Newsreel
American courts redlined voting.
Italian courts cleared their to-do list in one afternoon.
German courts ruled against solvency.
Argentinian courts braced themselves.
The Supreme Court debuted an ethics code without laughing.
Phone surveillance skipped courts.
Today's Mood
War Journal
I’m celebrating Thanksgiving the traditional way: chained to a standing desk, extinguishing a dozen house fires at once. Perfect. Family debate night makes the presidential ones look fun.
I need better priorities. Healthy minds prefer dates without the headlining comedian screaming about vaccines melting his third eye. They might even call that a disaster. It’s the best show I could’ve asked for. Plenty of acts can help me think or laugh. That night, I heard one brain clapping. Ten out of ten.
Whether or not you have a CostCo card: stand in one this week. Thanksgiving CostCo’s a premium human experience. The arena. Pure combat. You’ll see the legends of a generation rise.
Proper CostCo duels don’t involve fists or blades. They’re a thousand catty arguments and drive-by insults, often without eye contact. Most often, between strangers. On days of beauty, between people that came together. Shopping cart traffic jams seem to be stronger than love.
Once, I thought of CostCo duels as random. But masters come to the temple of bargains for combat. With all the bars, octagons, and chambers of Congress available, that creativity’s admirable. They make the space their own.
I miss clone panic. Can we bring it back? We just need a hair or two.
The Present
Would you believe this Gundam article has restraint?
Why wasn’t Cosby dumped into a volcano?
Jocko has the wisdom of a GoArmy ad.
Virtuosity accepts the thanks of a grateful world.
It’s time to reread Everything Abridged.
The Past
Quick question: what's satire?
The Future
Tag-teaming a fun idea with a non-writer friend. It’s a long pass, but I’m optimistic.
Taking it a little easier on people this week. Cosby and World War tension are a stiff 1-2 punch.
Not Brought to You By
I walk by this every week.
It’s wild that so many PSAs are this dull. Half of them are about avoiding death. That’s exciting! Most of us don’t want to be dead, rapture enthusiasts aside.
This is a void, with a line that makes less sense the longer you stare. And FEMA’s biggest cockup since [last incident]. The Ad Council tends to prove that intent and ability don’t live together.
Drier, techy note: physical ads that rely on you typing in a url later live in Narnia.
Creativity: D
Persuasion: F
Sanity: D
One Sentence Reviews
Thank You For Smoking: My carcinogenic north star. (5/5)
Brendon Small - Galaktikon: Enthusiastically and charmingly dramatic. (3.5/5)
Ed Subitzky - Poor Helpless Comics: Push-ups for format-benders. (4/5)
Open Question
Signing off
Thanks for reading Extra Evil, the newsletter rapidly melting. Share to keep drilling.
-DD
I'm a proud, if unwilling, Costco Kumite champion in multiple geographies. Inevitably, the day after Thanksgiving my wife says, "Should we go to Costco?" And I say, "On Black Friday?!" And she says, "Oh, right." And then we go anyway. It's a miracle we're still married.
That FEMA ad spits in the eyes of sanity.
"physical ads that rely on you typing in a url later live in Narnia."
Along with radio ads that feed your driver mind a phone number six times in a row in rapid succession. They could learn a thing or two from 1-877-KARS4KIDS - though hold up. Isn't that one too many numbers? Is 1-877-KARS4KIDS a SCAM???