A Nostalgic Post About Y2K (1997-2003)

 I feel like my generation loves to romanticize the Y2K time period A LOT. It's often seen by Millennials as the greatest time ever, which makes sense because most of us grew up in those years. Memories of being kids and having fun without the responsibilities we have now will always make us look back fondly at that time. I mean, it's safe to say most people will probably think the decades they grew up were the best... except maybe kids growing up in the Covid era, they've had it a bit rough so far. So I wanted to look back and see what really made this decade so great and why my generation still looks back at it with so many fond memories. I'm going to try to look at this from a fun and entertainment-focused view, so I'm not going to focus too much on the politics of the time or the fact that, like, gas was cheaper or buying a house was actually possible. 

THE MOVIES

One of the first movies I think of when I go back to the Y2K period is The Matrix. That movie captures that time period so well, and it really seeped its way into a lot of pop culture from the late 90s and early 00s. Can't even name all the movies and shows that parodied the bullet time sequences from The Matrix at the time. Another movie that comes up a lot is Disney's Zenon, which really captures that time period well with the way it depicts the future. I guess Y2K is heavily tied to futuristic ideas like the show in The Matrix and Zenon. A lot of metallic textures with shiny colors are paired to make it look futuristic. Other movies that capture that Y2K style are Zoolander, Dude Where's My Car, Fifth Element, and Bring It On. I think the reason The Matrix is the first one that comes to mind, though, is its ties to the rise of the internet, as that's a big aspect of the first movie. Of course, the whole Y2K thing was because of computers and the internet, so it makes sense why a lot of those movies used that aspect of our lives. The internet was starting to become mainstream. If you go back and watch a lot of media from back then, they always present the internet in such a primitive way. I think the movie Hackers, with Angelina Jolie, did a surprisingly good job at capturing the Y2K style before it even began back in 1995. Then there are a lot of music videos, which I'll get to later. 

THE TECH

Y2K has ties to the rise of technology, as computers and the internet were becoming something everyone was starting to have in their homes. That and the start of everyone getting cell phones/Palm Pilots, MP3 players, and portable CD players. The one thing I really miss is how fun everything looked in that time period. All the tech came in actual colors, and there was even that period where everything had a see-through look, where you could see all the circuit boards inside computers and gaming consoles. 

(found on Reddit)

I mean, just look at how cool most of that tech looks. Sure, it won't match the rest of your tech or furniture, but who cares! I'd at least like the option to buy this style of tech again anyway. Companies were less afraid of making weird and fun designs back then; now, everything has to be as safe and flat as possible to try to appeal to as many humans as possible. Even all the company logos these days are changing to be as boring and safe as possible, where's the fun and creativity? Who would have guessed the rise of AI and better tech would make everything so safe and boring? I mean, these days we don't even get to explore the internet through websites anymore; everything is an app or social media-focused. Well, I didn't mean for that to be a rant on modern tech, but oops. I guess I just miss when we had more options and not just black/white basic colors for everything. I will say, PCs at least are a lot more capable of being customized with cool colors and displays. Maybe this is just one of those "you had to be there" situations. 

MUSIC

Okay, this is really what I wanted to talk about a lot, because lately I've been listening to a lot of music from the Y2K time period. There's something so unique about the music during the Y2K era, some ways good and some ways bad. Back then, there was still a huge emphasis on music videos being a huge part of how a song got big, along with radio play. I wanted to talk about some of those great music videos that captured the Y2K look so well. The first group that came to mind was Backstreet Boys, as the boy band craze was at its peak in that era, and Backstreet Boys were the biggest group alongside *NSYNC. One of the albums that really captures the era is "Millennium", I mean, it's pretty much in the name there. The album came out in the middle of 1999 and became one of the defining albums of the period. The opening track, called "Larger Than Life," is a perfect song to show anyone who wants to know what Y2K was all about. 

I mean, just look at it. The horribly dated CGI, the fashion, the sci-fi setting, it's all perfectly Y2K, and I love it. It's got that metallic-looking sci-fi setting so famous from that time period. Even though the effects are really dated, and the video hasn't been updated to modern HD (which honestly helps it look even more Y2K), it's still so much fun. 

Here's another video that captures the Y2K style perfectly in TLC's "No Scrub". This one also came out in 1999, and was around the time R&B was starting to become the biggest genre in the USA. Obviously, the song is a banger, but the video is also so iconic with its sci-fi setting and the memorable outfits and hairstyles that truly take you back. Of course, it helps that the song is a timeless classic, but I just love the look and feel of the video; it's just full of nostalgia from the MTV TRL days. 

It wouldn't be right if I didn't mention probably the biggest rock band of the Y2K era, Linkin Park. They crafted a sound that fit right into the new millennium by mixing hip-hop and hard rock that many a band would try to replicate, but fail to fully capture. The song "In The End" is not only one of the best rock songs of the 2000s, but it has one of the most memorable videos, too. The super dated effects look terrible now, sure, but back then, it was awesome and really gave it a unique look. That alongside the band's style and, of course, Mike's frosted tips on his spiked hair. Nothing screams Y2K more than frosted tips, right? 

I guess it wouldn't make sense to leave out the biggest artist of the Y2K era, Britney Spears. Bring on the shiny silver outfits! Britney was a huge part of the sound of the early 2000s, and "OOPS!... I Did It Again" is still one of the biggest hits of the 2000s. The video is really cheesy, and of course has some incredibly outdated effects, but it actually works in its favor to make it more charming. It's interesting to look back at an artist who was at the top of the world at the time and see how big they went for her videos. A lot of artists now just make lyric videos and call it a day, which I can't blame too much because they most likely just don't have the money to make something like this anymore. At least the bigger artists are still making videos anyway, and there have been some great ones recently. That being said, I feel like I see them less and less every year, mostly because you really have to seek them out now unless it goes viral outside YouTube. 

Video Games

I guess it would be weird to not mention the games of the Y2K era, considering how much I was playing back then. Not too go too far into it, because I could spend hours talking about them, but there were some highlights I think a lot of us remember. Obviously, Pokémon was reaching new heights that no video game had really done before... except maybe Tetris, but as a huge RPG game, it was really cool to see how popular it got. We also got the transition from cartridge-based games to disc-based games with the PS1, and later, every other console would adapt it. If you were on a PC back then, you might have been introduced to very early online gaming, like EverQuest and Ultima Online. Hell, maybe you ran into a small game called Runescape in its very early days. It's interesting to go back to those days, especially with how bad things are getting these days, as companies try to drain customers of all their money with microtransactions and broken games at launch. Things just weren't like that back in the day. I get that games have become insanely complicated to make with giant teams taking years to finish a project, but that doesn't mean everything has to be broken or require a 50 GB update at launch. Sometimes I just want to pop in a disc and play the game without any of that getting in the way. Oh boy, here I am ranting about the "good ole days" again like an old person. One last big thing from the Y2K era I wanted to mention here was the Tamagotchi. It's recently made somewhat of a comeback, as a lot of Y2K things have, but it's pretty nice to see it get another run. It's a very simple game, probably more popular for being a cool-looking gadget rather than the actual gameplay. Still, it was fun for a week or two. 

TV

One last thing to talk about is, of course, the TV shows from back in the day. I mentioned MTV in my music section, but I mean, it was such a huge part of the culture back in the Y2K years. Outside of still having actual music on the show, they had a lot of groundbreaking shows like Real World and Punk'd, alongside some other really fun reality shows like Pimp My Ride, True Life, and Cribs. You know, back when it was fun to see how celebrity houses looked and not depressing. Also, how funny was it to see people on Pimp My Ride get back cars that would probably not even be street legal anymore? Do you really need a fish tank in the back seat? No, but there it is anyway. Enjoy, bitch. 

Disney Channel was killing it with the live-action kids' shows back then. You're telling me I can watch That's So Raven, Even Stevens, and Lizzy McGuire on the same channel? They also had those terribly cheesy movies on there where a high school kid becomes a leprechaun. Or the one where a high school kid becomes a mermaid. Or the one where a high school kid watches a vampire hook up with his mom. 

The cartoons were pretty good around this time, too, I mean, you had that one indie show that most people didn't watch called SpongeBob SquarePants. Surprised that one didn't get more love. There was a huge battle between Nicktoons and Cartoon Network over who was the best. Well, at least kids would argue about it and name all the shows from each channel to see who had the best line-up. Honestly, it's tough, so I'll make a list here, and you can decide for yourself.

NICKTOONS

Rugrats

Spongebob

Fairly Odd Parents

Jimmy Neutron

Hey! Arnold!

Wild Thornberrys

Rocket Power

Rocko's Modern Life

CARTOON NETWORK

Courage The Cowardly Dog

Codename Kids Nextdoor

Ed, Edd, N Eddy

Dexter's Lab

Powerpuff Girls

Cow and Chicken

Johnny Bravo

Samurai Jack

Just from this list, I'd probably say Cartoon Network has a slightly better lineup, but still, we had some amazing cartoons to watch back in the day. 

So yeah, the Y2K era was pretty great... I mean, I'm sure there were bad things about it, too, but this was more of the fun stuff and not any of the boring/bad stuff. And I did it all without mentioning 9/11... Goddammit. 

Disclosure Day Made Me Sad (Review)

 

Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated new film came out this week, and being a huge fan of his, I knew I had to see it as soon as possible. The film touches on a subject I've always been interested in, which is aliens and how the world would react if they were proven to be real. This film, Disclosure Day, tackles that subject and the questions of religion and human emotion that would be tied to the existence of aliens. The movie has a great cast with some new faces, but mostly established A-list stars like Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, and Coleman Domingo. There are also some good up-and-coming stars in here, like Wyatt Russell (of nepobaby fame), Eve Hewson (also of nepobaby fame), and a starring role for Josh O'Connor. Needless to say, I was very excited to watch this movie. 

