Here we go:

The world sure has changed a lot over my lifetime.

Sorry, everyone, I am getting a call.

“Yes, this is Stephen, the revolutionary voice behind Boy Meets Void!”

“What? You want to give me a book deal based solely off of that philosophical nugget?” But I haven’t even published this yet! How did you know?

“What do you mean this isn’t a real phone call, but instead is a flimsy premise for a joke that at best three people will find mildly funny?”

“Who is this?”

I’m not going to focus on the bad things that have changed in that time, though there are so many. Instead I am going to focus on the changing of pop culture in a way that has benefited me.

The normalization of anime.

My first introduction to anime, as I suspect is the case with a lot of people my age, was in the late 90s watching Toonami on Cartoon Network. I specifically loved Dragon Ball Z. This wasn’t just the first anime for me, but it was also the first serialized television show I was into as a child.

The shows I watched before were all episodic in nature. The characters sometimes grew throughout the show, but there was no real overarching plot. These were shows like Dexter’s Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, and Spongebob Squarepants.

To me as an eight-year-old this was life-changing. The Dragon Ball franchise continues to be one of my favorite series to this day. As an elementary school student, many of my friends were also watching DBZ, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Digimon and whatever else would air on TV at the time. As far as I was concerned, these were just normal shows. I didn’t even really know what Japan was except that everything was “made there.” (This was of course before the invention of China.)

Subscribe now

Later, in middle school, I got into more obscure anime that you had to buy on VHS or DVD at FYE at the mall. (If you remember FYE, then congratulations you are old now!) My friends and I bought new anime like Love Hina and Fruits Basket. I also saw new shows, now airing on Adult Swim, like Inuyasha and Case Closed. I was very much still into Japanese Anime.

Something was different though. In middle school it was no longer what all of the other kids were doing. Now it was a “nerdy” thing to be into. How could everything change so quickly?

The other kids I knew who were still watching what I was watching were definitely the weird ones in the school. Some of them wore tails to school. Not even joking. It's a good thing the Republicans didn't find out about that.

I'm a weird guy, but I never saw myself as a part of that group. More importantly I didn't want to be perceived as part of that group. I couldn't possibly handle being lumped in with the tail-wearing band twins.

Eventually I reached high school, as one tends to do. My love for anime continued to be hidden from the gen-pop—only discussed with my closest of confidants. At some point though, I believe it was 11th grade, I decided I was tired of living a lie. Why was I keeping hidden my passions? So that a bunch of people I hated and didn't give a shit about wouldn't think less of me? Enough was enough. I no longer kept any of my interests hidden.

It turned out no one really cared that Goku was my homeboy. No one ever really cares what you do or what you are into. They're far too concerned with themselves. I wish that was something we could know from a younger age—sadly some people never really learn it.

Kids nowadays would probably find this story foreign. Anime is a part of our society in a much larger way. NFL and NBA players watch and are open about their fandom now. Memes from DBZ circulate online in all kinds of places.

This past year, the Demon Slayer movie made almost $800-million worldwide at the box office. All that for a $20-million budget. For context, the new Avatar movie (which is probably 1/100 as interesting) made a little less than double the revenue at twenty times the budget. And that was only part one of three!

There is an insanely large number of high quality anime that are out now—and they're more accessible than ever. No longer do I have to wait years for the DVD release of an English dub, or for Cartoon Network to get their shit together. They're available online days after the initial Japanese airing.

Gen Z takes a lot of shit—and I'm more than happy to be the one slinging it from time to time—but for helping make anime more mainstream, I must thank them.

This isn't to say I don't still get side-eyed by certain people who think they're too cool for anime. People who never really grew out of their “you like that?” stage. Constantly looking to judge niche interests from high on their pedestal while simultaneously taking in nothing but short-form video content from social media influencers. But those people will be dead soon, killed by the very diet supplements they bought off of the TikTok shop. Meanwhile, I'll be 120 years old screaming along while Goku goes Super Saiyan and defeats Frieza again.

Take that, nerds.

Thanks as always for reading. Are there any other anime fans out there? If so what are some of your favorites?

Leave a comment

when eyes shut
they start
the low budget films begin their screenings

rom-com meet-cutes
gritty detective dramas
body horror
time travel adventures

the projectors never fail
the bulbs never burn out
there is no escape from these moving pictures

who are these directors?
why do they make such distracting nonsense?
what is their goal?

the leading man is far too familiar
abrasive
flawed
not terribly handsome

the plots are illogical—
the fantasies, fears, and delusions of a madman
no one would buy this schlock

still, they continue their theatrical run
as they have for decades
they will continue for many more decades—
if the viewer is lucky, that is

Click here for more installments of Poetry Sunday

More veggies
less ultra processed foods
Good gut biome—
gotta feed them flora

Low salt, low carb,
low sugar, low fat

Don't drink
Don't smoke
Don't use drugs

Exercise regularly
Make sure to stretch
Don't overdo it
Don't underdo it either

Tape your mouth while you sleep
Inject fillers, botox, and fat into your ass
Pass the snake oil, please
Teen dreams of retinol creams

Pre-workout, protein powder, creatine,
anabolics, GLP-1s, peptides
TRT?

