Extra Evil - Pedal vs. Metal

Newsreel

The Post called for Some Kings.

The truce—nevermind.

Republican group chats match party policy.

Tariff strategy may shift to literally anything else.

Samuel Roberts looks happy to legislate.

Hyundai shrugged.

You Need This

The firebending's back on.

Spotify | Apple | Home Site

A Photo

War Journal

I have a kitschy love for protest chants. They're seldom good, but they have a kitschy, Toxic Avenger charm. Maybe functional states, like B-movies, are labors of eccentric love.

Minor Hades 2 gameplay spoilers follow.

The privilege of nerd reflexes? You can make more choices for fun, and fun alone.

In Hades 2, the torch is undefeatable. The skull is God's right hand. The daggers are lightspeed. All important edges in a game where the difficulty sits between juggling and doing your own fillings.

I rarely put down the big, dumb, amazing axe.

There are easier ways to fly. And when a death leaves me sufficiently salty, I dribble the skull of winning into the basket. But that axe (especially the scythe form) just gets me.

A friend of mine's a Kamen Rider aficionado, and I might make one of the older shows my Thanksgiving TV sprint. I think every bit of culture you map out does nice things for your brain. And I like costumes, and kicking. Why haven't I watched Kamen Rider on my own?

Did you see The Fall Guy? Did you like The Fall Guy? It's a nice "because it's on" film. Which means less when six of us still watch TV. I'm thinking about a joke from The Fall Guy.

See, the titular stuntman faces some peril, from a spoiler. Said spoiler is more than a little vain, and more than a little dumb. And has the stuntman dead to rights. Followed by this exchange. To paraphrase:

Vanity: [Something dumb.]

Stuntman (incredulous): Your brain runs on glucose. For simple cognitive functions.

Vanity: [Something dumber.]

Stuntman: You need carbs.

What's this have to do with anything? I'd planned on cutting until November for the manfluencer parody. But on Friday, my IQ dipped to executive branch levels. Which would be ideal for scripting, but I need to shoot the stupid thing.

While I'm pushing the project back a bit, I can spell again. That's pretty cool.

An odd line among lazier fans of words: "I'm more of an editor." Editorial is a complete, equally difficult trade. If reading and writing kick your ass, the next step isn't management. You don't hear "my fastball sucks, but I'd make a great moneyball quant."

Well, maybe you do hear that. I'm not in baseball circles. What do stadium washouts say?

Anyway, despite my stubborn/cantankerous/antisocial/genius instincts, I respect a good editor. I'll hide from them like I'm the emperor's finest shinobi, but the way I'd hide from a large samurai with a well-worn spear.

A Screenshot

The Present

• My interviews have a lot of fodder. [How to Dodge a Cannonball]
• A teamup! Eli and I have fun. [McSweeney's Internet Tendency]
• An extended look at one madman. [1900HOTDOG]
• I wonder if I'll have another birthday next year. [Exclusive Evil]
• My interviews have even more fodder. [My Previous Book]

The Past

My other turn at McSweeneys Internet Tendency.

The Future

I'm finishing a short, a teaching event, and a collab before I get back to the shortform video nonsense. It turns out that your career comes before promoting your career. Life's odd like that.

Playing catch-up on a column topic that fell into my lap from space. Stuff works out sometimes.

Dead Sun Theory

Working on a request for next week.

A midterm goal: I want to get some kind of browseable grown-up archive up for the old ads. And maybe some kind of dedicated social nonsense. I'm mostly typing it here so that social pressure makes me do it before the suns fades.

Not Brought to You By

The cover rule's just for books, right? Let's be shallow.

Film posters aren't purely ads—no one will fault you for going full art school, or for an inside joke. But I think they'll make a fun series for this section. I get to play outsider. Starting with, per blowhard tradition, a film I haven't seen yet.

Because of this poster, I'll try it within 48 hours. It might even suck! I look forward to learning my fate.

Why I'm into it: we've got this comedy's tone and premise in a heartbeat, with barely any crowding. Maybe I've been poisoned by a season of subway ads, but that's refreshing.

Besides, I haven't hit a sports comedy since Battlefield Baseball. Earth always needs more Battlefield Baseball.

Creativity: B+ | Persuasion: A | Sanity: B+

Recall: the "A" in sanity requires an actively constructive agenda.

One Sentence Reviews

I Want to Die, But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: More flavor than the sequel. (3/5)

Giobia - X-AEON: In defense of drugs, the music's fun. (3.5/5)

Graveripper - FROM WELKIN TO TUNDRA: They're called Graveripper, you already know if you like this. (3.5/5)

Two Bears, One Cave: I don't know what I expected. (1/5)

Coroner - Dissonance Theory: You can get really far with me off attitude and guitar tone. (3.5/5)

The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Melts after a strong start. (2.5/5)

A Question

Signing off

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