Grrl Power #410 – Maximized marketing
Arianna and her team are probably already fielding several dozen offers from all sorts of companies for each and every member of the team. Deus has slightly more access than a Hasbro exec, but only just – you can be sure there will be action figures of the team. Maxima especially will have tons of offers, and in addition to easing her into the idea, Deus is also kind of calling dibs on her endorsement time by putting the offer out there so early.
For the snooty alcoholics in the crowd, that’s a bottle of 40 year old Glenfiddich on the table, which goes for just shy of $4,000 per bottle. I’m not sure if Deus is trying to impress Maxima, (ok he definitely is) or if he or even Max is a just booze snob. I assume 40 year old scotch is pretty good relative to other scotch. I don’t drink a lot, and when I do it’s basically liquid candy, like Mudslides or Alien Secretions so I wouldn’t know expensive scotch if you threw it in my face. In fact the only scotch I know I like is butterscotch schnapps mixed with root beer. It’s… very sweet.
In my mind Maxima is channeling Peter Dinklage there in panel 3.
I haven’t recommended any webcomics lately, but I found one that compelled me to read all the archives in a single go. It’s called the Pigeon Gazette, and it’s a… I guess semi-autobio comic about a gal who really reminds me of Sydney quite a bit at times, albeit with slightly more crippling social anxiety issues from time to time – but you know, in a funny way. Here’s a link straight to the archives cause it’s posted on Tumblr, so there’s no other way to read from the beginning. Not that there’s really an ongoing story. Anyway, check it out, and support her Patreon if you’re so inclined. Her comic is hilarious and she should have all the monies.
Patreon supporters can view this page at twice the size! (as soon as I wake up and post it then immediately go back to sleep since Patreon doesn’t have a way to schedule posts yet.) $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
It looks like Nike has heard of the potential competition and has announced the release of their self-lacing sneakers. The shoes will tighten when they feel the pressure of a foot on the insole and potentially change their grip when a person changes their activity level.
https://www.livescience.com/54226-nike-hyperadapt-self-lacing-sneakers.html
News flash people. This is how Skynet takes over the world. In the future when people are running away from killer robots their shoes will suddenly release from their feet by remote command. This will cause the people to trip and fall over, allowing them to be captured.
More like people wondering why they didn’t announce this Last year in keeping with the various BttF turning points.
A week after Nike announced their shoes Reebok stated that they are releasing versions of their shoe worn by Ripley in the movie Aliens. https://www.space.com/32428-aliens-stompers-from-reebok-coming-on-alien-day.html
I wonder if the aliens on Dave’s Earth have parties to watch the ‘Alien’ movies and root for the Xenomorph?
Why? Because the Xenomorphs hunt and kill humans? The Xenomorphs hunt and kill everything
because the humans are xenophobic a-holes that just want them as weapons or otherwise intolerant pieces of …………… sorry little close to home as I am considered alien based on not being traditional human formed earthling.
Because Peter Dinklage was mentioned, this must be posted. It is internet law.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlzIgSvnYc
I somehow had missed this meme. I am appropriately amused.
Really? If your going to do this one then I have to pull the one with his reaction to finding out about yours… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vft3keLvmMc
How much Deus paid for the original of “Spectrum Gals”? Cause it’s not a replica, right? :)
Worth to notice the homage to legendary Wizard of the Coast’s artist Jeff Easley using the cover of first edition D&D Legends & Lore there in panel two. Just in case it’s mirrored and cropped, here how the original looks.
That image… went completely unnoticed by me… Nice catch and salute to Jeff Easley
So here’s my Glenfiddich story.
While attending a medieval society event many years ago, I found myself invited to try some 50 year old Glenfiddich. Yes, 50 years old. The bottle, the label, everything, from around the 1940s. The proud owner–who was celebrating his 50th birthday and 25th wedding anniversary that weekend, iirc–opened the bottle, poured the first shot, took a sip, and smiled in bliss. His father had served in the British Isles during WWII, married a Scottish lass, and bought a case of bottles for his son to eventually celebrate with down the road.
So the owner was justifiably proud, and offered several of us who were nearby a little taste. When he offered some to me, I told him I’d never had Glenfiddich before. He insisted I give it a try, no doubt thinking to convert me to fine liquors. Considering I hate the hops in beer, I was perfectly fine with trying anything non-hoppy. So, I tried it. Just a little sip, like half a teaspoon’s worth. I was aaaalmost 22 at that point, and wasn’t much of a drinker, so I wanted to go easy.
I blinked at the complex, mostly smooth taste, rolled it around on my tongue, enjoyed most of it…but not all of it. So I told him, “This is going sour. You’d better drink it up fast.”
Naturally, he scowled at me for my hubris. I’d never had any sort of Glenfiddich before–and had told him so when he’d offered–so naturally, he thought I was being a bit pretentious. What did I, a young woman of not quite 22, know about high quality liquor, let alone a precious bottle of 50 year old Glenfiddich?? (To be fair, this is a valid question to ask.)
He huffed a bit, and waltzed over to a friend of his who was at the same event, a gentleman who was a professional wine taster. The owner of the opened bottle allowed his friend to exclaim over his prize, and carefully poured him a mouthful, and the wine taste enjoyed the aroma, the way a swirl coated the glass (it’s a wine thing, apparently), did a whole evaluation, took a sip…started to smile…and then frowned.
The wine taster took another sip. Asked for another measure, and tried that…and finally said, “…I think this is going sour. Did you leave it anywhere warm in the last month? Maybe transported it in a warm car for more than half an hour, without having it in a cooler?” …It was winter, everyone was making sure to heat their cars as they traveled…and I believe the owner had driven like 3 hours to get to the event the previous day.
The owner’s jaw dropped, and he sorta turned and looked for me and pointed at me, and said, “SHE said it was going sour! But she said she’d never had Glenfiddich before, and I know you have! I know you’re a pro, but how did SHE know it was going bad?”
The wine taster said, “Some people are just born extra-sensitive to certain flavors.”
And I shrugged and said, “I am sensitive to certain things, yes…and I can just taste it. Fermentation when it’s going sour just…tastes off, in a very specific way. I can’t tell a whiskey from a scotch from a rum, because I haven’t tasted them often enough to tell them apart, but I CAN tell you when something’s going bad–I can even tell when milk is going bad by about 2-3 days before anyone else can detect it. I’m sorry your drink is going bad. Aside from that tiny hint of sourness, it’s really quite good! I’d say you have at least a week before most others would notice it.”
“–If you keep it cool,” the wine taster agreed. “If you don’t keep it in a cooler, use it up in the next 3 days, tops.”
…I still don’t drink a lot of alcohol, but I remember that moment because here I was, a fresh young adult who didn’t know jack diddly about the different kinds of liquor out there, but I had my tastebud sensitivity confirmed by a pro in the field.
So that’s my Glenfiddich story. XD
Cool story! I should probably try a variety of booze just to have the experience. I’m not… super worldly.
I once tried a 12 year old can of Jolt Cola. Does that give me any cred?
Fun fact: A 50 year old bottle of scotch is not the same thing as a 50 year old scotch.
Scotch ages while it’s in the barrel, it doesn’t change much anymore after bottling
Quite true. If you buy a 50 year old scotch you’ll have a much better drink than a 12 year old scotch you’ve had kicking around under your bar for 38 years.
Hmmm, a medieval society event. I was thinking Pennsic until you mentioned winter. The Ice Dragon, perhaps? I am right in assuming SCA, yes? P.S. Ice Dragon is THIS weekend!
What kingdom is that in? (Says a man from Meridies.) … ah, Aethelmearc …
…whiskey goes bad?
Granted, this from someone who drinks mostly Evan Williams, which I’m guessing would be to everyone at that party as garlic to a vampire.
150yr. old scotch. forgot what the name was. Tasted like whiskey, oats, oak, and pure fire. It was a heavenly experience. And that…was just a single sip.
Glenavon
It can, if you don’t store it properly. You know those super fancy climate controlled bottle safes? They aren’t just for show
Actually just about every booze/liquor out there is effected one way or another when exposed to heat. Some actually get better, some go bad, and if your cooking with it instead of just drinking it you can totally burn off the alcohol leaving the flavor behind in the food your cooking. Incidentally, Warn whiskey mixed with Honey is actually a great item to drink it you have a cold and can nd the cold faster surprisingly enough.
It is occasionally called Drambuie. :) It is the only think I’ll add to my scotch other than a little water, which especially for the higher proof scotches really helps open them up and be far more approachable. (Kind of like most people after few drinks, as long as they can hold their liquor.) It’s called a Rusty Nail, but my recipe is about a half measure of Drambuie to 4 measures scotch, my sweet tooth is night non-existent.
Have tried Drambuie, didn’t like it
I don’t like how most alcoholic drinks taste in general, aside from (oddly enough) mead, long island iced tea, cinnabon-flavored vodka, skittles flavored vodka, baileys, Mike’s Hard anything, and Electric Lemonade from TGIF.
I guess I only like sweet stuff.
Well if you like the sweet stuff, then try a Golden Samurai, however I should say its a mixed drink and can usually knock you on your rump with the first drink…..
That’s a delicious litany you’ve given there! Except the Bailey’s, which tastes like chalk to me.
I’d suggest that this professional wine taster might have a great set of taste buds, but he didn’t know a lot about scotch. Even an abused bottle isn’t going to change much, if at all, across 3 days or even 3 months, even if stored at cellar temperature.
There is a way to read tumblr tags in chronological order.
You need to add /chrono after the tag in the address.
https://thepigeongazette.tumblr.com/tagged/comic/chrono
And now i realized, that not all pages are tagged with the same tag.
Hopefully this one is more complete, but i cannot be sure.
https://thepigeongazette.tumblr.com/tagged/thepigeongazette/chrono
Oh, that’s convoluted but handy.
The Pigeon Gazette has a tapastic page, where you can view all the comic in order.
https://tapastic.com/series/The-Pigeon-Gazette
Awww Maxima looks so cute there when the possibility of modeling comes up. >.>
Yup, thought that as well :D
I’m not really clear why Deus is asking Maxima directly. Shouldn’t this be a request that would go through Ariana? In fact, I’m not even sure Maxima has the power to agree as such, though I suppose she could promise not to tank the deal by an outright refusal to model.
I mean, I get trying to stake his claim early and requesting special treatment, but surely Deus is much more liekly to get special treatment from Max’s agent (Ariana).
Because not even Ariana is going to be able to get Maxima to say ‘yes’ to being there in person and giving her personal Stamp of Maximal Coolness; Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and ASICS may all want to get Shaq’s personal stamp, but while his agent may be pushing for Nike’s top bid, Shaq may say New Balance because he likes the way they fit his foot, or their color, or their corporate practices, or whatever.
The person doing the endorsement has final say on whether it’s a yes or no – and by going straight to Maxima first, Deus is making sure that when he sends his proposal to Ariana, it’ll be green-lit with speed truly astonishing to every other corporation out there.
That said, Maxima in Panel 5 is the abso-bloody-lutely cutest she’s ever been.
… I swear to god, if I was a) actually in the SidneyVerse, and b) lived near the Archon HQ, I would ask that woman out on a date in six seconds flat.
Clean up, pavement 4?
I doubt it. A portion of Maxima’s problem is that she believes that a man who wants to date her sees her mostly as an attractive woman. There’s a logical disconnect there (which there is with every issue wherein emotions get involved) – the military sees her as a one-person WMD, ARCHON sees her as the ultimate supers-stopping force, and in fact everyone who interacts with everyone else has a point-of-origin for that interest, whether it’s elegance, beauty, poise, a great insert-body-part-here, a certain sense of humor, knowledge of the Brownings (Elizabeth and Robert Barrett Browning), interest in Shakespeare, geeking out over Minecraft, or a thousand different reasons.
It’s Maxima’s primary failing, I think, that she refuses to allow others to do the very thing she wants: recognition of herself as a complete human being, more than just a two-dimensional cutout. Her physical beauty is part of her, part of how and what she thinks of herself; to excise that is essentially to refuse others the opportunity to do what she clearly wishes them to do: treat her as a complete person.
Actually, Maxima may fall into that category of women who are beautiful, but don’t _think_ they are. With her bone structure, it wouldn’t surprise me if her face looked bony and sharp during adolescence. Combined with her unusual skin tone, she may have had it burned into her that she wasn’t attractive at that age. A lot of people carry a self-image of themselves that was developed during the awkward years of puberty, and doesn’t accurately reflect their current appearance.
This may be why she had a failed relationship with Deus – if her dating experience was limited, she may have found his attention extremely flattering.
That could explain panel five :D
But then her self-doubt comes stomping back in panel six wearing those boots Deus gave her :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjMvOojLYoM :D
No, it’s been pretty clearly shown that she does know that she’s exceptionally attractive, but also that she doesn’t want to be, well, objectified. Which in turn (and as I said) makes her essentially excise that part of herself.
Normally Arianna’s people do field this sort of request, but he’s got Maxima right there in his office, so he’s driving the thin part of the wedge.
I love it when you go and make Max look genuinely pretty; the way you usually draw her she looks rather, well, Nathan Explosion-esque. It’s nice seeing her face lose her trademark glare and her jaw unset.
I can’t stand alcohol *unless* it’s sweet. Not Your Father’s is a favorite, but the first alcohol I tried that I actually liked was mead. In fact, my propensity for almost never drinking *any* alcohol except mead has lead to my friends and fans tagging me whenever the subject comes up in social media.
My favorite is Bunratty, which is bottled in Ireland (and I first tried it at Bunratty Castle, though I’m sure the name and the brand logo are just sheer coincidence). That one isn’t a pure mead; it’s flavored with white wine. However, in the words of one of my medievalist professors, who tried it at my recommendation, it’s second only to the secret recipe of the kings of Sweden. Never having tried that, I have to take his word on it. (For now. One of these days . . .) It’s a mead to enjoy on its own, and can be served chilled, heated (in which case it tastes mulled, thanks to the spices; very nice on a cold winter night), or room temperature (my preference). Sadly, it’s difficult to find in the United States.
A very light, domestic mead that you can find almost anywhere is Carroll’s. It’s got a slightly fruity hint to it (I think it’s apple, most of my friends say pear), and it’s got a low alcohol content. It can be drunk with food, or enjoyed on its own. I do the latter.
Another domestic mead is Camelot. This one is basically a honey version of a white dinner wine. It’s not great on its own, but it’s awesome with cheese, fish, etc.
An imported mead, but which can be found more easily than Bunratty, is Viking’s Blod. Yes, that’s not a typo. It’s more expensive than most ($30 a bottle, making it my most expensive per-ounce alcohol, not that it’s exactly a bank-breaker), and comes in two flavors that I’ve tried: regular, and flavored with hibiscus. I prefer the regular, but almost everyone I’ve given some to prefers the hibiscus. Both kinds are unusually high in alcohol for mead (19%), so go easy.
If you go experimenting for other meads, you’ll have to be cautious. I’ve tried many more, and one of the problems I keep running into is that there are no rules about calling a honeyed wine “mead.” Wine is made from fruit; mead is made from honey. I can taste the difference. Sometimes I don’t mind (and by “sometimes” I mean “once”), but normally I just can’t stand the taste of wine unless I use it in cooking. If you prefer things extra-sweet like me, then you might have the same issue.
For non-mead but still sweet, look at Wild Turkey American Honey. It’s honey bourbon; it satisfies my tastes like mead, but has a much, MUCH stronger kick. I’ve found that the white-wine-with-honey-“meads” are excellent as a mix with this bourbon for my friends who can’t handle the higher alcohol content, effectively watering it down without diluting the honey taste. The bourbon masks the wine for me.
Lastly, a go-to relaxing drink for me, especially with my Sydney-level chilli bowls (yes, I sometimes use your comic as a description of what my friends think I do with my spices) is milk mixed with St. Brendan’s Irish Cream. There are three reasons to go with this one over Bailey’s. One, it tastes better. Two, it’s much cheaper; with Bailey’s, you’re paying extra for the brand name. Three, it’s named after one of the quintessential Irish saints, and therefore is extra-Irish. (Okay, that last one probably only matters to people like me and my friends.) How much I mix with milk depends on my taste for that evening, but it is truly excellent with a good habanero-and-bacon chilli. (Or ghost pepper-and-bacon chilli, but I ran out of that particular hot sauce and need to go get more. A friend is sending me some “scary hot” salsa, though, and perhaps I’ll add some to a chilli batch sometime.)
My local grocery now stocks Tropical Pepper hot sauces. I bought “Extra Hot Habanero”, “Exxtra Hot Habanero”, “Exxxtra Hot Habanero”, “Exxxxtra Hot Habanero”, and “Ghost Pepper” sauces among others. Their logo is a toucan bird. On the Ghost Pepper bottle, the logo is the skeleton of a toucan. :) I recommend them.
I’ll take a look. *does so* Hey, I can order on Amazon! Excellent. That’s the modern shopping equivalent of taking 20 on a Search check.
I have little hope of finding anything better than Trader Joe’s house habanero sauce (not the hottest, but very tasty; I add a bunch to various things I cook) outside of a specialty shop. There’s a Pepper Palace a half-hour away, and their ghost pepper sauce is good. There’s a ghost pepper salsa that’s only sold in (as far as I know; the same friend sends it to me as barter) Texas that’s just delicious, to the point that it’s pretty much criminal to add it to chilli and include other flavors even though the result is also very tasty.
Sadly, I live in the DC area, which is pretty much the king of “white people spicy.” I have to assure restaurants that yes, I can handle it. (One of them tried poking me in the eye and gave me something that was just a little over my tolerance. That was delicious. I just couldn’t finish it all in one sitting.) There’s a Korean market nearby that I’m sure has stuff, but, well, everything is labeled in Korean.
i recently came to the conclusion that i have quite an ingrained heat tolerance, after the Philadelphia Flower Show. (shaddup. real men dig horticulture) whilst wandering the vendor portion i stumbled upon a lonely sauce booth, TorchBearers. working my way down the row, i struck up a conversation with the large, jolly fellow behind the display. after i tried the second-to-last sauce, he hands me a sticker.
“what’s this for?” asks i.
“that was our Zombie Apocalypse sauce. half a million on the scoville scale. we had these stickers printed up for events like this, to egg people on to try it.”
“oh, cool!” says i. “so, if that’s the apocalypse, what’s this next one?”
“that one is called Rapture. 1.2 million scovilles. i keep telling the boss we need stickers for that one too. so, all you get for trying it is my respect.”
…
it was tasty. i think i scared the guy; i kept up our conversation, mildly commenting as the heat crept up the back of my throat. i know i scared my brother! that said, rapture is worth a try. fiery, creeper heat with a ton of flavor.
A favorite liqueur is Irish Mist. Notes of honey and whiskey, a definite sweetness. The marketing materials refer to it being based on an old mead recipe. Very tasty!
I never browse in the whiskey aisle, but I figure I should check for that now. Not sure how much I’d like it; I see that it’s served straight or on the rocks, or as part of a few cocktails that don’t sound all that appealing to me. I wonder, though; I bet the flavoring is strong enough (since it mentions coffee) to use in tea. :) *MIMitW voice* I don’t always drink tea, but when I do, I spike it.
I do a good amount of homebrewing, and I enjoy making mead as well as wine and beer. But, even though historically mead has been a sweet drink I make almost all of mine dry, like a wine. It’s just my preference. I do usually split a little off and bottle it off-dry, but I rarely bottle any semi-sweet or sweet.
Butratty is an abomination, by the way. Spelling intended.
I find mead is more difficult to get a depth of flavor out of than wine or beer. Even ’boutique’ honeys from exotic sources such as raspberry fields and the such simply lack the character of the source flower or the fruit the source flower becomes. A grocery store clover or wildflower honey is typically fairly bland in comparison with a single source honey, but that’s what you’ll find for sale unless you hunt. Melomels (with fruit additions) are easier, as are metheglyns (spice additions). Oak helps enormously, as does dried fruit. Some of my best meads (IMO of course) have been an oaked golden raisin melomel and a shore plumb melomel. Fig and pummelo make for a fairly unique taste.
By the way, the ‘Viking strength, heroic mead’ is almost entirely a modern myth. Before modern yeast strains and brewing methods it was difficult to even achieve the 12-15% ABV typical for most dry wines these days. I confine my meads to that range, but I know a lot of hobbyists who are simply interested in making the strongest mead they can for the “get smashed fast” aspect of drinking. I’ve outgrown that by a good many years, and really never had getting smashed as a goal even as a young man, even if I did occasionally fail to observe a reasonable limit out of inexperience with drinking or simple stupidity.
There are two kinds of mead lovers: those who like Bunratty, and those who are wrong. :) Mind you, I’ve noticed that those who have an opinion on this subject are quite firm on this; there’s no middle ground. And I’ve never noticed any indication of taste prediction from it either; those who disagree over it have plenty of overlap elsewhere, and not in a pattern that I’ve noticed.
I don’t do homebrews myself; that doesn’t mean I won’t drink them, it’s just that I don’t *make* them. I have no interest in the process, and too many hobbies even if I did. Most beer tastes the same to me, but there’s a very nice variety in homebrewed mead. Well, “nice” as long as someone doesn’t think mead should be carbonated or otherwise bear any similarity to beer. I’m automatically suspicious of any mead sold at conventions and renaissance festivals; those tend to be the true abominations.
As for alcohol content, I don’t drink to get buzzed. Actually, I avoid getting buzzed, which annoys anyone who’s out at a bar with me even over my preference for fruity drinks. There are two reasons, both stemming from my particular flavor of handicap. One, too much sugar aggravates my chronic pain. Two, the same thing that keeps me from being able to use narcotic painkillers keeps me from getting a happy feeling from being buzzed, and I’m not a cheap date to begin with anyway. So I only drink for the taste, and only a little at a time; so honestly, a high alcohol content really only tells me how to serve it to others without my issues.
(And one of my many minor peeves is people assuming historical alcoholic drinks of any kind were automatically the same common level as today. No, people. Medieval ale typically had just enough alcohol in it to kill off harmful bacteria. Your RPG character isn’t going to get drunk on one mug without being ridiculed for a lightweight. Wine was typically closer to modern standards, and was the drink of choice to get drunk in the first place, but the content still trended lower.)
I’m interested in your observation regarding Bumratty having polarized people’s opinions beyond its flavor and quality. I dislike it for the taste preferences I mentioned before, I rarely drink a sweet beverage, alcohol or no alcohol notwithstanding. I perhaps have a bit of added disdain for it because it is not actually mead but a sweetened wine, but that’s a minor nitpick really, if I enjoyed it I wouldn’t care much for that misrepresentation.
Mead can have a lot to do with beer, in the style called a braggot. Those are typically very low in carbonation, some not at all, and are simply a use of barley or other grains to provide more fermentable sugars. Without having studied the history in depth I can’t do much more than speculate that barley was a readily available source of the starches and therefor sugars needed to make an alcoholic beverage, but honey was not, being hunted up by windfall before bee keeping was mastered.
One correction: You are correct that the ‘daily drinker’ beer in the past had a low alcohol content, but that was not what killed the bacteria. The brewing process involves boiling water, and that is what kills the bacteria*. Also there were many different kinds of beer, just as there are today. The small (low alcohol) beer was simply a way to drink a fluid without dying of some water borne bacteria, but they did indeed have stronger beers. Children might be ordered a small beer, but the adults could certainly order a beer strong enough to get them drunk off of a few (or several) mugs. Abby ales are hold-overs from the Lenten fast, made with a much higher grain content, and therefore a higher alcohol content, so that it would sustain the monks during their fast.
* Saint Arnulf famously dipped his crucifix in the brewing kettle and ordered the people to drink only beer. I don’t know if he had actual knowledge of water born bacteria, or if he was simply a shrewd observer.
As I said, Bunratty is a mead flavored with white wine, not a honeyed wine. I can taste the difference, mostly because I cannot stand wine. For some reason, the bottle says it’s “made from white wine with honey and spices added,” but it tastes completely different, with absolutely none of the horrid bite, from wines with honey added. There’s a Berrywine “mead” that a lot of people think is a mead, and its advertised as a mead, but clearly is white wine with honey.
I don’t know what else to add to the observation; I’ve seen and heard and discussed with mead-lovers who either love Bunratty or hate it, whether or not they agree that it’s not actually white wine. Again, I don’t know why Bunratty puts that on their bottle, but then I don’t know why Berrywine Plantations says theirs is a true mead.
Viking’s Blod has hops in it, and I thought I wouldn’t like it because of that; instead, it’s a favorite. I don’t taste bitterness at all. The ones I don’t like are the ones people try to make taste more like beer, to entice those who are more used to beer.
As for the bacteria, I was not referring to modern understanding, but rather to what they thought happened. I was unclear in that, however, since I was referring to bacteria (which obviously they did not know existed). They just knew that alcohol kept you from getting sick, and it only took a little, so therefore people drank that. Alewives (women who brewed ale) were valuable members of English society until beer-making moved in from the continent (beer lasting longer, therefore making large batches profitable, therefore moving it from a cottage industry to a true business and therefore inappropriate for women in early modern England). So I was only referring to ale, not beer; most of our society’s preconceptions about medieval life are based on half-understood facts about England filtered through generations of fiction.
So to be clear, you are disputing the makers own statement on what their product is? Why would they lie like that?
I’m confused by your statement “I was only referring to ale, not beer”, since ale is one of the two types of beer, lager being the other.
Heh, while searching for a statement from the manufacturer of Bunratty meade I ran across these tasting notes:
It makes it sound quite enticing, no? No. :)
So, Sydney says the April vote incentive may have something to do with centaurs? I admit that my first thought was that it might have something to do with Aurelius Shrapnell. I’m usually wrong about these things though . . .
He raises a country up to financial heights and makes a profit too.
I still like this type of guy.
I am having a Sydney elevator moment. Deus mentions shoes. Deus runs Machina. Machina makes gear for Archon. Archon has special uniform needs, including shoes. Does Dabbler even wear shoes? Dabbler’s human appearance does not actually change her shape. If she walks on a soft surface what kind of footprints does she leave? Will Machina have to make special shoes for Dabbler to leave the ‘right’ kind of footprints when in public? Has Archon told them about Dabbler? If not, can the in-house tailor come up with a solution? (And does Dabbler make a ‘clop clop’ sound when walking on hard surfaces?)
ADHD brain activate!!
good questions now I’m curious. maybe we can get the author to answer?
so, who do you envision Deus sounding like? personally, Imma go with Patrick Warburton
I touched on it above, Clancy Brown. Patrick Warburton voices Achiles in my head. Dude has a serious Kronk thing going.
Nah, Les is smoother than Kronk
Just to clarify: meant his voice, not imply that Warburton or Brown weren’t smooth
Wait, he wants to take on nike and he’s making boots? Is he trying to become the next Geox?
I thought Arc had proprietary uniforms made by the fabrimancer or whatever they called him.
They had to get the materials for them from somewhere
Uniforms, not boots or tech, and as Dante_Lare said, they have to get the fabric from somewhere
The great irony is, after Max said, with hope all over her face, “You want me as a spokesmodel?” He could have said, “YES.”
Celebrity Endorsement is better: they don’t actually have to model the stuff, or even wear it, just endorse it (and Deus may be many things, but ‘stupid’ ain’t one of them, certainly not when it comes to Maxi and modelling)
A note from a scotch lover: As alcohol ages, it mellows. Depending on whether you like highland or lowland scotches (usually either highly smoky/peaty or not smoky/peaty) there will be a definite earthy aroma and taste, more popular in such distilleries as Laphroaig and Ardbeg, while something like Glenfiddich tends to be middle of the row. Basically, it is scotchy enough to to appeal to scotch snobs, but still mild enough to have international appeal. Something like Glenmorangie tends to be much smoother, more British, but more aggressive in its advertisement as an authentic Scottish experience. With age, the sharper notes of the taste mellow until at forty years age, something like Glenfiddich is smooth enough to be generic, yet refined enough to be worth its name. It really is a hard thing to qualify, as you might imagine. If you, personally, want something sweater and yet still with a certain refinement, I suggest mead such as Moniack.
*takes notes*
Are there any relatively good scotches that cost less than $20 a bottle in the Mid-West?
I most definitely do not want something sweater. Less sweat always makes for a better scotch.
Bog water with a rep, rather have my rum thanks all the same. there are a few great scotches out there but glenfiddch isn’t one of them. just cause the price is high doesn’t mean its any bloody good. lots of folks opine about good scotch or rye or takillya or wine; most of em are either dreaming or they haven’t spent enough time sampling to have an opinion. my lady likes her scotch and we get some pretty good stuff for her but her favorite and the fave of almost every one that comes over is a 60 dollar bottle of 20 year old from canada. did a taste round with several verities and even our scotch snobs picked the canadian. those few like me will take something other than scotch hands down. for the young folks here spend the money every so often to try a sip of the really good stuff even if you have to all go in on it. educate your selves before you make the mistake of buying a $4000 bottle of something thats either viniger or you can strip paint with.
I love my glenfidich. The funny thing about wiskey is that there is infinite variation in tastes. What one hates, the other one loves
What would you recommend for someone who likes Jaegermeister and hates pale ales?
I’ll stay away from the rarified heights and settle for 25yr. Glenfarclas. I can’t afford it for regular use but I was given a bottle as a retirement present. Same region (Speyside) as Glenfiddich, but infinitely more complex. *mmm*
Any high end liquor that is properly aged (i.e. in barrels where changes can happen, not in glass bottles) can be very good. I “don’t like rum”, but have had some very good high end rums. Ditto for gin, or bourbon.
I am forced to ask… is an unrepentant villain still a villain if he has so many redeeming qualities?
If you’re talking about Deus, there’s no direct indication that he’s a villain at all.
Even his clearest example, where he killed a King, isn’t really an evil deed. Just look at how many people he helped by doing it (an entire country). If he was a local, he’d be hailed a hero of the revolution, casting out the corrupt warlords.
So instead I ask you: What makes someone a villain?
I would say maniacal laughter timed to thunderclaps are a definite warning sign for villainy. An annoying laugh is enough to label someone a villain in my book. Hmm. Now that I think of it there appear to be a great many villains at my day job.
I think it was more like boots ONLY.
Vote incentive?
I don’t suppose anybody else here drinks Spaghetti Westerns?
It’s a 1:1 mix of sarsaparilla and Root 100.
Personally, I recommend Frostop or Sprecher’s for the sarsaparilla.