Thursday, November 20, 2008

I just sat across from a Pulitzer Prize winning historian while he ate the biggest steak I've ever seen.  I think it was fifteen inches in diameter.  Like a meat frisbee.  Or a manta ray.  I challenged him to eat it in twelve minutes or less but without the proper incentive (his meal was free either way I suppose) the challenge alone was not enough.  I guess nineteen year old boys do in fact grow up.  And win Pulitzer Prizes!

Totally unrelated, I was invited to beer tasting party over the weekend that was kind of amazing.  It was mostly faculty from the English department so the descriptions of the beer - we all had to read to the group our thoughts on the beer after each round - were, well they weren't simply "this beer was a little nutty, probably Newcastle."  No, no.  They were long-winded descriptions along the lines of: 

"This beer is the other woman.  Fun, interesting, exhilarating.  You forget about your drab home life and bitter marriage, your lame children.  And yet (sigh)... not worth it in the end."  

Or "This beer is not the student that doesn't do the reading or pay attention in class and yet shows up in the office hours on the last day of class to argue for a grade other than a B.  No, this beer  is the student that is equally lazy but doesn't grub for grades and you give an A- to out of spite."  

Or "If this beer were an actor it would be Bill Paxton.  If this beer were a noble gas it would be Argon." (this was my roomie's description of Stella Artois I think)

Hilarious.  Also way too much pressure to be clever.


Yesterday I was chased by a basset hound.
Tomorrow my brother is coming to visit!
Life just gets better and better.

1 comment:

Bones said...

I once got beat in horseshoes by a noble peace prize winner. I mean, REALLY beat. It was embarrassing.