tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54980018082579430242024-02-20T19:31:42.190-08:00Wolf DeVoon's NotebookWolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.comBlogger256125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-36140042249929490932022-06-19T16:47:00.009-07:002022-11-04T14:45:10.699-07:00Pick a Book<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTWOzgZggTSXAjbEb-VvwA_zIdmRbOnTB-sHqHfcsWyGwucgSSy_ZKstL24RXmwGPIsbfr0_QdQWcNQKPPph_DKlEi17g7K2yD_IQoHKFHop4k6xBB0fOOM9kUshk-D4nNWY3wx01u6szAYoTK_S9KCB5t9zSDBp06Y3n9nzBE9kiIy3fEUfT7A7p/s256/Pick%20a%20Book.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="228" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTWOzgZggTSXAjbEb-VvwA_zIdmRbOnTB-sHqHfcsWyGwucgSSy_ZKstL24RXmwGPIsbfr0_QdQWcNQKPPph_DKlEi17g7K2yD_IQoHKFHop4k6xBB0fOOM9kUshk-D4nNWY3wx01u6szAYoTK_S9KCB5t9zSDBp06Y3n9nzBE9kiIy3fEUfT7A7p/s1600/Pick%20a%20Book.png" width="228" /></a></div><p>To celebrate suspension of a blog that no one reads, I'll send you a pdf book of your choice. Email wolfdevoon@gmail.com (subject line: Pick a
Book) and allow a couple weeks for delivery. I have to walk a mile to use a
neighbor's wifi, weather permitting. If it's too hot, too cold, raining, or muddy,
it might not happen promptly, and if you don't hear from me after a couple
months, I probably died. For reasons that I don't fully understand, dead
authors sell more books than living ones, so I'm not opposed to it. Let's hope
that everything goes swimmingly during a progressively crushing recession and
my neighbor doesn't lose power or internet service. One pdf per customer. Social
media buzz appreciated. Search Google or Duck Duck Go for book descriptions and
reader reviews. Cable & Blount is an anthology of my first three Case Files
novels. Finding Flopsie is sold separately and mysteriously difficult to find.
All titles include adult ideas, graphic sex, frank language, and bold white
heroism. Eventually they'll all disappear in a cloud storage purge of hate
speech. Act now before Amazon figures out who I am. Thanks.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Google lost my videos. Try <a href="https://vimeo.com/user66655576" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/user66655576</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I don't regret all the effort I put into this blog. I could have been more
careful with money. My daughter wants a .22 automatic and a holster for her
birthday. It took me a long time to learn how to write, and it never paid more
than pennies. Friends have been exceedingly kind to me, Tom and Erik in
particular.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Whether Steam Punk is ever completed, my portrait of an ideal man, I'm
satisfied that Escape was worth every hour and month of hot pursuit, every decade
of reaching higher creatively.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In parting, I'd like to mention two life lessons that proved to be pivotal.
As a 5-year-old, I rode a city bus that stopped right outside our house (the
bus line was owned by my uncle) and I went to kindergarten in a new brick building
funded by my grandfather adjacent to the high school where my dad graduated as
president of the senior class, his portrait in the hallway. I liked the
kindergarten kids, liked music class, clapping nice wooden sticks together, liked
milk and graham crackers and nap time. The memorable life lesson was watching
my kindergarten teacher churn cream into butter with a hand crank, which took a
long time. Served to us on a saltine, it was really good butter. Learning how
to do things was possible. The other pivotal life lesson was renting an office
on the 10th floor of a tall modern Max Factor Building opposite the Chinese
Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. I signed a one-page sublease offered by an old character
actor who was in partnership with a New York producer to make cheap genre films
that were never released. They made money by milking investors. "If you
want to get ahead in this business," the washed up B-list actor advised,
"you have to learn how to steal."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It's so damn sad. My dog is too old to understand verbal commands. He wants
to obey and can't. If I call him to Come Here, he doesn't know where I am,
walks the wrong way. I have to put water right in front of him, splash it with
my fingers, repeat several times as clearly as possible Here, Look, Dog Water. He
suffers from skin tumors and fleas. I wash him with dish soap that works better
than flea shampoo. If I don't give him cooked vegetables and oil in his food,
he can't poop. I have to gently wipe his blind eyes almost hourly. In the
middle of the night he was trembling and frantic, insisted on remaining
outside. I think his brain is failing, a harbinger of my own fate. I'll end up
like Lunch Bucket Joe, unable to frame or finish an intelligent thought, stuck in the
mud of misremembered lies written by someone else.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Good time to quit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Before I do, I have to say it again. Oil is a highly competitive business,
hundreds of producers, refiners, and pipeline companies with trillions of dollars
at risk, squeaking by on single digit margins. They pay corporate taxes on
profits and pay lease royalties on every barrel they produce. Offshore wells
are big investments, drilling down through miles of water and rock, working
from billion dollar floaters. Every aspect of work is regulated and public. The
price you pay at the pump is 30% inflated by Federal, state, and local taxes.
Oil is used to make plastics for hospitals, home improvement, electric cable,
plumbing, food packaging, aircraft, cars, buses, schools and playgrounds. <span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every container ship
burns bunker fuel. </span></span> Natural gas cooks your food in homes and restaurants
and generates a third of all U.S. electric power, 24/7, impervious to rain or
snow. Fuel oil heats icy homes in winter. Natural gas is an input in
fertilizer. Jet fuel flies every passenger and military plane. Diesel powers
every big rig, farm tractor, bulldozer and backhoe. Discovering new oil &
gas supplies is an intense scientific and engineering challenge. Drilling is
dangerous and costly. The seven million men and women directly employed in U.S.
oil & gas exploration and production are highly trained professionals, half
of them university grads, without whom you would starve, no power, no transport,
no medical testing or sterile surgery, no police or firefighters.
"Green" tech is a swindle that would not exist without Chinese slave
labor and lavish subsidies that oil companies do not have. We import over 1/3
of the oil we consume in America, <span style="font-family: inherit;">because <span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;">U.S. oil reserves are scarce and Obama made it
impossible to drill the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (hundreds of miles
away from ANWR). The corrupt</span> </span>oil kleptocracies of the Middle East, Africa, and Russia export
most </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">of their</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> oil and natural
gas to China, India, Japan, Korea, and Europe</span>,</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> setting
the price that U.S. companies have to pay for imports. No one makes a nickel of
profit from "nationalized" production except shieks, col</span>onels, and smiling
expats from England, France, Spain, and Italy. I've met them. They are
incompetent bootlicks. U.S. geologists discovered and developed giant reserves
in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Soviet Union, and Venezuela
— all of which was expropriated and looted by corrupt kings and communist tyrants.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7G3rztpvNJ1qaeJJWu7AcCyMKsZVX6CN-T2JjXdKw-5IukgbSK5TiXdpiqz0TEECDqMSNy0MQ1T8QYFjwowpB8M4Yy2q81XS9WuIZQo-J7qd7ZJyVG-hkOEYDLER56O7w8DDxKBYU1iBGzZlecXUDevZ2C6isfmn3rjkvOD8RBaybbKFQEmRr10k/s399/Pick%20Obama.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="399" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7G3rztpvNJ1qaeJJWu7AcCyMKsZVX6CN-T2JjXdKw-5IukgbSK5TiXdpiqz0TEECDqMSNy0MQ1T8QYFjwowpB8M4Yy2q81XS9WuIZQo-J7qd7ZJyVG-hkOEYDLER56O7w8DDxKBYU1iBGzZlecXUDevZ2C6isfmn3rjkvOD8RBaybbKFQEmRr10k/w400-h300/Pick%20Obama.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Please note that Mark Levin is a total fool. He thinks that hydraulic
fracturing of shale is "clean" and it was invented by Big Oil, a high
tech wave of the future. In reality, frackers are penny ante minnows, $100
billion in debt. Their wells cost 3 times more than straight holes, and all of the
thick rich "core" plays have been fracked to death. High pressure shale
fracturing was pioneered by an elderly drilling contractor who was unable to
make a profit doing it. Without high yield debt and 0% Fed funds, there would
have been no scramble for shale leases. High flyers like Chesapeake's Aubrey
McClendon surfed the fracking wave to disaster, financially and personally. His
company had to be bailed out by China's CNOOC. Major U.S. oil companies bought more
successful frackers, never made a penny of profit by acquiring
"experts" to dispose of millions of gallons of contaminated water to
produce a few thousand barrels of oil and natural gas. Fracking became 100% uninteresting
to Big Oil. The majors need to find and lift billions of barrels from ultradeep
Gulf of Mexico or Alaska or overseas <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">— none of which will be
horizontal shale plays spewing toxic waste water, hauled away in big rig
tankers to be injected under a shallow aquifer to get rid of it. The frackers
are making money at $100 a barrel, but it triggered demand destruction, and if
WTI sinks to $60 again (the market clearing equilibrium) frackers are out of
business again. If you don't know the facts, Levin, please shut the fuck up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Oily shale frackers produce approximately 1 million barrels per day. Sounds
like a lot of oil, right? Hah. We consume 20 million bdp. The OECD industrial
democracies consume 50 million bdp. Global demand is 95 million barrels per
day. Fracking is 1% of global supply. Watch what happens when junk bond
rates rise to 12%. Frackers make more money hedging the market with derivatives
instead of oil and gas production. It's all going to die off precipitously
because they've already drilled all the thick rich "core" plays. Thinner
shale is a fool's errand. Natural gas? Russia has half of all known gas
reserves on earth. Qatar, Iran, and Algeria are natural gas giants. America is
a pipsqueak gas producer, depleting our gassy shale reserves at a gallop. Two
thirds of U.S. natural gas production comes from straight holes in Texas, </span>Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, deepwater Gulf of Mexico, and California, much of it derived as an
associated byproduct of conventional oil production.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Over and out. Oh ... wait a minute. Here's a playlist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Hollies ("Bus Stop")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Laura Brannigan ("Gloria")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Arrowsmith ("Walking In The Sand")<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">The Pretenders ("Brass In Pocket")<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span>Abba ("Take A Chance On Me")</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Frank Zappa ("Fifty Fifty")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Bonny Raitt ("Something To Talk About")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Bee Gees ("Nights On Broadway")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Pretenders ("Don't Get Me Wrong")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Devo ("Whip It")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Los Bravos ("Black Is Black")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Abba ("Money Money Money")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Eagles ("Wasted Time")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Led Zeppelin ("In The Light")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Blood Sweat & Tears ("Go Down Gambling")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Joan Jett ("Hate Myself for Loving You")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Alice Cooper ("Only Women Bleed")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Led Zeppelin ("Black Dog")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Electric Light Orchestra ("Hold On Tight")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Huey Lewis ("I Want A New Drug")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Heart ("Straight On For You")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Zombies ("She's Not There")<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Notable speeches:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">John F. Kennedy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ronald Reagan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Margaret Thatcher<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Movies:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Meet John Doe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Twelve O'clock High<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Key Largo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It's A Wonderful Life<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Quiet Man<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The African Queen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sink The Bismarck<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Greatest Show On Earth<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Charly<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Day Of The Jackal<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Anatomy Of A Murder<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">White TV:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">77 Sunset Strip<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Rockford Files<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Columbo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Muppet Show<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Get Smart<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Kojak</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you're interested in satirical cinematic achievements, consider Theodore
Bikel's baritone benediction in Frank Zappa's 1971 feature length movie <a href="https://www.amazon.com/200-Motels-Theodore-Bikel/dp/B00950VE0G" target="_blank">200 Motels</a>: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Lord, have mercy on the
people in England for the terrible food these people must eat."</i> Highly
recommended. Swell song vocals by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (The Turtles), gifted rock drummer Ainsley Dunbar, the London
Festival Orchestra, and Murakami-Wolf animation. Zappa's musical genius at the
height of his vitality. Filmed in just two weeks (!) on super sharp 800-line video
with trippy special effects and transferred to 35mm by Image Transform. It pushed
me into a lifelong love affair with low budget production.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm in favor of gun control. Use both hands and practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JXmPLPxn8uKTzHGqhabXN5I8UMF-ioYHEw8id23Cpsq0b_3zxyjC-jrNKcfena4N5FFfynrWHfXeTNhfRQY26aEUGb5d-mbxbKmQXCcPIyD8bg9M_emHFFJa6vbs3kf6fr5t1gxwgMZ7UI-8oNzDuiCthMFOiBXcqKJP7xB-P1feLmTP1IXQjEdi/s50/Pick%20smile.bmp" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JXmPLPxn8uKTzHGqhabXN5I8UMF-ioYHEw8id23Cpsq0b_3zxyjC-jrNKcfena4N5FFfynrWHfXeTNhfRQY26aEUGb5d-mbxbKmQXCcPIyD8bg9M_emHFFJa6vbs3kf6fr5t1gxwgMZ7UI-8oNzDuiCthMFOiBXcqKJP7xB-P1feLmTP1IXQjEdi/s1600/Pick%20smile.bmp" width="50" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-80740876371350652172022-06-03T16:49:00.002-07:002022-06-03T16:49:49.195-07:00Verisimilitude<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The log cabin that Kyle and Karen used was a real place in rural Wisconsin
owned by my grandfather. Becker's office on Water Street, the Voom Voom strip
club, the Ham and Egger, a Winneconne resort, the rental house and coal-fired
furnace were real. I drove the streets of Milwaukee and rode city buses, knew
the docks, the Imperial billiard hall, Kalt's theater crowd, the Lower East
Side, and spectacularly foxy babes like Liz Kelson. Rude dialogue from 1975 was
authentic, real mob figures, car bombings and gunfire. I visited the Sentinel
newsroom and painfully shabby inner city neighborhoods. Young tough guys smoked
cigarettes. Old cops smoked cigars. Partners is mostly a true story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In The Good Walk Alone, every road and vehicle was a real environment. Mars
Colony took months to design and engineer in a Quake game environment. The Martian
fraternal robes, oaths, and rigmarole were based on personal lodge experience.
I met troubled warriors who drank to blot out the horror of killing. I have
super sharp hearing like Harry Faraday does. I know what happens in a Red Light
district, including private vengeance. I played poker in the back room of The
Millionaires Club, a ghostly old bar that opened in 1871 and had a history of
angry drunks who worked and died underground. Everything on Mars had an existential
referent, including the very ill lawyer who befriended Harry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Chris and Peachy went places I knew, met people I knew, fought bad guys I
knew. In Escape, the hull of Spar One was a believable design, a spinning disc
to create artificial gravity. Hansje and Cantwell were based on life
experience. The twins in Chiseltown were real people. I worked with folks like
Adele, Joe, Jonathan, Mike, Billy, and Bart. I had a driver named Andy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This is all well and good, but fiction is inherently distorted and
amplified for a reason. Heroism is rare in life. That's the whole purpose of
taking what exists, using it to probe what might and ought to happen, with convincing
verisimilitude to suspend disbelief. You can't make a movie that makes people
laugh and flinch unless they accept the action and dialogue as "real world"
events, no awareness of painted canvas backdrops or editorial tricks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The challenge in Steam Punk is believability. Every page.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-13315742739014808782022-06-03T16:48:00.003-07:002022-06-03T16:48:42.391-07:00Sociopaths<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ever helpful Coast To Coast AM had an amateur psychologist last night,
warning other ladies to steer clear of sociopaths who are selfish, heartless,
clever lovers, constantly tell lies, take your money, and abandon you for another
woman. Corporate CEOs and used car salesmen can't be trusted. Sociopaths are
born selfish and heartless. A lot of them were juvenile delinquents and
criminals later in life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I saw myself in her target group. While 99% of mankind are obedient,
industrious, unselfish, and full of love for everyone and everything, I'm not.
The lady psychologist admitted that sociopaths are intelligent. They know what
they're doing. Yes, women are equally disposed to selfish, manipulative,
deceptive, abusive behavior, she conceded reluctantly. Glad that's settled. Doesn't
explain Russians, Nigerians, or Democrats, but I acknowledge all the
selfishness and recklessness I exhibited from an early age.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"Cognitive abstractions are formed by the criterion of: What is <i>essential?</i>
(epistemologically essential to distinguish one class of existents from all
others). Normative abstractions are formed by the criterion of: What is <i>good?</i>
Esthetic abstractions are formed by the criterion of: What is <i>important?</i>
An artist does not fake reality, he stylizes it. He selects those aspects of
existence which he regards as metaphysically significant, and by isolating and
stressing them, by omitting the incidental and accidental, he presents <i>his </i>view
of existence." (Ayn Rand)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Yup. It's there in every word I wrote, every harebrain adventure I led,
every thrill of passion I felt with women and dangerous opponents and comedy
writers. Alice Cooper is a hoot. WKRP was a triumph of ensemble comedy. I
directed a lot of goofball antics on film and tape, loved every minute of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">What was the question? Oh, right. Damn sociopaths ignore government and
fair play, explore for treasure in jungles and on the high seas (oil & gas,
tuna, gold, cobalt, etc). They fight like wildcats if they're cornered,
insanely brave Ukrainians and colonial American scofflaws. Live free or die.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Excuse me. A bumblebee bumbled in. Go outside! — I talk to bumblebees and
they obey. The dog not so much. He has exaggerated notions of dignity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-49391335507972555042022-06-03T16:44:00.003-07:002022-06-03T16:44:42.030-07:00Pleasure Island<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Podcast star Matt Walsh wrote a book titled 'The Devil's Pleasure Palace'
that explains how German intellectuals corrupted U.S. liberal arts. It put me
in mind of innocent Pinocchio seduced by thespian Honest John, who handed him
to an evil cabal that operated Pleasure Island. Boys were turned into jackasses
by tempting them with total liberty — the fun of smashing windows, strong
drink, cigars, and pool tables. They sprouted long gray ears and tails and
transformed into braying donkeys to be roped and tamed and labor the rest of
their lives as beasts of burden. Pinocchio escaped (with long ears and a donkey
tail) to be swallowed by a whale and reunited with his father who was searching
for him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Back to Walsh. He says German critical theory caused the disaster of
underachieving hippies, drug use, antiwar riots, casual sex, and loud rock
concerts. That was my generation. I was slightly out of step with my socialist
peers. Filmmakers are capitalists, need mountains of money to make stuff.
Directing was a profound pinnacle of honor and exaltation at times. But sensible
people don't fritter their lives away in low budget filmmaking. It took 20
years to figure out that Hollywood didn't need me, another 30 years to discover
that self published novelists starve and sell no books. Did pleasure corrupt
yours truly?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I don't think so. It was hell trying to make progress as a film director.
Writing was worse. I'd like to edit some of my experiences with women, although
I doubt anyone knows a winning formula that doesn't involve becoming a tame
beast of burden, subsisting on steel cut oats and leafy green vegetables.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I wanted a life of pleasure. I failed to achieve it and settled for a life
of adventure, waving my donkey ears at grease paint evangelists like Walsh. I
carried a gun because I had to, never shot anyone, partly because they knew I
was armed, alert, and angry about being threatened. Thankfully, it was only a
brief season of alarm. I didn't want the job of a warrior. I write about war
because it takes life twice — those who are killed and those who kill, forever
changed by killing. Taxation is worse than war, no army big enough to stop the
elected thespians chosen by donkeys braying for pleasure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ignore the donkeys. Pleasure Island is broken and bankrupt. The Federal
Reserve is holding $7 trillion in Treasurys backed by the taxing power, plus $2
trillion more in agency bonds backed by U.S. mortgages. Everything has to be
sold at a discount fairly fast before interest rates float higher.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sure, I had enormous pleasure and pain, while it was available to me as a
handsome young blade in a golden era of modern history, the 60s and 70s,
culminating in disco. Go ahead, laugh. I had a splendid adventure in Milwaukee,
Madison, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Sydney. That's how I grew donkey ears.
In today's scorched earth urban combat, it's too dangerous to go anywhere as a
feeble sage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It's pleasant work to start an important project in a nice, quiet, rural
environment. The bugs are awful and have to be fought with fly strips,
swatters, tweezers, and band-aids, but that's a seasonal problem. Steam Punk
will roll along through multiple seasons, the ultimate pleasure of taking my
foot off the gas and driving a leisurely narrative when I feel like it. I don't
even care if it finishes. That's serenity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It occurs to me that pleasure is good, feeling like a jackass occasionally
is good, and a spectrum of stern challenges bestows the distinct satisfaction
that one's life was full to the brim. Nothing omitted or lost. There's a
Sinatra song comparing life to a barrel of wine, from the brim to the dregs,
which I admit will darken my final decline, unable to write. Till then, a
gentle serenity of vision.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">UPDATE 6/3 — My serenity lasted less than eight hours. A week ago, radio
superstar Alice Cooper told a stupendous deadpan joke on "Nights With
Alice Cooper" about American wieners and German sausages that made me laugh
so hard it brought tears to my eyes. I wrote a note to say thanks and acknowledge
separately that his story about a 3-year-old granddaughter was heartwarming as
heck. The bum read my email on the air last night in a dull, unemotional fake
German accent. I was stunned, hearing my words syndicated to 300 FM stations. After
he read the email, he identified me by the sender name (wasn't in the text) and
said: "Wolf DeVoon. What a great name! But it'd be better if it was Wolf Da
Moon."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 5.05pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.05pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Reminds me of something P.G.
Wodehouse wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 5.05pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.05pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">"Just
when a chap is feeling particularly braced with things in general, Fate sneaks
up behind him with a bit of lead piping."</span></i><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 5.05pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.05pt;"><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 5.05pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.05pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-88766578168708918062022-06-03T16:43:00.003-07:002022-06-03T16:52:58.155-07:00more about Escape<p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Certainly the best story I've written so far. Gadant loses his equilibrium,
dazed and confused by a sad desire to have a wife, a romantic partner for him
only, an equal in spirit to have and to hold, a deeply personal reward for
preserving and strengthening his moral character. We attain fitness for love by
unrelenting effort to advance in life, not in terms of privilege but
rationality, courage, self respect, and honorable ambition. He wants to pilot
the Shuttle, no matter how improbable that is for Gadant as a lowly mechanic.
To a 29-year-old, the future is a limitless potential, like finding a single, intelligent
girl his own age or thereabouts, someone to cherish and defend.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: left; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Wham! —a stowaway captures his heart, and it makes him miserable because
she's taken prisoner by grim security goons. Zero chance of finding her or
freeing her, until Jimmy relates that he was held at gunpoint and questioned in
the dogleg corridor near a medical storage room on C Deck.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Enter Hansje and Cantwell. Still makes me smile. Nicely done.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Everything sails smoothly and necessarily and at times outrageously. I
allow myself to depict what men and women do with each other in hot blooded
greed. Greed is good in this context because it results in pregnancy and
propagation of life. Love and lust are joined for a purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">There are others who fall in love, always harder to do if you have grave
responsibilities. Cantwell is an important figure. She befriends Jimmy, mentors
the bright young stallion. She loves Springer, embraces him as he fades from
life in a hospital bed. She thinks Pedley is an idiot, which Pedley certainly
is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I have trouble rereading the final chapter, titled The End. It scares me,
and I love Hansje to bits. Absolute hell to see little Hansje so badly abused
and threatened with death. Gadant hopes to save her, but that doesn't change
the moral context. War is war.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Nice book. I don't think anything was extraneous. Escape was completed
about a year ago. A first edition appeared on Lulu in June 2021. I fussed with
typos and cover art finalized in November, six months ago. I haven't sold a
single copy, as far as I know. I bought two copies, sent one to billionaire Peter
Thiel and handed the other copy to a troubled drug addict covered in prison
tattoos, a guy who helped me move mountains, dig utility ditches and postholes,
grade everything smooth, and shake bobcat loads of 2" rock to harden a
driveway. I doubt he read the book I gave him. Thiel didn't either. Real men
don't read.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sorry, Erik. I don't mean to imply that you're unreal. You're a saint, wise
enough to celebrate whatever the world throws at us. I'm not a saint. I chain
smoke cheap cigarettes and fret.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A very odd thing happened when I wrote a previous blog post about Escape. A
hostile commenter said that I was a rat, but maybe he would read Escape. A
large number of confused people believe that I had something to do with Bitcoin
mining — which I never did, know nothing about it. When Laissez Faire City collapsed,
I spent the next 15 years thumb wrestling with bureaucrats and oil companies.
We took the net proceeds and built a little house seven years ago, a gated modern
forested hilltop home that's 90% tornado proof. When my wife quit smoking
cigarettes I got thrown out and moved to a tin barn on the property. From time
to time it puzzles me that I ended up in an old tin barn, but I can't complain.
I wrote The Case Files of Cable & Blount, Partners, Escape, and several other
books cloistered in a dumpy room decorated with tarps and a laptop. It gets
cold in the winter and hot in summer. No internet. No phone. There's a radio
and a high gain antenna to monitor what's happening in the civilized world. The
world is in serious trouble. We did the right thing, bugging out to a sparsely
populated section of the Heartland where people raise cattle and crack homespun
jokes around a potbelly stove at the general store.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I accept that my work will never make any money. Victor Hugo said that if
he merely wrote for his own time, he would break his pen and throw it away.
Fitzgerald received a total of $50 in book royalties for his masterpiece Tender
Is The Night. Herman Melville died a pauper. Ayn Rand needed Social Security
and charity medical care near the end of her life. RLS was sickly as a child
and died young. I have nothing to complain about, free to write and years
remaining to honor it. Escape was a big stride forward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Swell. A big step forward for what? To die in obscurity. I've always been
extremely willful. Unsalable as an author. No natural constituency that I could
ever find, and I spent a lifetime looking for it. More than once I sold a film or
TV project that meshed with the odd motives of a commercially successful, bored
grifter who saw something fun to do and little risk, because I worked my butt
off to put a co-production deal or cash presale on the table. I have a long
history of frustration dealing with financially successful show business
grifters milking pop talent and pocketbooks infinitely greater than mine. They
perceived that I was rational, had a good resume and a willingness to play
ball, accommodate suggestions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">That's what book publishers are supposed to do, perceive some merit in my
work and make suggestions, but I won't play ball in New York again. Once was
enough, and anyone with sense is fleeing New York. I don't want to attempt to
do All Things Considered again. I'm a very poor public speaker. Book signings
were painful. I did two of them, decades ago, to push a nonfiction novelty book
that sold 15,000 copies. An indie publisher liked it, did a good job handling
design and promotion, made some money.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Escape is not a novelty book with amusing graphics on every page. It's a
novel. My tenth or twentieth if you count all the shorter novelettes and
original scripts and adaptations, a huge pile of fiction that was self
published on Amazon, Kindle, Lulu, and Ingram. Friends said nice things and
supported me. I made an effort to reach higher, invested every day and every
year to win more readers with better stories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It may or may not be possible to author a true magnum, which I have in
rough outline, take one, two, or three years (or never) to complete, an
appropriate challenge for an old soul. I'm satisfied in the literary
achievement of Escape, a work of world building and simple blue collar heartache
and courage, about six months to draft plus a couple more months to polish. It
was an intense project, plenty of sleepless nights. I don't want to do that ever
again. Steam Punk will be leisurely, a long gentle narrative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">That makes Escape a high water mark in my canon of action adventure, hard
men and hot women, lives on the line every page. I stretch suspension of
disbelief. There are numerous characters. It builds slowly and inexorably to a
slam bang finish, the whole weight of story shouldered by a modest hero.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I have a strong sense of finality with Escape.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzKVZWUqwMyIG8T5GstZj3qXlZPsRb0qB9yugg4X4z0yVCz3wEt1KS7rdmTAyIkYYjab2HcOk_q3907ITJmPsTO4dO8wU0dTCqqX7JrJhYC84VQgHy1_bY4wXqDlW3MBJbOOjugtV8THBSic3Vmvbao667x1L78koXvVRnYm8-bHAIoS_UYekhciH/s476/more%20...%20cover%20300px.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzKVZWUqwMyIG8T5GstZj3qXlZPsRb0qB9yugg4X4z0yVCz3wEt1KS7rdmTAyIkYYjab2HcOk_q3907ITJmPsTO4dO8wU0dTCqqX7JrJhYC84VQgHy1_bY4wXqDlW3MBJbOOjugtV8THBSic3Vmvbao667x1L78koXvVRnYm8-bHAIoS_UYekhciH/s320/more%20...%20cover%20300px.png" width="202" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-81233294004075417222022-05-20T16:27:00.003-07:002022-05-20T16:28:35.626-07:00Discretionary spending<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Thanks to a supremely generous friend, I have an extra $50 to promote my
work, enough to print four volumes and send them to a book reviewer somewhere.
I scanned an old list that I compiled years ago, shrugged at three newspapers
that might still exist and might tolerate cis-gendered romance, which is asking
a lot nowadays. Syracuse? Wichita? Tampa? It would be a lot better if I wrote grisly
accounts of Delta Force heroism to kill evil tribesmen who outlawed gays
humming Broadway show tunes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I discarded the idea of depositing a legacy for safekeeping at the British
Library (I'm not British) or at the Philadelphia Free Library (doubtful they
shelve paperbacks). Silly to waste $50 on my hometown public library to honor a
12 year old kid self. Dead certain that my novels would wind up in the trash, maybe
a special trip to the municipal incinerator. I come from an enclave of well
behaved small town burghers, and I broke every one of their rules as a juvenile
delinquent, kicked out of high school at age 15.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">No point in sending books to Barnes & Noble or Curtis Brown.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hmph. Here I am with $50 burning a hole in my pocket, and I can't think of
an institution or a prominent public person who might conceivably take time to
read my collected novels and stories, say something nice about Partners or
Escape or privileged white rascals Chris and Peachy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">$50 would buy a hell of a lot of good whiskey, but I'm too old to drink,
and the problem of a permanent archive of my work is as parched as a three day
drunk. I need to think more creatively about publicity, maybe Australia or
Finland. When I search "wolf devoon" on Google, I'm baffled that most
of my titles were indexed by booksellers in Taiwan, India, Germany, Japan, Holland,
and South Africa. I've sold more books in England than in America. Probably had
buyer's remorse. Urgent to find a kindred spirit. Tucker Carlson? Mike Rowe?
Too busy to read novels. Elon Musk? Yeah, sure, nothing else to do except
launch rockets to the moon and Mars, run a global car company, and bid $44
billion to take over Twitter. Rand's fictional Central Park hotel developer
Kent Lansing told Roark that the shortest distance between two points was a
middleman. I need a well connected social butterfly to plug my work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A female? Not ideal, although they run NY publishing and literary conferences
coast to coast. It would be awkward to pitch a female agent or editor, but I've
had more five-star female Amazon reviews than any other kind. Men generally snarked
with 1-star exasperation, except for Erik who showered lavish praise on my convoluted
plots and trick endings. Good joke on Erik. He's a better writer than I am.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So, who are the women I admire?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Heather MacDonald, a busy journalist. Camille Paglia, the lesbian pop
culture critic, probably 80 years old. Maria Bartoromo, Fox Business superstar
working 12 hours a day. Becky Quick at CNBC. I haven't heard much from Anne
Coulter recently. I wouldn't mind being dissed or ignored by the perpetually
amused Coulter. She might have time to read a few pages.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So be it. My 10 best stories to Anne Coulter. Or Alice Cooper.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiO9eUOEK9ckj-NlcOHsiYFCrwknvNLKBsuMeNrE28yNeQ0M8ohEVmi9YxtAa8p39BrU8A41GOWLE2Br8zeWennjm23QyjxgFhnt33stC2oaXVT7fx___70GsSMB8BgyIlcpAfJI2qvbyBsjK4cFPNLhbOZlUmu0bqsWuzezCiTh26b_mhmTuxHLN/s531/four%20little%20book%20covers.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiO9eUOEK9ckj-NlcOHsiYFCrwknvNLKBsuMeNrE28yNeQ0M8ohEVmi9YxtAa8p39BrU8A41GOWLE2Br8zeWennjm23QyjxgFhnt33stC2oaXVT7fx___70GsSMB8BgyIlcpAfJI2qvbyBsjK4cFPNLhbOZlUmu0bqsWuzezCiTh26b_mhmTuxHLN/s16000/four%20little%20book%20covers.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-73227008923345117392022-05-20T16:25:00.005-07:002022-06-03T16:41:27.703-07:00Government<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We need to face facts. When our creek bridge cracked and eroded, fell apart
in a flood, FEMA paid to replace it. They built back worse. Now it floods in
every rainstorm. The culvert they specified under five tons of concrete is too
small to handle the creek flow. It jams with floating sticks and organic crap.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">$1 trillion wasted in Afghanistan, to be defeated, abandoning a strategic
airbase. Captured U.S. rockets, MRAPs, body armor, and night vision goggles
fell into the hands of Taliban IED terrorists released from Baghram prison.
They annihilated the Northern Alliance, killed every man, woman, and child.
Corrupt U.S.-salaried Republic of Afghanistan officials and U.S.-trained
Republic of Afghanistan pilots stuffed suitcases full of dollars and fled to
Uzbekistan in helicopters that we gave them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">$2 trillion wasted in Iraq. Several billions in cash went missing.
Thousands of U.S. troops killed, tens of thousands horribly maimed, hundreds of
thousands of Iraqi dead. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. No nuclear WMD. We
gave Saddam chemical weapons to help him fight the Iran-Iraq War. His stockpile
was exhausted long before we went on an insane hunt to find nothing and lay
waste to Iraq cities. We funded a new Republic of Iraq, trained a new Iraqi
Army. They ran from battle and lost half the country to ISIS, a new enemy to
attack, more U.S. special force butchery. Millions of refugees. Russia bombed
our Kurdish proxies in Syria and established Russian bases to defend Assad.
Lebanon was destroyed as a civil society. Total failure of U.S. diplomatic and
military strategy throughout the entire region.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">$5 trillion wasted at home, pampering and multiplying savages who can't
read, can't add or subtract, and get three meals a day at unionized zombie
schools, a colossal social failure measured in riots, drug dealing, smash and
grab, carjacking and gunfire on U.S. city streets. Colleges turn away good
students with high test scores. They abandoned all admission testing to enroll
more incompetents. Every word broadcast from the White House is a lie. They
lied to us about lockdowns, masks, and MRNA shots. They lied to us about
election integrity. CDC shut down baby formula production months ago and didn't
care that it spawned a crisis. The boy who shot up a grocery store in Buffalo had
threatened to shoot up his high school graduation ceremony. Total failure of "red
flag" mental health laws, police incompetence, and "gun free
zones" that killed children in Sandy Hook, Parkland, and Aurora. Families
are fleeing New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle.
