Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


8.31.2009  

Linkage

I think I'll go and pay them a visit. Maybe even do so with the author.

If I could taste coffee like he does, I'd call myself a cupper.

Rosetta from a baby bottle? Yeah.

Betcha didn't know that this was how Lloyd's got its start.

Seriously
.

posted by Bolo | 11:22 PM
2 speakage


8.30.2009  

Four Words

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream.

posted by Bolo | 11:42 PM
0 speakage


8.29.2009  

This Coffee Sucks

This is the description I put down for the event on Facebook:

This is a little workshop on learning how to brew with what's known as a vacuum/syphon/siphon brewing system. I'll provide the materials, split you up into teams, give you some instruction and information to sort through and absorb, and you go at it for a couple of hours. We'll have fun, learn a LOT about coffee, be frustrated by the fact that we're walking away feeling stupider than when we started, and generally have a good time. Hopefully :)

It turned out to be a heck of a lot of fun, actually. At least, that was the feedback I got from everyone. I set up three complete sets of syphon brewing systems, butane burners included, and gave each group several printed threads of discussion from coffeed.com.

My goal was more than just to give people some hands-on experience with a method of brewing they'd never before brewed with; in reality, I wanted to challenge their perceptions of what coffee should or should not do or should or should not taste like, and, in doing so, be forced to think rigorously about why coffee is the way it is. Don't misunderstand me: I don't think we arrived at any sort of conclusions. What we did accomplish, though, was the hard-earned acquisition of a tiny bit more experiential coffee knowledge, an acquisition that was a heck of a lot of fun.

I'm totally jacking Moatsy's TwitPic picture for this post:

Share photos on twitter with Twitpic

posted by Bolo | 10:32 PM
3 speakage


8.28.2009  

Thoughts: Godward

Sure, Jesus tastes better than any coffee, but how savory does Christ seem to the spirit that feels burned and scarred by sin? Here on earth, there still are consequences to sin, and sometimes that means that the soul is soured, pained, even numbed, worn-down and wearied by the longing for Jesus to come once more.

The fact that I feel an aching -- or sometimes realize that I don't ache as I once did -- for Jesus in the midst of repenting or wanting to repent or after repenting is, at the very least, an encouragement that I am His, for only in Christ does such misery, upon deeper reflection, seem so sweet.

posted by Bolo | 7:57 AM
1 speakage


8.27.2009  

Ben Movement

This afternoon and evening, a bunch of us went over to the Hedricks' old pad to pile up their stuff and move 'em on over to their new pad. The process was fun, and definitely with a close shave or two ;)





posted by Bolo | 11:47 PM
1 speakage


8.25.2009  

Go West, Young Man

This means we're going to Seattle, kids. What for? So that Kenny can be one of 40 in one of the best coffee cities in the world. Heck yeah :)

posted by Bolo | 7:32 PM
0 speakage


8.24.2009  

Not Yet

I took a little trip to New York City last December. I'd never been to New York, either the state or the city, and as such, I did what most folks in my situation would think preposterous: I visited coffee shops. Just coffee shops.

I didn't go alone, as I dragged along Andrew and Sandi. They were the friends with whom I was spending Christmas, and as such, were being very gracious in indulging me and feeding my delight at the mere thought of all the delicious coffee and espresso to be had in The City That Never Sleeps. Quite apt, you'd think, for one questing for culinary delights of a caffeinated nature to do his questing in a city so named, yet that was not always the case. In fact, only in the past five years or so has New York City gained a reputation -- legitimately, mind you -- as a destination worthy of those seeking delicious coffee. That goes against the grain of logic, does it not? One would think that a metropolis as massive and, reputedly, as cultured as New York City would be crawling with stellar coffees...right? Not so much.

Not until recently, that is.

Why write about New York City's coffee scene, you ask? Well, I'm not. I just bring up that much larger city to make a point: Louisville has yet to have a coffee establishment that consistently serves great coffee.

Calm down, calm down. I can see the Louisville locals clamoring for my head. (I have long, flowing blond locks if anyone was wondering.)

Note the third word in my point: Yet. Yet. It's much easier to sit around and say we have great coffee here than it is to actually go and find out what truly great coffee tastes like, who is serving it, and, most importantly, how they do it. It would be no small understatement to say it takes a lot of humble effort to be great. All the fluff on the labels won't matter one iota if the product in the bag isn't great, and the most stellar, highly sought-after, Direct-Trade, artisanally-roasted beans in the world won't matter if those beans are left to sit for a month after roasting or aren't pulled or brewed with the utmost attention and care, shot after shot, cup after cup. The coffee served in Louisville can become consistently great, even outstanding; it just takes some humble effort.

posted by Bolo | 11:43 PM
6 speakage


8.23.2009  

Word Works

It's been over a month. No preamble, no explanation, no random logic as way of reason; merely an unforeseen hiatus from the blogosphere. Twitter can't be blamed since a hundred and forty characters is hardly enough for my overly-verbose and long-winded self to express that which longs to explode from within me. Nor, for that matter, can a suddenly busier schedule, one filled with "work"...lots and lots of it, truth be told. What, then? No real reason; at least, not one that I feel capable of giving voice to here. A part of me was fine with this; another part of me felt like I was missing something.

Within the past few days, I've had a handful of unrelated incidences that have caused me to think about my little corner of the web, which has, ironically enough, seemed to have collected a few "cyber-cobwebs" here and there. The last post was published well over a month ago, unceremoniously and mysteriously announcing the fact that I had been thinking about haoles. My blog silence prompted a couple of recent inquiries from friends that will occasionally read what my mind churns out. One semi-anonymous reader commented on an old post; one that, ironically enough, speaks about how I had felt unable to blog. Last night, I sat in Sunergos and read Kenny a couple of posts that I had written a long while back, posts on topics that revealed things both wonderful and vulnerable, profound and intimate.

Why say all this? What's the point of this rambling? I'm not certain. Writing is a form of communication; sometimes, the very act of writing is communication enough, for no one needs to read what I write here in order for me to feel that I've been heard. Strange how that works, isn't it?

posted by Bolo | 8:57 PM
0 speakage
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