The morgenseiten of Katharsisdrill 28 - news and politics
Long time since I last wrote one of these. I have not been posting much lately, the idea that I should post every day and earn at least the 100% vote I would give myself has been routed by an army of other things, most of them new routines to keep me fit for fight. And then I am again back to finishing one page each week (Thursday) of my comic, which has been one of my biggest goals.
But the projects and things I should do, and would like to do is really piling up. It is not a new thing, I always had this slightly manic way of working, and I am not really stressed about it, it has been like that for as long as I can remember, and I know how to shrug off the things I do not get to do. But in order to do as much as possible I have developed some guidelines to give myself as much time as possible, and avoid the stupidest ways of procrastination (in Danish we say overspringshandlinger - skipping actions.)
- no computer games (sometimes I play a bit if I like as I am very good at not playing computer games)
- no TV (we never had one, but today the computer is a TV)
- no news (except things I didn't know anything about already which is surprisingly little. News seems to revolve arond the same dramas all the time.)
- no political discussions on the internet!
Recently I have broken two of these rules. I have followed the Swedish election, mostly in the Swedish papers, and it it went disappointingly much like it was prophesied in the polls, with all the political predicaments predicted.
I also wrote a short post as a reaction to the chaos in the White House which led to a large discussion of economy... which was not the topic at all. At least my understanding of the US economy is honed a bit, but the overall impression is the same: It is still an old, badly maintained supertanker going full throttle.
I have promised myself to abstain from Swedish newspapers and economy for the next long time.
My friend @shortcut has started to write some posts every morning - #morgenseiten he calls it - morning-pages. Here is his explanation of the project:
It goes like this: you shall each morning write from the soul, anything going through your head.
He writes a lot more, but this is the essence :) (Read his first morgenseiten post here)
I have decided to try the same. I write from the top of my head every morning or late morning if I have been sleeping late. I only correct typos and make a headline afterwards. Else everything is left as written. Expect some of it to sound like stage directions.
I'd like to give up politics, but everytime I start any kind of discussion, it usually ends up in politics... and currently, there are so many things to discuss about the political situation in Greece! But I try to avoid it on the internet, it never goes well...
TV, I've given up long ago, I don't even know what's on it. Netflix does not count as TV, does it? :)
News, I never watch news on TV or read the internet headlines. But I think that we ought to know what is going on around us, not only in our countries but globally. The problem is to find a good news source, so that you won't have to validate yourself everything you read.
Gaming, well... I keep myself updated, but I do not play many games; my last PC upgrade was in 2012, when Diablo 3 was published. Since then, I have played only EVE Online (everyone should try it, really, it is so much more than a "game") and Hearthstone, which is fun & fast!
I can imagine that there is a lot to talk about in Greece these days. I do discuss politics with people, Danes always discuss (the Swedes think we argue when we discuss and that we fight when we argue), but often on when it is done on the internet it is not with people you know that well. I've heard that Facebook should be a real horror show when it comes to such things. I do occasionally ask people on Diaspora about what is happening in their country, to enlighten myself and get a different view of things, and am, for example rather interested in what is happening in Greece. Not surprisingly I feel connected to other Europeans and like to know what is happening in these brother-countries (and hope that things will soon be going in the right direction). But I try to keep it simple, even though it is seldom simple matters. That way I have had some OK experiences both here on Steemit and on Diaspora (another free network).
Darn! now I just got the idea that I should read up on what is happening in Greece.
EVE Online is an exercise in feeling sheer terror, much like the original Everquest used to be. There's little like it out there now.
I haven't played the last 3-4 years, but when I did, it was exactly like you say! I remember the excitement when facing other pilots in PvP, the sense of loss when my hard-earned ships blew up and I had to start over, the great feeling of accomplishment when I setup my operations in lowsec space, etc. Travelling through 20 jumpgates in a stealth carrier, going through blockades with my cargo full of blueprints and high tech weapons & ammunition... What really amazed me though was the economy and the chain of industrial research & production: it was not a game, it is a simulation of a futuristic environment.
I still have it installed on my PC, and can't wait to find the spare time to delve into it again. Unfortunately I know Everquest only by name, never played it.
I know what you mean, a hardcore game that strikes fear into you because you can lose everything.
I lost a Badger II in an 0.8 sec gate, two ships waiting for me and got me when jumping in. It shouldn't happen in 0.8 but it did.
Everquest is something from another time, and they have relaxed the death rules now. It's the only other game that has given me that 'fear' like Eve did.
heh, here is my main character's PvP killboard: https://zkillboard.com/character/1209746997/
Glory days!
I wouldn't know what to make of this. The game has evolved so much. I was an early adaptor and haven't looked at it since around 2009.
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I started in 2009 and was very active until 2012. But things have changed totally, indeed.
I am in the same boat - I have to discipline myself to stay away from distractions. Also do not have a TV (or radio). But I am hooked on politics on YouTube. When I am at the studio, which is on the other end of the city, I have no access to a computer - my cellphone sucks for that, so WhatsApp is the only one I actually use when away from home.
Facebook is useless. Got to break that habit.
Been watching the Swedish elections also - I lived there in the mid-sixties and am still interested in what is happening. We are going through a phase everywhere in the EU, but I am optimistic it will get better again. We've been maybe a bit naive in the past, so this is biting us in the ass. Wishful thinking and hard reality are not always compatible.
Being an artist seems to be one long battle against distractions - I have had so many different advices on how to avoid the perils of interesting things from older colleagues, that I considered making a small folder. The authors have special text editor programs that goes full screen and blocks all info from the operating system :)
Sweden is late for the bal, but it is really a global wave of doubting and not-so doubting conservatism. I prefer the doubting one.
This Steemit eats into my gaming time nowadays, if I could only cut myself in half I could do both. Still one of them is escapism and the other not.
I could happily live without TV, but my family would moan and groan at me. Besides its simply impossible to survive without TV or so the BBC would have us believe.
As soon as you don't pay for your TV license, a futuristic vehicle will be outside your property and that rotating blade with begin scanning through the walls checking for your TV, and woah betide if you have one and haven't paid.
You are the King of procrastination! with all the difficulties it brings.
For obvious reasons, when I came across this I thought of you and was interested in your take. I'd never heard about this? If this is accurate, it really is outrageous.
Back in the 19th century in some parts of America they did this, and employers had observers at the polls, when a worker didn't vote as told he lost his job, and sometimes even roughed up.
I read in some Danish papers that he had been slightly misquoted and that he was not there as a delegate for the control organization. It is true though that the system is rather old and could use a modenisation. The Swedes have already begun to see if it can be improved. I read in a Swedish paper that the voting administration had been on a visit to Norway.
The system where you have to take a separate piece of paper is not good in the current political climate, but did probably make it much easier when it was invented. Sweden is very inspired by the US in many things and they have adopted a lot of the political correctness coming out of the US universities. But there is also a cultural inclination towards consensus that you do not see in the other Nordic countries - this is age old and part of the stereotype that the other Nordic countries see the Swedes. The wild discussions in Denmark and Norway is looked down upon, but I have talked to quite a few Swedes lately who have felt that they could not talk about immigration with other Swedes, even though they had a nuanced view of the actual problems Sweden is facing. So going to a table and choosing the Swedeish Democrats ballot might be a bit of a problem for some, and that is of course a problem.
In Denmark and Norway we have better voting booths and we get a very large piece of paper with all the parties and names on. In Sweden it looks like this:
You can take as many ballots with you as you like, but it still isn't a very satisfying system.
Thanks so much for the background information. In this case the photo of the ballots is literally worth a thousand words. It's strange for me, until 2015 Sweden struck me as such an enlightened and advanced society. I had thought of them as being at the forefront of progress.
Given the extreme social pressure, lockstep media narratives, virtue signaling, etc, I know from my experience in a small town in Germany, such a system would seriously inhibit voting. I'm actually a little stunned by this, and amazed that this is not more widely known.
Again I really appreciate the info!
The things that make Scandinavia look enlightened and modern is, I believe, something very old: pragmatism and the tradition for compromise. Probably has been a historic necessity among common people to stick together when faced with wind and mud and snow.
Danish newspapers wrote about the arcane voting tools in the last election too, but didn't press too hard as Sweden not really is considered a democratic danger zone, but the whole thing looks like something from the fifties or even older. They probably haven't had any problems with the system as most people just voted for the social democrats anyway... until now.
You're right, as long as they had a consensus their system was not in danger. But a nurse, policeman, teacher (anyone working for the state) would no doubt be at risk when picking up a SD ballot.
In their current political environment, this is actually quite shocking, and definitely antidemocratic.
Speaking of Sweden, did you catch that the Dalai Lama was there in Malmo? If a politician in Germany says something like what he said here , he or she will be labeled a xenophobe, racist, or worse.
There's a regularity to this kind of dialectics. Trump does not talk to his followers, he talks to the politically correct liberal segment, who in turn answers him. They empower each other while this destructive yin yan turns faster and faster. Left and right has turned into a muddy, totalitarian swamp that hates freedom and tolerance while claiming to defend exactly that.
A shitty time to be a pragmatic moderate.
@katharsisdrill
Playing video games can be fun, but VERY time consuming...
I hate when I write something political, I try to stay clear from politics. But sometimes it's hard... Make sure you get back in to creative mode as fast as possible! Your posts are always appreciated!!!
/FF
Thanks, mate. The greatest enemy of my creative mode is probably that I have started doing a bit more exercise after I was very ill last year. 900 m swimming in the morning has completely devastated my poor body :) But I am delivering on the comics!
Awesome @katharsisdrill, Im glad to hear you are doing the work you need to rehabilitate your body. Getting the comics drawn at the same time is even better!!!
/FF
Manic? Is that healthy 8-)?
Have you done any wood printing lately? Should be relaxing.
I don't know if it is healthy to be honest. I have only felt stressed when some social relations were at stake. Troublesome social interaction is far worse than any artistic or workmanship challenges.
Woodcuts? No, but it is one of my many planned projects...
I've also given up Gaming and TV but I still struggle with news and political discussions. So much to do, so little time. Interesting to see what happens in the Mid terms in the US.
The US midterm election is interesting (just like the Swedish election). I will probably waste sometimes on the madhouse :)
Good informative article on The morgenseiten of Katharsisdrill .
well done my dear friend.