Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz in power since 1959. Has led his country into isolation and missed the chance to open his society after the fall of communism in the late 1980’s. Although the US is also to blame for the decades of useless embargo it’s mostly Mr Castro’s fault that Cuba is such a miserable place.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe running or better ruining his country since 1980. Great work! It has fallen from being Africa’s high ranking food producer to a starving and terribly poor country. He hunted down gays, disowned white farmers and wasted huge amounts of foreign aid with his cronies.

Kim Jong-il is since 1994 continuing his fathers work of starving and killing his own people. While neighboring South Korea and China have made huge progress his country spiraled downwards. But at least he became a world famous atomic bomb salesman and movie collector. Well done little man.

Muammar al-Qaddafi - self proclaimed leader of Libya since 1969. Sponsored terror on his people and the west for decades. Although he finally succumbed to American pressure and military power his country is still in ruins. Economic reforms are badly needed although it is rich in oil. His family and cronies have a total grip on the country. The rule of his laws is harsh, there is no political culture nor any official working opposition.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud current King of the House of Saud, which is running the richest and most depressive country in the world since 1744. The House of Saud teamed up with Wahhabism - an especially conservative brand of Islam to sanctify it’s hold on power. The country riches are mostly given to the huge royal family - according to Wikipedia around 25.000 people. The Saud tyranny and grip on power is supported by the US since 1945. Most islamic terrorism is funded with Saudi money as well as manpower. Osama bin Laden is the most prominent example. Saudi clerics are among the fiercest in the region and they can rely on the official religious police to see their rules empowered.

Did I miss anyone? I am not sure to include Iran, since it’s people to continue so much to oppress themselves. So I consider it more like a fascist state with changing players at the top. Suggestions welcomed!

I wonder whatever happened to all these hand painted buses and cars - you hardly see them anymore. Apart from a cup holder people hardly customize their vehicles - I wonder why? We humans normally try to make almost anything our ‘own’ by adding something personal. Just look at computer screens in your company - everyone glues something on them.

In most modern countries birthrates have been going down for decades and divorce rates have been climbing. Can we blame it on evermore egocentric citizens? Or is the economy responsible? We are certainly heading for a more single lifestyle societies - and the old family construct of a ‘breeding contract’ is no longer intact. Many woman just do on their own - being on your own is no longer shunned by society, religion or politics. But also the relationship models are no longer built for eternity. We also live much longer and (have) to change much more within a lifetime. Also our modern speed is killing the social fabric.

The job for life and the family for life ideals are long gone. Birth and divorce rates are simply reflecting this new reality.

But modern societies are still not perfectly adapted for these new ways. Divorce laws are often arcane or favor one side of the equation. Also the patchwork families and unmarried relationships have to be honored better. Not enough big companies offer internal Kindergartens for their employees. There is a lot to be done.

I just can’t help myself - these creatures look aristocratic, snobbish and funny at the same time. They can get pretty big (over 1 meter in length) and heavy (up to 60 kg) - bit like a large dog. They are domesticated in South America for meat.

Actually it would be funny to keep one of these as a pet. I would call mine Lord Mullberry or Lady Waffelhoffel … something like that.

To RGB or CMYK - that’s the Question!

You are a person with many interests and many skills? You love art, you produce art - but you also live with a huge pile of creative guilt? Welcome to the club! It’s hard to be a digital artist, since your computer enables you to run amazing tools - which have been unthinkable twenty years ago. A creative powerhouse in one small box.

Wanna make a movie? No problem use Adobe Premiere or AfterEffects. Are you a graphics person? Your choice is vast and wide - Photoshop, Illustrator, FreeHand, Painter - to name but a few. Wanna go 3D and do amazing effects or animations. Once again the list boasts absolutely amazing tools like Lightwave, Maya, 3D Max.

Oh my - you are a creative person! Wow!

You make music and love to sample and tweak sounds? A small feat these days - cool software is cheaply available, even Star Wars was remixed on a simple PowerBook using everyday digital tools and even great modern musicians use the same Samplers, Synths and Sequencer like you do.

Not to forget our good old writing tools to produce anything ranging from articles or complete books! You can go from a simple solution like Microsoft Word up to publishing powerhouses like Quark or InDesign. And how about your own web page or weblog? I am sure you want to show the world what you are capable off, let’s buy Flash, Dreamweaver or GoLive?

You had enough? Fine.

More human than human - welcome to the new 3D art universe (image: Miles Estes)

Modern designer are rapped and pushed to be digital renaissance artists - nothing is impossible. Since the DTP revolution in the late 80’s smashed the old lines between technician and artist - we creative types have to be both today a Geek and a Michelangelo in one person.

