I have gotten nothing done this weekend. Well, not nothing, but not as much as I should. But don't worry, I can still crank out bullets despite my total lack of energy and motivation... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• Demand! I'm beginning to think that all my gaming money should go to ethical publishers like Plaid Hat Games who keeps their games in print. They use print-on-demand to fulfill orders by people wanting their older stuff. I started playing the excellent Ashes Ascendency expecting that I'd only have a few sets available to buy and everything else would be out of print. Because that's how publishers like Fantasy Flight Games operate. But nope! All the previous cycle Ashes Reborn cards and sets are available!
I found this out when a guy posted about it on the Solo Board Gamers group. So I rushed to a gaming shop and ordered more Phoenixborn Heroes and Chimera invaders to play. REFRESHING!! I wish I had this option for Marvel Champions and Arkham Horror LCG, and I don't understand why Fantasy Flight doesn't hop on the print-on-demand bandwagon. It's like they are throwing money in a fire while pissing off the people wanting to play their games. Bravo and many thanks to Plaid Hat, who cares about the gamers new to their games!
• Don't Drive Angry! Groundhog Day is one of my all time favorite films, and it's gotten a lot of analysis over the years. Whenever I happen across another person looking back at this exceptional film, I watch it. This one is very good...
I hope Groundhog Day continues to find an audience, because it's a really special movie.
• Hell on Earth! Look, I love The Cheesecake Factory. I eat there whenever I'm in a city which has one. But Obama was clearly making a joke, and even Cheesecake Factory would admit that their interior design is fucking nuts. This look at the franchise is fantastic...
If I'm being honest, having a wildly eclectic and over-the-top design aesthetic in a restaurant is kinda cool. But slapping a bunch of gaudy, tacky, gold shit over the White House is the very definition of "hellscape." It's like a poor person's idea of what rich people live like. Well, thanks to non-stop grifting of the American people, Trump actually has money... so why is he like this?
• Take it Slow! That's right! That's right! You get it girl. Go to Pound Town with your funky self!
Whoops. I guess it's "Pounds Hollow" not "Pound Town." Ordinarily, I wouldn't post something like this here. I don't want to mock somebody doing something they love. Follow your dreams. Live your bliss. But this woman is using AI to make it appear that she has actual talent, and it's asinine...
How does she think that she actually made this song? HOW?
• Kegsbreath! This is heartbreaking. But more than that it's rage-inducing. What's been done in our name will never, ever be forgiven. And nor should it.
Do you know how we know we've lost the high road? The "Department of Defense" was changed to the "Department of War." It was a very clear sign of what this country has become.
• Always Hypocrisy! I was at a restaurant last month where people were praying over their food in public. Does this heinous bigot make videos about that? They were Christians... so where's that video?
The fact that these people are so blissfully unaware of their hypocrisy is scary as hell.
• I Swear! And while we're on the subject... there's now a bunch of people freaking out over the fact that Abdul El-Sayed could be the first senator to be sworn in on the Qur'an instead of a Bible. And here we go. The point of being "sworn into office" is that you swear on something important to you to demonstrate the seriousness of your conviction. You are swearing on something as proof of your loyalty to the oath you are taking. So if the Bible is important to you... swear on that. If the Qur'an is important to you... swear on that. According to THE LAW you can swear on whatever you like. If religion isn't important to you then swear on The Constitution, which should be what politicians are sworn in on! You can swear on a fucking gum wrapper. So stop trying to be a dramatic dumbass by reading more into this than what it is... performative. I don't care what you swear on so long as you do your fucking job and uphold The Constitution. My God this is dumb.
• Trifecta! And now, since we're wrapping up this Bullet Sunday with anti-Muslim nonsense, we have this...
I wish these dumbfucks would have even a tiny amount of theology in their head before they show how fucking ignorant they are by spouting this stupid shit. — Muhammad is not God. He's a prophet. So this statement would be like saying "One Nation Under Moses," who is a Christian prophet. But no... it's "One Nation Under God" and Allah is another name for God, so that's all irrelevant. This idiot doesn't know any damn thing but, because he had a hit song once, we have to hear his idiotic crap from time to time. He needs to change his name from "Kid Rock" to "Crack Rock," because he has to be on the rock in order to not know how damn stupid this is.
And now... it's time to finish laundry so I have clothes to wear in the morning.
Yesterday celebrated actor Patrick Stewart passed away, and it's a tough pill to swallow.
Which is strange to me given that I wasn't a fan of his two biggest contributions to Western culture... Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films. I mean, Next Gen was okay... not as good as the original Star Trek, but watchable. Sometimes even entertaining. But X-Men? Not even a little bit. I loathed the way those films made one of the best comic books ever created seem boring.
So what was I a fan of that Patrick Stewart was a part of?
Easy...
1) Patrick Stewart as... Patrick Stewart
Easily my favorite character was himself. His interviews were the stuff of legends. Always incredibly entertaining, funny, smart, and humble.
He could have never worked as an actor again, and I would have still loved him on the interview circuit.
2) Patrick Stewart as... Gurney Halleck
David Lynch's Dune was a highly problematic endeavor. But I still loved it because I loved the book. And a big part of the reason why the movie was fun for me was Stewart's interpretation of Gurney. Alas, some of his interesting scenes were cut from the theatrical release, but were somewhat restored in the various cuts out there...
I mean, come on. He got to lead troops into battle while carrying a little pug puppy! Do movies get much cooler than that?
3) Patrick Stewart as... Avery Bullock
One of the things that made Sir Patrick Stewart so likable was his willingness to poke fun at himself. The biggest indicator was accepting a role as the poop emoji in The Emoji Movie. But a far better one was Avery Bullock in American Dad...
Hilarious. Maybe too hilarious, because the self-parody never got old.
4) Patrick Stewart as... Narrator
Thanks to his friendship with Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad), Stewart got to narrate both Ted movies. There was something about his beautiful voice that lead to immediate credibility in a film, even when he was narrating something far from credible...
Any time Patrick Stewart spoke, people listened. Which is why he was tapped to voice so many characters...
5) Patrick Stewart as... Anything Animated
It was always a thrill to have him pop up in animated projects, because he was so fantastic in all of them. Here's just a sampling of what we were treated to...
What a loss. The guy was just so sublimely perfect at what he did. And we all got to tag along for the ride.
Rest in Peace, Sir. Sir Patrick Stewart.
I'm away from home, but not away from my blog... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• Fried Pies! I saw somebody post about Burger King having Fried Apple Pie so I made a point to stop and get one (along with an Impossible Whopper, of course). AMAZING! Run, don’t walk, to your local BK to have one!
• As You Wish! I'm sure I've seen this at some point in the distant past, because I remember bits and pieces... but it's really nice to see it anew...
• It’s Sliced Cheese on Bread... and It’s Rocking Copenhagen’s World. The Danish capital is obsessed with this stripped-down snack, and the city’s top bakeries won’t stop until they’ve perfected it. I really need to get back to Copenhagen one of these days!
• Oh Mary! I LOLd at this one...
Yeah. YEAH!
• Lies, Lies, and More Lies! Posted without comment...
Except to say... every word of this.
• Refreshing! This is actually "doing your own research"...
I don't understand why anybody would take anything in today's world at face value. Rooting out facts has never been easier.
• Because... BWAH HA HA HAAAAAA! HA HA HAAAA HAAAAAAA! =gasp= HA HAAAAA HA HAAAAA HA HA HA HAH HAAAAAAA! I haven't seen somebody get their ass handed to them this bad in a minute...
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is everything I want in a politician.
And now I'm headed back home. See you on the flip-side.
Yesterday I was doing yard work and injured myself, so I'm achy today, but still determined... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• Wildwood! I own every LAIKA Studios film available and obsess over them. This movie will be no different. Holy crap what a phenomenal work of art...
The work that goes into a stop-motion LAIKA production is mind-boggling...
I see how they do it. But I can't believe that's how they do it.
• Excuse Me! Jan is speaking Dutch, but there's subtitles... and this killed me...
I laughed way too long at this.
• Flexibility! So there I was waiting for some pizzas to come out of the oven at the local pizza joint when I looked at the video games that were running. I saw Marvel Super Heroes, which I had seen before and even played. What I never noticed before is that the header art is by one of my all-time favorite artists: Arthur Adams! How cool is this...
Then I noticed Psylocke's weird... very weird leg position...
He right upper leg is perpendicular to her body (ouch!) and her lower leg is across the title of the machine there. It's a bit strange, but these are comic book characters and it's not anything too bizarre. No... it's her left leg that's just weird as all get-out. She could have easily lodged her knee against the giant "L" there, but instead her leg hangs straight down. It's such a strange choice that a part of me wants to believe that Adams didn't draw it like this, but instead he was asked to re-draw it like this so the logo wasn't crowded? No idea. Maybe it's not strange after all and I'm just jealous that I'm nowhere near this flexible!
• Mini! These kind of miniature builds fascinate me. Even if you don't want to sit through 25 minutes of him making the model, you can skip to the very end to see it completed...
I often thought that I would enjoy model-building. It's arts & crafty with a big dash of creativity, which is right up my alley. But the mess. I just couldn't do it. I know what my garage looks like when I do my woodworking. I cannot fathom having that kind of disaster in my home. Even if it was confined to one room.
• What DOESN'T Cause Diarrhea Any More? Okay... which one of you had sex with a bag of poop lettuce to create this horror?
Sexually Transmitted Diarrhea Is Spreading in the U.S.
• Tommy! Watching Abdul El-Sayed speak with an anti-American heckler at one of his rallies gives me hope...
The end of his response is everything we should want in the people who represent us at all levels of government. These faux "Christians" wanting their interpretation of their religion governing every aspect of our lives are the same people who shit their pants at the idea of having somebody else's religion even existing in the Land of the Free where our freedom to practice our religion is guaranteed by The Constitution of the United States of America.
• HOW? I cannot fathom how a piece of shit like Ken Paxton continues to convince people that he's a valid choice for Senator of Texas. I mean, I know the guy has so many scandals piled up that about the only thing he's qualified for is politics... but holy crap! The list is absolutely massive, and among the horrific shit on his record is ACCEPTING A PLEA DEAL FROM A MAN WHO ADMITTED TO REPEATEDLY SEXUALLY MOLESTING A YOUNG BOY, SO THE SICK FUCK ONLY SPENT ONE NIGHT IN JAIL AND DIDN'T HAVE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER?!??
Seriously. Look at the list of fucked up shit. Look at it and tell me how he should in any way be holding public office. And the disgusting fuck won't debate BECAUSE HE KNOWS IT WILL GO BADLY FOR HIM! What the ever-loving-fuck, Texas?
And now... back to recovery!
Today was a sad day because I had to turn the heat on in my home because my cats were always curled up like they were freezing, but I'm putting on a happy face... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• Incredible! Michel Gagné spent 14 years animating a feature film. Here's the trailer...
Looks amazing. Those fourteen years don't seem wasted, that's for sure.
• Tomb Raider! Footage from the reimagining of Tomb Raider is burning up the internet, and it looks more like a film than a game...
By way of comparison, here's what I was playing with on my PlayStation 1 back in 1996...
And, keep in mind, that was cutting-edge back in the day. It was the best graphics yet seen at the time and I couldn't believe how crazy-good it looked.
• DOOM! Every time they release a new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday they add just a little bit more of what's going on. This latest trailer adds more than a little bit, and the film looks phenomenal...
December seems so far away.
• Scrabbled! Well this is more than a little mind-blowing...
There are people whose brains just work different. And sometimes those people make the rest of us look less than smart. And speaking of less than smart...
• The Stupid, It Burns! Pretty much...
Nobody, including scientists, are saying that science gets it right every time. But there is a scientific method that, when followed, is an authentic method of understanding the world... and medicine. Those who deny it and buy into the misinformation bullshit without knowing what the fuck they're talking about are literally responsible for harming society. We've got thousands dying from measles worldwide now. Measles!
• Stay Seated! I keep hearing these stories of airline passengers losing their shit because they asked somebody to swap seats with them and that person refused. It's insane. People book the seats they want. Sometimes they pay extra money to book the seats they want. If there's a seat you want, then book that fucking seat! I don't care if you want to sit next to your husband or grandmother or child. I want the seat that I paid for! I have swapped seats when asked a couple times... but only to an equivalent seat. I have twice asked somebody to switch seats with me... but they were military personnel flying home, and I was asking to swap my First Class seat with their Economy seat because they had already been on a very long flight from their deployment and I wanted to thank them for their service by letting them have a seat they could rest on before they get home to people who were excited to see them and not letting them rest. But otherwise? STOP EXPECTING PEOPLE TO GIVE UP THEIR SEAT!!!
