Why do you drink alcohol?

[Perfection]

Why do you hate alcohol?

 

[Hygro]

Perfection man, I miss when you would update your avatar. No disrespect to Mise of course

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Why do you hate alcohol?

To screw women and because screw women.

I see the downs side of it and have no need for such a sophisticated use for it such as yourself. The problems I am keen on solving cant be solved by alcohol. And too often it tastes like crap...

 

[Hygro]

I see the downs side of it and have no need for such a sophisticated use for it such as yourself. The problems I am keen on solving cant be solved by alcohol. And too often it tastes like crap...

The problem of being not ever being vulnerable without needing to become vulnerable to get to a point where the former is actually satisfying, and doesn't slowly eat you up inside.

 

[Camikaze]

I can hardly believe that there is a German (I think that You are a German ) who does not like beer , well world mysteries never cease to amaze me ! ^^ Germans have one of the most greates beers in the universe ^^ Not counting the Czech Republic or Poland beers of course

I'm an Australian living in Germany, actually. The selection is much better here.

Actually yesterday I went and bought a six-pack to fill my fridge and justify my bottle-opener purchase. So I'm certainly not saying that I completely dislike alcohol. Just that I think 'taste' is a really overrated factor.

I love ordering new beers that I've never had before - but I make sure to inquire as to what exactly it is I'm getting. A lot of beers are crap. I tend to stay away from Pilsners I've never had before for example, unless they're from a craft beer brewery or from the Czech republic or something. Those are usually good. And you usually can't go wrong with a mad tom or IPA, if you're in the mood for one. The worst I've had was "so so".

Perhaps my opinion is shaded by my recent experiences. I spent most of September in the Balkans where the quality of what I tried ranged from mediocre to abominable. It was all pretty bland, and by the end of it I just wasn't looking forward to trying the local stuff, the only other option always being Heineken.

I'd like to say I empathize, but I do not. The beer selection in California is awesome.

Generally when you walk into any given bar, you're going to see: Lagunitas, Anchor Steam, Fat Tire, and Red Tail ale on tap. At the very least most bars carry Sierra Nevada, which is good, but not great as far as beers go. Hell even the baseball stadiums carry good beer here: AT&T and O.Co both carry all of the above, as well as Fat Tire and Blue Moon (I personally dislike Whites/Wheats, but if that's your thing, good on you).

Most places I'd go to wouldn't have much more than VB, Tooheys, XXXX and bunch of other virtually identical things that amount to the Australian versions of Fosters. It's not universally horrible (sometimes there's Resch's or something), but I wouldn't say the selection is great, particularly seeing as I prefer German and Belgian stuff, which most bars don't have.

More bars have cider on tap now, and it's no longer just a chick drink, so with a lack of other options, I'll go for Strongbow or Five Seeds. In a bottle shop I'll always look out for Kopparberg or Rekorderlig (though the Getränkemarkt near where I am doesn't have any ). There's rarely a reason to order beer when these better options are available.

And there's more to alcohol than just beer. I love a good Merlot or Cabernet with dinner. Port, Brandy, and Sherry with dessert. Glühwein around Christmas. Scotch/Bourbon for sipping on a relaxing evening in. And that's totally leaving out how awesome mixed drinks can get: Margaritas, Mojitos, Screwdrivers etc. Even down to Jack/Rum and Coke. It's all great, and made even better depending on the context.

That's why for me, as I noted above, sure there is a not inconsiderable degree of social element in there (I mean who doesn't love a good game of beer pong or wine tasting with friends or a good pub crawl), but I do drink alone, and I do it because sometimes I just want to enjoy the taste and sensation of sipping a nice glass of bourbon neat.

There is your problem. Beer sucks for the most part. Have a yummy whiskey sour and tell me it doesn't taste good. Or a rum and coke, or a brandy. MMmmmmmmmm, yummy in the tummy!

Spoiler :

I'm not a fan of wine or unmixed spirits. They're obviously acquired tastes, but I never have. Whiskey seems to me like modern art; it would be tempting to write off appreciation of it as pretentious bollocks, but I can kinda see that yes, there are subtleties and complexities to it. But not that I really appreciate.

