Good morning. Hello. How are you? #375
Vaccinations, weird paintings, the crystalize filter in Photoshop, Key Lime Pie Kit Kats, verdicts, Apple events, Smiths-Simpsons, The Nevers
Good morning! Hello. How are you? I am good. Though I feel kinda like ass. Yesterday morning, at the bright and early hour of 8 AM, I got my second Moderna dose out in a small town called Moncure, NC, population 709. In the grand scheme of things, I feel fine, but every joint in my body is sore. I feel like I have a bad hangover. Luckily, I have extensive experience with bad hangovers, so, you know. I can handle it. Also this is the exact opposite of what Kingsley Amis, in one his five majestic books on drinking, called the “metaphysical hangover.” Because getting a vaccine for this shit-ass disease does not inspire any existential dread in my whatsoever. It’s been five weeks since my first shot. Not sure why they spread them so far apart. I got my first shot something like two weeks before Emma got hers, but she got the one-and-done J&J vaccine, and was fully vaccinated before I even got my second shot.
I feel like six of my friends also got their second shot yesterday? Well, congrats to you all! What’s it like in your town? Can pretty much anyone who wants the shot get it now? Here’s a comment button so you can tell me!
Anyway, here is the obligatory photo. I did not raise a ruckus when I got the first shot, because I am neurotically, insanely sensitive to causing people jealousy. I knew rationally that the photos and talking about it had a use, since there are people out there that are still debating the vaccine. But I just couldn’t do it. For a month, I only admitted it when directly asked. I did, however, feel such a profound sense of euphoria when I got that first shot. I drove down the entirety of Pittsboro-Moncure “Highway” laughing maniacally. The second shot did not arouse as much euphoria. I did giggle a few times, though. The night before, a friend texted me that he had to fly home to his parents because his mom’s reaction to the second Moderna shot was so severe she went to the ER. So, you know, I was getting a little nervous. All seems well, though.
People be all like “when you’re posting your vaccine card be sure to blur out your personally-identifiable-information!” As if finding out someone’s birthday on the internet is a difficult thing. But the “crystalize” filter in Photoshop has long been my favorite filter for censoring information, and I had a bit of hankering to use it again, so we’ll play it safe. Second time I’ve used the beloved crystalize filter this week. Missed you, old friend.
Shit and now you know my real name’s Richard.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to post the photo this time, either, but… fuck it. Two different friends last night that they were dealing with some vaccine hesitancy in their family, and man, I am here to tell you that being vaccinated is awesome. If only the people suffering bad side effects speak out, it really warps the perception of those side effects.
BUT, when I was planning on not posting a photo, I took this photo of this amazing painting outside of the restroom at the clinic in Moncure. Get ready. It’s… really something. Trigger warning, NSFW, except really not? Well, you be the judge:
Is that a painting or what? Man. It was right outside the restrooms, though, which were also labeled as nursing rooms, so in a way it’s kinda appropriate? Also, it’s kind of good? I have a lot of feelings about this painting. There was no label, unfortunately.
Just back from the Walmart for my weekly shopping excursion, and big news! They have more of the Apple Pie Kit Kats, but even more exciting, there is a new flavor! Key Lime Pie Kit Kat. I am very excited to try it later today. I will keep you apprised.
The big news, of course, being the Chauvin verdict. My mom, Emma and I all watched it live. It was such a relief. And I absolutely did not expect it so quickly, and I absolutely did not expect him to be found guilty. And of course there’s so much more to be done. Word on “The Hill” is that Republican congressional members are privately relieved because it will take the heat off having to vote for any police reform bills. And of course even as this trial and verdict were happening, police killed several more black Americans. I have nothing new to say here, but, personally, I felt relief, and that’s about it. I didn’t feel joy, and more to the point, I didn’t feel all those smug-ass feelings I would have felt when I was, like, 20 about how “See? America is still a place of justice and fairness,” haha big nope. Not one little bit. Not even an ounce of “cool now we can get back to normal.” Not one ounce.
