Another Made in the Shade quickly approaches and this year will be special for me. I am not just another taster, I am a brewer. Two of my beers will be featured through the Northern Arizona Homebrewers or as we affectionately call it NAAAH. Both will be Brown ales one my spicy rye Russkie Rye Brown and the other a more traditional brown yet to be named brew. For information check the official site or the Arizona Republic article.

Stop by the NAAAH booth and give us a try.

Steven Pearlstein gives a good primer on XM Radio vs RIAA case. His chat on the Washington Post site provides good followup as well.

Ipac provides a good response worth reading as well.

The issue is starting to heat up besides in the typical technology and politics crowd of players which is good. Truth about copyright abuse and monopolistic behaviour by the recording industry needs to gain wider attention by the mass media. Education is the most powerful tool.

Jason Calacanis talks about paying people at social networking sites (like flickr, digg, etc) for bookmarking material. At first I did not like the concept, but after further thought I realized I didn't mind the concept on one condition.

People need to disclose if they do get paided for bookmarking in their site's profile. A decent blogger announces their disclosures, ala Jeff Jarvis example.

How do you enforce it? I don't know. Maybe you can't and people will game the system, it has been known to happen. If you know a friend is being paid but doesn't disclose maybe you may make comments on their submissions. I am not sure what mechanisms will be necessary, but based the history of spam and bots we need to start thinking about how to add disclosures into profiles.

It may be a necessary tool for social networking sites to thrive.

I spend a good chunk of my day waiting on hold on a phone. I think anyone who chooses an automated phone system must sit on hold for an hour listening to the system they choose to play. Rock station, classical, even easy listening music I can take. But it's the repeated over and over audio messages that get old quick, also the systems that blast your ear drum.

A picture is worth a thousand words the saying goes.

Old concept, but as the web develops we have the opportunity to present ideas in a new fashion. As example Frappr maps are mostly social purposes for instance some podcasts use them to show listenership.

Radley shows us a glimpse of the future of social science research. I think the visual nature of maps and other displays of data will become new tools in explaining the nature of research data. CNET has been using web maps associated with occasional news stories to show interrelationships.

Be it wiki, digg spy, or some yet to be invented mashup tools will define how we look for patterns of data. Heck Frappr is a mashup of taking the Google Map API and location data.

Education will impacted by these advances in collabrative learning in ways I can scarcely imagine. Group projects will likely be the start and individual research papers a close second.

20 years from now a map like this will be as outdated and basic as a static HTML page does today, but now it's a look of the future.

In just over a month the most anticipated film of the year on the web will be released Snakes On a Plane (SOaP). While not exactly high concept it may have the distinction of teaching Hollywood that blogs and the web aren't their enemies, but the future of their marketing and fan base.

Hollywood while embracing flash and graphics loaded sites, still doesn't get the web. But think of how much free advertising and building of a fan base SOaP has been doing long before release.

It's not that everyone in Hollywood is ignorant of the web, it can be argued people such as Kevin Smith, JMS, and David Mackenzie (Don't know the name you soon will in part to Hugh MacLeod) have been using it to their advantage. Kevin blogs on a regular basis, JMS regularly used the web to keep in contact with Babylon 5 fans, and David has a blog about his latest movie.

So I hate to propose you see a film just to get Hollywood's attention about the positive power of the web. But it's true, the best thing the blogosphere and those who use the web daily can do to get Hollywood pay attention is make it a hit. Dare I say it, yes a blockbuster.

To quote a great film maker " I just have to say I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found a kind of spiritual transcendence in the title "Snakes on a Plane". It gives me faith in this bleak Hollyworld that there should be such simple beauty, such direct and uncluttered understanding of the human condition. Snakes, as the great philosophers used to say, on a motherfucking plane."

Marc Gunther says "mass culture isn't so mass anymore. Instead, culture is evolving into a 'mass of niches.'"

and that this "explosion of choice has left us poorer".

Truth is he is wrong, the existance of mass culture is a fairly modern creation of the post-World War 2 age. His whole point of view only is based in a reality created by Mass Media, but the internet is changing us back to a time when local mattered, when niches mattered. Perhaps too many choices can exist, but I suspect it was only so in the Soviet Union. To the rest of us choice = freedom and of that we can never have enough.

For another informative review of Marc's Fortune article consider the good Radley Balko.

PS - My Mother, a former English teacher, might get after me if I don't point this out his use of 'poorer' is bad English. The phrase would have been better stated as "explosion of choice has left us more poor", but then I don't have fact-checkers and editors to catch such a gaff, for shame Marc and the folks at Fortune.

What's happening after the Woody fire West of Flagstaff? This photo set will track the scene of the fire with pictures.

Okay I have seen the Senator Stevens 'internet is tubes' material, I have heard the know-it-all podcasters and bloggers make condscending comments. Yes, he doesn't understand the internet. But for a minute, just a minute think about this little point. How would you like to explain how the internet works to your parents or if you are under 30 your grandparents?

