Artemis II launched at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida yesterday.
And not just some unmanned probe being shot into space but a rocket with actual people.
Here is the team in Artemis II: Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, of Canada,, Pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch.
Real people in a real rocket really going into real space?
I'm not kidding! I did not know this was happening!
Am I so caught in the maelstrom of a world spirialling into ignorance, fear, hate and chaos that I totally missed a truly wonderous thing happening?
Humankind venturing once more into space!
Artemis II is going to the Moon! We're not landing or anything, it is just a fly by but still.... damn! Since it's been over 5 decades since we last went to the Moon, just driving by to wave high at the moon is a pretty damn big deal.
And somehow.... I did not know it was happening.
How? How did I not know of such a momentous thing was taking place?
For whatever the reason, I just hope things go well and wish for the crew of Artemis II to have an amazing adventure and to safely make it back home.
So that post earlier this morning that I was dedicating the blog to the exclusive topic of actor Rachel Brosnahan?
Yeah, I know, it was totally random and just weird.
I thought of doing some kind of strange satire piece around current real world events, politics or some other third thing.
But that's hard to do in a world with Donald Trump and his minions generating their own satire.
These are stories that should be April Fool's stories... but they're not.
TRUMP SPENDS CABINET MEETING TALKING SHARPIES
Yes, the alleged President of the United States gathered the heads of various government agencies and pontificated in detail on....
Sharpies!
Yep, that thick marker Li'l Donnie uses to scrawl his signature on executive orders made for a long winded discussion about how the usual White House ball point pens were too expensive and didn't work and the kids he gave them to as souvenirs didn't know what they were ("Mommy, what is this?") and how the head of the company that makes them offered to make some special for Donald Trump in black with gold lettering for $5 a pop.
Well, that was a good use of everyone's time.
And also....
Newell Brands of Atlanta GA who manufacture Sharpies do not know what the fuck Trump is talking about. There was no conversation between Trump and anyone with the company about making special pens for der Führer.
IRAN GIVES TRUMP A PRESENT
Der Führer claims he and his administration are in talks with Iran.
Iran says ain't nobody talking to nobody.
Li'l Donnie says yes they are and they gave him a present to show their good faith that they are serious about negotiatin'.
It turns out that Iran did let a couple of oil tankers slip through the Strait of Hormuz and this is what Trump was calling "a present".
TRUMP SHOWS OFF A BALLROOM WITH NO FRONT DOOR
While the fucking world is on fucking fire from the fucking war he fucking started, Donald Trump regaled the press on Air Force One with designs for his precious ballroom.
The New York Times poked around with the schematic drawing and well, they have questions.
The grand staircase out front does not actually lead to the entrance of the ballroom.
There are too many columns, obscuring a view of the building from the outside and the view of anyone inside looking out.
Stairs on the side go nowhere.
It is too big and too tall.
It's a garish monstrosity.
And Li'l Donnie is so proud of it.
ALSO: apparently, the ballroom will be on top of a secret military complex. Which is not a secret since Li'l Donnie blabbed about it.
No matter how bad things can get in this world, Donald Trump will always find joy in his ballroom.
Unless...
SIDE NOTE: a federal judge made a ruling that construction on the ballroom has to stop until Congress approves it.
Now Li'l Donnie's sad. And mad.
VANCE SAYS ALIENS ARE DEMONS
No, I did not pull that headline from a tabloid.
It's a real thing that a real person really said.
During a podcast interview, J D Vance posited that if extraterrestrial beings really do exist, they are not from outer space.
They are demons.
I'm not making that up. Vance said that.
You know how everyone keeps gleefully anticipating that Donald Trump is gonna die? Well, it happens, then J D Vance will be in charge.
So it would be more of a lateral move than any kind of improvement.
KRISTI NOEM'S HUSBAND IS A CROSSDRESSER
Ok, NOW I'm making shit up, right?
Nope! It's a real story.
Seems the former head of the Department of Homeland Security was caught off guard that her hubby dresses up in women's clothes and hangs out with fetish models online.
It is so hard to come up with a good April Fool's gag in a world so full of fools.
I'm just gonna go back and admire my Rachel Brosnahan post.
It's the beginning of a brand new month and it's also the beginning of a brand new day here at I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You.
A major challenge for this blog is a distressing lack of focus. What is this blog about? What is it's purpose?
Comic books, TV shows, politics, movies, all matter of things.
This blog can be so random. And quite frankly, I've had enough!
So that's why I've decided to dedicate this blog to one topic, one purpose, one person.
And that person is Rachel Brosnahan!
Yes, Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman movie!
The star of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Yes, that Rachel Brosnahan!
And I'm not talking about something lame like a post once in a while!
NO! Every day, this blog will be dedicated to the joy, the sheer pleasure of living on the same planet as Rachel Brosnahan!
MONDAY: What is Rachel wearing today?
TUESDAY: What is Rachel having for breakfast?
WEDNESDAY: What is Rachel watching on television?
THURSDAY: Why is Rachel not answering my texts?
FRIDAY: What are Rachel's plans for dinner?
SATURDAY: What does Rachel look taking a nap?
SUNDAY: Why do I have a restraining order from Rachel Brosnahan?
I will replace the Tuesday TV Touchbase with a weekly recap of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as I analyze this ground breaking series 10 minutes at a time.
Movie Time? We're gonna watch Superman every week!
I am serious!
Posts about the idiot in the White House? GONE!
Posts about Doctor Who or Star Trek? Outta here!
Posts about comic books? Beat it!
Only one thing matters.
Only one purpose!
Rachel Brosnahan!
I will need to rename the blog from I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You.
I'm thinking I'm So Glad Rachel Brosnahan Amuses You!
Or I'm So Glad We Live In A World With Rachel Brosnahan!
Maybe I'm So Glad You Finally Realized This Is An April Fool's Day Post.
I hope you have a good and pleasant April 1st.
But seriously, Rachel Brosnahan is so seriously awesome!
First of all, a rant about Wheel of Fortune and a repeated stupid move being made by some of the players this season. It happened again last week.
In the final round, if time is running out, the wheel is given a final spin and $1,000 is added to whatever the wheel lands on. In the instance from last week, the wheel landed on $600 so each correct constantant guessed was worth $1,600.
Then each player in turn guesses a letter until someone can solve the puzzle.
Last week, someone who had no money blurted out the answer to the puzzle without choosing a letter first. They got the house minumum (what I call pity money) of $1,000 for solving the puzzle. If they had given at least one letter from the puzzle before blurting out the answer, the player would have won $600 more.
This was not the first time I've witnessed this happening this season and I'm wondering, have these people actually watched the show before?
Enough of the rant. On to the Touchbase.
And we're back with a second season of Marvel's Daredevil: Born Again.
This is not an easy show to watch.
The violence is graphic and brutal. Lots of blood and broken bones.
Yet somehow I talked Andrea into watching this with me.
It's also not easy due to the really troubling parallels to real life.
Any comparisons between former Kingpin now Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his anti-vigilante task force and Donald Trump and ICE may be just a coincidence.
Or it's the fucking point.
You decide.
Fisk is pinning anything that goes wrong in New York City on vigilantes. It's is one size fits all problem which fits his own size fits all solution which is to sieze power for himself and rule NYC with an iron fist.
All the while engaging in his own criminal enterprises to enrich himself with total impunity with no oversight from anyone.
Am I watching a Marvel, super hero show or CNN?
Well, Matt Murdock has suited up as Daredevil in defiance of Fisk's anti-vigilante full court press to expose whatever shit Fisk has got going on.
Like the ship full of military grade arms coming up the river to Fisk's private port. When Daredevil stages a raid on the ship, the vessel's captain sinks the ship on his bosses orders in case of an attack.
Except Wilson Fisk is pissed off the ship got sunk and sends his task force to search for the hapless captain.
An agent for the CIA known only as Mr. Charles shows up and tells Fisk he can clean up the mess of guns in the river.
What the hell is Fisk up to? And if the CIA is involved, how high up does it go?
As of episode one of the 2nd season, she hasn't shown up but she has been name checked, "she" being Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones. I'm really looking forward to seeing our favorite super powered private eye back on TV once again.
There are no day-glo super heroics going on here. Daredevil: Born Again is very dark and gritty and given the real world parallels, the show can be quite disturbing.
To quote Capt. Kirk, "The odds are against us and the situation is grim." But Matt Murdock, battered, beaten and running out of time and options, still thinks he can win against Wilson Fisk.
The Kingpin has an entire city and an army.
Matt Murdock only has Daredevil.
And maybe more? Could it be long time nemesis and the bastard who assassinated Foggy Nelson last season, Bullsetye, is on Matt's side in his war against the Kingpin?
We'll have to wait and see as we anxiously await the dramatic return of Jessica Jones.
TOO MUCH TV!
As I write this, I've got 2 episodes to go to finish season 2 of Fallout.
I'm already behind 2 episodes of the new season of Invincible.
And I've got season 2 of Deadloch waiting for me.
And I just saw that the 5th season of Hacks will be debuting next week.
I am staying on top of Outlander as I want to avoid spoilers on Jamie Fraser's fate. Is he going to die in battle at Kings Mountain as predicted in Frank Randall's book?
And there's all the stuff I watch with Andrea and....
Whew! It's a lot!
For now, that is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
Saturday was another round of "No Kings" rallies around the United States and the world to protest Donald Trump and the general fuckiness of his fucking fuckery.
Gee! Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said we're in the middle of a Golden Age brought to us by his lord and savior Donald Trump.
Johnson said that before giving Trump a golden idol called the "America First Award" 'cause nothing appeases Li'l Donnie like getting awards.
What pray tell do we have to bitch about?
Let's see what the "No Kings" website has to say.
Masked secret police terrorizing our communities.
An illegal, catastrophic war putting us in danger and driving up our costs.
Attacks on our freedom of speech, our civil rights, our freedom to vote.
Costs pushing families to the brink.
Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called the protests “Trump derangement therapy sessions" and “the only people who care are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
So not that big of a deal, I gather?
Let's take a look around the country and see what's up.
WARNING: Maureen O’Toole of the National Republican Congressional Committee had this to say: “These Hate America Rallies are where the far-left’s most violent, deranged fantasies get a microphone!"
So CAUTION: the following may contain disturbing images of hate filled violence.
Saint Paul, Minnesota
The Memorial Bridge in Washington DC
"No Kings" Take Manhattan
Here's more from New York City
An opinion being expressed in Houston Texas
Atlanta, Georgia
Kansas joins in on the fun!
Boulder,CO
Topeka KS includes CATS against Trump!
And DOGS come out to join the protests in California
Minneapolis MN
A No Kings protest in Palm Beach FL outside of Mar-A-Lago? Fuck Yeah!
Back In Washington DC
It seems White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson may have a point.
Nothing to see here.
All sarcasm aside, there was A LOT to see here with an estimated total 8 million people showing up for "No Kings" rallies, larger than the numbers from the two previous sets of rallies.
Which stands to reason as things seem to have only gotten worse. Since the last round of "No Kings" rallies, der Führer has ramped up his strident demands to curtail voting rights by pushing Congress to pass the so called SAVE Act and unilaterally sent American men and women into harm's way to START a war he cannot properly explain that has only made the world more unstable and unsafe.
And the snivelling syncophants who surround him have only gotten even more intense in their cultish supplication to his every whim and appeal to his fragile ego. Like that damn "America First Award" that Mike Johnson presented to Trump to appease his desperate need for flattery.
Trump wants act like a king and his minions are more than prepared to treat him like one.
At least 8 million people disagree with that.
Hopefully that disagreement will express itself at the polls this November and we can finally hold Donald Trump's fat corrupt ass to account.
Welcome to This (Non) Sporting Life, a blog post about sports by a guy who does not care or know much about sports.
But I do know this: basketball games are 40 minutes long.
Which is an important piece of information.
In today's NCAA Men's Tournament Game between Duke and UConn, Duke was winning after 39 minutes and 50 seconds.
Which is great!
But...
What's that important piece of information?
Let's say it together: All bubble-blowing babies will be beaten senseless by every able-bodied patron in the bar.
NO! Not THAT!
Say THIS with me: basketball games are 40 minutes long.
So....
At 39 minutes and 50 seconds, Duke had the ball and a 2 point lead, 72-70. All they had to do for 10 seconds was keep the ball away from UConn and Duke wins and advances to the Final Four.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
This game is pretty much over, ain't it?
Except....
Basketball games are 40 minutes long.
And UConn steals the ball.
And some UConn player named Braylon Mullins heaves a desperation shot at the basket. Oh, there's NO way that ball is.....
It went in?
Nooooo! It didn't! It couldn't!
IT DID?!?!
IT WENT IN!
For 3 points!
UConn is up 73-72.
What the unholy hell was that?
I mean, 39 minutes and 50 seconds and... and... and...
Damn it! Basketball games are 40 minutes long.
Now if there is a sense of deja vu in this post, well, it's because the same goddam thing happened back in February when Carolina snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a last second basket from Scott Trimble.
I had hoped today's Star Trekking post would be of a more celebratory nature as I posted about this remarkable era of peak Star Trek creativity.
But I am writing this post under a shadow, a shadow of doubt, of uncertainty and regret.
Last week, Paramount announced that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy would NOT be renewed after it's 2nd season. A 2nd season that has been shot and according to scuttlebutt from series insiders ends on a cliffhanger.
While we face the prospect of life in Star Trek's 32nd century may end unresolved, there is the matter of life in Star Trek's 23rd century with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds coming to end after it's 4th and 5th seasons, seasons that have been shot and completed.
For the first time 2017, there is no Star Trek project happening right now.
2017 was when Alex Kurtzman and his production company Secret Hideout took the reins of the Star Trek franchise and gave us a lot of new Treks to go on.
2017–2024Star Trek: Discovery
This show did not get off to a good start. What we got was another goddam prequel nobody wanted, redesigned Klingons that nobody liked and a dark grim tone that antiethical to what Star Trek was all about.
The show improved a bit with Anson Mount's charming Capt.Christoper Pike taking command in season 2 but it was the jump to the 32nd century in season 3 where Discovery really began to shine and it became to my way of thinking the epitome of what Star Trek is all about: knowledge over power, wisdom over force, compassion over hate.
Unfortunately, the damage done by the 1st season lingered.
And sadly trolls were out in force for a show that put the focus on a capable black woman, especially when she made it to the captain's chair.
Purveyors of hate will be a constant scourge throughout this era of Star Trek.
2018–2020Star Trek: Short Treks
This project of short stories really opened up the world of Star Trek to new possibilities.
And haters are gonna hate. "The Trouble with Edward" where tribbles overwhelm a starship is too silly and doesn't belong in Star Trek. Well, screw you! I thought it was a lot of fun and it's my 2nd favorite short trek.
My favorite is "Q&A" which is just Spock (Ethan Peck) and Lt. Una/Number One (Rebecca Romijn) getting stuck in a turbolift and have to talk to each other.
2020–2023Star Trek: Picard
OK, this is more like it with a return to "present" of the Star Trek universe and following up on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Patrick Stewart agreed to return to the role of Jean-Luc Picard on the understanding this would not just be some kind of nostalgic Next Gen reboot. And I get where he was coming from. But fans wanted some hooks into our Next Gen history.
