Nogs and Toddys

Holiday Nog

I like my holiday nog "to taste." That means you are going "to taste" the dooky. The ratio I prefer is about 1 oz brandy to 4 oz of nog.

A major debate every time I mix a nog is, "rum or brandy?" And the debate has been settled via thorough experimentation with the answer "both." You'd think that a hearty dark rum like Gosling's (the ultimate sipping rum) would be ideal for mixing in a rich drink like nog, but it doesn't work out as well as others. For some reason a lighter rum seems better. For brandy, I prefer Spanish brandy, but the nazis at the liquor control board have seen fit to import Mexican instead. So, El Presidente brandy works just fine. However, I recently discovered a great product called Laird's Apple Jack, which is apple brandy. It imparts just a hint of fruitiness to the drink.

I read somewhere that the British used to add wine to their nog, which at first sounded rather disgusting, but if brandy works, and brandy is simply fortified wine, then why not? I found that floating a bit of wine on the top of the nog imparts a slight bouquet that offsets the nog's heaviness.

8 oz Egg Nog
1 oz Mount Gay Silver Eclipse (white rum)
1 oz Laird's Apple Jack (apple brandy)
1/4 oz (teaspoon) red wine or port

Pour the Egg Nog into a large glass (pint glass works well) and stir in measures of rum and brandy with a fork. Stirring in prevents curdling the nog. Pour mixture into two goblets or cups. Use a teaspoon to float the wine on top of each glass, then stir just the surface with the tines of a fork, to make a swirl pattern with the wine. Makes two small cups of 5 oz each.


Irish Toddy

This is the traditional toddy I mix for Nadine when she's sick. Here's the Rx:

1 oz Jameson's Irish Whiskey
1 heaping tablespoon of sugar
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
8 oz boiling water

Pour the sugar and lemon juice into a mug, and stir into a slurry. Add boiling hot water to this and stir, then add the Jameson's last.

The Mother Lode of Sublime Noise

If you don't already know about The Internet Archive, you should give it a visit. Disarmingly generically named, it has a little bit of everything: electronic texts (eBooks), audio, and videos. They even have a collection of classic intermission shorts. As one reviewer commented, "For those who get this kind of stuff, this is pretty much the ultimate."

I discovered it because it was the only site where I could download a certain song I'd heard on Internet radio--namely "Mum's Snow Day" by Jenglander, and though it's difficult to categorize, it's probably best described as Electronica. Not only did I find Jenglander, but also Mikronesia and Mimi Majick. Mikronesia produces remarkable sound textures that has no discernible melody or beat, but taken as a whole nevertheless scans as a vague music. (The songs I liked most are "Air Curves Vicious," "Gate," "Moke Cene," and "Savage Bees.") The Mimi Majick Utilities are noteworthy short pieces representing that rarest of things, experimental art that actually works.

So I've been exploring The Internet Archive to find more music in the Chill or Electronica genres. I will keep my Gentle Readers apprised of any new discoveries in this veritable Mother Lode of sublime noise.

Greetings, I have painted myself to match your shower curtain

In case you ever thought of painting yourself to match your surroundings in order to become invisible, then taking a picture of yourself to prove just how invisible you are, meet Liu Bolin, Invisible Man.

The brilliance of Liu's technique is that it is the only known invisibility technique that does not require you to be naked. And for that very same reason it is my least favorite.

Let's Buy Iceland

It seems that the European Union has declined to guarantee accounts in Iceland's ailing banks. While Iceland is not a member of the European Union, it does belong to the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA), which provides for a private guarantee fund in each member state assuring a minimum compensation of €20.000 (approximately $29,000) for each depositor account.

Since Europe has experienced a credit crisis similar to our own, the member states, in particular Britain and The Netherlands, have problems of their own and have left Iceland out in the cold, so to speak. The full story is reported in this article:

Iceland Is Sacrificed to Save EU: Shame on Britain and Holland

As our government contemplates raising the debt ceiling to One Gajillion Dollars, I would like to put forward a stimulating proposal: that the US simply buy Iceland. With such a credit limit on the national credit card, we could, in addition to buying up controlling shares in several auto manufacturers, mortgage banks, and insurance companies, certainly afford a small republic here and there. We could offer something like $160 billion (10 times Iceland's GDP). Or more. After all, the more we spend, the more stimulating the effect. Much like a strip club, but let us not vulgarly digress.

Iceland could opt to become an autonomous unincorporated territory like Puerto Rico, or vote for statehood. As a Scandinavian socialist state, it would be slightly more conservative than Massachusetts. Its citizens could enjoy a favorable immigration policy, such as the "wet-foot/dry-foot" rule we apply to Cubans--though in this case we might simply call it the "hypothermia rule."

The tourism trade on both sides would thrive. Perhaps we could finish that bridge to nowhere and make it go to Rejkjavik. Both are somewhere up north, we are told. For our part, Americans will get Volcano and Ale tours. The Icelanders would have an opportunity to experience sunlight and intimate congress with people with whom they are not distantly related. Best of all, they could thumb their noses at the British, Dutch, and French. True, the French did not deny the Icelandic banks support, but they could thumb their noses at them nonetheless.

It's really hard to see a downside.

Japanese War Tuba

This proves that everything can be found on Wikipedia, whether it is important or not. Mostly not.

This Had Not Occurred to Me

As I contemplate lack of work and general direction in life, here are sage words of guidance I had not previously considered:

"I may live badly, but at least I don't have to work to do it."