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'm going to be brutally honest here... 2024 did not hold a lot of music that I absolutely loved. Sure there were songs and albums I listened to quite a lot (you'll find a lot of them below), but it wasn't as it's been in past years where I'm just awash with music that makes it incredibly difficult to choose which I'm going to feature on my end-of-year recap. I don't know why that is. Maybe I spent too much time listening to old favorites instead of exploring something new? Possibly!

#1 Nonetheless - Pet Shop Boys
Well that's a new one... second year in a row that Pet Shop Boys have landed in the top spot. To be honest, this album ranks way below their best, but is still a good listen that tries to look back to their more classic stuff. The fault that this album couldn't overcome for me was yet another fucking song featuring "bohemia." Please. For the love of God. Just stop.

#2 Sincere — Khalid
Gotta say, Khalid really pulled it all together this time, crafting a beautiful album which has a little variety where it counts. Often times when I didn't know what I wanted to listen to, I'd just push play on this one from August onward.

STRFKR — Parallel Realms
This is a very late entry on my list, given that I only found out about it when Kapgar had it on his list two days ago. But I love the band, and a few listens later it was an easy #3. Not that this is new. I often find out about their releases months after it gets released because it's not mainstream enough to land anywhere I'm at. Which is a shame, because they really know how to craft some catchy pop music.

#4 eternal sunshine — Ariana Grande
Miss Grande has always been phenomenally talented outside of music, with her appearances on Saturday Night Live being the stuff of legends (not to mention a little film called Wicked which you may have heard of). But it's music where she shines brightest, and this is probably my favorite album of hers yet.

#5 Tortured Poets Department — Taylor Swift
While I'm thrilled that TayTay escaped from her Folklore/Evermore bubble with Midnights, this feels like a backslide given that the back half goes right back into acoustically-flavored tracks that I just don't care for. My favorite Swift album is 1989, and the further she gets away from it, the more she loses me. Even so, the first half of TPD has enough material to make my list.

#6 Short n' Sweet — Sabrina Carpenter
I was able to safely ignore Sabrina until her single Espresso dropped. It was very catchy, got played way too much, and I finally went back to take a listen to the album it came from. Very nice mix of well-crafted tracks.

#7 Adult Contemporary — Chromeo
It boggles my mind that Chromeo never seems to get the recognition they should. Sure there was a single that gets some play here and there, but their music is consistently excellent and deserves better. This album is yet another example why.

#8 Ask That God — Empire of the Sun
Visually-driven Empire of the Sun always seems to have a single stuffed somewhere in my playlists, and I look forward to when they manage to get together to record something new. This album drop was a complete surprise, and I happened across it completely by accident.

#9 Radical Optimism — Dua Lipa
For the life of me I still don't understand where Dua Lipa came from. One minute I hear her on the radio with Elton John singing Cold Heart and the next thing I know she's everywhere. Including the Barbie movie and Argylle. This is the first album of hers that I've gotten in on from the ground floor, and it's quite a good one.

#10 F-1 Trillion — Post Malone
Posty does Country! And even though I only like half the tracks on this album, those are enough to make my list because they're really good songs.

#11 Hit Me Hard and Soft — Billie Eilish
It seems that there's never enough material I love on a Billie album to propel it onto my list. Until now. Her style is still not one that I latch onto easily, but she's had some songs that are so remarkable that I guess I can call myself a fan. The song that pushed this album over the top for me was this one, which is sublimely beautiful...

As a bit of a bonus, I'm including the "story behind the song" because whenever Finneas and Billie do these I am absolutely captivated by how they create...

#12 Deeper Well — Kasey Muskgraves
Kasey came out of nowhere with Golden Hour back in 2018, and I loved it so much it hit #2 on my list that year. It had a wonderful variety of beautiful songs that each had a different feeling, which is something I really appreciate. This time her songs all sound pretty much the same, which I don't like at all. But they are still beautifully crafted, so Deeper Well just made the cut.

And here are some singles that I ended up really enjoying in 2024...

Don't go thinking that living on a fucking pancake excuses you from the bullets... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Anscestry! Can confirm. This is how I'm treated everywhere I go in the world where I can loudly announce that I am an American whose family was "originally from here"...

Accurate.

   
• Conspiracytime! Leave it to Big Tugg to crap all over some of the wackiest conspiracies running...

Don't even ask me how we got here.

   
• Flerfy Flerf! And speaking of wacky conspiracy bullshit, a bunch of flat earthers were invited to Antarctica to personally verify that the sun doesn't set in December because we're, in fact, on a fucking globe. Having been to Antarctica in the month of December, I can indeed verify that the sun does not set. BECAUSE WE'RE ON A FUCKING GLOBE. The flerfers fell over themselves to reject the invitation, but three of them actually went. You can track them and watch the videos right now! — As amusing as it is to ship dipshit flerfers to Antarctica, you could have saved the money had just had them replicate this experiment, which took a whole minute to perform... and is just as hilarious to watch...

Unreal how we had all this shit figured out before the birth of Christ, but here we are going backwards.

   
• Dooooon! Yikes. HBO Max... WTF happened? Dune Prophecy was going SO well, but last week we got a turd in the punchbowl? Nothing happened! Everything that was set up gets negated by Desmond pulling a Professor X in the most boring way possible. This episode could have been 10 minutes long! Could the characters BE any less compelling this week? Even Mother Superior was a snooze! =yawn= I made this graphic, but didn't post it because I thought we might be going through a calm-before-the-storm kinda situation...

But NOPE! This week's episode was also boring as fuck, providing a reveal as to the identity of Desmond Hart that was about the least-shocking "twist" in a show that I've ever seen. Who he was got telegraphed way in advance, and I cannot imagine anybody not seeing this coming from a mile away. Which is to say that even if to say they totally stick the landing, the show is going to be pretty meh to me.

   
• HIM! Honest to God I don't understand how A Flock Of Seagulls was relegated to one-hit-wonder status. Some of my favorite tracks came long after I Ran was released. And here they are, still killing it. This is a great throwback track...

Sure it's repetitive, but it's darn snappy.

   
• We Care! NEWSFLASH: Diabetic groom-to-be dies after taking cheaper insulin to pay for wedding — Fuck this fucking country's fucking inability to understand how our "health care" system doesn't care about anything but making insurance executives wealthy. We're literally killing ourselves rather than taking insurance out of the equation and just letting our money go towards care directly.

   
• Real Men Don't Eat the Shit! I don't have dairy in my house any more because I try to eat vegan at home and save dairy as a treat when I'm out, but this morning I had to bake a quiche, so I bought some eggs and milk on Friday (to go with the cheese I got on Thursday). While I went into the office I had a panic attack because I left my $7 carton of eggs on the front seat. Eggs seems like something that people would break into my car and steal! On the plus-side, the lady at the market opened the carton to check them all, then put a rubber band on them for safety ("They tend to hop out of the carton now that they're $7.00!")...

Fortunately... the eggs were still there when I got off work!

   
And now back to living on our globe earth, already in progress.

The videos have been good again this week... because a Very Special all new, all video Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Infinitly Watchable! Looking for your next watch? Black Doves on Netflix. Two episodes in and I didn't want it to end. If you like crazy spy thrillers, this is the one...

Ben Wishaw is genius in everything. Sarah Lancashire is good in everything. And Keira Knightley... here she is a revelation. She doesn't often get roles like this, but she should. This is contender for my favorite shows of 2024. UPDATE: I should mention that if you are playing "The Little Drummer Boy Challenge," you will lose if you watch the beginning of Episode 04.

