Hatboy's Hatstand

I’m not really going to do a countdown, I just saw an advertisement poster from my bus window and had nothing else to lead in with. Still, it should be a highlight this week. And due to my money-rearrangements for the purchase of Lazarus, I have a nice illusion of not being broke this month.

Speaking of Lazarus, I finally got the car’s MP3 player working. Well, after that one failed attempt with a DVD, I made a CD and have started educating my daughters in the ways of Golden Oldies music. So far, Doctor Jones by Aqua has been her favourite, although I did also have a mess of Disney stuff on there for her.

Yes. For her.

– Posted from my Huawei mobile phone while on the bus.

Seven hours at Hoplop yesterday, got a lot of random writing done but didn’t have my Creepy and Hatboy draft on my phone so didn’t get anywhere with it. May have to come back to the story later, don’t want to force it.

Had a great night at Jean and Kate’s birthday party, managing to get out of Kallio without any jallu consumed although a ton of fortified wine, punch with 80% alcohol volume booze in, and a mess of box white left me with a headache I righteously deserve today.

And I took the 717 night bus all the way to the end of the line and then had to walk home at 03:00am, which might have ended badly if it wasn’t for Google Maps. So that’s grand.

I was saddened to hear that Avicii had died. I didn’t know his music well but what I knew, I liked. I have a cute mental video of Wake Me Up with the Astro Tramp 400 crew, a sort of trailer. What a sad loss to the world. Thanks for the music.

Also saddened to see that Verne “Mini Me” Troyer had died. The poor-taste “short” jokes were everywhere, but from his career and from what I’ve read about him since, it seems like he’d kind of approve. He made people laugh and he left the world a better place for his presence. Good man.

Yep, today I’m mostly going to be sitting on an armchair in Vantaa’s premier children’s entertainment emporium, waiting for Wump and Toop to exhaust themselves so we can spend stupid amounts of money on 17 cents worth of potato and reconstituted chicken sweepings.

Ah. Good times. I understand Mrs. Hatboy is enjoying a visit to a museum with some friends in the meantime. Some people just don’t know how to have fun.

It’s about 10:30am now and I anticipate being here until at least 17:00pm. Then off to Kallio for the birthday party of a couple of friends. I’ve been instructed not to drink jallu. This is a fair rule.

Let me just say, it’s brilliant that Wump is now old enough to look after Toop in this crazy place.

The final trailer dropped yesterday.

It looks very promising, although of course it is a sequel so it’s going to suffer from Let’s Overdo What We Think Worked Last Time. I have come to trust Reynolds but he may not have all the control at this stage.

Still, managed-expectations aside, this looks like a heap of fun. Domino looks like she’s going to be the most entertaining superhero to watch in action since Quicksilver (the X-Men version). And I got a hint of Drunken Master from her too.

Shame about Weasel, but the film’s done so let’s get on with it.

Infinity War next Wednesday. Then it’s onwards to May!

– Posted from my shoop-shoop-shoop. On my morning commute-ute-ute.

My Facebook feed was lit up today with a bunch of people saying what a saintly old lady Mrs. Bush was because of her book program or whatever, and a bunch of others saying good riddance to her because she and her family dynasty systematically dismantled US education and human rights for decades.

In the meantime, my man Aaron shared a sad little story from his home town, where his daughter’s school bus driver passed away.

We don’t have regular bus route drivers in Finland, they rotate a bunch. It’s a hard job, and bus drivers are much maligned. I’ve done my share of maligning. And yes, they can be grumpy and obnoxious and I’m sure they brake hard on purpose to make passengers fall over.

Mr. Menking worked all his life and it didn’t seem like sick leave or retirement were economic possibilities for him. How much of this was Barbara Bush’s fault, I don’t know. It sure was somebody’s fault.

And yet, now they’re both in the same place. The morgue.

And if there’s an afterlife, I hope Barbara is driving a bus full of screaming smart-mouth kids from one side of it to the other. And okay, Don can also be a passenger and she gets to hit the brakes and make him fall over occasionally. Just to keep it interesting.

But mostly I just hope they were both happy and free of pain at the end of this life. Because this life is the one that actually counts, and bus drivers and the wives (and mothers) of monsters deserve to leave it with dignity.

– Posted from my Huawei y’know.

Long night, got some stuff done – editing, lots of notes, and I may or may not have wasted some time watching YouTube – but not quite ready to start a word / day count for Greyblade. Off to work, bunch to do, then delivering my last editors’ manuscript to … let’s not be coy, it’s dreameling. I’m reasonably sure BRKN has finished already.

Still, hope it hits the spot.

Nothing to add for today. Not even any social justice outrages or hilarious sharebait. What’s the world coming to?

I read that Colonel Hapablap died. That’s sad news. Apparently he really was a Marine. The more you know.

– Sent from my Huawei mobile phone while on my morning bus commute.

Look at this!

What is it?

It’s apparently a straight pride flag. And Amazon is selling them, and – prepare yourself for a shock – people of every sexual orientation are outraged about it.

About all I can say in the flag’s defence is that it doesn’t really take anything from LBGTs in and of itself. It’s not homophobic any more than Pepe the frog is white supremacist.

But … ehh, you see where I’m going with this, yeah?

Sure. Women getting more roles in movies and TV takes nothing away from men. Black history month takes nothing away from white people. And a straight pride flag takes nothing away from LBGT folks.

Except their oppressed minority position. Which, if it really did take it away, would be great. Only it doesn’t.

White history month, and a push to have more men in leading Hollywood roles, does take away from oppressed parties. It pushes a normalised and – yes – massively privileged group into the spotlight, and pushes the minority back out of it, safely into the shadows.

As such, I probably shouldn’t be sharing this. But … look at that flag. Part of me wanted it to be a joke. Look at how bland it is! Yay for the straights! Oh boy, a bowl of plain oatmeal for me!

Stupid.

I’m glad the last thing I bought on Amazon was a book about a gay bunny. That should be arriving sometime soon, too.

– Sent from my Huawei mobile phone while on the bus