JUNE-buggin'

With Covid-19 still creeping around, June 2020 has continued more of the same of the last three months or so with a few slight changes back to what we hope will be normalcy.  

6/3 - I had another great day off today and decided to go east again and visit Fall Creek Falls State Park which I haven't been to in way too many years.  Man, what a crown jewel of the Tennessee State Park System!  I came for the waterfalls, of course, and they did not disappoint with all five (yes, five!) running well with the recent rainy weather.  My first stop was the big daddy of them all and the park's namesake.  I did get a different vantage point than ever before with my first hike ever down to the base of Fall Creek Falls.  She is quite a stunner from any vantage point.  The half-mile hike out was steep and tough, but I did it and was proud of myself.

A short drive and a short walk got me back to the overlook of Cane Creek Canyon where Cane Creek Falls (left) and the much thinner, but very pretty, Rockhouse Falls drop into a huge natural amphitheater and lake in awe-inspiring fashion.

Just upstream from Cane Creek Falls is pretty Cane Creek Cascades where I dipped my toes in the water and enjoyed the view and sounds up close.  There were a good amount of people in the park, but not overly crowded by any means.  The weather held out nicely for me also.  I was impressed with all the upgrades and additions around the park that I saw.  I look forward to coming back and staying a couple nights in one of their cabins in early November.  Already booked it! 

Last, but certainly, not least, was beautiful Piney Falls.  I could only go as far as the overlook, as the trail going towards it (including a swinging bridge) was closed for repairs.  I honestly don't remember seeing this waterfall before.  I would surely have remembered it's unique shape which is different than most Highland Rim waterfalls and the brown sandstone cliffs to the right.  I did have a black and white shot I remember that might be it, but, if so, it was a zoom-in of the top part of the falls and at a much higher water level.  Either way, I was overjoyed to see it (again?) and can't wait to come back and get closer to the base.  

A little more Piney Falls love in the video below:

Well, I got my fill of waterfalls for today, so it was time for some beer!!  I stopped by Happy Trails Brewing in Sparta on my back west and went inside my first brewery in MONTHS!  I did sit out on their back deck observing social distancing while I enjoyed their tasty HYOH hefeweizen and their rich and delicious South Cumberland Milk Stout.  Cheers to breweries being open again!!

My next stop was Jig Head Brewing in Cookeville to fill a couple of half-growlers.  I had time for a pint also and chose their decent Betty's Island Blonde ale (photo above).  I stuck around a little longer and had a pint off their guest taps compliments of my UNTAPPD friend, Robert, who lives in the area and joined me briefly.  It was an UNTAPPD repeat check-in, the excellent Midnight Summit milk stout from Highland Brewing over in Asheville, NC, but my first one on draft.  More on the two growler fills I got this weekend when I open them around the pool.  

6/5 - I cracked open my first half-growler from Jig Head Brewing in Cookeville - their Devil Ray Belgian tripel which was excellent - while floating in the pool after work this afternoon.  For some reason, I got a lot of likes on Facebook for this rather generic photo above.  I mean it was my first pic with a beer and actually floating in the pool, but I think people just like the idea of Friday-afternoon drinking!  Ashlee helped with that first growler and also with my second half-growler from Jig Head Brewing in Cookeville, their very good Rio Fortuna light cerveza-style lager which went great with our south-of-the-border themed dinner that we enjoyed off the grill tonight on our patio.

6/6 - My baby and I stopped by TennFold Brewing in Donelson today.  This was our first brewery visit together in a long time (and our first time inside this particular new brewery) thanks to the rotten pandemic crisis.  The place was busy, and it was nice to see things sort of getting back to normal.  I had their tasty Blessed Rains English IPA, and also had a few sips of Ashlee's choice, their very good Station 28 red ale.  Cheers again to our official closest brewery to home! 

6/7 - It was another great pool day today and we invited some friends over to enjoy it with us.  My best beer pal, Nate, came and we did more beer-swapping like we did last weekend.  My contributions were two half-growlers that I had picked up at TennFold the day before.  First up was their brand new Irma Gersh German pilsner.  I wasn't overly impressed with it, but we didn't throw it out either! Next was their much tastier American lager, A Feast With Friends.  

Nate's generous contributions were a crowler of Southern Aroma Helles lager from Various Artists Brewing here in Nashville.  I liked it a lot.  Next up was a bottle of VABC's brand new barleywine called Newfangled Perspective.  I haven't had a lot of barleywines (hence the UNTAPPD badge I earned pictured above) and they aren't my favorite style, obviously, but I really liked this one.  One other VABC contribution was a crowler of Nashural Light lager which was solid on a hot, hot day.  Nate also graced me with a crowler from TennFold Brewing that I almost got yesterday, their Business Hippie IPA that was great.  I finished the long day with a last Nate gift, a can of double NEIPA from Trimtab Brewing (AL) called Seeds of Society.  This one was great also, and needless to say, I had a great buzz for most of the afternoon and on into the night!!  Thanks again, Nate, for the brews and the friendship.

6/9 -I finally got off a nasty slide in terms of online poker tonight with a first-place chop of a small 7-man tourney on PokerStars for $60+ in profit.  I also went fairly deep in a larger tournament on Global Poker tonight as well to get my current bankroll on there back to even.  

More movies rented while theaters remain closed due to Covid-19:

I rented The King of State Island off of Fandango Now (with a nice discount off the $19.99 price thanks to a Card Cash gift card).  I really liked it.  It's got a lot of heart and is also very funny.

I rented Never Rarely Sometimes Always off of Amazon.  It's a teen pregnancy drama that is really powerful and very well-made.

I eagerly watched the new Spike Lee film, Da 5 Bloods, on Netflix the day it premiered.  A lot of it was very timely to what's been going on in this country lately involving race (and basically has been going on since the USA was founded).  The film itself was OK for a while, but then the story  took a weird turn and had such a huge logic flaw I thought. (SPOILER ALERT:  After finding their squad leader's bones and retrieving them to take home, one of the four steps on an old landmine and dies...AND THEY BURY HIM THERE IN THE JUNGLE???  WTF???)  It was so bad, in fact, I lost complete interest and didn't even finish the film.  Cool movie poster, bad movie.  Sorry, Spike....glad I didn't pay anything for this one!