I'm going to just get it out of the way: this movie is not very good. In fact, it's a bit of a mess, especially as a Spielberg project. This isn't the first time he's tackled the subject of aliens; in fact, he has quite a few movies that deal with this subject matter. This one isn't the worst, but it's not that great when put alongside movies like E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The story in Disclosure Day picks up when a young man named Daniel is revealed to have stolen data that shows the existence of aliens, with military footage that's been hidden for decades. He's being chased by a man named Noah, who wants to stop him from releasing the videos to the public. From Daniel's point of view, the world deserves to know the truth. From Noah's point of view, he thinks the world will go into chaos if such information is revealed to the public. Things get really weird when a woman named Margaret starts to have supernatural powers and realizes she needs to help Daniel on his mission to reveal the truth. It's an interesting concept in theory, but unfortunately, the movie just doesn't do a great job at making this as interesting as it should've been.

One of the main problems this movie has is its pacing. It starts off quite slowly, as all the characters are being established. It feels like the movie wastes a lot of time building these characters that, at the end of the day, I just didn't really care too much about. There are also a lot of strangely setup actions scenes, where they make the characters (especially the bad guys) seem incredibly inept. The action can come across as awkward in that way, and it takes away from the sense of danger. That's not to say that all the action scenes were bad, because there were a few good ones, but nothing amazing. The movie also has a problem with weird-looking CGI. I don't know what it was, but there are scenes where they have CGI animals, and they look so off-putting that it took me out of the movie. It feels weird to say that about a Spielberg movie, who is one of the most iconic filmmakers of all time. Well, I guess they can't all be hits. 

I felt like the end of the movie was quite good. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say I enjoyed it despite it not really giving a lot of details. The performances were all solid, though some of the things they had the actors do were pretty weird. I got to give props to Emily Blunt because her character was so weird at times, but she did a good job at making it believable. I can't say I completely hated this movie, but because it's a Spielberg movie, my expectations were so high. This might be one of the most forgettable movies in his catalog. If you have zero interest in aliens, then this movie would probably be a huge waste of time for you, as it doesn't really introduce any new elements to make the subject any more interesting. If you DO have an interest in aliens, then maybe this movie will be interesting enough to give a watch, maybe you'll even like it. As someone who loves alien movies (E.T, Arrival, Signs), this movie was just okay. I really don't see myself ever watching this movie again; it just didn't have anything unique or extraordinary to make this worth coming back to. 

So yeah, pretty sad to go into a Spielberg film and not like it. I'll still look forward to whatever he does next, because he's earned that from his countless other amazing movies. If you want to see a great alien movie, then maybe watch some of Spielberg's older ones that I mentioned earlier (E.T. and Close Encounters). Maybe this new movie Disclosure Day will grow on me as time passes, and maybe I will give it another chance, but for now it's just a pretty forgettable movie with some decent to good moments sprinkled in every now and then. 

GRADE: C- 

13 Dumb Predictions for the World Cup 2026

In just a few days, the World Cup will be kicking off in North America as Mexico and South Africa play in the opener in Mexico City. When the last World Cup (I'll be referring to it as WC from now on) came around, I made a whole post predicting the whole group stage and writing about every team's chances to win the whole thing. This time, well, there are WAY more teams playing this time around, and the group stage has become a mess. By that, I mean that no longer do only the top two teams qualify to the next round, but also 8 third-place teams as well, making it pretty hard to predict exactly who's going to make it and who's going to go home. So instead of doing that, I'll just be putting some of my predictions of things I think will happen at this WC. I'm no expert in this, so obviously this is just for fun, and even though I believe in all these predictions, that doesn't mean I think every single one of them is going to be true or that they are even smart predictions. 

1. The USA will not win their group

This is a tough one because the USA will be playing a group with three other teams that they can and maybe even should beat. Australia, Paraguay, and Turkiye are all teams that are very beatable, but it's not going to be easy with any of those teams. Australia has a good record in these tournaments; they never make it too far, but they do often make it past the group stage. Paraguay is a tough team as well, though they didn't dominate exactly in South America, but they still can give the USA a tough game. I see Turkiye as the real favorite to win this group, as they had to go through European qualifiers to get here, and not only is that tougher, but the USA has a lot of problems playing European teams. In fact, they haven't beaten one in quite a while now, including Germany, whom they played recently and lost to. So yeah, I think Turkiye will win the group, but the USA will still move on to the next round. 

2. England will disappoint... again

Going into this WC, England are currently the third favorite to win this whole thing in a lot of odd makers' eyes. I guess that's fair, as they have a very solid squad, even to the point where they left out a few great players this year. Harry Kane has been having an amazing year at Bayern, scoring 36 goals this season. You also got Saka, who just helped Arsenal win the Premier League for the first time in over 10 years. Marcus Rashford comes in from Barcelona, having a nice career revival there after some struggles in Manchester. Really, the entire squad is pretty great, with maybe the exception of their defence not being AS great as the rest of their squad. I think there's a good chance that this team finally makes it to at least the final, but my prediction is that they once again fail to make it that final game and lose out to one of the other big teams like France, Spain, maybe even Portugal, or even a dark horse like Colombia. Speaking of...

3. Colombia will be the Morocco of 2026

Morocco famously made it all the way to the semi-final of the WC in 2022, a feat that no African team had done before them. Most people didn't pick Morocco to go that far, but they took out some great teams along the way and played some great football. I think the team this year that will surprise people and make it to the semi-final will be Colombia. There's something about this team right now that excites me, and it's not just James Rodriguez... but yeah, he's a part of it too. Really, it's the awesome talent like Luis Diaz, Jefferson Lerma, Luis Suarez (no, not that one), and a solid goalkeeper in Camilo Vargas. They also made it all the way to the final at the last Copa America, even though they just barely lost to Argentina; it was a great momentum shift for Colombia. I expect them to carry that momentum from the last big tournament and have a really good WC. 

4. Christiano Ronaldo will not score a goal

This is a bit of a weird one, but obviously this is going to be the last WC this legend plays... although that's what a lot of people thought at the last one, but anyway. Plain and simple, Ronaldo will not score a goal at this tournament, and I don't even think that means Portugal will be bad, because they often play pretty great when he's not even on the field. They actually share a group with Colombia, so it kind of ties in with my last prediction a little. One, I don't know if he'll even be playing entire games this time around, and two, I don't think the offense will work as well with him in there. Nothing against him, but again, he's not the same guy that he was even 4 years ago. At the last WC he only scored one goal, and it was a penalty... I would be annoyed if my prediction is wrong because he scores a penalty goal. 

5. Japan will once again win its group

Japan has been on a stretch of awesome WC moments recently. At the last WC, they actually beat both Spain and Germany to win their group, which was an awesome moment for them. The problem has always been the knockout stage for this Japan team, as they can never seem to make it very far after making it to the knockouts. This time around, they share a group with the Netherlands, Tunisia, and Sweden. Yet again, stuck with two European teams here and a decent African team in Tunisia. Despite that, I think Japan will top the group with their awesome, quick, and disciplined football. I want to say that Japan has what it takes to maybe even win this whole thing, but that might be a step too far. I hope I'm wrong on that part, because it would be amazing. Still, I think this team will be really good this year. 

6. Ivory Coast will be the best African team

I really love the Ivory Coast and their football team, super excited to see them back in the WC this time. When it comes to African teams, it's hard to really know who is actually great and who will make it far in the tournament. Last time around, Morocco had its great run into the semi-finals, where they just fell short to a much better team. Now, I don't think it will happen again, but I really can see this Ivory Coast team being the one that has the best showing in the WC. I will say, they are in a tough group with two very good teams in Germany and Ecuador. Germany hasn't been that dominant force in football since it won the whole thing back in 2014. As for Ecuador, they are a very solid team who don't allow very many goals in games, but they also don't score a ton of goals themselves. I could see them draw with the Ivory Coast, and maybe the pressure of not failing again will get to Germany, and the Ivory Coast can maybe make something happen there. But I hope and predict that the Ivory Coast will show up and be really fun and good. 

7. The new format this year will be considered a failure

So this WC is going to be the biggest WC of all time, with 48 teams joining in the tournament. The last few WC tournaments have had a nice 32-team group stage that made it so only two teams in each group could move on to the next round. This time around, we have an extra 8 teams in third place that can also move on. It makes things incredibly complicated for what teams will move on in that third-place spot, and also just takes away a lot of the stakes of the group stage when a bunch of teams won't be eliminated despite not even playing that great. That, on top of the fact that a lot of potentially very weak and inexperienced teams will be playing football giants. This could end up leading to games where teams are winning by 8-10 goals, and it's not even close to competitive. Sorry to pick on this team, but Haiti is in a group with Morocco, Scotland, and Brazil. Those are three very solid teams there, taking on a very inexperienced Haiti, which hasn't been to the WC since the 70s. It's cool to see these teams in the WC for sure, but if it leads to many non-competitive games and some not-so-exciting teams getting through as third-place teams, I think a lot of people will be turned off to this new 48-team format. Now, will FIFA change it after they see that disappointment? No. 

8. France will make their third final in a row

It's tough to not see this amazing French team getting in the final again. The team is still as stacked as ever, with so much top-tier talent on top of a coach who's proven to be able to guide this team to a trophy. It's almost like the only ones who can stop France are themselves, by not living up to their standards. Obviously, you got Mbappe as the big star of the team and probably going to be the main scorer too. But honestly, every part of the field will be covered with top-tier talent when France is playing. You got Malo Gusto, William Saliba, and Ibrahima Konate, just to name a few other players. Even the bench is going to have some very solid players. Like I said, this team has the talent to win this WC, but at the very least, I think they will make the final again for the third WC in a row.

9. Croatia will win a penalty shoot-out

I mean, it's just one of those things that happens. Croatia will no doubt make the knockout stage of the competition, take the game to penalties, and win. At least once. 

10. Spain and Argentina will not make the Semi-Finals

Yeah, this is probably a terrible prediction, as both of these teams are great and favored to do really well in this tournament. Hell, I think Spain is the favorite to win it in a lot of people's eyes. But with all that pressure and the fact that there are a lot of good teams playing here and the added length of the tournament, I can see something crazy happening. With the right matchups, I can see an upset happening that takes out both of these teams. If they end up playing teams like Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands, Brazil, England, Croatia, Colombia, or Belgium before the semis, both these teams could be out. I do see it happening. 

11. Portugal wins the tournament

The power of Ronaldo will carry the team all the way to the final to take on France. Despite Ronaldo not scoring any goals, Portugal will play fantastic football throughout the WC. Despite not scoring any goals, Ronaldo will hold up the trophy and be the main one that is centered around the celebrations. Messi and Ronaldo both winning WC trophies back to back to end their careers is too good a story for it not to happen. Their fans will forever argue about who is better, with both winning tons of trophies for their clubs and countries. 

12. FIFA will not learn any lessons from this disaster of a World Cup buildup

Yeah, FIFA doesn't care about anything other than making as much money as they can from these events now. With the awful rollout of tickets and how expensive said tickets were, it was all a mess. They have done everything they can to take away all excitement from what used to be the most exciting tournament in all of sports. That, mixed in with the awful administration currently in charge of the USA, just made this entire thing a massive headache for tons of fans. Can't forget them giving a totally useless FIFA Peace Prize to the President of the USA for no reason at all... except to kiss his ass. Yeah, it's been rough as a fan of the World Cup to get excited. Being just a few days away now, I can actually feel the excitement slowly building up. To see the amazing fans of these countries come together for their boys playing on the field. For the players, getting the chance to represent their home countries in the biggest tournament. And to see the emotion that comes from playing these games and seeing how far they can take their teams. It's going to be fun, but it's all despite the people in charge at FIFA. Will they learn any lessons from this year's mess? Of course not, but maybe if fans speak out loud enough they will have no choice but to make changes... One can hope anyway. 

13. I'll try to watch all the games, but give up after two or three days

My excitement will have me believe I'll be watching every single game of this tournament. But no, it's not possible. Especially with the expanded schedule, it makes it almost impossible. After a few days, I'll be sticking with the most interesting matchups and only watching bad matchups if they involve a team I support. 

But yeah, those are some of my predictions. Most of them I wouldn't call bold, but there are a few there that I think would be crazy if they happened. I like to pick a country from every continent to root for, and those have always been: the USA, Colombia, Germany, and Japan. I guess New Zealand, if we count Oceania. But of course, the USA will be the team I root for over everyone, at least until Puerto Rico finally has a team good enough to make it... which probably won't be in my lifetime. 

Reviewing the Current Biggest Pop Hits (May 2026)

 2026 and pop music go together like New York Jets fans and making good choices in life. I don't know, it just feels like music has been in this weird cycle of songs sticking around way too long in the charts, and a bunch of new songs that aren't as memorable as you would think for being huge hits. The resurgence of country music in the USA is still going strong, it seems, with the top two songs on the chart belonging to Ella Langley. You know, Ella Langley, that one huge star everyone knows. Okay, I'll be honest, I had no idea who this was until her recent hit song "Choosing Texas" became unavoidable. You also have a nice mash-up with her and Morgan Wallen just outside the Top 10, because that guy can't seem to go away either. But let's take a look at the ten biggest current hits in the USA and see how music is going these days. 

Ella Langley - Choosin' Texas

Been a while since I've heard a good old Texas country song. Feels like Nashville has been dominating the scene as of late. Wait, this song was recorded and produced in Nashville? Ah, never mind then. Actually, the song is more poking fun at Texas, as the guy Ella is in a relationship with leaves Nashville to be with another woman in Texas. "He's choosing Texas, I can tell," is how the chorus ends, as Ella is admitting defeat as her man leaves for Texas and she's left alone. It's a very simple song lyrically, not much to it that makes it very unique or original outside of a few Nashville references. Musically, it feels like a very basic country pop song, nothing that makes it stand out in any way here either. It's a very vague break-up song with almost no details of the relationship outside of "MY MAN LOVES TEXAS MORE THAN ME". Ella's vocals are just okay; she's got the country twang down, but other than that, nothing about this feels especially memorable. All I can think to say about this song is that it's about as plain as a country pop song can be, vanilla ice cream, and not even the good brands. It's not terrible, but man, does this really deserve as much play as it's getting? It's like the country version of that song "Ordinary", just a whole lot of nothing. 

GRADE: C-

Ella Langley - Be Her

Alright, Ella, here's your second chance to make me feel something. Yeah, no, this song is even worse than "Choosin' Texas." The song is all about how Ella is super jealous of some woman we don't know, who is effortlessly perfect in every way (at least to Ella). I don't even think this person is real, but just an image of what Ella wants to be seen as to everyone around her. Just a married woman who tells it like it is, has money, and I guess loves Jesus and her momma. So like, a very generic American version of a successful woman? Make it as relatable as possible so that any person who listens to this can be like, "yeah! Me too!" I guess I can see why this was a hit... I mean, it's just as boring as a lot of country songs on the charts these days, so it fits right in. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to be relatable to your audience, but this just feels like it's pandering so hard that it makes it feel lazy, and it makes Ella just seem boring. These two songs of hers both just feel like they tell me nothing about Ella as a person or an artist, but she's just another generic pop artist with a country twang. But really, the chorus in this song is just terrible, and if you don't have a good chorus in a pop song, then why bother? Also, her voice isn't very good. 

GRADE: D

Olivia Dean - Man I Need

Olivia Dean has been a rising star in music for a while now, but she now has a few big hits to her name. I've listened to a good amount of her music before this, and I've always enjoyed her style. In this song, Olivia is pleading with her partner to step up, as there seems to be confusion about what exactly their relationship is. I feel like Olivia is just waiting for him to tell her his real feelings, even going so far as to set up a time and place for him to do so. She's thinking he could be the one, but she just needs him to prove himself by talking to her and telling her what she needs to hear. I like the music here too, as the piano leads with its starts and stops, and the bass just jams out in the background. Olivia's voice is very smooth and easy to listen to, which I think is why this style of music works so well with her vocals. Solid song, one that I enjoy putting on from time to time these days. 

GRADE: B

Bruno Mars: I Just Might

Bruno returned with a new solo album this year after 10 years since his last one. He did release the amazing collab with Anderson Paak back in 2021, but even that was 5 years ago now. This new project by Bruno feels more like a continuation of his sound in Silk Sonic, which is no bad thing. Of course, it certainly misses Anderson Paak and his contributions, but honestly, this is still pretty solid. My biggest complaint with "I Just Might" is that it may feel too safe for Bruno Mars. I guess I would say that was a problem if the song wasn't a big hit this year anyway. As far as his songs go, this one is still enjoyable, but something about it just feels missing. Like it's missing some energy or something different. It's got some awesome music, which is expected from Bruno's music these days. Bruno still has the vocals that will make any singer jealous as he hits his high notes perfectly. Yeah, I don't know, it's hard to hate on a song that's this fun, but even then, it feels like I needed just a bit more from him.

Grade: B-

Olivia Dean - So Easy (To Fall in Love)

Damn, that chorus is just too good. I feel like everything I said about Olivia in the song "Man I Need" can be repeated here, except even more praise. It just feels like the perfect song for her, like the song she was meant to make. I mean, I'm sure she'll make better songs in the future, but I just really like this song. I'll just say I'm happy I don't use TikTok much because if so, I'd probably be sick of hearing this song already. It's a song where Olivia expresses how much she is enjoying a relationship and all the little things in it. She feels something for this person and wants them to go with her because she thinks they could potentially go the distance. Why not give it a chance? 

Grade: A

Alex Warren - Ordinary

Yeah, I'm so damn sick of this song. THANKFULLY, Drake and Noah Kahan both dropped massive albums the same week (Drake had three albums), and this song finally dropped out of the top ten recently. In fact, now that it's off the top 10, it should be gone permanently thanks to Billboard's new rules for how long a song can stay on the charts. Shoutout to Iceman. 

Grade: Double F Minus

Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead

You know, this really feels like a Chappell Roan song in disguise as an Olivia song. Not that Chappell invented her particular style of pop, but with how popular it became, it certainly feels like this is taking heavy inspiration. To be fair, both artists have probably taken a lot of inspiration from each other. Also, this song is pretty good, so I'm happy if it was inspired by Chappell. The soft synth use is probably where the comparisons come from, as well as the way Olivia sings a few of the verses. The song is just about how Olivia has fallen hard for some boy, and it feels like she could drop dead of excitement if they end up together. I like how it feels like a very young love song, with all the little things that make it exciting, like just getting to know someone and that buildup to your first kiss or more. Olivia actually building up her vocals slowly through the song is a nice touch too, as she starts with more of a breathy sound at first and finally ends the song just singing her heart out. Overall, a solid first single from her upcoming new album. Hopefully, she keeps this up. 

Grade: A-

Bruno Mars - Risk It All

This song certainly has a whole new vibe for a Bruno Mars song. I mean, it's not completely different than everything he's done, but at least it's got a more of a slow retro mariachi style, which I don't think he's done before. That being said, the song is just fine. I feel like everything I said about his first song on this list can apply here. It just feels like something is missing, and I don't know what it is. The vocals are great because, of course, and the music is well done. I guess it feels like there needs to be more risk involved, pun intended. It's not the kind of song I'm going to be listening to much, because it's just not very interesting despite its great production and amazing vocals. Give me something new, Bruno. I know you've got it in you. Also, does anyone else get very "catch a grenade for you" vibes from the lyrics of this one? Oddly similar to his old hit song lyrically. 

Grade: C

Kehlani - Folded

Sometimes you just need a good R&B song to get you through the day, or in this case, get you through listening to the top 10 hits. This song reminds me a lot of early 2000's R&B with its electric guitar work throughout the song. The vocals are great, I mean, it's R&B, it wouldn't work without smooth, amazing singing. It seems to be about a relationship that's up in the air. From Kehlani's point of view, she may have needed a break for her own reasons. Even so, she wants the other person to come back because she's willing to give it another chance, using the excuse "pick up your laundry" as a way to give them another chance. Just a solid overall song.

