Blah, blah, blah Rex — take me to the good stuff (scroll down).

Well, here we are. There’s nothing we can do at this point but sit back and take a long pull from whatever vice you need to use to get through these hellish upcoming years. Trust me, there’s no wrong choice on that one — just do the best you can to survive.

That being said, there are a few things you can do to ensure your survival and safety throughout these next years.

Since being online is a crucial part in most of our everyday lives, there’s a few things we can do to ensure we’re being safe and surviving healthy on here.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the upcoming fascist Trump regime is looking to construct databases based on individual’s Internet activity. This is laid out in the Bible’s Revelations Part 2 (AKA Project 2025) pretty clearly and is going to be a hot priority from the get go. Side note: I always find it funny that we, as a society, frequently think of Armageddon as a big comet or aliens coming to Earth when, really, it’s going to happen by us killing each other — but over the course of a very long and dragged-out time period. Not just one event that annihilates everything and everyone we love.

I mean, really, ask yourself this:
- Why are all the tech bros cozying up to Trump?
- Why does Curtis Yarvin have such a powerful influence with Trump and Vance?
- What if TikTok’s ban was just because our government couldn’t access its back doors? But it will come back because they made a very large contribution to the Trump campaign?
- If you live in a porn-restriction state, what if your ID is being saved along with your pornographic web history? (fun fact — it is)

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘why should I care? I have nothing to hide.’ Do yourself a favor and ask one of your very scared friends in the LGBTQ+ community how they feel right now. Or ask someone who is an immigrant to this country or is a child of immigrants.

Ugh. Anyway, enough with the melodramatic build up. You know this world — you’re living in it! Let’s get down to the nitty gritty — here’s some apps that you should download to ensure your messaging safety on the Internet.

STOP HERE IF YOU’RE SKIPPING MY FUN WRITING.

Winner: Signal Messenger

Signal is by far the best app for your daily text messages with anyone. It’s open-source, offers end-to-end encryption and has an amazing company privacy policy. Also, no ads which means there’s not going to be any trackers or marketing investors hoping to dip their grubby fingers into your privacy. Signal operates as a non-profit and are rather transparent with their activities, updates and such.

Not to mention — you can go on private mode in messages and have your messages disappear after X amount of time (ephemeral messages). Oh! And you can even change the icon on your phone to something else that camouflages it on your app’s home screen. Mine looks like a cute generic weather app.

Runner Up: Session App — 
Session is a great alternative to Signal and offers extreme security and privacy. It’s decentralized which is fantastic. Session operates on Onion Routing (Tor) which helps to leave no footprints and ensures privacy. Like Signal, it’s open source, no data is collected and can be used on any device. Downside is it’s not as popular as Signal and, because it uses Onion Routing, it runs a bit slower. Bonus — I’ll probably write a miniblog about Session because, honestly, there’s a lot of benefits to using it.

Honorable Mentions: Threema — 
Just like Signal and Session, Threema incorporates all said benefits. But what makes Threema pretty awesome is the fact that they operate on Swiss Privacy Laws. The only downside for Threema is it’s not as popular and you have to pay to use it (subscription based).

Wire — 
Focusing on strong end-to-end encryption for all messages, calls and video meets, Wire is a great alternative for group chats. Based in Switzerland, Wire prioritizes on quick, secure file transfers and high-quality FaceTimes making it a great communications app for businesses too. Downsides include a small user base, glitches (they’re still working on rough patches) and a limited free trial.

Side Note — Swiss Privacy Laws

This could be a topic entirely by itself, but they’re some of the most robust and secure privacy policies for users in the world. Enhanced data protection is key for all users and the main goal.

Thumbs Down — Apps Not to Use!

WhatsApp — 
While WhatsApp has quirky Modern Family ads and seems like the preferred choice for most, it’s best to know that your messages aren’t as private as you might think. Meta owned and operated, WhatsApp falls under Zuck jurisdiction, to which he pivoted to the right quite a bit based on his latest Joe Rogan interview. Also, Meta carries the authority to monitor your messages, activity and even geolocation.

Facebook/Instagram Messenger — 
Lmao no. Just no.

