Category: From The Editor

Overthinking Dua Lipa’s ‘Naked Dress’ & Her Desire To Be A Hollywood Actress

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Any rumination on Dua Lipa’s “naked dress” has to put it in context. For all the buzz around the dress, it’s not THAT naked. Don’t get me wrong, it’s rather revealing — and gorgeous just like Lipa herself — but other women, like Kate Moss and Rihanna, have shown more sheer skin in public in real terms.

To me, the point of the dress is to generate buzz….in Hollywood. Lipa is telling Hollywood directors that she’s ready for her closeup because she’s not afraid of showing T&A on the big screen. Which, of course, reminds me of how Tay-Tay will probably never get her EGOT because if she showed ANY T&A, her fan base of liberal white women would grow so enraged that that would break the Internet.

Dipa has perfected the art of being sexxy in a way where she doesn’t actually show what people think she’s showing. If she’s not wearing a skin-tight Mugler one-piece that has some skin tone stripes to it, she’s grinding on a mic stand in a very covering faux mini-skirt.

And, in real terms, she’s barely showing areola and it’s very clear that she’s wearing a very-wide thong under the dress. If she was really in a naked dress, all there would be in covering of her mons pubis would be a lot of strategic dress sparkles.

So, like I said, to me, this naked dress’ true audience is Hollywood, not us nerds. She’s trying to take her career to the next level by being an actress. She’s already in the Barbie movie, so it would make a lot of sense for her to push with all her might fully into being a full-blown movie star.

We Have To Accept That If America Collapses As Part of a Revolution / Civil War Starting in Late 2024 That The DPRK Will Lob Nukes At Us

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m always, always wrong. And I can’t predict the future. But it definitely seems possible that the conditions are there for a revolution (Blues) or a civil war (Reds) starting in late 2024, early 2025. If this happens, it will be because the country is just too unstable to handle another election cycle.

If we do have a civil war or revolution, our enemies are going to take advantage of this particular crisis. The one country with the means, motive and opportunity to really fuck us over is the DPRK. I could totally see them lobbing a few H-bombs our way if we collapse into chaos.

Anyway. I hope I’m wrong. I really do. I don’t want any violence at all to the point that I’m will to accept autocracy in the US if that’s the only way to avoid it on the macro level. If we’re an autocracy then, of course, ICE will come after me and put me in a camp but, lulz, I’ll think of something.

We’re All Going To Cook Because The Libs Have To Be Owned

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The weather continues to be very strange not just where I live, but all over the world. The world’s climate continues to grow hotter and hotter…and yet because American conservatives have to “own the libs” we’re just going to cook. All of humanity will end because 38% of the Republican electorate simply can not, will not work in a bipartisan way to save the planet.

That’s kind of deep.

In fact, I would go so far as to say the ONLY WAY humanity survives long-term at this point is if we have a civil war / revolution in the United States, WW3 happens, about 1 billion people die and THEN after THE GOOD GUYS WIN, humanity is so crestfallen that we have some sort of collective effort on a global scale to save ourselves from ourselves.

If that doesn’t happen, we’re fucked. It’s the end.

I don’t want that to happen, I mean, Jesus Christ, what kind of monster would what THAT? But if we peacefully slip into autocracy into the United States, soon enough, places like Florida will sink into the ocean. Something has to happen to get us all on the same page.

And it definitely seems as though that’s just not going to happen unless 1) more white Christian babies are born so angry white conservatives have some reason to not to hate liberals so much or 2) we blow ourselves up on a global basis and as we rebuild we see ourselves as humans rather than anything else.

Forgive me, I’m in a fucking bad mood about all of this because reality is important to me and I fucking hate how white Christian conservatives would rather have all 8 billion of us die than work with the other side to help save humanity. UGH.

Anyway. Fuck it all to hell.

The Misogyny Directed Against Phoebe Waller-Bridge For Her Role In ‘Dial of Destiny’ is Shocking

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I found Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s role in Dial of Destiny to be one that established her as a Hollywood star. And, yet, from the way some commenters talk, you would think that not only did she suck, but that she took over the movie in a “woke” attempt to hand the Indy franchise over to her.

Now, here’s the context — there was a massive amount of bonkers chatter on YouTube that the time travel element of the movie was originially meant to be a way to turn Waller-Bridge into Indiana Jones by erasing Harrison Ford’s version from time altogether. They really got themselves worked out into an anti-woke Hollywood lather about this possibility.

And…then…it didn’t happen.

