Brain currently booting in Safe Mode

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-assassination-biden-political-culture-canada-1.7268019

I was listening to the radio this morning and a similar local story popped up in which the dividing line between acceptable and unacceptable was COVID. It seems that since the pandemic, people have forgotten empathy and compassion, too busy being angry and lashing out at people they blame for [reason]. I mean, I've forgotten how to people, and my copium for antics is a lot lower than it used to be, but some of this nonsense is beyond the pale.

I get that people are frustrated. Everything is more expensive. Housing, groceries, clothing, even fast food (the cheap option) has gotten ridiculous. Corporate greed is making everything worse, and people are looking to lay the blame somewhere; the government is an easy option.

And yeah, I think we should be angry with our politicians, since their actions over the years have led to some of this nonsense. Could they have predicted a pandemic and lock downs and supply chain issues? No. That was very much a wrench in all the things. BUT, they COULD have prevented, oh, I don't know, allowing corporations to stomp all over us, prevented monopolies (which is where capitalism always heads), stopped pouring taxpayer monies into certain industries as subsidies. Extraction companies (oil, gas, coal) don't need welfare, my guy. They need regulations and environmental oversight and to be taxed appropriately. And if they threaten to shutter whatever operation they have going, then THEY are on the hook for clean up costs and we pivot into something a lot less detrimental for the planet.

The government could have also ensured that housing was a right and not a privilege, that corporations more invested in appeasing their shareholders than keeping people housed were barred from owning residential properties. They could have blocked private equity from being a thing. The government HAS this kind of power, but they would rather go through a lifetime's supply of AttaBoy Kneepads™ for that corporate "pat on the head and cookie" for a job well done than what they were elected to do.

So yeah, I get why people are angry. I'm angry, too. But threats? harassment? violence? Not. Cool.

Okay. I have a personal bugbear: the use of 'entrance' during sexytimes in the books I read. Since I read a lot of Regency romance, I see it much more than I would like. It throws me out of the story because I find it So. Fucking. JARRING.

When the pairing is two men, I've taken to muttering, "it's anal, not architecture."

I first encountered it reading fanfic, where gay boys are imagined everywhere and hook up with abandon. And you know what, that's glorious, but 'entrance'? Not so much. It's now in romance novels for reasons(?). I don't fucking know why. Is there a dearth of appropriate words? Do we need to go back to pork swords and love grottoes? Inquiring minds something something.

There is no dearth in appropriate words. I write erotica/porn for the D&D games I'm in for funsies and have had a fair amount of practice writing effective, affecting, HOT sex, with no entrance in sight. It's possible, it's good, and I've found, with that practice, that less is more. Letting the reader do the heavy lifting makes it more personal, more impactful. (At least for me. Your mileage, etc.)

And now that I've sung my own praises without providing any examples (something akin to this VERY NSFW one that I wrote a decade ago here), I've decided to fix my 'entrance' problem in a way that I find amusing. It's like this: if I'm going to be forcibly ejected from the narrative by an author's word choice, then I get to do what I will with that word choice.

To that end, I'm going to lean into the architecture with synonyms.

If you're going to use 'entrance' for vaginal penetration, whether that be by fingers, penis, or other phallic object, then I'm going to mentally change 'entrance' to 'foyer' or 'antechamber' or 'vestibule'. Typically, in palatial homes, a foyer consists of marble columns, expensive flooring, that lone table in the middle holding a vase of hothouse flowers, and so on. It's the guest entrance. It's made to impress and decorated as such. Now, when I read "the entrance to her body beckoned him inside", it will now be "the foyer to her body beckoned him inside". There. That's better; much more jarring and much more amusing. Perfect.

Now, for why it's anal and not architecture, I've gone with something else that will work much better than 'entrance': mudroom. It's often at the back of the house, is more function than form, and was designed in days of yore as a pass through from the muddy outside to the clean inside. I have also read a startling amount of anal sex scenes with zero lube and fewer condoms. Mudroom, indeed. "Eric lined himself up with Archie's entrance and pushed in" will now be "Eric lined himself up with Archie's mudroom and pushed in". If I'm going to be ejected from the narrative, then I want to be EJECTED FROM THE NARRATIVE. No more weak attempts to get me to leave the story's flow, oh no, just one great heave into the nothing outside the wordy embrace that I've sunk myself into.

Yes, I know that this is a very silly thing to get my gitch in a twist, and I also know that it's a 'me' problem. And yet maybe this little rant will change someone else's mind about the word, and they'll find something better in their own writing, or even drop it completely. Until that happens (if it happens), I'm going to amuse myself, as it's a damn sight better than being annoyed when all I want to do is enjoy the time I spend reading.

