This Marx fella might have been on to something
Take a quick dive into a Japanese academic’s interpretation of Marx’s lesser known work and notes as a prescient understanding of environmental issues.
Monthly archives: March 2023
The beginning of the end for Trump?
Wired does a quick recap of the criminality around Trump’s election, and considers what might come next.
https://www.wired.com/story/trump-indictment-historical-reckoning/
The yolk’s on you: a brief history of throwing food and drink on people as protest
Throwing food at reactionary politicians, fascists and fascist wannabes has a long history. Tomato juice on terfs is just the latest iteration.
Don’t Think About The Children
It comes as no surprise that a Tory led moral panic about sex education has led to a report stuffed with recommendations that would only make things worse. As the article below suggests, we’d be better off listening to kids about this than paying attention to narrow minded fools.
Growth is a false god
Both of Britain’s biggest political parties are dedicated to ‘growth’ and the lie that it will benefit everyone.
I don’t want to live in one of the world’s richest countries if most of that wealth is siphoned to greedy scum at the top, we have an appalling wealth gap, and poverty is worse than it was half a century ago. We’d be better off if we deported the billionaires to Rwanda and gave their houses to the occupants of the small boats our (incredibly rich) Prime Minister targets.
Something in the ice….
Global warming releasing something terrible from melting ice caps has become a trope. However, it may not be an ancient beast or disease. It could just as easily be something we put there.
https://www.wired.com/story/pollutant-degradation-ice-cores-antarctica/
Labour could require solar panels for new builds, hints Ed Miliband
Ed Milliband’s heart is in the right place, but I think we need more than just solar panels. The last Labour government planned regulations that demanded all new builds be net-zero. The Tories, of course, threw them out.
All new builds should meet internationally recognised net-zero standards, there should be grants for energy saving technology on older buildings, and the minimum energy standard for rented property should be raised significantly. Then we might start getting somewhere.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65097319?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
Picture Story Show – Unboxing a Model of Old Japan
Another eccentric kit from Japan. This storyteller’s bike is a companion to the Goldfish seller, and has links to Golden Bat. At this rate, I’ll soon have a full fair.
I bought this model from Hobbylink Japan (affiliate link).
Make comics more colourful
I’m a middle aged white guy, and I think there should be more diversity in comics. Let’s see a wider range of skintones and sexualities, and more trans representation.
https://www.wired.com/story/black-queer-representation-comics/
Drone ships and the rules of war
As unmanned vessels are added to more navies, it’s likely that the existing rules on what constitutes a warship will need some reworking.
History repeating
This article adds depth to the fuss over Gary Lineker’s comments on the treatment of refugees. Britain’s past history isn’t as glorious as we want to believe, with almost the same language being used over a century ago.
We need to be more honest about our national past, acknowledge the country’s many failings, and think about how we avoid making them again. But I don’t see that happening any time soon. Positions of power and influence are too often occupied by the spiritual (occasionally actual) descendants of those whose morals failed back then.
(Mushroom) clouds over Vegas
This look back at Las Vegas capitalising on nuclear tests ties in to the theme I’ve got planned for a few model builds this year. I’m going to take the already odd and tense air of the Cold War and give it a dimension slipping twist. The videos will appear on YouTube, and back stories will be on Patreon.
The only video on Trump’s YouTube channel should be his perp walk
It was disappointing to read the YouTube had unblocked Trump’s channel. But if he is arrested next week, it would be cool if someone could hack it and make video of him in handcuffs the only footage on it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65000325?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
Robot Gods?
The rise in use of AI may result in machine led religions, some believe.
I don’t have the author’s faith that the cyber churches will be peaceful and loving. Somehow, I see AI gods going down the same horrible paths as the worst human cult leaders, exploiting members and too often driving toward tragedy.
The multiverse: our universe is suspiciously unlikely to exist – unless it is one of many
Not the multiverse as imagined by Marvel (or in my upcoming series of related model builds), but an array of parallels with slightly tweaked physical constants. Some of these universes are amenable to life- to a greater or lesser extent than our own- but most would be incapable of supporting it.
Just a theory to befuddle my brain on my lunch break.
Floating solar panels could completely power thousands of cities – The Verge
This sounds promising. Floating the panels in reservoirs also reduces water loss and increases their efficiency through cooling.
Floating solar panels could completely power thousands of cities – The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/14/23639474/floating-solar-panels-power-cities-renewable-energy
Taking a Trip to the Lawnmower Museum
Something different for this video. The lawnmower museum is in Southport, and I’ve been meaning to go for years. It’s in the back of a hardware store, and packed with mowers and related paraphernalia. I highly recommend it as an example of an eccentric little museum hidden in an unexpected place.
There are few models of lawnmowers out there, but Zoom On Models from Hong Kong do make a resin kit of one of the land speed mowers. It’s on the long list of kits I’d like to get and build one day, and if some kind soul buys me one, I promise I’ll donate the finished product to the museum.
Climate change: New idea for sucking up CO2 from air shows promise
As one of the scientists quoted in the report points out, we need to focus on reducing emissions. There’s no point creating technology to take carbon dioxide out of the air if equal or greater amounts are being pumped into it. Once we’ve deployed enough renewables and energy saving measures, then we can think about reversing the damage that’s already been done.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64886116?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA