Ranking Streaming Services by How Much I Hate Them (2025 Edition)

 I made a post almost two years ago now where I ranked the major streaming services based on how much I hate them. It's actually changed a lot in just two years, not just my opinion, but prices and content have too. I thought it would be a good idea to check in on the services, see how much they cost now and how much they actually have to offer overall. 

Last time I did this, I found that owning all the major streaming services would cost around 64$ a month if you get the lowest tiers on all of them and about 106$ to get them all ad-free. Let's see how that's changed in two years.

Netflix - $8 lowest tier, $18-$25 for no ads and 4K support.

Hulu - $12 lower tier, $19 no ads

Disney+ - $12 lowest tier, $19 no ads (Hulu/HBO/Disney bundle 20$/33$)

Amazon - $9 lowest tier, $12 no ads

HBO Max - $11 lowest tier, $18.50-$23 for no ads

Peacock - $11 lowest tier, 17$ for no ads (Apple TV bundle $15/$20)

Paramount+ - $8 lowest tier, $13 for no ads (includes Showtime)

Apple TV+ - $13 (Peacock Bundle $15/$20)

That would be 65 dollars a month to get all of these in the lowest tier (if you use their bundle offers). Without the bundles, it's 84 dollars a month. I think it's fair to try to just get the bundle offer because it actually saves a lot of money there. It's actually only a dollar more than it was two years ago, thanks to those bundles.

On the no-ads side of things, you would be paying 96 dollars a month by using the bundles and 117 dollars without the bundles. It's actually 10 dollars less than two years ago with those bundles, so again, it's worth it to get those if you want all of these services. But this does not include the other, more niche services like Crunchyroll for anime or the new ESPN service that's about 30 dollars a month for sports. 

Well, with the prices out of the way, what do these services have to offer these days? I'll rank them here by how much I hate them.

Don't Hate? - Apple TV

This is still by far the best service for original content. Though that 3-dollar price increase honestly hurts it a lot, because Apple TV does not have the same content library that all the other services have. This service is strictly Apple TV exclusives and does not have any other movies or shows that aren't produced by Apple itself. While the shows they make are some of the best out there, their movies aren't as good, usually, and often fall flat (with the exception of the awesome F1 movie this summer). Apple is still producing some amazing shows, and it looks like they have plenty of great content coming in the next few years, so that's why I can't hate on this service too much, despite the gross price increase. 

Annoys Me - Netflix

It's funny, Netflix has grown on me a lot over the last two years, with some fantastic original content on top of the giant library of movies and shows they rotate every month. Again, the price increase sucks, but I can literally say that about every service on this list, so I can't really keep using that as a reason one service sucks more than the other. The thing about Netflix that always annoyed me was how they just spew out content on a weekly basis, and it's honestly more bad than good. Netflix was using quantity over quality in their content instead of actually making sure all the content was actually worth watching. This is still a problem, but one I've gotten better at ignoring since they actually do have really good originals in the last few years on top of the insane amount of choices for third-party movies and shows. That alone kind of makes this a must-have service. Though I have to deduct points for making me excited about The Electric State, only for it to be one of the biggest disappointments ever. 

Starting to Hate - HBO Max

A service that seems to keep getting more and more annoying is HBO Max. I mean, the new leadership and all the mergers have made this service a bit of a mess. Really, Warner Bros in general is a huge mess. There's still some fantastic shows on here, like the new Welcome to Derry and Peacemaker, but the HBO name just doesn't hold the same weight it used to. Still, it's nice to have the big Warner Bros library and all the new releases go from the theater to HBO Max in just a few months. 

Mild Hate - Amazon Prime Video

Here's a service that's been drying up on good original content for the last few years. Still got some decent shows like the recent Gen V season and the surprise hit Fallout show. Where they've been failing pretty hard these last two years is more on the movie side of things; there have been some stinkers. The recent War of the Worlds reboot was one of the worst movies I've seen in a while, and the new Chris Pratt movie called Mercy looks awful, too. But this service still has a solid collection of movies from other studios and that alone can make it worth keeping around (especially if it's included in your Amazon Prime account anyway). 

Don't Care Enough to Hate - Disney+

Ah, here's a service I barely use. Honestly, over the last two years, I feel like I've barely even wanted to get on this app because there's just not much here for me. I grow tired of all the Marvel and Star Wars shows being dumped onto this service every year, with not much else happening. I mean, the only reason to get this app is if you have kids or are obsessed with Disney properties, because it doesn't really have much else to offer. 

Shouldn't Hate, but I Do - Hulu

It's actually frustrating how bad Hulu is as an app, because they actually have some good original content. This is more about how bad their interface is and how bad it is to watch anything on this app. I have so many problems just launching the app, as it sometimes takes forever to log in and gets stuck on the home screen with a bunch of blank images where the shows/movies should be. That on top of having the most/longest ads of any streaming service, just makes me hate watching anything on this app. It suck because they actually have some great shows like Shogun, Paradise, Only Murders in the Building, and Alien Earth. So this has more to do with the actual app/interface than it does the content they put out, but it's incredibly annoying. 

You Are Boring, and I Hate You - Peacock

Outside of the Universal movie library, I feel like Peacock just doesn't have much to offer in original content. I mean, their most anticipated show of the year, The Paper, which was the big follow-up to The Office, was just fine. If your most hyped show ends up just being a very mediocre show, that's a problem. Outside of being able to watch new Universal movies a few months after they leave theaters, I don't know what else to really use this for. Even one of their big selling points, which was having a WWE partnership, is now over as ESPN took that from them. Though I will say they recently started streaming NBA games on Peacock, so maybe things can turn around. 

Oh, You Still Exist? - Paramount PLUS

Yeah, I don't use this service much. Honestly, the only reason I still use this app is to watch Champions League games, but other than that, there's not much else to see. None of their original content really calls out to me, especially since they are competing with the other 7 services and just don't have anything that looks that great. Something just seems to be lacking here; even with all the Paramount movies they have to watch, it still feels like the app needs more. It just feels like this is clearly the app that's in last place here, and they don't really have that one show that gets everyone talking. They are desperately missing a show like Stranger Things, The Boys, Shogun, Peacemaker, something that people are talking about and watching on a weekly basis together. Tulsa King just ain't gonna cut it. 

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Our President is Terrible (Part 3)

 It's been 6 whole months since my last post about the President... man, time goes by too fast. A lot has happened since then, so I thought it would be "fun" to see all the dumb things he's been doing in that time. It's a lot. Honestly, it's so much that even thinking about writing this has exhausted me. It's something I want to keep doing anyway, because I feel like it's important to not forget everything he's doing to this country and the people living in it. He does so many negative things, it's actually hard to remember everything. Anyway, here's what's been going on. 

Last time I wrote this, it was a bit profane. Okay, maybe more than a bit, but this time I'd like to try to keep it a bit more calm and collected. Don't want to seem like I'm just angrily posting, and let that take away from the seriousness of some of this stuff. But I guess sometimes you just have to laugh at the stupidity of this timeline. Not to say I won't make some jokes here and there, because some of this stuff is still so ridiculous, you can't help but make jokes. 

1. His "Friend" Charlie Kirk

Okay, I didn't really want to start off with the most serious one here, but since it's still recent and in everyone's minds, I guess it's a good idea to write about it. First things first, I don't believe in violence of any kind, and in fact, I really hate violence in general outside of fictional material. Look, this country has had problems with gun violence for decades now, and it doesn't seem like that's ever going to change because of the way the government always just tries to move on as quickly as possible from these types of tragedies. From back in the day with Columbine to more recently here with Kirk and the school shooting in Colorado, it just keeps happening. It's incredibly frustrating how nothing will ever be enough to actually see change in this country, and maybe actually try to fix a problem that seems never-ending. But I guess the idea of people not being able to have their precious guns is more important than kids dying or a husband being shot in front of his loved ones. It's a problem that goes back even before Trump, but of course, Trump has to put a new twist on it to make it somehow more frustrating. 

Trump wasted no time using Kirk's death as a reason to put the blame on the left and put even more tension between the two major parties. Even before we knew anything about the killer and any kind of motivation, he was already trying to blame the "radical left". In a very strange video, it looked like they used some AI filters on him while he spoke. It should've been a time where the President could have tried to bring people together and given a message about why political violence is wrong and why gun violence needs to stop, but instead, he used it to add to the tensions between the left and right. It's honestly scary to think about how this type of violence could escalate with the people in power using their words to blame instead of actually trying to solve anything. I mean, Trump is the last person who would actually try to make changes to fix this problem. Even more annoying was when he decided to use Kirk's memorial service as another chance to spew his hatred towards the "radical left." If Kirk was truly Trump's friend, he seems to be perfectly okay with using his friend's assassination as just another reason to make things worse for everyone. No lessons were learned yet again, and the country, no doubt, will keep seeing this type of violence for years to come.

There's also a whole thing here about how easy it was to be able to just watch a man die on video, which could lead to a whole topic about social media and how it's affecting us. That's way too much for me to get into, but it's just an interesting/scary part of all this. 

