So, again, no writing news other than another chapter for my current project. And my day job will be taking up a lot of hours this week as well. Yeah!

I have been so unmotivated that I know in the future, I’m going to be pissed with how just unproductive I have been. But for now, I have been enjoying the weather change. The weather has been sporadic but when the nice warm air is happening, I’m walking. So good!

The lack of energy has been a buzzkill though. I get the push to enjoy walking outside after work but after that I’m tapped out. I am really hoping soon that with the weather changing, my mood and drive also changes.

Right now, I am listening to a podcast called “Timeline Scavengers” which is taking every scene of the MCU and putting it into timeline order. I am a huge geek when it comes to assembling fictional histories for various works. I literally have my Batman graphic novels in order of continuity rather than release. But this is insane but in a good way.

I’ve been itching to listen to a positive MCU podcast that celebrates and discusses the series. This is going to be a good background noise to have if I’m not motivated to actually write but take notes on lore and characters for writing projects. I like making notes and lore and developing worlds and histories, so I’m always looking for a good podcast to listen to.

So, what else to talk about? Well, maybe a little geek news I’ve been thinking about. Such as the new Harry Potter series that is coming out on HBO. I will say this right now, I am a Discworld fan and I like other fantasy works like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I saw the Warcraft movie and immediately knew this was something for fans and not for me but I still enjoyed it.

What has me thinking about this series is the news that Snape’s actor will be black. And the internet lost its mind over this news. Now, I wish the actor Paapa Essiedu well playing fan favorite Snape in this series, Alan Rickman is a tough act to follow. But . . . there are so many articles, blogs, and discourse over this casting decision and it just makes me scratch my head.

For one thing, and I am putting on my cynical hat right now, the casting of a black actor in Snape’s role is a double edged sword. I’m pretty sure that the casting choice was a stunt but also that the actor would do the role justice (and bring some diversity to the roster). And the news of this casting caused tremendous backlash while also raising awareness of this new Potter series.

And I would not have known anything about any of it if it was not trending on Google’s feed.

So, controversy is a hell of a thing. Nobody likes it yet everyone obsesses over it. And after the dust clears, we all look back on how silly we were to be so upset then BAM! Another controversy becomes the flavor of the month and people lose their minds and time all over again.

I am in the camp of “I do not care” and actively avoid controversy. I was one of those people who did not like the directing choices of Michael Bay with the Transformer movies but we got Bumblebee and so much more with the franchise to enjoy. Heck, Batman and Robin is not a good movie, it is trying to be an Adam West Style Batman in the 90s which was not a time for Batman to be campy. But after The Batman (2022) which is good but so damn long and dower and dank that I am craving the campy side of Batman and relish any chance I get to see the such glorious fun like “Brave and the Bold” animated series.

But with that attitude of not engaging with controversy, I basically avoid one outlet I could get attention for my website and work. You know what, I am too laid back and apathetic to really get worked up over something in pop culture. Like, I just found out that John Lithgow is going to play Dumbledore in the Potter series. Now to me, Lithgow will always be a comedy actor who was very over the top in everything I saw him in. I know he has done more serious roles and while this casting baffles me, he might knock it out of the park.

Sean Connery was up for the role of Dumbledore for the first movie and he turned it down. It was one of many decisions in the twilight of his career that led to his retirement. I’m interested in seeing how Lithgow does. His take should at least be more accurate than Sean Connery’s would have been. Lolz, Hot Take, Mic Drop, BAAWHAAWW! 😈

That’s the thing, we really have to let this Potter series just be released and judge it on its merits as it comes out. And really, honestly, and truthfully, there is so much STUFF out there that it is just borderline impossible to keep up. We have, in this year and age of 2025, so much stuff coming out. Marvel alone has so much coming out this year. I just saw the new Captain America movie not too long ago and Thunderbolts and Fantastic 4 are coming soon. And that is just the movies, apparently there is going to be an Iron Heart series and (I cannot believe I am typing this) a Wonder Man series. I made a joke on the blog that the MCU should do a Machine Man or Wonder Man series. But here we are, Marvel’s most obscure hero to date is going to have his own series.

Oh and Wonder Man in the comics is white but the actor in the series is black. And as far as I can tell with a search, there are no salty blogs or articles or any discourse about this casting choice at all. But we got until later this year to see if any controversy comes up . . . over Wonder Man’s casting choice. 🙄

I mean, who has time to complain about the casting for a series based on popular books when there is so much other STUFF out there. Seriously, it is hard to be a creative when there are so much other STUFF stealing away your attention. So, just enjoy the STUFF while we can, before the world implodes in on itself. On that note, it’s nice outside and I’m going for another walk. Then likely watch some anime STUFF!

Good Luck and how much STUFF can you absorb in a day?

—BUCK

PS: Watched the Wonder Man trailer and I am so happy to see Ben Kingsley back. His Trevor character has always been a joy and now he is taking up the role as mentor to the lead. I was kind of wondering where Wonder Man was going to be about and a superhero going Hollywood is accurate to the comics. Oh and now I want Luke Cage to make a cameo appearance and just kick ass with Wonder Man. Whatever happened to Luke, and Jessica, and that Iron Fist guy? Daredevil made a comeback so why not the rest? ☹️