Extra Evil

Extra Evil - Justice.01

Be Evil.

Omens

The president played hide-and-seek.

The Atlantic declared primaries cheating.

Colombia shook.

The GOP defended traditional family violence.

Data Centers polled behind self-immolation.

Infantino polled behind data centers.

Mirage

Announcements

The eclipse is almost upon us! Wholly meaningless, if you let it be. I encourage keeping a plot-relevant action in your back pocket. Why not nudge that elopment or murder a week or two? The spoils go the adaptable. Even when the spoils might be a cosmic curse.

Spoilers for centuries-old literature ahead.

Yuan Shao's a strongly-worded morality tale we'll never get to apply: if you get the chance to blitz your way to emperor, don't stall. True enough. In fact, quite true. Not too relevant to the workaday world, or even my weird deadline hunt, but undeniably true.

Then again, maybe I have a reader in position to seize the throne. Stock dicking around, the rest of us are counting on you.

Reality has a few simple rules. Number 27: to live with dignity and grace, avoid using an anime girl as your lock screen. It leads to the valley of tears.

I lived with dignity, until I reread this page of Chainsaw Man. A reaction that makes me laugh every time I see it:

It's my lock screen.

What was my dignity doing for me anyway? I can't spend or eat it. The expression's upbeat enough for my good days, and the message is bleak enough for my down days. In our highs and lows, we're all Makima.

Well, hopefully not, if you've read Chainsaw Man. Our world's not quite as stable. Not sure we could take a Makima.

How, how, how did I wait this long to try Jury Duty? One of the only perfect gems in an ugly, flawed world? People I trust had recommended the show to me, repeatedly and determinedly, the way one recommends a nice glass of water to a brownout alcoholic. Somehow, I always slithered out of the show's path. One of the few shows to flick a switch on in my head, and make me a bit better at all of this.

Maybe there's a lesson hiding in all that procrastination. With all the resources I needed to seize the throne, I ended up dicking around instead of—ah. Fair play, Three Kingdoms. Fair play.

Once, I wondered what I'd do if I were wrong. About everything. Provably, undeniably, cartoonishly wrong. If an angel split the sky open and said "I'm real, reactionary in every way described, and pissed."

Then I reread some world history, and personal history. Obviously I'd double down. I'd call the angel a deepfake, my enemies desperate frauds, and my priors unassailable. Gotta keep on keeping on.

Entertainment

From *Jury Duty*, one of the last miracles.

Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Still gunning it. (4/5)

Forrest!: Dude's out of juice. (0/5)

Jury Duty (First Three): Now podracing, this is. (4.5/5)

Wanikani Levels 1-11: I really wish this didn't work. (0&5/5)

Casino

How to Dodge a Cannonball is your favorite new heavyweight.

My monthly boxing match with white supremacists was fun.

I guested on a podcast blacker than the blackest black.

Here's a very normal one.

Nonsponsor

Sticking "wacky" in the copy never really works out, does it?

Granted, there isn't a glowing mistake here. And we've seen a lot of mistakes. But failing to do something interesting with something as visually striking as Madballs is bizarre. Whether or not these were great toys, they have a look, an attitude, and instant recognition. You can try. Someone's paying you to try. It's fun to try.

On the other hand, lunch is fun too. And getting to your kids before six. In fact, screw Madballs. Punt every pitch you get the chance to. Though I still reserve the right to make fun of you.

Despite the thousand ways modern advertising sucks, I suspect my standards for print may be higher than the 90's average. Now that attention's even rarer and money's even more concentrated, the idea of bunting on a full-page spread is alien to me. As far as wisdom goes, it's somewhere between handstand-walking across the street and taste-testing angel dust.

Granted,

Creativity: D | Persuasion: C- | Sanity: C+