Nothing Beats Blizzard Hold Music

I have no excuse for not posting today. I decided to take the day off work for mental stability, but I don't actually have anything to do. So, in an effort to be mildly productive I decided I would call Blizzard. I've been thinking about giving Diablo III a try (I haven't played any other Diablo at this point, mostly because I didn't get into PC gaming until college), but, at this point in time, I am locked out of my battle.net account. So, now I am waiting through an expected 75 minute hold time so that someone can make like 2 mouse clicks and remove the old authenticator from my account. And I assure, if this crazy voice-over bitch continues to tell me that I can go online to regain access to my account by visiting battle.net/recovery, my brain may just explode. I have gone online to attempt to restore my account. I followed the path for "I need to remove the authenticator from my account." Twelve hours later I got an e-mail from Blizzard, "We determined there was nothing wrong with your account. No action was taken." Thanks, Blizzard. Your customer service is clearly fantastic. Right now, I'm really having second thoughts about whether I even want to give them more money. But still, here I am, waiting on hold (45 minutes in btw) just to grant myself the ability to decide if I want to play their game.

Since by the end of this I am sure I will need a drink, I'll go ahead and share my favorite pony.

Rainbow Dash

  3 parts 90 proof Coconut Parrot Bay
  splash of Rose's Blue Raspberry
  float 1 part Red Apple Pucker








Ok so, there isn't enough of a density change for the Red Apple Pucker to actually float, however, if you pour gently you get a pretty neat Blue - Purple - Red gradient. Which is obviously a play on the rainbow portion of Rainbow Dash, but the more important item of note here is the 90 proof rum. Much like Rainbow Dash herself, this shot is quick and to the point. Before long you will be Rainbow Dashing towards drunkenness.

And now that my call to Blizzard is done, I think I will go make one for myself.


-Steph

"I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers. Don't stop drinking." - Saul Tigh

Image from http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rainbow_Dash/Gallery and Hasbro still owns the ponies. At least, last I checked.

NBD, I'm Irish Everyday

I'm going to wildly subject hop. Yes, we had been talking about ponies, which is all well and good, I love ponies. But arguably the most important holiday for drinker's everywhere was this past weekend. And I would certainly be remiss if I didn't at least touch on the subject.

So, St. Patrick's Day. I'll go ahead and admit that this year's St. Patrick's Day was rather subdued in comparison with other St. Patrick's Days. Sure, we did Car Bombs, and mixed up green shots (I'm gonna go ahead and give a shout out to Dana here because A. she asked for one, and more importantly B. she played bartender all night. It was nice to sit at my own bar and have someone else do the brainstorming about what to make.), and sure I was puking before bed, still in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a particularly eventful night. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time.  But it was a far cry from some of our past St. Patty's parties.

With that being said, I'm going to go ahead and talk about a St. Patrick's tradition that is very dear to my heart, even if I'm somewhat convinced that partaking in it again will likely kill me. Every year the city of Scranton in Pennsylvania hosts a St. Patrick's parade. Amusingly, due to some weird city politics, it will never be held on St. Patrick's Day itself. So, every year it's held the Saturday prior (yes, even in years that St. Patty's is on a Saturday, mind boggling, I know). For anyone who lives in Scranton, or more importantly (yes, I am about to climb aboard my elitist high horse) attended the University of Scranton, Parade Day has become something of a legend. I'm not saying that being a student at the U somehow makes you better than someone who lives in Scranton, I'm just saying that an entire day of drunken debauchery is probably way more momentous for college students. I've heard people refer to the day as a little enigma in time, a day that doesn't seem to fit into the normal parameters of existence. Everyone you meet is a friend, and everyone is invited to every party. The standard course of events is to wake up at 6 AM, tap the keg, and cook up some breakfast. The day pretty much spirals out from there. You wander the streets, go watch the parade, meander into some strangers' houses, all the while drinking and drinking and drinking. Some time in the mid to late afternoon, you'll likely take a nap. After which, you get the awesome experience of a mid-evening hangover, and that can only be cured by more drinking. It's hard to put into words, but if you ever find yourself presented with the opportunity to celebrate parade day, do it. It's not exactly nerdy, but it's a good time.

