So the year is officially half over.

Which is to say that Americans just got fucked in record time.

This country is adding trillions of dollars to the national debt while slashing benefits for average Americans all so 60% of the resulting tax cuts are going to the top 20% of the wealthiest Americans.

Typical.

I get how the math isn't understandable by most people. Math is hard. Fooling people about the math is easy.

But how is it that people don't understand that preventative health care for all Americans is in everybody's best interest? If people can't afford to go to doctors when problems are small and can be resolved relatively cheaply, then they wait until health problems are very large and incredibly expensive. Then they can't afford to pay. So they don't. But that money has to come from somewhere. Which is to say that we all end up paying far more for their care than we would have if they had gotten early treatment... whether it's via our taxes, higher insurance premiums, higher doctor costs, or whatever, WE pay for it! This is a simple concept that people are apparently too fucking stupid to understand.

The politicians supporting this shit understand it all very well... they just don't give a fuck if people get sick and die. And they also don't give a fuck if American taxpayers end up paying more money... just so long as their wealthy owners don't end up paying for it. Which they won't, because the vast majority of the tax cuts are going to them.

It's a horrific situation we're all being put in.

For example...

I really hope that nobody out there has a parent with dementia.

When I did, there was insurance and options for veterans available and it still wasn't enough. I took out a loan for my mom's care... but, even so, without Medicaid to help cover some of the costs, I have no fucking clue what I would have done after she got to the point she had to be put in a facility. Medicaid is a safety net that we all pay into so that if tragedy strikes, we can get care. And without that safety net, what happens?

This Big Pile of Shit Bill is going to fuck over so many people. And most of them don't even know it yet.

All because the millionaires and billionaires who own our fucking politicians want even more of our money and don't want to pay their fair share.

I kept my mom with me even after her doctor said she needed to have professional help. Because I thought it would be better for her than sending her to go live with strangers. I was wrong. There's a point where a dementia patient requires specialized round-the-clock care which I wasn't equipped to provide. But now people will likely be forced into this situation anyway because assholes somehow get elected who don't give a fuck about the people they represent. So everybody loses. Except millionaires and billionaires, who always win even when they lose because the system is set up to always, always, always benefit them.

I cannot fathom what this disgusting, cruel, and utterly vile bill is going to do to the future of this country. The things we will lose are not something you can bring back by snapping your fingers. The sad truth is that even if everybody wakes the fuck up and puts a stop to this senseless destruction, it could take decades to undo the damage. If it can be undone at all. We're going to be paying more for less for a very long time.

But, hey, those toilets on billionaire's jets aren't going to gold-plate themselves! People losing Medicaid and dying is apparently a small price to pay so they can live the excessive lifestyle we provide to them.

Or so we're being told.

A book I've read more than a few times is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It's a solid and entertaining read that was begging for a movie adaptation.

And now we have one.

Ryan Gosling, whom I never gave much thought to until his exceptional performances in The Nice Guys and Blade Runner 2049, is perfect for the lead role, and I'm happy they cast somebody who can bring the character to life in a way that has charm and dimension. Because, keep in mind, he's going to be the only human on-screen for a big chunk of the movie's runtime...

And how cool is that alien space ship design? Very happy they put some serious money into the special effects budget.

But will I actually be compelled to go to a theater in March of 2026?

For this? Maybe!

I have been looking forward to the sequel to The Old Guard for what seems like forever (well, okay, it's been four years, but still). It's been the sole reason that I've hung on to Netflix through its price increases and the films delays. But today was the day... and the film was finally released.

And I hated it.

Hated it.

It's a convoluted mess of a movie that isn't the least bit interesting or inovative. In other words, it's the complete opposite of the first film. The characters aren't made even remotely compelling this time around. Nicky and Joe's relationship, the whole heart of the first flick, takes a backseat to Andy and Quynh's relationship, except there's nothing really to it except predictability. The sequel takes place six months after the last one, but Nile's abilities are completely off the chart and she's more of a plot device than a character. Booker, who could have had a fascinating redemption arc, was given a lazy redemption that wasn't earned so much as it was shoe-horned in with no reasoning. Chiwetel Ejiofor was given a more active way in the story, but to lesser effect. Henry Golding was added but completely wasted and wasn't made in any way essential except he knows things. All he did was take time away from the other characters, and they could have eliminated him and changed nothing. I guess Uma Thurman has an essential function, but it's sure a boring one.

But the worst part? It ends on a massive fucking cliffhanger.

This sequel barely happened, a third film is highly unlikely, and they decide to end it on a cliffhanger? What the fuck? The first movie was a complete story that happened to have a stinger at the end which could lead to more in case they got to make more. You could have never gotten a sequel and had a satisfying experience. But this time if there's no sequel to the sequel, you're left with something incomplete and half-baked.

I fucking hate it when they do this shit. Unless you are 100% certain that you will get another movie or another season or whatever... DON'T FUCKING END ON A CLIFFHANGER!! This is not rocket science. What it actually is is lazy, shitty filmmaking that broadcasts to the entire world that you are not talented enough to wrap something up and move on to something bigger and better.

And I honestly don't care. If a third movie never happens, I'll try to be happy that we got the first one and move on with my life.

Jesus. Charlize Theron could have spent her time giving us a sequel to Atomic Blonde instead of wasting her time on this nonsense.

Though now I'm scared shitless that we'd get a bad sequel to that brilliant movie too.

After my horrific disappointment with The Old Guard 2 on Netflix last night, I was more than a little nervous to tune into the second season of The Sandman today.

Turns out there was no reason to worry. It's every bit as amazing as the first season, and they've done a phenomenal job of adapting this phenomenal story...