   
• New Skeletons! Star Wars doesn't have to be just one thing. They can tell lots of kinds of stories within that universe. So if you don't like the latest series, Skeleton Crew, fine. If you can't accept that they are making "Goonies in Space," fine. If it's not "Real Star Wars" without Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker to you, fine. But for the love of God... can people stop shitting all over those who ARE enjoying it for what it is? Hate away if that's what you want, but other opinions exist. And I'm happy to see that the tide is turning on Skeleton Crew now that more and more people have seen the debut episodes and loved them. This is a darn good show and really good Star Wars to boot...

Usually I hate shows with kids because they're written to be whiny, annoying, and unwatchable. This series is different. Great characters that just happen to be kids. Worth a look if you've got Disney+!

   
• All My Love! At 99, Dick Van Dyke is in amazingly good health. Just look at this...

He's also got more marbles rattling around in his head than I do. Incredible.

   
• Woodworking! I loathe ASMR videos (but you do you, if that's your jam). This wonderful demonstration of craftsmanship is what I consider to be the ultimate destress stimulation...

And that's not the end!

Wonderful. I wish I'd happen upon several million dollars so I can retire and do stuff like this all day long.

   
• SQUEEEEEEE! Michelle Yeoh is delicious in this role. I love the movie already.

Of course, she's delicious in every role, so there's that.

   
• Smarty-Bird! Holy shit. Meanwhile, humans are eating paste, thinking the world is flat, and becoming anti-vaxers...

I, for one, welcome our new crow overlords.

   
• Business Partners! Your Sunday dose of happy...

That there are still people who think this is any less valid a love story than any other is kinda sad.

   
Until next week's bullets then...

Winter is finally here because there was a dusting of snow on the ground when I woke up this morning, but I can't be out rolling around in it... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Betty Gets Stamped! Betty White is getting her own postage stamp in 2025!

I'm happy that they used a photo of her when she was older since that's how most people would recognize her. But they could have done a set of four with Betty through the ages since her career has been so long and varied... just sayin'.

   
• Happy! I want so badly to see Piece By Piece but the price to buy it is still the in-theater price of $25... so I guess I'm waiting a minute. But, come on, doesn't this Pharrell Williams doc look incredible? Genius, really...

If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that we need more LEGO documentaries like this.

   
• On The Bayou! Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain has been re-themed into Tiana's Bayou Adventure for a while now, and at last Disneyland's has been transformed as well...

As I said when I took a look at Orlando's ride, I think this was a bit of a missed opportunity in that they should have told the story of the film Princess and the Frog, but they didn't. So that means beloved characters like Ray (not to mention one of Disney's best villains, Dr. Facilier) are missing. That's a darn shame.

   
• Bug Reports! I've lost count of the number of times that I've reported a bug to Apple that they never address. Whenever you receive an email with a meeting link and click "ACCEPT" to let the sender know that you'll be there, the message is immediately deleted. And, no, it's not because Apple Mail adds it to your calendar with the meeting link. It's because Apple Mail IS A BRAIN-DEAD PILE OF SHIT AND NOBODY AT APPLE GIVES A FUCK!

It is absolutely abhorrent how Apple never seems to care about people trying to do actual work with their stupid shit. I have been reporting this same bug for fucking years now.

   
• Cheap Danger! You should probably watch this video. It's a sign of what's going to be coming in other industries. Corporations raking in BILLIONS of dollars yet refusing to pay anything to keep workers and customers safe, because there's no repercussions. And now there will be even less, because the next administration has made it very clear that they're going to continue to put corporations over people...

This is going to cost lives. Not even a question.

   
• Justice! NEWSFLASH: American livestreamer indicted in South Korea over offensive antics. Oh noes. I sure hope that nothing happens to him while he's doing time for being one of the worst people on the face of the fucking planet. He's been terrorizing and disrespecting people, places, and important things for what seems like forever. The number of heinous things he's done is so long that I'm shocked he hasn't been banned from all of Asia. Maybe it's forthcoming.

   
And now we return to Winter, already in progress.

