Category: OCF

Real and Compelling

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For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been smugly telling myself that because of the recent cold weather I wouldn’t have to cut the grass until June or July or something.  But recent walks through the fields revealed the absurdity of this notion.  There were a couple-a-three spots that I neglected to cut at the end of last growing season and those areas were horrendous.  And the rest of it was overgrown to a greater or lesser extent depending on whether those areas get more or less light.

So, when I heard that Saturday would be sunny in the morning and rainy in the afternoon, I resolved Friday night to get up early and cut it in the morning.  Well, of course I forgot all about that because as a special treat, Camera Girl was making pancakes and that along with a good cup of coffee is a holiday to me.  After all, pancakes and syrup are just plain carbohydrates with no redeeming quality other than human joy.  But at a quarter to eleven I realized that I’d forgotten the grass and ran outside and started doing the perimeter with the push mower.  And it was eighty degrees and I was sweating like a pig and my safety goggles (for mayfly prevention) were fogging up and I had to keep stopping to clear them with my handkerchief.  And then I did all the crummy areas that wouldn’t get done right by the sit-down mower and by then it was noon.  So, I had my lunch and then ran out and started around the yard trying to finish it before the rain came.  And I did, but just barely.  Then I took a shower and put on a movie I like watching whenever it’s on TCM; “A Man for All Seasons.”

And this movie always has the same effect on me.  It makes me serenely happy.  Not because the movie has a happy ending.  Because at the end Sir Thomas More is convicted of a crime based on perjured testimony by a former friend and in the final scene he has his head cut off.  And not because the story is exciting or the events change the course of history.  It’s not.  It’s a very small story.

It’s only because the acting and the dialog of the lead actor and several of the other cast members is remarkable.  The conversations between the lead actor (Paul Scofield) with his family, friends and even bitter enemies is altogether compelling.  The character displays a combination of intelligence, compassion, honesty, moral clarity and courage that I find inspirational.  Here is a man who is trapped between an egocentric and possibly unhinged absolute monarch and the toadies and sharks that act as his enablers, but remains faithful to his religious convictions.  As long as lawful means are employed, More is able to hold off a charge of treason.  But his most malevolent enemy (Thomas Cromwell, played ably by Leo McKern) finally employs perjury and this seals More’s fate.

But as interesting as the final duel at the trial is, the real payoff is More’s final meeting with his wife in the prison.  Seeing these two opposites, one a highly intellectual scholar and the other a woman who could not even read, is wonderfully moving.  As she scolds him for his failure to yield and he attempts to placate her we see the enormous affection and love between them and understand just how much he is sacrificing for his beliefs.

And as I was watching this familiar movie it occurred to me that here was a story that had none of the attributes that supposedly make a good piece of art.  It was backward-looking rather than forward.  It was basically a grievance story.  It lacked action, pacing or any of the other characteristics of a book or movie that makes them promising prospects.

What it did possess was human interest.  It showcased the noble characteristics of a man and allowed him to make a stand against the world.  So, in a sense, a book does not have to have the perfect plot and pacing.  What it needs are human beings who can make us believe they are real and make us care what happens to them.

And that way of writing a story seems clearer to me than the other ways of framing the process.  I think I’ll apply that same test to my own writing.  Seems about right.

Vitality and Right-Wing Literature

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I was listening to a podcast by NY Times token “conservative” Russ Douthat talking to conservative publisher Jonathan Keeperman.

Keeperman is a publisher for a press called Passage Publishing.  He has a lot of avant-garde friends like Curtis Yarvin and possibly some of the Silicon Valley folks like Peter Thiel.  He and Douthat talked (a lot) about how the Right is becoming a sort of counter-culture in the way that the Left did back in the 1960s and beyond.

It’s kind of interesting to hear them discuss this shift in the culture in general but one of the more interesting things that Douthat said was that up until now the Right hasn’t produced any real literature on its side of the cultural divide.  Then Keeperman made some offbeat suggestions saying things like Cormac McCarthy’s

“No Country for Old Men” is from the right.  I think specifically he said that the Coen Brother’s movie based on it is from the Right.  Now never in any imagining have I ever equated the Coen Brothers or their movies with anything right-wing.  So, I find this very strange.  And honestly, all the people associated with Curtis Yarvin have always struck me as hipsters.  And I have always ranked hipsters as the most left-leaning of all the various weirdos to be found in New York City.  So, none of this makes a lot of sense.

But I guess if someone interested in literature who wasn’t a Leftist wanted to talk to the New York Times about literature, he would talk to Russ Douthat and try to find some middle ground where they could both make believe that Douthat wasn’t a total leftist.

I was interested to read that Keeperman has published illustrated editions of H P Lovecraft and Robert E Howard and that leads me to think that maybe he’s not a leftist.  The Left despises both of those old authors and would never publish their works under any circumstance.  So, I need to find out a lot more about Keeperman and his press.  It could be interesting.

But he said one interesting thing about the current state of right-wing literature.  He said that the problem with most of it is that it’s mostly just grievance based.  It exists to rail against and blame the leftist society we currently live in and therefore loses the chance to be “vital.”  Essentially, it’s existence is only as a protest against the status quo and therefore only has a negative presence.

And that interested me.  Because my book is in a real way, exactly that.  It is a war being fought against the status quo.  And so, I have to look at what I wrote and see if his criticism of this kind of story is a legitimate case against the value of the story I have written.  In order to do that I will have to look at what gives “vitality” and entertainment value to a story.

Of course, all things are relative and being objective, especially about something I myself wrote is fraught with peril.  Probably the only way to know for sure is to attempt to get it published and see what results.  But it has given me pause and I will think long and hard to see if I think there are any aspects of the story that lack “vitality.”  Whatever that is.  Boy when it rains it pours.

Curses!  Foiled Again!

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Ah, the whiplash sting of rejection.  My manuscript has been rejected by Ark Press (see bold text below).

 

Thank you for submitting to Ark Press.

The Ark editorial team has reviewed your work and given it careful consideration. We appreciate the opportunity to review your treatment and manuscript, however, The Sniper isn’t right for us.

We would, however, love to see another project from you. The writing was quite good and the story kept us engaged. Please do keep us in mind in the future

Best of luck with your writing,

 

If I were a drinking man I’d probably go on a two-week bender and drown my sorrow in 180 proof rum.  But the show must go on!  I will gather up the jagged shards of my dreams and limp off stage to nurse my wounded pride and super-glue my shattered dreams of literary glory back together somehow.

I told Camera Girl of this crushing defeat.  She told me to suck it up and stop whining.  Not the sympathetic shoulder I was hoping for.  In another age maybe I would have run off and joined the French Foreign Legion but I don’t think they allow enough free time for macrophotography and right-wing punditry in the Legion.  Vive la France!

Well, it wasn’t all bad.  They did say the writing was pretty good.  I mean, maybe they were just saying that to soften the blow but I’ll take a positive spin on that and continue to work on finishing the book and then either get it published or self-publish it on Amazon.

Honestly, I was very glad that they got back to me.  And I liked the polite and professional remarks they sent.  I think a lot of publishers don’t even bother to send rejection letters anymore.  So, an honest rejection is actually kind of comforting.  But still, there is a disappointment when you don’t win the prize.  But we know that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.  At least that’s what that crazy atheist said back a hundred and some odd years ago.  And he should know because he went crazy and died!

So, the show must go on and all sadness and chagrin must be pushed aside and efforts must be redoubled.  I intend to memorize a hundred new adjectives every week, take up MMA fighting and try my luck at swordfishing to increase my relatability with the reading audience.  After all Hemingway did some of that stuff and he was very relatable.  I wonder how good Camera Girl is at MMA fighting?  She’s pretty strong and agile so maybe she would be a good sparring partner.  But she is kinda mean and I can’t afford to be injured too badly before I get into the octagon with my real opponents.  Maybe she’ll agree to fighting me blindfolded and with one arm tied behind her back.  That seems reasonable.  But just to be sure, maybe I’ll also tie her ankles together.  Yeah, that would be good.  I could definitely take her then.  Alright, I love it when a plan comes together.

