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Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts


Rogue Chipolte Ale - Oregon
Thursday, November 01, 2007

Chipolte Ale

Dedicated to Spanish author Juan de la Cueva, who, in 1575, wrote of a dish that combined seedless chipotles with beer: Chipotle Ale is based on Rogue’s American Amber Ale, but delicately spiced with smoked jalapeno (chipotle) chile peppers. Deep amber in color with a tight head, rich malty aroma, delicately smooth and crisp flavor, and subtle chipotle chili finish. Chipotle Ale is created from Northwest Harrington, Klages, and Maier Munich Malts; Willamette and Cascade hops; and Chipolte (smoked jalapeno) Peppers. Available in a 22-ounce (12/case), 12-ounce (24 loose/case) screened bottles, and on draft. Blend it with Rogue Chocolate Stout and create a Mole’ black and tan!

http://www.rogue.com/brews.html#MMsoba

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While in Oregon we saw a display of this beer and wanted to try it. It took about 5 stores and finally Holiday Market in Royal Oak had it in stock. The beer is quite good and although it made with peppers its not what you think. I was expecting a more smokey flavor due to the chipolte but it was just heat at the end of the taste. You have the classic Rogue flavor with a bit of BAM at the end. If you have never had Rogue beer before you are in for a treat. They have some amazing styles and if the Chipolte Ale is too much, just try the Dead Guy Ale.

Posted by mardenhill 11/01/2007 09:30:00 PM 0 comments  

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Christopher Moore - A Dirty Job
Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Just started reading Christopher Moore's book A Dirty Job and I am liking it. I had no idea who he was and found the book at the store a few weeks ago. It was before our vacation and Borders had buy 3 get 1 free sale so I had pick one out or Erika got all 4. From reading Moore's website it looks like he has a list of other books, full of off beat humor and San Francisco charm. I will let you know what I think of it once I'm done.

If anyone has read his previous works leave a comment to let me know what you thought.....

Posted by mardenhill 7/10/2007 03:11:00 PM 1 comments  

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The Assault On Reason
Tuesday, June 19, 2007


I started reading Al Gore's The Assault On Reason and highly recommend it. The book goes into detail how politician's use fear and propaganda to spread their message. Al talks about how tv has taken away the public square and transformed knowledge of current events into a money race. Yes tv has done a lot for our society but it has also made us lazy and complacent. I am not one of those blow up your tv because I love it just as much as the next person. If I couldn't watch my handful of shows, 24 hour news channels and discovery programs I would not be a happy camper. I do see his point tho, consolidation of stations into fewer and fewer owners increases the chances for propaganda. This goes for papers and radio as well. That is why the internet is so important, its still a free for all and anyone can participate. The entry barriers are very low and anyone can start a discussion.

This morning while on my way to work I heard a great story on NPR. They were talking about the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy and how it has come into bloom. For years the right built think tanks, coalitions and PACs used to lobby congress to pass their agenda. The dems sat on the sidelines and did nothing to counteract the onlslaught of the conservative message. It wasn't until democratic activists stood up and took matters into their own hands. They organized by themselves then brought the politicans in, not the other way around. Either the politicans work with the netroots or they face the consequences. Needless to say, herding democrats is like the EDS cat commerical, its nearly impossible but it can be done. The internet is anarchy with little structure and guidelines. This fits the dems thinking much more than that on the right. Although there is a lack of so called traditional leadership on the net, there are still rules and common decency that is expected to be practiced. The right may own talk radio but the left owns the internet and this is one of the things Al talks about.

If you are a fan of Al Gore or just politics in general, pick up this book you will not be disappointed.

Posted by mardenhill 6/19/2007 10:06:00 PM 0 comments  

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Jonathan Stone - The Heat Of Lies
Sunday, June 03, 2007

http://www.jonathanstonebooks.com/

Funny story about this book. About a year ago I picked up Jonathan Stone's 1st book The Cold Truth on the bargin table and thought it was pretty good. Its your classic detective/thriller novel involving a murder, deception and plenty of twists and turns. While in Oregon at the coolest bookstore in the world Powells Books (the main store is whole city block in size) I picked up his 2nd book in the series. I was wandering around the mystery section of store trying to figure out what the name of the author was and I couldn't. I started in the A's and made it to J and gave up. I went to the counter and tried to describe the 1st book even though I had no name or author to give them. Luckily they had internet access and I had blogged about it because I was able to read my review and remember who it was I was looking for. Powells always has new and used copies of books and sometimes it can be hit and miss on certain ones. You can go in with a list and only come out with 1 or 2 on it but still have a stack of others you never would have considered. They had The Heat Of Lies used for $7 hardcover so I picked up a copy. The book is great and I am about 3/4ths of the way done. Jonathan Stone has 2 more books 1 more in the series and his last one a separate novel. So the moral of the story, write reviews of books you read on your blog because you never know when you will draw a blank in the coolest bookstore in the world.

http://www.powells.com/

Posted by mardenhill 6/03/2007 08:58:00 PM 0 comments  

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Michael Connelly - Echo Park
Sunday, March 04, 2007

