#Decline of Western Civilization Part 2 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

arcticdementor · 7 months ago

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Every time the subject of a possible US civil war or national divorce comes up I hear the same micron deep takes. America couldn’t break up because the division isn’t by state, its Urban Vs. Rural. Or that Urban vs. Rural isn’t the divide, even then people of different politics are mixed up together. Or that for every clear red or blue state there’s a purple state. None of which is in any way relevant to anything until you recognize the naïve mental model many of these people are working on... These takes betray a belief that a second civil war would be some kind of conflict between coherent independent states who’ve started identifying with/against the idea of union such as happened in the 1860s… or that somehow there’d be a series of tidy Quebec style referendums resulting in a clean division such as exists in so many meme maps:

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The truth is any post-breakup map of America would not resemble an electoral map following state lines, nor even a redrawing of state boundaries, such that the fantastical greater Idaho or Free State of Jefferson might exist as part of a wider Confederation of Constitutional Republics, or a Breakaway Philadelphia city-State join a Union of Progressive Democracies… No. It’d be nothing so comprehensible or easily mapped to modern politics. A post breakup America would probably look closer to this:

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(I really do apologize for all I’m going to have to digress) For our purposes we can broadly divide history into 2 types of period… Periods of Centralizing trends, and periods of Decentralizing trends.

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Centralizing Eras are consistently defined by big Heroic (classical sense of the word) figures that lead great armies or great nations and either win and centralize control under themselves or lose and get centralized under another. Alexander, Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, Agustus, Wolfe, Horatio Nelson, Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Grant, Lenin, Trotsky, Woodrow Wilson, Mussolini, Hitler, Rommel, Churchill, Montgomery, FDR, MacArthur, Stalin, Zukav, Mao… On and on we could list the names.

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Normandy and England’s William “The Conqueror” captured England (but not Wales, Scotland or Ireland) creating a unified kingdom on both sides of the English channel…in a feat every English schoolboy has memorized ever since (1066 and all that)… And William’s total Domain was less than 1/20th what Alexander had achieved 1300 years before. Likewise Shakespeare immortalized Henry the 5th as the very avatar of Mars…Achieving the English dream and conquering France! Only to die of dysentery within the year and have his territorial gain be entirely lost within a generation. Likewise Charlemange’s 8th and 9th century unified empire of France and Germany broke apart within a generation. And as late as 1718 Charles XII’s extraordinary military victories and revolutionary tactics couldn’t save the Swedish empire’s decline from great power status.

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Centralizing eras are marked by finicky, barely technological, advances that A) are not evenly distributed and allow the powers which have them to dominate the powers that don’t, and B) require vast numbers of hierarchically organized people working together in sophisticated coordination to make it work at all, often with extensive infrastructure than can only be worked by such a bureaucracy. Napoleonic Divisions, 5000 man Aircraft Carriers, trans-Continental railway or telegraphs, and massive continent severing canal systems (Suez/Panama) are prime examples. Decentralizing eras are the opposite. Decentralizing eras are defined by sophisticated capital and skill intensive weapons that can be utilized by relatively few people, and which are widely distributed (it being far easier to get even ridiculous amounts of money to invest in tools or skills, than it is to get 10,000+ all obeying at once you). We “sea” this with the very first decentralizing era: The bronze age collapse.

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the medieval era is defined by 3 iconic technologies: Heavy warhorses with advanced stirrups, castle/keeps (and the ranged weapons such as crossbows that lose most of their effectiveness when not defending them), and the Knights armor. This is the iconic image of the medieval period. All three are capital intensive technologies wielded by small numbers of wealthy men. Later Castles could be held against a force of hundreds by a mere dozen men, warhorses and advancing armor made knights sometimes 10-20 to 1 more effective than ordinary footmen. Within the span of 500 years major historical battles went from 100s of thousands of people in great migratory armies crashing against empires of millions, to 20-60 incredibly wealthy men, all named in the record, facing off against a similar force. Hell individual duels often decided the fates of vast swathes of country side. This is how totally heavy cavalry, armor, and castles just destroyed the very possibility of large complex states and the attendant armies. Now ask yourself… Which type of era are we in?

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None of our leaders are analogous to the great conquerors. Rather they are like the Persian and Lydian kings and courtiers of the Pre-Alexandrian period, or the late Roman Emperors and generals, or the thousands of European kings and Courtiers, endlessly fighting grinding wars that achieve remarkably little. Their ultimate achievement being that they might be mostly forgotten as merely mediocre… instead of screwing up monumentally and going down in history like Varus, or Commodus, or Croesus of Lydia whom the oracle told he’d “destroy a great empire”… but whose wars only destroyed his own. These are the kinds of people our elite are doomed to be remembered as… if they’re remembered. McNamara’s tenancy as Secretary of Defence isn’t remembered for him creating a fighting force to rival the Myrmidons or Napoleon’s old Guard, he’s remembered for McNamara’s Morons (Decent Review). . If current trends continue we’re on a fast track to eventually hit the apex of decentralization: Neo-Medievalism.

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The above is a map of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the Successors to Charlemagne’s empire which, depending on the dating, lasted from about 800ad-956ad (its very debatable when you date the “start” of the empire) to its final dissolution by Napoleon in 1806. Meaning it lasted longer than the original Roman Empire… Naively we might think this empire is a great counter example to my “decentralizing eras” thesis… Except for one thing: This was never “THE MAP” of the Holy Roman Empire. The above map comprises every territory that was ever part of the “Empire” none of which were ever all in it at the same time… And none of which were ever really part of the same political unit… Its really hard to know if there was even a single year every polity nominally within the empire recognized each other, or were even meaningfully at peace. Indeed the “Holy” in the name was a source of countless wars and conflicts, given It was adopted and maintained (grossly simplifying) as part of a double play, the Emperor at various points wanting to use his title as “Holy” Emperor of Rome to annex the Papal States and assume authority over the Catholic Church, and various Popes aspiring to use their religious authority to place their chosen allies in control of the “Empire”. The Emperor bounced back and forth between being God’s appointed supreme ruler on earth, literally crowned by the Pope, and being the Supreme enemy of the Pope in turn. Its a mess.

