Evil is Afoot - 25 February 2022 - Plague Journal Day 715

Micah 6:8
Joel 3:9-16  Matthew 24:4-8 
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Wow, what a crazy world we live in. Is there anyone so foolish as to say there is not evil abroad in the world? Surely not.

However - because there is evil is no reason to disbelieve in good - in Good. Without the standard of good (as defined by God, for otherwise it's not a standard, it's a shifting metric that matches the momentary zeitgeist) there could be no objective judgment of any action as being evil. Read the scene in Silverlock by John Myers Myers where Silverlock is judged by the three judges of the underworld for an excellent exploration of this idea.

As a youth I came to believe that Socialism is stupid, but Communism is evil. I still believe that. Socialism can't work because people are fallen and won't work together "just because they should" as socialism prescribes. Communism is evil because the only way it can work is to take away the humanity of the people in whose names it generally pretends to rule.

Today's freewrite prompt word is Trade

Somehow, president Biden seems to think that putting sanctions on small parts of Russia's trade with the rest of the world will halt Putin's imperial goals. That's pure folly - especially the 'small parts' portion of that. Were he (and our European allies) to halt the purchase of Russian oil and gas, replacing it with US-sourced (and Canadian?) oil and gas, Russia would be bankrupt in a short time.
It appears the time has come to trade cautious, feckless inaction for something bold. In a month or so there may not be a Ukraine to try to protect.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Work it out - 17 August 2021 - Plague Journal Day 523

Micah 6:8
Ezekiel 9:3-4,11
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Here's my obligatory joke for today.
Why don't mathematicians suffer from constipation?
They always work it out with a pencil.

Yes, that's a rather disgusting joke, but given that today is National #2 Pencil Day, it seemed less inappropriate than it usually would have been.

Also on today's date, in 1850 José de San Martín, Argentinian general, politician, 1st President of Peru died. Huh? Argentinian general and politician, but President of Peru? I guess I need to brush up on my South American history.

Further back, in 1786, Davy Crockett, American soldier, politician, king of the wild frontier was born.
I was going to post the poem from Silverlock recounting the battle at the Alamo in Norse skaldic verse, but I haven't found it yet. If I do, I'll come back and add it with a note that the post has been updated.
Whether I find it or not, you should all go buy a copy of Silverlock, by John Myers Myers and read it. Go do that immediately - it's one of my all-time favourite books of any genre.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

It's Time for a Visit to the Commonwealth

... the Commonwealth of Letters, that is.
"What's that?" you ask. Ah, it's the conceit of one incredibly fun novel: Silverlock, by John Myers Myers. (The author so nice, they named him twice?)


DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK!  

This is one of the greatest picaresque novels you'll ever read, bar none.  It's a romp through of the "Commonwealth" - the land where all the great characters of literature live.
The protagonist, A. Clarence Shandon journeys from our own dull world (he has a business degree from the University of Wisconsin, if you can believe it) to Greek myth (Circe) through Teutonic and English legend (Beowulf and Robin Hood) to places I'd rather not mention, so I don't spoil the read for you.  See how many of the folks he encounters you can recognize - this book will send you back to re-reading the classics, or inspire you to read them for the first time.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TOO HIGHLY - IT WILL REPAY EVERY EFFORT YOU PUT INTO FINDING AND READING IT.(I know that's shouting - I meant to shout.)

Really, I mean every word.