If you want good beer, sometimes you just have to brew it yourself. That’s just what Garrett Oliver does as the brewing chief of one of the most renowned microbrewery firms in America.
The brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, Oliver is known for his unique approach to creating flavorful beer, and is sought out as a lecturer on the subject. Also known as the world’s leading beer scholar, his book, The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, can help eager beer enthusiasts learn more about his area of expertise from the comfort of home.
To get a taste of his wisdom right away, read on as Garrett Oliver spills his secrets and tells us all we ever wanted to know about beer, but were afraid to ask.
Garrett, let’s start at the beginning: You are a graduate of Boston University, where you received a degree in Broadcasting and Film. How did you become a brewmaster? That must have been an interesting path.
In my senior year at Boston University I ran all student entertainment for the school, including clubs and some pretty big concerts. After I graduated, I moved to London, where I ran the concert hall for the University of London. At the same time, of course, I was going to the pub with friends. I fell in love with pubs, but the big surprise was the beer. It wasn’t very strong, but it was dark, rich, complex and flavorful. After a year in London I traveled around Europe and tasted all sorts of beer I’d never heard of before. And then I arrived back to the United States and discovered something awful – we didn’t really have any beer. All we had was a sort of “beer facsimile” that bore the same relationship to beer that “American cheese” slices bear to real cheese. So I started brewing beer at home, not because I was interested in making beer, but in order to HAVE some beer.
Eventually I went to work in 1989 at a pioneering brewpub called Manhattan Brewing Company, which was in Soho. I apprenticed to a British brewmaster and learned the professional side of brewing. From there I went to Brooklyn Brewery in 1994, and in 1996 we opened the brewery in its current site.
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Nevada state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson (D-North Las Vegas) on Monday declared that he is gay during a legislative debate over a measure to repeal the state’s gay marriage ban.
“I’m black. I’m gay,” he said, in what the Las Vegas Sun described as a “trembling” voice. “I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay male.”
He dismissed the idea that gay marriage threatened other marriages. “If this hurts your marriage, then your marriage was in trouble in the first place.”
The measure passed the Senate by a 12-9 vote, with 11 Democrats and one Republican voting in favor. It would remove the ban on gay marriages in the Nevada Constitution. If passed by the Assembly, which has a 27-to-15 Democratic advantage, and both houses again in 2015, the repeal would then be put to voters in 2016.
Nevada voters passed a gay marriage ban in 2000 and 2002. The legislature passed a domestic partnership law over former Gov. Jim Gibbons’ (R) veto in 2009. A February poll by the Retail Association of Nevada showed that 54 percent of Nevadans favor repealing the marriage ban while 43 percent oppose.
article by Luke Johnson via huffingtonpost.com
J.R. Smith #8 of the New York Knicks scores against John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards during their game at Madison Square Garden on April 9, 2013 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith has won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
Smith received 484 points, including 72 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 writers and broadcasters. The Clippers’ Jamal Crawford finished second with 352 points, getting 31 first-place votes. Smith averaged 18.1 points in 80 games, all off the bench. He had 29 games in which he scored 20 points as a reserve, tying Crawford for the NBA lead.
Smith helped the Knicks win the Atlantic Division title for the first time since 1994. New York is the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and leads the Boston Celtics 1-0 in their first-round playoff series.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com
As you find your seat at BAM’s recent production and U.S. premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Julius Caesar, a group of black actors cavort on stage, laughing and joking, casually passing the day in what appears to be a West African market place, immediately distinguishing this production of Julius Caesar from the Shakespeare you might remember from your 8th grade reading list.Certainly less romantic, and probably for that reason less popular than say Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar has nonetheless surfaced in the past year in a modern day prison in the Triviani brothers’ film Caesar Must Die, in an all-female production staged at the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and now in an all-black production by Gregory Doran, using the political upheaval that has plagued modern day Africa as its backdrop.
Doran’s interpretation takes this classic drama’s transcendent themes – the corrupting influence of personal ambition, the fickle nature of public favor, and the unreliable symbols we pursue in making meaning of the world around us, just to name a few – out of the cool, limestone halls and monuments of ancient Rome, making them work and sweat under the hot, unflinching glare of the African sun.
In the 20 years since Snoop Dogg released his genre-defining debut “Doggystyle,” the rapper’s name has become a sort of hip-hop shorthand, and he’s become a larger than life figure in popular culture over a string of albums and movie roles (“Starsky & Hutch,” “Training Day”). So it came as something of a surprise when the MC rechristened himself “Snoop Lion” last year after studying the Rastafari religion in Jamaica, and announced he was recording a reggae album, “Reincarnated,” which comes out Tuesday.
Snoop today takes over Speakeasy as the first-ever special guest editor, and in that role wrote an essay that explains his reggae transformation, assigned a story about the part youth sports programs play in communities, and will answer questions from readers. Check back in throughout the day to read Snoop’s contributions.
