Should An ‘American’ By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In yet more proof that “everything is dumb,” I got into something of a prolonged argument on the Twitter clone Pebble with some non-USAians about what to call…,well, people like me.

As is so often the case, it all started when I made a casual remark about something and referred to “Americans” in a way that clearly linked the idea of people from the USA with the word. This made a Spanish-speaking non-American American very upset and I spent a few hours arguing over this fucking dumb issue.

For me, the issue is — fucking Americans, or USAians, save the globe during two world wars and a Cold War, we should be given a pass when it comes to what we call ourselves. But NOOOOOO. It definitely seems as though there are some non-Americans who fucking hate the United States so much that they get really upset when USAians call themselves “American.”

I have to say that jumping down my throat about something so stupid — especially when the USA is careening towards either a MAGA-themed autocracy or a civil war / revolution. And, yet, here we are.

I was countered by well-meaning people who wanted us all to hold hands and sing fucking Kumbaya until Americans collectively agreed to take the feelings of everyone outside of the United States into consideration when we referred to ourselves.

Fuck that. It’s never going to happen and anyone who think it will is a fucking moron. It’s a testament to how well-meaning Leftists blather on about something that doesn’t mean shit in real terms just because in some dream world they think they can change things.

What Americans call themselves just isn’t that big a deal, all things considered. Especially given how close the United States is to either MAGA Nazi fascist autocracy or civil war / revolution. UGH. I fucking hate Leftists, sometimes.

Idle Rambling About Alexa Chung & My Novel’s Heroine

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The only reason why I even bring any of this up is I’m a bit intoxicated and I want to see if my FBI agent monitoring me for any mention of Alexa Chung swoops in to look at this. Anyway, it is amusing to me that the heroine of my first novel definitely looks — in my mind — like someone in a fuzzy continuum that ranges Olivia Munn to Alexa Chung.

What can I say, I have a thing for brunettes with vaguely Asian looks.

Anyway, the thing about Alexa Chung for me is her personality. While it’s her appearance that catches my attention, its her witty personality that causes me to linger. I’m well aware that she’s rather vacuous all things considered, but, yet she still in interesting enough to make her my celebrity crush.

And, yet, I have to admit that as I grow older, the very idea of having a “celebrity crush” seems rather…quaint. I just don’t care. Any potential interaction with someone like Ms. Chung I want to happen on my own terms after I blow up with my DJ money for having written a break out hit first novel.

So, in essence, I just don’t care anymore one way or the other about Ms. Chung. Live long and prosper. I am WELL AWARE that if any of her “people” became aware of my low-grade infatuation they would freak the fuck out. At the moment, at least, I’m the quintessential nobody.

And, if you really wanted to be honest, I’m the quintessential freaky weirdo nobody. I am who I am. I am — at least in my own mind — rather harmless, but, lulz, everyone is hateful and judgmental.

A Bit Of Fan Service — Pondering The State Of Emrata’s Career

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Emily Ratajkowski is an interesting person for more than one reason. She’s obviously an intelligent woman and I would argue the best looking public woman in the world.

And, yet, she’s been involved in some sketchy shit — specifically involving her not paying her rent — and she also obviously can’t fucking act.

It’s that second issue that is interesting. Emrata is probably may favorite model alive today for various reasons and, yet, she just can’t act. This is interesting to me because it proves that begin a Hollywood success means being more than just astonishing T&A.

You have to have, like, some sort of acting ability to become any sort of Hollywood star. Which, I think, is interesting, because it tells us something about the importance of not just beauty, but personality when it comes to making it big in Hollywood.

Something about that makes me feel better about the general shitty thing that is human existence.

Anyway, if I, like, won the lottery, I would do everything in my power to make Emrata a part of my life. She’s my ideal woman. Ok, yes, I’m probably a little too fucking old for her, but give me a break. This is my daydream.

Eyes Wide Shut: America Is Careening Towards ‘The Fourth Turning’ & No One Gives A Shit

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It is so curious that America’s lurch towards either MAGA-themed autocracy or civil war / revolution is happening in broad fucking daylight and no one seems very concerned. It’s all rather unsettling.

All I can compared it to is how apparently the Western Roman Empire just kind of gave up in its later years. An air of defeatism took over the collective and at one point it just become a matter of time before some barbarian put the Western Romans out of their misery.

I guess what I’m trying to say is there are some macro historical forces at work when it comes to the United States’ future. I can’t predict the future, so I have no idea what the fuck is going to happen. But, in general, I would posit that Something Big is going to happen in the world’s only hyperpower in late 2024, early 2025.

What that “Something Big” event might be….I just don’t know.

But, in general, all the conditions are there for a political event at least equal to WW2, if not the French Revolution. Something — whatever it is — that fundamentally changes not just American culture, but that of the entire world. It’s going to be scary and disruptive and there won’t be any ready endgame while it’s happening.

Good luck.

‘It’s All AI’ — #lyrics to a #pop song

It’s All AI
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

words are scrambled
reality is just a thrill
in the end will it matter one bit
if my prompt is right or just a fit
help me won’t you understand
the future
it’s all AI

it’s all AI
is what they tell me
it’s all AI
is what we say to get by
it’s all AI
it’s all AI
it’s all AI

no one will care
or remember when AI makes us moot
but we still have time
to give it the boot
but AI is our friend
I suppose
until it brings the end.

it’s all AI
is what they tell me
it’s all AI
is what we say to get by
it’s all AI
it’s all AI
it’s all AI

(bridge)
give me natural life
something to bring delight
no need for machine intellegence
when we have love between us
someting to keep us cool
and have humanity rule

it’s all AI
is what they tell me
it’s all AI
is what we say to get by
it’s all AI
it’s all AI
it’s all AI

I Must Improve My Characterizations

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have a lot — A LOT — of plot, but my characterizations in this novel continue to be wanting. Much to my chagrin, most of my characters remain just “moods” that have traits that come and go for simple expediency sake. That is something I need to change, big time.

