Month: November 2021

So, I Severely Broke My Right Ankle: A Coming 3 Month Spurt Of Creativity


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So, I severely broke my right ankle a few days ago and just came back from surgery today. As such, I’m at the beginning of a three month period where I pretty much can’t do anything but just sit on the couch with my laptop.

I’m thinking that this is now a great opportunity for me to throw myself into a wide range of writing, developing and reading. Unless I’m missing something, I can now have a very, very intensive spurt of creativity where I focus on an array of novels, screenplays and short stories that I have either been working on already or have been lying around in my mind.

It is only three months, of course, so there’s only so much I can do. But I’m hoping that I given how far I’ve gotten with thriller one and thriller three, that this added focus will help me really plow through the less developed thrillers two and four.

I’ve already figured out part 1 (three chapters) of Part 1 of the second thriller. It’s meant to be an almost literal retelling of the events leading up to, and immediately following the fall that precipitated this dumb accident in the first place.

And my involvement with the medical field as a result of this freak accident has me thinking AGAIN of the pandemic scifi novel I’ve been mulling. It’s a great concept that would be written in a first person POV. I first thought the concept up when I was in South Korea, but it’s only been since COVID19 struck that I’ve realized I could do something with it.

The concept is meant to make the idea of a pandemic very personal and intimate in a number of ways. Having gone through a real pandemic has made me understand a number of practical issues that would have previously escaped me.

Contemplating A Russo-Ukrainian General War This Winter


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Nothing has happened yet in any real terms that would lead me to believe Putin would risk everything to wage a general war this winter against Ukraine. He scares the shit out the West every once in a while, but he always, to date, blinks.

For Putin to change his mind and actually start a general war with Ukraine, some long-term calculation would have to change in his mind. He would have to believe that the West is so divided and ineffectual that should he attack Ukraine he could not only get away with it, but survive.

General War.

On paper, however, that is just not viable.

Russia’s economy is tiny. Ukraine has a pretty big population. There is a real chance that after Russia “takes Kiev in two weeks” and the current moderate government is forced to sue for peace, that there will be mass chaos and a new far, far right fascist government based on irredentism.

If a dumb dumb like me in the middle of nowhere can see how obvious is that any Russo-Ukrainian war would be nothing more than the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan but with a bigger population a strategic portion of Europe and, lulz?

What could possibility have changed that would lead him to think he could engage in a major regional war in a huge chunk of Europe and there would not be some pretty severe geopolitical consequences.

If you wanted to be tinfoil hat in your hot take, you might believe that something that Putin learned from his good buddy Trump. Or something. If Putin does, in fact, attack Ukraine, he will either have far more modest war aims than we’re being lead to believe, or he believes something has changed to the extent that he can do it and get away with it.

But there is the possibility that what we don’t know is just as Putin gets ready to attack in a general war in January 2022, Xi in China will strike Taiwan as well. Putin’s thinking would be that two regional wars at the same time (AKA, WW3).

Yet, if that’s not what’s going on, I’m at a loss as to what may be Putin’s change in reasoning.

The Agony & The Ecstasy of WGN’s ‘NewsNation’


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The conservatives in my family love, love, love WGN’s “NewsNation” because they are ecstatic that it is “objective” unlike the “fake news” of MSNBC and CNN. They see the idea of it as a quick and easy way to square the circle of how divided the United States is right now.

(This is where I point out that NewsNation correspondent Kellie Meyer follows me on Twitter and I think she’s cute. So, there’s nothing personal in this post that she should be offended by — I hope.)

Anyway, this is how I address the issue whenever my conservative relatives get all excited about the existence of NewsNation — when one side of the political debate (MAGA) tells us the sky is green and the other side (everyone else) tells us it’s blue it’s not “objective” to hold the opinions of both political sides up as being “equal.”

NewsNation appears to tell us “objective” news.

They’re not.

MAGA is a fascist movement based on violence, racism and misogyny based on the lie of the “Great Replacement.” The other side isn’t perfect, but at least it tries to stay within the bounds of the truth.

