Day 290 of 365

Everywhere there's signs

Shot this after I left Foley's next door. The Dempsey's neon is great, and all these other signs made for quite a wordy photo. Not quite 1,000, though.

Day 200 of 365

Undead entertainment

It looks like they have a tough time getting live acts in Lewisburg in the summertime.

Day 108 of 365

Open seats

Before a night of drinking at Shoolbred's.

Day 58 of 365

Hudson Street evening

I've really taken to the walk up Hudson Street to get to work. I get to pass some of my favorite bars, including the White Horse. It's where Kerouac and Dylan Thomas drank, it's where I saw Michael Imperioli one ridiculously hot summer afternoon, and it's one of the bars we hit on my bachelor party pub crawl -- after 20 minutes wandering around the Village trying to find it because we'd been to a few places already, and we were all confused by the angled streets.

Day 9 of 365

Busy man behind the bar

I've become a big fan of interior bar/restaurant photos, a snapshot of that moment at a public gathering place. When I see these kinds of photos taken by others, I want to be there to have a drink. When I take them myself, I enjoy looking at them later and remembering the warmth brought on by a pint and the friendship there on a cold winter night.

It occurred to me as I took this shot that this photo-a-day project will also provide visual entries in a diary of my daily life. If I don't feel like writing about what I did that day, the photograph should give me some idea. And so on this night, we rode out to Brooklyn to see Milk at Cobble Hill Cinemas, then met up with one of Casey's friends at Abilene at 9 p.m. Until another co-worker arrived, Kate was the only person at the gathering we knew, but we soon started chatting with others until, faster than we realized, it was time to bundle up and head back to the trains for our two-river trek back home.

"Village view," New York, October 2007

Lunch in the Village

When I took this shot, I did so because of the crystal-clear afternoon, the strong light on the buildings and tree, the blue sky, the illumination of the window and the colors coming through the transparent lettering in the name. The post in the center of the frame was an imperfection I'd have to live with. I didn't look at this photo as anything outstanding; it was just a moment of an afternoon.

And then I noticed the jagged top of the photo, the roof of the corner entry to the restaurant, and the M.C. Escher-like effect it has on the scene, particularly the building on the left, and I love it a little more.

Chicago stories: Hopleaf

Perfect on a warm day

Oh, man, the beer selection at Hopleaf was amazing. I can still taste this one now, and not in a bad way.

Our trip had two main purposes: to see the Mets and Cubs upon our arrival and to eat and drink our way around Chicago. The city's got some great restaurants and bars, so in between museums and baseball and sleeping, we hit what we could.

But this one. Woah. It was our destination on this afternoon, a bit out of the way from anywhere else we were that day. And it's not like we went there for a liquid lunch -- it was strictly for the comfort of beer. If it wasn't for our dinner reservations that night, we might have stayed and used the menu as a checklist.

Drunk (and nearly drunken):

1. 3 Floyds Gumballhead, Munster, Indiana
2. Dogfish Head Festina Peche, Lewes, Delaware
3. De Konick, Belgium
4. Lagunitas Sirius Ale, Petaluma, California
5. 3 Floyds Alphoa King Ale

The De Konick was described as an "ale with pilsner malts and Saaz hops brewed over direct flame" -- refreshing!

"I drink to your health," Boulder, Colorado, May 2006

"I drink to your health," Boulder, Colorado, May 2006
I drink to your health when I'm with you,
I drink to your health when I'm alone,
I drik to your health so often,
I'm starting to worry about my own!
-- A traditional Irish toast

Or, at least one I got from a greeting card. Taken with a camera phone at the Catacombs bar in Boulder. No idea anymore what the heck I was drinking that night, but it was good.