I’d meant to kick off this year on Blam’s Blog with optimism by displaying the
soup can.
You may recall the concept if you’re a longtime reader. And if not, or really either
way, you can scroll back through its dozen or so appearances here — several of which mention its ancient origins via the eminent and prolific Mark Evanier. (I did swap in the bottle of Devil Tylenol from Hell that I cobbled together for a friend a couple of times, and the can also went up on a few occasions, transiently, in the sidebar.)
The idea is to exhibit said can when there will be little or no other content for a while. So why optimism? I’ll explain in my next post or perhaps the one after that.
I love music. A bold take, you must be thinking, made possible only by deep reserves of courage and conviction.
The problem is that, as I’ve mentioned here at least once before, I can’t easily read
or write or hold a conversation aloud if there’s chatter going on around me — other conversations, television, etc., sadly including music with lyrics — because my brain foregrounds all of it and I’m unable to focus on any one bit to the point of utter exhaustion.
I’d like to have ended the year with several posts on recommended viewing and
reading, but I should know by now that making plans is how you get the universe to laugh at you. Which actually isn’t a bad segue into talking about North of North.
The delightful series’ first season of eight half-hour episodes debuted in Canada last January and globally on Netflix in April. It’s happily been renewed for a second to bow in 2026. Pretty much every critical review or discussion I came across when it premiered all but apologized for pushing it, comparing its tone and/or environment to some of the brightest stars in the constellation of great television while cautioning that it was merely, to repeat my own self, delightful — and for those averse to the unfamiliar it might be a tough sell considering the only recognizable face in its cast for most viewers will be 24’s Mary Lynn Rajskub.
How I hadn’t come across “A Stranger Things Christmas” before this week, I’m not sure.
The video dates to 2016 but we’re in better late than never territory since the penultimate episodes of the series at hand drop today (and the grand finale on New Year’s Eve). While I’m unfamiliar with the work of co-creator Leigh Lahav, I look forward to exploring her channel further because this is absolutely perfect. [3:15]
Related: Happy Feet • Lead the Wild Rumpus, Stark • Coffee and Synchronicity
I realize we’re roughly mid-year between Passovers, but having spotted this amusing typo in a tech article on Apple News the other day I couldn’t rest until I was riffed out. Which did not take long, thankfully, so in a tie for the shortest of these lists ever you’re getting…
My Top Five Conjectures about Unknown Seders
