Intoxicating Tales & Open Thread & Sports Posted by christian h., 18 May 2007 02:20 pm

Open Thread (#9)

Well, the Bulls choked game six away yesterday in horrible fashion, the same day the Cubs’ bullpen coughed up the lead for the third time on a seven-game road-trip. The Warriors are already out. Only JP likes LeBron. {Note from the MOJ - I haven’t been following LeBron closely enough to know if he’s been being a pill lately or not, so no official WAAGNFNP opinion on LeBron at this time.} And the A’s are just at .500. {Waaaaahhhh! - MOJ.} So, what to do? What to blog about this weekend?

Well, if Street Sense wins the Preakness this weekend, we will have live blogging for the Belmont (which will surely derail all Triple Crown hopes). But that’s a few weeks away, and only if Street Sense wins the Preakness.

For something to do, drinking comes to mind. Followed by the inevitable hangover. So let’s all share our most embarrassing stories about hangovers, and flashbacks, and come-downs on this blog. {Please enjoy the following highly amusing Family Guy bit where Brian and Stewie are in an Amsterdam cafe and get a “contact high”! -MOJ}

Maybe you’re under 21. Or you are a teetotaler (you think I fashioned this whole post only so I could use that word? Maybe.) Then you have another choice: talk about the NCAA Softball regionals. Not only is Northwestern really good (ahem), it’s also a very interesting sport. No-hitters galore! Eileen Canney had 28 strikeouts in an 18 inning complete game in 2006.)

Or, talk about anything that comes to mind, even the LPGA - it’s an open thread, after all. Anyway, I’m off for some field studies regarding the first topic. Giving my sanity to science, as it were.

[Update: Thanks to JP for his topic-inspiring comment here. I know drunk/high stories are a little heavy on the intellectual side for a weekend Open Thread, but hey, we gotta stop fooling around and get serious every now and then, right? -MOJ]

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Responses to “Open Thread (#9)”

  1. on 18 May 2007 at 6:14 pm 1. jimmiraybob said …

    Speaking of sporting events, since George, Dick, Abu and Andy seemed to know that Ashcroft was incapacitated and that Comey was the Acting AG, wouldn’t the document that they were trying to get him to sign have to have been back dated to before he relinquished the AG spot for the appearance of validity? This seems like a conspiracy to attempt a crime or at least real poopy-headed, unsportsmanlike and not very professional behavior.

    New and improved since first posted at Crooks & Liars.

  2. on 18 May 2007 at 7:04 pm 2. spyder said …

    For something to do, drinking comes to mind. Followed by the inevitable hangover. So let’s all share our most embarrassing stories about hangovers, and flashbacks, and come-downs on this blog.

    How long is the statute of limitations for that alleged activity???? Well all i can really say is that there was never really enough Kool-Aid back in those days, and there isn’t any now. Too much of everything was just not quite enough.
    mmmmm might as well just talk about being in my Cups, Pimms that is. And this is one of my favorites:

    1 1/4 - 1 3/4 oz Pimm’s® gin
    5 oz “good” ginger brew/ preferably Reeds extra-strong
    1 twist lemon peel
    2 large grinds of cucumber and a twist

    So very good.

  3. on 18 May 2007 at 7:52 pm 3. Oaktown Girl said …

    No doubt. When we have our WAAGNFNP gathering, spyder’s making the drinks.

    Here’s a hot-off-the-presses piece about LeBron James. I haven’t even read it myself yet, but I’m sure it’s awesome because the author is awesome.

    Gotta run. Tonight, I can think about what I’m willing and not willing to confess regarding “intoxication stories”. In the meantime, I leave you with this. ANYTHING “KIERA PSI” says about me and “the bubbly” is a TOTAL LIE.

  4. on 18 May 2007 at 8:17 pm 4. christian h. said …

    ANYTHING “KIERA PSI” says about me and “the bubbly” is a TOTAL LIE.

    Yeah, I know the feeling. People totally making shit up about me - because they know I don’t remember and can’t call them on their BS. It’s an outrage! For example tonight at dinner I told friends who are moving to Ireland they’ll have to learn how to drink more ’cause being the only sober person in a crowd is no fun, and they actually had the cheek to claim there was no way I could know that from experience. Unbelievable. This after they shot down the suggestion to give their plant to me when they leave saying they “didn’t trust me with plants”. With such friends…

  5. on 18 May 2007 at 8:19 pm 5. christian h. said …

    And isn’t Stewie great? I love the episodes where he and Brian travel together.

  6. on 18 May 2007 at 8:39 pm 6. Kiera PSI said …

    I resemble that remark!

    Seriously…when Oaktown Girl drinks bubbly, I don’t let her out in public. Her mouth tends to have a mind of its own at the BEST of times…you DON’T want to let her near an unsuspecting stranger with that thing bubbly fueled. SO…I can honestly say that I have witnessed no untoward incidents involving Oaktown Girl and bubbly, simply because after the first experience of seeing her in action at a girls’ night in, I knew better than to take her anywhere when drinking the stuff!

  7. on 18 May 2007 at 8:51 pm 7. JP Stormcrow said …

    Here’s a hot-off-the-presses piece about LeBron James.

    Jesus H. Christ, Oaktown Girl, I come in here all ready to lay down some smack about “not dragging any of that Jason Kidd UC Berkeley shit through Cleveland” - and here you go and preemptively neuter my whole freaking rap.

    … Well, he may be a prick, but he’s our prick, goddammit. And I for one have already pre-forgiven him for his inevitable mid-career move to a larger market. You want to know why? Because I am an All-American sucker. But I don’t care - I’m going to get what I want. Shoes!

    I’m tempted to say LeBron’s shoes rule, Stephon’s shoes suck! but that would expose me as a jerk, so I won’t.

  8. on 18 May 2007 at 9:33 pm 8. JP Stormcrow said …

    Well, Fuck LeBron anyway. I want the Cavs to win for Campy Russell, Austin Carr, Craig Ehlo, Bingo Smith, Larry Nance, World B. Free, Mark Price, Bill Fitch and Lenny Wilkins.

    But I don’t think it is going to happen - I see Detroit in 6. I was pleased to see Chris Webber on the Pistons. I wil risk internecine California warfare by saying that it is good to see him get another shot after the way the refs jobbed him and the Kings in 2002 against Shaq (I think the NBA refs favor the superstars more than other pro sports - think MJ and the “palm” dribble … or better yet ask Craig Ehlo who once got a freaking technical after MJ came up limping from a collision that did not even warrant a call. … not that I’m bitter) On a critical possession ear the end of either game 6 or 7 in that series, Webber made a move around Shaq, did get a little elbow into him, and they called an offensive foul - I just remember thinking “The Kings cannot win, if they are going to call it that way.”

  9. on 18 May 2007 at 9:33 pm 9. spyder said …

    But doth street sense have the slew shoes when they post against the line?
    Must be the cups and not the shoes, or shoes that can be used as cups, among which those of folks like LeBron et all certainly can hold their liquor.

    Where were we???

  10. on 18 May 2007 at 10:32 pm 10. JP Stormcrow said …

    Hangovers.

    I am curious if anyone else has experienced an increase in the “hangover severity to amount of liquor consumed ratio” as they have aged. I certainly have, and to the extent that it has definitely modified my drinking behavior (undoubtedly for the better in terms of my health and the sensibilities of those I socialize with.)

    I never had a strong head or stomach in the best of conditions, and was always quite prone to severe hangovers - seemingly beyond those of my drinking companions. [Those with delicate sensibilities read no further … but if you want a useful “tip” sally onward.] In fact, for me that delicate, “spinning head, foot on the floor, maybe I can survive if it is perfectly dark” moment almost never turned into if I was going to throw up - but rather just a matter of when. In fact at some point, I discovered that if I just ate a banana - I forced the issue, which noticeably reduced the headache and as far as recycled food goes - a freshly eaten banana is about as good as it gets. In fact a doctor friend of mine says she has used that advice for several chemo patients who complained bitterly of how much they hated the nausea - or the results of nausea anyway. (She says she prefaced it with “I have a friend who throws up a lot who says …”) But that ain’t been me for a long time now - I have been so conditioned to avoid the next day results, that I have not overpartaken for literally years - BF Skinner would be proud.

  11. on 18 May 2007 at 10:44 pm 11. Oaktown Girl said …

    Where were we???

    See? That’s why now whenever I see that Family Guy bit I posted above, I think about spyder. I think that must be how he is. All the time. And I mean sober. :)

    Seriously spyder - if you are going to be available to host some Preakness live blogging, that’s great. Just let us know. It’s a little late to get the word out, but you never know who’s going to be around tomorrow afternoon.

    Jesus H. Christ, Oaktown Girl, I come in here all ready to lay down some smack… and here you go and preemptively neuter my whole freaking rap.

    I LOVE it! Especially the “neuter” part. That’ll really get the wingnuts and closet mysogynist “liberals” quaking in their shoes when I come around. “Ooohh…watch out! Here comes Oaktown Girl. You heard about her? Man, that crazy chick’ll preemptively neuter your whole freakin’ rap just when you about to lay down some righteous smack!”

  12. on 18 May 2007 at 11:30 pm 12. Oaktown Girl said …

    OK - so now that I’m back home, I had a chance to actually read that article I left you with back up at #3. And it’s brilliant, just like I predicted it would be. It’s not too long either, so everyone definitely needs to check it out. Dave Zirin rocks the revolution:

    (Excerpt:)
    Your teammate Ira Newble tried to get every member of the Cavs to sign a letter calling on China to stop exacerbating the genocide in Darfur by dealing arms to the government. “There’s innocent people dying, and it’s just a tragedy to stand back and let them do what they’re doing,” Newble said.

    One of Newble’s inspirations take a stand has been the person he “idolized as a child”: Muhammad Ali. That would be Ali the man, not the brand.

    Newble stuffed fact sheets and articles in the lockers of every member on the team. He organized almost the entire squad to sign a letter that reads in part, “We, as basketball players in the N.B.A. and as potential athletes in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, cannot look on with indifference to the massive human suffering and destruction that continue in the Darfur region of Sudan.” Larry Hughes signed. “Big Z,” Zydrunas Ilgauskas signed. Drew Gooden signed.

    Only two people refused and one was you. Nike, with whom you have a $90 million shoe deal, does business with China so you treated that letter like Dick Cheney treats a salad.

  13. on 19 May 2007 at 12:16 am 13. jimmiraybob said …

    … Well, he may be a prick, but he’s our prick, goddammit.

    Frankly, if you can’t be passionate about your prick then what’s life worth?

    Oh yeah, like fiscal responsibility everyone.

  14. on 19 May 2007 at 6:44 am 14. christian h. said …

    Dave Zirin = absolute must-read. And JP, word on the 2002 Western Conference finals. That was so fricking obvious. MJ, on the other hand, was never… ok, who am I kidding. Superstar treatment is the bane of the NBA. In fact, my theory is you need a superstar to win it not because they’re better (though they well may be), but because it gives you the calls at the critical time. My own feeling is it’s gotten a little better the last couple years - but that may just be an illusion of mine generated by the Bulls winning more (sports are such a prime example of two otherwise reasonable people seeing the same event completely differently.)

