Checked out this site and have to admit that I don't know what they're talking about. If it's a joke (as I suspect) it's very involved and not particularly funny. If not, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I applied for my free sample (What the hell, right?) but their program wouldn't take my info for some reason.

One question: One part of the site says they pick one entry a day to send a free sample to but another claims to have already sent out over a million of them. Just how long have these bozos been in business??

Oh dear...

Since, at our present state of knowledge, the only way to re-hydrate anything is to add water to it, dehydrated water would need to have ordinary water added to make it drinkable! The site is, of course, a spoof.

Having said which there was a science fiction story once that postulated that something of the sort could be done at a sub-molecular level - I seem to remember that it invoved eating Martian sand rats or something similar.

Dehydrated beer has been made but I understand that it tasted so horrible that Anheuser Busch bought the entire production and sold it as Bud Lite...

Richard English

Of course it isn't a spoof! Everyone knows that you have to use dehydrated water to irrigate the famous spaghetti trees of Northern Italy, the harvest of which was shown on BBC some years ago.


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Richard, in reply to your question at FOTA. I don't know if it's a new beer or an old one. What I do know is that last week, after my writers' group meeting, we retired to the White Rose in Bilston (a splendid hostelry with a rotating selection of ten Ales) where they had Hopback Thunderstorm. It was a very tasty brew although a little sweet for my palate. Nevertheless I managed to force down five pints of it which may well have contributed in some measure to the fact that our team came last in the quiz. As I commented at FOTA I saw this as a moral victory as we had answered all the questions on literature correctly but couldn't identify any of the photographs of soap stars - the picture round being the one that dragged us to the bottom of the table.

Incidentally last night I was drinking Enville Gothic, Enville being one of my favourite breweries. I'm especially partial to the White.

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How typical do you think the Brits on this board are regarding their beer drinking activities? It seems to me that people in the U.S. don't drink nearly as much beer as you do. Now, of course, I am not speaking of college kids or alcholics--just people in general.

The last time I checked the per person consumption in the UK was lower than some other European countries - Belgium and Germany spring to mind as drinking more per head.

However, neither Germany nor Belgium are great wine drinkers - alhough Gremany does produce a fair amount of wine.

Britain, especially England, is a very important wine market and we drink lots of it (I can buy wine from over 30 different countries from my local supermarket).

So, although we are quite heavy drinkers, we spread our favours around quite widely. In addition to wine we drink quite a lot of spirits, of which Whisky is probably the most important, closely followed by gin.

Having said which, we do consume a fair amount of beer - more than the USA on a per capita basis - and that is down to the quality and variety of the beer we have, I feel sure.

Richard English

quote:

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
How typical do you think the Brits on this board are regarding their beer drinking activities? It seems to me that people in the U.S. don't drink nearly as much beer as you do. Now, of course, I am not speaking of college kids or alcholics--just people in general.

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I don't have the book to hand to check the reference but I think it's in Notes from a Big Country that Bill Bryson tells the story that when he returned to live in America after many years in England he went out for a drink with someone and was astonished to discover that that was exactly what they meant - a drink, wanting to finish the evening after just one beer.

I think I'm fairly typical. I'll start a new thread with a poll and we can find out.

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Recently, I went to dinner with one of the members of our Board of Directors. She sheepishly said to me, "I know it is crass, but I really like beer better than wine. Do you mind if I order beer for dinner?" I was ecstatic because I, too, prefer beer to wine; however, being a woman I also am hesitant to order beer when I am out with others. When I do, I often get relentlessly teased.

I hope you ordered a proper beer, like Goose Island...

Richard English

Mind you, if it was a typical US bar serving typical US beer, I can understand their reluctance to want to stay for more than one.

I have filled in the poll but found it slightly hard since an "average" week will vary according to whether it's winter or summer for me. During the summer months I attend numbers of vintage vehicle rallies and would probably consume 12 pints over just two days. In the winter, my consumption will be less as I stay at home more.

Having said which, I probably get to the arbitrary 12 pint level even then - after all, that's less than two pints a day, so one at lunchtime and one in the evening...yes, quite a moderate amount! Maybe you need to extend the scale upwards, Bob!

Richard English

No, it was in Washington DC, and often regional beers aren't available in other areas of the country. I probably ordered Anchor Steam which is usually available everywhere.
I have heard, for example, that there is a good (???) beer in Philadelphia (YingLing or something), but it is not available in Chicago so I can't try it.

Hmm. Just taken a look at the poll results so far. It seems my drinking is a bit on the low side. I'm actually more of a session drinker which means that when I go out I'll usually have about five pints of beer*. I'm almost always out once a week and probably every three or four weeks I'll go out for a second session. Very rarely do I ever go out drinking more than twice in a week. I can't remember the last time.

This puts me at an average of around six or seven.
The 12 pint limit in the poll wasn't really arbitrary. It was chosen because

a) the polling system only allows five answers.
b) four pint steps seemed quite sensible
c) 12 pints a week is the figure usuaully quoted by the "experts" claiming that above this on a regular basis and you might want to be worried that you are becoming an alcoholic.

