I set a goal over ten years ago to publish a blog post every week, thinking that a regular schedule would help me build up a following of people who would then buy my books. To say that strategy hasn't worked would be an understatement. Between that and me being busier than I used to be, my motivation to keep writing these things has dwindled, and I put them off to the last minute and then write anything just to have something. Last Sunday, I put it off so much that I straight-up forgot. Then I decided to give up on my original goal and stop posting altogether, at least until something came up that I had to write about. Then I changed my mind because once I broke the streak, I couldn't un-break it. Sunk cost fallacy and all that.

So today is November 2, but I'm actually going to set the date to October 31, last week, and write a post for Halloween, then write something else later today, or maybe tomorrow. And by "write a post," I mean share a YouTube video. I could introduce or describe this YouTube video, but I just don't feel like it.

I said last week that I wasn't strong enough to give up Spotify despite my misgivings about some of its behavior, but it crossed my red line when it started running ICE recruitment ads. These ads, which claim that "millions of dangerous illegals are rampaging the streets," sound like dystopian propaganda written by a first-grader, which means the pathologically stupid, fearful, and racist people who brought this regime to power in the first place must love them. The Department of Homeland Security claims that they've already led to 175,000 applications and 18,000 tentative job offers. I'm very skeptical of that. Everyone in the United States is very aware of ICE, and I highly doubt that hearing an ad for it would be the determining factor for someone to become a Gestapo cosplayer, even if they are offering bonuses. Regardless, I canceled my Premium subscription yesterday. I'm going to die someday, and how much I stand up for my principles during my limited time is more important than how much convenient music consumption I get. I'll keep using Premium for the rest of the month that I've already paid for, and then I'm not sure what I'll do. See if I can get an adblocker for the free version, possibly.

I went to a No Kings protest yesterday, of course. I think I'm going to gouge my eyes out if one more braindead MAGAt says, "If we didn't have a king, you wouldn't be allowed to protest." First of all, that's not even true. Second, the orange taint is trying very hard to stop people from protesting. Third, yes, we know he isn't a king, but he clearly doesn't. Anyway, this protest at the Salt Lake Capitol was at least as big as the last one, and I think it was bigger. I'm not sure because this time I showed up early and stood on the steps, and I couldn't see the entire lawn. I was concerned that fewer people would show up because of the accidental shooting last time, but logically, since shootings happen all over this country every week, that wasn't a good reason to be scared of protesting. The march after the rally was canceled because the organizers didn't have enough safety volunteers for the size of the crowd, but a few hundred people decided to march anyway, and instead of arresting or shooting them, the police diverted traffic for them. (I say "them" because I wasn't initially part of that group, but I joined it when I came across it.) That gave me a lot of hope, since we'll almost certainly reach a point where asking the government nicely to give our rights back won't be enough. (And no, I don't care that we inconvenienced drivers. A permitted march would have inconvenienced them too, and protests are supposed to be inconvenient and disruptive.)

I didn't take any pictures this time. Some people don't feel safe being photographed at protests. Myself, I don't care. I want everyone in this regime to know the depths of my contempt for them and everything they stand for. I would tell the orange taint to his face exactly what I think of him, after I spat in it. I'm grateful for the opportunity to participate in the largest protest in American history. I was born for this moment. I've never believed that anyone from my parents to the president was entitled to my deference merely by virtue of their position, and my parents' attempts to beat my "attitude" out of me only magnified it. My dad tried to invalidate my worldview as an adult by mentioning for the first time ever that I was diagnosed with "oppositional defiant disorder" as a kid, which I'm positive is a bullshit disorder, but I'll wear it as a badge of honor if it gives me the ability to stand up to fascism instead of voting for it like he does. Anyway, good job, patriots! Keep it up!

Oh, I forgot there is a picture of me after it ended.

Most of the thoughtful post I was writing got deleted when Weebly logged me out, so I don't feel like it anymore, and it will have to wait while I write about something simpler to fulfill my weekly obligation to myself.

I haven't been strong enough to stop using Spotify despite my moral disagreements with it. I seriously considered transferring to Tidal or Qobuz, which pay artists slightly more, but their playlist size limits are even smaller than Spotify's, and that sacrifice isn't worth the essentially nonexistent impact that my boycott would have on Spotify. Anyway, as messed up as it is that Spotify's CEO has millions of extra dollars to invest in an AI military technology company instead of paying artists, I'm not opposed to AI military technology if it leads to more precise killing with less collateral damage and fewer civilian casualties. So I periodically check Spotify to see if some of the songs I wish were on it that weren't on it are on it now, and usually they're not, but sometimes they are. This year, I was surprised by the appearance of "The Ballad of Bandito Chinchilla" from one of the minigames in "Thrillville: Off the Rails."

