The Grouchy Editor

 

The year 2024, as expected, has been insane.

I expect 2025 to be even crazier.

 

*

 

The thing is, no matter who wins the November election, chaos remains.

It’s hard to believe that, should the Democrats prevail, MAGA Nation will shake its collective head and say, “Oh, well — better luck next time!”

It’s hard to believe that, should the Republicans win, “progressives” will sigh and think, “Oh, well — we gave it our best shot!”

 

*

 

Nope.

Everything is going to be nuts for years to come.

 

*

 

What next? Another assassination attempt? A contrived economic crash? World War III?

A dictatorship on the left or a dictatorship on the right?

Nothing seems out of the question.

 

*

Have a nice week!

 

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Hate to say, “I told you so,” but ….

 

What we posted a month ago:

 

 

This is what you get when people in positions of power — possibly including the Secret Service and the FBI — are corrupt and determined to undermine Trump.

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

I’m not sure what more can be said to convince undecided voters that they should go for the orange-skinned braggart over what amounts to a periodically lucid corpse (above).

 

**

 

 

YouTube, which routinely censors political speech it doesn’t like, apparently has no problem with the scores of “try-on haul” videos proliferating on the site.

Young women model lingerie and bikinis that are see-thru, affording viewers clear full-frontal and full-rear looks at their goodies.

Fifty years ago, some of this stuff would have been too risqué for Playboy magazine.

 

**

 

It’s summer, so I’m taking the rest of the day off.

Then again, I am looking for a new topic for our “Male Gazing” category. Maybe I’ll check out those try-on haul YouTube videos to find the best ones ….

 

**

 

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Debate Takeaways

 

I haven’t had this much fun watching Democrat conniption fits since Trump shocked the world eight years ago:

 

 

And yet … it does seem possible, even probable, that Biden’s public humiliation was orchestrated by The Establishment, which, knowing that Biden is likely toast in November, decided it’s time to replace him — and get the liberal media on board.

 

*

 

Very strange seeing CNN’s sad attempt to return to real journalism. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were (gasp!) just fine.

 

**

 

Holy shit. If you don’t know who Tim Pool is, or why he has so many loyal followers, check out his podcast from Wednesday night. Pool was on fire, and poor Arthur Bloom was in the line of that fire.

Pool begins his assault of Bloom, whom he called an “elitist,” about 10-15 minutes into the show.

If the beanie-topped podcaster ever decides to get into law, I pity anyone he cross-examines.

 

**

 

 

Speaking of Pool and his podcasting empire, I’ve been watching Pop Culture Crisis, co-hosted by 30-something Brett Dasovic and 20-something firebrand Mary Morgan.

They give me hope for America’s future. Even when they are bashing, ahem, Baby Boomers like Yours Truly.

(Presumably, they have fixed the typos — “cuteure”? — in the picture above.)

 

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

 

Hodgepodge

 

And so, the big debate is just days away.

The challenge for Trump, it seems to me, is to resist the temptation to point out the obvious: Biden’s mental and physical deterioration. To do so might appear “mean-spirited” to some viewers. The current president’s feebleness should already be clear to anyone who’s watched him.

Instead, Trump should relentlessly hammer on the sky-high cost of food, gas, and rent; illegal immigrants repeatedly allowed to stay in the country, and often raping and killing young girls; the increasing likelihood of a world war with Russia or China.

In other words, don’t make the debate about Biden personally, nor about your own legal battles. Make it about the destructiveness of Biden policies on we, the people.

 

**

 

 

I am conflicted by the raging debate over The Acolyte.

On the one hand, I am so, so sick of fantasy shows in general, and Star Wars shows in particular.

On the other hand, I am so, so sick of wokeness permeating Hollywood output in general, and Disney shows in particular.

My solution: Ban all fantasy-related projects for the next five years. This will punish the Hollywood woke and Star Wars fans alike.

And it will make me happy.

 

**

 

I recently mentioned the 1972 Wes Craven movie (The) Last House on the Left.

I called it Last House on the Left. 

