#disneyland band 2023

[trekkiebeth]

photos by trekkiebeth

[samsdisneydiary]

Live the Magic of the Disneyland Band Live with Mickey and Minnie

[ponett]

Bobby's 2023 Media Wrap-Up

So! Like I said before, this past year I kept a running list of everything I watched, every game I finished, every new album I listened to, etc., and wrote one-paragraph blurbs with my thoughts on every single one. Please enjoy this journey through everything I liked, or didn't like, in 2023, with my favorites of the year listed at the bottom.

(Yes! This is long!!)

Some notes:

I mainly only included things I finished. Exceptions are marked with an asterisk.

I included some YouTube stuff as "TV shows" - mostly particularly long, high effort video essays and documentaries.

I was a bit less adventurous than I'd like to have been this year. Part of this was just that I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up with Big Releases I felt obligated to check out, and part of this was just executive dysfunction from burnout. Wait until you see how long it took me to beat Mario Wonder lmao

Yes, I need to read more books. I don't read a lot of books these days. I need to get back to Discworld.

COLOR KEY

Video Games • TV / Web Video  •  Movies  •  Comics  •  Music

January

1/15: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (MSQ) - Very slow at times, the Primal shit is generally extremely lame to me outside of the boss fights themselves, but god if the quality of life improvements over WoW, the JRPG energy, and the fact that it Actually Has A Story carry it pretty hard.

1/18: Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island miniseries - One of the most creative and compelling uses of the Sonic IP… ever? Fantastic little self-contained arc about the struggles of Eggman’s abandoned creations that gracefully weaves between heartfelt optimism and moody horror with some of the best art ever seen in a Sonic comic.

1/18: Mega Man X4 - Glad I finally actually beat this after never even beating any of the Mavericks as a kid! I can see why it’s a lot of peoples’ favorites. The gameplay has very little of that X series bloat and is just fun, especially after getting X’s armor upgrades. (But the story really is a long series of missed opportunities.)

February

2/2: Donks - Felix Colgrave continues to be an exceptional artist. The sound design on this is fantastic and really sells this short as something unique. Had to go back and watch his older stuff again after this.

2/4: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (3.0 - 3.3 MSQ) - I get it now. I get why people say this is just a proper mainline Final Fantasy game built into the framework of an MMO. That shit ruled. Not even walking back the drama in Ul’Dah from the end of ARR can sour me on it because the main storyline was so strong.

2/8: Disneyland's Forgotten Sci-Fi Rock Band - Live From the Space Stage - A nice and honest tribute to a group of artists who could have easily been forgotten. In hindsight this feels like a precursor to Kevin’s Disney Channel jingle video, a tribute to the unsung artists pouring their hearts into “lesser” art for a megacorporation, art that was designed to be transient but sticks with people nonetheless.

2/9: Metroid Prime Remastered* - Not gonna finish because I just played through the Wii version in 2021, but still. Very, very pretty remaster.

2/16: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - It’s more Theatrhythm. What more could I want

2/17: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (anime) - Probably the best part of the anime so far (assuming they continue on to SBR). A near perfect mix of the more structured plot of part 5 with the goofiness of parts 3 and 4 that crescendos into a fantastic, bombastic, emotional, bittersweet ending. The use of footage from the original opening and the new ending set to Roundabout in the finale were perfect, and made me intensely nostalgic for the early days of my JoJo fandom between seasons 1 and 2 of the anime.

2/22: Aggretsuko Season 5 - I don’t really know what to make of this one. Once you get past the agonizing initial arc all about Haida where Retsuko has to be his overbearing mommy GF who flips out and starts spying on him when she’s left on read and chides him when he misbehaves, it feels like an improvement over the previous seasons. But I don’t know how much of that is due to the extremely low bar set by season 4. And then the ending is extremely rushed and anticlimactic. They got legally married and the only acknowledgement was a shot of them signing the paperwork in a montage partway through the final episode?????????

2/24: Double Fine PsychOdyssey - God, what a journey the making of this game was. I already loved 2 Player’s past efforts at documenting Double Fine’s process, but this takes it to a whole new level. This feels culturally significant. The depth and honesty with which they depict not just the nitty gritty of making a game, but also the inherent struggles of working on a collaborative creative work for years at a time, is astounding. Not to mention that they were there to capture the shift from office life to remote work as COVID hit. So much of this would have been nightmarishly stressful to watch if I didn’t already know how successful the game was, but that’s just because they really didn’t sugarcoat it. And yet even after all that, it leaves me feeling optimistic about video games as an art form in a way that the constant headlines about cynical live service games don’t. There are still people out there pouring their hearts into making real art, and this is their story. Everyone who plays video games should watch this.

2/25: Cracker Island (Gorillaz) - New Gorillaz albums feel like less of an event these days, but after Humanz it feels like they’re just more chill with the project and their ambitions with it. Every couple years we get some more laid back jams from Damon along with some fun new collabs. Hard to complain. Favorite track: New Gold

2/25: Pool Kids (Pool Kids) - I discovered this band because Derek knows them and was excited when they got a song added to Fortnite through the Bandcamp collab. Always down to find more cool indie rock bands I can vibe with. The mix of dreamy vocals and energetic riffs on some of the tracks here almost fill the Crying-shaped hole in my heart. Almost… Favorite track: Conscious Uncoupling

2/25: Insane in the Rain (insaneintherainmusic) - I thought it was really funny timing when Carlos announced that his first original project would be a jazz fusion album inspired by acts like T-Square and Casiopea right as I was getting into those two specific bands. The final product does not disappoint. Favorite track: Insane in the Rain

2/26: Get Up Sequences Part Two (The Go! Team) - I’ve never been one to believe that a band’s sound has to remain exactly the same forever, but it really does hit you hard that the first two tracks here sound like classic The Go! Team. Their more recent cleaner sound is still here too, though, for a nice mix of old and new. Favorite track: Divebomb

2/28: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Season 1) - Oh my god. Oh my god. I got distracted around the time I was finishing SLARPG, but finally catching up now, wow. My assumption that the seemingly lighter tone of the series compared to the prologue was there to lull us into a false sense of security before twisting the knife when war finally breaks out was spot on. This is peak Gundam.

March

3/4: Pizza Tower - One of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time. It transcends its blatant Wario Land inspirations with the sheer speed at which Peppino can move and the way things like the level design, his wall running, and even the hidden ability to do a second lap around the level reward getting into a flow state where you’re just constantly moving. This is the type of game that wants to turn you into a speedrunner. My only real complaint is a few iffy enemy designs that I wish would get patched.

3/6: Bloons TD 6 * - I bought this before bed one night on a nostalgic whim and then the next morning woke up and saw the Steam receipt email on my phone in one of the most “what did I do last night” moments of my life. I like when the monkeys pop the balloons.

3/7: The Book of Boba Fett - I put off finishing this show for a very long time but finally caved upon the release of The Mandalorian season 3. This show spends four episodes failing to make me give a shit about Boba Fett trying to be “the daimyo” and drive the drug trade off of Tatooine, then just gives up and becomes season 2.5 of Mando, which in turn feels like it undercuts the main series. It fails as both its own story and as a spinoff. I know that finishing this after Andor did it no favors, but WHOOF.

3/12: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Some interesting ideas in the first half hinting at a more introspective show, but it’s mostly swept aside in the back half so it can become a generic Star Wars adventure remixing things from A New Hope and Rebels (and apparently Jedi: Fallen Order). Action scenes have zero stakes because you know nothing can happen to any of the returning characters and none of the new ones are particularly interesting. Why there’s a second climax hinging on a Luke Skywalker death fakeout eludes me. Obi-Wan throwing the rocks at Vader is one of the funniest things in Star Wars history. But it was still better than Book of Boba Fett, I guess.

3/19: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar - Wow, cool robot indeed… GaoGaiGar isn’t going to blow anyone away with its writing, but sometimes you just need a really fun monster of the week mecha show with great action and lovably goofy characters. This is a show where like 20% of every episode consists of recycled transformation, combination, and signature attack sequences and I ate it up every time because they look fucking cool as hell. I don’t care. I’d watch Final Fusion another 49 times.

3/21: The Last of Us (HBO) * - Watched the first two episodes out of curiosity, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue because I don’t give a shit about The Last of Us. It’s definitely a well done adaptation, though, even if I know it’s inevitably going to devolve into miserable torture porn with questionable politics if they adapt Part II faithfully. The ending of episode 2 also lines up perfectly with where I stopped in the game in 2013 lmao

3/27: The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse (Folding Ideas) - Another banger from Dan Olson. This time the premise inherently gives him more time to just show off a bunch of stupid ugly bullshit made by crypto guys, which is fun. My main complaint was that I wished he would’ve brought up Second Life more as a point of comparison (a thing I basically always want out of discussion of “the metaverse”), but he at least did touch on it in the last section.

3/31: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - I can’t believe after years of begging for the supporting cast to get more and better material in a Sonic game I got my wish in the form of a freeware murder mystery VN released for April Fools. This kicked ass.

April

4/7: Berserk - Completed Miura’s run and caught up on the chapters that have been released posthumously. It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about Berserk, universally agreed upon as one of the greats of manga and fantasy fiction as a whole. What begins in its first few volumes as a nihilistic and edgy action comic built to facilitate as much sex and gore as possible quickly evolves into something deeply human and vulnerable and beautiful, both figuratively and in terms of its lavish art. The world sucks and is immeasurably cruel, and you will see that cruelty illustrated in graphic, sickening detail repeatedly throughout the series. (Perhaps a little too often throughout the Golden Age, where it feels like Miura never misses an opportunity to threaten Casca with sexual assault mid-battle.) But the point isn’t to wallow in that misery. It’s the story of a victim of horrific abuse learning to slowly open up to others, having those people he cares about torn away from him in the worst night of his life, hardening himself into a cold killing machine, and then slowly learning to open back up again, even if it means leaving himself vulnerable to more hurt. Anyone who says that the series peaked with the eclipse and went downhill in the “Guts’ JRPG Party” era is missing the point. Guts needed to find new people in his life to care about, to begin to find happiness again. Because no matter what unspeakable things Guts has gone through, it’s still possible for him to heal and to be loved. It takes time, but eventually you stop and realize that life has moved on.

4/8: Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe - Skipped it upon release because I didn’t particularly care for the minigame in Triple Deluxe, and I didn’t miss much. It’s fine as a little distraction, but not as a standalone rhythm game with only seven songs. If you don’t bother with the hard modes or chase after high scores this game is 15 minutes long. Oh how I yearn for Kirby to get the Theatrhythm treatment.

4/10: The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar FINAL - Eh… It was okay. Lots of cool robot fights, but said fights are stitched together with a mediocre plot that tries too hard to be more “mature” than its unabashedly schlocky kids’ show predecessor. Not crazy about the ending, either, which tries to be a bittersweet farewell closing off the series once and for all while also teasing that maybe there’ll be ANOTHER sequel after the OVA series they literally called “FINAL.” Ah well.

4/11: The Owl House - Sad to see this one go, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a better finale than this, even if they had gotten the six seasons they deserved. I’m not as obsessed with The Owl House as I probably would’ve been had it come out when I was, like, 20, but it’s a really fantastic show for all the reasons people always say. Great characters, great world, great story. I love that this starry-eyed fantasy story about a teenager finding love and a place where she belongs is also set on the rotting corpse of a titan with Hieronymous Bosch-inspired scenery and freaky monsters everywhere. What a great mix. If anything, I just wish I would’ve watched the first season as it aired so I could’ve had more time with it.

4/29: Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version - FINALLY beat this via the new collection, 20 years after playing it as my first Mega Man game. (Technically my first was White, not Blue, but whatever.) There are more annoyances than I remember - lots of really really bad forced backtracking sections where you have to revisit every previous part of the internet, low chip drop rates, some really aggravating bosses like BubbleMan and KingMan, etc. But it’s still a great time overall. It’s Battle Network. In the back half the story gets surprisingly emotional, too. I was always under the assumption that the Hub stuff never came back up much in the story after 1, so I was pleasantly surprised with how relevant it was to the emotional arc of 3.

4/30: Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun * - Yeah I’m not playing through the whole thing lmao. I just wanted to play the first couple hours for nostalgia’s sake, and as a baseline for how much better the rest are. Even before getting deep in the game and having to deal with all the shit gated between doing two new game+ playthroughs, it’s immediately obvious how much of a downgrade this one is. Tons of glaring errors and typos all over the script, blander music, a way more boring aesthetic for the internet, and a premise that mostly just recycles the tournament idea from 3.

May

5/14: The Venture Bros. - Glad I finally sat down and watched all of this with Anthony after having seen one (1) episode as a teenager and a bunch of random clips in the years since. Great show. Some jokes in the early seasons haven’t aged gracefully, but what the show grows into over time... man. Hank and Dean go from being the butt of the joke to being characters you actually sympathize with - while still also being funny little goofballs. And the journey Henchman 21 goes on throughout the show. Man. Amazing that a comedy like this could run for 20 years and maintain its level of quality. Can’t wait for the movie.

5/18: Future Me Hates Me (The Beths) - Okay yeah I’m now just discovering bands through Fortnite lmao. I can’t complain really, they pick some really great indie artists for the in-game radio stations. Anyway: It’s very easy to win me over with a combination of energetic power pop, catchy guitar riffs, and earnest lyrics like this. One of those albums where three or four tracks in I know I have to buy it. Favorite track: Not Running

5/18: Jump Rope Gazers (The Beths) - Ditto. Favorite track: Dying to Believe

5/18: Expert In A Dying Field (The Beths) - Another good album. (I’m listening to these in release order.) I’ve been a bit slower to warm up to this one, initially thinking it was a little too mellow overall, but it might be my favorite after a few listens. Some real high highs. Interestingly, the lead singer’s New Zealand accent is also coming out more in her singing? Favorite track: Your Side (or maybe Head in the Clouds)

5/19: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - As a Mario fan, I think I enjoyed it? As a movie, less so? It was decent, in spite of feeling like they came up with a list of fun action setpieces first and then wrote the absolute bare minimum possible for the story scenes tying it all together. Full thoughts here. (This is the first movie I’ve seen this year, huh? I really don’t watch a lot of movies.)

