I’m easily amused.

Whilst working on a recording project today, this happened. I figured I needed to share.

155 Belmont

Wow… New scene. Nice place, I think I’ll hang out here for a while.

Hiya folks! Welcome back to New Drink Thursday reviews! I took a bit of a hiatus from the reviews, but be sure, I missed being able to discuss my opinions of the new beverages each and every week. So, that said, lets get into it.

Wow. Just wow. The 155 Belmont, classy name, lush of a drink.

• 1 shot Dark Rum
• 2 shots Light Rum
• 1 shot Vodka
• 1 shot Orange Juice

As some of you know, I use an app on my phone to get the new drinks for every week. Recently, I have acquired a Samsung Galaxy Tablet (it’s fantastic, even if the battery life is a bit lacking). So, I promptly went to find the same application on that (they both run Android, so I figured it could work the same way). I instead found a new application, one that works a little more the way I was hoping that the previous one did. Also, it has some different recipes in it.

So, while searching through, I found the 155 Belmont, sounded classy enough so I thought I would give it a shot. Added bonus, gamers will also appreciate the name of it. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the drink beyond the name, so when it came out I took my first sip and HOLY CRAP THAT’S A LOT OF BOOZE! I quickly came to realize that I had just ordered what amounts to a Screwdriver’s big, angry brother. Jeez. This thing hits you like a freakin’ freight train. As I finished it, I was glad I didn’t have to worry about driving home.

To be quick, if you’re looking to get yourself good and hammered quickly, order two of these and you’re good all night.

I’m at a loss…

I just watched the video above. And I’m very, very glad that I did. However, being the social person that I am, I wanted to suggest it to the folks I know on Facebook. At first I wrote:

Watch this, I am glad I did.

However, I didn’t feel that quite summed it up enough. So, then I wrote:

I just finished watching this and I suggest you do the same. Keep an open mind. Love and be loved. Don’t take the affection that we are all naturally granted for one another for granted.

But then, that made me feel as though I was advocating the message of the church (which, if you were to ask anyone I know, isn’t true). So then I wrote:

This is a very interesting documentary of the Westboro Baptist Church. I suggest you watch it.

Ugh, can you get any more bland, guy?

The point I’m trying to bring up is this: I am a person who tends to play devil’s advocate, and often at that. I will sometimes pay attention to, and argue points that I don’t really agree with to make an argument or to help spread understanding (even if it is only to myself). So I watched this film. And yes, I’m glad I did. But how do you then suggest, in the most casual of settings (social media), that people you know, love, don’t know, or have ever even met in your life should do the same?

The issue lies in the last two categories. The people that I know and love will understand why I want them to watch it, simply because they know the kind of person that I am and I am not a hate spewing monster (a mindset that most have accepted of the WBC). However, there is still the issue of the folks that don’t know me well, or at all. These folks have nothing with which to judge my actions. Therefore, they (in their acceptable judgment) would then think that I am happy to see a documentary shed light on some of the more intimate facts of the church, not all of which are terribly negative.

Strange situation that we’ve come across, huh folks?

Dear Current Generation Consoles…

I would like to address each of you individually to address you all about the benefits and faults of your online marketplaces, hopefully making future updates pay attention to these issues and making the gaming community benefit as a whole.

First, I would like to talk to Nintendo:
Dear Nintendo, your marketplace sucks. Plain and simple. I was one of the first people that purchased a Wii and was disappointed by the market place the moment I hooked it up. It is slow, the wireless is unreliable and the “Points” system flat out doesn’t work. Having to enter every single bit of your personal information EVERY SINGLE TIME you need to make a purchase of points (not all of which you even NEED for the game you actually want) is absolutely asinine. Given that you are the entertainment company with the longest time on the market, I am wholly disappointed in the fact that you can’t figure out the best way to make us shell out money for games that we already played, beat, replayed and rebeat (is that a word?) on the same systems that the original game came out on. (Yes, I’m guilty of this on about 9 accounts). Make an account system and stop making me take my damn credit card out of my wallet every time I want to play something that came out on a system that you used to make. Not to mention that anything original that you put out is let out without any kind of demo system in place. The thing that you need to understand is that people don’t want to pay money for things that they don’t already know or understand. I have let quite a few games on your system get through my hands, simply because of the fact that there was no demo provided. If there was a readily accessible demo available for the games released on your platform, I… would probably still avoid it because of the god awful market system you have in place. But I would be far more enticed by the slew of original games you have come through your system.

Moving on.

The next victim to the stand is Xbox 360:
Dear Xbox 360, while you are  guilty of the same ridiculous points system that the Wii tries to tout as necessary, you at least offer demos of every title in your library. I can tell you that, even though I have an extremely odd number of points left in my account (I believe it ends in a 7), I do derive the greatest amount of joy from your marketplace. The mere fact that I am able to download a demo of any of the titles in your arcade or independent section before I actually have to make a purchase is nothing short of brilliant. Again, I have to admit to being an impulsive (if not stupid) consumer and admit that I have made purchases simply based on the fact that I have only enjoyed 2-3 minutes of game play or was promised an achievement if I were to make a purchase “Right Now!” However, the fact still stands that, that purchase was made after I was able to play the game and make my own decision as to whether or not I would enjoy it. I wasn’t told by online reviewers, I wasn’t swayed by advertisers, I played the game and decided for myself that I WANTED to purchase that game. And to that, I salute you Xbox 360 Marketplace. However, DO NOT let yourself think that that fact lets you off the hook for the whole Points fiasco. As stated above, that whole system is completely stupid, I should be able to purchase the amount of points I need for the transaction I want to make, no less, no more (unless, you know, if you could sweeten the deal with a discount… which I know you won’t do… greedy bastards).

