I honestly didn't see this one coming. Feels like a really weird acquisition for Allen, but I guess it's relatively cheap compared to its peak. I still think this whole idea of user-generated content being something that can deliver these millionaire profits is a pretty despicable business plan and strategy.
The Independent Variable
Posts on page 3
Pokopia is my post-gender utopia
webcomicsFriend of the foof, Ellie Black, with a wonderful webcomic for Mothership. Highly, highly recommend!
Dirty Little Zine /// Free 8-Page Printable Zine Maker
zinesMake a printable 8-page folded zine from a single sheet of paper. Free browser-based editor with photo layout, captions, and 300 DPI JPG/PDF export.
Awesome little tool to help you make single-page zines. More zines please!!! Rick also made a library so folks can share the zines they make with the tool.
Ari Aster Sets Next Film ‘Scapegoat’ With Scarlett Johansson at A24
moviesAster once quipped that he couldn’t believe A24 was “stupid enough” to give him $35M to make “Beau Is Afraid.” They shelled out another $30M for “Eddington,” which also failed to ignite. Maybe that’s the end of that partnership. Bless their twisted hearts, they are back again for another dip into Aster-world.
Ari Aster is one of my favorite filmmakers working today. Beau Is Afraid is a masterpiece in my opinion and his other three movies are all terrific. I'm so glad A24 continues to roll the dice on him and hope he can make something that finds a bit more success without sacrificing his own vision.
May 6, 2026
politicsGlobal affairs journalist David Rothkopf wrote today in The Daily Beast: “Not since Vietnam have we seen a more systematic effort by an administration to lie about the nature, costs, consequences, and results of a war than we have seen from the White House on Iran.”
They've painted themselves into a losing corner and won't admit it so they continue to do everything they can to deflect and deny reality, extending things out further and further. And to think, if only Trump hadn't pulled out of the original Iran deal, we'd never be here. But that would just be too easy and too sane, now, wouldn't it.
I leave the US in less than three weeks
internetWhen an opportunity like this presents itself, it feels absurd to turn it down. I've lived too much of my life trying to cling to what feels comfortable, and it's never been worth it.
Really wonderful to see Keenan and Katy make that big jump across the pond (and out of this deteriorating shithole).
