Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 25

Covid.

Not a bad video on the virus and how it doesn't care if we're exhausted or not (and yeah, plenty of us are). But would like some more from virologists about the evolution of Covid (apparently Omicron surprised all the experts)



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The Comments

Like this video, like the comments. Yeah, it's r/antiwork, but it's worth looking through. I do agree with the current internet comment narrative (one I usually disagree with) vis a vis Cawthorn and how after he mentioned GOP cocaine fueled orgies, he's been in their crosshairs. Yeah, wonder if the MSM treats it as such? Doubt it, not that I care to check. But fuck does one think, much like the Epstein "suica", this points to a conspiracy that many had an inkling about, but nothing concrete to back it up with. 
Of course, given the takes I see on r/conspiracy etc, concerning things like Dems and Satanic rituals or just Vaxxes in general, this "gut feeling" can spread in many directions. And yeah, it can be very wrong. Take the actual conspiracy that brought us the opiate epidemic (and the tertiary epidemics). There are some real vile actors through that whole ordeal, but I sense "big Pharma" "medicine" is what people hear and sense and that becomes a hatred for the handful of elites in that field, no matter if they didn't have anything to do with it. 
And, again, if only the Pharma companies said the vaxxes were worthwhile, it would definitely be untrustworthy, but lots of independent types are saying so. An interesting clash of worldviews (and the want for you, your people, to be the heroes of history) also plays a part in this. This is why I really like stories (fantastical or realistic or otherwise) that include the worldviews and where each character thinks they stand in it. Plenty don't. They try to, in that CIA-trained MFA way, stay away from all such topics, when it really matters IMO. Moon Witch Spider King being an example of where this is in fact done. And done damn well. Check it out if you get the chance. 
Huh, well that's one hell of a tangential jump. Enjoy 😊 
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Another art piece to be published soon.

Will be at Zoetic press. Was a piece I had worked on a while back then just let it sit, not knowing if it was ready. But looked at it recently and decided that, yeah, it was very much ready. It was a photo joiner with thoughts and what have you mixed in. Below is a photo joiner, but not the photo joiner. 


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Shuffling to Neo Feudalism.

Well, by now everyone has heard about SCOTUS and their plans for striking down Roe v Wade. [1] Certainly it's a move to making women more like chattel, more about power than anything else [2]. Riot on the streets some say. Lysistrata the Repubs. I mean sure, but plenty of women voted for this shit, people. All valid reactions tbf, given how many rights they're actually taking away here [3]. I also find little comfort in my I told you so's to the liberals who were sure the right was playing some long con and would never overturn Roe v Wade fully. After all what else would they rile up their base with? You mean the ones who can work themselves to a frothing anger over nothing? Yeah, they'll have plenty to get angry about. 



But maybe we should too. As I've said before, all this is slow marching us into a Neo-feudal future. From the cops having absolutely no civilian oversight, and fighting anyone who tries to improve them, to the constant bailouts for the superrich to the crazy financial situations right now and the runaway Climate Change that has still yet to hit us full speed (but, given our reactions, will most likely hasten the Neo feudal march). This is the main reason why I start most my fables with a once upon a time or future. 

[1] Lawyer friend tells me that nothing is set in stone, and hard to tell if this means they go through with it all the same language that Alito has (rather than some narrow definition that Roberts would prefer). 
[2] Note how concerned right wingers allow IVF exceptions, and target the poor and minorities if they simply have miscarriages or stillborn. And yeah, it was never about saving babies. 
[3] (rather than the made up fevered dreams shit  the right manages to get worked up about)
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A quick kinda short.

Mainly it's flash, but worth a look if you have the time and $. 
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10 Years

Since this is more or less a rolling 10 year anniversary for many short stories as well as novels that I've written, I'll be adding some more on those and maybe thoughts on what was created. Especially looking back on it all. Working on a few shorts and even a choose your own adventure sorta thing. Drop your thoughts when you can. 
Anyhow, been listening to a few videos while doing chores. mainly about Ukraine, but I do want to point to something else besides that war (even though the 5M refugees and the knockoff effects of what will happen to world food supplies is certainly an issue): That a climate activist set themselves on fire in front of the Supreme Court. Note how little is being said about this, and also, how there are no photos of this act. No, this isn't going for death porn, but the photo of Buddhist monks on fire in Vietnam might be one of the most powerful visualizations of protest and despair out there. Also note that a Tunisian man setting themselves on fire also set off the Arab Spring. 
Nevertheless, I'm trying to take my post on Kropotkin and think of applying the main factors of the day (nukes and climate change, of course). This will help me weed out emotion, as well as biases, to look at the main actors on the stage and to look at crimes against humanity, to include the morality of climate change. In fact, all actions of the powerful must be looked at through this lens. Just like the pandemic changes the moral calculus (and some can't seem to handle it) of otherwise harmless actions. 
And when looking at war, blame is certainly something that we jump to, but many in the human rights field see it for the political (even if emotionally satisfying) act that it is, and not the thing that gets you to peace. 
To that end, this interview is worthwhile. I like Yanis, and think he has some good points, as usual:

I will note, like Finkelstein, most people who criticize him, rarely get into what he says and instead go for the full on personal attacks. 
And to that end, this interview on India Today is worthwhile as well. I'll have to check out their Donbass work. (not that I'm taking everything the man is saying at face value. Much of it seems like the americanization of war talk, ie didn't kill the civilians, those heavy weapons were too close to them, etc). But let's hope cooler heads prevail in all this.  


That being said, how can one think that the older generation. You know, the one in charge of this country and trying hard to destroy the world and our future, is wrong about everything else but right about this?

