We just want you to be happy, Carol. Update

E pluribus unum is written on the banner

 Spouse talked me into watching Pluribus. A show that I had heard much about, but I didn't want to watch yet another adaptation of puppetmaster/Body snatchers, this time by alien invasion.

I figured that the acclaim was mostly marketing and didn't want to watch yet another series made by a media giant.

I expected to binge watch it, but had enough after 3 episodes looking for the last which I could not find, as I do with some books to see what happens. I do plan to watch the rest of the season, so please no spoilers.

Spoilers for the first 8 episodes:

Hmm. So far it is thought provoking, but obviously heavily inspired by sci fi novels, feeding into or reflecting our current fears of losing autonomy and a hive mentality, which we recently experienced with social media, as well as a complete loss of the individual.

Spouse asked me if the hive reminded me of anything current. It's AI. Access to all the knowledge of the human race, it is looking forward to another book when Carol pretends to want to write again, because the hive does not appear to know creativity. It also cannot distinguish between Carol's trashy bestsellers and Shakespeare. It doesn't understand the knowledge or emotion it has acquired.

Frightening in its parallels to current society and what the internet has become.

Of course it's also about grieving and tremendous loss, but the protagonist, an impossibly strong female character manages to get through it. As to Carol, I really liked her character with all her sarcasm and intelligence.

Something that is interesting is that Carol's anger disrupts the "peaceful" hive mind to the point of incapacity. The koi suite in the ice hotel which represent resilience, strength and  perserverence; after a Chinese legend that koi swim upstream to turn into dragons. There are probably many references that I didn't catch. My attention span isn't what it used to be before all the scrolling.

Something that made no sense to me; if they take Buddhism to the extreme of not hurting anything; releasing animals from the zoo into habitats they can't survive in would harm them. Surely there is a zoologist that would have pointed that out?

The show is interesting but not great and I do not see how they are planning on four more seasons. Rhea Seehorn just won the golden globe. Incredibly well deserved after she is practically the only character in many scenes.

Update:

Watched up to the finale (Episode 9). Apparently the servers are overwhelmed, so couldn't watch it. I miss the good old TV days.

I wont spoil it, but I definitely recommend it. It has a lot of pop culture references. I think what you see is what you get; there are no big action sequences and weve gotten used to either that or elaborate alien spaceships in scifi.

The cinematography is beautiful and apparently not CGI. The first episode is intense. The whole series so far, mostly psychological horror, unease and stressful. What I liked the most is that Carol is relatable. It's the first time that a person in that situation knows the world is suddenly batshit and goes through normal reactions snarky one moment, scared the next and in a panic can't make something work, sleeps on it and then has a facepalm moment.

Finished watching the first season. I recommend it. Am hooked and it's disquieting and relevant to today's world. I only hope that it doesn't turn into J.J.Abrams Lost.

The humor is refreshing. No great one liners, but Carol is pure sarcasm. Some situations are absurdly funny. (Still chuckling at the drone).

Here it is:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=d2cWxqo27zU

Final thought, if everyone was about peace, love and happiness, and nothing else, wouldn't joining them be akin to joining a cult?

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER The following assumes youve watched it. A few thoughts:

I still give the show a 6 to 8 out of 10. What the show does really well is lay down the bare bones and then leave viewers to analyze and discuss it.

I was looking at online discussions and how many people disliked Carol. Spouse said and I agree that had it been a male character he would at most be a curmudgeon. I thought of Will Smith in I am Legend (there's also a golf scene) but when we discussed him back then, there was no criticism of his personality but compassion for the situation he's in.

Somehow people lost empathy in the last decade. I rarely come across any understanding of the incredible loss and trauma the humans have gone through. Carol in particular. People are devasted by the loss of a loved one, she also has to deal with the loss of humanity and potentially her own individuality.

Manounos actually tells them: you took our world from us. You don't belong here.

Another theme is that different cultures deal with it differently. The highly communal Peruvian girl would rather join then lose her community.

The 12 survivors are a cross section of humanity. Including a mother who pretends her child is fine, rather than doing anything to make sure the child is well. The French guy just wants to live his fantasy inspired by movies. Utterly selfish and self absorbed. Like Cypher in the matrix he just wants to eat his juicy steak. The hive doesn't seem happy about acting.

The hive can learn and I suspect it's learning from the humans it inhabits. Otherwise it seems to be a thoughtless species requiring a host. I think they can learn to lie. The frequency (sound?) of anger disrupts their telepathy, maybe more. I think the massage scene was very poorly done.

The hive doesn't care about what it's doing to any other species but probably genuinely believes that it's helping.

Once you've seen it, I'll check back here if you wish to discuss it.

If you watched it, what did you think of it? What are some cultural references you noticed?

