"It's just commmon sense"

I avoid using the word "blog" simply because I detest it. Just this one time, I'll note that I have a rather important new follower of my blog who just happens to be Eldest Brother.

I've three brothers (no sisters), with me being the Second Born, or, if you will, with no wise-cracks please, #2 Son. The order is as follows: Eldest Brother is the Smart One. Youngest Brother is the Funny One. Third Born Brother is the Loving One. And I? Obviously, I'm the Beautiful One! 

Welcome "Bro"! I guess I'll really have to bump up the fucking quality of my entries now!

(The scare-quotes around Bro, I'll explain that in a sec'. Oh hell, I'll do it now. I had a rather greasy and scabrous wannabe-hippie roommate in college who called everyone "bro". This term currently being the edge of urban hepness amongst the local tribe of little white boys he was from, and reflecting the continual adoption of the ways of the black urban youth... This suddenly reminds of a time when, with the idiot at some party event, we struck up a conversation with some black kids our age. My fool of a roommate attempted to find common ground with them by speaking in an affected cadence and enunciation which might be termed ghetto-speak. I was soundly and deeply embarrassed both for him and myself, as it came out of him sounding rather more like Stepin Fetchit than hepcat. And the black fellers we was talking to exhibited a defensive posture until they realized he was just, you know, a jackass. It was a learning moment for me in just being yourself).

Anyway, back to quality essay writing, right now, there is a little fucking fly bugging the shit out of me and you will excuse me while I shoo it out of my office.

Today I go to the library today to pick up the reserved book 1493. I'll set aside all the other books I'm reading for this one. I read 1491 some three(?) years ago, and found it sufficiently engaging. My guess is 1493, on the Columbian exchange of all things biological will not disappoint.

I also checked out the library for a copy "Everything is Obvious: *Once You Know the Answer" by the sociologist Duncan J Watts. I would note that the current sound bite coming out of the Republican camp involves some variation of invoking "common sense" They do so knowing full well that such a simplistic phrase is easily digestible to the squid-headed and flipper-limbed out there. That any intelligent take on this dangerously stupid rationalization would require more than just a sentence to inform people that "common sense" "is in reality a series of complex social rules, a priori assumptions, and inaccurate instinctive responses" . It is also almost always wrong.

But that won't stop people aiming for the lowest common denominator of voters: those ignorami known as "independents". One wonders, in fact, how any common or recent ancestor of this stripe of conservative has managed to avoid extinction, given that their "common sense" ways should have resulted in them choking on their own (or perhaps other's) feces through the simple act of wiping their own ass.

In any case, I was thinking about the sequel (if any) to Blade Runner, and through association Ridley Scott's Prometheus a prequel to the Alien series. (I am ignoring the wretched Alien vs. Predator divergences). Now, Ridley is an first-rate entertainer, and so his mission is to do what he needs to do to entertain. In the case of Alien, and presumably Prometheus, to scare the pants off you.

His mission in Blade Runner? To overwhelm with awesomeness, I think. But, given that he fleshed out the world created by the screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, and only extremely loosely based upon DADOES, I've got to wonder what kind of world they plan on building for the future? 

One possible movie clue involves the professions of the replicants in Blade Runner. Roy Batty, combat model for off-world military service. Clearly, command and control. Leon Kowlaski, not quite as bright as Roy, a 180kg/400lb nuclear head loader. Again, military. Pris. Basic pleasure model, but, in the film, not without deadly assassin skills. Zhora. Kick murder squad.  "Talk about Beauty and the Beast. She's both."

Question: Who are they fighting?

Who are they fighting that requires Leon to load nuclear warheads the way old sail and steam crowd loaded powder and shot? What kind of conflict involves such a... surfeit of nuclear destruction? It sounds like they are glassing a lot of planetary surfaces.

It's all off-world, so... Aliens? No, I don't think so.

Rebellious colonies? No. Why advertise attractive off-world living then?

My bet is corporations are fighting each out there for real estate. Which kind of takes us into the realm of the old British and Dutch East India Companies. Trade wars, but in outer space.

That scenario has possibilities. I think that's my extrapolation exercise for the day.