Television Tuesday: People Are Alarmingly Good at Lying on, "The Mole," Season 2

I watched a chunk of the first and second episodes of the debut season of, "The Mole," when people online recommended the show. I didn't really like it. However, when season 2 dropped I wanted to give it a chance. I am digging the program now thanks to the cast/contestants all being quite interesting. One thing is scary though--how good some people are at lying. You see, on the show, "The Mole," everyone is competing to win money and succeed in challenges, except for one player. Someone who is the titular Mole is trying to make sure everyone fails, loses money, and so forth. We as the viewers do not know who the Mole is until the finale (so this isn't like, "The Traitors," where we know who the, "Good," and, "Evil," players are). It makes things fun as we debate with loved ones, friends, or strangers online who the Mole could be. That's only part of it though.

Some challenges require everyone to attempt to lie. Even if you're not the Mole you need to concoct big fibs and say them to other players' faces about whether you have money or exemptions (so you can't get kicked out of the show). I am astounded how good a lot of the players are at lying and it makes me uneasy. Like, if you can that easily lie in a prisoner's dilemma type game when it comes to money versus exemptions or can tell someone to their face you voted for them to stay when the opposite is true in the hopes it messes up their count of how people voted..it must be easy to lie about other stuff too in theory.

Not just the Mole lies...

The Mole is supposed to lie and be damn good at it because they were chosen specifically to be the Mole. When everyone is able to lie through their teeth in certain situations and be alarmingly good at it, however, that just is stressful and causes me to wonder how often we as humans lie without hesitation to others about things we should just be honest about. It is scary, and when, "The Mole," airs the final two episodes of this season on Friday (on Netflix) I'm wondering just how deep it will be revealed the rabbit hole (or Mole hole) goes in regards to lying. I have a terrible, "Poker face," and would fail spectacularly on shows such as, "The Mole," even if I happened to just be a regular player who needs to lie some. It is impressive and eerie how good some of ya'll out there are at lying, however.

Television Tuesday: "Agatha All Along," is Coming This Halloween and Looks Fun

Disney/Marvel has been slowing down the release of movies and Disney+ television shows, but one that has still been in the works is a program focused on Agatha Harkness. It went through a few names before finally settling on/being revealed as, "Agatha All Along." The teaser trailer dropped yesterday with it being promoted as a spooky Halloween season release. Give it a look:

I'm into it if for no other reason than I am always down for more Kathryn Hahn in the Marvel Universe and Aubrey Plaza is making her MCU debut here too ("Legion," was a whole different continuity). The last time we saw Agatha she was the main villain of, "Wandavision," depending on how much of a baddie you feel Wanda herself was in that show (before totally going full-monster in the last Doctor Strange flick). This looks to be exploring the more fantastical and scary side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and if it is even half as enjoyable as the, "Werewolf by Night," special I'd imagine it shall be fun.

Music Mondays: Some Random Songs I've Been Listening To

I don't have an assortment of music news to share today. I just felt like sharing some random songs I found via my searches/recommendations from Spotify/Bandcamp/etc. and have been enjoying listening to as of late. You may like them too, and if you do then you're welcome. If you hate them...I'm sorry? Now, in no particular order...

"Suede" by Anderson .Paak, Knxwledge, and NxWorries

Anderson .Paak has such a smooth voice that he can make anything sound catchy, even if its just some lyrics about how he likes a lady who can cook grits and roll a spliff at the same time.

"Stella Brown," by Jelani Aryeh

The weird lo-fi sound in this song should be annoying but compliments the lyrics of being too shy to talk to a lady quite wonderfully.

"Bad Texter," by Ryan Woods

I relate to being bad at responding to texts and the lush electronic sounds of the song are quite pleasing.

"Frankenstein," by Claire Rosinkranz

There is a nice light and flowy feel to this ditty, so I'm into it.

"Photo ID," by Remi Wolf with Dominic Fike & "Vampire," by Dominic Fike

I am not especially familiar with this Dominic Fike fellow, but I've been really digging a number of songs he does or appears on. I shall explore his work further.

"Wait a Minute!" by WILLOW

The artist also known as Will Smith's daughter continues to make weird and fun pop.

"Good Girl," & "Problematic," by Jesse Gold

Seemingly sweet songs with a slight dark edge are always fun and Jesse Gold makes just that.

"Closer," by Saweetie and H.E.R.

Anytime you feature H.E.R. on a song she is bound to kill it, as she does here.

"North$ide," by Destiny Rogers

A cute song about romance with a catchy hook. Sometimes that is all you need.

"Million Dollar Baby," by Tommy Richman

I know some people who really jam out to this song and others who absolutely hate it. I find it silly and fun.

"Linger," by TALA

Probably the weirdest cover of this song by The Cranberries you will ever hear, it morphs the song into a tragic ballad--but it works!

"Hush--Still Woozy Remix," by The Marias and Still Woozy

The synthesizer on this track mixed with the singing is a real delight.

"Yo Love," by Vince Staples & 21 Savage

Vince Staples is a superb rapper and 21 Savage does a solid job on this track too.

"AMERICAN HORROR STORY," by Earthgang

Proof that conscious rap can be hella catchy too.

"Shut Up my Moms Calling," by Hotel Ugly

A weird little trip-hop-style song, you can just kind of vibe out to it.

"Drugs You Should Try It," by Jordan Bratton

The orchestral score mixed with the ethereal singing results in this being an eerie and impactful tune.

"Intl' Players Anthem (I Choose You)," by UGK & OutKast

Probably the best song with OutKast that isn't actually an OutKast song (it is on a UGK album) and the last huge hit that saw them as a duo. I always love revisiting this tune every few months when I want a dose of Andre 3000 and Big Boi right before they stopped and hopefully will someday reunite.

"Crazy Taxi," Could Return as a Big Online Game

"Crazy Taxi," was a fantastic game. Full of late 90s and early 2000s jams and loaded with actual stores in a strange occurrence of product placement, the game had you picking up passengers and driving as insanely as possible to get them where they needed to go. The sequel, "Crazy Taxi 2," introduced a mechanic where your car could somehow jump. Apparently, there were other games, but they were on random consoles like the PSP or mostly remakes as opposed to big sequels (the 3rd in the series took the original map and added the jump, for instance with just one new area overall). However, a new, "Crazy Taxi," is supposedly coming, and it sounds weird.

The next, "Crazy Taxi," was described by Series producer Kenji Kanno recently as a “Large-scale, open-world, massively multiplayer driving game." So, a game where you compete with other players to get passengers within a massive map and possibly even engage in combat with them like some kind of weird, "Fortnite," mixed with, "World of Warcraft," or such? That sounds totally bizarre, but, "Crazy Taxi," was never about restraint. As Oli Welsh of Polygon observed, "Honestly, I've heard worse ideas." A big online World where you drive our taxi around, forming alliances/corporations/whatever, and getting into combat could be cool. If it keeps the wild attitude of the original franchise and is some form of zany fun I'd give it a shot.

"Gutsville," Might Actually Come Back and Conclude Soon

Before I even had this blog, back in 2007, an interesting comic kicked off by Si Spurrier and Frazier Irving. Titled, "Gutsville," it followed a strange village that followed strict religious doctrines...and was inside the belly of a huge whale-like creature. Only three total issues came out, with the second and third heavily delayed--nothing has been released since 2008. Supposedly, however, Frazier Irving has claimed that, "Gutsville," will be wrapping as soon as this year. Nearly 20 years later we might see the end of, "Gutsville," in the form of some more issues or perhaps a super-sized issue. I quite enjoyed the comic when I read it so, so many years ago with its weird concept being beautifully executed thanks to Spurrier and Irving. I'm pleased that, "Gutsville," might actually conclude, it just is a bit annoying it has taken such a long time.

Funko Friday: This New Moon Knight Funko Pop is Really Impressive

I dabble in Funko Pops but am by no means a huge collector of them. I have a handful and enjoy the ones of the fandoms I follow/like though. Everyone here knows I love Moon Knight so when I was in Target and saw the latest Pop I immediately texted my wife, "I need to buy this!" and she knew I was gonna grab one. Featuring visuals from the recent run written by Jed Mackay with art by Alessandro Cappuccio, this Pop is badass. You can see it posted above and it is really snazzy. I maybe don't buy Funko Pops too often, but when one catches my fancy it'll earn a spot on my shelves!

Happy Fourth of July; Celebrate Our Nation's Potential, I Suppose?

