#pixel 7 pro

Decided to get the fuck out of Pittsburgh for a day and went up to see Oppenheimer in 70mm IMAX in New York. I always sort of dislike the city until I leave it and then I get this itch to go back-- so this was a good enough excuse. Before Oppenheimer I had time to check out "Bottoms" which was extremely funny (one of the leads was also in "Theater Camp" which was very good as well). Also funny is how the Nicole Kidman AMC intro is becoming this cult phenomenon; in both Bottoms and Oppenheimer people in the crowd clapped and knew every word of the intro by heart. Both films were sold out, both audiences were fully engaged. It was heartening to see that compared to when I go to the waterfront and I'm the only one in the theatre. Oppenheimer was whatever, it's cool to see Nolan trick the world into thinking he's an action director then get 100mil to make a pretty standard arthouse flick. The script was a bit thin and on the nose but I just can't hate a movie that invented an entirely new form of film, casts Benny Safdie in a major role, and asks RDJ to act entirely outside of his wheelhouse. When the film first started I teared up at how overwhelming the sheer size of the screen was. The first row of seats was about 50 feet away because the screen descended maybe 20 feet below them. Definitely a worthwhile experience, especially compared to seeing The Hateful Eight in 70mm at the waterfront because a) they stuck it in a small, 150+/- seat auditorium with a tiny screen, which basically defeats the whole purpose of celebrating the medium's fidelity-- and b) that movie fuckin sucked and Tarentino is a joke.

Anyway, my go-to stop for my last couple of New York trips has been to hit 5th ave and check out whatever new fragrances are coming out / unavailable in Pittsburgh.

Gucci's Alchemist Garden line, probably my favorite designer private collection, isn't at Pittsburgh's Gucci store so I wanted to try the latest scent, "Where my Heart Beats." It was unapologetically floral, but still felt like it could layer well with other scents from the line, especially Voice of the Snake, their Saphron / Oud fragrance. I asked the rep if the line would continue now that Alessandro Michele is out and the line really felt like his baby. The rep hadn't heard anything about it but I still can't imagine the line surviving much longer. 50/50 if bottles get cheaper or skyrocket in price should they become discontinued.

The Louboutin fragrances were all okay. The bottles are beautiful baubles but the juice isn't mind-blowing with the exception of Loubimar, an aquatic tuberose frag that I thought had a very nice honeysuckle accord going.

Tom Ford's new "Myrrhe Mystere" was pretty boring and it seems like the house really has sold its soul in the deal to Estee Lauder.

Guerlain's new "Honey Tobacco" was pretty good! I forgot to ask the rep if they knew anything about what this year's millésime Shalimar release might focus on (rumor is bergamot), but they should announce that stuff soon.

Visited Coach just to look at the dinosaur made entirely out of handbags.

Went to Papaya Dog and got a couple chili dogs and a juice. Has that old Rick Sebak documentary in the back of my mind every time I visit the city but never made it out; it was a good, cheap hotdog! Glad I went.

While hardware is great and everything runs smooth little things like reliance on swipe controls that often close out an app vs take you back and not being able to create folders in the app drawer (you can on the home screen which works I guess)

The camera is my biggest disappointment.

Again hardware is great but there is no manual mode so it's all auto all the time and as far as I can tell doesn't have gesture control which that I've had as far back as the LG V10!

Are you wild about wildflowers? 🌷🌹🌺🌸🌼🌻💮