I rented the new film, The Quarry, off of our cable provider because it has one of my favorite actors in it, Michael Shannon.  It was pretty good for a small, independent low-budget film, but the story itself kind of fell apart at the end I thought. 

6/11 - I took down another PokerStars local tournament tonight vs. 11 other players for $85 in profit.  I actually should have been the first one out, but hit a miracle 9 on the river vs. pocket kings for trips.  I took that one lucky break and turned it into overall success.

6/12 - It was Friday night and I was ready for a libation after a long week, so I decided to crack open my recently purchased All Together junmai sake with hops that I bought from Proper Sake in Nashville last weekend.  This special sake was brewed in collaboration and hundreds of other brewers across the nation to support the hospitality industry.  Some of the proceeds from this sale would go directly to helping those folks during the Covid-19 crisis. 

 I could really smell the hops when I opened the bomber bottle of sake, but I sure couldn't taste them.  Straight sake isn't a favorite of mine, so I decided to make a " WWII Axis of Evil" sake bomb by adding a German pilsner from Smith and Lentz Brewing also from Nashville.  The results were a winner, unlike the Axis of Evil...thank goodness! Here's to you, Allied Forces!! 

6/13 - We spent this Saturday in the pool because the weather was just too perfect to do anything else.  I went and got a variety six-pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits for the weekend, and loaded up the 3 coldest ones in my new Kanga (no-ice-needed) Cooler that I bought recently.  It did a fine job with the excellent Double Homestyle DNEIPA from Bearded Iris Brewing here in Nashville.  Followed by a can of very good Florida Man double IPA from Cigar City Brewing (Tampa).  And rounding out the day with a can of the solid Fancy Papers NEIPA also from CCB.   

6/14 - Yesterday was IPA Day around the pool, so today was to be Fruit-Beer Day to finish my variety six-pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits.  I started with a pretty good Cherry Leon lager from Hap and Harry's Brewing here in Nashville.  Next up was the a-bit-too-sweet-for-me Peach Beerlini Radler from Left Hand Brewing (CO).

In honor of this being Pride Month (and in preparation for our planned trip next week to Key West), I ended the day with my last can from the variety pack, a tart and refreshing Unithorn Key Lime Gose from Mayday Brewing down in Murfreesboro. Salute! 

We also had a couple of guests over for dinner out on the patio tonight, and as a pre-meal libation, Ashlee made some Peach Beer Cocktails,  They consisted of vodka, Lovebird fruit beer from Nashville's own Jackalope Brewing (a local favorite of ours) and fresh peaches from The Peach Truck.  It was fantastic! 

6/16 - Max Brook is my favorite author out there today.  His "World War Z" novel is a masterpiece IMO and the all-star audio-book of it is probably my favorite piece of entertainment ever.  He released a new book today about a Bigfoot massacre called "Devolution" and I snatched up a written digital copy as well as an audio version (again with a full cast) as soon as it was available.  Can't wait!! 
(Editor's note:  Now I get to talk to the man!  I just bought a ticket for a 2-minute online chat with Max as he signs a copy of his book for me next month and then they will mail it to me!  Pretty cool!!)

I also pulled the trigger today on four seats to the Titans game at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay just after Christmas.  Fingers crossed that the NFL season isn't delayed or cancelled due to this Covid crap which just doesn't seem to be going away.  Got my flight for a great price as well and my friends, Wayne and Danny, have already committed, so I think we found our G.A.M.E. trip this year!  
(Editor's note:  Sadly, these tickets later got cancelled due to Covid-19.  No or few fans in the stands this season look like.  What a pisser...)

6/17 - While I currently only have about $15 in poker winnings accumulated right now to give to charity, I was happy to give even more to two worthy causes today who are fighting for their lives in this Covid-19 pandemic.  One local with a young, healthy dental hygienist here in Lebanon; and a young man over at Duke Medical Center needing to get a lung transplant.  God speed to you both.  Thanks to my wife, Ashlee, for letting me know about these two worthy causes. 
(Editor's note:  our local young lady is back at home as of 6/29/20!!)  

Must have been some good karma come off today's earlier contributions as I was able to chop a 16-player tournament tonight on PokerStars three ways for a little over $100 in profit.  

6/18 - I got my first bounty tournament win on Global Poker tonight.  These bounty tournaments are new on the sit with half your buy-in set aside as a bounty for whomever takes you out..  I topped 107 other players with 13 bounties and turned my $5 investment into just under $90 in profit.  I sure needed it to replenish my bankroll on here which has been taking a literal "beating" for a while.  

I just love this hilarious photo.  That's going to pretty much be me this summer  during this pandemic (minus the ab muscles) playing on Global on my phone whenever possible! 

6/19 - We had to swing up to Madison for a funeral home visit, so on the way back we stopped by TennFold Brewing in Donelson and picked up a couple of their new beer releases.  The first one was an outstanding Vienna-style lager called Hillbilly Disco.  I raise a glass of it tonight to my pal, Charly, who lost his dad recently.  Hang in there, brother.

6/20 - I cracked the second TennFold crowler out at the pool today...of course.  It was their India pale lager called Lassen Peak.  Man, for the new kids on the block in Nashville craft brewing, these folks know what they are doing!!  They are easily moving up in my local rankings!  While sipping it, we got another visit from our new friend, Edgar Alan Doe.  He/she is a playful little thing, full of energy and spirit and must feel pretty safe in our backyard to grow up in.  Salute, little feller!!  

6/21 -We masked up and bathed ourselves in hand sanitizer and flew down to Ft. Lauderdale today.  We rented a car and were Key West bound for most of the week!  Eff-you, Covid!!  While we were waiting in line to get our rental car, I got online and ordered some craft beer for pick up at Florida Keys Brewing Company in Islamorada which is on our way to Key West. 

Oh, those cut-ups at Florida Keys Brewing Company.  We arrived in Islamorada, Florida, late this afternoon and my pre-ordered beer was waiting on me.  Three four-pack pint cans to share with my brother-in-law, Andy, who I have converted to a craft beer snob.  Speaking of Andy, he bought a sweet Yeti-style growler from FKBC that I am pretty jealous of.  May have to get me one. I slipped a few cans in my new Kanaga Cooler and we rolled on south. 

Ashlee does the driving most of the time, so I was free to crack open my first Florida Keys traveling beer heading south along the Overseas Highway.  The FKBC's Resistant Strain Double Hibiscus Kolsch was smooth and tasty.  A perfect start to the tropical week.  Just for the record, I did officially start my "beercation" with a couple of Kalik Lagers at a place called Alabama Jack's up in Key Largo with my lunch.  They were the best thing there because the food was ho-hum.

It was nice to see the ocean and earn this badge with times like they are.  My next FKBC pint can was their Key Largo Lager.  It was light and refreshing and went down quick!   

We arrived in Key West an hour or so later and checked into our old, old friend, The Eden House (man, we got some great rates thanks to the pandemic).  We kicked back and immediately relaxed and I cracked open my third pint can from FKBC, their terrific session IPA called (cleverly) Sunsessional.  

6/22- Pool time!!  The weather was hot and muggy (ahh, Key West) today and we camped out in the pool for most of the day.  The night before we had made a supermarket run to the local Winn Dixie and I got a pretty darn good variety 6-pack of mostly regional canned craft beer there.  I started the day with a decent Summadayze IPA from Darwin Brewing (Bradenton, FL).  The best of the bunch (and quite possibly the entire trip) was the outstanding Islamorada Coconut Key Lime Ale from Islamorada (FL) Beer Company.  I have yet to stop at this smaller microbrewery in Islamorada, but I think I need to!! I actually anticipated Ashlee liking this one, so I got two in my six-pack only giving me five unique beers.  I am so generous, aren't I??  Oh yeah, she loved it.

Andy chipped in with a gift can of Key Lime Hibiscus Ale from Islamorada Beer Company also that he bought at Winn Dixie.  It was light and fragrant and very good.  He also cracked opened the aforementioned sweet growler from Florida Keys Brewing and shared his Queen of the South Vanilla Cream Ale that was extremely good.  

I continued out of my variety six-pack with a can of Screamin' Reels IPA from Saltwater Brewery (Delray Beach, FL) that was OK.  It was a little sour...as their flagship IPA I doubt that was intentional?   I had planned to stop at three beers from my variety pack...but you know how plans go...next up was the solid Wild Night cream ale from Swamp Head Brewery (Gainesville, FL).  This was an appropriate named beer because it became a  "wild night" indeed as I proceeded to get snockered.

Besides the beers, I became fast friends with a guy from Louisvlle named Chris whose wife was not feeling great and he was kinda on his own.  Chris was more than willing to go to the new tiki bar at The Eden House and get us complimentary drinks during happy hour.  Vodka and me don't do well together.  I had more than I needed.  Let's just say that.

Despite my state of inebriation, I do remember we had dinner at a little place called Firefly (I don't remember getting there or leaving) and I had some of the best seafood gumbo I have ever had (sorry, NOLA).  And damn wasn't it pretty too?  This shot looks like it's out of a magazine!   I remember the beer I had there with dinner there a lot less, but I gave it a good rating on UNTAPPD, so let's just say the Laces IPA from Wynwood Brewing (Miami) was solid.  

6/23- Whew!  No hangover!  Thank goodness!!  The drinking of anything but water was scaled back today as we headed north to Marathon, Florida, to try a snorkel tour to Sombrero Key Lighthouse Reef.  There's no filter on that picture above.  It was that friggin' blue!  It was one of the best snorkeling experiences I have had and definitely the best in The Keys.  My new friend, Chris, joined us and we cracked open a beer afterwards on the way back to Key West.  I had my last variety six-pack can.  The tart blonde ale called Easy Sport from Boulevard Brewing (Kansas City).

Back in Key West tonight, we had a rather ho-hum dinner (it was late and they were out of a few things, so maybe it was our fault), at a new BBQ place called The Dirty Pig.  I did have a very impressive La Colada Coffee Porter from Biscayne Bay Brewing (Doral, FL) that uses Cuban coffee with my "barbeCuban" sandwich entree.  

6/24- Man, what a great find!  It was brutally hot today and touring around Key West was a little rough.  To cool off and kill a little time while the rest of our group was doing something else, Ashlee and I checked out the Mellow Cafe and Gastropub on the Garrison Bight Harbor.  I had read they had an impressive craft beer selection and they did!  I had two outstanding New England-style IPAs along with some kick-ass fresh-catch mahi mahi tacos.  First up was the Trail Haze session IPA from Sixpoint Brewery (NY) who continue to be in my Top 5 US microbreweries.    I followed that with Contact Haze from the always-impressive Elysisan Brewing out of Seattle.  We have definitely got to come back here!! 

I gotta give a shout-out to a little artisan bakery here in Key West called Cole'z Peace that we've been coming to for a long time.  Great pastries and some outstanding breakfast sandwiches!  What they have also added since our last visit is an amazing import and craft beer section.  The stuff is pricey, but I doubt you can find some of these beers anywhere else on the island.  I bought a couple bottles to take back and have at the hotel, and I cracked my first one tonight.  It was the Trappistes Rochefort 8 Belgian strong dark ale from the Abbey of Notre Dame de Saint-Remy (Belgium).  The last time I had one of their beers was in friggin' Belgium itself! This one was strong and dark and very heavy, so it was a slow sippin' beer that I carried with me as a walking libation this afternoon around Key West. It was great!  This will be as close as I get to an Iron Man medal, but I will take it! 

On a much lighter note, I was surprised to see that a sunset cruise we booked this evening actually offered a complimentary craft beer that I had not had (or wanted...the usual macro-piss crap),  The Cat 5 Key Lime Lager from Fordham and Dominion Brewing (DE) was decent and went down easy like a Key West sunset...so poetic, aren't I? 

Ah, the majesty of a Key West sunset.  Wait, what the?  
Next time, FLOATING TIKI BAR SUNSET!!  