Only two people have voted so far in the non-Brit poll and they both said less than one pint per week.
We seem to be upholding the stereotypes quite nicely at the moment.

(*of course in my younger days it wasn't uncommon for a session to be a dozen pints followed by a curry, but I don't have that kind of capacity nowadays.)

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quote:

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...a session to be a dozen pints followed by a curry...

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Bob? What is a curry?

Curry is spicy Indian food. Indian and Chinese restaurants tend to stay open until fairly late, and so after the pub kicks them out at closing time young men often go for a meal to round off the drinking session. The fact that the restaurant can usually serve drinks with the meal is, of course, a contributory factor.

Curries range in flavour from fairly mild to extremely hot. It would be a matter of pride to tackle the hottest, Vindaloo, after a skinful of beer.

More about curries -- The Curry House.

quote:

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Originally posted by Morgan:

quote:

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...a session to be a dozen pints followed by a curry...

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Bob? What is a _curry_?

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Oh no ! You don't get curry in the US ?
You poor things.
I'm rather partial to a Chicken Tikka myself but, as arnie said, it was once a matter of pride to settle for nothing less than a Vindaloo.

Maybe we should have a words from Indian Cuisine thread.

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OK, guys! I have had curry in Indian food. I have cooked curried chicken. It's just the way you said it. Rather than saying "followed by a curry", I would have said something like, "followed by a curry dish" or "a curry meal", using "curry" as an adjective rather than a noun. Or is it an adjective to an unspoken noun?

quote:

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Originally posted by Morgan:
OK, guys! I have had curry in Indian food. I have cooked curried chicken. It's just the way you said it. Rather than saying "followed by a curry", I would have said something like, "followed by a curry dish" or "a curry meal", using "curry" as an adjective rather than a noun. Or is it an adjective to an unspoken noun?

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The usage "I'll have a curry" is a noun referring to any Indian meal. It's just the way we refer to the meals over here.

If I'd said "an Indian" ( or "a Chinese" or "an Italian" or whatever) then it would indeed have been an adjective with the unspoken noun being "meal".
Must be another US/UK usage difference.

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Ah yes, I favor curry, especially when currying favor with my wife.

And then there is the image of actor Tim Curry serving you an order of Meat Loaf.

("I see you shiver with antici.....

.....

.....

..... [SAY IT!] ...pation!!")


Semi-explanation: I recently reccommended this site to a friend but cautioned that she might note a degree of old fogey-ism creeping in. This quotation may be used as a sort of test. If you recognize it, please private topic me. While you probably have to be at least 40 in order to even have a chance of getting it, I'm betting that roughly half the regulars won't.

This is not a value judgement, mind you. Just a matter of personal curiosity, not unlike B.H.'s beer poll.

Just for the record, I got it!

quote:

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Originally posted by Morgan:
Just for the record, I got it!

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Yes and, only somewhat not surprisingly, Morgan so far is the only one to do so.

The official odds:

Kalleh and Morgan - better than even money (though Kalleh replied in the negative, a big surprise)

Shufitz - likewise (based on Kalleh's advice that he "knows everything" though I haven't heard from him yet)

Bob Hale - even money (for anyone who's been around as much as he has, this should be a snap.)

Tinman - disqualified for getting the answer via the web as opposed to personal experience (He hasn't actually done so yet but I'm expecting the correct answer and three pages of background any day now.)

Arnie, wordnerd, FatStan, museamuse, Hic, Graham, Whitney, LadyBeth, TrossL - At least three should get it.

Richard English - no chance in hell.


Answer Friday.

quote:

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Originally posted by Morgan:
Just for the record, I got it!

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Me too.

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I got it too.

B.H. correctly private topicked me. Arnie not yet but, from his post, he sounds like he's got it...

106 times in my wild impetuous youth...

so YES, I got it too!

You beat me in number, Lisa, but of the 11 times in my wild, impetuous youth, each time was with a different woman! Not a record, maybe, but still...

Note to the confused (and you know who you are!) - This is not a hint.

I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about. I don't even know who Tim Curry is.

Tinman

Nor I.

If there's a question I haven't spotted it. Where's the question mark?

Richard English

CJ, when you posted your odds I was sceptical. I thought surely everyone is going to know this. Well I was wrong and you were right. I'm truly astonished that there is anyone who didn't get the answer.
I suppose it proves the point that you the circles you move in tend to know and do the same things that you know and do. I can't think of a single one of my non-internet friends that would have had to give it even a moment's thought. Hell, most of them could probably sing the lyrics of all the songs.

I've seen the film about half a dozen times (all but one on TV) and three different stage productions. All different.
I didn't bother to go when Jason Donovan took the lead though.
For Brits on the board (as it won't mean anything to anyone else) one role was taken by Nicholas Parsons in one production I saw.

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[QUOTE] I thought surely everyone is going to know this.

I have never felt even the slightest inclination to view this production.

quote:

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Originally posted by FatStan:
[QUOTE] I thought surely everyone is going to know this.

I have never felt even the slightest inclination to view this production.

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Maybe not, but the fact is that you know which production I'm talking about.