It's a Rare Thing

Yes, I know, it's been about a week since my last post. Needless to say, I was much busier on my vacation than I thought I would be. Good busy though, went to several wine tastings, had a number of good meals, and all in all just had a good time. Hell, I sang karaoke for the first time. Which, if you know me, you know that is super impressive. I have enormous stage fright. I am often loud and obnoxious and the center of attention, which is all well and good, so long as it is on my terms and with my people. But put when I'm put on the spot, or more importantly in the spotlight, I just shutdown.

So, we're sitting at the bar Sunday night, and apparently Sunday nights and karaoke night at The Browncoat. So, David thinking he's funny, decides to sign me up to sing "It's Tricky" by Run DMC. And when they call my name, I was torn between my two most instinctual forces, the first being my aforementioned stage fright and the second being my over whelming desire to never back down from a challenge. Luckily (or maybe unluckily for the other bar patrons), I had already had a few drinks which suppresses the former and enhances the latter. I held my own through at least a fairly lyrically accurate rendition of "It's Tricky" and stepped off the stage literally shaking with nerves. I choked down a few more drinks and was super proud of myself. And then I drank some more and reached the point where I could no longer be embarrassed, so I ended up singing a few more songs. It was definitely a good night.

Anyway, on with the previously promised pony shot. Heh unintended alliteration. Since, we were watching a Rarity centric episode during dinner tonight, I will go ahead and present:

The Rarity

 1 part Amaretto
 1 part Kahlua
 splash Goldschlager










 Rarity is not my favorite pony. She's best described as a high class pony. She frets over getting dirty and would really be much happier if everyone in the world was prim and proper. Rarity has a very large personality and this shot really stands up to it. It comes off a bit abrasive at first, but ends with a more complex and perfume-y finish. Which is exactly how I imagine it feels to hold a conversation with Rarity.

 Anypony want to guess at who will canter next into the blog?

OH! And I just remembered I should inform you all that My Little Ponies are the prize in Happy Meals right now. Yep, I'm 26 and I ate a Happy Meal for lunch yesterday.

-Steph

"I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers. Don't stop drinking." - Saul Tigh

Rarity image from http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Rarity/Gallery and again I'm sure Rarity is copyright Hasbro. Watch their show!

Friendship IS Magic

I going out of town for a few days, which will likely make it difficult for me to update. Or at least it will make it difficult for me to write anything more than a few sentences. Which is fine, because now I have the perfect excuse to launch right into one of my theme shot nights.

So, one Friday night last fall, Rachael was coming down to visit. I had a shitty week, and despite the fact that she's 2+ hours away, she decided to come make me feel better, even though she was going to be in the house for like 12 hours. Her only caveat was that I create new shots for us to drink that night. Seemed like a fair enough trade to me. And what did she want those shots to be themed after? Obviously our new super nerdy fascination with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Yes, we're bronies, or well, whatever the female equivalent of brony is.

And thus was born:

The Apple Jack

1 part Red Apple Pucker
1 part Jack Daniels
splash of Cinnamon Aftershock







Apple Jack herself is a stubborn, determined, and at times blunt pony. Aside from the obvious play on her name, this shot also goes down a bit like you've just been "Applebucked" in the face.

Tune in later to see what I created for everypony else.

-Steph

"I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers. Don't stop drinking." - Saul Tigh


And just to be on the safe side, Apple Jack image came from here: http://squeegool.deviantart.com/art/apple-jack-running-210232245 and Apple Jack the character is I'm sure copyright Hasbro.

Flame Wreath!

Everyone has different drinking games they like to play. Personally, my favorite is Flame Wreath, which is really just the nerdy name we've given to Kings Cup, or Circle of Death, or whatever it is you want to call it. If you played World of Warcraft during the Burning Crusade expansion, I'm sure you get the reference. If you didn't, you'd probably just shake your head if I took the time to explain it. But, if you want to get it, here: http://www.wowwiki.com/Shade_of_Aran, that will still likely mean nothing to you.

