Don't look now but the world isn't ending after all... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• AMNK! Oh look. This is my life right here...

And here's Part One...

Yeah. Just like that.

   
• This Moment! Well this was unanticipated. I had no idea that Able Heart had beautiful feel good tracks like this until it popped up in my feed...

Another artist I need to keep an eye on, it would seem.

   
• Viral! NEWSFLASH: Crucial Firefighting Plane Grounded In LA Because Of Idiot Drone Operator. Who gives a crap that homes are burning... I want footage to go viral on TikTok!

   
• SPACE! ELEVATOR! I loathe the AppleTV adaptation of Foundation, but keep coming back to this awesome scene every time I see anything about building a space elevator. It's incredibly well-done...

The trail of destruction as the cable for the space elevator falls acrss the earth is epic.

   
• Baked! Have I mentioned that I still loathe my new Whirlpool oven? After finally fixing it so it will actually work (the element was not fully seated or something), I run into new things to loathe always. In addition to the control panel layout being shit, my latest consistent source of hate is that YOU CAN'T KEEP THE DOOR OPEN WHEN BROILING! WHO THE FUCK DESIGNS AN OVEN LIKE THIS? You can't look through the window to keep watch, it isn't tall enough. You have to constantly open and close the door to look. This is fucking madness. In all my years of using an oven, including my previous Whirlpool, you could leave the door open to broil. I will never buy another shitty fucking Whirlpool appliance again. What a waste of money for something so frustrating. — Seriously thinking of welding the fucking door sensor permanently shut. But then I'd void my warranty? Lord.

   
• Spring Break! NEWSFLASH: 2 bodies found in the wheel well of a JetBlue plane in Fort Lauderdale, airline says. WTF? So... let's think this through. You stow away in a wheel well where the landing gear goes after takeoff. Assuming you can avoid getting crushed by it, you'll then reach a cruising altitude of 40,000 feet where it's freezing cold and you can't get oxygen?!? I just... what could the motivation be for something like this? "Screw New York weather, I'm going to Ft. Lauderdale!" or something? I dunno. Maybe if they didn't have someplace warm to ride out the winter this would seem like a good idea... but if this "keeps happening" it seems as though there should be some kind of sensor to tell the cockpit if there is a presence in the wheel well.

   
Until next Sunday, assuming the earth is still here.

I was very sad to hear that Roberta Flack died.

She was a phenomenal talent, and her impressive number of beloved hits backs that up. And while people may think of tracks like Feel Like Makin' Love and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and Killing Me Softly With His Song... my favorite songs of hers are the duets. Set the Night to Music (from Starship) and Back Together Again are at the top of that list. They hit you in all the right ways...

She had other duets that are great too (Where is the Love and Tonight I Celebrate My Love and The Closer I Get to You come to mind). She just had the ability to mesh with other artists in a way that made her a queen.

Ooh! Spring is finally here! But am I going outside to enjoy it? No... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Stuck on You! Betty White's social media advertised that the US Postal Service tribute stamp to her was finally released. As my favorite celebrity of all time, of course I wasted no time heading to the USPS website to buy a sheet and also get the cancelation release...

Note the paw print earring. I also picked up some of the Keith Harring "Love" stamps which I had no idea existed.

   
• Close to You! Okay. First of all... how could you have never heard Karen Carpenter before? Second of all... I wish I could erase my memories of Karen Carpenter's phenomenal voice so I was able to hear her for the first time again...

What's interesting is searching YouTube for this topic. There are a LOT of reaction videos. And all of them go about how you think they would. If you've never heard Karen Carpenter with the music stripped away... you need to do that.

   
• Tariffs, Anyone? Aerogarden is shutting down, so their hydroponic systems are on sale for half price in a variety of places. I had one at my old place and loved being able to have fresh herbs available... but it broke when I moved.

So I just bought two of them (they only seem to have the small 6-pod units left @ $60, though I'm told they can be had for $50)...

I also bought a boat-load of seed pods (third party, because the Aerogarden has always been crazy expensive). Given how groceries aren't going to get cheaper any time soon... or ever, given how much of our food is grown in Mexico or harvested in the US by migrant workers who are getting deported... I need to do what I can to afford to make meals I love more affordable. Cilantro, which I eat a ton of, has reached $1.70 a bunch. Parsley $2 a bunch. Basil $3 a package. Thyme $3 a package. Jalapeños are 50¢ each. Butter lettuce is $4 a head. It goes on and on.

