The 50 States of Beer

I love beer and I love to travel.

I have decided that, since there are 50 states (ed. note: verify number of US states before publishing this post), there has to be 50 great breweries / beers in each state.

So, I am going to pick my favorite beers / breweries in each state. This will be a 50 part series, and it will happen in no particular order, considering I haven't had beers in all the states yet.

If you think a beer I recommended sounds good, try it. If you have tried a beer I mention and agree/disagree, let me know. And also, this isn't necessarily going to be a travel blog. Some will be beers I have had even though I haven't been to the brewery. Some states will be more interesting than others, such is life.

Thanks, and keep drinking (you filthy alcoholics.)

Read/Listen/Watch/Rent

READ: Microbrewed Adventures - A Lupulin-Filled Journey to the Heart and Flavor of the World's Great Craft Beers by Charlie Papazian

Last year, as you may know, I got into homebrewing. It is great. It's fun, time consuming, nerve wracking and rewarding all at the same time. I have made 4 brews so far, and my latest (St. Patrick's On The Fence IPA) didn't turn out. It made me really angry at first when I realized my IPA failed, but I got over it quick cause I learned from my mistakes, so now I look at it as a win. Anyways, since getting into homebrewing, I have wanted to learn all I can about beer. I came across this Papazian book. I love it. It is part biography, part history, and part recipie book. Every page has humor and insight. The ironic thing is, I was watching the wonderful documentary Beer Wars, and sure enough, Charlie Papazian shows up in it, spreading his knowledge. Beer lovers should enjoy this book.

LISTEN: The Rural Alberta Advantage

The RAA are one of my current favorites. The band (from Ontario, ironically), have that same folk meets rock style as Band of Horses. The voice of Paul Banwatt over the drumbeats and fuzz infused guitars sets a great mood. Their first full length album, Hometowns (re-released on Saddle Creek Records in 2008) is 13 gems that flow together with tales of deathbridges and small town traps. My music taste has been evolving (or de-evolving) into the corners of folk for the past few years now, and the RAA is a great companion for anyone who thinks Frontier Ruckus is to "soft" or Beck is to "out there". Below is a video for "Don't Haunt This Place". (If you are reading this on Facebook, click the link to "view original post" to see video.")


WATCH: Little Britain

Remember Kid's in the Hall? Did you ever wonder what Kid's in the Hall would be like if it was set in England? Wonder no more. Little Britain is a hilarious. It's a sketch comedy show full of recurring characters. Most of which are played by Matt Lucas and David Walliams. It's full of exaggerations of British people, and it is perfect. Characters such as Lou and his wheel chair bound (as Lou thinks) friend Andy, Emily Howard and Florence aka the two "ladies", Prime Minister Michael and his VERY helpful aide Sebastian, and my personal favorite, Teenager Vicky Pollard. The first 2 seasons of this show are up for free to watch on Netflix, otherwise you can watch a ton of clips on YouTube. It is well wroth watching folks, below is a video I only wanna preface with the word "bitty".


RENT: Extract

I mentioned this movie in a post from last year about what movies I was looking forward to seeing. And I was right, this movie is wonderful. Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck and Mike Judge are reason enough. Throw in Mila Kunis, JK Simmons and David Koechner and you have a movie. It's funny, much funnier then Judges last effort Idiocracy (which is great, don't get me wrong, but not as good as this.) and much more put together then Office Space. Taking place in the world of an Extract plant, it gets mundane mixed with insaine perfect. Everyone should rent this movie, today, Dingus. (Trailer below).

The Oscars (not included: Oscar from The Office)

So, the oscar nominations came out this week. Now, I have done my lists for best movies of last year, so it's not to hard to see that I agree/disagree with some of the noms. Oh, and a lot of folks reading this from Facebook probably do not care at all about the Oscars, and may wonder why I do. Well, the answer is, I don't know either. FML.

The Oscar Best Picture nominees for this year (which is now a 10 title category) are:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Now, this is the list for my favorite films of 2009 (as written on 11/10/09):

The Hangover
Star Trek
Inglourious Basterds
Zombieland
Funny People
(500) Days of Summer
The Invention of Lying
Big Fan
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Up

Right away, we have learned 2 things. Up and Inglourious Basterds were very good. However, since I made my list in November, I have watched a few more movies that came out last year. And I have to say that The Hurt Locker is a definate force to be reckoned with, and would definatly have been on my list had I seen it before I wrote it.

