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2012 – The Best of a Not Good, Very Bad Year

January 1, 2013 by rurugby 2 Comments

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2012 was the toughest year of my life. I lost my wonderful father in law Walter Maheux in March. Seeing my dad’s brain cancer return in August.

But even in a terrible year there are best things.

Best poetry venue move: Rhythmic Cypher to Dobra Tea. The tea house fits it perfectly.

Worst poetry venue move: Port Veritas from Local Sprouts to Bull Feeney’s. There should have been a way to both charge a cover and keep a perfect venue for the place.

Best poetry book: Carl Sandburg’s amazing “Chicago Poems”. This is a reminder that many of these things weren’t produced in 2012.

Best poetry chapbook: Billy Tuggle’s “The Way of the B Boy”, just an amazing Chicago slam poet, and simply an awesome dude and poet.

Movie: Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom”. Not even close, Anderson’s best since the fantastic “Rushmore.”

Book 1st Read: “Daytripper”, a graphic novel that goes through life through a series of deaths in important places. Beautiful, poetic and amazing.

Book re-read: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Amazed how well this held up to re-reading. So it goes.

CD: Fiddler on the Roof – Original Broadway Recording. I love Zero Mostel and Fiddler together.

Hot Mess: Cloud Atlas — Lanna and @gennyfer both loved this. I like the modern tale, but a lot of it was just a mess. From the jub jub sounds of the primitive future, to some of the worst Korean makeup ever in the New Seoul scene. It’s a mess. **

Podcast: Lounging with LannaLee. Proud of Lanna doing this every week. Really, really good. It’s an adventure in conversation.

Discovery: How much I love golf. I am really shocked about it.

New Restaurant: The Dancing Elephant in Westbrook. Yummy Indian food a few blocks from my house, I do miss the lunch buffet though.

Ice Cream Sandwich: Catbird Creamery in Westbrook. Always good, but favorite was snickerdoodles with brown sugar ice cream.

Go to restaurant, great service: Saigon. Pretty much universally loved. Just excellent.

Beer: Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale. Just an amazing barleywine. Great balance and just amazing with a beef roast.

Brewery: Bell’s (Michigan). Not available in Maine but pretty much getting a case every time I visit my parents in Allentown, PA from Shangy’s in Emmaus, PA.

Blogpost: Write Poorly. Can’t believe this little poem inspired Colleen Hoover enough that it’s in the New York Times best selling book “Point of Retreat.”

Accomplishment: Seeing “Write Poorly” in “Point of Retreat” and being in the acknowledgments. Makes me super happy.

2nd Accomplishment: Blogging every day on this site in 2012 and completing a National Blogging Year (not even totally sure that exists.)

Most spiritual moment: Being in the room when my father in law spirit passed from the realm of the living to the realm of the dead. Feel blessed to be there.

Tap Water: Sebago Lake/Portland Water District. It takes going to Allentown to appreciate how great the tap water tastes in greater Portland.

Website: Goodreads. Just loved that it let me know I read 182 books in 2012. And of course that I can see how others love the books that I love.

Blog: Margaret Miller Finch’s Stationary Unicycle. I think Ms. Finch should make sure to blog more this year and not listen to her critics.

Best Local Brewery: Bunker brewing. Still at only a 1 barrel system. I hope this changes soon. Their beer is seriously amazing, if only available a few places in Portland, Maine. Ie Mama’s Crowbar, Sonny’s, Local 188 and the Great Lost Bear. I have loved every beer I have tried from Bunker.

To buy wines: Trader Joe’s and it’s not close.

To buy liquor in Maine: New Hampshire.

Best/worst website discovery: Dominion Online. Great in that it’s really Dominion and that’s awesome. Bad in it’s really Dominion and I want to keep playing. Even already spent $10 in real money to buy some sets and plan to get more. Warning addictive.

Filed Under: acceptance, books, FridayReads, graphic novels, Maine Beer Guy, movies, No Filter, poetry, spirit, The Blog, The Ecq Review Tagged With: 2012, Beer, colleen hoover, Stationary Unicycle

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