A White Man in a Black Mask...

Perhaps the demand for ever better special effects and the rapidly improving skills of special effects practitioners will give rise to ever more frequent dilemmas for law enforcement, and perhaps the community as a whole. I recently wrote about a young Chinese man who donned a real life face mask that made him look like an old man as he boarded a flight to Canada. Another case of real life facial masks being used to perpetrate crimes has come to light in the USA.

Conrad Zdzierak is a white man. He robbed four banks, a credit union, and a pharmacy while wearing a mask. Not any ordinary mask, but the very real looking face mask of a black man. In fact the mask was so lifelike that the police initially arrested a black man for the crimes that Zdzierak committed while in disguise. The fact that a black man was arrested is not an indictment on police, rather it is testament to the quality of the mask that the company, SPFX Masks, produced. This is especially the case when one considers that the mother of the black man that the police initially arrested confirmed that it was her son when police showed her some CCTV footage of the crimes being committed.

However, being fortunate to have the mind that I do, one that allows me to come up with some outrageous possibilities, I came up with this scenario.

Obviously SPFX Masks have some real talent when it comes to creating masks. So, imagine that they create an Osama bin Laden mask. This mask is very lifelike. Someone buys the mask. Maybe for Halloween or just as a joke among friends. The US wants Osama bad, so bad in fact that they are happy to have the man "dead or alive". So, imagine this, our Osama bin Laden lookalike is walking down the road to his Halloween party. The police see him and recognise that they have a really big scoop on their hands. They ask Osama to stop, at which point Osama gives them the bird; the old one-finger salute, and then lifts up his robes to reveal some aluminium foil strapped to his body. The police shoot him dead.

Let's face it, no one seems to know where Osama is. So, he could conceivably be wandering the streets of middle America, right? Therefore, is it the fault of the lifelike mask wearing Halloween party-goer for being silly enough to wear the face of the most wanted man in the world?

The special effects technology is great for entertainment value, but it is also generating some serious headaches for law enforcement as they seek to maintain law and order, particularly with regard to national security and terrorism.

The other scenario that I thought of while I was writing about lifelike Osama bin Laden masks was, perhaps Saddam Hussein is not dead after all. Maybe it was just some unfortunate soul forced to wear a lifelike Saddam mask and take the plunge on his behalf. Maybe Saddam is currently enjoying life somewhere in the Caribbean or South America.

Halloween and Cocktails

With Halloween coming up, I figured I might try and boost my page views and visitor numbers by getting in on the holiday.

I watched all the Halloween movies when they came out, which is about the sum total of my Halloween experience. Being an Aussie boy, born and bred, means that I have never really done the Halloween thing. It is simply not a big holiday in Australia.

Nevertheless, if I had known what I know now that it could have been a good excuse to do a cocktail night then it might have been a bigger day than it was.

The pumpkin picture can be found here.

So, what follows is a list of Halloween cocktails found at various locations on the Internet and in books I have (I used to tend bar for a living once).

Banshee

1 oz. White Crème de Cacao
1 oz. Crème de Banana
1 oz. Cream

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

Make it as a shot!
Simply portion this out into 2 large shots

Brain Hemorrhage

1 oz. Peach Schnapps
1 tsp. Bailey's Irish Cream
2 drops Grenadine

Pour the Peach Schnapps into a large shot glass.
Slowly add the Bailey's and top with the grenadine.

Jagermonster

Fill a mixing glass with ice.

1 oz. Jägermeister
1 oz. Grenadine
Fill with Orange Juice

Combine all everything in the mixing glass. Mix well, and serve in a beer mug.

Tequila Ghost

2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Anise Liqueur (i.e. sambuca, pernod)
1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
Club Soda

Combine Tequila, Anise and Lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass over ice. Top with a splash of club soda.

Wreath Of Barbs

1 shot (1 1/2 oz.) Vodka 1 pt Cranberry Juice 1 pt Grapefruit Juice 1 pt Pineapple Juice

In a shaker filled with ice, add the vodka and juices. Mix well and serve in a highball glass over ice.