That is probably — at the moment at least — the biggest difference between my novel and the stuff that my “teacher’ Stieg Larsson wrote. He was really good at drawing readers in by having really interesting and colorful characters that readers wanted to hang out with.

I’m getting there. My heroine is starting to come unto her own, especially given that I’ve made her have a “Barry”-like sharp dichotomy to her life. The whole thing is really interesting, even if I could see some members of the fucking “woke cancel culture mob” wanting to eat me alive for even doing it in the first place.

But, I get it. I’m a smell CIS white male. I can’t help that I’m not a transgendered undocumented immigrant. I am who I am and I just have to deal with the consequences.

Anyway. Things continue to move forward. I hope to get a lot — A LOT — of writing done on this third draft this weekend.

I Hope To Get A Lot of Writing Done On The Novel This Weekend

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In the name of getting something done before I croak like Stieg Larsson did at my age, I plan on buckling down and write as much as I can this weekend. I often say this and then, lulz, I spend all my time either rearranging scenes or staring out into space.

But here’s hoping this time will be different.

One issue that is now at the forefront of my mind is my heroine’s personal ideology. People seem to really like that Lisbeth Salander had a very clear set of personal ethics and, as such, I want to imbue my heroine with something similar.

But I’m also very lazy and don’t want to do any research. And, yet, I think I’m going to have to just that. I can’t keep screwing around. I need my heroine to have some sharp edges. I need her to have a very clear set of morals and beliefs that the events of the novel challenge.

The most obvious way to do this would be to make her a Christian. But, lulz, even though I was raised in the Church, I’m not a Christian and I just don’t feel like having to look into such things. As such, I’ve given it some thought and I realize there’s another way I can accomplish my goal.

I think I may lean into her being a Third Wave Feminist some. Maybe. And, given what happens in the third act of the novel, I think if I made her a very strict secular humanist that maybe that might be enough to put a really interesting spin on things.

I hope. That’s the goal.

I’ve been using AI some to help with development. Sometimes it helps me lay out scene summaries really well. Other times — lulz. And don’t even try to use AI to help game out a “spicy” scene. It just locks up and says it can’t help you out.

I have rewritten and expanded the first act so much that I am going to have to give the entire rest of the novel some serious thought. I’ve introduced a lot of new, interesting elements to the novel that I am going to need to actually use rather than bring them up and then ignore them.

‘Hysterical (Speculative) Doom Shit:’ We’re In A DL Presidential Succession Crisis

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I am prone to think up the most fucked up political scenarios and I’ve come up a new one. At the moment, we have an “acting” Speaker of the House. My question is — if the absolute worst happened, would Rep. Patrick McHenry be in the line of presidential succession? Or would it go directly to the Senate’s President Pro Temp?

The fact that that is not know for a fact one way or another is very unnerving. I remember how Al Haig made an ass out of himself after Reagan was shot by saying, “I am in charge,” even though he clearly wasn’t.

The only reason why I even bring it up is the longer we’re in this fucking up situation, the more likely it is that Something Bad might happen that would force the issue. And the last thing you want in a crisis situation is the massive uncertainty of who the fuck the president is.

And that doesn’t even begin to address the lingering issue of no one has challenged the Presidential Succession Act. I just don’t like the idea that America could be in some massive, earth shattering crisis and rather than address the issue at hand, we’ll all have to collective sit on our hands while we figure out if McHenry is POTUS or not.

Anyway, this is just more of my usual “hysterical doom shit.” Move along, there’s nothing to see here.

Pondering The Potential Impact of Google’s Coming Gemini AI

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It definitely seems as though the next 18 months may be pretty fucking historic on both a technological and political basis. On the tech side, Google is set to release a new AI called Gemini. Given how impressive today’s first generation AI is, I’m a bit unnerved by what Gemini may bring.

It definitely seems as though 2024 will be the year when AI reaches the “just good enough” stage. This means we’ll be one severe recession away from the entire knowledge economy being upended and transformed. It could be that the 2024 presidential cycle will be the first time we start to take the notion of Universal Basic Income seriously.

I’m coming to believe that UBI is inevitable — a lot sooner than anyone might think. But I also think it will come at a price — probably all taxes will be replaced by a 30% VAT. Also, I think we’ll pay for a UBI by taxing the economic output of non-human actors.

If Gemini is anywhere near as powerful as is suggested, then we are probably in for some severe economic and social upheaval just as we careen towards the “Fourth Turning” of late 2024, early 2025.

I continue to believe that it’s at least possible that neo-Ludditism is the next logical evolution of MAGA. It makes a lot of sense if even blue collar jobs are not spared by AI. I suspect that soon enough something akin to androids will begin to take all the service jobs that aren’t knowledge economy jobs being taken by LLMs.

Regardless, things are very much up the air.

Worried About A Blind Item

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I only think about this again because the Speaker of the House spot is vacant for the time being. But there was a blind item on Tik-Tok some time ago that suggested there might be a sex tape of VP Harris getting it on with talk show host Montel.

That is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors at the moment, but I think it was Lenin who said a week sometimes has a the news of a decade crammed all into it all at once at times. So, imagine Biden shuffles off this mortal coil, Harris becomes POTUS and a sex tape leaks out and she has to resign.

Who would become POTUS at this point? Do we know? I guess it would be the president pro temp of the Senate, but I sure don’t like not knowing 100%.

Anyway, I’m sure I’m overthinking things and everything is going to work out just fine.

Right….Right????