I've written elsewhere that the difference between frugal and cheap is that the frugal person denies himself a pleasure or perk, whereas the cheap person hurts or inconveniences others. The frugal person's lack of spending, in other words, is based more in selflessness, whereas the cheap person's is selfish. I found this story about cheap celebrities highly entertaining.
According to the Web site bitterwaitress.com, where workers spill on the stars who do the Scrooge, Bill Cosby spared only $3 from a $375 meal, Ricki Lake parted with only $8 from $142.50 check (even after having been granted free dessert) and Sean Penn didn't top his $450 wine-and-dine in New Orleans with a single penny.
In thankful commemoration for the return of beer to my life, I'm dedicating the rest of this Eudemon to Brews You Can Use. Enjoy.
Too drunk to work? Check out this site: Futility Closet. 2,000 anecdotes, epigrams, illusions and wonders; puzzles, prodigies, sublimities and horrors. It's like the Uncle John reader on the web.
Great picture:
Makes a guy want to recite Chesterton's great poem, which I've quoted on this blog at least three times (it's the only non-Nantucket poem I know):
St. George he was for England
And before he slayed the dragon
He drank a pint of English ale
Out of an English flagon
For though he fast mightily
in hair-shirt or in mail
It isn't safe to give him cakes
Unless you gave him ale.
(Chesterton purists will forgive any slight inaccuracies due to faulty memory.)
Celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition on April 7th. The Brewers Association is pushing this great new holiday.
Did you know that on April 7, 1933 (the year prohibition was repealed) beer was the first legal beverage to be allowed once again. Not until December 5 of that year could other alcohol also be purchased on the up and up. So today the tradition continues that on April 7 craft brewers all across America will raise a pint to celebrate the 'Repeal of Prohibition'.
Five urban legends in beer history. Kinda interesting. Sample:
George Washington was a brewer.
Fact: So were the heads of households of most families during the colonial era. In addition, the lowliest settler, as well as Washington, additionally brewed up perry from pears, cider from apples, and even took on the task of distilling whiskey. The brewing efforts of Washington or other Founding Fathers were no different or unique than those of the average colonial Joe-Sixpack.
Looking for a homemade table beer that goes back nearly 200 years? Go here. Warning: You'll need two gallons of molasses.
