Showing posts with label Wallace Henry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wallace Henry. Show all posts

Saturday, February 13, 2021

You fascists are bound to lose.

 It's Saturday again and it's been another week. The second impeachment of ex-President Donald Trump dominated both the news and the News. Really, apart from Mississippi State Bill 2765, that's pretty much all I wrote about Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

 And it all ended this afternoon like a fart in a hurricane with a vote of 57-43 to acquit. Off the top of my head - and I'm too lazy to look - I don't know if the two-thirds rule that could be affected by getting rid of the filibuster applies here, but it does seem kind of dumb that Trump got away despite the most bipartisan vote to convict in history.

 We'll look more at it tomorrow after it's had a day to marinate both in the public and in my own head. No one's really surprised that Trump was acquitted, not really. The number of GOP who voted to convict is a bit of a surprise and it's something to ponder just what all this suggests for the future of the Republican Party. But, as I said, that's a discussion for a later time. If I remember, of course.

 I do believe Seasonal Affective Disorder has sat on my head. The last couple of days has been a struggle to do much more than go back to sleep. It's a weird feeling. Not depressed or gloomy so much, maybe a bit melancholic and wistful. Part of it or, perhaps, most of it is due to the weather. It's cold and grey, and will probably get down in the twenties tonight. Perfect weather for staying and contemplating your navel.

 Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. It probably comes as no surprise that I've never had much use for that particular holiday. I've had two different romantic partners tell me I am a man without romance in his soul, and who am I to argue. If my partner put it on a pedestal, I'd do a dinner or at least a card, but if she didn't I barely noticed. I've always wondered, though, if people who weren't making money off it actually liked the holiday like they do Halloween or even St. Patrick's Day.

 But I've spoken a number of times about my current bewilderment about my romantic history, or lack thereof, so enough of that. Frankly, it's drifted out of my mind and I have no desire to stoke that flame. I finished the second book in Wallace Henry's Shock series, Blood Shock. Apparently, there's more to it, and if there's a problem with it at all is I don't really think it needs to be a series. As I said, the rhythm is weird to me and I believe it's because it strikes me as a bit unnecessarily padded to stretch it out.

 In any event, the next book isn't available so to hell with that. If I still remember when it comes out, I'll worry about it then as there have been enough twists to make me wonder what happens next. I'm not sure where to go next. I have The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin on deck and I need to make sure I'm in the right frame of mind. Her books are heavy and ask a lot of the reader. The difference between that and, say, Blood Shock is the difference between a steak dinner and a bag of popcorn. Both are enjoyable, but only one takes a while and sticks with you after you're done with it.

 Okay, that's word count. This is pretty insubstantial and I'm not going to pretend it isn't. I'm not very positive about the whole writing thing right now, to the point where I don't want to think about it much less write about it. So that's that. If something comes up, yadda yadda, otherwise I'm saving it for tomorrow's News.

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Darlin', so it goes. Some things are meant to be.

  The weather took a hard turn from being beautiful and warm all week to an ice storm sitting down on us. It got pretty nasty in Memphis, but down here in Enon Holler, it was just cold and rained all day. One of those gray, foul days that make you want to just stay in bed. And since I had nothing better to do, I did just that.

 So, with that in mind, you'll forgive me if I have nothing of note to share today. Again. Unlike Tuesday, I don't have the excuse that I'm all tired and wrote out from playing with my fiction. Nope, I just spent the day napping, listening to the rain, and reading. As for what I'm reading, well, it's a pleasant little space opera by a guy named Wallace Henry called Dead Shock. It's a two-book series and I just started on the second book, Blood Shock.

 It's a space horror thing with city-ships cut off from the rest of the galaxy and run by a power-mad dictator, body modification whatnots causing genetic terrors, and a crew that doesn't like each other trying no to get destroyed. It sort of reminds me of BioShock but IN SPACE, and that's a compliment. It's got an interesting rhythm, too, and I'm not sure what to think about that yet.

 The impeachment goes on and the latest quirk is the revelation that Senators Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Lindsay Graham meeting with the Trump defense staff and discussing strategy. I'm not going to get deep into it because I think it at least needs the evening to marinate.  For what it's worth, I don't see it being made too big a deal of, mainly because those three especially are certifiable Trump toadies. And this is from a party that is completely beholden to Trumpism for at least one more election cycle.

 It doesn't do any good to say "what if a Democrat did this" because we all know better. Or we should, anyway. Anyone too shocked and dismayed by this behavior, especially from these three dickbags, has no one to blame but themselves. I really wish people would get over the idea that Trump has some dirt on Graham and just accept he's always been a complete party stooge and a rat bastard of one, at that.

 On another note, Mississippi SB 2765 failed to pass. I didn't explain this properly in yesterday's News, but it was put forth in case the mayor of Madison's goofy lawsuit against Initiative 65 succeeds. It would allow for medical marijuana in the state but set up some crazy restrictive hurdles for potential growers.

 I really don't think the state legislature, particularly the Republicans, really thought the initiative would pass and they certainly didn't think it'd pass so overwhelmingly. They wouldn't have let Initiative 65 even come up for a vote if they did, but it's got to be a part of the state constitution now. This has traditionally been a state that got off on making things unpleasant as possible for the hoi polloi while putting as much money as possible in the fat cats' pockets.

 I guess that's plenty for tonight. I really don't have anything else that's worth discussing. It's cold and wet still, and one can only get away with lazing around all day one day in a row.