Mertonfolio on The Merton Folio

Lanterns: Prestige Television

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have seen the majority of TV shows that involve comic characters. A few have been mediocre. Most are enjoyable, even if they are enjoyable in a goofy, comic way. But only a very few have been truly prestige television, the kind of premium quality, award-nominated shows that the major cable networks and streaming services trade in. Lanterns is one of those shows. It’s a western. It’s a buddy cop story. It’s a true crime drama. It’s a show that deals with where early trauma ends, and responsibility begins. It’s grounded. It’s gritty. And yeah, as it happens, even though the vast majority of all eight episodes takes place in rural Nebraska, the main characters happen to be (or are training to be) space cops.

The Human Race

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Daddy, am I peach or white?”

I was drying my 5 year-old daughter off after a swim lesson, when she hit me with the above question.

“Peach or white?” I repeated, not quite sure what she was asking me.

“Is my skin peach color, or white color?”

“Closer to peach, I think.” I’d never really thought of adjectives to describe her skin tone before. Maybe a pale peach? If I were to get obnoxiously technical about it, if “straight peach” would be hex code #FFD3AC she might be more of a #FDE0C5.

Will AI Kill Us All?

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Image above created by Nano Banana from a prompt by me.

Jacob Coxon, a 27-year old pre-training researcher for Anthropic who’d previously worked at OpenAI, quit his job and posted on X that “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Moreover, his former boss, Evan Hubinger, backed his statement. Hubinger’s time frame was that there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all humans in the next decade.

My Linux Journey

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For any readers of my blog totally unfamiliar with Linux, let me give you a really quick primer. Linux is an operating system (OS), like Windows or macOS. The OS is what tells your computer how to “operate”—draw windows, handle files, launch programs, all that good stuff.

You may never have run across anyone using Linux, because only about 5% of home computers run Linux. But in the networking/cloud computing space, the percentage of machines and virtual machines running Linux is as high as 96% of web servers. Point is that it’s very likely you’ve never seen Linux, but Linux is, in fact, widely used where you don’t see.

Spider-Man: A Beautiful Brand New Day

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Tom Holland run of Sony/MCU Spider-Man movies have been consistently the best solo movies of the Marvel heroes, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is no exception. Our last outting left Spider-Man alone in the world, and from the first frame of Brand New Day, we see the toll that takes on Peter Parker. He’s the same kind, funny, concerned, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but there’s a bounce missing in his step that he had when he was surrounded by loved ones.

Introducing our new tabletop game company: Tossing Bones

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

So as not to bury the lede: ladies and gentlemen, for those who play tabletop role-playing games, my friend Brett and I have founded a new tabletop gaming company, Tossing Bones! We’ve just released our first product, a toolkit of drop-in adventures and lore called “Leveled Lairs - Aboleth” compatible with Dungeons & Dragons and Shadowdark. If you sign up on our mailing list, we’ll give you a free 1st level adventure: Acid Over Thornbay, also compatible with Dungeons & Dragons and Shadowdark. For those in the know and curious, I mean we’ll send you two different versions: one for D&D 5/5.5e, and one for Shadowdark. (You can also find us on Drive Thru RPG)

Supergirl: True Grit Meets Mad Max in Space

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Supergirl is a fun roller-coaster of a movie. Part True Grit, part Mad Max, it’s pacing keeps it moving even through emotional moments and flashbacks, the needle drops and score keep the emotions high, and the direction makes the action gritty and exciting.

Milly Alcock makes a wonderful Supergirl. She brings the “true grit” aspect of the movie, the down-and-out drunken fighter who befriends a youth (Ruthye) and ends up traveling with her in search of revenge and justice. Kara Zor-El holds far more pain than a 23-year old should have to bear. She is raised by loving parents, but in a dead, poisoned world, that takes everything from her. She ends up with her cousin, Superman, who doesn’t speak her language because he is a happy, kind Kansas boy, and she can’t relate. She can only relate to her dog, Krypto, who is as messy as she is.

Masters of the Universe Has the Power

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I never owned the toys as a kid. I knew of them and had friends that did. I’d watched some of the He-Man cartoons (and the rebooted shows, and the excellent recent Kevin Smith reboot on Netflix). The Dolph Lungren 80s movie. In other words I’ve enjoyed He-Man/Masters of the Universe, but it wasn’t “my” franchise. This is relevant.

But boy, did I love the 1980s Flash Gordon movie. It was vivid, exciting, campy in the best way, solid special effects for the era, and had an absolute bangin’ soundtrack by Queen that elevated the movie. This is also relevant.

The Mandalorian and Grogu

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

George Lucas named the old 1930s Saturday morning Western adventure serials as one of his main inspirations for the original 1977 Star Wars movie. The initial text crawl labeling it “Episode IV” and catching the audience up on an ongoing story were designed to evoke that same feeling of going to the theater to catch up on the adventures-in-progress of your favorite action hero. The world building and operatic sweep of Star Wars propelled the franchise to be far more, and the movies (especially the post-Lucas movies) left that initial inspiration behind.

Nine Inch Nails in Anaheim

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Stadium shows are touch and go. The right performers are able to make an enormous venue feel…well, maybe not intimate, but at least personal. Thankfully, Nine Inch Nails were able to use the space in the 20,000 capacity Honda Center in Anaheim incredibly well.

The show began with German-Iraqi DJ Boys Noize (the stage name for Alexander Ridha) spinning hard electronic beats, sometimes with snippets of 80s synth tunes from the likes of Depeche Mode and early Nine Inch Nails, other times incorporating voice samples (in what sounded like English, German, and Arabic). His DJ station was raised high, came with a spectacular light show, and was positioned in the very back of the arena. So the farthest seats became the best seats in the arena. Very cool.

Red Five—Standing By

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As a kid in the 80s, I bought wholeheartedly into the image of the United States as a force for good in the world. As I got older, I became aware of America’s dirty deeds. But those were nasty things that America did but it wasn’t who we were. We had also been an engine for growth, advancement, and a bulwark against tyranny. We made mistakes, but we always were striving to be better.

Stranger Things: An appreciation

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Netflix Original series Stranger Things is, and I don’t use this term lightly, a masterpiece. It combines Stephen King spookiness and supernatural horror with Spielberg heart and character development, without ever devolving into gratuitous gore or maudlin sentimentality. All wrapped in an accurate 80s nostalgia, with a synth soundtrack reminiscent of John Carpenter and extremely period accurate and meaningful era appropriate pop/rock songs.

The show was able to lean into its nostalgia with casting 80s icons who turned around and gave career high performances, not smug stunt casting winks. The child actors hired 10 years ago turned out to be real talents. The writing and direction is all top notch and excellent. And obviously the show has the advantage of modern effects that real 80s shows only dreamed of.

Fantastic Four: First Steps

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s start with the positive: Fantastic Four: First Steps is, in my opinion, the best Marvel movie to come out in a long time. It creates a living, breathing alternate Jetsons-style future-reto 1960s and it’s gorgeous. This isn’t an origin story; the origin story is shown in newsreel footage and interviews, when our story begins the Fantastic Four has already been active, and is beloved by earth. I like that; we’ve seen enough of the hero’s journey in superhero movies already, let’s get to the story.

Goodnight Ozzy

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We all knew Ozzy’s body was giving out. That’s one of the reasons so many people came to say farewell twelve days ago. Still, this feels very fast. Like maybe, preparing for the show and the excitement of it kept him going, despite the illness and pain.

But boy, did he go out in style. So many people that he’s influenced and moved were there at the final show to tell him what he meant to them. He got to play with his original mates, one last time. When he says he loves the crowd, he means it. And they raised over $190 million dollars for Parkinson’s research. That’s one hell of a wave goodbye.

Superman: You'll Believe A Superhero Can Be Kind

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

(title a play on the tagline of the 1978 Superman movie: “You’ll Believe A Man Can Fly”)

If you’ve read my blog, you already know that Superman is my favorite superhero. You know that I was excited about this movie. Given James Gunn’s previous track record with the Guardians movies, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker, I expected him to get Superman.

So as not to bury the lede: he does. In a superhero movie market saturated with heroes who are psychologically broken, conflicted rebels, Superman is unapologetically, unironically, good. When Lois Lane suggests that he can’t be a rebel if he sees the beauty in everyone, Superman shoots back that in a cynical world, refusing to be cynical is, in itself, an act of rebellion.

