#the day has come where my quasi-religious background has become useful

[veryvincible]

Hey! 👋🏼 I was looking at Tonys panel with Carol and his AA panels. It got me thinking how can a person like Tony .. who is an atheist, a believer of science and a confident engineer rely on AA which has a religious foundation (the 12 steps) and place so power on God. I know secular AA have different takes on it and encourage a personal definition of God as any higher power the person may choose. But doesn’t that defeat Tonys belief? Because I don’t think he believes in a higher power regardless if it’s a deity or not.

This is a wonderful question. There’s a lot of nuance to the answer, in my opinion, because I think there are some things called into question here that Tony (very realistically) treats with a lot of complexity.

Firstly, Tony’s atheism is kind of... I don’t want to say it’s up in the air, because at this point, I think it’s kind of made its place in canon and fanon both. But, most likely as a result of the times in which he was created, he has been shown in canon (at least in the early stages of his life) to follow some sort of organized religion. This is from Iron Man Vol. 1 #164, and it’s... not strong evidence for him being a spiritual man, as most people who call themselves “not that religious” tend to be religious by way of traditions, but. You know. It is what it is.

Of course, we could dismiss this as yet another thing that early canon imposed on a character who wouldn’t be like that at this point in time, but I think it brings up interesting beats in the way Tony’s character has progressed over the years.

Considering him as someone who may have been raised as traditionally religious makes sense in the context of defining events, as well, given that we watch him pray the Lord’s prayer in #14 of Iron Man Vol. 4, one of his Civil War tie-ins.

Given the proximity to the alcohol (and the point he’s at in the timeline, here), one could also easily assume that even if he had no religious background, the very presence of the Lord’s prayer in AA meetings could have formed a connection in his head between this “worship” and sobriety-- at the very least, enough of one that the prayer strengthens the effectiveness of his willpower. It seems the little push he needs to pour a drink down the drain is borderline Pavlovian.

There’s actually a lot of religious imagery in Tony comics in general. He’s a man with a suit facing conundrums of cosmic proportions. It’s difficult for him to keep rationale exclusively within the range of earthly probabilities.

Point is, his atheism doesn’t come from his disbelief in a higher power. It’s quite the contrary, actually. His atheism comes from a belief that there’s no single entity that could claim the title of God, that any being willing to try has, just by being, already forfeited the title.

Which is a fair assessment to make, given that he’s fought many people claiming to be Gods, and they’ve all bled. He’s also watched people worship Gods that turned out to not... really be Gods, whether they were otherworldly beings, his buddy Thor, or, uh, himself. The idea of him, at least. In space.

Because of course that happened.

But Tony actually does have a higher power to give himself up to in these meetings. In Civil War II #1, he very explicitly states it:

“I respect the future. I believe in the future. I worship at its feet.”

“The Future” to him is something he can affect, certainly, but he’s aware of just how massive it is, just how massive all of time is compared to the few decades he’ll spend on earth. This is his higher power, his cosmic deity of choice.

It can’t bleed. It can’t falter. It’s inevitable.

And this mindset is... pretty in line with everything else he’s done. He’s referred to himself as a “necessary monster.” He’s implied many times over that he thinks he’s rotten and potentially dangerous, but he’s also intelligent and capable and he wants to do the right thing, even if he doesn’t always know what that is. 

If you’ve ever been in a religious environment, you’ll probably recognize his mindset going into any problem: there’s always a solution, always information he’s missing, always a “right choice” he’s looking for with a domino effect that’ll be as favorable as possible for future generations. He trusts in the future the way people trust in God, with an awareness that he’ll never have all the pieces to make sense of everything, but he can have enough information to act. And he must act, or else his worth, his right to be alive, even, is at stake.

So, needless to say, he’s not praying to a mainstream God. But religious imagery isn’t and has never been off-putting to him, and though he certainly could seek out unreligious (is that a word?) alternatives to AA, I find it hard to believe that he would, given just how influential his higher power of choice is as it guides him through life. He puts everything at stake for it, going so far as to make choices that will destroy not only himself, but also his relationships with his loved ones if it means he’s doing what he perceives to be the right thing.

Secondly, even if he were a man who had no belief in any form of higher power, not even a stand-in for it, AA still might not be something he’d discard in favor of an alternative.

Religion serves as a guide. Most often, it has “do”s and “do not”s, certain beliefs it supports, and a kind of... basic explanation of what human life is and how it should be treated. One of the more common threads among most religions that I’m aware of (I am not an expert in religious studies; please don’t @ me) is the idea that human life is generally sacred, and as such, people should treat each other with respect. Yes, some texts can contradict this, but the general rule is “be nice to each other!” when you really look at the basics of what people are trying to teach. At its core, religion is linked to what we as humans already tend to for the sake of survival: compassion.

As such, though we might not always identify with religion as a concept, it’s not difficult to identify with some religious morals and teachings. Some people take to certain teachings better than others-- it’s super case-by-case-- but if you’re stuck in a religious environment listening to some preaching or anything, there’s probably going to be something you can relate to, and some way you can morph and adopt the message. This isn’t, like, all-encompassing, by the way. Of course there are some things that atheists and religious folk will never be able to relate to within each other, but.

You get what I mean.

I’m an atheist myself. I spent a chunk of my schooling at a religious institution. At best, there were messages that affected me deeply (as they were hard-hitting even when I stripped them of the God-worshipping aspects). At worst, I had to grit my teeth through some assignments, though I felt mostly indifferent (if slightly resentful at times, more out of frustration with the closed-mindedness of the administration than with the concept of religion itself). My experience isn’t universal, of course-- some people in my shoes were more frustrated and angry than I was, and I can see why. But my point is, being an atheist in and of itself (even one as strict as Tony) doesn’t render religious imagery useless.

For example, if you happen to pass by a pastor preaching about struggles with guilt, you might not identify with the sentiment of “Give your worries to God and know He’ll take care of you.” However, you could identify with the sentiment of, “Those little things, those side effects of decisions you’ve made? They’re here. Those decisions have been made. You’re allowed to swallow past the reality of what it is that’s passed and move on. You’re allowed to let go of it, so long as you’re better today than you were yesterday.”

It’s especially easy to do this if you’re listening to or being exposed to content from a religion you’re already familiar with; in Tony’s case, if we assume he was a Christian at one point or was raised with Christian ideals (not unbelievable in the slightest, given his circumstances and upbringing), then he wouldn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting in order to get to “core messages” of certain Christian teachings that he could still identify with. Couple that with the higher power mentioned before, and... it’s not hard to see what might be appealing to him about AA, and it’s not hard to see why it was so effective at sticking in his mind all the way through his darkest periods in life.

Now comes the less healthy part.

There’s also an aspect of self-flagellation to it that I feel Tony might identify with on a deeper level. We’ve seen him hate himself openly, and we know how he regards himself. Even if he managed to find himself in a courthouse-like environment where the religious undertones were more about judgment than recovery, I don’t know that that would necessarily... push him away? He’s already told himself there’s something rotting and evil at his core many times over. He’s already committed himself to a lifestyle of atonement and progress, punishing himself when he fails to accomplish things no human reasonably could and barely praising himself when he doesn’t fail. Do I think these kinds of meetings would be totally sustainable for him, given that he clearly needs to feel pride or relief on some level for conquering his demons? No, not really, but. I don’t think he’d abandon them straight away.

Besides, every healing environment he’s been shown in has been more on the welcoming, open side, even if we only get to see a bare bones interpretation of AA (with deeper exploration happening more with Tony’s response to it, or his and Carol’s responses to each other) in canon. He’s in a good place with it, and it’s very nice to see.

Tl;dr: Again, great question. At the end of the day, I think the combination of self-loathing, his desire for progress, and his conceptualization of “the future” as his higher power makes AA a good fit for him despite his lack of a belief in "God” as an entity.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Disney+ What To Watch: My Top 10 Favourite Disney Classics

#7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Anyone who says this movie is controversial or unfaithful to the original source material really isn’t understanding that Disney always puts their own spin on things and isn’t going to go as dark as the original story is.

But also, you have to understand that while a lot of the dark themes of the original aren’t in the movie, the remaining themes of acceptance, prejudice and extreme religious views are still very much at play.

Here’s why I love this movie. It’s one of the few Disney Renaissance movies that isn’t a Disney Princess movie, the story flows from the introduction of our main villain and his adoption of our main protagonist, to our main protagonist meeting the movie’s love interest, to the main story of the movie being revealed as our protagonists protecting the movie’s love interest from the main villain.

Not just that, but the intertwining story of the love triangle between Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Phoebus which becomes the motivation for Quasimodo and Phoebus becoming friends and working together to save Esmeralda and the other gypsies from Frollo seemed rather genuine and is a commentary to Disney movies at the time that our main protagonist does not end up getting the girl but instead remains friends and is happy when they do end up together.

I also love the what if factor when it comes to Quasimodo’s interaction with the gargoyles. In some scenes you believe that due to Quasimodo’s forced isolation he is simply going mad and believing the three gargoyles actually come to life and become his only friends.

Especially at the moment, I believe that is very relatable as those of us forced into sole isolation need that escapism and imagination to possibly make inanimate objects real as a means of companionship. Not saying it works for everyone but for some it may actually help.

While it isn’t confirmed, it is implied they are actually real and act as the only real magical component to this movie. But there are a couple of other magical elements throughout the movie despite this being quite a grounded film.

When we see Esmeralda at the festival of fools she enters and leaves the stage through trickery such as smoke bombs and trap doors. This of course leads Frollo to suspect witchcraft and spur the catalyst of the movie where Frollo hunts Esmeralda for being a witch and ultimately attempts to burn her.

However, during said climax of the movie just as Frollo is about to “smite the wicked” and he is knocked onto clinging onto the gargoyle before it lights up and breaks off. People have said it is an act of god but I believe in witchcraft and that all Disney movies have a little bit of magic in them somewhere.

In terms of characters, Quasimodo is a very relatable character in terms of being born with a physical deformity and raised essentially in captivity which makes him a social pariah before finally being accepted by the citizens of Paris.

Esmeralda is one of my favourite female characters in Disney, not only is she a very grounded individual who knows what she’s fighting for and is determined to fight for it. But her genuine kindness in the face of such adversity is very commendable and a great example for anyone not just younger audiences watching the movie.

Phoebus is the 90s version of Kristoff from Frozen to me, he’s the boy scout, the dutiful partner and the loyal friend. However, outside of that he really doesn’t have any character to him. He stands for what is right which is why he cannot blindly follow orders when those orders are to burn an innocent family, does that make him three dimensional? Well no because while yes he ends up with the girl, there’s no real story on his side as to how they got together.

He wanted to be with her from when he first saw her dance. She saw one of Frollo’s soldiers and responded accordingly by bashing him in the head with a candle holder. It wasn’t until he was shot after disobeying Frollo and she nursed him back to health that she actually saw the good in him...but he never really had to get there he was already there, she had to make that journey.

Frollo as a villain is so creepy and controversial and everything wrong about religion it is ridiculous.

As a judge he passes sentence on the guilty and as a devout religious man he believes he is carrying out God’s work by freeing the world of evil and said evil being gypsies because they are witches and witches are the children of the devil.

That’s great villainous motivation particularly when you consider that his religious guilt was what made him adopt Quasimodo rather than, you know, drowning him in a well after murdering his mother...the main problem comes when he has lustful feelings for Esmeralda and on her death pier offers her a final ultimatum of either being with him or dying.

First of all who wouldn’t choose the latter option? Secondly, yes the dark elements from the original needed to be in this movie to some capacity...but little kids will see this movie and what they will see is an old man smelling the hair of a young woman and lusting after her while simultaneously wanting to see her burn.

This culminates beautifully in the song “Hellfire” which is one of my favourite Disney songs ever, the style in which it is performed, the visualisation of Frollo seeing those cloaked figures and Esmeralda’s image in the flames is so harrowing particularly at a young age, and Tony Jay’s singing is actually rather good.

The opening song “Bells of Notre Dame” is an operatic masterpiece, the booming choir, Clopin’s sing-song narration setting the scene of the movie and the dramatic scenes of Quasimodo’s mother fleeing the evil Frollo trying to save her baby was fantastic.

“Topsy Turvy Day” and “A Guy Like You” are fun, they’re the songs kids will play over and over again at parties or when they’re hanging out with friends and they’re on in the background.

“God Help the Outcasts” is harrowing, beautiful, powerful and a real representation as to the type of character Esmeralda is.

I’ve mentioned the climactic battle a couple of times but I wanted to mention it again be it contains a sequence I will never forget and possibly why this movie is so high in my estimations. I am referring to the sequence where Quasi saves Esmeralda from the pier and as he swings in to save her there is great wide shot of the mob that have gathered to watch Esmeralda burn engulfed in the glow of the fire and it is just magnificent as a shot. It’s terrible that Esmeralda is being burned but that visual will always remain as a thing of beauty in my mind.

It may not be the greatest Disney movie ever made but The Hunchback of Notre Dame is undeniably masterfully made under the circumstances and restrictions that the House of Mouse had to work under.

So what do you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney+ What to Watch Top 10s as well as more Top 10 Lists and other posts.

[zanth-i]

Bonjour-Hi! I was born and raised in Montreal. But I don’t quite belong.

Because speaking a language is not the same as having a voice.

Here’s a story that may resonate with many first-generation immigrants. We may be born in Canada, but because our parents weren’t, we’re not considered bona fide Canadians, and our ethnic upbringing does little to wean us as such. We’re raised with pride for our heritage and develop everlasting patriotism — for our parents’ country of origin. We’re the quasi Canadians, well aware that with every passing generation, we become, well, more Canadian. But even so, one’s roots are not easily forgotten, if ever. Cultural indoctrination has proven its permanency.

So why is it that in a seemingly open-minded city where I’m free to live true to my heritage, I often feel like I don’t belong?

I was born in the late ’70s to Greek parents in Montreal, Quebec. My parents settled here in the mid-’60s. They’d planned on staying for 5 years but stayed for more than 50 (and it’s surely not because they couldn’t resist the good weather). They spent most of their life in this city because it became their home. My late mother always said that she had two motherlands: the one where she was born and lived as a young girl, and the other where she grew and lived as a grown woman. My father still stands by their decision to move here, though wishes they’d retired there (something to do with the weather, again).

While my parents faced many challenges and weren’t always greeted with a welcoming smile, I’d like to center this piece on some of my reflections on being raised Greek in a French Canadian province.

Like most immigrants, my parents held on tight to their traditions. As they began to settle into the city, ex-pats came together and gave rise to Greek media, educational, social, and religious institutions. And of course, they introduced Montrealers to Greek food.

Us kids, we inevitably made friends with our kind and upheld such a strong sense of community so immersive that our “Xeni” (foreign) friends would eventually “turn Greek” and become all too familiarized with our way of life. We’d speak English amongst ourselves (sometimes Greek), but Greek with our parents (sometimes English). And if not every year, every other year, as kids, many of us spent our summers off at our respective parents’ birthplace, “back home” in Greece, visiting our grandparents. As adults, many of us still make it a point to return and often. And we still unreservedly boast about our beautiful motherland.

While my parents made sure I spoke Greek fluently and knew my roots well, they were adamant about me learning to speak French, as “this was the language of the future in Quebec” my mother would counsel. So when I was 7, she pulled me out of the Greek educational system asserting that their French curriculum wasn’t sufficiently robust, and instead put me in an all-french school, where I experienced major culture shock. And to accelerate my learning (along with my shock), she also signed me up for French swimming lessons, French scouts, and French camp. Oh, and I was only allowed French tv and was to speak to my big sister exclusively in French, for a whole year. As you gather, she lent high importance to the French language, and I in turn learned to speak it fluently, and also to eventually forgive my mother for her militant (but in the end effective) ways.

Now — while I love speaking in French — I find myself consciously choosing to say hello rather than bonjour. Largely because I feel we’ve taken the language policing too far. For this, I direct my disappointment to the Office Québécois de la langue Française (OQLF) whose efforts may be well-intentioned but I feel are misplaced. And the Coalition Avenir Québec’s recent decision to inject funds into the OQLF especially during a pandemic while we’re literally fighting for our lives is a bitter reminder of the powerful provincialism we’re regularly faced with. It’s no longer about speaking French, it’s become about not speaking English. And to then have the minister responsible for the French language in Quebec say that this “is not against English institutions,” and “we can do both — respect English institutions but also respect French in our society” is playing offense.

