In “real life”, Amis was a no-nonsense drinker with little inclination to waste a good barman’s time with fussy instructions. However, there was an exception which I think I can diagnose in restrospect, and it is related to his strong admiration for the novels of Ian Fleming. What is James Bond really doing when he specifies the kind of martini he wants and how he wants it? He is telling the barman (or bartender if you must) that he knows what he is talking about and is not to be messed around. I learned the same lesson when I was a restaurant and bar critic for the City Paper in Washington, D.C. Having long been annoyed by people who called knowingly for, say, “a Dewar’s and water” instead of a scotch and water, I decided to ask a trusted barman what I got if I didn’t specify a brand or label. The answer was a confidential jerk of the thumb in the direction of a villainous-looking tartan-shaded jar under the bar. The situation was even grimmer with gin and vodka and became abysmal with “white wine”, a thing I still can’t bear to hear being ordered. If you don’t state a clear preference, then your drink is like a bad game of poker or a hasty drug transaction: It is whatever the dealer says it is. Please do try to bear this in mind.
Christopher Hitchens, “The Muse of Booze”, Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis, 2008
November 13, 2010
QotD: Drinker’s lesson
Sidney Rice to play tomorrow against Chicago Bears
According to Bleacher Report, Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice will play in tomorrow’s game against Chicago:
Sidney declined hip surgery this offseason, despite several doctors strongly recommending he undergo the procedure. As it turns out, this was a foolish decision on Rice’s part.
Had he undergone the surgery in April, Rice would have been fully healthy when Week 1 rolled around against the New Orleans Saints.
With that said, the past cannot be changed, but it’s a wonder as to how much better the Vikings would be if they had Favre’s favorite target on the field.
Had Rice been playing on a weekly basis, Minnesota would’ve never made the acquisition to bring Randy Moss back to the team who drafted him in 1998.
Minnesota also would still have their third-round-pick in 2011.
While I can’t blame him for not wanting to undergo a surgical procedure if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, the decision certainly had deep repercussions for his team. It’s not Rice’s fault that all this happened — there’s no guarantee that the team’s record would have been any better if he’d been on the field from the start — but it’s indisputable that him not being available had a domino effect.
Update, 14 November: No, the Vikings didn’t place Rice on their active roster, so he won’t play in today’s game.
Train movies, and movies with trains
Donald Liebenson at Armchair Commentary has a large (but probably not complete) list of films about or featuring trains:
“Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance,” Paul Simon sings, “Everybody thinks it’s true.” There’s nothing truer. Nothing pierces the heart like a lonesome train whistle. Nothing holds the promise of mystery, romance, and adventure like a train bound for somewhere. That thundering locomotive in the kick-ass trailer for Unstoppable looks like it’s bound for trouble. While waiting to see if Denzel Washington and Chris Pine can avert disasters in their path, let’s take a scenic journey aboard some of the most memorable movies in which trains played scene-stealing roles. (The Polar Express is not on this list. Those dead-eyed children give me the creeps).
H/T to Jeff Shultz for the link.
Fly Lutheran Airlines, you betcha!
H/T to Jason Ciastko and John McCluskey for the link.
Some music just doesn’t belong in commercials
By way of @muskrat_john (John Kovalic), who wrote “Love the Pogues. Love my Subaru Forrester. Saw Forrester commercial use Pogues song. Surprisingly, I died a little inside.”:
