Approx 6 minute read:

👕 Another used goods marketplace

💿 30 Years of H to the O-V

🛒 Pretend shopping to make you happy

🛑 Where not to travel this summer

As promised from last week, we’re switching up the music genre.

In honour of school finishing this week, I’m reminded of the high school grad trip I took to a cottage north of Toronto where all we blasted all weekend was the likes of 3 Doors Down, Nickelback (I know, I know) Our Lady Peace, a bunch of other post-grunge bands and somehow Blink-182 got mixed in too.

I must’ve heard Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down at least 50 times that weekend hence why it’s NOT in this playlist.

This is the ultimate Unc-rock playlist.

A confession, a business plan, and a street novel all wrapped up into one - this is Jaÿ-Z’s debut record, Reasonable Doubt.  

There’s few rappers I can think of where you listen to their debut album and it sounds like they’re already a rap veteran.  Kanye’s College Dropout comes to mind. Biggie’s Ready to Die comes to mind. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill....damn what a good album.  ANYWAY.

It’s been 30 years since Reasonable Doubt’s debut.  

And this is by far is one of hiphop’s all time classic albums.

From front to back, Jay takes you on a journey, shares with you bars that sound like they’re coming from a veteran, and flat out puts on a performance more than worthy of today’s musical standards.

In Brooklyn/Dumbo & Manhattan there’s interactive exhibits showcasing archival items, album-inspired sets, and multimedia displays that trace Reasonable Doubt’s creation and cultural impact.  Jay was at the Brooklyn exhibit yesterday signing stuff for everyone.

The Brooklyn public library has another Jaÿ-Z commemorative library card - they ran a set back in 2023 when they put “The Book of HOV” celebrating the life and times of Sean Carter (oh pun!).

Jayz30.com has put up Reasonable Doubt merch and the like - except it’s either not available yet or it’s sold out.

There’s also hints of Jay all around New York - check out Line J and Line Z in the city as well as custom Jaÿ-Z30 subway maps.

And then of course, in just under a month Jay is playing 3 sold out shows at Yankee Stadium followed by a September show in Paris and an October show in LA.

If I didn’t know any better I’d say celebrating all of this Jaÿ-Z history could actually be a parlay into a new album releasing later this summer.  Speculation of course buuuuut there could be something special in store for that Paris show, jusayin’.

I drank my very first non-alcoholic beer last week.  I know, the immediate follow-up question is, why?

Well I’m here to say that it tasted like beer…but slooooowly it just felt like I was drinking water in a can with a different flavour. 

And then I questioned why I was drinking beer flavoured water.

Are you water or are you beer, make up your mind.

I get it, people drink fake non-alcoholic beer for the sensation of drinking the same way Koreans are using dopamine sites for the sensation of shopping. 

No for real - people have created these sites where you go on and it looks and feels like you’re really shopping or ordering food.  Inspired by the dopamine rush you get from clicking the order button, these sites are supposed to give you the feeling like you’re buying stuff without actually spending money.

For instance you can go on Amazon Dopaminecart.com and order whatever and check out the same way you normally would in real life. 

And then you can sell your products back to the site to “make” money.  There’s also a trading section where you can trade fake money in case the buying stuff part isn’t enough dopamine.

Then there’s foodnevercomes.com where you’re ordering food like you normally would when you’re craving greasy wings at 1AM - BUT, hahahaha yes, you guessed it, the food never comes.  This is also supposed to mimic the dopamine feeling you get from ordering food.

Y’all really getting dopamine hits off of clicking order on Uber Eats?  Or are you just VERY VERY hungry.

The point of these sites is to give you the experience of waiting for something - that pleasant feeling of knowing an order is on its way. 

I mean if someone did this for shoes, I’d probably relate to it a bit more...I wouldn’t complain if the shoes actually arrived too!

(Before I continue, can you do me a favour and click an option in the poll at the bottom of this section - I’m working on something that I think you’re going to like regardless of what option you choose. Blessss 🙏)

That urge you’re feeling?  It’s the one everyone else got this week too when summer finally hit.

Chat: where are we going this summer?

Knee-jerk reactions everywhere is to check social media and see where in Japan is good to go - lol jk that was last summer. 

You know how you hear about these restaurants that get famous because some influencer showed up and shared a story?  There’s a bunch of travel destinations like that now where you think you’re gonna get this serene, cultural experience and all you get is a bunch of tourists pointing their phones everywhere.

Do not go to....

Not only does Spain rank as one of the most hostile nations towards mass tourism, the ratio of tourists to locals in Barcelona is something like 17 to 1.  

The people of Kyoto have run out of patience with the “tourist paparazzi”.  Wanna try taking a picture of a geisha in a private back alley?  You could be fined ¥10,000.  Restaurants have also put up “unofficial” locals only signs because we’re just ruining everything for them.

A popular Greek cruise port in the Mykonos islands, 17,000 passengers get dropped off daily in Santorini, which has a local population of only 15,500 residents.  People literally trip on each other to try to get a shot of the popular sunset spot. 

I’ve heard first hand from digital nomad friends that this place is just mad crowded now, full of vans and scooters in gridlock traffic. As a result of the over tourism the island faces and a shut down landfill, it’s currently going through a garbage crisis where locals are forced to burn garbage in their backyards.

In this small Croatian town, you get the biggest tourist to local ratio at 36 to 1.  The town gets so crowded that they had to implement silent zones where you you can face a fine for rolling your suitcase over cobblestones.  I mean, every city should do this, you know how annoying that sounds??

Disclaimer: I’m sure if you did end up going to one of these places this summer you could figure out how to navigate it. Heck, I was in Kyoto last summer and it ended up being fine. A little planning goes a long way when you’re travelling.