February 28 – A Very Cosby Breakfast

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Daniel Wilson

Cultural Comedies

While Black History Month has come and gone, we should celebrate our African American friends all-year round. With that in mind, there have been a number of great black families in the history of TV, many of which, I could see myself moving in with. Here are the Top 5 families, leaving a space on the couch open for the Sip Advisor!

#5: The Winslow’s – Family Matters

To be in such a loving household, is something many can only dream of (or TGIF writers could compose!). My family life was awesome, so I can kind of understand a sitcom family’s charms. The Winslow clan was incredibly tight knit and affectionate, led by father Carl. Sure you would have to deal with the constant visits by neighbour Steve Urkel, but even that’s not so bad. He only caused millions of dollars in damages during the tenure of the series. Luckily, Carl had a decent paying job as a cop and he must have invested wisely in household insurance!

#4: The Brown’s – Cleveland Show

The animated adventures of Cleveland Brown and family showed that true love will eventually be worked out by the universe (both Cleveland and wife Donna were divorcees, reuniting later in life to give their relationship a second chance) and that blended families can work. I love almost every character in this series, but the Brown/Tubbs family is the focal point, making to town of Stoolbend seem like a nice place to settle. Sadly, the Cleveland Show only lasted four seasons before the Brown family were merged back into the Family Guy universe.

#3: The Evans’ – Good Times

In good times and bad, families need to stick together and no show proved that more than Good Times. The series centered on the Evans family, who lived in a Chicago projects development. Viewers everywhere learned of the struggle of a hardworking black family, trying to overcome the odds. The character of J.J. (aka Kid Dy-no-mite!) made the show a smash success, while stories about gang violence and “keeping your head above water” in tough economic times made Good Times an everyman show, not just one meant for a particular race.

#2: The Huxtable’s – Cosby Show

In the 1980’s, the sweater-clad Bill Cosby did his best to change the perception of black families. Of course, it helped that he was playing a doctor, married to a lawyer, but the point was that the comedian was trying to show the rest of North America that black family shows didn’t need to always be set in the ghetto – although it worked for Good Times. Sadly, Cosby’s legacy has taken a pounding (that might not be the best word) recently, with numerous rape allegations coming to light. It’s too bad, because the show was pretty awesome and still held up decades later.

#1: The Banks’ – Fresh Prince of Belair

The Sip Advisor still watches episodes of Fresh Prince of Belair to this day. It provides such a good combo of humour and touching stories that you can’t help but want to live in the Banks’ family mansion… yes, money always helps when choosing a family to crash with. Philip Banks was an awesome father figure, taking young Willy from Philly into his family, when all he did was get into one little fight (and his mom got scared!), providing him with every opportunity to succeed. Even uptight Carlton grew on you, especially when dancing to his favourite crooner, Tom Jones!

Super Saturday Shot Day: A Very Cosby Breakfast

Rim glass with Pudding
0.75 oz Crème de Cacao
0.75 oz Grapefruit Soda

Of course, this list solely looks at TV families. If you ventured into the movie realm, at the top would have to be the Klumps, where every dinner is an adventure! In an interesting note, three of the five shows listed in this article were spinoffs of another series, while the Cosby Show inspired its own offshoot with A Different World.

Sip Advisor Bar Notes (4 Sips out of 5):
While this shooter isn’t an original one, I made the decision to rim the shot glass with Pudding, in honour of Bill Cosby’s product endorsement contributions. The recipe called for Grapefruit Schnapps/Vodka, but I substituted Grapefruit Soda, instead. The blend of chocolate and grapefruit was unique and pretty good. The Pudding was the icing (or pudding) on the cake and it had been years since I enjoyed a snack pack!

February 1 – Slippery Nipple

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Daniel Wilson

Not Necessary

For some reason, us humans are equipped with a number of features that are absolutely useless. I mean, who really uses their five senses? I myself am experimenting with a new type of hybrid sensory experience, which I like to call non-sense. And the hits just keep on coming! Here are the top five needless body parts:

#5: Wisdom Teeth

Mrs. Sip can vouch that I was no more wiser with my wisdom teeth than I am today. Why then, do we have these chompers that eventually require removal, followed by a lengthy recovery where we have to be careful with what we eat? There should never be situations where we can’t eat whatever we want, whenever we want. I had to give up chips for a couple weeks, although I was lucky in that my wisdom teeth were removed over two procedures (one for each side) and so I just pushed all food to the uninjured side.

#4: Body Hair

In all seriousness, who needs body hair? Both women and men seem hell bent on plucking, waxing, and lasering any and all fur from their frame. As for the hair on the top of your head, I guess that can stick around. People seem to like having a mane that they can style and colour any way they want. Heck, that’s why we shun those who no longer have that option. Right, we’re still doing that shunning of baldies thing!?

