A Google Suggests This is Witty But Not Literal

After midnight these days I am watching the 2nd season of "30 Rock" on Netflix instant. Maybe later I'll write about why I had avoided the show, but the point is I am now converted, a disciple and enthusiast.

An aversion hint: So many links to SNL in the 21st Century, during which it has grown consistently mediocre, lifeless and bland -- and I realize the marvelous Tina Fey was head writer for a chunk of SNL's recent decline. Which helps explain why I avoided "30 Rock."

(SNL's supposed Renaissance due to Tina Fey's return as Sarah Palin was only a blip. Count on it.)

One source of pleasure is that each episode of "30 Rock" has some genuinely droll dialogue, spoken quickly, a virtual throwaway. I will simply reproduce a Google hit from a search I made early this morning.

Any 30 rock fans out there? Anyway, i just watched this week's episode on tivo today. In it, Jack (Alec Baldwin) orders a "Nancy Drew" but he claims that when a man orders it, it's called a "Hardy Boy".

Recipe as follows:

1 part White Rum
2 parts Diet Ginger Ale
a splash of lime


I won't bother to deconstruct the joke other than noting it's an act of generosity to older viewers, who remember the originals. Also, I was snagged in the way one sometimes is by a series without a laugh track. I wondered if the cocktail were real. And thus I searched.

Note my elegant use of the subjunctive. I hope I don't have to revise later on.