From the beginning of the book:
Taking advantage of the unthinkability of their atrocities:
"the very immensity of the crimes guarantees that the murderers who proclaim their innocence with all manner of lies will be more readily believed than the victims who tell the truth."
Weder dem Vergangenen anheimfallen noch dem Zukünftigen. Es kommt darauf an, ganz gegenwärtig zu sein. - Karl Jaspers
("Neither the past nor succumb to the Future . It is important to be completely present")
Caution in handling generally accepted opinions that claim to explain whole trends of history is especially important for the historian of modern times, because the last century has produced an abundance of ideologies that pretend to be keys to history but are actually nothing but desperate efforts to escape responsibility.
No paradox of contemporary politics is filled with more poignant irony, than the discrepancy between the efforts of well meaning idealists who stubbornly insist on regarding as "inalienable' those human rights which are enjoyed only by the citizens of the most prosperous and civilized countries, and the situation of the rightless themselves.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
summer activity 3
finished: a Natural History of Dragons: SUPER FUN book, I can really relate to it, though sometimes it takes a while for the characterization to come through. Still, I'm looking forward to the next few books. I'm looking forward to see Isabella grow to a tough old lady.
Transmetropolitan #1,2: holyyyy shiet why did I not read this before? I don't even know, I knew about it for a long time but somehow did not read it. I absolutely love it! Spider Jerusalem is probably one of the few characters that I would say is True Chaotic done right. I'm not such a fan of the second book, mostly because of how the wife and Channon are treated. With Channon I'm still holding hope she will come back and go back to being a rounded character, because in book 2 literally all she does is be sad that her boyfriend dumped her to have sex with robots. As for the wife, I was actually expecting her to be more of a mythical creature rather than see what she was really like. I guess it makes sense for such a person to be married to Spider, but I liked it better when she was shrouded in mystery. Maybe I'm not being fair, since she is just as destructive and rude as Spider, the only difference is her motivation is hate for him and his motivation is hate for society. The other thing that made me uncomfortable was the the whole emasculation of the police dog thing. Maybe what made me uncomfortable about book 2 overall was the reinforcement of heteronormative people and relationships. Book 1 was a lot more vague about relationships in the future, but book 2 stamps it firmly that all the main characters are straight cis people (though background characters are shown to be queer, most prominently gay and asexual). There's more books to go, so there's still space to be derivative. Still, it was a bit sad seeing Spider hitting on all the attractive women he met. The plus side was that most of those women were professionals (in fact I cannot think of professional male characters except for the editor and the president right now) so good points for that.
Noooot sure what to think about the assistant-turned-porn-star-against-her-will storyline. I thought it was implied that this future is a lot more sexually liberated (so being a porn star would not necessarily be a bad thing to be recognized for). Also that changing your appearance through plastic surgery was stupidly easy (so if it bothered her that people recognized her on the street, she could change face?). But maybe what I find most unbelievable is that a sex tape of a teenager (she was 16) went viral enough to ruin her life. How did the porn purveyors do that legally?? Are the no laws protecting minors in the future? Are there no laws about privacy or libel or releasing content without the permission or consent of the party in it? Her video might be viral on illegal sites but she specifically says that her video is available on retail, and I just wonder how??
I don't blame her for hating Spider, but it kinda baffles me how she's angrier with him than the people who literally exploited her for money. Spider comes off as awful callous about her situation, but I guess that's to be expected.
reading: We (by Yevgeny Zamyatin): the introduction was full of spoilers, fuck that. I was not expecting the book to be from a perspective of someone who LOVES the OneState, so that was interesting twist. It's kinda crudely written, but maybe that's keeping in the theme that the author is someone who thinks emotions are mental illness. I want to see where it goes.
watched: Chappie: I loved it! Definitely not as cliche as it appears that's going to be. By a bizarre coincidence I discovered Die Antwoord right before, which Im sure affected my liking of the movie. Ninja and Yolandi are fucking insane characters and I'm still really on the fence about them and their music. At least they don't fail to be entertaining.
Edge of Tomorrow: also a surprising good one. I was really afraid the main female character was going to be thrown by the wayside, but fortunately she did not; though I still think she did not get to be a full character the way Tom Cruise was. At least she was somewhat rounded, though not fully.
playing: Catherine: omg this is so much fun but the storyline is so messed up
Final Fantasy Tactics a2: its whole sin is that it's NOT final fantasy tactics advance. Right now I'm grinding my characters until I get to the point where dying in the main storyline is not an option. Something seems to be missing...experience points? Loot? I'm not fully connecting to my clan
Transmetropolitan #1,2: holyyyy shiet why did I not read this before? I don't even know, I knew about it for a long time but somehow did not read it. I absolutely love it! Spider Jerusalem is probably one of the few characters that I would say is True Chaotic done right. I'm not such a fan of the second book, mostly because of how the wife and Channon are treated. With Channon I'm still holding hope she will come back and go back to being a rounded character, because in book 2 literally all she does is be sad that her boyfriend dumped her to have sex with robots. As for the wife, I was actually expecting her to be more of a mythical creature rather than see what she was really like. I guess it makes sense for such a person to be married to Spider, but I liked it better when she was shrouded in mystery. Maybe I'm not being fair, since she is just as destructive and rude as Spider, the only difference is her motivation is hate for him and his motivation is hate for society. The other thing that made me uncomfortable was the the whole emasculation of the police dog thing. Maybe what made me uncomfortable about book 2 overall was the reinforcement of heteronormative people and relationships. Book 1 was a lot more vague about relationships in the future, but book 2 stamps it firmly that all the main characters are straight cis people (though background characters are shown to be queer, most prominently gay and asexual). There's more books to go, so there's still space to be derivative. Still, it was a bit sad seeing Spider hitting on all the attractive women he met. The plus side was that most of those women were professionals (in fact I cannot think of professional male characters except for the editor and the president right now) so good points for that.
Noooot sure what to think about the assistant-turned-porn-star-against-her-will storyline. I thought it was implied that this future is a lot more sexually liberated (so being a porn star would not necessarily be a bad thing to be recognized for). Also that changing your appearance through plastic surgery was stupidly easy (so if it bothered her that people recognized her on the street, she could change face?). But maybe what I find most unbelievable is that a sex tape of a teenager (she was 16) went viral enough to ruin her life. How did the porn purveyors do that legally?? Are the no laws protecting minors in the future? Are there no laws about privacy or libel or releasing content without the permission or consent of the party in it? Her video might be viral on illegal sites but she specifically says that her video is available on retail, and I just wonder how??
I don't blame her for hating Spider, but it kinda baffles me how she's angrier with him than the people who literally exploited her for money. Spider comes off as awful callous about her situation, but I guess that's to be expected.
reading: We (by Yevgeny Zamyatin): the introduction was full of spoilers, fuck that. I was not expecting the book to be from a perspective of someone who LOVES the OneState, so that was interesting twist. It's kinda crudely written, but maybe that's keeping in the theme that the author is someone who thinks emotions are mental illness. I want to see where it goes.
watched: Chappie: I loved it! Definitely not as cliche as it appears that's going to be. By a bizarre coincidence I discovered Die Antwoord right before, which Im sure affected my liking of the movie. Ninja and Yolandi are fucking insane characters and I'm still really on the fence about them and their music. At least they don't fail to be entertaining.
Edge of Tomorrow: also a surprising good one. I was really afraid the main female character was going to be thrown by the wayside, but fortunately she did not; though I still think she did not get to be a full character the way Tom Cruise was. At least she was somewhat rounded, though not fully.
playing: Catherine: omg this is so much fun but the storyline is so messed up
Final Fantasy Tactics a2: its whole sin is that it's NOT final fantasy tactics advance. Right now I'm grinding my characters until I get to the point where dying in the main storyline is not an option. Something seems to be missing...experience points? Loot? I'm not fully connecting to my clan
Saturday, June 20, 2015
summer activity 2
finished: Watchmen (movie and book)
Reading the comic also made me realize how bullshit those "before watchmen" comics were for the most part. Only a few of them are worth anything in showing certain events that are only alluded to in the original material. Still too many women in the fridge in every damn comic for my liking. At least the expansions of Silk Specter's and Silhouette's characters were rather interesting. Thinking back on it, the Comedian's story was the worst, it failed at explaining anything about his youth (which is probably the most interesting story) and only talked about how he fucked Marilyn Monroe and JF Kennedy. I don't care.
Speaking of, the original comic also has a lot of references from the 80's that I think constantly fly over my head. Maybe it's because I was born post-cold war that this hysteria over nuclear apocalypse doesn't resonate with me. Interestingly enough, I'm now reading the origins of totalitarianism and in a introduction to the book written during the cold war, Hannah Arendt actually warns that we could be headed for total nuclear destruction.
I'm also increasingly aware how USA (or at least its own fierce supporters) take credit for both ending the Holocaust and preventing nuclear apocalypse, even though at the time they were shitting their pants just as much as anybody else.
Last thought: the line in the movie that most infuriated me (possibly because it was the most realistic) was when the USA government considered Mexico an expendable loss to nuclear war with the soviet union. Mexicans of course never get any say in it. Of course
- movie continues to be a fantastic adaptation, both in cast and script except for that one detail in Rorschach's origin story that I think is rather significant. Also Silk Specter's filmsy character comes across more glaringly in the movie
- book: I became increasingly aware that Rorschach, who I still think is my favourite character, is a right-wing nut who honestly thinks abortions and gay people are the sign of the apocalypse. I'm not sure if this is carefully planned irony by Moore, but fascinatingly Rorschach believes this doctrine more than the people who publish it; Rorschach is somehow a more distilled form and he gets to the point where he manages to do some good despite being an extremely rigid person and a misogynist.
Reading the comic also made me realize how bullshit those "before watchmen" comics were for the most part. Only a few of them are worth anything in showing certain events that are only alluded to in the original material. Still too many women in the fridge in every damn comic for my liking. At least the expansions of Silk Specter's and Silhouette's characters were rather interesting. Thinking back on it, the Comedian's story was the worst, it failed at explaining anything about his youth (which is probably the most interesting story) and only talked about how he fucked Marilyn Monroe and JF Kennedy. I don't care.
Speaking of, the original comic also has a lot of references from the 80's that I think constantly fly over my head. Maybe it's because I was born post-cold war that this hysteria over nuclear apocalypse doesn't resonate with me. Interestingly enough, I'm now reading the origins of totalitarianism and in a introduction to the book written during the cold war, Hannah Arendt actually warns that we could be headed for total nuclear destruction.
I'm also increasingly aware how USA (or at least its own fierce supporters) take credit for both ending the Holocaust and preventing nuclear apocalypse, even though at the time they were shitting their pants just as much as anybody else.
Last thought: the line in the movie that most infuriated me (possibly because it was the most realistic) was when the USA government considered Mexico an expendable loss to nuclear war with the soviet union. Mexicans of course never get any say in it. Of course
- Last days of an Immortal: I was very pleasantly surprised by this science fiction comic. Yes! Finally! Weird aliens! why is this so hard to find? I supper recommend this book to everyone
Monday, June 15, 2015
summer activity 1
June 15
finished: Before Watchmen: the night owl, silk spectre and dr. manhattan stories were good. the ozymandias and the crimson corsair ones were awful and the rorschach one was interesting but it suffered from putting its lone female character in fridge for no goddamn reason
The Trial (by Kafka) (comic format): interesting but rather hard to follow. I should read the book
The Faerie Ring: a waste of my time, would not recommend 2/10
Beautiful Darkness: one of the best comics I have seen in recent months, I want to buy it!
Elfquest the final quest (vol 1): I like Ember a little less with her new attitude, it's a little hard to get used to; but I do like her vulnerable moments. Was Ruffel made only so she could die? Still, I motherfuckin' love Elfquest, it left me hungry for more, I want to read Kahvi's story again
Chicken with plums: I'm thinking that Marjane Satrapi should publish a book called "assorted stores form Iran" or something and have chicken with plums and embroideries in it. Okay stories, if a little sad, by themselves
reading: young Miss Holmes
beauty queens
watched: Persepolis: it was nice to revisit this movie, but it only made my opinion that the original comic is better so much the stronger. There's more rawness and honesty in the comic
playing: Ni no Kuni: I will beat the solosseum if it kills me, this rank A event is fraying my nerves. I've never sworn so loudly or eloquently at a children's game before
Harvest Moon: tale of two towns: the game has long ceased to be fun and now it's just going through the motions for finishing each day. it's honestly a far cry with the fun I had with More Friends of Mineral Town. I'm hoping DS cute will be better. Right now I'm trying to finish the winter season to see if my character is pregnant but I might leave for a while because I don't want to play the two seasons of pregnancy
else
there are two cat song videos circulating and I think the portugese one is the superior one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7tHTLd-WWA&feature=youtu.be
http://freshest-tittymilk.tumblr.com/post/121553496146/uchidachi-me-alright-are-you-ready-hattie
finished: Before Watchmen: the night owl, silk spectre and dr. manhattan stories were good. the ozymandias and the crimson corsair ones were awful and the rorschach one was interesting but it suffered from putting its lone female character in fridge for no goddamn reason
The Trial (by Kafka) (comic format): interesting but rather hard to follow. I should read the book
The Faerie Ring: a waste of my time, would not recommend 2/10
Beautiful Darkness: one of the best comics I have seen in recent months, I want to buy it!
Elfquest the final quest (vol 1): I like Ember a little less with her new attitude, it's a little hard to get used to; but I do like her vulnerable moments. Was Ruffel made only so she could die? Still, I motherfuckin' love Elfquest, it left me hungry for more, I want to read Kahvi's story again
Chicken with plums: I'm thinking that Marjane Satrapi should publish a book called "assorted stores form Iran" or something and have chicken with plums and embroideries in it. Okay stories, if a little sad, by themselves
reading: young Miss Holmes
beauty queens
watched: Persepolis: it was nice to revisit this movie, but it only made my opinion that the original comic is better so much the stronger. There's more rawness and honesty in the comic
playing: Ni no Kuni: I will beat the solosseum if it kills me, this rank A event is fraying my nerves. I've never sworn so loudly or eloquently at a children's game before
Harvest Moon: tale of two towns: the game has long ceased to be fun and now it's just going through the motions for finishing each day. it's honestly a far cry with the fun I had with More Friends of Mineral Town. I'm hoping DS cute will be better. Right now I'm trying to finish the winter season to see if my character is pregnant but I might leave for a while because I don't want to play the two seasons of pregnancy
else
there are two cat song videos circulating and I think the portugese one is the superior one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7tHTLd-WWA&feature=youtu.be
http://freshest-tittymilk.tumblr.com/post/121553496146/uchidachi-me-alright-are-you-ready-hattie
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Animal photos
My new favourite thing are nature photos of animals attacking each other...I dunno why
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