(no subject)
Mar. 27th, 2016 03:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* I did make it out to the caucus this morning. There was still parking, but filling fast. I pre-regged, so could just turn in my signed form and leave, as I had no plans to change my vote. It was much better than our old location, where caucus involved a long slow gimp of over a mile each way due to there being next to no parking. The thing that filled me with joy was that the auditorium was filled with twenty somethings. even most of the volunteers were under thirty. Caucuses are generally retired folk, even here, where you don't have to take a day off from work or school, and the people who are willing to turn up for a caucus are the ones most likely to turn up for election and people who start voting young tend to vote for life.
Look, there are a lot of terrifying things going on in this country, but one of the most hopeful things I've seen in a long time was an auditorium full of millennials and the oldest of Gen Z excitedly talking politics as they filled out forms. My generation has always been fucked one way or another and demographically, there have never been nearly enough of us to make much of a difference. Since I saw the demographic figures back in the mid-90's, I've been waiting with deep anticipation for the Millennials to grow up enough to vote in numbers. I know older people like to rant about "kids these days," but I taught Middle School until my boy gave out. People used to ask me questions at parties that assumed the idea of my kids being the voters of the future was a terrifying prospect. I would always counter with stories about how decent, open minded, and progressive my kids were. I said then and I say now that I'm relieved to put the future of this country into the hands of our youth. As a group they are way more interested in doing what is best for the country as a whole than the boomers ever were. Statistics bear me out.
I WANT young people to vote. I want a better future and my whole life Boomers have been steadily dismantling the social safety net, the education system, the progressive tax code, the regulations that used to keep us safe, the infrastructure that allows society to function, etc. all for the benefit of a handful of rich old white men. Fuck that! You vote, Millennials! You vote, Gen Z, the moment you are old enough! Don't give us the future we deserve, give us the future YOU deserve!
* We crossed the 5000 point on "historically Accurate sexism" while I slept. We blew past 5100 in the course of the night. It is strangely pleasing that so many people have read and enjoyed it.
* Yesterday Tavy called for me and I went and sat in the doorway being inviting in cat, but in the end, he thought better of it. Tonight when he called, I brought him goosh and he let me pet him extensively in his mest before eating. After, he called me again, and I came back a. He let me pet him some more, then take him out for pettins by Squirrel too. He sat on my chest and seemed to like it, staying without restraint and purring. When he was done, he went back inside his hide. I left him alone and left LM locked up and he came out to explore, including the pouf, which is right next to me. He wasn't up for more direct contact, but it looked like progress. I gave him some time and he came out a bit later and had a nice game of string with Mache's old crinkle mouse, a good explore of the office area, a nice pettin on the pouf, and a claw sharpening there. Followed by more pettins and more play. And more exploring. And pettins and Play. The crinkle mouse string proved a bit delicate, but I have the knit spider ready for his next foray. I'll collect his moose from the living room when he's done in there. (The mice he came with he's carried off to his hides).
* Black Sails XXVIII (Contains Treasure Island spoilers):
* This logically can't be the treasure's final resting place, as Silver knows it. My question is, has flint already moved it or is he going to?
* I love this opening. Them appearing one by one out of the dark. I know Flint is burying treasure, but it looks like a grave, and given what the gold represents and the blood already spilled, about to be spilled, and going to be spilled in future makes grave digging pretty apt. I was half waiting for Old Hamlet's ghost to appear, if you see what I mean, but it turns out to be Thomas Hamilton's in a more metaphorical sense.
* Flint and Jack Rackham are amoung the few left who really know who Silver is and what he did to them all. I still maintain Jack's days are numbered, but at least we get to keep him into next season.
* Jack Rackham may look silly, but he's clever. It's how he's survived, after all, while surrounded by ruthless men. For all his blind spots and weaknesses, he is very good at outside the box thinking in emergencies and cleverly applied unexpected violence. We saw it when he killed the other pirate captain at his first prize. We were reminded of it at the fort when he shot the man demanding Charles between the eyes. he is used to being the weaker force with Ann, people's tendency to underestimate him, and his wits being his greatest assets. Here, he uses them.