Season 1 gave us fans some Next Gen era love with the return of Wil Riker, Deanna Troi and from Star Trek: Voyager, the return of Seven of Nine as a space pirate.
Season 2 was a travesty. 'Nuff said.
Season 3 went full in on nostalgia including a return of the freaking Enterprise 1701-D. The finale of season 3 was a genuine thrill ride and set the stage for continuing adventures.
That we may not get. Despite fan demand for a Star Trek: Legacy series, nothing has come of it. (And may not will but that's for the end of the post.)
2020–2024Star Trek: Lower Decks
Yeah, this was kind of a tough sell with a hyperkinetic animated comedy which kind of grated on my nerves but as the seasons progressed, I came to appreciate how much this show was a heartfelt love letter to the fans.
And it helped that the hyperactive nature of season 1 did settle down a bit to provide for nuanced character driven stories.
2021–2024Star Trek: Prodigy
As a production done to present Star Trek to the Nickelodeon audience, this show was definitely not made with me in mind. But over time the annoying kid characters became less annoying and the connections to larger Star Trek lore made this a fundamentally significant show.
A sign of Paramount's lack of respect for the franchise, they cancelled Prodigy after one season with NO plans to release the 2nd completed season. Netflix picked up the show and released the 2nd season.
This may be a harbinger for the future but again, that's for the end of the post.
2022–2027Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
After Anson Mount's very charming turn as Capt. Christopher Pike in season 2 of Discovery with brief but enticing appearances of Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Spock, we HAD to have more.
OK, haters, we DARE you to hate on this one, original recipe Enterprise adventures exploring...well, you know, it's right there in the title.
Hey, trolls! It's a WHITE MAN in the captain's chair. Are you happy now?
Even though the show is designed to appeal to classic Trek tropes, SNW has pushed some boundaries:
Spock has a girlfriend and it's Nurse Christine Chapel?
Not all challenges to the Star Trek: The Original Series status quo have worked. Yeah, I'm talking about the Gorn.
2025 Star Trek: Section 31
The premise of the project: we have Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh under contract to do a Star Trek thing? So let's do a Star Trek thing.
Of all the projects made in the Secret Hideout era, this movie is the only one I would write off as a complete misfire.
2026–2027Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
We're jumping back to the 32nd century with perhaps Secret Hideout's most daring Star Trek concept about young people in space school. Can we do any episode around a prank war run amuck? Yes, we can!
Boy were the trolls out in force for this one with so much for offended white boys to rail against.
Another damn Trek show with a woman in charge?
And a gay Klingon?
And a big bad in Nus Braka who was clearly a repudiation of Donald Trump?
Paramount/Skydance owner David Ellison saw his best bro was being made fun of and naturally Starffleet Academy had to die.
As I wrote last week, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was not created with me in mind (but I enjoyed it anyway) but with an eye on the next generation of Star Trek fans.
In his Dropping Names podcast, Jonathan Frakes chatted with screenwriter John Logan about the importance of bringing Star Trek to a new, young audience.
By the way, Dropping Names with Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner is my current favorite podcast.
With Alex Kurtman's contract with Paramount to produce Star Trek ending this year. the franchise stands at a crucial crossroads.
With a Trump supporting executive in charge of the studio, a progressive thing like Star Trek may not be a priority.
And to the trolls and haters, Star Trek has ALWAYS been progressive. No less than Gene Roddenberry envisioned a future that repudiates hate and ignorance and supported those three words you hate so much, diversity, equity and inclusion.
She may have been just answering the damn phone in a mini-skirt but Roddenbery put a black woman on the bridge when the network didn't want her there.
As much as you may want to remember Capt.Kirk as some kind of kick ass man of action, time and time again Kirk turned to curiosity and compassion as guiding principles.
If you want a show that promotes "might makes right", watch Pete Hegseth's press conferences. That attitude was never what Star Trek was about in the 1960's and it's sure as hell not what it's about now.
