The Hinge Experiment: Harry Potter, Butterbeer, and a 2 AM Departure!

Last weekend, after attending the South Carolina Forum, I got to spend more time with Airica, and it was awesome.

We had the meat sweats at the Brazilian steakhouse, followed by salad and ice cream. Then, on Sunday, we went out for Mexican food.

Or, as they call it in Mexico…

Food.

You're welcome. I'll be here all week.

But that was last weekend. This weekend, things are getting a little more magical. By magical, I mean I'm about to do something that requires an alarm clock at an hour when most people are still dreaming about it.

Airica Has a Date With the State Fair

This Saturday, Airica is heading to the South Carolina State Fair with her family.

She's looking forward to getting her nieces and nephews some elephant ears. For those unfamiliar with fair food, elephant ears are those enormous pieces of fried dough covered in sugar and other deliciousness that make you question every nutritional decision you've made that week.

And what about Airica?

She's planning a little fair surf-and-turf for herself.

I hope she has a fantastic time with her family. I'm sure the kids will enjoy the rides, games, and treats, while the adults will be doing the usual calculations about how much money they just spent on a stuffed animal that cost more than dinner.

I'll be sitting this one out.

Why?

Because Sunday is Harry Potter day.

We're Going to COSM Atlanta!

On Sunday, Airica and I are heading to Atlanta for something called Shared Reality at COSM.

If you're unfamiliar with COSM, it's an immersive entertainment experience that combines a massive, high-resolution dome display with shared experiences that make you feel like you're stepping into another world.

You can learn more about the experience here:

COSM: The Experience

And what better way to experience this than with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?

Yes, we're going to experience Harry Potter in Shared Reality.

There's just one little detail.

The showing starts at 8 AM.

Eight.

In.

The.

Morning.

Who Schedules Harry Potter at 8 AM?

Let's do some math.

The drive from Mount Pleasant to Columbia is approximately two hours.

The drive from Columbia to Atlanta is approximately three hours.

That means I'm looking at about five hours of driving to get to Atlanta, depending on traffic.

And because I need to pick up Airica in Columbia before heading to Atlanta, here's the plan:

• 2 AM: Leave home in Mount Pleasant.

• 4 AM: Arrive in Columbia and pick up Airica.

• 4 AM–7 AM: Drive to Atlanta.

• 7 AM: Arrive, park, and prepare for the experience.

• 8 AM: Harry Potter begins.

• Around 11 AM: Finish the approximately three-hour experience.

That's right.

I'm leaving home at 2 AM on a Sunday to take a woman I met on Hinge to see Harry Potter.

Somewhere, Steve, the Iguana, is looking at his life choices and wondering how he ended up on the sidelines while I drive across Georgia before sunrise.

A few weeks ago, I wondered whether to delete Hinge because I had no matches.

Now I'm planning a road trip that requires me to wake up at an hour usually reserved for vampires, hospital workers, and people who have made questionable life decisions.

The Hinge Experiment has escalated.

There's a Special Harry Potter Menu!

Now, here's where things get interesting.

COSM has a special food-and-beverage offering for the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Shared Reality experience.

You can read the details here:

Harry Potter Shared Reality: Special Food and Beverage Offerings at COSM

Naturally, I had to investigate.

There's a Shepherd's Pie offering, and I purchased one for Airica.

Just one.

Why just one?

Because Shepherd's Pie at 8 AM is not my idea of breakfast.

I understand that we're entering the Wizarding World. I understand that the food is part of the experience. I understand that Harry Potter has probably eaten stranger things than Shepherd's Pie.

But I have my limits.

I'm a man who can eat Brazilian steakhouse meat until he experiences the meat sweats. I'm a man who's had shrimp and grits, rib eye cooked medium-well, and enough candy to stock a small convenience store.

Yet somehow, the thought of Shepherd's Pie first thing in the morning has me saying, "No, thank you."

Airica gets the Shepherd's Pie.

I'll stick with whatever else looks appealing.

And Then There's Butterbeer

I've also never had Butterbeer.

Yes, I know.

Apparently, this is a significant omission in my life.

I've watched movies, reviewed movies, driven to theaters, and even traveled to Pooler, Georgia, to experience the world's tallest IMAX screen.

But Butterbeer?

Nope.

I've never tried it.

I may take a sip.

Just a sip.

I'm not committing to a full Butterbeer experience until I know what I'm getting into.

For all I know, it’ll taste like cream soda and butterscotch, with a magical sugar rush that will have me bouncing off the walls before we even leave Atlanta.