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What production? Some kind of play, maybe?

Richard English

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard English:
What production? Some kind of play, maybe?

Richard English

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Richard - one of us here is living in a Time Warp. I wonder which of us it is.

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Maybe not, but the fact is that you know which production I'm talking about. Quote BH

Actually, I did what was expected of the Tinman, and worked it out using Google.

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard English:
Where's the question mark?

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For R.E.: ?


Sidenote - This is my 444th post which, in a sense, makes me two thirds Satanic.

You've been warned!!

I admit nescience (reserving the right to say, "Ah, now I recall!" when the answer is revealed).

I have no clue about this. I predict that when the answer appears, the division between the knows and the know-nots will be the Atlantic Ocean.

How can that be? It started in England.

quote:

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Originally posted by FatStan:
Actually, I did what was expected of the Tinman, and worked it out using Google.

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I didn't look it up for two reasons: I really wasn't interested and C J disqualified me in advance.

Tinman

Sorry, this slipped my mind. Meant to tap this out Friday...

The answer, as roughly half of you seem to have known, is the "Rocky Horror Picture Show," a movie which has earned an insane level of cult level status not just in the states and UK (where it originated) but pretty much all the world over. It was made in the mid-1970's and is, I'm sure, still running in some theaters somewhere.

Those who know it tend to know it very well (TrossL's 100+ viewings is not unusual) and it seems strange to me (and, as expressed elsewhere, to others as well) that such a large number of Wordcrafters have never Time Warped in a midnight showing of "Rocky Horror" but, then again, my informal doobie poll surprised me as well.

For the uninitiated, this was a (choose one) 1. brilliant 2. tacky 3. hilarious 4. all of the above parody of the 1950's style monster movies that we all grew up with. Tim Curry plays Dr. Frank N. Furter, a deranged scientist from the planet Transylvania, who has come to earth to, apparently, convert us all to transexuality and/or transvestitism and to have a good time in general. Plus it's a musical! The love theme has one of my all-time favorite song titles "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me. I Wanna Be Dirty!" and is sung by Susan Sarandon (later Oscar winner [ much later] for her role as a nun in "Dead Man Walking").

Part of the appeal of this show was that it evolved into a massive audience partici.... (SAY IT!) ...pation party with viewers showing up in costume, conversing with actors on the screen, jokes and "lotsa larfs" (their term) that were totally unplanned and unforseen when this little piece of schlock was created.

R.E., it doesn't shock me that you haven't seen Rocky Horror but, trust me, it would be well worth your buck and a half (or pound sterling, or 6 & ha'penny, or whatever) to rent this little gem. I'd love to hear your impression of it. My inclusion of you as Dr. Scott in the Cast(s) Away thread is by no means insulting, as will undoubtedly be seconded by anyone who has seen this flick.


It's astounding!
Time is fleeting.
Madness takes its toll.

R.E. don't rent it. Really, not worth 2 bits to see it for the first time in your own home. No one who sees it for the first time without the benefit of a fully participating audience in the theatre can appreciate this movie for what it has become. I LOVEDthis movie in the theatres because it was this total surround sound, living thing. People all around interacting with the screen had the most hilarious lines. I bought the DVD and while it brought back memories of times past (and better off left there!), it was not the experience I remembered in the least.

Sorry CJ, that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!

Totally agree, TrossL, but chosing between:

1. seeing Rocky Horror on a tiny screen with no audience participation, and

2. living your entire life without experiencing Rocky Horrorhood in any form,

don't you think R.E.'s existence would be enriched by a video rental? Or we can wait till our worldwide Wordcrafter reunion to show it just for the fun of turning our water pistols on him.

I don't actually recommend this particular brew: the Pi55 Beer Co..

CJ - if you're going to think along those lines...

Wouldn't it be better to have a warm, flat, two-weeks since it's been opened Fullers 1845 than to never have experienced this fine English brew?

NO! Of course not!

Now you mention it yes, I have heard of this show.

I have never experienced it; never wanted to experience it and probably never will experience it.

Rather like marijuhana, in fact.

Richard English

I think I'd better listen to that Rocky CD I've got stashed away somewhere. Ah the good ole days...

I actually did get out the video last night for a walk down memory lane and, yes Richard, it is somewhat like marijuana. I respect, of course, your right to your own tastes but I do think you're missing out on something.

What do you think, museamuse? Why don't we come up to the lab and see what's on the slab? You, me, R.E., a Grecian island, "Rocky Horror," and a big fat doobie. B.Y.O.T.*

And TrossL, I see your point but still... Poor deprived Richard! If R.E. springs for the airfare, you're more than welcome to join museamuse and me. Hey, there's a thought! We can all meet in Greece, equally inconvenient geographically to pretty much everybody! What do you say, R.E.?


*Bring your own toast

Everybody except me (She smiles amusingly and amused). I Think it's a grand idea, CJ! Everyone bring your own toast and we'll dunk it in Santorini wine. RE can have beer, but not Greek beer, of course.

Mia Ouzo parakalo. Ochi elenika bira!

Richard English