5/23: Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out (Gladie) - I feel like I don’t like Gladie as much as I should. Their style of noisy indie rock is very much in my wheelhouse, and I do enjoy listening to them, but I dunno. Maybe it’s that the particular style of vocals makes it more monotonous to me. A good album nonetheless, if not 100% my thing. Favorite track: Nothing

5/24: City Slicker (Ginger Root) - Yes I am still making my way through Bandcamp artists I heard on Fortnite don’t @ me. Any excuse to get me to listen to some cool city pop-inspired funk like this is a good excuse. Favorite track: Loretta

5/24: Rikki (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: Why Try

5/25: Spotlight People (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: The Classic

5/29: Succession - A good dramedy series that increasingly focuses more on the drama than the comedy as it progresses, but it’s hard to complain about that since the drama is so compellingly produced. I enjoyed it. That being said, I kind of rankle at the claims that it’s The Greatest TV Show Of All Time. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Amazing performances all around. But the show LOVES to spin its wheels, to repeat itself, and to let most of its interesting dramatic developments fizzle out before anything really comes of them, almost as if the show is constantly getting bored with its own ideas. To some extent this is intentional - Logan Roy is the untouchable billionaire, his kids fail at everything (but will nonetheless remain billionaires), and in the long run none of them really give a shit about anything other than their own status. But it’s not like things tend to visibly impact anyone else, either, be they supporting characters or the world at large. Even the Big Scary Election, where the Roy siblings are directly responsible for plunging the nation into chaos, ultimately has zero impact on the finale a mere two episodes later. Certain Other Things do have an impact in the last season, though, allowing things to meaningfully change for the cast and for the show to sit with the ensuing drama, which has stopped me from souring on Succession more. There was finally a payoff for something. But it does still kind of feel like a show that goes in circles until it’s ready to call it quits, even if those circles did contain a lot of great acting and music along the way.

5/29: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - I’d watched the first 12 episodes when they originally released, but I guess the Netflix binge release and the fact that all three “seasons” came out in one year led to me waiting until it finished… and then I just never got around to finishing it. Glad I fixed that! Really fun and stylish cartoon with an art style reminiscent of Teen Titans, a hip hop-filled soundtrack, dynamic fight scenes, and a colorful post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant (mostly anthropomorphic) animals. I’ll admit that at times I do kinda roll my eyes at Kipo’s unshakeable belief that everyone can be friends in a way that I don’t necessarily with similar shows like Steven Universe, and not every joke lands, but I dunno. It’s a kids’ show. That’s to be expected. It doesn’t detract from the overall package for me.

June

6/1: Craig of the Creek (Season 4) - It’s been years and I’m still processing the fact that kids can turn on Cartoon Network and hear Jeff Rosenstock. Anyway! Craig continues to be one of the best cartoons on TV, consistently funny and creative and way more engaging than a show about a bunch of kids LARPing in the woods has any right to be. This season turned into One Piece with the gang effectively hunting down the Poneglyphs in search of a legendary treasure. The kids think it’ll be magic. It isn't. An increasing number of cartoon logic gags aside, this show is firmly set in the real world. Does that make it any less interesting? Hell no. Season 3 turned a game of capture the flag into an all-out five episode war between the heroes and villains, filled with dramatic turnabouts and a climactic guest appearance from Del the Funky Homosapien. I’m sure however they wrap things up in the (sadly shortened) final season, it’ll be great. (Also? I would watch a whole show based on that “what if” episode that jumped forward to everyone’s 20s.)

6/6: Barry - Holy shit, what a show. I ended up binging it in less than a week in a cycle of “okay, just one more episode.” The way this show is able to swing between tones and genres while still feeling like a cohesive whole is truly masterful. It’s a layered character drama, a tragic crime thriller, a farcical comedy, an understated action series, a surrealist morality play, and a scathing satire of Hollywood, all in one. Even within the criminal underworld subplots the show ranges in tone from Breaking Bad to Paddington 2. And it works! While the show naturally gets bleaker over time as it confronts the repercussions of Barry’s murders, it never completely loses sight of its comedic roots. My favorite episode was easily season 2’s “ronny/lily,” a mostly self-contained episode that somehow manages to keep throwing the perfect curveballs to escalate its dark comedy.

6/12: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) - Y’all heard of this movie? Pretty good, it turns out. (I’d seen the theatrical cut before, but this was my first time watching the extended edition. I’ve also only seen parts of the other two movies, so it’s time I finally watch all the extended cuts. The Gollum game pushed me to this.)

6/13: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) - give it to us RAW and WRIGGLING

6/17: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Edition) - I’m not crying YOU’RE crying

6/22: Clone High (Season 2) - While the first episode being about “cancel culture” (or, more accurately, a teenager from 2003 being transported to 2023 and putting his foot in his mouth a lot) put a lot of people off, I ended up enjoying the new season of Clone High. The new clones grew on me as the season went on and their roles in the web of teen romance melodrama crystalized, and it made me laugh a lot, and Cleo/Frida is galaxy brained. Also they played one of my favorite Antarctigo Vespucci songs like a minute into the first episode. I don’t think I could really ask for much more.

6/28: The Mandalorian (Season 3) - I'd been watching this weekly but put off the last episode for no real reason. Responses to this season have been all over the place, but my blistering hot take is… it was fine. Is it as good as the first season? Probably not. But Mando no longer needs to carry the whole franchise on its shoulders and set the bar for how good the live action Disney Star Wars shows can be, because Andor exists, and it’s never gonna top Andor. The Mandalorian is free to just be a pulpy space adventure show where Giancarlo Esposito plays a scenery-chewing cartoon villain and a little puppet does wire stunts. These are things Andor cannot and should not do, but that’s Star Wars, baby. It’s delightful. I could watch Grogu get underhand tossed like a sack of flour all day.

July

7/2: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Season 2) - LOVE WINS. (More nuanced take from way later: It definitely feels like a lot of the more messy political conflicts in this show got swept aside by the big final battle where some more easily resolved family conflicts take center stage. I’m not sure the ending is the most satisfying. But also this show only got half the episode count that damn near every other Gundam show ever made got, so that might be a factor here. Idk. Still one of my favorite Gundams.)

7/4: Final Fantasy XVI (watched Anthony play) - I had to write my longest Medium article ever about this one because I was so frustrated

7/10: Home Movies - “Things I like that I’ve never seen in full” has certainly been a recurring theme this year. Home Movies remains an all-time classic of animated comedy that went out on a high note before things got stale or the characters became parodies of themselves. While it’s mostly known for its funny improvised banter, throughout the last season you can really see the arc where Brendon no longer enjoys making movies, yet he feels obligated to keep using them to escape from the real world. In that light, the ending where the nature of their dysfunctional makeshift family is cemented, Brendon’s camera suddenly breaks, and life moves on really does feel like the perfect note to end on. Truly one of the best to ever do it.

7/15: The Legend of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom - Wow. Just… wow. I had serious doubts about TotK in the months leading up to release due to how close Nintendo was playing their cards to their chest. I didn’t want this to be a Saints Row IV, where the game is fun enough but the recycled map makes it feel like a rehash. Instead, I found a game that made me look at BotW’s map in a whole new light, brimming with so many more things to do and people to meet. Add on a better, more versatile set of tools, more varied dungeons and bosses, and a story that I felt was told somewhat better and we’ve got a real contender for my new favorite Zelda game. It was hard to tear myself away, but as this list shows, it’s been basically the only game I’ve played since it came out.

7/16: Sonic Prime (Season 2) - I liked the parts with Shadow and Chaos Sonic, but I’ve come to the sad conclusion that most of this show is just mediocre. More thoughts here.

7/18: We ♥ Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie - “I’m a dog, but I love Katamari Damacy.” Truer words have never been spoken.

7/19: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Pretty good! It didn’t blow me away, but after how bad the Bay movies got I’m just thankful to have a decently cohesive Transformers movie where the human story is okay and I like the bots (although half of them needed more screen time), even if it is just another Hollywood blockbuster about two sides fighting over a macguffin that devolves into a big CGI battle against an army of nameless monsters in the third act. This is basically a mid-tier MCU movie but with Transformers, which won’t do much for most people, but again: the bar was underground.

7/22: The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart - God DAMN. A phenomenal ending for the series. While I would have loved to see a full final season to get some more one-off episodes in there, this doesn’t feel creatively compromised in any way–either due to the time constraints, or due to a desire to make it more marketable as a movie. It really does feel like they just took their outlines for the canceled final season and gently massaged them into the shape of an 84-minute movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s completely on par with the previous seasons. A hilarious and fitting sendoff for one of the greats of adult animation.

7/23: Beautiful Katamari - This was one of my first Xbox 360 games, but a frustrating temperature-based level made me put it down for 16 years. “Maybe it won’t be as bad now that I’ve beaten the first two games and am better at Katamari,” I thought. Nope! Still an absolutely dogshit level. But also, turns out the whole game is only like two hours long lmao. It’s still Katamari, so it’s still fun - the final level in particular, which seamlessly takes you from ground level all the way to space, feels like a logical endpoint for the series - but beyond that it just doesn't have the same soul without Keita Takahashi's input.

August

8/4: Doom Singer (Chris Farren) - I’ve been waiting so long for Chris and Jeff to do another Antarctigo Vespucci album, but god damn. This is the best of Chris’s solo work, and a contender for his best record, period. Every track’s a banger, with more energy than some of his previous solo work but also a good deal of variety. Favorite tracks: First Place, Cosmic Leash

8/4: Transformers Earthspark (Season 1) - This show had a bit of an uneven start, unsure if it wanted to have the emotional maturity of a more serious action cartoon or a preschool cartoon where the characters have little kid mood swings and outbursts and learn basic lessons. It also felt like it was speedrunning its Wholesome Found Family Dynamic with characters who just met, which didn’t feel earned. While these problems never completely go away (see: the cheap and corny way the otherwise very dark season finale suddenly resolves), the show improves quickly, and the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s so great to have a Transformers cartoon that feels fresh, giving us a post-war setting with a bunch of new characters and new dynamics between the Cybertronians and the humans. The returning characters are also uniformly great as the old veterans overseeing the new generation. (Reformed Megatron! Danny Pudi as Bumblebee! Steve Blum returning as Starscream! Keith David as Grimlock!!!) And those super dynamic action scenes! I can nitpick, but Earthspark’s a ton of fun, and easily the best new Transformers cartoon since Prime and Animated.

8/5: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (remaster) - Everyone who told me this game was a masterpiece was right. I had played the first chapter when it dropped as the demo for the iOS version years ago, but never went further than that until now. What a game. Absolutely incredible through and through. Great story, great twists, great characters, great puzzles, great art direction. Everything comes together so perfectly to form a totally unique, unforgettable package, a top tier video game murder mystery. Everyone should play this, preferably going in as blind as possible.

8/15: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 16) - Wow! Recent seasons of Sunny have been kind of up and down, with some interesting experiments (Mac Finds His Pride, the Ireland arc, etc.) paired with some comedic duds. Most of this latest season is standard fare for the series with fewer big creative swings, but it’s just hit after hit in terms of comedy. Not a single dud, whether we’re seeing Mac and Dennis try to start a rental business for inflatable furniture or watching the gang meet Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, believing the entire time that the latter is Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Even the attempts at topical comedy landed better. Easily the funniest season in years.

8/16: One Piece Film Gold - It’s easy to see why this one has kind of been forgotten in the wake of Stampede and Film Red, which revolve around established fan favorite characters, but this was still pretty fun. Perhaps a little too long, but it’s fun to see the Straw Hats fool around in a giant casino and do a heist. They definitely cranked the fanservice up even more than usual in this one, though, as I probably should have expected for a movie made alongside the anime’s adaptation of Dressrosa.

8/17: One Piece: Stampede - This one goes for a different kind of fanservice. While most One Piece movies are isolated from the ongoing plot and its expanded cast of characters, Stampede instead asks “What if we just put damn near every active character on the same island and had them fight?” The answer: a fun time! It would get old if all of the movies were like this, but after a bunch of movies that are just like “the Straw Hats are gonna land on another new island and fight some more weird guys” it’s fun to see characters like Law and Buggy and Smoker get in on the fun. It’s also nice to get a movie with the Wano era art style, and Usopp surprisingly gets some really good character moments in here.

8/18: One Piece Film Red - This really is the best of the One Piece movies, huh? (Baron Omatsuri is a close second.) It really feels like a change of pace after the last four with the most interesting and emotionally engaging story out of any of them. And even if the events of these movies are never canon, it still feels significant in my understanding of Shanks as a character as we move into the final phase of the manga.

8/21: Pikmin 4 - The opening hour of the game made me really question if they’d changed too much, with all the focus on your new dog unit over your Pikmin and the extremely dull, drawn out dialogue scenes with your new companions back at the base. But once I got into the swing of things I had a blast. This is probably my new favorite Pikmin game. There’s a great mix of activities here to keep things fresh. I also really ended up liking Oatchi’s role as basically your second captain who can also serve as your tank or a rideable mount. The Dandori stuff and nighttime missions in particular show off how useful Oatchi is for your multitasking without necessarily overshadowing the Pikmin.

8/22: Never Get Tired: The Bomb the Music Industry! Story - I literally backed this on Kickstarter eight years ago (my name is in the credits!) and then never got around to watching it for no reason. It’s on YouTube now, and Jeff’s got a new album out next week, so now feels like the perfect time to watch it. And man… what a great documentary. Obviously I’m just a fan of the band, but this also really spoke to me as an artist. Jeff wanting to stick to his principles and give out his music for free and play cheap all ages shows, his discomfort over the idea of selling merch, and the struggles that come with not playing the game like that… It's hard. They readily admit that Jeff is an idealist, that people fight him on this stuff, that he’s missed out on some big opportunities because of these stances, and that he’s had to compromise a bit on some of these things over time. But that incredible climax with their final show, including a full opening performance of the slowly building “Campaign for a Better Next Weekend” and the closing performance of “Future 86” where the whole audience is singing along as the members of the band are hugging and crying… it’s beautiful. This may have been a band where the members had to go back to their shitty day jobs after every tour because they weren’t selling out arenas, but their art meant something to people, and that makes it all worth it.

8/25: Nimona - I haven’t read the original comic (yet), so I can’t compare them too much, but it’s nonetheless pretty apparent that some things were softened and easy kids’ movie jokes were added by the studio to squeeze this graphic novel for teens into a PG animated movie. Regardless, the emotional throughline hits REALLY hard, particularly the very blatant trans allegory and the climax. (It’s no wonder Disney was afraid of this movie seeing the light of day lmao.) The animation is also very squishy and fun to watch throughout. Great movie.