Rotten Tomatoes calls it that. IMDB and Wikipedia, however, refer to it with the extra article: The Last House on the Left.

Which is correct? This, to me, is the burning issue of the day.

 

**

 

 

If you are of a certain age, you might fondly recall Creepy and Eerie magazines. Today, they would be called graphic novels. They followed in the spooky tradition of Tales from the Crypt, and new issues were a cause for celebration, if you were a kid.

And so it was with nostalgic joy that I discovered this Web site. It seems that you can find and enjoy most, if not all, of the old magazines. I’d say more, but I have to get reading.

 

**

 

 

As a longtime smoker, over the years I’ve been alternately bemused and angered by this country’s attitude toward the obese and toward smokers.

Fat and smoking are both bad for you, we can agree. But while smokers are banned, shunned, taxed and sent 20 feet away from the door, the reaction to fatties is … oh, well.

To me, this hypocrisy is simply a matter of numbers. While you probably don’t have many friends who smoke, you probably do have fat friends. Or you are fat, yourself.

 

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Hit Man

 

Netflix Nuggets

 

Filmmakers have this knockout idea for a scary movie: Let it take place in one of the creepiest places on Earth — the catacombs beneath Paris.

 

 

This is such a great concept that it’s been used twice in the past ten years. First in As Above, So Below, and then in the shark-movie Under Paris, now playing on Netflix.

 

 

It’s too bad that both movies suck — although they do have their moments.

One bright spot for Under Paris is its musical score. It was entrancing. It was pretty much the only thing that kept me interested.

 

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Speaking of mediocre misfires on Netflix, we have the premiere of Hit Man.

 

 

Inexplicably, critics and the public seem to love this thing, and 2024 seems to be the year that we crown Glen Powell as The Next Big Movie Star. 

I don’t understand the fuss over this film. It doesn’t matter that it was directed by critics’ darling Richard Linklater. I share this dude’s exasperation.

 

 

**

 

 

Good point, Stephen. Biden wasn’t involved because, at the time, Biden was in the shower with his daughter.

 

**

 

Glen Powell proves in Hit Man and in Anyone But You that he understands the importance of attractive co-stars. Now if only he understood the importance of attractive scripts.

There’s no question that Adria Arjona is a highlight of Hit Man. She is hot. For more Arjona hotness, check out season one of Narcos, or her appearance in True Detective season two (below).

 

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

 

Trump Musings

 

I don’t know if the left is terrified of Trump, desperate, crazy like a fox or just flat-out crazy. But they are throwing everything they have at the Orange Man.

A year ago, I would have said an assassination attempt on Trump was too extreme even for his worst enemies. I’m not so sure about that anymore.

 

*

 

The left seems to be trying what worked for them during the last presidential election: What they did back then — insist that the Hunter Biden laptop story was “disinformation.” After the election, admit that the laptop story was real.

What they are doing now — convict Trump and jail him. What will likely happen next — Trump’s conviction is overturned on appeal.

In both cases, Trump’s ultimate victory is too little, too late. Biden gets another term.

 

**

 

I inadvertently left one channel off last week’s list of YouTube “rabbit hole” sites:

 

 

This guy gives an Everyman’s perspective on everything from luxury hotels to obscure dives as he travels the globe. (His poor wife occasionally joins him; usually, she’s stuck at home with the kid.)

 

**

 

I watched the Sydney Sweeney rom-com Anyone But You on Netflix …. You know how the cliche ends: “… so you don’t have to.”

It was woke, derivative, and dull. 

But you’d probably like to see the scene where Sweeney gets her ass groped. So here you go:

 

© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole

 

It’s easy to get lost in the sea of YouTube videos. You get sucked in by (often) misleading headlines or provocative thumbnails and, while you planned to spend 15-20 minutes surfing videos, at some point you look at the clock and realize you’ve been swimming for three hours.

But not all YouTube channels are created equal. The following are channels I find myself returning to, again and again. They are listed in no particular order. I apologize in advance if I overuse the adjective “fascinating.”

