iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 15h

(Watching that scene, all I could think was: Bitch, I was literally THERE last week.) 🤣🤣

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 15h

Another fun watch from the forthcoming #HeatedRivalry season 1 DVD: an extended cut of the opening scene, where Shane and Ilya meet for the first time in what is supposed to be Saskatchewan. 👀

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 16h

Scott+Kip-related bloopers and outtakes from the forthcoming DVD release of #HeatedRivalry season 1 (officially due next week, though I’m seeing on the socials that at least a few Walmarts have put them out a week early!) 👀

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 17h

(For context if you need visual aid!) ⬇️

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

So, my first comment is: sweet JESUS, this is pretty. 😍

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I also don’t mind the Whimsical Wonder flavor from Costco, though it’s a distant third to the piña and the cherry! @charxthree.bsky.social

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

The Sunset Citrus is probs my current fave after the pineapple and the cherry, both of which I’m rationing my last supply of. I also like the Bloom flavor from their new botanicals line — it’s a much more subtle scent than their sweet ones, but it’s a nice switch!

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I can’t even tell you how irrationally ecstatic seeing Jacob Tierney rave about Robbie G.K. in the forthcoming book of #HeatedRivalry scripts (due out this Tuesday) makes me ❤️❤️

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Anyway, staring down the barrel of a seven-hour plane ride home. Gonna download the Texas-Oklahoma game to watch in the air, and oh, hey, why don’t I download the second season premiere of #SheriffCountry so that I can hate-watch that too! 👀

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Jeff always told me that he owed me a drink if we would ever find ourselves in the same zip code, and last night — thirteen years later, nearly to the day — I was finally able to cash that voucher in, at one of Jeff’s favorite neighborhood bars in his lovely New Hampshire hometown. @jefito.com

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

In the intro of that aforementioned podcast episode, I said something like: if you’re a soap fan, Giles’ book is going to be to you what a shot of heroin is to a junkie. The next day, Jeff posted this ⬇️ on his FB page about that. I absolutely f**king knew I had a friend for life from that instant. 🤣

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

🚨 if you should ever find yourself visiting @jefito.com’s hometown of Keene, NH and have a hankerin’ for tomato-slathered bread, Athens Pizza has LEGIT one of the best pies you’ll ever want to leap headfirst into. 🫵🏼

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Welpity, I set foot in Maine as promised!! ❤️

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Anyhoo, starting our Thursday with hot apple cider and cider donuts — both apparent local delicacies! — outside of Jackson, NH.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

One thing I forgot to tell y’all about is: Relay sells sourdough blueberry muffins. Never in my life have I heard of a sourdough muffin, but it tasted so f**king incredible, I still — days later — am haunted by it. 😭

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

>> so that we could return to the tunnel the following morning on our way out of town and craft a little verbal graffiti of my own for posterity. ❤️

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Closed out the day with dinner at the Winchester Arms a.k.a. the Kingfisher, where I made absolute sure to snap the window where Scott watches Kip’s birthday party from the street, too afraid to go inside and be with his man publicly. 😭😭

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A few miles away on the campus of McMaster University, we set out to find the grody metal doors where Shane + Ilya meet in the first minute of the series. It seemed like this one might be a bit tricky, but I luckily found a ‘Visit Hamilton!’ website that pretty much led us right to the exact spot.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

In that same montage, we see Shane and Hayden also running in what we assume is somewhere in Montreal; those bits were also filmed on the Dundurn grounds, along a fence line at the edge of the property. 🤣

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Then it was back to the outskirts of Hamilton to hit up the grounds of Dundurn Castle, which is meant to sub in as Moscow, where we see Ilya running outside at the top of episode 4.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

(My very first live hockey experience? A SHOCKING amount of fun. Jesus, that game is chaotic!!)

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

After that was a 45-min drive to Guelph’s Sleeman Centre, where all the show’s hockey action was filmed. As luck would have it, there was a game being played that very afternoon, so hubby and I donned our jerseys, bought tix and CRASHED that party, solely so we could gain entry to the edifice.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

We drove to the Pink Tunnel next. I’ll not bore y’all again with all that, but scroll back in my feed if you missed my tunnel posts!