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You know how everyone gets confused by the electoral college or how American senators worked before they were elected… imagine that confusing mess x100, and the results determined who’d be civil waring with who, whether you’d be going to war with the Pope under the banner of the Antichrist, and later whether Protestants or Catholics would be going under the boot. So Voltaire’s quip that the Holy Roman Empire was “neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire” was very bitingly true… it often warred with the Popes, far from being Roman on at least one occasion it invaded and sacked Rome, and far from being an empire it was more a loose federation that elected its “Emperors”… But even that’s a simplification because at various points the pope was literally crowning the emperor, Rome was part of the empire, and the Crown was hereditary! It simultaneously was and wasn’t Holy, was and wasn’t Roman, and was and wasn’t an Empire. Seriously, this is the map without any simplifications:

Now tell me, is there another 3 word national title that’s hotly debated? To what extent is the USA really United? States? or America? The meaning of all 3 have shifted massively since the founding… the Union is unrecognizable from what the founders envisioned: becoming a Nation after the civil war, instead of the loose federation they set out to create. The states have gone from being almost fully sovereign republics to interchangeable imperial provinces, and are now again asserting increasing amounts of that lost sovereignty. And of course “America” neither comprises the whole of the Americas.. nor is it wholly within the Americas. ( we cannot forget Hawaii) Might there come a day we quip the USA is/was neither United, nor States, nor America? Hold that thought.

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The reason the HRE is so confusing and the reason most Medieval and early modern history is so confusing, is Medieval states… really aren’t states. Fans of Game of Thrones or Shakespeare understand the concept of feudalism and the military hierarchy of Knights answering to lords answering to kings, and Hollywood has taught most people to appreciate how that chain of command can become very conflicted and prone to rebellion or schemes, especially around a succession crisis (do you support the old King’s son, brother, or cousin to succeed him? Well who’s going to give you the better deal?) These stories make great hour and half dramas… But even as all these dynamics did happen, the actual medieval system was vastly VASTLY more complex.

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Multiple factions and entities within the same very small stretch of land might all wield some form of sovereignty and ability to make laws or rules, formal and informal, and enforce them with violence… all commanding some version of legitimacy. An individual town might have: 1. a Mayor or sheriff elected by some fraction of the propertied townspeople able to pass laws and have them enforced, even to the point of violence or death sentences; 2. An ecclesiastical order empowered to enforce its own laws upon the members of its order, maintaining armed retainers, and empowered (depending on the era) to root out and deal with heretics, (also at various points they owned and/or regulated brothels and vice crime); 3. local lodges of various guilds that variably are empowered to enforce their monopolies, collect debts, and deal with thieves, fraudsters and embezzlers in their midst, possibly including networked merchant guilds that across their various lodges might have more armed men than all but the largest individual towns; 4. Noble families that maintain arms and loyal retainers, with ancient rights and customs, including discretionary power to deal out violence to those who intrude, insult, or otherwise conflict with them… including dueling with their equals, or just brutalizing members of the lower class who insult them (imagine the brawl that starts off Romeo and Juliet, or the internecine fighting throughout, and how restricted The Prince is in setting any consequences for the Capulets and Montagues for their semi-open warfare); 5. A Knightly Order that maintains oaths, loyalties, obligations and interests distinct and separate form the nominal official chain of military command (think Templars, Hospitallers, Teutons); 6. An individual ward which a powerful alderman runs as a fiefdom/racket with a very reliable collection of thugs at his call; 7. All of the Above all over again multiple times, because we’re talking about a city that’s a conglomeration of smaller towns such as London, and the whole thing’s still organized as if it were 7 distinct entities. 8. The actual lord or governor who “rules” the town and answers to the king… on days he feels like it, and all the retainers and support people he uses to “govern” the place. There is no coherent unified monopoly on violence like we imagine the state to hold in this situation. Instead various factions and institutions have all amassed various forms of legitimacy: cultural, political, and practical…and have all carved out their little niche in which they can deal their own version of law, violence and justice. If you are a lawyer or have to deal with politics or government, or regulation, you might already be starting to see why I’m predicting this for the future but for those who are less versed in American governance:

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But they were both of them deceived. For neither the English or French monarchies truly understood the power they had wielded, nor whom had granted it to them: It was not the Crown itself that wielded absolute power, but rather the central government, and the central government was not a collection of neat hierarchically delegated power… the lawyers and bureaucrats were not gaining their power from the crown, the crown was gaining its power from the lawyers and bureaucrats. And as soon as the crown was impeding the Lawyers and bureaucrats centralization and concentration of power in their class, the bureaucrats and upstarts rebelled… Thus the English and French revolutions. Thus the state consumed the sovereign, great men were still able to wield the state like Napoleon or later Hitler, Stalin, FDR, Churchill and Moa… But the leaders now needed to appease the state, not the paper pushers the other way… then by the 1960s it had become basically impossible for even great men to control the bureaucracies beneath them. Stalin may have been killed, Kennedy was killed, Kruschev and Nixon soft couped… And no nation has had a great man leader since… the most successful leaders have been those who most effectively surrendered the last rememenants of their executive power… The executive branch and the “office of the president” is more powerful than it has ever been. The executive branch has never employed more people, nor the Whitehouse. The PERSON of the president though has never been weaker. Trump was besieged unable to fire any of his “executive” branch “employees” and now Biden physically embodies the state of things… The man who sits in the oval office is puppeted by the Whitehouse, and the Whitehouse by the executive branch… a complete inversion of how the organization is supposed to work.

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Whilst there have been many unitary states in history for whom any and all power and authority, at least officially, formally, came from one centralized institution and myth, Whether that be absolute monarchism, where it is concentrated in one person, or Unitary Republics where the “voice of the people” is 100% and only concentrated in one single assembly, The US is slightly more… sophisticated.

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This balance of powers is not dissimilar to how hard it was for a duke to control or discipline a petulant lord... Sure there was some hypothetical mechanism to remove him or wage war… but the incredible effort required means you’d rarely if ever do it for any except the worst offender. But all this becomes fractally more complicated when we zoom out. The US federal government receives its authority officially from the constitution… where does the constitution receive its authority? In an absolutist monarchy or French/Russian style revolutionary “republic” the origin of political power would be simple. The king or Director would answer to “God” or “The People” and it would be understood that the government’s continued existence meant God and “the People” were pleased and not to be consulted further on the matter. But when the American Constitution says “We the people” it actually refers to bodies and organizations entitled to represent them and give consultation. Namely the states, who all have their own assemblies, governors, courts and constitutions.

