Why we argue, and how we heal.

We got into a fight Saturday morning, a good one, but not really a real one. It started off simply, over something that could have easily been batted away, like that pestering fly that lands on your knee. But instead, I chose to pounce, to dig in, and then to not let it go. More than once Josey tried to calm things over, to move on, but I refused. 

So we argued about the dumb shit that doesn't really mean anything but in the moment, for whatever reason, means everything. 

Later that morning, I found myself sitting on the edge of our bed, alone, and thinking, "What the hell am I doing? Why am I choosing this fight?"

It didn't take long for the answer to surface, but because I'm bullheaded it did take a decent amount of time for me to head down the stairs and seek forgiveness. 

A few hours later, the van was packed and we were headed to the Badlands.

I don't know if other couples argue and find themselves divided over the dumbest things couples can bicker about, I just know we do. Sometimes it's because the stress and excitement of finally spending Thanksgiving with family suddenly crashes, minutes before takeoff. Other times its because there's been some miscommunication and I was supposed to be home by 5:15, not 6:30. 

I also know that, for us, sitting in a van with fresh coffee wafting from cupped hands, an atlas on the dash, kids in the back, and hours and hours of road ahead, we heal.

We talk about the past few weeks, then sit in silence and watch the miles blur by. We talk about our hopes and dreams, or fears of failure, and of future trips. We talk about what's been on our hearts and eating our minds. Then Josey sits in the back with the girls and they laugh and whisper and sleep. Judah sits up front and talks like a young man and scours the atlas for shortcuts and upcoming cities. He quizzes me on capitals and I tell him of the time my family drove west and my dad lost his wallet on the camper. 

Soon Josey returns and we discuss and sit and be some more. Because the laundry's at home, because lesson plans can be done later Sunday night, and because our cellphones are down and we're just there, together. 

And I love that.

Invisibilia : Season 4

It's here!

As the sun broke through the mountain-peak clouds and then crawled over the trees and building tops, I made my way to work this morning, on foot, listening to episode one of Invisibilia's newest season. About five  minutes into the episode, the anticipated, "welcome to the fourth season of Invisibilia. I’m Hanna Rosin and I'm Alix Spiegel" washed through my earbuds, and a quick chill shivered down my spine (no joke).

Because I love this podcast and I've been so excited for it to start. And episode one, “I, I, I. Him” did disappoint. 

I've written before on some of my favorite episodes: I Think That's Love and Advice from Lord Birthday, but really, any show of any season is worth listening. The topics they choose, the stories they tell, and the way they flow seamlessly through it all creates about the best 45-ish minutes of any podcast out there. Including This American Life and Revisionist History, which are two of my other top favorites.

They're just so good.

Here's the trailer for season 4:

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Favorite Podcasts

Podcast : Why do people believe in faith healing?

Since a 1906 revival in Los Angeles, people around the world say they’ve been cured by the Holy Spirit after preachers with the Gift of Healing laid their hands on them. Skeptics scoff, but science’s explanations are kind of vague. So what’s going on here?

Listening to this podcast, with religion in general on my mind, was extremely challenging. 

Since a pentecostal revival in Jerusalem, people around the world say they've been saved by the Holy Spirit after Jesus and the Gift of Salvation was bestowed on them. Skeptics scoff, but science's explanations are kind of vague. So what's going on here?

Some days, the answer is "faith."

Other days, I feel duped. 

But what I found most interesting was that anyone, of any religion or non, could listen to this podcast, replace "Faith Healing" with whatever they believe, and the outcome would be the same: mankind taking advantage of others, for the purpose of personal gain. Yet, so few question or consider or even imagine that they might be wrong, that their beliefs and answers and absolute truths may very well be a hoax.

Because to question another's belief is expected, even divine; questioning one's own is weak and immature, even wrong. 

Which just sounds scary to me.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Favorite Podcasts

The Twilight Zone : The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Twilight Zone - The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street from Kevin on Vimeo.

The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices - to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own - for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to The Twilight Zone.

