Just take a look at the literature…
I’m not a historian by any stretch of the imagination, and those that have read any of my Pair of Normal Girls stories would be quick to point that out. But his statement got me thinking - what would have been the tell-tale signs of an impending revolution ? I mean, Russia is Hell-bent to get the country back into the fold, there had to been something out there which was just simmering below the surface.
Then it hit me - just take a look at the literature. And not only any literature - look at horror.
The Bias is in the Missing
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in the United States has also been difficult to gather. Contributing to this difficulty is the fact that many times when Indigenous women and girls go missing, or when Indigenous murder victims are unidentified, forensic evidence has not been accurately collected or preserved by local law enforcement. Cases have been allowed to quickly go "cold", and crucial evidence has been "lost", or never forwarded on from local law enforcement to the appropriate agencies.
Recognizing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
data on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in the United States has also been difficult to gather. Contributing to this difficulty is the fact that many times when Indigenous women and girls go missing, or when Indigenous murder victims are unidentified, forensic evidence has not been accurately collected or preserved by local law enforcement. Cases have been allowed to quickly go "cold", and crucial evidence has been "lost", or never forwarded on from local law enforcement to the appropriate agencies.
Enjoy the Silence
The first amendment states (among other things) that Congress shall not make a law abridging the freedom of speech. Since Congress cannot pass a law regarding what persons can say or write it falls to the independent actors to censor behaviors. Elizabeth Purdy defines Censors as those who seek to limit freedom of thought and expression by restricting spoken words, printed matter, symbolic messages, freedom of association, books, art, music, movies, television programs, and Internet sites. When the government engages in censorship, First Amendment freedoms are implicated. The Courts have several tests associated with the First Amendment to determine if an action is protected speec
Valedictions
Lunatic Fringe.
What is there to say for this week ? The chaos that has reigned down upon the Capital is, for most, disheartening. Legal experts from both sides of the aisle will be damning acts of this “insurrection” - and they should.
It’s Two AM
Could You Be…Won’t You Be…
It’s been a big week. November is coming, and all sorts of discussion points have been tossed around from or at either side of the political aisle. RBG has passed, with the predicable response from all sides about “going nuclear”. Fires are still burning out West, and in our cities. Rhetoric is being made from all walks of life regarding “justice” with limited definition of what that term really means. Sometimes, the adage that “one’s emotional response is inversely proportional to their understanding” seems more of a reality.
On the Horror of Loss.
CYBERPUNK Thoughts
In my interpretation of the genre, the stories take on great action sequences and requires the reader to take a giant leap of reality. What I find fascinating, and fearful, as I read about the “woke culture” is how more Cyberpunk we are becoming. The current perception of inequality regarding US society and policing, the technological equality among all sides (looking at social media, the medical technology regarding gender realignment and policies governing societal impact), the perception that the government is weak in the influence of companies, the legalization of marijuana. All these things point to the growth of the Cyberpunk movement, irrespective of peoples’ political view.
Got Halloween ?
I remember distinctly a whole summer somewhere in ‘80-’88 (it may have been longer) where 7-11 ran a special on Slurpees where you could get a pair of 3-D glasses with a purchase. All the families on my block bought up these glasses - some of us sharing between families. The draw ? Channel 20 was showing all these black-and-whites from back in the day - Creature of the Black Lagoon and the Crystal Skull come to mind. It was cool knowing that at that specific time that everyone you knew was coming together at that specific time to enjoy the same entertainment.
Interpretation on Unrest
A dell, a quiet tree filled valley, lies uninhabited by man as it been turned into a soldier’s graveyard. The people had gone to war. The heavens at night, stars distant in their towers view these circumstances as unimportant (“mild-eyed”) and minuscule when compared to that with the Cosmos. The light of day, showing he redness of the ground provides scope to humans visiting the site of grief, they remark on the restlessness.
I’ll Show You Fear…
So, we have in one hand, this concept that we come from and return to nothingness , and on the other hand a responsibility for authority figures to nourish and maintain their lands before the end comes for them. The desolation of the arid plain stands to instill fear in the reader that society will fall into disarray and destruction either from things forgotten in shadow of the past, or unplanned in the future, and require good leadership before entropy sets in.
...and it turned into a Barroom Blitz...
In my last blog, Never Split up the Party, I addressed the use of isolation in horror or suspense movies and RPGs to heighten tension. Some of the recent commentary I’ve seen in Social Media as well as in familial and social circles regarding past and present events regarding racially-charged clashes seem on the surface diametrically opposed ; support for either side of aisle is considered “wrong”. What I want to do today is examine social disorder (“rioting”) in its form as a protest, some of the driving factors, and how the horror industry has leveraged this dissonance as a voice to the populace.