Anyone else so fucking angry right now, they're about to explode? Dumb question. Anyone with eyes, a functioning brain, and basic human decency is beside themselves about the ICE murders in Minneapolis. When I watched the footage of that fucking ICE Nazi JONATHAN ROSS (may he never know a moment's peace for the rest of his miserable worthless life) shoot Renee Good three times in the face and growl "fucking bitch" as her SUV careened into a parked car, I swear I felt my soul leave my body. Same thing on Saturday when I saw the video of Alex Pretti getting beaten, pistol-whipped, and shot dead in front of Glam Doll Donuts. A sickening mixture of horror, rage, fear, and overwhelming dread.

The worst are the apologists, of course. The smooth-brained MAGAts dutifully sticking to the script. "She was a domestic terrorist attempting to ram ICE agents with her car." And the ludicrous, "Well, he had a gun!" Seriously. I don't even need to point out the irony on that one. Everybody already knows.

The Trumptards think their allegiance to Orange Hitler and his regime makes them safe. It doesn't, and they'll be the last ones to know it. Renee Good was an SUV-driving mother of three with a glove compartment full of stuffed toys and a labrador retriever in the backseat. You just know the MAGAts were relieved to hear that she was a lesbian. Like she had all the trappings of a "normie," but her sexuality made her an "other," so whatevs. It's okay -- she was one of them. No need to worry. I'm sure they're waiting to hear that Alex Pretti smoked weed, or was a practicing Buddhist, or any other detail that makes him "sketchy" or different, so they can shrug off his murder as well. 

Right, fascists. Keep fucking that chicken.

It would be cruel and hypocritical for a middle-aged liberal feminist type like me to post an extra-large image of ICE Barbie Kristi Noem's fucked up face, wouldn't it? Especially since she was so bothered about the South Park guys making fun of her appearance.  

I don't know how I'll live with myself. 

I think Kristi Noem was actually upset because the South Park satire touched a nerve and brought her greatest fear into the open. You know that underneath that flammable synthetic weave, somewhere in the back of her tiny brain, she's terrified that there will actually be consequences someday. Not the consequences she deserves, but consequences nonetheless. And if she is thrown in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, (oh please please please let that be coming) you know what that means? Her lips and face will deflate, her Mar-A-Lago makeover will be ruined, and she'll be stripped away to nothing----just a plain-faced, puppy-killing nobody from South Dakota with bad skin and traction alopecia. 

From my lips to God's ears.  

 

Also....

I've been scribbling notes regarding the Charlie Kirk brouhaha for the past month or so, wondering if it's actually worth posting about. I mean, what more is there to say about a toxic potato-headed white nationalist whose claim to fame was spreading christofascist bullshit and "debating" "woke" college students? (BTW, let me state for the record that I'm not happy the guy was murdered. Even a toxic potato-headed white nationalist is a thinking, feeling, sentient being.* Even though Kirk himself considered the mass slaughter of schoolchildren and civilians acceptable losses, just as long as his precious Second Amendment was upheld, and even though Kirk enthusiastically supported the idea of televised public executions. Regardless of what he said and did, I'm not in favor of him getting shot. I'm not in favor of shooting anyone--human or animal--because I am not a member of a rightwing gun-loving death cult. Just to be absolutely fucking clear.) So yeah, I'd pretty much decided to leave it alone.

And then Erikkka Kirk and JD Vance had to go viral with their public grope sesh. Suddenly, the whole saga became way too entertaining to resist. 

 

And don't forget the pleather crotch-cutters. MAGA women are KLASSY!

I am so perversely grateful to these two grifters. Amid the day-to-day horrors of life under this filthy, feral, farcical, fascist administration--FINALLY---they (inadvertently) give us something good. 

I was searching so many JD/EK memes that the YouTube algorithm eventually busted me, and I got an ad for Turning Point USA (TPUSA.....hahahahahaha) popping up in my feed. I reported the ad, but having never reported an ad before, I didn't know it would make me come up with a reason for objecting to it. I ended up going with "It contains sexual content." 

Ooooh, I won't be able to undo the complaint! Guess I'll have to live with it. Although, as someone often (unironically) accused of being a brazen hussy in my youth, I wish I'd worded it differently. I don't object to Turning Point USA because I'm offended that Erikkka Kirk and Jaydine are obviously fucking. As I said, I am completely in favor of their affair, even if all that comes out of it are entertaining memes and (hopefully) a future South Park storyline. I am offended by the existence of hateful rightwing money-laundering organizations like TPUSA. 

The abbreviation is appropriate, however. 

 The MAGA crowd just makes it so easy, you know?

*Allegedly.

ODDS AND ENDS: 
MY SPOTIFY WRAPPED, GOODREADS SUMMARY, OLD NEWS, AND ALSO?
I HAVE QUESTIONS.

Here we go.

Kinda surprised that Genesis was in my top artists yet again. I mean I dig them ('70s and early '80s Genesis, to be clear -- think Abacab era. Any of their post-1987 Michelob beer commercial sounding crap? Never!). I guess I didn't realize how much I listen to them.

Love my Top Five tracks obvs, but I expected to see Nation of Language further up the list, because I've been playing the shit out of them for the last six months or so. 

They did make my Top 10....

