|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
" The battle is to decide whether you shall become a New Yorker or turn the rankest outlander and Philistine. You must be one or the other. You cannot remain neutral. You must be for or against - lover or enemy - bosom friend or outcast. And, oh, the city is a general in the ring. Not only by blows does it seek to subdue you. It woos you to its heart with the subtlety of a siren. It is a combination of Delilah, green Chartreuse, Beethoven, chloral and John L. in his best days. "
In O.Henry's day, chloral hydrate was often used as "knockout drops" to render incautious imbibers hors de combat so that their pockets could be picked with impunity. However a lot of alcohol plus chloral hydrate was a very dangerous combination. Sometimes called a "Mickey Finn". I don't know the origin of that, and it may not be known.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
green Chartreuse is the liquor that also goes by an other name, (senior moment here.. the stuff that VanGogh was reputed to drink--... oh it will come to me, and i'll come back and edit, or you can post it if you know the name.)
its made of with wormwood, (an herb) and it can be poisonous if taken in quanity.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear of troy: a case of absinthe mindedness?
From the Internet: "But really, the reason anyone bothers to visit Auvers is because of a couple of famous inhabitants who lived there in the late 1800s. It was here that Vincent Van Gogh came to paint in his last summer, 1890. In 70 days he produced 70 canvases, many of them now classics, freezing the town and it's inhabitants in time. Could his daily glass of absinthe be responsible for the vivid colors in these works?"
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
absinthe mindednesspoints to Dr. Bill!
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
addict
|
addict
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555 |
Yes! VERY nice, Bill!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
absinthe mindedness
points to Dr. Bill!
Absinthe makes the Grow heart fonder?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
It arouseth the desire, but taketh away the performance.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
veteran
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475 |
I'd heard recently that it was not so much the wormwood (a vermifuge) in absinthe that caused problems in its habitual drinkers but rather the potent percentage of alcohol.
Found a great word because of this post: anthemlmintic from anti- + helminth (helmis 'worm' :- *wel- 'to turn, wave, rotate').
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I searched for "medicine absinthe" and got an article from a medical school in Miami. Here is the concluding paragraph:
"Prolonged drinking of absinthe causes convulsions, blindness, hallucinations, and mental deterioration. Absinthe has been banned but something of its taste of absinthe is still available in such drinks as ouzo in Greece and in France, pastis, long considered "the mother's milk of Provence."
P.S. Thanks for all those kind words.
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,399
Members9,182
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
1 members (wofahulicodoc),
325
guests, and
0
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|