After a week filled with nonsensical drama (including kidney stones, really?!?) I'm ready to put it all behind me, but I've got one thing left to do... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Kelly Green! Honestly don't know why absolutely everybody isn't watching the Kelce Bros. on their New Heights podcast. Only Jason is retired now, but they both have a future after they're done with football (well, other than Travis being Mr. Taylor Swift). They're just so incredibly funny and entertaining...
Their football stories are great even if you're not a football fan...
I mean, come on! How can you not love that? Their latest episode has them interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger?!? And the fact that the boys don't feel the need to constantly interrupt him while he's talking just goes to show... not only were they raised right, they are better and interviewing celebs than most of the people being paid to do it. Worth a look on Youtube.
• New Midnight! I swear, Fly By Midnight is incapable of making music I don't like...
The stock animation video is disappointing, but I would much rather them work on new songs than make videos, so it's all good.
• Mappa Mundi! As I have mentioned many, many times... I love maps. This short video about "The Greatest Map of the Medieval World" is a gem...
I could spend the rest of my life reading about and looking at maps and never get bored. Especially early maps, where they are about imagination almost as much as they are about seeing the world.
• My Queen! I do not, in any capacity, understand the hate towards drag queens. Except I do. They are one of the newer in a long series of unjustified targets giving conservatives something to enrage their base with. Drag queens are just entertainers. That's it. They dress up and they entertain. And that used to be okay. TV shows and movies and books featured men dressing up as women on the regular. Guys like Flip Wilson built an entire career around it. But now? Despite vast evidence to the contrary, the Christian Right is painting them as a danger towards children... EVEN THOUGH THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! Want to protect kids? Keep them the fuck away from one of the biggest verifiable threats: Christian religious leaders. But anyway... I am a huge fan of this art form. I've been to a couple drag shows and have seen every episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. But my favorite, favorite drag-related thing is Trixie Mattel's YouTube channel. Trixie is brutally and hilariously up-front about her life (as is the artist who becomes her, Brian Firkus). And make no mistake, this is an artist. Just look at what it takes for Trixie to perform...
• Heart Stopped! And just because one cannot have enough Trixie Mattel, here she is with her Netflix Watch show featuring Katya, and the show being watched is Heartstopper Season 02. While not exactly safe for work, this is a lot of hilarity to be had. Seriously, this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long while...
It feels like it should take Teams of comedy writers to churn out this much material. I cannot wait for Trixie Motel Season 2: Drag Me Home to get here. Drag queens and home renovation in one show? Sign me up. The first season was a lot of fun to watch.
• Storytime! After watching the above video, I got some recommendations of videos that other Heartstopper actors have been in. Including this magical video of Nima Taleghani (who plays Mr. Farouk) reading from The Smuggled Person's Tale...
I would listen to him read just about anything. But, more importantly, I would watch him read just about anything. He looks like he's excitedly anticipating every word. And then is thrilled to say it. And then he emotes every thought so beautifully. The guy loves to read and it shows. And isn't that the way that you would want books to be read to you? I went rushing to his IMDB to see what other things he's been in... and was disappointed to find out that it's just a smattering of smaller roles, and Heartstopper is the only substantial role he seems to have been given. How? Why isn't he being cast in absolutely everything?
• Cowboys! Willie Nelson is 90 years old. Ninety. If he can participate in a collab like this? Yeah, do not hand me any bullshit about old bigots getting a homophobia pass because they're from "a different time"...
Orville Peck, on top of being a friend of Trixie Mattel (see above), has a great voice, is talented, and seems like a very nice person whenever I see him in interviews. But he's gay, so of course the bigots say he can't possibly be a real country musician (the same people going off on Beyoncé right now, I'd imagine).
And that's a wrap on all this bullet nonsense.
I am banging this entry out early because I have a house to clean, but better early than ever... because an all new Very Special YouTube Edition of Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Strangers! The meat of this excellent video story is about 10 minutes long. It is absolutely worth your valuable time to watch. Especially if you want to know what this experiment we call "life" is all about...
I've seen feature-length movies that didn't work this hard. Brilliant.
• Crash! Remember when police officers stood on the driver's side to talk to you when you get pulled over? Thank heavens they changed procedure and switched to the passenger side, or this officer would have certainly been killed...
Wild. It's just wild to watch it happen. Even more wild that nobody as hurt. And you have to wonder what happened. Was somebody looking at their phone or what?
• We Are the World! It's interesting how USA for Africa came together. I mean, not shocking because it's pretty much what you'd expect, but it's exciting to watch as the dominoes started to fall and people were getting involved. If you have Netflix, this documentary is gold. Especially if you like music...
I actually think there was likely enough material to make a second part, because the stories behind having so many legends in a single room are undoubtedly endless.
• Power! On Friday I mentioned the Marques Brownlee Waveform Podcast where they were talking about the Apple Vision Pro, and they mentioned a relaxing "game" called Powerwash Simulator. I played this at a friend's house, but don't actually own it, so I had no idea what all it contains. Basically, you select a dirt object in the game, then power wash it until it's clean. That's it. When you wash all the dirt and grime off the object you selected, you finish the job and "win." It turns out that one of the things you can wash is the Perseverance Mars Rover! I've fast-forwarded to that part of this review (5:45 minutes)...
And look! The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is there too! How cool is that? If I had a Vision Pro and Powerwash Simulator was available, I'd buy it just for this.
• Attendant! I learned very early on when I was flying constantly about how being a flight attendant works. There are all kinds of excuses as to why their pay doesn’t start until the cabin door closes, usually having to do with making sure that their maximum legal hours worked doesn’t expire in mid-flight after a delay. But it’s all bullshit. I 1000% support flight attendants earning a living wage for the work they do, and excuses are just excuses. Airlines can find a way to pay these hard-working people fairly for the work they do...
• HOT! Hot Ones is a surprisingly deep interview that runs at a brisk pace while buying into an absurd concept of eating hot sauce. And regardless of how you feel about John Oliver and his politics, he has some really funny moments... and some surprisingly astute observations... that aren't straying into political territory...
It just goes to show that John Oliver has some very smart takes the go beyond politics.
• Tay Tay Today! The bat-shit insane conspiracy theories that Fox "News" is drumming up over Taylor Swift don't concern me. It's the fact that some of their viewers actually buy into the conspiracy theories. They don't even make any fucking sense. Like if Taylor Swift says anything AT ALL that's political, she's an evil Biden puppet. But all the "musicians" who show up on Fox "News" to talk Conservative politics are real patriots? Jesus Christ. Taylor Swift hasn't said shit. But apparently Conservatives are shitting their pants over the idea that she could, and so they want to jump in front of it. Anyway... Seth Meyers has a look down the rabbit hole of Taylor's existence, and it's worth a closer look...
Anymore doesn't our reality seem like a fucking bad movie?
At the beginning of each year I don't make resolutions. Instead I make a list of dreams for the next 365 (366 in 2024) days. I'm not talking about pie-in-the-sky dreams of unrealistic fantasy that are unachievable, but dreams which can actually happen. High on that list is that Taylor Swift continue to trigger people in all the best ways. Because apparently this is something that is badly needed. And you know what? January just ended and I'm just going to check that one off my list. Whether she's just existing... or watching her boyfriend play football... or she's being accused of being a demon in league with satan... she triggers more ridiculous people on a daily basis than I could ever hope for. And I love you for that, Taylor!
Now I need to get back to cleaning my wreck of a house. See you next Sunday with more bullets.
Last Monday I ran across an Instagram video from The Kangaroo Sanctuary with an adorable baby roo hopping into a makeshift "pouch." Since then the algorithm has determined that my feed should be flooded by all kinds of baby animals. And a lot of those are other videos from The Kangaroo Sanctuary.
Like this one of last week's little girl, Pippa, learning how to hop...
And this one of baby kangaroos at feeding time...
