ソ-ラ-バ-ド-のおん: Solarbird Makes Noises

1. What did you do in 2018 that you'd never done before?

Wrote a bunch of novels.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really do that. I might this year for a change, and that's "be better at studying French."

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not really, but a former abuser did die, and I was entirely happy about it.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the US and Canada.

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018?

Possible things only, I suppose... um... that leaves out a sane government... hm.

More musical inspiration, I think. And motivation.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

The whole fucking year, or should I say the decade it took, or the year. Holy shit.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

On my own: The Armourer and the Living Weapon. I mean, it got fan art. That was new.

As one of many snowflakes in the avalanche: your new Democratic representative from the 8th District of Washington State, Kim Schrier.

I'm also fairly pleased with the amount of old stuff I ditched. More to do on that in 2019.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not yet diamond in comp. Or plat, for that matter.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Eh, I got the flu. Or just a bad cold. Not sure which.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably the GT1030 silent (fanless) graphics card, or possibly the monitors I'm using with that card. Honourable mention to the giant utensil storage tray I bought. Sure, laugh, but I'm telling you, a well-organised drawer makes for a much happier kitchen.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

George, our cat.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Every Republican who didn't resign and/or actively, publicly fight the neofascist white supremacist movement. Which means almost (but not quite) every Republican.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Aside from bills, see the Washington State 8th District.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I fixed and/or rebuilt a lot of things. That's always fun. And I wrote and co-wrote some novels.

16. What song will always remind you of 2018?

I can't really think of one. I've been away from music for most of the last two years. I think that's part of the ongoing reaction to the current realities; fiction writing turned on, in a big way; music mostly turned off. But... maybe Mélovin's "Under the Ladder."

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?

Probably about the same.

ii. thinner or fatter?

Much stronger. Much more muscle. About the same weight, just ... more of it's muscle.

iii. richer or poorer?

About the same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Anti-fascist rallies/protests/actions. I missed a couple. For reasons, but still.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

It's been overwhelming at times. Can't afford that.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

(Presumably, how did I, in this context.)

I didn't. It's not my holiday. I rather hate Christmas, honestly; I didn't, until the fundamentalists and protofascists at Fox News ginned up the "war on Christmas" horseshit, but years of that made me really hate it. Anna and I did the usual National Jews and Pagans Go To the Movies Day, and saw Ralph Breaks the Internet. It's pretty good. First 20 minutes or so spends too much time re-covering old ground from the first movie - I think because it's been a while - but then the actual film itself is pretty good.

21. Did you fall in love in 2018?

No.

22. How many one night stands?

None.

23. What was your favourite TV programme?

Either the new Doctor Who - isn't it nice to have actual Doctor Who back on television again? - or She-Ra. Seriously, She-Ra is kind of awesome.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nah, the protofascists and fundamentalists have been trying to kill me my whole life. I'm used to it.

25. What was the best book you read?

Emily Wilson's new translation of The Odyssey. Get it, read it, seriously. Nothing else I read this year is close, though I also quite liked Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, from 1962, which I'd not read before.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Somehow I had missed paying much attention to Florence and the Machine, and thanks to an online friend, I have now addressed that deficiency. Maybe also Sunflower Bean too.

27. What did you want and get?

See above regarding the 1030 and monitors. ^_^

28. What did you want and not get?

I rather want a cheap slider-based mixing board - analogue - with a minimum of six microphone/XLR inputs, for some experiments for, like, $40 or $50. I'd fix it, of course; I'd probably have to. But I'm okay with that. I've been watching Craigslist et all and have come close a couple of times, but not quite there.

29. What was your favourite film this year?

Honestly, Into the Spider-Verse. Christ that was good.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Sushi dinner, and I legit don't know. I also legit don't know my actual birthday. I use one, but it's questionable. Long story, don't want to tell it.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Two deaths, not just the one.

Maybe three.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?

I wore a pair of blue jeans to book club one night and everyone fruck out because "...I didn't even know you owned blue jeans." So, apparently, somewhat sharper than previous years?

33. What kept you sane?

Overwatch.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Gail Godot.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Same old same old, for me, honestly.

