The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Arts & Entertainment => Topic started by: Fooker on March 09, 2007, 07:15:10 am
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A good drink, such as would be used by Men.
I have a good novel in my head. I do not want to be one of those lamenting cowards who never write it for years and then do it and wish they had done it earlier. Sometimes I'm in the mood and sometimes I'm not.
Perhaps I should try some form of alcohol while writing. Even if it doesn't help, if I think it will help, or at least alter things to be some sort of mood, that would be a positive change.
Suggest away. Something that I can pay a hobo to buy is a plus.
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When writing intensively, I only allow myself black coffee and ice water.
Stimulation and hydration only. The focusing one-note of cold or the focusing one-note of bitter.
No complex distractions.
However, if you are talking about alcohol and drinking, I would think you want something you can drink and full-on ease into how fucked up you want to get for the purposes of writing.
You don't want a Big Change to sneak up on you all of the sudden. Tequila will catch up on you all the sudden like and BAM, you are not so much thinking about how you want to write and you are more thinking about how much you want to punch a cop. Vodka and BAM, you wanna go out there and nationalize an industry. Rum and BAM, you want to find a woman who is attractive enough to have sex with but only minimally so, that you won't mind never seeing her again.
These are all scenarios not conducive to writing.
I would suggest a filling relatively-low-alcohol beer such as a Stout where... you can find out how toasty you actually want to be, ramp up to that level and then just maintain that with the occasional whistle-wetting.
You're gonna be looking for a No Alarms and No Surprises buzz and Stout will let you stay there.
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You have a wicked amount of cans, and I don't know if you did it on purpose, but you kind of made a pun on No Surprises by Radiohead, and that is an awesome song. Anyhow, enjoy your cola. (for some reason everytime I write enjoy I first spell it with an"i". This has been happening for years, and I know how to spell the word. This needs to stop.)
Anyhow, I would recommend any type of whisk(e)y for writing/ nightcaps, beer for chilling/partying, and vodka for traveling/ seeing old friends/ talking politics.
Oh shit, I completely forgot, but what you need is wine. Definitely wine. And also weed. But mainly wine.
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My favorite drinks/substances to write on are single malt scotches (no chaser), high doses of antihistamines (Benadryl/diphenhydramine, dymenhidrinate, doxylamine, but have no plans for the next morning/afternoon), gin or vodka martinis (vodka is Ray style), cough syrup high doses (dextromethorphan, have no serious plans for 36 hours), and marijuana (I quit for three weeks, quit for three months last year).
Basically all of the above substances will make you sound more like an asshole than you plan to sound like. Alcohol will give you more of a sloppy, conversational feel. Antihistamines will make your sentences shorter and more direct, and more grammatically correct. Cough syrup will make your words sound completely insane (or not insane if you know what the syrup is talking about, ya know?).
The best writing can only be achieved from a deep understanding of all of the above.
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I use only massive quantities of black tea, but perhaps that only works for a lady.
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My favorite drinks/substances to write on are single malt scotches (no chaser), high doses of antihistamines (Benadryl/diphenhydramine, dymenhidrinate, doxylamine, but have no plans for the next morning/afternoon), gin or vodka martinis (vodka is Ray style), cough syrup high doses (dextromethorphan, have no serious plans for 36 hours), and marijuana (I quit for three weeks, quit for three months last year).
Basically all of the above substances will make you sound more like an asshole than you plan to sound like. Alcohol will give you more of a sloppy, conversational feel. Antihistamines will make your sentences shorter and more direct, and more grammatically correct. Cough syrup will make your words sound completely insane (or not insane if you know what the syrup is talking about, ya know?).
The best writing can only be achieved from a deep understanding of all of the above.
ahh, I think about 50mg of adderall (snorted) and some mushrooms would make for better writing personally. Also, if you are going to be telling people to buy cough syrup you should make sure you tell them to get it with only dxm and nothing else, or else you could give them a very bad experience.
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ahh, I think about 50mg of adderall (snorted) and some mushrooms would make for better writing personally. Also, if you are going to be telling people to buy cough syrup you should make sure you tell them to get it with only dxm and nothing else, or else you could give them a very bad experience.
