A Home in the Wilderness, Sanford Gifford, 1866

 

 

Bear with me for a further thought on art as stated in a previous issue of Woodpile Report:

Asher Durand 1796-1886 was one of the founding members of the Hudson River School. They believed the natural world was a gift from God, and faithfully depicting its wonders was a high calling. "Faithfully depicting" doesn't mean photographically accurate, in fact, such paintings are a category of landscapes known as "topographical" and served practical or scientific ends.

Still photography has been with us since the 1820s. At first it was minutes-long exposure times, lenses with poor resolution at all but the center of the image, film sensitive only to blue light, and the resultant pictures only in monochrome. Today exposure times are a small fraction of a second, lenses have very high resolving power, and pixel arrays capture the projected image in color with excellent fidelity.

Two hundred years of photography reveal the end goal of still photography: an imaging system of unlimited resolution and range of color, projected onto a similarly unlimited recording media. This is not the goal of art.

Next

These are the last of the good times. How bad will it get? No one can know. How bad can it get? Now we're on better ground. Let's speculate.

We live in the darkening foreshadow of a world catastrophe to be remembered for millennia to come. When it comes apart it will happen with no more warning than we have now. Each step down will be a disaster in itself, followed by worse, then worse yet, until many years later civilization becomes a fading memory told to disbelieving children. The wholly unprepared have no more than a single-digit percent chance of long term survival.

Most have chosen their fate. Few have chosen wisely.

Big city dwellers who believe potable water and their daily bread is "a human right', whose lives rely on contracts and connections and persuasion, who take the weather personally, who hold leisure class values even as they're being swindled into penury, who can't prepare a real meal at home and hire an illegal to change a light bulb—they won't survive.

Those who live far from cities and lines of drift, who have a circle of reliable relatives and friends at a good level of self-sufficency, who have experienced scarcity or even poverty, who are experienced and well situated to hunt and fish and garden, or are already practicing homesteaders, who value self reliance, who know their home ground intimately and have prepared realistically—they may survive.

We can't know how events will unfold. It's likely the first post-apocalyptic months will seem to be, if not be, the most cataclysmic. The incompetent, the deluded, the resolutely unprepared and other self-selected victims will be winnowed in huge numbers. Add to them the chronically ill and elderly, the wholly dependent tribalists of the inner city and their feral broods, and the plain unlucky.

Old vendettas will be settled, chains of revenge for revenge will begin. City utilities will fail, sewage and garbage and corpses will contribute to unchecked disease . An exposed light at night will be worth your life. Enclaves will attack enclaves no less destitute than themselves. The naturally homicidal, suddenly unconstrained, will prey singly and in groups. Some uniformed enforcers of defunct martial law will go rogue.

Long time readers know survivalism is summed up in my Most Excellent and Inviolable Rule One: Stay away from crowds. There's nothing in this for the survivalist. Serial gunfights and derring-do are not the key to survival. The survivalist removes himself from this pointless maelstrom, ready to defend himself and others, but aware the hard work of preparation is not over. The long term is still ahead and there's plenty of room for things to get worse. And worse they will get.

Next

In case it needs to be said, this is from David Catron at Spectator

The primary target isn’t really the President. Mueller and his apologists know Trump is the voice of a nationwide rebellion against their authority, and realize that the threat can’t be neutralized until he is silenced. The end game is to crush what they see as a peasant’s revolt. Mueller’s function is to provide a legal pretext for removing the President from office.

Next

The quote for this week is from Julius Malema, head of South Africa’s rising Economic Freedom Fighters party:

"I'm saying to you, we've not called for the killing of white people, at least for now. I can't guarantee the future."

Next

An article by Bill Gertz at Free Beacon reveals the "Chinese Communist Party funds Washington think tanks", and he names names. An excerpt:

The report said the Johns Hopkins School of Advance International Studies, a major foreign policy education and analysis institute, has received funding from Tung Chee-hwa, a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the party group that directs the United Front Work Department and includes a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the collective dictatorship that rules China.

The funding for Johns Hopkins came from Tung's non-profit group in Hong Kong, the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation, which is a registered Chinese agent.

In addition to Johns Hopkins, other think tanks linked to China and influential in American policy circles include the Brookings Institution, Atlantic Council, Center for American Progress, EastWest Institute, Carter Center, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Exchange Foundation is tied to Chinese government influence operations and uses the same public relations firm as the Chinese embassy.

A spokesman for the Center for American Progress (CAP) said the center has received no money from China. CAP cooperated with the U.S.-China Exchange Foundation in producing a joint report in 2014 but received no financial contribution from CUSEF.

and finally,

The end of the growing season is fast approaching. Our three "no till" experimental potato plots produced very well, close to set-and-forget. We watered' em right at planting natch, and only once thereafter. Then it rained the next day. The results for the Yukon Gold are in, the other two will be soon.

I'm into the second week of the six weeks recovery they say is normal and lookin' good, hitting my marks ahead of schedule. Did a half hour drive Sunday. But, something could jump out of the shadows even yet, y'never know.

Okay gang, yer ol' Woodpile Report awaits, right after this old ad.

 

1940. Chesterfield magazine ad

 

Chesterfield cigarettes, which takes its name from the Virginia county, has been a major brand since it was introduced in 1896. Chesterfield is still sold worldwide, except in the United States. Sergeant Friday of Dragnet was perhaps the best known "Chesterfield man".

 

 

Remus's notebook

 

 

 

James Kunstler - The Dogs of Vengeance ... implacable forces will drag the good, the bad, the clueless, the clever, the guilty, the innocent, the avid, and the unwilling to a certain fate

Daily Mail - Have scientists found evidence of another universe? 'Ghost black hole' from ancient universe that died before the Big Bang has been discovered, physicists claim

Further information, Next Big Future - Evidence that Universe has infinite cycle of Big Bangs from very early black holes

Next Big Future - Asteroids have caused 26 nuclear bomb sized explosions since 2000 ... includes 2 minute video showing where they hit

NRA - Why Are Hollow-Point Rifle Bullets More Accurate? ... weight variations are easier to hold in hollow-point bullets

College Fix - Republican delegate sues university over gun ban ... says University of Wyoming does not have authority to regulate firearms

Fox News - Dem Socialists Pushing to Infiltrate Schools Because 'They Can't Win in the Battle of Ideas' ... 'if they teach history, they're going to lose'

True Pundit - Feds Scramble after Las Vegas Shooter’s Girlfriend Lists FBI as Place of Employment on Loan Application; ‘She Might have Been an Asset’ ... the person whose fingerprints were found on Paddock's horde of ammunition

This is the "person of interest" the FBI couldn't find for several days.

Vintage News - Ghost Town of the Rich and Famous ... abandoned when Turkey invaded Cyprus, July 20, 1974

National Interest - Japan Transformed a Battleship into an Aircraft Carrier But It Had a Fatal Flaw ... would have remained the world's largest aircraft carrier until the 1960s, instead it is largest warship ever sunk by a submarine

WND - Memo reveals Soros-funded social-media censorship plan ... plotted with Google, Facebook to eliminate 'right wing propaganda'

Ann Coulter - The Pantsuit That Cried Wolf ... Hillary has always blamed her troubles on bad people conspiring against her

Cosmos - Huge jets of water found streaming from distant protostar ... in the Cat’s Paw Nebula

Seeker - This Rocky Exoplanet Is the Most Likely to Support Life ... Kepler-452b, only eleven light years away

Final Prepper - 10 Food Ideas for Your Bug Out Bag

My Daily Kona - Canada retires the Lee-Enfield after 114 years of service ... the English-speaking world’s version of the AK-47

SHTFplan - Whistleblower: It Was A Failed Coup & MSM Covering Up Phony DOJ Dossier ... a Civil War is in the making right now

Freedom in the 50 states - an interactive map

All Outdoor - “Illegal Gun Factory” Discovered by British Police ... you can’t un-invent guns

Natural News - Millions of Americans are arming up with new concealed carry permits and the fastest growth is among women ... increase among women was 11 percent, while that of men was eight percent

Organic Prepper - Selco’s Reality Check for Preppers: It Can Happen to You and You Can Survive It ... basics are always gonna be basics, everywhere

Task & Purpose - The Maker Of The AK-47 Just Unveiled A Brand New 7.62mm Assault Rifle ... behold the Kalashnikov AK-308

Design You Trust - This Is How The Practical Miniatures For Blade Runner 2049 Were Created ... amazing photos

 

Stuff you may want to think about
Synopsis with links

 

Cloud people, Z Man - This seems to be the issue with the rising tide of censorship. They keep following a pattern. One platform bans a heretic and then it is a race for all of the others to do the same. It’s monkey see, monkey do, as the Judeo-Puritan ruling class signals to one another their piety and then reacts to those signals with their own acts of piety. No one in the ruling class thinks about the mob showing up with torches and rope. They don’t even think the mob will show up at the voting booth and cast a protest vote. This is why they will keep pushing censorship, furiously trying to out signal one another in what has become a piety festival among our ruling classes. They no longer see any humanity in the Dirt People.

 

Killing liberalism, Sultan Knish - Trump and Brexit were responses to the collapse of liberalism. The collapse was accelerated when supposedly liberal political movements on both sides of the ocean endorsed two tribalisms. On the European side of the ocean, the EU tossed aside its post-national pose to back Muslim tribalism and its mass migration at the expense of the nation-state. On the American side, the Democrats abandoned even the pretense of believing in equality to fully embrace the pettiness of tribal identity politics. The authorities were no longer creating a newly equal order, but recreating an old tribal one in which some people were more equal than others.