Make Way for the Expedition!

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Voigtlander 10mm e-mount trees in vertical

Camera Girl is an excellent wife.  She understands the nuances and challenges of being married to a profoundly disorganized man.  And what she has done is become my enabler.  She knows how lazy and easily distracted I can be so she goes out of her way to find things in the real world that can help me in my stated goals.

For instance, I’ve been complaining about needing a photography trip to get a bunch of new pictures.  So, she took it upon herself to research day trips to photogenic locations.  Car shows, museums, stuff like that.  Well, she asked me if I want to go to a botanical garden on Friday.  Apparently, the weather is going to cooperate and she was able to get discount passes from one of her library friends (she loves discounts passionately).

“Perfect!” I said.  And so tomorrow morning I will assemble my gear and she will act as my native bearer or sherpa guide.  With her carrying all the weight, my inner vision will be free to unlock the mystical dimensions of the secrets of nature.  Like a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci (only without all the gayness) I will frame the photographs that will capture truth, beauty and small insects everywhere I go.

Like Frank Buck and Ali “bringing ‘em back alive” or Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquering Everest, we shall conquer new frontiers of arboreal greatness together.  I with my Sony 90mm f\2.8 macro lens and A7IV camera and Camera Girl with her 83-pound backpack with forehead strap to take some of the weight off of her shoulders.  To some this may sound excessive.  On the contrary, I’m leaving behind the laptop, larger tripod and the flash gear.  Everything I packed is critical; the portable generator, my yoga mat and the collapsible hammock for my 1:30 pm siesta.  After all we’re not barbarians, are we?  And she knows that the roll of a good producer is to, “keep the talent happy.”  After all, without my perfect composure and comfort the whole thing will be for naught.  Remember, art is the hardest thing in the world.  We must be perfectly in tune with the astral plane or it will collapse like a deck of cards or some other analogy.

As the kids would say, “I’m stoked.”  And I predict the most amazing results from this expedition.  I do intend to bring along some other lenses.  The 10mm Voigtlander should be useful for capturing some of the vertical shots of the trees and I’m considering bringing the Sony 200-600mm zoom for any shots of birds up in the higher branches.  And I guess I’ll bring the Sony 35mm f\1.4 for some landscape shots.  I’m not sure if I’ll bring the new 135mm f\1.8.  It’s kind of an in between lens.    Not really long enough for wildlife but too tight for landscape.  But it has great bokeh for backgrounds so I probably will bring it.  Ah, decisions, decisions.

So, I’ll be away for a chunk of the day.  The site will be quiet but I’ll be home in time to catch up with everything.  “Ali!  Where is my elephant gun you lazy heathen!”

Fiscal Madness and Buffalo Bill

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, OCF, photog's Corner, Trump

So last week I was shoveling snow and now I read that it’s going to be 80 degrees on Saturday.  That’s messed up.  But this is Dunwich and we’ve never restricted ourselves to reality.  Okay, I’ve been griping about the cold weather so I better shut up and enjoy it.  And I will.  We’re hosting Easter on Sunday and that will be pretty great.  We have Princess Sack of Potatoes here tonight.  Her parents are celebrating an occasion and we gladly invited her over.  Tonight, she watched “Stuart Little.”  I was busy but I popped in and saw a few minutes of the movie here and there.  Geena Davis is one of the main characters and later on I saw Dabney Coleman playing a minor character.  And that activated a very old brain cell.  I recalled that a very young and pretty Geena Davis was the eye candy on a tv show that starred Dabney Coleman as the eponymous “Buffalo Bill.”  He was the host of a tv talk show and she was one of the production assistants.  I remember one episode where Bill explained to her that once a woman reached the age of twenty-five, she was over the hill and her face began to disintegrate.  When Geena asked whether this applied to men, the much older Bill said something like, “No, as unfair as it may seem, men remain pretty much the same decade after decade maybe even getting more handsome over time.”  His deadpan delivery, in your face offensiveness and outrageous non sequiturs were what made the show fun.

