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Seven women
Men in my family don’t live long lives, and I’m already older than my dad and my brother when they shuffled off this mortal coil. For now I’m in reasonably good health, but I’m overweight and sedentary and eventually that’s going to prove fatal, so it’s time to put my affairs in order. There haven’t…
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Anything goes — 2/14
our 67th weekly open mike Let’s see what happens when your host (me) has nothing to say. Step right up, speak your mind, tell a story, sing a song, whatever. 2/14/2026 Anything goes itsdougholland.com ← PREVIOUS NEXT →
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My browser history, minus the porn — 2/14
Something big is happening. If today was ten years ago, this article would be excellent science fiction. It’s long, and written by someone I’d like to punch in the head, but it’s gotta be read and I couldn’t stop. Anyone who wants to debunk it, tell me it’s all wrong, I’d sure appreciate that so…
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A card with no words
From Pathetic Life #21 Tuesday, February 13, 1996 Sarah-Katherine sent a valentine’s card, signed, with X’s and O’s, and nothing else. A card with no words. It’s the emptiest anything she’s ever sent me, and I hope it doesn’t mean she’s hurting. The card I sent to her a few days ago was mushier and…
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Our song
It was the 1980s, and we were in an expensive night club with a DJ and dizzying lights and too many people. “No Smoking” wasn’t yet a thing, and tobacco stink was stinging my eyes. Me being me, I should’ve been grumpy and looking for the door, but instead I was having a wonderful time,…
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The Lord works in mysterious ways — 2/13
California: Richmond pastor convicted of sexual abuse of young churchgoer Idaho: Catholic priest pleads guilty of raping a minor Indiana pastor begins 40-year prison term for four counts of molesting 5-year-old Kentucky pastor arraigned on child porn charges Louisiana: Christian school principal arrested on sexual battery charge Louisiana: ‘Utterly evil’: Louisiana pastor sentenced to seven…
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My theory of hygiene
People shouldn’t stink. That’s my theory of hygiene. Not stinking does not require a daily shower, however, or a weekly load of clothes in the washing machine. From Pathetic Life #21 Monday, February 12, 1996 Showering: My last shower was five days ago, and I’m just starting to stink in the pits. Usually my scalp starts…
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A movie that changed my life
I wasn’t even shaving when Harold and Maude came out, in 1971. At that age I only went to the movies if my parents took us kids, and they only took us to see G-rated dreck. I wasn’t much interested in movies, and never saw Harold and Maude, never even heard of it, until almost…
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Judge orders human decency, Bondi goes bonkers, cops tap school cameras to help ICE…
AND NOW THE NEWS #582 FEBRUARY 12, 2026 “Uptick in abductions”: ICE ramps up targeting of Minneapolis legal observers Hard hats and dummy plates: Reports of ICE ruses add to fears in Minnesota Excerpt: For days, Luis Ramirez had an uneasy feeling about the men dressed as utility workers he’d seen outside his family’s Mexican…
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Eye on AI 👁️2/12
Chatbots make terrible doctors, new study finds Dr Oz on rural healthcare: “There’s no question about it, whether you want it or not — the best way to help some of these communities is gonna be AI-based avatars” As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts Vibe coding…
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Ignoring the climate emergency — 2/11
Trump allies near ‘total victory’ in wiping out US climate regulation For the moment, let’s pretend there was meaningful climate regulation to wipe out. Trump opens Marine National Monument in Atlantic to commercial fishing Climate crisis could cause global financial crash as economic models fail to capture risk How a warming planet could turn Iceland…
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Too nice
Always I’ve been kind of a putz, but lately I’ve been making a slight effort to make the world a better place, with emphasis always on ‘slight’. Haven’t yelled at my flatmate Dean in months, though he always deserves it. And when I’m out in the world, sometimes I offer strangers a pleasant “Good morning,”…
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Weekly dead — 2/11
Being old, death gets my attention, so I read the obituaries. This is a collection of recent obits for people whose work touched my life, because I want to say thanks, or maybe give ’em a final fuck you. There’ll be a roundup like this once weekly, until I’m on the list myself. Brad Arnoldrock’n’roller,…
