IDIOCRACY Has Become a Documentary in the Trump Era...

So yesterday, the image above was shared online days after it was announced that an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match will take place at the White House's South Lawn on July 4, 2026... America's 250th birthday.

The reason why this event is such a farce has to do with the fact that Donald Trump is close friends with UFC CEO Dana White. And just like what Trump did when he promoted Tesla near the South Lawn about four months ago (back when he and Elon Musk were still buddies), the Felon-in-Chief is using his undeserved residency at the White House to prop up wealthy donors like White and Musk.

Considering the fact that Trump has populated his cabinet with clowns like former FOX News host Pete Hegseth (who's now the Signal Chat-loving Secretary of Defense), FOX News host Judge Jeanine Pirro (the wine-soaked U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia), FOX News contributor and Russian puppet Tulsi Gabbard (the Director of National Intelligence), World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon (the U.S. Secretary of Education) and dog-killing cosplayer Kristi Noem (the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Secretary, who didn't know what 'habeas corpus' was), it's no wonder why folks are comparing this country's current political climate to that of Idiocracy.

If you've never heard of Idiocracy before, it's a 2006 movie (which was test-screened by a marketing company I used to work at back in November 2004) starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph and Terry Crews that is a dystopian satire tackling such issues as commercialism (epitomized by the Trump/Musk photo directly below) and anti-intellectualism—the latter of which has been prevalent among the MAGA faithful since 2016. Idiocracy has become increasingly relevant as Trump continues to make a mockery of American democracy and causing his supporters to be more mistrusting of science; believing that geo-engineering is responsible for extreme weather (like the one that caused the tragic floods currently plaguing Texas) and not climate change itself.

Another movie that defines Trump is 2000's Gladiator. Much like Emperor Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix), Trump is a sad and insecure would-be tyrant who's apparently using the spectacle of arena combat to hide the fact that he is an incompetent leader catering to the dregs of society to attain popularity. And this will increasingly become the case as Trump gets more desperate for adulation after doing such destructive things to the American people as signing that One, Big, Bullshit Bill into law two days ago.

Presumably, this nightmare will be over by early 2029—unless Trump succeeds in getting a MAGA successor voted into the Oval Office in late '28, or worse (F**k you, Andy Ogles). It will be a very, very long time before the U.S. begins some kind of healing from the wounds that the convicted felon has been inflicting upon the American Experiment since the summer of 2015...when Trump began his chaotic run for the presidency. Carry on.

Artwork of the Day: Celebrating SUPER FORCE...

Happy Monday, everyone! Just thought I'd share this artwork that I drew of Super Force...the titular character of my favorite sci-fi TV show from 1990 to '92. After Darkwing Duck (and his arch-nemesis Negaduck), Super Force is the latest hero from my childhood to be illustrated as I stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic. And along with the recent drawing I made that's inspired by Ridley Scott's epic film Gladiator, and the latest artwork I did of the Dragon Ball Z villain Cell, I am obviously in the mood to create art that celebrates a blast from my past! Carry on.

Image of the Day: Perfecting Cell...

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Just thought I'd share this drawing that I completed today of Cell ("Perfect Cell" to be exact, as he had three variations during the show)...one of the coolest-looking villains in Dragon Ball Z (DBZ)! Much like how I finished that gladiator drawing a week ago to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Gladiator's theatrical release, I completed this latest artwork to recall that later this year will mark 20 years since Super Saiyan Gohan defeated Cell (the YouTube video clip of this is featured below) in the season finale of DBZ when it aired on the Cartoon Network. I was in the Fall Semester of my third year at Cal State Long Beach at the time.

Yup— There are so many other things about the year 2000 to be nostalgic about for me...most of them good, one of them eventually bad. I'll blog about these too if I'm in the mood, or if I have time. Hah! The 'Stay-At-Home' orders for Los Angeles County due to the coronavirus pandemic will be extended through July, so of course I'll have time! Um, knock on wood. Carry on.

Remembering GLADIATOR Two Decades Later...

20 years ago today, I went to the AMC 20 theater inside Puente Hills Mall to watch Gladiator for the first time. Needless to say, the Ridley Scott-directed Roman epic starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen was my favorite movie of 2000...and now one of my favorite flicks of all time. Along with the amazing action sequences—ranging from the opening battle in Germania and the re-enactment of the Battle of Carthage (shown above) to Maximus' (Crowe) final showdown with Emperor Commodus (Phoenix) inside the Colosseum—you also had Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard's hauntingly beautiful music score, and the memorable quotes below:

"What we do in life, echoes in eternity."

"If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the Sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium...and you are already dead!"

"Are you not entertained?!"

"The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end, your highness."

"Tell me what you've been doing, busy little bee, or I shall strike down those dearest to you. You shall watch as I bathe in their blood."

"Am I not merciful?!"

"The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story! But now, the people want to know how the story ends."
Granted, I had to Google the exact wording to the 'Elysium,' 'busy little bee' and 'the general who became a slave' quotes...but you get the point. Gladiator was also one of the first movies I talked about when I started this Blog 20 years ago this October! In honor of this Oscar-winning flick, here's a drawing I began 20 years ago that I finally got around to finishing today. If there's a silver lining to staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic, it's that I'm completing projects that I began waaay long time ago. Anyways, carry on—and "on my mark, unleash hell!"

Yup, that was another quote from Gladiator.

One of my favorite films for 2000, Gladiator, just got nominated for 5 Golden Globe awards yesterday. The nominations include Best Picture, Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Director (Ridley Scott), Best Supporting Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard).

If Gladiator is gonna win a Golden Globe, it'd be for best original score. The film's soundtrack kicks @$$.


The Broadcast Film Critics Assn. also singled out the Roman epic for some awards...while the San Diego Film Critics singled out Russell Crowe for best actor.