Yes, I am embedding YouTube videos instead of Spotify links. Ironic. Anyway, it seemed like a long shot, but some hero had uploaded EPs of the original songs from both Thrillville games. I've never played the first Thrillville game, so I wasn't familiar with those songs, but "Emo Skater Girl" still packs some nostalgia because it's so 2006 that it sounds like a parody of 2006.

Just the other day, I squealed with delight when Harlow's underrated self-titled 1990 debut (and only) hard rock album showed up. I trawl far and wide for music, but I probably would be unaware of this album's existence if my dad hadn't owned it. I mean, I never asked which of my parents it belonged to, but I'm 99% sure my mom wouldn't have bought it. Anyway, I don't see eye to eye with my dad on much, but I like his taste in music. (It's also thanks to him that I'm so into Roxette, the Beatles, and New Age music, especially but not limited to David Arkenstone.) Harlow's obscurity is one of those cruel twists of fate that plagues this unjust purgatory in which we live. Every song on this album is a banger or at least a bopper. As is often the case, the opening track is the ultra-banger.

At this point, I've deconstructed so much from the LDS Church that I barely remembered General Conference was going on this weekend, and I wasn't interested enough to put much effort into finding out what happened. I put on a recap of the first session during lunch yesterday and promptly zoned out for most of it. I'm so proud of me. Three years ago, I was still so entrenched in my Mormon upbringing that I watched General Conference to keep up with the church even though I'd already resigned from it.

I've only heard three things about this one. First, that Ronald Rasband gave an awful talk about the Family Proclamation where he doubled down on gender roles and heteronormativity - you know, the things that Mormon God is concerned about instead of real problems like climate change, fascism, school shootings, and genocide. This is the Family Proclamation's thirtieth anniversary. The church still peddles the fiction that it was prophetic about the social changes that have happened since 1995, when in reality, it was not only reactionary to the social changes that were already well underway, but also clearly inspired by the right-wing evangelical "Family Manifesto" published in 1988. The LDS Church has really painted itself into a corner with its myopic social views, but since the Family Proclamation hasn't been canonized, future prophets and apostles can still quietly phase it out and hire scholars to quietly publish an anonymous essay explaining that it was never doctrine. Doubling down on it now just because the US is temporarily going backward on women's rights and queer rights is very unwise.

Second, I heard that there was increased security and a veiled reference to the shooting at a Mormon chapel in Michigan last week by an evangelical Trump supporter. In case it doesn't go without saying, I am appalled and disgusted by violence against people in any place of worship except the Westboro Baptist Church. Some Mormons are blaming "anti-Mormon" podcasters for inciting the hate that led to this act. Baloney. I've watched several podcasters who are critical of the LDS Church, and not one of them has said anything that would lend support to a violent act like this. Beliefs are not people. Just because you feel personally threatened when someone criticizes your beliefs doesn't mean that person wants you dead. Anyway, if "anti-Mormon" podcasters are responsible for this violent act, then Mormons are responsible for every anti-LGBTQ hate crime.

Third, I heard that prophet-in-waiting Dallin Oaks - who, by the way, is not the kind of person I have the slightest interest in emulating or spending eternity with - didn't announce any new temples. No surprise there. I used to get so excited about temple announcements because they were a tangible measure of the church's global growth. Then Russell Nelson came along and started announcing temples in random places where the membership is too small to even staff them, let alone use them on a regular basis, just because he had a grudge against Gordon Hinckley and wanted to beat his temple announcement record. Congratulations, Nelson, you won your pissing match, and Mormons who don't do any research outside of what they hear from you probably believe that the church is growing and really needs a temple in Belgium. Oaks, at least, seems to be more pragmatic and less concerned about appearances. Oh yeah, Nelson died a week ago, in case that wasn't clear. I think he was a self-absorbed tool, but I didn't hate him, but I'm not sad that a 101-year-old man died in his sleep. It was just a thing that happened and wasn't important enough for me to mention at the time.

And that's all I know about General Conference, and I'm not going to learn anything else about it on purpose. I'm so proud of me.