I've had entirely too much work to do this weekend, but I'm making sure I take a break to blog... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• It's nice to be nice sometimes. As somebody who loves baseball, I was wiping away tears when the story of Trea Turner's miraculous turnaround for the Phillies came out last year. I had no idea that they made a documentary about what happened. It's just 20 minutes long on Netflix, but even if you're not a baseball fan this is worth your valuable time to see what positive reinforcement can do to somebody...

Throwing hate at players for trying their best at a game they love doesn't help anything. More likely it just makes a player going through a rough patch do worse, and a little encouragement goes a long way. A lot longer than trying to break somebody down. If you've got Netflix, it's worth a look.

   
• Feels Right? Do It! There is no contest. The FRDi Show is hands-down my favorite podcast in existence. Especially if you can watch the YouTube videos of the show. Their channel has kinda morphed into the guys playing games and it's must-see entertainment for me. It's such good fun that I live for new episodes. I can just put it on and forget about the world for a while. They were on hiatus for a while, and it was really tough. But they're back now and all is right in the world. This is yet another banger episode...

It can't be all horrific political news all the time. The FRDi Show returning is just what I need right now.

   
• Vend Error! U-S-A-! U-S-A-! U-S-A-! U-S-A-! Once again, we're leading the world!

This just reaffirms my belief that men should be the ones making all decisions as to what a woman can do with her body. I mean, come on, just look how good we're doing with ours!

   
• It's only forever... not long at all. I've been on a huge Bowie kick lately. And I remain shook how much I continue to love his soundtrack for the Jim Henson film, Labyrinth. The songs are just so good. And on the top of that brillint heap of music is As the World Falls Down...

But the other songs aren't lacking by any means...

These could have been throwaway tracks for a silly kids movie. But Bowie elevated them so much that they ended up far better than they had a right to be...

Bowie's performance was flawless in every way... in the context of the film he is The Goblin King! And who else could have possibly played the part?

   
• Mayor Pete Stories! I have a complicated opinion of Pete Buttigieg. The guy has some past actions that are problematic. But for quite a while now he's just been such a smart, refreshing, reassuring voice of reason during these insane times in which we live, and I love him for it. I had never heard his coming out story, and it's as good as you'd imagine for him...

It shouldn't be this hard for people to be true to themselves and who they are. And every time I think it's getting better for the LGBTQ+ Community, something happens which makes you wonder if this toxic fucking society will ever just let people be.

   
• More HomeShit! Apple's smart home technology, HomeKit, is one of the absolute worst technologies I have ever used. It's glitchy as fuck. It has a shitty implementation. Things go wrong with it all the fucking time. I had a power outage not so long ago, and two of my automations stopped working. Which is typical. The only thing you can do when this happens is delete the automation and rebuild it. There's no fixing it. Then you cross your fucking fingers, because you may have to do it more than once before the shit works again. Interestingly enough, this morning I finally got a feature working that was promised with iOS/TV OS/HomePod OS version 18.1: Specifying which device you want to use as a primary hub and border router to the outside world. Despite having everything upgraded to the beta 18.1 OS, I was never allowed to choose shit. This morning there as another OS update so I installed it remotely, then I turned off the power to all devices with my remote electrical plugs for an hour, then turned them back on. And then...

And of course I selected the Living Room AppleTV. Why wouldn't I? Not only is it the newest AppleTV, BUT IT'S ALSO PLUGGED DIRECTLY INTO MY FUCKING ROUTER SO IT HAS THE FASTEST, MOST RELIABLE CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET! It drove me fucking insane that until now Apple would regularly select some HomePod mini somewhere that was slow as fuck. Apparently Apple's determination was always which device has the latest OS update, not which device is the best for the job. Typical Apple bullshit. We should have been able to select our preferred hub all along.

   
• NEWSFLASH! Rudy Giuliani is losing everything to the Georgia election workers he defamed. Oh. Oh that's too bad. Say, did y'all know that the "pronghorn" is the second-fastest land animal after the cheetah? It's kinda a goat. It's kinda an antelope. But it's actually not either. It's an entirely separate animal! And it lives right here in the USA! Wyoming is famous for them! Wyomingites are very proud of their pronghorns, as they should be!

