Ice on This Hot July Day

broderic on July 15, 2016

Ice! I, too, have a story about ice and Germany similar to the author of this New Yorker article. America is the land of the Free and the land of free ice…

The hotel we were staying had a bar. They all do. Hotels. Bars. The ‘we’ at the moment is co-workers as this was a business trip to a supplier in Germany.

Anyway, in the evening of this one night we had convened at the bar for a night cap. It was one of our last days there so I just wanted a Coke. I was kind of done with drinking beer so I ordered a Coke.

The bartender places a skinny, tall glass of Coke in front of me with one cube of ice in it. Just one cube!

I asked for more ice. They gave me another two cubes!

Germans don’t believe in ice. Europeans don’t in general. In America, we have the free ice.

When we were on vacation in Los Angeles early this month, I lamented the face that there was no ice machine on our floor. That was until I found out it was located around the corner. There is one in every floor.

USA! USA! USA!

ICE! ICE! ICE!

Bookstore Haul: Volume 5 – The Gamening

broderic on July 10, 2016

Avoided buying a book tonight. I wanted to, but Lorde knows I have too many sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read. I just like buying books (and things) and not reading them at all. I kind of suck that way.

Anyhow, in their last 2 46 Hour Marathon TV special, the members of Nogizaka46 played several games of Ultimate Werewolf. And because I just watched an English sub of one of these games, I ended up getting the box.

Now, after reading the instructions, the game in the box is totally different than that which Nogis played.

But who am I gonna play this with?

A long time ago, I bought another game at B&N. It was a party card game. I have yet to play it with anyone.

Finding Dory

broderic on July 9, 2016

Finding Dory. Another sequel from Pixar. Sadly, that is what they’ve been doing a lot lately. Maybe their magic is ending.

I caught this in a theatre out in Newport Beach, CA. The theatre had reclining leather couches. I fell asleep for a few minutes nodding off unsuccessfully for the previous five before my cousin woke me up with a hard nudge. I don’t think I was snoring, but I was really sleepy.

Finding Dory isn’t a boring movie per se, but it is more of the same. More of the same is boring.

3 of 5 stars.

Independence Day: Resurgence

broderic on July 9, 2016

Independence Day: Resurgence is no ID4. It is, 20 years later, ID4’s sequel. It has many of the same characters from the first one. It features Earth against alien invaders. It destroys the White House, the Capitol, Paris, London, and the East Coast all over again. It isn’t any good.

The first one was a summer smash. This one is a dud. We’ve seen the Earth destroyed countless times since ID4 that it is no longer special. Ho-hum. This one is pure popcorn. Nothing special. I almost forgot that I saw it but since a co-worker had seen it on the opening weekend. There was something to talk about.

At least Jeff Goldblum is still alive.

2 of 5 stars.

The Conjuring 2

broderic on June 26, 2016

I am writing this review as the sun has set, evening comes around, and night falls. I am not scared. I am not scared. I am **gulp** not scared.

The Conjuring 2 is further adventures of the Warrens. They are investigating the Enfield Poltergeist. They had just finished up their investigation into the Amityville Horror house. During that investigation, Lorraine has a vision of Marilyn Manson as a demon nun. He’ll haunt her dreams and that of her husbands. Is it a warning from the demon world? Or does it connect to the Enfield Poltergeist. Yes. Yes.

That being said, I was could not sleep with the lights out for a couple days after seeing this movie. It’s because of the Manson nun. There was a really frightening scene in the film As I said, the husband had also seen the nun in his dreams so he paints her. Then they hang up the painting in their office. It comes to life and it scares the crap out of me. Know why do I have to go and write about her as the night gets darker?!

It wasn’t as good as the first. And it’s starting to feel a little bit like Wan’s Insidious films. But it scared me and that was what I was looking for.

3 fo 5 stars.

いく！Here We Go Again!

broderic on June 11, 2016

Screen Shot 2016-06-11 at 08.14.30 #乃木坂46時間TV
Once more in front of the video screen to watch Nogizaka-chan do their thing for another 46 hour marathon television show. Except I’m watching on Showroom-live.com instead of Amebla.tv in order to through my stars. I’m starting to run out of stars. And I am getting tired.

Bookstore Haul: Volume 4

broderic on June 5, 2016

I guess if I blogged this before, then I’ll have to blog it again. Once more then…

Before going to the Filipino Festival, I hurried off to the bookstore to use my coupon for Harney & Sons Fresh Brewed Iced Tea. It was two tins for $15. Each tin contained 6 sachets of tea to make 2 quarts or so.

I know, I know. WTF. But I have to use that coupon because I received it. It’s like wasting money. Which it totally isn’t because it is wasting money if you buy the item anyhow. Do I need iced tea? Not really, but I do like to pretend to. Now I already had a tin of their iced tea, the raspberry flavored one, and I wanted peach and the orange. Unfortunately, they did not have the passion fruit or the pomegranate.

I usually follow the directions on the back. Steep a sachet in 2 quarts of boiling water. Add another couple of quarts to it. Serve it over ice. It’s not sweet so I would usually make up some simple syrup and add that in. It’s a good summer time brew.

The Greatest of All Time

broderic on June 4, 2016

RIP Champ.

Muhammed Ali is dead. The greatest of all time. Cassius Clay.

Let me share with you the story of the time I met him. I was but an undergrad at the U and was finishing up my junior year. I was the camera man on a student documentary about Midnight Basketball, a night league in the inner city of Miami to keep juveniles on the straight. We were done most everything and the director was putting the film together. He had some contacts such that when the sponsor came to town, he finagled us a meet up with the sponsor. Turns out it was Muhammed Ali. We met him in a downtown hotel after he had given a speech to a GIrl’s and Boy’s club. It was only a few minutes. We got pictures and autographs. I still have mine — framed. It is on a Nation of Islam brochure. I never got the picture because I forgot to meet up with the director before he graduated. Somewhere there is a photo of me getting knocked out by the Greatest.