Professor Dave Explains
This week's guest Dave Farina has a great youtube series where he explains things through science. The most recent video is about Thermodynamics. Check it out:
Episode 15 – Dave Farina pt. 1
Dave Farina, who plays drums in The Lonely Wild, stops by this week for the first part of a chat about Chemistry. In addition to being a musician, Dave also does a video series online called Professor Dave Explains where he helps educate kids and adults alike with quick, fun youtube tutorials. We sit down with some Fresh Squeezed IPA from Deschutes Brewing and chat about Dave's background, music, and chemistry. A call to Zach (@yojibillions) starts things off.
The music at the end of this episode is Chasing White Light from the Lonely Wild's most recent album of the same name.
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Episode 14 – Heather Wright and Katie Sanders pt. 2
Heather Wright and Katie Sanders are back for another chat. This time the PhD candidates from UC Irvine and I sit down with some home brew from their friend Bach Tran to talk more about their studies in cancer research. We get further into what we know about it, how it may be overcome, and what it's like to proselytize on a plane. The beer is great, and the conversation is full of fascinating information.
The music at the end of this episode is from Common Miner. The album is called The Match that Stayed Lit, and the song is Gardner.
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The Inner Life of the Cell
Heather passed along this video, and it is worth checking out. A really cool look into the inner-workings of the cell.
Beers from the Canceled Tour
As you may know, I recently did a stand-up tour around the U.S. It was also a road trip with my girlfriend, and we sampled some beers along the way. We didn't always have time in every city, but in the ones we did, here are some beers we enjoyed:
Anchor Steam - San Francisco, CA - It's been around forever, but it's still great.
Ninkasi - Eugene, OR - We did a brewery tour here, and everything was good. The Total Domination IPA is their biggest hit, but I enjoyed the Oatmeal Stout more.
Deschutes - Bend, OR - We didn't actually go through Bend, but they had Deschutes in Portland, and the Black Butte Porter is delicious.
Big Sky Brewing - Missoula, MT - I had some Moose Drool in Minneapolis with Kyle McGinn.
Montana Brewing Co. - Billings, MT - The food was just ok, but the Sandbagger Gold was great.
Bent Paddle - Duluth, MN - They were nice enough to donate a case of the Golden IPA for the show, and it is fantastic. (Thanks to Lezlie)
Rhinegeist - Cincinnati, OH - I had a couple varieties from here, and they were both good.
Yazoo - Nashville, TN - The Pale Ale was really good. We drank that while honky-tonkin'.
Abita - Louisiana - We drank the Restoration Ale in Mississippi and New Orleans. I highly recommend it.
Austin Beerworks - Austin, TX - The Fire Eagle IPA is worth trying just for the name alone.
Revolver - Dallas, TX - I don't remember exactly which type I had. It was right before the show, but I remember it being good.
So Long, Andy Ritchie
The timing of an episode about cancer research seemed oddly callous to me after Andy passed away on Thanksgiving. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed appropriate. The more we know, and the better we can understand just what exactly cancer is, the better our chances will be in defeating it. Thinking of how quickly it took over his life and altered his ability to be himself, it's frustrating that there was virtually nothing that anyone could do or say that would have been a proven, time-tested solution. People change their diets; maybe they exercise a bit more. Andy went to seminars and was given progressive medicines that they thought might be on the cutting edge of cancer care. But in the end, they weren't enough to save him.
Cancer, and especially brain cancer, seems particularly cruel for someone so nice. Andy was a fantastic comedian, and part of being a comedian -- at least in my opinion -- is having your brain switched on perhaps slightly more often than average. To look around at a world that takes our friends and has so many horrible things in it, and then find ways to make people laugh and brighten their spirits, that's a pretty unique skill. And no one was better at that than Andy Ritchie. He was a great comedian, and not in a "He's nice and he does comedy" way. He could have been a complete jerk, and people would have still said that he was funny. But he wasn't a jerk. He was kind and gentle and hilarious. I'm glad I got to know him. Glad that he was my friend. And glad that he left some comedy behind for us. If you haven't heard any of his material, listen to his album King Ding-a-Ling. It's as good as they get. Hopefully it will live on a lot longer than cancer does.