Stand With Russia / Stand With Putin [2022)

Are you curious about what is going on with Ukraine?

[Stravinsky Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, 2. Largo]

Well, you should be.

I am.

But I am going to attempt to explain what is going on.

First of all, NATO are a bunch of fucktards.

NATO was formed to defend against the Warsaw Pact (which no longer exists) countries and against the Soviet Union (which also no longer exists).

When did the USSR collapse?

December 26, 1991.

Thirty years ago.

Did NATO disband when this happened?

Did they dissolve?

Of course not.

Why?

Because they are warmongers in disguise.

Why do I say this?

Because NATO was not satisfied to keep the amount of members it had in 1991.

Nooooooo.

It ADDED members.

And it moved in a certain direction.

Which direction was that?

Eastwards.

Towards Russia.

And now they are right on Russia’s doorstep.

Imagine if China or Russia formed a mutual defense treaty with Mexico…or even Guatemala.

And China or Russia put troops and weapons there.

To “protect” those countries against the USA.

Do you think the USA would consider that a threat?

Of course we would.

And before you say the USA is no threat…

[Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8, 1. Largo]

to Mexico or Guatemala, let’s not forget the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and/or the CIA coup in Guatemala (1954…aka Operation PBSuccess).

So let’s review what NATO has done for the past 30 years.

1999- former member of Warsaw Pact CZECHIA (Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic) joins NATO

1999- former member of Warsaw Pact POLAND joins NATO (borders RUSSIA, BELARUS, and UKRAINE)

2004- former member of Warsaw Pact BULGARIA joins NATO

2004- former region of Soviet Union ESTONIA joins NATO (borders RUSSIA)

2004- former member of Warsaw Pact HUNGARY joins NATO (borders UKRAINE)

2004- former region of Soviet Union LATVIA joins NATO (borders RUSSIA and BELARUS [the constituents of the Russian Federation])

2004- former region of Soviet Union LITHUANIA joins NATO (borders BELARUS and RUSSIA [the constituents of the Russian Federation])

2004- former member of Warsaw Pact ROMANIA joins NATO (borders UKRAINE)

2004- former member of Warsaw Pact SLOVAKIA (Czechoslovakia) joins NATO (borders UKRAINE)

2004- former region of communist state Yugoslavia SLOVENIA joins NATO

2009- former member of Warsaw Pact ALBANIA joins NATO

2009- former region of communist state Yugoslavia CROATIA joins NATO

2017- former region of communist state Yugoslavia MONTENEGRO joins NATO

2020- former region of communist state Yugoslavia NORTH MACEDONIA joins NATO

[Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, II. Adagio sostenuto (performed by Sviatoslav Richter)]

[Borodin String Quartet No. 2, 3. Notturno]

[Stravinsky Rite of Spring: Harbingers of Spring (Dances of the Young Girls and Boys)]

Let’s not forget that NORWAY (a NATO member) borders RUSSIA.

[Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, I. Non allegro]

So do you see why Russia is worried?

In addition to Norway, NATO began to further border Russia within eight years of the USSR’s collapse (with the accession of Poland).

That was 1999.

2004 was a major year of provocative, aggressive actions by NATO.

THREE MORE countries WHICH DIRECTLY BORDER RUSSIA were added to the mutual defense pact: Estonia, Latvia, and Lituania.

NATO by 2004 had added FOUR COUNTRIES to its membership which DIRECTLY BORDER RUSSIA.

The Soviet Union had ceased to exist for a mere 13 years by this point.

While it is true that NATO has not (yet) added ANY MORE states that border Russia, it has nevertheless continued to add members (mostly from the former Yugoslavia [but one former Warsaw Pact member]): Albania (Warsaw Pact), Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.

[for those keeping score, five (!) NATO countries border Russia]

Albania in 2009 was, in some ways, the most audacious (provocative) move.

[Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues for Piano Op. 87, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major (performed by Keith Jarrett)]

Why?

Because Montenegro (a 2017 accession to NATO) is actually TO THE WEST!

NATO was playing checkers.

They skipped over Montenegro.

Only to gobble it up as well eight years later.

And what is east of Albania?

North Macedonia.

A mere two years ago (2020), NATO moved further east with the accession of North Macedonia.

What is east of Europe?

Russia.

For 30 years, in an almost-uninterrupted train, NATO has moved EASTWARDS in a provocative, slow-motion attack on Russia.

Again, remember my metaphor.

What if China or Russia put troops and installations and weapons in Canada?

Oh, they can’t: because Canada is in NATO.

So let’s choose a different metaphor.

Remember when Russia put nukes in Cuba?

It was a big deal, right?

Why?

Because Havana is a mere 228 miles from Miami.

The city of Russia most closely associated with Europe is St. Petersburg.

Warsaw, POLAND (in NATO since 1999) is 729 miles from St. Petersburg.

Vilnius, LITHUANIA (in NATO since 2004) is 448 miles from St. Petersburg.

Riga, LATVIA (in NATO since 2004) is 357 miles from St. Petersburg.

Tallinn, ESTONIA (in NATO since 2004) is 230 miles from St. Petersburg.

[Prokofiev Visions Fugitives, 1. Lentamente]

[Mieczysław Weinberg Piano Quintet, 1.  Moderato con moto]

But to reiterate: there are FIVE NATO COUNTRIES that are ASS-TO-FUCKING-ASS with Russia:

Norway

Poland

Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania.

I was in the middle of watching Convoy.

The Canadian Freedom Convoy had made Trudeau enact the Emergencies Act.

Truckers were (and are) headed to D.C. for the Peoples Convoy.

The COVID narrative was falling apart.

Omicron had brought the major risks of the pandemic to an end.

More damning information was emerging every day on Fauci, Moderna, Pfizer, CDC, FDA…

Here is but one example:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10542309/Fresh-lab-leak-fears-study-finds-genetic-code-Covids-spike-protein-linked-Moderna-patent.html

But now none of that matters, right?

Are you seeing any news about the truckers?

Remember they were THE ONLY FUCKING THING GOING ON IN THE WORLD just a week ago.

Every country had their own trucker protest.

[Prokofiev Symphony No. 1, I. Allegro]

Did all of that just stop?

We were up to 12,122 reports of death to the HHS VAERS system in relation to the administration of the COVID vaccines in the USA (according to the CDC’s criminally-parsed data).

Open VAERS had it at 23,615 reports of death.

And remember that these numbers should be multiplied by a factor of 10 because of the historical underreporting to the VAERS passive surveillance system.

Take a look at Kawasaki disease.

A perfect example of how, historically, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT of vaccine adverse reactions (including serious ones like Kawasaki disease) had made it into the VAERS system.

So we are talking about 121,220 deaths.

Or, probably, 236,150 deaths.

And that was as of a week ago.

But that doesn’t matter anymore.

Anyone who rammed through these #NeitherSafeNorEffective vaccines are going to pay no price for their crimes against humanity.

Why?

Because the situation in Ukraine has rendered everything else moot.

Why?

Because Russia has nukes.

And they will probably move nukes into Belarus (as that country ditched its status as nuclear-neutral today).

So the whole world is fixated on Ukraine…because if dumbass Biden and dumbass NATO somehow end up shooting at Russia, there could (pretty quickly) be a nuclear exchange.

The situation could devolve rapidly into all-out nuclear war.

What a way to make everyone forget about the past two years, right?

Why were the truckers even in Ottawa?

Because of the killer vaccines and the stupid fucking mandates.

But the threat of death and incineration by nuclear weapons has totally wiped the memory of citizens on planet Earth.

But there is something more insidious going on.

EVERY NEWS SOURCE ON THE PLANET IS MAKING ZELENSKY OUT TO BE A HERO.

AND MAKING UKRAINE OUT TO BE VICTIMS.

No mention of the backstory I gave you.

No mention that NATO has moved eastwards (for no good reason) for 30 years.

So I say, fuck Zelensky!

Fuck Ukraine!!!

I pray every night for the children and elderly of Ukraine.

But I gotta tell you something.

Ukraine fucked up.

They could have investigated Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.

But they didn’t.

And that’s a big reason why Biden is President today.

So congratulations, Ukraine!

You got the President you wanted.

Joe Motherfucking Biden.

[Kalinnikov Symphony No. 1, IV. Finale. Allegro moderato]

We are now at Defcon 2.

Some people think Defcon 5 is bad…like an F5 tornado.

Defcon 5 means the U.S. is at a state of readiness associated with peace.

Defcon 1 means the U.S. state of readiness is that of wartime or imminent nuclear threat.

A couple of days ago we were at Defcon 3.

Not great, but not horrible.

Yes, it has deteriorated.

We are now at Defcon 2.

According to public OSINT analysis.

The actual Defcon level is not made public.

https://www.defconlevel.com/

[Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture]

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Because in September Ukraine’s new publicly-released National Security Strategy included their express desire and intent to join NATO.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/russia-as-aggressor-nato-as-objective-ukraines-new-national-security-strategy/

Russia has had enough.

Russia was patient for 30 years.

Why else did Russia invade Ukraine?

Because “hero” Zelensky publicly announced approximately one year ago that his goal was to MILITARILY take back Crimea from Russia. And how was he gonna do that? By joining NATO, of course.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3214479-zelensky-enacts-strategy-for-deoccupation-and-reintegration-of-crimea.html

So Zelensky is certainly, while not in the traditional sense, a comedian.

