May 06, 2005

MDM: Boycott Jack Daniel's

You have to wonder about the political priorities of the guys at Modern Drunkard Magazine. With all the threats to alcohol consumption out there, boycotting Jack Daniel's Whiskey because it was lowered from 90, to 86, and now to 80 proof, seems trivial.

March 10, 2005

Putin Maintains Right to Drink in Public

The Wall Street Journal reports:

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin signed off on legislation retaining Russians' cherished right to drink beer in public.

The original bill, which Mr. Putin sent back to parliament in January for amendments, had proposed draconian measures that would have banned beer consumption in parks, stadiums and on public transport.

The planned restrictions were widely unpopular in a country where public beer-drinking is widespread. Many Russians consider beer an everyday drink and Muscovites often can be seen with a bottle en route to work...

December 22, 2004

Illegal Drug Use Down

The Post not only reports that illegal drug use is down among teenagers, it also published a letter from someone wanting nonalcoholic burbon and gin.

October 07, 2003

Drunk Crash at UGA

So, check this out...I think I took this picture in 1997, just as I was entering law school at University of Georgia. This is a picture of a brick wall just off Lumpkin St. A drunk driver crashed into it, destroying a significant portion of the wall. The impact was from the North, so the driver would have entered from the left side of the picture.

There was very little press on the event at the time, but this is a really impressive crash. If you look at the picture closely, you'll see that the driver crossed a very large sidewalk in order to hit the sign--that sidewalk is about 12' across. All of "University" is destroyed on the sign, so they must have hit it pretty hard.

October 06, 2003

Vegas Shedding Family-Friendly Image

It's about time...the Washington Post reports that family-friendly Las Vegas renewing its focus on sex, drugs, betting, and drinks:

"Last month, the MGM Grand, the town's biggest hotel, closed its "Child Activity Center" and is now promoting a cocktail lounge where waitresses hold customers' shot glasses between their breasts.

We need more adult-centered entertainment, and I hope this trend of making everything family-friendly, which by the way is very insensitive to those of us without children, is finally reversing!

September 21, 2003

How to Beat an Intervention

Modern Drunkard Magazine has an excellent how-to on beating interventions. The advice is brilliant:

"Crush the Quisling

"At least one member of the group won’t want to be there. He’ll be the one lurking in the background, refusing to make eye contact. He may be a drinker himself. Probably not the same quality of drinker you are, but a fellow imbiber nevertheless. This traitor is very vulnerable to the Fruitarian Gambit. Developed as a forward defense against aggressive vegetarians, the gambit goes like this: When a vegetarian starts ranting about how meat is murder, identify yourself as a Fruitarian (super-vegans that only eat what a plant gives up willingly, such as an apple falling off a tree) and shrill, “Do you know the anguish of the wheat stalk at harvest time? Did you know they can sense when their brethren are being slaughtered around them? Is that a polyblend shirt, cotton killer? Where’s my red dye?”

September 10, 2003

NAS: Collective Action Needed on Drinking

The Washington Post reports on a new National Academy of Sciences study calling for collective action to reduce underage drinking. The NAS claims that it costs society $53 billion a year, most of this is in the form of traffic accidents and violent crime.

I, for one, would like a reduction in the trend of being treated like a criminal for drinking as an adult. The DC bars now require ID from everyone, and they kick you out of the bars at night, rather than letting you sleep over in your chair.

September 01, 2003

Amish Sex, Booze, and Drugs

In The Devil's Playground, Amish children are set free at the age of 16 to live like normal people. The movie explores several kids' lives during this rite of passage.

August 18, 2003

July/Aug Modern Drunkard

The new issue of Modern Drunkard Magazine has a great rant on roadblocks (they're set up to catch those who drive safely enough not to get caught) and how to drink on the job and on the battlefield.