And Soon No Drinking and No Talking

I thought Eddie Izzard was joking in his Dress to Kill show when he teased San Franciscans about smoking bans in bars. "No smoking in bars now, and soon," he said, "no drinking and no talking!" (see ~5:02)

As always, the real world turns out to be stranger than comedy, at least in St. Charles, MO, a St. Louis area town where a proposed bill would ban "indecent, profane or obscene language, songs, entertainment and literature" in bars. And table dancing and drinking contests!

I'm imagining taverns full of people eating air-popped popcorn and drinking distilled water, while listening to children's choirs sing hymns.

At least they apparently haven't banned darts. Say, how many points is that boy soprano over there worth?

New Year's Resolution

Aside from yet another promise to keep up with this lonely blog, there's at least one resolution that will be easy to keep: I really need to drink more!

Yet another new study touts the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. This study found that people who drink 1 to 2 drinks a day (i.e., up to 14 drinks a week!) and put in moderate exercise can reduce their risk of heart disease by 30 to 49 percent compared to couch-bound tea-totalers... but even better, it found that drinking alone provides more risk reduction than exercising alone.

I knew I put that Mr. Boston Bartender's Guide on my holiday wishlist for a reason. I wonder if Bombay Sapphire is included on my drug insurance?