Wrestler Dustin Rhodes Did Something We All Worry We'd Do, He Liked a Post Without Realizing It's Whole Context

Have you ever seen a post online that made you laugh, caught your eye for some reason, or seemed interesting? Did you click that you, "Liked," it or shared it with followers? We all have often done that, but sometimes a post that looks harmless at first glance has other content we missed, and our liking or sharing of it looks bad. I often worry I won't read a whole post/examine a picture and caption closely enough, and I'll indicate my enjoyment of something I totally missed some context of. Well, Dustin Rhodes had that happen to him and I 100% believe his apology that it was an accident because it sounds like something we'd all do with anything that interested us.

Dustin Rhodes was on Twitter/X and is known for liking firearms and women, but not for being transphobic or Islamophobic. He saw a picture that featured a woman with a large bust and a gun he thought was cool, so he clicked, "Like," and went about his day. However, what Rhodes missed with his selective reading was a caption saying, "Hey ISLAM, come at [sic] take it. I dare ya," and he failed to notice the text on the woman's shirt, which featured a women's restroom sign and more, "Come and take it," text. Rhodes saw a pretty lady with a gun when he was skimming the internet but failed to notice how much hateful context was packed into the image and caption. Uh oh. Observe the tweet:

"The controversy quickly drew a response from TNA star Mustafa Ali, prompting Rhodes to publicly explain his actions and issue an apology." Ali is Muslim and was confused seeing a fellow wrestler who has only ever shown him respect, "Liking," a tweet packed with so much hate. Rhodes clarified he had selectively read the tweet, liked the firearm, and paid little attention to the rest of the post. He's a 57-year-old dude who likes women and guns; I can buy that his primal brain overrode any logic or taking the time to read the tweet. Ali accepted Rhodes' apology, and Rhodes said he was, "100% against," the messages in the post. The response from wrestling fans on assorted sites has varied from, "Glad they worked it out civilly," to, "I totally missed the text as well in that tweet," to, some whining that Rhodes didn't have to apologize for a simple misunderstanding. At the end of the day, it goes to show that taking an extra second to make sure you really read a tweet/post/whatever is smart, lest you end up appearing to agree with something far and away from your actual views.

Pepsi Wild Cherry Had a PR Fiasco, but Did People Read Too Much Into a Post?

I don't like the taste of Pepsi. Whether it is regular, diet, or any of the various flavors. Therefore, it feels weird when you've got me defending the brand and saying people are reading way too much into a social media post Pepsi did. A chunk of days ago, on Threads, Pepsi/whoever works for social media there wrote, "Pepsi Wild Cherry is what happens when regular cherry stops asking permission." It's a cute little joke about being spontaneous and throwing caution to the wind, right? Well, a number of people thought it sounded like it endorsed sexual assault. I suppose from a certain angle I could see that interpretation. If someone has suffered any kind of sexual assault, harassment, abuse, or so forth, then such a phrase could be triggering. Why would that be the first thing that pops into the heads of other folks, though? I'm surprised someone would read that and immediately think it was, "Rapey," as opposed to a bland statement about seeking out fun and adventure.

Suffering any form of abuse or assault is horrible. If Pepsi had intended to make light of SA, then it would make sense to drag them online relentlessly. The drastic interpretations of this post, however, seem very extreme. I don't think a billion-dollar corporation is going to think there is anything humorous about rape...well, a company with Elon Musk as the head might have him crack such a joke, but he's an asshole. As for how Pepsi handled this, they took the post down and apologized for how it, "...landed in a way we never intended." That's probably the best way to handle things, as opposed to ignoring the outcry or doubling down the way some brands desperate to go viral might--remember when Radioshack was on the way out and started making graphic tweets about sex toys? So yes, this was a fiasco, but in 2026 terms and the garbage fire that the internet has become, this will probably all be forgotten within a week when something even crazier happens, like Dwayne Johnson accidentally harpoons a manatee during a promotional stunt-gone-wrong for the new live-action, "Moana," or something else outlandish but fitting for what this World has become in the past half-decade. On the bright side, at least Pepsi didn't have to buy anybody a fighter jet.

I Test Drove a Tesla and It Was Interesting, All Things Considered

I went to a Tesla showroom yesterday and drove a Tesla Model Y with Clarkson. It was mainly for fun and to give him something to do during his Spring Break. This came about as we would often play around on the Tesla display at a Mall Clarkson enjoys visiting. One time, they asked if we wanted to do a test drive from the showroom location (in Chesterfield, Missouri), and I said, "Sure." Having now driven a Tesla Model Y, I can say they are nice cars, but I doubt I'd own one as they are quite expensive (way out of my price range) and have a weird mix of politics around the brand from the good like the importance of conservation and saving energy (they're electric and don't waste fossil fuel) to the bad like having the face of the company (Elon Mush) who is...problematic.

Tesla vehicles are snazzy. Elon Musk is a terrible person to have as the CEO due to how divisive he is. Both of these things can be true. Having a car with a bunch of sensors and cameras capable of driving itself to a degree and parking for you is impressive. Having your CEO spend hours on Twitter/X posting weird political opinions or outright lies/propaganda is less-than-optimal. Still, I enjoyed tooling around in a Tesla Model Y, and Clarkson had fun too--he was especially intrigued by the unique car handles.

Clarkson examining a Model Y in the showroom.
He has Christmas pants on in March, yes.

The person who assisted us with our test drive was very nice (and not pushy at all about buying the car once I made it clear I lacked the moolah to ever consider that). Frankly, everyone was pleasant and eager to answer questions at the Tesla shop/showroom/service center. It wasn't high-pressure or awkward like some car stores; it felt more like a computer shop or Apple store than anything else. The focus was on all the tech in the cars and in the displays, and it got me thinking about something. These aren't exactly cars being sold, but extremely fancy computers that can transport people, in a sense. You don't use a key; you sync it to your phone. There is no gas, oil, or combustion, but there are monitors with touchscreens that you use to handle a lot of attributes. It's all fascinating, and other companies have taken note and made their own fully electric or electric-focused cars, seeing the success Tesla has had. It's a popular product, and a snazzy one, with a literal front trunk called a, "Frunk," which I find hilarious and clever. Yet, still, he's involved.

Not to harp on Elon Musk, but it matters. I mean, if you were asked to name the CEO of Ford, Toyota, or the like, could you? Perhaps that relative lack of public presence helps those brands more than it hinders them, as Musk is Tesla at this point in time, for better or worse. Eventually, he may leave the company, and it will remove the shadow he casts over everything there to a degree. For now, even if you have the funds to purchase a Tesla, Musk's involvement complicates things, to put it in a polite manner. His love-hate relationship with Trump, messy politics, and the like is alarming ot think about, no matter how fun a test drive can be. 

The wild thing at the end of the day is how Musk is known for making outlandish claims (we ain't going to Mars anytime soon) and screwing things up (he did a number on the US Government with his short-lived DOGE), but this company, which started in 2003, that he joined way back in 2004, has kept chugging along. Perhaps if the Musk of the early 2000's (he was actually somewhat liked back then) were similar to the Musk of today, we'd all have a very different opinion on the public image of Tesla and therefore Musk. That's a big hypothetical, however, and when people with a Tesla need to slap a, "I bought this before Elon went crazy," sticker on their car...well, that says a lot. Some day, Musk will depart Tesla, and on that day, many in the company will breathe a sigh of relief as he takes off for retirement or a trip to his colony on Mars. For now, however, we're all stuck here on Earth with the planet's richest man trolling everybody on Twitter/X as if that's his true passion. Just slap a, "I was on Twitter before Musk changed its name and ruined it," on your iPhone, and we'll be alright.

People are Using Twitter/X's AI Bot, Grok, in Creepy Ways This Week

I guess Grok, the official AI of Twitter/X got an upgrade because many people have been using it in a way that can vary from funny to creepy. You can have a picture of anyone and ask Grok to alter the picture so they are wearing different clothes. Make someone wear an outfit you normally see on a video-game character or such--perfectly innocent. Or have Grok take a picture of a woman and remove her clothes so it looks like she is wearing lingerie...hm.

Some women have uploaded suggestive pictures of themselves and then done the trick of tweeting at Grok to put them in an even more revealing outfit. These women are generally influencers promoting their OnlyFans accounts or such, and more power to them. They are consenting to their pictures being used in a sexual manner and telling the AI themselves to use a picture and make it saucy.  I'm sex-positive and pro-sex work; that's their choice. It gets a lot weirder when a woman uploads a harmless picture of herself and a bunch of men start tweeting at Grok to alter the picture so she is in a bikini, or has different colored hair and is licking ice cream, or a variation a woman didn't consent to. This has been referred to as a, "Mass Undressing Spree," but instead of people literally ripping clothes off of women, they are using AI.

Some dudes have had their pictures tweaked in suggestive ways from what I can see, but this impacts women a good 99% of the time. Where it gets really uncomfortable and borderline illegal is when it is girls under 18 having a picture of them altered to look suggestive. Grok won't make anything outright pornographic, but when a well-known actress who everyone is aware is underage has a picture tweaked so she's in extra-revealing clothes...well, maybe the users doing those prompts need a bit of extra scrutiny because they're just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from outright committing a crime.

How has Twitter/X responded to all of the news about this? They released a press statement saying, "Legacy media lies." Elon Musk himself seems relatively unbothered too. I mean, even if the media allegedly lies, the countless prompts demanding a woman have her outfit turned into a transparent bikini say it all. I swear, AI is only going to get, "Better," at faking images or videos to the point where, in three or four years, we legitimately won't be able to tell what is a real picture/video or generated/tweaked by AI. At that point, life is going to get really scary. As it stands right now, continue (as always) to be careful what you put on social media. Not only could the real content be used against you, but now people can change something innocent into questionable content. The future is now, and the future is deepfaked beyond recognition.

Considering Everything Our Government Could Focus On, It Worked to Ban TikTok?

We've got Ukraine and Russia in a war. Israel and Hamas are fighting as other nations hint at entering the conflict (such as Iran) to the point World War III seems possible. The rights of anyone with a Uterus are constantly being threatened with abortion being made illegal by politicians who want to ignore the will of the people who tell them to keep it legal. LGBTQ+ individuals are under constant legal and sometimes physical assaults. The Supreme Court is a joke. I could go on with what our Government could work on fixing, but instead, it seems to look at everything and go, "You know what? Let's try and ban a social media app!"

Facebook/Meta, YouTube/Google, and the rest all invade our privacy, but they're American companies so apparently that's okay. However, if a company has some Chinese-related ownership like TikTok, suddenly that's a problem. Elon Musk has American citizenship now so he can do whatever he likes with Twitter/X, but for some reason, we really care about privacy only when it comes to TikTok, according to our two-faced politicians--on both sides of the political aisle! Republicans who espouse a free market for some reason don't think that applies to TikTok and Democrats are looking for an easy win on something after looking like a joke these past number of years. Democrats are professionals at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, to alter a common saying. I mean, Joe Biden has been President and is going to run again against a man he handily beat who is currently in a criminal trial, yet Trump polls better? Us Liberals are not enthused with Democrats even if the alternative is fascism so we support them, but don't think I blindly love anyone with a, "D," next to their name in Congress either.

That puts us into the here-and-now where Congress has passed a law stating if TikTok's Chinese-related ownership doesn't sell to another company it could end up banned in America. Biden signed the law and I just shook my head at these out-of-touch politicians saying, "Seriously?" This is an easy win for Democrats to make Republicans look like old fogies who hate technology by taking a stand for younger voters (tons of folks who are 18 to mid-20s and even older people use TikTok, it isn't all kids) who could very well not care about any other issues but vote for Biden if he said, "Nah, Conservatives, TikTok is a-okay with me." Democrats love to screw up any chance they get to look good, though, so here we are. TikTok has about 9 months to make sure there is no Chinese-adjacent ownership or is banned. I'm all for privacy, but Zuckerberg gets to spy on us as much as he wants because he's an American, I guess. Hypocrisy and corruption reign, which in a way is the most American thing about all of this.

Wait, People Are Missing the Subtext of, "Helldivers 2," Despite How Clear it is?

I played, "Helldivers 2," a bit on my PlayStation and found it fun. I especially appreciated the weird way it hilariously sells itself as one big piece of propaganda. We are obviously the villains with our over-the-top recruitment videos and proclamations of spreading democracy through the stars by any violent means required. The outfits, the vibe, it all feels like a monolithic fascist empire forcing its boot on space aliens and robots that are foreign enough to us that we have zero hesitation about committing genocide. It's a darkly humorous subtext, but it is so obviously there you can't miss it...unless you do.

As can be seen on Twitter/X and is discussed in this piece on Forbes by Paul Tassi, some people missed the memo on, "Helldivers 2." The game takes a lot of inspiration from, "Starship Troopers," which is another movie where the subtext might as well be text because the point is obvious. I will own-up to the fact I missed some of messaging in, "Starship Troopers," the first time I watched it at age 12 because I was too busy enjoying the exploding bugs and giggling at the sight of a bunch of exposed body parts during the infamous group shower scene. I was a pre-teen then, however, and now I'm a grown-ass adult who understands subtlety. The thing is, "Helldivers 2," isn't even subtle. We're the villains, but gamers who wanted something they could declare, "Anti-woke," missed the jackhammering of jokes about totalitarianism. It is like if someone argued the original, "Star Wars," movies somehow weren't political and the franchise only got, "Woke," recently and...oh dear. I guess the risk with even the slightest subtlety is that some people will miss what you're trying to say, but if someone is that dense would even outlining your point be of any use? That's a puzzle with no answer, I'd say.