They claimed “victory” over the evil forces of Woke Hollywood, but I have my doubts. While I understand the fears — that definitely does sound like something Kathleen Kennedy would do to Indiana Jones — I just am not prepared to believe that was ever seriously considered, much less shot.

But, who knows.

The key thing to remember is I think, ultimately, the issue of who to turn the Indy franchise over to will be mooted because of technology. Soon enough, our digital assistant will scan our face, determine our mood and give us a very specific Indy movie that is completely different anything anyone else is watching at that particular moment.

It seems a foregone conclusion at this point.

I do wish, however, that Waller-Bridge could get her own franchise playing Dr. Susan Calvin of the I, Robot short stories. That would be great!

Turns Out, Everyone Online Just Wants 2012 Twitter Again

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It’s definitely interesting how people are getting so excited about Threads when it’s just a less-feature-rich Twitter clone that happens to be fused to Instagram. That’s it. There’s nothing all that great about it –but for one thing: it has a a lot of people (already) the vibe is really good.

Just my opinion, folks.

That’s it — that’s all Threads has going for it — people and vibes.

It’s not like there’s any particularly interesting feature set that might make people choose it over Twitter. I mean, I’ve come up with a really cool, really feature rich social media platform that no one cares about, so lulz.

Anyway.

I suspect everyone should really just enjoy the good vibes while they last. Put enough humans in the same space virtually and all hell is going to break loose eventually. If I had to make a bet, I would suspect that it’s probably going to be Trump coming to the service that ultimately turns it into just another Twitter. Or, it might be a lot more gradual.

It could be that all the smug liberal infotainment types spooging their pants over Threads will gradually realize they hate it just as it becomes a Twitter clone on a vibe basis, too. People are so dumb. They act like This Is The End of Social Media History and they have nothing to worry about ever again when it comes to how hateful social media is. All they have to do is just use Threads and they will have an eternal 2012 to enjoy.

Ugh.

The Agenda

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Sept. 1st
I hope to turn around and start writing again as of Sept 1st. I hope to write a third draft of the first novel in a planned six novel project. I also hope to start working on a few other projects, depending on how things work out.

Spring 2024
If EVERYTHING WORKS OUT, then at some point in spring 2024, I will start to query my first novel. It’s very possible that the novel just has too many existential problems and it won’t be the mystery-thriller I’ve been working on that I ultimately successfully query, but some other novel. But, in general, I hope to start querying the novel I’ve been working on for the last few years around this time.

I have a feeling, however, that it’s going to be late 2024 before everything aligns so I can really start to query the way I want to. Which, of course, will put me querying square in what could be Something Bad in American history — a perfect storm of a Petite Singularity and The Fourth Turning.

Or we turn into an autocracy.

But I do need to work on a novel that is shorter and written with a single (male) POV. I say this because the novel I’m working on right now is longer and has more than one POV. It’s meant to be an old brown shoe for people who have read the original Millennium Series of Stieg Larsson.

I’m not getting any younger, so who knows when I’m actually going to be a published author. But, for the time being at least, I continue to have no interest in self-publishing. I have not only a very specific vision for this novel, but a huge chip on my creative shoulder — I want to be a traditionally published author. If that means I never get published, so be it.

Video: A Hot Take On ‘Dial Of Destiny’ & Other Things

Video: Thoughts About #Writing a #Novel #writingcommunity

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

…You Can Count Me Out (In)

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The thing about a Big Event like, say, a center-Left “revolution” starting in late 2024 when Trump wins the election and goes full tyrant on us is…I hate violence. And, by definition, you can’t have a revolution without breaking a few eggs. Even England’s Glorious Revolution was less that 100% peaceful.

So, I find myself stuck wanting us to just slip peacefully into autocracy, if it comes to that. I hate violence and, I don’t know, I’ll think of something I guess. I’ll figure out some way to survive once we’re no longer a Western-style democracy.

But as I’ve said before, at least in the abstract, it would be…exciting? if we had a good old fashion center-Left revolution to overthrow a tyrannical thug like Trump. And, yet…that’s just the abstract. No matter how much “fun” it might be, we are talking about real people and real lives and I don’t want anyone to get hurt.

AND, what’s MORE, there are no assurances that any such revolution would actually work. It probably would only have a 50-50 change of working and, as such, there’s just as much chance of it failing and Trump then consolidating power as a result, as there is we might have the founding of A Third American Republic.

It’s all very sad. Autocracy, I suppose, here we come.