“Follow The Science”.

Okay. I’m willing. Because those words say: “Adhere to this rational abstract ideal.”

But that’s not what they mean, when you say them.

What you mean, as a practical matter, is much more like: Follow The Scientists.

Who are very human, and also often buried to their necks in conflicted interests that you can’t see, and that sometimes even they can’t (or won’t) see too.

They were wrong about almost everything, and a lot of them were corrupt besides, overtly or covertly.

How will that truth affect you the next time they try to scare you into compliant helplessness?

(Protip: the next time might have already happened.)

Sopranos Star Refused Covid Jab & Paid The Price! w/Drea de Matteo

Okay. Enough of that for now, Mr. Belletrisms. And as for you, dear reader, Ms. de Matteo is featured in several clips currently on JD’s channel, and they’re all worth watching–you do whatever you like. You be you. Always.

***

It’s three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and the post-Fair quiet seems luminous and preternatural. I’ve been up a long time.

All the laundry is done, except the shirt I was wearing while doing it.

All the water receptacles are full again, although under current conditions they will be empty in about 48 hours.

I just ate a whole watermelon because it was the last thing in the pantryfridge that was in danger of going bad.

Except for the knife and cutting board I used for that job, all the dishes are done and so I unbuilt the sink again. No more dishes will get done until I build it back.

Is there gas in the car? Yes there’s gas in the car. The people down the hall don’t know who I am, partly because there is no hall, and that makes me happy.

While I was out running around I had a thought, as sometimes happens.

I suddenly thought: This art you do is largely about the process of justifying your own existence.

I didn’t tell my brain to shut up. I thought about the thought, and concluded that there was truth in it, and that I didn’t actually even mind if it was completely true.

But.

I am bothered by the underlying premise, by the proto-thought, which is that some big part of me must believe that my existence needs justifying.

What would it look like to live life without the need for such a justification?

Would I still do art, and if I did, how would it look differently?

Would I still want so much to save your brain from the bad people? Would I stop caring about being that kind of savior?

Maybe I should try it for a while and see.

Maybe I should experiment, and follow … the science.