Topic: COLUMBUS DAY? (Read 19460 times)

bk · « **on:** October 10, 2004, 11:59:34 PM »

Well, you've read the notes, you're now as confused as I am (I'm telling you I will be merciless to the person who gave me this incorrect information - said person might just want to step up and admit it), but damn it all, we're celebrating Columbus Day like it or not, so it's time to post until the Columbus Day Cows come home.

bk · « **Reply #1 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:02:42 AM »

So, is it or is it not Columbus Day? Did someone give me bum information? Is this a holiday of some sort or is it not?

George · « **Reply #2 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:05:48 AM »

As far as I know, it's Columbus Day. At my work, we have All Staff Day (staff training for the entire library system) on Columbus Day, and since that's going to happen in the morning, it MUST be Columbus Day.

bk · « **Reply #3 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:07:20 AM »

Thank goodness! I looked at our calendar on this here site and there was no mention of Columbus Day and I began to think someone was giving me the Gaslight Treatment. Well, at least we now know it is Columbus Day and on with the celebration, you dear, dear people out there in the dark.

George · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:14:30 AM »

As for libations, I don't drink, either. I've only gotten drunk once...and I remember the evening very clearly (I didn't black-out or anything). It was February of my last year in college (1989) and friends came over to eat lasagna and to specifically get me drunk, because I'd never gotten drunk before. They brought vodka and raspberry juice. Now, I don't like raspberries very much and mixing the juice with alcohol (which I don't like, either) was not too tasty to me. But I drank it. My friends told me that they made it very weak, but it did the job. I got drunk. I was laughing and giggling like a schoolgirl! When I moved, it felt like the whole world was spinning. If I just sat on the couch and watched TV and didn't even turn my head, I was fine, but as soon as I moved, even a tiny bit, it all started spinning again. I also couldn't walk by that time. I sort of rolled across the floor, but couldn't walk. We all had a grand time, and I can now say that I've been drunk once in my life. Also, in the morning, I had no hangover, whatsoever. I was totally fine. It was fun while it lasted, but I've never had any desire to do it again.

Now I must get to the house that's being house-sat (and let in the cat!). To quote Jose, "Laters!"

bk · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:14:51 AM »

Welcome six GUESTS. We're talkin' about Columbus Day.

bk · « **Reply #6 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:15:12 AM »

Pogue, when do I get to meet Tewkesbury?

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #7 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:17:39 AM »

Actually, Columbus Day I believe was traditionally the twelfth but some bright cherub during the Nixon Presidency (I think) decided that we would make every monday nearest the day a holiday in order to give everyone a three-day weekend, so Columbus Day this year will be falling on the eleventh.

So, BK, will there be a critique of Ashley's CD? What songs are on it?

Libations? Bubbles is always fine with me. Nothing like a nice champagne...doesn't have to be an expensive one either...just as long as it's nice. And since we're speaking of things Eyetalian, I'm particularly fond of the Eyetalian version of champagne...a sparkling wine known as Procesco. I don't really drink much hard liquor at all...It's usually something with Vodka, when I do, though I'm also partial to marqueritas. I like many kinds of wine. I particularly a good Shiraz. Most the stuff coming out of Australia is great, South Africa also, and the Chilean wines can be quite nice. I love pretty much anything from the vineyards of Qupe or Au Bon Climat, both up in Santa Barbara.

And occasionally, nothing hits the spot like a cold beer.

bk · « **Reply #8 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:21:00 AM »

Haven't even unwrapped her CD yet, but I'll have a full report.

Welcome eight GUESTS. We're talkin' about Columbus Day and Queen Isabella Rosselini.

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #9 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:39:19 AM »

BK, when would you like to meet Tewkesbury? My schedule as always is fairly flexible...except for tonight when we must meet with the Ellisons from our postponement of the other day.

I find it very interesting that Senator Kerry mentioned his friend Christopher Reeve only this past Friday in the debate in relation to stem cell research. I already saw the clip on the news tonight. I expect we'll be seeing a lot of it this week.

George, my only two memories of being blotto stinking drunk are two. One, my very first time. I was playing McCann in the BIRTHDAY PARTY and our director was one of these method guys. When he heard I hadn't ever been drunk (indeed, didn't drink at all), he decided I needed to be drunk to know how to play it. So the cast had a party and they plied me with screwdrivers (vodka & orange juice). The only problem was that McCann is a rather melancholy, slightly menacing, wistful drunk in the play. I turned out to be a very giddy, rather charmingly silly drunk...so the excess and the exercise was all for naught, as far as research goes. Though the conk the day after was a beaut. I laid and moaned about most of the day until my director stopped by and said: "You've got to eat something." We went out for breakfast at three o'clock in the afternoon. I did take that lesson away with me. Hungover, eat breakfast.

The other time I got drunk was the day Elvis died. An actor friend and I, who were both fans of his, held are own private wake. Though I shouldn't have gotten anywhere near a car, I had to get home to walk my dog. I remember driving home at three o clock in the morning down Lemmon Ave. in Dallas. As most drunks know, there is a part of your brain that is rational and crystal clear watching you be drunk (I think it's that same part of the brain standing outside yourself watching you when you're having a particular brilliant night on stage acting). Anyway that part of the brain was watching me carefully navigating down barren streets fearful, some cop might pull me over, knowing I was a danger to myself and others...and all the while I was saying, "you must never, ever do this again, you fool." And I never have driven since when I was drunk. Very scary. When I got home, I puked in the courtyard of my apartment building. When I crawled out of bed the next, the same friend I had gotten drunk with the night before and I went and saw Annie Hall.

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #10 on:** October 11, 2004, 12:59:53 AM »

Well, it's one AM and I'm the last of the Mohicans. I'm off to bed then.

Jrand74 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 11, 2004, 03:13:27 AM »

DRELMORE - I seem to remember sometime in the 1980's that Miss Kitty Carlisle authorized a production of JUBILEE at a college here in Indiana? Is that the production that you worked on?

Tewkesberry is a fine a noble name for a canine!

I forgot to ask - DRPANNI how did you get a birthday card from Montgomery Clift....you must have been very YOUNG when that happened.

I was sick yesterday, I am sick today. I don't think I want to be sick anymore. Allergies allergies allergies.

Yes Columbus Day is a federal Holiday - first established on October 12 - but now celebrated on the nearest Monday as a Federal Holiday. Banks and Post Offices will be closed today, no mail!

I was thinking it happened a bit later than the Nixon administration, but I am not too sure.

Jrand74 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 11, 2004, 03:17:16 AM »

Nope DRCHARLES POGUE is correct....Prezzident Nixon declared the second Monday of October to be a federal holiday - Columbus Day.

And yes Mr Columbus was Eye-talian, but his government would not finance his trip around the world (or off the edge as the case may be) - but Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain (looking for a short route to the West Indies) gave him the money. Isabella hocked her jewelry if I am not mistaken. And October 12 is the day Columbus sited whatever land it was he landed on here in this hemisphere. I love history.

Little did he know, that he was soon going to be siting it on whatever was the second Monday in October.

AND I have always thought that the creators of Columbo got the name for that character from Columbus because he was always looking for something and stumbling on the right answer....or seemed to.

Jrand74 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 11, 2004, 03:23:34 AM »

Interesting short history of the exciting life of Mr CC.

http://www1.minn.net/~keithp/cctl.htm

Panni · « **Reply #14 on:** October 11, 2004, 04:07:47 AM »

Well, DRs, I went to bed pretty sick last night (this after saying the other day that I rarely get sick - one must NEVER say such things!)...Have no idea when I fell asleep, it's all pretty hazy. I thought I dreamed (dreamt?) that Christopher Reeve had died, but I must have fallen asleep as the news played and heard it - I have no idea. Very sad.
It is now 4 in the morn and I am up - (feeling better) - because Abie decided that he didn't want to be left out of the fun and woke me up with doggie vomiting noises. I think he ate some of the Kleenex I had been using to blow my nose a million times.
Are we grossed out yet?

As for getting really drunk. Totally sh-t-faced, blotto.... That only happened to me once in my life. In college. A friend of mine was working as bartender at the campus pub and one night gave me all the free Black Russians I wanted. A dangerous drink in that you don't really feel like you're drinking alcohol. I remember going into the ladies room and kind of sliding down the wall of the cubicle and sitting on the refreshingly cool floor for the longest time -- as the world spun (a Christopher Columbus reference) - much too quickly for my taste. Then, after what seemed like hours, I gathered the strength to get up and start the long walk home.
I lived about 5 minutes from the pub. I could see my building in the - what seemed like - distance. It was the longest 5 minute walk of my life. The worst part of it all was feeling totally out of control. I cannot stand not feeling in control. Yuck.

Panni · « **Reply #15 on:** October 11, 2004, 04:18:39 AM »

Jrand - I got the birthday card from Montgomery Clift when I was a teenager (have no idea what age). My best friend, Carol Solomon, wrote him a letter, telling him that I was his number on fan and that the best birthday present she could think of giving me was a card from him. She enclosed a card and asked him to sign it and return it to me. She told me about this way after the fact - because no card arrived. Then, months after my birthday had passed, she phone me one day, screaming excitedly. She had just received a letter from Monty! In it he wrote to her that he had been on location and was just now catching up on his mail. He apologized for not returning the card, but it was on its way. Wasn't it nice of him to write to her to explain things?
And - as promised - the card arrived a day or two later. "Belated good wishes, Monty Clift." It is one of the few things I would make sure to take if they gave me a minute to gather my treasures before blowing up the house. (There is a whole follow-up to this story about which I have written a play, but that's another tale for another day.)
I'm now going to try and get some sleep.

Panni · « **Reply #16 on:** October 11, 2004, 04:34:28 AM »

...But before that - let's not forget that Columbus Day is, to say the least, controversial in some quarters.
Some picky people find it a tad offensive to honor a guy who opened the door to European colonization, the exploitation (and killing off) of native peoples and the slave trade. But hey, nobody's perfect.

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #17 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:08:16 AM »

Wow! I get to be the first one who quotes Gershwin here:

"They all laughed at Christopher Columbus
When he said the world was round."

td · « **Reply #18 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:10:01 AM »

I'm basically a martini man myself. Vodka martini, preferebly Absolut. Straight up. Olive. Simple and basic.

A hot & spicy Bloody Mary will serve me nicely before dinner.

Can't drink most red wines, I get a headache almost immediately.

A nice Reisling with dinner on occasion.

For fun, in the dizzy disco days, a Blue Flame was a popUlar shot/slammer drink: 1 part Southern Comfort, 1 part Peppermint Schnapps in a shot glass, ignite and drink while flaming.

I rarely have alcohol these days, socially, every now and then. BUT as I posted a few weeks ago, I managed to have FOUR rather large Absolut martinis in a short period of time. . .

Ben · « **Reply #19 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:22:18 AM »

Hi, gang. VERY busy at work this last week of deadline. I probably won't be posting much this week, though I'll pop in now and then.

Stuart · « **Reply #20 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:31:10 AM »

Nice new avatar, DR Noel.

Libations? Did somebody say libations?
Summertime means Gin & Tonics.
Winter lately means scotch. Occasionally I mix my scotch with ginger ale, which causes some people to question why I even bother to drink at all.
Favorite nightcap is a White Russian.

I got stinking blotto drunk once in my life as well. It was a Halloween party (well, parties...) during my freshman year at NYU. There may have been G&Ts involved beforehand, which I don't recall at this point, but the basis of the blotto-ness was the mixing of white and red wine. And not just one of each. There was no praying to the porcelain god/dess, but there was definitely a bed that spun like Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST. And I have always been much more careful about mixing different spirits ever since.

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #21 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:44:04 AM »

I'm feeling sad about Christopher Reeve's death but I also feel that his was a life that was well lived. While he didn't get to achieve his dream of walking once again unaided, he made so many truely Superman-like strides to improve his condition that it's astounding. And he did it all through the strength of his will and self-perseverance (God knows how many similarly effected people he's inspired!) And to top it all off, he managed to continue his film career, not only acting but directing as well.

Thinking about Christopher Reeve's life makes me wonder of what I could be capable of with a full fuctioning body.

td · « **Reply #22 on:** October 11, 2004, 06:54:50 AM »

Another nice winter libation, in lieu of a White Russian, is a Cowboy C***sucker - made with equal parts of Butterscotch Schnapps and Bailey's Irish Creme.

MBarnum · « **Reply #23 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:12:00 AM »

Not a big fan of beer and wine as it always seems to give me a headache, so when I drink, which isn't very often, I am fond of a whiskey sour or a martini.

elmore3003 · « **Reply #24 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:24:36 AM »

Quote from: JRand54 on October 11, 2004, 03:13:27 AM

DRELMORE - I seem to remember sometime in the 1980's that Miss Kitty Carlisle authorized a production of JUBILEE at a college here in Indiana? Is that the production that you worked on?

DRJRand54, as a part of the Cole Porter centenary (1991?), Idiana University Opera Theatre produced JUBILEE with fantastic scenery and costumes. Robert Kimball and I trekked out to Bloomington and saw the second cast. I believe Kitty saw one or two performances as well. John Simon came out, gave it a terrible review but he mentioned my nice arrangements, and all plans to bring the production to NYC and the Juilliard Theatre were abandoned.

While it was most definitely a student production, and a lot of performers were too young for their roles, the production - mostly art deco, I recall - was stunning to look at, probably better than Jo Mielziner's original designs. I believe Robert O'Hearn, who designed for the Metropolitan Opera, did them.

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #25 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:34:45 AM »

Libations:

I do likes a good ale. Sierra Nevada, Bass imported, or Sam Smith's. In a pinch, a bottle of Yuengling or Rolling Rock will do, too.

I'm not half so particular with wines, but once in a while I get hooked on something for a while until I get tired of it. Lately I've been into an Eyetalian red that's so heady that I love to just swish the glass around and inhale the fumes. I know it's from a winery named Stella, but I don't remember the name of the wine itself.

But my favorite drink is a good malt scotch, particularly Caol Ila. Once you have a swig of this stuff, Dewer's will taste like water that had a brown crayon dipped in it.

Stuart · « **Reply #26 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:43:53 AM »

Quote from: Dan (the Man) on October 11, 2004, 07:34:45 AM

I'm not half so particular with wines...

As some of you may recall from last week's discussion, wine is something about which I would like to gain more knowledge. (Lesson #1: Do NOT mix white and red wine!)

I don't particularly care for champagne, good or otherwise. I invariably get a headache.

I used to loathe beer. It reminded me of the days when I couldn't afford to buy a "real" drink. (Veda to Mildred: "Mother, we're POOR!") I also never really cared for the taste. I have now come around, and realize that sometimes a beer is not the worst thing in the world to chug down your gullet.

Matt H. · « **Reply #27 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:44:46 AM »

Very sad about Christopher Reeve. Having just watched REMAINS OF THE DAY fairly recently, I was reminded that he at one time was a vivid presence in films. But he handled his fate with great tact and dignity. That may be his greatest legacy.

Matt H. · « **Reply #28 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:46:04 AM »

DR George, I agree with you about ENTERPRISE. Are there things about the show I'd like to fix. You bet! But I still enjoy it. I will admit that I'm looking forward to the Zindii arc ending this week so we can move on to other matters in the galaxy.

Matt H. · « **Reply #29 on:** October 11, 2004, 07:49:51 AM »

Libations:

I'm not much of a drinker and can go months without having any alcohol. However, in homage to the SEX AND THE CITY girls, I have grown very fond of Cosmopolitans in recent months. I had my first professionally mixed one in NYC in July, but honestly, I think I like the pre-mixed ones you can buy bottled even more.

Not a beer drinker at all, but mixed drinks with some sweetness to them (Tom Collins, daiquaris, pino coladas) are all fine, and if I'm going to have wine with a meal, I'd prefer white zin.

News:

Author Topic: COLUMBUS DAY? (Read 19460 times)

Ben

MBarnum