The beer pong bible
A couple days ago, Nancy (of Read Street fame) handed me a pile of drinking- and music-related books. Thanks, Nancy!
Unfortunately, these books were quickly absorbed into the mountain of miscellany that is my desk (I also call it my plunder pile).
But now, I have unearthed the books, and actually read a couple pages of one of them.*
It's called "The Book of Beer Pong: The Official Guide to the Sport of Champions." You can buy it on Amazon for $10.85.
On a quick side note, why do all books have to have such long titles these days? Whatever happened to quick-hitters like "Moby Dick" or "War and Peace?"
Anyway, "The Book of Beer Pong" clocks in at a whopping 200 pages, give or take. 200 pages! On a drinking game! ...
It does have its moments, though. I mean, I didn't read the whole thing**, but I read this one page with this funny passage. Let's read it together:
The Wash Cup
While not directly involved in game play, the wash cup is one of Beer Pong's most unique contributions to the world of sport. Etiquette -- and hygiene -- dictate that two cups be left on the table, but out of play, for the express purpose of ball washing. Traditionally, these cups are filled with warm tap water.
Throughout the course of the game, the ball will undoubtedly make contact with the floor, an unsanitary table surface, the lip of a recently sipped cup, the lip of a player, and so on. It is believed that a quick rinse in the cup will lessen the transmission of what scientists call "funk."
Interestingly, the player is washing the ball for his opponent's benefit -- not his own. This intrinsic selflessness is such an essential part of the game that few players or observers fully appreciate it.
Well put, beer pong book. Well put indeed.
* In all honesty, I can't "read" in the traditional sense. I did go to public school, after all.
** I mean, who actually reads books these days? I just download them for free on the InterWebs.
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
About modern titles:
From the website "Your Monkey Called"
Book Titles, If They Were Written Today
Then: The Wealth of Nations
Now: Invisible Hands: The Mysterious Market Forces That Control Our Lives and How to Profit from Them
Then: Walden
Now: Camping with Myself: Two Years in American Tuscany
Then: The Theory of the Leisure Class
Now: Buying Out Loud: The Unbelievable Truth About What We Consume and What It Says About Us
Then: The Gospel of Matthew
Now: 40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss
Then: The Prince
Now: The Prince (Foreword by Oprah Winfrey)
Posted by: Rich B | September 21, 2009 12:15 PM
Sorry, but I don't have to get any further than "most unique" to toss the book aside for want of lousy editing.........
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | September 21, 2009 2:37 PM
I heard the author has dedicated the tome to Senator George Della.
Posted by: pizzalover | September 21, 2009 8:55 PM
It's called Beirut or "Root" for short, I refuse to buy that wrongly titled book.
Posted by: Corey | September 22, 2009 12:26 PM
I'm really REALLY tired of the coloned two-subject book titles. Who started that anyway?
Posted by: johnnycat | September 23, 2009 5:51 PM
I'm really REALLY tired of the coloned two-subject book titles. Who started that anyway?
What is your native language?
Posted by: Owl Meat Glyph | September 23, 2009 9:43 PM
Sorry, that was rude. Seeing "colon" used in that way frightened me.
Posted by: Owl Meat Glyph | September 24, 2009 8:42 AM
Corey is now my hero. Beer Pong requires paddles.
Posted by: Brian | September 24, 2009 10:33 AM
new visitors sam? they must not remember the epic beer pong/beirut post from years ago?
Posted by: locust point man | September 24, 2009 11:41 AM
Why give a badass name like Beirut to such a wussy game? If I'm playing a game called Beirut, I expect someone to die.
Posted by: Rev'Ed | September 24, 2009 12:28 PM
Locust point man, yeah, they must be new to Midnight Sun.
Corey, Brian and Rev'Ed, the beer pong/beirut topic was one of the first heated discussions we ever had on Midnight Sun.
Check it out: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/midnight_sun/blog/2007/05/beer_pong_or_beirut.html
Posted by: Sam Sessa | September 24, 2009 12:31 PM
I think They already have too many bars to the south serving excellent beer lists, and too many bars to the south serving drunken frat boys and sports fans on weekends. So to heck with those demographics. Fells Point also has too many upscale, high-end eateries. Enough of that.
Posted by: wirbelsaule | October 3, 2009 1:16 AM