And his joke is his foreign policy.

Which has now led to the deaths of many of his countrymen.

What a punch line!

Let me explain one further thing.

Russia is fighting NOW so that they don’t have to fight a bigger, deadlier war LATER.

Ukrainians are stupid fucking idiots that don’t realize (or care?) that their corrupt country had a major role in looking the other way so that Joe Biden could be elected/installed.

Those dying for Russia are heroes.

Those dying for Ukraine are morons…in service to a moron government.

Russia is not communist.

Are they a little heavy-handed?

Yes.

Why?

Because pricks like George Soros try to overthrow all the countries (Georgia, for instance) in their region.

And don’t forget the recent overthrow of the Kazakh government.

Aside from Ukraine (which was the “bread basket” of the former Soviet Union [as Zbigniew Brzezinski described it]), Kazakhstan was the most important Soviet Republic.

Don’t forget that Russia went into Kazakhstan on a “peacekeeping” mission.

And they were very successful.

So Russia is heavy-handed.

Putin is heavy-handed.

Because, otherwise, Russia will cease to exist.

Putin is doing his job.

I perceive that he loves his country.

His first responsibility is TO HIS PEOPLE.

He is the leader of RUSSIA.

He is not trying to win a popularity contest.

So to all the Russians who wanna protest, get the fuck out of Russia.

Go to the paradise of the European Union.

Claim refugee status.

Whine and complain that Putin is so bad.

But Putin is protecting your culture and your people.

Let me reiterate.

RUSSIA IS NOT A COMMUNIST STATE.

China is.

Fuck China.

And Russia is far from perfect, but NATO needs to BACK THE FUCK OFF!

As an American, I suggest this:

the USA needs to immediately leave NATO.

The USA needs to also immediately expel the United Nations from New York City.

And the USA needs to exit the United Nations.

If Europe wants their own military, fine.

Call it NATO without the USA.

Donbas and Luhansk asked for Russia’s help.

Putin said yes.

Has Putin gone further than helping these two regions?

Yes.

Why?

Here is one possible reason:

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/12/10/putin-says-conflict-in-eastern-ukraine-looks-like-genocide-a75780

Putin has a responsibility to help those of Russian extraction if he can.

He could.

So he did.

Would you expect Israel to help Jews in some place in the world if they were in trouble?

Yes, you would.

What if those Jews were in a country bordering Israel?

Would you expect Israel to intercede?

Yes, you would.

Being Russian is no less special than being Jewish.

And that is why I have made this playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6m9ArhvB67gGDRosUFD78b?si=987de9a823154d80

You must get to know the works of Dostoyevsky.

Karamazov.

You must get to know the composers.

I have put them on a silver platter for you.

Like beluga caviar.

Have some egg.

Some onion.

On a cracker.

Have some champagne.

But, by all means, have some vodka while you are reading Karamazov.

[Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Variation 18]

You must get to know the films of Eisenstein.

They transcend communism.

It is art.

Potemkin is one of the best films ever made.

And Shostakovich made brilliant, tortured music…IN SPITE OF COMMUNISM!

Gaze upon the paintings of Chagall.

Born in Belarus.

[Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker (Suite), IIb. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy]

It is no less special to be Russian than it is to be Jewish.

And, believe it or not, one can be both.

https://tass.com/russia/1405599

[Stravinsky The Firebird Suite, Finale]

Who really started the attack?

Was it really Russia?

What about this vaunted “false-flag” that the USA government gushed about?

Did Ukraine actually start this conflict?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-22/ukraine-power-plant-damaged-during-two-days-of-shelling

2/22/22

Was Ukraine going to irradiate the region by using Chernobyl as an asymmetric weapon (a giant dirty bomb)?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chernobyl-nuclear-russia-attack-ukraine-b2022444.html

Why was Russia so insistent about taking it over?

Russia has nukes.

Russia has uranium, plutonium, etc.

Russia doesn’t need nuclear material to terrorize a region.

It already has nuclear material.

I suspect something was awry at Chernobyl.

Do you think the FSB and GRU are able to decrypt Ukrainian communications?

I do.

What are the new accessions to NATO saying?

Czechia was very enlightened to drop their vaccine mandate a few weeks ago.

But who was on the front lines of the “get Russia” parade?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/czech-president-russia-cut-off-102059014.html

For NATO, and its former Soviet/Warsaw-Pact members, it is not enough that the USSR fell apart in 1991.

THESE PSYCHOPATHS WANT THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION AND ANNIHILATION OF RUSSIA.

That is not peace.

That is not a peaceful mutual-defense organization.

NATO is the aggressor.

Russia has (finally!) acted in self-defense.

This is the last opportunity Russia has to act without the repercussions being GUARANTEED nuclear war.

Putin made the right choice.

[Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 1, 1.  Grave – Allegro ma non troppo]

China was right to side with Russia.

And I fucking hate China.

And Russia was right to side with China.

Why?

Because NATO and the moronic foreign policy of Biden forced them into it.

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/ukraine-crisis-china-russia-war-us-b2022237.html

Remember when Biden was barely in office and he called Putin “a killer”?

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/03/joe-biden-calls-vladimir-putin-killer.html

What kind of diplomacy is that?!?

Did he go to the Rex Tillerson school of foreign policy???

But let’s get one other thing straight.

[Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, The Story of the Kalender Prince]

There are only two mRNA vaccines approved anywhere in the world.

Ever.

In world history.

And both of them are COVID vaccines.

We are talking about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Are they approved in China?

No.

Not at all.  Not even for emergency use.

Are they approved in Russia?

No.

Not at all.  Not even for emergency use.

Why?

Because Russia and China developed their own COVID vaccines (many of them the traditional inactivated-virus vaccines).

Russia has four COVID vaccines:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_V_COVID-19_vaccine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_Light

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EpiVacCorona

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoviVac_(Russia_COVID-19_vaccine)

[the final one is an inactivated-virus vaccine]

As I have proven in many articles, the COVID vaccines available in the USA are neither safe, nor effective.

Same for those of the U.K., Australia, etc.

What do the vaccines have to do with Russia invading Ukraine?

Use your brains.

Why would Russia and China not approve the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines AT ALL in their countries?

Isn’t it interesting how they (China and Russia) have also aligned themselves in regard to foreign policy?

What do the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have to do with their shared foreign policy (if they do at all)?

So Russia has one inactivated-virus vaccine for COVID and ZERO mRNA vaccines.

You can see what China does and doesn’t have here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_COVID-19_vaccine_authorizations

But let’s get back on topic.

Have you seen Biden brag about getting Viktor Shokin (a Ukrainian prosecutor) fired while Biden was Obama’s Vice President?

Now why would Biden be so interested in a Ukrainian prosecutor?

Why would he execute a quid pro quo using American taxpayer-funded loan guarantees to extort Ukraine into firing Shokin?

Listen for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=UXA–dj2-CY

[Pauly Deathwish “Россия”]

Why, indeed?

What was Hunter Biden doing over in Ukraine?

Was he on the board of directors for Ukrainian gas company Burisma?

Was Burisma under investigation by Shokin?

Did the New York Post break this story during the 2020 U.S. election cycle?

Did Twitter lock the New York Post (third-highest circulation in the USA) out of its Twitter account for publishing and sharing the story on Twitter?

https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/

What story did the New York Post publish the next day?

https://nypost.com/2020/10/15/emails-reveal-how-hunter-biden-tried-to-cash-in-big-with-chinese-firm/

Yes, Joe and Hunter Biden are even more corrupt in specific relation to China than they are to Ukraine (if that is even possible).  But, of course, China did nothing about this.  Because they wanted a President they could control.  So they could take Taiwan (which they will shortly do).

https://www.breitbart.com/2020-election/2019/11/04/report-joe-biden-pressured-ukraine-to-fire-top-prosecutor-after-burisma-lobbying-effort/

So Ukraine had the goods on Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.

But they swept it under the rug.

Because they wanted Joe Biden to win.

So that they could join NATO.

And retake Crimea by military force.

[Prokoviev Alexander Nevsky, VII. Alexander’s Entry into Pskov]

[Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, The Great Gate of Kiev]

So, I hate to say it, dear Ukrainians, but you should have been more involved in the politics of your country.

You, in effect, “voted” for Joe Biden.

Congratulations.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ukraine-prosecutor-biden-burisma-back-off-state-department-files

Are you wishing now that you had exposed Joe Biden for the corrupt piece of shit that he is?

It’s a little late, maybe, to be researching this.

But you know who else knows about this?

The U.S. military.

Where is the bravery of the U.S. military?

Are you just gonna zip your lips and go fight another pointless war so that Joe Biden can cover his ass for all the mistakes he has made during his first year in office?

https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/468886-ukraine-to-fire-prosecutor-who-led-investigations-into-company

In case YouTube (owned by Alphabet Inc. [the owners of Google]) decide to take down the video link I posted above.

Here it is, once again:  Joe Biden BRAGGING that he got a Ukrainian prosecutor fired by dangling billions of dollars in loan guarantees over their heads.

https://rumble.com/v7u8sd-joe-biden-admits-to-getting-prosecutor-fired.html

This is not a conspiracy theory.

