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Blue Lady

May 4, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It is customary that on the morning immediately following the birthdays of my weird uncle figure, my figurative Wonder Twin and my actual brother, we celebrate Star Wars Day with the traditional “May the 4th be with you” greeting. Best I can tell, that is all that is required to honor this completely made up holiday. I suppose we could watch a movie marathon or just queue up some sort of supercut of great moments from that galaxy that is both long ago and far, far away. Some folks honor the day with a tall glass of Blue Milk, but I feel like we are a little fancier than that, so won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Blue Lady.

Northern Lights

May 3, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I said I was finished with champagne cocktails, but then, it turned out, I wasn’t. I did not set out to deceive you but circumstances changed. Once, way back in my college days, my girlfriend asked, “Is it a lie, if I meant it when I said it?” I did not have a good answer. In that case, I was having trouble processing the changes in circumstance that led to that remarkably honest question. She taught me a lot, and if I had been listening that evening, perhaps I’d have had an easier time with those lessons. The thing is, when I said we were finished with bubbly cocktails, I had no idea, I was going to crack a bottle of sparkling wine for my baby brother’s birthday. I knew Grandma was making Chicken & Dumplings, which meant cranberry sauce, so once I realized we weren’t going to finish the bottle, I decided to make the best of this unexpected bounty. So, yeah, I meant it when I said it, but things changed, and I deceived you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for this and so many other unintentional trespasses, as we stand and make Northern Lights.

The Corsican

April 30, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

“If you haven’t been there, you don’t know.” I have heard that a lot in my life and it is true. There are all kinds of experiences that I cannot even begin to understand. I know what it’s like to be me, and that’s about as far as it goes. I read lots from diverse sources, and I suppose that helps. Travel makes a huge difference, it is easier to see the other when you have been the other. I think the most important thing is I want to understand, or at least appreciate, other perspectives. There is an awful lot to be said for making the effort. So, in the spirit of trying to feel what the other fella does, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, The Corsican.

Champagne Daiquiri

April 29, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

Who’s up for a little recycling? Or maybe this is upcycling, since you could argue that we are going to make something better than it was. I am about ready to put a wrap on this champagne kick we have been on for the last couple of weeks, but I am going to leave this chapter with a helpful tip on what to do with leftover champagne. I know that this idea of leftover champagne is as foreign as the concept of leftover bacon or biscuits, and while it seems unlikely, it is theoretically possible. So in the spirit of trying to be accountable for your mistakes and making the best of things, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make the Champagne Daiquiri.

Otho’s BrunchaPuncha

April 28, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

If you are not doing brunch, you should be. I mean, assuming you don’t have other plans that require you to head out early. Actually, even if you have early plans you could always pop back by the house to eat, that is totally in bounds. In fact, some say that brunch was born of folks heading out early before coming back home to eat. If you believe the legends, the idea originated with English hunting parties, where a late breakfast would be prepared using the meats from that morning’s hunt. Whether that is true or not, I like the idea of it and I love sitting down to a mid morning repast with a glass of something bubbly. We are sticking with our sparkling wine theme and making a large format punch for brunch. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make Otho’s BrunchaPuncha.

Lady Washington

April 27, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

I love how pop culture can be used to expose folks to ideas that they have not heard before. It is always interesting to hear classic psychology, ethics or logic problems suddenly enter the pop lexicon because someone took the time to write them into a script. A couple of years ago The Good Place introduced folks who had not taken sociology to the classic Trolley Problem and it clearly got them thinking about what really did constitute the greater good, and that is a net positive. Recently, Wandavision brought the conundrum of the Ship of Theseus to the forefront and that got me to thinking, not about this drink, but something near to it. So, in the spirit of not knowing where one thing begins and another ends, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Lady Washington.

Death In The Afternoon

April 26, 2021 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The champagne was cold, but the girls were hot and I was as green as the absinthe swirling in the glass as they stepped on to the dance floor. That’s how it was in those days. I left home full of vigor, ready to prove myself a citizen of the world. I figured I had learned all they knew in school and it was time to see what lessons the real world could teach me. Mostly, it taught humility. Spain looked good on paper. I was living the life, as they say. A life mostly spent sitting in the corner of one club or another watching other folks enjoy that life I described in my letters home. As the cigarette smoke slowly rose from the ashtray, I signaled the barman with a nod. Sure, I’d have another. If I could not write like Hemingway, I could at least try to drink like him. So, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the classic, Death in the Afternoon.

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.

Inside the Mind of the Monkey