John Fitzpatrick. About New China, the Koreas, Myanmar, Thailand, and also about Japanese and Chinese writers and poets. The main emphasis is on North Asia and the political tectonics of this very important, powerful, and many-peopled area.
Sunday, 29 September 2019
"A Totalitarian State is a country run by One Family. A Democratic State is a country run by one of two families who each pay to have turns." Hong Kong is a part of China the same way Tasmania is a part of Australia no matter how many Tasmanians, and how many Australian mainlanders, don't actually like that fact. The fact won't change. As for Hong Kong, 4 months of protest, or 400 months. It doesn't matter. Take as long as you want. Destroy everything you need to destroy of your own making and of your own families. China won't stop you - you are China. No one will stop you. It won't change a thing, for the better. There is a time to build up, and a time to break down. Do what you need to do.
Thursday, 19 September 2019
Boredom is Essential.ON BOREDOM AS A NEW CULTURE & ART: Apparently, with social media and always being connected, the problem is that we are not deeply, intrinsically, bored enough. The state of boredom is very important as a survival mechanism. Why? Because a fair bit of reality is absolutely boring a fair bit of the time. Having a 24 hour news cycle doesn't change the fact that not much in the news isn't boring. Fortunately, when bored, a person's mind is processing millions of things just under the glance of consciousness, working out problems, developing future survival scenarios, etc...most of the mind is about surviving the future rather than enjoying Netflix or football or horseraces...but with too much active thoughtful absorption in the present, too many activities, too many stimuli, we strand ourselves and dumb ourselves down into acceptance of the relentlessly mediocre. To deal with this, you can actually go to 5 day conferences on Boredom where experts talk about the likelihood of lottery wins, aeroplane meals, new word meanings, Hollywood, plankton, veganism, etc, and whilst they talk, and talk, and show slides, you, in the audience just kind of ...get functionally bored for hours ...and re-visit yourself unconsciously and devise your good future...and your good future is...dear lord...for fuck's sake...anything but this!
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