Does existence precede essence?

god i'm depressed

I have absolutely no clue – but today is Jean-Paul Satre’s birthday. Happy birthday you pipe-smoking French philosopher! Before you came along, the words ‘despair’, ‘hell’, and ‘nausea’ didn’t quite have that wonderful ring to them. You brought those words to life! Cheers mate! L’enfer, c’est les autres!

Things you should do today –

- Check to see if you exist
- Realize that checking is kind of pointless
- Sigh
- Denounce French colonialism in Algeria
- Document the seduction of a student
- Smoke a tobacco product
- Write a letter to that saucy Simone B.
- Sigh again

Required Reading, Vol. 1

drinky

Being a self-proclaimed American wino takes a lot of reading so I am always snooping around in bookstores and newsstands for more winey reading material. I spotted this new magazine, Imbibe, at Skylight Books on Sunday and I flipped out.

A magazine about beverages! ONLY BEVERAGES! Beer! Wine! Coffee! Tea!

There is only one issue so far. I was flipping through it this morning and it contains a beautiful spread on the drinks of Oaxaca (horchata, hibiscus juice, chocolatey tasty looking concoctions), a how-to on using your French coffee press, a profile of organic wineries, and the best damn thing yet, a few pages on Trappist Ales. There is also a standard story on sleek hotel bars, but personally, that stuff is a little Los Angeles Magazine richy-rich for me.

I was also gladdened to find a write-up on a friend, the one and only Dr. Cocktail, who you may have heard on NPR talking about the fine art of serious mixology! Dr. Cocktail is one of two guys who maintains the always helpful Cocktail Database . And here’s something you may not know about Ted Haigh, AKA Dr. Cocktail: he designed the famous Dapper Dan tin featured in O Brother Where Art Thou. It’s true.

I am totally subscribing.