#3: Male Nipple

Let’s be clear here: I’m only talking about the MALE nipple. It serves no purpose and it’s not as if it features prominently into male nudity, like it does with the fairer sex. Remember every inch of a female breast can be revealed and it’s only nudity if that nipple slips out to say hello… despite the fact males can parade around topless all they want. At least the female nipple also serves a higher purpose in the whole breast feeding thing. A dude’s nipple is just their for ornamental reasons, I suppose.

#2: Appendix

It seems as if the only reason the appendix is around is to cause trouble and eventually be removed. The appendix is a ticking time bomb in any human who still has one. Charles Darwin once suggested that the appendix was used by ancient humans to digest leaves. Well, my little sippers, I ain’t no vegetarian, so the appendix is a total waste. The worst thing is that some folks have actually died from appendicitis… I bet they’re pretty pissed about that.

#1: Tonsils and Adenoids

Similar to the appendix, the tonsils are not required for survival and, in fact, can be credited with causing more harm than good. Many children (and even adults) go through the removal of their tonsils and adenoids, usually after they’ve been the source of chronic pain. At least they get ice cream and Jell-O for their suffering. This may just be a conspiracy theory, but does anyone else out there think Bill Cosby is behind the whole tonsils and adenoids abstraction industry!?

Super Saturday Shot Day: Slippery Nipple

0.75 oz Cream Liqueur (I used Amarula)
0.75 oz Peach Schnapps
Garnish with Peach Slice

I should also point out that a tailbone seems completely unnecessary. I don’t need a tail for balance, so why in the world do I require having a tailbone!? If I had a tail, though, I think I’d like to pick one out of the stegosaurus catalogue, complete with spikes to fend off predators!

Sip Advisor Bar Notes (3 Sips out of 5):
Man, there are a lot of nipple-related recipes to choose from. I went with the original Slippery Nipple over other options because I remember enjoying these way back when during one of my first times ever getting blasted with Mrs. Sip. Ah, the fuzzy memories! How does the shooter hold up today? Well, I used Amarula Cream instead of the usually advertised Irish Crème, as I wanted to see how the two fruit-based spirits combined. Sadly, this may have made the shot curdle a little… happily, it still tasted pretty good, but it could have been better!

February 19 – Strawberry Sentiment

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Daniel Wilson

The Big 5-0

It’s milestone time here at The Sip as we hit the half-century mark on the 365-day drink challenge! It’s been a wilder ride than Mr. Toad’s, thus far, and to celebrate, here are some liquor-related memes to enjoy!:

Bill Cosby rules and for a man who put Jell-O on the map, he must wonder what all these kids are doing nowadays tinkering with Jell-O innocence. Well, Bill, kids do say and do the darnedest things!

This is about as bad as when you’re at Disneyland and someone uses their wheelchair to get to the front of the line-up only to then step out of it and able-bodily enter and exit the ride, while you’ve waited hours for the same attraction. You almost hope they slip and fall on some karma.

This is a religion I can get behind. Gotta love that there is not one, but two bottles by this guy’s feet. However, I’m worried that his condition will no longer allow him to reach those bottles, which would be a shame. He’s got a rocking beard, though.

I don’t think this is what his AA sponsor meant by getting clean. Personally, I think this guy looks a little too happy given that he is surrounded by empties. Well, when you can’t get lucky, I guess the next best thing to do is take a bath with all your closest friends.

Yeah, salad sucks… unless it’s Caesar salad. This idea looks like an awesome good time. Hopefully the crash at the end of the stunt was worth it. It would be hard explaining to your wife the big hole in your wall afterwards, especially with a chalk outline that includes a beer can!

I absolutely love this guy. I wish I knew who he was. You can write anything around this picture and it’s hilarious. Mrs. Sip is often startled from her nap as I lose my shit viewing memes involving this happy ginger. Rock on, buddy… rock on!

Drink #50: Strawberry Sentiment (A Sip Advisor Original Recipe)

Rim glass with salt
1.5 oz Tequila
0.75 oz Cointreau
Top with half Ginger Ale, half Brisk Strawberry-Melon
Garnish with a Strawberry Heart

Cheers and here’s to the next 50 drinks here at The Sip Advisor!

Sip Advisor Bar Notes (4.5 Sips out of 5):
I really liked this margarita-esque recipe. From the salt rim to the Strawberry-Melon mixer, I enjoyed every ingredient. A great way to celebrate this Sip Advisor 50^th post milestone!

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