Friday, June 24, 2022

a(nother) dark day

bsp has been out sick for a few long days but I could not let today's travesty pass unnoticed.

Let's be clear. Reversing Roe v. Wade won't affect rich white women much. This is all about power and control. 

ALL. ABOUT. POWER. AND. CONTROL.

I was raised in a mini-theocracy. What's coming is uglier than most of us can imagine.

I'm tired today and will take space to feel sad and numb.

Tomorrow, we fight.

In the meantime, support those already helping women.

And get a VPN already.

Thursday, June 16, 2022

accidental messages

I reconnected with a poet friend last week and he mentioned he's been driving for a food delivery service to make extra money. He delivers late night or early morning, depending on your perspective, and that's where some interesting stuff goes down.

He played me a voicemail from two a.m. the other week, a drunk person at a hotel moaning plaintively into the phone, over and over, Where's my foooood. Yo, I need my fooood

We laughed and laughed.

He played another message, a lengthy one, from a woman talking in detail about a spotted boar and instructions on how to care for it, clearly having called the wrong number and clearly not realizing it. He called her back just so she could call the right person about the spotted boar.

I've gotten accidental messages like that. One from a dry cleaner: Jim, your pants are ready.

Another from an upset older woman that I hadn't rebooked her cruise.

I called the woman back and we had a nice conversation. I didn't want her relying on me, when clearly she needed to rattle someone else's cage.

I didn't call anyone about Jim's pants. Hopefully he picked them up.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

hbd bsp!

Google reminded me that today is busysmartypants' 12th anniversary.

Here's to being a zitty, obnoxious, smelly tween.

Happy birthday bsp!

Saturday, June 11, 2022

when tragedy befalls

etg coffee and bakery

I've written a lot about a beloved coffee shop nearby. The owner roasts fair trade coffee, offers up a quip and a smile and the best espresso north of the CD.

The cafe been closed the past few weeks, shades drawn, sidewalk sign stowed away, and now we know why: the owner's beloved husband has unexpectedly died.

We've started a fundraiser to help tide her over for a few months. Please give, please spread the word.

https://gofund.me/5247b70a

Thursday, June 9, 2022

"Manifest"-ly terrible

I started watching this show "Manifest" on Netflix a few weeks ago. The premise interested me, that a plane leaving Jamaica disappears, only to land 5 1/2 years later. Everyone back home assumed the plane crashed and everyone was dead. Everyone on the plane thought they were landing on schedule.

Mayhem ensues.

But, execution is everything and this fun idea is humongously wasted on lazy scripts and a marginally talented cast, especially the two white leads whose facial expressions run the gamut of Look at me I'm hot, to, Look at me I'm scrunching my eyebrows and I'm hot

The sets are as bland as the farcical writing and bad acting, and I was sure the whole thing was shot in Ottawa instead of New York City but surprisingly it is shot in NYC. Only a show this lame could make one of the most vibrant cities in the world look like one of the least interesting places in Canada.

It was entertaining for a time to see just how lazy the writing was, with so-called detectives casually looking up people of interest on police databases, running ATF ops complete with SWAT teams with no notice, to transporting from Queens to Brooklyn in mere minutes. But it's gone from funny to plain old stupid so I'm done, a little over one season in.

Monday, June 6, 2022

Friday, June 3, 2022