It's normal for young bamboo plants to abort new shoots every now and then as the plant determines whether it has enough energy to complete the process. (I speak of determination in the botanical sense, as the hopes and dreams of a plant are a mystery to me; I can only observe from the outside.) Bamboo plant  Echo had put up a culm that stopped growing about 10 inches off the ground. I assumed this was normal. I was wrong.

The tip of a bamboo culm grows like a spear thrusting out from the underworld by a wretched soldier of Hades. This ill-fated foray fell perfectly into a twisted ring of metal. This band of iron choked the life out of the plant. Bamboo grows from the tip upwards, like an extending toy lightsaber. Its own growth sealed its fate. 

When I finally discovered this, months after I noticed the aborted culm, I was distraught. I had been clearing grass from around Echo and peeled away the drying husk around the culm and saw it. Above the choke point, Echo had tried to grow, and sliver of plant had struggled through before it died, giving a gleaming white middle finger to the world.

The culm below the ground was still green and vibrant. I am curious to see what it will do next.

I now investigate the rising culms as soon as I see them more closely. The world is crueler to bamboo than I ever expected, and Echo and I are now a bit more prepared for it. 

I put up lights around the front of the house in November. A little early for Christmas, I'm sure the neighbors all thought. Joke's on them; these lights are staying up all year. I also added the flickering orange bird-cage lights that we used to use for Halloween. Also permanent.

I also rearranged the furniture. Because why not. 

I have another day off on Friday. I wonder what I'll get into. 

Dang it, I think I pulled a hamstring. Not exercising, while walking the dogs. Running up and down hills in dress shoes was a risky move. I'll have to be more careful.

The other night, I was dreaming that something was creeping towards my side of the bed. I sleep-kicked a mighty roundhouse into the imaginary neck of my sleep-enemy. That oughta learn 'em.

Phew, National Novel Writing Month is over and I managed to write even less than I would in a normal month. It was tough, but I powered through it.

Thanksgiving was good. I got two excellent dinners, and plenty of leftover pie.

Not much else going on for me. Walking and playing video games, tending the bamboo, and trying to think of good Christmas presents.

Wild times!

Jake and Rachel's wedding was fantastic. Flagstaff gets real winters, unlike Phoenix, but it was still warm during the day. I got to wear my big grey coat (with attached hood!) when we went out after the reception.

Jake and Rachel had beautiful wedding vows. There was nary a dry eye in the house. 

Everyone had a great time, I think, and there were only a couple of minor wedding-drama incidents that happened after all the paperwork was complete so nothing to worry about, really. 

There's one more wedding to go, this Thursday, and then I think that's it for this wedding season. That one is in town so what could go wrong?

Oh hey, the YouTube music app which I've mostly hated since its latest update has a playlist called '00's Indie Scene. Was this indie music? I know most of these songs. I don't remember being in the indie scene. Is this app stretching the truth here? I'm pretty sure most of these songs were on the popular radio stations, or at least used in movie trailers. Maybe that's it. If your song was used in a non-blockbuster movie trailer or technology commercial, you're indie. Mystery solved, next!

And I, myself, have been wondering many things. 

While I was streaming, someone brought up cancel culture and I said it doesn't really exist, but I didn't elaborate on it or think much about it further. It's one of those moments where I say something, and I'm pretty sure there's a reason I hold that particular view, but I can't recall the reason. It makes me wary.

I think it's because I was thinking about how job applications ask you if you're a convicted felon and how that's been around ever since I've been applying for jobs. I think the main reason people see this thing they call cancel culture is because people have become "content creators" and they are the product, and the specific content you're creating doesn't really matter because in most cases, your value to the company is based on ad revenue and how you build their brand. 

There's some nuance, I suppose, in which platforms may not allow you to use their services to broadcast yourself, but in our current system, it's a cost-benefit analysis. If you're costing more than you bring in, so long!

It's interesting though, that people who decry cancel culture and I probably agree in the broad strokes that a system in which people's livelihood has become dependent on their perceived personally-held beliefs is a concern.

And that it doesn't matter if it's correct; if it's believed by the "voting bloc", that's the behavior you have to factor in, as a company.

This isn't a bug; it's a feature. So now it's something I have to consider when I broadcast my game play on Twitch. That and not ripping a big fart while my microphone is live. That's just not the kind of humor I'm interested in.

Sometimes, I feel a strange malaise. Usually right after I've helped someone who has a more serious medical issue that involves me having to perform a relatively mundane and/or bureaucratic task. 

Like I shouldn't be complaining when other people have it worse.

My life is relatively comfortable. A few aches and pains; hardly anything that rises to the surface of my thoughts.