"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" first aired in 1960, following the red scare of the 1950s, and has been considered one of the shows staple episodes ever since (via). Over the years and through the generations, this episode has stood the test of time because Maple Street represents every street, town, and people group. Because not matter the color or the age, our hearts are still the same.

It's depiction of a seemingly perfect neighborhood breaking apart after a simple moment of confusion, of how quickly the simple thoughts, attitudes, and prejudices reveal themselves, of how neighbors can turn on neighbors - even gunning them down in the streets - is a reality that stretches beyond our rough neighborhoods, our "other side of the tracks" neighborhoods, and our Muslim or immigrant neighborhoods, because Maple Street is all of our neighborhoods - even Andy Griffith's.

"The twist revealed at the end," TIME magazine writes, "leaves little hope for other towns" because, as the narrator states at the end of the episode, "Prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all it own - for the children and for the children yet unborn." 

One to the other. One to the other. One to the other.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  On Living  :  Short Films  :  Inspiring Art

Second Hand Lovers : by Oren Lavie

SECOND HAND LOVERS / OREN LAVIE from Oren Lavie on Vimeo.

A modern day bachelor shares his apartment with the memory of all his past lovers put together. In his fantasy they all share a harmonious loving relationship, synced into one being. The fantasy falls apart when he meets a real woman and has to choose between the safety of daydreaming and the challenges of real love (via).

Oren Lavie (writer/director) uses a relationship to express the struggle between safety and reality- and for good reason, because so many of our relationships and lives are ruined or inspired by those we've loved or hoped to love. 

They dance in the halls of our lives, sit with us as we sip our morning coffee, wave us out the door, and wait patiently for us to return. They're there when we watch movies, when we toss and turn on sleepless nights, when we read the morning paper, alone, with only our coffee to keep us company, and they're there when the door opens and she, our new hope at love, walks through the door.

At first, the new love makes all previous experiences dull and still, because the newness is alive and full of life (the plant!). Yet, all the while there's a similarity to it all (making out on the couch) and a comparison (her rubbing her neck), until suddenly, from behind the couch, the mundane, the routine, the past slips up from behind the couch. Then suddenly, it and they are everywhere, dancing all around and invade the couch (and stop the dance).

At first, it's only one, then several, and they consume the couch, pushing reality to the edges, until it can no longer exist and must move out and on, becoming another dream, another hope failed, who leaves with the plant and forever haunts. 

Yet, she smiles. 

Why? Why does she smile?

I've watched this short film several times and the only conclusion I can come up with is that that too is part of the daydream, that these woman, these hopes and dreams like to be part of the endless, dull cycle. That they enjoy existing in his endless daydream rather than living in his reality. Because how else could he exist? (After watching this with my Junior students, I kind of like their explanation better - "because they won. The memories won, not the real girl."

Damn.

The safety in daydreaming is that it is complete bullshit. We often remember ourselves better than we were, pick and choose what we love and like most out of ourselves and people and events, and imagine, amidst all our gross and disturbing faults, that people remember and think of us with a smile. That they are waiting patiently by the window, waiting for us to return. 

The same goes for dreams.

Reality, however, doesn't dance seductively while we work and type and head to the bathroom to take our morning poop. It punches us in the teeth or walks out the door. It requires us to work and fight and get outside ourselves and our daily routines. It asks of us to change, to grow, and to fight for the space on the couch.

Otherwise, instead of catching hold of the beautiful and wonderful of life, we end up alone, with the elusion of smiles, and the promise of a lonely, empty future filled with daydreams.

This film is the award winning 2nd installment in the BEDROOM TRILOGY, a visual adaptation of the BEDROOM CRIMES album." The first installment is DID YOU REALLY SAY NO.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  On Living  :  Short Films  :  Inspiring Art

On making paper and writing letters

The Papermaker is a short documentary about Gangolf Ulbricht, one of the last handcrafting papermakers in Europe. He "makes unique tree- free papers by hand for international artists, conservators, photographers, printers and many more.

He learned his uniqe craft in Germany, Japan, France and England" (via). 

The Papermaker from Kings&Kongs on Vimeo.

