Hello
For the end of year holidays, wanted to include a hidden gift. I've disguised an extra link in plain text below as a kind of easter egg. The clue : the word rhymes with lane.
Something Serious
Maybe you know, a century ago there was a pandemic of epic proportions that happened. The adults coming of age during that period of time are sometimes known now as The Lost Generation.
A war had started, and people thought it would end in six months --- but it didn't. It lasted six years. & just as the war was ending, a flu spread that killed millions of people.
That's a lot of suffering and pain! the adults coming of age had been raised to believe it would all be worth something. They were disillusioned.
A garage owner in Paris shouted at one of his young mechanics, "You're all a lost generation." A then-famous American expat Gertrude Stein heard the phrase and repeated it to one of her mentees, who published the phrase as an epigraph to his next novel.
The thing is, the generation that we can call 'lost' ... these people long ago turned things around and let the wandering itself guide them toward a different way of living. The Roaring Twenties were a time full of creativity, technological innovation, celebration, abundance.
& after that, there was a major economic depression and another world war. So was it all meaningless? Is art meaningless? Is change real?
Something Interesting
Ancient Rome Did Not Fall (Barry Gander)
This was an amusing take on the situation in America when compared to that of 'ancient Rome'; the kind of thing I was writing (and not sharing) 10 years ago.
In brief: The Roman Empire -- the author argues -- did not fall to external threats or invaders. 1000 years after the traditional date cited for the "end of Rome" the Empire finally ended, but it was said that "Rome fell in 476 CE" to justify a reconquest by an Emperor in the East who wanted to retake Italy from people who were ruling there at the time. Because Rome had fallen on hard times more than once over several centuries, and yet the empire kept going.
The "Fall of Rome" was a bit of a media spin, a means to justify the ends. Media spins are quite common nowadays, and it makes it a challenge to know what's true. That said, the author here argues next that because the ultra-rich in America no longer invest significantly in political and civic health, a rather unstable state of semi-democracy (or "anocracy" as it is also known) has ensued. Would you agree?
Many things are needed to improve the current situation but one thing suggested by the author is to support a fair and accurate public media. Tax reform to mitigate the worst impacts of wealth inequality would also help. It could happen :)
Something Fun
"Jour Meilleur" (Better Day) by Orelsan
Listening to the album Civilization 22 even 34 times (I lost count, OK?) -- I'm appreciating more than ever the beauty of a curated collection of songs, each complementing the other. The song "Jour Meilleur" for example follows up a song that's harshly grunted, a song that bemoans everything wrong with society and awaits the crash. Then a sweet soft melody plays, the opening notes of "Jour Meilleur" and we hear reassuring phrases like the following: 'Everything's gonna be OK.' It's a lie. I know you know. Sometimes I just don't know what to say, but I can always listen.
Something Friendly
Thanks to Josh for inviting me to join his team these past months. I've learned a lot and am lucky to have had the experience. I wish them all restful holidays and a 2023 full of "success on their terms."
Let me tell you two, three stupid things before you do yourself one /
The problem of life is there's only one (life) /
We never heal from depression like we would from a cold /
But know you can count on me as long as you're out in it /
Everything is not gonna change, in the end, unless you're gonna do it /
When there's a desert to cross, nothing to do but continue through it /
Nothing to do other than to keep going /
We will laugh when we look back beneath a better day /
a better day /
a better day...
JPC 😎