I’m in a bad mood, and I suspect my entire day has been ruined.  I’m not sure.  I’m waiting to hear back from management, but the more I think about it, the more I really do think my entire day  has, in fact, been ruined.  This best plan at this point, I think, is for me to go drink.

N.P.: “Blizzard” – Erdling

Today in Substance over Symbolism news, there was, last weekend, a Black Lives Matter™ protest in Seattle held by mostly white people (natch).  They were inexplicably sitting on the I-5 freeway, which had been closed (presumably buy the same awful racist cops that BLM™ was protesting).  Somehow, a black dude in a Jag snuck onto the freeway going the wrong way up on off ramp, gunned the engine, and mowed down a few BLM™ protesters, killing one.  The driver then sped off.  When he was stopped and arrested a short time later, he showed no visible signs of impairment, expressed concern for the well-being of the pedestrians he’d struck, and ultimately tested negative for intoxicants.
So using our equation: empty gesture/virtue signal: white people standing stupidly on a closed freeway to be seen actively “helping” black people.  The Actual Really Real World Reality: a white woman gave her life so another black person gets life in prison.  Congrats again, BLM™…your body count is getting fairly impressive.

N.P.: “Run With The Devil” – Me and That Man, Jergen Munkeby

Seems like a good time to see how all of BLM’s defunding/abolishing the police is going now that they’ve had a full month to show the world how far the African-American community can soar when under the leadership of Black Lives Matter, not being constantly oppressed and killed by the patently racist police.  Violent crime in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Detroit is up…way up, in some cases up 150% – 200% from this time last year.  The six babies that were shot to death grabbed most of the headlines: Secoriea Turner, age 8 (pictured far right, above) in Atlanta, Royta De’Marco Giles, also age 8 (pictured second to the right, above) in Hoover, Alabama, Davon McNeal, 11, in Washington DC (second from the left, above), Natalia Wallace, age 7, in Chicago, (pictured on the far left, above),  a 7-year-old boy in Autin, TX (not pictured or named), and a 6-year old boy in San Francisco (not pictured or named) are all dead.  Note that not one of these baby’s names appear on the BLM website.  There is no mention of any of the black lives lost this weekend.
Of course, those mentioned above were just the child murders that happened over the weekend.  In NYC, there were 44 shootings with a total of 63 victims.  In Chicago, 87 people were shot, 17 of which were fatalities.  If you add the black deaths that have occurred in the BLM autonomous zones, these numbers really add up.  For an organization calling itself Black Lives Matter, they seem to be stacking a lot of black bodies.
When the father of one of the children killed this weekend (Natalia Wallace) was asked if he thought there should be BLM protests for his daughter, he answered in the affirmative, but understood that those protests are only for victims of police violence.
So what I hear you saying is Black Lives Matter only if they are taken by the police, but otherwise, fuck ’em.

“The pretext of all of this, of course, was pursuing social justice and challenging institutional racism, and they used George Floyd for that.  They’re always trolling for other ‘George Floyds.  The head of Black Lives Matter went to Houston when a 7-year-old girl was killed and raised $100,000 in reward money while anticipating  that the person who killed her was white, only to discover that the murderer was black and so then it was not a story after that.  These people are really out to destroy civil society.  If a precinct can be taken over by a mob, then why not your home?  My message to guilty white people [is] stop helping us!  Just stop helping us!  There is blood on the hands of Black Lives Matter.”
~ Bob Woodson, ’60s civil rights leader

N.P.: “All the Best” – Processor

No invective tonight, dear reader.  Best of intentions, et cetera, et cetera, but a bunch of Life  happened, so I didn’t have appropriate time for invective composition.  So tomorrow, dear reader.  And tomorrow.   And tomorrow.

N.P.: “Lifehunger” – Vreid

It was a good enough day.  Nighttime trips to the bathroom have turned into “time to go kill whatever’s in the bathroom, then pee,” but if done with the proper perspective, the execution of inordinately sized arachnids can be a rather calming exercise.
Anyway, time got away from me today, so I have to be short here today.  But you can expect invective tomorrow.

N.P.: “In A Gadda Da Vida” – Slayer

A relatively lazy Sunday, dear reader.  ‘Twas called for.  Did a bunch of non-writing stuff.
I hope you’re doing well.

N.P.: “Guitars SUCK” – Bumblefoot

Just got to attend a virtual viewing of a rough cut of a friend’s feature film.  Most impressive.

N.P.: “Look To Your Orb For The Warning” – Monster Magnet

I had to meet in person with a couple of people today…couldn’t be avoided.  So I went.  Wore a mask.  One guy had a mask, the other guy didn’t.  I know the guy that didn’t.  He’s a good guy.  But he refuses to wear a mask.  For him it’s political.  Which I don’t understand.
I probably don’t have any room to talk…the reason I wear my mask has nothing to do with COVID.  I’ve spent a significant amount of my adult life trying to figure out what line of work I could enter that would allow me to wear a mask in public.  I’ll I was ever able to come up with were Superhero and Terrorist, but both of those are really a lot of work.  And in their cases, you’re going to be too worried about super villains or murder drones to ever be able to relax in public in their masks.  I had just about given up trying to figure something out when BAM: pandemic.  Perfect!
Dearest reader, I wear this shit all the time.  I wear my mask when driving alone in my car.  I wear it around the house, even when there’s nobody around.  Wear it to sleep.  Wore it in the shower the other morning…that didn’t work out well at all.  But that’s not the point.  I don’t even know what the point is, if there even is one.  I do know that long after The Virus has ebbed, I’ll still be rocking a mask.  Even the most mundane interaction suddenly turns into the opening scene of something from the Mortal Kombat franchise when both parties are wearing masks.

N.P.: “Here” – Vast

An interesting day, dear reader, in a good way.  Nothing dramatic…just a slight shift in perspective.  Got a lot done….writing, music, a couple of other projects I’m working on.  Hoping for a similar day tomorrow.

N.P.: “Seven Souls” – William S. Burroughs/Bill Laswell