I'm just a boy. Standing in front of the blogosphere. Asking it to love him... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Well Hello Hello! YouTube's algorithm has found me some really cool content over the years. But sometimes it comes too late. This small channel of blacksmithing videos was being shut down. The two guys who created it could never seem to get any traction, as they were continuously buried by the algorithm. But then? YouTube promoted their final video. And it finally took off. They ballooned to 15,000 subscribers, and a lot of people who would have watched had they only known about it, commented as such. And so here they are... coming back...

Kinda a happy ending for everybody. I hope they can keep growing their channel. If you want to take a look, it's pretty cool.

   
• Future Dutch! So there I was taking a phone call after putting my television on pause. Eventually the Google screensaver engaged, and I came very close to saying WHAT THE BLADE RUNNER ALTERNATE FUTURE IS THIS SHIT?! And noted that the title of the photo included "Vinkeveen" from the Netherlands. So I looked it up and Google Maps and, sure enough...

© Google Maps

© Google Maps

© Google Maps

That is very cool, isn't it?

   
• Oh, Grand! Just a reminder to everybody who hasn't already used a VPN to watch the new Wallace & Gromit movie on the BBC (they've had it since Christmas)... Netflix finally got off their asses and has it available for streaming in the USA. I'll be watching it again just to show Netflix that this is the kind of awesome content I want to see... not another pile of shit that Zack Snyder crapped out his ass...

The movie is just amazingly well-done and well worth your valuable time.

   
• The Prologue and the Promise! I recently watched a video on the history of Walt Disney World's Epcot. That lead me to a video on one of the earliest pavilions in Future World called Horizons. I always thought it was a bit shit to two times I visited before they closed, but there was a giant mural inside that I loved. Never really knew who painted it until I watched this video. Apparently some genius at Disney thought to hire renowned futurist painter and celebrated "space" artist Robert McCall to create it. And it is stunning...

© Disney and McCall Studios

© Disney and McCall Studios

You can read more about this amazing work (plus see many others) on the artist's website here.

   
• Mixbox! WELP! Looks like somebody finally solved the thing I hate most about painting digitally... pigments never work as they should. Programs like Photoshop and Procreate use an additive model which turns everything into a muddy mess. But now a company has come up with a model which simulates actual pigments. This is incredible...

I hope that the Mixbox technology is added to mainstream apps very soon now... it's amazing to me that it's taken this long to get here.

   
• IT'S THE FOG! The Mystery Government Fog is out to get us! DEFEAT THE FOG 2025! (here's a link in case TikTok is being a dick).

FINALLY! The threat of alien spores is being taken seriously by the health care community! Thanks, Dr. Eric!

   
• Unsurprised! My grievances against PayPal are well documented. They stole money from me. They said that a customer didn't get merchandise I sold to them and reversed the money. I provided USPS tracking showing the delivery. I provided an email from the customer saying that they received their order and that they didn't receive a refund. PayPal didn't give a single fucking shit. They kept the money. And since they are not governed by banking regulations, there's NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. After pestering them for months, they simply stopped responding. So I closed down the Artificial Duck store and was done. I never made a single dollar profit on the shop, sold everything at cost and exact shipping, and did it for the fun of it all. There's no way I could continue and take a loss because payments are revoked over a total lie.

And now it comes out that these heinous fucking assholes at PayPal are just as bad as we knew they were. They've been fucking over their advertisers and their customers with their "Honey" service. Get a load of this...

Nothing would make me happier than PayPal being sued out of existence and shut down. But that will never happen. They get protection from shitty fucking laws that our government creates because our government is too busy sucking Big Business dicks to give a shit about protecting the citizens that elect them. Welcome to the hellscape that it The United States of America.

   
Alrighty then. Until next Sunday then!

Awww, man. In many ways, David Lynch is a genius who cannot be touched. Between Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, and even Dune... WHICH I ARGUE WAS A FANTASTIC ADAPTATION FOR THE DAY... I admire his work so much, and was sad to hear that he had died.

YouTube is not letting me embed an awesome video where David Lynch is talking about the time he met George Lucas because Lucas wanted him to direct Return of the Jedi. But it's awesome so I am giving you the link right here. Everything I love about David Lynch is encapsulated in this story. You MUST watch it. Even if you're not a fan and don't understand his work. Especially then, because it will explain why so many people are fans of his, and how it translates to what he does.

