This week we marked the birthday of Christopher Hitchens, a known proponent of the most extreme Hashlike behavior. As we follow the Marx through the hutongs between Houhai and the Forbidden City, let us take some time to imbibe his sobering(or not so sobering) advice:

“The best blended Scotch in the history of the world – which was also the favourite drink of the Iraqi Baath Party, as it still is of the Palestinian Authority and the Libyan dictatorship and large branches of the Saudi Arabian royal family – is Johnnie Walker Black. Breakfast of champions, accept no substitute.”

— “On the whole, observe the same rule about gin martinis — and all gin drinks — that you would in judging female breasts: three is too many, and one is far too few. “

— “The four most over-rated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics.”

— “The only worthwhile miracle in the New Testament