Amazing.

Working my way through this year's Hugo finalists, and I'm struck at the ubiquity of the Megacorp future. Understandably, because all SF is actually about the current day, of course. But is this as recent a trope as it feels? Are there classic examples?

Thanks, Delta Airlines, for reminding me that Cheez-Its are fucking delicious.

Seated in Zone 1 on this FAY-ATL flight, but I was the 40th person to board the plane because when they called early boarding for active military almost everyone at the gate stood up.

Really great analysis of “look amazing”, and its primary Internet promoter, “Clavicular”: www.playboy.com/read/enterta...

"For the first time ever, the consumption of beer has overtaken wine as the French drink of choice“ Sacré bleu!

But why?

Had fully expected to be bored for this layover and was going to propose an AMA, but ended up in excellent conversation with the guy next to me at the bar, which is an even better outcome. But if you have questions about cocktails or Worldcon or Hugo awards, AMA, I've got a flight still ahead!

3 hour layover in ATL, so I finally have a chance to check out One Flew South. Starting with the Fly by Night.

If anyone wants to come drink some floral cocktails with me, this class is coming up on Thursday. Use code Blue5 to save $5 off the already-a-bargain regular price of $19. This is not a beginner how-to class - it's filled with fun facts, great stories and interesting drinks for cocktail geeks.

When I was in Nuremberg in February I was shocked at how tasty these little sausages were! One of the best places for them is right inside the old city right near where the Worldcon hotel cluster will be if we win!

I learned a ton reading this article about rum. Thanks, Matt!

Back in Toronto and missing one big thing about Africa. My seasonal allergies just went away when I was there - the flora, fauna and time of year are just not what I'm sensitized to. I didn't really notice/appreciate it until we hit Paris on the way back and I started blowing my nose more often. 1/2

Wow.

"It's the audacity of the afternoon that matters." A few notes on day drinking, with helpful hints for those just beginning their journey into genteel debauchery. thelongbar.substack.com/p/a-field-gu...

I've been hosting a Canadian whisky club in Toronto (let me know if you want to join!), and I can say there are definitely better options than Crown Royal. But I'm glad that guy is happy!

Speaking of rum, this Sicilian rum was delicious! They've been growing cane in Sicily since 800 CE! www.avolarum.it/avola-rum-la...

I don't think this is quite the Karukera that Dave suggested out was on the menu, but it's the one he dug out of locked cabinet, so I'm drinking it. It's a "black bottle edition" so lots of wood influence, which, given that I'm still learning to love agricole, worked for me. A very pleasant dram.

I've started with the Shi(n)zo since I'm at Shinzo, and it's super yummy.

That's more like it.

I'm meeting my partner later, so I was going to start at the hotel and try an interesting rum, but the Lions Club has taken over the bar. So I'm at a different hotel bar last night's bartender recommended. It turns out to have meh cocktails, but a piano player. So I'm drinking local bubbly.

I'm in the hotel with the bar with all these rums for two more nights. Anyone have any recommendations for things I should try?

The city museum of Luxembourg has an awesome temporary exhibit about menstruation, which of course I've never seen anything like before cause no one is supposed to talk about it. But they do, in the same way you'd do any exhibit, with artifacts and timelines and videos spread across an entire floor

Hey @rumwonk.bsky.social and other rum-loving friends - anything here I should make a point to try? (Prices in Euro)

Victoria Falls is absolutely stunning. Hard to take a bad picture there, but here are some of my faves from our visit to the Zambian side this morning.

Although this hippo family was pretty great too

But the excitement right now is SO MANY MONGOOSE! At lunch.

Hello from Chobe in Botswana. Best part of today was definitely the swimming elephants.

A drunk South African girl just asked if she could touch my hair. I said sure, cause why not?

There's a really cool looking sculpture outside the national museum of Zambia, and it's even cooler when you get close enough to read the plaque and find out that it's AntiRetroviral Man, Zambia's first real superhero crafted from reclaimed hospice beds of AIDS patients!

Very tasty street food lunch in Lusaka! This was one of those areas where there are a dozen stalls, all serving exactly the same thing, but somehow everyone knows which one is there favorite, and our guide took us to his.

Drinking the local beer in East Africa.

It's been quite good day in Nairobi, meeting baby elephants and a baby zebra at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust , feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Centre and seeing a lot of impala (and a lion and many birds and a cool turtle and much more) in a game drive. 1/2

Yup.

As the saying goes - there are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.

Stopped into Voodoo Child, which is a cafe at night, bar at day kind of place. Their house coffee liqueur is Bolivar, which I recognized because I have a tiny bottle of it from Grandma's collection. I think I'm going to have to see if someone here wants to do a side by side tasting with me!

I hope they don't wreck it!

Hey @johncoxon.bsky.social, though you'd appreciate seeing this! In 1980 there was a proposal to add a Best Game Hugo. 1980!

I'm testing some new-to-me St Germain drinks for my upcoming Floral Flavors online class, and I'm reminded of why it was so popular when it was launched in 2007. It really just does make a startlingly diverse set of ingredients taste great.

Film you’ve watched more than six times with a GIF.

Got back from a long walk on a beautiful sunny spring day in Toronto and assembled a lovely apéro hour featuring Naked & Famous cocktails and an assortment of things we already had plus some olives and a cheese we picked up in our wanderings. Yum!

This wine is objectively terrible. But somehow, when we tasted it in Alsace last fall, we thought it was worth buying because it was going to be a perfect pairing with hard-to-pair foods. And it was! Transformed into a completely different wine with cauliflower w/ ras el hanout and asparagus soup.1/

Can't decide if I'm impressed or annoyed that they named this one "Another Hendrick's" - I mean, it's certainly we'd all be thinking about another line extension from this brand...

Somebody was having fun when they named that laneway!

SMOFcon is my favorite convention of the year, cause I actually get to spend time with all my conrunning friends, instead of us all being too busy to see each other, lol. This year it's in Lisbon, which is an awesome city, so bonus!

NYC, there's just nothing else like it.

Just 50 minutes to go until the 2026 Hugo Award Finalists are announced!

Ducked out early from a conference dinner and went to Sugar Monk instead. Both these drinks are good, but the Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is pretty extraordinary.

I'm at a restaurant in NYC. There are no brands listed for most spirits on the cocktail menu, except for the bourbon, I think. Because it turns out that's a brand... 1/2

Looking for pre-dinner cocktail recommendations for NYC, near Rockefeller Center. Anyone have a fave? Both modern and crafty or old school and classic are fine.