neonvincent

My comment on The Quickening.

Happy Labor Day to you and your readers! May Hurricane Dorian not have the effect on the theme parks in Orlando that Hurricane Katrina had on Six Flags New Orleans. Otherwise, Dorian will turn Disney and Universal gray!

While I couldn't find a record of Donald being on the list of Atlantic or Pacific hurricane names, Don is on the list for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. Coincidentally, that's the year Our Cartoon President would leave office should he serve out two full terms. Welcome to the power of hurricane names.

No, I won't. Your math is better than mine. That's what I get for posting before I finish my first cup of coffee.

My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 128.

Here's another suggestion for Bernie Sanders from Bobbie Flay of Food Network, the Old Vermont Cocktail.

https://food.fnr.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/food/fullset/2012/12/19/1/CCBAB306_Old-Vermont-Cocktail-Recipe_s4x3.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.826.620.suffix/1385480576194.jpeg

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce grade B pure maple syrup
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
2 dashes bitters, such as Angostura
Ice
Orange rind

Directions

Combine the gin, maple syrup, lemon and orange juice and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add some ice and shake a few times. Strain the drink into a martini glass and garnish with the orange rind.

My comment on Simple Answers to Simple Questions, New York Times Edition.

Charlie Pierce wrote on Twitter that her campaign was like a lava lamp running for President.

My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 129.

"The bar’s open" — yes, it is.

I was originally planning on posting my drink selection for Tim Ryan, but he was the fourth candidate picked in FiveThirtyEight's drop out draft. Since picks one, two, three, and five have already dropped out, I'm holding off on posting his drink until he drops out. To replace him, I'm taking a cue from Brendan Skwire, who is mocking Marianne Williamson in his most recent post. I'm going to join him in mockery with my drink suggestion for her. From my personal blog:

Marianne Williamson told Eater “I have no comfort food.” After reading a bit about her, I can believe it. So I'm not going to waste a fun recipe on her. Instead, I recommend kombucha, which is the only actual drink that showed up in the results when I searched for 'new age guru drink.'

https://i0.wp.com/images-prod.healthline.com/hlcmsresource/images/AN_images/8-benefits-of-kombucha-tea-1296x728-feature.jpg

By the way, Williamson has suggested doing different yoga positions instead of playing a drinking game. Kombucha it is for her.

Now for a candidate who should drop out but won't, as he's rich, self-funding, and on a mission to tell off the progressives, I offer a drink for John Delaney. His favorite beverage is beer, preferably an IPA. His home state of Maryland has plenty of them.

https://bullsandbears.biz/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Maryland-IPA-Takeover.jpg

Since today is National Coffee Ice Cream Day as well as the day that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz finally announced that he was not running for President as an independent, I'm serving Tipsy Bartender's Amaretto Espresso Ice Cream Float.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNP41F54BdU

My comment on Unsettled Weather.

John Oliver examined Brexit this past spring, and made the prospect of it look like a horror show. Fortunately, it got delayed, but I'm not optimistic that the United Kingdom won't "crash out" despite the best efforts of the "Rebel Alliance." I wish them luck; they'll need it.

Speaking of crashing, CBS This Morning aired a segment on the downsizing of higher education last Saturday in which an expert forecast that up to 25% of U.S. colleges will close over the next 20 years. It reminded me of our host's prediction in "The End of Suburbia" that "we're gonna have to downsize and downscale everything we do. Everything from farming to education" coming true. This will be a disorderly downsizing of higher education much like the disorderly downsizing of brick-and-mortar retail the U.S. is experiencing in the Retail Apocalypse. Still, it's one way that prognostication can come true.

My comment on Turning on the Light.

I've been following the ideological progress of Mayor De Blasio according to On The Issues since he announced his candidacy. For such a notorious liberal, he started off near the right end of the spectrum. Since then, he has moved to the left and is now the median candidate ideologically in the remaining field. That means he's just an average Democrat.

In other news, mall staple Forever 21 is facing bankruptcy. The Retail Apocalypse rolls on.

My comments on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 130.

"The bar is open" — yes it is. For today's drink, I continue honoring the Democratic candidates by pouring a drink to Tom Steyer, who just qualified for the October debate, the Billionaire's Margarita.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUdkcWAxS5s

Get your big pimpin' on with the....BILLIONAIRE'S MARGARITA! This is a small twist on a classic, made with the intention of morphing it into a manlier drink! It's a refreshing mix of tequila, Grand Marnier, and lime juice. Drink like a billionaire!

My comment on A View from the Brink.

"Arabia was a wasteland of sand populated by nomads and their camels" — I was reminded of what you said in "The End of Suburbia" about "all it takes is 50 pounds of plastic explosive and a camel to take out a pipeline." This is very similar, although it was some cheap drones and a facility more sophisticated than a mere pipeline. Still, the concept applies.

All this takes place as the United States is fixing to tip into recession anyway, something the yield curve, "the chart that predicts recessions" is already telling us. A good old-fashioned oil price shock would do the trick.

Meanwhile, the Retail Apocalypse rolls on, as GameStop announced it was losing money and closing stores.

My comment on What’s the Future for Those Who Don’t Win the Democratic Nomination?.

Off-topic, but as an Utena fan, I appreciate your Juri Arisugawa icon. I used to use Souji Mikage as my avatar a long time ago.

My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 131.

"The bar is open" — yes it is! I was looking for chess drink recipes yesterday, but couldn't find any. Darn! However, today is Talk Like A Pirate Day and there are lots of drinks with pirate themes. I begin with Walk The Plank Shots from Tipsy Bartender.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yuGq5PsvXE

"WALK THE PLANK" is a crazy fun shot that's done like a blowjob shot with no hands. It's strong but is good!

Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

Since Bill de Blasio just dropped out of the Democratic nomination contest, I'm being a good environmentalist and recycling The Brooklyn from Common Man Cocktails to toast his exit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lniL7wDuqQA

My comment on Welcome Back, My Friends To The Show That Never Ends.

Your title quoting Emerson, Lake, and Palmer deserves the rest of the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwSTe9uit48

My comment on Kamala Harris Puts All Her Chips on Iowa.

Since you set up the punchline, I'll give it to you: Beto O'Rourke. The joke would be on him if Biden collapses, as I think Sanders, Warren, and Buttigieg would benefit more.

My comment on The Odor of Desperation.

Happy Autumnal Equinox to you and your readers. You may be looking for Biden to dissolve over his ties to Ukraine, but the meltdown in Ukraine that more people are paying attention to right now is the HBO limited series "Chernobyl," which earned three Emmy Awards last night in addition to the seven it already won for technical categories.

As for actual failures on the campaign trail, the latest one so far is Bill de Blasio dropping out. Other than trying and failing to prove that the Mayor of New York City was a bigger deal than the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, I'm not sure what the point of his campaign was. Maybe it really was just to raise his profile, as another reader here suggested. Meanwhile, I have drinks for candidates at the October Democratic debates to toast the survivors (so far) of what Stephen Colbert called "the hungry for power games."

My comments on A Dumpster Fire on a Garbage Barge.

"They turned on him...because he made the fatal mistake of trying to take down a fellow member of the ruling elite." That seems to be true of the Democrats as well. Swalwell attacked Trump [I meant Biden] at the first debate. Next thing I know, Swalwell drops out because he didn't make the next debate. Harris also attacked Biden. After the sugar rush of that wore off and she failed to follow up at the next debate, her fortunes fell. Besides, she pissed off people like my mom and my wife; they didn't like her attacking Biden. Castro attacked Biden at the third debate, now he's warning his supporters he may not make the November debate. Trump went after Biden and Democratic Representatives in Republican-leaning seats who had been avoiding impeachment pile on. Directly going after Biden personally does not seem to be working for candidates. Instead, it seems to work against them.

In the meantime, it’s good for the late-night comedians. Colbert’s audience gave Nancy Pelosi a standing ovation when Colbert showed her announcing an impeachment inquiry. It’s even good for amateur comedians. This scandal could be called UkraineGate, but a shorter and funnier name exists, KievGate. Here’s a Modest (Moussorgsky) proposal; spread that meme! Hey, there’s even a song for that, the Great Gate of Kiev.

My comment on Civil War On.

Two years ago, Vox warned its readers and viewers that the chances of removing a president after impeachment were slim to none. While the odds of impeachment have gone way up, the chances of removal have not improved much, if at all.

In the meantime, the Retail Apocalypse rolls on. Dillards has been closing stores but is maintaining its profitability, one of the few instances of downsizing working as advertised.

My comment on Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 132.

"The bar is open" -- Now it is and I'm serving Tipsy Bartender's Chocolate Cupcake Cocktail to celebrate Tulsi Gabbard becoming the 12th and last candidate to qualify for the October debate. She likes vegan cupcakes, so she gets a cupcake drink.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69IMKvj8kYs