Man, I don’t even know if there’s a category or genre to put CIVIC CENTER in, or another musical act to use for a point of comparison. Minimal techno? I don’t know. Seems good for a chilly Halloween day though. Not that it’s horror punk or whatnot. It’s dark as hell. It’s… damn good.

It’s been two straight days of cold rain but work kept me mostly inside anyway. The weather alone wouldn’t have kept me inside but it was there. It was soothing in a way. I just leaned into the work, knocking out a couple 14 hour days in a row. There was music. There was my old dog checking in to make sure I hadn’t lapsed into catatonia. It was all good. I’ll get out today for a few hours and walk it off. Halloween should add another spin on the day, into the evening. An added charge. I’m excited about it actually. It makes me happy.

I’ve successfully avoided most of the election cycle ugliness for the last couple weeks. Voting a couple days ago was as simple as standing quietly on a long line and the official election day is a few days away. It’s not going to end quickly though. There are a lot of write-ins to be counted this time around and it will be long, drawn out and contentious. There seems to be no question to me that Orange Fucktrumpet will be re-elected but might as well get used to that right now. Were he to be abducted by aliens never to be seen again, the ideas and ideals that propped him up all this time are not going to go away. That’s what we are dealing with, and people seem to forget that. Getting him out of the driver’s seat is more symbolic than anything else. The problem isn’t him. It’s the rest of us. You can’t really say that The United States is just ugly and/or lazy. We brought it to this and it’s us we have to fix. That’s not going to happen overnight. Change is ugly. A group isn’t that different than an individual. The wound has to be open to heal, or you just get an abscess. Again.

The wound has to heal open in the open air.

I’m thankful for COVID-19 in that respect, for uncovering the wound. We’ll see what’s next. I’ll take are of me in the meantime. That’s something I have more sway with.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

The genius in this entreaty inspires me more and more every year. It’s brought me so much more peace and resolve. I’ve mostly stopped fighting things that are bigger than I am. I’ve been able to heal my open wounds.

Anyway…

Anyway…