Author Archives: rustindodd

Jan 06 2012
Leave a comment
Endorsements, Sports, TV

Unsolicited Endorsements: X

Because sometimes you just want friends to tell you about cool things… the Brew House team offers up its weekly mix of author-supported goodness.

Television show: “Portlandia”

By now, Portlandia is a semi-famous television show, with thousands and thousands of viewers and dedicated loyalists*. Familiar faces from Hollywood’s comedy intelligentsia (read: Hipster Elite) make cameos. And there are recognized catch-phrases. And it really only took six episodes for the whole thing to become part of America’s modern hipster (read: young) zeitgeist.

*These are the same people that watch Kids in the Hall on Netflix and are still mad that other people can’t understand the brilliance of the old Comedy Central show, Stella.

At its core, Portlandia is an outrageous send-up of Portland’s social and cultural landscape (a place where “young people go to retire” and the “dream of the 90s is still alive”). And this, I think, is what makes the show so fascinating. It’s a show that pokes fun at Portland and all its idiosyncrasies. And yet, it’s prime audience is made up of people that are exactly like the citizens of Portland.  Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 04 2012
1 Comment
Essay, Nostalgia

A Midsummer Night’s Dreamcast

The phone rang late Sunday afternoon. My mom’s voice sounded worried, concerned, like some uncomfortable question was coming. I knew this tone, knew it usually meant something was wrong. Nothing tragic or anything like that. But something. Still, I had no idea what it could be, no idea what was coming.

“Rustin,” my mom said. “Do you have any need for the PlayStation downstairs in the basement? Your dad just threw it in the trash.”  Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 02 2012
1 Comment
Music

#MusicMonday: VIII

Every Monday morning. Music so good… it must be shared.

This week: “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” — Wilco, from the album, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” 

Late Saturday night, I finally saw the Sam Jones documentary, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.” (It’s streaming on Netflix.) It depicts the process of recording “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”, which included some infighting between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett and the band getting dropped from their label before the album’s release. With an ode to Garth Algar: If you’re gonna stream, stream this. 

Thanks for stopping by The Brew House.

Tagged , , , , ,
Dec 30 2011
15 Comments
Endorsements, Literature, Music, TV

Unsolicited Endorsements: IX

Because sometimes you just want friends to tell you about cool things… the Brew House team offers up its weekly mix of author-supported goodness.

Writer and Story: Chris Ballard, SI, “The Kiss”

 These days, with the oversaturation of sharing devices and linking and instant connectivity, it can be hard to keep pace with the non-stop reading recommendations. To be sure, I’d prefer an onslaught of reading material to none… it’s just… I only got so much time, brother.

And how many times do you stumble upon a link on some pocket of the internet and hear: “Best thing you’ll read all day” or “Must-read” or “Great read” or “So well-written” or some other generically boring review*.  Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , ,
Dec 23 2011
Leave a comment
Endorsements, Literature, Music, Nostalgia

Unsolicited Endorsements: VIII

Because sometimes you just want friends to tell you about cool things… the Brew House team offers up its weekly mix of author-supported goodness.

Song: The Christmas Shoes 

Many a soul reserve a particularly contemptible place in their heart for “The Christmas Shoes.” I suspect some may even call it the worst Christmas song ever, worse than even “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” or “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.” I say this because Jezebel held a contest for readers to decided the worst Christmas song ever, and it won, beating out, in the semifinal and then final, “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” and “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.”  Continue reading →

Dec 19 2011
1 Comment
Culture, Music

Music and 2011

About three months ago, on a clear and cool night in early September, I made the short trip to Midtown to watch Bon Iver play at the Uptown Theatre. (That makes sense if you live in KC.)

On most nights, this would seem like a pretty simple plan.

Drive to said show. Sip a beer and act sufficiently curious during the opening act. Experience the concert. And then head back out into the Kansas City night, content, inspired, ready for more music.

The circumstances of this night, however, were something different. After planning for a couple weeks to go with two friends, life interfered in the days leading up to the show, and I was left with two extra tickets.

The Uptown was sold out that night, and I knew this. So I knew it wouldn’t be a problem to unload the extra tickets at the last minute, but I also felt a little hesitant about going to the show by myself.

Do people do this? I thought.

Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 16 2011
Leave a comment
Endorsements, Food, Movies

Unsolicited Endorsements: VII

Because sometimes you just want friends to tell you about cool things… the Brew House team offers up its weekly mix of author-supported goodness.

This soccer-centric documentary debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in 2010, and it immediately struck a chord. Pelada, which literally translates to “naked” in Portuguese, is the Brazilian word for pickup soccer (or more correctly, futbol).

It’s the work of four young film-makers and stars Luke Boughen and Gwendolyn Oxenham, two former college soccer standouts who travel the world in a constant search for the most basic form of the game — and what it means to each place. This week, more than a year after it surfaced on my radar, I was finally able to cross it off my list. (It’s streaming on Netflix.)

On the surface, this is essentially a love letter to the beautiful game, but the film resonated with me on two deeper levels: It opens a window into life in the unseen (the slums of Buenos Aires; a prison yard in La Paz, Bolivia; the tension-filled streets of Jerusalem), capturing the struggles and monotony of day-to-day life through the lens of futbol.

Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 12 2011
Leave a comment
Music

#MusicMonday: VII

Every Monday morning. Music so good… it must be shared.

This week: “The OtherSide” — The Roots, from their new album, “Undun” (LA Times Review: Here)

Thanks for stopping by The Brew House…

Dec 09 2011
Leave a comment
Endorsements, Literature, Movies

Unsolicited Endorsements: VI

Because sometimes you just want friends to tell you about cool things… the Brew House team offers up its weekly mix of author-supported goodness.

Movie: “White Christmas”

Before you go any further… yes, I know, it’s pretty early for Christmas movies. But it’s not that early. It’s Dec. 9, and that means you only have 16 more days to watch Chevy Chase and Macauley Culkin and Billy Bob. And, mostly, you need to watch this one. I will confess: This pick, as most of mine tend to be, is definitely a nostalgic choice. My family would watch White Christmas every December.  Continue reading →

Dec 07 2011
4 Comments
Culture, Essay, Nostalgia

The story of Peter Berg

That afternoon, as the sun began to descend over the colorful mélange of San Francisco hills, we took our seats in the garden, a backyard with strange looking flora, life surrounding everything.

Our hosts looked at us with a hint of friendly suspicion. How could you blame them?  We were intruders, strangers, locusts looking for answers.

But… we did sit quietly. Mostly because we didn’t know what to say.

We had traveled thousands of miles, thrown into a journey that was one-part contest, one-part investigation, and one-part discovery.

And now we were here, sitting in the backyard of an old, white-haired man named Peter Berg, trying in vein to explain ourselves.

At last, the old man spoke:

“I wanna know two things,” he said, “One is why Peter Coyote? And why me?”

 

Continue reading →

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →