Archive for the ‘Tout!’ Category
Why I can’t get over “The Road.”
Cormac McCarthy’s been around for a while but quite frankly, I’ve never read any of his stuff. I was aware of “All the Pretty Horses” but I never read the novel or saw the film (hey! I have a twelve-year -old in the house and that limits us to little more violent than “The Transformers.”)
I picked up a paperback copy of The Road at the grocery store. I literally read the thing in one sitting. Not because it’s short (It really is,) because it’s riveting and I don’t say that very often or lightly.
What is it about?
Ten years before the novel begins, some kind of calamity befalls the Earth. A father and son are homeless.They push their pitiful belongings in a decrepit shopping cart, heading south because they “can’t survive another winter.” The landscape is bleak and gray, ash covers everything and McCarthy reveals in stunningly tight prose that apparently there very little is left alive. The world is wrapped in a gray cold winter that has gone on for the last decade. “Cattle has become extinct” muses the unnamed father as he struggles to protect his son from a very hostile world.
There is little food. What remains is decade old canned goods, nearly depleted. The pair trudge through cold burned-out husks of cities, long abandoned. There are people around, the most successful are groups of cannibals who prey on the weak or the careless. They sweep scavengers off the road and force them to march from place to place, serving as mobile larders. Others are kept precariously alive so that their limbs can be harvested. Fearing this fate, the unnamed protagonist’s wife commits suicide just before the two set out on their journey. The father,not quite coming to grips with his grief allows it to transform into a dogged mission to protect his son.
The prose in the novel is terse and sometimes misspelled. The word “cant” is often used to replace the contraction “can’t.” It’s as if McCarthy is allowing us a peek at an old, moldering journal by someone who is long since dead and gone. In a world that few of his readers can really conceptualize.
This is not an end of the world novel. The world of “The Road” has already ended. It ended long before father and son set out to find a better place. Readers are left with the feeling that, despite all the struggle, despite the death of all but a handful of people, the end of all humanity has finally happened and each survivor has to come to grips with their own choices. Then they must make peace with themselves before their own inevitable end. The father does this by focusing on his son, by creating a world-view that is only about his son’s survival.
This seems to be the subtext of the novel – or at least the part which resonated most strongly. It’s a book on parenting (strangely enough), the father understanding that his existence is is only about seeing his child to safety. This task is to the exclusion of all else, even morality and ethics. The father is a good man at heart, but he becomes transformed into a ruthless – even cruel person by his task. The unnamed mother’s suicide too is transformed into a sacrifice, so that her husband would not have to protect her as well. It’ an extraordinary tale of bravery in the face of inevitable and utter disaster. (Of course as a couple of people have pointed out that McCarthy may not have meant for Mom’s suicide to be a heroic act. I’m against suicide as a matter of principle so perhaps I’m mirroring my own feelings in this novel – as the author surely intended!)
If you read this book, do it by candlelight on a cold winters night and keep a window open. The chill you feel will not be from the cold!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Signs and portents part II
I write a wee bit, some of you may have noticed. One of my favorite places to write (outside of my home-office.) is a certain Starbucks coffee house. The one in Downtown Clearwater Florida to be specific. deep inside the Scientology campus. A stone’s throw from Flag and a block away from the infamous Fort Harrison Hotel and the Super Power building.
I’ve been going here on and off for some time, years perhaps. I write and I watch the Sea-Org people march back and forth between classes, late into the night.
There used to be a steady flow of Flag staff in and out of the Starbucks, On stats-day they would line up at the counter. Most of them looked like they were in a big hurry. I nodded at them but never really tried to talk to them. Sea Org members have little time to chitchat.
This is not happening anymore. The last few weeks have been very quiet. No one lines up at the counter. I don’t see any Flag staff relaxing in the shops couches or Delphi kids doing their homework. I don’t see teens hanging out in the veranda. It’s been oddly quiet in there. I see people, not locals. lots and lots of people from other counties, I hear Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese being spoken. There is Japanese lady that come in sometimes with a small child. she looks lost and homesick, they have Starbucks stores all over Japan now. Perhaps it helps.
But the Flag staff are conspicuous in their absence.
So I did what I usually do when posed with a mystery, I asked.