 

 

 

Tim Pool is interviewing Donald Trump tomorrow. He’s come a long way since the day I watched him blow a gasket over the movie Cats.

 

 

 

Travel stuff. Fascinating.

 

 

 

A young guy’s interesting takes on history and what it predicts about the state of the world today.

 

 

 

Bill Maher’s podcast is certainly flawed. Too often he does 90 percent of the yakking himself, with his guest serving as a captive audience. But as long as the subject of the moment isn’t named Donald Trump, the conversations are often engaging. And stoned.

 

 

 

I have no idea what country this young gal is from. But she’s charming and it’s good to get Gen Z’s perspective on cultural affairs.

 

 

 

A young couple from Romania who exist in YouTube’s world of “First Time Watching” movie reactions. He is from Romania, she is from the Philippines. They are fun and I want to live next door to them. But not in Romania.

 

 

 

If you dig movie reviews from an intellectual, uh — goth girl? — this is the channel for you. In her channel’s comments section, I once accused her of “recency bias” and she blew up at me. But I still watch her reviews.

 

 

 

If you enjoy snark and film reviews that attack wokeness with relish, the “Critical Drinker” is your man. He’s been popping up as a guest on Piers Morgan’s show, for whatever that’s worth.

 

 

 

This guy is the anti-Critical Drinker. He’s sunny and friendly and loath to say anything bad about the movies he reviews. But he’s into old Hammer and Universal horror movies, which is a nice change of pace (no “recency bias” here).

 

 

 

This couple living at the top of the world (Svalbard) sucks me in every week. Their videos are often repetitive — shovel snow, do housework, shop for groceries … repeat, repeat — but I find it all very soothing and comforting.

 

 

 

Cody Leach is a very persuasive podcaster. His specialty is horror movies, and his arguments for or against a particular film are very convincing. At least for a while. Often, five minutes after I watch his latest video, I will decide that I completely disagree with his opinions. But never while I’m watching.

 

 

 

An enigmatic guy who reviews films primarily from the 1960s and 1970s. He does a lot of background work on each film and finds juicy behind-the-scenes anecdotes. But for some reason he has disabled his comments section. Too bad.

 

 

 

I can’t decide if this guy is a real redneck or just pretending to be one. Either way, I find his travel videos about America and Americana to be — you guessed it — fascinating.

 

 

 

There are many prank sites on YouTube, but I think this channel might be one of the best. It’s creative and who doesn’t find chicks in thong bikinis to be fascinating?

 

**

 

 

I’m not interested in salacious stories about Diddy. I just find the blonde bending over in the bikini to be fascinating.

 

 © 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

 

 

I spent a lot of time this week (gasp!) listening to women.

Not in real life, mind you, but on YouTube.

Imagine that. The Grouch doesn’t just ogle women; sometimes he listens to them!

It turns out that not every young American female is in thrall of (or dependent on) big, bad government in general, or the Democrat party in particular.

There are young women out there with different viewpoints. I don’t agree with everything these ladies espouse, but a lot of what they have to say makes sense.

Most of them advocate for more traditional ideas of society; some of them also seem to be a bit “black pilled.” Too late to reform today’s America, they say, but there is hope for future generations.

Here are links (in green) to a few of the interesting women I (gasp!) listened to:

 

 

Mary Morgan takes on a roundtable of sex workers.

 

Lauren Chen, Pearl Davis, Rachel Wilson, and Isabella Moody discuss male-female relationships in 2024. Oh yeah, and Tim Pool moderates.

 

There are some obvious contradictions here. If these women truly believe a woman’s place is in the home, then what the hell are they doing on Internet podcasts?

On the other hand, if women’s issues only gain credibility when they are addressed by actual women, then who else is going to promote conservative views? Your neighbor with a houseful of kids is much too busy.

 

**

 

Stupid Idiom of the Week:

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

 

Yeah, not so much in 2024. These days, if you are a powerful person who screws up, you either get promoted (“fail up”) or retire with a golden parachute.

 

 © 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)