My name is Alan Brody and I live in a van down by the river...

OK, I don't live in a van. But I do live close to a river. Well, it's more like a stream. Close enough.

Putting my homage to Matt Foley/the late Chris Farley aside, this is my introduction to the millions of readers that will no doubt gravitate to this site. I'm just that popular.

So what's this blog all about? Well, me, of course. And there's so much to tell. Just kidding. I lead a pretty blase life. I'm married to a wonderful wife, Jenn, who is a fourth-grade teacher in Silver Spring. We live in Columbia, Maryland with the most adorable cat in the world, Chase, who is named after Philadelphia Phillies 2B Chase Utley.

I am a State House Correspondent for the Gazette of Politics and Business, where I have been covering Maryland politics since 2005.

So what can you, my loyal readers, expect to find here? The idea is to blog about my passions, which include a variety of things that have no connection to each other whatsoever: Philadelphia's professional sports teams and University of Maryland athletics, grilling, touring breweries, classic rock, poker and a hodgepodge of other things that I'll write about as situations arise and the desire to write about them strikes.

So hop aboard and enjoy the ride. You might even find yourself strangely addicted. Or ridiculously bored. But hopefully somewhere in between.