I really wish I had known about this sanctuary when I was at Uluru. Though I did visit a Koala sancturary in Brisbane where they had all kinds of animals. Including kangaroos...
Feeding a kangaroo. They're amazingly polite about it.
A momma kangaroo with a joey in the pocket!
Joey on the lookout.
I CAN HAZ CRUNCHY FOOD PELLETS? NOM! NOM! NOM!
And that's enough kangaroos for the morning since I need to head into the office. Another exciting day at work awaits!
Odds of a White Christmas are diminishing, but that's okay... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Scale! Unsure about your place in the universe? No worries! Turns out that you're actually the center of everything!
It's amazing how good Kurzgesagt videos are. When I see that they have something new out, I drop everything and watch it. They never disappoint. Case in point? If you have tattoos... or even if you don't... this is 1000% worth a watch...
I don't know why, but seeing this video just wants me to go get a new tattoo.
• Mapped! XKCD is usually good for a laugh, but this one made my brain do a flip-flop first...
The genius is that, at first glance, you don't see anything wrong. And, because I like you, I named the extra states...
I don't know about you, but we totally should have a state named "Steve."
• NEWSFLASH: Stanley Tucci Going Back to Italy After Nat Geo Signs Up Former CNN Host! Stanley Tucci is a national treasure. Mostly for his movie roles (including my all-time favorites in Undercover Blues and The Devil Wears Prada). But also for his dedication to food, thanks to his amazing series called Searching for Italy. I love the show... right up until CNN stupidly canceled it a year ago. Fortunately NatGeo knows a good thing when they see it, and will pick it up again. Now titling it The Heart of Italy. And I cannot wait.
• FAKE! In Tokyo there's a famous area called Kappabashi Dougu Street (AKA "Kitcen Town"). It's filled with restaurant supply vendors. Kitchen equipment, dishware, decoration... it's all there. But the best thing you can buy there is fake food. Unlike in this country, most restaurants have windows filled with fake food representations of the dishes you can buy inside, and a lot of time there are prices next to each one so you also know what it's going to cost you. It's a fascinating part of Japanese culture, and now there's a video showing how this amazing fake food it crafted...
Mesmerizing. I've been to Kappabashi-dori a few times to look at all the replicas, but I don't recall ever seeing the stuff actually made.
• JOKE-SWAP 2024! How do they get away with this...
Easily the best thing to come out of Weekend Update, it almost makes you wish this was a weekly feature.
• Queen Flight! I've mentioned several times how much I love film. I've also mentioned how I'm a massive fan of film analysis. My favorite person doing analysis being Thomas Flight. One of his most famous videos is a critique of "Best Editing Oscar Winner" Bohemian Rhapsody by John Ottman. If you are not one of the 2.9 million people who saw the video, it's worth a look...
As a massive Queen fan, I ran to the theater so I could see Bohemian Rhapsody on the big screen. And, yes, this crap scene took me right out of the movie because I got whiplash trying to follow it. How could it not? To me it was just as bad as hearing a fucking "Wilhelm Scream" and being jerked out of the story. But anyway... what I didn't know is that John Ottman responded to the criticism, and Thomas made a video about that...
Ultimately I loved the movie. It's hard not to if you're a Freddie Mercury and Queen fan. But that doesn't make it above criticism. That shouldn't make it above criticism. Especially when we're talking about the editing, which wasn't that great, regardless of circumstance and the chaos of the film's production.
• True Lauv! Facebook Memories are a mixed bag. Sometimes it's painful memories of times I'd just as soon not revisit, but often times there's something nice awaiting me. Like a happy event, funny video, or cool song. Like this music video from last year. Lauv really knows how to craft a hook...
Most of the time, however? My Facebook memories are crowded with posts about all the travel that used to occupy my time.
Only one more Bullet Sunday until Christmas! Hope your shopping is finished.
I watch a lot of videos. If I'm awake and working, odds are I am watching (but mostly listening to) YouTube videos. And the subjects I have running in those videos are crazy eclectic because I enjoy loads of different subjects. But ultimately the videos I tend to watch more than others are those that can teach me something. AKA educational videos.
