Times are tight, but some very special people are worth a splurge! A few ideas to indulge your nearest and dearest. (-Moe)

Clockwise from top: Glen Plaid Pajamas, $79.50, Brooks Brothers. Crystal Carafe with five plastic cups, $65, Clio Home. Anchor-Embossed Vertical Credit Card Holder, $85, Jack Spade. Thomas Paul Roses pillow, $100, at Pillowsandthrows.com. Women’s Slippers in Nightengale, $80, UGG Australia. Children’s Wooden Toolbox Set, $62, at Rosie Hippo. Toscana Shearling Earmuffs, $98, J. Crew. Agate Cheese Plates, $60-75, Jayson Home & Garden.

subject: what happens when carafe is not in coffee maker

body: Or when Dad makes coffee

Gevalia is back, just in time for the Holidays! Gevalia offers over 30 varieties of coffee and tea to suit users’ discerning tastes. This offer enables users to purchase two bags of coffee, a 14 ox. Stainless Steel travel mug, and a 1-liter stainless steel thermal carafe, all for the low-low price of $22.95 + shipping and handling.

http://nyshopexchange.dealshop.us/

Dans sa carafe de Baccarat, le plus précieux nectar de Rémi Martin, assemblage des 1200 eaux-de-vie les plus précieuses de la cave.
Au prix de 29 080€. L’exceptionnel n’a pas de prix !

Cognac Louis XIII de Rémi Martin dans une carafe Baccarat

Buy Cheap Alfi Basic 30-Ounce Thermal Carafe, Azure Blue

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Alfi’s ultra modern Basic Thermal Carafe keeps liquids hot or cold long after it is filled. With its double-walled vacuum glass liner, coffee stays warm up to 12 hours, allowing you to serve and enjoy coffee wherever and whenever you like. Award winning…….
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Technical Details

– Azure blue colored body shimmers under light and allows one to see straight through to the glass liner
– Transparent PPMA acrylic is strong and durable
– Carafe accommodates 7 cups of coffee or tea and screw top removes swiftly
– Available in five colors; holds up to 25.4 ounces
– Keeps beverages hot or cold for hours
See more technical details

 “Great thermal, but…” 2009-11-09
By A. R. Higgins (Queen City, NC)
but aesthetically it’s just too plasticky and cheap after multiple washes. It can cloud up and not quite have the designer look that may appeal to people who think the photos look sexy. Other than that, it performs very well.

 “Hi on Fashion, Low on Function” 2007-08-04
By Magnum
The first one we purchased I hardly ever used, the design is awkward so it’s not something you can travel with. I thought I would use it more but it sat for months. It keeps beverages hot (or cold) like any good thermos should but I would rather use something that takes up less space. The first problem I encountered was that after tightening the lid, it would seal itself even tighter so I could not get it unscrewed without some considerable force. The one time we did take it on the road, the lid became so tightly sealed that I had to ask my friend who is a rock-climber to unscrew it. He gripped it and turned, after increasing force, the entire top shattered. It’s made of fairly weak, thin plastic material. The whole thing just shattered so I wrote to the company that sold it, and they graciously sent me a new one, no questions asked. Shortly thereafter, the new one got dropped in our kitchen, onto a wood floor. We’ve dropped glasses on the floor and they don’t break. This Alfi though, the entire thing shattered. So we’ve had two of these and both were a disaster.

 “Very attractive, works well” 2007-01-02
By Stephen McHenry (Olney, MD USA)
The blue does indeed shimmer; very attractive color and eye catching design. Functionally, it keeps the liquids hot for a couple hours (we have used it exclusively for coffee) and it cleans easily. The wide bottom keeps it stable, the spout pours without dripping, the top requires only a quarter turn to pour. We were specifically looking for a carafe that was not a push button as the inside-the-cap-button mechanism is hard to get clean, so the twist cap feature is to our liking. It is lightweight, seemingly dent resistant, easy to clean.

Seemed expensive for a carafe but I do not regret spending the money on something we use everyday, enjoy using and looking at, and will probably last 10 years.

Designed well, works well: Highly recommended.

 “Beautiful carafe has to go back” 2006-03-20
By Saul Schoenenberger (Sitka, AK United States)
This little jewel is beautiful. Thought about keeping it to put silk daisys in, but it cost too much for that.

I washed it with some water and sodium carbonate per instructions and rinsed it and dried it in preperation of using it in the morning. I did not submerge it in water. When I looked at it again, it had water drops between the glass liner and the exterior wall.!! Then some of these drops leaked out of the bottom. It has some kind of round plug in it that the brouchure says to occasionally tighten. But it wouldn’t move. Certainly need to wash it occasionally even using fresh gound coffee which does not really get my carafes dirty.

Love it but I can’t have it leaking out of the bottom. Have another one just like it and no problem with it. That one keeps the coffee hot for at least 6 1/2 hours which is all the longer my coffee lasts. Problably would keep it hot longer than that.

 “It Works! Home-brewed beverages can stay hot and fresh literally all day” 2006-01-05
By A. Ryan (Westminster, CA USA)
The upside to being a coffee fiend is that you develop a taste for the good stuff after a while – and if you’re like us, you’ve found a way to brew some pretty fine java at home. While that’s great news for the wallet (as compared to going out for coffee every morning to the tune of 5 bucks or more), it also has a downside: suddenly, the cheap stuff at work seems really bad by comparison. Your travel mug will run out sooner or later…

Enter the space age carafe. I feel kind of dumb for not catching on to this gadget before, but basically I had no idea that something this good actually existed outside of SciFi; a container that really will keep one’s beverage piping hot and fresh all day. The Alfi carafe is a marvel of chic design and high quality German manufacturing. The photo doesn’t do it justice, the anthracite color is really very pretty and it’s enhanced by the semitransparent double walled construction. It does its job with panache and it’s easy to clean (but by hand only, please).

My husband received this as a Christmas gift last week and his whole office wants to know where to get one of these. Eye-catching, elegant and simply the best at a very reasonable price – you just can’t go wrong with this one. Next year, this is going to be the present for everybody else on my list.

-Andrea, aka Merribelle

Images Product

Buy Alfi Basic 30-Ounce Thermal Carafe, Azure Blue Now

Un chien chaud qui chiale dans la rue

Craches sur les chars de riches

Il veut sentir son corps chuinter sur la chaussée piétinée par les chevaux vapeurs

Des gens qu’il considère gigot d’agneau le jugent et l’injure

Plus loin, un gyros se scope en pensant à Mykonos

le jour,Il frit ses belles lubies bleues et blanches dans l’huile

Autres mœurs, autre maison, un vieux garçon a une

Discussion kafkaïenne avec une carafe

À deux pas, une femme sans flafla ingère des chocolats suisse ronds avec arrière gout de plomb

Son activité préférée

While walking the dogs last night I got an answer. That’s why it’s good to take time, especially for me because my brain brews rather slowly its’ concoctions.  See the other day I came home and there was wine in my coffee carafe! I could not figure out why the hell Cleopatra would put wine in the coffee maker. But walking the dogs — which is more like an epic journey since one wants to go back home and the other wants to go to Morocco — past some lavender bushes the answer came: She thought it was coffee. Mom thought her coffee cup of dark burgundy colored wine was actually black coffee so she threw it back into the carafe thinking she’d heat it up later or something.

Mystery solved! Perhaps via lavendar aroma therapy?

Two cool products I found tonight that made me happy:

'Ethanol' Wine Decanter at Etsy

Grill-Top Hot Dog Roller at Target

When I return from my morning walk, I want to start writing right away, but my husband wants to drive to the local coffee house. I tell him to go on without me, that words come to me when I’m walking and I need to get them written. He suggests I note down my ideas and write them up later, but it doesn’t work like that for me. It’s not the ideas that come while I’m walking. It’s the very words, and I have to capture them then.

I’ve been collecting ideas for days. They’re like the water sitting in the reservoir, waiting for the coffee maker to be turned on. Walking turns it on, and the ideas drip slowly through my ground coffee bean brain. Maybe it’s the repetitive physical action of walking that frees my mind to think—to filter and select words. I don’t know, but the process works. When the words fill the carafe below, my fingers need to pour them into the cup of my laptop screen right away. No lingering in the pot, getting stale. Oh, I may change the words fifteen times later, adding milk or Splenda or even hazelnut syrup for a certain effect. But the fresh brew that’s ready right now, that’s what I want.

So my husband drives off to buy his coffee. I stay home to pour out my own brew.

Et non il ne s’agit pas du célèbre Hobbit mais d’un ustensile bien utile pour tout ceux qui utilisent fréquemment des carafes.

Il s’agit des billes nettoyantes à verser avec un peu d’eau chaude au fond de la carafe. Un mouvement de rotation assure un frottement doux qui va éliminer les dépôts de tanins. Le contenant est une fiole astucieuse puisque à double ouverture permettant de verser et de récupérer facilement les billes. Des ouvertures assurent un écoulement de l’eau lors de la récupération des billes.

Pour l’avoir testé, je peux vous dire que c’est efficace et beaucoup plus rapide que le gros sel ! Pour ma part, c’est adopté.

The Alfi Thermal Coffee Carafe, with 13 contemporary carafe designs, is the best insulated thermal carafe on the market.

Alfi thermal carafe body construction is handcrafted from high quality raw materials, with unique twin-walled AlfiDur toughened hard glass vacuum liners, which are 100% performance-tested before assembly to maintain content temperature. The hinged lid, providing single-hand operation, and all vacuum liner seals and screw fittings, are food-safe and quality-tested. All Alfi thermal carafe parts are repairable or replaceable.

Browse Our Thermal Carafes.

With four renowned national designers, Alfi has set worldwide standards for quality products. Available in material finishes designed for classic beauty and functionality, carafes come in dazzling chrome or gold plate, shining copper, satin or laquer, stainless steel, wicker, polypropylene, and transparent acrylic.

Alfi also offers four classic designs and the Alfi professional grade Hotello thermal carafe. Alfi’s Modern Classic coffee carafe is spherical with a vacuum hard glass liner. Shiny models feature scratch-proof transparent acrylic bodies and a screw-stopper. Frosted models have polypropylene frosted surfaces or aluminum titanium silver lacquered bodies.

Alfi’s unbreakable and dishwasher safe Top Therm has a durable twin-walled stainless steel vacuum liner with the same insulating capacity as Alfi’s hardglass liner, and is recommended for business and commercial use. The stainless steel vacuum body is equivalent in function and performance to a stainless steel liner, with the outside liner wall also being the carafe.

See a large selection of Alfi Carafes and Coffee Carafes.
The insulating performance of Alfi’s thermal coffee carafes depend on the vacuum body’s size, shape, and performance. With an average filled-liquid temperature of 200

The Alfi Thermal Coffee Carafe, with 13 contemporary carafe designs, is the best insulated thermal carafe on the market.

Alfi thermal carafe body construction is handcrafted from high quality raw materials, with unique twin-walled AlfiDur toughened hardglass vacuum liners, which are 100% performance-tested before assembly to maintain content temperature. The hinged lid, providing single-hand operation, and all vacuum liner seals and screw fittings, are food-safe and quality-tested. All Alfi thermal carafe parts are repairable or replaceable.

With four renowned national designers, Alfi has set worldwide standards for quality products. Available in material finishes designed for classic beauty and functionality, carafes come in dazzling chrome or gold plate, shining copper, satin or laquer, stainless steel, wicker, polypropylene, and transparent acrylic.

Alfi also offers four classic designs and the Alfi professional grade Hotello thermal carafe. Alfi’s Modern Classic coffee carafe is spherical with a vacuum hardglass liner. Shiny models feature scratch-proof transparent acrylic bodies and a screw-stopper. Frosted models have polypropylene frosted surfaces or aluminum titanium silver lacquered bodies.

Alfi’s unbreakable and dishwasher safe Top Therm has a durable twin-walled stainless steel vacuum liner with the same insulating capacity as Alfi’s hardglass liner, and is recommended for business and commercial use. The stainless steel vacuum body is equivalent in function and performance to a stainless steel liner, with the outside liner wall also being the carafe.

The insulating performance of Alfi’s thermal coffee carafes depend on the vacuum body’s size, shape, and performance. With an average filled-liquid temperature of 200

a carafe came up in conversation with the one and only h.davis – and I imagined a giraffe, with a decaf carafe in a sponge bath….

Real Simple Magazine just showed its’ readers this beautiful and multi-purpose carafe/pitcher/vase. It’s made of mouthblown glass and is accompanied by a colorful crystal ball stopper that seals the top or nests in the bottom of the vase to add a vibrant dash of color.

Barbara Carafe, $69.50 | iloveuma

A grinded down surface stops it from rolling away from your party. Just 12″ high by 6.5″ wide, it comes in black, amethyst or clear and retails from iloveuma.com for $69.50. What’s your wish?

This carafe, with six adorable picardy glasses, is perfect for serving wine alfresco. $46 at aplusrstore.com

Incontestablement notre coup de coeur de l’exposition Paris Design en mutation est dédié à Olivier Gassies qui y présente des objets qui sont beaux et porteurs de réflexion.
L’eau est la ressource primordiale, elle est la base de toute vie et doit-être le centre de nos préoccupations (ce n’est pas pour rien que ce blog s’intitule HoO (à prononcer H2O ou Hou) ! Avec ses recherches “Domestiquer l’eau”, Olivier Gassies aboutie une réflexion sur notre rapport avec l’eau ;si les légumes ne poussent pas sur les parking des supermarchés, l’eau n’est pas non plus produite par les robinets !

“En posant la question de l’économie de l’eau dans l’environnement domestique, je cherche à explorer de nouveaux rapports entre une ressource, sa jouissance et sa préservation. Avec l’industrie de l’eau nous nous sommes éloignés de la ressource naturelle. Cela nous place maintenant dans un rapport de plus en plus distant et problématique avec la ressource naturelle et sa valeur -nous repoussons l’eau de pluie mais nous hésitons à boire de l’eau du robinet, nous la gaspillons pour d’autres tâches. Comme le design a été primordial pour rendre acceptable dans un premier temps la violence d’une société tournée vers le progrès industriel, il doit pouvoir rendre acceptable la violence du changement nécessaire dans nos modes de consommation et dans notre rapport avec la ressource.”Olivier Gassies

Mission accomplie, les trois collecteurs d’eau (ondée, averse, point du jour) sont poétiques et pures et les trois carafes sont indispensables et évidentes.

Ces objets nous invitent à respecter l’eau,à y prêter attention, à l’utiliser à bon escient et à la récolter joliment !

Alison Berger glass vessels. I am not a huge fan of the most of the pieces featured on American Craft Magazine, but these had something interesting. Could probably be thought out a bit further.

Water carafe – production: Frans Ottink – distribution: t.e.
photography: Erik en Petra Hesmerg

Vinegar flask – production: Frans Ottink – distribution: t.e.
photography: Erik en Petra Hesmerg

A short post to share these beautiful new pieces by Aldo Bakker, now available through t.e., a label from The Netherlands. Some of the shapes Aldo had already made in Silver for t.e. but this porcelain set makes more sense to me. Also the Vinegar Flask, just has beautiful and “flowy” shapes that make the vinegar flowing out of it even better, it actually enhances the action of “pouring vinegar”.

I am not sure if these “carafes” really tell you what is supposed to be in it by the way they look, I am thinking if you own these you would maybe switch uses. But let’s get these in the house first and try em out!Or maybe just look at them. Also check out the t.e. label (named after the owner of the label Thomas Eyck) for more beautiful collections. I think it’s one of the most impressive lines of smaller products and small furniture around at the moment.

Milk can – production: Frans Ottink – distribution: t.e.
photography: Erik en Petra Hesmerg

CARAFER :

Quand un sommelier, après avoir débouché votre bouteille, et reniflé son bouchon, s’en enfile un petit verre, il peut décider de dégainer sa verroterie pendant que vous savourez une mise en bouche. Ça n’est pas forcément une astuce de pacotille destinée à impressionner les profanes que nous sommes. Le vin passe son temps à être dans un équilibre entre état réducteur ou oxydatif. Pendant son élevage en barrique, il reste au contact de l’oxygène (la barrique n’est jamais totalement pleine, le bois respire) et il a tendance à être en état oxydatif. Mais il est alors jeune et ça ne gène pas pour son évolution. Une fois mis en bouteille, le voila tout confiné, et il peut basculer en milieu réducteur. S’il s’y trouve encore quand on débouche, des arômes d’œuf pourri (« cul de poule » pour ceux qui pratiquent) vous sautent au nez. Pouah! Mais c’est là qu’une carafe, conçue pour présenter un maximum de surface à l’air quand les 75cl de la bouteille y sont versés, peut sauver la situation en rétablissant assez rapidement l’équilibre. Le temps de la mise en bouche, et la poule s’est reculottée pour faire place aux vrais arômes du vin. Si par malheur la bouteille est trop vieille, le temps lui a permis de respirer lentement, et le vin se sera tout de même oxydé amenant des arômes de pruneau, de raisin secs, et au pire …d’acide acétique. Là, point de secours possible, le vinaigrier est la seule porte de sortie.

DECANTER:

Ne pas confondre ceci avec l’évolution de couleur des grands vins rouges qui, avec le temps, prennent une belle couleur tuilée et donc les constituants de couleur vont progressivement se déposer sous forme solide au fond de la bouteille. Là, le vin, âgé, risque d’être plutôt un peu oxydé (sans excès, mais un carafage pourrait le tuer). Toutefois l’esthétique demande à éviter de verser cette matière solide dans les verres. Le sommelier dégaine donc sa carafe à décanter dans la quelle il transvase son vin, juste pour en filtrer les particules dans ce récipient intermédiaire, et peut ensuite immédiatement vous servir jusqu’à la dernière goutte.

Si tu as bien suivi et que tu n’en es pas comme moi, à ta 15^ème dégustation de la journée, distingue la carafe du décanteur :

I love to get coffee here and don’t consider any trip to the Keys complete without a stop at Baby’s. And now that my friend Joanna has given me a french press coffeepot, I can brew my favorite coffee my favorite way.

Here’s my secret:

Start with Baby’s Key West Old Town Roast or Wrecker’s Roast or Hemingway’s Hair of the Dog. Most people say you should grind your beans coarser than normal when you’re using a french press, but I like to grind it a little finer.

I use about a tablespoon of coffee for each cup. It really depends on what kind of coffee you’re using and your own preference for the strength of your coffee. Like it strong? Use more. Like it meek and mild? Use less. Whatever you prefer, grind your beans and then put the coffee in the french press.

Bring your water to a boil. When it boils, remove it from the heat and let it sit for about half a minute. Then pour just enough water over the coffee to cover it. Give it a gentle stir (I use a plastic swizzle stick so the glass doesn’t break). A beautiful foam will begin to form. Then pour in as much water as you need for the coffee you plan to drink.

Insert the plunger assembly, but don’t press the plunger until about three minutes have passed. Again, the timing is variable, depending on the coffee, the grind and your taste. I brew for a shorter time because I use a finer grind. If you’re using coarsely ground coffee, you’ll want to steep your coffee for about four minutes. Don’t let it sit much longer than that because it will get bitter, and noone in their right mind likes bitter coffee (unless you do).

When the time is up, gently push down on the plunger. Too much enthusiasm at this point can result in painful burns. The plunger will push most of the grounds to the bottom of the pot and leave the best coffee ever available to pour into your cup. You can’t rush this coffee…let it sit a minute before you pour, and after you pour give it a minute before you drink it. This way, the sediments will settle — they add great taste but not-so-nice mouthfeel to your coffee. While you’re waiting, put any extra coffee in a carafe because you don’t want to leave it steeping, right?

This is coffee that grabs you by the shirt and slaps you first on the right cheek and then the left. You will know you have been drinking coffee when you’re done. And it’s a good thing, too, because you’ll need that energy when you see the mess that’s left in the press.

I love water. All my friends know that I love water. It’s not a joke. I drink water all the time. I prefer water over any other beverage. If I can’t get hot jasmine tea or oolong, I’ll drink hot water. Sometimes I drink hot water as a snack. Maybe it’s a Chinese thing. I love a good mug of boiled water. I like getting into bed… Freshly dried sheets, a good pair of comfy boxers, a soft t-shirt, a copy of Time Magazine and my mug of water.

I used to drink a lot of Aquafina because it was the cheapest softer water that I could find at Costco. $2.99 for a case of 24 is a steal. Who can afford that Fuji shit? And don’t get me started on how gross and bitter Evian tastes to me. Not a thirst-quenching drink at all. Now I rarely drink bottled water. Haven’t really touched in a long time.

I’m definitely a bit of a a water connoisseur and can even differentiate between brands. But my favourite kind of water is from my tap. Good ol’ hard, metallic Toronto water in my translucent high ball.

I’m finishing up the last case and I’ll never drink it again. It’s just not appealing anymore considering it’s totally unenvironmentally-friendly and frankly, it doesn’t taste as good as it used to. Maybe my tastebuds have changed since I quit smoking in September.

What’s interesting is that these days, bottled water drinkers are increasingly being shamed much like smokers are.

In London, the Mayor and Thames Water teamed up in May to launch a design competition for a water carafe that will be circulating in London restaurants this spring.

This winning design by London-based industrial designer Neil Barron called Tap Top is not only chic and made from recycled materials but the carafe is recyclable itself.

There were over 100 entries but only Barron’s top-prize drip-free design got him a cool 5K and is currently the only carafe being manufactured (so far). You can view a gallery of shortlisted submissions here.

Barron’s glass carafe with four spouts that function as ice trappers is currently being pitched to the hospitality industry and is potentially being made available to the general public.

Who knew that tap water can be made stylish? I can’t wait to see pictures of fashion people on the streets of London with a conspicuous bulge in their jacket.

Friday, February 20, 2009 – 10:30 a.m.

Five cups of coffee strong coffee.[1], 2/3 of a carafe of orange juice, One sip of apple pear pomegranate juice

A three egg, chorizo cheese, jalapeno, and creamed spinach mess of crap with homefries and a biscuit.

One spoonful of guacamole

Three bites of cole slaw.[2]

12:30 p.m.

Five beers (four bottled, one canned)

Two red solo cups of carlo rossi jug wine[3]

One half of Spiderman sugar cookie

Eight 30 second intervals of cherry hookah

3:30 p.m.

Six inch duck po’ boy, six inch oyster po’ boy

Side of four fried green tomatoes with baby shrimp remoulade sauce

5:30 p.m.

Other half of Spiderman sugar cookie

Five more beers, one Water

Four double scotch and cokes

Four more beers

At this point, you could tell me as much as I could tell you

Saturday February 21, 2009 – 11:15 a.m.

Possibly three beads used inappropriately judging from what I’m feeling right now.

One ring pop.[4]

One corona

One duck pb

Two liter-sized Aquafinas

Using entrance as an exit for said duck po’boy, one corona, and two liter-sized Aquafinas.

1:00 p.m.

One hand grenade

Tropical Isle’s Hand Grenade is equal to 3-5 drinks depending on your tolerance. No one knows what is in this drink. Many believe it is just a Goombay Punch. Other websites say it includes the following ingredients: 1.5 oz. gin, 1.5 oz. grain alcohol (probably Everclear), 1.5 oz. of Melon Liqueur, 1.5 oz. rum, 1.5 oz. vodka)

One iced coffee

Three beignets

3:30 p.m.

Finish what’s left of duck po boy and water

Continuance and conclusion of same ring pop

I take a one mile walk to find a parade that ended up running about four hours late.

6:00 p.m.

Mass dehydration

15 handscoops[5] of N.O. city water from the sink of a boutique hotel bathroom.[6]

I return from my walk just in time to see a girl, no taller than 5’3’’, yelling at two 350 pound six-foot black guys trying to cut the theme-park sized line to the port-o-johns. After about 30 seconds of this, they turn around and leave.

7:00 p.m.

Still dehydrated, I walk across an ocean of drunkards to the gas station across the street. The line is about 60 people long for the convenience store. We wait about fifteen minutes to get inside.  This seems longer because I’ve called my mom for some reason.  Time passes really slowly at this point.

After exiting the store, we try to make our way back to where we had left our friends. In a straight line this is no more than 350 feet however the police barricades make the route much more circuitous. As we cross one of the streets, I am struck by a young black woman trying to catch a football. For some reason, I apologize. She says nothing but is fine and unhurt. However, some people have seen this and probably do not look favorably upon the 6’1’’ white dude who got in the way of the Immaculate Mardi Gras Reception.

Five seconds later

Leading the way for my friend’s girlfriend and accompanied by no one else, I am constantly saying “excuse me” and “sorry” as we attempt to get back to where our friends are awaiting the parade. I see a good path to get through and say “excuse me” to a 5’10’’ black guy with a red shirt, baggy jeans, and black winter cap. He’s standing on the curb of the street and I we have to walk by him to get to the relatively clear path behind him.

“Excuse me,” I say.

“Nah.”

I’m under the impression that he thinks that I am trying to stand in front of him to catch beads.

“Oh, we’re just trying to get by, we’re not trying to stay here,” I respond.

He’s stone faced, arms crossed, and looking like the front of a rap album.

“No, you gon’ hafta find anutha way.”

Ooookkkaayyy… I understand where this could be going. I look at the other eight dudes with him, considerably taller, and they look back at me (white, 6’1’’, just bowled over their black friend). I think I can take them though. My friend’s girlfriend is a solid 5’8’’, 120 pound Spanish girl who has a black eye because a dude on a float threw a cup and popped a blood vessel in her eye. This is a fight that we can win! In response to the most threatened look I have ever been given, I do about the biggest eye roll in the history of eye rolls and walk away.

It’s only at five a.m. the next morning that I realize what I could have gotten myself into.[7] What, at the time, I had thought was a wanna-be gangbanger, was an authentic one.

Playing back what an asshole this guy was, for some reason, I remember the red shirt. What was it about that red shirt? His friends were all wearing that fucking red shirt. Why is this sticking out?

Ooooooooooohhhhhh shiiiiittttt!!!

It had taken me ten hours to realize it. I had just had my first of what will hopefully be a burgeoning relationship of close encounters with a division of the world famous Blood gang. [8]

I won this fight.

7:30 p.m.

One liter of water after pissing myself.

One liter orange Gatorade.

One turkey and swiss sandwich

One beer

My friend has been making out with his ex-girlfriend from 3:30 until 9:30. Somehow, he has still caught more beads than me and was later overheard asking her the following question:

“So…we’re having sex tonight right?”

We add an eighth to our clown car of seven and it takes a half an hour to drive three miles home in crazy after-parade traffic.

Now that’s what I’m talking about! This is my kinda wine glass! The Orgiastic Carafe, created by French industrial designer, Edouard Larmaraud, features a wine glass and bottle all in one to make  the gesture of “drinking straight from the bottle”  less vulgar. Nice!

via Yanko Design