So far, 2012: not impressed.   But, our New Year’s Linger Lodge excursion was still promising. First off, I’m actually kind of glad ESPN was on the fritz in the Harrible’s trailer cabin (not sure how you can get E! and not ESPN, but c’est la cable). So with no “campsite” access to the Auburn [...]

  Phew, that was one heck of a Christmas whirlwind. One minute you’re wrapping presents, the next you’re disassembling the tree and wiping eggnog off the cat.   Any good presents to report this year? Awesome haul for me—everything from fitness facilitators (boxing gloves and head gear) to sloth supporters (two full TV series on [...]

Well, personally, it’s been a heavy plod into the holidays this year. Sucks when bad things get in the way of the warm fuzzies—everyone’s disoriented by sadness and changing plans.   So it’s tough to get into all the things that go along with Christmastime. It’s tough not to have the happy obsession over every [...]

One word to describe our Friday foray into the Gulf: heavenly. Not sure if I mentioned that the daylong kayak rental was among my birthday presents from CCB this year–I just had to pick a date, and since my birthday is early August, we knew we’d have to wait until the weather lifted. And my [...]

  Is it worse than usual this year—that sudden arrival of the holiday season? Seems like everyone’s talking about how it can’t possibly be Thanksgiving yet, and yet, here it is.   Everybody notes impending stressors of the holiday season (which, ironically, stem from the pressure to, like, enjoy the holidays). And though there are [...]

I’m trying to figure out how to transition my usual weekly ramblings into a focused, health-oriented blog. But…no dice this week: It’s all beer and cheese.   Mr. Beery’s often hosts beer-and-cheese pairings, but last week’s twist–grilled cheese sandwiches–had CCB drooling in anticipation for weeks. Alas, it turns out, it wasn’t just the anticipation: CCB [...]

  The office of the editors here at the mag is quiet and sunlit, on the second floor with one wall of windows overlooking Pineapple Avenue. Sometimes over the tappity-tapping of the keyboards, we hear the conversations of passersby on the sidewalk below. Everything’s been more hectic the past week or so with the Chalk [...]

Not sure this pumpkin was worth the two fingers I lopped off while carving… When Mike met Amy Beerslinger Bud in his usual position. This is a great photo for playing "Spot the Zombie." So that was that, and now they’re playing Christmas music. It’s amusing to me that, instead of getting its own stand-alone [...]

It’s that wonderful time of year again—gorgeous fall weather, the glittery social season, decapitated bodies in the bathtub… At this point I might as well just call this my annual ode to Halloween. Since we started throwing our parties a few years back, it feels like we’re at least able to give Halloween its due [...]

For as satisfying as it is, I reserve a faint sense of disappointment after a hockey tournament—especially one we host. For all the prep that goes into it, all the hours at the rink, all the Monday-morning soreness and bruises and the faint smell of glovestink lingering on my hands, it seems too significant to [...]