I was gutted to learn that Dolly Parton has died.
In many ways, she was the epitome of the good that can come out of this country... which is an important thing to cling to given how utterly depressing it is to see the bad stuff come out of this country. She came from humble beginnings, became one of the most famous musicians in the world, but remained down-to-earth and humble to the end.
She donated so much to so many. And her Imagination Library provided millions of books to kids, enriching their lives.
But it was her stellar personality which made her such a treat...
The best person to break down her career is Dolly herself...
Sadly, she doesn't bring up her surprising appearance on The Orville, which was such a great use of her status as a legend...
I thought of Dolly all day today, but mostly tonight while I was at Trader Sam's tiki bar. She was a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community, and incredibly inclusive of everybody in everything she did. And when I went to use the restroom at Trader Sam's...
I saw this...
And remembered seeing this stupid-ass MAGA politician displaying his ignorance for the entire world to see...
Because anybody can use it, the piece of shit thinks it's a "trans bathroom." Which means he likely has a "trans bathroom" at his home and uses a "trans bathroom" on a plane or whatever. Stop the fucking insanity indeed.
By seeing people as people and treating everybody with respect and kindness, Dolly was a better example for society than most of us could ever think of being. Especially these garbage assholes who mock trans persons that are just playing the cards they were dealt the best they can... like all of us are.
Rest in Peace, Dolly. You most definitely left this world better than you found it.
Welp.
I've stated repeatedly that mRNA vaccines are a gift from God via science.
It's a stunning technology which gives your body instructions on how to do something... like fight off COVID more efficiently.
And now, apparently, fight off cancer.
Moderna and Merck created a personalized mRNA treatment which can prevent skin cancer from recurring or spreading, as proven by a late-stage clinical trial.
The current method of fighting off cancer involves trying to kill off all the cancer cells without killing too many other cells... or the patient. Whether by radiation or chemotherapy, it's a seriously invasive and destructive way to cure somebody. But now, thanks to mRNA technology, they are able to create a specific instruction set to teach your body how to attack the mutated cancer cells directly and specifically.
They're working on all kinds of mRNA cancer treatments, but this one happens to be skin cancer. Treating melanomas which kill between 8,000 and 9,000 people a year is a small start, but a good one. And means the world to the people it helps.
I'm hoping that soon they can design mRNA to help fight heinous diseases like Ebola, which is exploding again.
It may be the only thing that can.
At least it sure seems that way given the miracles that mRNA are performing.
Sorry I've been absent for... ummm... two weeks?
In case you haven't been keeping up with the news, the fires here in Eastern Washington State have been seriously scary. Spokane, in particular, has been catching fire. The city had evacuations of around 65,000 people at one point. 900 structures burned down.
Spokane is three hours to the East of me. But there are fires to the North as well. The combination of which has filled the skies in my region with smoke...
And, as you may know, I have severe smoke allergies.
In order for my lungs to endure it, I am taking medication which tears up my stomach. So I try not to take it except when needed to be able to work. The rest of the time my eyes water, my nose runs, and my lungs... itch. And that's the worst part. Itching from the inside and not being able to do anything about it.
And so...
I hunker down at home with my air purifiers and try to do nothing so I don't have to be medicated.
Including blogging.
But then today things were a little better. No idea if it's going to stay that way for a while.
I plan on enjoying it while it lasts.
I wrote this entry which I have written twice previously then deleted. Then I decided to sit on it over the weekend.
At which point I just said "fuck it" so I can move on.
I apologize in advance. After this, I will have my regular post about cats tomorrow, happy things I found on the internet on Sunday, and a week all about games! But in the meanwhile... sorry.
Monday morning I woke up and couldn't see the surrounding hillsides. It's wildfire season and the smoke was terrible. I walked outside to empty the trash and the haze immediately caused my eyes to water, my nose to run, and my lungs to itch. I have bad smoke allergies, which meant I had miserable times ahead of me.
But my misery wasn't what caused me to have a total fucking meltdown.
Last week Thursday, U.S. Representative John James of the great state of Michigan posted this...
I thought this was the height of ignorance, and was compelled to comment...
"When my state of Washington catches fire and smoke is blowing into Canada, they send help... not cruel and nonsensical threats. What a terrible neighbor you are."
I didn't unload on the asshole, I just chastised him for having such a bad take on the tragic situation happening to our neighbors to the north. He doesn't represent me or my state, so that's all I had to say on the matter.
But then...
THEN...
The next day the president of the United States of America decided to chime in...
"We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable! I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result. This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
And I lost it.
This fucking piece of shit does represent me. He represents all Americans.
I then spent the weekend fuming over the fact that people are dying. Animals are dying. Homes are being lost. Livelihoods are being destroyed. And our Idiot in Chief decided the best course of action was to publicly post a predictably stupid, needlessly cruel, and sublimely ignorant statement like this. As if Canada is having a great time at our expense or something.
So I hammered out a rant to post in the morning, then set it aside to review it and post that night. Except I couldn't. I then spent the rest of the week biting my tongue thinking that eventually my anger would subside. Except it didn't.
And here we are.
Last Summer the fires in my area were particularly bad. The company I work for decided to donate some foodstuffs to help out the firefighters risking their lives. Myself and a colleague drove to one of the firefighter camps to unload a truck, at which time I noticed that there was a Canadian flag off in the distance. Turns out that our neighbors to the North saw how bad things were and wanted to help. Their politicians and Prime Minister didn't start unloading tweets threatening tariffs or accusing us of mismanaging our forests or whatever stupid shit our politicians and our president dropped out of their festering asses.
But it gets so much worse.
Five days before the orange piece of shit vomited up his bullshit, Canadian helicopter pilot Nicholas Dale died fighting a fire. IN COLORADO. Which is part of the United States, if you were unaware.
A Canadian lost their life helping us fight our fires less than a week before Trump unloads on his country.
Disgusting.
There's not a day that goes by that I'm not wishing for the repugnant ass in The White House to take a fucking seat and shut the fuck up.
But this past week I wished for it more than usual.
Day four of not being able to stop looking back in anger. I need a drink.
The phrase "taking notice thrice" most commonly refers to a foundational mindfulness technique rooted in Buddhist practice, where an individual mentally repeats an emotion or state three times to detach from it.
And right now I am mentally repeating "rage, rage, rage" in an attempt to detach from it so I can try to get past the all-consuming anger which has been overwhelming me for days.
It's not working.
Yeah, I'm still so enraged that I can barely form rational thought.
I am about as mad as I've ever been.
I've written, re-written, and deleted a post about it too many times to count and I'm exhausted.
I suppose I'll see how it goes tomorrow. Maybe I'll have calmed down by then and think of a better approach that won't be a scorch-the-earth approach.
But I doubt it.
As a serious insomniac for decades, I am not used to being so exhausted that I can't keep my eyes open. I'm pretty sure it's my brain trying to adapt to my vision catastrophe going on in my right eye. I'm constantly having floating black spots that my brain has to filter out as not being bugs or flies... and blurry spots in motion where my brain is having to fill in the blanks... and hazy spots on the edges my brain is trying to see through. Not ideal. But don't you worry about the bullets... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts...now...
• Licenses for Luddites! Just a reminder that the Washington State government is regressive as fuck when it comes to digital driver's licenses... but is very quick to tout us as a bastion of technology around election time. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell blow through tax dollars like Kleenex for everything else... why not help us keep up with (checks notes) West Virginia and Arkansas on stuff like this. It's fucking embarrassing, and we're tired of having to carry a license around when our phones are already with us. We're nearly half-way through the states who have them. Will Washington get in before #25 hits? Let's take a look at where we're at, shall we?
Spoiler Alert: Not. Fucking. Likely. If they haven't pulled the trigger by now, they've likely got zero plans. They've got Big Pharma checks to cash, and that takes priority over everything.
• Politics in America! Tell me this isn't how politics work here...
You can't. Because this is exactly how politics work here. No bill is passed "clean" any more... there's always some horrific bullshit tacked onto it.
• Narrative! Nobody takes the minutes to verify crap like this before sharing it with the world, and nobody who follows them cares if it's true or not... they believe it because they want to believe it.
Yes. Mamdani went to the ruins of the church... AND DEMOLISHED IT WITH HIS OWN TWO HANDS!! That's how much he hates Christians! Jesus Christ. Do these assholes EVER research this bullshit they shovel? There are people who read this crap AND BELIEVE IT!! And they vote. But not in New York... a place THEY HAVE LIKELY NEVER EVEN BEEN.
• Cake! "No one’s gotten a cake for me before. I bought my own cake in the middle of the night and blew out my own candles alone." (Here's a link in case TikTok is being a dick)...
@copic_pereira Last year, I could only get Connor a cake but his reaction was priceless ❤️ We had just started sharing our lives here and we had planned a small party at our place for our close friends. During the party, we went Live on here, and you guys noticed that I had vanished for a good while. That’s when Connor found me in the bathroom in excruciating pain, trying to not ruin his party. Turns out I had gallstones, and I spent almost a week in the hospital. So, we never got to properly celebrate his birthday and we changed that this year. Thank you so much for all of you that follows us!!! It was only possible because of you ❤️❤️❤️ #fyp #birthday #mlm #marriedlife #couplegoals ♬ Married Life (From "Up") - Sergy el Som
It hurts my heart that there are people so cruel that they would want a fellow human be alone for the rest of their life because of who they love. This man found his person and his community. He's hurting nobody by existing. Let him pursue his happiness, celebrate his birthday with people who care about him, and live in peace. For God's sake... just be kind.
• "You didn't mention the donkey!" Given the abhorrent state of the world today, I often find myself scouring YouTube for something funny to distract me. And few things are as hilariously distracting as Would I Lie To You...
If you want more, there's a channel right here.
• Witchcraft! I love videos which explain science in a way you can understand it without having a science background. This one had me captivated from the start...
Wild stuff. And very cool.
Since it's been a full two hours since my last nap, I guess it's time.
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