2. His Weird UN Speech

Trump's claim that he ended 7 wars in a recent UN speech was interesting. Interesting because I don't know where he's getting that number from. Most of the conflicts he was referring to either have not actually ended, did not actually need his help to end, or weren't even at war to begin with. Honestly, the best part of the whole event was Trump getting on an escalator, and it immediately stopped working. Dude probably needs to walk up some stairs for the sake of his health anyway. But, yeah, this was just another one of those Trump lies to try to make himself look a lot better than he actually is. It was embarrassing, and every other country must think we are a joke with this guy in charge. They would be correct. It doesn't help that his politics are actively pissing off a lot of our allies and important trade partners. His strange obsession with getting a Peace Prize probably just has to do with being jealous of all the other presidents that won one. 

3. He'll Just Send the National Guard

One of Trump's new obsessions is sending troops to American cities he doesn't like to "stop crime". This is combined with ICE going to different cities to round up all the "illegals". I honestly have no idea what he's even trying to do with this whole tactic because it doesn't seem like a good use of resources, on top of the fact that it's most likely not going to do much except annoy the citizens of whatever city he's sending the troops to. It feels like every idea this guy has is dumber than the last and it's just frustrating watching this guy pretend to actually be changing anything in this country for the better with all his stupid tactics and all the unqualified people he surrounds himself with just praising him because they want to keep their jobs. 

4. Free Speech?! No Thanks.

Something Trump has been trying to do recently is get all the late-night shows cancelled. Well, the ones that make fun of him and call him out on his terrible politics anyway. First it was Colbert and then it was Jimmy Kimmel, at least for a few days anyway. Look, I'm not a big fan of either of those guys, mostly because I just don't really care for the late-night talk show format. That being said, to cancel a show just because they are making fun of you is so lame and dangerous to our country. We should be allowed to criticize the President. It's something that's a big part of our culture and what makes America great. In other countries, criticizing the president or leader could get you off air, but in some cases, even worse things like jail time or execution aren't out of the question. It starts like this, with getting TV personalities off the air after they disagree with you. If that's allowed, it will escalate to much darker things, and that's something we just can't let happen. The last thing we need is every channel on TV to just praise Trump and be too afraid to call him out, or any leaders, not just him. We have to keep calling out Trump on his garbage politics; being silent just isn't an option anymore. That goes for all politicians; everyone needs to be held accountable for the choices they make that affect our lives here, especially when so many of us are struggling because of Trump's presidency. 

5. Destroying the White House 

Just recently, Trump started his project on the new ballroom that's going to replace the old East Wing of the White House. This is one of the dumber things he's done, but not exactly the worst, considering this might not exactly affect most Americans. Well, I guess it depends on where the money to build this is coming from, really. This whole thing is just another one of those Trump things where he's trying to take as much attention as possible in the news, probably as a distraction from the actual terrible things he's been doing. This is still so incredibly lame of him, as no one really wanted this outside of him, and he's not even going to be in the White House in about 3 years anyway. All the history of that building is gone now for some Trump vanity project, which will no doubt be covered in gold like everything he has built. Dude really thinks gold is the greatest design choice, because it represents wealth in the most obvious, boring way possible. 

6. 2020 Was Stolen, Seriously, He Never Lies

Something really annoying about Trump is how he just can't let go of his loss in the 2020 election. He will go to his grave lying about this and claiming that he actually won. Just the other day, he was crying about it and claiming there's no way Biden could have gotten as many votes as he did, even more than Obama in certain states. Dude, Biden beat you in almost every swing state, including Arizona, which everyone thought for sure Trump would win. Can't forget that this all led to the January 6 riots that should have eventually made it impossible for you to even run for president again. If you want to complain about cheaters and rigged elections, maybe look at your own presidency and how often you break the rules and get away with it. You should be in jail, yet you are the president instead. Trump is so obsessed with getting revenge on any person who's ever "wronged" him or called him out. Grow up. 

7. 230 Million Dollars? Sure, Why Not? 

Taking 230 million dollars from American taxpayers? Sounds like a joke, but apparently it's actually something that could happen after Trump demanded the money from the DoJ as money for the damages inflicted upon him during investigations into his estate. Obviously, this is just a disgusting move from a President who keeps somehow doing worse and worse things as the year goes on. The money would be coming from taxpayers if this does somehow happen, which just makes this so much more disgusting. I keep asking myself how things could get worse, and the answers just keep flying in every week. He stated that when he gets the money, he plans to donate all to charity anyway, but I'm sure it's not going to be that easy. I mean, even if he actually does donate it to a legit charity, he should never have had this money to begin with. 

8. Time Magazine Cover

The new Time magazine cover with Trump was revealed recently. I must admit, it brought a tear to my eye because of how hard I laughed. Trump looks like a turtle who was forced to wear a suit over his shell in the picture. The lighting also makes him look very bald, as it makes his bad haircut look almost invisible in the shining sun. Of course, he was very upset about a picture of himself, claiming he looked like an old man's ball sack in it. Okay, fine, he didn't actually say that, but it wouldn't be a bad comparison if he did. 

9. The Third Term

Trump is still playing around with the idea of running for a third term. He kind of plays it off as a joke, but you know deep down he's serious and really wants this to happen. It's a scary thought, and with how messed up everything is right now, part of me thinks it could happen. The reality is it can't and won't happen, and even Trump and all he's gotten away with could never get away with this one. Nobody wants this to happen, even a lot of his supporters, I think, don't like this idea. I guess maybe there's fear that JD Vance just won't cut it as a true replacement for Trump, as he's just not as liked and doesn't have the same loyalties as Trump. I wonder just how a man who's going to be in his 80s and looks like he isn't in the best health could even run another 4 years after these next 3 that he still has to finish. 

8. JD Vance's Racist "Kids"

A few weeks ago, a text chat filled with "young" Republicans was leaked. It was full of gross racism against pretty much all minorities and, of course, praise for Hitler on top of that. JD Vance quickly responded afterwards in an interview, trying to downplay it as just a bunch of kids joking around, and it shouldn't be taken seriously. I know kids can be edgy and annoying, usually more online, where they can hide their identities, but this is not that. One, it was a way more disgusting type of racism that just went way too far to be considered "joking around," and two... the people on the text chain weren't actually kids. No, they were in fact adults, many of whom are in positions of power in the Republican party, including a sitting state senator. Clearly, JD Vance is trying his best to lie and make it seem like it's not a problem, but if people in positions of power are talking the way these people text in private, then we have a clear problem here. Stop giving these racists positions of power. Have some consequences for people's actions for once. 

There are a lot of things I know I'm missing from the last 6 months, but it's honestly hard to keep up with them when something new happens every few days. I just want to remember these important moments because with how much is happening, a lot of these things will probably be forgotten, which is probably what he wants to happen. I mean, I didn't even mention the whole Epstein thing, mostly because it's so much that I can't even wrap my head around it. Again, probably what he wants most people to do is forget about that stuff. Anyway, Included some articles below if you want to read a little more about these things. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/world/trump-un-seven-wars.html

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-2020-election-defeat-rcna240257

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/jd-vance-dismisses-bipartisan-outrage-over-racist-and-offensive-young-republican-group-chat

https://time.com/7318661/jimmy-kimmel-cancelled-trump-fired-colbert/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-justice-dept-for-230-million-claims-past-criminal-cases/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/article/poll-americans-disapprove-of-trumps-white-house-ballroom-project--and-east-wing-demolition--by-a-more-than-2-to-1-margin-155640454.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2dnk0ee6pyo

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2025 Summer music: The Death of Pop

It's been over a year since I've made one of these posts where I listen to and review the top songs in the USA according to Billboard. Honestly, the main reason I haven't is cause a lot of the pop music trends of the last year have been so stale, and it just feels like pop music has been stuck in a standstill for ages now. It so desperately needs new blood to come and give it a big push this year, especially in the middle of the summer, where we usually get big pop hits to celebrate the season. This year, the big summer song is... Ordinary by Alex Warren? I guess I'll get to my feelings on that in a second, but first, I just want to point out that a lot of the hits in the top 10 aren't even from this year but from last year or older. One song in particular is from 2023 and has been on the charts for what feels like two years straight. Let's just get into this.

1. Alex Warren - Ordinary

So this is the big hit we get for 2025? A song that sounds like something that would have been a hit 14 years ago. The big hit song of the summer is a slow and boring song that sounds like it would've been outdated six years ago. We go from Sarbina Carpenter's "Espresso" last year to this boring ass song. It's times like these that I feel like I just don't understand what people are looking for in music these days. Do people just want the most generic thing possible? Is this because it's just an overused song on TikTok or because people actually like this? I just don't understand. Nothing about this sounds special or unique; it's not even that catchy. Can we just bring back Imagine Dragons instead? I know they get a lot of hate now, but at least their singer, Dan Reynolds, has a unique and passionate voice. Please, god, let this be a one-hit wonder. 

2. Morgan Wallen - What I Want w/ Tate McRae

I must admit I still haven't heard a single Tate McRae song in my life. Unfortunately, I HAVE heard plenty of Morgan Wallen songs in the last 5 years. Yeah, this song is somehow worse than a lot of his other recent hits. Again, Wallen returns to his lazy ass lyrics and boring production with the overused generic hip-hop beats over acoustic guitar to give it the slightest country sound. It's so damn boring and it just proves to me that Wallen couldn't care less about actually putting out anything that takes effort, knowing full well this trash is enough to get him hits now. Tate McRae is in this song too. That's about all I can say about her, as she provides nothing of note here.

3. Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild 

Why does the intro to this song sound like Chapell Roans' "Good Luck, Babe"? Couldn't wait a full year before ripping that song off? Yeah, this song sounds a lot like it's trying to be a Chapell Roan song with a Sabrina Carpenter chorus. Honestly, though, there are worse things to do than rip off Chapell Roan, and this song isn't terrible by any means. I mean, it's nowhere near as good as her last two mega hits in "Espresso" and "Please Please Please", but those are hard songs to live up to. It's just missing something, like maybe a better pre-chorus. The chorus itself is just fine, catchy enough on its own, but not enough to push this song into more than just okay. Pretty disappointing considering what she did just last year. Still a solid bop. 

4. Morgan Wallen - Just In Case

The second song on the list from Wallen. I didn't mention that these hits are from his new album "I'm the Problem" (how self-aware), which is yet another double album that clocks in just under two hours. This dude can't just release a 40-minute LP like a normal pop artist; every album has to be a 30+ song disaster. Well, "Just In Case" is at least a pretty short song, but that's really all the good things I have to say about it. It's certainly better than "What I Want" as the chorus is at least somewhat catchy. It still ends up being mostly boring as Morgan just can't seem to bring himself to ever sing with any kind of passion in these songs. GIVE ME SOMETHING! ANYTHING!

5. Morgan Wallen - I'm the Problem

One more Wallen song for the list, one more reason to hate the pop charts. Yeah, look, everything I said about the first two songs applies here for the most part. I will say this is the best song of the three I've had to listen to for this list. It's got some interesting guitar work at least, but it's held back by the typical boring Wallen lyrics. So, to sum up all my thoughts on the three Wallen songs on this list: He sucks and he brings nothing interesting to the music scene. A music scene that seems to really need a shot to the arm right now, but instead, half of the charts are full of old, tired songs and Wallen's tired schtick of bro country tunes. Go away. Makes me miss Jelly Roll. 

6. Kendrick Lamar - Luther w/ SZA

First hit that's from last year, but at least it's from late last year. I actually like this song quite a bit, but the team of Kendrick and SZA never really disappoints. Actually, this one is just pretty good. I can't say I loved it, but maybe it's because I expected more from two of the most consistently good artists in the scene right now. That being said, it's still easily the best song on this list here. 

7. Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)

I wasn't very kind to this song last year when I first reviewed it. Yeah, it's been on the charts that long. My opinion of this song made a full 360 over the last year. At one point, I actually started to enjoy it a bit, and it kinda grew on me. But now, back here a year later, I'm back to not liking it. I don't know, it's just kind of a boring song with a dumb gimmick sample. It's fun for a while, but it's not enough to go back to more than a few listens. Let it go. 

8. Lady Gaga - Die With a Smile w/ Bruno Mars

Lady Gaga released one of my favorite albums of the year a few months ago called "Mayhem". It's the best thing she's released since maybe her debut album. This song was the first single released almost a year ago, and it's been on the charts for pretty much that whole time. It's a good song, but honestly, it's one of my least favorite songs from the new album. Partly because it feels completely different than the rest of the album, which is full of energy and loud fun music that's perfect for Lady Gaga's style of singing. Having Bruno Mars as one of the few featured artists on the album also feels a bit out of place. I say that, but again, I do like this song. The vocals are beautifully done, and the melody is very memorable. But it really feels more like a Bruno Mars song than a Lady Gaga song, especially on this album. The song was also incredibly overplayed on social media, which got pretty tiring after a while. Anyway, go listen to "Mayhem" if you haven't. 

9. Teddy Swims - Lose Control

Feels like this song has been on the charts for the entire decade so far. That's probably because it's been on the charts for about two years now. Two years, and most of that has been on or near the top 10 of that list. You'd think with that kind of success, this song would be the greatest pop song of all time and not just a mediocre one. Yeah, no, it's not that good, and I didn't even really like it when it first came out. The vocals and production are very in-your-face, and the song just doesn't feel as amazing as it thinks it is. Maybe I'm just speaking ill of the song because of how long it's lingered in the mainstream and how sick of it I am. Seriously, please just go away already, it's been TWO YEARS!bi

LATE AUGUST UPDATE:

I ended up not posting this after I finished writing it because I may have forgotten to do it. But something funny ended up happening towards the end of August here as the charts are now being dominated by the K-POP Demon Hunters animated movie from Netflix. Yeah, who would have thought that K-POP once again would rise and save the charts? I can't say I love all the songs from the movie, but at least it's fun and catchy versus a lot of the boring ass music I just wrote about in this post. Well, thank the K-POP gods for that. 

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Best Songs of the 2020s (Half-Way Point)

 Already halfway through the 2020s, isn't that great?! I mean, I'm glad we made it passed those first few years of the decade, but maybe it's cool if it slows down a little bit now. Throughout the past 5 years, music has been seeing a shift, and it's not quite the one I was expecting, but... even so, there were a lot of great songs released. Some are groundbreaking and others are just perfecting an already existing sound. Tons of great artists grabbed my attention for the first time, while lots of already established artists released new projects that also caught my attention in good ways. I wanted to look back at those songs that I loved the last 5 years and give them a shoutout and hopefully get people to maybe give some new artists a shot, or go back and listen to some of these great songs and albums you've heard before. So here's my personal favorite 20 songs of the last 5 years! I'm going to try to somewhat put them in order from least favorite to most favorite, but it will be harder the closer to number one I get. Obviously, I haven't listened to every single album that's come out in the last five years, so if you see a great song missing, feel free to recommend it to me. It might have been on the verge of making the list, but I'm going to have to leave out some really good songs to make this list of 20... plus a few extra bonus mentions HERE WE GO!?

A few honorable mentions:

Chapell Roan - Pink Pony Club (2023)

It's Chappell Roan, it's the Pink Pony Club, what else needs to be said? 

MICHELLE - Akira (2024)

I discovered this album late in 2024, so I didn't get a lot of time with it before the year ended. It didn't take too long for the track "Akira" to become one of my favorite songs of 2024. It's one of those songs that grabs your attention from the first second with its interesting guitar intro, followed shortly by a busy bassline that really drives the song. That and the awesome vocals and signature catchy melodies by the band really make this one stand out.

Taylor Swift - August (2020)

Taylor's first new album of the decade, which would be the first of many. It still remains the best overall album by Taylor in my opinion, and most people would probably agree in saying that "August" is the standout track in this album. It's got the great lyrics you expect from Taylor, but it's got an interesting mix of sadness and hope in the music that makes it stand out. It also has one of the best bridges I can remember from a Taylor Swift song. 

Remi Wolf - Toro (2024)

Another one of my favorites from last year. I hadn't heard of Remi Wolf until this album was released, and I became a fan pretty fast after hearing a few of the singles from her last album. This song (Toro) in particular really stood out as a showcase for Remi's awesome vocals. That, on top of some awesome bass and guitar work, made this a song I played repeatedly a lot. 

Magdalena Bay - Killing Time (2024)

Notice a lot of songs from last year on the list. Mostly because I haven't had enough time with some of these songs to truly know if it's more recency bias or if they really do belong on the list. I think over time, these songs might have made the list, but it's hard to say with so many other good songs to have to replace. This song was another one I got to later in the year, but it also didn't take long for it to become one of my favorites of the year. 

20. Amyl and the Sniffers - Hertz (2021)

Australia's own Amyl and the Sniffers have become a big name in the punk scene this decade. Back in 2021, they released a fantastic punk album called "Comfort to Me" that was full of some awesome tracks. To me, "Hertz" has always stood out in that album with its iconic bass line and rowdy energy that's hard not to join in on. Amy's energy is felt through the vocals, and it feels like she's having a blast singing this song. I think that's what I like about the band the most, the big energy you feel from every song. 

19. Perfume Genius - On the Floor (2020)

Mike Hadreas found success after releasing his first album under the Perfume Genius name back in 2014. Since then, he's released lots of great music over the last 10 years. I think his best work came from the 2020 album Set My Heart On  Fire Immediately, specifically the song "On the Floor". Right away, it comes in with this fantastic guitar that plays throughout the song, giving the song a nice, bright sound in the background. Mike's vocals are, of course, fantastic too, but the lyrics convey a sick feeling you get when you want someone and they don't want you back. The ending of the song is so beautiful as the music slowly fades out into this interesting strings and vocals section, which really elevates the song from great to amazing. 

18. Jessie Ware - Begin Again (2023)

Jessie's 2023 album "That! Feels Good!" was my introduction to her music, and what an introduction it was. It ended up being one of my favorite albums of that year, and it's still an album I like going back to. The song "Begin Again" has this amazing big sound and feels completely different than anything I really heard back in 2023 and probably since then. Jessie's vocals are insanely good in this album, but this song really showcases her range. A song about the feeling of wanting to start over, begin anew, because you feel stuck in life or like you need something new to inspire you.  

17. Carly Rae Jepsen - Psychedelic Switch (2023)

One of the most beloved pop artists of modern music, Carly doesn't miss. Proving that by releasing two fantastic albums back to back years. This song (Psychedelic Switch) is one of the best songs she's released. It's got one of the best bass lines I've heard in a pop song, and it's got really great energy, almost impossible to not want to dance to this one. 

16. Vince Staples - Étouffée (2024)

One of the more recent songs on this list comes from Vince Staples' latest album, "Dark Times". One of the best albums of the decade so far, easily, but also has one of the best songs in "Etouffee." It's the best of Vince Staples with the lyricism and amazing beats and an earworm of a chorus. If you haven't heard the album, definitely go check it out, but yeah, it's just amazing. 

15. Fountaines D.C. - Jackie Down The Line (2022)

A band that really took off in the last few years to become one of the more popular rock bands around. Really, it seems like the rock scene is a lot stronger over in the UK and Ireland these days than it is over here, but maybe I've just missed more of the bands around here. In 2022 the band released the album that I think really put them on the map with "Skinty Fia", which is an old Irish saying that means "Damnation of the Deer". Now, what that means exactly, I haven't a clue, but hopefully I'll find some Irish lad to help me out there. "Jackie Down The Line" is a really great song, with lyrics that are about the Irish and British relationship and the identity of people from Dublin. I like the sound of the song, it feels really original for a modern rock song, and it's got this great repetitive riff that really drives the song along. 

14. Caroline Polachek - Bunny Is A Rider (2023)

One of the best pop artists of the decade dropped her best album yet in 2023. "Bunny is a Rider" is a song about being free and just doing life on your own time and having space. A chill song with a really cool bassline that's just fun to listen to over and over. It feels like a simple song, but it still has great production and, of course, great vocals. 

13. Hayley Williams - Why We Ever (2020)

Taking a break from Paramore after their 2017 album "After Laughter", Hayley spent some time releasing some solo albums. It ended up being better than I would have even hoped, especially her first solo album, "Petals for Armor". It was something completely different than Paramore, felt a lot darker and moodier at times than anything she'd done to this point. Either way, it worked well with her songwriting and vocals. "Why We Ever" is a song I frequently go back to because of its interesting lyrics and music. It's a song about losing your connection to somebody, maybe they hurt you, maybe you hurt them. Missing someone so much that you forget just why you lost the connection to them in the first place. 

12. The Japanese House - Sad To Breath (2023)

The Japanese House returned with only her second full-length album in 2023 after about 4 years since her first album. It was yet another hit for me as it was just as good as the first album. "Sad To Breath" is a sad song (title gives it away?) with a more hopeful sound than the lyrics give off. The song is about the struggles one feels after a relationship ends, feeling like you could have done something to save the relationship. I love how the song starts off with the slow piano and vocals and ramps up to a more upbeat pop sound after a minute. Hopefully, I won't have to wait another 4 years for another album? Please? 

11. Five Iron Frenzy - Lonesome For Her Heroes (2021)

Five Iron Frenzy released their second album since reuniting in 2013, after nearly a decade away from music. This time, they release what's probably their best album they've made up to this point, with some of the best music and lyrics. The album has a lot of songs that are calling out the state of our country and American Christianity, but my favorite is "Lonesome For Her Heroes". The song is about the band's hometown of Denver, Colorado, and how frustrated they are with the city's growing prices and heavy focus on consumerism and disregard for the environment. Even though it's about Denver, it's still relatable to me and probably a lot of people in the USA these days. 

10. Phoenix - Tonight (ft. Ezra Koenig) (2022)

Sometimes you just want to hear a fun song to put you in a better mood, and this song is what that is for me. A band that knows how to make catchy and danceable songs continued to make more of that in this new decade. Phoenix has been around since at least the year 2000, and they haven't stopped making great music in those 25 years. It's a fun song, but I think it might be one of those happy songs that is actually sad when you see the lyrics. I don't know, in a way, I think those are the best songs. 

9. Young The Giant - Otherside (2022)

Young The Giant released a 4-part album back in 2022 called "American Bollywood," and it ended up being the best album they've released since probably their second album. It was really cool to see after a somewhat disappointing album before this one. The album has a lot of sounds and lyrics that are rooted in India and its culture, like the lead singer. Those sounds mixed with the signature Young The Giant sound made for a fantastic album. "Otherside" is my favorite from the album, but it's hard to pick because I really enjoyed a lot of the tracks. The chorus in "Otherside" is so powerful that I ended up sticking with that one. The lyrics feel like a struggle with identity and the two sides of a person trying to find balance or peace to make the best version of themselves, or at least that's how I see it. It feels very emotional, and it always gets me right in the feels when I hear it. 

8. The Last Dinner Part - The Feminine Urge (2024)

This group really came out of nowhere in 2023, but man, that first single was amazing (the song Nothing Matters). I was completely excited to finally hear the full album in early 2024, and it did not disappoint. The album has this interesting, unique sound I'm not sure I've heard before. At times, it feels like a sadder album, but it has its moments of big, almost operatic sounds and epic choruses. I think the song "The Feminine Urge" has a good mix of those sadder and bigger moments, with its slower darker darker-sounding verses jumping into the big, catchy chorus. The song is meant to be about the generational trauma between the singer and her mother.

7. Bonny Light Horseman - 10,000 Miles (2020)

Bonny Light Horseman released their first album in January of 2020, very early into the start of the decade. Honestly, that album really helped get me through the first year of COVID. I probably listened to it a hundred times that first year. So many beautiful songs, but "10,000 Miles" is one of my favorite songs ever, really. I guess the only thing stopping it from being higher on this list is how it reminds me of that first year of COVID, pretty rough times. The duet vocals of Anais Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson are so amazing and just bring this nice calm over me with the slow music. 

6. Silk Sonic - Smoking Out The Window (2021)

The team-up between Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak led to one of the best albums of the last 5 years. It was a charisma overlord with both artists bringing out the best in each other with awesome throwback songs to 70s-80s  Soul, Funk, and R&B. "Smoking Out The Window" feels like a more comedic song about how the guys are in a relationship where they're spending tons of money on their girls and their kids. Ultimately, the relationship doesn't work out, so they are angry/sad about all the time that was wasted and having to be single again. It always makes me laugh when Paak says the line "not to be dramatic, but I wanna die". It's just a funny song with fantastic music and even better vocals. 

5. Paramore - Big Man, Little Dignity (2023)

Two years ago, Paramore made their big comeback after taking a break for about 5 years or so. While Hayley Williams released a few albums in that time, even made a song on this list back at number 13, I was still hoping the band would eventually return. They released "This Is Why" in 2023, and it was a completely different album than anything they'd done before. It felt like a good coming together of where they left off in 2017 and what Hayley was doing in her solo albums. "Big Man, Little Dignity" was a song I really got behind lyrically, as well as musically. It's just a song calling out all the men in the world who abuse their power and keep getting away with it. Hayley's frustrations about how she wants justice, but they keep getting away with it, are sad but relatable. 

4. GROUPTHERAPY - Nasty (2023)

One of the biggest surprises of 2023 was GROUPTHERAPY's album, released that year. It ended up as one of my favorites of that year. I hadn't heard of this rap group before then, but they won me over very fast with their great beats and lots of variety on the album. My favorite song on the album "Nasty" is a fun, upbeat song with fun lyrics and a great beat. Sad news about a year later when one of the three members decided to leave the group. They go by PARTYOF2 and I recommend giving them a listen if you haven't heard of them before this. The new single "Mad Love" is fantastic. 

3. The Weeknd - Out of Time (2022)

The genius of using a sample from "Midnight Pretenders" is still so amazing to me. If you haven't listened to Tomoko Aran's "Midnight Pretenders", please go do that at some point; it's one of the best 80s Japanese pop songs out there... really just go listen to City Pop in general. But to go back to The Weeknd's "Out of Time," I love the song past the sample, although that's what really carries the song. The melodies that that he adds on top of the samples are brilliant, and the chorus of "Out of Time" is so damn good. Also, Jim Carrey comes in for the outro of this song, and that's really cool. 

2. Sam Fender - Spit Of You (2021)

There aren't many songs that can completely blow me away in their opening seconds, but this is one of those songs. I mean, the intro to this song is so perfect with the guitar opening riff that sounds so perfect for a Sam Fender song. The lyrics are very relatable and emotional, as Sam talks about his relationship with his father. The song is about how both of them are pretty bad at expressing their emotions, especially to each other. Sam brings up the moment when he saw his dad cry for the first time at his grandma's funeral, and how it made him realize he'd be doing that to his own father someday. It's very powerful, and it's what Sam Fender does best: telling stories in his songs. 

1. Everything Everything - Pizza Boy (2022)

Everything Everything has released two albums in the decade so far, and both of them have been my favorites of the years they came out. The 2022 album Raw Data Feel was my introduction to this band, and I instantly fell in love with their music. I had a hard time picking which song would be on here, but ultimately I went with "Pizza Boy". Mostly because it was the song I think really hooked me on the band, but it's a song I haven't gotten tired of listening to after almost 3 years now. I could say that for most of the songs on that 2022 album, to be fair. The song Pizza Boy is about the act/dangers of buying products and consuming to fill empty voids in your life. Like being alone, but finding satisfaction in just constantly buying things and letting that alone keep you feeling alive. It's an interesting topic for sure, and the music is also done so well with the bass line and the clapping effects that come in at random times. The chorus brings in the heavier synth sounds that really bring the song to life. It's just all so amazing, and I love every second. 

