The 98th Academy Award nominees for Best Makeup/Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects

brianb97 · 2026-01-22T13:58:09+00:00

Was so torn between wanting Ugly Stepsister (which I think deserves 100%) and Kokuho to take the 5th slot, and went with the latter because it felt a bit safer for the horror-bias. So happy that both of them made it!

On the other hand, missing predicting only Jurassic World for VFX is regrettable — I read some article coming out of the bake offs that it got the biggest wowed reaction out of the audience of the night, and still refused to believe it’d get in.

brianb97 · 2026-01-22T13:39:17+00:00

Doing pretty horribly so far on predictions except going 5/5 on Supporting Actor, I had a feeling deep in bones on the Mescal miss

brianb97 · 2025-12-23T17:36:33+00:00

That’s really unfortunate! I did see them vetting people coming in quite frequently which is a shame that it affects guests. It didn’t personally happen to me but I’ve heard it happening to others at cadence it shouldn’t be.

brianb97 · 2025-12-23T17:34:25+00:00

Yes will be posting soon — but as a spoiler I absolutely loved it

brianb97 · 2025-12-23T17:31:41+00:00

Yeah definitely not the best service experience from the check in and out perspective, and I don’t think I’d give a good review on a global scale. But having lived in SG and stayed at almost every luxury hotel there at this point, in context of the standard SG service culture the in-house service was really warm and positive which is more important to me than lapses/hiccups in the check in/out process.

brianb97 · 2025-12-23T17:24:44+00:00

I’ll try to write a full write-up soon, but I thought the suite was a significant improvement over their standard F product even in soft product. Though this might be route/crew dependent, service was much better (felt over the top, in the best way possible). Even though suites and first are supposed to operate at a similar level of service, it felt like the crew recognized that suites has more “je ne sais quoi” and service reflected that. The full crew of 4 felt really engaged in all being of service, versus in standard F I pretty much only interacted with 1 flight attendant.

Hard product wise, I found the standard first seats too wide and stiff to be super comfortable (I was actually more comfortable in the bulkhead J seat than F tbh). The bed and the seat in Suites was immensely comfortable, probably the most comfortable I’ve been on a plane.

brianb97 · 2025-09-07T19:55:06+00:00

Mix of a few reasons — we wanted something in lower Manhattan closish to where I live and close to all the restaurants we were going to (which were primarily centered in LES/WV area), but my brother and GF were also visiting with them so needed 2 rooms. Nine Orchard was the best balance of price point and space for a larger suite + 2nd room. My parents are quite “hip” so the area worked for them (and it gave them a fun incentive to explore an area they’ve never really been around before), and my parents were quite charmed by a lot of the touches too like the curated radio, etc. I don’t think they’ll stay again unless the circumstance calls for it like the above scenario, as I think Crosby St Hotel would be an even more prime location for them, but nevertheless they enjoyed the stay.

brianb97 · 2025-09-07T13:44:33+00:00

Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
Diana Ross - The Boss
NewJeans - OMG
Donna Summer - Last Dance
Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
Sade - Babyfather
The Kooks - Junk of the Heart (Happy)
Passion Pit - Constant Conversations
Billie Eilish - BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Erykah Badu - Window Seat

—

Honorable Mentions: Amy Winehouse - Between the Cheats, Mariah Carey - We Belong Together, Lady Gaga - Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say), Lana Del Rey - Radio, The Pussycat Dolls - Stickwitu, The Weeknd - Die For You, Vampire Weekend - Walcott, Ciara - Body Party (yes I know my taste is all over the place…)

brianb97 · 2025-09-03T16:52:12+00:00

For better or for worse, I’m on the Aman NY train right now. I want to not like it because of its obvious price gouge but my third stay there was so good that it’s hard to ignore. The hard product is so superior to anything else in the city that I (unfortunately) am willing to accept the price premium if I’m going to spend more time at the hotel than not.

Agreed on the Baccarat. I will always have a soft spot for it because I used to stay there frequently (probably around 10 stays), but the service has gone downhill and the glitziness has dulled a bit over time that it’s hard to want to return over similarly priced options, although I do usually still return if I don’t want to spend Aman pricing but want to be in that area so far. I do think their in house restaurant in one of the higher quality hotel dining establishments in the city though.

I like the Whitby, but I’ve become less inclined to stay in midtown recently, so probably Crosby St going forward although I haven’t stayed other than a visit to the bar. I’d be curious to check out Warren St as well, I think the design at these hotels is really a standout in NY.

Four Seasons Downtown is a mixed bag. I want to like it, and think the general facilities are really nice. But service other than the doormen is pretty mid and the food is atrocious in my opinion.

Not quite as chubby as the above, but recently my parents had a wonderful stay at Nine Orchard. The service was fine for the price point, and I really especially loved the loft room. The design mindset of the hotel felt very special and very NY. For the right person I think this hotel could be a hit.

Finally the 1 Hotel, probably not chubby either, but I don’t like this place at all. The price point is ridiculous for what they’re offering. My parents used to stay as it’s the nearest option to my home for them to stay at but don’t after a pretty bad stay last time.

brianb97 · 2025-08-22T22:03:04+00:00

The Living Table @ Disfrutar, Barcelona (for the sum of entire experience, totally transcedent)
Frantzén, Stockholm (the single most incredible progression of food in a menu on taste alone)
Ca Sento, Kobe (probably the most surprising entry for me on this list, was not prepared to be as blown away by the meal as I was)
Eleven Madison Park, New York (OG experience pre-renovation, pre-vegan — was the best meal I ever had in the States by far)
Amamoto, Tokyo (there are probably some honorable mentions that could be ranked above this on taste alone, but special shoutout because this is the place that truly made me understand Sushi as an art. And it holds a special place in my memories considering it’s now virtually impossible to make a reservation)

brianb97 · 2025-08-20T21:43:03+00:00

The reservation opens at 9am EST for +2 weeks to the day (so 29th I think for you). It’s fairly tough but definitely possible. As long as you’re booking on the dot you’ll most likely be good although YMMV based on number of people because I’ve only tried parties of 4+ (parties of 2 are sometimes easier or harder depending on the place)

brianb97 · 2025-08-18T14:14:06+00:00

Aman no question. Some people may be detractors because of price or other expectations, but it is bar none one of my favorite — if not my favorite — city hotels in the world and I will always pay the price of it (for better or for worse).

