I'll have the usual
Heh, I have totally seen this happen but never thought to write about it. Here is OMG with his take on the "usual:"
In the topsy-turvy, dark-as-wine sea of consumer choices, I am amazed that so many people are rigidly bound to their "usual."
As a famous Clinton said, "Free your mind; your beer will follow."
We all have our favorite drinks, but don't you know people who get exactly the same thing all the time? I know someone who owned a restaurant for most of his life, and he drank nothing but Cutty and water. Blech.
Even funnier: What people order when the bar doesn't have their usual.
A guy asks for a Corona. The bartender says, "We have Sol. It's pretty much the same thing." True dat. His response, "Lemme have a Hennessy and Coke."
Oh, sad slave to advertising. He couldn't order anything that wasn't billboard-approved ...
Here's another situation:
A guy (who looks like a dude) orders a Michelob Ultra.
Bartender: "We don't have Mich Ultra."
Guy: "Uh, well, then I'll have a Diet Coke."
Turn in your dude credentials, guy.
I'll admit that I can be mighty particular when getting my swerve on. If I ask for a Jameson's and they offer Bushmill's, I might mumble, "[Dastardly] whiskey," if I'm feeling particularly Republican, but I sure as hell am not getting a Diet Coke.
(Photo courtesy of OMG)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
Very nice look OMG. What is that style of shirt called? Did you tailor it yourself?
Posted by: TerrierMom | April 28, 2009 11:21 AM
dark-as-wine sea of consumer choices
What? That doesn't make sense
Posted by: sean | April 28, 2009 12:14 PM
I know some guys who's usual is whatever their current girlfriend's preferred drink is.
The photo love the two tone look of the arms, nice
Posted by: Stebbin | April 28, 2009 1:17 PM
I like the trucker's tan.
Posted by: YumPorchetta | April 28, 2009 3:09 PM
Are those your new glasses?
Posted by: YumPorchetta | April 28, 2009 3:10 PM
Hmm... I wish I had a cool shirt like that. I wonder if he has a leather vest made from a leather jacket? That's the coolest. That's not my photo. It should be credited to Getty Images.
"Dark as wine"? Agreed, that doesn't make sense.
My original text was "wine-dark" which is a common description of turbulent seas in the Odyssey. I had a rather elaborate metaphor mixing Homer, George Clinton and Mike's Hard Lemonade. Its pretension did contrast nicely with the photo. This was the original first paragraph:
I am amazed that in the topsy turvy wine-dark sea of consumer choices that many people are rigidly bound to their "usual." They order drinks like Odysseus bound to the mast, their ears plugged with wax while the Sirens sing out the tantalizing sounds of "Coors... Clipper City ... Mike's Hard Enfamil ... " As a famous Clinton said, "Free your mind. your beer will follow."
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy – B>) | April 28, 2009 3:50 PM
I like the trucker's tan.
Don't you wish your boyfriend was hot like me?
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy – B>) | April 28, 2009 5:03 PM
My friend Julie said that my original first paragraph was one crazy fun jumble of mixed metaphors but not logical because "if the ears are plugged up with wax, he's not going to hear the billboard's siren call, but your whole point was about how people are so susceptible to advertising. What am I missing?"
Probably that it made sense at 2 AM. If I ever die, I think I would like my tombstone to read simply "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy – B>) | April 28, 2009 5:38 PM
Yes. But I couldn't fly so close to the sun and survive.
Posted by: YumPorchetta | April 28, 2009 5:58 PM
OMG, Cutty and H2O? Sounds like we used to visit the same Little Italy establishment, which is no more. How? I have no idea.
Posted by: Skippy | May 1, 2009 10:33 AM
Shut your pipe hole 'Buca boy.
Posted by: Naz | May 1, 2009 1:29 PM
Absolutely Skippy!
Posted by: Naz | May 3, 2009 2:11 PM
That man was indestructible
Posted by: Skippy | May 4, 2009 8:43 AM