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

We then took a brisk stroll down the street to Le Tambour (where Shane both met and then broke up with Rose) and Liuna Station (where both of the Skip fundraisers were filmed), which are directly across the street from each other.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Next, we traced a bit of Scott Hunter’s running route down King William St. because why the hell not 🤣

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Next we walked down to Relay Coffee Roasters, which production turned into Kip’s smoothie shop, Straw+Berry. The way this coffee shop has leaned HARD into its newfound notoriety, with Skip iconography scattered throughout, made my heart SING, you all. 🥰🥰

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The very back of Ciao Bella serves as the back doors of Shane’s Montreal apartment building, where Shane meets Ilya and lets him in when he visits for the first time.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Around the end of the Ciao Bella building, we stumbled upon a MAJOR find: the actual alley where Scott waits for Kip after the fundraiser where Kip dumps a plate of hors d'oeuvres all over Scott’s tux.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

A couple of blocks south is Ciao Bella, the restaurant where we see Shane having a couple of different lunches with the ‘rents. Right across the street from there is what used to be Poloma, the Mexican restaurant that Scott invites Kip to before they decide the line is too long.

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Across the street and down about half a block is Mansion, the real nightclub that doubled for Ciel, the site of episode four’s utterly stunning closing sequence. (It was closed on a Sunday morning, but we could easily spy the neon glowing through the barred front windows.)

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Anyway, I just now realized I didn’t take a picture, but there’s a convenience store on this corner, and I suspect that production used the facade of that wall to mock up the bodega’s offerings, including the fateful socks. 👀

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

We started on the corner of King and James Streets, which is meant to sub as the NYC streetcorner where Kip buys the banana socks for Scott when he spots them at a bodega after mailing his grad school applications. (You can see the shiny building in the background of the scene.)

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

His instant-classic 1995 interview with Soap Opera Weekly felt like a real *wait, was that all on the record??* moment 🤣🤣

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Following up my lovely carb-loading tour of greater northeastern Canada yesterday with a spicy hot cocoa plus various caramels and choco truffles from a cute shop in Stowe, VT, where our fall foliage tour has commenced in earnest ❤️

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Just crossed the border back into Vermont. Google Maps flipped instantly from kilometers to miles, and whoooo, I swear to y’all it felt like the planets snapping directly into alignment

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

You know what? I’m not sure I have the verbiage to explain why, but the bagel IS different. So different I was like two-thirds of the way through my sandwich before I really started to dig it. Crustier than any bagel I’ve ever tried, with delightfully chewy center. You SOLD me, François! 💥

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

All right, Franklin, let’s DO this 🫵🏼

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Adios, Ontario! 👋 Next stop: Montreal, for the sole purpose of following François Arnaud’s advice to enjoy what is apparently a REAL bagel. Then, down south into Vermont to behold some fall foliage (a.k.a. the TRUE rationale for this whole detour-riddled vacay!)

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Anyhoo, we also made an obligatory Tim Horton’s stop. You’re damn SKIPPY I got a 10-pack of Timbits to pop on the road!!

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I got you covered! I’m not back home until Sunday so we can figure out the logistics next week!

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In other news, FINALLY getting to try the dirty strawberry Coke from a Canadian McDonald’s 😍😍

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Did I have to go to three different Canadian Tire locations to track down Ilya Quackanov? Yes. Was it worth all that burned petrol to finally be bringing him home? Also yes! 😍

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I’ve many, MANY other pix to share, but hubby and I are closing out our day with dinner and drinks at the Winchester Arms pub, better known as #HeatedRivalry ‘s beloved sports bar The Kingfisher. I just ordered a cosmo, yo!!

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Went to the videotape to confirm that Kip and Elena sat in seats 9 and 10 when they went to Scott’s game the first time. Wholly by chance, hubby and I are in seats 8 and 9, sooooo … close! 🤣

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Operation Don’t Get F**king Mustard All Over My Pretty Jersey in full effect right now, okay

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

By happenstance, there is a hockey game — Guelph Storm vee Kitchener Rangers, FYI — this afternoon at Sleeman Centre, so I’ve got my Hunter jersey on, hubby’s donned his Hollander threads, and we are officially SPECTATING, honey!! 💥🏒

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Brandon's Buzz @brandonsbuzz.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A smattering of scrawled messages from the Pink Tunnel. (If you’ve not watched #HeatedRivalry, likely not a syllable of this will make a damn bit of sense to you!) (If you’ve not watched #HeatedRivalry, might I suggest that there are far worse ways to spend the next six hours of your Sunday??)

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