In a year as awful as 2020, the bright spots shine a hell of a light brighter. It’s almost necessary to endure. You take whatever sliver of good you can get and you cherish the hell out of it. This year should be a lesson to an entire generation who will have this global pandemic seared into their collective unconscious.
Those bright spots have been few and far between, but if ever there was a reason to keep enduring 2020, it’s a new season of “The Mandalorian.” It seems so long ago, but it was less than a year ago when this show and Baby Yoda captured the hearts of everyone, and not just Star Wars fans.
It was always set up for another season. Despite all the horrible crap that has happened since this season concluded, fans are still eagerly waiting for this show to return. Well, it’s official now. The show is coming back at the end of October. In addition, just in case people forgot how cute Baby Yoda is, here’s the trailer.
In terms of bright spots, I don’t know how Disney could’ve made this any brighter. No matter how you feel about Star Wars, let’s be honest. We need this. Our world needs this. We need something cute, adorable, and hopeful. This show is all of that and then some.
It also has a chance to become even more with this new season. I think this show caught a lot of people by surprise last year. After all the controversy surrounding “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” many weren’t sure about the future of the franchise. Then, “The Mandalorian” proved that there was still a place for Star Wars in the current cultural climate.
Now that we have that proof, where does it go from here? That’s not an unreasonable question. The Madalorian is a badass. Baby Yoda is adorable. Cara Dune is awesome. That has all been firmly established. How does it build on that?
I have my theories. I’ll save them for another time. I also have larger hopes for this show. As someone who has a soft spot for Star Wars, I want it to keep succeeding. I want this show to be the template for how Star Wars will continue evolving for a new generation. Will it happen? I don’t know.
Some details can certainly help. The first season of “The Mandalorian” spent much of its time just creating the setting and putting Mando on the path he’s on. The second season has many other paths for him to follow. Here are just a few the things I hope that path includes.
Again, need I say more? Her dynamic with Mando and Baby Yoda is just too perfect.
Make Grand Moff Gideon a truly menacing villain
Seriously, you don’t hire Giancarlo Esposito if you don’t plan on making an epic villain.
More backstory on Yoda’s people and species
We all want to learn about Baby Yoda. Learning more about his species will certainly help. It could also shed new light on Jedi history.
More Heists/Prison Breaks
My favorite episode of the first season was “The Prisoner.” It gave Mando a chance to flex his thieving side. Plus, Bill Burr playing Mayfeld was just perfect.
I doubt I’ll get everything, but I’ll definitely be following closely. Like I said, we need to cherish the bright spots wherever we can. This is one of them and I’m ready to cherish.
Happiness and joy often come in small doses, but like good investments, they compound quickly. I learned that early in life when I discovered how much more joy I got from a $3 comic than I did by trying to be the most popular kid in school.
Don’t get me wrong. Having friends is great. Being popular is great. It’s just easier to pay a few bucks for a comic than it is to jump through all the assorted hoops that come with seeking more elaborate forms of happiness. In terms of the simplest things that make me happy, a comic is one of the best bargains out there.
They’re not very expensive. They’re colorful and easy to access. You can even take them with alcohol. Kids and adults alike can appreciate them. Once you find a few series and titles you like, you’ve got a consistent source of joy to look forward to every week. That’s a big part of what makes New Comic Book Day such a delight.
My comic book consumption has changed over the years, but I’ve always found a way to enjoy every Wednesday. Thanks to Comixology, it has never bene easier. In a year like 2020, we need whatever sliver of joy we can get. New Comic Book Day can be part of that effort. To that end, here’s my pull list and picks for the week. Enjoy!
The internet and social media are wonderful. They’ve done plenty of good for the world. People have connected like never before. Knowledge, information, and personal connections have never been easier. These are objectively good things for a social species like ours.
I make that disclaimer because I’m about to talk about one of the biggest negatives that the internet has fostered. I also concede there are far worse negatives. The internet and social media have done far greater harm in certain areas, plenty of which make the news. Some of that harm is just genuinely deplorable behavior. Some is outright illegal.
However, I would argue that one of the most infuriating, yet perfectly activities that the internet has enabled is virtue signaling. I’ve bemoaned it before and for good reason. Virtue signaling is a toxic combination of narcissism, groupthink, clickbait, and trolling. Take everything you hate about the worst people on the internet. Much of it is incorporated into virtue signaling.
