Whether you're relaxing after a long week of school, celebrating a job well done, or simply getting severely intoxicated at your cousin's wedding reception, a cold brew can often be the perfect liquid companion.
But the juice of the barley isn't cheap, and on a student's budget value is everything. So, with the financial well-being of my classmates in mind, I give you my top three brews on a budget...
Carling Lager - (12/355 - $16.25)
Photo via www.goethe.es
This beer is nearly tasteless. Why is that a good thing? Because it avoids the urine/aluminum flavour that many other cheap beers fall victim to. And with a recent re-branding that saw the yellow and blue mountain logo changed to a classy silver and blue lion, there's no better time to start drinking the beer that is the staple of high school house parties province wide.
Labatt 50 - (12/341 - $21.25)
Photo via escapistmagazine.com
The most expensive beer on this list, but still a great buy. It's a bottom end brew at most pubs and bars ($4) and has more kick than Budweiser or Kokanee. It's has the sophistication of an export, but the price tag of a domestic. And it's red and green colour scheme also makes it a particularly festive beer for when you want to booze it up over the holidays. And remember, 50 stands for 50 per cent more good beer flavour than the next bland swill.
Lucky Extra - (12/355 - $16.25)
Photo via professionalalcoholic.com
Regular Lucky Lager. Extra is too intense for the internet
The lager, the label, the legend. At $16.25 for a 12 pack and an ABV of 6%, Lucky Extra is the kind of beer that puts hair on your face and then puts your face over the toilet. It doesn't look good, it doesn't smell good, and it sure as hell doesn't taste good, but what it lacks in subtlety it makes up for in sheer power. This brew puts the bang in "bang for your buck." Although it's probably not actually fit for human consumption.
The caterpillar hood, a feathery tongue, a dream dragon, an octopus ride, and a skeleton kissed to the steel rail. Childish babble? Or the poetic genius of a disturbed mind? I doubt even Syd Barrett, founding member of obscure British band Pink Floyd, knows for sure…
Released on January 3, 1970 – just three days before Barrett’s 24th birthday – The Madcap Laughs is Syd Barrett’s first post-Pink Floyd solo album. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, production on the album began in May 1968 and was not completed until August of 1969, with Barrett spending almost a year out of the studio in between sessions.
The album is a psychedelic love story wrapped around some unnamed muse. The opening track, “Terrapin,” begins with the line “I really love you, and I mean you.” The song is delicate and dreamlike, hovering somewhere in between reality and romantic fantasy. The instrumentation is sparse, with only an acoustic and electric guitar accompanying Barrett’s floating vocals.
The rest of the tracks on the album are an eclectic assortment of acid rockers, freak-folk ballads, and psychedelic pop numbers. This diversity was Barrett’s intention: “I wanted it to be a whole thing that people would listen to all the way through with everything related and balanced, the tempos and moods offsetting each other, and I hope that's what it sounds like,” said Barrett in an interview for the album Lucy Leaves & Other Rarities. He succeeded, with standouts including the charming love song “Here I Go,” the hallucinatory “Octopus,” and the raw “Dark Globe,” which was produced by Barrett’s former band mates David Gilmour and Roger Waters.
The album is also laced with a medieval mysticism, most notably heard on “Golden Hair,” which rings out like a romantic ballad sung by some ancient bard. Songs of a similar theme can be heard on early Pink Floyd albums, such as “Matilda Mother” off The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
The album becomes significantly stranger with “If It’s In You.” The song appears unrehearsed (maybe unfinished?) and the take is nearly unlistenable. However, it somehow fits lopsided, upside-down into this oddly cohesive album. On it’s own it would be discredited as a throw-away outtake, but with prominent placement on the album as an official track the song somehow becomes something more. A mysterious mistake that gives the listener insight into the altered mind of Barrett and his deteriorating mental state. That being said, it’s hard to completely justify the lack of effort put into completing the track. It is an interesting tune and could have been genuinely good had the proper care been given to it.
The following track, “Late Night,” (also the final track on the album) balances the delirium of “If It’s In You.” The song is among the most heavily produced on the album, with drums, bass, and two sparkling guitars accompanying Syd’s vocals. The track is also the only recording taken from the original May 1968 sessions, which may account for the substantial overdubbing and polish. “Late Night,” when looked at alongside “Terrapin,” acts as a nice bookend to the album, returning to the theme of surreal love. This time, however, Barrett seems willing to simply remember the love, rather than request it.
The Madcap Laughs, as the name might imply, is an album that is strange, beautiful, and humorous. However, the menagerie of melodies isn’t the only reason to lend your ear. Barrett opens himself to the listener, and the result is as maddeningly creative as it is gorgeous. Emphasis on the mad.
“And the way you kiss will always be a very special thing to me…”
Listening Recommendations: For pleasure and inspiration at twilight. Or for extensive study in an honours psychology class.
It was the New Year's issue of The Projector and two twisted young souls, Dylan Hughes and Chuka Ejeckam, were approached to compose a list of alternative New Year's resolutions. They wrote for nights on end, slowly sinking into the black endlessness of the comedic abyss. In all, they wrote roughly 35 resolutions. 18 were submitted to the paper and 10 were eventually chosen to be published. What happened to the remaining resolutions? Well, some say they were so vulgar and tasteless that they drove anyone who read them to madness. Others say that the resolutions developed a mind of their own and began ravaging stand-up comedy nights world-wide. Me? Hell, I don't even want to think about it...
From the depths of obscenity and poor taste, here are 12 of the discarded resolutions...
1. Recapture your youth. Start dating junior high school girls again.
2. Give back to your community. Return all the Christmas presents you stole from the orphanage.
3. Quit drinking so much alcohol...before church on Sundays.
4. Be more frugal. Tip the strippers with toonies instead of fives.
5. Give more to homeless people. Try 5 kicks instead of 4.
6. Go on that trip you've always wanted to take. I hear Sergio sells blotter paper behind the depot for $10 a hit.
7. Eat less red meat. Try human flesh.
8. Spend more time with family and friends. Visit the penitentiary more often.
9. Be kinder to strangers. Wear condoms.
10. Spend more time outdoors. Masturbate on the park bench instead of the bus shelter.
11. Try to enjoy summer more. After all, you're paying her $30 an hour.
12. Get a better education. Leave Red River College and go to university.
Las Vegas, Santa Claus, eight female entertainers, $19000 in toys donated to charity, and a truck called the "strippermobile." Just about anything can be a pseudo-event, but Las Vegas strip club company, Deja Vu, certainly knows how to attract an audience.
In mid-December 2010, Las Vegas residents and tourists were treated to a display of class and goodwill, as a truck carrying Santa Claus and eight of his finest female helpers delivered donations to the Nevada charity HELP, a non-profit organization that assists the poor.
Was it a success? Well, I found out about it from a news organization, news.com.au, which is based out of Australia, so apparently the news was worthy of international coverage.
And why wouldn't it be? The combination of Christmas cheer and exotic dancers is an unusual and intriguing one. The event was timely, occurring just before the holiday season, and classy (well, as classy as it could be with strippers), with all of the ladies wearing long red dresses and leggings.
The event's locality, as well, was fantastic. It benefited a local charity and promoted a local business. Onlookers could be moved by Deja Vu's acts of generosity, and then immediately reward the company with their own acts of generosity towards the club's performers. Tipping with a one dollar bill? I don't think so. They just made $19,000 worth of dreams come true!
Whoever organized the event for Deja Vu, whether it was PR people or not, hit a home-run with this one. Regardless of how one may feel about the morality of establishments where men and woman can go to watch someone shake their jingle-bells, the donation helped a lot of disadvantaged people and, at the very least, seemed sincere. Who said strippers weren't generous?