  15. on 19 May 2007 at 7:19 am 15. Tom said …

    I vomited on my friend’s boss’s husband once.

  16. on 19 May 2007 at 8:38 am 16. JP Stormcrow said …

    I vomited on my friend’s boss’s husband once.

    Reminds me of the great vomiting scene on the Channel Ferry in Céline’s Death on the Installment Plan.

    Ferdinand is crossing with his family and everyone gets seasick and he has an intimate moment with a woman on the boat.

    All of a sudden she turns her head back into the wind … The whole stew that’s been gurgling in her mouth catches me full in the face … … I grope my way over to her … The two of us are crawling … We clutch each other … We embrace … we vomit on each other … My smart father and her husband try to separate us … They tug at us in opposite directions … They’ll never understand …

    There are about three pages in total (and it gets worse from there). It makes me want to learn French just to read the original. [The three dots … are all Céline’s (its a feature not a bug) - I doubled the one where I did excise something.]

  17. on 19 May 2007 at 9:45 am 17. Seattle said …

    I have no stories. Not personal ones. But I’ve made a hobby of listening to and remembering all the stories told by pretty much everyone I know. My personal favorite is one I was present for-ex-husband decided to go hang with his best friend during a school break. They started with beer, moved on to pot, followed that up with some interesting mushrooms the friend had in a little bottle in the fridge… Sometime around 2am I woke up to find a man hanging onto me for dear life as he kept “swooping out of the atmosphere into the stars”. That went on for a couple of hours. We headed home the next day. By evening he was running a fever of 104. I got him into a bathtub of cool water and crossed my fingers he wouldn’t go into seizures. Called his friend to see if he was experiencing anything similar and turned around to find hubby collapsed in the hallway trying to get to the phone to reassure his friend everything was “fine”. And then there was the time… LOL Got to run.

  18. on 19 May 2007 at 10:40 am 18. Oaktown Girl said …

    I vomited on my friend’s boss’s husband once.

    And Tom zooms out to an early lead with a brazen and fearless gesture!

    Sometime around 2am I woke up to find a man hanging onto me for dear life as he kept “swooping out of the atmosphere into the stars”.

    Very funny, Seattle. Sounds like that should be somebody’s blog tag line. I’ll go ahead and call “dibs” on that one right now for the WAAGNFNP in case we ever want to use it for ourselves.

    Here’s the Preakness Home Page. If you go to the far right column, you will a list of all 9 horses (icons with the jockey’s colors) that you can click on for info on each horse. Looks like the post time is 6:15pm Eastern.

  19. on 19 May 2007 at 2:28 pm 19. spyder said …

    No doubt. When we have our WAAGNFNP gathering, spyder’s making the drinks.

    Well i can mix up a fine batch of Kool-Aid, but so few really understand that there is no such thang as too much. Then again, there was this little moment from last night’s celebration of the life of Walter Cronkite:

    I invited him to a Grateful Dead show in the 1980’s because his daughter was a Deadhead.. .and it was Walter Cronkite at the soundboard at Madison Square Garden,” said drummer Mickey Hart. “And he came back at the setbreak, and I introduced him to Jerry [Garcia], and he said, ‘I was thinking of a thousand reasons to leave early. But I can’t think of one now!’

    For which all i can say is that you should have seen the Cronkite rock-out during the ‘90 early spring tour in NY. Peter Jennings was also quite a regular and often wore Garcia silk ties on the set for his broadcasts.

    Well i did stop drinking in 1990, but i still remember my first drunken walk down a hallway at the age of three; bouncing from one wall to the other, trying to get to the bathroom, clutching dearly to the now empty bottle of Cold Duck. I drank for 40 years, pretty much steady, though most of that consumption was to balance all the other stuff. Only after i stopped did i fully realize that my entheogenic travels could be so much more enhanced not having that strange poisonous sugar in my body.

    Given all that, i have to go with a horse named Hard Spun, because that just describes it all so very well.

  20. on 19 May 2007 at 3:25 pm 20. spyder said …

    Wow… what a finish.. what a race.. tied for fastest Preakness ever on a rain-soaked track… damn. street sense just couldn’t push that last 1/8th at the pace, and the need to stay outside on the first two poles.. but wow, what an amazingly good horse race.

  21. on 19 May 2007 at 6:17 pm 21. spyder said …

    I went down to the mountain, I was drinking some wine
    I looked up into heaven, lord I saw a mighty sign
    Writ in fire across the heaven, plain as black and white
    Get the Dead, there’s gonna be a party tonight

    Uh huh, hey, Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, Saturday night

    Everybody’s dancing down at the local armory
    With a basement full of dynamite and live artillery
    Temperature keeps rising, everybody getting high
    Come the rocking stroke of midnight, the whole place is gonna fly

    Uh huh, hey, Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, Saturday night

    I turn on Channel Six, the President comes on the news
    Says I got no satisfaction, that’s why I sing the blues
    His wife says don’t get crazy, Lord you know what to do
    Just crank that old Victrola, put on your rocking shoes

    Uh huh, hey, Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, Saturday night

    Then God way up in heaven, for whatever it was worth
    Thought he’d have a big old party, thought he’d call it planet earth
    Don’t worry about tomorrow, Lord, you’ll know it when it comes
    When the rocking, rolling music meets the rising, shining sun

    Uh huh, hey, Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, another Saturday night
    Hey, another Saturday night
    Hey, another Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, another Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, another Saturday night
    One more Saturday night
    Hey, another Saturday night
    One more Saturday night

  22. on 19 May 2007 at 8:32 pm 22. James Killus said …

    Ah, er, um, intoxicants and psychoactive chemicals. I will assert that I’ve had little truck with narcotics (nausea at even modest dosages) or amphetamines (which scare the shit out of me). In keeping with the general tenor of the thread so far, I will not speak of canabinols, LSD (or morning glory seeds), psilocybin (or mushrooms and how to cultivate them), mescaline (nor its ethylated relative, nor its sources besides peyote), cocaine (nor its ethylated relative), nitrous oxide, MDMA (aka Ecstacy), DMT, valium, ativan, clonazapam, atropine, scopolomine, or any of the nitrate/nitrite vasodilators.

