I can't sleep

     I have had difficulty staying asleep recently, staying awake when I go to the bathroom around quarter to 3:00 AM, and I think I now know why.  My anxiety is skyrocketing.  Every worst-case scenario I can think of seems destined to become reality.  It's like when I was playing a video game and a man wanted to turn his girlfriend who had been turned to stone back to normal and said "petrify!" and I joked, "And he turns to stone, too." and he did!  Part of me said the incoming administration wouldn't keep the free market, and they're appointing three actors to control Hollywood, no doubt to ensure it will produce propaganda, silence foreign influence and make it use AI to replace anyone who has a problem with it.  All pro-LGBTQ+ art and opinions will be shadow-banned to BlueSky, Blogspot and YouTube, then they will come for it there and begin arresting people, sentencing them to life in prison or execution to shut them up.  America's entire output will be praise of Donald Trump through a lack of protections for the minorities, bullying them to smaller and smaller areas until they are easy to find and put on trial!  We have no future!

    On top of that, my gaming is going to come to an end.  Nintendo has announced the Switch 2, meaning the Switch's days are numbered.  I know this was going to happen all along, but now I'm scared of facing the world as Nintendo removes the Switch's eShop and online capabilities, meaning within the next couple of years I won't be able to post video game screenshots, which is most of my social media output, and have to rely on what I've already done and other people's output.  And other people may not like that their work is used for someone else's output, even if it's positive, because it may mean less control over their stuff.  This could end up removing me from BlueSky because the voice actors will move on to things I have no context or ability to follow, the artists will draw to reflect those changes, and video games will no longer be open for me since I won't be able to afford the new system!  I'm getting stress-pimples just typing this!

    On the positive side, the Mariners finally made some infield moves to prep for next season, and while they aren't splashy moves, they indicated earlier they likely wouldn't be.  We may have wanted bigger infield names, but I think their offense is ultimately going to come down to Julio, Raleigh, Raley, Arozarena and promoted prospects to try to get into the playoffs.  I saw in 2023 from the Mets that big names and high-profile contracts don't automatically mean playoff success and like the 2010 Mariners, it was confusing that a team with two high-profile starting pitchers (Felix and Cliff Lee, Scherzer and Verlander) wasn't doing better.  These small moves ultimately put me in a better mood for the season, but Facebook's trolls putting laughing reactions on them and the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken's Pride events really makes me mad.  These are serious things trying to better our world, they deserve praise, not mocking.  I am hopeful the Mariners will be able to do another Pride Event, maybe even when I see them on June 14th, because the Steelheads' cap event doesn't seem to be announced any more for that day.  Either way, LGBTQ+ people and African-Americans deserve more attention and compassion after all they have been through in this society.  It may not be easy and the Federal Government may give strikes against us for doing so, but I'd rather endure that than do nothing.  I'm still looking forward to my first NHL game in less than two weeks and hope it will start regular attendance in the years to come.

    Ringo Starr released a country album last week and I really like the track with Lucius and "Rosetta" with Billy Strings and Larkin Poe.  Envy of None announced a new album to be released in March, Miley Cyrus is going to release a visual album entitled "Something Beautiful" this year, a new singer named Hoss Carl released a cover of "Simple Man" and there was a new Country album that features covers of "Don't Stop Believin'," "Landslide" and other songs released last night.  I think I'm going to be relying on music more in the time to come, because I'm not seeing that industry start to fall under Federal sway and it's not moving on to a format I can't access due to my income.  I am aware one of my favorite singers, Carrie Underwood, may have become a Republican because she's singing "America the Beautiful" at the inauguration, but, like Billy Ray Cyrus, she's provided too many songs that are helpful against that guy and with anxiety to dismiss her.  I am mad, but not enough to cut her or her future music out of my life, Billy Ray only got his future music cut out because he hasn't produced much at all, let alone good, since pre-pandemic times.  A lot feels like it's coming to an end, and it's hard to deal with.