Sleepless in Chatham (NJ)

Obviously, not everyone agrees. There must then be more than one side to the story. Russia, China, India, et al were maneuvered into ‘agreeing’. They agreed by voting ‘present’ – which is a way of saying, “Do what you want, but we’ll have no part of it.”

Action involves risk. Risk must be balanced by benefit. For far too long American foreign policy has excluded any notion of ‘benefit’. It has been unbalanced. In Iraq we never insisted on payback. Its oil is now going to our rivals. As the chaos and killing there continues, we cannot even claim ‘victory’ on that front. Neither do we insist on Libya’s oil in exchange for our effort. And indeed, Libya’s oil is already spoken for and going to those who voted ‘present’.

You would think that Obama, of all people, would understand the benefits that accrue by voting ‘present’; that voting otherwise engenders risk which, in turn, invites loss. It has been my contention that Obama – whether by way of retribution or an affinity for victimhood - deliberately invites loss. Neither revenge nor national suicide are attractive to anyone but himself.

Saw the French film “Of Gods and Men” last night. As my friend and I settled ourselves outside afterwards to discuss the merits of the film, a woman approached us. She clearly had been disturbed by it. She said it was the worst film she had ever seen. She said it was good to have someone to talk it out with and hoped that she would not have bad dreams.

It was basically an anti-war film. In addition, it blamed the West. As such, it entered the realm of propaganda. Propaganda can never rise to the level of art. It targets those lacking any clear cut principles …and leaves them sleepless.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Super Bowl

The sheer spectacle of the Super Bowl trivializes everything. The high cost of the seats assures that only the upper echelons can attend, to be seen in the company of themselves. The rest of us must watch from home; which, by the way, offers a much better perspective of the game.

As plebes, watching from home we are condemned also to watching the commercials. These are said to have evolved into high art. In fact, legions of non-fans of the sport watch simply to see the advertising which essentially amounts to a parade of tools marching through our version of Tahrir Square - like a succession of splendid rags paraded down glittering runways on the angular bodies of emaciated females - and, as we all know, tools can never exceed their function.

The controversy engendered by the Groupon ads went right over my head. I might have been reaching for the hummus at the time and not paying attention. I did marvel at GM’s contribution, knowing how cash strapped they are.

H&R Block decided to skip advertising this year, having failed to realize an up-tick in business last year. And so it is with them all - the products and services vying for attention on the national vaudeville stage.

So, advertising at the Super Bowl appears similar to those who spend huge sums simply to be there, to be seen in the company of naked emperors; to maintain their jewels in the crown - their white elephants - like the Taj Pierre (Hotel) on New York’s 5th Avenue, painstakingly maintained by the TATA’s at a loss. I was not shocked to see W, but surprised by the absence of Barack Hussein Obama, our latest symbol of excess - in the jubilant stands.

Was happy to watch from home with my family, rooting for no one in particular (until the end) and stuffing my face.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Rubber Rooms

I love the way the money we would save by abandoning our efforts overseas has already been spent by the progressive Left. No doubt, we need more teachers to teach about the evils of capitalism; the evils of Democracy, and of racism in America; the evils of fossil fuels; the cancers of freedom, liberty and of the anachronism of humanity in general.

There are never enough teachers, whether in the ‘rubber rooms’ or in the classrooms to bone up and teach - not math, history or language – but of the yet unrealized glories of Obama's Marxist vision of vast plantations worked by sweat, brawn and the rotting carcasses of the infirm. Teachers who by rote say only one thing: 'Arbeit macht frei', which equates roughly to the ball and chain metaphor without the actual ball, without the actual chain; Pol Pot’s vision of workers abandoning the cities to the ravages of ruin for the ideal of Schlaraffenland, the bountiful earth, the miracle of the loaves and fish; for the unsullied human imprint that excludes individuality, inspiration, exceptionalism, imagination, talent and failure – and, by extension, of course – success.

What is success anyway, if not the desire to make someone else look bad? Strike it from the face of the earth, and there will be true equality without stress and acrimony.

I went to the MoMA in New York this weekend. I’d never seen so many people there before, prompting my nephew (from Brazil) to remark, “In New York nobody works.” And so it seemed – on a weekday, no less - so many people, milling aimlessly around among the ghosts of past masters, seeking what?

I would soon find out why. The draw was an exhibit of a new art form - outside the box - involving live humans sitting or standing still without blinking, facing each other or looking away; expressionless. Some were alone; some were naked, not even allowed the dubious dignity of porn: photography prohibited. Ironically, these were precisely in a box, constrained by the space of a frame; constrained by directorial decree; the opposite of dance. I was saddened to see it. I don’t remember their faces. I only saw submission to the artist’s triumphant straight jacket (display) that kept them unnaturally motionless. It reminded me of Seaworld where dolphins are made to jump through hoops – or circuses. And yet, these were especially distressing to watch being denied even motion. A forthright display of corpses would have made far greater sense.

Then, this morning, one of the talk shows had Michio Kaku on. This is a man who had at one time inspired me with his folksy explanations of string theory. I heard him say that he had been receiving e-mails asking if God was mad at the world, causing earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, rain and flooding, and such. Kaku is a pleasant, gregarious intellect, much admired by the self-proclaimed intellectual elite for his way with words. He explained in plain language the workings of the earth’s tectonic plates and seemed to dismiss the hand of God entirely. No doubt, the e-mail writers were greatly relieved to hear that the terrible hand of God had nothing to do with recent disasters. No doubt, they felt assured that the demon head of their crushing guilt would remain hidden in the recesses of their exploding hearts - disguised as calm - for yet another day. It is God they fear the most.