Another factor working against Star Trek is Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Why hassle with Star Trek when you're taking over a studio that has access to Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and DC Comics?
Whatever the future may bring, I will assess IMHO that Alex Kurtxman's Secret Hideout era has been a success with me. Not all projects have landed as well as I would've hoped but I appreciate they were there to actually try and keep Star Trek fresh and relevant.
It was an era that built up on the foundations of the past while expanding the mythos outward and forward. There were steps that were stumbles but mostly those were surpassed by confident strides to something new and interesting.
The odds seem against it at the moment, I must confess, but I do hope Star Trek has a strong future and I would not object if Kurtzman and company continue to guide it.
I had my laptop perched on my lap while watching the Duke/St. John's basketball game and I was heading down the homestretch on a Movie Time blog post about a movie that was released March 27, 1937 called The King and the Chorus Girl.
To be honest with you, I saw this movie about a year ago on TCM and I was struggling to remember exactly what the hell went down.
There was a king.
And a chorus girl.
That much I knew.
Oh, and the screenplay was by Groucho Marx.
Yeah, that Groucho Marx.
Despite writing from one of the Marx Brothers, I recalled the movie wasn't really that funny or good.
But damn it, I was getting a blog post out of it.
But while typing, I notice my screen was blank.
All the text I was writing as well as pictures and graphics were gone.
I have no idea what key stroke I made to cause that to happen and no efforts on my part were successful in retrieving anything I had created.
Apparently typing on my laptop on top of my lap was a bad idea.
Hey, what happened with the Duke/St. John's game?
<INSERT SCORE HERE>.
...
Psst! Hey....
It still says....
<INSERT SCORE HERE>
....
Whoops! Sorry.
After putting me through 2+ hours of this is too damn close, Duke pulled out the win over St. John's, 80-75.
My favorite You Tube resource for all things comic books is Sasha Wood and Casually Comics.
Her particular interest in silver and bronze age comics and the bizarre minutae found in those classic stories makes for some interesting and funny analysis of this beloved medium.
Your Friday Video Link post today spotlights Sasha's take on some specific oddball topics.
Like Cyclops of the X-Men using his deadly dreadful powers to cut cake!
What was Hawkeye's purpose in the Avengers?
Apparently to bitch at Captain America every damn minute. Sasha explores what that's like.
Over at DC, Sasha examines one of Batman's most unusual villains, the Eraser.
Sasha Wood pokes around at the first adventure of the Elongated Man as the newest member of the Justive League of America. The JLA vs. creatures made of .... putty!
One last video where Sasha has a personal annoucement.
I was saddened to hear that artist Sam Kieth passed away last week. He was 63 years old.
I'm gonna be 63 this April so when someone my own age dies, well, it does make you think.
Sam Kieth (and no that is not a typo, the "I" does come before the "E") drew the first 5 issues of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
I'm not sure why Sam Kieth was only on Sandman for so short a time but I imagine the rigors of producing this detailed artwork on a monthly basis may have been a bit much.
But those 5 issues made quite an impression and set the tone for all the other artists who followed him.
Art from Sandman#4
Sam produced art for Batman including several covers and some interior art.
Sam Kieth also brought this distinctive style to Marvel Comics, illustrating Wolverine.
Sam's most notable work on his creator owned series in produced for Image Comics, The Maxx which was also turned into an animated series that ran on MTV.
Maxx is a vagrant, a "homeless man living in a box" who is helped by a social worker named Julie.
In an alternate reality, Maxx has a monstrous powerful form where he serves as protector of another version of Julie known as the Leopard Queen.
Mike Sterling described the series as "a tale about trauma, abuse, mental health, and the very nature of imagination and reality. It was weird, it was funny, it was emotional, and it was unique."
Unique is a most apropos word for Sam Kieth's body of work.
Sam had Lewy body dementia and it was complications from this disease that took his life on March 15th.
And the condition also silenced an incredible talent.
