Force yourself.

WARNING!
The following video may upset you.
As you should be.
[video:https://youtu.be/qVJzQc9ELTE]

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Pricknick's picture

about the extinction of human life on this whole.
I wish for something to survive humans.
It was a good ride for many, a poor ride for most.
Let the meek.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

janis b's picture

I am re-reading Vincent Van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo, and thought you might enjoy a quote or two ...

“What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.”
― Vincent Van Gogh

And this quote reminds me of your sig line …

“Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”
― Vincent van Gogh

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Pricknick's picture

@janis b

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@janis b
so much pain, so much love so much life. how many vincent van goghs, i wonder, would we get out of Bezos' trillion humans, floating in their tin cans? i don't see how the answer could be anything more than 0.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo0oNRvdkPQ]
[video:https://youtu.be/16BrKQPmouo?t=21]

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

mimi's picture

@UntimelyRippd
It has no title and I couldn't find the lyrics. Do you have the lyrics somewhere?

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@mimi
Though unsurprisingly, many people think it is Starry, starry night. In fact, the song was so popular that many people mistakenly believe that is the name of Van Gogh's famous painting, but the painting's title is only Starry night

The original version is on Don McLean's American Pie album, one of the first I ever owned.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

mimi's picture

@UntimelyRippd

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Pricknick's picture

@UntimelyRippd
It's only off by a billion or two.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick
i was going for simplicity of language, and for order of magnitude (as a contrast to the young earth wackadoodles' 6K).

turns out the earth has been aging a LOT faster than i have. i'm pretty sure that when i was a wee lad, the estimates were in the 1 to 1.5 billion range. now i'm middle aged, and wikipedia tells me earth is 4.5 billion years old. goodness, where did all the time go?

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

@UntimelyRippd
And all I remember is 4 billion years.
Except for my wacko church that thought it was created in 4004 BC and fossils were made by the Devil to confuse us.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

janis b's picture

@UntimelyRippd

very, very beautiful ... both the music (new to me), and "so much pain, so much love so much life."

Have you seen this film about Vincent by Julian Schnabel?

[video:https://youtu.be/T77PDm3e1iE]

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snoopydawg's picture

which I guess is in this. I'm with you. Humans have allowed their leaders to pillage this planet with not many being against it. Animals and plant life were not able to voice their objections on what we have done. Maybe once humanity is no longer around they will recover. But meanwhile millions of them have gone extinct. Humans are very poor stewards of the earth.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pricknick's picture

@snoopydawg
But it is what it is.
Sympathy is all many have to offer.
So many lack it though.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

janis b's picture

@Pricknick

It affirms that our mission is to build sympathy.

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Lily O Lady's picture

@janis b

to harden their hearts.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

I'm with you. I go to great lengths to protect myself from those kinds of images. The well-meaning television ads are just as bad. It's a minefield for me.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

It started with Bambi. Yeah those animal infomercials break my heart so I don't watch them. In my "I won the lottery" dreams I always think of what I could do for them.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Sima's picture

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg This really rings a chord with me. I too, can't watch these videos. It is not because I do not care, it is because I care. My parents took me to see Bambi when I was about 5. We had to leave the theatre part way through, I was crying so hard. I've never been able to watch the movie. Even watching clips gets to me. I've spent my entire life trying to find ways to lessen my impact, to help animals large and small. Hell, I won't even squish spiders. And it all amounts to... nothing. Not even a hill of beans.

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

mimi's picture

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travelerxxx's picture

@mimi

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Pricknick's picture

@mimi
Know what humans can do and not acknowledge as a majority.
We (you and I) made this possible.
I hang my head.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

mimi's picture

@Pricknick

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janis b's picture

@mimi

in the love that comes naturally for your son and the future. I'm glad you're here to promote it.

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mimi's picture

@janis b
doesn't. I had so many plans for my old age. Since I had to leave the US it is all but destroyed.

I have to return. I need to study and read and write. Make up for the things I did wrong. I so much want to be able to read and study, US history especially.

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janis b's picture

@mimi

why do you say your brain is not working when it expresses thoughts and feelings that are truly alive?

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. No matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it. The saying is adapted from a line in “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”

Rebooting is sometimes necessary. I apologise for the use of 'digital-speak' since I know it concerns you, but somehow it seemed apt ; ).

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mimi's picture

@janis b

Little, silky, cowering, timid beast,
Oh, what a panic is in your heart!
You need not start away so hasty
With bickering prattle!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering paddle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes you startle
At me, your poor, earth-born companion
And fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, that you may steal;
What then? Poor beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.

Your small house, too, in ruin!
Its feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse green foliage!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and piercing!

You saw the fields laid bare and empty,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! The cruel plough passed
Out through your cell.

That small heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold.

But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

Still you are blessed, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear![citation needed]

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a pannic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell-
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

Thy wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But, Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear![5]

so much fun to have here ... thx.

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janis b's picture

@mimi

Thanks mimi.

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janis b's picture

@mimi

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mimi's picture

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WaterLily's picture

@mimi I tried.

My heart is broken. And I'm ashamed of my species.

I agree: Please let the meek.

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mhagle's picture

Thanks for all the great comments.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

We altered the basic chemistry and physics of the planet, destroyed forest and animal habitat. We are way past the tipping point. If you want to save the planet and human civilization now you have to go way beyond sustainability, to restoration. During the previous 11,600 years of the Holocene the planet was stable in its climate, chemistry, animal and plant populations and species diversification, resulting in planetary homeostasis. Today we are way out of that regime.

When you see the Walruses plummeting, cry for us also.

The obscenity with humans is that our greed is endless and without compassion either for our own kind or the planet. Our goals in the US are to make the rich richer, the powerful more powerful, build more nuclear weapons, extract more oil and destroy any government that cares about its people (Socialism). Maybe, just maybe, the rest of the non-Western world can get their act together.

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Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.

@The Wizard It seems a big part of "culture" is the commonality of thinking. The US prided itself on the variety of goods we had, and stores, as opposed the Russian communists. We had 15 types of soap, and in Russia they had one store, one type of goods, a box that said soap.

Today, most of us have Walmart, with poorly designed goods from China with a 2 year lifespan. The biggest change is 15 different colored boxes filled with the same junk.

Just about everything we Americans do is a "vote" on the environment, our environment. What we buy, what we dispose of is a vote. All these votes have the power to destroy our air, water, food and the lives of everything we know. I always thought it was a joke to hear that I, with no power could make any difference.

We are also forced to become "rugged individualists" whether we want to be or not, all our needs are on us. It becomes hard to see any big picture, when you can only see tomorrow morning, and we end up in a maze unable to see above the walls at anything else.

A time ago our lakes and rivers were open sewers, prone to catch fire at times. The poor were forced to the edges of these waters. We as a country cleaned up the beaches, shores and banks, and wildlife returned. Then, people with wealth developed the waterfront for expensive homes with walls and gates and no trespassing signs until you couldn't catch a glimpse of the water. We're not stupid, we know the desirability of a clean environment and wildlife.

So, while we are powerful enough to vote to destroy our environment everyday, we are powerless to pick leaders that will respond to the crisis. How can we be so powerful and so weak at the same time? How long before we figure it out?

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skod's picture

@Snode (with very few exceptions): Greed.

Exploit, rape, pillage, destroy, slaughter populations and ecosystems wholesale. Profit!

As long as that last word is there, and it is your team that is winning, humans can forgive anything. Hell, we outright *demand* that things go that way, and we carefully and methodically destroy those who would not support the "Take everything you want, and give nothin' back" agenda.

Just put on the right color jersey, sit back, and sip some of that water that Nestle is so kindly selling to you. It's not just a good idea, it's the law.

I'm glad that I'm old and childfree: I'll get to miss out on the really ugly stuff. We are decades past the tipping point. Now, it just a matter of scheduling when the wars over water will replace the wars over oil.

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@skod A million people have a dollar, one man has a million dollars, and he has all the power. Is it the people, the dollar or the man? Is this just us in the US?

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Lily O Lady's picture

@Snode

presidency and get things going in the right direction. Funny thing is, even though he actually did win the vote, he couldn’t get into office. The Democrats blamed him for losing. A now-sitting Supreme Court justice helped perpetuate a false “citizen demonstration” to halt the vote count back then.

There has been more moaning over Hillary Clinton’s loss than over the actually stolen election of 2000. I believe it is because Al Gore really meant to push to restore the biosphere, not to mention the “lock box” for Social Security funds that politicians and pundits on both “sides” of the duopoly found to be such a hoot.

We, like the salmon heading for extinction, are swimming upstream with increasing amounts of sh1t pouring down upon us directed by TPTB. It will take a miracle to salvage anything.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

@Lily O Lady Why are we always distracted by the shiny thing? Why are our politicians 15 different colored boxes filled with the same junk?

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Jen's picture

But there are no closed captions. Was it explained how or why they were up that high?

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Is it great yet?

@Jen
It's discriminatory to the hearing impaired. I suppose it supplanted text when American scools went back to Look-Say, reincarnated as Whole Language. as a result we have a new generation of near illiterates.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

WaterLily's picture

@Jen From the little bit I watched:

The cliffs are the only place they have to sleep. They're forced to climb that high because hundreds (thousands?) of them are trying to find space, and of course the lower cliffs are already packed. And this, after having swum hundreds of miles in search of food because their previous habitat no longer supports them. They fall out of sheer exhaustion.

Heartbreaking.

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Jen's picture

@WaterLily for explaining that to me. I agree, it is heartbreaking.

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Is it great yet?

Lily O Lady's picture

“gifted” with an imagination that runs on overdrive compared to most people. I do not need graphic details for things I already imagine are happening on a daily, Hell, hourly basis.

I can’t visit the “Hot Air” blog anymore. It’s just too painful.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

EdMass's picture

After decades of whale and aquatic mammal beachings, there has to be something else going on here. Self-induced Walrus suicide is not the answer.

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

WaterLily's picture

@EdMass It doesn't appear to be suicide in this instance.

The poor beings are just trying to find a place to rest. Sad

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EdMass's picture

@WaterLily

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

WaterLily's picture

@EdMass But I think that's the point. They no longer have a choice. They've already traveled far beyond their normal range, because their food sources have been depleted, and when they arrive in this new place, they still need to rest. The ones who arrived first got the choice spots. Thousands of others, exhausted by their journey but driven as we all are by the life-force, climb the cliffs.

I didn't watch to the end, so I'm not sure whether, if they kept swimming, they may have found another suitable place that had both food, and a place to sleep. My guess is "no."

Microcosm of what's to come for all of us.

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EdMass's picture

@WaterLily

Thousands of others, exhausted by their journey but driven as we all are by the life-force, climb the cliffs.

Walrus suicide. Don't let it happen to your Walrus.

Let's ignore some other reason for this behavior (science?). Ergot worked well for the Salem Witch Trials...

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!