8/26: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Spider-Verse really has done so much for animation, huh? This one was as good as everyone said. Beautiful use of stylized color and lighting throughout, and every time this movie very conspicuously shifted to different framerates for a flashy fight scene it owned. Very cute and heartwarming story, too, which thankfully gave its second act plenty of time to explore the cast and let them go on their journey, unlike a certain plumber movie that came out a few months later. Also I would let Death [redacted]

8/28: Holocure: Save the Fans! - This isn't really something I can beat, but I've been addicted to Holocure lately. I don't even watch VTubers aside from maybe seeing a funny Korone animation every now and then, this is just a really, really good freeware Vampire Survivors clone with a huge roster of varied characters to pick from.

8/31: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock) - A new album from Jeff is always a major event for me. If there were any worries that he was starting to go soft at 40 (because one of the three singles off this album was a gentle acoustic piece), the frantic opening of this album put those worries to rest. The first two tracks are Jeff screaming out for help as he’s pulled in a million directions by the chaotic state of the world, a theme that becomes the thesis of the album. I’d say it lags slightly in the middle, but overall this is another extremely well-rounded record full of bangers that’s unapologetically Jeff, with possibly my favorite closing track he’s ever done. Favorite tracks: I WANNA BE WRONG, 3 SUMMERS

September

9/3: One Piece (live action, Season 1) - They did it. I can’t believe it, but they did it. While I have my nitpicks (Usopp and Sanji don’t get enough big moments to shine), this is an extremely solid and faithful adaptation of the first few arcs of One Piece with a great cast. For the most part the changes feel smart and logical, and the big emotional beats of the story are all there and executed very well. I doubted it a little in episodes 2-4, where the Orange Town and Syrup Village arcs saw some major changes to shift the action indoors, and the increased focus on the drama in favor of repeating every gag and battle from the manga 1:1 took a bit of getting used to, but by the end I was having a blast. It’s a different take on One Piece, but it still feels like One Piece. Genuinely very excited for season 2.

9/4: Pseudoregalia - A great little N64-style 3D Metroidvania focused on platforming and very satisfying movement. I always love entries in the genre that are less prescriptive in what order you have to tackle areas in, a la Symphony of the Night or Hollow Knight, and this one’s great in that regard. While there are a number of new moves to find, most of the map is open to you very early in the game, and smart use of your moveset can allow you to “sequence break” without even realizing it. (You would not believe how long I went without getting the wall run.) I do wish it had a map, but that’s already being patched in.

9/6: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk * - Not a bad game at all, but I quickly remembered how bad I am at skating games, so like… eh? Not sure I have much desire to play past chapter 2. Also the soundtrack is sadly kinda hit or miss for me outside of the obvious Naganuma tunes.

9/9: The History of the Minnesota Vikings (Dorktown) - Jon Bois never misses. Even as someone who doesn’t actively follow sports, Jon Bois is a master storyteller, using graphs and statistics and funny anecdotes to explore these deeply human stories. He can convey why people care so much about these teams, these people, and sports in general, and how our popular sports reflect on American culture. He could tell the story of just about any team or player in any sport and I just know I’ll come out the other side a misty-eyed fan. And what a fascinating cast of characters we have this time, with origin stories for everything from the Hail Mary pass to a Minnesota state supreme court judge to the Griddy. Nine hours well spent.

9/10: Timespinner - A fun and highly polished Metroidvania that maybe doesn’t quite have enough of its own identity in its quest to replicate Symphony of the Night…but also, like, this was pitched as a Symphony throwback on KickStarter in a pre-Bloodstained, pre-Hollow Knight world, so I can’t really blame ‘em! Stopping time to avoid boss attacks is fun, the pixel art is gorgeous, and I liked the dark science fantasy story about warring empires and meddling with time a lot more than I thought I would - lore journal text dumps and all.

9/14: The Decay of Sam & Cat (Quinton Reviews) - All the stuff at the end with Matt Bennett (the actor who played Robbie on Victorious and Sam & Cat) in this was really good and sweet. It’s that kind of thing that makes these videos feel like they’re still worthwhile on some level. But the padding and the things Quinton chooses to spend the colossal runtime on does drive me more and more insane with each passing Nick sitcom video. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this schtick up. I hope he’s able to move on to other things before too terribly long instead of continuing to extend this “miniseries.”

9/19: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales - AKA Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 1.5. It’s fun for the same reasons Peter’s first game was fun. I had a good time swinging around New York again in preparation for the sequel, and there’s a lot of cute stuff with Miles becoming Harlem’s neighborhood hero, but WOW did the Underground v. Roxxon conflict fall flat for me.

9/20: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - I understand so many posts now.

9/25: Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch) - It’s you who’s out, Gobby! OUT OF YOUR MIND!

9/25: Futurama (Season 8) - I was ready to be a hater, recalling the fact that Futurama has already had three “perfect endings” with the show getting a little weaker with every revival. Then I watched the first new episode on a whim and thought it wasn’t bad, so I was like, eh, sure, I’ll watch the rest. Overall Hulurama is hit or miss. There are chuckles to be had, and it sure as hell beats modern Simpsons, but almost every episode is either a belated take on an overplayed Topical Issue (the pandemic, Amazon, cancel culture, etc.) or a direct sequel to an old episode people liked. Or both! It’s also really noticeable that certain voice actors sound way older - Billy West is struggling with the Fry voice in particular, and it hurts his comedic timing. But just when all hope seemed lost after the nigh-incomprehensible toy-themed anthology episode, possibly the worst episode of the entire series… the last episode, where the Planet Express crew explores whether or not the universe could be a simulation, was really, really solid. Great note to end on to make me not regret my time with this season as a whole.

9/26: Spider-Man 2 (2004) (rewatch) - Once the GOAT, always the GOAT.

9/27: Spider-Man 3 (rewatch) - Revisiting this movie for the first time since I saw it in theaters… it’s not bad. It’s fine! It continues to have the heart and sincerity that make the first two movies work. It’s just not as concise with three villains vying for the spotlight, but I also wouldn’t cut any of them, necessarily. I guess Eddie/Venom would be the easiest, but Peter getting the black suit and giving in to his resentment feels too central to cut. (Yes, even with Emo Peter becoming a meme.)

9/28: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake - I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, especially since I was never really a fan of the genderbend episodes in the original show. (At the time they mostly just felt like an excuse to crank up the teen romance stuff to 11.) But MAN. This was a fantastic coda to the original series. It made me care about Fionna and Cake and their friends as their own characters separate from their original counterparts, it gave the Simon/Betty arc a much more satisfying (if no less bittersweet) resolution than the original finale had time to do, and it even managed to be a multiverse story that didn’t make me roll my eyes in 2023. A+ all around. Makes me wanna rewatch the original show again. [spoiler: I did]

9/29: Meanwhile (aivi & surasshu) - It’s been a whole decade–they were busy with, you know, all the music in Steven Universe, among other things–but we finally have a new aivi & surasshu album! Their chiptune/piano fusion style is familiar, but they’ve definitely grown as composers in subtle ways. Favorite track: Time Travel

October

10/1: This is Financial Advice (Folding Ideas) - A lot of the nitty gritty finance law stuff turned into white noise for me, but still, great video. I had no idea that the GameStop stock craze devolved into this bizarre cult that thinks they’re going to crash the global economy and rise from the ashes as the new kings with the value of their GME stocks. Glad this video exists to try and balance out the narrative.

10/5: Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC - Good ideas, absurdly frustrating and tedious execution. Full thoughts here.

10/10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (rewatch) - I didn’t plan this, but very fitting that I would end up rewatching this on 10/10.

10/12: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - ha he! (Seriously though, that finale was a fucking masterpiece. The RTVS crew has an incredible knack for using the framing device of video game livestreams to blur the lines between comedy and horror, or ironic anti-humor and complete sincerity. I’ve never seen anything else like this.)

10/15: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Not sure how much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The most visually creative movie I’ve ever seen, grounded by some really excellent storytelling about Miles (and now Gwen) that’s probably better than his actual comics. But it also does feel like it’s about to end and then the movie just keeps going like ten times over lmao. Can’t wait to watch this a second time on a better TV.

10/20: Sonic Superstars - A mostly really solid and fun 2D Sonic game that’s unfortunately dragged down by an extremely hodgepodge soundtrack and some overly drawn out boss fights. I spent HOURS trying to beat the final boss of the bonus scenario (which is required for the true ending in this one) before giving up. Really a shame that that’s the note I’m leaving the game on, because I otherwise enjoyed it, but ah well. More thoughts here.

10/27: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Another good Spider-Man game from Insomniac. Liked the story more than the one in Miles Morales, but maybe not as much as the first game. Extensive thoughts here.

10/28: Venom - Was in the mood for more Venom after the game. As expected this was not a very good movie, but the dynamic between Eddie and Venom made it a fun watch. Tom Hardy is constantly about to shit his pants in this movie. It’s great.

10/28: Venom: Let There Be Carnage - I had a way better time with this one. Is this a good movie? No. But it cranks the insanity of the first movie up to 11. Goofy as fuck in an extremely watchable way.

November

11/5: Pluto - An absolutely masterful series that anyone interested in sci-fi needs to watch. The anime adaptation was great, and I immediately understand why people who’ve read the manga speak so highly of it. Really makes me want to get into Astro Boy more, and also read some of Urasawa’s other works.

11/18: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - Wow, just wow. When news of a Scott Pilgrim anime broke I was cautiously curious to see if we’d get a more direct adaptation of the comics, and instead it veered off in the exact opposite direction in the best way possible. This is almost entirely a different story, one that’s in conversation with the previous versions (sometimes in very meta ways), and I think it’s really valuable to see O’Malley revisiting these characters with new things to say about them. The major story divergence gives us a chance to examine the characters from a new angle - particularly Ramona, who’s the real protagonist of this version, and the evil exes, who completely steal the show. This was a great reminder of why I fell in love with this series as a teenager. I now genuinely hope we get more Scott Pilgrim.

11/22: Void Rivals (Issues #1 - #6) - The first arc of the new Robert Kirkman series that kicked off Skybound’s new “Energon Universe” is now complete, and I’m left thinking Void Rivals is… okay? I thought the first issue was a decent (if not particularly original) sci-fi comic with an appealing art style, which just so happens to also briefly have a Transformer in it so there can be a Big Surprise. And the series still hasn’t quite shaken that feeling to me. It’s an okay sci-fi series that arbitrarily dedicates a couple of pages of every issue to something from Transformers, but I’m not really sure what the shared universe stuff adds to Void Rivals, or what Void Rivals adds to Transformers and GI Joe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

11/22: Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History (Defunctland) - Yeah, gotta be honest, I only got halfway through this one. It seems like Kevin just 1) really wanted to push himself creatively and 2) make a love letter to Epcot, and while I respect that, I think it suffers as a historical documentary. It’s Fantasia but for the creation of Epcot. That might be very impressive on a technical level, but it feels more like a piece of Disney propaganda than prior Defunctland videos due to a lack of context and nuance. 

11/24: Aperture Desk Job - A short, sweet, and funny little tech demo for my new Steam Deck set in the Portal universe. More effort was definitely put into this than was strictly necessary.

11/26: ESCHATOS - I am not good at bullet hell games, but I enjoy them from time to time and I really love this one’s FM synth soundtrack, so I picked it up on a whim in the Steam sale. I only beat it on Easy, but still, I had a lot of fun with it! It’s straightforward but very flashy, with the camera dynamically zooming around from set piece to set piece at ridiculous speeds and each level segueing directly into the next. The lack of a powerup system on the main mode in favor of just needing to know when to use your different shot types makes it feel very approachable.

11/27: Lunistice - A great little 3D platformer with a good soundtrack that I had fun hunting down all the secrets in. This is an easy recommendation for fans of games like Kirby or Klonoa - whimsical games set in colorful dream worlds where the underlying story can get a bit more somber. (Although the story in this one is mostly told through mildly cryptic lore dumps, so your mileage there may vary.)

11/28: Spark the Electric Jester 2 - The leap from 2D to 3D here is impressive, but this is very clearly a rough draft for Spark 3. Very, very fun Sonic-style 3D platforming, but the combat is lacking and the storytelling is just kinda bad. More extensive thoughts on this and the above two games here.

December

12/2: Fortnite (Chapter 4) - This was my first full chapter of Fortnite, after having been roped into the game by the siren songs of Zero Build mode and Goku during Chapter 3. This means it’s harder for me to compare this chapter to previous ones, but still, Fortnite remains a genuinely very well made Battle Royale shooter that’s a blast with friends. If I have any complaint about this Chapter, it’s that they would regularly introduce zany ideas and then slowly reel them back in, whether it was the Augment system or the increasingly mundane movement items. It also felt like it was a little too easy to get the perfect loadout in every match, meaning the final showdown would almost always be against players with Slurp Juice and gold shotguns. And I missed the smaller mid-season map updates of Chapter 3. But overall I still had a really good time, and look forward to playing more for the foreseeable future.

12/4: Plagiarism and You(Tube) (HBomberguy) - This will get written off by many as “YouTuber drama,” but this really is an excellent video essay that feels like the kick in the pants that YouTube needs. If video essayists are gonna be a major source of information for so many, then they gotta have standards. I also think it does a good job of highlighting the people that have been plagiarized and trying to drive more attention their way in an attempt to right those wrongs.

12/6: Transformers (Skybound comic) - We only got the first three issues of this in 2023, but I just HAVE to say something about how incredible this series is here. Daniel Warren Johnson is knocking it out of the park. This is the new bar for Transformers. The hand-inked art is extremely dynamic and full of character, and the story is using the familiar beats of G1 Transformers but doing very new things with them. You can tell this from the very first page, but the emotional scene of Optimus accidentally crushing a deer in the forest and realizing how fragile life is on Earth sealed the deal for me. And yet in the very same comics Optimus can do suplexes and clotheslines and lord knows how many other wrestling moves on Decepticons, and it doesn’t feel like tonal whiplash? These comics just fucking rule, and anyone with even the slightest interest in Transformers should be reading them.

12/8: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) - [spoilers] WWDITS has very much settled into being a status quo show. Every season has its own little arc where one or two things change to keep things interesting, but then everything returns to normal by the end. Guillermo finally becoming a vampire, only to become a human again in the end, might just be the most egregious example of this yet. But also… the show’s still really funny? And I continue to be happy that Kristen Schaal has stuck around as a series regular as the Guide. So it’s hard to complain. I could see the show running out of steam over the next few seasons, but it’s still hitting for me right now.

