- I know this is last week’s news and it’s already gotten a fair bit of circulation. But I think it’s worth a second read. Or a third: “Warning: Crash dead ahead. Sell. Get liquid. Now.” Paul B. Ferrell. I know that much doom-gloom needs to be taken with a healthy sprinkling of salt. But you do gotta wonder when we’re finally going to teeter over this brink we’ve been wobbling on.
- “The part of me the Watchers couldn’t see.” Encouraging.
- And apropos of nothing except a coincidence of wording (and some evils of government), I’m currently re-reading one of my favorite Dean Koontz novels, called Watchers. Dogs. Triumph of human (and canine) spirit. Hair-raising adventure. And even a terrifying (yet ultimately almost sympathetic) monster. What’s not to like? I was never a fan of Koontz’s early stuff. But since I stumbled onto his Dark Rivers of the Heart back in the ’90s — with its eloquent and outraged description of government abuses of the Randy Weaver family (wrapped up in a gripping thriller of a story, not to mention another dog on the run with its humans from a murderous Orwellian government agency) — I’ve been hooked.
- And apropos of too very sadly much: The The Watchers: The Rise of America’s Surveillance State by Shane Harris. It’s a good, balanced read about how we got where we are. Yes, the last three links in this blog entry all go to Amazon.com. Buy stuff if you’re so moved. It helps keep my puppies in kibble. 🙂 I bleg to blog. But I really do have to stop reading so many things with “watchers” in the title. Keeps me awake at night.
- It might be easy to dismiss this idiot legislator as an idiot legislator. But the government really does aim to prop up those “journalists” who do its bidding most faithfully. Yes, indeedy: “Legitimate media sources are critically important to our government.” We know just how critical. And how “legitimate.”
- But then, the idiots have always been with us, even if back in the olden days you had to be a poet to really rise to the ranks of Damnfools.
- And yes, the more researchers look, the more links they find between creativity and insanity. It’s just that creative people organize the weirdness more effectively. If you follow that link and you have some time, check out the related stories in the sidebar. Fascinating stuff for anybody who’s tried to plumb the mysteries and the all-too frequent (if often highly over-dramatized) pains of Art.
I remember “Watchers”. It was a hand me down from Sis back in the day. That one sticks out for some reason. I could never really imagine what the beast looked like, however.
A favored musician uses a similar system to communicate and compose now that he can no longer speak or move more than his eyes.
http://www.jasonbeckerguitar.com
A.G.,
That’s a fantastic website… and a beautiful family as well!
Thanks for the link.
Jason Becker is a true inspiration. And I’m going to be catching up on some of his work.
A.G. Thanks for the link to Jason Becker’s site. That’s a heartbreaker. To be a rock guitarist good enough to replace Steve Vai, then … that. I can’t even imagine.
You said, “I was never a fan of Koontz’s early stuff. But since I stumbled onto his Dark Rivers of the Heart back in the ’90s — with its eloquent and outraged description of government abuses of the Randy Weaver family (wrapped up in a gripping thriller of a story, not to mention another dog on the run with its humans from a murderous Orwellian government agency) — I’ve been hooked. ”
My latest bit of contract work since my previous employer decided I was a force which they needed to reduce has me driving 150 miles round trip daily. I found a copy of Dark Rivers of the Heart on CD at the local library and started listening yesterday. I’m only as far as where he, to paraphrase the Beatles, came out through the bathroom window. But, it sounds like it will keep me riveted for the next week or so.