Rise Industries

It’s a wine blog.
It’s a hiking blog.
Yes! It’s a winehiking blog.

-excellent, just what I need!

Got an announcement from The Designers Republic this morning that not only did they design a new web site for MTV’s QOOB, but they have a full page of their motion work up on it. Sweet, sweet, TDR. I have been a big fan of their graphics work every since they did the early albums for Pop Will Eat Itself.

Check out the Funkstorung video if nothing else.

Whilst doing some, uh, research at work today into the meaning behind the band name KMFDM, I stumbled across perhaps one of the greatest album designs ever. Hand stamped and all.

Oh. And no, it does not really stand for Kill Motherfucking Depeche Mode. Although, sometimes it does.

Claire over at Zulkey.com needed a manly name for her boyfriend’s drink. So I suggested a Punch in the Face. Though I am not sure how the bartenders are supposed to figure out what that means.
I then got overzealous and sent her my lab-tested recipie for a perfect (though not as perfect as Jim Coudal’s perfect) Sidecar for wintry evenings.
So, for your holiday drink-making pleasure, here is the Perfect Sidecar ala Rise Industries. Have three, and banging your head on a wall becomes a fun little thing to do. Really.

The Perfect Sidecar ala Rise Industries

For this you need an up glass (those triangular deals, like James Bond Martini style), a shaker (see below) and the ingredients (see also below).

1 jigger (ya know, the big side of a cool hourglass-shaped shot measurer) very good brandy, or better yet, decent Cognac.

3/4 jigger Cointreau. Don’t mess with the triple sec here, you will just regret it. You wanna move up to first class, shell out for Grand Marnier. Its not necessary, but then this drink is not about necessity.

Cut a lemon in half, and squeeze (just the half) on a Phillipe Starck lemon squeezer. Actually, first rub the lemon on the rim of your glass, then pour sugar onto a plate and dip the rim in the sugar. Stand the glass up and let it sit for a minute, so the sugar gets crusty. Nice. Lazy bartenders who make this drink with sweet and sour mix should be fired on the spot. Fresh squeezed lemon must be used, none of that plastic-grenade lemon stuff.

OK. Put all the liquids in a shaker (Boston shaker please, with the satisfying click it makes upon opening the two parts after shaking) with three ice cubes. Shake briskly, folks who say you can bruise liquid are hallucinating.

Pour through a fancy shaker-strainer thing into your glass. Got to catch those pesky lemon seeds.

Put on a snappy cardigan. It’s cold out. Argyle pattern works best. I have a wool sidecar drinking one with fancy silver-ish buttons that my mom made for me. Though she didn’t know it was for sidecar drinking, she would approve.

Sip till its gone. Enjoy the sweet lemony (snicket?) punch of pure liquors meeting in citrus harmony. Then nibble the rest of the sugar off the glass and repeat. Only, don’t put on another cardigan. Skip that step.

speaking of old-timey architecture quotes…

“If architecture is the king of the arts, commanding the outward services of others, music is their queen, imposing the inward laws by which all rule themselves. The notions of harmony, pitch, scale, tonality and key, applied in fine art generally, have in music first become clear enough to receive names. The theory of all the arts awaits to this day the exact grasp of these ideas which the investigation of musical structure will some time give.”

B.I. Gilman, “The science of exotic music,” in Science, Vol 30, no 772; October 15, 1909.

We got snakes on the plane!

A potent swordsman is Architect William Hamilton Russell. When not designing country houses for tycoons in Newport, Islip and Wheatley Hills, he represents the U. S. on international fencing teams. He was U. S. champion in 1916, 1919, 1923. He was on the Olympic Team at Antwerp in 1920 and Paris in 1924. Last week he exhibited a whole case full of medals and a gold-plated rapier from his admirers in the Fencers’ Club.

Time magazine article 1932, via Archinect.

Holy identity theft batman! Someone posted our bank PIN numbers online. Yarcht, those wicked h4ck3r5!

Sheesh, it’s tough being Mitt Romney. Massachusetts’ soon-to-be-former governer really really wants to be the next president.

Trouble is, he’s from Massachusetts (although a few years back he tried to legally change his address to Utah, and they wouldn’t let him). So he tries to distance himself from gay marriage by appearing at gay-bashing rallies, and posing with a tough-guy stance on how illegal immigrants are ruining this country.

But then it turns out his mansion’s 2-acre lawn is tended by illegal immigrants. (Article here.) And then, come to find out, back in 1994 he stated in an interview that Republicans should let off on the gay-marriage issue–that “Republican extremists” were imposing their personal views on things. (Article here.)

Woah. Well, at least the religious right is buying his crap, right? For instance, Mitt says Jerry Falwell backs his campaign. But, wait– Falwell just said that he doesn’t, and doesn’t know where Mitt got that idea. (Article here.)

Sheesh, how will a lying, opportunistic Republican ever achieve his modest dream of becoming president?

Wait, nevermind.

In my email inbox today:

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, with the following degrees, here\’s
how much you can expect to make in your lifetime:

High School Diploma: $1,900,500
Bachelor\’s Degree: $2,700,600
Master\’s Degree: $2,200,800
Doctorate: $4,200,900 “

Wonder why my Master/’s (sic) degree cuts my lifetime income by $499,800? That totally sucks man. Assuming I live to 92, that’s like 8,330 less bucks a year. Shit.

Maybe I should get a doctorate in something, I could use the extra $2,000,100 a year that’s going to bring in. Doesn’t specify say what to study, so I can study Internet Statistical Numerology. Watch for some emails like this from me in three years or so then.