The good news is that NASA have just released a beautiful new image of the Orion Nebula, so the thumbnail for the next Escape to New Orion will be gorgeous.
The bad news is there may be a delay in the upload schedule, if I'm trapped for 30 hours in the 750,000-strong queue to see the Queen (that our government's planners failed to anticipate over the last decade of meticulous preparation...)
Amazing John and yes, I too love seeing the revival of the monarchy and our traditions for once and in place of wokery. It's out there but we're canceling it out with our greater voices.
I adore the rituals we have. It's a way to unify people just by adding value to something which could otherwise be seen as mundane.
But those poor Japanese waitresses. Just thinking about the care they took to try to make an experience worthwhile for a Westerner, who might have been scowling at his drink the whole time is a bit sad. Am I exaggerating? Absolutely. It's a rather entertaining image though.
Although, having an interloper present who was just observing might have barred the other patrons from becoming immersed in the magic. There is a reason why 'unbelievers' are usually banned from witnessing rites.
It is a shame we are losing the value we add to these kind of things. Some people are becoming too focused on the materialistic, hard aspects of life, which to me seems like a natural response to the left trying to usurp the abstract and the idealistic. It is better to debate your point with logic and facts after all.
But this is not a good method to use. There is a lot of potential in the art of being able to dream up grand worlds. It is better to try to reach something if you know where you want to go. Or to introduce other people, capable people to your visions so that they know what there is to be won, or at least, to let them remember what is worth fighting for.
Unfortunately the schools and universities offering to teach these kind of skills are overflowing with a certain kind of people. Going there with another mindset will usually result in unpleasant consequences. But being a self taught artist means giving up receiving a recognized degree to show you're capable at what you do, and even more important, handing over a place where people gather to learn from each other.
Thank you, John. Especially the last few paragraphs hit home for me!
I went to law school and specialized in finance and fiscal policies (more or less forced into that by my parents, of course). Other members of my family went to business school and/ or studied engineering. When I wanted to become a painter I had to do that on my own, because conservative families just don’t support career paths like that. Which is a shame and absolutely the reason for a lack of conservative/ libertarian actors, writers, musicians and artists in this day and age.
I recently re-watched The Cat Returns and i had completely forgotten that Tim Curry voices the cat king. Tim Currys voice being something i find myself quite nostalgic for, a mark of better times that have now passed, a door i try to keep ajar.
The thing is, they don't actually believe in free speech as a universal absolute, but rather as a tool of convenience. They only want free speech for themselves, but not their opposition... and their opposition is literally anyone but themselves (the individual) in the end because it's a movement of aggressively insane people who can't help starting civil wars with one another over minor and petty ideological differences (I keep bringing up the comparison to the Daleks and the arc in old Doctor Who where it was the Imperial vs Renegade Daleks killing each other over minor genetic differences and loyalties). They're loving the fact their own guys are getting stopped because then like naughty children they can play victim and invoke values they themselves don't actually believe in, and people just back down to it. They can proclaim absolute free speech all they like, but it'll always ring hollow and be nothing but a lie.
Anyway, we have a Pokemon Center here in England now. Granted it's in London... about as far away from me within England as you can get (near Durham), but still, it's there. It's probably the one commercialist thing I indulge in really because it's always been a love of mine. I think the thing that I really liked about it was the fact that I could imagine myself with what were essentially friends but like powerful friends who could back me up and go on journeys with. As a child, I never really had such things. The magic never really faded for me either... despite how cynical I seem and certain... experiences that happened. Same is true for other things, though I think the magic may have faded for a time with some. Maybe I'm just rediscovering a lot of things though I tried to bury... and probably murder of my childhood (and no, not for "growing up" reasons, that idiocy is just insecure people trying to convince everyone else they're mature when that very act is the height of immaturity - I mean more... survival; adapting to unfriendly environments, then realising you're not in that environment anymore, or might not be soon anyway...).
Anyway, completely off topic but I saw the clip about Howl's Moving Castle (the film) and just yesterday by sheer coincidence, I finished reading the book. :D
Good and bad news:
The good news is that NASA have just released a beautiful new image of the Orion Nebula, so the thumbnail for the next Escape to New Orion will be gorgeous.
