My Novel Continues To Get Better & Better

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

My general goal is to finally — FINALLY — lock down the first three chapters of the alpha release of the third draft of my first novel by around Feb. 1st. This novel is getting really, really good — at least in my mind — but I can’t keep screwing around.

The dream.

I’ve been spinning my wheels a great deal the last few weeks, only making what feels like incremental progress. But, in general, the overall story is getting much, much better.

There continue to be plenty of things that might go wrong. But I try to stay hopeful. I do know that I really need to read more, watch more and have a few backuup stories worked on.

And that doesn’t even begin to address my concern that the whole world could collapse in on itself because of “vibes.” Ugh. Just let me finish my novel first, history!

Interpolation! Of Robbie Williams & The Escape From New York OST

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m way too lazy to see if this was litigated, but here is a cut-and-dry example of “interpolation.”

A bit of THIS song…

…is identical to the backbeat of THIS song….

The Looming End of Traditional Media Websites

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It may take a little while — maybe a few years — but it definitely seems as though the entirety of the Web will collapse into a singularity when AI finally takes over everything.

Rather than using a search engine to passively brows the Web — and read news — you will have a very active, personal “relationship” with you Her-like digital personal assistant.

Some basic notions of how we interact with the Web and the news will change in a fundimental manner. To me, the undetermined issue is how anyone will make money through journalism. I suppose there might be keywords that, when invoked during a conversation with your PDA might spawn some sort of advertorial?

Once that is figured out, then there will be fork in the road. Either AI will be used to replace all human journalists, or there might be some sort of half-measure that allows some journalists to survive.

I have my doubts.

Only time will tell.

Leave Tay-Tay Alone, MAGA

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I continue to find it very surreal how much hostility there is towards Taylor Swift on the part of the MAGA Right simply because — she wants people to register to vote?

But, here we are, with a wide-range of notable MAGA “thought leaders” screaming at the top of their lungs all sorts of vicious and hateful things about Tay-Tay at very opportunity.

Simply because she wants people to vote.

Very, very strange.

It’s as if MAGA people take the idea of voting as, by definition, a personal offense. They know that the more people vote, the more they lose elections because they simply will note, can not change their policy agenda because of racism and misogyny.

And it seems like it’s only going to get worse as we enter the 2024 political silly season. At this point, I’ll just be glad if we can make it through the election without collapsing into chaos or turning into a MAGA themed autocracy.

It’s Not Even A Good Scenario

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Maybe it’s not so bad that Russian spies and trolls might be reading this blog to get tips — at least they might come up with a post-civil war America scenario better than this one.


This is not at all what would happen to the U.S. If there was some sort of collapse, it would totally be a Red V. Blue situation, not a collapse into regions. And it would be far, far more messy than the map above might have you believe. There would be millions — MILLIONS — of domestic political refugees as people bounced around, look for someone to live that better fit their personal political views.

Anyway. I would suggest the Russians slow their roll with their drooling at the possibility that the US will collapse. It could be that we just turn into an autocracy.

Welp, WW3 Would Be The Type Of ‘Black Swan’ Event That Would Re-Elect Joe Biden

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

One of the reasons why Trump lost in 2020 was something none of us could have predicted in the years leading up to the event — a pandemic. The pandemic — combined with how dumb and lazy Trump is — was enough to jiggle the political dynamic to produce a Trump loss.

As such, we may find ourselves with another such “black swan” event — something akin to WW3.

We already have one major regional war in Europe and a minor one in the Middle East — if the US struck Tehran because of today’s death of three solders by a Iranian proxy group, then, well, all bets are off. Because if, say, Iran used one of the three a-bombs it apparently has access to on, say, Israel, then, yikes, that would so destabilize the globe that soon enough the DPRK and China would probably start lashing out as well.

There would be a rally round the flag affect and, there you go, Biden is re-elected. Of course, if, say, the simmering conflict between Pakistan – India — China also got hot….things might grow rather awkward.

It could be that rather than the US having a civil war / revolution or turning into an America First autocracy, the whole globe just collapses into chaos and…saves American democracy.

It would be surreal.

America’s Foes Are Gunning For Us On Social Media

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

On both Twitter and Tik-Tok I’ve seen a lot of what is clearly ‘fight fight fight” rhetoric generated by accounts that are clearly not American. It is beginning to dawn on America’s strategic foes that we could very well implode because of….vibes.

They are hoping to stir up trouble on social media to the point that, say the simmering power struggle between Texas and the Feds could turn into a full blown insurrection or even civil war.

I don’t see how we can stop this particular situation. It’s one of those things where outside forces stirring up trouble are just part of what we have to deal with going forward.

Everything is so fucked up

This Is Nuts

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I am still not prepared to believe anything of note is going to happen because of the low-key power struggle between the Feds and Texas, but the news that the Border Patrol Union claims it won’t cut the barbwire at the center of that struggle doesn’t help anything.

And I still am not 100% sure that this means what I think it means.

And, what’s more, I still think Biden is going to let Texas have its fun until he knows one way or another what is going to happen with the immigration deal making its way to the House. If it is, in fact, DOA as Speaker Johnson proposes, then, yeah, things might escalate pretty quick.

But….I’m not prepared to believe that.

I think all of this is a bunch of bluster and it will come to nothing, at least until after Election Day 2024.

Only time will tell, I suppose.

I Don’t Know What To Think About Russian Trolls Reading My Blog To Fuck With America

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I keep getting pings from deep inside of Russia from people reading my dystopian hellscape scenarios about America’s future. It’s clear that it’s not SPIES reading this blog, it’s Russian TROLLS.

Some of the bullshit on social media these days in regards to the stand off between Federal and Texas forces is jaw dropping. It’s just pure and total bullshit. And, yet, here we are, with MAGA rubes lapping it up.

The idea that I might be helping Russian trolls fuck with the minds of my fellow Americans fills me with a great deal of angst. But, alas, there’s not much I can do about it now, I suppose.

Once something is on the Internet, it’s there forever.

It’s so rare for anyone to give a shit about what I have to say about ANYTHING, that I totally didn’t think that all my verbiage about the prospect of a Second American Civil War might catch the attention of America’s enemies.

My bad, as they say.

Still Dreading Querying My Novel & ‘Comping’ It

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m something of a long-term, strategic thinker so even though I’ve not finished my first novel, I find myself dwelling how hard it will be to query it. My biggest concern is of course, that any literary agent who does “due diligence” on me is going to be aghast at how often I’ve gotten drunk and ranted about things that don’t quite jib with the mainstream media narrative.

My dream is to write a novel a popular as Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.”

Another big concern of mine is how I’m going to “comp” this novel, given that I don’t actually read that much fiction! I just keep re-reading Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire and when you comp a novel in your query letter, you’re SUPPOSED to comp — or compare — it to something a little bit more modern.

Ugh.

As such, I’ve forced myself to buy some novels that AI have told me are similar to Larsson’s work. I suppose I could read some of the more modern faux Larsson novels, but they’re so fucking bad. Though there is the most recent new one that has, in its own way, some of the same elements of my novel, so I might buy THAT one and use it as a comp to my novel.

I hope I’m not too bonkers to be a successful novelist.

Maybe.

Anyway, I’m feeling pretty good about where things stand. Now, I just hope the country I love so much doesn’t collapse into chaos because of “vibes.”