78 Comments

now i am in the mood for an ice cream sandwich.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-ice-cream-sandwiches/

i love that flimsy chocolate wafer taste w/ ice cream. it is my go-to pick when the ice cream truck comes around. plus it is 95+ deg here in Seattle today ...

Expand full comment

Not sure why nobody’s talking about Cal’s Jovan Blacksher Jr. signing (article posted on Calbears.com 7/1). This player clearly has game, was just recently hampered by injuries. It seems he could really help Madsen’s squad if he comes back to 100% of what he was in his all conference years at GC. https://calbears.com/news/2024/7/1/mens-basketball-jovan-blacksher-jr-joins-golden-bears.aspx

Expand full comment

If he’s healthy, he’ll be solid. But as we’ve seen with Devin Askew, injury prone guys often get injured.

But if he returns to the form he flashed earlier in his Antelope tenure, look TF out…really hoping he is 100%.

Expand full comment
Jul 9·edited Jul 9

Venice (Italy)

if you have any recs or suggestions, now is the time ...

we are only there for 2 days on our way to the Dolomites for 6. we also have 2 nights in a small town near Bergamo/Brescia before flying out of Milan.

leaving in a few weeks.

Expand full comment

I remember reading about an entrance tax to go into the city but it looks like it was a test that ends this week so you should be safe.

Expand full comment
author

See the Campanile (naturally) in the Piazza, the Doge's palace, go see the ponte bridges, enjoy the vaporetti from the train station, purposely get lost in the city to look at architecture and enjoy the vibes.

Expand full comment

HAG's no 1 already gave me a long list of art and museums

Expand full comment

pucker factor.

learned a new word today

Expand full comment

What is the pucker factor scale?

The “Pucker Factor” (PF) is a scale that seeks to measure fear by the force of contraction exerted on the sphincter muscles surrounding the anus during a given situation of danger. The scale is from 1 to 10

1 is the normal level, while a 10 Pucker, or PF10, is an anal contraction so strong that it’s audible within a 2-meter radius. It is said to sound like a door being slammed.

A permanent state of 10 Pucker is known to exist in certain people. They are commonly referred to in the military as “Tight Asses,” and in spite of their chronic condition, are afforded little sympathy.

https://sofrep.com/news/know-your-military-terminology-the-pucker-factor

Expand full comment

I use PF for a different reason. It is the "Pee Factor" and is very useful on road trips. You tell the driver your PF and that instantly communicates how quickly he or she needs to pull over. Here's how it works:

PF0 through PF5: Not worth mentioning.

PF6: Start looking for an exit, preferably a clean bathroom.

PF7: Take the next exit with a bathroom, cleanliness is less of a factor.

PF8: Exit now, hopefully with a bush nearby.

PF9: Pull over now, exit not necessary.

PF10=PF0

Expand full comment
author

"PULL OVER NOww.... never mind."

Expand full comment
author

Cup of Joe

Expand full comment
author

The origins of the term, if one were to believe some rando website

https://driftaway.coffee/why-is-coffee-called-a-cup-of-joe/

Expand full comment

or maybe a long time ago in a galaxy far far away ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neyY2qC9pCA&t=30s

Expand full comment
author

Ayoob

Expand full comment

BOOYA!

Expand full comment
author

Joe's paper airplane record was broken twice in 2022.

https://www.foldnfly.com/lounge/world-record-paper-airplanes.php

Expand full comment
author

Sloppy Joe

Expand full comment

I think I tried one and didn't like them. Similarly, I tried Chef Boyardee Raviolis and didn't like them either.

Expand full comment
author

I used to love these as a kid. I haven't had one in a long time, nor do I have the desire to have one - which is odd because I think they are delicious. Perhaps I have false-nostalgia for it.

Expand full comment

No, you don't have false nostalgia about it.

Mrs Slug and I have Sloppy Joe's for dinner from time to time. It's simple, easy to fix, and taste so good. Just don't wear a white shirt when eating them.

Expand full comment

i make chili mac for the kids often when wife is out of town. similar nostalgia

Expand full comment

I love doing Kraft Mac and Cheese Thick and Creamy, I think it is, with hot italian sausage

Expand full comment

Chili mac is also good eats.

Expand full comment

“Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand”

Expand full comment

this is my favorite of the Hendrix songs.

Expand full comment
author

It is a huge improvement over the Byrds' version, released just six months prior to Jimi's version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT1TDEh_mHs

Expand full comment

It's in my top five. All Along the Watchtower is my number one.

Expand full comment
Jul 9Liked by SGBear

inspired by the above, i listened to this and some other good Hendrix on the drive to work, including All Along the Watchtower, so thanks @SGBear.

Expand full comment
author

PRO

Expand full comment
author

It's 2024 and it's news when amateurs are trying out for the Olympics

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/paris-olympics-team-usa-jobs-rcna159054

Expand full comment
author

3,400 fans attend Willie Mays memorial. Bill Clinton shares a nice story about their relationship

https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/bill-clinton-willie-mays-memorial-sf-19561855.php

Expand full comment

I caught a bit of it near the end.Would love to see the whole thing. I’ll have to see if the MLB channel is going to re-run it.

Expand full comment
author

Djokovic goes after the Wimbledon crowd

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/clwygl4ldzgo

Expand full comment
author

CAL

Expand full comment
author

Grant Marek with the Tweet of the Day

https://x.com/Grant_Marek/status/1810506325568491590

Expand full comment

Go Bears!!!

Expand full comment
author

Fall football roster released.

