coolest. see-saw. ever.
Posted by christolles | Filed under Switzerland
This thing is out of control! While biking our way through Bois de la Bâtie yesterday, Tory and I came across a playground featuring a Hags Mobilus, the most ridiculous see-saw meets tire swing meets merry-go-round ever seen by my liability-adverse American eyes. Who in their right mind would insure this brilliant piece of engineering?! Thank God for Europe.
Basically you sit like this little kid, saddle-style, and hold on for dear life as Herr Hags takes you for the ride of your life. Think foot-pushing up and down (á la seesaw) with effortless rotation. The tire is so you don’t break your legs when your partner unexpectedly gets (read: flies) off. It recommends 6-12 years old, but Tory and I put it through its paces with wonder. Truly, though, the thing is dangerous. And that’s exactly why it’s so fun, people.
For the record, it’s a Swedish company. Thanks Henrik!
watson petting zoo part 03: monsieur escargot (switzerland)
Posted by torytolles | Filed under Petting Zoo, Switzerland
On one of our many walks to Geneva, Chris and I stumbled upon Monsieur Escargot, the largest snail I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, he was a bit camera shy so the photograph does not do him justice.
Monsieur Escargot had a much happier fate than the snail we found au Parc la Grange, but I will let Chris share that story.
watson booze cruise part 01: michelob lager (USA)
Posted by christolles | Filed under Booze Cruise, USA
Welcome friends to the first expression of my new serial column: Watson Booze Cruise! Before I submitted my Watson proposal to the initial level of review/exclusion at RISD, I asked Steve, RISD’s Watson liaison, how seriously I would be taken if I proposed an “international scholarly survey of alcohols of the world” as my Watson project. He seemed to think I could come up with something better.
And while it’s arguable whether I did or not, the sweet reality is that I’m getting my survey anyway! Now, if you ask any close friends, they’ll tell you I’m not one to really pay much for alcohol, so don’t expect anything luxe in this collection of reviews. I plan on sampling the most “authentic” of beverages from wherever we travel, such as the bubbling cauldron of black alcoholic goop Jon and Dory saw in Uganda. Find me a straw, baby!
Which brings us to the maiden voyage of our potation schooner… Michelob Lager.
Sorry to have waited so long to post this (I am, after all, no longer in the USA), but I’m doing my best here…
Now, as any of my close friends will tell you, I have a particular interest in quality beverage consumption. However, unlike some of those same friends (coughcough ScottThompson coughcough), I can be persuaded to attempt an excursion into the land of more typical (read: crappy) college beer fare, say, Miller High Life. With the exception of those horrid michelada-type domestic lagers (Miller Chill, BL Lime, etc.), I’ve not found a beer I couldn’t find a time to like.
Michelob places itself on my palate squarely between the aforementioned Low Life and Sam Smith. As my dad reminds me, it’s always been Anheuser-Busch’s premium lager, so perhaps that’s where it belongs. Here’s the shocker (for an A-B concoction): it has flavor! Sadly, much of US beer production has been reduced to an alternative to a soda or glass of ice water. Michelob takes a much-appreciated different direction. One of the most flavorful lagers I’ve ever tried (though my sample size is, admittedly, limited), this beer is extremely smooth, with a very low hops bitterness, and traditional high carbonation. Without getting into all the ridiculous wine-review flavor poetry, sweet barley flavors are certainly prominent and tasty. The most appropriate analogy, perhaps, is to that of half-drinking, half-chewing a carbonated barley raincloud. And an inexpensive one at that. Overall taste grade: B+
On a design note (and you should expect one from now on), while I’m glad Michelob has returned to at least a wimpy reinterpretation of their famous water-droplet bottle shape, the lack of full over-the-cap foil is extremely disappointing and certainly diminishes perceived value. You can see examples of the old-style bottles below. However, I really must commend the designers for their restraint with the label. Though the background textures could be dropped, it could have been much worse. Overall design grade: B
