Beer, Books, and Blogs Meet at the Seaport

Way back in 2009 (OK, I guess it wasn't that long ago), three beer-loving New Yorkers decided that craft breweries could use a little help getting their products into the pints of punters across the five boroughs. With that goal in mind, they founded the Good Beer Seal, a convivial group committed to "identifying bars that serve quality craft beer and demonstrate a commitment to the community in which they do business." After defining their mission and creating a snazzy logo, the trio next took the ambitious step of petitioning the city to declare July "Good Beer Month." As it turned out, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was persuaded by their well-written letter, and earlier this summer, offered what has now become an annual proclamation in the Big Apple.

Craft beer has gained thousands of friends in the years since the first Good Beer Month, and the organization now counts more than 40 participating bars in New York City. There's even talk of expanding to Long Island. They also host a number of events, including this week's Beer Book, Blog, and Video Fest at the South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan. For $15 (or $10 for museum members) you'll get admission to the festival, two hours of beer samples, and food from Coach Farm Cheese, Sigmund's Pretzels, Jimmy's No. 43, and more. I'll be there along with authors and bloggers like John Holl, Christian DeBenedetti, Joshua Bernstein, John Kleinchester, and Niko Krommydas.

Win a "Best of Travel" Blu-ray Plus Combo Pack

Help me get to 200 Twitter followers (I know, I know, not exactly a staggering number) and you could win the Australia & New Zealand episode of "Best of Travel," hosted by Rudy Maxa, public radio's original Savvy Traveler. Sign up to receive tweets from @WhereandBack and if you're my 200th follower, I'll DM you for an address and drop the Combo Pack in the mail.

The Banjo Strikes Again

Last April I blogged about the documentary featuring Béla Fleck entitled Throw Down Your Heart. I'm not a film critic, so I won't comment on its cinematic merits, but I did find the soundtrack to be a moving tribute to the banjo, an instrument Mr. Fleck has devoted his music career to. Apparently, the Grammy judges also liked the album. He walked away with two awards last weekend: Best Contemporary World Music Album and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

The recording that resulted from his trip to Africa doesn't sound like pop to my ears, but it does include examples of tremendous ability performed by people who in all likelihood, have never before released their music in physical or digital form. Track down a copy of it and listen for yourself. I'm sure you'll discover a song or an instrumental phrase, captured live, thousands of miles from your speakers, that you'll want to hear again. And again.

For me "Jesus Is the Only Answer" packs a wallop the way few songs do. When the singers' voices rise in unison during the refrain, their joy lifts me up; it sounds supremely hopeful. But my happiness is fleeting. There's a sadness hiding behind the lyrics, and when the music stops, I feel like my heart could too.

July, August, and Winter

According to the second episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea, that's how the first U.S. soldiers charged with protecting Yellowstone described its seasons. Apparently patrolling two million acres of northwestern Wyoming during the coldest months of the year wasn't exactly a plum assignment. But chasing poachers through waist deep snow probably wouldn't delight many people, then or now.

Thanks to Ken Burns and the recession, the parks have seen their popularity grow dramatically in 2009. The AP recently reported that nationwide attendance is actually at a ten-year high and may well set a new record. While I did some camping and hiking in Zion and Bryce Canyon (pictured) last summer, I've only managed to visit a national recreation area and America's first national scenic trail so far this year. Fortunately, I still have three months to explore another corner of our country's remarkable natural landscape. I'm thinking it might be best to go somewhere before the weather gets too frosty however.

The Original Banjo

This time last year I was convinced I could teach myself to play the banjo. I had a brand new instrument (a 22 fret Dean Backwoods 3), a fair amount of dexterity, and several musician friends who were willing to learn some old-timey cover songs. Then I broke a finger. I'm not particularly proud of my progress since, and quite honestly, I've lacked inspiration. It turns out that a film recommendation from a friend was all I really needed.

Currently touring small theaters in the US and Canada, Throw Down Your Heart is a feature documentary that follows acclaimed performer and recording artist Béla Fleck through Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali as he seeks to learn something about his chosen instrument's continent of origin. Speaking with NPR at one point, he explains his motivation for making the five week trek around Africa: "I thought it was important for people to realize where the banjo comes from because it's been associated so much with a white Southern stereotype. A lot of people in the United States don't realize that the banjo is an African instrument."

I wish the director, Sascha Paladino, had included an interview with a musicologist, or perhaps just delved deeper into the folk history of the ngoni or the akonting (both thought to be closely related to a chordophone more familiar to American ears), and I could quibble over some of the edits, but taken as a whole, Throw Down Your Heart is a joyous and poignant film crammed with incredible musical collaborations. It's absolutely worth seeing on a big screen now, or at home this fall once the DVD is released. As for my inspiration, I walked out of the IFC Center on Sunday night with conflicting desires: should I research airfare to Dar es Salaam, order a copy of The Zawose Family's debut album, or simply go home and tune my banjo?
Photo of Béla Fleck © Argot Pictures 2008. All rights reserved.