Thousands of Chinese spies are quietly doing advanced studies at U.S. universities
and cleared to work in top secret national laboratories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tens of millions of illiterate peasants and gangsters are pouring across
the southern border, no longer in peril of arrest or deportation, released to
sign up for welfare, free housing, multilingual public schools, drivers
licenses, free health care, and ballot harvesting. "Privileged" white
kids are being shamed and urged to destroy themselves by gender reassignment without
parental consent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">No Federal, state, or local government employee can be fired. No Federal,
state, or local official has ever admitted to making a mistake. Now they're
playing cute with nuclear war. Putin had ample reason to be alarmed. U.S.
special forces were equipping and training the Ukrainian Army before Russia
gathered its forces at the border. We gave them Javelin anti-tank, Stinger
anti-aircraft, and Harpoon naval rockets, supplied Ukraine with vehicles, ammo,
drones, and satellite targeting in a war by proxy with the stated aim of militarily
defeating Russia. Federal spending is out of control. Brainless U.S. monetary and
fiscal policy crippled our economy. Sky high prices, fuel shortages, U.S. oil drillers
handcuffed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Government is not only stupid. It's suicidal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Biden read an angry teleprompter in Buffalo about people shot by a teenage
"white supremacist" who was previously identified as a threat and
held for observation at a hospital, but Biden had no time for or concern about
the Christmas Parade massacre in Waukesha — six dead and 70 injured, many
seriously, hundreds of women and small children terrorized by a negro with a
long rap sheet for violence. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span>Joe's suicidal race relations policy? White people don't matter. That's why
he threw the border open, flooded the country with Mexican gangsters and
fentanyl that killed over 100,000 last year.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I've been warning about the evil of government for 25 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">(<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991009165232/http://www.wolfdevoon.com/Flies.htm" target="_blank">Death To All Flies</a>, 1997)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The opposite of government is private life. I arranged for my daughter to
have competent professional training in gymnastics, violin, piano, orchestral
composition, contemporary jazz ballet, aviation ground school, horse riding and
jumping, video production and editing, and how to drive a full size GMC pickup in
city traffic and highway speed. As an 11-year-old kid, she had gun safety
training at an indoor range, became a good shot with a rifle, and practiced how
to fight kitchen fires. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MfxDNj0UxT1Cqg7ZMZnyb397bnlEbvjJKhNuvRv16ZuLmUR-O-QWeO7Mm0MG21Bd1Y1zaTlN_lbU7z4Ob-eD9I-af9R2t_7FVTZQmZxtzIOwJClf8x-XCnZaCefJvHUI4D54CAjRto9FQmf8tx8fDN0YtG2e0X0vWKzbmltSiyX7wxl-WUr4ACMa/s600/Gov%20...%20Fire_Extinguish_kid.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MfxDNj0UxT1Cqg7ZMZnyb397bnlEbvjJKhNuvRv16ZuLmUR-O-QWeO7Mm0MG21Bd1Y1zaTlN_lbU7z4Ob-eD9I-af9R2t_7FVTZQmZxtzIOwJClf8x-XCnZaCefJvHUI4D54CAjRto9FQmf8tx8fDN0YtG2e0X0vWKzbmltSiyX7wxl-WUr4ACMa/w400-h300/Gov%20...%20Fire_Extinguish_kid.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">My wife is worried that electricity will skyrocket in price, then black
out. She wants me to test a manual pump to lift water. I said I could build a
wood-fired steam engine to generate power. Weird karma!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-49363328061660519272022-05-20T16:17:00.003-07:002022-05-20T16:17:51.073-07:00Hill walking<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Steam Punk got put on hold. I spent a week reading Eight Ruthless Novels,
Vols. 1 and 2, to judge what happened from 1987 to 2018. How long is that? A
lifetime. Thirty years, not counting a previous 30 of camera experiments, kid
plays, teenage comedy scripts, and Hollywood screenplays that didn't always
make a great deal of sense, especially "The Guitar Player From The Black
Lagoon." It was gestated in a Pacific Heights laugh riot among four stoned
hippies and it became extremely bizarre in 3rd draft after meeting Dutch rock
legend Herman Brood at a quiet restaurant in Spaakenburg, trying to help a
talented tormented man ravaged by heroin. He was unable to eat a bowl of soup, escorted
by a burly personal manager who got Herman on stage if he was well enough to perform.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">See? I know everything about the raw guts of life and nothing about an
ideal man, which I'm supposed to etch in the heart of hard handsome Billy
Larko, a casino owner. Don't ask. It has to be that way. Ideal men are free,
empowered, untethered, independent. Told to lock down, Larko opened a Testing
Lab in the Bowery. A real enough laboratory, entrance to a three-story
speakeasy with gaming, a showroom and private parlors, expensive top shelf drinks
and reasonably fine dining from 11 pm to 5 am. Out of work Broadway actors wait
tables, earn good tips, and the showroom has a house band with nationally known
vocalists on occasion and a showcase of starlets doing torch standards, Love
For Sale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I don't want to write Steam Punk, and I have little choice in the matter.
Either I project an ideal man and illustrate precisely what ideal means in
Larko's demeanor and actions, or ... or nothing!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I can't back down without attaining a summit, which is called a cairn in
Scottish hill walking. It sounded okay to me, how hard could hill walking be?
So I went hill walking with my snooker partner John Oliver, a cheerful little
Scot who owned a corner shop. We "walked" almost vertically up Ben
Nevis. It took over three hours of strenuous nonstop effort and it nearly
killed me, staggering, gasping for air. That's what has to happen with Steam
Punk, a murderous hill walk that will take multiple years I might not have.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Here's the deal with hill walking or writing a big literary novel. It
matters every time you ascend another angular step. You do not have the luxury
of leisure, or level steps, or predictable results. All you know for certain is
Don't Slip, pay attention to every inch of a misty clouded mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Kicking around ideas for the third act. Maybe it's the cairn. I have to
create a new style of writing, slave to a silly rock song: <i>"She looked at
me with her big brown eyes and said, you ain't seen nuthin' yet."</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-21418756589406714642022-05-20T16:16:00.003-07:002022-05-20T16:16:47.923-07:00My dog snores<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I think he tolerates constant haircuts, back, sides, flanks, belly, neck,
face, paws, because it's cooler and more comfortable in hot weather. I also
gave the front drive and barn entrance a close haircut with the weed whacker,
to have a better chance of seeing snakes. He's been bitten by copperheads twice,
five years ago and again nine months ago, terrible episodes that could have
killed him. He was run over by a FedEx van a couple years ago, and a decade
earlier I rushed him to a dog hospital in Houston because he gobbled up poisoned
meat on a routine dog walk, a medical emergency when he collapsed unconscious. $2000
later I told him that he used up his entire lifetime health care budget, which
wasn't enforced very strictly. I don't want to calculate all the dough I spent
on this stupid intellectual dog that I adopted from a shelter. I remember the
day we met. "What are you doing in jail?" I asked him in disbelief.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">He and I are about the same age, both of us suffering skin lesions and
reduced mobility. I can't guess which of us will die first. Shihtzus live
relatively long lives. The showdog version looks like a horizontal Cousin It
with beautifully brushed silky hair that undulates when it prances proudly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tooie is 2/3 anarchist who thinks that he's a guard dog in a battle zone,
which is an absurd fantasy. He's terrified of gunfire, fireworks, and household
fly swatters. If I swing at a fly, he jumps up and tries to run through a
closed door, distressed because the doorknob is way the hell up there and can't
be opened with a paw. Absent gunfire or fly warfare, when he doesn't get his
own way, he snorts at me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The other thing that's odd about his breed, aside from stubbornness and
routine refusal to acknowledge lawful human authority, is a tragic and often
fatal belief that shihtzus can fly. Too many of these idiots have jumped from
multistory patios and windows to their deaths. They originate from Imperial
China, where they slept with the Emperor to warm his feet. Mine insists on
taking most of the bed and slams his weight against me. This is not always
desirable and I push back. He grumbles with exasperation and jumps down to
sleep in the laundry basket or in front of the refrigerator, both of which he
regards as dog equipment, which they most emphatically are not! Go away. Go sit
down. Go!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We have a big vocabulary. Stay and wait. Come here, you need a sweater. One
paw. One other paw. Wait a minute. Okay, let's go. Ready? Go. Come on. Hurry
up. Good dog. Come with me, go for a walk. Are you all done? Come on, it's cold
out here. Good boy. Come here. Let me see your dog eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Other shihtzu owners have done terrible things surgically to their eyes,
because they are prone to weep goo that hardens into rocks. I deal with it by
frequent wiping and yanking dry rocks from his lashes and eyelids. It's tiresome
to trim the stupid dog. Gigantic piles of hair on the floor or the grass
outside in fair weather. He dulls scissors. Feeding him and keeping dog treats
handy is a weekly grocery bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We're been together a long time, traveled together by car 3 or 4 thousand
miles, a dozen interstate trips and numerous motel nights. He knows what
elevators, concrete stairwells, and gas station walks are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The only reason I have Tooie is distrust that anyone else could care for
him. He needs a lot of attention between long bouts of elderly snoring, and he
has to sleep indoors or in a safe area outside, because he's defenseless, an
old alpha dog with missing teeth and no army to lead (my situation, too).
Twelve years ago we lived in a townhouse complex near a neighbor who had two
shihtzus. The female often got loose and made a beeline for my front door,
barking madly for admittance. When all three ran as a pack in a park, Tooie was
top dog, always in front, a blur who could run 20 mph in his youth, maybe 3 or
4 years old at the time. By arithmetic, he's 15 or 16 now, and his "run"
devolved to a lame hop, a slow walk, or a slightly out of control downhill
trot. His eyesight is terrible, cloudy at best. Ears and nose still work. The
literature claims that among all dog breeds, shihtzus are genetically closest
to a wolf. What awful karma! A wolf cut down to a dustmop by a wonky gene, pack
behavior intact. He adopted me as a pack brother, disputes my fitness for
leadership, and never smiles. Cass knows all about the breed, calls them
dragons. I am not prepared to find him dead or unresponsive some morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7st8fb3JD3XEA9bZDmL181sIKWOqSWFDiWeu2hA7vq4VVMdSqD1HYzYSFGnGDKeQ9Su_XHrrjHMGrUq2V3uV5GBFV50l9do-kZShzyKyhh5Mc-QGscdY_nTM_xydD6JKzbAdVQqiWc7a2ABRqVCJeL51Z0GrAnahBG5h56ciY3q-bKRcWsQmxk-H/s320/My%20dog%20...%20haircut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7st8fb3JD3XEA9bZDmL181sIKWOqSWFDiWeu2hA7vq4VVMdSqD1HYzYSFGnGDKeQ9Su_XHrrjHMGrUq2V3uV5GBFV50l9do-kZShzyKyhh5Mc-QGscdY_nTM_xydD6JKzbAdVQqiWc7a2ABRqVCJeL51Z0GrAnahBG5h56ciY3q-bKRcWsQmxk-H/s16000/My%20dog%20...%20haircut.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-1520673258982021642022-05-20T16:14:00.003-07:002022-05-20T16:33:29.092-07:00Oh. Okay.<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hugh Hewitt says (5/12/22) don't worry, the market goes up and down.
Happens all the time. It'll bounce back and go higher, like it always does.
Never sell. Maybe a few companies were overvalued, and everyone is trying to
figure out how to deal with inflation. America is still the most productive
society on earth, Hewitt affirmed confidently. Six days later, the broad market
fell another 5%.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If smart people don't sell, why are equities sliding? Did traders go stupid
at Goldman Sachs? Oh, duh, I get it. They're shearing sheep, advising clients
to sell on the way down and secretly buying cheap option contracts to make giant
profits on the way back up. Happens all the time, right, Hugh?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So far it cost pension funds 20% of assets. Diesel is in short supply.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dennis Prager was amused. He said there is an ancient Hebrew proverb —
every 1000 years someone arises to kill all the Jews. (Not just a few million?)
Puts me in mind of a foreign policy film clip solemnly honored by scholars, when
John F. Kennedy exclaimed to thousands in Berlin: "I am a jelly
donut!"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Stay tuned. A mountain lion was spotted in the neighborhood, and I want to source
a spare clip for our Remington 522. Some varmints have to die. The girls' big young
boxer has been barking urgently, afraid to engage. My kid was trained to shoot
and keep shooting until it runs dry. I need to get her a spare clip pronto, to double
the odds of successfully defending her chickens and aforementioned guard dog.
The 2nd Amendment, precious metal, and ammunition are a hard backstop to
losses. If shit comes to holler, they have a couple pounds of silver I gave
them years ago, but it's no substitute for bullets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Meanwhile, I'm beginning to believe that elderly radio talker Bill
Cunningham, syndicated nationally on Sunday nights, has a screw loose somewhere
in his noggin. Tonight he proposed to have Biden build two 6-ft diameter pipes to
pump water from Cincinnati to Lake Powell, Utah, about 1,500 miles up and over
the Rockies. Cunningham says that the Ohio River is 30 feet deep in Cincinnati,
"uselessly" flushing fresh water into the Mississippi. What kind of goof
thinks this way? The Ohio River borders six states. It has a system of locks
and dams to sustain farming, commercial navigation, and drinking water for
millions of people in Louisville, Evansville, Owensboro, and Paducah. It would
take 800 million gallons to fill two 6-ft pipes from Cincinnati to Lake Powell,
using hundreds of electric pumps to push it across Indiana, Illinois, the
Mississippi River, hilly Missouri, all of Kansas, then over the Rockies, maybe two
or three decades to complete. It would be cheaper to build a hotel on the moon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Heads up. Big rigs breaking down, no parts, no tires, drivers quitting.
Target and Walmart hurt by supply chain problems, port of Shanghai shut for 10
weeks, Chinese factories idled. Diesel fuel and fertilizer doubled in price,
hitting U.S. farmers especially hard. Rising interest rates are going to
bankrupt home builders, investors and savers. CDC is warning of another covid
panic to screw us with mail-in ballots in midterm elections, pushing booster shots
for children. On balance, it would be a good idea to shut the schools again.
Transgender classroom propaganda was destroying kids. Adolescent mental illness
has doubled. Cops are quitting. It's becoming urgent to bug out, learn how to
shoot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFmLn4b3keH677V6O_edwZ6SBLFgtNxoxAv6HELg5PomRhLVIkcMoyFoltZXq-0tSkvAy8-7FztDkkqtQrhMSi4vLWvJeMVRlgOzxvn798mtCJwzWVQL-Ra9bdZNfC1KrgXDvj_UWvOCGJ2kAGCID0k05iznijoYZdtEMQ07EwNZjOvrgZEyoXl62/s360/Oh%20...%20gettin_out_of_Dodge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="254" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFmLn4b3keH677V6O_edwZ6SBLFgtNxoxAv6HELg5PomRhLVIkcMoyFoltZXq-0tSkvAy8-7FztDkkqtQrhMSi4vLWvJeMVRlgOzxvn798mtCJwzWVQL-Ra9bdZNfC1KrgXDvj_UWvOCGJ2kAGCID0k05iznijoYZdtEMQ07EwNZjOvrgZEyoXl62/w283-h400/Oh%20...%20gettin_out_of_Dodge.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-35246201368507374112022-05-01T15:31:00.004-07:002022-05-01T15:31:52.085-07:00Vacuum tube punk<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cZJpoKLkPEtCLnfaO7H78_pUqV0ihOJXLgkE3OK5vH035JO7_JgIBJGWI4dtrTXZ5yUUolCTkoml0WkMYyR-eRN2Az6icTIVqzx98gPm43Z9PStVHBS8CHuBt1zmUwFGeWwwxefaw4GV9AmHham2knq0lNKxialeydFfaENv9uCLAIi6N0YMvR_i/s122/vacuum%20tubes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="122" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cZJpoKLkPEtCLnfaO7H78_pUqV0ihOJXLgkE3OK5vH035JO7_JgIBJGWI4dtrTXZ5yUUolCTkoml0WkMYyR-eRN2Az6icTIVqzx98gPm43Z9PStVHBS8CHuBt1zmUwFGeWwwxefaw4GV9AmHham2knq0lNKxialeydFfaENv9uCLAIi6N0YMvR_i/s1600/vacuum%20tubes.jpg" width="122" /></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Childhood matters, formative experiences that shape what we seek in life. I
guess I was in 7th grade, and it was my turn to say something in front of the
class. I drew white diagrams on the blackboard, explained current flow, vacuum
tubes, amplification, and tuned circuits that used a coil and a variable
condenser. Bored kids complained. I didn't care whether they liked it or not. I
had discovered radio and built a Boy Scout crystal set that worked, then a
Knight Kit transmitter (pictured above). I have distinct kid memories of two
bands of metal pinching my hair, uncomfortably hard earphones with woven cloth
wires terminated in a banana plug. Top 40 tunes and the smell of solder. It was
a short hop to 1/4" tape recording, then multi-track studio recordings,
pro 24-track analog in Europe and pro 24-track digital in California. I used an
infinity of video formats, film cameras and editing systems, physical, analog,
and nonlinear. Everywhere I went in life there were waveform displays
(vectorscopes and oscilliscopes) that tossed me back to a 7th grade blackboard,
excited about electrical events measured in milliseconds. It was deeply
satisfying that pro recording engineers all over the world liked the guts and
gusto of vacuum tube vocal compressors. Guitarists used vacuum tube amps and analog
magnetic pickups.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PUp4zSz2jtVnWTQOD6rjr7swVjw1vb0tl6XX0MxFE0XiR8JvUdEA3XCQAMJ6kCGv4T4gzCS-QgzltieP_TBfud91wu_ZVR724dqgaWWTbwDHBRy9-lv-LPDO91MltQ4HKqgeBeBGm1dKZ4AEqJFmj6TnpC1K7N6yGNM_vMMkvXYWcQEvBdqkU3f0/s113/vacuum%20larko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="113" data-original-width="113" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PUp4zSz2jtVnWTQOD6rjr7swVjw1vb0tl6XX0MxFE0XiR8JvUdEA3XCQAMJ6kCGv4T4gzCS-QgzltieP_TBfud91wu_ZVR724dqgaWWTbwDHBRy9-lv-LPDO91MltQ4HKqgeBeBGm1dKZ4AEqJFmj6TnpC1K7N6yGNM_vMMkvXYWcQEvBdqkU3f0/s1600/vacuum%20larko.jpg" width="113" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This is a photo of Pete Sears, a musician I
filmed in 1995. Pete looks a little like Billy Larko deep in the third act,
older, retired, or on the lam, in disguise — interesting concepts to kick
around. Larko had an intensely challenging boyhood. He liked hot machines. My
9th grade science fair project was an electromagnetic rod that launched an aluminum
ring high in the air. Larko built a steam powered donkey engine that winched a heavy
block of lead across the floor without wheels or grease to reduce friction. Larko
and I are completely different men. He knows how big commercial boilers make
steam, unafraid to get his hands dirty to attack a dangerous problem. Billy
Larko is tough and resolute, never lost a fistfight. I have to do some spade work
to make that stick, to render the life and times of an ideal man. I'm confident
that I can do it. Like I said in 2018: "I'm about the size of half a man,
a physical and moral midget. It's a valuable perspective, because the scale and
scope of greatness are easily discerned, just as country folk behold an
amazingly tall skyscraper and say oooo!"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-13543448354369049732022-05-01T15:22:00.001-07:002022-05-01T15:22:24.085-07:00Not good news<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOZRVvlvlVcKB3XJHMEdH8HsYbwkvDz-r49tKDwNvcuA0E9UMmXqc0Co93VK6VSz5Td2417F-y6lpkvBpVWiDCy3HixwpwfUcDTyV-MrUUA2iQUIRnRBpOCz7bxtY5ouNHIAR98-psRdgPOjY-a-BCkTFF5T1mmRBVsLR-T_2DBVSo6rshI6ZrtEc/s551/Not%20good%20graphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="551" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOZRVvlvlVcKB3XJHMEdH8HsYbwkvDz-r49tKDwNvcuA0E9UMmXqc0Co93VK6VSz5Td2417F-y6lpkvBpVWiDCy3HixwpwfUcDTyV-MrUUA2iQUIRnRBpOCz7bxtY5ouNHIAR98-psRdgPOjY-a-BCkTFF5T1mmRBVsLR-T_2DBVSo6rshI6ZrtEc/w451-h263/Not%20good%20graphic.png" width="451" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">We're in an inflationary period, product shortages and price hikes, too
much money chasing too few goods. Purchasing power comprises home equity, stock
portfolios, cash savings, and net income after taxes. The big problem is a
downward slide in Supply. Fewer imports, zero U.S. industrial development,
shortages of oil, car parts, agricultural inputs, airline crews, etc. Consumer
spending is strong despite negative GDP. Mortgage refinance is being used as an
instrument to raise cash. Retirees and voluntarily idle consumers not in the
workforce have been receiving more government benefits, rent moratorium and PPP
money. Democrat consensus is to forgive student loans and hand out cash for
child care, EVs, affordable housing for the homeless, and unarmed social worker
responders instead of police.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">This will draw to a close in the next six months for two reasons. Interest
rates will rise sharply, and Wall Street will crash. Layoffs. Bank lending and
purchasing power gone. If you have a variable rate mortgage or a big credit
card balance, you're screwed. Government will attempt to spend more and
discover that no one wants to buy Treasury bonds or agency bonds or municipal
sewer and water bonds. Biden sees himself as a second FDR, which is a pleasant delusion
(minus FDR's ability to speak without stumbling). Roosevelt made the Great
Depression more painful, drove America into worsening industrial paralysis and
bread lines. Cue Woody Guthrie, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh80y1_vnn0299dt4TqPkpcPV4oUJV6o8J0IEz_DVLgu35ive8xtft1m-A6aXn-xZ-Zirh4ynl6AxBZc784WQxaQruUuIMz8abG1aAJA7kaj3Y8pFtvz-Jp5YnCgMfIf299l--omK72lMtEoWO6T_LjYqq3ibdVFwXmdfK--GJFX-9BSV-nzfv7tbT/s240/Not%20monopoly%20man.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh80y1_vnn0299dt4TqPkpcPV4oUJV6o8J0IEz_DVLgu35ive8xtft1m-A6aXn-xZ-Zirh4ynl6AxBZc784WQxaQruUuIMz8abG1aAJA7kaj3Y8pFtvz-Jp5YnCgMfIf299l--omK72lMtEoWO6T_LjYqq3ibdVFwXmdfK--GJFX-9BSV-nzfv7tbT/w167-h167/Not%20monopoly%20man.png" width="167" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Hey, relax! I'm probably wrong. Just a crackpot hippie living in a tin
barn. It's not like there was a serious war threat in Europe. I have to hand it
to cold blooded Democrat strategists, a six month bubble bath of personal
consumption expenditure and a groovy summer of love before the midterms. Joe
will ride his bike to an ice cream parlor, and White House press will ask which
flavor he got? (Odds on chocolate.) There will be no other news unless approved
by the DHS Disinformation Moderation Board. Consumer inflation will be adjusted
downward by BLS for "hedonic gains" in new metaverse skins and 5G wifi.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Hedonic gains understated inflation for decades. Look it up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-44219028980878409832022-04-27T13:49:00.009-07:002022-04-27T14:27:38.343-07:00Geological note<p> <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGv1vMvNjsDc92nzeNRXAzFER3CT0G2cBF6JuLi6LgXUEvvtKRy_hV85cWzFD265LjF6wVlLOJb1WhRpENbMw8BV3yPwgpWuv3P_0uEKtc6GWdqcaalDSMNWCD4iEbo7WOfYjoxqyc4aUZAaP_O2AhlDv-n-pFS_TR_kup3REtscTROvjR0WjzWHVi/s200/Ice%20Age.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="200" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGv1vMvNjsDc92nzeNRXAzFER3CT0G2cBF6JuLi6LgXUEvvtKRy_hV85cWzFD265LjF6wVlLOJb1WhRpENbMw8BV3yPwgpWuv3P_0uEKtc6GWdqcaalDSMNWCD4iEbo7WOfYjoxqyc4aUZAaP_O2AhlDv-n-pFS_TR_kup3REtscTROvjR0WjzWHVi/w142-h116/Ice%20Age.jpg" width="142" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Pennsylvania shales had a previously productive life about 20 million years
ago, oozing oil into porous limestone, some of which was faulted and upthrown during
The Ice Age and it leaked surface shows in Titusville, which became the
great-great grandsire of U.S. oil exploration. Note that drilling a shale and
fracturing it with a 4000 ft lateral to produce gas is constrained by geology.
The total organic content (TOC), tens of millions of years of maturation into
gas, and sufficient thickness for a mile or two matters. There's a grain
structure in shale that determines which way you drill. I've estimated that the
Marcellus Shale is 40% depleted, which contradicts money men and geologists
working in the shale space. I wish them good fortune as long as it lasts. Below are two Range Resources maps, showing where the thick mature "core" plays
are — a liquids bonanza with too much ethane in a region around Pittsburgh, and
a dry gas land rush north of Scranton, with plenty of 1000 ft offsets on the leased
acreage to leisurely produce more gas unless the balance sheet sputters with stagflation,
higher junk bond rates, labor shortage, completion delays, or water use
limitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HGz3BdSyGURV_d6pMM2PvC8imHyiD2y7ZxQb6hi7zWfRuhdCIZ11bGSgAwqNSDj_NF8lp-VK30m87efmbw48FPqM6DM0cyc8hghs04PE3FBXVIzk0Jfjssvuf1bIYuRgK6OsWdgDNApMUguxeGb8F56SrGRLsAMcorzPcbFm7pPY3Go6XBZGLcVw/s510/Marcellus%20Gas%20In%20Place.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="510" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HGz3BdSyGURV_d6pMM2PvC8imHyiD2y7ZxQb6hi7zWfRuhdCIZ11bGSgAwqNSDj_NF8lp-VK30m87efmbw48FPqM6DM0cyc8hghs04PE3FBXVIzk0Jfjssvuf1bIYuRgK6OsWdgDNApMUguxeGb8F56SrGRLsAMcorzPcbFm7pPY3Go6XBZGLcVw/w449-h327/Marcellus%20Gas%20In%20Place.png" width="449" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSunPPLvin9ktqIvrT2k03QZNSoSm5V9uR_8TvuccbgMLLb4ff09dOOomKdeif2cJ4EPopxOut9r_eYoMu1T9OoxB6bAFX2pL49oBenqICdmqOFZLTZUKotLpK5DfHlraD4SmH96UxGPBbw05vANVnsPo6ObFFaO5XUem5sbTd49kyJzDuQ4U06tzi/s509/Marcellus%20wells.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="509" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSunPPLvin9ktqIvrT2k03QZNSoSm5V9uR_8TvuccbgMLLb4ff09dOOomKdeif2cJ4EPopxOut9r_eYoMu1T9OoxB6bAFX2pL49oBenqICdmqOFZLTZUKotLpK5DfHlraD4SmH96UxGPBbw05vANVnsPo6ObFFaO5XUem5sbTd49kyJzDuQ4U06tzi/w448-h242/Marcellus%20wells.jpg" width="448" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Same thing in North Dakota, a thick rich core, 70% drilled to death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZCOmTVVbEyPdRCfK-Utdk7kgkMcOSRVq2z5MM-iIZG9bZ_Jhqlh6Yd1txZhgdIQN6bg7qEv_8EUJeg-zrAtT5iGv1BwLUGWh8a39zkdE-_SZwUshVibF3GcV9Bdt9z3gNrrE0clw4ItsJQItfRgrGU4MzmRhwyMojgWsGSz2jAfsUrJODLtlLLnv/s341/Bakken%20Isopach.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="242" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZCOmTVVbEyPdRCfK-Utdk7kgkMcOSRVq2z5MM-iIZG9bZ_Jhqlh6Yd1txZhgdIQN6bg7qEv_8EUJeg-zrAtT5iGv1BwLUGWh8a39zkdE-_SZwUshVibF3GcV9Bdt9z3gNrrE0clw4ItsJQItfRgrGU4MzmRhwyMojgWsGSz2jAfsUrJODLtlLLnv/w274-h386/Bakken%20Isopach.jpg" width="274" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizA94-rfvrug8yfQJbWRJXBqNz2e453_RkioSnyhXBuuPf0_vCCsD_H52CcvTeUH-k5Wild0yC-9qkgftKkCbkNoT3zOgckEPsOAadVJNZTWwU-b7hSlzgqjw7Wd_UuqrZAFOAreSD88PshVCP96g8d1q61zAkKhhUBz6_cc7fSoyhdWyRWCkcPYvZ/s291/Bakken%20wells%20and%20core.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="233" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizA94-rfvrug8yfQJbWRJXBqNz2e453_RkioSnyhXBuuPf0_vCCsD_H52CcvTeUH-k5Wild0yC-9qkgftKkCbkNoT3zOgckEPsOAadVJNZTWwU-b7hSlzgqjw7Wd_UuqrZAFOAreSD88PshVCP96g8d1q61zAkKhhUBz6_cc7fSoyhdWyRWCkcPYvZ/w268-h331/Bakken%20wells%20and%20core.jpg" width="268" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Oh, boy, the Fox radio personality and former soccer player Brian Kilmeade
suggested that we could help the oil and gas industry deliver exports to
Europe, like we helped the pharmaceutical industry roll out billions of MRNA
shots for every man, woman and child on earth, triple shots for obedient U.S.
chumps until today. A fourth shot was approved for people over 50. CDC didn't
consult their panel of experts, took Pfizer's word for it, and said they
weren't sure how well a second booster would work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Throwing money at a fat pharma ecosystem to make medicines is relatively
frictionless compared to an order compelling oil and gas producers to drill
more and ship more LNG. The only way to obtain more natural gas for
liquefaction and export in a matter of months is to steal it from U.S.
consumers. It takes years to build or expand LNG terminals, so we should
recruit the Canadians to help. We export gas to Canada, and they're mad about
cancellation of Keystone XL. If diplomacy fails we could order Shell and Exxon to
tear up contracts on Defense Production Act force majeure to ship LNG from Australasia,
but China, Japan, and Korea will scream bloody murder. I don't know how to fix
that, except to maybe offer our allies U.S. crude in compensation for LNG
snatched from the Pacific Rim. We could sacrifice some oil imports and divert them
to Japan and Korea, dispatch guided missile cruisers and attack subs to escort LNG
shipping past China, who we don't need to compensate. China gets Russian LNG at
a discount.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Why can't U.S. natural gas producers just step up their game, drill more,
double our domestic supplies in fairly short order? Four hurdles. No manpower, few
rigs, backlogged completion contractors, and phony reserves. We could get a
little more gas overnight by ordering BHP to open the chokes in Haynesville, if
the pipes are big enough to transport more. But forget about doubling U.S. gas
production. It would be like ordering farmers to plant and harvest twice as
much wheat, or GM to make twice as many vehicles, snapping their corporate
fingers to equip more suppliers and factories, train inexperienced people, and
build EVs without chips. We could invade Taiwan to loot their semiconductors, I
suppose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">See what I mean? You can't order agriculture or industrial manufacturing to
suddenly do more. Natural gas doesn't fly out of the ground because you want it
to. Drilling and fracking a new gas well entails a lot of resources in short
supply — steerable bits, coiled tube, fresh water, proppant goo, and
contaminated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>water disposal. Production requires
gathering equipment and connection to an interstate pipeline. The Eagle Ford
dry gas leg in South Texas could ramp up pretty quickly if you throw money at
it, but I doubt that there are enough skilled people to hurry up more drilling.
I have an index of companies active in the Eagle Ford shale. There are five
dozen pipeline operators, contractors, and lease operators, including a joint
venture with China's flagship CNOOC funding Chesapeake's wet gas development.
Cheniere could use more engineering and cryogenic construction crews in Corpus
Christie to boost LNG shipping.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1omvy94pdrWGH8EwglXouNYnKpDhnbOjyZIutrETeXH-9UUEQLmchrB44WJ54w4itpRguX8ZQFxBpXt_DZ4AsuZoLyNQnzGGiq6Sxyo-N7izYA0yJKh_V6VsXUIuNXr0XjVEZ4jOTJlTSL9hLNfxYDnDh6taxRzAQ3oo9Lz-8ziDTFnivlR9F79_/s510/Eagle%20Ford%20infrastructure.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="510" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF1omvy94pdrWGH8EwglXouNYnKpDhnbOjyZIutrETeXH-9UUEQLmchrB44WJ54w4itpRguX8ZQFxBpXt_DZ4AsuZoLyNQnzGGiq6Sxyo-N7izYA0yJKh_V6VsXUIuNXr0XjVEZ4jOTJlTSL9hLNfxYDnDh6taxRzAQ3oo9Lz-8ziDTFnivlR9F79_/w438-h318/Eagle%20Ford%20infrastructure.png" width="438" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">Forget about recruiting people off the street. Geology and petroleum engineering
are lifelong careers, and toolpushers do not want amateur help. Drivers need a clean
CDL, have to pass drug tests, work long hours, drive on rural blacktop and
gravel, and back up long tank trailers right on the money every time. There is
a national shortage of qualified drivers, pipefitters, welders, and experienced
rig hands — not the sort of work that snowflakes or pajama boys could do. Oil Patch
community colleges try to enroll young strong men who have families to support,
teach them high paying blue collar trades. Gas drillers work 24/7 until a mile long
vertical bore and a 4000 ft horizontal lateral are completed safely, including high
pressure cement, hydraulic fracture, water disposal, control cap and choke,
connected to the field infrastructure. It's dangerous work in a loud, rough,
technically exacting, tiring industry. Workers have been killed or seriously injured,
despite mandatory Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) training, pro safety
equipment, and daily HSE inspection. Go ahead, order everybody to work harder
and faster.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>>>> NEWS FLASH <<<</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Holy hell, pardon my language, I just figured out how to rescue Europe.
It will require international force majeure at bayonet point and a dozen C-5 missions.
Seize Anadarko's shale rigs and drilling crews in Denver, the Conoco rigs and
roughnecks from Unita and Piceance basins, and Santos in Queensland, all the coiled
tube that Baker Hughes has in inventory, a shitload of Halliburton mud, cement,
proppant, a crack wireline crew, downhole tools, mud loggers, and the </span>Schlumberger
StacFrac team<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">. Fly everything and
everyone to Poland. Frack </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">the </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gdansk Depression and Danish-Polish Marginal Trough,
targeting the organic-rich Silurian section. Put Exxon in charge. If Poland
doesn't like it, declare NATO emergency martial law enforced by the 82nd Airborne
and a squad of bilingual diplomats to compensate and relocate civilians who are
in the way. Recruit Shell and Total to hire drivers, move water, drill disposal
wells, do gas gathering, and push rig supplies around.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Presto!