 

Summer soldiers, American Thinker - I am nowhere near as confident as Kurt Schlichter that the right wing could trounce the left wing in battle. We can't even unite to keep Alex Jones on Facebook. It is true that conservatives have more guns and are probably better street fighters. But conservatives also cave in large numbers even when their most sacred cows are in danger – such as the First Amendment or Christian principles. The two latter issues sit at the core of academic bias and debates on sexuality, respectively. I have the war wounds from both battles and can attest to the repeating scenario: conservatives talk and talk about what they believe and how bad the left is. Then they give up droves when it comes time to fight.

 

Default, Amerika - Making fun of Venezuela is like shooting fish in a barrel. They took a prosperous country, added socialism, and got an impoverished wasteland with leaders who became billionaires by being politicians. Since the populace lacked the intelligence to figure out that scam, they keep electing socialists to fix the socialist mess. Our governments will hit a similar point. We will go over the cliff by chasing the moon, as the old saying goes, because conformity through socializing proves a hard bad habit to beat. No one can talk about how nothing is working, how everyone is miserable, and how our future involves a crash a thousand times worse than what is happening in Venezuela.

 

Real education, Minding the Campus - Grade inflation and a cavalier attitude towards education treats the student as a consumer who should have fun at college. In 1960 a student was fortunate to have a seat, had to compete to get that seat, and was told entering freshman calculus to look to the right and the left, and that one of those two people would not there next year. And, by the way, you can look in the catalogue to see what courses you are going to take, the same courses your competitors are taking at other universities. Over the long haul, power and wealth depend on engineering, and in turn, engineering depends on mathematics and science. Engineering will decide who holds the industrial might in the Twenty-first Century.

 

1937. San Francisco

 

1937 saw a major dip in the recovery from the Great Depression. As always, economists disagree on the cause, but the word "recession" first became part of the rhetoric at this time. Pre-recession employment levels of 1937 were not reached again until late 1941.

 

More stuff you may want to think about
Synopsis with links

 

Asian Tick, Daily Beast - Unlike the black-legged tick, whose travel patterns, host preferences, and habitat are well-known, scientists are struggling to answer even the most basic questions about its Asian relative. We don’t yet know how the long-horned tick came to the United States, how it’s spreading, or what it’s capable of doing. All we know is that it’s here, nearly 200 sightings since 2017 in New York and New Jersey alone. While researchers haven’t yet found any long-horned ticks infected with Lyme—or any other pathogen dangerous to humans—there’s no evidence that the ticks are incapable of transmitting those diseases.

 

Masculinity, Return of Kings - How do you exercise your masculinity? The first step is to get clear on your path and purpose. Your thoughts and behaviors are the only things you have control over, so always make sure that they are directed to some end. Know the intended outcome of your actions. Begin with the end in mind. The second step is to live with integrity. Stick to your commitments. Keep a task list everyday and complete it. Do what you said you were going to do. Keep your word to yourself. The third step is to build courage. Take cold showers. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

 

Slippery slope, The Federalist - Many on the left and the right gave a loud cheer last week when Alex Jones was banished from Facebook. Twitter later suspended him. While it is not surprising to see the jackals on the left cheer at the burning of books, one would hope folks on the right would look in the mirror and realize their time is coming soon. The leftists will not stop (and did not stop) at nutty Alex Jones, because they do not think you are much different from him. The left thinks you are both equally vile. They just knew Jones was the weak member of the herd. They could pick him off as a test run. Next they’re coming for you. Draw your line in the sand. Do not give them another inch.

 

Ammo, Survivalist Blog - Should You Barter Ammo Post-SHTF? Finding guns, working guns, will be comparatively simple. Guns are the ultimate in durable goods, after all, and don’t forget their enormous quantity the world over. It is finding ammo that will quickly become difficult in any kind of protracted situation, especially if you inhabit an area riven with violence, or one that demographically was anti-gun. Ammunition will become increasingly valuable as supply dwindles and what limited production remains ceases, certainly worth enough to make for a universally accepted trade commodity. You’d be wise to keep plenty on hand, both to ensure you and yours remain protected for the duration, but also to ensure you can get what you need in exchange from fellow preppers and survivors.

 

Applied history, History Today - When Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince (1532), he illustrated his case by constant reference to examples from the past. Politicians of 19th-century Europe were classically educated and sought a Greek or Roman analogy for every problem. The Victorian historian J.R. Seeley went so far as to declare that history was no less than a ‘school of statesmanship’. Historians are not seers; their analogies may be misplaced and their assessments can be wrong. Yet the idea of history constituting a valuable guide for present and future action was an established part of western culture. This makes sense. After all, the past is our sole repository of information about what works and what does not; we have nothing else to draw upon.

 

1940s. War poster

 

A classic war poster popular in its time but seldom seen today. It's a mystery.

 

This is number
543

28 Aug 2018