Check out my new article at Homebrew Talk: Growing Hops With Limited Space

Check out my new article at Homebrew Talk: Growing Hops With Limited Space

Posted inCraft Beer, Gardening, Works by Eric
Whether you're a homebrewer, a gardener, or both, you'll want to check out my new article at Homebrew Talk. It even has pictures of my hop plants growing all over my backyard deck! Growing hops at home is a lot easier than you probably imagine. You don't need much real gardening experience to do it -- I didn't really have any when I first started -- and once hops make themselves at home they are damn near impossible to kill. They'll thrive all on their own without you having to do much, but they won't take over your whole yard, either. They're not like,…
NEW VIDEO: Top 5 Childhood Cartoons you’d want to experience again for the first time

NEW VIDEO: Top 5 Childhood Cartoons you’d want to experience again for the first time

Posted inGeek Stuff, Television, Videos, Works by Eric
Ever try to revisit a cartoon from your youth? It usually doesn't go well. Except for classic stuff like the Warner Bros. shorts, that stuff usually does not hold up, especially if you were a child of the '80s, when all cartoons were just long toy commercials. You can't recapture the time and place that made it special in the first place. But if you could erase your memory and relive them for the first time, what would you choose to watch? Here's what we said on the latest Hours in the Attic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yW2CJy0PR8   Also, shame on me for…
Is there still an interest in Hurricane Sandy survival stories?

Is there still an interest in Hurricane Sandy survival stories?

Posted inRandom Musings, Works by Eric, Writing
The title question is a legitimate question, and one I want an answer to for legit, tangible reasons. It's not just because I have a personal experience with the storm, though as this video taken from my bedroom window will tell you, I do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-OHXf3nQzM It is not because I lived it -- LOADS of people did, and a great many had far, far worse experiences than I did -- but because I devoted a lot of time to talking to people and writing about their experiences, and I'd like to see that material see the light of day. Years ago, I…
Beat is for Eric B and LL as well

Beat is for Eric B and LL as well

Posted inMusic, Videos
It's not often that music changes your life, but Public Enemy managed the trick for me. I quote the more famous "Bring the Noise" in the title, which was covered by metal/thrash band Anthrax, but the song and video (because during this time videos were a HUGE part of music) that really blew my mind was "Night of the Living Baseheads." Check it out, and see how video could be seen as an art separate from song, but one that worked together with music to create something entirely new: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyR09SP9qdA To this day I can't quite put my finger on what it was…
5 Questions that should always be met with frothing incredulity

5 Questions that should always be met with frothing incredulity

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants
Look, if anyone asks you one of these questions, you ought to reconsider your relationship with them. Do you want butter on that corn muffin? Yes, of course I want butter on my goddamn corn muffin, do I look like a savage to you? This is so dumb I don't even know where to start. Do you want cheese on your burger? The only people who should ever ask a question as stupid as this had better be people with fatal cheese allergies who just assume everyone else will die when they eat cheese, too, because CHEESE BELONGS ON EVERYTHING. Period. End of story. Another?…