    As Dr. Atomic would say, my interest is purely scientific.

    I will however, do what I do best, which is quote myself:

    The theater group at RPI had a traditional beverage they called “Players’ Punch,” or alternately, “blog” (no relation to weblogs, of course; it was probably a backformation of “grog” and possibly “blotto”). It consisted of various fruit juices and sodas, plus laboratory ethanol (the commercial equivalent is Everclear), or, failing that, whatever liquor was available, usually vodka or rum. To this was added dry ice, which chilled it mightily, and froze out some of the water. Potent stuff, and pretty dangerous, because the perception of alcohol content involves smelling the alcohol vapors, and if you get the drink cold enough, it deceives. Also, the dry ice added some carbonation, and carbonation enhances alcohol absorption by the digestive tract.

    A high school friend of mine who went to Vanderbilt University, told me of a concoction called the “Funderburg,” no doubt named for its creator. It was a blender drink; I think it used frozen concentrated grape juice. I decided to make blender daiquiris by a similar method. That was the year I ran a lab course for undergraduates, which meant that I had access to the fabled laboratory ethanol.

    The drink was simplicity itself: one 6 oz. can of frozen limeade concentrate, then the same can filled with 95% ethanol. To that was added a tray of ice. Then hit the max button on the blender. The final result looked a bit like a slushy, and was very cold. The liquid itself was somewhere around 80 proof, by my estimate, but because of the cold, it tasted about as alcoholic as wine. Very dangerous stuff.

    Whenever I think about this particular concoction, I’m bound to remember one particular night in 1972 involving the blender daiquiris plus the Quicksilver Messenger Service’s extended version of “Who Do You Love?” by Bo Diddley. Modesty and discretion compel me to refrain from giving specifics. I will note, however, that the effects of ethanol are such that, while one may still remember that actions have consequences, the relative values placed on the actions vs. consequences may change substantially. Suffice it to say that it all Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.

  23. on 19 May 2007 at 8:37 pm 23. James Killus said …

    And if the DEA has a search sniffer on the web, we just lit up like a Christmas tree.

  24. on 19 May 2007 at 9:26 pm 24. Oaktown Girl said …

    spyder - that was a good race. Street Sense would have had it for sure if the pace had been even a tiny bit slower. I’m bummed we’re going another year with no Triple Crown. And where the hell was today’s winning horse last week? At the Derby he was a favorite. Why he gonna win today and be such a sucker at the Derby? (Blame the jockey?). If that horse had put in some effort last week, we’d already be setting up for our Belmont Triple Crown live blogging party.

    James-
    And if the DEA has a search sniffer on the web, we just lit up like a Christmas tree.

    Perhaps, but we should be OK since the authorities are so busy monitoring seriously dangerous Peace groups like the Quakers.

    In keeping with the general tenor of the thread so far, I will not speak of canabinols…

    James, if that’s the scientific word for cannabis”, well then clearly you didn’t watch the “Brian & Stewie in Amsterdam” YouTube I posted at the top!

    I will not speak of canabinols, LSD (or morning glory seeds), psilocybin (or mushrooms and how to cultivate them), mescaline (nor its ethylated relative, nor its sources besides peyote), cocaine (nor its ethylated relative), nitrous oxide, MDMA (aka Ecstacy), DMT, valium, ativan, clonazapam, atropine, scopolomine, or any of the nitrate/nitrite vasodilators.

    So, what? You’re going to be no fun at all? I wanna hear some James stories! And yes, I can certainly testify about the dangers of alcohol that you can’t smell or taste too much. Never again.

    I have not been in a drunken state for years. The only time I ever did any serious drinking was my first year in college when I was at a school that was completely wrong for me (they gave me money, so my parents said that’s where I was going). Anyway, I was very unhappy and drank a lot out of boredom. What I learned is that I’m a very happy drunk until something sets me off. That is, if something upsets me in any way - no matter how seemingly trivial it may be in a sober light, then I become a very violent drunk. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Of course, like I said, it’s been a long, long, time since I’ve actually been drunk. Who knows if I’d still behave the same way. But just to be on the safe side, at our WAAGNFNP gathering, no one ought to poke the Minister of Justice with a stick if she’s been drinking. Just in case.

  25. on 19 May 2007 at 9:47 pm 25. spyder said …

    Oh James that sounds too familiar. Our UCLA version, Fubar-Lagnaf, began with one fifth Everclear, one gallon cheap red wine, half gallon of 7-up (or my personal favorite Fresca), and the dryice. Served out of a large thermos (in those days they were made from steel with a vacuum-sealed glass inner container), so the dry-ice had to be vented out, but the effects were devastatingly wicked. We served it in 2 oz shot glasses only.

    As for your wonderful list, well, golly–it is another Saturday night. Phenethylamines, tryptamines and the indole ringing dingies, harmalines and harmines, beta-carbolines–wow, what a wonderful strange brew to find out what’s inside of you.