   
And now back to your regularly-scheduled Sunday.

Oh man: Liam Payne, Former One Direction Member, Dies at 31.

This is awful.

I was never a big One Direction fan, but I did end up really liking some of their music after "discovering" them after they had long since broken up. One of my favorite songs of all time is What a Feeling, which I believe was largely written by Payne because he would sing it at his solo gigs...

And here's the original studio version of the song by One Direction I fell in love with. It's the same, but also very different at the same time...

Liam Payne was highly talented musician who probably never got the recognition he deserved as an artist because he was part of a "boy band." What a terrible loss for his son, friends, fans, and family. 31 years old is just way too young to leave this earth.

Rest in Peace, sir.

I'm too tired to write but not too tired to blog... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Smith! When people think of the late, great Dame Maggie Smith, I'm betting it's either her roles in Downton Abbey and Harry Potter that come to mind. But I didn't like anything to do with Harry Potter and wasn't a fan of Downton Abbey. For me, it's the many, many smaller roles I love her for. She had a small role in The First Wives Club that was wonderfully savage. Her smallest look and every motion was flawless...

Her talent was endless... Sister Act, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, California Suite, the original (and superior) Death on the Nile. The list goes on and on. This interview is worth your valuable time to watch...

An absolute gem. You will be sorely missed.

   
• Dame Sir Dame? I would be badly remiss if I didn't post this amazing skit of Sir Ian McKellen as Dame Maggie Smith on SNL from years ago...

Will never not be hilarious.

   
• Ashton! When it comes to character actors, John Ashton is one for the books. He popped up in unexpected places all the time. But it was the role of John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop films that cemented him in pop culture history...

Another loss for Hollywood. Rest in Peace, sir.

   
• NEWS: Walmart self-checkout mistake destroys Olympic athlete's career. Not only are stores like Walmart asking you to work for them by scanning your own groceries... they seek to imprison you if you scan them wrong or their machines fails to read the scan. Because, you know, WE'RE ALL FUCKING EXPERTS WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A GROCERY CHECKER... BEING FORCED TO DO A JOB WE WERE NEVER TRAINED FOR! — I hope she sues them for a billion dollars and wins. This kind of shit drives me insane.

   
• Mickey's Balls! Franklin Farms makes some really good vegan products, and a really good one is their "Black Bean & Plantain Balls." When I saw them in the grocery store this last week, I was surprised to see that they are now being promoted by Mickey Mouse...

Which just goes to show that Disney will slap their intellectual property on anything. Because money, I guess. I do question the benefit that Franklin Farms is going to get by this branding partnership. Do they think that kids are going to see Mickey in the refrigerator case and scream "MOM! DAD! I WANT MICKEY'S BALLS!" or something? I don't get it. But whatever. Mickey's balls are pretty tasty when served over rice...

Of course, I'm a sucker for Cuban-style meals, so my opinion is far from biased.

   
• Asano! Oh man. There's so many exceptional international actors that I love, and it always makes my heart grind that most Americans will never know their work. I'm so happy that Tadanobu Asano is getting recognized for his craft and that Americans could see him at work in Shōgun! Which he talks about in this terrific interview...

Congratulations on the Hollywood Reporter Japan’s Trailblazer Award, sir! I've been a fan for quite a while!

   
• Hold Me Now, Now! Oh boy! The Thompson Twins are releasing a 40th Anniversary Edition of Into the Gap, remixed in Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio. They released a teaser track for Hold Me Now that's really nice (though a few odd choices were made in the mix that surprised me). Super Deluxe Edition is releasing a Blu-Ray Audio with 30 bonus tracks to commemorate the occasion, and I don't think I've ever pressed an "ORDER" button so fast...

One of my favorite albums ever. Can't believe it's FORTY YEARS OLD! I don't want to think about how old that makes me.

