Cleopatra Was Black
Reminds me of a comment I saw a while back.
Do the Russians make movies depicting their Tsars as Africans? Are their national sports teams reflected in a similar way? Does their media praise BLM and pit minorities in Russia against the rest while constantly harping on about the evils of their empire? Do their cities burn as a result of this? Do they embrace open borders and globalism and have role models like Cardi B and Caitlyn Jenner? Are their children taught that gender does not exist? Yes or no? I support Russia. They value and wish to preserve their own people, history, culture and traditions far more than western nations.
Deport Graham
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), while on a visit to Kyiv last month, also called on Ukrainian lawmakers to pass measures that would widen the field for mobilization.
He was quoted as:
“I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” he told reporters. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.”
Red Beard
This is quite a good movie. It’s a movie about suffering. People are dealt with harshly in a cruel world. I think I had two gripes about this movie though. The first one was kind of the hero worship of the doctor. He’s the one pure one who could do no wrong in a corrupt world. I think I could’ve let it go if it wasn’t for the part where he single-handedly takes out about a dozen men. That was just a little absurd. Also, I think this movie didn’t quite know what to do with itself. This is a longer movie, at a little over three hours. The first hour and a half are very good, dealing with the humbling of a good but conceited new doctor. The second half seemed to be a bit disjointed from the first. The saving of that 12 year-old is interesting and all, but it didn’t feel like it was from the same movie.
Japan - Pros and Cons
I had the opportunity to go to Japan recently. Compiled a list of pros and cons I thought of on the spot concerning the country.
Pros:
- Public transportation is amazing
- Cheaper than America
- Japanese people have higher cultural expectations for themselves in general
- Less cultural enrichment than America has
- Streets are cleaner
- Much, much safer
- Less of a shame culture
- People don’t possess opinions about every dumb thing under the sun
- People are less degenerate than Americans (though, trending worse)
- Government isn’t as stupid as the American government (again, trending worse)
- Convenience stores are very nice
- Having shogi being widely known and played is nice
- Japanese people are generally better educated
Cons:
Western Revolution
Background 1: The Jurchens were an ethnic minority within China. They lived in northeastern China, which is today known as Manchuria. There were different Jurchen groups which existed and lived as hunters-gatherers, semi-nomads, or sedentary agriculturists. They had little central authority, along with little communication between the different groups, throughout much of history they tended to fall under the influence of neighboring dynasties. Paying tribute and chiefs holding posts as effectively border guards. This group has quite a remarkable history, through twists of fate they established two Chinese dynasties, the Jin and the Qing. The latter isn’t considered to be a mainline dynasty, but the Qing lasted 275 years and was the last great Chinese dynasty. The Ming dynasty came from the collapse of the Yuan dynasty (Mongol established one). Lasting from 1368-1644. A rather prosperour dynasty, it collapsed because of changes in Spanish/Japanese policy of cutting off the supply of silver, floods, epidemics, and slowdown in agriculture caused by the Little Ice Age. After various political upheavals the Eight Banner armies led by the Jurchens gained political supremacy and began to solidify their power. The Later Jin dynasty was founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, who went on to unify all the tribes of the Jurchens to form a new “Manchu” ethinic identity. Later Jin was established in Manchuria in 1636, and then by 1644 they seized control of Beijing. The Qing then went on to expand itself over China proper, Taiwan, and into Inner Asia.
Knight Pride
The school year was coming to an end and summer was right around the corner. Our school, like schools all across America, was planning a rally to commemorate the year and to see our 12th graders off. The day came around and me and my advisory dutifully marched out to the football field where it was to be held. Since we were upperclassmen we got to sit in the bleachers instead of on the field like we did back in our freshman and sophomore year. There was music playing and it seemed to rotate between English and Spanish songs. After everyone was settled this guy came out wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a pair of cheap dollar store sunglasses propped up on his forehead. He got everyone’s attention and gave some typical opening statements, during all this he’d momentarily stop to hand the microphone over to the girl standing right to him and she’d convey what he said into Spanish.
Immortality Through the Ages
We need to establish what we mean by immortality. The concept itself can be seen from two different lenses, that is both divine and worldly. Divine being the experience after death. This is much more literal. We can get an idea of the religious beliefs of the cultures from all four of these works. Worldly is fame among men. Which means that in asking the question we are asking what did these cultures value. Evidently enough what ideals people hold and those who embody them are going to be the most esteemed. While the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iliad, Aeneid, and Divine Comedy were written by individuals and don’t necessarily represent the entirety of the civilizations in which they originate from, along with them being fiction, we do not conclude they can teach us nothing. All four are both famous and highly praised works, read widely throughout their respective countries even in their own time. We are still reading them even up to today. I think a general statement we can make is that each conception of a hero is more subtle than the last. Societies developed new technology and as a result their ideas about the world changed. Gilgamesh had a desire to transcend life in a quest for eternal life. Achilles opted for an enduring legacy on the battlefield. Aeneas set the groundwork for an immortal lineage. Dante perhaps being the most complex, opting for spiritual salvation rather than worldly. As such, I think it would be fitting to explore both divine and worldly immortality, discussing all four of our protagonists in turn.
Why Write
The largest difficulty for me which I encounter is simply finding a reason to write. Writing is no longer the single form of stored communication. Namely video/audio recordings and online websites. Probably the single largest disadvantage of writing is the audience. For propaganda purposes videos are a much better form. It’s easier to passively consume a video than it is to passively consume a book. One requires more effort. Putting it succinctly—if you want to get a message out a 10 minute video with shiny graphics is much superior than boring text. Most people, even among those who enjoy reading, will spend more time on YouTube than they do in a book. Some will sneer at this and say you can’t replace books with videos, but is that really true? What makes books an inherently superior means of communication? Does this have historical precedent? And I think the answer is simply no. I think philosophers (good ones) are generally considered smart people. Plato communicated in dialogues. I don’t believe Plotinus ever wrote a thing. Most modern philosophers are employed in an academic setting and give lectures. This is commonly accepted and always has been. I think much of the nostalgia around books is driven by kind of a yearning for books themselves, and not actually the information which is contained inside. Then it may be different from person to person, but I find I retain more when the information has been given to me in video form.
Yi Yi
Frankly, this seems like a movie for older Chinese women. Unless you fit in that demographic or enjoy Chinese family drama for some reason, can’t say I really recommend this one. I mean it isn’t bad, it just never really captivated me. The artsy Japanese guy was amusing. I’m almost convinced the actor wasn’t actually Japanese, something felt a bit off about him. Ting-Ting was an interesting character. Starting to get a little sick of these movies though, they all feel the same. Then it never gives you the narrative straight, you always got to piece it together for yourself. Meh.
Everybody who Runs a Server
There was a pretty big security vulnerability. If you have a server, make sure you’re not affected.
