Extra Evil - Cult Appeal

Today’s Fortune: You'll help a humble psychic buy a house.

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Newsreel

My commute got interesting.

The Supreme Court measured homeless humanity.

Congress paid off the proxy war tab.

Tennessee teachers can carry, but can’t afford handguns.

A few cybertrucks didn’t melt.

NASA did tech support from a few billion miles away.

Today's Mood

War Journal

It’s time to start a cult.

You should. I should. Your partners, friends, and enemies should all get in on the cult game. It’s the golden age of the cult. We’re leaving the free money era (ask a finance type), and entering the free worshiper era.

Are the social conditions behind this troubling? Sure. But it’s the opportunity of your lifetime. You’ll have plenty of time to put a little sanity back to the community pool after you’ve built your mansion. And horde of dutiful listeners. How much good can sanity do, if you’re the only one paying attention.

You might not dig religion. Totally fine. The supernatural doesn’t have to be involved. You can make a totally taxable organization. What matters is cult mentality. Take it out of the pews, and bring it into dating, sleep, MMA, beauty, race, music, and more. Use your imagination.

Or don’t. Parroting your favorite cult works great.

Columbia? There’s three great Banh Mi spots in walking distance. The authentic one is great, the sanitized one is great, and the restaurant is competitive. You can’t lose.

The NYPD? Capable of making anything worse with negative effort.

The economist? Sideshow Bob stepping on one rake, forever.

Charred doctors? Unsavory.

A playlist from writer/shredding analyst Jeff Treppel got me thinking about New York. Namely, songs about it. Artists aren’t subtle about worship or requests for a nuclear strike.

My angle? “If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere” implies you don’t have to be there at all. You’re playing on “Dante Must Die” mode for kicks. Who does that?

Granted, I play far too much Devil May Cry. Usually on Dante Must Die mode. But what’s everyone else doing?

The Present

Dance-film Gallant: The LXD. [1900HOTDOG]

Dance-media Goofus: Battle of the Year. [1900HOTDOG]

Save your children from Marihuana. The film, not the drug. [1900HOTDOG]

The Oval Office comes with a nice laptop. [Exclusive Evil]

Everything Abridged is the first and last book. [My Book]

The Past

My wrestling trip was fun.

The Future

Sleep. Rest. Vacation. Repose.

Well, maybe. I have this one idea…

Not Brought to You By

I’m notoriously moody, and people love DDB’s old Jamaican vacation ads. Let’s give it another whirl.

Subtle. Here’s the headline, in case you’re tired of squinting every week.

Vintage The Man Show. There’s a ribald competence here, it just reflects poorly on people. The body copy’s more muddled: a little empowerment-lite, a little titillation, and a little trivia.

“Many are managed by women,” is infinitely quotable. I’ve only heard that tone from Mitt Romney and Blizzard. Maybe they’d enjoy Jamaica.

Creativity: D-
Persuasion: D
Sanity: C-

Note: I know grading it “DDB” would be funnier, but alas.

One Sentence Reviews

The R: If a train never appears, does it exist? (1/5)

The LXD: Disturbingly well-targeted for me. (4/5)

Liz Winstead - Rage Beyond Belief: Nice time capsule. (3/5)

Unraveled: Brilliance and annoyance. (3.5/5)

High on Fire - Cometh the Storm: \m/ (4.5/5)

Open Question

Signing off

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