Tommy Gun Molly’s Swanky Jazz Bar and Seminary: First Semester of Hebrew Almost Over

And what a short but glorious trip it’s been! It all began about a month ago in my capacity as general dog’s body (for those of you who know Molly, pun intended) at Tommy Gun Molly’s Swanky Jazz Bar and Seminary.

So, crank on some tunes, to get you in the mood

And here is Molly, Owner and Proprietor

 Here are some pictures of the bar taken just before the Semi-Grand Opening when there was still a bit of work to do. Photos by Mary.

The front bar with 3 beer taps. I wish I had a better light installed
in front of the bar, but we thought the available light would be enough
for reading and marking papers. Alas, it was not, hence the temporary desk lamp.
Kegs are stored under the tap tower, the small cabinet to the left of the
bar holds the beer gas tank.

Here’s the back bar with associated bottles.

So anyway,  I tapped a keg of Samuel Adam’s Boston Lager at the great “Oh Crap, it’s started again, terms start party in January. It’s officially designated as a Great Beer, and is much to the liking of one of Molly’s regulars,  Kevin McGeough, who teaches Hebrew and Archy of the Ancient Near East at the U of Lethbridge and Silliness 101 at Molly’s Seminary. It appears the good Dr. drank tons of the stuff in his Harvard Days.

Kevin McGeough, aspiring archaeologist, upon arrival at Harvard.

Kevin McGough after his first Harvard semester.

Now, kegs are pretty anonymous. One gets the big metal can with perhaps a small label tied to it and a small plastic tap-cap.  But much to our surprise, here is the Sam Adam’s Cap (as photographed by Kevin). A full publication report on the epigraphy and so on will come eventually be forthcoming…

Very curious. It seems to have some weird language written on it, and so it is obviously a ritual item. Kevin says it’s Hebrew. Very interesting. Not a bit of English, so it is obviously ancient.  The Dead Sea Scrolls predicted this, I think.

Claude Mariottini has been posting some things on ancient beer. First, he wrote about Sumerian brewing and, once having had his fill of that (sorry, Claude, couldn’t resist) started talking about Sex, Beer, and Politics. Doubtlessly, he retain a certain level of academic (and personal) dignity that Dr. McGeough drank away years ago.  Oh, well, Kevin is still welcome at Molly’s for some reason. I think Molly lets him drop by only because he is deathly allergic to her. Here is a modern picture of him taken just before one of his seminars.

Nope, Dr. McGeough doesn’t put up with any shirt in his class!

Now, what do we at Molly’s pour our Sam Adams (or Big Rock I.P.A.) or future brews into? There is ONLY one ritually pure receptacle! A holy (not holey) Mikveh of Merriment!

Hats off to James Spinti of Eisenbrauns books who gave me a whale of a deal on a whole CASE of the now famous Drunkenness of Ilu 25 oz. Beer Mugs that Eisenbrauns started selling a few years ago. I met James at the publishers display in San Fran. in Nov. 2011,  and I told him about the bar and was ogling the display mug. I had one from the year before, but hell, since I was in the market for beer glasses… In any case, James gave me a great deal on a box of sixteen and I would pay the shipping. Even that worked out great. I expected it to be really expensive to Canada, but Eisenbrauns contacted me a week or so later with the details and it was a bit of a shock. To be fair the mugs are really heavy and there were 16 of them. Still, Eisenbrauns laid out all the options and I’m grateful for their work on this. Most companies would just ship stuff and damn the cost to the customer. The big issue is the brokerage fees some companies charge to get things across borders. This sometimes will damn near double to the cost. Anyway, Eisenbrauns gave me a bit of time to sort stuff out, and so, in the end, I had the mugs sent to my colleague’s parent’s house in Montana, for a ridiculously low rate, and my friend brought them back after their Christmas journey home, and didn’t have to pay duty on them!   Anyway, a great big thank you to John and Lisa and to James Spinti and the crew at Eisenbrauns! There, go buy something from them!

But, back to Molly’s!  Here are half of the glasses

The bar has ALL the modern conveniences, including a TELEPHONE! here it is, just unpacked with the cord still a little kinky from being tightly packed. If Claude comes around, he might want to still use his cell phone…

Molly’s, like all classy establishments, does have policies about the phone. This sign is now proudly displayed beside said equipment.

And we do expect people to be civilized, Dr. McGeough notwithstanding (much).  This is my crappy out of focus photo,  I must get Mary to get her real camera [with the clean lens] to take some more snaps.

And some more signs of the Apocalypse. Notice the continuing theme of Celebrity Endorsements..

Ah, yes, the music!  Of course it is a Swanky Jazz Bar, so there must be some swanky Jazz!

In case the first youtube is over, here’s the Charleston!

Oc course, Molly’s does have a  House Band!

CURLEY “SAXOPHONE”  WHISKERS 
& his
SWINGING HAIRBALL BAND

Also available for weddings, graduations, Bar/Bat Mizvahs, Lent, funerals, whatever.

Sadly, the group did not have a bass player in the set, so they are currently auditioning one.
His style is not quite the same, but he is a swinging little Jazz Cat all the same!

My bad snap of the wall just at the bottom of the stairs at Molly’s entrance. The sign was thrown into the mix by the contractor, Hunter Construction for free! It looks much better in person. The light is funny on the photo.  The weaponry is comprised of military issue Airsoft Thompson Submachine Guns that we got at a steal of a deal at Princes Auto. They didn’t have any of the ones with the round, 50 shot drum magazine, but gentlemen gangsters should not blast more than 20 rounds off at a time when ladies are present, anyway. And I have found where to get the drums.

Our blurry piano. Mary has been practicing a little and I wish I had the time, and the talent. Alas. That’s the soundtrack sheet music from the film Chicago.I suppose I need the obligatory Slinky Jazz Babe or two:

On the piano is also a copy of Great Gatsby (read it in university) and Tom Robinson’s new volume (co-authored with Lanette D. Ruff) from Oxford University Press, “Out of the Mouth of Babes: Girl Evangelists in the Flapper Era.You can read a bit of it on the Amazon site (and BUY IT THERE TOO!)

Here’s the publishers blurb. Go buy this.

During this decade, hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of young girl preachers, some not even school age, joined the conservative Christian cause, proclaiming traditional values and condemning modern experiments with the new morality. Some of the girls drew crowds into the thousands. But the stage these girls gained went far beyond the revivalist platform. The girl evangelist phenomenon was recognized in the wider society as well, and the contrast to the flapper worked well for the press and the public. Girl evangelists stood out as the counter-type of the flapper, who had come to define the modern girl. The striking contrast these girls offered to the racy flapper and to modern culture generally made girl evangelists a convenient and effective tool for conservative and revivalist Christianity, a tool which was used by their adherents in the clash of cultures that marked the 1920s.

Advanced Seminar on Theological Cocktails