Travis P. Brown

After reading a couple of books on the subject, and deciding that I really did want to try it, I finally broke down and bought (almost) all the supplies to brew my own beer at home. The nice folks over at Wine Craft, on Roswell Rd. had a pretty nice equipment kit for a good price. Altogether, I got…

• Primary fermenter/bottling container
• Secondary fermenter glass carboy
• Siphon hose
• One-way air lock
• Hydrometer
• Bottling spicket and valve
• Bottle capper
• Bottle brush

I figured, as with any new adventure, it would be fun to blog it as I do it. While at Winecraft, I also picked up a kit of ingredients to make my first batch. Given the summer heat and the fact that it’s myfavorite type of beer, I felt like trying to brew a nice weizenbier. In the beer kit, I got a premeasured amount of wheat malt extract, bittering and finishing hops, yeast, priming sugar, and bottle caps. Now earlier I said I almost have all the things I need. I still need a 5 gallon brew pot, and man those things aren’t cheap. Winecraft had one for $60, and I may go back and get it. Most places don’t even have a pot that big. I bet I could find one in a shop on Diagon Alley. If I do get a pot, I would like to start the process on Saturday. Anyway, that’s it for part one, when I brew the wort and start the fermentation, I will do another post. Cheers!

After a 200 page marathon last night, I have finished the final book in the painfully popular wizarding saga, Harry Potter. Unlike a blogging colleague of mine, my thoughts will contain spoilers. Lot’s of them in fact. So let’s begin.

SPOLIER ALERT – Don’t read ahead unless you have read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, or if you don’t mind it spoiled.

On the whole, I enjoyed HP:DH. It was a fun ride, lots of action, and some classic Rowling mysteries. But the end left a little to be desired. To begin, let me list some of the things I didn’t like about Deathly Hallows. First of all, I felt that throughout the Harry Potter storyline, there was always an underlying theme of civil rights and class equality. It wasn’t just a wizard’s war, but it was a war about how wizard’s treated other creatures, and treated other people with different bloodlines and abilities. Unfortunately, I felt that these were just dropped midway through the book simply to make space for the surface level conclusion. Much like the other flat conclusion this year, Spiderman 3, it felt that the thematic undertones and even character dynamics were sacrificed to make room to tie up loose ends of the plot. Ironically, it is precisely these elements that made previous Harry Potter books so great.

Secondly, there was no actual sacrifice by Harry. Granted he faced seemingly certain death with enough bravery to put Godric Gryffindor to shame. But it really felt like Rowling artificially wrote herself out with another magical loophole of love. I would have hated to see Harry die, but I guess I had been bracing for it since I learned of the Horcruxes.

Now on to a lighter note. I liked the book. I mean I liked all the Harry Potter books. Here are some specific things I liked. We finally got to fill in the blanks of Snape’s love for Lily, and it was actually kind of touching. It is often presented that Voldemort’s ultimate downfall is his ignorance and underestimation of the power of love. Here, Snape personifies that. Snape loved Lily, and Voldemort had no idea. Despite the epilogue being about as cheesy as Wisconsin, I did like that Harry named his son Albus Severus. It showed honor to Snape, and that Harry had closure on it.

Also, I liked how Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s schemes had such a similarity to previous Hogwart’s hijinks. At a time in their lives they were simply kids sneaking around the castle, impersonating Slytherins, or merely solving Scooby Do style mysteries. It’s like the scope has increased, but the characters actions hadn’t changed entirely. I enjoyed seeing the comparison and contrast.

Finally, I really got a sense of ability from the characters. Early in the series it was almost traipsing through the plot with clues, and relying on a final deus ex machina to survive the final confrontation. But with Harry, Ron, and Hermoine constantly on the run, and a few times, being on the attack, it was clear that they weren’t kids any more, they knew what to do. That was refreshing.

Once again, on the whole I enjoyed it, it was a fun ride, but to me the end felt a little flat and rushed. To conclude and summarize, here is my order of preference to the Harry Potter series. 6, 4, 3, 5, 7, 1, 2.

Update: Apparently, Rowling did have a better idea of what happened to the characters after defeating Voldemort.  Check out this article about an interesting Q&A with the author.  Thanks Leigh.

All I did today at work was wait for a customer to deliver specs on a project. So, I surfed the Internet. I found this site called A/V Geeks which is a traveling archive of over 18,000 obscure 16mm educational and industry films. I found them to be quite funny and watched them all day. Most of them range from the 50’s to the 70’s so you get to see such undertones as capitalism, moral constructs, conformism, and even fear of nuclear fallout. No matter what the videos are about they all end up being hilarious due to their awful production values. Here are some of my favorites.


If Mirrors Could Speak
Robbie is a “sad clown” whose social estrangement is compared to lying, cheating, and vandalism.

The Great Annual Bathtub Race
The tuba really sets the tone on this exciting adventure.

Food Doesn’t Fly: Lunchroom Manners
Favorite quote: “I eat my food instead of throwing it around. THAT’S manners!” And what is with that random kid’s demonic laughing?

