Effing B

Wednesday 5/14/25

The people who order other people to automatically believe other people.

Trend followers, sympathy seekers. Almost all at present.

The train wreck that is the nearly-across-the-board attempts at using "nowadays" nowadays.

"Now days."

"Now a day."

There are worse things than a dumb person trying to sound smart, like when almost all of the people are dumb and trying to sound smart.

I have never used "Google" as a verb in my life because it is a search engine--noun--and not a verb. This journal is four million words--one won't find a single instance where this was done. Those who know me--granted, I know few people and talk to basically none--would see this, if they ever saw it, check their memories and think, "Huh, I can't remember him ever saying that, actually..."

People think you capitalize the words that are important to you. That it's a personal choice. Or an artistic one. They think the same--but only worse--when it comes to the usage of commas.

What percentage of people in America do you think have a clue how commas work?

It has to be less than three percent.

"Imma."

Exit the earth.

"Finna."

Ditto.

"NGL."

Oh. Good. I thought everyone told the truth--you must believe so and so automatically!--but it's good to know this bromidic statement you're about to make that's more shallow than a puddle on the pavement isn't an attempt at deceit.

Talk like a moron, be a moron. Be a moron, talk like a moron.

The same goes with writing. And how we use words in our heads. We think in words. If you can't use words well, you are less likely to think well.

What? You think in colors? Shapes?

No you don't. You think in words.

Just saw this post from someone:

"Someone I respect once told me that people will demonize a person to justify their jealousy."

It's more or less true, but I'd substitute "envy" for "jealousy." Envy and jealousy aren't the same, though people tend to use them interchangeably and favor the usage of "jealousy," when what they really mean is envy.

People will treat social media as a diary, but if there was no social media, they would not keep a diary. Their "entries"--as such--is not for the edification of others. They will share the most banal aspects of their day. That they had a yogurt. It is because they feel worthless and believe that being seen at all for anything will mean that they're not. Or change those feelings of inadequacy.

You can't be surprised by any degree of stupidity anymore, but one that I still admittedly trip over is all of these men in their fifties, sixties, and seventies who try to speak to sex-spam bots on the likes of Threads. They'll ask them to dinner. The "woman's" profile photo will look like a cartoon character. There will be the fake breasts, all of it. The bot will respond with a bot response, and the guy will try to continue the conversation.

Does he think he's making headway? That it's time to book a reservation? "Let's see, Alfredo's is nice..." How can he not tell that this isn't a human? Invariably, this man will look like you expect him to look. If he doesn't have a neck, he'll make up for it with two chins.

(Nice line.)

I look as I look and I haven't been touched by another human in ten years. But my problems and situation are unique. And I keep going up the ladder, and I can't even see anyone anymore, and the people who are where they are can't see me either. Those that do despise me, or fear me. Or both.

The first birds of the new day have something figured out.

It's 4:30 in the morning and a honking goose just passed overhead.

My mother was telling me that the parents at my eleven-year-old nephew's baseball games are nuts. This is not surprising. They drink at these games, which is somewhat surprising. Many, if not most, Americans are now closet alcoholics. How can you not see the effects of alcohol on the collective American mind and our collective emotional state and in how we behave?

These people then get into their cars after the game and drive. That's one way you can get killed when you are in perfect health as you're minding your business and doing nothing wrong--perhaps you're off to the bakery to get some muffins--on a Saturday morning.

More people are depressed than ever and it's always worth repeating--because people have never seemed to understand this--that alcohol is itself a depressant.

Needing to drink is like having this demon that is always with you with whom you have to wrestle every day. For a bit, you may feel like you have him pinned, and that seems all right, but eventually he flips you and the loss is again yours. Then he's back and ready to have at it again the next day. It doesn't drag him down.

My nephew's coach will yell at the umpires. Comes storm at them from his post. On a weekend morning in regards to a baseball game between fifth graders. No wonder people don't want to volunteer their time and energy to officiate these sports.

Over the weekend, my nephew Charlie, who was playing catcher, was ran into by a boy on the other team coming home (I guess they've yet to adopt the Buster Posey rule in those parts). My niece Lilah--who was watching--reported this to my mother--who was at the nearby swings with my buddy Amelia--by saying, "He called Charlie an Effing B."

Okay, that made me laugh. The boy was thrown out of the game. I asked my mom, "Why? Because he showed some spirit in battle?"

Turns out he also kicked my nephew in the head. Which warrants the ejection.

In a world where nearly everyone is delusional and is at perpetual loggerheads with reality, it's no surprise that many of these parents think their Johnny is going to be a professional athlete.

These adults have nothing to live for. Every day is the same, which I think is one thing if you're working towards something, and another if you're not. But they made this person, and now they can use this kid as a device in their empty lives. A means back to their own past, when they were a "star," something they can control, pretend to be this expert/authority with--because in dad's head, no one knows sports like he does--and also a punching bag, in effect, on account of their frustrations, feelings of inadequacy, and anger, which they can't take out on non-family members and get away with it so successfully.

Games should be played for the joy inherent in them, and also the lessons they will impart as to the non-games part of life. If more happens, fine. But the chances are nil.