Month: August 2012

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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As you may recall, one of my first articles on the Recorder decried baseball as a profoundly boring sport played during the interminable period of boredom that is summer. Happily, summer is all but over. Classes have begun, the weather is cooling, and that most essential of American sports returns this week. Having defended its virtues in my previous article, I feel no need to make a case for football, especially college football, as the most entertaining, strategic, and exciting of the major games. Instead, I want to discuss some of the wonders and curiosities that are peculiar to this grand game.

On a very basic level, the pleasures of college football are very simple and tied into the season that hosts the game. The game kicks off at the tail end of summer, with the first few weeks of games played comfortably under clear cerulean skies. Up here in the Midwest, the first sharp crack of cool air and blustery weather means that the conference games have begun. Rivalries that stretch back over a century are fought once again as jackets and hats are pulled out of closets and Oktoberfest beers are toasted in victorious satisfaction.  When the calendar turns to November the crowds bundle under winter jackets and heavy scarves as the most bitter of enemies face off on freezing fields underneath slate grey skies. The bowl games around Christmas and New Year’s are played mostly in warm locales, a last tantalizing glimpse of fun before winter finally wipes out all warmth and the football season ends. It’s no accident that the four months that correspond with the football season are my favorite time of the year, but I’ve been an old man since I was 15. No one should be surprised that I revel in the season of decay and passing, and celebrate its sport above all others. It’s a wonderful time that I pine for constantly during the off-season.
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I Bless the Rains Down in Indianapolis: Andrew’s NCAA Non-Preview

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Here at the Addison Recorder, we all love sports, but our loves were not created equal. Forget just me and my two cohorts; almost no one I know outside this site has an emotion to match Alex Bean’s magnificent obsession with football, NCAA more than the NFL. Far more. I’d swear that not just the blood but every fluid which comes out of his body is Michigan blue and maize.

And I’ll stop right there.

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(Don’t) Kill Our Idols: An Addison Recorder Editorial

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Originally, this was a one part editorial, short, sweet, and to the point. Given recent events, it only seems proper to expand on the initial thesis.

On Friday, America was presented with the news that Lance Armstrong would no longer be pursuing his defense against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his competitive cycling career. These charges, mostly leveled by accusations, are serious threats in a sport where it sometimes feels as though a new winner takes the stage only to be dethroned when it is revealed that they cheated (see Landis, Floyd).

Now, Lance Armstrong, winner of seven consecutive Tour de France championships, whom we can only picture wearing the yellow jersey given to the leader of the pack, has stopped fighting the claims that he cheated during all of those competitions.

The U.S.A.D.A., in like kind, has decided to strip him of those titles, all of his awards, and banned him from competitive cycling for life. (Never mind that they technically don’t have the power to strip him of the Tour de France titles, something governed by the I.O.C. But that’s besides the point.)

You’ve read all of these things before. [Read more…]

Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

Oh wait, it’s August now. Never mind.

Take two.

(I just want it to be very clear that my drink of choice is not Maus by Art Spiegelman. In no universe is it a statement that I will walk into a bar to see if they have a Kristillnacht Martini and whether or not it meets my given standards. That’s just (a) morally incomprehensible, and (b) silly. Also, I’m not a fan of Krystal Vodka. But we’ll get there.)

I’m honestly a big fan of just going into a bar and ordering a beer. My preferred brews of choice are Smithwicks, Newcastle, whatever Oktoberfest brew is on tap, or a good ale that pours nicely and goes well with a burger and bar fries. Smithwicks in particular is a favorite. It’s a beer to me that speaks to having just finished a hard day’s work.

My mover’s fee is not extravagant. Just efficient. Like me!

(It was also a gift after I helped my friend Beth move. This was the time where I discovered that one of my mutant powers is the ability to load a moving truck in the most efficient, durable, and easily accessible way, a talent that has come in useful several times since. Many friends will vouch for me not only for that move, but for others moves since (including some of our Recorder staff!) I transformed what looked to be at least four trips between apartments into a trip and a half, and was rewarded by Beth with a six pack of Smithwicks and pizza. This is also the best moving payment ever. But we’ve gotten off topic.)

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Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

To explain my contribution to the conversation, I must pay due respect to three people who shaped my philosophy on ordering drinks in public places.

When I was developing my palate for alcohol, my parents allowed me to try anything and everything they were drinking. My mother has a taste which runs towards mimosas, Bellinis, cosmopolitans, etc., and I also attended many college parties where fruity and sweet mixers were in fashion. For a long time, I preferred incredibly sweet cocktails. But a couple months before I earned my master’s degree, I went out to dinner with my parents at one of the best restaurants in Chicago, ordered such a drink, and received a frown from my father.

