Get a mini or large polycanvas poster right here.  ..read more

It’s the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. Yeah. As you might have guessed, this unwieldy title was assembled by the United Nations, and if you ask me, it’s a bit of an unserious overreach. Just something they threw together during that optimistic glow of a long Martini lunch. I mean, asking people at war to not exploit the environment to help fight their war is akin to demanding that armed intruders barging into your home with the intention of killing you to not knock over any furniture or drink your booze. Just telling them, “Hey ..read more

On this day in 1879, James Jacob Ritty patented the first cash register. Ritty, a Dayton, Ohio bar owner, invented what he called the “Incorruptible Cashier” because he suspected his bartenders were stealing him blind. It reportedly served its purpose right up until the barkeeps figured out how to circumvent the device, which probably took about 15 minutes. Personally, I like a bartender who’s willing to work around the edges, as they say, because it incentivizes me into giving them larger tips, which in turn leads to stiffer drinks, and around and around that beautiful wheel goes. It’s a gold ..read more

It’s Daniel Boone’s Birthday. Born in 1734, the famed frontiersman and explorer has long been a vital part of American folklore. What you might not know is that, in addition to tramping around the wilds of Kentucky and vistas westward, he also owned and operated one of Kentucky’s first taverns. This was when the area was deep wilderness, and there Daniel was, slinging rum and corn whiskey to frontiersmen and natives alike. When he was on the trail, Dan always carried a large flask of Monongahela, a type of high-proof corn liquor, and if some of his stories are to be believed, he used it to dri ..read more

There are two good reasons to drink today. First, It’s Learn to Homebrew Day. I’ve done this, on occasion, and it’s very satisfying to get loaded on something you created with your own hands and wits, and maybe one of those super-duper homebrew kits you find in those in-flight catalogs. Some of my friends are really into homebrewing and I salute them, especially when they don’t guilt me into drinking one of their more experimental efforts. I mean, you force it down, then they just stare at you until you choke out something resembling a compliment. It’s cruel. But who would have guessed all tho ..read more

It’s Hallowmas. That’s right. Halloween, you see, is derived from Old Hallow’s Eve, which makes today Old Hallow, or Hallomas. So what is Hallowmas? Why, it’s All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day, or the Feast of All Saints. Or Hangovermas, if you know what I mean. Halloween is one of the top five drinking nights of the year in the U.S., you know. Anywho, back to Hollowmas. Hallow means holy, so it’s simply a celebration of all the Christian Saints in one go. It’s origin has been lost in the mists of time, and it’s even more mysterious how such a holy day’s eve became a pagan holiday celebrati ..read more

It’s President John Adam’s birthday. Born in 1735, history generally portrays America’s second president as a sober and serious man, but in fact, he might well have been the hardest-drinking of all the Founding Fathers. A man of strong habits, John started each and every day with a draft of hard cider and finished up with a nightcap of three glasses of Madeira, a type of fortified wine. In between those two rituals he “feasted,” as he put it, on porter, lager, claret, brandy, burgundy, rum and as much Madeira as he could get his hands on. John’s wife, Abigail, must have been super chill, as th ..read more

Ahoy, scallywags! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day. Go right ahead, ’tis a fine canter. And if you find yourself feeling self-conscious about the whole thing, I’ve found that drinking a lot of rum really helps you get in the mood. Give it a go. After the sixth drink or so you won’t be able to stop yourself from talking like a pirate ..read more

On this day in 1988, UB40’s Red Red Wine reached top of the U.S. charts. It was originally a Neil Diamond song, but the Brit reggae band took it to a whole new level. And the MTV video was pretty cool. Remember that? You know, some people point to greater consistency in domestic wine production, the international rise of Merlot, the desire of Yuppies to appear posh and other silly reasons as to why red wine’s popularity boomed in the U.S. starting in the late 1980s, but I’ve always held to the notion that it was this song that did it. Go ahead and play it. It’ll make you want to drink red wine ..read more

It’s TV Dinner Day. On this day in 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons landed upon a bizarre new idea, namely a prepackaged aluminum tray you could just stick in an oven for 45 minutes or so and boom: you have a “dinner” with all the fixings, including turkey, gravy, cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes and buttered peas. All for under a buck. It was an instant hit, with Swanson selling 10 million of the turkey dinners in 1954 alone. It was a major leap in culinary laziness. As the name suggests, the whole idea was to eat them on a folding  tray table (remember those?) while gaping at that new ap ..read more