Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 85

A million broken clocks now

I've written here and elsewhere about the nonsense of conspiracy theories. Not that all conspiracy theories are created equal, of course, and power will do many things behind closed doors, but the new level of conspiracy theories seem especially silly. So to that end, I just read this interview which tackled conspiracy theories (though especially the ones on the right).



White supremacy.

That's the other point at play here and it means these conspiracies are organic to some extent, but could be the battle of giants (many circle around billionaires, then punch down to the truly downtrodden of the world) that's occurring right now.

Now in all this I'm sure austerity is playing a role, but it should go without saying that this "we're losing it all" is in full reeee mode right now. To avoid that (hell, my piece above has nothing on the races of the two ladies even if Polish people are of one race alone) is a little disingenuous these days.

There are some truly downtrodden people in this world. People with real reasons to make up tribal conspiracies and yet they don't. If there are people doing anything like this, they hold the power (Hindus in India etc).

Is this yet another replay of the conspiracies of the 30s (anti-semitic)? So perhaps nothing crazy in light of that? Just cranked up to 11 because of the dial that is social media? I'm not sure, actually and need to think more on it. Please add your thoughts as well.

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I know how you like the art, johnny boy

Hope you enjoy this. I'll have the link to a full print of it soon:



Oh, and another short story (with photos) and also about Iraq, though in a kind of fantastical way. Enjoy!



best,
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Anti-Vaxxers and the Trojan Horse.

As we approach peak-anti-vaxxerdom, I find it easier to imagine places like ancient Rome watching their empire fall apart and not knowing what to do. The tale of the Trojan horse is telling. You have an obvious ruse, and yet the people choose something like the ephemeral gods over logic. And they paid the price. 
With us, we actually have the  knowledge to do better as a nation and yet we're choosing the feels (the conman's feeling of god's words) over logic.
This goes for Climate Change and foreign policy and things like anti-vaxxers or allowing the nation to be torn by inequality. If ISIS were smart it would be them behind these kinds of movements that tear this nation apart in more insidious ways than just direct action attacks. 
But they're not (that I know of) and we're once again embracing that which will destroy us. 
With the anti-vaxxers I'm not sure why that strain of stupid is peaking. Could be that people are getting sick via inequality (yeah that's a real thing, read a book) and blaming all sorts of things except those in power (or maybe this is their way of blaming certain powers... a self-destruction that will allow them to spite others with a kind of pox on all by destroying herd immunity). 
To be serious a moment, the life expectancy of this nation is going down. And no one is talking about that at all. No one. Should be front fucking page news, but no one wants to mentioned it. Want to know why that is? It's not entirely healthcare, though that's a damn joke (or grift, given everything seems to be that today). It's inequality (to which lack of health care access plays a part).  
I want the next person to talk about national security or healthcare to talk inequality. It's killing the nation.
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College Admissions

With talk of the college admissions scandal, many people seem to not understand the real reason for colleges in general. Sure there's an aspect of research and being an intellectual hub. But many have seemed to conflate this with the college world being a meritocracy. But perhaps that's a world that has passed us by?

In that case, it should only allow in the rich and people who can kowtow to them sufficiently. 
I'm being facetious, of course, but one hopes we can look at our entire educational system and see how we can improve it to be better for us as a nation, as a species. Maximize human potential because, goddamit, we need it to face the issues coming upon us (Climate change, again, being the worst of them).
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Do you like forms?

Well, here's a favor I'm asking you. Please check out this form and fill it out. Takes a second, really. Look at a collage and write down the words that come to mind. Don't over think it. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...


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Oh man, another movie. Another series of thoughts. (SPOILERS!)

If you haven't watched the movie Us , I would recommend it, though I'm not in the its all that great boat (tbf, I'm not sure how great it is).  It is good to see more and more movies try to be more than just another solid genre movie. And in that sense, this is a good movie.



My only question is does this movie claim that we in the developed world, the rich ones, do we need to make sure we have one of them who has been twisted to our ways and thus can save us, or do the people below need to kill mercilessly to get out of their dire straits?

Your thoughts?


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A Captive State

It's a little joy of mine to find good in a movie that was panned by the critics. Yet when I went to watch Captive State with the Mrs, I'm not sure what to expect. I thought I'd be at least mildly entertained and maybe enjoy some alien occupation themes that line up with today. 
What I found instead was one of the best movies I've seen in some time. It had elements of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as well as Army of Shadows. I suppose this is why people thought it was slow? If you've seen it, I would like to know your thoughts. 


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Story out at Wry Ronin

Hi all, just to let you know that a short story of mine was published over at Wry Ronin. It's an interesting piece that speaks not only to the fog of war but the fog of memory. We all know that history itself is a battlefield (that is, how we remember these events, why we went to war etc) but I have come to realize that one man's truth is another man's propaganda. 
This isn't, however some post-modernist scree but rather something like a warning to tell all of us that we need, nay must, focus on more than just a million screaming personal histories.  
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Me and My Fairy Tales.

Lots of crazy news out there these days. But I'm gonna talk about my own writing and my focus on the fairy tale remixes I've been writing lately. Those of you who read here will know that I have an interesting one in Red Rock Review, but I also have a few more that I hope will be sent elsewhere soon.
Reading this piece here on morality in the tales we tell is somewhat eye-opening. The main premise is that the morality aspect of folktales was never thus. It was added as a need for a sense of a people was required when nations came along. So the brothers Grimm had such a bias as they created these tales 
But what gets to me is the following tales that I've never heard. "Godfather Death." :

A poor man had twelve children and had to work day and night in order just to feed them. Thus when the thirteenth came into the world, not knowing what to do in his need, he ran out into the highway, intending to ask the first person whom he met to be the godfather. The first person who came his way was our dear God, who already knew what was in his heart, and God said to him, "Poor man, I pity you. I will hold your child at his baptism, and care for him, and make him happy on earth."
The man said, "Who are you?"
"I am God."
"Then I do not wish to have you for a godfather," said the man. "You give to the rich, and let the poor starve."
Thus spoke the man, for he did not know how wisely God divides out wealth and poverty. Then he turned away from the Lord, and went on his way.
Then the devil came to him and said, "What are you looking for? If you will take me as your child's godfather, I will give him an abundance of gold and all the joys of the world as well."
The man asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the devil."
"Then I do not wish to have you for a godfather," said the man. You deceive mankind and lead them astray."
He went on his way, and then Death, on his withered legs, came walking toward him, and said, "Take me as your child's godfather."
The man asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Death, who makes everyone equal."
Then the man said, "You are the right one. You take away the rich as well as the poor, without distinction. You shall be my child's godfather.
Death answered, "I will make your child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend cannot fail."
The man said, "Next Sunday is the baptism. Be there on time."
Death appeared as he had promised, and served as godfather in an orderly manner.
After the boy came of age his godfather appeared to him one day and asked him to go with him. He took him out into the woods and showed him an herb that grew there, saying, "Now you shall receive your godfather's present. I will turn you into a famous physician. Whenever you are called to a sick person I will appear to you. If I stand at the sick person's head, you may say with confidence that you can make him well again; then give him some of this herb, and he will recover. But if I stand at the sick person's feet, he is mine, and you must say that he is beyond help, and that no physician in the world could save him. But beware of using this herb against my will, or something very bad will happen to you."
It was not long before the young man had become the most famous physician in the whole world. People said of him, "He only needs to look at the sick in order to immediately know their condition, whether they will regain their health, or are doomed to die." And people came to him from far and wide, taking him to their sick, and giving him so much money that he soon became a wealthy man.
Now it came to pass that the king became ill. The physician was summoned and was told to say if a recovery were possible. However, when he approached the bed, Death was standing at the sick man's feet, and so no herb on earth would be able to help him.
"If I could only deceive death for once," thought the physician. "He will be angry, of course, but because I am his godson he will shut one eye. I will risk it." He therefore took hold of the sick man and laid him the other way around, so that Death was now standing at his head. Then he gave the king some of the herb, and he recovered and became healthy again.
However, Death came to the physician, made a dark and angry face, threatened him with his finger, and said, "You have betrayed me. I will overlook it this time because you are my godson, but if you dare to do it again, it will cost you your neck, for I will take you yourself away with me."
Soon afterward the king's daughter became seriously ill. She was his only child, and he cried day and night until his eyes were going blind. Then he proclaimed that whosoever rescued her from death should become her husband and inherit the crown.
When the physician came to the sick girl's bed he saw Death at her feet. He should have remembered his godfather's warning, but he was so infatuated by the princess's great beauty and the prospect of becoming her husband that he threw all thought to the winds. He did not see that Death was looking at him angrily, lifting his hand into the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. He lifted up the sick girl and placed her head where her feet had been. Then he gave her some of the herb, and her cheeks immediately turned red, and life stirred in her once again.
Death, seeing that he had been cheated out of his property for a second time, approached the physician with long strides and said, "You are finished. Now it is your turn."
Then Death seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand that he could not resist, and led him into an underground cavern. There the physician saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning in endless rows, some large, others medium-sized, others small. Every instant some died out, and others were relit, so that the little flames seemed to be jumping about in constant change.
"See," said Death, "these are the life-lights of mankind. The large ones belong to children, the medium-sized ones to married people in their best years, and the little ones to old people. However, even children and young people often have only a tiny candle."
"Show me my life-light," said the physician, thinking that it still would be very large.
Death pointed to a little stump that was just threatening to go out, and said, "See, there it is."
"Oh, dear godfather," said the horrified physician, "light a new one for me. Do it as a favor to me, so that I can enjoy my life, and become king and the husband of the beautiful princess."
"I cannot," answered Death. "One must go out before a new one is lighted."
"Then set the old one onto a new one that will go on burning after the old one is finished," begged the physician.
Death pretended that he was going to fulfill this wish and took hold of a large new candle, but, desiring revenge, he purposely made a mistake in relighting it, and the little piece fell down and went out. The physician immediately fell to the ground, and he too was now in the hands of Death.