Meanwhile, my fat ass is eating a bagel

Think I'll hit the popcorn next

It seems these days, more than ever, everyone is obsessed with how they look. I’m all for being healthy (not that I even remotely am, but I am supportive of it). However, the focus on “health” seems to be very unhealthy.

Let’s be real. The only thing you really need to do—and again I do not do this myself—is eat less garbage and move more. Anything more than that is just gratuitous. If you want to have a weirdly specific diet and go to the gym daily, that’s fine if it works for you! Watch where you walk, though, or you might cascade down the proverbial slippery slope right down into podcast junction. At least there is a cold plunge waiting for you.

There are so many longevity scammers out there that prey on people’s insecurities. “Biohackers” who give us such masterful advice as taping your mouth shut while you sleep. Where the fuck did you come up with that nonsense advice, Andrew Huberman? Also, why do I even have to know your dumbass name? Eat shit, scammer.

Another longevity “expert” who CBS News recently hired was just outed in the Epstein files. It must have been the adrenochrome after all. I witnessed the public mourning of his inclusion from a bunch of Reddit weirdos. Another pointless cult with another evil leader.

Then there are the people who just refuse to look their age. The people who would trade a slightly wrinkled face for that of a porcelain doll. Who inject themselves with more needles than a diabetic with a peanut allergy after eating an Uncrustable. Why do some desire lips that are so overstuffed that they resemble a ripe blood blister on the verge of popping?

To all the 50+ men who need their Testosterone Replacement Therapy: no one wants your wrinkly balls anywhere near them. (Oh no, did I just invent testicular botox?) Shouldn’t one of the great joys of aging be not having to think about sex as much? Why do you want to regress to your teenage years? And the steroids, too? Enjoy your back acne, rage blackouts, and shrunken testicles, I guess.

I hope this is just some overblown tide pods challenge nonsense, but I hear there are the 14 year olds who are using retinol cream. I mean, just fuck off with that. Aside from the fact that no one needs retinol cream, the last person that needs it is a child. Society is in full-on decay if this is true.

It’s not just the old and the young, though. You aren’t getting away with it that easily 20 and 30 somethings! You are in the prime of your life and are using Botox, lip fillers, and getting Brazilian Butt Lifts? What in the hell is the matter with you?

Recently, my wife and I have been watching a season of Love Island. I know, that’s a me problem. I understand that these “people” are not wholly representative of 20-30 year olds, but to some degree they are. Not one of them looks like a real person. They have had so much work done and have so much makeup caked onto their face it is a wonder their skin can breathe at all. I’m convinced the only thing that saves them is that they so regularly cry it off.

Finally, to the real fucker I hate. RFK Jr. How is this the Kennedy that lived? What evil witch did this family piss off to deserve this unenviable fate? “Make America Healthy Again,” he says, while also bragging about wanting to eat a roadkill bear. I’m supposed to listen to a man who has had, and admits to having had, brain worms about MY health? Okay, yeah, food dyes are probably bad for you and ultra-processed crap is killing us. Wow, congratulations RFK, you figured out what a monkey could have. The Flaming Hot Cheetos weren’t on the up and up this whole time? No shit.

Clearly this soothsayer only speaks the truth, right? Nope, because out of the other side of his leathery mouth is bullshit about how “vaccines are evil.” What gives this environmental lawyer any authority on this subject? Is it the brain worms? Did they go to Johns Hopkins? He wants people to be healthy, so the logical conclusion is they should get the measles and polio. All of this vaccine hesitancy crap is based on a debunked, corrupt study from 30 years ago and people buy it. “No vaccines for my children, they might get the autism.” Even if there were a link between the two, which there is 0 proof that there is, you’re saying that you would rather your child possibly die of hepatitis than be way too into anime?

To wrap up this portion, RFK Jr is a clown. The only reason he has any real say in anyone’s health is because his boss is an even bigger clown. The degradation in people’s belief in doctors, and instead their reliance on health influencers, is going to kill a large number of people and make the world a worse place.

