Welcome Distractions

I don’t drink coffee anymore. My sleep patterns are already off kilter as it is. It’s common for me to not be able to fall asleep at all or to wake after a few hours and find that I'm unable to drift back into the Land of Nod. I miss coffee. I miss the morning ritual, the slow easing into the day.

Okay, I believe what I really miss is the whole business of grinding the beans, brewing, pouring that first cup and then sitting with it—contemplating the day ahead. Yes, I could switch to decaf or herb teas but it’s NOT the same, DAMMIT!
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Jen and I have a new, binge worthy teevee show. Reginald the Vampire is based on the comic book series, Fat Vampire by Johnny B. Truant. You know how vampires are always depicted as wildly attractive, fit and well dressed? Yeah, that’s not Reginald. He was more than a little chubby when he was turned so, following the basic rules of vampire biology, he’ll always be fat. Other than that, he’s no Aldis Hodge or Jason Momoa BUT he’s a truly nice dude.

The show is billed as comedy AND horror. I’m guessing the horror label is due to all the blood that, of course, goes along with fang action. Reginald the Vampire is a relatively lightweight but fabulous bit of colorful escapism. It goes beyond what I’d expect from primetime comedy. Fer instance, being LGBTQ+ is as mainstream and fine as being straight. Black and brown characters aren’t tokens, not afterthoughts, only there to capture more viewers.

This is refreshing to say the very least.
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Sometimes, a lot of times, it’s best to just state things simply. Tim Walz, Minnesota’s governor, framed the Trump/Vance phenomenon best:

“Say it with me: Weird,” in response to a video of Trump speaking about Lecter. Walz later followed up with “these guys are weird” to describe Trump and Vance. (source)

It’s abundantly true—the two of them are just flat out weird. I mean, Von ShitzenPantz with his nonstop lies, “sir” stories, pedophilia, pulled-out-of-his-ass tales and other assorted crimes.

Trump is deeply weird. J. Divan Vance is even more weird. I did NOT think that was possible.

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Orca versus yacht action is expanding.

Orcas have rammed a sailboat off the coast of Brittany — a whopping 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) north from the Strait of Gibraltar, where the majority of orca attacks on boats have occurred.
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The incident is one of nearly 700 physical interactions between orcas and boats recorded since July 2020 along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe and North Africa. Roughly half of those interactions caused mild to serious damage to the boats, according to a translated report published earlier this year in the journal Ingeniería Civil.

Orcas almost always target the rudder, which they have learned to break off with ruthless efficiency. (source) 

 I applaud our apex predator brethren and hope they succeed in their battle against the obscenely wealthy fucks and their ridiculous toy boats.