Humdrum Places - BlogFlock

📮 June Zine - foofaraw

2026-06-01T22:57:12.000Z

The June issue of Foofaraw Zine is here! Download below or read in our purpose built ebook reader.

Of course, all stories will be published for free on the web throughout the month, but paid supporters receive a PDF/EPUB with all of the month's stories at the beginning of the month, along with a few other goodies, including the bonus Four-headed Foofaraw. And Patrons get stuff in print!

Individual issues are also available for purchase on Weightless books, where you can also subscribe.

This month...

Stories

A Bear Walks Into A Bar by K.A. Vargas
The Devil Went Down to Georgia Auto Mechanics by Sarina Dorie
Nonsense Machine by Bobby Rollins
Small Potatoes by E. Florian Gludovacz

Poems

Rapturous Love Apocalyptic Dog-Sitting Service by Franky Newcomb
Mirage by Ian Li

Observations

The Work Essay by Nicholas De Marino
Emperor Trampatine Addresses the Board of Galactic Peace by Olena Zheldak

Cartoons

Negative Space by Rusty Epstein
The News by Jonathan Borthwick
Email Void by Rusty Epstein
US Medical Billing Dept by Jonathan Borthwick

Interviews

K.A. Vargas
Sarina Dorie
Bobby Rollins
E. Florian Gludovacz

Cover art

by Addison Smith

〄

On to the zines...

🔭 The Xylophone Essay - foofaraw

2026-06-01T15:09:50.000Z

But not just xylophones. There's the tintinnabulations of Edgar Alan Poetry and the melodious ribs of old-timey cartoon skeletons.

And you—yeah you—don't turn that dial! To paraphrase Bill Hicks, there's a purple vein Priapus ditty coming soon. ((As much as I hate Joe Rogan parroting, his errant, approaching-speech-impediment-levels-of-praise for Bill Hicks and Norm Macdonald isn’t without societal benefits.))

Greek dick jokes to larboard.

First, a confession: I'm musically illiterate. My fault, sure, but mnemonics did me no favors. (“Johnny Mnemonic” reference, something-something, drawing a blank.)

E. Start there, at the bottom, and ascend the alphabet a space and a line at a time until G, then it's back to A. Instead of that, back when I was in band, we deciphered upturned FACEs and mantra-ed “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” “Elvis's Guitar Broke Down Friday” would've stuck better, but our first director was a Beatles guy. Feel free to coin your own. ((“Engorged Gremlin Bondage Drips Fluids.”))

Don't blame me. That's the power of negation and Ironic Process Theory.

Cursed images, as the kids say.

But, anyway, staves don't apply to snare drums, bass drums, cymbals, triangles, and that ratchet thingy.

As long as you stick with easy instruments, you don't have to read a proper staff.

Granted, our elementary, middle, and high school band had its own staffing issues. A carousel of directors and ADs were spun off by sex crimes, ((“Well, she was just seventeen. You know what I mean.”)) a car wreck and resultant brain injury, transfers, maternity leave, a re-retiree, and transient student teachers who lent me their Bright Eyes and Division of Laura Lee CDs. The percussionists-cum-drummers flew under the radar so long as someone braved the bells—the bells!

Fortunately, both the twins could read music.

Everyone's hometown had multiple sets of identical twins, right? Ours just had two, but both were in band. One played percussion and the other played trumpet.

Ditto for the second set. We also had walking puns like Matt Tress and Justin Case. ^[Cue 90s voice, “Homophones are gay.”] And there were at least six Mikes. One guy, Black Mike, wasn't black, but liked rap. And there was Jew Bob, who may or may not have been Jewish.

Can you cancel an entire town or chapter of your life?

Back to peak twins. Part of the reason it never seemed odd was because of Mrs. Pallo, my fifth-grade teacher. Her identical twin taught at a neighboring school, but we'd all seen the pictures: same haircut, parts on opposite sides.

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You can’t talk about twins without mentioning Josef Mengele. (Actually, you can, and your day will be more pleasant, but apparently some people didn’t get the memo that the Nazis were really, really, really bad, so strap in.) Among the litany of horrors done to Romani, Jews, and other undesirables, the experiments on twins were on another level. Start with the Wikipedia entry on “Nazi human experimentation.”

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Hey, U.S. Supreme Court boosters, here’s a quote worth Googling: “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” Not-Fun Fact: Buck vs. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), has never been overturned. Expect plenty of slap-dash journalism to commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of compulsory state-level eugenics in 2027.

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“Social Justice,” an awkward, but true story that offers an alternative in fifty words: It's against the rules, but after the State takes the woman's fourth baby away, her social worker explains birth control. Specifically the pill. That way her sugar daddy in the State Pen doesn't find out. She's developmentally disabled so it takes a few tries. The social worker prays she'll remember.

And, while I remember Mrs. Pallo's class fondly—rocking chair stories, the giant wooden caboose clubhouse, dictionary races, the cusp-of-puberty straight talk, the lateral thinking puzzles at Future Problem Solvers meetings—the Bear Cub Incident looms large.

Grizzly? No, probably black. One of the kids' dad was a hunter. Many kids' dads, actually. So many we got off school the first day of hunting season for father-son-or-daughter-but-who-are-we-kidding-it-was-all-sons outings. ((And, if that's not true, the classrooms were mostly bare.))

Frankly, elementary schools are already packed with dangerous wild animals. But Melissa's dad brought an “orphaned” bear in for show and tell. He bottle fed it. Smell of warm milk, warm fur. Look, but don't touch. No one bothered to tell the cub.

Exiting, pursued by a bear, Melissa's dad roared and barreled away, one hand cradling the cub, the other pawing at the knockoff-A.D.I.D.A.S. claw marks on his neck. Not strawberry jam.

Detour to YouTube.

Mrs. Pallo ran a Victorian Perambulator Museum with her sister in Jefferson, Ohio for more than three decades. Look, there they are. Lovely to see her again. ((My wife, however, has some notes about bucolic folk horror and creepy dolls.))

Can't find xylophone references, huh? My bad. My dad just died and I'm having trouble, ahem, focusing. Let's see… Coil's final album, The Ape of Naples, has some lovely marimbas, though those are, technically, metallophones. Same for the jingle-jangles on “Operator,” the closing track on Ulver's tour de hospital Blood Inside. I'm pretty sure Mr. Bungle's purgatory-adjacent California has some glittery glissandi, but those were probably keyboard patched. Oh, shit: “Gone Daddy Gone” by the Violent Femmes!

But back in parvónia (that's Portuguese for a podunk, bumfuck, one-horse town).

There was someone who could read music. My dad. He was the music teacher at Happy Hearts, a school for kids with developmental disabilities.

A version of the Orff Process worked wonders. You know, from Carl Orff of Carmina Burana/“O Fortuna” and Kidz Bop fame. (Cue Ignatius J. Reilly voice: “Fortuna, that vicious slut.” What a Toole.)

Got the wrong note? We're gonna swap out the wonky bars on that xylophone so it's only right notes. Now whack away like it's the black keys on the piano. It builds confidence and has the not-inconsiderable side effect of being easy on the ears. ((Unlike these essays, where I take Bukowski's “Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit” approach and riff on references till it's twelve-tone jazz.))

For what it's worth, my old man helped lots of kids. Just not my sister and me. Now that he's dead, I refuse to go full apologist or Christopher Robin Milne. You have to find the wrong notes yourself. But it's nice when someone warns you. Or shows you how to read a map.

Evidently, I still have scaling issues.

I Love Boosters (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-06-01T03:50:45.000Z

When it comes to satire, surrealism, and style, Boots Riley has no equal. Parts of this just felt cold and stilted to me…

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Habeas Flight Watch /// National Map - The Independent Variable

2026-05-29T17:13:57.000Z

lexingtonalarm.org via gillianbrockell.com

Love to see it! A live map to track ICE flights to know when they could be coming to your city. Feels like an important thing to share so maybe go and do that.

🎙️ L.N. Hunter - foofaraw

2026-05-29T16:29:00.000Z

💡

Read Religion, the Board Game (Second Edition) now!

Would it be safe to say you have opinions on religion?

Absolutely, but I try not to be overly vocal about it. Religions and belief systems are fascinating, but I struggle to understand them—or rather, to understand how people choose to behave within their structures.

My intention here was to poke some good-natured fun at both religion and board gaming, and I hope I’m not offending anyone in either camp.

Based purely on the rules you’ve established above, which religion do you think would have the greatest odds to win?

I think current world events suggest that a combination of Technology and Narcissism will come out on top, but might not actually achieve victory before destroying the world.

