Update March 2026

Snow is melting and the weather is neutral, so far.

Another month has passed aaaaaand . . . Zach and I are writing Last Job 2, a sequel to our first co-op book. And so far it’s been a blast. We are only two chapters in and I am looking forward to what wild and funny ideas we come up with. We planned it out a year back but we had not sat down to get the ball rolling again for a while. I will confess, I have been so hyperfocused on my own projects that I kept putting off doing my first chapter of the project. No more procrastinating though, this time we are getting shit done.

Funny story, we are setting the story in a haunted mansion and are basing the architecture on Luigi’s Manson, the first one. We then made our own map of the mansion . . . a year ago. Zach pointed this out to me, which I forgot and we had to retool my chapter to better fit our map, since I went by the Luigi’s Mansion layout instead. The punchline to this story is that I had the original drawing of our haunted house’s map in a folder on a shelf within arm’s reach from my desk.

Zach and I had a good laugh after that 😂

So yeah, productivity is happening. And soon, someday, I can add Last Job 2 to my list of published books. And someday, I will get back onto my own projects.

I had said before that Lent Fridays are stressful and tense for me at my job. Now, we are not selling as many as we did in the past. But still, having people staring at me while I’m gathering hot food from a fryer, is not my ideal thing to do on a Friday night. I am still very stressed and will be until Lent is done. So to destress, I have been binging all kinds of nonsense on Netflix.

Still bum Netflix bowed out of the Warner Bros. deal. I was looking forward to seeing some DC and Looney Toones on Netflix. And Paramount of all studios have that library now . . . the world is getting smaller in the entertainment world. Interesting times ahead and not in a good way 🤨

Anyway, one thing I marathoned was the fifth season of “Stranger Things.” Great ending but it had been so long since I saw season 4, I was grateful for the recap in the beginning. And I am sure I missed some easter eggs but I still enjoyed the ride. And that ending was a bit much but as a tabletop guy, I appreciated the sentiment. And I watched all of it in a day, right to midnight . . . the night before a work day. Yeah, that was smart 💡

I have been enjoying this Korean Reality Show called “Single’s Inferno” and finished season 5. I have to say, watching pretty people being angsty like their teenagers from high school is pure vapid BS but it is amazing to watch. I appreciate the commentators having their jokes and laughs and serious moments of reflection as they watch these single people get together. They are by far the best part of the show to me. I look forward to season 6 and more fancy hotel rooms and food no average person in the world could afford.

And now for my second confession. I like to watch stuff that is aimed towards a younger audience. I love anime and pretty much anything animated. At breakfast time before work, I had gotten into the habit of having a kid’s show on in the background. And I will admit, some of these shows are very entertaining and well written.

One show that I finished was “Legos: Dreamzzz” and that show was a blast. I grew up with Legos and found the characters and their adventures charming as all heck. The dreamworld is filled with all kinds of creativity and fun locations. I have to say though, the Nightmare monsters are really laid back and tame. At least, compared to monsters from my dreams 😱 I will also give the show credit for being diverse, dabbling into Hispanic culture and even having a character with two moms.

My current watch before breakfast is the new “Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego ?” I grew up with the first animated show and the game show on PBS. I knew of this new remake show for a while but never gave it a chance until recently. And as a show for kids to teach them about geography and cultures, it is great. And the action is well animated and engaging. But I think the best thing about the show is the story. I have not finished it yet and I do not want to spoil much, but having Carmen as a heroic thief is a cool reimagining. And I am a sucker for creative villains and punny names. Which brings me to . . .

“Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug 🐞and Cat Noir 🐈‍⬛”

Yes dear reader, I watched this French animated kids show that has become a global sensation. And sober too. As someone who grew up with “Power Rangers”, this show is so damn fun. I cannot deny how silly and bare bones this show for kids can get. The writing can get cliche, repetitive and simple. But what draws me in and keeps me watching each episode are the villains. The main villain, Hawk Moth, sends out evil butterflies to possess people with negative emotions and turns them into super villains. His goal? To steal the magical items that give Ladybug and Cat Noir their powers.

And the names Hawk Moth gives his random minions 😄One example, he “evilizes” a Chinese Chef and gives him the name Kung Food. That is so silly it is hilarious. The first episode I watched had a friend of Cat Noir’s turn into a bubble making villain that Hawk Moth called The Bubbler. Yes, this show is concentrated silliness and it is wonderful. Honestly, for anyone interested in this show, young and old, what makes this show are the unique villains and the fun ways the heroes defeat them. There is nothing more or less to the show. There is kind of an overarching story but the majority of the episodes are pretty truncated. I recommend watching the two part prequel episodes that give context to the rest of the show. Which are not the first episodes and I am finding out Netflix does not have the show in its original aired order. The prequel episodes were actually the season finale when they first aired, LOLZ.

I genuinely wonder if people partake in substances when watching “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug 🐞and Cat Noir 🐈‍⬛”? And if you have by chance partaken in substances while watching “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug 🐞and Cat Noir 🐈‍⬛”, please comment. I would like to know how your experience went with “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug 🐞and Cat Noir 🐈‍⬛” while partaking in substances.

Anyway, Netflix is a dangerous chronophage. There is a new season of “Baki” and “Wednesday” that are calling out to me. Not to mention the fact that Netflix has all of the Bond movies, which I have been watching one by one. There is so much to watch and binge that eventually I have to cut myself off in order to be productive. But during the Lent season, I need some fun nonsense to keep me from going cuckoo bananas. And the weather is getting nicer, maybe consistent fresh air will do me some good.

Oh, I should mention this, I have pretty much lost interest in Colorify which I knew would happen. I got some good laughs making silly AI generated images. But the whole AI thing is more or less a novelty to me. I cannot see it replacing human beings completely, especially in the creative fields like art, music, and writing. I do have a few more images to share but I will save those for another Article. Actually, I was at a Shut-up and Write meeting and wrote commentary on those very images I have backlogged. I could add what I wrote to this update blog. But the nonsense I wrote during the meeting is over 3000 words, so that is best left as a separate blog.

Anything else to add? Oh, I bought a physical copy of—you know what? Best to save that for another day 😜

Good Luck and BUG OUT 🐞

—BUCK