Mr. X

So there's a brand of gin called Aviation (from Portland, OR) and then there's the classic cocktail called the Aviation. I don't know that a liking (or disliking) for one necessarily indicates a liking (or disliking) for the other. I like them both -- Aviation is my go-to Martini order when in Portland, OR, since it's from there, and I have ordered an Aviation made with Aviation before because it seemed like the thing to do Aviation gin uses anise seed as one of its botanicals, which is probably where McBigski gets the liqorice (I have no idea how to spell that word) flavor from. Gin2024 may get a similar thing from the star anise, though I usually find star anise to be way less licorice (?) like. It seems like it will be a floral gin, which could work in a Martini, though it will definitely depend on the preferences of the drinker. Sounds like it would be great in a Gimlet.

I mean, I did just finish another replay of Hollow Knight (this time on the Steam Deck instead of the Switch), so I'm am all ready to pick up a new Metroidvania. Thanks!

Holy cow. I haven't thought of NHAW in years. Fun times! I can imagine those were confusing times for new visitors to the forums, but not nearly as confusing as the World Cup random country assignments or the "Become Another Boarder Week."

That new Bad Moves song is so very good and so very catchy. I mean, Bad Moves tend to write memorable tunes, but I had that in my head after one listen. And now I've got it in my head again!

Out of curiosity, I checked out the New York Red Bull site just now and their season tickets range from $500 to $4000 as listed on the site, with there being at least one more tier listed as "call for price" (which often translates to "a whole lot more than those printed prices"). Those upper end prices do include things like a free parking pass for all the home games and exclusive bar/restroom access. A quick scan of other teams suggests a similar range, with the non-premium seats running $500 to $1500 for the season and some much pricier options with extra perks and access.

There are definitely more people wearing masks on the subway again in recent weeks. Nowhere near as many as two years ago, but noticeably more than at the start of this school year, when I was frequently the one masked person.

It happened in the 2019 World Series. Nationals won 4 games in Houston and Astros won the 3 games in DC.

This just reminded me of a list that was going around back when Episode I (or maybe even the Episode I trailer) came out where well-known Star Wars lines had the word "pants" subbed in somwhere. "At last we will reveal our pants to the Jedi" is the one that stuck with me and I still laugh way more than I should at it.

Holy crap. I mean, Chicago is an incredibly flat course and seems like the spot where a record could be set, but it still blows my mind a bit to think about sustaining that pace. I mean, it averages out to about 4:36 a mile! For two hours!

Ty and Daniel did an AMA on Reddit yesterday: I am James SA Corey, author of the Expanse and pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. AMA. Some questions about the adaptation of the first six books, a lot about the process of writing The Expanse books and their upcoming books (a completely new thing, inspired by Herbert and LeGuin), some unanswerable questions about future TV productions because of the strike, and a few plugs for their Patreon.

Have you played Islets at all? It's a pretty easygoing Metroidvania that I started after finishing TOTK and have been enjoying it. Definitely works well as a game I don't need to think too much about while still being fun. That's what I did as well.

UF = University of Florida, and it is a state school.

Fantastic clarification in that article:

While Xray and I were driving up to New England this past Saturday to visit my parents, we found a four-pack of Three Floyds' Dreadnaught IPA, one of EHK's favorite beers. Our first comment was, "They put this in cans now?!?" Our second was, "We are buying this in honor of EHK."

From the review: "You can also sail a capybara across a lake, which is rad." Looks like a fun, chill game!

That's F9, so I'd say you're all caught up on the lore. Of course, they'll still re-explain everything you need to know and invent or retcon other bits as necessary to push the current plot forward.

I don't find reusing the map to be a detraction. It creates a sense of "this is very familiar but just a little bit off" that works well will the story line so far. [I am only (only?) 30 hours in and have focused mainly on exploration and shrines rather than the main quests.] Then there's the fact you have the main world plus the Sky and the Depths to explore, which literally expand the world both upwards and downwards.

I did exactly this -- got one-hit by a stone talus several times in a row less than an hour after finishing the tutorial area.

I was just seriously getting into The Messenger, which I definitely recommend to other fans of platformers and metroidvanias, but now Tears of the Kingdom is sitting right there on the Switch so I think I'm going to be taking a detour back into Hyrule.

I forgot to mention that there are a ton of free concerts happening all summer long. The two biggest series are the (mostly) Central Park Summerstage and the Celebrate Brooklyn series, mostly held in Prospect Park. The majority of shows are free, with a few bigger name acts playing ticketed shows that serve to fund a lot of the free programming. I have no idea if the print version of TimeOut NYC still exists, but their website does and is updated with lots of event listings. Gothamist also has a regularly updated post of free things to do in NYC.

I second the ballgame options -- we have four baseball teams in the city if you count the two minor league options, and I highly recommend those minor league options. The Staten Island Yankee stadium is right by the ferry and all seats feature views back onto New York Harbor and the Financial District. The Brooklyn Cyclones are way down in Coney Island, but could be a nice finish to a day trip (still via subway) down there to wander the boardwalk and, if you like creaky old wooden roller coasters, ride the Cyclone. We have a ridiculous number of parks, from the big famous ones like Central Park and Prospect Park to less-known options like the Marine Park Salt Marsh, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and Alley Pond Park. There has also been a lot of work done to the waterfronts, so spots like the expanded Brooklyn Bridge Park and most of the land along the Hudson from the Financial District all the way up to the 180s or so is good for walking/biking/running or just relaxing by the water. There's also Governor's Island, which has a dedicated (paid) ferry service and, while this is New York and you're never really going to get away from all the people, does offer a nice getaway within the city from traffic and buildings and what not. We do have tons of museums--the American Museum of Natural History has a new wing opening this week that's supposed to be very cool. I'm a big fan of the Transit Museum in Brooklyn because I'm a subway nerd. The Queens Museum has my favorite exhibit ever -- the Panorama of the City of New York, which is a gigantic scale model of the whole city. In addition to the Broadway to off-off-Broadway spectrum of theater options, there are some outdoor ones happening in the summer like the widely known Shakespeare in the Park and the less widely known Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. For day trips, there's the Long Island ideas mentioned above. You can also take a ferry to Atlantic Highlands, which is the northernmost part of the Jersey shore, or you can take trains to a bunch of other spots further down the shore. If you want to do some hiking, Bear Mountain State Park is between an hour and two hours northeast of the city, depending on how you go (a little over an hour by car, probably close to two hours if you are doing a combination of bus, train, and taxi). The Appalachian Trail goes through the park.

I watched Colombia vs. Mexico earlier and now have Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela on. Both games have been entertaining balms for my baseball-starved soul. Will likely switch over to USA vs. Great Britain once this game is done.

Dom takes down two helicopters....with his car. DOM TAKES DOWN TWO HELICOPTERS!! WITH HIS CAR!!!

Def Leppard on tour for Hysteria at the Philadelphia Spectrum. I was in 9th grade and went with one of my friends, whose uncle went with us for adult supervision purposes. I remember there being a bit about "Someone threw a packet of sugar up here on the stage" as part of the "Pour Some Sugar on Me" intro. Queensryche opened and were touring Operation Mindcrime at the time. Bought that on cassette soon after. It was set up as an "in-the-round" type thing where the stage was in the center of the arena and everyone except the drummers speant a lot of time moving all around it. The floor of the stage had different coverings for each band which were effectively blown up versions of their album covers. After it, I spent a bunch of time making concert stages out of Legos. My next concert was Peter, Paul, & Mary at the Valley Forge Music Fair with my family, which, aside from also being in-the-round, was a very different vibe. Good times!