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Parks & Recreation is going to get murdered. There’s really no way around that. NBC has given the show the 8 p.m. slot on Thursday nights, which pits it directly against the CBS ratings monster Big Bang Theory, and it’s going to be a bloodbath. (For the math-inclined among you: Parks averaged about 3 million viewers last season; Big Bang Theory pulled in closer to 20.) That’s essentially the gist of this LA Times article, which depicts Parks as kind of a plucky, fun show that is both among the last of its generation of quote-unquote smart comedies at NBC, as well as the sacrificial lamb the network is serving up to CBS’s broad, middle-of-the-road juggernaut.
Enter Ron Swanson himself, Nick Offerman, who summed up the situation thusly:
“A lot of people like to drink Budweiser,” says Nick Offerman, who plays bacon-loving Ron Swanson and has a metaphor for the competition. “I prefer Guinness myself. I don’t go into any bars and say, ‘Let me try some Budweiser and let’s see if they have improved it any. Beers are precious. I’m going to choose the ones that are thick and full-bodied.”
See, there are a few things going on in that quote. First of all, since this is the context at play here, yes, it is a good point about television. No argument there. And taken quite literally, it is also some pretty solid beer advice for all you youngsters out there. But most importantly, if you really dig in there, if you roll up your sleeves and start pulling it apart a little, you’ll see that it’s actually a pretty profound life lesson about enjoying your time on the planet and not settling for the average and ho-hum when there’s so much more right there at your fingertips. Or, to put a finer point on it: Don’t drink the Budweiser of life, people.
I mean, either that or he was just trying to score some free Guinness. We’ve seen that sort of shameless display out of him before.
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I heard Ron Swanson’s voice in my head as i read that quote.
Me too.
Yuuup
I hear Ron’s voice whenever I am reading manly advice.
I agree with him on all of that.
I’m worried what you just heard was, “Give me a lot of Guinness.” What I said was, “Give me all the Guinness”. Do you understand?
Well played Sir.
It’s always a bad sign when I read a story at 12:30 Monday afternoon that mentions alcohol and start counting the hours until I’m home drink in hand.
How many times has it happened before? Shut up, doesn’t mean it’s not a great point about life.
Yeah but Guinness is awesome so there’s that.
Am I the only one that thinks Guiness isn’t very good?
Yes.
Well, it’s no Zima but if you actually “like” beer, it is the cat’s pajamas.
Nah it’s definately nothing to write home about. Better than Bud or Coors, but that’s not saying much. If you live in a state with real beer selection it’s not even really a good option.
Given the choice, I actually prefer Murphy’s, but I still do enjoy Guinness very much.
Gotta love the “If you don’t like Guiness you must like Zima” attitude. Just because it’s the most non-Bud thing they serve at Chili’s doesn’t make it the be all end all of beers. I would have preferred Offerman rep Two Hearted Ale, or St Bernardus, or one of the Bastards, but the metaphor still works.
@judasdubois Are you comparing that to all beers or just stouts? I can understand stouts not being to someone’s particular taste but if you are saying that when compared to other stouts that the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is not one of the best beers you can get is just contrariwise for the sake of being a contrarian. AKA fightin’ words.
Is Zima even around anymore? Didn’t that market get bought out by Mikes and Smirnoff?
Yeah I would figure Offerman would drink Arrogant Bastard Ale on principal.
Comparing it to other local stouts I’ve had. I just am not enamored with Guiness as a beer. It’s like any other major brewer, a good marketing campaign and an average beer. The idea of a perfect guiness pour is so much bullshit it should be in the circus.
Nope. Guinness is the Budweiser of stouts. Now Old Rasputin, there’s a damn stout.
Yes the regular Guinness Extra Stout is a fine middle of the road stout but nothing to write home about and the “perfect pour” is utter horseshit marketing but if you haven’t tried the foreign extra stout I would point you in that direction. What do you recommend? I’m not here to tear it down, I’m here to try.
My new beer of choice is Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale. Immensely good…
@Flenker Yes Old Rasputin is awesome, and it can be found at my local Vons supermarket (which just seems odd to me). However IMHO the ABV is a little high for it to be a consistent buy in terms of casual drinking.
I’m not a huge stout drinker normally (I prefer ambers to be honest). That said if you can get a hold of Iron Horse’s Irish Death.
[www.ironhorsebrewery.com]
Though its listed as an ale so maybe not exactly
I like my stouts like I like my women: strong, rich, and aged in bourbon barrels.
But Guinness is probably the best beer you can get at a crappy bar. I’ll order it for the night, but I’m not buying a six-pack for home (Foreign Extra excluded).
I was just in Ireland about a month ago for a week long vacation and drank many different pints. I like guinness it’s a beer that grows on you after you acquire the taste for it. The beer I really fell in love with while there is Kilkenny. I seriously recommend it if you can find a bar or pub that has it on tap. They sell it in a can but cant find it anywhere here in northern Florida. Try it you will thank me.
