December 11, 2009
Why are modern booze ads so lame? There’s always some moodily lit scene with some medically enhanced bimbo and a guy wearing a billion dollar suit, or the same bulimic piece-of-work at the pool wearing so little fabric that Gypsy Rose Lee would blush (not that I mind, completely, but the IQ should at least be higher than the number of feet of water in the pool), or a talking horse or lizard, or some knuckleheads trying to come up with an asinine catch-phrase (“what it isssssss” or “hey yeahhhhhhh”) that trails off into a series of consonants boring enough to make you drink, sure, but only anything besides what’s being advertised. Instead of this jibber-jabber, let me present the below ad, which pal Philip (check out his baby, the cutest in the land, at the blog A Lifetime of Worry) sent me, after he found it on the Edwenden blog, which took it from the March 1953 issue of Men Only. The incredibly happy and devious cat is drinking the rum, after the high-kneed kid poured it in the bowl, as father looks on sadly. That, friends, is the definition of genius. The cat is drinking the rum–and look at his eyes! Genius. And I am going to buy a bottle of Lemon Hart rum right now. Which shows that genius ads can work.
March 27, 2009
Sorry, I had to drop a little Frankenstein (from the original movie, of course, which rocks, and not the later version, which sucks) in, not because my newest book Wine Cocktails is monstrous (well, maybe, if I can be so bold, full of monstrously tasty drinks), or because it has bolts around the neck area, or because it’s shot in black and white or something (it’s shot in color by genius photographer Melissa Punch), but no, because the monster would have loved the world a little better, and vice versa, I think, if they would have shared some wine cocktails together. Cause the cocktails in the book are all about sharing, and all about wine cuddled up with other delish ingredients, and all about goodness, darnit. I plan to put up more about the book, including some recipes, and notes about a release party, when I get back from Italy–but I wanted to let you know that the book is available now, cause I feel I should. And maybe you’re interested. Oh, yeah, if you missed it in that last sentence, I leave for Italy in about 24 hours, so my irregular blogging will become more irregular. But I’ll be thinking of you (yes, you) while over there eating and drinking and living la dolce vita. So, for at least a couple days, ciao bellas. Oh, before I go, here’s a pic from the new book, and, as a teaser, here’s the first phrase in the first headnote to the first recipe, “By Jack Lord, this should transport you.” That says it all folks.
