Sunday Feeld Notes 18.01.2026
Things I’m feeling on a Sunday morning in chaos
So, I lied to y’all last week. I said season three of NECo. was coming out on Wednesday, and it didn’t. I apologize. There was some shit going on. Stuff, if you will. Things were in the way. Issues had to be tended to. I will spare you the details because they are benign and, within the context of the current newscycle, meaningless. But, truly, I’m sorry. It will never happen again.
That’s another lie. It’ll happen again. Just not this week, when season three will truly premiere on Wednesday. Got a real heater brewing. Circle back.
As for my Sunday feels, well, it’s hard to feel anything other than numb right now. America has sunk into bad satire, where nothing has any meaning anymore; not laws, not truth, not honor, not right, only wrong. Everything is for sale, and every day is a grift. And despite the many, many, many advances in erectile dysfunction treatment, the Democrats are critically impotent.
So my feels? Well, here are some…
POLYMARKET AND KALSHI ARE THE NEW WHAT THE FUCK?
The stock market is a destructive and corrupt force. The ease and ubiquity of online sports betting are deeply problematic. Lotteries are a tax on the poor. Casinos are hell on earth. But, Polymarket and Kalshi have taken wagering to a whole new level of fuck off.
The online prediction markets, where you can bet on anything from whether a Karoline Levitt will call Kaitlan Collins the C-word by a certain date to whether average gas prices will exceed a specific dollar amount in a given month in Idaho. Both platforms turn vibes, weather, chaos, and human behavior into tradable instruments, with crypto irony and meme literacy (Polymarket) or regulatory approval and a tie on (Kalshi). Donald Trump Jr. has his cokey little fingers in both companies and Peter Thiel is involved in Polymarket, so you know it’s all evil.
How has there not been a Marvel movie where a venture capitalist firm is the villain? Or is that too close to home?
Truly dystopic shit in an era of dystopic shit. Where are we even doing?
NETFLIX IS FUCKING MATT DAMON; IT’S FUCKING US ALL
The new Ben Affleck-Matt Damon film on Netflix, The Rip, is two hours plus of stupid and a waste of talented actors, including Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle, and Kyle Chandler. I dig these two actors, and while I’m no Good Will Hunting stan (except for Robin Williams), I loved The Town, The Departed, the Bourne and Oceans’ movies, The Informant!, Gone Baby Gone, True Grit, The Accountant, and many other films the two have made. I even like the work of director Joe Carnahan, especially the undercelebrated Boss Level and Copshop. So I was excited for this movie. And I think there’s a good film in it somewhere.
But Netflix and its algorithmic pandering to the doomscroll generation ruined any chance this film had of being great. The film is so dumbed down, when it was over I almost bought a Monster energy drink and placed a Polymarket bet on the next time Affleck would marry a Jennifer. Damon confirmed this in promotional interviews, noting that Netflix likes to reiterate “the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching.” Hell, the characters restate the film’s title at least three thousand times, so much so, I almost wish I were still drinking so I could play The Rip Drinking Game.
Also, The Rip would’ve ripped if it were a sequel to Good Will Hunting, where Will and Chuckie have become cops and drop some applesauce on the corrupt Miami DEA.
Dear Netflix: The kids are busy watching influencers apply makeup and crash their Maseratis. Please leave some culture intact for the grown-ups.
PONY UP FOR PONIES
We’re a few episodes into Peacock’s Ponies, and the Emilia Clarke-Haley Lu Richardson buddy comedy is worth your attention. Created by Susanna Fogel and kind of expanding on her conceit from the underrated 2018 action/comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me, is like a lighter version of The Americans in reverse. Clarke is excellent when freed of dragons and incest, and Richardson’s comedic talent, hinted at in season two of White Lotus, shines through here. Only seen three eps, but hopeful it takes itself to another level in the next five. Makes me nostalgic for the 80s and the sweet binary of the Cold War. Remember when the enemy was easy to identify?
(I’m going to get into this more on Wednesday, through the lens of hauntology, Stranger Things, and PLUR1BUS, so be sure to come back.)
DEEP LOCAL FOUR ACTUALLY DOES RIP
Writer, photographer, filmmaker Christopher Ayala has released episode four of his Deep Local series, “Sleepwalker”. I’m absolutely loving Chris’ work here, and his talent for framing and use of shadow in this episode is really on display.
POEMS BY SEAN BATES IS RIPPING TOO
Writer, poet, and educator Sean Bates is starting a new reviews series over on his Substack, and I, for one, can’t wait. Knowing some of Sean’s tastes and influences, this is sure to help craft my 2026 reading list. As Sean notes of the project, “This winter I’ll be reviewing a new collection each week from a poet published on an independent press. The books and poets and presses I’ve chosen have been recommended by mentors and colleagues who have shown me warmth and community. I offer these reviews as a testament to the first poem that ‘grabbed me by the throat’, the community of writers who read and support my work and how that makes each of us great.” Read more here.