My $120 Aerogarden investment plus cheap seed pods will end up paying for itself in under a year. Now I'm considering growing my own tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, and peppers outside to save money. The problem is that I work so much I won't be able to tend to them as they need. I dunno. I should try and find a way, because holy shit is eating expensive.

   
• Nice Beaver! Yeah, baby beavers are about as cute as it gets. Around the 90-second mark you can really hear them crying and squeaking. My heart. The total video is 10-1/2 minutes long, and the babies are just in the first two minutes, but you'll want to watch it all...

Half the video was a beaver eating avocado and beaver chow. I couldn't stop watching.

   
• License to Kill... A Studio! So I don't get accused of misogyny by hammering away at another incompetent female movie exec (the first being LucasFilm's Kathleen Kennedy) I'm going to let a woman do it in this video (oh man how I love Nerd Cookies!)...

But I am going to chime in and say "Amazon Prime Video... WHAT. THE. FUCK. TOOK. YOU. SO. LONG?!?" Jennifer Salke made so many moronic and expensive mistakes that it's beyond shocking she lasted this long. Usually you have to be a straight white man to get a pass on being this bad at your job. Hopefully Amazon will get their shit together and hire somebody who knows what the fuck they're doing and take advantage of their many amazing IPs. Because MGM deserves better.

   
• M'Baku to the Future! The Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement video was fun, I guess. But the only addition that truly made me want to happy-dance was Winston Duke as M'Baku. Don't care about the X-Men, but I've wanted a Disney+ M'Baku series since we've had Disney+, and it boggles my mind we haven't gotten one yet...

No Daredevil. No Moon Knight. No Blade. No Eternals. No Marvels. No Spider-Man?!? Strange. Oh... and no Doctor Strange?!?

   
• U-S-A! U-S-A! Thank heavens anti-vaxers and RFK are intent on bringing back preventable diseases by presenting misinformation about vaccines! The companies who makes iron lungs could use the business after the polio vaccine was developed and wiped out a need for their product. To get a look at what future generations of Americans may be in for, here's an interesting (but sad) look...

I remain absolutely floored at how anti-science rhetoric and "alternate facts" are fucking up this country. And I'm mortified that kids who have no say in getting vaccinated are going to pay the price for it.

   
And, on that happy note, I'm going to go enjoy this fine (albeit a bit overcast) Spring day... by cleaning my house.

This may be the 900th installment of Bullet Sunday, but the bullets are as fresh as ever... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• The Devil of Hell's Kitchen! I've been ridiculously busy and didn't manage to get past Episode 02 of Daredevil: Born Again until today. When I binged the entire rest of the series. It was better than I had even hoped. Came very close to eclipsing Hawkeye as my favorite Marvel Studios television series. What's surprising is how they managed to keep it as dark and edgy and its Netflix beginnings while toning it down just enough to fit under the Disney+ banner. I thought they would ruin what they had, but they pulled it off...

Highest possible recommendation. Like Hawkeye, they were beautifully source-material accurate. And between Charlie Cox's pained portrayal of Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's intense take on Wilson Fisk, the series couldn't help but be good (and lest we forget Ayelet Zurer's deliciously cold and ruthless turn as Vanessa Fisk!). The great story just sealed the deal. I'm betting the second half in the second season (currently in production) will tie things up with a heck of a bang. Here's hoping that Disney has a plan for the Devil of Hell's Kitchen after that.

   
• Papal! Just throwing this out there...

I was baptized in the Catholic Church. And I am a man. Apparently that's all the qualification I need...

One thing's for certain. If I were Pope, priests and nuns who assault people, particularly children, would have no place to hide.

   
• Niamos! The Official Star Wars YouTube Channel has officially released a one hour video of Mon Mothma dancing to that absolute banger of a track from the end of Andor Season 02E03...

Now... if you haven't seen the episode, you have no idea what's happening, why she's dancing, or just how brilliant this series is. What happened just before the dance started will haunt me for a very long time. If you're not watching Andor, you are missing one of the best TV shows of all time... Star Wars or no Star Wars.

   
• Worth Fighting For! It's one thing to have read the infamous NSFW South Park letter. It's quite another to have the incomparable Matt Berry read it live...

I will never be able to see Matt Berry and not be mad that What We Do In The Shadows was canceled.

