Why martinis? Could it be Mad Men fever? Actually, it was because of Julie and Julia. They were drinking Martinis in just about every scene. So after the movie, Julie and I (the real Julie) went to CostPlus to obtain the paraphrenelia. Then we went to Safeway to obtain the hooch. Then we came home. I looked up the recipe for Martinis. It’s not too hard, as it turns out. Couple cubes of ice, a bunch of dry gin, a splish of dry vermouth, and shake. I was unable to achieve the full on sexy shake, but nevertheless. Soon we were drinking home-shaken, dry Martinis.

They were OK. I prefer beer.

The only other time I ever drank a Martini? Saudi Arabia, 1989. Things were just peachy in the Gulf before the Gulf War, let me tell you. I was teaching English to Saudi naval cadets. Saudi is as dry a country as they come, hoochwise, as everybody knows. But at the Dharan airbase the U.S. military maintains a tiny bit of sovereignty, sort of a diplomatic briefcase but bigger. And inside that briefcase, you can drink. If you can get in. We got in. To the Officer’s club. So we’re in this semi-swanky space, drinking real drinks (not the homemade beer we drank back in our teacher’s quarters). Everyone was having Martinis, so what the heck, sure, I’d have a Martini. So guess who else was there having Martinis? Norm Schwartzkopf. The US had recently invaded Panama, so my buddy James, who was bold about this sort of thing, talking to generals about classified military operations and such, engaged Mr. Schwartzkopf about it. Norm, I’ll call him Norm from now on since it’s easier to spell, Norm’s a pretty intense character. Especially armed with a Martini. Norm and James went at it a bit, not arguing, but Norm obviously proud and conscious of his power to impress, inhibited by the classified aspects of the story, James trying to get him to spill. Since none of you know James, unless you do, go ahead and picture James Woods, circa Salvador. All politics aside, if you’re going to have a Gulf War, I guess Norm was the guy you’d want to be your general. And if you want someone to needle him about it, James was your man.

Anyhoo, that’s my Martini story. I hope not to have very many more like it.

A six of Racer 5 is awesome!

Thanks!

Mmmm, “lead pencil aromas”. For those with a pica-influenced palate, such as myself…

Lake Fausse 2007 Wrap up:

Gators? Check.
Pelicans/herons/loons, etc? Check.
Varmits? Check.
Paddlefish? Check.
Turtles? Check.
Lizards? Check.
Owls? Check.
Midnight kayaking into the infinity? Check.
Blazing constellations? Check.
Orion pursuing the Pleiades? Check.
Shooting stars? Check.
Copious quantities of expensive beer? Check.
Rock and Roll? Check.
All parties present and accounted for? This was our main failing this year, as the Arcturus was with us only in song.
Saints victorious over the winless Rams? Not so much.

Musicological/sociological experiment? Isolate four drunk middle-aged men away from their googles, wikis and twitters but with the entire Pink Floyd music collection on MP3 (no credits) and pose the question: Who sang what? David Gilmour or Roger Waters? Song by song/line by line. (Why is this hard? Listen to “Mother” from the Wall album. Consider: Waters sometimes sounds like Gilmour, but other times sounds like no one else.)

Photos? Check.

Videos? Check.

I basically substitute Limoncello for the Triple Sec, so there’s no orange bottom to the flavor — it’s a pure lemon/lime flavor, one of my favorites. So:

50% Tequila (I don’t know enough to recommend, I just use Jose Cuervo Especial)

25% Limoncello

25% lime juice (fresh squeezed)

toss in ice and blend, or over rocks or whatever.

It’s lemon/limey and strong!