A Few Good Things – Vol. 5

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Flavored Creatine

I’m a big fan of creatine’s effects, but less of its taste and consistency. Over the past few years, I’ve purchased unflavored creatine which I add to my protein shakes, or in most cases, something I mix in some water and chug. Creatine has a tendency to clump up and makes for a disgusting drink. So, I’ve tried all sorts of things to mask that consistency. I’ve tried a variety of fruit juices, eventually settling on orange juice as the best. Of course, orange juice is high in calories and can be expensive, so it was not ideal.

Last week, it was time to order some more creatine, and I did a little research and discovered some good reviews for flavored creatine by Nutricost. I was hesitant, but I figured I’d give the fruit punch a try, and it’s actually quite good! It’s kinda like Flavoraid or some off-brand Kool-Aid which is still miles better than a slurry of unflavored creatine sludge.

Surreal Estate

Recently, I discussed how watching Revival on Syfy, led me to watching Wynonna Earp. Well, now I’m here to tell you that me watching Wynonna Earp has led me to Surreal Estate since Tim Rozon (Doc Holliday in Wynonna Earp) stars. With a name like Surreal Estate and some bad marketing images, I thought this was a reality TV show, but it’s not. Instead, it’s kind of a Real Estate Ghostbusters show that focuses on a real estate office that specializes in dealing with the paranormal. Similar to Wynonna Earp and Revival, this is a lower budget Canadian show that is an easy watch and a bit cheesy at times.

Canadian Football League

Speaking of my things from my northern neighbors, I’ve been watching a lot of Canadian Football lately. For years, my only exposure to the league was the occasional broadcast of the Gray Cup and the highlights shown in the 90s of Doug Flutie and Warren Moon. But with the evolution of cable to prioritizing live sports, CBS Sports Network airs quite a few CFL games throughout the year, with the rest of them streaming for free on the CFL’s website.

Three down football is a lot of fun and creates exciting opportunities for come backs. The special teams work in the CFL is by far my favorite in any football league and I truly love watching it. The one thing that I notice when watching the CFL is how much better it is than the UFL. The gameplay is better, along with the presentation. TSN’s presentation just blows Fox/ABC’s UFL presentation out of the water. I still don’t have a favorite team, but I’m just happy watching Sean Whyte kick game winning field goals with .02 seconds left.

Air Conditioning

Like most folks, I take a lot for granted in my life. I have a job, a roof over my head, food in the pantry, a loving wife, too many video games to play, access to clean water, and more books than I’ll ever be able to read in a lifetime. In the midst of all of this luxury, occasionally I’m able to break away from my desire for more and take a moment to appreciate what I have. This week, I’d like to mention my love and appreciation for air conditioning. Living in the Southern United States can be miserable, and these past few weeks have been miserable, but it’s all made better thanks to air conditioning. Whether at home or in my car, I can condition that air to a level that doesn’t make me hate the sun.

Tony Hawk 3+4

Tony Hawk 3+4 came out last week and it’s fantastic. This game wasn’t on anyone’s radar just six months ago, so I’m so thankful it was created and released. I’m a huge fan of the Tony Hawk series and I hope that 3+4 is successful enough so that we can get remasters for the rest of the series.

Hush – The Shush Cut

Before I knew who Mike Flanagan was, I watched a little home invasion movie on Netflix he directed titled Hush. Personally, I don’t care for the home invasion subgenre, but Hush is one of the few home invasion films I like. It’s a terrifying story about a deaf woman who is terrorized by a man outside her rural home one evening.

I was browsing Tubi last weekend when I saw something called The Shush Cut. This new edit of the film was done by Mike Flanagan for the 4k Blu-ray release a few months ago. The movie is presented in black and white, and the musical score has been removed. The sound has been remixed, and it takes an already good movie and makes it great. I highly recommend checking out this version if you enjoy the film or Flanagan’s work.