Hey, I got it done, don't expect too much out of me.

  I'm not going to screw around tonight. I got nothing, in particular, I feel like writing about, but what the hell. Never stopped me before.

 Kicking things off, here's a good piece on the young Black activists who led the charge to change the state flag last year. Our good friends Ashton Pittman and Nick Judin at the excellent Mississippi Free Press. Do check them out. Mainstream media is dying a slow death but, surprisingly, Mississippi's got several quality online news magazines. It's like the surfeit of colleges in this state. Never have been able to figure that out.

 I'll just reiterate, but the kids who're written up in this story are what keeps me sane. They've got no choice but to make the state something better than just a place where folks are from. Mississippi catches a lot of shit from the rest of the country, and much of it we deserve. But people, actual people, live here and try to thrive. It's harder than most people think. We're still dealing with the 1890 state constitution that goes out of its way to disenfranchise Black people. What's crazy is it does the same for poor White folks, which doesn't bother the Powers That Be, of course. Racism is a helluva thing.

 So this has slammed to a serious halt. I got a Golden Melody, another Hohner harp. However, I'm still not up for the compare-and-contrast. It's a good harmonica, though. Nice, bright sound, easy feel, just a good instrument all around.

 It's been a good twenty minutes since I wrote the above. I think I'll watch a crappy movie. For whatever reason, I've got a hankering for the Asylum version of John Carter, Princess of Mars. That's the actual title of the book Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote. I saw John Carter staying in a hotel during my Big Trip. It wasn't bad, really, but one understands just why it tanked.

 I need to get around to watching Horn From The Heart but I don't think tonight's the night. That has to be a night where I can pay attention, and that isn't happening tonight. I don't know why I feel so whipped but I do. Some good brain fluff might be the ticket, though.

 A couple hours later...

 Well, I'm watching Princess of Mars and it's... definitely an Asylum movie. It's only dusting over the source material, but that sort of goes without saying. Guy's supposed to be a Marine in Afghanistan rather than a Civil War vet. It's not bad - for an Asylum film, granted - but it is taking a while to get moving. The guy playing John Carter has all the charisma of a bowl of grits, though. And bless her heart, Traci Lords isn't much better.

UPDATE: John Carter is played by Antonio Sabato, Jr. That explains a whole lot about his acting skills.

 Man, I'll be glad when this sciatic nerve settles down. I don't like moving much, sure, but it sucks that much more when it hurts as bad as this does. Something to look forward to in my old age, I suppose. I bet that's when I regret my monkish ways the most.

 Anyway, I've got word count so I might as well pinch this off. I'm going to leave it open, though, in case something comes to me. I know I keep saying that, but you never know.