Sunday ramble

I was debating whether to write more about Obama’s recent (though ancient in Internet Time) fiats against gun “dealers” and gun owners. Can’t bring myself to. Our Glorious Leader is all about “gun control theater,” signifying very darned little. Bans and confiscations clearly dance through Obama’s dreams, but he hasn’t got the guts to face strong people. He strikes at the weak and vulnerable.

Then this morning I was reminded of the bottom line truth:

(Source)

—–

Well, I finished watching The Man in the High Castle. Yep, as you who got there before me said, that was certainly a “twisty” ending in more ways than one.

Excellent show all the way through. Moody, suspenseful, intelligent, brilliantly crafted.

Funny, though. When a show is that excellent, every minor slip stands out. In one episode the writer confused geography with geology, and both the actors in the scene obediently recited the goof. You’d think somebody, somewhere on the crew would have said, “Hey, wait a minute.” I wanted to knock them all silly — only because they suddenly yanked so hard on my suspension of disbelief.

—–

Related to both High Castle and real resistance movements: Without any spoilers, I’ll say that there’s a major character who is maddeningly ambiguous. He’s someone you want to like, or at least give the benefit of the doubt to. Maybe you’d see him as a bad guy trying to be good. Or a good guy who behaves badly because he’s under duress. If you’ve seen the show, you know who I mean. He’s positioned so that he could either be very valuable, or deadly, to the resistance.

By the final episode I was rooting for the good guys to kill him and be done with it.

In a resistance, you must know how to hide, evade, and deceive. You have to know when not to say something. You have to be able to look an enemy in the face and be innocently honest when you’re a guilty liar. But you also have to be trustworthy to each other.

The defining trait of this character is that, given the choice between truth and lies, he always lies. Even when he’s “confessing” to something, he lies. Even with those closest to him, he’s always sure to shade the truth or omit vital details.

Guy like that in a resistance movement? In a time of deadly totalitarianism? When freedom depends on trust for your fellows? I say blow his brains out. Or if you can’t do that, give him some false trail to follow and send him off in pointless circles. (But in the context of High Castle, this character is too well-connected for the latter method. Brains, I say.)

—–

I mentioned in my New Years resolutions post that I needed to economize in 2016.

This was a hard one, but the next step is canceling my Internet service. That will happen in early February.

You may not notice a lot of difference because there’s wifi at the library. I won’t make as many blog posts, but I won’t disappear, either. The posts I do make will be the product of a brain that has more time to think while being less distracted by news, politics, email, and cute cat pictures.

Though I’m doing this so I can devote more resources toward paying down last fall’s bills, I admit that another enforced absence from the ‘Net will be welcome, too. No idea how long it’ll last. But stick around. I won’t disappoint you.