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Suspicious of the broccoli

Leftovers & links

♦ Monday night to Tuesday morning was bad. Sheer delirium. Unable to focus my mind when awake, sleeping for ten minutes at a time, never longer, and always with the same nonsensical dream on a loop.

There was no possibility of seeing a doctor while it happened, not in America, and no point in seeing a doctor afterwards.

My guess is food poisoning, caused by a bag of frozen vegetables where the broccoli was a bit the wrong shade of green after microwaving, but I ate it all anyway. It added up to zero sleep, and the next day I had to retreat from my 9-5 work for three hour-long naps (all on the clock, of course, which is the best thing about working from home).

There's been no further delirium, and no other symptoms, but be suspicious of the broccoli, people. It can’t be trusted.

Current Affairs was a socialist magazine, philosophically, but the money mostly came from one guy, Nathan Robinson, who had the (understandable) notion that since it was his money, he should run the magazine. The workers (also understandably) thought they should have a say, so Robinson fired them.

"Was"? Yeah, I’ll beat the rush by using past-tense. Robinson has sunk his magazine, by being an ordinary capitalist. Which is sad, because it's a good magazine. I'm a subscriber. It's the only socialist writing I've ever seen that's occasionally fun or even funny — on purpose. I'll renew my subscription, if there’s a happy compromise between Robinson and the staff, and if there’s any Current Affairs left to subscribe to, but both conditions seem unlikely.

I saw his response (lost and can't find the link, sorry), where Robinson said the media got the story wrong, and actually he was just trying to lay off three staffers, and bump a contractor to a different position. OK, but that’s still the money guy thinking he should be in charge, and to me that’s still understandable. Socialism is tricky in a capitalist framework, but hey, it’s also tricky in a socialist framework.

That's why I'm not a socialist. Some of my favorite people are socialists, and all my favorite politicians, but I like having money of my own and deciding how to spend it. It's a lack of imagination, on my part. I can't picture happiness in a situation where my situation is decided by a vote of my neighbors.

Bob Dylan has been sued for allegedly grooming and boinking a 12-year-old in the 1960s. Of course, he’s denied it, through a spokesperson. I have no opinion on Dylan's guilt or innocence; let the courts do what courts do.

I do have an opinion on the denial through a spokesperson, though. Why are these denials so bland, always, in such cases? I don’t have a spokesperson, but if I did I’m shove him or her out of the way and say something like this:

“Hey, if you knew even a fraction of my secrets, I’d be mortified and you’d already hate me. I am a reprehensible and profoundly wretched human being, no argument, no defense — but I have never boinked a 12-year-old, and never wanted to boink a 12-year-old, at least not since I was about 14.”

♦ COVID rates were decreasing, so this Abbott factory stopped making vaccines, destroyed all the vaccines they had on hand, and laid everyone off. It’s further evidence, as if further evidence is needed, that health care and the profit motive should never be allowed in the same room.

♦ A TV series based on Field of Dreams? Sounds like a terrible idea, except it’s from Michael Schur, who reliably makes good television. He’s the guy behind The Office, Parks & Rec, and The Good Place, so where can I stream his Field of Dreams TV show?

Says here, Janis Joplin attended her 10-year high school reunion, a few weeks before she died. Sounds like she had a good time.

♦ We have the technology to improve Robert Frost’s mediocre poetry.

The New Yorker recently ran a long article on communal living, and unsurprisingly got it all wrong, beginning with their concept of what it is.

♦ The last time I sat with my family for Thanksgiving dinner was 1992, so I’m not much of a family guy, but I don’t know how anyone could disagree with this: Your holiday gatherings should have vaccine mandates.

♦ I got an email, not even an angry email, from someone lost along the info superhighway, who'd landed here and became confused. So let me 'splain:

This is not the Algonquin Round Table. I am not Noel Coward or Dorothy Parker. I'm only Doug, and it's only me, so not every morning’s post on this crappy site will be worth reading. The opposite is almost certain. Que sera sera

I sincerely hope you dig it, but the only reader I’m trying to please is me.

♦ Here’s an interesting article about a movie I’ve never seen, Buster Keatons’ The General — a movie as pro-South as Birth of a Nation, but nobody ever says so.

I’m stumped, always, about how anyone — in 1927 or 2021 — could imagine the South as the good guys in the Civil War. They were treasonous anti-human anti-American bastard people, so can I borrow your Confederate flag to wipe my ass?

♦  Mystery links   — like life itself, there’s no knowing where you’re going: 

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Sincere tip 'o the hat to Becky Jo, Dave S., BoingBoing, Discourse.net, and One of the Butt Sisters but definitely not the other.

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about anything at all.
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8/23/2021

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8 comments:

  1. So, The Match! is allegedly still being published. Do you recall an address? I THINK I have a few copies stashed around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's Fred so he doesn't have a website, but I googled and see that his most recent issue was last autumn. I've sent for a copy.

      Jeez, I'm old, but Fred was old when I was still young, and his life has been rough. Genuine surprised he's still with us.

      Delete
    2. What address was it? The same older PO Box? Or you can tell me to fuck off and I'll try to find it myself.

      He was younger than I thought at the time. I'm guessing he's only about 70-72. Just a guess.

      Delete
    3. Same address:
      FRED WOODWORTH
      PO BOX 3488
      TUCSON AZ 85722

      Delete
    4. Thanks, brother. I'll send him a 20, and ask for his three or four newest issues. The Match! is one of my favorite reads.

      Delete
  2. >Why are these denials so bland, always, in such cases?

    Because the lawyers tell the person who is accused to respond in this manner. It's deemed safest. I do agree with you, though - assuming I'm innocent, I want to say, "Are you kidding me? No, I never fucked a 12-year-old."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Always stay away from the brocolli.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nah, I love broccoli. It's what's for breakfast most mornings. All is forgiven.

      Delete

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