Articles, observations, and fictions by Sam Girdich: history & philosophy buff, pop culture fan, aging (sigh) martial artist, husband/parent, and proud owner of a pleasantly odd mind.
The inevitable glittering Hello Kitty shield debuting at the VT Comic Con!
Ed Yancey, artist and model extraordinaire. https://www.instagram.com/iggycrypt/
Which made Hawkeye really mad.
Despite her fondness for one of my DIY Captain America shields at last year's VT Con!
Cosplayer and Nice Human, Kelly Green. https://www.instagram.com/kellygreen802/
Thankfully I also made.
So that people at the Con could stuff like do this!
Because that's what a Blackboard Shield is made for.
Whew!
In the near future I'll post a DIY vid for the Hello Kitty shield to go along with my DIY vid for the Captain America Shield, as found here ---> https://youtu.be/AidlyPITmS8
More to come, but all for now. Take care, gentle reader!
Enjoy this bit of Dr. Seuss meets H.P. Lovecraft as we slide into the Halloween season. I suggest reading the piece before listening to how I imagined it so your own interpretation has a chance to exist for comparison sake, but you be you.
Let's begin.
They flapped and they twitched and they
crawled and they shambled,
They slithered and they dug and they ran
and they scrambled.
Out of basements and pits and from under
small beds,
Out of tombs and of caves and from out
troubled heads.
It was called The Tide of All Horrors in
the days before writing,
A monster army marching fast under
moon’s pallid lighting.
The chattering horde traveled as one to
gather at Court,
Their Lord had called to them a command
no power could thwart.
A time of accounting had once more come
again,
The Throne wished to behold Its kingdom
without end.
“Tell me of the world, and of Man, and
the things Man cannot see.
Tell me of your frights, your gifts, and
of the horrors to be.”
To their Caesar each gave a piece to the
puzzle of His land,
All spoke in a manner that only He could
understand.
The final ghoul had gibbered when their
Lord suddenly roared,
“There is one who has not yet come
forward from the depths of my horde!”
Walls thick as suffering flinched from
the anger in his word,
Once proud legions cowered low turning horde
into herd.
…the silent fear of millions pleased That
Which Sits Upon the Blood Throne…
“I obey, oh Terrible Sovereign who sits
above all!”
“Please spare me your rage for I was merely
crossing your Hall.”
Arachnids to zombies searched for the source
of the sound,
All hunted upwards and sideways and then
toward the ground.
Under gorgons, around hooves, and
through fungus covered wings,
Moved a piece of a wisp of a sliver of a
thing.
The King looked down upon this new denizen
of night,
“Tell us, small terror, of your gifts
and of your might.”
“I have none, oh Bloody Lord, as you know
quite well.
My name will never be carved with the Honored
of Hell.”
“So slight that I am, I fall far from any
sight.
I have not great jaws for the flesh to
bite.”
“The doors of homes, I cannot rend.
The wills of minds, I cannot bend.”
“Faith in Heaven I cannot uproot.
This monstrous existence I do not suit!”
Their mighty Lord howled at the small
one’s word,
Lo! To His anger, His laughter was worse
to be heard!
“You moved unseen by predators built for
night.
You moved unheard by lurkers who stalk without
sight
“Your words betray a fast and nimble mind.
So why have you left your gifts
unrefined?”
“I, whose name means death to Angel and
Elder God,
Want to know why you treat your existence
as a fraud.”
The Great Rending Thing’s glare bore
down upon the speck,
A weight like dirt and stone and darkness
fell hard upon its neck.
“I… I… listen and obey, my Wise and
Noble King.
Find bounty in bane for my true self to
bring.”
The Little Thing waited. It did not
move. No Thing moved.
…the fear of the Little Thing pleased
That Which Sits Upon the Blood Throne…
The chattering horde traveled as one to
scatter from Court,
Their Lord dispelled them with a command
no power could thwart.
Alone, It settled into dream realms of
terror after its little talk,
Moving easily as only the ruler of
Cain’s children can walk.
It will sleep and plan and plot for
centuries or more,
But Lo! What is that silent wisp creeping
under its closed door?
“Your words were true but only to build
a better beast to whip.
Sowing seeds is dangerous, my Lord, as your
aim may err and slip.”
“So sleep, oh precious Lord, in your far
and airy places.
Grow I shall before pushing sharp knives
into your soft places.”
Sometimes when I am in need of words of encouragement or wisdom I turn to one the many unseen, yet real, parallel realities that surround us. Here's something I found by a, "...young and promising voice in contemporary social commentary..." in a universe I noticed while pumping gas.
Whoever fights with "monsters" should see to it that he or she does not become one themselves. And when you gaze long into politics, politics gazes back into you.
-Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil and Labeling (2017), Aphorism 147
According to his biography he is an only child in that universe, so his legacy is (hopefully) safe.
Found at Watkins Glen State Park, NY on the Gorge Trail.
"The Devil is in the details." as the old saying goes. I cannot agree more.
Signing a contract? Review the details.
Moving to a new neighborhood? Observe the details.
Looking for a new career? Ask about the details.
First night with a new lover? Focus on the details your partner doesn't know they are giving.
Walking along a tourist trail with well over a century of history? Let the details tell the story.
And Lo! What a story I found. Atop a stone not far in from the South entrance I found a simple, yet powerful gesture of love between two tourists. From the year 2089.
This is big. I'll take it step by step and start you down the rabbit hole. Time travel is real. This alone has implications which even my nerd mind can only scrape the surface of. We've theorized the possibility of time travel for some time and so far, we cannot find a reason why it cannot happen.
Here's a piece of the latest research. --> Futurism
Math and engineering aside, there are other fundamental implications to consider, such as WE STILL EXIST IN THE FUTURE. Let that settle in. All the current strife, hurt, and war will NOT END US. That's not to say there won't be hard times in the future, as there were in the past. But, despite all of which is to come and the current political doomsday talk, we still are around poking the universe to see what happens. If you can't find some hope in that, then I can't help you.
I know what some might be thinking: What about "12 Monkeys"? Time travel exists but humans developed it as a desperate gambit to save itself. Yeah...no. What times get tough theoretical physics is not the place humans go looking for help. We get brutally practical when the feces hits the fan. We find places to dig in and wait out the storm. I offer you all of known human history as proof. But I digress.
So, we have time travel. Great. What else do we have? TOURISM! People have free time in the future! Extended leisure time is only available in cultures where most basic needs are met. Depressions, famines, plagues, and environmental upheavals are not good for the tourism industry, unless there's something I am unaware of. Leave a comment if you know better. How do I know these weren't scientists on a test run? The same way I know why NASA takes great care to not bring back or leave microorganisms when it goes wandering around the solar system: contamination. Even a small change in an environment can have grave and unforeseeable consequences. Think the Bradbury story A Sound of Thunder or the Butterfly Affect theory. Not familiar with the latter? Watch this...
And we're back. Scientists involved with time travel, generally speaking, do not want to muck about with the time/space continuum by stomping around like overtired toddlers. Like, for example, leaving the year they are from in the past via graffiti. Yet, here we are. In fact, this blog and my posts to friends on social media could be having grave ramifications in the future. Or, maybe wonderful ramifications! Maybe this very blog is held as proof that techniques and technologies in the future work. If that is the case, then would future explores please do me a kindness and let me know? Oh! Perhaps they already have in a Moebius Strip kind of way!
Lastly, in the future humans still like to make public signs of affection. I know seventy-two years is not a long time, however it means quite a lot. It is a sign of personal expression. Individuals are apparently still willing to take chances, despite dire warnings to the contrary. It means that Love is still valued and displays of public affection still score points. It shows we can relate to the psychology of our descendants at least for the next three generations. Consider too, it wasn't a political message. That, beyond all else, gives me hope.
Okay. Ending here. I have to. I am having so much fun assuming this is a real date that I have a headache from all it could mean. The date has to be correct, right? People don't note fake dates on graffiti as a deep-level joke, do they? Random people writing future dates on vandalism as some sort of unrealized or realized acknowledgement that the present has value as it leads to a future we can also value is crazy talk! No good can come of that, right? Right? Exactly. That's why it must be real.
It is the only logical conclusion. Thanks, Erica & Eddie!
The Science Channel is broadcasting the 8/21
solar eclipse live, which is fun. Home Depot sells glasses designed to
view the eclipse, as I am sure many other places do. Just FYI.
Click on the image for NASA's
official eclipse site for lots of cool information of the science kind.
I know what you're thinking:
Those moon landing faking, flat earth denying
bastards! This is probably fake, too!
