Words On Wednesday

I am a firm believer in having a bottle of “the good stuff” for special occasions. Be it a wedding, a new job, a funeral, or any other noteworthy moment, I like to have a particular spirit to commemorate the circumstance. Normally, this demands a premium price. Somehow, this Costco branded bourbon manages to bring the “good stuff” quality at what I would call a steal of a price. Name: Kirkland Signature Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Source: Barton 1792 Distillery Style: Bourbon ABV: 50% Price: $24.99 Volume: 1 Liter Price per oz: $0.74 This one almost slipped by me. I was looking for what to write about for the next Thirsty Thursday Eve, and I couldn’t find anything interesting. I almost skipped over this bottle because I thought I had already written about it. Fortunately, I checked and noticed the glaring omission. You all really need to hear about this one. As bourbons go, this is one of the better ones that I’ve had. I can’t definitively say that it’s the best, ...

The Pokémon Presents  from last month gave fans a lot of cool stuff to talk about, but what seems to be making the biggest buzz is the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A and the return of mega evolutions. Source:  https://youtu.be/6Qi4COrQ7aA?si=AwXviGCovUZWuhLg Pokemon has been somewhat polarizing with the last few generations, as most generations have introduced some sort of mechanic that occasionally feels a little gimmicky and gets abandoned after a little while. Mega evolutions were first introduced in gen 6, and quickly disappeared besides its presence in Pokemon GO. Similar analogues such as Dynamax/Gigantamax and Terastallization came in subsequent generations, but they were similarly short-lived. The teaser trailer for Pokemon Legends: Z-A ends with an image of the mega evolution logo, which seems to undeniably confirm that they will be making a comeback in some form. For a lot of fans, this is excellent news. Personally, I’m not so positive. Mega evolution in its o...

A guest on the Carolina Code Cast  recently recommended “Sapiens” while I was coincidentally looking for something about or auxiliary to anthropology. As such, it seemed like a pretty good idea to check out. Two birds, one stone, so to speak. Listening through the audiobook of “Sapiens,” my opinion flipped between positive and negative multiple times. I couldn’t particularly identify why at first. Some chapters and segments were compelling and interesting, others were pretentious and annoying. The entire book was written by the same person, so surely it wasn’t some inconsistency on part of the author. What, then, would cause me to have such a varied opinion on the book, page to page? Eventually, I deduced the trend that was directly correlating with whether I liked or disliked a given segment. Harari does a really good job of explaining historical events and anthropological terms in a clear and concise fashion. Those bits are very good. However, when he begins offering his own sugg...

“Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age” is a JRPG released on the PS4 in 2017. As a remake of the twelfth entry in a series, “Zodiac Age” (as I’ll call it) has quite a few comparisons and a storied history of developments and release. Story - 8/10 As is par for the course with Final Fantasy games, Zodiac Age is very political in nature. There are some inter-kingdom disputes that have resulted in a war, which has impacted people from all walks of life. The main party consists of several of these people, each of which has some particular relationship with this conflict between regions. The entire cast has a complex background that affects their interactions in very reasonably human ways. They are relatable, they are understandable, and they often encounter conflicts that seem so lifelike. The characters show personal growth, they come together as an effective team, and work together to conquer evil. It’s fairly cliche as JRPGs come, but it isn’t hackneyed or boring. A familiar story done wel...