Good point. Phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine will increase your heart rate and strength of heart contractions which can be very dangerous especially if you have an underlying heart problem. Chlorpheniramine can cause enzyme inhibition which can lead to dramatically increased increased levels of dextromethorphan especially if you are of a small percentage of people (less than 5% of caucasians) with a specific genetic enzyme deficiency: I don't go to pharmacy school for nothin'.
But you know, it really depends on what you're trying to write.
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Fooker, you may wish to start a bit smaller than some of these suggestions.
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I think it's important to remember in this context that drunk people are rarely as brilliant or entertaining as they believe themselves to be.
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I think it's important to remember in this context that drunk people are rarely as brilliant or entertaining as they believe themselves to be.
But . . . but . . . oh man, this is going to completely change my relationship with the internet.
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I find the appropriate drink is dependent not so much on what you're writing, but on how you're writing. For those wonderfully lucid times when everything's just flowing, a nice red wine is tasty, inspiring and not too harsh. For the really gnarly bits where you really need to keep stopping, thinking well ahead, and playing around with phrases at length before you set them down, a decent whisky is a wonderful thing, not least because you can play around with it in the glass and enjoy the fact that Whisky Is Pretty (this is particularly satisfying and beneficial if you have a Glencairn glass (http://www.glencairn.co.uk/shop/product.asp?numPageStartPosition=1&P_ID=210&strPageHistory=cat&strKeywords=&strSearchCriteria=&PT_ID=73), which if you're drinking whisky, you really should - and let's face it, you really should be drinking whisky.) Somewhere between the two, where it's taking some work but you're not pulling your hair over every word, I like green tea, not least because the preparation gives you time to step back. (There's no reason not to drink black tea instead, of course, but I just get bits of soggy biscuit in my keyboard if I try that.)
Redrafting is a nasty bastard and in my experience responds only to large volumes of strong, black coffee and plenty of water.
I'd also second wombat's point on the booze - whatever you're drinking, don't over-addle yourself. For every brilliant flash of drunken inspiration there'll be a thousand literary equivalents of pissing in your waste-paper basket.
Finally, and most importantly: if you find yourself struggling it's probably not because you've got the wrong drink, so try mixing it up elsewhere, and don't feel you should be writing in a freezing garret with a pair of fingerless gloves and a bottle of booze if you'd rather do it on a park swing with a mango smoothie.
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Radiohead reference: intentional.
Diphenhydramine: lovely for brief inspirado but I quickly fall asleep.
I personally find that... other than being hyped-up on caffination or very slightly tipsy, chemical stimuation is great for brainstorming new ideas and horrific for actually Getting Things Done with those ideas. You gotta be clear-headed to actually get those ideas together in a way that makes sense.
All the great out-there ideas in the world don't mean shit if you can't pull them together into something.
Stoned, I would come up with some great parts-of-ideas, offensive terrible wonderful things. My brother and I could come up with a year's worth of Conan O'Brien skits with a dime bag and an Air album but... the next morning, if we forgot to have crayons around, all those moments would be... lost... in time... like tears in the rain.
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I personally find that... other than being hyped-up on caffination or very slightly tipsy, chemical stimuation is great for brainstorming new ideas and horrific for actually Getting Things Done with those ideas. You gotta be clear-headed to actually get those ideas together in a way that makes sense.
This is a good point.
Also, as soon as the weather allows I'm going to try the park swing with a mango smoothie.
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Stoned, I would come up with some great parts-of-ideas, offensive terrible wonderful things. My brother and I could come up with a year's worth of Conan O'Brien skits with a dime bag and an Air album but... the next morning, if we forgot to have crayons around, all those moments would be... lost... in time... like tears in the rain.
I want more life...Fəth/ckər.
If you never write what's within though...what have you achieved now you're old?
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I highly recommend a (not quite traditional) Moscow Mule; half and half fresh squeezed lime juice and a really spicey ginger beer, lots of crushed ice and a shot or two of vodka. Really summery and refreshing.
That said, I do agree that being sober is better for writing, though I find a little weed isn't a problem, but I've spoken before of my brain chemistry and smoking... Definitely helps with the ideas at any rate.
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Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking last night, but as far as a novel goes, none of my suggestions are a good idea. Drugs might inspire an ingenious short story but a novel is something else.
From what myths and movies have taught me, absinthe is the drink of choice of any good artist.