  26. on 19 May 2007 at 10:20 pm 26. James Killus said …

    Oh, I saw the Brian and Stewie in Amsterdam sequence when it first aired, and probably a time or two since. But I said “general tenor of the thread” and we’ve been mostly singing drinking songs.

    The Dr. Atomic page I linked to has a further link to Dr Atomic’s Marijuana Multiplier (2 ed.) by Adam Gottlieb, illustrated by Dr. Atomic comix artist, Larry Todd. Todd also published some various recipes in the Dr. Atomic comix, including a moderately dangerour recipe for nitrous oxide (it was easily contaminated with nitrogen dioxide, NO2, which is no fun at all; for a period of about ten years, all Bay Area science fiction parties featured at least one tank of high purity N2O), and a variation of the “multiplier” which amounted to a alcohol vapor extraction method for faux “hash oil.”

    One interesting thing about the vapor extraction of cannabinols is that, if you reuse the alcohol that is driven off the concentrate, the alcohol itself begins to collect some of the more volatile cannabinols. This can be discovered by noting that the alcohol in the primarly source flask begins to develop a cloudy appearance.

    It tastes dreadful. It can, however, create a state of mind, in at least some experimental subjects, such that every cat and dog in the room will come over to lay their heads in said subject’s lap. The observation of the subject being able to guess astrological signs without actually believing in astrology is probably mere coincidence, and as replication was never attempted, remains purely anecdotal.

  27. on 20 May 2007 at 11:46 am 27. spyder said …

    Of course i know nothing about cannabinoid-laced laudanum tinctures or the properties and use thereof, but if i did i might recommend it for lucid dream practice.

    for a period of about ten years, all Bay Area science fiction parties featured at least one tank of high purity N2O),

    I believe that was a requirement at all Bay Area parties back in “those” days; it was also a case where size mattered in terms of controlling the valves. There was a certain facility, a warehouse art environment, that featured a CO2 closet in which NO2 was also released released stimulating the need for direct supervision by those not imbibing to protect the intoxicated. It was reported that the induced states were quite, shall one say, dreamlike.

  28. on 20 May 2007 at 4:20 pm 28. The Constructivist said …

    I think everybody’s in a state to go to Mostly Harmless now, which not only has been taken over by the LPGA (Ochoa rules) but also the JLPGA (Yokomine ended Jeon’s reign) and the JPGA (some 15-year-old the Japanese meda are calling the “new prince” may be the youngest amateur ever to win a pro tournament). Oh, and still no sequel for here. Blame it on the weather!

  29. on 20 May 2007 at 10:40 pm 29. James Killus said …

    Spyder, I’ll again point out the difference between N2O, which is the laughing gas, and NO2, which is a brownish gas that comes off of nitric acid when used for metal stripping; NO2 is also a constituent of photochemical smog. Its chemical properties are very interesting, and so are its physiological effects, provided one finds lung damage interesting.

    One other linguistic oddity is that all oxides of nitrogen are called “nitrous” by the Brits, so that sometimes causes confusion as well.

    Currently, most bottled nitrous is sold “sour” meaning that they add sulfur dioxide to it, in order to discourage the sorts of party usage to which, back in the day, we were party, as it were.

    The sort of enclosed space use of nitrous of which you speak can be dangerous, given that nitrous itself does not support life, and anoxia is a real possibility. In medical applications (e.g. in dentistry), nitrous is mixed with 20% oxygen. However, although N2O does not support life, it does support combustion, so a “nitrous closet” can have some of the same dangers as an oxygen tent, where someone trying to smoke, for example, can discover themselves on fire before they realize it. Even simple static sparks can create a problem if the wrong clothing is worn.

    I’m guessing that the “CO2 closet” derived from the older “orgone box” whose effects were supposedly derived from the non-existant “orgone energy” (poor W. Reich built “orgone cannons” with which he tried to shoot down flying saucers; there are strict limits as to the degree to which reality may be constructed by the observer and I fear the WR exceeded them). Later research suggested that the effects of the orgone boxes were due primarily to a slow buildup of CO2, which affects blood chemistry, cardiovascular tension, and so forth. In orgone box-type usage, of course, the above mentioned static/clothing problem is not a factor, for reasons familiar to anyone with orgone box experience.

    For a “party atmosphere” the strict supervision to which you allude is likely to collapse, so the “balloon” method of ingestion is the safest. My own contribution to the technology was, I believe, twofold. The first was an extention of outright stinginess, the recapture of the exhalation into the same balloon, leading either to sharing, or multiple cycles of inhalation, exhalation, and so forth. This produced a certain amount of hyperventilation and CO2 increase. CO2 is a respiratory stimulant at moderate levels, and the enhanced respiration helps reoxygenate the blood after going back to regular air. There was a tendency for people at nitrous parties to develop blue lips, a sign of anoxia, and not a good thing, so I’m sure that everyone will believe that my concern was for everyone’s physical well being and not just some way to extend and intensify a cheap high.

    There was a variant of the above technique which involved direct mouth to mouth sharing, but this was confined to persons who were, at a minimum, very good friends.

    My second contribution was more idiosyncratic; I had a tank of helium, and we would demand that anyone asking for nitrous do so after first taking a hit off a helium balloon. This confused the issue as to what should really be called “laughing gas.”

  30. on 20 May 2007 at 11:09 pm 30. JP Stormcrow said …

    [Oaktown Girl describes herself as a potentially “mean” drunk.]

    Yes, that is similar to another pattern (maybe substitute “mean” with “creatively inappropriate and offensive”) that my Puritanistic hangovers have saved me and sundry friends and bystanders from:
    1) Everybody happy and having fun as the buzz builds. Conversation and wit sparkle.
    2) Me still “sparkling’, but most everyone else seemingly fallen off the pace somewhat.
    3) We’re all fucking miserable.

  31. on 20 May 2007 at 11:19 pm 31. The Constructivist said …

    Don’t get me started on my father-in-law. I’ll regret it when the girls get old enough to go to bed by themselves b/c I won’t be able to use that excuse to leave the family drinking parties in Chiba. And the more Japanese I learn, the worse they’ll get. Sometimes language barriers are good.

  32. on 21 May 2007 at 12:02 am 32. Oaktown Girl said …

    But I said “general tenor of the thread” and we’ve been mostly singing drinking songs.

    James - I was just poking at you because you don’t seem like one to be limited by the “general tenor” of things. And I wanted to hear some stories!

    [Oaktown Girl describes herself as a potentially “mean” drunk.]

    Well, let me be more specific then, because I was certainly never a “mean” drunk, at least not in the way I think of that term. To me, that connotates aggressive and belligerent, which I wasn’t. I would, however, engage in over-the-top retaliatory behavior if someone pissed me off or messed with me (or one of my friends).

    So you see, I was never the aggressor. I would be happy as a clam, and if I stayed at the “buzz” state, all was well no matter what situation presented itself. Problems could occur once I went from buzzed to drunk. That’s when things could get a little dicey. Drunk, I’d still be happy as a clam, but if someone said something or did something mean or intentionally antagonistic to me or a friend, (and yes, even drunk I could still differentiate intentional from
    unintentional), well let’s just say my sense of humor became non-existent.

  33. on 21 May 2007 at 6:28 am 33. Kiera PSI said …

    “creatively inappropriate and offensive” - JP, that actually describes the “Oaktown Girl” drunk. Unlike she describes, she doesn’t get “mean” when someone intentionally says something nasty to her or he friends…but oh does that mouth open.

    I’m going to go duck behind the desk now to avoid the incoming lobs from Oakland.

  34. on 21 May 2007 at 7:08 am 34. Sven DiMilo said …

    just say N2O to hippy crack.
    And pass that bottle over here…

  35. on 21 May 2007 at 7:35 am 35. Oaktown Girl said …

    Kiera - You’ve never seen me drunk! Like I said, it’s been a long, long, time since I’ve been drunk. Even since before you’ve known me.

    And didn’t I already warn you to stop telling lies about me being “creatively inappropriate and offensive” after a few glasses of bubbly? Lies and more damned lies!

  36. on 21 May 2007 at 7:50 am 36. christian h. said …

    Lies and more damned lies!

    Will Kiera escalate and use statistics in her next post? Stay tuned.

  37. on 21 May 2007 at 10:10 am 37. James Killus said …

    What, Oaktown Girl, nitrous and helium tales (even between the lines) aren’t good enough? The fact is that most doper tales are examples of Ellie’s
    Underwear    .

    Besides, “orgone box” stories are just hot tub stories without the water.

  38. on 21 May 2007 at 12:27 pm 38. Kiera PSI said …

    *LMAOBT*

    Yes, I was being intentionally inflammatory. The “drunk* time I was quoting occured in the late 90’s, in my apartment on Church Lane in Honolulu, Hawaii. Rather than outright drunk, it was simply extremely tipsy on almost a full bottle of something or other Noir (I’m not a wine buff, so the Noir part is all I remember of it). There were two bottles…I had an enormous drinking capacity at the time, so I managed almost a full one myself while still remaining relatively unaffected (this would no longer be the case, I’d be falling over after half a split).

    The Oaktown Girl was taking extreme offence at some garbage on the boob tube…they were, as usual, trying to shove some materialistic conformist tripe down our throats. She began spouting off, rather loudly, in an extremely vitrolic rant.

    I will say that I was the only witness…my apartment overlooked an alley, and since it was a holiday, most of the residents were NOT home. And she DID catch herself mid-rant, looked horrified, and made me swear on anything and everything I held dear that I would not let her drink bubbly in public.

    I submit that this example and her own admission that she would have been worse in public fully supports my “creatively inappropriate and offensive” drunk assessment.

    So there.

  39. on 21 May 2007 at 12:42 pm 39. Oaktown Girl said …

    Kiera - as you say, I was not drunk. I was a long way from drunk. But yes, it doesn’t take much bubbly to remove all the better judgment from what comes out of my mouth…or the noise level.

    Something that’s always pissed me off my whole life is that at parties, in general I’m a pretty happy person. It’s a party afterall, right? And I’ve got no hesitation about talking to anyone or saying pretty much anything that comes to my mind, stone cold sober. (Although I’ve been working on that for the past 2 and a half decades now, my mouth still beats out my brain saying “whoa!” by a critical half-second on some occasions). Anyway, it used to happen quite a lot that I’d just be my natural happy self having had NOTHING to drink, and some asshole will say, “whoa - someone’s had a lot to drink already”. And it’s just me being my happy self, totally alcohol/drug free, and I hadn’t even said/done anything extreme or offensive in anyway, or even close to it. It pisses me off because the message is “don’t be yourself”. And also it reflects on what a fucking uptight, stick-up-the-ass socially repressed culture we have. (Oh, by the way, that only ever happened to me at parties with a White majority, if that says anything).

  40. on 21 May 2007 at 1:32 pm 40. spyder said …

    Spyder, I’ll again point out the difference between N2O, which is the laughing gas, and NO2, which is a brownish gas that comes off of nitric acid when used for metal stripping

    Thanks James, my bad, damn typos (but “again” mmm). I meant N2O- nitrous oxide definitely.. got lost in the fingering of CO2’s (though there are those lovely N02-AA compounds) The closet indeed was designed off the orgone models, and was flushed with O2 every so often, in between shifts. It was very dangerous and required constant attention. It is always nice to know good dentists and oral surgeons to insure that the quality of the gas was not “industrial.” And yes, the balloon methodologies of which you speak are well known and practiced, and have been for a very long time.

    Besides, “orgone box” stories are just hot tub stories without the water. Not when you live next door to a guy who built one. That place became a hangout of various 60’s LA bands for a while, sharing in the Count Kook’s facilitations of various exotics and such (he became a brilliant mathematician and professor when he came down in the early 70’s).

  41. on 21 May 2007 at 6:30 pm 41. Oaktown Girl said …

    And also it reflects on what a fucking uptight, stick-up-the-ass socially repressed culture we have. (Oh, by the way, that only ever happened to me at parties with a White majority, if that says anything).

    That’s not meant to be a slam on White folks, by the way. Just an observation of some apparent cultural differences as relates to acceptable party behavior. Lord Astaroth knows, every culture/ethnicity has their various pockets of uptightness. Except at parties, I’m an equal opportunity offender. Not that I try, mind you, I just seem to be a pincushion and magnet for everyone’s projections and judgments.

  42. on 21 May 2007 at 8:33 pm 42. Kiera PSI said …

    [I’m an equal opportunity offender.]

    You’re just way too honest for everyone else’s comfort. You don’t dance around people’s feelings unless you know they are in a vulnerable state… you don’t coddle people who aren’t entitled to a little coddling.

    Now…go and NOT coddle the A’s…they were bad boys for the last two nights. *ducks again*

  43. on 21 May 2007 at 9:25 pm 43. JP Stormcrow said …

    “whoa - someone’s had a lot to drink already”.

    Oaktown, I am absolutely with you on this one. Other variants that grate on the sober ear: “I sure hope you’re drunk.”, “Boy, are you going to feel sheepish about this tomorrow”, “Cut off JP” etc. Obviously one of the appeals of alcohol and other recreational drugs is that it gives people “cover” to act in ways they wanted to do all along. I guess that is not a bad thing, but I do hate the reflexive resistance and/or labelling that you get from so many when you attempt to just go there directly without any chemical help - especially at a freaking party.

    Oh well, I guess at some level, we are all men of measured merriment on this bus.

  44. on 22 May 2007 at 7:33 am 44. The Constructivist said …

    Hey, Kiera, don’t tell a certain A’s fan that Peter Ramus has been doing Giants blogging to offset my LPGA obsession at Mostly Harmless. Here’s his latest! And by the way Kiera is the name of one of the coolest characters in all fantasy literature–check out Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series when you get a chance, if you haven’t already….

  45. on 22 May 2007 at 8:12 am 45. Kiera PSI said …

    No, I haven’t read it…and Amazon has a three-in-one of the first rhree books in the series for only $11. Sigh…there goes my credit card. The D-Man is going to be shaking his head, the SpendyGirl strikes again. Though I was looking for one more book to buy so I’d get free shipping! ;)

  46. on 22 May 2007 at 8:39 am 46. Oaktown Girl said …

    Hey, Kiera, don’t tell a certain A’s fan that Peter Ramus has been doing Giants blogging to offset my LPGA obsession at Mostly Harmless.

    There goes TC trying to poke the MOJ with a stick again. The MOJ is well aware of peter’s Giants blogging over at Mostly Harmless. Clearly, TC thinks the MOJ is now stupid. {MOJ grabs the stick from TC’s hands and breaks it over his head. And while he’s unconscious, she straps him into the backseat of Seattle’s car”.}

  47. on 22 May 2007 at 10:20 am 47. christian h. said …

    Oaktown Girl, if you want parties with no questions, go with Russians (or Ukrainians, Belorussians,…). Even I - brought up in the kind of German middle class protestantism where you can only feel either unhappy or guilty (ok, this is clearly unfair to my parents who would very much disagree with this stereotyping) - won’t ask stupid questions at one of those. Well, mostly. I can’t help being nervous if people drink half a bottle of Vodka and then drive.

    As for TC’s cowardly attempt at undermining the MOJ, he didn’t even see fit to post the link!

    For the UCLA crowd (spyder): UCLA softball didn’t make it out of the regionals last weekend. Shame!

  48. on 22 May 2007 at 10:43 am 48. Oaktown Girl said …

    Not stupid questions that piss me off, but stupid comments. I’m always too polite to respond, “No, in fact I haven’t had one drink yet. This is just what life looks like if you take that 10-foot pole out of your ass. You should try it some time!” (Agreed, christian - no such thing as stupid questions when someone’s about to drive and they’ve been knocking back a half bottle of vodka). And JP(#45) - excellent examples of more stupid party lines said to stone cold sober folks.

    As for TC’s cowardly attempt at undermining the MOJ, he didn’t even see fit to post the link!

    TC likes to play with fire. And now he’s in trouble with Kiera’s husband for suggesting more SciFi/Fantasy titles for her to check out. Right about now he’s probably better off strapped to the backseat of Seattle’s car during commuter rush hour with both kids than showing his face.

  49. on 22 May 2007 at 10:46 am 49. Oaktown Girl said …

    Oops - forgot to ask. christian - how’s Cal doing in the softball tourney? I’m at work so I can’t look it up. They usually have a really good team, and I know they were in the tourney.

  50. on 22 May 2007 at 10:51 am 50. The Constructivist said …

    Maybe Kiera and I could do a Thelma & Louise, taking all our kids with us!

    Wheeee

    eeeee

    eeee

    eee

    –

  51. on 22 May 2007 at 10:52 am 51. The Constructivist said …

    I mean, I just got that damn stick out of my ass and now there’s splinters and shit in my hair.

