I'm taking a quick break from packing for a video/photo/film trip to Guatemala. The past few days have been a trip, or a roller-coaster ride. Anyhow, I'll only be gone a few days, but will likely not write for that period. In the mean time here are a few updates.
The MFA Front--Bumped up, sped up.
As I mentioned before, Warren Wilson was kind enough to save me a spot for the winter term since they'd filled up the summer by the time I sent my application in. Well, someone decided to postpone their start date and left a spot for yours truly. So, I'm starting July 2. I'm pretty geeked about starting but already have two assignments. First, I have to chose one among some of the different workshops, and of the choices that best fit my program, I'm only familiar with the work being discussed in one. Also, I have to come prepared to discuss two pieces of my own work, but only one is near finished. So, much to do by April 22.
The Home Front--New pet, new rant. Oh, and need a name.
Kai Ryssdal of NPR's Marketplace recently had a story about how pet stores are doing just fine in the financial downturn. Well, the misus and I have graduated from office plants, to a tortoise. It's all leading up to a grandkid for parents, in-laws and pesky friends--kidding. So, yeah, a tortoise, a bred-in-captivity Marginated Tortoise to be precise. I was about to complain about how expensive the tortoise, terrarium, "bedding", lights (two of them), heating pads, water dish, food dish, sand, hay, and calcium are, until I saw how much a flippin' dog costs. All of the items mentioned above cost less than half whatever ugly mutt they were selling at the pet store. Then you have to get shots, collars, ID tags, loads o' food, leash, toys, etc. It's kinda' crazy, but then anything but a beta fish in a $2 bowl seems pretty nuts.
The Photo Front
Since my nephew just turned 6 mo. old, I gave his parents a free photo shoot. Well, who am I kidding, I love photographing the little dude. Anyhow, behold the high commander who has tak usurped every sphere of family life and can pull us away from anything by merely saying WAAAA, in the right tone. So, we pay tribute to the little man who rules with an iron fist. Eating, sleeping, drinking, getting pampered and being the center of attention. Now that's a life.
The Typewriter Front--Dream's up, UPS picks up the tab
I've watched two of my dream typewriters, Groma Kolibri, ascend to the heights of $150 and well beyond my reach in only the past few days. Meanwhile, my Aztec 700 is in for repair with some undiagnosed malady that stumped the local typewriter doctor. Thankfully, UPS is paying the bill, since it was in their hands that it got messed up.
The Beer Front
I've already had the chocolaty, coffee, and oats goodness in a bourbon barrel that is the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. I've tried the Orange Blossom Cream Ale, which I'll review soon, though I linked to beer advocate for your reading pleasure. And I tried some local microbrews with mixed results. More when I get back.
The Travel Front
Speaking of getting back, I'm going back to Guatemala this weekend (10 months since my last visit), to hand over a film project to my friend Daniel G. who is a better film director than I'll ever be. I produced a short narrative film that he wrote and directed a couple years ago, so now I invited him to my turf. So down we'll go to work with some of the most dangerous men in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods and institutions of that country. I'll spare the gory details until I return. Until my return, keep an eye out for my tweets (look right, I have a widget). I'll sneak them if I can.
On Saturday night, Founders held a party to mark the release of their most exclusive beer, and my estimation of what water will taste like in heaven: the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. The production is so limited that when I went to a liquor store to buy some, I was only allowed one four-pack and said pack was $22. I also found out that the owners randomly sign a bottle here and there (not every four-pack gets a signed bottle), and mine just happens to have one--which made me pretty happy when I realized it. Naturally, as soon as I got back in the car, my wife went in and bought another four-pack. I'll be stocking up in the next few days. If you love beer, GO BUY IT NOW. By the end of the year, you'll be lucky to get one beer on ebay for $40.
A formal review of the beer will appear as soon as I work up the courage to crack one open. Or when I go to founders with my friend Brian who writes Five Branch Tree. Below are some pictures for the uninitiated and for those unfortunate many who don't live in West Michigan, and below that my description of how I took the pix.
This is obviously the label with the lucky signatures.