The bad news is there may be a delay in the upload schedule, if I'm trapped for 30 hours in the 750,000-strong queue to see the Queen (that our government's planners failed to anticipate over the last decade of meticulous preparation...)
Amazing John and yes, I too love seeing the revival of the monarchy and our traditions for once and in place of wokery. It's out there but we're canceling it out with our greater voices.
I adore the rituals we have. It's a way to unify people just by adding value to something which could otherwise be seen as mundane.
But those poor Japanese waitresses. Just thinking about the care they took to try to make an experience worthwhile for a Westerner, who might have been scowling at his drink the whole time is a bit sad. Am I exaggerating? Absolutely. It's a rather entertaining image though.
Although, having an interloper present who was just observing might have barred the other patrons from becoming immersed in the magic. There is a reason why 'unbelievers' are usually banned from witnessing rites.
It is a shame we are losing the value we add to these kind of things. Some people are becoming too focused on the materialistic, hard aspects of life, which to me seems like a natural response to the left trying to usurp the abstract and the idealistic. It is better to debate your point with logic and facts after all.
But this is not a good method to use. There is a lot of potential in the art of being able to dream up grand worlds. It is better to try to reach something if you know where you want to go. Or to introduce other people, capable people to your visions so that they know what there is to be won, or at least, to let them remember what is worth fighting for.
Unfortunately the schools and universities offering to teach these kind of skills are overflowing with a certain kind of people. Going there with another mindset will usually result in unpleasant consequences. But being a self taught artist means giving up receiving a recognized degree to show you're capable at what you do, and even more important, handing over a place where people gather to learn from each other.
Nice reflections on magic and materialism. We are not merely rational or mechanical beings. My reaction: https://scottcampbell.substack.com/p/half-mast
Thank you, John. Especially the last few paragraphs hit home for me!
I went to law school and specialized in finance and fiscal policies (more or less forced into that by my parents, of course). Other members of my family went to business school and/ or studied engineering. When I wanted to become a painter I had to do that on my own, because conservative families just don’t support career paths like that. Which is a shame and absolutely the reason for a lack of conservative/ libertarian actors, writers, musicians and artists in this day and age.
We all need a lil bit of magic in our lives.
I recently re-watched The Cat Returns and i had completely forgotten that Tim Curry voices the cat king. Tim Currys voice being something i find myself quite nostalgic for, a mark of better times that have now passed, a door i try to keep ajar.
The thing is, they don't actually believe in free speech as a universal absolute, but rather as a tool of convenience. They only want free speech for themselves, but not their opposition... and their opposition is literally anyone but themselves (the individual) in the end because it's a movement of aggressively insane people who can't help starting civil wars with one another over minor and petty ideological differences (I keep bringing up the comparison to the Daleks and the arc in old Doctor Who where it was the Imperial vs Renegade Daleks killing each other over minor genetic differences and loyalties). They're loving the fact their own guys are getting stopped because then like naughty children they can play victim and invoke values they themselves don't actually believe in, and people just back down to it. They can proclaim absolute free speech all they like, but it'll always ring hollow and be nothing but a lie.
Anyway, we have a Pokemon Center here in England now. Granted it's in London... about as far away from me within England as you can get (near Durham), but still, it's there. It's probably the one commercialist thing I indulge in really because it's always been a love of mine. I think the thing that I really liked about it was the fact that I could imagine myself with what were essentially friends but like powerful friends who could back me up and go on journeys with. As a child, I never really had such things. The magic never really faded for me either... despite how cynical I seem and certain... experiences that happened. Same is true for other things, though I think the magic may have faded for a time with some. Maybe I'm just rediscovering a lot of things though I tried to bury... and probably murder of my childhood (and no, not for "growing up" reasons, that idiocy is just insecure people trying to convince everyone else they're mature when that very act is the height of immaturity - I mean more... survival; adapting to unfriendly environments, then realising you're not in that environment anymore, or might not be soon anyway...).
Anyway, completely off topic but I saw the clip about Howl's Moving Castle (the film) and just yesterday by sheer coincidence, I finished reading the book. :D