More specifically, math and science videos.
I have watched hundreds upon hundreds of such videos. So when I tell you that I have now found my favorite science video that I've yet seen, I am not speaking from lack of data.
It's an absolutely brilliant video about "element hunting" and "the man who tried to fake an element." Not only is is just wildly entertaining (both in the way it is told and the way it is graphically represented), but it is mind-bogglingly fascinating. On top of that, it miraculously is fairly easy to follow for non-scientists despite tackling a rather complex chain of events.
And it's a year old!
I'm posting it here. It's well worth your time. And you're welcome...
Now, isn't that just fantastic?
As I type this, I'm in the process of watching it a second time immediately after having finished watching it the first time.
What's so utterly bizarre is that YouTube shows me that I've seen two of BobbyBroccoli's previous videos. I remember watching both of them, liked them, and have no earthly idea why I didn't subscribe immediately after watching. It's only thanks to the YouTube algorithm that I happened upon his channel again. Which only goes to show... the algorithm isn't always bad.
At least this time I had the sense to subscribe.
UPDATE: Yeah... I may not get any sleep tonight. This guy makes exceptional videos. Like these, which breaks open a huge scandal in a beautifully visual way...
Yikes. I mean... this is the very definition of a train wreck that you can't look away from.
Today's extra has naughty music videos. If you're sensitive to explicit sexual content (in a bad way) then please, for God's sake, don't press play on them.
Maybe it's the anarchist in me, but I relish the disruptive subversion of type. Really I do. And in all of its forms. Political disruptive subversion is my favorite, because I just love it when that rare politician decides to fuck over the establishment to actually live up to the ideal of a government of the people, by the people, for the people. When they're telling lobbyists and corporate political owners to fuck off, I'm... dare I say it... gleeful. And how could I not be? That's America right there.
Disruptive subversion is fantastic when it comes to art. Some of the best art comes out of playing against types and norms of the day. It's wonderful when it comes to food. This is how vegetarians like me end up with so many terrific culinary options rather than just having to stick with a salad. Cinematic disruption has lead to groundbreaking trends that keep us from being stuck in thematic ruts. The list goes on and on.
But this post is going to be about disruptive subversion when it comes to music.
I'm a huge, huge fan.
It's how I got into punk. It's what drove me to appreciate metal. It's how I ended up a fan of old-school rap. Using music to throw a middle finger to establishment is a time-honored tradition. Not just in the USA, but in countries around the globe. If there's a protest against something, you can bet that somebody somewhere has used music to lash out.
Which brings us to Dixon Dallas.
Last night I was scrolling through TikTok while waiting for an important email response to come through. Then proceeded to fall down a rabbit hole of epic proportions because of a song called Good Lookin' by the afore-mentioned Dixon Dallas.
Now, there's a lot to unpack here.
First of all, I have listened to music of all genres where there's been explicit sexual content. There are rap artists built on the concept. But this is the first time I've ever heard explicitly gay sexual content.
My first reaction was to laugh. It was such a shock as to feel like parody. Except... Dixon Dallas seems like he's playing it straight. So to speak. He wasn't making fun of the idea of gay sex, he was singing about explicit sex that just happened to be with a man.
Which took me back two years ago to this sexually explicit country song by Trey Lewis, which is arguably far more raunchy than Dixon Dallas. But it doesn't get the same harsh reaction because it's not gay...
Country music is being pushed into territory that's far beyond the boundaries it started with. Country used to be regional, then it went global. Country used to be all-white, then we got loads of non-white country artists. Country used to be straight, then along comes k.d. Lang, T.J. Osbourne, Brandi Carlile, Lil Gas X, Orville Peck, and many more... and then it isn't.
It should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that there are calls to cancel Dixon Dallas. But you might be surprised to find that some of the calls for cancelation are coming from the gay community.
Buckle up, because here's where it starts getting strange.
Because Dixon Dallas is not Dixon Dallas. Dixon Dallas is a character played by musician Jake Hill.
Jake Hill crosses all genres, having released songs in rap, rock, metal, punk, pop, and now country. Many times these songs are focused on queer love and gay sex. And that's where the questions start. Is he a straight guy queerbaiting the gay community? Is he a straight guy making fun of the gay community? Is he gay? Bisexual? Well, according to this interview I found with his Dixon Dallas alter-ego, he says that it doesn't matter what he is, that his music speaks for itself, and he's not commenting on his sexuality right now (though apparently he was linked to a girlfriend at some point)...
He says "My music is kinda a big fuck you to my past," which is the Conservative South he grew up in. And that's why he does it. He's being a disruptive subversion to country music which, as I've made clear, is something I value highly. So good on him.
And his songs, as gay and explicit as they may be, are damn catchy...
People are going to feel about Dixon Dallas however they're going to feel. From what I can tell, his motives seem genuine (and he's genuinely talented), regardless of what his sexuality might be and who he really is. But if you want to feel that he should be canceled because he's too gay, too filthy, too explicit, or too offensive to country music... you do you, I guess.
As for me?
Keep being a good kind of disruptor, Mr. Dallas.
It's the day before I get so buried in work that I won't have time to blog, but you're in good hands today... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Omens! I finally got around to watching Good Omens 2 and liked it well enough... though it's a bit of a letdown after the incredible first season. It could very well be that the first season was so amazing that there was nowhere to go but down. But still... it didn't seem to hang together as beautifully as the original story. If you want to save yourself some time, here's a wrap-up of every episode of the series...
I may have laughed a little too hard at that.
• Asteroid Flight! I am convinced that one of the most important voices in film is Thomas Flight. I've brought up his YouTube Channel before, but with each new video I appreciate his takes on movies even more. On Friday I finally got around to watching Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. I didn't want spoilers, so I've been sitting on Flight's deep-dive into the film until I watched it. And last night was the night. It's as good as I knew it would be...
Having somebody explain why you loved a film as much as you did is a bizarre experience. I loved Asteroid City. I thought I knew what it was trying to say as a film. But it turned out I was only scratching the surface. Flight's attempt to put into words what he thinks Anderson was saying and what the film meant to him just makes me want to watch Asteroid City all over again.
• Pinball Wizard! I gotta say... I passed on this movie because it didn't look that interesting to me. But then I heard enough people saying that it was good that I ended up tuning it to Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game...
And it is, in fact, pretty darn good. In surprising and unexpected ways. Streaming on Hulu.
• Make Mine Duncan! Fine people of the world, may I present Hajime Miura doing incredible things with a yoyo...
It's almost like he's defying physics or something.
• Mac Tonight! Big Tugg took an interesting look at McDonalds that was entertaining and informative...
I was surprised that Tucker didn't mention Mac Tonight, a moon-headed mascot from the 80's that I remembered being freaky and perplexing. I also remember a lawsuit. So I did a YouTube search to see what's going on there...
You can't make this stuff up. White supremacy? Animatronics? DOUG frickin' JONES?!? Real Life is SO weird.
• Heartless! Good Lord. They hired a great cast. Had an interesting concept. Staged some terrific action sequences. Went to some fantastic locations. THEN MIRED EVERYTHING IN THE MOST BY-THE-NUMBERS SPY STORY IMAGINABLE. Who in the hell is calling the shots at Netflix that Heart of Stone ever got made?
Is it too much to ask to get something that's not an inferior wannabe expensive Mission Impossible clone? And the absurdly silly AI computer's constant recalculation of the mission's chance of success is just fucking stupid and unneeded. Does the AI computer have God-vision to be able to calculate infinite variables of unfolding events like this? Why does every movie have to drop in some kind of AI computerized crutch to up the tension instead of just WRITING SOMETHING WITH ACTUAL TENSION? Having C-3PO, oops... I mean "The Heart"... saying "YOUR MISSION ONLY HAS A 35% CHANCE OF SUCCESS" means NOTHING and does nothing... especially if Gal Gadot is going to ignore it. "DON'T TELL ME THE ODDS, 3PO!" Everybody involved in this film deserves better than this stupid shit. Thank you Netflix for spending a ton of money on this crap while increasing our rates. Jesus.