Are you a big board game player?

Yes, to the degree that it’s cutting into my writing time, though I’m making a small attempt to combine both in blog posts for Zatu (a large UK game store). If anyone’s interested in reading. My current favourite game is the absolutely brilliant Ark Nova.

Are there any specific board games that inspired this idea?

Not really; it was more about how badly written some rulebooks are! Taking Ark Nova as an example, though it’s by no means a poor rulebook, gameplay information is distributed in what feels like a haphazard fashion across a couple of books, both of which are very terse. The situation isn’t helped by the game’s German origin, in that there are a few terms which don’t have the best English translation. I’m pretty sure that mere mortals wouldn’t be able to learn the game solely from the in-box rules, but thank goodness for the availability of gameplay videos and online tutorials.

I don’t mean to pick on that game; really good rulebooks are the exception rather than the norm. On that note, I was delighted to see a recent episode of Chris George’s Room and Board podcast, in which he outlines what makes a rulebook great. I could ramble on for ages about how writing rulebooks, instruction manuals, or user guides requires a different skillset than designing a game or appliance, but the basic message, which Chris touches on, is: put yourself in the reader’s shoes and think about they need, not just about the details of the game/appliance.

On the religion side, the ‘rules’ there seem as thoroughly arbitrary, complicated and inconsistent as the best (or worst?) of board games, and somehow, treating all that as a game seemed the most logical thing for me to do!

I will note that there are a couple of recent games that definitely weren’t inspirations, as I wrote this quite some time before they made a public appearance. Almighty, the Godliest God Game and Gods & Mortals look like a lot of fun to play, and might be the closest this bit of writing could be as a viable game (though in those games you play as gods, not religions—a subtle distinction). Maybe there was some cosmic religions/games proto-idea floating around the universe a few months ago, and it pinged in several minds at once :-) (The Aliens religion at work, perhaps.)

How do you think Narcissism and Ur would end up affecting the gameplay and strategy of the game for players?

This is where I cheated a bit: I think Narcissism already exists in the minds of some ‘players’ :-o

How many times has this story been rejected by other markets?

This was the very first submission! It’s difficult to find humour markets, at least the sort of humour I tend to write, but Foofaraw’s been nice to me a few times.

What book are you reading right now?

I’m currently working through Mary Roach’s Replaceable You. It’s fascinating and gruesome in equal measure.

I’d love to point people at my novel, The Feather and the Lamp, an example of my humour that took a long time to find a publisher. The first few chapters are available as a preview on Amazon, and reviews/ratings are absolutely welcome.

Huge thanks to L.N. for sitting down and talking about board games and religion!

🎲 Religion, the Board Game (Second Edition) - foofaraw

2026-05-28T16:33:40.000Z

Time passes, and human civilisation is slowly heading towards destruction. Some of the most significant forces in the world are religions, and it is their duty to do what they do best: recruit Earth’s entire population before the inevitable end!

In Religion, the Board Game, you play as one of five ^^Religions^^ competing to amass the most ^^Worshippers^^ before the doomsday clock runs out.

Game Components

Inside the box, you’ll find:

A circular World Board with spaces for card stacks, the general population pool and other tokens. The Doomsday Track is displayed along its circumference.

Five player board segments to be placed around the central hub. These track numbers of ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^, and ^^Worshippers^^, as well as current values of ^^Charisma^^ (rate of converting ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^), ^^Stability^^ (susceptibility to unforeseen ^^Events^^) and ^^Stealth^^ (ability of ^^Believers^^ to spread into other ^^Religions’^^ domains). Each board segment is illustrated with an image of the ^^Religion’s^^ god(s) and a list of skills and reminders of relevant ^^Action^^ modifiers.

Sixteen dice with varying numbers of sides and distribution of values, to be used as directed by specific ^^Actions^^.

Three hundred Population Tokens, representing the people of the world.

Five each of ^^Blight^^, ^^Conflict^^, ^^Miracle^^ and ^^Misconduct Tokens^^ (used as designated by relevant Action cards).

Seventy-three ^^Event^^ cards.

Five ^^End Time^^ cards.

One hundred and eleven ^^Action^^ cards.

One ^^Time Marker^^.

This rules booklet.

