Sleep's been accumulating in flurries like snowfall, all week. Yesterday, heck, I was awake several times, barely long enough to know I wasn't asleep, but then I fell asleep again, over and over all day.

Maybe it's because I'm unemployed, and free of the pressures that come with a job, especially a new job. More likely I'm sick, but who cares? It feels marvelous being so well-rested for a few nights and days. Short-term narcolepsy beats the yawns out of my lifelong insomnia.

The day before yesterday, when I was awake, I ran an errand to the University District. Getting there meant one bus ride and one train ride, but getting back was four buses, because (a) the train is a separate fare — no free transfers between train and bus! — and (b) Metro said my bus was running 45 damned minutes late, so I took a 'bus short-cut' that meant more buses, but less time.

In five rides on five buses, we rode up and over the curb three times. Never once did the bus driver park the bus, and call for a road-supervisor. They all kept driving, and maybe said "Damn it" under their breath, which is, I believe, the proper response to curbing a bus.

As reported a few months back, hundreds of new houses are being built near the dilapidated and slightly sideways room where I live. Only a few of the houses appear to be finished, none are occupied, a lot are under construction, and many more are still only piles of building material, construction not yet started.

A corner of all this construction abuts my local northbound #99 bus stop, and walking toward it, a young woman was already waiting there. She had purple hair, and I love purple hair. She seemed a bit heavier than the mythical standard, and I hate the mythical standard. She had a book in her hand, and when I got closer I saw it was Always Coming Home, by Ursula K. Le Guin. I've never read it, but I love sci-fi and people who read it.

Somewhere in all that, something about this woman put me at ease like almost no strangers ever do. She'd be safe to talk to, I decided, something I don't decide very often.

"I am not looking forward to our new neighbors moving into all these houses," I said.

"I'm not sure they're ever moving in," she said with no hesitation. "Seems like the whole world here has been under construction since January."

"And you know the houses will be half-assed," I said. Nails not quite flush, sloppy metal flashing around window and doors, and I'll bet the porches will be crooked within a few years, but I didn't say any of that, because—

"Not as half-assed as the people living in them," she said. "New houses are expensive, and these houses are big. The sign might as well say, 'Rich bastards only'."

And with that we were underway, for several minutes of conversation and complaining about the asswipes and monsters with money who rule and ruin the world.

Then the bus came and we got on, said adios, and sat too many rows apart to keep talking. I want to add an addendum, though, to my complaint of a few days ago, that conversations that happen without me are much more enjoyable.

Not all conversations with strangers are awful. It depends on the stranger. One particular stranger, at the bus stop a few mornings ago, was worth walking too, but my general rule still applies.

An Asian man, very old, gets onto the bus. He's wearing a t-shirt that says "Deutschland."

That's the item. It amused me, that's all.

And now, the news you need, whether you know it or not…

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The public paid for Moderna's mRNA vaccine tech;

Moderna suing over the patent is a travesty

If corporate capitalism didn't give us such travesties, though, there'd be no corporate capitalism at all.

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Democrat beats Palin for US Congressional seat

I'm taking this as good news, because Democrats are generally sane and Republicans aren't, and I'd like sanity to continue controlling the US House.

But I also gotta say, sane isn't enough. We need more Dems who aren't owned by corporations and who stand up for the right things — things like taxing the rich, health care for all, civil rights, abortion rights, and calling the morons morons. 'Nother words, more Congresscritters like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and fewer like Nancy Pelosi.

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Movie tickets will cost $3 for "National Cinema Day" on September 3rd

This is probably smart marketing, to lure people back to theaters as COVID concerns continue. $3 tickets got my attention for a moment, too. I watch a lot of movies, but haven't been to a movie in years.

Ah, but then I remembered what shit most present-day movies are.

To confirm my snap judgment, I looked up what's playing, and the only film that seems somewhat interesting is Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Even if it's a masterpiece, though, I'm not paying three bucks to sit next to loud-talking assholes for an hour and a half, after waiting through twenty minutes of commercials before the show.

If ever I see a movie in a theater again, it'll be one of Seattle's retrospective theaters — the Grand Illusion, probably. I've always loved that place, and I'll bet the price of admission they won't be showing ads.

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I'm gonna go way out on a limb and say:

Plaque honoring KKK should be removed from US Military Academy at West Point

"As a values-based institution, we are fully committed to creating a climate where everyone is treated with dignity and respect," [a West Point spokesperson] said in an email.

Ha ha, that's a good one.

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MAGA Republican actions fit 'definition of fascism', White House says

It shouldn't be so rare to hear a White House staffer say something that's obviously true. Sing it louder and more often, please.

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U.S. will never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, Biden tells Israel's Lapid

In a sane world, which countries have nukes and which don't wouldn't be decided by the U.S., and promised to Israel, which of course has plenty of nuclear weapons but pretends it doesn't.

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Christian medical group sues to block enforcement of ruling barring LGBTQ discrimination

Yeah, that's what Christ would do.

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CalTrain finally gets juiced

They're electrifying San Francisco's 100-year-old diesel commuter line, which will allow cleaner and more frequent service up and down the peninsula.

What's that? You don't give a damn? Sorry, I'm nuts about public transit, and CalTrain was a favorite when I lived in Frisco.

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Republicans horrified by map of U.S. that would result if they couldn't cheat in elections

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Redlining lenders get paltry fine, admit no wrongdoing, but promise to obey the law in the future

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Federal court blocks Wisconsin Republicans from disenfranchising disabled voters

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How the LA Times helped cover up a sex and drugs scandal at USC

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"All of a sudden it’s undrinkable": why an entire US city has no clean water

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World Gravy Wrestling Championships returns after two-year break

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"What’s this about?": Body-cam footage shows confusion as Florida man arrested for voter fraud

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Can anyone tell me why ADHD kids get extra time instead of MORE hard deadlines?

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A learning tip

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Behind the scenes photos from the making of Jaws. 1975

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Dublin federal prison chaplain used faith and fear to abuse female inmates

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The changes at CNN look politically motivated. That should concern us all.

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Star Trek into bad grammar

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One-word newscast, because it's the same news every time...

• climate • climate • climate • climate • climate

• cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops • cops

• Republicans • Republicans • Republicans • Republicans • Republicans • Republicans

♦ ♦ ♦

The End

• Alexei Panshin

• Virginia Patton

• Gerald Potterton

9/2/2022
Tip 'o the hat to Linden Arden, ye olde AVA, BoingBoing, Breakfast at Ralf's, Captain Hampockets, CaptCreate's Log, John the Basket, LiarTownUSA, Meme City, National Zero, Ran Prieur, Voenix Rising, and anyone else whose work I've stolen without saying thanks.
Extra special thanks to Becky Jo, Name Withheld, Dave S, Wynn Bruce, and always Stephanie...