Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 86

Soldiers Die

I've been thinking about the novel Soldiers Die . One of many Iraq War novels out today. This one is a revenge-based one with the theme being... well I'm not sure. Funny thing is that I liked this piece some time ago and thinking about it today, it seems like a piece for a different time. Not only that, but though it comes across as honest, there is a level of dishonesty to it.

Any how, I am of the mind that there is no way around the fact that I liked this book when I was younger, but after knowing so much, I like it much less now. 
The story is about two US Iraq war veterans in Europe who go on a crime spree because they have nothing better to do. Along the way, a sibling is killed and they move to find some revenge. It's the Russian mafia they are up against. Along the way, one falls in love with a local girl (in Nice, btw) while also chatting it up with her father, a former OAS man.
Fair enough. Though, in the end, now that I know more about the OAS (the pied noirs too, in France and how where they live is usually a place more associated with French nationalism), I sense something of an easy connection being made for little reason other than the word "veteran".
I'm thinking too about the ways in which knowing more about this world makes certain stories (almost all Marvel movies, for instance) just too ignorant to be ignored. 
I think part of me is now thinking that this story is far too removed from reality. Or is it? What are your thoughts on that?

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Free Audiobook

Hey all, if you want a free audiobook for the audiobooks (at Audible), fill out this form and get one for Satan's Plea or Ministry of Bombs. Well worth it.

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Wry Ronin

I think a few of you readers are also writers, so here's a contest for you to consider. It's solid stuff. Full disclosure: I will be published by them soon.

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some sweet ass art for ya.

If you follow this blog, you'll know that there are a handful of pieces I've had accepted out there. Last year I had this series at Flyway.  Well, if you liked that, I've now got a way for you to get prints of them if you want. So check them out and enjoy. Note S6 is pretty high quality so the sizes you get are up to your needs. All should look good no matter what.

Here's the tree. And here's the sky.


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When the Internet Leaks into Reality

One of the most brilliant short stories out there is called "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" by Borges. It's in his collection Ficciones. If you haven't read it, I recommend you do so right away as it, more so than any other book or short, is a perfect encapsulation of the unmoored feeling one can get of what you thought of as fake becoming true or vice versa.



The internet has long passed that milestone (one could say that mass media has in general as well). 

But there is still a matter of the internet feeling disconnected from other facets of our life. For example,  a few weeks ago I posted something on a certain subject. All right. Then I got a text stating that because I had written about a certain subject I should click a link. Of course, I didn't. But that someone or some bot knew about what I talked then texted me about it, is something new, if you ask me.

I have also written since and each time a piece was somewhat provocative, I received a text of some right wing crusader looking crap that is meant to...

I actually don't know what it's meant to do. Is it some random spam that came around the same time as my blog post and was nothing more than lucky? Is it, perhaps a concerted effort to spook people writing like I do? A kind of threat to say: we know who you are and we're coming after you?

Maybe.

But it's hard to tell.

Stay tuned and I'll keep you informed about the rest.


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More on the center left and general idiocy in punditry

Well the counter points to this article: why don't we focus on Tibet any more? And why such focus on Israel. I'm not sure why this kind of view is extremely highlighted in American "intellectual circles" but it does seem to be part of the bowing to powers that be that comes instinctively to many in this country (world too, but that's besides the point).

Let's examine the first moral point that places like South Sudan or Congo never (not for the death tolls they provide us) figure large in our media. Mainly because people we hate aren't committing them.

So compared to Syria and elsewhere we'll never hear about what our enemies do. With China I imagine the fact that the right sees ways to get money from our relationship with that nation means we'll hear silence forever.

And Israel? To assume the coverage is anywhere near fair would be an exercise if madness. But that it does figure largely is because it stands in for the right as a place where Jesus will return combined with the view of white settlers vs the horde.

Any other idiotic questions?

I quit social media because the idiocy was far too much. But it would appear that there is a real problem in many blogs too. The internet is far too weak for discussions or rather we need a better solution. Let's see.

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What the...

Okay, look at this gif. Someone saved another person's life and it may have been a mistake. 
https://i.imgur.com/kV1H5Vl.gifv
Crazy, eh?
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Some more scribblings over there

Hey all, just pointing out (and supplying some friend links) to some work of mine over at Medium. Here's one on NYC, then, of course, the Cascades here in WA. Then a shorter essay on my move from typing on keyboard to using a pen. Old school but since Baldwin did the same, a damn useful habit to pick up.

So check them out, read them, then share them.

Peace. 


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State of Literature 2019.

It's been some better years for lit in America in general. It would seem that the mostly white industry of the big publishers is making some effort to reach out to other groups, though I wouldn't say that the needed diversity (in terms of, say, ideas as well as culture as well as race) is there yet but strides are being made. To better understand some aspects of this read this article in the LARB.




All right, I suppose. We all do need to work towards that.

But I'm of the mind that many of the sacred cows of lit are there because they appeal to suburban ideology. White suburban ideology. This is, I believe, an accurate assessment given the evidence out there. And note that I too am guilty as much as anyone else.

Any how, I was in Seattle recently and Marlon James was here. A pretty good showing, though after he read from his latest book, Black Leopard , I was surprised that it wasn't more because that shit was good.

Damn good, in fact, and I was wondering why there wasn't more of a push and front tabling of the book.

But therein lies the rub. Read the reviews from the above link.

Rare to see a real U-shaped curve, but there you have it. I cannot see anything but suburban ideology seeping through with these negative reviews. Too much violence? I assume they think the same about Game of Thrones?

I'm being unfair, I suppose. 

That tends to happen to me (don't worry, I'm off Twitter so my anger is coming down). 

That being said, part of me is still annoyed that all the lit teachers and all the king's men couldn't put a decent enough reading list for me in all of my education from K-Uni. And since none of it included James Baldwin (and since no American lit class pointed me in his direction... well what am I to do but cry foul?), I've moved towards a "a pox on all houses" phase. 

Note that I'm not saying this  is a matter of taste. Baldwin, for example, is easily the best writer of the past American century, but was never fully recognized. A handful of his essays alone would be the best set of words in American history and easily in world essay history, but go to someplace like r/books and people will claim that he's not even close. 

Some will point to DFW, who, while interesting, is essentially suburban writing epitomized. Beautiful sentences adding up to nothing. Perfect for 90s suburbia, I suppose, but lacking any real insight. But given the set of people who tend to follow him, I don't think that's surprising. Places like r/books are there to usually prop up some status quo aspects of things.

Well, the thing is that one needs to be able to say all this in a clear-eyed way. And that part isn't easy. 

Well, I'll keep at it. If you haven't read some damn Baldwin.  


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The Oscars

Not a big fan of the Oscars, nor do I care who wins, but since people are complaining everywhere, I'm going to have to say that the one movie that matters this past year is Spiderverse. That's it. Many of the other ones don't come close.

That is all

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