Grade: B-

Tame Impala - Dracula (JENNIE REMIX)

Ugh, man, I don't know about this one. Lyrics are cheesy as hell, RUN FROM THE SUNLIGHT DRACULA! ISN'T THE VIEW SPECTACULAR! Honestly, I like the original version of this song a lot more than this remix with JENNIE. I've never heard of JENNIE before this, but I'm not very impressed with her contributions here. It just feels like she doesn't fit into this particular song at all; her vocals feel so out of place at times. I wonder why they even brought her in for this. Oh, she's got 54 million listeners on Spotify, yeah, that explains it. She also happens to be a member of the huge K-Pop group BLACKPINK, so that also explains her popularity. All that to say, this version of the song doesn't really work with her style of singing. The original "Dracula" is a solid Tame Impala song on its own. It's got some dark, moody sounds to go along with the vampire theme, and of course, the vocals are a little more toned down to match. So yeah, maybe just listen to the original.

Grade: D+

Looking through all the grades I gave the songs, it was a mixed bag of good and bad songs this time around. Anyone named Olivia dropped some bangers on the list; any country stars dropped generic, boring pop songs. Bruno Mars continues to be his usual self, which is good for the most part, and Ordinary is finally going away, thank GOD. Things could be worse, but nothing really blew my mind here either. Really look forward to hearing Olivia Rodrigo's new album; hopefully, that one lives up to the hype. 

The One Where I Review Season 4 of FRIENDS

 1997 was a great year to be alive. Tons of great movies and video games were coming out, some great TV shows, and music was really reaching new heights. Friends was getting ready to air its 4th season, and it just felt like it kept getting bigger and bigger. That's because the show was so great and had just finished its third season, which was somehow even better than the first two. So yeah, it's time to talk about season 4 of Friends, and all its greatness, episode by episode. (Sorry, these are so long, but every season is like 24 episodes lol)

The One With the Jellyfish: Continuing straight from the season 3 finale, we pick up with Ross entering Rachel's room to confirm that he chose her over Bonnie. The nice moment is ruined when Rachel forces Ross to read a letter before they continue their romance. Ross falls asleep as the letter is way too long, and it's one of the best jokes of the season already. It's funny how they tease Ross and Rachel getting back together, only for it to fall apart one episode into the season. Phoebe decides to give her birth mom a chance after being mad that she left her. As far as I remember, Phoebe's mom only really comes up again once in the show after this episode, and it's later in this season. Monica hangs out with Joey and Chandler at the beach, only to be stung by a jellyfish. They remember that peeing on a jellyfish sting is a good way to ease the pain, but nobody is brave enough to do it. Later, we find out that Joey was the one who stepped up and peed on Monica, only to back out at the last second and leave Chandler to do it. Apparently, this episode helped the whole peeing on a jellyfish sting become common knowledge. Just don't ask me to do it. 

GRADE: B+

"I just feel bad about all of the sleep you're going to miss, wishing you were with me!" - Rachel

"No-no-no, don't worry about me falling asleep! I STILL HAVE YOUR LETTER" - Ross

The One With the Cat: Phoebe finds a stray cat who she believes has the spirit of her mom. Not the mom she just met last episode, but the one who killed herself. I know it's totally in Phoebe's character to go along with this, but even this felt like too much for her. Ross isn't buying it either, but later has to apologize to Phoebe after hurting her feelings. The most memorable part of this episode is Joey trying to sell his giant entertainment center. There's a funny scene where he meets someone who's trying to trade his roommate's canoe for it, and Joey sympathizes with the guy who made the canoe. Later, Joey puts himself inside a cabinet to demonstrate how big it is, only to be locked in by a potential buyer who ends up robbing everything in their apartment. We are definitely getting into dumb Joey territory, and I'm here for it. Monica ends up dating Rachel's high school ex, Chip Matthews, as she had a massive crush on him back in the day. Turns out Chip hasn't changed AT ALL since High School and still acts like the dumb jock he was back then. Hearing about Chip giving wedgies to other adults is pretty funny, though. Eh, this was one of the weaker episodes so far. 

"You still live with your parents?" -Monica to Chip

"Yeah, but I can stay out as late as I want" - Chip, an adult

GRADE: C+

The One With the Cuffs: Chandler finds himself dating Rachel's boss again after the disastrous date they had last season. This time, he's fooling around with her in her office, when she handcuffs Chandler to the chair so he's forced to wait for her while she's at a meeting. Rachel finds Chandler half-naked in the office and doesn't want to help him because the boss will know it was her. Rachel is eventually able to cut a deal with Chandler that she will tell everyone he has a big dong if he stays and waits for her boss to come back. Unfortunately for Chandler, Ross and Joey quickly ruin that lie when they laugh after hearing it. Monica gets a catering gig from her mom, only to lose a nail inside one of the dishes. Monica's mom had prepared an emergency dish in case Monica did something like this, which hurts Monica to know her mom didn't trust her. It's a nice moment for Monica to finally prove her mom wrong and make her look terrible. Not the funniest story, but at least it has a feel-good moment at the end. Also, Monica's room being turned into a gym is peak 90s. 

"When I walk outside naked, people throw garbage at me" -  Chandler, when asked why he is getting dressed.

GRADE: B-

The One With the Ballroom Dancing: Joey is forced to practice dancing with the superintendent of the building, Mr. Treeger, after Rachel gets caught clogging the trash again. It's a nice little story for a recurring character, Mr. Treeger. You get the feeling he's a lonely man with a good heart, so the story plays out nicely as he and Joey actually start to enjoy their dance practices together. I think this is the last time he gets any limelight on the show. The funniest part of the episode comes when Chandler tries to quit his gym membership and Ross tags along for support. In the end, they end up convincing Ross to join too, instead of Chandler just quitting. I love Chandler just yelling, "I want to quit the gym!" when he gets nervous. Poor Phoebe gets another weird story where she's attracted to one of her clients, but obviously can't be with him without breaking the rules of her workplace. She eventually admits her feelings to him, and they end up hooking up until someone walks in on them. The twist of the story is that the guy was married the whole time, and Phoebe gets fired for breaking the rules. 

"I'm a gym member. I try to go four times a week, but I've missed the last twelve hundred times." -Chandler

GRADE: B-

The One With Joey's New Girlfriend: This episode introduces Kathy, the new girlfriend from the episode title. Chandler feels bad as he has feelings for Kathy that he can't seem to put away. Kathy and Chandler seem like the perfect match for each other, but Chandler doesn't want to hurt Joey by telling him the truth. Ross and Rachel compete with each other over who has the best new relationship. The joke is that both of them are in terrible relationships and are lying to each other. Ross ends up dating another single parent, but she actually just wanted him to babysit while she goes on a real date with someone else. Rachel, on the other hand, is dating a broke college student who keeps stealing from her, and she's not really that into him. Always kind of hated this whole Ross and Rachel rivalry; thankfully, it doesn't last much longer in this season. Phoebe has a new sexy voice after getting sick, but it doesn't last long after Monica gives her tea to help. She tries everything to steal someone else's sickness, which she eventually does by kissing Gunther. Gunther apologizing to Rachel about it later is pretty funny. 

"Don't cover your mouth when you do that!" -Phoebe after Monica sneezes

GRADE: B

The One With the Dirty Girl: In one of the funniest jokes of the series, Ross dates a fellow Paleontologist. Turns out she's one of the most beautiful women he's ever dated, but the twist is her apartment is a complete mess, like an episode of Hoarders, with food and trash everywhere. Try as he might, he just can't make a move on her because of the gross apartment. The funniest scene is the very end when Monica tries to clean her apartment for free because of how much she hates messes. Chandler continues to crush on Kathy, buying her a very sentimental gift. He finds out Joey got her a pen, so he gives him the book to give to Kathy. She knows it was all Chandler's idea and thanks him in private. It's interesting to see Chandler try his best to move past Kathy, but he only keeps falling for her harder.  Monica and Phoebe cater a funeral, but Monica can't seem to get the widow to pay the bill. She finally stands up for herself and tells the widow off to get the money. Rachel, on the other hand, gets nothing to do, so she finishes a crossword by herself (kind of). 

"You know how you throw your jacket on the chair at the end of the day? Well, it's like that, but instead of a chair, it's a pile of garbage. And instead of a jacket, it's another pile of garbage. And instead of the end of the day, it's the end of time, and garbage is all that has survived!" -Ross on the hot girls' dirty apartment

GRADE: A

The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line: Chandler struggles to keep Kathy out of his mind, especially after seeing her naked by accident. While Joey dates another woman, Chandler and Kathy hang out together, and eventually it leads to a kiss. Chandler eventually admits this to Joey after finding out Kathy broke up with him. Joey is pissed and doesn't want to be around Chandler anymore. Obviously, I get why Joey is upset, but it is a little annoying when he wasn't even being serious with Kathy and was dating other people anyway. Still, it's interesting to note that Chandler could have avoided all this just by telling Joey he likes Kathy from the start. Ross gets the old Casio keyboard out to perform music, and it sucks. Phoebe thinks he's amazing because, like Ross, she also doesn't make good music. This leads to Ross playing badly on purpose (or worse than he already was) to let Phoebe shine again. Rachel tries a new thing where she eats alone at restaurants. It doesn't last long as she realizes she would like to have company again, but she runs into her future date while eating alone, and he is turned off by the whole thing and thinks she's a freak. The Chandler and Joey stuff is great, but the other stuff is not as great. Poor Rachel gets two episodes in a row doing nothing. 

"It's time to settle down, make a choice, pick a lane." -Chandler to Joey

"Who's Elaine?" -Joey

GRADE: B-

The One With Chandler In A Box: Chandler has to stay inside a box during Thanksgiving to earn back Joey's trust. He keeps making a joke of it until Joey shuts him down. Kathy shows up to apologize to Joey, but also to see Chandler one last time before she goes away for good. Joey is touched by the moment and lets Chandler run to Kathy and be with her. Good guy Joey, always letting his friends be happy. In one of the weirdest storylines in the show, Monica tries to date her ex Richard's son. The actor who plays Richard's son is pretty bland, and I always disliked him on this show. Maybe he's bad on purpose, so the audience can feel the same way Monica does when she realizes how creepy this is. They kiss, but it just reminds Monica of Richard, and it ruins everything. Ross finds out Rachel returns all of her gifts and gets mad at her. She eventually proves to him that she doesn't return everything and still has some sentimental items from when they were dating. A nice Ross and Rachel moment, the show always had these to keep the idea of them being together in the audience's mind. More on that later in the season. 

