NERRRRD! vol. 79 / U.S.A.! U.S.A.! vol. 178 / Negation Aspiration vol. 153

‘Avengers: Endgame’ Will Break Box-Office Records, and That’s Bad for Business

[full disclosure: this will not be a well-crafted piece of writing, just ventilated rage unspooling with all the grace and coordination of an unmanned fire hose.]

posted that meme on Facebook and was greeted with a sassy butthole remark worthy of the kind of glib flippancy displayed by the "heroes" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; "eating the entertainment industry alive? oh god the horror".

that's kind of NOT THE CUNTING POINT of the meme, but feel free to keep being an undermining above-it-all smartass and cheer on the Million Dollar Dream that Mickey has put on the masses because you've drank their Unflavored Kool-Aid and you're "finally getting to see on the big screen" all those characters that have been RIGHT UP IN YOUR FUCKING GUTS SINCE BIRTH via comics, games, toys, television, cartoons, party favors, underoos, coloring books, halloween costumes, bath towels, and LITERALLY SHITTING EVERYWHERE. they're no more than degraded nostalgia properties  being trotted out as glorified cash funnels to be fed into a financially glutinous corporate entity, but i'm an asshole for not just shutting my meat socket and smoothing out the creases in my brain with more thoroughly artless, singularly unexceptional junk A/V, assimilating into the blooming societal rot with the rest of corporeal tallow spores that have enabled its cancerous spread.

"DEATH TO CORPORATE GRINDCORE!" on the streets, "SHUT UP MARVELMOUSE AND TAKE MY MONEY!" in the sheets.

same kind of turd burglars who are already roasting any number of Democrat nominees for president, pouring over the pedantic minutia of their not-hardcore-enough track records, while we have a sponge-skulled arch-criminal in the White House gesticulating about imagined infanticide at his Nascaremberg Rallies to the bottomless anti-delight of his spite-drunk horde.

the topics of discussion that won't illicit snarky disagreement or trigger an escalating series of micro seizures are running dangerously low, and i'm growing increasingly bothered by what will result from my ever-growing list of communal withdrawals.

NO CONCLUSION.

Negation Aspiration vol. 152

There are a myriad of reasons people leave platforms—an unfriendly interface; outdated design; increased spam—but the shift away from tight-knit spaces for collective creativity marks more than just a natural fall in popularity. As the internet consolidated, it moved toward homogeneity and passivity, and the internet’s once-vibrant art communities became casualties in social media’s rapid, obliterative rise.

The Rise and Fall of Internet Art Communities

Awwww Yeah vol. 110

Men made child restrain 9 horses, cow, goat, and dog while they had sex with them

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! vol. 177

The FBI Has Arrested The Leader Of An Armed Militia Detaining Migrants At The Border

Militia leader allegedly claimed his group was training to assassinate Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, court papers said

Leader of U.S. border armed militia group attacked in jail: attorney

Negation Aspiration vol. 151

TEACHER CHARGED WITH HIRING HITMAN TO KILL 10-YEAR-OLD STUDENT HE ALLEGEDLY MOLESTED

U,S,A,! U.S.A.! vol. 176

 “The President engaged in a series of targeted efforts to control the investigation.”

Negation Aspiration vol. 150

It would be incredibly cheap to suggest that it is in some way wrong to give money for the restoration. There is a value that transcends simple economics in restoring testaments to civilisation. Better that Notre Dame remains a symbol of European history than €300 million rests in a billionaire's bank account.

But the immediacy and magnitude of their response tells us something very important about the society we live in.

If two men in a world of more than 7 billion people can provide €300million to restore Notre Dame, within six hours, then there is enough money in the world to feed every mouth, shelter every family and educate every child. The failure to do so is a matter of will, and a matter of system.

The failure to do so comes from our failure to recognise the mundane emergencies that claims lives all around us every single day. Works of art and architectural history and beauty rely on the ingenuity of people, and it is people who must be protected above all else.

Brick and mortar and stained-glass might burn, but they do not bleed, and they do not starve, and they do not suffer. Humans suffer. Everywhere in the world, from Paris to Persepolis, people are suffering. But their suffering is every day. It does not light up a front page, and it does not inspire immediate donations from the world's wealthiest men.

Reaction of the rich to the Notre Dame fire teaches us a lot about the world we live in

Awww Yeah vol. 109

PASTOR ASKED STUDENTS TO CUT HIM WITH A KNIFE, SPIT ON HIM WHILE GIVING EASTER LESSON ABOUT JESUS

Impact City Church in Licking County.

Negation Aspiration vol. 150

In an earlier era, Bundy's appeal might have resonated. But he failed to tune in to a critical shift in American culture — one that a handful of researchers have been tracking, with some alarm, for the past decade or so. Americans these days seem to be losing their appetite for empathy, especially the walk-a-mile-in-someone's-shoes Easter Sunday morning kind.

The End Of Empathy

NERRRRRRRD! vol. 78

previously on NERRRRRD!

Now, here’s the thing that struck me about all these anecdotes and reactions. They all sound really familiar to me. And it dawned on me that was because I’ve been witness to the phenomenon for over thirty years. Before there was even such a thing as social media.

Except it wasn’t about politics or social justice issues. It was in fandom.

Nerd culture. Letter columns and fanzines and conventions. When the internet happened, it migrated to CompuServe forums and message boards. And now it’s everywhere.

The Exaltation of Anger

By Greg Hatcher

really great piece that expands on the thesis on the various sects of nerd fandom being the canary in the coal mine of public discourse.

awhile back i had had some meager gigs writing cult movie / comic book / music reviews for a few nth tier websites, and i walked away from them for much of the reasons laid out in this article; the undermining contrarianism, the barely veiled hostility, the weaponized snark (and that was just from the cunting webmaster, but i digress). seemed like the commenters (and if we're being real, the contributors) were less interested in movies/books/etc. than they were interested in making fun of and/or getting angry about movies/books/etc... which then devolved into making fun of and/or getting angry about people who talk about movies/books/etc. shit just had me seeing every imaginable shade of red (mostly dog boner), so i stepped back and decided to just keep it all to myself, letting these works supply grist for the mills of my own imagination, and privately channel my creative energies elsewhere.

bitch of it is; i love talking about this stuff. i love deriving bizarre theories and threadbare connections to all the mythologies and multiverses presented in the content that enable my enthusiasm, and i forever pined in secret for comparably minded individuals who not only shared my interests, but my attentive disposition and restless speculation. instead i found nothing but failed comedians, entitled gatekeepers, and vindictive rageaholics whose over-muscled acerbic flexings only allow for expressions of venomous sarcasm, stifling pedantry, and ballistic spite. and with "geek culture" still mutating and spreading into a misshapen leviathan that resembles in thought what the techno-tumorous protagonists of the Tetsuo films resemble in physical form, its only gotten wider and worse.

Negation Aspiration vol. 149

When a young Taiwanese woman named He took herself to a hospital this week complaining of a swollen eye, she expected to be treated for a simple infection.

Instead, the 29-year-old and her doctor were horrified to discover four bees living under her eyelids, feasting on her tears.

Doctors discover four live bees feeding on tears inside woman's eye

Small insects known as sweat bees were found after woman complained of a swollen eye

Awwww Yeah vol. 108

During a police interview he told detectives: ‘I was sat on a bench. I was feeling sexy so I started to…’

Man who can’t stop masturbating over horses caught twice in 24 hours

We Are The Sprocket Holes vol. 337

How A 'Cursed' Film Circulating Hollywood Is Finally Making Its Way To The Public

“There’s a reason why you haven’t seen ANTRUM: because you’d be dead. This occult-heavy horror film shot back in the ’70s focuses on a pair of young siblings who head into the woods to grieve over a dead pet and unwittingly discover a literal Hell on Earth. The film has achieved notoriety due to its troubled lifespan: A theater in Budapest screened it in 1988 and burned to the ground; several film festival programmers attempted to play it before mysteriously dying; and a violent and blood-drenched San Francisco riot followed a mid-’90s revival effort. Believed to be cursed, Antrum has since been untouched—until now.

“Bookending the original 35mm Antrum print with an all-new documentary about the film’s legend, filmmakers Michael Laicini and David Amito have packaged a truly singular viewing experience, one part catnip for film historians and a much bigger part experientially demonic cinema.”

Awwww Yeah vol. 107

previously on Awwww Yeah

Allison Mack Pleads Guilty in Sex-Cult Case

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! vol. 175

WITH NIELSEN OUT, STEPHEN MILLER IS POISED TO REMAKE D.H.S. IN HIS IMAGE

Miller has waged a covert war of influence to weed out administration officials he believes are too soft on immigration.

not to get too political, but Stephen Miller is what happens when a prosthetic anus for child rape victims is turned into a real person by a vindictive white separatist pedo-wizard who has sunwheels on his pointy hat instead of stars.

Negation Aspiration vol. 148

the criticism of Biden has become so broad and so strident, instead of protecting girls and women from unwanted touching, it blurs lines between affection and aggression. It scares boys and men away from genuine expressions of caring. Having to constantly monitor themselves so they aren’t impulsively kind or supportive can cause alienation from these emotions — a disconnection already at the root of a toxic masculinity problem that can manifest later in physical violence, devaluing women — as well as male depression and suicide.

The attacks on Joe Biden will harm boys and girls alike: We all need decent, affectionate human touch

Awww Yeah vol. 106

“Ten years ago, people would always get back to me online,” says Pipta, who’s tried his luck on OKCupid, Tinder and Hinge. “Now, it’s only half the time, or less.”

These days, he feels like he’s swiping through more wannabe influencers and bots than actual potential dates. “Everyone’s always doing some type of self-promotion,” he says. “When someone’s reaching out to you, you don’t know if they’re trying to make a real connection or sell you something.”

Men are having a lot less sex and dating apps are to blame

We Are The Sprocket Holes vol. 336

Nicolas Winding Refn’s TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG Gets A Very Refn Trailer

We Are The Sprocket Holes vol. 335

Jordan Peele’s Us Is a Bone-Chilling Allegory for Generation X

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! vol. 174

Alex Jones blames “psychosis” for his Sandy Hook conspiracies

He now admits the shooting massacre was not a hoax.