Month: September 2018

V-Log: Theory — Nick Ayers & A Resistance Sleeper Cell In The White House West Wing

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

This v-log is just me rambling about this ever-so-interesting theory.

V-Log: Mulling The State Of The #Scifi #Novel I’m #Writing In The Context Of Its Wall Plot-Point

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

In this one, I talk a lot about the status of my novel as a first draft as well as the presence of a wall as a plot point.

V-Log: The State Of The #Scifi #Novel I’m #Writing As Of Sept. 9th, 2018

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

This is the farthest I’ve ever gotten writing a novel in any serious manner and really the point is I need to shut up and get to writing. I have all this free time on my hands and I need to just do it. I have to stop making excuses.

V-Log: The State Of The #Scifi #Novel I’m #Writing As Of September 8th, 2018

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

As an added bonus, here’s the first scene of the novel as it currently stands. It’s going to change dramatically going forward, but I’m such an extrovert, I can’t help myself and feel like giving you a glimpse of what the novel is going to be like.

Tagger Wendt began what would arguably be the most significant event day in human history to date in his late father’s home just outside the small town of Chatham, Virginia. To say he was at a crossroads in his personal life was something of an understatement.

Though 35 now, he’d lived a solid 10 years as an expatriate in Seoul, South Korea. He had squeezed the experience for every opportunity it offered. During the course of his decade in Asia, he’d grown to be a very large fish in the very small pond of the Seoul expatriate community. By the time he left upon learning of his father’s death, he had been in no particular order, a DJ, the lead singer of a rock band, a TV personality, a college-level English instructor, a magazine publisher and a writer for one of the two major daily English-language newspapers in the country.

His father’s death had been what he felt was a wake-up call. If he didn’t do something about his life now, he was destined to be one of those bitter expats that settled in Seoul who hated the place but never managed to leave.

Coming back to the States after such an adventure had immediately resulted in significant reverse culture shock. He just did not know what he could do next. He had half a mind to move to New York City and try his hand there, but he felt he needed to center himself for just a bit before attempting something so dramatic.

It was a lovely summer Saturday and old habits dying hard, he decided to do some day drinking. He remember that there was a great dive bar called Lee’s Retreat just across the border in North Carolina and he proceeded to make his way there. It took just about 40 minutes, but soon enough he was pulling into its driveway just about 11:30 a.m. July 1.

Lee’s Retreat had been a honkytonk 10 years ago and it appeared it still was. It was notorious for its Thursday night wet tee-shirt contests and shady cliente. But he was used to expat dive bars and so he felt quite at home as he passed its small open patio, pushed its front door open walked up to the bar and ordered a drink.

He took a moment to appraise himself in the mirror behind the bar. He was decent looking, at least in his opinion, though he had a bit of scruff on his face that gave him a slightly unkempt appearance. His black hair was short and he smiled back at his 6 foot self approvingly.

The TV news was on and had the usual mass chaos and natural disasters. He did notice, in passing there was mention of some unusual activity in the satellite graveyard high above the planet. He did not think much of it as he grabbed his whisky on the rocks and on a lark decided to mosey on out to the patio.

He was looking forward to a calm, relaxing afternoon of drinking.

Theory: Nick Ayers & A Resistance ‘Sleeper Cell’ In The White House

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

My current theory about who wrote the anonymous NYT op-ed piece goes something like this — when all is said and done we will learn it was Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Nick Ayers who wrote it. But, here’s the rub, it will actually have been “edited” by several other people in the White House and that’s why it’s difficult to use linguistic analysis to figure out who wrote it.

The interesting thing about all of this is Ayers is really young and ambitious, so he’s thinking long-term. He knows short-term he would be drummed out of the Republican Party for having submitted it to the New York Times, but he also probably believes that’s worth it because long term — say, about 20 years from now when he’s angling to be a Senator — it will probably reap great rewards to be Anonymous.

One big question, of course, is how and when will we learn who wrote the op-ed piece on way or another. Either we’re going to find out really soon — like within a week — or it could be years. A lot rests, of course, on the ultimate political fate of not only Trump, but what the op-ed piece is seen portending in the future. If there really is a Blue Wave — which a doubt — but if it does happen, there’s a chance that a lot of people will see the release of the anonymous op-ed letter as a turning point.

