Thursday, August 27, 2009

PROJECTS!!!

I've been keeping very busy lately, with graduation behind me and the personal need to be overrun with work, I have found several things to keep my idle hands occupied.  

Currently I am considering a career in brewing, I've spent two days now in breweries giving a helping hand and learning the trade.  I've been doing some research into what I need to do to become knowledgeable enough to be hired by a brewery, as well as looking into female-centered beer and brewing groups.  Some notable groups are the Pink Boots Society, Women in Beer, and Ales for FemAles.  

Don and I are working on a documentary short that we hope to shop around to PBS and the like on Backyard Chicken Coops.  There are several meetup groups such as Chicago Backyard Poultry at meetup.com which we have joined in the hopes of meeting others who take up this totally bizzare but totally rewarding hobby.  As well, we have found two other backyard coops within walking distance from our homes.  If you know of any others let us know.

Jettison Quarterly ( jettisonquarterly.com ) will be releasing it's 3rd issue September 5th, so make sure to check that out.  This issue I wrote a small piece on Alice Berry, a great Chicago clothing designer as well as a piece on my day helping out in the Goose Island Clybourn Brewery. 

My second homebrew, a Saison that I brewed for Pete and my 4-year anniversary (which is this Friday), is just about finished.  So stop by and lets have a drink.

Cheers!

Friday, August 14, 2009

LETS CHOP ROOSTERS!!!

My old roommates from The Mustache Gallery have had a chicken coop in their backyard for about 4 months now.  Urban-fresh eggs have been about the extent of our chicken consumption, but when GHB (Georgia Home Boy) turned out to be a rooster they new they couldn't keep him.  He started to crow this past week, and thus an expiration date had to be set.  Pete and I grabbed our coffee and cake tops from Kristoffers' and hoofed it two blocks to the execution.  In a truly Roman-esque fashion, Soda (the cat) and I sat in stadium seats, our thumb and paw turned downward and watched as Ando caressed GHB for one last time, then promptly chopped off his head. Below lies the evidence.


DISCLAIMER:

************THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT FOR A SENSITIVE AUDIENCE.***************

on
The chopping block.  That's GHB  on the right. 
Ando getting psyched.
After placing GHBs body in a pot of boiling water to loosen the feathers, Ando plucked him and gutted him, he's now nearly ready to eat. Delicious.


Like what you see?  There's video footage.  Stay tuned for the Backyard Chicken Coop documentary short that Don is working on.