A brief explanation of world resources

 People have a tendency to react on an emotional level and ignore what led to this point or lack the information to make an informed opinion that is not based on emotion.

Just because we don't like the reality, doesn't mean that a particular reality doesn't exist.

I've been asked several times to post about this. I chose not to because I do not want to be dragged into political conversations. One of the reasons that I started to blog again was to find some refuge in art music books and creativity.

I'm providing a little information as objectively as possible on a superficial level. It has nothing to do with my personal opinion.

This is turning into an oil/gas war, which has always been a possibility but which we mostly averted through diplomacy and negotiations. (By we and us I mean the western world UK, EU. US etc). There are very powerful organizations that were aware decades ago that climate change was coming and saw the financial potential. These families and organizations are frequently generational and have long term strategies that included recruiting scientists in the 70s.

In the 90s Hapag Lloyd started to build triple hulled tankers, ice breakers and supercontainershipping ships in anticipation of the new arctic ocean. Long story short, they are no longer doing that. The Chinese and Russians are building them. There are some collaborations between the US, Canada and Finland as well.

The majority of the world's polluters are big industrial factories, many of which turn raw materials into eg. Metals like steel that we all  need and use. Most of them use oil to run their factories and would or will need years to switch to an alternative.

The Saudis have access not only to the highest quality crude oil but also the infrastructure to extract and refine it into a finished product. Extraction is mostly offshore, easier and higher quality than drilling into land. Many other countries have oil, but it's landlocked and contains such impurities that it can't be used for fuel. Countries in North Africa have a lot of land based oil, but lack the infrastructure to extract it and/or have governments too corrupt to trade with. Other countries appear to have oil offshore but drilling reveals flat oil pockets.

Kuwait is similar but to a lesser degree. Both countries have experienced some of the highest temperatures on the planet; over 50 °Celsius up from 40°Celsius in just a decade. Without air conditioning which almost all households have anything higher will be impossible to survive.

They need wealth and energy for that. The irony is that the world will need more energy to survive climate change.

This is the northwest passage, which only Canada has sovereignty over. Russia is trying to extend its territorial waters and economic zones. 

Greenland (population 56000) recently rejected the contract with Australian mining company ETM, which opens it up to other offers. Part of the problem with mining there is that once the ice recedes there is no guarantee that there are as many resources as guesstimated.

The race for arctic resources is on. The oil there is already thought to be the impure kind. The US has the refineries.

One of the reasons that the UK brexited in 2016 is that it didn't want to be dragged into a war and failing that wanted to be able to make it's own decisions.

Alternatives

The patent for Hydrogen technology is held by BMW. Dirty to produce and will likely go nowhere.

Science was working on reducing the half life of radioactive materials. Nuclear power plants are the most energy efficient and after the Fukushima disaster countries like Japan are reinforcing and modernizing the reactors. Many of which were based on 1950s technology.

Building a combustion engine that is less polluting is another option.

Wind and Solar main problem is lack of storage. Even if batteries eventually can, the materials in them are also very toxic.

Until we have a great alternative we can transition into, using all of them in equal measure reduces the impact individually.

Im not discussing the environmental impact in the post, but feel free to.

There is a good video explaining the refineries. As soon as I find it I'll post it here.

As always please refrain from mentioning politicians, especially since this 'started' decades ago.

Please let me know if this is helpful.

A little smile is in order

We are a goofy household. I have never been a class clown, but making people laugh and lightening a stressful day can do wonders. One of the things I do is word of the moment. Some word that strikes me as funny will be repeated until I get a smile out of people. I never write them down, but "dingalam"was among them.

It came from Engineers technical terms:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ucto-eAmTVs

Spouse will sometimes start with eye rolls of the here we go again variety, but eventually I'll mime it until she bursts into laughter.

Another is stupid human pet tricks. There was recently a thread on how people injure themselves slightly doing really mundane inane things. My claim to glory was tugging at bedsheets (it was my turn), when it came off with a snap and I smacked myself in the forehead. It struck me as impossibly funny. I hurt myself making the bed is not something one hears everyday.

Anything you do that makes those around you laugh? Any stupid ways you meet the challenges of the mundane?

The neuroscience behind creativity and art

The other day, I ventured out for a bit, (it's quite cold) and needed some watercolor card stock. There's a local store that has a decent office supply/kids/notebooks section so sometimes I can find something. I didn't, but a number of books caught my eye "Adult Coloring books".

Random book.You get the idea.

Well what took them so long? I leafed through and unfortunately they turned out to be the same as the kiddie ones except with a different cover. They're not the type of imagery that would hold my interest, but I'm overjoyed how many people are into it.