Tomorrow Camera Girl will continue the Princess’s training in the mysteries of holiday cooking.  She will assist in the baking of a ricotta cheese cake and various other Easter dishes.  The main course is roast beast and even in the midst of my endless drive to lose weight I will indulge to a greater extent than usual because, who are we kidding?  That’s not something you pass up in this age of $12/dozen eggs.

I was talking to one of my sons-in-law tonight about saving money.  He’s got two kids that will be in college next year and we were discussing automobiles.  His two main vehicles have 200,000+ miles each and I asked him how much he wants to get out of them.  He said 500,000!  Now if it weren’t him, I’d have scoffed at the idea.  These are American vehicles.  They don’t last that long.  But he’s an extremely capable mechanic.  He’s worked on everything from helicopters to lawn mowers and I’ve seen him bring piles of junk back to life so I just nodded my head and said, “Yeah we’ve all got to keep what we already have on the road as long as possible.”

I was at a Dunwich committee meeting.  The talk was what is going on in the state.  The Democrats are all freaked out.  They claim that Trump’s austerity measures will force them to declare a fiscal emergency and ignore all rules against excessively increasing taxes and other revenue sources.  They’re calling Trump a fascist, a Nazi, you name it.  Needless to say, the towns will be the ones taking the biggest hit.  All of the state mandates will become unfunded mandates and we’ll have to pay for them on our own.  At the end of the meeting, we all looked around and you could see everyone was thinking the same thing, “It is what it is.”  We all shrugged our shoulders and walked out.  Well, I’ll enjoy Easter and then we’ll take it day by day.  Ah, New England.

Learning from a Harsh Mistress

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Today was a good day on the novel.  I figured out a plot device to externalize the main character’s decision making.  I’m going to have one or more conversations between him and the AI.  Now this may sound like a faddish decision because of all the AI-associated jibber jabber we hear about lately.  But actually, I can think of a very famous usage of AI friendship in classic science fiction.

In Robert Heinlein’s novel, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” the human protagonist is friend to and conspiracy partner with a self-aware computer named Mike.  The conversations between them are a good chunk of the story and critical to the plot at many points.  Now I don’t need anything that extensive for my plot device but I need a sounding board for my character’s decision making.  I can turn a soliloquy into a dialog and that works better for the dramatic aspect of it.  And since the AI is “female” it provides a different emotional feeling to the talk.  It’s funny, I had added a scene where the protagonist is mediating an armed standoff between two military groups and without realizing it, I had decided that he would follow up by surrendering himself to the US government.  But once I did that, I realized that I had not foreshadowed this move anywhere in the story and no one would have expected it.

So, I decided I needed to build up some of his thought process in advance for the readers to see.  What I’m still working on is the reaction to his “capture.”  I’m thinking about something like a general strike with the Teamsters and other truck drivers shutting down the supply chains for everything and the country grinding to a halt.  I haven’t thought all of that out yet.  I need to up the ante and bring the book to an end on a high note but so far it doesn’t have enough drama and excitement.

Maybe I’ll introduce an external threat to provide a reason for unifying the splintered Americans.  Or maybe I’ll have the protagonist provide a stirring speech to the nation that will galvanize a movement to strip the federal government of its oppressive powers and reassert the freedoms in the Bill of Rights in all of their aspects.

And I have to do all of this without it seeming too much like a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” moment.  And that means I’ll actually have to figure out what practical changes would be made to the current state of the federal government.  Some of the things are easy.  I’ll abolish the FBI.  I’ll cancel the Patriot Act and the FISA Courts.  The CIA will have to be reformed so that it can’t touch American citizens at all.  I’m tempted to eliminate the IRS.  In many ways the second Trump administration seems to be stealing a lot of my thunder.  Maybe I should strike back by eliminating the Education department and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  No, I’ll be big about it and stay in my lane.

So today was a good day.

Bot-Farms and Boris and Natasha

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Grandson “quartus” was over today for his visit.  Now his specialty in the movie category is Godzilla movies.  We saw two and half cinematic jewels because we switched out “Godzilla vs. Kong” halfway through and substituted the more recent “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”  And am I glad we did.  It was an obvious upgrade.  Otherwise, I would have missed out on the additional monsters.  There was Skar King (another giant gorilla), Shimo and of course Mothra.  And because kids can’t adjourn for dinner, we ate the obligatory spaghetti and meatballs dinner while watching the movies.  This was followed up with sherbert of his choice.  Luckily, we eventually ran out of monster movies and moved onto games.  Camera Girl always brings out her Yahtzee game and we played several spirited rounds and then we adjourned downstairs to the pool table and that was much more to my liking.  He’s actually pretty good.  So, we talked about what was going on at school and which video games were the best right now and what sports were being played at school.  And the time flew by.  Before I knew it, it was 5:30 pm and I returned him to his parents along with a chocolate cake that Camera Girl whipped up for the occasion.  So maybe kids aren’t all that different today than they used to be.  Possibly the dissolution of the nuclear family isn’t absolutely preordained.

So, I was too busy today to go over to X.  But strangely I got about ten times more clicks on my post from this morning than I usually get.  Now I must confess I have almost no idea how these algorithms work.  I know that all kinds of things (various words, ideas and images) can trigger the algorithm to suppress a post or even an account from getting any visibility.  But for the life of me I don’t know why I would get more visibility than usual.  As you know I wrote about Trump’s tariffs.  And that’s neither a taboo subject or anything that would draw all kinds of viewers.  Now maybe this has to do with my little dustup with the denizens of Elon’s kingdom the other day.  But there were no likes or angry comments or anything to indicate why people stopped by.

The truth is I didn’t even get into a shouting match over the altercation.  Honestly it would seem absurd to hurl insults at people I don’t know over a comment that was quite innocuous.  My opinion was simply that seventy years ago the United States had an economy, culture and morale that were in almost every way superior to what currently exists in this country.  And I would say that this statement would neatly divide this country into two separate camps of people based on whether they thought this statement was obviously true or false.  And that trying to convince one side or the other to change their minds would be pretty much a complete waste of time.  Me trying to convince someone that the actuarial table differences didn’t equate to a better life in 2025 that 1955 would be as I found pure folly.

But what was heartening was the number of people who “liked” my statement.  It resonated with lots of folks.  So surprisingly social media actually has some reach.  I even had some of my first traffic to my site from X.  So, I guess it’s not all bot-farms and Boris and Natasha.  Who knew?!!!

Starting Trouble on X

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So, after performing all of my chores and watching another installment of “Lonesome Dove” with Camera Girl, I checked on my feed on X.  And Iowahawk was going on an anti-tariff rant.

About six rants down he posted:

 

David Burge (@iowahawkblog):

Sioux City used to have a Zenith TV assembly plant. Even if our patriotic trade war kills grain exports the farmers can get new jobs soldering Quasar circuits there after the revitalization of the American Console TV industry.

 

This was an ironical jab at our lost electronics manufacturing industry.

So, I replied:

 

Orionscoldfire:

You want to know something?  I’d trade the circa 1955 economy, technology and culture for what we’ve got now any day.  At least you could tell a man or a woman by sight.  I could do without the 80” television.

 

So, he replied:

 

David Burge @iowahawkblog:

If only I had the power to grant your wish I would give a personal time machine trip immediately

 

I thanked him for this wish.

Then there were several other opinions and replies by me.  See below:

 

 

Robert Longo @RobertL37046977

  1. a) Adjusted for inflation average household income in 1955 was $50,000, today it’s $80,000
  2. b) We live 10 years longer than in 1955.
  3. c) It’s easy to tell when a man is pretending to be a lady. A man has an Adam’s apple and a deep voice.

Orionscoldfire:

I’ve seen what those ten years look like.  A massive heart attack at eighty is my exit plan.

