Sandee’s toasting tomorrow’s inauguration with a special “fresh start cocktail.”  I’m not usually one for overwrought imagery, but the delicate fruit flavor is quite refreshing change from the dark and stormy winter we’ve been suffering. And no, I really don’t know if I’m talking about the 18 feet of snow that’s fallen these past couple months of those eight years we’ve suffered.

PES offers these fireworks for any occasion, but when better to celebrate than the new year?

And thinking of that, if all these clocks are correct, the new year has already started in GMT, which means I’m probably a few drinks behind and need to catch up.

PES, eatpes, video, new year, fireworks, celebration

Thanks to an aside in a sad/angering story at Copyfight, I’m now up on Bloomsday. Here it is, as explained by Wikipedia:

Bloomsday is observed annually on June 16 to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and commemorate the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. The day is also a secular holiday in Ireland. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist in Ulysses, and June 16 was the date of Joyce’s first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, when they walked to the Dublin village of Ringsend.

The event is commemorated with a range of cultural activities including academic conferences, Ulysses readings and dramatisations, pub crawls and general merriment. Enthusiasts may often dress in Edwardian costume to celebrate the Bloomsday.

Famous Celebrations
The first celebration took place in 1954 and a major five-month-long festival (ReJoyce Dublin 2004) took place in Dublin between April 1 and August 31, 2004. On the Sunday prior to the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday in 2004, 10,000 people in Dublin were treated to a free open air breakfast on O’Connell Street consisting of sausages, rashers, and black and white puddings.

The Rosenbach Museum & Library, in Philadelphia, PA is the home of the handwritten manuscript of Ulysses and celebrates Bloomsday with a street festival including readings, Irish music, and traditional Irish food provided by local Irish-themed pubs.

James Joyce, Ulysses, Leopold Bloom, Bloomsday, June 16, literature, festival, holiday, literary festival, celebration

Ian Chadwick’s In Search of the Blue Agave begins:

“Tequila is Mexico,” said Carmelita Roman, widow of the late tequila producer Jesus Lopez Roman in an interview after her husband’s murder. “It’s the only product that identifies us as a culture.”

No other drink is surrounded by as many stories, myths, legends and lore as tequila and its companion, mezcal. They transcend simple definition by reaching into the heart of Mexico, past and present. The turbulent history of Mexico is paralleled in the stories of tequila and mezcal. One cannot fully appreciate Mexico without some understanding of tequila’s place in its history and culture.

So as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, that victory of Mexican forces over French invaders, raise a glass of tequila in General Ignacio Zaragoza’s honor.

(More of Michael Calderwood’s delicious photos are online.)