12/12: Pony Island - Finally got around to this since the trailer for the sequel dropped. I feel like playing this years later in a post-Inscryption world where Pony Island is a known quantity kind of lessens its impact, but still, it’s a fun and funny puzzle game where you try to hack your way out of a possessed arcade machine. I’m not sure I found it particularly scary, but I’m not sure it’s supposed to be? The way the game messes with you during the Asmodeus “boss fight” was probably the highlight for me. I also like being able to say things like “The part where you have to not kill Jesus was so hard. I kept getting terrible butterfly patterns.”

12/16: Breaking Bad VR but the AI is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - As always, Wayne and co.’s commitment to the bit is unrivaled. This kind of got interpreted as just a way to troll HLVRAI fans, but so many moments in this genuinely made me laugh out loud.

12/18: Soul of Sovereignty Prelude - As someone who would list Cucumber Quest as a big creative influence, I was naturally very excited for this first chapter of GGDG’s new visual novel. Their mentality of both scaling things back in terms of labor while also going more shamelessly self-indulgent in terms of storytelling after burning out on making webcomics has really spoken to me, and WOW, the end result of that new process of theirs is shaping up to be something really special. The art and music are sparse but extremely evocative, giving you the rough sketch of the world and letting your mind fill in the rest. The story blends literary high fantasy vibes with the style of fantasy seen in ‘90s JRPGs (you can definitely tell this came from an idea for an RPG), but rather than constantly winking at the audience and making self-aware video game references it plays these storytelling ideas extremely sincerely, giving them real dramatic weight while still indulging in fun tropes to their fullest extent. While it’s a far cry from their most famous work with much more mature content, GGDG always excels at creating characters and worlds that immediately grab me. I can’t wait for the rest.

12/18: Barbie - I’m only… what, five months late for the whole Barbenheimer thing? Perfect timing. Anyway! On the one hand, I get the critiques saying that this movie is just a major corporation funding a self-aware feminist critique of their own product as a marketing ploy. And I kinda agree with that. And the movie is a little too long, and I don’t really know what to think of the way the Barbie/Ken conflict plays out. Anthony asked me to summarize what the story ended up being about, and I had no idea what to even say. But also… I did still like the movie? We don’t get a lot of cartoonish, absurdist, fourth wall breaking comedies like this anymore, and this is a good one of those. Also the whole cast is great, the set design is kind of stunning, and the cinematography is consistently appealing. I wouldn’t say it’s a revolutionary work of feminist filmmaking by any stretch, but it’s a good comedy movie.

12/21: Dr. Stone: New World - Man, Dr. Stone is great. I’ve said this many times, but I just love that this series uses all the trappings of shounen that would normally be used to hype up the protagonist learning a new move to instead hype up things like the protagonist building a loom or a hot air balloon. It’s shounen Bill Nye. I didn’t completely love everything about the Treasure Island arc this season, but it all built towards a really fun climax with a lot of satisfying turnabouts where the heroes use their ingenuity to just barely win.

12/23: The History of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out World Records (Summoning Salt) - Truly one of my favorite Summoning Salt videos ever, even with how repetitive Punch-Out can get to watch. It’s just so hard to beat “and that runner… was me.”

12/24: Super Mario Bros. Wonder - What more can be said that hasn’t already been said? It’s the best and most creative 2D Mario game since the ‘90s. The only real flaws are that it’s a little easy, the Search Party stages are annoying in singleplayer, and I wish that every boss prior to the final boss wasn’t just some form of Bowser Jr. fight. But those aren’t nearly enough to drag the whole experience down. It was a blast.

12/24: Do a Powerbomb! - Got this from Anthony as a birthday present. This is the previous series by the creative team currently doing the new Transformers comics I was gushing about a few entries ago. Even with the high bar set by those comics, Do a Powerbomb! exceeded my expectations. Holy shit. An absolutely entrancing fantasy wrestling miniseries full of dynamic, energetic action and tons of heart. These comics where a guy wrestles a giant talking orangutan almost made me cry. Twice. An instant favorite.

12/25: Adventure Time (rewatch) - We ended up finishing our rewatch of Adventure Time (the main series, anyway) on my 30th birthday, which feels appropriate. I already kinda knew this, but this rewatch has truly confirmed that Adventure Time is my favorite TV series of all time. The entire show is even better on a full series rewatch. In hindsight, even parts that annoyed me when they aired end up being important parts of the beautiful tapestry that is this series. The many low points of Finn’s adolescent love life are important stepping stones in his growth as a person, which leaves him in an extremely satisfying place by the end. Jake having kids didn’t get to be a huge status quo change because they grew up instantly, but then they did a bunch of fun episodes about Jake’s relationships with his adult children that deepened him as a character. And most of the big lore questions they kept teasing over the years (“Where’d the humans go?” “Who are Finn’s parents?” “When’s Finn gonna get a robot arm?” etc.) ended up getting satisfying and creative answers, because the show left itself the room to figure those things out later. This is a truly special, one-of-a-kind series, one that lasted nearly 300 episodes and yet still seems like it was over too soon. And yes, I did in fact cry during the final montage, like I knew I would. I will always cherish this show with all of my heart.

12/25: Olive the Other Reindeer (rewatch) - Haven’t seen this one since I was a kid! It was a favorite of mine back then, and while it might not be quite as funny as I remember it’s still very cute, with a 2D/3D hybrid art style that remains very unique and appealing. As an adult I can also appreciate the cast they got for this, with like half the cast of Futurama bolstered by guests like Michael Stipe from REM and The Sopranos’ Joe Pantoliano.

12/26: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - Anthony and I capped off our Christmas with the most jolly and festive stop motion movie of all! Jokes aside, man, what a beautiful movie. The animation is immaculate, and we really just don’t get children’s animated films like this anymore. Ones that overtly feature real world politics and religion and so many other dark themes in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids or sugarcoat things. This one hits hard. We need more movies like this.

12/31: Oppenheimer - This was an interesting one. Despite being three hours, the way that first hour jumps around in time makes it feel like Oppenheimer is constantly being propelled forward through life at a breakneck pace, swept up by the rising tide of nationalism in spite of his personal left wing politics, never really reflecting on what he’s doing until it’s too late. Then when he’s no longer useful to the empire, he’s chewed up and spat out, only to eventually be honored as a national hero as a symbolic gesture. It’s a compelling story. However, I’m a little torn on how certain aspects of history were framed. Does the abstraction of the bombings detract from the true weight of those events, in favor of sympathizing with the man who built the bomb? Or is it clever a way to show how the realities of the war were compartmentalized away by people who were complicit in its most heinous acts of violence? One minute a bunch of physicists are talking theory, thousands of miles away from the theaters of war, and the next they’ve killed 200,000 people. So which is it? Eh, probably somewhere in the middle, I guess. But I liked it overall.

12/31: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe - I’ve been really surprised by how good this rerelease is. It kind of flew under the radar for me. I liked the original game, but at the time it also almost felt like the New Super Mario Bros. of Kirby. It was a straightforward throwback game where you went through a grass world, then a desert world, then a water world, etc., and also they added four player co-op. But returning to this one after the kinda mid Star Allies has made me appreciate just how solid RtDL is as a Kirby game. I really like the updated graphics, too - yes, even the new cel shaded outlines around the characters - even though I didn’t think it looked that great in screenshots. Also the two new copy abilities (Sand and Mecha) are fun, the minigame collection is shockingly fleshed out to the point that they could’ve sold it as a standalone eShop game, the collectible character masks are fun, and the new epilogue mode where you play as Magolor is one of the coolest bonus modes they’ve ever done. This is a top tier Kirby remake any fan of the series should check out.

Ongoing things I followed in 2023 that don't have a blurb:

Halo Infinite multiplayer

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (main series + specials)

One Piece

Chainsaw Man

My Hero Academia (not caught up)

The JOJOlands (not caught up)

Things I started in 2023 that I still need to finish:

Freedom Planet 2

Hi-Fi Rush

Live A Live

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Picross 3D Round 2

Rhythm Heaven MegaMix

Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Spark the Electric Jester 3

Sonic Dream Team

One Piece (Wano arc, anime)

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (I’ve already read the Shibuya arc already in the manga, though)

Astro Boy (2003 anime)

Futurama (original run rewatch)

One Piece (manga reread)

The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee/Ditko era)

Scott Pilgrim series (reread)

And finally... my favorites of 2023!!!

Overall favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Favorite indie game: Pseudoregalia

Games remastered in 2023 that are now among my all-time faves: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, We Love Katamari

Most pleasant surprise in gaming: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Favorite film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Favorite live action show: Barry

Favorite anime: Pluto

Favorite anime written by a Canadian guy and an American guy based on the Canadian guy's old graphic novel series: Scott PIlgrim Takes Off

Favorite live action adaptation of an anime that I still can't believe they didn't fuck up: One Piece

Favorite Western cartoon: Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake

Favorite older cartoon I only got around to watching in its entirety this year: The Venture Bros.

Favorite documentary: Double Fine PsychOdyssey

Favorite semi-improvised semi-scripted absurdist comedy/horror/tragedy Twitch livestream performance art thing: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware finale (wayneradiotv)

Favorite manga: Chainsaw Man

Favorite older manga that I only read this year: Berserk

Favorite Western comic book: Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers

Favorite album: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock)

And that's a wrap!!!!! Happy new year, everyone! Here's to me maybe actually reading a goddamn book this year

[spinus-pinus]

Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata

2/16/2023 Disneyland Park, California

[basu-shokikita]

Kloktober 2023 Day 15

Dethklok on Vacation

I wanted to write Dethklok chilling at the beach for this but I already wrote a Skwistok beach fic very recently for the Seasons Zine so I had to think harder for it.

And then, it came to me. The answer was so obvious...

Nathan looked at his surroundings. He had never been happier to see lines, crying babies, lovey-dovey couples or to have excited children bump into him, colored drinks in hand. 

It was their first vacation since the world almost ended, so Nathan was learning to appreciate all those little things he once took for granted.

Oh, and also, they were in Disneyland. Magic Kingdom, to be more specific. It was his favorite, he was a man of classic taste after all. Just the sight of the Cinderella Castle in the distance soothed his heart. Except this time, the crowds did too.

“Nethans, Nethans!” He heard Toki call him enthusiastically and he turned to him.

Toki was wearing Minnie Mouse ears, hand clasping Skwisgaar’s, who was wearing Mickey Mouse ears to match. Not that the latter had been keen to do it, simply given up against Toki’s relentless insistence. Even now, he looked less than excited to be there.

“Skwisgaar and me wants to goes to the Mad Tea Parties!” Toki said. “Cans we?”

Nathan exchanged glances with Pickles and they both shrugged. “Sure.” He said. They normally did everything together, the lines, the food, the attractions unless someone got lost. Things were different this time, though.

Beaming, Toki pulled Skwisgaar by the hand and they went in another direction and Nathan was left seeing their backs. Toki pointed at things, chatting happily while hugging Skwisgaar’s arm. While Skwisgaar didn’t return the affection, he didn’t reject it either and Toki seemed to read that as encouragement to kiss his cheek.

Toki and Skwisgaar had always been close, in their own particular way. Or rather, it was like they were two halves of the same thing. What thing was that? Nathan had no idea. But at some point after the defeated Salacia, that…wholeness seemed to turn into something else. While Nathan would’ve been shocked and even kind of thrown off before, he couldn’t find it in himself to care now. Lots of things lost their impact after surviving the end of the world. Walking into Toki and Skwisgaar kissing wasn’t impressive after witnessing thousands die and realizing your main connection on this Earth had been with the band all along. Hell, maybe they were all a little gay. Maybe he was kind of gay too.

Maybe?

“I’m going to Big Thunder Mountain.” Murderface announced and also left, like a child making use of his independence for the first time. 

Murderface has also changed lately, making less of a fuss about everything he did. It made Nathan wonder if all this time he had been simply seeking their attention and approval. And now that he knew he had it, he could act more naturally. 

Man, he was sure having big thoughts while in the line for “it’s a small world”. It was his ultimate favorite attraction, hands. down. Always made him shed brutal tears seeing those little dolls dressed as people from all over the world and dancing. And he had a feeling this time he would cry even harder over them.

“I fucking love Disneyland!” He said, to himself and anyone that could hear him, really.

Pickled snorted, shoving another handful of loaded fries into his mouth. He was wearing a Goofy Hat, complete with ears, and wayfarer sunglasses so the kids didn’t see how high he was. “I fucken’ missed it, dood.” He said.

“Me too!” Nathan agreed, raising his fists in the air with furor. “This is awesome!”

Pickles smiled. “Yea.”

As he let his arms fall, Nathan inhaled deeply and felt in the air. In the air, even. In everything around him right now. In the child that had dropped his ice cream just now and was about to start crying, in the trees waving with the afternoon breeze, in the sign that said they still had 40 minutes to go. In his friend standing next to him right now, waiting to get in this silly ride with him like there was nothing better he could do. 

“Hey, Pickles?”

“Yea?”

“I love you, man.”

Even with the sunglasses, Nathan could tell Pickles was staring at him with wide eyes.  “Huh?”

Usually, a reaction like that would discourage him from showing any more emotion. Not today, however. “I said I love you!” He repeated, pulling Pickles into a forceful hug and rubbing that dumb, balding head of his. “I do!”

As it happened, Pickles had a tendency to deflect compliments, though this time it was harder while being squeezed between Nathan’s arms. “Ow-What- Nethan did you take sumthin’?” He sputtered against Nathan’s chest.

“Uh, no?” Nathan tried to remember. It was stupid and definitely the kind of stuff he would’ve punched a regular jack-off for saying, but he felt high on life. Yeech, he shook his head, trying to shake off the cringe of even thinking that particular phrase.  “I’m just feeling it, man.”

“O-Okei!” Pickles finally managed to pull away from Nathan’s grasp, one hand holding the plate with the remains of the fries, the other holding his now smushed sunglasses. There was a mark on the bridge of his nose and his face was flushed so funny that it made him look like a fucked up strawberry. “I love ya too, dood.” He said, like he was trying to get it out of the way already.

“Cool.” Nathan smiled. “I already knew that.”

Pickles made an offended noise, though he still broke into a grin. “Now, aren’t ya fucken’ humble.” He shoved Nathan playfully.

“Whatever.” Nathan eyed the fries on Pickles’ hands. “Can I have some?”

“Oh, sure.” Pickles raised his hand, to bring the food closer to Nathan, but when Nathan leaned in, he smashed it against his face. While cold melted cheddar invaded his nostrils, Nathan heard him laugh. “Bet ya didn’t see th’t one comin’!” 

He wanted to get mad, yet he couldn’t. “You’re such an asshole, Pickles.” Nathan chuckled, wiping his face.

“Whatever.” Pickles shrugged, still laughing, which made Nathan burst into laughter in turn.

And so they remained, in hysterics over some dumb prank while the people in front of them threw them judgemental glare.

Happiness was really fucking brutal. 

[clippy]

How did you become so interested in iasw? I’m genuinely curious and I would love to learn more about it! Also, what’s so special about… 𝐓 𝐇 𝐄 𝐂 𝐋 𝐎 𝐂 𝐊 .

Would you believe me if I said it was literally an accident LOL...

Like okay. I grew up going to WDW and Disneyland (as well as other theme parks but those were the main two; my dad grew up going to WDW so the obsession has spanned generations I guess lmao) small world was always a must-do, but my main theme park interests as a kid lied within everything Epcot-related (and it still does)

Anyway, my last trip to WDW prior to getting the Disney parks as a special interest was in 2014. I went with my high school band and it was kind of a whole thing (high school drama shit + spring break week + having to do performances in band) so we didn't get the most park time possible. We wound up skipping small world which makes me Wonder if this interest would have been kick started sooner if we didn't skip it. But anyway. Fast forward to 2018. I am visiting my friend (and now roommate) who is watching a bunch of animatronic and theme park videos and I, a clueless man, decided to watch with her and it literally awoke a sleeper cell in my brain or something because I've been *nonstop* obsessed ever since 🧍

Like literally during that session of watching videos I designed my objecthead version of Clockboy. My life has not known peace ever sense, and tbh has drastically been altered (I'll get into that later)

But yeah the Autism(TM) made me have an insatiable hunger for knowledge about everything small world-related... I still don't know EVERYTHING about it, as there are lots of variations and history, etc. involving the installments of the attraction outside of Disneyland, but my main focus is the original world's fair & Disneyland version of the attraction (since they're the same thing... Mostly) as well as IASW facades in general...

There are tons of people who have equally as niche interests within the attraction's history which I think is SO cool. Like the fact that this nearly 60 year old ride has enough meat on its bones to have whole sub-groups of what people like about it is endearing

The history about it is what has drawn me into it (aside from the funny clock) because it almost didn't happen! There was a near missed connection between a Pepsi exec and Walt Disney himself that, had that not happened, we wouldn't have gotten the ride at all. I don't want to relay the entire history here (the Imagineering Story & Behind the Attraction episodes about the world's fair attractions get into it, as well as a plethora of YouTube videos documenting the ride), but that story about the beginnings of it is so dear to me, and I can't explain why.

But anyway, since my primary focus is the original attraction and facades, I've done some reading about imagineers Mary Blair and Rolly Crump, who have become two of my favorite visual artists and large inspirations for me. Crump has a few books and interviews out that have been interesting to read, but admittedly I've had a hard time finding firsthand accounts from Blair herself. I'm sure some art out there but finding them has been tricky since I don't get a lot of time to do research in general (the stuff by Crump was all found on accident, and he also had the benefit of being alive until 2023 so getting firsthand accounts from him was easier)

Otherwise I am just... Constantly googling stuff and looking for old pictures and merchandise related to IASW. It gets me a lot of answers, surprisingly. I go to Disneyland at least once a month to go ride it and visit my boy.

Still not entirely sure WHY my brain fixated on IASW and the clock specifically, but that's just the hand I was dealt I guess 🤷 don't get me wrong, I still love Epcot stuff and have other silly theme park guys I love (RX-24.... 🥺) but the small world clock has such a stronghold on my brain and I genuinely don't think he's leaving any time soon LOL

It's so funny to me because 6 years ago, I would never have guessed this would have been my next special interest. I was working at a job I liked decently enough. I was still dropped out of school and had no urge to go back, and I was considering moving to Seattle... But now I work in a theme park doing a job I never saw myself having (which is fine, I like my job!), I'm back in school (pursuing a degree I hope I can spin into a career in theme park design 🤞), and I live in California now. Wild how that happens.

The small world clock may not be special to most people (I mean, a lot of people DO like him, I see tons of people taking photos in front of small world with him as the backdrop!) but he is extremely special to me. I treasure him so so so much, and do genuinely think my life has been better with him in it... It's silly that a funny clock face has done So Much to my brain and life but :'-) I love him so it's okay!

Anyway sorry that this is long and sappy LOL, you happened to ask this close to the 6 year anniversary of me getting into small world (it's on March 31 to be exact 😊) so it made me reflect a bit lol

TL;DR sources for more IASW info:

The Imagineering Story Episode 1: The Happiest Place on Earth (1964-1965 New York World's Fair stuff is about 35 min in) -- on Disney+

Behind the Attraction Episode 8: "it's a small world" -- on Disney+

"it's kind of a cute story" by Rolly Crump (interviews; written down by Jeff Heimbuch)

Defunctland's 1964-1965 NYWF video talks about it a decent amount if I remember right

any pictorial souvenir guides about the attraction (currently, and slowly, working on scanning mine in, and will share them once I do, but they're up on eBay a lot if you collect that sort of thing)

Sorry I don't have 🏴‍☠️ links for the D+ stuff or the book but I currently don't have the spoons to search for them

[clarktooncrossing]

Didn't Wanna Feel Old in 2023? Sucks to be You!

Happy 2023 everybody! It's a new year meaning I've got new goals to meet. Goals like finally publishing something, setting up commissions so people can pay me to do what I love, cross-posting between my account here and on deviantART, summoning more kaijus just so they can play elaborate games of poker, y'know, all that good stuff. It also means the return of my 'list of things that have reached a milestone anniversary' list. However, it seems like I've been doing this for so long that these lists have in fact reached their own milestone. From what I could tell, this is the fifth year of my doing this, at least on deviantART. If that doesn't make you feel right from the gate, I present the following:

If I don't mention this my buddy Volts48 won't let me rest; the highly influential sci-fi movie Metropolis turns 100 years old this year, meaning it is now in the public domain. I plan to take full advantage of this fact later, but for now I have the rest of this list to get to...

Anything from 1973 turns 50 years old this year. This includes...

Schoolhouse Rock! (Jan 6th)

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (June 13th)

Robin Hood (yes, the version with the fox) (Nov 18th)

Pirates of the Caribbean (Magic Kingdom) (December 15th)

Charlotte's Web (the animated movie, not the book) (March 1st)

Godzilla vs Megalon (March 17th)

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (April 5th)

Soylent Green (May 9th)

The Exorcist (December 26th)

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (November 20th)

The Young and the Restless (March 26th)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (Sept 8th)

Super Friends (Sept 8th)

Asteroid (Space Race) (July 16th)

The Night Gwen Stacy Died (MARVEL) (June - July 1973)

'We’re an American Band' by Grand Funk Railroad

'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album (Oct 5th)

Anything from 1978 turns 45 years old this year. This includes...

Alien (May 25th)

The Cat from Outer Space (June 9th)

The Star Wars Holiday Special (Nov 17th)

The Small One (Dec 16th)

Jaws 2 (June 16th)

Grease (July 8th)

Revenge of the Pink Panther (July 13th)

Animal House (July 28th)

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (Oct 8th)

Halloween (Oct 25th)

Watership Down (Nov 1st)

The Lord of the Rings (animated version) (Nov 15th)

Superman: The Movie (Dec 15th)

Lupin the Third: The Secret of Mamo (Dec 16th)

Fantasy Island (Jan 14th)

The Incredible Hulk (TV series) (March 10th)

The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series) (April 15th)

Hanna Barbera's Godzilla (Sept 9th)

Yogi's Space Race (Sept 9th)

Taxi (Sept 12th)

WKRP in Cincinnati (Sept 18th)

Space Invaders (April 1st)

Anything from 1983 turns 40 years old this year. This includes...

Mickey Mouse Splashdance

Journey into Imagination (EPCOT) (March 5th)

Winnie the Pooh and A Day for Eeyore (March 26th)

Tokyo Disneyland (April 15th)

They Disney Channel (Rest in Peace) (April 18th)

Welcome to Pooh Corner (April 18th)

Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi (May 25th)

Pinocchio's Daring Journey (Disneyland) (May 25th)

Sorcerer's Apprentice (Atari 2600) (Aug 5th)

Horizons (EPCOT) (Oct 1st)

Mickey's Christmas Carol (Dec 16th)

The first annual Walt Disney World Christmas Day parade (Dec 25th)

Superman III (June 17th)

Jaws 3-D (July 22nd)

National Lampoon's Vacation (July 29th)

Risky Business (Aug 5th)

Cujo (August 12th)

A Christmas Story (Nov 18th)

Scarface (Dec 9th)

Fraggle Rock (Jan 10th)

A-Team (Jan 23rd)

Reading Rainbow (July 11th)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Sept 5th)

Alvin and the Chipmunks (Sept 17th)

Cheers (Sept 30th)

The Video Game Crash of 1983

Mirage Studios (Sept 30th)

DC acquires Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and The Question

'Let's Dance' by David Bowie

'Mr. Roboto' by Styx

The My Little Pony franchises as a whole

Anything from 1988 turns 35 years old this year. This includes...

Good Morning Vietnam (Jan 15th)

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Jan 17th)

IllumiNations (EPCOT) (Jan 20th)

Totally Minnie (Feb 25th)

Willow (May 20th)

Big (June 3rd)

Norway (EPCOT) (June 3rd)

Mickey's Birthdayland (Magic Kingdom) (June 18th)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (June 21st)

Die Hard (July 22nd)

Language Arts Through Imagination starring Figment (he's a dragon) (Sept 8th)

Oliver and Company (Nov 18th)

Tin Toy (Dec 30th)

Beetlejuice (March 30th)

Return of the Killer Tomatoes (April 22nd)

Rambo III (May 25h)

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (May 27th)

My Neighbor Totoro (July 13th)

Mac & Me (Aug 12th)

Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (Sept 14th)

Akira (Oct 19th)

They Live (Nov 14th)

The Land Before Time (Nov 18th)

Scrooged (Nov 23rd)

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Nov 29th)

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (Dec 2nd)

Twins (Dec 9th)

Count Duckula (Feb 6th)

Denver, the Last Dinosaur (April 1st)

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (Sept 10th)

Alf Tales (Sept 10th)

Garfield and Friends (Sept 17th)

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy's Nightmares (Oct 8th)

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Nov 24th)

Final Fantasy II (Dec 17th)

Mega Man 2 (Dec 24th)

Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3

Nintendo Power

The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

Batman: A Death in the Family (this was not Batman's year)

'Don't Worry Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin

'It Takes Two by Rob Base' and DJ EZ Rock

'Parents Just Don't Understand' by Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff

'Nothin' But a Good Time' by Poison

'Cult of Personality' by Living Colour

Anything from 1993 turns 30 years old this year. This includes...

Homeward Bound: An Incredible Journey (Feb 3rd)

Roger Rabbit in Trail Mix-Up (March 12th)

The Sandlot (April 7th)

Super Mario Bros, the unfortunate film (May 28th)

Hocus Pocus (July 16th)

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (July 28th)

Bill Nye the Science Guy (Sept 10th)

Boy Meets World (Sept 24th)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Oct 29th)

Mrs. Doubtfire (Nov 2nd)

Disney's Sing-A-Long Songs: The 12 Days of Christmas (Dec 1993)

Tombstone (Dec 25th)

Groundhog Day (Feb 12th)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (March 19th)

Jurassic Park (June 11th)

Last Action Hero (June 13th)

Free Willy (July 16th)

Coneheads (July 23rd)

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (Aug 13th)

The Thief and the Cobbler (Aug 25th)

Demolition Man (Oct 8th)

Addams Family Values (Nov 19th)

We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (Nov 24th)

Schindler's List (Dec 15th)

Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers (Dec 17th)

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Dec 25th)

Beavis and Butt-Head (March 8th)

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (Aug 27th)

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Aug 28th)

Late Show with David Letterman (Aug 30th)

The X-Files (Sept 10th)

Legends of the Hidden Temple (Sept 11th)

Animaniacs (Sept 13th)

Late Night with Conan O'Brien (Sep 13th)

Fraiser (Sept 16th)

Rocko's Modern Life (Sept 18th)

The Atari Jaguar

DOOM

Sam and Max: Hit the Road

Batman: Knightfall by Alan Grant

'I'll Do Anything For Love' by Meatloaf

'Shoop' by Salt-n-Peppa (Deadpool's favorite!)

Anything from 1998 turns 25 years old this year. This includes...

Movie Surfers (Jan 1st)

Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World (Feb 17th)

PB&J Otter (March 15th)

The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) (April 5th)

Toon Disney (April 18th)

Disney's Animal Kingdom (April 22nd)

Mulan (July 22nd)

The Parent Trap (remake) (July 29th)

Hercules: The Series (Aug 31st)

Out of the Box (Oct 7th)

Halloweentown (Oct 17th)

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (Oct 27th)

Rollie Pollie Ollie (Nov 6th)

A Bug's Life (Nov 24th)

Mighty Joe Young (Dec 25th)

Elmopalooza (Feb 20th)

The Big Lebowski (March 16th)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (May 19th)

The unfortunate American Godzilla film (May 20th) and it's surprisingly good TV follow up (Sept 12th)

The Truman Show (June 5th)

Saving Private Ryan (July 24th)

Blade (Aug 19th)

Rush Hour (Sept 18th)

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (Sept 22nd)

Antz (Oct 2nd)

The Rugrats Movie (Nov 20th)

The Prince of Egypt (Dec 16th)

Power Rangers in Space (Feb 6th)

CatDog (April 4th)

Sex and the City (June 6th)

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Aug 5th)

That 70s Show (Aug 23rd)

The Wild Thornberrys (Sept 1st)

Will & Grace (Sept 21st)

The Powerpuff Girls (Nov 18th)

Banjo Kazooie (June 29th)

Spyro the Dragon (Sept 19th)

Half Life (Nov 19th)

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nov 21st)

The Sega Dreamcast

Gameboy Color

Spider-Girl (Feb 1998) - Fitting, considering she makes her cinematic debut this year in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith from the soundtrack for Armageddon

'...Baby One More Time' by Brittney Spears

Anything from 2003 turns 20 years old this year. This includes...

