Road debris sucks. That is all I have to say about yesterday's attempted grocery run.
Not so very long ago, I disparaged (the clientele of) Karens' Breakfast Nook.
This was a mistake. Not because the clientele (epitomized by Karenosaurus Rex — pictured to the right — who really doesn't get the linguistic gender dysphoria because it's not in good 'murikan English) has improved its behavior, but because I've been rather snootily informed that calling the restaurant(s) Karens' Breakfast Nook was too, well, declasse. Too working-class, too… common. So from now on, it will be Karens' Bruncherie. The menu won't change, though; neither will its affordability.
The clientele's parking ability on neighborhood streets, overpriced vehicles, and Klan-sheet complexion have not improved. I have seen one Asian customer in the last three months (a preteen accompanying a very caucasian couple, possibly an adopted kid), but five minutes later on my way back down the street they were seated inside — unmasked — and not outside where the public could see them without really looking. Which may have been intentional.
- Fortunately, I'm not in Georgia, so there's a decent chance there will be no more election commercials, no more nonsense other than vote tallying, for a couple months. Dammit, some antiscience nutjob from east of the mountains — currently he's just suppressing education as a local school board member — has just declared he's going to run for Governor in two years. Maybe he's hoping for an early endorsement from Ms Frowny (who got roundly whomped by a septuagenerian, but at least we've got about five years to find a replacement).
But Georgia is going to matter. At present, the anti-MAGA party can suffer no voting defections from their little club in the Senate, which in turn means kowtowing to two… what is the modern economic-focused equivalent of a Dixecrat, anyway? It needs all 50 to get to a tie, allowing Vice President Harris in her role as President of the Senate to break the tie (although she must be physically present to do so, which is going to prove Really Interesting as the presidential campaign ramps up starting in January 2024). And with the backlog of Senate-confirmable nominations at present, that's going to have long-term effects.
- Then there are the continuing claims by self-identified conservatives that Big Tech is biased against them, epitomized by their fundraising e-mails getting blocked by spam detectors. Well, guess what, assholes: That's what the spam detectors are supposed to do with spam. Unsolicited requests for money epitomize spam, notwithstanding how "important" it is. But then, I haven't been able to get my name off the various Heffalump fundraising lists for four decades because I have a presumably-archconservative affiliation (mind the mineshaft gap).
- It's rather pleasant to see a careful, well-considered piece advocating for more Black (and other melaninically-enhanced persons, too, one presumes) voices in publishing. Especially because the article focuses not on "author opportunities," but on the C-suite — or whatever its equivalent is at small publishers where "top management" actually engages with authors instead of playing golf with Important Benefactors. Probably at an Exclusive Club with a carefully-hushed history of various "exclusions"…
Whispers that "They'll still be ultimately controlled by white hedge-fund managers and white inherited ownership," while ultimately true, are not the point here. Until people wake up and realize that the entertainment industry is — with few exceptions — a plantation economy (just look at so-called professional sport, not neglecting college football and basketball!), Ms McGilchrist's article will just have to outline a path to achievable progress. And not nearly fast enough; one wonders if this recently-blocked proposed merger would have been "necessary" if any of the control persons or top managers had, over the years, not been a close match for photocopier paper.
- And some day, achievable progress in respresenting disability isn't going to be as hard, or as unsatisfyingly impaired by compromises.