I'd like to know. SOMETHING obviously happened in Chile.

Nope, meh for me too.

I'm a big fan of the Reed's Ginger Beer sweetened with honey. Very tasty and—I suppose because it has a shit-ton of ginger and honey—if you use it as a mixer, you wake up the next day actually feeling really, really good.

I'm old enough to remember the original Stokley's Gatorade, which was fantastic. Came in a widemouth glass bottle, wasn't nearly as sweet, and was as salty as HELL. God, I still crave the stuff.

I really don't know why she thinks they "lose heat." Maybe in some places, but in California they're pretty fiery. I went to a Super Bowl party hosted by a Vietnamese couple, in fact, an I got LIT UP by a jalapeño slice I missed in a sandwich.

I wonder if it's that the start-up cost for a pho restaurant in NYC is prohibitive. it's usually pretty inexpensive and it takes a while to eat, so maybe the $$$/turnover ratio makes it tough. Or maybe there simply aren't many Vietnamese in the area.

Exactly. My first reaction when I read his parade of the horribles was "This guy is ON ACID." Strawberry guac? Spread it on your dick and eat it, dude.

If I have to go the mix route, I'm a big fan of Hair of the Dawg from Iowa. It triples down with calm juice AND beef broth in the mix, so you have a Bloody Mary/Caesar/Bull all in one. It sounds like a hot mess (and it sort of looks like one, a bit brown and sludgy) but it's by far the best mix I've had. With Mescal,…

Yeah, that was the thing—for a while it was almost literally the same buzz as mushrooms. I had no IDEA weed could do that.

Yep. The last time I smoked weed was a few years back at a Grateful Dead night at a brewpub. Ran into some people I knew, did a 1985-style smoke up, went in, had a pint, and… spent the next hour lying on top of dumpster, spinning, puking my brains out, convinced I was going to start tripping any minute.

That's my problem as well—the stuff is so ridiculously strong now it's almost impossible for a (very) causal old-timer like me to smoke it, unless I have literally nothing to do for 5 hours.

Stella is a lager? I always assumed it was a really terrible Belgian witbier. If that's the case, yeah, the flavor profile is WAY off. Christ, why the hell is it so sweet?

Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer. By a mile. Take a Corona, leave it on the dashboard of your car for a month, and then stuff five rotten jalapeño peppers in it.

Try Tecate Light. How much Tecate Light can you drink before you catch a buzz? All the Tecate Light. All of it. It's as close to drinking air as something can be.

Exactly. No one actually likes sex, either, but if it's what you have to do to have a kid, you have to power through it.

Yep. It's a great album for a mood I'm never in.

OK, once you get past the Big Star and Chris Bell and want some related "advanced" listening, here's a few:

Should probably throw in Chris Bell's I Am the Cosmos album as well. Same era, and similar in sound and spirit to the best of Big Star. And the proto-Big Star band Rock City had some good tunes as well.

While the ingredients are odd, I think what you'll end up with is something that would taste similar to a sweet and sour chicken, or a massaman curry. With bacon. I'll never actually eat this, but I've decided to believe that it might taste good.

I agree. I first saw her in that mediocre surf movie Chasing Mavericks, and my immediate reaction was "My GOD that's a beautiful woman."