Syllabus #235

 Winter has come.  The mercury dipped below freezing overnight, and won't pass the 32 degree mark again until probably Thursday.  We're talking single-digit temps, chance of snow, panic-buying of bread, milk, and shovels.  Until then, I'll be eating all the carbs in the house, dripping our faucets, and promising my first-born* to the devil to get a coupla snow days out of this mess.

On the internet, nobody knows you're a cat

*Nobody tell the Prince of Darkness, but joke's on him if he thinks I'm keeping up my end of the bargain

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Have you peeped the Calvin Klein ad featuring Jeremy Allen (Tighty) White(y)?  Not gonna lie, I thought this dude was hot back when he played Lip on Shameless, except he was a teenager and I was a full-on adult, so I felt gross about it.  Also, I had to stop watching that show because I was like, wait, the whole show revolves around the ways these kids cope with having an alcoholic fuck-up for a dad, who continually lets them down, embarrasses them, and disappoints them?  Sounds neat!  But I've already seen that documentary.

Federal researchers recommend easing marijuana restrictions?  I'll drink toke consume an edible to that!

Lol at this quote:

"In 38 states, marijuana is legal for medical use; it’s legal for recreational use in two dozen states and territories. Its pungent scent has become common in many communities, wafting from car windows at intersections in California and hanging over the crowds in Times Square."

Every spring, it occurs to me to wonder whether children growing up in East Nashville will reach adulthood with a sensory memory that associates flowering trees with the smell of marijuana.  Because as soon as the weather turns and the dogwoods and cherries and Bradford pears start to bloom, it's also Bring Your Bong Out on the Porch season (BYBOP, for those who observe the custom) and you can't walk your dog without practically picking up a lil' contact high.  I picture a particularly sheltered child rolling into their freshman dorm in college in late August, smelling weed, and asking their roommate why it smells like dogwood trees out of season.  Try living that one down.  It won't be easy, nerd.

Analog Reading:

OMG the ending of Birnam Wood, by Eleanor Catton.  I need to talk about it with someone who has read it.  All I could do was sit back and think, "Well, that escalated quickly."  And also, "Wow, didn't see that coming."  I'm not sure if it was purely entertaining and sensational, or if it was kind of un-earned.

Now I'm nearly finished reading Stephen King's Finder's Keepers, the 2nd book in the Mr. Mercedes series.  Damn, does that guy spin a yarn.  Does he still, for reasons I cannot fathom, insist on slipping the n-word into every book he writes?  Ugh, yeah.  Does he sometimes use schlocky, stilted dialogue?  Affirmative.  But overall, does the prose flow such that a 500+ page book pulls you along like a raft on rushing river, where the water is running high and you scarcely notice the rapids?  Hell yes.