The reaction from the usual pundits and talking or typing heads is that the old are wise and also TikTok is bad. Really not the point. I would like to see the breakdown of this latest manufacturing consent moment. Also I would like to have better questions. 
That being said, I'll look into IT's Donbass reporting because I'm not seeing much. I've already shared all those HRW reports, but here's something from Aljazeera. Seems about accurate to me. Especially when you have militia types running around (goes for the likes of Azov).
And finally, the new normal cannot be anything close to what we've had or what was before. I think most Americans (and certainly the youth) will rebel against that whole sale. This walkout by the nurses is justified and I hope they win (note how a Uni, non-profit ostensibly, is the culprit here).



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10 Year

Since this is more or less a rolling 10 year anniversary for many short stories as well as novels that I've written, I'll be adding some more on those and maybe thoughts on what was created. Especially looking back on it all. Working on a few shorts and even a choose your own adventure sorta thing. Drop your thoughts when you can. 
Anyhow, been listening to a few videos while doing chores. mainly about Ukraine, but I do want to point to something else besides that war (even though the 5M refugees and the knockoff effects of what will happen to world food supplies is certainly an issue): That a climate activist set themselves on fire in front of the Supreme Court. Note how little is being said about this, and also, how there are no photos of this act. No, this isn't going for death porn, but the photo of Buddhist monks on fire in Vietnam might be one of the most powerful visualizations of protest and despair out there. Also note that a Tunisian man setting themselves on fire also set off the Arab Spring. 
Nevertheless, I'm trying to take my post on Kropotkin and think of applying the main factors of the day (nukes and climate change, of course). This will help me weed out emotion, as well as biases, to look at the main actors on the stage and to look at crimes against humanity, to include the morality of climate change. In fact, all actions of the powerful must be looked at through this lens. Just like the pandemic changes the moral calculus (and some can't seem to handle it) of otherwise harmless actions. 
And when looking at war, blame is certainly something that we jump to, but many in the human rights field see it for the political (even if emotionally satisfying) act that it is, and not the thing that gets you to peace. 
To that end, this interview is worthwhile. I like Yanis, and think he has some good points, as usual:

I will note, like Finkelstein, most people who criticize him, rarely get into what he says and instead go for the full on personal attacks. 
And to that end, this interview on India Today is worthwhile as well. I'll have to check out their Donbass work. (not that I'm taking everything the man is saying at face value. Much of it seems like the americanization of war talk, ie didn't kill the civilians, those heavy weapons were too close to them, etc). But let's hope cooler heads prevail in all this.  



And finally, the new normal cannot be anything close to what we've had or what was before. I think most Americans (and certainly the youth) will rebel against that whole sale. This walkout by the nurses is justified and I hope they win (note how a Uni, non-profit ostensibly, is the culprit here).



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The Sun!

In all its gory right here. 83M pixels if you wanna download that.  Meanwhile we continue being the speck in the universe that can't think about the universe. 
With the war in Ukraine, there's the matter of worldwide famine. Some will be hit hard. You can help here. Others will merely be slightly hit, and so that means bothered enough to start some harsh civil strife. I'm talking movement of people and then the resultant tensions and sparks. Sometimes it isn't starvation but the rising price of bread that gets people reacting. Remember how for the past decade it's been austerity for the masses and riches for the well-connected that has caused the most civil unrest. Not always a bad thing has places like Chile have rid themselves of their pro-right wing constitution and have something for the people. But the counter revolution is always there, so I simply expect general strife almost everywhere in the world. Be safe out there. 
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In Our Time

Thought this small podcast was pretty interesting. Of course, one can never really get much info in an hour, but seems like a good summation. Specifically this one about Kropotkin. What I found interesting is that this mutual aid anarchist was for the allies during WWI. No, he didn't care for the brits etc, but he did think that the Prussian State formation (authoritarian etc) would be much worse for all of Europe and much worse for anarchism in the long run. Interesting thought. And I have to think in those terms regarding the current rifts in the world. Of course, I'll always point out the hypocrisy that lies in much of our coverage of our enemies (vs our own), but in terms of the moral decisions facing us (I'm talking climate change and nukes, but especially the former)as a species. So then how does one look at the current screams on the internet and how does one properly make decisions? Especially if you're all for internationalism (really the only way we get to face down climate change)?
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Another Multiverse Film.

Used to have a professor who would discuss the possibilities of travel in time. His favorite movie was that still picture French one, you know, the one 12 monkeys is based off. This one:

Well, it's a pretty impressive film, and pretty coherent for any one trying to do a time travel movie with one possible universe. The professor thought that a branching multi-verse was "cheating" and boring. What he was interested in was being able to actually jump back into time in your own timeline. Of course, how you would deal with meeting yourself is another issue (and one that makes time travel impossible). 
But that never did sit right with me, that the multiverse view of time travel or just in general, was boring. And indeed, there have been a whole host of movies that have shown how fun the multiverse really is [1]. Into the Spiderverse was brilliant, though it only touched on the multiple possibility thing.
Added to that list is everything everywhere all at once, a brilliant if not a little crazy movie. I enjoyed it and am still chewing on all that it had to say. Check it out if you get the chance. 
[1] IN general, I'm able to ignore timeline inconsistencies I see in movies (which this professor taught me) like Looper and such. I just go with the idea that jumping in time would be cool, even if I think it's impossible and probably the only time travel we'll ever see, if at all, will be the type that is visual (as in we can see a star from X-years ago) as well as nano, such as data (the latter being the only back and forth time travel possible) as well as other ways like traveling fast and far and returning younger than those you left. I'm basing this off no working knowledge of any of the physics of time travel outside of what we all know about relativity. Nasa has it covered (the GPS stuff is brilliant). 
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