The Glenlivet Capsule Collection

From a press release for The Glenlivet Capsule Collection:

The Glenlivet, the original Speyside single malt Scotch, has unveiled a ‘Capsule Collection’ of glassless cocktails that redefine the way whisky is traditionally enjoyed. Launched during London Cocktail Week in partnership with cocktail legend Alex Kratena, the limited-edition The Glenlivet ‘Capsule Collection’ is a range of delicious whisky cocktails served in a seaweed-extract casing, one of nature’s most renewable resources.

A first of its kind for a spirit brand, the edible capsules are 23ml in size, fully biodegradable and provide the perfect flavour-explosion experience. Enjoying them is simple, the capsules are popped in the mouth for an instant burst of flavour, and the capsule is simply swallowed. There is no need for a glass, ice or cocktail stirrer.

Yeesh.

I cannot figure out if the capsule is to be eaten. The press release says that “if discarded,” the capsules biodegrade. I’m not sure which would be worse: eating the casing of a tiny cocktail or removing it from one’s mouth. The promotional video is coy. At any rate, Scotch is to be sipped, not “simply swallowed.”

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Adventures in hyphenation “My HR app is user-unfriendly.”

Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday Saturday Stumper is by Lester Ruff, whose name seems to be an unofficial pseudonym for Newsday puzzle editor Stan Newman. The pseudonym portends an easier puzzle, though not exactly 62-A, six letters, “ABC preceder.” This puzzle was indeed Les Ruff, with out-of-the-way answers but relatively little trickery. The one snag for me: 7-A, six letters, “Start pitching?” and 20-A, seven letters, “Pounded with a pestle.” That 20-A answer seems strained. And the clue for 15-A, eight letters, “Hooked, la Holmes,” almost certainly has a typo.

Clues I especially liked: 8-D, fifteen letters, “Possible message under a red F.” 18-A, six letters, “Royal role for James Earl Jones.” (KINGLEAR it ain’t.) 35-A, fifteen letters, “Anchor’s transition.” And for trickery that might go unnoticed if the answer comes via crosses: 32-D, three letters, “Disbeliever at heart.”

No spoilers: the answers are in the comments.

Domestic comedy

“I live in Shibboleth, Illinois.”

See also Missouri.

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M’sieur Pierre’s cell

Welcome to M’sieur Pierre’s cell. He keeps it tidy and decorates as best he can. And now the narrator decorates with a passage of description:


Vladimir Nabokov, Invitation to a Beheading, trans. Dmitri Nabokov and Vladmir Nabokov (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1959).

As the reader will later discover, M’sieur Pierre is no common prisoner.

Fresca recently mentioned Martha Stewart’s adventures in cell decor. M’sieur Pierre would be a worthy competitor.

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Ben Leddy hosts The Rewind

Here’s the latest installment of WGBH’s The Rewind, “Gwen Ifill, Ferguson, and Race in America,” hosted by our son Ben. You can find all episodes of The Rewind at YouTube.

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Gwen Ifill (1955-2016)

More war

What European goods will be affected by Trump’s new tariffs?

Some of the most beloved — and delicious — European imports are on the list, which reads like the menu for a fancy dinner party. French wine. Olives, virgin olive oil, cherries, oranges and lemons from Spain. Pork sausages and roasted coffee from Germany. Italian cheeses like pecorino, Parmesan and provolone. Stilton cheese, sweet biscuits and Scotch whiskies from Britain.

This means Aldi’s (excellent and inexpensive) German-roasted coffee. This means Glenmorangie (excellent and not at all inexpensive) single malt Scotch. This means all the Parmigiano-Reggiano in the world. This means war.

War on books

In The New York Times Duncan White writes about a global war on books:

Around the world, many authoritarian regimes — having largely corralled the internet — now have declared war on the written world, their oldest enemy. The received wisdom after the close of the Cold War was that physical books were outdated, soon to be swept aside in the digital age; and that the internet was instead the real threat to governments seeking to repress provocative thinking. A generation later, the opposite may be true.

Notice that while our own authoritarian-in-chief rails against “the media,” book publishers, like books themselves, or at least books not about him, are pretty much off his radar — at least so far.

Sharpening

Vladimir Nabokov, Invitation to a Beheading, trans. Dmitri Nabokov and Vladmir Nabokov (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1959).

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Pencil Town

Variety reports on a movie in the works: Pencil Town, directed by Jay Silverman:

The feature film is based on a true story about a ruthless corporate raider on the verge of making partner at his private equity firm, when he is forced to return to his small town roots after he suddenly inherits his father’s nearly bankrupt pencil factory — the heart and soul of the depressed community. He must decide to either join the fight to save the factory, or let it close and relocate to China.

Gosh, I wonder how it’ll turn out. Hallmark values!

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