If Beer Ads Were Honest
Monday, October 21, 2013
Continuing on the beer theme:
If Beer Ads Were Forced to Be Honest -- powered by Cracked.com
Your beer may be furloughed.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
It's bad enough that people are being laid off, we may default on our debts, children aren't receiving medical treatment, ,but now this government shutdown may impact our beer.
This means war.
From the Detroit News:
"...the shutdown has closed an obscure agency that quietly approves new breweries, recipes and labels, which could create huge delays throughout the rapidly growing craft industry, whose customers expect a constant supply of inventive and seasonal beers."I hate fall, but love me some seasonal beer. Damn you Republicans, Damn you all to hell! Read more...
In the HOPper
Thursday, October 03, 2013
This weekend, I keg the Wheat Ale I brewed, and in another week, I keg the Saison. Those ought to turn out fine, and perhaps we'll hold a few bonfires and invite people to help drain the kegs ASAP.
This is important because of the next 3 beers I have coming-up:
1) Spiced Pumpkin Ale. This will be my first attempt at a pumpkin ale - including using real pumpkin in it. Going for a hint of pumpkin pie, not this-beer-is-too-sweet pumpkin pie.
2) Bourbon Barrel Porter. I brew porters frequently; most notably my Maple Syrup Porter. In this, I have some bourbon barrel oak spirals that I will put in the fermenter to infuse that bourbon-y character I'm after.
3) Spiced Winter Ale. Nice basic copper-colored Brit "bitter" brewed with beautiful, aromatic mulling spices. Looking forward to this one!
More details as they come, but you should all at least be informed of what my kegs will contain this Fall/Winter.
Read more...
Sci-Fi In Six
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
I recently stumbled across a great Tumblr called Sci-Fi in Six. It is just that: science fiction stories told in six paragraphs or less (I highlighted this Tumblr on my last post here, Another List of Power).
I've sifted through a gob of these. Like any site of this nature, some are poor, some are wonderful, intriguing, deep, or fun. I'm considering submitting one of my own. What do you think:
Ensign MacGould stood surrounded by the throng, a grin starting to spread across her face. What started as hair-raising, skin-crawling fear was fading quickly, replaced by amusement.
A taller being adorned (so to speak) with much more...foliage...than the others, made its way with what could only be described as reverence through the seething mass who even only moments ago seemed so threatening. The well-adorned being stopped, wide...eyed, and promptly fell on its face in front of her. It held up its appendages and spoke, or rather, made some noises that MacGould associated with a bad cold and the sounds of vomiting.
Immediately, the throng around her fell to their faces, and repeated the sounds, gag for gag, hock for hock. Over and over and over.
And MacGould stood in her impeccable white uniform surrounded by the sounds of a sick-bay after an epidemic wondering if, all these millennia and millennia ago and worlds away, this is how it all started.
She grinned benevolently. And maybe opened her palms just a little.
’What's the harm,’ she mused.
Read more...
Another List of Power
Saturday, September 28, 2013
In this next installment of self-aggrandizement, I'll share some of my favorite web sites. From science and social-science blogs to my favorite webcomix, the list below is what occupies my internet time when I'm not watching the YouTube vids I shared last week.
This week: Best of the Web.
The Best (IMO) of the Web
Blogs
Besides for our favorite blog friends (Streak, Mrs. Furious, Mr. Furious, us), here's a couple blogs I enjoy in no particular order:
What If?
From the cartoonist of XKCD (see below) comes his blog whereby he answers wild and weird questions from whomever emails him. He picks the most fun or intriguing, and using a combination of good science and wild-assed guesses, he does his best to answer. This site is so fun. My favorite: the first one that kicked-off this site. Relativistic Baseball.
It's Okay to be Smart
This is the Tumblr that started the YouTube Channel I shared last week. Joe got his start blogging his thoughts, linking to cool and engaging science, and generally celebrating what we know and can know about the universe.
The Drunken Moogle
The blend of Geek culture and adult beverages. This guy makes up mixed drinks based on popular video game and geek culture. He also links to interesting nerd-related drinking apparati (pint glasses with superhero capes, shot glasses etched with Game of Thrones sigils, etc). I might or might not have some of the glassware listed there...
Skepchick
One of my favorites, second only to What If, above. It's a blog run by women, whereby they discuss feminism, atheism, secularism, science, pseudoscience, and skepticism. Their commentary on feminism is especially thoughtful and engaging and makes me think really hard about my privilege and how I might come across, and my own latent sexism that I don't even recognize. Challenging stuff. I love their takedown of internet trolls. They have a daily "Skepchick Quickies" post that always links to fun, angering, enlightening bits, beautiful of teh interwebz. They've created some spin-off sites as well; one of them is Mad Art Lab. Beautiful art based on scientific principles.
Sci-Fi in Six
Quite simply: science fiction stories told in 6 paragraphs or less. Fun! Little tastes of much bigger stories. Concepts come to fruition in just a few sentences. Worlds revealed that make you curious for more. Love this kind of stuff.
Tiny Little Love Stories
Whoever runs this blog is sick. A sick, sick bastard with a sick sense of humor. And I love it.
WebComix
What I really enjoy about webcomix is that they can be examinations and critiques of our world presented in a way that finally makes sense. Humor blasts through things that make us so mad or concerned. Laughter in recognition of our own faults is wonderful medicine. Here's some of my faves.
Questionable Content
It's hard to describe why I like this comic so much, but I'm hooked. It takes place in an alternate Earth, where much is the same as ours but there are other advancements that are much different. It allows Jeph Jacques, the author, to introduce interesting concepts, characters, and technology without it being a big deal why. Other than that, it's a "slice of life" comic with characters I like a lot.
Atland
The comic is over now, or at least for now. It's storyline has been resolved, but left open if Nate Piekos, the author, ever comes back to it. I hope he does. But it's worth going to the beginning and reading through. Fantasy comic, funny, subtly picks fun of typical fantasy tropes while being an engaging comic.
Wondermark
Smart-assed, snarky humor mixed with old hand-drawn comics in the Victorian style. Bizarre and hilarious comic.
XKCD
Do I really need to describe XKCD? If you're not reading it, you're not a nerd. And you don't care. This is the grand-daddy of webcomix. Sometimes, to get the math or computer programmer humor, I have to use Google, but that's not often with this one. Brilliant.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Sometimes updated multiple times a day, this comic is hilarious, twisted, sick, poignant, and everything in between. I love how the author plays on common concepts.
The Oatmeal
Another funny, insightful comic. One of the best, actually.
Enjoy all this as much as I do! Read more...
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