I pity the mother and father when the kids move away.

  The first weekend of the new year, and we wonder what sort of horrors 2021 has for us. I really don't think anyone had a flat clue that 2020 would be as nerve-wracking as it was. It was weird and odd and continually strange, and I'm almost inclined to believe the idea that this is all a computer situation just because it was what it was. And most of it was centered around the goofy bastard in the White House.

 It started off stupid. Remember Trumpites getting all bent out of shape because they thought NPR's annual Fourth of July reading of the Declaration of Independence as a knock against Trump. Remember that? Wasn't that dumb? Wasn't that embarrassing? And it just got worse.

 And just because it's on my mind and I want to get it down. I've been watching a lot of horror movie reviews by this kid that runs under the handle Decker Shado. He and another guy whose name I can't remember will make a deal about how poorly most horror franchises handle continuity. Like in the first Friday The 13th, the murderer was Mrs. Voorhees and Jason was dead thirty years while in every other movie in the franchise Jason was the killer. And even then, he went from a thin survivalist type with a sack on his head to a hulking brute in a hockey mask to an unstoppable undead killing machine.

 Plus, there's funny business with passages of time between movies and the whole weirdness that was Jason Goes To Hell. Pretty much every horror franchise is like that in some form or fashion, and it drives the horror geeks up the wall. Well, I've found y'all a solution. It's the Many-Worlds Theory at work. The reason, for example, so much changes from Evil Dead to Evil Dead 2 to Army of Darkness to even Ash vs. Evil Dead because every movie there are slight shifts in the story and things that don't mesh with previous films because each one exists in slightly different universes.

 One interpretation of the MWT is that there's a continual shift in reality due to quantum decoherence, and for the most part it's not supposed to be noticeable on a macro level but this is a movie with a guy with a chainsaw hand. Since there's some serious evil magic involved, it makes sense that reality would shift every time big juju goes down. 

 Anyhow, that's been on my mind a lot lately since I've been reading Brian Greene's The Hidden Reality, and if nerds would just accept that instead of getting their drawers twisted over continuity, this would be a much better world. So, hey, I haven't done the News. For the most part, it was an ongoing back and forth concerning the stimulus checks and the Nashville Christmas Bomber. Good week's worth of work. Nothing fancy but good, solid journalism and/or blogging.

 I do put a lot of thought into the Evil Dead franchise, and I really need to finish the last season of Ash vs. Evil Dead. It was surprisingly enjoyable. Ash is supposed to be nothing but a complete screw-up but is destined to be the only one to defend the world against the Deadites and Necronomicon Ex Mortis and he's great at that appeals to me. It goes back to the idea that stories are more entertaining when the protagonist isn't a Chosen One of some sort. For me, anyway, but I'm funny that way.

 I think I'll wrap this up here. I'm not sure if I'm going to read or play a game or take a nap. Either way, it'll be a good idea.

Write your own song.

  I have some Actual Paying Work due tomorrow. As of right now, I'm not particularly inspired to do much writing about anything. I'm reading Brian Greene's Hidden Reality and sort of was to get back to it. I bought it before I quit reading seven or eight years ago and just never got around to it. It's all about the possible implications of the Many-Worlds Theory and that's my current jam.

 Speaking of jam, I'm currently listening to a band from the '90s called The Freewheelers. They were signed to Def American around the same time as The Black Crowes (a favorite) by the same guy, George Drakoulis. They're not bad, but the self-titled first record really isn't all that interesting. I've got the second album, too, which is supposed to be better, but so far... meh.

 On that note, I will say that Apple Music is the best thing invented by man. For around ten bucks a month, I get unlimited access to not quite every piece of music released but pretty damn close. I'm often shocked at what I find, some really obscure shit or long-dead indie band trying to get something out of the whole mess. It gives me a chance to listen to stuff that I previously wouldn't have taken a chance on, as funds are limited.

 It's been fairly successful, as far as that goes. I've reassessed my opinion on '70s California country-rock, discovered some of the neat '60s garage rock bands that fell through the cracks, and reaffirmed my belief that most music released these days, even blues and country, really isn't for me. See? The internet doesn't have to suck and the big corporations don't have to be complete shits.