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There's always the Algonquin Martini, (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4505397) well in keeping with the literary theme. Please note that there is not a specific recipe listed, but the one I heard was:
1 measure gin
1 measure vodka
1 measure white wine
Drink up!
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That sounds absolutely wretched.
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A co-worker of mine (an IT gal) drank them on the plane-ride home last hitch. She seemed to enjoy them, but then again, she's British.
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Wasn't it Douglas Adams who wrote something about the British seeking atonement through eating British food?
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Wasn't it Douglas Adams who wrote something about the British seeking atonement through eating British food?
Herein lies the reason* I pretend not to be.
*One of them
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Absinthe is the absolute worst concoction on the planet. All horrible tasting with no drug effects and a horrible hangover.
My suggestion is Jaeggermeister. The herbs provide a floating stream of thoughts suitable for writing. Not suitable for being around old people.
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I am a vegetarian who loves Jagger, but they put a ceremonial drop of Elks blood in there, so I can't drink it.
Also, my general writing style is this: Marinade on it for about 3 days to a week, while going through my normal routine (lots of smoking, a little drinking). Then, spend however long it takes making detailed outlines, getting everything in order, etc. Then, just sit on like 2 bowls throughout the night while writing. The ideas really come together for me following this method.
If it is songs, then it will come to me in perfect order, I won't be able to write anything at the time, and I will end up with lyrics that are essentially about the same thing but completely out of place. For this I leave it alone for a while and try to work it out in about 2 weeks.
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I am a vegetarian who loves Jagger, but they put a ceremonial drop of Elks blood in there, so I can't drink it.
That is urban legend of the poorest reputation. Drink up my vegetable loving friend!
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I feel like such an idiot.
Wikipedia backs you up. Thanks alot for this, I may have a jager and red bull (it has been so long I can't even remember what they are called; blasters?) within the hour.
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Wikipedia backs you up. Thanks alot for this, I may have a jager and red bull (it has been so long I can't even remember what they are called; blasters?) within the hour.
I like you, but that's not good drinking.
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sweet baby Jesus, jaeger is the worst swill ever. I'd rather chug NyQuil. *shudder*
A bunch of my friends back home used to love Red Bull and Jaeger... but ew. Hell of nasty. Paradoxically, I get super, super-tired when I drink those. Then again I get really irritable if I drink coffee or heaven forbid, espresso.
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Pastis!
There is nothing better, in my opinion, for loosening up and getting the good vibes going. I'm somehow spiritually attached to Provence, though, so that may have something to do with it.
Typically, my writing/drinking interface works thusly:
Idea/outline phase: pastis
First draft: pastis and/or red wine (but not together!)
First read through of first draft: pastis and/or sparkling water (but not together)
First revision: Coffee
Subsequent revisions: tea or pastis, sometimes coffee or red wine depending on what I hope to accomplish with a particular go-round
Editing: sparkling water or coffee
Proofreading: tea
Alternatively, a kir royale will carry me through just about anything. It makes anything into an elegant celebration.
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come on people... even I can enjoy Jager. After the first time I drank it, I had scary dreams for weeks about finding more and drinking it in a really unhealthy manner (ie, just downing the whole bottle. which is unrealistic, obviously.)
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sweet baby Jesus, jaeger is the worst swill ever. I'd rather chug NyQuil. *shudder*
A bunch of my friends back home used to love Red Bull and Jaeger... but ew. Hell of nasty. Paradoxically, I get super, super-tired when I drink those. Then again I get really irritable if I drink coffee or heaven forbid, espresso.
*sings*
NyQuil NyQuil NyQuil, big green fuck*ng Q!
I am amazed by the idea that anyone would mix anything with Red Bull. Even the idea of Red Bull and Vodka is like cough-syrup with the wrong kind of jolt. Plus, drinking is bad enough, I don't need to hallucinate while doing so!
(Also, people are right, Jäger is fuck*ng nasty! I can't decide if it was that or the vodka that tried to kill me on my friend's stag night.)
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You could try what they drink here at work when they won't to get off, as alcohol is forbidden: The Green Lizard! NyQuil and 7up. I personally think you get more bang for your buck if you do NyQuil shooters, which are half NyQuil and half Listerine.
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Wow, revolting.
So you have internet access at work now?
