Harsh but accurate. Without Carrie Fisher to doctor his scripts (and his wife to find the film in the edit) Lucas was a director famously indifferent to dialogue or character.

I love that, of all the out-there ideas in Stranger in a Strange Land, that’s the one that sticks with you. Honestly, I think you’re right to favor it! 😄

At this point Lake Powell should be drained to consolidate water storage in Lake Mead and reduce evaporation. It’s been too low for decades, and it’s not coming back.

Reading the names of all those studios that Microsoft gobbled up, I just think how it never should have been permitted to consolidate so much of the industry in the first place.

I kinda love short games, I don’t have time to put 100 hours in every game I buy. I bought this game in part because it seemed like a bit of silly fun, and was priced appropriately.

Meet the new racist war on drugs, same as the old racist war on drugs.

milquetoast criticism of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon for being “an Avatar: The Last Airbender redux”.

Yeah, it really was, wasn’t it? I forgot it the moment I stopped watching it, other than I remember thinking it was awkward casting of Awkwafina, who is hilarious in most roles but I didn’t think she was a good fit there.

I don’t get the sense that this is a Mamdani thing. The American Democratic Party leadership seem badly out of step with the majority of their party on significant issues, and have been ineffective at shoring up democracy or their policy agenda during the periods they have been in power. Mamdani is just one of few progressive in America that is walking the walk.

Dems urgently need to show they can make Americans’ lives better, and that they present a clear and more reliable counter-position on international relations and national security. The Chuck Schumers of the party have shown no interest in offering that alternative, and their time is over, whether because the left wing of the party takes the wheel, or because Trumpism succeeds completely and destroys any chance of competitive elections in the future.

What have you scored over there? I picked up WallWorld, Oblivion, and Rôki.

I’m enjoying MythMatch, the expanded match 3 gameplay and remixed Greek mythology are really fun!

I also just picked up Thank Goodness You’re Here!, which is delightfully weird.

WeWork was such a fun ride to watch, such a transparently silly company that made stupid money, it never made sense.

I thought the niche would be sort of a cheap way to cosplay as a working guy, but I think the price point is probably too high for this to be a novelty second vehicle. But who knows? People drive and love Jeep Wranglers, which are kind of awful to drive in towns, and people still like the lifestyle part.

Gator, no!

OMG this, and the breathless media reporting about that fictional title are part of the problem. Just the dumbest way to run an economy.

Louisiana taking ACAB to the next level

That’s a shame, although I’m sure it’s the right choice. Lael’s first record-breaking round-the-world ride was a lot of fun to listen to in her daily reports.

Heat waves are some of the most deadly natural disasters, particularly for older people or people with health conditions that don’t have access to air conditioning. I assume we will eventually find out the death toll for this heat wave, and I’m afraid it will be pretty terrible.

Yeah, nothing says Progressive Politics like submitting from a rag like the Post.

Multifamily building in most US jurisdictions already requires fire sprinklers, plus modern firewalls and materials, making them much safer than the old single stair constructions from 100 years ago. Egress concerns are typically addressed via emergency window egress up to 5 stories or so. And as others have said, single stair is the norm in Europe, with good fire safety records.

https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2025/02/small-single-stairway-apartment-buildings-have-strong-safety-record

I would far rather load the bed of the 1998 Silverado on the left than the modern one on the right. Loading a lifted truck (they are basically all lifted nowadays) is so much harder. I get why people love and hold onto those 1990s trucks, they were a lot more practical.

Taxing vehicles by gross vehicle weight and miles traveled is probably a good strategy, as more vehicles are BEV and the meager gas taxes in North America fall farther behind compared to escalating road maintenance costs.