So, while at the Red Bull-sponsored Project Improv show, we all joked about how bull-semen or some bull-testicle related substance was included in Red Bull. I said that “I doubted” if anything of the sort was true. Eve, on the other hand, stated something that I have come to find very true — you never know about some foods, and if you are a vegan as she is, it pays to be cynical. Hunter, sitting between us and realizing that my simple mind is no match for the Vulcan-like logic that Eve possesses quickly interceded.
However — I made a mental note to figure out what WAS in Red Bull. A quick googling found that Snopes, as per usual, is a good place to start when attempting to dispel/prove most any rumor of this sort. Snopes states in this article that Red Bull does NOT include any animal products, “even the taurine is synthetically produced”. It also states that it does not include a banned Vietnam-era substance called glucuronolactone. However, not one to rely on only one source, I searched out other references.
One vegan on the vegan-l yahoo list gives us a link to the Red Bull FAQ which states that “Red Bull® Energy Drink is suitable for vegetarians. Red Bull® Energy Drink does not contain any animal products or substances derived from animals.”
Here is a Business week article briefly stating a doctor’s opinion of the stuff. Interested in this whole synthetic taurine thing, I found a number of links to vegan pet foods, including this one, which states “All pet food manufacturers use synthetic taurine, being both easier to use and more economical. I use synthetic taurine in my vegan cat food.”
In my estimation, Red Bull appears safe –
HOWEVER — all of this does not save Red Bull from smelling and tasting like the bile of the Stay-Puf Marshmellow man. It is sickly-sweet, and frankly I’d rather have a cup of coffee which a) costs less and b) probably has more caffeine. Or maybe just some bathtub crank. After all, if you made it in your own bathtub you know whats in it.
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friday night, the 17th, Jackson, Jason and I went up to beautiful Newport, KY to see Interpol at the Southgate House. Imagine your grandmother’s house — then imagine if she had been dead for 50 years, and then and only then would you get the true feeling of the Southgate House. There are two bars, one upstairs, and one down, at least three different venues of varying sizes, of which the main one has an upper and lower seating area. Also, this was the house that “Thompson” of the “Thompson (Tommy) Gun” was born. But enough about that — the showed rocked ($3 good bands for $11!).
First up was Mallory, some local talent from Cinci — and they put on a great show replete with German silent films playing in the background, to which they applied the soundtrack, and rocked. Next up was Calla, who put on a decidedly soft, but interesting set that was hampered a little by some audio problems. From what I heard, they were good, but I think they may be better when listened too..
Interpol came on and immediately got right into their groove. They aren’t a dynamic sound, by any means, and their music isn’t “groovy”, but the rhythm section turns out a great driving beat that I think the songs would be lacking if without. Anyway, more later perhaps — gotta go!
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Tarantino is following suit in his extremely lengthy production cycles, and has a trailer out for his next film — Kill Bill. After the one-two punch of Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown — both similar in theme and substance, this one is definitely different. Image Uma Thurman in a wire-fu with swords film, replete with a Carradine (“Kung-Fu”) cameo. Yeah. And nowhere is there a James Brown or Bobby Womack song to be heard (as of yet). A change of pace to be sure — but DAMN does Uma look hot with a sword.
Check the Kill Bill trailer @ Apple.
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At least BBSpot supports me in my assessment that Gimli was a bit of a clownshoe in the Two Towers. They make mention of it here and here.
In other (probably old) news — a funny summary of The Two Towers.
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What is Zwan? Is it some horrible cross of a zebra and a swan thus creating a beautifully horrible winged beast that can camoflague itself in tacky salons? No, it’s actually what Billy Corgan has been up to since the Pumpkins broke up. after watching their vide for “Honestly” (their first single), it seems that Corgan went and got happy and such! It’s all crazy — Corgan happy, dogs and cats getting together, mass hysteria. Well, further research (g) led me to Poets of Zwan, a fansite, which told me that guitarist/bassist in Zwan is David Pajo of Louisville, formerly of Slint, formerly touring with Palace, and formerly of Tortoise, so despite this seemingly pop-happy turn for Corgan, it’s hard to not like it… but it’s all so damned chipper!
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are we really all in fear of the plague? apparently CNN is. despite the fact that this broke only hours ago — CNN was johnny-on-the-spot with interviews with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and interactive bits called “What Is Plague?”. I wonder what else they have lying in wait — perhaps something about smallpox? certainly. ricin? oh, that one was done last week. sharks? certainly! don’t you remember SUMMER OF THE SHARK?! What about Japanese Balloon Bombs or Nazi’s peering through the Earth to spy on Britain and America! I can only imagine what something like that would invoke in the press today…
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AAH! PLAGUE IN TEXAS!!! AAAAH!!! WHAT? WE DON’T KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT IT’S THE PLAGUE?!! WELL GOOD GOD ON A STICK, WHAT COULD BE IN THERE!!? AAAAHH!!!!
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joined geoURL this morning . it’s a system setup to catalogue IP’s via their geographic longitude/latitude. (My ZIP code being 40220, my lat/long is 38.213693 N, 85.637118 W). You can find your own lat/long at the Census‘ handy Gazetteer site. Also, a handy tool is Acme.com’s Mapper, which allows you to see satellite shots of the US and you can supply and find exacting lat/long (I found and tagged my house with this link).
There is apparently only two other sites registered near thelocust[dot]org, so get hoppin’ youse Louisville lugs!
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check out the New Years 2002 gallery! Plenty of arse-slapping fun!
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