Aura

Signatory had a large(r) run of sherried Blair Athol casks offered up as various store/retailer selections the last 12-16 months. The Whiskey Exchange has one, K&L had at least two, etc. I think they're at the end of that run now so anyone interested will want to move quickly... It occurred to me I haven't posted any tasting notes in a while. I'll correct that once we've moved and I open new things.

Now for some Friday metal... Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows

Crystal Castles - Amnesty (I) With all due respect to Alice Glass, this band goes as Ethan Kath goes and the new singer, Edith Frances, sounds identical to Glass. Which is good. Four albums in and they haven't missed yet.

Saw Tom Morello make a couple of guest appearances during various sets at Lollapalooza a few weeks ago and I've had Rage on the mind ever since... Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles

DAYUUUUUUM DANIEL eat a dick

Lollapalooza day 2 commences soon. Lana Del Ray was lackluster last night, but Radiohead should make up for that tonight!

I really like Cowboy Junkies but I have to listen in small doses... Been a long time since I last heard this - Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

Blink 182 - California Triumphant feelz for anyone born in the 90's.

Sigh. I get KD's frustration though.

Most signings yesterday seemed not good or just too expensive but that's the UFA landscape. I sort of wished Chicago could've gotten in on Eric Staal at a similar AAV that Minnesota gave him but he isn't what he used to be. At least Brian Campbell gave us his discount... The D should be more consistent this year. Quite concerned about winger depth on third and fourth lines though. Gonna be a lot of young'ins getting minutes. Just me or did St Louis get completely worse by letting major pieces walk away? They've got some young studs but is their prospect depth really that deep? Wouldn't expect such a contender to suddenly seem like they've went 180 into a rebuild.

Cool - which model do you have, Chris?

Once we get into the new home, I'm officially separating the current speaker rig from the living room TV. I'll need some semi-decent audio solution that meets the following: Either sits completely on a slim shelf or has as small a footprint as possible < $1,000, all-in. This includes any necessary amplification or other source-related stuff to get to the end of the signal. Mostly midrange-centric. I don't need a lot of bass... actually less may be preferred. No intention of adding a subwoofer. Interested in a variety of options. Anyone have great success with a soundbar? How about on-wall? (though I don't really care to mess with proper cable management and route into the wall) I could probably do monitors... Emotiva's actives are of high-interest but I really need to keep the size limited and the stands' footprint tiny. Whatcha think?

https://www.google.com/amp/www.stanleycupofchowder.com/platform/amp/2016/6/29/12061696/Salary-Cap-Recapture-Montreal-Canadiens-PK-Subban-Shea-Weber-Nashville-Predators--Flyers-Offer-Sheet?client=safari# When Nashville signed Weber to his massive 14 yr deal they front loaded his total salary, paying him above the contract's AAV in the early years so they can pay him less as he gets older and closer to retirement. Hawks have done something similar with Hossa I believe. The trouble is, when this is done you bear the risk of paying a recapture penalty on all of that front loading should the player retire early. Nashville would have a total exposure of $24 million if Weber retires at ANY point before age 40 (the last year of his contract). They are taking a massive risk. I'm mixed... Weber is a better defensive Dman but Subban can be so dynamic.

Let's drink some of these problems away next week.

Sorry for the golden state folks, but a MASSIVE congrat to Dr John (jvlgato) on getting to see a team he's a fan of win for the first time in his entire life! (And that's any sport) I've had it good in Chicago. Gotta feel great for Cleveland.

Heading to City Winery tonight for Andy McKee. He always puts on a good show.

Yep, this. Writing was on the wall that Pittsburgh was well on trajectory to make the finals. Then once the matchup with San Jose started, it was clear this team had the pedal to the floor every period, more so than San Jose. That's pretty much it. I didn't realize how dominant Phil Kessel could be. These playoffs completely changed my opinion of him... I always thought he was just a lazy sniper. Either he or Murray should've gotten Conn Smythe, though Murray got a bit shaky in the last half of the finals. Already looking forward to the 2016/2017 season and the return of HAWKey nights!

Martin fucking Jones! And despite Pittsburgh controlling much of the play again, it still felt a lot better to know that San Jose has a few breaths of life offensively. Third goal was an absolute beauty. Shark tank!

Belated RIP to the second greatest athlete of our time (but certainly the most influential). I'm certain no one will have heard of this guy, but Chris Moore from the Youtube vlog 'Barbell Shrugged' passed away on Monday. Former power lifter who trained at Westside Barbell in Ohio and later delved in Crossfit (the main focus of the vlog), who brought a lot of unique motivation/experience into crosstraining from a 'strength perspective'. Many of their podcasts are incredibly informative and this was one of the first sources of powerlifting info that helped me get started with changing myself last year. Married 5 years, with two children under the age of 3, just moved to Europe to begin a new writing career, and lost a significant amount of weight very recenetly.... and gone at 35 years old. You will never know when it's your time...

I was reading on another forum that it appears Pittsburgh created a mirage this year, with their combination of speed and dominance in shots on goal seemingly unique compared to every other team. I'm not sure what team from the west could have held pace with them. Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, etc. are all possession-oriented teams but none have nearly the speed of Pittsburgh. San Jose is a bit quicker but they have been severely out-shot (just like Tampa Bay was) and their primary offensive strategy's been entirely neutered by Pittsburgh's crazy shot blocking. Burns has been totally negated and Pavelski seems either injured or overworked himself in earlier series and can't do anything right. Jumbo Joe's still fighting but it's going to take a lot more goal scoring to fend off those fucking penguins.

DONSKOI!!!

Well.... It's a must win OT, San Jose. Do it.

Couldn't watch the whole game due to some other distractions but in general, it seemed like San Jose regressed from game 1 in sustaining offensive zone pressure and had some seriously-awful fucking puck luck (Hertl had what, 3-4 shots hit post?). Pittsburgh third line continues to impress. Matching Kessel with some speedy forwards seems to be a match made in heaven. Series definitely not over. Some time in the shark tank will hopefully get San Jose back to exerting some pressure earlier on in the game.

Yep, I wasn't surprised how that game went. Though I really wish Jones could've staved Pitt off in the third to send it to OT. I wouldn't expect San Jose to be nervous tomorrow night.

This isn't frickin' hockey. Up 3-1... you HAVE to be able to close that out. One of the chokiest-chokes that ever choked. I guess the KD and Westbrook pairing isn't meant to hoist a title.