Amanda Shires and Rod Picot, at the South Austin Brewery inaugural party.
To my Hoona Nu. “Daddy, I want a piggy back ride.”
All I’ve wanted to give you is this big beautiful world, sleep in a big beautiful bed, beautiful clouds inside your head…
The Tao of Dealing With Crazy, From Mark Bennett, People Defender
Mark and I went to high school together in New Delhi, and both of us ended up in Texas. He’s a highly respected defense attorney in Houston who manages to raise a family, travel the world, AND write an amazing blog. The following is cribbed directly from his recent post. If you find it as useful as I do, it’ll save your sanity on a monthly basis.
1. If you don’t have to deal with a crazy person, don’t.
2. You can’t outsmart crazy [Thanks to Lisa J]. You also can’t fix crazy. (You could outcrazy it, but that makes you crazy too.)
3. When you get in a contest of wills with a crazy person, you’ve already lost.
4. The crazy person doesn’t have as much to lose as you.
5. Your desired outcome is to get away from the crazy person.
6. You have no idea what the crazy person’s desired outcome is.
7. The crazy person sees anything you have done as justification for what she’s about to do.
8. Anything nice you do for the crazy person, she will use as ammunition later.
9. The crazy person sees any outcome as vindication.
10. When you start caring what the crazy person thinks, you’re joining her in her craziness.
This is How Much I Love You
Thanks to all your support and positives, the brewery is clicking along. Got to meet Sam Calagione and Klaus from Dogfish Head, and Rob from Allagash this week. You all make me feel like this:
Following Me Bleeepthssss
Still another Austin brewery starting up
By Patrick Beach | Thursday, February 11, 2010, 09:44 AM
Say hello to South Austin Brewing Co. Disclosure: Jordan Weeks is a pal I know through a mutual friend, a good guy and a very accomplished brewer whose commercial experience goes back to Balcones in the late ’90s.
Now he’s the newest player in a field that’s filling up in very promising ways. He’s got the keys to an 8,000 square-foot space at 451 St. Elmo Rd. This comes after approximately eleventy billion other breweries announced plans to get going this year. (Weeks was hoping to keep his plan under wraps but it turns out the Twitters keep no secrets. And if you’re his friend on Facebook this is not news to you.)
“I think there’s a new requirement: If you want to be a resident you have to open a brewery,” Weeks says.
He’s aiming to have beer ready in a year. “It’s an aggressive schedule but I’ve worked in a production brewery like this before so i know how to do it,” Weeks says.
Most promising: He’ll be making “aggressive beers that appeal to the already sophisicated craft beer drinker, people who drink Stone and Avery and Lost Abbey. They’re going to be style-challenging. I’m not going to stick to Belgians but I have the greatest respect for Belgians. That’s where everything I know about beer started from.”
Production plans call for an 80 to 20 percent split between 750-ml bottles with wire corks and kegs. This is Weeks’ identified niche: Lots of people will take a chance on a 750 but not a six-pack. The single bottles make nice gifts, and people seem more likely to take a chance on something they haven’t tried before if they’ve only got a single to finish.
As I said, I can’t say I’m impartial on this one. But Weeks has the experience and the brewing chops to do great things for the Austin craft beer scene.
Townes Van Zandt Kinda Night
Here’s a link to Townes doing Lungs at the Old Quarter, recorded live (slideshow video)
Portland next week
I can’t wait. We’ll be celebrating Shannon “Dr. Weeks’” N.D. degree. I’ll get to see James, possibly Peter, plus Charles will be at the Organic Brewer’s Fest.
Dad and I drove from San Fransico to Seattle when I was 12, but I barely remember it. So this is all I really know about Portland, which is a good start, and possibly all I need to know:
Happy Dad Day
I had a really fantastic day. The kids made me a wonderful card, even got to brew a batch of beer. Plus not only a a Father’s Day fax, but we got a phone call from Francesca at camp. Received an AMAZING amp for my guitar, wow. Dad said he and Mom went to brunch at Morty’s, then Dad had a short American Spirit Sunday tour to give. We sent him the new Deadliest Catch book, Time Bandit, and a bottle of home brew.
This has been a difficult Father’s Day for the extended family. It’s hard for me to know what to do or say. But I do know, for sure, that I love my Dad very much, and he’s always been there for me, every day, for 43 years. I don’t understand why I got so lucky. When my family and friends are in pain, I wish I knew how to make them better. I love my family, painfully, and all the families in it.
"Is There Gas In The Car?" "Yes, There’s Gas In The Car!"
Sometimes when I’m down this cheers me up.
From Family Guy, the one where Stewie disguises himself as a popular high schooler and infiltrates the cool kids:
“You can see them on my MySpace page, along with my favorite songs and movies and things that other people have created, but that I use to express my individualism.”
“I have a MySpace page too!”
“Yeah, I have mine ironically.”
Twitter Hard!
JC shot this site to me (not tweeted? Dude, if you don’t I will). Made my week. In full disclosure, I got a Twitter account, only to keep jordanweeks from being snatched up by that Australian sports photographer. Yoink!
1) Fan belt light came on in the 911 so now I’m driving the Cayenne Turbo S – the backup, backup car. Trying not to think about the Tesla…
2) it makes me sad, the more I have success the more people don’t like me….
3) @garyvee I had the biggest lemonade stand on the block when I was 6. Was even expermienting with variable pricing and freemium models 
4) Went to the gym this morning. As I left, everyone said I was the best!
And my all-time favorite, that kills dead forever my standard Twit joke:
5) ok poop is coming out.
Guy Kawasaki! You used to be my man! Apparently Twitter brings out the crosseyed narcissist in everyone. Except you, dear reader. It looks good on you.
10) @wildbill I don’t get it either. Who pushes out more interesting links AND interacts more than me on Twitter?
Have a marvelicious Memorial Weekend, everyone.
Get some rest.