Nation of Language is a revelation. Their sound is a blend of OMD and early Human League, with a bit of 1982-era Depeche sprinkled on top. If you are an old-school new waver and haven't heard them yet, do yourself a favor. 

Although "Weak In Your Light" is gorgeous, "Sole Obsession" is my sole obsession. 

**************************

Onward! Goodreads is now doing its own version of Wrapped, and I love it. Here are some highlights from mine. 

Yep, I read a lot of graphic novels this year. I'm a huge fan of the genre, but not of the Alan Moore/Neil Gaiman variety; my tastes run more toward Daniel Clowes, Julia Wertz, Lisa Hanawalt, and their ilk.

I was lucky -- two of my favorite novelists (Curtis Sittenfeld and Morgan Richter) had new releases over the past year. I can confidently recommend anything and everything by those two authors.   

You know which book I don't recommend? The Better Liar by Tanen Jones. Absolute crap. I must've been feeling generous when I gave it two stars. It deserves one at most. (I have no problem ripping into a mainstream author. I'd never do that to an indie author, however. We struggle enough to be seen.) 

Ooh, "...a feeling of dread snaking through this novel." I was in an emo mood that day, apparently.

Yes, it's true: a former fling of mine in the Twin Cities had a hand in crafting Debbie Harry's memoir. The guy has an unusual surname, but even so I thought, "No fucking way!" Then I did some Googling and checked out his professional Facebook page and--I'll be damned--it's totally the same dude. No, I won't reveal his identity. He's a nice enough bloke and I don't want to put him on blast. I will divulge this semi-juicy tidbit, however. Remember back in the '90s when Sting was going around talking about how he was into tantric sex and could go for hours and hours? The guy in question made the same claims to me before we got, ehrm, "friendly." And in his case, the assertions proved to be decidedly false. In fact, quite the opposite, if you catch my drift. (What is it with British men of a certain age professing to be tantric studs?) Whatever. I just hope he didn't try that line on Debbie. 

**************************

OLD NEWS!

One of my early Christmas gifts from John was a subscription to Newspapers.com. I was delighted to receive it because, yes, I'm a nerd. I mostly wanted it for genealogy type research, but I am also having a blast looking at some of these old "nekkid lady ads" from The Indianapolis Star. I remember being quite fascinated with them as a kid. So seedy, so salacious, so unintentionally hilarious.

COMING
rain or shine!

Heh. Nice work, Ponderosa Sun Club publicity team. I see what you did there. It would've flown right over my head as a 10-year-old (which I was in 1983), but now I get it. 

My favorite part of that ad:

VISITORS NEED NOT DISROBE 

Here's a question for the ages: why in the name of fuck do these unhygienic jiggle joints serve food, and who was taking advantage of ALL THE SPAGHETTI YOU CAN EAT - $2.95 offer at The Centerfold showclub? Never mind, I don't want to know. In fact, I will pay you not to tell me.

Also, playing at The Rivoli: Three Cheers for B.J.U. Hmm. I wonder what that one's about?

Now this is just wrong. "Jo" looks like they used her senior yearbook photo for her "Fantasy of the Month" featured dancer ad. I mean, she's wearing a turtleneck for Christ's sake. Girl, you ain't about that life! I hope your tenure as a dancer was short-lived, and I'm sorry your father failed you. (I happen to agree with Chris Rock---a father's main goal in raising a daughter should be to keep her OFF THE POLE. There's a lot of truth to that.) 

The ad for this special investigative report was in the same section as the strip club ads. Coincidence, or were they trying to make some kind of subtle statement? 

Fun fact: 1983 was also the year my parents divorced. If only reporter Tracy Horth had gotten to the bottom of this crisis a few years earlier, my generation might've been spared the trauma. But probably not. 

Really though, I'm still glad to be Generation X. I was a free-range child myself, and I'm better off for it. I would've hated to grow up a Millennial, with all the helicopter parenting and arranged playdates and over-scheduling. (Not to mention all their shitty, shitty pop music.)

Speaking of free-range children....

That's me on the far left in the Fozzie Bear shirt, along with some of my neighborhood friends from Sherman Drive, fall 1980. Largely unsupervised, and we turned out just fine.

**************************

And finally, I have some burning questions. 

For Donald Trump: Who gives better blow jobs, Lindsey Graham or Mike Johnson?

(Personally, my money's on the Speaker of the House. He may not be as adept at some of the mechanics, but I'm sure he's plenty enthusiastic, which can make all the difference. Besides, you just know Lindsey Graham is a total pillow princess.)

For Elon Musk: Who gives better blow jobs, Donald Trump or Amber Heard? 

For JD Vance: Does Peter Thiel make you top him, or vice versa? 
(I don't know. With the eyeliner and the bitchiness, Shady Vance just screams "bossy bottom" to me.) 

For Donald Trump Jr: What size strap-on does Kimmy Guilfoyle use on you? 

(Oh come on, you know that limp-dicked cokehead hasn't gotten it up in years.)

For Lauren Boebert: Ew, you fucked Ted Cruz?

For Ted Cruz: Ew, you fucked Lauren Boebert?

For Greg Abbott: HEY BITCH, LIKE MY SHIRT?

And I'm out! Happy Solstice, Happy Christmas, Merry New Year, and remember to be kind and rewind.