Critical party decisions

Moving along in party planning...

I placed an order last week for a full keg (that's a 1/2 barrel, or 15.5 gallons, or roughly 162 pounds of beer) of delicious Hopback Amber Ale from Troeg's Brewing Company. As I'll surely tell people a gazillion times at the party, this was my introduction to Troeg's, which has since become one of my favorite breweries. At 6% ABV and a slightly sweet maltiness balanced with EXTREMELY grassy hops, this is just about the perfect session beer. It's not really great for keg stands, but I certainly won't discourage any girls from doing one.

Also of note, We Are Scientists (or, as I call them, We Are Pussies) have a new single out today or tomorrow or something, depending on the international date line and daylight savings time. Unfortunately, I think it's priced in pounds or euros, which means that it'll probably cost as much in dollars as the rest of my record collection combined. Perhaps I should just sell all my Demon System 13 records to pay for it. Does anyone know how much the first Life's Halt 7" goes for on eBay these days? More than I paid for it? What about the Charles Bronson discography DC WITH THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK?!?!?!?!!!

Or, maybe, just maybe, Katherine will cough up the money to buy the We Are Scientists single and we can turn the birthday party into a listening party, complete with a trophy for the best heckle.

Brewday Sunday!

Katherine and I brewed a batch of our house IPA today, in anticipation of the party on September 27. We were ably assisted by an extremely hungover Brucetravis, who I think was only sticking around the house until he felt confident he could make it home without throwing up.

Why was he so hungover? Because yesterday's party practice was a raging success! I think we need to work on food (a slice at Manny and Olga's may not have been enough), but everything else was excellent. Drink selection and pacing was extremely impressive. Somehow, we mixed together Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Miller Lite, and Jameson's and kept it rocking until a stunning 3am! We might have rolled even later, but The We Are Scientists kicked us out of their dressing room so they could drive to Columbus, Ohio.

The trunk show was a smash. Great turnout and the Barking Irons guys are fantastic. Big ups to all the Wasmund's fans who came out. In case anyone's curious, the drink I was serving is: mint muddled in a glass, a shot of Wasmund's, two shots of Honest Ade Orange Mango, a shot of club soda, and ice. Or, you can always use Wasmund's to make my favorite cocktail: a glass full of whisky, with a dash of witty conversation. Enjoy!

Practice for my 30th birthday party

Much like you can't just show up at the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada, without ever having ridden a bull before, you can't expect to just show up at my 30th Birthday Party without ever having practiced. So, tomorrow (Saturday) is the first official practice for the party. Note that this is the first official practice; you're expected to be practicing on your own at least five days a week.

Practice will start at 5:30pm at Redeem, the clothing boutique on 14th St. NW, between R and S Streets. Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky is sponsoring a trunk show for Barking Irons. Barking Irons is two New York guys who make clothes based on the '90s...the 1890s. I guess it's more Gangs of New York than Grover Cleveland, if I had to say. Anyway, I'll be there pouring Wasmund's until about 8 or 9 or something.

Then, the second part of practice (yeah, we do two-a-days this early in the season) will happen across the street at the Black Cat. Everyone's favorite two-piece-plus-two We Are Scientists is playing. In case you don't know what they're all about, here's a pretty informative video of them.



Of course, We Are Scientists isn't playing at my party, so this is mostly to practice our heckling. See you there!

You're invited!

Did I mention that everyone who reads this blog is invited to my birthday party on September 27? What? Yeah, what!

We've done some preliminary planning and can confirm the following things:

1. We Are Scientists has decided to play in Torino, Italy, with REM and not in the basement of my house. This is obviously a mistake on their part and they have expressed their sincerest regret, but I wish them the worst. If any faithful readers and birthday party attendees happen to run into The We Are Scientists on August 2 at the Black Cat, please heckle them ruthlessly. Make them cry.

2. We're trying to get a standup comic to tell jokes. Unlike my blog, this might actually be funny.

3. There will be a keg, plus some homebrews, plus some limoncello, plus plenty of Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky. (Note to We Are Scientists: good luck finding Wasmund's in Italy, suckers! Have fun hanging out with REM's roadies.)

There are some other fun things in the works, but I can't confirm them right now. Nonetheless, I'll happily mention the following things to start some rumors: half smokes, Fuggles the cat in a party hat, the Redskins Cheerleaders, Manute Bol, breakdancing, wiffle ball, Brother O'Dell Pass the Biscuits Pappy O'Daniels, and Blelvis.