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Today we're going to talk a bit about beverages. A beverage is defined as "any potable liquid, especially one other than water". You may ask, what is the difference between a beverage and a drink? Basically it all comes down to semantics - unlike drink, beverage cannot be a verb. Beverage is a noun. While there are many different classifications of beverages, we found this basic chart an easy reference to determine under which category your favorite type of beverage might fall.... The ancients were fond of many beverages (most often fermented or distilled) that we are unfamiliar with today. Among the more interesting we found: * Falernian Wine - The ancient Romans had access to a lot of great wine. Hailing from Campania in Italy, Falernian was considered one of the finest. According to Pliny the Elder, Falernian was best after aging for fifteen years. Very high in alcohol content, "it is the only one, among all the wines, that take fire on the application of flame," said Pliny. * Pulque - Arguably the most storied alcoholic drink in Mexico's history, it's made by fermenting, not distilling, the sap of the maguey plant (AKA agave). In mythology, the milky white beverage was said to have been invented in a lost divine paradise, although humans probably first started drinking it about 4000 years ago. The Aztecs also used it as a religious stimulant. * Shedeh - A mysterious ancient Egyptian drink whose contents scholars still debate. The term "shedeh" has no translation in modern English, and the only Egyptian text that chronicled how it was made said it was filtered and heated - but the papyrus it was found on was incomplete. Whatever it was, shedeh was apparently a beverage fit for the pharaohs: King Tutankhamun's tomb contained an amphora of the liquor. * Soma - Soma appears in the Rigveda, a series of ancient religious texts from India. Soma was a plant that produced an intoxicating beverage with a hallucinogenic effect, as well as the god who personified both of these. Soma was seen to be a healer and a fertilizing force. In the Rigveda, soma (the drink) was made by squeezing liquid from the plant's stalk, which was combined with milk and water. The resulting beverage might have brought worshippers some pretty interesting visions. * Kykeon - Kykeon was a psychedelic drink hailing from ancient Greece. What exactly went into it is a mystery, but it appears to have contained an unusual mix of barley, cheese, and wine. "Kykeon" might have been a generic word used to describe a potion with magical effects, but it was also often associated with "mysteries," or covert rites for a particular god. The most famous "mysteries" were the secret rites of the goddess Demeter at Eleusis, where participants downed an unknown hallucinogenic beverage to see visions. Scholars now think it might have been kykeon containing moldy grain, which was specially treated to yield psychedelic effects. Our subject line said this was a special day so it seems appropriate - and more than a little serendipitous - that we conclude this brief discussion about beverages with a shout out to the fact that today is WORLD GIN DAY! Always the second Saturday in June, the date moves around a bit, but we can rest assured that there's always Sunday following it to recuperate. So, whether it's in a martini or a gin & tonic or however you most prefer that intoxicating juniper spirit, raise a toast - to the ancients and to your friends! #WorldGinDay #soma #rigveda #romans # wine #beer #booze #spirits #beverages #egypt #mexico #kingtut

Wikipedia defines food as “…any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism. Usually of plant, animal or fungal origin, food contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth. In ancient Rome grains, legumes, vegetables, eggs and cheeses were the basis of the diet, with fruit and honey for sweetness. Meat (mostly pork), and fish were used sparingly, and as the empire expanded beginning in the 3rd century BC, Romans welcomed new flavors – be it pepper from India or lemons from Persia. Roman food could be distinguished by its ingenious use of ingredients to create exciting dishes. A famous ingredient used by the ancient Romans was garum, still a mysterious liquid that can’t be fully replicated today. According to Pliny the Elder, garum was produced from fish intestines fermented with salt and possibly with some other ingredients to create a sort of liquor. The garum could be fermented in different grades. The more flavored and noble in aspect, the better. Garum was such a well-loved ingredient that even poets and writers praised it in their various works. We look forward to reading about what astonishing meals and desserts have caused you to sing their praises in verse in our Food Forum. #food #dessert #meals #rome #plinytheelder #ancient #india #persia #garum

The first known use of the word activity was in the 15th century and derives from the Middle English actyvete or "active life". Now, in the 15th century, people’s extracurricular activities were a bit different than today. The upper classes hunted, crowds would gather to watch knights participate in jousting tournaments with wooden lances, swords or maces and these tournaments would sometimes last for days. In the evenings people would play board games or cards. Webster defines activity as “the quality or state of being active”: “a process that an organism carries on or participates in by virtue of being alive”; specifically : an educational procedure designed to stimulate learning by firsthand experience. Here at AnyHigh.life, we define activity as anything that’s not consumable which sends the endorphins into overdrive and which you can do – legally - in public, either indoors or outdoors. We want to hear what activities really turn you on and while we don’t have a category specifically for jousting, we’re open for anything! #activity #games #indoor #outdoor #exercise #sex

noun plural noun: a) a particular kind of matter with uniform properties b) the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists a which has a tangible, solid presence. c) physical material from which something is made or which has discrete existence. Our favorite description is "c" due to its "discrete existence". What's your favorite substance? Tell us about it in our "Substance" forum and/or it's subcategories. #substance #matter #existence #tangible #tripping

