Vanity

What you got ain't nothing new. This country's hard on people. Can't stop what's coming. Ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity. 

- Cousin Ellis to Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, No Country For Old Men 

When I saw No Country For Old Men during its 2006 theatrical run, I came away believing it was a great film but one I never wanted to see again.  Over the years I've come to change my mind and even read the Cormac McCarthy novel on which it is based.  Maybe it's because I'm now an old man.

I've written about the novel and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell's musing on the times in "What Is To Come" and "Carryin' Fire",  the terrifying and tense coin flip scene, "Friendo", and Anton Chigurh's probing inquiry about the use of following rules in Au Contraire.  In the scene below, Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) goes to see his Cousin Ellis (Barry Corbin), also a lawman and one crippled by a criminal, at his isolated mobile home in West Texas.

Sheriff Bell is struggling with the evil he sees growing around him, feeling unable to contain it, and has decided to retire.  He's come to his cousin seeking answers though he is not sure what the questions are. The sheriff feels overwhelmed and overmatched by what he is witnessing in the world.  Bell expresses his disappointment with God while acknowledging God's disappointment with him, causing Ellis to wave his hand dismissively, saying "you don't know what he thinks".

Everything about this scene is superb and reinforces the nature of the conversation.  The casting and cinematography are outstanding and Jones and Corbin convey so much with their faces, looks, and pauses.  They start with casual banter and only slowly get down to the matter at hand.  Watch Jones' eyes at 1:00 and at 3:00.  

There is no music in this movie.  Other than the actor's voices the only thing you hear are the ambient sounds of West Texas.  

Maybe He's Not His Bro . . . Today

But who knows what tomorrow may bring?  For reference see He's Not Your Bro. 

 

President Trump: "We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless." pic.twitter.com/VMnXSTuCiK

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 8, 2025

The Diagonal Of Emptiness

No, this post is not about existentialism, although I've recently learned the term was invented by French geographers (for the essence of the true French existential experience read Henri Ennui).

The geographical diagonal of emptiness refers to a large zone running from the northeast to the southwest of France in which the population is significantly less dense than on either side of the zone.  We've traveled through much of this zone and greatly enjoy it.  The zone includes our favorite area, the Dordogne.  Full of small towns, villages, hamlets, and twisty roads which are fun to drive.  Maybe more fun if you are the driver than the passenger. 

French geographers, however, generally identify an area called "la diagonale du vide" (the diagonal of emptiness), running from the northeast to the southwest of France, which is less populated than on either side. pic.twitter.com/8kfshGClXO

— Yann Robichon (@YannRobichon) December 18, 2024

The "emptiness" from the Dordogne town we stayed at in 2022.

 

Cause We've Ended As Lovers

In the mid-70s Stevie Wonder composed this song for Jeff Beck, allowing the guitarist a showcase to demonstrate his instrumental mastery.  Beck employs a variety of tones and techniques, giving a lyrical feel to this wordless tune.  At times it's as if he is caressing the guitar.  This is a concert version from 2006.  The phenomenal bass solo is by 19 year old Australian Tal Wilkenfeld, invited to join Beck on tour after he heard her audition tape.  Since then Wilkenfeld has had a solo career and played with Eric Clapton, Prince, Mick Jagger, and Herbie Hancock among others.

Zaamurets

 

On July 6, 1918 the Czechoslovak Legion declared Vladivostok, Russia's port on the Pacific Ocean, an Allied Protectorate.  What was a Czechoslovak Legion doing there in the first place?

It's tied up with the story of an armored train, Zaamurets, pictured above in Vladivostok with soldiers of the Czech Legion.  That story is part of the tale told in "A Remarkable Armored Train Fought Its Way Across Eurasia" by David Axe.

Zaamurets was built during 1916 in Odessa, as one of 75 armored platforms constructed by Russian railyards during the First World War.  According to Axe:

Zaamurets was the king of the mechanical beasts. It had two fully-traversible 57-millimeter Nordenfelt gun turrets—and eight machine guns for close-in protection.

Three to four inches of armor protected the vessel’s carriage and crew from incoming fire. Underneath the armor, two Italian Fiat 60 horsepower petrol motors could push the railcar to a top speed of 28 miles per hour.

In September 1917, Zaamurets returned to Odessa for a refit. Workers mounted square fire-control pillars to both turrets, and raised the turrets for better clearance when firing.

Before the second revolution of 1917, in which the Bolsheviks overthrew the first democratic government in Russian history, the Zaamurets served on the Galician Front supporting the Russian army against the forces of Austria-Hungary.

After the Bolsheviks seized power they also seized Zaamurets and used the train in support of efforts to gain control over Ukraine amidst Germany's efforts to assert control of the region and with a local independence movement also in the mix. 

At the start of WW1, the lands of the Czechs and Slovaks were part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, but there were strong movements for more autonomy and even independence in both areas.  Within Russia, Czech and Slovak emigres were allowed to form their own military unit to support Russia and, after the February 1917 revolution, this unit was allowed to recruit from Czech and Slovak POWs held in Russian camps.  By the end of 1917 the Czech Legion was 50,000 strong.

As the new Soviet leaders and Germany neared completion of peace negotiations in February 1918, the Czech Legion was given permission by the Bolsheviks to leave and go to France where they could fight the Central Powers on the Western Front.  The route chosen for the evacuation was the 6,000 mile Trans-Siberian railroad, bringing the Legion to Vladivostok from where they could take ship to France.

To learn how it all went wrong, and how the Czech Legion became involved in the Russian Civil War, seizing most of Siberia and Russia's gold reserve, and how the Zaamurets ended up in Manchuria as a Japanese operated train, read Axe's article. 

Death Of The Dialectic

 Jacob Shell, Professor of Geography at Temple University about why he writes on X:

Some people are wondering why I write my thoughts about academia here (and sometimes on Substack or Compact), and not in the publishing organs of my discipline. That's because during the late 2010s when I tried to voice any objections or critiques to anything I saw happening in Geography, the only response I received from Geog's professional outlets and orgs was stone-cold silence. Not disagreement. Just silence. The death of dialectic. That's why I'm here. 

I don't know how Shell would categorize himself, but as a reader of his over the past three years, I believe he is an anti-woke liberal and definitely not a conservative, who like many in that category, now found themselves intellectually homeless.  He wants to restore sanity and liberal values to academia.

By death of the dialectic he is referring to the suppression of dissent.  What those who have seized control of the institutions recognize is that they can use their power to simply ignore dissent by refusing to platform opposing views.  There is no need to engage directly, instead they can construct strawman arguments to destroy at their leisure.