Next time you hear, "America is a Republic, not a democracy."

I'm not writing full much of anything the past couple of months. Long Covid came back to bite me hard. April will be two years with it, for the second time (which led me to writing a book about it that's not doing too bad, Suffering "Long Covid"). It's not that I'm not writing anymore, just that it's been harder in not feeling well too often. 

I am also finishing up editing a film companion book for my WWI antiwar film wrapped in the music of Maurice Ravel: "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" with over 80 international awards. You can see the film at that link above on that indie film site (or the YouTube trailer free). It's $5 to see the film and join, but the filmmaker you select gets half that fee and you can then see other indie films. 

If you stick around for monthly, it helps support indie films and the filmmaker you selected at sign up. For indie filmmakers it's a pretty cool setup. Otherwise we tend to get very little from streaming sites or their algorhythms tend to push only the bigger films. And there's a lot of great smaller films around people just don't get to see.

I hope to get back to more serious work soon. I've also been getting use to using AI. I've been testing out Chat AI for a while now, Bing AI Copilot and Bard, among others. It takes a little getting used to. Mostly I've used them as over glorified Google search functions. I've been posting discussions I've had with Copilot on here this past week because it gives people an idea about how to use them. They do have limitations. But that will fade quickly over time. And probably not that much time.

My best advice on using AI for now? Vet and verify what they say/respond with. Do check their URL references as they can be completely wrong at times. That being said, here's a new one. I just had a long drawn out argument with a conservative, Trump supporter online about democracy". It's a stupid argument that's been used for decades to argue against the status quo and delved into the nutcase right wingnut mindset that led to a Trump insurrection. Let's not do that again, or elect a career criminal, autocrat/wannabe dictator, narcissistic baby to office again.

So, I asked Bing AI Copilot: 

There is a certain part of Americans who have long used the concept that America is a Republic, not a democracy as a whistlecall to much that is supported by white supremacists, MAGA conservatives, and antigovernment types. How would you counter their argument to dispel their mindset and lame argument?

Copilot:

This is a complex and controversial topic that has been debated for a long time. There is no definitive answer, but here are some possible ways to counter their argument:

You can point out that the United States is both a republic and a democracy, and that these terms are not mutually exclusive.

A republic is a form of government where the people elect representatives to make laws and decisions on their behalf, while a democracy is a system where the people have a direct or indirect say in how they are governed. The United States has elements of both, such as the popular vote, the Electoral College, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. Therefore, saying that America is a republic and not a democracy is a false dichotomy12.

You can also challenge the assumption that a pure democracy is necessarily bad or leads to mob rule, tyranny, socialism, or communism. These are scare tactics that ignore the diversity and complexity of democratic practices and values around the world. Democracy is not a fixed or static concept, but a dynamic and evolving one that can accommodate different contexts and preferences. Democracy can also foster liberty, peace, and prosperity, as well as civic engagement, accountability, and human rights.

You can also appeal to the ideals and principles of the American founding and constitution, which were influenced by both republican and democratic thinkers and traditions. The founders did not reject democracy, but rather sought to balance it with checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and the rule of law. They also recognized that democracy is not perfect, but rather a work in progress that requires constant vigilance, participation, and improvement. They also left room for amendments and reforms to adapt to changing circumstances and needs.

ME:

What about when they start pointing things out in the federalist papers to support their contentions that America is not a democracy?

Copilot



The Federalist Papers are a collection of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States1. They are not official documents of the government, but rather personal opinions and arguments of the authors. They also do not represent a unified or consistent view, as the authors sometimes disagreed with each other on various issues.

Some of the essays in the Federalist Papers do express skepticism or criticism of pure or direct democracy, such as Federalist No. 10 by Madison or Federalist No. 63 by Hamilton. However, they do not deny or reject the value or necessity of democratic principles and practices in the American system. Rather, they advocate for a mixed or balanced form of government that combines republican and democratic elements, such as representation, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the rule of law.

Therefore, when they point out things in the Federalist Papers to support their contentions that America is not a democracy, you can counter their argument by showing that the Federalist Papers are not authoritative or conclusive sources of the American political identity or philosophy. You can also point out that the Federalist Papers acknowledge and appreciate the role and importance of democracy in the American experiment, and that they propose a complex and nuanced model of government that incorporates both republican and democratic features.

There are various groups that oppose or undermine democracy in America, often for extremist, violent, or hateful purposes. Some of these groups are:

Right-wing armed groups, such as white supremacist, anti-immigrant, anti-government, pro-gun, and survivalist militias, who envision a coming civil war or a collapse of the state. Some of these groups, such as the accelerationists and the Boogaloo Bois, seek to hasten or provoke such a scenario.

Hate groups, such as neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Semitic organizations, who promote bigotry, intolerance, and violence against marginalized or minority communities. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were about 1,225 active hate and anti-government groups in the US in 2020.

Anti-democratic politicians and media figures, who spread misinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies about the legitimacy of the electoral process, the integrity of the institutions, and the rights of the people. These actors seek to undermine public trust, incite violence, and subvert the will of the majority. Examples include former president Donald Trump, who falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and some of his allies and supporters, who attempted to overturn the results or storm the Capitol.

These groups pose a serious threat to the health and stability of American democracy, and they require vigilance, resistance, and counteraction from the public and the authorities.

ME: Do they have their own flag? I know for a while the right wingnut crowd acquired the American flag and the word "Patriotism". If you flew a flag, people avoided you thinking you are a right wing crazy. I'm a veteran. I used to fly an American flag at home, but I stopped for a while because I didn't support those people or POTUS45, Donald Trump. Or when you used the word, "Patriotism", people assumed you were a right wing, gun nut. I think we're on the road to taking both those things back. 

Copilot:

Some of the groups that oppose democracy in America may have their own flags or symbols that they use to identify themselves or their causes. For example:

Right-wing armed groups may use flags that feature guns, skulls, snakes, or slogans such as “Don’t tread on me” or “Come and take it”. Some of them may also display the Confederate flag, which is seen by many as a symbol of racism and slavery1.

Hate groups may use flags or symbols that are associated with Nazi Germany, such as the swastika, the iron cross, or the SS runes. They may also use flags or symbols that represent white supremacy, such as the Celtic cross, the Odin’s rune, or the black sun2.

Anti-democratic politicians and media figures may use flags or symbols that are related to former president Donald Trump, such as the MAGA hat, the Trump 2020 flag, or the QAnon flag. They may also use flags or symbols that are related to conspiracy theories, such as the QAnon logo, the Pepe the Frog meme, or the Punisher skull34.

These flags or symbols are not endorsed or recognized by the official government or the majority of the American people. They are often used to provoke, intimidate, or incite violence against those who disagree with them. They are also widely condemned and rejected by many civil rights groups, religious organizations, and political parties.

ME: How would you summarize all this in a closing comment to someone to give them hope and support their fighting against ignorance and this kind of extremist right wing divisiveness?

Copilot:

America is a great nation that was founded on the principles of republicanism and democracy. These principles are not incompatible or contradictory, but rather complementary and mutually reinforcing. They allow the people to have a voice and a choice in how they are governed, while also protecting their rights and liberties from abuse and tyranny. Democracy is not a threat or a weakness, but a strength and a virtue. It is not a fixed or static concept, but a dynamic and evolving one that can adapt to changing circumstances and needs. Democracy is not perfect, but it is worth defending and improving.

