Funny Beer Commercials

This week seems to have taken on a beer theme though I personally don’t imbibe. However, for all you brewski lovers, here are a few funny TV commercials.

Funny Quotes About Alcohol & Beer

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” - Benjamin Franklin (American inventor, publisher and politician)

“Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy.” – Frank Sinatra (American singer and actor)

“Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.” – Dave Barry (American humorist and writer)

“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” – Dave Barry (American humorist and writer)

“You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer” – Frank Zappa (American composer, musician and director)

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
- Cliff Clavin (TV character from “Cheers”)

"If beer and women aren't the answer, then you're asking the wrong questions." - Anonymous

Culture Spot : Lagers* of Our Leaders - A Look Back at What US Presidents Have Imbibed**

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/01/lagers-leaders-look-presidents-imbibed/

F.D.R. threw keggers and J.F.K. was a Heineken man, while Theodore Roosevelt didn't touch the stuff.

Wall Street Journal / FOXNews.com

Saturday, August 01, 2009

The most pressing question of the week was what brands of brew would be quaffed at the White House "beer summit," the presidential peer-mediation between the Harvard prof and the Cambridge cop. Some foodie followers were dismayed to hear that President Obama chose to drink Bud Light, which some dismiss as the very symbol of corporate, mass-produced, flavorless beer-like product.

No one makes a fuss over what brand of coffee is dripping in the White House kitchen. But the quality and nationality of alcoholic drinks bring out high passions.

This is a rather recent obsession. French wines were commonplace at 1600 Pennsylvania up until Lyndon Johnson made drinking American a matter of national pride. He banished the old parlez-vous mouthwash, not only in the president's house, but also at every embassy and government function. The main effect of this was that for years the only fizzy wine in the White House was New York "champagne."

Johnson was rebelling against the worldly chic of the Kennedy years, when Dom Perignon was the house wine. John Kennedy not only liked bubbly, he was a man for Daiquiris and could be found to discuss nuclear deterrence strategy over gin and tonics. But his standard refreshment was beer, and his tastes did not run to the domestic stuff. J.F.K. was a Heineken man.

Oh for the days when there would have been a beer that the president served without a lot of fussy fuss over who wanted exactly what.

Say what you will about the advisability of Thursday's "beer summit," but one thing was clear: It was the most momentous moment for White House suds in three-quarters of a century.

The last time the question of presidential beer was considered quite so newsworthy came in spring of 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt acted to make 3.2 beer legal, setting the stage for the elimination of Prohibition altogether. At the stroke of midnight, April 7, beer started flowing, and within minutes a shiny new truck from Washington's Abner-Drury Brewery was hurtling down a rain-slick Pennsylvania Ave, led by an escort of motorcycle cops. Inside the truck were two cases of freshly brewed beer; outside was a banner proclaiming, "President Roosevelt, the first real beer is yours!" Other beer makers were quick to follow suit. No dummy, F.D.R. had the bottles distributed to the thirsty gentlemen of the press.

Theodore Roosevelt, by contrast, did not drink beer. We know this because we have his testimony, under oath: "I do not drink beer," T.R. told the jury in the little burg of Ishpeming, Mich., nearly a century ago.

There have been teetotalers in office, but the great presidential beer villain, of course, was Woodrow Wilson who, during World War I, signed a law shutting down the nation's breweries.

*a lager – une bière blonde

**to imbibe – boire

Read the companion article ‘Teachable Moment’ Observed With Beer by Elizabeth Williamson and John Hechinger of the Wall Street Journal

 

Expand your beer vocabulary by reading the Wikipedia articles about:

Beer

Lager

Ale

Expressions Found in Cartoons: The “Beer” Summit and the Race Card

Cartoon by Steve Benson of the Arizona Republic published on 28 July 2009.

This political cartoon of course concerns the incident recently took place between the Cambridge, Massachusetts police force and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, a friend of President Obama. The situation became big news when Obama accused the police of acting “stupidly.” The president invited both Gates and the arresting officer to the White House the other day to talk over a beer.

This political cartoon is rich in some common idiomatic expressions:

1. suds – a lot of small bubbles such as on soap or beer. In the cartoon critical of the president, you see the expression of “suds over substance.” This is a play on words of “style over substance.” Critics of Obama accuse him of having style over substance. In other words, he is criticized on how he presents arguments while ignoring the actual content of the argument. For example, in this situation racism was charged as a problem simply because the arresting officer is white and Gates is black but racism had nothing to do with the arrest! The real situation was completely ignored in order to charge the police with racism.

2. Yo, bro! – an expression of greeting or surprise that began in the African-American community and is now commonly used by all communities. Literally it means, “hello brother.”

3. What’s happenin’? – This is the American version of “Quoi de neuf?”

4. Chill out! – You would say this to someone to mean “relax” or “calm down.”

5. a brewski – This very common slang term come from the word “brew” and simply means a beer. It dates back to the early 1980’s and no one knows for sure why '-ski’ was added to the word “brew” to make it sound Russian or Polish except that it sounds fun to say. When beer is made, it is brewed by cooking water, malt and hops (le houblon) . When we make coffee, we brew it by adding hot water to the coffee grounds (la mouture).

6. on the house – If you are in a bar, café or restaurant and the waiter tells you that something he or she  served you is “on the house,” they are offering whatever it is to you for free! The establishment (or the house) is paying for it.

7. to get hold of – This verbal phrase means to talk to manage to talk to someone on the telephone or directly. You might say, “Why didn’t you answer your cell phone? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day!” 

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Cartoon by Brian Fairrington of caglecartoons.com published on 30 July 2009. 

In this political cartoon, Mr. Fairrington wants to say that the Cambridge Police Force in Massachusetts was a victim of the race card. It is often used in the expression (British and American) ‘to play the race card.’ Wikipedia describes the expression:

Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the act of bringing the issue of race or racism into a debate, perhaps to obfuscate (obscurcir) the matter. It is a metaphorical reference to card games in which a trump card (un atout) may be used to gain an advantage.

From The Phrase Finder:

To attempt to gain advantage in an election by pandering (encourager bassement qn) to the electorate's racism. Also, more recently, to attempt (by a black person) to gain advantage by accusing another (usually a white person) of racism.