Devastating

Wow. The news says that over a hundred people died due to Hurricane Helene and hundreds are missing. Plus millions of people continue to be without power, and could be without for a week. I hope that federal disaster relief can reach everybody soon. I certainly don't want people to be facing chillier fall or winter temperatures without heat or clean water.

Meanwhile Israel continues its devastating war on the whole region, and the US does nothing to stop its killing spree. Fuck. We couldn't have arrested Netanyahu for war crimes while he was at the UN? Fuck.

Self Defense

Fuckin' Israel. Expanding their war wider and wider. Using terror tactics like exploding pagers all at the same time, regardless of where the people might be and what civilians might become "collateral damage." Is no one able to reign them in?

I know, I know. They always say they're negotiating something behind the scenes. That it has to be secret, not in public. But fuck Netanyahu, who doesn't care about publicly giving speeches in the US and interfering in our politics. Fuck him for rejecting all ceasefire proposals.

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/israel-bloodbath-lebanon-hezbollah

The Pentagon announced on Monday that the U.S. is deploying an unspecified number of American troops in addition to the 40,000 troops already in the region. In the readout of a call with Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated the U.S.’s standard posture that Israel is acting in self-defense. “The Secretary expressed his support for Israel's right to defend itself as Hizballah extends its attacks deeper into Israel, and stressed the importance of finding a path to a diplomatic solution that will allow residents on both sides of the border to return to their homes as quickly and safely as possible,” it stated.

Fuck. This is self defense? And the UN can do nothing as long as US has veto power and sides with Israel.

Delightful Drama

To my surprise, Stage West's version of The Importance of Being Earnest was not set in Victorian times. As soon as I saw the set, I realized it was a modern adaptation, and the program confirmed that this was the director's choice. If Shakespeare can be staged in any time period, then why not Wilde? So Oscar's classic farce became an absurd 1980s soap opera. It was wonderfully funny. Here's a professional review with photos.

I still wonder, though, why the ads and logo for the show still featured two Victorian gentlemen in top hats. I guess the marketing designer didn't find out about the modern setting in time. I suppose Stage West also didn't want to repeat themselves too much, as they had the Sherlock Holmes play earlier this season. And yes I realize that I'm old if I consider the 1980s modern times, when that is over 40 years ago. So it's still technically a period setting.

Happy Festival

Well this weekend is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and our local Asian mall was overflowing when I drove by last night. People were parking in lots across the street then trying to cross the highway at crosswalks. So I didn't bother stopping there and went shopping at a different place.

Tonight I'm going to go see Importance of Being Earnest at Stage West. This is a favorite play of mine and I've seen it staged before at another place years ago. I hope the costumes will be great. I tested negative for covid on Friday, but I will still wear a mask just in case.

There's no movies I want to see now, and it's clear I shan't be able to squeeze into whatever entertainment they have at the Asian mall. Hopefully after this weekend it will go back to normal. I got to make the most of my time since I have to work the next 2 weekends in a row.

Happy Labor Day

I'm still at home trying to clear out all the emails I missed on vacation. On the cruise ship, not even Wifi internet would work for more than a few seconds on my phone. Of course there were a ton of emails concerning the DNC, and also for the end of the month fundraising. I missed half of the DNC, so I have to catch up on videos and references.

It looks like Kamala's campaign still has a lot of momentum going ahead, with so many new voter registrations. I checked my voter registration too because I heard Texas was purging voters again. I'm okay, so I guess they are still targeting Black and Latino voters. A lot of Texans were featured at the DNC, including Jasmine Crockett, who has been made a national co-chair of the Harris/Walz campaign. Good for her! She is such a star.

Also, I came home to a letter saying that my city wants to rezone a commercial lot to allow "light manufacturing" very close to my neighborhood. I'm trying to get info on how exactly they define "light manufacturing" and how dangerous that might be due to a bunch of natural gas pipelines near me. I can just imagine some horrific explosion or other industrial accident due to Texas's lax laws about worker safety and their zoning allowing factories to be too close to residential houses. Fuck.