Once it used to be enough to excel as a writer, painter or photographer - know you have to be you own typesetter, reproduction expert, scanner and editor etc. as well. But since this is the analog2digital (A2D) generation we love to have multiple choice - since we know how limited we felt with our old tools: clunky typewriter, tipex, letraset letters, dirty chemicals to develop slides, dangerous cutters, slow snailmail and mechanical copy processes to name a few. No surprise: we love absolute control and absolute choice.

Welcome to a mad artists world.

But it’s driving us mad. Instead being limited to a certain area of art or projects we suddenly find ourselves doing a thousand creative things all at once: writing articles & weblogs, drawing illustrations, retouching photos, programming web sites, layouting a new CV and looking for background music for our presentations.

Did you really think one huge monitor would be enough?!

So much to do, so little time and energy. And the web as a global showcase doesn’t make things easier. There is a constant stream of competition and inspiration to cope with. Have you seen those cool Japanese animations? This great Danish photographer? These old retro covers of some weird fashion magazine?

All these choices, ideas and doors waiting to be opened drive any creator mad. The total overflow of choice makes it hard to focus on just one project, just one set of skills, just one insanely great idea. A tough decision for anyone who loves to surf in possibilities.

Modern artists still want and need to be kissed by their Muses as well.

And we feel a lot of guilt of not pursuing all those ideas that pop up in our minds. The guilt of not pursuing another great business idea or product the world desperately needs. We get paralyzed by all the doors we could jump through and enjoy another adventure in creativeland. And this guilt sucks big time.

Anything else Sir? But there is an additional problem: business. Today’s clients and employers all want a young super geeks with a Maestro’s thirty years of experience and wide ranging skill set. But just one arty farty person please. We are on a tight budget these days.

Ah, when art was simple and computers limited. (Image: Andres Becerra)

So it’s really hard to say ‘I am just an illustrator’ or ‘I can only write good articles’, since you don’t want to cut yourself out of the market. So we learn and buy many different software packages, try to stay on top of a gazillion technologies, names and gizmos. But most of all, we lose the time, energy and focus to be masters of our trade - to be simply open, productive and creative.

Although art involves knowledge and craftsmanship as well, once again we should start to make distinctions between mastering expressive techniques and mastering production technologies.

There is a difference between animating something and writing a flash script. There is a difference between composing a great stream of words to entice your readers and operating a content management system. There is a difference between taking great pictures and layout an art book. Let artists be artists, technicians be technicians and geek’s … oh well …

*repost 2003-08-19*

No Ronald Reagan did not bring down communism - it simply collapsed under it’s own weight. Soviet economists already warned their ignorant Politbüro in the 70’s that without market reforms the union could no longer ‘work’. Gorbatchev was smart enough to admit the final failure instead of doing anything stupid.

It must have been an eerie scene: flying between the cloud in bright daylight, coldness and bullets around you. The air war over Germany cost the lives of many thousands of Soldiers and Civilians - and till today it’s not really ‘proven’ it stopped Hitler’s war machine. Albert Speer moved the production underground and the output never declined. The ever shrinking number of troops (pilots) and fuel put a serious dent into the war machine of the third Reich.

More and more people find their favorite websites blocked by corporate firewalls. Also email filters clamp down on stupid attachments like the newest ‘funny’ video or porn.

Actually I can only recommend to anyone working in a big company not to visits websites you like in private, nor use the companies email address for mailing your friends and family. Most admin’s don’t care about your stuff - but looking at your mails and surfing habits is a gold mine for any middle management asshole to find a reason to kick your butt.

So get yourself at least a private webmail account that supports secure transmission and is hopefully not blocked by your corporate admin. Don’t surf any pr0n, funny or dating websites during work - not even during lunch break. It will be recorded - and used against you …

Overpopulation is still one of our biggest problems. Humanities growth is unsustainable for our own good and the rest of nature. This becomes especially clear in the case of the global water crises. Here some insights from the ‘old’ (2004) BBC special report Planet under pressure. Check part 2 ‘running dry’ for some gruel news.

But I am afraid nothing has changed in the last two years - the poor are still thirsty:

* One billion people without access to clean drinking water
* 2.6 billion without adequate sanitation
* Rapid urbanization increasing pressure on water resources
* 30-40% of water ‘lost’ through illegal tapping and leaks

(Source: UN World Water Report)

If you are really interested you should also read the recent BBCs comment page regarding the water crises. We need conserve water, stop overpopulation and the total commercialization of water supply. Water is a common good, it needs to be protected, but not overpriced so it becomes unaffordable for the poor.

After almost a week of rain some good vibes from the sky. The Oktoberfest is half way finished and I am sick of seeing pseudo Lederhosen everywhere. Have a nice weekend!

Since Leonardo requested a posting about the great Bach I have tried to wrap my tiny mind around the Genius of this Giant. To be honest: I think you have to be a composer, a philosopher, a musician and a mathematician to really really really appreciate the depth of this Maestro. And he created a massive amount of ‘notes’. To know Bach means to spent days and weeks listening to a huge amount of music.

He is part of a great period of Germanic enlightenment: Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Mendelssohn - and many more. It was a time of restless Teutonic renewal and overall change in Europe (Age of Enlightenment). The period that laid the foundation for modern day democratic and humanitarian Europe. But it was also an age of wild romantic compassion and insight.

Cantata BWV 208 - Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!

You can feel still some old medieval Europe in Bach’s music - the devout churchgoing citizens. But these citizens are different, because they are slowly grabbing power from the old institutions like Holy-Mother Church and blue blooded Aristocracy.

Toccata And Fugue In D Minor For Organ BWV 565

Bach’s music is often very ‘churchy’ - but you can also find many intimate and passionate pieces that rival Beethoven’s later achievements in spirit and emotion.

Many of Beethoven’s compositions were deemed too erotic and too emotional in their days. But you already can hear that intimacy in Bach’s music - albeit not as explosive as "Freude schöner Götterfunken!".

Suite No. 1 For Solo-Cello In G-Major

More? Wikipedia and the Bach.org website.

PS: Leonardo - sorry, that’s all I can write from a personal perspective. I am simply not genius enough to drill through this Mountain.

PPS: Anyone else out there with some more personal insights on Bach?

What is it with woman and their tiny doggies? A substitute instead having their own kids? Boredom? Or finally some creatures they have totally in their powers?

The great thing about abstract art is - that you can tell the audience almost anything and they believe it.

Still a great art by maestro Picasso.

Orange Rock Gurus - seventies styling. PAIN! PAIN! PAIN!

Maestro Mancini is one of the greatest composers of the last century. His music scores and themes are beautiful and everybody knows and loves them. What? You don’t know him? Sure you do! Pink Panther? Peter Gunn? Breakfast at Tiffany’s? The ‘Baby Elephant Walk’ from Hatari? I am pretty sure you will know many of his great melodies and themes when you hear them. Browse his stuff on Amazon.com and the Pink Panther soundtrack is actually a very nice album.

Breakfast At Tiffany’s - Moonriver

Hatari - Baby Elephant Walk

More? Henry Mancini @ Wikipedia

No, the blond gene won’t disappear any time soon - that’s a lie. Neither will Peroxide to create artificial blondes nor will general dumbness and dumb blonde jokes.

Two way radio changed warfare forever. Before this invention allowed commanders and troops to communicate they tried all sort of devices and methods: carrier pigeons, couriers, smoke signals, flags … hand waving (in WWI airplanes).

Hitler’s invasion of Poland and France showed how tanks and airplanes could cooperate perfectly via radio in the so called Blitzkrieg. The polish army hardly had any tanks anyway, but the French had tanks - but these were not equipped with radio and they had not developed any new tactics since WWI.

It’s a feature - not a bug!

My basic question: Is there a religion without fear?

Although we seem to find the motive or promise of love or eternal bliss in so many religions - we also find the element of fear and some form of damnation in them as well. There always seems a special place for the faithful: like Heaven or Valhalla. Even the concept of Nirvana is in it’s metaphorical meaning similar to a blessed place - compared to the wheel of reincarnation.

All hail King Pain of the eternal damnation!

Fear is a biological feature of humanity. It serves an important function like pain, to motivate ourselves to be extra cautious. Fear influences our whole being: mind and body. I can range from being slightly nervous about something to a complete breakdown. We can literally die from fear. Fear itself can ‘kill’.

The strange thing about fear is that it’s trigger is in no relation to it’s effect. A small spider can scare some people out of their wits, while some other people can handle deadly snakes with loving care without fear. You can be afraid that the sky might fall upon your head or being abducted by aliens - your fear will be 100% ‘real’ to you - while the actual ‘threat’ may not.

All fear is relative.

But apart from the ‘practical’ fears about our physical well being our psyche can also be afraid of rather abstract things and social problems alike: What will the future bring? Will my new friends like me? What will my neighbors think? Does this dress reflect my style?

Even the fear of death - the ultimate moment we will all experience - is not the same for everyone. Some people throw themselves into battles or fires - or even certain death without any fear - while others are even afraid to think about their own demise.

So it can be said that fear is relative to each person - but we all know fear (unless you are mentally ill).

What is it that you fear?

