Swig
How many people
live their lives balanced
on cups of caffeine or,
like my recently deceased
uncle, fill their trailer
lives with brown bottles,
windows hazed over
with cigarette smoking,
deciding it too difficult to
rise from the stained
sofa, choosing old Star
Trek VHS movies instead
of walking into reality?
I Will Drink a Beer -- Ibiritrekker 
Brewers began to bottle beer in the 19th century when they realized that glass would keep it fresh. But if stored in clear glass too long in sunlight, the beer would become lightstruck. Ultraviolet light would penetrate the beer and affect the alpha acid in the hops, causing the riboflavin to break down the isohumulones, molecules that contribute to the beer's bitterness. The resulting chain of reactions leads to the creation of MBT (3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol), similar to the musk-borne mercaptans that are contained in a skunk's spray. So brewers began using brown glass bottles, since the darker color blocks the light.
ReplyDeleteIn 1964 Gene Roddenberry, a fiormer Los Angeles Police Department officer who had freelanced as a TV writer, created "Star Trek." He produced the series, which began airing on 8 September 1966. 79 episodes aired, ending on 3 June 1969. Although its ratings had always been poor, and series usually needed 4 seasons to be picked up for syndication, since they needed about 75 weekly episodes to air every day for 15 weeks before needing to repeat episodes, Kaiser Broadcasting bought "Star Trek" as counterprogramming against evening news shows. It became a ratings success and led to a dedicated fan following, and by 1986 it was the most popular series in syndication. A Star Trek convention was held in New York in 1972, with more than 3,000 attendees ("trekkies"). In 1979 the cast appearing in "Star Trk: The Motion Picture," and Paramount Home Video began releasing the TV series on VHS in 1980, beginning with 5 volumes of 2 episodes each. A spinoff series "The Next Generation" ran from 1987 to 1994. So far, the "Star Wars" franchise has resulted in 6 feature films and 7 TV series (759 episodes) as well as an animated series, plus various novels, comics, games, and theme park attractions. It has generated at least $10 billion in revenue.
This one hits home. I know several people like your uncle but I can't discuss them because they're all still alive....old, very ill, but still spending their last days watching old TV westerns, comedies and detective shows from the 1950s and 60s. The ones I know don't smoke and rarely drink, but still....
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