All posts by keith

books

Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie

First published in 1996, this book’s insight into race and relationships is just as true today as it was then. It’s about colonization and what it does to the colonized. A great book, although it was a slow start for me.

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“Part thriller, part magical realism, and part social commentary, Indian Killer . . . lingers long past the final page.”—Seattle Weekly

A national best seller, Indian Killer is arguably Sherman Alexie’s most controversial book to date—a gritty, racially charged literary thriller that, over a decade after its first publication, remains an electrifying tale of alienation and justice. A serial murderer called the Indian Killer is terrorizing Seattle, hunting, scalping, and slaughtering white men. Motivated by rage and seeking retribution for his people’s violent history, his grizzly MO and skillful elusiveness both paralyze the city with fear and prompt an uprising of racial brutality. Out of the chaos emerges John Smith. Born to Indians but raised by white parents, Smith yearns for his lost heritage. As his embitterment with his dual life increases, Smith falls deeper into vengeful madness and quickly surfaces as the prime suspect. Tensions mount, and while Smith battles to allay the anger that engulfs him, the Indian Killer claims another life. With acerbic wit and chilling page-turning intensity, Alexie takes an unflinching look at what nurtures rage within a race both colonized and marginalized by a society that neither values nor understands it.(US) (UK)

Art, Health

Remission You Say

That piece of art right there is how I’ve felt for over 9 months now, but my Oncologist says I’m in remission. Which with Multiple Myeloma means I get to go on maintenance for, probably, the rest of my life. Maintenance means I get to keep taking the Revlimid on the schedule and dose I am on now, I only have to go to the hospital every 2 weeks for my Velcade shot, instead of every week. My Zometa is on the same 4 week schedule til the end of the year, and then I’ll be getting it every 3 months (this is the med that strengthens my bones which the Myeloma has eaten away. Big news is no more Dexamethasone, which means I might be able to sleep weekends, and not be up at 2:30 AM. 🙂
That’s my really big news for the week.

History, Politics, Uncategorized

10 Libertarian Thoughts on the Civil War | RealClearHistory

10 Libertarian Thoughts on the Civil War
An interesting article on mid 19th century world history and the civil war. The section on Brazil makes me wonder if that may be why Nazis moved there after WWII.

By Brandon Christensen
August 23, 2018
…
2. Brazil and Dom Pedro II. Brazil shares many similarities with the United States, including a long history of slavery. In fact, Brazil was last country to abolish the slave trade (1853) and abolish slavery (1888), and while the country remained neutral during the Civil War, its impact could be felt. Most notably, after the confederacy surrendered to the north, 20,000 slave owners fled the United States and moved to Brazil, where they established new plantations and became known as “Confederados.” Brazil was a monarchy at the time, and its emperor, Dom Pedro II, had sent recruiters to the American south in order to bring skilled tradesmen and farmers to his country. While the emperor himself worked to abolish slavery in his country, he could not pass up the opportunity to invite tens of thousands of skilled migrants into his realm to help spur economic, political, and cultural development. The last monarch of Brazil, Pedro II’s Brazil fought two wars during the American Civil War, one against Paraguay and one in Uruguay as an intervening neighbor. The Paraguayan War, which lasted from 1864-70, was the deadliest interstate war in Latin American history and was fought between Paraguay and an alliance of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Brazil’s role in the Uruguayan War (1864-65) was to bolster the support of the governing party (“Blanco party”) and help it fight a rebellious party (“Colorado party”) that was supported financially and ideologically (but not militarily) by Argentina, Brazil’s ally in the Paraguayan War. Brazil emerged from these series of wars as a regional hegemon and Pedro II is admired domestically for his statesmanship involving these wars….

books

Matinicus – Darcy Scott

This was a great mystery story, set on Matinicus, an island off the coast of Maine. Some nice plot twists, a mixed in ghost story, and more made this fine reading. I was impressed. Picked this up used at a local bookstore.

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Praised by Kirkus Reviews as “The kind of book readers will tear through, only to find themselves hungry for more,” this century-spanning double mystery steeped in Maine island lore pits a renegade fishing community against an unhappy child-bride of the 1820s, a defiant twenty-first-century teen, and a hard-drinking botanist—Dr. Gil Hodges—who escapes to the island of Matinicus to avoid a crazed ex-lover and verify a rumored 22 species of wild orchid, only to find himself hounded by the ghost of a child some 200 years dead.

If Gil’s hoping for some peace and quiet, he’s clearly come to the wrong place. Generations of infighting among loose-knit lobstering clans have left them openly hostile to outsiders. When a beautiful, bed-hopping stranger sails into the harbor, old resentments re-ignite and people begin to die—murders linked, through centuries of violence, to a diary whose secrets threaten to tear the island apart.(US) (UK)

Art, my art, Politics

Trumpasaurus Rex

I heard it was Trumpos birthday ( a couple months ago), and that he was turning 72. I thought: “Well dinosaurs are still ruling the earth, aren’t they?” That started the seed of the idea… Well a couple months later here’s the finished product.

Trumpasaurus  Rex. 11×17 ink and markers. 2018

Here’s the original pencil sketch.

Sketch
books

Mongrels — Stephen Graham Jones

Great book. An interesting take on werewolves. A genre that I don’t normally read, but this book kept me turning pages.

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A spellbinding and darkly humorous coming-of-age story about an unusual boy, whose family lives on the fringe of society and struggles to survive in a hostile world that shuns and fears them.
He was born an outsider, like the rest of his family. Poor yet resilient, he lives in the shadows with his aunt Libby and uncle Darren, folk who stubbornly make their way in a society that does not understand or want them. They are mongrels, mixed blood, neither this nor that. The boy at the center of Mongrels must decide if he belongs on the road with his aunt and uncle, or if he fits with the people on the other side of the tracks.
For ten years, he and his family have lived a life of late-night exits and narrow escapes—always on the move across the South to stay one step ahead of the law. But the time is drawing near when Darren and Libby will finally know if their nephew is like them or not. And the close calls they’ve been running from for so long are catching up fast now. Everything is about to change.
A compelling and fascinating journey, Mongrels alternates between past and present to create an unforgettable portrait of a boy trying to understand his family and his place in a complex and unforgiving world. A smart and innovative story— funny, bloody, raw, and real—told in a rhythmic voice full of heart, Mongrels is a deeply moving, sometimes grisly, novel that illuminates the challenges and tender joys of a life beyond the ordinary in a bold and imaginative new way. (US) (UK)
Art, books

Letters To A Young Poet

I was told that this translation (by M. D. Herter Norton) is the best, and I couldn’t tell you different, as I quite liked it, and haven’t read any others. I will say, that I think I got more from the Chronicles section, which explained what Rilke was doing during this period, and a bit on his relationship with Rodin. For instance Rodin’s advice “il faut toujours travailler” (you should always be working), which is good advice for any artist.

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