#this is such a weird combo but I know too many st fans who are also into saw

[snoji]

the weird connection between star trek fans and saw fans really needs to be studied

[radramblog]

Every Boros Commander, Part 2

Where we last left off, I was shitting on Adriana, Captain of the Guard, who gives ACAB a pretty different meaning. Fortunately, most of the pickings this time aren’t quite as dire.

Depala, Pilot Exemplar (3rd most played as of writing)

Holy shit, a Boros commander with card advantage? It’s niche, but it was a first. Being limited to Dwarves and Vehicles does leave her with a problem a lot of commanders and tribes tend to have, which is being just a smidge under critical mass- but with the upcoming Kaldheim appearing to support Dwarves, and vehicles appearing to be a deciduous mechanic, I feel like it won’t be long before Depala is as powerful as her placement suggests. She is niche and mana-hungry, but basically the only Vehicle commander (and definitely the only Dwarf commander at the moment), so I suspect she’s here to stay for a while.

Tiana, Ship’s Caretaker (15th most played as of writing)

Tiana is possibly my favourite character lorewise in all of magic, frankly. She’s cool and cute and a massive dork and also someone who found her purpose in life, and frankly I love that for her. 

She’s also a really interesting commander to build around, seeing as she has a unique brand of card advantage that leads to the addition of old and weird cards, which I’m always a fan of. I should really get around to building a Tiana deck, to be honest, though I already have 10 commander decks with an 11th in progress, sooooo…

Firesong and Sunspeaker (4th most played as of writing)

I’m surprised to see F&S this high, but the first unique Buy-a-Box card did expand into an archetype previously unseen in the combination in the form of Boros Spellslinger (Dalakos would later return the favour as an Izzet Equipment commander). Previously, you had to go into Pauper EDH and play fellow Minotaur Blaze Commando for this kinda deck. Like Depala, F&S are heavily played despite being niche, though the also have the benefit of being a RW minotaur commander, if you want to play White instead of Black in that deck for…some reason? The siren moo of Boros Reckoner speaks to us all, I suppose.

Sylvia Brightspear and Khorvath Brightflame (17th most played as of writing)

The only partner pair I’m discussing today on account of their monogamy. Knights and Dragons make a weird combination, seeing as there are basically no other cards that help them work together rather than apart. You could almost run them as a goodstuff deck if you wanted, seeing as many of Boros’s best creatures are Knights or Dragons, but largely I think sticking to one or the other is probably for the best. With that in mind, the pair are actually the only real commanders for either tribe within Boros- the only other Dragon is something we’ll get to, and the only knight is…Adriana…so…. The buffs given by either pair are excellent, and not something that either tribe gets easy access to typically, so I can see the appeal of them in that slot. At that point, the extra commander is just a bonus.

Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice (21st most played as of writing)

Oh, another Aurelia, and she’s worse this time. In seriousness, her ability looks like its likely to be targeting herself most of the time, and Mentor just doesn’t do enough in this format. She has enough keywords and power to Voltron, but I’m not expecting much interesting from her outside of that.

Tajic, Legion’s Edge (18th most played as of writing)

Tajic has 4 separate lines of text for some reason, and only one (ok fine two haste is nice) actually matters. Having a damage prevention effect is nice in the zone, but it doesn’t apply to himself, so if you’re planning on turning mass damage one-sided you’re going to need to protect him still. And like, what else does he do? He’s not a good aggro commander at all, his last ability is a joke, why are people playing this card? If I was in a mass damage deck I’d just play Gisela, at least she does something on the off chance she survives. Probably no-one is gonna go out of the way to kill Tajic, at least. Beats out Aurelia for biggest downgrade, imo, even if Aurelia fell from higher.

Feather, the Redeemed (Number 1 most played at time of writing)

Feather is the most popular Boros commander, by over triple the next most popular. It’s not hard to see why: she’s a cheap commander that turns any targeted cantrip into a draw engine, she synergises with so many random powerful cards that you can build her a fair few different ways, and she’s a cool story character getting a card 12ish years after her appearance in the Ravnica novels. She does so much and is so interesting that it’s completely understandable that she’s as huge as she is. I’m still never going to build her though, even with my funky Japanese copies, if only because I’m too much of a hipster.

Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero (13th most played as of writing)

Kinda funny that Gerrard’s little text that made him work in the command zone until recent rules changes is now a strict downside. Gerrard has his niche, with a Second Sunrise in the zone unsurprisingly supporting Eggs decks rather nicely, and synergising with a lot of just random bullshit. I’d probably never build him, and it seems pretty easy to make it degenerate, but I’m glad he’s here and he’s certainly better than the first iteration of the character.

Haktos, the Unscarred (12th most played as of writing)

I’m kinda surprised to see Achilles this high, considering how recent he is. He reminds me a lot of Progenitus, oddly enough, as a commander that would be good at Voltron but can’t get buffed easily by traditional means. I think adding equipment on the off-chance that it fits his heel is a complete mistake, but things like Silverblade Paladin and Exalted cards do exist, so fair play. He’s pretty hard to kill unless you’re boardwiping, and even then damage-based ones probably miss, so I can see the value in that. But that mana cost hurts to look at- hitting 2 mana of 2 different colours on turn 4 was a pain back when I played Trostani, and that was a green deck.

Stet, Draconic Proofreader (No data available)

Okay look, I tried so hard to find a way to abuse this dork’s ability but there’s just no good way to do it. Stet sucks hard enough that even if you are playing with Silver-Bordered cards legal I just don’t know why you’d ever run it. His art is pretty funny, I’ll give it that. We got Alexander bloody Clamilton and Surgeon Commander in the same cycle, keep in mind.

Winota, Joiner of Forces (2nd most played as of writing)

Having menaced standard, Winota is still pretty decent as a commander, even without access to her 7-mana blue payload.  There actually aren’t that many beefy humans to cheat out in general, but considering how easy it is to enable her ability and the fact that she digs *6 cards deep* on trigger, I think you just kinda end up swarming the board distressingly easy with her deck. It’s shocking to see a card from 2020 in the top 5 like this, considering how the year has gone for the format in general, but like. 6 cards.

Zirda, the Dawnwaker (8th most played as of writing)

Look it combos with Basalt/Grim monolith in the command zone isn’t that neat. Zirda is pretty open-ended, but not especially powerful outside of the aforementioned combo. I find them much more appealing in the Companion slot, frankly. With that said, I do like that Boros is the colour pair getting access to Training Grounds in the zone, seeing as it works well with its other themes (Equipment mostly) and opens new archetypes (Cycling, etc.) up as possibilities.

Akiri, Fearless Voyager (7th most played as of writing)

Haha, Brion has more decks than Akiri. That’s probably since it only released a few months ago. Of course, I’m not including the other Akiri, so this is the first time we’ve seen her on the list. But apart from that, Akiri was somehow the first of these commanders to actually say “draw” on it. Her synergies with Living Weapon (and the recent equipment cards that do the same) are pretty sick, though her second ability will end up costing a lot of mana over time if you have to use it. I think its hilarious how much more value this gives you than Adriana for doing the thing Adriana wants you to do, at 2 less mana.

Also, she’s probably the best general for Kor tribal? I guess you could go Akiri/Black partner so you can play Orah in the deck. Someone build this! Kor like equipment, Akiri likes equipment, lets go.

It’s only just occurred to me that Akiri gives you more for attacking other players than Adriana does. Fuckin hell, man.

Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant (25th most played as of writing)

Bell finally getting a card 15 years after his fictional death was a welcome treat, but the exile-related ability is frankly awkward and abusing it to 1 or 2 hit commander damage is pretty difficult. Still, having impulse draw in the zone makes him probably just the best generic #goodstuff commander. I’m surprised he’s as low as he is, but he only released a month ago (at time of writing) and we got an absolute stack of legends (including 2 other Boros ones and the partners) in the same set.

Reyav, Master Smith (28th most played as of writing)

Reyav is neat since he combines 2 of Boros’s more traditional archetypes, being Aggro and Voltron, into one damage doubling dwarf. I suspect his lack of play is again due to the other legends in the same set and that it only dropped a month ago, because there’s no way he deserves to be below Munda. Also, he’s 2 mana! The only other 2CMC Boros Legend is partner Akiri! How did that happen? I think he deserves better. You can suit him up and get dunking real quick.

Wyleth, Soul of Steel (16th most played as of writing)

Our final general is Boros’s second ever Precon commander, and the only one with flavour text. He’s got the space for it, considering how much work that second line is doing. I appreciate that Wyleth, despite being superficially similar to Akiri, plays pretty differently, as he prefers Voltron while she prefers spreading equipment out. I assume Wyleth would be a lot higher if the precon itself was included, but there’s no way of knowing how many people are playing just the base deck, so who knows.

A CHALLENGER APPROACHES!!!

Koll, the Forgemaster (no data available) This bloke got spoiled between me writing most of this and going to publish it. I can see a few easy combos with his first ability, especially seeing as Grafted Wargear is a card. Playing fairly though, his first ability feels kinda slow, and not being able to protect himself is a huge drag. The second ability feels kinda stapled on, as its a way of giving you a bonus since the first one doesn’t do shit for tokens. But like, just don’t equip them, lmao. Awkward, but has potential.

And that’s the lot of them! Uhhhh yeah that’s all I’ve got, stan Tiana kthnxbai

[tampaish-blog]

Boba/Bubble tea review guide to Tampa Bay (by @tampaish)

“Wait, what IS boba/bubble tea???!”  Boba and bubble tea are used interchangeably. Boba is the tapioca pearls (v high in starch, and often soaked in sugar/sweeteners so def not healthy btw) and it’s often put into teas and sipped from those fat straws. I think it started in Taiwan with milk teas (teas with milk added). Personally, I don’t like milk teas bc they are often made with powder and make me wanna throw up (I’m lactose-intolerant, but I also hate the taste of dairy so even if it’s lactose-free whatever added, i still don’t like the taste). In the past 5 years, boba’s been a hot hit all over the US. As you’ll see, it’s especially peaked in areas near colleges and with a high Asian-population. 

**MY HISTORY WITH BOBA** I tried bubble tea for the first time in China like 10ish years ago. I hated it, I thought the boba was disgusting and squishy and weird, and I threw my drink away. Fast-forward a couple years when I was in Gainesville and was re-introduced to bubble tea at Lollicup. Lollicup (now TeaStori) is the older sibling of Bobacup in Tampa, and I was addicted and went there ALL. THE. TIME. It was the only bubble tea place in Gainesville for several years, and I was used to their texture of boba as the standard. 

Now, I probably get bubble tea on average 7 times a week. and I have for a couple years... You could say my boba pack year history is around 4 years ;)  tehe, ok, let’s end this medical-analogy and get to the real good shit.

**A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF (almost) EVERY BUBBLE TEA/BOBA PLACE IN TAMPA BAY!** Somewhat sorted by location from closest to furthest away from USF, which is really the boba mecca in Tampa Bay! Click here or the image below to view the instagram story highlights which has all the deets!

for those of you who would prefer a text-summary, I'll do so below

***USF AREA***

Right across the street from one of the entrance/exits of USF leads you almost directly to Bobacup. I'd heard about Bobacup long before I'd been, since I was living in Gainesville when it opened and back then, it also served food! Now they don't serve hot food: just french macarons & mochi ice cream (along with bubble tea, duh)! My favorite things about Bobacup are: super cute seasonal decorations (February brings out so many huge cute fluffy teddy bears!!!), including a swing that often changes with tea-puns (e.g. "Love you to infini-tea")! My second favorite thing is how many options for toppings they have, including some seasonal flavored soaked boba (NOT poppers, ugh i hate poppers, but they also have poppers...) and they had heart, dolphin, and star-shaped jellies last year!! They also started having crystal jelly (aka agar jelly) which I've been obsessed with!! And mini honey boba, aloe vera, lychee, etc etc etc. My third favorite thing is that the loose leaf teas are $3 for a large!!!! :D I get that a lot, and when I want to treat myself, I get an avocado snow (capped with a candy that looks like the avocado pit!)

Across the street is a boba place that's open until midnight (latest in all the tampa bay area) called "The Boba House". The drinks are super sweet and boba isn't too good, but I do like the artsy/alt vibes and if you're craving boba at 11:30pm, there's only one place to go...