“What religion are you?” said the person behind the counter nervously,
“I’m not one of those guys, I can tell you that” I said, indicating the hordes of Sea Org people in their uniforms walking by.
The person behind the counter relaxed a bit, “well, have you heard of this group Anonymous?”
“I’ve heard of them.” I said.
“They did some protesting over here a few weeks ago.” Said the counter person.
“So I understand,” I said.
“Well, ‘they’ (indicating the Sea Org people outside)” came in here and asked us not to serve the Anonymus people, we told them no.”
“Hmmm,” I said, “ what are they doing now, boycotting you?”
“We think so “ said counter person. “They seem to be going to another place, they don’t have very much money and the other places are cheaper.”
I thanked the counter person for the information and left, not too surprised to tell the truth.
Starbuck’s is one of the only places downtown that has not sported “No Anonymous” signs in its windows. Personally I intend to go there more often now. I have little tolerance for discrimination and that’s what the No Anon signs are. I don’t care if you agree or disagree with the protests. Actions speak louder than words and those Anon people have impressed me with their passion as well as their platform. In all the protests I’ve witnessed, I have not seen any of them get out of line.
Starbuck’s has impressed me too, with their solidarity, not to the Anons but to what is right. The management of Starbucks knows instinctively something that most of the Scientology run businesses seem to have forgotten. That people need to speak out from time to time, that free speech and free expression are something tha’s been fought for in this country, and it’s being fought for once again, in the streets of Clearwater Florida.
They have forgotten, bit not everyone has.
And as long as that is so, there is hope.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Observations; interesting times 4.0
Sometimes the act of observation is a passive one, however anyone versed in scientific principals will tell you that this is impossible. The observer always affects that which they observe and the subject of an observer is always affected by that which they observe.
Confused yet? Don’t be. It’s a basic concept that probably goes back to the classical Greek writers.
Case in point. I went back to my “extended family of choice,” over the weekend. They are about 100,000 strong world-wide and many of them seem to know what’s been going on with this Scientology thing. That should not surprise me, but it does. I had some good conversation with people and the interest of this is going onto some surprising directions. My observations of the current affairs of Scientology seem to be the same as the vast majority of people I spoke to.
Incidentally, I know of one fellow who was a member of my group that is also into Scientology. A few years ago, after trying to recruit lots of people into his “religion” he vanished. I don’t know if he still plays with us but he always seemed to be an intelligent fellow. I wonder what became of him?
***
The Internet Hate Machine may have cranked up again. Some of the anon voices coming out of the chans and other places can be heard saying disquieting things. An attack was launched on victims of Epilepsy forums. Animated gif files and suchlike were sent there with the intent of generating seizures in people.
There is no need to comment on how cruel this is, many people in the anon community are expressing their revulsion, but some are not expressing revulsion in interesting places too. I suppose the litmus test will be how wide-spread and coordinated this kind of thing becomes in the future. It’s indefensible to go after people like that, most people in and out of the Anon community would probably agree.
Scientology strangely enough should not have an opinion on attacking people with Epilepsy because (allegedly) they don’t acknowledge Epilepsy existing in the first place. it’s also not surprising that many voices are saying Scientology was behind it.
Last week was a week of revelations and some fascinating attempts at misdirection coming from both sides. Supposedly the Texas Legislature passed some kind of resolution declaring Scientology a business (my BS meter meeped when I heard that.) Also when I heard that OSA was hitting up all large Scientology orgs for around 100,00.00 bucks each for security upgrades. The Lone-Star initiative might actually be real, the other thing? They can’t be that stupid can they?
The Profit, an anti Scientology feature film got leaked onto YouTube and other places. It’s notable only because Scientology went to great expense to squash the film. The legal guys representing the owners of the film (very politely) asked for it to be removed. There are probubly torrents of it but I wouldn’t bother.
I saw some dire sounding warning vids on YouTube saying “stay awwaaaaaay, don’t protest on April 12th or you will be doooomed!”
Mary Demoss, a rather infamous Scientology bull-baiter has reportedly left the organization. Mark Bunker did an almost tearful video on her behalf. I for one was wondering if she was going to show up at the Clearwater protests, but I haven’t seen her.