Explain to them Net Neutrality. How about DMCA? Maybe P2P filesharing? How much would they really understand. Try telling them about podcasting or blogging? How much of this technology will they comphrehend, honestly?

Remember the audience who you are dealing with when you talk with Congress (especially the Senate), last time I tried to have a chat with my grandmother over AIM she typed me a whole letter, it is not their medium.

Don't believe me? Go look up the age of your Senator, compare to a family member of equal age. Go explain things to them and see how much they understand.

If we want to win the battles of internet freedom we need to better relate to those making policy decisions. To begin with that the current 'Net-Generation' needs to lose it's technical arrogance, I think it's the only way we can win.

ps - This is not to say certain people over the age of 50 don't get the web, some do, this is just a generalization.

Charlie the Beer Guy has been doing some great beer blogging of Northern California and Oregon, especially considering he is on a family vacation. Check it out if you get the chance as well as his podcast it's worth your time.

In response to Donavan's question on homebrewing here is my take on the subject.

The first reason I brew is to get some beers I can not find locally. Even in this enlightened age of craft brewing there are some beers that it's difficult, if not impossible to find. My favorite style is probably the German Hefeweizen, I have loved the style since I first tried it over ten years ago. Flagstaff is a long way from Germany though and shipped versions from Deutschland never make the trip in good condition. Even in DC area it was often a problem. So we go to our local brewpubs but none of the three here in town currently make a decent one. Granted Oak Creek Brewing in Sedona makes an excellent one but that is a 60 mile round trip, they don't bottle the beer yet, and few bars in Flagstaff regularly carry it. I also enjoy the Czech style black lager, but I don't know anyone in the state who makes or carries it.

Second there is something elemental to making beer, it's an act as old as civilization itself. I love the mystery of combining base elements and getting something wonderful from it, it's akin to alchemy. I know this isn't a scientific answer but it is a part of the process that draws me back.

Tied with my second is my third reason and that is the act of creation. I'll never forget first holiday beer, it gave me my first insight to what it might be like to be a parent because of the pride I felt of creating something. Likewise I lately have been playing with a rye brown that I have gotten a kick out of designing, based on the idea of the English brown, but with a touch of spiciness from the rye. I would love to see this available commercially, but again no one sells a beer like it.

Last, but not least it's fun. I enjoy the process and the fellow enthusiasts.

For other great answers I would also look at Charlie Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing and Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing.

When I first heard about the Sam Adams Brewer Patriot Collection from Jen I was immediately intrigued. I was interested to see what exactly the beers were like and what kind of flavors would be present. With the help of some family members I managed to get my hands on a couple of 4 packs.

The styling definitely fit a colonial theme associated with the package. It also was boxed as a set, which was excellent to prevent light struck (aka skunking) from poor shipping conditions.

One comment I heard from a few people was the strong malt and roast character of the beers. I realized after tasting them that this was probably because these people grew up drinking beer after western American hop explosion took place. The high IBU beers are their norm, not the exception. So if you think Sierra Nevada and Stone as your normal beers you may want to avoid these beers. They are of an older age when the hop was used, if at all, for subtle character.

The Traditional Ginger Honey Ale was my first beer. The aroma had rich scent of honey and ginger with a hazy golden color to the beer. The beer had a definite ginger spiciness with a hint of lemon. This beer could be a popular summer thirst quencher across the country if the folks at Sam Adams marketed it right.

Next was the 1790 Root Beer Brew which had 5.5% alcohol, high for what the cultural norm is for a normally a soda beverage, but not unheard of in the home brewing culture. It has aggressive flavor for a root beer with licorice and root smell. This followed through in the taste with definite estery qualities more typical in an ale, but it may be due to the yeast used.

Okay now it’s time for the big boys...

The James Madison Dark Wheat Ale doesn’t fit the norm. No typical wheat beer here, not a German Hefe, nor the weaker American wheat. The aroma contains some of that roasted character I mentioned earlier. Good head retention and belgian lace, but not nearly the carbonated foam present in it’s German cousin. There is a sweet wheat taste to it but not nearly the clove typical of German yeast strain, so I suspect an American strain of yeast. I was impressed by the craft brewed nature, but frankly I prefer the German version.

Last but certainly not least the George Washington Porter, to quote a certain hoppy brewery. “You won’t like this beer” it has a distinct roast almost chocolaty malt character in the aroma. Hold it up to light, on second thought don’t bother you won’t see anything anyways. In comparison to the Pale Ales and IPAs that dominate the American craft beer scene this is a whole nother animal. Malt dominates and shows it can hold it’s own as a flavor. It demands respect. My biggest complaint is I have run out of it.

Ready for a Malt adventure? Then give this unique 4 pack a try.

Picture of the box

Followup: A review of the pack by the Arizona Republic.

Another review in the Boise Weekly