No longer on team: PK Michael Luckhurst, OLB Tidiane Jalloh, LS Wesley Brown, DE Ieremia Ieremia

Expand full comment
author

I feel sad about Michael Luckhurst. He was a kick-god as a high school player and in practice at Cal. Was the kick off specialist in 2022 and then had his chance as the starting PK in 2023. He started off the first three games going 3 for 9 including missing 3 in a four point loss to Auburn. He starts the next game against UW and then misses two of three extra points and then was pulled for Matten Bhagani for the rest of the year except for one XP against Wazzu. It closes the chapter on a kid that anybody with empathy should know must have been a terrible situation for him.

Expand full comment

Wait, so we couldn't give a scholly to the guy who was successful last year and ended up leaving and the guy with the scholly left? Well that sucks.

Expand full comment
author

I don't think you can revoke a scholarship mid-year unless you have cause.

Expand full comment

No, but presumably Bhagahni left because Cal couldn't give him a scholly because they already had Luckhurst

Expand full comment

Who's our PK this year? It seems like we've been getting more frequent change in PKs. Perhaps it's due to more transfers and they don't have many years of eligibility.

Miss the days when we had 3 or even 4 years of the same kicker.

Expand full comment
author

Ryan Coe

A Golden Bear by way of being a Tarheel, a Bearcat, and a Blue Hen. We presumably have him for one year only and then it either back to the portal or it's time for De LaSalle's Spencer Brien (no relation to Doug)

https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/cal-football-kicker-punter-2024-transfer-portal

Expand full comment
author

OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

Expand full comment
author

Y'all know about my upcoming coffee table book "Piss on my Grave: a tour guide to visiting and commemorating the final resting spot of awful people"? Well, Jim Inhofe just died.

https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-jim-inhofe-dies/61544418

Expand full comment

He's gonna be buried in a casket full of snow. Gathered from outside of the US Capitol.

Expand full comment

Seems like the Dems have circled the wagons around Joe Biden for now. Can't say I agree with this decision, but oh well.

Expand full comment

i was hoping they would pull a House-of-Cards-style internal revolt ..

Expand full comment
Jul 9·edited Jul 9

Dumb decision.

EDIT: I'll amend it this way - it's a decision based on fear, not on what needs to happen. That is all.

Expand full comment

It also may be based on the fact that Biden is refusing to step aside, and it is very, very hard to get a sitting President to do that if he doesn't want to.

Expand full comment

One other thought - Project 2025 is hobbling the GOP. Talk about self-inflicted wounds.

Expand full comment

It's really only against the current GOP and Trump that an over-the-hill Joe Biden would even have a chance of winning. Race to the bottom!

Expand full comment

I agree. If the Democratic ticket had Harris at the top and whomever (except Gavin Newsom) as the running mate, Trump would be dusted. I really believe that nominating Harris would have knock on effects throughout succeeding elections. By nominating Biden, the Democrats are muting those effects down the ballot in the current election and for several elections in the future.

Baby Boomers have held onto power tenaciously and to the detriment of this nation.

Expand full comment
Jul 9·edited Jul 9

It occurs to me that some people have engaged in some supposition and speculation and done the math.

Re-electing Biden/Harris may have the same effect. It's a huge risk, but there it is.

Expand full comment
author

The Hill: immunity now makes the military a presidential tool to commit crimes

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4757168-supreme-court-immunity-military-orders/

Expand full comment
author

DBD AV CLUB

Expand full comment
author

Ridley Scott's "Gladiator II" trailer dropped. Honestly, it looks a lot like the first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgYUipGJNo

Expand full comment
author

ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE

Expand full comment
author

TIL: the Delaware Blue Hens and Missouri State Bears will elevate to the FBS level next year via joining C-USA.

Delaware lost to Penn State 63-7 last year in front of 108,575 people. These two teams will fight it out for the lowest home attendance in FBS, with a slight edge to Delaware.

Expand full comment

A hen has to be one of the least fearsome of mascots. Add to that the fact that it's depressed* and you've got one sorry team mascot.

* It's blue as in has the blues.

Expand full comment

What are other less inspiring mascots? I'll start. Besides Blue Hens there are Golden Gophers.

Expand full comment

Kent State Golden Flashes….

Expand full comment

Scarlet Knights.

But then, I when I became aware of the Scarlet Knights I was very much aware of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Expand full comment

The Deamon Deacon is about as bad as it gets. And Oski will get to know him.

Expand full comment

Scottsdale Artichokes

Expand full comment

UCSC Banana Slug

Expand full comment

Sez you. At least the Banana Slug is indigenous to the campus unlike most other mascots.

Expand full comment
author

FYI: You can see the remains of one of the last Golden Bears in existence. It was the one captured and held by William Randolph Hearst and kept in Golden Gate Park. The Golden Bear went extinct in 1922.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ca-grizzly-bear-monarch-a-symbol-of-suffering-2372855.php

Expand full comment
author

the color "cardinal" is stupid

Expand full comment
Jul 9·edited Jul 9

Same with Crimson. Or Crimson Tide (what is the "crimson tide" supposed to be anyway, and how does an elephant play into it?).

Call me Deacon Blues.

Expand full comment

Google tells me that a turn of the century sportswriter describing their uniforms as a Crimson Tide when battling it out with Auburn to a thrilling 6-6 tie. The elephants thing is even dumber. Another sportswriter in the 1930 or so heard a rumbling noise and someone says that the elephants are coming, then Bama runs on the field. Whatevs

Expand full comment
author

Blue Hose

Sheer stockings are generally not very aggressive

Expand full comment