The problem remains, of course, the piece of shit responsible for this phenomenal story. Neil Gaiman may be a creative genius, but he's also an asshole with decades of sexual assault in his history.

Which is to say that after every episode, I feel like screaming. Cursing its creator for inventing something so wonderful then turning out to be a sack of shit who makes it impossible for me to view his work the same way that I used to.

On July 24th there's five more episodes to complete this adaptation of The Sandman.

On July 31st there's a single episode adapting Death: The High Cost of Living, one of my most favorite comic book series of all time and something I've been dying to see. Especially once we got to see Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in The Sandman.

After that we have Colleen Doran's lovely adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet's Good Omens that I pre-ordered ages ago.

And after that we have the Good Omens Netflix wrap-up movie (in lieu of a third season that got canceled after Gaiman's misconduct surfaced).

And after that?

I can finally put Gaiman and his bullshit behind me and try to be glad that I got to enjoy his work for as long as I did.

The other day I happened upon a series that I thought had long since been canceled: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. It's a show where Jonathan Frakes introduces these outlandish stories, then you have to decide whether they are true or not. Then they tell you what stories were true. I actually remember James Brolin being the host before Frakes did it.

Apparently it was canceled back in 2002, then revived in 2021 because it's popular in Germany. And it's still going, or was as of last year.

But anyway...

When I Googled to see how it was still being made, I came across this...

It's weird how things have a completely different vibe when taken out of context like this.

Which is true about a lot of things in life, I suppose.

I prop my pillows upright so the cats don’t lay on them and get fur all over them. Jenny, bless her heart, HAS BEEN PULLING DOWN THE PILLOWS WITH HER CLAWS AND THEN LAYS ON THEM!!

Usually I have to look at the security cameras to see what happened. But this time the little scoundrel did it right in front of me...

Which is oh so typical of her.

She has absolutely no regard for rules. Well, neither of my cats do, but she's borderline contemptuous of rules.

Which is oh so typical of cats, really.

I may be laying here dying of a sunburn, but never you fear about this blog... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• The Life List! If you too are laying on the couch trying not to move so your sunburn won't give you grief and you're looking for a rom-com to watch, here you go...

Ever since I lost Hallmark Channel, my consumption of rom-coms has been dangerously low. Fortunately they are in endless supply.

   
• Melancholy! There's a new Google commercial showing how you can use your phone's camera to get help via a photo AI search. The song they have in the background is very clearly On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz. Then, at the very end, the tune takes enough of a turn that you know it's not...

It's a bummer, because every time it comes on, I'm thinking that Google licensed the track from Damon Albarn, who has crafted some of my favorite music of all time (lead by Silent Running which remains one of the most achingly beautiful songs I've heard (link in comments).

   
• Correlation? And yet you see it on social media practically every day. Multiple times a day...

Which is bad enough, except you see it in the news as well. Politicians just love this shit.

   
• Cancelation Rage! One of my favorite shows of 2025 has been The Residence on Netflix. The character of Cordelia Cupp is amazing, the story they came up with for her is fantastic, and the mystery in the show is pretty great. Which is why I was hoping so badly we'd get a sequel. But of course Netflix canceled the show...

It's beyond frustrating that good shows get canceled before their time. And I guess I'll just add this to the pile of shows I'm mad about losing.

   
• Immortal Cat Tales! Matt Damon has more than a few stories which make me like him as a person. And here's one more...

Cats are such mythical creatures. Maybe that's what I like about them.

   
• NEWSFLASH: ‘Sinners’ on Max Will Include a Black American Sign Language Version. The fact that there is a laugh-react to this enrages me to the point of meltdown. Adding accessibility for a group of people DOES NOT TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM YOU. The Black Deaf Community has developed a language to better communicate their shared-experience. Everybody should be thrilled to know that HBO Max is putting in the work and money necessary to make sure that this masterpiece film has the best experience possible for everybody. But no. The fact that BASL is an option is somehow hilarious. Get fucked. Go back to your bigot bubble where absolutely everything is just designed exclusively for you and leave those who advocate for their inclusion alone.

   
• Make it Sparkle! LET'S GO TO THE MALL EVERYBODY!

I've been rewatching How I Met Your Mother, but the number of times I've watched this episode go way beyond the number of times I've watched the series.

   
And now back to nursing my sunburn.

Professor Dave has created an in-depth video addressing RFK's horrific, life-destroying misinformation campaign. Of particular note is how the head of the Department of Health & Human Services profits from his bullshit.

No matter what side of the fence you're on, I'd urge you to watch this entire video... if, for no other reason, to listen to the debunked lies that are easily verifiable by looking up the misrepresented citations RFK presents as "facts in evidence" to know the truth. So even if you don't take action for your own self, at the very least you're not propagating misinformation which convinces others to risk their health and lives (or, more tragically, the health and lives of their children)...

You know what refutes science? Better science. Not whatever the fuck RFK's stupid shit and lies are supposed to be.

Some friends and I decided to do some floatin' on Saturday.

It was bordering on hot, but the water was cold, so it all balanced out in the end.

It seems strange how the water just gets lower and lower every year. Used to be you could float until August. Now it's almost too late to float in July...

Lower...

And lower. I was close to dragging ass at this point...

Duckies were out again this year...

Some with babies...

I didn't see any deer this year, but I did see a raccoon, which is more rare since they usually only come out at night. Guess he just wanted a drink and a quick dip to cool off...

And despite being warned, there were no bears again this year...

And that's my first and only float in 2025.

The third deepest lake in the USA is Lake Chelan, which is an hour from my home (the first is Crater Lake in Oregon, the second is The Great Salt Lake in Utah). Friends and I decided to spend part of our week hanging out at the local big deep.