Anyway, here's a playlist of a bunch of songs I considered for this list and all the ones that DID make the list as well. Have fun?!

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Reasons Our President is a Terrible Person PART 2

Just a few months ago (March), I made a post here with 45 reasons our President is a terrible person. Originally I called it 45 reasons he's a piece of shit but I wanted to title to not have curse words on it. In the last post, I talked about a lot of his terrible actions since becoming President again, with things like his weird relationship with Musk, his awful treatment of Zelensky, and his dumb tariffs. Just a few months have passed, and I already feel like there's enough bad to make another one of these. Not 45 reasons long this time, but more than enough to make a post about it for sure. 

1. Selling Tesla cars at the White House - Trump being a carny and selling Teslas at the White House after the Tesla stock plummeted because of Elon being a terrible, unlikable person. It's just so pathetic to see him awkwardly sell a car he probably couldn't care less about as he reads from a script and doesn't even pronounce the company name right. Just like when he sold Trump Bibles and his stupid shitcoin, it's all just bullshit from a President who has no shame. 

2/3. Selling Merch for 2028 Presidential Election - The official Trump merch store... actually, that existing is probably enough to get its own point. Anyway, this store started selling merch with the TRUMP 2028 words on it, because of course. Pay 50 dollars plus shipping for a basic ass hat with the same giant font that all his other hats have. Maybe get some pink ones for the women in your life you hope will lose all their rights. Excuse me while I delete my browser history after visiting that site. 

4. Birthday Parade - June 14th is the President's birthday, where he turns 79 and holy shit he's old. So he decided to throw a nice parade in honor of himself and the anniversary of the Army. Let's face it, if it wasn't on his birthday, he wouldn't have cared to throw a parade for the Army. So let's waste all the money and resources to throw a parade for a terrible human! This also happens to take place the same day as Warped Tour in DC, so hopefully Avril Lavigne will drown out most of the parade. 

5. Qatar - Just recently, Trump took a nice brib- I mean a gift from the country of Qatar. A 600 million dollar luxury jet, what a nice gift from Qatar for nothing in return. A plane he wanted to use as the new Air Force One, but he won't be able to until they turn it into a safe replacement. Most likely, he'll just use it as a private plane when he's no longer President, how convenient. Just what a rich guy needs is a free plane. This was so bad that even a lot of his defenders, like Ben Shapiro, thought this was a pretty gross move. 

6. Golf - Dude continues to golf too much. 

7. Tariffs PART TWO- So Trump has continued his obsession with Tariffs since my last post, really going even further into it with heavy Tariffs on China recently. There was also that hilarious moment where he created a holiday called Liberation Day and was showing all his planned Tariffs as the stock market sank at the same time. Even worse, he threw his Truth Social followers a wink-wink moment to buy stocks right before declaring a pause on his tariffs. Just totally normal shit that a normal not terrible human would do. 

8. Constitution, what's that?- Let's see what PRESIDENT Trump said when asked if he should uphold the Constitution. 

Interviewer: "... Do you (Trump) think you should uphold the Constitution of the United States?"

Trump: "I DON'T KNOW, BUT I HAVE BRILLIANT LAWYERS"

Interviewer probably: "How the fuck are you President right now?"

Okay, she didn't actually say that at the end, but she might as well have because Jesus Christ, what the hell is he doing? It's the easiest question you could ask a sitting President, and he answers with "I don't know". Remember that oath you took, dummy? Do you know what an oath is? It's like the one you gave to your wife when you married her... actually, no bad example, he broke that one. 

 9. Kilmar Abrego Garcia - Honestly, this one is probably worth like 30 points on its own, but here we go. Trump has had countless chances to bring back Abrego Garcia to the United States, the country that he is a citizen of. If you don't know for some reason, Abrego Garcia was sent to the notoriously bad prison in El Salvador when he was mistaken for a gang member because of his tattoos. Later, it was confirmed that his tattoos had no real connection with the gang he was accused of being a part of, but it's been brushed off by Trump and his goons, and he remained inside the prison. He wasn't the only one this happened to, just one of the first ones to become a big story. Later, in an interview, Trump claimed he had evidence that he had gang tattoos as he pulled out a picture of Abrego Garcia's knuckles and pointed to the tattoos that had the gang name. Turns out it was a clearly photoshopped picture, and Trump couldn't tell because he's old and out of touch. The interviewer tried to correct him multiple times, and he just brushed him off. Really, the main thing is him not even given due process and was just shipped out to prison without being able to defend himself or prove his innocence. 

10. El Salvador Prison - Since I just talked about it, that El Salvador prison they've been sending people to is notoriously terrible. Like the kind of place that is basically 24/7 torture to the inmates. The lights remain on at all times, they sleep on what looks like hard metal bunks with no mattress, and it seems like they're not given any clothes except underwear. They look like they barely have enough space in their cells with the number of people stuffed into each one, and only get an hour or probably less of time outside every day. 

11. Signal Gate - Well, I couldn't NOT bring this one up. Not that it was Trump himself who did this, but it was a person whom he chose to put in a high position, his name is Mike Waltz. It all led to an extremely embarrassing moment where the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was accidentally included in a private chat between Waltz and other important figures, where they talked about war plans against Yemen. Pete Hegseth was apparently the one who put out the plans on the chat, another one of Trump's buddies he brought in. It was all very stupid and showed how bad these people are at doing the most basic shit to make sure no one else is seeing this very private information. These are the guys in charge, god help us all. 

12. Alcatraz - For some stupid reason, Trump has now decided he wants to bring back Alcatraz as a legit prison. Probably watched the movie "Escape From Alcatraz" and thought it was a great idea to bring this back. Great movie and all, but the last thing you'd want to do after watching that movie is bring back Alcatraz. 

13. Cutting Funding of NPR and PBS - Fuck you for trying to take down PBS, like seriously, what are you even on at this point? Trump is actively trying to take down platforms that people use to learn things, because when people learn things, they become smart and smart people... don't like Trump. Now I don't know if this is actually going to happen, but the fact that he's even trying to do this is not good. Silencing (or trying to) any media outlet that you don't agree with your Presidential power is dangerous. I don't even think PBS is especially left-leaning in that case, so I'm not sure what he's on about here, trying to do this, but I think my point stands about Trump just trying to stop people from learning or having news sources that he specifically doesn't approve of. 

14. War on Peaceful Protests in Colleges - Trump seems to be going hard on his war with colleges and trying to take away their money if they have peaceful protests or are "too liberal," I guess. Sort of goes with the last point on Trump hating education. The point is that these students are having peaceful protests, and Trump wants to punish schools for it. But he also wants to allow religion (well, Christianity anyway) to be in schools. 

15. Trying to Destroy the Press - Pretty much just wanting questions directed at him from the press to be the most softball questions possible. It also helps when the questions are pretty much like: "Trump, you are doing a great job deporting every illegal that's in the USA, how are you so amazing?" and Trump will be like "OH great question, I like this guy, he's very smart." 

16. He's Fat - Being fat doesn't make you a terrible person or even a bad person at all. I just wanted to point it out for educational purposes. 

17. Bitching out Celebs - I don't know a single other President in recent history who took celebs speaking out against him so personal. His weird war with Taylor Swift after she stood by Harris last year, and now recently with Springsteen. Clearly, he cares what these people think, because he gets so bent out of shape about it. Really, anyone who speaks out against him is his enemy, and he really wants to somehow get rid of anyone who speaks out against him. If I mysteriously disappear in the next few weeks after posting this, you know why. (I say this like this has any chance of reaching him)

18. USA taking the Gaza Strip - I think he mentioned something like this in January, but recently he doubled down on it, saying he wants to make it a "Freedom Zone", whatever the hell that is. I guess I'd imagine his idea of freedom is getting rid of everyone there and moving them to some other country. 

19. Ruining the World Cup (probably) - I'm incredibly excited for the World Cup next year, because it's the best sporting event in the world and it's always tons of fun... well, maybe not as fun anymore. Besides the USA national team being somehow worse than usual recently, there's the Trump of it all and how he's ruined relationships with so many countries around the world. People are afraid to come here now because of how immigrants are being treated. It didn't help that JD Vance made a joke about deporting all the visitors coming to see the games. Like, why make such a stupid joke, and why do you think it's even funny at all to mess with people in that way? Nobody likes JD Vance anyway, but dude is such an unlikable prick since becoming Trump's cheerleader. I kind of hope nobody shows up to the games just to show them a message about the state of this place. 

20. Kristi Noem - Just... ugh. 

Well, that's it for now. As you can see, things are only getting better, and we're only like 4 months into this term. God help us all. But not the version of God that apparently chose Trump to be president. Anyway, below are some articles about some of the points I put on this list if you want to read up. Stay safe and keep fighting. 

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/17/g-s1-54206/el-salvador-mega-prison-cecot

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-mike-waltz-quits-nsa-head-what-is-signal-gate-scandal-that-prompted-nsa-head-mike-waltz-to-quit-white-house-post-explained/articleshow/120798910.cms?from=mdr

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-directing-federal-funding-cuts-to-pbs-and-npr

https://apnews.com/article/poll-college-trump-harvard-higher-education-109dae2e19d5fe570a7c02e105bab6e6

https://time.com/7285602/trump-plans-for-gaza-freedom-zone/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelabramwell/jd-vance-disturbing-joke-about-world-cup-deportations

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/05/19/trump-wants-investigation-into-springsteen-and-beyonces-endorsement-of-harris/

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/09/first-chinese-goods-145percent-plus-tariffs-arriving-us-ports.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-question-trump-claiming-asked-duty-uphold-constitution/story?id=121473077

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/media/maga-media-shapiro-loomer-levin-trump-qatar-plane-gift

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kilmar-abrego-garcia-deported-el-salvador-trump-immigration-what-know-rcna201708

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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones REWATCH/REVIEW

Last year, I rewatched and reviewed 1999's Phantom Menace in honor of its anniversary rerelease. I ended up having a good amount of fun reliving that first movie after not watching it for years, so I decided to revisit the sequel. Still have a few years before the 25th anniversary of Attack of the Clones, but I really don't feel like waiting years to do this rewatch, so I'm just doing it now. Also, it will get me ready to do the rewatch and review of Revenge of the Sith, which has its 20th anniversary in May this year... that actually hurt to type.  Much like the Episode I rewatch, I haven't seen this one in years, so I am going in pretty fresh and hopefully go in with a more positive outlook. I remember always liking this movie a decent amount more than Phantom Menace, but I guess I'll see if that's still true.

The movie kicks off 10 years after Phantom Menace as the Republic continues the struggle to keep peace in the galaxy and the Jedi struggle to keep up with all the conflicts. A new foe named Count Dooku is leading the separatist movement; he was a former Jedi who left the order. Padme returns to the story, this time as a senator of Naboo who is trying to keep the peace in the galaxy. As soon as the movie starts, Padme is almost assassinated by a bomb on her ship, but she is spared as her decoy is killed instead. This sets up the rest of the movie for her as she's constantly in need of protection from these attempts on her life. Enter Obi-Wan and Anakin, who haven't seen Padme in a decade but agree to protect her. Right away, one of the biggest problems in this movie presents itself here. 

One of the main focuses of this story is the romance between Anakin and Padme. In the first movie, Padme was a lot older than Anakin, and their relationship in that movie felt more like big sister and little brother. This time around, Anakin immediately starts flirting with her as soon as he sees her. It's kind of a nice moment to see Anakin super nervous to see her again after 10 years, like his crush on her never went away after a decade. That goes from cute to creepy faster than you'd expect as Anakin's crush on Padme starts to feel inappropriate. One of the main problems with their romance in this movie is that Anakin spends A LOT of his time with Padme crying and complaining about the Jedi and how they keep holding him back. I'll get to this more later as they spend more time together, but right away, you see Padme's not super into Anakin's constant whining and creepy flirting. 

The next scene is the first big action sequence, where Obi-Wan and Anakin are chasing an assassin. After using Padme as bait, they are able to find one of the assassins, but she gets away, and they are forced to chase her across the city in a flying car. We get to see a little more of Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship here as they constantly bicker at each other, and Obi-Wan complains about Anakin's style of flying and recklessness. I mentioned in my last review how I felt it was a missed opportunity that Obi-Wan and Anakin barely interacted in the first movie. Here, they do get split up pretty early in the movie, so yet again, we don't get to see them together much, but this is done to further the romance between Ani and Padme. It makes sense for that, but it's yet again another movie where we don't get to see Obi-Wan and Anakin's friendship. It would have made the third movie even more impactful if they had an established friendship in the first two movies and weren't just bickering at each other for most of this movie. 

Obi-Wan eventually ends up going into a club/bar in town to chase the assassin, and this leads to the greatest scene in Star Wars history. 

"You wanna buy some death sticks?"

"You don't want to sell me death sticks."

"I don't want to sell you death sticks."

"You want to go home and rethink your life."

"I want to go home and rethink my life."

Pure genius. George Lucas, you've done it again. 

The next couple of scenes are just the characters talking and building to the next part of the movie where Obi-Wan searches for the bounty hunter who tried to kill Padme while Anakin and Padme go into hiding. It's here that I noticed how much CGI is used in this movie, even when compared to the last one. Seems like most scenes are filmed on a green screen and feature the characters walking and talking in CGI rooms. It's actually more distracting than I would have thought, especially with how dated a lot of the effects look. I praised Yoda's effects in the last movie, but it was only because compared to the original puppet they used, the CGI version was much better. Seeing him more in this movie, it really stands out how outdated the effects are, but I think at the time this was some of the best effects you could get so it's understandable. Maybe watching it on a remastered Blu-ray also makes the outdated parts stand out more too. Really should have brought out the CRTV for this one. 

I'm going to split the Anakin/Padme and Obi-Wan stories and talk about them each one at a time. Starting with the Anakin/Padme storyline since it's a little slower and more about the romance between the two characters.  I mentioned before how the romance between the two characters isn't very convincing, and the middle part of the movie where they spend a lot of alone time is the main reason why. Anakin is presented as an emotional, naive, and impatient man. He's constantly complaining about being held back from his true potential and he doesn't hide the fact that he has feelings for Padme, despite the fact that it's forbidden for him to be with her. Yoda and the Jedi council deciding to put them alone together was stupid unless Yoda knew what would happen and was cool with it. Anakin continues complaining to Padme about his Jedi training and he often makes her uncomfortable with his flirting and he even argues with her in front of her peers. At the end of the day though, these are two young attractive people spending all their time together on a beautiful planet so I guess it's not too strange that they still end up in a romance. After Anakin has a nightmare about his mother, he decides to take Padme to visit his home planet and check in on her. 

The romance here takes a break as Anakin visits his mother's new home only to learn that she's been taken by raiders. The family had given up hope of her return and presumed her to be dead, but Anakin still feels like she's out there and needs his help. This leads to one of the more important scenes in the movie where we see Anakin finally lose control of his emotions. After finding his mother right as she's dying he loses all control and slaughters an entire village of Tuskens. It's clear that this scene is supposed to be one of the main catalysts of Anakin's eventual turn to the dark side. I guess in that sense it works, though it still makes no sense why the Jedi continue to train him after this, despite Yoda knowing how much of a risk Anakin is becoming. It's also strange that Padme continues her romance with Anakin after his scary rant about how he enjoyed killing all the Tuskens, including the women and children. Nothing says husband material like a man talking about how much he enjoyed killing a whole village. Are there no other men in the universe who are a little more... not crazy? Is therapy not a thing in this universe? We can create a clone army, but we haven't discovered the concept of therapy yet. Joking aside, I will say I did enjoy Hayden's acting here. I haven't really talked about Hayden Christensen much actually, and how much hate he got for these movies. Maybe not as bad as Jake Lloyd from the first movie, although he was worse cause he was just a child and is still new to acting, at least Hayden is a grown man. That being said, I think Hayden did a good job and was mostly held back by the awkward romance writing and direction. I mean that's what made a lot of great actors in this trilogy look bad, the bad writing and directing when it came to dialogue. Not saying that Hayden couldn't have done better, but that it was far from his fault in my opinion. Although the other movies I saw him in after this weren't great either so... maybe it's a bit of both. Sorry, Hayden. I was still very happy to see him in the role again in the Obi-Wan show (one of the few good moments in that show). 

Obi-Wan's story is all about him tracking down the bounty hunter who's trying to kill Padme. It's mildly interesting as it leads to Obi-Wan finding a planet that's been deleted from the Jedi archives. This leads to one of the more important reveals in the Star Wars movies, the clone army. For some reason, I thought it was Qui-Gon who was the one who set the cloning army plan in motion, but I guess it was actually a Jedi named Sifo-Dyas whose not really known at this point in the Star Wars movies. Actually, I don't think he's really mentioned again after this movie. He only appears in the Clone Wars cartoon show a few times, but that's about it outside of maybe books and comics. The introduction of the Fetts is kind of interesting, although seeing Boba Fett as a child doesn't really add to his character from the original trilogy, although it's interesting to know his dad was the template for all the clones. Jango Fett felt like a missed opportunity as he really didn't do much outside of just helping make the clones. He has an awesome suit though. It reminds me of Darth Maul from the last movie, a villain who could have done a lot more before getting killed rather quickly. I think it's one of those things where we didn't really need to see Boba Fett in these movies, but for whatever reason Lucas thought it would be a cool fanservice moment. If he really wanted to please the fans we could have gotten more Darth Maul. 

I also forgot to mention Dexter Jettster. And now I have. 

The two stories come together on the planet Geonosis, a very ugly red planet that looks like Kissimmee on Mars, no offense to Mars. Obi-Wan has been captured by Count Dooku and Anakin and Padme must rescue him by going against the Jedi Council's orders. Something Anakin has no real issue with. This leads to a pretty fun scene where Anakin and Padme are on a droid conveyor belt trying not to be killed by the machines and the local Geonosians. Geonosians are these giant bug-like people with the ability to fly with their dragonfly-like wings. It's understandable why Anakin would want to kill them, but really they were clearly trying to help him off the machinery and he reacted poorly. C-3PO and R2D2 join in the fun as comic reliefs during this whole sequence, and it's kinda alright. The continued tradition from the original trilogy of 3PO getting himself into trouble until R2 saves him continues. I will say seeing 3PO forced to shoot at his friends was pretty funny. At some point, Padme falls into a giant pot that reminds me of a Mofongo mortar so that was cool.

After all the hijinks in the droid factory, we get the epic battle where Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan fight in the Coliseum against three cool-looking monsters. I guess epic was too strong a word, but it is an entertaining sequence where we finally get to see Anakin and Obi-Wan fight together again for a bit. This eventually leads to the Jedi reinforcements arriving and a full-on battle against the droids/monsters happening. Unfortunately, we also get to see Jango Fett get embarrassed by Mace Windo, as he barely struggles to pop his head off with his purple lightsaber. After the Jedi are eventually outnumbered by the Droid army, Yoda shows up at the last second with the clone army from earlier in the movie now ready to fight back... and thus begins the Clone Wars TM. The idea of the Clone Wars was cool, but really ended up not being much of anything in the movies, but at least we got the animated show that was loved by many fans. This whole Geonisis part of the movie is very enjoyable, despite some of its flaws at least it's fun action. All this is setting up the final battle of the movie where Anakin and Obi-Wan battle the Sith Count Dooku. 

It is interesting to see how powerful a Sith can truly be when seeing Count Dooku fight two Jedis and eventually even get the better of Yoda himself. Seeing that Anakin is not quite on the level of all of his peers, but knowing he eventually becomes the most powerful Sith in the galaxy is interesting. Despite not being on that level yet, he keeps up with one of the strongest Sith for a decent amount of time, showing just how much potential he has even without being a Jedi Master. But after losing we finally get to see Yoda battle for the first time in the Star Wars movies. It was... weird? I always find it a little funny to see Yoda bouncing off the walls and doing 360 spins with a lightsaber even though he looks so old and walks with a cane most of the time. Weird dude. So, much like the second movie in the original trilogy (Empire Strikes Back) this one ends with the good guys losing a big fight and Anakin losing a hand like his son. Padme and Anakin get married in secret and probably break a bunch of other Jedi rules that night. Yoda's gonna be sensing a lot of disturbances in the force if you catch my drift. 

I had a good time watching this movie again after many years, but it's still a very flawed movie. The romantic parts of the film aren't great and yet again we split up Obi-Wan and Anakin for most of the movie. The movie has its first tease at Anakin's dark side turn, but by the end of the movie it seems like it's all forgotten and moved past. In a few months, I'll be watching Episode III for the 20th anniversary and will probably drop another long-ass review. Many people still love episode III, even a lot of people who dislike the first two episodes. It'll be interesting to see what's changed since the last time I saw it in terms of my opinion on it. Until then, go force choke yourself. I mean, may the force be with you. 

Final grade: 3/5 Death Sticks

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45 Reasons Our President is a Terrible Person

 The past month and a half have felt like a lifetime here in the US of A. It's honestly exhausting being here in this country right now with what feels like an infinite amount of news headlines about how our president is fucking our shit up here. I've honestly never felt this ashamed to be a citizen of this country and also never felt this hopeless about how far things can fall. Being tired of just kind of ranting to myself all the time about how things are going, I decided to try to put some of my feelings to words on this here blog to maybe help myself feel slightly better. Also, to try and maybe show other people who maybe don't pay too much attention to politics or the history of Trump why he's such a terrible person. Some of these reasons will be more serious than others. Also, some might require a bit of explaining, while others are just pretty straightforward. Anyway, here are 45 reasons why our president is a piece of shit. 

1. January 6th

The day Trump, in my eyes, became a traitor to this country and should have been put behind bars. Well, he probably should have been behind bars before this for other reasons, I guess, but this one was the one that truly should have stopped any future presidential campaign. It's amazingly stupid how he got no punishment for this.

2. Pardoning the Jan 6th insurrectionists

Because it wasn't bad enough he got away with it. Everyone else who was involved in this also gets a pass from any punishment. That includes the ones who were actually violent and harmed the police officers who tried to stop them from entering the building. When you betray your country and attack the capitol and get pardoned, that makes you think that maybe these actions against your political enemies don't have true consequences, and that's pretty scary. 

3-4. He's also a convicted criminal you know, and possibly paid to sleep with a porn star (while married)

The first president to be convicted of felony crimes. Found guilty on 34 charges for influencing the 2016 election with hush money. He tried to hide the fact that he slept with a porn star from voters. I guess I should add that he paid to do that. 

5. Canada as a 51st State

Just Trump trying to piss off our closest ally by threatening to make them a US state. 

6. Canada tariffs

Just further pissing off Canada by putting tariffs on goods. Then, backing down. Then putting tariffs again. Backing down again. Then, starting again? What? I don't know anymore.

7. Really just tariffs in general

For whatever reason Trump is obsessed with giving everyone tariffs, and so far, it hasn't gone well. Stock Market looks terrible, prices going up, and allies are pissed at us. Cool. 

8. Ukraine

Just recently, Trump had an interview with President Zelensky where he acted like a baby, along with idiot VP JD Vance getting annoyed at Zelensky for not saying thank you to the USA. It was hard to watch and it made Trump look like an idiot along with all his goons in the room. He also called Zelensky a dictator recently. You know, the guy who got elected in 2019 and hasn't been able to have an election because of war. But not the guy over in Russia though, right? 

9. JD Vance

I just mentioned JD Vance so I figured I'd put him on the list too. Just a weird weird boy who tries really really hard to seem tough and smart. He was really unpopular last year when he was chosen as the VP. Said some really stupid things about women and everyone made fun of him for having sex with couches... allegedly. 

10-19. Elon Musk

Yes, Musk deserves to be counted for at least 10 reasons why Trump is a piece of shit. Trump bringing him on and giving him all this power is one of the worst things he's done as president. Just to show you where Trump's head is at, he had three of the richest men who control Amazon, Twitter, and Meta/Facebook at his inauguration. These are his people. 

BUT Elon is the worst of them because not only is he the richest person, but also the one Trump is letting run a lot of things. The whole Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE sigh) has been just a complete mess so far that's hurt a lot of people and will probably hurt more. He even hired a bunch of young employees, some of whom had some pretty sketchy pasts. One of them had a tweet in the past that said "normalize Indian hate" and another one was suspected of leaking information at a previous job. These are the kind of people working with very sensitive information, huh? OUR sensitive information.  

Can't forget that Elon did a heil sieg on stage twice back in January. Thankfully, this seems to have led to his company, Tesla, losing a ton of sales, especially overseas. Elon has promoted a lot of traditional ideas on his Twitter page, often speaking about the importance of families being a husband and wife with kids. Very traditional sort of family values. Meanwhile, the guy has 14 kids himself and is unmarried. 

20. DEI

Trump sure hates DEI. Thinks it's one of the things ruining the USA because he hates when people get jobs because of diversity and not "merit". He says this while putting a bunch of people in charge who don't really have any or little experience in the positions he's putting them in. Like recently picking his close friend Linda McMahon to be in charge of Education, who has little experience working in that field. The same goes for Trump putting Pete Hegseth in the Department of Defense. It wasn't so much about "merit" there, but more about putting people you know will be loyal to you and your bullshit. Trump himself got tons of positions and opportunities because of his family wealth and not because of "merit". 

21. Golf

Dude just golfs too much. 

22. Selling his dumbass merch

One of the annoying things Trump loves to do is sell overpriced merchandise with his name or face on it. When your ego is bigger than your brain, this makes sense. But as a president now it just feels so stupid to see him selling guitars and Bibles. You know, that book he's totally read before. The book he awkwardly posed with when he was president the first time while the country rioted for George Floyd. The book that he is never able to name a favorite verse from. That book. And on that note...

23. Using Christianity

One of the things that always annoys/confuses me the most about Trump is his ties to Christianity. As someone who grew up in that scene (not really in it anymore), it always confused me why the church in the USA seems to think this guy is God's choice and some kind of Christian hero. I know Christianity has always favored Republicans in the USA because the morals of that party align more with Christianity. But to me, Trump always felt like the antithesis of what Christianity is supposed to stand for. I mean, selling Bibles for 100$ because it has your name on them is pretty shady stuff.  

There was also that whole debacle where a Bishop pleaded with Trump to have mercy on immigrants and trans people, and he took it in the worst way possible as his goons demanded an apology from her. In what ways is Trump anything like what God calls his followers to be like? When does he ever show empathy for the misfortunate? When does he ever act humble? As I mentioned before, he took pictures holding the Bible, and he may have had a hand in clearing out peaceful protesters with force to get this picture. It's all about the image he's trying to create to make the Christians in this country think he's one of them. I can't just blame Trump here; there are so many people in the USA using Christianity as a way to profit and buy jets and mansions that it's not just a Trump problem. It's just frustrating how the people being used can't see them for what they are. 

24. Nazis/KKK/Proud Boys

Besides the Elon Musk salute, it's been known how much the Nazis and other hate groups around the USA support Trump. Sure, he's never outright stood by them in support himself, but he's also had multiple chances to denounce them and their ways, and he always finds a way to avoid doing so. There's a reason why these groups are out there marching and showing themselves more, and it's because they feel more comfortable now that Trump is back. "There's very fine people on both sides" and "stand back and stand by". 

25. Guantanamo Bay

Trump's idea of making one of the most notorious prisons in the world a place to send illegal immigrants is just bad. 

26. Getting rid of birthright citizenship

It didn't happen, but he sure as hell tried. 

27. Saying Kamala Harris wasn't black

One of the weirder parts of the campaign last year was Trump doing an interview at a convention for Black Journalists. During the interview, he claimed that Harris wasn't Black until recently and that she was always Indian but decided to turn Black for the campaign. It made no sense and made him look like an idiot. 

28-30. USA owning Gaza, Greenland, and the Panama Canal

About a month ago, Trump proposed the idea of the USA taking over the Gaza Strip and relocating all the Palestinians to other countries. Just another territory Trump wants to claim along with Greenland and the Panama Canal. Greenland has already stated that it wants no part of the USA. Trump seems to have this obsession with claiming these territories, maybe as a way to make a name for himself or because he's just a piece of shit. I think it's both things. 

31. Gulf of America

I mean, come on.

32. He's ugly

Being ugly doesn't make you a piece of shit, but I just wanted to point out that on top of being a piece of shit, he is also ugly. 

33. USAID

Trump and Elon have pretty much wanted to target USAID since they got into office again this year. Putting a 90-day work freeze on USAID to begin with and probably going to do more cuts to it. Tons of USAID workers who were overseas were forced to come back and leave their posts. This could and probably will hurt a lot of people overseas and in countries where USAID was helping with disease prevention and other foreign aid. 

34. Getting rid of Roe v. Wade

This one was a disaster. But it was Trump's takeover of the Supreme Court that led to this happening amongst other really stupid things. Even if it happened while someone else was in office, he still likes to take credit for it... well, it was his choices while he was president that ultimately led to this happening. 

35. Threats to cut funding to schools that allow protests

So now schools that have peaceful protests could be in danger of losing federal funding, and any protesters could be deported or imprisoned. I'm assuming it's only if you protest something he doesn't agree with? For someone who claims to love freedom of speech, this seems like the opposite of that. 

36. Hulk Hogan

This one is a bit more personal to me, but ew, Hulk Hogan. I find it pretty interesting how celebrities who are found out to be pieces of shit and lose a lot of their fans seem to love to turn to the MAGA world to find a new audience. It's almost like those kinds of people are willing to put up with past racist behavior more easily? Interesting.

37-38. NATO & Putin

Recently, Trump's favorite son, Musk has been calling for the USA to exit NATO. Trump himself has been calling out Ukraine's President Zelensky a lot recently (as I mentioned before) and even called him a dictator. Not sure what Trump is even going for these days, it seems like he's just trying to piss everyone off at this point. At a UN meeting last month, Trump even sided with Russia as he refused to agree with the statement that Moscow was the aggressor in the ongoing war. Ultimately I have no idea where Trump's real alligance lies, but I don't like what he's doing here. 

39. Withdrawing from the World Health Organization

One of his first acts as President (again) was to remove the USA from the World Health Organization. I assume it was to save money because the USA is one of the biggest contributors, or maybe it's because Trump doesn't really get what the WHO even is? I mean it's like he already forgot what a huge mess COVID-19 was the last time he was President. 

40. COVID

I'm trying to focus more on things he's done more recently, but since I just brought it up, it's worth putting it here. He fumbled the COVID response here in the USA hard and, if done better, could have saved lives. Trump loved to call it the "China virus" because he wanted all the blame to fall on them. Also, it was a big deal to the MAGA people to not wear masks because of freedom or something stupid like that. His not correcting that behavior no doubt cost a lot of his followers their lives, along with a lot of them not wanting to get vaccinated. 

41. He never stopped claiming the 2020 election was stolen

At least until now when he became President again and it doesn't matter anymore. I remember during the election last year he still wouldn't give a clear answer on his stance and even JD Vance was too afraid to tell the truth because it would piss Trump and his fanatics off. 

42. He wants to abolish the Department of Education

It's bad enough that he brought in Linda McMahon of all people to run education, but apparently he wants to abolish the DoE as a whole. There was that whole Critical Race Theory debacle where it seems like all the MAGA people thought it was ruining their kids. I don't know if he's doing it for that reason or just another way to save money, but it's not good. 

43. He served McDonalds to the visiting championship college team

Okay, this is honestly pretty funny looking back at it, but still really stupid. On the list of awful things he's done this is far from the worst, but his obsession with giving everyone McDonald's is pretty weird. Lots of teams at this point decline the traditional White House visit after winning a championship. The Eagles just declined it recently after winning the Super Bowl, and honestly good for them. 

44. TRUMP COIN

Of course Trump had to get in on the meme coin trend and just like most of them it lost a lot of people money. What kind of President releases a meme coin? The grifter kind. 

45. Hurricane Maria

This one always pisses me off personally, but his horrificly slow response to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was insane. The viral moment of him throwing a roll of paper towels into a crowd will live on in infamy in Puerto Rico forever. There's no doubt he cost lives because of this and it could have been different if he actually gave a shit.

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UPDATE LATE MARCH 2025

It's so annoying how much more stupid shit has happened since I posted this. Like I could literally make another list of 45 things just with things he did after I posted this originally. But here's some more to add to the list because 2025 sucks.

46. The El Salvador Jail

This was a whole mess and it only keeps getting worse. Originally, Trump wanted to target Venezuelan gang members who were in the USA and deport them out of the country. The plan was to now send them to a jail in El Salvador as they struck a deal with them to hold around 300 prisoners from the USA there. It ended up being a huge fiasco when a federal Judge (Boasberg) asked that the prisoners be kept in the country but was told the planes had already left and it was too late to bring them back. Now those people who were deported are in a notorious jail that treats its prisoners about as awful as you could get away with. There was even a story that one of the men sent to that prison was a soccer player with Real Madrid tattoos who was confused for a gang member. But really the point is all these people were thrown into jail without due process and that's a very scary thing for anyone in this country who came to live here from another part of the world. Imagine being put into jail and not having a single chance to prove your innocence, that's what this is. 

47. Tesla Sales and Favoritism

In one of the most bizarre and stupid moments of the year so far, we got to see Trump doing an ad read for Tesla cars at the White House. Then not too long after that declare that any vandalism to Tesla cars and dealerships will now be seen as domestic terrorism. This came after Elon Musk was crying over how much the Tesla stock has fallen and sales are doing poorly. The amount of favoritism Trump is showing Musk and Tesla is just infuriating. Like the poor billionaire needs help to make more money, the poor guy might lose some of his billions and be left with only... more billions. Idiots.

I could go on and on listing reasons why our current President is a piece of shit, but I don't have all the time in the world to do that. These are just some of the things he's done recently or in his last term and not all the things he did before he was even President. There are countless stories and you can go look them up if you're interested, but the point of this was to show you just how much damage one man has done in such a short time. I'm tired of waking up every morning and reading about another stupid choice our President has made that will affect our lives in a negative way. Not only us here in the USA but also countries around the world could suffer now because of Trump's choices. Getting rid of a lot of foreign aid and slowly pissing off every one of our allies in just the first two months of a four-year term is quite concerning. I didn't even mention all the terrible people he's putting in positions of power alongside himself. 

Down below will be a list of articles I was reading or looking at for some of the points I made on this post. If you want more information about some of the things I was mentioning or just want to read more detailed stories of Trumps bullshit, well here you go. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-deliberations-jury-testimony-verdict-85558c6d08efb434d05b694364470aa0

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/06/nx-s1-5197697/a-capitol-police-officer-assaulted-during-the-jan-6-riot-says-he-feels-betrayed

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/business/tariffs-trump-canada/index.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c62e2158mkpt

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/06/nx-s1-5289337/elon-musk-doge-treasury

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/08/nx-s1-5251642/linda-mcmahon-trump-wwe-education-secretary-nominee

https://www.livenowfox.com/news/pete-hegseth-military-experience

https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2024/ap-traces-the-printing-of-trumps-god-bless-america-bibles-to-the-country-he-accuses-of-stealing-american-jobs-china/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_photo_op_at_St._John%27s_Church

https://people.com/all-about-elon-musk-children-11678749

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/24/trump-pardon-proud-boys-enrique-tarrio

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/31/politics/donald-trump-kamala-harris-black-nabj/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/12/1230862336/trump-says-the-us-will-own-gaza-what-that-could-mean-for-the-middle-east

https://www.kff.org/u-s-foreign-aid-freeze-dissolution-of-usaid-timeline-of-events/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-federal-funding-will-stop-colleges-schools-allowing-illegal-protests-2025-03-04/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7435pnle0go

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-consequences-of-the-us-withdrawal-from-the-who

https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/what-happens-if-the-department-of-education-is-abolished-what-we-know/

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/8/21242003/trump-failed-coronavirus-response

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/22/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-trump-delayed-aid

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/americas/el-salvador-prison-trump-deportations-gangs-intl-latam/index.html

 

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