Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 75

Wait, did I share this?

Not sure if I did. But here it is, a piece of photo-joiner magic that was accepted over at 45th parallel Mag. Check it out and show them some love. Also if you want an art print of it, go here.

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Watchmen

So just watched the HBO show Watchmen.  Quite interesting, though I'm not sure what to make of it now that I've finished it. I think the ending is what threw me off. Not that there were a lot of twists. There were, and I liked that, but it seems as if the ending took away from the main gist of the the story. 


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And so it goes.

Protests continue worldwide, and, it would seem, that only a few are mentioned here in the US (by the MSM). Climate Change, as well, continues unabated, and people (even in my age group, so you can't really blame the Boomers alone) seem ever more  either not to care or to feign a kind of apathy. But the war against the environment continues and it seems the only real people on the front lines are indigenous people. Read this article about our neighbor up north. Sad stuff all around.

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Another one

So in addition to having a story accepted over at Swamp Ape Review, there's also another one over at Bending Genres Journal. Will link as they come online (or off, whichever it ends up being)
Anyhoo, I'll be out of commission for a few days, but hopefully things will be posted up on my Patreon. Mainly I'm keeping more and more work where most people can't get them (for now you can read as much as you want here).





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What is Art?

I've talked about this before, but here's some discussion on a banana duct-taped to a wall (and sold for or to sell for 120,000$?). This article is interesting, though it seems to travel  into "I hate Banksy" territory for no real reason [1]. Nevertheless, it seems to speak of a handful of issues surrounding the banana, but little about the art market itself (And because it doesn't mention this powerful force itself, it's kinda useless). 

So first, anytime a banana is duct taped to a wall and can go for 120k, then you know it's more than a statement about the banana itself and rather the price. In a world where 120k is more than the vast majority, no matter how much they work, and no matter how much social good they do, will ever earn in a year, this is a statement about those who would spend money on it. 
Money laundering? Possibly. 
But also decadence in the sense that the super rich want a way to let us know they will pay for nothing just to pay for it (while also fighting with all they have to stop taxes on them from raising one cent,  the republic and humankind be damned). That is the statement I see when I see a banana taped to a wall. 
Now, does this mean that the artist took this into account? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure it matters. The banana merely means this is the world you live in. Our world. As the super rich wish to make it. 


[1] This seems to be the purview of the Times and art critics who are a part of the art system. Mainly that Banksy's line that it's all a con, seems to hit too close to home for them and thus they have to fight back. None of their arguments seem worthwhile, tbf.
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Our MSM coverage.

In the circles I travel in (which is, hard to say, centric circles which try not to rock the boat... aka the middle class personified), there's a lot of talk about HK. It seems even amongst people who are educated, the HK protests are the only ones they talk about. Why? Especially when the entire world is protesting against their elites in louder ways?
Well, it's because this is what they are being told to focus on these protests alone. There is no way that differential in coverage is some mistake or random or attached to geo-political importance.

And again, this isn't to say that I care for any government's suppression of its people. I'm just saying, keep the context in mind. 

Your thoughts?
 
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Cool.

A few things. First, I got a short story accepted over at Swamp Ape Review (note, if you're a part of Patreon, you already know this) so I'll keep you informed when that story comes out. To that end, an art piece was accepted by Genre: Urban Arts. So I'll also keep you posted about that.
Second,  had some art accepted over at the Kurt Vonnegut Lit Journal. It's in issue 8. Get it, buy it, because it's pretty sweet (good pieces throughout the issue, so not just my piece, on page 65, goseit!). Here's the link for all those who want it. 16$ for one issue. Not a bad price. That's usually one shitty meal at a restaurant, so don't go out for one night, okay?
Another thing, for those web bots (or spam bots, or people doing the work of spammers) posting barely contextual posts on here. I've decided to stop deleting and leave things as they are (for all the rest of you, just don't click on random links on comments, please) because this, ultimately, is the internet and web bots are a part of it, IMO. If it gets too obvious, then I'll delete them. But for now, I'll let them be. 
Take care!

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A couple novels.

I've been reading quite a few novels (and I had to finish these two since I have a handful of YA novels up to read for work) so I wanted to mention them (before I forgot them). One, t he Doll , is an old meandering thing from the late 1800s (you know those books). [1] It's a good novel just because you can really get a feel for what living in Warsaw was like back then. Like the other book I talked about, The Certificate , Doll speaks of a tumultuous time.
And though they are similar, it's the ways in which they are different that matter. The Doll is written when the nobles had much power but were losing it to the coming "tradesmen and merchants". The author cares not for this parasitic class (the nobles) and makes that clear throughout (while Certificate was more bothered with nations and power in terms of the business class etc). Meanwhile, issues in terms of clashes with Jewish people ring throughout this novel. I'd even call it anti-Semitic (or the characters are, at least) and I'd definitely call it sexist.  Still, it's a good view into a very specific time in Warsaw. 
For example, you have the nobles and their way of life being torn apart. Yet they still have some power in terms of their mannerisms (which the author cares not for) and how they wield that to get to the money of others. But it's a weak grip, nonetheless. And the hatred for Jews is throughout (the protagonist does not seem to care on this front, but it's not so deep in terms of why this is... he's just fine with them), which is something that you see in The Certificate as well, but seems so sorrowful (the hate seems to be tempered at this point, but like many hatreds for a minority, seems tied into how successful the Jews are perceived (and that's when they're "taking over").
And then there's the love for Napoleon.  As a person who has grown up in the Anglo world I still hear disparaging remarks about that man. And yet the lit I've read in Italy and Poland makes it seem that for people who cared for democracy, he (and his ilk) was a beacon of hope. That's what he serves as here: a past pipe dream for some of the older generation.
I will say that the feeling of having no real gods is a little weaker than The Certificate, but it's impressive nonetheless. I sometimes wonder how our times compare, and I'm guessing that we truly are facing worse things (though we may not feel them. After all, something like the nukes or climate change have worse consequences than people in the past can imagine, and yet, here we are). 
There is something of a blindness to colonialism in this book, but I suppose nothing's perfect.
Check it out.

Then there's A Brief History of Seven Killings which certainly deserves all the accolades it received over the past few years. Written about the assassination attempt on Marley, it's a timely piece, especially with our interference with Latin America and how we try to destabilize so much of the world (and the blowback that comes after). Check it out if you get the chance.


[1] A  lot of people claim that today we don't have the concentration for long reads. Perhaps. I mean, I'm of the mind that things like Twitter are truly useless for discussions and nuance and anything worth while, but I'm also of the mind that the old novels were really a case of being paid by the word. They linger on thoughts without ever really going that far in depth with them.
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Yales Smack down alert!

No this isn't about the game.

There haven't been many documentaries as good as I Am Not Your Negro.  Watch it if you haven't. Still, you should check out this piece here. It's a few minutes but it's worth your time. Essentially proof that a brilliant mind will always be that. Baldwin, sans college degree vs Yale professor. 
Of course one is remembered by posterity, but at the end of each life, the one who was remembered now was not remembered then. A combination of being gaslighted by the CIA and other types who worked to sideline him (even purported friends). Sad stuff, that. But the clip is still worth it.
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Mr. Coates

I do hope that Mr. Coates keeps writing for the Times and elevates that newspaper beyond its current low quality. This piece says things I've mentioned before, but it really says them well.  As expected, from one of the best writers of this century (for non-fiction this is barely debatable, with Michelle Alexander being another brilliant mind, though it appears her posts at the Times were cut short... I wonder why?).
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