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Jager is a one-way train ticket to either Vomit Junction or Sleeping-With-Someone-Regrettable County.
I am a fan of Green Demon, vodka in which weed has been warmed and steeped for a number of weeks. Done properly, pretty much the best way to get every drip of usefulness out of your leaf and other various shake.
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Wow, revolting.
So you have internet access at work now?
Well, there's always been internet access here, it's just that sometimes I am filling in for three people at once, which cuts into my fuckin' around time. This hitch I am filling in for two people; that is to say, I am doing my job and one other. However, I am kind of feeling a little shitty toward work at present, so I decided I would take my part out in trade and access the internet when I should actually be working.
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*sings*
NyQuil NyQuil NyQuil, big green fuck*ng Q!
I am amazed by the idea that anyone would mix anything with Red Bull. Even the idea of Red Bull and Vodka is like cough-syrup with the wrong kind of jolt. Plus, drinking is bad enough, I don't need to hallucinate while doing so!
(Also, people are right, Jäger is fuck*ng nasty! I can't decide if it was that or the vodka that tried to kill me on my friend's stag night.)
Heh.. I love Dennis Leary. "What they SHOULD put on the bottle is, 'Don't make any fuckin' plans!'"
And isn't that totally weird about the dry villages or work camps? There are some villages where you can't even get vanilla extract sent to you. But I always thought they put rubbing alcohol in Listerine so you couldn't drink it?
Incidentally, my ex used to have his friends ship him contraband while he was deployed in Iraq where alcohol was also forbidden...Playboy and plastic Mountain Dew bottles drained and filled back up with hooch.
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I have never done the (what we call) Green Dragon. It seems like a good idea, but I like to get stoned, then get really drunk, then get high again after I quit drinking.
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I have never done the (what we call) Green Dragon. It seems like a good idea, but I like to get stoned, then get really drunk, then get high again after I quit drinking.
I like a man with his priorities in order.
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I am more a man who has been drunk, smoked, and got the spins one too many times.
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Absinthe is the absolute worst concoction on the planet. All horrible tasting with no drug effects and a horrible hangover.
That is simply not true. A good absinthe has as complex a bouquet as a fine wine. Provided you like aniseed drinks, it is heavenly. The problem is that a great many "absinthe" products (often spelled without the "-e") are really no more than 140-proof Scope with wormwood extract mixed in. There's no difference in price between the two, either - you have to do your homework before you buy anything.
Absinthe is pretty strong for writing, but if it's properly diluted and you drink it sip-by-sip (and I doubt you would be tempted to do otherwise) it could be good if you need inspiration. You could substitute it for pastis where Muse recommends drinking that, as they are very similar drinks. The only thing to watch out for is that the lucid feeling it produces masks the effects of the alcohol, but wears off much sooner, making it easy to have too much by mistake and become ridiculously drunk very suddenly.
Also, please never do that thing where they set fire to the sugar and/or absinthe before drinking it - that's just a gimmick invented by some dudes in Czechoslovakia back in the '80s. It is about the closest thing possible to a Hunt's move that would have existed during the Belle Époque.
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I planted some wormwood (http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankdempsey/192770117/)(a.k.a. artemesia, in my opinion a much prettier name) early last spring. It's doing well (or was as of last fall) and is a pretty plant. I suppose I could steep it in some Everclear and make my own, but I don't have much interest in that. I like the plant and I doubt the buzz would compare to some I've had.
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I have had both the homemade and the real deal from a friend's trip to europe. Both tasted equally disgusting but the homemade version was stronger because it was basically everclear with hell of herbs and wormwood. The real deal tasted so bitter that I had to chase it with super-strength sugary Gatorade. With both events there were Zero non-alcohol effects and gave me a hangover Id rather have never had.
Maybe it effects different people in different ways but this dude does not miss absinthe.
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I am a fan of Green Demon, vodka in which weed has been warmed and steeped for a number of weeks. Done properly, pretty much the best way to get every drip of usefulness out of your leaf and other various shake.
Oh I don't know about that. I was toasted for three days (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmcd9/262063606/) and all I did was lick the spoon.
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Are those pot fruity pebble crisps?
wow.
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But I always thought they put rubbing alcohol in Listerine so you couldn't drink it?
