Drowning Ghost

When my 3 a.m. cellphone alarm chimed last night, I felt too in need of my sleep to be rising for an outing to the elementary school playground, so I cancelled the alarm and reset it for 6 a.m. so that at least I could have some exercise out in the backyard tool shed after 7:30 a.m. when it became light enough to be able to see in there.

And thus it was that I rose at 6 a.m.

When there was sufficient daylight shortly after 7:30 a.m., I first checked to see if my wife's car was here out front, but it was not, so I knew she was not asleep in her bedroom and would not be emerging later in the morning for work at the Thai restaurant where she is employed part-time ─ if so scheduled.

I am still stuck at a single repetition in each of the six sets of pull-ups and chin-ups, but I would fare better if I had an actual chin-up bar to exercise on ─ not the thick sides of the child's slide ladder that is stretched across some rafters. I cannot grip it ─ only cup my hands overtop it. For chin-ups, I can kind of get my thumbs hooked up allowing a semi-grip, but it causes great stress to the inside of my wrists at the base of the thumbs because of the awkward position of my hands.

And the ladder's glossy blue paint is slick to boot, so the thing is a poor workout accessory.

But after doing the final pull-up between the ladder's two sides, I held the dead hang for at least a 50-count before stopping because my hands were sliding too far off and the drop to the floor is probably a fall of a yard ─ too traumatic for my damaged right knee. It probably wouldn't be ideal for my 'good' one, either ─ back on November 1, 2010, I tore the quadriceps tendon off the knee cap (patella), and it had to be surgically reattached November 5 of 2010.

Anyway, I finished up my exercising out there with the squats I employ to try and improve my knees and their mobility.

By the way, yesterday afternoon when I had stripped down to have a bath, my naked body weight was approximately 181 pounds. For almost all of 2025 I had a naked body weight in the 170s anytime I checked, but it appears that this may now be a feature of my past. 

My younger brother did not emerge from his bedroom this morning too much ahead of 9 a.m. And it was at least 9:10 a.m. before I joined him for some morning T.V.

He almost immediately invited me to begin operation of our Android TV Box, so I tuned in a 14-minute (14:10) video uploaded yesterday to YouTube's AnitaK channel: “My Newsroom Tried to Silence Me — I Recorded the Conversation”.

This was revelatory! Anita has often referred to this ZOOM (or whatever it was) call, but this is the first time she has released video of herself on the receiving end of the call.

Because of my concern and deep regard for the fiery little lady, I am going to post her full description to her video.

I've sat on this video for years and have never uploaded here.
I thought it might cause me legal trouble in the past and I just moved on with my life. I feel this is an important video because I've talked so much about being let go from Global News. My friend came over and recorded this video and legally I'm allowed to record a meeting that I am participating in.

In the meeting is my Operations Manager, Al Wright, Nathan from Unifor and Jane McDonnell Singh from HR. (People Team)

For what it's worth here are some email of those in charge of the narrative during the World Event.

HR - jane.mcdonnell-singh@corusent.com
Ops Manager - Al.Wright@globalnews.ca

HR - People@corusent.com

These people put your news on, the producers, writers, reporters: GlobalBCNewsProducer/Writers@corusent.com

The head honcho of the newsroom is Bhupinder Hundal Bhupinder.Hundal@globalnews.ca

Gerry Belec is weasel, manager type that threw me out of the building: Gerry.Belec@globalnews.ca
Gerry.Belec@corusent.com; 
Michael is responsible for news coverage, a supervising producer: Michael.Hennigar@global.ca

Global News main switchboard 604-420-2288

Then I tried a 52-minute (52:22) video published two days ago to Rumble's Redacted News channel: Dave Smith: Navigating Online Hate and Moral Panic.

Dave Smith is a stand-up comedian, writer, and political commentator best known for blending sharp humor with uncompromising libertarian analysis.

He is the host of the widely popular podcast “Part of the Problem” and this is his first time on Redacted.

Unfortunately, my fussy brother ─ who was distracted because of being involved with his laundering and whatever else ─ complained after about 10 minutes, so at the 10:38-minute mark I backed out of it, despite finding it interesting enough because I was actually paying attention to it.

At the same channel, I next tried a 49-minute (49:26) published there three days ago titled DARK FORCES are Destroying Hollywood, and it's never coming back.

We're watching the destruction of Hollywood happening in real time. The dark forces that have been running that city for many decades are finally being exposed. Hollywood actors and directors who once worked in the belly of the beast are moving out of that town.

About midway through after one of my brother's lengthy absences mucking about with his laundry, he returned and complained disinterest again, but I withstood cancelling out once more just because he was too lame to attend the interesting video.

We watched just two further videos, both of which I had previously downloaded onto a thumb or flash drive.

The first was eight minutes (8:53) and had been uploaded September 28, 2022, to YouTube's Dates and Dead Guys channel: 118 people SLAUGHTERED by Wolves | Did wolves really kill an entire wedding party in Russia?

In March of 1911 the New York Times released a brief article describing the terrifying death of a 118 people in a wolf attack. To make matters ever worse the people were returning from a wedding in Russia when the massive pack of wolves attacked. In this episode I examine the report from the New York Times as well as some more recent wolf activity in Russia. Is it possible that the report is true or is something else going on?

After that it was 15 Storeys High ─ episode four ("The Plough") of the second season or series. My source was here at Archive.org where all of the episodes appear to be available.

I will be pleased when the series is finished after the next episode. It's just too pointless and unrealistically silly.

Although it was possibly no later than 11:10 a.m. when the episode completed, my brother announced his intention to return to his bedroom for further bed rest because he was heading off by bus to play pool in the very early afternoon.

I was a little surprised to hear my wife come into the house just before noon. She spent considerable time speaking with her youngest son downstairs. I meantime was shut up in the bathroom when she finally came upstairs and she apparently went directly to bed, closing her bedroom door.

I had eaten ahead of 10 a.m., so I was back to bed for a nap roughly midway through the noon hour. Unfortunately, for the first time in what seems weeks, I did not nap well.

My wife was scheduled to work the latter part of the day, so shortly after 3 p.m. she left on her fairly long drive. Awhile later, I had a light exercise session in her vacant bedroom.

And then I got deeply involved in a dreadfully and frustratingly time-consuming effort to download a video that kept showing up as an MS-DOS Application instead of the MP4 format I wanted.

Anyway, it is now 6:37 p.m. and I am going to have my second meal of the day and start watching some shows here on my bedside computer while enjoying a couple of cans of Cariboo Malt (7.9% alcohol).

Incidentally, my second morning mug of instant coffee was spiked with Lamb's Dark Navy Rum (40% alcohol). I didn't need it, but I'm feeling antsy this evening, so I do need the buzz now.

🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡

I wound up watching all of an English-dubbed Swedish movie that I had only thought to watch a portion of, yet even though it was listed at being not too shy of two hours (1:52:19), I managed to hold myself to a beer after eating my supper through the movie's beginning.

It was 2004's Strandvaskaren (Drowning Ghost); my source was an October 16, 2024, upload to YouTube's Jacko TV channel: Strandvaskaren + DVD Extras (2004) - English sub.The actual video was roughly 38 minutes over an hour ─ not 52 minutes. The additional 14 minutes were maybe three or four minutes of closing credits, and then all of those "DVD extras" that included interviews with some of the actors that were not dubbed in English, alas.

I had been interested in it because it was supposedly an early acting gig for Helena Mattsson, but I never noticed her. But I don't know what she looks like ─ I have just begun to be interested in seeing her work because she is apparently something of an action star.

Possibly the movie ended around 8:30 p.m., and my brother arrived home soon thereafter. I would have downloaded and saved the movie to watch at some future date with him, but his vision is too deteriorated to be able to easily read subtitles anymore.

It had begun raining early after dark, and I could hear that it was still happening when the movie was done.

Too early for bed, I struggled a little whether to watch Harlots due to its length, but decided I would ─ episode two of season two. My source was this OK.ru link.

It's a good series, yet I managed to hold myself to just a second can of beer despite considering quickening its consumption in order to indulge in wine or rum.

I am plotting an early half-mile hobble to the nearest pharmacy Sunday morning ─ it opens at 8 a.m., so I would wish to be rising at 6 a.m. to slowly normalize and amass the resolve for the outing. I am going to have to avail myself of a credit union ATM nearby the pharmacy, for I am too insufficient with cash on hand.

I just wish that the mysterious cheque my wife promised two weeks ago ─ and that is supposedly coming in the mail ─ would show up so that she could replace the $500 she just had to have to repay some damned debt.

Right now it is 10:56 p.m., so I am going to brush my teeth for the next 15 or so minutes and then soon be to bed.