A couple of blokes connected with the Anons were been arrested on criminal charges, one in LA, another in Boston. Scientology got the DA offices to do this somehow, but neither look very serious. (although I’m not a lawyer in case you haven’t guessed already.) It will be time consuming and annoying for those people and that’s exactly unto Hubbard’s dictum of using the legal system as a tool to harass. Seems wrong to me and I wish the legal community would tighten it’s standards. Only a large public outcry will make that happen.
A whole bunch of financial documents from Scientology are hurling around the Internet (that might not be such a big deal, I believe that stuff is supposed to be in the public record anyway.)
Finally, There is a notable meme spreading around right now. The Anonymous, Internet Hug Machine.” They put amusing vids on YouTube of Anon folks chasing away the Scientology stress test guys by clustering around their tables and giving out free hugs. The contrast of Scientology’s bright red tables with signs reading “Free STRESS tests” and some fellow in a GF mask and a sign reading “Free HUGS!” is striking. The poor Co$ guys called the cops who, when they arrived said said “dude, they are giving out FREE HUGS! I can’t arrest someone for giving out free hugs!”
If any message comes out of this, I hope it’s the right one. Humans have conflicts, it’s in their nature. But ultimately the The iterated prisoner’s dilemma should hold sway, the strategy of sometimes cooperating, sometimes defecting will always defeat the attacking/defecting strategy of Scientology.
Or, in another idiom, it can be summed up this way
Sharks /(Scientology – Scientology-like behavior)
Sharks represent extreme left-brain, I-centered behavior. They believe in scarcity. Their perception is that there must be winners and losers. To ensure that they won’t be the losers, sharks “move in for the kill,” striving to get as much as they can in every case, regardless of the cost.
In any personal or business transaction, the shark will attempt to take over or, if necessary, trade off. They seek total control of circumstances and solutions. Their understanding of “winning” includes a need to be right 100 percent of the time and they will go to any extreme, including lying, to cover up their failures and shortcomings.
Because they are addicted to winning, their creativity in fashioning outcomes is limited. When they fail, they are unable to try anything different or learn from their mistakes. Their fear of failure and belief in scarcity dictates their actions and reactions.
Carps / (Scientology’s perceived victims. )
Carps represent the extreme of right-brain, we-centered behavior. Like sharks, carps believe in scarcity; but unlike sharks, carps believe that their optimal survival strategy is to be appreciated or loved. Rather than winning, they focus their efforts on not losing what they currently have.
Carps fear confrontation, so their strategy in business or personal transactions is to give in or get out. Neither strategy, when used repeatedly, leads to positive outcomes. Both surrendering in a negotiation and abandoning a challenging situation lead to loss of equity in life or career.
In the dynamic between sharks and carps, carps inevitably lose. Like sharks, they are locked into a single strategy, and when they fail, they are incapable of shifting to a different strategy.
Dolphins (the real threat to Scientology I.E Anon et-al.)
The introduction of the dolphin type follows a discussion of Eli Lilly’s observations of dolphins. Lilly saw that dolphins, when not given expected rewards in training situations, did not continue to do the same tricks, but instead began to seek rewards through different behaviors.
It is this adaptive learning behavior, as well as the creative pursuit of objectives, that set dolphins apart from sharks and carps in the model created by Lynch and Kordis.
The dolphin type may use either shark or carp strategies, but the choice is dependent on the situation. If one way is unsuccessful, dolphins respond with other possibilities. They learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others. Dolphins see the possibility of both potential scarcity and potential abundance, through solutions that involve “breakthrough” win-win strategies that build new value.
Like I said; Internet Hug Machine?
Go Anonymous!
Popularity: unranked [?]
Interesting Times 3.2
With apologies to Ben Franklin and anyone I missed.
This is the way I’ve been feeling lately. I’m not alone, most (if not all ) of the people I’ve been talking to have echoed the sentiments as the Anonymous movement about Scientology. It’s a wide ranging bunch too, business people, teachers, lawyers, IT workers, housewives and moms, and fathers. People in my community know that there is something wrong with Scientology, but many have lacked the curiosity to go out and look for themselves. People need to look! The information is out there.
On the snake pic I placed the US Government at the tail end for a reason. I’m sympathetic to their position. From the Government’s point of view they made their peace with Scientology back in the early 1990s. Since it has been the kiss of death for a politician to defy Scientology they seem to be staying out of this. It would also look bad if the US Fed were to go after a “religions” organization. The hue and cry would be deafening.
