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ABRAHA AL-ARSHAM
513 - 570 C.E. (6th Century)
Abraha ruled much of present-day Arabia and Yemen from at least 531–547 CE to 555–565 CE.
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Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Climate Change, Entropy, Existentialism
The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival, Sir John Glubb, Abe Books
In these inspiring essays, Sir John Glubb examines the human race over 4,000 years and finds the same patterns of rise and fall of national greatness on the same timescale.
I. Pioneers - In the video, these are the explorers. They used the technology of their time, usually sailing ships to traverse vast distances to new lands.
II. Conquests—Colonization in Western culture typically involves subjugation of the land and its people, sometimes to the point of depopulation or extinction.
III. Commerce - Global trade in the Americas started with the first genocidal assaults, and kidnapping of Africans to subjugate the land because past the conquering stage, the colonizers remote control their commerce with the crack of whips and brutality.
IV. Affluence - With great wealth from commerce/slave trading and breeding, one can build castles, plantations with wraparound porches and mint julip tea.
V. Intellect—The video alludes to the building of Ivy League institutions: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. Public colleges emulate this model. Everyone becomes credentialed.
VI. Decadence - "Internal division, an influx of foreigners, materialism, and frivolity. A welfare state, weakening religion, and a defensive mindset." Sounds eerily familiar.
Entropy (noun): a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.
"the second law of thermodynamics says that entropy always increases with time"
Empires last about 250 years. Ours is now 248.
This land’s semi-quincentennial is 2026.
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Topics: African Americans, Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Democracy, Existentialism, Fascism, History
"The End of History and the Last Man," by Francis Fukuyama "a 1992 book of political philosophy by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama argues that with the ascendancy of Western liberal democracy—which occurred after the Cold War (1945–1991) and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)—humanity has reached "not just … the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: That is, the end-point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government." Wikipedia
I had a short dialogue with two younger relatives:
Me: I canceled my Amazon Prime membership due to Jeff Bezos's cowardice.
Relative: I honestly think this was more so because his Washington Post has been failing, and as a businessman, he's using the non-endorsement as a tactic to get it back on track. I also don't think news outlets should endorse presidential candidates, don't we want reliable, unbiased news?
Me: They started the endorsement after Watergate. It was the daily reporting by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward that held Nixon accountable. He went from a landslide victory to almost being removed from office via impeachment.
We had a news media when I was younger. What we had held the powerful accountable. When our media is owned by billionaires, it is more accurately defined as corporate media. When the powerful own our journalism, it's hard, if not impossible to hold the powerful accountable. Google "oligarchy."
Link shared with my young friends: Letters at 3 AM: O is for Oligarchy, Michael Ventura, Austin Chronicle, April 9, 2010
Offline, I have been reading (a lot of) books, mostly on history. In "The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World," by historian John Dickie. I excerpt Chapter 14 - Salamanca: Hyenas And Concubines:
"In Nationalist Spain, the army and right-wing vigilantes imposed a reign of terror. The intention was loudly proclaimed, to 'cleanse' the Fatherland of its political and cultural 'pollutants.' Anyone associated with the Republic and its institutions, with the political Left, and even with secular modernity, was liable to be arrested, tortured, and executed: trade unionists and politicians, workers and peasants, liberals and intellectuals, emancipated women and homosexuals. Tens of thousands died. Among them were many Freemasons." (pages 323 - 324)
Hitler: I will get rid of the communist “vermin.”
Him: Repeated verbatim.
Hitler: I will take care of the “enemy within.”
Him: I will take care of the “threat from within.”
Hitler: Jews and migrants are poisoning Aryan blood.
Him: Migrants are poisoning the blood of our country.
Hitler: One people, one realm, one leader.
Him: One people, one family, one GLORIOUS nation.
In The Recount on Instagram, two African American Nevadans explained why they no longer support Democrats (and democracy) and "wish both parties would do better." They also felt that the "him" I mentioned is "the only politician who hasn't lied to them." I assume that means politicians from both parties stretch the truth, and when caught, the news alerts blaring on our cell phones stoke the outrage to Olympian heights. The "him" I mentioned is a pathological liar, always lying, therefore, is "truthful" in his obfuscations.
The problem is that they probably don’t know their relatives, have never paid attention in school, and think that history began with the last thing they Googled on their phones.
They did not have the benefit (and honor) of being raised by a man drafted into the Second World War into the United States Navy, (to fight actual Nazis), only for the "GI Bill" to be bifurcated: white soldiers and sailors received academic and financial benefits like home loans that set them up for generations of prosperity. My father, with all the other black soldiers and sailors got trade school, that set us up for where we lived: the ghetto.
The Civil Rights era scenes are in YouTube videos played as they slept in their high school history classes, and Googled the answers to the take-home exam without meditation. It was never their big sister's bloodied face patched by your nurse mother in the middle of the living room after marching for rights that in east Winston-Salem, NC, did not exist.
It is this proud ignorance of history and refusal to inquire about it from books written by experts, or by inquiring from the experts themselves. It is the modern, and young, notion that history didn't exist before web pages and search engines. It is their overwhelming confidence that they can "get the gist" of any situation, no matter how dire, or life-threatening. If we lose our government in a coup, they'll post something clever, or march and shout to shame the powerful into submission (the "him" wanted to shoot protestors in the leg during George Floyd and COVID). It makes a modern fascist/nationalist movement hard to believe is occurring in America because some of them have not received an alert on their cell phones from Instagram, or TikTok. And nothing exists if it hasn't gone "viral."
Ignorance will kill us all.
It's another milestone moment for Lawful Evil Comics with our first Horror comic featuring the sizzling seductress herself, Lily.
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EECI’s Gaming and Animation Summit Inspires Next Generation of Creators From left are Josh Owens, Prof. Timothy Conley, Prof. Jim Huntley, Frankie Ross, Barbara Stanton, Dave Fennoy, Renee Moncito, Will Coyner, Carles (CJ) Juzang, and Cheo Leslie. (B. Rene)
The Entrepreneur Education Center Inc. (EECI) successfully hosted its 3rd annual Gaming and Animation Summit on Sept. 28, at the EECI Steven Bradford Global Communications Center in Gardena.
The summit brought together a community of aspiring game developers, animators, and digital creators from underserved communities in Los Angeles, offering valuable insight, education, and networking opportunities.
The event, moderated by 94.7 The Wave’s Frankie Ross, featured an
impressive lineup of industry professionals, including tech entrepreneur Joshua Owens, media innovator Carles (CJ) Juzang of Abyssinia Media Group, USC Interactive Media and Games Professor Jim Huntley, CEDC Chief of Partnerships and Programs Renee Moncito, VG Entertainment Owner/Operator Mark Wimby, Professor Timothy Conley of ASU, Sony Pictures Animation Illustrator and Visual Developer Will Coyner, and Voice
Actor Dave Fennoy. Panelists gave engaging presentations, and attendees participated in discussions on game design, animation, programming, and career development strategies.
Related Stories:
https://lasentinel.net/eeci-opens-enrollment-in-free-business-andvocational-training-program.html
https://lasentinel.net/eeci-celebrates-graduation-of-visionaryentrepreneurs-and-scuba-divers.html
“Very informative, looking forward to attending again. Really great speakers, I was really inspired by what I heard,” said David from Hawthorne, reflecting on the value the summit provided to participants looking to break into the
industry.
The summit’s main focus was on connecting local talents with professionals already working in these creative fields. It provided an open space for discussions about the challenges and opportunities in the fast-evolving world of gaming and animation.
“It really opened my eyes to how to get into the animation industry and that it’s the connection with the people that you meet, and this gave us an opportunity to meet the people,” shared Ebony from Lawndale, highlighting the importance of networking and relationship-building as key takeaways from the event.
Designed for aspiring creators from low-to-medium income (LMI)
communities, the summit also aimed to inspire younger attendees by sharing success stories and experiences from top industry leaders.
“I thought it was really cool to see how people became who they are and that it requires a lot of hard work, and then it all pays off,” said 10-year-old Cyrus from Los Angeles, excited by the motivational stories shared by speakers.
EECI’s mission to empower the community was reinforced through this event, providing a roadmap for young artists, programmers, and game enthusiasts to navigate the professional landscape. This summit is the first of many future events that will continue to cultivate local talent and promote diversity in the gaming and animation industries.
“Our goal was to provide a platform for aspiring creators to not only learn new skills but
also to build lasting connections with industry professionals who can guide them in their careers. The summit exceeded our expectations in achieving that,” said Curtis, one of the event organizers.
EECI’s 3rd annual Gaming and Animation Summit was live-streamed, and a replay can be viewed on YouTube at
https://youtube.com/live/I5nYxlPSrsI.
For more information about EECI and upcoming programs,
visit
https://entrepreneureducationalcenter.org.
Topics: Applied Physics, Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Civilization, Climate Change, Existentialism, Exoplanets, SETI, Thermodynamics
Well, this firmly puts a kink in the "Fermi Paradox."
The Industrial Revolution started in Britain around 1760 - 1840, and there was a colloquial saying that "the sun did not set on the British Empire." The former colony, America, cranked up its industrial revolution around 1790. Mary Shelley birthed the science fiction genre in the dystopian Frankenstein in 1818, around the time of climate-induced change of European weather, and a noticeable drop in temperature. It was also a warning of the overconfidence of science, the morality that should be considered when designing new technologies, its impact on the environment, and humans that sadly, don't think themselves a part of the environment. The divide between sci-fi is dystopian and Pollyannish: Star Trek mythology made that delicate balance between their fictional Eugenics Wars, World War III, the "Atomic Horror," and a 21st Century dark age, the discovery of superluminal space travel, and First Contact with benevolent, pointy-eared aliens, leading to Utopia post xenophobia. We somehow abandoned countries and currency, and thus, previous hierarchal power and inequality modalities. Roddenberry's dream was a secular version of Asgard, Heaven, Olympus, and Svarga: a notion of continuance for a species aware of its finite existence, buttressed by science and space lasers.
If aliens had a similar industrial revolution, they perhaps created currencies that allowed for trade and commerce, hierarchies to decide who would hoard resources, and which part of their societies were functionally peasantry. They would separate by tribes, complexions, and perhaps stripes if they're aquatic, and fight territorial wars over resources. Those wars would throw a lot of carbon dioxide in their oxygenated atmospheres. Selfishness, hoarding disorder, and avarice would convince the aliens that the weather patterns were "a hoax," they would pay the equivalent of lawyers to obfuscate the reality of their situations before it was too late on any of their planets to reverse the effects on their worlds. If they were colonizing the stars, it wouldn't be for the altruistic notion of expanding their knowledge by "seeking out life, and new civilizations": they would have exceeded the thermal budgets of their previous planets. Changing their galactic zip codes would only change the locations of their eventual outcomes.
Thermodynamics wins, and Lord Kelvin may have answered Enrico Fermi's question. Far be it for me to adjudicate whether or not anyone has had a "close encounter of the third kind," but I don't see starships coming out of this scenario. Cogito ergo sum homo stultus.
It may take less than 1,000 years for an advanced alien civilization to destroy its own planet with climate change, even if it relies solely on renewable energy, a new model suggests.
When astrophysicists simulated the rise and fall of alien civilizations, they found that, if a civilization were to experience exponential technological growth and energy consumption, it would have less than 1,000 years before the alien planet got too hot to be habitable. This would be true even if the civilization used renewable energy sources, due to inevitable leakage in the form of heat, as predicted by the laws of thermodynamics. The new research was posted to the preprint database arXiv and is in the process of being peer-reviewed.
While the astrophysicists wanted to understand the implications for life beyond our planet, their study was initially inspired by human energy use, which has grown exponentially since the 1800s. In 2023, humans used about 180,000 terawatt hours (TWh), which is roughly the same amount of energy that hits Earth from the sun at any given moment. Much of this energy is produced by gas and coal, which is heating up the planet at an unsustainable rate. But even if all that energy were created by renewable sources like wind and solar power, humanity would keep growing, and thus keep needing more energy."
This brought up the question, 'Is this something that is sustainable over a long period of time?'" Manasvi Lingam, an astrophysicist at Florida Tech and a co-author of the study, told Live Science in an interview.
Lingam and his co-author Amedeo Balbi, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Tor Vergata University of Rome, were interested in applying the second law of thermodynamics to this problem. This law says that there is no perfect energy system, where all energy created is efficiently used; some energy must always escape the system. This escaped energy will cause a planet to heat up over time.
"You can think of it like a leaky bathtub," Lingam said. If a bathtub that is holding only a little water has a leak, only a small amount can get out, he explained. But as the bathtub is filled more and more — as energy levels increase exponentially to meet demand — a small leak can suddenly turn into a flooded house.
Alien civilizations are probably killing themselves from climate change, bleak study suggests, Sierra Bouchér, Live Science
Hummocks of moss cover Ardley Island off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: Dan Charman
Topics: Antarctica, Civilization, Climate Change, Existentialism, Global Warming
A fast-warming region of Antarctica is getting greener with shocking speed. Satellite imagery of the region reveals that the area covered by plants increased by almost 14 times over 35 years — a trend that will spur rapid change of Antarctic ecosystems.
“It's the beginning of dramatic transformation,” says Olly Bartlett, a remote-sensing specialist at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK, and an author of the study1, published today in Nature Geoscience, that reports these results.
From white to green
Bartlett and his colleagues analyzed images taken between 1986 and 2021 of the Antarctic Peninsula — a part of the continent that juts north towards the tip of South America. The pictures were taken by the Landsat satellites operated by NASA and the US Geological Survey in March, which is the end of the growing season for vegetation in the Antarctic.
To assess how much of the land was covered with vegetation, the researchers took advantage of the properties of growing plants: healthy plants absorb a lot of red light and reflect a lot of near-infrared light. Scientists can use satellite measurements of light at these wavelengths to determine whether a piece of land is covered by thriving plants.
The team found that the peninsula's area swathed in plants grew from less than one square kilometer in 1986 to nearly 12 square kilometers in 2021 (see ‘An icy land goes green’). The rate of expansion was roughly 33% higher between 2016 and 2021 compared with the four-decade study period as a whole.
Believe it or not, this lush landscape is Antarctica, Alix Soliman, Nature
10/10 – A Stunning Blend of Art, Romance, and Music
Entergalactic is an animated film that deserves all the praise for its fantastic blend of art, storytelling, and music. From start to finish, it kept me hooked with its vibrant visuals and deeply emotional narrative. What stood out to me right away was the unique animation style. It’s very much in the same vein as Into the Spider-Verse, with its bold, colorful aesthetic and eye-popping detail that makes every frame feel alive. Yet, despite its visually striking style, the heart of the movie is a love story that feels as genuine and soulful as Love Jones.
The acting in Entergalactic was exceptional. Each character came to life with distinct personalities and real emotional depth. You can truly feel the passion and care the voice actors put into their performances. Their chemistry was palpable, and it made the relationship between the characters feel both relatable and engaging. I found myself really rooting for them, which speaks to how well the performances were executed.
But what really elevated the movie for me was the soundtrack. It perfectly complements the movie’s tone, giving every moment an added layer of mood and emotion. Whether it’s the high-energy scenes filled with color and excitement or the quieter, more intimate moments between characters, the music enhances the overall experience. It has this ability to pull you into the story even more, making the emotional beats hit harder and the romantic moments more touching.
Entergalactic isn’t just an animated movie; it’s a visual and auditory experience. Its seamless integration of a heartfelt romance with a modern, urban aesthetic makes it stand out from other animated films. It’s a movie that celebrates love, art, and the power of connection, all while delivering stunning visuals and a killer soundtrack.
I really liked this movie and highly recommend it to anyone looking for something fresh and unique. If you enjoyed Love Jones and appreciate the animation style of Into the Spider-Verse, this is a perfect mix of both worlds. I give it a 10/10!! You should definitely give it a try!
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Save the date:
SEPTEMBER 28, 2024
EECI 2024 / GAMING AND ANIMATION SUMMIT
55 West Redondo Beach Blvd.
Suite 185
Gardena, CA 90248.
I am giving an Animation Presentation during this event as well as promoting ABYSSINIA MEDIA GROUP®. If you and any youth are free that Saturday, please roll through.
For more info:
Entrepreneur Educational Center Inc.
(323) 757-7506
EECI2017@aol.com
https://EntrepreneurEducationalCenter.org
See You there!
Meinzahn/Getty Images
Topics: Applied Physics, Atmospheric Science, Chemistry, Climate Change, Global Warming
Note: It's disheartening that geoengineering, made popular by science fiction novels and plots in Star Trek, is being considered because we're too selfish to change our behavior.
More and more climate scientists are supporting experiments to cool Earth by altering the stratosphere or the ocean.
As recently as 10 years ago most scientists I interviewed and heard speak at conferences did not support geoengineering to counteract climate change. Whether the idea was to release large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to “block” the sun’s heating or to spread iron across the ocean to supercharge algae that breathe in carbon dioxide, researchers resisted on principle: don’t mess with natural systems because unintended consequences could ruin Earth. They also worried that trying the techniques even at a small scale could be a slippery slope to wider deployment and that countries would use the promise of geoengineering as an excuse to keep burning carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
But today, climate scientists more openly support experimenting with these and other proposed strategies, partly because entrepreneurs and organizations are going ahead with the methods anyway—often based on little data or field trials. Scientists want to run controlled experiments to see if the methods are productive, to test consequences, and perhaps to show objectively that the approaches can cause serious problems.
“We do need to try the techniques to figure them out,” says Rob Jackson, a professor at Stanford University, chair of the international research partnership Global Carbon Project, and author of a book on climate solutions called Into the Clear Blue Sky (Scribner, 2024). “But doing research does make them more likely to happen. That is the knotty part of all this.”
As Earth’s Climate Unravels, More Scientists Are Ready to Test Geoengineering, Mark Fischetti, Scientific American