Without making this article about the laws of the OQLF, it will suffice to say that the laws along with the board were created out of fear that the French language would go extinct in Quebec. That said, it’s important to note that the French hold a majority in Quebec. But their concern with having their heritage eclipsed, nods to the anglophone/allophone influential minority. Also to consider is that Quebec (begrudgingly to some) is in Canada, where anglophones are of majority. Naturally, in came the language laws with the mission to protect the French language in a primarily English-speaking nation. It’s only natural to want to secure your kind and colony.

For those of you that don’t live here, I want to clarify: No one will arrest or fine you for speaking in whatever language you wish amongst your friends and family. It’s when you seek to operate professionally — as an employee or business owner — , and seek service of any kind that things get sticky. Businesses are subjected to fines if they don’t abide by the language rules. And people are subjected to discrimination, plain and simple. French fanatics will not literally convict you, cuff you, and lock you up for not speaking French, it just feels that way.

I believe it is moot point to argue historical events and statistics in an attempt to prove or disprove the language laws, because in the end what matters most is people’s current state of mind and wellbeing. And if Black Lives Matter has taught us anything, it’s that history often needs a rethink, and room for redemption. With that in mind, our elected leaders and citizens of this province should be asking themselves “how do yesteryear laws continue to serve us?”

I understand that the French want to maintain their heritage in Quebec — it’s really the same for everyone settling onto any land. But I feel our Provincial government is stirring up a storm only to later justify its self-serving plebiscite.

If their true intent is to segregate the citizens of this province, I suspect that things will worsen with time and anglophones/allophones will eventually protest and march with #OurVoiceMatters banners in hand.

Some of my Francophone friends that are here fresh from France complain of being picked on for their accent. Some anglo/allophone friends often cope with disapproving glares for speaking in their mother tongue. And some of my pure laine friends think anglos are arrogant and dismissive of Quebec language and culture. If none of this resonates with you and you feel that there’s no race problem in Quebec, you’re likely part of the problem.

I remember wishing a francophone a happy Canada day (in French) and being met with a dry “I don’t celebrate that” as she handed me the flowers I’d just purchased from her shop at the Atwater market. And such racist and discriminatory occurrences are constant in everyday life here. Especially online where you’ll find no shortage of Anglophones complaining about some language-related fines, and Francophones coming to the OQLF’s defense, leaving low-brow remarks ordering anglos to pack up and leave if they don’t like it.

Here’s the thing, as a first-generation immigrant, I can assure you that just because I speak the French language doesn’t mean that I’ve given French-Quebec culture a voice.

If I was born to Greek parents in Montreal, QC, Canada, what is my country of origin?

My name is a dead giveaway of my ethnic background. When I’m asked where I’m from, I’m reminded of the struggle between being born somewhere but *really* originally being from somewhere else.

Being born in Quebec doesn’t make me a Québecoise any more than being born at the Jewish general hospital doesn’t make me Jewish.

Ironically, in Greece, I’m called a foreigner. Growing up Greek in Montreal, is not the same as growing up Greek in Greece. Goes to show how culture unavoidably breeds bias and immigration ushers it along.

Consider the saying “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”

So when in Quebec, do as…whom?

Think of the last time you traveled and how you were absorbed by the culture and became enchanted with their way of life. Now consider someone traveling here. What are they absorbing and experiencing?

Most say they love our multicultural vibe. And this perhaps defines Quebec culture — our hodgepodge of many cultures. And so making sure everyone speaks French or else, does very little to raise and cultivate the French-Quebec culture. Hence SNL’s latest ‘bonjour-hi’ skit, a spoof that caused upset amongst Quebecers especially francophones, that Bowen Yang issued an “apology” for missing the mark.

Many are unacquainted with Quebec heritage and culture because its people are preocupied with language correction, instead of cultural connection.

I humbly suggest they stop staring at the tree and instead take notice of the forest. Culture is more than language. It takes a lot more to maintain heritage and identity. This language battle only speaks to cultural impotence. Ask any immigrant who has no language charters and laws in place to secure their language and identity, but still has managed to preserve them. A powerful culture speaks for itself, in whatever language it chooses and its pull is so great, that you don’t resist. So instead of focusing on condemning each other for our differences, let’s start exploring how those differences make us fundamentally the same. What binds us will bond us.

I propose we start with the following statement.

#JeSuisQuebecois(e)Parceque…?

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 19: 3% (as of 2x07)

I had this sudden bout of need to write done some thoughts on the 3% after watching 2x07 last night and--they felt deeper in my head but anyway here they are.

Basically some attempts to figure out the exact contours of the Offshore/Inland relationship.

*

What we know about the Offshore/Inland relationship:

The central idea of the Offshore is that everyone earns their way in; no one is born into that society. A consequence of this rule is that the Offshore is entirely reliant on the Inland for at least one resource: its population. From the point of the view of the Offfshore, then, the children of the Inland are a potential resource, to be protected and nurtured at least to a degree, and the adults of the Inland are the 'unworthy,' who deserve not just their squalor, but the Offshore's contempt. Their main use--their only canonically confirmed use--is to produce more children. Otherwise, they are derided, and the Offshore has no (obvious) reason to care for them in the way it might care for their children up to the age of 20.

The Offshore residents do sometimes return to the Inland, but only for specific purposes--to serve as soldiers or doctors for particular events. They do not routinely visit or hold regular 9-5 jobs on the Inland. The separation is supposed to be as complete as practically possible.

What we know about the universe:

It's the future, clearly. There have been huge strides in technology, but in recognizable directions from current tech: we see sensitive communication devices, high tech computers, high speed submarine travel, and of course the simple sterilization techniques. So we can guess that this universe once looked like our present day, but that its technological capabilities have greatly expanded with time. We also know that not only have those advances been hoarded by the Offshore, but apparently all tech, even that from our current era, has been stripped from the Inland. They not only lack fancy communication devices in the form of rings and headsets, they lack cell or landline phones, computers, televisions, radios. They have toasters, according to Elisa, and perhaps some other appliances, but little else. It is also notable that there used to be at least 2000's level tech in the Inland: there are old computer screens stacked in the background of one scene, and tech-savvy people like Fernando can salvage parts for a makeshift walkie-talkie.

We also know that animals like lions and zebras have become extinct, as Rafael mentions in 2x07. In fact, except for fish, it's not clear which animals still exist.

We know that just as there used to be technological wealth in the Inland, there was more general wealth as well. The abandoned bank where Michele met the Old Man is architecturally quite beautiful. It's also...abandoned, as are the orphanage, and various other houses and buildings in the Inland.

We know that the Process has been going on for about 100 years and juuuust enough about the Founding 'Couple' to assure me that (either in the last season 2 eps I haven't watched or in future seasons) we'll find out more about them, and, hopefully, the state of the world at the time they founded the Offshore.

The History of the Inland/Offshore

Is the destitution of the Inland and/or its technology gap with the Offshore artificially created along with the Offshore and the Process, or is it the result of some other natural event? The extinction of the animals makes me think that there was already environmental damage being done, either long-term or in one fell swoop, following some sort of disaster. And, we know from the way the actual, real world works that some people are always going to hoard resources, that disasters can occur and poverty can increase while some people remain remarkably rich. So my assumption is that the Founding Couple just exacerbated that gap, hoarding the last of the wealth (in terms of money but also technology, natural resources) in one place, and leaving the Inland to spiral down into an ever worse state of poverty and destitution.

But I'm interested in the timeline: had this society suffered through a disaster, perhaps an environmental disaster tied to a mass extinction, before the Process began? Were the Founders interested only in increased fairness, or did they also have a certain sense of human survival in mind? I'm picturing a scenario in which a resource crunch makes it impossible to share what remains with everyone, prompting the creation of a special paradise where those resources can be enjoyed by some, at least, and from there the creation of the Process, which determines which people are 'worthy' of enjoying those resources. Some characters seem to assume that there are enough resources for everyone, if only the Offshore would stop hoarding--but we don't know that to be true. If there truly is not enough for everyone, not only does 'merit' seem like the most fair way to determine who 'wins' the best of those resources, but it also seems the best way to improve humankind's situation as a whole: the smartest and the hardiest and the most creative get access to the most technology, etc., allowing them the best chance to make discoveries and advances that could solve long-lasting resource-deficiency problems. (Basically the same argument that underpins the existence of selective schools and universities; the smartest people 'deserve' the most help in becoming even smarter, the most support in growing and learning.)

Similarly, I'm curious as to how all of this society's tech ended up concentrated in the Offshore? Was there a mass disabling of the Inland's technology? Suddenly your computers/phones/tvs/radios stop working? That would be an extremely effective way to subjugate a large population.

The relationship between the Inland and Offshore

I have a lot of questions about this aspect of the universe but it basically all comes down to: what is the extent of the Offshore's control over the Inland?

At the very least, the Offshore needs the residents of the Inland to continue having children, to replenish the population of the Offshore. This is more complicated than it sounds: the Offshore needs the right number of people, it needs the right sort of people--healthy, smart, educated, and loyal to the concept of the Offshore/Inland divide and the Process itself. It also needs those children to survive the first twenty years of their life, which means it needs to ensure some level of basic safety on the Inland.

Like any minority elite ruling over a majority population that vastly outnumbers it, the Offshore also needs to keep the Inland powerless, for its own survival: to quash revolts, and to ensure complacency wherever possible.

Keeping all of this in mind, what would the Offshore do to meet these goals?

Precisely what it's shown to be doing, first of all.

Surveillance: We see this more in S1, but the Inland is littered with cameras. Aside from the registrations/ear pieces, the cameras are the only tech around, and it appears that there's fairly little respite to be had from them. Not none, obviously: the Cause members have found plenty of places to meet in S2. Still, my impression of the Inland is very much a surveillance state.

Sewing mistrust between neighbors: at least when necessary, as when Marcela makes a call for information on Cause members linked to Ezequiel's death. She's able to dangle a carrot (help in the Process) rather than threaten a stick, but it comes out the same. People will jump to turn on each other.

Military presence/Violence or the threat of violence: This is a little murky, because, aside from the build-up to the Process, when we know there are Division soldiers in the street, it's not clear how often or how extensively the Inland is patrolled by Offshore agents. However, Marcella does have contacts in 'the militia,' and is possibly even their official or unofficial leader; people like Gerson police the Inland for the Offshore, in an admittedly less...uniformed way, and to their own gain.

Registration: Being counted and officially registered is not dissimilar to being surveilled. The keeping of data on everyone (or nearly everyone, or everyone in theory) is a way of exerting control over a large population. It implies that you can always be found, that you can never escape. This is also the practical structure that underpins the Process itself, as Fernando explains, the organizational structure of their whole society relies on this human data.

Control over communication: It's quite obvious that the tech gap between the two societies isn't accidental; it's too complete, and the presence of dead or outmoded technology in the Inland shows it was not always a wasteland in this way. But in the present, the Inland people have no phones, no email--possibly no mail--no TV or radio news created for and by themselves. They have only the devices in their ears, through which they can hear the Offshore, but the Offshore cannot hear them.

Religion: A fervently believed narrative, imbued with the reverence assigned to religious faith, keeps the majority of the Inlanders from revolting. They accept their poverty as being their own fault, if they failed the Process; believe in a bright future for their children, if the children are under 20; and celebrate the success of the Offshore residents, as their due--and anyone who disagrees with these tenets is amoral, disgusting, a traitor to the ideals of the Founding Couple. (I imagine there is other cultural and quasi-religious propaganda going on too, for example the pre-Process procession, a sort of gift or treat for the people of the Inland, which also reinforces their belief in the power structure that aids the Offshore at their expense.)

Total control of the government: There is a Council, and it appears to make decisions for both the Offshore and Inland--but no Inlanders serve on it, of course. I doubt they have any sort of voting rights either.

Brain Drain: taking the top 3% of each year's children from the Inland not only plays into the "reward" narrative that underlies the whole system, it also ensures that the smartest and most creative people leave the Inland and give their allegiance to the Offshore instead. If you conceive of the relationship between the two as a 'war,' or adversarial in any way (as Marcella at least seems to), then it makes sense to want to poach all the best 'warriors' from the other side. (I don't know if this is a conscious thought on the part of Offshore authorities, but S2 does show how dangerous a 3%-er or two can be if left to rot on the Inland.)

Continuing extreme inequality: I'm not sure what other methods the Offshore uses to ensure that the two areas remain sharply diverged in terms of wealth distribution and resources, or even if, at this point, they have to do anything at all to keep up the status quo, but they do gain political power from this discrepancy in quality of life, especially when combined with the existence of the Process as a possible bridge from one life to the other. The Inlanders won't revolt against the Offshore if they hope to someday join it. And if they are rejected, they can hope that their children will advance, a nearly as powerful incentive. This system will self-perpetuate, but only as long as the Inland is a hellscape and the Offshore is a paradise. If there were a reason to hold allegiance to the Inland, people would take it.

Squashing of dissent: And of course, when pockets of organized dissent do form, like the Cause, the Offshore can gather all of these tools together to defeat them: use surveillance to find them, torture and violence to eliminate their members, and their control over the majority populace to reign in their influence.

(An aside, but, considering this list, it's pretty clear that Fernando's ideas to disrupt the Process are better than Ezequiel's bomb idea. The Offshore has formidable weapons, including propaganda weapons, and probably wouldn't have the hardest time recovering even from the death of a generation of Process applicants. They could spin it into a positive for them, probably incredibly easily by--correctly--blaming the Cause, and then broadcast their narrative to the whole of the Inland. Fernando is striking at their tools of control: those communication networks, their monopoly on information, the registration system that makes the Process possible, etc.)

Overall, we know quite a bit about how the Offshore keeps the Inland from starting a revolution, though fairly little about how it nurtures its primary Inland resource, the children.

What else might the Inland be doing, which we haven't yet seen?

Population control: I doubt we'll actually see this, since the Offshore seems intent on encouraging the Inlanders to have as many kids as possible, but if there is a resource crunch in any way in this universe, or if they ever anticipate one on the Offshore, they'd need to exert some control over the total population's numbers. The Offshore always stays in proportion to the Inland, taking 3% of its population every year, which makes sense if they wish to keep a balance that is apparently working. But that means that a population explosion on the Inland would create a population explosion on the Offshore, and perhaps cause a rationing in their resource among themselves.

Use of the Inland population for labor:

It is incredibly unclear to me what people actually spend their days doing, on either the Offshore or the Inland. I suppose the Offshore people could spend a lot of time in leisure activities--except we don't see any of that, what leisure might mean on the Offshore, and at least some of them DO have jobs: we know that some work for the Process, or serve in the military, or on the Council, or as doctors. Even more strangely, we don't know what people on the Inland do when they're not preparing for the Process. We know Silas is a doctor and Fernando's father a preacher. Money does seem to exist. But what other jobs do people have, or could they have? And how do they become qualified for those jobs? Is it all apprenticeships and informal learning, or are there schools? (I'd guess the first but it wouldn't be a retcon to include a school in a future season.) How do people earn money? What do they use that money for--just food and other essentials? Are there are stores? Is housing free and assigned or do people rent?

Looking at this from the Offshore's point of view, I would say that the people of the Inland should definitely not be idle. A large, idle population living in squalor is a potential boiling pot of rebellion.

I also think that the Offshore would want to prioritize leisure for its citizens as much as possible. The jobs they definitely have not outsourced both cannot be outsourced and are prestigious anyway. But there are always jobs that have to be done and no one wants to do. For example--the manufacture of their tech?

Putting all this together, I'd guess that the Offshore assigns work to the people of the Inland as much as possible and is probably in as much control as possible over the issuance and flow of money--probably in a way that appears to be hands off (they seem to have no money themselves) but nevertheless is near complete in practice.

Control of Inland bodies: I'm a little vague on this (see outstanding question 2), but I noticed that the upcoming Process participants not only have their registrations checked and their photos updated, they also get vaccines. And we already know that 'vaccine' doesn't always mean 'vaccine' in this universe. I'm wondering if the Offshore is doing something to the 20 year olds, and if they also have the habit of taking over Inland residents' medical care in other ways. I'm not even suggesting something nefarious. I'm thinking more along the lines of maybe literal vaccines, antibodies, vitamins, strengthening agents, or other sci-fi innovations, to keep their child population healthy--in other words, to protect the most important Inland resource, the crop from which they'll cull their future members.

Outstanding questions:

The Offshore and Inland children's education: The Offshore would definitely want the Inland children educated, because if they are not educated, they can never be good Offshore citizens. Even more specifically, the Offshore values particular skills and traits. It's not just looking for the general 'best,' but has an idea what 'best' means. So it would probably want a hand in molding the children. (Canonically, it looks they actually rely on failed Process participants to train up-and-coming Process participants, as Fernando does, but it seems...like a risk to put all your faith in failures, imo.) But how does it do so? Outside of running schools, which would require much more day to day involvement of Offshore people in Inland life, I'm not sure how they ensure they get a proper crop of new Process participants each year.

The Offshore and Inland children's health: We know that the Inland has doctors, and that their medicine isn't as good as on the Offshore. And I doubt the Offshore cares much about what happens to adults--provided enough of them are healthy enough to have healthy children and, perhaps, to work. But how do they keep the children safe and healthy? The Process is physically grueling in places. It is not for the weak or the half-starved. How do they draw the line between making the Inland a terrible place to live, a place from which all children would be desperate to escape, and also ensuring not only the most basic health and safety, but a general environment in which children could thrive enough to grow into 'the 3%'? (I doubt we'll get an answer for this, and perhaps we're supposed to assume that the very best of the best will rise to the top no matter what: if a child is naturally sickly, he doesn't 'deserve' the Offshore anyway, for example, or if a child would be smart with the proper training but isn't naturally smart on her own, she's not quite 3% material. Characters like Fernando and Joanna bear out this theory some: he is physically disabled and she came from the lowest of even the Inland low, no family at all, and they still both passed the Process, essentially. I'm not entirely sure I buy this, though... The crowd that gathered at the beginning of 1x01 didn't exactly look like they were malnourished as a whole, so at least some needs must be being met.)

I feel like I had some other thoughts but these are already excessive! So I'm done for now.

[markwatkinsconsumerguide]

Consumer Guide / No.87 / Top Of The Pops LPs archivist & blogger Terry Wilson with Mark Watkins.

MW : Tell me about your background...

TW : I grew up in Aylesbury, and from as early as I can remember, I loved music - and it was these very Top of the Pops LPs which were the earliest I had, bought for me as presents when I was four or five, and spun on an old mono Dansette. Little did I know, the LPs were being pressed in a small plant five minutes from where I lived (I found that out about forty years later!).

I guess Top of the Pops started me on the road to what would become quite a serious record collecting habit, and a love of music generally. I went on to play in a number of unsuccessful bands, before taking up music writing (plug: Tamla Motown - The Stories Behind The UK Singles). I'm now 50, and live in Sussex with my wife and child, and although I completed my Top of the Pops vinyl collection years ago, I still splash out on the odd rarity or overseas pressing when I see it. The overseas ones especially fascinate me, although I'm no longer able fill my home with records, like I did in my bachelor days.

MW : When & why did you set up your Top of the Pops website?

TW : The project started around 1999, and I knew nothing about web design at that point. I'd started collecting the series (as an adult, that is - my childhood LPs were long gone), but this was when the internet was still in its infancy - nothing like we have today. For example, there was no such thing as a Top of the Pops LP discography, so I had no idea how many I needed, what the catalogue numbers were, or what the LP sleeves looked like. 

The website project actually began as an Excel spreadsheet, where I started listing the volume numbers, catalogue numbers and so on. A few of the albums had gotten into the LP charts back in the 1970s, so the relevant chart books were consulted and provided a few more snippets - that's how hard it was to find anything out before the internet, young people. That listing gradually expanded to the point where I thought I'd try my hand at making a website, which was a steep learning curve for me. I guess it went online around 2005.

MW : How have you developed the site since its beginnings?

TW : The first site I made was quite different to the current one. The technology was much more clunky, and the pages were all out of line. It wasn't great, but at least gave me a grounding in web design, so I knew what I needed to do. I made the decision around 2008 to re-invent it using a different host, whose layouts I much preferred, and that's where it still lives today. From my perspective, the website was more than just a space to write up and organise the discography; it was also a forum for research. I've lost count of the number of kind people who've contacted me through the site, and given me information, photos and even records over the years.

A Russian collector, for example, used to send me Top of the Pops records from the old Soviet Union, pressed on flexi-disc and coloured vinyl - I'd never even have known about them otherwise. Plus, every new discovery meant a new page for the site, and whole new sections came into being - it has expanded to the point where it's now quite vast. It's because of the size of the site that I started a blog (http://copycatcovers.blogspot.com) where I could flag up new discoveries which might otherwise not get noticed - not just Top of the Pops, but across the whole genre of what I call copycat cover versions.

MW : How do you store and maintain all your vinyl?

TW : I'd love to say I have a dedicated room with security cameras and temperature control - but in reality I store my collection in a humble way on ordinary shelves.

I used to have them in a series of proper LP cases, but they became unwieldy, so I took them out again. Just having them stacked vertically away from undue heat or humidity is all the care they need. The more precious ones are in heavy-duty protective covers, but I don't go to great lengths to look after them, or treat them like precious jewels. 

They rarely encounter a record deck, though, as I got together with a few fellow collectors some years back, and between us we digitised the whole set - so the vinyl can stay safely inside the sleeves while I listen to MP3s. The rarer tape editions in my collection are less hardy than the vinyl, so they are housed in protective cases and kept in a safe place.

MW : What are your views on these kinds of LPs - in the sense that they were once seen as cheap and cheesy - until The Mike Flowers Pops lounge music revival in 1995…

TW : There's a part of me that sees them exactly as you describe - cheap and cheesy - but there's another part of me, which I guess is the dominant voice in my head, which sees them as creative fun. It's important to remember these are not compilation albums. The making of them required a band to go into a studio, red light running against the clock, and capture track after track after track - and in this way, the original 'Top of the Poppers' group recorded around 70 full LPs in ten years - by any measure, that's dedicated musicianship, arranging and singing. I can't think of any band in history with such a prolific work rate. I once wrote a tongue-in-cheek article in which I argued these were the most important albums ever made, and by the end of it, I'd almost convinced myself! Two of them even made Number 1 in the UK album charts. That's two more than Frank Zappa, The Velvet Underground, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, etc…

MW : Do you search charity shops and similar for these albums? Your best finds? Any missing?

TW : My UK collection is essentially complete, and has been for a few years - so I no longer hunt them down. For better or worse, I'm past the point where I still find anything I need in charity shops. Overseas releases are a different matter. I buy them when I can, but I probably have more missing than I will ever know. (To my knowledge, I am the only person who's ever researched them.) 

When I was buying the UK albums, charity shops and car boot sales were my main source, and I frequented them religiously - there was Ebay, of course, but it costs a lot more to have an LP posted to you than to chance upon it for 25p in a charity shop - so I held out and gradually finished the set. My best find was probably Volume 90 - I'd never seen it, and I was killing time in a town in West Sussex when I had a rummage in a junk shop and found it for pennies. Back then, Ebay was around, but the number of sellers was a fraction of what it is today. On the very rare occasions something like Volume 90 or Volume 91 turned up, they would command prices in the £100 bracket - and that's no exaggeration. (I thereby learned I was not the only one collecting them!) 

But most of my truly astonishing finds have been via the internet. I'll never forget discovering one of the LPs had been issued in Argentina, and I bought it immediately. When it arrived, I slipped it out the sleeve to find it was pressed on starburst multi-coloured vinyl. Amazing! And still it goes on - just last year I chanced upon a UK release, a double album of disco tracks by The Poppers, which I'd never even heard of! You never know what will show up next.

MW : Tell me about some of the famous (now) but not famous (then) musicians who started their careers off doing Top of the Pops cover versions...

TW : It would be great to say a succession of stellar names cut their recording teeth on these Top of the Pops albums, but in truth, there aren't that many examples. Those who know about the cover version sub-industry (and Top of the Pops was only one LP series among many) immediately think of Elton John. He did record a good number of anonymous cover versions in the late-1960s for labels like Avenue, Marble Arch and Music For Pleasure, but only one for Top of the Pops - ‘Snake In The Grass’, issued on Volume 5 (which is, consequently, worth a few pounds). 

It's frustrating that the session men and women are largely unknown to this day, but a couple more famous names can be confirmed. Tina Charles, for example, who had success with her hit, ‘I Love To Love’, can be heard singing ‘Stand By Your Man’ on Volume 45, while well-known singer Laura Lee performs ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ on Volume 36. We might also mention Elvis Costello's dad, Ross McManus, who sang on more than one LP - including the same Volume 5 which Elton was on. Rumours that David Bowie appears on some are probably not true, but who really knows?

MW : What are your favorite album covers...why?

TW : It may seem paradoxical, but I've never really been a fan of the album covers. There are many collectors of the 'cheesecake' sleeve genre, but I'm not one of them. Mostly, I find them amusing, with the ridiculous poses and whacky clothing - they are sometimes described accusingly as soft porn, but I think that's taking them too seriously. Maybe they were considered more shocking back in the day, but there's one in particular, Volume 8 - in which the model sports a fur bikini! Can you think of a more absurd garment?

I like the quasi-psychedelic cover of Volume 16 but my favourite is probably the ultra-hideous Volume 22 - one of the ones I had when I was a kid. That's famous actress, Nicola Austin, in what can only be described as a roll-neck leotard, capped off with matching sailing hat! We should give a shout-out to Bill Graham, a designer for Pickwick Records, who came up with the iconic sleeve design in 1968. Even into the mid-1980s, when models like Sam Fox and Linda Lusardi were by then appearing on the covers, the design was essentially unchanged. He came up with a classic.

MW : What are your long term plans for the site / collection?

TW : The site continues to grow, every time another record comes to my attention. One area I never did get into was reviews of the LPs. I would have, but a fellow enthusiast, called Tim Joseph, has been preparing a book about them for years, and I didn't want to tread on his toes, so to speak. It's something I might do one day though. As for my collection, I don't know what will become of it! I have some bona-fide rarities in my possession - autographed sleeves, advance promo copies, a genuine gold disc award, and numerous overseas pressings, one of which accidentally includes a real hit recording by Elton - don't ask me how that happened, but so far as I am aware, the album is unknown to his fans and collectors. If they found out about it, they might make me some handsome offers! But who, besides, me, would really want the rest of it?

I doubt I will ever sell my collection, so I guess I'll keep it until I shuffle off this mortal coil, then what will become of it, I don't know. I could offer it to a museum, but I fear they would die laughing! In a sense, I feel I've done my bit in preserving the LP series by photographing, cataloguing and documenting it all - at one point I actually lent some records back to Pickwick so they could make digital versions of some they couldn't locate - and so they were my copies, loaded up globally to iTunes. It's a honour for me, and that's reward enough.

MW : Away from the website, what are your other interests?

TW : I've always had many interests to pursue - I have what's sometimes called the collector's gene. 

So when I'm not mulling the small print of old record sleeves, I might be cataloguing every Aston Villa football card ever printed, or compiling a collection of every King George VI postage stamp. 

I tend to go for ambitious projects - all or nothing - so when I wrote my Tamla Motown book, for example, I researched and wrote up every single 45 they ever released - a mammoth task which had to be squeezed between building websites, playing football, playing in a band - and also, a full-time job (Special mention here to my patient wife!). I've always had in interest in writing. I used to work as a journalist and edited a few magazines. 

These days, much of my spare time is consumed with mixing and remixing music on pc. It's great fun, and the technology is so freely available, anyone can do it.

MW : What's to see and do in the area you live in?

TW : I grew up in the countryside, and moved down to Brighton in my 20s. It's a place I still love - so much going on all the time with bands, nightlife, festivals and so on - but one way or another, I've ended up back in a village.

Life here is quiet, and the village is a bit other-worldly - which is fine - but very different from the pace of city life. Cars will actually pull up to a stop in the middle of the road, if someone's waiting to cross! 

The village has its own events - an annual village day, a dedicated fireworks society and various arts’ groups, which I take a passing interest in. Fortunately, there's also a choice of good pubs.

MW : How do you intend to spend the summer holidays?

TW : I have no plans yet for the coming summer - which is leaving it late, to say the least. I quite like the idea of getting a last-minute deal and flying off to who-knows-where, but I'm not sure what we'll do. I get bored easily and like to have things to do and see, whereas my wife likes to lay in the hot sun and do nothing. So, we find things which work for both of us. Last year we headed down to Cornwall to a seaside resort and went out on a few adventures, so it worked for both of us. This year, who knows?

http://topofthepopslps.weebly.com/

(c) Mark Watkins / May 2019

[lineara]

Robin J. Klang

Butterfly Core 893, 2015, Hand Jacquard Woven Cotton

Core Memory, 2012, 30" x 31", hand Jacquard woven silk and cotton

Butterfly Core 321, 2015, Hand Jacquard Woven Cotton and Chenille

Phantasmic Data Dawn, 2016, hand Jacquard woven cotton, synthetic yarns, hand dyed wool, plastic, metal rod, 56 inches x 98 inches

Your Norwegian-designed digital loom, Thread Controller 2 (TC2) is the only digital loom in New York City.  What is special about TC2 and how does it work?

To my knowledge, it’s the only one in the New York City—there may be others. To best describe how it works, I feel the need to first explain how the Jacquard loom differs from floor-loom style weaving. With the floor loom, warp threads are strung through heddles—they kind of look like eyes of a needle—and are tied in sections to foot pedals. You have to push those pedals in a certain order to make the threads lift and create your patterns.

With the Jacquard loom, the innovation involved replacing the foot pedal system by using punch cards, which had the capability of lifting the threads in more complex ways. It provided a faster way to make very complicated textiles. This was even before electricity—now most Jacquard looms are electric and automated. For instance, my loom runs on a vacuum pump.

Vibeke Vestby, the Norwegian woman who invented the TC2, looked to create a version of the contemporary Jacquard loom that embraced its digital capabilities but was still hand-operated, rather than automated.  This allows artists and designers the freedom of speed and technologic innovation, combined with experimentation that comes about with weaving by hand.  You have lot of room for material investigation because you can switch out colors and do things that would be not be very costly for—or could potentially damage—an industrial machine designed for speed and quantity.  Vibeke wanted to blend the two and create a version of the Jacquard loom that was hand operated—that’s what this machine is.

Files are designed on the computer, and then there’s a little bit of programming that happens where you have to translate the image into weave structures.  Afterwards, you are ready to turn on the machine and begin weaving, which involves inserting the horizontal weft yarns by hand, while the digital loom lifts the warp threads per each line of pixels in your file. The TC2 is not necessarily designed for huge mass production—it’s meant for handmade projects, but it’s still fast, much faster than what could happen on the floor-loom.

I'm interested in the capability of pushing those moments where the pattern is broken through a color change or inserting unusual material such as plastics. It’s the idea of mixing an element of the hand-made glitch into our understanding of technology.  In the textile customs of many indigenous cultures, there’s a practice of creating an intentional error within the piece—it's seen as an act of honoring the divine or indicating your imperfection. In Navajo culture it’s called the “spirit line”—a misplaced thread that looks like it’s breaking the symmetry but is actually intentionally situated there. I like to embrace this in my work as well—I find that it can take on an additional meaning in the context of the man versus machine conversation.  

How do you decide what imagery to use for your textile pieces? What do you see as the relationship between computer chips and weaving, or modern technology and the loom?

Currently, there are two crossovers in the history of weaving and technology that have become inspirations to my imagery. The first is involves the history of the Jacquard loom. When the loom was invented, it was the first time punch cards were ever used in a mechanized process. The idea of punch cards as binary information carriers—where the cards are either punched or not, zero or one—was later used by another inventor named Charles Babbage, who appropriated this punch card concept for what is now considered the first computer.  With this in mind, I've heard some people refer to the Jacquard loom as the grandmother to the computer. I think this is an especially beautiful reference because in Navajo culture, it was the grandmother spider who wove the universe in her womb and who taught humans how to weave.

The second crossover point involves the history of computer. During the first 20 years of computer history, the way the memory was stored involved woven copper wires and little magnetized beads. Those beads would be charged either positive or negative, again creating binary information but through magnetic memory. I find it fascinating that the early computer stored information through these little tiny weavings. Records indicate that it was mostly women who wove these because of the dexterity of their fingers, so there’s this amazing relationship between technology and the history of weaving.

Much of my imagery evokes these magnetic memory cores—I just love the idea how textiles have a rich relationship with memory.  Textiles have often been made to commemorate important milestones in life, such as a baby blanket, a wedding day dowry gift, or a protection shirt that’s created for a son who is going off to war. There’s memory, intention, and cultural identity wrapped up into this cloth that took someone an intensive amount of labor to create. It’s an interesting reference point for thinking about information and memory in the context of our digital culture. Some of them are more literal references to technology, and others reference symbols from a global textile history. Whether it’s ancient zoomorphic characters, iconic symbolism, motherboard hardware, or digital marks generated with photoshop spray brushes, it’s kind of all blended together, like a soup.

Through intention and references to history, many of the works present themselves in an almost totemic, quasi-spiritual way. Perhaps it’s a kind of investigation into ghosts in the machine and our collective consciousness, and a rapid technologically connected globalized world becoming reference points for when science, spirituality, and imagination meet.  Much has been written and theorized concerning technology and mysticism, and I often enjoy listening to books and lectures while I weave. It all gets imbued into the work.

What kinds of limitations do you find using a loom that you wouldn’t face if you working a different medium?

I think the main difficulty is the considerable amount of prep and behind-the-scenes work that happens. Actually weaving the piece, the fun part, goes relatively fast. For instance, I had to thread all those threads in the loom first—there’s 3,520 of them, and they all had to go through their own heddles in a particular order! There’s also the process of winding the warp, which can take months. There’s lot of labor that goes into prepping the loom so that you can weave on it. It’s a challenge. I think when people hear about the digital loom there’s an misconception that it’s more similar to 3D printing, where I can push a button and the thing is created.

Despite the challenges, I enjoy working with process-based media and I find there are little moments along the way that keep things exciting and provide constant opportunities to push what I can do with the machine. There’s still a lot to experiment with.

Textiles have a long and revered history as religious, illustrative, and decorative handmade objects dating back to 10,000 BC. Though in the 18th century, textiles were considered craft and often undermined as “women’s work.” Artists like Anni Albers, associated with the Bauhaus school of the 1920s, elevated textiles to the realm of fine art with modern, geometric abstractions. What role do you think textiles play in contemporary fine art now?

I think textiles have been more present within art history than people realize. There have been many waves of contemporary fiber and textile art since the Bauhaus. In the ‘60s and ‘70s these techniques were definitely very hot, and I think it’s interesting to note how that was also the moment when new media art was beginning as well. As with any movements that happen within the art world, there’s an adjustment period, and then it comes back around.

Now seems to be another moment where notions of craft, decoration, pattern, and high and low taste are being reconsidered within contemporary art.  I’m interested in presenting a perspective from an artist who is living through this digital transformation and questioning what that means in the world of textile art. Our virtual lives are consuming a great deal of our being—perhaps at the same time there’s a need more than ever for the tangible and tactile, a desire for something that’s a slower, more physical process, and a place where textiles can fill a niche.

How do you see yourself and your work in relation to the tradition of textile art, a historically women-dominated field?

While there’s a Western connotation of textiles always being made by women, that’s not actually the case in many countries. For instance, in Turkey, men create much of the textiles.

Fiber by nature is a very inclusive media, existing in a somewhat "other" space, not being specifically painting or sculpture.  That platform of inclusivity, as well as a carried notion of femininity, creates space for conversations about gender, politics, and identity.  Regardless of what gender background you associate with, approaching the concept of femininity in contemporary art as a conscious tool for what you are talking about can be really interesting and powerful, especially in a time such as now when we’re seeing another wave of gender equality movements. Textiles have a central place in that conversation.

In contradiction to the feminine, I think there’s a largely masculine element to the technological aspects in my work—in the same way as textiles may be associated with women in western ideology, the connotation of the computer world is that it’s predominantly male. This blending of the two is interesting to me.  However, the questions I’m most concerned with asking in my work have to do with process, history, memory, and the ghosts in the machine, though the associations with the materials will naturally be present.

[garyh2628]

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NGO - (Finance, planning, industry and foreign trade portfolios) Private

To my Pharma Hubs, Technology Hubs, Social Creative/Personal Hub, My Private Hubs, My Financial Hubs and my Health and Wellbeing/Scientific Hubs, Legal and Innovation Hubs, Hinterland Hub and to my Eastern Caribbean Hub, Linguistic/Psychology Hub, to my beloved additions and to my Institutions and Partners and Team, Pool of Potential Personal Assistants and Private Secretaries and Business Managers and also to my Fitness Hub which is an extension of my Health and Wellbeing Hub and not to forget my beloved Brooklyn Hub and my Wine/Adviser Hub, Influential Legal Cashier, Strategic Partnerships, STATEMENT OF INTENT, MY WEALTH FUND AND PERSONAL ATTORNEY and PROPERTY EXPERT GUY and THE ATTACHMENT AND MY PERSONAL BOARDROOM AND MY CHIEF STRATEGY AND INNOVATION OFFICER.

All Options remain on the Table applying the finishing touches to our Genius and my Genius and the Network and this Global Structure Genius. DRAFT

I'm happy that reassurances was given that those promises made with regards to pay for those employees who came from deprived background will go ahead like I said, on the first day of perusal.  I'm happy that my CEO has won a landmark ruling in conjunction with my OLC and the Network against an action which saw the shocked tactics from a disgruntled few, whose sole purpose is to intrude on our narrative in order to stop those proposal from going through via delays.  The judge said in his ruline that one of the main purpose of their actions is directly linked to te activity about pay for the Global Structure and the Network and also about the Initiatives that will benefit Society.  These are private matters and I as the Global Legal Authority cannot be at fault for issuing such a framework that would need ratification and approval from me personally as soon as the perusals begin.  He further state that their behaviour now has become a step too far and he would be looking into the damages associated with same.

Similarly, one who works at any of those Companies and those who live within the walls of the Network may prefer a higher wage, while an environmentally conscious person  might want profits recycled in clean energy.  Those decisions lies with me and me only and will only be approved when the Offices are ready.  Any further intrusion from those will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The assumption that profit is all the matters to shareholders, who are ultimately individuals with complicated value judgments, is foolishly reductive. My Influential Adviser even acknowledged as much in his letter, by added that corporate behaviour must conform to my framework and not of those who does not live within the walls of this Global Structure who does not possess my legal authority and I do not delegate. Lurking behind these calls for structural change at the core of the system — the company and the market — is a desire to correct past errors. I do not do repairs and the policies on those are scientifically and socially robust.

This Network and I and this Global Structure and this Economic Community of Corporation across Sector and across Industry are not here to assist a few to solve their personal problems or to assist any of those on their journey paved on a false environment.   Our only focus across Sector, Team and Industry for these few weeks will be on the delivery of the Offices and the delivery of the Private Portfolios to me personally and to deliver to me personally all of the settlement agreements and also requisite details and particulars and tool kits for perusal and to follow the processes that will be communicated to stakeholders via CIM. The lack of engagement, can be pinned to the activities of those who hope to make money from their interventions. This can be tracked back to conversations and letters seen by the Innovation hub where people were being influenced but on deaf ear , that a director’s duty was “to make as much money as possible” for the owners. Side-effects were for the this intermediary to manage and if shareholders had concerns they were free to use their share of the profits for philanthropic purposes.  They were wrong to argue such as they are not members of this Network and they are not me who is the owner further those policies and processes will be issued by me personally and it will only be done when the perusal is completed by myself. I do not delegate.  I'm the only shareholder.

I’m delighted with the work that my Property Guy and my Personal Attorneys et al and the Strategic Partnerships and Statement of Intent is doing.  As a result of this work, those whose intention was to use our Intellectual Capacity for their own purpose and to continue haemorrhaging money were caught.  My legal Authority is Quasi-Judicial in all aspect and as such I cannot be side-lined. This Network and this Global Structure and the group of Companies and Team and Institutions and Partnerships that I own Globally, will not be used to prop up mediocrity.  Those who thought that they can find an alternative way out were blocked from doing so and were told it is a fools game.  The Office of Budget and Management and HQ1 and HQ1 will be delivered in conjunction with all of the requisite Global Details and matching reconciled tool kits.  All of the Global Property Portfolio will be delivered with no exceptions.  All of the specifications in relation to these properties will be delivered in the various cases for perusal, audit and compliance approval according to the details from my personal boardroom.  We will win the Election and we will win for Regulations, we will win for Education and we will win for this Sector and we will win for this Industry. We will also win for the Innovation Hubs et al and we will deliver for living your best life. Those that are looking for Directions and speculations will need to find an alternative medium for that sort of mediocrity and not this Network or this Global Structure or the Economic Community of Companies.

This Network and the Coupling and the people that are working, are doing so in a pro bono basis and that is as a result of Legally Binding Corroborated Financial Foundation.  They are well aware, that they work for me and on delivery of the Offices etc, I as the Chairman and CEO with responsibility for Finance will approve and disburse their payment and these matters are private.  I’m delighted that you said no comment.  Those who intent to create the appearance of chaos and are pursuing an agenda to tinged the walls of this Global Structure will not succeed in doing so.  I’m delighted with the work my Investors Council and my Intellectuals Investors in collaboration with the CEOs are doing in order to get the particulars to me personally in order for us to deliver the Offices in the regions that already have a binding legal framework.  We will deliver for all of the Initiatives and we will deliver for all of the Programs we have in the pipeline and we will deliver the Super Office.  We will deliver for the Statement of Intent and we will deliver the environment necessary for you to if you so desire, to be in control of your destiny and live your best life.  We will deliver on Independence and we will deliver for the Private Hubs and my largest North American Hub that sits in New York.  We continue to do legal first and we continue to deliver for Privatizations.

Have the Courage to ask, Don’t Assume.  Assumptions is in most cases the root causes of all sorts of Gossip.  Truth To Tell, Tell it First, Tell it like it is.  It’s time for you to have a rendezvous with Policies, it’s time for you to have a rendezvous with Philosophy, It’s time for you have a rendezvous with Linguistic Philosophy, it’s time for you to have a rendezvous with writing, it’s time for you to have a rendezvous with religious and all for of freedoms. It’s time for you and I, and you down there and you at the side there and you right here to have a rendezvous with Intellect.  It’s time for all of us, to live our best life.  It’s time for Humanity to finally get an opportunity, to be in control of their destiny, to achieve and succeed, to develop a sense of belonging to make an indelible contribution as a further responsibility to the environment and then to develop We the People and by The People.  We must have a work and personal process that meet our needs for belonging.  This family will deliver that environment that will be Intellectual Formidable and Environmentally friendly to Education and that will stand the test of time, you will throttle but never fall.

I've always had great faith in and respect for the Intellect that sits within the walls of this Global Structure and Network, and what happened today add tremendous value to our programs and to the mandate we have. We don't hide programs. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public but in a responsible way. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. There will be more announcement and good news to come out the Office of Signature, and Stamp and Approval and, yes, more Initiatives, more jobs, and more teachers. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for Network or who worked within the Global Structure and for this family and tell them: ``Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us all.  We will always win on pay and we will always win on Health.

Every Intellect will walk in the cool of the day.   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Chairman and Managing Operational CEO (Global Legal Authority Quasi-Judicial)

(Finance, planning, industry and foreign trade portfolios) Private

Head of Human Resources Finance and People and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility

[sm00thlanding-blog]

Freedumb Rally

What has America become? What was it ever to begin with?

 Re: I just watched about enough of I could stomach.

OR

What do you mean when you say “God?”

 Sometimes, I wonder. At this stage in my life, many times I have wondered. Will the great fate of America be affronted by the karmic whirlwinds stemming from the means by which this land was colonized a short handful of centuries ago? My mind is currently at ease, and for this I am thankful. However, there is a bit of a lingering tinge about my awareness in regards to what I just observed in light of a certain elected officials presence at a certain nationalist smokeshow. This will be my best effort to roll this one off. Whew. Here we go.

 The current and recent sociopolitical climate in America is so grossly absurd, imbalanced, extractive, oppressive, it speaks of hyperbole This is difficult for me to accept as nothing but a dying rite of passage to morbidly archaic means of governing societal function. Times they are a changing and what I just witnessed was near gut wrenching. Primary question from me is: will this era we are currently living in stand a chance to be remembered as a predecessor to a great awakening, or will American civilization remain imperiled to the ill begotten means of pyramid scheme politics, presidencies, and puppet show paradigms?

 Truly the view from the top down doesn’t have a clue in regards to what it's like to be teetering on the edge of poverty, systemic depravity, or legitimate scarcity. There is no choice than for our people to rise up and take effective action. It starts with expression.

 I am searching for answers- tell me if you can- how to awaken the people?

 Commander in Grief Donald Chump gave his predictably postured public lip flailing via live stream at the "celebrate freedom rally" and I just can't let this go unchecked. I'm bordering on quasi-rant and full blown diatribe here... we'll see where this goes.

 RED FLAG #1 and the sole inspiration for this rail I’m about to go on: keep religion out of politics. Part of me wonders if that is even feasible to approach, let alone execute but call me crazy- I don’t feel it's the place of elected governmental “leadership” *coughs/weeps* to publicly bring personal religious biases to the table in even the slightest regard. It... just... feels... gross... and unprofessional. I didn’t ask for any of this, you don’t represent me, and as far as I’m concerned- you don’t represent American people. Not the ones I know best and certainly not me.

 This country is full of people from all walks of life who come from many religious backgrounds and I’m not here to defend any of one of them unless I defend them all but honestly I’d just rather not get into that. You know the whole “don’t talk about religion or politics” angle? Yeah, let’s go with that. Certainly don’t mix the two together. Unless we’re talking about removing religion from politics altogether.

 Practice or believe whatever you want, just don’t let it stand in the way of common decency on the basis of a secular humanist perspective. Oh and do yourself a favor don’t speak on the behalf of any group through hollow blanket statements- no matter what it is you are talking about. Be very berry careful with “we” statements and please be especially careful when lumping me into said “we.” Shaking. My. Damn. Head.

 The whole “God” angle being touted here is the same kind of homogenized, largely willful, and surely hollow ignorance to logic that is the same flavor of reckless dull-sword-flailing-in-the-wind hacking away at nothing wholly representative of the wasteland-to-be post industrial America if we keep getting cornered into mass fossil fuel consumption. I’m railin. Take that for what it's worth to you and please allow me to pontificate more precisely

The continued advancement of independently owned and distributed (by the people, for the people) renewable energy technologies will undoubtedly reflect our hopes for and the viability of true sovereignty in the not-so-distant future. Coal mining is so over. Oil as we’ve come to know it up to this point is on it’s way out. Any denial thereof spits in the face of observation, knowledge, and the potential future of human decency.

 Don’t forget, old Commander and Thief is practically in bed with the pipeline snake oil death drillers who care far, far more about profit than they do about the vitality of everyday people. Water is Life. The corporations privately funding and profiting from pipelines in this country paid hired guns to execute domestic terrorism on Water Protectors on American soil and all the lil oil baron bros in office are tangled in their web and laying in their bed.  Religious zealots clenching their bibles are holding public office and are profiting through their delusion of what they want the world to be- not what it is or moving towards.

 These climate change deniers in office are highly influencing if not flat out manipulating legislation and are squeezing the life out of our country and our planet as they lean into their blind faith and not only take a blind eye to science, but actually go to great lengths to poison the reputations and silence the real truth seekers who have long been observing, documenting, and reporting the simple mechanics of cause and effect within our environment with a perhaps a faint hope of saving a dying ecosystem. Our dying ecosystem.

 ...”and we love our God” through the lips of D. Chump echoes through these laptop speakers as I type away.

 What has America become? What was it ever to begin with? I’m feeling sick to my stomach.

 ...”in America, we don’t worship government, we worship God”... Ominous chants of “USA!” echo from the crowd. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

 If I wanted to endure this type of presentation, I’d go to church. Gladly. In a few days I’m leaving the country for a short spill. Flying out on the 4th of July. Can’t say I’m proud to be an American because I have no idea what that means, or has ever meant.

 God help us all.