Weekly Update (one day early), May 15, 2021
Howdy y’all and welcome back to my weekly update post! Since two weeks ago I was a day late, I figured this week I would be a day early. I’ve got a birthday coming up and I thought I would give myself one less thing to worry about next week. Since I have extra time this week, I am going to return to the old format. If you’ve been reading the updates and have an opinion about which style you like better, let me know somehow! Pick your favorite platform and reach out to let me know what you like best.
Black Lives Matter
Once again I do not have tons to say on this subject, but it is important and I want to mention it first. Now that more people in the United States are starting to get vaccinated, the story is starting to shift from the COVID-19 pandemic but it is important that the struggle for racial justice isn’t over. I’m going to continue using my (albeit small) platform to write that Black Lives Matter and encourage other white people who might be reading this to do more to engage with black people and try to help their communities. If you are planning to buy some candles, you could make a big difference (and it wouldn’t be too hard to find) those candles being made by black people. Using the power of economics can bring real material change to communities, so don’t just think about it - do it! I’m also not trying to check in for some sort of black capitalism, I’m just saying that you should think about where your money goes and if it can go further.
There is more I could say on this subject, but for now I will leave it there.
Personal
Yesterday (Saturday) I managed to get another YouTube video up on my channel and I am thrilled that I now have three subscribers! That may not sound like much, but it’s triple what I had when I started (since I was the first sub on one of my other accounts). Growth comes slowly, and eventually I plan on making music videos for some longer songs. However, lately I’ve been concentrating on writing what I am calling “TikTok songs” - these are all less than a minute long, so I can put the whole thing in on TikTok video. As of yesterday I had twenty drum tracks recorded - five of them are using digital drums and all the rest are using my trusty frankenkit.
Last week was really consequential for my best friend (and dog) Bruiser. He had that surgery that Bob Barker told us to get for our pets and after helping him recover (by babying him for the last four days), he has changed quite a bit. My wife suggested we let him try sleeping in our bed, and he has stopped crying in the middle of the night. In fact, the only problem my wife had with getting him to bed was that she tried to go with him while I stayed up and he wasn’t having it.
All that is a really long way to say that I now have an 18 pound shadow that follows me everywhere I go. We got Bruiser for my son, but what I didn’t know was how much he would imprint on me and that he would decide I was his human. I jokingly called him “bestie” when I had two weeks off for mental health, and he didn’t get the joke.
I will tell you this, dear reader, be careful what you tell your dog. My wife likes to give me the business because she says that Bruiser is exactly like me, and she isn’t really wrong. I also made the dual mistakes of agreeing to name him Bruiser and calling him bestie and he took both to heart!
If you’ve been following me on TikTok, (or you’ve been able to read between the lines of how the personal section got derailed and you already know) how much I love the Bruise Cruise and how much of my content is about him. I didn’t except to love that small dog so much, or to be so sad when he was taken out for his surgery. Anyway, my wife calls him the self-care dog because he forces me to stop working when the time comes and to go out in the living room and let him lay by my feet. He will actually bark at me if I don’t!
Anyway, that’s the end of my Bruiser rant (for now). If you want to see more or Bruisey himself, you follow me on TikTok, you can find a link in the section at the bottom.
Professional
Not much to talk about, so I won’t.
Politics
I want to rant about the CDC changing the guidelines and echo what I have seen many other smart content creators discuss on TikTok since the announcement was made. First, the mask-lifting guidance is talking about fully vaccinated people, and they are asking that we put our faith in the American people to be honest about getting the shots. After the last year plus we’ve seen, where people won’t even wear their masks right over a year into the pandemic, I don’t trust my fellow Americans to be honest about whether they were vaccinated. Second, I am in southern California and I already see people inside stores not wearing masks, like the same day the CDC made the announcement. I’m sorry but I am still uncomfortable around people not wearing masks indoors because I feel like the first people the shed them were the ones not wearing them right all along. There are a few reasons that I am keeping my mask on, but the top of the list is that my son isn’t vaccinated and cannot be until they open it to his age group. We are also so close to being done as a society, but there are large portions of Americans who refuse to get the vaccine. These are the EXACTLY SAME PEOPLE that are going to lie about getting the shots or (worse) forge the cards, which would be obviously easy to do (despite being wildly illegal). My point is that there are times when government can do good, and times when it can do bad. Giving people confusing information during a global health crisis is a bad thing!
Furthermore, I want to be on record in talking about the split of the Republican party and how the Liz Cheney faction is going to win out. I read an article that said the donors (AKA the most important people in the “GOP”) are backing Cheney. There are other articles too, if you don’t like that one. It’s also important to note that her father, Dick Cheney, IS STILL ALIVE! You can check his wikipedia page if you don’t believe me.
If you think he isn’t pulling the strings, I have a bridge to sell you! Furthermore, if you think he would let his daughter make this large of a miscalculation, I will also sell you the street leading up to the bridge! Finally, if you think that he hasn’t determined the best way to navigate the current problems with the “party of Lincoln” to get rid of all the hangers-on, sycophants, and Trumpists, then I just… Look, you don’t have to like Dick Cheney (and I surely do not) to (at the same time) acknowledge and know that he is not a fool, or an idiot. He’s managed to get people in power (and then keep them in power) for decades. Really he got all the power of being the President without all the hassles and headaches that go along with the title. While I don’t like him, I do nonetheless acknowledge that he is a wise political operator who very infrequently makes mistakes. All that is a long way of saying that Dick Cheney probably calculated the best way to purge the Trumpist element was to just take it on directly, and his daughter hinted at a commission to investigate the events of Jan 6. I’ll let you think about what that could mean.
I could say more about the political situation with the Republicans, but I mostly enjoy watching their party fall apart and have them be exposed for their shortcomings. It’s really something to witness and I am greatly enjoying it!
the end
That’s all the ranting for this week! Do let me know if you like this format or the brief format better!
People to follow (on Twitter)
Bernice King - The daughter of Dr. King
Martin Luther King III - The son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
@cetolyne - great friend, awesome programmer, super helpful!
@blenster - cool maker, very positive, well worth a follow!
Marley - first place champ! Marley is one of the best on Twitter!
Null Coder - another awesome person to keep an eye on!
@EvilMog - creator of the DC MUD and an interesting person to follow.
TrakoZG – an internet friend who tweets excellent things
Sofia Rune – brilliant scholar who shares things that are both insightful and valuable
MildThrone – up and comer with a small following for now, but I think this account is on the rise!
Johnny B. Ill – Brilliant musician with wisdom to share for those smart enough to listen
Tiffany Collins - This is my wife, who is making cool art and is well worth a follow!
My music project - This is my music project, Dude and the missing rugs (I know that I link to it below, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to list it twice).
One last thing – for the music and art lovers
If you want to find what I am doing on other platforms, this is my TikTok here is my YouTube channel and here is the music project Twitter. Finally, if you want to listen to the full songs that I’ve recorded, you can check out my Spotify or search most music platforms for, “Dude and the missing rugs.”
My wife is making incredible art, and this is her website where you can buy her prints/stickers, here is her TikTok she is also on Instagram and Twitter. Finally, if you like her art you can support her on Patreon as well!
That’s it for this week, internet friend! Thanks for reading this far! I hope you have a very nice day and a most excellent week.
Cheers!
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