* One doesn't get to be an old pirate without being a very clever pirate. Hornigold is an Old Pirate Captain. Watching him, I think about how likeable Silver will be when he's old. People like him, they want his approval, they trust him. Hornigold looks a lot like Silver's future, all that affable good humor covering an incredibly dangerous predator.
* Eleanor ignores Max's advice again. Note Max hedging her bets between factions. "(Until I know how this game will unfold, I choose to allow the players to reveal themselves to me lest I make an enemy out of someone I may one day wish to call a friend.)" It would be so easy for Woodes to feed the Street Eleanor as a scapegoat later. It's also not certain yet the Empire will win. Max the politician and survivor plans to keep on whatever happens.
* Eleanor has saved Woodes from getting his hands dirty directly. I'm just waiting for him not to need her anymore, at which point I expect him to throw her to the mob.
* So now it's in the open between Flint and Silver. I wonder if it's Silver who will tell Billy? It's hard to guess.
* "Madness is such a hard thing to define, which makes it such an easy label to affix to one’s enemies. Once it had been applied to Thomas, once our relationship had been exposed, defiled, scandalized… everything ended. There were times that I was persuaded to sue for peace since then, but that was the day that on some level I knew… that England was broken… and that sooner or later a good man must resist it." That quiet tone Flint uses to talk about Thomas, this is how I speak of my dead. There was some of that in the conversation with Woodes, but here it's fully formed. This is the stage of grieving I aim for, which sounds terrible, but nearly everyone I loved most are ashes now, most of the rest physically distant. Mourning is something I am far too familiar with. The acute stage is terrible, but grieving is a marathon and not a sprint. It's much easier to live with when you can talk about it naturally. Absence aches, the should have beens ache, but it is better. Flint has been an endless ball of rage. Thomas could never be entirely dead while Flint and Miranda worked towards his vision. The last of Thomas died with her. He has lost the illusion that he can reconcile with Empire, that there is still a place for him within it, and so he's spent this season grieving and has finally reached some measure of acceptance. He can talk about it now, to people who weren't there. Describing it frankly to Silver is an important part of the process. His flatness in between bouts of rage this season has everything to do with grief he can't express. Now he's expressed it.
* Silver is rattling his tail again. He has consistently told Flint who he is and what he wants. "My association with you began out of necessity, but I've come to find a great deal of respect for you. Perhaps even friendship, which is why I find myself unnerved by the thought that when this pattern applies itself to you and I... that I will be the end of you." And "Now, three who preceded me all had one thing in common. They were vulnerable to you. Had more to lose than you, less means with which to protect themselves than you. Till recently, I thought that was me as well, but now... I don't know that it is anymore." Flint's been warned.
* I have really been enjoying the Blackbeard/Jack Rackham interactions this season. Jack's fanboying and desperation to please contrasted with Blackbeard's open disgust. "I will say this for him. In recent weeks, among the disturbing number of people who’ve tried to kill one or the both of us, he is not among them. Charles was, in some sense, a son to him, and Charles was, in some sense, a brother to us. I couldn’t tell you what that makes us to him, but something, perhaps."
* Jack reveals the secret of his success, "He believes we are beneath him, tactically incompetent. Why give him any reason to doubt it? To be underestimated is an incredible gift."
* "It's a hard thing to look your successor in the eye and know that their time is nearing while yours is almost through." As surely as it applies to the Queen and Madi, I suspect it is intended to apply to Flint with Silver and Blackbeard with Jack.
* "I once thought that to lead men in this world, to be liked was just as good as feared, and that may very well be true. But to be both liked and feared all at once is an entirely different state of being... in which, I believe, at this moment, I exist alone. The men need to know they're in good favor with me. They need it, and there is nothing they won't do to make sure they have it." John Silver is in agreement with Niccolo Machiavelli. This show is about politics. This show has always been about politics. The focus on the power of Story and the framing of villains is a big part of that.
* The Hornigold and Dobbs thing seemed about right on both sides.
* Ah, Flint, "But in terms of our future and the danger that you believe you may pose to me, bear this in mind. I have survived starvation, a tempest, pirate hunters, jealous captains, mutinous crews, angry lords, a queen, a king, and the goddamn British navy. So to whatever extent you may be concerned that some day we will clash, worried that though today we be friends, some day you will have no choice but to be my end... I won't worry too much." You should. You made him.