However, there are some groups that oppose or undermine democracy in America, often for extremist, violent, or hateful purposes. They use false or misleading arguments, symbols, or flags to justify their actions or beliefs. They spread misinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies to erode public trust and confidence. They incite or commit violence to intimidate or silence those who disagree with them. They are not representative or respectful of the diversity and complexity of the American people and their values.

We should not let these groups divide us or deter us from our democratic ideals and aspirations. We should not let them take away our hope or our courage to fight for what is right and just. We should not let them define or dictate who we are or what we stand for. We are the people of the United States of America, they are a minority, and we are stronger together than apart. Even though they praise division and fear. We are the defenders and the guardians of our republic and our democracy, and we will not let them fall.

There you have it...

Cheers! Sláinte!

JZ Murdock - an update on my writings and works

I was thinking today that I should put out an update of things I've been working on. I have been feeling pretty good lately, my long covid having backed off, I thought maybe it was nearly gone. My expectation/hope was that it would be gone before, on, or near 2 years since last infection (April 2022).

Then this past week it seemed to come back. It was a miserable week with a couple of days ago being especially so. I'm feeling better yesterday and today. The trouble with long covid is it sticks with you in the beginning, then it comes and goes, less and less over time (hopefully) until you start to falling prey to belief it may be gone, then it comes back, feeling more devesting each time. 

It got me to thinking about what I'd done these past few years. And that's when I thought about an update on things. So here it is.

Several of my books are nominated for various book awards this year. More about that below. Suffering "Long Covid" is one of those book, as you can see from the stamp on the cover for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. Kind of wish they'd sink some of their money into redesigning their webpage. 

I just revised my 2022 non-fiction book detailing both my own personal experiences but also long covid in general, Suffering "Long Covid". My son runs a health food store in another city and it's been selling there well enough that they are going to start paying me when they receive the books from me rather than after sales are made. I updated it with new information from 2023.

Long story this updated revision. I've had a few stumbles, continuing to add to the revision. There are now three versions to be found in the world. Original 2020 version, this year's revised version and this week's Revision 1.1. If you look on the copyright page in the front you'll see which version you're looking at. As of now it's published on Amazon in ebook and hardcopy and the books are on the way to me here and a brick and mortar store. 

It is also now available for the first time as an ebook on Smashwords along with other ebooks of mine there. I'm having some trouble with the epub version there, some error about "Frame" duplication, but it mostly looks good. Waiting on their review to continue working on it.

Nice thing about the ebook version, the research links annotated and supplied are easily clickable. I wish on Amazon the hardcopy purchased also included the ebook version. But that requires a setup on there I'm not willing at this time to accept from Amazon. Feels a bit like a bully move on there part. 

I just noticed my audiobook "The Mea Culpa Document of London" (also, Kindle), was in unpublished mode. I'd used a graphic for the cover I later found was not public domain and immediately pulled it, like two years ago. I noticed that this week, found a replacement graphic and now it's back up for sale. It is a story about an Inquisition Judge and witch hunter's crisis of conscience. I had written it for my university Intro to Fiction class toward my minor (my major is psychology, awareness and reasoning with a concentration in phenomenology). 

That professor (and class) loved my writing and admittedly they were a cut above the rest of the class (save for one other classmate). But he said I needed to write dialog and so sent me to playwriting. From there I got selected for a year long class with seven others to learn team script and screen writing (mostly writing TV shows). An amazing time. One of my two profs for that was a massive brain and loved medieval literature. 

I would hang out in his office when I had time just to learn from him. When I told him about my story about the witch hunter he really got into it and helped me with it. It's deeper than you might think. 

And the story is probably better than my voice acting, but I did my best. The story is in my first published book of short stories, "Anthology of Evil" (I have a sequel out to it now, in volumes one and two) of my newer writings, some previously published and some new). 

My WWI antiwar filmic poem and historical documentary, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero", has been internationally awarded a lot of awards (going on 100) and Official Festival Selection status (also approaching 100).

I'm getting closer to finishing my film companion book for it. 

My short film noir/thriller/horror film, "Gumdrop", a short horror - finished it's journey around the world at film festivals and also won a bunch of awards and official festival selection status. Though nowhere near as many as "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero"!

I realized how much time, effort and money I'd put into my films and I should be doing the same for my books and screenplays. And so I've started on that (again). My true crime biopic screenplay, "The Teenage Bodyguard" has two versions. My original and one that got producer Robert Mitas (my IMDb) interested so that he helped me write another version. Robert works with Michael Douglas on films. We spoke to several directors interested in directing the film, but I came to realize, though the new version was shorter, tighter as a screenplay, it seemed to be leading directors into thinking it was a teen film and not a more mature drama. 

As the original producer in London, who first heard about the project and asked me to write the screenplay and let him see it first, he thought it reminded him of the film, 'The Place Beyond The Pines". And I agreed. Problem was, I sent him the screenplay, he said he'd send it to his readers and, I never heard from him again and he has since disappeared. 

I started sending both off to festivals and screenplay contests. I have seven now for my original version, and three for the rewrite. It's won the Brandenburg International Film Festival, honorable mention at the World Film Carnival - Singapore. David Film Festival (İstanbul), Tabriz Cinema Awards (Azerbaijan), Medusa Film Festival, United States Motion Picture Alliance (California), and the International Film & Script Festival Lotus. Also, Semi-finalist in the Page Turner Feature & TV Pilot GENRE Competition.

As for my books, Suffering "Long Covid", DEATH OF HEAVEN (horror/scifi) and Anthology of Evil II Vol. II The Unwritten have all been nominated for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. I've also submitted the last two, to other festivals. DEATH OF HEAVEN received an Honorable Mention at the Halloween Book Festival. Also another one at the Royal Dragonfly Book Award for science fiction/fantasy. It's submitted to and received reviews from Literary Titan and Reader Views. These book awards run through 2024 and I look forward to see the results. It's past time for DEATH OF HEAVEN to receive some recognition as I believe it's a very good book. And reviews are testifying to that.

While I am hopeful I'm at the end of nearly 2 years of my last bout of long covid, it has has made doing anything these past three years somewhat problematic and at times impossible. For one thing it cycles. You think you're good or it's over and it comes back. Until as with my first bout of it, it's just gone one day. Yay! 

For a while I thought I may never be able to write or produce anything ever again. "Mind fog" sucks. Being lethargic for nearly a year sucked. With the second infection two paramedic visits and hours at the emergency department of our local hospital sucked. Wearing a heart monitor for two weeks sucked. Lots of blood and heart tests and xrays and in the end, 

I seem to have come through it all with no findable damages. In fact, I swear two things are better after it. I can remember things now I couldn't remember well before covid and my physical reactions seem better (if I drop something that would normally end up on the floor, I seem better able to, and often do now, catch it first).

But IN these past few years since acquiring that rather devastating first infection in February 2020 (then again, a worse one in many ways in April 2022), I produced the WWI film (it was mostly done but I had to edit it for 6 months), then send it to film festivals around the world (I was surprised how something I did to help me heal from covid, won so many awards!), I published my first collection of short stories sequel in two new volumes of my writings as mentioned above, then wrote and published my book on long covid, revised this past week with updates for 2023,  and published that.

