Dear me. I was contemplating a bit of spring cleaning, a bit of re-purposing, as they say, of At First Glass. I thought I might change its name, free it up, give it a bigger focus than food and wine. I thought I would call it "Black Pony," after the cheap-o scotch that the detective finds in Laura's apartment after her murder. This is the (fictional) scotch that clues him in that something, in this mystery, is wrong with the clues themselves. He challenges Laura's maid, Bessie, about it. "But she never bought cheap stuff, did she? -- not a lady like Miss Hunt?"
"No," Bessie replies warily. And they go on to discuss where the bottle came from and who bought it, and who drank it with the cheap-o purchaser while Miss Hunt was ... away?
Aspiring to some blog-o originality and clarity of purpose, however, and not wanting to confuse people, I did a little investigating of the name and soon re-thought my ideas. There are already blogs out there called "Black Pony" or close variants of the same. This doesn't surprise me, nor am I surprised that all the Black Pony-ish domain names are used up, but I am somewhat troubled that the very first of them I came across must needs dabble in soft-core porn. Who knows how many others do also? And then there is the separate issue of the whole My Little Pony thing. No kidding. Google any phrase which happens to include the word "pony," and this universe pops up. "Ask Pony" (I ask you) blogs apparently exist by the thousands, and are run by people who love the toys, the cartoon series "Friendship is Magic," who love trying their hand at drawing the ponies, love inventing new plots for them and even updating them or melding their personalities with other cartoon or superhero characters. Sometimes the ponies get new, dark flaws ("Applejack becomes an alcoholic"). And all this is not even to scratch the surface of what is going on, My Little Pony-wise, at Fan Wiki. There are things that are canonical. There are people who know what that means.
Most startling. I think, after all, At First Glass had better turn away blinking from the open door with the pony hurricane howling outside, quietly shut that door, and stick to what it knows. I think it had better keep the simple ten-dollar domain name that has served well enough for five years and more, even if it does prompt Adsense to automatically load in sidebar ads for replacement auto windows and shower stall glass blocks. Only -- only, alas. People who re-invent their blogs after five years seem so coolly decisive.
Now you've heard everything you may sip a cocktail. Fittingly, it will contain scotch. Remember the Rusty Nail? Does it not conjure memories of the grown-ups ordering trendy drinks at mid-'70s wedding receptions? If I add something else to it, olive brine perhaps, could it become the Rusty Nail holding the Horseshoe on My Little Pony's hoof? Anyway here it is, as simple as you like:
Rusty Nail
1 oz. (a little less than a jigger) Scotch
ditto, Drambuie (a liqueur, based on malt whisky, flavored with honey, spices, and herbs -- not the same thing as a cheap-o "malt liquor"!)
Stir both spirits in a glass filled with ice cubes, and serve.
"No," Bessie replies warily. And they go on to discuss where the bottle came from and who bought it, and who drank it with the cheap-o purchaser while Miss Hunt was ... away?
Aspiring to some blog-o originality and clarity of purpose, however, and not wanting to confuse people, I did a little investigating of the name and soon re-thought my ideas. There are already blogs out there called "Black Pony" or close variants of the same. This doesn't surprise me, nor am I surprised that all the Black Pony-ish domain names are used up, but I am somewhat troubled that the very first of them I came across must needs dabble in soft-core porn. Who knows how many others do also? And then there is the separate issue of the whole My Little Pony thing. No kidding. Google any phrase which happens to include the word "pony," and this universe pops up. "Ask Pony" (I ask you) blogs apparently exist by the thousands, and are run by people who love the toys, the cartoon series "Friendship is Magic," who love trying their hand at drawing the ponies, love inventing new plots for them and even updating them or melding their personalities with other cartoon or superhero characters. Sometimes the ponies get new, dark flaws ("Applejack becomes an alcoholic"). And all this is not even to scratch the surface of what is going on, My Little Pony-wise, at Fan Wiki. There are things that are canonical. There are people who know what that means.
Most startling. I think, after all, At First Glass had better turn away blinking from the open door with the pony hurricane howling outside, quietly shut that door, and stick to what it knows. I think it had better keep the simple ten-dollar domain name that has served well enough for five years and more, even if it does prompt Adsense to automatically load in sidebar ads for replacement auto windows and shower stall glass blocks. Only -- only, alas. People who re-invent their blogs after five years seem so coolly decisive.
Now you've heard everything you may sip a cocktail. Fittingly, it will contain scotch. Remember the Rusty Nail? Does it not conjure memories of the grown-ups ordering trendy drinks at mid-'70s wedding receptions? If I add something else to it, olive brine perhaps, could it become the Rusty Nail holding the Horseshoe on My Little Pony's hoof? Anyway here it is, as simple as you like:
Rusty Nail
1 oz. (a little less than a jigger) Scotch
ditto, Drambuie (a liqueur, based on malt whisky, flavored with honey, spices, and herbs -- not the same thing as a cheap-o "malt liquor"!)
Stir both spirits in a glass filled with ice cubes, and serve.
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