Two Minutes Hate - R30 Issue #13
What is Man’s maturity: to have regained the seriousness that he had as a child at play. Yes, I have been listening to Nietzsche. To lectures about Nietzsche, I mean. Not that I have started following his philosophy.
What even is his philosophy? Like many others, I’ve only been familiar with his concept of the Übermensch: the emergence of the ideal human, the warrior-poet unshackled by the constraints of Christian egalitarianism. Does compassion not lead to the survival of the weak, and saps the power of the individual to fully realise himself? That sort of stuff.
But what I found interesting in the aforementioned lecture, was the notion that the warrior only serves to create freedom for the final stage of the spirit: that of the child. From Thus Spoke Zarathrustra:
THREE metamorphoses of the spirit do I designate to you: how the spirit becometh a camel, the camel a lion, and the lion at last a child.
So all the power of the lion serves only to enable the child to create. Destruction as the preliminary act for creation. All that talk about individual freedom makes me think of Max Stirner’s thoughts on egoism and anarchism. Was Nietzsche just riffing on Stirner, destroying and creating notions of the human subject? Alas, I did not study both these guys enough to give an answer.
But neither did the Nazis, who really liked Nietzsche. Did you know his sister gave Hitler Nietzsche’s walking stick? Yikes. That thing should get spritually cleansed, if it still exists.
Talking about Nazis, Trump allies have been floating the idea of ‘processing camps and a ‘private citizen army’. And by allies I mean Erik Prince, famous Blackwater guy. Or whatever the private military contractor is called now. They keep changing names, so no one associates them with the horrible stuff. Did you know his sister is Betsy DeVos, the former secretary of education? As opposed to the Nietzsches, here both siblings are full of shit.
I forgot where I read about Orwell’s Two Minutes Hate this week, but I hope it doesn’t come to this. On the other hand, the only difference to FOX News is the lack of a gathering in the physical space. Instead, people are screaming at the TV while eating microwave dinner. And dreaming about eggs. Oh, those egg prices. Apparently they’ll get imported from Turkey now? Keep on screaming.
Let’s talk about lighter stuff. Korean web novel turned anime Solo Leveling has started its second season. If you’re unfamiliar with the Isekai genre (traditionalists will say SL doesn’t qualify as such), this is a good opportunity to dip your toes in. The animation and editing are top-notch, and the writing contains some social commentary and even critique of capitalism, dare I say. But it’s still a fantasy show for kids, so don’t expect the protagonist to proselytize the virtues of Marxism-Leninism.
Now back to the shit stuff. We’re already in Korea, so it’s sad to learn that South Korea has recorded its highest numbers of suicide deaths in over a decade. A lot of Isekais actually start with the protagonist dying and getting reincarnated in another world, with new superpowers. I always felt the death-wish combined with the gaining of new powers was particularly morbid. Like, let’s die and become something better. Something we could have never been in our previous lives. Sad.
But that’s why we have art, to express everything we can’t be. Or something. Yeah, I was just looking for a segue to exhibitions. Like Helmut Lang and his sculptures in Los Angeles. I’m getting buttery croissant vibes. Nothing buttery about the new vertical mausoleum in Hollywood. For brutalist remembrance. Or go to Dubai? Trippy mushrooms and gateways of light await. Or stay at home and look at Fabian Oefner’s frozen brushstrokes.
Nothing frozen about cars this week. In fact, Ferrari are feeling so hot they cut off the roof of their 12Cilindri to create a Spider version. Better than driving around in a Lambo for the Italian police. But superior to testing a manual Porsche 911 S/T and a manual Aston Martin Valour for Top Gear? I doubt it. At least it’s not as bad as being a crash-test dummy in a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air.
And that’s it for this week.
Leftovers: William Shatner to return as Captain Kirk (maybe), The Dumb Shit You Have To Put Up With To Read Manga These Days, Trump Hiss
References:
http://nietzsche.holtof.com/Nietzsche_thus_spake_zarathustra/I_01.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDERe48hvgs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thus_Spoke_Zarathustra?useskin=vector
http://nietzsche.holtof.com/Nietzsche_thus_spake_zarathustra/I_01.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Stirner?useskin=vector
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/06/exploding-nietzsche-myths-need-dynamiting
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/25/documents-military-contractors-mass-deportations-022648
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_(company)?useskin=vector
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisour_Square_massacre?useskin=vector
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_DeVos?useskin=vector
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two_Minutes_Hate&oldid=1275844104&useskin=vector
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvGmOZ5T6_Y
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/24/business/egg-prices-turkey-vaccine/index.html
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21209876/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isekai?useskin=vector
https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/south-korea-facing-highest-number-suicide-deaths-in-13-years/
https://www.wallpaper.com/art/exhibitions-shows/helmut-lang-modernist-sculptures-los-angeles
https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/gower-mausoleum-tallest-cemetery-us
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/02/eness-forest-dancer/
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/02/fabian-oefner-volumen/
https://www.wallpaper.com/transportation/ferrari-12cilindri-spider-review
https://www.wallpaper.com/transportation/lamborghini-italian-state-police-cars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUfOUnsGmqg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_r5UJrxcck
https://trekmovie.com/2025/02/23/william-shatner-hints-at-one-more-return-to-star-trek-as-james-t-kirk/
https://aftermath.site/heres-the-dumb-shit-you-have-to-put-up-with-to-read-manga-these-days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GioBjltdUnU
Picture of Nietzsche by Hans Olde
Want to receive this newsletter in your Inbox? Click here to find out how.
Spread the February spirit by buying something from my shop.