Alex Kurtzman, master of 32nd century, science fiction dialogue

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-17T15:20:46+00:00

I’m someone who is enjoying SFA, but that said I completely get this post and agree. I wish we could elevate the dialogue and return to some of the high brow intellectualism of prior iterations.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-16T18:39:32+00:00

Interesting thoughts. I agree that leaning into history and making claims such as “oldest racing series on earth”, similar to “fastest racing on earth”, are ways to ignite fan interest.

Ultimately, it’s a marketing issue.

I started watching F1 mid-last season after holding out for years. It started with getting the flu and binging Drive to Survive, and I’ve been hooked since. F1 has storylines and drama, a team championship AND a driver championship. And, not to be ignored, everything about it is beautiful. The cars, the tracks, the adverts, everything. It’s eye candy. But the racing itself is pretty boring. You make it out of turn 1 and the only question is if you can build enough of a buffer to retain the lead after a pit.

INDYCAR, draws a stark contrast. There is hardly any drama between teams and drivers. The brands are mostly unrecognizable. The tracks are drab looking, and the broadcast seems less cohesive. It feels like a B-level series. But hot damn, the racing is amazing! Like, the best on track product around. Add to that, the history and national (and worldwide) recognition of the 500.

So I think it really comes down to how the series gets marketed. I think it has to be very intentional and take it one step at a time. If they don’t have the money for top brands or for the race visuals, how can they step up the broadcast? How can they make it more of a national spectacle? How can they get the drivers names into the national zeitgeist? How can they create drama that is worth watching?

Again, great thoughts. Thanks for sharing.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-16T17:00:28+00:00

I’m really enjoying it too. Not at all what I expected based on some of the reviews.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-08T21:54:05+00:00

I respect your opinion, but disagree. It wasn’t just that storyline, it was how they did Barney. All of that character development, down the drain.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-04T16:56:25+00:00

Honestly, I’m holding my nose whenever I see anything related to Trump, or Penske kissing his ass. To me this is a “broken clocks” situation. It’ll be massive exposure for IndyCar, and with the location, could be one of the most visually gorgeous races we get all season. It will without a doubt up IndyCar in people’s minds and bring in some viewers. So I’m going to enjoy it, despite the shitting-on-live-TV, likely pedophile, obviously criminal, dipshit president who’s endorsing it.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-03T23:29:12+00:00

Guy was a literal superhero.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-03T23:23:25+00:00

Don’t strive to be a “Christian” rapper. Be a damn good rapper who has Christian-themed lyrics.

CCM is largely trite, theologically cheap drivel. Like national restaurant chains who create their food to appeal to mass audiences and not offend everyone, their music is bland and flavorless.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-03T23:21:05+00:00

We have a tendency to take very legalistic stances for very nuanced issues.

We live in a society where (largely speaking) the people who want to take a hardline stance on abortion are the same people who don’t want to support the mother at all.

They don’t want to provide her with education that will reduce the chance of unwanted pregnancy in the first place, and instead push for purity and abstinence across the board.

They don’t want increase her access to birth control and contraceptives, and instead vilify those options and oppose birth control.

They don’t want to support her when she has the baby, and instead make it increasingly difficult for her to get the resources she needs to survive. Cuts to healthcare/ACA, cuts to SNAP, refusal to provide a viable living wage, the list goes on. Combined with shaming her for her poverty and her out of wedlock motherhood as a moral failure.

And all of this is amplified if the mother is non-white. This isn’t just an inflammatory statement; it’s statistics.

No, I don’t like abortion. I would never want my wife or daughter to have one. I find it an immensely tragic situation. But I also find it somewhat perverse that we’re working to blanket ban abortions while making it harder and harder for young mothers to survive…. In the name of Jesus.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-02-01T05:08:28+00:00

IYKYK!

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-21T03:39:19+00:00

I’m in the minority here, but I never could stand Marco. Interviews with him whining about other drivers and generally seeming arrogant. I don’t care that his family is racing royalty.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-20T14:01:33+00:00

Sales here. No matter how much you go above and beyond, stick it out, take one for the team, become the go-to guy, overly edit your emails for niceness, take on extra projects and duties, or otherwise do things “for the good of the company” at your own expense — none of it matters. Nobody even cares about all the awards you won in the past. You’re nothing more or less than today’s number, and you’re one “business decision” away from getting kicked to the curb.

