Spring in the Bayou State
Mike provides an update from his home in Alexandria, discussing his latest project to develop a wireless audio scheme to connect all the Bluetooth speakers in the house, before inviting us on a "virtual date" in which he divulges some personal thoughts and anecdotes in his dating life.
He emphasizes the privilege inherent in being able to "avoid politics" in conversation, and clarifies that the sentiment is moreso towards improving civil discourse and mutual respect, not ignoring the world around them.
Good evening, everyone! I’m coming at you live from Alexandria, Louisiana, enjoying another lovely day in the bayou state. Tonight is a peaceful Monday night, and I hope you are enjoying a peaceful evening as well. If you are, we are the lucky ones in the greater scheme of things. The weather is kind of crisp, a little bit brisk — about 15 degrees (60F) outside. It feels weird to call 60F crisp in March, because usually at this temperature, I would be reveling in spring jubilation.
I actually had a decent amount of success with a project that has now become an endeavor - my Bluetooth audio project. The idea is simple: I wanted to get all the little Bluetooth speakers in the house hooked up to one common channel, playing the same song — like my Spotify playlists. So far, I’ve achieved moderate success, syncing together a chunk of my speakers in a sort of multi-room arrangement to all play the same audio output. Right now, I have about 4 speakers playing. We were just blessed with Annie Lennox channeling through all the speakers, and now we’re listening to a beautiful M83 piece, a remix of an instrumental from the sci-fi film Oblivion.
Gosh, it’s weird to think that I’ll be “old” someday, saying things like, "Hey kids, back in the year 2010..." I'm still getting used to the fact that 2022 is a real year, even though we’re already in March.
I always try to be inclusive when addressing the audience, covering the entire spectrum of folks — “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, et al…” At the end of the day, I’ll always be a “boy” in some sort, and I mean that in the sense of mischief, curiosity, and wonder that oft accompanied my boyhood. It's that spirit of adventure, like the good old days when I’d be bored as heck, conjuring up things in my mind to do.
I love to share good music. This is a new one I found this weekend by a group called Vocal Line; it's a Pentatonix-style a cappella group, very ethereal and zen — it’s just beautiful. Their voices, especially the female voices, are very forward as if proclaiming. The song is called "True North," and it just melts me a little bit, and I’ve really needed some new music, so this is refreshing.
(Referring to one of his viewers, Ernest)
Thank you for watching, Ernest. I want to make this less about me having to rant and fill up dead air time, and more about you guys. In fact, let’s pretend we’re on a date here, Bachelor-style, where everybody is watching… This reminds me of a bar in Columbus - much of it comprising a billiards table in the center of a small room, surrounded by patrons and potential onlookers. It felt like I was in a gladiator tournament, playing pool against a gentleman I was flirting with, with everyone watching around me. We gays aren't going to buy into all the heteronormative marriage nonsense, but we do have the right to marry, which is great.
I don't feel like talking about the news today. I know I’m being a little hypocritical, because I went on a rant the other day about how it’s a privilege to be able to sit there and say, "I don't want to talk about politics." The ability to selectively not talk about politics is itself a privilege, because politics and its messiness are inescapable to some - particularly those dependent on assistance like SNAP, social security, etc. to live. Nonetheless, there are major large-scale systems out there that need fixing. The good ol’ boys club is still out there, honey, albeit improving glacially.
Welcome back, Ernest, you have made it to the special part of the show… Open Mike LIVE… After Dark!
Before I sign off, let me show off some cooking. I’m making a chorizo/beef mixture with veggies and onions, all sautéed together. This is going to be for quesadillas or tacos, i.e. Mexican stuff you put in a tortilla with cheese. I just realized I should have bought some cilantro.
My philosophy on race follows that espoused in the hit musical “Avenue Q” — that everybody is a little bit racist, and our job is to be aware of that so we can joke about it and not allow it to turn us into jerks.
When I lived in Canada, I dated a beautiful, kind Mexican lad. It was interesting because in the US, we often have this stereotype of Mexican people as low-skill, poorly educated wage laborers. But when I lived in Montreal, all the Mexican lads I met were actually quite affluent; they were university-educated, sometimes with Masters or Ph.D’s and had traveled around the world. It completely blew apart the default image in my mind of a "standard Mexican person." The Mexican Canadian seemed to have a completely different socioeconomic vibe and education level than the Mexican-American typically seen in the US.
Anyways, thank you for watching, Ernest. I’m going to chill out for a little bit, maybe smoke something to settle my mind down. Take care of yourselves and each other out there. Please pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia — all the people in that whole area right now. Tudaloo!
