Lasers in the sky, drones zipping around like they’ve got appointments to keep, and a ten‑day airport shutdown because somebody let a mylar balloon go sightseeing. Feels like someone dug up a stash of old‑school roons and tried to film a sci‑fi flick on a yard‑sale budget. Could be incompetence, could be mischief, or just 2026 doing what it does — keeping everyone guessing.
And then there are the AI videos. I’ll watch one a dozen times thinking it’s real, pour a couple tequilas, read the comments, and suddenly everyone’s a relationship expert. Meanwhile it takes me twelve replays to notice the beautiful lady has six fingers. That’s where I’m at in life: old, grumpy, retired, and spending my free time trolling the self‑styled socialists and commies online. Having lived overseas drinking vodka with the real ones, I can say these folks aren’t even junior varsity. And yes, sometimes the vodka wasn’t cheap, and yes, I still enjoy opera and caviar.
Last time I watched the Super Bowl, I was in some backwater South American bar with a handful of expats. Nearly twenty years ago. The whole thing stopped feeling like America to me long before that. I’ve got standards — high and low — but not Super Bowl standards. So I watched the TPUSA show instead. Figured it might flop. Five million viewers. Works for me. Then I checked the Super Bowl numbers: 120 million. Fine. I wasn’t one of them.
I’ve never minded the off‑beat path. Grew up in a tiny town where everyone was related — and no, not Alabama. That little place taught me how to go toe‑to‑toe with city people. So I’ll stick with the five million who watched TPUSA. My kind of crowd. And if you didn’t watch it, well, I know exactly what show you did.
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