Day: January 5, 2015

Welcome back to the internet. Not you, I was talking to myself. During the holiday break, I did my best to avoid it, but I mostly focused on avoiding the news. I did a pretty good job, too. There was plenty of TV to watch and friends and family to interact with, and it seemed like everyone was on a week-long bender. Why not join them?

But despite my best efforts, some headlines still snuck into my awareness. I’d say it’s mostly because of social media and the various newsreader apps I have on my phone. This lead me to largely just read headlines and move on. Not only did this save me a lot of stress, it also kept me free to make some snap judgments on the headlines I saw.

Let’s take a look at what happened in my feed while we were out and my hot takes, in as best chronological order as I can remember. Whatever. Continue reading The McBournie Minute: Hot takes after the blackout

In trying to honor Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in the most noble way possible — with beer — The New England Brewery Company pissed off his family. Gandhi’s great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi, has threatened to sue the brewery for putting his image on their cans of “Gandhi-Bot,” an India pale ale.

According to Tushar Gandhi, his great-grandfather “abhorred alcohol drinking and spoke against it.” Granted, Gandhi didn’t eat food, either, so using his image for any consumables is — at the very least — self-defeating.

Perhaps what makes the brewery’s use of Gandhi to sell beer is that they used him to sell IPA. No, not because it’s kind of racist; because IPAs suck.

Massachusetts refuses to not be a hotbed of controversy.

Isn’t that a laugh? But seriously, a controversial issue is appearing in the state: should alcohol be allowed in retirement homes? It’s a law that’s recently appeared on the desk of Governor Deval Patrick. Some people feel that seniors should be able to take part in the responsible joy that is boozing, while others feel that mixing of liquor with a LOT of medication may not be the smartest result.

Our stance: can’t everyone just have their own obituary written? You know, just in case?

Example: “Chris Taylor died doing what he loved: drinking box wine out of an empty Febreeze bottle.“

As you head back to work this week, you may find yourself hitting a wall on a project with no solution in sight. Science says you should get a good buzz going.

Research has shown that if your BAC is around 0.8%, your problem-solving skills go up, plus your day goes by faster. Smart people in Europe have released a beer they call “The Problem Solver.” The IPA comes in a bottle that looks to be the size of a bomber, and even has scales on the label to see how much you need to drink to reach that perfect level.

Have you had your beer this morning?

(h/t Meredith)