Monthly Archives: April 2021

WandaVision-In-A-Gaddus-Da-Hexa-Marva-Hexa

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Get Spoiled: Surfing the Excellence and the Hype of WandaVision

Oh, goddess, “In-A-Gaddus-Da-Hexa-Hexa” sounds SO STUPID, and, hey, I’m having fun, so I’m a gonna run-runna-run widdit. Certain scenes reminded me of Iron Butterfly’s trippy, psychedelic, early heavy metal hippie anthem, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” The more than a quarter-of-an-hour song spladdled with drunken, stoner spirit and mixed with mystical, psycho-religious romance and sexual innuendo was unleashed upon the planet back in 1968, tho. Some of WandaVision’s mindshows began even earlier, didn’t they? In old movies and even older comic books? At least in some minds…

Marvel’s WandaVision premiered on 15 January 2021 and concluded on the 5th of March. One can watch it on the Disney+ streaming service. For those new to the MCU, make sure you watch the mid-and-end credit scenes at the conclusion of each episode. And, wow, what a show! What a series! 

WandaVision is one of the most sophisticated, elegant, and trippy deep television shows ever created. Not only was the so-called Fourth Wall convention routinely broken and broken in quirky ways, but all of the barriers of illusion were perturbed with fiendish delight. One can imagine the actors and production staff giggling off-stage. The show is the equivalent of multiple shows nesting one inside the other like some bizarre blend of Russian dolls and Chinese boxes. With all of the dolls and boxes in motion as well. Aye, this rabbit hole burrows deeper and deeper yet into a warren of rabbit holes. Continue reading →

The Verdict: Justice Achieved

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George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, and the United States of America

Encounter with Cops and Protesters in a strange demonstration

To many a surprise and with great relief, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a White man, was found guilty on all three counts in the murder of George Floyd, a Black man from Texas, originally North Carolina, who had recently moved to Minnesota. There was not any hung jury nor partial rendering of justice. The jury, itself composed of people from different ethnic groups including Blacks and Whites, deliberated quickly and returned their verdict to the court. The verdict took mere minutes to read out loud, and the world changed. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, guilty of murder in the third degree, and second-degree manslaughter. Sentencing is set for two weeks, why so damn far out I don’t know, but the killer will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. Although Minnesota abolished the death penalty back in 1911, the murderer of George Floyd is more likely to be killed in prison by fellow convicts than to die of old age.

Faithlyn, my fiancé, first notified me by text while I happened to be on a break at work. We are both hard of hearing so we text to stay connected. She’s excited, riveted, and texted me “…The verdict is about to be read!” Moments later, she wrote one text: “Guilty.” Then, “On ALL counts.” Later on, she texted me it felt “so surreal.” Sent me an image of her avatar crying, “TEARS of JOY.” Full disclosure here: my Beloved is Black, Deaf, and an Immigrant naturalized as a US citizen while I am White, Hard of Hearing, and a native-born US citizen. Aye, tears of joy! Continue reading →

Earth’s China – Taiwan Conundrum in a Planetary Perspective

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Will these opposing sides step back from the brink?

What steps will we as a species take to peacefully unify Earth?

Isn’t national sovereignty a Twentieth Century anachronism as obsolete as the Divine Right of Kings?

Taiwan and its surrounding small islands constitute the last outpost of the Republic of China. This republic was declared on the 1st of January 1912 following the Revolution of 1911. The Revolution in turn set in motion a nearly continuous era of both internal and international warfare and massacres lasting well into the 1950s and later. 

After decades of civil war mixed with two world wars, the Communists proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on the 1st of October 1949. Although fighting still continued, the bulk of the civil war was considered over with the Communists victorious on the mainland. 

The Republic of China was declared over 38 and a half years before the People’s Republic of China was declared. Both republics still exist. It is ludicrous for the PRC in Beijing to declare Taiwan is a separatist region in rebellion against the central communist government. Are other nation-state regimes unable to see this fact? Most prefer to duck in fear or to focus on short-term financial profits. How in the world can the ROC, a national government existing nearly 40 years before another, the PRC, be considered in rebellion against the newer regime? Are not the Communists then the actual splittists engaged in separatism? They declared the civil war over in Red victory back in 1949, but wasn’t that premature? They conquered Hainan Island from ROC forces, invaded Tibet, and intervened in the Korean War all in the same year, 1950. They got pummeled in efforts to bombard and otherwise attack ROC forces on Taiwan and surrounding islands in battles and skirmishes that flared intermittently thru the 1950s into the mid-1990s. Meanwhile the PRC regime literally devoured the mainland as they sought to pacify their conquests, killing millions of fellow Chinese in the process. If anyone is in rebellion, isn’t it the revolutionary totalitarian dictatorship squatting astride the mainland in on-going revolt against the Nationalist forces held up in their island fortresses on Taiwan? Continue reading →

DEFCON 5 or 4 over the Ukrainian Crisis?

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A long-simmering crisis people have long shrugged off is quickly blowing up

One website in particular from among private citizens’ global military and intelligence sites held a debate on whether or not the DEFCON warning system should move from the current 5 to level 4. The majority argued persuasively in favor of maintaining the defense readiness system at 5 while a loud minority argued it should be raised to 4 even tho nothing has happened beyond localized, sporadic fighting in the Donbas, large-scale and threatening-appearing military maneuvers, which is one of the reasons countries engage in such behavior, petty name calling between the leaders, and doom porn by the few news media remotely aware of what’s happening. Another site, however, recently escalated to DEFCON 4 as military mobilizations far from Ukraine and saber-rattling has turned to repositioning doomsday weapons. What threat level is realistic here without getting caught up in alarmism or turn dismissive and in denial?  Continue reading →