So, Nico Harrison Was Fired

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Everyone saw it coming—except Nico Harrison. The Mavs GM seemed to think he was smarter than everyone else by trading Luka Doncic because, in his words, “defense wins championships.”

Trading Luka was the dumbest move a Mavericks GM could ever make. But trading him without shopping around the league for multiple offers to get the best deal? That was pure lunacy.

Anthony Davis is a great player, but with his injury history, he’s a part-time player who very likely won’t carry a full playoff run—let alone a full season.

When the trade happened, you had to wonder: why didn’t the Mavs also try to get Austin Reaves? A deal that included both Davis and Reaves would have at least made some sense—but Nico Harrison couldn’t even pull that off.

Ask yourself: where would the Mavs be now without the lucky (or rigged) first draft pick that resulted in Cooper Flagg? Davis is injured again. They lost the play-ins last year, and they’re on track to miss them this year. From Finals to no play-offs in one trade—well done. On Monday, the Mavs had their first home game in more than two decades that wasn’t sold out.

This is what happens when someone thinks they know better than everyone else. “Time will tell,” Nico said. Well, time is up—and it spoke very clearly: the Doncic trade was the dumbest trade in NBA history, maybe even in all of sports history. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nico Harrison never gets another job in the NBA ever again—or in any other profession in Dallas.

9 Reasons to Have Numbers in Your Headlines (Number 5 Will Surprise You)

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BuzzFeed used to do it with almost every single article. I once discovered a website that covered many of my interests—stories, tech, fitness, online growth, and more. On Medium and countless blogs, you’ll find the same pattern. I must have read thousands of those number/list-articles.

Why do they all use numbered headlines? Because they work — until they don’t.

BuzzFeed was the worst thing that ever happened to writing on the internet—but it wasn’t really BuzzFeed’s fault. They simply optimized for what people clicked on. At some point, they realized that “7 Ways to Lose Weight (Number 3 Will Surprise You)” performed far better than “A Comprehensive Guide to Losing Weight.” Since their goal was to maximize clicks, they leaned heavily into this style of writing.

However, I don’t use that structure—and I don’t recommend that you do either.

Here’s why: Despite reading thousands of articles with that format, I can’t remember a single website besides BuzzFeed where I found them. No joke, no exaggeration. I don’t remember the authors, the bloggers, or the magazines. They’ve simply vanished from my memory.

I can’t recall a single specific article that used this formula. “7 Ways to Build Muscle Fast”? I couldn’t tell you even one of the seven.

Why is that?

Because articles with numbered headlines are like fast food. They look tempting, they’re marketed well, but once you’ve consumed them, you realize you’ve gained nothing of lasting value. You still remember that night you had a steak at a five-star restaurant—but you probably don’t remember your first Big Mac.

Fast-food number/list-articles are the same. You consume them, digest them, shit them out, and forget them—almost immediately afterwards you crave something real.

Of course, not every numbered article is of low quality. But by now, too many creators have abused the formula, stuffing low-value content down our throats. Whenever I see a “numbers post,” I just skip it.

Write lists or write something personal.

Numbered posts are the opposite of personal writing. They don’t tell the reader who you are or give them a reason to come back.

Just like you don’t care about returning to McDonald’s because there is another one at every corner, you don’t care about that site with the numbers articles because they can be found all over the internet.

BuzzFeed News is already gone, and BuzzFeed Inc. is struggling financially. The biggest example of “number-post” success has turned into a case study in short-term rise and mid-term failure—and that doesn’t surprise me at all.

If you want to build a real relationship with your readers—or any relationship at all—stay away from numbered headlines and formulas.

Monster: Season 3 – Ed Gein (Movie/Show Review #6)

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The third (and final, for now) season of Monster focuses on Ed Gein. Unfortunately, it’s the weakest of the three seasons, despite having some interesting elements.

