What I believe is going on:

First clue is the title: “Trendlocity”, which is a mashup of Trend and Velocity which likely hints that this has something to do with the speed at which trends emerge.

Second clue is the first word of dialogue, which refers to mood rings which were a fad from the 1970s.

3rd clue is the character in the red vest’s hat changes in each frame that he’s in:

• First frame: Cowboy hat
• 2nd frame: Hard hat with beacon
• 3rd frame: ???

I’m not super familiar with when any of these may have been entered popular imagination, but this may reflect the trendiness of these various hat styles.

4th clue: The character or cosplay in the center frame with the wide oval face, large eyes, and fur surrounding the face resembles a Labubu, which was this year’s fad toy.

5th clue: The “Raymon” hint that the red vest character has on a sign, reminds the foreground character of what the center oval face character is a reference to.

The name “Raymon” resembles the typical name format for a monster in a Japanese monster raising game, such as Pokemon and Digimon.

Persons above a certain age who didn’t play the games, or persons who played earlier versions of the games may not be familiar with some of the monsters in the games.

The foreground character in the center frame is unable to name the character or cosplay reference.

In the last frame, the foreground character sees red vest’s hint, and is able to name the character, or character reference in the oval face character’s cosplay, giving him relief over the anxiety of not being able to name the character or reference.

This awkward situation that the foreground character finds themselves resembles meeting someone they have met before, and not being able to remember their name, but with the transposition of obscure references to videogames and fads on the situation.

Ergo humor has been wrought.

No, but sometimes I feel like I’m talking to thin air.

Switched On Bach from 1968 is amazing, even moreso when you look at the analog electronics that Wendy Carlos was working with back in the day.

Here’s her in 1970: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsW2EDGbDqg

I use dry beans all the time, and never refrigerated dry beans.

They’ve gone hard on me after they’ve been kept in storage for a long time, but it just takes longer to boil them tender.

Beans and other legumes are up to $1.29/lb here.

Chickpeas, split peas, any kind of legumes are great!

For soups and chilis, big batches and freezers is the only way to go.

I’m surprised by how much I use this stuff, and the competitor Slap Ya Mama. I started buying a can for red beans and rice, but it’s just perfect for seasoning eggs, marinating chicken, etc.