Mixed drinks are generally good (unless it involves vodka and isn't a Long Island or White Russian), but then my thoughts are often "hey, this makes the alcohol taste less bad than it otherwise would". So I drink them for social reasons and they happen to have an okay flavour. I mean, I love a rum and coke, but do you know what I love more than that? Coke by itself. So the only reason I'll get the former in place of the latter is because I'm at a bar with friends or something.

Because f' it that's why

And Belgian beers are no good. Like, they're sometimes amazing, true craftsmanship, excellent in every way except that sweet part that tastes like it's a mixed drink bier.

The ones that taste like alcopops are overdoing it a bit, but for the most part that sweet fruity quality is something I enjoy. Perhaps this gives a clue as to why I'm not much of a fan of spirits and wine; I've still got a sweet tooth, and it's nice to have a beer that isn't just bottled blandness. Same reason I like cider I guess; it's sweet and doesn't actually taste all that alcoholic.

My parents are essentially teetotallers (my mum nowadays has a glass of wine occasionally, though my dad will still only have half a glass max.), so I never grew up acquiring a taste for anything alcoholic. I imagine that in order to like wine and whiskey (and even beer to an extent) you would've had to be weaned onto it a little throughout your teenage years.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

The problem of being not ever being vulnerable without needing to become vulnerable to get to a point where the former is actually satisfying, and doesn't slowly eat you up inside.

If my goal is to develop willpower alcohol is worse then useless. Hate is just an effective instrument to help me stay out of it.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

It can lead to some funny adventures.

I hope I never stop getting drunk. And if it is once a year at Christmas.

 

[Hygro]

If my goal is to develop willpower alcohol is worse then useless. Hate is just an effective instrument to help me stay out of it.

Socrates already debunked this argument. If you are relying on hate, and need the crutch of sobriety, you aren't really exercising your willpower are you? But alas Socrates does it better. I can't remember if it was a Plato or a Xenophon text.


edit: real dirty google search suggests Plato and possibly not in referencing Socrates, but it doesn't matter, because all of our Socrates is through others anyway, and generally Plato.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Socrates already debunked this argument. If you are relying on hate, and need the crutch of sobriety, you aren't really exercising your willpower are you? But alas Socrates does it better. I can't remember if it was a Plato or a Xenophon text.


edit: real dirty google search suggests Plato and possibly not in referencing Socrates, but it doesn't matter, because all of our Socrates is through others anyway, and generally Plato.

Boy, you are funny as hell. My hate of alcohol is pretty spontaneous and thus reliable. That hate is form of willpower, I think, since it includes recognition of necessity to stay sombre in the first place in order to be able to exercise ones willpower.

 

[Hygro]

Boy, you are funny as hell. My hate of alcohol is pretty spontaneous and thus reliable. That hate is form of willpower, I think, since it includes recognition of necessity to stay sombre in order to be able to exercise ones willpower.

Perhaps drinking is not for you.

However I can't imagine you are actually telling me it takes more training and willpower to execute your willpower while sober than loaded. I don't know how loaded you've ever gotten, but I can tell you that showing restraint against impulse, or doing something against intoxicated lethargy takes a helluva lot more deliberate focus of willpower than doing it in a balanced state.

I mean, who is stronger, the guy who can lift 200 kilos over his head rested or the guy who can lift 200 kilos over his head while he has the flu?

Or, who exerts more courage? He who acts in the face of fear or he who has no fear to face?

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Perhaps drinking is not for you.

However I can't imagine you are actually telling me it takes more training and willpower to execute your willpower while sober than loaded. I don't know how loaded you've ever gotten, but I can tell you that showing restraint against impulse, or doing something against intoxicated lethargy takes a helluva lot more deliberate focus of willpower than doing it in a balanced state.

I mean, who is stronger, the guy who can lift 200 kilos over his head rested or the guy who can lift 200 kilos over his head while he has the flu?

Or, who exerts more courage? He who acts in the face of fear or he who has no fear to face?

No buddy, I am telling you that the willpower can be effectively developed only if ones has as much clarity and onepointedness as possible. True, its more difficult to play piano with only one hand but I am not going to cut off my second hand in order to prove how great I can be a musician and then parade it as an act of wisdom....

 

[azzaman333]

Because it tastes good. Because I like getting drunk/tipsy occasionally. Because it makes for fun social gatherings.

This is a better worded way of saying what I was going to say.

