Snoopy

Snoopy was always my favorite of the ‘Peanut Gang’. Ever since I was a kid, Snoopy was my favorite in the comics (in the Newspaper comic strip section) as well as on the TV movies (No Dogs Allowed, The Great Pumpkin, Peanut’s Christmas, Peanut’s Easter, the one at camp, etc.).

When I was in kindergarten, for the science fair I got a pet mouse and used a rat maze that my Uncle had built and entered the mouse as my science project. Of course – the mouse was named Snoopy. Spoiler alert – I won first prize. And Snoopy ended up living until the summer between my 2nd grade and my 3rd grade. He went from being the “goodest of dogs” on screen to the “goodest of mice” as pets.

There is something just so endearing about the character. He’s always lovable, he’s a wanna be writer, he’s Joe Cool, he’s the Easter Beagle, he’s got a best friend thats a bird (and the whole bird’s family), he’s a perpetual “loyal” friend to Charlie Brown despite not always acting like it, etc.

He’s got a diverse and lovable family of his own that has been explored in the movies and comic strips. He gets the comeuppance on Lucy that she deserves for meddling with Charlie Brown, and of course… he has some killer dance moves.

He can be both cynical and a voice for the viewers / readers, as well as be a downright normal / earthy / regular guy (well… dog). And in that vein of “man’s best friend that also acts like man” (like Brian from Family Guy), he still retains his characteristics of doghood.

So What is the Philosophy of Snoopy?

Well, this book both does and doesn’t show you what that philosophy is. This isn’t a product of deep or intense thought, this isn’t a philosophical treatise. But it is an encapsulation of comic strips that show what Snoopy is, why Snoopy is, etc.

So there’s no clear cut answer as to what the Philosophy of Snoopy really is; not so far as is told to us. But we can read and gather it, we can look and read the comic strips, and see how the character of Snoopy acts and behaves, and we can create our own understanding of his philosophy.

And the word philosophy here is being used a bit lightly. Its not like Nietzsche’s philosophy or Aristotle’s philosophy or Spinoza’s philosophy or Camus’ philosophy. Its a philosophy of life (through the fictional character of a dog). Its a philosophy in the way that he lives / acts / interacts with the rest of the Peanut’s Gang.

The Book of Snoopy

The book itself is rather short, its not counted, but its roughly 80 or so pages of comic strips per page (some lightly colored, some not). (GoodReads lists it as 80 pages, so that was a good guess on my part.) The GoodReads blurb reads:

“The world’s most beloved beagle shares his philosophy on life in this beautifully produced gift book for all generations.

In his inimitable style, Snoopy spends his days extolling the virtues of dancing, hanging out with his best bird friend Woodstock, pursuing a full supper dish, and giving his owner — our favorite lovable loser, Charlie Brown — the run-around.

For the millions of faithful Charles Schulz fans, and those who fondly remember the joyful dog with the wild imagination, this is the second in a new series to cherish that will see the beguiling Peanuts gang share their sentiments on everything from food to friendship.”

The Philosophy of Snoopy – GoodReads

Its obviously a quick, cute, fun read. Its not meant to be truly deep or revelatory or life changing. But its supposed to be a fun little afternoon time kill, an uplifting, humorous book, that lets you see life through a series of Snoopy centric comic strips.

It does exactly what it sets out to do, and thats provide a fun diversion to what our lives are. Rush rush rush. Work work work. This lets you sit down, enjoy who and what Snoopy is, and get some laughs out of you all at the same time. Its a beautiful aesthetic book, hardcover but not big, and ends on the two best comic strips to sum things up – especially in a book.

(Spoiler alert for the last two comic strips.)

(Don’t read the next paragraph if you don’t want to be spoiled.)

The penultimate strip is Peppermint Patty asking Snoopy what the secret to living is, and in the next panel its Snoopy giving her a kiss. This is followed up with the ultimate strip of the book which shows Lucy sitting on the floor with an open book in her lap and Snoopy walking by, saying: “Books aren’t everything.” With Lucy having a bit of a stupefied look on her face.

Maybe this sums up life. It seems to for Snoopy, and for his creator – Charles M. Schulz; whose creations are still inspiring the world and bringing love and laughter to the world, years and years after he died and decades after his works were created.

My GoodReads Rating: ****
Global GoodReads Rating: 4.33
My LibraryThing Rating: ****.5

Thanks For Reading

As always everyone, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this book review, be sure to visit some other recent book reviews here:

• Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)
• Book Review: Words You Should Know to Sound Smart – 1200 Words (Robert W. Bly)
• Book Review: On Bullshit (Harry G. Frankfurt)
• Book Review: Free Will (Sam Harris)
• Book Review: Free Will Explained (Dan Barker)

November keeps on rolling, and we’re still pumping out the daily (and sometimes multiple articles in the same day) articles. So be sure to keep coming back and checking in with us to see whats new and happening.

Tonight is the Autos and Ales in Hershey, hopefully I’ll see some of you out there. I’ll be in my Boneshire Brew Works hoodie, so say ‘hi’ if you see me.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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Had to go back and revisit this beauty last night with this being ‘stout season’ and what all… despite how nice and warm its been. But anyway, this has been one I’ve been meaning to review for a while, since I finally got my hands on a four pack of it back around August I believe. I’ve left one in the fridge for a nice night to drink and do up a review, and that is exactly what I got for you here.

This is one of many (many) nerdy or pop culture beers I’ve done. Yesterday I listed some in my review for Super Villain. So we can add this to that growing list of beers.

As I said yesterday: “Nerd culture definitely speaks to me. Look at my numerous beer reviews on here that are Star Wars themed, or video game themed, or some TV show themed. Jon Voight’s Car, Out of Order – Blue Milk, Moon of Vega, This is the Way, This is Nut The Fluff You’re Looking For, etc. You can see Josh also is very fond of nerd culture / pop culture and beers clashing with his latest review – Terpenes in Time.”

So instead of lamenting, and worrying about the election results and letting anxiety run amok, and with The Mandalorian episode two (of season two) coming out tomorrow, and since today is International Stout Day, why not do a fun, Star Wars themed stout for today’s blog and beer review.

After taking my dog (Leela) for a walk, which I did as a way of pausing my work on this review – because I’m the ultimate procrastinator, it was such a beautiful day that I had to sit out and do some day drinking.

So I ended up having a fantastic IPA from Stickman Brews – The Growfather (gotta love a Godfather beer / hop pun) (don’t worry, this will be a review soon), and then I took down the hops finally. Then I decided to finish the last of my Wookie Monster stouts.

So what should have been done around 12 – noon – is now only getting finished up at 5PM, and before I head over to Drew’s to do tonight’s stream.

Which I also picked out the stouts for tonight’s stream, since it’s International Stout Day, I decided we’d have nothing but stouts for the stream.

Well, minus the Wookie Monster…. since I drank that now. Which, speaking of that, lets get to this review and finish up today’s post!

Beer: Wookie Monster
Brewery: Fourscore Beer Co
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 9%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Brewed with malted oats, chit malt, flaked oats and Maris otter base with a variety of specialty malts. Conditioned on over 100 lbs of Oreo cookies, along with organic cacao nibs and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans along with milk sugar. Medium bodied to restrain the sweetness, but still full enough to satisfy. Liquid Oreo cookies in a glass with a “managable” abv!

I’ll lean on an old favorite saying for the appearance – its black; as black as Razor Ramon’s hair. (Not Scott Hall’s hair; Razor Ramon’s.) This is the epitome of black, like those materials that block all light and absorb it, like black holes, its a silk, smooth looking black, with a very thin head to it, the head was off white cream to slight brown. Small head but with dispersed bubbles.

Nose to this is extreme Oreo chocolate / fudge chocolate smell. The cacao nibs really makes the Oreo cookie smell pop. There is some sweetness to this, like the white cream filling, you get vanilla from the beans, Oreo cream, and the milk sugar. It ends with a hint of the bourbon but so faint, like its drifting on the wind. The chocolate is the most overwhelming aroma to this.

