CHEERS!
One of my favorite things about Sound Destruction is the dialog that ensues in our comments. At last count, 61 comments were logged for the previous post. Though I'm not sure how that compares to the volume of other blogs' comments, I'm simply amazed and thrilled by it.
So, in recognition of Araider's off-the-wall comments and the hearty banter that followed, I offer a resounding cheers (vodka brand nod courtesy of Tom Harper's earlier comment) to all our comrades. May you all continue to exercise your freedom of speech and let your voices be heard.
posted by Sar at 11:38 PM
24 Comments:
mmmmm.......vodka. I've 'heard' it tastes good. Too bad I'm too young to drink anything. :-(
And yes, 61 comments is a-frickin-mazing. I think the most I've ever had on one post is 12. I am green with envy.
The only problem is, araider, that Bush helps spawn more terrorists. That's what happened in Iraq. OBL and al-Qaida were never allowed in because someone that powerful in the Muslim world, plus the fact that he had been armed by the Americans (like Saddam, to some extent) would pose a significant power threat to Saddam. He had enough problems controlling the Kurds that anyone who wasn't loyal to him couldn't get in.
When we invaded, we didn't protect the Syrian border effectively (thanks to Rummy's cheap war) and thus poured in the al-Qaida terrorists from Syria right into Iraq, a nation under occupied rule full of pissed off people. Sounds like just the kind of breeding ground a terrorist group would be looking for.
Cheers!
You're right, araider, it wasn't just a Bush thing. It was a Rumsfeld/Tommy Franks thing. Gen. Franks wanted to secure the borders and originally had planned for 300,000 troops to make the war effective. That was too many for Rumsfeld (who wanted only 50,000. The compromise was 125,000 or so).
Meanwhile, the US dominated the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" strategy and told each nation where to put troops. The US control made sense, since they were contributing an overwhelming majority of the forces in Iraq. However, the strategy still didn't work because the borders weren't secure. And they still aren't.
President Bush keeps saying that its the foreigners coming and breeding more terrorists--but that's his own military strategy's fault.
As for the issue of WMDs, they had them at one point in time. They did gas the Kurds and we removed a bunch shortly after the first Gulf War. Then he kicked out weapons inspectors and quit complying with the UN.
Why?
Because if the UN stayed in Iraq, it would a threat to his political and dictatorial authority. It would show signs of weakness and culpability for inappropriate actions. Those signs would then encourage any domestic resistance movements in Iraq that could lead to Saddam's removal from power. So what did he do?
By kicking out the inspectors and hyping his supposed weapons programs, he created fear among the people that helped him maintain his power.
So when Bush decided to invade, he knew that he'd stand no chance. But he also knew that for any kind of quasi-legitimacy that Bush and allies would have to go before the UN and demand inspections. And when they did, this time he complied! He called their bluff and the US practically shit themselves. Had the inspectors actually been able to complete a full inspection prior to war, Americans would have known outright that the case for war given to them (disarming Saddam) was pointless because Saddam didn't have any illegal arms.
Instead, we rushed the process, became overzealous, and invaded anyway. The rest is history.
And now we're forcing Democracy on the people at gunpoint instead of letting them adopt the style that works best for them. It seems to me that this has almost become a lose-lose situation.
I prefer Absinthe, myself.
Araider sounds as if he could use a drink...
)+(
Luksusowa means luxury in Polish. And being that it is a tripple distilled potato Vodka from Poland that is smoother to most of the others in its price range, I'd reccomend it. But If you want the real good stuff, I'd reccomend Chopin which is made from 7 pounds of potato per bottle, and is distilled 4 times through charcoal.
The technical way to toast with this would be, "Na Zdrowie" in Polish. I believe that Araider is using the shortened "Za vashe zdorovye", which is Russian, and runs contrary to this Vodka's nationality. Oddly Zdrowie and Zdorovye are both pronounced the same.
The 1/4 polish brother,
um...yeah...
i was just about to say that...
you beat me to it!
Doug & Gabe - thanks for the cheers in return. And thanks for the lesson in vodka, bro. Yes, learning is fun!
So, I see Araider and CW started a second round of drinks (club soda for CW!), so let's raise our glasses and join them...
BTW, CW's assessment of nixing the inspectors in favor of waging war on Iraq is one of the most succinctly eloquent that I've read. The counter arguement that we had to engage in a swift surprise attack in order to catch the enemy by surprise, simply can't be made since Bush was very public about his zeal to attack Iraq in the months leading up to it.
Glad to be of help.
Absinthe comes in two forms these days. There's the stuff that you can get in the United States, which is just an anise (think liquorish) flavored base with some other things mixed in for flavor. It’ll get you drunk, but you’ll feel icky in your stomach if you drink it straight up.