The weather yesterday was perfect. Plenty of blue sky and sunshine, which means the lake was fairly calm and we could take a boat out to swim and soak up the sun...

Half-way up the 50-mile lake is 25 Mile Creek, where we stopped for ice cream...

It was a fantastic day and a fantastic trip on the lake.

But not all was perfect when we got back.

The condo room I rented inexplicably has a set of stairs immediately after walking in the door...

Now, keep in mind that from the perspective of the photo above, you can actually see the stairs. But if you are on the top of the stairs, you don't see the sides. From your perspective, you can barely see stairs exist and it looks much like this...

Which means that I charged right through the door, concentrating on not catching my bag and suitcase on the closing door, didn't see the stairs... and walked right off the edge, catching myself on the little sink there.

I wrenched by back pretty good, and spent two days of my vacation in pain.

I don't understand how this is even a legal construction. Don't stairs have to have guardrails to keep you from falling off? I'd think that the owners would want to have a railing of some kind for safety. Because even after I learned (the hard way) that the stairs are there, I was still running into them (particularly at night, because the bathroom is just past the sink.

Oh well. I had pills on me so I could push through and have a good vacation despite it all. That's probably the thing to focus on.

And, just like that, Summer vacation is over.

Now I need a vacation from my vacation...

...which is how you know it was a good vacation.

After talking with a friend who had just watched Mickey 17, which stars Robert Pattinson, I remembered that he also starred in the Christopher Nolan's Tenet, a movie I like the more times I see it.

This time was no different. Such a brilliant film.

I've watched videos, read articles, and examined timeline charts in order to better understand the film. And here's another one which was very recently released (spoilers, of course)...

I love that the movie is so deep that videos and articles are still being written about it.

Next up from Nolan is his adaptation of The Odyssey, the trailer for which has apparently leaked online. I'm not going to try and watch anything until Universal officially releases it. Otherwise I know that I'm going to undoubtedly be clicking on a fucking shit-ton of AI-generated shit, because that's what YouTube is all about now-a-days.

Except...

Unlike Facebook, YouTube may actually be trying to curb the AI slop we're being inundated with. Thank God. I am so sick and fucking tired of this crap that it almost makes me want to abandon the internet so I don't have to see it.

I was gone two days on vacation and, just like when I'm gone for two weeks, Jake won't leave my side.

Every night I go to sleep and he's laying next to me, then when I wake up and he's still there. I don't know how he manages to get any sleep with all my tossing and turning, but it doesn't seem to discourage him. Of course even belly rubs only distract him for a second before he falls asleep again...

If only I could sleep like that.

It's 911. The world may be ending, but I'm not sending this blog with it just yet... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• IN THE NEWS: Historic lodge on Grand Canyon North Rim destroyed by wildfire. This is awful. I've never stayed at the Grand Canyon Lodge because it was way out of my price range, but I've eaten dinner there with my mom and it's a wonderful place. Or was...

Image from a news story taken from somewhere on Twitter

The world being both figuratively and literally on fire is really starting to wear on people. Starting with me.

   
• IN THE NEWS: 1 person dies of the plague in northern Arizona. And guess what? The current administration is GUTTING our research and defense against shit like this. All so he can give billionaires more tax cuts while the country goes trillions more into debt. The rest of us just get to die of the plague, I guess.

   
• IN THE NEWS: Mexican volunteers rushed in to help after floods in Texas. Some want to continue recovery efforts. "Oscar Morales is part of the volunteer-led recovery team International Tlatelolco Azteca Rescue Brigade, which was created after the 1985 earthquake that left thousands dead in Mexico City. The group is better known as 'Los Topos,' which translates to 'the moles,' because members search for victims after natural disasters. But the part of the above story which is adding a new level of horrible to an already horrific situation? On social media, Gov. Greg Abbott has thanked almost a dozen states for sending help after the catastrophic floods, but he hasn't publicly mentioned the help of Mexican volunteers. Because of course not. And yet Mexico showed up anyway, even though they knew this would happen. And despite the fact that there could have been seriously harmful consequences for showing up to help a neighbor... like getting deported to a prison in El Salvador. I was holding my breath when I heard they came, just waiting for some stupid racist shit to go down, because that seems to be what this country is all about now.

   
• IN THE NEWS: From Mackintosh Braun on Instagram. "Our independent album The Sound was removed from all streaming and stores by TuneCore because Warner Sync UK Warner Music has claimed they own a song on the album. We made this record broke, sharing a studio apartment back in 2006. This is why the music industry is broken. They’ve effectively removed our music from existence for no reason… if you can write someone do it, no idea how to fix this." This is horrible, but so typical of the abuse which huge companies can unleash whenever they want, and rarely face consequences... even nearly 20 years later. This is an incredible debut album from MB (Macintosh Braun), one of my all-time favorite bands. I've been hoping for a new album for a decade now, but have taken consolation that their old albums are still out there to be enjoyed. Except when they're not.

   
• End of an Era! The Rivers of America has been removed from Walt Disney World's maps. That's where the new Cars attractions are going to go...

The Rivers of America in Disneyland is still there, so that's nice.

   
• PC Mini! If you're looking to kill some time and are mesmerized by electronics videos like I am, here's your next watch...

It's remarkable how much of the work is done by hand. I would have sworn that these would be 90% automated by machine. Also remarkable? How everything is being made to look like a Mac mini now, right down to the packaging.

   
• Hello Depression! Am I the only one who can no longer watch movies about the total fantasy of what this country could be without being filled with abject despair over how it is?

I just wanted a feel-good movie to play while I had a sandwich, so I put on Dave, which I normally love. Now it just makes me depressed.

   
And now we can continue with the ongoing nightmare of our existence.