    Waaaa

    aaa

    aa

    h

  52. on 22 May 2007 at 11:03 am 52. Kiera PSI said …

    Eww, no shit allowed in my car, T.C. And I’ve got enough loose hairs there from the kids…uh, I mean dogs.

    You want to talk successful college sports? Try Fresno City College. It’s funny, everyone in the two counties talks about the Fresno State Bulldogs (only their women’s softball is any good consistantly), but Fresno City has had champions in almost every sport almost every year. But does anyone talk about the Rams? No. It’s a miracle when the newspapers print stories about them. Pigs actually FLEW yesterday when one of the local stations mentioned them on the sportscast.

  53. on 22 May 2007 at 11:19 am 53. christian h. said …

    Cal ran into Alabama, they’re out, too. In fact the Pac-10 did badly this year, only 3 teams in the Superregionals ( = Sweet 16). Only California team to advance is Cal State Fullerton. On the other hand, Northwestern and DePaul both advanced (yeah!).

    And now he’s in trouble with Kiera’s husband for suggesting more SciFi/Fantasy titles for her to check out.

    Oops. I should probably warn Kiera off my Friday post then. It will recommend a lot of books…

    Finally, a priority message from the MOOAD:

    somebody PLEASE apprehend the fugitive T.C., last seen fleeing Seattle in rush our traffic, driving recklessly with a crowd of children and Kiera PSI in the car. Once apprehended, chain him to a desk until he has finished his follow-up post on global capitalism.

    —end message—

  54. on 22 May 2007 at 11:22 am 54. Kiera PSI said …

    You’ll find T.C., and the kids, by the side of the road. No way Kiera goes anywhere with a car full of kids. Talk about Road Rage! The Kiera doesn’t do well with kids…Oaktown Girl could tell you some horror stories.

  55. on 22 May 2007 at 12:01 pm 55. Oaktown Girl said …

    Oaktown Girl could tell you some horror stories.

    I know nothing. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

    Kiera - could you swing back around a pick up TC? Just throw him in the trunk and keep on driving until he promises to finish his damn post.

  56. on 22 May 2007 at 1:26 pm 56. spyder said …

    Finally, a priority message from the MOOAD:
    Somebody PLEASE apprehend the fugitive T.C., last seen fleeing Seattle in rush our traffic, driving recklessly with a crowd of children and Kiera PSI in the car. Once apprehended, chain him to a desk until he has finished his follow-up post on global capitalism.
    —end message

    The MInistry has been engaged in the pursuit of previously mentioned critics of the party, and whilst that effort continues unabated (with the hounds hounding) we shall make at least an inquiry into the location of subject TC. If found, prior to the endless surge needed to sustain the ongoing efforts to interdict dissent and opposition among the literati, we will endeavor to detain, restrain, re-train, and constrain him to the task of said posting of post!

    Right about now he’s probably better off strapped to the backseat of Seattle’s car during commuter rush hour with both kids than showing his face.
    This should be relatively easy now that they have closed off most of the freeway through Spokane so that commuter rush hour traffic is restricted to one of three one-way passages through downtown. We have already hacked into the local constabulary’s video monitoring system and are using NSA level (well actually the much better Las Vegas casino level) facial recognition applications to find said suspect.

    spyder
    Minister of Defense and Offense
    Ministry of Offense and Defense
    WAAGNFNP

  57. on 22 May 2007 at 1:26 pm 57. Kiera PSI said …

    Okay, okay. But the kids stay in the street. Oh. Wait. The kids go in the trunk WITH T.C. and he can escape them only when he promises (on pain of re-trunking) to finish his post.

  58. on 22 May 2007 at 2:29 pm 58. JP Stormcrow said …

    Pulling together several elements in this thread and recycling them as an old joke:

    I would like to die blissfully unaware, deep in my cups.
    ..not yelling and screaming like the passengers in my car.

  59. on 22 May 2007 at 3:01 pm 59. Oaktown Girl said …

    I would like to die blissfully unaware, deep in my cups.
    ..not yelling and screaming like the passengers in my car.

    JP - I read that real fast at first (I’m at work), and it didn’t “take”. So I read it again more slowly - very funny! Yeah, old joke. I’ve heard it before, but not for a long time, and never more timely than here and now.

    So TC escaped the backseat of Seattle’s car only to be picked up by Kiera and thrown in the trunk. I like it. The WAAGNFNP has ways of dealing with procrastinators. And I love the term Kiera used to threaten TC - “re-trunk”. Let’s keep that one!

  60. on 22 May 2007 at 3:55 pm 60. Kiera PSI said …

    [The WAAGNFNP has ways of dealing with procrastinators]

    Ut oh. Considering that the only reason I’m not a charter member of the Procrastinator’s Club of America (founded in 1956 in Philadelphia, near my hometown) is that I haven’t gotten around to joining yet (I’ve been intending to since 1978), I could be in trouble here.

  61. on 23 May 2007 at 8:10 am 61. Kiera PSI said …

    Here’s something in the news for Oaktown Girl. I swear, it’s a side effect, I didn’t cause this intentionally…but ain’t it grand?

    NEW YORK - Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test within the last year, the Daily News reported Wednesday.

    The newspaper reported that after the failed amphetamines test, Giambi is subjected to six additional tests for one year. The newspaper did not cite any sources in its report.

    Giambi declined comment to the newspaper before the New York Yankees’ 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night

  62. on 24 May 2007 at 1:20 pm 62. The Constructivist said …

    Here’s a defense of Barry Bonds for your reading pleasure (not by me)!