Friday Night NFL Links

by | Sep 6, 2024 | Cocktails, Daily Links | 105 comments

Yet again, I’ll not be around, not because I’ll be watching the Iggles and the Packers, but because the girlfriend and I have tickets to go see a band that we both like. I hope the rest of you have enjoyable weekend kickoffs as well.

Speaking of kickoffs… it doesn’t matter what the official name is. It’s still the Jake, the Gund, and the Muni (or the Factory of Sadness). It’s not like we don’t lean into it.

‘member when streaming was going to make everything simpler? About that

Pussies. Also not a punk band.

This seems a reasonable and justified suit, it’s in no way chilling.

At long last, someone locally (gives a long baleful stare at the rag that used to have the concert box in the print edition) is back offering up a single calendar for music and shows at venues. It is for a very specified market though.

I for one welcome the death of live service games.

Pretty sure this isn’t original research, but we are in a replication crisis.

This is likely not to my tastes, but I don’t recoil in horror like others have. Of course, we have stands at the West Side Market that sell all sorts of flavors, from sweet (Brown Sugar or Christmas Ale) to savory (Cajun).

Warner Brothers, after shitting the bed with the DC Universe, has decided to try to take away Borderlands crown. I never thought we would look back to the days of Uwe Boll as a better time for video game movies.

As we (ostensibly) head into fall, let’s start going with a drink that will lean into some of those fall flavors. As a coincidence, it was also sent to me from a local distillery (they recommended their black cherry wood variant for it).

Autumn Kickoff Sour Recipe

  • 3 parts bourbon (3 ounces)
  • 1 part maple syrup (1 ounce)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 3 drops orange bitters
  • 1 egg white (pasteurized if you’re concerned about raw egg)

Put all the ingredients into a shaker without ice, and give it a 15-20 second vigorous shake (this is known as a dry shake). Add some ice, you don’t need to fill it, as you’re just bringing the drink down to temp and adding a little dilution. Give it another shake until chilled, and then strain into a chilled glass. If you must garnish it, add a lemon wedge.

Well all, I hope the weekend treats you all well, and I’ll be out the door with another song.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

Nephilium is a geek of multiple types living in the vast suburban forests of Cleveland.

105 Comments

  1. bacon-magic

    Pussies. Also not a punk bank.

    I wouldn’t deposit any money there.

    • Nephilium

      Typo corrected, but the shame will live on.

      • SDF-7

        Had to look back to check the correction — I expect we’ll all take an interest now.

      • bacon-magic

        I have the receipts!

      • EvilSheldon

        How did I immediately know that it was Green Day…

      • R.J.

        *Passes Seppuku knife to Neph

    • DrOtto

      Green Day is punk…bitches

  2. Shpip

    Washington, D.C., has struggled with gun violence in recent years. The nation’s capital saw its highest number of homicides in more than three decades last year, and more than 90% of those were carried out with firearms, the suit states.

    Maybe the city could, I dunno, find the people committing the homicides and prosecute them if the killings are found to be unlawful?

    Just a thought.

    • The Other Kevin

      It’s pretty funny that the people who live in DC are telling us crime is down.

      • Suthenboy

        Gun grabbers lie every time they open their mouths, do it with a straight face looking you right in the eye while reality is right there for all to see. It’s what they do.

    • KSuellington

      Point of sale gun restrictions haven’t been shown to do much, if anything, about gun violence. Point of use laws have definitely been shown to reduce it. But then you’d have to put and keep more criminals in jail and we can’t have that.

  3. rhywun

    ‘member when streaming was going to make everything simpler?

    No. I never bought that lie and I can’t believe anyone else did.

    • SDF-7

      Those of us that remember cable and satellite early days know that however they sell it (for simplicity, reduced ads, etc.) — it will devolve into mass packaging of “shit you don’t care about”, subscriptions — and ads, ads, ads… and more ads!

      • Nephilium

        I’m entertained that the only services that haven’t been making things worse for the subscribers are the free ad supported streamers, who have (so far) seemed to be making reasonable jumps and making things better (adding new channels, on demand, more content, etc.).

        Besides, without those, Thursday night movies would be much more difficult.

    • Ted S.

      I can’t either.

      I remember the selfish SOBs on the old TCM boards bitching that they “only watch one channel” and have to pay so much for cable and that the government should force everyone to provide channels a la carte.

      And now on other boards they bitch about the budget cuts that have befallen TCM.

    • Chipping Pioneer

      sportsurge sort of fixes this.

  4. Shpip

    Live for it! HORMEL® BLACK LABEL® CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH™ Flavored Thick Cut Bacon is hand rubbed with a CINNADUST™ seasoning blend that is made from CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH™ Cereal! It makes a delicious sweet and savory taste that could only come from quality HORMEL® BLACK LABEL® Bacon and sweet CINNADUST™ seasoning blend.

