Category: OCF

21APR2020 – OCF Update – The Joy of Blogging

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Keeping a website stocked with content is work.  Finding and posting a quote and a photo each day takes time and effort.  Researching and writing political posts takes time and thought.  Watching and reviewing movies and tv shows and listening to and reviewing music and reading and reviewing books takes even more time.  Keeping up with the software versions of the website plug-ins and other features is annoying and confusing.  Doing all these things while also working full time in a highly demanding profession in a very exacting company is extremely difficult.  But I consider running this website one of the more enjoyable aspects of my life.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I consider it important to socialize with like minded people.  And just as important as it is to talk about politics, I find discussing recreational and cultural topics just as important.  It’s like the feeling you get from going down to the local tavern and shooting the breeze with friends from town.  You can compare notes on what’s going on in the neighborhood and talk a little sports or discuss the local school issues or the state elections.  There will be differences of opinion but being likeminded people in similar circumstances with a similar history and world view you mostly have similar opinions.  And that’s a comfortable situation.

But nowadays people are always on the move.  We move because we lose a job and need to find a new one.  Or we move so our kids can go to a better school.  Or we move because our town has grown too crowded or because the crime rate has gotten too high.  So, we lose that circle of friends we used to enjoy so much.

Another thing that happens is your kids grow up and once they do, you lose track of the other parents whose kids used to hang around with your kids.  We all go our separate ways and before you know it, you’re pretty isolated from everyone but a small circle of family and a few very good friends.

So, you start to spend time on-line.  You get involved in websites that cater to your interests and hobbies.  And that was something that I did.  I frequented sites that had to do with my various hobbies.  Photography was one of them.  Field biology was another.  And fantasy and science fiction were a third.  And it was fun talking to people with similar interests and sharing information and experiences.  I met a number of interesting people.  But I also found out that politics was a stumbling block in all these areas.  What was true in each of these creative areas was that there existed an orthodoxy that underlaid all the other levels of thought that each of the sites was involved with.  And that orthodoxy was a progressive point of view on politics, social issues and even science.  It was anti-American (especially on sites that had a heavy European presence), anti-religious, anti-traditionalist, pro-homosexual, stridently feminist, globalist, against gun rights, anti-free speech and it rabidly believed in global warming.  I can remember on one particular photography website being banned for saying that Hillary Clinton was a criminal that deserved to be thrown in prison for life.  This was during a thread where the same sentiment had been expressed about George W Bush.  The second statement didn’t even warrant a comment from the moderator or a warning of any kind.  It was after this kind of unequal enforcement of the rules of internet etiquette that I figured out that all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.  And I figured out that if I wanted to enjoy discussing political and social subjects in a more or less free environment, I would have to own the space myself.

So that’s why this site is worth the time and expense of hosting it myself.  No one can tell me that I can’t say that Hillary Clinton is a criminal.  No one can tell me that I can’t say that global warming is a scam.  And no one can tell me that I can’t say that gun ownership is what makes this the freest country on Earth.  By the same token if someone wants to disagree and say that global warming is a very serious problem, I don’t have problem with that.  Let him state his case.  If he can prove it to me, then I’ll admit it.  If he can’t convince me then we’ll agree to disagree.

If someone believes that affirmative action is fair, let him state his case.  I’ll disagree to the last but I’m not in the brainwashing business.  If he can have the discussion without foaming at the mouth and calling me names then have at it.  I’m not afraid of people giving their opinions.  As long as they don’t go off the deep end and start ranting and raving.  This site has a definite right-wing slant.  I state that right up front.  But if someone wants to talk about photography or old movies or old books I don’t particularly care if you’re a communist as long as you can behave like a grown up and contribute to the discussion.  I’ve been in discussions about religion between atheists and priests.  And they were able to keep it polite and even friendly.  They each knew the other wasn’t going to budge but they enjoyed the chance to tell their side and have their say.  And it made for an interesting discussion.

So, this is my way of saying thanks to the regulars and to the new readers and to encourage you all to read and comment and have your say.  Give and take is fine and is the reason for the whole thing anyway.

Okay that’s enough.