Paper has character. You can tell from the product whether there are things going on beneath the surface . . . paper can have the power of life and death. Paper can be the bearer of emotions. A love letter comes to mind.

Author Simon Garfield says that the art of letter writing is dying, and for obvious reasons: Email. Email has transformed our world, making communicating much faster, much easier, and much more efficient. But what these emails lack, according to Garfield, is depth and emotion. They tend to be much more factual and functional, rather than personal. We read, write, send, then move on and read, write, send – quickly forgetting what we read, wrote, and sent.

Letters, however, take time. And not just to write, but the whole process. There’s the finding of the address, writing it out, finding a stamp, stamping it, then getting the letter to the mailbox. All the while, we could have written over a dozen emails. Emails that, over the course of just a few hours, will have been lost in the shuffle, deleted, or ignored.

I could possibly say the same for journals. When I used to keep an actual paper journal, I did a lot more doodling, more comic style writing (I'm in no way an artist, but I would feel the freedom to try, because who would know?). But then I would forget the journal on a plane, in a taxi, or wherever else journals are forgotten. That's even why I started blogging, which I've learned to truly enjoy, but still. Something personal seems to be lost. 

Letters though, good thought provoking and sincere letter make an impact and are not easily forgotten. They are personal and a physical manifestation of how much someone means to you. Which is why they are found pinned to caulk boards or placed carefully inside our favorite books, so that they can come back to life, over and over again.

Just like Gangolf Ulbricht's paper.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  : On Writing  :  Open Thoughts

BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN AND SUBSCRIBE - THANKS FOR READING!

Featured Photographer : Sebastiao Salgado

Sebastião Salgado’s early influences included Lewis Hine, W Eugene Smith and Walker Evans. Much like his heros, Salgado developed a style in black and white that found beauty in brutal subjects of poverty, hardship and oppression of various cultures under the wake of industrialization to the native landscape (via).

With a photojournalistic, monochromatic style that combines complexity with a high sense of drama, his work is dedicated to awareness of conditions of both wildlife and humans (via).

Salgado’s work raised global awareness to varying human conditions which revealed "the often harsh conditions of large scale industrial sites including oil fields and commercial fisheries" (via).

In 2004, after decades of seeing and capturing the worst humanity has to offer, "his work shifted to landscape and wildlife as he began his work on Genesis, a collection of images from some of the most remote parts of the world."

"Salgado aimed to capture landscape that is completely untouched by humans" (via). 

For forty years, Salgado documented deprived societies in hidden corners of the world, and the images, the people, and the experiences slowly yet methodically took its toll - his soul became sick, "I no longer believed in anything," Salgado found, "in any salvation for the human species."

It was then that he returned to his Brazilian home to began a new project: restoring the rainforest and mending his soul. 

For a deeper, more intimate glimpse into Sebastiao Salgado's heart and mind and camera, check out The Salt of the Earth, a film directed by Salgado's son that explores the life and loves and work of the brilliant Sebastião Salgado.

Here's a trailer of the film.

Little did I know that I was going to discover much more than just a photographer.

And so will you.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Photography  :  Inspiring art  :  Salgados's Instagram  :  Documentaries

Abatani Beauty : A woman from yesterday

For us Abatani, the nose plugs, the ear plugs and the facial tattoo are very beautiful.

. . .

But nowadays, {they youth} look like any other tribe.

. . .

No more nose plugs, no moe ear plugs, no more tattoos, only modern dresses.

“On matters of style, swim with the current,” Thomas Jefferson allegedly advised, “on matters of principal, stand like a rock" (Grant, pg 13). But, for the sake of style, of fitting in, and finding acceptance, what have we lost? In a world that is advancing so rapidly, is traveling so easily, and is merging so constantly, are we losing the beauty and vitality of cultures, differences, and identity? Are we simply melding into one bland people group, swimming in the same direction, trying to find some rock of principal with which to grab hold of?

It appears so.

Style is birthed from principals and therefore cannot be divorced from them because style is the manifestation of one's convictions, one's principals. To get rid of style is to get rid of voice, of culture, and identity.