"Hey, if everything works out between you and Richard's son, you'll be able to tell your children that you slept with their grandfather" -Ross to Monica

GRADE: B

The One Where They're Going to PARTY!: Chandler and Ross get a call from Gandalf that he's coming to town and they're going to PARTY! Gandalf is apparently the king of partying, and they always end up with a crazy story after he comes to town. Joey is a bit jealous that they don't have as much fun with him, and after Gandalf cancels on them, Joey wants to show them a good time, too. It's funny when they just end up being exhausted before it's even nighttime and call it a day. Rachel tries to get a promotion at work, but her boss, Joanna, keeps sabotaging her interviews because she doesn't want Rachel to leave her. After Rachel convinces Joanna to give her a nice new job, Joanna dies in an accident. Too bad for Rachel, she died before she put the paperwork in for her new promotion. Monica gets an offer for a chef job after she destroys a restaurant in a review. The problem is, she just promised to start a catering business with Phoebe and their new van. Thankfully, Phoebe sees how much Monica wants this chef job and tells her to take the job. I did like the Phoebe and Monica team-up; maybe it would have been cool to see them a little longer in the catering business, but it's all good.

"Didn't you read Lord of the Rings in High School?" -Chandler to Joey

"NO, I had sex in High School." -Joey

GRADE: B

The One With the Girl From Poughkeepsie: Ross starts dating two women who live far away, one of them from Poughkeepsie. At first, he seems to like her more, but the rides to see her are exhausting him, so he decides to end it with her. On his way to see her, he falls asleep and ends up in Montreal, where he meets another beautiful woman who's even further away now. Well, at least he probably got one nice night with her before going back to New York. Chandler sets Rachel up on a date with her coworker. When his coworkers find out he's trying to set her up, they all give him gifts to try to date Rachel. He makes the mistake of saying Rachel just wants a fling, and so Rachel ends up with a one-night stand when she was hoping for a more serious relationship with the guy. Chandler learns new things about dating and women. This may come into play later in the season, perhaps. Maybe with a certain friend whose name starts with M and ends with Onica? Joey works for Monica at her restaurant, so she can fire him on purpose to prove to her coworkers she means business. Joey ends up liking how much money he makes, so he doesn't go through with it. After seeing Monica get bullied more, he decides to help her and gets himself fired because, like I've said before... Joey is the best. 

"RACHEL AND CHANDLEEER AH BU BA HANDLER!" -Phoebe trying to find a rhyme for Chandler's name in her Christmas song

GRADE: B

The One With Phoebe's Uterus: One of the most memorable moments of Friends and probably the most memorable Phoebe storyline is when she decides to give birth to Frank Jr and Alice's kids for them. When Frank tells Phoebe that it just isn't possible between him and his wife, she decides to step in and have the babies for them. Phoebe's birth mom tries to convince her otherwise, but in the end, Phoebe wants to do this good thing for Frank Jr. It's a very sweet moment for Phoebe. This whole storyline was a way to let Lisa Kudrow remain on the show while she was actually Pregnant with her real-life child. It's a very weird storyline, but one that fits all the characters involved. Like, obviously, weirdo Frank Jr. is cool with it, but it's believable for Phoebe, too, and honestly, it makes her character seem a lot sweeter because of it. The episode also has a great story where Joey starts working with Ross at the museum, but doesn't sit with him at lunch because he only sits with the other "white coats". This leads to a great moment where everyone reveals their dark secrets in the lunchroom. Speaking of great scenes, Monica and Rachel decide to help Chandler out with his sex life, as he is scared to sleep with Kathy because she could compare him to Joey. The scene with Monica yelling out numbers will always be one of the funniest scenes. I mean, this episode is a classic! So many great quotes in just one episode. 

"I'M RHONDA, AND THESE AREN'T REAL!" -Rhonda, probably

"I shared my pudding with you, man! I gave you my SNACK PACK!" -Rhonda, again. 

"SEVEN! SEVEN! SEVEN! SEVEN! *mouths while holding up seven fingers* seven." - Monica

GRADE: A+

The One With the Embryos: Phoebe is nervous when she learns that she only gets one shot at getting pregnant because of how expensive the procedure is. She tries lots of silly ways to make the pregnancy stick, but in the end, she does get pregnant. Frank Jr. and Alice are overjoyed. The other big story here is Joey and Chandler battling Rachel and Monica in a trivia game to see who knows the other friends better. Ross ends up hosting the game because he has nothing else going on in his life. Things get heated when Chandler and Joey keep winning, and Monica's competitive side comes out, and she bets the apartment. It backfires instantly as the guys beat her and move into Monica's apartment, leaving Rachel and Monica to move next door into the gross guys' apartment (their words). This is a fun little story that lasts a few episodes. I always liked seeing Joey and Chandler living in the main apartment, and I think they did a good job at not letting it overstay its welcome. That's two really fun episodes in a row, it's getting gooooood. 

"I'm afraid the TV guide comes to Chanandler Bong" -Ross

"Actually, it's Miss Chanandler Bong" -Chandler

GRADE: A

The One With Rachel's Crush: Ah, spoke too soon there. I never really cared for the JOSH-UA and Rachel storyline. Mostly because Rachel just becomes really annoying and weird in this storyline, but also Joshua really isn't that interesting. I mean, bring Mark back at this point, at least I felt something for that guy, even if it was hatred. Joshua doesn't seem to pick up on any of Rachel's signals, so she has to ask him out herself, but keeps fumbling it because she's never done it before. In another frustrating storyline, Chandler thinks Kathy is cheating on him when he watches her in a play where she has to act like she's having sex with another actor. When Chandler finally realizes how dumb he's being, he goes to apologize to Kathy, only to find her sleeping with the very same guy Chandler thought she was with. Sad. I didn't really get why they ended this relationship so fast, when they took so long to finally get together. I guess it makes more sense when you see where Chandler ends up at the end of the season, but this still felt a bit rushed and out of nowhere. Although it leads to a great scene where Ross says, "Well... if she thought you were on a break." 

"Cookies and porn? You're the best mom EVER!" - Ross

GRADE: C-

The One With Joey's Dirty Day: Joey is going to be in a movie with Charlton Heston, but he goes on a fishing trip before and doesn't have time to shower before going to the set. Everyone thinks he smells horrible, so he sneaks into Charlton's trailer to shower and gets caught by Charlton himself. It's a bit funny, but maybe a weird use of Charlton Heston's talents. Rachel has to take her boss's niece, Emily, to the opera, but wants to bail to see Joshua instead. Ross does Rachel a favor and takes Emily. They end up hitting it off so well that they spend the entire weekend together in a romantic bed and breakfast. Rachel didn't get to see Joshua, and now has to deal with seeing Ross and Emily together. Monica and Phoebe try to help Chandler move on from Kathy by taking him to a strip club. It just ends up making Chandler feel awkward and sad, but later, he's able to start fantasizing about Phoebe, Monica, and the strippers, and he feels like he's closer to moving on. I really enjoy the Emily character, and look forward to seeing more of her. More Emily, less Joshua. 

"Ross! Come Look! There's a deer just outside, eating fruit from the orchard!" -Emily

GRADE: B-

The One With All the Rugby: Ross and Emily are enjoying their time together when Emily runs into an ex-boyfriend. Ross gets jealous when he hears that he's a Rugby player and wants to prove to Emily he's tough enough to play it too. Ross gets his ass handed to him most of the game, but eventually is able to summon "RED ROSS", an alter ego he uses to inflict pain. He gets a few good plays in, and Emily is impressed. Chandler runs into the great Janice again; this time, she's single and ready to mingle. Chandler isn't interested in her at all after their breakup last season, but Janice just won't go away this time. He has to pretend to go to Yemen for a work project, but Janice won't leave him until she physically sees him get on the plane and fly away. Chandler flies to Yemen, and we never see him again. Probably. Monica gets given the C plot in this episode, as she obsesses over a switch in the house that seems to do nothing. After giving up, we see that the switch seems to turn on the TV next door. Phoebe blinking to turn the TV off and on is a cute moment. 

"I'm going to Yemen? I'm going to Yemen! Hey, when we get to Yemen, can I stay with you?" -Chandler

GRADE: B

The One With the Fake Party: Oh, you're having a PAR-TEE? Rachel is desperate to get with Joshua after all her attempts to be with him thus far have failed. She decides to throw a last-minute party for Emily before she heads back to England so she can invite Joshua. This leads to some of the most cringe scenes involving Rachel, as she tries everything to impress Joshua as he awkwardly watches her fail every time. The worst part is Rachel busting out the cheer outfit and doing a routine like a high school girl. Despite her awful attempts, Joshua still ends up agreeing to go on a date with Rachel. I really hate the whole Joshua story, as I've said before, but this is as bad as it gets, at least. Ross and Rachel have a nice moment, though, where she convinces Ross to pursue a long-term relationship with Emily, despite the fact that she's leaving the country. Joey decides to give up meat so that Phoebe can eat some, as her pregnancy is making her crave dat meat. Gotta get that meat gurl, eat that MEAT! Oh, I'm still writing... sorry. 

