"If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough." Oprah Winfrey

#WeGoAlong

In The Swing Of Things

Whaaddupp! I hope all of our neighbours to the south enjoyed their long weekend. I know I definitely did. The backswing was off but the drinks were shooting par.

There is not much maintenance to go over apart from a little more detail about our WGA Summer Essential Kit release happening later in June. We will be doing a limited release of fully custom boxes filled with playing cards, shot glasses, coozys, and a little extra surprise!! 

Later on today (Tuesday), I will be assisting Alex with some content and you can expect more TikToks and Youtube this week.

#Trending

Why We Use "LOL" So Much

“LOL” is significant staple in the era of texting and most notably, the follow up phrase after what could be an offensive remark. Or that could just be me. Anyways, how did the initialism come to fruition? Well, we can thank a man named Wayne for this one. In the 1980s in Canada, Wayne Pearson laughed at a joke his friend typed into a pre-Internet digital chat room. Instead of writing “hahaha,” he unknowingly made history by typing “LOL,” becoming—apparently—the very first person to do so. Even in the pre internet era autocorrect is a b*tch.

When Pearson described the creation of LOL, he explained how he intended for it to be used: only if you were really laughing out loud. I hope nobody has bursted his bubble on this one. These days, it’s my go to when responding to friends sharing TikTok’s and sorry buddy Wayne, I'm usually not laughing out loud. 

The ambiguous term has taken on more than just an expression of laughter or humour. Oftentimes, some sentences feel like they need a LOL at the beginning or end to communicate the tone, that may seem harsh or grating without a LOL.  We use LOL as a way of downplaying a statement; adding irony, levity, humility, empathy, expressing amusement; or just neutral acknowledgment. 

No longer simply an internet acronym that’s entered the mainstream, it is an example of how language evolves over time and creates community around the people that use it. LOL

#Trailblazing

Jose Cuervo Enters the Metaverse

1 shot tequila, 2 shot tequila, 3 shot tequila, floor shot tequila, straight into the Metaverse. Tequila brand Jose Cuervo plans to open what it says is the first Metaverse distillery this Summer. The virtual distillery will live on the popular Metaverse platform Decentraland and will provide age-appropriate visitors with tequila education, limited-edition products and entertainment. 

Personally, I feel it's a tad early for this. Alcohol brands are increasingly viewing the Metaverse as not only a place to advertise, but also a place for brand and industry education. The devils advocate in me wonders how many people are interested in tequila education and is it not already accessible online? In terms of entertainment, that is seemingly the most productive and well received avenue for alcohol brands to embark in the early stages of the Metaverse. 

The virtual distillery follows a similar move by Heineken after it launched what it claims to be the world's first virtual brewery earlier in March. While most people can't visit Jose Cuervo's real distillery in Mexico, any age-appropriate individual can visit the virtual activation, helping to extend the tequila brand's reach.

#Traveling

The World's Most Expensive Passports

Ah, the complications of traveling. Ones that Alex and I know all too well. Memories of being flagged at borders and airports will forever live rent free in his and my head. The expense of travel is something that if not carefully and properly organized can become a very costly endeavour for travellers.  

The passport. Oh, the passport. I remember sitting in our Vancouver apartment finalizing details for Hawaii and Alex in the most nonchalant way hits me with “yo, my passport is "definitely expired bro”. From there, we made the trek home and Alex waited 5 hours at the immigration office to renew. Thankfully, it didn’t cost him as much as some of these passports around the world:

• For those living in Lebanon, renewing a passport will cost 1,200,000 Lebanese pounds, according to the Lebanese General Directorate of General Security (about $795)
   
• Those living in Australia can expect to pay AUD $308 (about $220) to renew their passport
   
• Whether renewing or buying a passport for the first time, Japanese citizens can expect to pay 16,000 Japanese yen (about $125)

• New Zealanders can expect to pay NZD $191 (about $125) for their new passport

• Buying an adult US passport for the first time will cost at least $165, while renewals cost $130

• Swiss nationals will be set back about 145 Swiss francs (about $150 or €140)

#WeeklyTopPicks

We Go Along Top Picks

#WillWeaverSongOfTheWeek
I’m Sorry - John Denver

Lately I’ve felt like there is just so much music to be consumed to an overwhelming degree. That feeling has caused me to head in the opposite direction, just wanting to hear simple songs that spark emotion in me. This song does just that. I adore John Denver for his simple yet effective lyricism and his soaring voice. He, among a few other artists, truly make me feel like I have a relationship with them. This is such a fantastic heartbroken song from a man who just wants his lady to know how sorry he is. I enjoy simplicity in all facets of life and hope I can write a song that makes someone feel the way I do when I hear this music someday.

#Flix
Shitts Creek | 2015 - 2020 | Sitcom | 6 Seasons

In the sitcom "Schitt's Creek," a wealthy couple -- video store magnate Johnny and his soap opera star wife Moira -- suddenly find themselves completely broke. With only one remaining asset, a small town called Schitt's Creek, which the Roses bought years earlier as a joke, this once-wealthy couple must give up life as they know it. With their two spoiled children in tow and their pampered lives behind them, the Rose family is forced to face their newfound poverty head-on and come together as a family to survive.

#Facts
Random fact of the week

You already know that Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth while watching a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. But what you might not have been aware of is that the president had a bodyguard named John Frederick Parker with him on that fateful night. Unfortunately, Parker was a police officer with a less-than-stellar reputation. After arriving three hours late for his shift, the officer left his post protecting the president to get a drink at the Star Saloon next door to the theatre. It was during this time that Booth entered the box seats where Lincoln was sitting and shot the president.