Month: May 2022

Get Woke, Mike Pence

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In the book, “How Democracies Die,” they propose a solution to prevent a democracy from dying outright — the other, non-autocratic parties have to bond together for the sake of the nation.

Now, this solution is extremely problematic for America. The country is too big, unfocused and divided for any sort of “unite for the sake of the nation” plan to work.

And, yet, there is one person who could make such a plan a lot closer to being real — Mike Pence.

All he has to do is one fucking thing and he is SOOOO CLOSE to be the Democratic Union (or whatever) Party nominee in 2024: become a MAGA apostate (a John Dean-type character). He doesn’t have to change any other policy view other than turning on Trump and MAGA.

Pence would never do this, of course, because he’s a fucking coward, but if he did, he would suddenly be throw into the rarified ranks of Great American Men because, he could, single handedly give American democracy some breathing room if he teamed up with, say, AOC.

But he’s never going to do it. He somehow thinks he can play it safe and may a charge at MAGA King Trump and somehow succeed (fun fact: no.) So, Pence really faces sinking into political oblivion with both sides hating him equally for different reasons.

Or, he could get woke get pretty damn close to becoming the next POTUS. Of course, if he did run with AOC, there would have to be some sort of power sharing agreement. The whole thing would make America’s government seem rather schizophrenic, but at least it would probably avoid a civil war and probably keep the country a functioning democracy for one or more additional election cycles.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, I’ve finished the first draft of the first novel in a projected five novel series. I have a massive amount of work to do, still. But just by sitting on my hands, I’ve managed to find a number of different ways to make these novels a lot better.

I fucking hate this “test.”

Two elements of these novels are really coming together — one is the importance of music and the other is how the reader who is willing to read all five novels will get to see the ebb and flow of history and different families over the course of about 25 years.

That, for me, as the writer, is one of the main draws.

Throw in how I also get to critique both MAGA, Leftists AND religion and, wow, I have a lot of fun (and hard work) ahead of me.

I have to admit that it’s really a struggle to not start writing on the second draft of the first book immediately. But I can use these few weeks to ponder things, develop the other four novels and to do a shit ton of reading. I have so much reading to do. So, so very much reading.

And I’m old. I feel so fucking old.

But, if Stieg Larsson can write three novels and sell them, maybe I can write five novels and sell them.

Hopefully, of course, I won’t die of consumption, or what have you.

I Want To Fuck With The Qanon Mythos In My Novels

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I really am striving to create something totally original with these novels but yet in a way that is very much an “old brown shoe” for people familiar with Stieg Larsson’s stuff.

I keep struggling with the idea of how to fuck with the Qanon mythos as part of the universe of these books I’m writing but I’m finding it really difficult. There is some to work with there, but yet…not as much as you might think. I like the idea of making it clear to readers on the sly how much I fucking hate MAGA…and yet to date I’ve yet to figure out how to use the fucked up things that Qanon people believe in any way.

Which, I guess, is for the best.

But the Qanon belief system is SO fucked up, that it’d be a shame not to be able to flip the script on it some and turn them into the bad guys of a thriller. I think I might be influenced some by what they believe when I construct my bad guys, but it won’t be a 1-to-1.

Mike Pence Is A Coward

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As things stand, MAGA hates Mike Pence and everyone else thinks he’s a joke whose only honorable act was to fulfill his perfunctory role as the person required to certify the Electoral Vote on January 6th.

But there is one option for Pence that he is simply too big a fucking coward to take — turn on Trump in full throated manner and confess everything he knows about Trump and Trumplandia. If Pence did that, it would be one of those The Day The Earth Stood Still kind of political events that happen every once or so a generation.

Yet, like I said, Pence is a coward.

He somehow thinks that he can square the circle and use his evangelical base to slingshot himself into a direct competitor to Trump in a We-Need-MAGA-Without-Trump type gambit. But, sadly, this is not going to happen.

Pence’s only option is a hail Mary pass where he becomes a #NeverTrumper and joins Liz Cheney in the ranks of people who are absolutely opposed to Trump and MAGA. He won’t even have to change any of his other opinions. The center-Left is so bereft of good leaders at the moment, that he would instantly be hailed as the potential leader of some sort of Unity Ticket — Pence / AOC 2024, anyone?

I know that would never happen, but…we’re in very desperate times at the moment when it comes to the state of our democracy. Something’s gotta give.

Wait, What? Artists Can’t Release New Music Unless It Goes Viral On Tik-Tok?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

This is something that can’t be true, right? Pop stars are being told by their management that they can’t release new songs until they go viral on Tik-Tok. That is just crazy, crazy for real for real.

Just nuts.

I mean, who’s to say this or that song is going to go viral on Tik-Tok in the first place? It doesn’t seem to serve anyone. It’s a lose-lose situation. But here we are.