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A goddess from Walhalla
From Pathetic Life #21 Sunday, February 11, 1996 I was exhausted when I got home yesterday, with a few aches from the almost-fight. Why I should ache I dunno; my would-be killer never hit me, and all I did was push him to the ground, but I guess it used muscles I don’t usually use,…
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American police are out of control — 2/10
Alabama: Marshall County deputy resigns after domestic violence arrest Arizona: It’s hard to put into perspective how truly massive is the warehouse that’s about to become a concentration camp California: ICE detention center captives are throwing lotion bottles wrapped with notes to organizers outside facility California: Pregnant woman abducted by ICE, disappeared Connecticut: Woman who…
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A moment of violence
I was almost out the door, on my way to another day selling fish on the Avenue, when Jay stopped by and invited me to breakfast. From Pathetic Life #21 Saturday, February 10, 1996 She’s the boss and a friend and I could eat three breakfasts every day, but she’s also a talker, and she’s…
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My browser history, minus the porn — 2/9
As America’s 250th anniversary approaches, Trump wants to control the country’s future by bulldozing its past Excerpt: America250 and the White House insist they are planning nonpartisan festivities for all Americans, rather than creating a slush fund to throw the president militarized birthday parties and advance hard-right ideology. But in reality, American history is being…
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Paranoia runs deep
It’s Carnival, emphasis on the last syllable, so Mission Street was closed for the parade. I don’t know what Carnival celebrates, except pretty women not wearing much, and I’m all for that, but I needed to get down the stairs and into the BART station to ride to my job in Berkeley. From Pathetic Life…
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At Pike Place Market
The only thing I like about football is telling people that I don’t like football, so when the local team earned a berth in the Super Bowl, my thoughts were not of first downs and sweaty jocks. Nah, I wanted a few hours of quiet across the city. Which usually-crowded place could I go to,…
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Feds fund fascism worldwide, dildos fly in Minneapolis, Trump says America should move on from Trump-Epstein files…
US funds MAGA-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe, under the pretense of protecting free speech Europeans banned from the US for fighting misinformation: ‘Elon Musk has pushed the nuclear button. He doesn’t like us’ AND NOW THE NEWS #581 FEBRUARY 8, 2026 ICE plans to build mega warehouses — concentration camps — for immigration detention…
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Heat simmers, and U/A sucks
From Pathetic Life #21 Thursday, February 8, 1996 A reader of the zine called and wanted to meet me, not to freak me out by being sociable but to hire me, which is awesome. Said his name is Saul, he’s in a wheelchair, and he needs me to drag his furniture down a flight of…
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One of the best and most liberating things
“Can you drive?” was the first question the man asked, when I returned his call from my voice mail. “Sure, I can drive,” I said, “but not legally.” From Pathetic Life #21 Wednesday, February 7, 1996 To that, a long silence. “Your license is suspended?” the voice finally asked. “No, it doesn’t exist. I moved to…
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Anything goes — 2/7
our 66th weekly open mike Let’s see what happens when your host (me) has nothing to say. Step right up, speak your mind, tell a story, sing a song, whatever. 2/7/2026 Anything goes itsdougholland.com ← PREVIOUS NEXT →
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Consider yourself nudged
Well, now I’ve done it — spent every penny of the money Bill paid me yesterday, and more, on printing, postage, and envelopes, getting the January issue of the zine into the mail. It ain’t great, but at least it’s out. And now my grand total net worth is $21.71. From Pathetic Life #21 Tuesday,…
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American police are out of control — 2/6
State prisons in the United States became more violent and nearly 50% deadlier over the past five years Justice Department unit on police misconduct sees staffing plunge and probes scaled back, sources say Alabama: Collinsville police chief Stephen Malone resigns following aggravated assault arrest ‘You’re going to kill me!’: Black man pleads for his life…