Fast Food Surge Pricing Sounds Like an Awful Idea

Wendy's announced in 2025 that it is planning on testing surge pricing. This means during the busiest times of the day food will cost more. Suddenly the dinner rush will also result in your burger/nuggets/fries being higher in price. This is an awful idea.

Yes, companies such as Ticketmaster and Uber engage in surge pricing. However, Ticketmaster basically has a monopoly on tickets and people absolutely hate the company. Uber engages in this practice at certain times of day and in areas that see a surge of activity--e.g. when a sporting event or concert lets out. It is disliked then too but has some basis in logic. A fast food building, however? That makes no sense. Wendy's does not have a monopoly on fast food that would allow them to pull this kind of B.S. If McDonald's tried it out people would be mad but that is also the biggest fast food chain here on Earth, they can throw some weight around if they so choose, bad press be damned. Wendy's, though? They are known for being funny on Twitter/X with their sarcastic posts--that ain't gonna make people pay an extra two bucks at 5PM for their food. 

Even if things will supposedly be cheaper at the off-peak hours, so what? Are people going to need to plan to only go to Wendy's at 3PM because that's between lunch and dinner? If a ton of people start going there then wouldn't that become the new peak time anyways? To take an old-time quote and tweak it a little, "That dog don't eat at Wendy's." A big part of me suspects this test of surge pricing won't even occur in 2025 as it is getting such bad press. We shall see.

Alan Moore Continues to Do His Own Thing

Alan Moore has written some of the most beloved and critically acclaimed comics ever. Alan Moore also is a man who was screwed over by the comic industry multiple times. He despises seeing his work adapted and almost always requests to have his name taken off of anything that is produced. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, a number of subjects were tackled including if he ever watched the latest, "Watchmen," adaptation and what he does with royalty checks he legally has to be sent for projects he wants zero involvement in. Apparently, he totally avoided the show but did hear about it and felt it missed the point of his work (fair enough). He also said he gives his checks to the movement known as, "Black Lives Matter." 

Moore was chewed up and spat out by the comic book industry and now writes interesting novels and does his own thing. He donates to causes he cares about and does not give a single care what anyone thinks about him anymore. He quit comics, will talk smack about it, and also will throw some shade at fantasy novels too because he doesn't give a care/hoot/fuck, as I stated. The man hates even going to comic-cons because people look at him as a religious figure instead of a writer to have a friendly conversation with. If you go on Twitter/X you can already see faux-fans mad at Moore for doing his own thing. Calling him, "Exhausting," or "Ungrateful," to the medium that, "Made him famous." Moore seems to enrage people by having convictions. I don't even agree with the man on plenty of stuff, but I admire him doing his own thing all these years.

Comic Book Resources is Going Full-On Dumpster Fire

Heidi MacDonald of Comicsbeat has a post up discussing just how badly things are going at Comic Book Resources. They use a dumpster on the fire as the header image, which is pretty accurate. I noted in May of this year how CBR was being overhauled but it was probably too late to save the site from continuing to suck (which it had since about 2016 when the current owner, Valnet, took over). Someone on CBR's own Twitter/X account threw shade (one assumes before being locked out of the account) about how the site has essentially no comic news anymore and will just be full of AI-generated clickbait (at least the current clickbait seems to be all human-based). Rich Johnston of Bleedingcool discussed this depressing-yet-also-funny event too.

This is a shame as CBR used to be a fantastic comic-book site. Now the best comic sites we've got are the aforementioned Comicsbeat and Bleedingcool (which is pretty tabloid-styled and full of intrusive ads but has its charms). I check or link to CBR so rarely it is like it might as well not exist. That could very well be the case sooner than later, the way things are going.

Twitter is Now Going Simply by X Because Elon Musk is Clearly a Madman

I guess Elon Musk can't destroy Twitter if Twitter technically doesn't exist and is now known as, "X." Yes, you heard that right. Musk is continuing his effort to alienate everyone who enjoys the social media site and has transformed Twitter into X.com (a letter and domain he has some nostalgia toward) by getting rid of the blue bird logo and giving us a big black X. I guess we don't even tweet anymore, we just...I dunno, "X stuff out," or something? I've written on multiple occasions about how straight-up bad of a job Musk is doing running Twitter as for every good/cool idea Musk has they're usually followed up by five bad ones. I legitimately wonder how a supposedly very smart man can be this awful at running Twitter/X (not that I'm claiming I'd be that great as the head of a company, but still). It is to the point I almost believe the conspiracy theories I've read arguing Musk is intentionally ruining Twitter as it is a way for the populace to mobilize against those in political or financial positions of power.