36. Who did you miss?

Mostly, Genji. Fuck, that squirrelly little ninja can be hard to hit. Unless he's stupid and charges me directly.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

seaborn, who is mostly on tumblr and discord, but has an account here and might see this.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018:

I BELIEVE I SAID GOOD DAY.

39. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Oh, I hate telephones. Um... probably some repair service, if anything.

40. Quote a song that sums up your year:

Sorry.

41. What was your favourite moment of the year?

Honestly?

Okay, so. Overwatch. Competitive. Defence. Hanamura. Point one. I'm coming back from spawn. Enemy team hits some ult or other as I'm on my way back, kills everyone else on my team, and they've got five players standing, including D.va in her mech.

I hit the point, I pop D.va out of her mech in two shots, and she flees. The other four I take down in six shots, alone, as Widowmaker. When we win, and that bit is playing back as Play of the Game, our Reinhardt, who had been... skeptical... about me being Widowmaker... just kind of breathes, on comms:

"...fffuuuuuuuck."

Glorious.

(Second place: killing five of six enemy team on offence at Temple of Anubis, taking the point, and waving hello to the rest of my team as they finally show up. That one, I have video.)

42. What was your least favourite moment of the year?

Did you see 2018? Did you see it?

I don't know if it was a 'moment' but fuck, the fires, and the smoke. So bad.

43. Where were you when 2018 started?

Eh, just hanging out at home.

44. Who were you with?

annathepiper and our housemate Paul and friend Jenny. I think that's all.

45. Where will you be when 2018 ends?

Dunno yet? Might go out.

46. Who will you be with when 2018 ends?

Depends upon whether I go out. Not bringing anyone over, Anna's got a cold and we don't need to share it.

47. What was your favourite month of 2018?

Hard to say. Maybe the first charge through what became Of Gods and Monsters. That was pretty amazing.

48. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2018?

Nah. Less than usual, if anything.

49. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2018?

I don't in general. I'm anti-prohibition, but it's really not my thing.

50. What are your plans for 2019?

I think you mean 20biteen, don't you?

The news. Sorry.

Trump-Russia:
Kelly defends plan for Russia back channel as a 'good thing'
Sec. John Kelly: Intelligence Leaks Are ‘Darn Close To Treason’
Trump expresses 'total confidence' in Kushner
Dems Call for Jared Kushner to Lose Security Clearance
Jared Kushner’s Role Is Tested as Russia Case Grows
Trump's obsession over Russia probe deepens
Trump campaign likely didn’t save documents: report
Russia scandal ices government lawyer hiring

Taking apart the modern world order:
A few people make this argument: once Trump is gone & replaced by a mainstream figure (Hatch or Warren, say) norms will return. Nope.
Scoop: Trump tells confidants U.S. will quit Paris climate deal
Angela Merkel says Germany can no longer rely on Donald Trump's America: 'We Europeans must take our destiny into our own hands'

Neofascism, neo-Naziism, breakdown of civil society:
Portland Republican says party should use militia groups after racial attack
Texas Republican Called ICE on SB 4 Protesters, Threatened to Shoot Colleague
White Nationalist Who Shoved a Black Protester Blames Trump
Neo-Nazis Announce Nationwide Anti-Muslim March Just Days After Horrific Hate Crime
A U.S. citizen says her rights were violated after she was detained by immigration authorities in San Bernardino
Man arrested for machete stabbing, hate crime following standoff

Trump's friends:
Duterte jokes that his soldiers can rape women under martial law in the Philippines

Other:
How I Got Fox News To Tell The Truth About ‘Violent Lesbian Gangs’

( It's May 30th, 2017; this is the news. )

"Trump’s voting commission is a sham." No kidding. The linked article is to an ACLU action item because people need to get signed up on this. They're going to gin up some fake results to repeat Trump's "three to five million illegal voters" lie, in order to engage in the kinds of voter suppression at the Federal level that they've been working at the state level. Stopping this will require pulling off the very few Republicans actually willing to vote against Cheeto Mussolini, so be ramping up on that.

"This is what emboldened white supremacists look like" - you mean Jeff Sessions? No, these are neo-Klan marchers in Virginia.

"Former Attorney General Eric Holder statement" is about Jeff Sessions's plans to undo sentencing reform.

