Holiday Cocktails II - Carnage at the Dry Bar

Dear Lost Souls,

A Haberdashery task force has relieved the immediate danger to future alchemy which was caused by the Holiday Cocktail Party.  Undaunted by the carnage, we've responded with bigger bottles.  So, the Alaskan Martinis were met with tepid interest at best.  Judging from the enthusiasm for the Manhattans, our lost souls our apparently classical in nature.   Well, so be it then.  In a policy u-turn worthy of our finest administrations, the Manhattan is now the official holiday drink for the season.

Yes, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday.  Cocktails will be served at 7:30pm.  Stop by the Last Resort on your way to, or from, your primary venue for the eve.  Festive attire is optional.  As always, feel free to join us for a quickie or linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

Old Lawn Signs

"Trespassers Will Be Shot"

Dear Lost Souls,

Tis' the final Haberdashery toast of the year this Friday. And what a year it has been!

"Do not walk on grass"

Yes, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday Night and you are invited to join us for one last toast to a year that has been . . . eventful to say the least.

"For Sale by owner"

Cocktails will be served starting at 7:30pm in our traditional guild hall at 2107 Hearst Avenue in Berkeley.

"Beware of Dog"

We will be offering the usual array of alchemy and munchies to fuel the Haberdashery's special brand of fellowship.

"It's a Girl!"

Please feel free to stop by for a quickie . . . or linger indefinitely.

"No Solicitors"

Did I forget any????

"Please don't eat the daisies"

Yours,

Greg

Drink Early - Beat the Rush - Come As You Are

Dear Lost Souls,

Well the sleigh bells are ringing in the bars and malls, children are starting to litigate over their just take for the season and the ominous storm clouds of endless holiday parties loom on the horizon.  What's a time traveler to do but go ugly early, climb the steps of our not-so-sacred cathedral and huddle around the neon glow of the Haberdashery's well irrigated hearth.

YESSS. Friday night cocktail hour is on this week and we invite one and all to come beat the rush for pinballing around the homes of your various office, family and neighborhood festivities.  this Friday will function as our Christmas cocktail party in the hopes of avoiding too many conflicts over the next few weeks . . . God knows, I've got my own party's to go to!  I'll keep y'all posted on the schedule for the Holidays as it unfolds.

Yes, that means Alaska Martinis are going to be flowing and Bing will be Bongin'.  The festivities will start at around 7:30pm on Friday night at 2107 Hearst Avenue. Feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger till the New Year.  Please leave your reindeer parked outside and shake off your troubles at the door . . . we'll take care of the rest.

Yours,

Greg

The Prodigal Parents - Come As You Are

Dear Lost Souls,

The Prodigal Parents return.  I am pleased to announce that this Friday the Haberdashery will be hosting Mom and Pop Delaune who are visiting from Minnesota.  In addition, Andy Levine is out in California visiting his Rabbi in the hopes of finding greater meaning to life on the East Coast.  Soooo ... yes, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday Night.  Mom is making some kinda' munchie "Mom" thing to bring to the party.  We will have the usual array of alchemy on hand . . . as well as anything else that grabs us at the last moment.

Festivities will begin at 7:30pm at 2107 Hearst Avenue.  Give us a call if you have any questions.  Please feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger indubitably.

Yours,

Greg

Love and Tapas

Dear Lost Souls,

It is my very great pleasure to announce that two or our own, Deanne Pearn and Greg Dolge got engaged over last weekend while celebrating their second anniversary up in wine country.  This Friday night we will be celebrating their engagement the best way we know how . . .

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday!  To highlight the festivities, we invite you to participate in a Tapas tasting.  We will have a number of items and you are invited to bring a Tapas of your own if you choose.  Please come by to help us celebrate Deanne and Greg's engagement.  This will be a good opportunity to ask Deanne how Greg got her to drink that much wine last weekend . . . crazy kids!  The festivities will start around 7:30pm.   Get there before 10pm or you probably won't see Dolge . . . ("pumpkin" time and all).

Feel free to stop by for a quickie or . . . well, you know.

