TBT^16: SimEarth

8 May 20254 May 2025 The Portly Politico2 Comments

The big news in the gaming world right now is the incredible The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. It came as a total shock to the gaming world (yeah, there were rumors swirling that it was in the works, but no one knew it was coming so soon), and managed to update the game’s graphics and fix some bugs while also maintaining the legendary “jank” for which the game is so fondly remembered.

Yours portly has not yet taken the dive back into Cyrodiil (although, goodness, I am desperate to do so), but I am looking forward to the rapidly-approaching summer for a chance to dig into some classic games. It’s been so long since I’ve really been able to sit down and lose myself for hours into a good game. I haven’t even been able to touch Civilization VII in almost two months!

Gaming always comes to my mind during the hot, lazy days of summer, when it’s so unbearable outside, I l basically live like my home is a life support pod on Venus, only venturing out when absolutely necessary. So it was that I booted up old SimEarth some years ago, and took a rose-tinted, nostalgia-fueled walk back to my past, when I first played a copy of the game my Indian friend copied onto a 3.5″ floppy disk for me. Those were the days!

With that, join me on this extended walk through the past; here is 16 May 2024’s “TBT^4: SimEarth“:

TBT^16: Egged Off

1 May 202530 April 2025 The Portly Politico4 Comments

Eggs are still expensive. My attempt to legalize these friendly, productive fowls failed after a bunch of angry Boomer women scuttled it for fear that chickens will decrease property values (the opposite is true). Also, when you’re 80, why do you care how much your property is worth? When will this selfish, shortsighted generation cease to meddle in everything?

To be clear, I don’t wish ill to the Boomers just because a handful of hysterical old ladies opposed legalizing chickens—which are cleaner and easier to care for than most dogs—but, goodness! Eggs are literally $6-8 a dozen at my local grocery store. People should be allowed to raise chickens. By God, they allow it New York City (when I brought that up, a crusty old lady said, “so we’re as progressive as New York City?!—what a stupid old hag)!

As you can tell, I’m still salty about the chicken ordinance. But I haven’t given up yet. In the meantime, Americans have a proud tradition of ignoring blatantly stupid and self-destructive laws.

No amount of cluelessness will lead to people to starve themselves. Let a thousand chickens cluck!

With that, here is 9 May 2024’s “TBT^4: Egged Off“:

TBT: The TJC Challenge

24 April 202518 April 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Last year I issued to my readers The TJC Challenge, a challenge to listen to all of my music on either Apple Music or YouTube/YouTube Music. At the time, The TJC Challenge took about three hours to complete, appropriate for a morning of shirking responsibilities at the office.

The entire challenge now takes approximately seven hours and eleven minutes. If you just listened to the albums (some of which are, ironically, shorter in playtime than the EPs), it would take five hours and fifty-eight minutes—just shy of six hours.

Actually, it’s a bit longer: when I initially did the above calculations, I forgot to include my latest release, Leftovers IV, which clocks in at nineteen minutes, thirty-nine seconds. That brings the total playtime up to 7.5 hours and change.

Also, you can now attempt the challenge on Spotify as well. I gave up my doomed boycott of releasing to Spotify. I don’t really make any money from streams there, sadly, thanks to their thieving streaming policy, but I realized that the vast majority of music listeners (including my older brother and Dr. Girlfriend) use the service, so I might as well let the people I love have the ability to listen to my music easily.

The point is, it now takes about an entire workday to listen to all of this music. I don’t expect most people to do it, but I will send a free hat to the first person who listens to all of my releases on the streaming platform of their choice. All you have to do is listen to every release, then send me a 100-word blurb about which albums/EPs/songs/pieces you liked—and which you did not—and tell me why. And, no, I’m not going to count every word; you can write more or less. Years of teaching have taught me that people crave a word count or page requirement, so there you go!

Do you have the guts to take on The TJC Challenge? Or the free time, for that matter?

With that, here is 10 April 2024’s “The TJC Challenge“:

TBT^65,536: End the Income Tax

10 April 20259 April 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

I hate the income tax. It’s an intrusive and demoralizing experience filing them every year. Why does the federal government get to know about every transaction I’ve made over the course of a fiscal year?

It’s also expensive. I work exceptionally hard so that I can attempt to enjoy a decent quality of life. That’s only gotten harder with inflation. As I prepared my income taxes this year, I found that, even though I earned less from lessons during FY2024 than FY2023, I somehow owed more money—by a factor of three.