I usually check CBC News as part of my morning internet routine. Sometimes, I read articles. Sometimes, I don't. Today, I read this one: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ycdsb-meeting-safe-space-stickers-1.6765341 about a school board meeting and parents who are getting their gitch in a twist over inclusivity. Oh noes! Not inclusivity! *rolls eyes*

This article was nested in it: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pope-francies-homosexuality-1.6725182. I mean, I get that Francis is trying, but the church moves slowly, if it moves at all. It took them, what, almost 360 years to admit that Galileo was right and administer an official apology to the man. I was in HIGHSCHOOL when that happened (yes, I'm old) and one of the science teachers had a shirt made (remember when that was a thing?) that said, "So NOW Galileo is right?"

I think what burns my water most about all of this is not the papacy or church doctrine or any of that, but this: why are we funding a CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD from public funds? There should only be one kind of school board in Ontario: the public one that serves ALL students, regardless of religion. You want to send your kid to a religious school? You pay the tuition, me bucko. You're not special because you go to a supposed holy place once a week, believing in a 2000 year old mythologized history while never actually doing what your supposed "Saviour" instructed. No more free ride for you.

(And hey, if some flavour of religion gives you comfort, that's great. I honestly could not care less. But you don't get to impose it on others or shove it down kids' throats.)

I had to run a short errand to the grocery store. Caught my bus, did my thing, caught the bus home, put away the groceries. No big deal.

Last night, I was listening to a bit of As It Happens, The Midnight edition on CBC RadioOne before I fell asleep and the host (whose name escapes me!) was interviewing the Conservative party Finance Minister critic Dan Albas in response to Chrystia Freeland's $8.9B announcement that is intended to help the poorest Canadians. The host, despite asking the same question numerous times could not get Albas to answer it. He had his talking point (that being eliminating the GST on gas/diesel as the only way forward) and by gods, he was going to stick to it.

Honestly, I kind of wanted to kick him in the teeth because he was being completely obstructionist and it felt like all the right-wing conservative thinking all in one bloody-minded package. JUST ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION, MY GUY. IT WON'T KILL YOU TO HAVE AN OPINION. And oddly, by not answering it, he answered it loud and clear. (The question: Do you believe that Tiff Macklem, the current governor of the Bank of Canada, should be fired? Which he refused to answer, even after being asked several times. I truly believe the host ended the interview early because Albas was severely pissing her off by being such an obstinate ass.)

Now, do I agree with what the Trudeau government is currently doing to fight inflation? Yes and no. Inflation is such a tricky issue to get under control and we're doing about as well as any other G7 country, so there is that. Do I think that Jagmeet Singh has a valid point by telling them that it's too little too late? I certainly do. But this guy and the rest of his Con cronies? Go fuck yourselves, because none of you fucking care about anything that isn't your donors or other rich friends and it's disgusting to watch.

So to bring it back to the errand I ran, this is what ~$40 worth of groceries looks like these days. And yes, all of the goodies were on sale. This is what inflation really looks like to those of us who don't drive (where not paying GST at the pumps makes zero difference to the money in my pocket) and need to pick up a few things.

I am in a foul mood.

I got up this morning to a menstrual deluge. Not unanticipated as this is Day 3, but it did not stay in its lane, prompting the necessity of having a shower first thing. Not my typical Saturday morning, but okay.

THEN, I was getting pestered by the four-footed things for food and treats (Sunny gets treats every morning to help with pill-taking), and the two-footed thing for breakfast. It was stupidly frustrating. Why do cats insist on trying to get into the refrigerator when it's opened? THERE'S NOTHING IN THERE FOR YOU, CAT. FUCK OFF.

Added to this the simple fact that all I wanted was something to eat and a chance to breathe and that wasn't going to be a thing until everyone else's needs were met. And yes, the cats were fed, pilled, and the boxes cleaned, and the kid was fed (he really should be feeding himself) before I could put the kettle on and have some toast.

TL;DR - I am easily irritated because hormones.

(This is something that I find incredibly annoying. Your mileage, etc.)

Okay. Writers, you gotta stop doing this. When you have two people getting nekkid or otherwise ready to fuck, you build up this hot scene and then use that word and it just pulls me out of the story and makes me grit my teeth.

Entrance is NOT SEXY. You might as well be using foyer or vestibule. YOU ARE WRITING SMUT, NOT DESCRIBING ARCHITECTURE. Please stop using architectural words to inform the reader what is going on. It's jarring; bodies are not buildings.

If you cannot think of another way to set the scene, try rewriting the passage without it. Instead of using 'entrance' or 'opening' or 'hole', let the reader fill in that blank. I guarantee it will still be hot.

Sincerely,
A Reader who also Writes Smut.

PS - If you do find 'entrance' sexy, more power to you. I do not and wish that particular use would be consigned to the dung heap along with 'love grotto' and 'pork sword'.

A couple of things that are pissing me off right now:

1) Sexual assault victim fined $2000 for violating a publication ban on her own name.

