This is my favorite time of year, but mostly for meteorological reasons, certainly not societal ones. People are incredibly annoying this time of year. Without getting into a big thing, I find it strange that people will suddenly festoon their rotten hovels with multicolor lights, garish and cartoonish balloons, and extravagant light shows choreographed to typically bitchin’ music. Which is great. I’m all for it. But then, right around the new calendar year, they take all that shit down, and I guess pretend it never happened and wait until next Thanksgiving rolls around so they can put the cool shit up again? Why? Why not rock the laser shows all year round? It doesn’t have anything to do with Jesus, so take Christmas out of the equation. If it’s some oppressive HOA, they don’t suddenly rewrite the rules for one month out of the year. Why not stick it to those drones all year round? If it’s because you somehow think the neighbors won’t be completely annoyed my you if you engage in this behavior from the last week of November to the last week of December, wrong there too: your neighbors are annoyed by you during the holiday season. So what is the reason? The reason is, of course, that you are slaves to societal pressures and allowances you don’t even seem to be aware of. That’s the best case scenario. It’s far worse if you are aware of them and just decide to go along with it.

N.P.: “Moonbeam Levels – 2019 Remaster” – Prince

It’s a holiday in The Matrix today, dear reader, which is a cue for yrs. truly to not leave the house. If you partook of this holiday, I hope you did so with vigor and enthusiasm, and I hope you found it rewarding.

N.P.: “Staralfur” – Sigur Ros

Our culture is just the worst, dear reader, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. But god damn people are fucking dim. I don’t know how you deal with it.

The good news is today I got paid a not insignificant amount to sit in a pub for two hours and eat bacon. The world works in mysterious ways.

N.P.: “Take Me with U” – Prince

My old friend The Rain is coming back to town tomorrow. Finally. It’s been far too long. I get it though. He’s kind of a moody dude. Rather particular about where he spends his time. I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t spend much time in Anhedonia if I was a force of nature either. Wait a minute…I am a force of nature. So what the fuck am I doing here? Maybe I’ll ask him that when we meet up for lunch tomorrow.

N.P.: “Hush” – Gotthard

Guess who’s coming to town, dear reader…go on, guess. Since you can’t guess, I will tell you: Winter! Sorry, Fall…Summer ate up all your time with his rude refusal to get the hell out, never mind what the calendar has say about it. So fine…we’re going to go bone dry fire weather to to subfreezing temperatures and rain/snow in roughly 36 hours. We don’t need no meteorological segues. I’ll take it. The nights are now longer than the days and shall only get more so for another month. Let there be night.

N.P.: “Life’s a Bitch” – Accept

Today started and stayed with me in one of the most foul moods I’ve ever been in. Just a mushroom-cloud-layin’ day. Actually had to quit doing errands and come home for the greater good and to avoid a body count.
But it ended up ending pretty well. Yeah.

N.P.: “Small World” – Skold

Unrealistically tired. But still managing to get an impressive amount of writing done, and I think most of it is really good (jury’s still out on the rest, but it’s probably pretty damn good too (been on a bit of an inexplicable roll, lately)). Maybe exhaustion is the key. Maybe surfing the edge of complete psychological and physical collapse in the fuel I need.
So be it. Back to work.

N.P.: “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” – Fantomas

Got nothing tonight, dear reader. Too exhausted. On all fronts.

N.P.: “Let’s Go Crazy” – the one and only PPL MVR

Wrote a lot today. Didn’t do too badly yesterday either. But these three hour nights have to stop. Good lord. In fact, on that note, I’m going to bed.

N.P.: “Slither” – Velvet Revolver

Reader, what the fuck are we going to do? This culture…it is absolutely intolerable. I suspect you feel the same way. Like Idiocracy isn’t nearly as funny as it used to be because it fucking came true. Arguably the worst, least interesting, and stupidest culture in the history of the world. And we’re stuck here. In the middle of it. I have felt very much as if I’m in The Matrix much of the time during the last few months. Just walking around, looking at these people and inside thinking, “You poor pathetic fucks. Everything you know is wrong. Everything you think is of paramount importance or essential is at best an illusion, at worst, a brutally cruel joke.”
I don’t know, dear reader. But I’m open to suggestions.

N.P.: “Weatherman” – Dead Sara