Why Doesn’t Cathy Eat Breakfast?
Nothing says a National Dairy Council Film like that groovy bass line.

So I Took It…
So what! Fuck you! Just kidding, poor Sally is a little more mild natured and honest about her kleptomania. But that Glenda girl is a thieving whore!

If you enjoyed these as much as I did, Skip Elsheimer from the A/V Geeks will be in Atlanta at the Eyedrum on July 6th to show off some of the films from his collection. Don’t forget the popcorn.

I know it’s been a while since I last blogged. What can I say? I’ve been busy. Anyway, Erik’s not-so-subtle comment has forced me to end the drought with a nice entry about a recent concert we went to. Several months ago, when I was in my short lived circuit bending phase, I came across a guy on MySpace named Dan Deacon. The video below was posted there; it made me laugh quite hard. Recently, he has been picking up a lot of great press from his new album, Spiderman of the Rings. Pitchfork gave it a 9.1, which is kind of a big deal. We saw Dan Deacon play at the Drunken Unicorn, and it was quite amazing. But it wasn’t just Dan Deacon my friend, opening up for him were the A-to-Z’s and Videohippos. Don’t scoff, they actually weren’t bad.

First the A-to-Z’s played a mercifully short set. I say mercifully, not because they were bad, because their cutesy ironic social commentary can only carry a set so far. It was definitely funny, but irony can only do so much. Next were the videohippos. As the first part of their moniker suggests, they gave us a little video to accompany their music, it was fun. A little experimental, but mostly contrived. Ultimately redeeming was the fact that one of their videos and songs was made with Mario Paint. Geek Points++.

Finally, Dan Deacon was set to perform. And that’s not to say that we hadn’t seen him yet. As Erik and I idly waited for the first band to start, he came over and introduced himself. He humbly said, “Hi…I’m Dan.” It was kind of surreal, what was he wearing anyway, a bright green sweater? We also saw him doing stretches before the show. Dan’s set started out with a little observational humor about the Drunken Unicorn and its bass driven music next door. This is one thing I’ve seen many performers complain about, and I see where they are coming from. But once the beats started dropping, and his green strobe light skull started pulsating (yes, you read that right) it was a mad dance party. We all danced, and we all danced hard. It really did not feel like a concert. With everyone crowded around Dan Deacon’s set up of eclectic electrics, it felt like we were all partying at a friend’s house. And it was clear that Dan was no stranger to house parties. There were dance-offs, and sing-a-longs. It was silly, stupid, and amazingly fun all at once. It was one of the best shows I have been to.

Sorry if you missed it, but he will be back. Dan Deacon will be performing with Girl Talk sometime in September at MJQ. It will probably be even awesomer.

Last night I went to a Braves game. But it wasn’t just any game. First of all, it was Braves vs. Mets. The Mets are our biggest rivals and we will be battling them all season for the NL East crown. On top of that, it was Smoltz vs. Glavine. This is actually the second time I’ve got to see this match-up this year, but seeing these two guys pitch is always a treat. Finally, and this was the most exciting part, Smoltz was going for his 200th career win. The game couldn’t have played out any better. The pitching on both sides was great, but just a little better on our side. Through 7 innings of work, Smoltz held the Mets scoreless. But that’s not to say there wasn’t any effort by the Mets, Smoltzy gave up 7 hits, but the Mets still had nothing to show for it. Kelly Johnson scored on a sac-fly in the first and Matt Diaz (barely) homered in the second. It was the only runs the braves could get, but with the continued efforts of Soriana and Wickman, it was enough.

When the final out was recorded, Smoltz had his 200th win. He is one of 106 pitchers to reach 200 wins and the only pitcher in history to attain 200 wins and 150 saves. Another interesting note, the Braves organization is now only the second team to have 5 pitchers with over 200 wins. Those pitchers are Warren Spahn, Kid Nichols, Phil Niekro, John Smoltz and ironically Tom Glavine.

If you’d like to know more about how the game went down, here is the ESPN clip video. And if you click the thumbnails below, I have scanned in my box score for both teams from the game.

ATL Braves Boxscore 5/24

NY Mets Boxscore 5/24

Last night was the Season 3 finale of one of my favorite shows Lost, and I have quite a bit to say about it. Unfortunately, because of things I’d like to talk about, I must give the obligatory spoiler alert tag before I go any further.

SPOILER ALERT! Don’t continue reading if you haven’t seen all of Lost Season 3.

First of all, I must say wow. Last night’s episode of Lost was pretty great, I loved it. And of course, the first thing I’d like to talk about is Jack’s “flash-forward”. Despite lots of red herrings to try to throw you off, you eventually find out that the sequences with bearded Jack are not actually in the past, but take place after Jack leaves the island. The only other person we know that has left the island is Kate, but we could infer that Sawyer is who she is talking about when she says “he”. What I love about Lost as a show is how it lets you put the pieces together. You are not simply shown or told what is going on like traditional narrative; you are given pieces of a story with logical implications. As with all great Lost episodes, we are given more questions than answers.