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But even this only scratches the surface because there are also hundreds of territory holding recognized sovereign nations within the US. Namely the 326 federally recognized Tribal Indian reservations each of which have their own treaties establishing rights and semi-sovereign powers derived not from the constitution, but from their own pre-existing sovereignty (if they didn’t have this congress wouldn’t have made treaties with them… they’d have just unilaterally passed a law). And these are real powers… they have armed native police, perhaps 10s of thousands of armed men collectively, who answer to the Band Councils alone.

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Is it any wonder the bureaucrats have been able to carve out such scrutiny free power for themselves? but of course informally for most of its history the map of real power looked nothing like this.

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Remember those 377 officially recognized top level governments with constitutional sovereignty in America alone? Forget that, that’s a fiction… The real number that exercise violent power, Ie. Real Political Power, is somewhere in the thousands if not tens of thousands. The City of New York is not included on that list (officially it is answerable and dissolvable by the state of New York, LOL)… and the city of New York has 36,000 armed and ready police officers at it’s beck and call (as many as Napoleon had when he invaded Italy). Likewise every dinky little city and county has its own police departments, often with elected sheriffs who functionally have independence that rivals state governments, and are only really removable by a process of impeachment at the state level. And this is before we get into the Cartels, militias, ideological movements, and collections of friends who are all shockingly armed and in many cases better trained and versed in infantry and low intensity warfare than about 90% of military personnel or police.

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I’ve by no means covered everything I want to on this topic. Mapping out the future of what a Neo-Medieval post national regime, and how we’d get from here to there is likely to be my life’s work. Both in that I’m going to be writing about it for the rest of my life and that we’re going to be living it. But one of the thing’s I want to emphasize as it would be a mistake to think of these developments as merely the rise of a “Mad Max” warlord driven world. Far from it, whatever successor institutions, aristocracies, and duchies devour the modern welfare states in a orgy of map redrawing and private fortune making will probably find that there is a great deal of economic and technological low hanging fruit just lying about. I doubt it will offset the scale of the disruption globally, but things like Cheap automobiles, cheap bush planes, cheap housing construction, low taxes, no DEI mandates, and a whole host of other things now criminalized by “Democracy” will suddenly be opened up and we’ll probably see a massive change in settlement patterns and ways of living as a result.

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We are seeing the inevitable conclusion and failure of the “Liberal Democracy” born into the world around the French Revolution. “Democracy” has expanded to the point where more people have a hypothetical right to vote than exist in the country and governments import them to vote which way the state likes, whilst “Liberal” civil rights have expanded to the point where everything is a right: Healthcare, Schooling, to get hired for jobs, to have your feelings defended… Everything is a right… Except for any of the liberties actually established in and of the founding documents or revolutions of the 18th century. Those are now forms of hate and terrorism. To speak your mind is no longer a protected right, but to be protected from someone speaking their mind about you demands the full armed response of the state.

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This is an introductory essay. A justification for my ideological projects to come. What is going to happen is largely inevitable but how long we live through the chaos of the fall or how quickly we settle on the equilibriums that will hold with the new balance of powers will be a matter that could take a 30 or 100 years war… or it could wrap up into a stable equilibrium in 5-15. I hope by digging deeper we can shorten that window, speedrun the new order, and limit the damage these abominations of governments can do on the way out.

#kulakrevolt #substack #civil war #holy roman empire

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lonelyplanetfag · 1 year ago

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the best thing u can do 4 ur friends is get them 2 watch the decline of western civilization part ii: the metal years

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greensparty · 1 year ago

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Concert Review: X

Sat. September 2, 2023 @ Wilbur Theatre (Boston, MA)

marquee at The Wilbur

L.A. legends X are having quite a moment this Summer. When Elon Musk decided to re-brand Twitter as X last month, the band X had the perfect response! The band is notable for being a part of the L.A. punk scene in the late 70s / early 80s, but in many ways it is kind of reductive to call them just a punk band as they incorporated so many different styles than just punk. They are a band that are bigger than the sum of their parts: D.J. Bonebrake on drums, Billy Zoom on guitar, John Doe on bass and vocals, and of course singer Exene Cervenka. Earlier this Summer I got to interview Cervenka via phone and discuss the current tour and how they have been able to perform songs off their most recent album Alphabetland, released during the Pandemic in 2020, which was also their first album in 27 years! Going into this concert, I was by no means an expert on X, but I have the utmost respect for their contribution to the L.A. music scene at the time. I have their debut album Los Angeles on vinyl in my collection and I've dug them ever since I saw Penelope Spheeris' doc The Decline of Western Civilization, which features X among a ton of their peers like The Germs and Black Flag. The band's song "Los Angeles" has also accompanied me on my trips to L.A.

X onstage

The opening act was Squirrel Nut Zippers, who I hadn't thought of in a long time. They kind of pre-dated the swing phenomenon of 1998, but had some solid songs. They were fun and got the party started. Then Billy Zoom came out and began playing his guitar and he played along with a recording of Link Wray's "Rumble" as the band came out. The Los Angeles album got the most representation of any of their albums and were among my personal faves. They slipped in a few covers including The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" (The Doors' Ray Manzarek famously produced them and they performed with Robby Krieger) and they played some brand news songs they are planning to record after this tour. This concert is the case for aging gracefully in rock: all of the members are in their 60s and 70s and could mop the floor with bands less than half their age. I mean WOW - Serious punk and rockabilly energy you don't see that often! The co-singing between Doe and Cervenka has always been such a strong part of the band's personality and they didn't miss a beat. Doe is also known for his acting and my favorite role of his was as Julianne Moore's ex-husband in Boogie Nights! But I digress. The entire band is tight!

X with Exene in the spotlight

After the show, I got to go backstage. My interview I did with Cervenka was via phone, so it was really nice to get to meet her in person and she couldn't have been any cooler!

Exene Cervenka and I backstage after the show

For info on X: http://www.xtheband.com/

#x #concert review #exene cervenka #john doe #billy zoom #dj bonebrake #squirrel nut zippers #music nerd #link wray

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alexisginesphoto · 1 year ago

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Avedon 100 Exhibition

Although the images displayed in the Avedon exhibition are not part of one story, can you discover a narrative interpretation in one or more of the images offered in this exhibition?

One obvious narrative come to mind— the documentation of Jacob Israel Avedon, Richard’s father, throughout his older age and then eventually as he was dying (although the more graphic photos of his dying were not shown at the exhibition).

