YouTube Obsession

As I have mentioned before I love sports. I love sports stories, I love sports drama and I love sports gossip. So of course I love The Sports Gossip Show. Like most people I stumbled upon this show back when they did an episode on Bill Belichick’s then relatively unknown (and gross) relationship with Jordan Hudson.

Needless to say, since the story has exploded so has the show. On 5.12.2025 they released an episode where they went to the Miss America qualifier in Maine to see Jordan Hudson compete.

This is great investigative journalism and hilarious that they have had the tickets for months ahead of the story going big. Obviously they have a good read on sports gossip.

Also, in a very male-dominate media landscape, it’s really refreshing to hear two women talk about sports. They have great chemistry and are very entertaining.

Watching

Sinners, by all accounts, is a heavy handed metaphor for the ways that Black music and culture has been stolen, repackaged by white artists and profitable for a system that wishes to ingratiate itself as a law of nature. Where I might find a “message movie” annoying in say, The Substance for its shallow characterization and hollow politics, Sinners’ metaphor is presented in a fun, exciting and emotionally moving film.

Also, any film that has an actor playing twins automatically gets points in my book. From Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers to Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood, twins and specifically twins performed by one person is such a meta-textual gadfly that I cannot but help add weight to their inclusion¹ .

That’s not to say Sinners is perfect. The editing, especially in the action scenes is clunky and hard to follow. Its best scares are often deflated by clumsy cuts and shots so dark it makes the action muddled. This is upsetting because this is the scariest depiction of vampires since Near Dark and they are sold short by weird editing.

Also, a huge pet-peeve of mine is when movies flash back to earlier scenes or have repeating voiceover. For a movie that respects it’s audience in so many ways, it has a lot of “hey remember this exposition from 30 minutes ago?” going on. The scene I talk about next even has repeating voiceover exposition which is a double cinema sin, ding the counter or whatever that shitty channel does.

***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS***

As of writing this, I have not read anything about how the movie has been received other than general praise osmosis. But I have to imagine that the most controversial scene of the movie has to be the musical time-travel dance sequence. Is it cheesy? Yes, absolutely. Does is fit in the movie. Yes, absolutely.

While watching that scene, I could not stop thinking of a moment in Alan Moore’s graphic novel From Hell. The main antagonist/protagonist is so inline with the will of the universe, that for a moment he is able to see all of time and has a glimpse of the future.

This is why I read. Having this reference has added a much deeper meaning to Sinners for me. Evil has a lineage, a philosophy and worst of all Evil has the most seductive systems of power.

Go see Sinners and I expect that ugly 90’s sweaters will be making a comeback because no one has ever looked cooler than Michael B. Jordan in that mid-credits scene.

Reading

Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet By Taylor Lorenz is a history of the social media influencer and the platforms that created them. It has two core takeaways: First; the platforms that have flourished are the ones that have catered to creators. Second; Vine was goated, based, ahead of it’s time and died because they treated creators like water-trash (Considering Logan Paul was one of the original Vine stars, that is understandable).

MM

In the world of international finance there are two realities: One where the laws of countries are respected to ensure a free and fair market of ideas; and another where skirting those laws are a preferred and expected practice all to ensure a free and fair market of ideas. Both of these realities exist at the same time and do not conflict with each other so long as you have the right mindset.

Cuckooland a non-fiction interview(?) by Tom Burgis as he attempts to peel away at the psyche of one of these men who has this mindset. A “fixer” in the industry, who coats his shady dealings in a layers of righteous capitalist democracy, berates Burgis with contradictory information and (for lack of a better word) Trumpian denial tactics. All the while Burgis lays out the hidden and bizzarro world of international finance. A true playground for the 1% and power hungry billionaires.

Playing

Sometimes I just want to play a simple “numbers-go-up” game. You know a game that you put on to get that basic monkey brain endorphin rush of seeing a number get bigger, like Diablo or Cookie Clicker. Yet, I am surprised by how much I ended up enjoying the narrative scattered throughout Avernum: Escape the Pit.

This is very much a classic “dungeon crawler” from 2011 where systems, discovery and leveling up is the main draw. However, the sparse story is works well because it is far from linear. The player is given multiple leads and can be tackled in any order, so discovering lore about the world feels organic and rewarding. It also has some genuinely funny writing, which is even harder to do in a video game.

The game is often on sale for really cheap and could probably run on a iPod nano so I fully recommend.

Listening

I will probably be talking about the Argento adjacent La Chiesa from 1989 next week. Until then, however, I will be rocking out to the sometimes bizarre yet distinctly gothic sound track.

This song is used frequently and I love it. I have definitely heard this song or something similar before I just can’t place it and it’s driving me insane.

Other Notables

** Move over Tupac hologram, here comes AI roadrage victim testimony!

** I can’t get enough of this story. I’s almost shameful at this point. I am the problem.

** Maybe someday I’ll have an entire post on FLCL but until then, watch this super cool fan “remake”

1  Also, twins are creepy. I know it, y’all know it. Sorry if you’re a twin, but you know it too.