Washington, DC, because America’s terminally-cancerous political “culture” and “system” have been really detrimental towards my mental health, and just even the slightest exposure to US politics gives me suicidal thoughts, since American politics has pretty much been the story of my life. Having a politician as a father who can’t shut up about the subject doesn’t really help in that regard, either.
I read about the former Connecticut U.S. Senator’s death in the Retro Swap gaming newsletter, given his role in creating the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). I didn’t agree with him on everything, though given things like what occurred in the 2006 midterm elections, I find his experience then relatable today, even more so in recent times. It seems that every American politician has “controversies,” “scandals,” or “skeletons in their closet” (but 99.99% of the time, such charges are from their political enemies within the government and media), and while I know he had his, I’m no different, and in most respects, he has a place in my heart. In pace requiescat.
Today was Tex Avery Day (which is different from his birthday on Feb. 26, the 22nd being said day in his Texas hometown) and World Scout Day, so I did some Avery-style Boy Scout Corgis:
I also did this retro scouting-themed art for a friend’s birthday on DeviantArt:
Today is the first day of Girl Scout Cookie Weekend, so I did a Girl Scouting theme with my daily AI art:
There were two others, but they only featured humans, so I ditched them.
Now for the artwork that I did myself on FireAlpaca:
Basically the female equivalent of my MC (hare/cat hybrid) in a retro Girl Scout troop leader uniform. I listened to ragtime music, popular in the 1910s, while I was doing this.
How have your political views changed over time?
I was far-right when I turned of voting age, and while I’m still fairly touchy about certain things, I suppose I’ve largely experienced a sense of ideological “woke” amidst America’s incredibly-toxic political climate, given the media and politicians seeing everything in black and white terms while completely ignoring the gray area, categorically refusing to compromise on anything, not respecting opposing opinions at all, gaslighting, dehumanizing one another, and so forth. Here’s my most recent result from politicalcompass.org:
Thought this would be a good film to rewatch on Canada Day since it takes place in Toronto back in 2002. Anyway, Meilin Lee is a model middle schooler, Chinese Canadian, who one night has a fitful sleep and awakens to an adorable yet inconvenient family curse where, whenever she shows strong emotions, she “poofs” into a giant red panda, and seeks ways to find acceptance among society and her family. I found this film totally relatable since in my scholastic life, and even today, I’m always the odd one out, regardless of whether I wear a “mask” or not, within and without my family and society in general, and I was an embodiment of chaos at Mei’s age when still in school. Easily my favorite Pixar film, and has shades of Godzilla, King Kong, and the Incredible Hulk.
St. Gallen's Scribblings 