Music Monday: Stand By Me

This weekend, my youngest daughter and I attended Comiccon, Ottawa's popular pop-culture event, where folks can meet some of their sci-fi, action, and comic-book heros—and where many people dress up as their favourite heroes. It was the first time that I've been to such an event, not counting the Star Trek convention that I attended in my early 20s.

Indeed, there were several Star Trek favourites at Comiccon, including Johnathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), Marina Sirtis (Councillor Deanna Troi), and Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura).

Wil Wheaton was also there, though these days he's more famous for being himself than he was for being Wesley Crusher.

I didn't see any of my Star Trek icons this weekend—we were there for my daughter, and she was only interested in seeing Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler on Doctor Who. She has been clinging to the photo of her and Ms. Piper ever since.

My daughter did express an interest in seeing Wil Wheaton, but we never did. I did, however, get a chance to try The Clocktower Pub's tribute wheat ale, Hefe Wheaton, which was quite delicious, but we didn't see Mr. Wheaton himself (though, he was in the next partition, taking photos with fans, while we lined up for photos with Billie Piper).

My daughter asked me if she could see the movie that shot Wil Wheaton to stardom, the 1986 film, "Stand By Me." Sure, I said: we'd look for it on Netflicks, perhaps watch it this weekend. The next day, as we were shopping in the Glebe, fortune had it that we saw the DVD of the film in a rummage bin. Five dollars.

I had forgotten how good Wil Wheaton was in that movie. He and River Phoenix made that film unforgettable. And my daughter absolutely loved it.

I wish we had taken the time to meet with Wil Wheaton, so that we could have told him how good he was.

Of course, listening to the closing music of the film reminded me of the passing of singer, Ben E. King. The power of his voice and the sweet melody make the song, "Stand By Me," as unforgettable as the film itself.

And so, seeing how my weekend tied itself together in such a way, with my daughter taking me to Comiccon, drinking the beer named after Wil Wheaton, who attended the show, finding a copy of the film that made him a success, listening to the song by the artist we just lost, I couldn't help but share the song for Music Monday.

Enjoy.



Happy Monday!

Oh, Wil, what have they done to you?

Almost the End of May-Bock

As we prepare to say goodbye to the end of May and the end of spring, there is one more thing we must prepare to say farewell to, and that is the seasonal beer, maibock.

Almost, but not quite yet.

Earlier this month (actually, it was at the end of April), I went to Ottawa's Kichesippi Beer Company to try their seasonal beer, Maibock, which was brewed in limited quantities and is only available at select pubs and restaurants in Ottawa for the month of May. If you haven't tried that one, I'd find out who still offers it and get yourself some.

I've since also tried Mill Street's offering, its Helles Bock, which is not a seasonal and is available year-round. But I don't think you can get it at the LCBO (at least, I couldn't find it through the liquor board's Web search).

Another local maibock that is available for a limited time and in limited locations is Ottawa's own Clocktower Brew Pub's Maybock. And when I say limited, I mean limited.

Maybock

Clocktower Brew Pub, Ottawa ON

$5.97, 20 fl oz; 5.5 ABV

The Clocktower Maybock (spelled so that it's easier to pronounce?) displays a crystal-clear, deep amber colour with a beige-white, creamy head. On the nose, I detected an orange-citrus scent; when I breathed in deeply, I imagined hints of lime that tickled deep within my nostrils. The bouquet was clean and refreshing.

This is a light bock, at 5.5 percent alcohol. So, in the mouth, this maibock was light and refreshing. The mild hops cleansed my palate and left a slight nutty finish. This is a great patio-weather bock.

Unfortunately, it's not around for long. And unfortunately again, it's only available at four locations in Ottawa: The Clocktower on Bank (where they brew the stuff), the Byward Market, in New Edinburgh, and in Westboro (where I had mine). And Maybock is only around for a couple more weeks, until Westfest wraps up.

So enjoy it while you can. Time's running out at the Clocktower.