They're not that new, but the idea went mainstream as Zentangles, Zendoodles, based on Mandalas, became popular in 2004 or so. This is finally accepted as anxiety reducing, stress relief, mindfulness and all the other slightly esoteric terms attached to it.

There is reproducible science behind it:

Certain types of activities produce alpha waves in the brain. It's that deeply relaxed, yet highly focused state that psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described as "Flow" in which he investigated that Zen like state of creativity and focus.

Many activities produce that alpha wave state; meditation, watching light mindless television, knitting; anything that is focused and somewhat repetitive. Above all of them is art. Cutting a detailed collage from a magazine picture engages the brain into that alpha wave state.

Cortisol allows us to deal with stress. It has a counterintuitive action of sending the immune system into overdrive and allowing you to "thrive under pressure". However, long term exposure is neurotoxic (it can literally kill your brain cells). Especially if it lasts several months or years. It is reversible, but if high stress persists it isn't. A lot of trauma victims have what is basically a brain injury. Cortisol also interferes with neural plasticity and memory. The alternative is to form new neuronal connections and art is one of the ways to do that.

I will not get into all of the other neurochemicals involved in this reward system that calms the mind, but it goes far beyond dopamine, serotonin etc. into some that are only there very briefly.

Regular therapy can be very helpful. It depends on the individual and the experience. The problem with and why I am not a fan of talk therapy or cognitive therapy is that it reinforces and strengthens the neural network you want to get rid off and is actually contraindicated in trauma patients. (The last thing they need is to relive it-think war vets with PTSD).

When I used to teach art therapy whenever the opportunity arose, I made it very clear that it does not fix serious problems or change a situation. It might not even help someone cope with a difficult situation, but it does allow the brain to rest and recover, to "detoxify" a little while arting. What it does is teach the brain to use its natural ability to heal itself and to cause a healthy addiction for internal neurochemicals rather than rely on external medication, drugs or alcohol. It takes about three months to grow new neurons or what we observe as practicing a new activity. During the time that someone is painting or collating, other cognitive functions temporarily move into the background. The negative chatter ceases because the decision is now sap green vs Windsor green. Do I put this here or over there? The world falls away.

When someone plays an instrument they are focused and relaxed, but when they create a new song, they are usually in the Flow. But art surpasses that probably because it engages so many parts of your brain. (Visual cortex, hand eye coordination etc.)

Here's a little Zendoodle. It's a continuous line.

Which activity keeps you in the flow?

Hayao Miyazaki

Forest Spirit

Hayao Miyazaki just turned 85 years old. The animator who uses mainly females as his lead roles once stated that his Studio Ghibli was so successful because 50% of his employees are female. Highly unusual for a Japanese at the time he created all of those incredible characters.

Princess Mononoke deals with the complex exploitation and interaction with nature as well as rebirth and renewal.

There is a confirmed story about Miyazaki's interaction with Harvey W. (Yes that one), who was known to be cutthroat and bullish towards males as well. He wanted to distribute Princess Mononoke in the Western market, but only if Miyazaki reduced the length to 90 minutes, because no one would go see an animated movie for 3 hours in the theaters.

Miyazaki was angry and in style sent Harvey a beautiful long box with an authentic Katana in it, accompanied by a simple handwritten note: "No Cuts". The rest is history.

I've watched almost all of them and was delighted when Spirited Away won an Oscar.

Miyazaki has been very vocal against the use of AI in animation. There's a documentary about him on Netflix, which I haven't watched yet. 

Here's a very short video celebrating a very energetic Miyazaki.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTI0WD2Dw0b/

An icon, indeed.

Update: I watched The boy and the heron. The Japanese title "How do you live?" is more accurate. It's incredible and makes complete sense. Miyazaki  started this project in 2017. Its somewhat autobiographical and shows his desire for creating a better world, as we as a belief that we can. Only after watching it, here's a great and interesting analysis.

https://aleccowan12.medium.com/the-optimistic-absurdity-of-miyazakis-the-boy-and-the-heron-6d9b74d57372

The Power of Fireworks

 I convinced spouse to not cancel plans and visit family. Wasn't up to it physically or emotionally. Every year in local papers there are invariably people who send a letter to the editor complaining that fireworks once a year traumatizes Fluffy and Cottonpuff, who hide beneath the furniture to escape the noise.

I have had dogs and cats, none of them were bothered by it. They take their cue from me, I'm calm so they are as well. Sometimes the owner is more neurotic than the pet. Then the environmentalists complain about air pollution. It's negligible and disperses. Go extinguish a volcano. Spoil sports and energy vampires.

Cities listen and eventually the public can't have them for "safety reasons". Some of the cities official displays were reduced in number. I slept. Ate a bit. A little tired of life and people. We or I usually do something. A tradition in my family, once again maintained by my father and then me. At the very least there's a nice dinner at home or out. Something extravagant and out of the ordinary. A meaningful gift. And of course fireworks, even if it's just a little sparkler.

I went out to grab a few things for a stew. Felt dizzy at the checkout. Came home and napped, then prepared the stew, ate a small bowl to fortify myself before calling loved ones. It left me sad. Told spouse that I was going to go to sleep, without her, watching the ball drop was not a reason to stay up. I watched the Sidney fireworks, and went to bed. At 1130 I was woken by the noise of fireworks.

I pulled it together, bundled up, made tea and coffee, put some junk food on a plate, pulled a chair in front of the windows and watched what I could from the open window. As I watched I thought of how a weapon invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago, gunpowder, could produce something as beautiful as this with the addition of a few minerals and chemicals.

I also thought about my father and how many people whom he had helped had betrayed him and myself. How cruel, sadistic and incomprehensibly greedy these individuals had been. They took more than my father from me.

In an act of civil disobedience, people started to come out of buildings, light fireworks on the street especially the corners so that everyone could enjoy them. Many who believe that all of that noise and light will drive last years evil spirits away. Distracted from my thoughts, I watched. The crackle of all that lit power was palpable. The smell of sulfurous oxide overwhelming.

I looked down and saw that it was 0001. And it hit me unexpectedly. My father who always called me even when life, distance and time zones separated us, at precisely 0000 so he could be first to wish me a good year would never call me again. The finality of that realization undid me. I started to sob as I had not done in a long time. The man who had guided and argued with me, who had created memories that I could lean on, whom I had known my whole life was gone. The sobbing was cathartic, left me drained and numb. I washed my face and bundled up joined the small crowd outside. The gift from a temporary community on many street corners and a wonderful display allowed me to forget and focus on color and light. The burst of adrenaline gave me a little energy.

A firework corkscrewed it's way up like a golden Chinese dragon and exploded in a golden plume. Another went up; a shower of purple with a second complementary gold in the middle. The reds were bigger but I had seen them before. A salvo of blues went up mingling with others. A few went up with a whistling tone stopped high up and released their sparks on the way down. More and more joined. It was LOUD it was wonderful. I could feel the booming and the vibration and the sheer awe and POWER of it all.

Across the street a portly bald man was pouring champagne into plastic cups sharing with everyone. He ran over to me handed me a cup and yelled "Happy New Year!" before jogging back. That has never happened to me before. I don't drink, but I sipped a little. Still as acrid and acidic as I remember, never liked the taste.

After experiencing something outside of the range of normal experience. After being involuntarily stuck in caregiving for years during covid and just starting to climb up and out of that physical and mental abyss. After the possibility of long Covssshhh, people that joined in creating one hell of a firework display together gave me an hour of feeling normal again.

When people occasionally tell me:"that's life", I respond with no it isn't. Life didn't do this. People did. Self absorbed People like those pet owners who have nothing better to do than write those letters and comments to the editor, who suck the life out of joy, who do not think about people like me, who couldn't join life for a while.

I didn't get the New Years Eve I wanted, but I was gifted the New Years Eve that I needed.

 It's a good start.

About Resolutions and a happy year

 Many years ago a friend of mine, who is spiritual and into self help, suggested a gratitude list. Every morning list five things that one was grateful for, no matter how small. For about a week I tried it then reduced it to several times a week.

To my surprise it had the opposite effect; the list demotivated me and I realized that it was fear based. How many times can one write down how grateful one is for family and a good cup of coffee. After some digging I discovered that it was religion based. For the same reason I do not make resolution lists on New Years, I write down goals or things I'd like to do that year, everything else is asking for disappointment and self punishment.

To each their own.

A neat idea that I found in an art journal book, was to make a good things that happened or were accomplished journal. One of the examples that the female author gave was making 365 meals for her family that year. I never thought of meals that way, (spouse and i take turns), but it is an non-appreciated accomplishment. I ended up with a good things journal. I prep the pages and in chronological order, I write down the pleasant moments that happened, the situations I resolved to my satisfaction and so on. Flipping through it is satisfying. The human brain has a tendency to remember stressful situations, this helps me remember the good random conversations in a store, finding something that I like, even how much the well wishes from strangers on my post meant to me when I received more bad news a week ago.

It adds up and it also separates the good from the bad. Do I remember the jerk in an oversized SUV who drove over the separator to take the parking spot after I'd waited for half an hour? Yes. Would I have remembered the moment after bad medical news, at a coffee place where I ordered my coffee, when he noticed my expression and said: "On the house, sit outside in the sun and take a moment." had I not made a journal page out of it? Probably not.

Let's raise a glass of whatever you enjoy, thank you for rewarding me with comments and figure out how to make this a good year.

HAPPY GOOD YEAR

2026