Caption: Character study sheet of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde, Victorian London, one body inhabited by two personalities, both identities shown repeatedly on the same sheet, detailed comparison of face, hands, eyes, posture, body proportions, gait and silhouette, Jekyll tall, refined and controlled, Hyde physically compressed, hunched and unnaturally tense, transformation stages showing the body itself gradually changing between the two identities, fingers becoming more claw-like, shoulders changing position, spine curving, expression transforming, elegant clothing becoming disordered, multiple front, profile and three-quarter studies, anatomical character exploration, psychological horror without gore, highly detailed professional character design sheet, Victorian medical illustration aesthetic combined with cinematic realism.
Trivia: In the Harry Potter books, the name of the school that Uncle Dudley wanted to send Harry to was: St Brutus’s Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. It was described as an institution for “mentally subnormal” and violent adolescent males.
Arranged Marriages
Keep in mind that I am old. Now that you have that framework, ALL of the Asian men who I worked with over the years in my career had arranged marriages. Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. These were all government agents, military officers, and people in those sorts of career tracks. Claudio sent this YouTube clip over the transom about South Korean weddings and the population crisis that country faces. When I was in the US Military in South Korea, they explained how the bars work there, and it is based primarily on the fact that almost all marriages were arranged. The bar girls were not necessarily sexual consorts. They’d sit and listen to the man’s sad life, cut up fresh fruit, and he’d drink Korean beer. The social outlet was mainly the man’s need to talk to somebody about how f-ed up things were. It was a far cry from the “chicken street” setup in Red China (the workers’ paradise).
Then there’s Japanese dating culture. What is the relationship between that cultural dynamic and the abysmally low birthrate in Japan?
25% of Japanese adults under 40 years of age are virgins.
A prominent study conducted by public health researchers at the University of Tokyo examined decades of data from the National Fertility Survey of Japan and found that approximately one in four adults aged 18 to 39 had no heterosexual sexual experience.
Socially, Japan requires a solid commitment before the first date – before that first movie, or trip to the sushi bar for a moment together when you talk about – nothing – you are required to “commit.” And it’s more socially acceptable if the parents are in the background managing that commitment. Kokaku is discussed.
As with the populations in Europe where they import millions of Muslims from savage lands who out-produce the local people, if you can’t replace, YOU will be replaced. The math is ruthless, and the most popular baby name in Germany or the UK is Mohammed.
Wet and Dry
Death by AI?
(h/t Claudio) Chinese chief STASI spy and Minister of State Security publicly voices his fear of the imminent Chinese regime’s “collapse by AI”. Minister Chen Yixin just published what the CCP fears most about AI: AI-generated content (deepfakes) debunking or ridiculing CCP propaganda, virally proliferating uncensored Chinese-language news from abroad, which is released systematically as a cognitive warfare campaign that is quickly eroding the CCP’s quasi-totalitarian control over Chinese society.
‘STASI-Chen’, who looks more like a boring accountant than a cunning spook-master, is one of Xi Jinping’s closest allies, and he expressed his and Xi’s paranoid fears in a September 13 article listing the most pressing AI risks in the eyes of Xi and his underlings:
–Total collapse of trust among the Chinese populace in the Xi regime, leading to the ouster of Xi from power and Regime collapse.
–AI tools leaking Chinese state secrets and “sensitive” data. (Ironically, this fear has already materialized, as detailed in the Anthropic report of September 10, 2026.)
–U.S. strategic embargoes, denying inferior Chinese AI models access to advanced U.S. models, e.g., Claude. (Ironically, this fear has already materialized, as detailed in the Anthropic report of September 10, 2026.)
–Foreign AI-cyberattacks on critical Chinese military and civilian infrastructure. During military conflict or war, China’s vaunted AI solutions escape the CCP’s control and cause a military debacle that topples Xi in days.
I suggest that you make of this what you will. I will not count the Red Chinese as out of the fight – yet.
***
Bullet Points:
** The U.S. Navy awarded a $562 million fixed-price incentive contract to Boeing on Monday to start Lot 1 Low Rate Initial Production of the MQ-25A Stingray.