Snapchat — 
This should seem obvious, but Snapchat is not encrypted nor is it anonymous. They also have serious security concerns that have plagued them ever since their launch. They monitor your geolocation, regardless whether you let them. Not cool. Also, check this out! They claim their AI doesn’t look at your images, but it most certainly does. So yeah, don’t send any spicy pics or anything with Snap.

Telegram — 
Did you know that chats on Telegram aren’t end-to-end encrypted? Seriously. It’s not the default setting and most regular conversations aren’t, leaving you potentially exposed. Telegram has also bent their knees to demands, releasing data inquiries to governments and agencies that have requested. This is probably due to what happened last year to their CEO Pavel Durov. Telegram is very popular and have cool features that other messaging might not offer (AI, channel enhancements, free large group chat options) but it comes at the expense of privacy measures users might want or need.

Be safe, stay safe and make sure you’re secure when using messaging apps. Disclaimer — I do NOT condone the usage of these apps for nefarious purposes, so yeah don’t be a villian. Be a hero.

###

We crash into existence, solitary islands in an archipelago of digital flesh. Despite the pixel islands we’ve constructed on social media and dating apps, the tide of time will reveal us as we truly are: singular, stark figures on a beach of forgotten notifications. We may not always feel the sting of solitude. But still, the echo of our own heartbeat is the only constant in the symphony of fleeting connections. Self-respect becomes our lighthouse, guiding us through the fog of manufactured validation. How can we truly respect ourselves if our happiness is tethered to the ever-shifting sands of others’ approval?

So, after much procrastination and hurdling many fears, i finally watched my Spotify Wrapped highlights on my phone last night and, well, let’s just say it’s… interesting. I’m not sure if I necessarily agree with it, well, not that you can’t disagree with it. After all, they did keep stats and logs on all the activity you did there, rex. It’s all data!

Eh oh well.

Anyway, I usually kickstart my own yearly music journey by doing this first. Reviewing the algorithm that I’ve invested into so that we can begin this voyage.

So, without further ado…

Music genres, nothing too surprising here. Although the entrance of metalcore is new. I think i went through some stuff this summer like, the absence of Warped Tour has kinda messed with me. Damn, you know… It’s hard to find stuff on your own and not enjoy it in person. Usually punk is a genre for me, but it seems to have fallen wayside. Must have to do with something being liberal now/woke/gosh knows. Next year, punk’ll be back, bay-bay!

Apparently Portland is my sound town, which seems kind of weird. Of course, i love the 3 artists that come up there so maybe it’s not so weird. I’ve always considered myself more of a Seattle or Philly person. Also, did you read how there are queer sound towns? Google it! I’m jelly i didn’t have the same fate. I’d like to be in a queer music town where everybody know’s your name. Wait that’s a different song from a show.

Top songs are interesting! I always indulge in good ones. Hey — there’s @DJSTTDJ and @gojiimusic!

#1 — a top ’23 fav.
#2 — ah, the absence of warped tour.
#3 — summer jam and always makes me happy.
#4 — im a lush for maxo’s storytelling hiphop.
#5 — couldn’t get enough of all year. it’s my OW2/RL jam.

Okay, so a bit of an explanation here — Mac Quayle is my ‘writing-mode’ music (usually, for the most case at least). The soundtracks he composes are fantastic. Also, you really ought to know that Spotify isn’t my only streaming app FYI (i listen to others [YouTube Music, Bandcamp — to name a few]). So my final score metrics that I write and compose might reflect on all the apps and records I have and listen to elsewhere.

Either way, Mac Quayle is a god damn treasure. Definitely give his work a listen to.

Please make it cool like true bloods and not dorky like twilight. No offense twilight, just not my cup of tequila.

I really don’t know what this means but I’m gonna roll with it.

Okies, well there you have it. Don’t say that I’m not transparent with what I listen to. Just know that I used to do this every year on deadbird and it’s something i’m hoping to continue here. But the music scene’s a little off here. maybe not off, just different.

Anyway, back to memes or whatever it is ya dig. Stay tuned for my wrap on the top albums over the past year.

✌️

I haven’t been updating this as much as I’d like, which is on me. This semester (or Q3 depending on how old you are) has been a pain in the ass and I’m beat as fuck every night. School is good, the job is terrible. Help me, Lord, help me.

But I was able to attend Write It Up (impromptu writing) this past Wednesday at Sugar Maple just down the road from me. ANYWAY: WIP Works like this = You get a PERSON, a PLACE and a PROBLEM. Here’s my story.

PERSON: Habitat For Humanity Marcus Person
PLACE: Dubai
PROBLEM: Drank Too Much Water
TIME: 40 minutes

“Wait, what do you mean Dubai?”
“I mean that we’re sending you there.”
“You’re sending me to one of the wealthiest places in the world?”
“Yes.”

My father had always told me to make something of myself. That if I continue to squander through my western education just scraping the bottom of the floor, that nothing good will ever happen. That I’ll probably just end up a billionaire, owning a yacht, a vacation home in New Hampshire and more Bitcoin and etherium than I’d ever been able to comprehend.

Okay, so that last part might be his personal opinion. But still.

He grabbed my collar at graduation and said, “If you end up like the rest of these Harvard Twats, I’ll disown you.”

I didn’t know what to do with myself. I thought about joining the military, which then my father told me that I should have done that directly out of high school. At least then I would have gotten free college and a box over my head.

I thought about getting a job in my degree, economics, to which my father again reminded me — if I become wealthier than him — he’d hate my guts. He actually threatened to embezzle against me, saying he knew many powerful lawyers personally that could help him accomplish just that. Of course, I believed him, how do you think he invented Tinder (side note — he didn’t).

“But why would you send me there?”
“Because! This is a humanitarian project! Don’t you want to do humanitarian things?!”
“Well, of course, I do that’s why I’m here. But in Dubai?”
“That’s one of the most important places on our radar at the moment.”

I decided, since my career in financials would bring an obvious moral and genealogical demise, that I would join Habitat for Humanity. There I could use my woodworking and carpentry skills I inherited from a very frivolous high school shop class teacher named Mr. Timber of all names, and build some houses for people that really needed it. When proposing this idea to dad, he said “well, I guess it’s better than feeding them. And, of course, it’s not that I mean feeding the needy is bad — it’s that you took shop class instead of cooking. Trust me, Mark, nobody wants to eat your shit Ramen.”

Fuck you, John. My shit ramen slaps.

It wasn’t until I was deployed that I began having second doubts. Dubai? Really, fucking Dubai? The richest cities in the entire globe. The place where floating air conditioners cool fans in their soccer stadiums? The place where one of the world's largest airline companies, AirEmirates, operates and distributes their wealth? The place that for the past 40 years has made more banks than imaginable on the trade of oil and gas?

“Yes,” they said. “Mr. Person you are going to Dubai for habitat for humanity. You are to build homes for their homeless population.”
“What are the homeless-only millionaires that can’t afford the billion-dollar lux condos and homes that go up?”
“No, actually –“
“What? Are the homeless just millionaires that can't afford the trillion-dollar man-made manufactured islands that exist in the Persian Gulf off of Abu Mosa?”
“No, actually –“
“What? Are the homeless –“
“Mr. Person if I may interject here. While whatever you might think of our organization or the country of United Arab Emirates,
exists in that little centralized mind of yours, may I inform you that we and the UAE actually have a reputation here that we take seriously and hold dearly to our hearts?”
“Yeah, kind of how my dad holds my degree close to his, right?”

It was four days later that they express mailed me to Dubai. The rest of the crew that was to help me flew AirEmirates while I flew the UAE’s state-sponsored budget airline, FlyDubai. The only free thing on the flight was the water, which I took full advantage of. I had 22 bottles on a 10-hour flight which made me pee more frequently than someone who has to pee a lot. I don’t know. Everyone sitting here right now is a creative person. You can probably think of something funnier than I can.

Anyway, yeah so I peed a lot.

When we landed at DBX (Dubai’s airport), I was greeted by my Uber driver Joe. Joe grabbed my bags and told me that the rest of my team was already at the hotel, waiting for my arrival. I asked him where the nearest bathroom was and he told me that I would have to wait until we got to the hotel, since he was not authorized to answer that question.

When I pressed him that I really needed to use the bathroom, he asked if I’ve been hydrated enough and like a typical UBER driver offered me free water. Which, since my dad said never turn down a free drink, I took.

Four water bottles later, Joe dropped me off at my hotel. I ran inside as quickly as I could and demanded the front desk give me the room number for Mark Person, Manager of the latest and greatest Habitat for Humanity project to come to UAE. The front desk clerk asked if I had to announce or declare anything, to which I told him that no, I was just a recent Harvard graduate and son of a billionaire that needed to pee really bad. To which he told me that, “oh you said Harvard. So not yale? Then any plant in the main lobby would do.”

I found these beautiful orange orchids I had ever seen. “Where did you get this from?” I shouted to the front desk clerk.

“Oh, I don’t know.” he said “1–800-flowers I think?”

i want to go back to the dishes and scrape the odd ends of mash potatoes and stuck-to-the-plate corn kernels that deserved no more nibbles.

down the drain they go, no worries, no faults — not a second thought.

you can learn a lot about a person by what they leave for the dishwasher.

and you don’t even need to meet them or see the lucky food that made it to their instagram story.

There’s a lot I wish I could go back and undo —

a lot of pain,

mistakes

and suffering.

A lot of heartaches,

breakups and

letdowns.

A lot of nasty sex.

Too many I’ve said,

“just one more”.

Too few times I’ve said,

“I’m sorry”.

You grow used to the rain,

but that doesn’t mean you like it.

i gotta say — fuck this week. it’s been the pits, y’all. If there’s anything more annoying than a micromanaging manager please let me know in the comments or dms or whatever. I would like to know because I’m convinced there isn’t.

Oh, except for the fact that the number of COVID cases in the US&A is rising faster than the sea levels. And maybe the fact that people are still convinced the vaccinations either won’t work or will cause some underlying disease or bodily instability (newsflash — catching COVID does).

Instead of laying on the couch and watching the sun chase the ceiling (which I do sometimes), I drowned out the world’s aches and moans with noise. And that’s the purpose of this blog — to share with you what I was listening to this week and how I got through these miserable 7 days.

HOLY PINTO

Chill on the Hill has to be the highlight of my week. Shocking, right? It’s one of the few things that feel “normal” right now. I’ve been out to dinner and gone to bars, but idk there’s something missing. It doesn’t feel like it once did before the pandemic. Maybe it’s COVID-related or maybe it’s just growing up.

Anyway, so I’m a beer and a half in and Holy Pinto takes the stage. Local Sunrise City indie band that has some pretty damn good jams. So good that I’ve been listening to a few of their songs ever since Tuesday and, impressively enough, two songs have catapulted into my top played list on Spotify. Live, his voice sounded like Ben Gibbard but via my computer speaker I get “Greetings From Michigan” vibes.

Do yourself a favor — click on Holy Pinto above crank those speakers. Also a whole lot of awesomeness in that music video.

RELAXING SOUNDS OF CAFE IN JAPAN FOR 3 HOURS

I don’t know how I found this video, but I’m sure glad I did as it definitely saved my workday week. Without it, I think I would have laid on the floor and waited for my employment death. Fire me. Fuck it. I don’t care. This job is horrible and I want nothing to do with it anymore.

But allowing the sweet, sweet sounds of this video into my household really calmed me down. Instead of dreaming I was somewhere else, the noise kind of put me there. I mean, yeah I was still dreaming I was someplace other than my makeshift home office, but it really helped transport me there mentally. And I was able to focus on my work, too. I wasn’t wanting to get up and pace around my house (I do this, does anyone else?).

EMERGENCY ALERTS

Without them, where would I have been during that storm? Probably in my bed sleeping through it. Though, I’m fairly confident in the thunder’s ability to wake me up. What a doozy of a storm. Hunkering downstairs under a table with Duke while listening to the sky explode wasn’t ideal at 1:45 am morning. But I’m glad we’re safe.

STAX ON STAX

Once you pop, the fun don’t stop. And the crunching, too.

Duke agrees — he’s a smart pooch.

TED LASSO — SEASON 2 EPISODE 1

Surprised? Of course not. If you know me, you know how much I truly adore this show. And the first episode from the new season picked up my emotions right where they left off.

Ted gives a speech about 6 minutes into the episode recapping an incident from the previous football fixture (soccer game for you non-soccer fans) and he says,

“It’s funny to think about the things in your life that can make you cry just knowing that they existed, can then become the same thing that makes you cry knowing that they’re now gone.”

Ah, the sheer poetry in this show. I love it.

Now the noise is a cracked open beer can of Blatz. I’m gonna head off to wherever the weekend takes me.

Nothing tastes good anymore.

That’s my problem.

Not music.

Not relaxing.

Not food.

Not masturbating.

Nothing.

There’s not one thing I genuinely get excited about anymore.

I panic about not panicking.

I’m short on breath and feel like I’m short on time.

There’s always more things to worry about tomorrow.

And the day after that.

And after that.

Nothings ever ending.

No bottom to this work barrel.

Just more work.

Fuck the weekends,

Saturday and Sunday are just two days spent worrying about what Monday will bring.

I can’t have a moment of silence and peace.

Is this what being an adult is like?

I never wanted to grow up. That was my life goal.

I feel like I failed myself.

Everything is a chore.

I don’t want to go to bed. I want tomorrow to come as slowly as possible.

As the gears begin to spin again and businesses reopen, we’re wondering what is and isn’t open in Sunrise City. So we decided to call some of our favorite places around town and ask,

“Hey are you open?”

This is what they said:

Romanski’s Diner — Villa Square
“No, we are not reopening. We’re not going to jeopardize the lives of our workers and you the people for profit.”
- Rob Romanski, Owner

Tip-Top Coffee Shop — Villa Square
“To go only. Place your order ahead of time and we’ll put it off to the side for you. You MUST wear a mask when you come in, don’t f*ck with that rule. If you don’t have a mask, we’ll run your order out to you. Just call us when you’re here.”
-Julie Cartwright, Owner

Rabbit Slim’s — Lower East Towne
“Twist on down and get the bloodiest burger ever, curbside. We will not be opening our restaurant doors yet to you Martin and Lewis’s yet, but soon enough we hope. Just visit our menu online or give us a call to place an order.”
- Jack Rabbit Slim, Owner

The American Cafe with Rick — Upper East Towne
“Everyone comes here. Coffee and pastries, to go. Sure. Get what you want, kid. But you ain’t sitting down in here yet. Nope. Not until this here virus gets gone. Keep dreaming, maybe it’ll come true. But feel free to come on in, grab what you want and leave. Don’t make it a scene.”
-Rick Blaine, Owner

Eagle Eyes — Riverview
“Nah, fuck that.”
-EJ, Owner

Writer’s Room — Riverview
“The city hasn’t officially opened yet, so we’re going off of their ruling. I know there have been some places that have opened, I’m not going to make a list because I don’t want to be thrown on one. But yeah, we’re not going to be one of them. Even when the city says we can reopen, we’re going to be working on restrictions within our bar. Social distancing will continue here.”
-Ella Sinclair, Manager

Checker’s Bar — New Leipzig (Suburb, The Wetlands)
“Hell yeah we’re open and hell yeah you can come in and get a drink. Our bartenders were itching to get back to work and are thankful The Supreme Court ruled in favor of our beloved constitution. Get a pint, sit down and stay for awhile.”
-Steve Checker, Manager

The Talon’s Edge — Bloomfield (Suburb, The Wetlands)
“We opened about a month ago and we’re being safe. We opened when the protests started to happen, so we figured we’d exercise our right. We welcomed the protesters and brought them sandwiches and coffee that day. Finally, people are realizing this is just a phase, it’ll die down in no time.”
-Karen Vickers, Manager

We’ll be updating the list continuously as responses come in.

Hey Are You Open? was originally published in The Casual Holster on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Today’s prompt: Person, Place, Problem!
The Person: A pigeon who was raised by otters
The Place: The Panama Canal
The Problem: The Pigeon was afraid of heights.
Time: 40 minutes

Cal stared off the side of the canal wall. He was perched at the top, watching the boats pass through and wondering what it would be like to be on one of them. the open air in the sea, nothing around you but a blue floor and the horizon that stretched beyond his imagination.

“Oh who am I kidding?” he said. “I’m never going to be able to get on one of those boats.”

“Yes you will!” a weird sea creature said from the canal waters below. It was his mom. “Caloenas Finch, you are going to get on that boat and sail the world!” She gave him a thumbs up as she cracked a mussel on the side concrete wall and then against her rock hard abs.

He let out a bark and said, “oh shit I’m up high!” he clutched his feathered fingers to the ground and buried his eyes into the ground.

“Don’t do that!” his mother yelled while sucking out the mussel snot. “You’re not an ostrich!”

“Ostriches don’t do this! That’s a major misconception!” he yelled back with sand pouring into his mouth. “This is solely a Caloenas Finch thing!”

“Well, either way, try these mussels. They’re divine!”

Cal wasn’t interested in mussels. He never acquired the taste of them. His mother used to feed him mussels, urchins and clams when he was younger. He hated the lot of it. This is why Cal was a particularly thin pigeon.

“Hey, my guy — you gonna go?” a voice said.

Cal took his head out of the dirt and turned around. It was Murciélago, his best friend.

“Nah. Not today. I just, … I can’t do it Mercy,” he responded as he put his head back in the bird-hole he had created.

“Nonsense, you can do it!” Mercy responded. “You’re a finch — Finches are some of the bravest otters around!”

“I’m not an otter,” Cal responded.
“Okay, finch then.”
“I’m not a finch, clearly.” Cal dropped his wings across his body, highlighting his unique physique and feather coloring.

Mercy’s face wrinkled and her forehead wrote, “Well then, what the hell are you?”
“I’m a pigeon.” Cal responded annoyingly.
“Oh,” Mercy replied, “that caught me off guard. But then again I’m a bat so what do I know?”

“That I’m a scared little pigeon, obviously” Caloenas responded. He lifted his head from the dirt pile and looked toward the horizon. Another cargo freight was coming. Another spark for his dreams — to conquer the horizon and sail the world. A million supernovas burst into his mind at once, though he, a lowly pigeon, could only mediate on a three nebulae.

One saw him fly across the canal and landed upon the freight. He would sit at the very front of the boat and watch the haul plow through white crests left and right. “Bring me that horizon!” dream Cal shouted as he pointed forward. He had a pipe in his mouth and a leather jacked and small hat on, looking very captain like. Of course his body was a chiseled work of art, too. He would be delivering packages from this continent to the next. Perhaps he would be hauling medicine that was imperative to save a nation. He liked this idea.

Another thought had him crash landing on the boat, with everyone watching. All the pigeons, humans, dogs, cats, rats, bats, stowaways, giraffes, lions, tigers, bears, otters, and every other animals Cal hadn’t ever seen before but could only conceptualize were there staring at him as his weak feeble body crash landed onto the main poop deck.

The captain looked at him and said, “oh a pigeon. Hey do we have two pigeons? “

“No,” said the first mate. “we only have one.”

“Well, the bright light in the sky said two of each. So let’s keep him!”

They took him to the top of the smokestack and placed him there, next to Paloma, the female pigeon.

Cal couldn’t decide which was scarier — being at the top or being cooped up with an unknown roommate. Would she ask too much of him? Maybe she’s messy? Maybe she liked heights. Yikes!

The third and final thought he had was of him crash landing into the water. He missed the cargo freight completely and slammed into the side of the haul. He was knocked unconscious and slid against the dark steel void until bellyflopping into the water. He sunk underneath as his mom and Murciélago raced after him to bring him back up. But it was no use — he would end up like his dad, Luter Finch, and be sucked down underneath only to be chopped to bits by the rotating turbines that kept the giant ship moving forward.

“Oh no, it’s clear you’re scared little bird.“ Murciélago said. “that much I can pick up from you.”

Mercy picked him up from the dirt and screamed in his face. After doing so, she was able to find the dirt pieces on his forehead and brushed them off. “You were born to have more than this.”

She pointed to the smog behind him. Panama was a beautiful country and the canal was the right hands of the Atlantic and Pacific. But the pollution had plagued the land and extinction was inevitable if he stayed.

“Chase your dreams, chicken.” Murciélago said as she put his arms around Cal. They walked to the edge of the canal. The boat was coming in quick.

“I told you, I’m a pigeon.” Cal said. “I’m not a chicken.”

“Then prove it,” Murciélago said as she flew off toward the boat, screaming. “If you’re not a chicken, then come find me. I’ll be on cargo box C-179 in section 3.”