• Super! "Artificial" means that something is "not naturally occurring." AI is not naturally occurring, and the only thing super about it is that real human intelligence made it possible. That's about as accurate as it gets.
This is just an attempt by billionaires to rebrand their tech to try and spin it from a negatively-perceived technology to a positively-perceived technology. You can call me "the enemy" all you want, but it's not going to change facts.
• Going Out on a High Note! I had never seen this before. It's wonderful...
Fuck anybody who thinks that public programming like this deserves to be defunded. Every other fucking thing on television is built to sell things to kids... not educate them. We need more education.
And now I'll go back to eating ramen because my cats like heat.
First Dolly, then Tim Curry? Truly we are living in a doomed timeline. Reality is collapsing around us.
Of course I was introduced to Mr. Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie was released in 1975, but I didn't see it until over a decade later in 1986 when it was already established as a cult classic. I did one of the famous midnight showings at the Neptune Theater in the U-District of Seattle. It was a fantastic experience, largely due to Tim's performance as the sweet transvestite from transexual Transylvania, Dr. Frank-N-Furter...
Then came Legend, destined to be yet another cult classic. He played Darkness, but I had no idea until years after I saw the movie in theater on VHS. He completely disappeared in the role, and to this day I have no idea how he was considered for it. Something I really do need to research one of these days...
The same year as Legend came Clue, giving Tim the ultimate cult classic trifecta...
After a strange detour in The Hunt for Red October Mr. Curry landed his most iconic role, the deadly clown Pennywise in It...
After loads of voice work, we were treated to his take on Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island, a role which proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that Tim Curry was a singular acting talent... because who else could hold their own against The Muppets?!?
The amount of voice work in his oeuvre is really impressive...
As always, the best person to discuss his career is Time Curry...
Rest in Peace, sir. Your work brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people.
Dang.
Sam Neil had a lot of great roles over his long career. I think the first time I saw him was as Borodin in The Hunt for Red October, where he had a small but significant role. A role which had the most memorable scene in the entire film for me. After that, he would pop up in oh so many films, his most notable likely being Jurassic Park.
He will very much be missed...
Photo by Ross Coffey via IMDB
I think the last thing I saw him in was Thor: Love and Thunder in a bit part. He was an actor playing an actor playing Odin, but he was immediately recognizable... and a real treat for fans of his work like I am.
Rest in Peace, sir.
I'm back home again and ready to collapse after a wild weekend, but hanging on long enough to write this... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• LEGO Giveth, LEGO Taketh Away... I feel bad for the independent store owners getting caught up in this Bricks & Minifigs drama that has nothing to do with them. But the CEO and every police officer and court official are fucking pieces of shit. Absolute trash. I watched this more than a little shocked...
Just goes to show... might doesn't always come from being right. But I don't need to tell you that.
• Filmable! George Eastman, the guy who founded Kodak, is one fascinating guy. As a phenomenally wealthy guy of his day, he was incredibly generous in so many ways. But a bit terrible in others. And I knew none of it until I watched this remarkable video...
And, like so much of history, he's just a small part of a much larger story that came after.
• Essential Viewing. Religious freedom is a vanishing breed here in the Land of the Free...
@happytimes503 #LGBTQ #ReligiousFreedom #CivilRights #christiannationalism #News ♬ original sound - Johnny
Find. Another. Job. is fucking right.
• Hummus! Who knew that it would be Ryan Gosling who would give me a cooking tip that's actually worth knowing...
Will I try it? Yes. Yes I will.
• Odysseus! Here's the deal... I have read The Odyssey in both full and abbreviated forms. But I didn't truly understand it until I read Emily Wilson's amazing translation. I was thrilled that her work is what Christopher Nolan based his new film. And this video explains why...
@chonkyseal123 As if I wasn’t excited enough for this movie #theodyssey #christophernolan #emilywilson #film ♬ original sound - eileen 🍉📚🗽
Really can't wait to see it.
