Saturday, February 29, 2020

Saturday, February 29, 2020

 Here's today's offering.

 We talk a bit about the South Carolina primary, the "Southern Strategy" and the flip-flop of the national parties, and I probably talk out of my ass about African Americans. Be gentle but enjoy.

Friday, February 28, 2020

Friday, February 28, 2020

 Here's today's offering from the WordPress site.

 In short, more stuff about CORVID-19 and how bad the Trump Administration is handling it; Barry Sanders, Garth Brooks and how dumb MAGAts are; and finally how getting a good night's sleep still doesn't put Matt in a good mood when the rest of the world is ruled by the Dumb.

 Have fun.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Thursday, February 27, 2020

 I'm doing a little something different tonight. Go here for elucidation and illumination. Have a good one.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

 Gonna knock out a quick one today because last's nights piece wore me slap out. Putting that much effort and research into a piece raises my blood pressure and gives a mess of a headache. I thought it was just hardcore political writing that was whipping me like a mean dog, but no, it's just that much work wears me down, whether it's intensely political or not. Don't know quite how to take that.

 And since someone finally poked the Blind Idiot God this morning, Trump gave a speech this evening after spending the morning blaming the Democrats and the media for stirring everyone else in order to "get him" somehow. Undoubtedly, he got this from Medal Of Freedom winner Rush Limbaugh, who spent all day yesterday railing on this and all day today claiming that Trump proved him right. You'd think instead of staying a professional butthole he'd be trying to stay healthy himself - most of the deaths from CORVID-19 have occurred in people with weakened immune systems and he has lung cancer, mind - and spend his more time with his loved ones while he can, but there you go.

 Of course, this has trickled down to the lesser wingnut goons, blaming the Democrats while simultaneously moaning that everyone was blaming Lord Trump. Congress got in on the fun, too, with Marco Rubio, The Man With The Liquid Spine And Cushioned Kneecaps, bemoaning China's influence on our medical supply, despite that being the result of conservative policies and Rubio's dumb as a stump. Health And Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, in answering questions, couldn't guarantee that when discovered, affordable vaccine would be available because free market and fuck you. Hey, if nothing else, the masks are being ripped off in the Trump era.

 Perhaps the single dumbest thing being taken as gospel by the drooling millions in the Trump cult is that the Center For Disease Control can't be trusted because the doctor in charge of figuring this all out is related to someone who made the fanbase mad. No, really. Dr. Nancy Messonnier is the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases is very well respected in her field, award winning with an impressive bio.

 She's also Rod Rosenstein's sister. Remember him? He was the Deputy Attorney General who was a faith assistant lackey of Trump's consigliere Bill "The Pope" Barr until Fox News decided he was responsible for the Mueller Report and the mean ol' Democrats not taking Barr's Cliff Notes version as enough. So, of course, all this is "Deep State" trying to bring down the Chosen One because the world actually works like a third-rate political thriller. Apparently this developed from one of those Q weirdos fever-dream threads and metastasized by Limbaugh and Fox's pet racist pee-paw Lou Dobbs, among others. If Trump isn't tweeting this out by Friday, I for one will be shocked.

 In any event, budget hearings to tackle CORVID-19 are being planned by Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, and Trump's mulling appointing a "coronavirus czar". I seem to remember czars being a bad thing when Obama was in office, but what the hell, nothing matters anymore. In the meantime, he's put Vice-President Mike "Remember Me? Anyone?" Pence "in charge" of the CORVID-19 response, though you're guess is as good as mine what that means or what that weird bastard will do with that mandate.

 So, there's that there, then. If you're less than confident and that the dippy bastard in the White House and his coterie of criminal, thugs and outright morons will handle this potentially hellacious event with anything coming close to competency, intelligence or compassion, take heart the rest of the world is on the case. Sometime this morning, more new cases of CORVID-19 were reported outside China than there were in country. Something like 10 cases in China but 2,790 in the rest of the world. Interestingly, the vast majority of cases were reported in South Korea with 1,261.

 That fills me with a little more confidence, I don't know about you. South Korea doesn't screw around when it comes to technological advancement. If nothing else, the future of the human race isn't as shaky as all that. Some comfort, I suppose.

EDIT: After I finished this and while I was eating supper, the CDC confirmed the first case of CORVID-19 in the United States that has a "community spread" unknown origin. That is, the first case where the infected hadn't traveled to China recently. Buckle up, it's going to get bumpier.

 Lastly, there was another mass shooting today, this time in Milwaukee. Six people just trying to make a living were killed at the Molson Coors plant. So far, not much is known about who or why except the gunman died of a self-inflicted head shot. This was the 51st mass shooting this year.

 I have nothing at all flip or clever to say about that.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

 Okay, so in the past 48 hours or so the freakout level of the world has increased a good bit over this coronavirus business. While we have touched on it in the past, the basic squirrelliness quotient of the human condition  has got to the point where I think it'd do us all a bit of good to step back, take a breath and give this some serious thought.

 First and foremost, be selective about your sources, people. Most of us have a Hitchhiker's Guide in a pocket and it's good for more than being a dumbass on Twitter or Facebook. Google and other search engines aren't that hard to use. Furthermore, the Center for Disease Control has a very lovely website that's easy to parse. And if you got some sort of hang up about using governmental sources for information, even though that's their job, private interests like John Hopkins University and the Mayo Clinic also have websites that even the dumbest stump could use.

 If you're inclined towards media sources, I'm going to recommend The Guardian and Al Jazeera, but that's up to you. What you don't do, friends and neighbors, is listen to your racist uncle go on about biochemical weapons on Facebook or even your dumbass wingnut cousin claiming that it's all because we don't keep brown people out of America. Also, be selective in your YouTube choices. I personally like SciShow for my information. Do not, repeat, do not pay attention to some dingbat who spends most of his time complaining about a dearth white babies or female video game characters with reasonable-sized breasts. Those guys do not have your best interests at heart. Plus, they are, for the most part, extremely stupid people.

 Now. Let's look into this a little bit. On December 29, 2019, four people in Wuhan, capital of the Hubei province in China, went to their doctors complaining of flu-like symptoms. In fairly short order, doctors realized they were dealing with something new and unprecedented. Not that coronaviruses themselves are "new and unprecedented". We actually know a good bit about them. "Corona" means "crown" and they look like little crowns under a microscope. Past epidemics like SARS and MERS are coronaviruses and we've dealt with them before.

 Basically, they're respiratory diseases. Coughs, breathing difficulties and a fever come around and pneumonia can spring from since it lowers your immune system's strength. This particular little booger - dubbed CORVID-19 by the eggheads - is following this path so far. Infected complain of pneumonia-like symptoms and it does a number on their immune systems. In fact, the vast bulk of people infected with CORVID-19 who've died have done so because of that lowered immune system. They either have something like heart disease already and their not strong enough to deal with it or they develop full-blown pneumonia which knocks 'em out because, again, lowered immune systems.

 Most of the people who've been infected with CORVID-19 or died due to it have been over 40. The youngest reported case was 13. At current count, 80, 598 have been diagnosed with CORVID-19 with 2,712 deaths. The vast majority of the cases are in China, though it has spread to Japan, the U.S., Italy and Australia, among other places. While the first four cases were in Wuhan and researchers do think it's very likely this virus jumped from animal to human, which isn't all that rare, they really don't know for sure. Even how it's spread we don't know, though researchers are treating it as if it's airborne.

 And there lies the rub. We really don't know exactly what we're dealing with, we just know it's serious and needs to be dealt with. We all remember SARS and avian flu and Ebola, and what a massive bummer those were. In some places, the death toll was pretty staggering and, as with how these cases play out, we don't know exactly where will get the worst of it. For example, despite some chicken littles that we inexplicably paid too much attention to, Ebola in the States wasn't that big a deal but it kicked the living shit out of West Africa. Those same chicken littles are doing us a whole lot of not good right now and they really, really need to be ignored this time around. It's a shame they're in positions of power nowadays rather than just being the random goobers on Twitter they should remain, but one must play with the cards one is dealt.

 But here's some good news. Of those 85,000 reported cases, only 49,776 are active with 28,110 discharged. The infection rate is something like 3%, as opposed to the 1917-1918 Spanish Flu pandemic which saw one-third of the world's population come down with it. Indeed, despite the CDC and other organizations being Johnny-On-The-Spot with this, the plain old flu is considered a much nastier bug. At last count, over 29 million Americans have come down with the flu this season and we haven't even got good and started on it yet.

So what should you do to protect yourself or if you think you've got CORVID-19? Well, treat it like the flu. Wash your hands a lot, don't cough on people, stay home from work if you're sick, and if you're feeling particularly rotten, go see your doctor. If you travel a lot or, indeed, live or work around people who travel a lot, be extra on guard about staying clean and safe like you would otherwise during flu season. Maybe go ahead and get that flu shot if you haven't so far. Ya never know. It's here already and will affect more people, but really, this is elementary stuff.

 Though very serious and definitely worth paying attention to, this is not considered a pandemic so far. Furthermore, after dealing with SARS, Ebola and so forth the past 20 or so years, governments around the world are jumping on this and working very diligently to stay on top of this so we don't have another ugly situation like SARS, which saw a 10% mortality rate. Indeed, the Chinese government has been commended by the CDC for their swift, decisive action, giving the rest of the world time to get situated.

 What you should NOT do is spread dumbass racist rumors about the Chinese government brewing up a bioweapon that got out of control. Yes, that is dumbass and it is extremely racist, and if that judgement offends, cry more and then wash your hands. This shit happens and it's happened since time immemorial, and it's entirely possible this virus has lain dormant for thousands of years and is just now deciding the be a pain in the ass.

 Of course, there are some other concerns. Trump's approach to "governing" has left us as a country a bit under-defended and caught off-foot due to his hard-on for defunding anything that Obama had a hand in. It has affected the stock market, causing the largest drop in two years, and is probably got more surprises in store. Most of us aren't really as hip as we should be about our reliance on China to, well, make stuff, so the country clamping down has resulted in problems in everything from food to iPhone parts. That's just how it's going to be until the boffins get their heads around it. Settle down and quit your sobbing.

 And yes, the quarantines have been a stone cold bummer and certain cities in certain states are coming off looking like buttholes for being so ugly about sick people. The former is just the way things have to be while the latter is merely another example of our shit-ass nature taking precedent in this, the Trump Era. A lot of folks are cutting down on travel, mainly because they don't want have to be stuck in their hotel room for weeks at a time. Furthermore, the dumb son of a bitch we have as president doesn't really inspire confidence, partly because he's run off anyone with any sense or spine but mainly because he's a profoundly stupid human being who wallows in his ignorance. Again, the cards we're dealt, what are you going to do.

 Okay for all that. I hope this has been educational and, maybe, a bit comforting. While serious - and this is serious despite my light-hearted flippancy - it does no one any good to lose their shit over anything, especially when people who study this for a living are on the job. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and don't spread racist bullshit on Facebook like a drooling moron, and we'll all be cool.

 No, really. Calm down, have a candy bar. I wouldn't put the shuck on you. Relax.

Monday, February 24, 2020

Monday, February 24, 2020

 I had an idea strike me this morning, and while I don't know how on the nose it is, it's given a sense of clarity to a lot of things. I'm just getting down and will do more with it, maybe, at a later date. All of this is outside my wheelhouse and has more in common with being an interested student, like if I were writing about epistemological philosophy, Taoist thought or the Many-Worlds Theory. So be patient and hang in.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Sunday, February 23, 2020

 Well, the rain's back. It moved in with some warmer temperatures and they say it'll come down through to Tuesday. On the upside, it's not supposed to add more to the flooding in the state. On the downside, Otis realizes we're not going to be able to take any constitutionals for a bit. You know how much a depressed Jack Russell can bring down a room? Plus, he thinks I make it happen on purpose.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Saturday, February 22, 2020

 I'm not promising any great shakes tonight. It's been a lovely day, if a bit cold, and I have been unable to pay attention. So let's go, hey?

Friday, February 21, 2020

Friday, February 21, 2020

 I don't know what I'm going to write about tonight. I had an idea in the drive home from the gym, but it has plumb eluded me since. Even the evening constitutional with Otis wasn't able to spur it back into life.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Thursday, February 20, 2020

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."
 On the third morning of my Big Trip, I was in Lamar, CO, a little town on the state line, after visiting Dodge City, KS. Nice little town, I thought, sort of reminded me of some of the small towns I'd seen already, from Mississippi to Oklahoma. Familiar, in other words. Plan was to swing through Pueblo and check out one of these dispensaries, and then go on to Denver for the night.

 As I was sitting in the car figuring out the route with my Hitchhiker's Guide, it occurred to me that I was in the position to go visit Woody Creek. And though I hadn't even thought of it until just that moment - or was even cognizant of the possibility - I realized that if I passed up that chance, I'd never forgive myself. Though not the type to be that into visiting "holy ground", I just knew I'd always kick myself if I didn't go look at it.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

 I try not to deal in conspiracy theories. For one, one can get so deep into a conspiracy theory that makes complete sense at first brush apart from one small flaw that will spin into all sorts of nutty to explain away that flaw. One of the reasons scientific progress happens is because old theories become ridiculous before new information. Before the heliocentric model was accepted across the board, the wackiness needed to keep the geocentric model running was almost comical.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

 The rain has returned. Not quite as fierce as it was last week, but there was at least one solid frog drowner with a bit of rattle and flash. A dreary day and I'm in a dreary mood, so let's get our words and go back to bed.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Monday, February 17, 2020

 Well, I don't know what to start with today. The News isn't all that terribly grabbing and I used up all my booshwah over the weekend. But, the rain's back so Otis is upset we can't take our constitutional, so let's knock this out.