Could also talk about Maxine Waters, and the asshole judge who said publicly that she might be giving the defense a reason to appeal, even though the jury was already sequestered, and she didn’t say anything they didn’t already know. I do think, though, that the imagery of war and violence in our protest world should probably be toned down. But even saying that, right now, is a cave to the Republicans because the word “confrontational” is not the language of war. Ridiculous. And if anyone now gave the defense a leg to stand on in their appeals, it was that fucking judge. There’s so much to unpack on language and codification and incitement, but I’m not a linguist. I will leave it to others. And draw a line here:
Big Apple event yesterday. I’m excited AirTags are finally out — not that you can buy them yet. I had a set in my cart but I made the mistake of trying to get them engraved and by the time that was done, they were all gone, and the site isn’t even pretending there’s a timeframe for getting them back in stock, which, you go Apple. They also fixed the Apple TV remote which is awesome, but I’m slightly annoyed you have to spent fifty dollars just to get the remote fixed. That’s a full third of the price of a new Apple TV. Lame. Then there’s the new iMac, which looks pretty cool, but is a total misfire by Apple and I am annoyed. The fact that there’s no 27” version is insane. And four point five k display? WTF is that? 5k or don’t bother. God.
The new iMac is a not new. It should have been launched with the new M1 laptops and Mac Mini late last year. Yes, it has a new case, and yes, it’s pretty, but it’s still on the M1. Apple spent, like, a year and extraordinary effort mapping out a roadmap for Apple Silicon, and it was gonna start in the low end first, then move to the midrange, and then move to the high end. But a 24” iMac? That is low-end. So, now, eight months after they launched Apple Silicon, when we are all expecting an M1x or an M2 or something, with a bit more power, what do we get? Sorry! The whole timeline is a lie! Which, for me, waiting for the very last Apple Silicon product they’re gonna launch at the end of this, the Mac Pro, means my wait just got eight months longer? Maybe? Who knows! Screw the roadmap! Look at the pretty colors! Also it looks like the new iPad keyboard! Also the new iPad pro has an M1 in it! Wait what? What does the M even stand for??? Why bother? iPads have run on the A-Series. The A-series was already Apple Silicon! A for Apple! If you wanted a new, faster chip for your new iPad Pro, make a new, faster A-series ship! What does this gain? What is going on here?
Gah.
A friend who reads these only on FB texted me yesterday to tell me about a missing link, and I told her about the Substack version cuz she had missed it, and it occurred to me that not all of you guys are reading every word, every day, so you’re gonna have to get on that, mmm kay? No, that’s fine, I don’t care, but I do think I am going to leave the Email link in the comments pretty much every day for a while.
We watched the Simpsons episode with Benedict Cumberbatch playing a fake version of Morrissey and it was pretty good! I haven’t watched the Simpsons in, like, 10 years? Well, a new episode. It is mind-boggling that that show is still going on. And I just can’t… I can’t get over the fact that no one’s aged. It was totally funny but also made sense for the first, like, 10 seasons but it was super weird coming back to the Simpsons after all these years and finding out that Bart is still 10 or whatever. I felt so bad for him. He’ll never get to grow up. It must be hell. That poor guy. And the complete lack of evolution in Homer and Marge’s marriage. What a nightmare. There are the seeds for a sort of Chucky-style horror film there. I’m surprised no one has done it.
Anyway, the mockery of Morrissey and the Smiths and whatnot was pretty great. I like how they said he had spent all his money in frivolous lawsuits and then the next day the real Morrissey comes out and says “I sure wish I could sue them but I am broke.” Man, they nailed that one. I also liked the part where he shot hot dogs over the audience. And the fat version of him was just so brilliantly dead on. Also enjoyed the animated Johnny Marr in the background, saying nothing. That was pretty swell.