 Okay, that's it for now. I figure the APW will put me over the word count. If I get inspired, though, I'll come back. Don't hold your breath, though.

What goes on in the dark will soon come to light.

 I'm not seeing anything in the News that's exactly sitting my soul on fire, so we'll just fiddle around here until we run out our word count. I think we might give the Project a shot this week just for the hell of it. That's the fun thing about writing when no one's paying for it (or reading it, let's be honest), you can do pretty much what you damn well please.

 I really don't understand why, but since moving straight to WordPress... the Blogger site still gets more hits. Who knows. Yeah, there's nothing pouring out today. It's raining out, so me and Otis can't take our constitutional. Bounce has a pretty nasty mark on his back where the hair's stripped off and there are some cuts. It's inflamed and hurts him, as well. I'm pretty sure it's from the tomcat that keeps coming up through the woods. They've fought before and Bounce is kind of a wimp. He's not a happy kitty right now but there's nothing I can do out here until tomorrow, and that's only if the veterinarian is open for business.

 All right. The rain stopped so me, Otis and Coy took us a nice little constitutional and cleared my head up a bit. I think starting tomorrow we will implement the Project. Do a weekend round-up on Monday, another news piece on Wednesday, and cap it off with a Friday grab-bag. Plus, keep the Gibberish here. It won't be as easy as one thinks, because sometimes that logjam takes hours to unplug. Still, no one's paying me for this, so there you go.

 We're now a week into this coronavirus "self distancing" business and it's interesting to see how it's all washing out. Just my two cents, so grain of salt, but I think life is coming to an equilibrium if we can figure out a way to make sure everyone who can't work doesn't starve to death and isn't thrown out on the street by their asshole landlord. Beyond that, yeah, it's smooth sailing right along, Matt.

 Anyhow, I've been watching people deal with their new reality with great interest, given my own heavy thirst for Splendid Isolation. We're not quite a week into it and people are bouncing off the walls already. It's going to be hell on them if this goes on for months. For me, it's just an excellent excuse to cancel the very few social obligations I have, so I can't really relate. I'm trying to remember back when I was a bit more sociable and put my mind of those kids who're doing Spring Break and Saint Patrick's Day whatnots.

 I guess I can understand it. I did plenty of dumb shit in my 20s that could've killed me and none of it involved a global pandemic I'm not saying it's a good or smart thing those kids are doing; I'm saying I understand. I wonder if these kids are at all plugged in politically. Most of the Gen Z kids that used to cross my radar (working in a kitchen, you get to know a lot of young folks) were generally hip and kept an eye on things even if it wasn't their sole focus. Of course, most of them were musicians or artists, or they were members of some group the Status Quo wants kept in a closet. LGBT folks, that sort of thing.

 Okay, what else. Finally getting around to listening to Flogging Molly. On their Swagger album as we speak. It's... okay, I guess, sort of a natural progression of Celtic folk-punk from a band influenced by the Pogues. Not really my cup of meat anymore, but not unlistenable and I can see the appeal. Also got around to actually playing Dungeon Siege unvarnished last night. I bought it yonks ago so I could run the Ultima V: Lazarus. I've fooled around with that a bit - it's not any easier and it's full of bugs, but fun - but never really messed with the base game. Not bad, but I'm inclined to those High Fantasy sword-and-sorcery joints. I also have the two sequels and I'll try those tonight. They're all massively on sale for the rest of the month at Steam, like three bucks for the lot. You can't beat that with a stick.

 I'm also finally getting deep into Sean Carroll's From Eternity To Here. I bought it not long after it came out, but that was about the time I quit reading. It was just too dense for me then. Now, I'm sort of surprised at how swiftly it's moving along. I like Dr. Carroll's take on science and think he does a good job explaining things, and I'm about ready to get into his latest book Something Deeply Hidden. That's his take on my latest fascination, Many-Worlds Theory. It's not only nice to be reading again, it's nice to be fascinated by various things again.

 So enough of all that.