"I say more dumb things before 9am than most people say all day" -Chandler

GRADE: D+

The One With the Free Porn: Joseph and Chandler stumble upon a pay-per-view adult channel while channel surfing and are too afraid to change it because they may lose the free porn forever. The rest of the friends are annoyed/confused by the fact that porn is now playing all the time at the apartment. Phoebe finds out she's actually having triplets for her half-brother Frank Jr. and Alice. Frank Jr. decides to try to find a better job to provide for his future kids, but to no avail. I do love the fact that Frank Jr's dream job is fixing refrigerators. A man's man, that guy. Ross declares his love to Emily, only to find out she actually has someone else in her life back in London. Ross travels to London to show Emily how far he's willing to go, but Emily has just traveled back to New York to tell Ross she wants him. I'm sitting here thinking how expensive that whole ordeal must have been. Joey and Chandler decide it's time to turn the porn off, because it's killing the vibe. Lucky for them, it's still there when they turn the TV back on! Does anyone else think it's weird that two best friends watch porn together... was this like a 90's thing?

"Bow chika-bow-wow, bow chicka-bow-wow. What is that song? It's been stuck in my head all day" -Rachel

"Oh, that's the theme to Good Will Humping" -Chandler

GRADE: B

The One With Rachel's New Dress: Oh my, Rachel is wearing a very seductive dress to impress... oh man, it's just Joshua again. So yeah, Joshua comes back into the scene, as Rachel is still trying to impress him, this time by wearing a very revealing outfit for him. It all backfires yet again, as Joshua's parents walk in on her, as they are visiting their son. It's a funny setup, but again, my disdain for Joshua keeps it from being too funny. Is it weird that I dislike all of Rachel's long-term relationships outside of Ross so far? Maybe the show did that on purpose to keep the audience rooting for Ross somehow. And yet, Ross gets to date lots of cool women like Julie and Emily. I will say Joshua being afraid of farm birds was really funny, actually. Ross is afraid that Emily will become a lesbian when she starts hanging out with his ex, Carol. Ross doesn't understand women. Chandler and Joey fight to get Phoebe to name one of the babies after them. In the end, Chandler uses his self-deprivation to win Phoebe over. This comes back into play next season. 

"Frank wants to name one of the boys Frank Jr. Jr." -Alice

"Wouldn't that be Frank the Third?" -Chandler

"Don't get me started" -Alice

GRADE: C+

The One With All the Haste: Everybody freaks out when Ross announces he and Emily are getting married. Rachel really takes this hard, but more on this next episode. Rachel is annoyed by her neighbor, who sings "MORNING'S HERE!" loudly every day. Monica and Rachel decide to try one last game to win their apartment back by putting up free Knicks season tickets and getting their apartment back. They lose again. Fed up with their situation, they decide to move everything back while the boys are gone. Joey and Chandler are angry when they find all their stuff back in their old apartment, but Rachel and Monica give them one last plea to keep things the way they are. They kiss for a full minute in front of Joey and Chandler, and the boys move back into their old apartment. Men are simple creatures, doesn't take much to make a deal. Uhm... Phoebe does something too in this episode, but I can't remember? 

"You've only known her for six weeks! okay? I've got a carton of milk in my refrigerator I've had a longer relationship with!" -Chandler on why Ross shouldn't move in with Emily

GRADE: B-

The One With All the Wedding Dresses: Ross asks Monica to go try on Emily's dress while she is back in London. Monica is overwhelmed when she tries it on, and ends up staying at the store for hours just looking at herself in the dress. She ends up wearing it at home and is surprised when Phoebe shows up, also wearing a wedding dress.  They fantasize about their wedding days together in their dresses. Rachel and Ross talk about the upcoming wedding, while Ross tries to comfort Rachel, he ends up annoying her instead. Rachel's jealousy of Ross getting married seeps into her own relationship as she tries to speed things up with Joshua, but scares him off instead. Rachel then joins the other girls with a wedding dress of her own, but when Joshua shows up to give Rachel another chance, he sees her in the wedding dress and runs off for good. Not that I'm complaining, it's nice to finally get rid of boring Joshua... although this ends up leading to some not so fun events for Ross later. Chandler takes Joey to a sleep clinic after he keeps snoring so loudly that Chandler can't sleep. Chandler meets a cute girl there, who ends up with him later in bed. She ends up screaming in bed while she sleeps, scaring Chandler and waking up Joey. Ross and Emily decide to get married in just one month. This is a totally great idea that won't backfire at all. 

"You know, whipped. WAH-PAH!" -Chandler doing a terrible whipping noise

"YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!" -Joey, ashamed of Chandler's terrible whipping noise

GRADE: B

The One With the Invitation: Oh no. Didn't think we'd get a clip show just 4 seasons into this show, but here we are for some reason. So clip shows in TV shows were pretty common back in the days of cable sitcoms with 20+ episode seasons. Even The Simpsons was doing this, and that was an animated show. Hell, even The Office has one of these episodes in its 6th season. It's an episode that consists mainly of clips from previous episodes; usually, there will be some kind of theme to it, like in this one, where it focuses on the Ross and Rachel romance. This isn't the last clip show on Friends, but yeah, these episodes may have served a purpose back in the day, before streaming, to catch audiences up to the story or to save budget on the season and throw up a cheap episode and still get ratings. It's a big waste of time when you are doing a rewatch, because you literally just watched those episodes not that long ago, so this episode is easily skipped and mostly pointless on rewatch. Really, all you get here is Ross debating whether he should invite Rachel to his wedding in London. He decides to, but she tells him that she can't go anyway because of work. As harsh as it may seem, these episodes will pretty much always get an F grade just for time-wasting. Thankfully, this type of episode has been erased from modern TV shows and sitcoms, probably thanks to streaming mostly. 

GRADE: F

The One With the Worst Best Man Ever: Ross decides to pick Joey as his best man after Chandler says Joey will be his best man, and makes Ross mad. Joey takes it too far as he throws a bachelor party and makes T-shirts with his face on them. Joey loses Ross' wedding ring and thinks the stripper from the party stole it. Well, it turns out the duck ate it, and they need to take him to the vet to get it out. This leads to a nice and funny moment where the three guys make amends and make each other cry because of how much they love each other. Monica and Rachel try to cheer up a struggling Phoebe with a baby shower. This backfires when they try to give her gifts instead of giving the babies gifts, and Phoebe rages at the guests. Phoebe dealing with mood swings is funny, and she plays it so well in this episode. It eventually comes around, and Phoebe appreciates all the things Monica and Rachel have done for her to help. It was nice to see an episode where all the guys and girls split off again, feel like it's been a while. Joey was particularly funny in this one. 

"I've got him well trained, see, look. Stare at the wall. Hardly move. Be white." -Joey showing the stripper how well his duck is "trained."

GRADE: B+

The One With Ross's Wedding: The two-part season finale has the Friends going to London for Ross's wedding. Poor Phoebe has to stay behind. So much happens in these two episodes, let's just get into it by each character. I'll save Ross and Rachel for last since that's the big cliffhanger. Joey annoys Chandler to no end by being the most obvious tourist of all time in London. LONDON BABY! He hits up all the famous spots like Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, while Chandler pouts around like a baby. Joey does a 180 after one day and realizes he misses New York and wants to go back, so now he's the one pouting. That is, until he meets an English woman who is interested in him... of course. Chandler gets away from Joey but finds himself getting closer to Monica. After Monica is mistaken for Ross's mother, Chandler comforts her. This comfort leads to more than Chandler would have imagined, as they both end up sleeping together in the hotel room. So begins the best love story in the show, Monica and Chandler. It's a nice beginning, but it gets so much better for them next season and beyond. Phoebe is stuck at home with Rachel, who didn't want to go. Phoebe tries her best to get Rachel to forget about Ross, but Rachel still ends up leaving to admit her feelings to Ross before he gets married. The rest of Phoebe's story is just her calling Emily's family in London and yelling at them. Rachel flies on Virgin Airlines, which is funny because Richard Branson (Founder of Virgin) makes a cameo appearance in this episode. I say funny, but he's not that great, to be honest. There she sits next to another cameo, Hugh Laurie (of House), as he tells her how terrible she is for going to someone's wedding to try and ruin it. Maybe this gets to Rachel because when she arrives at the wedding, she decides to give up on her goals of telling Ross her feelings and just stays to watch the wedding. Ross has been struggling to get this wedding to happen already, with parents arguing over money and the venue being torn down early. Despite everything, the wedding still happens, and just as it is about to start, Rachel shows up. Ross is touched to see her... so touched that he ends up saying her name instead of Emily's at the altar. Poor Ross just can't catch a break. Poor Emily has to deal with all this in front of all her loved ones. No one wins here. This was one of the best season finales, certainly the best one so far. Tons of fun being in London, lots of great moments between characters, and Monica and Chandler begin their romance. That last one alone is enough to make this a good episode, but everything else makes it great. The season ends on a huge cliffhanger with Ross and Emily's marriage possibly ending before it even technically begins. 

GRADE: A+

"LONDON BABY" - Joey

"Take Thee, Rachel" -Ross ruining his second marriage

"Oh, and by the way, it seems perfectly clear you were on a break." Hugh Laurie's character to Rachel

Season 4 was full of great moments, but in a way, this was the weakest season so far for me. It's weird because I think it's also the funniest season so far, but the storylines weren't always hitting on this rewatch. I mentioned how I dislike Joshua, and he stuck around for too long. Phoebe seems to get sidelined a lot after her pregnancy starts, especially in the season finale, but that's not really anyone's fault since she truly was pregnant in real life. Chandler and Kathy were great, but it ended just as it began. This was probably to get Monica and Chandler together at the end of the season, but it still sucks to build Kathy up for so long only for her to leave just as they start dating. Emily was a great addition to the show, and I love her and Ross together. Probably the one Ross relationship outside of Rachel I always root for. Of course, every long-term relationship Ross gets into is always affected in some way by Rachel. But overall, another very good season of FRIENDS. I mean, there really aren't any bad seasons of Friends, but I guess after all of this is done, I will rank them all. 

Revisiting My First Worst Songs of the Year Post 10 Years Later (2016)

I've been making these worst of the year posts for almost 10 years now. Maybe I need to find something better to do with my life? Nah, who cares about that? Making fun of bad music is too fun! That being said, my opinions on music have changed so much since I started making these posts. I feel like I've grown to love a lot of music I would not have even given a chance 10 years ago. Pop music has become something I love, not that I didn't enjoy it back then, but it's something I seek out more on my own, even outside of the charts. So I thought it would be fun to go back and see how my opinions have changed on the worst songs of 2016. Maybe I like the songs more? Maybe I hate them more? I will put my complete old post and update my thoughts in BOLD. I will also leave all my typos and dumb jokes in there for fun. 