6/25- Well, it was time to head north again.  But we had a couple more nights up in Fort Lauderdale before getting on the big silver bird at least.  We stopped by FKBC again and Andy got another growler fill  This time he got the DH's Stone Iguana Imperial kolsch which he shared graciously, and it was very good.  We sipped it in the car on our way back to the mainland. 

Now that's going to set a pole and run an electric service, boys!  I grabbed this shot on our way to another snorkeling tour out of Islamorada today on our way north.  I sent it to my co-workers and got a few laughs.   The snorkeling wasn't in as clear water as a few days ago down at Sombrero Key, but it was still a great ride and a fun time.  We also didn't get to go to Alligator Key Lighthouse as I had hoped for and the video below is as close as we got.  But maybe next time! 

6/26- Beach, please!! We spent the day at the beach and hotel pool in Ft. Lauderdale today before flying out early tomorrow morning.  I had planned to check out one or two nearby microbreweries, but Covid-19 has spiked again here in Florida and they are shutting down bars, so I figured I would just stay put.  I was fortunate enough to find one new-to-me brew at a little deli/market next to our hotel.  This can of Tropical Bay IPA from Biscayne Bay Brewing (Doral, FL) was smooth, cirtusy and tasty.  

I also had my second bottle I bought at Cole'z Peace down in Key West.  It was a wild ale called Roisin Dubh  that was a collaboration between TRVE Brewing  (Denver) and Jester King Brewery (Austin).  It was rather sour (rose hips and Texas blueberries), but I actually liked it a lot. and it's the first "sour" beer I have given a rating above 4 on UNTAPPED.  Good thing I like it too because this bitch was expensive!! I enjoyed it in the hotel room since it was a glass bottle and toasted our nice view.

We made it home without any incidents and hopefully without any exposure.  With all these spikes in Covid-19 cases again, we may be in for another hunker-down session at home for a while.

I intentionally delayed my Beer Drop order this month since we were traveling during the regularly-scheduled week of its arrival.  More on those beauties in the next blog entry.

6/28 - I barely, and I mean barely, made the final table in a big deep-stack Sunday tournament on Global Poker tonight.  I got knocked out just as we got to nine players.  With a huge field of 628 other players, I was able to turn my $22 investment into just over $147 of profit.  

6/29 - Another cool little win on Global Poker tonight.  I won a ticket for a future $22 tournament entry and it only cost me $1.  While not a huge win monetarily, the real accomplishment is that it was a free-roll tournament with 1,113 other players and only the top 68 won a ticket.  The dollar came from an add-on I did after the first break.

Yeah, there have been a few...but they are hard to remember since nothing special happened that day! 

SPRINGing out of the Corona-virus...hopefully

The warmer days of late spring will hopefully bring an end to all this corona-virus nonsense...but 'til then (and then after)....let's drink! 

4/22 - Ashlee and I celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day today by cracking open the second of my Southern Grist birthday crowlers.  This one was the Nashville Mule, a sour with lots of ginger to give it a Moscow Mule kind of flavor, one of Ashlee's favorite cocktails.  I did like the ginger infusion to cut the sourness, but I definitely got this one for her and not me.  Possibly, the one good thing from all this corona-virus slowdown is that it gives Mother Earth a bit of respite with less cars on the road, less industry belching toxins in the air, and less carbon footprints by the human race at least for a little while.  Enjoy your rest, Big Blue.  I love you very much.  

4/23 - Someone out there deemed this German Beer Day, so why not?  I grabbed a bottle of the decent Kostritzer Schwarzbier (Bitburger Brewing subsidiary, Thurgen Germany) at Lebanon Wine and Spirits the other day for the occasion.     Too bad UNTAPPD didn't give out a badge for today.

Tonight is also the start of the surreal virtual NFL Draft 2020 (quarantine-style). Man, what a contrast from last year's draft here in Nashville with 600K people in attendance over the three-day event!  I watched the interesting version from the couch with my last Southern Grist birthday crowler in hand.  Their CHOPPER Series: Painkiller is an incredibly good milk stout made in a collaborative effort with the East Nashville tiki bar, Chopper, with tropical blends of pineapple, coconut, nutmeg and tangerine.  I actually really enjoyed this historic Day 1 of the NFL 2020 Draft.  The show went without a hitch, and there were a lot of great stories around the players being drafted and cameras set up at each of their homes when they heard their names called, giving it a real family feel.  I am looking forward to watching a lot of the following rounds also.  I also liked the Titans' only late first-round pick, Isiah Wilson, a huge tackle from UGA that will be quite the road-grader for Derrick Henry hopefully.  TITAN UP!!  

I had quite my own little NFL Draft war-room going tonight with the Titans Virtual Draft Party streaming live on my phone; a pre-draft special on TV with the all-knowing one, Mel Kiper; and in the money on a large tournament on Global Poker on the IPad.  

As I mentioned above, I did cash in a pretty large tournament on Global Poker tonight, but since I only a little more than doubled my buy-in, it's nothing to crow about.  However, late tonight at the Day 1 of the NFL Draft wrapped up, I did take down my second-ever "Buckament" tournament.  The money's not the cause for note here since it only cost a dollar to enter.  The bigger achievement is outlasting 82 other players and getting a 17x-plus return on my investment.  Hey, a win is a win!!  

4/24 - Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft played out tonight and I was watching again from the couch with a craft beer in my hand...this seems familiar!  I cracked open my last brew from my first-ever Beer Drop order, a pint can of Bio-T Experimental Hop IPA from New Image Brewing (CO) that was outstanding.   With April winding down, my next monthly order will be coming none to soon!  The Titans had two picks tonight and picked up a shutdown corner from LSU, Krisitian Fulton and a speedy scat-back from Appy State, Darrynton Evans.  I was very happy with both picks.

4/25 - We picked up three more players in the fifth and seventh rounds including a QB out of Hawaii (sounds familiar) and also traded one pick for a higher pick next year.  TITAN UP!!  

