the mellow tigger's musings

I had my first dream of 2022 last night.  I won't describe it as I usually do.  The only person in it that I recognized is someone I had a crush on and who died over 3.5 decades ago.  I know I'm stressed out at the many continuing and new crises, but my brain is reaching rather far back to find some kind of reassurance.

Instead, do you remember the famous and reassuring song "Let It Go" from Frozen?  One of the songwriters tweeted a recognition and encouragement to the young girl singing it to other children in a bomb shelter in Ukraine.  Please give a like to that tweet and the original video source on Twitter.  I suppose everyone needs at least a small measure of empathetic peace these days.

Meanwhile, today marks the first day of me burning up lots of accumulated vacation days.  I'm not working for the rest of this month.  I suppose I need to get my house cleared of junk, so it's easier to move soon.  Just in case.  I probably won't do that prep work today though.  I'll probably play some computer games to soothe my own mind, steeling myself for the results of the Minneapolis "2020 Civil Unrest After Action Review" at 1:30pm, then go see what I can do to support the local teachers strike that starts today, besides just signing their petition this morning.

I just don't have any attention/stability to spare for the protests in Florida or the refugees fleeing Texas.  (Remember Texas?)

Good luck, everyone.

Remember when multiple Hollywood actors brought attention to a GoFundMe page started by concerned relatives to raise money for lawyers to rescue a teen lesbian apparently held against her will at a Christian facility in Texas as some kind of anti-gay conversion therapy?

All I can find afterwards is that the court records were sealed.  Does anybody know whatever happened to Sarah?

Just asking... for... oh, reasons.

The dreaded day has arrived. If ever there was a birthday worth drinking heavily, my birthday today would be the one.

Instead, though, I have a thought that will persist regardless of this vote's outcome. There are great issues that remain, regardless of the team banner gracing the Oval Office. One of these issues is presented nicely in today's theme song from a talented queer folk musician, Joy Oladokun.


This review explains the song much better than I can.

On Friday, Oladokun released a new single called “I See America” that deftly examines the long-lasting harm that systemic racism does to Black communities, as well as the subtle and sinister cultural norms that hold it up. In the opening verse, she describes a young Black man she sees on the street, acknowledging his fundamental worth as a human being in ways that others don’t seem to have done. In the closing verse, she examines ways that racist attitudes are able to spread quietly when they go unchecked in the name of keeping peace in the family.

The song acknowledges two huge social and cultural issues that cause extraordinary and long-lasting suffering in our country. It's also a quietly powerful call for change, as Oladokun sings: "Violence and rumors in a Southern town / Will start with a whisper / But so does the difference."
- https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/nashville-cream/article/21144121/joy-oladokun-issues-a-firm-gentle-call-to-action-in-i-see-america

Such a remarkably peaceful sound for such a difficult time.