** Jules asks what your umbrella says about you. I responded, and by way of confession, mine is one of those ultra-collapsible umbrellas, and I keep it in my luggage. I don’t think that I’ve ever opened it. I’m clearly not compensating.
** (right) The reality of joining a militia in the USA…
** Saudi Arabia is coming under increased military pressure on its northern and southern borders, testing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to save the kingdom from the worst of the Iran war. The closure of the East-West Pipeline and a barrage of missile and drone attacks from the Tehran-aligned Yemeni threat over the past week have turned the kingdom from one of the Gulf’s most insulated countries into one of its most vulnerable. Riyadh isn’t getting help from Washington and lost the UAE — its only partner in Yemen — last year, leaving it with few options other than revisiting a war that, in its previous iteration, became a costly, decade-long quagmire. The kingdom has sought international support, but nothing has been promised at the scale required to reverse the Houthis’ recent advance toward Bab el-Mandeb. Prince Mohammed travels to Egypt today to meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as Riyadh considers its options. Barbara Leaf, a former senior US diplomat, told The New York Times that she expects Saudi Arabia to turn to diplomacy, potentially working with other Gulf countries and Iran to reach an “ugly set of arrangements” to end the war.
** In Arizona, blocking someone’s entry to a house of worship, or deliberately disrupting a service, is now a Class 1 misdemeanor. (1) Up to 6 months in county jail. (2) Fines of up to $2,500, plus mandatory surcharges (which can exceed 80%). (3) Up to 3 years of supervised or unsupervised probation.
** LCU 1700s – They’ll be deployed to the Philippines as part of the USMC Anti-Chinese effort to defend the first island chain from Chinese navy surface vessels. Land-based USMC units with anti-shipping missiles could play a major role in the coming war with China.
** VDH tries to clarify Canadian political positions.
One could argue that Alberta and Saskatchewan would be happier in a different political environment, and that Canada would be happy to see them go so it can move forward in creating a true worker’s paradise.
In Russia
Identify the ships
1
There are a lot of ships, and enough hull numbers. How many can you identify by name or by class?
2
Hint: That’s Athens, Greece in the background.
Identify the Aircraft
3
Parting Shot
End
(1) Former Gato-class SSR possibly -267, USS Pompon. Can’t read the number very well.
2 Allen M. Sumner DDs – Moale and Sperry.
Tender USS Cascade.
3 Cimmaron class fleet oilers, IDK what subspecies.
IDK what the 4th freighter is.
I think that’s a Forrestal in the background.
(2) CV 42 FDR.
(3) Dornier 317, I think.
– Kle.
Outstanding. Yes, the boat has the GUPPY conversion.
1 is USS Cascade (AD-16), USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697), USS Moale (DD-693) and USS Pompon (SSR-267)
Exactly
“Arranged Marriages”
I found myself wondering whether you meant (kohaku 古格 — old customs, conventions, traditional etiquette or usage) or (kokuhaku 告白, the culturally specific “confession of romantic feelings” that often marks the transition to a formal dating relationship in Japan).
“In much of Japanese dating culture, there is a clearer boundary between “just friends / people who hang out” and “official couple” than in many Western contexts. A successful kokuhaku (and the other person’s acceptance) is often the moment that boundary is crossed. Before it, physical intimacy is generally expected to be limited or absent; after it, the relationship is understood to be exclusive.” Grok
The discussion was about kokuhaku, and the AI that transcribed it was spotty in the video. Because of old customs under the Kohaku banner and the embarrassment of rejection, they don’t reproduce. Especially in that racially conscious cultural context, it means that outside genetics are frowned upon. The ROKs are in worse shape nationally but the problem is very significant. Importing savage people from savage lands (All of Europe & Canada) is not the quick fix that they hoped it will be.
>Importing savage people from savage lands (All of Europe & Canada)
Don’t leave out the US. We’re mot doing great either. (And yes to Canada; don’t get me started on Brampton and Mississauga both hard by Toronto.)
—
Anyway, someone made a meme that said “Importing cockroaches when you’re running out of pandas doesn’t improve the situation just because you can say “the total number of animals has increased”. (Not that I care for those goofy-looking, bamboo-snarfing, apparently too-dumb-to-fornicate pandas. But the point is taken.)
“Saudi Arabia is coming under increased military pressure”
might Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman be considering an alliance with Bibi?
They just put off the Abraham Accords to create their alliance with Pakistan and Turkey, but that hasn’t worked out at all so far. When I spoke with PM al-Sudani (Iraq) less than a year ago, he said the USA was the only solution on the planet. None of the other players “worked” in the practical sense of the word if you wanted to lift your nation. There is a new PM in Iraq whom I have not spoken with because of the war, but he met with President Trump, and shares his predecessor’s views.
.
It’s a tough pill for the Saudis to swallow, but Mecca has come under missile attack from Houthi proxies, and it’s a big red line for them.
Can the saudis not just hire mercenaries, the local boys have no interest in being shot at or doing much of anything else. I thought the Norks had a few for sale. The “ Wild Geese “ was a great movie maybe it wasn’t true though. Maybe even the prince can’t afford to hire folks to die in the dessert.
South Africans (see BRM) have always filled that role, but I don’t think they have enough numbers to make a difference. The Pakistanis have the numbers to lose, but don’t seem inclined to defend their Saudi allies as promised (and risk the loss of half a million men) in the Yemeni adventure. The Saudis can pay for it but not if they can’t buy the latest Ferrari and abandon it by the side of the road the first time it runs out of gasoline.
Saudis seem to have all the latest/greatest toys available but lack the enthusiasm, initiative and/or capability to maintain said toys. Hence, a number of US personnel hired as contractors to maintain military assets in the Kingdom.
That lack of incentive and enthusiasm seems to be biting them in the posterior.
The House of Saud has been running a lot of Ethiopian troops in the Yemen war.
Saudi flyboys are reasonably up for the fight, but none of their groundpounders
seem overly enthusiastic to get down in the mud with savages.
– Kle.
>Pakistanis […] don’t seem inclined to defend their Saudi allies
—
You’re the guy who has his finger on the pulse of international stuff far more than I, but I always figured that most of the Islamic world is none too fond of the KSA, and more specifically the House of Saud.
—
Obvs the Shia are not fans. And the Wahhabi who have been allowed to run the religious aspect of the (fake and made up) country are pretty much fanatic assholes no one likes, not even other Saudis. And these are the people who have their vile grip on Mecca. Add to that the often very openly decadent if not degenerate lifestyle of the ridiculously extended “royal family” and people are going to hate them out of envy for their wealth, but probably more for their blatant hypocrisy (viz being the “guardians of Mecca” while coked out of their skulls and banging $2000/hr prostitutes in Monaco or what-have-you). And for the historically minded, hatred that Ibn Saud was a willing tool of the British, a tool who supported the Balfour Declaration, and it’s no wonder the KSA has no actual friends.
—
Now Trump has refused to help them with Ansarallah. Apparently after egging the KSA to restart hostilities. Is this irresponsibility, dementia, or some 5D chess going on? Is The Crash so inevitable that they’re (They) going to deliberately create an identifiable cause, ie the destruction of the petrodollar, as cover? Or is it some devious plan to topple the House of Saud so that a neighbor can take de facto control of the resources of the KSA? Who could such a neighbor be? Who who who?
“Death by AI”. Though I am skeptical of AI as the magic bullet, I wonder if those demanding they control AI are coming from the same place as Xi?
Bingo!
Arkansas Dry Counties? Nah, someone is lying, otherwise how would get ‘Hey, watch this!’?
***
40 year old Japanese Men: With their sexual centric culture? Maybe this is from the same pollster who did the Arkansas Dry County map. Then again, Hollywood might have a new Japanese film that could give Crazy Rich Asians a run for its money: ‘40 Year-Old Virgin | Japan’…with all the trials and tribulations they encounter. Could be a hit…spinoff could be an Anime version.
***
Opening Picture…intriguing, yet always wondered how these ‘transformations’ happened (as a ‘visual’ brain type)…which in todays warped society with a certain population segment it’s called ‘Transitioning’, a word no longer capable of its original definition as soon as we hear it.
