A cornucopia of craziness

240 ton mining truck containing Potus agrievements

First, I wish to take issue with the use of "cult of personality" as applied to the followers and enablers of the Current Resident. That posits the existence of a personality. I've seen no evidence of such, but there is evidence of a dump truck load of:
unearned self regard
inexplicable assertions of genius and stability
occasional fleeting concern for (fill in the blank)
and, most notably, wide ranging and petty agrievements.

But (sadly) no sign of what one generally thinks of a personality with attractive qualities.

I steeled myself (as in dossier) to listen to the impeachment hearings. No, not in their gruesome entirely, but as skillfully edited by the fine folks as Lawfare.com. They offered 6 podcasts with no bull. They are lengthy and include laughable, off topic, and ill advised contributions from the distinguished" minority. If you have 12 hours or so with nothing to do you can catch a listen (while knitting, puzzling, or other semi-mindless activity). Search the site with: "lawfare podcast bonus edition" and scroll down to the one with Marie Yavonovich on  Nov. 15th. They are oddly not in date order and missing the best ones. (I promised craziness!) There is one each on the 13th and 15th and two each on the 20th and  21st. Bizarrely, this search does not find the Sondland or Hill testimonies (the best ones). Those can be found by adding their names to the end of the search suggestion above.

Now for the parting gift! Of course the internet was created to proliferate cat videos and modern life would be much more livable if that purpose was generally adhered to. I randomly discovered one well worth the 10 min. I laughed, I peed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqYI4TvEEY

The current state of my psyche

I bet you have heard these pithy* aphorisms:

“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch 22

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."— William Gibson

“Gas lighting is lying with a purpose to confuse and control.” ― Tracy Malone 


 

The Scream, 1893 by Edvard Munch

Of course all of these have been pressed into service in my therapy sessions since November 2016. As I scramble to maintain a grasp on sanity, reality, and my rejection of murder and/or suicide as a solution to my despair these have been tiny tiny itsy bitsy pinpoints of light at the end of this fucking tunnel. 

But things age getting worse. The abuse that has pelted down from the highest position in the land, has officially become Republican talking points and marching orders as they scramble to derail the impeachment process. We are under siege from our elected Executive and Representative (and ever more often, Judicial) branches of government.

At the end of an amazing article in The Washington Post today by Catherine Rampell
there is this conclusion (and intensification) of another well known aphorism:

When you hear hoofbeats think not horses or even zebras, but UNICORNS.
 
The problem with this is that this is an aphorism is service of the rot at the core of "our chosen servants". **

                                                                Notes: 

* I did google aphorism to be sure that was the word I wanted. It was, but pithy is part of it's basic meaning. Hence here I have referenced "pithy pithy observation that contains a general truth"

** Of course I do not mean your and MY chosen servants, but those of the currently ruling minority.

Another Boo day tallied in the Fun column

My Halloween tradition for well over a decade has been to share dinner, a silly/stupid/scary movie and her neighborhood T&T'ers with a friend. Some years there has been an unwise predation of the treat basket, a few years only the necessary quantity of quality control, and even fewer years complete abstention. But there are a few guaranteed traditions:

She will do most of the door duty as she is as "get-up-and-go", as I am "sit-here-until-bedtime".
The selected movie is invariably less compelling than our off and on conversation and door duty.
And finally, we will be unable get the perfect video as there seems to be a financially motivated ban on stream-able (formerly rent-able) gems.

Oh, yes, and we both cherish this tradition. I have a sad and spotty childhood Halloween history. What stands out for me are these themes:

    Mom insisted that we be home by dark resulting in awkward and unproductive trick or treating. Usually the family was having dinner together (as this was before home computers, TV on demand and smart phones) and were confused by our tactic.

    I never gave any forethought to my costume, and hence it disappointed and/or, failed to be WORKABLE. The most notable failure was the year I inveigled my 3.5 years younger brother to be a two headed alien ghost (under a sheet with springy head thingies). Our heights, strides and moods were in opposition all night and headway was impaired by having to share a grip on the sack held between us. That was a high point in my history.

   The candy was better then. What wasn't? There was the occasional homemade treat which Mom insisted could not be trusted and hence trashed, and once a toothbrush (retained). But by and large it was a haul of sweetness which I longed to control until I was "allowed" to (in college out of state and beyond parental oversight). It is true that the lion's share of parental values were successfully installed in my psyche, but glaringly unsuccessful was any moderation regarding sweets.

So thank you dear friend for making my grownup holiday experience superior to the childhood one. I learned this secret in the 12 step club: make your holidays what you want them to be, and acquire chosen family. Thanks, Chosen Mom.

Now a fun video from our northern friends' weather channel:
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us/videos/gallery/nasa-engineers-carve-the-best-pumpkins/sharevideo/6099530817001/most_popular

Boo!