Here's a continuing running list of some other movies I have rented, or watched on streaming services, during this strange time stuck at home:

The Old Man and the Gun - I missed Robert Redford's last film before retiring from acting when it was in theaters back in 2018, and I had to buy it on I-Tunes to watch it now.  It was a little slow, but well made and based on an amazing true story.

Deadwood: The Movie - I caught the show on Amazon well after its initial run on HBO and really grew to like it.  I cancelled HBO before this finale film was released last year, so this seemed like a good time to give it a look.  I couldn't find it to rent, so I actually bought it off Amazon.   Set 10 years later [and filmed 13 years] after the show's conclusion with some of the actors showing their age, and some not, it was a wonderful step back into the Old West's most colorful characters (and language) that made the show a modern  masterpiece.

The Rest of Us - a well-done drama with the still-stunning Heather Graham (can't believe she's 50!) that I rented off Amazon.

Robert the Bruce - a new film that follows up where Braveheart ended and was supposed to be in theaters, but got released VOD instead due to the virus issue.  I rented it on I-Tunes.  It was OK at best.

Extraction - A terrific new Netflix action film with Chris Hemsworth of Avengers' Thor fame.  Man, I miss seeing great action movies at the theaters and seeing cool movie posters.  Thanks, Netflix, for giving me a little bit of both at home.
(Editor's note:  To date, this is one of the most-watched movies streamed at home ever...thanks to the Covid-19 issue and it just being damn good!)

"Upload" - A funny and clever new sci-fi series on Amazon Prime from the makers of "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation."

Driveways - a sweet, quiet independent film that I really enjoyed.  RIP Brian Dennehy. 

The Lovebirds - this one was supposed to hit theaters, but got put on streaming instead due to the pandemic.  I watched it on Netflix and thought it was silly but entertaining.

Guns Akimbo - a crazy, mindlessly violent video-game in real-life action film starring Harry Potter...i.e. Daniel Radcliffe.

The Vast of Night - an excellent low-budget indie sci-fi flick set in the 1950's.  Would have loved to have seen this one in the theaters as it was supposed to be released.  Thanks, Amazon, for the availability.

Capone aka Fonzo - my favorite actor for a while now, Tom Hardy, takes on the role of the notorious Al Capone who's nick-name was "Fonzo."  It was only $5 more to buy it instead of rent it of I-Tunes. Kind of a slow, weird film.  Hardy is great as the decaying Capone who is a shell of the man he was now racked with age and disease in the last year of his life, but not something worth visiting over and over.  Probably should have saved the five bucks and rented it...oh well.  

Arkansas - a quirky white-trash drug/crime film with a solid cast that I rented off I-Tunes, but I got bored with it and didn't finish it.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette - a quirky. complicated dramedy starring one of my faves, the talented Cate Blanchett.  I missed this one in the theaters, so it was great to rent it off of Amazon.

Columbus - a 2017 film that was on a lot of critics' Top 10 lists that year.  I rented it off Amazon and thought it was well done, beautifully shot and quite poignant.  And it definitely makes me wanna road trip up north to check out this unique little  town of Columbus, Indiana.

"Space Force" - a silly, but entertaining, new series on Netflix poking fun at our actual newest "branch" of the armed forces and our "dumbass leader" who came up with it.  This shit writes itself! 

One other cool gift I got for my birthday from Ashlee (and actually the only thing I asked for specifically) was this deck of Craft Beer Playing Cards from Bicycle.

Each of the cards in the deck and the jokers honor a different craft brewery in the U.S. with their logo and their location.  Some I have been to or sampled their wares, many I have not.  I hope to visit and/or partake in all 52+ with special emphasis on my favorite hand of quad treys made up of these four that I have not had a chance to visit or try their beer anywhere yet.   Mission: accepted! 

4/26 -Ashlee and I stopped by the Mt. Juliet Beer Company (long time, no see, old friend) today because they were about the only folks pouring beer on this Sunday afternoon during the pandemic.  I got two half-growlers filled.  The first was actually a repeat, but a delicious repeat:  the Classic Stout from Calfkiller Brewing (in a Calfkiller Growler, no less. Pay no attention to the cool Williet Distillery leather band on the handle that may or may or may not have been stolen from their on-site restaurant).  It was a perfect cold, rainy day for this beauty to be cracked open back at home.

4/27 - My second half-growler filled at the Mt. Juliet Beer Company  was the Slangria fruit beer from Rhinegist Brewing (Cincinnati).  I got partly because I thought Ashlee would like it, and partly because it was one of the few that they had on tap that I had not had before.  It's a tart and clean mix of pomegranate, blueberry and lime.  So I thought it was pretty good and, man, look at that color!  #koolaidbeer  Nice to put one of the old "Rob's Tavern" glasses back to work also too so I could see that amazing color.  A good choice for this sunny late April afternoon! 

5/2 - I got two half-growler fill-ups at Various Artists Brewing on this side of Nashville to get me through the weekend.  Ashlee and I split their Kibbutz Kollective Farmhouse saison that was fantastic.  With temps pushing 80+, we did some floating in our pool while enjoying libations.  We also had a few bottles of a dandy little Shore View Lemon Shandy from Marten's Brewing (Belgium) that I impulse-bought at Aldi's and thought would be good for the pool...and they were perfect for it! We also split a tall-boy can of Tiki Tonik from Diskin Cider here in Nashville that was pretty good since the pineapple overwhelmed the apple taste that I don't overwhelmingly care for in ciders.  

QUAD TREY ALERT!  My favorite signature hand popped up again today on PokerStars as a played a couple of sit-n-goes, and probably played some of my best online poker in a while as I only got second in both games to double my investment, but had to fight and scratch to get those from being totally card-dead and low-stacked against this insanely-aggressive players on here.  I got paid a little on these quads, but not near enough to take down that chip leader who had the deck just hitting him in the face the whole game except when I had the nuts. 

May 3 - Remember that time I had two million chips and was the final-table chip-leader  in a huge tournament on Global Poker??  Well, it was today in a 6-hour marathon during storms and a power outage nonetheless!   I got off a long, long losing skid on Global Poker tonight to finish 7th (don't ask...should have gotten at least 5th if others below me hadn't gotten miracle suck-outs and the then blinds were insanely large) and turned my $24 investment into well over $550!   The field was huge at 964 players.  It's just a damn shame that you play this long and well, and then it turns into a shove-fest when the real money is up for grabs.  
I also enjoyed my second half-growler from Various Artists Brewing (Nashville) throughout the day and night.  It was a solid, dank and hoppy-as-hell IPA called Wet Paint.  Salute!! 

5/4 - I wasn't fortunate enough to have any Happy Trails Brewing beer on Star Wars Day today, but I did love their Facebook pic enough to steal it for my blog.  I did "go to the dark side" today and cracked open an outstanding pint can of Bardstown Bourbon Stout from Honky Tonk Brewing here in Nashville that I picked up in a variety four-pack over at Lebanon Wine and Liquor.  May the Fourth Be With You...and also with you...cheers!!

I got another nice Facebook reply back from Canadian recording artist, Justin Rutledge, today on my comment about the 10-year-anniversary of his spectacular album, "The Early Widows."  I have now had more replies from Justin (two) on social media than from many of my so-called "friends and acquaintances."  Thanks, pal, and keep up the good work! 

5/5 - Happy Cinco De Mayo!  (the home edition).  I cracked open a can of a  favorite of mine and Ashlee's, the light lager known hilariously as, Adios, Pantalones from Rahr and Sons (TX) to earn this badge off of UNTAPPD.

In a recent Lebanon Wine and Spirits variety four-pack that I bought, I included a can of Stone Buenaveza Salt and Lime Lager (2020) from Stone Brewing (CA) who are still my favorite brewery of them all.  This one was light and tasty and went perfect with our dinner of Mexican-spiced salmon!  

5/7 - It had been a long day, the sun was out and it was ALMOST Friday, so why not pop a cold one?  I got out another of my recent variety pack from Lebanon Wine and Spirits this afternoon.  This was a pint can of Hotline, a fantastic NEIPA from the folks at Bearded Iris Brewing here in Nashville.  Cheers! 

5/8 -  HAIR I am! After over two months without a haircut thanks to this annoying pandemic other than a little side-trimming and thinning from Ashlee, I finally got my hair cut today back at my usual place, Barrett's Barbershop in Watertown.  The lovely and nice, Kim, took care of my head full of cowlicks...with a mask on of course.  And, yes, I shaved too! 

5/8 to 5/9 - I had some decent success tonight on Global Poker.  I made  the final table (photo above) of the Night Brawl vs. 397 other players with unlimited rebuys and add-ons.  I wound up finishing 7th, turning my $11 investment into $140+ of profit.  I also cashed (20th place) in the interesting Ante-Up Tournament of the GPC Rattlesnake Series vs 470 other players at the same time to more than triple my $11 investment.  I finished both of these tournaments at well past 1 AM, hence the two-day duration of this blog entry.

5/9 - I did a bunch of dreary work around the house today since it's basically still a Quarantine Saturday, so I rewarded myself afterwards with a cold can of Calla IPA from Nashville's own Yazoo Brewing.  It was pretty good albeit a bit piney for a New England style IPA.  The coolest thing about this particular beer its check in on UNTAPPD is that I bought a six-pack of it at the Three Forks Market in tiny Watertown east of here.  It's great to see a small town grocery store have a pretty impressive craft beer section, so I like to reward that with a purchase whenever I "can." 

I cleared the final mustard-yellow table tonight on Poker Stars to win a locally-run turbo tournament against 16 other players.  The most notable thing, beside the $145 in profit made, was the fact that I was on the bubble in 5th place on life-support with about 3 big blinds left when I mean my roaring comeback!! 

Well, I asked for it...sort of...and I got it...sort of.  I sent an email recently to Global Poker to ask if their site could participate in some kind of give-back program and today on their Facebook page I saw where they are part of the Keep the Lights On Initiative through PledgeIt.com along with PokerGO and Run Good Gear to help pay utility bills of freelance poker media during the Covid-19 Pandemic. With no live poker to report on, these folks are out of a job currently.  Global's been very good to me, and while this isn't exactly what I was thinking with my email to them, I am glad they are doing something.  So with the $70 which equals 10% of my recent online earnings on Global and PokerStars, I ponied up a donation to what I hope is a good cause.  

5/10 - Ashlee and I celebrated Mother's Day with a quick trip east to visit the graves of our wonderful mothers who have left this earth.  We miss them both greatly. It was such a beautiful day that we actually had a picnic around the grave of Evelyn, Ashlee's mom, and I brought my last Lebanon Wine and Spirit Variety Pack variety four-pack beer, a smooth and tasty can of Fantastic Haze DNEIPA from Sierra Nevade Brewing (CA) to toast my mom, Eleonore, and all the moms out there that are with us even if only in our hearts.  I love you and miss you, Mom.  Thank you for everything you did for me.   

5/11 - With my biweekly day off  today I had beautiful weather and not much else do but wonder around in nature a bit, so I headed  west to the other side of Nashville to take in some of the northern end of the historic Natchez Trace Parkway, getting on near Franklin at the giant Natchez Trace Bridge.

I traveled southwest on The Trace almost 40 miles until I came to lovely Jackson Falls which I haven't been to in years.  It was so long ago that I last visited that I even forgot that it takes such a beautiful hard left turn between the first and second cascade.  There were a good amount of people around with the lovely weather and no school, but not enough to be concerned with in regards to proximity with the virus.  I needed the steep walk in and out of the gorge for exercise.

Just ten miles further southwest on The Trace is Fall Hollow Falls which I don't think I have been too before.  Smaller in scale than Jackson Falls, but a great visit since you actually walk behind the falls themselves.  There were fewer people here and I got to enjoy the walk behind the falls by myself.  

A fun little detour was driving a couple miles of the original Old Trace road.  I didn't see another car while I was on this track which really helped you travel back in time somewhat.  

Man, what a postcard of a day!  The view from Baker Bluff Overlook was amazing.  Even caught a buzzard swooping by as his rode the warm air currents in this shot.

