Beer and football XI — weeks six and seven

Week six The game: Broncos at Patriots The beer: Backbeat Marcus Porter The result: Loss, 18–12 The knockout: Ditto Week seven The game: 49ers at Patriots The beer: Lexington Kentucky Pumpkin Barrel Ale The result: Loss, 33–6 The commentary: Ask and you shall receive! No, not that bit about the knockout pool “get[ting] past the […]

Beer and football XI — week five (bye)

The game: Broncos at Patriots Unscheduled bye The beer: Simpler Times Lager The knockout: Cowboys win, 37–34 The commentary: In other words, the coronavirus defeated hubris and covered the spread by a mile. Simpler times are fading fast. Maybe the Pats and Titans should face off every week and pull in other teams (the Falcons?) […]

You gotta have fear in your heart

Welcome back to May, dear friend and reader! Is this better? Are you again comfortable? Are you even there? Welcome, also, to another round of Remember When? as I parse my own archives. Last year’s Volume 10 was that in spades, compiling a Best of Me on the way to six thousand more words. I […]

Don’t gimme no affliction: 25 years of “Moonlight on Vermont” and other bush recordings

“It’s very gratifying to say that Captain Beefheart’s [Trout Mask Replica] is a total success, a brilliant, stunning enlargement and clarification of his art. Which is not to say that it’s in any sense slick, ‘artistic’ or easy.” – Lester Bangs, Rolling Stone “If one is to enjoy Trout Mask Replica’s twenty-eight songs on a […]

Hey, how do I know, Connie?

This might be a June thing from now on. “June thirtieth” has a nice ring to it. June thirtieth, June thirtieth, noon girly plinth, poon whirling myth… let’s keep this short. (Too late.) If someone had told me in August 2005 when I drafted my first post—which had no resemblance whatsoever to what is purported […]