I had no intention of buying a Switch 2. Not only did it feel overpriced with overpriced games, there were some other things that rubbed me the wrong way as well. But the biggest reason I wasn't going to buy one is that I barely have time to play my OG Switch and Xbox Series S as it is. Why buy something new to give me even more I won't have time for?

But then it came to pass through a series of events that I acquired one anyway...

   
I've been jotting down notes for the past couple weeks as I run across things...

• Availability, like for all new systems, is shit. To Nintendo's credit, they did try to keep the scalping down. The problem is that they did a horrible job of it. IF you had an active Nintendo Online membership for a year or more AND you've had 50 hours of gameplay on that account by April 2nd AND you have data-sharing with Nintendo on... you could register for an invitation to purchase a system. But here's the thing: Nintendo doesn't tell you if you qualify! You could sign up and wait it out, all the while wondering if they think you know you qualify. But the simple fact is that you just don't know. I signed up for an invitation even though I had no intention on buying a unit, I know that I'm qualified, and can see that I made the request, but... nothing. Is that because I overlooked something? Who knows? As of this writing Nintendo still hasn't send me an invitation. Not a big deal, I just thought maybe somebody I knew could use it if they wanted one.
• The unit itself is very, very nice. It's thin. It has a large display. The controllers are magnetic and oh-so-satisfying to attach/detach. The menu system is essentially the same as the previous version... which is to say that it's excellent. If I have a complaint, it's that it's not the most ergonomic thing to hold. Your hands cramp after a bit. But, for the most part? Nice.
• The setup, which seems simple on the surface, was kinda a hassle for me. For reasons unknown, it kept having connection issues. But it locks up rather than allow you to fix your settings or enter new ones, so I had to wait for it to time-out multiple times then fail before I was able to register and transfer stuff from my old Switch. Also? I tried to use my favorite USB-C charger, which works perfectly fine on an OG Switch... but I wasn't allowed to use it during initial setup. I had to use the official charger for some reason. No idea if it's a wattage issue, but it was silly given that my S2 had nearly a full charge. After setup my favorite charger works fine.
• One of the things that made me think the S2 is overpriced is that the screen isn't OLED. What the fuck, Nintendo?!? Also... there's a "screen protector" pre-installed on the display. Except not really. It's actually just a plastic film of some kind on the display to keep a shattered screen from spitting glass everywhere. No, you'll still have to add a screen protector to protect not only the screen, but to also protect the film on the screen. This kinda pisses me off. Why not just have the unit come with a protector already on it? I mean a real one. It would add pennies to the cost. Oh well. Fortunately modern screen protectors are fairly cheap and dead-simple to align and install thanks to most having a placement tray attached. I paid $9 for a two pack of scratch-resistant tempered glass, and it was quick, easy, and looks better than having my S2 go naked.
• That being said, the display is a huge step up from the first generation OG Switch screen. I can actually read the tiny text while playing No Man's Sky now.
• Another thing that made me think the S2 is overpriced is the pathetic amount of storage. You get 256GB. Yes, that's 8× what you got in the OG Switch... but that was eight years ago. Games are so much larger now. Which is to say that you'll likely be having to shell out a chunk of money for a pricey microSD Express card. A "regular" microSD card won't work. To double your storage with an additional 256GB will cost you $60. Whereas if Nintendo would have just shipped with 512GB standard, it would have only added around $10 to the purchase price.
• Nintendo has never shipped state-of-the-art hardware. They usually have mid-to-low range specs and rely on having clever games to compel people to purchase their stuff. This time, however, it feels like they went more high end. The unit feels snappy and modern. Graphics are quite good. Load times are decent. No, it's not going to blow the doors off the competition... but it does feel closer to the other options out there.
• I'm just going to put this out there... not a lot of games out there at launch. Yes, Mario Cart World is a terrific IP launch title (with a few caveats) but there's no Mario or Kirby or other strong Nintendo IP available yet. The next one to come out is Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17th, and it looks great. But come on. The good news is that Nintendo has updated a few OG Switch titles for S2. I got a free update for my copy of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker which updates the visuals, for example. But other updates, like for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are $10 each if you want the updated visuals and such (though I think Nintendo Online subscribers can get it for free?). That's not the same as a new game.
• That being said... some 3rd party publishers are offering upgrades to their games for S2. The one that got me most excited was Hello Games' No Man's Sky. They were already pushing the OG Switch to its limits to give a darn good version of the game... but the FREE update for S2 is next level. The game is gorgeous. And it's on parity with other platforms in a way that the OG Switch was never going to be. I could write an entire post about how much I love this game... and how much more I love it now... but suffice to say if you haven't played it, you owe it to yourself to give it a go.
• My favorite video game ever since it was released is Minecraft Dungeons. There's been no upgrade made available for S2, but it's a much better experience because load times are better. Alas, the game is locked to the OG Switch's 30fps, so without an update we're not going to see 60fps. That's a darn shame, because I would love to see that on a handheld.
• I got the bundle which came with a digital copy of Mario Cart World. I don't know that I'd say the game is perfect, but it is fun to play and there's so many little brilliant details to be had. I have spent hours just driving around everywhere and seeing stuff in the "world." I haven't even done many races yet, and I still like it. I just wish the races I had played would let you run a classic three-lap race around the track you choose like all the other Mario Cart games, but that's not yet allowed for some inexplicable reason. There's a bunch of other bizarre choices made as well... mostly having to do with the fact that there's no "unreal environment" options to be had. So ultimately I just don't know if it's going to have the replay value of, say, Mario Cart 8. Hopefully Nintendo will have some DLC to shore up the game to make it truly great.
• Nintendo stirred up a lot of controversy with their "Game-Key Cards." These are cartridges which don't actually include any game data... just a license to download the game. Nintendo claims this is a way to sell games on cartridges that are too big for cartridges. Meaning you have to fill up your precious storage space even though you bought a cartridge. But why can't they put at least some of the data on the cartridge so downloads are smaller? I think this is fucking bullshit. I prefer to buy cartridges because I don't have to worry about games I buy disappearing online... don't have to fill up all my storage space... and can play immediately instead of having to wait for a download. The only time I buy games online is when they are on sale for a very good price. Ultimately I see no purpose to Game-Key Cards when you can just buy it online.
• I bought no less than three console grips for my OG Switch. But once I found the Skull & Co. GripCase, I never looked back. It made the console so much more comfortable to play un-docked. Unfortunately, they didn't make that for the Switch 2, so I had to look elsewhere. I was going to go with the Dbrand KillSwitch 2, but it's not a single piece. It's got separate covers for the Joy-Con controllers, which I never want to take off. I always play with them attached and want a grip that keeps everything together. So I ordered a Satisfye ZenGrip 2, which is on back-order until August. I really, really hope I love it as much as the GripCase, because S2 (like the OG Switch) is hand-cramping to play without a grip.
• Battery life feels like a step down from OG Switch, but is probably on-par with other handheld consoles of this class. This wasn't surprising. What is surprising is how fast the battery drains when S2 is not being used. Fully charged on a Monday... fully depleted when I returned from vacation on Saturday and wanted to play.
• The included charger is... okay?... and it does improve on the old version because the cable can be separated from the power brick. I hate it when a cable gets damaged but there's nothing you can do except replace the entire thing instead of replacing just the cable. I haven't timed anything but it seems as though charging on the dock is faster than plugging directly into the S2.
• HDR displayed on the console is darn nice. But trying to get a good HDR image on my television is a complete mess. Probably because my TV doesn't have HGiG support? Adjusting the image with the configuration setup tool results in an image that does not look good. Everything is washed out and ugly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong... but that's on Nintendo... not on me, because I'm merely following their on-screen instructions. I swear that television manufacturers are intentionally screwing up HDR implementation, because I have yet to find a television that does it perfectly out of the gate. And Nintendo isn't doing anything to help out.
• S2 accessories are ridiculously expensive... and just got a price bump thanks to new tariffs. The Pro Controller, which I would like to have because it has programmable buttons under the ZL and ZR triggers, jumped from $80 to $85. Insanity. This is a $50 accessory, maximum. Good thing the OG Switch Pro Controller I already own can be used. Even though it doesn't have the programmable buttons and better sticks/buttons.
• I'm going to wrap things up by talking about the thing that bothers me the absolute most about the S2... it's that the Welcome Tour app costs $10. Yep, the "game" that tells you all about the $450 or $499 console you just bought costs an additional $10. Which is really shitty when you consider that the Nintendo Wii came bundled with Wii Sports, containing actual games, at no cost. This is a shit-bag, greedy, money-grab that is absolutely asinine. And the more I think about it the madder I get, so I guess I'm done now.

