Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Starr Hill this Thursday at the Hot Spot

Starr Hill Brewery has this awesome line of beer called "All Access." It's sort of their experimental, showcase line where you can really see why the company is as successful as it it. All the beers are inspired by music in this line, and all of them (so far) are pretty incredible. 

The last one was Psycho Kilter, a wee heavy that is almost all gone in the state of Virginia, was awesome. My band did an opening, kind of a release party, for it at the Pompei Lounge in Staunton. People went crazy for it. Plus, it was just a great night with the Murder Bros. I personally had a good night, and there was not shortage of people coming up to me and telling me what a success the evening was.

This week, we're doing it again at the Hot Spot for the new Starr Hill All Access, Little Red RooStarr Coffee Cream Stout. We're turning it into a Tap Takeover and Steal the Pint Night. So every tap at the Hot Spot in Waynesboro will be Starr Hill, and if you buy a pint, you get to keep the branded glass.

I love events like this but of course, with a lot of moving parts comes a lot of things that could go wrong. The band we were supposed to play with cancelled at the last second, and for a minute I was really worried we wouldn't get all the beer we needed for the event. 

But now, we're back on track, and an even better band will be playing with the Murder Bros. on Thursday; namely, Dead Professional!

I can't wait. It's a free event, so you should come.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Call of Cthulu

Lately I've been really into table top gaming. When I came down with the flu, I watched a lot of episodes of Wil Wheaton's show, Tabletop on YouTube because a guy at work mentioned it, and it made me wonder why I ever stopped playing games. It's been a long time since I've played Magic or D&D or anything else like that.

So, I went out and bought Zombie Dice and Munchkin, and I got a few friends together and we have been making it a weekly ritual to play a game or two together over beers. The group grew a little and a friend named Mike had Cthulu Dice and Munchkin Cthulu, and I fell in love with H.P. Lovecraft all over again.

I downloaded the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft and I'm trying to get through all of it. I hadn't read him since I was a teenager, and it's so much better now because I'm able to laugh at his prose a lot more and able to just let go a bit more than I used to be able to. I was a very serious teenager in many ways.

So now that I'm on an H.P. Lovecraft kick, I'm glad to find that Cthulu is a much bigger deal in pop culture than ever. There are a ton of games and memes and all sorts of things paying homage to the unspeakable horror. There must be a bunch of people out there just like me who are rediscovering what they once loved as a kid. There are probably even more getting into the unnameable awesomeness for the first time, which is fantastic!

So I went to the local game shop (Dragon's Hoard) and picked up the Call of Cthulu Card Game. At first my wife, who's never read anything Lovecraftian, thought it would be too complicated and difficult for her to play. Why do people always say that? But once we learned the rules, she's all about playing again and again. It's as if she has traveled to a vast Antarctic wasteland and unearthed something she can never unsee.

Awesome game

In the meantime, I've also rediscovered Dr. Who. I liked the old ones when I was a kid, and in England, I got really into it again because people always asked me if I knew who the Dr. was. I was reluctant to start watching the new ones because I thought maybe it was going to be like how the new Star Wars movies ruined Star Wars for me. But I'm here to tell you that the new Dr. Who show is brilliant. I love it. There's even an episode with Cthulu slaves serving a dark ancient lord trapped on an asteroid floating above a black hole. What?!?!!

Lastly, I want to mention that Tabletop Day is March 30. It's a day to get together with family and friends and play a game you play on a table, i.e., not a video game. It's a perfect excuse to nerd out with friends and drinks. Most wine and beer geeks are geeks about other things too, I've found, so don't be afraid to ask your friend the beer geek. And whatever you do, don't look back at the mirage over the ancient and forgotten city of the grotesque.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

My Birthday and Henry Rollins

Last week was my birthday. We got so much snow, we were unable to leave the house for the first part of the day and unwilling to leave for the rest of the day.

I received no gifts that day, but I was buried with birthday wishes on my facebook, which is nice.

My father didn't call me. I haven't spoken with him for about a year. This is fairly common for me. I often wonder how I was born to a person so disinterested in my welfare. It was difficult growing up under his tyrannical rule. He tore apart the family several times, and it's at one of those points now. But I don't think it is ever going to be together again. I haven't spoken with my brother in many years. Something like seven or eight. My mother doesn't speak with him either. Neither does my father.

This year I felt like a commercial for an iPad because I "facetimed" with my mother in California. The technology is only 10 years too late, but that's OK. It was interesting to feel closer to someone because I could see her face over a distance of thousands of miles over a hand-held device. 

The next day I received the only birthday card I received this year. It was from my employer, the company, Virginia Eagle.

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I have been working out poetry in my mind. I'm trying to write a book called the Chris Hemsworth Sonnets. Sometimes I think it's genius. Other times I feel like it will not be taken seriously because of how funny it is at parts. I feel like the Glen Danzig of poetry. No one ever knew how to take the Misfits, and maybe the Misfits didn't know how they wanted to be taken. But my cult following is nowhere near as big.

I met Henry Rollins. I said something about Sons of Anarchy and we had a short conversation. We met at a gallery/art museum in DC that was showing old Punk and GoGo artifacts. It was amazing. There are pictures. When Henry Rollins was done DJ-ing and the party was over he walked out alone and waited for a taxi. I said "good-bye Henry Rollins, and thank you." He looked at me like he was trying to figure out if he knew me. He said "thank you" and got in a cab alone. I wish I did know Henry Rollins. I think he would appreciate my writing and my music. People these days have so many buffers around them. I'm not sure how I know as many people as I do.
After that, we met this guy named Jared, and we went to the after party, another gallery-cum-discotheque. The after after party was great, too. But the night was dissolving, so Mary and I bugged out and went to the hotel. 

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My birthday makes me somber. Sorry about this sad post after so long being away. I'm trying to work blogging back into my regular routine again. These flaws and starts are killing my writing.