New York Finally Falls for Communism

So, Mamdani has won.

Congratulations to everyone who doesn’t pay taxes in New York—including all government workers. For those who do, things are about to get ugly.

When 9/11 happened, I was actually serving in the German military. It was a shocking event that sent ripples all the way to Berlin. Back then, we were ordered to double all security measures—days off were canceled, controls were tightened, fear was spread.

Twenty years later, New York has become a place that has actually elected a Muslim mayor. Travel back two decades and try telling that to New Yorkers. Immigration certainly played a massive role in this. Some claim that Mamdani received heavy financial backing from Islamic interest groups. There is also a high probability that all elections in the West are rigged.

But it’s also the foolishness of the liberal upper class that made this possible.

In their attempt to appear morally righteous, many Western loonies are now voting for socialist measures that will inevitably pave the way toward totalitarian communism. They fail to grasp that they’ll be the ones footing the bill, while only the politicians grow rich and powerful.

The lower class will be hit hardest—as always under communism.

At first, they’ll be gaslit into believing that everything is now “free.” But nothing is ever free when it comes from the state—it’s just taxpayer-funded. And the moment the biggest taxpayers realize this, they’ll flee to protect the fruits of their labor. History has shown time and again that people will go to great lengths to escape communism once the money runs dry, while nobody ever faucht to escape towards a communist country.

Who will pay for all the “free” stuff once your taxpayers are gone?

Exactly—no one.

And that’s when everything collapses. Public housing, transportation, medication, welfare—eventually, it will all grind to a halt. Once the communists admit that it’s no longer viable to offer these services for “free,” those who used to provide them for a fee will already be gone. The result? You won’t be able to get anything—neither for free nor for money. It’ll all be gone for good.

I feel sorry for the sane New Yorkers who didn’t vote for this. They do exist. But like in every major Western city—Berlin, London, Paris, Los Angeles—the power-hungry communists sink their teeth into the hardworking population and drain them dry like the parasites they are until nothing is left.

All they can do is to run away and watch the inevitable collapse from a safe distance.

Monster: Season 2 – The Menendez Brothers (Movie/Show Review #5)

The second season of Monster feels a bit lighter than the story about Dahmer. In some ways, it’s almost comical. You’re not supposed to laugh at what’s portrayed—but I did. The way the Menendez brothers hoaxed their way through a made-up story turns what should be a drama into something closer to a dark dramedy.

The soundtrack plays a big part in that. Using Milli Vanilli as the main musical motif is a clever choice—after all, those two became the poster boys for how the entertainment industry fakes fame into existence. It’s just like the Menendez brothers tried to fake their way out of prison.

The production value matches the first season. The set design, acting, and direction are all solid and well-executed.

There are still some racial undertones sprinkled in, but compared to Dahmer, they’ve thankfully toned it down. In exchange, we get a bit more of the familiar “hate the rich” narrative—criticizing how wealthy people supposedly get preferential treatment from the system over the working class. Fortunately, the message is not hammered into your head like it was in Season 1.

Overall, Monster: The Menendez Brothers was received well by audiences, though slightly less than Dahmer. Personally, though, I enjoyed the Menendez story a bit more.

Week 45/52 YouTube Videos

Another week has flown by, here are the two main videos I’ve produced for Monday.

StoryLines

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would’ve done with George Lucas’ Star Wars if I was given the reigns when Disney bought it. Here is the answer:

BRIG

I’m still in the process of figuring things out with this channel. For now, it’s a place to ramble:

Hollywood isn’t cool anymore — and the movie Amsterdam proves it.

I didn’t even know this movie existed, but apparently, another A-list celebrity ensemble film was released in 2022 — and it bombed terribly.

The movie, Amsterdam, not only features some of the most famous actors in Tinseltown today, but it also had an established writer and director at the helm: David O. Russell, the man behind hits like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.

The cast is massive: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Robert De Niro, Taylor Swift, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, Rami Malek… This is an Ocean’s Eleven-style project with a staggering $80 million budget and Disney behind it.

So what happened at the box office? In the U.S., it has grossed only around $14 million and $31 million worldwide. If you factor in marketing cost, this movie must have lost more than 100 million.

For comparison, Ocean’s Eleven had a similar budget in 2001 and made $180 million in the U.S. and $450 million worldwide.

Amsterdam is just another example of the era of the Hollywood moviemaking coming to an end. Sure, we still have Christopher Nolan, Tom Cruise, and Leonardo DiCaprio, but beyond these three, no one seems able to draw audiences by name alone anymore.

They are trying to give us new stars, basically pushing them down our throats. But the audience isn’t swallowing it.

Social media has given us independent content creators and a glimpse behind the Hollywood mask — and the reality is grim. Most of these movie stars are not just misguided ideologues; many come across as outright arrogant and condescending toward fans. Opening a Twitter account may have been the worst career move most of the Hollywood people ever made.

I remember a new mid-budget hit coming out every month in addition to the big budget blockbuster every quarter. In my youth, I went to the video rental store every week to get the newest releases – and I always found something I couldn’t wait to see.

Today, the only movies that reliably make money are superhero films, animated features, or franchise installments (Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park, Top Gun). Nobody rushes to see mid-budget films trying something new. I am not waiting for the next Margot Robbie, Zendaya, or Chalamet movie, and even Steven Spielberg’s projects no longer guarantee big money (or big entertainment).

The magic is gone. Movie stars aren’t cool anymore. James Dean was, Marlon Brando was, even De Niro was at some point. In the ’80s, Tom Cruise could make everyone want to wear a Top Gun jacket. The Matrix influenced an entire fashion movement in the late ’90s. Today, the youth simply aren’t looking to Hollywood to see what is “cool”.

Author in Progress Report – October 2025

Things have been improving — both personally and for my online projects. Writing is on track, my next big YouTube course is almost finished, and the numbers are going up. We’re getting somewhere.


Website

This was my first full month of daily blogging. After 31 articles, my views increased by 53%, and my user count went up by 94%.

The site is still small — I’ve only received a handful of comments, and it’s not like I’m selling many books through it — but the increase in traffic shows that writing more really helps.

I’ll keep writing daily for as long as I can, and as long as people stay interested. Maybe this daily approach is what will finally help me build a decent audience for my writing.

Numbers in October:

  • Pageviews: 338 (+53%)
  • Total Users: 213 (+94%)

Newsletter

The setup is done, but no one has really signed up yet. I need to find a way to get this moving.

Offering a free book to anyone who joins the list, plus weekly notifications about free Amazon book promos, should be enough incentive to subscribe.

Anything more would feel spammy — and I don’t want to be that guy. The internet already has enough spammers.

If you’d like a free book and want to stay updated on weekly free Amazon downloads, sign up here: Endless by Michael Brig


Free Books

I managed to get somewhat back on track with this project in October, although a strict weekly schedule turned out to be unrealistic due to other commitments.

STORY52

I’m still determined to publish all 52 short stories by the end of 2026. These stories will also serve as free weekly promos for years to come.

So far, I’ve written 38 stories — 8 of them are already published and available on Amazon. The plan is to write the remaining 14 stories in 2025. Editing, translating, and publishing all of them will then become a weekly task for 2026.

This month, I published Protocol Twilight (US – DE).

If you haven’t grabbed it for free yet, add it to your Amazon wishlist and wait for the next promo in a couple of months.

Protocol Twilight – Free Promo Downloads: Promo period from Monday, Oct 27 to Friday, Oct 31

  • German version: 13 downloads
  • English version: 4 downloads

Writing

I focused mainly on short stories this month — I think I wrote around 20 of them.
That focus, however, came at the expense of my novel writing and editing.

My goals for 2025 remain the same:

  • Finish writing another novel (working title: Influencer)
  • Release the first part of my 17 series (working title: Like a Rolling Stone)

Project Updates 2025

  • Forever – Released in July (US / DE)
  • Endless – Free book for newsletter subscribers, released in September (get it here)
  • 17 Series – Part 1 is 80% complete; target release before Christmas 2025
  • Therapy – Written; planned release early 2026
  • Crowley – Written; planned release summer 2026
  • Influencer – Currently outlining; goal to finish writing by end of 2025

I also plan to release a few more short stories this year — not weekly, but around 3–4 more should be manageable.


X / Twitter

This month’s Twitter updates brought even more censorship — especially in Germany. That made me rethink my efforts on the platform.

I’ll still share links to my articles and videos, and I’ll continue posting movie reviews whenever I watch something new. But for now, I won’t invest time in commenting, sharing, or creating unique content there.

There’s no point writing for Twitter when shadow banning buries your posts in oblivion.

But you can follow me here: @michael_brig


Instagram

No real changes here — I’m still just posting my book covers for now.

Follow me here: Michael Brig IG


YouTube

A better month overall!

I’m almost done with a 12-hour course about the new version of GIMP, which I’ll release for free on my tutorial channel. I also managed to produce almost daily Photoshop tutorials.

In addition, I created more video essays and launched a new personal channel:

    OnPaper follows my author journey — perfect if you’d rather watch and listen than read my articles.

    StoryLines is a video essay channel focused on storytelling in film and TV. The latest video covered the two Judge Dredd movies; next up is Disney’s Star Wars.

    BRIG is my new personal channel — just for fun. I plan to share thoughts and ideas for now. Later drone shots, bike rides, AI experiments, travel clips, and creative projects are planned. It’s simply a space to keep the creative energy flowing.


    Conclusion

    October was a much better month overall. The website grew, I started another YouTube channel, and the STORY52 project is back on track.

    Compared to September, my health has also improved. I’ve got a few doctor’s appointments next week — hopefully things continue getting better from here.

    Wish me luck!