Yours,

Greg

Hallowed Eve

Dear Lost Souls,

A Special Cheers to Paul and Tom for inviting all of us to their Halloween Party on Saturday Night. I think that it promises to be an affair to remember . . . or try to remember, as it were. I hope that the haberdashery has a good showing.

Yes, cocktail hour is on for this Friday. It would appear that this is the big weekend for Halloween parties, so I am sure that everyone is running around making their appearances. Please feel free, however, to stop by on Friday night and share a momentary pause on route to your celebration of choice. Always pleased to be your Last Resort, we welcome a chance to send you into the night properly limber for the more advanced social acrobatics of the evening.

Next Friday Night we have the pleasure of hosting Mom and Pop Delaune who are visiting from Minnesota. They'll be staying in Napa for the week, but they are making a special point of flying in Friday morning so that they can properly inspect the operation of our weekly constitution. We extend a special invitation for you to stop by and "meet the folks" Andy Levine will also be in town next Friday visiting from the City of Brotherly Love. So many attractions . . . it's like Disney World without the big frickin' mouse.

Yours,

Greg

Spam Check - Hit Reply to stay on list

Dear Lost Souls,

It is once again time to make sure that the Haberdashery is not exacerbating your tireless campaign against SPAM.  If you would like to stay on the list for Friday Night Cocktail Hour, please hit reply . . . no message necessary.

In the mean time . . . the sands of time have once again accumulated at the doorstep of another weekend and we find ourselves at the threshold of our weekly constitution.  Yes, Cocktail Hour is on.  Your Last Resort is pleased to offer you our customary brand of alchemy and fellowship.  Cocktails will be served starting around 7:30pm at 2107 Hearst Avenue.  Please be so kind as to come as you are, linger as you please, and wander as you may.  Sophistication is optional, but repose is mandatory.

Yours,

Greg

Dear Lost Souls,

It is once again time to make sure that the Haberdashery is not exacerbating your tireless campaign against SPAM.  If you would like to stay on the list for Friday Night Cocktail Hour, please hit reply . . . no message necessary.

In the mean time . . . the sands of time have once again accumulated at the doorstep of another weekend and we find ourselves at the threshold of our weekly constitution.  Yes, Cocktail Hour is on.  Your Last Resort is pleased to offer you our customary brand of alchemy and fellowship.  Cocktails will be served starting around 7:30pm at 2107 Hearst Avenue.  Please be so kind as to come as you are, linger as you please, and wander as you may.  Sophistication is optional, but repose is mandatory.

Yours,

Greg

The Great American Barbecue!

Dear Lost Souls,

In congruence with the patriotic fervor in which we find ourselves, the Haberdashery invites you to flex your stars in stripes in the most wholesome way possible.  The Great American Barbecue!!  Yes, Cocktail hour is on and the grill will be fired up around 7:30pm to receive your favorite slab of animal, vegetable or mineral.  I think I actually have some vegie burgers in the freezer that have been feeling sadly neglected.  I will have a healthy supply of burgers and chips in case you are so reclined and condiments will abound.

The usual array of alchemy seasoned with liberal amounts of pseudo-utilitarian wisdom will be on hand.  Please feel free to stop by for a quickie, or . . . linger indefinitely. D'DRILL.

Yours,

Greg

Cocktail Hour Returns

Dear Lost Souls,

After a three week long hiatus, The Haberdashery is pleased to resume its weekly constitution this coming Friday night.

Yes, Cocktail Hour is on this week.

The tragic events of the last few weeks make it seem like much longer than three weeks since our last convening,  And, in fact, it is arguably a completely different era we find ourselves in since then.

Out of respect for the times, I am refraining from my usual petite sarcasm for this week.  Instead, we simply invite you to come as you are and share in our customary brand of casual fellowship.

Cocktails will be served beginning around 7:30pm at our normal location: 2107 Hearst Avenue in Berkeley.

Please feel free to stop by for a quickie, or . . . linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

Extensive Research

Dear Lost Souls,

I will not be able to host Cocktail hour for the next three weeks due to my selfless commitment to continuing research in my field.  This time, my research for the Haberdashery takes my to the Florida Keys and Bahamas.  The initial plan to do research in Havana has been altered due to interference by Dubya.  I promise to return with lots of valuable knowledge on how to improve the intricate mechanics of our weekly constitution.  The next Cocktial hour at my place will be September 28th.

In the mean time . . . you've got the email list . . . I would be pretty happy/impressed if somebody grabbed the ball.

Until I return.

Yours,

Greg

PS.  Sand for everyone when I get back!!

A's Luxury Box on September 22nd

Dear Lost Souls,

The use of an Oakland A's luxury box at the September 22nd Seattle Mariners Game has surreptitiously fallen into my undeserving lap due to the kindness of a friend in Park City.  Unwillingly to bare alone the burden of this karmic windfall, I am enlisting you all to help me take maximum advantage of this unexpected treat.  In addition to the free tickets, I also have two parking passes for those of you brave enough to battle the traffic - first come first serve.  The game starts at 1:05pm on Saturday the 22nd and we can show up as early as two hours before the game.  At this point there is no effort required on any of our part accept to show up.  There are catering options offered by the stadium, but they are somewhat pricey.  We may be able to bring some stuff in . . . in which case we could do a pock luck thang.  Have any of you been in one of the boxes and do you know how it works?  I'll check on this as well.  Anyway, that is all details.  The important thing right now is to figure out who can go so I can call some other folks if necessary.

I am going to be gone from September 8th to the 21st, doing some important research for the Haberdashery society in the Florida Keys and The Bahamas.  That means that I want to try to get most of this figured out before the end of the week.  I will have Dolge do some coordination and ticket distribution while I am gone.

Please send me your thought and availability asap.

Dolge, don't send me ALL your thoughts.  Save some for keeping the streets of Oakland safe.

Lisa, please forward this to Jason.

Hope to hear form you all soon!

Yours,

Greg

Liberation of the Drone Nation

Dear Lost Souls,

Friday looms once again and we are faced with the prospect of floundering through the weekend without the natal comfort of our chosen professional vice.  What's more, we are faced with the daunting task of living without our umbilical reality for an entire three days.  What is a drone to do?  Ever the institution of nurturing, The Haberdashery invites you to set off on this three day trial in the comfort of familiar faces.

Yes, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday.  We will be meeting at our usual venue at 2107 Hearst Avenue in Berkeley for refreshments and fellowship starting around 7:30pm.

Please come prepared to leave your troubles at the door and settle into the comfort of a slightly greener reality.  As always, feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger . . . indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

A Week Late and a Dalai Short

Dear Lost Souls,

A week late a Dalai short, Andy has arrived in town from his adventures in the Himalayas.  As you may have noticed, the region has stabilized accordingly.  He will be here through the weekend before he heads off to Philly for d'year.  Soooooooooo, Cocktail Hour is on.  The Haberdashery will be presenting its usual array of alchemy and fellowship in an attempt to send him properly on his way.

The festivities will start at approximately 7:30pm and continue until the last oneayaz leaves.  Please feel to stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

CAYA - Take The Weather With You

Dear Lost Souls,

The press of time prevents us from passing on the usual pearls of wisdom, so I will depend upon a poet of great repute to bare that burden.

Everywhere you go always take the weather with you.

N. Finn/T. Finn

Yes, cocktail hour is on, starting around 7:30pm on Friday night. Please feel free to stop by for a quickie, or linger indefinitely!

Yours,

Greg

"Ffd" Convention in Town

Dear Lost Souls,

The Haberdashery is pleased to host a small convention of PhDs this weekend.  In honor of the feudal system into which they have indentured themselves, we will be hosting a small reception and roast . . . I mean barbecue.  For this event the 2107 facilities will be divided into sectors according to your sophistication level.  If you have a PhD, you will be sitting in the main forward salon.  People with anything less than a Phd are invited to mill about the bar and sitting room.  They may join the Phd group once formally addressed.  People with design degrees should plan on participating in the way that your training has prepared you:  bar tending and food service.  Individuals with law degrees are encouraged to bring rain gear in case of inclement weather.

