Condo Boards and Congress, Fight Clubs!

Dear you,

This week, Republican Senator Mullin of Oklahoma challenged Sean O'Brien, Teamsters president, to a duel, a fisty one, right on the senate hearing floor. "Stand your butt up."  "You stand your butt up."  That was the challenge and the retort, very fifth grade playground. Fabulous Senator Sanders, brother Bernie, had to remind Mullin that he was a senator, for god's sake. And then, in the House, former Speaker McCarthy was accused of elbowing an enemy congressman in the kidney.

Is this happening or am I failing to distinguish between (once again) satire and reality? As for shenanigans in Congress, in the current online Onion, see "Woman Comes Out of Manic Episode to Discover She's Been Elected U.S. Representative."  (From Florida, naturally.) In the sassy piece, the fictional congresswoman comes out of the episode and recalls some things she stated at rallies that her supporters loved: "I do know I said something about foreign oil being a juice concocted by Jesus Christ that would make U.S. troops grow tall enough to marry the Statue of Liberty." Actually, this sounds like something many Florida folks would cheer for.

What a hot mess, petty violence and idiocy. Like here, in my zone and the utter shit-show of my HOA.  This idiocy was on full display during the yearly owners meeting last Saturday.  Newer owners with ego problems have been working on their own little version of January 6, Lilliputian insurrectionists.  On forums such as Eneighbors, one standout ego-maniac lobs personal attacks on older board members and accuses the management company of something close to fraud.  After the vote for  next year's Board of Directors failed to meet his expectations (the older, calmer souls were actually re-elected), he suggested the management company had purposely "botched" the election.  Yeah, like "the election was rigged!"  I could not resist responding to all the infighting by quoting from Palahniuk's real Fight Club:  "The things you own end up owning you.  It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." I also stated that I would be happy to let my condo go for $50 and exit laughing since everything here is so ridiculous.  (Word has it the owners who are currently listing their condos for sale totally freaked out about that.  Talk about blowing the comps!)  Sadly, the infighting here will probably not end any time soon, as it will probably not end any time soon in Congress. It's all Fight Club, but without the philosophical inspiration or literary sizzle.

To close, I wish you all well.  I shall now "stand my butt up" and try to carry on as the tragic-comedies continue.

Love,

Joyce

Look, listen, and STFU

Dear you,

Reading Dan Lyons' new book, STFU - The power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World, has shifted my perspective a bit.  How much pointless chatter do I create?  What do I choose to listen to and see?  Hearing him, this morning, instead of mainlining MSNBC, getting riled up and then X-posting (formerly known as tweeting) about it, I sipped morning coffee without Morning Joe and cared for my princess cat. During my workout and brunch, I listened to Vladimir Horowitz playing Scarlatti, Mozart, and Rachmaninov, a magnificent piano concert recommended by my friend, New York James. Bravo. Tips from Lyons and James made my morning-self stronger/zippier. And less stupid.

Choosing where to direct my mind, my spirit, is not hiding from the chaotic world but being in it with some sense of control.  And peace, even if fleeting.  Look and listen carefully, selectively and objectively.  Local example:

The other day, military jets were screaming overhead.  The sounds of war preparation, louder than I usually hear in this dual Air Force base location. I looked up and saw the white trails jets leave in the sky, our now bright blue cooler sky.  Then I looked down and saw a man at work by the pool, patiently shoveling sand into the six foot hole created by plumbing repair folk.  He surely heard the jet screams, but did not look up.  He focused on task, filling the gap, packing down the sand and then covering the surface with cement. Like him, those jet pilots were on task.  They could not see him but always "hear" him; they know he is theirs to protect and defend.

I looked and listened and saw something beautiful.  The pilots in the sky and the worker on the ground were on task in distinctly different yet artful ways. I didn't feel driven to immediately voice my opinions about military funding or workers' rights. I chose to Shut the Fuck Up and to Shut It (the purposefully inflammatory digital or televised chatter) the Fuck Off. 

Of course the irony here is I am creating blog-chatter on the subject of #STFU, not totally shutting the fuck up.  But my intention is to not go all anti-tech or anti-anything.  I will still enjoy Morning Joe with my morning cup of joe, still post mini-blogs, and still comment on "X", but in each case, will do so with less frequency and more intent.

Look, listen.

Joyce

Atlas shrugs.

Dear you,

Mythic Atlas holds the world on his shoulders.  Is he losing his grip?  It seems this is so.  

To type my spin on another war, the terrorist attack against Israel this weekend, is something I don't want to do.  My words fail, cannot capture what needs to be said.  I will, however, share a simple moment from this time.  I call it a Bubble Moment:

Sometimes I have to walk away from the coverage of world events; yes, I have the luxury of doing that. I frequently tune in to reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, Mike and Molly, and Friends late at night.  I know the plots and everything gets resolved or at least tidied up in a thirty minute box.  A night or so ago, a Friends episode featured a view from a character's office, a perfect view of the Rockefeller Center Atlas.  This popped my bubble of escapism.  This god, forever, must support the sky. The Fifth Avenue statue depicts him supporting the entire globe. What happens if and when he can no longer bear the weight?  What happens if he (alluding to Rand's writing) shrugs? That is what I feel like has happened these days. Atlas has shrugged, but the sky hasn't fallen.

Atlas is us, the ones who hope to be on the right side of history. I want to be a part of that. I'll begin by turning off the reruns and emerging from all things "bubble".

That's all I've got this day.

Love and endurance,

Joyce 

Rednecks with Chainsaws

 Dear you,

This moment, the House votes to determine Speaker McCarthy's future.  The usual cast of far right characters are coming for him and they might get what they want.  During all this, the most deranged commentary I hear is about how all this is the fault of the Democrats, who, by the way voted with Republicans to not shut the government down last weekend.  I also hear how our unwillingness to vote to save McCarthy's hold on the gavel is the problem. Lot's of talk. But my focus remains clear and what I recognize is this:  the Gaetz-MAGA chaos machine is armed with chainsaws, happy to dismember and decapitate a functioning government; they dream of a not so good past life.  No subtlety, no negotiation, just slash and burn.  Like the "tree service" crew my condo board sent to oddly deface (and possibly kill) the formerly gorgeous holly tree outside my balcony.  That was Tuesday morning . . .

I was drinking coffee and mainlining MSNBC morning news when I saw the service truck pull up by my building.  Printed aggressively on the truck was the now empty phrase IN GOD WE TRUST. I winced.  In this area, that seemingly benign phrase is often used to cover brutal behaviors. I ran downstairs to inquire, what is up?  Do you intend to take down that holly tree?  "No, mam, we're just here to trim it back."  Fine.  It needed trimming and certainly shaping. I hoped for the best, but then the "boss" arrived". The workers with the trimming tools were told to yield and let him take over.  The boss jumped into one of those crane-lift chairs (sorry, don't know what they are actually called) and proceeded to move into the holly armed with a screaming chainsaw. I winced again. Rednecks with chainsaws, what could possibly go wrong?  And "wrong" went down.  The poor tree is now decapitated, taken down to the second floor level; entire branches hacked off.  It looks like a skeleton version of its old self.  I cried.

Now, again as noted above, I listen to the battle between rationality and chaos going down in the House.  Those who wish us harm (not just the Gaetz contingent but also the "centrist" republicans) push "parental rights" in education (a.k.a. puritanical repression), expansion of fossil fuel production, forced birth policies, and the erasure of equal rights for LGBTQ citizens. They might not all be literal rednecks, but they all wield metaphorical chainsaws.

Wherever you are today, pay attention, please.  So much is at stake, so much more than my holly tree.

Carry on!

Love,

Joyce 

To Do Lists

 Dear you,

My favorite absurd news of the week is the report about Trump using the back of classified documents for to-do lists.  His messiness and disregard for governance gets richer by the minute.  I would love to see the entries on one of those lists.  My recent to-do's (not jotted down on backs of classified docs) have been all about sweating the small stuff.  The small stuff should be easy, right?  Not so much.  I have dealt with some listing epic fails recently:

1. Mitigate mild anxiety by drinking decaf in the morning instead of espresso.  Result:  completely lost in a fog, exhausted, slightly depressed, but still anxious.  Epic fail.  Back to caffeine.

2. Front tires on auto look a bit soft; instead of driving to the oil-change and car-care place, do it yourself at the local gas station. I can do this!  Result:  I couldn't control the air hose and ended up blowing gravel dust all over my face. Epic fail.  Return to the usual dependence upon the kindness of strangers. I begged the station's cashier to help me air up.  She pitied me and did.

3. Print out car insurance renewal card at the library. Result:  the print-out card was not updated to indicate current coverage.  Epic fail. This meant I had to call the company which meant waiting for a call-back from Agent So and So.  Keep in mind I am at the library.  The phone rings, I try to whisper my needs to the agent, but my whispers are like most people's screams.  Angry librarian confronted me and asked that I take the call outside.  She did not pity me.  After an hour of send and resends of the required card via email, I finally received a correctly dated version. That was fun.