In thinking I'd done nothing since first contracting covid I thought I'd done nothing. Until I looked back one day to realize how much I had actually done. I would have to say myself, under these conditions it's rather remarkable. Honestly, my first edition of my long covid book had some spelling errors in it, which I've now fixed when my son pointed it out to me. Which led me to updating it, which I've been feeling I should do considering the advances and findings on long covid that have happened, even though I didn't motivation to work on that book again (it's hard writing a book about the worst times of your life where you almost died). 

I was at a standstill on my film companion book. Then when I got motivated to update and correct the long covid book...the info was all accurate in it, I'd just not had good attention to minor details like spelling when deeper into long covid than I am now (and even then, there weren't many spelling errors but I'm meticulous about my edits before publishing)...I found myself ready to get back to the film companion book.

So I'm working on it, looking forward to finishing it also. So I can then move onto my next project which I think may be about my grandfather, my mother's dad, who had traveled the world in the 1940-50s and 6os. 

And...that's my update. Now, go out and be happy, be brilliant and productive!

(I used to tell my kids that when they were leaving the house)

Walkabout Thoughts #64.5

My thoughts, Stream of consciousness, rough and ready, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts…

Walkabout Thoughts #64.5

.5?

Yes. Well? Here's the deal.

I had a minor accident. Three weeks ago. I tripped over something that caught my foot. Slammed my ankle into something which it then slipped down on, leading to a blister from a kind of "rug burn". That was doing well until it broke open and got infected. I was taking care of it, but apparently something got into it.

It's pretty bad. I thought I may have broken my leg. Yeah, that bad. I had it looked at for a third time in three weeks yesterday and indeed, it's not broken (finally got x-rays taken), but definitely infected. the wound was cleaned up, antibiotics administered, and next Tuesday I'm seeing a "wound clinic". So, no more 5 mile walks for a bit.

Yeah, that bad. I was told it's superficial though, I won't lose my ankle (oh, gooood). But it needs some serious attention and may take months to finally heal. 

Damn.

First I'll say one political thing today that I'm borrowing from a "Tweet" of mine yesterday, just because this is so aggravating

Considering continuing Republican rogue actions, the Insurrection "Freedom" Caucus in the US House of Reps, illiberal "Republican Party" laws, illiberal "Republican" Gerrymandering, "Republican" coup attempts, an insurrection, ongoing voter suppression, anti-pro-choice crap, electing of all people, life long criminal Donald Trump...only ONE NAME now fits for the once GOP: GOVP. The Grand Old #igilante Party. Because these are ALL Vigilante actions.

Considering how anti-governmental Republicans are, esp., MAGA, hating government, always trying to disable it, defund it, destroy, cripple it, then blame Democrats for it...I'd also settle for the name: "Grand Old Vigilantes". The G.O.V.

There is little more dangerous than a religious leader shunned by his flock, for another. Or a conservative cult divested of their self-infatuated leader. Beware MAGA, once Trump has fallen. For lost, they will need purpose, other repositories for their hate, and ignorance.

Right. OK. Moving on...I'd been using a crutch to walk with (tried a cane but it wasn't enough). Now that it's been cleaned by a medical professional (thing was, it's on my outer left ankle and hard to get close to by myself), antibiotics administered, 2x daily Epsom salt soaking, so it's doing better. Now that I know the leg bone isn't fractured, and with the infection more local to just the wound area, I can walk (limping a bit) without a walking aid.

And that's why there is no "Walkabout Thoughts" lately these past three weeks. I know I'm a bit intermittent on them normally anyway, but this time will be a bit longer... apparently.

I've gotten a lot of work done on my new film companion book on "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" (not a simple book to write), but as the infection got worse, I'd not been in a state of mind where I can maintain writing a book for very long. While the film continues to garner international awards at film festivals. Which is always nice.

In fact, in the past three weeks I had entered two different film festivals, the Tabriz Cinema Awards (İstanbul, turkey) and, the Brandenburg International Film Festival in Germany. I had entered two films, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" and my film noir, "Gumdrop", a short horror, as well as my already award winning screenplay, a true crime biopic, "The Teenage Bodyguard. I won for all three, at both festivals, within a week of one another.

The first win of three was a surprise. The second was a big surprise!

In other good news is, my book "Suffering Long Covid" is selling well at the regional health food chain a few counties over (long story). I just had to send them another shipment of ten as the Covid season approaches.

So, I'll end with that and...that's what's going on. 

Not a lot, but kind of a lot. 

I wish you all great success and health! Until next time!

Cheers! Sláinte!

Pvt. Ravel's Bolero - an antiwar, filmic poem, historical documentary film

In 2022 I produced a film, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero", based on a poem I wrote of the same name, some years previous. It seems to be a well-received endeavor. To date I've received over 30 international film festival awards.

[9/12/23 update: Pvt. Ravel's Bolero now has 43 international awards!]

You can see it now, free, if you sign up for a free trial subscription on ThrilzTV.com. It's a safe site, you can watch the film free, then unsubscribe. No worry. I built most of the site myself with a few others and we're not trying to cause anyone problems. In January we're shifting into a large endeavor of which ThrilzTV will be a part of, with much more to come. So maybe get in on the beginning?

It's a serious film. But if you're a classical music, or if you're a history buff, especially of WWI, France, trench warfare, Maurice Ravel, Bolero, War...or a variety of other things...do check it out! I didn't get all these awards because it's not worth checking out. This isn't the kind of film that gets a standing ovation. It's about serious issues. But done in a way that is innovative and affecting. 

Documentary, Biography, War, Music, Independent, V (Violence), D (Suggestive Dialogue), 14-Jul-2023

The international multi-award winning, antiwar "filmic poem" and historical documentary, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero". Experience WWI as told through music (played by Ravel), actual documentary footage and a poem that proposes a question:

"What if the composer of Ravel's Bolero, Joseph Maurice Ravel, had not simply been a truck driver in WWI, but had actually been the trenches?" What if he had drawn the French and German enemies lining both sides of their deadly "no man's land", to enter the deadly, horrific space between the soldier's trenches, and played his new song? A ghostly meeting of soldier musicians and the dead...all among the horrors of their shared zone of death which laid horrifically between them.

Forty-Two International Awards, including:

BEST WAR SHORT - Arthouse Festival of Beverly Hills.

BEST DIRECTOR EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM, Indiefest Film Awards

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY - New Orleans Film Festival.

BEST HUMAN RIGHTS & SOCIAL FILM - RunDoc Film Talent Award, Hong Kong.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM - World Film Carnival, Singapore.

DOCUMENTARY-BEST FILM - Grand Jury Prize Bronze Award - Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival.

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT - Docs Without Borders Film Festival.

And over many more...

Cast

Brel Martínez "Adelaide", Ravel's Truck

Jey Martin, Narrator

Joseph Maurice Ravel Pianist/Conductor

Crew

JZ Murdock, Director

Walkabout Thoughts #56

My thoughts, Stream of consciousness, rough and ready, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts… July 17, 2023, Monday

Weather for the day… 67° starting out, 72° when I got home

Podcast Deja News by Rachel Maddow, final episode of the season: Episode 6: “Hello America, this is Addis Ababa.” This episode is relating our defense of Ukraine, through to something that happened many many years ago in 1935 when blacks signed up to defend an African country, Ethiopia who were a member of the League of Nations, precursor to the UN, when there were only two black governed nation states in Africa. This was Mussolini, the Italian fascist, not the current fascist Putin in Russia. Mussolini thought if other countries are taking land in Africa, why shouldn't we? So instead of our decision to support Ukraine against Russia today, in 1935 America decided not to for Ethiopia against Italy. This is that story. Mussolini conjectured, they take over another country in a continent where other nations have colonized them. Why was that wrong? Because the era of colonization was over, dumb ass.

An anthropologist once said, "The human race is designed to raise up certain individuals and then take them down. While they were raised up in being something new, different, maybe better (hopefully), at some point they become an irritation to the overall organism and must be eliminated. Thus in example, Jesus was raised up and then eliminated. Where is that happening today and with whom? And are they that useful to humanity or just a small minority who have wrested power to abuse the entire nation (organism) as we see when authoritarianism takes countries over? To be sure at times a majority gets into it, supporting it.

I have published two of my screenplays as books, but for only a short time. I ordered my own copies, and when I receive them, I’m going to turn them off. I'll leave them there until these are produced as films and then, turn them back on again. “The Teenage Bodyguard", is a biopic and true crime story that’s been winning awards. I worked with producer, Robert Mitas (who was a producer on films with Michael Douglas) as consultant and producer to rewrite it is a shorter screenplay. 

But this is the longer original, a very well researched screenplay that got his attention. The second screenplay book I published is my horror and kind of comedy, “Gray and Lover, The Hearth Tales Incident". I entered a screenplay festival, where a side benefit was getting your screen place published as a book. I thought what the heck? But I also thought that if you  are really serious about having a screenplay produced, publish the screenplay as a book after the films is released, or at least after its purchase toward production (maybe not then).

Speaking of other works, my antiwar documentary filmic poem, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" is available exclusive on ThrilzTV. It has 18 short film awards internationally including, Best War Documentary, Best Experimental Film, Best Director, and others. In my previous blog you can see my previous poster for the film.

It sure seems like we usually know a war is coming, before it starts. So why don’t we do things ahead of time. as if the war has started? I also never understood, we have NATO and we have the UN, and while there are countries not part of NATO, why do we let that stop us from refusing war, ever again? Or at least do everything we can before one starts to cut it off. Yeah, yeah, I get all the contraindications, but while we're still at a point in our infancy, in our adolescence that we continue to allow wars, aggression against other countries? Come on! Sometimes after long paying your dues, you simply have to accept that you are a professional...or you ARE mature enough to do what is right and correct.

Aggressors, either Mussolini, or Hitler, or Putin, do not learn lessons. Donald Trump did NOT (never will), as one Republican Congresswoman Susan Collins had said ("Trump has learned ‘a pretty big lesson’ from impeachment"), learn a lesson from his bad actions. Nope. ain't gonna happen. What these dictatorial autocrats learn from failure is how to succeed further, the next time. What you do with these people, as we saw in World War II with these imperialistic aggressors, is you physically stop them, disallowing them their desires. We have still not done that with Putin, or helped Russia out of their delusions. Putin has fed them propaganda and dezinformatsiya for over 20 years. They have generationally been inculcated through the Soviet union since 1917, and before that as a country of serfs under a czar. Putin should have been reacted to long before the Ukrainian invasions. He should’ve been stopped before the 2014 invasion. Not just western democracies and America seem crippled when it comes to being proactive. One can offer climate change as evidence. I offer Ukraine here as evidence. At some point one has to learn you do not put up with bullies or you actualize them and propagate their existences.

In 2014, when "little green men" we’re running around, supporting Ukrainian Russian separatists, when still no one knew who they were, that was when we should (all) have supported Ukraine. 100% in all ways possible. Because Russian would not have taken Crimea and we would not now be involved in the Ukrainian war because of this delusional, Russian dictator once again. When will we learn that? Never? Apparently. Well, we're doing (a little) better, now.

I also think we need to sign on to the agreement about cluster (bombs) munitions. We need to sign on about land mines (thanks again, Trump). We need to get the world into a knee jerk reaction against international aggression at some point and, granted this may be a little premature, though I hope not, because earth really needs to stop allowing war.

The bombing of Japan that ended the war in the Pacific was a horrific event that did with Oppenheimer thought it would do. What he pushed for. It horrified humanity. Perhaps what we need now is for Russian nationals themselves to set off a nuke. A college kid can create an atomic bomb, they just need some fuel. Once they find specifically were Putin is at the moment and trying to minimize "collateral damage" as the military prefers to say, that might just wake the Russians the fuck up. But if anyone other than Russians do that, it just simple not serve the purpose to turn Russia around in their current despicable course.

Why do we allow people like Putin or Donald Trump even to breathe the same air as decent people? This is not a conundrum, by the way.

As Rachel says in the podcast, "Dictators force you to consider your own interest against others." In the hope that yours will win out, to support theirs in the end, and the beginning. In this far too narcissistic world anymore (See, MAGA), an entire political party apparently devoted to narcissism, and the needs of the one each one over that of the group or the group over that of all citizens.

Putin has shown himself to be a callous anachronism...someone who displays a lack of empathy or sensitivity in a context where such behavior has become (by him...or them) no longer appropriate or acceptable. And the same is true of Donald Trump, and those who support either of them.

I agree NATO shouldn’t be going to war against Russia because of Ukraine. The United Nations Armed Forces should be. Which doesn't exist in that form. And if it did, might prove problematic. But does end  justify the means?

According to Donald Trump, his January 6 insurrection was an FBI false flag operation. But if we put him in jail, his supporters will do it again. That’s what we’re up against? One has to be unavailingly stupid to buy that line of bullshit. Well...MAGA.

Putin: the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century was the fall of the Soviet Union. Excuse me, while I guffaw. Donald Trump: his not being reelected is the greatest catastrophe in the entire 21st-century. Which we just started. Double guffaw. Moronic comics.

If Donald Trump‘s allegedly mushroom shaped penis were to "eat" all of his ego for a solid year until it was found to be engorged, like him, it would vastly larger than his character could ever attain. The man has no character, from a time when "character" was considered a comment on good character and not the existence of merely ANY character at all. Some "character" is not to be acceptable, or locked up, or wiped from existence for the benefit of Humankind. Remember when we were, "kind"?

After Trump's so far now, mere six court trials get going, I’ll need to be sure to get a photo of him now and from a year ago to compare to his photo from a year from hence. Because I would think his decrepitude will be easily observed in advancing exponentially.

The only metaphor I could think of just now for Trump's ludicrously adoring fans would be if he were seeb as their "cake", where instead of icing, it's just an inch of fat with no sugar, and maybe a little rancid, and they lap it up, loving it. And of course he and they, "want their cake and eat it, too."

Those especially in Congress or Governors of states, or Attorney General’s of states, who still disingenuously cannot clearly see how Donald Trump is criminal and how what he did was criminal, truly should be removed from office. So much of what these people do is not direct logic and they have to be able to draw conclusions and synthesize information, to apply it elsewhere. Tim Scott, saying he doesn’t hold Donald Trump accountable because Trump didn’t personally come and try to kill him on January 6, is probably the most disingenuous thing I’ve ever heard him say. Remove him from office. And he therefore has no right to run for POTUS.

I love Pad Thai. My son told me he read somewhere that Thai people don’t usually eat Pad Thai. That saddened me. On the other hand, there is a lot of other Thai food that’s much tastier. There’s Chinese food too, which I love that you can’t find in China because while it’s Chinese food based or China fusion or something. Chinese people in China wouldn't recognize it. I just don’t much care for Pad Thai with a solid wafer of egg in it. I only started seeing that in the past few years. Chicken, cut up in it is fine. I think when I started eating it, it was with pork, probably, but I’ve come to really like the chicken version. Even the tofu version can be good.

The number of Republicans who believe what Donald Trump did during his January 6 insurrection was criminal is under 10%. These are definitely low information people. Let me explain that. Information is real, it’s factual. They are however on the other hand, rather high DISinformation people. They're not stupid, but they are selective ignorant (on purpose).

What the hell is doing a shibboleth? That from Jon Lovett on the "Pod Save America" podcast: "Shibboleth is a single sign-on log-in system for computer networks and the Internet." Nope, not that. "a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning." Maybe? What did AI said: "The phrase "doing a shibboleth" typically refers to using a particular word, expression, or custom as a test or a way to identify insiders from outsiders within a group or community." Ah, that must be why he keeps using it. "The term originates from an ancient Hebrew word, "shibboleth," which means "ear of corn" or "stream." In the Book of Judges in the Bible (Judges 12:5-6), it is described as a password used to distinguish between two groups of people who were at war."

I switched over to "Pod Save America" when Rachel’s double length, hour long, excellent podcast ended. And everyone should listen to Rachel‘s podcast of her season finale of Deja News ASAP.

Cheers! Sláinte!

3 Amazing WWI Documentaries - JZ Murdock, Peter Jackson, Brian Henry Martin

My WWI documentary is a filmic poem and an antiwar film. I wrote a poem years ago and tried to get it published. I worked on it once in a while, got comment from a professional poet and he said to just keep working on it. And so I did. Until one day I stumbled into the idea of making a documentary, and then a WWI documentary, and then a documentary built around my fanciful poem, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" (trailer). To be clear, the title of this blog is in an order I would suggest to watch these three films and has nothing to do with any lack of knowing the great quality of the other two filmmakers!

I've written about the experience of making this film previously. I am working on a film companion book for this film, which is about half written. It took me six months of editing to finish the documentary with years of research under my belt in acquiring public domain media and information. Something I continued throughout the production of the film. I had for several years intended on turning the poem it is based on into a minimalist animation. But no animator would touch it without more money than I could come up with. The finished film itself I had hope of eventually reproducing it with much better resources. Seeing what Peter Jackson did with his film makes that prospect even more desirable. 

New Poster for ThrilzTV where it can be viewed

"Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" is a film that only came into existence because of having Long Covid acquired from COVID-19, for at least the second time. Having first acquired this miserable disease and first noticing its symptoms on February 9, 2020. I eventually wrote a book about it: "Suffering Long Covid".

What I'm writing about here today, is regarding what happened over this past week. I'm suggesting an order one might watch these films in. Even if you do not (yet) have access to view my film, it will still make it's point if you watch these other two. I'm sure there are many good WWI documentaries out there. But this blog here involves only three. Mine, Peter Jackson's and one from Double-Band Films about photographer/Lance Corporal George . I just finished watching that one.

About "The Man Who Shot the Great War" (2014), from Acorn TV:

"Premiering in North America December 19th. Among the thousands of men from Britain and Ireland who fought on the battlefields of the First World War was Lance Corporal George Hackney, who did something remarkable: he brought his camera with him to war. Described as a "photographic discovery of the century," the images he took captured the brutal realities of the front lines and fueled a moral quest that altered the course of his life." 

The other day I watched Peter Jackson's WWI documentary, "They Shall Not Grow Old" (2018). From Warner Brothers Pictures' Youtube channel:

"The acclaimed documentary is an extraordinary look at the soldiers and events of the Great War, using film footage captured at the time, now presented as the world has never seen. By utilizing state-of-the-art restoration, colorization and 3D technologies, and pulling from 600 hours of BBC archival interviews, Jackson puts forth an intensely gripping, immersive and authentic experience through the eyes and voices of the British soldiers who lived it."

Three films about WWI. The "Great War", the "War to End All Wars".

My film as I said, took me, alone with what small resources I have in filmmaking and editing, took me six months of editing as I was coming out of a rough winter with long covid. My son got me playing a video game on my desktop video editing workstation and I did that for months. Part of an hour the first time until I was playing all day long after a few weeks (months?) and then realized I was not only able to get out of my living room recliner chair I'd spent most of the winter in just watching TV, dozing off and on and not feeling well, but I was actively engaged in this Fall Out 4 game. I'd put 700 hours into it. 

It was time to actually do something. Unable still to be able to handle a production with actors (and a schedule), the idea came to me to make a film of some sort that I could handle doing all by myself, on my schedule, if and when I could, whenever. In considering what to do, I landed upon the project I eventually finished. Twice after months of editing I wanted to quit, give up as it is exacting work of digitally splice media together, AI colorization, multiple layers and tracks and sophisticated audio work in syncing music and sounds and creatively doing Folly work, making sounds that come from one source being made to sound like another. But finally, I finished it.

I sent it to a few festivals and immediately that week got an "Official Selection" from one. Shortly thereafter, the next week, it won an award for "Best Documentary". I entered more festivals. Then it won "Best Experimental Film" at another festival. I entered more and continued winning, not all festivals, but more than I had ever expected. Far more than my previous and narrative film, "Gumdrop", a short horror. Yes, from horror film (really more of a film noir), to the horrors of our perhaps our greatest horror in wars in human history.

As I indicated above, I detail this all elsewhere as I had to hire voice actors and a poet to translate my poem, a center point to the project, for the voice actors to read. At one point I hired a sound engineer to clean up what I could not in digitizing Ravel's "Bolero from an original Polydor double record set from 1930 I bought online from a seller in Paris.

I used some visual media in the film that were never seen before like this because they were not of pristine or perfect quality or focus, all of which played into the "poetic" nature of the film as not just documentary but fantasy and visual poetry. That is important, because it has a lot to do with why I'm writing today about this and the other two documentaries. 

In my film you can notice the French always face and move to the right, which the Germans, their opponents in Verdun, France in this film, always facing and moving toward the enemy, the French, to the left. From the perspective of the French in the film, when they are headed to the right of screen they are moving toward, entering the war. When to the left, they are moving away from, leaving the war. When the visuals are blurry, the poem visuals are referring poetically to the "fog of war" and such metaphorical elements and considerations. 

In moving from my film therefore to Peter Jackson's tour de force of his, "They Shall Not Grow Old", documentary, the effect is intense. With all that Jackson has available to him, the money, the team/teams, the quality of media he could acquire, the legal team for handling all that, and his special effects professionals, what he could produce is truly, as I've said elsewhere... awe inspiring. I'm not here to review his film.

However, Rotten Tomatoes said: 

"An impressive technical achievement with a walloping emotional impact, They Shall Not Grow Old pays brilliant cinematic tribute to the sacrifice of a generation. Read critic reviews"

I was stunned at the amazing quality Peter Jackson turned out in this film. I deeply and intricately know what it takes to do what he did in that film. I'm speechless, to be clear. Watching probably any WWI documentary prior to Jackson's could most likely give you the same effect as seeing my film and then his. But the difference in the quality of experience and visuals, not to mention the high quality level of his Folly work and audio dubbing, are truly inspiring. And that is all outside of the effect of the subject matter itself.

 

On "The Man Who Shot The Great War", Film Affinity said about it:

"Revealing for the first time what has been described as 'the photographic discovery of the century', this documentary uncovers the remarkable story of the Belfast soldier who took his camera to war in 1915 and how his experiences were to have a dramatic and unexpected outcome many years later."

It is a touching film about an amazing find so long after WWI.

Watching these three films in this order, for me anyway, was a very rewarding experience. My film is likely, for most people anyway, a bit of history and imagery you have never seen or known about.That is mixed up with a humanist, antiwar message through the people that runs throughout it and read by a female French actor as Ravel's Truck, whom he had named "Adelaide". 

Ravel's imaginary actions in the film brings the fear and evolution of a trench soldier into sharp focus. the end of the film with its long scrolling list of all wars on earth is a stark reminder of who we are and what our history has been. Evoking the question, why should this continue and how to stop it.

Going then into the Jackson film, the realization of his film is very impactful. It's almost like he went back in time and shot these war moments with a film crew. His ADR (Automated dialogue replacement, voice dubbing), his Foley work (sound effects), and his colorization and visual enhancements are impeccable. It's a moving film, in ways beyond my own film, while a perfect adjunct to it.

Then moving on to the George Hackney film and what it uncovers is touching and amazing in entirely different ways and I highly recommend it. 

These are short films, offering us a bird's eye view, even closer, and in ways no bird and few humans have envisioned. It is a set of films from a time long forgotten, which is repeating itself every decades since. We are changing our ways of war. They are becoming more exactly, civilians are not often "collateral damage" as they used to be. So often today, victims due greatly to specifically targeting them on purpose.

Such as Putin from Russia has so often done in his illegal war in Ukraine. And we are becoming more "green" in war with a realization that every weapon discharged is costing humanity in damage to our environment. And all too often, to civilians years or decades later in unexploded and lost munitions and toxic chemicals.

But the one thing that remains is, the cost to the human psyche, the friends and families of those soldiers and the damages to our world and ongoing blemishes to our history of humanity. 

Cheers! Sláinte!

I wish us all the very best!

Films:

"Pvt. Ravel's Bolero", available exclusively on ThrilzTV.com

"They Shall Not Grow Old" 

"The Man Who Shot the Great War"

Russia Invades Ukraine, Film Festivals & "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero"

My antiwar film, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" has an interesting evolution which I'm detailing in my book of the same or similar name:

“Pvt. Ravel's Bolero - Film Companion Book History, Form & Structure in the Antiwar Filmic Poem & Historical Documentary" I'm hoping to finish it soon. I am this day finishing up the DVD version of the film and it will soon be released exclusively on a streaming service I recently started with two other indie filmmakers called, "ThrilzTV.com". Pop over and sign up for a free month. If you like it, stick around. It's only $4.99/month! And we ARE going to evolve beyond a streaming indie video channel in support of our indie filmmaking community. 

But this is really a story about my submitting my film to film festivals and in particular, a Russian festival. It was in the week's leading up to and including Russia's ludicrous invasion of Ukraine, all due to their sad, ill, despotic leader, Vladimir Putin, a once middling KGB agent, how apparently had a bruised ego.

My history with Russia goes back to my interest in espionage. It began in high school and the Irish "Troubles" (I'm Irish on my dad's side) which I later transferred into curiosity about US/Soviet relations. In studying that, it led me quite obviously and reasonably into UK/Russia relations history for the past 100 years of their involvement with and against one another. 

Britain found it had to teach America about Soviet espionage leading up to WWII, as we were quite ignorant and disbelieving about things London would tell us. SO they painstakingly updated and educated us on what they'd learned about Soviet tactics, and their long term active measures against other countries, and their disinformation techniques.

This led our "Wild" Bill Donovan, head of our OSS fame being questionably (illegally?) involved in the ABC group of America, Britain and Canada. Eventually, after the war the OSS became the CIA. But in studying this history for decades, considering going into the business myself, entering the USAF with a security clearance for nuclear weapons and signing up with the OSI (Office of Special Investigations, their FBI), I learned a lot.

"When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Donovan, then a major, organized and led the famed 1st Battalion of the 69th New York Volunteers (the original “Fighting Irish,” and which, after the unit was federalized, was redesignated the 165th Regiment of the 42nd Division). He was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel, and his unit arrived in France in October 1917, ready for action." - America's Spymaster, from Warfare History

When in the 1990s I noticed Newt Gingrich started using old Soviet KGB disinfo tactics, the GOP had begun its long decline into autocracy. It was frightfully obvious to me in that decade that something untoward was going on with our Republican Party. Full disclosure, I was raised in my mother's liberal, Teamsters Union family. But I had always had a good head for what was right and fair between human beings, since before I was able to speak.

At some point I left the USAF, got a couple of degrees, started a family and realized I not going into that business after all. But I had learned a lot. I decided I had apparently wasted my time for decades assimilating a vast amount of useless knowledge. Then the "Iron Curtain" fell. I abandoned all those thoughts, thinking I had wasted much effort on useless knowledge. 

Until the 1990s played themselves out and I saw oddly similar things happening, not in Russia, but right here at home in America. I had experienced some of the right wing's white Christian nationalism while in the USAF in Spokane, in Eastern Washington, which I felt was more akin to Idaho (or eastern Oregon) where many from the beaten south after the Civil War had fled to. 

More like Idaho (or was Idaho more like eastern Washington?), than the western side of the Cascade Mountains where I had grown up in Tacoma and around Mt. Rainier. One of my degrees is from Western Washington University in Bellingham, near Canada's Vancouver (love it up there!). So when I heard the leader of the "Church of Our White Christian Heritage" up from Georgia spewing hatred in a chapel in he back hills of Idaho one day, about how Vancouver, BC was a "cesspool of humanity", I was shocked. My wife was terrified. A guy on base had invited us, he drove, surprised us in leaving Washington state for church and needless to say, we didn't go back.

When I left the USAF, I read up on these neo-Nazi loving "Christians" and was shocked at what was going on, right here at home in America (Ruby Ridge, Waco, Oklahoma City bombing, and so on). And how Oregon had been home to some very questionable types I won't go into here. 

Needless to say, I retained my fascination with Russia (and let's not forget Ireland, which I visited for my 60 birthday back in 2015). So when Putin took over, I easily realized it couldn't be good for Russia (for earth?), for a KGB agent to take be handed the reins by a predecessor criminal and alcoholic, as leader of a broken State such as the old USSR. Especially considering the agreement was Putin would protect Boris Yeltsin and his family for all his crimes as Russia's leader in having plundered their coffers. Just as Putin has done and now worries about leaving his position. As trapped in power and Russia it trapped under him.

So thoughts of submitting a work of mine (especially an antiwar film) to Russia, to Moscow, carried a lot of baggage for me. Needless to say, it was a somewhat entertaining notion to me. But I had no idea how it would end up, as so much Russian culture does, as involved and bittersweet as it would turn out.

It all started with that email, from Moscow... 

Wednesday, February 17, 2022:
"Hi, I’m representer of Fox International Film Festival. We heard a lot about your great work "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero". We would like to invite you to take part in our festival."

I checked them on FilmFreeway where I usually submit my films through. Their profile page there said their were a Moscow/Rome film festival. First time I ever saw that. Twin cities...with Russia. OK. Cool. Whatever. I have a long history with Russia since it was the Soviet Union (USSR). I had studied their disinformation techniques and history of espionage along with that of the UK and America (and somewhat therefore, Canada, as in the "ABC" secret America, Britain, Canada during and leading up to WWII).

February 18, 2022
I entered my antiwar historical documentary/filmic poem film "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero", to their festival being held in Moscow (with an associated event indicated in Rome).

Tuesday, February 24, 2022
Russia invaded Ukraine.

My film ends, end credits run, then a list of all "Wars on Earth" scrolls on, seemingly forever. The day Russia invaded Ukraine, I added one last war. So when it played in Moscow, that would be seen on the screen. They would have to know that in reviewing the film so to put it on screen would be a conscious decision. I doubted they would play it, or select it. I felt I had quashed my chances at winning an award, or even being selected. 

I really wouldn't blame them. But maybe they would appreciate just seeing it in watching it, judging it, privately as we do as film festival judges. As I've done myself in our Gorst Underground Film Festival, Kelly Hughes and I founded some years ago. It would take some kind of bravery under the dictator Putin to chance that kind of thing. But there are more Russian patriots that one might think. As happens in any country over twenty years under oppression. Would I have done something like that when the sexual predator and criminal Donald Trump was POTUS45 (or POTUS47 for that matter)? Absolutely. But to be fair, it's no where (yet) near the same thing.

Kelly and I, along with Tony Green in Montreal, Canada have started ThrilzTV streaming indie video channel. It's pretty cool. An indie streaming channel by and for indie film types. Utterly no bearing on anything I'm talking about here. I just thought I'd mention it. It's been a lot of work, but it's coming along well, and you will hopefully hear about it more in the future. And not just from me.

I guess I mention that because I mentioned Kelly. So I should mention Tony. And I'm talking about these two films of mine, both of which are now going to be on ThrilzTV, exclusively with "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" to become available on there soon after a lot of promotion and hoopla (hopefully, the hoopla, not the availability as it's GOING to be available there).

Tuesday, February 24, 2022:
"Hi, dear JZ Murdock! Congratulations from FIFF team, as your work was selected to the second part of our December-January 2022 programme. Your work was something special and our jury was really excited watching it! We would like to inform you that in addition to being successful in your chosen categories, our jury has recommended you the following categories in which they think your work can be successful as well:
"Best War Film"
Good luck in the final part of our October-November 2021 programme!
With love, the FIFF team!"

Wow. No kidding? I found that brave of them. A statement perhaps against Putin's Kremlin in general. Especially since the last words of the film seen on screen are: "Putin's Folly" 2022

So I was up for "Best War Film" that Friday, on February 27, 2022. They thought that my film, THAT film... would play in Moscow? Even after Russia had invaded Ukraine? That, was pretty bold. I was having fond feelings for them.

Alas, in the end, I received only Official Selection. But thinking it was played in Moscow after Russia invaded a neighbor for no good reason was reward enough.

Plus, it allowed me to email Symbiotic Film Festival in Kyiv to tell them about this as it played out. I've talked about this before, like when it was happening. I wrote a blog about it.

Thursday, January 13, 2022:

Symbiotic emailed me requesting I submit my film noir, "Gumdrop", a short horror (trailer). 

Monday, February 23, 2022:

FilmFreeway:

Dear JZ,

Congratulations!

Symbiotic Film Festival has updated the Judging Status of your submission "Gumdrop", a short horror to Selected.

"Gumdrop", a short horror

Selected

Project has been selected to be included in festival!"

Wednesday 26, 2022:

Email to Symbiotic Film Festival:

"I'm hoping as we all are that you are all safe.

I just wanted to mention, my film, "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero", an anti war film, filmic poem/documentary was just given official selection by Fox International Film Festival in Russia, and they also nominated it as  "Best War Film", which I take as a form of support for Ukraine, if not also a form of dissent against what is going on. 

The world watching and is with you and pushing for ever more to be done to help you.

Slainte! May this all end soon and in your favor!"

I never heard from them again. But it is rewarding to see that they are still listed on FilmFreeway and their website is still up.

I only wish the same could be said for the Fox International Film Festival who had shifted their home reference only to Rome. Their listed website URL from before is not online and their listing on FilmFreeway is now gone:

.

I wish them well and can only hope my own response against their criminal leader Putin's illegal war in Ukraine did not adversely affect or cost them any difficulties. I'm not vain enough to think it had, but under a regime like that, anything is possible. Though I see a reference to them on someone's Twitter posting from last Friday, May 12th, 2023. I can only assume this is the Rome festival location.

What does make me happy is that the Symbiotic Film Festival seems to be alive and well. They are still today listed on FilmFreeway as being in Kyiv and their website and Twitter are up! Though their website is only updated through last year, their FilmFreeway listing indicates July 31, 2023 as their event date for this year's festival.

I wish them all well! Both festivals.

And now "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" will be exclusively on "ThrilzTV.com". It's only 28 minutes long. But it packs a punch. Which explain why it's winning all these awards, I suppose. 

I wish you all well. We'll need it!

Cheers! Sláinte!

June 1, 2023 update:

Since multi award winning "Pvt. Ravel's Bolero" is ONE, an antiwar documentary about WWI, I'm not surprised Moscow rejected it here in this festival, since...TWO, the last phrase in the entire film, after a long scrolling list of all wars on earth, is:
"Putin's Folly 2022" for the Ukraine war he instigated.
I so wanted to be impressed by them. But I also understand.
And I should be even more impressed that the Fox International Film Festival in Moscow in Feb. 27, 2022 did play it.
I have one final festival Moscow Film Party coming up, then I'm done there... Notification Date: June 20, 2023

Walkabout Thoughts #14

My thoughts, while walking off long Covid and listening to podcasts...a blog designed and meant to be freely associating, on the run, and not perfectly edited:

 
Weather for the day… 41° and overcast.

