Good morning. Hello. How are you? #1053
Nick Cave advertising on Facebook, Biden and RFKJ, Jane's massive resistance
Good morning. Hi. Howdy. Brr. It is 25 degrees out. I made the mistake of telling Jane it was cold outside, so she latched onto that, out of cunning or fear, I know not, and decided she was not going to go to school because of it. I tried everything, for 45 minutes or so, but I could not get her to go. My temper was rising. I gave up. She immediately tried to get me to go play with her and I was like “yeah no, man. I have a ton of work I do not have time to play with you today this is not a reward.” She started crying. I left and went to work. I am a failure as a parent and it is depressing and I hate it and I accidentally left my space heater on last night in my office so I probably doubled the electric bill and I am stressed about work and I am sort of spiraling here and it is very, very unpleasant, Calgon take me away, and who wants to read a bunch of words from a dude on the fringe of a nervous breakdown, but I will loathe myself even more if I don’t finish these words today and also writing is a very therapeutic thing so here I am. I keep telling people — a phenomenal number of people are bugging me already, at 7:54 AM — that I am busy, and I have “work,” which is true, but also they all know when I say I have “work” that I really mean I have to write this GMHHAY, because everyone knows about it, and, of course, they know that’s not really “work” per se, so really I ought to say something like “i’m at wit’s end and my sanity demands that I go do some writing because I don’t have a therapist ATM and my words are my therapist” woooooooo.
Like four people have said to me in the last week or so “I don’t know how you do all of the things you do” and the answer is endless, unbelievable stress. Do not recommend. Though I don’t really know any other way to do it.
I really love life but it will do a number on you.
Listening to Fan Modine this morning, the enigmatic almost-pop star that was always hanging around my scene in Boston back in the day, briefly joining the Elevator Drops for the Halloween show at the Revolving Museum, one of the greatest parties of my life. I haven’t listened to him in twenty years. Spotify recently suggested him to me which I thought was pretty funny.
Man, this album is great I shoulda been less girl crazy and talked to him more.
God, now I can hear my patient, perfect wife behind the door cajoling Jane to go to school. She will almost certainly succeed and my perfect run of solo mornings will come to an end. Awesome.
Please enjoy this brilliant, Renaissance-esque photo of Keely in the dryer that Emma took last night. Imagine taking a photo this good.
I have a friend who is repeatedly texting me trying to convince me that RFK Jr is the future and Biden can’t win and he’s never been so sure of anything and it really is depressing. I am trying to be kind and patient. It is all the more painful that this dude lives in a battleground state. I went and read RFK Jr’s entire website. It was utterly non-controversial. I mean, it is in absolute denial about the reality of how legislation works, it is utterly devoid of any actual policies, just aspirational stuff like “we will come together and fix the environment.” There is a hilarious part where he says that Putin will stop the war in Ukraine because he will ask him to and offer to move our nukes. I also read his Ballotpedia page and I can’t remember whether it said this on his home page or Ballotpedia or maybe it was his Wikipedia I don’t know I have spent way too much time on this already, anyway, he says something along the lines of he does not want to take your guns away, he believes that the second amendment unequivocally gives citizens the rights to guns — this is factually incorrect and belies an utter lack of knowledge on the topic but hey this is America. But then he says that to protect our children he will make schools as secure as airports if he has to and no no no fuck that fuck that guy. Talk about a recipe for the destruction of American civil discourse through the rise of incompetent home schooling.
Also he has not a single word whatsoever about abortion on his site. This is the same tactic Bannon uses, of course: he pretends that his “important issues” “trancend left-right politics” because he convinces “Democrats” like Naomi Wolf to become raging lunatics about COVID denialism or something, and he Very Studiously avoids 2FA topics or Abortion topics, because he knows that the positions that the right holds on these topics are anathema to most Americans, so they Just Don’t Talk About Them, and people let themselves believe that they aren’t the main focus of the party. I THINK underneath it all, RFK is pro-choice, but you can’t tell, and the fact that he’s embarrassed to put it on his site speaks volumes.
I don’t know what it is with Biden but man people just don’t want to vote for the guy. I mean, lots of people do, but he really does manage to piss people off. His position on Israel is, I profoundly hope, a principled one because man did it fuck him on the youth vote. The economy’s fine but people hate it and no one is really sure why, though a dude told me yesterday he thinks its because people compare their year to the year before, not two, three, four years before, and most people had a better year last year than this year, and I know I certainly did. Of course, that is the Fed’s fault not Biden’s but hey this is the average American we’re talking about if they know the Fed at all it’s through Republican hystericism or a misunderstanding of Nicholas Cage’s National Treasure movies.
Apple tells me “hystericism” is not a word, Fuck you, Apple spelling. “Hsytericism” is different than “Hysteria.” It is the cynical use of hysteria as a political tool. Facts.
I mean there is not a single politician who speaks to me on my issues, for which I could affirmatively vote and say “yes, I believe in this person.” I can think of a million people better than Biden to run but also can’t think of a single person better than Biden to run. It’s moot. I don’t care. I will vote for whatever name is on the ballot that is not Trump. Biden is as fine as the next person.
I think the thing about Biden is he is managing to piss off every individual Democratic subgroup. Fucked everyone on COVID, fucked the youth on student loans and the Palestine issue. Fucked the olds on COVID and… I don’t know. Okay maybe not. Hey it was just a theory.
Also this thing where leftists tell me not to worry about RFK Jr. because he will take more votes from Trump while they, leftists, are going to vote for him and don’t see how their very actions are evidence against them relying on a single weak-ass, years-early poll to validate their selfishness is really a bit much for me. If RFK Jr were going to take more votes from Trump than Biden, I would be having conversations about RFK Jr with my Republican friends (and yes I still have them) than Democratic ones and I am not.
Biden has to thread so many needles and it’s almost certainly going to be impossible. I mean, he did it last time, 90 yard touchdown on fourth and 12 or something, but I don’t know how he can do it again. He has to convince the kids to vote for him, not just grudgingly but in droves, because they are fickle and entitled and think the world has some actual stability that it can survive Trump, and they’ll skip a vote rather than vote for someone tactically. And he blew all his goodwill with them on Israel. He has to overcome this absolutely ridiculous New Hampshire primary bullshit. He has to stop the RFK momentum. He has to hope something, anything, makes a dent on Trump’s numbers, but at the exact right time, because if the dude gets convicted too early and gives Haley momentum, she will beat him. He has to not let the Republican voter supression (which is still happening!) work (Mark Elias please don’t die). He has to win Georgia again. And Arizona. And all the states he won before. Michigan Wisconsin. It’s like ten hat tricks in a row for him to win.
I can’t fucking handle it.
Stop it, Rick, not a good day to think about it.
Let me ask you something: what is the deal with Nick Cave spending good American cash on Facebook ads for Cave Things? This is deeply weird to me. I mean, I suspect it’s not actually Nick doing this, but man. The most logical explanation is still deeply weird. Nick Cave has a manager and/or an admin/business partner and he has decided and directed this person that he wants Cave Things to be A Thing and a successful business, something beyond a mere merch shop. He has, of course, made his Nick’s Notes or whatever he calls them, kind of a successful advice column outside of his music life, so I guess he has decided to do it again. He is a good artist, there is no doubt about that. His wife is a great fashion designer. I have purchased things from Cave Things in the past, though the bloom is off that rose for me of late. But something about him spending cash on Facebook ads just… I dunno, man. That upsets me. I mean, at least he’s not spending money on Twitter ads.
Shit. How would I know. For all I know he is.
Oh right I was supposed to bring a car to my mom this morning hahahaha whoops.
Boy today would have been a good day to have a list of things to talk about ready to go. Sad I didn’t think to do that.
OMG important news break I have just learned that there will be a new Jesus and Mary Chain album next year, “Glasgow Eyes.”
Maybe things are looking up.
Didn’t have a playlist done but the one closest to being done was a goth one so that works and anyway joke’s on you, playlist, because I am 33 days away from not making them anymore (that’s a secret). But goth will do me just fine. Lotta crazy-ass new goth stuff that is just amazing. Love this Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter just a bonkers, terrifying album. I know Nick isn’t goth really but I threw him on here anyway cuz goths (used to) love him and it was topical.
I promise I will be better tomorrow.