• Irony Can Be So Ironic Sometimes! THIS JUST IN FROM THE "IRONY IS NOT DEAD" DEPARTMENT... Zachary Levi Criticizes Hollywood for Making Too Much “Garbage”.
And, on that happy note, I'm off next week for Hell Week. See you on the 28th!
It's another scorcher out there today, but never you fear about my melting... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Strange Decks! There is now no question what-so-ever that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is my favorite Trek. It has eclipsed The Original Series, as I knew it would. And this latest episode (dropping early in honor of ComicCon!)... which is a mind-blowing crossover with the comedic ANIMATED show, Star Trek: Lower Decks... is beyond genius. They brought voice actors Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid into Real Life and the transition is seamless. They are very much the same characters, just no longer animated...
Now, they could have easily did this as a throw-away episode. Or dismissed it as a dream. Or any number of things which would have kneecapped it into irrelevance. But it was well-thought-out and completely serious while honoring the tone and characters of their respective shows. It's borderline thrilling how Strange New Worlds keeps one-upping themselves episode after episode. AND THAT ENDING! Brilliant Trek. Brilliant television.
• American Heartland! In a shocking announcement, a new $2 BILLION theme park is being built in Tulsa. Called "American Heartland" this seems like a carbon copy of "Disney's America," a theme park outside of Washington, D.C. that was never built which is based around Americana...
Now, I think this is a cool idea. Definitely. But Oklahoma?!? And not Southern Oklahoma which is close to Texas and might have a longer operating season... Northeast Oklahoma, which likely has fairly mild winters, but not California/Florida mild. And it seems primed for failure given that the biggest city (Oklahoma City, 2-1/2 hours away) has under 700,000 people. The nearest actual major city is Dallas or St. Louis, but they're a five hour drive. Which begs the question... why not just put it near Dallas or St. Louis? They at least have a big population and a major airport there! But still... they are promoting a laundry list of experienced Disney/Universal attraction designers, so there's that. I'd like to see it, of course. But it seems as though this is going to go the way of "Disney's America" and won't be built.
• Seek Discomfort! one of my long-time favorite YouTube channels is Yes Theory which is a group of people doing extraordinary things via travel and adventure by stepping out of their comfort zone. It's a channel I binge for a while, then leave for a while, because while it's beautiful to behold... it's also emotionally overwhelming. We're so inundated with reasons to feel cynical that watching the opposite of that for too long can be tough. And a couple of their latest videos are pretty darn special...
If you're a longtime fan of the channel, that surprise guest in France was almost too much to take.
How amazing is that?
• 'MURICA AI! This Buzzfeed article is nuts: I Asked AI What Europeans Think Americans From Every Single State Look Like, And The Results Are Just Plain Mean. Mean? Maybe. But some of them are scary accurate. Go ahead and click through. I dare you.
• Rescued! Miracles happen. What an incredible story...
Is it wrong that the entire time watching the video I'm screaming "BUT HOW IS THE DOG DOING?!?
• Ketchup> Hallmark Channel's "June Weddings" event is over... but I went back to watch the first half hour of The Wedding Contract because I wasn't paying much attention until the end when I watched it last month. What's REALLY NICE is that Hallmark is putting a little diversity over the same old story... they had an Indian wedding, and this is a Jewish wedding (seriously... she's baking a challah for Shabbat dinner!). But the best part is how it takes place in Chicago... but not really. It's shot in Vancouver. BUT IT'S TOTALLY CHICAGO BECAUSE SHE'S SITTING ON A PARK BENCH WITH A SLICE OF DEEP DISH PIZZA NEXT TO HER! BWAH HA HA HAAA! But wait, there's more! They get a coffee at cart called Chicago's Finest Hot Dogs and... what's that on the cart there?