Yes, Cocktail hour is on.  The grill will be fired up at around 7:00pm and Andy Levine and Chris Strain will be guest hosting.  Those of you who have the email addresses for the rest of the Rat Pack from UVA are encouraged to forward this email to them.  Please bring along something to throw on the grill.  Chris and Andy are only here for a few days, so this is your chance to touch base.

Please feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely . . . .

Yours,

Greg

2001 Pinup Issue - Mature Audiences Only

Dear Lost Souls,

Cocktail hour is on for tonight!  The much anticipated 2001 Haberdashery Pinup Model has finally been selected after much debate and scrutiny.  Attached please find this year's celebrated winner.  Our 2001 Pinup is currently on the other side of the country, touching up tan lines and doing promotional work in Florida, but will be returning in a number of weeks to collect the associated accolades.  In celebration of selecting this years winner, we will be hosting a barbecue and reception this evening at our 2107 Hearst banquet facilities.  In addition, there will be another barbecue and reception Saturday evening at Billy's place in Kensington.  Details of Saturday's festivities will be available Friday night or by calling Billy or Greg (see phone numbers below).  Please join us in celebrating the triumph of one of the Haberdashery's own!

Yours,

Greg

Dear Lost Souls,

Sorry for the late breaking story, but . . .

Cocktail Hour is on.

Always advocates of choice, the Haberdashery invites you stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely.

As always, cocktails will begin at around 7:30pm at 2107 Hearst Avenue.

Yours,

Greg

Fowl Play

Dear Lost Souls,

In the Haberdashery's continuing dedication to tackling the tough issues of the world (whether they effect us globally or locally), this Friday we will be debating the apparent moral uses and abuses that are latent in the following information I received from someone I considered to be a trusted friend. Stop and pick up your phone and try this. It only takes 20 seconds and no matter how hard a day you may be having, if nothing else, it will bring a smile to your face.

1. Call Deutsche Bank / National Discount Brokers at 1-800-888-3999.

2. Listen to ALL of the options (it only takes a moment). 

3. After hearing the 7 options, press 7 and listen. 

EVERY company should have an Option 7. A smile? But at what price!?

Yes, cocktail hour is on. Thank you all for joining us last week for our humble celebration of the Dolge's natal anniversary. This week we will return to our standard time and program on Friday night starting at around 7:30pm. The usual range of alchemy and snacks will accompany the heady intellectualism we've become so accustom to. Please feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger . . . . . . you know the drill.

Yours,

Greg

El Barbecue Internazional!

Dear Lost Souls,

The Haberdashery will be hosting a barbecue on Friday for your joy and full fillingment.  I am anticipating that a number of Italian and Japanese architecture students who are here for an international urban design workshop will be joining us.  In order to live up to American stereotypes, we will be serving hamburgers, potato salad and the like.  Please feel free to bring something along if you are not a red meat carnivore.  Stuffed Portobellos for our herbivore friends are available upon request.  Just let me know.

We will be getting going at around 7:30pm.  The address . . . for any first timers . . . is 2107 Hearst Avenue at the corner of Hearst and Shatttuck in North Berkeley.  Please feel free to join us for a cocktail even if you have other dinner plans; stop by for a quickie or . . . . linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

The International Mission - The Haberdashery Abroad Program

Dear Lost Souls,

There will be no cocktail hour this week due to a number of regular Faithfull’s departure for exotic locations. Building on the chaos that Chris Strain triggered with his arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida last year, this summer the Haberdashery Missionary Program will be expanding internationally to the seven corners of the globe. This weekend four missionaries will depart for their assignments: Andy Levine will be tackling Nepal for six weeks, Eric Hiss will take on the Tuscany Region of Italy for two months, Chip Sullivan is headed for Florida for an extended stay and Dolge (not to be left out) is gonna barbecue in Denver for the weekend. Preparations for a special educational seminar in Dublin, Ireland in August are also underway. Please keep these brave souls in your prayers as they venture off into the unknown . . . and (more importantly) pray for the unsuspecting locals they'll encounter.

