#we went bowling! it was great! the only thing that sucked is a decent chunk of the invitees didnt show

[marsixm]

the first annual dawning of the age of aquarius joint birthday bash was a fucking success and im so relieved (':

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to 2017 college football TV watch ‘em ups: conference championship saturday

Everybody’s a fraud, now’s the time to prove it.

I’ve seen too much bellyaching lately about the overall quality of the football being played this year. ACC is trash. SEC fell off. AAC ain’t shit. Pac-12 sucks. But those same corny motherfuckers complaining about the good teams will come out and try to talk about the B1G or the Big XII or the goddamned MAC or whatever. I’m telling you this is all bullshit. The mess that is this year is beautiful and I won’t brook these complaints.

All the times below are Eastern, all the betting numbers are from Vegas Insider. I hate you all and I wish you would shut up about stuff you don’t have the range to handle.

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017

Matchup                                                                             Time (ET)        TV

(20) Memphis at (14) UCF                                                 Noon              ABC

I’m sure some of you chumps are going to whine about this game but shut the fuck up. Memphis got hammered last time they went to UCF but I feel like they’ve found their stride and they’ll be able to run with the Knights this time. Anthony Miller got almost completely shut down in the first game, the Tigers need to get him involved to really have a decent chance at the more mild than it seems upset.

North Texas at Florida Atlantic                                        Noon           ESPN2

Everybody’s new favorite, Lane Kiffin, is trying to win a conference championship and earn his way into a higher paying gig. The line has moved in FAU’s favor because, of course, people betting on this don’t even know what UNT is. 11 points is pretty high for a conference championship game line. If I were just slightly stupider than I am I would bet on UNT to beat the spread.

Akron vs. Toledo                                                               Noon           ESPN

I got nothing. Toledo looked sort of OK for a MAC team when they played Miami but it was Miami’s first game back after not practicing for 2 weeks. Other than that all I know is that Soused likes Toledo. I think he’ll be at this game cheering them on.

ULM at Florida State                                                         Noon     ACCNExtra

Game of the week! I wish Jimbo would try to coach and actually have the players forfeit after the stupid wrangling to get this game rescheduled so FSU’s bowl streak could keep going. When you forfeit a bowl game does it still count as an appearance?

UMass at FIU                                                                      Noon       CUSA.TV

UMass isn’t even good in the context of C-USA.” They do have that tight end who could theoretically sneak into the first round next year, though, so that’s sort of nice. FIU is playing for an 8th win which is pretty remarkable for as bad as things have been there before they hired Butch Davis. There’s an old saying in college football: not having Ron Turner as your coach is a good thing.

(3) Oklahoma vs. (11) TCU                                                 12:30 pm       FOX

In the other MAC championship game the action seems to all be going towards Oklahoma so it stands to reason that TCU will get 3 or 4 interceptions and shoot the conference in the foot for this stupid game.

Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina                            1:00 pm      ESPN3

There is no way this game needed to be rescheduled. No possible way it is worth more to re-stage this matchup of 2-9 teams is more profitable than just letting it be cancelled due to weather.

Idaho at Georgia State                                                      2:00 pm      ESPN3

I get this one being rescheduled even though it’s kind of dumb now. Georgia State would be sitting at 10 games if this just got cancelled and, also, here’s Idaho’s last game as an FBS team.

UL Lafayette at Appalachian State                                    2:30 pm     ESPN3

2017 has to hold the record for most rescheduled games in the modern era. This is probably the worst matchup of the bunch but App State wanted the extra home game and the win to pad their resume.

(6) Georgia vs. (2) Auburn                                                 4:00 pm       CBS

This logo is definitely not canon but I love how stupid it looks. Georgia ranked 9th in the country in rushing offense this year and have at least four guys on the roster who will start as NFL running backs in the next few years. They gained 46 yards on the ground against Auburn in their first game. I’ve heard a lot of concern for Auburn’s injuries in the backfield but I don’t quite see how that adds up to Georgia being able to do anything on offense. Auburn is going to roll them again.

South Alabama at New Mexico State                                4:30 pm     ESPN3

NMSU can get to 6 wins which makes them technically bowl eligible but I’m not sure there’s a slot for them even at that. Otherwise this game got rescheduled for nobody’s gain.

Troy at Arkansas State                                                        7:30 pm    ESPN2

Arkeesaw State is favored which strikes me as odd. I know they’re a good team but I would have figured Troy -2.5 or so. If you want to take that as advice to bet on the Trojans, be my guest.

(25) Fresno State at Boise State                                       7:45 pm     ESPN

In a thrilling rematch of a bad game from last week, the 50th best team in the country gets to play on the blue turf against Boise State. I’ve got an inkling that Boise looks a lot different this week and the playoff committee has to really struggle to claim Fresno is a quality win for Alabama. They’ll still do it, but the explanation will be even dumber.

(1) Clemson vs. (7) Miami, FL                                            8:00 pm       ABC

Miami (cough-Malik Rosier personally-cough cough) really blew a chance to have a #1 vs #2 conference championship game and now the wolves are out to say the Canes were fraudulent all year wrong. I have my own inner voice that keeps telling me the version of Malik Rosier we saw last week was what I’d expected to see all year but I’m going to homer ahead and still believe the situation is less than dire. Yes, Miami is without it’s three biggest name skill threats but Travis Homer has been mostly great in relief of Mark Walton and WR is probably the deepest position group Miami has. Chris Herndon’s absence will definitely hurt but I think the speed of Jeff Thomas can make up a lot for Ahmmon Richards being out. Clemson is loaded along the defensive line and at linebacker so the Canes are going to have to get some chunk plays in the passing game to open things up. On the other side Kelly Bryant is an OK player that can be rattled so don’t be surprised if he coughs the ball up a few times. It’s the only real chance Miami has but it’s not completely ridiculous.

