Month: February 2021

National Pizza Day falls on February 9th, 2021, a mere two days after the Super Bowl. But just because we binged on the stuff all day Sunday doesn’t mean we can’t re-up our appetites for a good pie tomorrow. Pizza is chewy dough topped with cheese, meats, and veggies — it’s not exactly a thing you get tired of.

In our opinion, the best way to honor the culinary wonder that is pizza is by finally learning to make your own dough. But if you don’t have time for that, these National Pizza Day deals are certainly a solid celebration option. Check them out below!

Blaze Pizza — Blaze will be offering a “Take-Two” deal for $10 that allows you to choose from a build-you-own or signature pizza with a side salad and a bottled drink. If you’ve got a bigger appetite, they’re also offering two large one-topping pies for just $20.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse — Between National Pizza Day and Sunday BJ’s will be offering 50% off a large pizza when you check out using the promo code “HALFOFF.”

Cali’flour Foods — Fans of cauliflower crust pizza rejoice! All Cali-Flo shoppers will receive 20% off their online orders when they check out using the code PIZZA20.

Casey’s Pizza — In celebration of National Pizza Day, Casey’s is offering a one day special on February 9th for two large single topping pizzas for just $7.99 each. In addition, Casey’s will also offer Buy One Get One Half Off deals throughout the entire month of February.

Chuck E. Cheese — In addition to offering free delivery when ordering via DoorDash, Chuck E. Cheese is also offering a free medium one-topping pizza with the purchase of a large one-topping.

Cici’s Pizza — Cici’s is currently offering two large one-topping pizzas for just $5.99 each for online orders.

Domino’s — Score a three-topping pizza or a 10-piece order of wings for just $7.99 each when placing your order online for in-store pickup. ‘

Hungry Howie’s — When checking out with the code “PICK2” you can choose two from a list including pizza, mozzarella sticks, soda, or cookies for just $5.99.

Little Caesar’s — Grab a large three-topping pizza for just $6.99 when placing your order online.

Marco’s — Grab a one-topping medium pizza for just $6.99 at Marco’s.

Papa John’s — In celebration of National Pizza Day, Papa J’s will be selling their new one-topping stuffed crust pizza for just $12 for the entire month of February.

Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings — We’re not sure why Pasqually’s Pizza — which is the same pizza from Chuck E. Cheese — has a better Pizza Day deal, but we’re with it. From now until Tuesday, February 9th, you can receive a free large cheese pizza with a purchase of $25 or more when you use the promo code ‘PIZZADAY.’

Pieology — Head to Pielogy’s Instagram and convince them why you’re the biggest pizza fan of all time, and the build-it-yourself pizza chain will give you free pizza for you and your friends… assuming you’ve convinced them.

Pizza Hut — Sign up for the Hut Rewards program and receive $5 off on all orders over $25.

Red Baron — Red Baron is offering free pizza for a year through a contest on their Instagram page. Simply head to Red Baron Pizza, tag a friend in the comments, comment with your favorite Red Baron product and what you like about it, and cross your fingers!

It won’t get you free pizza on National Pizza Day, but it’ll keep you well stocked up until you absolutely hate pizza.

Round Table — Customers ordering via the app will receive a free stuffed crust upgrade on large pizzas.

Shakey’s — Grab Shakey’s classic PCM (Pizza, chicken, and mojos) deal for just $5.99. As a Valentine’s Day crossover, the chain is also offering heart-shaped pizzas for a limited time.

An overwhelming element to the NBA Draft, if you left yourself go there, is how many lives come to converge and hang in the balance of one fateful night and its seemingly split-second decisions. Two hundred or so young men, who have worked for years to get there as much as they have worked to tamp down on doubts, wait to hear if one of their names will be on the impossibly short and final list of 60. Every one of them with a story of how they got there or maybe almost didn’t, stories we might come to learn in the years to come depending on who makes it, but most that we won’t.

In a new anthology documentary series, Hoop Portraits, co-producers Taylor Sharp and Holland Randolph Gallagher of Blue Cup Productions, hope to offer a compelling look at a handful of such stories.

