Hello, and happy Friday! We’ve had some pretty solid sun the last couple of days, and it’s been fabulous. The weather app is, of course, predicting it’ll be gone soon, but I refuse to acknowledge that.
Overall, I’ve had a pretty solid week! I’ve been busy applying for jobs, writing more satire (pitching some new pieces and editing some old ones), and working on the two Deep Dives you’ll be getting later this month.
Yes, you heard that right — December heralds the return of Deep Dives! Woohoo!
We watched the entirety of Squid Game: The Challenge, which turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. It was definitely giving Torment Nexus the entire time, but I think they actually did a fairly good job of keeping the feel of the original unpredictability without actually murdering anyone.
And speaking of reality TV, somehow I apparently DID manage to destroy the space/time continuum and jinx my favorite player into getting kicked off Survivor in the dumbest way possible. I don’t want to talk about it.
No, no, I’m fine. Fine. It’s all fine. Ahem.
CHANGING THE SUBJECT. I guess Mickey D’s is opening up some kind of weird offshoot that’s meant to be like a Starbucks/Jamba Juice mashup or something? It’s called CosMc’s, after their old 90’s alien mascot.
It’s got some new menu items, but also stuff that McDonald’s already sells. Which seems wild to me — it’s an entirely new standalone restaurant for some stuff off the dollar menu and some drinks?
What the hell is a “Spiceade?” I feel like I’m back in Galaxy’s Edge.
Like, there are 8 billion McDonald’s in the world already. You could — and I know this is crazy, but hear me out — put the new menu items at the existing McDonald’s locations. But what do I know?? I’m not a fancy CEO investor type!
Thanks for specifying that the Hash Brown Bites are savory. For a second there, I thought they might be dessert hash browns.
Also: NO FRIES?? Are you nuts?
Those have to be McDonald’s bestseller, right?
Mhmm. Mhmm.
Again. Not the market expert here. Just…you know. Thinking. Logically. Or whatever.
ANYWAY the first one is open today in Bolingbrook, which is a suburb about 30 miles away from Chicago. Which has left me wondering: should I spend 45 minutes in the car to go to a glorified mini-McDonald’s?
Don’t respond. I already know the answer to that.
MOVING ON. Things from the online world for you this week:
Internet to The Rescue
One of my favorite things ever is when the internet comes together for *GOOD*. That happened this week when a person on Twitter started searching for a song that played in the background of an old X-Files episode.
Here’s a link to the original thread, where they mention the episode number and that they can’t seem to find the song via Shazam, and once they started looking for it online, all they found was other people that have been searching for the song for decades.
BUT! Thanks to the power of the internet (!) people were able to track down the music supervisor, find the cue sheet, and eventually the actual artists, Glenn Jordan and Dan Marfisi — who still happen to have a copy of the song on a CD somewhere (it’s supposed to be released sometime soon). Here’s a solid recap from TikTok, which includes the scene & song:
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The songwriters seem thrilled to have folks seeking out their music, which is just wonderfully sweet. We love to see it!
Writers, What’s Wrong With Us?
Unfortunately, this is extremely true.
Me: I should work on my book
Also me: Wow that bathroom grout is a real mess 🤔
And now: a quick switch from writer funnies to writer DRAMA.
Here’s the best recap of what I’ve been able to find on this bonkers story: a debut author who was worried about their book’s reception made (or someone else made on their behalf — jury seems to be out on this one) fake Goodreads accounts to upvote their own book and downvote others (others who, specifically are part of a debut author support group they’re in).
This sort of thing just blows my mind. First off, you know the deal: a rising tide lifts all boats. This is THE SUPPORT ZONE. We don’t do jealousy and envy of other writers here, no way, no how. GOOD VIBES ONLY.
Secondly: WHO HAS TIME FOR THIS?? Get a hobby! Go outside! Touch grass, as they say! Wild.
Wholesome Fun
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This is exactly what happened to us at the Barbie movie, except the teenagers were in front of us and for the last 30 minutes of the movie they all just watched TikToks and talked. And look — I get it! I was a teenager once, and being loud and annoying is the best part of being a teenager. But now I’m old so it’s my turn to gripe about it! Just as one day they will be in their 30’s griping about teenagers. It’s the circle of life.
Randomly Selected Animal Cutie(s)
I would be remiss if I did not provide you with these sweet little pug rolls.
Look at the strawberry pillow!! And his little ears! Perfection.
AND then, here’s a video that made me laugh really hard.
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MOVE OVER, SCORSESE. This is CINEMA!
The slow slide. The cat’s curious approach. The cliffhanger!!
I don’t know what happened next, and I don’t need to know. In my ending, the cat and the opossum are still best friends to this day.
That’s it from me! I’m off to have lunch. At home, of course, unless…unless I decide I want to get in the car and drive to the suburbs for a weird McDonald’s item…No. No, I shall stay here in my sweatpants near my space heater instead. Hope y’all have a great weekend!
K
YAY DEEP DIVES! Also that whole X-Files thing made my day. Love a good low-stakes internet mystery!
My fave was being a row or two above them and being blind by the maxed out brightness