I’m delighted to report I’ve ruined Sibling’s life by drawing them into The Boys, an Edgy McEdge show about Bad Superheroes and contemporary American politics. We’re only on the beginning of season 2 together, but they’ve also been sitting in while I watch season 4 week by week, which is weird. It’s so weird going back and forth!
This week’s episode has some material that could be seen as especially dark, since one character just lost a parent and then gets [spoiler’d]. I was wondering how that tone was supposed to be read. I thought it was funny until the character’s breakdown at the end. Welp, I guess the darkest part is that the showrunners think it’s supposed to be funny too.
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I loved this Bright Wall, Dark Room post about Furiosa. I liked the movie but had mixed feelings about the amount of detail it added to a character journey where I felt detail wasn’t necessary. The point they make is this: “Furiosa exists to show us how a drive for revenge can turn into a drive for redemption.” That really made something click for me.
I’m looking forward to watching it again.
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The American president has been cracking down on border crossings, ostensibly to appease the right wing who hates him. He’s been successful. (WaPo) You know who still hates him? The right wing.
Engaging in their cruelty to make them happy is never going to work. It’s intensely frustrating to watch Democratic presidents try this again and again.
One good move is that Biden did pardon military veterans convicted for being gay. (Digby’s Hullaballoo)
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I thought I’d never be That Guy who wallows in nostalgia, but I really do miss old computers so, so much. Apparently I’m not the only one. If you have “$200-ish” you can have a new laptop with a 386 and Windows 3.1 (Ars Technica)
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Sometimes the justice system gets it right. In California, a man who tried to kill his family is going to therapy instead of jail. (The Guardian) This is one of those knee-jerk issues where it’s tempting to say “send him straight to hell,” but I want to believe compassion is truly the better route. I hope the family (who survived) is going to find a way through this trauma too. I don’t think imprisoning the man would help anyone.
But usually, the justice system isn’t right, and it does things like imprisoning a man for four months because he was carrying a Zelda sword around. (WaPo) This one is in the UK, where there have been spates of knife killings recently. I can get why people would be spooked. It nonetheless seems ridiculous to go so far on such a case. Take the tiny sword away and send him home, maybe? I think it was only “sharply pointed” and not actually sharpened.
Amusing to see The Guardian reporting on the US justice system and WaPo reporting on the UK justice system, btw.
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I wondered why the AQI has been so bad in the Reno area lately. It might be thanks to the Thompson Fire in Northern California, which has displaced 16,000 people. (NPR)
