Tag Archives: politics

Ruminations #7

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Tietsu

Children cry. Toddlers especially. They are fickle. They have demands and the word ‘no’ holds about as much weight to them than the state of DOW does to the teenager slinging fries at a Wendy’s. With parents, and I’m generalizing … Continue reading →

Posted in Essay | Tagged Authoritatianism, children, denial, Donald Trump, Family Seperation., Fascism, hopelessness, national news, politics, Stephen Miller, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United State politics | Leave a comment

Book Review: North Korea’s Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground Is Transforming a Closed Society by Jieun Baek

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Tietsu

Up until I read this book I hadn’t really put any overly critical thoughts into how North Korea functioned. I had pretty much painted the entire country as a giant prison camp and local life was basically just A Day … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged Adam Johnson, Authoritarianism, Defection, Dictatorships, international politics, Jieun Baek, Korean dramas, North Korea, North Korea's Hidden Revolution, politics, prison camps, South Korea, Technology | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Future of Violence by Benjamin Wittes and Gabrielle Blum

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Tietsu

Look at the title of this book. The Future of Violence. War, war never changes, but violence? We are absolutely brilliant about coming up with ways to cause grievous harm to one another. What cool military and privatized inventions await … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged Benjamin Wittes, Drones, futurism, Gabriella Blum, Germs, Hackers, Military, politics, Privacy, Robots, science, terrorism, The Future of Violence | Leave a comment

Book Review: Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram by Iain Banks

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Tietsu

If you picked up this book and wanted to read about whisky/dram/scotch then I have little doubt that, after reading it, you are probably more than a little disappointed. If you picked up this book because you are an Iain … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged Dram, food and drink, Iain Banks, In Search of the Perfect Dram, MacGuffin, Mostly drink though, petrol head, politics, Raw Spirit, Scotland, travel, Travel Log, Whisky | Leave a comment

Book Review: King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Tietsu

I don’t demand much from my nonfiction. If you’re teaching me something and can convey it even in a lightly poetic prose then I’m going to love you. Maybe I’m just cheap, maybe I’m just easily impressed by people … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged Adam Hochschild, Africa, African Culture, African History, Belgium, Congo, European History, imperialism, King Leopold, King Leopold's Ghost, politics, slavery | Leave a comment

Book Review: Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Tietsu

Heinlein has always struck me as the weakest of The Big Three. His writing isn’t as good, his stories often lacking in any truly big or interesting ideas. He always felt more like a holdover from the adventure magazine days … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, fiction | Tagged Arthur C. Clarke, Double Star, Golden Age of Science Fiction, Hugo Award Winner, Isaac Asimov, novella, Philip K. Dick, politics, Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction, speculative fiction | Leave a comment

Commander Syndrome

Posted on May 14, 2017 by Tietsu

Until they are gone, until they are dead I can no more rest my eyes and smile myself to dream than a drunk can will himself to sobriety. I am bound by their lust for a future that sees me … Continue reading →

Posted in Something Else | Tagged apocalypse, better me than you, born better, cynicism, freedom caucus, Honor, Main character syndrome, neolibertarianism, objectivism, politics, poverty, Protagonist, superhero, ubermensch | Leave a comment

Book Review: On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Tietsu

*Insert Overly-Emphatic Political Treatise Here* See what I mean? No? That’s fine. I’m not here to change your mind. Hell, I’m barely here at all. Life has me scared and I’ve pretty much taken to books, booze, and checking and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged Authoritarianism, communism, Conservative, Donald Trump, Fascism, history, Liberal, On Tyranny, Philosophy, politics, The President, Timothy Snyder, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Tietsu

In an interview, Wright mentioned that he was using three tome-filled bookcases in order to do research on the book that would eventually become The Looming Tower. Now, I’ve never written a non-fiction book, hell, by any reasonable standard I … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, american history, Extremism, history, Islam, Lawrence Wright, politics, religion, terrorism, The Looming Tower, war | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Tietsu

Comics used to be big business. You might say to yourself ‘Hey, wait a minute, random internet person! Comics are big business now!” It is here that I shake my head slowly and tell you that what you are speaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Nonfiction | Tagged art, Censorship, Comic books, Comic Code Authority, communism, David Hajdu, history, politics, publishing, The Red Scare, The Ten-Cent Plague | Leave a comment