a 750 ml, corded and crowned amber bottle, otherwise unmarked.  I am thinking Unibroue Belgian style maybe, but I am unsure. We’ll have to crack this in a few days.  Not only is it hard to  nail down the beer, embarassingly, sometimes we have trouble pegging the style too!  We’re such geniuses here. Nevertheless, its fun . 

 I’ve seen a lot of movies lately. Gran Torino, The Changeling, even Benjamin Button among others. I think I will offer my critique to you shortly. You may find it curious that I wasn’t blown over by the curious case, and that if it wins any Oscars, I will be pissed! Next issue. Maybe later today if I feel like not really working for a while.