Once More Into the Breach: 2026 Edition

It turns out that “May you live in interesting times,” is not a Chinese curse after all, but rather—like most things that seem all neat and tidy but end up causing wide-spread pain and misery—from the English: Austen Chamberlain, older half-brother of Neville to be precise.

Austen’s mother, Harriet, died in childbirth, resulting in his father not speaking to him for a quarter century, and in the interim, marrying the woman’s cousin, Florence, who birthed the infamous Prime Minister, so… yea, I get it.

As we head into a year sure to be more challenging than a Chamberlain family reunion, it is going to be important to keep our wits about us. I am sure that TFG* will continue to daily operate in a way that offends any- and everyone who is not a sadomasochist. Whether he and his cohort are motivated by spite, madness, greed, or some other affliction is immaterial.

The trick for us is to not rise to the bait of every single malaprop-laden rant or misspelled-digital screed. I will be there in the voting booth, the streets, the barricades if need be, but it does no-one any good to wear out their dopamine receptors in a constant orgy of outrage.

There are things that I can do to ensure that I make it long enough to see this episode through to the credits, things to maintain mind and body at a healthy-enough level that I don’t blow a gasket when it’s time to step on the gas.

These are mine. I suggest that you find your own and try to implement some sort of strategy to keep the knees—or if you are one of our unfairly maligned friends to the north—elbows, up.

1. Write everyday. Somethings will be crap, a few things half-clever, but there is always the outside chance that there may just end up being something worth sharing from time to time. Doing it more will only help that to happen. Writing is also good practice at gathering one’s far-flung thoughts and distilling them down to a coherent mindset, something that most definitely will come in handy this year.
2. Cut down on drinking. Drinking beer does not lead to a coherent mindset, it leads to… I don’t know, more beer drinking? At this point, it doesn’t even lead to bad decisions, unless napping is a bad decision.
3. Get in shape, you fat fuck. Number two will help, number one… not so much.
4. Play more guitar. You should be playing everyday, and not the same old shit. There is an unending supply of free online lessons, take advantage. Music helps the brain build new connections and, let’s face it, helps to blow off steam.
5. Who knows what the hell the economy is going to do, so you should be ready. Get those costs down. Cancel all the subscriptions that you don’t need. Pay off the credit card. And for Christ’s sake, get your resume in order.
6. This should go without saying, but be kinder to yourself and others. (I’m sorry I called you a fat fuck, you fat fuck). They call it a practice because it is practice.

*This Fucking Guy