“The newspapers, needless to say, complied with the instructions given them: optimism at all costs. If one was to believe what one read in them, our populace was giving 'a fine example of courage and composure.' But in a town thrown back upon itself, in which nothing could be kept secret, no one had illusions about the 'example' given by the public. To form a correct idea about the courage and composure talked about by our journalists you had only to visit one of the quarantine depots or isolation camps established by authorities. As it so happens, the narrator, being fully occupied elsewhere, had no occasion to visit any of them, and must fall back on Tarrou's diary for a description of the conditions of these places.”

From Albert Camus' THE PLAGUE.

The above passage basically highlights the role filled today by blogs and social media, the role which traditional journalism for the most part cannot quite fulfill. Social media however is positioned to soon be taken over by an onslaught of AI-powered content, likely fueled by mix of corporate and government agendas, and people are likely to be forced to take their genuine voices elsewhere.

#reads #journal

Dystopia is scrolling through social media to see utter destruction and dead children but also see selfies from artists being willfully clueless at New York Comicon.

#journal

Woke up to 16°C. This is probably not too cold for many people, but it was all the way up in the 30s just a day ago. Such a sudden drop is too much of a shock to my system and I am thus visibly grumpy. I like my seasonal changes to be a little more gradual, please.

Thoughts on geopolitical developments in the back of my mind are keeping me from being able to focus on much anything, but I am trying.

Most of the latest UNGA speeches likened the current moment to the interwar period, signaling that we may indeed be on the brink of another world war lest something is done about it. America's Council on Foreign Relations cites 28 ongoing conflicts worldwide right now. Russia-Ukraine, now in its third year, is of course of extreme significance, as is the Israel-Palestine-Lebanon-Iran mess. The Houthi situation in Yemen along with recent developments in the Horn of Africa posits that this will likely be an arena of major conflict just by virtue of the area's vitality to global trade routes. The situation surrounding Taiwan is likely to explode soon; China insists that Taiwan is part of its territory (and they aren't entirely wrong given that the state of Taiwan was only established in 1948 after maps were redrawn in the wake of WWII), and the US wants to make sure that does not happen primarily because of America's reliance on Taiwan for semiconductor and smart-chip manufacturing (the basis of all the technology we use today). The Biden administration has kickstarted the process of bringing those industries back into the US, but it will take quite a bit of time, money, expertise, and a whole lot of resources, and the US economy (or Western civilization as we know it even) cannot afford to let those industries be overtaken by China in the interim. Arguments surrounding historical national borderlines and sovereignty aside, the need for China's push to annex Taiwan is now even more acute after the US passed a ban against the sale of chips to China in 2022 (which goes against American free market ideology, but was seen as a necessary measure when it became evident that China, with the help of these imported chips, was overtaking the US in other areas, namely rocket technology). Reverse engineering these chips isn't so easy apparently, it requires a degree of brain-surgeon sophistication applied on an industrial scale. Tawian, South Korea, and the Netherlands seem to be the only nations on the planet that are any good at it.

It's a big hot mess out there.

Managed to get out to see Megalopolis. Surprisingly good turnout. Visually stunning film. Was on board and engaged for most of it. It only lost me in the third act which wrapped things up a little too nicely, the only part that was a little too “traditional Hollywood” for my taste. But otherwise, a generally good film. The only thing that keeps it from being a “great” film, in my view, is that it doesn't offer anything truly revelatory, or even sough any seeds for critical thought. It's fine. It's not bad at all. I'd certainly watch it again (and again) for the aesthetic, but not necessarily the narrative.

(Image above is a work-in-progress from the final THE SOLAR GRID)

#journal #Radar

Just saw people burn alive on my phone. Bomb dropped by Israel on an encampment outside a hospital. One burning body still clearly hooked up to their IV.

None of this would be happening without unquestionable US support. The world needs to stand up to the US and Israel in ways it never has before. Speeches given at the latest UNGA certainly indicate that that is already the case, but I fear the capacity of diplomacy may have already been long ago expended. This is really bad.

#radar #journal

As expected, most recent newsletter has resulted in quite a few unsubscribes.

Sign up page lives here for anyone who appreciates unorthodox thinking :–)

#journal

Does anybody else see the Mubi logo and wish it looked a little more like this:

Putting final touches on the first of the mixed media pages in the current TSG and thoroughly enjoying how it's shaping up. Three new projects I must work into my October pipeline: Project Bigspread, Project Tile, and Project Shortrage.

October already which means the year will be done before I know it. Need to move faster on these TSG pages, want to be finished before year's end.

Inbox 22, RSS 232.

#journal

What the flying fuck, America?

#journal #moony

Radical idea: Members of Congress and close family members should be barred from owning stock in weapons manufacturing companies.

Even more radical idea: Weapons manufacturing companies should not be allowed to go public to begin with. All that does is create a legal venue for war profiteering.

Today's background listening has been a playlist of the latest UNGA addresses, a great perk of life after the Internet. It used to be that the only speech you'd hear about was the one given by your head of state. Listening to all the addresses though, you realize that the world is ripe with far more problems than are represented in whatever media you have access to. Far, far more, and I am now genuinely depressed.

Some of the speeches were really quite interesting though. I may make a list of my favorite in the near future.

#journal

Extremely anxious with all the news coming out today. Like many—I'm sure—I worry about the greater geopolitical repercussions all this stuff may spawn.

Concentration completely shot.

Our bodies are hardwired to crank up the adrenaline and blood flow in the face of danger, but what to do with that when the danger is taking place thousands of miles away? But also, simultaneously, within pocket's reach.

#journal