I appreciated that the show explored how Ed Gein’s crimes inspired Hollywood movies and comics. The production values remain high, the acting solid, and the music selection excellent. Charlie Hunnam is always worth watching, and the supporting cast delivers as well.

One aspect I particularly enjoyed was the show’s willingness to take risks with experimental scenes. While these didn’t always succeed, they occasionally gave the season a surreal, fever-dream quality. I personally enjoy it when a show leans into a David Lynch–style atmosphere, but in this case it made Season 3 of Monster the strangest one so far.

Many of the negative reviews likely stem from this experimental approach, as all other aspects—storytelling, acting, production—are on par with the first two seasons.

What made Ed Gein’s story fall behind Jeffrey Dahmer’s or the Menendez brothers’ for me was the lack of a clear climax. Gein remains odd and deranged throughout, with Hollywood references and dream sequences punctuating his story. Eventually, he simply dies as an old man.

Another thing that made it not as good as the first two seasons was the German synchronisation. Hunnam is way better with the original US audio.

Still, Monster remains one of the better shows on TV, and I’ll definitely be checking out Season 4 when it arrives.

Week 46/52 YouTube Videos

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Two more videos for this week:

StoryLines

On my movie essay channel I talk about Deep Water form 2022 this week:

Brig

On my personal channel, I’ll ramble about that gut feeling that we all have but can’t explain. It might actually be the lack of freedom in our current world:

You Will Own Nothing And You Will Be Happy … or Else

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It feels like Western civilization is going downhill fast. I have to thank my parents for having me in the ’80s — perfect timing, Mom and Dad.

The West was once the place to be, especially America. Sadly, that era is ending — maybe it’s already long gone. These days, the only reason to move to the West is the welfare state: free healthcare in Europe, free phones in the U.S., and free euthanasia in Canada. What a time to be alive!

If you think we’ve already reached peak insanity, think again. Klaus Schwab, the chief clown of the World Economic Forum, has announced even more “fun” for you and me — the peasants, as Uncle Klausi might call us. Sometimes they even refer to us as “worthless eaters.”

When they call us things like that in public, can you imagine what they say behind closed doors?

“You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy” — that gem of a slogan came straight out of one of those WEF think tank meetings. The self-proclaimed elite sat around deciding what kind of world they want to impose on us next. Apparently, it’s one where private property is the next bit of freedom on the chopping block.

The interesting part about that slogan? It doesn’t say “We’ll own nothing and we’ll be happy.” No — it’s only about you and me.

The plan is simple: an unelected network of bureaucrats, bankers, and corporate overlords comes together to reshape the world in their image. What the “useless eaters” think about that vision doesn’t matter. They simply buy every institution and politician with any influence, then enforce their will.

Private property will disappear — for everyone except them. They’ll still fly their private jets to Davos for a photo op with Klaus Schwab or whoever replaces him. Meanwhile, we’ll be trapped inside our 15-minute cities, fulfilling government work quotas under the watchful eye of some AI overlord.

New York will likely show the way. Mamdani was installed for a reason — he may be the first to implement this technocratic, neo-communist system in a major Western city under the thunderous applause of a growing Muslim community that thinks that they are winning — what exactly is it that you’re winning? Certainly not your freedom.

For now, we can watch from the outside, but soon it’ll become the blueprint for every city. Our job is to observe — and to understand how it’s being done, and by whom.

The West was the pinnacle of human achievement not that long ago. We invented the car, the airplane, the computer, the internet. We discovered penicillin, created the printing press, explored space — and, let’s not forget, perfected silicone tits.

In the ’80s, everyone in the West was excited about the future. Now, everyone just misses the past.

But maybe losing it all to a global cabal of financial elites will reignite the rebellious, adventurous spirit of Western people. Maybe — just maybe — the totalitarian system the WEF dreams of will backfire and finally push us off our couches to fight for a better future.

A future where we once again own our cities, our lives, and ourselves.