Removing the New Era Logo

New Era makes amazing hats.  However, since I first fell in love with their on-field 59fifty from the late 90’s, I decided that I only want to buy hats that resembled those glory days.  Back then hats were 100% wool, made in the USA, had grey under brims, and didn’t include the New Era logo.  So my reason for making this post isn’t so much to disrespect New Era by removing their logo, but rather it’s to customize my hat to look the way those older fitteds used to look.

In order to remove the logo, the first thing I recommend is to have lots of patience because this task takes lots of time, and concentration.  You want to begin by using a sharp knife that gets under each thread and individually cuts them (while I have seem other customizers use a seam cutter to remove the thread I don’t recommend one because it can warp the wool material).  As your cutting the threads, you also want to use tweezers to detach each thread.  And finally you want to use some tape (I use painters tape) to clean off any excessive threads, which will also leave the wool spotless.  Once you’re done your fitted should resemble a New Era fitted from the past.

New Era:

http://www.neweracap.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pJKiDLWijE

Shaken Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade Recipe

I started drinking Starbuck’s shaken iced Passion Tango tea lemonade a few years ago.  From the very first time I became addicted to it and couldn’t get enough.  However I slowly became disappointed with it when certain Starbuck’s locations (most) used way too much ice to make it.  The result was a drink that I could literally finish in one gulp.  Of course you could also ask them to make it with little ice or no ice at all, but then the drink is simply too warm and won’t be as satisfying.

So rather than be disappointed over another ice packed Passion Tango lemonade I decided to make it at home instead.  The secret ingredient is the type of tea you use, which in this case is Passion Tango tea from Teavana.  Of course that tea is expensive, so I decided to substitute it with the version Tazo makes (this tea is also expensive and difficult to find in the 24 filter bags).  Regardless of the brand you use just make sure it has ingredients such as hibiscus, any form of citrus flavour, and cinnamon.  For the lemonade portion I like to use the version from Simply Lemonade with raspberry.

Ingredients and Recipe:

1) Tazo Passion Tea (add boiling water, let cool and then store it in the refrigerator)

2) Add sugar to taste

3) Add Simply Lemonade with raspberry

4) Add Ice, stir and enjoy

(optional: cinnamon stick, cloves, vanilla, and fruit such as strawberries or raspberries)

Tazo Tea:

http://www.tazo.com/Product/Detail/14

Starbucks:

http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/iced-tea/teavana-shaken-iced-passion-lemonade

Simply Lemonade with Raspberry:

http://www.simplyorangejuice.com/product/raspberry-lemonade.jsp

Teavana Passion Tango Herbal Tea:

http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/herbal-teas/p/passion-tango-herbal-tea?cm_mmc=Google-_-Tea-_-GS_Brand_Tea_Names-_-teavana%20passion%20tango_e&gclid=CJLcqpCPicYCFQytaQod4m0AqA

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smi3odeXVCg

Ness Amiibo

So here’s an Amiibo I never thought I would own, Ness from EarthBound.  Now I have to admit it, I never played the game when it first released.  Back in those days, (around 1994, 1995) we just didn’t have the internet to tell us about hidden gems that were great games.  That only thing that made this game stand out from the rest was its giant packaging.  That’s really the only reason I remember this game, since I was a Sega fan at the time.  Flash forward many years later and I finally played the game in ROM format, and liked it a lot.

So with now being familiar with the franchise I really wanted Amiibo Ness, but didn’t think I would get him because he would be limited.  Thankfully, on Good Friday the malls were opened and I decided to ask my local EB Games if they were taking pre-orders, and they were and so I was able to pay for one.  When released day came (May 29^th, 2015) I was one of the lucky ones whose order didn’t get cancelled and I finally had Ness.  So there’s really no need for a review of him, since he kicks arse and Nintendo did a great job on him.

EarthBound Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EarthBound

Ness Amiibo:

https://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/detail/wk1chb2jZhXmRJO8TJr3REaGMSrNHCOi

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tPdmI-1kvc

Super Mario Bros. Mario and Luigi Amiibo

I’m not a huge fan of the Smash Bros franchise, so when the first release of Smash Bros Amiibo released I wasn’t interested in buying Mario or Luigi.  I just felt like Mario is such a popular character that Nintendo is bound to release a version that is more to my liking.  Thankfully they did, and it was released for the Mario Party game on the Wii U.  I’m also not a fan of the Mario Party franchise either, but at least this Mario appealed to me.

What I didn’t expect from this Mario Party release was that I would not only get a Luigi version, but that I would also like Luigi’s version even more.  Luigi just seems so much more friendly and welcoming to me.  Of course, they’re both brothers so I had to buy them both since they both display nicely together.  With this release I have now definitely become an Amiibo collector and hope to see more versions of the Mario brothers in the future, such as retro versions.

Mario Party 10:

http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/REGT9oL8TMur8_5s9Ofb2VdbFnPcnn21

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddqXX_S_76g