• He'll Come Again. This week's trending topic... Anne Frank's diary is fake and the Holocaust didn't happen. I honest to God do not understand how we got to this point. I have been to Holocaust museums around the world. The evidence is massively overwhelming. As in unquestionably overwhelming. PHOTOS EXIST OF SOLDIERS LIBERATING THE CAMPS! EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY WAS CAPTURED FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE! — As for Anne Frank's diary being "written in ballpoint pen" years before they were invented, thus the diary is fake... that has been debunked multiple times with various evidence findings being released publicly. The thing that is so fucking terrifying about this is that denying one of the most horrific events in human history just sets us up for it to happen again. I can't believe we're this stupid as a society.
• So Long! Do not ask me to mourn the passing of an absolute fucking monster. I won't do it.
And now I will take a nap and try to recover.
Don't worry that the vision in my messed-up eye is getting worse and I have a headache all day every day... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• Terrific! You knew it was coming... but it was finally announced that a series starring Mr. Terrific is indeed happening. Which is fantastic given how memorable he was in Superman...
Cannot wait to see it!
• Congrats! And so Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married in a massive ceremony at Madison Square Garden. It took quite a lot of people by surprise because they had over 1000 guests. It didn't take me by surprise, because I remember what she said to Graham Norton...
People are saying that they should have had their nuptials at Trump's Freedom 250 America's State Fair because they'd have loads of privacy given that this event has practically nobody showing up. Given how this joyous event has inexplicably pissed off a lot of people, I hope that Tay and Trav are very happy and stay together for the rest of their lives.
• Yes, Ma'am! "Babe, take off my underwear..."
Bwah ha ha haaaaaaa!
• Shadoe! Are you a Gen-Xer like me? Do you remember Shadoe Stevens? Then here's a TikTok for you, which is a darn cool distraction from the horrors of the day...
UPDATE: Why is TikTok such garbage water? Here's a direct link if the video below is wrong.
@chynastevens23 SHADOE & BEVERLY 4EVER!!!
♬ sonido original - Retro.
I love stuff like this.
• NEWSFLASH: Vatican excommunicates conservative SSPX followers — In all honesty, I'm surprised that it took this long. Vatican II ended the year before I was born. The simple truth is that the Catholic Church had to do something to modernize or else they would lose future generations of Catholics who felt that the Holy Church was too far removed from reality for them to stay parishioners. What is even more surprising is that there are still people in this day and age who feel compelled to cling to old doctrine... despite the fact that it was adopted by the Papacy, which cannot in any way be ignored WITHOUT excommunication. Anybody who thinks otherwise really, really doesn't understand the Catholic Church and the powers of the Supreme Pontiff.
• Time Damage, Eye Damage! ZOMG! They shut CERN's Large Hadron Collider down on June 29th. DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAY MY RETINA GOT TORN? Okay... it was June 24th... but I had the surgery on June 29th. COINCIDENCE?? I THINK NOT! Clearly the time-altering shenanigans of these "scientists" are responsible for my misfortune. Who can I sue?
• Baggage! Domestic carry-on size is 22 x 14 x 9 inches. If your carry-on is 18.9 x 13.0 x 8.3, YOU FAIL because you're not providing maximum space allowed. If your carry-on is 20.5 × 15.5 × 10, YOU FAIL because you're exceeding the maximum dimension in two directions while undersized in another (WTF, Nobl?). It's absolute insanity that luggage companies will call an oversized bag "carry-on" when it's not, and you are taking a huge risk every time you book a flight. Just make your damn domestic carry-on luggage 22 x 14 x 9 and be done with it.
Now I'm going back to whining about my eye.
My eye is still feeling a bit bruised after surgery, but that's not the problem.
The problem is that it's like I've been punched in the eye. Not from pain, but from swelling on my lower lid... even though there's no swelling. Instead it's more like a haze along the bottom (because the tear was at the top and things get reversed in your eye... our brains switch things right-side up).
Eventually my brain will be able to eliminate the haze at the bottom from the top and the chunk floating at the top from the bottom. At least I hope so.
It's tiring having to concentrate all day long to see... though, oddly enough, it's difficult to actually fall asleep. And so I've been falling asleep to my Disney movie collection each night. Last night was The Rescuers and tonight I'm watching The Emperor's New Groove...
This is a criminally underrated movie.
Especially since it features Eartha Kitt's delightful villain, Yzma, who steals the film at every turn...
The rumor is that the big coaster in "Villains Land" has been re-imagined to be an Yzma coaster. I sure hope that's true, because I can't imagine a better source material for an attraction.
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