(My father’s answer to this question, by the way, would be a martini, with Hendrick’s Gin if available, almost no vermouth, and a twist of cucumber.)

If you’ve never had Hendrick’s, by the way, it is the NECTAR OF THE GODS. The finest nationally-available alcohol there is. What are you waiting for?

“Andrew,” he said to me, “you’re getting older, and drinks like this…they aren’t you.”
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Recorded Conversations: Comic Books in Class

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

Erm, Travis joined the conversation a little late, talking about comic books when we had moved onto adult beverages. Here’s the question he was actually answering:

Question: You’re teaching a class in popular culture, literature, or the like. As part of your curriculum, you need to incorporate one graphic novel or comic book series, and only one. Which one do you use, and why?

—

Speaking as one with a vague appreciation of the graphic novel (I have read them on several occasions, and do enjoy them, particularly those featuring excellent story telling), I find it difficult to really choose just one graphic novel to teach. That is not because of a wide variety of books that I find appropriate to educate as to the potential of graphic novel storytelling beyond Captain America, Batman, and the Hulk, as titles such as Persepolis, Watchmen, and Gaiman’s Sandman series immediately spring to mind. Rather, it is because I am only partially versed in the deeper history of comics beyond the Marvel and DC storylines.

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Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

To be honest, I don’t know what that libation is until I see it. Which is strange, I realize, but I don’t have a set cocktail or drink that I must try at each new establishment. Being a lover of beers I have not tried, my instinct is to order whatever is coming out of the tap I find most interesting. Now, there are certain restrictions placed upon this, and of course I have a list of them.

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Recorded Conversations: Drink of Choice

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Welcome to “Recorded Conversations,” an occasional feature where all the Addison Recorder editors contribute their thoughts about a question, idea, or prompt. Everyone will chime in, and then we see where the conversation wanders. For today’s conversation, J. Michael Bestul looks forward to a few drinks over the Labor Day weekend, and wonders aloud what might be drinking.

Prompt: You’re at a bar, restaurant, or pub that you’ve never been to before. The place has a pretty good drinks list, and on it, you notice ____________. And because this is one thing you always have to try when you’re at a new place, you order it.

Question: What is ____________, and why is it the libation you order?

—

This question sprang up last month, when I went to a relatively new bar with a good whisky list. On this list was a particular single malt, Caol Ila 18-year. And I ordered it, as I always do, with the full expectation that I would not get it. Someone would (and did) come along to tell me that, sorry, but they were planning to get the 18-year, but were unable to do so.

I expect this answer because you can’t find a bottle of the 18-year for sale in the U.S., but its distributor seems to give the impression to restaurants that they can. I’ve yet to order a Caol Ila 18-year and actually receive it. But I keep asking for it, since it was the first single malt I’d ever tasted.

If only…

I thought it would be fun to put the question to my fellow Addison Recorder colleagues, as it is broad enough to include responses ranging from “anything with grapefruit” to “locally-brewed porter” to a specific single malt Scotch.

Forgetting the Caol Ila, there is one drink I will always try if it’s on a bar’s menu: the Blood & Sand cocktail, or any variation on it.

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Best of TV 2011-12: Number 2

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Hey, remember this? I have no explanation as to why it has taken me a month and a half to finish off my list of TV’s best, but here we are. Having previously listed my Honorable Mentions, Standout Performances, Episodes, and Moments, as well as spots #10-#3 on my list, it’s time to finish the whole thing off and reveal my top two shows from the 2011-12 TV season, each of which will get an entry. Today:

2. Mad Men
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THE GRUDGE REPORT: Searching for the Pinball Wizard

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Salutations,

In an effort to predispose myself towards a somewhat more consistent writing schedule, you may now look forward to my bi-monthly feature, a new column that will be taking a quick, dirty look at a landmark album or movie from the past on a rotating basis. This will be a somewhat more curtailed look than the in-depth analysis that myself and my colleagues at the Recorder have become known for over the past two months, but it will hopefully provide a quick listener’s (or viewer’s) guide to approaching the works of past masters. Owing to a lack of creativity and an overwhelming need to be a smart-ass on my part, this column will be henceforth entitled “The Grudge Report”.

For the record, this is not indicative of any sort of professional criticism on my part. The deep analysis you might expect, having already found it in many other articles within our magazine, will not be here. Nor, however, will this be a simple diatribe or a love totem on my part on the behalf of past masters. It’s best to think of this as simply a Buyer’s Guide to Classic Media, a Purchase or Pass if you will. Those looking for deeper analysis on my part may simply post below and let your feelings be heard.

You may enjoy.

Tommy – The Who (1969)

Ah, Tommy.

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