Here goes, it’s Take Time™, with your host, me, Marty Day.

Last night into this morning, the internet was ablaze over the latest iPhone review from MKBHD. Not for the review itself, but rather that he used his platform to have the video sponsored by his new app, Panels.

First and foremost, I think it’s fine that he featured the app in the video. He frequently has segments in his videos for a sponsor. It just so happens that this sponsor was, well, himself.

The backlash began, however, as the app is a Wallpaper app which features the following elements:

• A free version with ads, which allows you to download lower resolution wallpapers after watching x number of ads.
• The ability to buy certain packs of wallpapers (averaging at $8 a pop)
• “Panels+”, a monthly subscription ($11.99) or yearly subscription ($49.99), to get higher resolution wallpapers, and the ability to download, well, all of the wallpapers you want.

The arguments I’ve seen against this have been…

• The inclusion of ads (and the data requirements related to them) are scummy.
• $50/yr or $12/mo is insane.
• Marques has enough money as it is
• I should just download wallpapers for free
• Isn’t some of this just AI generated?

In short, dude has been thrown against the wall, and now everyone’s popping up to say how scummy he is, how he’s never been good, etc.

I think – like many arguments online – the answer is, unfortunately for the screaming hordes, actually somewhere in the middle.

I think Marques Brownlee is very very good at what he does, and success has befallen him accordingly. His tech videos are slick, extremely well produced, and while many are to say he’s a shill for x company or y software, I feel like he’s been even handed. I’m not an avid watcher of his content, but I’ve always enjoyed what I’ve watched.

I also know that over the years, his comments have been filled with asks for the different wallpapers he’s used. People LOVE his taste in wallpapers. So he probably saw an opportunity to make something for those people. (In fact, he may have previously had a connection to the app Backdrops, given that they’ve featured the wallpapers he’s used in his videos/he featured wallpapers from the app in his videos). It’s the decisions made from there which are a mixed bag. And MIXED is the appropriate word.

For each argument, I think there’s a valid response. This isn’t – I think – a scenario of the guy going totally awful on his fandom, a cash grab, etc.

Ads (and their tracking) are scummy. No disagreement. And I say that having had worked in the affiliate world for nearly a decade. However, apps cost money to be developed, and the concept is that the artists receive a cut of the monies generated. People are also really against paying for apps. They want to try before they buy, sometimes never ever buy, so the best route you can go is…ads. Just like the rest of the web. It absolutely sucks, but its been the only consistently viable way for online properties to make money. And it’s been getting worse and worse for creators just the same.

$50/yr or $12/mo is insane. Is it really? By comparison, artists regularly sell wallpaper packs on services like Gumroad for $5 (at least)/each. I know this, I buy them. Add the 30% cut which Apple and Google take, and it’s not all that different, especially if you consider app development costs.

Marques has enough money as it is. Yes. Dude is successful, has a studio, fancy cars, the latest tech, etc. But this is a Capitalistic society. People do things to make money. No one is really out here doing things altruistically. Would it be cool if this was a scenario where the app was free, and he just paid artists to have wallpapers up on there? I guess. But that’s a wacky business plan, for sure.

I should just download wallpapers for free. Cool. Please feel free to continue to do so.

You’re not entitled to something because it’s on the internet. No different than the point I’ve been driving with streaming services, none of this is a public right or domain. People make things. It costs money to make things. To continue to make things, they need to be paid. Do you go to your job for free? Once again, I say I’m Sorry, But Things Cost Money.

Sure, everything has waste, I think the entire world of million dollar execs while their employees make pennies is a fucking mess, but to make things, money needs to be exchanged. You don’t get food based on exposure.

Isn’t some of this just AI generated? And this is the other, 100% valid, concern. If this is the handpicked, premium wallpaper app filled with artwork by proper artists…the art should be from proper artists. At the very least, AI generated art needs to be flagged.All and all, I think the concerns are part of the standard give-and-take we have with things online lately. People hate ads, but it’s the only consistent way to make money. People hate costs, or costs going up, but many times: if money’s not made, things won’t be created anymore.I did want to take the time to spotlight an alternative here. Full disclosure, I’m a regular Patreon supporter of the org, but the team at The Iconfactory have a fantastic app called Wallaroo. It’s $20/year, all the art is made BY ARTISTS, and it funds their continued development of really great software. If you want to spend your money, this might be a better place…but at the end of the day? I don’t think Marques really did anything wrong.

Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube

A new vision of fear from director Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. #SinnersMovie - Only in theaters March 7. #shotwithimaxfilmcameras

From Ryan Coogler—director of “Black Panther” and “Creed”—and starring Michael B. Jordan comes a new vision of fear: “Sinners.”

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Coogler, “Sinners” stars Jordan (the “Black Panther” and “Creed” franchises) in a dual role, joined by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (“Bumblebee,” “True Grit”), Jack O’Connell (“Ferrari”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Passenger”), Jayme Lawson (“The Woman King”), Omar Benson Miller (“True Lies”) and Delroy Lindo (“Da 5 Bloods”).

Oh boy. Not only does this look great, but the track record of Coogler and Jordan, especially together, is pretty well untarnished.

WB must be feeling pretty confident too, given that they’re hyping it 6 months out.

Day One!

Ask the Developer Vol. 13, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — Part 1

Terada: We were exploring a few different ways to play the game in parallel. In one approach, Link could copy and paste various objects, such as doors and candlesticks, to create original dungeons. During this exploration phase, this idea was called an “edit dungeon” because players could create their own Legend of Zelda gameplay.

Aonuma: They showed it to me and told me to give it a try. As I played, I started thinking that while it’s fun to create your own dungeon and let other people play it, it’s also not so bad to place items that can be copied and pasted in the game field, and create gameplay where they can be used to fight enemies. That was the beginning of gameplay using “echoes.” The gameplay was shifted from creating dungeons up until then to using copied-and-pasted items as tools to further your own adventure.

Pulled from the latest installment of the Ask the Developer series which Nintendo does around the release of their big first-party games. I may be reading this wrong, but it certainly sounds to me like the original intent for the game, at least in its early form, was to be able to create (and maybe share?) their own Zelda dungeons. So, basically Mario Maker but for The Legend of Zelda.

I just want to put it out there, Nintendo – if you still have an inkling to do this, I’m all for it. Especially if the cool, almost claymation-like visual style from the Link’s Awakening Remake and Echoes of Wisdom were in use.

Marvel Entertainment on YouTube:

Careful who you assemble. Marvel Studios’ #Thunderbolts* is only in theaters May 2025.

Did not expect this to drop today! But it does a great job setting up Thunderbolts* as a unique, harder-tinged installment of the ever ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One of my favorite elements of Black Widow was the chemistry and humor between Florence Pugh’s Yelena and David Harbour’s Alexei, so it’s great to see the same returned here. Wyatt Russel’s beard is a good look, and overall, I like the “people looking for something bigger and greater than themselves” concept. Plus, a Pixies needledrop is an easy win for me.

That said, here comes the “It looks like Suicide Squad” takes.

Optimistic about this one! We’ll see next Summer.

Thunderbolts hits theaters on May 2, 2025.*

Luke Winkie, Slate:

In just four games in January 2023, Yogesh Raut became an overnight Jeopardy! sensation. In a sign of the times for the show, his ascendance had as much to do with his bluster as it did with his knowing the clues. It was clear he was exceptionally good at quizzing from the moment he took the podium, and between his three initial victories, he totaled nearly $100,000 in winnings. But Jeopardy! fans were especially captivated by Raut’s offbeat demeanor on stage: the violence with which he smacked his buzzer, the confidence with which he taunted flashy luminaries like James Holzhauer. Most memorably, when Raut’s winning streak came to an end, he took to Facebook and wrote a lengthy, difficult-to-parse essay asserting that Jeopardy! and its fandom were a necrotic presence in the world of trivia—specifically that the show is “bad for women and POC who want to be treated with the same level of dignity as their White male counterparts.”

Jeopardy! is a “glorified reality show,” and the aura around it is “fundamentally incompatible with incentivizing the next generation of quizzers to excel,” Raut wrote. “It is fundamentally incompatible with true social justice.”

It does not take much to rankle the librarian-like dictums of Jeopardy! nation, and a former champion taking aim at the show on social media was more than enough for the community to settle on a brand-new villain. “What is ‘Sour Grapes,’ Ken?” went one response to Raut’s post. “He only holds it in such low esteem because he didn’t do as well as he was expected to do,” another fan wrote. So when Raut was invited to the annual Tournament of Champions that was held last spring, fans took note of his impending return. In February, in a story about the deluge of special tournaments that had taken over the show’s programming, I briefly mentioned in a parenthetical that Raut was set to come back to the show he had roasted: “Remember three-time champion Yogesh Raut, who trashed the show after his appearances? He’s back next week!”

That’s when things got weird.

Fascinating read this morning. Whether you agree or disagree with Raut’s perspective on trivia and the games which he plays, this is one of those articles where the iceberg seems to get deeper and deeper the more below the surface you go.

As a Jeopardy! fan, and a Jeopardy! hopeful, this was a must read, but I think everyone’s gonna end up fascinated here. It’s a story of trivia teams, anger, distrust, vengeance, revenge and more. And I never thought those terms would go together.

Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube:

What’s it feel like to die? From director Bong Joon Ho, comes Mickey 17 - only in theaters January 31, 2025. #Mickey17

From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, “Mickey 17.” The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.

I’ve been VERY MUCH looking forward to this once it was announced – I adored the original book its based on, Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, and when you have one of my favorite directors (Bong Joon-Ho) matched with someone who is becoming one of my favorite actors (Robert Pattinson), it’s a recipe for greatness.

Just two bits though…

• Why is it Mickey 17 and not Mickey7?
• Why is this movie coming out in January, which has traditionally been the dumping ground of bad movies?

Mickey 17 hits theaters on January 31th, 2025.

Twenty-five years ago today, the Sega Dreamcast hit North American shelves.

I remember this launch like it was yesterday. I saved all Summer for the system, a VMU, and copies of Sonic Adventure and Soulcalibur. I remember grabbing the tickets from Toys R Us’s video game department, paying my pre-order deposits, and holding onto those tickets and their stapled receipts like they were the nuclear football.

What I didn’t expect, however, was how this system would become my favorite video game system of all time. As a console, it had a short lifespan, being discontinued in March 2001 – but the legacy it left reverberates even today.

So many hours spent with the Sonic Adventure games, taking the SEGA mascot into 3D for the first time. So many hours playing the amazing Soulcalibur, the first time I can remember a home console version looking better than the arcade. So many hours playing the Marvel vs. Capcom games, the perfect party game fighter, showing the comic heroes in a light we’d never seen before. So many hours playing SEGA classics-in-the-making, like the arcade perfect Crazy Taxi, or the stylish Jet Set Radio.

It was even easy to play import games, where the 1-2 punch of my first real disposable income met the ease of access via the Internet of ordering Japanese titles. I spent far too much time creating, tweaking, and then playing characters in Fire Pro D.

And this doesn’t even include the quirky titles like Seaman or underrated games like the Power Stone series.

Developers were making their art. Trying new things. Each game felt so different from what Sony was producing. It was truly a special time.

In many ways, you can see a shared DNA with what the Nintendo Switch has become, but there truly is, was, and likely never will be anything like the Dreamcast.

25 years on, I salute you. Even if your “It’s Thinking” tagline would be considered a threat in 2024.

Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline:

This is a bit early, but The Dish hears momentum is building on the Smokehouse-produced next installment of the Warner Bros caper film franchise that started with Ocean’s Eleven. Sources said that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are coming back, and they are courting Edward Berger to take over directing duties.

This is of no slight to Mr. Berger, who I am sure is a perfectly fine director, nor Mr.’s Clooney or Pitt.

This is a terrible idea.

Even if apparently, there’s been a script in the works, and Clooney even likes it. (How did I miss that?)

Ocean’s Eleven is one of my favorite movies of all time. The times I’ve watched it count easily into the dozens, if not hundreds. Danny Ocean, Rusty and the gang, I love their adventures.

And then Ocean’s Twelve happened. Though I’ve come to appreciate it as its own, scrappy movie, a fun European vacation for a bunch of actors who like to hangout together, it’s a total mess when compared to the first film, which is/was perfection.

They got very lucky with Ocean’s Thirteen. This is the first movie I can recall having the pitch of, “We know we screwed up last time, but this time, we nailed it.” And honestly? They did. While definitely the second best Ocean’s movie, it’s back to the rhythmic fun of the first, effortlessly cool.

A fourth film, going on two decades (god I’m old) after the third installment? You are TEMPTING FATE. You got your mea culpa. Ocean’s 8 was fine. I’m intrigued by the Ocean’s prequel coming with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling. But there is no need for Danny and Rusty to come back. Rob Reiner has passed. Bernie Mac has passed. The need for this has passed.

Just keep doing more Ocean’s-like movies like Wolfs. I’ll watch ‘em every time you make ‘em. And you’re already getting a sequel for that one. Don’t tempt fate. You won at the roulette table. Take your winnings.

Just some thoughts about some media I’ve ingested the last few days…

• Batman: Caped Crusader (Amazon Prime Video) is pretty fantastic. I finished the 10 episode season this week, and as someone who is an avowed fan of the classic Batman: The Animated Series, this doesn’t replace or improve it, but certainly can sit on the shelf next to it. If you were ever a reader of the very early Batman comics, like, around his debut, they did an excellent job of capturing the look and feel – even with some digressions into the supernatural, which was, once, a regular feature of the characters stories.

• I’ve started watching Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount+). I really dug last summer’s Mutant Mayhem, and while this trades 3D animation for 2D, most of the voice cast is back (with one exception, handled in a clever way) and the same good vibes persist. Really love how the whole thing still has that “sketchbook” feel, and each turtle feels distinct and like an actual teenager. If you dug the movie, give it a spin. If you haven’t seen the movie…check it out!

• I ran through the first nineteen issues or so of Ryan North’s run of Fantastic Four on Marvel Unlimited. I’ve never been a big Fantastic Four guy, but I was absolutely locked in here. Each issue has a real “science mystery of the month” vibe, kind of like a wholesome Twilight Zone? And, there are more issues where they aren’t in costume than are, which was a pleasant difference. When Doom appears, North does a killer job of writing him. I think this run will be as beloved as his Squirrel Girl run when all is said and done. And if not, at least we had that run in the Marvel Dinosaur Universe.

Shout out my iPad for delivering all of this in a cool, easy to enjoy way. We live in the future, every day.

Warner Bros. on YouTube:

Peter Jackson presents a groundbreaking journey back to Middle-earth through the eyes of legendary director Kenji Kamiyama. #LOTR The War of the Rohirrim - only in theaters Christmas.

OK, let’s go ahead and ignore that the trailer has footage from the original Peter Jackson LOTR trilogy awkwardly shoehorned into it.

How buck wild is it that Warner Bros. has produced, and will be theatrically distributing, a full on (2D?) anime-assed anime, to theaters this Christmas? And it’s by a guy who has a serious pedigree (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Jin-Roh, etc.) and not some anonymous name.

What a time to be alive.

Melena Ryzik, The New York Times:

Its influence is visible in the themed bulletin boards dotting school hallways, the character-based lesson plans and educators’ many D.I.Y. craft projects. There’s also the popular touring exhibition “Emotions at Play,” developed by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, in conjunction with Pixar; since 2021 it has been inviting visitors to create glowing “memory spheres” or keep the “train of thought” on track. (“Core memory” is a phrase that the first movie helped introduce to the TikTok generation.)

For Carter, a national school counselor of the year for her work at a junior high in Cape Girardeau, Mo., “Inside Out” provided a shared language and a visual iconography that makes abstract concepts concrete. “I have the figurines of each feeling, so students can show me who’s at the control panel,” she said. Like “Mister Rogers,” “Sesame Street” and “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” it offers a common reference point for families.

And the new movie’s focus on anxiety, which has reached crisis proportions among adolescents, normalizes experiences that for young people could seem isolating or overwhelming, and makes them relatable.

It really is amazing how these two Inside Out films have made mental health concerns easier to discuss, and crucially, easier to relate and understand.

This is how art can recalibrate our world. Even when it’s a multi-billion dollar generating Pixar franchise.

Related: The depiction of an Anxiety Attack in Inside Out 2 was a little too dead on. Uncle Marty may’ve had a hard time keeping the teary-eyes hidden from his niece.

Sony Pictures on YouTube:

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television – and culture – forever. Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Full of humor, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, we count down the minutes in real time until we hear those famous words…

Definitively, I can tell: Yes, this will absolutely be My Shit™.

And hey, a Jason Reitman movie to get excited about! When was the last one, The Front Runner?

Anthony Breznican, Vanity Fair

The first thing director Jason Reitman wants people to know about Saturday Night is that it may be about funny people—writers and performers who unquestionably redefined comedy—but it’s not intended to be a laugh riot. The movie plays out in real time over the course of about 90 minutes, and there are certainly comic moments, but there are more tense and fraught ones. The story starts at 30 Rockefeller Center at 10 p.m. on October 11, 1975, and culminates with the first-ever broadcast of Saturday Night Live. What unfolds is less a comedy than a ticking-clock suspense movie. “It’s a thriller-comedy, if you can call that a genre,” Reitman says of the film, which arrives in theaters on October 11. “I always describe this movie as a shuttle launch, and the question was, ‘Would they break orbit?’”

