My grandfather said 'smile things could be worse - so I smiled and things got worse.'  vjkelly

'I did all the wrong things to get to the right place'  vjkelly

Fight the algorithms
that tell us what to do,
to make us predictable,
unoriginal and bankable.

Have you witnessed how
increasingly bland and homogenous
our lives are becoming?

Choose freedom
avoid the diaries of commerce
that riff on the ubiquity of apps

resist the reductive tropes
of our published and circulated,
perspective customer identities.

Fight the algorithms
with their embedded backlot
familiarity, built around class
and consumerism.

Try to understand the
vague, inscrutable and
purposefully circuitous.

Or stop overthinking
and embrace liberating surrender.
That’s the path I’ve chosen.
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Broken People by The Narcissist Cookbook
Talk Down Dijon

Outside it’s breezy and twenty degrees
in here the air feels humid and still
the floor’s elbow-to-elbow and I guarantee
dance for 40 minutes and the heat can ****

I left the dance floor
fully drenched
we drank at the bar
til our thirst was quenched

I peeled off my overshirt
but that didn’t work
I still felt flushed and sweaty
a guy motioned me to dance
but I wasn’t ready

Then someone opened the door
the icy air rushed in—I didn’t flinch
It felt like heaven—I wanted more
dance guy was back, the entitled prince

the 05611 is full of pushy guys
when they want something
they try and try and try
I pretend I can’t hear them
cause the music is bumping

Friday nights are such a release
a time for fun and controlled caprice
but it’s also a hot-point time to do-a-prendy
when you say no, divers can turn unfriendly

I’m not Julie Andrews—I’m not offended
It’s kind of a complement, I’m just not interested
If you can take a yes, then you should take a no
I could be protecting you, for all you know, (******/aids)
so chill-out playas don’t be so gung-**.
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Songs for this:
Hit My Heart by BOY
Cake By The Ocean by DNCE

And now it starts,
And yes, I'm back at last,
Four years of trials and tribulations,
Capped off by this raucous jubilation.

I fought and won,
Proved them all wrong,
The denigrators,
The fake media perpetrators.

Now watch them squirm
As I storm into my term,
So much to do,
A solemn promise made to you.

I ask why was I spared,
When into death's eyes I clearly stared,
But when that moment I re-live,
This is what I’m here to now achieve:

Stop the woke,
Don't call a girl, a bloke.
Make us safe,
In this our home, our sacred place.

Make us strong,
So that bad actors do no wrong,
Aim to win,
Proving we are made of steel not puny tin.

Stem the divide,
For racism I simply shan't abide.
Democrats so played this ruse,
Our democracy to harness and abuse.

Let law and order thrive,
Reclaim our streets - our cities to revive,
Where children learn that doing right,
Is what gave our nation majesty and might.


For merit alone to be the glue,
So that we build and not undo,
Step up and take the strain,
Choose sunshine over rain.

Vet the folks that we let in
Ones that work and help us win;
Stop the thugs that sow despair,
See how much they truly dare.

My time may however prove too short,
But no promise made will I abort,
I’ll fight for you with all my might
To make our future prosperous and bright.

So thank-you America and watch this tale,
As the train to Woke I thoroughly derail,
No time to waste, I’m working fast,
Ensuring all that’s bad we quickly blast!

Hasbro makes a Monopoly game
Durable because sometimes we blame
The board for our troubles.  
We never roll doubles!
So flip the whole board.  This is lame!

Do not believe yourself in love,
Know it. Remember the taste of such truth,
Wet against your tongue, sweetest fire through your veins,
Breathing whispered passions.
Hands grasping hips, teeth grazing skin;
The consumption of another soul, body and mind:

Let it envelop you, but-
-please, be kind about your recollections;

Public ****** is illegal.

Over the holidays, I was watching Lisa’s sister little Leeza, she’s 14.
She has a rebellious fashion sense and a joyful innocence.
She’s still fearless too, and on-God, I hope she never loses that.

Too soon though—the disco’s coming to town—the world’s coming for her. It’s the same for all of us, I suppose, but in Lisa and my cases, covid shut it all down.

It’s a rite of passage—the shoes, the bodycon dresses and the makeup. Those carry negative connotations, I get it, but there’s an excitement too, about finally getting to dress like an adult—a woman—in one of those bodycon, cut-out dresses.

I know the pressures on women and their bodies, but at her age, it's not all stress, cattiness and comparisons—it’s just innocent teen fun. She and her posse can take hours just dressing and doing their make-up—together. It’s probably the best part of their night.

Leeza’s dad (Michael) saw the little group of teens, all dolled-up and launched, like a SpaceX Starship. Pacing the living room, he quietly opined to Karen (her mom), “I don’t want her going out dressed like that.”

Karen was right there with him to cool things down, “No, ***, at her age, it’s about self-expression, learning and girl bonding—these connections are really important in the girl-world.”

I’m not worried about Leeza’s physical safety. These girls are watched over and gently curated. Their every movement is orchestrated and security escorted—hell, Hamas couldn’t get to them—much less some gropey boy.

There’s just this new awareness these days of how unhappy some people are—and a lot of them are teen girls. I wouldn’t want to see Leeza mired in the sad, brain-draining social media pressure and self-esteem traps.
Teenhood is scary—I was feelin’ positively parental.

Then I looked at Lisa, and I was reminded that they’ve done all this before, and she has a big-sister, role-model too.
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Songs for this:
Good Time Girl (feat. Charlie Barker) by Sofi Tukker
Dance To This (feat. Ariana Grande) by Troye Sivan

While we’re renaming things,
can we please rename “United States” to “AAAmerica.”
I know I’m tired of scrolling to the bottom of every pop-down country list.
And ARE we united? Really, even a little?

That awkward moment when you’re already said, “what?” three times,
and you still have no idea what the conversation is about, but you can tell,
by bouncy and eager expressions, that the topic is loaded. Never sit at the end of a table, dining halls get noisy.

Has a song ever been your safe place?
What if it keeps you warm in a storm,
by getting you up and movin’?

Oh, what about the inimitable effect of a handsome guy?
Now, I don’t engage in decorous affections,
but ‘Cute Soccer Guy’ (I’ve mentioned him before),
wakes us up, by just showing up, oh, we play it loose,
and all, but he makes all of our hearts beat a little faster.

P.S. Don’t you love the AI tool that lets us scrub others out of our pix?
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A song for this:
Twiggy Twiggy by [re:jazz]
The Trouble With Boys by Little Eva

Yay!! There’s snow on Science Hill.
Finally - snow, I love it. Cold, I love it.

Science says men evolved from apes.
Maybe I evolved from polar bears
or those abominable snow people
—yeti—that no one can photograph.

You can’t just reject that outright,
say the odds are minuscule,
just because it’s new and edgy.
I mean, where’s your science—
your unbiased, clinical perspective?

We could end up in the National Geographic.
This kind of story is very much their aesthetic.
I can provide lots of material—I have baby photos
and I’m not uncomfortable about the pressure.

Maybe it’s time to put your voice out there.
The world always needs the comfort of new voices.
You could influence social media—everyone wants THAT.
This is a buffalo, a skibidi, blessing in disguise.
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Songs for this:
Young And Dumb by The Bird and the Bee
Unlike me by Kate Havnevik

bluebird courting
on each branch he bobs
up and
down