20 Years On: The Legacy of TV.com

June 1st, 2005 marked the soft launch of TV.com, the site where I built most of my internet infamy. I've talked about the site at length before (after all, that's where this blog started) but for newer readers I'll sum it up here:

In many ways, TV.com was an upgrade over TV Tome. There was a more sophisticated interface, and an opportunity for social interaction that ran parallel with the nascent Facebook. TV Tome was founded and run by one guy, who then delineated some responsibilities to two paid employees; CNet swooped in just as this trio was burning out and ready to give up. TV.com had a full-fledged staff of admins, lording over a hundred-plus volunteer editors chosen by meritocracy. I built a handful of friendships at TV Tome, but that increased seemingly tenfold when CNet took the reins. I've even dated people that had TV.com accounts. My generating of content, pieced together from reliable internet sources and old TV Guides, veered into the maniacal until even I started to flame out.

Alas, the site was mismanaged and it lost money; the admin was gradually reduced to a couple of people, and it lost even more revenue. Our fan-created, all volunteer IP was shifted to TV Guide (another CNet acquisition, albeit far more established) and the site was dead by early 2020. The relationships, however mostly remain. 

Besides this being the unofficial 20th anniversary of this blog, this September would've been TV Tome's 25th anniversary. TV.com is a fading memory, TV Tome all but forgotten. If you're reading this, thanks again for sticking around. 

Meanwhile... we're at war? Did Trump drop bombs on Iran without the approval of Congress or his Secretary of State? In a just world, this is the singular event that results in Democrats taking both houses in the 2026 midterms. If he didn't have so many enablers, this would be grounds for a third impeachment; alas, that would mean President JD Vance. Right now, only a handful of Democrats seem to be vocal in resistance. The empire keeps crumbling.

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Flip This Ticket

I hope I publish this post before something else major happens. Good grief.

Call it the Kamala effect. Since the Vice President took the reins from President Biden on July 21st, the Democrats have raised over a quarter billion dollars nationally, she instantly took the lead in polls in several swing states, and brought new energy into an otherwise interminable election cycle. The timing was uncanny; Biden wasn't going to back out during the RNC, but opted to do so a couple days after, to curb the traditional post-convention bump.

Even though Harris was a strong presence on the campaign trail, her first run for the Oval Office in late 2019 was undercut by financial issues. Now she has the message *and* the war chest. It also puts the onus of age squarely on Trump, who won the June debate by default but still rambles like Abraham Simpson at his frequent rallies. There's also the prosecutor versus felon angle. Even with the dramatic boost in donations, the race has gone from a narrow Trump lead to a virtual tie nationally, and there's still three months of brinksmanship to go. 

Now the question, who will be the veep's veep? Probably a middle-aged white guy with liberal, not necessarily progressive leanings. JB Pritzker would be a good pick (local bias) but Tim Walz would also be suitable. Either would look relatively sane --and safe-- compared to an awkward, jejune, trust fund doofus like JD Vance.

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