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Mom shares her New York Times digital subscription with me, so I assumed that was why the algorithm thought I could use an ad linking me to this:

While my appreciation for spandex is well documented, what struck me about this particular advertisement was the obvious modesty-preserving panty liner the model was using. That crotch bulge seems so familiar....

Oh, right. It's how Dan Jurgens draws male superhero crotches.

Superman #123 limited edition "Glow-in-the-Dark" variant, May 1997

Maybe that ad was targeting me after all.

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Here at Wriphe.com, I don't actually keep track of every movie I watch, just new-to-me movies. I also frequently rewatch old-to-me movies, and sometimes I spot the Pause that Refreshes. These are some of those I spotted in the past year (in chronological order of release):

Bye Bye Birdie (1963)

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

The Sting (1973)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Waiting for Guffman (1996)

Zoolander (2001)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Yes, I know that's not a great screenshot of the original black Coke Zero can, especially considering that the product gets a better showcase when Scott intentionally overturns the Coke Zero that Gideon Graves offers him at the Chaos Theater. However, that black can really didn't photograph well in the dim light of the club. So this is what you get. But by all means, go watch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to see if you think I made the right choice. I love that film, and so should you.

As always, a complete archive of my Coca-Cola movie screenshots can be found here.

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Every day we awaken to find that the world isn't even the place it was the night before. Predictably, that constant instability has led to fear, fear to anger, anger to hate, and hate to suffering. The goal should be to try to curtail that path, not accelerate it. Any man can only take so much injustice, cruelty, and bad taste before hopelessness wins.

Which is why I'm demanding that Kroger return to its previous recipe for Bread and Butter Chips.

Back in the good old days, the ingredients were listed as "Fresh cucumbers, sugar, water, vinegar, and less than 2% of: salt, spices (including mustard and celery seed), calcium chloride, turmeric extract (color), gum arabic, natural flavors." The result: deliciousness!

But now? Kroger pickles have become a "Product of Vietnam" with ingredients "Cucumbers, sugar, water, vinegar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, gum arabic, natural flavor, turmeric oleoresin (for color)." Those may look like small changes (just 3% more salt and 2% more sugar), presumably to keep the price down, but they translate to soggier, sweeter, inferior pickles. Blech. I'll never underestimate the value of calcium chloride again.

If I have to watch as the United States sides with corporations, racists, and the enablers of pedophiles over the welfare of its own citizens; disavows medical and climate science; scuttles the global economy; turns its back on former allies Europe and NATO; solicits bribes from criminals and tyrants around the globe; murders people in international waters and its own streets; and bullies media conglomerates, law firms, and astronauts to deny its immoral behavior — you know, all the things 78 million American people voted for in 2024 — then at the very least I should be able to enjoy my favorite pickles as the legacy of the America I used to know crumbles around me. If you can't find joy in the little things, what's left?

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132/2564. Thunderbolts* (2025)
SPOILER WARNING: The villain in this movie is... depression. And it might be the best Marvel Universe movie I've seen in eight years. Make of that what you will.

133/2565. It Started in Naples (1960)
Given how much older one-note grumpy Clark Gable is than his love interest in this "romantic" comedy (Sophia Loren), I feel like it should have stayed in Naples.

134/2566. Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
This documentary is about a pay-cable pioneer in California, but boy, howdy, would I have enjoyed watching what they broadcast: classic and esoteric films.

135/2567. Fitzwilly (1967)
I have mixed feelings about this. It's a little bit like a less believable Candleshoe (my favorite Jodie Foster film), but I did enjoy Barbara Eden and the sharp writing, even if I felt Dick Van Dyke was not quite right for his part as the con-artist butler. (David Niven would have been great!)

136/2568. The World of Henry Orient (1964)
This delightful outsider coming-of-age film presses all of my personal buttons. (Hello, Paula Prentiss!) A traditional, romantic lead actor willing to lampoon his public persona would have been better in the title role (Peter Sellers is, as usual, playing too broad), but I guess they wanted a big name. (David Niven would have been great!)

138/2570. Skyscraper Souls (1932)
A melodrama of several sets of relationships set entirely inside one very, very large building. It's nothing to write home about. (William Warren is the building's amoral manager, and it's just too bad that David Niven was still in the British Army in 1932. He would have been great!)

That's it for movies I watched in 2025. Next time: 2026, now in progress!

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