4. Drive to Walmart and purchase cigarettes at a bargain price. Result: The liquor store there was out of my brand and the in-store stock was locked inside a glass security case. Key-keeper, somewhere deep in the bowels of Wally, far, far away. Epic fail.  I had to ask an annoyed employee who had better things to do to call for a key carrier. The keeper of the magic key appeared fifteen minutes later.  Once inside the precious case, he found only one pack of my favorite mistakes.  I drove twenty something miles round trip to save $1.50.

5. Keep fighting the idiocy of Governor DeSantis and work for any challenger who might defeat him. (This is far from "small stuff" but it is a daily effort.) Since Dems may have no shot in Florida, who else in the GOP might be better than Ron?  Result:  oh, the horror. I discover the latest potential challenger is Congressman Matt Gaetz. Epic fail indeed. Prescriptive action, just stay Blue and pray for Florida.

Well, that was yesterday.  Time to attend to today's list, wisely jotted on an index card that doesn't have national security secrets written on the back.

Enjoy your to-do's today.

Love, 

Joyce

Googling the Day Away!

Dear you,

Why the smoking ballerina photo?  Because I like it, I am a bit bored, and Googling can be diverting.  Go search "images" using simple words like "smoking ballerinas" and you'll get fabulous results.  Googling can be fun. Googling can also be instructive.  For example, consider the recent hurricane, Idalia. If you worried about being in her path, all you needed to do was Google this question:  where did The Weather Channel send Jim Cantore?  Yes, he was in Cedar Key, Florida, the big target. When a hurricane looms and you are wondering where to go, ask the machine where Cantore is.  Then run the other way.

Questions.  So many survival questions. What else can I learn from the Google? My findings:

How likely is it that Trump will be reelected?

President Biden and former President Trump have identical ratings in a new WSJ poll.

Why do I dislike children?

Because they are dirty, loud, selfish, stupid, dependent creatures. (Quoting Arianna from the chat site Quora.  Answers from experts suggested something is wrong with me so I am ignoring their assessments.)

How many times can I get Covid?

There's no limit to how many times you can get COVID-19. As the virus continues to mutate, reinfections are on the rise.

How is the liberal brain different from the conservative brain?

From the National Institutes of Health: "We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala. These results were replicated in an independent sample of additional participants."

So, is having more gray matter better than having a swollen amygdala?

More gray matter is associated with better cognitive function. Studies have shown that larger amygdala volumes are associated with behavioral disorders.

Why does my fridge make a thud sound like something is falling?

"Check and secure the drain pan."  

What the hell is a drain pan?

The answers were so boring I don't even care.  But now I know I have a drain pan.

What Are the Odds of Living to 100?

Less than 1%.

Final question, directed to self:  What did I learn from all this Googling?  Trump might be reelected, so I need to renew my passport. Children are annoying; it's not just me and I know this because Arianna said so.  Covid is unavoidable and resistance is futile. I have a big, gray brain. My drain pan has insecurity issues. The odds of me living to 100 are pretty slim, so I best be signing off and do something real.

Out!

Joyce

PS - Tropical storm Lee is predicted to become a category 4 hurricane. Find out where Cantore is headed and don't go there. Google it.

About Last Night . . .

 Dear you,

Yes, I watched the first Republican debate last night.  Yes, I was horrified but not surprised by my horror.  One big car crash, I could not look away.  Of course the majority of players on that stage will support a (probably) convicted criminal if they themselves don't secure the nomination. And of course the main points of debate were about how depraved liberal cities are, how America as a whole is in decline, and how teachers' unions are the cause of all ills.  I won't rehash what you saw and heard.  I will, however, attempt to confront horror with humor.  Take Vivek, the empty bloviator "businessman".  Watching him, all I could think about was this:

Do you remember that Friends episode when Ross got his teeth whitened at a mall?  That's all I could think about when the camera focused on Vivek. Of note, after the debate when Hannity interviewed this isolationist barbarian, he made a big deal out of those teeth, complimenting his smile. "Politicians should smile more." (WTF.)

And then there was the poor governor of North Dakota, all banged up after a game of basketball.  Did you catch his final remarks to the audience?  He looked like he was on the rack; perhaps his pain meds had worn off.  He babbled about his work ethic and said something about his hygiene routine. It made no sense to me.  What the hell was his point?  My friend James in NYC clarified it for me:  "he showers at night".  Side splitting. This makes him an ideal candidate for POTUS.

Finally, there was poor Mike Pence reminding us about his born again status.  We learned (again) that Jesus is his personal savior.  This, in his view, makes him a leader of moral authority.  What do we know about right and wrong?  What do we "unsaved" know about the best way to run a country?  Mike's theocracy is the way to go!  Question, Mr. Pence, you might be saved, but who will save us from you?

Enough about that.  Just stay tuned; the comedy will continue.

Love,

Joyce