That's So Raven (Jan 17th)

The Jungle Book 2 (Feb 14th)

Atlantis: Milo's Return (Feb 25th)

Piglet's Big Movie (March 21st)

Holes (April 18th)

The Lizzie McGuire Movie (May 2nd)

X2 (May 2nd)

Finding Nemo (May 30th)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (July 9th)

The Simpsons: Hit & Run (Sept 16th)

Lilo & Stitch! The Series (Sept 20th)

Mickey's PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom) (Oct 8th)

Brother Bear (Nov 1st)

Star Wars: Clone Wars (Tartakovsky) (Nov 7th)

The Haunted Mansion (movie) (Nov 26th)

Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time (Nov 28th)

Destino (Dec 19th)

Kangaroo Jack (January 17th)

Daredevil (movie) (Feb 14th)

Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (March 18th)

Daddy Day Care (May 4th)

Matrix Reloaded (May 16th) and Revolutions (Oct 27th)

Bruce Almighty (May 23rd)

Rugrats Go Wild (June 13th)

Ang Lee's Hulk (June 17th)

The Room (June 27th)

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (July 2nd)

Freddy vs Jason (Aug 13th)

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (Oct 10th)

Elf (Nov 7th)

The Cat in the Hat (movie) (Nov 8th)

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (Nov 9th)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Dec 17th)

Big Fish (Dec 25th)

Mythbusters (Jan 23rd)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (KidsWB animated series) (Feb 8th)

Power Rangers Ninja Storm (Feb 15th)

Red vs Blue (April 1st)

All Grown Up! (April 12th)

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (July 11th)

Teen Titans (July 19th)

My Life as a Teenage Robot (Aug 1st)

Clifford's Puppy Days (Sept 1st)

Devil May Cry 2 (Jan 25th)

Postal 2 (April 14th)

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (June 20th)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (July 5th)

Jak II (Oct 14th)

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (Oct 14th)

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Oct 28th)

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (Oct 29th)

Call of Duty (Oct 29th)

Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando (Nov 11th)

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

Invincible (Image) (Jan 2003)

JLA/Avengers (Sept 2003)

The Walking Dead (Image) (Oct 2003)

'Where is the Love?' by Black Eyed Peas

Anything from 2008 turns 15 years old this year. This includes...

Phineas and Ferb (Feb 1st)

Horton Hears a Who! (movie) (March 3rd)

Iron Man (May 2nd), The Incredible Hulk (June 13th), and the birth of the MCU

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22nd)

Toy Story Mania! (Hollywood Studios) (June 17th)

WALL-E (aka the greatest movie ever!) (June 27th)

Star Wars: Clone Wars (movie) (Aug 10th)

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Sept 16th)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Oct 24th)

Tinker Bell (Oct 28th)

BURN-E (Nov 18th)

Bolt (Nov 21st)

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Dec 17th)

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (Jan 11th)

Rambo (Jan 24th)

Kung Fu Panda (June 6th)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11th)

The Dark Knight (July 18th)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Aug 1st)

Ponyo (Aug 14th)

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Nov 7th)

Twilight (Nov 21) - I'M VENGEANCE!

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Jan 13th)

Breaking Bad (Jan 20th)

Power Rangers Jungle Fury (Feb 18th)

Spectacular Spider-Man (the best incarnation of the wall-crawler) (March 8th)

Ben 10: Alien Force (April 8th)

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (June 5th)

The Penguins of Madagascar (Nov 28th)

Super Smash Bros Brawl (Jan 31st)

God of War: Chains of Olympus (March 4th)

Dead Space (Oct 13th)

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (Oct 21st)

Little Big Planet (Oct 27th)

Fallout 3 (Oct 28th)

Mirror's Edge (Nov 11th)

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Nov 16th)

Gears of War 2 (Nov 7th)

Left 4 Dead (Nov 17th)

Sonic Unleashed (Nov 18th)

Grand Theft Auto IV (Dec 2nd)

Lego Batman and Indiana Jones

Final Crisis (May 2008)

Marvel Apes (Oct - Nov 2008)

'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Hot n Cold' by Katty Perry

'Viva la Vida' by Coldplay

'So What?' by P!NK

Anything from 2013 turns 10 years old this year. This includes...

Sofia the First (Jan 11th)

Aliens: Colonial Marines (Feb 12th)

Oz, the Great and Powerful (March 8th)

Iron Man 3 (May 3rd)

Mystic Point (Hong Kong Disneyland) (May 17th)

Monsters University (June 21st)

Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel (Aug 16th)

Disney Infinity (Aug 18th)

Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (Sep 2nd)

Toy Story of Terror! (Oct 16th)

Thor: The Dark World (Nov 8th)

Frozen (Nov 27th)

The current run of Mickey Mouse cartoons (Nov 29th)

Saving Mr. Banks (Dec 20th)

Texas Chainsaw 3D (Jan 4th)

Evil Dead (remake) (April 5th)

The Purge (June 7th)

Man of Steel (June 14th)

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (June 16th)

Despicable Me 2 (July 3rd)

Pacific Rim (July 12th)

Turbo (July 17th)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (Sept 27th)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Nov 22nd)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Dec 13th)

Teen Titans Go! (April 23rd) - HOW IS THIS STILL ON THE AIR!?!?!?

Orange Is the New Black (July 11th)

PAW Patrol (Aug 12th)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Sept 17th)

Rick and Morty (Dec 2nd)

Tomb Raider (March 5th)

God of War: Ascension (March 12th)

BioShock Infinite (March 26th)

Injustice: Gods Among Us (April 16th)

The Last of Us (June 14th)

Deadpool (video game) (June 25th)

Rayman Legends (Aug 29th)

Grand Theft Auto V (Sept 17th)

The Stanley Parable (Oct 17th)

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Oct 29th)

'Get Lucky' by Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams

'My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)' by Fall Out Boy

'Roar' by Katy Perry

'Wagon Wheel' by Darius Ruckus

'Wrecking Ball' by Miley Cyrus

'Applause' by Lady Gaga'

'What Does the Fox Say?' by Ylvis

'Happy' by Pharrell Williams

And with all that said, I hope you all have a happy new year!

Did I miss any milestones? If I did, feel free to let me know in the comments. For now though, MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

[tomorrowxtogether]

TOMORROW X TOGETHER: 5 Things To Know About Band Performing At ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’

Tomorrow X Together will ring in the New Year with Ryan Seacrest. Learn more about the K-Pop sensations here.

K-pop fans rejoice! Tomorrow X Together is set to ring in 2023 with Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The news was announced on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 and people couldn’t be more excited.

In a tweet, the Gen-Z band revealed they will be playing their hits “Good Boy Gone Bad” and “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” from Disneyland for the celebration. Other New Year’s Rockin’ Eve performers will include Ciara, Fitz and the Tantrums, Maddie & Tae, Billy Porter, Shaggy, Ben Platt, Aly & AJ, Halle Bailey, Wiz Khalifa, Finneas, and more, according to Billboard.

Fans of the group may be well acquainted with the South Korean crooners, but many others are wondering who exactly they are. The band is made up of Yeonjun, 23, Soobin, 22, Beomgyu, 21, Taehyun, 20, and HueningKai, 20, and they’ve been singing together since 2019. In that time, they’ve become giant stars, with huge crossover vibes.

Ready to learn more about rising stars Tomorrow X Together? Find out everything here.

They debuted in 2019

Plans for TxT were teased in 2017 by their record company, Big Hit Music, but the band didn’t debut their first EP, The Dream Chapter: Star, until Mar. 2019. According to their website, their name refers to five individuals who “come together under one dream in hopes of building a better tomorrow.”

Since their start, they’ve only gotten closer. Talking to NME in 2021, HueningKai said, “Our teamwork is certainly one aspect that continues to further improve with each month and year that we spend together. We can see eye-to-eye and support one another on our journey of growth both as a team and as individuals, and I think it’s really a great thing! We’re brothers.”

TxT made Billboard history

The band’s lead single “Crown” was a big hit and it even made Billboard chart history for a time. The track entered the US Billboard 200 at number 140, making it the highest-charting debut album by a male K-pop group to that date. The song also debuted at number one on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart.

They perform in multiple languages

TxT’s first two studio albums, The Dream Chapter: Magic (2019) and The Chaos Chapter: Freeze (2021), were written and sung in Korean. They expanded their reach with 2021’s Still Dreaming, which is sung in Japanese. It consists of six Japanese versions of previous Korean hits, two new instrumental tracks, an original Japanese titled “Force”, and the band’s previous Japanese release “Everlasting Shine.”

They’re on the same label as BTS

TxT is on Big Hit Music, the same label behind BTS’s success. They were the first boy band that the label debuted since BTS’s blockbuster run began back in 2013. The project was a long time coming. Big Hit founder Bang Si-hyuk hinted at plans for the group all the way back in 2017.

The group made it clear they’re not a “little brother” band to BTS in a 2021 interview with NME. “We’ve always told our own story from our debut till today and it’s a story that many have been able to relate to precisely because it’s a very real story of people living within this generation,” they said. “We’ve worked with many genres to enhance our musical capabilities and hone our sound, and through this sound, we tell stories of our generation, a generation at the crux of growth.”

The band announced plans to release the album The Name Chapter in Nov 2022. It follows their earlier EPs The Dream Chapter and The Chaos Chapter.

They teased the album with a dreamy concept trailer in early Dec. 2022, seen on Billboard. In the teaser, TxT floats around freely before being pulled up by a demon via marionette strings. Left stranded, they’re forced to take a leap of faith.

[atthedugouts]

Weekly tag wednesday

Thank you @sgtmickeyslaughter @transsexual-dandelions @mickeym4ndy and @burninface for the tag 😊

name: Sarah

when is your birthday: December

where do you call home? San Diego, California ☀️

how many pets do you have? 1 dog

what do you do for work? I work in business management. I track budgets for different projects at work.

do you believe in aliens? Yes, who doesn't believe at this point? There has to be other intelligent life out there in the infinite universe.

do you believe in ghosts? Not in literal dead people haunting the living but more in the sense that stories and history can be ghosts and can effect how people interact with a space. I don't know if that makes sense.

favorite subject in school? Band 🎷

what are you currently reading? Sadly nothing. I want to go to the bookstore before I go on vacation so if anyone has a fun summer book recommendation let me know!

what are you currently watching? I'm rewatching Community

what kind of laptop do you have (+ describe it to me): 2023 Macbook Pro. I got a teal case on it from amazon

what kind of phone do you have (+ describe it to me): iPhone 15 with a Disneyland case

no-show socks, ankle socks, or crew socks? Depends on the shoe.

what kind of headphones do you use? Mickey Mouse beats. I have tiny ears so airpod type don't fit. Also my right ear is useless so if we want to be cutesy together and share headphones it has to be my left ear. But like I said it wouldn't fit anyways.

how do you consume caffeine? Not a lot, I tell coworkers that I don't need caffeine because I don't drink it and they just stare at me like I have three heads. I do have a weakness for cherry coke though, if I see a restaurant has it I have to get it.

and finally, what are you wearing today? I'm in bed so I'm wearing PJs. Blue shorts and tank top. During the day I worked from home and I was wearing jean shorts and a long sleeve light blue top. The sleeves have slits in them so they are a bit flowy. Then I had I matching light blue bow. I love to match bows to my outfit 🎀

I don't know who hasn't done it yet and Wednesday is almost done in California

[checkthreetimes]

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 — 𝗔 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗨𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀

The world of rock music has lost one of its brightest stars. Steve Harwell, the lead singer and co-founder of Smash Mouth, passed away on Monday, September 4, 2023, at his home in Boise, Idaho. He was 56 years old. His manager confirmed that he died of liver failure, a condition that he had been battling for a long time. Harwell was not only a talented singer, but also a pop culture icon. He was famous for his distinctive voice and charismatic personality, as well as his hit songs such as "All Star" and "I'm a Believer". He had an amazing career in the music industry, spanning over three decades and selling over 10 million albums worldwide with his band. He also had a colorful life, marked by his passion for music.

He was born on January 9, 1967, in Santa Clara, California. He grew up in San Jose, where he developed an interest in rap music and joined a group called F.O.S. (Freedom of Speech). He later switched to rock music and formed Smash Mouth with his friend Kevin Coleman, along with Greg Camp and Paul De Lisle. Harwell was influenced by various artists, such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Clash.

Harwell and his bandmates started their career in 1994, playing at local venues and festivals. They caught the attention of a radio station that played their demo songs, which led to a record deal with Interscope Records. Their debut album, Fush Yu Mang , was released in 1997 and featured their first hit single, "Walkin' on the Sun", which reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Hot 100 chart.

Their second album, Astro Lounge , was released in 1999 and became their most successful album to date. It contained their signature song, "All Star", which topped the charts in several countries and became a pop culture phenomenon. The song was featured in the soundtrack of the animated film Shrek , as well as other movies and TV shows. It also earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. Another popular song from the album was "I'm a Believer", a cover of The Monkees' classic song, which also appeared in Shrek .

Smash Mouth continued to release more albums in the 2000s and 2010s, such as Get the Picture? , The Gift of Rock , Summer Girl , Magic , and Rise and Shine . They experimented with different genres and styles, such as ska punk, reggae, country, and disco. They also collaborated with other artists, such as Baha Men, Eddie Money, J.D. McPherson, and Caravan Palace. Harwell also pursued a solo career, releasing two songs for the animated film Pororo: The Racing Adventure in 2013.

Harwell received many accolades and achievements for his music career. He won several awards from MTV, Billboard , Teen Choice , ASCAP , BMI , and others. He also performed at various events and venues around the world, such as the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show, the World Series , the Olympic Games , Disneyland , and Carnegie Hall . He also appeared on several TV shows and movies, such as The Surreal Life , Rat Race , American Idol , Dancing with the Stars , Family Guy , Kim Possible , Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated , and SpongeBob SquarePants .

He died on September 4, 2023, after being in hospice care for final stage chronic liver failure. He is survived by his wife Michelle Laroque Harwell.

Harwell will be remembered as one of the most influential singers of his generation.

[dausy]

Happy New Year! I wanted to do like a comprehensive "stuff I did in 2023" but I have a terrible memory and goodreads says I only read 4 books which is completely incorrect so I don't know what I've read.

I have oddly enough done a quite a bit of things this year.

I've been here in Texas now for a year and at my current job for a year. I can tell you my spanish has improved tremendously without having any sort of scale or way to gauge to it. Still absolutely not fluent, just better than I was before we moved here. I've found my absolute favorite local coffee shop that is not a starbucks. It has great food and great coffee. I've been to many other local cafes in other states and their coffee always tasted like dirtwater and starbucks or mcdonalds has always been better (sad right?). We discovered Chilaquiles, which I have never heard of before until we moved here. Honestly we havent been to that many mexican restaurants and primarily focused on brunch spots. I also havent been out to eat since my husband left on his overseas rotation.

now that its the new year this is a new one that I've learned. Rosca de Reyes. I have never heard of it before. I've seen and had king cake around mardi gras time (which is nasty). But never Rosca de Reyes. So thats new to me.

We took several trips this year. We started our year off at Knotts Berry Farm and Downtown Disney. We visited my husbands side of the family a lot because now we're so close (8 hour drive and all). So we saw them for Easter. My SIL had her 21st birthday so we visited Las Vegas. This was right before they opened that giant globe and I did not see it..in the distance..its turned-off-ness. I completely missed it and never saw it. They were starting to gate everything off too for the car racing thing they were doing. She got to jump out of an airplane and I was not down to watching that. Cant do it. Makes me want to vomit. But she survived and said it was the greatest experience ever.

We then went back to the Los Angeles area around June/July to visit the beach and the Mario land in Universal Studios. I'd never been to US in California before only Florida. So that was an interesting experience too. I think mario was cool but unless it grows more, its not really worth it. The jurassic park ride for sure was more superior than the one in Orlando and the park tour was interesting surprisingly.

ran into a few celebrities on accident. Visited Little Tokyo which was a highlight to me.

and ofcourse I drove to my in-laws for thanksgiving and then went back just a couple weeks ago for Disneyland and another day at knotts.

I know I missed out on a lot of local experiences just because I didn't want to go on my own. I know there were a few bands in town I would have wanted to see but yeah..by myself no. We did go see a youtuber/comedian at the local theater and that was really neat. Their theater here is nice.

goodreads is screwed up and is telling me I read 4 books but thats inaccurate. If I could manually I did around 21 but I've returned quite a few books so I'm not sure the grand total.

I think the best book I read all year was Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. I enjoyed that a lot. I think a sequel comes out in march and I plan to read it too.

Hurricane Wars was a lot of stupid fun, not because I think it was well written, but because I get a kick out of fandom fanartists/fanfic authors doing something professional. I'm like "you go girl" and I don't even know these people. I didn't particularly think the original reylo fanfic was great. But I appreciate the success a fandom can bring people.

The worst book was IronFlame but I appreciate the hype. I like fandoms. I like the enthusiasm of fandoms and how much fun they make things. I want to join in on the fun too. I did not enjoy Fourth Wing. I thought it was terribly written. If it was a fanfic I would have hit the backbutton so fast on it (and thats how I judge my books, on the "back-button" scale). But they made the hype for IronFlame look so fun. It was even worse than Fourth Wing. I don't understand what others were reading but I can't judge because I bought it due to FOMO. I do not plan to read the third book.

Little surprise success too. I stuffed my kindle and discovered AG Caggiano and read the first book of Villains and Virtues and I really liked it. I have such a hard reading not-fanfic. The writing styles for fanfic and original books are just so different and I have a hard time getting into original novels but I really enjoy these silly characters. Never heard of this book series or author before. But I finished the first book within a couple days and I'm half thru the second. Its like a silly disney movie. Bit more pg13 but I enjoyed it.

I did have some fails. I made it through half of HarryPotter 2 and Im about 50 pages from finishing Court of Thornes and Roses by SJM in SPANISH. My goal was to finish these books in SPANISH. I honestly got a little distracted by a Tangled spanish fanfic. But reading in Spanish is very humbling and difficult. I have to be able to clear my mind to get through it. Some days I can zoom through a page, other days I don't understand a single word. So I didn't quite finish anything.

Trying to think of games I finished this year. I finished God of War Ragnarok at the beginning of the year. I mean, good game but the wow factor kinda stuck with the first remake. Nothing really stood out to me that I ever need to play it ever again.

I upgraded my switchlite to a switch OLED which almost killed me because there was nothing wrong with my switchlite but I wanted to play TOTK on the big tv. TOTK was fine too but I found myself getting bored of it. Again, I think the major wow factor was with the first one, BOTW. In TOTK, it felt like I was clearing the same map all over again but then they added the underground and sky which then just made my map-clearing OCD give intense anxiety re completionism. I have to stop and flip every rock over and I was getting tired.

I also played Harvestella which I did not enjoy. I played Octopath Traveler 1 which was not bad, I heard 2 was great and I plan to play it eventually. I also played Xenoblade 1 which was not bad either. I'm playing Xenoblade 2 now and I'm struggling a bit to get enthused about it. Everybody says X3 is amazing but I felt bad for skipping 2 to get to 3. So I'm going to suck it up.

The real winner this year for me has been Disney Dreamlight Valley. It was officially released in December but Ive been playing the "beta" for well over a year now. I got pretty heavy into it with some of the large updates this year. I have more hours in it than TOTK. With all its issues and peoples complaints, its a perfect game for me. Its disney. I got simba and rapunzel. I can decorate my island in disney. I can casually play while audiobooking. Its relaxing.

What else did we do this year? hosted 4th of July. Hosted a buddy to stay at our house for a bit while he was here on assignment.

I hired a dog walker by myself. Had a dental procedure I had been dreaming about but the anxiety of asking about it was scary and it was fine.

I went outdoor rock climbing for the first time ever and never need to do that again. I did go to 2 different indoor rock gyms. Got embarrassed at both places and havent gone back. I have fallen off the wagon really badly with going to the gym here. I just can't find a place where I feel comfortable.

I also got really invested in my backyard landscaping because this place sucks for my dog.

I think some of my stomach issues have improved tremendously this year. Stomachs still not great but I havent felt the urge to go to the doctor about it due to the anxiety which is an improvement.

Seen a bunch of movies this year too. Dungeons and Dragons, Mario, Oppenheimer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....Wish sucked really bad...I still havent seen barbie or the new hunger games and I really wanted to.

mainly I focused on youtube videos. I got sent some cool stuff by companies. I feel like I didnt draw quite as much but youtube kept me really busy. I've learned a lot about video editing and public speaking though neither are my strengths. I do enjoy the art community on youtube as a whole. Its a lot less stressful than the rest of art social media in a different way. Portfolio social medias or places like twitter theres an urge to create constantly. Youtube I can merely talk about art and it counts as something creative. So it kind of takes a load off. Also, ofcourse with art companies sending out merch, theres a decent reward system too. I talk about art, don't need to necessarily complete anything and then get free stuff. So, so far, for me, its been worth it. Especially given my tiny following. You don't need 1mil followers to obtain a reward. So to me, its a pleasant experience. I do worry about my account growing bigger and me not being able to maintain it. Its easier to accept rude comments when its just your art. When its you on the screen, its a bit more personal.

otherwise, I have no plans for 2024 other than the same stuff. I would like to make a vegetable garden but I wont because by the end of this year we will be planning another move. The end of 2024 is going to be a massive life change and stressful doozy. My husband will be retiring and we don't know what we want to be or where we want to live when we grow up. I'm telling myself it'll be socially acceptable to quit my job in about 6 months to prep for this life change but thats not really true. We need all the money we can get lmao.

[from-my-camera]

The Disneyland Band February 12, 2023

Camera: Fuji Film X-Pro 3 Lens: XF16mmF2.8 R WR

Photo 1: f/2.8 • 1/1100s • ISO 80

Photo 2: f/2.8 • 1/1250s • ISO 80

Photo 3: f/2.8 • 1/950s • ISO 80

Photo 4: f/2.8 • 1/680s • ISO 80

[tempi-dispari]

New Post has been published on https://www.tempi-dispari.it/2023/08/07/paolino-paperino-band-irriverente-intelligenza/

Paolino Paperino Band: irriverente intelligenza

L’anno nero della borsa

Il 19 ottobre, quello che molti analisti avevano previsto sul finire dell’anno prima si avvera: nel lunedi nero delle borse mondiali, l’indice Dow Jones perde 508 punti, più del 20% del suo valore, trascinando nel disastro gli altri mercati mondiali. È una crisi economica paragonabile a quella del 1929, che segna la fine della grande bolla speculativa iniziata nei primi anni ’80.

Tra le principali spiegazioni all’evento, molti puntano il dito contro l’esteso ricorso, agevolato dall’utilizzo sempre più frequente dei computer, al “program trading”, la pratica di acquistare e vendere contemporaneamente diverse tipologie di azioni.

Secondo degli analisti, alcuni programmi non sarebbero stati ben “tarati”, e i computer avrebbero innescato una spirale di vendite che portò al collasso del mercato. All’atto pratico, l’economia mondiale si riprende a breve, e in retrospettiva la crisi del 1987 fu un raffreddore di stagione rispetto all’ultima crisi economica del 2008.

Il premier russo Gorbaciov è l’uomo dell’anno: in uno storico discorso al Parlamento sovietico, chiede la necessità di un radicale cambiamento dell’economia dello stato socialista, ormai moribonda. “Trasparenza” delle decisioni dell’apparato statale, “rinnovamento”: “Glasnost” e “perestrojika” diventano parole di uso comune anche in Occidente.

E un aiuto insperato al leader russo arriva anche dalla spettacolare bravata di uno studente tedesco, Mathias Rust, che con il suo piccolo aeroplano sfugge a tutti i controlli e atterra sulla Piazza Rossa di Mosca. L’azione porta alla rimozione di buona parte dei vertici militari russi, e tra loro anche molti oppositori di Gorbaciov.

I girasoli di Van Gogh Non aveva soldi investiti in borsa, probabilmente, l’anonimo acquirente de I girasoli di Van Gogh, battuto all’asta per 38 milioni di dollari: inizia la moda dell’arte come bene rifugio. Viene riconosciuta validità legale all’utilizzo del DNA nei processi, mentre i Paesi industrializzati prendono coscienza del problema del famigerato “buco nell’ozono”.

Per i loro studi sui materiali superconduttivi, sono Nobel gli studiosi Georg Bednorz e Alexander Müller. Margareth Thatcher rivince le elezioni in Gran Bretagna, mentre avviene la tragedia dell'”Herald of Free Enterprise”, un traghetto che si inabissa poco dopo aver lasciato il porto di Zeebrugge, causando la morte di tutti i 193 passeggeri e membri dell’equipaggio.

Comincia in Palestina la prima intifada (in arabo,”rivolta”), sollevazione di massa contro il dominio israeliano nel campo profughi di Jabaliya, estesa poi a Gaza, alla Cisgiordania e a Gerusalemme Est. Forma di disobbedienza civile, acquistò visibilità internazionale a causa dei lanci di pietre da parte dei giovani contro le forze di difesa israeliane.

L’amministratore della Disney Michael Eisner e il primo ministro francese Jacques Chirac firmano il contratto che dà il via alla costruzione di EuroDisney, poi Disneyland Paris, il più grande parco divertimenti d’Europa. Siglato l’atto unico europeo, con lo scopo di completare la costruzione del mercato interno, e avviare il processo di unione politica, che porterà al trattato di Maastricht del 1992.

Suscita clamori la miniserie “Amerika”, che immagina un futuro in cui gli Stati Uniti hanno perso la guerra e sono stati invasi e occupati dai sovietici.

IN ITALIA È l’anno dei Cobas, con scioperi a raffica soprattutto nelle ferrovie, e dei referendum sul nucleare: dopo Chernobyl, è inevitabile una valanga di voti sulla chiusura di qualsiasi attività in materia da parte italiana. A luglio, una serie di insistenti piogge devastano per dieci giorni la Valtellina con allagamenti e alluvioni.

Il 28 una gigantesca frana si stacca e scivola dalla montagna spazzando via due paesi, Morignone e San’Antonio Morignone, causando 53 vittime e gravissimi danni alle case. 1.500 persone restano senza tetto. A Palermo, si chiude il maxiprocesso alla mafia, con 19 condanne all’ergastolo e un totale di 2.500 anni di reclusione per gli altri imputati. Al via l’alta velocità ferroviaria, con il primo “Pendolino”.

SPORT E SPETTACOLO Platoon di Oliver Stone, come si suol dire vince ma non convince: 4 statuette, tra cui miglior film, alla notte degli Oscar. Sbalordisce il mondo, invece, Marlee Matlin, attrice sordomuta, miglior attrice in “Figli di un dio minore”. Tre premi per il sofisticato “Camera con vista”, mentre Giorgio Moroder vince per “Take my breath away”, migliore canzone e hit dell’anno in tutto il mondo.

Roma ospita magnificamente i mondiali di atletica, in cui Carl Lewis si accontenta di tre ori: doppio oro per l’Italia, con Damilano nella marcia e l’entusiasmante volata di Panetta nei 3.000 siepi. Ai mondiali di sci di Crans Montana, si fa notare un giovane atleta azzurro, terzo in gigante: Alberto Tomba.

L’irlandese Stephen Roche realizza un tris leggendario: Giro d’Italia, Tour de France e mondiali nello stesso anno.

Dopo i mondiali, Maradona trascina il Napoli al primo scudetto della sua storia, mentre il Porto di Juary (!!) batte il Bayern Monaco in finale di coppa campioni. Madonna e Whitney Houston dominano le classifiche mondiali, mentre arrivano anche gli Europe con “The final countdown”, una delle canzoni più famose degli anni ’80.

Un altro supergruppo, i Ferry Aid, ripropone “Let it be” dei Beatles, i cui incassi vanno ai familiari delle quasi 200 vittime del ferryboat inabissatosi a Zeebrugge, in marzo. Esce e subito trionfa The Joshua tree degli U2, uno dei più grandi album di musica rock della storia.

Al Silverdome di Pontiac, Michigan, oltre 93.000 spettatori assistono a Wrestlemania III: Hulk Hogan vince il main event, sollevando e sbattendo al tappetto Andre the Giant. La Square rilascia Final fantasy, il videogioco che cambierà il mondo dei giochi di ruolo elettronici.

La FDA dà il proprio consenso alla commercializzazione di un nuovo farmaco, la fluoxetina idrocloride, commercialmente venduta con il nome di prozac: sarà la “droga legale” più di moda degli anni ’90.