But I understand why NewsNation is growing in popularity. It gives a lot of traditional conservatives who are fed up with the perceived biases of CNN and MSNBC an option for their news that isn’t as loaded in conversation as FOX News, NewsMax or OANN.

They can say they got their right wing talking points not from FOX News, NewsMax or OANN, but from the seemingly “objective” news source of NewsNation.

So, in the long run, this is just another sign that the thing we need to have happen to save our democratic republic — for traditionalists to momentarily make common cause with anti-MAGA forces — isn’t ever going to happen and we’re totally, completely fucked.

Get a passport. Figure out what you’re willing to risk your life and scared honor for in the real world.

We Know What Happened In The Lead Up To January 6th & Nobody Cares


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It’s growing quite comical how much we know about Trump’s involvement in the lead up to the “Stop The Steal” rally on January 6th and how little we, as a nation, care.

In fact, I don’t really even understand why we have put so much import on the January 6th Committee’s investigation. We know, in general terms, what Trump’s plot was on January 6th. What we don’t know is the detail that might convince people on the edges who grade Trump on such an absolute curve that it’s debatable that absolute proof would even be enough for them.

At the moment, the MAGA orthodoxy is that January 6th was a false flag operation perpetrated by a Deep State combination of the FBI and Antifa. Meanwhile, the other half of MAGA also absolutely believes that January 6th was organized by a fearless group of patriots who wanted to “stop the steal.”

If you call MAGA on this contradiction, they get very very VERY angry.

Which, of course, makes any discussion of politics with someone you disagree impossible. That’s exactly what the fucking fascists of MAGA want. The more divided we are, the more power they know they can accrue.

No one is going to save us. Get a passport. Know what you believe and what you’re willing risk your life for in the real world.

Any Winter War Between Russia & Ukraine Would Likely Start With The Modest Aim Of A Land Bridge Between Donbass & Crimea


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

First, I have no idea why Putin would pick now of all times to start a war of any sort with Ukraine. But, to date, Putin has proven himself to at least be logical in how he goes about his Ukrainian land grabs. In Donbass, he took some land by force, then ran away, leaving his proxy toadies to manage the mess.

In Crimea, he slowly took it over using “Little Green Men.”

So, it seems as though at least going into things, Putin wants nothing more than to establish a land bridge between Donbass and Crimea. That’s it. It’s meant to be a very fast smash and grab operation that will happen so fast that the Ukrainians won’t even have time to come up with a response.

The Russians get a thin, long land bridge and then they just stop. If Ukraine grows unstable enough, Putin might strike towards Odessa as well just because he can and lulz.

But the key thing that Putin must be weighing is he doesn’t want to stress test the stability of the Ukrainian government. It’s far better to have the current government in power smarting over the loss of some land than a revolutionary far Right government based on irredentism.

As such, I don’t see there being a war and if there is one, it will be relatively modest and quick. It might scare the shit out of people who wake up one morning to some pretty dramatic war footage from Ukraine, but, in real terms, it will be a minor war.

Or, at, least, it will be begun with that intention. Anything could happen once the actual war started. If the Ukrainian government was overthrown by a radical fascist one, then, well, we’re going to the show.

But, hopefully, that won’t happen.

‘Cara’ — #Pop #Rock Ballad About Cara Delevingne


I find it very amusing how Cara Delevingne is the go-to female Don Juan for some of the most glorious women in the world when they want to “dabble in the lady pond” in a very, very conspicuous manner. This is my effort to comment on this situation.
Cara
lyrics by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

mind the gap
mind the gap
mind the gap

I see girls come and go
but there’s one girl I know
is a threat to my aims
and that’s Cara, Cara, Cara

she has the moves
that’s for sure
always seems to have a new lass
by her side night after night
makes a man wonder
what do you have, that I don’t
Cara, Cara, Cara

I see girls come and go
but there’s one girl I know
is a threat to my aims
and that’s Cara, Cara, Cara

so many girls
so little time
are they all just a peice of ass
enthralled with your sass
or you love them while you’re with them
never to forget them?

