"If the river were whisky, I'd be a diving duck" - Muddy Waters

In 1952, the state of Mississippi was debating on whether it should allow or prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages. A young Mississippian lawmaker, Noah Sweats Jr., had this to say about whisky.

"....if by whisky you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes....if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows...i am for it."

The speech in itself is a classic example of political doublespeak, but I shan't delve any further into it. Indeed whisky is all that Judge Sweats made it out to be. Sometime ago, I visited The Whisky Store in Singapore and tried this drink,



Talisker 18 gave me most satisfaction amongst all the scotches I have tried, albeit I have not tried that many. To try and describe that experience would leave me lying. I am no whisky connesieur and can't pick out the different flavours present in a whisky. I would not use words like smooth as many are apt to use when describing a scotch, because the word has been used to often for too many scotches, that it is meaningless. My friend put it best when asked to rate a scotch, "Different scotch for a different mood."

But why am I going on and on about this whisky one might ask, well it is like this. The other day someone asked me what my favourite liquor was, and I replied "Talisker 18."

"A what?" came the reply. I half expected it, and there was a saddness to it. I guess there is a reason for that ignorance.

Today, a lot of my peers would spend their Friday nights/weekends at one of the many numerous clubs or if they are feeling like 'chilling-out' then maybe a place like Wala-Walas. Which is all fine though I do not care much about the music that comes from these places (Yes, I don't quite fancy EIC!). However, my guess is that, what these places have done is to kill whatever formative interest one might have in liquor. Whisky is limited to Jack Daniels or Jim Beam which really does not hold a candle to a good scotch (much more so when it is mixed with cola). Some brave few might try Chivas (12), and whilst it is a decent drink, it overpriced and having it neat is in my opinion a great waste of time. In this environment I am not surprised that whiskies such as Talisker, Glen Avon, Glenmorangie remain unknown. And there lies the pity. I personally believe that enjoying the secrets that these drinks have to offer is not something difficult. I often get responses such as, "I don't know how to enjoy whisky..." , "I cannot drink it neat"...etc. It is all nonsense because most often than not they usually have not tried a good dram. The proof really is in the drinking.

So perhaps this week, you should tell your friends that, instead of paying $20-$30 where you get to squeeze in with a few hundred sweaty bodies, instead of drinking some ethanol flavoured coke, instead of watching a half-baked band perform songs, that if i wanted to listen to, could turn on the radio, you should head down some place where they offer a range of single malts and have a few samples. Then you can better decide for yourself. I somehow think you would find some truth in the speech above.

Till next time ~ The King Blues

Why Blog

George Orwell (author of the famous Animal Farm) wrote an essay titled Why I Write in the summer of 1946. He outlined for reasons, which I think can be used for anyone. I quote him verbatim,

"(i) Sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one. Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen — in short, with the whole top crust of humanity. The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. After the age of about thirty they almost abandon the sense of being individuals at all — and live chiefly for others, or are simply smothered under drudgery. But there is also the minority of gifted, willful people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong in this class. Serious writers, I should say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than journalists, though less interested in money.

(ii) Aesthetic enthusiasm. Perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed. The aesthetic motive is very feeble in a lot of writers, but even a pamphleteer or writer of textbooks will have pet words and phrases which appeal to him for non-utilitarian reasons; or he may feel strongly about typography, width of margins, etc. Above the level of a railway guide, no book is quite free from aesthetic considerations.

(iii) Historical impulse. Desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.

(iv) Political purpose. — Using the word ‘political’ in the widest possible sense. Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after. Once again, no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude."

Now, It does not take much to see that those same reasons could be used to explain, at least in part, as to why people blog. I am sure now that many people would use blogs also as a tool for communication and as some sort of online diary. I guess a blog allows for that too. But I feel the reasons (i) and (iv) could be used to most accurately explain the thousands of blogs by people daily. And a blog is so much easier than a book, you do not have to write particulary well and there is no publisher you need to search for.

I'll have all sort of ramblings here, much in part due to my equal interests in naked singluarities and polar bears. I think, however that, most posts would involve scotch whisky, blues and my athestic philosophy. I welcome all who share intrests in those 3 topics. So till the next time.