   
And now I think I should probably turn in early. Really hope I'm not too tired to sleep.

I'm too tired to blog, but I can't seem to let it go... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Yes, Ma'am! I ADORE Dolly Parton... but I also love Post Malone. He seems so genuinely kind. Every interview I've ever seen with Posty is wonderful. And he extends Dolly the respect she's due, which scores all the points...

Doesn't hurt that he's got some truly wonderful tracks under his belt. Including this banger with Dolly herself...

Incredible that Dolly can still belt them out with the best of them.

   
• Famous! I was very sad to learn that Wally (Famous) Amos has died...

I loved his cookies and buy them often. But on top of being a cookie master, he seemed like a genuinely nice man who had some real wisdom to him. Always sad when we lose a light like Famous Amos.

   
• 私は日本人が大好きです! This gentleman is a perfect example of why I adore the Japanese people. He's very diplomatic and generous when rating the American sushi... even though it's not actual sushi...

Not joking... I could watch videos like this for hours and hours. I really need to get back to Japan for a visit one of these days. I used to go fairly often but haven't been in years and years.

   
• Money Well-Spent! Targeting marketing on Facebook is usually so bad. It's either targeting me with something I don't give a shit about and should have never been shown... or it's crap like this...

That's not Chelan County, you stupid fucks. That's King County. Chelan County is across the mountains in Redneckistan. My comment on the post...

How can I trust anything you say when you don't even know where the area is that you're targeting? I never click on this shit.

   
• HEADLINE: Californians can soon add driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet! Of course they will! And where's tech-backwards Washington State? Killing bills which would give us digital licenses!

Thanks again to Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray for continuing to prove that they need to be voted out of office for not taking us into the future... but tying our necks to boat anchors in the past! I am fucking livid that Washington State politicians are so fucking worthless.

   
• HEADLINE: Brian Cox Says Cinema Is In “a Very Bad Way”, Cites Marvel, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’: “It’s Become Party Time.” Today's "Old Man Yells at Cloud" moment... courtesy of Brian Cox. These short-sighted morons always fucking blowing it out their ass over something they don't understand. WITHOUT MARVEL, WHERE WOULD CINEMA EVEN BE? Marvel movies are keeping theaters open so that the art films he's pining for have a cinema to actually play in! Without Marvel Studios, a lot more theaters would likely have closed a lot earlier because cinema has been dying for years now that people can get a "good enough" experience at home. AND THEN... Cox played Stryker in one of those truly awful X-Men flicks, so... yeah... YOU'RE PART OF YOU'RE OWN PROBLEM, MY DUDE!

   
• Miss Jackson, if You're Disgusting! I don't wish anybody ill will. I honestly don't. Even a complete ass like Victoria Jackson deserves compassion. I am truly sorry that her cancer has returned. And I would never tell anybody how they should deal with such news. THAT BEING SAID... it is horrific that she choses to mock the multitudes of people who died after getting COVID. She can be a dumbass COVID denier all she wants. But I am all too familiar with the many work colleagues in Italy who were desperate to save lives as the hospitals maxed out and people had to be turned away... essentially waiting to die because overworked doctors and nurses couldn't keep up. Those early days were horrifying. And it didn't get any better as people started dying in vast numbers around the world as the pandemic took hold. So fuck you, Victoria Jackson. You must have a truly evil heart to make a punchline out of such tragedy...

I wish you well with your cancer battle, but that's all I have for you. There's nothing else I'm willing to give. If there's anything left in you that gives a shit for others, I hope you'll use your remaining time on this earth reflecting on just how awful you are and try to do better.

   
• Parts! I've watched RuPaul's Drag Race since... Season 03 I think? (but I've seen all episodes, of course). This morning I've been watching Trixie Mattel's documentary Moving Parts and was shocked to see that the queens in the Drag Race finale don't know who actually wins until the finale airs. Which means that they film multiple endings with each queen "winning" and then they edit the show to reflect who actually won. Mind. Blown.