Anyway, everyone around the country probably has some version of this game that they play with friends or family or maybe even complete strangers. It's great because it's simple and social. But some nights, I don't want to play a simple social game. Some nights I want to play a game that is just going to destroy me. Which is why I invented Yahtzee: Drinking Edition.

This game is easy to learn because you literally sit down and play a game of Yahtzee. Then, depending on what you roll, you, or those around you, drink. To spell it out for you I'll present the basic scoreboard for a game of Yahtzee.

1s: Add up all 1s in your roll
2s: Add up all 2s in your roll
3s: Add up all 3s in your roll
4s: Add up all 4s in your roll
5s: Add up all 5s in your roll
6s: Add up all 6s in your roll
Bonus 35 (over 63):  If the total of the above is greater than 63, take an extra 35 points
3 of a kind: Total of all dice, assuming you have at least 3 of a kind
4 of a kind: Total of all dice, assuming you have at least 4 of a kind
Full House: Earn 25 points, if you have a pair and three of a kind
Sm. Straight: Earn 30 points, if you have 4 die in consecutive in order
Lg. Straight: Earn 40 points, if you have all 5 die in consecutive order
Yahtzee: Earn 50 points, if you have 5 of a kind
Chance: Total of all dice

In a game of Yahtzee, you only get 13 turns. Each turn consists of 3 rolls. Your first roll must be of all five die, the subsequent rolls can be as many die as you would like. The goal is to maximize your points based on the above score chart. How do we make this a drinking game? Easy. For every point you score you distribute that number of seconds across the remaining players. The exceptions to this being the following: If you roll a Yahtzee, everyone else does a shot. If you have to put a zero in a category, you have to take a shot. If you put your roll in chance, nobody drinks, unless of course you rolled a second Yahtzee and chose to put that in your chance, in which case a shot would still be in order.

Why is this game awesome? 1. You end up drinking, a LOT. 2. It's hilarious to watch people attempt to do any sort of math. 3. It doesn't matter how many people play. Sure, adding extra people means that you can distribute the seconds in smaller numbers, but then you also have extra rolls for those extra people.

Yes, I know, this post really had nothing to do with Flame Wreath, so I will share this next fun little tidbit. If you play Flame Wreath by creating rules, next time try this rule, Find your manners: Any time a player curses the other players can command that they go find their manners and direct them where to find said manners. The offending player promptly goes to whatever room they were ordered to find their manners in and brings back the most interesting object in that room to share with the group.

-Steph

"I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers. Don't stop drinking." - Saul Tigh

The Devil Juice Era

I don't care how much alcohol is in it or how popular it may be. If I can't enjoy what I'm drinking, I find no reason to drink it. That may be an important thing to keep in mind if you continue with this blog. My first and foremost goal in all of my recipes is to create something delicious. That being said, I'm going to share the very first recipe I developed. Devil Juice.

Devil Juice was what my friends and I drank regularly before I discovered my flair for the creative. As with many kids in college or just out, I didn't really like beer. I've learned now, that my dislike for beer was more a disdain for the mildly alcoholic keg swill that is standard fare at college parties. So I took a recipe that my dad used for refreshment on hot summer days, and turned it into a high alcohol party drink.

Devil Juice
1 Half Gallon Container Dole Pineapple Orange Banana Juice
1 750 Milliliter bottle of Coconut rum
1 Half cup of Meyer's Dark Rum

It's the simplest recipe ever, and really improved by it's versatility. In all honesty, the above recipe is about 1 of a thousand different possibilities you have when creating Devil Juice. Any combination fruit juice and flavored rum in ratio is bound to be delicious and way more potent than you will be prepared for.

As for where the name came from, "Don't tempt me with your Devil Juice, woman!" And, not surprisingly, it stuck.

And since the drink itself does not really have a background in nerd culture, I'll leave you with this extra tidbit. Best category for a game of Kings: Original 151 Pokemon. Be prepared for at least one person at the table wanting to punch you.

-Steph

"I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers. Don't stop drinking." - Saul Tigh