Someone fetch me my coat and hat and hand me my walkin' cane.

  I don't really have a whole lot today. My brain's lazy. I'm not blue or depressed or irritable or anything. I'm just more sluggish than usual. I've skipped the gym the last couple of days and spent most of it reading, ignoring the rest of the world.

 So, really, nothing terribly unusual, just more so. Luckily the News isn't suffering, as that sort of thing just comes naturally. I guess that's a holdover from the journalism days. Sometimes you have to fill the white space and it doesn't matter that the muse isn't there because the job needs to get done. It's similar to working on a kitchen line, doesn't stop so it doesn't matter, just get it done.

 Beyond that, I don't know. "Cancel culture" and Cardi B's naughty song is still running the discourse on Twitter and I still can't be bothered to give a shit. It's funny and almost a cliche how the caterwauling over that "W.A.P." tune really isn't all that much different from Elvis' hips or that evil jass music causing nice white girls to dance. Or the devil's tritone or how reading novels is ruining young people's minds.

 No shit, culture warriors used to lament people reading novels and even tried to pass it off as some sort of mental issue. They also used to bemoan people reading newspapers on the train in case you thought "them damn kids and their celly phones" is a new thing.

 Eight people in the Atlanta area were shot today, most of them Asian American women working at health spas and massage parlors. They've caught one dude for it. Nothing's been written in stone yet, but as it was a white guy I'm going to go ahead and assume it's something to do with the rise of anti-Asian violence in this country over the past year. If I'm wrong, don't worry, I will apologize to the mass murderer.

 This is because of "the China virus." This is because of "Kung flu." This is due to all you assholes and the former president trying to stir up a little racism and xenophobia in order to distract us from the complete failure to deal with COVID-19 in any sensible way.

 And, yes, this guy was taken in without being shot or pepper-sprayed or put in a chokehold or anything like that. And, yes, it's because he's a white dude and you are a goddamn fool and probably a racist if you want to argue otherwise. And, no, no one's saying he should've been shot dead on the spot or Dylan Roof or anything like that, it's just that it's pretty fucked up that we as a culture have decided that cops immediately shooting black people is the place to start.

 And, yes, a lot of this is on Trump. He encouraged it and inflamed it and never took the time to try to calm it down. There was no reason for it but he kept calling it the "China virus" and reminding everyone he calls it the "China virus." So fuck him and fuck anyone who voted for him and fuck anyone who thinks one thing didn't lead to another because they really don't care about people getting murdered by angry white dudes for whatever reason angry white dudes want to murder people.

 Okay. That's word count and if anything comes up, I'll add it. But for now, I'm sort of tired and, frankly, sluggish in the brain. So, yeah.

She's got a big, bad record on the heartbreak radio.

  I really have nothing tonight. The day drained me some. Otis had a visit to the vet, partly because it's time for his yearly check-up. A lot of it, though, was questions about his change in behavior and how much we should be worried by his colored, liquid shits whenever he gets into the cat poop. The good news is he's got nothing seriously wrong with his insides, he just needs to stop eating cat poop.

 The bad news is on top of being deaf and losing his eyesight, the vet said he more than likely had the dog version of Alzheimer's. That's partly why he frets so much in the evening. I'll be getting medication for it in a couple of days, but it does make me feel sad. He's pushing 13 if he isn't already and he's definitely lost a step in the last couple of years. The very real possibility exists that I'll see 50 without him and, even worse, his decline will be marked by more and more things he can't do.

 I don't worry too much about my own mortality, but getting old is a serious drag. Even worse, it seems like I have to work harder just to do what I do to get through the day. It's also a drag to see everyone I love getting older and to know that I'll probably lose some of them before the next decade rolls around. That's how it goes, though. As my friend Branch told me years ago, "Life is people you love dying."

 A little maudlin, kids, I know, but I'm sick to my eyes of the whole Dr. Seuss debate. I can't believe we're, what, seven days into it? There is just no reason for this. I don't really understand what the Seuss people are supposed to do. They made this decision, figuring it best for not only Theodore Geisel's but also their own profits. The argument seems to be that due to "wokeness" and "cancel culture," they had no other prematurely option to bend to the will of the SJW's even though no one had complained about it, but that's just stupid. I don't see how anyone with the merest inkling of how the publishing business works thinks that could be so.

