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Diary of a North Korean Soldier
Jan. 13th, 2025 10:45 amMornings, I typically sip coffee and read news for an hour.
This is a baaaaad habit: The news is seldom cheery, and there’s not a goddam thing I can do to make it better, so reading about it only serves to underscore my complete powerlessness & irrelevance.
It’s never fun being reminded of one’s powerlessness & irrelevance.
But long ago, I accepted the fact that in this lifetime, at least, my role is to bear witness.
Monitor & annotate!
If I could embroider, I’d put that on an antimacassar or something.
The news story that really resonated this morning was one about a diary that was found on the body of a dead North Korean soldier.
There are 12,000 or so North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, and they’re basically being used as bait to draw attention away from Caucasian Russians. So they can get annihilated first.
The diary was filled with ❤️LUV❤️ for Kim Jong Un: Even at the cost of my life, I will carry out the Supreme Commander’s orders without hesitation. I will show the world the bravery and sacrifice of Kim Jong Un’s special forces.
Can you imagine?
The UN estimates that 42% of the North Korean population is starving to death.
In North Korea, not only must you starve to death, you must also praise the supreme dictator while starving to death. Or getting blown to bits as cannon fodder.
You will never complain about anything ever again! my totalitarian Super-Ego tells my whiny Id sternly. YOU DO NOT LIVE IN NORTH KOREA! Therefore, life is good.
But, of course, I will complain. Because the U.S. economic system is based on supplier-induced demand, and supplier-induced demand’s machinery is comparison, and in the U.S. you are seldom invited to compare your life with the 90% of the planet that has less than you; you are pushed to compare your life with the 1% that own all the toys.
###
In other news, one of the benefits of gym membership is that I’m sleeping much better.
Right now, I’m on an every-other-day workout schedule, and I must say, it’s a modest workout—40 minutes on the machines; 20 minutes spinning.
But it does seem to do the trick.
I continue studying for the IRS certification. RTT gives my contact info out to all his friends—my Mom will do your taxes for free-eee—and I’ve already gotten five (ulp!) calls.
Of course, I am freaking out about the exam. I do that every year.
It is a dull grey day out there. A bit of a heat wave! Temps are supposed to go up over freezing today.
It’s remarkable how quickly one can acclimatize to cold weather. 35° F actually feels warm to me right now.
This is a baaaaad habit: The news is seldom cheery, and there’s not a goddam thing I can do to make it better, so reading about it only serves to underscore my complete powerlessness & irrelevance.
It’s never fun being reminded of one’s powerlessness & irrelevance.
But long ago, I accepted the fact that in this lifetime, at least, my role is to bear witness.
Monitor & annotate!
If I could embroider, I’d put that on an antimacassar or something.
The news story that really resonated this morning was one about a diary that was found on the body of a dead North Korean soldier.
There are 12,000 or so North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, and they’re basically being used as bait to draw attention away from Caucasian Russians. So they can get annihilated first.
The diary was filled with ❤️LUV❤️ for Kim Jong Un: Even at the cost of my life, I will carry out the Supreme Commander’s orders without hesitation. I will show the world the bravery and sacrifice of Kim Jong Un’s special forces.
Can you imagine?
The UN estimates that 42% of the North Korean population is starving to death.
In North Korea, not only must you starve to death, you must also praise the supreme dictator while starving to death. Or getting blown to bits as cannon fodder.
You will never complain about anything ever again! my totalitarian Super-Ego tells my whiny Id sternly. YOU DO NOT LIVE IN NORTH KOREA! Therefore, life is good.
But, of course, I will complain. Because the U.S. economic system is based on supplier-induced demand, and supplier-induced demand’s machinery is comparison, and in the U.S. you are seldom invited to compare your life with the 90% of the planet that has less than you; you are pushed to compare your life with the 1% that own all the toys.
###
In other news, one of the benefits of gym membership is that I’m sleeping much better.
Right now, I’m on an every-other-day workout schedule, and I must say, it’s a modest workout—40 minutes on the machines; 20 minutes spinning.
But it does seem to do the trick.
I continue studying for the IRS certification. RTT gives my contact info out to all his friends—my Mom will do your taxes for free-eee—and I’ve already gotten five (ulp!) calls.
Of course, I am freaking out about the exam. I do that every year.
It is a dull grey day out there. A bit of a heat wave! Temps are supposed to go up over freezing today.
It’s remarkable how quickly one can acclimatize to cold weather. 35° F actually feels warm to me right now.