In questo contesto nasce la Paolino Paperino Band

Primi anni (1987-1994) La formazione originaria, con Yana alla voce, Bez alla batteria, Fox alla chitarra e Maso al basso, registra un primo demo autoprodotto nel 1988. Successivamente, Termos subentra a Bez alla batteria, e con questa composizione ha origine il primo mini LP, Fetta, nel 1991.

Dopo un nuovo cambio, con Bez che ritorna alla batteria e con Termos che va al basso in sostituzione di Maso, viene prodotto nel 1993 l’album Pislas: e l’anno seguente un secondo mini LP, Le beste feroci del circo, prodotto per sostenere la Lega Anti Vivisezione. Queste produzioni sono tutte siglate ad opera della AARGHH! Records, un negozio di dischi di Modena, che promuove album di artisti emergenti.

Pausa e progetti paralleli (1994-2012) La formazione decide di interrompere la propria attività nel 1994. Da quella data vi sono solo due apparizioni estemporanee con la band al completo: in occasione del corteo-concerto del 5 giugno 2004 a sostegno del collettivo anarchico Libera di Modena, al quale partecipano migliaia di persone, e il 23 ottobre 2011, Il giorno del ringraziamento serata tributo a Stefano “Steppo” Nocetti.

Tutti i componenti proseguono la loro carriera musicale con altri progetti, il più noto dei quali è il gruppo Lomas, nei quali milita il chitarrista Fox. Il 6 giugno 2009, viene rappresentato il musical Pilota Party, in cui appaiono Yana in qualità di attore e Termos di direttore musicale.

Ritorno (2012-attuale)

Nel maggio 2012, il gruppo decide di riprendere la propria attività artistica con una nuova formazione. Termos ritorna alla batteria; Bez, batterista, rimane all’interno della nuova Paolino come seconda voce.

Yana resta il cantante principale, mentre Fox, lo storico chitarrista, decide di non prendere parte al nuovo progetto; vengono chiamati, per completare la nuova formazione, Garu come bassista e Skeggia come chitarrista. Ai musicisti si affianca Marco Balugani, che assume le vesti del “tuttofare”, dal costumista al truccatore, dall’autista all’assistente di palco.

Il gruppo così riformato si esibisce dal vivo, dopo quasi vent’anni di inattività, al Tempo Rock di Gualtieri il 27 ottobre del 2012, e si dedica alla composizione di pezzi inediti, in vista dell’uscita di un nuovo album lanciando un’operazione di crowdfunding, inviato poi ai sostenitori insieme ad una t-shirt avente come stampa il logo del gruppo ideato da Yana.

Nel frattempo, Raffa si aggiunge alla formazione in qualità di chitarrista, mentre Bez rimane nel gruppo solo in veste di collaboratore.

A febbraio 2013, il gruppo si chiude in studio di registrazione: presso il Bombanella Soundscapes di Maranello prende vita un album interamente nuovo, dal titolo Porcellum, che esce a metà aprile 2013 in CD e in vinile: quest’ultimo formato vede la stampa di un’edizione limitata, cioè il vinile rosso, accanto al vinile nero normale.

In occasione della registrazione, Stefano Cesca si unisce alla Paolino per curare la realizzazione del nuovo album, diventando il sesto componente della formazione, in veste di fonico e mixerista e che cura il video di Troiaio, presentato ufficialmente al Pianoterra di Milano il 9 giugno 2013.

Da aprile a luglio il gruppo si impegna nel “Porcellum tour”, con tappe tra Italia e Svizzera, al termine del quale recupera le bobine dei primi lavori che dopo la rimasterizzazione sempre presso il Bombanella Soundscapes di Maranello vengono inclusi nel CD Pislas, (contenente i brani di Pislas, Fetta e dei 7″ come tracce bonus) pubblicato dalla AssTo Records, la neo-etichetta del gruppo.

Nel 2014, il gruppo parte per un nuovo tour chiamato questa volta “Ciccioli Tour”, al termine del quale Termos lascia la batteria e rimane all’interno della Paolino in veste di direttore musicale: al suo posto entra Matte.

Il 27 dicembre 2014 tornano a suonare per il Libera dopo tanto tempo, in un concerto che raccoglie fondi per i processi relativi agli sgomberi del Libera, del Soverte e dello Stella Nera. A marzo 2015, riprende il tour della Paolino, al fianco dei Peter Punk e con un’apparizione di Termos al basso in occasione di un live a Milano.

Dopo un breve periodo di pausa, la band torna ad esibirsi live nel 2016, affidandosi alla booking Kob Records.

In quello stesso periodo, comincia a lavorare ad un nuovo album, dal titolo C’è gente che dormono, che viene inciso tra l’agosto ed il settembre del 2017 presso il Santanna Recording Studio di Gianni Salvatori, a Castelfranco Emilia, e masterizzato da Giovanni Salvatori nello studio La Maestà, pubblicato nel novembre del 2017.

[chorusfm]

Ryan Terrigno Releases Two New Songs

Ryan Terrigno recently released two new songs “I Can Still Break Your Heart” (a love song, despite the title) and “Get Lost” (ndie-pop anthem with stomp-clap choruses). Both of these songs come from the upcoming album Alive & Well, produced by Alex Dezen. Ryan has a long history in the music industry and after taking some time away to start a family is just now finding his way back to making music. Check out the lyric video for “I Can Still Break Your Heart” and the full bio below. Ryan Terrigno is an indie singer-songwriter from Anaheim, CA - five minutes down the road from Disneyland. A musician since 13, songwriter since 16 - Ryan spent the first 12 years of his career fronting local Orange County rock bands Wester and We Are The Arsenal. On the strength of 2 full-length albums and 4 E.P.s, he toured across the U.S. and Japan with stops on the Vans Warped Tour, and opening slots for Lit, Angels & Airwaves, Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights & others. In July of 2022, Ryan entered the studio to record his debut solo album, "Alive & Well." The LP was produced by Alex Dezen, an industry veteran known for his work with The Damnwells & Justin Bieber, and mastered by Whynot Jansveld, whose recent resume includes Dave Matthews Band and Butch Walker. The album is a stunning collection of heartbreakingly-beautiful songs that blend a variety of genres, from Folk and Indie to Pop and Alternative. Ryan's sound is further enhanced by an impressive lineup of world-class musicians, including Zac Clark (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness), Brian Griffin (The Black Crowes), and Rich Hinman (Sara Bareilles). "Alive & Well" is a career-defining moment for Terrigno, and an artfully-crafted love-letter to the human condition. Ryan\'s lyrics are deeply personal and highly relatable, touching on themes of life, love, work, mortality, and everything in between. The album is set to be released in Fall 2023, with singles to be released throughout the summer. Around the Web * Spotify * Instagram * Official Website This post is provided by our weekly sponsor. More information about sponsored posts and advertising on this website can be found here. --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/sponsor/ryan-terrigno-releases-two-new-songs/

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

329 of 2023

Created by livelaughlove05

You have brown hair. You straighten your hair a lot. You have green eyes. You wear glasses. You love going to the movies. You love baseball. You love Les Miserables You read for fun. You've read a classic book for fun. You've read The Outsiders. You hate math. You want to go to Italy someday. You have been out of the country. One of your best friends is of the opposite sex. You can't skateboard. You have a friend that's gay. You're addicted to tumblr. You think MySpace is overrated. You like history. You hate research papers. You like acting and/or singing. You want to go into medicine. You hate chemistry but love biology. You like to ice skate but aren't that good. You like hockey. You hate football. You like(d) school. You're easily frustrated. You're annoyed by know-it-alls. You're a night person. You participate(d)in a sport/extracurricular in high school. You have performed in a play You do not play an instrument. You are a dog person, not a cat person. You have a big family. You try to stay out of drama, not cause it. You're crazy around your friends but quiet around people you don't know. You're usually polite. You've been lied to a lot. You've had your trust broken. You've been hurt. You've gone/go to church. You've never drank alcohol. You've never smoked. You've never done drugs. You should be doing something else right now. You want to go to sleep. You love sleep. You love pizza. You hate seafood. You dislike over dramatic people/attention seekers. You dislike disrespectful people. You tend to argue with people. You've been in the emergency room/hospital before You've failed a test. You've copied homework. You've done something stupid and regretted it later. You've done something wrong and never got caught. You've taken a foreign language class. You're fluent in more than one language. You've been in a relationship. You've been in one of those junior high relationships that last a day. You love helping others. You have a bad relationship with your siblings. You have an ok relationship with your mom. You have a bad relationship with your dad. You have contemplated running away. You have cried in a movie. You have cried in a song. You aren't super emotional. Your friends mean everything to you. You've pushed away the person that cared the most. You think the progressive commercials are getting lame. You like the movie She's the Man. You're afraid to speed. You love NASCAR. You have taken an honors class. You like science. You wish to be somewhere else right now. You're tired. You're sick. You've gone to prom. You've gone to a high school football game. You've gone to another high school game. You've gone to at least 2 schools. You love traveling. You prefer flying over driving. You know someone that's a pilot. You know someone who's been adopted. You love Imagine Dragons. You've been hit on by someone younger than you. You've been hit on by someone older than you. You're bored. You love roller coasters. You've been to Disneyland/Disneyworld. You love Disney movies. You like The Lion King. Belle is your favorite Disney princess. Nutella is amazing. You know someone named Sidney. You know someone who's addicted to sports. You watch crime shows on TV. You've been to Europe. (lol never left) You sometimes want to change the past. You like Back to the Future. You think Miley Cyrus is messed up. You try to think positive all the time. You agree that Asians are smarter than White people. You have worked in a family business. You have babysat. You have tutored someone. You've been in marching band. You've sung at a professional sports event. You've gotten a happy meal past the age limit. You hate bugs. You have a philosophical friend. You have a friend who thinks he/she is perfect. You've never gotten in trouble at school. You text a lot.

[thedaveandkimmershow]

What I'll remember about April are basically two things: this year's adventure in California and Linzy's shows with The Little Lies, Midnight High, and Annie J.

Oh and... taxes, getting moss off the roof, moving big, heavy rocks, and, of course, Daisy Jones & The Six. 😁

First: this year's adventure in California.

We start out at the beginning of April, timing that, quite perfectly overlapped with everyone else's Spring Break. So we traveled with a lot of travelers and we theme parked with a ton of theme parkers and we camped with a lot of campers.

Even Linzy was down in California for the first few days of our adventure. Not with us but in San Francisco catching up and having her own adventure with friends from Cornish who call The City by the Bay their home.

At the same time, the director of the Archbishop Murphy Wildcat Band was even closer to where we landed in southern California. Our friend, Keith Curtis. You see, he and the 2022-2023 Wildcat Band were finishing their second of two performances, the first at Disneyland and this second one at the Five Towers stage in Universal Studios Hollywood's City Walk. Which is where we caught up with him and spent some lovely time comparing recent histories.

A coupla days later, we got the chance to experience a full day at Universal Studios where we did everything Harry Potter and we took the studio tour that was a wonderful bit of Memory Lane for us. Across the entire experience, we managed a pretty decent balance of fun and relaxation. Huzzah!!!

One of the iconic features of these family trips is renting an Escape Campervan as our mini RV. Last time here we scored Nessie from the Seattle (ish) location. This year we scored Big Foot from the Inglewood location.

YESSSS!!!

Eventually we hit the road in Big Foot and launched ourselves into a different world where we were seemingly able to live more experience during the course of each day than we usually accomplish living our city life. In a way, the camp experience is more coordinating and collaborating with friends and family. It's more sitting around the table just chattin'. It's more time around the campfire... just chattin'. It's more together. Time definitely moves at a slower pace and we're definitely in no rush. We're not motivated to hit the gas. We can take our time. And we can choose to be distracted by nothing in particular. Sometimes several nothings.

During our time camping, we had the opportunity to play a lot of loud and boisterous Uno with teenagers. We found ourselves on a wildflower covered hill on the edge of nowhere taking pictures of orange and yellow loveliness. We were stunned by the nearness and bigness of the moon. We were blessed not once but twice to visit Kimmer's aunt who's in the best hands for memory care. She looks great...

...plus she was more engaged this time around, conjuring a bit of her old self with that laugh and smile of hers. And finally we had the absolute fortune to hang out around a campfire with family and friends, an experience ending in well wishes and fare-thee-wells all around, along with a deep conviction that this experience is very good for the soul.

Moving right along, well... almost right along, a bit of work also found some space within our adventure. You see, a business consulting challenge came up for Kimmer that was gonna need some input by the time we got back. So over the course of our time away we took some opportunities here and there and there to talk it through. And between that, as well as research on Kimmer's part, a plan was formed that, by the end of the month, has proven to be a solid plan. An even better path forward.

Not long after we returned, Linzy had a gig with The Little Lies at the Old Edmonds Opera House. The gig kicked off a bit of a Hell Week for her as the next day she had rehearsals for two other bands, Midnight High and Annie J, both with performances the coming Thursday at the Sunset Tavern.

After that, it was a steady schedule of practice, rehearsal, and work through Thursday night's performances which were brilliant, by the way. 😁😁😁

In semi-related news, a friend whose last album Linzy contributed vocals to and with whom she collaborated on one of the songs on that album, and who subsequently performed a couple concerts with them... asked her to collaborate writing songs in the fall for the next album.

In other, grown-up news 😉, we turned our taxes in right before the post office closed at 6 on the 18th... then celebrated the craziness of that day with some well earned relaxing at Pub 70. Also, we spent the last two weeks of the month with a bit of landscaping activity and cleaning the moss off the roof. Real home owner-y type things to do 'cause for sure no one would willingly undergo the tedium of removing moss from a roof or moving a bottomless pit of seriously heavy rocks from one part of the yard to another.

Of course Kimmer loved the experience. 😊

Of course the experience I loved (we all loved, actually) was experiencing our way through the first half of Daisy Jones & The Six in April. Linzy's a HUUUUUUGE fan and insisted we all watch it together.

Of course now we're hooked.

In the end, April was more packed than usual. More fun. More relaxation. More hard work. And definitely more super sized memories.

The beginning of the month did wind up being a break of sorts, a good opportunity to peace out, re-energize, consider a bunch, course correct a little, firm up the picture going into the coming months that's for sure a different picture than the one we had before we hit April.

So that's four months down. Eight to go.

And now...

May.

🙂