And there you have it. No idea how much longer I'll hold onto the thing, but I suppose that I'll buy a few overpriced next-gen games just to see what it's like.

Since the unit is here already.

As I've already said... I have zero problem with Disney (the company) deciding to make an animatronic of Disney (the man) because Walt Himself had zero problems with dredging up people like Abraham Lincoln to be turned into a robot. So why not? In the end, I actually thought that it was a good thing.

At least I did until I saw what they came up with.

Does Walt Disney Company not have photos of Walt Disney? They did a terrible job of making something that even remotely resembles the guy...

I know it can't be perfect... but getting the hairline, eyebrows, and nose right would have gone a long ways towards a better resemblance.

I can't even figure out what era this is supposed to be from. It's not near his last appearance (bottom), that's for sure. Why wouldn't they take his look from the middle of the extremes that people recognize him from (top)? That would have made a lot more sense.

Yikes.

I guess those people saying that he should have never been ressurected as an animatronic have nothing to worry about.

Because that ain't him.

I told the story of my cherry tomato plants in a previous entry.

Long story short, I decided to try growing tomatoes in my Aerogarden (which I've only used for herbs). Alas, the plants grew into the grow lights, burning them. I ended up planting them outside and it didn't go well because they weren't used to the heat. I thought they were goners.

But then they rallied! I got a couple tomatoes off them, then ignored the plants.

Yesterday I noticed that I had a lot tomatoes on them and made a note to harvest them today. There's a baked tomato and feta dish I like, and I thought I'd smear it on toast for dinner.

I planted them too far apart because I didn't want them growing too close together. Turns out I planted too far apart. And I should have bought a wire cage to help support their weight.

Regardless, they turned out beautiful. I thought that bugs and birds would have ate them, but nope!

And I couldn't do it.

I couldn't cook my harvest. The tomatoes were SO beautiful and SO tasty that I decided to make a fresh tomato feta salad instead (tossed with EVOO, Mediterranean herbs, red pepper flakes, and a little minced garlic, then topped with a balsamic glaze)...

Cannot possible enunciate how phenomenally delicious this was.

Next year I'll be planting at least ten plants... probably more... because I could eat like this all Summer and still want more. Store bought tomatoes cannot compare.

Or maybe I need a greenhouse so I can eat like this all year long?

Somebody buy me a greenhouse.

Ever since my life-changing tomato salad yesterday, I keep looking out my back window at my plants.

And then in my head I start screaming "HURRY UP! HURRRRRRYYYY!!!"

Because they're just out there teasing me with their unripe selves...

Hopefully on Sunday there will be enough.

If not, I guess I'll go out and scream at them in person.

This evening I was going through some of the memorabilia I've got stashed in my garage, looking for an old photo.

