Vintage THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) promotional stills. I would look at these in endless fascination as a kid, back when I hadn’t seen the films yet. And still really (which is why they are called “stills”). I had seen Return of the Jedi, but the first two were rumors to me, ads in old magazines. I’ve talked about that before.
So I already knew how the trilogy ended, but that didn’t matter—that never matters. The point isn’t what happens, it’s how it happens. We know James Bond and Batman survive each film, but we don’t know how, and that’s the mechanism that provides the entertainment. The joke about Titanic (1997) back then was people saying, “Why should I watch it, I know how it ends. The boat sinks.” But a story isn’t just its ending.
You could write a story about a man whose father is killed by his brother, and then the brother marries the widow, and it’s a soap, a dime novel. But when you’re Shakespeare, the result is Hamlet.
I teach my 7th graders about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide.
I bring in a graduated cylinder of it and we talk about how it’s used in nuclear power plants and gmo crops. How inhaling even the small amount I’m holding can lead to suffocation or even death. It’s found in vaccines and cancer cells, but also in infant formula and pet food. It is a huge component of acid rain, can cause severe burns, and has been found in places that were thought to be the most pristine and unpolluted locations on earth.
We talk about how there are little to no regulations on this chemical. No bans, no warning labels, and most manufacturers don’t even have to disclose their use of it in their products.
My students are outraged. We talk about what we can do. Create posters and flyers to spread awareness. Contact our senators with petitions to ban DHMO. Spread this information all over social media.
Then I explain that the real problem with dihydrogen monoxide is that….when I am thirsty…there is just nothing else as refreshing, and then I watch their looks of absolute shock and horror as I drink the entire vial down.
I. Fucking. Love. This.
This is how misinformation works. How propaganda works. How manipulation works.
may our education be stronger than fake news
Amen.
To those who don’t get it:
“Dihydrogen monoxide” is the chemical name for water, AKA H2O.
For six months, the Intelligence Community Inspector General office
investigated the cases of 190 whistleblowers who went through US spy
agency channels to report corruption, waste, fraud, abuse and
criminality, discovering that the overwhelming majority had faced some
combination of indefinite delays and retaliation (being fired, facing
paycuts and demotions, being passed over for promotions, etc) – only
one of the 190 whistleblowers had their case upheld, and that took 742
days.
The investigation was part of the aftermath of the Edward Snowden leaks,
in which establishment figures repeatedly claimed that Snowden should
have taken his concerns through the internal complaints process (Snowden
did, in fact, do this) – from Obama to the DNI to innumerable
bloviators from the Democratic and Republican talkingheadoverse,
everyone was dead certain that the US spy agencies had excellent
internal watchdogs that took complaints seriously.
The same claims have been made about other whistleblowers since, like Reality Winner.
Back in April, the Inspector General’s office stopped work on their
investigation and nearly completed report and canceled the project,
something the IG’s office blamed on its discovery that one of its own
investigators was a whistleblower who was suing the CIA in federal
court.
The spy agencies are in the midst of a cold war with the President, who
has repeatedly disparaged them and their work, and are struggling to
recruit and retain their top talent (many top spies are moving to
military contractors who bill out their services to their former
employers at a significant markup, while also renting them out to do
work spying on behalf of corporations and other governments).
The collapse of the whistleblower retaliation report is sure to further
demoralize and undermine spy-agency staff, exacerbating this problem. It
also virtually guarantees more leaks, as spies who worry that their
bosses are crooked, or incompetent, or both, take their documents to the
press rather than their superiors, who keep demonstrating that they
will do nothing to act on these reports or protect the people who make
them.
Los Angeles-based artist and baker Christine McConnell (previously featured here) just finished decorating her parents’ house for Halloween. What was once a charming and inviting home has now been transformed into a spooktacularly awesome Monster House! McConnell cut and painted foam-core insulation board to make the monstrous eyes and vicious pointy teeth.
The chimera I designed for our new LEGO show. I cannot express how much of a labor of love this was. It took over 100 hours just to design, let alone build and is one of the largest and most complex sculptures I’ve done.
Fun fact: This model used every single LEGO color available in standard brick.
