Category: Pop Culture

Ever since my birthday last month, there has been a giant LEGO Soundwave box sitting in my office.

And for weeks now, it has felt like he’s just been sitting there staring at me.

I wanted to build it immediately.

First because it’s Soundwave. And Soundwave has always been one of my favorites. In fact, my beat-up original Soundwave is one of the only surviving Transformers toys I still have from when I was a kid. He sits on the shelf right now next to Hound, looking a little rough after a few decades of existing.

Second, because it just looks cool.

But between work, the wedding, the honeymoon, and everything else going on, I knew starting a LEGO project right before all of that was probably a terrible idea.

So I left it alone.

Which somehow made it worse.

Every time I walked into the office, there it was. Sitting there on the shelf. Not in an annoying way. More like:

“No rush. I’ll be here.”

And honestly, I think waiting accidentally made the whole thing better.

Because now it doesn’t just feel like a LEGO set I got for my birthday.

It feels like getting back to normal life a little.

The wedding happened.

The honeymoon happened.

Work finally settled down.

Will is recovering.

The house is mostly back in order.

And now there’s finally room in my brain for one more thing.

So Soundwave is still sitting there.

Still unopened.

Still waiting.

But for the first time in a while, I feel like I’m finally getting close.

I was hooked on Bob’s Burgers from the very first episode.

There was just something about it that immediately connected with me. I remember laughing out loud at least once every episode, something that I can’t say for other comedic shows at the time. It was weird, a little edgy, and completely confident in its own tone.

Bob’s Burgers felt like a show that didn’t try to grab your attention. It just quietly earned it.

I started telling friends pretty quickly that this was going to be the next Simpsons. Most of them responded with polite confusion. It didn’t have the instant cultural impact some shows get. It felt more like something you either clicked with right away or slowly warmed up to after realizing it wasn’t going anywhere.

What really stood out to me was that even when the humor leaned darker or more offbeat, it never felt mean-spirited. That balance is something I still wish more comedies would aim for. You can be sharp and strange without being cynical. Bob’s Burgers always seemed to understand that.

One of the moments that really locked me in was Louise in the Art Crawl episode repeatedly saying, “Shh, shh, shh. Shut your mouth. It’s Art Crawl.” I quoted that constantly. It’s still one of those lines that randomly pops into my head years later for absolutely no reason.

As the seasons went on, some of the early edginess softened. A lot of people saw that as a negative, but I actually think it made the show stronger. It settled into a rhythm that let the Belchers become something more lasting than just another animated family trying to out-weird each other.

Some shows explode into popularity overnight. Others take time to grow into themselves, and into the culture. Bob’s Burgers was definitely the second kind.

These days, I still look forward to new episodes. The show is currently on its mid-season break, and I’ve realized I kind of miss having that weekly dose of new Belcher chaos. It’s funny how something that once felt like a weird little secret eventually becomes part of your normal routine.

But I still remember when it felt like one.

Around this time every year, I start to feel it creeping in.

It’s not just the weather getting a little better or the days lasting longer. It’s the realization that baseball season is almost back. That alone is enough to put me in a good mood.

For me, that mostly means the Phillies are about to become part of my daily routine again. Summer nights with the game on in the background. Random afternoons checking the score. The slow, familiar journey of a long season.

There’s nothing quite like being at Citizens Bank Park on a warm night, but I’ve always loved listening on the radio just as much. Baseball works differently than most sports that way. You don’t always have to be watching. Sometimes it’s better when it’s just there, filling the room while life happens around it.

This time of year always brings a built-in sense of optimism. Every team starts fresh. Every fan believes this could finally be the season where everything clicks. It’s one of the few things in life that offers a reset without asking for much in return.

We’re not quite there yet, but we’re close. You can feel it.

And honestly, I’m just excited to have baseball back again.

When I saw the news that Wart will be appearing in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie, I couldn’t help but smile.

It’s no secret that I love Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES. The game is packed with creative visuals and wonderfully weird enemies, but if I’m being honest, I’ve always been especially obsessed with the boss characters. Birdo. Mouser. Fryguy. Tryclyde. Clawgrip (or Clawglip, depending on how you remember it).

And of course… the big bad himself. Wart.

Wart is basically the Freddy Krueger of the Mario universe. The guy literally attacks you in your dreams.

Over the years, Nintendo has mostly ignored Wart. He’s popped up here and there, but he’s never really gotten his due as one of Mario’s greatest foes.

But SinisterRabbit never forgot.

During the original run of this site, we launched a very serious and extremely influential “Bring Back Wart” campaign. Our goal was simple: remind Nintendo that this legendary frog still mattered.

The campaign was supported by tens of fans.

And now, roughly twenty years later, Wart is finally making his return.

You’re welcome.

I had a lot of Transformers when I was a kid.

But not Hound.

My cousin had Hound. I remember playing with it every time I went over to his house. It’s not a life changing memory, just something I filed away in the back of my brain as one of the toys I wished I had.

Over the years, Transformers never really left my orbit. I’m in a few Facebook groups where people post new releases and show off their collections. I enjoy looking at what’s out there, but I’ve mostly stayed on the sidelines. Happy to observe, but never participate.

Then a new Studio Series Hound showed up in my feed.

He just looked right. Something about this one caught my attention immediately. He also wasn’t particularly expensive, and when I saw my local Target had one available for delivery, I didn’t overthink it. I just ordered him.

When the box arrived, the first thing I noticed was that he was smaller than I expected. Not in a disappointing way, just a reminder that I should read the product specs.

Opening him was fun in a way I hadn’t anticipated. I even found myself trying to keep the packaging intact, even though I know I’ll probably throw it away eventually.

The figure itself is lightweight, but the build quality feels solid. There’s more articulation than I expected, and the overall design feels closer to the character I remember from the cartoon and comics than the original toys ever did. It’s still very much a toy, but it feels like one meant more for display than play.

Transforming him into Jeep mode was satisfying without being overly complicated. For a moment I considered leaving him that way, but it didn’t feel right. Hound belongs in robot mode.

What surprised me most wasn’t a huge wave of nostalgia. It was something quieter. An appreciation for how closely this figure matches what I always imagined Hound should look like when I was younger.

He ended up on a shelf next to my only remaining original Transformer… a well-worn Soundwave that I’ve had since I was six years old. Soundwave has seen better days, but he’s survived every move and every phase of life.

When I stepped back and looked at the shelf, I realized this probably won’t be the last modern Transformer I buy. Not because I suddenly feel the need to build a massive collection, but because it feels natural to let a few more of these characters find their way into the room.