Category: News

  • So, We’re All About to Die (Unedited)

    For the record, I believe that Trump will chicken out at 8pm tonight, if not earlier, claiming something has happened which has caused him to reconsider destroying Iran off the face of the Earth. Because that’s what Trump is; all talk and a big chicken.

    Now, if I am wrong and he orders the US military to destroy the infrastructure of Iran, then Good God, we’re all going to die.

    I wish I had some rather original insight to share with you. You know, something, some thought that no one has expressed yet as to the absurdity of the situation the world find itself in because the US and Israel started a war for no reason. Sadly, I find myself at a loss for words even to express how I feel about all of this stuff.

    I’m a pacifist, and I believe in negotiating peace with your enemies, no matter how long or difficult it is. I know and think often about how we all live on a tiny little planet in the “backwoods” of our galaxy, and most of what vexes us on a daily basis is rather meaningless, and if we really pulled our collective head out of our asses, we will make this planet a safe a peaceful place for generations of our shared humanity to exist as long as we see fit.

    I would give anything to be up on the Artemis II right now. To be off this rock, away from all of this bullshit.

  • Didn’t See That Coming, Sort’of… (Unedited)

    Israel going off and bombing Iran; not surprised at that. The US going off and bombing Iran; a little surprised. I do use the qualifier “sort’of” because I did read an article last week how the USS Gerald Ford was making its way across the Mediterranean toward Israel. And in that same piece it mentioned that the USS Abraham Lincoln was sitting out in the Arabian Sea. Not that I know a ton about Navy operations, but when I read that two of our aircraft carriers are on the same theater of operation, it does make me pay attention.

    That having been said, I’m rather nervous about this “war.” In a very large sense, that area of the world is rather volatile, and I fear that things could spin out of control with many unforeseen consequences. Mainly being that this could grow into a larger conflict, dominos fall, and we find ourselves in a World War. Unfortunately, other world wars have been started for lesser reasons, like you built a fort on the wrong side of a river, and there was that Archduke thing…

    And yet, like the idiot I am, I have allowed myself to sit in front of the TV and flip between CNN, MS Now, and Fox News seeing if I can gleam something, anything new off of what is going on. To say that each network has a radically different take, I feel, is an easily understood understatement. “We’re all going to die!” or “We might die, but maybe not!” or “Good thing we’re not going to die now.” (I’m sure you can guess which network is saying what…) See, because I can’t trust the internet, and anything that I see on my phone or computer, I just assume is AI slop. In the end, I feel left in a helpless state, not being able to trust anything that is being presented to me as news.

    So where does this leave me?

    Being that I was a pacifist before, it’s pretty easy for me to stay a pacifist now. No to War. No to Bombing. No to killing.

    The worst thing we can do to humanity is to rob ourselves of our humanity.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Time for Some Trust Busting, Vacation, and a Cigar

    ODDS and ENDS: Time for Some Trust Busting, Vacation, and a Cigar

    (Something Clever Goes Here…)

    Looks like Paramount is about the buy Warner Bros./Discovery, which means there will be five companies that control 51% of the media. If what the Ellison’s did to CBS is any indication of what they’ll do to WB/Discovery, then we are about to enter into a dark age. Prices will go up, coverage will be pro-conservative, service will decrease, and market share will continue to be concentrated. The good news is that this has happened before in America, and we have the tools to break all these trusts up. And I mean all the trusts; media, social media, airlines, online shopping, web services, and banking. The only thing stopping it is the will of the people. The laws are on the books, but they’ll only be enforced if we elect the right people to do it. I’m telling you, we gotta get involved before its too late, and we are getting very close to it being too late.

    I think I might vacation in West Virginia this year. Somewhere up in the Appalachian Mountains. Maybe along a river or a creek. Nothing crazy, but a cabin away from everyone and it should also be a place where it gets cool at night, like low 60’s or high 50’s. This is Summer after all. Just a thought I have been having of late.

    I haven’t smoked a cigar since college; it was after a cast party and I was feeling on top of the world. I don’t particularly like cigars or the smell, but the idea of sitting on a porch as the sun sets, smoking a cigar with a glass of bourbon in my hand sounds wonderful at this point. This might be tied in with the West Virginia vacation thing from above… but it’s on my mind.

  • ODDS and ENDS: 50th Street Stop, Swearing, and The Blizzard

    (Got arrested at Mardi Gras for jumpin’ on a float…)

    You might not know this, but there is a time distortion that happens at the 50th Street station on the C line. At the station, C trains arrive on average, every 12 minutes. Yet, if you go one stop before or after 50th (42nd and 59th Street respectively) you will observe that C trains arrive every 6 minutes. Somehow, come towards or going away from 50th Street on a C train adds or takes away 6 minutes of time. This distortion may be caused by a Doppler Effect, a red or blue shift as it were, with time. More research is needed, clearly, as this distortion may have the potential to rethink our understanding of time and space. But most importantly, the C trains arrive never shows up at 50th when you need it!!!

    I have a bit of a potty mouth. For the longest time I didn’t swear at all. Then something popped in my brain around 25 and I stopped giving a shit. (Mind you, I’m a pretty clean writer. Sometimes it comes out but not often. The reason is I think the over use of swear words in writing demonstrates a lack of vocabulary and creativity with the language.) It’s tricky with a kid. I do my best, but it sort of flies outta me, as my filter is rather porous. I fear that I’m being a bad influence on the kid, but we do live in New York. She’s heard way worse on the street than anything I’ve said.

    So… a blizzard is coming Sunday. We could get anywhere from 6” to 16”. And then there’s the chance for ice. Me and the kid are super excited about this. I love snow and ice. I love the winter season, and I love snowball fights and building snowmen. I love to sled, and we bought a two seater one so I could take part with the kid. I love watching the snow fall, and how quiet it makes the City as it’s coming down. I love that first walk in the snow, and how everything appears new, clear and fresh. Can you telling grew up in a place that never got snow?

  • Political Observation While on Christmas Vacation

    For Christmas, we went home to Texas to see family and friends. We had a good time, and did all the fun family stuff for the Holidays: wrapped gifts, ate too much, drank a little too much, laughed a lot, caught up, enjoyed the Season, and laughed some more.

    With all of this merriment, there was one thing that I wanted to avoid, which was talking politics. One reason was that I just wanted a break from the doom and gloom and unending aggression and conflict. Another reason was that I just wanted to have a good time with the people I love.

    I do love my friends and family, and I am very fortunate (I do mean this) that I have a large group of people in my life that are all over the political spectrum. It can make conversations interesting and heated, but it also keeps me grounded. My conservative friends and family remind me that conservative people all don’t think the same, they’re not all MAGA, and do make some good points. Same goes for the liberal and moderate people as well – they are good at defending/explaining their beliefs as well.

    Though I tried to dodge the trap of talking politics, it always comes up.

    BUT! I did observe two very interesting conversations that came up across the board, no matter who I was talking to – conservative/liberal/moderate. They were:

    1. Interest in Zohran Mamdani
    2. Tired of Fighting, Let’s Get Things Done

    Everyone is interested in Zohran! Maybe not everyone agreed with his policies, but everybody talked about how much they liked the guy. And with us being from New York City, all of our friends and family kept on asking us questions about him, if we voted for him, do we think his plans will work. The other interesting thing was that they all had seen at least one of his videos. What I think it all came down to was that they all felt he was “the new thing” in politics, and they wanted to know more about him.

    The second observation I thought was the more profound one; everyone wanted to stop fighting/arguing and just get things done. They all explained it in their own unique ways, but what I got is that everyone is tired and frustrated with feeling like they are constantly being pitted against someone or something, and the result is that nothing changes. To that end, everyone started asking why aren’t we compromising, or why aren’t we electing people who can compromise, or at least work to a solution?

    Sure, this is completely anecdotal, but talking to our friends and family about this gave me the feeling of hope. A slight, little, tiny hope which maybe, might be signaling that this antagonistic/zero sum/winner take all politics could possibly, just sort of be showing the first signs of cracking.

    Wouldn’t that be nice?