Chewy Boba is behind Bobacup but in a diff plaza. It's decently new, and offers 10% off to students. They also have macarons. The tea and macarons are okay, I'm not a huge fan but I know others who love it... They have arcade games and sometimes lots of ppl gather to chill

Kung Fu Tea has some of my favorite drinks. I've been addicted to their wintermelon black tea since I discovered it years ago, and last year I discovered another addiction: logan jujube tea (it comes with longan pieces in the tea!). I get the wintermelon 30% sweet and logan 0% (it's still p sweet bc they add syrup). I like red bean and/or boba as textures in them. The ppl who work there are all nice except this one guy who isn't so nice, but I tolerate him bc i'm addicted... seriously. ADDICTING. I've tried other types of teas (like their WOW milk teas) at KFT and hated them. The food is amazing tho, i've tried the squid, chicken, calamari, fried shrimp... All really good and you get a ton of food

Naga Tea is open until 11pm, which makes it the second-latest bubble tea place in tampa (after The Boba House). Their teas taste great & the boba is okay most of the time. I recommend coming here to treat yourself bc it can get pricey, esp since I think the mix'n'match drinks are the best (try lychee and peach, or peach and wintermelon!) The boba is flavorless (not soaked in sweetener) so I don't like it as much as sweetened...

Kalesia Tea Lounge is my all-time biggest addiction. They have such an expansive space to study/work/chill, which is super important to me as I'm often looking to spend at least a couple hours studying while I'm at these places. EVERY tea i've gotten from them has tasted great. My favorite loose leaf teas are: coconut oolong, kyoto rose, and moroccan mint. My favorite specialty drinks are: dirty chai and strawberry matcha. I LOVE that i can get boba with my dirthy chai!! My only complaints about Kaleisia is thaty they now close at 8pm daily, and they don't have a large variety of textures (only boba, chia, and poppers). Kaleisia also offers good food that's mostly vegan! I like their $5.50 noodles with full on spicy sauce. Fun fact: “Kaleisia” is derived from “Kaleidoscope” and “Asia”! Pro tip: Check the calendar near the tea wall to see if there’s any special deals of the day. They also have “Teas of the Month” which are $0.50 cheaper than otherwise.

Quickly Boba opened up near USF, and they offer food. I like the food (only had one bowl) but their teas are nothing special imo. I get the rose or some flavored normal tea. I think their location in Brandon tastes better for tea.

**OUTSIDE OF THE USF AREA**

BRANDON, FL

Green Island Yogurt and Tea is mostly tea. I have rarely seen anyone come in here for yogurt... I really like their teas. They taste good and just as importantly, and very well-priced. The boba is okay, nothing extraordinary. I DO like their food though, I think it’s yummy and well-priced too. I really like the flavor.

TBD @ 301 is new and surprisingly (despite their large tea wall), their teas don’t taste good, and the boba is realllyyyy bad. However, I would recommend this place because they do a very good lunch meal combo with various Filipino foods and a tea for like, cheap (forget exact price). The chicken adobo was soooo delicious. And the people working there are super nice, and I think they donate 10% of proceeds to some charity. or maybe it was 5% or 1%, whatever.

***WESLEY CHAPEL***

Buttermilk Provisions serves Kaleisia tea and boba, but the boba is horrible. I’d recommend you get tea without boba, or get a coffee or something. They’re really not known for their bubble tea, so stick with their cafe-stuff.

***ST. PETE AREA***

Moonlight Boba is new and sooo good. The ppl working are super nice and helpful. I loved the tea flavor, and my noodles were SO GOOD. I’ve been here 3x and every time it’s been consistently good.

Moonlight Teahouse is 10min away from Moonlight Boba, but NOT associated with each other at all!!! Moonlight Teahouse also serves tea and food, but imo Moonlight Boba is better in just about everything (service, food, tea)... 

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/superstitious-minds-the-rituals-that-obsess-winners/

Superstitious minds: The 'rituals' that obsess winners

“It’s not really superstitious. It’s a thing you do every time. There are guys literally that think they won’t play good if they don’t do the same thing (every time),” Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones tells CNN Sport, speaking ahead of the NHL Playoffs’ start.

Let’s face it, even if you might find it hard to admit, we all probably have a few habits that get us out of the house and through each day.

A Montreal Canadiens video crew chronicled Andrew Shaw’s intriguing pregame routine — including slashing a teammate in the knee pad and orchestrating 50 different handshakes — in which he admits: “I’ve added little things that I find just help me get ready for the game.

“I think now it’s just being superstitious going into every game. Most players do have a routine. If they say they don’t, they are lying to you.”

