photos
This picture was taken at the finish line of the 2012 Beaver Stadium Run, seconds after Franco Harris (right) had admonished me to “Finish strong, son!” The Penn State community lost a great ambassador today.
My first guitar
While cleaning a bunch of stuff out of the attic in preparation for our move, I found my first guitar. It was a Harmony classical guitar, almost unfrettable from the day I got it.
As you can see, I treated it with great reverence. In addition to the sticker “enhancements,” my dad recreated the bridge after the original cracked and pulled off of the guitar (probably too many weird Sonic Youth tunings?) He also added a knob to the heel for a guitar strap.
I wish I remembered why I put some of the tuning pegs on upside down?
There she is, in all her beauty. Thank you for everything, and safe travels.
My copy of the Aeon Station record arrived yesterday. It is very, very good and makes me feel very sad. In other words, it is exactly what I’d hoped for.
I do not usually get excited about ““delightful”” UI design but the snow flakes piling up on top of this window in Apple’s Weather app made me smile this morning.
Bought myself a belated Christmas gift: the 3LP reissue of Wolf Parade’s “Apologies to the Queen Mary.” Sub Pop knocked it out of the park on this package: the remastered album on 2 LPs, a third that collects the EPs that led up to the record’s release, plus a heartfelt essay from Sean Michaels (of Said The Gramophone fame).
At a time when every new indie band either seemed to be from Canada or have “Wolf” in their name, these guys stood out and created a record that aged better than any of the other Blog Rock records of the early 2000s (yes, that includes “Funeral”). Simultaneously urgent and timeless, it’s a minor classic.
Vermont
We visited Vermont for my 40th birthday. Burlington is a wonderful town, and the local beer is pretty amazing, too.
The Alchemist
The first destination, before even heading to our AirBNB in Burlington, was heading east towards Stowe and The Alchemist. Real hopheads know why we wanted to start here, and the beer did not disappoint.
Here I am taking my first sip of Heady Topper. I can honestly say I’ve tasted nothing like it, before or since. (📸: JoAnne Damico)
(Focal Banger might be better, though.)
Burlington
The town itself is extremely cute. It has a part college town (Go Catamounts!), part Main Street, USA vibe that really works for me.
Here’s Church Street, the main drag, all lit up for Christmas. (📸: JoAnne Damico)
The Burlington Earth Clock, just a few miles south of downtown, is also quite a scene. (📸: JoAnne Damico)
Montréal
We also took a quick day trip up to Montréal. It’s a bit over 2 hours from Burlington. We went on a Sunday, so there wasn’t a ton to see or do, but the view from Mont Royal alone was worth the trip. (📸: JoAnne Damico)
Additional Recommendations
- Foam Brewers: Holy hell, these cats took the hazy/New England IPA genrea and ran with it. Some of the best beer I’ve ever had. Great location (right on the banks of Lake Champlain), great can art and releases mostly named after iconic indie rock bands and records. Really, everything about this place speaks to me.
- Farmhouse Tap & Grill: We didn’t make it out to Hill Farmstead, but plenty of places in town had it on tap, including Farmhouse Tap & Grill. Really cool basement bar area, too.
- Juniper Bar & Restaurant: Another Hill Farmstead honeypot. Way better/nicer than any hotel restaurant needs to be. Neat firepit area outside, which we were able to enjoy for roughly 5 minutes due to the cold.
- Fiddlehead Brewing: Unfortunately their tasting room was under construction when we visited. Their standard, base Fiddlehead IPA is just so unbelieveably good.
I can’t wait to get back.
Currently charging my son’s shoes via USB for his first day of school because that’s a thing you do in 2018.