Talcott

“Tears of the Prophets”

(And to get ahead of the inevitable response, I'm not saying anything was actually already solved in 2016. If it was, we wouldn't be here. But that was the general cultural assumption at the time. Right up until election night.)

Okay, but a study of TikTok trends and memes would be a great way to explore and understand the past decade, and how we got from "we solved racism and homophobia, and now it's time to solve sexism and transphobia" to where we are today.

It might be the only way.
Not as causation, but as a mirror.

Actor (lead): Micahel B. Jordan
Actor (supporting): Denecio Del Toro
Actress (lead): Emma Stone
Actress (supporting): Teyana Taylor
Casting: One Battle After Another
Production Design: Frankenstein
Cinematography: Train Dreams
Sound: Sirāt
Music (score): Sinners
Music (song): Golden

Best Picture: Sinners
International: The Secret Agent
Animated Feature: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Documentary: Come See Me in the Good Light
Directing: Sinners
Writing: Sinners
Writing (adapted): One Battle After Another

Sinners was my favorite movie of the year, as you might notice.

Here's a thread of my 2026 Academy Awards votes. Not what I think WILL win, but what I'd vote for.

I didn't quite get to everything, so I'm skipping categories that are still unfinished (Shorts, Makeup & Hairstyling, and Visual Effects), as well as Editing for the reason below.

Yeah, that makes sense. But given how many movies I watch, I want to get to a point where I do appreciate the theory/craft more, especially stuff that goes unnoticed (but makes a big impact).

I bet there’s a four-hour YouTube deep dive on this somewhere.

I'm putting together my Academy Awards ballot (well, Bluesky thread), and I realized I have no idea how to evaluate the Editing category. I know what editing is, but I don't have a good sense of which choices are the editor's vs. the director's.
So that's something to learn about for next year.

it's time. we need another original show from Julio Torres. we need another Fantasmas.

Every time I see this I realize I have a clear memory of the texture of licking Donald Duck's face.

Panel 1: Two swans, floating on a water, very swan-ily. P2: Same POV, but now the swans have raised their wings. P3: Again, same POV, but now the wings are fully up, and the swans' necks are lowered and extended. P4: GO! The swans shoot forward at speed, leaving trails of water in their wake. Their necks are fully extended, beaks open. P5: A side-on view of water against a green sky. P6: Same POV, but now the swans have burst into view. However, the only thing moving --at tremendous speed-- are their necks, stretching out impossibly. P7: We close in on a side-on view of the swans' heads, beaks closed in a look of swan-y determination. They are literally neck & neck. P8: The background begins to swirl as the swans pick up speed. They spiral towards the centre from the upper left & lower right corners. P9: A dramatic reveal of a Jack Kirby-like cosmic scene, with a blazing sun in the bottom right corner, and a "krackle" filled purple sky. The swans' necks spiral around each other

territorial dispute

The trick is not to drop the women cubes in the water.

Gravity does feel optional. But I’m also just bad at video game driving in general. I think my biggest problem is my instinct is to just hold down the gas. Which is mostly fine until I have to turn.

I still prefer walking and exploring.

If the Ohio BMV ever sees my driving in Cyberpunk 2077, they’re going to revoke my license in the real world (and they’d be right to do so). I had to drive a van earlier, and it was a mess. I’m a little better (and have much more fun) on a motorcycle, despite flying the wrong way down the freeway.

I feel like this was the first big “everyone’s talking about it” summer cliffhanger I remember. I remember watching the episodes when they aired, but they’re also jumbled with all of the times I watched it in reruns in high school and college.

(And, I guess, at my parents’ house at 44)

I’d apologize for the spoilers, but I honestly can never remember if Maggie or Smithers is the canonical shooter. The sundial is inconclusive.

1-800-COLLECT Presents Who Shot Mr. Burns? YOU'VE SEEN THE SUSPECTS. YOU'VE EXAMINED THE CLUES. Now tume in to find out if you've won the 1-800-COLLECT SIMPSONS MYSTERY SWEEPSTAKES The GRAND PRIZE winner will be announce during the Scason Premiere

“Is this the one where Maggie shot him?”
My mom, just now, winning the 1-800-COLLECT contest 30 years late.

SOAP - When we were younger, there were no such things as homosexuals YouTube video by m1lkm4n

Oh, I highly recommend going back to SOAP!

Starfleet Academy has more Tig, just saying…

That is something I would love to do someday. I've looked very casually into cruises. I was hoping maybe there'd be more of a passenger ferry option than just getting to Put-In-Bay, but none I can find.

I can't believe that (other than cruises) there doesn't seem to be any kind of passenger boat between Toledo, Sandusky, or Cleveland and Buffalo.

On a related note, anyone want to loan their boat to someone with no naval experience outside of listening to books about 19th century ships?

Haha. I have definitely seen this in Minecraft.

I'm not clear on how far I am into the expansion. I see the quest in my log, but I haven't pursued it, and also it clicks in so closely to the first act, so I don't know what is what (and am intentionally not looking up anything).

I’m in what I think is the second act (mostly based on the first having a clear ending). The boss I was complaining about earlier was after clearing snipers from a parade route.
(Doing what I always do in these games and am playing a sniper myself, but my second run will be a gummi bear with blades)

I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS REAL EITHER! Are you sure you're not in a sitcom episode?

I haven’t started. Got sidetracked by Cuberpunk 2077, where I’ll probably be for a while.

Yep again posting my most controversial yet correct opinion:
Boss fights only ever make video games worse.

My siblings and I were allowed to check out whatever VHS tapes we wanted from the library, so Total Recall and Robocop were in regular rotation as a kid. It wasn’t the violence of G.I.Joe my parents objected to, so much as the Reagan-era jingoism.