— energy independence for Western Europe in 15 months with 15 rigs and a big
Schlumberger completion team, European supermajors dividing logistics, and
Exxon in command. Only one caveat. Don't let ENI or Repsol offer to help.
Suggest they explore Somalia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKciMj0z8L-y3PWBdUzv1jdGVg_OjeUutfSJ26bBtsACT119ChdMue1eouPVvwc2JKfvaVj5R_otQDdgJTR9Rqqv46_vmC9_ZyrYZoTWYZrLbjKJfYmF4wKUe2_pl5l-DBi4LEfQ1UVAtC1DEE2WQcNsHLoilqK1hEGXeeoMf45p2QfRNS_nr1akU/s50/smile.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="50" data-original-width="50" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKciMj0z8L-y3PWBdUzv1jdGVg_OjeUutfSJ26bBtsACT119ChdMue1eouPVvwc2JKfvaVj5R_otQDdgJTR9Rqqv46_vmC9_ZyrYZoTWYZrLbjKJfYmF4wKUe2_pl5l-DBi4LEfQ1UVAtC1DEE2WQcNsHLoilqK1hEGXeeoMf45p2QfRNS_nr1akU/s1600/smile.bmp" width="50" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">UPDATE 4/15, income tax day and Good Friday, over 380
million people under some form of lockdown in China, millions starving in
Shanghai. An interruption of American free enterprise to liberate Western
Europe, amply compensated and reimbursed for expenses, isn't much to ask. We
should invite spouses and families to visit Poland, first class accommodation, unless
the rig hands and engineers would rather party with Polish ladies — which reminds
me of what Englishmen said about our 8th Air Force during World War II. Yanks
were "over here, over paid, and over sexed!" Jimmy Stewart was a B-17
pilot, flew 20 missions, his plane shot up twice, rose to become wing commander
and decorated general officer, saw it as a duty that he couldn't shirk. We have
to free Europe from Putin. No one else can do it, except "oil field trash"
who know how to sweat blood and frack. Lord help the pretty young babes of
Poland in charge of food, drink, and housekeeping. Essential to press gang the
Aussies drilling for Santos. They'll drink you under the table and have your
back in a bar fight with shavetail Airborne MPs. Probably need a passel of tort
settlement lawyers, sooner or later.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Concurrent with a gush of natural gas production to declare
independence from Russia, we should train locals to learn the trade, take over
field development. Exxon can arrange for rig rentals and toolpushers as needed.
Poland will inherit a hugely profitable industry, selling gas to Germany,
Italy, Spain, Denmark, and domestic consumers. They can pay Uncle Sam a royalty
for production on the 45 wells we drilled at lightning speed to deduct $300
billion a year from Putin's war machine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">4/26 — Wait a minute, hold everything. The DNC cloak and
dagger subcommittee known as Joe Biden shipped heavy weapons to Ukraine and announced
the war aim of defeating Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Don't send anyone to Poland or try to save Europe. Pushing
Putin into a corner gives him no exit ramp. Wall Street is cracking under the
pressure. Leave Anadarko in Colorado, Conoco in Utah, and Santos in Queensland,
where they'll have greater likelihood of survival as far as possible from the
wasteland of a nuclear exchange.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Good time to review foreign policy strategy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/299712339" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/299712339</a> <i>The Executive Power</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-39779099570840514862022-04-27T13:06:00.002-07:002022-04-27T13:35:27.228-07:00Harrumphed<p> </p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Totally exasperated, futzing with two sticks of dynamite and I can't get
them to explode. So far nothing but a sputter that could have been a bump of overvoltage
in my somewhat primitive incandescent barn lighting. It happens occasionally in
rural life, the bulbs brighten briefly, a little spark across a condenser
somewhere on the line. My imaginary sticks of story dynamite did nothing,
didn't even get warm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDqFUuG7qYJVef2UkD5wQh6yMpCmpFpsORAB_pGI8kV2-3anGnlxfFBYleuapX__Q42s4wErQTjU081ZU7I5QTvBxogCK8oOBd-5IEsUzc6u-yuGi8Jvr1186mdwgbOkyPjgInRAMoVYw_cVGysMmoEwMJFK2KSEnweDZDlGx_EoreXYvNXTnlcaY/s200/fail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="200" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDqFUuG7qYJVef2UkD5wQh6yMpCmpFpsORAB_pGI8kV2-3anGnlxfFBYleuapX__Q42s4wErQTjU081ZU7I5QTvBxogCK8oOBd-5IEsUzc6u-yuGi8Jvr1186mdwgbOkyPjgInRAMoVYw_cVGysMmoEwMJFK2KSEnweDZDlGx_EoreXYvNXTnlcaY/s1600/fail.jpg" width="200" /></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I hate being embarrassed. I stalked Frank Zappa for years, made a complete
fool of myself. Shaking my head about antics in Hollywood, barging in on Al
Ruddy twice, pitching idiotically dumb projects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Maybe I need to climb K2, try slapping sticks of dynamite together at
altitude. Do things explode from time to time in the Himalayas? Nepal tried a
communist dictatorship, then attempted a constitutional republic, which was
extremely bizarre because the Kathmandu School of Law quoted me as an authority
on equity. It prohibits fishing with dynamite, among other things. Imagine how stupid
I'd feel if I blew up a lakefront Nepalese tourist hotel experimenting with an
explosive story twist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm beginning to believe that novels should not twist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">THE NEXT DAY — Considering different men. I think I understand serenity,
but I had considerably more experience as a desperado, a director, a stunned
victim, an airhead dreamer, and a Vulcan engineer in my youth. Other men I've
known were cynics, epicures, tragic comedians, minstrels, amused geniuses,
dangerous criminals, empty husks incapable of asking questions, lonely artists,
patrons, AIDS patients on their deathbeds, glib crooks, and hardened warriors.
My friend Tom is a courageous and comical stoic. I don't want to consider women
at the moment. The main character of Steam Punk is male.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Murkowski on the radio, contemplating the looming recession, quoted John
Candy in "Stripes" to advise that men should become lean, mean fighting
machines in business and personal life. Good investment strategy, if one wishes
to succeed economically. I admit that money can buy happiness, although it
risks tripping on landmines in divorce court, and the green eyeshade example of
Lucas was not inspirational.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">My friend Richard had everything against him, yet he enjoyed life, took it
on the chin, suffered, and then bounced back a hundred times. It never darkened
his soul. Some are indefatigably positive. Wife #3 said that I had "unsunny
passions." Not an interesting quality in a main character. I covered moral
collapse in Partners and multiple personal narratives. Shallow writers write
about themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In Solitaire, there are forks to probe and patterns to perceive. The game
must be played well, but finally it's in the deal or it's not. Some hands
cannot be played, a terrible shuffle of the cards. That's karma.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">You know what's funny? My elderly teeth are so fragile that a sneeze can be
dangerous. I always hated dentists, although I had some expert care in Harley
Street and Hollywood. Everyone has a nemesis or an awkward handicap of some
kind. Mine was sensitivity. Good quality for a writer, I suppose, but I need to
keep it on a leash. It's a question of style. King Crimson was not sensitive.
He was angry and regal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It's tempting to make Larko angry and regal on page one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Don't be impatient. Take your time. Let it mature. Forget how it opens. You
need a third act, remember? That's how this experiment started, rubbing two
sticks of dynamite together, didn't work. It's the story of a man's life.
Careful about flashbacks, restrict it to revisiting George's basement
workbench, and get him out of there in one piece, unchanged on the outside.
Ratchet up a second inciting incident pronto, something that cracks his shell.
I think the kid is important. I don't know why I forgot him — well, maybe I do.
I stupidly attempted a dramatic twist, two sticks of crap dynamite, a cheap
trick of pulp fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So, the kid is important. Not a second act pivot as such. A role reversal
in Larko's life, seeing himself in the same place as the kid. The kid needs a
name. Let him be a black kid. Yuval Runch. A terrible name. Larko will elicit a
secret name that the kid wants or dreams — Tyrone Fury. This is solid stuff.
You're on the right track. Nowhere near the third act, however. Don't be
impatient. Let it cook some more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">SLIGHT CHANGE OF TOPIC — I have to expiate guilt, specifically the misery
of a salaried corporate staff writer, $68K and benefits, a job that I grew to
hate in a matter of weeks, called into HR and fired. Just let it fade away,
please. Some things need to be forgotten. I don't mind remembering prison or
lost loves, inexcusably wild behavior. But it makes me shudder in horror that I
went willingly into slavery on the top floor of a Houston office building,
unable to smile when my work was mutilated or ignored. I cannot let Steam Punk
fall into the hands of a literary agent or copy editor. It will have to be self
published and die an obscure death on Amazon. Thinking about money is
debilitating, a crowded highway to hell. Squeaky clean millionaire Metaxas concurred
with a rich fake rabbi on national radio: "We are obliged to pray."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Horseshit. God told me he doesn't answer prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Sorry,”
I said contritely. “Why am I here?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God
squirmed in a worn padded swivel chair and grumped. “I don't know. Randominy, a
billion genetic dice rolls, favorable political history and penicillin. I
wasn't paying much attention, to be honest.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Busy answering
prayers?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God gave a sharp
glance of disdain. “Is there something wrong with your hearing? I just told
you, I wasn't paying attention.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I nodded in
polite concordance. “Most people knew that. That's why Churchill didn't pray —
or did he?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God shook his
head no. “I could check the records, but I doubt it.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I smiled inside.
“You helped them, didn't you?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God wouldn't
answer. He took a Havana Diplomat from its glass tube and cut the end with his
cigar knife.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The chain of
reasoning saddened me. “By saving England...”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Don't even go there, kid,” God interrupted. “Here.
Smoke a cigar and turn your brain off a couple minutes, so I can think
straight. Please.”</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm okay with God, his son Jake, and quite a lot of the celestial
furniture, but I find it difficult to accept the existence of fairly good,
peeled, diced, ripe canned peaches and pears loaded on 40-ft containers in Shanghai,
cheaper than we can grow them in Georgia or Alabama. Makes me wonder about
McDonald's, Burger King, and Denny's. The biggest U.S. bacon supplier is owned
by China. Exactly how American are the institutional American cheese slices
that are shipped in 30-lb cartons to schools, prisons, and chain restaurants?
Even my new bottle of multivitamins was made in China — god!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“What?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Sorry,
sir. I wasn't saying that to bother you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“What's
the problem?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I
slumped and drooped, hung my head in defeat. “I'm very grateful to work again,
no matter how hard it is,” I said honestly but without fire. I wished I was
morally stronger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Let
me give you a piece of advice,” God harrumphed. “I am the Lord Thy God — all
powerful and complete unto myself. I can create worlds beyond worlds and
history itself. Follow? Forget about what happened when Walt died. Ashes to
ashes, dust to dust. He's had to accept it, that everything he did was shredded
by Iger. How do you think Victor Hugo feels? A masterpiece adapted by Murphy,
for fuck's sake!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; tab-stops: 153.75pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“I know.”<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“So
get a grip, unless you want me to punch your ticket for purg.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">I
nodded. “Okay.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">God
relented four notches, to give me a break. “Eat dinner. I'll send you an angel.
You've earned it. Eternity is a long term proposition, son. Remember what your
Mom said: Don't be so hard on yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Okay.
Thank you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">“Over
and out with sauerkraut.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .6in; margin-right: .6in; margin-top: 4.35pt; margin: 4.35pt 0.6in 10pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: 0.3in;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I snickered and grinned. God was great.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: trebuchet; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgY-xlhL80tAaxGzLl9B3m1NGSj6BBlfZh1zmce6g4eJvbo8OXZTkNgNQiU5vE116Sq7LFczo-ijg9dEzIB9O4tW1lkJvs70XbDXJzOtFMbHWjnAZGHSbdRAZdZMNHUETKtT5KTwXeL3NOy8AkWafOndaEKaM9Xw32AQHKhSvzMMWo6IaYb0dceQfY/s500/Heaven%20front%20cover%20with%20tagline.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="500" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgY-xlhL80tAaxGzLl9B3m1NGSj6BBlfZh1zmce6g4eJvbo8OXZTkNgNQiU5vE116Sq7LFczo-ijg9dEzIB9O4tW1lkJvs70XbDXJzOtFMbHWjnAZGHSbdRAZdZMNHUETKtT5KTwXeL3NOy8AkWafOndaEKaM9Xw32AQHKhSvzMMWo6IaYb0dceQfY/w470-h376/Heaven%20front%20cover%20with%20tagline.jpg" width="470" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 1.45pt;"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Cast of comedians in order of appearance: Narrator, a
Talking Duck, Adele Flooney, Almighty God, Ayn Rand, Nick Narcourt, Gary
Cooper, Kyle Marshall, Clare Wright, J. P. Morgan, Jake the Carpenter, Betsy,
Pamela, and Alejandro Rey, plus a supporting cast of bit players like Annette
Funicello, who belongs in any sane man's heaven, restored to youthful beauty
and reunited with a loving and loyal husband. Heaven should have happy endings
or there's no sense calling it heaven, right? Fantastic and heartbreaking,
author Wolf DeVoon offers an adult tale of kinky sex, residential construction
comedy, and heavenly sports that make grown men blush.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 1.45pt;"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 1.45pt;"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-89767862022584429462022-04-27T12:59:00.004-07:002022-05-01T15:18:39.320-07:00Joke of The Century<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">NPR Science Friday reports 11˚C polar warming on Neptune.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Quick! — alert the EPA, ban cow farts on outer planets!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3ZvSFuu2gQd2Nx9eEHv7Ro7z_EsbLIIfg47AmQS3vZWW-4iZ7kjOYwLpoBSIoMQV1-XkIkB0avcOp_w2E-e3l9_DumYrMZGS6KvpvplmBJllHl7X1z5OuRAN8N4U0AajR4BrHOWcATxe75OcTs3eQj2PcBKXjyfdBelRFMRO-vVMLHdOn1MTe2Gx/s592/Joke%20Pennsylvania.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="592" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3ZvSFuu2gQd2Nx9eEHv7Ro7z_EsbLIIfg47AmQS3vZWW-4iZ7kjOYwLpoBSIoMQV1-XkIkB0avcOp_w2E-e3l9_DumYrMZGS6KvpvplmBJllHl7X1z5OuRAN8N4U0AajR4BrHOWcATxe75OcTs3eQj2PcBKXjyfdBelRFMRO-vVMLHdOn1MTe2Gx/s320/Joke%20Pennsylvania.jpg" width="320" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Seriously, I despise NPR. Nonstop praise for Jews by Jews. They promote
BIPOC to make themselves bulletproof, no different than Biden appointing blacks
and queers to castrate Republicans. None of it would exist without inertia and
a century of "progressive" indoctrination and taxpayer rape. It began
with Fabian water and sewer socialism in England, the progenitor of BBC state broadcasting
funded by an annual license tax to own a radio (later, to own a television
set). No joke, BBC enforcement officers go door to door, listening to detect if
unlicensed scofflaws are using a radio or TV set. The Brits honored Karl Marx
with a giant bust that dominates the cemetery where he was interred and sacred
preservation of the house in London where he terrorized his family and wrote
Das Capital, funded by a useful idiot who never worked a day in his life, heir
to a Victorian industrial fortune. America followed suit. NPR was the brainchild
of Marxist academics and touchy feely hacks playing dress up as public service stars.
One two-minute Heather MacDonald segment on commercial radio makes the entire
nonprofit broadcasting empire sound stupid, reading scripted socialist talking
points in kindergarten language 24/7/365.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Am I bitter? Yes. BBC and NPR decide which authors to push.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">UPDATE 4/30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unbelievably, I awoke to
a quadruple obscenity on NPR's Weekend Edition — a fawning pajama boy
interviewing pervert John Waters on the occasion of his 1972 film Pink
Flamingos inducted to a queer dominated Library of Congress National Film Archive.
Waters celebrated Ru Paul's Drag Race as an equally triumphant gay social victory,
mainstreaming dog shit ugly ass hats.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-30271407789818262682022-03-25T13:57:00.003-07:002022-03-25T13:57:50.943-07:00Moral choices<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ayn Rand said that the primacy of values in human life is not an
irreducible primary, that it rests on man's faculty of reason. The faculty of
reason is the faculty of volition. Nobody can force you to think. Circumstances
often demand quick thinking, but it only works well if you're in the habit of
conscious awareness and made previous progress in thinking, at least to the
extent of considering what to do in case of emergency. Young people are at a
disadvantage because they are naive and lack experience. Smart ones learn fast,
use the power of choice to study carefully, sometimes quickly, and use logic to
identify the scope of values at stake. A stubborn mental marriage to an arbitrary
conjectural value is suicidal self imposed deafness to more information,
because you want what you want and that's all there is to it — a passionate thirst
for triumph by gazing in a mirror.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">All rational examination is cold blooded and deliberate, a marker in time,
when a moral choice must be decided. In the second chapter of The Good Walk
Alone the heroine is berated by an angry partner and in the aftermath Janet
acknowledges that her proclivity to launch bold action was a value to reconsider.
"Hell two clicks thataway, sister," she reflects in the cold focus of
thought, not an emotional process, but a sober issue of policy as a senior police
officer who has to evaluate what's best for all concerned. Each of us faces
similar issues, because our lives are intertwined with the fate of others whom
we care about and too often forget in the heat of moral action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A flood of emotion in action makes sense in pursuit of values, the kind of
valor that men are capable of in war, for instance, or the passion of romantic
love consummated in joy. Some people never go to war, never fall in love and puzzle
at everything wrapped in mystery, defeated by unexpected complications and
knocked for a loop that feels like failure. No man is 100% clairvoyant or infinitely
knowledgeable. That's the pitfall in Platonism and Marxism, claiming perfect
knowledge about life in every respect. The practitioners of "system
building" are usually bombastic clowns with horrid personal karma, nattering
elitists who deny the existence of real world practical knowledge that tends to
spoil and snicker at their airbrushed fantasy of abstract utopia or looming
dystopia, as the case may be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So, what can a mere mortal do, facing a data-rich mountain of complexity?
Look, listen, deploy cognitive virtues, see and evaluate as much as possible, a
steady job of thoughtful awareness. Try to make daily progress. Rest is good
from time to time, to sift information and consider what experience teaches by
deduction or empirical observation. Ultimately it's a question of policy, moral
choices to be articulated, remembered, and acted upon. Benchmarks are good. All
things noble are as difficult as they are rare. Emotions are not tools of
cognition. Contradictions cannot exist. If you fuck up, confess it to those who
you forgot to consider and may have harmed. In the third act of Chiseltown, Jennifer
apologizes to her twin sister: </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">“I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm not perfect a hundred percent of the
time.”</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm thinking of moral hygiene as a character trait of Billy Larko, the
protagonist of Steam Punk. He's an experienced man, age 40 and settled in his purpose
and orientation, thoughtfully alert and prepared to deal with life on life's
terms, however unexpectedly he might encounter something awkward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">His antagonist is a black female Supreme Court nominee who claimed that she
didn't know what a woman was, or when life begins, or what critical race theory
is — despite her studying CRT at Harvard Law School and mentioning CRT in a
University of Chicago speech as a factor in criminal sentencing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Can't make this shit up, folks. No one would believe it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-55362614966085100872022-03-25T13:56:00.002-07:002022-03-25T13:56:56.612-07:00Recommended reading<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jFf-tTvUbTuyYHQZZNXdtGV1GUPFXC9KKhWV1ZbVxCt1sbTCr-mHbL0cIkD0hCzjSqkQdsqVtMJBnotTuGbck5BLY5Lc52R0zR7es11qDPFb9EWC17VSk4CEjfFK6CNmX6ngHAHVspSjlDgb7fMRCSqVoi3MJ6Z_R4dBB0JuXErOlpAmdKXaXSZx/s124/Recommended%20author%20pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="99" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jFf-tTvUbTuyYHQZZNXdtGV1GUPFXC9KKhWV1ZbVxCt1sbTCr-mHbL0cIkD0hCzjSqkQdsqVtMJBnotTuGbck5BLY5Lc52R0zR7es11qDPFb9EWC17VSk4CEjfFK6CNmX6ngHAHVspSjlDgb7fMRCSqVoi3MJ6Z_R4dBB0JuXErOlpAmdKXaXSZx/s1600/Recommended%20author%20pic.jpg" width="99" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It was hard to choose which of my novels and nonfiction I felt most
confident about recommending. Some earned 5 star reviews. Some were obscure and
personal, not fun to read unless you love justice and life on life's terms,
unwilling to mince words. When I was a film director, I limited myself to five
takes. These five are my most mature work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Partners-Wolf-DeVoon/dp/1722608595" target="_blank">PARTNERS</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">gritty noir romance, winter of 1975<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Flopsie-Files-Cable-Blount/dp/1985339005" target="_blank">FINDING FLOPSIE</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Chris and Peachy challenged separately<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/escape-wolf-devoon/1139796487" target="_blank">ESCAPE !</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">24th century blue collar courage<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/wolf-devoon/post-industrial-wolf/paperback/product-75r8jm.html?page=1&pageSize=4" target="_blank">POST INDUSTRIAL WOLF</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Biden inauguration, history, strategy, Afghanistan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/wolf-devoon/a-better-world/paperback/product-9dq9qv.html?page=1&pageSize=4" target="_blank">A BETTER WORLD</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Jake and Lucifer rearrange planet Earth<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-73480031522723694172022-03-25T13:45:00.000-07:002022-03-25T13:45:03.773-07:00The War so far<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">10% of global oil production embargoed by the Western Alliance, being
diverted to China and India at a discount. 30% of global wheat production
stalled, new crop won't be planted this year. Iran is close to testing a
fission bomb. North Korea testing ICBMs. Frackers in U.S. working overtime,
burning out their big rig drivers. Long haul owner operators going broke, costs
$1000 to fill their diesel tanks, delays at warehouses, drivers nearing retirement
age have untreated health problems. U.S. residential real estate cooling on rapidly
rising mortgage rates. Russia is nearing a crisis, thousands of body bags sent
home or hidden. Purge of FSB. Rumor of child abductions and concentration
camps. Russian generals and field commanders killed by snipers. Ultimatum to
surrender was refused. Missiles and naval guns fired from Black Sea fleet.
Panic buying at stores in Moscow. Hard to estimate how many old people,
children, and conscripts were killed, wounded, or frostbit — 50,000 military
and civilian casualties so far? Health care in besieged cities and on the
battlefield in disarray, short of supplies. Starvation and dehydration will
kill trapped civilians, thousands buried in urban rubble or hiding in
basements, no food, no heat, no running water, putrid toilets. When Russian
troops attack city neighborhoods, they loot anything of value, take hostages,
rape and torture for revenge and sick amusement. War kills people and breaks
things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-60405168390014141332022-03-25T13:43:00.003-07:002022-03-25T13:43:53.676-07:00Tulsi, Tucker, and Dan<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Wonderful news today. Col. Tulsi Gabbert impressed me as a beautiful,
brainy patriot during the one and only 2020 presidential debate she was allowed
to join. If I remember correctly, she mopped the floor with moron Kamala
Harris. The DNC had to change the debate rules to get rid of her. Last night on
Tucker Carlson's show, she repeated her statement on biological labs in Ukraine
that have dangerous Soviet pathogens, rightly worried about Russian troops attacking
those facilities, which our State Dept acknowledged they spent money and sent
people to secure. This morning Dan Biongino praised Tulsi (who he does not
like) and condemned vile MS-NBC stooges accusing her of treason (!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Imagine how much better, if Col. Gabbert had become President instead of an
angry geriatric Joe, or at a minimum VP instead of brainless Kamala constantly embarrassing
our country. Makes me think well of America, that we still have honest
courageous public figures like Tulsi, Tucker, and Dan, willing to speak the
truth and stand strong in a vicious firestorm of DNC slander and social media
conspiracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Sen. Joe
Mansion of West Virginia are likewise incorruptible truth tellers, the primary
virtue we should demand from public officials.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-57577962001652126922022-03-25T13:40:00.004-07:002022-03-25T13:40:33.949-07:00Yeah right<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Just sit down and bat it out. You know the theme and the plot-theme. What's
the matter with you? Did you forget how to write? C'mon, you know how to write!
You've done it plenty of times, a million words, dozens of situations and
characters. Quit stalling. Set a page margin, pick a font, and start writing.
You know what the first scene is. You know what's next. Just wing it. Keep
going until you hit the second act pivot. Organize your notes and write a nice
first sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">No thanks. It's not an ordinary story. Can't improvise a thousand pages,
making it up as I go along. I need an outline that makes sense, every chapter,
every page.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Oh, sure, yeah, right. Then you can write it like a robot, huh?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Shut up! I know what I'm doing. I don't have a satisfactory view of the
third act. It's all fuzz. It could be anything, and it has to be an original
statement, or it's not worth attempting. Nothing to do until I know the ending
as well as I know my own hands, heavy cutlery, a medium rare ribeye and baked
potato.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">What happened to being a "discovery" writer?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm trying to discover the ending. I don't want to triangulate it, and my personal
situation is not the story. The main character not going to die on page 1000,
so shut up and leave me alone. Jefferson did this, too, a dialogue between his Head
and Heart, slightly florid and fluffy but it played okay in an 18th century
moral dilemma. He didn't want to go home, fell in love in Paris. Not my
problem. I hate Paris, and I don't want this novel to be Boy Meets Girl. It has
to be something much bigger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Boy meets elephant?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Shut up! I swan, half of me is a stand up comic. Seriously, music first,
then story, remember? A solemn intermission to audition themes in my head.
Blood Sweat & Tears. Zappa's Waka Jawaka. No, I need a symphony.
Rachmaninoff's Second. The Who's bouncy Tommy. Two years of Steppenwolf before
they quit, to the amazement and shock of Born To Be Wild fans. Who do I admire
most above all else?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Another solemn intermission to let my heart speak.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It has to be male ... sober ... not Bonham and Page. Not Cocker, too
conflicted and gravelly. A competent adult voice. Not a showman like Tom Jones
or Sinatra. Brain power. Mancini's theme for Peter Gunn is in the right
direction. Golden Earring's Twilight Zone worked perfectly for the climax of
Escape, but I need something bigger and more complicated. The fictional
composer who scored Chiseltown was brilliant, did the unexpected, a grandmaster
of timing and discordant orchestral expressiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">What's the best thing I ever heard? ... 21st Century Schizoid Man by King
Crimson. I used it as the track for my first festival gig, a long reel of
experimental footage. Flip side, the medieval Court of The Crimson King, equally
passionate. One LP and then they disbanded as far as I know. A real gem, 100%
male.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Done yet?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Fine, do the outline, turkey. Pick an ending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-39328118752108483202022-03-13T13:25:00.004-07:002022-03-13T13:25:53.993-07:00Chalis Natl Forest and The Salton Sea<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It's vaguely possible to make our own lithium-ion batteries with cobalt
mined in Idaho and lithium steamed from the Salton Sea in California. Startups
are experimenting with both. Don't expect any meaningful production for a
decade or so, if ever. USA lithium-ion batteries are not going be cheap,
compared to China's low cost production infrastructure, ample lithium deposits,
and paramilitary operations in darkest Africa, taking every ton of cobalt mined
by children in a war zone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">U.S. peak production of cobalt was in 1958. Various agencies estimated that
there were 60,000 metric tons of reserves, most of it in the Congo, blood red
on the Aon terror map, a hellhole foreclosed to American civilian
entrepreneurs. U.S. peak production of lithium was in 1954. USGS estimated
80,000 metric tons still in the ground worldwide. Lithium demand exceeded
90,000 metric tons cumulatively in 2020, which was unexpected, bureaucratically
speaking. Global production today is 12,000 metric tons annually, nearly all of
it mined in Chile and China. There is a lithium resource in Afghanistan, which
explains why China armed the Taliban. It won't matter if we lift sanctions on 8th
century Taliban terror and brutality. America isn't going to get a gram of
Afghan lithium extracted by Chinese engineers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Speaking of China, I should mention the rare earth elements lanthanum,
neodymium, dysprosium , and terbium. You can’t build a Prius, an accurate
missile, or a wind turbine without them. China has a virtual monopoly on dysprosium.
The Middle Kingdom was dealt a royal flush in rare earth geology. </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sadly, the world’s richest reserves of rare earths, a mine
in Mountain Pass, California, stopped production in 2002. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">China won a low cost economic hammerlock on high
efficiency DC motors and supermagnets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Whatever battery tech we'd like to produce, it's in Utah and the Salton
Sea, both of them ring fenced by EPA, USFS, and NIMBY nuts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-88045154377605374662022-03-13T13:23:00.002-07:002022-03-13T13:23:28.223-07:00Doesn't matter<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I could be the worst writer on earth, shunned for cause. Aches and pains might
multiply with brain atrophy and sleeplessness. It doesn't matter, right wrong
or blue, I have to start Steam Punk, a major literary novel, whether stillborn,
poisoned, abandoned, too high a mountain to climb, bleeding and breathless,
risking a terrible fall. I've fallen plenty of times before. Not that big a
deal when you're young. High mileage elderhood is different. No shock
absorbers, tire easily, lazy as a dog.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'm close to grasping a theme. Standby.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">UPDATE — Got it. Life is an open road. Four pages of story notes, beats to
hit in the first 300 pages. Long list of villains and opponents. Solid sense of
the first act. Next job, following Buster Keaton's advice, is to get a good
finish. Not to be triangulated or rushed. An original statement. Good luck,
pilgrim.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A COUPLE DAYS LATER ... intensely sad, how difficult this is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">WEDNESDAY, extremely cold outside, an inch of ice and frozen rain, snow coming.
I was minding my own business sitting on a toilet seat. The first scene in the
book played easily in my creative circuits and then I had an attack of fast
loud sneezes, 1234567 nonstop. Seriously loud. Took forever to get control, blew
my nose twice. Am I suddenly allergic to writing? ... This is what happens when
you nail a scene, especially an opener to establish the main character and see
him in full focus, a dinner date at a girl's apartment. He can't stay overnight
(she asks) because there's a new chick singing with the house band at midnight
and he needs to see what the showroom dinner guests think. If you saw hard,
handsome Larko and beautiful Christine together, you'd sneeze, too. She loves him
with all the freedom of youth. He wants to love her and can't remember how to
do it. Very nice, but I have to work on the finish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">SUNDAY, a little warmer, some ice melting on the road. I'm being bombarded
and mesmerized by vivid scenes and sharp dialogue in the first act. Swell. You
need a THIRD act, dumbshit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I looked at my folder list of Publications, too big to fit on one screen,
sent Scripts & Stuff to another directory. Publications is two dozen books at
Amazon or Lulu, 2/3 of them novels, at least two of which are excellent, not
including Chris and Peachy. I lived with Chris and Peachy and loved them a long
time. Still do. I do not want the world to end with my backlist, and it's
debilitating to consider it. There is no path to peace in Ukraine. I think I
understand Vladimir Putin's perspective. Three months ago, while he was mobilizing
troops to the border, hundreds of American special forces were training the
Ukrainian Army how to use shoulder fired Javelin tank busting rockets and
antiaircraft Stingers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">NATO has been resupplying the Ukrainians steadily across the Polish border.
Worse, G-7 banking and payment systems cut all ties to Russia, crushing the
Russian economy — tantamount to a blockade, an overt act of war. Putin warned
he would use nuclear weapons. How am I supposed to write anything under these
circumstances? Immensely odd to consider that publication is a done deal, a
closed door, about to strike a final hour for all of us. What Biden sees on
teleprompter is trivial at this point.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">'Life is an open road' is my theme for Steam Punk. Good theme. How much
sense does it make in mass destruction? Plenty for survivors to do, of which there
will be many around the world, mostly in China, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and South America. Maybe the Ozarks.
We're pretty remote. Depends on wind direction. Whatever is possible to men and
women anywhere at any time is an open road. Think of civilian militiamen in
Ukraine facing tanks. I don't do heroic feats any more. I do little chores,
walk half a mile to the country store, try to lay eyes on my wife and daughter
every week or so. Nothing changes in a nuclear war. There will be chores to do.
I'll cheer and comfort my women, suggest that it's a good time to be vigilant and
remember Jesus in the salt (a slice of seismic we laughed at 15 years ago).
Girls embraced and armed, I'll walk to the country store and see how Betty is
getting along, stay to defend her if necessary. Life is an open road.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Nukeproof theme. Nice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">FOX BULLETIN — Biden's DHS expelled a Russian U.N. diplomat and eleven
staff, an extremely stupid move, poisoning bilateral diplomatic relations.
Biden's puppet masters are pushing Putin into a nuclear corner, a suicidal
hubris that Lunch Bucket Joe probably shares. Jesse Kelly thinks that Joe is physically
handicapped and will be succeeded by Kamala Harris, an ugly twist of fate that
beggars belief.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">During the hurry up debacle of surrendering Afghanistan, I concluded that
China owns Biden. Putin met with Xi and got a green light to invade Ukraine, a bloodthirsty
Chinese trick. Nuclear war between Russia and USA would leave China more or
less unscathed, the sole surviving superpower and global overlord of a
radioactive world. Watch Obama. If he moves his family to Hawaii, duck and
cover.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">THURSDAY, a warm, sunny spring day. I feel distinctly like an idiot, but not
as idiotic as the BBC asking exhausted refugees who suffered endless delays at
an insanely crowded border: "How do you feel?" My idiocy won't
attract any emotional vampires. I have no idea what to do with Steam Punk,
specifically the engine of story highballing on track to an original finish. It
will have to be reverse engineered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Bob Seeger on the radio. "Beautiful Loser" describes me to a tee.
Life is a frogmarch of radio dayparts and little chores like trimming the dog
again (!) and a long amble to the country store. I washed my hair. Made a
sandwich. Russian conscripts are stuck in a 40-mile-long armor convoy that ran
out of fuel and food, probably being pounded every night by rocket fire.
Russians don't have night vision gear. Life isn't fair. Drive halfway across
Russia, bounce around in Belarus two weeks, then get trapped in a traffic jam that
no one can escape by leaving the road because Ukrainian farmland is a sea of
mud. No fun sleeping in a tank or in the cab of a supply wagon loaded with
explosives. Gets cold at night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I'd like this to be over as quickly as possible. I'm tired of feeling idiotic.