* "Doesn’t matter what’s true. Not now, at any rate. We’re creating the appearance of a man out of nothing. The appearance of a man that the resistance against the English feels compelled to rally around. We’ll introduce him. We’ll put flesh on him. We’ll give him a soul. But if the street wants to invest him with more than we can on our own, I won’t fight them about it."
* I love the "Black Spot" likely being bullshit, yet it mattered when Jack was shunned in season two, and it's being used here to terrify. Stories matter. Billy knows the power of story too. Billy is easy to underestimate, like Anne and Charles Vane, but he listens and learns and thinks.
* Has Billy forgotten why he disliked and distrusted Silver? Why he didn't want him in the crew? "I’ve lived too long dependent upon Flint to be the one to hold our ranks together. It’s time we finally had an alternative." The logic is sound: they do desperately need more baskets for their eggs, but at the same time, he's replacing Flint and his conscience with a man who has none. "What flows forth from this house, starting tonight, is a new story for Nassau. I’ve watched her follow madmen. I’ve watched her follow rich men. I’ve watched her bow before tyrants. But now, it’s time she had a king. When we’re ready, when he’s ready, he’ll step into the role we’ve created for him… and lead an impossible army into an unwinnable war… and win it." *shudder*
* I have written before about how Flint and Billy Bones have been training up their own nemesis in Silver. Now Billy is explicitly making Silver into the legend that will haunt him when he is dying. The power of Story.
* EBAYs, Relist:
DIVERSIONS IN THE CHASHITSU 2014 (LE, Lupercalia, Shungas): (Company Says: Green tea, yellow sandalwood, apple blossom, and white bamboo.) just Below Label Top. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301907642671?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
BUT MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT 2009 (LE, Yules): (Company Says: The world will love its darkness: cistus labdanum, ginger, East Indian patchouli, pimento berry, oakmoss, saffron, smoky vanilla, sage, myrrh, and bitter clove.) 2/3 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301907644719?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
* Zimbabwe has joined Ethiopia in disaster level drought People and animals are dying. Want to help? https://www.wfp.org/help
* "How to help Flint, Michigan:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/how-help-flint-michigan
* Want to help finance my meds/medical co pays? Paypal Lethran@gmail.com
* Donate to help refugees: http://donate.unhcr.org/international/general
* A list of LGBTQA Charities: http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
Look, there are a lot of terrifying things going on in this country, but one of the most hopeful things I've seen in a long time was an auditorium full of millennials and the oldest of Gen Z excitedly talking politics as they filled out forms. My generation has always been fucked one way or another and demographically, there have never been nearly enough of us to make much of a difference. Since I saw the demographic figures back in the mid-90's, I've been waiting with deep anticipation for the Millennials to grow up enough to vote in numbers. I know older people like to rant about "kids these days," but I taught Middle School until my boy gave out. People used to ask me questions at parties that assumed the idea of my kids being the voters of the future was a terrifying prospect. I would always counter with stories about how decent, open minded, and progressive my kids were. I said then and I say now that I'm relieved to put the future of this country into the hands of our youth. As a group they are way more interested in doing what is best for the country as a whole than the boomers ever were. Statistics bear me out.
I WANT young people to vote. I want a better future and my whole life Boomers have been steadily dismantling the social safety net, the education system, the progressive tax code, the regulations that used to keep us safe, the infrastructure that allows society to function, etc. all for the benefit of a handful of rich old white men. Fuck that! You vote, Millennials! You vote, Gen Z, the moment you are old enough! Don't give us the future we deserve, give us the future YOU deserve!
* We crossed the 5000 point on "historically Accurate sexism" while I slept. We blew past 5100 in the course of the night. It is strangely pleasing that so many people have read and enjoyed it.
* Yesterday Tavy called for me and I went and sat in the doorway being inviting in cat, but in the end, he thought better of it. Tonight when he called, I brought him goosh and he let me pet him extensively in his mest before eating. After, he called me again, and I came back a. He let me pet him some more, then take him out for pettins by Squirrel too. He sat on my chest and seemed to like it, staying without restraint and purring. When he was done, he went back inside his hide. I left him alone and left LM locked up and he came out to explore, including the pouf, which is right next to me. He wasn't up for more direct contact, but it looked like progress. I gave him some time and he came out a bit later and had a nice game of string with Mache's old crinkle mouse, a good explore of the office area, a nice pettin on the pouf, and a claw sharpening there. Followed by more pettins and more play. And more exploring. And pettins and Play. The crinkle mouse string proved a bit delicate, but I have the knit spider ready for his next foray. I'll collect his moose from the living room when he's done in there. (The mice he came with he's carried off to his hides).
* Black Sails XXVIII (Contains Treasure Island spoilers):
* This logically can't be the treasure's final resting place, as Silver knows it. My question is, has flint already moved it or is he going to?
* I love this opening. Them appearing one by one out of the dark. I know Flint is burying treasure, but it looks like a grave, and given what the gold represents and the blood already spilled, about to be spilled, and going to be spilled in future makes grave digging pretty apt. I was half waiting for Old Hamlet's ghost to appear, if you see what I mean, but it turns out to be Thomas Hamilton's in a more metaphorical sense.
* Flint and Jack Rackham are amoung the few left who really know who Silver is and what he did to them all. I still maintain Jack's days are numbered, but at least we get to keep him into next season.
* Jack Rackham may look silly, but he's clever. It's how he's survived, after all, while surrounded by ruthless men. For all his blind spots and weaknesses, he is very good at outside the box thinking in emergencies and cleverly applied unexpected violence. We saw it when he killed the other pirate captain at his first prize. We were reminded of it at the fort when he shot the man demanding Charles between the eyes. he is used to being the weaker force with Ann, people's tendency to underestimate him, and his wits being his greatest assets. Here, he uses them.
* One doesn't get to be an old pirate without being a very clever pirate. Hornigold is an Old Pirate Captain. Watching him, I think about how likeable Silver will be when he's old. People like him, they want his approval, they trust him. Hornigold looks a lot like Silver's future, all that affable good humor covering an incredibly dangerous predator.
* Eleanor ignores Max's advice again. Note Max hedging her bets between factions. "(Until I know how this game will unfold, I choose to allow the players to reveal themselves to me lest I make an enemy out of someone I may one day wish to call a friend.)" It would be so easy for Woodes to feed the Street Eleanor as a scapegoat later. It's also not certain yet the Empire will win. Max the politician and survivor plans to keep on whatever happens.
* Eleanor has saved Woodes from getting his hands dirty directly. I'm just waiting for him not to need her anymore, at which point I expect him to throw her to the mob.
* So now it's in the open between Flint and Silver. I wonder if it's Silver who will tell Billy? It's hard to guess.
* "Madness is such a hard thing to define, which makes it such an easy label to affix to one’s enemies. Once it had been applied to Thomas, once our relationship had been exposed, defiled, scandalized… everything ended. There were times that I was persuaded to sue for peace since then, but that was the day that on some level I knew… that England was broken… and that sooner or later a good man must resist it." That quiet tone Flint uses to talk about Thomas, this is how I speak of my dead. There was some of that in the conversation with Woodes, but here it's fully formed. This is the stage of grieving I aim for, which sounds terrible, but nearly everyone I loved most are ashes now, most of the rest physically distant. Mourning is something I am far too familiar with. The acute stage is terrible, but grieving is a marathon and not a sprint. It's much easier to live with when you can talk about it naturally. Absence aches, the should have beens ache, but it is better. Flint has been an endless ball of rage. Thomas could never be entirely dead while Flint and Miranda worked towards his vision. The last of Thomas died with her. He has lost the illusion that he can reconcile with Empire, that there is still a place for him within it, and so he's spent this season grieving and has finally reached some measure of acceptance. He can talk about it now, to people who weren't there. Describing it frankly to Silver is an important part of the process. His flatness in between bouts of rage this season has everything to do with grief he can't express. Now he's expressed it.
* Silver is rattling his tail again. He has consistently told Flint who he is and what he wants. "My association with you began out of necessity, but I've come to find a great deal of respect for you. Perhaps even friendship, which is why I find myself unnerved by the thought that when this pattern applies itself to you and I... that I will be the end of you." And "Now, three who preceded me all had one thing in common. They were vulnerable to you. Had more to lose than you, less means with which to protect themselves than you. Till recently, I thought that was me as well, but now... I don't know that it is anymore." Flint's been warned.
