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Lukyanivka, Ukraine: 25 March 2022: destroyed Russian military vehicle — Photo by Oles Navrotskyi
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My sheer lack of motivation to write is becoming an issue. Thinking seriously of going on hiatus for the rest of the year (I'd panic if I said that in June, as it's December, not so much).
The "news" is depressing and filled with mistakes, lies, and outright make believe. I have come to the conclusion that all politicians - no matter what country they hail from, no matter which party they adhere to - are all charlatans, interested only in accumulating power and riches for themselves and their families. It's always been like that. Change my mind.
Anyhoo, Beans mentioned in a comment yesterday "need a break and the Chanters need to be afflicted by my particular brand of weirdness." Which reminded me of his inflicting a clown on those of you who are, let's just say, unnerved by said personalities.
So this guy "Puddles" (yes, Beans introduced me to him
here) kinda weirds me out, but the dude has talent. I ran across this while researching his background -
No matter what else you might think, the man can sing. (Best rendition of that tune I've heard, ever.)
I tell ya, it's been a weird week.
I haven't made a final decision on the rest of month, I'm going to sleep on it. Until then ...
Ciao.
Government corruption is a constant across all times and nations. After all the word shoddy came into the lexicon because it was the name of a government contractor during the Civil War the sold uniforms so cheaply made that they fell apart in the rain. The only safety for the citizens lies in keep the government and it's influences as small as possible. Unfortunately the opposite decision has been made by the "voters".
ReplyDeleteGovernments attract corruption like dung attracts flies.
Delete"Governments attract corruption like dung attracts flies."
DeleteThat gem is worth much more than the price of admission for today's clown filled circus. I think your Muse whispered that one to you.
John Blackshoe
She must have, I'm not that clever. 🙄
DeleteThe Shoddy Shoe Company of Massachusetts.
DeleteI can find no reference to such a company. My understanding is that the word originated in England around 1813. The term meant cloth made from recycled wool. It took on its meaning during our Civil War to mean cheap, poorly manufactured clothing and shoes.
DeleteYah, the guy can sing but not a fan, don't mind clowns but this guy.........nope.....nope......nope. Social media has not helped in trying to keep your sanity either especially with the MSM going whole hog on one side of the politics. Rest up this month Sarge, best time for your Muse to go on a "walkabout".
ReplyDelete
DeleteThe clown part is the gimmick... I can (and did) listen to the music without watching the video. He does a nice job with the singing.
Nylon12 - Yes, some people can't handle clowns, I mean actual clowns, dressed that way. Government clowns are different, they're not funny at all.
DeleteRob - Bingo, the guy can sing.
DeleteBadgers don't like clowns, they don't show their real faces. Badgers want to see your real face, or they assume you have a reason for hiding it.
DeleteGood point.
DeleteDemanding job? Check! Prodigious Pfiction Output? Check! Semi-Normal family life? Check! Biz trips? Check! Editing Previous Pfiction stories into a pfrickin' book? Check! Still married?? Check! Hey Sarge, when do you have time to decompress or even eat??????
ReplyDeleteTake a break voluntarily or your old bod will voluntell you to. Send a chit to the Pflorida 44, the Texas Pitot Wrangler, and the Greyhound Guide Staph to take up slack in the wheel room. Rumour was, a certian Lima India Uniform Slosh might could write, but I don't remember seeing any output yet.... Might shake that tree and see what falls therefrom.
Happy Saturday.
LUSH is working these days, as an elementary school teacher, she has less time than I do for such endeavors. (Not to mention two daughters with lots of after school activities!)
DeleteYAY, LUSH!
Delete👍
DeleteToday's world is different than it has even been. With 8 billion people (most with a cell phone), 24/7 media of all sorts and the ability for anyone to become famous by putting something on the internet that grabs you.
ReplyDeleteWe are having this conversation via computer with anyone who wants to listen in. Your fiction has been put to the world over this media, that gives it the 'chance' of grabbing a huge audience!
Or a small audience... I stumbled across a Kindle book on Amazon, "Bob's Saucer Repair" by Jerry Boyd, just $3 so I gave it a try. It hooked me... a simple on the surface fun story, a different writing style & cheap too. I have no idea what kind of sales he's making with his Bob & Nikki series but I'm right there ready to drop my $3 and get the next installment. That last one I bought was #28.
He has them in paperback too now, I just saw that the other day.
Take your time off, this is your life that you're sharing with us. IMO what you're doing really ought to be fun!
Take the time, go have some fun, enjoy the holidays, enjoy the family and your work, come back to bs or share what your muse has allowed. We'll be here.
Merry Christmas!
I'll be honest with you, I'm not sure how well I'm dealing with this new world.... I'm still shocked at the thought of YouTube millionaires...
DeleteRob #1 - I have been looking at Amazon, thing is, need to get the final edits done ...
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours!
Rob #2 - The YouTube thing, now I know why they are pushing YouTube TV, a way to make money. I don't begrudge them that, hey, I like it when a person can make an honest buck. But millionaires? That's wild. (Some YouTube content is very good, some, eh, just like commercial TV, good and bad.)
DeleteDepression is just the other side of anger. !!! I am not depressed !!! Absolutely not !!! Are you angry, OK! OK upset that the muse has gone away on vacation for a little rest? Or are you angry because the country you love is crumbling down around your ears; you know what must be done at this point, but are afraid to take the necessary first step? !!! I'm not angry --- or depressed !!! !!! I tell you I'm not angry --- I just feel like I'm the kid who dove into the lake and came up covered wtih leeches (leches, maybe - Ugh! even worse now that Epstein's killed himself. Are the sickos still going down to his island?) I'm not angry. And I'm not afraid to take that first step. Just gittin' too darn old !!!
ReplyDeleteI'm neither depressed nor really angry, just exhausted, it's been a very long year.
DeleteUh! Sorry! Not a reference to you. That was me and Jiminy Cricket going at it again.
DeleteAh, roger that.
DeleteSarge, for the first time ever I may have understood all the words of that song. He does indeed have a good voice.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a cold comfort at best, but if history tells us anything, it is that politicians - all the way back to the Greek polis, when Western Civilization started thinking about the nature of government - have always been greedy, self-centered, eager for gain and power (the Athenians, the beacon of so called "popular participative democracy" that we hear so much about instead of a republic, also encouraged the masses to vote to put Socrates, one of the greatest philosophers of the ages, to death, for the crime of thinking). The more recent crop is really - and unfortunately - a reflection of who voted them into office. Assuming any history at all is written in the future, 98% of them will be eminently forgettable, lost to the ages in a dusty roll of the "XXX" Congress.
For the 99% of us out in the "real world", blogging is a thing we do on the side of the rest of our lives as an unpaid activity. We often put blogging on a level with the rest of the things we do because we want to write well and at some point, I think we begin to feel that we have a responsibility to those who read.
Writ large: We are beneficiaries of your writing skills. And we are grateful for them (for all of the Chanters, actually). But you should never feel driven to provide content - at least in my experience, that makes it all the more difficult to write. And whatever you decide, we will all be here when you come back (maybe standing at the door, shuffling a bit, looking at each other - "Are you going to knock?" - "No, are you?" - "Someone has to knock" - " I asked last time...") awaiting your glorious return.
Thanks TB, your words are, as always, full of wisdom.
DeleteTB's last paragraph knocked it out of the park Sarge.
DeleteNylon12 - Thanks.
DeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteHe's good, isn't he?
DeleteHuman politicians may have peaked with George Washington; he climbed and surmounted a steep hill, and the world hae mostly gone downhill since. Most are not even into the foothills of the climb -- and those that are, are lost.
ReplyDeleteI'll add Barry Goldwater (maybe) and Joe Foss. Take power, do the job, and then the hard part: put it down and walk away.
Deletehtom #1 - I would argue that Washington wasn't really a politician, he had worked at real jobs before that, so did Joe Foss. Most of the bastards have done little in the real world.
Deletehtom #2 - I was never really a Goldwater fan, not sure why.
DeleteI soured on Goldwater for a while while he was trying to compromise with the communists in Congress.
DeleteFoss I knew from his politics in South Dakota, and then in this century as a family friend in Mesa. Great guy.
Not to mention an honest-to-God war hero!
DeleteYes. I was helping Mom in the kitchen, hear Dad yelling "Tom, come out here, there's someone I want you to meet." Yawn, I think, another of his golf partners.
DeleteI walk into the garage, there's Dad, standing next to a guty in golf wear, who sees me and starts lifting his hand to shake, but I know -him-. My heels snap together, my back straightened, my hands are knives, and my right starts up in a salute and stalls. Wait! What do I do? Not in uniform. "Sir!" I begin, "Gen ... Gov ..." "STOP" he barked. I finished presenting my salute, he snapped to and returned it. "You're Tom, and don't be embarrassed; that is absolutely how Marines react to me when surprised."
"I was expecting a new golf partner." "Your Mom did't tell you it would be me? HELEN!" "Joe?" "Yes!" "I thought you were coming tomorrow?" They turn as one and bellow "HARRY!" Gen. Foss breaks out laughing, started pounding me on my back. "So a Marine!"
Just typing this brings him back in my mind. I miss him.
He was a fine man and a great pilot. America needs folks like him now. So glad you got to meet him, it's a bit jealous I am.
DeleteHe would have fit right in.
DeleteYes, I believe he would.
DeleteAmanda Dragonimov says, "Take the rest of the year off, and come back refreshed ".
ReplyDeleteI just might.
DeleteBeen following the Gotterdamerung that the Twitter Files are. Ye God and little fishes, oy, it's meshugenah I tell you. Everything we 'far right conspiracy insurrectionists' were thinking and saying and more. So, yes, can't handle news these days else it's either hoisting the black flag or start drinking, and I don't drink nor have a flagpole or black flag.
ReplyDeleteAs to the man behind the clownface, he does have a great voice and stage presence.
He's growing on me, great voice.
DeleteSarge,
ReplyDeleteHow about an open mic day? I enjoy your writing and stories, but I also enjoy the back and forth in the comments. To me if feels a lot like walking into my favorite coffee shop and seeing all my old friends giving each other a hard time or a pat on the back. Open mike day would serve to provide that opening and not require too much thought and planning. I gotta admit, I find once a week difficult at times. 6 days a week for 10 years? YGBSM!
Off subject, I don't like clowns, no matter how good other people say they sing. Sorry! Not sure why that is, but it is.
It might be an actual phobia, whoa, it is! Coulrophobia, I looked it up.
DeleteOpen mic night, I like it. I probably will do something along those lines. We'll see. I'm just tired, physically, emotionally, and everything. We'll see.
As Hizzoner, the Great Neptunus Lex himself often wrote when words evaded his grasp, "Talk amongst yourselves." Nothing wrong with that, as long as some adult occasionally chaperones.
DeleteJohn Blackshoe
There is that. 😎
Delete"...are all charlatans" Hmm. Interesting way to say "lying scumbags"! See? Your muse may be returning already!
ReplyDeleteI've always had a fondness for that word, descriptive without being nasty.
DeleteWell, I've got Dropkick Murphys up! The Season must be Upon Us!
DeleteIt's official, DMs here, and at PP.
DeleteNice!