   
• Industry! Earlier this week Variety, whose bread and butter is covering the entertainment industry, had a headline of this: "Sinners" has amassed $61 million in its global debut. It's a great result for an original, R-rated horror film, yet the Warner Bros. release has a $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away. This headline this early is blatantly manipulative and an obvious attempt to define a narrative which supports big budgets exclusively for IP-based films. Fortunately, Variety was immediately and rightfully called out on it. And one particular source caught my eye...

Bravo. And, just an FYI, as of this writing Sinners has a global box office of $121,726,427. With stellar reviews, great press, Ryan Coogler's fan following, and some serious momentum, The movie will, at the very least, break even at the box office. Then any home-video sales and streaming rights will be gravy. This movie will very obviously hit profitability, and the fact that Variety's shitty headline didn't bother to wait before questioning it's ability to get there is very, very telling. They aren't covering the entertainment industry... they're attempting to influence the entertainment industry. The question becomes why? Conclusions are pretty easy to draw, but the important take-away from all this is that no media is safe from having an agenda. Never have been. The difference is that now they're blatantly obvious about it.

   
• DOOM! Just an FYI... Avengers: Doomsday starts filming tomorrow.

   
See you at Bullet Sunday No. 901.

Every once in a while I run across a really cool question that makes me long for the good ol' days when blogging was still popular and memes were a Big Deal.

This time is was on BlueSky where somebody was asking a music question which, let's face it, is a darn good question because I had to really think about it...

I came up with...

• Pet Shop Boys released Yes 23 years after Please (And Yes is hands-down my favorite PSB album)
• Depeche Mode released Ultra 15 years after Speak and Spell
• Madonna released Ray of Light 15 years after Madonna
• OMD released History of Modern, English Electric, The Punishment of Luxury, and Bauhaus Staircase all 30 (THIRTY!) years and more after Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• a-ha released Minor Earth Major Sky 15 years after Hunting High and Low (And Minor Earth Major Sky is hands-down my favorite a-ha album)
• Erasure released Nightbird almost 19 years after Wonderland
• Human League released Octopus 15 years after Reproduction
• Heart released Brigade and Desire Walks On 15 and 18 years after Dreamboat Annie
• Fleetwood Mac release Tango in the Night 19 years after Fleetwood Mac
• New Order released Waiting for the Sirens' Call 24 years after Movement
• Elton John released loads of great albums 15 years after Empty Sky

Jester came up with...

• Bonnie Raitt released Luck of the Draw 20 years after Bonnie Raitt
• Aerosmith released Permanent Vacation almost 15 years after Aerosmith
• Prince released Love Symbol almost 15 years after For You (how the heck did I miss frickin' Prince?!?)
• Paul Simon released Graceland 21 years after The Paul Simon Songbook
• Tina Turner released Private Dancer 23 years after The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner
• Genesis released Invisible Touch 17 years after From Genesis to Revelation

Marty (from Banal Leakage) came up with...

• Foo Fighters released But Here We Are 28 years after Foo Fighters
• Duran Duran released Astronaut 23 years after Duran Duran (along with All You Need is Now and Paper Gods, both of which I loved... how I missed Duran Duran on this list, one of my favorite bands, is impossible to comprehend)
• Steely Dan released Two Against Nature 28 years after Can't Buy a Thrill
• Crowded House released Time On Earth 21 years after Crowded House
• Tears For Fears released The Tipping Point 39 years after The Hurting
• Pearl Jam released Dark Matter 33 years after Ten
• The Cars released Move Like This 33 years after The Cars
• The Cure released Songs of a Lost World 45 years after Three Imaginary Boys
• David Bowie released Let’s Dance 16 years after David Bowie (really embarrassed I missed this one)

The biggest shock to me was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. All these albums I love by the band were released THIRTY YEARS after their first album? How often does that happen?

I'm in the middle of cleaning my filthy house, but rushing through a few things I saw this week seems inevitable... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• New Old! The Old Guard (on Netflix) is one of the best comic book adaptations of all time. I was thrilled we were getting a sequel. Though I was really hoping to get back-to-back sequels, darnit...

Now if only we could get a sequel to Atomic Blonde.

   
• 97%! Has anybody seen the 2023 Hulu movie BlackBerry? It's insane. It's just insane! I knew quite a bit about the rise and fall of BlackBerry, but seeing it told like this is nuts. This movie has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97%... NINETY-SEVEN-PERCENT... and I've never even heard of it!