They should therefore be held to and defended with the strength and stability of a rock, not swimming with the current, looking like any other fish and culture and tribe.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Inspiration  :  On Creativity  

Born of Accidents : Free-Diving Under Ice

There is no place for fear, no place for panic. No place for mistakes. Under the ice, you need total control.

Johanna {the film} was born of accidents. Nordblad {the swimmer} began free-diving after suffering an injury; she was required to submerge in freezing water for treatment. Derry {the filmmaker}, too, suffered an accident and received a settlement, which he used to fund the film, his first directorial effort. “I wanted to do something positive from the negative,” the filmmaker told The Atlantic. “When I think back, it was quite fortuitous that accident happened" (via).

"Wanted to do something positive from the negative." I like that. Love it actually. And I love how Derry's intentionality to embrace or prepare for the negative allowed him to create - to succeed.

“This is not something you can do without a proper approach," Derry explains, "Safety was paramount. We needed a safety team in and out of the water, so we had to be very precise.” He and his team needed to be intentional.

"The main enemy," according to The Atlantic, "was the cold, which drained the camera’s batteries during the first two minutes of filming. Later, in the -16 ºC air temperature, the camera froze. Water leaked into the monitor" (via). 

Despite the various setbacks, or rather, because of Derry's intentionality towards the various setbacks, they couldn't destroy him and his team from capturing "the serene beauty of Nordblad’s sport." And there's something very convicting, very challenging, about that approach to circumstances and to life.

When days or seasons or life seem born of accidents, embrace the setbacks and make something beautiful.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Inspiration  :  Embracing hardships  :  On Living

Regarding the Pain of Others, by Susan Sontag

I thought this book was going to be about more than what it was, but I still found it worth reading because, if nothing else, it raised some pretty provocative thoughts and questions. And any book that can do that at least once is worth reading, at least once.

Here are some of the highlights:

The photographs are a means of making “real” (or “more real”) matters that the privileged and the merely safe might prefer to ignore (pg 7).

This reminded me of Jacob Riis and his revolutionary work, "How the Other Half Live" which exposed the rich and privileged to the reality of how many lower income families lived. His work is largely credited with the reform in child labour laws and opening the door to a new way of thinking about the world - Realism.

We are not monsters, we members of the educated class. Our failure is one of imagination, of empathy; we have failed to hold this reality in mind (pg 8).

This sentiment struck a cord with me because it doesn't simply apply to financial status, but all. To those who are emotionally wealthy, to those who are physically or mentally healthy, political or religious it doesn't matter. Those who have find it difficult, at times, to imagine a life that does not. 

In contrast to a written account – which, depending on its complexity of thought, reference, and vocabulary, is pitched at a larger or smaller readership – a photograph has only one language and is destined potentially for all (pg 20).

The slight of hand allows photographs to be both objective record and personal testimony, both a faithful copy or transcription of an actual moment of reality and an interpretation of that reality – a feat literature has long aspired to, but could never attain in this literal sense (pg 26).

This might apply to most writers, but whenever I ask my students to draw what they see in "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams, they all draw - almost to perfection - the exact same thing. It doesn't matter the age, the ethnicity, the location, or anything else, it's all the same. And that's pretty amazing.

Photography is the only major art in which professional training and years of experience do not confer an insuperable advantage over the untrained and inexperienced  - this for many reasons, among them that large role that chance (or luck) plays in the taking of pictures, and the bias toward the spontaneous, the rough, the imperfect. (There is no comparable level playing field in literature, where virtually nothing owes to chance or luck and where refinement of language usually incurs no penalty; or in the performing arts, where genuine achievement is unattainable without exhaustive training and daily practice; or in filmmaking, which is not guided to any significant degree by the anti-art prejudices of much of contemporary art photography) – pg 28,29

This is perhaps the single most reason why photography is so popular, but also why it is so difficult. Anyone can take a good shot once or perhaps just a few times, but to capture the moment, the mood, or the spirit of a moment time and time again takes experience and expertise. Just like any other art form.

What does it mean to protest suffering, as distinct from acknowledge it? 

