Yes, it’s that time of year again. Rather shamefully, I have no books on this list; while I read many, not a one was published in 2009 – my excuse is that I’m waiting for the new Nick Hornby novel to come out in paperback.  So, in fractured order, here are this [...]]]>

Arctic Club, Seattle

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Rather shamefully, I have no books on this list; while I read many, not a one was published in 2009 – my excuse is that I’m waiting for the new Nick Hornby novel to come out in paperback.  So, in fractured order, here are this year’s Things I Liked A Lot:

Best Thing I Wrote This Year: On Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Memory
Best Race (live): The Haskell (just edging out the Preakness)
Best Race (televised): Breeders’ Cup Classic
Best (human) Race: Dogfish Dash 10K
Best Soccer: US beats Spain, Confederations Cup
Best Trip: Seattle, Arctic Club/MLS Cup/REI pilgrimage/new light rail
Best Airline: Alaska Airlines
Best Live Show (overall): Leonard Cohen, Tower Theater
Best Free@Noon Show at World Cafe Live: John Wesley Harding/M. Ward
Best Beer (draft): Stone/BrewDog Bashah
Best Beer (bottled): Pretty Things Saint Botolph’s Town
Best New Bar: Varga Bar
Best Album: John Wesley Harding: Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead
Best Concept Album: The Duckworth-Lewis Method: The Age of Revolution
Best Random Song: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Home
Best TV: How I Met Your Mother
Best Event TV: Doctor Who
Best Movie: (500) Days of Summer
Best Movie Franchise Reboot: Star Trek

Beer Dieu du Ciel! Rosée d’Hibiscus Gasthaus Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose Reissdorf Kölsch Victory St. Boisterous Victory Braumeister Pils

Books Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews A Good Horse Has No Color: Searching Iceland for the Perfect Horse by Nancy Marie Brown 1491: New Revelations [...]]]> Yes, it’s true; I’m officially an award-winning brewer. Here are some ways to celebrate this accomplishment:

Beer
Dieu du Ciel! Rosée d’Hibiscus
Gasthaus Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose
Reissdorf Kölsch
Victory St. Boisterous
Victory Braumeister Pils

Books
Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews
A Good Horse Has No Color: Searching Iceland for the Perfect Horse by Nancy Marie Brown
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann