25/04/2009
21/04/2009
Sandi Sirocco & Ebony Bones videos
Sandi Sirocco - 'Dancing Dancing Dancing Dancing' from S.Aichele & J.Sheard on Vimeo.
Found a nice little tune, and a pretty awesome video via Dancefloor Mayhem.
Speaking of which, Ebony Bones "The Muzik" is currently my favorite video. I can't help it, for some reason I just love these kinds of videos:
Happy dancing people from all over the world. And the music is awesome. It's the closest I can think of coming to basing a band on The Invisibles by Grant Morrison. One of my absolute favorite comics. Either that or Transmetropolitan most likely.
Well, enjoy then!
17/04/2009
Culture, Cities and so on - The Neural Network of Humanity
Despite the overly long and somewhat serious sounding title; this is a post about us. Not about anyone in particular, except maybe in the context of the whole.
We are humanity. And I know, humanity is also a bunch of individuals, but we're all still human so it stands to reason that we're actually more alike than we are different, no?
Anyway, about culture, and the places that breeds it then.
Trying to identify culture is pretty damned hard, but a few things comes to mind. One would be Dawkins memetics, another Jungs collective unconscious.
The wordbook says something like "the expression of thoughts, emotions and abstracts notions trough a variety of different forms".
So, communication, then. And not just any form of communication. It's social communication to boot.
Art is usually for the great mass of people, although in a few cases it might be aimed at a single one of us. If it hits or not doesn't really matter, it's firing it that's what important. Sure, getting done, putting time and soul into it will of course help. These are the things that turns it from a 9 mm bullet into a cluster bomb of .44 hollow point magnum rounds.
(I just read up on the difference between hollow point and FMJ, and I'm not sure which fits the best here. The one with impact, or the one that can hit more people. I'll leave it as is, though.)
Of course culture should have impact, but it might be hard to find a target at times.
These gun parallels are making me a bit uncomfortable, though. They're not very fitting in this case either, considering I'm trying to make a point of culture as a global form of communication and closeness with others. Culture is in the end a shared experience. It builds of previous ones, both in the receiver and sender, and creates something that is partly new and etheric, and partly old and physical.
Sometimes you have to wonder if the only obstacle for the realization of an idea is time itself?
Back to culture then. It creates a connection between people, it gives us something to talk about and helps us relate with others. It's a useful form of social lubricant in that regard. It's also interesting how different groups form around different forms of culture. Mainly with the music scene, but there's probably some with movies, art, literature, and so on, as well.
It never ever stops changing either. It keeps coming in wave after wave. Sometimes smooth and nice, sometimes it's a tsunami smashing everything in it's wake. But when it comes down to it, at it's core it's still human.
No matter how bizarre and alien you might find it, the base is always in the human heart and mind. You too can go there if you so wish, or should at the very least be able to grasp it roughly in the palm of your hand.
Like with everything else it's hard to leave your cultural comfort zone for the first time. But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Listening to a form of music you've decided to hate could be a step in the right direction here. I personally don't understand how anyone can stick to just one genre, or for that matter, category of music. I prefer to listen to most forms of music, though I have a few I tend to return to. Electro is one, bebop another, trip-hop, hip-hop and rap yet a few more. But who cares? It's not about what you listen to anyway. Or even if you're active, passive, or just want the music as a form of company while droning in front of your computer in the middle of the night. When it comes to music the first criteria is that you listen. The second could be how you do it, but I'm getting sidetracked here.
The human library, as I was saying. Thought saying that it's culture alone might be too limiting. We might even have to think about society, culture, cities, infrastructure, and all the things that make up the modern world as the global brain of humanity. Maybe we're just the braincells rubbing together, trying to start a chain reaction of sparks?
Maybe we're a lot more...
But I haven't even mentioned cities yet, or maybe I have? Can't remember it in any case, so at the moment it doesn't really exist in my personal sphere of reality anyway.
So, cities, then. The hubs of humanity, the strongholds of culture, creation, destruction, seats of power, and all the other things that goes on there. Nerve clusters maybe?
In any case, it's in the boiling pot of humanity that tends to exist in cities that interesting things happen. Or that's at least what we tend to believe. It might actually only be true because we think it is. The artistic and creative grows up learning it, and move to a city to express themselves. That might actually be what's going on. What if we're only slaves to out memes in some cases? What if we usually are? Is it a side effect of culture then, that shapes us into adopting certain preconceptions? Maybe it's necessary for it to work as a social lubricant. It's worth considering. What balance of critical thinking of our preconceptions, and acceptance of them is needed?
And I've gone from proclaiming my truths, to asking questions once again. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. Questions leads to truths that leads to new questions, and on it goes.
Culture, society or whatever you wanna call it, we seem to be stuck with it, so we might as well try and figure out what it is. Or at least what it isn't.
We are humanity. And I know, humanity is also a bunch of individuals, but we're all still human so it stands to reason that we're actually more alike than we are different, no?
Anyway, about culture, and the places that breeds it then.
Trying to identify culture is pretty damned hard, but a few things comes to mind. One would be Dawkins memetics, another Jungs collective unconscious.
The wordbook says something like "the expression of thoughts, emotions and abstracts notions trough a variety of different forms".
So, communication, then. And not just any form of communication. It's social communication to boot.
Art is usually for the great mass of people, although in a few cases it might be aimed at a single one of us. If it hits or not doesn't really matter, it's firing it that's what important. Sure, getting done, putting time and soul into it will of course help. These are the things that turns it from a 9 mm bullet into a cluster bomb of .44 hollow point magnum rounds.
(I just read up on the difference between hollow point and FMJ, and I'm not sure which fits the best here. The one with impact, or the one that can hit more people. I'll leave it as is, though.)
Of course culture should have impact, but it might be hard to find a target at times.
These gun parallels are making me a bit uncomfortable, though. They're not very fitting in this case either, considering I'm trying to make a point of culture as a global form of communication and closeness with others. Culture is in the end a shared experience. It builds of previous ones, both in the receiver and sender, and creates something that is partly new and etheric, and partly old and physical.
Sometimes you have to wonder if the only obstacle for the realization of an idea is time itself?
Back to culture then. It creates a connection between people, it gives us something to talk about and helps us relate with others. It's a useful form of social lubricant in that regard. It's also interesting how different groups form around different forms of culture. Mainly with the music scene, but there's probably some with movies, art, literature, and so on, as well.
It never ever stops changing either. It keeps coming in wave after wave. Sometimes smooth and nice, sometimes it's a tsunami smashing everything in it's wake. But when it comes down to it, at it's core it's still human.
No matter how bizarre and alien you might find it, the base is always in the human heart and mind. You too can go there if you so wish, or should at the very least be able to grasp it roughly in the palm of your hand.
Like with everything else it's hard to leave your cultural comfort zone for the first time. But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Listening to a form of music you've decided to hate could be a step in the right direction here. I personally don't understand how anyone can stick to just one genre, or for that matter, category of music. I prefer to listen to most forms of music, though I have a few I tend to return to. Electro is one, bebop another, trip-hop, hip-hop and rap yet a few more. But who cares? It's not about what you listen to anyway. Or even if you're active, passive, or just want the music as a form of company while droning in front of your computer in the middle of the night. When it comes to music the first criteria is that you listen. The second could be how you do it, but I'm getting sidetracked here.
The human library, as I was saying. Thought saying that it's culture alone might be too limiting. We might even have to think about society, culture, cities, infrastructure, and all the things that make up the modern world as the global brain of humanity. Maybe we're just the braincells rubbing together, trying to start a chain reaction of sparks?
Maybe we're a lot more...
But I haven't even mentioned cities yet, or maybe I have? Can't remember it in any case, so at the moment it doesn't really exist in my personal sphere of reality anyway.
So, cities, then. The hubs of humanity, the strongholds of culture, creation, destruction, seats of power, and all the other things that goes on there. Nerve clusters maybe?
In any case, it's in the boiling pot of humanity that tends to exist in cities that interesting things happen. Or that's at least what we tend to believe. It might actually only be true because we think it is. The artistic and creative grows up learning it, and move to a city to express themselves. That might actually be what's going on. What if we're only slaves to out memes in some cases? What if we usually are? Is it a side effect of culture then, that shapes us into adopting certain preconceptions? Maybe it's necessary for it to work as a social lubricant. It's worth considering. What balance of critical thinking of our preconceptions, and acceptance of them is needed?
And I've gone from proclaiming my truths, to asking questions once again. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. Questions leads to truths that leads to new questions, and on it goes.
Culture, society or whatever you wanna call it, we seem to be stuck with it, so we might as well try and figure out what it is. Or at least what it isn't.
15/04/2009
One of Those Days
You know you're in for a bad one when you for the first time in your life had to throw up to feel a little less wrecked.
I still have that sweet and sour burning taste of stomach juice in the back of my throat, and even my breath mints kept in a little white unmarked medical bottle won't make it go away.
Despite feeling like someone's ripped out chunks of my intestines, I'm pretty sure where it all went wrong. Sure, it's gone wrong before, but this case is unique in a way.
It started of with me going to get myself a beer. I offered to buy beers for the people at my table while I was at it. They accepted. I bought the damned things.
Here, though, is where things start going wrong.
None of them really wanted any beer, except for the guy I was there with.
So, in an act of stupidity I drank 3 beers instead of one.
In retrospect I shouldn't even have had one more, but the thing with beer is that it tastes better the more you drink.
So, needless to say, I felt pretty fucking great for a while there when the alcohol abused my brain.
And yet another problem I have is that I tend to drink faster the more I drink, which is a really horrible thing to do to yourself. I have several case studies to back this up.
Also: skull-fuckery-from-the-inside type of headache. Luckily it comes and goes, so it doesn't outright wreck my ability to coherent thinking. It's just crippled.
I was hoping that I'd be able to get to my lecture today, but no such luck.
Too bad we don't have video lectures that you can watch several times to get familiar with the material.
(This is a few days old, and it appears I haven't posted it yet for some reason.
I, for one, find it highly amusing how I decided to "never drink again" just a few days ago, and right about now I could actually go for a beer or two. I guess that's life, ey?)
I still have that sweet and sour burning taste of stomach juice in the back of my throat, and even my breath mints kept in a little white unmarked medical bottle won't make it go away.
Despite feeling like someone's ripped out chunks of my intestines, I'm pretty sure where it all went wrong. Sure, it's gone wrong before, but this case is unique in a way.
It started of with me going to get myself a beer. I offered to buy beers for the people at my table while I was at it. They accepted. I bought the damned things.
Here, though, is where things start going wrong.
None of them really wanted any beer, except for the guy I was there with.
So, in an act of stupidity I drank 3 beers instead of one.
In retrospect I shouldn't even have had one more, but the thing with beer is that it tastes better the more you drink.
So, needless to say, I felt pretty fucking great for a while there when the alcohol abused my brain.
And yet another problem I have is that I tend to drink faster the more I drink, which is a really horrible thing to do to yourself. I have several case studies to back this up.
Also: skull-fuckery-from-the-inside type of headache. Luckily it comes and goes, so it doesn't outright wreck my ability to coherent thinking. It's just crippled.
I was hoping that I'd be able to get to my lecture today, but no such luck.
Too bad we don't have video lectures that you can watch several times to get familiar with the material.
(This is a few days old, and it appears I haven't posted it yet for some reason.
I, for one, find it highly amusing how I decided to "never drink again" just a few days ago, and right about now I could actually go for a beer or two. I guess that's life, ey?)
01/04/2009
Sweden: Far from perfect
Two years ago the Swedish prime minister Frederik Reinfeldt said that the government would not pass a law that would criminalize a whole generation of young people.
Today Ipred went into effect, which as well as making it able for record and movie companies to demand ISPs to release their clients IPs, also makes him a liar. Companies will now also be able to take people to court if they so wish, or turn the evidence over to the police.
The industries own copyright police is now more or less a reality, I'm afraid.
Today Ipred went into effect, which as well as making it able for record and movie companies to demand ISPs to release their clients IPs, also makes him a liar. Companies will now also be able to take people to court if they so wish, or turn the evidence over to the police.
The industries own copyright police is now more or less a reality, I'm afraid.
25/03/2009
Photograph of Jesus by Laurie Hill
Pretty interesting little piece about the Hulton Archive, which I've never heard of before. Kinda makes you wanna go picture diving there.
Via Twitch.
24/03/2009
Aimee Mullins´ TED Talk
Another interesting TED Talk about legs. No, seriously. It's about prosthetics, beauty, people's different reactions, and so on. It's good, only around 10 minutes, and inspiring.
23/03/2009
JJ Abrams TED Talk
Really interesting if you're into writing, movies, or something related to those. He also manages to sum up a big part of why most remakes suck.
What's In the Box? by TimSmiT - Thibaut Niels
Stumbled upon this little test film on io9. If it's turning into a proper film, or if this is it I have no idea. It's pretty damned good for a fan made production though.
22/03/2009
The Death of the Internet?
With Acta, and quite a few national restrictions and censors of the Internet you have to ask yourself: When does the Internet stop being the Internet?
What defines the Internet in the first place, you might ask yourself. I'd have to say the diversity of it myself. No matter what your opinion you can find people who agree and disagree, questions, doubts, information, and more about whatever you want.
Then there's sex. Any fetish, no matter how deviant and absurd can be found online. You can even find a video of a monkey trying to hump a goat on YouTube if you so wish. Well, you could yesterday anyway.
Not that all of it is good of course. Absolute freedom isn't possible, since others will abuse that freedom by abusing others.
But the Internet is still pretty damned close.
The things you think might be illegal, like snuff, pedophilia, and so on, can be reported to various organizations that have contact with the police and will report it for you.
People masturbating with their own feces doesn't count, no matter how much it might offend you.
But back to the censorship and attempts at control then.
There's of course Acta that's looking kinda like an a attempt at a global copyright law to me. The secrecy is the worst part of it though, since no one except a few select politicians know what it actually says. Yey democracy and transparency in government, ey?
Then there's FRA in Sweden. Monitoring connections going to and from Sweden. Which effectively means almost all connections in Sweden as well. Connections don't go directly from you to your friend, or whoever/whatever you're in contact with. It goes the roundabout way, so I guess you could say that FRA affects the whole of Scandinavia to some extent.
Then there's the Great Australian Firewall, called so after the Great Chinese Firewall.
What the problem here then? True, it is a opt-out system, but from what I've heard the people pusing for it have all but said "If you're not with us you're with the pedophiles!" Very nice and democratic of them. Fuckers.
I sorta want to move to Australia and opt-out of the system, then I'd sue them for slander. Probably wouldn't stick, but it's the principal that matters. It's either that or punch them in the face, and that'd be bad considering that they're political figures.
Oh, and they've censored Wikileaks, which is considered something of a goldmine when it comes to publicizing all kinds of documents and information. It mostly has to do with governments and big coporations.
They were apprently censored for posting a list of sites blocked by the Dutch goverment. Again, go democracy! How about just blocking the sites in question instead? Too much work?
Oh, and it isn't really opt-out, you're just moved to "watered down version of the blacklist". Sure, all of the content on that list is considered illegal in Australia, but that includes "advocacy of euthanaisa", so who knows? "Indecent content" doesn't seem quite specific enough, and that just the censorship in itself.
I'd recommend reading more on Computer World, who seems to have most info on what's going on, what it's consequences will be, and so on.
Edit: Forgot to mention Ipred. It's more or less the European Unions own Acta. Not sure if it's the same thing, but it seems possible.
What defines the Internet in the first place, you might ask yourself. I'd have to say the diversity of it myself. No matter what your opinion you can find people who agree and disagree, questions, doubts, information, and more about whatever you want.
Then there's sex. Any fetish, no matter how deviant and absurd can be found online. You can even find a video of a monkey trying to hump a goat on YouTube if you so wish. Well, you could yesterday anyway.
Not that all of it is good of course. Absolute freedom isn't possible, since others will abuse that freedom by abusing others.
But the Internet is still pretty damned close.
The things you think might be illegal, like snuff, pedophilia, and so on, can be reported to various organizations that have contact with the police and will report it for you.
People masturbating with their own feces doesn't count, no matter how much it might offend you.
But back to the censorship and attempts at control then.
There's of course Acta that's looking kinda like an a attempt at a global copyright law to me. The secrecy is the worst part of it though, since no one except a few select politicians know what it actually says. Yey democracy and transparency in government, ey?
Then there's FRA in Sweden. Monitoring connections going to and from Sweden. Which effectively means almost all connections in Sweden as well. Connections don't go directly from you to your friend, or whoever/whatever you're in contact with. It goes the roundabout way, so I guess you could say that FRA affects the whole of Scandinavia to some extent.
Then there's the Great Australian Firewall, called so after the Great Chinese Firewall.
What the problem here then? True, it is a opt-out system, but from what I've heard the people pusing for it have all but said "If you're not with us you're with the pedophiles!" Very nice and democratic of them. Fuckers.
I sorta want to move to Australia and opt-out of the system, then I'd sue them for slander. Probably wouldn't stick, but it's the principal that matters. It's either that or punch them in the face, and that'd be bad considering that they're political figures.
Oh, and they've censored Wikileaks, which is considered something of a goldmine when it comes to publicizing all kinds of documents and information. It mostly has to do with governments and big coporations.
They were apprently censored for posting a list of sites blocked by the Dutch goverment. Again, go democracy! How about just blocking the sites in question instead? Too much work?
Oh, and it isn't really opt-out, you're just moved to "watered down version of the blacklist". Sure, all of the content on that list is considered illegal in Australia, but that includes "advocacy of euthanaisa", so who knows? "Indecent content" doesn't seem quite specific enough, and that just the censorship in itself.
I'd recommend reading more on Computer World, who seems to have most info on what's going on, what it's consequences will be, and so on.
Edit: Forgot to mention Ipred. It's more or less the European Unions own Acta. Not sure if it's the same thing, but it seems possible.
21/03/2009
Social Security, Poverty and Me
I'm not sure how to start this off, so I'm just gonna start.
I don't believe anyone choses to be homeless, poor, or whatever you wanna call it. No one in their right mind decides "Hey! I can be homeless! Then I don't have to work and can get rich from government aid!"
First off: no one gets rich of the money they get from social services. And that's only if they get money from social services at all.
I'm not sure how the terms differ from country to country, but at least up here you have be actively seeking employment to get some financial support. This means you have to seek any and all jobs you have even a minimal chance of getting, and some you don't even fill the requirements for, just in case. The requirements seems to be "Can you send them an application? Then do it." I'm not sure what they point of applying for a job they're not going to give your is, except for making you feel stupid, and annoying the employer. But you have to apply for a certain number of jobs to get money, and I suppose just applying to whatever job you find is a good way to get money if you're desperate.
It's safe to say that you only seek social security if you're desperate and don't have any other choice.
Generally speaking that is.
Then there's people with various addictions. This isn't a choice either. It's an addiction, which means that their basic motivation (like a career, a nice dinner, etc) is replaced with one thing, and one thing only. The substance they're addicted to. Nothing else matters anymore. "Family is only good if it helps me get my drug." Same with friends, jobs, and so on. It's all just tools to help achieve a goal. Most people suffering from an addiction don't want to take the drug. But their bodies, distorted by chemical abuse, demands it. It's hard to fight something that's stronger than the need to eat and sleep. Imagine if you're really tired or hungry. You can of course skip both sleep and food for a time, but how does that make you feel? How long can you keep it up?
And it's hard to cure as well, because an addiction changes the body. The change doesn't disappear just because you don't take the drug anymore.
If you've stopped smoking you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes you feel the need to have a smoke, even if it's been years since you had one the last time.
Some drugs cause a distortion right away, other's take a few doses. Generally speaking this is true for medicinal drugs as well. If you're taking anti-depressants for some time you're gonna have to switch to another pill that cures you're addiction to the anti-depressants once you stop taking them.
Generally speaking you should be careful when it comes to drugs. I'm not saying that "Drugs are bad!", just that they can be really fucking horrible and fuck you up for life if you're not careful. Kinda like driving. Crash once and you're dead or in a wheelchair for life.
So, why should you listen to me in the first place? I've never been homeless, but it's been close once or twice. If worst comes to worst I've got family I could move in with, so I'm lucky that way.
Have I ever been poor then? I haven't been so poor that I've had to beg, but it has crossed my mind at one point. I have been on social security though.
You know what the hardest part of applying for social security is? The psychological aspect of it. At least for me anyway. I'm a bit proud of myself. I hate borrowing money from people, and I feel like I should be able to take care of everything myself. I bet it'd be worse if I had a regular job and then had to seek help to survive though.
It's the American dream of the proud self-made man that's infected our motivations, you might say.
If you just work hard and determined towards a goal you'll make it! Too bad it doesn't work like that. You need help and support from others to get started at least. A family that helps motivate you probably helps too.
So what if your only motivation is "not starving to death under a bridge"? First of you make sure you somehow get money, begging might work, unless people shouts "Get a job!" and gives you disgusted looks.
But begging, social security, and so on has a drawback. People that have never been close to being poor will despise you. They'll happily assume that you're just a lazy slacker with no motivation. You probably seek social security just to get money for meth anyway.
Feel free to protest, but I know I've thought "Fucking drunks" in disgust at beggars at times.
There's one things I'll remember for the rest of my life though. I was on a buss on the way to Spain I think, when we stopped for some time in Brussels and decided to walk around for a bit.
I'm not sure how I ended up there, but I found my way into a long thin mall with small exclusive boutiques like offices in a corridor.
And on the stairs of one of them a young woman was sitting crying with a paper drinking cup in her hand and an expression of hopelessness and despair in her face like I've never seen before.
It felt like a bucket of cold water over my head with a punch in the stomach straight afterwards.
I got choked up, almost collapsed to my knees crying with my head in my hands right there and then. I mumbled some words about being sorry and not having any money and almost ran away from her.
And the buildings of the administrative sections of the European Union was only a few hundred meters away.
I don't believe anyone choses to be homeless, poor, or whatever you wanna call it. No one in their right mind decides "Hey! I can be homeless! Then I don't have to work and can get rich from government aid!"
First off: no one gets rich of the money they get from social services. And that's only if they get money from social services at all.
I'm not sure how the terms differ from country to country, but at least up here you have be actively seeking employment to get some financial support. This means you have to seek any and all jobs you have even a minimal chance of getting, and some you don't even fill the requirements for, just in case. The requirements seems to be "Can you send them an application? Then do it." I'm not sure what they point of applying for a job they're not going to give your is, except for making you feel stupid, and annoying the employer. But you have to apply for a certain number of jobs to get money, and I suppose just applying to whatever job you find is a good way to get money if you're desperate.
It's safe to say that you only seek social security if you're desperate and don't have any other choice.
Generally speaking that is.
Then there's people with various addictions. This isn't a choice either. It's an addiction, which means that their basic motivation (like a career, a nice dinner, etc) is replaced with one thing, and one thing only. The substance they're addicted to. Nothing else matters anymore. "Family is only good if it helps me get my drug." Same with friends, jobs, and so on. It's all just tools to help achieve a goal. Most people suffering from an addiction don't want to take the drug. But their bodies, distorted by chemical abuse, demands it. It's hard to fight something that's stronger than the need to eat and sleep. Imagine if you're really tired or hungry. You can of course skip both sleep and food for a time, but how does that make you feel? How long can you keep it up?
And it's hard to cure as well, because an addiction changes the body. The change doesn't disappear just because you don't take the drug anymore.
If you've stopped smoking you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes you feel the need to have a smoke, even if it's been years since you had one the last time.
Some drugs cause a distortion right away, other's take a few doses. Generally speaking this is true for medicinal drugs as well. If you're taking anti-depressants for some time you're gonna have to switch to another pill that cures you're addiction to the anti-depressants once you stop taking them.
Generally speaking you should be careful when it comes to drugs. I'm not saying that "Drugs are bad!", just that they can be really fucking horrible and fuck you up for life if you're not careful. Kinda like driving. Crash once and you're dead or in a wheelchair for life.
So, why should you listen to me in the first place? I've never been homeless, but it's been close once or twice. If worst comes to worst I've got family I could move in with, so I'm lucky that way.
Have I ever been poor then? I haven't been so poor that I've had to beg, but it has crossed my mind at one point. I have been on social security though.
You know what the hardest part of applying for social security is? The psychological aspect of it. At least for me anyway. I'm a bit proud of myself. I hate borrowing money from people, and I feel like I should be able to take care of everything myself. I bet it'd be worse if I had a regular job and then had to seek help to survive though.
It's the American dream of the proud self-made man that's infected our motivations, you might say.
If you just work hard and determined towards a goal you'll make it! Too bad it doesn't work like that. You need help and support from others to get started at least. A family that helps motivate you probably helps too.
So what if your only motivation is "not starving to death under a bridge"? First of you make sure you somehow get money, begging might work, unless people shouts "Get a job!" and gives you disgusted looks.
But begging, social security, and so on has a drawback. People that have never been close to being poor will despise you. They'll happily assume that you're just a lazy slacker with no motivation. You probably seek social security just to get money for meth anyway.
Feel free to protest, but I know I've thought "Fucking drunks" in disgust at beggars at times.
There's one things I'll remember for the rest of my life though. I was on a buss on the way to Spain I think, when we stopped for some time in Brussels and decided to walk around for a bit.
I'm not sure how I ended up there, but I found my way into a long thin mall with small exclusive boutiques like offices in a corridor.
And on the stairs of one of them a young woman was sitting crying with a paper drinking cup in her hand and an expression of hopelessness and despair in her face like I've never seen before.
It felt like a bucket of cold water over my head with a punch in the stomach straight afterwards.
I got choked up, almost collapsed to my knees crying with my head in my hands right there and then. I mumbled some words about being sorry and not having any money and almost ran away from her.
And the buildings of the administrative sections of the European Union was only a few hundred meters away.
19/03/2009
About Acta
I personally dislike copyright in it's present form, and trying to get a global copyright reinforcement on both traditional copyright issues such as art piracy, and medical ones, just seems wrong to me.
I am, however, a strong supporter of Creative Commons, so it's not like I'm against any control the creator wants to have over their creation.
I don't mind people trying to make money by selling pirated goods getting caught, at least not when it comes to art, but medicines can be a different issue.
Of course, that depends a lot on the companies creating them. If they get a new patent by changing some minimal detail in their medicine for the sole purpose of keeping the patent, then I don't mind pirated medicines at all. I'm even in support of them, as long as the people creating them do their best to help others. If they're just in it for the money they're of course no better than the previously mentioned medical companies.
But what about Acta? The biggest problem I have with it is the massive confidentiality around it. I'm pretty sure there's already conspiracy theories aplenty about it by now. What I don't get is why they thought it needed to be kept a secret in the first place, and why they think they have the right to keep it one?
This is looking more and more like global agreement on the verge of a law, so it only seems fair to be transparent about it.
If it was some sort of halfhearted attempt to avoid protests they should have realized that it'd only get people more interested. And I'm personally a little surprised that accusations of fascism and global leadership hasn't been used a lot more.
But then again Alex Jones might not have heard about it yet...
I am, however, a strong supporter of Creative Commons, so it's not like I'm against any control the creator wants to have over their creation.
I don't mind people trying to make money by selling pirated goods getting caught, at least not when it comes to art, but medicines can be a different issue.
Of course, that depends a lot on the companies creating them. If they get a new patent by changing some minimal detail in their medicine for the sole purpose of keeping the patent, then I don't mind pirated medicines at all. I'm even in support of them, as long as the people creating them do their best to help others. If they're just in it for the money they're of course no better than the previously mentioned medical companies.
But what about Acta? The biggest problem I have with it is the massive confidentiality around it. I'm pretty sure there's already conspiracy theories aplenty about it by now. What I don't get is why they thought it needed to be kept a secret in the first place, and why they think they have the right to keep it one?
This is looking more and more like global agreement on the verge of a law, so it only seems fair to be transparent about it.
If it was some sort of halfhearted attempt to avoid protests they should have realized that it'd only get people more interested. And I'm personally a little surprised that accusations of fascism and global leadership hasn't been used a lot more.
But then again Alex Jones might not have heard about it yet...
14/03/2009
13/03/2009
09/03/2009
Being Productive
I'm starting to get things done again. I've started writing another story that I'm doubtful that I'll finish anytime soon.
Have also discussed playing a part in a friends short movie. I've gotten dialog and a general sense of the character, and I've already changed almost all of my dialog, and some of his. Hopefully he doesn't mind too much.
Then I'm writing my research report for my 50 or so page essay about memetics, and reading about a chapter of psychology a day. These are the things I need to do, but that I don't manage to motivate myself into doing a lot of the time. Ah well, at least I'm keeping up with my reading I suppose. I'm gonna have to get something done on the research report soon though. Need to get that sent in sometime this month.
Oh, and the role in the movie is as a government spook of sorts. It's a minor detail, so I'm betting it's alright if I let that one slip.
What else am I doing then?
A few things I've got bouncing around in my head:
how to create a self sufficient and environmentally friendly community somewhere around these parts
starting a more organized local parkour organization. Possibly workshops.
Making a storyboard and a proper script for a short movie I've written.
Writing another short movie pitch/script/fluid description.
And I have an idea for another, thought that one's not really thought trough yet.
I'm also thinking about trying do the storyboards to each of the shorts as a comic, and possibly a short story too. So you'd have have the same story in 3 different formats basically.
Oh, and I decided to play trough Half Life 2 for the first time as well. And then I did Episode 1 & 2 for good measure. Valve is really something when it comes to doing interesting FPS-styled games I have to say. Go try Portal if you don't believe me.
Well, that's what going on production vise you might say. I've still got other things I'm thinking about, like how personality is constructed. If leaning towards Carl Rogers on this one. Phenomenology ties neatly into the philosophy of parkour on some points as well, which is part of the appeal. But I'm thinking the other guys can't be dismissed just because I happen to prefer one way of looking at personality. They're all pretty interesting, and they all contain something I agree with, so we'll see what I conclude eventually I suppose.
And now I make porridge.
Have also discussed playing a part in a friends short movie. I've gotten dialog and a general sense of the character, and I've already changed almost all of my dialog, and some of his. Hopefully he doesn't mind too much.
Then I'm writing my research report for my 50 or so page essay about memetics, and reading about a chapter of psychology a day. These are the things I need to do, but that I don't manage to motivate myself into doing a lot of the time. Ah well, at least I'm keeping up with my reading I suppose. I'm gonna have to get something done on the research report soon though. Need to get that sent in sometime this month.
Oh, and the role in the movie is as a government spook of sorts. It's a minor detail, so I'm betting it's alright if I let that one slip.
What else am I doing then?
A few things I've got bouncing around in my head:
how to create a self sufficient and environmentally friendly community somewhere around these parts
starting a more organized local parkour organization. Possibly workshops.
Making a storyboard and a proper script for a short movie I've written.
Writing another short movie pitch/script/fluid description.
And I have an idea for another, thought that one's not really thought trough yet.
I'm also thinking about trying do the storyboards to each of the shorts as a comic, and possibly a short story too. So you'd have have the same story in 3 different formats basically.
Oh, and I decided to play trough Half Life 2 for the first time as well. And then I did Episode 1 & 2 for good measure. Valve is really something when it comes to doing interesting FPS-styled games I have to say. Go try Portal if you don't believe me.
Well, that's what going on production vise you might say. I've still got other things I'm thinking about, like how personality is constructed. If leaning towards Carl Rogers on this one. Phenomenology ties neatly into the philosophy of parkour on some points as well, which is part of the appeal. But I'm thinking the other guys can't be dismissed just because I happen to prefer one way of looking at personality. They're all pretty interesting, and they all contain something I agree with, so we'll see what I conclude eventually I suppose.
And now I make porridge.
04/03/2009
Good News Everyone! & The Cult of Done Manifesto
Not as much news as assorted links and interesting things.
Ah well, here goes:
James Cascio kills Long-Term and elects Multi-generational instead.
Bruce Sterling predicts the future whiteout money.
Charlie Stross' FAQ for the 21st Century
Both via Grinding.
The Cult of Done Manifesto
1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3. There is no editing stage.
4. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7. Once you're done you can throw it away.
8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11. Destruction is a variant of done.
12. If you have an idea and publish it on the Internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13. Done is the engine of more.
And FYI this is a manifesto, which means it's not universal. Some people will agree to all of it, some will agree with some of it, and others will hate it. If you hate it you're not that kind of person.
I like to do thing, but have a tendency to wait too long before starting, have ideas that I'd like to do that I've started and never finished, and so on. This helps me get motivated, although I don't agree with all of it. Doesn't really matter I suppose, since the goal is to get things done. Even if it's barely, failed, or turn into something else completely. "We live and learn" seems fitting in this case...
Found via Zadeta od Lajfa.
Which is the blog of a photographer I must have liked, why else would I have added it to my feeds?
And here's a really interesting interview with a Korean director/actor/writer/producer by the name of Yang Ik-June on Twitch.
Really interesting, entertaining, and inspirational all in one. Though if you don't like to read it's not for you. Hell, if you don't like to read occasionally what are you doing on a blog in the first place?
I was also gonna post about Zoë Bell and the show Angel of Death she's in, but seems like it doesn't want to to work for me, and I don't wanna send anyone to a dead link. (I can't actually get the right address to link to.) It's online television as well, which makes it extra tricky when you can't watch it.
Ah well, here's the site anyway. Crackle is the name, online television is the game. Unless you're me, in which case nothing video related seems to work.
Ah well, link here. Good luck!
Ah well, here goes:
James Cascio kills Long-Term and elects Multi-generational instead.
Bruce Sterling predicts the future whiteout money.
Charlie Stross' FAQ for the 21st Century
Both via Grinding.
The Cult of Done Manifesto
1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3. There is no editing stage.
4. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7. Once you're done you can throw it away.
8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11. Destruction is a variant of done.
12. If you have an idea and publish it on the Internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13. Done is the engine of more.
And FYI this is a manifesto, which means it's not universal. Some people will agree to all of it, some will agree with some of it, and others will hate it. If you hate it you're not that kind of person.
I like to do thing, but have a tendency to wait too long before starting, have ideas that I'd like to do that I've started and never finished, and so on. This helps me get motivated, although I don't agree with all of it. Doesn't really matter I suppose, since the goal is to get things done. Even if it's barely, failed, or turn into something else completely. "We live and learn" seems fitting in this case...
Found via Zadeta od Lajfa.
Which is the blog of a photographer I must have liked, why else would I have added it to my feeds?
And here's a really interesting interview with a Korean director/actor/writer/producer by the name of Yang Ik-June on Twitch.
Really interesting, entertaining, and inspirational all in one. Though if you don't like to read it's not for you. Hell, if you don't like to read occasionally what are you doing on a blog in the first place?