But, if that were true then how could there be apps available to track the eclipse on your smartphone of choice? By law you cannot produce an app if it is not 100% correct, honest, or pure.
Right. That is very true!
So pull yourself away from the mundane on 8/21 -and with proper eye protection- view an event that cultures around the world for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years have deemed a dire omen of troubles to come.
Echo chamber. It's a word not many have heard of, but it is something you, me, and the person watching you through the window need to be aware of. Let me explain. No, on second thought I will let these two videos get us started. They'll do a good job of it. Watch them and then we'll talk. I'll see you all a little later...
How's that scroll wheel looking now? Never thought someone had monetized it beyond the production aspect. Keep going. Not much further.
Thoughts? Humans as a whole do not function well in an environment with uncertainty lurking around corners waiting to pounce and eat our contentment, hope, and maybe the last five bucks in our pocket. So, we seek anchors. Cling to anchors. Defend our anchors even if they drag us down into very unhealthy and murky waters. Or put another way, GOD HELP THE BASTARD THAT EVEN SO MUCH AS TOUCHES OR LOOKS AT ONE OF MY PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS ANCHORS!
Interesting, yes? Now, you and I are smart. We're clever. We're worldly. Good looking. These videos don't apply to us, right? Bullshit. I'm human and this stuff applies to me, so I am betting your human mind works the same way. Many years ago I started asking myself What the hell is going on? once a day in the hopes of fighting this stuff. Key word: hope. Does it help? I hope so.
So, back into the Echo Chamber. An Echo Chamber is an environment (real or virtual) in which we hear and see and think only the things we want to. In other words, a place filled with anchors. And thanks to technology we have unseen partners who help build them! Algorithms in social media platforms do more than keep us coming back, they feed us news and ads based on the words we use and posts we like! HUZZAH! I'm not suggesting dumping social media because of the unintended consequence of thematic isolation. I use it and like. I just want YOU to know a bit more about it, and in turn how there are people who know a bit more about how our minds work then we might.
Down the Rabbit Hole and into the Looking Glass stuff, I know. But, I dig that sort of thing. Give it some thought. Don't take my word on it. Splash it around your own skull and see what you find.
I will leave you with this
While we can't change to the Cradle to Crematorium parts, that middle section has a whole lot of wiggle-room.
Mark and I are pleased to present our latest piece: To Serve A Prince.
This new poster will debut at the Vermont Comic Con next month. By
revisiting classic fairy tale troupes, To Serve A Prince reveals the
unintended origin of a very modern Sci-Fi troupe with a very high body
count. On-line purchasing details for a limited run of the poster will
be announced after the VT Con. Huzzah!
Happy July 4th everyone. To the descendants of the British soldiers, no hard
feelings. To the descendants of the French soldiers and the French
politicians who loaned us money, many thanks. To the Native Tribes who
fought on the side of Colonies, many thanks and sorry we didn't keep many of our
promises. And thank you to my timeline for allowing such a marvelous
thing as El Rey and its glorious movie marathons. Gojira!
My hope every year is that more people come to understand that our shared history is MUCH more complex and rich and terrible and awesome than the watered-down bullshit peddled to them is. Don't let talking heads of any kind hold the final word on your thoughts, the extent of your knowledge, and your view of the world. You're worth more than that.
This bird died near the entrance of a grocery store I frequent. The proximity of death to abundance is a multilayered koan.
I bitch about work and stress.
I never bitch about being hungry.
I bitch about television and movies.
I never bitch about being unsafe.
I bitch about commuting and chores.
I never bitch about finding a place to sleep.
I bitch about replacing my computer.
I never bitch about my family living in poverty.
I bitch about common Western problems knowing how lucky I am
to have them. I don’t feel guilt over the fortune of my birthplace, to be clear,
nor do I understand people who do. I didn’t pick it, nor did I push some other soul
out of the line to the best of my metaphysical knowledge. What I am is deeply,
deeply grateful. The unlikeliness of my circumstances given the scope of human
history does not elude me. I am equally grateful that I was raised to try to
make quality decisions. I am grateful the mistakes I made of my own volition
did not ruin my life. I am grateful I learned from them. Living in the West in
and of itself guarantees nothing, lest we forget. Finally, I am grateful for those
who planted the concept within me that (hopefully) one day most humans will
only have my kind of problems. They give me hope.
