enough reclaiming slurs, I think in 2023 we should reclaim nascar. they banned the confederate flag on all properties & their stance on lgbtq+ isn’t just performative bc in 2013 they fined a driver 10k for using a homophobic slur, condemned indiana in a statement for an anti lgbt law, and partnered w carolina’s lgbt+ chamber of conference in 2022. nascar was founded by anti-cop moonshiners/bootleggers who drove suped-up fords to out-run the police. #yaaascar
HELP
To this day, my favorite argument I ever had was with my Nascar-loving family about how a thin blue line flag on a Nascar is antithetical to the core tenets of Nascar. There is no organization more rooted in ACAB than Nascar. Literally, the only reason it exists was that a bunch of moonshining families had to build cars that could outrun the cops while on supply runs during the Prohibition Era. The goal was to make the car look like a regular vehicle so they could pick up supplies or drop off illegal alcohol without arousing suspicion. But if the cops were on you all you had to do was put the pedal to the metal and that little truck could outrun them with no problems. And of course, families would be in competition over who made the best alcohol, and whose car was fastest. So, they would have races on the weekends. When prohibition was lifted, the races continued. And that is why we have Nascar.
It really frustrates me how people look at American car culture and scoff at it. Formula One racing is more exciting and more dynamic to watch, but the history of it is not as interesting: a bunch of rich assholes who made specialized cars for racing. And to this day, it is still a rich man’s sport. Whereas Nascar was about a bunch of so-called hicks in the backwoods who used some basic hand tools and trial and error to make a junker into a racecar.
For those with homes built to keep heat in, not let it out: aluminum foil your windows, shiny side out. Cover the window, tape up the sides, maybe tape cardboard behind it to help insulate from the heat outside and absorb heat that gets through the foil.
Love, a former Californian, whose had to keep houses cool without any electricity.
algiz rune - this was used in postwar germany as a symbol of the neo-nazi movement in place of the actual nazi symbols that were banned
88/HH - code for Heil Hitler a phrase used in the nazi salute. also used as a reference to the 88 precept, a manifesto written by white supremacist david lane
the black sun - this symbol originates in nazi germany and later utilized by neo-nazis and other far right movements.
celtic cross - it was used by nazis in norway in the 30s and 40s, and more recently it has been used by neo-nazis, klansmen, and other white supremacist groups. white nationalists use a version of the symbol with a square cross as opposed to the elongated cross
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging - an afrikaner nationalist, neo-nazi, and white supremacist political party in south africa
i believe this one stands for völkisch equality (if im wrong correct me) - a concept within nazism which ascribed racial equality and full legal rights to people of german or related blood but deliberately excluded people outside this definition
odal rune - was the badge of the SS race and settlement main office, which was responsible for maintaining the racial purity. it was also the emblem of ethnic Germans and neo-nazis in nazi germany occupied territories and other neo-fascist groups
14 - from the fourteen words coined by david lane: “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”
Wolfsangel - a heraldic charge from germany and eastern france, which was inspired by medieval european wolf traps. widely adopted in nazi symbolism
Atomwaffen - Atomwaffen Division is a neo-Nazi group that emerged in 2016
92 - not too sure about this but it could refer to the 92nd Infantry Division, correct me if im wrong
Totenkopf/SS death head - julius schreck, the leader of the stabswache (hitler’s bodyguard unit), resurrected the use of the totenkopf as the unit’s insignia. this unit grew into the schutzstaffel (SS) which continued to use the totenkopf as insignia throughout its history
iron cross - a military decoration in the kingdom of prussia, and later in the german empire and nazi germany
Identity Evropa - an american neo-nazi and white supremacist organization established in March 2016. It was rebranded as the American Identity Movement in March 2019. In November 2020, the group disbanded.
18 - code for Adolf Hitler. The number comes from the position of the letters in the alphabet: A = 1 H = 8
iron guard - a romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927
arrow cross - the symbol of a far-right hungarist fascist political party the arrow cross party, led by ferenc szálasi,
unable to find any information regarding the rest of symbols, if anyone knows them please feel free to add
small addition: the Algiz rune was not a post war alternative to nazi symbols, it was very much a popular nazi symbol during the war also, associated with health and life. See, for example, the nazi Health ministry’s logo:
the sanitation services of the Hitler Youth:
the badge of the nazi association ‘German Women’s Work’:
As with all these symbols: this symbol also has non-nazi uses and context is key. If you see this thing on a random person, maybe do a double take and look for other signs that they’re a nazi. If you see this thing on a person at a white lives matter demo? you don’t need to wonder what it means.
“Kaynemaile has worked tirelessly to perfect the material science behind beautiful architectural mesh, collaborating with architects and designers on projects that embolden urban environments with positive buildings. The company’s patented polycarbonate mesh, inspired by 2,000-year-old medieval chainmail, was initially created for the armor and weapons seen in the The Lord of The Rings movie trilogy and is now used on major architectural projects around the world.
“The film’s art director and Kaynemaile’s founder Kayne Horsham worked with his team to construct each garment from plastic plumbing tubes, coating them in pure silver. Once filming wrapped, Horsham dedicated himself to creating a change to the liquid state assembly process to mass produce the polycarbonate chainmail for architectural applications — products that were light, but strong enough to protect the interior or exterior of a building. Now an industry-leading manufacturer, Kaynemaile produces mesh for everything from small interior screens to large scale exterior façades. Their mesh is easy to install and can be custom created for specialized applications.”
‘Are these magic cloaks?’ asked Pippin, looking at them. with wonder.
‘I do not know what you mean by that,’ answered the leader of the Elves. ‘They are fair garments, and the web is good, for it was made in this land. They are Elvish robes certainly, if that is what you mean. Leaf and branch, water and stone: they have the hue and beauty of all these things under the twilight of Lorien that we love; for we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.”
- Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 8: Farewell to Lorien
This is how I think of Jackson’s movies. Yes, there are serious flaws - Gandalf’s de-powering, Gimli as comic relief, and Faramir, namely - but come on.
Remember when the guys making their chain mail invented a new method for quickly producing large amounts of it by hand? Remember Miranda Otto walking down the street, practicing sword positions? The guys who forged all of the swords - for leads and for extras? The men and women riders who volunteered to be riders of Rohan? The costume designers who designed the inside of Theoden’s armor (which no one would ever see) so beautifully that Bernard Hill said he felt like a king? The friendships between the cast, and their size doubles, and the stuntmen?
they took forced perspective and scaled sets to a new level by adding moving set pieces to create the illusion that the hobbits and dwarves were much smaller than everyone else even when the camera moved.
every scene you see in the 11+ hours of glory that is the LOTR masterpiece is most like ridiculously elaborate or expensive–from model towers to the all-new motion capture technology used for gollum to the costumes and sets to the aerial on location shots of mother-fracking new zealand and the big impressive battle scenes and horse charges.
but then the story and the screenplay too–there is just SO much lore that is there
in the background lurking
if you want to look for it, yet it still remains simplified for the average viewer. Crazy impressive feat.
And the acting is heartfelt and real and makes you love the characters.
ALSO DON’T GET ME STARTED ON FREAKING HOWARD SHORE AND HIS 100+ HEARTSHATTERINGLY BEAUTIFUL LIETMOTIFS AND BRILLIANT SUBTLE VARIATIONS IN THE FLIPPING 13 HOUR SOUNDTRACK. AND ENYA SINGING IN REAL ELVISH.
And the acting is
heartfelt and real and makes you
love the characters.
Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.
