Historians now note that what’s particularly noteworthy about the 20th and 21st centuries in the geopolitical region then known as the United States is how long it managed to exist so near the point of collapse before the final dissolution into several independent nation-states.
Personal
The stuff about me and my life. The “diary” side of blogging.
Post-Election Day Blues
Having a hard time this morning.
My usual optimism and hope is extremely shaky.
I keep reminding myself that several important states are still in play and that there’s still a decent (maybe even good) chance that Biden will win.
But even if he does, it’s far too close.
I keep reminding myself that many of the races are being heavily affected by gerrymandered districts, limited opportunities to vote, restrictions on when and how votes can be accepted, and other voter suppression tactics primarily concentrated in minority and Democract-leaning areas.
But even so, it’s far too close.
There are so many people in this country who are willingly voting for hate. For fear. For oppression. For racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia, and every other -ism and -phobia out there. Against science. Against compassion. Against care for others. Against their own best interests.
McConnell, who has made a career of doing nothing, has been elected for another six-year term. We don’t know if we’ll even be able to hold the Senate to an even split, let alone take control; if the Republicans keep control, then even if Biden wins, McConnell will continue to make sure that nothing of import makes it through. The confirmation of Barrett made it clear how fast things can move when allowed to proceed, even while hundreds of bills aimed at actually helping the American people sit ignored, because they were passed by a Democrat-controlled House, and so they aren’t worthy of consideration in McConnell’s eyes.
I just, on a very fundamental, moral, and ethical level, do not understand why so many are so willing to actively support harming themselves and others.
And it’s really hard to hold on to my usual hopeful nature right now.
“They never fail to astonish me,” he thought, peering through the viewpiece at the subjects of his study. “Whatever new variable we introduce, they invariably find some way to involve it in their sexual practices. At least Earthlings are consistent, if somewhat disturbing.”
“Did you get the concentrate?”
“No problem.” He held up the vial full of coarse orange granules.
“Finally!” Moving quickly, she snatched the vial, uncorked it, and poured the contents into a glass of water. “TANG is so hard to find since Kraft seceded from the corporatocracy.”
Anything, he had realized, no matter how exciting, lost its shine eventually. However bright the colors or loud the exultations, it all had a grey, dreary pallor when seen year after year through the walls of his glass coffin standing in the town square.
Halloween 2020 Didn’t Suck!
It seems kind of weird to say this, given, well, everything – but it was actually a good Halloween for us this year. Yesterday was a good day.
We started by getting the weekly shopping out of the way, and then had a good breakfast followed by a late morning nap. I spun “afternün spüki tünes” on Twitch for a couple hours (to just two or three people, but hey, I had fun with it, at least). We had lunch, went out for a walk, and then I put on my inflatable T-Rex costume and we took a bunch of silly pictures around the neighborhood. For the evening, we drove up to Queen Anne and enjoyed a drive-in horror short film festival, which had a number of fun entries, and only a couple that we didn’t enjoy.
Really, and quite thankfully, it was a far better Halloween day than we’d thought it was going to be when it became clear just how much 2020 was going to be affecting Goth Christmas.
Happy Halloween!
Maybe not the most exciting way to spend an afternoon, but at least the weather is nice so I can wait outside comfortably.
📚 forty-three (yes, again; this book was a two-in-one) of 2020: Collision Course by Robert Silverberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shaky first half, but the latter half actually reminded me of TOS Star Trek’s “Errand of Mercy” (two warring races forced into detente by a third more powerful race).
According to Photoshop’s new neural filters, this is what an elderly me will look like.
Other experiments were not nearly as flattering, and occasionally somewhat frightening. AI-based image editing at our fingertips has both fascinating and disturbing results.
