Brew at the Zoo

Last night I went with Katie to Brew at the Zoo at the Smithsonian National Zoo up in Woodley Park, Washington DC. What a good time! You basically walk through the zoo at night, while all the animals are asleep, and the day is cooling down, then for your $40 get handed a Brew at the Zoo stein, and then spend 3 hours sampling about 40 beers! And no, I'm not paid by the company!


We need more of this England! Add to that a pleasant hillside to lie back on, and lots of food tables of local restaurants (this is America, food has to be involved) and we had a good time. And being in a group of two, we were able to get around and switch tables fast!

All the details are here!

New Orleans - the beautiful!

New British pub in DC!

Dear England, Following my posts about Union Jacks in Bethesda and the Elephant & Castle on Pennsylvania Avenue, there's now a new British pub in DC - in Columbia Heights!

Columbia Heights has seen a lot of development in recent years, and now includes the Commonwealth Gastro Pub, a pretty upscale pad offering all your faves from Yorkshire pud to Toad in the Hole! The one drawback - the drinks are a little pricey ($8 for a Strongbow - what's that all about?) This drawback amuses me somewhat, given the tagline being used - "the People's Pub."

Anyway, good to see another British pub in the city.

Cheers!

Hubert Selby Jr. - quote of the day!

"The responsibility of the artist is to transcend the human ego." Hubert Selby, Jr.

Hubert Selby Jr. wrote Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream, both made into decent movies. I just finished watching the documentary of his fascinating life, "Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow" (2005). He goes from tough kid / only child in Brooklyn, skipping school, to a merchant seaman who contracted a terrible disease from the cattle being transported to Europe at sea in World War II, to spending years in a hospital, having a lung removed, becoming a heroin abuser for the pain after getting hooked on morphine, drying out and quitting booze at 40, then surprising everyone and living for another thirty years (and writing some amazing and pretty dark fiction).

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Enough said!

Here's the last thing Hubert 'Cubby' Selby, Jr. wrote:

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A List of Indignities

Birth
Death

Beijing Olympics Medal Count!

Dear England, As you can see from this chart we're not doing bad in the medal count so far!

The UK has 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze, putting us in 10th place! You can see the breakdown for our Gold (Cycling and Swimming), Silver (Cycling and Canoeing) and Bronze (Horse riding x2 and Swimming) at this link.

Come on England!