Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Scofflaws

I have been using the word "scofflaw" more times lately than I have ever in my life because I've been thinking about possibly working with RS and JB about trying to change the biking conversation from the miniscule and fungible problem that bike scofflaws pose (DO NOT start debating this in the comments) since he got a raft of shit for that article, and lo and behold, watching the Ken Burns Prohibition doc I learned that it was a phrase coined in a contest that a newspaper held. That was a long sentence.

Also rad to be learning some stuff about Prohibition and reading The Group which is about a bunch of rich Vassar grads written during that time. In the first 20 pages they've already talked about making a punch with bootlegged "New Jersey Applejack".

Got about 6 1/2-7 hours last night including a stint of reading at 3 am and feel fresh and rested today. Stoked.

13 comments:

JB said...

It's also a tasty drink:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/10/the-scofflaw-cocktail/

beckler said...

that does sound good

Anonymous said...

There's a great book on Prohibition by Daniel Okrent, "Last Call." Fun read and I learned a lot, including how bad a nation of drunks we were in the 1800s. For all its failings, prohibition did end up cutting US alcohol consumption by half - consumption rate has been climbing back up ever since 1933 and we just reached pre-prohibition levels in the past decade or so.

-omf

Anonymous said...

yeah the bit that stuck with me from that ken burns doc was the insane rate of drinking pre prohibition. like, all able bodied men were fucked up morning noon and night.

before i knew that, i wasn't entirely clear how prohibition could have happened.

chaph

michele h said...

Yeah, and then you have to think about it from the female perspective...drunk husbands aren't good husbands! No wonder the prohibition movement was spearheaded by women.

-M

Anonymous said...

dont forget the easy access to opium and cocaine too!

Ed

beckler said...

I love a drunk husband now and then but I prefer a stoned one.

In the doc they said the alcohol consumption was 3 times what it is now, but I'm sure that was just men.

beckler said...

another interesting thing is that Betty was reading the group on Mad Men in an episode. Can't remember if I already wrote that in another post.

Scott Miller said...

Drunk husbands are the shit!

wburg said...

The thing about scofflaws is, when it becomes apparent that a law isn't viable, that's when the law changes, or the loopholes become so wide that it's easier to just do away with the prohibition altogether. That applies to booze and marijuana, growing vegetables in your front yard or chickens in your back yard, food trucks, or biking in a manner currently in violation of laws regarding biking.

Anonymous said...

Re: women drinking pre-prohibition was much rarer than it is today. It was actually illegal for women to drink in most bars pre prohibition! Prohibition is what made it socially acceptable for men and women to drink together in public places - speakeasies didn't exclude women the way bars did.

And opium and cocaine may have been quasi legal, but alcohol was made and available everywhere in the US before prohibition - coke and opium were imported 'delicacies' but anyone could make alcohol with a barrel and some rotting fruit.

-omf

Anonymous said...

I made a Scofflaw last night and it was delicious!
jamattack.

beckler said...

that's actually how I make all my alcoholic beverages today. prison style! just throw whatever you have in a plastic bag, hide it in the toilet tank and voila!