You know what, he's right. I think I've developed PTSD from all the time I spend in the war zone. It's gotten so bad that I don't even notice all of the fighting and death surrounding me every day. Literally, I just don't even see it. I must be blocking it out.

I very much doubt it will work, but I would love to put it to the test...and I need your help to do so. FanExpo Portland has a form on their website that allows people to "Suggest a Guest." I think you know where I'm going with this. fanexpohq.com/fanexpoportl...

And now Nexstar has ended their blackout of Kimmel as well.

Sinclair is backing down on the media blackout of Kimmel on the ABC stations they run, probably because his ratings for this week's return (despite being available on a fraction of the stations thanks to Nexstar & Sinclair boycotting him) were damn near record-setting for a late night talk show.

There's word from Cuba that Assata Shakur has died at the age of 78. She had been in Cuba since at least 1984, after escaping prison & seeking asylum. She was a member of the Black Liberation Army. You may not know who she was, but everyone from Public Enemy to Jay Z has written songs about her.

What I have to say about Political Violence and those who want to selectively narrow the definition. youtube.com/watch?v=xEGh...

Discussing some of the more obvious and unsettling parallels between 1930's Germany and America today...because too few people paid attention to history. youtube.com/watch?v=sL-J...

Assuming I haven't found myself at a labor camp, a re-education facility, or executed as a member of a domestic terror organization between now and the following dates...you will for sure be able to find me at these three conventions next year:

The Hazards Associated With Hate Speech A recent back-and-forth with an old friend led me to believe that some clarification on the topic of Hate Speech might be in order. I like to think that other people might also benefit from this. First of all, there is no clear or concise definition as far…

Though I don't honestly expect people to learn anything here, I always naively hope that will be the case. This is my admittedly futile attempt to counter the insidious propaganda I see wherever I look. meltdownmessiah.com/2025/09/13/w...

When Assessing Authoritarianism: Compare and Contrast Critically Altogether too few of the people opposing the steady slide to the right in the U.S. have taken the time to read Mein Kampf or Goebbels' later extrapolation on many of its premises. This is especially disheartening because it's clear…

I wanted to break down precisely why I feel the way I do about Charlie Kirk and others like him, and why his specific manner of demise wouldn't have made a difference in how little I care that he's gone. meltdownmessiah.com/2025/09/11/p...

Political Violence and the Selective Acknowledgment of It Political Violence comes in more shapes and sizes than Pokémon. And yet, it's only ever a specific variety that most people seem willing to acknowledge, and then only when it suits the narrative they prefer to frame. When someone is killed…

My argument for why we need to excise the concept of Race from our collective consciousness altogether. meltdownmessiah.com/2025/09/07/f...

Fiction Treated As Fact: The Myth of Race To bring an end to Racism, we need to successfully deconstruct the 17th-century notion of "Race" as a thing. Race, as we commonly think of it, is nothing more than a relatively modern and simplistic categorization based on conveniently visible markers that…

The view of the Columbia River from the Northbound side of 205 on the Glenn Jackson Bridge.

Looking West, toward downtown from SE Portland.

I heard about this new David Lynch mural in SE Portland, and I absolutely had to check it out. It's fucking fantastic! I'm sure he would have loved it, though he'd have probably been humble about seeing his face on the side of the building.

It's been a little while since I felt like sitting down and putting a sociopolitical piece out, but it really felt like a good time to toss all this together in one place. Looking around, it seems like it's obviously a little bit late. meltdownmessiah.com?p=3948

The Nazi Narratives Helping Conservatives Sleep At Night Conservatives sure do have a knack for claiming (accurate) accusations of Nazi parallels in their policies are hyperbolic while distorting historical facts to make (flimsy) accusations of Nazi comparisons with their opponents. What's truly…

This seems increasingly appropriate. "Let the bad vibes roll 'Cause you know they're coming. Let the good times go 'Cause you know they're gonna. It's a world wide woe What's the use in running? Let the good times go. Let the bad vibes roll." youtube.com/watch?v=Mx6Y...

Photos from the Fair Lift at The Oregon State Fair in Salem. I have to say, it's more of a value add than any of the rides could have been, at $7 for a 15-minute aerial trip back in the direction where I parked.

Photos from the Petting Farm at The Oregon State Fair in Salem. I would argue that the best part of any fair is the opportunity to see adorable animals.

A brief GoPro Video from the Fair Lift at The Oregon State Fair in Salem on Saturday afternoon. I would recommend anyone visiting the Fair take advantage of the Fair Lift. It's worth it just for a different view of the whole fairground.

The next batch of audiobooks I think I'll be listening to...perhaps not in this specific order...that's just the order I downloaded them into the Audible app. I have just as hard of a time picking the next audiobook as I do the next title on my Kindle or the next book from my shelves.

I went driving and walked around near downtown Portland around 2 AM. I wanted to take more photos but had a harder time finding parking than I'd hoped to. I can't complain because I was happy to see there were a lot of people downtown, especially near Old Town.

I get that this is Portland (a predominantly white fucking city), but God damn. When I saw that we were doing a story on a group of breast cancer survivors who help others, as an organization called "Pink Sistas," I wasn't anticipating nothing but white ladies as the founders and organizers.

This is all sorts of adorable...and you can help to make their Kit-Tea Cafe a reality. Right here in Vancouver, WA. www.ifundwomen.com/projects/mil...

I had the pleasure of watching this at KillerCon Austin, with both the director of the short film and the author of the book upon which it was based present. It's deliciously absurd and sweet...much like the ice cream itself. youtube.com/watch?v=orfD...

Watching Joe R. Lansdale watching a panel discussing the influence he's had on horror--and virtually any other genre--is kind of fun. I'm glad I am not on this panel.

Maturing in your understanding of theological matters is recognizing that William Miller was the real life version of Lyle Lanley from The Simpsons. I recommend looking both of these people up, and drawing your own conclusions.

All done at work until I'm here to produce the Noon News next Wednesday. Off to the gym I go. Then I've got a novel manuscript to wrap up and send off this afternoon, and then packing to do.

In roughly 30 hours, I will be boarding the first of my flights taking me down to Austin, TX for KillerCon. Two hours later, I'll be sitting in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for the connecting flight. About four hours later, I'll finally arrive in Austin.

If you're a fan of @sgj.bsky.social you're guaranteed to love this one. If you wondered what it might be like to combine The Outsider by @stephenking.bsky.social with The Hitcher (1986 or 2007) & a little bit of Joy Ride (2001) tossed in for flavor, this is precisely what you would expect to find.

Only 2 more nights of work before I get to board a plane at PDX on Thursday afternoon and head for Austin and KillerCon. I missed it last year, and I missed everyone I'm accustomed to seeing. It felt weird not being there.

Transgender Transference…and Why You Should Know Better Several aspects of the anti-trans stance are deeply upsetting and demonstrably harmful, while being based on a misunderstanding of biology, psychology, and sociology. I take exception with many of them, but perhaps what bothers me most in…

Eating the Rich…and Other Survival Strategies It should come as no surprise that a rallying cry with its origins in the French Revolution is seeing a resurgence in modern-day America. "When the poor have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich," often attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau of…

If you're attending KillerCon in Austin, TX next weekend, this is where you can find me Saturday afternoon and evening as well as Sunday morning. I hope to see you there.

Bringing Some Mania To the Media, Gushing With Gallows Humor It's no surprise to anyone who has worked in Journalism (or had loved ones who have) that people working in the Media either develop a dark sense of humor over time or have one to begin with. Gallows humor isn't uncommon in people who…

Untitled I would like people to dedicate some time and energy to self-reflection and evaluation of what they sincerely believe, as opposed to what they've been conditioned to accept. It would be unfair of me to ask that without sharing some things I've managed to discover in my own extensive…

Look at that, Paramount pandered to the Trump Administration sufficiently enough that they got approval from the FCC for the merger with Skydance.

The Sins of the Media Are To Be Laid On the Masses I believe in the Fourth Estate. I'm passionate about that belief, and I'm passionate about the role the Press is intended to play in a Free Society. Journalists have to hold those in power accountable and provide for an informed electorate. My…

If you're a fan of transgressive horror and you're in or near Austin, TX the first week of August, this is where I'll be.

Persecution and Exploitation, the Tools of the Weak and Afraid As near as I can place it, the greatest problem we have as a society here in America (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Western World) is that there are whole cultural groups who perceive any and all interactions with others…

There are those singers & performers that you just can not match the appearance with the voice...and Lewis Capaldi has been a prime example of that in my mind for a few years. God damn, though, he has one hell of a voice. This song resonates really strongly some days. youtube.com/watch?v=zABL...

Where Does Our Federal Spending Go? I'm pretty well done with sifting through Federal Spending, Tax Revenue, and all that fun stuff, but I do have one more thing I'd like to share. Trust me, it will be fun (it's full of numbers) and I'm trying to delve into how the Federal Government spends money.…

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus is one of the weirdest, most uncomfortable, and certainly one of the most unique stories to tackle the topics of grief, coming of age, and masculinity. This is one fucking nightmarish, claustrophobic tale...definitely not one I'm likely to forget anytime soon.

Sanctuary States Do NOT Cost Taxpayers Money. That’s Always Been a Lie In an entirely predictable return to form, President Trump is again threatening to withhold Federal Funds from Sanctuary Cities and Sanctuary States, as well as cities that have not eradicated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion…