As the cliche goes... "how long have I got?" And docs tend to be overly-optimistic about this, apparently. It's always a tough call, and when it comes to our "civilisation", well a) it's complicated (or, rather, complex) b) we are (too) in love with narratives of an abrupt end. There's a song by Midnight Oil... Continue Reading →
Of ritualised climate “activism” on a doomed planet, going through the (e)motions. Of Ridley Scott, Lennie Cohen etc…
There's a Ridley Scott film (I know I might lose some folks, but stick with it, it will be worth it, I promise (1).) It's called "White Squall" and it came out in 1996. It stars the ever-watchable Jeff Bridges as a sailor and general dude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T6WvayGd64 Anyway (and SPOILERS), there's a storm (a white... Continue Reading →
COP27 and the fantasies of salvation, colliding with reality
First thing to say is that it isn't the people on the sharp end of climate change who have been indulging in fantasy. They are not to blame for this. They did what they could, they did not "allow" this, they were simply outspent, outfought, outmanoeuvred. The small island states knew that rising sea levels... Continue Reading →
“What can we do, as individuals?” Unpopular answer to popular question
Quickly as ever, bringing two strands together. First, there was an excellent comment on a previous post about why get involved in social movement organisations/what happens if they try. "isn’t there an option about doing what you can, when you can, and doing your best to live coherently, talking to others when the conversation might... Continue Reading →
We need to wake up from “wake up” rhetoric
Quickly, because looong day (but good one) and my guilty pleasure Michael Connelly awaits. THIS SORT OF THING PISSES ME OFF. It implies that "world leaders" are asleep, not aware what is going on. a) that is horseshit b) if it were true, what would it say about the efficacy of 30+ years of academic,... Continue Reading →
How long will this go on? Until it doesn’t. But “we” won’t stop it… (Cut and paste a Twitter DM)
I have smart friends. Some of them are on Twitter (for now) We DM. See below, of me and VSF (Very Smart Friend) Me: how are you doing? Shit is fucked up, isn't it, to use the academic language... 1:28 PM Very Smart Friend: How far can political reality stretch from physical reality? 1:40 PM... Continue Reading →
“Project(ing) Fear” or “then it fell apart, like it always does.”
Roger Hallam has gone off on one again. It is, as ever, anthropologically fascinating and politically terrifying. You can read the thread here. https://twitter.com/RogerHallamCS21/status/1585720401359175681 I won't fisk the lot of it (life is short, it's not long until the Abrupt End of Everything). As ever with Hallam, there are some robust and intelligent takes on... Continue Reading →
Of Jason Bourne, Climate Change and public awareness – “You have no idea what you are into here.”
The Bourne Ultimatum remains one of the best thriller movies of all-time (with almost the emotional punch of the film that came before - The Bourne Supremacy). Early on, amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne meets up - at Waterloo station - with a journalist who has grabbed hold of a piece of the cover story and... Continue Reading →
“Organise” as a safety-blanket/conversation killer (blah blah Twitter blah blah)
Blah blah heated exchanges on Twitter- and more heat than light, because, well, that’s what a) the platform encourages and b) some people want/are capable of. Blah blah Tbf, that my doomer-rants will trigger some people is to be expected. After all, I am pointing out - with sark, snark and manly certainty - that... Continue Reading →
These symptoms, they keep getting morbid-er…
For those who haven't had the pleasure, the late Tony Gramsci (Italian Marxist, died in one of Mussolini's jails before the war) had a way with words. One of the phrases that gets, ah, trotted out is the following - "The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying but the new... Continue Reading →
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