Zoom Chron Blog

by Travis Mateer

Since turning my Trash Truck into a mobile stage for the new approach of self-promotion I’ve embarked on, I’ve had lots of interesting conversations, but one story stands out for the harsh comparison a grieving mother gave me regarding the value of her dead child, which amounted to the cost of “an expensive Lego set”.

What happened? The woman described watching a motorist hit her 12 year old kid while they were both crossing the street in a crosswalk. This lethal vehicular collision occurred in Bozeman.

What was the harshest penalty the motorist faced in this situation, the woman asked? A hundred dollar fine, she said, answering her own rhetorical question, or…the cost of an expensive Lego set.

The woman (an indigenous woman, if you’re calculating how much to care in your woke mind) was from California and, because she was a Native property owner, she had LOTS of dealings with government bureaucracy, but nothing she did in Montana amounted to getting ANY agency to give a shit that the stiffest penalty a motorist faced for the lethal car collision that killed her son in front of her was a hundred dollar fine.

I asked her if I could write about what happened to her son and she said YES, PLEASE DO! Considering I’ve spent over 4 years trying to get this community to care about the ramifications of letting the Sheriff’s Office euthanize and execute black men in our caring community, I’d say that I’m the perfect person to document yet another tragedy that won’t get the attention or justice a grieving parent needs when something terrible like this happens.

After that interaction I brought out a small bucket of Legos and not long after an older man came up, saw the Legos, and stuck his hand in like Amelie fingering a sack of grain.

When the old man got his phone out without saying anything and started scrolling, I started getting curious. When he finally found the image he was looking for, he came over to show me that, like me, he was a MASTER BUILDER.

When I see a Missoulian article about unique approaches to theater hit the same day I post about wanting to Doctor Parnassus the streets of Zoom Town, then see an AWFUL politicizing of Legos, well, I know I have to GET TO WORK to counter the bullshit.

Maybe Trump Junior will appreciate how I have his Dad riding on the three-headed pig beast of the apocalypse.

While I’m being super creative and documenting tragic ACTIONS, the engagement I got on Facebook recently centered on my use of the “R” word because, as I was reminded in the parking lot of the Good Food Store this week, the terrible use of LANGUAGE is what concerns a seeming majority of people in this town.

Here’s the triggered comment of a woman who used to employ me and who allowed the violation of my first amendment right to free speech to take place at the non-profit she led for three decades because Gwen Jones phoned her up after I wrote my sidewalk poem.

Do I have patience for this bullshit? Nope, I’m pretty busy hustling the money to cover one more month of rent before I call my Trash Truck home.

If you would like to help this wonderful life transition, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) could use a donation or two. I set the amount of $5,000 last year, and have inched toward that goal month after month, but since The Pulp is ALSO asking for $5,000, and they go DAYS without new content going up, well, I think it’s obvious who you should support.

No post this Sunday, but I’m sure I’ll have something fun for Monday, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Sometimes I simply marvel at how the spirit moves me to be in the right place at the right time…and looking HILARIOUS! That’s what happened as I happily rollerbladed down Higgins with a new idea for my Trash Truck in mind.

I’ll be honest, the spirit that moved me was the water I needed to pee out somewhere, so I got on my skates, strapped on my knee pads, and put an antique black fireman’s helmet on with the appropriate number 9 on the front (I’m a Virgo, figure it out) to go find a nice dumpster somewhere to relieve myself, and that’s when I saw Ellen.

“Hi Ellen!” I exclaimed as I skated by.

“Hi,” she replied back…”how you doing?”

“Great, I’m on rollerblades!” And that’s all I could say as I rolled by the director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency.

As I’m typing this I’ve still got my skates on and there’s music blaring from my megaphone. I’m pretty satisfied with how I MacGyver’d my phone to get close enough to the detached mouthpiece for amplification. 

Did Ellen enjoy the classic Köln Concert recorded by Keith Jarrett in 1975? I sure hope she did, because there’s so many OTHER things that could be getting amplification right now, ya feel me? 

