RonLisy

Dan Freeman, aka Bar Man, is one of 2005's most unlikely cult celebrities.

The retired computer consultant began a strange and sometimes blurry journey a year ago Sunday by lifting a Dewars and soda on New Year's Day at Big Mike's Pelham Grille outside New York City.

What followed was a Newcastle Brown Ale, another scotch and soda and at least one drink at each of 999 other bars, culminating Friday night at bar No. 1,000 -- Pioneer Bar in the Bowery.

Freeman wasn't on some colossal drunken bender.

The well-traveled 61-year-old New York Jets fan was instead on a well-planned, self-indulgent mission, carefully documenting an urban safari through dark corner bars and glitzy hipster hangouts, posting his notes and photographs on a Web site:

www.thousandbars.blogspot.com.

"When I started doing it, it was for my own edification," Freeman said Friday from his Brooklyn home.

"It really caught me by surprise how many people were reading the blog."

By bar No. 998, more than 200,000 people had logged on, many e-mailing Freeman kudos and encouragement and a few meeting up with him in person to snap photos at watering holes from Barcelona to Mexico.

One Florida man even sent a bouquet of flowers to Freeman's wife, Yum Chin - referred to only as "the mysterious Chinese woman" on Freeman's Web site.

Freeman said Chin doesn't like him to talk about potential future challenges, but when asked, he conceded that 2007 might be the year of 1,000 different beers.

"It sounds like a lot, but it would be a lot easier," said Freeman, who relied mostly on public transportation to visit the bars.

On Friday afternoon, as he prepared to head out to his final destination, Freeman considered what he might order.

At first, he leaned toward toasting with a flute of champagne, but only if Pioneer Bar sold it by the glass.

Then Freeman paused and wondered aloud if a shot and a beer might be a more appropriate libation considering the kind of year he's had.

# posted by RonL @ 1:29 AM 0 comments