There are a lot of places up here where you can only get mouthwash that is denatured (I believe that's the word). But real Listerine just has regular old alcohol in it. In Anchorage most places won't sell you mouthwash in quantity - even if you tell them you have a bad case of Yuck Mouth.
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The internet ate my first post about this, and I don't want to type everything out all over again, but this FAQ (http://www.feeverte.net/faq-absinthe.html) should explain everything re: absinthe better than I can anyway. I hope this will clear things up somewhat.
That is all.
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This makes me want a pastis, and we don't have any in the house. :-(
This also makes me want to try absinthe. I almost bought some last time I was in France but since I was there as the supervising chaperone on a school trip, I thought getting caught bringing "contraband" into the country would make my students' parents upset. :-)
I have never heard of the "light the sugar on fire" ritual. It sounds horrible. I'm glad that's not really a part of the drink, and something only philistines would do. I have heard of the water through the perforated sugar spoon thing, though, which sounds reasonable. I thought this was the way "everybody" drank their absinthe but now that I'm reading that absinthe pretty much tastes like any anise liqueur out there (albeit with subtle nuances of flavor, to be sure), I can't imagine adding sugar to it. I drink my pastis with just ice water and it's usually right on the border of being too sweet for me as it is. Considering that pastis was invented to keep the Pernod distillery in business after absinthe was banned in France, I'm guessing the taste is pretty similar, in which case, yuck. Adding sugar to it sounds horrible.
That does it: tomorrow on my way home from work I'm picking up a bottle of pastis. This thread has really made me want some.
I may be spending some time in Spain this summer. If I do, I'll see about picking up a bottle of absinthe. Felix, since you seem to be expert on such things, do you have any recommendations for how to find a good one?
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(What the?!?!? Gremlins double-posting my posts? Sorry, everyone. Clearly the forum has a biological interface error. Please drive through. Mods feel free to delete if you see fit. I'm dumb.)
Mua ha ha... nothing to see here! (All this talk of hooch is making all y'all see double)
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Adding sugar to it sounds horrible.
I wish I'd at least tried that. I am not really a fan of aniseed, and couldn't stand the taste of absinthe, pernod, any of the aniseed drinks. Not to say I don't get through enough star anise mind!
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I may be spending some time in Spain this summer. If I do, I'll see about picking up a bottle of absinthe. Felix, since you seem to be expert on such things, do you have any recommendations for how to find a good one?
In what part of the country will you be staying? I bought my first absinthe when I was in Barcelona. Here's the address of the store:
La Cava de los Faros
Plaza Universitat, 5
08001 de Barcelona
Tel: 933-425145
The name is a pun on a local variety of sparkling white wine. They have a website, (http://www.spiritscorner.com/ing/index.html) too. They sell 5cl bottles of a lot of their drinks, so you can sample different labels without spending too much money, and you will be able to buy spoons and other related paraphernalia from them as well.
Most of the Spanish absentas go pretty heavy on the anise and have a less complex flavor, but I have had Mari Mayans before and it is pretty good for someone just starting out. Deva is supposed to be similar, but I've never tried it. Serpis Absinth looks like something you ought to avoid at all costs, but if you can get over the red color it's actually quite decent. That's about all I can tell you from my own experience. I'd look up any other labels you find before buying them to see what other people have to say.
Theoretically, the very best absinthes are those made before the 1915 ban, which are still drinkable if you can get hold of one. Interestingly, because absinthe's green color comes from chlorophyll, really old absinthes turn brown with age, but still louche to the same shade of pale green when diluted. Of course, these are completely outside any normal person's price range. The next best thing comes from Jade Liqueurs, (http://www.bestabsinthe.com/index2.htm) which recreates pre-ban absinthes from chemical samples and the original recipes from Pernod and other contemporary distilleries. Their stuff is still pretty expensive, though.
If you fly on Virgin Atlantic, you can buy La Fée Absinthe from their in-flight catalogue, but it's grossly overpriced. I bought some on my way back from Spain just so I could say that I did, but I haven't opened the bottle yet so I can't tell you how good it really is.
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Are those pot fruity pebble crisps?
I'm not at liberty to say.
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I'm not at liberty to say.
You are lucky you are at liberty at all with your debauched lifestyle.
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You are lucky you are at liberty at all with your debauched lifestyle.
Touche