·

Texas…there is hope

Well, my cautious unoptimism was rewarded with Democratic candidates winning every statewide office in Texas and the election of a Democratic U.S. Senator.

I am now tentatively hopeful. I realize this all had to do with two things. 1) Inflation is horrible. When people are hurting, the party in power pays the price. It isn’t complicated. 2)Trump the dumbass backed the worst and most detested politician in Texas in the Senate race while the Dems nominated an articulate, reasonable, moderate young fellow who isn’t a criminal. Trump found the person most like himself, and voters rejected him. The rest of the Texas Democrats likely rode into office on James Talarico’s coat tails. I’ll take it. Calling it a win.

This all tells me that while the MAGA lunatics are still quite vocal online they don’t represent the majority of conservative-leaning voters.

It has been amusing to see Trump actively not really giving a fuck about the election results. Maybe they are giving him Xanax milkshakes for every meal? More likely he really just doesn’t care.

·

RIP Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart died today. The man who brought Captain Picard to life. The only man who could have.

Together with the writers and the rest of the cast, Stewart brought to life a character who had courage, intelligence, creativity, and heart. I am so sick of “anti heroes”. They are all bullshit and I think their popularity is a sign of a culture lapsing into barbarism. Picard – was an aspirational character. Let’s pick a Star Trek future.

Some might say “it was just a TV show.” And that’s right, but like a good novel, a good show can inspire, and Star Trek has inspired over and over again with a hopeful vision of the future and the good people living in it.

·

Comedy

We went to see comedian/author/entertainer Josh Gondelman last night at the Punch Line, in Irving.

We enjoy going to see comedians at comedy clubs. It’s fun. We both follow a number of them online, and both of us have read quite a few books written by various comics.

Nice things about comedy clubs include…

  • Easy in and out. They are usually just in a shopping center
  • You get to see the act up fairly close
  • We have several that are within about 15 minutes of our house
  • They are pretty chill. Just sit there, enjoy whatever food you are required to purchase (2 beverage minimum, etc), and laugh while other people laugh. It feels good.

I wouldn’t say I’m that knowledgeable about current comedians. There are a lot of ’em. But I think we can say that we are, in fact, fans. We have come to appreciate the very real skill it takes for a spoken word performer to keep an audience’s attention. It’s very cool, be that performer a comedian or storyteller.

·

Music Decades

Every decade produces a lot of horrible music, but also a lot of good music. Up until about 1990. hahaha

I’ve been listening to a YouTube channel playing music based on me listen to the Split Enz song “One Step Ahead” and it drive home a thought I have at least once a week while listening to music – the very late boomers and early Gen-Xers grew up during the best time for music. We had access to the best rock music on the radio at that time from the 70s, and grew up with The Cure, Joe Jackson, Rush, Gary Numan, various punk rock bands, the Cars — the list goes on and on. It seems like every week another amazing and innovative album was released by bands and musicians who actually knew how to play their instruments. The early 90s were like this too, but the 90s is also when it all seemed to fall apart. I am so grateful to have grown up during this time it brings me to tears.

·

Adjusting my participation

The last couple of months I’ve adjusted my participation in the blogosphere and made a few changes to my site here. I felt like I was getting a bit too immersed in the drama of this or that happening in the world of blogging, obsessing over stuff that makes little difference and over which I have no influence, and overall being more judgmental (publicly) than I prefer to be. I have enough to worry about in my life without seeking out drama and devoting brain power to it.

Whether AI is scraping my poor little blog here or not, I think the best thing I can do to promote and support the so-called Open Web is to simply post stuff here to my blog, be it skateboarding videos, writing, or pictures of my cat or dog. Just blog about that interests me or what I’m having for breakfast, and not worry about what blogging platform I’m using so much.

·

20 Years

As of yesterday I have been blogging here for 20 years. This will be the 1159th post.

I’ve covered my practice of Aikido since I started it in December of 2006. I’ve talked skateboarding, books, technology, writing, librarianship, and at times simply ranted.

This blog has been through the deaths of both my parents, my mother-in-law, and numerous cats. It’s been through my wife’s breast cancer, the pandemic. I’ve written about monster movies, science fiction, reading, and random stuff.

20 – freaking – years. Where did the time go? I was 42 when I started it. I’m now 62 and at a very different place in life, but life is good. Yes, as you age the losses do stack up, but the good things do too.

I guess I’ll just keep blogging.

·

Chill Out. Here’s where we are…

Today is not Carl Sagan’s birthday. It is yet another 9/11 anniversary, and I’m compelled to post this. Yes, the Earth is less than a speck in the cosmic dark, but it’s our home. It’s where my mother and father met, fell in love, and had a life together that included creating me. To me nothing articulates our cosmic insignificance simultaneously with our cosmic significance better than The Pale Blue Dot. That the universe created Carl Sagan to string these words together and speak them so beautifully gives me hope.