"Erdoğan security attacks, beats US citizens protesting in Washington, DC" - graphic footage at link. This is the kind of leader Cheeto openly admires.

"Focus On Infants During Childbirth Leaves U.S. Moms In Danger" shouldn't be very surprising, and isn't.

LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU: "FCC halts public comments on Net Neutrality"

"No room for science in Trump administration" - true.

The word you're looking for, WaPo, is LIE: "Republicans misstate, again and again on TV and at town halls, what’s in their health-care bill"

"MSNBC Ending Lawrence O’Donnell “The Last Word” Show Despite Top Ratings (Exclusive)" - though fan response may have overwhelmed MSNBC. We'll see.

Good luck out there.

( It's 17 May 2017; we're back with more news. )

The news is a flood. I finished today's and I am already well behind.

Cultural War: "MISSOURI: Republican Lawmaker Declares There’s A “Distinction” Between Human Beings And Gays." Even the locals are "what." And "A New Wave of Bills Takes Aim at Science in the Classroom" - it's not that the are new in terms of what they're trying to do; they're not. But more are getting through.

Political repression: "President calls for criminal investigation of senator who criticized him for firing FBI director (also smear is BS)," "Democracy in Crisis: Inauguration Day Protesters Face Decades in Jail," and "West Virginia journalist arrested for asking HHS Secretary Tom Price a question." This is a terrible trend.

The Russian News Service in the White House, while American news services barred. "Did a Russian Photographer Smuggle a Surveillance Device Into the White House?," "Presence of Russian photographer in Oval Office raises alarms," "Why do none of the Trump-Russia leaks come from Russia?" and "Russia’s Oval Office Victory Dance" tell the story.

Relatedly: "Senate intel panel subpoenas Michael Flynn documents."

The rest is Comey. And there's a lot, and it's all bad. Possibly the worst: "In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred." This really is Trump following Hitler's path, as one of the first things Hitler did as Chancellor was require oaths of personal loyalty from everyone up and down the line. Not entirely dissimilarly: "Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides." If true, that means Trump was testing his personal loyalty, and found it wanting.

Two on Rosenstein: "THREAD: The key player here is Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Rosenstein. I spent 5 yrs in the DAG’s office under Obama. Please indulge me." and "Rosenstein takes heat over role in Comey firing."

Other reports about specific triggers: "Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for Money for Russia Investigation," "Behind Comey’s firing: An enraged Trump, fuming about Russia," "Comey fired for intensifying investigation of Trump, Russia ties: report," and "In interview, Trump contradicts Pence on Comey."

"Blumenthal: Comey firing 'may well produce impeachment proceedings'" doesn't matter unless the Republicans are forced to it, and, well, see the previous news post about that.

But where it matters:

"Kellyanne Conway creates alternative reality to defend Trump’s firing of Comey"

"McConnell rejects calls for special prosecutor"

I don't know if they can bring themselves to admit what they've done.

Good luck out there.

( It's May 12th, 2017; this is the news )

FBI head Comey fired by Trump. That's all this one is. I'll do a second post with other things, things which are also important.

Watch carefully today for other obscenities, lost in the Comey storm. They have a history of dropping incredibly abusive orders under the cover of other abusive order media storms. It's part of how they work.

The thing you have to realise, and make everybody else realise, is that this is part of the continuing power grab. This is consolidation of personal rule. This is the reason for the "deconstruction of the administrative state" - because it concentrates power, replaces legal rule with personal rule, and leaves fewer witnesses.

And it's an attempt to stop the Russia investigation. Trump had administration people out Tuesday night pushing that on Fox News et al (link to video below) saying that it was time for the Russia investigation to end, even as CNN was breaking the story that the grand jury had issued subpoenas.

In short, you have to assume at this point that the worst cases are all true.

A protest is being organised in DC at 12 Noon Eastern Time. It's at the White House, north side, Lafayette Park. Here is the Facebook event.

Articles are below the cut. Good luck out there.

( It's May 10th, 2017; this is the Comey firing news )

The big news is already well known, so I'm skipping it. The key item here is, "Every Republican who voted for this abomination must be held accountable." The backlash starts today.

If you're wondering "Why Trump's Executive Order on Religious Liberty Left Many Conservatives Dissatisfied," this article brushes up against it, but the real summary is that it does fuck and all, and they know it. A few of the bigger suckups are trying to make something out of it, but there's literally nothing there. Thankfully. But a prior executive order did do some damage, specifically to pregnant women, transgendered people, and a few others, and that's discussed in "The Terrifying Part of the ACA Repeal That’s Already Affecting Trans and Pregnant People."

This isn't 1957: "A Principal Is Accused of Being a Communist, Rattling a Brooklyn School." For - you got it - anti-racism activities. Nice, huh? Also, "A Code Pink Protester Laughs Over a Trump Nominee and Is Convicted." There are two links in that story, one to the Huffington Post talking to anonymous members of the jury. They didn't want to convict her, but felt they had no choice; somebody needs some lessons in jury nullification. That shit goes both ways.

And finally, "Reporter says Fox News fired her for using harassment hotline." It's a new lawsuit. There can't be enough.

Good luck out there.

( It's May 5th, 2017; this is the news )

And here we go. Fascism watch: "UK was given details of alleged contacts between Trump campaign and Moscow," reported The Guardian on Friday. Basically, the dossier was handed over the UK intelligence agencies for vetting and additional research. "Donald Trump Is Now Threatening Both Koreas," since one war, two wars, maybe three wars, all not enough.

On the good side, it looks like we might have Gorka on the way out: "White House Weighs Kicking Out Sebastian Gorka," followed yesterday by "Sebastian Gorka leaving White House as soon as 'this summer'." I guess being a literal neonazi isn't quite okay yet - though it is good enough for media, with "Why Neo-Nazis Are Kvelling Over Tucker Carlson."

A rightist would-be terrorist attack in Kentucky: "‘You are safe,’ Transylvania [University] attacker says to Republican student in coffee shop." Believe it or not, I have experience with this school, and they are Not a liberal institution; if they're to liberal for this guy, we have to assume he's a literal fascist of some sort. There were literal overt fascists here, too: "Trump holds a 100-day rally on friendly turf, snubbing the White House Correspondents' Dinner" but I lost the link.

This is important: "Canada fought the war on science. Here’s how scientists won." I watched this fight, it was long and hard but a lot of data was saved.

In cultural warfare, "Gay-Conversion Therapy Ban Survives as Supreme Court Rejects Appeal" is good news. "These Gay Republicans Mocked Transgender Women At A Forum In New York City" is exactly what you'd expect out of that sort of "we only don't hate queers because we're gay and so we only don't hate gay white guys" you'd expect out of Gay Republicans. Meanwhile, "Trump Appoints HHS Spokesperson with Ugly Trail of Anti-Trans Comments," and they're really bad.

Finally, in racism: "Trump revives 'Pocahontas' insult of Elizabeth Warren" - his base loves the race-baiting. "ICE data shows half of immigrants arrested in raids had traffic convictions or no record" is just demonstration of yet another lie.

Good luck out there.

( It's May 1st, 2017; this is the news )

I'm overbooked this week; Anna's nasal surgery on Monday went about as planned, but there is much more time-consuming aftercare than I understood, and while this needed to happen, it is a lot of time away from other things. Here's a partial catch-up, with emphasis on fascism and neo-fascist activities.

Russia:

• Republican Oversight Leader: Michael Flynn Apparently Broke the Law
• EXCLUSIVE: Sebastian Gorka’s Ties To Nazi-Allied Group Stretch Back Decades
• Senate Russia probe flounders amid partisan bickering
• Senate Trump-Russia Probe Has No Full-Time Staff, No Key Witnesses
• Macron Victim of Cyber Attack Similar to U.S. Democratic Party’s
• Donald Trump, Jr., retweeting Nigel Farage endorsing Marine Le Pen. Global. White. Nationalist. Authoritarianism. Movement.

Misogyny:

• A GOP Lawmaker Has Been Revealed As The Creator Of Reddit’s Anti-Woman ‘Red Pill’ Forum
• And here it is, the NH state rep and founder of The Red Pill talking about why he should get to sleep with underage girls
• Donald Trump to strip all funding from State Department team promoting women's rights around the world
• Inside The Online Community Of Men Who Preach Removing Condoms Without Consent

Corruption and farce:

• House Oversight Committee calls on Trump’s business to prove he’s not violating the Constitution
• Ivanka Trump adds a chief of staff
• Report: Trump won't fire Spicer because 'the guy gets great ratings'

Chechnya:

• Gay men detained in Chechnya give accounts of abuse, electrocution
• President of Chechnya Intends to Eliminate All Gay Men There by Ramadan

And three unsorted:

• Trump’s Sanctuary Cities Order Blocked by Federal Judge
• Resilience of the Resistance
• May Benefits as Britain's Pro-Brexit Party Loses Supporters

( It's April 26th, 2017; this is the news )

Okay, I'm running late - as always, but more than usual - and so the most important thing I can talk about is that we are starting to see the dam break. There has been over the last few days of sampling a significant breakdown in the strongest levels of support for the Trump administration, specifically in both GOP in general and Trump voters in general.

Now, it's not a complete breakdown - what we're seeing is a significant move out of "strongly approve" and into "somewhat approve." But it's out of the margin of error and a clear trend. It's the start of reconsideration.

Nothing is disastrous for them yet, there's not much fall through lower - say, into somewhat disapprove - but it's meaningful. This matters.

And now, the news.

Russia and corruption:
Exclusive: Putin-linked think tank drew up plan to sway 2016 U.S. election - documents
Paul Manafort Meets with a Chinese Billionaire to Talk U.S. Infrastructure
The White House’s game on Russia has now been fully exposed
The Continuing Fallout from Trump and Nunes’s Fake Scandal

Environmental attacks:
EPA plans to offer buyouts as part of Trump push to shrink workforce
Battle over landmark law already raging out of public eye [This means the Endangered Species Act]
A Timeline of the War on Science

Misogyny:
All-Male Panel Failed to Pass Maryland Law Barring Rapists’ Parental Rights
Fox News Found the Perfect Woman-Hater to Replace Bill O'Reilly

Naziism, nativism, neo-fascism:
Lawsuit Accuses Alt-Right Leader of ‘Terror Campaign’ Against a Jewish Woman ["Alt-Right" meaning Nazi, it's literally the Daily Stormer crew, a website literally named after the Nazi paper of the 1930s, and yet, they will not use the word "Nazi" here.]
First protected DREAMer is deported under Trump

General horribleness:
Betsy DeVos Is Wasting No Time Screwing Over Students Who Borrow Money for College

Resistance:
After travel ban, AG Ferguson’s next fight: deceptive student-loan practices
Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz Will Not Seek Re-Election

Good luck out there.

( It's April 20th, 2017; this is the news )

Norwescon was pretty neat, I'll post more about that to the band blog later.

"KUOW Employee Woke Up to Find Swastikas Painted on Her Cars, and Cars All Down the Block." That's near here. "Trump’s favorite conspiracy theorist claims he’s just a ‘performance artist.'" That's not, and I need to see what the channers are thinking about this. Hopefully, it's hilarious. "Dortmund attackers wanted to incite backlash against Muslims" - you probably haven't heard about the Dortmund bombing, this is why.

"Alt-Right Ringleader Mike Cernovich Threatens to Drop ‘Motherlode’ If Steve Bannon Is Ousted." PLEASE. YES, DO THIS, THANKS. "Polls show Americans voted for Trump out of "fear of diversity"" shocks nobody except the LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU crowd.

"Westboro Wannabes Picket Norwescon" - that's where I was. "Does the Furry Community Have a Nazi Problem?" Yes, but that's not where I was.

"The Editors of a Major Scientific Publication Are Urging Readers to Attend the March for Science" - that's THIS WEEKEND, folks.

"Trump will keep list of White House visitors secret" went through a few headlines, but it's a big DRAIN THIS to his voters, who absolutely do not care. "Trump's pivot is real — he's more right-wing than ever" is what the GOP cares about. "100 Days of Horror" is mostly a list of what has been managed, mostly by putting white supremacists and neofascists in positions of power. And, as we already know, the "EPA emerges as major target after Trump solicits policy advice from industry."

Finally, "Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege."

Sorry for short shrift on analysis, I'm playing catch-up.

( It's April 18th, 2017; this is the news )