Crazy Rich Asians. I was always amused that the male romantic-lead “Asian” has a White father and an Iban (as in Dayak headhunter) mother. Not that I have anything against Henry Golding personally (I liked him in The Gentlemen, for one thing), but actual East Asians would look askance at “that halfbreed”. Especially when the Asian part is “jungle Asian” and not “fancy Asian”.
—
Jungle vs Fancy is not my terminology. It’s from some female Asian comic. Fancy Asians are Chinese, Koreans and Japanese. The SE Asians are the other kind. It’s not clear where Viets fall in this novel taxonomy. But Dayaks from Borneo are mos’ def Jungle Asians.
Still a good flick despite the typical poor v. [ultra] rich storyline. Never judge a book by its wallet. Then again, all I wanted to do was eat at that Singapore outdoor foodie market…looked amazing…and my much younger ‘hollow leg’ self could have sampled every booth (and not a bat in sight, so definitely not Wuhan).
Lubbock was a dry town which one of my crew found out to his intense displeasure several years ago.
” that Canada would be happy to see them go so it can move forward in creating a true worker’s paradise.”
Worker’s paradise without equalization payments? Allowing PRC operational centers along our Northern Border isn’t the action of an ally. Carney and his allies, including USA (P)regressives are counting on our midterm elections to cripple PDJT. Where do they do when Republicans sweep the midterms and the Alberta Prosperity Movement get 51% of their October referendum? Will their “elbows up” stay up when their bellies start flapping?
They elbows will stay up when their bellies are sticking to their backbones because nobody will care.
Eastern Canada is only 55% Canadians,
How DARE you!! How dare you, Ed?
Pakistanis and Hindus and Pashtun and every manner of sub-Saharan African are JUST as Canadian as someone of English/Scots heritage all the way back to Adam, whose family has been in Canada for generations prior to Confederation.
—
And not just Canada. Northern New England (ME, NH, VT) are (in)famous for being over 95% White but that’s changing too. Southern NH is now de facto northern Massholia. I’ve seen literal Dinka wandering around downtown Manchester, NH’s largest city (kinda like being the tallest dwarf, but still). Maine has at least one colony of Somalis. And Portland ain’t looking good either. I don’t get out to Vermont often, so I dunno personally, but maybe their weird mix of lefty organic hippy + 2A love of firearms is keeping them out. On the other hand, assholes from NYC and Westchester are buying up lots of Vermont. Possibly to have a place to get away from the diversity they’ve forced on the rest of us. Oh the irony. But it’s a tough choice: Would you rather be stabbed by a 70-IQ African with no skills, or be financially ruined by an IQ 130 commodities trader from Scarsdale? (The stabber works his harm retail, one victim at a time. The commodities guy works wholesale, ruining hundreds, even thousands, all at once. Support your local, er imported, artisanal criminal!)
IMHO
I don’t give a hoot how you want to caption it but we are (and have been since [at least] 2001) in the midst of WWIII; I do really hate to keep harping.
It’s like a forest fire with firemen suppressing the flames in one section only to have another non-adjacent, previously untouched part of the woods suddenly break out in massive flames (likely due to fire imps/devils or just flying ash) – and I’m not quite of the players; they all (with a few minor exceptions) seem to be metamorphizing constantly, similar to your caption picture.
After all: if we’re (the U.S.) providing (spy) intel, satellite data, and various forms/grades of weaponry, aren’t we actively engaged, even despite not having “boots on the ground”?
I’m constantly reminded of the song “The Merry Minuet” popularized by the The Kingston Trio.
The Kingston who? That sounds like Peter, Paul and the chick – some sort of weird sexual cult – like the bug cult. All that was well before my time. EdB and Old NFO might remember that music.
.
Ukraine gave us the chance to collect every piece of operational Russian hardware and take it apart. War by other means? We also watch the Ukes violate their airspace and strike vital targets with some impunity.
“They’re rioting in Africa.
They’re starving in Spain.
There’s hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls.
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles,
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch;
And I don’t like anybody very much!”