Let's Pick-a-part these Best Picture Nominees:

No Chance of Winning:

-The Blind Side should not win. Why? Because I don't give a shit about it. Now I am vaguly interested in the story of Raven's Oher, but I'd rather learn his tale in a 8 minute segment on Outside The Lines, not in a fucking theater with Tim Fucking McGraw. Also, The Blind Side looked to be a disney Remember The Titans-esqe flick, and if it wasn't, then that was the marketing departments fault.

-Precious, is one of those movies that had such rave reviews, I knew I wouldn't be able to watch it. In the past however, I have been surprised by films like this (Brokeback Mountain, Into The Wild), but for every one of those actual gems you get so many polished poopies (Gran Torino, Blood Diamond).

-An Education, has a hard time getting a win. It looks great, I love Nick Hornby as you can see in almost every post I have written on here. However, I have not seen it yet because I am lazy as all get-out. It is on my Netflix que, and as soon as I get done with the 1988 season of WWF, I'll watch it. (JK, I hate wrasslin'). I do not think this will win, but I do think it will be a great movie, with great performances.

-I haven't seen A Serious Man. I also haven't seen a bad Coen Brothers movie. (WHO SAID THE LADYKILLERS? IT WAS GREAT!) However, this is no No Country for Old Men. No chance to win (Oh, and how the fuck did Burn After Reading get no Oscar noms?)

-When it comes to the movie Up, I am stuck. When I watched this in the theater I loved it. When I watched it with Stacie, I loved it. I even picked it as my favorite movie of 2009. But now, I don't know what it is, but I regret giving it my Best Picture for 2009. Also, I regret considering it a better animated film then Fantastic Mr. Fox. I don't think Up will win the category, but if it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Animated Film, then it should be guranteed to win it. Even if I think Fantastic Mr. Fox is more deserving (but still, both are great movies).

Chance of Winning:
-I saw District 9 after I made my best of 2009 list. District 9 would be on my list had I seen it before. It was a great movie. I liked everything about it, and I wish I had seen it in the theater. I think this has a 1/4 chance of winning the Oscar.

-Inglourious Basterds was almost perfect. Exactly what I wanted it to be. No bullshit Tarantino stuff that I had to sit through in the Kill Bills and Grindhouse. Just a balls out, no excuses great romp (yeah I said romp). It is the only Oscar Best Picture nominee I already have on dvd (And have watched 2 or 3 times). I think this has a 1/4 chance of winning the Oscar.

-I haven't seen Up In The Air, but I want to. It looks really good, and I like all the actors/writers/producers/directors/airports involved. I think this has a 1/4 chance of winning.

- Like District 9, I saw The Hurt Locker after I made my list. The Hurt Locker is the best movie I have seen in the past few years. It sucked me in, I felt like I was in the movie. I bit my nails raw. An Iraq movie with no politics, no bullshit and no breaks. Just BOOM BOOM BOOM. Jeremy Renner should get best actor, without a doubt. Have you seen Neo-Ned? Netflix that som-a-bitch. I think this has a 1/4 chance of winning the Oscar, however I am really hoping it gets it.

Toilet Paper:
-Last, and ceratinly least is Avatar. Avatar is the first movie I ever walked out of the theater on. I do not understand it's draw. The story isn't new. Ferngully and Pocahontas should go to the SVU, because they both need a rape kit done. Seriously, I thought this was god awful. Sure it might have been pretty and the graphics were neat, but I don't go to a movie to see a blue dude stick his ponytail penis into some horse-like-things tail vagina. If Avatar wins, I will shit my pants.

I really wish I had seen An Education, Up in the Air, In the Loop, and Crazy Heart. Also, since I made my list I have seen Adventureland and Schencdouche, New York, which I really liked.

Also, I think Patton Oswald should have got a Best Actor Nod for Big Fan.

Below is a complete list of who I think will win/who I want to win, in the major categories:

Best Actor:
Jeff Bridges/Jeremy Renner
Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz/Christoph Waltz
Best Actress:
Sandra Bullock/Carey Mulligan
Best Supporting Actress:
Monique/no clue...
Best Animated Film:
Up/Fantastic Mr. Fox
Best Documentary:
Food, Inc./The Cove
Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow/Kathryn Bigelow
Best Picture:
The Hurt Locker/The Hurt Locker

Cigarettes Wedding Bells

Well here is a website for you to visit: It is Stacie and my wedding website.

