The Clog from OzDoes drinking make other people interesting?
September 25th 2006 04:35
“I drink to make other people interesting." - George Jean Nathan.
George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) was the leading American drama critic of his time. Between 1905 and 1958 he published thirty-four books on the theatre, co-edited The Smart Set and The American Mercury with H. L. Mencken, and practiced "destructive" theatre criticism. I think we can all relate to this quote. I reckon even the most boring people can sound interesting after you have (& to a greater extent – if they have) had a few drinks.
Alcohol just seems to help lighten things up. Because the substance makes us lose our inhibitions – those feelings that prevent us doing or saying stupid things – we feel more relaxed and other things seem more interesting than they actually should.
I was at a party the other night and all these high-tech geeks found it absolutely amazing that they could shock themselves with this toy. Each person held a trigger and when a light flashed they had to quickly press their button. The last person to do so received a most uncomfortable shock. The shock gave way to much laughter by all involved, including the poor shockee once he got over the pain!
My sober friend and I looked on in amazement. Why would these nerds want to do this? Why would they want to risk shocking themselves all for a few cheap laughs? Maybe it was because their drunkeness numbed their limbs, or maybe the alcohol made the game seem just so fascinating?
Either way – it was pretty funny to watch.
Image part of the GNU Free Documentation License
George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) was the leading American drama critic of his time. Between 1905 and 1958 he published thirty-four books on the theatre, co-edited The Smart Set and The American Mercury with H. L. Mencken, and practiced "destructive" theatre criticism. I think we can all relate to this quote. I reckon even the most boring people can sound interesting after you have (& to a greater extent – if they have) had a few drinks.
Alcohol just seems to help lighten things up. Because the substance makes us lose our inhibitions – those feelings that prevent us doing or saying stupid things – we feel more relaxed and other things seem more interesting than they actually should.
Hmmm... should we prolong this interesting conversation with another drink?
I was at a party the other night and all these high-tech geeks found it absolutely amazing that they could shock themselves with this toy. Each person held a trigger and when a light flashed they had to quickly press their button. The last person to do so received a most uncomfortable shock. The shock gave way to much laughter by all involved, including the poor shockee once he got over the pain!
My sober friend and I looked on in amazement. Why would these nerds want to do this? Why would they want to risk shocking themselves all for a few cheap laughs? Maybe it was because their drunkeness numbed their limbs, or maybe the alcohol made the game seem just so fascinating?
Either way – it was pretty funny to watch.
Image part of the GNU Free Documentation License
| 72 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