I was also gonna post about Zoë Bell and the show Angel of Death she's in, but seems like it doesn't want to to work for me, and I don't wanna send anyone to a dead link. (I can't actually get the right address to link to.) It's online television as well, which makes it extra tricky when you can't watch it.
Ah well, here's the site anyway. Crackle is the name, online television is the game. Unless you're me, in which case nothing video related seems to work.
Ah well, link here. Good luck!
28/02/2009
Weirdness
It's amazing how things never seem to turn out they way you want them to, and thank the trinity of Hendrix, Morrison and Thomson that it never does.
Would you appreciate things if they always happened the way you want them to? Probably, but for how long? How long until you get bored and need to get out, drink yourself into such a state that you'll try to fuck whatever seems slightly interested in you, wake up in a park underneath a newspaper with cigarette burns on your genitals and the feeling that you ate last years newspaper that's spent it's last days soaking up cat piss in a litter box?
I think that's what's happening now. I've been too good and focused lately. I'm getting to bed a hour past midnight the latest. I brush my teeth, study more or less in at right times.
The worst thing I've done lately? Watching Californication. I kid you not. I have a man-crush on David Duchonvy though, so I have to.
Or maybe it's not as much a man-crush as a form of twisted substitute of a father figure. Or at least a part of one I created from various males I encountered while growing up.
Yes, I grew up with a single mom. No, I am not gay. Thanks for asking, Dr Freud.
And I'm not even joking. Freud thought growing up with only one parent could make you gay. I think growing up can make you gay, period.
Sure, I might not be as controversial as Freud, but I'm bound to be right in more cases.
But it's not fair against Freud to go on about this either. I live in Sweden. I occasionally see serious relational drama's with old womans breasts while eating a bowl of porridge for breakfast.
I'm not really in the mood at the moment, but around here somewhere is where I should write "And I don't even have a tv!"
Oh yes, I just made a granny fucker joke. Guilty, your honor. Send me to the chair. Lethal injection. Gas me and make soup out of me for rich Coca Cola executives to wash the blood of their hands with.
Fanta was made to be sold in Nazi Germany after all. Ok, so maybe the part I heard about it being created because Coke was to American wasn't true, but it was made to be sold to the Nazis.
Ok, so is that enough mental images for you? Have you imagined the being I've created as a father subtitue while growing up? Teachers, ufo huntig FBI Agents, Belgarath the Sorcerer, and so on. It's a wonder I'm not actually more fucked up than I am.
Who knows. Mom claims I had a change of personality after my last concussion, so maybe.
At least I didn't get a iron rod propelled trough my skull by dynamite while digging a railroad. Happened to a guy a few hundred years ago. Apparently he switched from a really nice guy into a drunken bastard.
Not that you need a iron rod trough your brain to have that happen to you.
I suppose that's just how life is. Sometimes things are interesing, you have to adapt and overcome obstalces, other times an iron rod smashes your granny fucking brains in and you become a Nazi alchoholic.
As long as things keep being weird and you can make it even weirder when you feel the need for the surreal, I must proclaim that it is good. What else'd be the point?
Would you appreciate things if they always happened the way you want them to? Probably, but for how long? How long until you get bored and need to get out, drink yourself into such a state that you'll try to fuck whatever seems slightly interested in you, wake up in a park underneath a newspaper with cigarette burns on your genitals and the feeling that you ate last years newspaper that's spent it's last days soaking up cat piss in a litter box?
I think that's what's happening now. I've been too good and focused lately. I'm getting to bed a hour past midnight the latest. I brush my teeth, study more or less in at right times.
The worst thing I've done lately? Watching Californication. I kid you not. I have a man-crush on David Duchonvy though, so I have to.
Or maybe it's not as much a man-crush as a form of twisted substitute of a father figure. Or at least a part of one I created from various males I encountered while growing up.
Yes, I grew up with a single mom. No, I am not gay. Thanks for asking, Dr Freud.
And I'm not even joking. Freud thought growing up with only one parent could make you gay. I think growing up can make you gay, period.
Sure, I might not be as controversial as Freud, but I'm bound to be right in more cases.
But it's not fair against Freud to go on about this either. I live in Sweden. I occasionally see serious relational drama's with old womans breasts while eating a bowl of porridge for breakfast.
I'm not really in the mood at the moment, but around here somewhere is where I should write "And I don't even have a tv!"
Oh yes, I just made a granny fucker joke. Guilty, your honor. Send me to the chair. Lethal injection. Gas me and make soup out of me for rich Coca Cola executives to wash the blood of their hands with.
Fanta was made to be sold in Nazi Germany after all. Ok, so maybe the part I heard about it being created because Coke was to American wasn't true, but it was made to be sold to the Nazis.
Ok, so is that enough mental images for you? Have you imagined the being I've created as a father subtitue while growing up? Teachers, ufo huntig FBI Agents, Belgarath the Sorcerer, and so on. It's a wonder I'm not actually more fucked up than I am.
Who knows. Mom claims I had a change of personality after my last concussion, so maybe.
At least I didn't get a iron rod propelled trough my skull by dynamite while digging a railroad. Happened to a guy a few hundred years ago. Apparently he switched from a really nice guy into a drunken bastard.
Not that you need a iron rod trough your brain to have that happen to you.
I suppose that's just how life is. Sometimes things are interesing, you have to adapt and overcome obstalces, other times an iron rod smashes your granny fucking brains in and you become a Nazi alchoholic.
As long as things keep being weird and you can make it even weirder when you feel the need for the surreal, I must proclaim that it is good. What else'd be the point?
27/02/2009
Good News Everyone!
Loose your legs and become a mermaid!
Remote controlled mini helicopter with a shotgun. Seriously.
Or just read H+ Magazine to find out what the future might bring.
24/02/2009
The Tallest Man on Earth
Newly discovered singer songwriter. Very good. Reminds me a bit of Dylan, which is decidedly not a bad thing in this case.