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Sunday, February 16, 2020

 Okay, we're ready to do this. It's 8:15 p.m., Hillbilly Standard Time, and those were pretty good ribs. I just pounded out a thousand words on honky-tonk royalty, so I don't know if I'm even going to try hitting 500 words.

Give me a minute.

 Going to run a little late tonight. No fear, though. I got some neat stuff for you from the Tumblr site. Just got to get it finished up. Plus, I got ribs coming, so, yeah.

 Wired-&-inspired, though, so I got a good feeling about this. It's 6:30 p.m. Hold tight, be with you in a bit.


Saturday, February 15, 2020

Saturday, February 15, 2020

 Well, shoot. Another day where I really don't have anything kicking around my noggin screaming and clawing to get out. Ah, but we persevere and the Work must be done.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Friday, February 14, 2020

 So, it's Valentine's Day. Does anyone really like Valentine's Day? I mean, beyond the people making money off it, like candy makers and romantic restaurants, they must love it. But most you see is either people moaning about being single on V-Day or MRA dudes getting their knickers in a twist because that's what they do.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Thursday, February 13, 2020

The temperature's dropped significantly and it seems the rain is done with us until Tuesday or so. Around Jackson and the Pearl River, as well as near Lake Oktebbeha there's worries of the dam there bursting once everything finishes running downstream. Here in Enon Holler, though, all we have to worry about is drying out soon enough to maybe get some work done.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

  Well, it's still raining, alternating between misting and pissing down, but always raining. It's cold and grey, and the world is getting increasingly weird. Not in the fun, cool "man, that sky is so blue, have you ever thought about hands" kind of weird. A disturbing weird, a weird that doesn't know if you're actually necessary anymore.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Monday, February 10, 2020

 After two days of sunny relief, the rain is back with a vengeance. It poured so much that the day went from a Mose Allison one straight into a Charles Mingus one. Believe you me, get Mingus out in the country is a pretty fierce rain indeed.

 We spent the morning put a new front door in with my Uncle, Momma's surviving brother. It has a little doggie door because Momma's tired of having to call me in to let Otis back in after he's decided he doesn't like being outside alone. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to grasp the concept. He'll see the cat and sit there losing his mind, not even paying the door any mind as he scratches at the bottom. I've had to push him through, and he still fights me. Ain't that a helluva note?

 For whatever reason, the Jukebox in the Corner of My Mind is working today. Used to, anytime I'd take a nap, I'd wake up with a song playing in my head. One of Alabama's last chart toppers was called "Jukebox In My Mind". I always thought that was apropos to my particular tastes in music and, more importantly, listening to music. I like variety. I want to hear Motorhead followed by George Jones followed by Art Blakely. I can't imagine people who listen to one or two albums over and over.

 I would always tell myself I'd start writing about those songs when they'd pop up, but before I got loose of the bayous, I never could make myself do it. Of course, once I decided to actually do it, the songs stopped coming. Somewhat coincides with the return of dreams, I wonder if they're connected. In any event, they came back today, and they'll be at the Tumblr site. Today's offerings are "Come Back To Us, Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard" by John Prine and, when I finish it, "Pray For Me Mama (I'm A Gypsy Now)" by Jason & The Scorchers.

 Well, what else? News? Oddly enough - or thankfully enough - there doesn't seem to be a whole lot going on today. The Coronavirus continues to spread, taking lives, and, far as I can tell, scientists and doctors are no closer to finding something to fight it. Both parties are camped out in New Hampshire tonight in preparation for tomorrow's primaries. Trump's having one of his usual Assemblies of the Faithful, telling the usual lies the crowd eats up like Sugar Babies. As for the Democrats, the odds are leaning towards a shootout between Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg with Elizabeth Warren pulling up third. Joe Biden seems to have already thrown in the towel in the Granite State but promises big things once we come down South.

 One thing that's again being ignored in this presidential election is the African American vote. This is, of course, nothing new. Trump loyalists are calling for him to get as high as 40 percent of the vote, but I wouldn't put money on this because not everyone thinks he's as magical as they do. Right now, Trump has like a 7 percent approval rate among black people and I really don't see him turning that molehill into a smallish hill, much less a mountain.

 Like every other white person who thinks they know all that needs knowing, I don't have a good bead on who might get the black vote. Were I still in New Orleans, I'd have more input, but on this Hill? Not so much. I'm seeing, however, a fairly even split between Biden, Warren and Sanders online. Time will tell, I guess. It's too bad the Democrats can't seem to realize that the most loyal voters they have is black voters and if they'd concentrate on issues that improve the black situation in America, other people would come right along. In any event, they need to stop chasing the "working class vote" which invariably means middle-class white people. We are not to be trusted.

In other news, Trump's using his "victory" in the impeachment business to launch another ridiculous budget, a $4.8 billion monster that promises more tax cuts at the expense of food stamps, student loans and Medicaid. Among other things, this budget will push the deficit to past $1 trillion dollars, but since deficits only matter during Democratic administrations, I don't really know if this actually means anything, I ain't going to lie.

 Finally, some folks are sort of put out that not one single Republican Congress critter spoke out against Trump's weekend head-piking of "disloyal" actors like Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and UN Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. Both mean testified against Trump in the impeachment and, just like Mitt Romney, Trump and his howling sycophants are calling for his blood. The only thing that really confuses me is why anyone would think a single GOP politician would chasten Trump on this matter, knowing The Base would eviscerate them come election time. Y'all are asking for more spine than the average politician has, much less conservative politician.

 We're looking at more rain tomorrow. Matter of fact, we're looking at heavy rain until sometime Thursday and there's all sorts of concerns over potential flooding, especially since we've barley dried out from last week's drenching. Stay on high ground if you're in the path, beloved, because the sun will shine again eventually.

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Sunday, February 9, 2020

 I ain't going to lie, beloved, but I woke up in a foul mood. Whatever cheap funk that's been hanging around since the first of the year kicked me in the teeth this morning. There was all expectations of this being one of those dark, tedious dirges I've been singing lately because I'm not interested in today's news, so far. But, I got wired & inspired, and took a nice constitutional with Otis. It improved my mood greatly.

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Saturday, February 8, 2020

 Bleh. I am just not in the mood for the world today. Not in the mood for Trump's foolishness, not in the mood for the awful government Mississippi has to deal with, not interested in the foul rot at the heart of American identity, not interested in books, games, movies, none of it. I don't know why. I don't even feel depressed, just tired. We're just going to get our numbers and hope tomorrow's more worthwhile.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Friday, February 7, 2020

 I don't know who or why, but some read the tar out of this blog yesterday. I got 164 hits, which not only destroys that all previous records of hit-per-day but also more hits than I usually get in a month. I surely do appreciate it, whoever you are and why ever you did. Tell your friends and relations. Most of the time it's more interesting than yesterday's half-baked gibberish, too. Well, sometimes.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Thursday, February 6, 2020

 I'm not going to lie, beloved. I've had a long day and I am beat. So, we'll keep this short and maybe look at the horror that is America 2020 tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

 Well, what we all knew would happen happened. I mean, no one's really all that shocked, right? Going into it, any other outcome would've been an uphill climb even without the stumbling blocks that kept getting tossed in the path.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

 Okay, so a little insight into my day-to-day life. I am, at heart, a night owl and the sunshine bores the daylights out of me. Usually, my evenings breakdown into finishing this mess, having supper, taking a little nap, and waking up around 10 p.m. to spend a couple hours working, reading or playing a game.

 Still looking for writing/editing work, by the way. I work cheap, y'all give me a call.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Monday, February 3, 2020

 In a bit of a funk today. I would say it's the same funk I've been in since the beginning of the year, but apparently I was in a good mood yesterday. I have no idea why yesterday was special, because today was just as if not more pleasant, but there you go. Scrambled brain chemistry doesn't have to make sense.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Sunday, February 2, 2020

 I don't know how the weather is wherever y'all are, but today's one of those days that almost makes rural Northeast Mississippi worth the effort, even if it's just in knowing the summer's going to be a booger. Even now, it's going be nasty before the week's out. But for the nonce, let's all just enjoy it.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Saturday, February 1, 2020

 Sometimes I think part of my sleeping problems, or the current iteration thereof, is that one of the reasons I rarely get more than two or three hours a time, is I'm remembering my dreams again. Read somewhere that heavy marijuana use is inability to remember dreams. I am here to report that, yes, all that fits in.