Along the way I started looking through some of the stuff that my grandmother saved, including a box of things from my grandfather's old barber shop. Including a photo of my grandfather standing in his old barber shop that was taken long before I came along...

According to the calendars on the wall, this was taken in April of 1941.

Also in the box was an atlas. Specifically a war atlas which was printed sometime in 1942, complete with a scary General Douglas MacArthur portrait. It was put together soon after the USA entered the war after Pearl Harbor on December 8th in the previous year...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

Inside is some rather cool historical context for the day. Like when The United Nations was an important part of America's alliance with the free world...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

And there's a recap of how we got to where we were...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

And then? BLAM! A summary of America's defensive capabilities and a history of using them in the war...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

In the middle is an atlas with maps of the world and commentary on their part in the war effort. And then there's a plan to smash the Nazis! Back when we actually fought Nazis...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

History fascinates me in a way that few things do.

Finds like this bring it to life.

For the longest time, Jake would be happy to take whatever attention he could get when I arrive home, then wander off when I have to leave him.

Not any more.

Now, if I leave before he's had enough pets, he follows me around the house squawking and crying until I pet him more.

Jenny, on the other hand, has the decency to wait until I get into bed before she starts crying for me to pet her...

Though she's not above crying if I don't feed her food she feels like eating, of course. Except I'm trying to not give in so easily now-a-days.

I'm entirely too tired to blog because I'm working on four hours sleep, but that's no excuse for missing new bullets... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Emmy! It is un-fucking-believable to me that Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, and Genevieve O'Reilly didn't get nominated for their roles in Andor. It's likewise unbelievable that Denise Gough and Kyle Soller didn't get nominated. The only actor getting a nod is Forest Whitaker (who absolutely deserved it)? I don't even know what the fuck to say here. At least Andor managed to get some writing love, directing love, and a drama series nom, which ain't nothing. But it's also not enough. — In other news, I really hope that Uzo Aduba wins for The Residence. No shade to the other talented actors, but she was next level. And it would be a nice cherry on top of the Netflix cancelation sundae.

   
• The Puppy List! I find it incredibly difficult to argue with this list...

Except to say... my order would be different and I'd probably drop Scooby Doo and Courage in favor of Pluto, Zero (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Sam (Sam & Max: Freelance Police), Ren (Ren & Stimpy), Jake (Adventure Time), Seymour (Futurama), and Brain (Inspector Gadget)...

1. Snoopy (Peanuts)
2. Gromit (Wallace & Gromit)
3. Dug (Up)
4. Pluto (Disney)
5. Zero (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
6. Seymour (Futurama)
7. Bluey (Bluey)
8. Sam (Sam & Max: Freelance Police)
9. Jake (Adventure Time)
10. Blue (Blue's Clues)
11. Santa's Little Helper (The Simpsons)
12. Brain (Inspector Gadget)
13. Tramp (Lady and the Tramp)
14. Clifford (The Big Red Dog)
15. Ren (Ren & Stimpy)

   
• Spite House! To explain how crazy the Seattle housing market is... this tiny house (in two stories!) just sold for $745,000. The first part of the video repeats, but it's worth watching to the end, because this is a truly remarkable house!

Perfectly livable. And very cool.

   
• imperson-AI-tion! People getting impersonated by shitty AI slop is not surprising. What's surprising is that people are falling for it. Now. But all too soon AI will likely be impossible to spot... even for a discerning eye...

One can only hope that AI detection tools get better at a faster rate.

   
• That Took a Turn! When it comes to up-and-coming comedy talent, there's quite a lot making the rounds in social media. One of my favorites at the moment is the crowd-work by Will Burkart...

How he was quick enough to roll with those punches is a mystery!

   
• Maladapted! Lord how I loathe Apple TV's Foundation... as an adaptation. As a TV show it's fine. I just wish they would have left Asimov's book out of it and done their own thing, since they're doing that anyway.

In the books, The Mule is an amazing plot device because Hari Seldon is dead. All that's left of him are recordings. So when The Mule comes along to throw a wrench in absolutely everything, both the First and Second Foundations were in a total panic. The Universe is falling and there seems that there's nothing they can do. They have to come up with a plan that will get the universe back on track.

But in the show Hari Seldon is kept alive. He's actively working on a way to stop The Mule. This completely defeats the entire premise of the book because the Foundations have lost their agency. But the book is ruined anyway, because they keep dragging the same fucking characters back again and again over hundreds of years... either through suspended animation or cloning. This sabotages the entire concept of a story which must pass through the generations to be told. What makes the story in the books unique is that they don't focus on a single set of characters. Humanity lives and dies and history marches on so that new characters can find their own way to deal with the crises at hand.

It drives me crazy what a missed opportunity this show was. They could have followed the book and had a series of guest stars come each season to play a character... then die. That would have been so cool. But, alas...

   
• Cancelation! This video is over an hour long. It's frickin' amazing. The more it went on, the more you see exactly how these disingenuous assholes manipulate a narrative to force their awful values on society... and kids. They're "Christians" and yet they outright lie because of a faux persecution complex to get people on their side....

Keep in mind that this is the same asshole who used the modern banana as definitive proof of God because it had angles to conform to the human hand, had an easy-open tab, and was curved towards the mouth. Except bananas have been cultivated by man and wild "bananas" have zero resemblance to his "proof." Not to mention the fact that the human hand conforms to four sides, not the five on a banana... bananas are actually easier to open from the bottom... and the magical curve disappears after two or three bites. It takes all of two minutes of rational thought to debunk this nonsense, but they don't give a shit because they have a series of videotapes to sell. This time it's children's books, but the idea is the exact same.

   
And now it's time for me to say an early good night.

I'm not saying that bland-looking food is bland-tasting food, but it seems as though that should be true.