The pilot episode, titled Two Ways to the League, follows North Carolina standouts Ty-Shon Alexander (Creighton) and Josh Hall (Oak Hill Academy and Moravian Prep) in the lead up to the 2020 NBA Draft. The two lived and trained with one another in the pre-draft period, extended due to the pandemic, and the episode traces their development under former NBA player and UNC star Jeff McInnis as much as it does the challenges of staying mentally motivated and physically focused during such a prolonged period of uncertainty.

In one of the clips, Alexander and Hall catch and shoot, over and over. The audio is Hall’s agent, Nate Conley, talking about how when Hall’s up at the combine and upcoming pre-draft team workouts, he’s only going to have the blink of a window to showcase his shooting, that the habit of it needs to be as natural as breathing. The video is rhythmic, focused only on each of them from the waist up as they catch and release again and again, the building soundtrack behind it just the feathery thud of the ball hitting their hands, an exhale and a split second later, the echoing answer of nylon folding in on itself offscreen as the ball swishes through netting. It’s beautiful as much as it encapsulates the years of steady work that go into one career-defining moment, and all the pressure that demands to be contained.

In another, Alexander works out with a trainer on a light-filled court. He moves through catch-and-shoot drills, footwork and dribbling drills, his clothes soaked with sweat. Through the wide, garage-door style window to either side of the basket low palms sway, green fronds flashing in the sun. There’s a pool sitting still and empty, a lone inflatable mattress drifting across its surface. A cat can be seen slowly ambling by. It’s a perfect juxtaposition of the focus and sacrifice players in Alexander’s anxious position are in, necessarily zeroed in while the distracting and idyllic parts of the world they’ve opted out of exist at the periphery.

Catching his breath, Alexander mentions he has an interview with the Pistons. The video cuts to Alexander sitting down at a desk in an office where a laptop is waiting, he pulls on an NBA Draft embroidered button up, still wearing his basketball shorts. The camera has pulled back, just out of the room, but Alexander is visible from the side as he angles the screen, does all the things anyone familiar with taking an important video call is familiar with: set his arms on the desk, quickly pulls them off, sits up a little straighter. Suddenly his face lights up, he gives a confident nod, “How you doing?” He asks whoever it is on the other side, deciding how his fate might align with theirs.

On Draft night, the main event the episode builds steadily towards, both Hall and Alexander don’t end up having their names called, but both have since gone on to sign two-way contracts — Hall with OKC and Alexander with Phoenix. After spending the first month of the NBA season with their respective teams, Hall and Alexander will be competing in the G League’s bubble in Orlando beginning February 10th.

Sharp, who doubles as the series’ director, and Gallagher, are both North Carolina natives, and while the first episode’s storyline runs close to their hearts, the remainder of the series will focus on a variety of stories, from a top high school prospect to retired players. If the features to come are handled with the same nuance, care of story and visually striking treatment of the pilot, then Hoop Portraits promises to be a critical as much as tender look into the stories behind the sport.

The pilot episode premieres virtually tonight, February 8th, at 8 p.m. ET in partnership with the NBA G League, and will live stream via the NBA’s Twitch channel as well as the G League’s YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch channels.

Like so many others in the beer industry, Averie Swanson’s journey began as an enthusiastic homebrewer. Gradually realizing that she had a knack for the art, she began to think about brewing as a career. Eventually, she took steps to test the commercial brewery waters.

“I reached out to several breweries in the Austin area,” she says, “and Jester King was the only one to offer me an opportunity to volunteer.”

Eager and highly motivated, Swanson helped with everything under the sun for six months without payment, then asked for a full-time apprenticeship which ran another six months.

“At that point, they offered me a job as a brewer. Over the course of my six years there, I went from volunteer to head brewer and co-owner.”

Swanson resigned from her position at Jester King in December of 2018 and moved to Chicago, where she’s since launched her own saison-focused beer label, Keeping Together. The beers are delicate expressions of mixed fermentation, with equally evocative labels and beer names (“The Art of Holding Space” and “I am Because We Are” are two of our favorites).

This week, we spoke to the brewer and entrepreneur about her brewing style, starting from scratch in a new city, and carving a path as a woman in a male-dominated industry.

What made you want to get into brewing? How did the passion turn into a career?

Coming out of college, I was an avid craft beer drinker. I tried as many different styles of beers as I could, and eventually realized that brewing my own beer would allow me to further explore the flavors that I was experiencing.