 

 

Econymous @EHPlimsoll1

You can do that already. No need to force everyone else to live your chosen lifestyle. Cut you income by 2/3, halve the size of your house, buy a crappy car, watch classic TV and movies, refuse any healthcare developed after 1960, and live in a conservative town.

Orionscoldfire:

Sounds promising.

 

 

RobustFeedback @FeedbackRobust

Wait until your kid was diagnosed with leukemia, and instead of a 90% chance of survival, your child had a 4% chance. Or you had no ac when it was 98 degeees, with 70% humidity.Or until you had to work substantially more hours to feed and clothe your kids.

Nostalgia is stupid.

Orionscoldfire:

“Nostalgia is stupid.”  Interesting statement.  I could think of some counterexamples but then we’d just argue.  I’ll just enjoy the thought of that console tv playing Bonanza on a Sunday evening with the family all watching together and roast beef sandwiches and pastries and coffee to come.

 

 

Alboalt @albo_alt

The post-war American economic dominance isn’t coming back unless you want to put huge chunks of the world back into communism and hoeing yam fields all day.

Orionscoldfire:

I don’t want us to dominate anyone.  I’ll settle for an economy that keeps men employed and families living comfortably.  I don’t need to drive a Mercedes I can drive a Ford.  It’s not as good but it gets you there.

 

 

Manny O’Kelly @harshm1stress:

ok so you’re a white male and you’re looking to die around 65 am I hearing you correctly?

Orionscoldfire:

Well, then I missed my mark!

Manny O’Kelly @harshm1stress

there’s a lot you missed

orionscoldfire

Nothing too important.  The important things keep you busy.  Everything else is just background.

 

 

sum_dude44 @sum_dude44

ah yes polio, nuclear annihilation, 10 hr flights to go 1000 miles, lead everywhere

orionscoldfire:

Ah, those were the days.

 

 

Totally_not_a_Bot:

sorry i used to be able to afford a time machine.. but these new tarrifs put it out of range

orionscoldfire:

I’m rooting for you.

 

 

WCB @Si3rraDrive:

That’s a pipe dream. Tariffs don’t get you there, nothing gets you there. You can choose to make that life for yourself, but society won’t be structured thusly.

orionscoldfire

Okay.

 

 

A @2006ImageMacro

You’ve posted 4000 times in 3 years.  You literally could not live in an environment that doesn’t support your internet addiction

orionscoldfire

Mercy sakes!  What can I do?

A  @2006ImageMacro

Hey I’m sorry for some reason I thought you were being snide to Dave but looking now I see that I was shitty to you for no reason, my bad!

Orionscoldfire:

I was just putting in my two cents.  No problems.  Dave’s got definite opinions.  If I get on his nerves, he can tell me to butt out.  Or ban me or something.

 

So, this is all very silly.  David Burge (@iowahawkblog) is a favorite of mine.  Back during the Iraq war, he was a humorist that poked fun at our enemies and even into the Obama years his satirical posts always made me laugh.  Now he likes to identify antique cars from old family album photos and he talks a bit about Iowa basketball.  He definitely isn’t a fan of tariffs.

But it was just the sight of this 1955 television set that made me react.  I was just thinking that if tariffs had kept American industry in this country, we’d be 1000% better off than we are now.  Apparently, most of Mr. Burge’s readers disagree with me but apparently, I couldn’t resist the urge to put in my two cents.

 

Well, it was kind of fun.

 

Update:

Neil Dunn commented:

I want the USA to be as totally self sufficient production wise as possible. No more of China producing most of our antibiotics is my #1 example = some Pharma corporate
executive(s) looking to increase profits, America be damned. Google “how many American car dealerships are in Japan?”. My Google answer = zero. And not one word about tariffs, but lots of other reasons. I say raise the tariffs on Japanese imports until Japan lets US cars into their market. And no more of the 80 year freebee Marshall Plan that taxes the US to make things easy for Europe and the UK. I think Trump was too kind with his Tariff plan.
All barriers to entry from one country toward another country should be equal both ways.