The League of Gentlemen Adventurers

“The pilot is sick,” the Hungarian in front of me said. I’ve always kind of assumed that major airlines had contingencies for what is presumably a common occurrence among jet-flying folk (at least as common as among the rest of us). It turns out they do have a contingency: they cancel the flight. So I got a bonus day in Budapest. Normally, I would consider this a particularly sweet deal, but I had absolutely ruined myself in a forced march around the city the day before. I had only one free day after a work conference and I figured that I’d better see every square foot – err… meter – of Budapest. So I did. No goulash peddler went unseen by my eye. But my carefully laid plans called for a just-short-of-death exhaustion to set in only seconds after finding my seat on the plane. Delta deviously foiled those plans.

After sleeping past my alarm and awaking in the airport hotel, I had two choices: take the long bus and metro ride back to Budapest to take advantage of my few remaining hours in Hungary or join the rest of my canceled plane compadres and enjoy the BBC and complimentary dinner until morning arrived. As you have likely deduced by the fact that I am writing about it, I chose the latter option and ended up at A38. I won.

Click the link to read about the one and only The Pannonia All Stars Ska Orchestra.
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The First Annual International Invitational Croquet Tournament and Symposium was a wild success. Full of champagne, prizes, ridiculous costumes, and cake, this event will surely be talked about for generations to come. Please enjoy these photos from this glorious event.

After a bit of a slumber – I assure you we were off on many an adventurous escapade, we bring you this video in which Lee Dunteman, Chief Ethanolmixologist of the League of Gentlemen Adventurers, shares how he makes the perfect gin and tonic. He recommends two ounces of gin, six to eight ounces of tonic water (preferably Fever Tree), and a squeeze of citrus.

Fred Marriott and the Stanley Steamer.  Yes, the Stanley Steamer.

After five score and three years of holding the land speed record for a steam-powered vehicle, the dusty crown of the honorable Fred Marriott has been handed over to Charles Burnett III, whose vehicle tore across the California desert at 139 miles per hour. Burnett and his team spent a full decade working on “the fastest kettle in the world,” a project that was essentially designed to provide Burnett with the most awesome 30 seconds of his life.

In an interview with the BBC, Burnett described the car as “very stable.” Immediately following that claim – and without any sense of irony – he explained that the car was “fading back and forth probably two to three feet in either direction” while he was going over 150 miles and hour (the speed record is an average over a mile, the car actually goes faster than 139). Charles Burnett III, I bow to your adventuring might. Swaying back and forth two to three feet at 150 miles an hour would leave me with very, very wet pants – not to say that I wouldn’t give it a shot. According to Burnett, “the key there is not to try and drive the car, but let the car do what it wants, because once you start trying to control the car, you put yourself in danger of overcontrolling it and throwing it sideways.” I think I’m going to start applying that rule to every aspect of my life.
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Today’s gentleman’s tip is: always pull toward the thumb.  This tip will surely prove valuable in a scuffle.  But before explaining the meaning of this rather cryptic tip, I’d like to provide you with the best advice you could ever receive on the subject of fights: avoid them entirely.   The results of fighting include, but are not limited to: bruising, bleeding, broken bones, crooked noses, cauliflower ear, chipped teeth, missing teeth, missing limbs, split fingernails, lost hair, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and death.  Bear in mind that many of the items on this list greatly reduce the gentleman’s potential for adventure.   Following a bout of such violence, the great Harry Flashman once looked down in horror and “saw the most unpleasant sight I know, which is my own blood.”   We strongly recommend avoiding situations that would cause you to see that most unpleasant of sights.

Unfortunately, we also strongly recommend adventure.   Read the rest of this entry »