What a perfect comparison of live television to a shuttle launch.

Saturday Night has sounded promising from the jump. Arguably the most exciting thing Jason Reitman’s worked on in years, a cast filled with relative unknowns who are soon to be knowns, and built around the behind the scenes of a creative project. It’s basically every box you could check for me as a movie goer.

As someone who loved Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and Up in the Air, I hope this is a return to form to Reitman, and this movie rights the ship after those Ghostbusters debacles.

Matthew Jacobs, The Ringer:

If a single quotation can distill an entire subset of pop culture in the 2000s, these 12 words work pretty well: “You gotta hear this one song. It’ll change your life, I swear.”

Most millennials can immediately identify Garden State, Zach Braff’s indie phenomenon from 2004, as the source. For some, the quote is a nostalgia portal, bringing their bygone youth into focus. For others, it’s naive, cringe-inducing corn. But two decades ago, it was kind of the hipster way to trumpet a semi-obscure track like the Shins’ “New Slang” as a metamorphic experience. It was the heyday of Pitchfork, MisShapes, mix CDs, and Seth Cohen. You gotta hear this one song epitomized a generation transitioning from the sovereignty of MTV to the curatorial power of Myspace. Braff loaded Garden State with the sort of in-the-know music recommendations that had become currency.

It’s really hard to communicate how much of a moment this album and movie was for millennials like myself. I can self-aggrandize by saying “I knew most of these bands before this soundtrack”, but to hear these songs and see them used so well justified years of MP3 blog diving.

The movie itself I saw in theaters multiple times with countless friends, and watched the DVD regularly, but I haven’t revisited the film in well over a decade. I wonder how it holds up. I can at least say that the trailer holds up as something special.

Borys Kit and Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter:

The Russo Bros. are in early talks to return to Marvel Studios to direct not just one, but the next two Avengers movies, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

The hiring ends a months-long, high stakes search by the studio for filmmakers to oversee the fifth and sixth Avengers movies. Multiple names were in contention, including Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, who was offered the gig. Sources say the talks are in the early stages.

Thanos, Avengers: Endgame (2019):

You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me.

With just a week until San Diego Comic Con 2024 kicks off, Deadpool and Wolverine hits theaters, and Marvel Studios begins its attempt in earnest to turn things around with fan sentiment after the spotty output since Avengers: Endgame, it’s no shock that word is officially getting out early about who Kevin Feige has appointed to turn this bus around.

Look, some of the issues are not of their own doing – Disney certainly didn’t expect that their next big villain would end up having such high profile issues with the law – but I do also wonder if this is a safe, “Lets Play The Hits” sort of move from the Mouse House.

Again, I really adored what the MCU was through Endgame, and since, there have been projects I liked, but on the whole, it’s felt shaggy and lifeless.

Maybe next Saturday, in Hall H, the comeback begins. Let’s hope.

Marvel Entertainment / YouTube:

Enter a brave new world.

Marvel Studios' #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld, only in theaters February 14, 2025.

A bit earlier than I expected, the first trailer for the 4th Captain America has hit the web. I expected it to be attached to, say Twisters or, of course, Deadpool & Wolverine, but instead, its on the web a smidge early.

Let’s ignore that the movie has a crazy budget, tons of reshoots, has had its release date moved multiple times (shout out COVID and two strikes), and got somewhat spoiled by a McDonald’s Happy Meal in May…this looks…or looked… promising.

Honestly, it’s until the end of the trailer that I was totally in. This felt like a gritty return to the comic-book-movie-as-political-thriller vibes which made Captain America: The Winter Soldier arguably the best MCU movie.

And then there’s the stinger at the end. With Red Hulk.

Marvel isn’t hiding Red Hulk by any means, see the attached poster image, but the usage of the character feels so out-of-left field in this trailer, I can only imagine how it feels in the movie proper.

With the movies since Avengers: Endgame being such a mixed bag, while watching this trailer, I was hyped to see a lower stakes, focused movie, less about “The Universe” and more a story which could stand alone.

Instead, here comes CG Punching.

As I’ve discussed recently with friends, the promise of the MCU as a long time comic book fan has become somewhat of a curse. They were giving me amazing, well told interpretations of characters and arcs I loved. And somehow, the entire world was loving it to. But now, like comic books themselves, even the best runs get snuffed out by crossovers and a need to have read it all.

Perhaps I will eat these words come February 2025, but right now, I’m already bothered by the lack of Marvel’s convictions when it comes to this story.

I don’t think this would be relatable to too many people, but watching The Boy and the Heron last night, I was hit with a really strong sensory memory.

When Otakon was based in Baltimore, they’d use some of the bigger panel halls as “Video 1”, and it’s where they’d show movies, sometimes even on 35mm. Understandably, I’d go there a lot. I got to see Seven Samurai and My Neighbor Totoro this way.

You’d walk in to this cavernous room and wait for the movie to start. Sure, there maybe was a packed audience, but all was quiet. The only noise was the air conditioning kicking in. The lights were low, and the air was cold.

You’d come out 2 hours later, to a warm, loud convention hall, people laughing, people having a great time. It was such a juxtaposition, you truly felt like you came out from underground to a new world.

…I kinda miss that.

Andrew Liszewski, The Verge:

The archives of the MTV News website, which had remained accessible online after the unit was shut down last year by parent company Paramount Global, have now been completely taken offline. As Variety reported yesterday, both mtvnews.com and mtv.com/news now redirect visitors to the MTV website’s front page.

Truly sad, especially given that the upkeep of these archives must have been – at best – a rounding error for Viacom.

For Gen Z, Alpha, and those to come, it’s both going to be odd to explain that, “Yes, MTV once played music videos, and was not wall to wall Ridiculousness.”, but also: “When this intro played, you knew that shit was about to go down.”

Kurt Loder + Tabitha Soren forever.

Jason Zinoman, The New York Times:

Since leaving late-night television in 2021, Conan O’Brien, 61, has become more reflective about life (and death), given to philosophical flights of fancy that he compulsively alternates with comic tangents. O’Brien famously champions the intersection between smart and stupid, but in conversation, what stands out is how quickly he moves between light and heavy. In one of several interviews, I asked him if he was happier now than when he was on television and his response was to question happiness itself. “At best it’s a fleeting moment after a rainstorm when the sun’s coming out,” he said. “Being contented comes in little moments, here and there.”

The only thing trickier than being a late-night talk show host is being a former one. Some relapse (Jon Stewart). A few vanish (Johnny Carson, Craig Kilborn). Most enter a more modest era (David Letterman, Jay Leno). Since he started writing for “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s, Conan O’Brien has built one of the most consequential careers in comedy. And while his late-night tenure is beloved by comedy nerds, helping define a sensibility for a generation of comedians like Bill Hader, Eric André and Nikki Glaser, his postshow work may turn out to be more impressive.

Besides being an influence to me and my sense of humor, especially for whatever comedy “career” I’ve built for myself, it’s funny how much I found myself relating to Conan and how his brain works – the light and the dark.

Heck of a read.

Nathan Grayson, Aftermath:

Nintendo knows what works for it, and over the years it has stayed that course, at times to its own detriment. But when it works, it really works. The Switch has been a smash success, which has allowed Nintendo to stick to its guns even as it navigates an industry that’s doubling down on fewer, bigger games. It is notable that Nintendo hasn’t laid off hundreds or thousands of workers in the past couple years, nor has it jumped aboard the forever game bandwagon (unless Mario Kart 8 counts). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the former is a result of labor law as much as it is anything else, but there’s also a hopeful truth at the core of Nintendo’s approach: If you create something good and dependable, people will appreciate it. You don’t have to trick or trap them to build a successful business.

I mean…this is why Nintendo is able to do what it does so well. They play the long game. Sure, they’ve had their bumps and bruises (Wii-U, Virtual Boy), but this article – along with the latest Nintendo Direct – illuminates why they’ve been able to cut out a market for themselves and ultimately side-step the console wars.

It’s funny, I can sit here right now in 2024 and say that I will for sure be picking up a Switch 2 (or whatever its called), but I am already skeptical – without a game or acknowledgement of it existing! – about what a PlayStation 6 will bring. That is the confidence Nintendo has built.

After this morning’s Nintendo Direct, I’ve got about 10 new games I want to pick up.

I’d already wanted to check out Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, but, I also find myself excited for…

• Mario & Luigi: Brothership
• Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition
• Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
• Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (along with the I & II remakes announced)
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Though I may pick it up on PS4 instead)
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Turns out, Zelda’s the girl.)
• And, of course…Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which I can’t help but feel like is the cross-generational game, a’la Breath of the Wild for the Wii-U/Switch transition.

For a system which just past its seventh birthday, that’s pretty amazing.

Kyle Orland, Ars Technica:

In a wide-ranging interview with Windows Central, Blizzard's general manager of Diablo, Rod Fergusson, said that they launched Diablo IV under "the assumption that D4 was meant to be more D2-like." That meant, in part, increasing the length of time required to discover the game's most valuable items after post-Auction-House Diablo 3 made rare item drops much more common.

"One of the assumptions was that people were going to be okay with the long grind for the Unique or an Uber Unique in particular, because in Diablo II, it can go years," Fergusson said. "You can go three years before you find the Uber you're looking for... and so we were like, okay, this is what people love about the progression of D2, that idea of that very long chase."

Once the game launched, though, Fergusson said the development team was surprised to find players complaining of how long it took to get some items—our own review expressed concern about the "'loot treadmill' approach to the endgame" and "loot drops [that] seem tuned a bit low for my taste." "We found out very quickly that if you don't give me my Uber in my [months-long] season, then I'm upset," Fergusson said. "And so we're like, oh, wow, okay."

Just a fascinating little bit to note here, as game developers learn that the age of their average player has gone up, and the hours available to game have gone down.

I know I’ve spoken in the past on here about my “I’m Old, I Have Limited Gaming Time, Let Me Select Easy Mode” opinion, and this feels like an extension of that.

It’s not that we don’t want to enjoy the game — it’s that we can’t dedicate ourselves to it the way we once did.

It’ll be interesting to see how game developers address this moving forward.

Weirdly enough, I’ve been addressing it by playing older games via emulator, and cheating the crap out of them (shout out Gameshark and Action Replay codes!), but I don’t think that’s gonna be everyone’s favorite way of handling this.

The announcement of a Sheetz location coming to my neck of the woods has realized I haven’t poked this bear in a bit.

So, what are your rankings of convenience store / gas station food?

Mind, I’ve not had Buc-ees, but my picks are…

1. Sheetz - Awesome variety of food, usually prepared well, great drink menu.
2. Wawa - If their menu were a bit more eclectic, I’d give them the nod, but even with the latest additions (pizza), it’s a lesser option than Sheetz.
3. Royal Farms - The chicken is awesome. But that’s the thing: just the chicken is awesome.
4. Highs - Their ice cream is decent? 🤷‍♂️
5. 7-Eleven - Trash. Every now and then a taquito hits a spot, but for the most part, not worth the time or money.

What say you? This, of course, is with the asterisk of Japanese Convenience Stores being far far better than anything US ones have produced.

Wisconsin State Fair:

For 10 years, The Sporkies have encouraged our State Fair vendors to create next-level foods… and drinks worthy of mouth-watering Instagram pics. The Drinkies, State Fair’s non-alcoholic beverage competition! This sip-tacular competition will refresh the drink options at the State Fair for all ages.

Once again, we have ourselves the annual listing / competition for the most bizarre, insane, intense and absolutely ridiculous fair food.

Among the, uh, highlights (?) this year…

• Loaded Baked Potato Churro
• Elvis Nachos
• Cool Ranch Doritios Pickle
• Deep Fried Lemonade Bites

You can view the full breakdown of entries for The Sporkies here.

What a world.

David Pierce, The Verge:

But I’d wager that if you wanted to see the most exciting drama happening at the MGM on this Friday night, you’d have to walk through the casino and look for the small sign advertising something called The Active Cell. This is the site of the play-in round for the Excel World Championship, and it starts in five minutes. There are 27 people here to take part in this event (28 registered, but one evidently chickened out before we started), which will send its top eight finishers to tomorrow night’s finals. There, one person will be crowned the Excel World Champion, which comes with a trophy and a championship belt and the ability to spend the next 12 months bragging about being officially the world’s best spreadsheeter. Eight people have already qualified for the finals; some of today’s 27 contestants lost in those qualifying rounds, others just showed up last-minute in hopes of a comeback.

I did not expect to be enthralled by a write up about a spreadsheet writing competition. Yet, here I am.

I very much recommend clicking through if just to see the awesome visual style that The Verge’s team applied to the article. Nice touch, and helps make the site feel like a magazine.