First of all, Glenn Howerton is remarkable. Frickin' DENNIS from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is remarkable. I had no idea he was even capable of this kind of performance. Just watch it and marvel at a good story told exceptionally well.

   
• Shoot the Moon! I recently saw this image of the true distance from earth to the moon, as taken by the OSIRIS-REx probe at around 3,181,420 miles away from Earth...

This is very cool, because most people think that the moon is quite close to the earth. Good thing for us it isn't, or we'd be in a serious gravity-related nightmare.

   
• First Love! Wait. I've watched this video for a song I love by Father Tiger dozens of times. And I am just now noticing... IS THAT NOAH CENTINEO?!? (not in the thumbnail, in the video). Pretty sure it is...

I remain pissed that The Recruit was canceled. Centineo was exceptional in it.

   
• Money! If the government was actually interested in saving American taxpayer dollars instead of padding the wallet of its biggest doner...

We keep being told about all the billions of dollars that's being saved. So where is it? Where has that money gone? Anyone? Anyone?

   
• Science! Just in case, you know, the God-given miracle of mRNA vaccines is not yet understood, here you go.

   
• Renaissance! The only season of The White Lotus that I enjoyed was the first one. Everything since has just been a boring slog that doesn't have a worthwhile payoff. That being said, the opening credits and theme song are pretty great. This rendition of Renaissance is pretty great...

That vocalist just went for it, and it was a joy to watch.

   
Back to cleaning my home. Dangit.

I was working outside, decided it was way too hot, then decided it was a great excuse to come knock out some bullets... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• New Marriott! New James Marriott is here! Weird video, as usual, but the song is one of my favorites he's ever done. It's always a pleasant surprise when musical artists keep pushing forward like this...

His previous release was darn good too...

His new album, Don't Tell the Dog, will be released on June 13th.

   
• Holiday Road! Even if Rogue One sucked (spoiler alert, it most definitely does not suck), we'd still have one of the most terrifying scenes to come out of Star Wars. And it loses none of its impact no matter what you do to it...

That's Darth Vader unleashed as you'd always imagine him. And, hey, isn't Holidy Road a great song? Makes me want to rewatch Christmas Vacation for the hundredth time. But here's an interesting factoid... Holiday Road was played in all the National Lampoon's Vacation movies EXCEPT Christmas Vacation. And, here's another one for you... did you know that Kesha covered the song last year?

I always love it when somebody decides to make a cover song their own by putting some kind of spin on it that's different from the original.

   
• Justice for Luko! Mickey 17 came to HBO Max and it's surprisingly good, which I wasn't expecting given how it failed hard at the box office, not even making back the money it cost before marketing. I didn't know much about it other than I wanted to see it because Bong Jo Hoon is a genius...

It's a great story that's expertly told (which I did expect). It's also got something to say. Worth a look if you're into thoughtful sci-fi.

   
• 5+5=10!
Well this is interesting...
"That'll be five dollars, mate.'
"Do you have change for a tenner?"
"I do not."
"No worries, mate!"
RIIIIIIP!

You really do learn something new every day.

   
• New Fraser? I kinda lost track of Man Can Cook because while it was fun at first, it ended up being always the same thing... a guy cooking while his dog (Fraser!) sat there. But the other day Facebook had this video in my feed...

Dan is likely not planning on trading in Fraser permanently, but it's nice that he realizes he needs to try different things from time to time.

   
• Young Hotness! Nothing quite like running across an old driver's license to make you realize how old you've gotten!

Dang. so hot back then. No idea what happened. I'm talking about my signature, of course. I'm just as hot as I've always been! My signature is a complete mess now.

   
• Feed. Hungry. Kids! I'm going to put this riiiiight here...

The fact that lunch programs in schools aren't free to any child, regardless of money or paperwork, is abhorrent. The fact that there are people who are perfectly happy to let children starve says all you need to know about where humanity is at right now. These kids have absolutely no control over their circumstances, and people need to stop acting as if they've somehow done something wrong just by existing.

   
And now back to our regularly-scheduled nonsense.