I kept a pretty detailed log of my recipes and brew sessions and was drawn to the data collection and precision in the process. It reminded me very much of the organic chemistry lab in college. I fell in love with it and before long I was brewing more than I was drinking, and I decided that perhaps it was worth seeing what it was like making beer on a commercial scale.

Tell us a little about your style when it comes to brewing?

Despite originally being drawn to brewing because of the scientific precision required, I have become pretty laissez-faire in my approach to beer making at this point. I had some pretty incredible teachers at Jester King, and while I was there I learned that brewing is just as much an art as it is a science. Making mixed fermentation beer is inherently a less rigid process than making clean beer [like lagers, or IPAs] –there is a fair amount of flexibility in the recipe development when making beer with a mixed culture.

Though I may start with a recipe or a flavor concept in mind, I more often than not end up changing my plans as the beer evolves through fermentation. If the fermentation flavors end up inspiring me to take the beer in a different direction than I originally intended, I follow my intuition there.

What went into the decision to leave Jester King?

It was certainly not an easy decision to leave Jester King. Several personal reasons led me to the decision but, in a nutshell, I had managed to seriously overextend myself through work and work-related travel and felt that I needed some dedicated time to attend to my family and personal relationships.

That brewery had been my home and the team there had been my family for a very long time, and there are days when I miss it terribly. However, I do think my decision to move on was the right one — my departure created space for others at the brewery to grow and learn, and it certainly has resulted in no shortage of learning experiences for me either.

What made you decide to start your own brewery?

Beer is what I know and what I love. Starting my own beer label has offered me the opportunity to really brew for myself and create things that I am wholly excited about. I have been fortunate to have so much support from my peers and colleagues in the industry over the years, and starting my own thing allows me to continue to give back to the greater beer community and support others as I have been supported.

Did you have any difficulties navigating through the male-centric beer world as a female brewer?

Becoming a brewer is difficult regardless of your sex or gender identity. I have certainly experienced plenty of challenges throughout my time in this industry — issues with coworkers, industry peers, consumers. I could go into specifics or details, but honestly, I don’t care to remember the assholes that tried to keep me down and prevent me from getting where I wanted to go. I prefer to look forward and spend my energy supporting a reality of equity for anyone and everyone who is interested in being a part of the craft beer community.

Progress is being made every day, but we still have a long way to go.

What advice do you have for other women looking to get into brewing?

Work your ass off and don’t let other people make you feel small or unworthy. You have every right to be there and are as capable as anyone else at becoming an authority at what you do. It will be hard, but just about everything worth doing is hard — so don’t give up.

Last week Evan Rachel Wood accused her ex-fiance Marilyn Manson of serious abuse, including rape, anti-semitism, racism, brain-washing, and more. The horrific allegations come a few years after Wood had talked about her past abuse without naming the abuser, but after she named Manson, born Brian Warner, others started coming forward with their own experiences. Corey Feldman accused Manson of “mental and emotional abuse,” and ramifications from around the industry began to come down, as Manson was cut from several TV shows and dropped by his record label.

When at least four other women came forward with their own stories, Manson responded, calling the accusations “horrible distortions of reality.” Today’s allegation is pretty straightforward though, coming from Ellie Roswell of the UK band Wolf Alice. On Twitter today, Roswell shared that Manson had filmed an up skirt video of her when she met him at a festival. She also shared her solidarity with Wood, and other survivors, and called out his tour manage for responding “he does this kind of thing all the time.” Below is her full statement, and the original tweets.

“Solidarity to Evan Rachel Wood and those calling out Marilyn Manson. It’s sad to see people defending him, just because he put his depravity in plain sight doesn’t give him a free pass to abuse women?! I met Marilyn backstage at a festival a few years ago. After his compliments towards my band became more and more hyperbolic I became suspicious of his behaviour. I was shocked to look down and see he was filming up my skirt with a GoPro. There were no repercussions for his behaviour, his tour manager simply said ‘he does this kind of thing all the time.’ If he does this kind of thing all the time why on earth has he been headlining festivals for so many years? When will we stop enabling misogynists on the account of their success? Women must feel safe in the male dominated world that is the music industry. I wasn’t sure whether to bring any of this up but Manson claims in his recent statement that his relationships were ‘entirely consensual’ – I don’t think he knows the meaning of consent if he goes around up-skirting young women at festivals. Thank you for your courage Evan <3”

Watching the Super Bowl on TV last night, it didn’t look like we were in the middle of a pandemic. Actually, though, the stadium wasn’t as full of people as it looked, since about 30,000 of the “attendees” were actually cardboard cutouts. So, through that very indirect way, some music stars got to “attend” the big game.

Spotted at the game in cutout form were folks like Eminem, Billie Eilish, Bernie Sanders, DJ Khaled, YG, DaBaby, Tyga, and others.

Ahead of the game, Peter O’Reilly, an NFL executive vice president, told CNN, “So when you turn on the TV, you’ll look around. It won’t be a full capacity stadium. 65,000 seats will have about twenty five thousand people in here, about 30,000 fan cutouts honoring some incredible people, some veterans and military personnel, health care workers as well, cancer survivors, youth and high school football players. So it’ll actually look full when you turn on the TV,” O’Reilly said.

Tampa Bay ABC affiliate WFTS-TV also noted that it cost $100 to get a cutout in a seat and that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Feeding Tampa Bay.

In The Fate of the Furious, Michelle Rodriguez harpoons Vin Diesel’s car (the movies are even better if you imagine they’re all documentaries and Rodriguez and Diesel are playing themselves) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stops a torpedo launched by Charlize Theron from a submarine with his bare hands. How can F9 possibly top that?

By spending eight months on a four-second scene, that’s how.

Before Sunday’s “The Big Game,” as it’s called for legal reasons, Universal Pictures released a new promo for the ninth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. There’s a backyard picnic attended by not-dead Han; a voiceover about family, because of course there is; John Cena looking angry; and Helen Mirren finally, FINALLY, getting to drive a car. It’s all great, but the promo saves the best for last:

F9 director Justin Lin hopes you enjoyed that (I did), because it took a hundred people eight minutes to perfect it. “One 4 second shot in #F9. 8 months of prep. 4 days of production. 3 cars destroyed. Work from over a hundred of the most dedicated and talented crew,” he tweeted, along with a behind-the-scenes video. “Best job in the world!”

U.S. News & World Report ranks “physician assistant” as the best job of 2021, followed by “software developer” and “nurse practitioner,” but I disagree. “F9 director who gets paid lots of money to play with cars and make them explode” is the best job of 2021.

F9 comes out on May 28.

The MySpace era feels like such an innocent time. Little did we know back then that social media would come to dominate the way just about everyone on the planet interacts.

Back then, social media was just about the joy of human interaction.

Over 100 million people logged on to Myspace per month from 2005 to 2008. It was a place where people blogged, shared their favorite music, gave brief status updates, and followed Tom and Tia Tequila.

It also was a place for self-expression. You could update your page with CSS and HTML to add cool pictures and artwork as a backdrop to your profile. This focus on self-expression made it especially popular with young people in the emo scene.

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However, eventually, Facebook would come to dominate and overtake MySpace in 2008. Facebook was easier to operate and had more of an emphasis on real-time interaction with friends.

Now, Facebook has become an environment that many see as toxic. It’s a place rife with political bickering and questionable news stories. It’s also a heavily manipulated environment, ruled by an algorithm that chooses what you get to see and sells your information for top dollar.

This has led many to long for the days when the biggest problem on MySpace was who you chose for your top eight. As opposed to today when logging onto Facebook is an anxiety-inducing trip to the platform where you get to watch your friends, coworkers, and relatives slowly devolve into conspiracy theorists and political extremists.

So An, an 18-year-old student from Germany, has replicated the old-school MySpace experience into a new social media platform called SpaceHey. if you join the site you will immediately become friends with An, much like you did with Tom back in 2006.

via spacehey

“I was only a few years old when Myspace was popular,” An told Vice. “I never came to use Myspace. However, thanks to older friends and the internet, I heard a lot about it. I came to the conclusion that you can’t find something like this nowadays, where everyone can be this creative.”

An studied internet archive pictures of MySpace and watched videos of the “old internet” to perfectly recreate the site’s user interface and look. The site doesn’t have any algorithms, news feed, or like buttons. So that means you get to see everything as it happens in real-time and there’s no need to worry about how many likes your bulletin received. The site is also highly concerned with privacy and careful about the information it shares with third-parties.