Then it turned out Emma had work to do, and I had all this unexpected free time. Jane was asleep, I’d watched all my YouTubers, and now I had, like, two hours to myself and I didn’t know what to do. I thought about playing Civ for a bit, but in the end I checked out the first episode of the new HBO or HBO Max or something series The Nevers, which Joss Whedon created, and directed the first two episodes, and wrote them, but now Joss Whedon supposedly has nothing to do with because it turned out again that Joss Whedon is a bad man and it would be especially weird to have a new Joss Whedon show on the same app as Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League, which is the set where all (this round) of the Joss Whedon complaints started. So now he has nothing to do with it, and Jane Espenson is showrunning it, and Jane Espenson is cool, so I guess everything is okay. Also Joss Whedon was totally going to leave that show eventually, anyway, like he did with Agents of SHIELD.
The show itself was okay, but.. I don’t really care about Victorian times, or, rather, the pastichified version that we get on television. Nor do I particularly like Steampunk. And I always find it tedious the way these shows have to contort themselves to get rid of racism and whatnot so they can have a diverse cast in a time period where that wouldn’t happen. It’s also weird the way these shows are, like, in an alternate universe or something? I guess when I say “these shows” here I am referring to this show and Bridgerton, which could totally be in the same universe. It’s Victorian times but racism is reduced to “tolerable” levels — not gone, just turned down to where it’s only individual-bad-person-characters racism and not larger-society racism because who wants to see a show wrestle with that. And then, like… The tech is always ridiculously advanced. Like these people have electricity and now all of the sudden they can make an iPhone or some shit. And there’s no explanation as to what’s going on here. It’s like earth and our timeline but not? This is super common in fiction, actually, and I always feel a little disconcerted about it. Just once I’d love them to explain it in some way, but they never do. We’re just supposed to ignore it. Which, I guess, fine. I can do that. There are these dragon novels I love that do exactly that and it never bothered me there. But, boy. Physicists might make fun of English majors, but fucking English majors had parallel universes down centuries before physicists figured it out.
Despite all that, though, and the pointless libertine character who only gets to be pansexual and whatnot because he’s white and super rich but we’re supposed to enjoy it anyway, there was something to the show a bit, I guess. I might watch another episode. Maybe. The big end-scene flashback made it *just* interesting enough I might keep going.
I took a picture of Roy the Cat that I was gonna put in here right here, but it’s too blurry. So here’s a photo of the fam on Sunday morning when Jane and I went to go bug Emma in bed like a normal family except we didn’t bring pancakes or some shit.
Today’s mix is a moody and quiet one. Volume 24. I just finished it, seconds ago, because I needed to add Car Wash Hair by Mercury Rev because I love that song so much and it always almost makes me cry. I almost should put it on the “most depressing vol 2” I am working on, but it’s a different sort of sadness. Wistful sadness. Nostalgic. Romantic. Not depression. Tinged with hope.
Number two’s got me confused, hope there will always be numbers one and three.
Oh god, I am quoting lyrics. Lord help me. It’s the vaccine! It’s the vaccine!
Also, Loamlands. Strong recommend. Go listen to everything you can find my Loamlands. So good. Abby and I saw them randomly at the back room at Cat’s Cradle years ago and I’ve loved them ever since. The main woman in the band owns the Pinhook, in Durham, which is easily one of the best venues in America.
Okay time to go get Jane, and make breakfast while my mom and her PT move about the house doing odd exercises. Jane will say hi to “grandma’s friend.” Jane pronounces the D in “grandma” now. It’s a whole interesting thing. “Gramma” is a perfectly acceptable name for a grandparent but now for some reason she’s pronouncing the D. Very odd.
Have a lovely day!
In Colorado, shots are open to anyone 16 and up. It is still somewhat difficult to get an appointment in the Denver area. I wasn't able to find appointments at any retail pharmacies. Ended up going through the state appointment hotline and went to a rec center 15 minutes away for my first shot. Some friends have gone as far as Greeley and Grand Junction for shots.
LOL, my first thought with that mural was "isn't that baby a bit young to be chewing gum, never mind blowing bubbles?"
i can't wait to post my photo when i get vax 2 (may the fourth can't get here soon enough!)—especially because i recently found out that one of my cousins has turned into an antivaxxer. those people are out there, so i gotta do my part to normalize science. (jesus, "normalize science." i can't believe i wrote that.)