text: On this week’s episode, we traveled to the Berlin, Maryland home of Domestic Goddess Natalie DeHart, to talk about holiday parties. Rather than conduct a straight interview, Todd and I quizzed Natalie, throwing some situational last minute party situations at her and seeking her response.
  Some of our scenario-related questions were:
  What do you do when you’ve discovered you forgot a party commitment? How about when your brunch turns into a dinner and then into an after party? How should you conduct yourself around free corporate food and drink?
  If you’re still on the fence for the coming weekend, consider swinging by the Globe in Berlin to catch Bill Kirchen, who is something of a rock legend. He was a founding member of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, most famous for their version of “Hot Rod Lincoln.”
  Todd reported on the most recent Gentleman’s Club event, held mostly at Pickles during the Bond and Bentley show. Some of the highlight quotes from the ensuing discussion:
  “If you’re in Ocean City and you’re wearing a suit and no one’s being buried, you stand out.”
  “We don’t know what [Todd’s] going to do, but when he doest it, we’re not surprised.”
  “That’s not a photo bomb, that’s a minor hostage situation…”
  This last was in reference to our discussion of going dark. I recently had spent the weekend away and was offline for the better part of the week. Todd explained (with examples) how photobombing can be a great alternative to taking your own photos.
  The DeHarts and the rest of the GoodCleanFunLife folks have taken to flash-mobbing Berlin. They don’t do coordinated dances (yet) but have taken to organizing and executing events without fanfare or, really, permission. Not too long ago they played a kind of game of hide and seek around town. This week they will hold a Jazz Funeral for Natalie’s 30s. The procession will be quite literally wonderful, so keep an eye out for it in the coming days.
  This week, because I love the sound of my own voice, I will kick off a homebrew podcast called Beer with Strangers. Subscription info will be forthcoming here but, if you’d like, you also can follow along at my alternate blog site State of the Beer.