So we were going to talk about absinthe

TIME magazine reports "Absinthe is back," and encourages us to "party like it's 1899." Oh, Time... you hoot an'a half...

Distillation of absinthe was outlawed in the United States (and most of Europe) in 1915, after enjoying a galloping run through bohemian society, with its neighbors opium, laudanum, heroin, and Dr. Pemberton's snappy cocaine beverage. The turn of the century was truly a buzz-kill.

Absinthe was rumored to be hallucinogenic (Wilde said it gave him the jimmy legs) and could also act as an aphrodisiac. Those Victorians loved to be titilated, but only without their control.

Absinthe madness is blamed for 1 particularly horrific mass-murder, after Jean Lafray killed his whole family in 1905. He had consumed 2 glasses of absinthe that morning. he had also consumed five litres of wine, six glasses of cognac, one coffee laced with brandy, two crème de menthes and a sandwich. I always say "de menthe before brandy...you don't feel so dandy..." "Absinthe 'n' menthe'll... make you go mental."

(by the way, reefer makes you all kinds of crazy too...)

What absinthe was considered worse than:

rum - pivotal leg of the triangle trade. 1860 Census count of enslaved persons ~ 4M ( 27M free persons) of course those 4M were not counted as "persons," but as assets.

tobacco - current estimate, 46M smoking Americans at $7 a pack. 1 in 5 deaths in America is smoking related, says the CDC

hemp - Pot never caught on as a drug in Europe primarily because it was more valuable as rope, but also because it just wasn't strong enough.

morphine - Anything sadder than Albert Ingalls on morphine? How about this: one of the fastest addicting and most violent to kick, though you can withdraw from it in as little as 2 weeks -- if you don't kill yourself in the attempt. Afterward, you'll learn you are now more susceptible to Hep C.

gin - not outlawed until 1920 , and then for no reason that has ever made sense.

vermouth - which is German for wormwood. I promise.

not to mention child labor, Jim Crow, and rickets, none of which were on the social agenda in 1915.

It was long believed that the chemical thujone, naturally occurring in wormwood (an otherwise useless herb) was the source of absinthe hallucinations. It was thought to be related to THC (the mad part of reefer madness) and therefore, of course, very very baaad. Interestingly, the new US regulations will only allow absinthe that is free of thujone, the faery that gives the Green faery its kick. Which means that US absinthe is just herb-liqueur. More commonly.... Campari.

Notice the subtle connection between green faeries and red.

So. everything you want to know about the now-legal, less-potent, labor-intensive elixir that apparently tastes like Tic-Tacs soaked in air freshener, is of course available on the Web. here are some interesting resources:

The Virtual Absinthe Museum - this is the most comprehensive source I have found. It is also available in French, so you know it must be authentic. Plenty of paths to follow here.

The Wormwood Society - founded by a man named Gwydion, which is also one of the houses in Harry Potter. Judging by the "About Us" page, this is a full-on Bloomsbury group of alt.bohemians. Be sure to check out their reviews before you buy.

Absinthe original - only 1 of many shopping sites available.

Merry Faery Christmas

TI Humor

#3 in an occasional series of repressed 70's memories that turn out to be true. And thanks to the Internet, are now provable.

Isn't it just the livin' end that you can turn your calculator upside-down and make it spell something? And what if that something is the word "Boobs"? Well...Pet Rock: out. Calculator spelling: in.

The test of a real capitalist, I think, is one who can jump on a craze at the exact moment that the public thinks it is HIGH-larious, convince us to buy something ridiculous, then slip away with all our money and no merchandise left over.

Maybe the money fell out of the 53704 in our pockets....

Everyone's a comedian on southwest airlines

Welcome back to the DrawingIn Room. I'll assume you have been away, as I have, working up more adventures to relate in a way that makes them sound like Real Livin', and inspires you, I hope, to mutter, "well, if that's all there is, I could have a blog." Because I need things to read on the job too.

I started a list of topics, with the clever intention of back-dating them, to make you feel like there was a LOT to catch up on. But you know what happens when you make that choice is that each post has to have a story arc and a satisfying conclusion, which is not always readily available. If I lump them all together as one big week of posting, I only have to do that once, and I could accurately date this as today and we are all caught up.

So I am going to compromise. I am going to consolidate vacation week into 1 post, dated Nov 23, as you see today, then a couple of things that have been on-deck. You don't really want to see this much of the process, do you?

Here then, my whirlwind tour of central TX.

Memo to Southwest Airlines - we don't need you to be "funny." We understand that the saefty instructions are dull, and rote, and you are looking for a way to make us pay attention. We admit we are captive to you and you have a microphone. But seriously... it is 6am. It is Thanksgiving Day. Spare me.
Anybody remember this story? I heard no one, in 4 take-offs, say "eenie meenie," but I did hear a flight attendent proclaim (in an imitation Mickey Mouse voice) that we were landing in "the happiest place on earth," when in fact it was Baltimore. It might take a talented lawyer to equate such sarcasm with racism, but the real lesson of the original lawsuit is "stay with the script."

Thumbs up to the new boarding process, though. It will take people some time to feel comfortable "cutting" in line, but we adopted a sort of hold-your-number-in-clear-view posture and an ask-before-you-step in practice. It will catch on. I had B-17 at one point, and couldn't get the song out of my head for the whole day.

Crazy thing we did - Friday, 4am. Arrived at the San Marcos Prime Outlets by 5. When I lived in this town 20 years ago, there was no such attraction. People came to San Marcos for the river, the university, the natural darkness of Wonder World. (2 things that haven't changed: that logo, and Buddy, who still runs the place)

But this was a story about the Prime Outlets. They opened at midnight on Thursday, and by 6am Friday were rummaged into complete disarray. We actually had to leave the Gap when I was overcome by the need to fold everything. In the Pottery Barn we met a man who had been at it since the doors opened after a 200 mile drive from Corpus. ("when in Rome" tip: never add the "Christi.") He didn't seem aware of what he was buying, but did comment that the crowds were "thinning out." We bought several baby outfits and went to Johnny Rockets for breakfast/lunch.

What did I buy, you ask? Nothing for you, I am afraid. I selfishly hit the Kaspar outlet (50% off already marked down merchandise before 8am) then needed to get a new suitcase at Samonsite to carry them home in.

We held out until 12, then had to come home to nap.

The baaay--beee, of course - (ya gotta see the bay-beee) Much progress since last year, in the form of standing, walking, vocalizing (sounds just like English, only no words you would recognize). The current favorite game is making chairs out of things, like baskets and bongos, by turning them over and sitting on them. Then standing on them to see if Mama will say No every time. She will, kid, and sometimes just with that look. You can't beat it. I've tried.

Canyon of the Eagles - is only here for people who Google it. we'll cut to the chase: The Great Escape package is only great, Theresa, if you tell the customer the correct date for the river cruise, it is not raining through the star-gazing tour, there is entertainment actually booked, and the restaurant is open. None of which was true. We elected to drive back home rather than pay to stay in a cabin the size of Thoreau's house, dining on wine. Maybe in the Big '80s, Theresa, but not anymore. This is the mother of a 1-year old, and she was promised a Great Escape. It was clear from our front desk experience that Theresa would not be fired, or even remotely scolded, but we agreed that Buddy at Wally World would have put his size 10s right up her bee-hind.

Hey, Austin has music in it - so we went out instead. Even a sudden cold snap can not keep the locals off their patios, where your table comes with a Mexican lap blanket and an overhead heater. The band is working hard enough not to need one, and a couple of martinis in... well, you hardly notice. As middle-aged ladies, we went inside at 7:30 for our dinner reservation -- the exquisite tuck-n-roll booths pictured above are from our establishment, called The Belmont.

My best friend now eats meat. It's the damnedest thing. She says now that her daughter is weaned, she will wean herself, but I had never heard her ask a waitress if she should have the salmon or the New York strip. I was so scared I had the butternut squash, so as not to upset the universe.

3 rounds of Scrabble - 2 me; 1 her. Dr. A has taught me the double-play, which my best friend does not think is fair. I have promised to draw the line at memorizing anagrams.

It is 11 o'clock (really) though not really the 23rd. I wanted to post one more 70s repressed memory before retiring. I think you'll agree it's a good one.

Back to work tomorrow.

New relief for book hoarders

and just in time for the holidays.

Karen explains Book Lanterns

Closed for the Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving from the gang at DrawingIn.

Ok, you're right. It's just me.

Have a great weekend. I will be back with stories to tell. This is a good time to catch up with your off-line friends. But let's meet back here in December and get caught up.

We haven't even talked about absinthe yet.