Rule to live by #2: Always drink pastis in full midday sun.

This is in response to S. Tsow’s comment on my last post.

sidewalk-cafe-lunch-on-the-terrace-burgundy-lion-pub-st-henri-montreal-scene-carole-spandau-carole-spandau

 

Cautionary note. Ease off when your brain begins to bubble.

PastisResults of the latest field trial. Once again I have followed my rule, and once again, this day following, I find cause to question it.

hangovers joy of

 

 

Bonus lore. Rx for hangovers: The Joy of Hangovers

Tbe cafe is the work of Carole Spandau

 … Read more

Rule to live by #1: Bring black peppercorns to any dope-smoking contest the like of which nobody is likely to win

The fix. Neil Young, in a Rolling Stone interview with Howard Stern, offers this treatment for weed-induced paranoia: chew some ‘black pepper balls.’ I’m thinking he must mean peppercorns.

neil young heart of gold

peppercorn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the off chance that peppercorns are the latest panacea, I tried chewing just two of them. Not because I’d been smoking dope, and not because I was feeling especially paranoid. Just because like, whatever, eh? And they were good. Not as good … Read more

My ideal tatt: Seeking a personal identity


hello kitty

Hello Kitty’s birthday has just passed, marking 40 years during which this prominent cultural icon has only ever lurked there on the periphery of my consciousness.

Though I do recall one occasion on some waterfront when I’d had enough to drink that I wondered, briefly, if I needed a tattoo. Out of nowhere — given I knew no more about Hello Kitty than this image appears everywhere around the world that you find tacky items manufactured from synthetic materials — … Read more