Finally, the discussion turned to ‘global warming’, as every conversation by convention must. Kaku supported the concept, explaining it in tortured economic terms (new to me, but just as implausible). I turned the radio off. Such a brilliant mind bound by popular orthodoxy was too much for me to take this early in the day. Kaku reminded me of those living, inert human figures at the museum who could not move, despite nothing obvious restraining them, except the dictate of the artist/Kommandant who pays their bills.

The Whole Ball of Wax

There are really only two ways of looking at things – civilization, modernity, capitalism, politics, science and technology – in short, the whole ball of wax. In order to make a proper assessment, we must put it in perspective. Realize that this would apply only to humanity, a relatively small but, nevertheless, evolving part of what we regard as creation. Secondly, we must recognize all humanity as a single family, members of which are essentially predatory but each also painted with a broad streak of idealism that seeks to embrace eternity on his or her own terms.

The split (hence conflict) arises from a divergent premise: one, that assumes that such evolution has its limits and that we are rapidly approaching the end, that we must turn back at all costs; while the other rests secure in the faith that we can and must go forward by the grace of some higher being.

It came to mind last year, as I watched a bare-bodied Brahman man, dressed only in a loin cloth, rushing out of his gate and halfway into a Chennai street choked with vehicular traffic. There he stood bent but defiant, eyes wide, clearly confused and angry. He was soon driven back against the wall by the blaring horns of unyielding SUV’s and swerving motorbikes. I watched him as he gathered his rags and retreated beaten, back into his walled compound.

In India, where so many seek their sustenance on the top layer of multiple strata of (not yet cold) successive dynastical rule, the social tectonic plates sometimes shift to expose antiquity that is either struggling to catch up or that rejects any notion of what is termed ‘progress’ outright. The impulse is the same: feeling oneself out of sync with present day; spent and hopelessly inadequate, unable to cope.

In much of the world it turns to rage. The gap between rich and poor has grown too wide to be bridged by anything other than suspicion. The elders decide that the relentless bombardment of technological, political and social innovations must be stopped if the family is to survive. “We are being swamped,” they conclude. …and the source of all this evil inequity, of course, is always the lead horse: America.

Even within America itself, this divergence festers. Half the people advocate for free markets, free speech, freedom itself… while the other half is determined to shut it down. Interestingly, the reason given for the latter is to ‘save the planet’. Never mind that the science stinks. America leading the world over the cliff, they maintain, stinks as well. God is dead. We must save ourselves. We must at the very least allow time for the rest of the world to catch up. We must go back and find the lost sheep and bring back them into the fold.

With the whole world, and even with half of our own population, having lost faith in themselves, convinced that we have reached the end of the road, what chance do we - who still believe - have to forge ahead into new and exciting realms of discovery?

The state of our space program today is emblematic of the dilemma we face. The enthusiasm and imagination are still quite sufficient to conquer new frontiers. But it is being curbed by the faithless who insist on turning back. Eventually, even our spirit will yield to what defines the uninspired existence of animals.

Some claim that the human spirit will never extinguish. They point to art as being the next frontier. But even art is wholly dependent on an abundance of freedom and remains suspicious of the man with the plastic doggie bag stealthily following behind.

Krishna Is the Eighth Avatar of Vishnu

It's interesting that the once benevolent and generous gesture of giving a hand to those we determined to be the most needy world-wide, has now shed all pretenses and morphed into outright extortion.

I just finished watching the most delicious French comedy ever “My Best Friend” (’07) which contained the line, “You mean you pay to have people like you?” It sums up our progression from spontaneous giving, through paying for sex, to blackmail and extortion.

Speaking of movies, if there is still any doubt that there is a fifth column in this country that spares no expense in helping to create the impression that America is evil and must be defeated by any means possible in order to save the planet, that doubt can be put to rest with James Cameron’s AVATAR.

Over the years, Hollywood has always been very successful in creating powerfully persuasive fantasies that pit good against evil. Within a span of the past 50 years it has worked hard to define the antagonists. On one side is America; on the other is the rest of the world. America itself stands divided and is perched precariously on the cusp. It is within the private chambers of every American heart that the conflict will eventually be resolved.

AVATAR, stokes the notion that America is the single most potent destructive force on the planet. Visually, it employs the racial aspects of the tension. It hails a kind of back-to-the-earth tribalism as the answer to saving the planet or, in a larger sense, saving mankind’s soul. As such, it justifies any attack on the white man’s hegemony as warranted and totally acceptable. To Hollywood (by an extension of the logic) the shoe and the panty bombers are visionary new-age heroes.

This movie should do especially well in the Middle East, in Africa, Asia and South America. Though we have a significant number of domestic self-haters amongst us, most of the American movie-going public will recognize that it is they who are under assault by the predictable propagandists for the no-boundaries Left. Let’s put it in context: If during WWII, Hollywood had turned out movies such as AVATAR, we all would now be speaking German and eating Bratwurst. There would be no more Jews, Gypsies and whoever else Hitler might have set his sights on.

After the movie was over, my son remarked that AVATAR had the exact same plot of every movie he’s ever seen in the past ten years. This is a shame. Hollywood has everything it could possibly want at its disposal. Yet, it’s been working so doggedly to cheapen itself and ultimately bring about its own destruction. It used to be that ‘propaganda’ was a dirty word. At least, it was when I was growing up. Now there are galleries in Manhattan and on college campuses celebrating Soviet-era propaganda as high art.

No doubt, depending on who ultimately wins this fight, either AVATAR or Mel Gibson’s APOCALYPTO (AVATAR’s exact ideological opposite) will some day be celebrated as well.