Overview

Taking on the role of a Religion, you start off with a small number of ^^Worshippers^^ as well as some ^^Believers^^ and ^^Followers^^. Your goal is to convert ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^, recruiting replacement ^^Followers^^ using your ^^Believers^^. The relationship between ^^Believers^^ and ^^Followers^^ is complex: some ^^Believers^^ go on to become ^^Followers^^, while others inveigle themselves into other ^^Religions^^ to steal their ^^Followers^^—sometimes at the cost of their own lives.

Strategy Tip! Cleverly deployed ^^Missionaries^^ can reap huge benefits, but if you send too many into one region, you might suffer a catastrophic backlash.

At the start of each turn, an ^^Event^^ will occur at random, such as ^^Plague of Insects^^ or ^^Tsunami & Earthquake^^. This affects all players to a greater or lesser degree, but can be mitigated or deflected onto other ^^Religions^^ by playing an appropriate ^^Action^^ card. Note that not all ^^Events^^ are negative—occasionally a beneficent event occurs, such as the ^^Miracle of Healing^^, but more common are ^^Events^^ which are positive for some ^^Religions^^ and negative for others.

The game ends in one of two ways: first, one ^^Religion^^ takes over the entire world, by acquiring ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ from opponents—a player will be knocked out of the game if they lose all their ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^. Second, the doomsday clock runs out and the world ends; the winner is the player whose ^^Religion^^ has most ^^Worshippers^^ (^^Followers^^ and ^^Believers^^ do not contribute to the final score, but see the special case of ^^Atheism^^ later).

Strategy Tip! The world has a finite maximum population. Players can accelerate the end of the world by causing there to be a demand for more ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ than the world can sustain (i.e., by emptying the general population pool); trailing players are advised to keep an eye on the leader and take steps to decimate the world’s population to avoid a premature apocalypse.

Religions

The five ^^Religions^^ contained within the base game are:

Modern Monotheism. This ^^Religion^^ starts with a large number of ^^Followers^^, but has low initial ^^Charisma^^ due to internal disagreements over the importance of reverence. ^^Stealth^^ is low, because adherents of this ^^Religion^^ can be rather vocal and thus tricky to keep hidden. Finally, with low ^^Stability^^ levels, ^^Modern Monotheism^^ is prone to schism and infighting.
Ancient Polytheism. Here, the starting ^^Charisma^^ level is high, as pagan rituals tend to encourage active participation. ^^Stability^^ is also high due to ^^Followers’^^ allegiance being distributed across a panoply of gods. ^^Stealth^^ is low, because this ^^Religion^^ tends to encourage a boisterous party spirit.
Technology. The god here is ^^Money^^, which has a lot of ^^Followers^^ and a high conversion rate to mindless ^^Worshipper^^ (^^Charisma^^). ^^Stability^^ is low, however, as technology trends can suddenly change, leading ^^Worshippers^^ to switch allegiance quickly.
Atheism. There is no god, which also means there is no distinction between ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ (^^Charisma^^ is 100%). Instead, at the end of the game, the average of both is used as the final score. ^^Stability^^ is very high, as atheists are quite firm in their beliefs, and ^^Stealth^^ is also high, with atheist ^^Believers^^ being able to sneak into other ^^Religions^^ undetected. The initial number of ^^Followers^^ is chosen randomly.
Aliens. This ^^Religion^^ is very secretive, and right from the start, ^^Believers^^ are almost all already hidden within other ^^Religions^^ (^^Stealth^^ is very high). The gods of this ^^Religion^^ are a total mystery, as reflected by ^^Charisma^^ varying dramatically across the game (requiring a roll of the eight-sided green ^^Charisma^^ die to determine the ^^Follower^^ to ^^Worshipper^^ conversion rate at the start of each turn).

Strategy Tip! Although you can omit any ^^Religion^^ if there are fewer than five players, it is recommended to remove ^^Aliens^^ and ^^Atheists^^ by preference, to maximise friction between players. It’s not advisable to play with fewer than three, or the ^^Religions^^ will self-destruct too quickly.

