An American tourist in Russia
Admit that you often spend hours after hours watching literally nothing on YouTube. You scroll videos where hands of people you don’t know do some stereotypical, repetitive things like pressing buttons, applying stickers, doing makeup, sharpen pencils, cutting hair, spitting on the mike, eating, etc. Sounds seem to be an important part of it. It … Read more
I’ve just watched Billy Bob’s last video featuring Ian and I have something to say about Russia, China, India, Lenin and Stalin who were mentioned. I believe there is no such thing as democratic, communist or socialist countries. There are just countries with their unique cultures that have some central, pivotal ideas. For example, the … Read more
The Irish Brigade by J.F. Holmes, despite being a work of sci-fi, is a sharply written apologetic manifesto for neoliberalism and globalism.
For context, I’ve had a PDF of this book two years ago. However, there was the COVID lockdown, I took too much xanax, and my reviews and other writing endeavors were, ahem interrupted. Now, finally, I read it, and found the experience worthwhile. Contemporary art and literature is worth looking at because it says something about our culture and mood. The Irish Brigade is one such example. It’s a tirade against patriotism and morality.
After the end of history, everything becomes a self-referential blob, losing all association with the fading worlds of the past. Perhaps the most obvious example of this increasingly context-less meta is the “promotion” of Carrie Fisher’s “Leia” from the Star Wars. In the original trilogy, she was a princess. In the Disneyfied Star Wars universe … Read more
Earlier this month we revisited Yerevan, Armenia, for Ian’s visa run. One evening we went to see a show of dancing fountains. You must know what it is: a colorful show when water flows to a tune and their are light effects too. Ian made some ironic comments about too many soundtracks from Hollywood movies … Read more