I have now moved onto the latest Michael Connelly book Echo Park which came out in 2006. I have been a big fan of Michael for a number of years now and really enjoy his detective personas. This one continues on with Harry Bosch his most famous character. These books are not hard reading, you don't need a PHD to comprehend but they are fun. They are fast paced, hard boiled detective novels in the vein of the vintage pulps from the 30s and 40s. I need to get reading tho because I just checked Michael's website and he has new book coming out in May. That means I have til October to get this one done and receive the next one for my birthday.

http://www.michaelconnelly.com/index.html

Posted by mardenhill 3/04/2007 03:03:00 PM 0 comments  

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Douglas Coupland - jPod

http://www.jpod.info/

I have finally finished jPod and highly recommend it to everyone. It took me a while to read, I get easily distracted and found other things to do besides reading. This doesn't mean the book was bad, I really enjoyed it. On the surface its a lot like Microserfs one of his books from the 90s but once you get reading it takes a completely different turn. Absurd scenario's, disfunction families, off beat humor and societal references are all present in this book. Its a comedy, quite different than his last few books but more avant garde than anything before. Douglas did a great job with his characters and the crazy situations they find themselves in. He also included himself as a character which was something new and it reminded me of the last Brett Easton Ellis book Lunar Park. Douglas wasn't the plot of the book just a small character but reading my 2 favorite authors pretty much back to back with the same concept was quite weird.

I was out on Coupland's website and found out he has a new book slated for release this fall entitled The Gum Thief but cannot find any info on the plot. I googled the title and came across some story that a woman in her 40s has been on a crime spree stealing gum around Toronto. Now I have no idea if this will play into Coupland's book or if its just a coincidence but with him you never know....

http://www.coupland.com/index.html

Posted by mardenhill 3/04/2007 02:11:00 PM 0 comments  

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JPod
Thursday, November 09, 2006

http://www.jpod.info/

I just started reading Douglas Coupland's latest novel JPod last nite. I have only made it thru a few pages so I don't have much of a description. If you are a fan of Douglas Coupland this book is reminiscent of Microserf's but updated for the iTunes and Google generation. I have been a fan of Coupland since his 1st book Generation X and love all of his writings. His last couple books have been on the introspective side, exploring deep emotions rather than the cynical outlook on life. I will keep you posted on how this book turns out but I expect it to be a great one. Below is Coupland's website with all his writings and the 1st link is to a page devoted to his new novel.

http://www.coupland.com

Posted by mardenhill 11/09/2006 01:40:00 PM 0 comments  

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The Cold Truth
Tuesday, October 17, 2006

I ran out of books to read so I decided to look on my bookshelf to see if there was anything I hadn't read. I found the following book "The Cold Truth" by Jonathan Stone. This is his debut novel and features the character Julian Palmer a young and attractive police trainee. The book came out in '99 and I bought it off the bargin table for $5. I always pick up books in this manner, sometimes finding great authors, othertimes not so much. Checking out the Jonathan's website it looks like he has a few more books and continues to use Julian as a character. Its the typical mindless thriller/mystery books I love to read so don't expect the Illiad or Fountainhead here. So far its a very fast read, I was able to cover 70 pages in an hour. I do like the story but hope there are some twists and turns since I feel like I can predict the ending already. I will be very disappointed if I am correct but that's what you get for $5. If all goes well, I will check out his other books.

http://www.jonathanstonebooks.com

Posted by mardenhill 10/17/2006 09:23:00 PM 0 comments  

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Current Reading Material
Tuesday, August 15, 2006

My latest book I'm reading, well I will start on the plane tomorrow is "Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman. The back of the book compares him to Nick Hornby and Douglas Coupland so it can't be too bad. Chuck is a senior writer for Spin mag and this is more or less a critique on the pop culture world we live in. The 1st chapter is entitled "This Is Emo", I am a bit turned off by this unless he is mocking the musical genre then its ok.

I will let you know if its worth reading. It came off the summer reading bargin table about a month ago, Borders had buy 3 get 1 free. Erika picked out her books and I had to find something and this was it.....

Posted by mardenhill 8/15/2006 09:18:00 AM 3 comments  

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The Lincoln Lawyer

I just finished Michael Connelly's latest novel "The Lincoln Lawyer" and give it a thumbs up. If you are not familiar with Connelly's writing, he is one of the leaders in the detective/thriller genre. Connelly has a few characters he uses throughout his books, his main being Harry Bosch an LA detective with more personal problems than he can handle. "The Lincoln Lawyer" features Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney who ends up a little too deep in his latest case. These books are easy reading, you don't need a PHd to get thru them. They are not your typical thriller either, Connelly does a good job weaving characters in and out and pulls a suprise every time.

I just checked Connelly's website and he has a new book Echo Park featuring Harry Bosch this fall. This is just in time for my birthday and by the time I actually get to it, the next one will be out.

http://www.michaelconnelly.com

Posted by mardenhill 8/15/2006 09:07:00 AM 0 comments  

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