With a couple more hours to kill I headed off The Trace into the pretty little town of Columbia aka Mule Town, the Maury County seat.  I have only been here once and it was pouring down rain that day, so it was nice to explore a little with sunny skies.  I poked around the ancestral home of James K. Polk, our 11th President, their small art district where I found this mule mural and took a nice stroll along the banks of the Duck River in Riverwalk Park that the town has built where it passes through.

A fun little app called VERV keeps up with my walking and the goals I achieve.  

OK, the real reason for sticking around Columbia a couple hours was CRAFT BEER!  I had to wait until 5 PM to pick up my online curbside-delivery order of beer from the newest brewery here, Bad Idea Brewing.  I sipped one of my three pint cans on the way home (shhh, no harm, no foul).  It was their Double Rice at Benihana NEIPA and it was solidly good.  Well worth the wait!!  Thanks Natchez Trace, Columbia and BIBC for a great day off despite the craziness going on currently! 

5/12 - OH HAPPY DAY!!  The only beverage nearer and dearer to me than craft beer is SUN DROP SODA and now they have it on tap at my local Sonic!  Sorry, waistline...

5/14 - As American Craft Beer Week continues I cracked open my second pint can from Bad Idea Brewing from over in Columbia tonight to celebrate.  It was their cream ale called Only So Many Wu-Tang References which I really liked.   

The Blue Angels flyover of Nashville that had been postponed a couple times finally happened today in perfect weather, and I was able to witness the start of the 17-minute salute to Covid 19 front-line responders out on Hwy 231 in the Walter Hill community just south of Lebanon.

I capped off a pretty good day with a online poker tournament win vs. ten others on our Poker Stars regional home game for $120 in profit. 

5/16 - I capped the completion of some pool-boy chores like vacuuming the pool which isn't much fun if it isn't warm enough to get in the water, with my final pint can from Bad Idea Brewing.  And I saved the best for last, their Going Bananas in Seclusion w/ Oak stout aged in single-barrel Jack Daniels oak chips was fantastic! Hopefully, if the weather continues to warm up, the next vacuuming (and the next beer) will be IN the pool! 

I cleared another PokerStars table tonight online with a chop for first place with another guy for over $100 in profit.  I also got a second place finish the night before (5/15) for $80 in profit.  

5/18 - I had $30 in poker winnings donation money accumulated and decided to give it to Gladiator Brewing up in Clarksville to help them move and reopen.  Even though I have never had any of their beer, I hope to be able to someday in their new location.  Cheers to small business in America!! 

5/19 - My second Beer Drop order arrived today!  Just in time for our 19th Wedding Anniversary!!  I quickly chilled a can of the Chai Milk Stout (far left in photo above) from Spice Trade Brewing (CO) and popped it open celebrate our big day.  Great chai aroma with a smooth and satisfying taste.  This one won a silver medal in the GABF back in 2013.  

With tonight's new stout I hit quite a milestone on UNTAPPD with 400 different porters and stouts checked in.  No wonder I'm fat!!  Well worth it!! 

5/20 - I got off a long losing slide on Global Poker tonight with a final table appearance in the late-evening Event 21 Tournament of the Rattlesnake Open Series vs. 473 other players.  I wound up finishing third which turned my $11 investment into over $470 of profit!!  I took some bad beats when it got down to just three of us, or I think I could have taken this one down which is my ultimate goal, of course.  I have never won one of the featured championship series tournaments despite many, many tries. But I feel that it's just a matter of time hopefully.

I finally got to check out the new TV-adaptation of Snowpiercer tonight on demand since our TV's been out of commission during some den remodeling.  I thought the movie was great (see, I don't hate everything from Bong Joon-Ho...but, yes, I think Parasite still sucks), plus this version stars the strikingly beautiful, Jennifer Connelly, who I have always had a thing for. I enjoyed the first episode and thought it was well-made.  While watching I enjoyed another can of tasty craft beer  from my latest Beer Drop delivery.  I had a can of Sad Panda Coffee Stout from Horse and Dragon Brewing (CO) which was very good.

That's one of the coolest logos I've seen in a while!  Gotta see if they have merch for sale!

5/23 - We had a great day in the pool today despite an iffy weather forecast and I had my first brew of the Memorial Day Weekend from my latest Beer Drop delivery. a perfect-for-the-pool Bangkok(Lemongrass Ginger Kolsch) from Next Stop Brewing (CO).  

For dinner we headed down to Mayday Brewing in Murfreesboro who were having an old-fashioned shrimp boil.  With my massive plate of shrimp (pinch those heads!) and all the fixings, I had their light and tasty Parachute Brut IPA.  I also had a few sips of Ashlee's choice: their Lemonade Radler shandy that was a bit sweet for my taste, but not bad.  

5/24 - Back in the pool today I had my next Memorial Day Weekend brew from my latest Beer Drop delivery.  I cracked open one of two crowlers I received this month earning me the badge above.  It was the excellent Gravity is Magic milkshake IPA from Launch Pad Brewing (CO).  

5/25 - On Memorial Day itself I open my second crowler  from my latest Beer Drop delivery and saluted those who fought for our freedom throughout history.  Cheers!  It was the fantastically smooth and sweet 20th St. Treat bananas foster dunkelweizen from Jagged Mountain Brewing (Denver, CO) in collaboration with First Draft Taproom and Kitchen (a nationwide chain with a location in Denver).

I had some somewhat notable success in online poker tonight.  While the payout was nothing to get excited about, the fact that I got to a final table in a freeroll tournament with well over 2000 other players and turned my $1 investment (I added on chips after the first break) into over $20 is pretty amazing.  Of course, earlier in the day with some real money at stake, I got my aces cracked twice...oh, Global Poker, you fickle beast!
At basically the same time, I also got fourth in a local online tournament on Pokerstars netting $45 in profit vs. 21 other players.  

There has been some new music released during the pandemic at least.  I have really been enjoying the new rock opera album from Butch Walker called "American Love Story."  Can't wait to hopefully see it on a Broadway stage some day!  Leave up to the talented and crafty Mr. Walker to write, produce and perform his own album at his own studio while stuck at home during the quarantine. "Pretty Crazy" huh? That's why he's the best!!! 

