The Sword and Laser discussion

Tom reports from the Matt Dinniman book event in LA, we kick off our Interview with the Vampire read, and share our last spoilery thoughts on The Hexologists and why we think the writing doorway is the strongest one for this book.

https://www.swordandlaser.com/home/20...

When they brought back the Rainbow Batman:

Personally, I loved the The Hexologists. It has so many nice touches. The crumpet? Warren is a amateur baker, If you know one as such, you know they will gift you cookies, brownies and all sort of baked goods because that is what they do, Also I used the dictionary function of my kindle version of the tale multiple times Always nice to expand ones VOCABULARY.

My bare your scone:

I don't get root beer. Do some international shields feel the same? I mean root beer tastes exactly like the mouth wash you get at the dentist (at least in Germany) so I have a problem associating that taste with something edible or fun...

And on a sale prate note to native speakers: what's the difference between a cake and a pie? I though I understood the difference, but then there came cheese cake...

Sale prate?? That was supposed to mean "separate"

A cake is like a big muffin and usually taller than a pie and can be any shape and sometimes has frosting. A pie has a crust and, if it's dessert, usually has a fruit or other sweet filling. A cheesecake usually has a crust on the bottom and the filling can be anywhere from fairly firm to mousse-like, depending on the type. There's also ice-cream cake...

Jan wrote: "My bare your scone:

I don't get root beer. Do some international shields feel the same? I mean root beer tastes exactly like the mouth wash you get at the dentist (at least in Germany) so I have a..."

I don’t think I’ve ever had root beer, or even know what it is! It’s not something you really get in the UK

Ruth wrote: "I don’t think I’ve ever had root beer, or even know what it is! It’s not something you really get in the UK ."

After you mercantilist imperials over in England attempted to suck as much money out of the new world as possible, us poor colonists had to resort to getting creative when it came to brewing and borrowed (stole) some native traditions like brewing bark and roots from sassafras, sarsaparilla and birch trees and drinking it. Sugar and carbonation were added later. The medicinal (but wonderful) taste is sort of a feature since it was often marketed as healthful.

speaking of the rapture, Futurama season 13 epoxide 6 this coming Monday night [sept. 29] on FXX channel or watch it on Hulu. Its title as Wicked People. it is all about the
aliens fishing vessel. Sounds like twilight zone / to serve man.

Jan wrote: "what's the difference between a cake and a pie? I though I understood the difference, but then there came cheese cake..."

Nobody tell Jan there’s also such a thing as a cheesecake cake.

Seth wrote: "Ruth wrote: "I don’t think I’ve ever had root beer, or even know what it is! It’s not something you really get in the UK ."

After you mercantilist imperials over in England attempted to suck as mu..."

So… it’s a fizzy drink? That apparently tastes like medicine? Not an actual beer?

It's hard to describe if you've never had it. I guess...start with Ginger Ale. Then substract most of the sweet. Add a sharp taste like tea brewed from bark or a tangy root. It goes well with ice since the slow melt cuts the sharp taste. I'm sure you could find some in the UK if you looked long enough.

I used to love the stuff in younger days but barely drink soda now. It's probably been a decade. (I have a bottle of Mexican coke, ie, the kind made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. It's been sitting on the...we call it "the bump," it's the divider between the kitchen and dining area in our open-plan house, now for 60 days. I bought a case of the stuff and after some initial enjoyment, just kinda trailed off.)

A short search seems to suggest that modern root beers use as one flavoring the same stuff that is used in Listerine and medications. And as root beer is not very common outside the US people there associate the taste with those things while people in the US know that flavor since childhood from root beer and don't associate the flavor per se with toothpaste etc.

On the other hand the tendency to use artificial cherry flavor to cover the taste in medicine in the US means Americans associate that flavor now more with medicine and dislike all the artificially cherry flavored candy that is common elsewhere ...

Cheesecake cake?! That's madness!!!

I give you the cheesecake ice cream cake...

https://loveinmyoven.com/strawberry-c...

To quote: It took another step or two for Iz to recover her voice. “What was that book about… puddings?” Warren blustered at the affront. “Puddings? It was Chef Benoit’s Anatomy of a Sponge Cake. It’s been out of print for nearly thirty years. It’s a lost treasure!” “Cake is cake, darling. It’s just a delivery system for frosting.” Warren gasped. “Heretic!”

Stephen wrote: "“Cake is cake, darling. It’s just a delivery system for frosting.” Warren gasped. “Heretic!”"

When my cousins who are sisters were younger, one hated cake and the other hated frosting. So they’d share a single piece of birthday cake. 🎂 😆 🍰

Old Trike's Cuz could eat no cake, her sis could eat no frost, but oh between the two of them no slice of cake was lost!