Rest in Peace, sir.

Finally. FINALLY... after twenty years of attempts to bring the Fantastic Four to film... the actual Fantastic Four from the comics is landing. The Thing finally looks like The Thing. The core concept of the book that is based on a CLOSE FAMILY who are EXPLORERS that go on INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES together has been embraced. And having their story begin on an alternate earth from the 1960's which will differentiate the movie from all the other super-hero movies is absolute genius..

H.E.R.B.I.E.!

THE FANTASTICAR!

THE BAXTER BUILDING!

GALACTUS!

And how flawless is that casting?

Wait... I take it back... The Incredibles was a brilliant adaptation of The Fantastic Four. By far the most accurate, even though it wasn't actually The Fantastic Four. Yet they managed to capture who The Fantastic Four are better than any of the movies with the name did.

The marketing is phenomenal...

My mind is reeling over how the team will be brought to the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. Will their earth be eaten by Galactus but they're able to cross over to the MCU to try and save our earth from Galactus? Who knows! But I'm dying to find out!

I detest watching shows on ad-laden HBO Max.

Because I know I'm going to have to endure those shitty "HAVE A LITTLE FUN!" Volkswagen ads over and over and over and OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER. This is clearly HBO ripping off Volkswagen by saying "GIVE US LOTS OF MONEY BECAUSE WE DISPLAYED YOUR AD A MILLION TIMES LAST NIGHT!" without telling Volkswagen that those million ads were served to only 50 people. I have nothing against Volkswagen, per se. But the way HBO abuses their advertising has me on the verge of HATING Volkswagen.

I'd walk into one of their dealerships, hear that song in my head, then walk right back out the door.

The movie I am watching... again... is Taking Chance.

Years ago it was mentioned as a good film to watch so as to understand why Dover Air Force Base should be open to the media to cover fallen soldiers returning home. And so I watched it. I was not prepared. I don't think you ever could be prepared to watch it. But it's such an important film that's so beautifully crafted that I think everybody should watch it...

I make a point to see it every couple years when I want to be more emotionally devastated than I already am.

Which is most days, lately.

It's a rainy post-vacation weekend, but we're all good... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Jack is Back! God how I love Reacher. The third season just started on Amazon Prime. Alan Ritchson was born to play the part. And the fact that Amazon.com Prime Video puts the money into adapting the stories, and casting good actors, and making it look like a million bucks... well... the show is perfect. If you like action serials, you need to be checking it out...

I am beyond elated that they've already renewed the show for a fourth season. I really wish that they would shoot two series back-to-back each year and get them backlogged so we could get as many of the books shot as possible before Ritchson wants to reture from such a punishing role. Heaven only knows that Amazon can afford it. They're blowing a billion dollars on the gut-wrenchingly awful prequel series to Lord of the Rings travesty.

   
• Short Round! If you don't adore Ke Huy Quan and find joy in his renewed success after watching this, then I don't know what to say to you...

The guy just released a new movie and has four more coming up, so I guess everybody does adore him.

   
• LIES! If you know me, you know I LOVE a good advertisement. This one featuring the main three characters from The Californians (Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, andFred Armisen) from SNL is absolutely perfect...

But it gets better... the leading comment on the video is "STOP SPREADING LIES SNL! The PCH is closed at Santa Monica due to the fires. Stuart would need to take the 5 to the 405 to the 101 then exit Kanan to reconnect to the PCH to get to Point Dume where this is filmed. WUUUUHT ERRRRR YOUUUUU DOOOING?" — Priceless. I still think the Betty White appearance at the SNL 40th Anniversary is my favorite The Californians sketches with its stacked cameos...

How awesome would it be if this was an actual limited series? Peacock needs to make it happen.

   
• Death to Pennies! President Trump has been doing a lot of heinous shit (I mean, my God), but amongst all that he said we're going to stop making pennies, which is something that should have happened over a decade ago, so okay then...

Here's CGP Grey's original video from 13 years ago on the subject, which brought me onboard killing the penny...

Now if he can do away with changing the fucking clocks twice a year and either make Daylight Saving Time permanent or, ideally, split the difference and have us Spring Forward or Fall Back a half hour... that would be great.

   
• Good Bye Miss Yvonne! Lynne Marie Stewart, best known for her role as "Miss Yvonne" on Pee-Wee's Playhouse and "Bonnie" on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has died...

My favorite thing she's done, however, is this hilarious guest appearance on SNL writer Jimmy Fowlie's series Go-Go Boy Interrupted...

Rest in Peace... you made us laugh, and that's a gift that will never pass.

   
• Carr Ride! Look, I know that Jimmy Carr is highly problematic. That's his entire brand. You know what you're getting into when you tune in because he's never not offensive to somebody. He works hard to be offensive! That being said, the guy is a brilliant comedian if you get what he's trying to do. His latest "Heckle Amnesty" video is amazing...

What gets me is that Jimmy isn't just finding comedy at the expense others... he goes out of his way to find comedy at the expense of himself. Which is why I find him funny. No, I don't think he's as talented as people who are able to find comedy without punching down on anybody at all (Nate Bargatze is the current king in my book). But this kid is doing alright...

I gotta say... with all the punching down on the trans community by comedians, it's refreshing to find those doing the work to be inclusive. This is what laughing with a person instead of at a person looks like. Yeah, he struggles a bit to get those jokes formed because it's a new situation for him... but he's trying his best to adapt without bigotry and, to me, it seems as though he's succeeding.

   
• TransAmerican! I am trying my best to take a seat and renew my efforts to listen to what marginalized communities are facing day-to-day. I have a couple trans friends who mean a lot to me, so I've been subscribing to some trans video channels to help me to understand their lives better. In the Year of Our Lord 2025 in these United States of America, I don't get why people who contribute to society, pay their taxes, and live their life the best they can with the cards they were dealt, are actively persecuted just for existing. A lot of lies and misinformation gets peddled against trans persons, and it makes no sense to me. I guess sending unwarranted hate to others makes a good distraction to keep people from looking at what you're doing? I dunno. In any event, this is a good video to watch if you're wondering what a small group of your fellow Americans are dealing with right now...

I wish I understood how we got to where we're at.

   
Onwards and upwards...

A couple weeks ago, I started blogging 4-5 posts ahead, scheduling everything in advance to post at 7:00am each morning. The reason I did this was because I had a work project I was trying to finish, and knew I might have to skip a day or two here and there. I care like that.

On the 27th of February I re-scheduled the post that was due to publish so I could recognize Gene Hackman dying, and my blog apparently did not like this. My post never published. No subsequent posts published. Everything was broken somehow.

Now, over a week later, I finally had the time to re-install WordPress, copy my database from backup, and verify that everything is working again.

Except I lost all the posts I wrote in advance, because they weren't in the backup I had.

Lovely.

Rather than going back and trying to remember what I was talking about in those posts, I decided to just start over again from today.

By recognizing the passing of Gene Hackman.

The guy is one of my all-time favorite actors. I had likely seen him before he played Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie (probably in The Poseidon Adventure) but it was his Lex Luthor that made me remember his name...

He was absolutely brilliant in the role. Menacing but not overly-scary for a comic book villain. His delivery of his every line was crafted to push his character forward, and I loved him for it. In the sequel he was no longer the main villain, but managed to steal absolutely every scene he was in.

But that was true for most all his movies. He was so compelling an actor that playing opposite him was a daunting prospect. You knew you were getting eclipsed.

The first headlining role I recall him having was in Hoosiers, which I've seen a ridiculous number of times because it's such a great movie and he's great in it. But the film that made me most appreciate his flexibility is the Kevin Costner classic No Way Out. He has a critical, but relatively small role that cemented him as one of my all-time favorite actors. From there he just kept rolling through all these memorable roles where he killed it every time... Unforgiven, The Firm, Wyatt Earp, and Crimson Tide.

And then came the back-to-back brilliance of his finest comedic works... Get Shorty and The Birdcage. He played a lot of villains, but his comedy chops never faltered (the movie Heartbreakers, which isn't a great film, had his most hysterical role).

Mr. Hackman's final film was Welcome to Mooseport from 20 years ago, which I didn't care for... but before that he worked with one of my heroes, director Wes Anderson, on The Royal Tenenbaums and had a great part in the very good adaptation of John Grisham's Runaway Jury. Not a bad way to end a prestigious career.

When it comes to actors, Gene Hackman will very much be missed. Rest in Peace, sir.