It only makes sense to pair his guest-editing stint with “Reincarnated,” which Speakeasy is streaming in its entirety. To listen, click here. The album features contributions from Drake, Akon and Miley Cyrus, and production from Diplo and Major Lazer. If you have questions for Snoop, send them on Twitter with the hashtag #AskSnoop.
article by Eric R. Danton via blogs.wsj.com
Richie Havens performs at the ‘Woodstock 40th Anniversary’ Blu-Ray release party at Hard Rock Cafe – Times Square June 4, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (AP) — Richie Havens, who sang and strummed for a sea of people at Woodstock, has died of a heart attack Monday, his family said in a statement. He was 72. Havens, a folk singer and guitarist, was the first performer at the three-day 1969 Woodstock Festival. He returned to the site during the 40th anniversary in 2009.
“Everything in my life, and so many others, is attached to that train,” he said in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. Havens was born in Brooklyn. He was known for his crafty guitar work and cover songs, including his well-received impersonation of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman.”
The singer’s website said he had kidney surgery years ago and that he never recovered enough to perform concerts like he used to. Havens performed at Bill Clinton’s presidential Inauguration in 1993. He has released more than 25 albums. His last album was 2008′s “Nobody Left to Crown.”
“I really sing songs that move me,” he said in an interview with The Denver Post. “I’m not in show business; I’m in the communications business. That’s what it’s about for me.” A public memorial will be planned for a later date.
Below is one of his most popular songs, a cover version of “Here Comes The Sun”:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBbXKsKXyNU&w=420&h=315]
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com
“Imagine A Future: My Black Is Beautiful” debuts during The Tribeca Film Festival.
It was only a year ago that Procter & Gamble’s My Black Is Beautiful (MBIB), an organization that celebrates the diverse beauty of African-American women and fosters self-esteem, launched the initiative “Imagine A Future.”
The program, a collaboration with Black Girls Rock, aims to create opportunities for young black girls throughout the country by providing resources that foster a greater sense of confidence. And they aren’t just talking a few hundred or a few thousand girls — the goal is to reach one million young women over the next two years.
Now, Procter & Gamble is strengthening this herculean task with a dose of Hollywood. The mega consumer goods company and executive producer Beverly Bond have created a documentary called “Imagine A Future: My Black Is Beautiful,” which debuted Sunday afternoon at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The film, which is co-directed by Shola Lynch and Lisa Cortes, follows Janet Goldsboro, a teenager from Delaware, who is struggling to find and own her worth. Like any boy-crazy teen girl, Goldsboro is plagued with insecurities, however it’s the color of her skin that she finds most troubling.
From Tambay A. Obenson of Shadow And Act: Cinema of the African Diaspora:
Described as Australia’s answer to Harold and Kumar, as well as Cheech And Chong, and also Australia’s first indigenous comedy feature film, Stone Bros stars Aboriginal actors Luke Carroll and Leon Burchill, and is directed by Richard J Frankland.
The movie was released in Australian cinemas in September, 2009 and is now making its debut in the USA, viaiTunes, as I’ve been informed.
Previously profiled on this blog, the synopsis for the pot-fueled road-trip reads:
Sick of the city life and their dead end jobs, primo-stoner Charlie and his up-tight cousin Eddie decide it’s time to reconnect with their homegrown roots. Taking off in a beat-up Ford they spark it up on a spiritual journey across the Australian Outback to find and return a sacred stone, which Charlie lost in a blaze of confusion. To succeed they will have to survive a series of hilarious encounters with a demonically possessed dog, a depressed drag queen, a jilted ex-lover, a soul-searching cop, and a deadly spider that has come along for the ride. Only one thing is for certain, it’s going to be a blast!
While I can’t say that I’m looking forward to seeing it (I’m not really a fan of stoner comedies), I’ll check it out eventually. It’s not everyday that one gets to see an Aboriginal stoner comedy.
Moctar Dembele (pictured right) and Gerard Niyondiko (pictured) have won the Global Science Venture (GSVC) competition for creating an anti-malaria repellent soap, reports CP-Africa. Burkina Faso native Dembele and Burundi native Niyondiko created Faso Soap from different herbs, including karate citronella. According to the product profile:
In many countries of tropical Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death for the population. It represents 30-40% of hospital admissions and up to 40% of public health expenditure.
Solution: Production and marketing of soap “mosquito,” based on shea butter and enriched with essential oils of lemongrass and concern, to protect its users from malaria.
Impact: Reduction massive number of people affected by malaria, especially among the poorest and basic hygiene.
According to Niyondiko, the soap will initially be available in African countries hit hardest by malaria. “The soap will be available first here, and then given to NGO.”
Watch the Faso Soap GSVC pitch below:
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/63409639 w=500&h=281]
“We want a simple solution, because every one uses soaps, even in the very poor communities,” Dembélé added.
Dembele and Niyondiko have not only helped Africa with their creation, they’ve also made history.
They are also the first non-Americans to win the GSVC, which challenges students across the world to create their own business plans for social ventures. The grand prize is $25,000.
According to the World Health Organization, the African continent accounts for 85 percent of malaria cases and 90 percent of malaria deaths worldwide. Eighty-five percent of those deaths occur in children under 5 years old.
article by Hannington Dia via newsone.com
The $120 million-budgeted Tom Cruise/Morgan Freeman science fiction flick launched a week ago overseas to lengthen its playtime before Disney begins rolling out “Iron Man 3″ on April 24. The Marvel tentpole bows May 3 domestically.
Warner Bros.’ second-frame holdover “42″ only dropped 34% for an estimated $18 million three-day gross. The film has reached $54 million and counting.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson