October 31, 2007
One who walked alone
Once again I am blindsided by pop culture. The Whole Wide World is a biographical film about Robert E. Howard based on a book by Novalyne Price who had courted Howard in her youth. Starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger, the film was released in 1996 - more than ten years ago - and somehow I never heard of it. Sometimes I think my time in England was spent in an air pocket; cut off from the wellsprings of cable television... I stumbled across the film through this hair-raising edit of Howard describing Conan. Just astonishing.
We know any film about the life of Bob Howard can only end badly; an American tragedy, heart breaking to watch. But think of it as a geek tragedy too. I am left with a sense of wonder at the pantheon we have been for ourselves these last one hundred years despite the scorn of the herd and literary elites alike. Most of all, I am left with a sense of gratitude for the gifts Howard left us. Imagine if some sensible soul had convinced him his gift was not worth developing, that he should pack away the typewriter and get a "real job". And think of all the people who have been convinced to abandon their art, now dead, forgotten. That is the real tragedy. Fight it.
Related: Solomon Kane - The Return of Sir Richard Grenville, a fine fan film. Also, and beyond belief, this Spanish fan film trailer for Slaine: The Horned God. I feel like I am missing something: Is this edited from video game footage? Too good to be true.
Faun: Tagelied
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Updated: I meant to mention this morning how the opening of this tune reminds of "King Volcano" by Bauhaus. I am now wondering whether this is a coincidence, a source of inspiration or whether both songs share a common antecedent in some medieval ditty of which I am unaware.
October 30, 2007
Ghost of a flea @ The Drake Underground
10.30.07 . THE PiNG's presents ALL HALLOW’S EVE-EVE
featuring GHOST OF A FLEA and MiMo
@ the UNDERGROUND downstairs @ the DRAKE HOTEL
1150 Queen St. W @ Beaconsfield . W of Ossington . E of Dufferin
TUESDAY OCTOBER 30TH . 8PM . PWYC (5$ suggested)
Ghost of a flea is a noise/ritual/literary project by Toronto-based ... .... Ghost of a flea draws on techniques from musique concrète, found sound and angelic grammar to produce cinematic dark ambient music for opening the gates, for conjuring lost love, for summoning and binding. 93 93/93
http://www.myspace.com/ghostofaflea
Coil: Ostia (Death Of Pasolini)
My favourite track by my favourite act: Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
* This student video has a clip with much better audio for anyone curious what the album track sounds like.
Freedom is not free
The Tiger in Somerville points out how close we are to freedom...
Tacitus and Political Correctness in the Roman Empire
The Right Coast posts a lengthly quote from John Ellis, professor emeritus of German literature at UC Santa Cruz on the subject of Tacitus and the West's venerable tradition of ennobling savages (via Instapundit).
The whole thing is well worth the read. My favourite bit was about the Suiones and their handy hit-and-run ship design.
October 29, 2007
Devamped
Somebody named Teresa Palmer has been cast as Wonder Woman. As opposed to, say, Kate Beckinsale. Which would have made sense. But no. Admittedly it is only a Justice League movie so who cares.
There is far wore news besides: Kate Beckinsale will not reprise her role as Selene in Underworld prequel, The Rise of the Lycans.
All fascinating, to be sure, but entirely beside the point.
Underworld: Two months off
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Sir Ming
File under "you learn something new every day". For me, at least. The retirement of Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell lead me to the question: Why is Menzies pronounced Mingis?
Pronounced "yog", it used to be written a bit like the old copperplate-style "z" with a tail, which helps explain the discrepancy between the spelling of Menzies and the pronunciation. The rise of printing in the 16th Century coincided with the decline of the yogh, and so it tended to be rendered in print as a "z", and pronounced as such.
More yogh information at Wikipedia. I think the letter resembles a yoke but I am probably drawing Indo-European etymological conclusions where there are not to be made.
Ana-Kin-Rexic
What is your Jedi name?
(via Agent Bedhead)
October 26, 2007
The Ultimate Red State
A forum on "Multiculturalism and its impact on democratic society" included two heaping scoops of Mark Steyn one-liners (more video of the event may be found here). I have never agreed "multiculturalism" was a useful term to frame the debate; it is all to easy to argue about definitions rather than issues of policy. But I do agree the real enemy we face is not only the sinister Dark Ages Scientology of bin Laden and his ilk but an all pervasive cult of relativism, masochism and the celebration of ignorance. "Multiculturalism," as Steyn puts it, "isn't about knowing anything about other cultures; only about feeling warm and fluffy about them." Exactly.
Steyn and I share an upbringing that included maps on the school room wall; pictures of the old Empire which - even in its enervated from as a Commonwealth - remained "the ultimate red state". Now all that remains is a pernicious ideology of decline and a tug of war future between A Clockwork Orange and Lord of the Flies.
Related: The sun never set on the British Empire. Also, a satisfyingly sinister map of America's "oil empire" (now featuring US military bases in New Zealand, apparently).
N-Type: The Way of The Dub
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later
Philip K. Dick waxes gnostic. Or possibly Lacanian (hat tip to My Most Favourite Secret Agent Ever).
Brand names, anamnesis and The Book of Acts figure prominently in his discussion. It turns out he was Episcopalian. Who knew?
October 25, 2007
Victorian England in colour
Unless, like me, you are friends with a time-traveling stingray, this vision of Victorian England in colour may come as something of a shock. Trust me, the real Cheapside is considerably more shocking in person. Also featured are pictures of foreign parts; sexy.
Momus: Hairstyle Of The Devil
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
End of Empire
Writing for The Guardian, Maya Jasanoff reviews Piers Brendon's The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997. When did the Empire come to an end? Partition? Suez? Hong Kong? All very interesting, of course.
But this is the bit to which I would like to draw particular attention.
As Mark Steyn has recently observed, a civilization in decline might be a comfortable place to be almost to the very end. Here is a thought: Future historians might look upon this last American century not so much as a new hegemonic power taking the place of the old but as a continuation of the British Empire. It is now a commonplace the "Anglosphere" somehow carries on England as once it was. I am suggesting something else, a story where the capital moves from London to Washington not in triumph but much as it once moved from Rome to Constantinople. "Byzantium" lasted another millennium; calling itself Rome as the old heart of empire muddled through a Dark Age.
The current splendour of our southern neighbour is a sight for all the ages. Even so, it should be pointed out that until recently a great deal more of the map was painted red. What is left is being whittled away; not so much at the edges but in great rents through the paper where once stood the cities of London, Manchester, Los Angeles, Detroit, Montreal...
October 24, 2007
October 23, 2007
A guy who fought in World War II isn’t going to care if terrorists die
The new Captain America - here pictured for the first time by Marvel artist Alex Ross - will be packing heat. Writer Ed Brubaker puts the decision in context.
"In the '80s they started changing his history, saying he'd never killed anyone. A guy who fought in World War II isn't going to care if terrorists die. I've always approached the book as a superhero espionage comic."
A super-soldier who is armed and who has killed the enemy. It is horrifying that such a notion should in any sense come as a surprise. It is all too easy to imagine perfumed Romans debating something along the same lines the year the Rhine froze over at Moguntiacum and "the soldiers' pay was lavished on the useless multitudes ...".
Case in point: This CIA "terrorist buster" logo. We may only be saved by the marginally greater stupidity of our enemies.
Bat For Lashes: What's a girl to do
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Jenna James
Ok, that thing I said the other day with the remix video? That was a joke. Alyson Hannigan as Jenna James in Hayley Wagner, Star:
This is fan service.
October 22, 2007
Vulcan
I still remember the sound of a Vulcan passing close overhead...
The aircraft was an Avro Vulcan bomber, capable of carrying a 21,000lb nuclear payload. It looked like a scary version of Concorde. The New York stunt was part of an Anglo-American military exercise which proved the plane's ability to deliver nuclear bombs wherever they might be needed, whoever the enemy. The RAF called it "the tin triangle".
The Avro Vulcan bomber flies again after a fourteen year absence from the skies* (hat tip to the Armored Facilities Manager). Some googling lead me to the Vulcan's moment of glory. While the aircraft was designed to deliver a bucket of sunshine as part of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent, the Vulcan saw action as a conventional bomber in the war to liberate the Falklands. Operation Black Buck - 1st May to 12 June 1982 - was an astonishing logistical accomplishment and, at over 4,000 nautical miles, was the longest bombing raid in history.**
* BBC video of the Vulcan here.
** More details and photos here. I particularly enjoy the Brazilian flag alongside her attack markings.
David Bowie: Sense of Doubt
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
October 20, 2007
Hatred is the key
Interviewed at the Guggenheim for VBS.tv, Genesis P-Orridge* on how Throbbing Gristle got back together. A photo in the post to Cosey Fanni Tutti did the trick.** Apparently, TG is a band built on anguish.
So much here for devotees of industrial music, rave culture or modern primitive. A horrifying story about Ian Curtis, for example.
* Who has described my music as "very nice".
** Pictured above in her prime.
Chris & Cosey: October Love Song
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge: Rest in peace
Psychic TV's Hell Is Invisible... Heaven Is Her/e tour is halted by the sudden death of Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge.
October 19, 2007
Why Goth refuses to die
Danny Robbins and The Culture Show consider Whitby Gothic Weekend 2006.* "The only goths in the village..." Ha!
Note to self: Must get to WGW; or just Whitby to its friends.
The festival was held yearly until 1997, when it became twice-yearly, now held in April and October. It has since grown into one of the most popular gothic events in the world, attracting attendees from across the UK and around the world. Most of the events are held at the town's 1,000 capacity Whitby Spa Pavillion (known just as ‘The spa’, this is also where the 'Goth Market' is held), however, other venues such as The Metropole Hotel are used for overspill and The Resolution Pub for unofficial events.
Siouxsie Sioux: Into a Swan
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Will no one rid me of this corpulent priest?
George Lucas offers few details about his forthcoming Star Wars television series beyond joking about "the life of robots". Better, at least, than a life of Jar Jar or yet more with a petulant, chubby Vader as a child.
"The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas said in an interview. "It has nothing to do with Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader or any of those people. It's completely different. But it's a good idea, and it's going to be a lot of fun to do."
And torture to watch: Lucas plans to write and produce the first season. Saying "Think about bounty hunter [sic]; that’s all I can tell you.", Lucas' producer Rick McCallum is already mooting four parallel Star Wars series and up to 400 one hour episodes. "It is going to be much darker, much grittier, and it's much more character based."
Meesa no think so. Meesa no liken dis.
October 18, 2007
Finding t.A.T.u.
Egotastic thinks it is not going to be good. Whereas I think Finding t.A.T.u. is quite possibly going to be the greatest film ever made. Better than Showgirls, even.
According to Wikipedia, “The story is about two girls, Janie Sawyer (an American girl from New York, living in Moscow) and Lana (a Russian native), who become obsessed with t.A.T.u. They become best friends, with crushes on each other, and attend a t.A.T.u. concert. While in Moscow, Janie develops a drug problem. The girls at some point end up killing one of their mothers.”
In related news: What the hell is Mischa Barton thinking? It is not as though my mind control powers can reach Moscow (yet).
Britney Spears: Gimme More (Ghost of a flea Mix)
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance. This is what we call fan service.
The Russia Problem
It seems to me that Peter Zeihan overstates the efficacy of Russian military hardware in this Stratfor discussion of Russian grand strategy. "The Russia Problem" is fine read nonetheless; I have just re-read Isaac Asimov's Foundation and am in the mood for science fiction.
In which case Russia should be far more concerned about the Chinese than it is about the Americans. The latter are likely to be their only ally - their only hope - should Red China decide it likes the look of Siberia's wide open spaces.
October 17, 2007
Working for the British Secret Service
Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by novelist Ian Fleming, and the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels and films. I gather he is a middle-weight.
What if Fred doesn’t do it
Postpolitical's Jason McBride - a Fred Thompson man - reconsiders the Rudy Giuliani candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination; something all American social conservatives may have to do unless they want a Hilary Clinton Supreme Court for the next 20 to 40 years.
As it is written: Read the whole thing. And particularly for his criticism of Mitt Romney. Spot on.
October 16, 2007
The world is a vampire
Tuesday, October 30: All Hallow’s Eve-Eve* Ghost of a flea and MiMo** play the AMBiENT PiNG at the Drake Underground! 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto. Doors open at 8. $5 19+
* Which I gather is Devil's Night - Angel's Night to others - but you get the idea.
** Stunning material. I am particularly taken with "Wiper"...
The Smashing Pumpkins: Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
"Glenn Reynolds"
The Instapundit looks exactly the same in every picture he takes; more so even than Paris Hilton (loud link). One might say suspiciously similar, as if we are dealing not with a man but an elaborate hoax. I mean - seriously - you can see the line where they Photoshopped the face into this picture. It might as well be J.R. "Bob" Dobbs.* And it is all too easy to imagine a Dobbsian cult springing up about the man...
* I admit this piece repudiating the notion of collective rights under the Second Amendment tends to mitigate against my case. One word: Pixar.
October 15, 2007
Peak Whale Theory
From the archives of the Coyote Broadsheet dated April 17, 1870: One of Coyote Blog's distant relatives explains the importance of addressing the United States' every growing population and unsustainable consumption. There is no way resources can support America's population as it reaches an astronomical 40 million souls.*
* No Mo Uro elaborates on the point in a comment at Rantburg.
The oil ticks in the ME should take notice.
Should the US switch from the dollar to Monopoly money?
There is a strong case for a change to the Monopoly Standard.
Price of Boardwalk in 2007: m$400
Concurrent decline in the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar: 87%
October 12, 2007
Art endangering life
The Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern is one of my favourite spaces; incomparable for the staging of - arguably the conception of - truly monumental art. Anish Kapoor's whimsical monstrosities are an obvious fit, where else to interact with Carsten Höller's slides and then there is the greatest installation I have ever missed: The Weather Project by Olafur Eliasson.
Now the Turbine Hall is home to a bloody great crack in the floor (more images here).
A Tate spokesman said this afternoon: "We can confirm that three visitors missed their footing and tripped in the Turbine Hall at the opening event. They were attended to immediately by Tate security staff trained in first aid but there have been no serious injuries. Twelve thousand people visited the installation on the first day and there have been no further incidents," a spokeswoman said.
But one onlooker said: "We saw the first victim, a young woman who went into it with both feet up to just below her knees. She had to be dragged out by her friends. As we watched to see whether she was okay, an older woman deliberately stepped on it, lurched forward and landed on the ground. She told us she thought the crack was painted on the floor."
I gather the installation cost about £300,000 and took more than six months to complete... and cheap at the price. Love live Doris Salcedo! Death to the demoness Allegra Geller!
Giorgio Moroder: Leopard Tree Dream
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Courchevel, December 2005
Note to self: When one of my business ventures renders me independently wealthy it will be time to book a holiday at Courchevel in the French Alps. Best way to get around the town and surround? Sure, the cable-car is impressive but try landing on the mountain airstrip in a Pilatus PC-12.*
This one goes with a shout out to Mr. Taylor who I can only assume has at least simulated a combat drop into the area.
* Not to be confused with Peyresourde in the Pyrenees. I had thought Courchevel a likely suspect for the airstrip opening Tomorrow Never Dies...
The sight of Tracy at that moment affected me in a way I can't fully explain
Wednesday's Ontario provincial election and plebiscite returned the Liberals to power with a majority government, rejected a change from first-past-the-post to proportional representation and now we are treated to a productivity enhancing public holiday - Family Day - in February. Also rejected as part of the Conservative platform was a proposal to extend public funding for "faith based schools", perhaps the best explanation for a record low voter turnout of 52.8 per cent.
"They couldn't bring themselves to vote for the Liberals or the NDP over faith-based schools, so they just sat it out," she said. "I think Ontarians actually wanted some change, but they didn't want the kind of change John Tory was talking about with faith-based schools. That overwhelmed whatever desire people had to reprimand the Liberals," she said, referring to McGuinty's broken promises from the 2003 election, like raising taxes.
For historical reasons, Ontario has a separate, publicly funded Catholic school system running parallel to the (now) secular public school system. Most people do not have a robust objection to this state of affairs despite its apparently being in violation of Canada's treaty obligations and over the objections of the "United Nations". Ontario governments do not rise and fall on the issue. The magic, unuttered and for now unutterable words that explain the objection to Conservative plans are "publicly funded madrassas"; not a prayer I would vote for that.
A Conservative party tied in knots in obeisance to words like faith and religion but totally unable to work out the consequences of the vain appearance of consistency cannot be trusted with government. I parked my vote with the Party for People with Special Needs (taking 0.6% in Trinity-Spadina).
October 11, 2007
Kylie Minogue: 2 Hearts
The following contains a video spoiler but, given the state of my heart after an aching 2 minutes and 31 seconds of suspense, I feel it is my duty to announce: Kylie's bum is back. O frabjous day.
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (via SondraK, whose bum is world famous).
Authors@Google: Neil Gaiman
Flea-readers with some time for a cup of tea, a couple biscuits and a nice sit by the window can turn up their multimedia speakers and give a listen to Neil Gaiman speak about his book "Fragile Things" amongst other things. All very interesting and particularly his Duran Duran revelations; though I cannot say I have ever understood the Neil Gaiman leather jacket thing.
Water under the bridge
Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
You had the mind of a scientist, always seeking new explanations. Your environment often misunderstood you, but respected your knowledge.
The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Your lesson is to study, to practice and to use the wisdom that lies within the psychological sciences and in ancient manuscripts. With strong faith and hard work you will reach your real destiny in your present life.
Do you remember now?
Via Will, whose thesis was a woman thereby accounting for his current antithesis. Or something like that; I am not certain how a Hegelian reading of multiple lives works. Plus I think he is being sarky.
October 10, 2007
I have crossed oceans of time to find you...
Agent Bedhead considers Bram Stoker's Dracula via Francis Ford Coppola; "random boob shots" feature.
Say what you like about Keanu Reeves' acting or for that matter, Winona Ryder's. Say, for example, they suck. Gary Oldman still gets one of my favourite lines of all time; one I have had cause to quote in appropriate circumstances, I am happy to report.
Wojciech Kilar: Vocalise
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?
Governor Romney's glacial response to a wheelchair bound man's plea for medical marijuana is the most damning since Governor Dukakis lost seven percent of his support overnight following the October 13, 1988 debate.* Many Americans oppose the death penalty but Americans are electing a man (or a woman) as much as they are electing a policy or a platform.
Mitt Romney will never be President of the United States.
* His reliance on attorneys to let him know if as President he could defend the United States, the free world and liberty was also a sign of a serious problem. By contrast, Senator Thompson's smack-down of Christopher Matthews was most satisfying and Mayor Giuliani's zinger about Canadian health care was spot on.
Related: Some excellent questions for Christopher Matthews.
October 09, 2007
What to do, what to do
One-hit, possibly two-hit wonder, Ian Brown has dismissed Kylie Minogue's music as "rubbish for little kids" (hat tip to the delectable SondraK*). This following the knock-backs of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and recent departure of long time boyfriend, whatshisface. Now the Flea learns Kylie fears she may never be married, never have children (hat tip to Moron Pundit).**
It seems to me the solution is obvious.
* Also via Sondra, the adventures of Battle Hard Bear.
** She does have the new album coming out; very good news even if frustrating for Dannii.
Kentucky Lightning: Come to my window
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (via the Ugly American) (arguably nsfw).
October 08, 2007
I can't see the [expletive deleted] thing
An extended consideration of the F-22 Raptor's capabilities includes a succinct assessment on the part of the Royal Australian Air Force.
Which might account for kill ratios against F-15s of up to 108:0. Nice.
Related: A quote from a DefenseTech post on the prospect of a two-seat F-22 Raptor. Leaving aside the merits of such a beast, this piece suggests a feature which is in some ways scarier than the Raptor's invisibility or its lethality.
Human League: (Keep Feeling) Fascination
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Arana Mecanica
This robot spider is a serious contender for the Fleamobile; no problem parallel parking this sucker (hat tip to Cha0tic).
October 06, 2007
Stop the presses
The Western Standard print edition is done. Jay Currie comments. Update to my Western Standard post below.
October 05, 2007
British Freedom
Rough Crossings is - perhaps amongst other things - a stage play, BBC television production and a book by noted historian, Simon Schama: Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution.
The British-born Schama makes no attempt to disguise his pride in the history of the British antislavery movement, which at once gave credibility to the British army’s offer of liberty to black Americans during the Revolutionary War and then arranged for their resettlement in Africa during its aftermath. The two halves of the book, titled “Greeny” and “John,” take their names from two English antislavery advocates, Granville Sharp and John Clarkson. That emphasis indicates a lightly disguised aim of the book. In a September 2005 interview in The Scotsman, Schama confessed that he decided to write Rough Crossings shortly after New York City unveiled its plan to build a freedom tower at Ground Zero, a tower that would reach the symbolic height of 1776 feet. He could not abide by the suggestion, he explained, that liberty began in 1776.
I appreciate this is a potentially irritating suggestion to many Flea-readers; the sort of thing any fair minded person would be tired of hearing given the rabid anti-Americanism that has beset a world sheltering in its protection. After all, what sort of cretin responds to a 9/11 memorial with a nit-picking rejoinder to the year 1776? But give Schama some benefit of the doubt; the Columbia article I have quoted does the man's feelings justice.** His History of Britain has been criticized in its detail but cannot be doubted as a magisterial depiction not only of a people's history but of a people's long struggle toward freedom.* This is criticism but from a sympathetic quarter.***
And consider too the argument Schama has to make or rather the complicating story he has to tell. For all the cynicism, hypocrisies and double-dealing involved**** - ones clearly echoed in attempts to hold the Union together until well into the War Between the States - and for all my well-rehearsed criticism of Canada, I write these words from the country where American slaves tried desperately to find refuge. I had never heard of British Freedom, John Clarkson or Granville Sharp. If the teaching of American history has overlooked these men then no more so than the teaching of Canadian or British history.
Simon Schama introduced Rough Crossings as a guest of Authors@Google, April 14, 2006. The talk is an hour very well spent. I would listen through a second time but I have now found the television show on-line...
* Not to be confused with Terry Jones and Michael Palin's Complete & Utter History of Britain.
** First of all, The Scotsman takes a poke at his anti-1776 sentiment, calling it "fastidious". Second, his actual remarks show, sadly/typically, it is Columbia and not the British historian failing to do justice to history. Re. 1776:
"That really did get up my nose a bit. I'm not arguing that 1776 was not an important moment in the history of freedom; but the notion that freedom arrived when the Brits left - as though the Earth formed out of darkness and the void - seemed to me very annoying, very ignorant and did not serve the history of freedom well."
*** If you do insist on disliking the man, do so for the amount he is getting paid to teach history.
**** For example: The British not being terribly bothered by slavery before the Colonies rebelled; granting freedom to slaves of rebellious Americans but not to those slaves owned by Loyalists; the continuation of slavery in Britain's Caribbean possessions; the continuation of the Atlantic slave-trade until the Royal Navy put a stop to it some time later in 1807, etc. etc. But still. That was the Royal Navy when it meant something to be British and to be free. Would those days would come again.
Christopher Walken: Delilah
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
He has used the wrong knife
Harry Enfield reconsiders Terminator 3.
Related: I have been known to wear my hat at a jaunty angle.
October 04, 2007
What is best in life
Literary respect, it seems to me, is a two-edged sword. Heaven forbid the author of Conan ever become respectable.* If it takes the establishment nearly a century to recognize a man's work it seems the fault lies not in the man or his work but in those offering a much belated eulogy. Ace points to a two-volume complete works of Robert E. Howard. What is best in life? Ace offering further comment:
Conan wasn't fighting for a damn thing except himself, and, occasionally, a hottie or young warrior he took a shine to. At no point in any Conan story was there ever the promise of a coming utopia and final defeat of evil; evil always had to be fought, but it could never be conquered, and would be present so long as man existed. In National Review/WFB terms, there was no Immanentization of the eschaton in Hyboria, ever, and the very nature of the world precluded such a soft-headed notion of a Return to the Original State of Grace. Hyboria looked a lot like earth, in other words, at least as many saw it.
For all he was brilliant, Robert E. Howard was an odd duck, btw.
* "Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." - The Tower of the Elephant (1933)
Blue Oyster Cult: Veteran of the Psychic Wars
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
All the moral insecurity that living in a free nation will instill in you
Christopher Hitchens quotes Mark Jennings Daily (via the Drink Soaked Trots).
I think this is a remarkably insightful statement: All our moral insecurity. Ayaan Hirsi Ali diagnosed the same sentiment as she refused to be lectured by the CBC on the virtues of the religion which would once again enslave her, "You grew up in freedom, and you can spit on freedom because you don't know what it is not to have freedom" (hat tip to someone best kept anonymous). She is still in fear for her life as the West cannot quite decide if her liberty is worth protecting from the religion of peace.
And Mark Daily was killed by a roadside bomb planted by exponents of this or that fascism which would over-run the nascent democracy of Iraq. Their words should shame those of us who risk so little against the gathering darkness. We have to - somehow - be worthy of these valiants.
Related: Confidence is key. Bill Ardolino updates the evolution of the Fallujah Police Department.
October 03, 2007
Hilary Duff: Happy (Ghost of a flea Mix)
I am slowly paying back my debt to Coil. In kind. Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
The Kingdom
The first four minutes of The Kingdom are worth a look; hopefully the same can be said of the whole film. The great silence of these last six years has been the billions of dollars and precious blood spilled to prop up this despicable theocracy. Of all the things the leftarded have chosen to berate President Bush for they have overlooked this, his greatest mistake (via Postpolitical).
You just summed up my whole speech
Why Fred Thompson will be the next President of the United States.
Dick Morris complains that he is too lazy to prepare well-scripted answers to questions about local issues. In Florida, for example he deflected a question about the Terri Schiavo case saying he wasn't familiar with the details but in general he preferred local answers to local questions. To a question about oil drilling in the Everglades he said that he wasn't aware of major oil resources there but that we couldn't be in the business of putting energy resources off limits.
Each of these answers was perfectly reasonable and part of a package that is likely to have broad appeal. Neither shows a lazy candidate. They both show a mature and sensible candidate who isn't willing to pander. Thompson, unlike all the others, has important themes to project and can't be bothered to pick up a few supporters here and there by promising to serve the interests of those few at the expense of the many.
This isn't politics as usual in 21st Century America, but it is likely to sell. When it does, it will make a mockery of Dick Morris's entire career, which was grounded on the idea that pandering conquers all.
Correct. Also, some excellent criticism of Mitt Romney.
October 02, 2007
Jonathon the Impaler
Flea-readers may not be shocked to learn I first heard Jonathon Sharkey was running for President of the United States from Toronto vampires heaping scorn on him for giving the impression vampires are Satanists. Such is the fate of Canadian vampires that they are necessarily Canadian.
Right leaning on national security, left leaning on social policy and vigorously pro-impalement: My politics in a nutshell.
Milosh: The City (Walter Robot)
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
In Canada it is liberals who know how to run a business
First it was the National Post*; now, once again, it is the Western Standard. Note to all "conservative" publications in Canada wanting me to provide free content: My work will cost you money.** Western Standard editor Kevin Steel's last note to me in this latest exchange opines that Maclean's is paying its writers; I gather I am meant to believe this constitutes unfair competition. It was like pulling teeth to get the Western Standard to offer me a "free" subscription when I was writing for their blog. Not that they bothered to send me a single issue come to think of it.
Thanks for your note. As Ezra still has no paying work to offer, please feel free to go right ahead and delete the account you have set up for me. Best of luck finding people to write your content; may you get exactly what you pay for.
Cheers,
Nick
Which is far more polite than this pyramid scheme of a magazine deserves, particularly given Ezra Levant told me the writing would become a paying gig, this well before the first issue was published. I cannot imagine Mark Steyn, Colby Cosh or David Warren are doing charity work for him now. Ezra, I explained this to you in a note dated March 26, 2005; you never offered the simple courtesy of a reply. And Kevin, before you ask, if you want me to come around and vacuum the floor or clean the windows at your office, I am pretty much going to want to be paid for that too.
* That means you, Adam Daifallah.
** Also, bite me.
October 5, 2007 Update: The Western Standard has stopped the presses. Jay Currie comments:
Point taken. But there is still a lot of money to be made with paper and ink if you know what you are doing; the Toronto Star razes forests for no other reason than to boost its circulation figures and they have to support an old-fashioned union shop. The low overhead, on-line only Western Standard will meet the same fate as its print edition if it follows the print edition's business model.
What is a Canadian conservative publication to do?
First, do not alienate your base. Canada's articulate, internet-based conservative voices could comfortably fit into a Casino Niagara shuttle-bus. We all know each other. We are all feisty (for Canadians). We all have audiences we have built for ourselves. There is no reason whatsoever we should contribute our work without being paid for it.
Second, a corollary of the first, you need to host a conversation that is relevant and interesting. Off the top of my head, I can think of three NDP-voting flakes whose comment sections are more interesting on a day-to-day basis than the last three years of the Shotgun. (Not to mention Kate MacMillan: Her only overhead is roadkill and she has built a community with it.) You can get away with thinking readers are part of estate property if you are Canada's "newspaper of record", a vanity project like Walrus or a CBC mandarin on Front Street. If you are a conservative you are supposed to know better. Nobody owes the Western Standard anything. Not our free content. Not our attention. Sadly, in the end, not even our sympathy.
October 01, 2007
He lives!
Agent Bedhead may be popping an egg for The Rock* but that guy has got nothing on Rowdy Roddy Piper.** Evidence takes the form of one of the great wrestling matches of all time: Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff.***
With Muhammad Ali as outside referee.
And Liberace to ring the bell.
* Nothing against The Rock; The Rundown was a fine film. They Live was better. Sin-Jin Smyth looks promising too.
** The classic anti-villain.
*** So, has anyone ever noticed a strong resemblance between blogging and pro-wrestling?
The Residents: Gingerbread Man
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
A paradigm for the cosmos
Jools Holland asks Stewart Copeland to explain his drums. He has, amongst other observations, a great bit of advice for musicians seeking to produce something original.