drinking liberally: outsourcing edition

for this week's philadelphia drinking liberally promotional post, i'm just gonna crib off of brendan's email:

Drinking Liberally, now featuring bare-knuckle fistfights between Clinton and Obama supporters, refereed by Ron Paul supporters.¹ Join us this Tuesday, 2/26/08, at 6:00 PM, at the Tangier Bar (corner of 18th and Lombard in Philadelphia) as we burn effigies of the candidates we hate, thumb our noses at each other, and sing "neener neener!" I'm bringing a Ralph Nader pinata that everyone can hit with a stick!

Oh OK, that's all a lie. None of that actually happens at Drinking Liberally. Instead, we bet on dog fights.

Oh OK, that doesn't happen either. It's endangered species fights that we bet on: this week, we pit a spotted owl against the mighty narwhal.
Anyway bring a friend and drink liberally.

yeah what brendan said. everyone's welcome.

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1- this wasn't us, honest!

drinking liberally: the play

i don't always remember to post a drinking liberally reminder each week. it's especially pathetic when you consider that i'm on the email list, so i get a reminder for the reminder. and still my mind is a sleeve.

anyway, this week, i'm just gonna reprint the official philly drinking liberally email in toto. am i lazy or what? (cue curtain):

Act 1. Scene I

SCENE I. An urban place.

Thunder and lightning. Enter three disgruntled Lefties.

First Lefty:
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Lefty:
When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.

Third Lefty:
That will be ere the set of sun.

First Lefty:
Where the place?

Second Lefty
Why, Drinking Liberally of course, Tuesday, at Tangier, corner of 18th
and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia PA! From 6:00 PM until the last of
us go home. Oh, and free wings for early birds. Drink specials too!

Third Lefty
There to meet with Macbeth. And Atrios. And Upyernoz. And others with
clever bloggy nicknames.

First Lefty
I come, Graymalkin!

Third Lefty
SHUT UP! For the last time Bob, I told you I blog anonymously! For
crying out loud, get it through your head!

Second Lefty
By the way, did anyone else get marching orders today from Markos?

Witch
I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!

First Lefty (aside)
You're on the wrong sound stage! You want Stage 9.

Witch (aside)
Ooops! My bad. (Exit)

ALL
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air
Of Philadelphia. Bring a friend,
We'll See you there.
(Exeunt)

see you there inshallah!

daou report and drinking liberally

the daou report made this site it's "featured blog" some time this morning. i'm honored!

meanwhile, it's tuesday, so i'll be at drinking liberally tonight. if you're in philly, come join me at tangier, 18th and lombard, starting at 6 p.m. at least one person found this site today after googling "liberally drinking tangier" from a philly url. so, whoever you are, make sure to say "hi" to the noz.

if you're not from philly, you're not completely out of luck. just go to the drinking liberally site and click on the map to find a DL near you. unless you're not in the u.s., then you are out of luck. sorry.

drinking liberally-taraz

i forgot to mention last week. the inaugural meeting of the taraz, kazakhstan chapter of drinking liberally was a smashing success. well at least it wasn't a total disaster in that it happened. okay, attendance was a little low. but i blame that on the complete lack of promotion for the event, other than my mentioning it to mrs. noz just before i left. mrs. noz bowed out. so it was me alone in the hotel bar drinking an overpriced not-very-good bottle of georgian wine.

DL-taraz take two was last night and it was an even bigger success (even though this time i barely mentioned it to mrs. noz) there were four of us having beers at some restaurant (i forgot the name of the restaurant). okay, maybe no one but me knew it was drinking liberally. but still, we all ordered beers with dinner! and it was tuesday! and i'm pretty sure the two americans we had dinner with are liberals! that's a 300% increase in attendance from last week!

at this rate of growth we'll hit 64 attendees in just two weeks!!! that's larger than DL-philly usually gets. suck on that mithras!

drinking liberally

apparently it's tuesday. so i suppose i'll be at the philly drinking liberally tonight. come pay us a visit. don't fall for any of those cheap imitations drinking liberallies! only the philadelphia drinking liberally is fortified with zinc. sweet zinc. it's what plants crave.

tangier, 18th and lombard, 6 p.m. until later.

drinking liberally

my most repeated blog post title returns!

also, tonight will be my return to philadelphia drinking liberally. for one night only! well, until i get around to going to another one, probably several months from now. but that's still exciting, right? come one, come all. (actually, just come one. come all would be too crowded):

Jose Pistola's
263 S. 15th St. (upstairs bar)
philadelphia, pa
6pm +

but wait, there's more!

tonight is simon's big book signing! i'm crapping you negative. if you act now, you not only get the usual drinking liberally festivities, and the presence of that annoying noz guy, you also get simon and ashley! signing books! (okay only simon will be signing books. although ashley might sign one too if you ask nice). that's right, simon and ashley, our long lost drinking liberallyistanis who fled the city of brotherly drivebys for the oregonian land of ports oh so many moons ago¹, will be returning to take your money in exchange for a non-electronic publication that somebody² will scribble on. how could anyone pass up on an offer like this?

see you there.

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1- i believe it was 12 moons. but who's counting?
2- that would be simon, also ashley if you ask nice.

pat murphy

pat murphy is a semi-regular at the philadelphia drinking liberally so i've met him a few times now. he was there last night, though i didn't get to talk to him while we were at the bar. he had to leave early to be interviewed by kos on majority report.

the interview was scheduled to take place over the telephone and so they needed a land line to make sure pat's voice was clear. sir oolius volunteered to have pat use his phone at coeruleus central, only a couple of blocks away. somehow i managed to tag along, following pat, his handlers, sir oolius and anita job to coeruleus central to watch the interview.

it was an interesting experience, watching pat prep for his interview while air america streamed off of a nearby laptop. we turned off the stream when the interview began and so i only heard pat's half of the interview (both halves are here). he did a good job. i think sir oolius is right, pat's reference to drinking liberally may have been misleading to some people. pat was probably the only one in the room who wasn't drinking.

i actually like pat a lot. i've avoided endorsing candidates here and i have some misgivings about the strategy of banking that democrats who are iraq war veterans will somehow save the party. but pat is a good candidate all on his own. i would definitely vote for him if i lived in his district. plus, i must admit, it would be cool to have a local drinking liberally person in congress. and with chuck, there's actually a chance of having two.

what a long strange trip it's been

five years ago this week, the first philadelphia drinking liberally was held. that's what it was called back then, "philadelphia drinking liberally" not "center city drinking liberally." at that time, it was the only one in town.

i wasn't able to make that first meeting, but i did go the next week. and have been going almost every week since then. i even kept the fires burning in those dark post-2004 election days, when it was basically just me, eligere and her mom huddled in the corner of ten stone. things got a lot better after that. i have made more friends than i can count, much less give everyone a link in this post, and that's not counting all those defunct blogs or blogless DL friends.

so tonight we're celebrating five years of liberal drunkenness. there will be cake and mithras is buying. whether you've been coming for years or this is your first time, everyone's invited:

triumph brewing company
117 chestnut street
philadelphia, PA
6 p.m. until everyone leaves.

drinking liberally

i guess i should slap together a drinking liberally post. especially since the center city philadelphia drinking liberally group moved a few weeks back.

we're still meeting at the triumph brewing company, 117 Chestnut Street. 6 p.m. until 9-ish. everyone is invited.

drinking liberally: nozless edition

i'm skipping this week. i gotta pick up mrs. noz and her mother from the airport tomorrow night. allegedly, they still hold the philadelphia drinking liberally without me. i don't really believe it. i've never seen it without me. but if you want to chance it: tangier, 18th and lombard, 6 p.m. until they all realize it's no fun if no one's there to hassle people for rides.

in any case if you've been trying to avoid me, this could be your big chance. normal DL schedule will probably resume next week.

ADDENDUM: i just realized that i posted the above last night (monday) but the philly drinking liberally is today (tuesday). on the off chance that this post actually gets someone to consider going, you haven't missed it. at least not if you're reading this before the evening of 3/18.

drinking liberally

should i do a drinking liberally post this week? i should!

i'll be at the center city philadelphia drinking liberally this evening, just like i am every tuesday (except for those times i don't go). be there or, um, else. everyone is invited:

jose pistolas
263 S. 15th Street (between locust and spruce)
philly, pa 19102

this week's topic: what topic will glomarization say is this week's topic? enquiring minds wanna know!

drinking liberally

i've been sluffing off on writing my weekly drinking liberally post. okay, so they haven't appeared for a few weeks but that doesn't mean i'm not still with the center city drinking liberally crowd (almost) every tuesday. in fact, i'll be there tonight:

triumph brewing co.
117 chestnut street
philadelphia, PA
6 p.m. until ? (we're usually upstairs)

come join us to meet your favorite blogger. plus, i'll be there too!

drinking liberally: noz-free for only one week more!

the philadelphia drinking liberally is tonight. now that i'm back from egypt you probably thought i would show up and so it would no longer safe to go. well, think again! today is also mrs. noz's birthday, so you have one more week to enjoy the fine company of the drinking liberally crew without that annoying noz guy hassling you for a ride home.

i'll start going regularly again next week, so this may be your last chance for a little while. don't miss out! tangier, 18th and lombard, 6 p.m. until everyone leaves.

or, if you want to go to another event that doesn't include me, there's always the democratic presidential debate at drexel university. i have no idea if it's open to the public, but maybe the drexeldem can smuggle you in.

drinking liberally: non-takers edition

surprise! i'll be at the philadelphia drinking liberally tonight, along with all the other folks who aren't too busy taking back america (i'm not there. i can't find my receipt)

it's the usual (drinking liberally, not taking back america): tangier, 18th and lombard, 6 p.m. until i get so annoying that everyone leaves. without all those taking backers, this week might be a little more cozy than usual.

drinking liberally

back in ye olde days, i used to post every tuesday about how i would be at drinking liberally that evening. eventually i got sick of writing those posts and so i stopped. but now i'm sick of being sick of it, so i'm starting again.

anyway, if you're in philadelphia (or close enough to make it) come to tangier, 18th and lombard between 6ish and whenever. (tell 'em noz sent ya!) if you're somewhere else, you can always consult the map to find a drinking liberally opportunity near you.

as far as i can tell, none of my DL posts have ever caused a single person to show up (not even this one produced anyone new). but one of these days a crowd of noz fans will mob the place. just you wait and see!!!

drinking liberally

i already got an email about it. jim has already blogged about it. and so has duncan. still, on the off chance you haven't heard yet, chuck pennacchio will be at the philadelphia drinking liberally tonight. chuck is a candidate for rick santorum's senate seat and is no stranger to the philly DL crowd.

as it is every tuesday, drinking liberally is at ten stone, 21st and south street. from 6 pm until everyone leaves.

in related news, the spin dentist has hinted that a republican challenger for the same senate seat could also show up. what fun that would be!

drinking liberally: on the march edition

i'm getting slammed today with work, both with the actual job and stuff from the super-secret project. somehow i will get through all this. so i should be able to stagger over to triumph for drinking liberally tonight. as always, everyone is invited.

but wait, there's more! the powers that be have been working furiously, spreading the beer-soaked tendrils of our group into every nook and cranny of our fair city. a full list is here. so now philadelphians will have three chances each week (with a fourth chance on the 2nd thursday of the month) to get liberally drunk, and that's not counting all the suburban chapters.

i plan to remain a regular at the center city-tuesday event. maybe someday i'll drop by the others, but not this week. if you do make it to a tuesday gathering, make sure to find me and say "hi". just ask for the viscount.

state of the union

guess what time it is kids? that's right! it's time for my third annual state of the union post. (and don't pay those inflated prices for the back issues. just go here for 2005 and here for 2004)

the good part about this post is that it gets easier and easier to write. my dislike of the SOTU speech hasn't receded at all in the past year. soon, on the morning of each speech all you will see here are giant ditto marks. but not yet. as both of my regular readers know, just because something has been said before, doesn't mean i won't say it again here anyway.

hey and this time i actually have a new thought* to add! brace yourself:

my dislike for the SOTU is really just a subset of my general dislike of all big public rigmaroles. i hate them all because they are all fluff and no substance. in fact, they often do more to obscure real substance than anything else. regarding the SOTU specifically, as francis wilkinson says the speech is really not about the state of the union. it's about the state of the president. or the state that that president wants to be in. or the state that the president's advisors think that they want him to be in. see? even the effort of describing what the SOTU speech is pushes you into an endless regress of meta-analysis, with each level becoming further detached from the real issues of the day.

last week at drinking liberally there was some talk about what to do about the SOTU speech since it falls on DL night this year. should we turn it into a drinking game? throw wings at the t.v? the possibilities are, well, maybe not endless, but at least bountiful. but i'm still not inclined to stay and watch. i'll be at drinking liberally tonight (tangier, 18th and lombard, 6 until later), but i'll probably cut out before the preznit hits the screen.

and it's not just because the speech comes on after my train leaves. it's because it's one of those fluffy spectacles that i hate. and because they didn't get jon stewart to host it.

_________
* okay, this really isn't a new thought. i mean, it has occurred to me before. but in rereading my previous two SOTU posts, i realize that i never mentioned it here. so while it may not be totally new, it's at least new to you. who says i'm not looking out for you here?

fit giant man eating badgers from basra drinking liberally in philly

i'm happy to see that the new york times finally picked up on the giant man eating badgers of basra story. it's finally fit to print! just remember, we were plugging the story way back in its unfit days.

hey, i'm gonna be busy today, but while i got your attention i might as well do my usual plug for the philadelphia drinking liberally tonight. you know the drill (say it along with me): tangier, 18th and lombard, 6 p.m. until such time as it is not.

i didn't show up last week, and i never mentioned that i was gonna skip DL here. i was afraid that if i posted about not coming no one would show up. but, rest assured, i will be there tonight (albeit slightly late). so if you're still shaking your fist at the uncaring heavens because of my absence last week, the time for shaking is finally coming to an end.

drinking liberally: retroactive edition

um yeah, i guess i forgot to write the thrilling post about my triumphant return to the non-triumph drinking liberally.

well, i was there. if you weren't you missed your chance. well, this week's chance. i guess i'll go back to going every week again now.