Drink of the week: Death in the Afternoon

Absinthe may become available again. But not for a while. In the meantime, we must console ourselves with Pernod. Here’s a promising-sounding cocktail with a Hemingway theme: DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON Creator: N/A Ingredients: 1 Champagne 1.5 oz. Pernod Glassware: Champagne Flute Directions: Pour Pernod into a chilled glass and fill up with champagne. (Alameda …

ADV: Book Boot Camp

[We interrupt this blog for a brief advertisement.) Dear Pittsburgh-area writer: Do you have a manuscript moldering in a bottom drawer? Starting April 18, Fat Plum will present Book Boot Camp, a six-session workshop with tracks for manuscript revision, publishing strategy, and book development. Each week’s discussion will be tailored to your specific needs and …

The soothing chirp of a room full of pagers

Tomorrow night will not be a good night to have a computer or network problem in the Pittsburgh area, as it’s the first Thursday of an even-numbered month, which means it’s Geek Night. The Church Brew Works will be overrun by application developers, network administrators, tech support staffers, and the recruiters who love them. I …

Eight is my favorite number

Please go enjoy Crazy Arms That Long to Strangle by Rennie Sparks: The octopus may also wave its arms in rhythmic patterns that attract and immobilize fish. Fishermen off the coast of Washington report seeing hundreds of small fish frozen in the water as if hypnotized by a passing giant Pacific octopus. One fisherman said, …

Now I’m wishing I was sitting at a cafe on the Rive Gauche

I missed this pointless Hemingway diversion yesterday. I travelled to Europe with my sister Laura a few weeks after I graduated college. I wouldn’t have gone but for her: She wanted to travel but our parents wouldn’t let her go alone, so she talked/bullied me into it. It was a great trip, but she and …