Say what you will, but that's a damn good start to a story. "Knapsack":

 Once there were three brothers, and they grew poorer and poorer, until at last their need was so great that they had nothing left to bite or to break. Then they said, “This will not do; we had better go out into the world and seek our fortune.”
So they set out, and went some distance through many green fields, but they met with no good fortune. One day they came to a great wood, in the midst of which was a hill, and when they came near to it, they saw that it was all of silver. Then said the eldest, “Now here is good fortune enough for me, and I desire no better.” And he took of the silver as much as he could carry, turned round, and went back home. But the other two said, “We must have some- thing better than mere silver,” and they would not touch it, but went on farther.
After they had gone on a few days longer, they came to a hill that was all of gold. The second brother stood still and considered, and was uncertain. “What shall I do?” said he; “shall I take of the gold enough to last me my life, or shall I go farther?” At last, coming to a conclusion, he filled his pockets as full as they would hold, bid good-bye to his brother, and went home. But the third brother said to himself, “Silver and gold do not tempt me; I will not gain- say fortune, who has better things in store for me.”
So he went on, and when he had journeyed for three days, he came to a wood still greater than the former ones, so that there was no end to it; and in it he found nothing to eat or to drink, so that he was nearly starving. He got up into a high tree, so as to see how far the wood reached, but as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but the tops of the trees. And as he got down from the tree, hunger pressed him sore, and he thought, “Oh that for once I could have a good meal!”
And when he reached the ground he saw to his surprise a table beneath the tree richly spread with food, and that smoked before him.
“This time at least,” said he, “I have my wish,” and without stop- ping to ask who had brought the meal there, and who had cooked it, he came close to the table and ate with relish, until his hunger was appeased. When he had finished, he thought, “It would be a pity to leave such a good table-cloth behind in the wood,” so he folded it up neatly and pocketed it.
Then he walked on, and in the evening, when hunger again seized him, he thought he would put the table-cloth to the proof, and he brought it out and said, “Now I desire that thou shouldst be spread with a good meal,” and no sooner were the words out of his ‘mouth, than there stood on it as many dishes of delicious food as there was room for.
“Now that I see,” said he, “what sort of a cook thou art, I hold thee dearer than the mountains of silver and of gold,” for he perceived that it was a wishing-cloth. Still he was not satisfied to settle /down at home with only a wishing-cloth, so he determined to wander farther through the world and seek his fortune.
One evening, in a lonely wood, he came upon a begrimed char- coal-burner at his furnace, who had put some potatoes to roast for his supper. “Good evening, my black fellow,” said he, “how do you get on in this lonely spot?” “One day is like another,” answered the charcoal-burner; “every evening I have potatoes; have you a mind to be my guest?” “Many thanks,” answered the traveler, “I will not deprive you; you did not expect a guest; but if you do not object, you shall be the one to be invited.”
“How can that be managed?” said the charcoal-burner; “I see that you have nothing with you, and if you were to walk two hours in any direction, you would meet with no one to give you any- thing.” “For all that,” answered he, “there shall be a feast so good, that you have never tasted the like.”
Then he took out the table-cloth from his knapsack, and spreading it on the ground, said, “Cloth, be covered,” and immediately there appeared boiled and roast meat, quite hot, as if it had just come from the kitchen. The charcoal-burner stared, but did not stay to be asked twice, and fell to, filling his black mouth with ever bigger and bigger pieces.
When they had finished eating, the charcoal-burner smiled, and said, “Look here, I approve of your table-cloth; it would not be a bad thing for me to have here in the wood, where the cooking is not first-rate. I will strike a bargain with you. There hangs a soldier’s knapsack in the corner, which looks old and unsightly, but it has wonderful qualities; as I have no further occasion for it, I will give it to you in exchange for the table-cloth.”