Artwork by Tony Tran

How to Play

Shuffle the ^^Event^^ and ^^Action^^ cards and place them face-down in stacks in the indicated locations on the central board. Place the ^^Population Tokens^^ alongside to form the general population pool, and add the other tokens where indicated. Set the ^^Time Marker^^ at the start of the ^^Doomsday Track^^.
Players are assigned their ^^Religion^^ randomly, taking ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^, and ^^Worshippers^^ from the general population pool in the numbers indicated on the player board segments. Finally, three ^^Action^^ cards are dealt to each player, who can look at them, but must keep them hidden from other players.
The first player is the person who most recently said a prayer, or in the case of ^^Atheism^^, when the player most recently swore. Play subsequently proceeds clockwise.
The game progresses via a series of rounds in which an ^^Event^^ card is revealed, then in turn order, players react to the ^^Event^^ by following the instructions on the card. ^^Events^^ typically adjust numbers of ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^, and may additionally cause players to end their turn immediately or perform an extra ^^Action^^ for free.
After dealing with the ^^Event^^, a player may perform one or more ^^Actions^^ using the cards from their hand. ^^Actions^^ have a cost in terms of the number of ^^Believers^^, marked on the top right of the ^^Action^^ card, which will be returned to the general population when the card is played. Some ^^Actions^^ have additional requirements, such as minimum and maximum ^^Stealth^^ level or number of ^^Worshippers^^—the requirements are indicated in the top half of the card. The lower half of the card explains the consequences of the ^^Action^^, such as invalidating or reducing the impact of the current ^^Event^^, as well as adjustments to numbers of ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^, and ^^Worshippers^^ belonging to either the current player or specified others, as well as the ^^Stealth^^, ^^Stability^^, and ^^Charisma^^ values. When the player has completed as many ^^Actions^^ as they want—discarding each card after using them—play moves to the next player.
Once all players have taken their turn, game end checks are performed. If at any point during the round the general population pool is empty, the ^^Time Marker^^ is moved to the end of the ^^Doomsday Track^^, triggering the end of the game. Likewise, if only one ^^Religion^^ is left with ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^, the game ends.
If the game has not ended, players replenish their hand back to three ^^Action^^ cards by drawing from the ^^Action^^ card stack and optionally convert ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^ based on their current ^^Charisma^^.
After this, the next round can start.

Strategy Tip! For a shorter game, start with only two hundred ^^Population Tokens^^ instead of three hundred; for longer games, add more tokens, using whatever comes to hand. Note that the New Religion: This Time We Mean It expansion pack includes extra tokens, as well as two more ^^Religions^^, ^^Narcissism^^ and ^^Ur^^, along with a new game mechanism, ^^Resurrection^^.

Round Example

For ease of explanation, assume play is in the order the ^^Religions^^ were listed earlier.

At the start of the round, ^^Atheism^^ rolls the ^^Charisma^^ die to determine their ^^Charisma^^ for the round. They roll a value of 10%.

The ^^Schism Event^^ card is revealed. This incites conflict within a ^^Religion^^, causing ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ to be lost. ^^Modern Monotheism^^ is particularly prone to this and must roll the high-value white twenty-sided die to determine how many to lose as well as lowering the ^^Charisma^^ value by the number of percentage points indicated by rolling the ^^Charisma^^ die.

After this, the next player, ^^Ancient Polytheism^^, rolls the low-value grey six-sided die for losses, but this player happens to have the Ask for ^^Tolerance Action^^ card and chooses to play this, which halves the number rolled on the die and also avoids any loss in ^^Charisma^^.

Next, ^^Technology^^ also uses the high-value white die, but before the player can roll, ^^Modern Monotheism^^ plays the ^^Man Should Not Meddle Action^^ card, which means that lost ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ go to ^^Modern Monotheism^^ instead of back to the general population pool.

^^Atheism^^ is not affected by ^^Schism^^ except to increase the ^^Stealth^^ level (unless it is already at maximum).

And finally, ^^Aliens^^ is also not affected by ^^Schism^^, but the ^^Event^^ permits them to optionally reroll for ^^Charisma^^, which they choose to do since their current value is low.

The population pool is not empty, and all players still have ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^, so the game end is not triggered.

The ^^Time Marker^^ is moved along the ^^Doomsday Track^^.

Now, all players convert ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^, and begin the next round.

We hope this has given you a flavour for gameplay in Religion: The Board Game.

Comments on Specific Event Cards

The ^^Sainthood Event^^ doubles a ^^Religion’s^^ ^^Followers^^ and ^^Believers^^, except for ^^Atheism^^, which loses both, unless the ^^Contra-Evidence Action^^ is played, which cancels all players’ gains and losses.