How Do We Live Our Lives in an Upside-Down World?

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I think most people reading this post know precisely what I mean by the title.  And it doesn’t have anything to do with lockdowns or pandemics or even the upcoming election, even though every one of those things highlights the craziness of the world around us.  But I mean to look at the world as a whole and address the larger issue of how we can make our lives better and also add to the effort to push the world toward a course correction away from the madness we see all around us.

The leftists are always fond of saying “act locally but think globally.”  In a sense that is what I’m saying.  But it’s more like think and act locally, think and act globally.  What we will need is a multi-track approach to existence.  We can’t use the same tactics with our family and friends as we use with the town government and PTA.  And we can’t use the same tactics with the state government as we use for our town.  And finally, we have a completely different situation on the national level.  There isn’t a one size fits all strategy.  Maybe surprisingly, the approach we take with family and friends is closer to the way we handle the federal government.  Unless you live in a deep red state there is a lot more opportunity at the national level for the kind of openness you can have with friends and family than is possible in many of the communities, we live in.

There are national organizations that are working to make government policy changes.  Look for organizations that advocate for clear cut goals.  Forget anything that’s generic Republican.  Look for someone who says “we are doing this.”  And then see if they say how they are going to do it.  And then ask them what they’ve already done to make it happen.  Some examples that come to mind are Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the Federalist Society.  The ADF is known for defending in court individuals who are being prosecuted for laws that criminalize Christian beliefs.  Florists and wedding bakers who refuse to create products for homosexual marriages are prosecuted in blue states and forced out of business.  The ADF comes to their aid and is helping them to win their rights to religious freedom.  The Federalist Society has been a powerful force for resisting the unconstitutional actions of judges who put social advocacy above the law.  Many of the lawyers that are members of the federalist Society have gone on to careers as judges on the local and federal judiciary all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Supporting organizations that show results in the causes you believe in is an example of global action you can take.  Research the problems that you want solved and find out who is making a difference and then get involved.  Be critical and careful about who you support but don’t become pessimistic.  Donate money, time, or whatever else you have that can help.  Get to know what’s actually out there.  Educate those around you about the bad and the good.

Now what about the local side?  Obviously, you must get involved in the family and friends around you and do everything you can to protect them from the rot and confusion that surrounds everything in our environment.  For the young give them positive role models and provide normal alternatives for the debased entertainment that the popular culture and schools foist upon our young people.  Typically, you can find movies and books from the time before the progressive capture of the entertainment industries and many of these are vastly more entertaining than the propaganda currently being pumped out.  Sponsor activities that allow parents that you trust to join with you to give the kids healthy activities without the loaded messaging that the sanctioned activities always include in their program.  And make sure to get together with your family whenever you can.  A Sunday dinner with your children and grandchildren is one of the nicest ways of spending an afternoon.  A barbecue with your brothers and sisters and their families is a remarkable way to reinforce family solidarity.  Cousins talking about what’s going on in their lives is a great chance to reinforce family ties and lend help and maybe launch a family business.

And for yourself get involved in activities and social organizations that will allow you to find like-minded men whom you can befriend.  Build up a circle of friends who will make your leisure time enjoyable.  Also contacts of this type allow you to build a circle of acquaintances that may have a range of skills and occupations that you can draw on for your own needs.  After all, many of the tradesmen and business owners are on our side of the fence.  Why not throw your business to people that you like and agree with politically and culturally?

And finally, if you have the time and the inclination get involved in local politics.  This is the most difficult aspect of activism especially if you live in a deep blue state.  Basically, you will be in the belly of the beast and surrounded on every side by the enemy.  Everything you say and do will be scrutinized by progressives and measured against progressive dictates.  It would be like the scenes in that old movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” where normal humans try to pass themselves off as pod people.  Eventually some glimmer of emotion or humanity will expose them as “not of the body,” not part of the collective mind.  Working under such conditions would be painful and stressful but also has the potential of getting very important things done.

It’s important to make sure that while we’re all fighting the good fight, we also take care of ourselves and those we love.  What good is winning the culture war if we lose our happiness?  Enjoy your life and your family and friends.  Have fun and do good for those you love.  Think about what is important to you and make sure you take care of the important things.  Go outside and look at the amazing world that exists even in the hellish climate of New England.  Say a little prayer of thanks for the good things you have in your life and be grateful for your health and the health of those you love.  Use your time wisely and don’t let pessimism and depression get a hold of your mind.  Live!

I’ve listed a couple of organizations that I think are doing good work and making a difference to advance our interests, the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Federalist Society.  If you know of other organizations doing good work then please list them in the comments section along with an explanation of what their mission are.  All of us need to share information whenever we can.

The Blue Bird of Happiness Gets What’s Coming to Him for Living in New England

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Exhibit A – Wednesday April 15th a beautiful sunny day

 

Exhibit B

A closeup of Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird redecorating one of Camera Girl’s deluxe blue bird apartments in the sky.

Exhibit C Saturday April 18th.

And the punch line as the happy couple take it in the teeth.

Late April in Southern New England

The moral of the story?  Global warming ain’t everything it’s cracked up to be.  Suffice it to say that for the next week or so the photo of the day will include a number of shots of spring flowers covered in show.

Actual Essential Personnel

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Yesterday was an interesting day.  Earlier I was commenting somewhat ironically on the essential, critical, crucial nature of the work I was able to accomplish on my dining room table.  The industry I work in is considered important because the products are critical to some individuals.  But I think it’s important to consider the circumstances under which certain work is done before throwing around words like critical.  Let me elaborate.

Yesterday was a bizarre weather day in my neck of the woods.  We had rain that varied from sprinkles to torrents without any rhyme or reason as to when.  There was also a wind advisory that quoted a range of wind speeds from 20 mph to 65 mph.  When I see a range that broad, I usually take it with a grain of salt.  To me that sounds a little like someone not knowing very much but employing a CYA strategy in case things do get out of hand.

Around noon yesterday I hear a loud cracking noise and then thesound of a high voltage line grounding itself through normal unprotected materials like trees, guardrails and the road.  We got one last loud bang and then the lights went out.  Luckily, we have a large emergency generator on an automated transfer switch that cuts in after a few seconds so life went on.  But looking out the window I could see a very large old tree hanging across the road and suspended in the trees on my side of the road.  This looked like a big problem.

I called 911 and the fellow there took the information and said someone was on the way.  And he was right.  Emergency vehicles of all description showed up.  There was a fire engine, a state trooper, some non-descript pick up truck with flashers, two power company cherry pickers and a big highway vehicle with a heavy-duty bucket on a big arm.

They were out there for a couple of hours without any indication that much was going on.  The fire engine and the statie left.  Eventually the highway guys started walking around and assembling some gear.  Now meanwhile the storm hadn’t abated much at all.  The wind was truly impressive as it shot horizontal rain in all directions with remarkable force.  Areas of my home that almost never even get wet were flowing rivers from time to time.  I even had to sojourn out into this mess when the sump in the lower driveway starting backing up.  Leaves in the sump that hadn’t caused any problem when normal rainfall was involved blocked the outlet line enough that about six inches of water was standing on the lower driveway and advancing to the house.  I freed the clog and that pool emptied into that six-inch pipe in an impressive way.  Luckily this was April and not February so the worst I got was wet.  But when I got inside, I was convinced that the highway guys would wait until morning to work on that tree.  After all nobody would freeze to death without power in 60 degree weather and working with chain saws on hanging trees in that wind and rain seemed foolish to me.

But about an hour later I saw the highway truck change position and the two power company bucket trucks moved over to the next two telephone poles beyond where the tree was located.  And then I could hear the chainsaws and see the trees pitching around as they took it apart.  Well those guys must know their stuff.  It took about an hour to down the tree and clear the road.  After that it took a couple of more hours for the linemen to rework the wires and restore power.  By then the wind was starting to die down.

Today I went out and checked out the aftermath.

 

Interestingly the wind didn’t crack that tree it pulled it out by the roots.  I’m not sure if that made clearing the road easier or harder.  But looking at the size and estimating the weight of the tree sections that the crew was working with in that lousy weather I have to admit I’m impressed.

