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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2189 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 27, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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[caveat: I haven't read this book, and am not an alcohol person]

Is that 'can't' in a social or philosophical sense, or in a pragmatic one? I barely drink alcohol at all and my tastes are weird, but I can tolerate a couple ounces of Everclear or Smirnoff straight where I start struggling halfway through a normal glass of red wine. It's really easy to get drunk doing it -- a single 3-ounce is between one and three beers, depending on proof -- but if you're sipping it over a few hours that wouldn't be enough for someone with moderate tolerance to really deep in their cups.

I agree with your conclusion about what it's supposed to say, but more because of the ritualized nature and seeming 'need' for it, rather than the amount of alcohol alone or form he was taking it, especially if the amount doesn't increase over time.

((And if Burden drinks herself or is ever prepared drinks by her ex-husband, it might also be intended to say something about reciprocity of interest: there's something very 'try to hit requirements without understanding purpose' to vodka over ice that isn't even hitting the tryhard noob levels of throwing Old Fashioneds or Negroni at someone.))

Is that 'can't' in a social or philosophical sense, or in a pragmatic one?

Could you clarify the question, I'm not quite sure what you mean.

I'm genuinely unsure whether normal non-alcoholic people would avoid drinking vodka straight because they it's difficult to keep that much vodka down straight, because anyone who tried would become an alcoholic or would have to already have a strong tolerance, or because it's 'only' an order that would get you weird looks and doesn't match typical tastes.

It's normal to enjoy an alcoholic drink you enjoy the taste of, or at least to otherwise couch the consumption of alcohol in a ritual built around other goals of aesthetic enjoyment like fine whiskey or wine. Most people wouldn't enjoy the taste of straight vodka, one drinks straight vodka in order to get drunk. I had friends in college who drank nothing but straight vodka or everclear to "get drunk not fat."

Coming home every night and drinking a glass of vodka is directly purposively getting drunk with no cover of "this scotch is ambrosial" or "the terroir" or even "I can never tell what a margarita is going to do to me." It's straight ethanol.

So like, all of the above. Though I think a big part of the conclusion here is also the "leaving wife and kids at age 50 with no indication or explanation whatsoever" which also indicates some kind of deeper personal problem. Theoretically if I met the guy six months before he left his wife and kids, I would just assume it was a harmless quirk.

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