(2016)10. Work - Rihanna: "If you had a twin i'd still choose you" - Drake 2016
With classic lines like that this song was destined to be on this list. Sorry to say I can't really understand Rihanna throughout half of this song. The chorus just repeats words over and over to an annoying point and at some points it just sounds like Rihanna is mumbling her lines. The music is boring like most pop music this year (sorry if I repeat that complaint a lot, it's hard to ignore in all these pop songs). The music just feels really weak throughout the whole song. Still this song is far from the worse this year which is why it's all the way at my 10 spot. I still get some enjoyment out of hearing Rihanna mumble half the chorus, at least in a comedic way. She seems to be putting more emphasis on her accent on this song than some of her other songs, so I can give it a pass for that.

(2026) My love for Rihanna has grown a lot over the last 10 years and my love for this song has too. I will say it's actually got some good parts I like. Outside of the chorus, the verses are actually good. Also, the parts where Rihanna sounds like she's mumbling are actually in Jamaican Patois and not just gibberish like I stupidly thought. So yeah, this song is pretty solid actually. Even Drake puts up a decent verse here, outside of that stupid twin line. I mean, that's still such a weird line to put in this song. 

(2016) 9. H.O.L.Y. - Florida Georgia Line: Speaking of lazy songs, Florida Georgia Line return to the top of the charts with their amazing song HOLY. Honestly I feel bad about putting this on the list because i'm not really huge on country music, but I know it can be done better than this. This doesn't even really feel like a country song, except the fact it's performed by Florida Georgia Line. Super cheesy cliche lyrics and super basic music with nothing exciting happening throughout the whole song. I know there's country music out there that's actually good or at the very least trying to be good, so it's sad that this super lazy song is the one that made it pretty high on the charts above the rest of them. I guess i'm just happy that this song wasn't annoying as "Cruise" and "This is How We Roll".

(2026) Man, I'm glad these guys aren't really a thing anymore in 2026. They had a hold on the pop country radio for way more years than they deserved, and this song just shows how lazy they could be and still get a hit. Yeah, I agree with me from 10 years ago about everything. Well, except for the country music part, because I certainly like a lot more country than I did 10 years ago. This song is boring as hell, though, and it just feels like paint-by-numbers pop country that we still somehow get these days. 

(2016) 8. Low Life - Future/Weeknd: The power of Drake is strong with this one. I thought Drake was the king of boring songs that could put you to sleep in seconds, but Future looks to be trying to his throne. This song has zero energy musically and vocally, both singers sound like they haven't slept in weeks when they were recording and are trying their best to stay awake to finish recording. Why have a great singer like The Weeknd only to have him barely try to sing the chorus. Why is the music so boring? Why is Future allowed to make music? Why?

(2026) OH MAN, I forgot how much I hated Future's music back then. Honestly, I still have no love for Future 10 years later, but I have a lot more love for The Weeknd. Mr. Weeknd has released some amazing albums in the last 10 years, so going back to this version of him is pretty depressing. Terrible lyrics and zero energy is right, but I've always disliked this style of trap song, even to this day. Future just brings no life to this track and sounds like he doesn't even want to be on his own song. Sad. 

(2016) 7. My House - Flo Rida: Here comes the artist as interesting as a blank paper, Flo Rida. I never want to hear the word house again after hearing this song (he says it a total of 18 times the whole song or 24 if you count synonyms). Also I always get really annoyed during the chorus when he does that sloppy stretch of the line "we don't have to go out". Seriously though, Flo Rida has really only made one decent song in "good feeling" and the rest of his music has been pretty terrible.

(2026) WELCOME TO MY HOUSE! AH, this song isn't that bad, really. I mean, it's not great, but it's at least fun? Uhhh, I'm already bored after the first chorus. Never mind, I guess I don't disagree with myself from 10 years ago. Maybe I was a little too mean to Flo Rida, but I agree this song is pretty boring and repetitive. I still hate it when he says "We don't have to GooOOOooo out". 

(2016) 6. Work From Home - Fifth Harmony: The idea of a song about missing someone you care about because you both work different times of the day is not a bad one, but it's not executed well here. The worst part of the song is of course the lazy chorus that repeats the word "work" over and over till it doesn't make sense anymore. Also this is one of those songs that repeat the same music loop over and over until the end of the song, and it gets old pretty fast. Also there's these weird sounds during the second verse that sound really out of place, a weird squeaky noise. Also Ty Dolla $ign does a verse so that's a thing. Also the word "work" is said 97 times in this song, so that's cool.

(2026) Also, this song is still terrible 10 years later. Also, Camila Cabello left the group to make even worse music. Also, I should have mentioned the obvious joke that there were two songs that repeated the word "work" a lot in one year. Also, I used the word also too much in that review.

(2016) 5. Roses - Chainsmokers: The drop in this song is so bad, I always die a little inside when it happens. So I know music like this has a big focus on the "cool" electronic sounds and effects, but none of that stands out here. I found the music on this one to be really annoying, with all the frustrating vocal effects used and the equally frustrating random "what" chanting in the background. This song just feels one giant mess and nothing feels right together in here. The vocals and music together don't work together and it makes it really hard to listen to this song all the way through. Chainsmokers made had a lot of bad songs this year, but this one stands out above them in all the wrong ways.

(2026) Yeah, I got nothing to change about that original review. Chainsmokers were pretty bad at this, with "Closer" being the one single I actually liked by them. Even that one had the terrible vocals by Chainsmoker guy. 

(2016) 4. Me Too - Meghan Trainor: When I first heard this song the first thing that popped into my head was Will.i.am, because musically this sounds a lot like something he would do. The bass sounds sound like they came straight from a Black Eyed Peas song or a song produced by Will.i.am. Normally I find a lot of Will.i.am's music to be pretty annoying, so the fact that this sounds like it doesn't help me enjoy this, as the bass sounds are really annoying and overdone in this song. Also hearing Meghan Trainor trying to be so cocky and cool just doesn't really work for her, I just don't believe it coming from her. At least I can say she was trying to do something new, which is why this song isn't any higher, but it's still a pretty annoying song.

(2026) Good God, that bass is actually incredibly annoying. Like, I need to turn off the song because it's giving me a headache, levels of annoying. I tried to be kind to Meghan for trying something new, but she doesn't deserve that. I mean, she failed so spectacularly here that she ended up going back to her doo-wop sound not long after this. Like I said, this just doesn't work for someone like Meghan Trainor; it doesn't fit her vocal style or her personality. 

(2016) 3. We Don't Talk Anymore - Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez: A tough question I had to ask myself when making this list: Who is worse - Charlie Puth or Shawn Mendes? After some thought, the clear answer was Charlie Puth (at least this year). Not only releasing the super cheesy and unsexy "Marvin Gaye", he makes this equally lame song with Selena Gomez that's about the same overused subject like "Don't Wanna Know" by Maroon 5. The vocals in this song stay in the same tone throughout the whole runtime never doing anything interesting. The lyrics don't add anything new to this subject that's been done to death, it feels so bland and unoriginal. A lot of my frustration with pop music comes from either extremely boring songs with no emotion or songs like this one that take a subject that's been done so many times and doesn't add a single new thing to it. It just feels like one of those songs that could have been written by any song writer and could have been much better with a different performer.

(2026) Ugh, Charlie Puth. It's funny, I brought up the Charlie Puth vs Shawn Mendes argument in my original post. I still have no idea who I would pick, as both artists are as boring as they've ever been to this day. It doesn't help that he paired himself with Selena Gomez, who, at the time, I thought was one of the most boring artists making pop music. She's had a few decent songs since then, but not much, honestly. I will say the chorus isn't too bad on this song, maybe the only redeeming part of it, but not enough to bring me back to this song. 

(2016) 2. Fake Love - Drake: Drake is the king of boring songs that make me want to sleep, and most of the time actually do put me to sleep. I tried to listen to this while driving once, and it was a really bad idea. An artist that has been around as long as Drake has no excuse in releasing something this boring. BUT that's Drake thing right? Making music that's lifeless and boring with no passion. Music that's whiny and all about Drake complaining about people or his life. It's impressive the music is somehow even more boring than Drake's vocals in this song. I really wish people would stop buying and listening to bad music like this just because it comes from an artist that's already established and known around the world. I really think if this song was written by someone who wasn't as famous or popular as Drake people would hate it. Then again... I can't really speak for the majority, as I have no idea what they actually like, since artists like Flo Rida, Charlie Puth, Drake and Future all have huge hits this year. Drake needs to try something new and put more energy into his music, or at least just show some passion and emotion in his lyrics. Hopefully people will start to see how lazy this is and stop listening.

(2026) Oh man, I was such a Drake hater back then. Look, it's not a great song as far as Drake is concerned. I will say, the beat is pretty interesting, sort of reminds me a little of "Hotline Bling", which is still one of Drake's better songs. Thankfully, he released the much better "Scorpion" a year after this. Still, I could do without the drowning vocals that sound way too sleepy for a song going out to all the "haters". Yeah, I'm sick of all the people being fake right in front of my face, but not enough to show real emotion about it. 

(2016) 1. Gold - Kiiara: It was so hard trying to choose between this song and Drake for the worst of the year. This song is SO ANNOYING to listen to, and it was very hard listening to more than once. I just can't listen to this song all the way through, by the second chorus I have to change it. The chorus is one of the most frustrating things that i've heard all year, it really gets under my skin. The rest of this song is bland, boring and repetitive, but the chorus just takes it to a whole new level of bad. The lyrics repeat multiple times throughout the song, making the song that much harder to get through (since it doesn't make sense half the time anyway). While Drake might be boring, at least I can listen to his songs all the way through. This song somehow made it all the way to the TOP 13 spot and lasted 27 weeks on the HOT 100 charts. How can anyone give this a pass? How can anyone put up with the gibberish chorus? Please keep music like this away from the charts and the radio, it's not good at all.