👏🏼

I shall look out for root beer in the UK, I expect you can get it at a big supermarket or iirc there’s a specialist “American candy” shop in the city.
I quite like bitter-tasting fizzy drinks (I enjoyed Kinnie in Malta) so I might like root beer.

Good luck! I am still trying to get Lancashire cheese here in the US. STILL.

As a kid Rootbeer was my drink of choice when I could get it, and I think a big part of that was associating it with rootbeer floats, since my folks were early on the lets limit soda for the kids thing. Later as a teen I did get into Mtn Dew as many 90's teens did, but grew out of it by my 20's. Now days I actually like diet tonic water quite a bit (with or without the gin), and think zero sugar ginger ale taste pretty good. Both do have a bit of that bite that rootbeer has as well, and I wonder if that is why I enjoy.

I have never seen Root beer for sale in Australia.

I have a feeling that it is vaguely similar to sarsaparilla

Tassie Dave wrote: "I have never seen Root beer for sale in Australia.

I have a feeling that it is vaguely similar to sarsaparilla"

Nah. Root beer is sweet, sarsaparilla tastes like poison.

I was also a Root Beer fan as a kid, particularly A&W brand. As a Canadian, I don't recall A&W having root beer floats available in my adult life. According to reddit, it seems like some franchises offered them for a long time, but many don't keep ice cream on hand.
I think the simplest description is that Root Beer is a soda pop similar to Cola, but the sweetness has a greater depth of flavour, and tastes less like pure sugar.

Also, just FYI, Nalo Hopkinson is Canadian. Just one of many excellent Canadian SFF writers, such as:
Premee Mohamed
Xiran Jay Zhao
Guy Gavriel Kay
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
William Gibson moved here in the 60s
Amal El-Mohtar
Fonda Lee
And many more of course. And I know nobody asked for this list, but one of the most Canadian things a person can do is interrupt a conversation to point out that someone is Canadian. So when you were debating whether Nalo Hopkinson was Canadian or if it was like the British Fantasy Awards, my Canadar was going crazy and I wanted to yell into my podcast feed "YES SHE'S CANADIAN!"

Trike wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "I have never seen Root beer for sale in Australia.

I have a feeling that it is vaguely similar to sarsaparilla"

Nah. Root beer is sweet, sarsaparilla tastes like poison."

I love sarsaparilla. But I have a feeling that Aussie made Sarsaparilla would taste different than US style Sarsaparilla. To me ours is very sweet.

The worst US soda I have tried was Dr. Pepper. I describe the flavour as what I imagine floor polish tastes like. 😜

Tassie Dave wrote: "The worst US soda I have tried was Dr. Pepper. I describe the flavour as what I imagine floor polish tastes like."

I’m with you on that one. I would also accept the descriptor “shoe polish”.

Hmmm. I've been to the Dr. Pepper Museum up the road from me in Waco. I don't have particularly strong feelings either way about Dr. Pepper or root beer, though both are fine with me. I drink little soda these days.

https://drpeppermuseum.com/

Scott wrote: "Hmmm. I've been to the Dr. Pepper Museum up the road from me in Waco. I don't have particularly strong feelings either way about Dr. Pepper or root beer, though both are fine with me. I drink littl..."

I like Dr. Pepper, I hate Root Beer. Moxie is almost Root Beer.

I loved Dr. Pepper growing up. I don't drink caffeine anymore so I haven't had it years.

Chris K. wrote: "I loved Dr. Pepper growing up. I don't drink caffeine anymore so I haven't had it years."

What, no caffeine free version of Dr Pepper for our health conscious times?? They’re leaving money on the table there.

Ruth wrote: "Chris K. wrote: "I loved Dr. Pepper growing up. I don't drink caffeine anymore so I haven't had it years."

What, no caffeine free version of Dr Pepper for our health conscious times?? They’re leav..."

There is a caffeine free Dr Pepper. To me, none of the alternatives (caffeine free, sugar free, zero calories) ever taste as good as the original. So why bother?

We are really going for the root beer of all evil this time 🙈😜

I am so glad A&W is available in Bangkok, Thailand, Root Beer Floats hanging by the Condo pool on those incredibly hotter than hot summer days...heaven. My local A&W kiosk at my local Mall did not survive the Covid shutdown years.

Jan wrote: "We are really going for the root beer of all evil this time 🙈😜"

I tried a root beer once; I didn't finish it. :-/

I kinda like Dr Pepper but I am told that Dr Pepper in the UK !== Dr Pepper in the US

So this happened a little bit ago and is topical: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPZhPzikn...

Time for an S&L cultural exchange?
Everyone picks up a root beer, a dandelion & burdock and a julmust and then shares some tasting notes.