 

[Hygro]

No buddy, I am telling you that the willpower can be effectively developed only if ones has as much clarity and onepointedness as possible. True, its more difficult to play piano with only one hand but I am not going to cut off my second hand in order to prove how great I can be a musician and then parade it as an act of wisdom....

Then what you are developing isn't willpower, which is the act of overcoming challenge and obstacles, but instead increasing ease, which is the act of reducing obstacles. That is a worthy goal too, but a separate one.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Then what you are developing isn't willpower, which is the act of overcoming challenge and obstacles, but instead increasing ease, which is the act of reducing obstacles. That is a worthy goal too, but a separate one.

Well thanx. But I am thinking more along the lines: stay sombre and do the difficult things you simply couldnt if you were loaded instead off: dont get drunk so its easier for you to do this or that...

Edit: Actually its all the same as long as you get done what needs to be done. If you can do it some harder way it only means you could have done more easier way. The point is not to give up till the "thing" is finished.

 

[warpus]

I once got "... pulled _______ out of _________" and supplied "White privilege" and "the South". All the people around the table almost died.

The best was when I was playing with my parents and sisters (and one of their hubbies) and my mom suddenly asked: "What's a queef?", looking at me. There was a moment of silence, and then I turned to my sister and said: "You take this one". Without missing a beat she turns to my mom and says "It's when you fart out of your vagina".

It is said you should never play this game with your parents, but we were drunk at a cottage in the middle of nowhere. There was 0 awkwardness. My mom did not ask any more questions after this though

It is forbidden in their scriptures. The Bible just says don't be drunk. But I find in Australia most people drink to get drunk so they can have a good time. So they wake up the next morning with a hangover and that is called a good time.

But also alcohol reminds of the times when we would pick up Dad from the bar after he had been drinking. I absolutely hated going to pick him up because back then smoking was still allowed and the whole smell was just terrible.

Yeah, substance abuse sucks. People who drink to get wasted just aren't doing it right. Moderation is key.

 

[madviking]

there are some cards that required some 'splaining to me.

 

[warpus]

there are some cards that required some 'splaining to me.

We instituted the "If you don't know what a card means, you can discard it, but then we get to laugh at you" rule. My parents would discard cards every once in a while - the ones we felt like explaining to them we did.. some we did not

Fun game, I have all the expansions. Should play it again sometime, haven't in a while.

 

[civvver]

Because beer tastes amazing, though I do admit it is an acquired taste. Though it's much easier to come to terms with the taste of beer and sweet wines than dry wines and liquor. And beer is carbonated so it's not that far off from soda, just more bitter compared to extreme sweet. Straight liquor tastes like medicine to me and dry red wine is far too acidic so I get why people don't like them. I never understood the old school business men who drink scotch neat, nasty in my view. I don't mind mixing from time to time though, long islands are really tasty, margaritas are good, basically adult versions of soda.

But I also like a couple drinks to relax at the end of the day. It makes me sleepy so I feel like ok time to go to bed. It's kind of like reverse caffeine. Many people can't wake up without a coffee, I'm not saying I can't go to bed without a drink, but it helps ease me into it.

Social drinking is ok, but somewhat overrated, probably because like I said it makes me sleepy. So if a social engagement is more than a couple hours I have to go slow.

 

[PhroX]

We instituted the "If you don't know what a card means, you can discard it, but then we get to laugh at you" rule. My parents would discard cards every once in a while - the ones we felt like explaining to them we did.. some we did not

Fun game, I have all the expansions. Should play it again sometime, haven't in a while.

Our general rule on cards we don't get boils down to "if it's a person, they're on American TV, if it's not, it's a sex act"

But yeah, great game

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Perhaps drinking is not for you.

However I can't imagine you are actually telling me it takes more training and willpower to execute your willpower while sober than loaded. I don't know how loaded you've ever gotten, but I can tell you that showing restraint against impulse, or doing something against intoxicated lethargy takes a helluva lot more deliberate focus of willpower than doing it in a balanced state.

I mean, who is stronger, the guy who can lift 200 kilos over his head rested or the guy who can lift 200 kilos over his head while he has the flu?

Or, who exerts more courage? He who acts in the face of fear or he who has no fear to face?

Courage is the golden mean between cowardice and foolhardiness. Drinking in order to exercise willpower while inebriated is very much erring on the foolhardy side.

The stronger guy is the one whose body fought off influenza before the infection was able to cause an illness.