It’s the selfish, ego-stroking act of loudly proclaiming that you’re so in favor or opposed to something that you demand acknowledgement and affirmation from total strangers. It’s not enough to just have a strong opinion or do something that’s actually virtuous. These people need the whole goddamn world to pat them on the back and assure them they’re a special snowflake.
There are far worse ways to describe this phenomenon. For my own sanity, I’ll leave it at that. I trust my readers to fill in the blanks without breaking their computer screens. All you need to know is that virtue signaling comes in many forms. Some acts are far worse than others. Like most things on the internet, there’s a spectrum to it.
Like any meme or trending hashtag, there’s a certain range of behaviors that constitute virtue signaling. Sometimes, it’s obvious. You need only see videos and articles whining about how video games, movies, and TV shows are ruining the world by empowering the patriarchy. However, I’ve noticed one particular brand of virtue signaling that’s becoming more common.
Specifically, it comes from the people who are usually the first to whine about virtue signaling. It’s every bit as hypocritical as it sounds, and then some. Virtue signaling is bad enough, but adding hypocrisy to the mix only makes it 10 times worse.
I’ve seen more and more of this pernicious virtue signaling in recent weeks, especially as the NBA playoffs wind down and as the NFL season gets going. It shows up in Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, and pretty much any poorly moderated comments section. It usually goes something like this.
“These self-entitled athletes dared to protest social issues! I’m canceling my subscription!”
“Get your damn politics out of sports! Until then, you won’t get a cent of my money!”
“Boycott this league and all the snowflake cucks who work in it!”
“I will never support a league that doesn’t stand proudly for the flag/anthem/whatever political symbol I’ve decided to champion!”
Trust me, it gets worse. It gets much worse.
At the same time, it compounds the cringe. I imagine the people making these comments don’t think they’re virtue signaling. They may see themselves as heroic underdogs resisting some nefarious foe looking to destroy them and everything they care about.
Again, these are sports leagues. They’re a business. They’re main goal is to entertain, make money, and attract the widest possible audience. Sometimes, that audience includes people who aren’t you.
That’s a concept that seems to fly over the heads of everyone who whines and complains about politics in sports, video games, comics, movies, etc. Pick any form of media. Give it any kind of controversial or political undertones, even if it’s indirect. Chances are you’ll get people who call that virtue signaling and some of those people protest by virtue signaling how much they’re against it.
They don’t always see the hypocrisy, but it’s painfully apparent at times. The biggest catalyst, in my opinion, was the very public protest by Colin Kaepernick back in 2016. He stated very clearly that he was protesting police brutality and not disrespecting the American flag or veterans. He belabored and reiterated that countless times.
It didn’t matter. A sizeable chunk of people, who I won’t identify because they make their affiliations all too clear, decided he was this anti-American radical. He didn’t just want to protest injustice. He wanted to ruin America, the NFL, and sports in general. I’ve seen many toxic comment sections and Twitter threads in my time. This was probably the worst.
Again, most of it was just virtue signaling from the other side. Everyone seemed to compete for the right to proclaim they loved America, stood for the National Anthem, and hated Colin Kaepernick with every fiber of their being. They do all of that while calling someone like Kaepernick and other players who protested with him whiny, virtue-signaling America haters.
It’s a cycle of hypocrisy that doesn’t just miss the point. It goes out of its way to avoid the actual substance of what the issue was. Remember, and I wish I didn’t have to reiterate this, the man was protesting police brutality against young black men. That’s a legitimate issue that hurts innocent people. It should be confronted.
Instead, the hypocritical virtue signalers of the internet decide to ignore that issue entirely and make it all about who loves their country and flag more. It’s the digital equivalent of a pissing contest. Everyone wants to yell how much they hate the NFL and NBA. They want everyone to know that they don’t support their league and won’t be watching any games.
First off, I don’t believe them for a second.
I suspect the people who make comments like that will get bored one day, flip through the channels, and settle on a football or basketball game. Nobody will ever call them out on it. Chances are, nobody will ever find out. They may or may not feel a twinge of guilt for the hypocrisy, but they’ll pay no price.
Second, if you go out of your way to post comments in feeds to tell the world how much you hate something, you’re not just virtue signaling. You’re being an asshole of the highest order. The NFL and NBA are not out to get you. They’re not out to destroy America. They just want to entertain and make money. Sometimes, that means catering to a diverse audience.
Certain snowflakes on certain extremes of the political spectrum may hate it. They can whine about it all they want, telling as many people as they can how they’re not going to participate. They’re still the bigger assholes here and considering the scandalous behavior of organizations like the NFL, that’s saying something.
I’m sorry if this rant is dragging, but as someone who’s genuinely excited for football season and doesn’t mind at all seeing athletes protest causes they believe in, this kind of virtue signaling just pisses me off more than most. If you hate the NFL just because they dare to raise awareness of social issues, then I don’t know what to tell you. That’s petty, shallow, and just plain stupid. Virtue signaling is bad enough. Let’s not make it worse by adding whining and hypocrisy to the mix.
As I write these words, I’m still basking in the utter sports bliss that was the start of the NFL season. I know I’ve made a bigger deal of it than usual. I will not apologize for that. Cut me some slack. This year has sucked on so many levels. Indulging in my love of football made it suck a little bit less. I hope others feel the same.
While I cherished every last bit of the action in week 1, there was one other bonus I wanted to note. That’s Patriot’s quarterback Cam Newton’s suit. I know. It’s not the most important issue facing this world today, but just look at it. Take a single moment out of your day to appreciate this incredible feat of men’s fashion.
I want to put it into words. I just can’t. There’s no way my writing skills can do justice to this look. Between the bow tie, the yellow coloring, the hat, and the shoes, I don’t think Shakespeare himself could articulate how amazing this is.
When I saw this, I just couldn’t stop smiling. I also know this isn’t the first time Cam Newton’s fashion sense has raised some eyebrows. This is what he wore to a serious press conference one day.
Again, I have no words. That ridiculous, colorful style that seems so outlandish to the rest of us? Hell, that’s just Tuesday for Cam Newton. I, for one, thank him for that. Say what you will about his skills as an NFL quarterback. The man has style.
I know it’s not exactly the most salient issue facing the world in 2020, but come on. Let’s just take a moment to appreciate this.
Mr. Newton, as someone who appreciates men’s fashion as much as the next guy, I sincerely thank you. This year sucks just a little bit less because of you.
It’s finally here! The wait has been longer and more stressful than usual for obvious reasons. For a time, I wasn’t even sure it was going to happen. At multiple points this past summer, there was a very real concern that all sports would be cancelled for the rest of the year. I’m not going to lie. Contemplating a fall without football of any kind was terrifying.
Thankfully, it never got that bad. It was still pretty awful, but the world is still trying to move forward. That includes sports. Every major sports league has been badly impacted by this pandemic. The NFL is no exception. This has not been a normal offseason, to say the least. This has also not been a normal build-up to the regular season. We have no idea just how much the pandemic has affected every team.
We also don’t know if the pandemic will even permit a full, uninterrupted season. That’s still up in the air. For now, though, the NFL is going to try and play an entire season on time, on schedule, albeit without full stadiums. As a football fan, as well as someone who simply longs for a sense of normalcy, I’m still excited. I genuinely hope this season plays out in full.
I’m still bracing myself, but for the time being, I’m going to enjoy the kickoff of a new season like I always have. I’ve got a fresh case of beer. I intend to order a massive amount of pizza and junk food. I plan to spend the entirety of my Sunday afternoon on the couch, yelling at the TV for all the right reasons.
I am ready. I am hopeful. The pandemic has scarred my soul, but my love of football remains strong. I am ready for some football and here are some Sexy Sunday Thoughts to celebrate the kickoff of the 2020 season. Enjoy!
“A man who is lonely and horny is bound to have a good imagination, by default.”
“Can you really say you’ve spiced up your sex life if nobody gets any rug burns?”
“A woman with a dildo collection has no right to be appalled by a man’s porno collection.”
“Sex sells, but guilt-free sex charges a premium.”
“Statistically speaking, a good listener is more likely to give you an orgasm.”
“Revenge sex is the habanero pepper of sex.”
“Love is never thinking too hard about where or on whom someone else’s tongue has been.”
It’s almost here! In less than 24 hours, I will enjoy my first of 17 doses of regular season NFL football. In a year where my excitement and optimism has been crushed at every turn, I can’t put into words how excited I am. I also can’t fully articulate how much I need this.
I love sports.
I love football.
I love building my Sundays around watching NFL football.
It’s among my favorite regular joys. Now, I understand the NFL season will be different this year. There’s also a very real chance that the pandemic could significantly impact the season. I’m already bracing for games to be cancelled, players to be benched, and scandals to unfold. If it gets really bad, there’s certainly a possibility that an entire week of NFL games could be scrapped.
That’s a nightmare scenario that the NFL has many reasons to avoid. I’m not convinced they will, but at the moment, they’re scheduled to start the season on time, albeit without full stadiums. For me, that’s good enough.
In that spirit, I’d like to share some details as to what I do every Sunday to maximize my NFL experience. Sometimes, I do mix it up, but I have a few favorite rituals that I’ve refined over the years to ensure I achieve football nirvana every time.
It all starts early on Sunday morning. I’m an early riser by nature so I’m usually up around sunrise. It usually starts like most days. I check my email. I brew some coffee. I go through any and all unfinished work I might have, be it a blog post, a short story, or a video for my YouTube channel.
Then, I go for my daily run. I always make it a point to run a little extra long on Sundays. You’ll understand why very soon. If possible, I try to squeeze in some weightlifting. That’s not always an option. In a year like this, I may have to table that.
After I work out, I take a nice long shower. I usually shave afterwards, if my beard has become unruly. Once I’m done with that, I throw on some clothes and head out to get my groceries/football supplies.
I usually try to time it so that I leave at around noon. While I’m getting my groceries, I order a pizza, usually a large with extra cheese, bacon, and pepperoni. I also make sure I get a six pack of beer, if I don’t have one in the fridge already. If everything goes smoothly, I’m usually on my way home with about 15 minutes to spare.
With those 15 minutes, I put on my most comfortable pair of pants and my favorite football jersey. I then turn on NFL Redzone, grab a beer, serve myself a slice of pizza, and take my place on the couch.
Once the action starts, I rarely leave that couch, aside from bathroom breaks and beer. For the next seven hours, I am locked in. Most of the time, I keep the TV on Redzone, but if there’s a major game on one of the networks, I’ll flip to that one every now and then.
During that time, I am the most relaxed and content person you’ll ever going to see. The feeling of watching NFL football all Sunday while drinking beer and eating pizza is just the ultimate way to cap the weekend. It’s glorious. It’s joyous. Sure, I’ll yell at the TV every now and then, but I’ll have a damn good time every step of the way.
When all is said and done, that pizza is usually half-eaten. Most of that six pack of beer is long gone. I’m full, a little drunk, and utterly satisfied with all the football I’ve consumed. This weekend, I look forward to enjoying that feeling once more. I encourage my fellow football fans out there to do the same, especially for a year like this. If you have your own Sunday ritual for NFL football, please share it in the comments. I’d love to know. I’m certainly open to new ideas for making Sunday football even better. For now, I am ready for kickoff!
The following is a video for my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. You may recognize the title from an article I wrote years ago in the before times when pandemics were still the subject of bad sci-fi movies. I miss those times too.
The news surrounding Neuralink is still of great interest to me. I still think it’s one of the most important technological advancements of the century. This video simply offers another general overview of why this technology is so important. Enjoy!
Here’s a sentence I doubt you or anyone has ever said or thought unironically.
“Oh boy! I get to create another new password to remember. My day is made!”
It’s annoying, tedious, and frustrating. It’s also very necessary. Passwords are an unfortunate byproduct of living in the age of the internet. There are some weird and wonderful things on the internet, but there are also some objectively awful places that no decent person should ever venture.
Seriously, people. Stop visiting 4chan and 8chan. You will lose your humanity.
Like any activity, there’s a safe, responsible way to go about it. Having a good password is one of them. I learned this early on when I started going on the internet. Back then, I had only one account to remember. It was for AOL, which makes me feel way older than I care to admit. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand the importance of having a secure password.
My own brother actually guessed it at one point and got it right. That’s how bad it was.
From that point forward, I made a conscious effort to make my passwords less obvious. Anyone who has been on the internet for more than a few days knows that’s easier said than done. Every site and every service these days wants you to sign up and create a new username/password. It’s tempting to pick something simple an easy to remember. That just ensures you’ll be vulnerable to hackers and cyberthieves.
Let’s be honest. As necessary as it is, we still find it annoying and tedious. Our brains aren’t wired to remember dozens upon dozens of passwords. Even if you write them down or use one of those password storage programs, it’s still a pain in the ass. While biometrics like fingerprints and face scans are nice, they’re not perfect. They can be hacked too, although it is harder.
Like it or not, we’re stuck with passwords. One way or another, we need to use them and we need to make sure they’re secure. That means not reusing the same password for multiple accounts. That means not using something that’s easy to remember, but easy to guess.
Also, don’t use your birthday, social security number, or pet name. That’s just asking for trouble.
I won’t belabor how important/annoying passwords are. That’s not the entire purpose of this post. This is just a brief rant on this very modern problem that’s bound to get worse, at least until we come up with a usable alternative, like FIDO2 keys.
Since that time is a long way off, we’re stuck with passwords. In the interest of making this a productive rant, I’d like to offer a brief tip that I’ve found helpful in recent years. It’s a tip that other tech sites like Wired have echoed.
Ideally, you want a long string of random letters and numbers for a secure password. I know that’s not easy to remember, but that, in conjunction with two-factor authentication, should give you ample protection. Use that sort of thing if you have an account that contains very sensitive information. I won’t speculate on what that might be. I suggest having at least one account that uses that.
For other accounts, where you don’t need that level of security, consider using a passphrase instead of a password. It’s exactly what it sounds like. In lieu of a string of random characters, a passphrase is just a string of random words, often with some numbers mixed in. Here’s a good example:
Drunk Table Boobs Market Egg Hill Donkey 2012
There’s nothing logical about these words, but they are somewhat easy to remember. Just note the capitalization and the spaces in between. If that’s not viable for certain forms, use dashes instead. It’s not a random jumble, but the length alone of this phrase will give you plenty of protection. Just punch it into a random password checker to see for yourself.
You can mix in some symbols and what not along the way. Just make sure to avoid common phrases. Do not use famous movie quotes or song lyrics. Those can be guessed. I’ve known more than one person whose passphrase was “May the Force be with you” and “Hit me baby one more time.”
In general, passphrases tend to be easier to remember and keep track of. Try it the next time you need to set up a password for a new account, whatever it might be. As annoying as it is, it’s still necessary. A little annoyance now is still more tenable than the far greater consequences of having a weak password.
It’s official. We made it through the summer of 2020. In most years, that’s hardly cause for celebration. In fact, around this time last year, I was lamenting over the end of warm bikini-enabling weather. This year is different because this year just objectively sucks for reasons we’re all painfully aware of.
We all have our own way of getting through awful years like this. For me, a weekly dose of new comics has been critical to keeping my broken sprits relatively intact. It’s not just about escapism and distractions, either. Comics are a good reminder that these ideals we still cherish are relevant, even when a pandemic comes so close to breaking us.
In years past, they’ve provided a sense of comfort and reprieve for when school started up. It was still much harder back then because I didn’t have Comixology or day-and-date digital releases. I like to think if I did have it, I would’ve coped better with my circumstances.
However, I don’t want to focus too much on the past or how awful this year has been. Summer may be over, but with another season behind us, we’re that much closer to leaving this awful year behind us. In the meantime, I want to focus on the present and how new comics make it objectively more awesome.
To that end, here is my pull list and picks of the week. Enjoy!
Every now and then, we have a bad day. It can be for any number of reasons. You get stuck in traffic, you’re late to something important, or everyone around you just gives you too much crap for one day. Some have more bad days than others. It’s never pleasant. It’s just part of life. The key is finding ways to cope.
I have many methods. Just this past week, I had a very rough day. I was not in a good mood when I got home. Dealing with it is easier said than done. However, sometimes the little things are what turns a bad day into something bearable.
For me, one of those things involves a few goofy, happy-go-lucky, low-effort YouTube videos that just make you smile. As someone who’s now trying to build his own YouTube channel, I’ve come to appreciate them more than most. To that end, I’d like to share one of those videos that just helped put a smile on my face after that day. I didn’t make it, but I’d love to thank whoever did.
Hopefully, this makes a bad day bearable or a good day even better. Enjoy!
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