Blue & Gold — #Lyrics to a #Pop #Song

Blue & Gold
lyrics by @sheltgarner
Please give credit
if you produce or perform

seeds on the ground
tells us where the bodies
are to be found
the future is bright
after a dark night
in the distance we see
the blue and gold
the blue and gold
the blue and gold

blue and gold
makes me smile
knowing that
freedom is not
on hold
the blue and gold
the blue and gold

the sky is blue
the gold of the land
sparks what is be had
in a free land of
free people glad
to be alive
the blue and gold
the blue and gold
the blue and gold

(bridge)
to the east
the bear crushes spirits
it thinks it can make people tremble
but we all know the truth
free people will resist
with the might of a thousand years
of history and hope

the sky is blue
the gold of the land
sparks what is be had
in a free land of
free people glad
to be alive
the blue and gold
the blue and gold
the blue and gold

Why All The Talk Of ‘Civil War’ On The Part of MAGA Is Bullshit — It’s Blues You Have To Worry About

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I call bullshit on all this talk of “civil war” on the part of the MAGA New Right. They’re trolling Blues. The MAGA New Right is ascendant and, in the end, if Blues “bend a knee” to Reds, lulz, what were we talking about?

Should Blues decide NOT to bend a knee to MAGA, then we’re going to have a civil war. And it won’t be because Billy Bob drinking his Miller Light picked up a gun and starting killing all the latte swilling liberals he could find. It will be because, on a state level, Blues say fuck you and begin the process of seceding from the Union.

Then either the U.S. Military gets involved, or it implodes or God only knows what happens. But all this talk and “ReTRUTHing” on the part of the MAGA New Right about a civil war is extremely dumb trolling. They, at the moment at least, have absolutely no reason to worry about a civil war.

They are getting everything they want politically and they’re well on their way to establishing permanent white minority rule without a shot being fired.

Why Music Streaming Is Probably A Net Positive For The Music Industry — & Artists

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m not an expert, but just some back of the envelope thinking about things like Spotify leads me to believe that in the end the music industry is bound to make a whole lot more money of streaming than off of any physical medium.

The reason is, if someone owns music, they buy it once and can listen to it as much as they like for “free” afterwards. Meanwhile, with streaming, it’s kind of a win-win for everyone involved. For a reasonable monthly fee, consumers can listen to millions of songs at whim. Meanwhile, every time a song is played — for whatever reason — the artists involved gets SOME money, however small.

So, there are two major times when this element of music sociology gets involved. One is, the back catalogue of music that might not be as popular anymore and, as such, might be hard to find. Places like Peaches or Tower Records — however big they may have been — had finite physical retail space and, as such, they had to make some subtle editorial decisions.

So, as an Old, if I went to some modern day Tower Records, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be able to find some obscure 90s band simply because it was 30 years ago and the market to house the CD / vinyl isn’t there anymore. But with Spotify, et al, if I want to listen to a very specific 90s song out of the blue, that’s money that that artist would otherwise not get.

The other main way artists MUST be making more money is through replays. I listen to some songs over and over and over and over again and that’s money that the artist wouldn’t get using the traditional Point of Sale type distribution of a physical product — once that physical music medium is bought, that’s all the money that artist should expect to get.

I’m not saying streaming music is perfect or that it isn’t causing problems. It’s not perfect and it’s causing problems. But I think, over time, artists — especially older mid-tear artists –may realize they’re actually making more money than they might otherwise.

I think.

I’m Suspicious About What’s (Not) Going On In Silicon Valley

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I hate conspiracy theories. But, occasionally, I look at a situation and begin to…wonder. And, right now, I find myself suspicious about the lack of real innovation coming out of Silicon Valley.

Moore’s Law is still at play, with processing power doubling every 18 months…and…yet…the metaverse is all we got coming up? It makes me wonder if maybe there’s a lot going on, but for market reasons Silicon Valley is sitting on its hands for some reason.

If you really wanted to be paranoid, you could say that there is something like digital telepathy that actually exists — and is being used — but we’re not being told about. That sounds very, very crazy, but it’s at least interesting to think about.

And then, there’s something else — with advances in AI, why is your typical Google search so bad? And where’s my Her-type personal assistant that can be my personal intermediary with the online world? Why are we focusing on the metaverse when a digital assistant would be far cooler.

Tech Bros & The Elites Are Oblivious About How Dire The Return Of MAGA Will Be For The American Economy

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, I’ve found a new podcast from The Ringer podcast network called Plain English. It’s really good. I’m pleased I’ve discovered it. But I find myself growing aggravated with this specific episode I’m listening to between the host Derek Thompson and Jason Calacanis when it comes to the current state of the economy.

The two of them are obviously Elites. They very casually throw around concepts that are completely alien to a broke, freaky loser like me. The thing that is making me angry is they are so focused on what’s happening Right Now, that they are totally missing the looming clouds that is the return of MAGA in the coming months.

Once MAGA inevitably returns, we’re going to face America as the Corporate State. MAGA is very much like old school fascism. And once MAGA sizes control they’re going to mettle in the economy far, far more than the Democrats ever would. They will have an industrial policy in all but name. They will pick winners and losers and they will come after “woke corporations.”

Of course, the other option is a civil war, which would totally destroy our economy. I doubt that will happen, but…it is something to think about.