If more people realized this, life would be a lot more simple. I never grew up. I just got older.

The password entry screen for Metal Gear.

Love that tune. So calming.

That Super Mario Bros 2 - Game End lullaby is perfect.

The voice I used for “piece by piece” was Denzel’s from Man on Fire (2004).

Take a serious look at the collapse of the Soviet Union, the gutting of the Commonwealth, and the rise of Russia under Yeltsin, then Putin. I’m not sure of any fictionalized works that examine this in any detail, but the aftermath and the new reality is well-described in Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev. Link is a 10 year old review in the Guardian.

The falls of other empires would also be instructive. There is an excellent podcast/YouTube channel, the Fall of Civilizations(YouTube Link)(Spotify Link). In listening, I found several parallels to the first Trump presidency. I haven’t listened in years.

A paper-thin skinned hegemon leads a dying empire against his staunch allies. I fed this prompt to ChatGPT and it handed me back Dune by Frank Herbert and Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

Yeah, I’ve read my Asimov. Love that guy. I knownsome haven’t, so Im glad you’ve included them. It was a student of mine who got me to read Caves of Steel for the first time. I thought they were excellent.

Strangely, I’ve only seen the 2004(?) Will Smith version of I, Robot. But, I digress.

The prompt for that post moved me. To think that we could break human affairs down to just three laws is enticing. I took a swing at it. That was what I had off the top of my head. I’d read a list — years ago — of Dene Law (it’s a PDF, sorry). Those were also an inspiration.

I’m pretty happy with this answer to what the three laws would be if I made them.

It’s not my top response, but it is short, sweet, and to the point.

Ah. Ok. Well, the rest stands. And, hopefully, you’re able to smooth things with Greg.

You are in a very messy, very confusing stage of life. You will make many, MANY mistakes and piss some people off. I’m twenty-26, and I still make mistakes.

You’ll start to understand what makes you who you want to be, and stop listening to all you’ve been told. You rebuild yourself out of your life experiences. Constantly. Forever.

You’re human. Not perfect. None are. What matters is what you do next.

As was said above, no one who questions their actions or who admits their need for mental health support is all bad. It’s the people who strategically, purposefully manipulate people with no regard for their well-being who are bad. The people who pathologically lie, cheat, steal, and remorselessly exploit others who are bad.

If you have the means, get assessed. Take no diagnoses from the Internet or people on message boards.

If you have the means, apologize, and commit yourself to treating Greg better or even neutrally. He doesn’t have to accept your apology. You have to make your peace with that. Also, he introduced you as a “boyfriend.” You had a reaction to that. You’re allowed. Again, it’s all about what you do next.

There is no other answer than this.

M-I:2 was a miss on so many levels.

John Woo tried his best. That script couldn’t be saved.

I say this as a person whose guilty pleasure is a rewatch of any M:I movie. But, I can’t give any time to this turd sandwich.

This sounds like a plot point from the OA.

Pascal’s Wager

You should read a few good books as well. Might I suggest:

On Palestine by Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappé, and Frank Barat

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A Dying Colonialism by Frantz Fanon

Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman

Actual journalists like Mehdi Hasan at Zeteo and Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! are doing excellent work on this issue.

Here is the full text of the letter that Obama left 45. I’d never thought to read it.

Dear Mr. President -

Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and allof us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.

This is a unique office, without a clear blueprint for success, so I don’t know that any advice from me will be particularly helpful. Still, let me offer a few reflections from the past 8 years.

First, we’ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. Not everyone is so lucky. It’s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard.

Second, American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It’s up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that’s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.

Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions – like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties – that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it’s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.

And finally, take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They’ll get you through the inevitable rough patches.

Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.

Good luck and Godspeed,

BO

A few notes:

Obama forecast 45s disregard for “rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties”. He KNEW 45 would fuck that up.

The role all Presidents, since Reagan, have played in “sustain[ing] the international order that’s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend” is a warning about fomenting or courting instability. It is also a tacit admission of the Military-Industrial complex and its attendant supports in entertainment, energy, and finance that projects American values and superiority worldwide. He KNEW 45 would fuck that up, too.

Finally, and from the start of the letter, “we’ve both been blessed… Not everyone is so lucky” is a reminder that the office is meant to support the less fortunate. We all KNEW 45 would fuck that up.

I remember it having an English language, targeted at North Americans vibe. I could be wrong.

Also, have I posted this request incorrectly? I still count myself as new to the Fediverse. I don’t know how to access other instances. Any guidance is probably already posted online, and I would have to go looking for it. I haven’t.

North Americans, I’m one of you. You have to leave for a while. You gain perspective.

Back in '07, I left. I was in Australia in '09 and some Aussies asked me, ‘what’s it like living over there?’

The only thing I could come up with at the time was " causes neuroticism.’ It’s so much worse now that we have social media, smartphones, and a penchant for duelling forms of misinformation.

What I learned is that there are many ways to live. There are lots of goals people have — and can have — many of them are quite modest: a safe place to live, love, and feel part of community. There are much worse daily experiences than those we hear about in the news, or see on TV, or read about it books. There is truly grinding poverty and privation that does not translate well into a novel or an article — readership is fickle. Yet, from those ashes, there is still joy, levity, and grace.

So, we residents of the most powerful economies must see outside of our bubbles. We must see, first hand, how we are duped into believing there is only one set of goals, one North American dream, one prestige, and one centre of power. When you spend enough years away, you just might forget about homeownership, career-building, and fretting over retirement. You might find that life is about living, about doing good work, and about being with people you care to pass the time with.

At least, that’s what 12 years outside of NA taught me.

2001: A Space Odyssey

The Qatsi films

Solaris (2002)

Operation Gideon (2020)

"… Two boats were launched from eastern Colombia toward the Caribbean coast of Venezuela north of Caracas, carrying approximately 60 Venezuelan dissidents and two American former Green Berets employed as mercenaries by Silvercorp. Both boats were intercepted before they reached land. At least six Venezuelan dissidents in the first boat were killed, and all but four of the invaders were captured during the attempted landing or subsequent search operations, including the two Americans from the second boat, whose interrogations were broadcast on state television.

Venezuelan intelligence agencies and the Associated Press (AP) had prior knowledge of the operation. Commentators and observers described the operation as amateurish, underfunded, poorly organized, impossible, and a suicide mission, and divergent narratives led to questions about how the plot unfolded. Sources criticized the poor planning and execution, alternating between characterizing Operation Gideon as an attempted invasion, infiltration, raid, ambush, assassination or coup. 

My preferred quote on this line:

“Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted.” ~ Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse: Dune

It takes the will of a saint to be incorruptible — to not become addicted to the exercise of power. Those who do not desire power, like saints, may have it thrust upon them.

Even when left to own devices, a person can only exercise power within a society that has desires, wants, and fears. The whole society would need to be incorruptible. This is improbable. In the unlikely case of such a pure society, it would also need to be incorruptible when in contact with “the other” — peoples, species, events, and ideas. This is exceedingly improbable. So, the whole of existence would need to be incorruptible.

Power corrupts.

QED (using the slippery slope, I know)