January 6th / January 8th

Ten years ago tomorrow, on David Bowie's 69th birthday, his album Blackstar was released. And what an album. I'm still mesmerized, and haunted, by the music video for "Lazarus." Bowie died two days later, leaving Blackstar as a fitting swan song. He is probably the one musical artist I could have seen live that I most regret never having seen, though at least I did get to see Bernard Fowler, Living Colour's Corey Glover, and Charlie Sexton sing Bowie's songs three years later, backed by some of the musicians who'd played with the man over the decades.

Five years ago yesterday, a mob of rioters attacked the US Capitol and law enforcement. No pardons, no lies, no revisionism can alter the facts or undermine the evidence, and there is quite a mound of evidence; go ahead and peruse if you've forgotten the details, as NPR has done an incredible job of archiving.

Three years ago tomorrow, no doubt at least partly inspired by the J6 goons, a mob of rioters in Brazil (where I'll be visiting soon) attacked the Palácio do Congresso Nacional, the Supremo Tribunal Federal, and the Palácio do Planalto in Brasilia, also attacking law enforcement. Fortunately, this attempt to undermine the will of a nation's people failed as well.

Hell of a month, January. Of course, Janus is the god of beginnings and endings (of conflict and other things), of change and transition, so I suppose it all makes some sort of sense. Dammit, Janus...