THERE'S A BOTTLE OF KETCHUP ON THE CART! BWAH HA HA HA HAAAAAAA! HA HA HAAAAAA!!! Clearly the set decorator has never been to Chicago. That ketchup would be hidden and provided (RELUCTANTLY) by request only. Ketchup on a hot dog in Chicago... BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA =gasp= HA HAAAA!!! People have died for less!
• POD PEOPLE! I really, really want to see this...
Looks interesting. Looks different. Has great lead actors. Why not?
Hope you're having a cooler Sunday than I am!
One of the reasons that I am a YouTube Premium subscriber is that I watch a metric shit-ton of YouTube videos. So much YouTube that I would insane if I had to watch their idiotic commercials.
The vast majority of the YouTube videos I watch fall into three categories...
Woodworking is a bottomless pit. There are so many great content creators in this field. My newest favorite is Michael Alm and Alm Fab...
It's like... if I had millions of dollars, I'd just build a woodshop and do stuff like that all day every day. And then there's this magic out of wood...
Then there's behind the scenes stuff like this...
And this deep, deep dive into Zack Snyder's crap movies is pretty amazing. And, for what it's worth, it actually gives me a larger appreciation for the guy (even though I still think most of his movies are awful)...
And, of course Taylor Swift is back. Her first video from the new Midnights album is brilliant. Unfortunately, there are people trashing her for her struggles with an eating disorder. Despite speaking about it multiple times, people believe what they want to believe instead of even attempting to understand. In the video she had a clip of her looking at a scale which says "FAT" and people lost their minds, calling her "fatphobic," when she's actually trying to show what she feels when she looks at a scale thanks to our toxic society. And it's this toxicity of people feeling that they must be thin in order to be accepted THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT. It's the opposite of fatphobic. But oh well, she took the clip out of the video because she doesn't want her art misinterpreted by people who are looking to tear her down instead of try to understand how she (and a lot of other people) are made to feel...
And then there's frickin' DITA VON TEASE!!!...
Brilliant. And now I have another hundred videos to watch.
Here are the YouTube creators I can't live without... meaning that I watch every single last one of their videos... PART TWO!
(in no particular order)
Marques Brownlee
Nobody... and I mean nobody... looks at tech the way that Marques does. Not only is his approachable, relatable, smart takes on tech essential viewing for me... the guy is so good that I wish he would produce more videos on non-tech issues as well.
Phillipp Dettmer (with Team Kurzgesagt)
I've raved about Kurzgesagt many, many, many times. A deep dive into very cool subjects.
CGP Grey
Probably one of the most entertaining people on planet earth, Grey tackles all kinds of subjects to excessive degrees and I love every precious minute of it.
Thomas Flight
Thomas loves film. And his deep dives into film discussion is the stuff of cinephile dreams.
Julian Baumgartner
Julian restores art, and his videos are like soup for my soul. Relaxing, informative, entertaining... and always fascinating... you don't have to even like art to appreciate these soothing videos.
Tyler Stalman
There are a lot of photographers on YouTube. Tyler is my favorite. He's very talented, mostly Apple-based, and has a unique approach to talking to photographers about the tools we use.
Arun Maini
Arun has a plethora of tech videos with an interesting look at the tech I love. But he also has cool videos about extreme tech, weird tech, and unbelievable tech that are entertaining as all get out.
Johnny Harris
One of the most fascinating travel bloggers around, Johnny has been around for a while (I first became a fan when he was doing Borders at Vox). He always has a unique take on cool stuff I love... travel... maps... international news.
Nathaniel Drew
If you crave adventure and travel from a more intimate perspective, Nathaniel makes videos just for you. But he also makes videos about what it means to be fundamentally human, and those are worth watching too.
Derek Muller
Derek's videos run the gamut. Some of them are just interesting looks at information or concepts that make life fascinating. Others are technically complex subjects broken down into (mostly) understandable chunks. Then others are just... science weirdness.
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