Both ^^Natural Disaster^^ and ^^Human Disaster^^ will lead to conflict between ^^Religions^^, but take care to note which ^^Religions^^ attack which others as indicated on the ^^Event^^ card; Non-specific ^^Disaster^^ lets each player choose whom they want to attack. In all cases, the results of the conflict are determined as indicated on the ^^Religion^^ player board segments, not the ^^Event^^ cards.

The ^^Missionary Event^^ allows each ^^Religion^^ to roll the die indicated on their player board to either convert a number of one other ^^Religion’s Followers^^ into ^^Believers^^ of their own ^^Religion^^ or to convert some of their ^^Followers^^ into ^^Believers^^ to be spread into all other ^^Religions^^. Both options can be countered by playing the ^^Strength of Faith Action^^ card.

Advanced Play: End Times

In this mode of play, one player will be randomly and secretly designated as an ^^End time Cult^^ at the start of the game, and will do their best to end the world before the end of the fifth round. If they can do this, they win the game regardless of how many ^^Worshippers^^ any player has. On the other hand, if they fail to achieve this, they must lose half their ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ due to ^^False Prophecy^^.

To play this variant of the game, deal the ^^End Time^^ cards (only one of which has ‘end time’ printed on it) to each player, who will look at them in secret. At the end of the fifth round or the end of the world, whichever comes first, all players reveal their End time cards and take the action indicated above.

Strategy Tip! — Note that ^^False Prophecy^^ also exists as an ^^Action^^ card; when using the ^^End Times^^ mechanism, you may wish to remove this card from play to avoid confusion, but it’s not essential.

Changes from the First Edition

For the benefit of players familiar with the first edition of the game, here are the major changes:

^^Intelligence^^ has been removed as a ^^Religion^^ attribute—its definition and value proved to be too contentious among players.

The ^^Second Coming^^ sub-game has also been removed for similar reasons. Instead, a ^^Messiah Event^^ card had been added, along with ^^False Prophecy^^ and ^^Scepticism Action^^ cards.

To reflect changes in the real world, the strength of the ^^Antivax^^, ^^Intelligent Design^^, and ^^Conspiracy Theory^^ events has been increased, while ^^Scientific Evidence^^ and ^^Voice of Reason^^ are weakened.

L.N. Hunter’s comic fantasy novel, The Feather and the Lamp, sits alongside works in anthologies such as Best of British Science Fiction 2022 and Ghostly, as well as several issues of Short Édition’s Short Circuit and the Horrifying Tales of Wonder podcast. There have also been papers in the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, which are probably somewhat less relevant and definitely less entertaining. When not writing, L.N. occasionally masquerades as a software developer or can be found unwinding in a disorganised home in Carlisle, UK, along with two cats and a soulmate.

Lines, Ranked - The Independent Variable

2026-05-28T14:58:24.000Z

mcsweeneys.net via thingstoclick.com

13. Bread. What your grandma thinks Zohran wants.

Things to Click already nailed the best one, but this one I pulled is fun as well. Lots of great lines.

Cure For Paranoia /// 2026 Tiny Desk Contest Winner - The Independent Variable

2026-05-28T14:55:18.000Z

youtube.com

I discovered Cure for Paranoia last year (or the year before..?) when they were doing a new rap song every day that got very political. It was superb. Then I learned about all their Tiny Desk submission videos: superb again. And this year, they won. The lyricism, the musicianship, the skill, and the performance. It's all there.

What's going on between us? - foofaraw

2026-05-28T04:27:15.000Z

—Ellie Black

📺 The Media Guide S7E9 - foofaraw

2026-05-27T20:30:42.000Z

A busy Memorial Day weekend of Bottlerock and wine tastings put a bit of a delay on things, but here we are.

It does actually look like a pretty great week in TV, music, movies, and comics. I don't want to spoil too much, but there is a lot to be excited about, especially seeing Backrooms follow up Obsession and a new-to-me band called FILM, which knocked their first album completely out of the park.

So stick around.

📺 Spider-Noir Season 1 — MGM+

I don't know why, but I am looking forward to this so much. Nicolas Cage playing Spider-Noir, coming out of the animated Spider-Man movies—it's just a completely wild concept to me. And Spider-Noir was one of the first comic books I read back in 2008 that got me back into comic books as a whole.

So I'm just fascinated to see what they do with this and how they tackle it.

