sake. i'll think while i drink

mifune in yojimbo

the wine of lovers

space rolls to-day her splendour round!

unbridled, spurless, without bound,

mount we upon the wings of wine

for skies fantastic and divine!

let us, like angels tortured by

some wild delirious phantasy,

follow the far-off mirage born

in the blue crystal of the morn.

and gently balanced on the wing

of the wild whirlwind we will ride,

rejoicing with the joyous thing.

my sister, floating side by side,

fly we unceasing whither gleams

the distant heaven of my dreams.

charles baudelaire, 1906

suttree, early times

how you doing, jim?
i'm doin everybody i can, where you been? where's the whiskey?
here ye go. get ye a drink, bud.
what is it?
early times. best little old drink in the world. get ye a drink, sut.
suttree held it to the light. small twigs, debris, matter, coiled in the oily liquid. he shook it. smoke rose from the yellow floor of the bottle.
shit almighty, he said.
best little old drink in the world, sang out j-bone. have a drink, bud.

*****

goddamn. what is this shit?
early times, called j-bone. best little old drink they is. drink that and you wont feel a thing the next mornin.
or any morning.
whoo lord, give it here. hello early, come to your old daddy.
here, pour some of it in this cup and let me cut it with coca-cola.
can't do it, bud.
why not?
we done tried it. it eats the bottom out.
watch it suttree. don't spill none on your shoes.
(pages 22-23)

*****

lord honey i know they make that old splo in the bathtub but this here is made in the toilet. he was looking at the bottle, shaking it. bubbles the size of gooseshot veered greasily up through the smoky fuel it held.
(page 24)

*****

the last time i drank some of that shit i like to died. i stunk from the inside out. i laid in a tub of hot water all day and climbed out and dried and you could still smell it. i had to burn my clothes.

*****

early times, he called. make your liver quiver.
(page 26)

cormac mccarthy, suttree


1950's map of downtown knoxville from this site

du whiskey

sneaking some whiskey in frank perry's rancho deluxe, 1975

....whiskey or something?

speak for yourself, you may be a
sinner, but i ain't yet had the opportunity

dipsomania from ang lee's brokeback mountain, 2005

the late show

"i'd offer you a drink, but i really don't think there's going to be enough to go around.
right now i think i need it more than you do"
art carney in robert benton's the late show, 1977

new possibilities for dipsomania

danish: alkoholisme
dutch: periodieke drankzucht (periodic spirits sigh)
french: dipsomanie, alcoolisme
german: trunksucht (drunkenness craze)
greek: διψομανία, αλκοολισμός
italian: dipsomania
japanese: 渇酒癖, アルコール中毒 (thirst liquor habit, alcoholism)
portuguese: dipsomania
russian: алкоголизм
spanish: dipsomanía
swedish: periodsuperi

(with some mac translations)

drunk was ale

more mcsorley's, nyc

sawdust on the floor

ghosts

the small particles of wood or other material that fall from an object being sawed

small of or material fall an being the particles wood other that from object sawed

of material an the wood that object small or fall being particles other from sawed

material the that small fall particles from of an wood object or being other sawed

the small particles of wood or other material that fall from an object being sawed

porque yo say champana, y tu eres mierda

you think i am shit
but you are wrong
cause i'm champagne
and you're shit
until the day you die
you, not me
will always be shit

todd solondz's happiness, 1998
(the brutal breakup scene)

hendrick's gin

image by t. morley

hendrick's gin (from scotland) with langston the dog and books.

goes good with a touch of mint & tonic, or straight.

lag a'mhuilin, meaning: hollow by the mill

lagavulin or 'the strange horse of suinabhal'

(if you like a peaty scotch)

rio bravo

with the shakes

dean martin trying not to drink in howard hawks'
rio bravo, 1958

she wore a yellow ribbon

victor mclaglen sneaking a bit of whiskey in john ford's she wore a yellow ribbon, 1949

how gargantua came by his name and how he swilled down the wine

that excellent man grangousier was drinking and making merry with the others, when he heard a horrible tumult. it was his son emerging into the light of the world, bellowing, "drink, drink, drink!".
at once grangousier exclaimed: "que grand tu as le gousier" or "what a great gullet you have!" hearing this, the company declared that the child should indeed be named "grand tu as": gargantua or greatgullet.........
next, to quiet the babe, they made him drink till his throat almost burst. then, carrying him to the front, they babtized him, as is the custom among all good christians..........
he cried very little but he beshitted himself at all times. for he was wondrously phlegmatic of bum, as much by natural complexion as from an accidental predisposition, due to exaggerated quaffing of the juices of septembral mash. yet he never touched a drop without good reason; for whenever he happened to be out of sorts, vexed, angry or melancholy, if he stamped, wept or shouted, they brought him a drink. this invariably restored his native good humor and at once made him as quiet and happy as before.

from jacques le clerq's translation of françois rabelais's gargantua and pantagruel published 1532-1564 / 1936 (translation), modern library.

françois rabelais

whiskey in the john

paul newman in stuart rosenberg's film pocket money 1972. drinking whiskey in a shower/bathroom in a cheap hotel in tucson.

pouring whiskey on his legs, note the protected t. paper

product of italy

nice cheap italian table wine.......

wine & westerns

anthony mann, the tin star 1957

french archbishop bourdaloue

listen, prince, i stayed here last night, first, out of particular respect for the french archbishop bourdaloue* (we kept the corks popping at lebedev's till three in the morning)......

*note 45: he is actually making a pun on bordeaux wine and the russian work burda, which means "swill".

from richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky's translation of fyodor dostoevsky's the idiot, 1898 page 309

what you need is a drink....

myrna loy seems to encourage dipsomania in her men.
here we see it in the best years of our lives, 1946 (d. william wyler, dp. gregg toland) with fredric march.

myrna loy, fredric march, teresa wright

dana andrews, myrna loy, fredric march

what you need is a drink

dana andrews

hangover

the customary tossing of the shoes out the window

also of interest, butch engle's place (the best joint in town) is run by hoagy carmichael.