For now, you can still access Twitter/X by typing in either within your browser. The app logo is still a bird for me as well. The website is a bunch of X's however, so clearly the fowl's days are numbered. Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy using Threads and wonder if this will only help that app further.

Meta's New, "Threads," Has Launched and Shows Potential

 

Ol' Mark Zuckerberg of Meta has done something new. He's got Facebook and Instagram along with other projects and now Meta's development team has released Threads. Threads is basically Meta's way to compete with Twitter. It has potential and is relatively easy to use. A number of features are missing in comparison to Twitter, but that is being worked on. Threads has been rapidly downloaded by those curious about it as well as people who are fed up with Twitter and how Elon Musk--its current owner--seems desperate to run it into the ground. If you already have Instagram it is really easy to import some stuff over into Threads. I feel like it has potential but clearly is in its earlier stages.

One nice bonus of Threads is that it is making Elon Musk really angry. He is threatening to sue Meta for all kinds of things ranging from poaching Twitter staff to somehow stealing, "Trade secrets," as if other sites haven't done a knock-off of Twitter before. Plenty of folks have sites like Twitter that want to be better, threads just has the money and public interest to possibly actually succeed at it--sorry Mastodon, Bluesky (although it is getting buzz), and etc. I don't know if Threads will replace Twitter, but it seems to be the biggest contender for the metaphorical crown in quite some time. We shall see and in the meantime, I'll enjoy how when I use it Elon Musk won't be there. Should you want to find me on Threads, I'm thenewestrant there as well as basically all other social media.

#ComicsBrokeMe is Trending on Twitter and Shines a Depressing Light on the Industry

For the past couple of days the topic, "#comicsbrokeme," has been trending on Twitter. It has featured many creators of comics or folks otherwise involved in the business discussing just how incredibly rough and soul-crushing it can be. Should you despise Twitter (I don't blame you), the website Bleedingcool did post a bunch of content in an article discussing the trending statement. We as comic-book fans really don't appreciate the people who actually make our comics enough. We often give far too much credit to the corporations that could care less about quality tales/artwork and just want to cash a big check while simultaneously writing the smallest one possible to those doing the actual work. 

I will forever sing the praises of organizations such as The Hero Initiative, which assists comic creators in need. The idea there are people who created million (or even billion) dollar properties who can't afford groceries or rent is disgusting, but welcome to America, home of the most messed-up health care system and general views on humanity you'll find in the World. As long as things don't get better it seems the comic industry will constantly chew people up and spit them out. It sucks.

Twitter in April 2023 Has Become Pure Chaos

Remember when news involving Twitter was more about what people said on Twitter than the site itself? Yeah, those days weren't exactly good (Donald Trump's Presidential tweets were horrific) but at least were different than now when news involving Twitter is simply about Twitter. This all began when a man who is so rich in money but apparently so poor in getting the attention he craves--Elon Musk--took over the site. As soon as Musk assumed control, the entity we know as Twitter started imploding. Things have only gotten worse in the months since.

Musk introduced the idea that unless you pay him money you'll lose your blue checkmark. If you didn't have a blue checkmark, you can pay to get one. Blue checkmarks were never some kind of special status symbol beyond helping people who were known for something or the other to be able to prove the account was the person claimed and not some kind of impersonator. With the ability for anybody to pay $8 and get a blue check, it has already resulted in mayhem, especially as the celebs/politicians/organizations that had blue checkmarks refuse to pay. At this point, having a blue checkmark is now more embarrassing than it is proof of anything. Nicole Carpenter of Polygon has called it, "Twitter's de-verification debacle." I think that's honestly a little too kind. This is a status-mark shitshow, and boy is it getting messy. 

Musk, presumably plotting his next horrible idea.

Stephen King was a loud opponent of the blue checkmark costing money and randomly kept his for free as a backhanded, "Gift," from Musk. He's made it clear he doesn't need it and would rather the money go to a charity that helps Ukraine or such. Plenty of folks are now viewing a blue checkmark that's been paid for more as a sign someone is status-seeking than that they are actually a notable person. I've made it clear I will never give Twitter any of my money because they already get all our sweet, sweet data. Plenty of other social media sites are pleased to give us fun features in exchange for our privacy, and if those sites ain't charging me, why does Musk need a single cent? Twitter is imploding, TikTok is being targeted by Congress for various reasons, Facebook/Instagram had to settle a huge lawsuit for misusing data, and at this point, it seems more off-kilter social media networks like Fetlife are the least problematic. Who knew a site for people who want to make posts about behaving in a, "Naughty," manner would use data the least inappropriately?