How To Train Your Dragon

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Toothless is my spirit animal. I never read the 2003 children’s books, but I saw the entire How To Train Your Dragon series which began in 2010, and fell in love with Toothless, Hiccup, Astrid, and the whole gang. And now that there is a live-action remake, I really wanted to see it. And since we’d shown the animated movies to our daughter and she enjoyed them, we thought it might be a good movie for the whole family (even our youngest, who had never seen them).

...More Fuperman...

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Those who know me well, know that Superman is my favorite superhero. I grew up reading all sorts of superheroes, and enjoy many of them, but Superman always held a special place in my heart. Sure, he’s nearly infinitely powerful and can fly and all that. But power and flight are table stakes for superheroes these days. Superman’s real superpower was that he chose to do good, to do what was right, because it was right. He wasn’t conflicted. He wasn’t an anti-hero. Superman is hope, incarnate.

Andor

Sat, 17 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The entire two-season run of Andor, 24 episodes in all, is streaming on Disney+. Andor is prestige, must see television. It’s compelling human drama, acted brilliantly by some of the top actors working today. The writing and direction are inspired and intentional. The production design amazing. The fact that it is also one of the most compelling Star Wars sagas ever committed to screen is icing on the cake. But this draws from many real world documentaries and movies about conflicts, fascist takeovers and tactics, and rebellions; so while Andor may take place “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away,” it feels familiar, like it took place here too, in living memory.

How California Can Save Itself

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

America is going to Hell

Trump’s tariffs are bringing on a global recession that will more than likely hit America harder than it hits the rest of the world. Trump is destroying international relationships left and right. He is dismantling national networks for health, education, social services, and so on. By the time he leaves office, even if a more sane government takes over, it will be left with a broken, impoverished, bitterly divided nation, deep in a downward spiral, with no friends left in the free world.

Not much else to say, except...

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I stand with Ukraine

What Trump and his stooge did to Zelenskyy was depraved and disgusting.

Everyone already knew that Trump is a narcissist who demands that foreign leaders kiss the ring. What everyone didn’t know—and is abundantly clear now—is that established relationships, allies, treaties mean nothing to him.

When it all feels too much

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This is not a news site. I’m not going to aggregate or discuss every new twist and turn that happens either around the globe or in the Trump administration. Partly, because that would drive me insane. I’d rather focus on things that are positive. Partly because there’s going to be a non-stop barrage of bad news for the next four years (at least) and that’s all I’d ever have time to write about. But I did want to take a moment to address one aspect of all this that is very close to my heart: despair. More specifically, what we can do about that feeling of helplessness that comes with the overwhelm.

NAMM 2025 Thoughts

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been going to the National Association of Music Merchants (or NAMM) show, for more than 25 years. For those who don’t know, it’s an musical instrument (MI) industry-only trade show, in which those who create musical instruments, equipment, or software show their wares to media, distributors, and retail buyers. It has always been a major event in the musical instrument industry; for a small company, lots of buyer interest at a NAMM show can mean getting enough purchase orders for the entire year in a few days. But even though it’s industry-only, artists and other interested folk can often find a way into the show.

Diamond Has It Rough

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’m not going to post here every time there’s a news story that interests me, but this one is something that could affect me (and likely, you) directly. Diamond Comic Distributors is the largest distributor of English-language comics, toys, games, collectables, etc. They have just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

This is going to have major repercussions. First of all, they owe many companies a lot of money. For example, they owe Hasbro (makers of Dungeons & Dragons and many other things) around $2m total. They owe others even more. So there’s going to be a lot of companies hit hard by this restructuring, if they rely on Diamond for most of their income, and now they’re only going to get a fraction of it. And what will those companies do? There aren’t many comics distributors out there, in part because Diamond bought up the competition years ago.

About

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What’s the point?

This is our little corner of the interwebs. I (and my family) post thoughts and bits and bobs interesting and important to us. I hope you find them interesting too.

Who are we?

One Merton, one Golden, and two Golden-Mertons.

Copyright

Mertonfolio Begins

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Mertonfolio! Just what the world needed, eh? Another vanity site personal blog for some dude who thinks that what he says is worth reading.

Oh, but this one is different! Why, you ask? Because this isn’t just my blog, it’s potentially the blog for anyone in my family who wants to use it. Don’t worry, our kids are both in preschool, so they’ll not be writing essays any time soon. But you get the idea.