Most importantly, you won’t have to see your uncle’s daily posts about Ben Shapiro.

It’s almost like we got the Internet right the first time.

Over 57,000 people have signed up for SpaceHey not only for the cozy nostalgia of the early millennium but because it’s a safer place for people to interact.

“Most social media platforms these days are incredibly toxic,” a user named Kelly says. “In the three weeks I’ve been on spacehey I’ve experienced more love and support from people than I have in the last five years on all of my social media platforms combined. It’s definitely refreshing.”

While it’ll take a big push to make the MySpace redux a viable alternative to Facebook, its relative popularity shows there is a hunger out there for social media spaces that are less toxic. SpaceHey is proof that there’s a big audience of people who want social media to be a “place for friends” again. And, that’s a good thing.

It was only two short weeks ago that Warner Bros. and HBO Max dropped the trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong and shifted the entire world off its axis a little. Perhaps you think this description is a touch dramatic. Perhaps you think I am engaging in a bit of hyperbole to make a point. That’s understandable. I have long histories of both being dramatic and engaging in hyperbole. But I think I am being fair here. This is a trailer that features Rebecca Hall literally saying “It’s Godzilla” moments after a beast that is very clearly Godzilla bursts out of the sea. This is a trailer that features Alexander Skarsgard as a Vest And Sunglasses Scientist who announces with all the gravitas he can muster that “We need Kong.” It is a trailer that features Rebecca Hall saying “the myths are real” moments before it depicts Kong swinging a pterodactyl like a baseball bat to mash another pterodactyl out of the sky. It might be the best trailer I’ve ever seen. I’m so happy for Rebecca Hall.

But most importantly, for me, the trailer featured King Kong reaching back and walloping Godzilla with a haymaker to his scaly jaw. I cannot possibly express to you how much I loved this, and still love it. He just punched Godzilla straight in the mouth. I did not even know that was a thing you could do. Although I guess “you” can’t, unless you are King Kong. Are… are you King Kong? If so, I have a lot of questions about how you are reading this on a tiny computer or cell phone, but mostly I’d just like to congratulate you on throwing this bomb.

And that was that. BLAMMO. A good trailer, one that teed up the film and got me all jazzed about its late-March release date, simple and straightforward, Kong punches Godzilla, bing bang boom. Everything appeared in order. But then…

A twist.

This past weekend, the Japanese trailer for the film debuted. I will post it below and you should watch it very closely because, while most of it is identical to the American trailer, there is one notable change.

Did you see it?

Did you catch the additional footage, the shot that is nowhere to be seen in the American version but is right there smack in the middle of the Japanese version?

Did you see it?

DID YOU SEE GODZILLA PUNCH KONG?

At the risk of you accusing me of being dramatic and engaging in hyperbole again, this changes everything. In the American trailer, Godzilla destroys stuff and Kong whomps on him, giving the appearance that Kong is some unbeatable fighting machine. In this version, Godzilla takes Kong’s punch and then delivers a counter-haymaker that damn near knocks Kong right off that ocean liner and into the sea. This means at least two things:

• The balance of power has shifted, as, in addition to the punch, Godzilla generally seems to fare better in this trailer than the American one, which raises the possibility that someone in the Warner Bros. marketing department has research that shows that audiences in Japan are more pro-Godzilla than audiences in America, kind of like how the Fast & Furious movies are called Wild Speed there, which is objectively better, especially because Fast Five is called, I swear this is true, Wild Speed MEGA MAX, capitalization theirs
• It also raises the possibility that this fistfight is much longer than we originally thought, which would rule, and yes I would be perfectly happy if it lasted 15 full minutes, just two massive beasts knocking the slobber out of each other’s mouths with their fists and/or claws while the Rocky music plays and the bells kick in just as its getting good

This has been your Godzilla vs. Kong update.

With quarantine stretching on and folks drinking with a post-Prohibition level of fervor, home cocktail culture is booming. That’s why you need some solid bitters on your bar cart — a mix of classics and newcomers to aid you in your drink mixing. Clever ways to up your game and straightforward additions to bar stalwarts like the Manhattan or Old Fashioned.

