Jumpin' At The Woodside

Happy Almost Halloween! I guess you could call me a "Pumpkin Traditionalist." Yeah, people like to carve all kinds of designs in their pumpkins these days, but I like the simple triangle eyes & nose and the toothy grin! Enjoying the Sierra Nevada - Estate Brewers Harvest Ale this evening. LIVE from The Woodside - Salud!

Greetings and salutations on this warm evening - sultry if you will. Reminds me of a word I came up with awhile back - OK so it never caught on and you won't find it in your Webster's or Funk and Wagnalls... but, the term I coined was on a day the air was warm and humid, and had this softness to it. So on that day the term "swofty" was born. I think I was trying to say two different words and they came out at the same time. Ah well, such is the way many new creations are stumbled upon. Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" came on the jukebox and reminds me tonight's Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale is sweet and smooth. Good stuff and a rare treat. Odd though, sometimes I forget how fitting the Dead Guy's are this time of year with Halloween right around the corner. I think it has to due with the fact that I had my first 2X Dead Guy just before last Christmas , not to mention they're great any time of year. Even had some with me on our Dave Matthews Band ...

Friday once again and fall has finally arrived here, had to turn on the heat the other night! Looks to get chilly on the overnights this weekend as well. What could be more appropriate for the weather than Sierra Nevada's Harvest Wet Hop Ale . I've been waiting for this to arrive since I found it last year. The Harvest Wet Hop Ale is one of three special-release fall seasonals. A little smoother than the Estate , another special release, but both are equally great in taste. Weird though... so far both Total Wine locations here are only carrying the Estate. Today it dawned on me that I needed to stop at the Common Market over in the funky part of town, across the street from the Penguin , which has been featured on Food Network's " Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ." The Common Market has an excellent beer selection and today not only did I find the Harvest Ale, but also a little gem that I won't reveal until football Sunday! Thanks to everyone who passed along kind...

Flipper (aka Bubba) 1994 - 2009 Flipper passed away today at the age of 15 years and 5 months. He was a great friend and he will be missed. The last couple years he was diabetic and managed to do OK, but he had deteriorated over the last month or so. Seems like only yesterday I picked up a little grey kitten at a pet store located on Newbury Street in Boston. My friend Karen said I should have a cat, and she picked a grey one from a large litter of kittens. But what to name him? It took me a little while, but as soon as the name "Flipper" popped in my head, that was it. Flipper was always trying to escape outside. Seemed his days were filled with looking for ways out. He hated closed doors and learned how to open them at a young age. He would even open kitchen cabinets while I was at work. It looked like a scene from "The Sixth Sense" when I'd walk in and see cabinet doors left wide open. I knew I didn't have a ghost just the Flip. Today I let him go outsid...

Wow, what a week. Last week U2 and this week L.A. for Adobe MAX . Got back yesterday and I'm still tired. (click photos for larger view) Flew out last Saturday afternoon with Jimmy Joe Pete to get in a day of touristy stuff before the conference began on Monday. Wanted to get to the beach, but never got there. We hit Grauman's Chinese Theater and checked out the cement footprints. I was surprised at how small some footprints were like Paul Newman. Probably because they seemed larger than life on the big screen. Had lunch at the Hooter's across the street from Grauman's and caught some football. Just after lunch, police cars screamed into the street and blocked traffic. Still not sure what this was all about, someone said they did this every year. Vintage police cars lined the street and as I walked farther down I noticed there were also some very famous cars including the original Batmobile, Herbie The Love Bug, the Back to the Future Dolorean, and the Blues Brothers ...

Friday night and a Happy October to one and all! That's Sierrra Nevada's fall seasonal Anniversary Ale, very nice for evenings when a chill starts to creep into the air. Last night I was at the U2 show in Charlottesville, VA, at UVA's Scott Stadium. Great show! My 7th time seeing the boys from Ireland, starting in 1985 and every tour since . I drove up to Richmond to meet up with Lazy Acres and then we had a couple brews at the Capital Ale House in Richmond's West End before heading over to the show. We thought we might be running late, but got into the stadium just before the opener, Muse, started their set. U2's stage set up for this tour is pretty amazing. They played a good number of songs from the latest CD, but also included old favs like New Year's Day (love to watch Edge switch seamlessly from piano to guitar), I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Where The Streets Have No Name. Bono didn't seem to h...