Jim Dalrymple II

Jumping in on holidays and after hours not because you have to but because you cover news can lead to peak career moments. Working with colleagues in trenches when news breaks is often the best part of the job. Journalism, like medicine, has wonky hours. But if you can’t work hard *and* chill hard, then look for a company with a healthier culture.

I believe people who heroically use the em dash even though AI stole it shouldn't have to pay taxes on their wages

Marvel chose "Nomad" because Sam Wilson is the new Captain America and his first solo run is already underperforming. Anthony Mackie inherited the shield in Endgame and got Brave New World as the launch pad. The film made $415M against a $180M budget, which sits below the $700-800M break-even line most analysts use for Marvel after marketing and theater splits. Civil War made $1.15B with the same character nine years ago. Thunderbolts followed and pulled $382M. The Marvels finished at $206M, the lowest in MCU history. The 2025 slate told Disney that Mackie is not yet the box office draw they planned around. That left Marvel with two bad options. Bring Steve back as Captain America and gut Mackie's franchise before it starts, signaling the experiment failed. Or leave Steve out and open Doomsday without the actor every focus group puts at the top of the original six. Nomad is the third door. Steve returns. Sam keeps the shield. Evans avoids overwriting the Endgame ending he spent two press tours defending. Joe Russo told Flickering Myth the plan was to "deconstruct" Captain America and put Steve "questioning the chain of command." Russo gave the creative explanation. The financial logic is that Marvel needed both characters on the marquee at the same time. The Mjolnir in the leaked photo tells you the rest. Steve is being loaded with the strongest available powers because new characters cannot carry the stakes. RDJ is back as Doctor Doom. The Russos are back. Markus and McFeely are writing again. The original X-Men cast is back. Doomsday is what happens when a $30B franchise concludes the original roster was the IP all along.

The Mandalorian and Grogu Tracking for Lowest Star Wars Box Office Opening Ever "For Star Wars, a franchise that once dominated the global box office, that’s a stunning shift."

My personal view is that small, money-losing, high-quality magazines are not to be taken for granted, that we would be worse off without them, and that it’s a miracle they’re able to offer median salaries with benefits. But also you shouldn’t have to live in NYC to work for them.

The smartest guy in my group chat just explained the Mormon Stories lawsuit better than anything I've seen: Through Intellectual Reserve, Inc., the Church holds trademarks on specific names, logos, and branding elements associated with its official materials (including marks that incorporate terms like “Mormon” in defined contexts), which it is legally expected to police to prevent confusion about what is or isn’t an official Church source. If it consistently fails to enforce those rights in closer cases like Mormon Stories Podcast, courts could view the mark as weakened or inconsistently controlled, making it harder to stop future uses that more clearly mislead people or trade on the Church’s identity.