(2026) Remember Kiiara? I didn't either until I started this post. Yeah, I can't stand this song even 10 years later. One of the worst choruses of the 2010s, easily. The chorus is supposed to be a scrambled version of the lines "The roof was on fire, but you never let me know", which is a decent line, but when scrambled to gibberish, it makes it frustrating to listen to. Maybe there was a good song somewhere in here, but this was not the way it needed to be presented. The gimmick just ruins the chorus, and the rest of the song just isn't good enough to make up for that. So yeah, I agree with 2016 me, this was the worst song of the year. But honestly, Meghan Trainor's "Me Too" probably should have been a close second. 

Our President is Terrible PART 4

 It's been almost 3 months since my last post about our garbage President, and OH MY GOD, so many terrible things have happened since then. Currently, everything in this country just keeps getting worse and worse, and every new decision our President makes just seems to break everything even more. It's not enough that he's ruining our own country, but now he's ruining the rest of the world, too, with this new war of his that even he can't seem to understand why he's doing it. So here are more reasons why our current "president" is terrrrrrible. 

IRAN WAR

This is an ongoing issue here in the world, and one that I'm not sure I fully even understand. Hell, I don't even think Trump understands much of what he's doing with this war, but now that he's stuck in it, he has no way out without looking like a moron. Well, he already looks like a giant moron, but I mean that he can't pull out without looking like an even bigger moron. It's clear that there was no real plan going into this Iran war, except that it was going to be about working with Israel to take out Iran. They say it was all to stop Iran's nuclear capabilities, as they claimed Iran was very close to being able to have nuclear weapons of their own. That seems to be a complete farce, as there is no evidence of this being true. In fact, the Counterterrorism Chief whom Trump appointed just resigned recently and said that that was all a lie, and he was disgusted by the war that Trump started with Iran. The world is suffering now more than ever with these terrible choices by our admin. Oil prices are going to keep going up, which means gas prices will go up along with them. Everyone in the world will have to deal with insane gas prices now. Not like it's a problem in the USA, since we don't rely on cars... oh wait, almost every city in the USA is completely dependent on owning a car to get around. Ah, well, just buy an electric car then, you'll be alright. 

We can't forget the fact that the USA bombed a school in Iran, killing innocent children alongside the adults who care for these children. Trump tried his best to find a way to place the blame on Iran, because he's a heartless bastard who probably never felt the love of his own father. But, it's so fucking gross how this admin is so perfectly fine with doing war crimes and killing children and not even showing the tiniest bit of remorse. Hell, we saw Trump wearing his stupid MAGA hat during a ceremony for the fallen soldiers of this "Operation Epic Fury". Dude can't even be respectful to the soldiers he got killed with his pointless war. How many more soldiers will you send to their death, Trump? Just recently, he declared a 48-hour warning to Iran, saying he will destroy power plants if they don't open the Strait of Hormuz. This isn't going to end anytime soon, is it? Oh, and it looks like he's already backed off on that 48-hour threat. Somebody, please, stop this idiot from making any important choices going forward, and get rid of all his idiot yes men. 

Robert Mueller

Last time I wrote about how Trump was completely insensitive about the death of Rob Reiner. He celebrated his death and made it all about himself, as a terrible person would. This time, he celebrated Robert Mueller's death on social media by just straight up saying, "Good. I'm glad he's dead". I mean, I know they had a lot of bad history together, but Trump just has zero class when it comes to... well, anything really. He just can't find a way to keep his stupid mouth shut and let anything go. He holds grudges for decades, regardless of how small and petty. Just know that if this ever happens to the President, everyone will be celebrating around the world. Like fireworks and parades type of celebrations.  

Racist Obama Video

Trump posted a video that depicted former President Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as monkeys. What do you even say to that? There's no denying this shit is racist, and our current president is racist. I mean, we already knew that, but why the hell are you posting videos like this, and why does he never get any repercussions for any of this shit? We all know he hates Obama more than anyone; he can't stop bringing him up every chance he gets. I swear, Trump is the only President in my lifetime who could even get away with this. The Republican Party is so broken that they don't really seem to care that much about all the horrendous things Trump keeps doing. Of course, they blame this on his team and say Trump wasn't the one who posted it. Not buying it. Trump would be stupid enough to post this on his page, and even he knows at this point he'll just get away with it anyway. 

Kaitlin Collins

Trump lashed out at Kaitlin Collins after she asked a good question about Epstein's victims and them getting justice. Trump dodged the question and instead went on a rant about how terrible CNN is and how he thinks Kaitlin Collins is terrible at her job. All this ended with a sexist "you should smile more" by Trump. Kaitlin rightfully says she's asking a serious question about victims, why would she smile? It's just another day of Trump being perfectly okay with being openly sexist. I mean, at this point, it doesn't seem to bother most of his fans. If they're okay with racism, why not be okay with sexism too? He also told another woman reporter a few weeks before this to "Quiet piggy". This is coming from an overweight man who can't even stand straight and feeds everyone McDonald's. Turns out he was the piggy all along. 

Melania Movie

What the hell was this? Can someone explain to me why the most boring woman alive needs an entire movie about her life? Directed by a man accused of rape by several women, and who also appeared in the Epstein files. Just a disaster waiting to happen. Well, it was a disaster of a movie that was only watched by the die-hard MAGA fans. I can't imagine they even liked it much, but they have to pretend to like it because... I don't even know at this point. It's okay to admit the movie sucked, alright, even if you like Trump, it's fine to think Melania is a very boring person. Not every famous person needs a movie made about their life, and this movie was proof. I guess to be fair, I didn't actually watch it, because what person with actual life goals and aspirations would actually walk into a theater and sit through this? By the way, they poured 75 million dollars into this movie. 75 MILLION! Here are some infinitely better movies that cost way less or about the same:

Breakfast Club: 1M

28 Years Later: 75M (a blockbuster with fantastic effects and great actors costs the same)

Saw: 1.2M

Rocky: About a Million

I'd imagine some of the older movies I mentioned aren't adjusted for inflation, but even so, it's still going to be so much cheaper, even if it were adjusted. 

Hell, even the recent NBA Bulls, The Last Dance, documentary cost less to make, and it's considered by many to be one of the best documentaries of all time, with athletes more well-known than Melania. The point is that that much money wasn't needed to make a doc about Melania, and the budget certainly didn't show in the doc itself. Unless they paid Melania or Trump most of the budget, which wouldn't be that shocking. 

Kristi Noem

Trump just recently fired the Secretary of DHS Kristi Noem. It was a long time coming, I mean, she was just awful at her job. I say this, but really, almost all of Trump's cabinet appointees are terrible at their jobs. Kristi Noem, who is famous for killing a dog, was fired not too long ago, and Trump has already found a replacement. The sad part of all this was that the reason why she was fired was not that she was terrible at her job, which she was, but because of what she said about Trump. She basically threw Trump under the bus when asked why she spent so much money making tons of commercials with herself in them. 220 million dollars to make a bunch of worthless commercials with Noem riding horses, trying to convince everyone she's actually good at her job. It wasn't long after blaming Trump for the commercial budget that she was fired from her position. 

There's also the alleged story of her having an affair with Corey Lewandowski, who served as a special adviser to the DHS. Both people in this affair are married with children, by the way. There were rumors of them sleeping together on their expensive luxury jet while they traveled across the country. If true, it just further shows how terrible these people are at their jobs, and Trump is terrible at picking the people who will be in positions of great power. 

Pam Bondi

About a month ago, Pam Bondi, who is the current attorney general, was questioned about the Epstein Files. There, she completely embarrassed herself by dodging as many questions as possible and showing no respect to the victims of Epstein, who were watching her bumble her way through the hearing. The funniest and dumbest moment came when Bondi started ranting about how great the DOW is when asked about Epstein and his victims. "The DOW is over 50,000!" she says, as everyone in the room rolled their eyes or laughed at the stupidity of the statement. At this point, we know Trump cares more about the stock market than pretty much anything else. The market seems to really drive a lot of Trump's decisions as President, and when it starts to go down, he seems to try any cheap tactic to get it to rise again. But this wasn't about that; it was about Epstein's list and the survivors who are looking for justice. It doesn't seem like any justice will be had in this current administration, as they are pretty much doing anything they can to get people to forget about Epstein and move on from this. Like perhaps starting a war in Iran? 

Jake Paul

Two of your least favorite humans are hanging out like bros together. Gross. Trump invited Jake Paul to one of his rallies, where Jake Paul wore a suit and was sweating straight through that suit, leaving giant wet marks under his armpits and on the sides of his entire torso. Dude needs to get some new deodorant. Actually, he was there TO promote his deodorant, so I guess that didn't go so well. I don't know, man, Jake just looked so gross and sweaty, and his gross beard looks like it hasn't been washed in like 5 years. I feel like his very presence on screen makes me want to vomit, so I can't imagine what it's like actually being around him. Trump seems to love him, though, which makes sense because he's one of the other guys whose presence makes me want to vomit. I'd imagine women instinctively cover their drinks when they see these two guys approaching. ANYWAY, the whole point of this was Trump endorsing Jake Paul for some kind of future position in Government. Please God, if you are still out there, don't let Jake Paul have a position of power in this country. Well, I guess I'll go watch Jake Paul get his jaw broken again from his last fight. 

As always, below are some articles if you want more information on some of these topics and news. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4g66r3z40o

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/11/iran-war-missile-strike-elementary-school

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/trump-pam-bondi-hearing-stock-epstein-judiciary-dow.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/donald-trump-faces-backlash-wearing-091400501.html

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/21/politics/donald-trump-robert-mueller-insensitive-comments

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5796885-kristi-noem-homeland-security-ad-democrats-investigation/

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/04/noem-lewandowski-relationship-tabloid-garbage-0081318

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/cnn-kaitlan-collins-breaks-silence-184025519.html