Show Notes - Week of February 14, 2022

Greetings from another winter week from 53.5° north latitude. I posted an updated on the Gaming section about the gaming campaign settings and rulebooks I have recently received. I also found a great jazz trumpeter that I have really dug into in the past week, finished one book, and had one new beer. So all in all, a pretty quiet week. 

Reading Pile:
​Book #7 of 2022 was "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs, the second book in the "Miss Peregrine's" series. This is another book I read to / with my younger daughter. It was fairly good with some genuinely interesting emotional moments. There was a bit too much teen angst in parts, but the characters were decent, and the premise was novel. We both really liked the ending, which of course means we will read the third novel in the series. So all in all, 3.5 / 5.

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New Music:
Louis. Miles. Chet. Dizzy. Wynton. It does not take much of a jazz fan to recognize those names. All five are - were, I suppose, except for Wynton- amazing trumpeters, taking that simple instrument and doing so much with it. 

When I think of jazz, trumpet is what first comes to mind, and it is definitely my favorite jazz instrument. That was why I was so excited to learn about jazz trumpeter Mat Jodrell. Jodrell's 2018 album "Echoes of Harlem" was recommended as the album of the week on Jazzcord last week. This is a great collection of jazz standards and new compositions. Jodrell's playing is superb and his range is fantastic. Below is a link to the album on Tidal, but his latest album called "Grateful" is only available on Bandcamp. 

New Drinks:
I mentioned last week that I wanted to give the Umbria Gusto Crema a second try since I suspect I had an old bag with drier beans. I ordered the beans on Sunday and they arrived on Tuesday, so I am already digging in on that bag instead of moving back to Ace No. 1. The first few cups have been better with more flavor and a darker color. The crema is not as gusto as I hoped, but I am still learning how to improve my coffee so it might be my technique at this point. I will keep working on it and if I get a good cup, I will post another picture. 

On the beer front, there was just one new beer this week. Beer #866 in the lifetime unique check-ins on Untappd was the Blindman Brewing Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout.

I was very excited when I bought this based on previous beers in the series. This release was good, but mine seemed a little flat. As you can see in the picture, there was very little foam. The flavors and the punchiness from the high ABV did not come through as expected. Like I said, it was good, but not as good as others from Blindman. (3.25 / 5)

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