Please join us next week, when there will be some special visitors from Italy in town. Until then, Have a memorable weekend.

Yours,

Greg

PS - Some of you have suggested that I save the old email announcements for posterity. If anybody has any dating beyond a couple of months ago, please send them to me for filing. Cheers!

Celebrity Birthday!

Dear Lost Souls,

Mark thy calender!!

Cocktail hour is moved from Friday night to Saturday afternoon! The Haberdashery is very pleased to be hosting a celebrity birthday on Saturday, August 4th. Mr. Dolge will be celebrating his birthday with us starting at 5pm at Triple Rock (on Shattuck in North Berkeley) and moving to 2107 Hearst (across the street) at 7pm for a barbecue. Watch your email for details. If you don't know Mr. Dolge, this is your chance to meet him. Note: please try to use small words in your conversations with him. He will be available for photo opportunities and autographs throughout the evening . . . until he falls asleep on the living room floor. The Haberdashery will be offering its usual array of alchemy and fellowship. We should have a fair amount of food, but please bring something to char on the communal pire.

Please feel free to . . . stopbyforaquickieorlingerindfinitely!

Yours,

Greg

He'd All Growed Up

Dear Lost Souls,

The Haberdashery, with much pride and sorrow, is sending off another of its hollowed sons to the eastern frontiers of this great land.  Andy will be moving to the City of Brotherly Love next week to ply his craft of brainstudyology.  Andy will be stopping by later on his evening to hoist a final cup and receive any final tidbits of advise from us, his trusted panel of deviants.  Andy has asked that you keep all going away presents to under $50,000 and refrain gifts of domestic animals that might inappropriate for urban, shoebox living arrangements.   

As always, please feel free to stop by for a quickie of linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

CAYA; Victim Relief for the California Experience

Dear Lost Souls,

Congratulations to you all for surviving yet another difficult week in the struggling paradise we call California . . . another traumatic seven days living with the prospect of your local espresso bar experiencing a crippling blackout . . . the evil George W. picking on us for being so self-important . . . or even worse . . . ignoring us for being so self-important.  These are, indeed, difficult times.

In an attempt to help you to cope with the stress of our crippling way of life, the Haberdashery will be hosting a support group for victims of the California Experience this Friday at 7:30pm in the primary ballroom at our 2107 Hearst Avenue facility.  Specially designed medications and unsolicited advise will be distributed liberally in a loving and supportive environment of non contractual fellowship.

Please feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely.

Yours in or collective struggle,

Greg

The Cosmic Mill

Dear Lost Souls,

Onward grinds the Cosmic Mill that leads us to our weekly constitution.  Friday looms thirsty on the temporal horizon, beckoning you back to the shaded sanctuary of the Haberdashery.  Check you cares at the door and join us for a retreat from the profane.

Cocktail hour is on for Friday night.  I will be coming from the airport and will not be home until about 8pm, so please hold off your arrival until then.  As always, feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

GOODNESS

Neither fire nor wind,

birth nor death

can erase our good deeds.

- Budda

Dear Lost Souls,

Strike the trummel and raise high the glad tambourines.  Our prodigal sons return.  Yes, Cocktail Hour is on and there is much to celebrate in the coming weeks . . . not that this has been a hindrance in the past.  Eric is returning from Italy this evening; redolent of marble dust and Tuscan cuisine.  After his long day of travel, I am not sure if he will muster the energy to raise a toast with us or not . . . but I am guessing yes.  Next week Andy will be returning from India and Nepal and Chris Strain will be returning from a land even more mysterious and frightening . . . Florida.  So, consider this Friday a warm up for next Friday.  Next Friday will likely be a Barbecue.  I am not planning on cooking this Friday, but be prepared to participate in desert as well as our usual array of alchemy.  We will convene tonight at approximately 7:30pm at 2107 Hearst Avenue.

