🎮 Snikt
Mornin’. I hope everyone is staying safe during this heatwave. Our air conditioner broke this week, which ruled out my plans to make a baked Alaska. It also made me wonder: How did people handle the heat before air conditioning?
Home design had a big role. Ceilings used to be higher, which kept hot air above inhabitants.
Windows used to be on opposite sides of a room to create cross-breezes.
Some doors had transoms—you ever wonder what those windows above a door are called? Transom! Some used to open, which let even more breeze into a room.
Stay cool, and please show off your baked Alaska skills in the comments.
—Tim Leong, Andrew Nusca, Eric Alt, Marques Edge
Buffed/Nerfed
What’s up and down in the world rn.
Buffed: Our nerves. The first trailer for The Exorcist: Believer is out, and it doesn’t look scary at all. Nope. Not at all. Can we turn the lights back on, please?
Nerfed: Brand equity. Twitter is now X. That isn’t the letter grade we’d use to score this re-brand.
Buffed: Snack game. Georgia residents rededicated a 40-foot peanut landmark after Hurricane Michael destroyed it in 2018. The attraction is now made of sheet metal and not fiberglass, making it a harder nut to crack.
Nerfed: Easter. Lionhead rabbits have overrun (overhopped?) part of a Florida suburb and out-number the amount of houses in the area. Talk about a bad hare day.
Buffed: Free plays. Someone found a rare Discs of Tron arcade machine sitting on the curb in an Illinois suburb, valued at $10,000. Next time you want to get rid of an arcade cabinet, just tell us in the comments. —TL
Field Upgrade: Too tired to game? How to restart your gaming mojo
Level up.
It’s OK, it happens to everyone. You’ve had a long day—maybe a few meetings ran over? Some deadlines whooshed out the window?—and all you can think about is sitting down and unwinding with your favorite game.
But…you can’t seem to keep your eyes open long enough to log in.
Contributing writer Dan Noel has some handy tips for ensuring you can still have some reserve energy left to devote to the things that truly matter. -EA
Speed Run: Alodia Gosiengfiao knows cosplay runs more than costume-deep
Two-minute talks with today’s movers and shakers.
As you know from all of the posts and pics coming out of the recently-wrapped San Diego Comic-Con, cosplay is more than just dress-up. It’s a where fandom meets performance art, and it’s become a huge industry in and of itself.
Contributing writer Adam Swiderski sat down with Philippines-based cosplayer, TV host, and gamer Alodia Gosiengfiao to talk about her early forays into cosplay, advice she has for the curious, and what she looks for in a character. -EA
Wayback Wednesday
Ten years ago to the day, The Wolverine, a solo sequel featuring Canada’s deadliest and hairiest hero, hit theaters.
Based on the graphic novel from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, Logan (Hugh Jackman) travels to Japan for a sword-filled adamantium adventure. It has its moments (including a great fight atop a speeding train), but it’s not our favorite Wolverine movie—that honor goes to Logan, which reunited The Wolverine director James Mangold and Jackman four years later.
The Wolverine, however, did feature one bonus bolt of excitement for fans in an alternate ending: The first tease at Logan’s yellow costume. In the comics, Wolverine typically dons an iconic yellow suit, but it’s never made its way to the big screen. Not yet, anyway…
Thanks for reading, bub. —TL
Wormhole
Click the following image and…well, we don’t want to ruin the surprise.
Share the ABK Edit
Share this newsletter with your friends. C’mon, they’ll love it.