“I'm taking a ride with my best friend” - The Last of Us on HBO (2023)

A game based on Ron Swanson macguyvering death traps, procuring meds and homesteading with a bickering partner with a dwindling health meter, might be fun though -- some kind of cross between tower defense, animal crossing, and sims.

seeing this as some mid noughties Flash game on the HBO website as part of this series 2005 marketing push.

Flew through the 9 episodes in the last three days - an incredible show. Part of me wishes I had gotten to play more than 30 minutes of the game at my friend's house before watching to see the differences between the show and game, but I guess it made my show-watching experience much tenser not knowing what would happen. I was convinced Joel would be dead by the end of the season

Finally listened to the last official podcast episode, and while I stand by my (modest) reservations about the show, the podcast provided excellent closure.

“While everything at this moment is pencils down, I’m hopeful that we can come to terms sooner than later. Otherwise we will have to assess what is the end of the 24 schedule, what are the shows that are going to be delivered for 2025,” Orsi said. “At this point, those shows that I’m looking to air wouldn’t necessarily be ready if this strike last six to nine months. So yes, that’s a big question for us, but I think we’ll cross that road once we come to it.”

It’s “too early to tell” how the scheduling plans for specific shows will being impacted by the writers work stoppage, Orsi said. “We were looking at The Last Of Us for some time in 2025. And The White Lotus was ideally looking to go in 2024 but there’s some question about timing of the strike.”

Watching this again with my teen, who had never seen it, and while it holds up I maintain my criticism that there is not enough time spent traveling across the country with Ellie and Joel, and the two biggest comments I keep hearing from my kid are "everyone keeps talking about raiders but we never see any raiders" and "how are we supposed to care about any of these characters if they just immediately die?" Fair enough, the show does constantly introduce new characters/villains just to immediately kill them off (typically in the same episode), which gets a little distracting. If they had another episode of just Ellie and Joel traveling/solving problems/fighting it might have offered a bit more narrative breathing room.

I really enjoyed The Last of Us as it aired, but it has not remained in my mind whatsoever since finishing it. I'll definitely watch the next season but if you told me it was still two years away I wouldn't really be bothered.

It's two years away.

OK theory tested and confirmed.

Pascal getting a SAG award for his role in an upset over the Succession candidates and coming to accept it looking like this and saying “I’m a little drunk. I thought I could get drunk" is now all-time great award ceremony material.

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-2036530546.jpg?w=850&h=638&crop=1

Long game campaign paid off
https://absurdink.com/cdn/shop/products/voteforpedro_2048x.jpg?v=1663771136

dammit
https://www.cantonrep.com/gcdn/-mm-/0dd9230c6c4a30f8962f38e8bb74b16d3186694c/c=184-0-2515-1317/local/-/media/2019/03/11/USATODAY/USATODAY/636879209675940780-e0-napoleon-2shot-phenom-wkcov-12.JPG?width=1320&height=746&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Wait, wut? Dead link de-deaded itself?

A group of researchers in India have discovered a mushroom sprouting from the side of a golden-backed frog. https://t.co/GEUU19gmCg pic.twitter.com/V8PEGONJHa

— ABC News (@ABC) March 2, 2024

D: