May 22, 2017
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on The Heart Of It All
We sleep in the smaller bedroom on the second floor, the one just at the end of the staircase. The windows in the room face toward the east, and in the morning, unless the blinds are fully closed, the … Continue reading
March 5, 2017
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on A Winning Bet
“I spent $500 on the fifth horse, in the sixth race. I think his name was Chips Ahoy.” -The Hold Steady Trusty Friend, My father’s childhood home, is located off of Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the MD I-175 exit, where Howard … Continue reading
March 4, 2014
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Lundi Gras
The Japanese girl didn’t speak English, but I kept talking to her, hoping the time would pass. We were sitting at a picnic table inside Igor’s, a bar located on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. I drank there often. … Continue reading
January 7, 2014
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on A King’s Table: Cuban Black Beans
One in an occasional series on adventures in cooking It’s January, a massive cold front blowing down from the arctic, and our fair Charm City is about to endure single digit temperatures. So how bout a big bowl of black beans to … Continue reading
December 30, 2012
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on A Sporting Life: 2012
You’d have to go back to 2001, the year the Ravens won the Superbowl, Baltimore native Hassim Rachman knocked out Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight title and Maryland’s football and basketball built their runs to an Orange Bowl appearance and … Continue reading
September 12, 2012
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Manly Deeds: H.L. Mencken On Drinking
“I drink every known alcoholic drink and I enjoy them all.” However, 1. “Never drink if you got any work to do.” 2. “Never drink alone. That’s the way to become a drunkard.” 3. “Never drink when the sun is … Continue reading
September 14, 2011
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Manly Deeds: Al Remp of Thompson Cigars
Al Remp appears to be a gruff SonofaBitch, in the SNL “Bill Brasky” tradition. Still, he’s a celebrated stogie expert, with a trained ability to know how to smoke them, store them, prep them, buy them and present them. Here, … Continue reading
September 11, 2011
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Man-Acting: G. Hunter’s Summer Film Festival
I did not pick the movies in G. Hunter’s Summer Film Festival for any particular style or theme. They were just on a mental list of films I’ve wanted to watch. One by one, over the course of the last … Continue reading
January 27, 2011
by Geoff Shannon
Comments Off on Manly Deeds: Richard Paterson, The Master Blender
One in an occasional series about doing sophisticated man-shit related to guns, whiskey, cigars, barbershop shaves, guitars and what have you. Whyte & Mackay Master Blender Richard Paterson is devoted to blended whiskey, which, in the single malt circles, is … Continue reading