“Time to Man Up!”, or: Mother’s Escaped to a New Dimension and Here’s What I’ve Read in the First Six Months of 2024 (three months late)

My mother’s end was sad and pathetic, and very painful to me. Don’t get me wrong—I hated her guts—it’s best she’s gone—but it’s still painful.

The death of the Parasite lasted basically the first half of 2024 (parasite is what I started to call her at the end; she’d burned all her bridges with her preference for drugs and mental delusions over family and friends—I was the last one left who tolerated her—she probably had longer conversations with the pawn broker than her own flesh and blood). She died May 6, then the rest of May and June was spent dealing with the mess she left behind—not just the sizable physical mess (the loon hadn’t thrown away her junk mail for the last five—at least!—years), but the physic, legal, metaphorical, etc. messes left behind as well. 

She was someone who loved to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory just to prove she was right. But she was a dopefiend, and that ALWAYS guided her thought patterns—which were already scrambled; although I’m glad she was half in the bag most of the time: It allowed me to escape from her clutches and live the rich and rewarding life of a feral latchkey child. Did you know I taught myself to make gunpowder at the age of eleven? (Thank you, Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments!) 

[Stuff about books after break...]

The Bonkers Eclecticism of October—in late-November….

Y’know, originally, I was going to be posting this on November 1 or 2—not almost at the end of the month!

Here are some photos from my cell phone as illustrations (electronic desk-clearing as it were…)

I call the above piece, “Flame Monster Scorched Floor Policy; or, Terminate With Extreme Hydrocarbonizing.”

The Return of the Reviews! The Films (& Books) of June & August

So, what the heck have I been up to?

Six months of intense and hellish training to be a prison guard to the young folks, that’s what: I was in the bowels of the edjoomakashun system, lorded over by a series of Dolores Umbridges—which thankfully in the long run, I was rejected for—

“Let’s use brutal, militaristic techniques to keep the young’uns in line, to make them good little worker bees—oh, there’s no jobs and poverty creates a toxic stress environment as well as cycle of defeat? Not to mention the learned helplessness where folks say, ‘Why bother to try and improve when the dice are loaded, the cards marked and the game is rigged right from the start?’ Well that’s not our problem….”

Basically it was like dealing with the students of Mao’s Cultural Revolution: Obey or die!

Listen up boy, you gotta get your mind RIGHT. 

Here’s the thing: these Umbridges claim to “love the children,” but I believe they only do so in the most abstract way….

But I’ve burned enough bridges already…

One day I will go into further detail—but today is not that day—today is September 1, and it’s the start of the final quarter of 2014, and it’s a new page in my life.

Getting my ducks in a row, looking forward, and NEVER giving up. The only way you’re going to stop me is by chopping off my head—and then you better watch out: the Gypsy said if that happens, my right hand with come after you…and avenge me.

Now, onto the movie reviews! (Most of which will be very short; I just wanna get this one out of the way—break the silence, and get back on track…)