Andy

So I just recently finished this one from Daniel Immerwahr. I think I was expecting something a bit more interested in exploring American imperial power in the the non-territorial ways it is expressed.

However, the book was pretty much laser focused on all the physical territorial claims and outposts that the US has had over its history, from territories & colonies, to small military bases. A lot of time spent discussing the Philippines and Puerto Rico, reasonably so.

Because of this, it does miss some of the ways the US has imposed its imperial will over the years, e.g. in South America where it has never had any large explicit territorial claims despite long influencing the political trajectory of the region. I think this and similar things left out are probably the major shortcoming. I really wish it had included the way the US influences other nations through mechanisms that aren't explicitly physical occupation.

The style was also kinda weird to me. It was written in a very Good Morning America voice, for lack of a better term. It is very easy to read, but the tone just seems a little too "You'll never believe what's next" the whole way through in a way that grates after a while.

Still, overall a pretty interesting book. I learned a good deal, especially about the Pacific, including lots of stuff around the time of WW2.

This article is a fun thing to read. A nice reminder that there is a rising generation of discus talent that could potentially be the best of all time.

I don't really know if Allman is the outright favorite, but I think she must be. I don't expect Feng to repeat her performance from last year, which was sort of a fluke PR. But you never know - Allman could be off and someone else could have their big day.

On the men's side, I'm hoping for a wild contest between Ceh, Alekna, and Stahl. It's kinda wild to think about how young Ceh & Alekna are and that they're already near the top of an event where people usually peak around 30. Wouldn't surprise me if the men's WR went down by 2028.

This article is a fun thing to read. A nice reminder that there is a rising generation of discus talent that could potentially be the best of all time.

I don't really know if Allman is the outright favorite, but I think she must be. I don't expect Feng to repeat her performance from last year, which was sort of a fluke PR. But you never know - Allman could be off and someone else could have their big day.

On the men's side, I'm hoping for a wild contest between Ceh, Alekna, and Stahl. It's kinda wild to think about how young Ceh & Alekna are and that they're already near the top of an event where people usually peak around 30. Wouldn't surprise me if the men's WR went down by 2028.

Since we are in the middle of a 5 day heat wave here in Portland, I didn't really feel like making hot tea as is my usual routine. Instead, I have taken to overnight cold brewing some black teas for the next day.

Yesterday, I drank a dian hong of unclear provenance. Seems to be kind of a standard Yunnan black tea, nothing notable about the variety or anything that I'm aware of. I purchased it a random tea shop when visiting my inlaws just to have something to drink. Generally fine, pretty familiar dian hong flavors w/o anything sour or off about it when I drink it hot/normal (as I've had happen with random buys before). It was made in the style where the roll it up tight like bi luo chun, although still a black tea.

When cold brewed, it is sweet in that sort of spicy dian hong way, although in a mild to moderate intensity. You miss out on some of the floral notes since the nose of the tea is very weak when cold brewed compared to steaming hot, but they are still there on the palate. Very nice as a cold brew, and I think it would work well as the base for a sweet tea if I wanted to go that route. On the lighter side of color for what I'm used to with dian hong.

Today I am drinking some xiao zhong/small leaf hybrid or descendant variety Wuyi black referred to as "gao shan tu cha" or "high mountain clay tea" which I purchased through Yunnan Sourcing. (I know they specialize in Yunnan teas, but this one is a decent one the proprietor must be able to get at Kunming tea markets or something.) As to why it's called that, I don't really know. I suppose it might have to do with the soil being different than is standard for Wuyi (a region famous for its "rock tea" or "yancha"), but I don't really know specifically where it comes from to know if that's the case. Anyway, it's general taste is something like a standard zheng shan xiao zhong or jin jun mei in flavor when I've had it hot. Maybe a bit milder than JJM in intensity, but sweeter.

From the overnight cold brew, it comes out very creamy in mouthfeel, almost milky (not in appearance though). The color is very pale, you could almost think it is a lower grade white tea. Flavor is light chocolate notes, which when considered with the mouthfeel makes it almost seem like you're drinking a light chocolate milk or something. It's definitely got milk/cream sweetness to it as well.

I don't think either is really better per se. I think the dian hong brews out closer to what I would think of as being "iced tea" from before I was into tea as an enthusiast, but in a good way. More "active" or "alive" on the palate, if that makes sense. The Wuyi hong drinks much heavier and richer, which is kind of different in a cold tea. Maybe not what you are looking for as much on a hot day in that sense, but the fact that it's cold is what really matters.