How NOT to Talk to Girls at Parties

Neil Gaiman, who is being accused of sexual assault by two women, really does not appear to be an ideal role model on the basis of his short story “How to Talk to Girls at Parties”. And while the title of the story is amusingly ironic in light of the current accusations, reading the story tends to be rather less ironic and rather more problematic for Mr. Gaiman.

This is the climactic excerpt of the story, in which the hapless protagonist abruptly is dragged out of a party by his best friend, Vic, who had previously disappeared into a room with a girl he had just met at the party, Stella.

 As Vic pulled open the door, I looked back one last time, over my shoulder, hoping to see Triolet in the doorway to the kitchen, but she was not there. I saw Stella, though, at the top of the stairs. She was staring down at Vic, and I saw her face.

This all happened thirty years ago. I have forgotten much, and I will forget more, and in the end I will forget everything; yet, if I have any certainty of life beyond death, it is all wrapped up not in psalms or hymns, but in this one thing alone: I cannot believe that I will ever forget that moment, or forget the expression on Stella’s face as she watched Vic hurrying away from her. Even in death I shall remember that.

Her clothes were in disarray, and there was makeup smudged across her face, and her eyes—

You wouldn’t want to make a universe angry. I bet an angry universe would look at you with eyes like that.

We ran then, me and Vic, away from the party and the tourists and the twilight, ran as if a lightning storm was on our heels, a mad helter-skelter dash down the confusion of streets, threading through the maze, and we did not look back, and we did not stop until we could not breathe; and then we stopped and panted, unable to run any longer. We were in pain. I held on to a wall, and Vic threw up, hard and long, into the gutter.

He wiped his mouth.

“She wasn’t a—” He stopped.

He shook his head.

Then he said, “You know . . . I think there’s a thing. When you’ve gone as far as you dare. And if you go any further, you wouldn’t be you anymore? You’d be the person who’d done that? The places you just can’t go. . . . I think that happened to me tonight.”

It would appear that Mr. Gaiman has, at least in his imagination, contemplated what it would be like to go further with a young woman than he would dare. We already know, by his own admission, that he is the sort of 61-year-old man who would “cuddle in the bathtub” with a 22-year-old nanny that he had just met that day.

Which admission tends to raise considerably more questions about how much further Mr. Gaiman has, in fact, dared to go, and how much more inappropriately he has behaved. Given what we already know about him, the ages of some of his better-known literary subjects also tends to raise additional, and even more disconcerting, questions about the man.

One thing that we’ve known for at least a decade, however, is that Gaiman is a sketchy creep and a Gamma male. And needless to say, File 770, Whatever, and the various science fiction sites that have been slobbering all over Gaiman for more than a decade are completely silent on the subject even though the mainstream media is covering it.

UPDATE: A keen-eyed reader notes an astonishing coincidence.

The review quote on the Gaiman book cover is by Junot Díaz, accused of sexual harassment in 2018. He was eventually cleared of misconduct. What are the odds?

Creeps of a feather flock together…

UPDATE: Unlike the SJW sites, Fandom Pulse is on top of it.

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Mailvox: Debt Deflation in Action

A reader notices that the credit card companies are rapidly reducing the amount of credit available to their more conservative cardholders.

My husband and I run a small business and have noticed an unusual practice by credit card companies over the last 4-5 months.

Our business is seasonal, and during our ramp up in from February to April, we usually max out 6 cards on supplies and improvements for the coming season. And then the profits from May and June pay those down, before we start making real profits July-October. We’ve been doing this for over ten years, and typically the result of the max-out and quick pay down has been an increased credit limit. 

This year, as we have started the pay down, each large pay down amount, say $2000 on a $10,000 card for example, has come with a credit limit reduction of 50% – 100% of the amount paid. One card, upon paying it off in whole dropped from $2500 to $350 as the limit. 

We have no personal reasons that our limits in particular would be getting slashed after so many years of increases. So I am wondering if this is a systemic attempt to use debt deflation to slow the rate of inflation without further interest rate increases. 

More generally, if what I’m seeing is systemic, is this a correct understanding of debt deflation? 

This is 100 percent debt deflation. And in some ways, it’s more worrisome than the leadup to the 2008 contraction. Whereas in 2008, there was a dearth of people willing to borrow, now it is apparent that the banks simply can’t afford to offer the credit if there isn’t a sufficient amount of interest to be gained.

Which suggests that the 2024 credit cruch and subsequent financial institution failures will be bigger and more consequential than we witnessed in 2008. It’s even possible that the federal government will not be able to bail out most of the failing institutions.

UPDATE: An SG reader adds another indicator worth noting.

We had a different scenario but still deflationary. Our credit card had a 55-day interest free period which we have never paid interest on in 30+ years. Two months ago, we noticed in the fine print at the back page that it was reducing from 55 days to 44 days. It was hidden away and was only announces on the two previous bills. It had been 55 days for 30+ years.

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Bad Idea Jeans: Neil Gaiman edition

ITEM: British author Neil Gaiman wrote a book.

ITEM: British author Neil Gaiman has been accused of sexual assault by two separate women.

Conclusion: do NOT take his advice for how to talk to girls.

Have you ever noticed that while the SJW-infested media never seems to write hit pieces about these accused sex criminals? There is never a whisper or a peep heard in public until the courts get involved.

JDA has declared an Emergency Arkhaven Nights to discuss this breaking news, so don’t miss it!

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Fake Democracy in France

When the parties change but the policies remain the same, what you have is neither a democracy nor a republic. It’s just democracy theater, or as they say in France, le théâtre de la démocratie factice.

Today it is impossible to imagine any of the ultra-left repeating the words of Georges Marchais, the leader of the French Communist Party, in 1980: “It is necessary to stop both illegal and legal immigration. It is totally unacceptable to allow more and more migrant workers into France when our country already has 2 million unemployed French people and immigrants who have already settled here.”

Today, the number of unemployed has reached almost 5.5 million, the amount of legal and illegal immigrants has increased tenfold, but the left does not see this as a problem and devotes itself primarily to fighting ‘all discrimination’. The Socialists seriously discredited themselves during the government of François Hollande, who positioned himself as ‘the enemy of international finance’ but did very little to protect the poor, presenting the ‘marriage equality’ law as his main achievement…

Opponents can be as radical as they like in words, but when it comes to action they are unable to offer a real alternative to the policies of their predecessors. This can be seen in other European countries where ‘extremists’ have been in power. The French far-right and far-left have toned down their criticism of Brussels and, if they come to power, a relatively smooth integration into pan-European structures is more likely than an attempt by Paris at radical reform (as the representatives of the National Rally and the leaders of France Unbowed recently insisted). The statements and actions of the opposition may be vibrant and demonstrative, they may cause riots and protests, they may lead to internal chaos. But they are unlikely to be able to break the general development trend.

The economist Frederick Farah has pointed out that “over the past few decades, we have seen that whatever majority is in power, it implements roughly the same policies, leading to the deterioration of working conditions and stable employment, the dismantling of public services, increased poverty, the reduction of the country’s industrial base, strategic vulnerability and the rise of populism.”

This is why the sovereign nations are finally winning the rhetorical battle against Clown World and its fake democracies, false freedoms, and inverted rights. Seventy years of empty promises and false assurances have not brought about the shiny, sexy, seculartopia of the future that convinced the people of Christendom to abandon their traditions, their faith, and their cultures, but have instead delivered invasion, poverty, depravity, and soon, military defeat.

Reality always trumps rhetoric over time.

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An Unwise Choice

A famous Japanese oncologist explains why he didn’t get vaccinated, and why the creation of genetic vaccines are “totally unacceptable” and “a foolish decision from the beginning”.

Genetic vaccines are totally unacceptable. The introduction of transgenes into the human body is gene therapy.   How can this be considered acceptable for creating vaccines?

If you encapsulate mRNA in nanoparticles and administer it you only get off-target effects starting from the ovaries, to the brain, liver, spleen and bone marrow. The biggest problem is going to the bone marrow, the reproductive organs like the ovaries and then every possible organ.

The fact that spike proteins are still detected in the rash after more than a year makes it obvious that mRNA is producing spike proteins. There is no way for a year-old spike protein to remain in the rash and be detected.

I didn’t choose to get vaccinated because I think it was a foolish decision from the beginning.  I haven’t even opted for the flu shot because I consider it an unwise choice.

– Prof. Masanori Fukushima, Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University, Director of the Translational Research Centre for Medical Innovation and the Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation, President of the Foundation of Learning Health Society Institute and former Director of the Outpatient Oncology Unit of Kyoto University Hospital.

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This is No Black Pill

Kim Dot Com says the worst is yet to come. But the worst for whom?

The worst is yet to come.

The Democrats conspired with the deep state to rule America forever. They implemented a totalitarian system of mass surveillance, censorship and propaganda for that reason.

They made deals with the owners of big tech to safeguard their monopolies in exchange for integration into the surveillance and censorship state. They control the media and most online channels. They want to disarm the citizens, ban independent crypto and install a state controlled blockchain with a social score system to keep the public under control. You won’t have means to pay for anything if you disobey.

They imported millions of new voters through open borders and propped up the LGBTQ movement to stay in power. 86% of LBGTQ vote Dems and close to 100% of legalized immigrants will vote for the party that pays and protects them and not for the party that wants to deport them.

The Democrats want absolute power. They will execute this plan by all means. If they fail they will face serious consequences. They fear Trump and his revenge. But most of all they fear the American people when the inevitable economic collapse arrives. The elites, their puppet politicians and the media propagandists will be pay with their blood for ruining the United States.

Living the rest of their days in a 5-star nuclear bunker and blaming Putin for the end of the world may be the best of their options.

The worst is yet to come.

First, it’s not “the Democrats”. It’s Clown World, which is to say the global satanists who are served by everyone from Jewish billionaires to fake Catholics, German Eurocrats, degenerate Anglo-Saxon Protestants, and a myriad of other diversities. We don’t know precisely whom is calling the shots, except that it’s probably Moloch or some other demon that was worshipped in Tyrus, Carthage, Technochtitlan, and other past centers of The Empire That Never Ended.

Second, those millions of young, male imports were not imported to outvote the natives. They were brought in to fight the natives when the civil wars start. If the mass deportations do not begin under the next administration, this will likely become obvious and undeniable sooner than anyone expects. World War III has already begun, it just hasn’t come to the USA yet.

The spiritual element is why those who blame everything on “the Democrats” or “the globalists” or “the Jews” or even “the Phoenician Navy” inevitably fail to grasp the comprehensive whole across time or to recognize the repetitive pattern of the fall of previous empires.

Every time they succeed, God raises up hard men to stand against them and overthrow them. Before Putin and Xi, there was Hernán Cortés and Fabius Maximus and Scipio Africanus. Whether they are Christians or whether they are not, they wage war against the greatest evil that the world has ever known, the same evil that Jesus Christ himself defeated with his death on the Cross. Perhaps Trump is one of those men. Perhaps not. One way or the other, we should know soon enough.

We’re still part of that old story, the oldest story, light against dark.

But to paraphrase the words of Rust in True Detective, despite all the wicked darkness in the skies above us, it looks as if the light is winning.

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Recognize Good Rhetoric

A Forbes writer “sparks fury” by coining a remarkably effective phrase:

Forbes has been met with fierce criticism over a recent opinion piece about two Bridgerton characters being in a ‘mixed-weight romance’ – suggesting that the world is ‘still not ready’ to see two people of different body types dating on-screen.

The piece, which was written by Virgie Tovar, a ‘leading expert on weight bias’, focused on the relationship between fictional characters Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan, and Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton. Tovar said that the on-screen relationship between the two characters ‘defied romance plotline convention’, seemingly because Nicola is ‘larger’ than Luke.

But Tovar’s use of the phrase ‘mixed-weight romance’ has sparked a bitter backlash from readers, with many questioning why the need to call attention to their size was ever necessary. Fans of the Shonda Rhimes series took to X, formerly known as Twitter, in their droves to slam the writer and the publication, furiously mocking the use of the ‘mixed-weight’ phrasing.

Savage. Absolutely and beautifully savage. And really, what’s wrong with a mixed-weight relationship? You aren’t some kind of hateful fattist or something, are you?

You know a term is rhetorically effective when its mere existence triggers the susceptible.

If you really want to eviscerate a man, compliment him on his open-mindedness…

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The Fourth Front

It appears the fourth front of WWIII will not be Africa, but the Korean Peninsula:

South Korea said Thursday that it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, a major policy change that was suggested after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s defense in the event of war.

The comments from a senior presidential official came hours after North Korea’s state media released the details of the agreement, which observers said could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War. It comes at a time when Russia faces growing isolation over the war in Ukraine and both countries face escalating standoffs with the West.

According to the text of the deal published by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, if either country gets invaded and is pushed into a state of war, the other must deploy “all means at its disposal without delay” to provide “military and other assistance.”

I had my suspicions about things heating up on the Korean Peninsula once it became obvious that the USA was going to try to substitute South Korean and Japanese ship-building for its own lack of ship-building capacity. The amount of Clown World interest and investment in both countries has noticeably appreciated (see the previous post on investments into the comics industry) and therefore a counter-move by the BRICSIA alliance was inevitable.

I was a little surprised that it was Russia that made the overtures to the North Koreans and not the Chinese, except that it’s now clear that Russia is playing bad cop while China whistles innocently and pretends to not be directly involved. What will truly shake things up, however, is if an invitation to join BRICSIA is offered to North Korea, as that would truly be a formidable gauntlet to cast before the G7.

It shouldn’t be too long before Clown World realizes that it is no position to sanction anyone, and to the contrary, the rest of the world is effectively sanctioning it.

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The Last Comics Publisher

It’s probably apparent to a fair number of you why Arkhaven matters, and why a non-comics leather book snob like myself nevertheless troubles to do what I can to keep independent comics infrastructure alive. The decline and ongoing collapse of DC and Marvel and IDW has been well-chronicled, after all. But what you may not know is that the same forces, indeed, in one case, the exact same corporate vehicle, is now targeting the two alternatives to the mainstream comics industry for destruction.

First, Japanese manga:

Blackstone launched a 275.8 billion yen ($1.74 billion) bid to take Japanese digital comic distributor Infocom, including a tender offer for a per-share price of 6,060 yen, Infocom said on Tuesday. The tender offer will amount to 141.4 billion yen, Infocom said. The company’s current parent Teijin said it will sell all of its 58% stake in Infocom for 134.4 billion yen in a share buyback after the buyout is completed. Infocom operates digital comic site Mecha Comic, which is among Japan’s largest, according to its website.

Second, Webtoons:

Webtoon Entertainment, which describes itself as the world’s largest web comic platform, has set its market value at $2.67bn (£2.11bn) ahead of its US listing. Its shares are due to start trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on 27 June at $21 each, the top end of their marketed range. The Los Angeles-based company is owned by South Korean technology giant Naver, which has been boosted by the growing online popularity of Korean and Japanese comics. Webtoon says it has 170 million monthly active users in more than 150 countries around the world. The company is aiming to sell 15 million shares and raise $315m in the initial public offering (IPO).

The world’s largest fund manager BlackRock has expressed interest in buying up to $50m of shares.

BlackRock is Disney’s second-largest shareholder, controls several seats on its executive board, and owns about 78 million shares in the company, or the equivalent of $9.5 billion.

It’s really fascinating to see the massive amount of money suddenly being pumped into converging these culture war vehicles, especially in light of the obvious superiority of the best that Arktoons has to offer vs the best that Webtoons has on display. Below is a comparison between the #1 most popular Webtoon which is apparently about lesbian furries vs the recently updated Silenziosa:

So, in the coming months, you can expect to see a number of changes and improvements at Arkhaven, including subscriptions to specific comics, comments, and other features. The best way to support this right now is simply to subscribe for free to the Arkhaven Substack, where we’ve recently launched a daily serialization of Alt★Hero that begins with The Gods of Peaceful Sleep.

Now, of course, it’s easy to say “I’m not a comics guy, what do I care?” But do you really think the clowns running BlackRock and Blackstone care about comics, much less manga? It’s not about money either. They will never make their money back by driving these things into the ground. It’s about complete control of the cultural space, control that our community will never cede them.

We’ve also modified our approach to text serializations on Arktoons based on what we’ve learned from the substacks. Instead of running an episode once a week, we’re going to run them straight through, every day, with the exception of Quantum Mortis: A Mind Programmed, which will run on weekends. Since Chuck Dixon’s Snakehand ends today with Episode 56, Sidewinders will continue with the second novel in the series, La Gringa.

We’re looking for more volunteers to help chop up comics into Arktoons-presentable episodes, so if you’re willing and able, please get in touch. And authors who want to serialize their published novels are welcome to join the party too.

UPDATE: JDA’s more informed take on Fandom Pulse isn’t any more optimistic:

Manga fans have largely mocked American comic fans for years, calling American comics “dead” and laughing at the fans as Marvel and DC Comics circled the drain and slowly killed their content. Even superhero manga like My Hero Academia blew away the competition from Marvel and DC in American markets, which should have given the companies a signal something was drastically wrong…

Blackstone has already announced its plans to focus on female-centric content by focusing on genres with that target audience in mind. This means manga fans are likely to see a rampant feminization of their content out of the gate.

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The USA Already Lost WWIII

As I’ve been banging repeatedly on since 2004, warfare since 1940 has primarily concerned industrial capacity. Of course, the Clown World establishment doesn’t listen to me, so they’re genuinely confused and afraid now that it’s clear that both China and North Korea are formally allied with Russia, giving the sovereign nations a 100x advantage over the post-industrial financialized economies of Clown World.

Remember when the narrative was that it was Russia totally reliant on Western-supplied parts in its weaponry? Here an American general literally admits the entire U.S. military structure would collapse in a day if China issued an embargo against them:

‘If we were in a war with China and it stopped providing parts, we wouldn’t be able to build the planes and weapons we needed,’ he said.

A startling report released earlier this year revealed Chinese firms have a stranglehold across 12 critical technologies that are vital to US national security, including nuclear modernization, hypersonic and space technologies.

The study, which was carried out by defense software firm Govini, delivered a damning indictment on the American armaments industry.

‘U.S. domestic production capacity is a shriveled shadow of its former self,’ the report said. ‘Crucial categories of industry for U.S. national defense are no longer built in any of the 50 states.’

Remember when it was Russia using Western chips in all of its missiles?

Perhaps most worryingly, Govini found that more than 40 per cent of the semiconductors that sustain Department of Defense (DoD) weapons systems are now sourced from China.

How the tides have turned.

It seems the West is slowly coming to its awakening moment: it stands no chance in a long term conflict against the manufacturing powerhouse of the Russia-China-North Korea-Iran bloc.

The central problem is that the strategic geniuses of Clown World are neocons like the Kagan clan, who understand nothing of military history. Their expertise is in subjective rhetoric and subversion, not objective logic and reality. They’re like the bad guys in a Hollywood horror flick, where all that is necessary to defeat them is to refuse to believe in them and proceed as if they don’t even exist.

The astonishing thing is that the corpocracy is still exporting manufacturing capacity abroad. Just yesterday, John Deere announced that it was moving its factories to Mexico. So US manufacturing capacity is actually shrinking, just as European energy production is shrinking, while Russia, China, and North Korea are all ramping up their production of everything from ammunition to tanks.

Clown World should surrender now. But they won’t, because they don’t deal in objective reality. They never have.

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