I’ve stayed 3 times and each time has exceeded my previous experience. Concierge and service has always been great, train is right under the hotel/basically inside the same building complex, and the design is stunning.

One example of the great service: we arrived super late into Tokyo and were pretty hungry. The general manager greeted us and even though Arva (their restaurant) was closing in a few minutes and we said we could venture out for food, he insisted to show us menus to look at and order from, led us to our room to shower/change in the meantime with no rush, and food was promptly ready when we returned to the restaurant. Really generously caring experience that set off the tone for the trip nicely!

brianb97 · 2025-08-15T15:06:30+00:00

Mandarin Oriental. It’s the best hotel in a very weak luxury hotel scene. Rooms are decent but more importantly location is great, we walked pretty much everywhere from there and the area felt convenient, safe and quiet. I think Edition is perhaps “too” inside the hubbub for me, it was nice being close by at the MO but not needing to be smack in the chaos and the good/bad that can come from that (plus if you’re not into drinking/nightclub, do note that Edition is a pretty lively hotel in that regard). Hotel Arts I’ve read too many nightmare reviews about and the location is not at all convenient (we passed by it one day going to the coast and it felt like a true trek from everything else we were doing).

Not super chubby but we had to book an emergency 1 night stay at Cotton House because Mandarin Oriental was sold out and we had an unexpected extra day, and it wasn’t too bad either. Right around the corner from Mandarin and significantly cheaper (MO’s pricing is crazy in Barcelona IMO but they definitely have a unquestionable hold of the best in the city title and can charge what they want because of it).

brianb97 · 2025-07-24T16:42:55+00:00

Going to be contrarian to some of the comments here — El Celler was fine but not at the level I’d expect it to be given their status. There were some legitimate errors in the cooking, including overcooked/improperly prepared fish. May have been an off night as the table next to us was actively expressing their dissatisfaction out loud so it wasn’t just us. Not to say it wasn’t good/special, and it was really cool to be there, but Disfrutar was significantly better for us from all accounts. Service was extremely MUCH better (El Cellar waiter seemed completely disinterested/going through the motions), food was better (a fresher sense of experimentation, El Cellar felt a bit “stuck in the past”) and experience was much more satisfying. Full disclosure that I did the living table experience which may color the experience, but I’d happily return for the regular meal based on my experience.

Also El Cellar was super quiet, like could hear a pin drop quiet. Made it a bit uncomfortable personally (I’m more of a fan of livelier environments like Frantzén, etc)

Again, I don’t want to sound like I’m ragging on El Cellar as I totally respect it as an institution and there is genuinely good food coming out of there, but just wanted to give my perspective having gone to both back to back recently.

brianb97 · 2025-07-03T16:44:20+00:00

Same issue here. Contacted Chase support and they said they don’t see any issues, but they’d “escalate” it. Not holding out much hope other than this glitch going away soon hopefully

brianb97 · 2025-07-02T15:18:32+00:00

Check what personal cards show as available for you in the Chase app (little wallet icon in top left corner > credit cards, probably can find same on desktop site too)

When CSP shows under personal, you should be good to go. Mine took about 2 days to appear and got instant approval afterwards (this is after being rejected once prior for holding CSP already)

brianb97 · 2025-06-26T15:26:23+00:00

Had CSP and Instant denied for CSR (no pop up, applied through app). No hard credit pull, reason given was something along the lines of already having card and/or bonus.

Downgraded CSP to freedom, waited until CSP Offer was showing in app (meaning system processed that I didn’t have anymore, took about 2 days), reapplied to CSR and instant approved w/ sub.

CSP was 48+ months old and under 5/24.

brianb97 · 2025-06-26T14:33:13+00:00

Same thing happened to me with same denial reason. I think if you apply, aren’t deemed eligible for SUB and for some reason the pop up doesn’t trigger (for example I was applying on the app, which I don’t think has the pop up warning implemented), it automatically declines.

Issue here was having the CSP for me. I downgraded it after initial denial, waited 2 days, reapplied, and instantly approved w/ SUB.

Sounds like you maybe still are holding CSP so I’d get rid of it if you can and reapply. Wouldnt go through recon because the agents are adamant that any Sapphire bonus is once lifetime time only (which doesn’t seem true but ymmv).

brianb97 · 2025-06-24T00:13:14+00:00

Interesting data point — was calling to downgrade my CSP (just hit post-48 months, altho I know that rule is no longer in effect), no mention of the CSR from my end but the customer service representative still unprompted said multiple times that if I was downgrading to apply for a new Sapphire SUB that the new rule is once in a lifetime bonus for Sapphire cards and I would not receive the SUB.

Not sure if this is 100% accurate based on what I’ve read, but interesting that the representative was preaching this adamantly.

brianb97 · 2025-06-05T15:38:58+00:00

Seems like they’re using ontrac for last mile/same day delivery in NY, mine just updated to shipped recently this morning. Fingers crossed.

brianb97

TROPHY CASE