2021...FINALLY!!

 

"That is horseshit on [two] basic levels..." - "World War Z"

Well, some things were OK in 2020

See.....not all bad....problem?  What problem?  Everyone else are just slackers!!

1/2 - I had to go down and visit my crazy sister  today which believe me was not how I wanted to start the new year, but I was able to squeeze some sanity out of the day with a stop in Cookeville on the way back home to check out pretty little City Lake Falls, and make a stop at Red Silo Brewing where I ran into my UNTAPPD pal, Robert, and had a pint of their so-so Husky Stallion cream ale...needs to be actually CREAMY as the name implies, folks.  

1/3 - I watched the Titans and the Texans today in a crazy game that the boys almost blew, but eked out a win and took the 2020 AFC South Division title and move on to the NFL Playoffs next week as a #4 seed.    During the game, I cracked open the first of a couple pint bottles that I picked up while at Red Silo Brewing in Cookeville yesterday.  Their coffee stout, The Dublin 2020, was outstandingly smooth and creamy (unlike their "cream" ale yesterday?).  

1/4 - I finally got off a long losing/barely-cashing slide in online poker tonight with a first-place chop with another player vs. 13 others for $120+ in profit on PokerStars.  It would have been a little more, but we gave $15 off the top two places to the bubble-boy in 5th.  The text message blurb above was from my friend, Richard, who got knocked out in third place and was sweating my comeback as I was down about 5 to 1 in chips when it got heads up and I battled back to actually pull a little ahead in chip-count when I asked my opponent if he wanted to chop.  I appreciate Richard's encouragement and confidence that I could have won it, but it was late and I was no longer at the beach as he thought and had to get up and go to work in the morning...unlike him.  

I watched a pretty good French-made cops and robbers film called The Crew on Netflix this week.  They've gotten really good at dubbing foreign movies now where it's a pretty smooth flow.

I helped out our local art-house Belcourt Theater by virtually renting from them the new wild and weird WWII creature-feature, Shadow in the Cloud.  It is an over-the-top ride, but was kind of enjoyable. And, man, that Chloe Grace Moretz has grown up to become a stunner.

1/6 - Christ, what a shameful day for this country.  Nothing like living through history that is embarrassing and sad.  I had a beer to calm my nerves while watching the news coverage tonight and ironically it was from Bold Patriot Brewing over in West Nashville.  Well, these people today at The Capitol were thugs, not patriots, so let's get that straight right now.  It was actually a pretty good stout called the Henry Knox Vanilla Oatmeal Stout.  And while Knox may have been instrumental as a general in the War for Independence, later in his life, he led a shameful campaign of organized genocide of Native Americans as the Secretary of War.  So fuck him too.
Thanks to Ashlee for picking me up a variety 4-pack of 12-oz. crowlers today from BPBC while she was working nearby there today.  It sure would be nice to hoist the other three to happier times.

1/9 - I found a charity to give my 10% of poker winnings from the other night, a meager $15, to, but every dollar counts I guess.  These guys are based in Lawrenceburg, TN, and  help sexually-abused children.   I found out about them through a Facebook Group I am in called The Nashville Craft Beer Social Club who are running a beer-raffle next weekend as a fund-raiser for this same organization.   

 
I bought four $5 raffle tickets as well, of course.

We were in Chattanooga today and picked up some lunch while shopping the Whole Foods in North Chatt.  With my tasty pizza slice I also got a single can of The Gorge IPA from Naked River Brewing which is here locally.  It was tasty and light, and I just love their cool can wraps.  

I also finally got off a long slide of small cashes or just plain zilch in tournament poker lately on Global with a 2nd place finish in a small daily Crazy Pineapple progressive bounty game vs. 68 others that netted me $84 in profit.  I think I could have even gotten first place, but the butthole I was playing said he was tired and just kept pushing all-in after I had cut his big lead down to almost even, and, of course, he eeked out a knockout when I fell for his antics.  My mistake.  Hopefully, this is a good omen as I start a week of tournaments on here in their Micro Thunder Series.  

(for my 10% donation to charity I gave a little more with a $10 donation to Support Crew Nation that helps out live music crew-members who are definitely not getting much work during Covid-19) 

1/10 - I settled in on the couch today to watch the Titans in the playoffs vs. the Baltimore Ravens.  It was gonna be hard to beat this talented team three times in a row, but at least the last two times it was in Baltimore.   And it didn't happen...as we lost by a  touchdown.  But, we did have our opportunities, but some bad decisions by coaches and players doomed us in the end. Well, at least hockey is back this coming week!  During the game I cracked open an extremely tasty Vienna lager in a crowler can from Bold Patriot Brewing over in West Nashville called the Bernardo De Galvez.  