A parting pro tip to everyone: If you are getting your information on health and science from someone on TikTok, you need to stop and think about what you are doing. If a stranger in a Walmart parking lot came up to you and told you not to trust the medical establishment would you listen to them? I’m assuming not. So why does that same person holding a phone vertically in front of their face give them power over you? My guess is it’s the ring light.

For another rant, consider this:

For another poem, consider this:

Subscribe now

I spotted you across the Gulf,
it looked like you were coming my way.

I was prepared for you.
Water, flashlights, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and friends.

The news headlines were severe,
biased, borderline unfair.

Others weren't happy to meet you,
but I eagerly awaited your arrival.

Just before we were to lock eyes you turned sharp right.
Another got to feel your devastation.

Here I am in the wake of you,
without a drop of rain to show for it.

And worst of all?

Now I must return to school.

Growing up in Florida wasn’t always fun, but when I was in middle school we were hit by a number of hurricanes. These events obviously can bring devastation and chaos, but for me, at that time, they were a great excuse to bring neighborhood friends together and have fun.

Luckily, we never felt the full-on brunt of a hurricane in my area. In fact, the first bad one to hit there happened after I had already moved away. It was crazy to see landmarks I was so familiar with destroyed by such a powerful storm. Winds ripping off the roof of a baseball stadium, flooding destroying waterfront restaurants I once ate at, and pictures of trash strewn about desperately awaiting pickup (mere hours before another storm was potentially going to hit).

In retrospect, these many near misses were incredibly lucky and shielded me from potential childhood trauma. At the time, though, I was invincible.

Click here for more installments of Poetry Sunday

There it is
The other side
Fuck, that grass is green
My grass is shit—
Always has been
That last grass was much better
Why did I leave that grass?
This is a different impulse, though
This grass really is untenable
Lifeless
Frozen
I just need to find that fresher stuff
Maybe Kentucky Blue
Or back to Bermuda
These fescues aren't fine enough
I don't have time to plant new seeds
I'm taking over someone else's
They've found even greener pastures themselves
This green rush won't end
No bubble to burst

I'm hopping the fence

Subscribe now

Does anyone else just not feel satisfied with where they are at? I want to be able to move around to find out if it’s just me or if it is the places I have lived. If so, commiserate with me in the comments.

Leave a comment

Click here for more installments of Poetry Sunday

I'm not burned out with the process of posting on here. In fact, I look forward to it every time I sit down to write. The rush I get from actually posting and having you all read it isn't gone yet, either. So why am I finding it so hard to get my words out?

I think it's because it's hard to talk about silly topics while I worry about the world and what it is becoming. I certainly had no problem with writing my rant post for Poetry Sunday. And that's because I was, and still am, incredibly passionate about what's going on right now.

But I don't want this to become a political rant blog. There is no shortage of those, and it's not like I have that much of a new or different perspective to offer. Besides, I don't want to have to think about the potential societal collapse any more than I have to.

Instead, I just want to bitch about water heaters. Sunday afternoon my wife heard noise like water coming out of a faucet in the basement. When the sound was investigated, we found a ton of water in the utility room. Naturally, since temperatures had been below 0 for a week, I suspected it was a burst pipe.

The bedroom on the other side of the wall from the utility room was soaked. Water was up the walls, in the carpet, and seeping through some stuff we had stored in the closet. It was a mess. So I called our homeowners insurance. I assumed a burst pipe would be covered, as well as the damage to that room. I was correct, burst pipes from freezing were covered.

So I called a plumber, one I knew would come out ASAP even though I knew they were not the cheapest, at the behest of my insurance company. Well, guess what. It wasn’t a burst pipe; it was the stupid water heater. It was $3,500 to replace that, because, like every other fucking thing in this house built during Eisenhower’s presidency, the whole ventilation system was not up to code. I maybe could have gotten a better deal by waiting, but there was no guarantee when a different company would have come out to fix it.

As it turns out, and as I definitely suspected, the water heater replacement will not be covered by my homeowners insurance. So now, not only am I down $3,500, but likely down another $2,500 (my deductible) to fix the walls and carpeting in that bedroom that was flooded.

This all is frustrating enough, but here is what is most frustrating to me. Water heater design! Apparently what happened was the temperature gauge on the water heater broke and was heating water way too hot. Because of this, the pressure in the tank would build up. To relieve this pressure, and not cause an explosion, the water heater has a pipe (THAT LEADS DIRECTLY TO THE FUCKING FLOOR) to drain water out until temps are stabilized. There’s no fucking drain there for this water to go into. It just goes onto the floor of my damn basement!

Were people in the 1950s just too fucking stupid to install drains? Perhaps they just enjoyed having an underground splashpark? Or was this an innovation that came many years later and there already was no floor drain? Either way I absolutely despise all of this. I’d rather take a cold shower.

