El Conde
An interesting (although perhaps not so good) look at Chilean Politics and history, in specific General Pinoche, told as if he were a Vampire.
Black and White, the themes primarily the cruelty of his regime and the ensuing Nepotism & Kleptocracy.
Too many parallels to Trump, coincidence? Perhaps.
Anyways, not great, not bad, more a "Meh", but a better "Meh" than most.
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- Category: Film
Robert Martiensen
Another Outsider Artist, this one a retired Australian Maths Teacher who upon dying is discovered to have created thousands of artworks.
Links:
- https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102969272
- https://www.hamiltongallery.org/events/robert-martiensen-the-secret/
Think, if his sister hadn't called in somebody with a little more taste and appreciation this would have been lost. And I see it all the time at the thrift shop (fortunately, in my opinion, most of what's donated from these estates is rubbish. Most. But there's always the possibility of an outlier...
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- Category: Other
The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason's Tale
Icelandic Sagas, of which I am not too familiar (Beowulf I've read, the rest, not so much so.)
Curious, in that they record the family/tribal history of the first Norse settlers, and in the tone that they're related, where the narrator gives details he/she could not have known, and recites the history in a manner that while concise leaves you to decipher (??) - assign the motives to the characters from the events and their words.
So, bereft of "tone" in the sense that the descriptions of events are lacking in emotional adjectives such as "rage" or "pleasure" or "love", rather the narrator uses others to describe the exterior events and the reader to discern the interior lives of the characters. And good, in that equal attention is given to the strong female leads.
Interesting, and a little different from my usual fare, and good to read (some of) Tolkien's source or inspirational material.
Also interesting, in the sense of community justice, outlaws, the running feuds (and how they're rarely forgiven), and - something I didn't know (but should have) - Iceland when first settled was somewhat (25-40%) forested. It was those damned Vikings that made it the grassy knoll we all think of today.
Anyways, from then on to my next read - Jan Harold Brunvand's "Too Good To Be True" - a compilation of Urban Legends. The same author as wrote "The Vanishing Hitchhiker", and what a change in tone!. Fortunately it's a simple read, I'm looking forward to some more substantial fare.
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- Category: Books
The City
And, finally, home, not missing the city, not at all, not one iota, not a teeny-little bit.
It's the summing of late-stage capitalism, where the rich are being divided from the poor, the poor, unseen, invisible, walking the streets addled with their backpacks and shopping carts, and those, the security guards that patrol the malls and sacred spaces, to keep them out, themselves only a few short steps or slight misfortune away from being in the same situation.
The malls, restaurants, thrift shops, overflowing, the panic to buy more stuff, shop more, consume more, the "Live goes on as normal" when the briefest look around would assure you that nothing is even slightly, not even the teeniest bit, normal, but let's all just keep on pretending...
It's as bad here, everywhere, it's a cancer that's spreading, growing exponentially, the numbers of the disenfranchised, those without work, homes, vehicles, it's doubling every couple of years, and we're building taller skyscrapers, digging up roads, paving, the gap between the rich and the poor represented in the vertical stratification of the cities, building up, build +15 levels so that the rich never walk on the street and see the uncomfortable truths of their privilege, not that they would notice, we've become quickly blind to the invisible thousands that wander without hope, purpose or home.
Addiction is not the cause, it's the symptom, when to have 2 jobs is no guarantee that you'll be able to afford lodging or food, and why, then, would you do so? To give up your life merely to survive is slavery, done now under the guise of capitalism, a free-for all where the money's been divided and that little bit of hope is daily grown less and less.
So it goes, and I'm back to my own smaller world, but a world where I largely know the players and can make a small difference in the outcomes.
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- Category: Rants
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