That's what this handsome bottle looks like.
Lens: 100 mm macro
ISO: 100
SS: 1/60
f14
I used two SB800 with remote flash.
The front one was a 1.5 ft away and 3 ft. off the ground on a stand, bounced off a reflective umbrella, front right, @ full blast. The second was a foot behind and to the left @ 1/4 with a diffuser card and a black flag to keep the light from washing out the front of the bottle.
SS: 1/60
f14
I used two SB800 with remote flash.
The front one was a 1.5 ft away and 3 ft. off the ground on a stand, bounced off a reflective umbrella, front right, @ full blast. The second was a foot behind and to the left @ 1/4 with a diffuser card and a black flag to keep the light from washing out the front of the bottle.
Why Calvinus Matters
Back from one of his many trips, my father brought with him a beer of which I knew nothing before. Calvinus is a tribute to Protestant father of Reformed thinking, John Calvin. Their website has a fun little intro. Anyhow, being as this is the 500th anniversary of the birth of said reformer, it seems only suitable that this be the year to try the beer named after him. So what? -you might say. Well, it just so happens that I'm a graduate of Calvin College, a part-time student at Calvin Seminary, and overall agree with most of what the man proposed. Of course there was that incident with Miguel Serveto, which is not only lamentable, but also plainly wrong.
The Beer
Back to the beer. Since there is only one bottle in the family, and since it does not belong to me, I decided to photograph it next to one of Calvin's biblical commentaries for memory's sake. The beer itself, as I understand it, is a Belgian White (whitbier) with lots of citrus and wheat to the flavor. Click here for a review. So, here are pictures of the beer itself. Below the pix I wrote the specs on how I took them and the equipment I used.
I know you can see my umbrella on the bottle. Sorry it was a quick setup in my parent's living room.
The pic on the left was taken on a piece of laminated cardboard using a Canon 30D.
Left: 17-85 mm lense| iso 100| shutter speed 1/160| f 18| two speedlite SB800s: the upper left one on an umbrella stand with swivel bracket| behind a shoot-through umbrella 2ft away and 3 ft off the ground| set at 1/4 power| another SB800 was about a foot away from the book| on the ground with the diffuser card| at 1/64.
Right: 100mm macro| ISO 1000| 1/40| f 2.8 -no flash
Both pix below have the same specs as the pic on the right.
The Idea
Once upon a former life as a journalist, I reviewed spas and restaurants. Yes, I still wonder why I left that job---oh, yeah: it paid a pittance. Now I'm doing it for free. How?
Cards and Stamps
A fun way to tell people about a place, event or product, is to show labels, ticket stubs, tags, etc. So, I'm going to physically glue said things of what I want to review onto cards that I salvaged from a dumpster. The cards say STAMPS, so all these posts will follow suit.
The Legend
From one to five $ signifies cost. From one to five * signifies rating.
NOTE: The actual review is below the STAMPS
 |
The makers of what are probably the best microbrewed ales in the country, these guys just happen to be local to Grand Rapids, where I live. Expect me to review each of their ales and stouts--not all at once though. The tag above is the bottleneck sticker to the Dirty Bastard, my third favorite beer in the world. It's a rich beer, with a bitter top note and a sweat yet peaty finish that lingers in your mouth with little hints of hops and I'd almost say dark chocolate. It is an aggressive beer and apparently their flagship. Worth noting is an 8.5% alcohol content and 50 IBU's. This is the little brother to the Backwoods Bastard which is liquid ecstasy aged in whisky barrels, a real kick in the pants. Neither is for the Corona crowd, this is the real deal.
The Omelette Shoppe (sorry no website)
I went there for breakfast today with a buddy of mine. It seems to be local to Grand Rapids but I'm not sure. O don't think they even have a site. I didn't have their specialty, I had a standard breakfast. I ordered two eggs, sunny side up, rye toast and a short stack of pancakes. Eggs are eggs and you have to be pretty dense to mess them up, but they were pretty good. Their rye is served buttered and toasted. I love the mixed pumpernickel with regular flour--the swirly-looking type.
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