Well dear friends,

It would seem Ian and I have been quite busy as of late.  Ian what with his finals and graduating again and all that, and myself with a multitude of races (a half marathon, a 5 k, and a duathlon in the last week) and fund raising opportunities (I grew a mustache as a part of 826 Michigan’s Mustache-A-Thon.)  But alas, the time has come to bring good news unto the world.

This week, as I went to pick up two of the more important comics affecting the alternate comic book universes I stumbled upon a new comic called Caliber, from Radical Comics.  I don’t think I would have been particularly awestruck by it had it not been retailing for exactly 1 dollar.  And seriously, how can you not buy a comic for a dollar, especially one with such a beautifully painted cover.  As such, I decided it was worth my hard earned dollar to buy it, read it, and communicate its value to the world.  Honestly, it might be one of the best buys available in comics.  This book was gorgeously drawn and painted, very similarly to the lone ranger.  The story line is interesting and has left me wanting more.  The worst thing about it, in my opinion, is it is limited to a series of 5 books.  This book has some really solid potential!  I’m really excited to see where Sam Sarkar takes this, because it is a really haunting view of the US’s western expansion in the early 1800s.  I’ve always been appalled by the way the the forefathers, and to some extent the current government, of this country thought the world was merely theirs for the taking no matter whose blood was left on their hands.  This could be a great look at the perilous situation between the Native Americans and the settlers, even if endowed with some fantastic elements.  I seriously recommend picking this up if you can find it, if not for the fantastic art.  Plus, as mentioned earlier, its only a buck.

In beer tasting news, tonight, I decided after a solid finish of 1:28:45 in my duathlon, I deserve a fine ale.  As I searched the beer aisle at my local grocer, I came upon a beer I’ve always looked at and disregarded because the rest of their line-up is swill; Avery’s The Reverend Quadrupel.  It’s so hard to buy beer from a brewery when you’ve had bad experiences with the other things they’ve done.  I’ve always found Avery’s beers to be a bit of a let-down.  If they didn’t let me down, they were outrageously expensive for the quality.  This, however was different.  Reasonably priced at 4.99 + tax and deposit for a 22 oz bottle, I figured I’d give it a go as it’s been some time since I’ve really assailed my palate in any negative way.  To my delight, this was not an assault on my finely tuned palate.  It is in fact a very pleasurable drinking experience.  It has a nice, estery aroma, hints of banana and light citrus.  It is very smooth, with a common tripel flavor, but it feels a little fuller in the mouth.  A little sweeter maybe.  It poured with little head, to which i was surprised, but it is filtered and didn’t appear to be heavily bottle conditioned.  If you’re gonna have an Avery beer, I’d highly suggest this one.  7.5