I played Solitaire. I monitored news bulletins, a nuclear power station on fire
in southern Ukraine. I have to let the story ending strike me unexpectedly and
shoot a convincing bolt of lightning up my spine. Standby.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">One of the philosophy professors at UW wrote a paper on action, puzzling
about what happens when he raises his arm. Is it a physical event or a mental
event? — confronting dualism and trying to distinguish himself as an original
thinker in a big department. It's a good clue, the moral meaning of action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"A third rate Romanticist has nothing." (Ayn Rand)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Shut up! I'm trying to think! ... Stupid sexpot, who does she think she is?
Dead as a doornail. I was on a San Francisco cable car when Rand died and Bill Buckley
celebrated her death in a syndicated op-ed. It changed me. I no longer thought
in terms of debating ideas, fair and square, trusting others to listen. My job
became simple and warlike, no expectation of agreement. Postmodern admirers of Ayn
Rand were fussy gossips who attacked like flying monkeys in defense of a new LGBT
compliant cottage industry that idolized airhead gossip queen Barbara Branden.
Sometimes the world is weirder than it should be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"It's earlier than we think." (Rand)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Stop it! Shut the hell up and go bug someone else.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-62870232037247553392022-03-13T13:21:00.007-07:002022-03-25T13:20:36.607-07:00Hannity is an idiot<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">The damn fool chants it daily and hourly like a mystical incantation, that
he imagines (wrongly) we have more energy resources than Russia does. Western
Siberia is the largest hydrocarbon province on earth, a hundred times bigger
than puny U.S. reserves. Fracturing shale for oil is scraping the bottom of the
barrel, $7 million per horizontal well that declines in a matter of months,
unprofitable if oil sinks under $60 a barrel. Russia drills cheap straight
holes to unleash oil gushers profitable at $25 a barrel. Western Siberia also
has 16,000 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, the world's largest
thermal energy endowment, enough to heat and power Europe 200 years. United
States is an energy midget, fracking shale gas to make steam and keep the
lights on in East Coast cities and suburbs another 25 years maybe. Without
Canadian tar sands and a flood of Mexican, Arabian, and Brent spot market
crude, our refined products — gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, plastics, jet fuel —
would run dry in a week or two.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Quit dreaming about America exporting energy or imaginary energy
independence before the CDC lockdown sank our entire economy in 2020, killing marginal
frackers. Read the EIA data. The last time America was energy independent was
World War II. After the war we explored and developed Ghawar in Saudi Arabia, CIA
installed Pahlavi and seized Iranian oil, Shell made big discoveries in Africa,
and BP drilled the North Sea. U.S. oil & gas reserves declined 25% and we
had to look offshore in Prudhoe Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, much more expensive
to produce, supertankers from Valdez, jack-up rigs, and offshore floating installations
and undersea pipelines. Shale fracking is a wild west gunslinger sideshow that
wouldn't exist without $100 billion in junk bond finance and Fed plunge
protection for lenders.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We could power Europe? An utterly fake fantasy. And now Hannity calls for
"Exports at warp speed!" Hah. It takes ten years to explore, map, build
a drilling & separation floater and connect subsea iron to commence oil and
gas production in a new deepwater play. Forget about fracking thinner shales. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Here's a basin map of North America. Barnett, Michigan, and Signal Hill are
depleted. Gulf of Mexico continental shelf has been drilled to death.
Haynesville and Marcellus gas reserves are declining. If we had any sense, we'd
burn abundant U.S. coal to make electricity. Totally idiotic to waste or export
our annual 20 tcf of natural gas production piped from dinky U.S. resources
equal to 0.004% of proved Russian gas reserves. I know why Hannity went stupid.
Third party engineers certified imaginary shale reserves (for a six figure fee)
so frackers could peddle 6% junk bonds and penny stock to hedge fund managers
who flipped the junk to greater fools. Exxon, Reliance, CNOOC, Total, Statoil,
Shell, Mitsui, and BHP took the bait and booked imaginary reserves to shore up
their balance sheets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZxy2jo53z2_5rDaesDICK-I_y25gVfbIfmE1dwIH_0PpBHULtoYouJw_HyILqV_UxZMpIbmoq9fLXSMywHkQOcLc9eJnseAsfLi3hlGFgvppdtbDhwudzSXc1rZtWpRVOQk2CYGxU20fhRpI81Otq1VOoYGDigyEGcll9mFpHLPJAYc3Fa7XkslCd=s497" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="497" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZxy2jo53z2_5rDaesDICK-I_y25gVfbIfmE1dwIH_0PpBHULtoYouJw_HyILqV_UxZMpIbmoq9fLXSMywHkQOcLc9eJnseAsfLi3hlGFgvppdtbDhwudzSXc1rZtWpRVOQk2CYGxU20fhRpI81Otq1VOoYGDigyEGcll9mFpHLPJAYc3Fa7XkslCd=w403-h383" width="403" /></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">For those of you who are unconvinced that the Marcellus Shale is nearing
depletion, I'll attach another map. No doubt about its authenticity, nine years
ago. The wet area (extra profit from liquids) and super rich area were drilled
to death. Another big play in northeast Pennsylvania pitted Chesapeake versus Anadarko
plus three debt leveraged "minnows" racing to frack gas into a new
network of pipelines and gathering equipment. I assure you that the Marcellus
has been 40% depleted and burned by utilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Delaware, and a taxpayer
funded LNG port. Might last another decade or two, depending on labor shortages,
rig rates, junk bond rates, and OTC trades. East Coast winter peak demand is
met by imports from Wyoming and Colorado, driving up prices nationally,
stressing Rust Belt utilities and big commercial gas users in Ohio, Indiana,
and Illinois. More electric vehicles implies more base power. We need to burn more
coal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXso5wxgbpAOpqnWch7uWGWXUc7gg-N0SpGtNXKGka5FLyPrSKWBS3RzcWV7wTSBOY2OekOh81Q7wekvtEhdisDAQwIIeOG6YhNeaPfOsoQdEKSFPBqx6V1pgBA9OXu85j03JlAlpp1E4CEsCopwZ5nDf_uyXTGwad4ICOQWMZBK5PynVasniICD-1=s535" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="535" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXso5wxgbpAOpqnWch7uWGWXUc7gg-N0SpGtNXKGka5FLyPrSKWBS3RzcWV7wTSBOY2OekOh81Q7wekvtEhdisDAQwIIeOG6YhNeaPfOsoQdEKSFPBqx6V1pgBA9OXu85j03JlAlpp1E4CEsCopwZ5nDf_uyXTGwad4ICOQWMZBK5PynVasniICD-1=w412-h237" width="412" /></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Oh, god, the stupidity has gone contagious — Kilmeade, Moore, and Graham
calling for U.S. oil and gas exports to supply Europe. I suppose it's
symmetrical foot stamping as a national neurosis, whether airhead Democrat or angry
Republican. Penny ante minnows love $100 bbl oil, will hustle to drill more
shale on existing leases, a 10% increase of LNG exports in ten months or so,
too little too late. I expect Putin to shut off Soviet-era pipes and freeze
Poland, Germany, and Denmark tomorrow morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">SUNDAY 3/6 — some sort of grand booby prize goes to Bill Cunningham, who exclaimed
that Western Europe has oodles of oil and natural gas, they don't need to buy
anything from Russia, and it's simply perverse insouciance that stops Western
Europe from drilling its own oil and natural gas. This is what happens when
radio talkers imagine that they know petroleum geology. Germany has no oil or
natural gas, zero. France has a junk play in the Paris Basin that isn't worth
drilling. Holland's Groningen field is nearing depletion. Britain drilled the
North Sea to death, a dribble of rump production that forces them to import gas
from Holland and Norway. What Germany and Poland have in abundance is coal,
which hundreds of well fed IPCC bureaucrats and a psychotic teenage girl urged Europe
to forsake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Cunningham can't even do arithmetic. At the peak of Trump's "energy
independence" we produced 14 million barrels of oil per day and consumed
20 million barrels a day. Natural gas is not oil. Two thirds of U.S. natgas
production comes from deepwater straight holes in the Gulf of Mexico and declining
legacy wells onshore. Fracking shale was a losing proposition, $100 billion
upside down. Russia is a super low cost conventional producer (no fracking) and
has half of all known natural gas reserves on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWyOz0VPUPIccAdpVxx7FUycP7nESH67jt9GEHKW2BH9q7mjYN6aQOA2SVqtQKORb2jNyTCvZ385d5tcZ1dQhUlKBbtUtdrH6YIklKgfGChuZay0DEni-yW8quegkPJodgi9W9iH8niznOxudqjdeDmhx07i0u3b-63abozkClyIFJ4tGOMfIzxY7w=s400" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="400" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWyOz0VPUPIccAdpVxx7FUycP7nESH67jt9GEHKW2BH9q7mjYN6aQOA2SVqtQKORb2jNyTCvZ385d5tcZ1dQhUlKBbtUtdrH6YIklKgfGChuZay0DEni-yW8quegkPJodgi9W9iH8niznOxudqjdeDmhx07i0u3b-63abozkClyIFJ4tGOMfIzxY7w=s320" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Back to dipshit bartender-in-chief Hannity. He thinks it's as easy as Biden
giving U.S. oil & gas production a green light and wrongly mentions ANWR in
Alaska. The National Petroleum Reserve is a frozen marsh hundreds of miles from
the wildlife refuge. Any new drilling program will take years to ramp up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Worse, there's a skilled manpower problem. Majors dismissed geologists,
seismic interpreters, and petrophysicists, to trim payrolls and health
insurance costs. Shale frackers have no idea how to explore for oil. Halting
Federal deepwater leases killed tens of billions of investment. Money doesn't
sit on the sidelines, praying that Democrats will come to their senses. Bottom
line on U.S. conventional oil & gas exploration — fewer scientific staff,
no deepwater U.S. exploration, no financial partners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Not talking about shale. Whatever frackers can eke from thinner shale is
irrelevant, a little more oil, a little more natural gas to pretend that
taxpayer subsidized LNG liquefaction is good for America.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Not talking about an XL pipeline to import more Canadian bitumen that has
to be diluted with volatile natural gas liquids to make "dilbit" that
will flow through a pipe. There are two U.S. refiners converting tar into 70%
crude oil and 30% solid waste. A mountain of toxic debris is piled up near the
Marathon upgrader in Detroit. If Marathon doesn't want more EPA trouble,
Canadian syncrude pioneer Suncor could re-jigger a Houston refinery that
formerly cracked heavy sour from Venezuela. Maduro has a big tar sand deposit.
It could be scooped up to supply PDVSA's U.S. Citgo stations. Instruments and
pumps at Orinoco oil wells stolen from Conoco were looted by Chavez goons.
Lukoil is working on repairs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Biden begging Saudi Arabia is the worst joke of all. An "export land
model" correctly predicted Saudis would retain more gas domestically to
make electricity and desalinate sea water. OPEC is exporting most of their oil
to China and India and limiting new production. I worry about competence and
political stability in Iraq, Algeria, Nigeria, and Mexico. Remember I mentioned
that Germany has no oil or natural gas? They used to import oil from Libya's
Sirte Basin. ConocoPhillips engineers and project managers had to flee for
their lives. We showed Conoco where to drill in Libya, how deep and what to
expect, did the same thing for Maersk in deepwater Angola and Nippon Oil in the
Coral Sea. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Why should Mom & Pop geology and geophysics consultants exist and make
beaucoup bucks working for major international oil companies? Because corporate
people are corporate people, incapable of getting rock velocity models right, scared
to interpret seismic horizons and tie them to distant legacy wells. We evaluated
oil prospects in the Falkland Islands, Australia, East Timor, South Africa, Louisiana,
Ghana, and an idiotic play in Bulgaria. Our reputation was excellent, 50 drilling
picks, no dry holes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So, I want to impress upon you the truth about oil exploration. Deepwater
is extremely difficult to get right, a mile or two of water and another mile of
rock before you get to a potential reservoir play. BP's Thunder Horse field
cost $5 billion to explore, drill, and produce, which made sense financially,
although it didn't lift as much as they hoped it would from precise directional
drilling, a project that they inherited from Amoco geoscientists after BP
acquired Amoco, "retiring" highly talented Amoco staff. That's what
happens in oil patch consolidation, the best people are booted out. Texaco is
gone. Phillips Petroleum is gone. Prudhoe pioneer Arco is gone. Mobil is gone.
Sun quit drilling and sold a refinery. Formerly expert explorers like Hess,
Noble, and El Paso are floundering, trying to farm out goofy plays to Shell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I wrote a long three-part article for Seeking Alpha in 2009, because the
SEC changed its rules concerning "proved reserves," allowing frackers
and third party hired guns to play deuces wild. I also warned about the Brazilian
national oil company Petrobras, before its NYSE share price nosedived 60%.
Investors were grateful, and I won 25,000 followers who read every word I
posted — until I made a three magnitude error reading a Harold Hamm 10K because
it claimed preposterous proved reserves. A year later, I was vindicated. Blue
sky exaggeration is common. It cost Aubrey McClendon his life and cost Chesapeake's
stakeholders 75% of McClendon's fantasy shale upside. BHP had to write off its
$15 billion acquisition of Floyd Wilson's money losing Petrohawk. It cost BHP chief
executive Marius Kloppers his job.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The very best thing our government can do is revert to impartial umpire,
letting Shell, BP, Statoil, Exxon, Chevron, Anadarko, Conoco, and Marathon bid
for frontier deepwater blocks. License more coal-fired power plants and liquid
thorium reactors. It is intensely stupid to rely on shale, solar, or wind
turbines. Let Alaska decide what to do with their onshore potential. Small,
nimble entrepreneurs are better in wildcat drilling. If they have a big
discovery, the majors will pony up big money to produce it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The White House press secretary smirked that 9000 state leases were
permitted and remain undrilled, without naming a basin, permit holders, or
prospectivity. Major oil companies are not minnows hungry for shallow shale or braided
channel sands that aren't worth drilling. When majors bid for a deepwater block,
it was already illuminated by 3-D seismic shot by Fugro or TGS over a known
petroleum system. Majors explore for billions of barrels and spend billions to explore
a geologically validated prospect. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Lighten up on Europe. They don't have any choice about Russian gas. It
would take several years to build port facilities to offload LNG, doubling
their cost of gas, assuming that sufficient LNG cargoes might be supplied by
Qatar, Papua New Guinea, Algeria, or Azerbaijan, which is unlikely. 95% of LNG
shipments are long term contracted and delivered to Japan, South Korea, China,
Singapore, and India.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">SUNDAY 3/20 — Oh brother, here we go again. Bill Cunningham exclaimed that
freeing the U.S. oil & gas industry would push down the cost of oil to $20
a barrel and we'd bankrupt Russia and Saudi Arabia! When the price of oil
crashed to $20 in the 1980s, there was a wave of bankruptcies, mass layoffs,
and consolidation. Exxon merged with Mobil, Chevron absorbed near-bankrupt
Texaco, and BP acquired Amoco and Arco which were fabulously successful
explorers until the bottom fell out. Frackers in North Dakota need $70 bbl to
break even, Permian Basin $60, assuming that they don't have a labor shortage.
Big rig drivers hauling water drive too fast, live in mancamps, quit after a
couple months. Cunningham talks like a czar — expecting U.S. companies to
produce oil & natural gas at a loss. Retail gasoline prices are higher in
California because they have to import Brent spot delivered by supertankers,
and the fuel taxes, Kern County taxes, and refinery taxes are enormous. Oregon
and Washington refused to permit offshore exploration because it's scary! It
could trigger a tsunami! There could be an oil spill!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Bernie Sanders made a remark that I'd like to note and speak about. He said
that the oil and gas industry has been supported by socialism (tax breaks?
accounting rules?) for 100 years. The crowd cheered. It's a slander that oil
and gas companies are greedy monsters. The Green New Deal advanced by Sanders
and other commies proposes to kill Big Oil and forbid use of all petroleum
products, all internal combustion engines, all so-called "fossil
fuels."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Let's begin with that last notion, that petroleum is derived from fossils,
which is a misleading conception of what oil actually is. Tens of millions of
years ago, erosion deposited sand and silt in low spots called
"basins." Fine silt settled under chunkier, lighter sand. Over tens
of millions of years, layer after layer of sand, silt, and rock fragments were multiplied
by erosion, rivers, and tectonic pressures that lifted the Rocky Mountains
higher and changed the continent by compression. Sea level rose and fell
repeatedly throughout Earth's geologic history. In most parts of the world
where oil would be discovered, the source of that oil was silt that became
shale under terrific heat and pressure of burial under thousands of feet of
sand and rock. Organic shale molecules began to ooze buoyant oil that became
trapped in porous sandstones. Keep in mind that we're talking about tens of
millions of years. Some "kerogens" expressed natural gas later under
far greater pressure or higher heat from igneous hot spots.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">It took a very long time to contrive a system of pipes and compressors to
gather gaseous methane that could be stored, distributed, and used in street
lighting and household illumination in the Gilded Age. Methane was generated by
rotting organic matter near the surface, along with peat moss, coals, and
puddles of light oil that leaked from deep "conventional" sandstone
reservoirs that were cracked by subsidence, folding, and igneous hot spots.
Early oil and gas plays were obvious and shallow.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">From those profitable and puzzling phenomena, the science of petroleum
geology </span>emerged as a special branch of long established traditional geology, which held
wildly inaccurate hypotheses about the earth's geological history that were revised
by a commercially urgent empirical quest to understand and exploit oil basins.
Like other U.S. engineering projects — gold and silver mines, blasting tunnels,
digging canals — Scottish experts in drilling and rock science were involved,
and whatever we learned about producing oil quickly became a topic of
fascination in Scotland. Throughout the history of oil production worldwide,
Scottish engineers were at the forefront of petroleum exploration, and Britain
was the first nation to convert its warships from coal-fired boilers to oil
burning turbines, a profound naval advantage in many ways. No more time
consuming stops for "coaling." More endurance and maneuverability.
Discovery of crude oil in what at the time was called Persia became a strategic
British monopoly, later known as British Petroleum (BP) that was organized by
Winston Churchill, a youthful, visionary First Lord of the Navy before World
War One. Aircraft and mechanized transport were likewise important military
priorities. You can see where history took us, in terms of oil exploration and
fractional distillation of useful products like gasoline, aviation fuel, and diesel
for a German engine design that improved the power of heavy equipment like
tanks and railroad engines. Within a single generation, oil became a vital
resource. We used it to launch tens of thousands of American ships, planes, tanks
and trucks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">America prevailed against our WWII enemies, because we were the world's
largest producer of oil at the time. Germany had none. Japan had none. They had
to conquer foreign lands to grab liquid energy from Romania and the Dutch East
Indies. It is a settled matter of history that World War II was fought over
oil, and we won because we were oil rich — huge conventional fields in Texas,
Oklahoma, and Southern California, most of which, by the way, were exhausted
and abandoned by the early 1970s. All oilfields are depleted by production, 4
or 5% per year despite perimeter water flood or gas injection wells.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">That brings us to Bernie's slander about tax rules that allegedly subsidize
oil exploration and production. All U.S. oil companies are engaged in free
market competition. They often lose money in exploration, both historically and
currently, despite greater knowledge of petroleum science and engineering in
the modern context. Drilling is not cheap and never has been. Depletion is a
dead certainty from the instant you begin to produce a discovery. There are
overheads, royalties, and massive capital investment in the oil industry,
whether you find a productive zone or drill nothing but dry holes. Even among
the best oil companies the return on investment is small, nothing like triple
digit growth of Google or Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When the price of oil crashed to $20 in the 1980s, there was a wave of
layoffs and consolidation. Exxon merged with Mobil, Chevron absorbed
near-bankrupt Texaco, and BP acquired Amoco and Arco which were fabulously
successful explorers until the bottom fell out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Here are the rules that all oil companies operate under. They haven't changed
since 1948. Profits are taxable. If they're drilling on Federal land or in deepwater
GOM, they bid for licenses and pay royalties for every barrel produced. If it's
state land, they pay state royalties. On private land they bid leases per acre
and pay production royalties to the land owner. Very few acres are owned by oil
companies in fee simple, like the property used for a headquarters building in
Houston or a refinery in Los Angeles, in which case it's subject to city and
school district taxes, construction codes and elaborate safety and emission
regulations. The oil industry is one of the most heavily regulated commercial
activities, every well, every rig hand, every mile of pipeline, every refinery,
every tank truck and retailer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">No oil company operating in the United States is "subsidized."
Consider the U.S. oil and gas industry accounting rules explained by </span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">James Vitalone, CFA, at Investopedia. It's complicated and tedious to
grasp, but what it amounts to is transparency under SEC and FASB rules. Publicly
traded oil companies file quarterly reports under SEC rules. Forget about
valuation. Look at the profit and loss rules:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"Companies
involved in the exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas have
the option of choosing between two accounting approaches — the 'successful
efforts' method and the 'full cost' method. The accounting method that a
company chooses affects how its net income and cash flow numbers are reported.
The successful efforts (SE) method allows a company to capitalize only those
expenses associated with successfully locating new oil and natural gas
reserves. For unsuccessful ('dry hole') results, the associated operating costs
are immediately charged against revenues for that period. The alternative
approach, known as the full cost (FC) method, allows all operating costs
relating to locating new oil and gas reserves — regardless of the outcome — to
be capitalized. Exploration costs capitalized under either method are recorded
on the balance sheet as part of long-term assets. This is because like the
lathes, presses, and other machinery used by a manufacturing concern, oil and
natural gas reserves are considered productive assets for an oil and gas
company. FASB 'Generally Accepted Accounting Principles' (GAAP) require that the
costs to acquire those assets be charged against revenues as the assets are
used.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"The SEC
allows companies to use the Full Cost method. In general, SE and FC methods
differ in their approach to treating costs associated with unsuccessful
discovery of new oil or natural gas reserves. Regardless of the method it
chooses to follow, an oil and gas company engaged in the exploration,
development and production of new oil or natural gas reserves will incur costs
that are identified as belonging to one of four categories — acquisition costs,
exploration costs, development costs, and production costs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 5pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"Much in the same way the financial
results of a manufacturing company are impacted by depreciation expense for
plant, property, and equipment, those for an oil and gas company are affected
by periodic charges for depreciation, depletion and amortization (DD&A) of
costs relating to expenditures for the acquisition, exploration and development
of new reserves. They include the depreciation of certain long-lived operating
equipment, depletion of costs relating to the acquisition of property or
property mineral rights, and the amortization of tangible non-drilling costs
incurred with developing the reserves."<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Got it? No different than a manufacturing company. If they make profits,
they pay taxes. Look at the results for BP in 2008. Tax Rate 38.6%, Net Margin
5.7%, Return on Assets 9.1%. Two years later, BP suffered the disaster of
Deepwater Horizon, a multibillion dollar semisubmersible platform operated by
BP that exploded, sank, and almost bankrupted the company when they lost
control of an exploration well in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The oil industry is
extremely risky and riddled with danger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If Bernie Sanders had argued that oil and gas are too dangerous to mess
with, he'd still be wrong. There are seven million people employed in
exploration and production by U.S. oil companies and "service
companies" that provide contract workers and specialized services like
underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles and wireline logs. Pipelines are built
and operated by separate, equally complex businesses that are funded in billions
of dollars, depreciated over multiple decades. There are tens of thousands of
miles of pipelines in America, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and refined
products. Consumers take it all for granted at gas stations and grumble about
prices 30% inflated by Federal and state fuel taxes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Oil companies pay billions in corporate taxes and squeak by on single digit
margins, employing millions of people. The zero emission New Green Deal pushed
by Sanders is a fatal folly. Without refined oil and natural gas, the United
States would grind to a halt and starve to death. From farm to market and every
other economic activity, our national fleet of cheap reliable transportation
runs on oil — even the pricey lithium firetraps made by Tesla with tens of
billions of Federal and California subsidies, because anything with wheels
needs lubricants and energy, including the installation and maintenance of windmills
and solar panels. If you think that utility crew vehicles to maintain the power
grid 24/7 and big rigs climbing mountain passes are going to run on batteries,
you're indulging a cartoon fantasy, like Sanders or Biden snarling about subsidies
that U.S. oil companies never had. They are competitive enterprises that strive
to stay in business, take huge financial risks, and pay heavy Federal and state
taxes and royalties.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">One final remark about fracking. Each horizontal lateral uses up to a
million gallons of fresh water to force sand and chemicals into fractures with
a high pressure pump after the casing is perforated with explosive bullets. The
water is pumped out (contaminated with toxic and radioactive minerals that
leached from the fractured shale) and gets injected a couple hundred feet under
a potable aquifer 100 miles away. Frackers need big rig drivers to haul tens of
millions of gallons of water to and from the drilling pads. Many of them work
12 hours a day, use meth, and carouse in dreary boom towns.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE 3/25 — Biden promised Western Europe he would deliver 150 bcf of LNG
next winter (equal to 27 days of U.S. natural gas production.) Neither U.S. nor
Europe has adequate port facilities to liquefy, regassify, or store that much.
I don't know where Joe thinks new production and a fleet of LNG shipping will
come from. Won't happen unless they press gang BP, Anadarko, Exxon, Mark West,
Aker, GE, and </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Clough. Expect political wrangling, union negotiations, a
sharp price hike at home, and inflationary deficit spending. They might have to
commandeer a shipyard in Thailand to build LNG tankers and a steel mill in Germany
to produce pipe and tanks. Maybe Eni has some in inventory. Probably take years to
accomplish.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Gives creative destruction a whole new meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hey, Hannity! Pour me a Bacardi and Coke, no fruit. It's like talking to a tree
stump who thinks there's something called an "energy sector" — confabulating
major international oil companies that explore worldwide, chalk frackers in Greeley,
declining Saudi reserves, rural LPG, open pit mining in Wyoming, rail
locomotives, Korean shipyards, sulfur waste that totally despoiled Ft. McMurray,
corn farmers in Nebraska, terabyte datasets, Chicago Bridge & Iron, power
utilities, one-time-use plastics in hospitals, F-18 Super Hornets, soccer moms, and
80,000 independently owned U.S. fuel retailers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Which is worse? Icy winter in Copenhagen 2009, laughing at shivering IPCC
protestors, or icy winter in Glasgow with 400 private jets clogging up two
airports, demanding that we ban all oil and gas?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-21907929083544910492022-03-13T13:06:00.002-07:002022-03-13T13:06:23.623-07:00Moody Blues<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Arkansas Rocks radio network plays a lot of honest classics from the
experimental 1960s, stuff like Spirit, BS&T, Zappa, and something remarkable
that tossed me back in time to my teenage innocence, married to a blonde vixen
who was pregnant. Every time I hear The Moody Blues, I think of my first job, the
mailroom at Career Academy, a prominent vocational technical swindle. I knew a
Career Academy student, an innocent kid from Iowa learning how to carve false
teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Innocence is a big deal, flying past decades of adult experience and
artistic pain, a shock to remember how it once was, faithful and innocent, 18
years old. I was okay with working, glad to pay rent, buy food. Forget about
the standard measure of innocence. I was innocent of artistic ambition a couple
years, a golden season of normal, no lab bills, no camera equipment, happy to
be an ordinary husband. I tried to work full time repeatedly — longshoreman,
door to door magazine huckster, factory hand, Motorola technician installing
police radios.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Then I went to hell, sort of. The next four years were a creative volcano,
radio comedy, film and graphic art, started a big nonprofit, ran a mayoral
campaign, shot part of a first feature, then prison. I certainly plumbed hell
to its full extent, barnstorming law school and losing in court. Losses were
basic training for showbiz combat in Hollywood twice and Europe three or four
times. It slowly dawned on me that I should play for centuries of influence,
not just daring adventures that always cost more than they paid. Writing became
a focused searchlight. I was willing to make mistakes, invest whatever it cost
to get control of the written word.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I have to tie sagacity to long lost innocence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hmm. That sounds mighty close to a good second act pivot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498001808257943024.post-69928247159574269182022-03-13T13:04:00.000-07:002022-03-13T13:04:07.760-07:00Wonderfully honest posts<p> MANHOOD (12/28/18)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Some are great men. Many are average Joes. I'm about the size of half a
man, a physical and moral midget. It's a valuable perspective, because the scale
and scope of greatness are easily discerned, just as country folk behold an
amazingly tall skyscraper and say oooo! As long as I live, I will always marvel
at the Bank of China Tower, elegant glass shapes rising like a frozen pillar of
crystal, a work of genius. The London Gherkin not so much. In fact there's not
a single decent structure anywhere in Blighty. They have a hard time doing four
star hotel rooms, too. The Brits are a benighted race. Generous, cheerful,
industrious, honest, and talented, but no sense of design. Same thing on the
Continent. Adequately heated and utilitarian, always a headache trying to get
from point A to point B.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">America is the only place with good transportation, Australia first runner
up, but it's unfair to compare them. There's nowhere to go in Oz. I like The
Lucky Country, but they have no great men. They have folklore about highwaymen
versus martinets with a royal license to govern.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So ... what is a great man?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Raw courage certainly seems fundamental, but many men have been courageous.
Clever is good, but cleverness is desirable to all men, a way to earn their way
in life. Writers have a lot of trouble doing that. The courageous and clever
seldom read. Horrible to consider, but radio and television supply what most
men enjoy, football and cricket in particular. I find both of them to be
intensely boring. Greatness has to be something bigger than golf or tennis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A great man must hold the gift of life in his hands. He could be a
neurosurgeon, a commando, or CEO of a major enterprise. Every waking moment is
an urgent problem in prospect, another struggle to attack the impossible and
chip away at it until it's tamed. On the radio just now, Mark Steyn declaimed
that Rush Limbaugh was "the indispensible man." Nope, a talented
clown, a creative guy with the common touch, a postmodern Thomas Paine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Popularity cannot be measure of a great man. Jesus is popular, a free Get
Out of Sin card, no thought necessary. Negro athletes are popular, no thought
possible. Politicians are popular enough to win an election with swing votes
and massive media buys, one slogan per cycle. Hope and change. Make America
great.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hmm. It occurs to me that the measure of greatness is how much sorrow a man
can carry, how great a burden his life becomes, embracing it as a challenge to
his character. That was Lincoln in a nutshell. Davy Crockett at the Alamo. One
of the most misunderstood men in American history was Jay Gould. He started
with nothing, taught himself to be a road surveyor. At the end of his life he
was feared, hated, sick, and friendless. Gould's crimes? — creating the Union
Pacific lifeline that stretched in all directions, Western Union, the first
transatlantic cable, arbiter of a Wall Street panic. Many great men in the
Gilded Age — Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, Firestone, Westinghouse,
Edison. Their lives were difficult. They stood strong and lifted millions of
penniless immigrants from abject poverty into prosperity. Even the politicians
had character. Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, Leland Stanford.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Most of the Civil War generals were great men, Union and Confederate. Most
of the men who served in World War II were called to greatness and answered to the
limit of their endurance, led by Eisenhower, Patton, Nimitz, Marshall. In a historic
naval triumph long ago, Admiral Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ooo, wait a minute. Stop the presses. There was a great hero who inspired
me more than all the others combined. An utterly tragic life, but pivotal in
American political history, the First Father of American independence. His name
is forgotten, no longer honored. A lawyer. (Who cares about colonial lawyers?)
He stood strong and declared something in a Boston Crown court, ejected and
clubbed so severely by tax bailiffs that he suffered brain damage, never
recovered, had to be replaced by Sam Adams.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">"An act against natural equity is void!" (James Otis)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">WHAT IT COSTS <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(3/11/19)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I guess it was 1989. The managing director had arranged an afternoon
seminar for the sales people, and he wanted me to say a few words about what
writers did. Not being innately clever, I said what I knew about it:
"Writers go naked in public." Got a big laugh. There are other
consequences, of course. Wrecked marriages, credit card debt, inability to hold
a job, paying assholes to write terrible reviews, and being ignored and dissed
for decades are relatively small potatoes. Truly awful consequences are in the
work itself. Once glimpsed a story must be told convincingly in its entirety. The
language has to be original. It has to sing and frighten and dazzle in
believable grit and grandeur. Events in the third act have to be foreshadowed
on Page One.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hours and weeks and months fly by. In the 70s and 80s, there were piles of
balled paper and spent typewriter ribbons on the floor of an office that
doubled as a bedroom, back rent due. Nowadays computers hide how many ideas and
sentences get junked. I miss physical paper, never had to worry about software
crashes or lightning strikes. I use a USB stick for backup when I get to the
end of a chapter, a frantic procedure when I'm nearing a completed final draft,
re-reading the whole thing six or seven times to fix a single comma, or alarmed
at repetitive use of a word. Worse, finished work is finished work. It would be
treason not to publish it. The daily business of life recedes in importance,
can't matter and doesn't matter. I could be taken from life any second, and it
wouldn't matter. Stories matter. Nothing else.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">SEX<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(June 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm less capable nowadays, which is odd and a
little sad, of course. Nor am I terribly eager to help others on this
particular subject matter any longer. There was a time — two decades ago — when
the topic of sex was interesting and important to me. I felt I had a duty to
pass along some wit and wisdom, based on (oh jeez here we go again) 75 affaires
d'amour.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 27.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apparently, my 1998 book
'The All Purpose Illustrated Guide to Female Women and What To Do With Them'
was pivotal, transformative and irreversible. It killed my career as a
respectable author; inspired a pen name that became pejorative, blackballed,
heavy and humiliating; took me to a world beyond the reach of civilization; and
made it possible to finish a serious intellectual task that burdened my heart
for 25 years. In mockery of everything just said (which was absolutely
truthful) there is another awkward fact. Young men sought me out to express
their gratitude for my having written the damn thing. It gave them courage and
confidence, although I doubted that any of them actually completed my All
Purpose six-week training course, which among other things instructed them to
unplug their television sets and leave them unplugged, limit their computer use
to one hour a day, rotate all four tires with a jack in the rain, and saw down
a tree. "The few, the proud, the tire rotators!" was my slogan for bedroom
success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 27.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 27.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When Abe Lincoln was
practicing law on the prairie, he leaned back in his chair at the defense
table, told a few jokes to break the ice, then asked a simple question:
"Did he do it or didn't he?" Before we attempt anything as
straightforward as that, let's have a showbiz joke to break the ice. In the 1950's
when TV was broadcast live and nobody cared if you smoked cigars, a woman
appeared as a contestant on You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx. She told him
that she had 22 children. "Twenty-two children!" Groucho exclaimed.
"I love my husband," she said demurely. "I love my cigar,"
Groucho laughed, "but I take it out once in a while!"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 27.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Wolf DeVoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07853634817714040679noreply@blogger.com0