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.

Last night I was trying to figure out the last time I saw a movie in a theater. I ended up thinking that it was probably the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie back in 2023. It was my first time seeing a movie after the pandemic started, and I haven't wanted to go back since.

Which is not surprising given how much I loathe the theater "experience." People are rude assholes, and paying big money to be trapped in a building with a bunch of them is not my idea of fun. At least not any more. Back in the 80's and 90's I went to the theater all the time. After that, it had to be a really good film to drag me to the cinema. Eventually I was mostly only going for the latest Marvel movies, and that was the end of it.

Except for Taylor Swift, of course.

And I'd probably grant an exception for this "COSM Shared Reality" experience if it ever came to town...

Right now there's two films in release that seem almost inconcievable that I'm skipping... Superman and Fantastic Four. Both of them look to encapsulate everything I love about movies. But, much as I'd love to see them ASAP, I'm content to wait it out because the idea of having to go to the theater fills me with a dread and loathing that's insurmountable.

And that got me to thinking what would be a film that could get me to leave the house to see?

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues? Or Project Hail Mary? Or Avengers: Doomsday? Or Avatar: Fire and Ash? Maybe. But... probably not.

One movie that most definitely won't be enticing me to the theater is Now You See Me: Now You Don't which looks even more stupid than the previous two installments (something I didn't think was possible). There's no magic here. It's just shitty special effects with even shittier dialogue...

It's like they're not trying to provide even the illusion of magic.

Remember the amazing series Deception which was a magic-based caper show that actually gave a shit about making the tricks look possible?

Dang was I sad they canceled that show.

Instead we get millions of dollars poured into piles of shit like another Now You See Me flick.

Oddly enough, if they ever made a Deception movie to tie up the cliffhangers they left us with, I actually would go to the theater.

Speaking of comfort films... last night I watched the Oh, God! trilogy.

Now, the original was a remarkable movie to behold. Mostly because of the casting. George Burns was flawless as God. An easy choice. But how did they think about John Denver for the lead? He was perfect for the part, but where did he come from? I would have thought of dozens of names before I ever got to him. Maybe even hundreds.

It was such a clever movie for the day, especially in particular scenes which were written so beautifully. I wish there was a higher quality clip of God answering the questions of the "religious council" that was given to the guy who was claiming he was speaking with God (to prove he was actually speaking with God), because this is as good as it gets...

Oh, God! Book II was a big step down from the first one, but it still tackled some profound questions we might have for God and was a fun watch...

The franchise's third (and final) film made a move so obvious that it seemed almost inevitable... because in Oh, God! You Devil they had George Burns playing both The Almighty and The Devil. I remember an interview with George for the film had him talking about what a stretch it was for him to play The Devil. He said something like "Yeah, I smoke cigars and chase women!" which I still find incredibly funny. The movie itself rebounded a bit from the second one, mostly because of George Burns playing every scene to perfection...

And do you want to know what put these movies on my radar? It was an old Burns and Allen skit that popped up on YouTube...

Say goodnight, Gracie.

I've been rewatching Silicon Valley.

I always seem to find myself rewatching "comfort shows" when times are stressful, and times have been pretty stressful as of late. I've also been doing the ultimate stress-reliever that actually makes stress worse: Buying things I can't afford. Like picture frames to hang up all the souvenir stuff that's been sitting in boxes in my garage.

But anyway, back to Silicon Valley...

I finally made it to the episode with the guys debating over whether to let Blaine die over a miscalculation (or not!) by weighing the pros and cons...

Writing this clever would die on the page if you didn't have a cast capable of pulling it off. Between Martin Starr and Kumail Ali Nanjiani, it's already an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent. But then you add in Dustin Milligan's hilariously subtle douchebaggery playing Blaine... and... well... now you know why I'm rewatching Silicon Valley. Again.

Now here's where things get interesting.

There's an article on Medium by Rhett Allain called The Physics of Blaine’s Car Stunt from HBO’s Silicon Valley written in 2023 (the original show aired in 2015). Now, it's behind a paywall, which is fine because I'm not a big physics lover who can appreciate it if I read it anyway... but I find it fascinating that the article exists in the first place.

Because I always find it interesting when there's math and science commentary on fictional television series which are actually trying to get the math and science right. Futurama is legendary for this. And that's a cartoon! I can't tell you how many articles I've read about the science on The Expanse. And what about the movie Primer with its mind-bending time travel antics? Or, good heavens, what about Christopher Nolan's movies like Interstellar, Tenet, and Inception?

It's a huge achievement to make entertaining fictional TV series and films while also attempting to add an entirely new level of math, physics, or science accuracy to it. Because odds are that only a handful of people will ever be able to appreciate it.

But even when I don't, it makes me happy to know it's there.

For the life of me I cannot figure out why The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare flopped so badly at the box office... not even earning back half of its $60 million budget.

It is a fantastic film. I'm watching it now for at least the sixth time. It's hilariously funny. It's incredibly smart. It's based on a true story. And it's got Nazis being mercilessly taken out in droves. What more could you want? This opening scene will forever be one of my favorites in cinematic history...

And it just keeps getting better from there.

There's a reason this was my fourth favorite film of 2024.

Though, in retrospect, it probably should have been No. 1 given how often I find myself watching it.

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.

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!

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.

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 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.