    A few years ago, I started curing and smoking my own bacon.

    It was one of my rasher decisions.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I just did 9lbs for a co-worker.

    • The Other Kevin

      I tried it once, and cut half the pork belly into cubes and smoked that. Mrs. TOK liked that better than the bacon, and now when we get pork belly it never makes it to bacon.

    • bacon-magic

      Bacon is the candy of meats. I would posit that it is a cure-all.

      • Aloysious

        You can even put it in cocktails.

  5. SDF-7

    This seems a reasonable and justified suit, it’s in no way chilling.

    Now do Eric Holder, DC.

  6. Drake

    Fresh Market grocery stores have an Apple Pie Bacon that is actually quite good. Not my usual but the family likes it on the holidays.

    • Nephilium

      A staple in the stores around here is blueberry and maple breakfast sausage. I lean towards the savory side myself, but the girlfriend prefers sweet.

    • The Other Kevin

      Candied bacon is a thing around here. Usually just brown sugar and seasonings.

      • bacon-magic

        I’m glad you like my sweet meat.

    • Sean

      I wasn’t a big fan. Meh.

  7. SDF-7

    I for one welcome the death of live service games.

    I’ve never even gotten into multiplayer, so right there with you. I can dream that maybe PC gaming will ditch the free-to-play model of “milk the customer with pay-to-play ‘energy boosts’ and gambling chests” too… but that’s doubtless in the same category as other unattainable wishes.

    • rhywun

      Yup, I don’t do multiplayer period. Filtered out of my Steam results along with “free to play”.

  8. Shpip

    OFFS!

    Students at the University of Florida have the chance to pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett by studying his life and work.

    12 students of various majors across the UF Honors College will come together this fall semester for (Un)Common Arts: “Son of a Son of a Sailor.”

    Instructor Melissa L. Johnson, Ph.D., believes her one-credit class is the first Jimmy Buffett course in Florida, and possibly the country. In honor of the “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” singer, class begins at 5:10 p.m.

  9. Suthenboy

    Paraphrased…only partly: “All of the media companies are letting anyone just say what they want unregulated. This has to end.” -Kamala Harris.

    Forget net neutrality, how long before the left nationalizes the entire infrastructure of the internet?

    Question for Trump/Harris debate: “You said that people using social media are saying whatever they want unregulated and that must come to an end. Exactly how do you plan to get around the first amendment to violate every single American citizen’s right of free speech?”

    • SDF-7

      “I believe firmly in the First Amendment and every American’s freedom to speak online. But as COVID showed us, and as the Supreme Court agreed — misinformation can be deadly and it is my administration’s role to step in and provide guidance to social media companies to keep Americans safe and our politics and elections secure. I will continue moving forward towards a marketplace of ideas free of hate and disinformation, a marketplace where everyone can contribute towards equality and racial justice. Thank you.”

      That’s assuming she can remember the pre-wired answers they’ll generate — but you know that’s the sort of thing they’ll spin to.

    • KSuellington

      “Freedom of speech really comes down to two things, freedom and speech. To have freedom is to be free and to be able to speak freely. These are things we must support and have supported. Of course there are limits to everything, you can’t shout fire in a crowded theatre as we all know. And so we must always protect those vulnerable voices, especially from those that have been not allowed to speak in the past. Women and people of color are still lacking freedoms. And we must fight for these freedoms because we are never going back to not being free. And to not having freedom of speech.”

      *wild applause*

      • The Other Kevin

        That’s pretty good. I have noticed she sounds a lot like a motivational speaker. Lots of feel-good, fluffy phrases.

      • R C Dean

        “you can’t shout fire in a crowded theatre”

        Presumably, you can, in fact shout fire in a crowded theater that is on fire, though.

      • Suthenboy

        Cant shout fire blah blah – Every rabid Censor’s favorite canard.

        “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize”

      • Chipping Pioneer

        Fire rules us?

    • EvilSheldon

      Y’all are getting too good at this.

      • KSuellington

        I’m really really hoping I don’t have to hear the inane drivel coming out of that woman’s mouth for 4 fricking years more. A poor man’s Obama.

      • The Other Kevin

        I really listened to her voice the other day. It’s just so nasally and whiny. It’s as bad as that laugh.

      • Suthenboy

        “Y’all are getting too good at this.”

        No shit.

        An old kraut acquaintance once went to a free music concert not knowing he had to listen to a Joel Osteen sermon first. Half snickering I asked him “What did you think?”
        Jaws clenched he hissed “I have heard that kind of talk before.”
        * He was in the Wehrmacht during WWII.

    • Chipping Pioneer

      “There is significance to the freedom of speech, and in the freedom to speak freely. Speech is all around us and affects us all. And we are all free to speak our speech, because we all have voices. And we have the freedom to speak and have our voices heard. And it’s important for us all to have the freedom to have our voices heard in our speech.”

      • Chipping Pioneer

        I had a job interview yesterday and one of my answers was about that level. Fucking terrible, when the obviously better answer was “I don’t know.”

      • Ted S.

        So you’re not getting the job?

      • Chipping Pioneer

        I’m holding out hope. Kamala might get the job.

  10. KSuellington

    Is it even possible to watch tonite’s game on any regular service? No way I’m getting another fucking streaming bullshit just to watch it, but I do like the Brazil angle and it’s Friday nite football, which I would like more of.

    • Nephilium

      Looks like Peacock (which removed their free option, and this game probably wouldn’t be included regardless) or NBC in the local markets. You also have the option to watch on a phone/tablet (but not a computer or television, even with casting) with NFL+ (which is yet another reason NFL+ sucks ass).

      • KSuellington

        Oh cool. I didn’t know if local NBC would carry it as I saw it just listed under Peacock. I’ve seen a futbol match in that stadium, want to see how it looks for an NFL game.

      • Nephilium

        KSuellington:

        By local markets, I mean the Philly/Green Bay markets. Outside of that would be the Paris Paralympics, checking the broadcasts here, no chance to watch the game. Good thing the concert should be good (although I first saw them ~30 years ago).

      • KSuellington

        Oh dern it. I just wanted something as background anyway, I guess the NFL wants to play this bullshit for a while longer. I hope it bites them in the bottom line just a bit.

        Enjoy the show! I remember those dudes, that’s fun time music.

      • rhywun

        I hope it bites them in the bottom line just a bit.

        I’m expecting the opposite & more games will move to pay-stream only.

        It’s happened in every other sport I watch. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  11. Aloysious

    Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavored bacon.

    *blinks*

    I’d try it once, just for the experience.

  12. Aloysious

    I disagree that Alone in the Dark is one of the worst movies ever made. Is it bad? Absolutely. But I’d rather watch that than Ordinary People, which won an Oscar.

    • R.J.

      I would watch it for 24 hours straight before I watch “Bigfoot vs. Megalodon” again.

  13. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of the Browns… is Chief Wahoo gear permitted in the stadium?

    I also wonder how many people wear “vintage” gear at Washington games.

    • Nephilium

      Very late, but Wahoo is permitted.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    But I’d rather watch that than Ordinary People, which won an Oscar.

    I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a red hot knitting needle than sit through On Golden Pond.

    • Suthenboy

      Why do you and Aloysious hate women?

      *I admit to painting eyeballs on my eyelids many times to sit through chick movies

  15. The Late P Brooks

    I really listened to her voice the other day. It’s just so nasally and whiny. It’s as bad as that laugh.

    Somebody linked that “totally live and unscripted” call of her offering the VP spot to Walz. Her voice should be banned by an international tribunal as an instrument of torture.

    • rhywun

      Just saw a bit where she was plugging banning plastic straws before she flip-flipped. Complete with word-salad and cackling. My god. Don’t do this to us, America.

      • Mojeaux

        She is an unserious person who seems to think she’s trying out for the JV cheer squad. Or, you know, a beauty pageant.

      • Chipping Pioneer

        Again, about like one of my job interview answers yesterday.

      • Mojeaux

        That clip is painful.

    • creech

      Trump’s sucks too.

  16. Mojeaux

    Players are not happy being in Brazil because it’s not safe to go anywhere or do anything.

    • rhywun

      Yeah, I wouldn’t be either.

    • KSuellington

      I guess it’s been a few years since they played in St Louis.

      • Mojeaux

        Legit LOL

    • Spudalicious

      Players from Chicago and Philadelphia. Pot? Kettle?

      • Ted S.

        Green Bay, not Chicago.

      • Spudalicious

        Duh.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Project 2025 is under your bed!

    The trouble is that the combined cost of running these non-defense agencies over the next 10 years will total only $9.8 trillion. In effect, Trump’s tax plan would require eliminating every agency of the federal government except the Pentagon, and also adding another $700 billion to the deficit. Left unanswered is the question of who would be around to cut Social Security checks and supervise the administration of Medicare claims.

    We’re still seeing some polls that show voters trust Trump more than Harris on the economy. If eliminating the entire federal government is your idea of economic growth, then Trump’s your man. Otherwise, you might want to take a second look.

    At this point, I don’t really have a problem with that, aside from not cutting the Pentagon budget.

    • rhywun

      Donald Trump’s Secret Plan to Eliminate the Government

      Stop, I can only get so hard.

  18. The Late P Brooks

    Trump could pile another $10.5 trillion onto the deficit, which is what Trump (and most Republican presidents) did with tax cuts in the past. When Trump was asked Thursday what impact his tax cuts would have on the deficit, he said, “We’re going to make our money back on growth.” This is a promise on which supply-side carnival barkers have failed to deliver for close to half a century. During Trump’s previous four years in office, for example, the deficit grew from $585 billion to $3.1 trillion. (By the end of the last fiscal year Biden had brought it down to $1.7 trillion.)

    I no more believe the numbers these people puke up than I believe in werewolves.

    • Ted S.

      That last number for Trump is probably covid-inflated.

      • Drake

        Only Thomas Massie opposed that fiasco.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Fuck you, cut spending. Stop stealing my money.

    • Spudalicious

      Yes, Covid spending ballooned the deficit, but Biden did nothing to bring it down. The way the law was written, it sunseted. It came down as spending was scheduled to end.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    That last number for Trump is probably covid-inflated.

    I’m pretty sure their “model” for analyzing the tax cuts incorporated some pretty interesting assumptions as well.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Bunch of sad headlines about plummeting black enrollment in colleges after the Supreme Court banned equal opportunity.

    I’d like to see some numbers on black students’ graduation rates.

    • rhywun

      All the schools claimed they had workarounds in place to keep up appearances.

      Oops.

    • Suthenboy

      The Supreme Court did not ban equal opportunity.

  21. Gustave Lytton

    Trump has win the debate or it all all over. Trump has to moderate. Trump has to do this. Trump has to do that.

    It’s all one fucking way while Cunteface McCunte can hide in Joe’s basement, not talking to the press or voters and generally shit on every and all election expectations and she doesn’t have to do a damned thing. Fuck her and fuck the Quisling quitters who will accept any fortified results and blame it as Donny Twoscoops’ fault.

    • rhywun

      I’m more pissed at anyone who will be legitimately voting for her.

    • Sean

      Amen!

    • creech

      It would be hard not to blame Trump if he can’t whip Kommiela. He did screw up Georgia Senate races. Now he gratuitously attacks Gov. Kemp. And the Dems in PA are running a new ad where Donnie attacked Dr. Oz’s primary opponent in 2022 (whom is running this time and being praised by Trump.). He can say nice things about his favorite but stop acting the bully by attacking others within his party.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Your RepE friends can fuck right off back to their cocktail parties and fundraising beg letters.

  22. trshmnstr

    ‘member when streaming was going to make everything simpler? About that

    I solved that problem by canceling all my streaming services and finding something else to do with my weekends. I’ll catch a few games on the local channels when they’re interesting and I have the time, but NFL (and college football, as well) is not “must see” TV like it was a few years ago.

  23. Shpip

    I think this is satire. But I’m not sure.

    The science is finally settled on this one: people who consistently make good decisions enjoy an undeniable and unfair advantage in life.

    The researchers defined “good decisions” as those that led to objectively positive outcomes — higher income, better education, increased self-acceptance, better health, and stronger social connections. The study identified patterns and commonalities among those who consistently made such decisions.

    And it turns out that good decision-making is not merely a matter of luck, but strongly correlated to beneficial socioeconomic factors such as being the recipient of white privilege.

    • EvilSheldon

      That’s…kinda impressive. I legitimately can’t tell.

    • Suthenboy

      Good decision making is never about luck. If not parody it sounds like they are arguing that not-whites are inherently poor decision makers thus inferior. White privilege = smarter wiser? That’s what I am getting out of it.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        No. It’s a little more devious.

        How I’m reading it, particularly the last sentence is that if non-whites exhibit consistent decision making skills, that they can have the same advantages as those who have white privilege.

        It presumes that all whites have some sort of inherent advantage. I’d like them to go to Appalachia and tell them about their white privilege. What it doesn’t account for is that whites who consistently make bad decisions have bad outcomes, because that would belie their position.

    • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

      Also, I’m looking way more glam than ususal

      • R.J.

        Oooo!
        I look like a sad troll, as usual. Working late, may stop by.

  24. creech

    Iggles fans are all pumped and anticipating the Super Bowl. So you probably can’t go wrong betting the Cheeseheads to win tonight.

    • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

      GREEN BAY CAN SUCK IT

  25. UnCivilServant

    Safely in Eureka. Those were some fairly windy mountain roads with quite literal hairpin turns in them.

    I really hope the video is good, since I had to dedicate my attention to driving and couldn’t enjoy the scenery.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Did you go through the Trinity Alps? That is one of my favorite drives in CA.

      • UnCivilServant

        I don’t know.

        I wanted to get out of Reno, so I told me GPS to find me a route and I followed that.

        It was a lot of winding back roads through woods and hills, very scenic, and construction, less senic.

    • UnCivilServant

      My first impressions of Eureka –

      The weather is the least roasty I’ve been since I set out. It was actually down to tolerable outside.

      On the other hand the roads and traffic are not that great, and I wasn’t sure if the people sitting on the sidewalk near the bus stop were homeless or just waiting for a bus. None of them accosted me, so they light have just been waiting for a bus.