I don't know, but that's a great question. I'll have to think more on it.

But surely the wounded Taliban soldier begging for his life whose fate was pictured prominently in The New York Times also had a wife, children, parents, sisters and brothers, some of whom may one day come across the three color photographs of their husband, father, son, brother being slaughtered – if they have not already seen them (pg 73).

This quote really struck me. Because it's right. How often do I see the death and suffering of people all over the world and forget, especially in times of conflict, that they too are fathers, sons, brothers, and friends. That they too will have people weeping over the loss of life. That they too are just as human. 

For photographs to accuse, and possibly to alter conduct, they must shock” (pg 81). Yet, “Shock can become familiar. Shock can wear off (pg 82).

Which then begs for more provocative, more shocking photographs, which dulls us even more. The question here that isn't asked but should be is how long will this cycle continue before we no longer feel shock at all? Before all suffering and abuse is simply familiar?

And what can we do to fight against it?

 

Resources:

-       Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

-       Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, by Walker Evans

-       Kazuo Hara’s, The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On

 

To Consider:

-       The planting of the American flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945 by photographer Joe Rosenthal was reenacted. It was staged. Is this okay? For the purpose it was wanting to serve, was it okay to reproduce an event? It has inspired thousands and has become an iconic moment and image of American history . . . does that fact that it isn't completely authentic in time and space make it any less relevant or powerful of a moment? Of what it symbolizes? 

-       How could church going citizens create and use postcards that depict lynched and murdered African American men and woman? But even before that, how could church going citizens LYNCH AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN AND WOMAN?!?!? And how can they/we still do it today?

What will people be saying of us, in just a few short years from now?

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Reading Log 2017  :  Reading Log 2018

"To feel alive again" : The Boho's Lament

A tribute to Phillip and his storytelling that celebrates the New York City he once knew - via

The Boho's Lament from Dustin Cohen on Vimeo.

A tribute to Phillip and his storytelling that celebrates the New York City he once knew - via

"I want to sing the song of my life to the world with a guitar and a park bench.

I wanna get crazy, get high, get excited, get happy, get creative, get arrested.

I just want to feel alive again.

I've been to New York a few times. The last time I was there, I bought an "I (heart) NY" t-shirt. I regret it.

Because it was just a facade. 

Because I didn't actually feel a thing.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Documentaries  :  Photos of NY from the early 1920's   :  The people Joseph Rodriguez saw through the windshield.

Francois Clemmons : becoming Mr. Rogers' Neighbor

Officer Clemmons was one of the first reccuring black characters in a children's tv program, but initially, actor Francois Clemmons was reluctant to take the role because he had grown up in the late 60's white America, and for him, cops were not people to be trusted, or imitated. But when Fred Rogers started talking about the "children needing helpers and the positive influence {he} could have on young children," Francois decided to take the role.

He then went on to play officer Clemmons for the next thirty years.

Here is the full episode. The scene with Fred and Officer Clemmons starts at 5:54 and runs till 10:15. It's worth the watch.

What I love about this scene is that Fred Rogers, with such acute purpose, is breaking down the social and racial barriers that so many white Americans of his time worked so hard to keep, that the African American people were nothing like white America and should therefore be forever segregated.

So Fred Rogers asks Officer Clemmons to sing, giving him skill and beauty and craft, something that didn't fit into the single story of who and what black America was.

Then he invites him to sit by the pool with him - a taboo for many white Americans. And when they've finished, Fred Rogers washes Officer Clemmons' feet, showing humility and honor to a black man in a way that aggressively (yet gently) contradicted the images and popular opinions of the day - white's serving blacks, are you kidding!?

Lastly, he softly asks, "Did you ever take a bath in a little pool like this, when you were a boy?"

"I sure did," Officer Clemmons responds. And this is perhaps my favorite part because suddenly, Officer Clemmons, a black man who was fully and completely different, is suddenly relatable, he's suddenly a child who cooled off in a plastic pool on hot summer days, just like the white kids. Suddenly, all the kids and parents all across American, no matter their color, their religion, or their age had something in common with Officer Clemmons. Suddenly, and subtley, Officer Clemmons is more than a simple stereotype, he's human. 

