Author: Monkeybrad (Page 17 of 57)

Negative Space

April 23, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We are in my wheelhouse today, so to speak. Paying as much attention to what is not happening as to what is actually going on. Focusing on the silence, the space between the notes, the whitespace that defines the picture or gives the words their form. At its most basic, this is what I do most days, manipulating the relationship between background and focus, laying out graphics and words, seeing those words as shapes and always vigorously defending the field on which that particular game is played. So, in honor of the emptiness that defines the thing and the lies between, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Negative Space.

Violette Royale

April 22, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Simple times call for simple drinks. Of course, these are not simple times. In fact, these times are about as complicated as times can be, even when you remember to carry the two and subtract by the hypotenuse. I could drone on and on about how I am not feeling well, having sustained a broken rib at a baby shower last weekend and how I am inclined to make an uncharacteristically short and sweet shout into the darkness, but rather than writing about all that, I reckon I should just get along with the business of actually being short and sweet in word count, not in stature. So with that lofty goal in mind, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Violette Royale.

Death in Oaxaca

April 21, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

My grandfather used to say “The only folks who don’t make mistakes are the one’s who don’t do anything.” I was mistaken about this drink, so, clearly, I do things. That is how post hoc fallacies work, right? Or was that a non sequitur? I get so confused. I’m sticking with that sparkling wine theme, so in the spirit of some honest bubbles won’t you join me as we stand and make the Death in Oaxaca.

Champagne Cocktail

April 20, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

Though I usually eschew them, I am sticking with a theme this week. Either that or I am stuck in a rut, it is often hard to tell the difference. I guess it’s all going to come down to the marketing, so a bubble filled theme it is as we continue with yet another sparkling wine classic. Not just a classic, but perhaps the classic, as in the original bubbly concoction that inspired this entire class of drinks, putting them on the gustatorial map, so to speak. So, without further ado, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the classic Champagne Cocktail.

Old Jamaican

April 19, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Vizzini once said, “You clearly subscribe to classic adages. The most famous of which is “make hay while the sun is shining,” but only slightly less well-known is this “once the cork is popped, enjoy that champagne””. I am sure it was something like that, though I sometimes misremember quotes as needed for the sake of the narrative, so you’ll have to take that statement with a grain of pepper. The point is, since, I had already cracked a bottle of bubbly, I figured we might as well go again with the sparkling wines. So, if it all feels familiar, there’s a reason. Won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Old Jamaican.

The Seelbach

April 16, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

“You’ve got to enjoy things while you have them, son,” he said with a world-weary sigh, “nothing stays here forever, appreciating that change is coming makes us realize just how valuable our time is.” That’s the kind of thing I found myself saying as we sat in the sun this afternoon, examining the meaning of grief while both experiencing it for very different reasons. It’s not what I had planned, but life has a funny way of blindsiding you and no matter what else is on the schedule, sometimes you have to set those things aside and be a dad, a friend and an absorbent shoulder. So, even though it has nothing to do with any of that and I am gonna have to work to tie this all together, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the “classic” Seelbach.

Parisian Daiquiri

April 15, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Some times, you need to do the thing for the sheer beauty of it. Not because it has any value to society. Not because someone is paying you to do it. Not because it would make your fourth grade teacher proud, even though I do hope Mrs. Hall is pleased. Not for duty or honor or any sense of obligation, but simply because you want to see that beauty exist in the world. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Parisian Daiquiri.

Bonnie Prince Charles

April 14, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I’ve never really felt tied to a theme here. I pick out drinks I want to try, for whatever reason, and I make them. Then, I tell you a little something about the history of the drink, how to make it and what I thought of it, usually in way too many words. Outside of that, I just sort of riff on whatever is on my mind. Somedays it is inspired, on others, well it’s just random shouts into the darkness by a fairly boring ape with delusions of grandeur. My personal comments tend to deal with how we ought to be more decent to each other, my frustrations with the world when that is not happening, or long-winded nostalgic trips down memory lane. Looking back over this corpus there is no denying that I have been writing during a pandemic. So, in honor of these unprecedented times, which feel more precedented with every passing day, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Bonnie Prince Charles.

Fin de Siécle

April 13, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The seasons are changing on us. I know that technically it has been spring for some time, but this week, you can feel it. The flowers have been blooming for awhile, but suddenly the trees are all budding and putting out new growth and my lawn is going crazy. Plus, I’ve been able to drive home in the afternoon and to baseball practice, with the sunroof open, the windows down and the radio up. I am just saying that you can feel the change in the air, spring has definitely sprung. So, in honor of changing times, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Fin de Siécle.

Key Lime Curd Margarita

April 12, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

There are fundamental flaws in our world. Most of them are our fault and I like to think that we are working to make things better, even as I see daily evidence of folks going out of their way to make things worse for others. We are imperfect, but I hope that long arc does, indeed, bend toward justice. Those are problems we can work on and when we finally acknowledge that we are all in this together and worthy of respect and consideration, we can fix them. Others are more challenging. Those things deeply ingrained in our collective psyches or worse, hard-coded into our genetic make-up. I was reminded of one of the most troubling design failures in the human body today, repeatedly. I am speaking of the entirely unnecessary in the modern world, brain freeze. So, in the spirit of self inflicted wounds that we never seem to learn from, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Key Lime Curd Margarita.