Falling lights are fading... (updated)

Apparently, Dr. Suess wrote The Cat in the Hat using around 240 first grade level words. Tonight I'll be working on doing the same, only about the post-apocalypse.

I know it's a bad idea, but that's why I'm going to do it.

---
Here's what I scribbled down before I passed out.

The Night Is Not Nice

My name is Alex. I have a big brother who is named Sam.
We were in our house, the night the animals came.
It was right after that rain quit and the air went bad.
And for a week we hadn't seen our mom or dad.
The animals knocked on our door, and said they were going to have some fun with us.
My brother said "No!"
The animals kicked the door.
Again and again, they kicked the door.
And soon it came down.
My brother said to me, "You go that way, and I'll go this way.
Go to the school. 'I can always help,' that's what Teacher used to say."
I ran and ran and ran, and made it to the school.
But the animals saw me and came to school, too.
I went to Teacher's room. She had a boy and a girl with her.
Teacher saw me, and said, "Who are you?"
"I am Sam's little brother," I said.
"Come in, come in," she said as she pulled me in.
"But we need to go, the animals are coming."

----
Obviously it'd be nice to have more descriptive words. I'm working with only about 150, whereas Suess had about 500 to work with. I went with the first decent word last I could find, and so I know I'm missing some necessary words (there's no "I" or "a" or "too," which, as sight words, count). I'll raid a few books for words and see what I can get put together.

Hows and Whys

Since it's Sunday, here's a word from the scriptures:

My eyes fail from weeping,
I am in torment within,
my heart is poured out on the ground
because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.

They say to their mothers,
"Where is bread and wine?"
as they faint like wounded men
in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away
in their mothers' arms.

Lamentations 2:11-12

Section of The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. Right wing, top third shown.

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot.

Warren Ellis' Global Frequency volume 2.

Things are taking shape. Figured out the "how" and "why." Now to start putting the pieces together.

Music from the End of the World

So apparently there is a (very, very) small trend on youtube to take post-rock songs by the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and translate them to songs that can be played on an acoustic guitar. Granted, some of the magnificence is lost, but its good to know in the event of an apocalypse, either zombie or other, I'll still have a chance to see some of my favorite songs preformed live.

My favorite so far is Blaise Bailey Finnegan III by Gihm. Others include a decent rendering of the Sad Mafioso section of East Hastings and Moya.

A nice post-apocalyptic song from The Decemberists.

Note to self: invent new genre of music, called post-apocalypse rock, then decide if that means only using instruments that would be readily available in an end-of-the-world scenario or just being concerned with tone/lyrical content. Right now I'm thinking it'd be like post-rock, only bleaker, with way more homemade kazoo solos. Paper towel tubes, wax paper, and rubber bands for the win!

Displacement

I've been thinking a lot about moving lately. We'll see what comes of it.

People fleeing Manhattan.

A resource for and about Displaced People.

Sanctuary Cities. I know I've posted this before, but I really like it.


Ravenstein's 5 Laws of Human Migration.

1. every migration flow generates a return or countermigration.
2. the majority of migrants move a short distance.
3. migrants who move longer distances tend to choose big-city destinations
4. urban residents are less migratory than inhabitants of rural areas.
5. families are less likely to make international moves than young adults.

Roma Anthem -

I went, I went on long roads
I met happy Roma
O Roma where do you come from,
With tents on happy roads?

O Roma, O brothers

I once had a great family,
The Black Legion murdered them
Come with me Roma from all the world
For the Roma roads have opened
Now is the time, rise up Roma now,
We will rise high if we act

O Roma, O brothers

Mono - Follow the Map