🎵 Permanence by FILM

I wish I knew more about this band, or literally anything about them. I'm sure I could look it up, but we're already running late, so all I have to say is this album feels like home. This is the music I grew up listening to in high school. I feel transported.

It doesn't even feel like a modern band inspired by those early 2000s alternative pop-punk bands. It just feels like it was made in that time, and it's pure joy.

🎬 Backrooms

Pretty wild to see a 19-year-old kid take a story that he made at 16, which turned into a series of web shorts, and now he's directing a movie based on all of that with A24 and a stacked cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Duplass, Renate Reinsve, and more recognizable faces.

Especially considering this follows Obsession, which came from TikTok filmmaker Curry Barker, being a success. Now we've got this YouTuber with an A24 movie that also seems to be received extremely well. It's a new age of Hollywood.

📺 Star City Season 1 — Apple TV

Star City spins out of Apple TV's For All Mankind. This time it looks like we're getting a look from the other side of the curtain, seeing the Soviets as they attempt to put the first man on the moon and observing from their perspective as intelligence officers that are embedded over there.

The Boys (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T14:08:28.000Z

I loved this. It’s terrifying and gave me extreme anxiety given its parallels to real life, but it’s the rare feat of action, quality, and theme.

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Running Point (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T14:05:05.000Z

Another fun season that improved on the first besides one impossible feat.

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Daredevil: Born Again (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T14:03:11.000Z

There’s something about this show that feels off. Mix of Netflix Marvel and WB Arrowverse… I enjoy parts of it, but there’s no levity; constant drama.

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Bella Union (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T03:25:28.000Z

Very much a winery that cares more about interior design and label design than anything else. Wine was fine.

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Aonair Winery (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T03:21:35.000Z

A top-tier, intimate experience with an amazing view and great wine. Only downside is the Packers merch.

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Cakebread Cellars (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T03:00:06.000Z

Cool spot, but not really my favorite wines.

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Rooster (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T00:55:48.000Z

Wasn’t sold at first, but this one really grew on me as the season went on. Great cast and chemistry really elevates it.

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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2026) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T00:54:36.000Z

I’m not sure I could tell you why I continue to watch this other than my love for Godzilla. It’s convoluted, paced poorly, and not that engaging.

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Tha Carter III (2008) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T00:02:33.000Z

Bottlerock review: TC3 is one of my favorite rap albums and he absolutely killed it—much better than expected. Really cool to see the live drums too.

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Blue Madonna (2018) - A Humdrum Life

2026-05-26T00:00:57.000Z

Bottlerock review: Wasn’t really familiar with Borns (and I’ve learned he’s had a problematic past), but this stripped down set was fantastic.

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Humdrum Places - BlogFlock

📮 June Zine - foofaraw

This month...

Stories

Poems

Observations

Cartoons

Interviews

Cover art

🔭 The Xylophone Essay - foofaraw

Detour to YouTube.

But back in parvónia (that's Portuguese for a podunk, bumfuck, one-horse town).

I Love Boosters (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Habeas Flight Watch /// National Map - The Independent Variable

🎙️ L.N. Hunter - foofaraw

Would it be safe to say you have opinions on religion?

Based purely on the rules you’ve established above, which religion do you think would have the greatest odds to win?

Are you a big board game player?

Are there any specific board games that inspired this idea?

How do you think Narcissism and Ur would end up affecting the gameplay and strategy of the game for players?

How many times has this story been rejected by other markets?

What book are you reading right now?

Do you have anything else you’d like to share?

Huge thanks to L.N. for sitting down and talking about board games and religion!

🎲 Religion, the Board Game (Second Edition) - foofaraw

Game Components

Overview

Religions

How to Play

Round Example

Comments on Specific Event Cards

Advanced Play: End Times

Changes from the First Edition

Lines, Ranked - The Independent Variable

Cure For Paranoia /// 2026 Tiny Desk Contest Winner - The Independent Variable

What's going on between us? - foofaraw

📺 The Media Guide S7E9 - foofaraw

📺 Spider-Noir Season 1 — MGM+

🎵 Permanence by FILM

🎬 Backrooms

📺 Star City Season 1 — Apple TV

The Boys (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Running Point (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Daredevil: Born Again (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Bella Union (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Aonair Winery (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Cakebread Cellars (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Rooster (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2026) - A Humdrum Life

Tha Carter III (2008) - A Humdrum Life

Blue Madonna (2018) - A Humdrum Life