These guys are so 80s, just by looking at the picture, I keep expecting to hear "Agadoo, doo, doo ..."
Today I learned that Winston Churchill got a doctor's note when he visited prohibition-era America, allowing him to drink.
Epic and savage. 250 cubic centimeters converts to 8.5 fluid ounces. That's a lot of booze if we're talking high test. 2 martini/Manhattan pours. Bottoms up!
This Churchill though as in “ Churchill you’re drunk, Yes madam but you’re ugly and in the morning I’ll be sober” he could put away a bottle of whisky in a day and come back for more the next night
And yet, despite his epic drinking and smoking, Churchill lived to be 90. (Born in 1874, died in 1965). Don't forget, this is not long after Churchill was knocked down by a car and nearly killed. (That happened in In New York in December 1931. He was on a lecture tour seeking to recoup his 1929 losses in the stock market crash. At the time, he was searching for his friend Bernard Baruch's apartment. Looking the wrong way halfway across Fifth Avenue, he was struck by a car and almost killed). I read about this in a history book once, which went on to ask: can anyone imagine wartime Britain without Churchill at the helm? Who would be PM, and what would happen then? The inevitable conclusion: Britain would be out of the war in 1940. Chamberlain would be replaced by his choice of PM, Lord Halifax, who was a well-known pacifist who wanted to negotiate peace with the Nazis. The result? A disastrous peace with Nazi Germany, the Nazis in charge in Europe (and their former African colonies, which became British colonies in the mid-1900s). Hitler might build up his strength for a time, and then unleash it against Stalin. But without British help (as did happen throughout the war), at least part of the Soviet Union would come under Nazi control. World War II might still end in a Nazi defeat, especially after America enters the war, but it would take much longer). Sorry to digress. Back on topic: there's a good reason for this note. Prohibition didn't end until 5 December 1933. Sorry to digress (again), but this reminds me of a good story about Churchill. Returning home exhausted one evening, Churchill felt he could not face his last appointment of the day -- a visit from a rather tiresome colleague who always outstayed his welcome. "When Sir X arrives," he told his valet, "tell him I'm out." Then, after a moment's thought, he added, "And to convince him, smoke one of my cigars when you open the door." There are lots of good stories about Churchill, but I'll let it rest!
Churchill on whisky "If you mean whisky, the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness and hopelessness, then, my friend, I am opposed to it with every fibre of my being." "However, if by whisky you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the elixir of life, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean good cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables man to magnify his joy, and to forget life's great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of pounds each year, that provides tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation... then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favour of it!" "This is my position, and as always, I refuse to compromise on matters of principle."
I can put away as many bottles of whiskey as I like in one night. It's drinking them that's difficult. Well ok, it's actually the walking, talking and thinking afterwards...
About this thread in general— @Louanne Learning —nice way to immemorialize your name as a thread title! It reminds me of a show they used to do on a local radio station. There was a female DJ named Lern (actually it was Lauren, but in her family she was always Lern). She had a show called "Learn me somethin'." The male DJ would say it to her one day a week (in a southern accent of course), and then she'd relate some factoid she had looked up for the show.
... and I thought "wasted" (1968/70) meant "under the influence of drugs". Oh, well. Isn't "pickled", "swizzled", "boozed up", "squiffy" and "elephant's trunk" still in use (at least in some places)? I know "under the influence" is. Come to think of it, isn't "lush" (1811) still in use? "Liquored" (1681) might not be, but "liquored up" certainly is. Same with "wino", "rummy", "boozer" and "boozed up". And now, excuse me; I've had a long and tiring day, I'm going to get into a nice glass of red and become Brahms and Liszt as the proverbial newt. Hicc ...
Elephants trunk and Brahms and Liszt are rhyming slang so technically you should only use the first half “I’m going to get totally elephant’s tonight “
I don't know if it was around in Churchill's day, but I learned some time ago that the song title Down Among the Dead Men carries that meaning. I guess it's a more extreme version of under the table. Remember this one?
Today I saw this news, which made me pretty happy. A small Alaska town wants a big bronze Riker If the link doesn't open, I'll quote it here: All right, I'm no Trekkie, but even I think that's pretty cool. What's your view?
Riker actor Jonathan Frakes had a back injury a few years before he was cast on the show, caused by a job moving furniture. The injury left him with lasting damage to the muscles around his spine. Sitting straight up in a chair puts pressure on it and can lead to debilitating pain, so he leans to the left in order to relieve the pressure. The result is the "Riker Lean," where you often see him on set leaning on chairs or consoles, or with one leg propped up on something. You can also see his body is tilted a little when he's standing up. There are a few other signs of it too. He can't lean over something for very long (especially due to the fact that he is so tall, at 6' 4"), so you'll notice that when he’s checking at something on the conn or ops stations, he usually ends up stepping up onto the support pillar for the console, so he can brace himself against it while coming in from the side. Personally, I think it's fantastic. Frakes took a personal injury and turned it into a signature move. Kudos to him.
