I've even raped and killed a mountain panda in the hills of Shaanxi.

We Are Scientists - Inaction

Call on the fates, this'll take a second
While I fall on my face, like everyone else
And we can talk all we want, but all I can say is that
"I'm sorry, and I'm sorry, but I'm never gonna do it again"

Counting all my relevant friends
Well this keeps coming up again and again
If everybody knows how it's gonna end
Why doesn't someone stop me?
Because I'm sick of waking up on your floor
For the 6th or 7th night in a row
I'm lying next to you in all of my clothes
Someone stop me!

It's hard to rely on the rhythm section
When they're all packing up
And they're heading for the exit
Yeah we're all about the same
A bunch of slaves to fashion
Who are tall, dark and scared
And just praying for some action

How am I supposed to know what makes this happen?

---

That and "Feel So Sad (Peel Session)" were the two songs I kept playing over and over this morning, but I figured the one above was cheerier.

I read an article a couple weeks ago about how French wines actually are the best sub-$15 value, so I bought a bottle of Bordeaux last week for $10. And it wasn't so bad. So I'm going to keep trying. This time I got a Zolo Malbec, from Argentina. If you've ever been to Argentina, you know that drinking wine with steak dinner is one of the best things about being there. Our goal ended up turning into "how cheap can we go" with the wine. Our last night we had a $3 bottle that sucked, but i mean, for $3 it was decent.

I also have a surprising amount of vodka in my freezer- surprising till I remembered that Reg has been sick since my birthday more or less.

Aleister Crowley, Diary of a Drug Fiend

One of the earliest "drug memoirs." Fictionalized account of Crowley's life, retold in a magnificent Edwardian splendor of verbiage.

A.L. Kennedy, Paradise

A Scottish woman's story of her attempts to quit drinking. Hilarious if painful.

Dashiel Hammet, The Thin Man

Er, another book about an alcoholic. Classic story about a dectectin' couple who investigate a dysfunctional family's patriarch.

Eddie Little, Another Day in Paradise

This one is about junkie safecrackers, and is based on Eddie Little's adolescence. Brutal and poignant.

Rob Thomas, Rats Saw God

I did like a few books that didn't involve drinking or drugs. This one's about a young man's high school clique, his first love, and how it all falls apart. By the creator of Veronica Mars.

Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination

A morality play about a highly immoral man who nearly dies, and tries to find out who is responsible. His quest takes him throughout the solar system and beyond.

Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

Cynical Russian fantasy about the devil coming to Moscow to meet the a woman and her lover, the author of a realistic novel about Jesus.

Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian

Probably the "worst" of these, but one of my favorite vampire tales ever. A young girl follows her father in the hunt for Dracula, all over 60s Europe.

Tim Powers, Declare

One of the most creative explanations for Communist Russia ever.

Finally finished the last of the white wine we got from Wapato last night - there was only about one or two glasses left. I had it with a banana to bring out the "dry" flavor.

Tonight I think I'm going to get some rum, been too long without it. I've been sticking with cider, but the cold weather makes me want a warmer drink.

edit: found a recipe for mulled rum which sounds nice. either that or hot toddies.

I bought Stoli Peachik. I had 5 oz of it. Reg had under 10. I am not sure what happened to the rest.

reminder

The Versinthe La Blanche is a very "clean" absinthe. The flavor is very intense, pure, and unadulterated. Smooth going down, I could easily see people drinking the entire bottle before realizing it.

The Absinthe Clandestine is more to my taste, however, as I'm actually not a huge fan of anise. It has a richer melange of flavors and plays with the palate. Still very drinkable, but more of a savoring absinthe.

In other news, I got a bottle of Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon last night, but Reg was passed out and I couldn't bear the thought of drinking it all by myself. If anyone would like to help, let me know.

reg's absinthe finally arrived!

edit: trying the Bleue, it's pretty amazing.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with office supply stores. Going to them, reading the catalogs... you know that scene in Fight Club in the bathroom? Yeah, about that bad. I'm pretty much over it, if only because the Staples and Office Depots of America are nowhere near as charming as the local outlet stores of my youth were.

I do have a slight IKEA obsession, but it's far enough away that it's hardly a danger. My real problem is Williams Sonoma. Before this I was basically the kind of person who bought all her kitchen gear at Target, but from the first time I stepped into a W&S it was - well, I don't believe in love at first sight with people, but I believe in it for stores. I've had it happen a few more times since - including IKEA - but I still get chills every time I go to Williams Sonoma. Because, well, there are almost no local small kitchen supply shops. I've been to others since but it's just not the same kind of situation. You can find a furniture store anywhere in America that isn't a chain, not so with kitchen supply stores.

A few months ago jette linked to her citrus press, and I've been meaning to get one ever since. Because it's really difficult to make lemon drops or daiquiris just using your hands. Unless you buy nearly-rotten fruit, that is. So I walk in, and kind of linger. I mean you don't want to just go WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM, and I don't even mean just to be polite. I mean that I can in no way walk into this store and just pick up what I want. But eventually I found it, asked the help to get one for me, and that was that.

Except that they have these cocktail mixers in a bottle. And I'm only human. How can I resist the call of Key Lime Mojito?

And that, my friends, is why I'm kicking it with a mojito in hand and you are not.