@genfatassery I love beer, but I’m not about to say Guiness is good to get my internet stamp of approval. There are at least 25 beers I’d drink before Guiness.
Congratulations, Guinness isn’t in your top 25. Internet approval aside however, saying that Guinness isn’t a good beer is just wrong. Anytime they have blind tastings Guinness will always score in the lower 80th percentile. In fact the only time you get negative reviews about it, they always contain the words: overrated, so many better beers out there, it’s the Budweiser/Miller of dark beers. As in people insist that they are too cool to like it. Are there better stouts out there? A resounding yes, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good beer. So to answer your original question, yes, you would be the only person that doesn’t think that it’s a good beer. That is of course if you were being honest. If you were doing b.s. posturing then no, you are not alone.
I’m a bitter man myself (years of rejection and failure will do that to you). Guinness is better than most lagers, but I’ll only order it when I need to slow down.
@genfatassery “saying that Guinness isn’t a good beer is just wrong”
Taste is actually subjective, so no.
“As in people insist that they are too cool to like it.”
You can not like things for other reason than being cool. Liking or not liking beer doesn’t make you cool.
“So to answer your original question, yes, you would be the only person that doesn’t think that it’s a good beer. That is of course if you were being honest. If you were doing b.s. posturing then no, you are not alone.”
Nope, I totally go out of my way to tell lies on the internet because I’m so insecure about what I like. There’s no way I can just honestly find the taste of stouts unpleasant without lying about it. Also, I’m a sociopath.
Yes, that was all sarcastic. Yes, you also need to grow up and accept that people have opinions different than your own.
So you come into a thread, toss shade at someone who doesn’t like Guinness, then get all huffy and defensive when the vast majority of people disagree?
Face it, using Guinness as the “drink a real beer” is like someone chastising a person for driving a Tercel, then saying “You need to drive a Mustang like a real person”. Yeah, you’re a step above, but let’s hold back on the elitism…
Stouts that are good: Yeti (Great Divide), Milk Stout (Left Hand), Uncle Jacob’s (Avery), Mephistopheles (Avery), Victory at Sea (Ballast Point), Old Rasputin (North Coast), Shakespeare (Rogue), Obsidian (Deschutes), Oatmeal Stout (Alaskan), Black Bear Imperial Stout (Bear Republic), Ten Fidy (Oskar Blues)…
I could go on, but I love stout. I also love Guinness and Murphy’s too. Good Irish stout. Oh, and I am a west coaster, so obvious bias here.
Real Irish Guinness is supposed to be very good. The exports aren’t very good in comparison.
If Parks & Rec is to television what Guinness is to beer, then The Big Bang Theory is O’Doul’s.
I’ve never really watched a full episode of BBT, but what I hate about it is people who do who compare anything borderline geeky to something they saw on it. They give people a CSI writers appreciation for geeks, and that is not a compliment.
Anything w/ a laugh track post Jerry Seinfeld era is terrible.
Yeah I can’t stand laugh tracks on any show. If something is funny I’ll fucking laugh I don’t have to be given a Que.
Ugh Big Bang Theory is the WORST. Easy decision for me!
You only have so many beers in your lifetime. Why waste one on Budweiser.
I’m more of a Molson man.
Offerman’s brother is a craft brewer for a brewery in the Chicago area. I’m surprised he didn’t go that route.
I don’t think it would have been as effective if he went the self promotion kinda of way with a beer no one knew.
Damn I want some Guinness now…
“So, what you’re saying is to make your choices count. To not take the middle-of-the-road option when you can aim for something higher. Truly excellent advice for today’s youth, Mr. Swanson. Now: do you have any memorable stories from that classic movie ‘Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'”.
Why waste you time with beer at all? Tastes like ass and doesn’t have enough alcohol in it.
*ducks for cover*
“So, what you’re saying is to make your choices count. To not take the middle-of-the-road option when you can aim for something higher. Truly excellent advice for today’s youth, Mr. Swanson. Now: do you have any memorable stories from that classic movie ‘Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous’.”
Offerman likes his beer like he likes his women: thick and full bodied.
It’s Arthur’s Day (a “holiday” created by Diageo to sell even more Guinness) here in Dublin on Thursday.
I shall be on full Swanson-Alert after reading this post.
Oh, and any pint poured outside of Dublin is blasphemy. Just getting that out there.
(Stage Whisper) He’s really not talking about beer. Why are you?
The best is the Old English of hard alcohols, Military Special. Shit is ridiculously cheap and nasty.
Do networks still care about putting up shows against each other? I havent watched a show in real time since the Lost finale. Now, it’s all on the DVR
Hi, I’m trying a recipe that calls for a middle-of-the-road-ale/beer. Is Guinness Foreign Extra stout a middle-of-the -road ale/ beer ? Here in the Caribbean, we have Guinness Foreign Extra, Red Stripe Beer, Heineken, Corona, Miller and Budweiser. Your link came up in my google search for a middle-of-the-road ale/beer. (I’m female and I don’t really drink)