Whether he's calling spaceships that blow up within minutes of launch a success or bragging about how much better he's making Twitter while it also finds itself falling apart, Elon Musk is clearly a man on a mission. What that mission is and why exactly it involves making so many people mock him in a hilarious manner is a mystery. Godspeed to him as he tries to get that $8 from folks, though.

Twitter is Really Falling Apart Since Musk Took Over

Elon Musk managed to do something that actually impressed me. Namely, he has run Twitter into the ground faster than I could have imagined possible. From firing a ton of people to wanting to rehire them, then enraging myself and others with his proposal of paying for a blue checkmark, to having fake accounts with blue checkmarks wreaking havoc it's been a year's worth of mayhem in a handful of weeks. As CNN puts it, "Two weeks after Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter, the future of the company has never looked less certain." Bloomberg observed we are basically watching Twitter implode in real time. 

I'm just sitting here thinking about how I've always observed Elon Musk will have good ideas but executes them terribly. Electric cars are great, Tesla's are overpriced junk. Space travel is a worthy cause, SpaceX often looks like a mess. Now we have Musk wanting Twitter to be some great equalizer of free speech with no limits, but without any limits it is a wild west of hate speech, fraud, and general mischief. Even with free speech you can't legally yell, "Fire," in a crowded movie theater just for a laugh and Musk is seeing what absolute free speech does to Twitter--it makes the metaphorical fire all-too-real and burns down the theater of abusridities that took years to build in remarkable time. I don't know how this will end. I do know it probably won't end well.

I'm Never Giving Twitter a Dime of My Money, Even for the Blue Checkmark

Twitter is a cesspool. I use it to help promote my blog and read funny opinions on various reality shows, but it overall is a terrible place I still go to. It is like a restaurant that seems far too dirty to not get shut down yet inexplicably stays open and has that one tasty dish so you put up with going there even if the odds are alarmingly high you'll end up sick to your stomach by what you see. With all of that said, Elon Musk paid an absurdly high amount for this miserable restaurant/website after failing to weasel his way out of the initial offer to purchase Twitter. Now he's stuck and wants to figure out a way to make money from his awful investment. There has been pushback to some ideas.

Musk proposed charging people money to have the little blue checkmark next to their name that verifies they are who they claim to be. This is used by big public figures who he figures can afford to throw him $20 to assist him in...making Twitter better by fighting bots or something? I will admit I don't think I'm a big enough name to even have a blue checkmark, but if the opportunity ever arose to have one but I had to pay actual cash money for it? Hell nah. Stephen King agrees it isn't about the money but the principle, tweeting, “Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.” Musk attempted to tweet at King his reasoning behind charging for a blue checkmark and that perhaps he would lower the price and incorporate it into the mostly-disliked premium Twitter option as a way to let anyone who wants to pay and who can prove who they are get a blue checkmark. 

As with a lot of things Musk does (electric cars, space travel, and so forth), there is a piece of a good idea in here surrounded by a bunch of dumb stuff. All I can tell you is I'm never giving Twitter any of my money because, unlike the metaphorical restaurant that I'd tip a bunch extra to clean their floors even once in a while, there ain't no cleaning-up Twitter.

James Gunn and Peter Safran Will be Heading Up DC's Film/Television/Animation Division

DC has struggled to some degree for its films to inspire much excitement or cultural relevance. Outside of some die-hard fans of Zack Snyder's take on everything the franchises have mostly floundered with some notable exceptions. One of those big exceptions was the latest, "Suicide Squad," movie James Gunn directed. Folks may recall James Gunn did the, "Guardians of the Galaxy," films, but was fired from the third when old inappropriate joke-tweets he did were used against him by alt-right conservatives mad he mocked Trump. However, he was hired by DC to make a new, "Suicide Squad," then got rehired by Marvel to do the third GOTG flick, and now is apparently going to be a co-head of everything DC-on-the-screen as his, "Suicide Squad," is a rare recent DC movie that did well and received good reviews (folk dug his, "Peacemaker," spin-off show too). 

Gunn has definitely come quite far and the other person who will head everything, Peter Safran, has worked with Gunn a good deal via his production management company. They will both report to the much-hated David Zaslav who has slashed a ton of stuff at Warner Brothers Discovery, including killing the, "Batgirl," movie. Hopefully, Gunn and Safran will be afforded enough power/control/independence to get the DC film, television, and movie stuff all on a better track than there currently is. I actually feel a slight bit optimistic about DC's future output now--for the first time in a long while--so at least that's good.