The trick is to find a brand that contains thujon, which will be one that comes out of various European countries. A big producer I know of is Czechoslovakia, but Germany, Switzerland, and a few others I can’t think of off the top of my head make some brands too. If your wife did get one of the brands with thujon in it, it will have psychoactive effects (hallucinations not quite, but your brain is definitely feeling something quite different). Nothing like the stuff that Van Gough used to drink, as the levels of thujon have been decreased to about 10 mg per kg (or somewhere at that level) in the commercial production in Europe. All that this means, is that to get the same effect you would have to drink a whole lot more, the rub being that you would then be dangerously drunk as well. I have had friends that have tried it, and yes it will play with your head. As for me, I’m not willing to take the risk of it popping up on a pee test at work.
As for the most important question: given Russia’s close proximity to Czechoslovakia (I keep wanting to call it the Czech Republic.) I’d say you have a fair chance of having the real thing. Getting it past customs is another story, as it might get seized.
If you want to make your own (because you can’t legally purchase it in the United States.) then there is a company called Green Devil that sells packets of Wormwood (where the thujon comes from) and spices that you can soak in alcohol, then strain out. You’ll get thujon levels of a higher nature, in theory, something along the levels of 70 to 80 mg per kg.
-Strider’s (I just got that that was a Tolken reference)Younger Brother
& SAR, Give the girls a hug from their uncle for me.
White chocolate, mixed with scotch? Wouldn't that taste horrible with a decent Islay malt?
There are a few highland single malts that might work for her. Glenmorrange has a light sweet (well sweet for a Scotch) flavor that she might like. I'm more of an Islay kind of guy, my current favorite is the 17 year Aardbeg I have at home. Not too peaty, smooth, and just about right for me. Sadly it costs about $65 a bottle. But still, white chocolate.... ick.
Why White Chocolate? What about a Rasberry, or orange dark chocolate? The fact it's white chocolate just throws me off.
As for the price issue, the most I might add is some filtered water, but more often than not I drink it straight and take about 20 minutes to savor it. I'm odd that way.
How the hell did this topic get 22 comments?
Not all that often, I usually only do that to a new brand the first of second time I try it in order to get a feel for the background flavors that are hidden by the initial alcohol burn. It adds the nuances to the experience, so you can search for them in the stronger whole. Normally though, no, I do not cut the 17 year old scotch with water, or have it on the rocks, or have it with anything other than its lonesome and a good book.
I'll drink to that :)
TS - why am I not surprised. ;)
Wow - Araider and anonymous bro sure know their liquor. Truth be told I have a strong aversion to vodka after a really bad drunk with one of our commenters (hmm, a mystery brews). They say it's odorless. NFW, to this day just one good whiff, and I'm ready to heave. I used to be a Tangaray & tonic gal, but then I transitioned to wine, my favorite being French Vouvray, but I'm by no means a connoisseur.
I don't drink in real life anymore, but I can sure as hell throw back a few here on the internet.
Does anybody have a table I can dance on?
Thanks for the mention, Sar. Great post (and comments).
Araider: I’ll have to check out Chopin; I think I’ve seen it at the liquor store. And I do mean The Liquor Store. The county I live in (in Washington) has a total of 3 liquor stores, and yet half the restaurants have a full liquor license. Strange, huh?
Scotch and white chocolate? In the Stepford Wives (the original version) the 2 un-Stepforded wives were drinking Scotch and eating either Oreos or some of those Hostess cakes. Doesn’t sound very appetizing.
Araider - you mean, "to kill ya"? And EW!!!, scorpions in the bottle!!
Maine - my table is your table! *dancing on a table with Maine*
Tom - you're welcome and thank you. Here in VA, we have a grocery chain called Ukrops. The first time I went in, I was told it's Christian based, not open on Sundays, and they don't sell "spirits". Welcome to the South, huh.
Oh, and since there's been talk of white chocolate...
When I was younger living in CA, I had a vocal instructor who used to give us white chocolate for a treat when we hit the correct pitch and such (of course we had to save it until the end of the lesson). In my mind, it was a delicacy. So one day, a friend's mom took a bunch of us to the beach. On the way, she took us to the candy shop up the strip for candy; a whole bag of our choice. So I got white chocolate. Needless to say, after playing in the ocean I came back to a bag full of white melted goop. I was heartbroken.
So, now I know that it's not only a bad idea to combine it with a sunny trip, but it's also a bad idea to combine it with fine liquor.
I'll take white chocolate over worms & scorpions any day. Leave that shit for the freaks on reality tv.
such a fascinating comments section.
CW - as Strider says, we are here to entertain you. If not in our posts, then certainly in the ensuing dialog of our collectively awesome audience! :)
yes it is a tolken reference.
and damn..how did you cats learn so much about drinking.
practice makes perfect?
I wish I could make some claim to knowing something knowledgeable about some sort of alcohol but I don't.
all I know is that if I am drinking to get drunk (which isn't often...usually weddings) I drink lots of captain and cokes.
tastes good and gets the job done.
CW - i find it weird that there is a whole conversation about this and I actually read all the comments. I felt like I really learned something...but I cant recall anything I thought I learned...so in the end I didn't learn anything... other than that I don't know anything about alcohol.
did that make sense?
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