Revenge of the Fruit

I've been pretty busy lately trying to figure out ways in which the new Star Wars movie is going to suck. I'm thinking the most likely scenario will involve the Wookie planet/gourd-drum & pan flute/animal-tooth necklace/pre-teen Wookie threat but I can't ignore George Lucas' formidable talent for coaxing really bad performances out of decent actors. There are at least two decent actors on the bill and while I'm confident Kenny Baker will nail his lines as R2-D2 the rest of the cast are up against overwhelming odds of failure. The flip side is that all the new toys are great and assembling Lego battle vehicles (for my son, of course, which means frequent re-assembly) took my mind off the long wait for my latest shipment from Peet's. When it finally came it was like reunion weekend at the Andrews house as we welcomed back Earl Grey with Lavender for the lady and Black Currant for me.

There is one fruity tea in this world that belongs in my cup and it's the Black Currant blend from Peet's. It is truly astonishing how fruity it is. If they made black currant Kool-Aid (and they should) it would smell like this, but since it's blended from some pretty hardy stock it manages to maintain its tea-ness. You're probably thinking what I'm thinking, which is that it would be great iced, and I'm sure it is but I'm lazy and the extra step of brewing and then cooling before drinking seems like a hassle. Besides, I grew up before the age of realistic video games and MTV so I can use my imagination to approximate the enjoyment I would get out of putting this tea on ice without requiring a tactile demonstration. I can assure you it's great lukewarm.

Bye for now!

Dragonwell

It's hard to care much about tea when the temperature is in the 70s and springtime is going nuts, but that's exactly what I'm doing - caring about tea. Sometimes I think I care too much. Despite my growing resentment for Teaism I had to pay a visit to the man so I could get some more Dragonwell Lung Ching. Why? Because I can't get enough of that buttery-corn sweetness. Damn, I am a fool for butter/corn nuance.

I figure I make 20 - 30% of my purchases at retailers I dislike or resent because like most of America I'm a pussy when it comes to putting ethics before sweet impulse buying. Bump it up to 65% if you include utilities, but that's cheating. Right now I'm on hold with AT&T/Cingular wireless about one thing, and emailing another branch of AT&T about another. That's a double-play. The statistics get all skewed in the summer when I go to the beach because WalMart is all there is, at least as far as cheap crap that I need is concerned. So it goes.