"To say that he didn't know what he was doing, or that he accidentely stumbled into integration or talking about racism or sexism, that's not Mr. Rogers." 

There are many ways to say, "I love you" Office Clemmons sang, but for Fred Rogers they all boiled down to one: seeing and treating people with dignity, not matter how they looked or talked or lived. He just loved them. 

And he encouraged us to do the same.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Mr. Rogers and the Power of Persuasion  :  The History of Mr. Rogers Sweaters

Andy Taylor, on why he doesn’t carry a gun

I’m not a “we need to return to the days of Mayberry” sort of guy, but it’s hard not to respect Andy. Especially when he says things like this.

 It’s incomplete for sure, but there’s enough here to chew on for a long while.

Featured Photographer : Hajjat Hamidi

Thanks to my wife, I recently came across this Iranian photographer, Hojjat Hamidi, and I think it's time you do too.

Untitled

Untitled

Ever wonder what people are thinking? I do. And I could sit and stare and wonder at this photograph for hours.

Shepherd and his lamb

The Horse Story

When my wife saw this she said, "Who takes photos like this?" and I wasn't sure how to answer because I couldn't pull myself out of this moment. Just gorgeous. 

To see more of Hojjat Hamidi photos, follow him on Instagram. He has over 26.6k followers, so I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Photography  :  Inspiring art

The Other Half : February

Ideas, articles, videos, and others things I've found interesting but never posted. 

Films:

You Are My Friend - a film based on the life of Jim Neighbors (Mr. Roger's Neighborhood) is currently in the works with Tom Hanks taking the lead roll.  Production will begin this fall. And I'm more giddy about it.

Edith and Eddie - Nominated for an Academy Award®, Edith+Eddie is a devastating film about the country’s oldest interracial newlyweds. Edith and Eddie are deeply in love, but that’s not where the story ends.

Field of Vision: Concussion protocol - a extremely well crafted, short visual documentary on the viciousness of the NFL, and the dangers that hide behind every highlight hit. "It’s not a headache. It’s not 'getting your bell rung.' You don’t have a bell. It’s a traumatic brain injury. Every single concussion is a new traumatic brain injury. In addition to the torn ACLs and MCLs, in addition to all of the horrible broken bones, the NFL diagnosed at least 281 traumatic brain injuries this season" (via).

-N- Stuff:

Enjoyed listening to this conversation with Jay-Z about race, music, the benefit of Trump as president, and the power of conversation. He isn't perfect - by any stretch of the imagination - but I appreciated the conversation, and the conversations it should inspire.

The 2018 Underwater Photos of the Year are out! Which is a little strange, because it's mid February, but I digress. "The standard of this year's entry was even better than last year... and that should in no way belittle last year's because they blew us away then!" Peter Rowlands, Chair of the jury 2018.

Outdoor LIving:

Dabney and Alan decided they wanted to live in a Fire lookout so they built one in the mountains of Oregon. And it's pretty friggen amazing. 

On Pancakes:

These are not the images of the moon you're looking for. Because they're pancakes. 

BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN AND SUBSCRIBE - THANKS FOR READING!

Jesus of Siberia is a sort of Handmaid's Tale come to life.

My friend described it as terrifying, and I wouldn't disagree. 

Last year, around this time, I read Silence by Shusaku Endo and found it to be one of the most challenging and favorites of the year. I don't think I will say the same for The Handmaid's Tale, but for many reasons, they strike me as fairly similar, but also radically different.

If Silence is a challenging of the nuts and bolts of truth, The Handmaid's Tale questions the structure altogether, painting a pretty intense and disturbing picture in the process.

Specifically, the role and power and abuse of religion.

Like the kind of power Jesus has, in Siberia.

For me, it's almost easy to watch this and point out the weirdos, the brainwashed, and the "holy shit you can't be serious!" individuals. But then I found myself wondering, if Jesus of Nazareth were alive today, or if Vice News were around then, wouldn't the locals and surrounding communities see Him in much the same way?