Podcast for the day is Rachel Maddow‘s excellent, "Ultra" podcast, episode five

Instagram post for the day

A woman on the "Ultra" podcast asked a question I've wondered about myself. What’s the difference between hatred and detesting? For myself without realizing it, I’ve seen it as hatred being an emotional, loss of control. While detesting is more cerebral. My grandmother told me when I was a child never to hate. Period. She was an amazing person, and an old country, Slovak Catholic. Such as I was raised, until about ninth grade. My point in bringing this up is, I’ve seen too many on the far right hate Nancy Pelosi. Hate Democrats. Hate "Libtards". I find the far right in their attempt to destroy our democracy and replace our country with authoritarianism to be, if not hateful, detestable. But I’m not out of control in my dislike. It’s an objective dislike of bad ideologies and attempts to inject theocracy into our democracy. So my point is… If you hate the other side, you’ve already lost, if not the war, reality. When I was in martial arts, beginning in fifth grade, I was told day after day, "There is no room for anger or hate in a fight, because then you’ve lost, even if you win. Be professional, be a martial artist. Fight tactically, objectively. Think! Because hate and anger cloud the mind." So how do I know I’ve been on the right track, politically speaking, for years now? Because years ago I started running into those on the right who, hated. It was irrational. frequently based on fantasy, conjecture, thought that should be based on fact, but was nowhere near it. Don’t hate. Act. Act based on facts and evidence. Because we are adults. I have never reacted well to authoritarianism. I’ve never reacted well to fear being pushed on me. Since childhood, I have faced my fears, because I had plenty to face. I was bullied as a kid. At a new school every year or two. Small for my age until I shot up in 10th grade to over 6'. So I don’t like bullies. Which is why I disliked Trump from his first day of campaigning to become POTUS. Anyone who tries to inject fear into you or the equation, could be your enemy. Never be fearful. Be aware and reactive. Better however, to be proactive. But that takes too much for to much of America. Trust but verify. Conquer yourself first and you’ll never need to conquer others. Then if you ever find a need to conquer others, then you know, you're “the Other“. You have become, the Enemy.

So where DOES all that hate come from on the right? It comes from popular beliefs in myths, and disinformation. It comes from Republican leadership, who saw that... just as Russia saw it...easily weaponized, easily expanded upon what already existed, in order to divide, with the eventual hope to conquer. Or very least, as Putin sees it, inject chaos. As Trump sought and still does. To inject chaos and reap the benefits as too many are distracted. So they make America chaotic, distracted, vulnerable.

How do people get into authoritarianism? How did they get into Nazism? Or neo-Nazism? Or want to be a Nazi? Or denied-Nazism, which is typically, actually Nazism? It’s because of their unrelieved anger and frustration. Anger and frustration that is given a controlled release valve. Controlled consciously and carefully, by others. First they get involved for fun, for the exhilaration, the catharsis, the release. Which is then quickly controlled by others. It is manipulated. Exploited. Subverted. At that point you have in, as in our case today in America, Trump control MAGA. Ladies and gentlemen, because these are binary people by implication in decree, through protestations (against the "Other" and ever more so for this behavior...) and for ignorant beliefs supporting authoritarian, fascism, until finally at very least "wannabe", Nazis.

About congressional “franking“ (check out either Rachel's "Ultra" podcast, you'll thank yourself... or perhaps this pdf free book published in 1944, "Black Mail"). That really needs to be monitored. Anything sent out by someone in Congress about things like Trump's stupidly ridiculous "big lie", that are anti-democracy, that are antigovernmental, while this one is difficult because some antigovernmental stuff is what Congress is there for. Self examination and correction.  Those things should be monitored and disallowed to be sent out, IF deemed incorrect and judged anti-American. The public should be notified. The free ride needs to be over. Free speech when Weaponized, not necessarily monetized, needs to be monitored. This is not to say, censorship, or to the break the Constitution‘s First Amendment. But it needs to be, if not controlled, made publicly aware with great clarity based in fact, evidence, and reality. Because if no one else is doing it, someone has to protect the US Constitution against unhealthy, ultra right (or destructive ultra left) wing types who weaponize free speech against America and against our US Constitution. At this time, considering what the ultra and even moderate (in their silence) right wing are doing, there ARE no corresponding left wing type actions.

I always wondered why one of my favorite directors names is, "George Roy Hill". Why the "Roy"? Apparently, there was someone in Congress named George Hill. One time secretary to Representative Hamilton Fish of New York. That alone might explain it. For some of this you’ll have to listen to Rachel Maddow‘s, “Ultra“, episode five. Ultra apparently stands for "ultra right wing". A term more ubiquitous in Europe. But saying today, "extremist are far right wing", is simply no longer descriptive of them. But "ultra" sure as hell is.

It’s past time right now, to review what "Frank" disseminated information is being sent out and which members of Congress, most especially the ultra right wing, Trump Republicans, MAGA congressionals, to see what they’ve been doing these past six years and correct, or at very least, blast that information out to America, and the entire planet, if it has been being abused. IF those in Congress have been abusing it to send out anti American propaganda. After the Trump administration, we have got to be careful and continue to review the abuses, until we know all of them. In order to protect ourselves. And our democratic Republic.

So, I have now finished and published my book, “Suffering Long Covid“. I’ve written my next book which I’m now editing on the history and format, to explain my filmic poem and award winning historical documentary “Pvt. Ravel‘s Bolero“. After that I need to finish the DVD that I’ve already started creating for that film. But then what? I bought equipment to digitize my family's home films from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But I also have some of my grandfather's films from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. He used to travel the world. Much of the time, for the US Army, setting up diesel engine shops around the world, training locals, and then moving on and doing it elsewhere, and in another country. He spent time in India, I think Cambodia, definitely Vietnam and then came home in the 60s to retire. I have his passport. He also traveled Europe during a very interesting time, around World War II. So I’m thinking about doing a documentary on him. Very interesting guy, who my older brother, seven years my senior, and myself both tried, but neither of us could get much information out of our grandfather. He would just say, "You don’t wanna hear about that, it’s not that interesting." Now, I’ve been fascinated about investigative work since I was as young as I can remember. I loved those detective and espionage shows from the 1950s and 60s, and so on

My mother first introduced me to James Bond films with his first, "Doctor No", when it came out. She took me to the Community Theater on 50th St. and M St., in Tacoma, Washington. She had grown up half a block away, after being relocated from Brooklyn, New York, where she was born. When her and her older sister our mother, were transplanted by my grandfather. So I have to wonder. With my father having been a construction electrician. My mother having been a housewife, with some kind of ADHD, or something, because I grew up with it. I have to wonder if I got my interest in investigative work and espionage from my grandfather? I always assumed it was from ingesting so much of that kind of TV in my formative years. But why did I take the test for the Tacoma police department at 19? Why did I join the OSI in the USAF? Why did I enter the USAF as law enforcement? This could just be a very interesting documentary. But I have a lot of work yet to do, to get to that point.

Back to the loser seditionist Donald Trump. He needs to lose his Secret Service protection. That may be premature at this point, until it’s proven that it should be yanked from him. But what can be and should be proven about the man, needs to have nothing to do with our US government in having American citizens paying someone who so overtly tried to damage our country, and kill US citizens. The man has hundreds of thousands of American deaths on his hand from having on purpose or misused his office and purposely fumbled the COVID-19 pandemic medical ramp up.

My second podcast for the day is from a Pod Save America episode, “Between Barack and A Hard Place.”

Today’s walk it seems will be only four miles. I know I said on my last walk that it’s good to achieve your goal, which is five miles for me. But we also need to listen to our body. And my body today is telling me five miles is going to be too much and I’ll regret it. Sure I could push myself. But I’m not gonna be stupid about it. Be smart.

That's it for the day! Cheers! Sláinte!