When I first wrote this post, I argued for a national sales tax as the lesser of two evils. Now, I’m tariffs all the way, baby. They act, in a sense, as a national sales tax, but they have the social benefit of bringing jobs and industries back to the United States. I’d rather pay an extra fifty bucks for my American-made washing machine and give a fellow citizen a good job than have to shell out my meager savings and reveal all of my financial underwear to the IRS every April.

At least with Trump in office, there is a faint hope—very faint, but a hope nonetheless—that the income tax might be reaching the end of its abusive, wicked life. What a terrible system!

With that, here is 11 April 2024’s “TBT^256: End the Income Tax“:

TBT: Concert Week!

3 April 202530 March 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Tomorrow night is the big Spring Concert at school, so my kids will playing their hearts out. Indeed, tonight is the school play, so yours portly will be working hard to flip everything from the play over to the concert.

The concert is coming a few weeks earlier this year than last year, but I am looking forward to getting it done a bit earlier in the season. It makes the rest of the school year a bit more manageable.

Not much more to say at this point, but I’ll have a full review of the concert done soon. In the meantime, I’ve got two very long, grueling days ahead of me. Gulp!

With that, here is 29 April 2024’s “Concert Week!“:

TBT: Support Culture, Not Political Machines

27 March 202523 March 2025 The Portly Politico2 Comments

The big scuttlebutt in the conservative world is the rumor that Ben Shapiro‘s The Daily Wire may be going bankrupt. I have no idea if that is true or not, although their longtime co-founder, Jeremy Boreing, is apparently stepping down from his position as co-CEO.

It’s a good reminder that some of these big-named conservative commentators are often too big for their own good. In some ways, having a bigger brand and presence means you also have to walk a thinner and thinner line. I am increasingly ambivalent about Shapiro, who I think hedges his bets too much. He was flat-out anti-Trump eight years ago, and now acts like he was leading the charge for Trumpism in 2015. Balderdash!

Whatever happens at The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro is going to be okay. He’s got book royalties, a nationally-syndicated radio show, a popular podcast, etc., etc., etc.

But you know who does need support? The small fries. But not just the political commentary small fries: the artists, authors, writers, composers, musicians, painters, craftsmen, etc., the people who are making culture on a shoestring budget and a prayer.

Not just me, either, but that would be nice.

With that, here is 19 April 2024’s “Support Culture, Not Political Machines“:

TBT^16: The Joy of Spring

20 March 202518 March 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

When I was casting about for a good piece for this week’s TBT, it occurred to me that today—Thursday, 20 March 2025—is the first day of Spring! It’s already been pretty spring-y around here, but now it’s official in an meteorological sense.

Spring is a wonderful holiday, and while I will miss the bracing cold, I love seeing all of God’s Creation come into bloom. This Spring promises to be, like all others, a busy one, but with the hope that the budding of new life brings.

With that, here is “TBT^4: The Joy of Spring“:

TBT^16: Hawkworld

27 February 202526 February 2025 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Looking back at posts from February 2024, I don’t really have many “real” posts—much like February 2025. I’m not sure why, but February always catches me flat-footed with blog posts. I suppose I just get lazy this time of year for some reason—and busy!

So I’m jumping to March 2024 a bit prematurely to bring you this post about a great comic book miniseries I read some years ago. Rereading my synopsis of it, it’s pretty grim—and worth rereading itself.

With that, here is “TBT^4: Hawkworld“:

TBT^2: Groundhog Day

20 February 202519 February 2025 The Portly Politico3 Comments

In looking back at posts from February 2024, it seems that February is a busy month, in that I tend to fall behind on posts during it. I’m not sure why, but I just seem to lag behind in February.

Speaking of, I’m way behind observing this dubious holiday, the day in which a subterranean rodent in Pennsylvania predicts the weather.

With that, here is 1 February 2024’s “TBT: Groundhog Day“:

TBT^4: Getting Medieval… with LEGO

13 February 202510 February 2025 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Yours portly is forty-years old, but still suffers from a crippling LEGO habit. Perhaps my saving grace is that I am so busy, I don’t have much time to sit down and assemble these massive LEGO sets. I have some awesome ones from Christmas that I still need to dig into and build.

My first really big set meant for “adults” was the one featured in this old piece. It’s a pretty cool “medieval” blacksmith’s shop. It was an absolute blast to build, and took me several hours across a couple of days.

Note that the posts below may contain Amazon Affiliate links; I honestly can’t remember. If they are there, and you make a purchase through those links, I get a portion of the proceeds, at no additional cost to you. Amazon requires me to write that, so I’m covering my butt to appease a corporate megalodon.

With that, here is 8 February 2024’s “TBT^2: Getting Medieval… with LEGO“:

The Portly Politico

One Southerner's unique, erudite, conservative perspective in a hectic world

Tag: TBT