Hello Buk Fans Around the World (1 Viewer)

I am Danny Mac and I just found out about this website. Have I been under a rock? I am happy that I found it just the same. I am so thankful to the people who have put this site together. Everything is so thorough and so well done. I watch the "Barfly" one or two times a year without fail. I have almost every line in the movie memorized. I just bought two books of Hank's letters. I am purposely buying Buk's stuff slowly so that I always have something to look forward to. I also just bought the DVD that has the Canada and Redondo Beach readings. I love Bukowski so much. I'm sure he would have been proud of me if I would have had the chance to tell him I used to polish off 1/2 Kegs of beer by myself every 7 weeks. I used to play the drums and I would drink like a mad man and play the drums like a demon from hell. Ah...the good ole' days.
 
I am purposely buying Buk's stuff slowly so that I always have something to look forward to.
That's a good plan (even if it will inevitably end in heartbreak when you realize you have it all).

Stick to the titles released during his lifetime - meaning everything up to and including Betting On the Muse. The reason for that will become clear if you continue reading the forum.
 
I just realized by snooping around that this thread was even here. I am having senior moments. Now that I am aware that this is here I'll actually write here. I just doubled checked my math and I'm not sure what kind of 1/2 kegs you have where you live but in Pennsylvania there is 7 cases in a half keg. Now unless someone fed me false information that works out to 168 beers which is 24 per week. So that's a case a week. On the weekend which was Friday and Saturday night I would play the drums and drink 12 beers. I think 12 is the number that most crazy people of the male gender polish off when they are really drinking. Now-a-days, I'm a total light weight.
 
A keg is 1984 ounces, so your numbers are for a full keg.

A half (pony) keg would be a dribble more than 84 bottles, or 3.4 cases.
 
I just bought two books of Hank's letters
I'm way behind with reading new threads.
Bad question but can't resist asking you: Do you like the books?
I don't know if you read anything else of Buk but since you mentioned Barfly, Read Factotum.
 
I really enjoyed reading the books of letters. It was great to get insight of how the man really spoke and about his daily day to day troubles. Even his letters were interesting because he still had a way with words. I have read all of his novels except Pulp. I have read a lot of his other books but no where near all of them. I have been on a roll lately though.
 
What is the matter with you people??? I used to get 1/2 kegs! They are heavy as Hell. I could lift the things off the ground but could NOT carry one. I had the guys at the local beer place deliver them. There were only two people who worked there who could deliver them because you had to be very strong. They told me many, many times that they hold 7 cases of beer. These were not "pony" kegs. You must be talking about a 1/4 keg. My brother Kenny used to buy them. They have about 3 cases of beer.

I did not get the 1/4 kegs because they only came in crappy beers. I needed the good stuff like Heineken, St. Pauli Girl, Becks, Harp :), Guiness:agb:, Dinkel Agar, Bass:confused:, and some super fancy beers like Paulaner, Haker Pschoor, Spaten. I loved Harp like crazy. I first learned about it with Black and Tans which you know is half Harp, 1/2 Guiness. I actually did get 1/2 kegs of Guiness delivered. That is a real workout to polish off 1/2 kegs of Guiness. I did that many times. Guiness is the only beer that uses Nitrogen gas in the pressure lines. That is why Guiness is the only beer with those amazingly cool tiny bubbles and super foamy head. I just had a CO2 canister so my Guiness wasn't super foamy but it was still good. I may have mispelled some of those beer names.

I know what I drank. I would drink 12 beers at a time most of the time. My friends would help at times. The 1/2 kegs were so heavy. They were not Pony kegs my friend.
 
There's some misunderstanding about keg terminology. A standard "keg" is a half-barrel and is about 2 feet tall and about 17 inches in diameter. It holds just over 15 gallons and weighs in the neighborhood of 140 pounds (some 130 pounds of beer and ~10-15 pounds for the container itself). I carried (barely) a hundred or more of those down the back stairs of our Fraternity house back in the early-mid '80s.

A half-keg is a quarter-barrel and is about 14 inches tall by about 17 inches in diameter.
 
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OK. Thank you Mr. Purple Stickpin. So I was drinking whole Kegs. It is weird that for all those years my beer guys always called it a half keg. They should have been calling a half barrel but no one around here in Pennsylvania says "barrel" ever. Thank you for clearing this up. I still have my Beer Meister but I just use it to hold cases. I bought it in 1991 for $700. My friends thought I was crazy but it paid for itself in about 3 years I would guess. It is still going strong all these years later. It's a Kenmore. That's funny. Whenever my brother Kenny would come over, he would want more.
 
Danny Mac, your brother Kenny sounds like a character. If he's still around that would be right up my alley to stop for a couple beers from that kenmore of yours next time i'm on my way to new york to visit my brother.
 
A keg is 1984 ounces, so your numbers are for a full keg.

A half (pony) keg would be a dribble more than 84 bottles, or 3.4 cases.

A half keg is a little over 15 gallons. That's the larger of the two kegs you'll typically see. A quarter keg is a little under 8 gallons and is also called a pony keg. Unless you work at or tour a brewery, you're unlikely to ever see a full keg.

I sold keg beer and imported beer for about 8 years. Those half kegs can play hell with your back.
 
Heineken, St. Pauli Girl, Becks, Harp :), Guiness:agb:, Dinkel Agar, Bass:confused:.....]super fancy beers like Paulaner, Haker Pschoor, Spaten. I loved Harp like crazy. I first learned about it with Black and Tans which you know is half Harp, 1/2 Guiness.

Danny Mac, this post is hilarious, you are as giddy as a school girl about a boy band, did you know you wrote the word Guinness 7 times... (I'm at a loose end, is all I can say.) now that's adoration.I hate beer,ale,lager etc. but love some of the beer Ads, the Harp one's are funny, but for iconic there is only Guinness, do you remember this 1999 one, (apparently it takes about 120 secs to settle a Guinness) about the same time as this Ad, almost persuades me to drink one. This is for you:
 
Dear Skygazer,
I'm glad I made you laugh. No I don't remember that 1999 Ad. I wonder if that Ad was shown in the US. Then again I have drank (that is the way Buk wants us to say it, not drunk) so much beer maybe I fried that part of my brain that retained that memory. Thanks for sharing the Ad. It was a very cool .
 
Thank you Danny, glad you liked it, your right it won't have been shown over there, I'll be off now for a pint of Guinness. (Just to look at).
 
Ponder, I've been thinking the same thing the last few days, I'm missing him.Then I had this terrible vision of him out there on the surf, practising, with a pint of Guinness balanced precariously on top of his board and it's all my fault. I hope he's alright.
 
I am still here. I have been unemployed for 9 months so as a result I had plenty of time on my hands. I was able to check out this great website on a regular basis. Well things have changed. I finally found a *$@#&*! job. I am a part time Liquor Store Clerk. I have 32 hours per week so that is weird for 'part time.' In the old days part time was 20 hrs/week. I am so relieved that I got a job, but now I actually have to GO to the job 5 days a week. It really cuts down on my being a bum time.

I used to have a good job in the Pharma industry but that is gone. This job is so far below my skill levels its disgusting but, at least I have a job. I am thankful but I sure will be glad when the Aquarian Age economy gets really cookin and things improve across the board for everybody, not just for the Evil rich people who govern large corporations.

So I am still here and I am OK but I won't be able to post as much but I will enjoy my time on this website so much more when I find the time to check in with all the Buk fans.

I would never risk spilling some beer in the ocean while surfing let alone a drop of Guinness.
 
I sure will be glad when the Aquarian Age economy gets really cookin and things improve across the board for everybody, not just for the Evil rich people who govern large corporations.
That's right around the corner. Obama just needs a little more time to fix it. But he's all over it. Don't worry, man.
 
I am still here.
I would never risk spilling some beer in the ocean while surfing let alone a drop of Guinness.

Danny! You're safe and sound. I know you wouldn't spill a drop of Guinness, it was you I was concerned about: a man who knows his onions, when talking about beer 'n' kegs 'n' whatnot.
Really happy to read about your job; To better days, Danny.
 
I am so dumb some times. I couldn't figure out where the hell this thread was. OK. Now I'm back. I just put a pretty funny post on the Random Thoughts thread. I hope you check it out. Did you see that Growing Beard was thrown off the site? He must have pissed off numerous people.

My Liquor Store job is a real drag. Running a cash register for hours on end is NO fun. I will never look at people who run a register in a disparinging way ever again. When you check out with them you think it's no big deal. What you don't know is that they are there hour after hour, transaction after transaction, counting-counting-counting.

I am already looking for the exit from this job. You know what's weird? Buk had a Civil Service job and now I have a Civil Service job. Is it possible I am destined to be the next great American poet? I could be. It could happen.
 
growingbeard achieved escape velocity and is no longer among us terrestrials.

And I think it's gonna be a long, long time ‘til touch down brings me round again
to find I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no, no, no, I'm a rocket man
Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone

And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
 
[... Did you see that Growing Beard was thrown off the site? He must have pissed off numerous people.
I am already looking for the exit from this job. Is it possible I am destined to be the next great American poet? I could be. It could happen.

Danny, I love you, you make me laugh so much, I think you should be President or Poet Laureate, but whatever job you do apply for... promise me it won't be the police or secret service willya?
 

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