Generally speaking I avoid the C-word when referring to any woman, but Sinema is really making me reconsider that position.

SPOILERS

"I can do this all... DAAAAAAAAAAY!"

"No Way Home" is really a love-letter to Spider-Man, and is definitely in my MCU top-five.

I thought the same thing, but it's apparently a common misconception.

If a virus has a high lethality rate and obvious symptoms before becoming transmissible, then it's likely the symptoms will become less severe and lethality rate will drop over time in new variants or strains so the virus can spread more effectively.

However, for something like COVID, which is transmissible without symptoms in the host or when host symptoms are mild enough to be ignored, then there's no evolutionary pressure for it to become less transmissible or less lethal.

The only solution is to isolate the virus through immunity. Cut off vectors for it to spread to and it dies out. However, we may be past the point where that's possible, especially given COVID's asymptomatic presentation in some people. It's more likely that we're marching toward an endemic, where COVID is like the flu or common cold that gets passed around year after year and we get shots or take drugs to alleviate the symptoms.

I've got a ten pound brisket in the oven slow cooking to perfection, everything ready for noodle kugel tomorrow, and the latke mix ready to go.

Bring on the party guests!

Everybody is vaxxed.

Spider-Man 2 is still a high-water mark for superhero movies. 1 is saddled with origin story baggage, 3 is just an overstuffed mess.

It's very emblematic of the earlier style of superhero movies that leaned into the campy aspects of comics, versus the next iteration that was more serious and grimdark. The first X-Men movie obviously eschewed the spandex-and-tights aspects of comic books, and continued that trend as the series progressed. The Fantastic Four duology touched on the body-horror aspect of the titular heroes' transformation, but leaned too hard into the campiness of the 60s and 70s era. The Blade trilogy was VERY early 00s - leather, techno music, the works. Then you get into the DC side of things with Nolan's Batman trilogy, which fucked off the whole fantastical elements of superheroes and basically leaned into the "rich guy punching poor criminals for funsies" aspect that's always been problematic for those types of stories.

I will say this - without Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, there isn't an MCU as we know it today, which does take some adult topics and themes and wraps them in a comic book presentation, while still mostly staying true to the source material. For example, WandaVision is more or less a version of "House of M" - driven mad by grief, Scarlet Witch creates a parallel universe, that is only undone when she has to deal with the losses she's suffered. Falcon and The Winter Soldier tackles race, legacy, and PTSD. Loki is a journey of self-discovery and dealing with narcissistic personality disorder. Hawkeye is a story about dealing with trauma and the repercussions of your actions in past coming back to haunt you.

I'm hosting a holiday party this weekend and making a ten pound brisket, noodle kugel, and latkes for a bunch of Goyim.

MRS. MAISEL AIN'T GOT SHIT ON ME.

I personally don't agree with this, and would not want it to become national policy, or even policy anywhere else.

Beyond the legal issues, of which there are many, the ability to vote is one of the key differentiators between citizens and non-citizens. The way I see if, just because you live somewhere, even if you've lived there for a while, doesn't give you the automatic right to participate in it's politics.

If you want to participate in America, become a citizen. Yes, the process sucks. Yes, it takes a long time. Yes, it is very far from perfect or even reasonable. But, that's how you demonstrate your loyalty to your new home - jump through whatever hoops they ask you to, do it with a smile, and reap the benefits later.

Beyond that, there's a 100% chance the GOP uses this nationally and runs ads in every state going "DEMOCRATS ARE LETTING ILLEGALS VOTE!", which certainly doesn't help the perception that Democrats are weak on issues around the southern border and national security.

I have the pin, the patch, and the scale model.