s'just bros icing bros

So I've been sitting around all day watching tv and sleeping. I also went to the Mac health and wellness center this morning, which led to my spending $80 on pharmaceutical products at the St. Paul Corner Drug (I have taken to carrying these products around with me in a brown paper shopping bag, referring to it as my "drug bag," which brings me great joy). This pharmacy reminds me of the local drug store owned by "old man" Mr. Gower that George works at in the movie Its a Wonderful Life.



The SPCD is a really adorable pharmacy that has a soda fountain where they serve malts and coffee (for a nickel!). I kind of want to start hanging out there all the time, I think it might be a good way to make new friends. There is this one old guy named Jerry (Gerry?) who seems to go there a lot and he has a ton of friends--everyone greets him by name when he comes in! I think J/Gerry and I could be buds.


Thanks to all the drugs I bought at the SPCD store, I now feel more like this guy after a rough night of glam rockin'

Today I have also been spending some time thinking about new cultural experiences I've had in St. Paul. One interesting cultural phenomenon that I've observed is calling "Icing." In my experience, being exposed to this tradition also entails being exposed to a great deal of vomiting. This aspect made me somewhat uncomfortable at first, but I'm trying to keep an open mind for my cultural immersion experience. I researched Icing online to see what was the deal. Here is a description from a NYT article:

The premise of the game is simple: hand a friend a sugary Smirnoff Ice malt beverage and he (most participants have been men) has to drink it on one knee, all at once — unless he is carrying a bottle himself, in which case the attacker must drink both bottles of what Mr. Rospos described as a “pretty terrible” drink.

Apparently there was suspicion that Smirnoff Ice started this tradition as a viral marketing campaign but the company denies it. No one knows for sure if the roots of this cultural tradition can be found in a stealthy money-making scheme or in a true organic cultural innovation.

Do you think that we should take the origins of a cultural tradition into account when considering its worth or validity? Can real cultural traditions rise out of attempts at commercial commodification? Share your thoughts in the commments section below!