Then we get to taste….. and ohmergerrrrdddd this is amazing. “Amazeballs” as the cool hip kids that I hang out with say…. But in all serious, this is one hundred and thirty eight percent delicious. If you like chocolate and you like dark heavy stouts, then this is everything you could ask for. Immediately on the first sip you get blasted with the heavy chocolate coming from the cocoa nibs and Oreo cookies. Heavy. Strong. Blam. Right out the gate, no waiting for it. Then as you sip you get in that smoothness, that silkiness, that gentle relaxing creaminess that comes from the vanilla cream part of the Oreos, from the Madagascar vanilla beans, and from the milk sugar. But, right at the end, it has a little bit of a kick of bourbon, enough to make this feel boozier, to taste boozier, to lend this like a very rich dark backbone to an already amazing brew. This feels heavier and denser and richer and boozier than its 9% belies, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I really think the 9% “manageable ABV” is tucked away and hidden because the beer feels more like a 11-12%. Its definitely not one to pound or chugg or shotgun or crush a four pack of. But that takes nothing away from how amazing this beer is. The flavors all work together so perfectly well, and its so rich and creamy that it goes down very smooth, its just so dense and heavy that you’ll fill full from drinking one. The chocolate and the vanilla combine perfectly in this, just like they do in real Oreos, that its so fantastically done. Hopefully this will be brewed again because this is downright phenomenal.

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.15 (as of 11.5.20)

Now remember everyone, Chewbacca is a Wookie, and he is 8 feet tall, but he does *NOT* live on Endor with 3 foot tall Ewoks. Wookies are from Kashyyyk and live there, (or out in the galaxy) not on Endor with the Ewoks.

Wookiepedia: “Wookiees were a species of tall, hairy humanoids that were native to the planet Kashyyyk. The most notable member of this species was the warrior Chewbacca, Han Solo‘s best friend and co-pilot, who played a vital role in the Clone Wars during the defense of Kashyyyk, the Galactic Civil War by aiding the Rebel Alliance in their fight against the Galactic Empire, and the war against the First Order. They were quite strong, and were known to rip people’s arms out of their sockets when provoked. Though being from a temperate planet better known for its swamps and forests, they were able to be comfortable on icy worlds such as Ilum and Hoth without any protective clothing, including gloves and boots.” (Source: Wookies article on Wookiepedia.)

Also, Happy Guy Fawkes Day.

“Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d (or by God’s mercy*)
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!”
(Wikipedia – Gunpowder Plot.)

Also, of course, Happy International Stout Day. Hopefully everyone has some good stouts lined up to drink today / tonight. (And well, every day and night, because lets be honest, its always Stout Season and Stout Day.)

Make sure to check us – myself, Rory, and Drew – on the Knights of Nostalgia page as we play The Last of Us tonight and drink some very excellent stouts. One of which is the Peanut Butter Udder One, that I have done a review of before.

Also, be sure to check out some of our other beer reviews in recent history:

• Beer Review: Dreams of Orgonon (Human Robot)
• Beer Review: Unicorns Stomping on Lanternflies (Saucony Creek Brewing Co)
• Beer Review: Griddle (Funk Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Up the Creek Extreme Ale (Thomas Creek Brewery)
• Beer Review: Hershey’s Chocolate Porter (Yuengling Brewery)
• Beer Review: Dropout (Rubber Soul Brewing)
• Beer Review: Pigtoberfest (Boneshire Brew Works)
• Beer Review: I Voted Today (Tired Hands)
• Beer Review: Super Villain (Urban Village Brewing Company)

You can check out the tabs at the top of each page to visit our BEER REVIEWS, BEER EDUCATION, TRAVELOGUES, etc. Be sure to check out all the latest beer reviews, as we’re pumping a lot out in recent time.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. We just hit 900+ followers on Facebook, so that’s super exciting, and hopefully that will continue to grow! Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Finally…. finally… must I say it again? Finally! I got to try this amazing and delicious beer. And it is completely all the hype that there is about it, and it lives up to it and then some. This is just an incredible beer that drank down so fast, I probably could have ordered four or five before realizing it (or realizing where I was, or the ABV, or cost), because this was that easy of a drink to quaff down and the booze on this is so subtle and barely perceptible – until it hits you square across the face after your done drinking it!

I’ve been wanting to check out the Gin Mill in Lebanon for a while, and been receiving Untappd notifications about them as a verified venue, and getting Facebook alerts on them and stuff, and seeing that they get a pretty good lineup going, I finally made the drive after work to get there. It was very worth it. Foreign Objects, LIC Beer Project, Dewey Beach Beer, Toppling Goliath, with Rotunda Brewing, Pipeworks, and more Dewey on their on-deck, I would definitely say they know craft beer and know quality beer. They had a range of stouts / porters with two on Nitro, some middle of the road IPAs / lower quality craft beers, as well as the heavy hitter hops and sours. The place is part dive bar, part good food restaurant, and they were well busy on a Monday night at 730-845 when I left. I got three beers while there – King Sue (Toppling Goliath), Intergalactic Warrior (Toppling Goliath), and Key Lime & Tangerine (Dewey Beer); and all three were fantastic. So lets start with the first one – King Sue and break her down.

Beer: King Sue
Brewery: Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – Double / New England
ABV: 7.8%
IBU: 100
Untappd Write-Up: This lusciously hazy double IPA gains its hints of mango, orange, and pineapple from the use of the delicious Citra hop.

While that looks like a crazy amount of IBU; it hides it all, there is practically no bitterness to this, just a slight dryness. Its all juice, its all delicious, and it is definitely “luscious”.

Excuse the pictures a bit, their dark, and the bar area of the Gin Mill was dark, so not wanting to be a disturbance or the weirdo at the bar I chose not to use the flash, and so the pictures came out a bit dark, but I still think they show how beautiful this beer is. And it is certainly a beautiful beer. The color of orange juice, with a haze and an opaqueness with no sediment. It has a great head with lots of foam, lots of carbonation, that is overflowing the draft pour.

The aroma is fantastic as well, very hoppy, very juicy hoppy, you get bright powerful notes of the fruity hops, mango, orange, citrus, pineapple, it all hits you and it hits you powerfully. Even in a full bar with lots of other beers, foods, people around, I got the whiff of the fruity hops as soon as my bartender sat it down in front of me. Its like a sucker punch from a fruit cocktail with hops right at your nose.

…and then you get to the taste. You wouldn’t even know this was a beer, or alcohol. Its straight juice. Like GOOD juice. Like Sunny D when you were a kid and you came inside from playing with your Tonka Trucks on a dirt pile. This is immediately wonderful. There is no bad things to even say about this. You get all the citrus notes, you get multiple fruity hop notes, you get orange, mango, pineapple, citrus, you get hop, you get juice, all in a fantastic wonderful dance in your mouth. There is a slight dryness to it, but with how juicy it is, its basically cancelled out. Even saying it sounds oxymoronic, but it is there, its probably from the 100 IBU or the yeast strain. But there is this slight dryness at the same time as its so juicy. This goes down so smoothly, so easily. Nothing cloying, nothing too heavy, just the right mouthfeel. You don’t taste or feel the 7.8% ABV until its finished and you go to order your next. I could see a four pack or six pack of this being very problematic on a hot summer day when I’m supposed to be getting chores done. (…in so far as this would mean zero chores would be getting done.)

I cannot recommend this enough. In fact, all three beers I had last night at the Gin Mill; King Sue, Intergalactic Warrior, and Key Lime & Tangerine; were all fantastic. All highly recommended. I’ve had four different beers from Toppling Goliath so far and cannot say enough good things about them. (King Sue and Intergalactic Warrior last night, and Pseudo Sue before as well as a hop variant of Pseudo Sue from Tavour.)

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.42 (as of 11.5.19)

November is rolling on, and I’m keeping pace so far. Getting a mile walk/run per day. Having (at least) one new beer each day. And getting one new blog post per day. So five days in and so far five days good. Only thing I didn’t keep up was on the 2nd I only 8.8K steps rather than my goal of 10K steps per day (but I think the first made up for it with 21K steps). So here’s to the next 25 days going as smoothly as the first 5!

Cheers everyone!

-B. Kline