‘Rigid routine’

When NHL players are asked about their pregame routine, they often answer in a sheepish, almost noncommittal way — “Oh that’s not me but let me tell you about my teammate.”

Many players don’t readily expand on their daily routines likely out of fear of not wanting to sound odd or give away a secret that an opponent, or even worse a teammate, can use against them.

Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele warns: “We have (Dustin) Byfuglien on our team who is a big jokester, so anyone who has a superstition probably needs to get rid of it if you play on the Winnipeg Jets. If you set your sticks up a certain way. You put your pads a certain way. Buff’s gonna knock ’em over.”

Even so, Scheifele, who is the Jets leading goal scorer, has a ritual that ‘afflicts’ several other NHLers — wanting to be the last skater off the ice after the warm-up.

“I am the last one to go off. I like being on the ice. I like shooting around. I like it when no one else is out there. The way I look at it is that if I’m the last one off the ice, I’ve prepared the most.”

READ: Carolina Hurricanes — NHL side dividing opinion with outlandish celebrations

Rock, paper, scissors

Problem is that the Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin has the same last man mentality — cue an impromptu game of rock, paper, scissors.

“It’s not like I have ever gone up to Tyler and said: ‘Hey, let’s play rock, paper scissors to see who gets off the ice last,’ says Scheifele. “Sometimes I would just give it to him. Or he would give it to me.

“And then one time he put out his dukes like he wanted to play rock, paper scissors, and I was like this is awesome. I think that’s the fun part of hockey. Obviously, we are competitors but that is a fun way to settle that score.”

When St. Louis Blues forward Ryan O’Reilly arrives at the arena, he’s intent on chilling rather than warming up.

“When I get to the rink, the first thing I do — I get in the cold tub. Its one of those things that wakes myself up. It gets my legs feeling the right way.”

Speaking of cold, according to Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle, his former teammate Jeff Halpern, who is now coaching with the (Tampa Bay) Lightning, used to put his skates in the refrigerator.

“I remember seeing his skates in the fridge and thought that was kinda of … something quirky,” laughs Yandle.

READ: Filip Forsberg on his journey from Sweden to the Nashville Predators

‘Stick in the bathroom’

Other notable pregame routines center around food, with carb consumption high on the menu.

“Chicken and pasta. I think everyone does it. Grilled chicken and penne vodka (sauce),” said Yandle.

It’s pasta and chicken every time for Vasilevski, who is also intent on not varying his breakfast.

“Eggs, bacon, toast, latte. I’m doing latte at home. I have a big café machine. I can be a barista at Starbucks at this point.”

Ottawa Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot doesn’t want to disrupt his meal routine but also doesn’t want to tire of it.

“Chicken and pasta at home and on the road, I’ll do salmon and rice or salmon and pasta. Just ’cause we play so many games, I feel like I’ll get tired of chicken and pasta and I don’t want to get tired of it ’cause I like it.”

Scheifele is a fan of beet juice, while Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller has a soft spot for sweet potato.

The Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup run last season highlighted Alexander Ovechkin’s carb-powered Italian combo.

The Russian forward has a local Italian restaurant — Mamma Lucia — deliver to him before every home game, chicken parmesan, pasta, bread, and four separate sauces — alfredo, meat, mushroom marsala, and marinara.

“There’s no shame,” Ovechkin’s teammate Brooks Orpik told the Players’ Tribune. “It’ll be 11 in the morning, way before anyone is really thinking about eating lunch, and Ovi will walk into the dining area yelling, “Mama Lucia! Mama Lucia! [sic].

“I don’t know. It’s weird, but it seems normal now. Then, a few hours later, he’s outskating everyone on the ice, knocking guys on their asses.”

READ: Gabriel Landeskog — From Stockholm to NHL stardom

‘Great One’

Widely known as the best player to ever play the game, “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky, told Graham Bensinger in 2016, that back in his day, Snickers, hot dogs, and Diet Cokes were the fuel that powered him through.

Compare this to three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain counts on a simple peanut butter and jelly before each game.

But don’t let the simple sandwich fool you. Crosby’s before-the-puck-drop rituals might be the most well known. But as someone who has won multiple Olympic golds and Stanley Cups, who can say they aren’t working?

“There is just too many, it’s hard now after you do things for so long to know what is a superstition and what’s just part of your daily routine,” Crosby acknowledged in a 2017 post-practice interview. “There’s a lot of guys in here that have them — they just don’t want to admit it.”

During Crosby’s sixth season, a HBO camera crew followed “Sid the Kid” during his pregame routine — willingly taking the long way around the arena as to not walk in front of the visitors’ locker room.

The aforementioned Jones, who says he is not really superstitious, is quick to smile and highlight one of his teammate’s routines. “Boone Jenner is one of the weirdest ones I’ve seen on the bench.

Every time he comes on the bench from a shift, he’ll take (a sip of) water, then Gatorade, water, Gatorade, spit, spit … there is like a certain sequence to it. And if he messes it up — he’s done.”

Jenner counters with, “I’m not the worst.” But in jest seems to admit that if he has a good game or scores, the next pregame meal must be reenacted – right down to the same time, same table and same guy paying the bill.

Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cam Atkinson almost appears to laugh in the face of superstitions — the All-Star forward wears the #13 on his back.

When called out about the monotony of his chicken and pasta routine, Atkinson countered: “you should ask (Johnny) Gaudreau about his pre-game lunch.”

At this point Atkinson cracks a big smile. Atkinson knows the Calgary Flames star well. So, well that Gaudreau actually wears the #13 in homage to Atkinson.

“Gaudreau has pasta but has never had pasta sauce in his life. So he gets a big bowl of pasta with nothing — not even butter, no cheese, nothing. I don’t know how you can do that.”

Gaudreau too seems impervious to all of this. “I’m not superstitious at all. I was born on August the 13th. Friday the 13th.”

‘Left side first’

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, a 10-year NHL veteran, has learned not to allow specific routines to dictate his game approach.

“You can’t just throw away a game because you are superstitious. I always told myself is to make sure to never let it affect what you are doing if you are unable to do it. That’s the difference to having a routine and superstition.”

Then again, someone like Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry, a 2-time Olympic champion and Stanley Cup winner, readily admits that he counts on his elaborate routine to prepare him for a 60-minute game.

“I stretch at the same time,” he told the Players’ Tribune. “I ride the bike the same amount of minutes. I get dressed left foot first — everything left side first. Touch all the doors on the way out (to the ice). The list goes on and on.”

Team-based Stanley Cup Playoff rituals vary; refusing to shave in order to grow thick beards as their teams advance toward the Final, or the subtle tradition of “to touch or not to touch” the conference championship trophy en route to playing for the Stanley Cup, and lest not forget one of the most unique title winning traditions — spending the day with the trophy.

Confidence is key

There is scientific reasoning behind the myriad of rituals on display in the NHL.

George Gmelch, a professor of anthropology at the University of San Francisco who has studied superstition in baseball for decades, says that superstitions tend to be more prevalent in areas where there’s a lot of uncertainty — such as elite sport.

“What they’re really doing is giving themselves confidence,” said Gmelch.

“If I do these little rituals, then I’m gonna feel confident going into this activity, and I can succeed and do well.”

So for the next two months as the post-season plays out, before the coveted Cup is lifted skyward, keep an eye out for the unique – dare we say fun — individual routines. But whatever you do, just don’t mention the word superstitious.

[weliketheiroldstuff]

Corrosion of Conformity brought some Southern Metal grooves to St Andrews Hall with The Skull, Mothership, and Witch Mountain

In just the first 30 seconds in the parking lot, I hear from another person who just parked before me say to the attendant "So we can like have sex in the parking lot?" And the lot attendant goes "Oh you paid, do whatever you want". I look across the street to see two hipsters struggling to get an electric scooter to work. I can already tell as weird as it sounds to some, to myself and many other Michigan folk this is the start of a typical night in Detroit.

Walked up to the front of St Andrews Hall to get searched before entering the venue. My security guard was very nice but at some point, my 300mm fell out of my camera bag. To me, I saw a lens I've dropped a ton of times that costs about $75 brand new take another beating. They acted like it was the worst thing ever. I'm laughing they're freaking out. I say "fellas its less than 100 bucks and not the first nor last time I will drop it. It's okay. Also, I'm really high."

Witch Mountain from Portland, Oregon is as soulful as it is heavy. I hear this woman's voice belting through the speakers of the hall and I keep thinking of Paul Rudd in that Forgetting Sarah Marshall movie. "You got a lot of pain behind those eyes. You know what cures that? Weed. Ya got any?" This woman's fucking vocal range is heart-wrenching. As strong as her singing voice is she has a brutal growl and scream that could easily helm a death metal band all on its own.