It is a conspiracy.

It is a factual conspiracy.

Conspiracy fact.

Joe Biden conspired to get a Ukrainian prosecutor fired.

Why?

Was that prosecutor investigating Burisma gas company–a Ukrainian company on whose board his son Hunter Biden sat?

Yes.

Shokin was investigating that.

Until he was fired.

At Vice President Joe Biden’s behest.

https://jonathanturley.org/2022/02/04/report-diplomat-complained-that-hunter-biden-was-undercutting-anti-corruption-efforts-in-ukraine/

The counterargument will be that Burisma was under investigation BEFORE Hunter Biden joined the board.

So there is nothing wrong with Joe Biden getting the prosecutor fired.

In fact, Joe Biden was actually trying to PREVENT corruption in Ukraine.

Give me a fucking break!

Joe Biden was the “point man” for Ukraine AND China during the Obama years.

Does his son, Hunter, taking a job on the board of a Ukrainian gas company that was under investigation for corruption sound like an above-board thing to do?

Never mind whether they were under investigation or not.

Why the fuck did his son join the board of Burisma while his dad was the “point man” for Ukraine?

And look at the second New York Post link I posted above.

Who was “the big guy”?

10% set aside for “the big guy”?

Hunter Biden did a big deal for a hedge fund after he and his father flew on Air Force 2 to China.

So who is “the big guy”?

Who was getting 10% of the “finder’s fee” for this deal?

Was it Vice President Joe Biden?

I think it fucking was.

That’s called SELLING THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Joe Biden was never fit to be President.

These are disqualifying CRIMES that he committed.

And Ukraine could have done the right thing and exposed it.

But they didn’t.

Great job, Ukrainians.

Thanks a lot.

Every news service in the world covered for Joe Biden.

Those same news services that are calling Zelensky a “hero” and vilifying Putin.

That same ugly chorus.

https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/01/25/fact-check-ap-says-biden-getting-ukrainian-prosecutor-fired-to-protect-hunter-is-false-narrative/

Viktor Shokin has spoken up.

There was an assassination attempt made on him.

Three shots from a sniper’s rifle.

Bulletproof glass on his office window saved his life.

https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/27/report-affidavit-ukrainian-prosecutor-joe-biden-removed-burisma-investigation/

Giuliani told you all this.

But you didn’t believe him.

You wanted to believe that Trump is a bad guy.

And maybe he is.

But Biden is far worse.

https://www.newswars.com/audio-released-of-joe-biden-pressuring-ukraine-president-to-fire-prosecutor-investigating-son-hunter/

I am no longer in support of Trump.

Because Trump has supported these moronic vaccines.

https://www.westernjournal.com/report-former-ukraine-prosecutor-files-complaint-charging-biden-not-trump-abused-power/

Wake me up when Trump calls the neither-safe-nor-effective vaccines bullshit:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3VXsCvRbs1B6BmsVoeAvrQ?si=d8b08ba45df4415a

By the way, this wasn’t just any prosecutor that Joe Biden got fired.

It was essentially the Ukrainian Attorney General.

That’s a pretty fucking big deal, right?

Did Joe Biden, whose son saw fit to cash in on his dad being Obama’s Ukraine “point man” by joining the board of Burisma, really have the moral “high ground” to tell Ukraine who should or shouldn’t be their top prosecutor?

https://www.westernjournal.com/joe-biden-probe-ukraine-top-prosecutors-firing-report/

Does the U.S. military leadership love their country (our country) as much as Putin loves his?

We should just vote Joe Biden out, right?

Three years from now.

Biden hasn’t done that bad during his first year, has he?

I mean, WWIII being imminent is no big deal, right?

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/463307-solomon-these-once-secret-memos-cast-doubt-on-joe-bidens-ukraine-story

I mean…we can make it to the mid-terms, right?

And then Joe Biden’s power will be lessened, right?

So we can make it basically another year with an imminent WWIII hanging over our head.

No problem.

I’m sure Biden will handle this with the same finesse that he handled the Afghanistan withdrawal.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/documents-heighten-scrutiny-on-biden-ukraine-dealings-indicate-hunter-may-have-made-millions

Speaking of which…General Lloyd Austin (who forced our troops to take neither-safe-nor-effective vaccines) and Mark Milley (who did nothing to stop Secretary Austin’s treasonous actions) did such a great fucking job getting us out of Afghanistan.

I’m sure Putin is shaking in his boots.

But here’s an interesting thought.

Putin is a man of ACTION.

His country was/is threatened.

He acted.

What has our U.S. military done to protect OUR country?

They just take orders, right?

Just following orders.

https://thepostmillennial.com/state-department-memos-contradict-democrats-ukraine-impeachment-narrative

I have a bad feeling that they will be following Joe Biden into oblivion…and dragging us all down with them.

The U.S. military can’t take action.

Because there’s never been a military coup in the USA.

And we wouldn’t wanna ruin that record.

If we’re gonna be nuked, might as well go out with a pristine record of civilian control of the military.

Is Joe Biden fit to be President?

Is he a criminal?

Did he sell the office of the Vice President to Ukraine and China?

How about his mental fitness?

Is he cognitively fit to be Commander-in-Chief?

I’m sure if he weren’t, people like Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten (and their two newborns [their dads’ vaginas must be aching!]) will make the right decision and take one month of paternity leave (two fathers!) rather than two…to make sure the supply chain is functioning properly and ports are working well and there aren’t any cargo ships anchored off the coast of, oh, I don’t know, Galveston, or something…and Mayor Pete (who is a WEF Young Global Leader) will invoke the 25th Amendment because Biden is cognitively not fit to lead.

And then we would have dumbass Kamala Harris as President for the next three years.

Pretty rosy picture, eh?

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/biden-boomerang-newly-released-state-memo-casts-doubt

If Biden was removed via the 25th Amendment and Kamala was impeached (just give her time), then our President would be Nancy Pelosi.

That is the outlook for the next year.

Anyone wondering if Joe Biden really got the most votes in the history of the USA?

81 million votes.

More votes than Obama.

Because he was THAT popular!

He was extraordinarily popular in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Detroit, but didn’t do all that well with the black populations in other major U.S. cities.

Anyone find that a bit odd?

He did REALLY, REALLY WELL in those four cities.

Like, abnormally-well.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/world/europe/corruption-ukraine-joe-biden-son-hunter-biden-ties.html

He was probably carried by Kamala.

Who left the Democratic Primaries due to her popularity with voters.

She was polling at less that 1% when she dropped out.

So you got the President you wanted, Ukraine!

You made a pretend effort to rectify things.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ukraine-police-closes-biden-probe-initiated-ousted-prosecutor-n1247320

Let’s not forget about Jan. 6 (which was worse than 9/11 or Pearl Harbor).

Do you Ukrainians think you are experiencing terror and carnage?

You have no idea what AOC went through on January 6.

https://republicbrief.com/russia-threatens-military-consequences-for-2-more-countries/

Let’s just make one thing clear.

Russia is not fucking around.

Is Sweden gonna join NATO?

Not if Russia has anything to say about it.

Is Finland going to join NATO?

Over Russia’s dead body.

Russia has had enough.

They have let NATO expand–right up to their very doorstep–for 30 years.

Ukraine is the line in the sand.

“Hero” Zelensky said he wanted (and intended) to take back Crimea by military force.

He said that 11 months ago.

Then, in September, Ukraine released their national security strategy:  a stated desire and intention to join NATO.

Putin gave Biden and the West (Macron, et al.) a chance to call off the dogs.

Biden and NATO would concede nothing.

So Putin attacked.

And Zelensky is the “hero”.

And Putin is the bad guy.

And we just got out of a 20-year war in Afghanistan, so I guess it’s time for us to go fight in Eastern Europe.

In Ukraine.

How’s that Mexican border looking?

Wall finished?

Oh, we’re just gonna let immigrants walk across the border forever, right?

Because we only have 10% inflation.

So we can, obviously, afford to just take in and house the world.

Fuck it!

And Joe Biden NEEDS these voters.

These are DEMOCRAT voters.

They want socialism.

They NEED socialism.

They are poor as fuck.

And the socialism in their countries (like Mexico) was not working so well.

So they came here…to upgrade to a better socialism.

Except for the fact that we didn’t become a wealthy country because of socialism.

Quite the opposite, actually.

But anyway…send our military to Ukraine.

Make sure Ukraine’s sovereignty is protected.

And fuck American soverignty, right, U.S. military?

But how about the biolabs?

Were there biological (and chemical?) weapons in Ukraine?

Did Putin just bomb the sites?

Was the real “false-flag” gonna be a bioterror release by NATO to take over (close) the Bosporus and occupy Ukraine?

Was NATO going to release a bioweapon in Ukraine?

Were United Nations “peacekeeping” forces going to occupy Ukraine?

Did Putin preempt this plan by blowing up their biolabs?

https://www.opindia.com/2022/02/russia-ukraine-invasion-bioweapons-labs-patrushev-putin-wuhan-coronavirus/

If Fauci (and Daszak and Baric) was involved in the creation of COVID-19, then it wasn’t solely China’s fault.

China stood to gain.

Always ask, “Cui bono?”

But who were the American players?

If DARPA did indeed refuse the EcoHealth Alliance (Daszak) proposal to develop a “bat vaccine” (which was to be sprayed into caves in China), did NIAID (under Fauci) accept the proposal?

Was EcoHealth Alliance a front for the CIA?

What about the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir?

Why do they still have an ongoing contract with EcoHealth Alliance to study bat-borne disease in “Western” Asia?

Hm.

Western Asia, eh?

Like Ukraine???

Turkey is key.

Dividing line between Europe and Asia, right?

And St. Petersburg is a European city.

But what is really the dividing line of Europe and Asia in respect to Russian territory?

Where does Europe end and Asia begin?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9717133/Congress-demands-investigation-2019-Wuhan-Military-Games-athletes-showed-COVID-symptoms.html

What about the World Military Games?

Do you trust China?

I don’t.

But is there something to this story that COVID-19 started WAY BEFORE December 2019 (January 2020 in the USA)?

Are a bunch of people just trying to cover their asses?

Who planned the plandemic?

If it were a murder investigation (and it should literally be), the three prime suspects should be:  Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, and Anthony Fauci.

Beyond them, I would throw in Pope Bergoglio and Prince Charles as very strong suspects.

But of those three–Schwab, Gates, and Fauci–they had the trifecta:  means, motive, and opportunity.

They were, to extend the metaphor, caught red-handed at the scene of the crime.

Throw in Peter Daszak.

Throw in Stephane Bancel of Moderna.

What about Ralph Baric?

And don’t forget the Chinese in Wuhan.

“Bat lady”.

The only relevant thing Trump has done recently was to “praise Putin”, but then he turned around and called Zelensky a hero.

https://www.infowars.com/posts/trump-praises-putin/

Trump has made himself completely irrelevant with his stance on the COVID vaccines available in the USA.

But, hey:  if you’re French, I have good news for you:

https://www.infowars.com/posts/france-deactivates-covid-vaccine-passports-months-ahead-of-expiration-in-effort-to-force-people-to-get-booster-jab-sooner/

There’s only one problem:

https://www.infowars.com/posts/video-canadian-mp-accused-of-spreading-disinformation-for-pointing-out-wefs-corrupt-influence-over-trudeaus-govt/

is Putin controlled by Klaus Schwab?

Schwab brags in a video (in the above article) that Putin was a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF [Davos]).

Who are the other big feathers in Schwab’s cap?

Merkel, Trudeau, Macron, Ardern, De Croo, Sanna Marin…

It is possible (as of last week) to verify Macron, Ardern, De Croo, and Sanna Marin (as well as Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, and Maria Bartiromo) here:

https://www.younggloballeaders.org/community

My gut tells me that former-Stasi (KGB) operative Vladimir Putin went to YGL to COLLECT INFORMATION.

Same with Maria Bartiromo.

As for the rest?

Fuck ’em!

Gabbard?

A fucking fake.

-PD

Boogie Nights [1997)

Something big is going down.

A country is getting taken down.

And that country is the USA.

It is getting taken down using methods suspiciously-similar to those used by the CIA in their regime change activities around the world.

Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia, Chile…

You know their work.

But this time it’s different.

Just as the American intelligence community was weaponized by President Barack Obama against Presidential candidate (and President-Elect) Donald Trump, so is the Deep State (chockfull of former CIA officers) now attempting to bring down the United States to save their asses.

Does China have any reason to attempt to totally destroy the United States AT THIS TIME?

No.  [but they are a part of (willing accomplice to) the takedown]

Does Russia have any reason to attempt to totally destroy the United States AT THIS TIME?

No.

Is there any intelligence organization in the world capable of orchestrating the total war to which the United States has been subjected over the past three months?

Only China and Russia.

And perhaps Israel.

But Israel has absolutely no reason to attempt to depose their greatest ally (Donald Trump).

Iran does not have the capability or sophistication.

Nor does North Korea.

[and North Korea, even if they had the capability (which they do not), has no reason to run a regime change campaign against the most formidable counterintelligence apparatus in the world AT THIS TIME]

And so that leaves us but one “country”:  a country within a country.

The American (Globalist) Deep State.

It is almost synonymous with the CIA.

And the CIA’s methods and signatures are all over the multi-pronged onslaught we have witnessed these past months.

It’s not necessary at this time to point out the biggest players.

Soros?  Yes.

The Clintons?  Yes.

Obama?  Yes.

Bill Gates?  Yes.

What is most important is to locate the quarterback.

And that man is (in my opinion) none other than former Director of the CIA John Brennan.

There are other traitors involved.

But let’s outline the structure of what we have endured:

  1.  Biological Warfare–Here, China sacrificed one of its own cities [Wuhan] to create plausible deniability that they were in any way waging offensive BIOWAR.  As China miraculously shielded the rest of ITS country from COVID-19, they made sure the virus made it (in droves) to the homeland of their arch nemesis:  the USA
  2. Economic Warfare–Here, the Deep State (with a giddy China looking on) watched as the U.S. economy ground to a halt because of COVID-19.  Record unemployment.  All economic activity ceased.  The greatest economy on Earth was ruined (for the time being).  Each U.S. citizen received a pittance of $1,200 which has not been enough to really sustain anyone.
  3. Psychological Warfare–The masses of Americans were told to stay home.  They were cooped up in their houses for two months.  They had nothing to do.  No place to go.  Underlying depressions and anxieties were exponentially amplified.  The populace grew frustrated.  Most of all, the PANIC was conveyed daily by news organizations with heavy connections to the CIA and Democratic Party.  This propaganda terrorized the populace into being afraid to leave their homes–being afraid even to breathe.
  4. Divide and Conquer–Whether the death of George Floyd was a real or synthetic (staged) event, the news coverage would have been the same.  In terms of planning, it is likely that the event never took place at all.  But for the sake of argument, let’s assume for a moment that a man named George Floyd actually did die as a result of an incompetent and cruel police officer.  Magically, the big bogeyman (COVID-19) WAS COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN.  All of a sudden, the pent-up rage and frustration and poverty (see #3 and #2) were activated.  This is the “match in a tinderbox” scenario.  After two months of wall-to-wall coverage of the coronavirus (which ostensibly killed 100,000 Americans by Memorial Day), ALL OF A SUDDEN…THE LIFE OF ONE MAN (george floyd) has become more important than the lives of the 100,000 coronavirus victims (assuming that death toll is accurate [which it is not…it is grossly-inflated]).

So what we have here is a VERY SOPHISTICATED campaign designed to remove Donald Trump from the Presidency.  Worst case scenario (for the Deep State), it is supposed to prevent him from being reelected.

It is also a last-ditch effort to save the asses of those Deep State members whose treason has been pinpointed and for whom justice may not be far off:

-Loretta Lynch

-Sally Yates

-John Brennan*

-James Clapper

-James Comey

-Andrew McCabe

-Bruce Ohr

-James Baker [FBI]

-Peter Strzok

-Lisa Page

-Rod Rosenstein

-Susan Rice

It is my guess that these will be the first pawns to fall.

John Brennan is very important.

More than a pawn (in some ways).

But still a pawn.

How deep will this go?

Barack Obama?

Hillary Clinton?

Bill Gates?

George Soros?

So much depends on each move in this chess game.

Which brings us to Boogie Nights.

There’s a riot goin’ on.

Each of us has a gift.

Heather Graham is great here.

Mark Wahlberg does a really nice job.

We get the Corvette.

Symbol of summer.

Porn with “plots”.

An admirable pursuit.

Burt Reynolds is really phenomenal in this film.

But like Lovelace, this tale of sexual freedom gets darker and darker as it goes along.

You got the touch.

Feel, feel, feel, feel my heat.

Darker and darker.

But very real.

There is a great realism to certain scenes here.

Paul Thomas Anderson really does an amazing job with this one.

Even the usually-vapid Julianne Moore has some actual moments of artful acting herein.

They’re taking her children away.

Black people can like country music.

Definitely a bit of Tarantino in the donut shop scene.

But Anderson is a far superior director to QT.

QT is very talented, but very overrated.

Lots of hype…very little timeless filmmaking.

Anderson is a much more solid auteur.

There is something of Aronofsky here too.

Funny thing is, Anderson got there first.

But Requiem for a Dream goes MUCH DEEPER into drug darkness.

And yet, Anderson paints a portrait of a period of time.

So vividly.

And the colors are washed out.

The soul-eating burn of cocaine is depicted as it really is:  torrid.

Desperate.

Exciting.

Elusive.

Utterly destructive.

Psychosis-inducing.

How many more nights will the “divide and conquer” boogie?

Military police.

82nd Airborne.

101st Airborne.

1st Infantry.

10th Mountain Division.

The United States is under attack…mainly from within.

China played a small (though not insignificant) role.

The main culprits are liberal globalists.

4B.

A second wave of coronavirus will hit the U.S.

This will happen as a result of the fake-news media pushing the narrative that one man’s death (george floyd) is more important than 100,000 ostensible fatalities.

The CIA/liberal media is distracting the country from being vigilant about hand washing, social distancing, etc.

And when will this second wave hit?

Right before November 3rd, perhaps?

 

-PD

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation [1989)

It’s been awhile since I’ve written.

