#31: Deixis Downlink
A monthly correspondence: January 2024
Deixis Journal Archive
Featured work by Lucas Almássy as apart of his collection, “Futurist Explorations”. Featured in Deixis Journal No.1
The World Stage
January 25, 2024
Americans are unhappy about a Trump-Biden rematch. Trial begins for mother of 15-year-old son who used pistol gifted by parents to kill his classmates. Ohio lawmakers ban gender affirming care for minors. 1 killed by Union Pacific train in Los Angeles county. Illinois man murders 8 of his family members by shooting them to death and killing himself after. Saudi Arabia prepares to open first alcohol store for diplomats. Houthis order US and British nationals to leave Yemen. Israel denies attack on UN refuge in Gaza. Child discovered drifting on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea has passed away. Turkey’s Erdogan is considering opening new border crossings with Iran. Spike in dengue fever in South America causes bug spray to run out. Milei faces major union strikes in Argentina. Amazon rainforest faces record drought due to climate change. Colombia to declare a natural disaster over wildfires. Carmaker Audi’s Mexico union workers strike over wage increases. Taiwan begins one year conscription response to threats from China. North Korea tests a new cruise missile. South Korea warns against new social media trend of eating fried toothpicks. US Navy sends first warship through Taiwan strait post-election. Philippines and Vietnam sign coastguard deal. Ethiopia’s deal to lease a part in Somalia’s breakaway region, Somaliland, could destabilize the Horn of Africa. Putin meets Chad’s junta leader as Russia competes with France in Africa. Libya’s September flood requires 1.8 billion in recovery funds. More than 40 killed in artisanal mine collapse in southwest Mali. Namibia’s president Geingob to travel to US for Cancer treatment. Ukraine to start building 4 nuclear reactors this year. Russian woman jailed for 27 years for handing bomb to war blogger. French farmers block roads and dump produce as protest edges closer to Paris. Zombie knives to be banned in England and Wales from September. Next UK government faces toughest challenge since 1950s on debt —
Notes for the Futurist
Why so much talk of the future? Well, that is what critical thinkers and literary individuals who involve themselves with truth are often interested in. We return to history to observe the present day and make assumptions, if not establish some sense of clarity in what the future will look like. And while I firmly believe that the world is becoming a better place, by no means do I believe it to be a swift overtaking of righteousness.
Elections are “looming” in many countries around the world. The rise of authoritarianism and the demise of democracy are the focus of conversations on a daily basis. War is spreading, and where it has not spread, the seeds for it are sprouting. These writings are not for pessimistic purposes, but to simply paint a picture. A lot of the problems we are facing, are no longer issue-based. Much of it is cultural, racial, nationalistic, religious, creed-based, ideological, desire-led… or in other words — personal. It’s not supposed to be personal. We should not be targeting personally, nor should we be attacked personally, but that is where the majority of our conflicts seem to now root from.
I’ve been re-reading The Autobiography of Malcom X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) for the first time since I was a kid, and via his mention of it in the text, came into an old tv program where he was first featured, titled “The Hate That Hate Produced”. I hadn’t known of it prior to re-reading the book, and want to share it here, not because I align with the things he (El-Shabazz) or the other speakers reflect in the program, but so as to reflect on the possible effects of personal attack and condemnation, be it immediately, or after some generations. One can’t help but also see parallels of such effects in the major conflicts circulating in the media today.
Deixis Book Club
Not a real book club (yet), just a bit about what we’re currently reading.
Halima recently read the book, A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
Elegant, refined, this book is a sultry mix of history, fiction, romance, and character study. I am enamored by the world and the lives that Isabel Allende has crafted, sewn and woven with an amazing finish.
The story begins with Victor Dalmau, amidst the Spanish Civil War equipped only with medical devices (his hands) and his commitment to his loved ones. His brother, Guillem, is a militiaman. His mother, Carme, teaches literacy to illiterate soldiers. His father Marcel teaches classical music, the piano. Roser, poor and a potential piano prodigy, is received by Victor’s family, and sleeps in Guillem’s vacant bed. She becomes Guillems’ lover by way of sleeping in his bed, engulfed in his aroma. The story continues then, with adventure, passion, virtue and boundless romance. To be overcome by this story is an understatement, as at the book’s ending you are resolutely gracious that you could be an idle participant in such expansive stories that Allende binds for you.
A first for me in terms of genre, this historical fiction novel was graceful in the same breath as my other favorites, and the setting vividly laid the characters to rest in the most beautiful way. I loved it, I want more, and so I will be seeking out other novels by Allende.
An excerpt from A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
“The property was empty during the day, and in the first two years burglars broke in eleven times… Their first television set was also taken, as were another two replacements, so they decided to do without… They were considering the possibility of always leaving the door open to avoid having their windows smashed by the thieves…”