Deadpool AND Wolverine Are Back for, "Deadpool 3." That Sounds Fun!

We've been awaiting news about the third, "Deadpool," movie for quite some time. We also thought Hugh Jackman would never play Wolverine again. Nothing was announced at Comic-Con International/San Diego Comic-Con. Then nothing was revealed at D23. Then, Ryan Reynolds puts out a tweet (of all things) yesterday with a little clip discussing how on September 6th of 2024 we will finally get, "Deadpool 3," and Hugh Jackman will be back to play Wolverine one more time. Another clip today claims to explain everything, but avoids doing so in a silly manner. All this as Deadpool officially enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe (somehow). Yeah, I'm totally down for that.

When I first saw the news it sounded fake, but lo and behold, we're getting Deadpool and Wolverine causing a ruckus. I'm pleased, even if it is basically a whole two years away at this point--that is quite a wait. There will be plenty of other Marvel content while we wait, however, so no worries there.

Infamous Troll, Elon Musk, Lied About Wanting to Buy Twitter? I'm So Shocked!

Elon Musk is very rich but seems to be very unhappy. He gets in arguments with random people on Twitter and generally makes what the kids call, "Shitposts," in the hope people will like him. He has some successful businesses but often seems to be his own worst enemy due to public statements he makes, many on Twitter. Musk acted like he was going to put forth a serious effort to buy Twitter and make it a private company, but it looks like he was doing what he does best, trolling people. Musk previously claimed if the UN gave him information on how his money could help with World Hunger he'd donate a bunch of cash. They provided data and he did nothing. Musk said if Twitter could give him a bunch of info on how it runs he would buy it. Now he's trying to go back on that too. 

Musk is like that kid who claims he could totally do all kinds of crazy stunts on his new BMX bike, but it's currently locked in the shed and only his girlfriend from Canada who was visiting last week but just left happens to have the keys due to a mix-up. It just lies after lies and trolling after trolling with Musk. Did Musk ever truly want to buy Twitter? Maybe he did, but I am not surprised it turned out to be another grift.

This Save a Lot Ad with Rapping is Actually...Really Good?

You know what is often extremely cringey? When big brands try to do something, "Hip," or popular. Sometimes it inadvertently works (see Wendy's Twitter account) but oftentimes the whole endeavor is awful. Having people rapping about a grocery store sounds like it should be atrocious, but against all odds, the rap is straight fire. Yes, Save a Lot made an ad of people rhyming about their grocery stores, and it's somehow good. The song is titled, "Like, A Lot a Lot," and while the whole ad has been chopped into 30-second segments for television the entire thing can be seen online. Observe:

Dear God, that deli lady's dubbed-over speed-rap is loaded with clever bits and I'm still astounded this ad isn't terrible. As I'm always doing way deeper dives into stuff than any human needs to, I read some grocery store business websites (yes, there are entire websites dedicated to the trade practice of grocery stores), and the secret to this ad not sucking is actual talented folks were hired. The music video was shot by veteran director Drew Kirsch, who has a Video Music Award under his belt for directing the video for Taylor Swift's song, "You Need to Calm Down." As for the rapping/singing talent, "The spot features emerging singers like Leon Evans, Sarai, and Tamara Bubble, who also has a song featured on Disney’s, 'Raya and the Last Dragon.'” 

I guess when you hire someone who knows how to shoot a music video and give gigs to folks who actually can craft a verse the result is a shockingly fun and catchy ad. The beat is hot, the rhythmic rapping catches my ear, and as I said, the lyrics are solid. Plus, there is a sense of humor to the ad, a bit of a cheekiness that it's acknowledging how silly this whole endeavor is. A little self-awareness always goes a long way.

A PR website with a big article about the ad (I told you I research random stuff way too much) describes how this advertisement is designed to, "...modernize the brand and deepen its relationships with customers." I assume, "Modernize," is a coded way of saying, "We need more young people to shop here too." I'll be honest, when I saw this ad it occurred to me I hadn't gone to a Save a Lot in a while and did recall some geat deals being there. I maybe need to swing by one sometime. Mission accomplished, Save a Lot, you got me.