I still think, given the clues we learned from someone who knows on The New York Times The Daily that it’s Nick Ayers and that the below Tweet is a pretty good indication. I say this because we learned on The Daily that the staff of The New York Times had to do some research into the person before they agreed to publish the op-ed. That leads me to believe it’s not a really big named person in the cabinet.

We’ll see, I guess. It will be interesting to see where the chips ultimately fall.

‘NYFW’ — #Lyrics To Pop-Rock-Rap Song About Cardi B Fighting Nicki Minaj

I’m just an ignorant white boy in all of this, but I thought it merited some lyrics. Whatever it was that was going on.

NYFW
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

who throws a shoe
who throws a fucking shoe

two girls beefin
during New York Fashion Week
they got problems it’s obvious to see
but who am I to complain
they don’t care what we think
got things they got to explicate
but in the end I gotta say

who throws a shoe
who throws a fucking shoe
but I guess what else are you going to do
when you see your rival during
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week

girls will be girls
when you see a bitch you hate
you gotta throw what you got
to get her attention
but what’s it all about
don’t even know for sure
maybe one day it’ll all come out
I think it will
without a doubt
without a doubt

who throws a shoe
who throws a fucking shoe
but I guess what else are you going to do
when you see your rival during
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week

[bridge]
when it all comes out
we’ll have a reason to shout
but don’t you have any doubt
we’re all going to rock in the end
no matter who’s to blame

who throws a shoe
who throws a fucking shoe
but I guess what else are you going to do
when you see your rival during
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week

‘Making Faces’ — #Lyrics To A Pop Rock Ballad Inspired By #PlaidShirtGuy

I just like the phrase “making faces” and it seems like a good title to a pop rock ballad.

Making Faces
Lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

politicians making speeches
the world continues to turn
lovers moan and moan
feeling warm breath of the sun
as they tumble between the sheets
but we all know in the end

we’re just making faces
making faces is what’s going on
we’re just making faces
making faces is what’s going on

we don’t have to worry anymore
Secret Service has us protected
no matter how many faces may be made
in the end we just enjoy the humming economy
knowing we’re going to get laid and get caught
making faces

we’re just making faces
making faces is what’s going on
we’re just making faces
making faces is what’s going on

[bridge]
keep a straight face
if you can
that’s the plan, the plan
don’t let them see you
making faces

we’re just making faces
making faces is what’s going on
we’re just making faces
making faces is what’s going on

Musing On The ‘Murder On The Orient Express’ Theory Regarding The NYT Anonymous OP-ED

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

The more I think about it, the more the theory, first proposed on the Deep State Radio podcast, that the anonymous letter published by the New York Times regarding the Steady State’s efforts to reign in our insane tyrant and would-be king president, Donald J. Trump, may have been written by more than one person acting in concert.

Or, more specifically, my personal spin on this theory is this — a high ranking staffer was used as an avatar for a group of people in the cabinet who all feel the same thing. This provides them all with plausible deniability because they didn’t in fact actually *write* the letter so much as looked it over, contributed thoughts on it here and there and then had the staffer actually write it and submit it.

If this is the case — which at this point I have no idea if I’m anywhere near the truth — the letter would be all the more damning because it would mean it wasn’t one person, but a group of people who are alarmed enough that they would concoct such a scheme. But the theory, at least in principal, holds up. It definitely would explain why linguistically, the piece is all over the place and seems to sound like more than one person at the same time.

Only time will tell, I guess.

V-Log: The State Of My Novel For Sept. 7th, 2018

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

Some thoughts.

VLog — My Take: The Anonymous NYT Op-Ed Writer Is Nick Ayers

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I don’t have anything to lose, so I will go on a huge ledge and propose that Nick Ayers, Mike Pence’s COS is “anonymous.” He would be around Pence enough to pick up the use of the term “lodestar.” He’s also young and ambitious, so it would make sense for him to want to stake out a political name for himself in a strategic, long-term kind of way.

I’m not saying I know for sure, but there’s enough logical evidence pointing to him to make me take the leap. I don’t think it’s a cabinet member. It’s just someone who happens to be in the room when discussions are held.