For the uninformed, bitters are a common cocktail ingredient, drawing their flavor from various botanicals and spices. They are highly concentrated and usually centered around subtly bitter or bittersweet notes (hence the name). And while the whole bitters scene is rapidly growing more eclectic and craft-focused, one name absolutely dominates the conversation.

“The best bitters, as far as I’m concerned, are the iconic Angostura bitters,” says Trevor Schneider, Reyka Vodka Brand Ambassador. “These bitters are great at delivering the perfect balance to a cocktail as well as providing great amounts of flavor.”

While having Angostura is a must, picking other types of bitters for your home bar requires some thought as to what you’ll be mixing up and which flavors you enjoy. To help get the conversation started, we still asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us their go-to picks.

Scrappy’s Lavender Bitters

Emily Kraus, national beverage manager for Wolfgang Puck Catering

Scrappy’s Bitters – Lavender. Whether you want to get crazy and experiment with your cocktails or just brighten up a Vodka-soda or Gin and Tonic these lavender bitters add an herbal note that is more savory than sweet or floral.

Different brands have a flagship mix so having a collection of the best from a few different manufacturers — including some local craft entries — is your best bet. Ask them which is the best, which mix stands out the most.

Average Price: $19.99 for a 5 ounce bottle

Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Own Decanter Bitters

Sam Gay, bartender at Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, California

I think the Jerry Thomas Own Decanter Bitters from the Bitter Truth are phenomenal—super clove and spice forward.

I put a dash behind my ear sometimes if I want to smell like Christmas morning.

Average Price: $4.99 for a 20ml bottle

Angostura Bitters

Hector Acevedo part owner of Spanglish Craft Cocktail Bar & Kitchen in Miami

Angostura Bitters. Period. It has a unique flavor. The cinnamon, cardamom, clove are some of the flavors you taste. Angostura for a bartender is like salt for a chef — can’t do a damn thing without salt.

Average Price: $22.99 for a 16 ounce bottle

Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters

Ashley Thomas, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum Brand Ambassador

Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters. It was created to compliment Tiki drinks and does it beautifully. The cinnamon and allspice go amazing with Sailor Jerry spiced rum.

Average Price: $19.99 for a 5-ounce bottle

Hella Bitters

David Powell, Hudson Whiskey Brand Ambassador

There are so many, but I think that some of the emerging bitters brands like Hella out of NYC and 18:21 out of Atlanta are doing some really amazing things. Certain brands will always be staples, but Hella and 18:21 are innovating and trying collaborations in certain instances, which are really smart initiatives.

Average Price: $14.99 for a 5-ounce bottle

Bitter Truth Orange Flower Water

Amanda Swanson, bar manager at Fine & Rare in New York City

The Bitter Truth has a line of Non-Alcoholic bitters that I think are going to start becoming really popular with the current rising trend/lifestyle change that many people are making in eliminating or reducing their alcohol consumption.

Average Price: $14.99 for a 125ml bottle

Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters

Nikki McCutcheon, beverage director at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in New York City

Fee Brothers are a locally made bitters company from Rochester, NY (my hometown!) and have a vast array of flavors. One of my favorites is their Black Walnut Bitters.

They also make a Fee Foaming bitters that is a great egg white replacement and vegan alternative for cocktails.

Average Price: $8.99 for a 5-ounce bottle

Peychaud’s Aromatic Bitters

Kyle Walter, Bartender at Grayton Beer Brewpub in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

Peychaud’s Aromatic Bitters. They’re a New Orleans staple. From the balance to its beautiful red hue. If you’re about to make a Sazerac and you don’t have a few dashes of these, you’re about to make a mistake.

Average Price: $7.99 for a 5-ounce bottle

Writer’s Picks:

Bittercube Orange Bitters

We love a good Manhattan and we enjoy it topped off with the fresh flavor of orange. You can do this by rubbing an organic orange peel across the rim (or twisting it and putting it in your glass) or by using a few drops of Bittercube Orange Bitters for a little more bitter-meets-citrus flavor.

Average Price: $9.99 for a 10-ounce bottle

Copper & Kings Red Alembic Bitters

If you enjoy brandy, then you already know about Copper & Kings. If not, it’s time to get on the bandwagon. You can start by buying a bottle of their award-winning brandy and a bottle of their Red Alembic Bitters to give your favorite drink subtle anise and herbal flavor notes.