Ice Pick

2 oz. Vodka
Ice Tea
Wedge of Lime

Fill a collins glass with ice. Add Vodka and tea, not to much tea!! Squeeze in the lime.

Devil's Poison

1 oz. Jack Daniels
1 oz. 151 Bacardi Rum

Fill a shaker with ice, pour the Jack Daniels and 151 Bacardi Rum into shaker and shake. Strain into a shot glass.

Corpse Reviver #1

1 1/2 oz. Brandy 1/2 Fernet Branca 1 oz. White Crème de Menthe In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the brandy, fernet branca and the crème de menthe and stir well. Strain into a martini glass.

Corpse Reviver #2

1 oz. Brandy 1 oz. Apple Brandy 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the brandy, apply brandy and sweet vermouth and stir well. Strain into a martini glass.

Corpse Reviver #3

1 oz. Gin 1 oz. Swedish Punsch 1 oz. Triple Sec 3/4 oz. Lemon Juice 2 Dashes Anisette In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the gin, Swedish punsch, cointreau, lemon juice and anisette flavored liquor and stir well. Strain into a martini glass.

Massacre

A few will slaughter you

2 oz. Tequila
1 tsp. Campari
4 oz. Ginger Ale

Start by filling a highball glass with ice. Add the tequila and Campari. Top with ginger ale and stir well.

Mali-boo Witches Brew

1 1/4 oz. Malibu rum
3/4 oz. white crème de cacao
1/4 oz. grapefruit juice
3/4 oz. orange juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and serve into martini glass, garnish with Halloween gummy worms.

Nightmare

1 1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz. Cheery Brandy
1 oz. Orange Juice

In a shaker filled with a cup of ice, pour the Gin, Vermouth, Brandy and OJ. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Nocturnal

1 oz. Bourbon
1/2 oz. Dark Creme de Cacao
Splash of cream

Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake and strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice.

Vampire's Kiss

2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. dry gin
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1 tbsp. tequila
Pinch of salt
2 oz. tomato juice

Mix in Old Fashioned, shake with ice, strain over ice.

Vampire Blood

2 oz. SKYY Infusions Raspberry Vodka
4 fresh raspberries
1 oz. black plum puree
3 fresh lime wedges
¼ oz. simple syrup

Muddle fresh raspberry, lime wedges, plum puree and simple syrup in pint glass with ice. Add SKYY Infusions Raspberry and shake vigorously. Strain into a gold rimmed coupe glass. Garnish with lime and raspberry.

Ugly

2 oz. Tomato Juice
6 oz. Beer

Combine in a Beer Mug.

Red Death

1 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Southern Comfort
1/2 oz. Sloe Gin
1/4 oz. Triple Sec
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1/4 oz. Lime Juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with a cup of ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Pumpkin Margarita by Bols

2 oz. Tequila
1 ½ oz. Bols Pumpkin Smash
½ oz. Bols Triple Sec
2 cups ice

Blend all together until smooth, pour into a 16 ounce (pint) glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Taboo

1 1/2 oz. Vodka or Pineapple Infused Vodka
Splash Triple Sec
1/2 oz. Cranberry Juice
1/2 oz. Sour Mix
Pineapple Wedge
Maraschino Cherry

Combine vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice and sour mix in a blender with one cup ice, blend 15-20 seconds until smooth and serve in a collins or highball glass. Garnish with pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry.

Icy Hand Punch

To make the Icy Hand

Take 2 (always good to have an extra hand) latex gloves, put them on and wash your hands with dish soap. Rinse well and turn the glove inside out so the just washed side is on the inside. Next, fill the gloves with water, tie the end and freeze. Once frozen remove the glove and you are good to go.

To make the Punch

1 750 ml bottle premium Vodka or White Rum
2 2 liter bottles of Lemon Lime Soda - make sure to get a clear brand
red food coloring
marshmallows (optional)

Chill the Vodka (in the freezer) and Soda (in the fridge) for at least 24 hours. Just before the party combine the two liquids in a large punch bowl. Add a few drops of the red food coloring to make it blood red, well maybe more than a few drops. Add one of your icy hands in the center of the bowl, throw in the marshmallows and squirt some more food coloring over all of it for extra bloodiness.