SeeingEyeBlog

My next film, Broken Windows, is an ensemble piece with a really great cast. We will begin shooting on April 16th, but I really can’t wait. I think it’s going to be a great film–the kind of project that really reminds me why I love filmmaking.

The film’s IMDB page has a list of the cast, except for Larisa Oleynik, who has just recently been cast as our lead.

I’m also excited because I have a batch of Trappist-style ale that is currently bottle conditioning after being brewed and fermented a while back. At around 8% ABV it should be a welcome addition to the wrap party festivities that will occur roughly a month and a half from now.

Last November, when I went to North Carolina to work on a film, the locals told me about a non-indigeonous weed that was imported from Japan, called Kudzu. Apparently it grows extremely fast and has caused a huge ecological problem in the South. It spreads like the plague, growing up to 18 inches a day, and uses so much water that it kills all the plants near it. The entire landscape is being gradually infested by this zombie-like weed that just won’t die.

Because it’s an eyesore, it should be removed. Because it’s changing the landscape of our heartland, it should be removed. Because it can be fermented into ethanol, it can finally realize its potential–powering our ever-growing fleet of ethanol vehicles. And if someone were so inclined, they could make a big mint by mass-fermenting kudzu for ethanol fuel. I’m sure if some initial capital were invested, the revenues from the ethanol would start to pay for the removal and restoration of the affected landscape.

I started brewing last year, and concocted two very different but equally tasty batches of ale over the second half of 2005. My first batch was a rich, dark, 8.5% ABV Belgian-style ale which I would love to recreate. (I was trying to emulate my favorite beer, Chimay Grand Reserve.) The second was a golden brown hefeweisse style beer, with ten times the flavor of anything off the shelf.

I guess I was lucky that my first two batches were actually drinkable. But I’m so meticulous in my hobbies that I knew they’d be good. I had no idea they’d be excellent. So for me, the only drawback to home brewing is that I can only brew five gallons at a time without spending a fortune in gear. So now I’m sitting here with my last bottle of 2005-vintage wheat beer.

It’s time to clean the fermenter and boil up some more happy juice.