Hugh Guiney

These personalities can then be turned into lore through manga and anime and children’s television, which creates more entrypoints into the fandom, reinforcing emotional connections, and reminding you that the property exists. Beanie Babies had no personality beyond being cute.

…and alternatively that lore-uninitiated consumers can project their own personalities onto.

Sanrio’s advantage over Beanie Babies while still relying on cute characters as a hook, is that Hello Kitty, Batz Maru, Aggretsuko, Gudetama, etc. each have distinctive personalities and stylizations that lore-initiated consumers can co-opt to express themselves, (cont’d)

Beanie Babies had more staying power than POGs due to character cuteness (Pokémon, Sanrio) and consistency of character appearances (Pokémon, Sanrio, MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh, the US Mint), but ultimately had less staying power than Pokémon et al, because like POGs, the value was only in the rarity itself.

The value in collecting was only down to rarity, and that rarity only has value insofar as it confers status within a broader culture that appreciates the underlying asset for other reasons, primarily storytelling.

You might say, well, they had a bunch of licenses to other IPs, but that only goes so far. There was no consistency or theming to the coin faces, so it never triggered completionism in people.

POGs was basically Jax for Millennials; it offered exactly one game mechanic: smash. There was no foundational IP for it to exploit and cross-promote.

With Pokémon every new game or anime season ties into new cards and renewed interest for collectors. For players these new cards offer new layers of competitive strategy.

Somebody in a FB group asked why POGs—the stackable cardboard & plastic coins from the 1990s—weren’t more successful. I would say they never had the same staying power as say Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering b/c there was no associated lore, nor complex game mechanics to spur on interest.

#marketing

I didn’t understand one word of Bad Bunny’s halftime show and yet that shit has STILL been stuck in my head since Sunday. My brain just cobbling together quasi-Spansh and making do because it was that much of a bop lol

#SuperBowlLX

Wednesday*

Seated alone dead-center in an AMC Signature Recliner on a Thursday night with a bunch of food I don’t need for the 9:20 showing of #TheMoment, the way God intended

invite me to shit… you never know, may just roll up to the function with enough doritos to share. santa claus state of mind

Might be the #OwningManhattan fan in me but I wish they’d tell us what Taipei 101 is actually FOR before telling us all the reasons it’s dangerous to climb. Like is it Taiwan’s WTC? Barclays? Is the building mixed commercial/residential? What was the price per square foot at closing? #SkyscraperLive

being the breadwinner in 1897: killing a boar with your bare hands in New Hampshire and feasting on the carcass for 7 months

being the breadwinner in 2026: paying for 8 streaming services

It’s honestly pathetic how much I daydream about getting on Subway Takes. Rehearsing what I would say, changing up the take if it doesn’t work. Like of all things to have on your 2026 mood board smh

Undeserved

I do love that Ryan Coogler got to say a few words tonight; just wish it could’ve been for something more meaningful.

Absolutely nobody knows what the award is supposed to celebrate—I suspect it was just a ploy to placate Stan Twitter and avoid online controversy—so it’s just going to go to any film that voters feel bad for not choosing up-ballot.

“Cinematic or Box Office Achievement” is shaping up to be “Best Picture Runner-Up”. #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2026

Maybe because the press hounded him for being too “extra” (even though it was refreshing to anyone with an actual appreciation for the arts) so he decided to rein it in. Damned if he does, damned if doesn’t 🙄

Jessie Buckley’s performance in “Hamnet” is career-defining. I get emotional just thinking about it, and similarly so seeing how much the wins mean to her. Hoping this streak carries through to the Oscars. #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2026

I get the impression that this show is only being recognized for its point of view; to “stick it to the execs” who are tanking the movie industry in service of profits. That or the 2026 bar for comedy is underground. #GoldenGlobes2026

I’m sorry but #TheStudio doesn’t deserve a single award it’s received this season. It’s painfully unfunny. Seth Rogen’s character is joyless to watch. Everybody on that show should have to go back and take the entire UCB curriculum before they ever attempt another line of improv. #GoldenGlobes

😬

Haven’t seen it yet but looking at the description: yeah that one seems like a doozy

Two panels. Top panel: Screenshot of Nahmias.com showing no results for search term “marty supreme”. Bottom panel: “y tho” image meme.

#GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2026 #MartySupreme

Sign of the times I guess. Pure comedies simply don’t get made anymore, so all comedic writing has to be attached to some other “more marketable” genre

Same for the other nominees. Like, sure, plenty of laughs to be had in “One Battle After Another”, and to a lesser extent “Bugonia” and “Jay Kelly”. But I wouldn’t recommend any of these to anyone who just needs to laugh and raise their spirits.

Happy for Chalamet but putting “Marty Supreme” in the “Musical or Comedy” category is totally bonkers. #GoldenGlobes #GoldenGlobes2026