I follow the non woke left on X and every now and again they retweet something from Dave Chappell or some comedian they happen to agree with(usually if they touch on the Gaza Strip). It’s often the said comedian/personality etc giving President Trump advice on how best to govern and what to do differently next time round. Their soliloquies often completely dismiss Trump as a leader and more importantly as a person. He’s just an object to be lectured at and to fulfil their wishes and desires. They clearly despise him. They undersell or understate his achievements and still believe in every other hoax.

I’m not an American but even I can feel bitterness encroaching on the edges of my heart. Like shadows creeping up along the edge of a forest before consuming it whole. Bitterness at the arrogance of said commentators/personalities. Bitterness at their wilful ignorance. Bitterness at them for attempting to rob Trump of his humanity. Sometimes I'm tempted to unfollow these accounts but I'm reminded that it gives me a perspective I don't have on many shared issues.

Image credit here.

There seems to be an eargeness amongst some in the populace to find an object to be subjected to their ire. A singular evil in which the warlocks of the interwebs can gather covens of similarly minded witches and vent out their frustrations on. Pinning all the worlds ills on their chosen voodoo doll. For the past 8 years or so their chosen voodoo doll has been one Donald J. Trump. Presently, this dishonour seems to be split between the president-elect and entrepreneur Elon Musk. While public figures should not be free from criticism, a lot of the criticism lobbed at these men reeks of infantility.

The slightest perceived infraction will feed online streams with rivers of commentary that ultimately denounce either of these men as one form of evil or another. The latest of these internet witch trials, convenved by the internet's Wizengamot is over Mr. Musk's gaming abilities. Some seem to believe that Mr. Musk is not as good as he claims to be or he has hired someone to game for him and keep him atop gaming leaderboards in Diablo IV and Path Of Exile. This purported great evil act has been used as a springboard for many to dive into an ocean of bile made up of their own vomit. Self-made internet psychiatrists have surmised that this purported fakery by Musk portends a great evil. To them it is proof positive of his machinations to "interfere" with foreign governments.

Allowing ourselves, for the briefest of moments, to partake in this banquet of hatred, does this trivial nonsense outweigh the complete and total exposure of British Elite in the rape gang scandal? Perhaps not being good at Path of Exile is of greater import than the courage to stand up to the tyranny of censorship? I would have thought these people pariahs but it turns out we are the exiles. Cast out from their ocean of self loathing onto the shores of sanity.

Image credits here.

I finally watched Batman V Superman(Ultimate edition). I think Snyder's greatest obstacle is that he misinterpreted the character. Perhaps he had wanted to subvert the audience's expectations with his rendition. Unfortunately, I don't think the material quite lands. A lot more questions are raised than Mr. Snyder cares to answer and this leaves one with the sense that the questions were either unintentional or inserted for the sake of creating an air mystery where none was needed.

Why is Wayne Manor abandoned? It is key to the mythos of the Batman character in nearly all interpretations of the character. Almost a character in itself. While Mr. Wayne and Alfred have always been criminals this has always been in reference to the law(breaking and entering, vigilantism, etc). Here it seems Bruce embraces criminality as a philosophy. Why is Batman afraid of Superman? In the source material he is afraid of Superman's power. He is not afraid of being killed by him. Bruce has always embraced his own mortality. His greatest fear is that he will fail Gotham and thus also fail his parents. When did Batman embrace live rounds in Mr. Snyder's rendition? In the source material when forced to use ammunition he uses rubber bullets. While being on the edge of becoming a murderer, Batman did not kill the Joker, Joker snapped his own neck to prove a point.

Additionally, I think Amy Adams' Lois Lane and Jessy Eisenberg's Lex Luthor were horribly miscast. Miss Adams' performance attempts to give gravitas to a role that doesn't have much. Eisenberg on the other hand is simply not Lex Luthor. The words coming out of his mouth are right but his mannerism and characterisation imply he is an imposter who has only read footnotes about Mr. Luthor. He lacks the flare, charisma and drive that the Luthor of old has.

While Mr. Snyder has injected some of his signature camera work into the final product, a lot of it seems devoid of meaning. Cool shots that portend to a deeper symbolism but lack the substance to support the portrait being painted. Preceding shots don't seem to lend themselves to any deeper visual story telling that would help decipher the symbolism of the cooler follow up shots thus they end up being all style and no substance. 

Image credits here.