(note: not nearly as much .gif as you'd expect. and I blame me for that.)

Songbook

One of my favorite authors is Nick Hornby. A few years ago, Nick released a book called "Songbook", and in it he listed his 31 favorite songs of all time, and why. I have decided to do a similar blog, except, I am going to do 40 songs. Because it was hard enough to get the list down to 40. These are in no perticular order, let us begin:

Heartbeats by Jose González
a wonderful song. much better than it's original (a poppy techno tune by The Knife.)


Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel
my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song. that's saying a lot.


Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash
ever since i was a little boy i have loved this song. that opening gets me everytime.


What I Got by Sublime
i have never been the biggest sublime fan, but this song has always been with me.


Lucky by Seven Mary Three
i always liked this 7M3 song, but it wasn't until i saw them live in 2002 that i really understood it's power.


Let's Get Fucked Up and Die by Motion City Soundtrack
this is my college song. when i hear this, it reminds me of times i cannot remember.


A Good Year for the Roses by Elvis Costello
what a song. it has been covered many times, but no one does it the justice that elvis costello gives it.


Clumsy by Our Lady Peace
i have always liked our lady peace, every album has been great. this is the song that started it all.


Pretty Boy Floyd by Woody Guthrie
without woody guthrie where would music be today? this take on pretty boy floyd screams in the face of the Gmen of his day.


Aside by The Weakerthans
sometimes you find a song that is just yours. this is my song. it seems that i am the only person who has ever heard it. it is mine.


Friend of the Devil by The Grateful Dead
i never got into the Grateful Dead until i heard this song in a bar. then i got it.


High 5 by Calibretto 13
when i was in high school, i had a lost year full of video games. this song was in the background the entire time.


In The Aeroplane over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
this song is new to me. i just started to listen to N.M.H this last year, but i just love it. the voice and mix of sounds is wonderful.


Wishlist by Pearl Jam
pearl jam has wrote a lot of great songs. this is my favorite, hands down.


Don't Change Your Plans by Ben Folds Five
Nick Hornby put a BF5 song in his list aswell, he liked "Smoke" which is a good song, but this one does it for me. I remember hearing it live back in the day and loosing myself.


Souled Out!!! by Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
finally, after years of listening to Conor Oberst be depressed, we get a happy gem. if he can get better, anyone can.


A Minor Incident by Badly Drawn Boy
a beautiful song, that clinched the movie About a Boy for me. this was also on Hornby's list, and one listen makes it obvious why.


New Slang by The Shins
Garden State aside, this is a great track. the whole "Oh, Inverted World" could have made this list.


El Scorcho by Weezer
what can i say about weezer? they are so hit or miss with there albums. but this track on Pinkerton is them at there best. i have not heard anything since as good. (pork and beans? really?)


Greater Omaha by Desaparecidos
this song rocks. i first heard it when i was altavista-ing songs about omaha. i didn't even know what bright eyes was back then, this song grabbed me and pulled me in. it was a gate way to the rest of Saddle Creek for me.


29 by Gin Blossoms
every single Gin Blossoms song could be on this list. i went with 29 because of it's outlook. "time wont stand by forever...", it's about growing up. and every year that i am not 29, i can still pretend like i have time to be young.


Understanding in a Car Crash by Thursday
this album was 2002 for me. i lived and breathed Thursday. it's really to bad that the loud rock screamo style of music fell off so much.


Motorcycle Drive By by Third Eye Blind
on the self titled debut album by Third Eye Blind, there were 4 or 5 singles. break out songs like "Semi-Charmed Life" and "How's it Gonna Be", but this secret... the final track... is why i still to this day say Third Eye Blind is one of my favorite bands.


Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse
i really like modest mouse, and after "lonesome crowded..." and "good news/bad news..." i was not sure they could keep the hits a comin'. first single off "we were dead..." proved me wrong. it's impossible to not sing along with this.


Snowbirds and Townies by Further Seems Forever
"this winter is lasting forever, at least for tonight". i say this in my head every cold day, every winter.