Maybe. Probably. 

Because the followers of Jesus of Siberia speak much the same as those who follow Jesus of Nazareth. So what makes them sound so crazy?

(Narrator) Rocco Castoro: "Is there anything, perhaps, you disagree with here, with the teaching?"

(Follower) Tamriko Dgebuadze: "No, no, no, no."

Because, "Disagreeing with Vissarion's teachings is rare." And somewhat terrifying. 

The girls at the local school learn from "The Teacher" how to, live in peace with each other, how to behave with a man, and learn that "man is a creator", "master", because man "must build a house and comprehend masculine professions." 

And there's no other option. Because a woman taking on "leadership positions" are taking man's responsibilities, which will only lead to disharmony. If she rejects these rules, she puts her health at risk and the "harmony will punish her with a woman'd disease."

This is what makes The Handmaid's Tale so terrifying. Because it isn't that far off, it isn't that impossible. It could be right around the corner. 

A few favorite quotes:

But remember that forgiveness too is power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest (pg 133).

When guilt and shame weigh heavy upon the shoulders, we will do most anything to rid ourselves of it, or die trying. 

Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it isn't really about who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death. Maybe it isn't about who can sit and who has to kneel or stand or lie down, legs spread open. Maybe it's about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it (pg 133).

Like molesting woman, like speaking the unthinkable towards men and woman of another color and country, like infidelity, dishonesty, and bigotry. Yet, given a muligan and allowed to continue, without ever having to make amends or take responsibility. 

Now that's power, The Handmaid's Tale sort of power. A God-like power. 

A terrifying sort of power.

Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse, for some (pg 211).

More to come on this later. But for now . . . WoW. I'll be soaking on this for a long while.

People will do anything rather than admit that their lives have no meaning. No use, that is. No plot (pg 215).

Even follow bogus religions, ideas, philosophies, or lies. Because it lets us sleep at night and wake in the morning. Because it gives us hope. Even if it is false, and empty.

The Handmaid's Tale is now a Hulu special. If I can stomach to watch it, it will only be to serve as a reminder and a caution. Because truly, this scares the shit out of me.

Because truly, it could be right around the corner.

TED-Ed also thinks you should read it, with a slightly better, more bells and whistles type of argument.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Reading Log 2017  :  Reading Log 2018

Here I am, by The Boxer Rebellion

Fell in love with this song today, Here I am, by The Boxer Rebellion.

 I'll follow, blindly, however unlikely, that I'd find you, I'd find you. I just knew.

Here I am.

I lost you once I don't wanna lose you again.

This song is haunting and deeply moving. Yet, somehow, it is also romantic, in a raw and dangerously open sort of way.

The melody, the violin and piano, the pacing and the buildup. The pleading, "Here I am," and "I don't want to lose you again."

It's terrible and sad. Yet, so beautiful.

And I just love it.

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-N- Stuff  :  Music  :  Music Videos

A Gun's Life : Why we should expect more shootings

Today, I woke up, read, drank some coffee, slipped on the ice outside our house, then drove to work. As usual. 

When I got to my classroom I prepped for the day, made copies of some PDP notes for the novels my students are reading, then checked my emails. As usual.

When students began to walk the halls and fill their seats, I found it difficult to carry on the day, as usual.

So before each class, we talked about the shootings, the problems and solutions, and why it seems to happen so damn often (Since 2013, there have been nearly 300 school shootings in America — an average of about one a week - via).

We had more questions than we did solutions.

During lunch, I came across this video:

Guns Found Here from MEL Films on Vimeo.

There are more gun shops in the US than Starbucks, McDonalds, and supermarkets put together.

That statistic was startling to me, terrifying actually, because if you want to know what a person, community, or country loves, look at where they spend their money and you will find the gods they serve.

We’re sacrificing America’s children to “our great god Gun”:

The gun is not a mere tool, a bit of technology, a political issue, a point of debate. It is an object of reverence. Devotion to it precludes interruption with the sacrifices it entails. Like most gods, it does what it will, and cannot be questioned. Its acolytes think it is capable only of good things. It guarantees life and safety and freedom. It even guarantees law. Law grows from it. Then how can law question it?