July 4th is a day we celebrate America. It is our Independence Day. I love my country and want it to be the best it can be. Unfortunately, the nation often lets me down. We've got a Supreme Court that wants to give Presidents the power of kings via alarming levels of immunity, a looming election which looks to be a mess if the first Presidential debate is any indication, and so forth. That said, our Country always has potential. There are times my nation makes me proud because of the people within America. That is what a nation, state, city, etc. is, after all, the people--we the people. I won't stop trying to make the United States the best it possibly can be and I know those with differing views will try to make this country reflect their view on what that, "Best," is. 

That is how a democracy should work and putting aside when there are people who to subvert the rules (as Donald Trump clearly did multiple times, but I digress) we have checks and balances that should work to help those who want to improve our nation and stop or slow those who would try to harm it. Today we celebrate our United States of America and its independence--but we never stop trying to make it even better with that independence so many fought so hard to earn and keep.

People Are Being a Bit Hard on That, "Hellboy: The Crooked Man," Trailer

I think when it comes to superhero movies as of late people are spoiled on big, expensive, and over-the-top special effects. Folks expect a 200 million dollar plus film full of Computer Graphics so incredible it makes your eyes water with glee. At least, that is my theory because a lot of people are being kind of mean about the trailer for a new Hellboy flick and it looks fine to me.

"Hellboy: The Crooked Man," adapts a Hellboy story of the same name and is unrelated to the original two movies or the last reboot that everyone now pretends didn't happen. Jack Kesy plays Hellboy with Brian Taylor (best known for the movie, "Crank," and its Insanity) directing. The creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola is heavily involved too. Hellboy goes to investigate some supernatural evil in 1950s Appalachia and the movie is clearly leaning heavily into more of a horror vibe as opposed to comedy or action. The dialogue in the trailer is a bit trite, "It smells like death," but as far as the effects go, it seems fine to me. Hellboy looks like Hellboy, there are creepy creatures and I don't have any complaints. Yet, many are saying this looks, "Low-budget," or still angry that, "Hellboy 3," never got made. Some have remarked they like the dark tone, but even they think this looks like a, "Fanfilm," as opposed to an official movie. Give the trailer a look and judge for yourself:

It looks fine! From some internet searching it seems the budget is thought to be around 20-25 million dollars and while compared to the latest Marvel or DC flick that would be chump change, this still isn't some microscopic amount as if this were a little indie film made for pennies. Whether, "Hellboy: the Crooked Man," is good or not will remain to be seen, but as far as the budget goes, it seems perfectly alright in regards to visuals.

The Internet Always Needs Something to Be Mad About/Jim Lee Can Charge What He Wants for Commissions

Jim Lee is one of the top talents in the industry and a busy man with all the work he does basically running the comic-book division of DC. I'd be surprised if he even has time to do commissions, but he apparently does! Considering how big a name he is the man could ask whatever he wants, and someone noticed in an online post he asks for $25,000-$35,000 for an original commissioned piece. This resulted in opinions.

Now, I'm not rich so that is far, far too much for me to ever pay someone to draw me something. I do love having artists draw me Moon Knight whether they are random folks or somewhat-known names who don't charge too much with my budget. That said, Jim Lee can charge whatever he wants to draw you something, and throwing a fit about it as the internet seems to have done is silly. I mean, nobody is making you buy a commission from Jim Lee. Art is worth what people will pay for it, and Lee wants to be paid that much for his creations--as is his right! If you've got the money and the desire for Jim Lee to draw for you, pay the man! Otherwise, you don't! It is as simple as that.

They Officially Start Demolishing the Chesterfield Mall on October 15th

I've written about the Chesterfield Mall in our region and how I'm sad it will soon be no more. It was struggling a bit before the COVID-19 pandemic, and ever since then had been mortally wounded and limping along with a small number of stores left as a bit of a last stand. Long-gestating plans to demolish the Mall and build a big mixed-use area of shopping, businesses, and apartments/condos finally were approved and the Mall officially closes on August 31st, 2024. My favorite Vintage Stock location is at the Chesterfield Mall and their last day is July 28th, 2024. A number of shops that were still in the Mall have left or are making plans to relocate. The aforementioned Vintage Stock is just shutting down and that has me really disappointed in corporate for not finding a new spot nearby so that all the employees I adore there could relocate. The day is now in the books for when they begin to tear the Mall down and it will be October 15th.

Once it is mid-October it all starts coming down. After six months we will be left with a crater and construction will begin anew on Downtown Chesterfield or whatever the final name ends up being. I appreciate that whatever comes next could be pretty cool, but I'm still bummed the Chesterfield Mall will only exist before too long as a memory. I and others will miss it.