Twin Rocks, Oregon by Shawn Mullins
Shawn Mullins should be huge. fuck Dave Matthews and John Mayer. Shawn Mullins is legit. This song, off "Souls Core" is songwriting at it's best. he may not be quoted in as many dickhead's facebooks, but he is real.


Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty
everyone knows this song. and everyone knows that whenever i pick up a guitar, that i am going to play this song. great tune.


Mekong by The Refreshments
in middle school, i found out about "Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy". music was different from then on. i could argue that this song helped start my travel bug. just the idea of being 15,000 miles away. oh my.


Harvest Moon by Neil Young
neil young is to patrick hastie as jesus is to the pope. i love this guy and his music.


Album of the Year by The Good Life
"we moved into a studio in council bluffs to save a couple bucks." i first heard that while living in a shitty apartment in council bluffs, which we got to save a few bucks. this 5 minute song is an epic. beautiful and tragic.


Snails by The Format
the Format are a band from arizona that my friends and i got very into. the first studio album they released was great. and when i heard Snails, a cut off there second disc "dog problems" i thought the future for the Format would be great. unfortuntily, they broke up and the lead singer formed the band Fun which i haven't be able to grasp yet.


The Boy with the Arab Strap by Belle and Sebastian
this is my favorite song of all time. i listen to it once a day.


Jesus Christ by Brand New
brand new. a pop punk band on one disc. a darker rock band on the second. an indie band on the third and a screamo art rock band on the fourth. what a head scratcher. but this song, off the indie album, its all of the talent coming together and clicking. the video below is my own video for this.


Stevie Nix by The Hold Steady
i saw Dashboard Confessional on Halloween 2006. in the middle of a song, chris carraba started talking. he said "she said you reminded me of Rod Stewart when he was young. with your passion, and you think that your sexy, and all the punks think that you're dumb..." well, i thought this song was awesome, and much better than anything off the most recently released Dashboard cd, so when i got home i googled it to find, it was by a band called The Hold Steady. the rest is history.


Tangled up in Blue by Bob Dylan
"i lived wih them on montague street, in a basement down the stairs." note: that was my childhood.


We Are Nowhere and it's Now by Bright Eyes
"i'm wide awake.." is my favorite Bright Eyes album. and a lot of people give "lua" all the credit, but this track is the best. this was Conor Oberst saying "just when you think you got me, you don't." loretta lynn singing background isn't gonna hurt a song either.


Impossible Germany by Wilco
wilco has a lot of great songs. this is the greatest. a guitar trip that can take you anywhere, except germany and unlikely japan.


Konstantine by Something Corporate
it's so easy to write this song off as the emo shlock that it can appear to be. it's not. it's a 10 minute opus about love and growing up. it teaches that you can spell confusion however the fuck you want.


Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
Leonard Cohen is hard to top. Jeff Buckley did it. i wish he wouldn't have taken that walk into the river. i wish he had released more music. more music like this.

Read/Listen/Watch/Rent

READ: The Star of Athilien by Kendall Merk

This book is about two friends, Jonathon and Tristin who are your average everyday teenage boys growing up in america, until one day they stumble upon an alien named Elshin who takes them on a great adventure, and to a planet known as Athilien. The boys are told that they are needed to help restore the star of athilien (like the title) to save Elshin's home. This book is part one of a five part series, and it is a fun read. It is geared towards young adults, but if you are an admirer of Tolken or C.S. Lewis you can get into this easy. The author, Kendall Merk, is a friend of mine and I recommend everyone check this book out. Especially if you have kids, and the more people who enjoy this book, the faster Kendall will finish the series! So this is all a selfish plot of mine, because he wont tell me what happens next. Click here to purchase the book from Amazon for the low low price of 10.95!

LISTEN: Frontier Ruckus

What can I say about Frontier Ruckus? Everything about this band excites me. I first found out about them back in September by just searching for music on Google (google is a search engine, like Altavista.) The first song I listened to was "Orion Town". That sucked me in, and soon I found that "Orion Town" wasn't just a song, it was a life. I immediatly found everything I could from them, and bathed in the sound, the words. The band is a bunch of friends from Michigan, who come together and make me believe. I never feel like anything is forced, they arn't trying to be anything they are not. I cannot find one solid line that stands out more than any other. The lyrics are beautiful, and at times crushing. My buddy Nick, his friend Megan, Stacie and I got the chance to see these guys in Ames in October, and it was one of my favorite concert experiences ever. The band is not all that big yet (although, you can feel that they are on the cusp of being one of the elite bands of this soon coming decade), so to see them in concert was fun and relaxed. We got to talk to the band members and actually have conversations. I'll include a video, but you should watch all the ones you can find of them on YouTube. They made a film and just wondered around there backyards and timbers and played music. This song, "I Do Need Saving" is perhaps one of my current favorite songs. It's goregous. Enjoy.