22/02/2009
2 Hours of Sleep
That's apparently how little I can sleep during the night and function normally.
Well, alright, so normally might be stretching it. One of the drawbacks with being a freak of nature I suppose.
But still, I spent most of the time I spend comatose studying for my first Psychology exam. Then slept badly on the couch for 2 hours before going to school and doing the exam.
That took 4 hours, and then I went home, feeling quite superior in a übermench sorta way for the rest of the day. Oh, and I did parkour for 2,5 hours as well. In snow.
Ok, so I just wanted to post something before going to bed basically. I had quite a few ideas, but it seems parts of my brain has shut down to avoid long term damage already.
Oh yeah: Smile more. It tricks your brain into making you happier. A book told me, so it's hopefully fairly accurate. Or maybe it's a trick to get people to smile more towards each other, thereby creating a more friendly society... Or maybe I've watched too many cheap Buddhist knock offs of the X-files.
17/02/2009
Raiding Vimeo 2
Yeah, it didn't take many hours for me to decide to make another one. I didn't even close the tab I had opened for the first one before I started this one.
Anyway, it's as usual a mixed bag of awesome videos.
Like this one, for instance:
Suddenly from Magnus Engsfors on Vimeo.
Apparently he's just hanging in wires as someone goes around taking loads of pictures of him that's later been made into a surreal video.
Or how about a video where a guy travels the world to dance in all kinds of places?
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
It has a tendency to make me very happy. It's people having fun, which usually makes the people watching happy.
A piece of advice: Smile more. It makes you happier. Seriously, it tricks the brain into making you happier. Go look it up somewhere if you doubt me.
But happiness can be replaced by sorrow as well:
Tea / Las Alturas Fire, Santa Barbara California from Patrick Lawler on Vimeo.
Luckily I don't think anyone died, although a lot of homes where lost. Unlike in Australia, which as far as I know is still burning.
Emotions always seem to be shifting, so maybe we should just relax, enjoy life and throw a party instead?
DGENERATE NATION - Skate With Me from DGENETICS on Vimeo.
Besides, if I get to post at least something with a bit of music in it I'm happy. And this is a music video even!
Though sometimes we just need to take the time to appreciate the small moments that we usually seem to ignore. Like having lunch in a hole in the wall type Asian restaurant.
lost in a moment from dennis wheatley on Vimeo. It's a cutout of a moment in time. Some say life is just a string of moments happening after one another. Some that life never truly change. Others that things always change and never stay the same. I'd personally say that life is what you think it is. If you want to believe that things never change I suspect I'd have a hard time to convince you otherwise. As long as it works out for you, I probably shouldn't try either.
lost in a moment from dennis wheatley on Vimeo. It's a cutout of a moment in time. Some say life is just a string of moments happening after one another. Some that life never truly change. Others that things always change and never stay the same. I'd personally say that life is what you think it is. If you want to believe that things never change I suspect I'd have a hard time to convince you otherwise. As long as it works out for you, I probably shouldn't try either.
Raiding Vimeo
We all know that Vimeo are superior to YouTube for a number of reasons: it looks better, has real HD quality, and consist mainly of good videos. Consider how much crap there are all over YouTube. Most of it is just copied from other places and reposted there too. Or at least a lot is. Vimeo, however, does not allow anything else than original work. This means you have to have made what you post yourself, or at least was involved in the production somehow.
But enough jabbering. I took an hour or so to look up some videos to post. I didn't even have to leave the first page to find them either. Who knows what I've might find if I venture in deeper?
Rendezvous with Rama from Aaron Ross on Vimeo.
1000 Bills (In Imago Speramus) from Alex Itin on Vimeo.
MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Yeah, so these 3 falls under art. Which seems to be what most of Vimeo consists of from where I'm standing. Of course, that not all there is either. There some social commentary in the mix as well. For instance this little piece about Blackwater and other mercenaries in Iraq:
Hired Guns from JD on Vimeo.
Not that I mind the art or anything, but I like variation too.
The next video is also art, but since it's in HD I decided to end this post with it. More videos are to be expected. You may now rejoice. I might also post about psychology in the future. We'll see what happens I suppose.
SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.
15/02/2009
Assorted things again!
That's right, I have nothing important to preach today either, so it will be another post where I try to entertain the non-existent readers I have.
How about some Wingsuit Base Jumping to kick things off?
Quite suicidally dangerous if I may say so. For some reason I want to put one of those on and swoop down from rooftops and kick bad people in the head...
If you care about my wellbeing you will not buy me one. This is not in any way reverse psychology I might add.
A short film about vampires, love and comedy.
Bats in the Belly by Thomas Gerber:
Yeah, that's a nice easy start I think. Now for the important stuff.
Like how to prevent the inevitable collapse of the American society by turning balconies, rooftops, parks and so on, into gardens. It's a "Eat your veggies or die" type of deal.
And it gets all the more relevant because of parallels to the development in Russia a decade or two ago.
More here.
And if you've got the money stashed away you might as well invest in a Farm Fountain right away. It'll probably help a bit when society falls apart around us.
How about some Wingsuit Base Jumping to kick things off?
Quite suicidally dangerous if I may say so. For some reason I want to put one of those on and swoop down from rooftops and kick bad people in the head...
If you care about my wellbeing you will not buy me one. This is not in any way reverse psychology I might add.
A short film about vampires, love and comedy.
Bats in the Belly by Thomas Gerber:
Yeah, that's a nice easy start I think. Now for the important stuff.
Like how to prevent the inevitable collapse of the American society by turning balconies, rooftops, parks and so on, into gardens. It's a "Eat your veggies or die" type of deal.
And it gets all the more relevant because of parallels to the development in Russia a decade or two ago.
More here.
And if you've got the money stashed away you might as well invest in a Farm Fountain right away. It'll probably help a bit when society falls apart around us.
14/02/2009
A tune for Valentines
Or was that yesterday? Ah, who cares. It's highly entertaining in either case.
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