Please feel free to stop by for a quickie of linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

P.S.  Andy will be in town starting on the 11th for a few days.  He needs a place to crash for a few days.  I already have a guest those days and would rather not cram in another.  Let me know if anybody has a spare piece of carpet to lend our wayward son.

CAYA; Crap, Nap & Pine

Dear Lost Souls,

Behold the weather Crap, Crap, Crap

Behold the Sun, it naps, naps, naps

Behold the Haberdashery, it shine, shines, shines For your presence, it pines, pines, pines!!

Cocktail hour is on!!  Brave the tempest and join us for the sanctuary and warmth of our weekly constitution of fellowship.  I promise:  No more poetry.  Please feel free to stop by for a quickie (please notice revised spelling!) or linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

Independence Day!

Dear Lost Souls,

The Summer is flying by and the days are already getting shorter, but the prospect of our weekly constitution continues . . . for now.

Yes, my Postmodern Patriots, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday evening. It is once again time for Sabbath services at the Church of Mixology. It's a three day weekend . . . and what better way to slide into a Yankee Doodle Dandy mood than sipping a good ole' red blooded American cocktail of your choice in the company of our dedicated band of social under-achievers. Cocktails will be served at 7:30pm . . . when our tireless Sons and Daughters of the American Devolution will be on hand to whistle up a fluid tune or two for your patriotic palette. So come on by, and let's hoist one for Old Glory!

As always, please feel free to stop by for a quickie en route to your chosen Friday venue . . . or to linger indefinitely . . .

Yours,

Greg

Our Solemn Pride

Dear Lost Souls,

Once again, our nation's birthday quickly approaches and we are left to contemplate our tremendous fortune for living in a land with such fine leaders and grounded ethics.  We eagerly await to see whether the yuletide rodent will see its shadow, heralding another four year of  fascism. Through these 2001 years of unbridled capitalism our forefathers have braved the powers of communism and civil unrest, and risen above our petty squabbles to graciously bestow our cultural heritage upon the nations of the world not fortunate enough to enjoy our collective individuality.

Yes, Cocktail hour is on for this Friday and the Haberdashery invites you to join us as we say "Mozeltov" and raise a toast to celebrate our forefather's arrival in this great land.  We salute their gracious efforts to civilize the native peoples of this continent and spread the American dream throughout the nations of the world.  Ah!! . . . the pride we share in having tamed the stubborn wilderness: harnessed the power of our rivers, cleared the vastness of our forests and leveled the protuberances of our hills.  Let us pray for another millennium of moral superiority and blissful ignorance.  God bless us one and all!!  We look forward to the intellectually well endowed and lively discourse so common to our weekly constitution and welcome the shining continence of our newest regulars.

Cocktails will be served at our 2107 Hearst Avenue locale, starting around 7:30pm until the last one-a-ya leaves.  As always, please feel free to . . . stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely!

Yours,

Greg

P.S.  Be sure to mark your calenders for Friday, July 13th.  The Haberdashery will be hosting visiting lecturer and Haberdashery founder Professor Christopher B. Strain.   Professor Strain will be joining us from the land of Pregnant Chads to enlighten us on merits of berber vs. shag.

The Rights of Spring

Dear Lost Souls,

Well if you didn't capitalize on the debauchery of Spring Fever . . . It's too late now.  The upside is that you've got nine months to plan your depravity for next year.

Yes, Cocktail Hour is on.  The Haberdashery will be having a Gathering this evening to welcome in the new season and bid the old farewell.  Pagans of all ilks are welcome.

Please feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger until Equinox.

Yours,

Greg

April showers, May Flowers, and Pilgrims

Dear Lost Souls,

April showers, May flowers, Pilgrims and cocktails and the end of the week . . . Ah the joys of Spring!

Cocktail hour is on. Everybody's social schedule is going to start to get busy now but, please remember that you are always welcome to just swing by on your way to the main event.  SOOOOOOOO, feel free to stop by for a quickie or linger indefinitely.

Yours,

Greg

Food and Beverage Manager of the Last Resort