September 16, 2021

The Oligarchs have us exactly where they want us--

Divided and at each other’s throats. Really, they’re autocrats now. They pay little to no taxes and are exempt from criminal codes that apply to the rest of us.

One third of our country, the less intelligent, the susceptible, the antisocial and psychologically damaged, have been scrupulously groomed and meticulously miseducated to make room for an agenda of enrichment for a few.

Postmodernism, relativism, deconstructionism, and like theories have altered the cultural Ph and made us ripe for the virulent growth of fascism. (My hot take is just as valid as your hot take—everyone gets a participation trophy!) I think Plato had it right. Ideals exist, but we only see shadows on the wall of the cave. Many have stopped even trying to see the shadows.

The deep pockets know and believe science, and understand that CO2 emissions must fall dramatically for the earth to be habitable and inherited by them (without estate taxes!). The solution? Violence. Sabotaging public health measures. Etc.

This civilization is functioning exactly as it is designed to.

September 5, 2021

La Portuaria feat. David Byrne - Hoy No Le Temo a La Muerte (Today I Do Not Fear Death)

Today I am not afraid of death.
Hoy no le temo a la muerte.

I don't know what took it away from me.
No se que fue que me lo quitó.

I don't know if it was your kisses,
No se si fueron tus besos,

Or maybe it was a song
O tal ves fue una canción.

Everything I owed, I paid back.
I gave away all my possessions.
And you won’t catch me sleeping
When they tell me the train is coming.

I already paid my debts.
Yo ya pague mis deudas.

But I don't want to have more.
Mas no quiero tener.

And I want to be awake
Y quiero estar despierto

When they tell me the train is coming.
Cuando me digan que viene el tren.

Today I am not afraid of death.
Hoy no le temo a la muerte.

I don't know what took it away from me.
No se que fue que me lo quitó.

I don't know if it was your kisses
No se si fueron tus besos,

Or maybe it was a song.
O tal ves fue una canción.

I m not afraid, to cross the river.
I m not afraid, to pass on over.
I jump over, jump over the fire.
Today I’m not afraid of dying.

Ay mamasita today I crossed the bridge without fear,
Ay mamasita hoy yo crucé sin miedo del puente,

That passes over the river.
Que pasa por sobre el rió.

Oh mommy today I jumped the rope,
Ay mamita hoy yo salte la soga,

And I just jumped off the slide.
Y me tire solo del tobogán.

I’m not afraid of dying

Today I am not afraid of death.
Hoy no le temo a la muerte.

Today it soundenly happened.

I don't know what took ita away.
No se que fue que me lo quito.

It could have been your kisses.

It could have been your kisses,
No se si fueron tus besos,

Or maybe it was a song.
O tal vez fue una canción.

September 2, 2021

Were extinct Pleistocene megafauna harnessed to build the largest Neolithic monuments?

Eric Von daniken’s Chariots of the Gods fascinated me as a child, and I witnessed a compelling UFO in my 20’s, but I recognized early the general lack of critical thinking skills in the ancient alien ‘community’. That is a more benign form of the QAnon phenomenon, in my opinion, but still pernicious because it undercuts belief in science. That being said, I’m posting this as an archeology student and asking for a refutation, if you can provide it. Thanks.

I visited Ollantaytambo in Peru’s Sacred valley, near Cusco, in 2015. I agree that current archeology cannot explain how the 50-100 ton monoliths at the Temple of the Sun were were moved from one mountain to the top of another.





https://uncoveredhistory.com/south-america/exploring-the-mysteries-of-the-andes/

Those stones make me wonder if extinct megafauna were used as beasts of burden and, if so, would explain why the largest stones are always the oldest and predate the Inca. Humans domesticated the camel and the elephant many thousands of years ago. No one has established with certainty how far back they were first used. There were several giant species of both in the Andes and we have very little idea about their disposition or behavior. Imagine an animal as or more biddable than a camel—bactrian or dromedary—or an Indian elephant but twice or three times the size.

There was an enormous span of time, almost 200k years, when humans and these giant mammals coexisted. It’s important to remember that climate change, not human predation, caused the mass extinction. I am confident there were talented people to work out the details if it were possible. (Catbyte posts videos of such people just about every day.)

Probably only a single species, one that was endangered already before humans made contact, or a few select individuals within that species, perhaps orphaned individuals, were suitable.

In the past few years we’ve learned that the process for canine domestication started tens of thousands of years prior to the prevailing estimates—definitely prior to the end of the Ice Age. Extinction of predators may have preceded that of non-carnivorous species, leaving a dying species a brief window, a few thousand years, with no natural predators, and selection pressures toward docility.

Direct evidence for their limited use would be extremely scarce. There must be at least one grave, though, somewhere, or ceremonial remains of consumption or cremation. The animals would have played too important a role for zero direct evidence to exist. Maybe searching for bones and graves along the most probable routes taken would find it.