But, right now I tend to go with the, “are you listening to the people around you?” bunch. There is already a hue and cry and it’s getting louder by the day. Moreover, Scientology is reacting the same way they do with any challenge. They attack, they shout and they lie. I heard the local CoS public relations person on a local radio show the other day. She was very rude, she did not allow other people to get a word in. She refused to answer any questions. She was “handling” the interview which in non Scientology speak seems to mean “being confrontational.” One caller asked her what her OT level was and she hit the ceiling.
And this was the Public Relations Director! She handled herself in an extremely unbecoming way, not only for herself but for her organization. If this is the best that they have.. I simply cannot imagine what they are planning to do next.
Although, here’s a clue. Some fellow in LA flipped off a Scientology member and got arrested for making felony criminal threats. During the questioning they pulled out photos maternal from Encyclopedia Dramatica (that awesome bastion of accurate, unbiased reporting, (be careful, it’s not always safe for work.)) The thread on Enturbulation.org can be found here.
I’m not sure exactly what happened, but according to the story. someone may have killed this person’s cat. Because Scientology’s critics frequently lose their pets in mysterious ways, he got pissed, he waxed wroth on some BBS, IRC etc. Scientology took it as a threat and had the police arrest him.
This is the kind of thing seems to happen a lot with Scientology. Tricking people, setting them up is right in their MO. Did I mention one of the fellows I believed to be OSA operatives attempted to get me to hold his picket sign for him? I wonder how many cameras were pointed in my direction?
I’ve no doubt that there has been some movement towards this kind of thing around here but thankfully, no one to my knowledge has even been questioned by the police. it’s rumored that around 50 of those C&D letters have been issued, some to the parents of minors.
Oh and; take a look at this if you are just stopping by and have no idea what I’m going on about. It’s short, to the point and makes a good case for the Anon movement.
At some point people must decide which side of the fence they are sitting on. Doing nothing is all well and good, it’s exactly what Scientology wants. It’ s what good, law abiding “wogs” do. If wogs flap their gums about Scientology they must be evil criminals, it’s written in their “holy” scripture! “If you know what’s good for you, ya dirty bigoted wogs, keep ya’ pileholes shut….or else!”
That (IMO) is the message $cientology sends out to the people of Clearwater.
If you live in Clearwater you can see for yourself what good things Scientology has brought to your community. The vacant store fronts, the lack of anything going on that is not controlled by Scientology gives mute testimony to what this organization can bring to your community. Take a look, decide for yourself.
Oh yes, let me thank all the people who came by last week. I went through a “holy crap!” moment when looking at the weblogs. I’ve spoken to so many good caring people this week. Thank you one and all!
Day visits Pages Hits Bandwidth
01 Mar 2008 106 175 193 1.85 MB
02 Mar 2008 84 157 158 811.73 KB
03 Mar 2008 94 151 153 1.23 MB
04 Mar 2008 98 208 527 5.49 MB
05 Mar 2008 95 185 260 3.52 MB
06 Mar 2008 88 150 199 3.03 MB
07 Mar 2008 88 172 198 1.99 MB
08 Mar 2008 78 158 266 4.08 MB
09 Mar 2008 76 197 291 3.77 MB
10 Mar 2008 93 164 191 2.15 MB
11 Mar 2008 104 174 210 2.25 MB
12 Mar 2008 79 139 203 2.84 MB
13 Mar 2008 77 161 223 3.00 MB
14 Mar 2008 93 185 293 3.05 MB
15 Mar 2008 97 392 1193 8.27 MB
16 Mar 2008 103 346 788 17.50 MB
17 Mar 2008 160 322 1319 41.41 MB
18 Mar 2008 2208 2932 35893 1.06 GB
19 Mar 2008 1181 1596 19791 626.12 MB
20 Mar 2008 379 671 5858 175.32 MB
21 Mar 2008 452 801 7199 215.23 MB
22 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
23 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
24 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
25 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
26 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
27 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
28 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
29 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
30 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
31 Mar 2008 0 0 0 0
Average 265.14 428.91 3427.55 100.27 MB
Total 5833 9436 75406 2.15 GB
Popularity: 1% [?]
An eternity of…..
And of course, the incomparable Crevette!
Popularity: unranked [?]
