Funny how your facebook page easily becomes the place you post everything, instead of the blog. Anyhow, here goes half-hearted effort to change that. A link to the most recent Bar Star at The Grid.

This Tuesday *** ONE SHOW ONLY *** Come have a Jamie Kennedy bag lunch and some book learnin' about the history of bars and how democracy probably wouldn't exist without them. Noon at the Gardiner Museum. You can do it en route to the LCBO to pick up some Dictador 12-year old.

There are all sorts of excuses I could give for not updating here. I won't bore you with them. We'll just get back into it, shall we?

Here's a little story about a man I know who finally opened up his own cocktail bar - a widely anticipated event.

Pictured above, the Widow Norton, who is an important character in my book and, obviously, in political rights for gays and lesbians. Sarria ran for office fifty years ago this November - the first openly gay man to ever do so. Here is my brief story of his current effort to preserve and organize his archive in The Atlantic.

A little behind in posting and lots to catch up on. First off, this handsome picture is connected to a Bar Star which came out September 12 - Amos Pudsey of the Keriwa Cafe. I had to take a little time off but will be resuming the Bar Stars column soon. Extremely sorry to have missed Kuypers.

Recently, we had reviews in Alcademics, World of Beer and was mentioned in an article in The Stranger, which covered Art of the Cocktail, which was a really fun conference/festival I had the pleasure of attending in early October.

Between all that and an NPR All Things Considered interview, I seem to have hit Powell's best-seller list, which, I think, makes me famous in Portlandia - something I'm thrilled to no end about, since in my fantasy slacker life, I am going to spend a few months there in the next few years, just catching up on my reading and eating really good food. I seem to think I belong there.

I also love Boston, of course, where some good folks were kind enough to host me back in August. And even after they met me in person, they still recommended my book. And before that all started, there was the National Post. Adam McDowell, always keen with the insight, wrote one of my favorite pieces about the book and me. Okay, enough bragging for now.

Another Bar Star, this time, Jan Ollner from Reposado. Jan likes to play with tequila, a spirit near and dear to my heart. Also, for those interested, a review of Four Kitchens in the Star. And, finally, I want to point you to Winefox, a relatively new website about wines. This, from my Barfly column.

For Bukowski's birthday, we post a quick link to his cameo in Barfly. In addition, I link to a couple of nice reviews of a certain book about a topic close to Bukowski's heart. First, from the Winnipeg Free Press, Tom Oleson's review. It concludes as follows:

America Walks into a Bar is history at its best. It is filled with fascinating detail -- it is hard to find a boring page -- about an important historical phenomenon. One puts it down with a sense of satisfaction and a strong urge for a large glass of flip and bounce and a question: Why can't all history books read like this?

And next, from the Buffalo News, Dan Murphy, author of Nickel City Drafts: A Drinking History of Buffalo, New York. He writes:

“America Walks Into a Bar” isn’t a paean to drinking or a love letter to alcohol. It is an insightful, well-told look inside the unique thing that is the American tavern, and how the tavern has helped change American history. It is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of anyone who appreciates the nuances of American history and an occasional visit to the local watering hole.

Cheers