* I have really been enjoying the Blackbeard/Jack Rackham interactions this season. Jack's fanboying and desperation to please contrasted with Blackbeard's open disgust. "I will say this for him. In recent weeks, among the disturbing number of people who’ve tried to kill one or the both of us, he is not among them. Charles was, in some sense, a son to him, and Charles was, in some sense, a brother to us. I couldn’t tell you what that makes us to him, but something, perhaps."
* Jack reveals the secret of his success, "He believes we are beneath him, tactically incompetent. Why give him any reason to doubt it? To be underestimated is an incredible gift."
* "It's a hard thing to look your successor in the eye and know that their time is nearing while yours is almost through." As surely as it applies to the Queen and Madi, I suspect it is intended to apply to Flint with Silver and Blackbeard with Jack.
* "I once thought that to lead men in this world, to be liked was just as good as feared, and that may very well be true. But to be both liked and feared all at once is an entirely different state of being... in which, I believe, at this moment, I exist alone. The men need to know they're in good favor with me. They need it, and there is nothing they won't do to make sure they have it." John Silver is in agreement with Niccolo Machiavelli. This show is about politics. This show has always been about politics. The focus on the power of Story and the framing of villains is a big part of that.
* The Hornigold and Dobbs thing seemed about right on both sides.
* Ah, Flint, "But in terms of our future and the danger that you believe you may pose to me, bear this in mind. I have survived starvation, a tempest, pirate hunters, jealous captains, mutinous crews, angry lords, a queen, a king, and the goddamn British navy. So to whatever extent you may be concerned that some day we will clash, worried that though today we be friends, some day you will have no choice but to be my end... I won't worry too much." You should. You made him.
* "Doesn’t matter what’s true. Not now, at any rate. We’re creating the appearance of a man out of nothing. The appearance of a man that the resistance against the English feels compelled to rally around. We’ll introduce him. We’ll put flesh on him. We’ll give him a soul. But if the street wants to invest him with more than we can on our own, I won’t fight them about it."
* I love the "Black Spot" likely being bullshit, yet it mattered when Jack was shunned in season two, and it's being used here to terrify. Stories matter. Billy knows the power of story too. Billy is easy to underestimate, like Anne and Charles Vane, but he listens and learns and thinks.
* Has Billy forgotten why he disliked and distrusted Silver? Why he didn't want him in the crew? "I’ve lived too long dependent upon Flint to be the one to hold our ranks together. It’s time we finally had an alternative." The logic is sound: they do desperately need more baskets for their eggs, but at the same time, he's replacing Flint and his conscience with a man who has none. "What flows forth from this house, starting tonight, is a new story for Nassau. I’ve watched her follow madmen. I’ve watched her follow rich men. I’ve watched her bow before tyrants. But now, it’s time she had a king. When we’re ready, when he’s ready, he’ll step into the role we’ve created for him… and lead an impossible army into an unwinnable war… and win it." *shudder*
* I have written before about how Flint and Billy Bones have been training up their own nemesis in Silver. Now Billy is explicitly making Silver into the legend that will haunt him when he is dying. The power of Story.
* EBAYs, Relist:
DIVERSIONS IN THE CHASHITSU 2014 (LE, Lupercalia, Shungas): (Company Says: Green tea, yellow sandalwood, apple blossom, and white bamboo.) just Below Label Top. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301907642671?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
BUT MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT 2009 (LE, Yules): (Company Says: The world will love its darkness: cistus labdanum, ginger, East Indian patchouli, pimento berry, oakmoss, saffron, smoky vanilla, sage, myrrh, and bitter clove.) 2/3 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301907644719?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
* Zimbabwe has joined Ethiopia in disaster level drought People and animals are dying. Want to help? https://www.wfp.org/help
* "How to help Flint, Michigan:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/how-help-flint-michigan
* Want to help finance my meds/medical co pays? Paypal Lethran@gmail.com
* Donate to help refugees: http://donate.unhcr.org/international/general
* A list of LGBTQA Charities: http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-27 04:22 pm (UTC)(don't know what to tell you about the political stuff - I'm a late Boomer, voted for Carter both times; and have been appalled basically since Reagan…)
(no subject)
Date: 2016-03-28 03:31 am (UTC)