1. The big news this week was that I found out that my contract with the school is not being renewed, so I’m going to have to scramble to find a new job.

This was, of course, extremely disappointing, though I had seen hints of it coming, so I wasn’t completely caught off guard. I’m hoping to be able to stay around Phoenix, at least for this next year, so I’m starting to put out applications. Prayers for success would be appreciated.

2. Among the famous graves at Indianapolis Crown Hill cemetery are a President of the United States and a notorious gangster.

Guess which one receives more visitors.

3. If a trained monkey could do your job, then the only question your employer has to ask is whether you or the monkey will cost more.

All things being equal, he’d probably rather have the monkey.

4. Political power, like economic value, always depends on concrete reality, not assertion. You can claim that a group has equal rights all you like, but unless they actually have the power to convince or compel others to respect those rights, then those rights are entirely the gift of whoever can.

5. I often thought that a Harry Potter miniseries would be a good idea. I found the films pretty mediocre overall (the worst part being the utter botching of Ron and Hermione’s characters), and a long-form series with time for all the intricate plots, colorful characters, and subplots would be most welcome.

Only, HBO signaled their intentions by deliberately miscasting possibly the most beloved character in the series, previously given what is widely regarded as the best performance in the films by one of the most beloved (now deceased) actors of his generation.

I don’t think it would be possible to do a more bone-headed race swap (well, except maybe the Anne Boleyn thing). And we all know why they’re doing it; to try to gain attention through virtue-signaling and shield themselves from criticism. Everyone knows what they’re doing, and everyone is sick and tired of it.

Evidently, making the series was a good idea; having these people make it was not.

6. Speaking of miniseries, I finished One Piece season 2 this week, and I have to say, this is the first western-made show in long time that I can give a pretty much completely applause to. The second-to-last episode in particular was genuinely heartbreaking, with some first-rate acting. And it’s a guy with a three-pronged hairstyle and his adopted CGI reindeer-man who looks like a plush toy come to life, but damn if it doesn’t bring a lump to the throat.

The reason it works, despite the surface-level goofiness, is that the show is 100% sincere. I wouldn’t say it takes itself seriously, but when it wants you to feel a given emotion, it goes for it completely and trusts the audience to be on board. It doesn’t feel like the filmmakers were embarrassed or rolling their eyes at the idea of making the audience feel for little reindeer-man, or the viking giants, or the depressed whale. They trusted that if they were sincere about it, if they got the emotions right and had the actors really put in the best performances they could, then the audience wouldn’t care about how bizarre and over-the-top everything looked and would get invested with the characters.

7. Another thing that helped was the fact that the fights scenes were also really good for the most part. There’s a big set-piece battle of one of our heroes against a hundred enemies that is sheerly awesome, though I also liked another, shorter sword fight between a female Marine and a crazy assassin. In both fights, most of the action is filmed in fairly long takes, letting us appreciate the strong choreography and reassuring us that the actors actually knew what they were doing.

Overall, if you can stomach some truly outlandish world building and costumes, and don’t mind some occasionally dubious effects, I highly recommend the live-action One Piece. I haven’t enjoyed a modern show this much since…well, I can’t really remember when.