Ask Nathan Anything: Quarantine Edition

[Squirrel Jesus]

What's your favorite kind of bird?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

What's your favorite kind of bird?

My favorite bird is the great blue heron, although I also like lots of smaller birds such as red-winged blackbirds and common grackles.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Given your takes on various First Republic Italian political parties, I'd love to see you do similar commentary on Japan's contemporary political parties.

LDP: Obviously cancer, but I appreciate that it still has a somewhat more developmentalist/dirigiste streak than other East Asian rightist parties.
Komeito: Used to be semi-respectable as its own thing but is increasingly a plain and simple LDP handmaiden that exists to hoover up the votes of Japan's largest formal religious group.
CDP-SDP: Probably the best of a bad lot, but that's not saying a ton. Reiwa Shinsengumi might supplant it in that role if it proves to be an intellectually serious medium-term force.
Ishin: As an all-time forum great would say, bad bad bad bad lol bad bad. Might actually be worse than the LDP On The Issues, although it's a lesser evil in terms of Japan's political culture.
DPP: lol
JCP: Less bad than other communist parties, and much less bad than the Japanese right, but still weird and cultish.
Reiwa Shinsengumi: See my comment on the CDP above.
Okinawa Whirlwind: Hilarious name.
Other minor parties: Uniformly bad, lol, or both.

Sorry for bumping this but I just realized - no separate opinion for The Party to Protect the People from NHK (or whatever its full official name is now, they change it all the time but it still remains among the best party names in the world)? That's sad.

[Continential]

Since Battista bumped this thread, what is your opinion of the major factions within the LDP?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Given your takes on various First Republic Italian political parties, I'd love to see you do similar commentary on Japan's contemporary political parties.

LDP: Obviously cancer, but I appreciate that it still has a somewhat more developmentalist/dirigiste streak than other East Asian rightist parties.
Komeito: Used to be semi-respectable as its own thing but is increasingly a plain and simple LDP handmaiden that exists to hoover up the votes of Japan's largest formal religious group.
CDP-SDP: Probably the best of a bad lot, but that's not saying a ton. Reiwa Shinsengumi might supplant it in that role if it proves to be an intellectually serious medium-term force.
Ishin: As an all-time forum great would say, bad bad bad bad lol bad bad. Might actually be worse than the LDP On The Issues, although it's a lesser evil in terms of Japan's political culture.
DPP: lol
JCP: Less bad than other communist parties, and much less bad than the Japanese right, but still weird and cultish.
Reiwa Shinsengumi: See my comment on the CDP above.
Okinawa Whirlwind: Hilarious name.
Other minor parties: Uniformly bad, lol, or both.

Sorry for bumping this but I just realized - no separate opinion for The Party to Protect the People from NHK (or whatever its full official name is now, they change it all the time but it still remains among the best party names in the world)? That's sad.

There is literally a mid-2000s anime, based on a novel, whose main character thinks the NHK is a conspiracy to keep him a shut-in, where the (very dark) central joke is that this is the sort of insane, baseless conclusion somebody with too poor an understanding of the world to think of some other external force to blame his personal problems on would come to. The fact that this is now the platform of a political party for which people actually vote is as compelling a piece of evidence that we live in a post-irony world as any I know.

Since Battista bumped this thread, what is your opinion of the major factions within the LDP?

Kishida's faction, which descends from Ikeda Hayato's old reformed-post-fascist philoamerican developmentalist wing, is probably the least bad On The Issues right now (since whatever faction it is that Noda Seiko represents is not going to have enough clout to take the party leadership anytime soon). I do find it mildly concerning that Kishida's support base is almost entirely within the Diet itself and the LDP grassroots was in the tank for the much more right-wing Kono; Japan is probably the only major developed country left where people haven't gotten sick of the mavericky "reformist" neoliberal shtick yet, even though they had five full years of Koizumi to see it be tried and found wanting. It's curious that Kishida is a member of Nippon Kaigi and Kono isn't; my preferred interpretation for right now is that Nippon Kaigi, while it has a very clear and absolutely terrifying policy agenda, is the sort of organization where whether you're in it or not depends on whom you know as much as or more than on what you believe.

[Utah Neolib]

What do you think?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

What do you think?

Currently thinking about Ursula K. Le Guin because I'm reading an old Ace Double copy of Planet of Exile I found somewhere.

[Don Vito Corleone]

Are you a film guy? Do you have any favourite films?

[Geoffrey Howe]

Best book of the Iliad? Virgil or Homer?

Do you see much tension between social liberalism and leftism? (I've knowingly kept this fairly vague.)

Which "national shade" of conservatism do you find most attractive/least unattractive? (For example, British conservatism tends to be quite liberal in the traditional sense, Spanish conservatism is very authoritarian and Catholic, American conservatism is fiercely republican and sceptical of central authority etc. etc. - obviously these things reflect the history of the respective countries.)

[Geoffrey Howe]

This seems to have been lost in the deluge of other threads on this board, so I'll bump as I'm eager to hear your thoughts :)

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

This seems to have been lost in the deluge of other threads on this board, so I'll bump as I'm eager to hear your thoughts

I'm planning to answer tomorrow. I was going to do so today but I had an incredibly tiring day.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Can someone be cancelled for going as a Fremen for Halloween? Asking for a friend...

[Geoffrey Howe]

This seems to have been lost in the deluge of other threads on this board, so I'll bump as I'm eager to hear your thoughts

I'm planning to answer tomorrow. I was going to do so today but I had an incredibly tiring day.

No problem - I just thought this had been submerged and escaped your notice. Hope tomorrow less tiring!

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Are you a film guy? Do you have any favourite films?

Yeah, I love movies. My favorite movie of all time is the 1970s Japanese B-movie Hausu/House, which I love for its weirdly heartfelt qualities (much of it was written by a ten-year-old girl) combined with its over-the-top, schlocky, shoestring aesthetics. The movie I say is my favorite when snobby people ask me is either Meet Me in St. Louis, Early Summer, or This Gun for Hire, depending on who I'm talking to--and I do love all those movies. I've recently discovered Powell and Pressburger (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Black Narcissus) and they're great too. Also To Have and Have Not, Suspiria (the original, not the compromised second draft), the Peter Jackson Fellowship of the Ring (not so much any of his other Tolkien adaptations), Roman Holiday, Local Hero, Ugetsu, the Roberto Rossellini St. Francis movie, lots of Guillermo Del Toro's stuff...I could go on.

Best book of the Iliad? Virgil or Homer?

I'm not as familiar with the Iliad as I am with the Odyssey, unfortunately, but I like when Achilles fights the river.

Virgil thematically, Homer stylistically.

Do you see much tension between social liberalism and leftism? (I've knowingly kept this fairly vague.)

In terms of issue emphasis, absolutely; see that recent thread in Individual Politics where posters with more or less identical views On The Issues started sniping at one another in occasionally quite personal terms on whether or not to take a hypothetical deal trading an abortion ban for single-payer and 100% clean energy. It wasn't that anybody involved was happy about the idea of a complete abortion ban (not even I have any tolerance for the idea of going full El Salvador on the issue), but, again, the question of issue emphasis did create serious friction anyway between posters who were primarily "leftist" and posters who were primarily "socially liberal".

Substantively, I don't think there's necessarily much tension, at least if "social liberalism" is defined as a concern with redressing past and present injustices around race, gender, etc., rather than merely liberating the individual from unchosen obligations for the sake of liberating the individual from unchosen obligations--a project incompatible with the goals of the traditional left and the traditional right.

Which "national shade" of conservatism do you find most attractive/least unattractive? (For example, British conservatism tends to be quite liberal in the traditional sense, Spanish conservatism is very authoritarian and Catholic, American conservatism is fiercely republican and sceptical of central authority etc. etc. - obviously these things reflect the history of the respective countries.)

Most of my interest in conservative thought is in Canadian Red Toryism in the traditional sense. George P. Grant is my favorite right-of-center political philosopher, and I'm sympathetic to the way in which old-school Canadian nationalism emphasized Canada's "nation of nations" status and supported things like Cold War neutrality and the welfare state to avoid turning the country into an appendage of the United States. That tradition has almost been wiped out by crass Albertan petrostate libertarianism now, of course.

Can someone be cancelled for going as a Fremen for Halloween? Asking for a friend...

Short answer: Let's just do it and be legends, man.
Long answer: Probably, yes, but a summer camp I went to in 2007 had a costume ball at one point where a kid dressed up as an "enemy combatant" complete with turban and scimitar, and the satire on Bush-era perceptions of Why We Were In Iraq was, even if unintentional, so on-point and so straight-up funny that even in retrospect I don't really care that it was #problematic as well.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Which "national shade" of conservatism do you find most attractive/least unattractive? (For example, British conservatism tends to be quite liberal in the traditional sense, Spanish conservatism is very authoritarian and Catholic, American conservatism is fiercely republican and sceptical of central authority etc. etc. - obviously these things reflect the history of the respective countries.)

Most of my interest in conservative thought is in Canadian Red Toryism in the traditional sense. George P. Grant is my favorite right-of-center political philosopher, and I'm sympathetic to the way in which old-school Canadian nationalism emphasized Canada's "nation of nations" status and supported things like Cold War neutrality and the welfare state to avoid turning the country into an appendage of the United States. That tradition has almost been wiped out by crass Albertan petrostate libertarianism now, of course.

Red Toryism is definitely very interesting, and perhaps the closest to "true conservatism" (insofar as that means anything...). There was an attempt in 2009 to try and revive this in Britain - obviously nothing came of it in the Cameron years, though you might make an argument that the Johnson government is "Red Toryism done badly." Would you have voted Tory in the Diefenbaker elections then?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Which "national shade" of conservatism do you find most attractive/least unattractive? (For example, British conservatism tends to be quite liberal in the traditional sense, Spanish conservatism is very authoritarian and Catholic, American conservatism is fiercely republican and sceptical of central authority etc. etc. - obviously these things reflect the history of the respective countries.)

Most of my interest in conservative thought is in Canadian Red Toryism in the traditional sense. George P. Grant is my favorite right-of-center political philosopher, and I'm sympathetic to the way in which old-school Canadian nationalism emphasized Canada's "nation of nations" status and supported things like Cold War neutrality and the welfare state to avoid turning the country into an appendage of the United States. That tradition has almost been wiped out by crass Albertan petrostate libertarianism now, of course.

Red Toryism is definitely very interesting, and perhaps the closest to "true conservatism" (insofar as that means anything...). There was an attempt in 2009 to try and revive this in Britain - obviously nothing came of it in the Cameron years, though you might make an argument that the Johnson government is "Red Toryism done badly." Would you have voted Tory in the Diefenbaker elections then?

I'm not sure. There are definitely respects in which I like Diefenbaker better than Pearson--I don't buy into the conspiracy theory that the CIA rigged the 1963 election, but the fact that it seems like something the early-60s CIA might do on Pearson's behalf speaks volumes--but I have very strong emotional and cultural identification with "the left" writ large; this is itself perhaps one of my most conservative political traits since the reason for it is that leftist values are ones with which my family raised me! So it's possible, especially in 1958 when seemingly everyone under the sun was voting PC, but I think the Coldwell/Douglas-led CCF/NDP would have been my party of choice in those years.

[Don Vito Corleone]

Are you a film guy? Do you have any favourite films?

Yeah, I love movies. My favorite movie of all time is the 1970s Japanese B-movie Hausu/House, which I love for its weirdly heartfelt qualities (much of it was written by a ten-year-old girl) combined with its over-the-top, schlocky, shoestring aesthetics. The movie I say is my favorite when snobby people ask me is either Meet Me in St. Louis, Early Summer, or This Gun for Hire, depending on who I'm talking to--and I do love all those movies. I've recently discovered Powell and Pressburger (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Black Narcissus) and they're great too. Also To Have and Have Not, Suspiria (the original, not the compromised second draft), the Peter Jackson Fellowship of the Ring (not so much any of his other Tolkien adaptations), Roman Holiday, Local Hero, Ugetsu, the Roberto Rossellini St. Francis movie, lots of Guillermo Del Toro's stuff...I could go on.

Very curious about this; I've come across people who disliked the adaptations but this is the first time I've seen someone like one of the films but not the rest.

Also, how seriously do you take the political themes of your films? Like, if a film has right-leaning themes (say, most Westerns), is that a deal breaker?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Can someone be cancelled for going as a Fremen for Halloween? Asking for a friend...

Short answer: Let's just do it and be legends, man.
Long answer: Probably, yes, but a summer camp I went to in 2007 had a costume ball at one point where a kid dressed up as an "enemy combatant" complete with turban and scimitar, and the satire on Bush-era perceptions of Why We Were In Iraq was, even if unintentional, so on-point and so straight-up funny that even in retrospect I don't really care that it was #problematic as well.

You fortify me in this moment of weakness. Thank you.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Can someone be cancelled for going as a Fremen for Halloween? Asking for a friend...

Short answer: Let's just do it and be legends, man.
Long answer: Probably, yes, but a summer camp I went to in 2007 had a costume ball at one point where a kid dressed up as an "enemy combatant" complete with turban and scimitar, and the satire on Bush-era perceptions of Why We Were In Iraq was, even if unintentional, so on-point and so straight-up funny that even in retrospect I don't really care that it was #problematic as well.

You fortify me in this moment of weakness. Thank you.

The only problematic thing that kid did that day was not tie their shoelaces 100% perfectly, imo.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Can someone be cancelled for going as a Fremen for Halloween? Asking for a friend...

Short answer: Let's just do it and be legends, man.
Long answer: Probably, yes, but a summer camp I went to in 2007 had a costume ball at one point where a kid dressed up as an "enemy combatant" complete with turban and scimitar, and the satire on Bush-era perceptions of Why We Were In Iraq was, even if unintentional, so on-point and so straight-up funny that even in retrospect I don't really care that it was #problematic as well.

You fortify me in this moment of weakness. Thank you.

The only problematic thing that kid did that day was not tie their shoelaces 100% perfectly, imo.

Did you go to the same summer camp I did (Center for Talented Youth, Lancaster, PA, July 2007), or is the implication that you remember the same kid I do part of a joke I don't get? If the former, wow, what a small world.

Are you a film guy? Do you have any favourite films?

Yeah, I love movies. My favorite movie of all time is the 1970s Japanese B-movie Hausu/House, which I love for its weirdly heartfelt qualities (much of it was written by a ten-year-old girl) combined with its over-the-top, schlocky, shoestring aesthetics. The movie I say is my favorite when snobby people ask me is either Meet Me in St. Louis, Early Summer, or This Gun for Hire, depending on who I'm talking to--and I do love all those movies. I've recently discovered Powell and Pressburger (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Black Narcissus) and they're great too. Also To Have and Have Not, Suspiria (the original, not the compromised second draft), the Peter Jackson Fellowship of the Ring (not so much any of his other Tolkien adaptations), Roman Holiday, Local Hero, Ugetsu, the Roberto Rossellini St. Francis movie, lots of Guillermo Del Toro's stuff...I could go on.

Very curious about this; I've come across people who disliked the adaptations but this is the first time I've seen someone like one of the films but not the rest.

I like other Lord of the Rings movies a lot as well, but the the annoying (to me) deviations from the books' plot and themes start in connection with the Rohan plotline, so the other two aren't personal favorites of mine.

Also, how seriously do you take the political themes of your films? Like, if a film has right-leaning themes (say, most Westerns), is that a deal breaker?

Not necessarily; it depends more on how the theme is communicated than on how left-wing or right-wing it is. There's a lot of "conservative" art that I enjoy--Tolkien, Guareschi, Waugh, (some) Mishima--and that extends to adaptations thereof. What I can't abide is crassly racist, sexist, or aporophobic prick-waving, but it is (or was once) possible to be right-wing without indulging in that overmuch.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Did you go to the same summer camp I did (Center for Talented Youth, Lancaster, PA, July 2007), or is the implication that you remember the same kid I do part of a joke I don't get? If the former, wow, what a small world.

I did not go to that summer camp. What I said was satire on the idea that the whole "enemy combatant" thing the kid did was offensive.
(If it counts for anything, I'm Muslim and Arab and found the whole thing hilarious and brilliant)

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Did you go to the same summer camp I did (Center for Talented Youth, Lancaster, PA, July 2007), or is the implication that you remember the same kid I do part of a joke I don't get? If the former, wow, what a small world.

I did not go to that summer camp. What I said was satire on the idea that the whole "enemy combatant" thing the kid did was offensive.
(If it counts for anything, I'm Muslim and Arab and found the whole thing hilarious and brilliant)

Yeah, what was being suggested--that some really dumb racism and Orientalism was going into the "enemy combatant" concept as the Bush administration was using it at the time--was a completely true observation, executed in a hilarious way. I knew the kid and he was against the war so I took it very differently than if he had been some random pro-Bush hack (or the son of random pro-Bush hacks since at that age most kids' politics still basically reflect their parents').

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Did you go to the same summer camp I did (Center for Talented Youth, Lancaster, PA, July 2007), or is the implication that you remember the same kid I do part of a joke I don't get? If the former, wow, what a small world.

I did not go to that summer camp. What I said was satire on the idea that the whole "enemy combatant" thing the kid did was offensive.
(If it counts for anything, I'm Muslim and Arab and found the whole thing hilarious and brilliant)

Yeah, what was being suggested--that some really dumb racism and Orientalism was going into the "enemy combatant" concept as the Bush administration was using it at the time--was a completely true observation, executed in a hilarious way. I knew the kid and he was against the war so I took it very differently than if he had been some random pro-Bush hack (or the son of random pro-Bush hacks since at that age most kids' politics still basically reflect their parents').

Satire done right, that's for sure.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

As a teacher, do you feel the kids suffered greatly from remote learning, and are you glad to be back in the classroom again?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

As a teacher, do you feel the kids suffered greatly from remote learning, and are you glad to be back in the classroom again?

I'm not really back in the classroom now because I'm feeling out a career change; I'm doing archive work at a small museum here in Upstate New York.

Having said that, though, yes, I absolutely feel that kids, especially younger kids, suffered from remote learning. There just really is no substitute for the social and hands-on dynamics of in-person instruction at any level below college. I guess it was better than nothing, and I personally enjoyed working from home a lot, but from a students-first standpoint it went absolutely terribly and the teachers' unions really made a serious tactical and, frankly, moral mistake by dying on the hill of keeping kids at home indefinitely. By the time I finally did get back in the classroom, in late April and early May of last school year, everybody was just so relieved that the months and months of technical difficulties as a bunch of indigent six-year-olds valiantly attempted to spend seven hours a day on Zoom were over.