Mothership is a trio of space cadets that will warp your mindset into desiring LSD and Cocaine, maybe even more than you already do ya fucking savages. Facial expressions and guitar solos that will make ya laugh to you say "god damn these boys can rip".

As usual, at the elder metal shows even though I am a middle-aged man now I am still a fucking baby here. It's Monday and these guys are already getting it in. A few are actually being fucking obnoxious as fuck and I am so interested to see what's gonna happen with that. Multiple canes, endless bald-spots, and an irreplaceable urge to wear all black. Present company included.

The Skull is fucking sick. Elders to my generation that bring so much fucking heart to this style of metal music. "This is a cover song. If you don't like it, that's too fucking bad. We can't win that game." Grooving along upstairs I am reminded of King Diamond. These dudes can fucking wail and there's not a single song under 5 minutes.

Corrosion of Conformity is a band that’s been in my eardrums for 25 years. I’ve been a fan for a long time and well this is the 2nd time I got the chance to photograph them. I’ll say this, there is a stark difference between them playing a bigger venue as a supporting act to them playing a more intimate venue as the headliner. They fucking rip. The first time I photographed them they were amazing live, but it was pretty toned down and maybe it was just a little early in the night.

This go-round they might have had a couple of Corrosion combos at the bar (tallboy of PBR and a shot of Jameson) and feeling super comfortable and loose. Their energy was not of some metal elders but that of some fucking young bucks beating the shit out of their instruments with raw southern metal baby! I fucking enjoyed myself greatly, watching these dudes rip through songs like “Paranoid Opioid” and “Albatross” before eventually ending the night with their classic “Clean My Wounds”. If you have never had the privilege of seeing COC live, please do yourself the favor and go to a show. What an absolute blast of a night! Some more dates on this tour are still available so get tickets if you’re in one of these cities. Check out the full gallery below!

www.instagram.com/iliketheiroldstuff www.instagram.com/sherburtphoto www.twitter.com/oldstuffmedia www.twitter.com/sherburtphoto weliketheiroldstuff.tumblr.com

[viralhottopics]

I Love Nick Viall, But He Needs To Get His Shit Together

Welcome to this week’s recap! We need to talk about Nick Viall!!!!

Our boy is a messy bitch.

Dude is 36 and a 4-time contestant and he just cannot get his shit together. He has a handpicked selection of 25 beautiful, (mostly) employed, relatively pleasant (if not somewhat crazy, because, reality TV) women and so far he hasn’t had real chemistry with even ONE of them.

Part of this has to do with Nick’s lack of self-awareness. He spent a lot of his life feeling (rightfully) like a nerd. He suddenly got famous and a hot cross-fit bod and someone told him how to do his hair. It’s overwhelming. I think he said yes to because it was aspirational to him to be fought over, but spent exactly zero time thinking about how the kind of girls who go on the show are not the kind he specifically is going to connect with.

I’m going to do the recap in the typical way, talking about how the girls did this week even though it’s not really fair to present the episode as if it’s still a competition. It’s more like everyone hanging out for a few weeks and at the end Nick takes one of them aside and asks if she wants to be his part time fwb “or something”.

Nick Viall has an absurdly huge case of Peter Pan syndrome and every single one of those ladies could do exceptionally better. #thebachelor

— Kendra Syrdal (@kendrasyrdal) January 31, 2017

eliminated

Taylor

This week Taylor got eliminated AGAIN! She broke the cardinal rule which is not to let your relationship become all about some other girl. Bye!

Josephine

Josephine seems pretty weird in a way they didn’t edit to be interesting to watch. Maybe I will subscribe to her Snapchat as a consolation prize.

Jamie

Jamie should be the new bartender on .

Alexis

Can I pls just once have a guy dump me by saying “you already know you’re incredible.” Even though she went home, I still felt like Alexis won this episode.

Also, it somehow goes unnoticed but Alexis is low key the most beautiful girl on this season:

Main chick You deserve all the happiness in the world BEBA ily @beba_gjon

A photo posted by Alexis Waters (@alexiswaters_) on Feb 5, 2017 at 10:24am PST

Call me Alexis! Lets get weird together.

Jasmine

Jasmine played herself out of this game. I liked her and wanted to see more of her, but there’s just no coming back from being that neurotic. The one thing that never helps a relationship where you feel like you’re more in it than the other person is announcing that observation to the other person.

Tho, I am a huge fan of this line “I’ve been to St. Thomas. I don’t need you to bring me here.”

Also previous trailers for this season kind of made it seem like Jasmine was going to develop into villain #2 after Corinne, her being kicked off without that ever having happened makes that editing seem vaguely racist.

Whitney

We all saw Whitney’s exit coming. They didn’t give her any screen time or plot — even though she’s v hot and seems cool. But I also think a good rule of thumb is that the kind of person who doesn’t get a lot of screen time on a reality show is probably also the kind of person you’d want to know in real life.

Danielle L

Danielle L is one of the hottest women I’ve ever seen on television so I’ve been surprised all season that Nick hasn’t shown a gigantic preference for her — and especially surprised he two-on-one-d her last night. I actually know it’s true that beautiful people still have problems, but it still reads as cognitive dissonance for my brain. I mean, look:

Missing my dear friend @falinethephotog Here's a shot from my feature for @fhmagram MUA @lynetteburns

A photo posted by Danielle Lombard (@daniellellombard) on Nov 28, 2016 at 2:19pm PST

Found the swan princess this weekend! So much fun in the sun HBD @yous_a_hoeee #summersun #swanprincess #poolparty

A photo posted by Danielle Lombard (@daniellellombard) on Aug 22, 2016 at 11:34am PDT

I need to stop I been doing too much I been running too fast I been testing my luck I been living cloud nine I been at it all night I been feeling so loved I been waking up lit I been making up shit I been spilling my guts I been feeling so blessed But stressed all day So what

A photo posted by Danielle Lombard (@daniellellombard) on May 31, 2016 at 10:38am PDT

I know, objectively, that being beautiful isn’t an end all, be all but damn. In a show all about attraction, Danielle L can’t make it through. I realize this is mostly about the kind of guy Nick is and how he should have never gone on the show to begin with, but it seems insane that he can’t feel an attraction for her.

As she limo cries her way out of the show Danielle L says “maybe I’m just not perfect” which is truly sad because she basically is??? So, there’s a bottomless pit of people below her who are even less perfect and somehow still can’t be enough for someone. Life is so fun!!!! I’m such a fan.

still in the running

Corinne

Maybe Corinne will be the new Vienna? I keep assuming she’s going to go home and being wrong.

I’m surprised Nick likes her so much, tbh. But also, I fricken LOVE her. I hope she’s getting a spinoff about like, what kind of snacks she likes to eat and other things I should idolize her for besides drinking champagne in bed on her rest days.

Also, I want a guy who looks at me the way Corinne looks at her maid:

Kristina

For some reason Kristina surprised me this episode. I had assumed she was filler before but her date with Nick was very sweet and genuine. I’m a fan now.

Raven

I started out liking Raven but she grows on me more every week (though, like Corinne I also think she is not right for Nick). Did anyone else notice she seemed super psyched when they house realized Corinne got to stay?

Danielle M

Danielle M is definitely a frontrunner. She’s the kind of combo of sweet and “serious” that could convince Nick she’s a good pick, even though she’s not right for him. (Hidden theme of this season: women who are not right for Nick).

Vanessa

All the Thought Catalog girls are totally convinced Nick is going to end up with Vanessa. I think he’s going to get to the end and think “well Vanessa is very serious” and confuse that with making the right choice. Vanessa is actually awful and even though I think Nick is a little bit not-a-catch, he can do better than to settle for the kind of boring, conventional relationship/life she wants.

Rachel

Rachel accomplishes being neurotic without being a Debbie Downer. She’s honest and vulnerable, in a positive way that brings Nick closer. For the 500th time, she’s too good for Nick, so pls let her be the next Bachelorette.

Burning questions for next week’s episode

How many times will Nick cry???

No really????

Will this episode just be 120 minutes of people crying???

Will Corinne sex Nick out of his existential despair???

Unrelated burning question: how can we work ‘can I walk you out?’ into our collective vernacular as the most neutral/expedient means of ending a difficult conversation???

See you next week!

Read more: http://tcat.tc/2k4DiKa

from I Love Nick Viall, But He Needs To Get His Shit Together