Average Price: $5 for a 5-ounce bottle

Welcome to Streamer Smackdown, the unofficial arena where two streaming platforms will compete for subscriber glory, but only one will come out on top. (We’re just streaming experts who watch a worrisome amount of TV on the daily. What do we know?)

We’ll look at everything from content to pricing to how easy it is to find that one obscure ’90s sitcom (that you saw two episodes of when you were a kid) and name a winner. It’s not as fun as cage matches and steel chairs but then again, what is?

Round two sees Netflix face-off against another young rookie, Disney+. Don’t let Baby Yoda’s cuteness fool you, this streamer fights dirty.

The Case For Netflix

Netflix is definitely the old-timer in this fight, but when it comes to streaming, that’s a good thing. It means the platform carries a seemingly limitless amount of content, from original series and movies to international offerings, anime, and blockbuster classics.

It’s got a three-tier pricing plan, which means it’s slightly more affordable depending on what you’re looking for. The most you’ll pay is $15.99 a month, and that guarantees you four simultaneous streams, 4K viewing, unlimited downloads of certain shows and films, and the ability to watch from pretty much anywhere on any device.

And because what you’re watching is more important than how you’re watching, we’d be doing a disservice if we didn’t marvel at the quantity and quality of original content the streamer’s given us over the years. There are beloved favorites like Orange Is the New Black and Bloodline. There are newcomers like Bridgerton and The Witcher. There are trippy comedies like Russian Doll and period dramas like The Queen’s Gambit. And then there are the Academy Award-winning movies that have disrupted the awards season circuit over the past few years. It’s enough content to have any competition, even Disney, shaking in their boots.

Pros: A huge library of originals and some old-school favorites, a cheap pricing plan, and easy navigation.

Cons: There’s still so much content people are missing out on, some of the originals are hit and miss, and we’ve already seen a lot of what it has to offer.

The Case For Disney+

In no way should you feel bad for Disney. The company has managed to cement its place atop the peak of pop culture by buying out other studios and grouping some of the biggest franchises and comic book IP under its very large umbrella. It makes sense then that Disney+, its fairly new streaming platform, would rival a behemoth like Netflix within just a year of its launch. Right now, a subscription will set you back $6.99 a month, though that price will inch up to $7.99 per month in March of this year.

But still, compared to what you’re shelling out for other streaming platforms, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck with Disney+. Nearly every movie in the Marvel catalog is now housed on the streamer — in case you want to relive those pre-snap glory days — and spinoffs like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki are also finding a home there. So, if you’re an MCU fan, you almost can’t live without Disney+ at this point.

Another draw for the streamer is the nostalgic appeal of the mythic Disney vault — you know, that completely nonexistent content prison Disney shoved its most beloved titles into so you’d give them all your money when they dangled those “remastered” editions of childhood favorites in front of our joyless shells of adulthood. Disney+ guessed that we’d all want to tap into our youth by rewatching Beauty & The Beast or The Emperor’s New Groove, and they were right. Now that the studio is churning out live-action remakes of these classics, there’s even more demand for the originals (truly, a vicious cycle).

But if animated fairytales and superhero team-ups aren’t your thing, Disney+ has a place for you too because they’ve also acquired Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox (and all of the films that come with both). Yes, that means the entire Star Wars collection, and the X-Men universe, and Deadpool, and all of the Fantastic Fours, and Baby Yoda, and… you get it, right?

Pros: A massive library of animated classics, superhero sagas, and sci-fi space operas.

Cons: As of now, WandaVision and The Mandalorian are the only original series worth your time.

The Verdict: Netflix Wins, But We’re Not Happy About It

Look, if we’re going by stats, Netflix has more original content that’s actually good. When Disney+ got in the game, they banked on The Mandalorian to attract subscribers that maybe wouldn’t care about a digitally restored copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. They also couldn’t decide if they wanted to market to kids, parents of kids, or everyone in between. That meant it took a year for fans to see the payoff from its extensive IP library. WandaVision is terrific, and it had us excited for what comes next within the MCU, but once you finish the handful of episodes there and the dozen or so more from Jon Favreau’s Mandalorian adventure, you’re left with a bunch of films you’ve likely seen before.

So yes, Netflix wins, but honestly, we’re more excited to see where Disney+ goes this year, so we’re begrudgingly bestowing this title belt.