And considering we're starting this adventure at 2 AM, I may need all the assistance I can get.

The Hinge Experiment Has Come a Long Way

Think about where this started.

I was on Hinge, wondering whether to delete the app.

No matches.

No conversations.

No dates.

Steve the Iguana was preparing to become my permanent companion.

Then I matched with Airica.

We talked.

We met for lunch in Columbia.

I nearly fell into a booth at The Grand.

We laughed, talked about our lives, and spent four hours together.

Then came the Brazilian steakhouse, the meat sweats, the gifts, and my first Boo Basket.

Now we're planning an early-morning road trip to Atlanta to experience Harry Potter in Shared Reality.

That's quite a progression.

I'm not going to pretend I know where this is going. We're still getting to know each other, and that's part of the fun.

But I do know this: I'm enjoying the experience.

I'm enjoying the conversations, the laughter, the time together, and the opportunity to do something different.

And if you had told me a few weeks ago that I'd be leaving my house at 2 AM to drive to Atlanta with someone I met on a dating app, I probably would have asked what you were smoking.

Now I'm checking the route, planning the departure time, and wondering whether Butterbeer is worth the hype.

Stay Tuned!

Saturday is the South Carolina State Fair for Airica and her family.

Sunday is Harry Potter, Shared Reality, a very early departure, and possibly my first sip of Butterbeer.

I'll report back.

Will I survive the drive?

Will the experience be worth waking up at 2 AM?

Will Airica enjoy her Shepherd's Pie?

Will I discover that Butterbeer is the greatest beverage ever created?

And most importantly, will Steve the Iguana finally admit that The Hinge Experiment is working?

Stay tuned!

The adventure continues.

The Last House: Now I Understand Why It’s on Netflix

I was so tired Wednesday night that I couldn't sleep.

Apparently, the solution was The Last House.

A family near Seattle gets trapped inside during a storm because the rain contains some mysterious goo. At first, I was hooked. Rain, thunderstorms, and sci-fi weirdness—I actually thought it was a shame this wasn't playing on a giant theater screen with booming sound.

Then I reached the halfway point.

Oh. Now I understand why it's on Netflix.

Imagine The Martian, Waterworld, Pirates of the Caribbean, MacGyver, and Predator getting thrown into a blender. Once the movie starts explaining what's happening, things get... complicated.

Is The Last House worth streaming?

Maybe if it's raining and you're trapped inside too.

🎬 Watch my full movie review at NielFlamm.com/videos/moviereviews

I Watched It So You Can Decide If You Should: My Latest Movie Review

There are movies I walk out of thinking, “Wow. I need to tell everyone to see that.”

Then there are movies where I walk out thinking:

“What the hell did I just watch?”

And sometimes those are much more fun to review.

My latest movie review is up, and rather than give away everything I thought about the movie here, I'm going to do something simple:

I'm inviting everyone to watch the review.

Why?

Because I've learned that a Rotten Tomatoes score doesn't necessarily mean I’ll love a movie.

A great cast doesn't guarantee a great movie.

An interesting premise doesn't guarantee the story will work.

And critics and audiences can sometimes watch the same movie and seemingly experience two completely different films.

That's one of the reasons I started doing these reviews.

I'm Not a Professional Movie Critic

I don't have a film degree.

I'm not analyzing whether the director properly paid homage to some obscure French film from 1962.

And I'm probably not going to explain the metaphorical significance of a lamp sitting in the corner of the room.

I'm a guy who likes movies.

I have Regal Unlimited. I go to the theater. I buy my popcorn. I get my Pepsi Zero. I sit down, watch the movie, and decide whether those two hours of my life were well spent.

That's my highly sophisticated rating system.

And when something doesn't work?

I'm going to say it.

When something surprises me?

I'll say that too.

And occasionally, a movie gives me so much material that reviewing it becomes almost as entertaining as watching it.

So, Was This Movie Worth Watching?

I'm not answering that here.

That's the bait.

🎬 In my full movie review, I break down what worked, what didn't, what made absolutely no sense to me, and whether I think the movie was worth my money—and my time.

I'm sure some people will completely disagree with me.

Actually, I hope they do.

Because that's half the fun.

After watching the review, I'm curious whether everyone thinks:

Did Niel get it right, or has he completely lost his mind?

👉 My full movie review is at NielFlamm.com

While there, my other movie reviews are available too, along with an option to subscribe so the next one doesn't get missed.

Because I'm going to keep watching them.

The good ones. The bad ones. And especially the ones that make me wonder who approved the script.