Last, but certainly not least.

Ahem P…S…3…,
You have the (proud?) distinction of being able to say that you can boast the benefits from both of the previously mentioned consoles. Since you are a console with a few generations behind you, you can tout the fact that people can download titles from those previous consoles. Given that the only way they could play them on the consoles they were originally intended for would set them back several hundred dollars (a PS1 and Final Fantasy 7 would cost yours truly $599.74 with a cursory glance on Amazon.com) and you tell me I can buy it on the Playstation Network for $10.00. SHIT YEAH, I’M GOING FOR THAT!!!! Which brings me to my next point: Thank you Sony, thank you for understanding how people want to spend their money when it comes to….. well, just about everything. People want to spend as much money as it will take to get what they want. They do not want to spend $10 to get 1000 points for something that they only needed to spend 800 points on. Thank you for understanding that, when I need to spend 14.45 on a purchase, I want to spend 14.45 on that purchase. Somehow you have figured out the sacred ritual of spending exactly the amount needed to buy something, no more, no less. And I appreciate you for it. HOWEVER, do NOT think that you are off the hook for any kind of scathing remark. You my friend are also dipping into the Nintendo pool of suckdom, in the fact that you need to understand that people want to know what they are getting into with their purchases before spending money on them. Having a readily available demo for everything that is offered in your online store isn’t beneficial only for the consumer, it is also beneficial for you. Since people are more willing to purchase something that they have been allowed some time to get to know. Even if it is only 15 minutes or so of play time.

So there it is.
And here it is in condensed format:

• Nintendo sucks on all fronts.
• Microsoft is awesome in figuring out that folks want to play the games first.
• Sony knows that what you want to spend is how much you need to spend.

Basically: Nintendo’s market place needs to go find a lonely field to lie down in and sleep for a long time, while Microsoft’s demo capability and Sony’s money management system should have a roll in they hay and come up with something that makes sense to all folks involved. Really, it would make a lot of people happier… Or… at least me. And isn’t that really what matters anyway?

Fog Cutter

All right, while I was very excited for a change to the color palette last week, I’m not so sure I want this new red trend to continue. This week we had the Fog Cutter. Check below to see how well it cuts.

• 2 shots Light Rum
• 1 shot Brandy
• 1/2 shot Gin
• 2 shots Lemon Juice
• 1 shot Orange Juice
• Grenadine

The word “Supersweet” begins to describe this drink. The reason I don’t particularly want this trend to continue is because one of the main things that will make beverages red is Grenadine. Grenadine tastes like the “Cherry” syrup flavoring and boy-oh-boy is it ever sweet.

This drink is built in a shaker and then poured over ice. After that, the grenadine is added and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall of it settles to the bottom. Basically, drinking this from a straw is about half a glass of grenadine and then a LOT of diluted alcohol and citrusy juices. I’m sure that if had mixed a little better, it would have benefited greatly. After finishing one, I foolishly ordered another in hopes that it would fare better, I couldn’t even get more than one drink it. This drink made me ill. Unless you really loved cherry snow cones, avoid this drink at all costs.

Yuck.

It gets two for looking nice.

Next week: (shudder) The Alien Secretion

Sloe Comfortable Squeeze

Tall, red feller, ain't he?

Ooh! An addition to the color palette! Finally, something that isn’t yellow. Also, quite an interesting name, read on to find out if I felt it was fitting.

• 3/4 shot Sloe Gin
• 3/4 shot Vodka
• 3/4 shot Southern Comfort
• Orange Juice

I have to start this review with a confession. This was my first time ever having Sloe Gin, so when the drink came out red, I was baffled. I was very pleasantly surprised however. This was an excellent combination of flavors. One summation I came up with was V8 Splash that wants to get you wasted. As I was drinking it I remember thinking to myself “I shouldn’t enjoy this as much as I do because I’m a guy.” To preserve my masculinity, I probably won’t order another one. But keep in mind, that’s the ONLY reason.

but tell my guy friends I said

Next Week: The Fog Cutter

BONUS!

Andrew saw my review of the Sidecar and decided I needed to try a proper one. Check out my review to see how it fared.

Stone Sour

HoooooWhee! This one is quite an interesting little drink.  With an ingredient listing such as “…or spirit of choice”, you’re going to have an interesting time. Anyway, let’s check out the Stone Sour, this could get fun.

• 1 1/4 Shot Whiskey or spirit of choice
• 1 Splash orange juice
• 1 Splash sour mix

“… Or spirit of choice” That can lead someone down a variety of pathways. I myself decided to start with the Whiskey and from there I went on to Southern Comfort and then to Amaretto. I decided to keep them all in the brown hue.

The Whiskey was the least impressive of the three. Not because of the whiskey taste, but the lack of it. As I drank this one, I had a hard time finding the taste of any actual liquor at all. I see this as something that someone feeling clever would order so that they could tell their friends that it has Whiskey in it… Then ask them to feel their manly muscles.

The Southern Comfort was easily my favorite of the three. The flavor of the liquor actually was present and set up a very interesting flavor whether sipped from a straw or from the glass itself. Good job SoCo, you get a gold star.

Amaretto… You, on the other hand, have no business in this drink. Take a look at those ingredients, do you honestly think you need to be hanging around sweetening things up even more. Eesh. The addition of Amaretto caused the drink to taste like a Roy Rogers (no, not a Rob Roy, thank god). You know, the boy version of a Shirley Temple? It gave me a freakin’ toothache.

Results:

Whiskey:

Southern Comfort:

Amaretto:

As I said, I kept everything to brown liquors. If anyone has an idea to try something else, Vodka, Gin or any other interesting ideas, let me know how it was in the comment box below.

Next Weeks Drink: Sloe Comfortable Squeeze