State of the Rhinovirus
I have an icky cold. And tomorrow W delivers his third (penultimate!) State of the Union address. “President Bush is expected to have harsh words for Iraq” predicts CNN. What an insight. I don’t expect anything new or shocking in the speech, except of course some semblance of clarity, vocabulary, and grammar—because W will be expected to stick to the teleprompter and won’t be taking questions.
The real question is which word, phrase, or event will be the centerpiece of the State of the Union Drinking Game this year. This was a tradition within my circle of friends in college, and is one which I observe to this day. Each year we choose one word, phrase or event—typically “evildoers,” “working people” or “both sides of the aisle rise for a standing ovation”—at which we all take a drink. The trick, of course, is to choose something that will occur often enough for us to get pretty loaded, but not often enough to knock us on our asses.
I wish I’d thought to record what we used for this game each year. It might serve as some kind of historical record. I have to say that despite my political nerdiness I scarcely recall what any president has ever said in a State of the Union address, mostly because of the drinking factor. I do remember staying up “late” to watch Bill Clinton’s first with my dad. I was 13 or so and I remember microwaving triscuits with cheddar cheese on top and listening to my dad say things like “all-right!” in his earnest 1950s slang way (he’ll say things like “far out!” without a trace of irony).
The real question is which word, phrase, or event will be the centerpiece of the State of the Union Drinking Game this year. This was a tradition within my circle of friends in college, and is one which I observe to this day. Each year we choose one word, phrase or event—typically “evildoers,” “working people” or “both sides of the aisle rise for a standing ovation”—at which we all take a drink. The trick, of course, is to choose something that will occur often enough for us to get pretty loaded, but not often enough to knock us on our asses.
I wish I’d thought to record what we used for this game each year. It might serve as some kind of historical record. I have to say that despite my political nerdiness I scarcely recall what any president has ever said in a State of the Union address, mostly because of the drinking factor. I do remember staying up “late” to watch Bill Clinton’s first with my dad. I was 13 or so and I remember microwaving triscuits with cheddar cheese on top and listening to my dad say things like “all-right!” in his earnest 1950s slang way (he’ll say things like “far out!” without a trace of irony).
posted by Waage on Sunday, February 02, 2003
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