Weel done!
My parents were fans, so I heard them early on. Here is MTA, tax protest in the finest tradition.
—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbtkL5_f6-4&list=RDMbtkL5_f6-4&start_radio=1
For those of us growing up in the 1950-1960s they were what passed for counter culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8s6d4pAoZQ&list=PLnyZlD5iqybwAYyZ229z2kjT6q0YVvPcV&index=24
That was cruel. I do.
Just a minor note:
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but Jules has (on her blog) a really super introductory “manual” (in small bite-size, randomized pieces) for anyone with some minor degree of interest and/or manual dexterity (Yes! I know so please don’t say it: manual/manual), sorta a how-to-get-started on watercolo(u)r painting.
If you enjoy Jules’ style of writing or anything about art or watercolors, it shouldn’t be missed.
You can find it at:
https://julessmithart.co.uk/blogs/art
If she picks up some students of the Latin persuasion, she might
get manual/manual/Manuel!
– Kle.
I wouldn’t have guessed Arkansas is that dry.
*
Yeah, that has been my impression of most US “militias” and other similar
organizations. Sometimes they branch out into State and local agents, too.
– Kle.
When I was in Japan in the late 70s, I was a church missionary, so definitely not dating. That said, there seemed to be a prevailing interest for Japanese mothers seeking to get their daughters married to someone foreign. I don’t really know anything about their motivations for such. Several girls that I met and taught about the church or taught English would write letters to me after I had transferred to different areas. I happened to have a girlfriend waiting for me (now my wife), and I would send their names and addresses to her. She would write to these girls and let them know that she was my fiancée, but that she would like to be a pen pal. The result was maybe a letter or two, mainly so these girls could practice their English.
From 2015 to 2018, I spent a lot of time TDY to Guam working at a NASA TDRS site. It turns out that Guam is considered a prime location for destination weddings in Japan and South Korea. Every one of the big resort hotels has at least one wedding chapel. They apparently advertise very heavily and draw a considerable business. It’s considered to be kind of like Vegas for weddings, but the gamblers mostly go to Macau, I guess. The whole island seemed to cater to these kinds of tourists and there seemed to be a never ending stream of them. I usually flew to the island from Tokyo, and those flights seemed to be full.
This is curious. My Mother has always advocated for arranged marriages and, for a fact, that seems to have been the norm forever up until now. Are we any happier?
I’d say divorce lawyers are MUCH happier. The rest of humanity, prolly not so much.
—
(I refrained from saying “actual humanity”. In fact, due to irrelevant-here work stuff the last few days, I found myself quoting from The Jungle Book to a regulatory compliance lawyer: “We be of one blood, ye and I.” Strange days indeed.
>examined decades of data from the National Fertility Survey of Japan and found that approximately one in four adults aged 18 to 39 had no heterosexual sexual experience.
—
This makes it sound like Japan is a hotbed (you’ll pardon the expression in this context) of faggotry. And the female equivalent. Is this true? Had to go to the link to find:
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>>The study defined virginity, or sexual inexperience, as never having vaginal intercourse with a member of the opposite sex. Homosexual experiences weren’t included in the analysis because Japan’s national survey does not collect data on same-sex experiences.
—
Hmmm. Oh well, as the great sage Woody Allen once said, “Hey, don’t knock masturbation. It’s sex with someone I love.” Ironically, Soon Yi is NOT one of those inexperienced East Asians who was still virgin at 21.
As to not collecting homosex data, oh those curious Japanese with their curiously selective prudery. Back in the old days when we had to wank to STILL photos in PRINTED magazines (oh the humanity!) the Japanese would have little old ladies with Sharpies (or the equivalent) blacking out the naughty bits by hand before imported smut could be sold.
As to the defining “sexual experience” as vaginal sex, play Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young” as you read this. Or that Frank Zappa song.
>In Arizona, blocking someone’s entry to a house of worship, or deliberately disrupting a service, is now a Class 1 misdemeanor
—
I’m super curious to see if this will be applied to criminals who obstruct or disrupt Christian places of worship. Or will this in practice be enforced only for the other Abrahamic faiths?