(bridge)
Cara you should be mine
our love would be sublime
two players in heat
with moves that could not be beat
but I know this not to be

I see girls come and go
but there’s one girl I know
is a threat to my aims
and that’s Cara, Cara, Cara

‘Out of Reach’ –#lyrics to a #Pop R&B Song

Just hold up with a broken ankle and feel like letting off some creative steam by writing some lyrics that will never be produced because I don’t know anything about music. I see this as something someone like, say, The Weeknd, would sing.
Out of Reach
lyrics by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

want to keep you as close
as close as can be
your breath should be warm
on my face
close enough to can get a taste
but I have to accept
that you’re always going to be
out of reach

so close to my skin
it’s a tragedy
but whenever I get closer
you remain out of reach
out of reach
out of reach

don’t you worry babe
one day we’ll be close
I can feel it in my bones
we’re going to rock and moan
but for the time being
we’re just out of reach
out of reach
out of reach

so close to my skin
it’s a tragedy
but whenever I get closer
you remain out of reach
out of reach
out of reach

(bridge)
we’re never going to be apart
your touch will keep us united
no flights of fancy to keep us apart
we’re going to connect and that’s it
I’ll never again after to worr
about you being
out of reach

so close to my skin
it’s a tragedy
but whenever I get closer
you remain out of reach
out of reach
out of reach

A Major Invasion of Ukraine By Russia This Winter Would Make No Sense


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

While there’s a lot of talk about there being a major war between Ukraine and Russia, for the moment I’m still not buying it. It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would Putin risk everything attacking Ukraine when he could attack Ukraine with the modest war aim of establishing a land bridge between Donbass and Crimea and position himself for bigger and better things later?

Now, if you were to tell me that Russia was going to fight a major war against Ukraine in conjunction with the Chinese attacking Taiwan, then that would make a lot more sense. Then, of course, you’d be dealing with WW3.

And, just today, I saw where Russian troops in the Donbass area have been put on active status, so it’s at least possible that what I think will happen — a limited war with modest war aims — is actually going to happen. It will be a brief smash and grab operation to establish a land bridge and then it will stop just as fast as it began.

That, at least, would be the war aim when the war started. Once you start a war, any number of things can happen to change its direction.

Broken Ankle Update


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Well, things are moving forward with the clusterfuck that is my severely broken right ankle. As of this moment, we have some sense of when the surgery will be. And, as I have mentioned, as long as I can continue to write, read and develop these novels I’m working on, then I’m ok.

I kind of knew Something Bad was about to happen leading up to this event, I just didn’t know it was going to be this. There are two ways of looking at this. One way is that now that Something Bad has happened to me on a personal level, I should be in the clear for the future.

The other way of thinking about it is, bad things usually happen in threes and I’m fucked.

Anyway, I definitely feel I’m in a New Era of my life now. There’s no going back. I’ve officially gotten hurt as part of the development of these novels, the least I can do is actually wrap them up so my pain won’t all be in vain.

So I Broke My Right Ankle


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Jesus, this sucks. Due to a very freak set of circumstances, I find myself with a broken right ankle. The only bright side to any of this is it’s not like I broke my arm, hand or wrist.

The current state of my right ankle.

I can still write.

And, for the time being, I’m definitely encouraged to write and read because it’s extremely difficult for me to do much of anything else. Just tonight, I’ve managed to prove to myself that I can, in fact, just listen to music and write because if I don’t I grow very, very bored and frustrated.

As such, for the time being, I’m going to spend ever more of my waking time working on these four novels. Though, I will admit, my current run-in with the medical system has me again thinking about a novel or screenplay I have rolling around my mind that is pandemic relatedly in its theme.

But, for the time being, I’m just going to focus on these four thrillers I’ve been working on while dabbling in the screenplay concept I’ve discovered I work to work on as well.

Anyway, wish me luck.