“First, I must know what these wonderful qualities are,” returned the other.
“I will tell you,” answered the charcoal-burner; “if you strike it with your hand, there will appear a corporal and six men with swords and muskets, and whatever you wish to have done, that will they do.”
“Well, for my part,” said the other, “I am quite willing to make the exchange.” And he gave the table-cloth to the charcoal-burner, took down the knapsack from its hook, slung it over his shoulder, and took his leave. Before he had gone far he began to want to make a trial of his wonderful knapsack, so he struck it a blow. At once seven soldiers appeared before him, and the corporal said, “What does my lord and master please to want?”
“March in haste to the charcoal-burner and demand my wishing- cloth back,” said the man. They wheeled round to the left, and were not long before they had accomplished his desire, and taken away, without wasting many words, the wishing-cloth from the charcoal-burner. Having dismissed them, he wandered on, expecting still more wonderful luck.
About sunset he fell in with another charcoal-burner, who was getting his supper ready at the fire. “Will you join me?” said this black fellow; “potatoes and salt, without butter; sit down to it with me.” “No,” answered he, “this time you shall be my guest.” And he spread out his table-cloth, and it was directly covered with the most delicious victuals. So they ate and drank together and were merry.
After the meal was over the charcoal-burner said, “Over there, on the bench, lies an old worn-out hat, which has wonderful properties: if you put it on and draw it well over your head it is as if a dozen field-pieces went off, one after the other, shooting everything down, so that no one can stand against them. This hat is of no use to me, and I will give it to you in exchange for the table-cloth.”
“All right,” answered the other, taking the hat and carrying it off, and leaving the table-cloth behind him. Before he had gone far he struck upon the knapsack, and summoned his soldiers to fetch back the table-cloth again. “First one thing, and then another,” thought he, “just as if my luck were never to end.”
And so it seemed, for at the end of another day’s journey he came up to another charcoal-burner, who was roasting his potatoes just like the others. He invited him to eat with him off his wishing-cloth, to which the charcoal-burner took such a fancy, that he gave him for it a horn, which had different properties still from the hat. If a man blew on it, down fell all walls and fortresses, and finally towns and villages in heaps. So the man gave the table-cloth in exchange for it to the charcoal-burner, afterwards sending his men to fetch it back, so that at last he had in his possession knapsack, hat, and horn, all at one time. “Now,” said he, “I am a made man, and it is time to go home again and see how my brothers are faring.”
When he reached home he found that his brothers had built themselves a fine house with their silver and gold, and lived in clover. He went to see them, but because he wore a half-worn-out coat, a shabby hat, and the old knapsack on his back, they would not recognize him as their brother. They mocked him and said, “It is of no use your giving yourself out to be our brother; he who scorned silver and gold, seeking for better fortune, will return in great splendor, as a mighty King, not as a beggar-man.” And they drove him from their door.
Then he flew into a great rage, and struck upon his knapsack until a hundred and fifty men stood before him, rank and file. He ordered them to surround his brothers’ house, and that two of them should take hazel-rods, and should beat the brothers until they knew who he was. And there arose a terrible noise; the people ran together and wished to rescue the brothers in their extremity, but they could do nothing against the soldiers. It happened at last that the King of the country heard of it, and he was indignant, and sent a captain with his troops to drive the disturber of the peace out of the town. But the man with his knapsack soon assembled a greater company, who beat back the captain and his people, sending them off with bleeding noses.