What ideas are brewing? I’d like to go Doctor Parnassus on the streets of this town, but I would need some help. Am I finding people approaching me who might be able to bring a new level of street theater to this spiritually dying town? Maybe. And there’s also the Noise Complaint crew, who I hear might be having some fun on Sunday for the appearance of Trump Junior. Oh boy, things might REALLY get fun if that happens!

I did notice some limitations to my setup last night. For example, when three cute girls approached me on bikes to ask what’s up, I couldn’t TURN THE VOLUME DOWN very easily, especially since I was sitting cross-legged and still wearing my skates. Damn!

Anyways, all it takes are a few good interactions to cheer me up, and some ideas to stay focused on, so let’s see where this one takes me.

If you’d like to assist my creative efforts, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is ready to accept your donation.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

What location did I choose for last night’s public display? If you can’t tell from the picture, I’ll tell you precisely where I was parked, and that’s the parking lot of the Top Hat, which is owned by Nick Checota. 

Did my special location garner some productive attention? I think so, since my first visitors were curious BECAUSE of my location, considering one of them worked for Nick, or used to, I think. It’s kind of hard to keep up with those enjoying the night life when you yourself don’t consume adult beverages.

How about Virgil? Did he enjoy the evening?

Yes, he got a very nice outing when a small audience gathered to hear my tales of exploring places like Las Vegas, where my most effective teaching tool was waiting for me to find him and bring along on this very weird adventure.

If you doubt the veracity of my Vegas claim, here’s an article about the Stranger Things store launch.

From the link:

Vecna and his army of monsters from the Upside Down are headed to Las Vegas, and they’ll be here for a while. Netflix will launch Stranger Things: The Official Store at the Showcase Mall on the Strip on May 26, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Earlier in the day, in the parking lot of the Good Food Store, it was a different story.

There I was eating my pricey salad when two paid GFS workers came out to assess what I was doing. What was I doing, they asked. Eating my expensive salad, was my reply. And what is ZOOM CHRON? They asked. My blog, was my reply, then I introduced them to Virgil, but it did NOT go very good.

I think it was when I suggested the possibility that Benjamin Franklin “fucked children” at the Hellfire Club that triggered the two women, because it was at that point I was told to “turn my sign around” while I finished my food. Ok, ladies, your wish to remain protected from reality is my command.

For some context about the show’s inclusion of a real club in its “fiction”, here’s a link that briefly explains the reference:

The fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things introduces us to some Hawkins High School boys who belong to a rather innocent Dungeons and Dragons club named “The Hellfire Club.” When I watched it, I immediately thought “Haven’t I read about a real Hellfire Club somewhere?”

Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive men’s clubs for high-society clientele in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The most famous is Sir Francis Dashwood’s Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. (Dashwood’s earlier club was the Order of the Knights of St Francis formed in 1746.) These clubs were supposed to be places where “persons of quality” could safely take part in what were socially perceived as immoral acts. They met irregularly from around 1749 to perhaps 1766. The club motto was Fais ce que tu voudras (Do what thou wilt).

Dashwood and the Earl of Sandwich are alleged to have been members of a Hellfire Club that met at the George and Vulture Inn throughout the 1730s. Benjamin Franklin is known to have occasionally attended the club’s meetings in 1758 during his time in England. But there are no records left (these having been burned in 1774) so the list of members is often based on references in letters sent to each other. He was also known as a prankster.

Other groups using the name “Hellfire Club” were set up throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Lord Wharton was a prominent politician who led a double life as a “man of letters” and after hours as a drunkard and rake who started his own Hellfire Club which allegedly had some very prominent members. His club included many interests from poetry, philosophy, and politics, and it was also very anti-religion. It was not considered to be a dangerous group. Though the president of this club was supposed to be the Devil, members did not worship demons or the Devil, but called members “devils.”

I’m sure it’s just fun and games and nothing to get too worked up about. Merch just means true fans get to take a piece of their beloved programming home with them. Just some harmless fun and entertainment, right?

Where will Virgil and I set up shop next? I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.

If you appreciate my unique marketing and educational services, please consider making a donation to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). I have one more month of rent to come up with before gaining my homeless super powers. Isn’t that exciting? So stay tuned…

And, as always, thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

There are so many different forms of communication, and I like to think I know some of them.

One form I’m familiar with, sadly, is the subtle art of stringing together multi-syllabic words to convince funders and the public that your homeless service-provider job is actually helping people and NOT perpetuating the systems locking them in cycles of dependency.

Knowing this form of communication, in addition to having my little stick/snake-detector, Sissy, means I was able to spot a VERY sneaky phrase used by our Mayor in an article about ANOTHER state of our community address.

I know what you’re thinking: how many of these “state of our community” does a retarded community need? Because if you’re answer is more than one, you might be trying a little TOO hard. Ya feel me?

So, what is the phrase that jumped out at me?

I’ll tell you, but first I’m going to string you along because I just had to put down my computer while publicly writing this post to address two inquisitive young ladies as they were walking down Ryman street.

“What’s going on here?” I was asked,

I get this kind of question a lot, and usually I have a number of different objects to help me respond, but last night it was just Virgil sitting on his lonely rusted metal stand with the Trump mask, so I explained where I picked Virgil up (Las Vegas, Super Bowl) and what I think he signifies (the grooming mockery of the psychopath class). Then, in my no-filter fashion, I utilized my special method of shit-talking echo-location to get yet ONE MORE assessment that a certain someone is more a helper than an investigator when it comes to a certain billion dollar skin industry.

As if summoning the spirits of addictive possession, a street person appeared with MANY trash bags to offer me some mascara, which I politely declined the first time, then emphatically declined the second and third time. How long did she rummage through mostly empty plastic bags after getting the hint I didn’t need mascara? Longer than someone NOT fucked up on drugs would take.

The plastic bag lady reminded me of a conversation Greg Carlwood had with Isaac Weishaupt on a recent Higherside Chat episode. Carlwood admitted that it was multiple aggressive interactions with street people that finally pushed him to leave San Diego with his wife and young child. One of the interactions was a mentally disturbed man who muttered under his breath “I SHOULD PUNCH THAT FUCKING BABY IN THE FACE!” as he walked by Carlwood and his 4 month old kid. Yeah.

Ok, enough edging. Here’s the phrase from the context of the Missoulian article (emphasis mine):

“One of the bigger challenges that we’re managing right now is folks that are sleeping in shelters and public spaces,” she said.

Davis noted that the U.S. Supreme Court held a hearing on Monday about an Oregon homeless state. The court’s decision on that matter will have wide-reaching ramifications for whether or not local governments can ban people from sleeping in public spaces if there are no shelter beds available.

“I will tell you that we have been given an unfunded mandate,” Davis continued. “One of the things I’ve done since taking office is convening a working group. I do believe one reason I was elected was my ability to bring people together. And part of this was folks that have very different perspectives and have different interests and bringing folks to the table to share those to come up with better solutions together.”

Yes, there you have it, Mayor Davis wants you to know she understands that her election signifies an UNFUNDED mandate to do something, which she has clearly done by convening a working group that seems poised to give us rehashed ideas, like safe outdoor spaces, with NO PLAN on where the money will come from.

Meanwhile, a former cop and current Council person recognized yesterday that citizens like myself and Kevin Davis can do pretty kick-ass things when we persist in addressing an area of Missoula that harbored all kinds of nefarious activity, including that murder I helped the Sheriff’s Office with.

One of the funny things about this working group is WHERE it’s convening its last meeting. Why? Because Stockman’s bank, along with First Interstate Bank, are WORSE than street panhandlers with their use of public money for their own development projects. From the link:

We’re following the money from tax increment financing projects in Missoula.

If you own property in a designated business improvement district in Missoula, part of your property taxes go into a special fund. That money is then used for projects in that area through tax increment financing.

Stockman Bank and First Interstate Bank both built multi-story buildings in downtown Missoula, and both used tax increment financing for the projects. Both banks also received payments from the city after their projects were completed.

