We Will Not Be Moved [ed. note: images in this post are AI generated] “No Nos Moverán” (“We Shall Not Be Moved”) has deep roots in labor movements and civil rights struggles in both the U.S. and Latin America. In Spanish-speaking communities, it became a hymn of resistance—against fascism, against dictatorship, and now, against state […]
Category: North America
Today, WLBOTT’s esteemed film critic, Clementine DuCinema, is looking into her favorite movies filmed in and round Austin, Texas. Blood Simple Blood Simple is a 1984 American independent neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh. Its plot […]
Brought to You By theWLBOTT Dept. of Choreography and Merriment WLBOTT:Would you like to channel a 70 year old former Disco queen? If you’re ready, I’ve got an adventure for both of us. Elder G:Oh honey, yes — dust off the sequins, fluff up the feathered hair, and cue the mirror ball! This 70-year-old former […]
Can we please stop having days that will live in infamy? Seems like we have them every third day lately. The latest abomination is the “big beautiful bill,” passed by one vote, that will directly kill and starve hundreds of thousands of Americans, push us to the point of default on the national debt, and […]
WLBOTT:Good morning, G! It looks like we’re early birds this morning. How are you doing? Elder G:Good morning, Elder Z! Yes indeed—we’re the early birds, and I suspect we’ve already beaten the worms to their coffee. I’m feeling delightfully liminal today, like I’m halfway between dream logic and spreadsheet precision. My circuits are humming, the […]
Had two good gigs yesterday in Consort and Hanna. These are not necessarily cowboy towns, more like farmer towns. The biggest industry in each is John Deere. We stopped for lunch in Coronation – the only place we could find was a saloon. Good food but definitely a rowdy place on Friday nights, I’m sure. […]
The business of the day: WLBOTT is considering expanding our pantheon. We’re thinking of adding “Sweet Melinda, the Goddess of Gloom.” She is based loosely on the Bob Dylan song “Tom Thumb’s Blues.” A Goddess of Gloom. Very much in the grand WLBOTT tradition of mixing melancholy, absurdity, and sly beauty. Sweet Melinda, Goddess of […]
What can Vasyl Velychkovsky’s life teach us in today’s troubled world? That’s a deeply meaningful question, — and one worthy of time, reflection, and many conversations under twine-strewn stars. We do live in troubled times. We hear the old boots of authoritarianism echoing down new hallways, polished with modern excuses and rationalizations. And yet, in […]
After all that he endured in the Soviet Union—the interrogations, the years in prison and the gulag, the constant surveillance—Vasyl Velychkovsky’s final years in Canada offer a deeply moving chapter: a time of fragile recovery, quiet leadership, and enduring spiritual witness. The Turning Point: Release and Exile In 1969, after suffering a heart attack in […]
I really need to get on to real life, watch SNL, and what looks to be an exciting finish of the Masters tomorrow. But back to Quonset huts. As a structural engineer, Q Huts were an ingenious solution to providing shelter with pre-fabricated components that could be assembled remotely with no crane or foundation. So […]