So, to put an end to this post, I guess I’m just saying that there’s work and then there’s real work.  If we’re going to have a world where power flows through wires across the countryside, we’ll need some men who don’t shelter in place when things go wrong.  They go out in the wind and rain and snow and do hard work so everyone else can stay warm and safe inside.  Hopefully one day soon a lot more people will remember that and once again make it part of the way we address the world we live in.  Not everyone can do essential work from the dining room table or the local Starbuck’s.

Some Progress on the Lockdown

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Now you folks may not know this but I am essential. Maybe not in respect to my blogging activities (although individuals of truly discerning taste could convince me otherwise if they tried) but relative to my other qualifications. I work in an essential industry that provides critical stuff. For the last three weeks or so I’ve only gone into work one day. But somehow, working from home I’ve been able to critically impact the essence of something or other. Or so I’m told.

But now word has come down that in a very few weeks I’ll be heading back to the salt mines. Not full time. We’ll be staggering our days at the plant on an every-other day basis (three days one week, two days the next week) which will allow us to stagger our seating arrangement and maintain enough space to prevent us from bumping into each other in the aisles. Also, we’ll be masked and bathed in hand sanitizer. It sounds wonderful until we bump into someone that’s not wearing a mask. People at this point shouldn’t be getting away with not wearing a mask, as there are lots of options to choose from and it benefits everyone’s safety.

Anyway, I take this as a sign that reality is starting to temper the paranoid risk aversion that has become like a mystery cult in most corporations. Apparently, productivity has plummeted to such an extent that corporate survival has finally overcome the fear of being sued for COVID-19 deaths in the workplace.

This is the first sign that normalcy is returning. Big corporations are the first to hear from the bureaucracy when things are about to happen. I take this to mean that we’ll start hearing about changes at the end of April. And it makes sense. Places like New York City will be the last places to end the quarantine. The density of the population and the high infection rates ensures that hospital cases will continue for months to come. But outside of the Northeast and the West Coast we can expect gradual easing on the quarantine requirements in May.

I fully expect nursing homes and assisted living facilities will maintain strict isolation to prevent the kind of deaths that occurred in Washington State at the nursing homes that were affected. And any other guidelines that the doctors can provide for truly at-risk people would be useful. But if you’re thirty-five years old and don’t have a chronic heart or lung condition or weigh three hundred pounds why do they have you sitting at home without a pay check to feed your family?

You can depend on the New York Times and CNN to declare President Trump a war criminal for letting us out of lockdown before the complete collapse of the economy and thereby threatening their election narrative. But he’s smart enough to do what needs doing. I expect he’ll run on restoring the economy to high performance and locking down the borders. And included in the border lockdown will be shutting down the air routes to China. It’s the smart thing to do and it will sell very well at election time. It will reinforce Biden’s crony links to China and resonate with anyone who has suffered because of the COVID-19 shutdowns.

So, hang in there my fellow prisoners. The jail break is coming soon so hurry up sharpening that shiv.

12APR2020 – OCF Update – Happy Easter

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Good Morning to everyone out there.  It’s a bright sunny day and the wind has died down, although not completely so some of my focus stack pictures I took today of some flowers are probably a mess.  There was frost on the flowers this morning which is to be expected in this weird little stretch of the world I live in.

Camera Girl and I are going to have a video family gathering later and that should somewhat assuage the isolation and she’s making a few treats to make up for the ham or lamb or turkey that could have been.

I hope all of you will have a good day and enjoy whatever company, real or virtual you may have.  And for the Christians have a very Happy Easter.

Holidays Interrupted

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The recent lockdown has done a lot for bringing parents and children closer together.  Lots of moms are reconnecting with their kids as daycare and schools have shut down.  And that’s great.  Maybe a few families will reconsider the value of a two-income lifestyle.

But for the extended family, things are quite a bit different.  In my family Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas are gathering times when three and even four generations gather for a big meal and a long weekend or holiday to catch up with each other and reconnect with parents, children, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, grandchildren and grandparents.  Everybody plays his role and we perform all the rituals we’ve come to expect.  We repeat all the old stories but with new faces in the younger ranks and maybe an older face or two missing.  We hear about who is graduating or going off to college or has a new job or is getting married.  We try to keep the younger children from getting bored by playing cards or listening to their latest imaginary adventure.  The older folks talk politics and world events.  And everyone eats way too much and for a little while gets to feel much younger again.