Our psyche is a strange place - since it uses fear in so many instances to ‘measure’ our well being or keep us moving. Ultimately all fears are related to survival, to secure our existence. Will I be safe? Will I have food? Is this place secure? Is this stranger dangerous for me? Too much fear of course is unhealthy of course - but overall it’s constantly present in our daily life’s.

Since fear is such an universal concept it is easy to invoke and relate too. Fear is a great social glue and equalizer since everyone can relate his/her to a threat from the ‘outside’. The human social equation goes from ‘me’ to ‘us’ (the family, tribe & nations) to ‘them’ (the outsiders). It is amazing how much power and fear ‘different’ people can instill. Humanity has fought many wars with itself - ‘they’ against ‘us’ in many variations. Dogmas, religions and political ideas have always provided sound reasoning why ‘they’ can or must be destroyed - they were the converters from fear to murder.

Fear is a great profit maker: arms, insurances and makeup.

But these all are ‘real world’ affairs, something that can be observed or explored/solved in our minds.

But we are all powerless when confronting ethereal concepts like the spiritual world and the afterlife. Here we enter the ultimate unknown and ultimate fear - the state of the never ending ‘death’. That is why the concept of any sort of Hell or total uncertainty are so scary: you are in eternal discomfort, pain and fear. And there is no escape - not even through death. This is of course a terrible paradox and endless loop of fear.

This where (most) religions offer a sanctuary: there is a place apart from eternal fear (close to your God(s). A place without fear or anything to fear is bliss - there is no future to fear, since it is eternal without a ticking clock or any change. It is also an ultimate end to one of our inner most processes and motivations.

Eternal fear of eternal pain.

Here I may ask: maybe fear is the ultimate reason for the invention of religion. Since we can’t escape all the fears existence brings - we wish for a place without this pressure and threats, a place without fears. All sorts of religions promise us to save us from fear - so many times it is actually faith that is supposed to save us (and not love). To have strong faith conquers fear (they say). And a strong faith will make sure that your God(s) will not forsaken you.

Fear is the Mother of all Gods.

*repost from 2005-06-04*

(I know this is old stuff)  

And another great Internet geek moment was born! ‘Fear of Girls‘ is a video about thirtysomething D&D players - and it is perfect. Way too perfect - it hurts! And the crowd at Slashdot went bananas!

I have been an early adopter of D&D here in Germany in the early 1980’s - so I know the crowd well. Yes, I did play D&D like mad (and many other pen and paper RPGs), I went to conventions, once again dressed up in fancy costumes, wrote my own adventures and campaigns, even published a role playing fanzine called ‘Maud Magazin‘ (fan magazin) and lived through the beginnings of the LARP madness.

The video is hosted by Google - so normally the link won’t work outside the US. Use this link if you live outside the Google Videosphere. Enjoy!

People still model their lives on old ideals and role models like the shining Knight and cool Cowboys. It is amazing how much influence simple images have on our minds and personalities - although our surrounding no longer have any space for sword wielding Samurais or innocent Burgfräuleins.

Archetypes can help us as mental devices to transform ourselves - but we should never confuse an inner image with reality.

60% of US Americans are overweight.

It might be a cheap shot: but I really think that fat America is literally eating away the worlds resource in a devastating and unfair way. Not only is it unhealthy for the people themselves, but also the food production and distribution wastes many resources. Plus obese people need bigger cars and seats in airplanes - and more fuel is needed to get them from A to B. Obviously most obese people walk less, therefore more transportation in ‘obese’ cars like SUVs is needed.

For example China is now #2 in fuel consumption - but that is for a billion people compared to ‘only’ 300 million in the US. Many Africans would happily live on a third or even a quarter of the calories many Americans stuff into themselves on a daily basis. So Americans proportionally use more resources than anybody else on this planet.

So the obesity of a rich country has far more consequences then just fat people. It’s a waste of precious resources on a colossal scale - and one of the biggest challenges ALL industrial nations are facing, because obesity is already becoming a problem in other places as well - but with so many things America is ahead of the World.

Loose some fat and save resources for your fellow humans.

Obviously there is hardly any Jewish culture left in Germany. Most of it is tucked away and hidden. Plus the old guilt complex makes any ‘normal’ exchange painful.

German Jews were always an important aspect of my country - until that maniac came along. The brain drain thanks to the holocaust as well as immigration was incredible. The intelligentsia, as well as artists and academic sector was depleted of thousands of important people.

We badly need that Jewish humor and wits back - plus a normalized relationship again, like in pre-war Germany before 1933.

Can’t wait for the ‘perfect girlfriend construction set’. Just wondering how much the upgrades will cost?