1/11 - Ashlee and I tuned into the free weekly travel conversation via Zoom called "Monday Night Travel " with Rick Steves tonight.  Since the talk was of European festivals including Oktoberfest which we both want to try and attend someday (and since Steve was drinking a couple beers as well), I cracked open a bottle of a Belgian-style blonde ale from Red Silo Brewing up in Cookeville that I picked up the other day. They call it The Belgian Thong.  Seemed an appropriate enough beer name!  It was smooth, light and enjoyable.   Cheers to Rick and the hope to travel internationally again soon!

1/12 - I bought a livestream show from Marc Roberge of O/A/R tonight and while Ashlee and I were watching it, I also played some online poker...so, rarely do you get a chance to actually play poker while "Crazy Game of Poker" is being played live (a small portion of it in the video below)...no big news on the poker front unfortunately, but I did have my first two small cashes among huge fields in Global Poker's Micro Thunders Series.

1/14 - I tuned in to the Nashville Predators opening night game vs. Columbus to start a truncated 2021 season and with no fans at Bridgestone Arena for now.  But despite all that, it looked pretty good on our new 50" television!!  And we got the 3-1 win!! During the game I cracked open a crowler can of their brand new George Washington chocolate porter from Bold Patriot Brewing.  It was very good and so new that I had to add it to UNTAPPD.  

Earlier at lunch today I took a nice a nice mile-long walk on the loop trail at the Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area over near Mt. Juliet.  I plan to this nice stroll as many times as I can this year for a little bit of fitness.  And it's a great place to have lunch as well which I mentioned before in this blog.  Doesn't this pic look something out of The Ghost and the Darkness...?

1/15 - Not two of my more favorite characters from the MCU, but the first-ever Marvel TV series, "Wandavision" started streaming on Disney+ today, so I figured I would give it a look.  I watched the first two episodes and they were a little goofy, but interesting enough to keep me tuned in for the rest of the season.  

Ashlee and I streamed the new film One Night in Miami on Amazon Prime and thought it was very good .  And as Regina King's first directing gig: pretty impressive!  

With Ashlee in Key West with a her friend, Mollie, for her birthday, I was free to do some "beeroaming" over the weekend.

1/16 - I headed west this morning intent on trying a famous "slaw burger" at Honey's Restaurant in Fayetteville, TN.  The historic (1923) place was jumping when I arrived, but I found a place at the bar and ordered a double slaw burger with tots.   It was decent and interesting.  The slaw is served cold and contrasting with the warm beef patty, was a memorable taste.  But I can't say it changed my life or anything.  I would come again, but it would have to because I was in the area for some other reason. 

I headed south next into Alabama and checked out the Green Mountain Land Trust area just outside Huntsville.  This area contains Alum Cave and small, but pretty, Alum Falls.  The hike was about a mile in and then back out and my old knee did well.  The scary and weird thing that happened was that while on my hike, two cars next to mine were broken into.  I feel fortunate that mine was spared.  It would have been a long ride home with a busted window in the winter air.  I was shocked this happened here because the trailhead is very close to a main road feeding some very affluent home developments.  Man, people suck everywhere.  

Alum Cave is less of a cave and more of giant overhang of beautiful rock that provided shelter for Native Americans in the distant past.  Of course, in true Alabama redneck fashion there was an old pick-up truck in the woods below that had been pushed off the cliffs above in the not-so-distant past. 

Ok, now we get to the beer.  Huntsville has quite a collection of craft breweries, a couple of which I have had a beer or two from while in Chattanooga, but I've never visited any of the actual breweries themselves.  The closest one to the hiking trail was Fractal Brewing Project, so they became my first visit and I was impressed.  It's a beautiful new facility and the beer is legit.  I started with their flagship Fractal IPA which was excellent.  I intended to take some 16 oz. crowler cans home with me, but they were out of them, so I settled for another pint there.  I chose the light in calories and ABV Jogger Lager which was tasty and smooth.  I was able to buy a bottle of a barrel-aged porter they had available that I plan to crack open and share with my pal, Charly, next week as we toast President Biden taking office on Inauguration Day! 

As I mentioned above, I had a bevy of choices for my second stop.  Unfortunately, this would be my last stop for this trip because of time and a long drive home ahead of me.  I chose the small nano-brewery, Chandlers Ford Brewing, because they had a badge on UNTAPPD you could earn, and I liked the name.  Turns out it was a great choice!  Man, what a cool little place in historic downtown Huntsville. The brewery is part of the BeeZr Gastropub which also includes a taco company (the chorizo tacos were excellent!).  I chose the incredibly good Hash Passion NEIPA.  Plus the glass it was served in and their European-style logo were also very cool.  I will definitely be back here and back to Huntsville ASAP for an overnight trip to take in some more of this cool little city and its many craft breweries. Plus, they got rockets here!! 

1/17 - I got up early this morning and headed toward West Nashville to meet my best friend, Craig, and do some hiking and some craft beer drinking.  But my first stop was the brand new location of Just Love Coffee Café in the fancy McEwen Northside area of Franklin.  I chose this café because it's owned by my favorite Titan player of all time, Keith Bulluck, and I was hoping he might be around.  He was not, unfortunately, this morning but my Chai tea latte and breakfast burrito were delicious nonetheless.  I will be back again, # 53!!     

I met Craig at Narrows of the Harpeth which is part of the Harpeth River State Park.  I had never seen the  historic Montgomery Bell Tunnel in person and wanted to check it out.  I thought this shot of it looking straight into the morning sun was pretty cool.

While the tunnel was interesting, the weathered cliffs above it steal the show.  They are quite amazing with commanding views of the Harpeth River Valley.  It was a chilly day, but quite beautiful for a winter view.  Can't wait to come back to see this view all decked out in green.

My favorite shot of the day was this gnarled old cedar atop the cliffs at The Narrows.  Look how the root has bridged across the rock to find soil to grasp on to for life.  What an amazing world that is just all around us.  It was great being out with Craig again like the old times in college when we shared a love of nature photography and hiking was the cheapest and best form of entertainment for us.

Our next stop was another section of the HRSP called Hidden Lake.  This former renowned retreat and spa has been taken back over by nature and it's a beautiful area to walk around and discover.  This large quarry lake lies right next to the Harpeth River, but is definitely "hidden" among the hills here.  This will be another place worth a re-visit in the spring or summer.  

We ended the day over in Craig's old hometown of Dickson where Furnace Brewing has started operation in their historic downtown.  We both had a flight of 4 samplers and I was very impressed with each of mine.  The went as follows:  their brut IPA, the Champagne of Dickson; their Belgian blonde called the Two Timer; their smoked Furnace Brewing Back Alley Bier; and their Puh Con Porter.  I finished with a pint of their also-tasty Furnace Brewery Pig Iron Amber.  We got to meet the owner and brewer, Chris, who was very nice.  I hope to throw these nice folks some more business any time I pass through here in the future.  

I got home in time to jump into the Main Event of the Micro Thunder Series on Global Poker and while it only a little more than doubled my entry fee, I was pretty proud to have finished 70th out of 1006 other players.  This was also my best finish in this week-long series that dealt me out a bevy of brutal bad beats and coolers throughout.  

1/18 -  I headed down late this afternoon to the Malco Theaters in Smyrna to check out the new film, The Marksman -wait isn't this just another Liam Neeson action film?  Really?  Yes, really.  It looked halfway interesting to me.  It was OK at best, and a little overly and needlessly violent, but I will always give Mr. Neeson a chance because he has produced two of my favorite characters ever in cinematic history:  big brother Briar in the otherwise awful Next of Kin; and John Ottway in the awesome film, The Grey.  After the show I stopped by the The Casual Pint and had a decent cream ale from nearby Half Batch Brewing in Hendersonville called Two Foot.

I also finally got to make a brief stop at the Smyrna Airport today to check out the Blue Angel jet up close that they have displayed there.  I didn't know this is actually a memorial to a Blue Angel pilot who died some years back at an airshow accident here in Tennessee.  

1/20 - Oh, happy day!!  I took my usual day off from work specifically today to celebrate the last day that POS would be in the White House.  We went over to our friends, Wendy and Charly's house to celebrate the Inauguration of Joe Biden as our new president this afternoon and, of course, I raised a beer to the wonderful occasion. I shared a bomber bottle of Culture Spark: Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter that I brought back from Fractal Brewing down in the Huntsville, AL, recently.  It was smooth and delicious just like the transition of power today.  That was my only beer of the day as shots of 46 Bourbon from Maker's Mark seemed appropriate for our 46th president and a champagne as well. 

Netflix dropped another new action/sci-fi flick, Outside the Wire, this month that I watched recently wishing it had been on the big screen.  Man, I love Anthony Mackie is just about anything he does! 

1/24 - We were in Murfreesboro today and Ashlee was kind enough to drop me off at Mayday Brewery while she did a little shopping and I watched some of the NFL Playoffs where The Goat eked by the Packers to get to yet another Super Bowl. While there I had a pint of their boozy, but pretty good, Holiday Reserve Barrel Aged Milk Stout (aged a year in a Heaven Hill barrel).  I finished with their excellent NEIPA called Daddy's Money (photo above).

We were out so late shopping that I had to start this PokerStars regional home-game tournament on my phone as we were at the grocery story, but got home in time to switch to my laptop and take home a first-place chop with two others vs. 13 players for a nice $140 in profit.  I had been chip leader for a good part of the tournament and had a slight lead in chips when I suggested the chop since it was already past 10 PM and we all still had relatively deep stacks.  

1/25 - The "Snowpiercer" TV show Season 2 started tonight.  I really enjoyed Season 1 and it has a great cast including the addition of the always-great, Sean Bean, now!  I toasted the new season with my last variety 4-pack pint crowler from Bold Patriot Brewing over in West Nashville:  a jim-dandy rye IPA called Thomas Jefferson.

Well, it's official...I'm going to Mars!!!  Well, my name is at least.  See ya in 2026!

1/27 - My January Beer Drop order arrived today, and it looks like a great mix of varieties with an imperial stout, an NEIPA (of course), a Belgian-style ale, an interesting wood-aged pub ale, and a Mexican-style lager.   Cheers to the new year of beer!! 

I got another three-way chop for first tonight in our regional game on PokerStars.  Only $70 in profit, but it was hard-earned since it was an idiotic turbo format in which I had to rebuy.

(with 10% of this win and the other on 1/24 - I gave $25 to my old high school chum, Kim, and his church down in Alabama who do mission trips to Guatemala and have been for several years now.)

1/29 - I took my usual day off today so I could go see the new serial killer film with three Oscar winners in it called The Little Things.  I mean come on, it's  Denzel Washington, Rami Malek AND Jared Leto??  It has to be awesome, right?    Before the late afternoon show at my favorite pandemic movie theater, the Malco in Smyrna, I headed down to Manchester to check out some waterfalls at Old Stone Fort State Park and planned to have lunch at the craft-beer-friendly Harvest Local Foods nearby.  Except they didn't have any food, except groceries to take home?  Oh well, they had a great craft beer bar and I had two tasty libations before seeking out lunch somewhere else.  I started with the The Horizon - a double IPA from Common John Brewing which is just around the corner (but not open til later in the day).  Second was another CJBC brew, their golden ale called the Straight and Narrow.  

With a recommendation for lunch from the Harvest staff, I drove a mile or so to Jiffy Burger, a Manchester instituion since 1965.  What a cool local hangout!  My burger was excellent and them having Sun Drop on tap was as thrilling as the beers I just had!!  Gotta come by here again! 

Another couple miles down the road is Old Stone Fort State Park which is sandwiched between the Duck and Little Duck Rivers and it was a quick and easy hike to three sets of cascading stairstep waterfalls here.  Why I have never been here before is beyond me.  What a beautiful and easily accessible area!  I mean look at the honey-hole below Big Falls on the Duck River in the photo above?  That's gotta be full of red-eye rock bass, doesn't it?  Time to renew my fishing license and get back down here this spring!!

I actually hiked past Blue Hole Falls on the Duck River on my way to Big Falls.  So I doubled back and enjoyed the brink-high view of it in the decently warm weather for late January.  

Little Falls must be named for the river it's on, the Little Duck River, because it's anything, but little.  I was running out of time before I needed to head out, so the best shot I could get of the long series of cascades from the trail up above was with the video below.  I will definitely be back when I have more time and can climb down to the water level for better photos (and fishing hopefully).  I also had a beer after my hike as I brought a can from my Beer Drop order with me.  No alcohol is permitted in Tennessee state parks, so I had to be discreet when I enjoyed my tasty Eastern Star NEIPA from High Hops Brewing (CO). 

Remember when I said The Little Things had to be good with this much acting power in it? Well, it wasn't....there are a few interesting moments, but overall it was a weak story, not very dramatic, and really fell apart in the third act including a beyond stupid "WTF" moment (where'd he get the shovel from????)  Oh well, the beer I snuck in was good at least.  It was another can from Beer Drop order, the somewhat boozy, but interesting, Oak Tooth wood-aged pub ale from Locavore Beer Works (CO).

1/30 - I met my pal, Charly, over at New Heights Brewing in downtown Nashville today to peruse their cellar clean-out bottle sale.  Bottles were flying out of there, and we were lucky to get a few despite getting there only a little while after they opened.  I got a couple of bombers to be named later, and while I was there I had a pint of their  tasty, coffee-rich Stay Gold Ponyboy white stout.  

Charly had never been to nearby Various Artists Brewing, and I wanted to check out their recent addition to their tasting room, so we headed there next for a couple more libations.  I started with their excellent Juicy Modo IPA that was dank and hoppy as hell.  Yummo!!  I finished with their amazing Russian imperial stout, the Russian Concussion (great name!).  Ashlee stopped by as well and joined me for that last one along with a young guy passing through who looked a lot like the lead character "hunk" in the Netflix show "Bridgerton."  Her words, not mine.  LOL. 

1/31 - I closed out the month with a nice freeroll win of an $11 ticket to the upcoming Grizzly Series on Global Poker today.  Not a huge win, but finishing 169th out of 3,500 in a goofy turbo freeroll ain't too shabby.  

Totally tubular, dudes....