Always Rummy in Philadelphia

From Philadelphia Magazine:

You know that feeling you get after you do something really, really stupid, when you wish that you’d wake up and realize that it was all just a bad dream? Well, we’re pretty sure that’s exactly what PHL 17 on-air talent Colleen Campbell is feeling today.

According to New York City comic Wil Sylvince, who was also at Helium on Sunday, Campbell was asked to leave the club because she was being loud during the show. (Helium wouldn’t comment on what happened.) And it was once she left the club that her problems really began.

As Sylvince’s video shows, an incredibly even-tempered Philadelphia police officer shows up and tries to get her to just go home. Instead, she attempts to spit in someone’s face and then goes off in a big way on the cop.

When viewing this footage on TJ's Facebook page, I had three thoughts:

1. I'm glad I don't date anymore. Because this is exactly the kind of trainwreck I'd tie myself to.
2. Dupa and I were just talking about hanging out in Philly; maybe we should look her up if we do...
2a. No! Stop it! No. NO.
3. White privilege.

There's (Liquid) Gold in Them Thar Hills

I thought it was just my own craving for bourbon that had increased in recent years. Turns out I'm just part of a worldwide trend.

From Yahoo! News:

It's among the most ambitious of projects for this industry clustered in central Kentucky's rolling hills, where distilleries have spent at least $150 million in one of the bourbon sector's biggest expansions since Prohibition, said Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association.

The producers are aiming to quench a thirst for bourbon — especially premium brands — that is steady in the U.S. and rapidly expanding overseas, thanks in part to the comeback of cocktails appealing to younger adults, lower tariffs, robust marketing and a larger middle class in emerging markets.

Personally, I find bourbon to be a great everyday, around-the-house drink. Something to sip on after dinner. Or to drown my fantasy football woes with on a Sunday afternoon (don't judge me). I even have my own bourbon cocktail recipe, which Dupa christened, "God-DAMN deeelicious." Good to see I'm more avant-garde than I'd thought.

And considering all of the Maker's Mark I've been drinking lately...

Maker's Mark, known for its red wax seal, is in the midst of an estimated $50 million expansion that will boost production by about 50 percent and expand bottling capacity at its operations near Loretto in central Kentucky.

In the next six years, it plans to build 20 to 25 new warehouses needed for storing barrels of whiskey that will age no fewer than six years.

The brand, part of the spirits lineup for Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands Inc., surpassed 1 million cases bottled for the first time in 2010.

...it sounds like someone owes me a "thank you." I'll take a couple of handles on the house, Fortune Brands Inc. Gracias.

Beware Strangers with Candy

Next time you're partying in Russia and a stranger offers you some cognac, do your best to say "nyet".

From MSNBC:

Three men who allegedly carried out a string of poisonings on commuter trains that left 17 dead are due to face trial in Russia, according to reports.

Investigators suspect the men plied drunk victims with a cocktail of cognac and tranquilizers before robbing them, The Moscow Times reported. In addition to the 17 dead, the attacks sickened an additional 15 victims over a three-year period in the Russian capital.

RT News reported that the trio — two Russians and an Uzbek — picked well-dressed passengers and approached them by saying they wanted to share a drink with them. Investigators told RT the men used neuroplectics, strong tranquilizers used to treat psychosis, to subdue the passengers.

I hope they give these guys capital punishment. Anyone who uses alcohol for evil purposes is an enemy of all that's good and decent in this world.

[What's that? Getting susceptible women drunk enough to do morally-questionable sexual acts could be construed as an "evil purpose"? Really? Uhh...hmmm...]

You know, upon further review, I think these guys are just misunderstood. Sure their crimes were wrong, but I think leniency is really the way to go here...

*cough*