Episode 118 The Things by Peter Watts

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The Two Mike's take on The Things by Peter Watts.  Though entering into communion with a extraterrestrial entity sounds really nice, they stay firmly ensconced in their individual natures and unimaginable loneliness. Whew.  

It's Cocktail Time!

Frozen Communion 

Place crushed ice in a tumbler and add:

1 shot Aquavite

1 shot Cynar

1 shot Dry Sherry

Mixed and top with walnut bitters and a lemon or an orange peel.

Chin Chin. 

Episode 117: Peter Watts's Echopraxia

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The Mikes tackle a diamond-hard sci-fi novel (what?!) with vampires and zombies and intelligent slime molds . . . IN SPACE! They flounder about trying to parse the plot and find the horror. And they find it, obscurely, in the predator–prey relation of vampire to human, and in the weird notion that consciousness is a problem.

It's Cocktail Time!

Golden Shower

In a ice-filled tumbler pour

1 shot vodka

1 shot orange juice

1/2 shot lemon juice

1/2 shot triple sec

Fill with ginger ale. 

Stir. 

Drink. Or pour all over the bed.

closing music: "Echoes from the Hills" by Jack Guthrie

Episode 116: Peter Watts's Blindsight

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The Two Mikes burst out of their pods and shake themselves out of their vampiricly-influenced hibernation to take on Blindsight by Peter Watts.   Are they really conscious or just enacting a poor imitation of it?  Is their any Kung Pao Chicken in the Chinese Room or will they just have to settle for cocktails and Goldfish Crackers?

It's Cocktail Time!

The Devils Baklava

1 shot Nocino

1 shot Barenjäger

2 shots black rum

2 scoops crappy vanilla ice cream

1 pinch of salt

Run through a blender and decant into a glass. Garnish with a Pirouette cookie.

Episode 115: F. G. Cottam's The Colony

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The Two Mikes and a Linda join a group tour to the Hebrides for one more haunted vacation and, after a wee bit of tooth-pulling, have a fine time with our last Cottam book.

It's Cocktail Time!

Spite Made Flesh

Take two rocks glasses. Fill one with ice and water to chill. In another glass pour two shots cognac and add a few cubes of ice.

Pour out ice water from chilled glass. In bottom place some raw sugar, several generous shakes of a rum-based tropical bitters, and rub rim of glass with fresh lemon peel. Strain cold cognac from other glass into spiced glass and enjoy! 

Special closing Music: "The Recruited Collier" by Anne Briggs