I Have Nothing To Add To This Masterpiece of An Article

cocktail-chatter
By Camper English

Bar-havioral Problems
Gay bar bartenders, who are not necessarily gay bartenders,
are usually the most efficient and fair intoxicologists in
the drinking universe. I say “fair” because at straight
establishments, hot women and rich-looking men (usually
jerks) get first priority, and the bartenders frequently take
drink orders out of order. Infuriating! This is not often the
case in gay watering holes, where the bartenders tend to be the
hottest people in the room and don’t need to impress you by
serving you first (you need impress them with the size of your
tips).

Also, gay bar patrons know how to behave (toward the
bartender anyway) and will often line up in an orderly fashion
at the drink well rather than shouting and waving like the
opening scene of The Love Boat all along the bar. I take
straight friends to my favorite gay bar and they are amazed at
the German-like efficiency in place. They are often jealous and
determine to start coming there every night, until they hear
the 14th Madonna remix in a row. I can’t say I blame them.
In a nightclub or other crowded venue, or anywhere with a
mixed crowd, all bets for orderly ordering are off. You need
to gain the attention of the bartender as well as make him or
her think you’re going to be a good (i.e., fast, non-annoying)
customer. Here are a few suggestions for attracting the
bartender and keeping his attention.

Look available. You want to make eye contact with the
bartender and have her give you the “I see you” nod. To
accomplish this, face the bar, not your friends behind you. If
you’re turned around chatting and using the bar as a leaning
post, you’re not giving the right signal.bitters.

Be ready. When you are trying to get the bartender’s attention,
have visible cash in your hand – but don’t wave it around
unless there is a row of drag queens in six-inch heels blocking
your line of sight. And if you’re planning to pay with a credit
card, you may want to keep that hidden. It takes longer to
process, so the bartender will serve the cash-holding folks first.
Also, be ready with your friends’ drink orders. Don’t wait until
the bartender gets there to turn around and say, “What do you
guys want?” As the person standing next to you, I’ll swoop in
and say “Three martinis please” when your back is turned. I’m
like that.

Strategize. Don’t shout to get the bartender’s attention.
Nobody likes to be yelled at while doing their job. A friendly
“Hi!” sometimes helps though. Make your first tip the most
generous one to help ensure prompt service and healthy pours
for the rest of the evening. And be respectful of others – if the
guy next to you was waiting longer but the bartender comes
to you, give him the “he was here first” point. The bartender
will remember that you’re next, and you never know if that
guy next to you will return the favor and pay for your drink.

Camper English is a cocktails and spirits writer and publisher of
Alcademics.com.

Another Reason You Might Feel Sluggish Monday Morning

To think there was not anymore harm you could do to yourself with some weekend partying, here is yet another reason why you might want to slow down on your weekend shenanigans. Lord, like we didn't have enough to consider!!


THE FORMULA FOR FASTER FAT LOSS

If we told you about a secret way to dramatically increase your body's ability to burn fat calories, would you do it?

Don't agree to anything until we explain. Because we're asking you to make a sacrifice: Stop drinking beer and alcohol for 4 weeks.

The Belly Off! Diet recommends cutting out beer, wine, and liquor for a month for a good reason: doing so can turbocharge your weight loss, especially in that land mass sliding over your belt.

Yes, alcohol is high in calories, about 7 per gram. And that's before you add sugary mixers to your rum or vodka. But drinking has a greater effect than simply increasing the number of calories consumed. Alcohol reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy.

Consider this study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition where eight men each were given two vodka drinks made with sugar-free lemonade, which they drank within about an hour. Their fat metabolism was measured before and after they drank the vodka. It turned out that the amount of fat the guys burned dropped 73 percent for several hours after they finished their drinks.

Why? Because when the alcohol in your blood is broken down by your liver, it is converted into a waste product called acetate. When acetate levels rise, your body burns acetate for fuel instead of the fat you are trying to lose.

The upside to all this is that you don't have to give up your favorite alcoholic beverages forever if you don't want to. Just for a month. That's enough time to reap big benefits.

Cutting out alcohol will make every other weight-loss strategy in this new book from the editors of Men's Health work even faster. Plus, maintaining your new fitness will be that much easier once you experience the power of maximizing your body's natural calorie furnace.

Anger As A Weapon

Since I was young and having studied and been involved in social movements, I believe anger can be destructive or constructive. I've realized anger can be an excellent driving force in motivating people to get anything done, or it can destroy precious relationships with friends and family. This blog is from an online "green" newsletter I receive called "Care 2: Make A Difference" and I could not agree with the author's words more.

Anger is an Energy
posted by Eric Steinman Apr 1, 2009 5:00 pm

Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools. ~Albert Einstein

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. ~Buddha

“Anger is an Energy.” ~ Johnny Lydon of PiL

You don’t need your family, Dr. Phil, or even an expensive three-day anger management retreat out in the woods to inform you that violent outbursts of anger are generally frowned upon in society and are far from constructive. While we, as Americans, are probably angrier than we have ever been, being actively angry is still seen as an apparent lack of control, lack of good judgment, and a general lack of cool. Anger as an emotion is more or less considered useless, in its most benign form, and potentially harmful and destructive when allowed to run riot over our emotional landscape.

Grrrr! So, what the #@*≈ are we supposed to do with all of this anger? Just reason it away? Sublimate it with lots of TV, chocolate, reflexology or pop psych?

Well, as unpopular as anger may be as an outward emotion, we need not abandon it completely as a catalyst toward constructive change. As the less than exemplary Johnny Lydon defiantly chanted in the PiL song “Rise”, “Anger is an energy” and we owe it to ourselves to harness its power.

In the “Nicomachean Ethics,” Aristotle wrote, “The man who is angry at the right things and with the right people, and further, as he ought, when he ought, and as long as he ought, is praised.” Extending this logic into the present day, we would be well suited to cultivate our anger into rational tangible change, at both the micro and macro levels. Instead of lambasting our friends and loved ones with fire-tongued invectives, we could approach the anger as propulsion toward change, positive change. This will give us the incentive, not to criticize and belittle, but to put into motion significant advancement in the inter-personal realm. This is anger at work on the micro level, and on the macro level would be something like the Equal Rights movement, the Civil Rights movement, and the Environmental movement, all of which had their roots in outrage as much as concern. Possibly, if we channel our anger appropriately and constructively, we might even be able to fix our ailing economy?

And lastly, as parents, we are no doubt privy to all sorts of feral displays of anger emanating from our children. This is undoubtedly energy that could probably power a small fleet of tanker trailers if harnessed appropriately. We owe it to our children, not to tamp down or stifle their anger, but to allow it to find a suitable expression and a worthy exploit.

How do you contend with your anger? Has anger ever served you, or is it something best rigidly controlled and mitigated?