WATCH: Clark and Michael

Clark Duke and Michael Cera. Magical. "Clark and Michael" is a 10 episode internet show from 2007 about the stars living together in LA and attempting to write a movie script. It is a mockumentary, shot like The Office, where the actors are completely aware of the cameras. Even though there are only 10 episodes and each episode is only a few minutes long, this is one of my all time favorite shows. Michael Cera kills in everything he is in (Note: I have not seen Year One), and Clark Duke, who I was not familiar with until this, steals a lot of scenes. I want more, I want these two to be on my Television weekly, but sadly we don't always get what want, just ask Mitch Hurwitz. Click here to visit the Clark and Michael website, where you can watch all 10 episodes. The show is full of great guest stars, like Tony Hale (Buster Bluth from Arrested Development), Andy Richter, David Cross, Tim and Eric (of Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job / Tom Goes to the Mayor fame), Jonah Hill, Jon Francis Daley and Martin Starr. Heres a Preview for ya:


RENT: The Squid and the Whale

The Squid and the Whale was written and directed by Noah Baumbach. He was the co-writer of The Life Aquatic and The Fantastic Mr. Fox with Wes Anderson, and since this movie he also wrote/directed Margo at the Wedding, another wonderful gem. The Squid and the Whale is a story of a family going through divorce, and how it effects everyone involved. The mother, a successful writer played by Laura Linney, finds solice in her youngest sons tennis instructer (who is played by a fucking baldwin. And no, not Alec. Not Stephen either.) The father, an unsuccessful writer played by Jeff Daniels, who never lets an audience down, starts to bang his young student, Anna Paquin. (Fun Fact: Daniels played Anna Paquin's father in the 1996 film Fly Away Home, and now, 9 short years later, she blows him on camera. Fun stuff). The children, Jesse Eisenberg who has shined recently in Zombieland and Adventureland, plays the disfunctional teen to a T. (what the fuck does "to a T" mean anyways?) And Eisenberg even gets a piece of Rogue too. And my favorite, Owen Kline, son of Kevin Kline, is the youngest son, a 10-11 year old who deals with his family meltdown in amazing ways, like drinking heavily in secret, masturbating in the school library and whiping it on lockers, and telling his father he is a philistine. Watch this, and I hope you like it.

My Favorite Fifty-ish Books of the Decade

Well I made lists for my favorite albums and films of the decades, and so I figured I'd do books too. However, I don't read as much as I'd like, and when I do read I read from all different decades, so this is a list of the books from this decade that I do really like and recommend. Like in my music and movie post, there is a lot of similarity, because I read what I know I'll enjoy.

2000
Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Down Under / In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Ignorance by Milan Kundera
best: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

2001
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
How To Be Good by Nick Hornby
The Constant Gardner by John Le Carre
John Adams by David McCullough
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
best: Pint-Sized Ireland by Evan McHugh

2002
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
best: Atonement by Ian McEwan

2003
31 Songs by Nick Hornby
Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk
Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair & Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
best: Dry by Augusten Burroughs

2004
Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroguhs
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk
America (The Book): A Citizens Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart
Long Way Round by Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor
best: Chronicles Volume One by Bob Dylan

2005
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Oh the Glory of it All by Sean Wilsey
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
1776 by David McCullough
best: A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

2006
Housekeeping vs The Dirt by Nick Hornby
The Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers
best: Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs

2007
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England: A Novel by Brock Clarke
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories by Miranda July
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
best: Slam by Nick Hornby

2008
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut (posthumous)
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Downtown Owl: A Novel by Chuck Klosterman
The Film Club by David Gilmour
best: Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk

2009
Look at the Birdie by Kurt Vonnegut (posthumous)
Inklings by Jeff Koterba
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
best: Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby