Science fiction/ double feature

A mighty fortress

Welcome to my nightmares!

North Korea anthem

Does the Past Exist? from 1984

O'Brien was looking down at him speculatively. More than ever he had the air of a teacher taking pains with a wayward but promising child.

‘There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,’ he said. ‘Repeat it, if you please.’

‘“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,”’ repeated Winston obediently.

“‘Who controls the present controls the past,”’ said O'Brien, nodding his head with slow approval. ‘Is it your opinion, Winston, that the past has real existence?’

Again the feeling of helplessness descended upon Winston. His eyes flitted towards the dial. He not only did not know whether ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was the answer that would save him from pain; he did not even know which answer he believed to be the true one.
O'Brien smiled faintly. ‘You are no metaphysician, Winston,’ he said. ‘Until this moment you had never considered what is meant by existence. I will put it more precisely. Does the past exist concretely, in space? Is there somewhere or other a place, a world of solid objects, where the past is still happening?’

‘No.’

‘Then where does the past exist, if at all?’

‘In records. It is written down.’

‘In records. And—?’

‘In the mind. In human memories.’

‘In memory. Very well, then. We, the Party, control all records, and we control all memories. Then we control the past, do we not?’

‘But how can you stop people remembering things?’ cried Winston again momentarily forgetting the dial. ‘It is involuntary. It is outside oneself. How can you control memory? You have not controlled mine!’

O'Brien's manner grew stern again. He laid his hand on the dial.

‘On the contrary,’ he said, ‘you have not controlled it. That is what has brought you here. You are here because you have failed in humility, in self-discipline. You would not make the act of submission which is the price of sanity. You preferred to be a lunatic, a minority of one. Only the disciplined mind can see reality, Winston. You believe that reality is something objective, external, existing in its own right. You also believe that the nature of reality is self-evident. When you delude yourself into thinking that you see something, you assume that everyone else sees the same thing as you. But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party. That is the fact that you have got to relearn, Winston. It needs an act of self-destruction, an effort of the will. You must humble yourself before you can become sane.’

He paused for a few moments, as though to allow what he had been saying to sink in.

‘Do you remember,’ he went on, ‘writing in your diary, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four”?’

‘Yes,’ said Winston.

O'Brien held up his left hand, its back towards Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended.

‘How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?’

‘Four.’

‘And if the party says that it is not four but five — then how many?’

‘Four.’

The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over Winston's body. The air tore into his lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by clenching his teeth he could not stop. O'Brien watched him, the four fingers still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly eased.

‘How many fingers, Winston?’

‘Four.’

The needle went up to sixty.

‘How many fingers, Winston?’

‘Four! Four! What else can I say? Four!’

The needle must have risen again, but he did not look at it. The heavy, stern face and the four fingers filled his vision. The fingers stood up before his eyes like pillars, enormous, blurry, and seeming to vibrate, but unmistakably four.

‘How many fingers, Winston?’

‘Four! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? Four! Four!’

‘How many fingers, Winston?’

‘Five! Five! Five!’

‘No, Winston, that is no use. You are lying. You still think there are four. How many fingers, please?’

‘Four! five! Four! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!’

How "Game of Thrones" changes everything

the series Game of Thrones changes everything, as far as fantasy goes. For one, it goes back to the world-building tropes, that were present in Dune. Plus, we are now entering into the 5 families fiction, a trope, where we follow at least 5 great families, as seen in War and Peace. Also, this series is weird, as it does not revolve around the lives of children or teenagers, but rather adults. Fantasy comes from fairy tales, which tend to be about little children or teens who try to make one's way in the world. One need only think of Grimm's Fairy Tales here. Disney even once centered fairy tales around babies. Water Babies is also around the baby fantasy trope. Harry Potter, Red Queen, Divergent, We, Narnia, and Ender's Game all go around teens having adventures. But now, it is all about grown ups. We'll have to see how well the public likes having everything change.

sabbath prayer

Luke, I am your Father

A Love Poem for Our Modern Age

I wish I could love you,
But this would change who you are,
And that would be a form of enslavement.
It is wrong for a person to want to change another's nature.
You are alone. You need no other.
I will not tell you how fond I am of you, because that might change you.
Instead I will write this down, and throw it into the trash.
Then nobody is changed. This is a good thing!
Should any male like a female,
While Trump is President?

I clement 1 and 2

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS
Translated by J.B. Lightfoot.
1Clem prologue:1
The Church of God which sojourneth in Rome to the Church of God which
sojourneth in Corinth, to them which are called and sanctified by the
will of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace
from Almighty God through Jesus Christ be multiplied.
1Clem 1:1
By reason of the sudden and repeated calamities and reverses which
are befalling us, brethren, we consider that we have been somewhat
tardy in giving heed to the matters of dispute that have arisen among
you, dearly beloved, and to the detestable and unholy sedition, so
alien and strange to the elect of God, which a few headstrong and
self-willed persons have kindled to such a pitch of madness that your
name, once revered and renowned and lovely in the sight of all men,
hath been greatly reviled.
1Clem 1:2
For who that had sojourned among you did not approve your most
virtuous and steadfast faith? Who did not admire your sober and
forbearing piety in Christ? Who did not publish abroad your
magnificent disposition of hospitality? Who did not congratulate you
on your perfect and sound knowledge?
1Clem 1:3
For ye did all things without respect of persons, and ye walked after
the ordinances of God, submitting yourselves to your rulers and
rendering to the older men among you the honor which is their due.
On the young too ye enjoined modest and seemly thoughts: and the
women ye charged to perform all their duties in a blameless and
seemly and pure conscience, cherishing their own husbands, as is
meet; and ye taught them to keep in the rule of obedience, and to
manage the affairs of their household in seemliness, with all
discretion.
1Clem 2:1
And ye were all lowly in mind and free from arrogance, yielding
rather than claiming submission, more glad to give than to
receive, and content with the provisions which God supplieth. And
giving heed unto His words, ye laid them up diligently in your
hearts, and His sufferings were before your eyes.
1Clem 2:2
Thus a profound and rich peace was given to all, and an insatiable
desire of doing good. An abundant outpouring also of the Holy Spirit
fell upon all;
1Clem 2:3
and, being full of holy counsel, in excellent zeal and with a pious
confidence ye stretched out your hands to Almighty God, supplicating
Him to be propitious, if unwillingly ye had committed any sin.
1Clem 2:4
Ye had conflict day and night for all the brotherhood, that the
number of His elect might be saved with fearfulness and intentness of
mind.
1Clem 2:5
Ye were sincere and simple and free from malice one towards another.
1Clem 2:6
Every sedition and every schism was abominable to you. Ye mourned
over the transgressions of your neighbors: ye judged their
shortcomings to be your own.
1Clem 2:7
Ye repented not of any well-doing, but were ready unto every good
work.
1Clem 2:8
Being adorned with a most virtuous and honorable life, ye performed
all your duties in the fear of Him. The commandments and the
ordinances of the Lord were written on the tablets of your hearts.
1Clem 3:1
All glory and enlargement was given unto you, and that was fulfilled
which is written My beloved ate and drank and was enlarged and
waxed fat and kicked.

Greta Thornburg and the state of science

I see the whole thing about Greta Thornburg, and  I just don't get it. I just don't see why this whole thing should matter to so many people. so, a new person showed up and so, she says what everyone likes? so what? there were once people who worried about overpopulation> where are those now? gone. overpopulation was a flash in the pan. there were once people who wanted eugenics. where are they now? they are gone. that is how it is with science. all a flash in the pan.