Am I in Hell? I think I’m on the bus home from Drinking Liberally, but perhaps my ring of Hell smells of stale fries and the soundtrack is off key versions of whistled patriotic songs. If this posts, I was not in Hell.

It’s strange to get emails asking me to spend my democracy vouchers. I suppose that money is money for the campaigns. And it’s good to remind people that they can spend them.

Who are you going to use your democracy vouchers on?

If Seattle can just agree not to talk to strangers on the light rail, that would be great. I get it if you need help or are a religious extremist who has to tell everyone you meet about Jesus. But if I’m reading, I want to read. If I’m on my phone, I want to be on my phone. If I’m starting unto space, I want to stare into space.

Did y’all have a nice 4th? I hope so. There was a pretty good spot to watch the fireworks near Drinking Liberally. It was just on the other side of the freeway, and a couple times, I saw ambulances going by. I know that rationally, it could be for anything, but I assumed it was fireworks accidents.

Over the weekend, I went to my first Reign game of the season. It’s always a good time. And the I-5 rivalry game with Portland is the best. Oh, and they won.

Sorry I forgot to post something this morning. I’m reading a biography of Alexander Dumas’ father, and it’s quite fascinating. I just read it on my way in to work instead of doing any writing. Here’s your thread. 9 hours late, and a half-assed apology.

Do we have a budget yet? Now? How ’bout now? I mean it would be nice. Now?

Seattle Pride went rather well. The only hitch was it would have been nice if it was 10 degrees cooler. I couldn’t watch the whole parade, even though I was in the shade.

My morning bus route has had the same substitute driver a few times now. He has been excitedly greeting everyone who gets on the bus, “good morning!”

If every driver had to do that, it would be a horror. But for one driver not every day, it was nice? Maybe.

I remember a conversation I had after the consent decree in Seattle. A friend of mine couldn’t understand why SPD needed it. They said something like “there are so many big city police departments that are so much worse.” I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, it speaks poorly of policing in general in this country.

If Charleena Lyles couldn’t rely on the supposedly not so bad SPD, who she called, there really has to be fundamental reform of all police.

Seattle has a lot of neat little parks. I was in one just North of Northgate Mall over the weekend. It had a bunch of exercise equipment. What a hoot. I used them all in my street clothes.

Another Rainier cherry post.

Washington state cherries are in! So good. So still not good for me how many I’ve eaten.

Also: I was walking up some stairs and there was a cherry tree with dozens of Rainiers on it. It was on public property, so could I have taken some? I have taken black berries from public rights of way many times, but cherries seem different.

Another reminder: Please don’t shoot anyone.

How late does drunk singing on the bus become OK? If you want to say never, that’s probably correct. But I was on a late night bus over the weekend, and a drunk couple were singing their hearts out to a song I didn’t recognize. It was more charming than obnoxious. But if that had been rush hour on a Tuesday, it would have been horrible. Maybe it’s more of a continuum, slowly becoming less bad as the night progresses, than a switch.

(I promise I’ll get back to politics at some point, but here’s more inane nonsense)

I was walking through the park and a man walking the other way started talking to me. Now I’m wearing headphones because I have something I’d rather do than talk to some stranger. Also, It’s Seattle, and we have a culture of keeping to ourselves, that I appreciate. But fine. I took my headphones off and started listening to him.

“You have long hair.”

I was aware. It wasn’t cool hair or cut your hair, hippie. Just a statement of fact that he knew that I knew.