Author: Sysadmin

On Russia

I think The Washington Post has always had good coverage of art, even though I haven’t agreed with their politics usually.

This is from a new WaPo article on Russian artists and dissidents:

“Decades before a member of the all-female Russian band Pussy Riot escaped from Russia after criticizing President Vladimir Putin, the Soviet Union’s top ballet star, Rudolf Nureyev, made a dash for freedom at the Paris airport.

On two The Wall Street Journal articles

On the front-page article of the on-line publication today:

“U.S. stocks ended higher Friday after a punishing week of losses across major indexes.

Traders welcomed the reprieve from the brutal spring selloff that has left virtually no corner of the market unscathed. This week brought several shocks for the market. Data showed inflation is still running hot, disappointing investors. Cryptocurrencies swooned after a so-called stablecoin unexpectedly crashed. The S&P 500 on Thursday flirted with bear market territory, a level 20% lower than a recent high, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted weekly losses for the seventh consecutive week, its longest losing streak in more than 20 years.”

It brought to mind a saying a financial trader had when I was a reporter: “Wall Street climbs a wall of worry.” The Dow Jones Industrial Index was only at about 10,000 at the time. I think the trader’s remark had deeper meaning than financial markets. How many times do intense worries obscure that some things are going better than you may realize.? “You’re happier than you realize,” one grad school teacher said.

The is an article in the same publication about the dangers of anti-depressants. In my youth, we used to refer to “chemical castration” by medical doctors, and psychiatric medication can really reduce sexual capacity.

The latest novella is almost finished and am planning a YouTube video promoting my series of fictional novellas but am having some technical issues with a new computer

 

On Stephen King’s The Institute and a new poem

From King’s recent novel (page 393):

“I don’t see anything funny about this,” Tag said frowning.

“Neither do I,” Luke said., “but sometimes I laugh anyway.”

The novel’s dialogue brings to mind a phone conversation with an old classmate about a year-and-a-half ago when I was particularly troubled and making some angry social-media posts meant to be satirical poems. I said to the old classmate, “nothing is funny. Laughter is only a release of energy.”

“Laughing too loud at the rest of the world
With the boys in the crowd
You can hide, hide, hide
Behind petrified eyes”

–Roger Waters from the song “Paranoid Eyes.”

“Sky” by yours truly

Soft evening sky

Soon will go by.

Over foothills.

Seen from open air

Or from window sills.

We had seen so much from sills in  the future.

Now it is only past such and such.

Nothing stopped us staying together

Except our wills,

Except our wills.

Except my…

Now only foothills.

On abortion and writing

The abortion issue has come up recently. My opinion is in favor of “pro-choice” if you choose to have protected sex outside of marriage or are aware enough to realize you are pregnant in the first trimester or have been raped or clearly abused by a man. Yes, your body, your choice. But I am a man and can’t do whatever I want with my body. I can’t even use non-violent language without being tortured by police.

On creative writing, for me it is partly a matter of critical mass. One of my main bosses implied I was “constipated” or too shy about releasing news stories. I feel that way about creative writing now sometimes.

I am making pretty good progress on my current work-in-progress novella about a military conflict in the U.S., but it feels unfamiliar because it is very imaginative and a bit fantastic.

 

More about Guyland and a poem

From the text of Michael Kimmel’s sociological book (page 274):

“I have encountered so many young people whose parents have run interference for them, picked up after them, and unjustifiably told them they were special–and who are now surprised actions have consequences to which they will be held accountable…”

This sentence reminded me of a therapist a few years back who accused me of being “a spoiled brat.” I was almost 50 when he said it, but he was right partly. I have been lucky at times in life but am not very wealthy, worked very hard when younger, endured repeated physical abuse, and am still an independent writer.

“Birds” by yours truly

Birds tweet.

Heartbeat.

Blow wind:

Old friend.

Tweets like words

From birds.

Recalling human words

And sometimes the herds.

On Mass and a poem.

(Disclaimer: I know a lot of men who are in control of their libidos and genuinely spriritual/ intellectual join the priesthood and become good teachers. But I was not one).

The pastor was speaking today of the homeless, religious vocation, chastity, and obedience, but the audio was skipping and almost totally cut out before the end of the sermon. My Mom once said to me in a personal talk that the men who cannot find solid jobs, girlfriends or wives, or families turn to the priesthood. Thanks Mom. It is Mothers’ Day, and I love her.

“Mist” by yours truly

Mist covering foothills at a very elevated height.

The hills almost seem to disappear here sometimes.

Missed her but sometimes can’t resist her… in memory only.

“Disappear here,” said a somewhat nihilistic young novelist in L.A.

“This a beer here.”

No, I don’t drink beer more.

Have no fear.

 

On my city and a new poem

I have talked before about moving to Santa Fe last year. I still don’t really know the city well, but a few things occur to me while sitting outside to get fresh air and relax on a patio area just outside my apartment.

I have a saying that every area has some good and some bad. I live now in a somewhat commercial area near the airport in in a big apartment complex. The annoying here to me is the local people have loud barking dogs; they have the right to them, but I don’t like pets myself (was bitten by a dog when younger). Also some local drivers like to drive very loud cars or motorcycles.

The nice thing is the surrounding environment of beautiful foothills at a high elevation and a pretty sky usually. There is also a lot of wind, which can be a bit scary but also cool as you hear it. It can sound like ghosts.

I had a new poem but think I will leave it until tomorrow.

On Brexit

This is another “above-my-paygrade” issue to write about, but I read an interesting opinion column today in The Irish Times.

Sometimes outsiders can have a clearer view of things than insiders. And the point of this essay is basically that Brexit was a mistake. I lived in England almost three years, and there is a concept there of “Little England” which I think means a slightly self-deprecratory reference to the fact it has given up world empire and doesn’t even want entanglement with continental Europe now.

From the opinion piece by John FitzGerald:

“All the economic assessments prior to Brexit suggested that it would have a substantial negative impact on the UK economy.

However, when it finally happened in 2020, it coincided with th outbreak of the pandemic, a smoke screen that hid the initial negative economic effects of leaving the EU. More recently, the outbreak of the war in the Ukraine has caused major disruption, further obscuring how Brexit is impacting on British living standards.

On joining the EU in 1973, the UK’s national income per head was about the same as the EU15, and remained very similar to the euro area up to the time of the 2015 referendum.

However, the last few years have not been kind to the UK economy. Its standard of living today is 3 per cent lower than the euro area, principally reflecting inferior economic performance since 2019.

Based on International Monetary Fund forecasts, over the period 2019 to 2023 cumulative growth in the UK will be less than in other major world economies, and between 1 and 1.5 per cent less than in the euro area. Britain will slip down the world economic rankings.”

On the new novella and a joke

Making a decent start on the new novella. I think I said in a previous post that I only write about 500 words a day even with momentum.

For some reason, just thought of a joke told by a more senior worker in one of my offices when I was much younger and had failed with a girlfriend (and everyone in the workplace seemed to know about it). “I wanted to sleep with her, and she said ‘no’,” he said loudly in the press room.

My immediate boss, who made fun of me a lot, was more sympathetic at the time of the breakup. “It doesn’t mean anything,” he said while passing me.