I thought of this as I was putting some nachos into the oven last week. Chips and cheese? Monochromatic bland-looking. Boring. But with tomatoes, jalapeños, purple onion, and olives on top? Well...

Pretty.

Then last night I was going to have one of my favorite treats: toasted naan with hummus and feta. Something that's far from bland-tasting, but it looks incredibly bland. So I diced up some tomatoes and onions and mixed with some olive oil and Mediterranean herbs to make it look better...

Much better.

And tastier too.

Life is too short for boring-looking food.

One of my favorite songs of all time is Only You by Yazoo (known as "Yaz" in the USA). It starts as a deceptively simple track which builds to something amazing as it plays out. Vince Clarke wrote it while he was still in Depeche Mode, but didn't record it until he formed a duo with vocal powerhouse Alison Moyet.

I was reminded of the song when I heard it over a commercial for something or other...

What I didn't know is that Moyet sang it with an orchestra at a fashion show for Burberry! And holy cats is she aging beautifully...

This lead me down quite a rabbit hole...

First of all, Kylie Minogue recorded a version. It's perfectly lovely. But here's the thing that blew my mind... she sang it as a duet. WITH JAMES CORDEN?!??...

Mr. Enrique Iglesias recorded the track en español. I don't like how his version starts, but once the cadence builds, it's quite beautiful and respectful to the original...

He also recorded it in English, but I don't think it's as good as the Spanish version...

Selena Gomez stripped away the pop trappings and recorded a haunting version for TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY...

This version by the Flying Pickets is a cappella, which is a style I don't like at all. What's remarkable is that this version was actually more successful than the original. Margaret Thatcher is reported to have loved this version, which is kind of damning praise given how awful she was...

The song is kinda hard to screw up. Which is to say that even if you didn't care for the cover, you can still respect what a great piece of music the original is.

When I got home I went to put away my garbage cans, but the clover in my front yard was full of bees! So I guess I'll wait until tonight so I don't disturb them.

Ever since I put out the bee watering stations, the number of bees which inhabit my yard has at least doubled. They're everywhere!

I'm so happy that I begged the HOA to let me keep it instead of spraying herbicides all over it. The stuff has pretty much taken over my lawn and I'm 100% okay with that!

Picture it...

There I am, finishing up an email and pulling up my blog to write today's entry. I start blathering on about Apple's new iOS beta update that dropped today, when my YouTube video ends on the television and something very cool appears in my "up next" suggestions.

It's the only news that matters today...

Not saying that I'm going to head to the theater to see it... but I will be anxiously awaiting the home video release!

Why can't anybody make a browser that doesn't fucking piss me off?

Apple's Safari is hot garbage and has been for years. Can't load Facebook or Instagram pages to save its life. Fails to display content properly all too often. And I'm not talking esoteric, fringe sites... I'm talking about major websites. Which is to say that either Apple doesn't use their own shitty fucking browser. Or they just don't give a crap. Or probably both.

Google's Chrome reminds you that Google Chrome is not your fucking default browser every fucking time you run it. And when you click out of it, then visit a Google service, it feels the need to fucking remind you again. On top of that, there are some sites which refuse to render properly on it or any of its variants.

The Brave browser (also built on Chrome) wants to sell you its VPN, and didn't turn out to be the bastion of privacy it claimed to be.

Microsoft's Edge is better than Chrome. At least was until they killed its code-base and also built it on Chrome. Now it's got their Copilot AI bullshit being built into it, which I have zero desire to be involved with.

And then there's Arc (also built on Chrome) which has some nice ideas, but keeps getting in its own way while trying to use it on top of inheriting Chrome's failings.

Opera is also built on Chrome.

Vivaldi is also built on Chrome.

Maxthon is also built on Chrome.

Mozilla's Firefox is not built on Chrome and was my former browser of choice until it also had problems loading Instagram and some other mainstream sites. Then they came out and said that their top priority for 2025 was AI. And they killed Pocket. I have zero interest investing in their bullshit again.

Tor is built on Firefox but, strangely enough, gave me even more problems with websites that Firefox can actual open properly.

Midori is also built on Firefox.

   
And so...

I mostly use Safari unless it's for Facebook, Instagram, or a handful of other sites which are unusable with it.

And that's pretty much all you can do because Apple and Google own every fucking thing. And since most browsers are actually Google Chrome in disguise, Google can basically do whatever the hell they want to break standards while Apple stubbornly refuses to be compatible with what they choose to break.

At this point I'm contemplating giving up on the web and moving to a cabin in the woods.

I swear my cats are getting worse with each passing day.

Jake and Jenny are now both wailing when something is upsetting them, knowing that I'll drop everything and come running. This past week Jenny wailed because Jake ate her food when she finally bothered to come downstairs for dinner... and Jake was wailing and wailing so strongly that I ran to find out if he was dying, but it turned out he wanted to be petted. Seriously. Just sauntered right up to me and started rubbing against my legs until I pet him.

Then today I heard wailing out in the catio. But when I looked it was just Jake saying hello to Fake Jake, who seems to be getting lighter and shrinking as Jake is expanding, which is to say there's no mistaking them for each other as I once had...

Of course Jenny experienced immediate FOMO and had to go rushing out to see what was up. At which point Fake Jake got bored and left...

Jenny hopped up on a shelf to see if she could could spot where he went. Jake, apparently blaming her for him losing his entertainment, was not thrilled with her...

Jenny, who is above such nonsense, just climbed up to the top shelf while Jake sat below sulking.

Until they heard the dinner alarm, at which point she ran inside while Jake sat in front of the cat door wailing again. I was going to go open the door to let him in, but only after I had put food out. Except that wasn't necessary. Since food is his biggest motivator, he ultimately decided that he'd let himself in.