Who is still on the island?
I am pretty sure Locke stayed behind. He would claw, kick, and scream before he left the island. Other than that, barring some odd “We can only take x number of people” scenario, I’m assuming everyone except Locke and the remaining Others leave.

What do the people on the freighter want from the island?
We know that Naomi’s people are not Penelope’s people. All that is left is to assume they are part of some organization that wants the island. Dharma? Competitors to Dharma? They must have some goodwill to rescue the Losties, right?

Why would Kate leave the island?
Wouldn’t she be immediately thrown in jail upon return? Apparently she is no longer running. Kate must somehow be given immunity or possibly even assume another person’s identity.

Who is in the casket?
Jack is revealed to be neither friend nor family, yet upon finding out about the person’s death, he is driven to kill himself. I can’t remember his exact line, but he says something like “Forgive me”. What is it he has done, presumably to this person that makes him suicidal?

Who is the father of Sarah’s baby?
Jack’s ex-wife Sarah is visibly pregnant. Could the father be someone we already know? Could it be Jack? I’m sure the island’s potency effect doesn’t immediately wear off.

Could Jack’s father still be alive?
I doubt he is, but let’s look at a few interesting things. Obviously, his body was never found on the island. In the show’s flash-forward, two distinct references are made to Jack’s father. However they are made by Jack, which at the time is a drunken anti-depressant addict, so not exactly trustworthy. These references could of course be red herrings, but they could also mean that somehow Jack’s father is alive.

Is Mikhail still alive?
This one isn’t all that important, but a recurring theme for Mikhail is him constantly coming back when left for dead. I think we will see Mikhail again, and possibly even Tom. We know the original inhabitants have some slow aging abilities, maybe the island heals them. Who knows, but don’t count out Mikhail, he’s awesome.

Well, I haven’t exactly posted like a maniac since I got my new domain, but I just wanted to say that my webhosting company 1&1 is awesome. I got an awesome deal on my two sites. Anyway, I told my brother about it, and he was interested in signing up too, so I figured I would throw him, and the rest of the world, my affiliate link. Sign up through me, and I will get a bone from 1&1, and I’ll even split it with you. Click on the ad below to sign up.

Now that the dust has settled on my new domain, let’s start things off with a movie review. Last week, a fellow blogger friend, Urban Docent, and I got to go see Tarantino and Rodriguez’s new feature, Grindhouse. We both enjoyed the film and decided to split up the review process. I would review Tarantino’s Death Proof, and he would review Rodriguez’s Planet Terror.

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Grindhouse, let me give you a quick rundown. Grindhouse cinemas, which gained popularity in the 70’s were known for their violent, zany, and even pornographic exploitation films that relied more on sensationalism than art. They are entertaining, and strangely endearing due to their clumsy editing, off-the-wall ideas, and cheesy acting. These films were often shown in double features. So the basic concept of the film Grindhouse, is to take two films in homage to this style, and show them together, complete with fake trailers of like films. All of this culminates in quite an interesting, funny, thrilling, and altogether entertaining experience. Initially I was mad about my ticket being $9.50, but I definitely got my money’s worth..

Now to get to the specifics of this review: Death Proof itself. Kurt Russell plays a psychotic stuntman named Stuntman Mike bent on getting a thrill from hunting down and killing women with his death proof stunt car. I will avoid specific spoilers, but basically Stuntman Mike’s sense of reality is limited to the fact that he views himself invincible and impervious to injury. He soon finds out this is not true.

Death Proof was actually my favorite of the two. It starts out making a lot of similar Grindhouse jokes as Planet Terror did, albeit a little more subtle. All of the film scratches, clumsy editing, and dropped frames and audio are there. But eventually, Tarantino is done making jokes and is ready to really show you a film. As with almost all Tarantino films, some of the most entertaining dialogue comes from characters in a diner, enjoying their food. Are they talking about anything necessary to the film? No, but they are essentially telling us who they are. One of these characters, Zoe Bell, plays herself. I hadn’t heard of her before seeing Death Proof, but she is a stuntwoman from New Zealand who was Uma’s stunt double in Kill Bill. She performs quite an impressive and lengthy stunt which immediately gives credence to previous dialogue in the film. In it, Stuntman Mike waxes eloquent about there being no CGI in the “old days”. Basically, this earnestness and simplicity is what’s compelling about these exploitation films.

The action sequences are tight and intense. At this point in the movie, all production budget jokes have been made, and the well directed and edited sequences will keep you on the edge of your seat. Death Proof is altogether thrilling, smart, and fun. So far, it’s my favorite film of 2007.

Apparently, the theatrical release of Grindhouse is just the beginning. Both Death Proof and Planet Terror will be released in extended versions on DVD, the fake trailer for Machete will be made into a straight-to-DVD release, and a video game tie-in for Planet Terror is already in development.

Final Score: A-

Jeff G. sent this to me. Thought it was too funny not to post.

Fox News is so out of touch with reality that they missed the point of this person’s actions.