This documentary is actually a tough watch. It was meant to document Trixie before and after Drag Race All Stars (which she won)... but ultimately a big chunk of it was the fallout of Katya's substance abuse. I was amazed that they would share some of the awful things that Katya said... but it turns out that Katya wanted it in the documentary. Because she's incredible like that. So grateful that she and Trixie made up and went on to do so many great things together. A comedy duo unlike any other that has made my life better just by existing. Highest possible recommendation for Moving Parts. Just $3 to rent.

   
Blergh. I need a blogcation.

I'm buried in work today, but fear you not... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Overrated Olympians! Michael Phelps the greatest Olypian of all time? Eh. Here's something to keep in mind as you're watching the Olympic Games...

He's not wrong.

   
• Whoa! I have wondered for years and years why Hallmark never made a movie from a man's point of view. I understand their audience is mostly women, but you'd think that they would love seeing things from the opposite viewpoint! They kinda got onboard with Three Wise Men and a Baby, which must have been a success. Because Hallmark decided to not recycle the same stuff for the millionth time and give us a trio of films that switch things up...

I don't get Hallmark Channel any more, but I will be finding a wy to buy it to watch these films because this looks really good, by Hallmark standards... maybe by any standards! Nice!

   
• ARTICLE: I have aphantasia: my mind's eye is permanently closed! Every time I read a new article about somebody finding out they have aphantasia, I have a flashback because I went through the exact same thing. It was in my mid-30's. I was hanging out with some fellow graphics people after a job in Seattle. Somebody was describing what they wanted to do for the next project and said "I'm having a tough time picturing it though." Then somebody else piped up and said "I have aphantasia... so I can't picture anything!" And I sat there like "What's aphantasia?" And was then told that most people when they close their eyes can LITERALLY visualize stuff when they concentrate on picturing it. I, on the other hand, only see blackness. When I am "picturing" something in my head, I'm not actually seeing anything... I'm just describing to myself what I know the things look like. And, yes, it is very bizarre to me how it works for others. Because it would be so cool to picture stuff literally instead of figuratively when I close my eyes to see something. I would love to close my eyes and be able to look at Von Gogh's Starry Night... but instead I see nothing but black and I have to describe it to myself based on what I remember.

   
• Olypian! I've already mentioned how I'm not an Olympics guy... I absolutely love stories like this...

If you don't care about coming in last... have money to burn to chase qualifying competitions around the world... and your only goal is to be an Olympian? There you go! This is so great.

   
• Tabasco Hot! I've been re-watching all the James Bond movies for the hundredth and noticed something odd...

I wonder who it is involved with James Bond who loves Tabasco? Nick Nack brings it to Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun and Stromberg has it on the table in The Spy Who Loved Me. It's kinda cool that Bond villains love Tabasco so much, they have it flown in to wherever they are!

   
• Country-fied! I've never been a Country music fan and, when I listen to it, it's usually the classic stuff. But ever since Kacey Musgraves's album Golden Hour was my second-favorite album of 2018, and Sam Hunts album Southside made my list in 2020, I've been listening to the Contemporary Country more and more. So much so that YouTube has started suggesting Country artists thanks to my playlists on YouTube Music. This morning I got recommended the song Laid Back by Chris Housman, an artist I never heard of before. Turns out he a part of the ever-expanding Gay Country genre that has been cranking out some amazing music...

It's such a good song. Nice that we're getting such a diverse pool of artists across all genres of music. Gatekeeping is so last week.

   
• Fuck. This. Shit. Cut out the fucking middle man. Medicare for All. Do you know how much health care could be had for 70 FUCKING BILLION DOLLARS... which doesn't even count the operating costs of these shitty fucking insurance companies, which are not designed to provide good care... but to maximize profits. And look how successful they are at that...

Health care in this country is so fucking broken and will remain broken so long as insurance companies are allowed to own our politicians.

   
And now I gotta get back to work. I have fucking medical bills to pay for.