Oh, Those Wacky Beermakers . . .

I was vaguely aware of Sam Calagione's latest foray into beer weirdness, but today Lex from Scholars & Rogues sent me  a link to this article that has more detail. In this case, Sam is working with Patrick McGovern, an archaeologist whose name is well-known to alcohol scholars.

For more on the beers the duo created, see this. The beers are available to the public, but in limited editions (translation: move quickly if you want to try one.) McGovern has a new book out that sounds fascinating. I have not read it yet, but plan to. If nothing else, I'm looking forward to finding out what's new in alcohol archaeology since I first investigated it for my book seven years ago. (*1)

Anyway, all worth reading. And thanks again to Lex at Scholars & Rogues for the tip.

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*1: (I had this screwball idea that I would open my beer book by looking back --- waaaay back --- beer's ancient history. I spent months wading through archaeological studies. In the end, I opted for a different tack with the book, but I still have the chapter I wrote. One of these days, I plan to post it as a PDF file --- once I figure out how to create an online PDF file.)

Skyscapes, Hawaiian-Style

Have I ever mentioned that I am a serious fan of the sky? I am. I try to spend an hour a day watching the sky: clouds; the various shades of blue, grey, black; the stars. (Yes, slightly more pleasant in warm weather than in cold.) (And, yes, this is  why I never get anything done. But I figure it's good for my soul.) Anyway, now I know why I don't live in Hawaii: I'd really never get anything done because I'd be spending all my time staring up. Astute Reader Dexter, who's been on a roll lately, sent me a link to these photos of Hawaii (Kaaawa, to be precise) at dawn, courtesy of blogger Ian Lind.  Enjoy!

Tim Burton At MOMA

Wired story on the upcoming Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA. (Have I ever mentioned that I'm a huge Burton fan?) (From whom, ahem, I am separated by only two degrees. But sadly have never met.) Big whoo-hooo from this corner: I'll be in New York in late December, so I'll get to see it.

For Some Wednesday Hilarity

Check today's "What's It? Wednesday" over at Scholars & Rogues. The responses are hilarious (they usually are, but are more so today because of the subject of the photo).

Am Too Tired to Be Interesting. Go Read Lew

After an absurdly long day and a half doing entirely too many things --- none of them meat-related --- am finally catching up on the rest of life. So far, best things I've found are Lew (be sure to read the comments from his readers). . .  and Lew. Chops to Astute Reader Dexter for the Lew-rant about taxes and alcohol. Somehow I'd missed it earlier.

Must-Read of the Day: Rob MacDougall on Angels and Octopodes

Today's must-read: This entry from Canadian historian Rob MacDougall.(*1) Man, I love this new generation of historians and the way they use the web. (Another example is Alexis Madrigal at Inventing Green.)

And now, back to work. Today's topic: canned meat and how it shaped Americans' demand for fresh meat. (Yes, there is a connection...)

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*1: Interesting in and of itself, but timely for me as I've been thinking about the octopus imagery as I write my current chapter about, yes, giant meat processing corporations in the late 19th century.