Well, not this year.  For the first time in several decades we can’t get together.  I won’t be seeing my brothers and sister.  I won’t even see my own children or their families.  So, no grandkids, no babies.  No fattening and delicious roast beasts or birds.  Just a regular dinner, just me and Camera Girl.  Very sad, very strange.

And I imagine this disruption is being replicated across the country in millions of families in every city and town.  The upshot is that in addition to our jobs and our savings being thrown into disarray and possibly suffering a terrible economic recession we are also isolated and our normal relationships upended.  No one wants to be the cause of someone getting terribly ill or even dying.  And if you have extremely elderly parents in their late eighties or nineties it’s reasonable to say that for the sake of saving their lives, they should be kept isolated at least until we understand this disease a little better.

But now the Health-Nazis are starting to insinuate that we may have to go through this disruption again in the summer and then every year when a fresh seasonal mutant of the coronavirus is identified.  Well, I’ve got news for them.  Not me.  I’m not in my eighties or even my seventies but even at my age there is a higher death rate than in the general population.  I might catch it from a school age relation at a holiday dinner or get together.  Well that’s too damn bad.  I’m not going to allow this charade to go on after this first silliness is ended.  Comes the Fourth of July I’m inviting everyone over for a barbecue and if that puts me in the hospital or sends me to my grave then at least I’ll have had some excellent steak and way too much pie and ice cream.  And I’ll get a chance to see my children and their spouses and my grandsons and granddaughter swimming in the pool and eating hamburgers and watermelon on a hot summer evening.

Now understand, if this thing were a threat to the young then I would understand why caution would be needed.  But it isn’t.  It’s a disease of the old and the chronically ill.  For those individuals, death is a real consideration without the COVID-19 pandemic.  If I were someone who wanted to maximize my odds of living to be a hundred and twenty then I would probably live in a bubble and avoid all contact with the young and active.  And for people of that mindset, isolation would be their own choice.  But I’m not and I won’t.  The authorities are going to have to come up with some better way to minimize the effects of this thing.  My suggestion is to end air traffic to China.  Apparently, that country has a never-ending supply of virulent respiratory diseases.  We can’t afford to let hundreds of thousands of infected people shuttle between China and the West every Chinese New Year just because we don’t want to hurt their feelings.

So that’s my thought.  I’ll get through this present phase without the consolation of enjoying the company of my extended family.  We’ll do a video get together and share some time together as we eat our sad meals apart.  But if they think I’m going to keep doing this in the future they are dead wrong.

The Unholy Inception of ShatnerKhan II

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Today I was on a videoconference with the Board of Directors of the ShatnerKhan Corporation.  These august gentlemen and I began the initial planning of this great enterprise.  I must tell you, just knowing that ShatnerKhan II would happen despite the COVID-19 Plague was indeed exciting.  It would be like a shining beacon in the inky blackness of cultural hiatus that this quarantine has engendered.  It would bring hope and purpose to a weary nation.  It might even save countless lives by giving these poor souls the will to throw off the deadly clutches of this sinovirus.  “Ad astra per aspera.”

So, it was kind of fun talking about something so frivolous and light hearted.  No life and death diseases, no do or die elections just the foibles of that demigod of bad acting William Shatner.  We committed ourselves to a much more organized effort.  As you might remember ShatnerKhan I was an impromptu gathering with almost no planning, preparation or notice.  And most importantly not nearly enough time was spent on the menu for the event.  For as I’ve often stated ShatnerKhan is mostly an excuse to eat highly indigestible but exquisitely delicious and altogether splendiferous food.  So, I extracted this promise that the first thing to be fixed was the menu.  I am a reasonable man and will not prevent whatever personal favorites the Board requests.  All I ask is that dill pickles, corned beef, pastrami, pumpernickel bread, potato salad and good brown mustard are lavishly provided.  There was talk of all kinds of delicacies but we’ll see what they decide on.  I know that sausage and peppers, eggplant parmigiana and panko coated drumsticks were mentioned but I also know that Chinese food was listed at one point.  Well, at such an intellectually challenging event the sages need to keep up their strength somehow.