This article is from 2019. Wouldn’t it be great if some local activists started a TIF uprising, then made a documentary about it? Yeah.

Anyway, I guess this community will just have to continue doing what it’s going to do, so instead of getting all worked up about it, I’ll continue trying to find the humor. If you’d like to help out a struggling independent journalist, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is a great way to do it.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

This week the Supreme Court is finally weighing in on the 9th Circuit’s policy-making ruling that it’s inhumane to restrict open-air drug colonies known as “urban camps” if municipalities haven’t rolled out the red carpet by creating enough free beds for this shelter-resistant population to utilize.

Here’s one of the imbeciles from this Missoulian article voicing support for enabling drug addicts to live in squalor in public parks:

While the Supreme Court case is confined to the Grants Pass decision, it “will have obvious impacts on Martin” depending on how the court rules, explained Alex Rate, interim deputy director for ACLU Montana.

“If SCOTUS overrules Grants Pass it will embolden communities like Boise to pass inhumane ordinances that criminalize being unhoused,” Rate said in a text message.

Well, Alex, if SCOTUS doesn’t overrule Grants Pass, then it will embolden cities like Missoula to criminalize TRASH CLEANUPS, like what happened to Ryan Tollefson. Maybe Alex can explain how HUMANE it is to ticket and arrest someone for picking up trash, then BANNING them from literally going to the river.

Do you see the condition imposed on Ryan Tollefson for picking up trash? It’s the sixth one on the paperwork pictured above, and it reads like this (emphasis mine):

The Defendant will not be within 50 feet of any riverbank within Missoula city limits.

Can you believe a court would actually impose this condition? If you can’t, it’s probably because you haven’t accepted the reality that we all live in a cartoon clown world now.

My legal situation is more complicated, but the results are very similar, considering I was told by a judge last week to NOT attend public City Council meetings on Mondays OR Wednesdays, and I’m also not allowed to go anywhere my “petitioner” goes, like the tour of the Reserve Street bridge area where TONS of trash got removed from our riverbank.

If you want to hear my voice dispense some expertise on this particular facet of Missoula’s homeless issue, then check out this post from April 20th, 2021 where I discuss the Reserve Street cleanup with my first podcast co-host, Tim.

Going back to the Missoulian article, Montana is described as having one of the fastest growing homeless populations in the country. Really?

Across the state in Missoula, urban camping and encampment sweeps have been dominating the conversation over the last couple years. The city is continually removing urban campers from city-owned land and a working group, formed in response to the issue of homelessness, has five possible ordinances on the table.

Not only have Montana municipalities been passing laws expressly with Grants Pass and Martin in mind, the state also has one of the fastest growing populations of homeless people in the country.

Between 2007 — when the nationwide annual tracking began — and 2023, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased in 25 states, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report.

Montana had the second-largest percentage increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness at 89% and the third-largest percentage increase from 2022 to 2023 at 45%.

Those trends are in part due to the skyrocketing housing prices across the state.

Yes, the cost of housing is definitely a contributing factor to the increasing numbers of people NOT living in conventional homes. I’ll be one of ’em in a month when I stop paying $800 dollars for a little room in this stupid fucking town. But it’s NOT just housing that’s being impacted, businesses are ALSO going elsewhere, like the guy who told me he’s moving his business to Idaho after his property taxes went from $3,000 to around $9,000 dollars in just a couple of years.

If SCOTUS rules against the activism of the 9th Circuit Court, what will happen? Will local criminal justice systems, including law enforcement, lose their favorite scapegoat for official inaction when it comes to addressing criminal behavior enabled by “urban camping”? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

As for the Reserve Street area, it’s unfortunate I won’t be able to attend the celebratory tour today showing what can happen when citizens IGNORE the influencers who operate within the HOMELESS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX and take matters into their own hands in order to ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING to fix the problem, instead of just perpetuating it.

If anyone wants to talk to an expert about this issue, I’m available, and if you want to assist me financially, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is the online place to do it. Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!