I may be broiling in the Summer heat, but I must be good to blog... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Stranger, Newer! Look, let's just get this out of the way... it is highly unlikely that ANY show is going to eclipse Andor, The Residence, and Poker Face in my #1, #2, and #3 spots for the best television of 2025. They're just too phenomenal. But if any show has a shot at it, that would be Strange New Worlds. It managed to eclipse the original series as my favorite Trek, and the third season looks like more of the awesome I've come to expect...

   
• Cricket! GAH! I've been replacing some of the outlets in my home with Eve smart outlets. This morning I was replacing the outlet for all my television devices because I want to know how much electricity I'm drawing to be sure I'm not overloading the breaker. The outlet ended up having dual black & white wires, which meant the wire nuts that came with the switch were too small. I quickly ran to the electrical kit to get bigger ones while my Uninterruptible Power Supply was beeping angrily because it had no power. As I was running through the garage, I saw a clump of dirt that must have fallen off the gardening tools I was using this morning. I kicked it under the car so I could sweep it up later. BUT THE CLUMP OF DIRT CRAWLED BACK FROM UNDER THE CAR! BECAUSE IT WASN'T A CLUMP OF DIRT, IT WAS THE LARGEST CRICKET I'VE EVER SEEN! After screaming GAAAAAH! I ran into the house for a paper cup to drop over the insect while I wired the outlet so I could get power back to my UPS. Then I slid a piece of board under the cup and took the cricket out to a nice shady spot in the rock wall behind my home. Sorry, cricket, but I don't want you chirping in my home.

   
• Dip! A friend called and asked what I'm up to. After telling her the killer cricket story, I told her I was making my grandmother's chip dip recipe... except I'm using vegan cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese, vegan mayo instead of regular mayo, tamari sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce, and nutritional yeast instead of cheese. Then I add a little ground black pepper and chili powder to help make the taste of the veggie mayo more palatable. She said "If you're changing all the ingredients, you're not really making your grandmother's recipe tho..." And I was like "Well, the lemon juice in it is still lemon juice... I just substitute vegan ingredients for the non-vegan ingredients. Which is most of them, I guess. Which is to say that I'm not actually making my grandma's recipe after all. Except... I totally am, I think.

   
• Big, Bold, and Beautiful! Well this looks wonderful. A movie that's right up my alley...

Doesn't hurt that the cast is so good.

   
• a-ha! I've never understood the one-hit-wonder status for a-ha. Their debut album and lead single Take on Me are great. Love it. Definitely a hit. But they created a lot of amazing music after. Including Holyground, a beautiful song that defies description...

Lead singer Morten Harket has announced he has Parkinson’s disease.

I flew to New York to see the band on their farewell Ending on a High Note Tour (they were only playing NYC and Los Angeles in the USA). After that they slowed down, but I was so happy they actually kept going.

   
• Pick Me! Lock company sues McNally for showing how easy their locks are to pick. They claim that he "altered" their lock. McNally orders a fresh lock and films himself retrieving the lock from an Amazon locker, opening the sealed box of the lock, cutting an aluminum can to make a pick for the lock, then picks the lock... all without the filming being interrupted. The entire video is two minutes and thirteen seconds long...

I laughed and laughed and laughed. Because this lock company just made things far, far worse for their reputation. He should pick one of their locks live during the trial, assuming the lock company is stupid enough to go through with it.

   
• VARIETY NEWS: ‘Andor’ Creator Says Disney Spent ‘$650 Million for 24 Episodes’ and ‘We Fought Hard’ for Money After Being Told in Season 2: ‘Streaming Is Dead. We Don’t Have the Money We Had Before’ — And every fucking cent is on the screen. This is budget filmmaking. Disney should be thrilled that Tony Gilroy handed them 8 feature films at a budget of only $80 million each. Because every three episodes IS the equivalent. And who makes feature films for only $80 million any more that are this fully-realized and have the talent and dazzling special effects that made them this great? Andor is easily one of the best TV series ever made. It’s the best thing to come out of Star Wars period...

Disney should be begging the guy to do more Star Wars. They should be filling a dump truck with money and backing it up into Gilroy’s driveway to get him to do more Star Wars. This series was an absolute gift to Disney, Star Wars fans, and people who relish great storytelling. Fuck the Empire.

   
And now I'm off! Off the internet Because I'm trying to free up space in my garage.

It's tough to put into words the love I have for the many songs of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.

So rather than using words, I'll just say that I've never Googled him. Ever. I was so terrified of him turning out to be a raging asshole or homophobe or racist or something awful, that I never risked it. I couldn't fathom his music being tainted to me, and losing it would be too much of a risk to take.

He wrote a ridiculous number of tracks, and a great many of them mean a lot to me. Including my favorite of them all, Don't Worry Baby...

It's beautifully constructed, deliciously intricate as it builds to a finale, and every word of the lyrics hit in the best way... telling the story of a guy who agrees to a drag race, but instantly regrets it and confides his fears in his girlfriend who tells him "Don't worry baby. Everything will turn out alright." And it's just so... flawless.

It's made even more interesting when you consider that the entire song was written as a response to Be My Baby by the Ronettes...

But that's not the end of it!

Originally, Brian wrote the song for the Ronettes. But Phil Spector wouldn't ever entertain the idea of them recording a song he didn't write, so it didn't happen. Except eventually it did...

Gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful.

And apparently Brian Wilson was not aware that Ronnie had recorded it, because THIS happened...

Then later on in life...

Ronnie Spector. Another legend I miss dearly. I know that Ronnie and Brian performed together at least once. Probably more. A vocal match made in heaven.

Of course the number of Brian Wilson & Beach Boys covers are legion (She & Him, AKA Zooey Deschanel's band, did an entire album tribute to him). Which you'd expect give how incredible the catalog of songs are. Who wouldn't want to cover one of his songs? Just look at this megaton of talent on God Only Knows...

And so... yeah. Brian Wilson will be truly missed. But the sheer volume of music he left to an undeserving world means he's never really gone. Rest in Peace, sir.

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.

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.

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.

I've been sick all weekend with a stomach bug, but have no fear about going bullet-free this Sunday... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Claws Out! I have a treasure trove of old memorabilia that I've been collecting over the decades. The most prized stuff I have is all the junk I saved from when I was ten years old during my first visit to Disneyland. And there's a lot of other Disney stuff collecting dust too. Prints and brochures and tickets... the list is endless. And then there's the travel stuff. And the comic book stuff. Boxes and boxes of it. And do you know why it hasn't been taken out and framed for display. Partly it's the cost. But mostly it's my scathing hatred of hanging stuff on the wall. It's way too difficult to even things up and get them to end up where you want. Enter CLAW drywall hangers by 3M...

And it really is that simple. The included positioning stickers make getting things where you want them pretty easy. Though I put the hook in the hanger, then put the positioning sticker under the hanger. That way when I position the frame on the wall and the sticker it set, I just put the hook above it... no pencil marks needed. And, yeah, I'm still not a fan of actually doing the hanging (nor the framing cost), but at least now I'm actually willing to do it.

   
• Heated! Preach, Elmo...

We're at the point where just taking out the garbage is a horrible ordeal where I live.

   
• Death After Life! It's no secret that Death: The High Cost of Living is one of my all-time favorite graphic novels. From the minute I saw Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in the first season of The Sandman, I was dying to see an adaptation of the story. Well... be careful what you wish for... because this adaptation was a complete waste. They took pieces of the story, but missed the entire point of what it was saying. I know that time was limited to an hour and they couldn't put in everything it, but surely they could have been more selective than this?

A few better choices here and there would have made a world of difference. Netflix failed utterly after the absolute perfection of everything that preceded it.

   
• De Niro's Still Waiting! Bananarama, one of the most celebrated "girl groups" on record, has continued to put out great music for decades after their big hits dropped. What I didn't know is that Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward rejoined with original bandmate Siobhan Fahey for a series of tours in 2017-2018. But I found out when this gem appeared in my YouTube feed...

And it turns out, yes, Robert De Niro knew of the song and took the band out for a drink when he met them after its release...

And, yes, Dallin and Woodward are still out there performing to crowds who still know every word to their songs...

If you're a fan, their YouTube Channel is worth a look. They take a look back at their old fashion, revisit old songs, and have their new music available for a listen.

   
• Morphin Time? Please, Lord. Please let this photo get back to the woman who was cosplaying Pink Ranger who didn't know she was standing next to the Pink Ranger...

I love stuff like this.

   
• Mourning in Cincinnati. And, lastly, I was just. talking about how all the people from my childhood are passing, and today got a gut punch when I learned Loni Anderson died. Her playing receptionist Jennifer on WKRP in Cincinnati was such a defining television memory for me...

But the thing that most impressed me when it came to her acting, was playing the title role in The Jayne Mansfield Story (opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger!), which is available in full on YouTube (for now)...

Rest in Peace.

   
And now it's time for more Pepto Bismol and a nap.

Cannot get my hands to stop smelling like the onions I just cut, but I'll try my best not to throw up on my keyboard... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Plague Doctor! I was researching the bubonic plague (don't ask). Eventually I got to Alexandre Émile John Yersin, the Swiss-French doctor who co-discoverer of the cause of the plague and figured out it was being spread by rats. He's a pretty amazing guy with some amazing accomplishments. But here's the thing... he's also a total snack. JUST LOOK AT THIS PHOTO!

He was apparently celibate, dedicating his entire life to making other people's lives better. Which he probably did by melting ovaries as he walked down the street. — And here's where it gets interesting... I remember the "American Market" in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), which is also called "Yersin Market" because it's on Yersin Street, named after our boy here because he ended up moving to Vietnam for the remainder of his life of research (where he founded the Medical School of Hanoi, and was a pioneer in cultivating rubber trees!). When it comes to heroes of history, this guy is definitely on that list.

   
• Neverending! Nothing quite finding a cover of a song that you prefer over the original. This is pretty cool...

Not that the original Limahl track was bad by any means...

I just like the new synth arrangement of the material better.

   
• Addams! The first half of the second season of Wednesday is fun. And there's a couple cameos that are so flawlessly cast that I almost didn't believe it. Yeah, yeah, I know there are people who are big mad that it isn't faithful to the source material, but it can be its own thing and still be entertaining...

Though, to be honest, I still prefer the two films starring Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci over any adaptation of the original The Addams Family comic.

   
• It's Doug! All the Jeopardy and Black Jeopardy sketches on SNL are hilarious, but I find myself watching this one at least every-other month...

The fact that Tom Hanks was willing to make fun of himself this badly makes it even more funny than it already was. And, of course, Mr. Hanks is no stranger to Jeopardy sketches... he has a hilarious role on Black Jeopardy...

Though Eddie Murphy's impersonation of Tracy Morgan in front of Tracy Morgan remains one of the funniest things I've ever seen...

You know it's funny when you can break Tracy Morgan while playing Tracy Morgan.

   
• Unhappy! Watched Happy Gilmore 2 last night. Good Lord. Was looking forward to something charming, nostalgic, and funny to distract me from the day... instead Netflix approved a two hour mess that's more depressing than funny. Adam Sandler is an alcoholic ass-hat who accidentally killed his wife at the very beginning of the movie? Hilarious...

You know you're in deep, deep trouble when you're looking forward to seeing Shooter McGavin more than the main character. Hell, you're happy to see anybody except Happy on the screen (Bad Bunny continues to surprise me with just how good he is... just like in Bullet Train, his character is a highlight). Fortunately, there's some genuinely funny moments and a lot of great cameos which allowed me to get through the film on nostalgia alone. But... come on... in a day and age when life is depressing enough, can we not do this? Killed his wife in the first two minutes? Really? This is where we're at?

   
• Just Fuck Off Already! Precious few people are a bigger piece of shit than Bill Maher. I have never understood his popularity. He has bad take after bad take based on misleading statements and outright lies, and has shown himself to be a dick of the highest order every chance he gets. I ignored him forever... until he was taken to school by Ben Affleck, of all people, over his shitty fucking Islamophobia. From then on I actively loathed him. Which is why Big Joel's latest video really hit for me. Well worth a watch...

Lord. If you want to be dishonest with your audience so you can be a self-righteous douche, nobody's stopping you. But if you actually think that's makes you a better person, who the fuck are you?

   
• Slop! I reported a Facebook page that is nothing more than fake AI-generated bullshit about Dolly Parton dying...

Anybody willing to lay odds on Facebook hitting back with "We didn't delete this page"... because Facebook is ALSO run by fake AI-generated bullshit? In all seriousness, fuck these AI scammer pieces of shit. Dolly Parton deserves far better than this stupid crap.

   
• NEWSFLASH: Tim Cook appeals to Trump’s love of gold with a 24-karat base for Apple plaque. So what's next? Tim Cook just flies the Apple jet to DC and blows Trump on the White House front lawn at a press event? I don't know what's more embarrassing... the fact we have a president who requires you suck up to him personally so you can keep your company in business, or the fact that CEOs are lining up to do it.

   
And now I'm back to smelling like onions.