Happy Pride Month

Delayed greetings, but Happy Pride Month! Reading and watching the news (as I do), there are a lot of reasons to be concerned over the, shall we say, temperature around the country involving gay rights, transgender folks, etc. Just when you think things are moving forward, idiots try to force the country to move two steps back. Why can't people mind their own business and let people live their lives? I don't know. 

I was in Louisville, Kentucky last year during pride month during a road trip to Alabama and the visitor's center gave me this jaunty beer koozie shown below. Thanks, Louisville! The story I've been working on (seeminly forever) takes place in Louisville and it features two characters from my last story, Ray's Friend, that also takes place in Louisville. I found Louisville totally fascinating while I was there. I really need to get back there and check out more the of city. 

Huntsville Rocks!

I'm back from a trip to visit family in Alabama and my sister and I spent last weekend in Huntsville. What a great place! Neither of us had ever been there, but we had a great time visting the Space Center (see photo below) and the art museum. We also enjoyed tasty $8 margaritas and live music at The Camp and equally great tacos (and more margaritas) at Taco Mama. Huntsville is the kind of city in Alabama that I'd actually consider living in. It didn't seem to be filled with hard-core MAGA folks. I'm sure those folks are there, but I feel like you've got a fighting chance of largely avoiding them while you're there. 

Make it Stop!

As I've said in previous posts, I'm trying not to watch too much TV these days because all of that TV time is cutting into my time for reading and writing. I work a day job and, after that job ends, I find myself watching television. One of the annoying things about watching television (that's not on a subscription platform like Netflix) is the number of annoying commercials you have to sit through (or flip from). I swear, if I see another commercial for Shriner's Hospital (sorry kids), Lume butt crack/underboob/underarm/foot deordorant, or some chick singing about how she's got a heart like a truck, I'm going to lose it. I understand advertisers need to advertise, but do the commericals have to be so long and annoying? And any commercials advertising for "low T" products automatically triggers the mute button for me. The same goes for the Shriner's kids. (Sorry, not sorry Alex and Caleb!) Jesus, make it stop.

In addition to trying to cut my TV viewing time, I'm also taking German lessons. Why, you ask? Because I'd like to go to Germany next year, Berlin to be exact. I'm going to try and make that happen. But, in the meantime, I want to learn some basic German. I'm not trying to be fluent (because that's not happening), but I want to learn how to introduce myself, say where I'm from, and understand a little of the language. It's a hard language to learn. Any language is hard to learn when you're older, but I'm giving it a shot. I realize many Germans speak English, but I still want to try to speak and understand their native tongue in the event that I actually do get there next year. Fourteen weeks and twelve more weeks to go! 

Guten tag! 

Read a Book? Not in Florida!

I just read an article about certain school textbooks being rejected for use in Florida public schools over supposedly objectionable material (mainly dealing with racial issues). Because I don't live in Florida or have any kids in that school system, I don't have a dog in this fight but, as a writer, I'm annoyed with this push to ban books or remove material that the governor and his minions find objectionable because it doesn't jibe with their personal, conservative beliefs. Another ridiculous DeSantis fight (along with sparring with Mickey Mouse). This guy is such a flake. God help us all if he rises to an even higher political title in this country. Just when I thought Donny T was the worse of the worst, here comes Rhonda in the race to give him a run for his money. Ugh.

Well, I guess if school kids in Florida can't read about civil rights issues, racial equality, and the LGBTQ+ community in school, the Internet is always available to try and get some information on your own (if you can navigate through the garbage). 

Over and Out

Is James Corden finally done? Has he taken himself back across the pond?  I feel like he's been "leaving" his late-night gig for more than a year. I was glad to hear this week that his show is finally over and out. I don't think I ever watched one episode of Corden's show because I find him annoying and not funny at all. He can't hit the road fast enough.

Someone else who's "over and out" this week is Tucker Carlson. I didn't watch his show either, but I was surprised to hear that Fox booted him this week. My sister actually texted me about his departure before I read the news myself online. Interesting. I figured some heads would roll at Fox after that huge settlement, but I didn't think Carlson's would be one of them. When you fire a ratings giant like Carlson, there must be a damn good reason for it. Then again, Bill O'Reilly (remember him?) used to be a ratings giant also and he got the boot. Of course, he had a lawsuit against him (as Carlson does), so maybe Fox figured it was easier to cut bait in spite of the ratings. At the end of the day, Fox is still a business and, as the saying goes, one monkey doesn't stop the show! I'm sure the powers that be at Fox will elevate or find some other clown to take Tucker's place and spew their bullshit.

Keeping with the "over and out" theme, Don Lemon was also cut loose from CNN and tweeted that he was "stunned" that he'd lost his job with the network. Stunned? Really, Don? He must truly be delusional if he didn't realize his job was in jeopardy for some time. All of the chatter about his behavior on and off camera and the whole "past her prime" thing stacked the deck against him (rightly so). I'm surprised Lemon lasted as long as he did. What kills me about TV personalities like Carlson and Lemon is that if they had behaved in the same way in a normal workplace, they surely would have been out of a job a lot sooner. 

Thanks, MTA!

With all of the bad news lately, I decided to post about some good news today.

The last time I was in New York was in February of 2020 before Covid hit. I had a MetroCard (shown below) so I could ride the subway while I was there. I kept that card because it still had money on it to use the next time I was in New York. But when Covid happened, any plans to travel to New York were gone and the card expired. However, the MTA allows you to get any funds from an expired card transferred to a new card (as long as the expiration date wasn't over two years). Since my card expired 11/30/21, I was still within that two-year expiration time so I mailed my card to the MTA to request a new card and a transfer of those funds. I figured I had about a 50-50 chance of actually getting a new card but, lo and behold, a new card came in the mail today from the MTA with my $8.00 balance added. Woo hoo! I'm planning to go to New York this summer and that card will come in handy. Thanks, MTA! I doubted you, but you came through! (And, yes, I am cheap and glad I got my $8!)

Good Luck with That!

Well, Chicago will soon have a new mayor, Brandon Johnson. I wish him the best because he's got his work cut out for him! Chicago will also serve as the host city for the next Democratic National Convention. Good luck with that, Chicago! In theory, it sounds like a boon for the city. Lots of visitors, a flow of money into the city, etc. I hope when the time comes the city is ready for it. The last thing Chicago needs is to have something terrible happen to a visitor who's come to town for the convention. The publicity is bad enough for the city right now because of crimes committed again people who live in and around here! Imagine the coverage if some crime is committed against a visitor. It'll be on a non-stop loop over the national news.

Moving on...

As I'm seriously contemplating getting a new car this year, I keep reading about the national push to have people buy electronic vehicles. Yeah, later for that. I want to know I can keep my car moving by getting gas, not from having to find a charging station. As someone who occasionally takes road trips, I know I can find a gas station readily available. I can't say the same for a charging station. I understand the environmental reasons that electronic vehicles are preferred over those run with gas, but that alone would not convince me to get an EV. I'll have to try and help save the planet some other way.