The photos displayed together in chronological order show the declining health of his father—The first photo at the top shows Richard’s father with a sharp expression in his eyes and dark hair (although to be fair it was most likely dyed); he is an older man but his stature and expression in the photos still demand respect; looking at this photo, I can empathize how he might inspire the type of fear and oppression in Richard that he [Richard] has described in other publications.

As the photos go on this man becomes fragile in his pressed suits—in the two photos with his polka dot tie, the suits seem to fit too big for Jacob; his frame shrinking under his boxed-shouldered topcoat, gray hair and dentures, age spots and wrinkles more pronounced.

The next two photos of Avedon's father in a black suit—the poor man looks like a complete shadow of his former self in the first photo... though his eyes are looking at the camera in the first shot, they seem lost, as if not truly understanding what he is looking at. The second photo seems to confirm his “mentally checked out” ambiguity. The last two photos of Jacob show him in a hospital gown, thinning, frail, and distant. As a viewer, it seems these may be some of the last images that Richard will make of his father who is evidently on his way out...

2. Avedon’s images often blur the lines between the genres of fashion, fine art and documentary photography. Do you feel his work acts as photojournalistic telling stories in single images and or series? Explain your reasoning.

I absolutely feel that Avedon’s work acts as a photojournalistic body of work! His collection is so extensive, it is evident that he was an absolute workhorse and probably shot everyday of his life. In that sense, he really lived by the mantra that “half the job is just showing up”, and by consistently ��showing up”, he was able to create a documentation of the times, of “America, then”. Not just simply in his more obvious photojournalistic works, such as In The American West, but even in his fashion and finer art photography of celebrities and high society; those who shaped popular culture for over sixty years, from Marilyn Monroe, to Audrey Hepburn, Cindy Crawford, Chaka Khan, Andy Warhol and other members of The Factory, etc. His Portraits of Power collection of elite government officials, contrasted with the civil rights movement and figures like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and the Young Lords; his high school friend James Baldwin… these are people that have gone down in American history, some have already passed away, but they were documented and live on in these iconic photos taken by one of the greatest photographers of all time.

Furthermore, there is much than can still be inferred with each photo: the attitudes of the time, style, fashion and beauty standards, social conversations of homoeroticism and sexual liberation, fights for racial equity and socioeconomic liberation, the expansion and construction of America’s Western frontier. Perhaps Avedon was not completely cognizant of these themes at the time of taking these photos, but shown together as a retrospective collective (that I also must mention was largely displayed in chronological order, to its conveyance success) his work functions to tell many stories of the people of the time. Many of his photos are strong enough to tell a story as a standalone, but compiled together, their power and success in storytelling and conveying an era in history is undeniable.

3. Choose 2 remarkably different images from the exhibition. Speak to the similarities and differences between each image. What attracted you to these images?

Two remarkably different photos are the studio portrait taken of Michael Jordan, and the portrait out in the oil field of Tom Stroud in Oklahoma. These images, though completely different, both show their subjects with such a level of dignity, intensity, and both photos focus on their subject by using Avedon’s signature white background—there is nothing that distracts us as viewers from these people.

The use of studio lighting with Michael Jordan makes his dark skin look like black gold in the way that it shines and glistens from sweat in the strobe lights. It is highly complimentary for this rich skin to be placed against the plain backdrop of Avedon's signature white. This shot is a mix of fashion and glamour that Avedon was known for—Jordan wears his iconic Jordan Retro 4 sneakers, that are still highly sought after even today. His socks are perfectly crisp and white, his huge hands in total control of the basketball, the classic Bulls 23 jersey which is also a street fashion/courtside Chicago staple to this day. Michael stands in position with an intense look in his eyes and allows the viewer to feel that they’re on the court with him, about to get their ankles broken in a fatal crossover and be humiliated after he dunks over our heads. There is poise, prestige; he demands respect, even from his small 8x10 print mounted on the wall.

Conversely, the photo of Tom Stroud in the oil field, while still demanding respect, demands so in a much different way. First, the photo must be at least 4 feet tall (from my memory), bringing a sense of prestige and recognition that demands respect for a man that, in reality, might be easily be overlooked given his “lower class” as a laborer. Like Michael, his eyes are piercing and intense, enhanced by their light color and allowing visual texture to be captured in his irises. His skin is filthy, layered with earth and oil from a days work on the field, his shirt is off, his leather vest ripped, hair sopping. The expression on his face is hardened; one can only wonder what his life story is. Though it is clear he’s had a hard life, he is not asking for pity.

Two completely different figures, one famous, one blue collar, and yet both displayed with such dignity; two men from completely different walks of life with such resolve and power in something so subtle as the expression on their faces. The amount of detail captured on both photos truly highlights the resolution capability of 8x10 negatives—the show as a whole was super inspiring as it related to this format (and large format in general). Avedon was a master, and as a student, it was highly inspirational to see so many creative possibilities of using large format cameras/film and furthermore, creative ways as to how these negatives can be printed.

#hun191 #alexisginesphoto

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repurposedmeatlocker · 2 years ago

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11, 12 and 22 for the movie asks!!

11. Favorite film character(s) At the moment, probably: - Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) - Sonny Wortzik (Dog Day Afternoon) - Joe Buck (Midnight Cowboy) - Mrs. Brisby (The Secret of NIMH) - Satsuki Kusakabe (My Neighbor Totoro) - Hildy Johnson (His Girl Friday)

12. Favorite movie(s) per genre HELP uuuh that's a lot of genres lmaooo uh....lemme try Action and Adventure - Die Hard (1988), Watership Down (1978) Bildungsroman aka Coming-of-Age - Stand By Me (1986), The Way Way Back (2013), Mud (2012) Comedy - Shrek 2 (2004), The Producers (1967), American Psycho (2000) Crime and Mystery - D.O.A (1949), M (1931), Reservoir Dogs (1992) Documentary - Sherman's March (1985), The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988) Drama - La Haine (1995), Taxi Driver (1976), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), It's A Wonderful Life (1946) Fantasy - Spirited Away (2001), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) Historical - Empire of The Sun (1987) Horror - The Shining (1980) Music - Monterey Pop (1968) Romance - Annie Hall (1977), Lady and The Tramp (1955), Only Yesterday (1991), Casablanca (1942) Science Fiction - Blade Runner (1982), Arrival (2016), The Matrix (1999) Speculative - Children of Men (2006), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Thriller - Strangers on A Train (1951), Rear Window (1954) Western - Rango (2011), El Dorado (1966), Big Jake (1971), The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

22. Last movie you saw Sicko (2007) directed by Michael Moore for my documentary class. It was insane subject-wise. I hate the US healthcare system.

#I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND THE LONG ANSWER LOL #I am realizing that I really don't watch a lot of certain genres....need to change that #thank youuu I recommend all the films I listed here :3 #asks

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leviathan-supersystem · 2 months ago

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Good. Thats what democracies are about. Let's hear from an unbiased chinese civil rights lawyer from the mainland out trying to protect the repressed uigurs or the tibetans or the non-han chinese, or religious minorities of any kind. Oh wait…

okay, so, what i'm getting from this is that you think that there aren't civil rights lawyers who defend ethnic or religious minorities in china, and if there were, we would never hear interviews from them where they criticize china in western sources, because they would be too scared to speak out. and- if, for example, there were civil rights lawyers in china, speaking critically about china, in western sources, that would demonstrate that china is a democracy with freedom of speech- since "that's what democracies are all about". correct?

ohhhhhhh well would you look at that.

"aha!" you say. "but in that very interview, she talks about how civil rights lawyers have been detained or otherwise faced harassment from the state! proof of an oppressive dictatorship!"

so- just so we're clear- you're saying that if a country has detained civil rights lawyers, that means that country is an oppressive dictatorship?

And da evil "zionists" are doing such an bad job at their "genocide" the arab population has gone up almost continuously for 76 years and even went up last year amidst the fake "genocide" 😂

okay so just so we're clear, on that last part saying the population went up over the last year, you are saying that if the population is going up, it can't be a genocide? and, conversely, if there's a population decline, that is positive evidence that there is a genocide occurring? i just want us to get that established.

okay, so first off, your source for the claim that the population went up over the last year is sourced from worldometer, which in turn sourced their estimate for the population of palestine from the 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects from the UN. what's that? well, straight from the horses mouth [link]:

The 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects is the twenty-eighth edition of official United Nations population estimates and projections that have been prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. It presents population estimates from 1950 to the present for 237 countries or areas, underpinned by analyses of historical demographic trends. This latest assessment considers the results of 1,910 national population censuses conducted between 1950 and 2023, as well as information from vital registration systems and from 3,189 nationally representative sample surveys. The 2024 revision also presents population projections to the year 2100 that reflect a range of plausible outcomes at the global, regional and national levels.

that's right- the 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects only contains accurate census data up to 2023, everything from there out is projection/estimate based on previous years. gee, sure would be bad for your argument, if, say, the UN had announced that it had reason to believe to population of Gaza was significantly lower than the projection:

The UN is estimating that the population of Gaza has decreased by nearly 200,000 people in just the last nine months amid Israel’s siege — a number reflective of the speed and brutality of Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land. Prior to Israel’s current assault, Palestinian and humanitarian officials had projected that there was a population of 2.3 million people in Gaza. Now, the UN estimates that there are 2.1 million people in Gaza.

but you know what population hasn't been declining?

it is insane how much you keep shooting yourself in the dick. every claim you make to try to defend israel is more applicable to china than israel, and everything you say to attack china is more applicable to israel than china. like, china is actually fighting terrorism in xinjiang, and, amazingly, hasn't had to firebomb any toddlers to do so.

isnt shady dictatorial behavior cause some some shady-ass private german philanthropy thats dodgy about its funding says so....Thats some whack thinking, you have there.

who the fuck are you even talking about? the spectator is a conservative-leaning british publication, and plenty of other sources, including staunchly anti-china sources, will corroborate that the social credit system has been misrepresented:

edit: OH just realized you were talking about MERICS. first off, that's not the only source used for the article, second off, do you have any actual evidence of a pro-China bias at MERICS, or just empty innuendo? insofar as MERICS has any sort of biases, those seem to be pro-western bias, given that Merics is centered in europe and has connections to various european establishments, like for example the Munich Security Conference. MERICS has even been accused by China of spreading misinfo against them!

In March 2021, MERICS was one of several entities sanctioned by the Chinese government for "severely harm[ing] China's sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation,"

[x]

and the best you can do for sources is fearmongering nonsense from a gawker-owned tabloid rag like gizmodo? please.

me: we should base our understanding of ethics on real events, or at the very least credible thought experiments, and not fiction which was created for entertainment

helluva-hazbin-hufflepuff.tumblr.com: you know what? no. fuck this. fuck you.

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jaybe11 · 2 months ago

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The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (2/6) W.A.S...

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imaginefinneganswake · 2 months ago

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that the humptyhillhead of humself promptly sends an unquiring one well to the westin questof his tumptytumtoes:

Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce

ChatGPT4o critical interpretations (Created ChatGPT):

This passage from Finnegans Wake exemplifies the novel’s densely layered language, blending wordplay, cultural references, and narrative ambiguity. The line involves a multitude of allusions and can be interpreted in several ways depending on the focus of the analysis. Let’s break it down and explore some critical interpretations of its parts.

1. "that the humptyhillhead of humself"

This phrase is a direct reference to Humpty Dumpty, the nursery rhyme character who famously falls from a wall and cannot be put back together. However, Joyce manipulates the name, expanding its meaning:

Humptyhillhead: Suggests a figure atop a hill (or wall), invoking the idea of a fall from a height, which can symbolize the fall of man (as in the biblical fall), or more broadly, the cyclical nature of rise and fall in history, a key theme in Finnegans Wake.

Humself: A play on “himself,” but with "hum" suggesting both a humming sound and the "hum" of humanity at large. It hints at both a personal and universal identity, as Joyce frequently collapses the individual into the collective.

2. "promptly sends an unquiring one"

"Promptly" conveys immediacy, possibly signaling the inevitability of the fall or the inescapability of human folly.

"Unquiring one" is a complex phrase. It can be read as a play on “inquiring one” (someone who seeks knowledge), but prefixed with “un-,” it suggests either a person who is not questioning or perhaps someone who is being "sent off" without receiving an answer. The phrase evokes notions of exile or banishment, both thematically relevant in Finnegans Wake.

This has echoes of Joyce's own experiences as a writer in exile, and the figure of the questing hero (often passive or clueless) who is sent on a journey without necessarily understanding the purpose of the quest.