Moving onto the agenda we discussed how best to avoid burnout from the sheer volume of Shatneriana that was available for review.  It was decided that we would extract the quintessence of Shatner goodness from each historical record and in this way reduce the time needed to review it.  This will require great amounts of preparatory work.  And it will also require much greater technical skill than is currently at the disposal of the Board.  For I must confess that when it comes to digital expertise, we are blithering idiots.  But this aspect I’ve taken on myself to explore.  But the idea is to have a live stream that will capture us bloviating on the various scenes we are critiquing.  Of course, to maintain anonymity we will be masked.  I suggested Shatner masks.  I understand that the mask that the Michael Myers character wore in Halloween was actually based in some way on William Shatner’s face.  Whether this is true or not I have also been tasked to look into the masks and other props needed for the event.  It was suggested that I find a three-dimensional chess board and a Vulcan lyre like the ones that Spock employed during various episodes of the original series.  While I’m at it why don’t I look for Shatner’s missing hairline?  But I digress.

There was a discussion about inviting the great man himself to this great homage to his name.  But we were reminded that he’s eighty-nine and also fabulously wealthy.  But we may invite him anyway.  My guess is he won’t be too pleased by our take on his career and talents.  But who knows?  I thought maybe we should contact Kevin Pollack.  After all he’s fairly famously for imitating Shatner.  As you can see, bull was flung pretty freely at this meeting but it was quite stimulating talking about the event.  As far as timing the earliest it would be held is midsummer.  But based on the current crisis it might also be closer to September.  When asked by the Board if the readers of Orion’s Cold Fire could be a source for ideas for the gathering, I said I thought it very well might be.  I know of at least one reader who has shown enthusiasm for the idea and I think there is the potential for a collaborative effort where local groups could participate in the live streaming and eat equally indigestible, delicious and splendiferous food.  Of course, they’ll have to provide their own masks and food but the spirit of bright camaraderie will more than pay for the foodstuffs needed.

So, I’m throwing it out to the audience.  If you have any ideas practical or ridiculous that should be brought to the attention of the Board and if you have interest in remote link up during such an absurd venture leave a comment or send an e-mail and I’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop when any actual information is available.

28MAR2020 – OCF Update

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This is the beginning of Week 3 of the COVID-19 lock-down here in lovely but chilly New England and the cabin fever hasn’t really set in yet.  But I must say the news has been a little monotonous.  Even Italy hasn’t reached their peak mortality yet and we’re still climbing so we’ll be here for at least a few more weeks.

The only political news is that Creepy Uncle Joe is not just creepy he’s a sex criminal.  One of his Senate staff workers accused him of an actual sexual assault on the streets of Washington D.C. back when he was just a lowly Senator.  Immediately calls to draft Andrew Cuomo as the Democratic Presidential Candidate began circulating.  It’s just amazing how terrible the Democrat bench truly is.

I must apologize for the low output on political posts.  I’ve tried to compensate by posting more reviews and photo stuff.  Just to let you know why this is, I’ve always felt that banging away at the same old thing when there’s nothing new to say is boring.  I assume it’s just as boring for the reader as it is for the writer.  So that’s why I haven’t been producing much of that stuff.  Chances are this is a very temporary lull caused by the lock-down.  We all know that regardless of whether the Democrats nominate Biden or an even worse candidate (as hard as that is to imagine) this election season will be the loudest, nastiest street brawl imaginable so I don’t see the need to pound away at the same old stuff when nothing is currently happening.

What I will do is look for interesting stuff in the news and life and post it along with my own cultural notes.  So hang in there.  Something horrible is bound to happen in Washington and we’ll have plenty of chances to be outraged sometime soon.

Also I want to start getting some feedback from the readers on the various types of posts I do.  After all Vox Populi, Vox Dei.  I want to see what is most interesting to the readers and give them more of that.