Basements are stupid and I’m over them.

Welcome to Poetry Sunday. I usually say this is “the day when I post something cringe, dumb, and mercifully short.” However, today’s post is very important to me, is thought out, and is certainly not short. I hope you will forgive me. I initially had a completely different poem planned which I posted to my notes, which you can see here.

This week’s edition is brought to you by indignant rage!

If I do nothing, can I still be righteous
There are reasons why I can't join the cause
You must understand, but I can't explain

Nothing would make me happier than to fight
But my arms have been amputated
My legs have been blown off by land mines

I need tomorrow but can't help bring it
I have been trapped in yesterday
By evil forces beyond my control

Different forces entirely
Yet they are deeply connected
To the forces you must fight today

Am I obligated to fight with this outsized risk
When you didn't fight with me
Or is that not important in the grand scheme of things

It's cold
As if the sky blew these winds in to mark a change
Whether that change be good or bad is all too important

Still, I cannot join
But I wish you well
And I plead to you

"Please save us!"

I had a little more to say today which doesn’t exactly fit into Poetry Sunday, but I wanted to get it out here anyway.

Yesterday the world witnessed a gang-style execution. Fake cops, emboldened by fascists, took it upon themselves to be judge, jury, and executioner. The crime? Trying to help a woman who was being abused.

This murder was presented to us from more angles than are available for a touchdown challenge in an NFL game.

Despite the fact that there was a full 360-degree view of this tragedy, we were treated to yet another display of complete lies that would have made Satan himself blush.

Kristi Noem, who looks like a pale version of the Wicked Witch of the West without an umbrella in a rainstorm, lied.

The leader of the lollipop guild/Erwin Rommel cosplayer, Gregory Bovino, lied.

Shockingly, even diabetes incarnate, Donald Trump, lied. (Probably whilst gripping his unearned participation Nobel Peace trophy.)

Delusional cult followers lied, too.

They all see it, don't let them fool you. They see their own hypocrisy. They see their own boot-licking. The same people who cared so deeply about the 2nd Amendment for years are now blaming someone who legally carried a gun, and didn't even unholster it, for his own murder. They were happy to defend everyone's right to a gun every time children were murdered in schools, parishioners were murdered at church, music fans were murdered at concerts. Yet, now that it conflicts with the only thing that matters to them, their fealty to their false god, they conveniently couldn't give two fucks.

I suggest we call them on it. You might not think it makes a difference, but if it makes them even one iota uncomfortable then it is worth it. Let them wallow in their miserable lives.

Alex Pretti didn't need to be shot. Just as Renee Good didn't need to be shot.

And if you think they somehow deserved their fates then instead of licking a boot, I encourage you to come lick my dirty asshole.

Fuck you.

Fuck those ICEis terrorists.

Fuck the bro podcasters who are also highly culpable for normalizing a psychopathic dictator wannabe.

Fuck the billionaires who put their own place on a fake leaderboard of wealth ahead of the interests of society.

And especially fuck these megalomaniacal, kleptocratic, narcissistic, nihilistic, misogynistic, racist fucks that got elected because of "vibes" about the economy.

If you would like to read more from this series click here.

I have been doing some reflecting on how things have been going here on Substack over the past month. I have really enjoyed writing and engaging with everyone, and I hope you all have enjoyed reading!

I have also really appreciated the opportunity to meet new people and read the works of other much more talented writers.

Initially, I set o…

Read more

Read more

Read more

Read more

Sometimes it’s difficult to know whether the kids are trolling.
Is there something hidden underneath that even
X-rays can’t see?

Subsequent research must be conducted.
Experts must be consulted.
Voices from …

Read more

So why am I posting this if I can’t come up with the aforementioned list? Fear n…

Read more

Read more

Read more

My entire life has been one passion project (obsession, if you will) after another. Each one has completely overtaken me for a time. Invariably, at some point along the way, the passion for the project fades and is replaced with disdain and disgust.

Read more

Subscribe now

So many of my memories from childhood, my teenage years, early adulthood, and now (as I approach *gulp* middle age) are tied to specific songs. A long, long time ago I can still remember my parents driving us back to the apartment I lived in from ages four to six while Don McLean's "American Pie" played on the radio. I m…

Read more

Dear Void,

As 2026 quickly approaches, I wanted to look back at 2025 to contemplate what has happened in my life, both good and bad. I was initially going to do a post as if I was some sort of self reflection guru, but the truth is I am quite terrible at doing this…

Read more

I suppose it's a question most people getting this far would have an answer to already. I am not one of those people.

Am I here for the money and the fame? I could use money, but I don't really care for the spotlight.

P…

Read more