Lynn Hoffman

Although the enlightened lover of wine and beer spends a lot of mental and
emotional energy on choreographing their intake and delectation, we are
sometimes faced-on the next morning, let’s say- with questions about
disposing of the pure alcohol fraction of what we drank.Fortunately, the
same body that took all that alcohol in is capable of hauling it out, mostly
by metabolizing it in the liver.
A small amount is expelled in the breath, saliva, urine, feces
and sweat. (A small amount is also excreted in breast milk, although
if you’re producing breast milk and drinking lots of alcohol,
perhaps you should be reading some other book.) Except for
the possible acceleration caused by jumping into a sauna or running
a marathon, most of us eliminate alcohol at a steady rate.
There is some variability among people in their ability to dilute and
get rid of what they paid to take in. The big differences are the water
content and fat content of the body. Practically, this means that:
• The less you weigh, the more you will be affected by a given
amount of alcohol. Bigger people have more blood and more
tissue and so the alcohol is diluted over a larger volume.
• The more muscular you are, the less affected you’ll be. Fat
doesn’t have much water (duh), and muscular souls have more
blood vessels and more water-absorbing tissue. Watch out for
the body builders at the beer tasting.
• Gender counts. Women have a triple whammy here. They tend
to have smaller bodies with higher body fat percentages, which
means less watery tissue. They also tend to process alcohol
through the liver more slowly because of a lower level of an
alcohol-digesting hormone.
• Age matters too. Older people eliminate alcohol more slowly,
although the effects of this may be mitigated by the so-called
“practice effect.” This is part of what’s behind the common
observation that old drunks can handle their liquor better.
• Food can slow the absorption of alcohol through several mechanisms.
Not only is alcohol slowed in its entrance to the small
intestine, but the lower concentrations that result speed up the
rate of elimination.
There’s more, of course. Arousal can slow the passage of alcohol
from the stomach to the intestine and the wound-up person looking for a predeterminedlevel of buzz may fail to reach it with the first few doses
and then overshoot. Anxiety can increase the rate of absorption and
so can carbonation and even artificial sweeteners. So, let’s lay off
the aspartame-enhanced malt liquor when we’re really really tense,
okay?

Adapted from The Short Course in Beer by Lynn Hoffman

To learn more about The Short Course in Beer check out:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601641915

Kunati Books, the publisher of bang BANG, was named Publisher of the Year at Book Expo America.

 ..probably as a result of their having the good judgment to publish and promote bang BANG.....

One of my favorite NPR stations-WPSU in beautiful, trout-laden State College, PA-just broadcast two interviews back to back. The first was with this Vargas Llosa fellow and the second was with me, the author of the mega-hit bang BANG. I never heard of this guy before, but I'll bet he was really thrilled to be on the same radio show as bang BANG. He seemed like a nice enough guy so I thought i'd give him a boost and buy his latest book. I like to encourage up-and-coming writers.

You can hear the interview with me and whatsisname by clicking here.

To tell the truth, I think the kid has talent-maybe he'll go somewhere. . . .  

bang BANG just got a lovely review from Jewish Book World's Spring 5768/2008 edition.  Among the nice things they said was this:

"Bang Bang is a gritty modern day fairy tale were the urban princess has the power and the men in her life provide back-up support. It’s a vibrant and unexpected mix of prose, poetry and screenplay and quite an interesting read.  NT "

It's interesting that they picked up on the 'strong-woman' aspect as much as the 'let's grow up about guns' theme.

You can find out more about bang BANG  or read an excerpt at its publisher's page. Kunati.com

You can imagine my shock when I learned that my habit of buying used books from time to time could be a hazard to my health. Recent investigations by the Oswego County Union of Licensed Asthma Therapists have uncovered a scary connection between used books and asthma, emphysema, impotence and diminished sang-froid. You can read the whole story as summarized by novelist Art Tirrellat:  http://www.arttirrell.com/