Then the King said, “This vagabond fellow must be put down,” and he sent the next day a larger company against him, but they could do nothing, for he assembled more men than ever, and in order to bring them more quickly, he pulled his hat twice lower over his brows; then the heavy guns came into play, and the King’s people were beaten and put to flight. “Now,” said he, “I shall not make peace until the King gives me his daughter to wife, and lets me rule the whole kingdom in his name.”
This he caused to be told to the King, who said to his daughter, “This is a hard nut to crack; there is no choice but for me to do as he asks; if I wish to have peace and keep the crown on my head, I must give in to him.”
So the wedding took place, but the King’s daughter was angry that the bridegroom should be a common man, who wore a shabby hat, and carried an old knapsack. She wished very much to get rid of him, and thought day and night how to manage it. Then it struck her that perhaps all his wonder-working power lay in the knapsack, and she pretended to be very fond of him, and when she had brought him into a good humor she said, “Pray lay aside that ugly knapsack; it misbecomes you so much that I feel ashamed of you.”
“My dear child,” answered he, “this knapsack is my greatest treasure; so long as I keep it I need not fear anything in the whole world,” and then he showed her with what wonderful qualities it was endowed. Then she fell on his neck as if she would have kissed him, but, by a clever trick, she slipped the knapsack over his shoulder and ran away with it.
As soon as she was alone she struck upon it and summoned the soldiers, and bade them seize her husband and bring him to the King’s palace. They obeyed, and the false woman had many more to follow behind, so as to be ready to drive him out of the country. He would have been quite done for if he had not still kept the hat. As soon as he could get his hands free he pulled it twice forward on his head; and then the cannon began to thunder and beat all down, till at last the King’s daughter had to come and to beg pardon. And as she so movingly prayed and promised to behave better, he raised her up and made peace with her. Then she grew very land to him, and seemed to love him very much, and he grew so deluded, that one day he confided to her that even if he were deprived of his knapsack nothing could be done against him as long as he should keep the old hat. And when she knew the secret she waited until he had gone to sleep; then she carried off the hat, and had him driven out into the streets. Still the horn remained to him, and in great wrath he blew a great blast upon it, and down came walls and fortresses, towns and villages, and buried the King and his daughter among their ruins. If he had not set down the horn when he did, and if he had blown a little longer, all the houses would have tumbled down, and there would not have been left one stone upon another.
After this no one dared to withstand him, and he made himself King over the whole country.

 Also an interesting story. To me there seems to be few morals to these tales. But they do speak to humanity, don't they?


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The wages of the internet

For anyone who knows chess, I was playing a game recently where the opponent refused to accept my offer for a draw. If you can take a look at the situation above, it's a draw. There's no way that one king can get through to kill anything and the pawns are all stuck. So why not draw?

My comrade in chess declined a draw and marched his king all around until, more than a hundred moves later, we finally had a draw by repetition. I'm not angry, just wondering why march your king about for nothing. It wasn't like the opponent was trying to penetrate the great wall here.

Or maybe, that was it. The other player loved the freedom of the desert behind the wall and just wanted to walk around? Maybe they were trying to win on time, damn the way it looks.

#winning, after all, can be said to be the calling card of our generation. Or at least the newer one. Or part of their calling card. I consider this all a little more than the crabs in the bucket trying to reach the top. After all, aren't the ones on the bottom worse off?

Yeah, so there you have it, a long drawn out game and all for nothing. Perhaps it's just a metaphor for life sometimes. Perhaps not. 




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