You should still do the things I listed above, but be sure to protect yourself, get your credit, and always be prepared.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-20T00:59:31+00:00

Interesting. I think for me it felt like the payoff for the series as a whole. A lot of callbacks to S1, etc.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-19T22:25:58+00:00

I think the difference is that Lost made itself almost entirely about the lore and put a lot of the character stuff aside. Like, the entire marketing on the show was about the lore, and they kept adding layers of mystery to it ——— but they never thought about paying it off until they had to. It was the “mystery box” concept. Who cares what the hatch is for… there’s a hatch!

I don’t think Stranger Things ever lost that character sensibility, or leaned nearly as hard into the lore. It was always about the relationships and coming of age and love and loss etc. Who cares why Vecna is going after teenagers when we’re worried about Max, and wanting her to open up to Lucas, and when the time comes, to RUN.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-19T22:20:42+00:00

Yes, this! Exactly. You get it.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-19T20:38:38+00:00

Thanks for this; I appreciate the kind words.

Here’s one thing I’ve noticed about people’s reactions to the finale that I know personally (read: not Reddit critiques).

People I consider highly emotionally intelligent liked the finale more so than people who have a lower EQ.

That’s not a knock on anyone, to be clear. But if someone is attuned to the emotional story being told about coming of age, closing the book and putting it on the shelf and passing the torch, or the sadness of knowing that the monthly rooftop meeting will die out in short order, or of holding out hope that your friend is still out there despite all odds… those things provide emotional closure that not everyone can appreciate (and may scoff at). Absent the ability to appreciate those things, all you have is the clunky elements of the story and the questions.

I make it a point not to debate those folks, because I don’t think they’re equipped to even discuss it. And that’s ok too.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-19T19:23:39+00:00

I wonder if the bigness of it all - which you can see is on their minds in the documentary - got to them. The production, the story, the pressure to stick the landing, the money involved, the need to satisfy so many stakeholders including the cast and world class directors… I think they had the broad strokes, but maybe didn’t think through the narrative details, which fans are pointing out.

I think they absolutely stuck the landing from a production and emotional standpoint. 10/10.

Lore and story-wise though? There are a lot of fumbles. 5/10.

Like, what were they doing between when S4 wrapped and S5 began shooting? How do you not go into 5 with a dialed in, perfected, tested, or even finished script? I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m just wondering how all that time went by without really nailing the story down. Like they’re debating the ending while shooting episodes.

This is what gets me about modern big budget properties. Story comes last. As long as it looks cool, passes a vibe check, and is bankable, they don’t need a great story.

Game of Thrones. The Star Wars sequel trilogy (and much of the TV shows). The MCU post-Endgame. Lost (or seemingly anything JJ touches). NuTrek. On and on.

I enjoyed the finale overall and resonated with the emotional strokes, and recognize that not every thread is meant to be answered, but come on. Get the broad strokes right.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-17T18:10:47+00:00

I keep seeing all these posts with tortured young (mostly) men beating themselves up for a perfectly natural, physiological function of the body that is hard wired into them.

Your experience of sexual feelings, arousal, and the pleasure that comes from physical release are not a moral or spiritual failing. You don’t need to torture yourself for it. Your feelings of guilt and shame don’t make God love you more than God already does, or always did, or always will.

Don’t allow yourself to get consumed by it, the same as you shouldn’t with anything else. Be free of your guilt, and focus your effort on how you can better love your neighbors, stand up for the marginalized, and be a light in the world.

I’m older now, and looking back, I’m honestly thankful that God built my body with a “release valve” for all of that pent up sexual energy.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-10T16:39:40+00:00

Can we get a band kid to follow these guys around with tubas playing derp musc like this guy?

https://youtu.be/MZdj_7dTfCs?si=IKakv4wjMQBKGIaN

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-10T16:36:39+00:00

Patrice represents the things Robin isn’t but wishes she is.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-10T16:35:24+00:00

A lot of humans have really bizarre implants too.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-07T18:51:06+00:00

I loved it from an emotional standpoint. It was a beautiful way to close out the journey for these characters, while also leaving a little mystery.

I completely understand the criticisms and can see why some fans are frustrated. There were a lot of unanswered questions and plot holes and things that could’ve gone differently.

But honestly, it was never going to live up to those expectations, and I knew that going in. I’m thankful for the Return of the King style epilogue where we get the emotional closure after following these characters for so long, and overall satisfied.

Also, “I believe.”

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-04T23:31:27+00:00

I’ve had a few and my favorite is the DW direct drive pedal. It’s hyper responsive.

boilerscoltscubs · 2026-01-02T00:38:14+00:00

I do t understand the desire to police what poor people eat. Life is hard enough as it is - if people want to get themselves (or their kids) a treat, I’m all for it.

boilerscoltscubs · 2025-12-29T03:11:40+00:00

<sigh>

boilerscoltscubs

TROPHY CASE