Greetings Webtaculators! One of the bad things about going on vacation is that when it ends, you realize that sitting in a cafe at 3PM eating cheese and drinking wine on a Tuesday is something you no longer get to do. The only advice I got in order to be able to do that on a more regular basis is either a) be independently wealthy with a residual income, or b) become a hobo and mooch off of my friends (thanks Lori!). Seeing that option a is not in the cards any time soon, this is an open offer for anyone to to support me and my wine and cheese lifestyle. Any takers??? No? Oh well, desk bagels it is. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: It Got Worse
Why: Because for some reason, the bigots have shouted loudly enough to now be a driving factor of political discourse, as though anything is balanced about saying racism is OK. Shame stopped working as a stopgap a while ago, their religious teachings have failed them, and true common decency is something that apparently 40% of the country lacks. The word “deplorable” does not go far enough to describe just how obscene Trump’s modern day white supremacist rally was. There is nothing close to resembling greatness in that crowd – only hate.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: The Milkshake Problem
Why: Because oil is once again the driving force behind the rapid escalation of tension in between Iran and much of the Western Hemisphere. Maybe this is another issue that is too big to pay too much attention to, since if we did, we’d all realize just how screwed we are.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: The Passing Of Justice
Why: Because Justice Stevens might be the last Chief Justice to truly understand the importance and place of empathy of the human condition in the court.

TECH THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Walled Gardens Have Failed Us
Why: Because we continuously make poor decisions in how we interact with these overly powerful devices in our pockets, and no one is going to help us protect ourselves at this point.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (8 min. read)
What: Sports Are Political
Why: Because some people don’t like Kaepernick or the USWNT or what issues they have spoken out about due to them experiencing racism or sexism. Those people can go pound sand, because sports have always been political.

VISUAL ARTS THINGS OF THE WEEK (long watches)
What: All Of The Media
Why: Because Picard, Blade, Top Gun, The Witcher, and uh, Cats! are going to be the things that look like we’ll be talking about at some point in the near future. (Seriously, WTF Cats.)

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: The Gift
Why: Because Lion King is such a juggernaut that it essentially gets two albums.

PAINTING THING OF THE WEEK (10 min. watch)
What: Searching For Bob
Why: Because Bob Ross is probably one of the most famous American painters, yet you can’t own his work.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. look)
What: Audubon Photography Awards
Why: Because animals make the for the best models.

LITERATURE THING OF THE WEEK (long look)
What: Memiories
Why: Because reading about an individual’s life from their own perspective is a particularly hard job to do well – here are the best ones.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (8 min. read)
What: BeatEmUp Like They Used To
Why: Because they just don’t make games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance any more – they’re not trying to be great, they’re just trying to be fun.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: Miss These Traps; Spider Conan; Go Back
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Wine And Cheese Afternoon Cafe Tuesdays
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™