Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
I attended an Easter brunch at a friend’s house on Sunday. Great food, great friends, weather that skirmished between chilly and cloudy to hot and sunny.
At one point, I asked fellow attendees if any had made any Easter resolutions. No one had.
Looks like another tradition is fading away.
Mood: southeasterly
Woke up to a sunny Easter morning that had a freshly dyed blue sky. Wow, gorgeous, I told Papi. He studiously ignored me; cool cats aren’t seen talking to their people outside.
It was in the mid 40s then with an anticipated high of 58 F on the horizon. Now clouds cover the horizon and snuffs out the sunshine. It’s still just 46 but feels much chillier with a hidden sun.
This is March 31, 2024, the last day of 2024’s first quarter. How does your quarter measure in retrospect? Were you able to reach some goals, mark off some tasks, or pass some finish lines?
It’s a mixed bag for me. Definitely reached some goals, accomplished some tasks, and crossed some finished lines. Each felt rewarding or satisfying. Each also spoke up as reminders about how much more I have to do in multiple areas. Let the second quarter begin.
Not much planned for the day. Off to Sunday Brunch at a friend’s house. Twenty of us are invited. Each is bringing a dish or two. We’ll be set up outdoors.
I don’t think the clouds were invited but they’ve gathered like they’re going to be there, too. It’s become considerably darker.
For reasons known only to the most powerful of my Neurons Overlords, I have the Go-Go’s performing “Vacation” (`982) in the morning mental music stream (Trademark sunny).
Remain positive and be strong. Lean forward and Vote Blue. Happy Easter, if that’s your bag. Have a great day, no matter what your religion. Cheers
“Mr. Pritchard, the Vice Chairman of the Republican Party in Georgia, and who was already a convicted felon for check forgery, voted illegally no less than nine times, for which he was fined $5,000 … a slap on the wrist.”
“Crystal Mason is a convicted felon – convicted of tax fraud, inflating returns for the clients in her tax preparation business. Having served her sentence, she was out on parole in 2016. Unaware that as a parolee, she was not allowed to vote, Crystal headed to her polling place in Rendon, Texas. When her name failed to appear on the voter rolls, a helpful poll worker gave her a provisional ballot to fill out. No one, including her probation officer, ever told her that being a felon on supervision meant she couldn’t vote under Texas law, so she cast her ballot. What happened next will stun you …
‘Mason was indicted on a charge of illegal voting in Tarrant County, Tex., last year and found guilty by State District Judge Ruben Gonzalez on Thursday, despite her protestations that she simply was not aware that she was barred from casting a ballot and never would have done it had she known.
Mason was sentenced to five years in prison.”
Both have convictions. But a white Republican male deliberately illegally votes nine times and received a $5,000 fine. This is one of those people screaming about the 2020 election.
And the other person, Black, who accidently tried to vote one time, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Unbelievable. Really. WTF, America.
Sometimes, my thoughts are still loading onto my train of thoughts, and that train just closes its doors and takes off.
A day when the writing and editing ‘goes well’ leaves me energized and optimistic. Wish I could bottle it as an elixir and drink a bit every morning.
Mood: Sunsational
It’s the next to last day of March. Day before Easter. Saturday, March 30, 2024.
We’ve got sunshine snaking around gray masses of condensed water vapor drifting across the blue-wave sky. Temperature is 50 F and some rain is anticipated, with a high of 56 F in the forecast. March winds are blowing.
There is so much news to digest and think about. Writing about multiple events is possible but I won’t, today, sparing you all. As writer Amanda Marcotte wrote in a Salon article, many ideas and stories surrounding Trump and the MAGA GOP can be labeled, “Shocking, not surprising.”
I’d rather stay away from that and focus on my fiction writing. Part of that is because I’m in an enjoyable phase, rev 6 of one of the works in progress. A second part is that I’m weary of the often-exasperating news, like the MAGA GOP kneejerk response to the demolished Maryland bridge. Then there’s a third factor, that due to Sunday brunch with friends tomorrow, I’ll probably not be writing tomorrow. So I’m trying to get ahead.
I will say — because I have little impulse control, I suppose — that the video of the Dari cargo ship striking the Francis Scott Key bridge and the bridge’s collapse is stunning.
Music for today comes from 1975. I can’t parse why The Neurons plugged it into the morning mental music stream (Trademark sinking). That’s the way of The Neurons. (Is that a novel title? The Way of the Neurons.)
My Neurons like hijacking my brain (which might be called brainjacking, I guess), and the body follows. Like, I’ll go into the kitchen to get a glass of water and suddenly I’m eating cookies, no explanations given. It’s like my Neurons have me hypnotized.
Anyway, today’s theme music is brought to us by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. “Jackie Blue” was soft country rock song released in 1975, a year after I graduated high school. I was in the U.S. Air Force then and heard it regularly on my car’s AM radio. 1975 was the year of my first duty assignment, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, and the year I was married. That was my first wedding, and remains my only wedding, and the marriage still endures. “Jackie Blue” and being at WPAFB and getting married seems fused in my head. So when I heard the song today in the MMMS, I remembered young me as I took on adulting.
Stay positive, be stalwart, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee has already been swallowed in significant quantities, so let’s listen to the music. Cheers
Floofyophile (floofinition) – An animal lover. Origins: Floofish, 1820s, in France.
“In use: “Born into a family of floofyophiles, it was no surprise that Riley became a floofyophile at a young age, but her industry to save animals by the time she was ten years old was newsworthy.”
Michael Seidel, writer 