Got dumped by my fiancée.

Offered to be engaged again.

Got rejected again.

Worked my ass off at Starbucks.

Had one day off (Christmas).

And another today (New Year’s Eve).

Haven’t been feeling too well.

Failed experiments with getting off of anti-anxiety medication.

It’s tough.

People coming in the drive-thru in the wrong direction.

Getting stuck.

Taking twenty minutes to back out like Austin Powers in that infamous utility truck scene.

Work is stressful.

Christmas is stressful.

It puts a strain on many people.

Some go home and drink themselves to sleep.

While capitalism creates the most value, it is not without a price for the worker.

Getting a nice, cushy job can be easier than it sounds.

Perhaps I am dumb.

I’m not lazy, but I might be dumb.

I am smart in certain things.

But finding a place where my talents fit?

Well, I have done that a few times in my life.

But those were rare occasions.

It may be trite to say so, but life can come down to a roll of the dice here and there.

Is it chaos?

Is it God?

Did God invent chaos?

It’s true.

Some things which were formerly unexplained have become clearer as man has gained more knowledge of his world through science.

And here we come into the year 2020.

Where’s I’m at, there is a little less than two hours left.

I am glad to have my parents with me.

My dear, sweet mom.

My dear, sweet dad.

I am glad to have a roof over my head.

I’m glad to have heat.

Warmth.

Love.

And it is a joy to revisit this modern classic.

This was a film that my extended family (and my nuclear family) loved.

It is truly a city/country dichotomy.

From the very start.

Rednecks tailgate Clark Griswold as the family goes to the boonies in search of a Christmas tree.

But John Hughes does not paint a strictly disparaging portrait of rural folk.

Far from it.

For me, Randy Quaid is far-and-away the star of this film.

It is his best role.

Cousin Eddie.

It makes sense.

Quaid is from Houston.

And he has become quite a colorful character in real life on Twitter these recent years.

Scanning his bio, one can see that he attempted to migrate to Canada…with stops in Vancouver and Montreal.

But all that is secondary.

Quaid’s performance here is legendary.

And so he represents the country/rural pole.

But John Hughes, the film’s writer, did this lovingly.

Quaid is a lovable character here.

Not without faults.

Very three-dimensional.

This is where ’80s comedy approaches Dostoyevsky (in some weird sort of way).

At the other city/urban pole are the Griswold’s yuppie neighbors (notably including Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

Hughes takes as least as many pokes at the urban affluent as he does at the rural poor.

And there is nothing loving in his portrayal of the neighbors Todd and Margo.

But all of this is still secondary.

Because this film reminds me of my youth.

Times when things were a little more normal.

A big roaring fireplace out in the country.

And times when my dear cousin was still alive.

In rural areas, there is not much to do but watch movies.

And these were the days of VHS.

And video rental stores.

And so this film comes highly recommended by me.

It may not be one to watch year-round, but for my money it is more important and essential to my being than It’s a Wonderful Life.

One last thing.

Happy New Year to all!

May we not chain-smoke ourselves into early graves.

May we find peace and happiness and be able to handle the stresses of work and life.

I wish this for everyone.

 

-PD

Ryna [2005)

I wanted to watch this movie for a long time.

Because of one of my favorite actresses.

Dorotheea Petre.

And this is a hard film to find.

So I want to give a shout out to tubitv.com for having it.

For free!

Yes, great website.

Check it out.

But I digress.

Back to Ryna.

A Romanian film.

Not as good a Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii (The Way I Spent the End of the World [also available to watch for free on Tubi]), but worth a viewing.

Ryna is a hard film.

Set in the middle of nowhere.

Danube Delta (says IMDb).

It’s a sad story.

Feminist.

A good feminist film.

Rape (always lurking).

Directed by Ruxandre Zenide.

Romanian-Swiss.

The style reminds me of the Dogme 95 movement.

Like Harmony Korine’s Julien Donkey-Boy.

But even more harsh.

An unforgiving lens and a dry, dusty landscape.

Occasional muddy downpours.

Extreme poverty.

Very convincing acting.

Method.

Petre is the only actor who really stands out.

Her performance here is not as good as in Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii, but it is very fine.

There are very few films available with this wonderful actress.

So this one is well worth watching.

 

-PD

Cinderfella [1960)

Here is a masterpiece.

I was wrong to dismiss it so suddenly.

On first viewing.

The fairy godfather and the schmaltzy song by the pool I couldn’t stomach.

But I tried again.

Because the juicer is so good!

AND THE KITCHEN DANCE (!)

So it’s true.

Jerry Lewis made AT LEAST TWO perfect films.

This one and The Nutty Professor.

And it gives me hope with which to plumb the depths of his full oeuvre.

The little mattress on the big set of springs.

The one cheap sheet hiding this dismal arrangement.

AND THE DINNER!

Holy crap!!

That is my life!!!

Forever catering to the whims of dickheads.

Forever going back and forth…for sugar cubes.

And to pour the wine.

And to light a cigarette.

[but mainly to sugar caffeinated beverages]

Out of breath…

Jerry Lewis.

Overworked.

Mucho trabajo, poco dinero.

Pablito!

This film celebrates us nerds!!!

Revenge.

Sure…

But really it’s a much sweeter, more pure vindication.

Nothing nasty about it.

Jerry combing his hair in the toaster’s reflection.

And a little touch-up in the reflection of the Rolls’s front grill.

And that haircut!

Buzz cut.

Except for the little shock of normality above the forehead.

Anna Maria Alberghetti is fantastic as Princess Charming!

So light.

So airy.

So sweet.

But it all goes back to the kitchen dance.

Post- puffs on a ciggy.

Dropped in the sink.

To mimic the entire Basie band.

Rahsaan would have been proud.

To feel it.

The touch notes on the piano.

The little Basie accents.

So lazy.

So classy.

And the air drums.

Brushes.

Buh-da-loop da loop.

Buh-ruh-rump!!!

And that sax, man!

Bari!!!

Blowin’ out the cheeks like Dizzy ( )

Duck walking.

Chuck Berry kicks.

A whole sax section in one mouth.

Fucking genius!

In truth, there are a lot of plot parallels between Cinderfella and The Nutty Professor.

We almost sense Buddy Love in the staircase scene.

But Jerry comes out verbally bumbling.

And humble.

AND HE DANCES LIKE JULIUS KELP IN THE PROM WHITE SUIT!!!

Manic, man…

Bloody jaw-dropping.

 

-PD

The grey suit in NXNW [1959/2017)

Maybe.

After many long years.

I finally got a decent suit.

But the pinnacle is still Cary Grant in North by Northwest.

Perhaps more important than Dorothy’s slippers.

The grey suit.

Gray?  Grey.

Because Archibald Leach (Grant’s real name) was from Bristol.

Now.

The debate rages on.

Was it Norton & Sons (Savile Row) or Quintino (Beverly Hills)?

And this is a very important matter.

Basis in fact.

Innocent lives are at stake here.

Vanity Fair (at least they employed Tosches for a time) contends it was a British suit.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/03/behindthescenes200803

But The Independent counters that it was an American (Beverly Hills) tailor.

My first thought is always The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (novel 1955, film 1956).

1959.

Something in the air.

Advertising.

Madison.

Shopping.

5th.

Whatever you do, don’t buy a property at 666 5th Avenue.

Mr. Kushner made that mistake.

Can you change an address?

Can we inch the building over a bit?

666 1/2?

But finally, that eternal quote of Mike Ruppert:

“The CIA is Wall Street.  Wall Street is the CIA.”

What could all this mean?

What could ANY of this mean?

It’s well-known.

But the real danger is Finnegans Wake.

Is it unpredictability?

The real danger is changing stripes.

Spots.

Markings.

Camouflage.

A mask.

My daily trousers are sweatpants.

And then we must bring in Erik Satie.

As dangerous (harmless) a man as ever lived.

The “Velvet Gentleman”.

Seven gray velvet suits.  All identical.  One for each day of the week.

A revolution in simplicity.

But there are many, many hours of piano music to wade through.

Through which.

It’s not just the Gymnopédies.

Or even the Gnossiennes.

SS.

It’s a veritable Voynich manuscript of eccentricity.

Quixotic.

Mercurial.

Bizarre!

But with Magritte we got the grey bowler.

And Max Ernst:  “The hat makes the man.”

But did he say it in English?

Not bloody likely!

And so rail-thin Cary Grant, almost certainly homosexual, looks stunning…dapper…a paragon of class in North by Northwest.

And it is a rare time where I (and many other men) say:  “Wow…I want that business suit!”

Because I didn’t grow up rich.

And it took me till age 40 to get a passable sack.

Brooks Brothers was expensive.

Still is.

I’m low-rent.

High-brow.

A conundrum.

I don’t want to sell oil.

I’m a city boy.

They won’t take me on the farm.

So what am I?

Do I ride around on a horse?

Do I spit tobacco into a cuspidor?

[not anymore]

We must go away.  To come back.  And see for the first time.

What was Jia Zhangke talking about?

Or from?

The I Ching?

Or some Zen text?

Advertising.

Memetics.

Messaging.

COMMUNICATIONS

We are drawn to the suit.

The breezy ease with which Cary Grant negotiates New York sidewalk traffic.

Every remark quick.

Never at a loss for words.

And the characters all pay attention.

From Martin Landau to Eva Marie Saint:  menswear.

Three buttons.

[a detail I missed…too late]

Buttons on cuffs.

Cufflinks.

Two-piece.

The most remarkable aspect, though, might be the “grey suit with grey tie” effect.

I mean, “what the fuck”?!?

It is slightly “off”.

Not the color-matching.

That’s fine.

But the concept.

Or this hypothetical exchange:

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Gray.”

“Gray?”

“Yeah, I don’t know…I just like gray.”

“What about it do you like?”

“I don’t know…it’s sorta mysterious?”

“Ok…but, I mean, it seems sorta drab, don’t you think?”

“Well, I’m not in the market for a gray bikini…”

Ah!

There’s the gender.

Men.

Do men fancy grey?

Is it one of the colors they’ve been “given”?

And women.

Do they really fancy pink?

I suppose some diabolical seamstress has plotted the complementary colors of all the world’s hetero couples.

Grey and pink.

Pink and green.

Orange and blue.

Red and green.

Purple and yellow.

Ad absurdum.

All I can say is this.

I feel spectacular in my new gray suit.

I’m a little closer to Daniel Craig, though mostly in the Cary Grant body type.

Or, put differently, I’m an extremely-poor-man’s Daniel Craig 🙂

I, too, would look scrawny next to James Bond.

Which segues nicely into the 007 franchise.

Suits…again.

Whether in Jamaica or parts unknown.

The sartorial fastidiousness would play a major role in framing Bond as “not just another guy”.

Taste.

An eye for detail.

Quality.

And personality, though understated.

The grey suit.

It the biggest weapon in my fashion arsenal (as of today).

And thus we turn towards commerce.

Another run, perhaps, of job searching.

Selling myself.

But at a certain point you just gotta say, “Fuck it!”

I’m a cool person.

I ain’t out to hurt nobody.

I read books.

Big fucking books.

About math and shit like that.

I’m a nerd to the nth power.

I know that.

And I’m fine with that.

Because I see the value in that.

So now I may have to bludgeon the HR receptors with a whole new level of qualifications.

Can I do it?

Can I be a lawyer?

Can I be a PhD?

[notably, perhaps, in advertising]

And beyond.

Because life has led me to this impasse.

We worry about bread on the table.

And some milk to stay healthy.

Heat in the winter.

Cooling in the summer.

Most of all…in all this mess of writing…I am thankful.

Thankful for a chance.  A chance to do the right things.

And thankful for family.  Thankful for time.

Thankful for intuition.

And thankful for failure.

Have your cake.  Or eat it.

Thank you, my friends…for your support.

I am happy today.  Hard day, as always.

And I pray the good happenings for each of you…in your lives…

-PD

Jia Zhangke, a Guy from Fenyang [2014)

I bet you thought I stopped writing about film, right?

🙂

Me too.

Sometimes.

I think…

“Am I still a film critic?”

With all this Trump this and Trump that.

With these tableaux.

This lazy poetry.

But I am back with an actual film.

And it is a masterpiece.

But I don’t know what to call it!!!

It’s a Chinese film.

Sort of.

But not really.

Because it’s by a Brazilian film director.

But not just any Brazilian film director.

Someday I will get around to reviewing one of the best exemplars of naïveté ever made.

Yes, one of the best FILMS ever made.

Central do Brasil.

Central Station.

A formative episode in my filmic life.

But back to this Chinese film directed by a Brazilian.

I didn’t even get to his name yet 🙂

Walter Salles!

Yes…two masterpieces are enough to make an auteur!!

But we can’t use the Chinese title here.

For the film.

Under consideration.

Because that would be disingenuous (and we will get to Trump).

[Or we will try.]

{so much…stuff…in the world}

Let’s paint the picture…

Three Gorges…no.

We must wait.

Central Station was a fiction film.

A beautiful masterpiece which stretches even up into the sertão.

But Jia Zhangke, a Guy from Fenyang is a documentary…about a guy from Fenyang…named Jia Zhangke.

Messrs. Baggini and Fosl (Julian and Peter) would call that a “spectacularly uninformative sentence”.

And Kant, the less-colorful–less-candid “analytic proposition”.

But we hit an impasse.

The film I am reviewing is so little-known (apparently) that it doesn’t have a Wikipedia page.

Worse, it has a strange, butchered title on iMDB.

There it is called Jia Zhang-ke by Walter Salles.

Hmmm…

I must admit:  it appears some people in marketing over at Kino Lorber are dicking around.

But we press on…

Just who the fuck is Jia Zhangke?  And why should you care about him?

Well, first:  he’s a film director.

And second:  he’s as good as Jean-Luc Godard.

Did I just say that???

Yes.

I just put someone on an equal level with my favorite director of all time.

What’s more, a Chinese guy you’ve probably never heard of.

Of whom.

And what about this Fenyang business?

Well, let’s get out our maps.

First, we must find Shaanxi Province.

Northern China.

The capital is Xi’an.

But we must get to the more obscure.

Fenyang.

Home of our subject auteur:  Jia Zhangke.

So we don’t exactly know the title…here to there…from this platform to the next.

But we will say this.

If you are in the U.S., this film is currently streaming on Netflix under the title Jia Zhangke, a Guy from Fenyang.

Or something like that.

This is the confusion of a lack of standardization.

Where’s ISO when you need them…or Zamenhof!

Ok…so why should you watch a 105 minute documentary about a filmmaker of whom you have likely never heard?

Because Walter Salles compels you.

He says, “Watch my story…  Pay attention to this little self-deprecating Chinese man.  He’s a cinematic genius.”

Wouldn’t it be great if all artisans and artists helped each other out in such a way?

A filmmaker, age 57, decides to make a film about another filmmaker, age 46.

Actually, that is quite an honor.

That an older filmmaker would help in the career of the younger one.

So we heartily praise Salles for his mise-en-scène as well as his morals.

But then we hit another impasse.

Because words cannot express the brilliance of Jia Zhangke’s grasp on cinematic language.

And so, why should you watch this film?  I ask again.

Because it gives you an introduction (not dumbed down in any way) to the works of a contemporary film artist who is leading the cinematic medium into this new century.

Likewise, it gives you an introduction to Chinese film at the same time.

These aren’t kung fu flicks (for the most part).

These are art films.

Similar to Breathless

Born of the French New Wave.

But also born of Raj Kapoor.

Indeed, as a young boy…Jia Zhangke remembered an early film which extolled thieves.  And it was this Indian film shown in China.  And the Chinese kids remembered the melismatic melodies for decades…to rip off a shred and a few threads of a melody which bound them as enfants terribles.

Jia Zhangke, a Guy from Fenyang is a bit like Cinema Paradiso.

The big director returns home.

And there’s a sadness.

Maybe you can see your childhood home.

And hit the wall one more time.

You can imagine the family bed and the father’s desk was there.

And the books on shelves along here.

So many books.

That there is a sadness of being from Fenyang.

I feel it being from San Antonio.

And Jia Zhangke, all throughout this film, ideates thoughts which have now and then wisped in and out of my dreams.

Jia is very calm.  Thoughtful.  Serene.

A true artist.

And as he talks about the process of creation, I find him to be an exceptionally dedicated artist.

We hear about Xiao Wu (1997).

Pickpocket.  Starring Wang Hongwei.

I mean, this bloke…Wang…  His clothes hang on him in almost a magical way.

He’s a good-for-nothing bum in the Chaplin mold, but still puffing away like Belmondo in Breathless.

But Jia was right.

It’s the gait.

The way Wang Hongwei walks.

Body language.

Brilliant!

And the shots we see of Platform are really moving.

It’s like being from a place like Kiruna, Sweden.

Gotta get there by train.

Up past the Arctic Circle.

And the kids…they don’t have a lot of entertainment.

Maybe even the sight of a train.

But in China…………….far more vast.

These remote places.

Like the Three Gorges area where Jia made Dong and also Still Life.

But the joke’s on me.

Because the whole world knows Jia Zhangke.

The whole world of cinema.

And me, with my insular approach, not so much.

Because Jia won the Palme d’Or in both…wait.

We have the wrong envelope.

Ok…so maybe he’s not that well know.

His films have been screened in competition at Cannes, but no hardware yet.

With the exception of his Golden Lion from Venice.

But none of that matters.

What matters is that he’s making great films.

What matters is that he has the potential to best us all.

This was a very moving film for me.

Because it speaks to the obstacles of life.

Of the unhappiness.

Of the solitude which must be for creations to ferment properly.

To mix metaphors, we need the darkness in which to screen our masterpieces of light.

We cannot screen them in a glass house…at 2:30 p.m.

Finally, this film will give you invaluable insights into the recent history and current state of China.

All the people on Weibo (like Twitter).

The market system which has been kicking ass since the 1990s.

And crucial periods such as 1976-1989.

The restructuring period right after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

WE NOW JOIN PAULY DEATHWISH NEWS NETWORK…IN PROGRESS: “…

Xi Jinping.  His father purged in 1963.  His father jailed in 1968.  Xi was sent without his father to work in Shaanxi Province in 1969.  [The remote province from which film director Jia Zhangke hails.]

This was a time of immense violence in China.  Being purged.  Being jailed.  Being sent to the countryside to work and be re-educated.  All of this was suffused with violence.

So when President Xi got the message from President Trump himself that the U.S. had just launched 60 Tomahawk missiles into Syria minutes earlier, President Xi was met with the shock of surrealism…a perfect steak…beautiful ladies…the glitz and glamour of Mar-a-Lago…and the throat punch of an actual tiger.  No paper.

“Get North Korea in line, and fast!”  Would have been the message.

So that, in these times, to truly appreciate that which is unfolding around us, we need directors like Jia Zhangke.

These are our new philosophers.  Our new poets.

Thinking about social media.

Fooling around with it.

Inventing new artistic forms.

And finding new types of loneliness.

And desperation.

Jia came from a very poor area.

He loved his family very much.

The Chinese don’t like violence.

We Americans don’t like violence.

See this film.

Then get back to me on Dereliction of Duty 🙂

-PD

Democrats [2014)

For so long I dreamed.

Of visiting Africa.

Merely in film.

To say that I was not narrow-minded.

And to honor the one friend I have ever known from that beautiful continent.

A native of Chad.

Tchad.

And a former resident of Côte d’Ivoire.

Because I love geography.

But, even more, I love people.

And I am pleased to report that this documentary, about ZIMBABWE, is a masterpiece.

Directed by a Dane (as in Denmark) by the name of Camilla Nielsson.

And currently available in the U.S. for streaming on Netflix.

It is a recursive process.

For so long I cried.

When I thought of slavery.

When I saw the beautiful face of a black man.

And the teeth with many gaps.

I now know.

I can say.

My dear friend.

You look like you may have come from Zimbabwe.

But recursion may become tiresome.

So we will plop with geography for a moment.

Sadly ignoring Chad and Ivory Coast for the time being, we must locate (firmly) Zimbabwe on a map.

Champagne Castle.

Remove your sanctions.

Remove your sunshades.

Looks like South Africa (south)…and Botswana (west)…additionally Mozambique (east)…and gets hairy from there.

But you needs must only remember that the two Zs flock together:  Zimbabwe and Zambia.

And so to the north (by way of northwest [not possible]) is Zambia.

Lusaka.

And over Angola is Luanda.

Lusaka.

Luanda.

You are really getting the hang of this 🙂

Have you thought about working for the State Department?

Recursive.

Going back.

But wait…there’s less!

Just remember that Zimbabwe is southeast Afrique.

Not on the coast.

That’s -zambique.

But landlocked.

Have you ever heard the rot of colonialism?

No no.

Have you ever heard a landlocked brass band?

The pitiful, wailing clarinets…

Landlocked is potentially poverty.

At the mercy of your neighbors.

Over land.  Over sea.

One.  Two.  If.

Recur thyself!

No…

We must say it:  MUGABE!

A big, fucking rockstar of totalitarianism.

Nah…

Dictatorshit!

Yes.  His dictator shit!

As when the Dalai Lama was a boy.

And they kept his turds.

Because he was some kind of golden child.

But President Mugabe (since 1980) will forever have the ignominy of that desafinado military band behind him.

Celebrations like dirges.

Gloriously out of tune!

Nothing slight about it!!

And every head bows…and every knee genuflects in fealty.

A spry 93 years old.

And President of Zimbabwe for a mere 37 years.

He ain’t a king.

And worse:  he’s only 4th on the list of usurping motherfuckers!

You’d have to go to shitholes like Angola (ahh, Luanda…), Cameroon, and the kicker (!) Equatorial Guinea to find jerks who have managed to outlast the black Hitler.

But I like Mugabe.

[what?????????]

No, no…let me explain.

First:  the guy does have a Hitler mustache.  More or less.

But that’s not why I like him.  I don’t dig Hitler.

Wait…do I like Mugabe?

Well, there’s a time and place for everything (and everyone).

As you watch Democrats (mercifully…for all involved…NOT about the U.S. Democratic Party), you might grow attached to the various fuckers involved.

Politicians.

Lawyers!

But Third World lawyers.

Some sad shit…

But most importantly:  brave, noble human beings.

You wanna see a real revolution?

Watch this film.

You wanna see some real sacrifices for democracy?

Watch this film.

To be sure…democracy is ugly!

And we Americans are the best at it.

Anything goes!

Fight, fuck, kill…but more like lie, cheat, deceive…yeah.

Democracy brings out the worst in people.

But it arrives at the best result.

It’s a goddamned crucible.

Just to think…that the master copy of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (ostensibly the subject of this film) was on a fucking Dell laptop.

Dell.

Right up the road from me.

Round Rock.

In the Westerns…

&

Michael Dell’s Horatio Alger story…at UT-Austin.

Even closer to me.

And #vault7.

So that we know that every scintilla–every Oxford comma was hacked by the CIA and/or NSA and known throughout the Five Eyes…even before the leaked hard copy hit newsstands in Harare.

Ah!

Another capital…

Reçu.

I can never go back.  Enough.  TO give you a full telling.

I guess Paul Mangwana is still alive.

This.

The character that grows on you.

From chuckling social engineer.

To political operative shitting his pants.

How do you say “damage control” in Shona?

Exactly.

And Susan Rice is a bitch.

But that’s neither here nor there.

Because Democrats so precisely parallels the recent U.S. election.

The drama.  Allegations.

The swaggering strongman.

Yeah…Juan Williams would ride to town on that correlation.

So is Trump Mugabe?

Fuck no.

Not yet.

And probably not ever.

But liberals will have a field day with this possibility.

Social justice warriors will mouth off like the surly reporter from South Africa.

What an asshole!

And so we sympathize with Mr. Mangwana.

What a precarious position he was put in!

To try and bring the illusion of constitutionality to the ZANU-PF party.

But wait a minute…wait a minute…you ain’t heard nothing yet!

Remember, remember…that a black leader can repress black people.

America thought it was fine and dandy…and candy-shop clean when it elected CIA agent Barack Obama.

That turned out to be a big mistake.

One doesn’t investigate one’s own employer pursuant to crimes against humanity (9/11) when such equates to biting the hand that feeds.

Obama lost control.

And tried to get a little African in his lame-duck months.

Oops.

Yes…only democracy in the Middle East?  Israel?  You’ve got to be joking.

And Zimbabweans were so hopeful after the Mwangana/Mwonzora conclave wrapped up its two-year-overlong constitutional convention.

Got a little #MAGA in you?

Check out how a constitution is crafted.

If wasn’t all ass-kissing in Philadelphia.

Some genuinely contentious points.

And the Obamacare “Repeal and Replace” that just narrowly failed.

Think that wasn’t stressful?

Freedom Caucus gonna be outta jobs.

Saving their butts.

Sorry fuckers…

But I wouldn’t take their job for anything.

To be in that position.

Because.

We live a little while.

And then we die.

And so Camilla Nielsson deserves a Nobel (or at least a can of General Snus)…because she captured REAL, FUCKING LIFE here.

She doesn’t tell you what to think.

She says (in effect):  “figure it out”.

Here’s the facts. Figure it out.

“I have seen what I have seen”, wrote Ezra Pound in his second Canto.

I can’t explain it.

Some drumming.

Women making turkey noises.

Weird, macarena dances.

And a little boy gets beaten to death.

All to write a new constitution.

And Douglas Mwonzora is right:  Mugabe is evil.

That is a totally valid perspective.

Having seen this film.

[ahh…]

One source.

Never was anything decided on the basis of one source.

But circumstantial runs up against direct.

Very good, Eric Bolling!

And Tony Shaffer was better with MacGuffin.

But that’s just because this is Dossier du cinema.

Not cool enough for diacritics.

One final word…

Mugabe persists from the Soviet era.

Figure it out.

Is he a friend of NATO?

Do the geopolitical math.

Ruminate on AFRICOM.

Pound…was no patriot.  Of his own country.  In a traditional sense.

And the most I can bring you is this.

This attestation to genius.

The genius of Democrats by Camilla Nielsson.

And the sad face of former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai…leader of the opposition MDC party.

Sad.

Like his face had been bashed in few too many times.

And maybe we don’t wanna know.

But the cowed look says it all.

And Douglas Mwonzora risks it all.

Three days in jail without food or water.  Plus another 18 days to make it a full three weeks.

Mr. Mwonzora.

So calm.

Collected.

That cool we see in Jafar Panahi.

Yes.

You can jail me.

But you will have to thoroughly kill me.

To stop me.

From doing what I love.

-PD

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story [2003)

Happy Birthday to Thora Birch, my favorite actress of all time!

Yes, I know…I know.

A film critic whose favorite actress is a young 35-year-old whipper snapper???

Yes.

That’s alright.

Laugh at me.

If the question was, “Who was your favorite classic Hollywood actress?,” then I would answer, “Lauren Bacall”.

But I said favorite actress of all time.

You can search my “Thora” category here on my site for why exactly this actress is my favorite.

Because otherwise, we’re going to be here all day.

And I have a movie to review!

One of my favorites:  Homeless to Harvard.

It is, indeed …The Liz Murray Story, but I will be using the shortened title hereafter for brevity’s sake.

It is my contention (and I have made the point elsewhere…probably on this very site of mine) that Thora Birch produced a trilogy of acting performances which are more-or-less analogous to Bob Dylan’s classic trilogy.

Let’s start with Dylan.

The three (at unity from a similarity of intense expression):

Bringing It All Back Home

Highway 61 Revisited 

and

Blonde on Blonde

And now the Thora films which correspond in my mind:

American Beauty

Ghost World

and

Homeless to Harvard

Sure…Birch didn’t direct these films.

But her acting is so strong, she might as well have.

By this point she was no longer a prodigy.

She was a mature actress.  A master of her craft.

And the story here is one to really sink teeth in.

[In which.]

We recently touched on homelessness here in the review of Alicia Vikander’s stellar turn as Katarina from Till det som är vackert.

Pure.

But the esthetics of Homeless to Harvard are different.

This isn’t European arthouse.  It’s a Lifetime made-for-TV film.

But don’t go running anywhere!!!

This is as gritty as any Lou Reed tale.

And it’s all real.

Too pure.

Heroin addict parents.

Mother schizophrenic.

Blindness.

Genetic.

Mother with HIV.

Father with AIDS.

Vice versa ice Ursa.

Father in homeless shelter.

Mother wielding knife.  Vomiting.

Alcoholism.

Really appealing, eh?

But you gotta stick with it.

This isn’t Darren Aronofsky mise-en-scène.

It’t not, “Let’s win an award at Sundance.”  Or, “Let’s sweep at Cannes.”

It’s more like one of Aesop’s fables.

It’s the message, man!

And so first, let’s honor the director.

Peter Levin.

Who knew a television film could be so artful?

Well, when you combine the history of Histoire(s) du cinéma with the precedent of Twin Peaks, you should know by now that television can produce good stuff.

Hell…

Your TV can even WATCH YOU! (as per WikiLeaks Vault7).

But I digress…

The weeper (no masonry) sob story…had me crying in my Junior Mints…we must attribute to the excellent writing of Ronni Kern.

Who the hell is Ronni Kern?!?

Male?  Female?

I’ve had less trouble finding the gender of completely unknown foreign movie people.

But Kern is pretty invisible on the Internet.

And maybe there’s a point here.

  1.  It doesn’t fucking matter.
  2. You should judge someone on their work, not their gender.

Hopefully Ms. Birch will appreciate this flash of liberalism should she read this review.

[I’m not holding my breath]

But we have just celebrated International Women’s Day.

And the fact that Birch’s character here is a “feminist” is a running pseudo-joke.

Which brings us to the performances.

Michael Riley is stellar, stellar (I know…) as Liz’s father Peter.

Kudos to the styling department.

That beard.  And that hair!

Crazy, man, crazy!!

But Riley’s performance is really special.

It touched my heart.

Long ago.

When I first saw this film.

And dare I say, this movie made me appreciate my own family.

It made me miss my folks.

And so I salute Peter Riley and Lifetime and all involved for that effect on my heart.

Jennifer Pisana is really fabulous as the young Liz Murray here.

It’s an unenviable task.

To precede Thora Birch’s entrance.

But Pisana is indispensable to this little masterpiece.

Those sweaters.

And the full pronunciations…”Mommy”…”Daddy”…

Ms. Pisana affects the necessary naïveté to be juxtaposed against the sad schizophrenia of Kelly Lynch (who plays Liz’s mom).

And Lynch is great.

Think Cries and Whispers.

[cris et chuchotements…(( (( ((…et chuchotements]

Robert Bockstael does a fine job as Liz’s teacher David.

Very convincing.  Excellent craftsmanship.

Makyla Smith is piquant in her depiction of Liz’s best friend Chris.

[God…the Magic Marker…and the pine box…fuuuuuuck]

Yes, friends…this is Lifetime Television.

So the brisure (bonjour, monsieur Derrida) is “crap”.

“Crap happens.”

Whoa…watch thy mouth, Kelly Lynch!

So again…Peter Levin does a fantastic job shoehorning a true X-file into PG territory.

We see a syringe here and there.  A tourniquet.

Riley cleaning a spoon.

But the real heartbreak is Wheat Chex with tap water.

Yeah…

Hello Gummo.

Ellen Page has a small role here.

And she’s good.

Fine actress.

But we’ve been waiting to roll out the big gun.

Thora Birch.

On this, her birthday, I am only just now getting towards a handful of reviews honoring her unique thespian gift.

What to say?

That every look is magic?

That every glance is gold?

That she has crafted her microexpressions in solitude…and wielded them like an Arthurian sword for the duration of this flick?

Yes, yes, and yes.

[and an Oxford comma]

Because kids take it for granted.

Rich kids.

Harvard.

Penn.

Princeton.

Maybe…

But even more so the lesser ivied walls.

I won’t name names.

But the spoiled kids.

Not turning in homework.

Bragging about shortcuts.

Those, ultimately, will be life’s losers.

But Liz Murray worked her butt off to get into Harvard.

From sleeping on the B Train.

Four years of high school in two.

And Thora Birch has worked her butt off too.

She hasn’t gotten the roles her talent deserves.

But the roles she has gotten, she has largely smashed out of the park.

Like the Babe Ruth of leading ladies.

And so there are other actresses I admire.

But Thora Birch was the first.

The first to give me that magical feeling which only Neil Young has adequately described:

“I fell in love with the actress/She was playin’ a part that I could understand”.

Happy Birthday, Thora Birch!

And may all your days and films be filled with the joy which you have put into the world through your cinematic brilliance.

-PD

Mateo [2014)

Here is a perfect film.

After awhile, you wonder whether such will ever appear again.

To call Mattew (Mateo) Stoneman a white “mariachi” singer is somewhat misleading.

But that’s the gist of it.

The premise.

Of this documentary.

No, this isn’t the Columbian drama Mateo from about the same year.

This is Mateo, the priceless documentary directed by Aaron Naar.

Why perfect?

Why priceless?

Because it is true.

I can attest.

To the life of the musician.

Somewhere…I must have been dreaming…while watching.

But the life of a musician is really not even worth two dollars.

I know.

I know the life of a rubbish-filled room.

Sleeping on some pillows.

Or a mattress on the floor.

Bedbug man comes to spray.

Doesn’t know where to start.

I know the life of playing crap gigs.

All for the big payoff.

To leave a legacy.

I know.

Mr. Stoneman (Mateo) references Scorsese.

That’s rich.  And right.

Talking to the filmmaker.

Do we ever see him?

The man with the movie camera?

I don’t know.

But he more-or-less makes himself invisible in this pungent story.

We get Los Angeles.

Where I should be.

But I chose another path.

And yet, Mateo chose the right one.

For him.

Follow the music.

Not the money.

Follow your heart.

Play and write and sing until your heart gives out.

Until the apple juice and Subway sandwiches finally kill you.

Bukowski described it as dog food.

The life of a writer.

Or musician.

Alpo.

Post office.

But what Mateo does is scrimp and save.

Because he’s addicted to recording.

Or rather, he’s making his masterpiece.

A $350,000 album.

Self-funded.

No record label.

Fuck ’em.

This guy, Mateo, has cojones.

A white man in a brown man’s genre.

But he’s all love.

Love for the music.

And the kicker is Cuba.

Yes, dear friends…

Much of our action happens in Havana.

Over and over and over again…Mateo travels to Cuba.

To record.

It’s real.

Quantegy GP9 tape.

2″

I may be useless to most of the world, but I get this.

Reel after reel after reel.

And so it is mambo.

But so soft and subtle.

Like the bossa nova of 60s Brazil.

But Mateo succeeds in his aspiration.

And so his voice is feathery-light…like Billie Holiday on Lady in Satin.

Because Mateo Stoneman had to pay his dues.

Prison.

A thief.

Almost like François Villon.

Stealing to make music.

To afford to record.

I’ve been there.

Pawned all my best shit.

To make a record.

Nobody heard.

Or cared about.

But finally for me it came down to family.

And we get some of that too.

Matthew (Mateo) Stoneman.

From New Hampshire.

We wonder about Ernest Stoneman.

Virginia.

And we get Ernest Hemingway.

20 years in Cuba.

“Who was he?,” asks the novia.

Dead guy.

Shot himself.

Up in Ketchum.

Next to where Ezra Pound, his champion, was from.

Hailey.

These are the savant details which Stoneman, Mateo can rattle off concerning music.

And I can do the same.

But I had to diversify.

So from cornering the market in shit, I spread my tentacles into manure.

A bit too pithy a metaphor.

But just so you know.

The life of a musician.

One minute up.

Touring Japan.  Or Sweden.

Signing autographs.

Wads of money in your pocket.

Next minute down.

Catching hell from the two-bit valets.

Having to pull out the LA Times.

Look.

This is me, motherfucker.

…it ain’t easy.

Sticking to your guns.

Your dreams.

Through extreme poverty.

Duress.

But Mateo shows you what it takes.

Dream big.

You might be autistic.

You might have crippling anxiety.

You might have existential episodes…depression…woozy disorientation.

“What the fuck am I doing?!?”

So do the best of them/us.

And so if I am counted “in that number”…of saints…like Mateo…then I am happy that I have lived my life bravely and to the last drop of blood and courage.

Ars gratia artis.

But for real!

-PD