(8) Ohio State vs. (4) Wisconsin                                        8:00 pm      FOX

The B1G and the ACC scheduling their championship games to play last of the day is really odd. I don’t think anybody in the world complains about staying up late to watch a game more than people from Ohio and Michigan. Well, Michigan fans don’t ever have to stay up late for this game but you get my point. Ohio State’s got the reputation for defense because of a great recent track record and because of some nonsense Greg Schiano said in the preseason. In practice, Wisconsin’s defense has been better than Ohio State’s this year and they’ve got a pretty great recent track record of their own. My gut says Ohio State is better and will win but is that anything to do with these teams and these players or is it just the memory of 59-0 stamped into our collective consciousness? It’s hard for me to find an area of the game where the Buckeyes have a huge disparity in their favor. One of these two shitty quarterbacks is sure to melt down at the worst possible time. Or, worse, Jonathan Taylor will do his best Earnest Byner impression. I for sure do not trust Ohio State to cover even if it is just one score.

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[emutravels]

My most valued items from Japan

I hadn’t been to Japan before so prior to my departure so many people were giving me suggestions on packing. But what did I actually need? These people were giving me suggestions based on Tokyo life but actually rural Japan is quite different sometimes. Also personal choice and little things which are overlooked often turned out to be the most helpful.

Here is my list of items that were important to me in Japan!

1. A coin purse OR a coin-friendly wallet Japan has A LOT of coins, specifically one yens that always seem to end up in my possession. I brought two wallets with me to Japan and neither were great for holding coins. There was one day where I couldn’t deal with the fact that my bag had just become a void where I threw all my change. How does it feel to have 50,000 yen worth of coins in your bag? Pretty much how you’d assume; annoying and heavy. I also ended up having a small origami box of coins that sat on my shelf and I tried to use up for things like laundry and vending machines. Somehow at the airport I thought I’d gotten rid of all my coins when I changed currency...but they still appear from time to time.

2. Duct tape Beautiful invention that is now very close to my heart. I can’t explain why I first impulsively bought that bright yellow tape from Daiso the first time. I guess when you walk into a 100yen store sometimes you go into a trance and buy whatever you look at twice. It came in handy for sooo many things. I used it for photography, for craft, to pack parcels to send home, hanging things on my wall, etc

3. A coat. Actually several. Japan is COLD in the winter. Northern Japan is freeze-ya-face-off-cold-unless-youre-Canadian kind of weather. Some of the best clothing purchases I made were second-hand coats and jumpers.

4. Speaking of clothes. SNOW BOOTS. Don’t be afraid to shop in the childrens section if it fits you because thats how I ended up with kitsch snow boots at a decent price. They were warm and had little grips on the bottom so falling over wasn’t a problem for me! Though the worst feeling was when I stupidly didnt do them up properly and when trekking through the snow accidentally flicked a big chunk into them and got wet socks T^T

5. A ceramic bowl. I only had one bowl and I used it for everything but that was all that I needed. When you’re living in a dorm sometimes you just gotta get that instant food or go to someone else’s house who has a kitchen and is cooking a communal meal. Specially ceramic because its the most versatile. I could microwave it, make tea with it, soup, cereal, AND its easy to wash. Otherwise a nice tip is disposable cups for when you are a lazy arsehole like I am sometimes. *makes porridge, eats it, throws away the cup*

6. Food from your home country. Everyone from Australia and England went through a weird stage when we all wanted Cadbury chocolate. It’s EXPENSIVE in Japan and difficult to find in rural Japan anyway. I ended up paying my best friend to send over a package of Australian lollies and oats. I promise I didn’t eat them all myself! It was a good way to share culture as well. Like introducing people to WIZZ FIZZ and sometimes it was good to combat homesickness.

7. Deodorant. Again, rural Japan, we had limited shopping choices and I know people were constantly on the hunt to find deodorant they liked. It’s quite a new thing in that country so if you’re particular about types that you prefer like “I only like roll on and a brand which isn’t going to make me broke“.....maybe bring some with you if you go to Japan

8. An iPhone. Yesss I bought my phone in Japan. My other shitty phone died almost instantly after leaving Australia. So until AU (a phone company) graciously saved me with their student discounted bundle with lots of data, I was phoneless and it was not good. Having data was so handy that I could explore more and it pretty much saved me when I got lost in the forest. The picture quality meant that I didn’t have to worry about also getting a digital camera. It was one of those things that made me think “I love technology“. The best part is that I got an SE so its a stylish rose gold and its bulkier so *touch wood* its never cracked and I’ve already had it for almost 6 months.

9. Bento. I’m not saying that you should bring a small box to a buffet if youre a starving student and I’m deffo not saying that I did either. But a bento is a great way to save food for later and sometimes I’d just fill it with rice. Finding places to get food on the weekend was hard and sometimes I didn’t eat because I couldn’t actually get any food. All the shops around were closed and it was still maybe another 2-3 hours until the bus to the mall so I just went to sleep and tried to forget I was hungry. ITS TERRIBLE I KNOW, but if I was prepared enough I’d have a bento stashed and I could eat that instead of being a sad excuse of a person.

10. Muji pens. STOCK UP because for some reason muji brand pens became a staple. Everyone just used them for everything without question and there was a store nearby so I also got sucked into the trend. I still use them now and always have the urge to buy more even though I’m so far way from the closest shop now

Also a bonus suggestion is if you’re going to Japan during summer its advised that you get a small towel to carry with you. Many people do this, I was not one of them but maybe next time I will be.