 The other issue they seem to miss is the same one people who gripe about mixed-race couples in cereal commercials or movies with female heroines miss. If these big conglomerates are seeing the writing on the wall, maybe your the one in the wrong. Do they really think Disney would take such a stance if it hurt the bottom line at all? No, it wouldn't, you bloody fools, calm down.

 Ah, well. So much for all of that. If I thought any of it was genuine or being argued in good faith, I'd spend more time down in the ditches fighting the good fight. But I really don't see the people - conservative or not - worthy of the time and energy, especially when journalists are being prosecuted for reporting on Black Lives Matter in this country.

 So that's enough for today. I don't know what else. I'll probably spend the rest of the evening blowing my harp and fighting alien invaders. There are worse ways of spending one's time.

Would you cry if I said I'd lied?

  You know, I had the whole shpiel worked out. I was going to rant and rave about the latest iteration on "cancel culture," specifically how it's not actually a thing much less a significant threat to life in these United States. I was going to go off on how you have to actively deny reality in order to stay outraged and how maybe - just maybe - some things and people deserved to be "canceled," or rather deal with the consequences of their actions and words.

 But by the time I got home and sat down and then took a walk with Otis and laid down for a bit of a nap after reading and listening to Little Walter, I found I just didn't care anymore. Of course, I am referring to the recent kerfuffle surrounding Dr. Seuess and, to a lesser extent, the Potato Head and Muppets controversy. Just for posterity's sake, conservatives are losing their goddamn minds about the three.

 The Seuss people decided to pull six of his books from publication due to racist content, and yes it is extremely racist, while Hasbro decided to stop calling the sets "Mr. Potato Head" and "Mrs. Potato Head" but nothing else. As for the Muppets, whatever streaming service was broadcasting "The Muppet Show" wanted to add a disclaimer to a couple of shows where the humor might a bit too risque for the children watching a show that was originally intended for an adult audience anyway.

 And of course, all that is being twisted into a conspiracy by socialists to ruin America because conservatives are not only stupid and gullible, they're also too lazy to fact check their claims of impending doom. I've even read where Joe Biden is supposed to be directly responsible for the Dr. Seuss business, which was actually decided by the people who represent Theodore Geisel's heirs. The other two are decisions by massive corporations who made these moves to protect their bottom line.

 Look, y'all, "cancel culture" is not a thing. No one forced Disney or Hasbro to do anything and both are rich enough if that they really believed they were being "bullied," they could tell protestors to go skip rope. The only person I can think of who's actually been "canceled" and pretty much removed from the public scene is Michael Richardson. After he went on that weird racist tirade during a stand-up appearance, he pretty much dropped off the radar. "Seinfeld" is still on the air, as far as I know.

 Even Bill Maher and the Dixie Chicks made comebacks, mainly because theirs was mostly reactionary pants wetting itself. Louie C.K. is receiving standing ovations at his Las Vegas shows. Mel Gibson still makes movies. Their star may not shine as brightly, but tough shit, you did awful stuff so suck it up, buttercup. The Earth rolls on, and society doesn't owe to you to remain static.

 Well, damn, I guess I went into the rant anyway. Ah, well, it is what it is. I broke down and bought Star Control: Origins out of a Humble Bundle yesterday. Apparently, Stardock and the original creators have made peace and the former isn't shitting all over the latter anymore. It's all right, basically an upgrade of Star Control II without the original names of the aliens. Or so far, anyway, I'm told it changes after a bit. I should take another whack at Star Control II. It's a good game but it gets above me fairly easily.

 Okay, that's plenty. It's late and I'm tired and, frankly, I just don't give a shit. It bothers me sometimes that my initial reaction to far too much of the national Zeitgeist is "fuck it, let it burn."

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

 I don't really want to, but I'm going to talk about "cancel culture" again. I thought I cleared this shit up last week. Y'all need to pay closer attention, I've only got so much time a week.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

 Not really sure where to start today. It's still hotter than blazes outside & the world keeps turning. So let's go. I will say I'm going to be mocking people who think "it's just jokes" is a reasonable defense for anything, so if that upsets you, you might want to move along.