Since the focus of AnyHigh is joy, today we're providing the link to one of the most entertaining and hilarious concepts we've come across in a long time. Some of you may have already seen this or be familiar with "Birds Aren't Real", but even if you have it's worth a second look. More than a million people have become followers of www.birdsarentreal.com - a movement that claims the birds you think you see flying in the sky are actually government surveillance drones. Wonderfully, it's all pure satire. And it's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. We raise a toast to "Birds Aren't Real" founder, Peter McIndoe for his creativity and enthusiasm! Watch the 60 Minutes report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsgnrYog6W0 #birds #birdsarentreal #petermcindoe #funny #humor #satire #60minutes

Even though we're already into spring, this particular date always brings to mind a special poem that's been with us for as long as we can remember. We share it here with you all to celebrate today: Hur-ray, Hur-ray It's the first of May. Outdoor fucking Starts today. Cheers! #birds #bees #may #laborday #sex #nature #poem #poetry #beauty

Better known as W.C. Fields and a character who in so many ways, speaks directly to the idea of decadence as a reward unto itself. Fields was a U.S. comedian, actor, juggler and writer whose comic persona was that of a hard-drinking egotist, who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs and children. In the early 1900s, while touring as a headliner in North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa, he was billed as “the world’s greatest juggler.” He began his film career in silent movies in 1915 and easily made the transition to talkies in 1932. So today we offer to you a couple of quotes from the man who, in the early 20th century, was such a spirited proponent of spirits (the bottled kind) and looked at the world with a witty, sardonic twinkle in his eye! “I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink. That’s the one thing I am indebted to her for.” (From the 1941 film "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break"). “Once, on a trek through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew…and were forced to live on food and water for several days!” (From the 1940 film "My Little Chickadee") "Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite. And furthermore, always carry a small snake." #WCFields #comedy #films #alcohol #gin #drinking #decadence

Though it often gets a bad rap (think self-indulgence or moral decay), we prefer to look at it in a more positive sense. Something luxurious or plentiful or an extraordinary feeling we get from consuming or experiencing something, well, extraordinary. Like...... A ride in an extraordinary automobile: A bottle of uniquely delicious wine: A sampling of chocolate truffles: A plate of Poutine from Canada: A fine bottle of rare spirits: Conquering that seemingly unconquer-able obstacle: Tell us about some decadently amazing experiences that you've had. #mteverest #chocolate #wine #sex #bugatti #divo #car #slodown #food #liquor #crownroyal #xr #whiskey #poutine #canada #truffles

.....sinking that putt..... ....going over that fence..... ....making that play...... ....taking that wicket..... .....scoring that goal..... .....slamming that dunk...... ....making that winning play..... We want to hear what makes you celebrate like this! #caddyshack #tigerwoods #golf #baseball #football #soccer #basketball #blakegriffen #hockey #sports #cricket #happy #happiness

Well, sort of, but not in the way you might think. Today, in our ongoing search for happiness, we share an interesting Ted Talk by Michael Norton, a social science researcher with the Harvard Business School in which he discusses how money might actually be able to equate to happiness... https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness #happiness #harvard #tedtalk #science #money #harvardbusinessschool

......To Really Go Up..... But whether you're high is up or down, we want to hear about it.

For those of you familiar with that statement, it's coiner needs no introduction. For those of you who might not be aware, it was made famous by Jospeh Campbell and the dictum that has come to encapsulate Campbell’s philosophy on life: “Follow your bliss.” Campbell was a professor, author, the foremost authority on world mythology and arguably, one of the last century's wisest men. His seminal work on world mythology, The Hero With A Thousand Faces, was published in 1949 and his work has influenced academics and artists - George Lucas credits Campbell's work as playing a major influence on his Star Wars saga - but Campbell came to international prominence when a six-part series of conversations between himself and legendary interviewer, Bill Moyers (The Power Of Myth), was aired in 1987, a part of which was filmed at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in California. The complete transcript of the tv series was published under the same name and has been described, rightly so, as nothing short of secular scripture — a trove of wisdom on the human experience in the canon of such rare masterworks as Thoreau’s "Journals", Simone Weil’s "Notebooks", Rilke’s "Letters To A Young Poet", and Annie Dillard’s "Pilgrim At Tinker Creek". (We highly recommend it!) This is a bit of a long introduction into saying that, continuing the search for happiness from last weeks' blog post, we were curious what Joseph Campbell had to say about 'happiness'. Campbell felt that a person should pursue what makes them happy, without fear, and don’t let it go. "The way to find out about happiness", Campbell said, "is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy - not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what is called following your bliss". Most of us are familiar with the bliss experience. A rush of joy, a loss of time, then suddenly it ends. We’re snapped back into the reality of our daily lives. Of course, we can't live in a state of sheer bliss all the time. Our brain chemistry has finite supplies of dopamine, so yes, bliss is temporary. But the experiences of bliss are truly beautiful because they are temporary. So, the secret to happiness and finding our bliss, we might conclude from Campbell's work, lies in an exercise simultaneously simple and complex: the simple act of paying attention to the moment. #josephcampbell #billmoyers #bliss #happiness #myth #powerofmyth #georgelucas #starwars #lucasranch #philosophy