"There must be some way out of here," said the Joker to the Thief.
"There's too much confusion. I can't get no relief."
--All Along the Watchtower
Seems like there's a relevant Dylan lyric for every situation, doesn't it?
It's interesting how when some governors enact draconian regulations they want all governors to follow suit.
Here are examples of what I call draconian:
In Encenitas, California people were fined $1000 for parking at the ocean to watch the sunset. No mixing with other people. Just sitting inside their cars.
Michigan Governor Whitmer's executive order purportedly bans people from visiting relatives, and even bans people who own two homes from going back and forth between homes.
It's weird that stores that CAN be open CAN"T sell certain products, so Wal-Mart has tape on the shelves in front of the forbidden items like flooring, paint and garden supplies. (EdNote: I did not go to Wal-Mart to confirm this because I am social distancing.)
You can read John Stossel's rant about these things here.
* * * *
OK, so one of the arguments some people make in favor of legalizing Doctor-Assisted Suicide is that "It's my body, therefore I should decide how I want to die and when."
I'm guessing that the same people who favor expanding assisted suicide laws are the ones most opposed to people being allowed to put themselves at risk for COVID-19 or not. "No, you cannot go to your other house to make sure the doors and windows are all locked. It's too risky."
* * * *
HERE'S A THOUGHT that I had recently regarding the issue of who's got the power, or who ought to. Before the advent of Nation States the world operated in smaller units which would occasionally collide with one another. Tribes or clans or extended families looked after their own, occasionally quarreling with adjacent clans or tribes regarding hunting grounds or drinking water.
How we got from there to 190+ countries that make up our United Nations is a part of history that may be worth exploring in greater depth. (If you can point to a brief history of France from pre-historic cave painters to the present, feel free to leave a comment.)
Even so, the COVID-19 epidemic is showing us a variety of conflict zones where power struggles are being fought. In the U.S., governors have the power to implement executive orders for their states, but some want the federal government to make a more punitive across-the-board decision for all states. So we see chafing among states that border one another but do not share the same lockdown policies.
THEN within states themselves we have cities that are out of step with their governors and want different rules from the rest of the state.
Against this backdrop, we have individuals protesting for the right to decide for themselves how far to go along with or against restrictive policies. It's a Constitutional right to protest, they say.
On the Global scale, how much should the United Nations or WHO decide what each individual nation should be doing in this or any other matter.
* * * *
I've written a few poems during Lockdown. This one from Tuesday is called The Lamp of Liberty. I'm interested in what you think.
* * * *
Lockdowns would be a lot easier if we had time travel, wouldn't it? Here's a short list of favorite time travel films.
Midnight In Paris
Back to the Future (1, 2 & 3)
Peggy Sue Got Married
12 Monkeys
The Terminator Series
I once wrote a time travel story. In it I travelled 100 years into the future. I'd rather not tell you what I found.
* * * *
As I noted Tuesday, people who make time to appreciate the arts live longer, according one 14 year study. Here's one way to see a lot of art during our lockdown period. Do you have some favorite artists? Google their name, then click on Images. You will see all kinds of things they have done. Many have websites so you can explore in more depth. If you don't follow the arts much and would like some names to dig into (and art to dig) here's a short list of Twin Ports folk I have written about.
Tonja Sell
Joellyn Rock
Karen Nease
Timothy Cleary
Bill Shipley
Aaron Kloss
Sarah Brokke
Ann Klefstad
Adam Swanson
Andrew Perfetti
Esther Piszczek
Scott Murphy
Sue Rauschenfels
Kathy McTavish
Karin Kraemer
John Heino
Karen McTavish
Carla Hamilton
Moira Villiard
Eris Vafias
Vern Northrup
Margie Helstrom
Kris Nelson
This list could go on and on, so I better just say got to Twin Ports Art and see what else you've been missing this past year. Frankly, I'm missing you, too.
And for the heckuvit I will also add this Pinterest board from the Tweed Museum of Art featuring Twin Ports Artists. (You may even see something of mine.)
In the meantime, it's Spring. Time to Ken Bloom wherever you've been planted.
"There's too much confusion. I can't get no relief."
--All Along the Watchtower
Seems like there's a relevant Dylan lyric for every situation, doesn't it?
* * * *
It's interesting how when some governors enact draconian regulations they want all governors to follow suit.
Here are examples of what I call draconian:
In Encenitas, California people were fined $1000 for parking at the ocean to watch the sunset. No mixing with other people. Just sitting inside their cars.
Michigan Governor Whitmer's executive order purportedly bans people from visiting relatives, and even bans people who own two homes from going back and forth between homes.
It's weird that stores that CAN be open CAN"T sell certain products, so Wal-Mart has tape on the shelves in front of the forbidden items like flooring, paint and garden supplies. (EdNote: I did not go to Wal-Mart to confirm this because I am social distancing.)
You can read John Stossel's rant about these things here.
* * * *
OK, so one of the arguments some people make in favor of legalizing Doctor-Assisted Suicide is that "It's my body, therefore I should decide how I want to die and when."
I'm guessing that the same people who favor expanding assisted suicide laws are the ones most opposed to people being allowed to put themselves at risk for COVID-19 or not. "No, you cannot go to your other house to make sure the doors and windows are all locked. It's too risky."
* * * *
HERE'S A THOUGHT that I had recently regarding the issue of who's got the power, or who ought to. Before the advent of Nation States the world operated in smaller units which would occasionally collide with one another. Tribes or clans or extended families looked after their own, occasionally quarreling with adjacent clans or tribes regarding hunting grounds or drinking water.
How we got from there to 190+ countries that make up our United Nations is a part of history that may be worth exploring in greater depth. (If you can point to a brief history of France from pre-historic cave painters to the present, feel free to leave a comment.)
Even so, the COVID-19 epidemic is showing us a variety of conflict zones where power struggles are being fought. In the U.S., governors have the power to implement executive orders for their states, but some want the federal government to make a more punitive across-the-board decision for all states. So we see chafing among states that border one another but do not share the same lockdown policies.
Against this backdrop, we have individuals protesting for the right to decide for themselves how far to go along with or against restrictive policies. It's a Constitutional right to protest, they say.
On the Global scale, how much should the United Nations or WHO decide what each individual nation should be doing in this or any other matter.
* * * *
I've written a few poems during Lockdown. This one from Tuesday is called The Lamp of Liberty. I'm interested in what you think.
* * * *
Lockdowns would be a lot easier if we had time travel, wouldn't it? Here's a short list of favorite time travel films.
Midnight In Paris
Back to the Future (1, 2 & 3)
Peggy Sue Got Married
12 Monkeys
The Terminator Series
I once wrote a time travel story. In it I travelled 100 years into the future. I'd rather not tell you what I found.
* * * *
 |
| Jonathan Thunder |
Tonja Sell
Joellyn Rock
Karen Nease
Timothy Cleary
Bill Shipley
Aaron Kloss
Sarah Brokke
Ann Klefstad
Adam Swanson
Andrew Perfetti
Esther Piszczek
Scott Murphy
Sue Rauschenfels
Kathy McTavish
Karin Kraemer
John Heino
Karen McTavish
Carla Hamilton
Moira Villiard
Eris Vafias
Vern Northrup
Margie Helstrom
Kris Nelson
This list could go on and on, so I better just say got to Twin Ports Art and see what else you've been missing this past year. Frankly, I'm missing you, too.
And for the heckuvit I will also add this Pinterest board from the Tweed Museum of Art featuring Twin Ports Artists. (You may even see something of mine.)
In the meantime, it's Spring. Time to Ken Bloom wherever you've been planted.
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