In Lehmann's Terms

Where's the beef?

It's in Argentina. And it's staying there.

Citing rising domestic food prices, economically illiterate President Nestor Kirchner has chosen to destroy his country's most productive industry, slapping a 180-day moratorium on beef exports. Though, yes, it clearly would have the desired short-term effect of flooding the domestic market with excess beef, what happens once the current generation of cattle are slaughtered and it's no longer profitable for ranchers to rear the same number in the next generation?

Most puzzling, this asinine policy comes just as the commodity price of beef  and futures contracts are beginning to soar, as the avian flu outbreak has rendered beef much more competitive as a substitute for poultry. Argentinians can thank their leader for ceding that enormous worldwide market to Brazil and Australia.

Is a (516) just for the females?

Meanwhile, at Ted's personal site, he ponders the gender politics of "The Carjacker" -- the Polo Lounge's take on the Long Island Iced Tea that mixes vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, sour mix and fresh orange juice. Of the drink, named in honor of the movie Crash, he wonders:

is it still a girly drink if they add orange juice to a Long Island Iced Tea, and call it a Carjacker ? Actually sounds pretty tasty.

They seem to be not so much just ADDING the O.J. as substituting it for the Coke (or whatever other soda you have on hand.) In effect, they're making a modified Zombie with a few superfluous whites (vodka, gin) added in -- increasing the potency, but not markedly altering the taste.

When I tended bar, those ordering Long Islands would run about 60-40 in favor of women. But that's somewhat misleading. All mixed drinks run in favor of women, as my estimation is that nine out of 10 men reflexively order beer.

Among men who order mixed drinks, Long Islands were probably the second most popular. Jack and Coke was definitely number one, which I always thought probably had a lot to do with its more manly sounding name. The alcohol content of a Long Island is at least three times that of a bar-mixed Jack and Coke, so there's nothing else I can see that would objectively render the latter any less girly.

So though there are and always have been those who regard anything other than beer or shots as insufficiently "manly," I wouldn't mark a Long Island down as a true girly drink, the way a spritzer, a Malibu Bay Breeze, a glass of white Zinfandel or (God forbid) a Zima all clearly are.  If you can stomach sour mix (and, personally, I haven't been able to since around the time it became legal for me to drink) it's one of the few options in that family of drinks that really packs a punch. The discerning male drinker will get past the unfortunate name and sorority girl association to recognize that.