Dispatches from London V

What you’ll notice in the picture above is that it’s late afternoon (long shadows), and it’s a public park.  What is important about this photo, however, lies in what you can’t see.  First, this photo doesn’t provide quite enough detail to show you that nearly everyone of age in this park is drinking.  Bottles of wine, glasses of beer, a little champagne.  It’s 6:30 on a Friday afternoon and many groups of people have headed to the park to have a little end of week happy hour.  What you also can’t see, because it doesn’t exist, is the entire social fabric of Britain being ripped apart.  You don’t see young people losing their morals.  Nobody is having sex in the park, the sky is not falling, Armageddon has not occurred.  Yes, that’s right.  People drinking in public places and everything is okay.  Well ho-lee crap.  There’s like no place in the U.S. where you can do this (save N.O.).  We’ve been told it’s because it creates too many problems.  Well I suggest that relegating alcohol consumption to marginalized spaces and cordoned off areas is what creates the problems.  I mean for god’s sake, if the Brits can figure it out, we should.  We’re the greatest country in the history of the world.

On a related note, are all my posts from London about alcohol?

Dispatches from London IV-Ireland Edition

What a view, huh?  This is the Sky Bar at the top of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin.  Full 360 degree views of the city.  Everyone drinking free beer.  How could you possibly screw this up?  Well let me tell you.  First, you don’t actually let people see how or where the beer is made.  Instead of showing off the production facilities like they do in every other brewery tour I’ve ever been on, they let you watch some videos and climb through 5 stories of noisy, crowded, confused people in the most disappointing thing I’ve ever come across in my travels.  I mean, here stands the Guinness Brewery-the place that makes so many dreams come true-and yet what we get to see could just as easily have been located in Los Angeles.  It was just a museum tour.  Ahhhh, suck.  The rest of Ireland was great, but this was sooo sad.  Oh, did I mention it’s $15 a person for the tour and a “free” beer?

Dispatches from London III

Dear London: It’s the 21st century.  Get some fucking street signs for god’s sake.  You’re a major fucking city, stop acting like you’re some quaint village.  I have gotten lost yet, but you certainly haven’t made it easy.  And before you start, let me stop you and assure you that No, it is not part of your charm.

Good Food (seriously)

Dispatches From London-II

Strongbow.  Sounds like the name of a beer.  Scratch that.  It sounds like the name of a kick ass beer.  It’s even got a dude on the front shooting a bow and arrow.  What could be awesomer?  I was tired.  It had been a long couple of days.  I wanted a beer.  And dammit if Strongbow isn’t a cider and I didn’t realize it until after I’d bought the 8 pack, leaned back in my chair and had that first sip in my mouth.  I am, needless to say, disappointed.

London Eye

Dispatches from London I

****Throughout my time in London, I’ll try and post some thoughts about the city.  I’ll even try and post a photograph at the same time.  The two may or may not have anything to do with each other (e.g., this post about prostitutes and a picture of Trafalger Square).****

At first, I thought there were a lot of prostitutes here in London…then I realized that’s just how the women dress here.  I love this place.

Science

At STN we are both scientists (one a brewer, the other a sociologist), and as scientists we must say that the state of affairs in the world is unacceptable.  We are disappointed in our colleagues for their laziness and lack of dedication.  To take one completely random example, it is currently not possible to have chips and salsa or a decent chimichanga delivered from a good Mexican food restaurant in Texas to someplace across the world (England, say) while it is still hot and fresh.  This is abominable and we chastise the entire scientific community for not figuring this out.  Shame on you other scientists.  Shame on you.

Note: The example above was derived purely at random and has nothing to do with one half of STN’s impending departure to the land of bland food for 5 weeks.  Nothing at all.