"Heroineburgh," is a Fun Comic AND Live Action Web Series

Creators of indie comics will sometimes reach out to me and ask me to check out their works. I was intrigued when, "Heroineburgh," contacted me as they weren't only a comic, but also a long-running web series. They found me when I was trending on comics-twitter due to certain posts I'd made on a subject I have now said I'm done discussing. They didn't care about that controversy, they just saw I was trending, read my blog, and noticed when reading my site how I often wrote about cool indie comics. Therefore, they told me about their comic and show then asked if I was interested in learning more. I thought such a thing made a lot of sense as with so many big-name superhero characters getting shows and movies it sounded pretty smart for indie creators to do a similar brand synergy of, "If you like the comic, check out the show (and vice-versa)." I read the first two issues of, "Heroineburgh," and watched some of the latest episodes of the show. I will say I enjoyed both!

The plot of, "Heroineburgh," is that the city of Pittsburgh (where the comic takes place and the show is filmed) had a mysterious meteor explode overhead one night and it bestowed a number of people (mostly those with XX chromosomes) with superpowers. Now, many superheroines are officially recognized by the city as being a public safety force. There are a number of women who have become criminals with their powers and that has resulted in trouble at points. The two issues of the comic that have been released so far all follow different heroines who also appear in the show. The issues tell different fun stories about the diverse cast. I especially liked a story in the first issue which features a genetically modified lizard turning into a Kaiju that the cleverly-named, "X-Machina," fights. What makes all this even more fun is then seeing the characters from the comics come alive on your screen.

The, "Heroineburgh," web series is currently in its second season with 19 episodes total. Some episodes are split into two parts, but whether a full episode or a, "Part," they generally are a bit less or more than 30 minutes. The shows are fun and while not by any means high-budget, do have enough funds put into them that they manage some charming special effects--the costuming is always on point too. The acting tends to be pretty good and the whole show just has a nice fun vibe. Watching it reminded me of the shot-on-video (SOV) horror movies of years past not because things were by any means scary, but because back in the day people would get together with a cool idea, film it, and get it released as a VHS tape that sometimes became a cult hit movie. 

Now we have the internet so instead of SOV we're doing things digitally, but that has allowed even more people to take their ideas and create fun shows. "Heroineburgh," has the same, "We're going to try a bunch of stuff and see what works and what doesn't and we're gonna enjoy ourselves along with way," feeling as SOV movies from the past did and I think that is a major element of why I found it so fun. It is incredibly enthusiastic and eager to share its stories with us via a mixture of seriousness and just the right dose of self-awareness. Another thing that a viewer can appreciate about, "Heroineburgh," is that unlike basically any other hero movies or television shows, there are a ton of female heroes. 

If I may complain a bit, Marvel took more than 10 films to give a female lead-billing ("Captain Marvel,") and DC has been good to, "Wonder Woman," and gave us a movie with Harley Quinn, but female-led properties seem to be the exception rather than a regular thing with some of the big properties these past years. Marvel will be debuting their second female-led movie with, "Black Widow," this Summer, even though they already kind of did her dirty with the way the character was treated in, "Endgame," in my opinion, but I digress. My point is outside of team movies that at least include a female or two and some of the superhero television shows there isn't much with female characters--especially female characters of color, various religions, gay/bi characters, etc.

To much credit of, "Heroineburgh," it is focused on diverse female characters in a way that doesn't seem like it's fishing for compliments for being progressive, it simply has a story to tell that involves a lot of superpowered females and it tells it well. Whether they're dealing with corrupt police mad that funding has been cut due to the superheroines becoming an official branch of the Government, fighting evil business tycoons out to make them look bad, or combatting super-villains, there is a big focus on women. 

Yes, it isn't giving us over-the-top special effects that cost millions of dollars, but it's fun and earnest. You can see everyone making it had just as much fun making an episode as we do when we watch it. Plus, thanks to there being so many heroines featured in different episodes you can basically watch any episode from the first or second season and not be lost or confused as you might be if you tried to watch a later episode of a hero show on the CW or Disney+ (I mean, I don't know who would watch, "Wandavision," without having watched at least some Marvel movies, but if they did they'd be confused).

I feel like I've rambled a bit in this post, but the summary of all this is that I found, "Heroineburgh," to be a very enjoyable comic and fun web series that succeeds thanks to how charming and genuine it is. While it was stressful when I angered certain parts of the internet expressing my opinions, I was happy to see it got me trending and it helped even more folks discover my blog and reach out about their own works. I always love hearing from indie creators and thank Heroineburgh for getting me into their show and comic! You can buy the comics and episodes of the web series on their site, and I'd encourage you to check them out!

5 out of 5 stars for the comic and show.

Note: Issue one and two of, "Heroineburgh," as well as episodes 17 and 18 of the show were provided to me for the purpose of review; you all know the drill by now about me getting press copies of stuff, but I always like to make sure I mention it somewhere.