I'm not convinced that guns are the problem and that if we are to only get rid of them, all problems will be erased. However, I am convinced that if in fact getting rid of guns would prevent 100% of the shootings in schools, America at large would still cling to their rights, their freedoms, and their guns. And that shootings would continue.

But not so, in Japan.

A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths:

The only guns that Japanese citizens can legally buy and use are shotguns and air rifles, and it’s not easy to do. The process is detailed in David Kopel’s landmark study on Japanese gun control, published in the 1993 Asia Pacific Law Review, still cited as current. (Kopel, no left-wing loony, is a member of the National Rifle Association and once wrote in National Review that looser gun control laws could have stopped Adolf Hitler.)

To get a gun in Japan, first, you have to attend an all-day class and pass a written test, which are held only once per month. You also must take and pass a shooting range class. Then, head over to a hospital for a mental test and drug test (Japan is unusual in that potential gun owners must affirmatively prove their mental fitness), which you’ll file with the police. Finally, pass a rigorous background check for any criminal record or association with criminal or extremist groups, and you will be the proud new owner of your shotgun or air rifle. Just don’t forget to provide police with documentation on the specific location of the gun in your home, as well as the ammo, both of which must be locked and stored separately. And remember to have the police inspect the gun once per year and to re-take the class and exam every three years.

Seems like a small price to pay to save our children, our classmates, our teachers, neighbors, friends, parents, and . . . fellow man.

I hear the argument, that we shouldn't blame those who aren't the problem - the responsible gun owners, and that creating more laws is only hurting the law abider, not the law breaker. I get it. But I also don't. 

More than a few of my friends are recovering alcoholics. I, however, am not. But, no matter how much I enjoy a cold drink on a summer evening with the taste and smell of the grill wafting through the air, when they are present, I don't drink. Even though I don't have the struggle, even though I can drink responsibly, I forgo my right to have and drink in my house because I want what's best for the other person. Not just myself. 

This, more than the actual guns, seems to be the bigger more predominant issue - individual rights over the community wellbeing. Japan and other Eastern countries not only have stricter rules and regulations, they also don't have a problem with them being implemented, because they are more of a group society, whereas Western countries care more about the individual. 

Dan Hodges said it this way, "In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over."

That sounds harsh, and I can think of more than a few gun loving friends and family that this doesn't quite relate to, but that doesn't steal much away from the stark truth of the sentiment that the discussion has come to a close. And if we're unwilling to even discuss the possibility of change, nothing ever will. 

In the meantime, expect more shootings. 

(for more excerpts on the United States of Guns, visit Kottke.org).

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Taking of a Buddy :  Hatred in America

Giant Snow Art : Simon Beck

"It started as a bit of fun. But gradually, it's taken over my life."

For the past decade, Simon Beck has been decorating the Alps with his stunning mathematical drawings, created by running in snowshoes across freshly laid snow. Each image takes him up to 11 hours to make and covers an area about 100m x 100m, requiring him to travel up to 25 miles as he marks out the pattern (via).

Recently, he's diversified into beach art. 

Watching artists being artists is always inspiring and encouraging to the heart and soul. It reminds me that the purpose of art is to express the beat and conscious of humanity and, if possible, to make or turn that beat into something beautiful, something that makes us stand and wonder of life, of possibilities, and of the greatest things about ourselves we have yet to reveal. Things that could quite easily take over our lives.

Like images in our minds, stomped out on a mountainside, for the world to see.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff   :  Inspiring Art  :  Great Big Stories

Red Gerard wins gold, in slow motion

Inspired by Curtis Jackson, here is Red Gerard's gold medal run, in slow motion, and to the tune of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.

There's something about watching a seventeen year old young man accomplishing such a massive feat under intense pressure that makes me question many things in life. 

Yet, there is something to this as well that is truly inspiring. 

You can watch Red Gerard's run in real time here.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Inspiring Art  :  Rock Climbing to Sigur Ros :  Chinese Dancers to Modest Mouse