5/27 - I took my regular bi-weekly day off today and had to head a good distance east to find any sunshine..and mountains...and waterfalls...oh, and craft beer!  A couple hours drive got me to my first destination,  Frozen Head State Park  near Wartburg to visit a couple of waterfalls I haven't been to in many, many years.

Small, but pretty, Debord Falls is a 6/10 of a mile hike in from the parking area in Frozen Head State Park.  I couldn't get to the bottom for a view because the stairs were being rebuilt, but I figure I will be back sometime soon to this beautiful area.

Another mile beyond at a steady ascent is beautiful Emory Gap Falls.  With it's fascinating rock formations and cascading stream cutting through giant boulders, it makes up for its relatively small drop. By the time I got back to the car I had clocked in 3.2 miles of hiking.  That's the most I have done in quite a while and it felt good.  I finally used one of the two sweet walking sticks that Ashlee got me a good while back and it really helped with the climb up.  

After my hike, I continued east a few miles and got a glimpse of historic (1896) Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary which is now open for tours.  It wasn't open today for a closer look, but I will definitely be back to take a tour of this cool-looking facility ASAP.  

I continued northeast a good distance (more than I cared for since it was fairly uninteresting) thru incredibly rural areas like Fork Mountain and Moore's Camp to I-75 and the town of Rocky Top, Tennessee.  Don't you think their cop cars would at least be painted orange and white??  

I headed south on I-75 toward home, but not without a stop in Knoxville at Albright Grove Brewing.  This new-to-me brewery was open with beer on tap for sale that you had to drink outside for social distancing, so I had a pint of their delicious (and name appropriate since I was hiking earlier) Park Boundary Pale Ale.  This is the first beer in a VERY LONG time that I consumed at a brewery.  PROGRESS!!  I also picked up a couple of pint can four-packs to take back with me...more on one of those very soon....

I had a bonus waterfall visit and a bonus craft beer on the way home when I stopped at one of my old faves, Ozone Falls, near Crab Orchard, and enjoyed one of my canned beers from Albright Grove Brewing back in Knoxville atop the pretty drop.  Their New Found Gap DDH IPA is fantastic and went down smooth and easy.   
Another great day off with cooperating weather and fun places to visit.  Can't wait for the next one!

OK, there was one more stop in Cookeville for my "Hix Fix."  I did stop at Hix Farm Brewing and get two half-growlers filled.  More on those later as they are consumed.  

I concluded the enjoyable day with an equally enjoyable second-place NLHE poker tournament chop for $90 in profit vs. 18 other players on PokerStars home games.
That pushed my recent earnings up to around $700, so, in turn, I gave 10% of that to charity.  I sent Room in the Inn $70 to help them continue helping homeless women and children.  Thanks to Asgard Brewing over in Columbia for the suggestion.  

5/28 - It was like the World Cup at home tonight as I paired the Belgium-style farmhouse ale from Hix Farm Brewing in Cookeville called Almanac Ale with a Mexican-style taco salad for dinner.  They actually didn't clash too much, and I enjoyed both immensely.  But, man, I sure do miss live sports!
This was the first of two half-growlers I got at HFBC yesterday. 

5/29 - It was a Friday, so it was time to hang out by the pool with one of my best pals, Zippy, and sip on a little Devil's Breath Mint stout from Hix Farm Brewing up in Cookeville.  This was the second of two half-growlers I got at HFBC a few days ago.  It was as fantastic as the company! 

5/30 - After a pretty full day of work around the house today, I took an after noon float in the pool and  had my other Albright Grove Brewing 16 oz.can.  It's called Ridgeline, a classic German-style maibock lagered in chardonnay barrels for two months.  It was very good.  I have got to visit this Knoxville brewery again.  Their beer is top-notch!

5/31 - I closed out a fairly busy month (despite this Covid-19 b.s.) out with a fun afternoon beer swap with my pals, Nate and Charly at our pool.    Nate was nice enough to pick up my preordered bottle of Total Kumori Nigori sake IPA from Proper Sake yesterday (since he was picking up his own also).  It's a collaboration with Southern Grist collaboration and it was smooth, hoppy and had an interesting very interesting color.  It is so new I had to create a check-in for it on UNTAPPD.  I was happy to share it and a couple of my pint cans from Albright Grove Brewing with my buds.
The guys brought a ton of unique things to try.  We started with a can of the Savage Hive Hugger barleywine from BrewDog (Scotland).  It was pretty good.  Thanks, Nate.
Next up was a bomber bottle of Asheville's own, Wicked Weed Brettanomyces Farmhouse Ale Fermented w/ Strawberries.  A little too sour for me, but, it was worth trying.  Thanks, Charly. 

Next up was one of the most unique beers of the day: the Just Peachy American wild ale from Barrique Brewing and Blending, a new-to-me nanobrewery based out of Nashville.  It was tart, but memorable, as is the beautiful bottle.  Thanks to Nate for sharing this hard-to-get rare brew.
Charly offered up another bomber bottle.  This time it was the Cordially Yours old ale, a fairly tasty collaboration cocktail-inspired brew from Southern Grist Brewing here in Nashville, and Rhinegeist Brewing up in Cincinnati.
We closed out the afternoon with a bomber bottle that Nate brought.  Yet another special and unique brew.  It was Nashville's own, Various Artists Brewing's very first bottled beer, a bomber of their TN Whiskey BBL Russian imperial stout and it was fantastic.
Thanks so much to my friends, Nate and Charly, for hanging with me and for their overwhelming generosity in regards to craft beer.  Take that, Covid!!    

Here's an odd one to close out an odd month or so...I made a final table tonight on Global Poker vs. 100 other people...I finished 6th and won....wait for it....$5...huh?  Yup, it was a "Pure Bounty" tournament meaning all money paid in went out as bounties when you knocked someone out.  I knocked out a grand total of two people to get my five bucks back and make another five.  Whoop-dee-do....there were people knocked out well before me that made a ton more money than I did...what a weird game....that's just how my poker luck has been going lately....

Hey, if they got a flag, it must be legit, right?  Cheers to every day being National Beer Day!!