3. "well to the westin"

"Westin": This could be a reference to multiple ideas. The "West" often symbolizes death or the end of life (e.g., the setting sun). The term might also nod to Western civilization, with its traditions of exploration and conquest, but also decline and fall (as in the fall of Rome). There’s also a playful potential echo of the Westin Hotel, a mundane insertion into this esoteric text, reflecting Joyce’s layering of modernity into myth.

"Well": The word could operate in several ways. It might signify a physical well, echoing water imagery—a key motif throughout the Wake. Wells also evoke ideas of depth and unknowability, suggesting the quest involves descending into mysteries. Alternatively, it could simply mean "thoroughly," implying the character is sent fully into this "western" quest.

4. "questof his tumptytumtoes"

"Quest": A classic symbol of a journey for knowledge, identity, or resolution. In Joyce’s universe, quests are often circular or elusive, reflecting the infinite cycles of history and myth.

"Tumptytumtoes": This is a playful, rhythmic sound, evoking a child's rhyme. It could be echoing Humpty Dumpty again (with its sing-song quality) but now applied to the feet, possibly as a metaphor for faltering or stumbling in the journey (as Humpty himself does in his fall). The repetition of "tum" suggests a playful but also tragic circularity, a rhythm of falling, questing, and failing—much like the cycles of history that Joyce reflects upon throughout Finnegans Wake.

Critical Interpretations

Fall and Rebirth Cycles: The allusion to Humpty Dumpty, a figure who falls and cannot be repaired, links to Joyce’s broader theme of cyclical history. Just as Humpty’s fall mirrors the inevitable collapse of civilizations, the "inquiring one" could be humanity or any figure in search of meaning or redemption who must experience a fall before renewal or enlightenment. This resonates with the Wake’s use of Vico's cyclical theory of history, where societal collapse leads to rebirth.

The Heroic/Anti-Heroic Quest: The phrase may reference a heroic quest in the vein of traditional epics, but Joyce typically subverts such tropes. Here, the "unquiring one" seems passive or confused, less of a traditional hero and more of a modern, disoriented figure—much like Ulysses’ Leopold Bloom. The quest itself is also vague and directionless ("well to the westin"), undermining the usual purposefulness of epic journeys. This undercuts the notion of clear-cut meaning or resolution in life, in line with modernist preoccupations.

Identity and Fragmentation: The play on "humself" hints at a disintegration of identity. In the wake of modernist crises of identity (rooted in personal, cultural, and historical contexts), this phrase could represent the fragmentation of the self. Humpty Dumpty, who falls and shatters, is an apt metaphor for this breakdown of unified identity. The quest, then, might be one of trying to piece together these fragments, a task which may be futile, mirroring the Wake’s complex structure of fragmented language and narrative.

Linguistic Play and Meaning-Making: In typical Joyce fashion, the line revels in its wordplay, which resists a single, fixed interpretation. Critics who focus on the linguistic dimension of Joyce’s work might argue that the passage is less about a coherent narrative than about the playful, often frustrating process of making meaning out of language itself. The mixture of familiar references (Humpty Dumpty, the West) with strange neologisms and portmanteaus invites readers to engage in the act of interpretation, even as it denies them easy answers.

Conclusion:

This line embodies the richness and ambiguity of Finnegans Wake. It can be read as a commentary on human folly, a meditation on the cycles of history, or a playful dig at the traditional quest motif. As with much of Joyce’s work, the ultimate meaning remains elusive, encouraging readers to continually reinterpret the text through different lenses. Whether one views it as a microcosm of history, an exploration of identity, or an exercise in linguistic experimentation, the line holds infinite interpretive potential.

#ai art #finnegans wake #james joyce #midjourney #artists on tumblr

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somelotrnerd · 5 months ago

Text

The History of Gondor: Part 2

Map of Gondor:

Despite the loss of Isildur, both Gondor and Arnor would grow in wealth and power for the next 800 years. Gondor’s growth would only briefly be interrupted by an Easterling invasion in 492 of the Third Age. However, while Arnor would eventually begin its steady decline into ruin, Gondor would continue marching to prosperity. From 830 to 1149 TA, Gondor experiences its Golden Age - a period of rule by four consecutive rulers collectively known as the Ship-kings.These kings, Tarannon Falastur, Eärnil I, Ciryandil, and Ciryaher (also known as Hyarmendacil I), would seek to expand Gondor’s might in both military and navy.

Tarannon, the first of these kings, extends Gondor’s realm both west and south of the Mouths of Anduin. Tarannon is also known as the husband of Queen Berúthiel, a Black Númenórean known for being nefarious, solitary, and loveless, and of course for her spy cats. Tarannon is the first King of Gondor to die without an heir to his throne. Having years earlier cast his wife out to sea adrift aboard a ship, the crown passes to his nephew Eärnil I.

Eärnil continues the expansion of his uncle by constructing a great navy and repairing the old Númenórean port of Pelargir. Despite the greatness Gondor has achieved, it is not yet the supreme power of the coasts of Middle-earth - for there is still the haven of Umbar- also a former Númenórean port, but under the control of Black Númenóreans and Haradrim. In 933 TA, twenty years into his kingship, Eärnil attacks the forces of Umbar, seizing control of the harbor and as a result, the seas of Middle-earth. Still, the sea itself is not tamed, for just three years later, Eärnil is lost at sea and never seen again.

His son, Ciryandil, rises to the kingship. This third Ship-king continues the practice of building ever more ships, though he would die 79 years later in Umbar when the Haradrim, led by the lords exiled by his father, lay siege to the city.

Ciryaher then becomes the fourth and final Ship-king. He seeks vengeance for his father’s death and, after building up his armies, he attacks Harad by both land and sea in a decisive victory in 1050 TA. He forces the defeated kings of Harad to acknowledge the overlordship of Gondor and dubs himself Hyarmendacil, meaning “South-victor.”

At this moment, Gondor is at the very height of its power - both militarily and in terms of lands occupied. Their lands stretch from Celebrant in the North to Harnen and Umbar in the South; from the Greyflood in the West to the Sea of Rhûn in the East. The realm is now spread far and wide, but it would not last - for lesser kings, plague, and civil war are on the horizon.

With Hyarmendacil’s death in 1149 TA, his son Atanatar takes the throne as the 16th King of Gondor. Despite his 77-year reign, the strength and wealth of Gondor would begin to deteriorate.

The 19th king, Rómendacil II, would take the crown in 1304 TA. While there have been two kings between these rulers, Rómendacil is effectively the ruler during nearly the entire reign of his father and uncle before him after winning great renown in battle. During the rule of his uncle, the Easterlings resume their attacks on Gondor and during his battles, Rómendacil discovers that not all of the Northmen adhere to Gondor. Seeking to secure the region, he leads a great force from Gondor to attack the Easterling army occupying the lands between Rhovanion and the Sea of Rhûn in 1248 TA. His attack is a success, completely defeating the Easterlings west of the sea. It is then that he begins going by the name Rómendacil, meaning “East-victor.”

In that very year, Rómendacil fortifies the western shore of the Anduin north through the lands of Calenardhon. It is at his behest that the Argonath, the great Pillars of the Kings Anárion and Isildur, are constructed north of Amon Hen. It’s possible that the Seat of Seeing and the Seat of Hearing are also built during this time, given their proximity and Rómendacil’s interest in the North.

Rómendacil also takes a special interest in the Northmen, many of whom he brings into his service. Rómendacil even goes so far as to send his son to live among the Northmen, though this seemingly small act would bring civil war to Gondor. Prince Valacar would marry a woman of the Northmen and have a son named Eldacar. Valacar would rule for 66 years after his father’s death, but when he dies in 1432 TA, Eldacar takes the throne to the anger of many. Many Gondorians of Númenórean blood disapprove of Eldacar’s mixed heritage, and believe a half-breed has no right to rule.

Chief among these is his second cousin Castamir. Castamir is Gondor’s Captain of Ships, and thus is supported by both Umbar and Pelargir among other coastal regions of the realm. In 1437 TA, five years into his cousin’s rule, Castamir leads a rebellion and besieges the city of Osgiliath. During this attack, Osgiliath is covered in flames and the Dome of Stars, a great hall in the capital, is destroyed and its palantír is lost in the Anduin. In his sack of Osgiliath, Castamir first shows his utter cruelty and executes Eldacar’s son Ornendil.

Thus begins the Kin-strife in Gondor. Eldacar goes into exile, fleeing to his mother’s kin in Rhovanion. In turn, many of the Northmen previously loyal to Gondor, as well as Gondorians in the northern provinces rally behind the rightful King. Castamir would rule Gondor for 10 years, continuing to show his true colors to his people and steadily losing favor and becoming seen as the usurper he is.

Finally, in 1447 TA, Eldacar returns with a great army from Rhovanion and meets Castamir’s forces at the Crossings of Erui. Many are killed in this deadly conflict before Eldacar takes his vengeance upon Castamir, killing him in single combat. Castamir’s sons retreat to the haven of Pelargir, where they would hold out for a year before sailing with all their forces to Umbar. Eldacar, who has no ships of his own, is unable to pursue them, and as a result, Gondor would lose control of Umbar for the next 400 years as the sons of Castamir join the enemies of Gondor, bringing about the Corsairs of Umbar. The Corsairs would ally with the Haradrim in a war against Gondor in which the new king, Eldacar’s son Aldamir, is killed. Eleven years later, in 1551 TA, Aldamir’s son would defeat the Men of Harad in battle, avenging his father and taking the name Hyarmendacil II.

The Corsairs would plague the coast of Gondor for many years, but another plague would become a much greater concern for Gondor in 1636 TA. This plague affects a huge area of Middle-earth, and its source is an old and ancient foe. The plague coincides with the emergence of a shadow in Dol Guldur, and Sauron’s plague would not only devastate Gondor, but their enemies to the East and South as well. Osgiliath is especially hard hit and people fleeing the city would cause Minas Anor to become the new capital of the kingdom. Meanwhile, Calenardhon is so hard hit by the plague that it is nearly completely abandoned. Among the casualties of the plague are not only thousands of Gondorians, but King Telemnar, all his children, and even the White Tree of Gondor.

After the Kin-strife and now this Great Plague, Gondor has been severely weakened. In 1856 TA, enemies would once again come from the East. The spirit of Sauron once again moves the Easterlings into hostilities against Gondor. This group of Easterlings, known as the Wainriders, travels in great fortified camps of wagons and have invaded Rhovanion. King Narmacil II leads Gondor and the Men of the North in the Battle of the Plains south of Mirkwood. The battle is a disaster. Narmacil II is killed and the Easterlings enslave the people of Rhovanion. Some of the Northmen would escape and flee to the upper vales of the Anduin in their exile, becoming known as the Éothéod.

The first Lord of the Éothéod warns the new King Calimehtar, who is determined to avenge his father, that the Wainriders are preparing a raid on Calenardhon, but that the enslaved Northmen are also nearing a revolt. With time being precious, Calimehtar leads an army north, drawing the Wainriders south to meet them at Dagorlad. As the battle seems in doubt, Calimehtar’s secret cavalry crosses the Undeeps, meets up with the Éothéod riders and arrive at the battle, assuring their victory. Between the battle and the revolt in Rhovanion, the Wainriders are driven back to the East.

In 1940 TA, after many centuries of operating independently from one another, King Ondoher of Gondor meets with King Araphant of Arthedain - a splinter kingdom of the former realm of Arnor. They realize that the wars, plague and misfortune they’ve experienced are no mere coincidences. There is a single force bent upon the destruction of the Dúnedain. The kingdoms ally once more in hopes of saving both from collapse and Prince Arvedui marries Ondoher’s daughter Fíriel, further cementing their alliance. However, whatever alliance there is would be short lived, merely bringing about another contest for the throne.

Just four years after their alliance, Gondor’s enemies make a coordinated assault. The Haradrim invade from the South and just a few days later, Wainriders return from the East. Ondoher’s distant cousin Eärnil II leads an army south, while Ondoher leads an army north to meet the Wainriders. The chariots and horsemen of the Easterlings wreak havoc upon the King’s Guard, and Ondoher and both his sons are killed in the Disaster of the Morannon. After destroying the Haradrim in the South, Eärnil II brings his army north, catching the Easterlings by surprise in their celebration and decimating their forces, driving the survivors back to the East.

With the death of Ondoher and his heirs, both Arvedui and Eärnil II lay claim to the throne. Arvedui’s claim comes from, and would hinge upon, reintroducing an ancient Númenórean law of accession, which would see the eldest child, not the eldest son, inherit the throne, in which case his wife Fíriel would become the first Ruling Queen of Gondor. He also attempts to capitalize on the fact that he himself is the heir of Isildur, and their children would symbolize this reunification of Gondor and Arnor.

While the Steward Pelendur and Council of Gondor acknowledge the honor that the heir of Isildur title commands, they decree the King of Gondor must be of the line of Anárion, and the kingship passes to Eärnil II. Eärnil, who is described as both wise and humble, sends a message to Arvedui saying, “I do not forget the loyalty of Arnor, nor deny our kinship, nor wish that the realms of Elendil should be estranged. I will send you aid when you have need, so far as I am able.” - The Return of the King, Appendix A: “Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion”

This oath would be unfulfilled as Arthedain continues to be plagued by its centuries old enemy - the Witch-king of Angmar. In the Fall of 1973 TA, Gondor receives word that Arthedain is about to be attacked as the Angmar War surpasses 400 years. Eärnil II sends his son Eärnur north with a fleet as great as they could spare. However, by the time they arrive, Arthedain is conquered and Arvedui is drowned in the sea.

Eärnur joins with Círdan, and a combined force of Elves and Men destroys the army of Angmar. Eärnur seeks to fight the Witch-king, but his horse is terrified and flees the battle against its rider’s wishes. The Witch-king mocks Eärnur, but would himself flee at the coming of Glorfindel and the Elves of Rivendell. It is at this moment that Glorfindel pronounces his prophecy that not “by the hand of man shall he fall.”

Being driven from the North, the Witch-king would instead bring the war directly to Gondor. He returns to Mordor in 1980 TA and rallies the other eight Nazgûl to him. Twenty years later, they lay siege to Minas Ithil and in 2002 TA, they sack the city, take control of its palantír, and remake the city to a place of unspeakable evil. This once great city of Isildur is occupied by foul creatures and comes to be known as Minas Morgul, meaning “Tower of Dark Sorcery.” This leads many Gondorians living in Ithilien to flee, depopulating the lands east of the river. In this same year, Minas Anor is renamed Minas Tirith, meaning “Tower of Guard.”

After his father’s death, Eärnur ascends to the throne in 2043 TA. After Eärnur’s coronation, the Witch-king sends him a challenge to single combat while reminding him of his disgrace of seeming to flee the battlefield in the North. Fortunately, the Steward Mardil Voronwë convinces the King not to go. However, seven years later, in 2050 TA, the Witch-king renews his challenge and this time, the King would accept. He sets his crown on his father’s lap in the Houses of the Dead and, with a small escort of knights, he rides across the river and past the gates of Minas Morgul. None of the company would ever be seen again.

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yuexuan · 8 months ago

Text

[Review]大世界

Title: 大世界 Great World

Author: 颜凉雨

Length: 61 chapters + 5 extras

Tag: Modern, sci-fi, slice-of-life

Summary:

130 years ago, the mysterious fog that covered the Earth brought about a ‘Wild Awakening’. Humans have thus entered the ‘Animal-morphing Era’.

A hundred years ago, the climate suddenly changed. Natural disasters became frequent, extreme weathers became common, leading to a sharp decline in food supplies and the lapse of technological advancement.

Humankind used 30 years to adapt to the change, evolving half-creature, anthromorphized etc. forms. But they didn’t expect to be faced with the crossroad of survival, instead of a new era.

But the 19 year old Tong Xiaonan (Family: Penguin) and Nie Bingyuan (Family: Polar bear) haven’t started considering the fate of humankind yet. As the freshmen of the century-old No. 4 Creature Awakening University--

Tong Xiaonan’s greatest trouble was: my friend thought I saw him as a brother.

Nie Bingyuan’s greatest trouble was: my friend spoiled and tolerated me, but he always looked at me like a dummy.

Novel

Comments *contains spoilers**

Set ~100 years after the second book, the third book focuses on the school life and world of Nie Bingyuan and Tong Xiaonan. Unlike the first two books, the third book builds a more apocalyptic world, where humankind is slowly moving towards their demise. Despite this, the tone of the book is still largely light and the first half of the book is centered around smaller scale events in the school. The second half of the book deals more with the antagonist’s ploy to change the genetic makeup of humankind so that they can awaken mythological creature attributes. MC and ML resolve this by bringing the main couples from books 1 and 2 to battle with the antagonist.

Highlights

Similar to the previous books, the main couple have pretty silly personalities. Nie Bingyuan is super smart, but at the same time superstitious and completely obtuse to his feelings for Tong Xiaonan. Oftentimes he would get jealous at other people who got too close to Tong Xiaonan. Tong Xiaonan, on the other hand, embodies the physical awkwardness of penguins, oftentimes slipping and falling while walking. He has a crush on Nie Bingyuan, but doesn’t dare to voice out his feelings. However, the other students are fully aware of their feelings for each other and basically couldn’t stand them constantly doting on one another.

The evolution of human’s abilities to turn into animals from the previous books provide a nice continuity in the trilogy. The first book depicts the start of humanity’s exploration towards their newfound abilities to attain animal traits; the second book showcases ongoing struggles as new societal hierarchies are created related to the different animal traits; and the last book explored how, aside from animal traits, humanity also obtained additional superpowers in a quickly declining world. It’s kinda sad - but also cool - to see the progression of human civilization - by the third book, conditions have deteriorated so much that people no longer have the internet and they rely only on seafood and potatoes for their staple.

Since I liked the main characters from the previous books, it is cool to see old characters making a debut again. I suspect that the author’s favorite child is Hu Lingyu, given the important role he holds for two books.

In the last part of the book, characters obtain the abilities to transform into mythological creatures. I like the added detail about how the origin of the characters determine the type of mythological creature they are (e.g. western characters turned into western mythological creatures, and Chinese characters turned into Chinese mythological creatures). This is despite the fact that their animal type had nothing to do with the region they live in lol.

Things I didn’t like

The two sections of the story don't quite flow into one another. It’s a bit jarring to read about the daily lives of the main couple and their classmates in the first part, only for those classmates to take on a very peripheral role in the second part of the story. In particular, the second pairing started strong, but quickly became forgotten in the latter part of the story.

And perhaps this is just me, but the ending of the story seems strangely nationalistic, touting China as the only country that had ever done any agriculture research in harsh conditions of the world. Which doesn’t make sense, because anyone could see that agriculture is a natural course of action for ANY country to ensure food security when food supplies are low.

#danmei #review #大世界

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