Leftovers & links & reviews without spoilers

ᐅ This is an 8-minute video where a guy quietly chats with his mother about her utterly daft QAnon beliefs. It’s sad, and it’s funny, and it makes me think of my own mother. My mom is eccentric in many ways, but I will say proudly that she is not a QAnon kook like this guy’s mom. My mom voted for Trump in 2016, but she soon became outspoken in her distaste for that scumbag, and she voted for Biden in 2020. I love you, Mom.

ᐅ Is this the most amazing bowling story ever told? I’m not going to go that far, but it’s a very good bowling story.

ᐅ I grow more and more like the old farts of my youth, looking at the world and thinking it’s all gone to hell. The latest thing that makes me hopeless is something called Exist, which claims to merge all the data from all the apps and software you’re already using, to “help you understand what makes you more happy, productive, and active.” And they want you to pay for this service. If there's value in this, someone would have to explain it to me. To me it looks like Big Brother isn’t big enough, so hurry, sign up for Mega-Big Brother.

ᐅ The software behind itsdougholland.com has its little bugs and idiosyncrasies, including a built-in link at the bottom of every post which says, “Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)” with a link. I don't know why anyone would subscribe to a post’s comments, when “Notify me” is an option directly above, or you could just bookmark the page and come back later. When I click that “Subscribe to” button, it tries to download something onto my computer, which smells slightly nefarious. Unless someone lets me know that you like/use/want that link, I’m going to remove it.

ᐅ Instead of trusting others to summarize your life in a few hundred words, Pam Mandel suggests writing your own obituary. From the article it’s unclear whether she’s done so herself, but she’s at least provided an outline for an obituary. I think it’s a smashing idea, and I’ve put an obituary on the long list of things I hope or plan to write. From there to actually writing it can be anywhere from a week to forever, but — maybe.

ᐅ I am so very, very Sam.

ᐅ I canceled Netflix a few years ago, because I wasn’t watching much. Figured I’d join again briefly if/when they had some must-see movies or shows, and then cancel again, cuz I’m a cheapskate. That hasn’t happened yet, because every time I consider signing up for Netflix, I’m underwhelmed with what they’re offering. I’ve seen the first three seasons of Stranger Things on DVD, so I’m still not seeing the point of paying for Netflix. Any Netflix customers out there who can tell me I’m missing something good?

ᐅ This guy must work in my office, or some hellhole just like it.

ᐅ It’s only been two days since I wrote my anti-birthday rant, but — never mind. This morning I checked my mailbox and there was a package from my sister in a pot-legal state. For my birthday, she sent a bag of THC edibles, watermelon flavor (my favorite). Anything pot-related remains illegal here in Wisconsin, because we have gerrymandering instead of democracy, so — thank you, sis, and birthdays are wonderful.

ᐅ Thirty years ago, there was Factsheet 5, the big zine that reviewed all the little zines (like mine). This morning, some neurons malfunctioned in my skull while I was in the shower, and I not only remembered F5, I also remembered the names and almost the addresses of all three men who published Factsheet 5 through its run — Mike Gunderloy in some unpronouncable town in New York, Hudson Luce, and R Seth Friedman in San Francisco. I never met any of them, but zines kept me going when life was otherwise bleak, so to these gents I’d say seriously, Thank you for your service.

6/7/2021
Leftovers & links