Having touristed in Chicago in March, I have to second the Giant Bean recommendation.  For all that it seems like it shouldn't be that cool, it really is that cool.

Oh man, that PING is good, good stuff.

Well, I know whose house I'm spending the 4th at.

Oooh, sounds like a fussy but delicious (and beautiful) birthday!  Although BOOOOO! to having to bake your own cupcakes.  Someone should have done that for you.  Al Capwne, I'm looking at you…

I would drink the fuck out of that cocktail.  That sounds amazing.

Moby released the song with Lanegan (I'm assuming this is what's on this album, too) for Record Store Day.  "The Lonely Night" is quite excellent, indeed.  (The video is also lovely.)

I learned that from Peep Show.

@avclub-d542a3419c3ad57206a96bcc86155ebc:disqus  That'd be the body-disposing version of that bank robber who just waltzed into a bank with no mask or disguise, because he believed the lemon juice he'd rubbed on his face made him invisible to the security cameras. 

Hat seems suspiciously well-versed in the intricacies of obtaining body-dissolving substances.

Hey, it's worth it to me just to not have another bottle cluttering up my pantry.  No barter is required here! 

Woo hoo!  And seriously, you're a rampaging polar bear.  I'm fairly confident people will clear out to give you a good view.

Yep.  It was the third parking-lot parade the Devils had in nine years.  How many regular-street parades did the Rangers have in that time, again? [/paranoid, hypersensitive]

My favorite use for scapes is pesto.  This year I've had enough basil to cut the garlic with a little bit of that, but in previous years I've made scape-and-arugula or scape-and-parsley pestos, or just scapes with nothing else added (besides nuts, salt, and olive oil).

That sounds like a situation that could only have been improved by a strategically-placed banana peel!

I went to the Devils' Cup "celebration" (I know, I know — blah blah "parade in the parking lot" blah blah "the Devils and their fans are so lame" blah blah — hey, we were the ones celebrating with the Cup, now, weren't we?  Suck it, jealous bitches!  Sorry, that got away from me…) in 2003 and don't have any regrets. …

That's awful!  I feel like new cars should come with some kind of force field that lasts for, like, a year or so.  Because what would be a fairly insignificant ding in a car you've had for a while is a catastrophe when the car's new.  (That reminds me of when I moved into my first new house, and the satellite…

@avclub-f73c955e2c1f51451a682f5c1ce0e867:disqus The lack of large-capacity iPods pisses me off SO MUCH.  Why did they stop doing that?  I don't want to put all my music on the cloud, Apple.  I want to store it all on a pocket-sized machine THE WAY I COULD EIGHT YEARS AGO.  Honestly.

You know, I did pushups last week for the first time in my life.  I can't be expected to be faster than a turtle so soon after that — Rome wasn't built in a day.

Happy birthday!  Congratulations on a job well done with the whole "waking up" thing!

So far I've only used them in one drink, an "it's really hot out and I was doing hours of yardwork" tall glass of currant simple syrup, vodka, and seltzer, but I think you could use them in pretty much anything.  I've been making bitters for a couple of years now and really just like to play with them…