I don't even want to think of the wailing which would ensue if he came in to find out that his sister had eaten his dinner.

I'm way too tired to blog, but here I am again... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Memories Do Pass. It seems so strange that two more musicians from my youth have passed... namely Ozzy Osbourne and Chuck Mangione...

As if that weren't enough, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, most known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show also died in a tragic drowning accident. I prepared for getting to the point where all the people from my memories were going to start dying, but I wasn't prepared for how quickly they're passing. Every month a couple more seem to leave us, and I can't help but wonder how many more will go before I do.

   
• McMissing McPies! I don't give a shit how "unhealthy" McDonald's fried pies were... I want them back. Who eats at McDonald's to be healthy?

Of course McDonald's is so fucking expensive now that I can't really afford to eat there any more, so it's not like it matters. Though I might be willing to take out a second mortgage if it meant I could have a fried McPie again.

   
• Perfect 'Maters! When I had to transfer my tomato plants outside, I was certain that they would be pecked at by birds and spoiled by bugs. But no....

Am I just phenomenally lucky? Because the biggest problem I have is to wash off the water spots. They tomatoes themselves are beautiful.

   
• Ares! The original Tron is one of my favorite films of all time. The sequel was okay but hardly in the same league. About all I could say was that the special effects were darn good. And now another sequel has landed and... well... the special effects look darn good...

It looks far removed from the initial concept, though the idea of computer constructs from the digital world being able to make their way into our world was where the sequel ended up, so here we are. If nothing else, I hope it's at least entertaining.

   
• Mickey Kicked the Bucket? ZOMFG! WHEN DID MICKEY MOUSE DIE?!??

When I was at the Walt Disney World Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party last year, I saw that there are people lining up to buy dozens of the special event popcorn buckets and sipper cups. That's some big business on eBay, apparently.

   
• Leaving Las Vegas! Pre-pandemic, I had several work trips to Las Vegas for the charity I volunteered with. But over the years there were fewer, because we were finding the number of conventions wanting to hold events in Vegas were fewer. This video offers some interesting insight into the many problems which make Sin City a less-desirable vacation destination...

#1 on my list? Fucking "resort fees." I personally avoid Vegas for this one reason. I hate being lied to about the rate I'm paying. Hotels country-wide should be forced to list the TOTAL PRICE YOU WILL BE CHARGED at the time you book your lodging. And those absurd fucking "Restaurant Fees" and "CNF Fees" are #2 on my list.

   
• Republican Speaker of the House Just Loooooooves Pedophiles! Well this should shock absolutely nobody... "Speaker Mike Johnson said he would send lawmakers home early for their summer recess in order to head off Democratic demands for votes on calling for the release of files from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein." Gotta protect pedophiles at all costs, I guess. There must be some huge donors and very important politicians on that list. Why else would you protect pedophiles?

And now we just wait for Ghislaine Maxwell to give an interview with the FBI where she says that no Republicans were on the list, names a few token Democrats, then gets mysteriously pardoned by the President of the United States for finally "telling the truth to the American people." Because keep in mind that only the President can pardon her crimes of supplying underage girls to Epstein Island.

   
And on that depressing note, off I go to try and get some sleep before facing the horrors on a new news day.

So there I am petting Jenny, my skittish orange cat, when my phone rings. Because of my job, I can't turn my phone off or set it to only ring for known callers, because I can have people calling from anywhere at any time. And I have to answer.

And so I do.

After Jenny gets scared by the ringing and goes running upstairs.

At which point she hangs up on me.

Outright LYING to people over their finances is about as low as it gets. Fuck you. Making it sound like you're some official calling about a person's credit cards like there's a problem when you're just another fucking scammer asshole credit card consolidation company trying to drum up business by throwing out some random number and hoping it hits.

This scammer piece of shit should consider herself very, very lucky that I don't have the ability to make people's heads explode over the phone.

VERY.

When I got home from work today, I saw a medium-sized brown spider... barely visible on my floor because he was the same coloring. Which is ultimately my way of saying that I barely avoided stepping on a spider when I got home because I didn't notice him until the last second.

Then I did what I always do... run and get a small paper cup and a piece of stiff paper so I can scoop him up and take him outside. It's just a small kindness towards a Tony life that feels better than squishing the poor thing who happened to end up in the wrong place.

After dumping him in the shade outside my front door, the little guy started SPRINTING towards my front door. He was perfectly happy indoors, and decided that's where he was going to be.

After yelping while jumping back and saying "GAH! YOU DON'T WANT TO GO BACK IN THERE... MY CATS WILL EAT YOU!" I jumped inside and closed the door in time to keep him on the other side of it.

Then went to a window so I could look at him glaring at the front door.

I should not be surprised at all if he's back inside tomorrow.

Running across an unexpectedly good television show is about as it gets now-a-days in this toxic shithole we call life.

As a huge David Mitchell fan, I was curious when I saw an ad for the series Ludwig on "BritBox."

It's already been renewed for a second season. I can't wait. And if you enjoy good television, you can't wait either.

One of the easiest rabbit holes for me to fall down is anything related to the Disney Parks. Especially Disneyland, which I've obsessed over since I was a kid. More so for the way it was built over the experience of being there.

The latest video to pop up on my YouTube feed is this one, which has an interesting look at what was happening at Disneyland during the planning of Pirates of The Caribbean...

Walt Disney died in 1966. Pirates of the Caribbean opened in 1967 and was likely the final attraction he was personally involved with at every level. You can see it in that video. Other attractions, like the Haunted Mansion, had Walt involved in the planning stages, but were completed by other Imagineers. Meaning that Pirates has a place of special regard to Disney fans.

They don't build 'em like that any more.