Yep, it's as awful as it sounds. Apparently, she shared the court transcripts with her support network (friends and family) by email. Her ex (who was convicted of the sexual assault in question), caught wind of it, had her charged. It was petty and a gross misuse of the criminal justice system. The publication ban also kept his identity hidden, because they were married, as well as protected their children. She initially pleaded guilty to the charge because she was tired and hurting and just wanted to make it go away, but has had a chance to think about it and is now appealing the conviction.

I just...

I'm angry that this fucking asshole was even allowed to victimize her one more time. I'm also pissed that his fucking lawyer didn't look at the particulars and call him out on his fucking asshattery.

I'm angry that the judge didn't look at the particulars and do right by her.

Making an example of her is only going to make it harder for sexual assault survivors to come forward, and cutting them off from their support network is beyond the pale.

I hope the appeal works, and I really want this rapist asshole to have his testicles curb stomped until they pop like the abscessed boils they are.

2) Cons gonna con.

In typical con dumbfuckery, Doug Ford waited until the evidence matched the modelling before doing anything.

By then, it's too fucking late.

Doctors, who were using klaxons instead of bells to sound the alarm, had informed the premier that opening up was bad and the third wave was going to be about a billion times worse than the other two COMBINED. And hey, look what's happening: THE THIRD WAVE IS A BILLION TIMES WORSE THAN THE FIRST AND SECOND.

You should see my shocked Pikachu face.

You would think, after over a year of this pandemic nonsense, that enough brain cells would spark to turn on that 2W bulb that Doug Ford uses as a brain for him to understand that waiting is bad and action is good.

But no. Gotta open up the province. Gotta care more about business than people. Gotta slough off his responsibilities as a leader for the feds to deal with. And now that it's dire? Beg for help from those same feds and his other con buddies in Alberta and Saskatchewan, neither of whom could find their own asses with their hands and clearly written instructions.

Fuck off, you fucking fuck. You've done so much damage to this province that a government of feral cats and rabid raccoons could do a better job. You're an idiot, Dougie, just like your brother. And now the entire province knows it, too. The election in 2022 can't come fast enough.

We did groceries yesterday. Not out of panic, but because we, you know, had to do groceries.

It. Was. Bonkers.

People are losing their damn minds. Shelves of pasta? Empty. Shelves of beans? Empty. Shelves of tomatoes? Empty. Shelves of rice? Empty. Shelves of toilet paper? Nothing but tumbleweeds. The butter was almost completely depleted (except for the name-brand expensive stuff).

I had to ask for store help for tuna and laundry detergent (both on the very top, employee only shelf). They still had laundry detergent, but not the brand I buy. There was a lone bottle behind some other bottles waaaaay up top. People, at least, weren't panic buying laundry detergent. They were panic buying tuna, hence why I had to ask, but I didn't take the flat of cans, only what I usually buy because I'm not an asshole.

I will admit to crawling on my hands and knees to get some beans (at the back of the bottom most shelf), and yes, I did buy more than usual. But two extra cans hardly counts as panic buying, nor does the extra box of chicken fingers (on sale for half price what they usually are and we like chicken fingers here, okay?). I tried to be mindful, only picking up a little extra and not flats of things.

The place was packed. Lots of people doing the cart-partway-down-the-aisle-turn-around thing that drives me spare when the store is not ridiculously busy. (It was ridiculously busy.) At one point, I started to go into a rage spiral. I had to stop, breathe, then remind myself that I could only control so much. Like buying plum sauce (on my list!), because that was a thing that I could control. It helped, although I still wanted to do a murder on a lot of people just for being panicky, frightened animals.

(Paul did find toilet paper. At the dollar store. He didn't even buy that much - three packs of four rolls - because he is also not an asshole and someone else might need some. And not to hoard or resell online.)

My apartment is a disaster zone. Plumbing happened, so Declan's room was disgorged elsewhere. Most of the underbed stuff is still disgorged because there is a hole in the wall (and in the ceiling of MY bathroom and the one downstairs above the tub drain area because plumbing).

Why I need this hole fixed asap:
a) the bed is wedging in the stuff that's keeping the hole covered. BUT, it's not where the bed goes, so I can't put everything back anyway. Until I know what's going on, the stuff stays where it is and my stress levels stay high;
b) the cats. If you don't think that Sunny will be in the walls in a heartbeat if given the chance, then I don't know;
c) I CAN SEE INTO THE NEIGHBOUR'S BATHROOM. Specifically, their bathtub. If I were less scrupulous, I could watch them shower. As it is, I am deeply uncomfortable that I have that 'option'.

Added to this, I have been sick all week. Last weekend, Declan was wiping his nose and sneezing on all the things. The end result? I have had a nasty cold that is taking its sweet ass time going away.

It has not been a good week.