Altered States

Tidbits from the four corners of the world.

Fat Albert in "Lude Awakening."  (too soon?)

Guess your BAC.  Thanks, Cockeyed!

M.A.S.H. Prop Spotlight:  The Still.
(It even made it to the Smithsonian)

   AKA "Still crazy after all these years"  (ugh)

" I live my life on a layer of ice

Just like those poured by my bartender 'Vice.'
Any taste of Vermouth should be really sublime,
When you have a good Martini time!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

When Life Imitates Art

Jurassic Park hero saves the Margaritas. (clever Hollywood types)

I don’t always escape from a maximum security prison (for the second time) but when I do, I enjoy a beer on my private plane afterwards. Of course, I'd kick back with a shorty, too.

And even further South of the border....

(thanks for the links, Heather!) 

"My right hand holds a cold Corona™ bottle
My left hand holds a half a fifth of Gin
My right arm reaches out for her love only
But my left still embraces a life of sin"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Tee Martunis

Let's see how this pans out...

In praise of lunchtime drinking.  √

Why leave work to drink?  √

Whine About It.  X  (I'm generally not one to complain.)
(Check out the "Bros" episode)
I pretty much grew up with every one of these ladies. √
(Tell it like it is!!)


√ = been there / done that
X = nope 




(thanks for the links, Heather!) 

"Tee Martunis at lunch with the boss
I didn't even care or ask what they cost.
I lost my job for no reason or rhyme
Guessin' that means that it's Martini time!!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Sparkle and Fade

Ahhh... advertising.

These slogans need a little reworking.

But these slogans are juuuust right.

And in case SF is socked in with fog this July 4th, here's a drones-eye view of what you might be missing.

4th of Ju-Linkies courtesy of Heather Lake.

"The doctor says I'm livin'
On precious borrowed time
With all the time I'm givin'
To liquor, beer and wine.

The X-rays of my liver
Look like molded old Swiss cheese
My heart pumps blood and alcohol
Through hardened arteries."

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Is not Chicago

As one of the most festive weeks in SF is now upon us (no... not Burning Man) long time TNSC member Heather Lake dutifully submits this week's round of Linkey Loos:


The definitive A-Z's of Pride Weekend.

Sutro Tower 1 & Sutro Tower 2.

And starting them young in Chicago.

"I'll explain in the morning
Baby that's no lie,
But tonight little honey,
I'm oh so high"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Dubs!!!!

This entire Linkey Loo is courtesy of Oakland resident Heather Lake.  It's here city's team.  I just post it.

(Back in my early career "dubs" were tape duplication, so I'm fully confused)

1.  The last time the Warriors won a championship was in the 1970's.  Possibly, the only good thing, aside from Heather's birth, may have been this.

2.  Lie Witness news – Warriors Editio .   (don't bullshit a bullshitter)

3.  Real estate rumble – Lebron versus Curry Editio .

4.  More comparisons.

"I threw a little party
Cuz it just felt right
It's lasted ten years
And it's going on tonight... YEA!!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Play Ball !!!

Being that we're hurtling toward the middle of baseball season, basketball finals are in full swing, and football is just around the corner, I just thought that I'd share:

The 20 Greatest Hard Drinking Athletes.

And remember kids... don't drink and drive.  (ahhh.. Dean....)

Now if I can only find a rimshot.

"I could've been a contender
I could've been a someone
Caught up in the rat race
And feeling like a no one
Could've been me in the papers
With the money and the girls
I could've been the heavyweight champion of the world."

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Black Magic

Submitted for your approval: 

Get out and support a good cause with a great drink!!
All across SF.  All across the world.  That's rad.

"The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other."
  Orson Welles

And locally, 14 great bars to find someone to make out with.
(I don't write them... I just pass them along.)

And finally... whenever you're out... DON'T DO THIS!!!

"I live my life on a layer of ice,
Just like those poured by my bartender 'Vice'
Any taste of (sweet) Vermouth should be really sublime,
When you have a good Negroni time!!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Mad as Hell.

Ms. Heather Lake submitted these last week, but this Bot only got around to posting them now:

If this was up to date, it would be twice as long. 

Mad Men inspired meals by Mrs. Bot.
 (see what you missed!!)

"Baked"  is putting it lightly.

"I'm gonna sue Jack Daniels™ for hitting me
With a trunk of a big ol' live oak tree
He hurt me this morning with the bright sun light
I'm gonna sue Jack Daniels for what he did to my face last night"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Local Girl Makes Good

Ms. Heather Lake delivered on some local links:

Great news for SF music.

Greater news for SF music.

For annual "Drink with a Codger Day".  (yeah... I've been to most of them.)

" Please don't take the baby to the liquor store
It's not the kind of bottle he's been cryin' for
Take our milk money and walk right out the door
But please don't take the baby to the liquor store"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Drinkin' Crow

Everyone's favorite alcoholic avian.  Thank you, Tony Millionaire!!

On Second Thought... why in the fuck would you want this?

"Baby boom or 'X',
I don't know what I am,
All i need to know is when it's time to slam.
Threw a little party cause it just felt right,
It lasted ten years and it's goin' on tonight.  Yeah!!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

San Francinqo

Being that we're just past that festive Mexican holiday, here are some alternatives to the bottled Margarita mix and Jose Cuervo.

A quick history of cocktails from Broke Ass Stuart.

And speaking of history (with a nod toward "local") I give you a brief visual history of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as a windfall of Mark Twain letters.

** links courtesy of Ms. Heather Lake  **

"It's hard to believe I've gone and done it again
Went to a place to see all of my friends
One little sip and now look at me
If this bar were school I'd have a degree"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Whiskey Whimsy

A really good reason to drink bourbon.  (caution:  geek-speak)

A really bad reason not to.  (yes, it's being destroyed)

Make mine a double!!  (we're far behind Manhattan, though)

And marketing a bad judgement.

"You don't have to remind me,
I smell like a skunk,
Excuse me baby but,
**hicup**  I'm drunk!!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Letters to the Editor

Via Ms. Megan Callan.

Via  Ms. Heather Lake.

Via  Mr. TNSC Robot.

"Lucky strike filters every night n' day.
A shot of Jack Black an' I'm ready to play.
I know it ain't healthy but it's quite alright.
Til' I find a woman better than Lucky Strikes."

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Corporate Cocktails

From J Crew (okay... Drunken J Crew)

And mall-favorite, Brookstone.  You have got to be fucking kidding me.  One needs a scale, and a detailed recipe, to make a Gin & Tonic?!?  What the hell is this crazy world coming to?

Even this picture disgusts me....

"Hanging with friends
We were doing slammers
They try and get me hammered
Boss, I said "No"
But they insisted!!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Shaken and Stirred...

Bars come and go...

Bartenders come (I've had the honor of being served by him on several occasions w/o a single 86)

and bartenders go....

And then... some rich fuck gives their cat a toy.

(links courtesy of Lake)

 

"I live my life on a layer of ice
Just like those poured by my bartender Vice
Any taste of vermouth should be really sublime
When you have a good martini time!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Like Rabbits...

Ms. Heather Lake provides us a well-curated batch of Spring / Easter-related links:


What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ than with Creepy Easter Bunnies?

April Fool's and St. Stupid's Day pranks from the Cacophony Society (when SF was a more artist-driven town.)

And speaking of stupid... there's always Indiana.

Now THIS would be cool if true.  Some recently discovered blueprints and documents reveal secret tunnels under the Playboy™ Mansion.  Now I've been to the mansion, and I kind of think it's kind of far-fetched, but I can tell you all about some other areas there...
 

"Dirty, dry, up, or in between,
From the very first sip you know what I mean,
When you're out with a babe you don't nickel or dime,
Guessin' that means it's Martini time."

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Ground Zero

Just thinking about the recent passing of SF "person of character," Jay Johnson.

Jay was one of those figures that made San Francisco so unique.  I remember him from when he opened the "Ground Zero" coffee shop in the incredibly dicey Lower Haight area in 1985.

Fast forward a few years, and there was Jay at a different "ground zero."  This one was at his new endeavor , the undeniably Art Deco "Club Deluxe."  With the swing-revival gaining steam, Jay was the one leading both the retro and burgeoning craft-cocktail charges throughout the 90's.

His third endeavor was instrumental in the formation of the Thursday Night Social Club.  With the opening of a second incredibly beautiful Art Deco bar in an Art Deco apartment building in 1993, the Orbit Room became "home base" for TNSC during its inception in late 1996.

But less about us, and more about Jay.  More than just overseeing operations that dispensed magic and dreams, he also was an incredible entertainer.  He possessed an impressive voice with all the nuance of a seasoned Sinatra, but at the same time everything was tempered with an air of cantankerousness when he wasn't on stage.

He will be missed by many, and it's good to know that so much of what he gave to San Francisco will keep on giving.  I'm sure that he's rubbing heavenly elbows with the other cocktail king of Haight Street, Bruno Mooshei, trading stories, and talking about Sinatra.

Here's the official obituary.

This one is for you, Jay.

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Man Overboard!!!

Ms. Heather Lake "throws out" these links to save this robot's shiny metal ass.

Get your nightclub name here.

For you science nerds, here's some Craft Beer Chemistry.

"You don't have to remind me
I smell like a skunk.
Excuse me, baby but
*hiccup*, I'm drunk!"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Young At Heart

Why not get them started early?  It's at least good for a laugh.

And the youngest Tech entrepreneur.  (great.. lives in the Mission)

Lastly, things that only happen in San Francisco (but you knew that already)

** links courtesy of Ms. Heather Lake

"Please don't take the baby to the liquor store
That's not the kind of bottle he's been cryin' for.
Take our milk money and walk right out the door
But please don't take the baby to the liquor store."

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

The Final Frontier

... in watering holes.

Drinking across the country.

And around the world.

And in the final frontier. 

** links courtesy of Ms. Heather Lake

"I got a red car with blue tail lights
Shiny red seats with piping in white
Leopard skin dash with a louvered hood
She goes ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba when she's runnin' good"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

No Diving No Horseplay.

Ms. Heather Lake kindly points out the continued spate of venerable, working-class, elbow-to-elbow San Francisco dive bars that are disappearing at an accelerated rate, and that doesn't bode well for the majority of us.  A bar of character is a terrible thing to waste.

From the “Old time bars closing only to be replaced by douchey Edison light bars patronized by tech bros” department:


The Tenderloin's Club 21

And the Mission's Lexington Club

Which reminds me... I was dancing in the lesbian bar...

"The bar stools propping up a twenty dollar whore,
Recantin' recitations from a lonesome tale of yore

for a while...
At the Starlight Lounge..."

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Alterna-bars 91

Ms. Heather  Lake dutifully submits these bar optio s:

In the backyard. (move over" Man Cave")

On the road. (Happier campers, one and all)

On foot.  (got several of those suckers...)

And finally, may you never have to invoke Emergency Protocol 417.

"The Cadillac hearse
Tequila bottle fins
At gringo manor
The party really never ends"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

VD (ay)

Just in case you need a modern VDay card for your significant other, just before you take him/her to see "50 Shades."

And seriously, someone has WAY too much time on their hands: Bar Brawl Supercut.

* all links courtesy of Ms. Heather Lake

"I look up to the heavens

For a ray of hope to shine
And there it is in neon
Liquor, beer and wine"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC

Psy-ence!!!

Or maybe Pseudo-Science.  But whatever you call it, I'll take it - as long as their findings revolve around things like exercise replacement and brain cell damage control.

There is also real old-school science intersecting with music.

And there's also just random silliness*.

* all links courtesy of Heather Lake

"Fantasy and microchips
Shooting from the hip
Something different
We're makin'
Weird science"

Linkey-Loo Robot -

AJC