maia bittner

The data we produced on Reddit and Tumblr is interesting in itself, of course (and we’ll be releasing more of it), but we did it because we wanted unique insight into the community and we wanted a source list.

We wanted to know who to get drunk with.

[People] are getting nostalgic for their vision of the 1950s’ martini parties they’ve seen in old movies. Say ‘cocktail’ and they think geezer bar. Say ‘martini’ and they get this image of clean, retro sophistication. I say this: Let’s mix a little vodka and some liqueur shaken and strained in a stemmed cocktail glass and call it a fill-in-the-blank Martini. “Hey look! They’re drinking it! They like it! Let’s add some fruit juice this time and do a whole menu of them. Make ‘em big. Little drinks will seem stingy…Let’s rename some old cocktails ‘martinis.’ You want to make one with milk in it? Go ahead! Anything goes now!

Do I have anything to want other than what they want me to want, whether it is my family, or the religious teachers, or the society around me? What is it that I want? Whatever I want is what they want me to want.” But at that time it never occurred to me that not to want what they wanted me to want was also a want.