First Friday Afternoon Links of August

by | Aug 7, 2026 | Cocktails, Daily Links, I Am Lame | 24 comments

The end of summer is upon us, the time when I need to start wondering if schools are back in session due to the number of signs that forbid things “When School In Session”. But enough about the difficulties of life, let’s get to the links.

In local news, I have a feeling there’s more to this story. (In a recent update, the citation was dismissed.)

Hollywood is truly out of ideas.

One should always beware of beaver attacks.

Speaking of rabid beavers… perhaps you should be careful about launching similar name suits when expanding into the BUCKEYE state.

Someone’s going to finish it at some point.

“People are accusing us of putting out slop.” “I’ve got a cunning plan…”

In beer news, it looks like IPLs are making a comeback under the new name “West Coast Pilsner”. There’s reasons for it.

Knowing the attendees, I’m guessing it was blamed on climate change.

Speaking of concerts, I’ve been to large numbers, and at no point have I encountered someone behaving in this manner.

Not sure this is the best role to end his career with.

I’m sure some level of tardation was involved.

Garrett knows his shit. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times.

Pay no attention to USAID!

This is a take… What was going on October 7th again?

Popular support… huh?

That should be enough links to ignore for the time being, let’s get on with the drink. Since I gave you the Caipirinha yesterday, let’s help you out with the rest of that cachaca bottle.

Cherry Bomb

  • 3 part (1.5 oz) cachaca
  • 2 part (1 oz) cherry liqueur (think Herrings)
  • 1 part (0.5 oz) lime juice
  • Club Soda to top

At this point, you should be able to figure out how to build this drink. All the ingredients but the club soda go into a shaker with ice, shaken until chilled and combined, and then strained into a highball glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda give a slight stir to combine and garnish with a cherry and lime wheel (flagged if you want to be fancy). For variants, think about swapping out the cherry liqueur for other liqueurs that work with lime, and play around.

With that, I’ll let you get into the weekend. May you get what you’re looking for.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

Nephilium is a geek of multiple types living in the vast suburban forests of Cleveland.

24 Comments

  1. Pat

    I have a feeling there’s more to this story.

    Honestly, killing the building commissioner over a petty citation sounds fairly reasonable.

    • Chipping Pioneer

      Pour encourager les autres.

  2. EvilSheldon

    *Insert your own rabid beaver joke here*

    I used to hike out at Cunningham Falls when I was in high school. It’s an absolutely lovely place.

    • Sensei

      OT. Looks like legit stop. Details in prior post.

      • EvilSheldon

        Heh. I’m a little impressed that someone managed to fire that thing from inside a car…

      • Sensei

        Same thought!

  3. Pat

    perhaps you should be careful about launching similar name suits when expanding into the BUCKEYE state.

    They Streisanded themselves by the sounds of it:

    The news of the lawsuit created some backlash in the community, with some even organizing “cash mobs” to support the Beaver’s Mini Mart.

    In their defense though, and this is something usually overlooked when these seemingly idiotic suits pop up: if you fail to defend your trademark consistently you can lose it.

    • Nephilium

      While it’s true if you fail to defend it, you can also reach out to the company and work out an agreement before launching lawsuits. It even used to come up with some great things such as Collaboration Not Litigation Ale.

    • kinnath

      if you fail to defend your trademark consistently you can lose it.

      Use it or Lose it. There is no turning a blind eye to someone infringing on your trademark.

  4. Shpip

    Don’t film entire shows. If you want to record your favorite song, Humbert first advises making sure this is allowed by the performer and the venue.

    How ’bout: Don’t even do that. The second you post your shakycam video to social media it’ll get taken down for copyright, so all you’re doing is pissing off the people behind you who paid to see the performers on stage.

  5. ron73440

    That cocktail sounds good.

    • Nephilium

      I thought it would be up your alley. 🙂

  6. Pat

    Pooping in the stands. Throwing phones. Loud talking during performances. When — and why — did we start acting like undersocialized animals just because we bought tickets to the Eras Tour?

    Clearly we need a domestic version of the UNICEF Poo in the Loo campaign.

    • Fourscore

      I knew there was a reason I’d never been to a concert, besides crowds of sweaty people I don’t know.

      Sounds like an experience that I have been fortunate to miss.

      A quiet evening on a small lake, only boat out, listening to loons call. Why would I pay money to hear thousands of loons all calling on their phones?

  7. EvilSheldon

    A D&D buddy of mine was volunteer-DMing the True Dungeon at Gen Con when the tornado warning hit. He had to guide his group to the emergency muster point and keep an eye on them. Fortunately he’s a pretty calm dude and good at handling crises.

  8. Pat

    The Democratic Party owes the District of Columbia over $300,000 in property taxes, interest and penalties on its flagship headquarters in Washington, USA TODAY has learned.
     
    The debt has been building up for several months, according to copies of tax bills on the property, and now includes tens of thousands of dollars in penalties and interest, public records show.
     
    A Democratic National Committee spokesperson told USA TODAY the problem was the result of a mistake, rather than financial difficulties, but the news comes amid ongoing turmoil over fundraising at the Democratic National Committee.

    Taxes are the price we the proles pay for civilization.

    • creech

      Just do what the Libertarians did. Raise money to buy a headquarters honoring your founder. (Martin van Buren?) Then sell the hq and pocket the money instead of asking the donors if they’d like the money back. “The Party of Principle?” or a “Principal Embarrassment?”

  9. Chipping Pioneer

    a fisherman reported that he was bitten on the leg by a beaver

    Well, did he have a pegleg?

  10. Sean

    ‘Joe Dirt’ Sequel In Works At Fox As Animated Series; David Spade To Reprise Movie Role

    Make mullets great again!

    • EvilSheldon

      Since you asked: https://www.youtube.com/@MountainsMulletsMerica

      Dude does great in-depth reviews of long-range shooting hardware and matches. And he has both the mullet and the porn ‘stache – I think they empower each other…

  11. Pat

    What was going on October 7th again?

    October what now?

  12. Drake

    There are people who still think Martin will finish that series?

    He should find a young version of a Brandon Sanderson to do it for him – but he’s too lazy to even bother with that.

  13. Shpip

    The defining feature of American life in 2026 is elites getting away with everything. President Trump rakes in billions in broad daylight because he believes he’s above the law. Elon Musk rigs markets because he has already bought the politicians who would stop him. Masked ICE agents are still killing people on camera without repercussion. The Epstein Class gets protected, not prosecuted, by the would-be attorney general himself, Todd Blanche.

    Astonishing. A perfect five lies in five sentences.

    This might be a record for any magazine not called Jacobin.

  14. DEG

    including enforcing contempt of Congress charges when Trump officials inevitably defy subpoenas

    Fauci was a Trump official (and an official for other presidents too, but we’ll ignore that). Somehow, I don’t think Fauci is included here.