Technological progress is amazing. In hardly 50 years we have developed very capable video chips to incorporate in almost every gadget.
Most modern cell phones or digi cams can now record video in a higher resolution and more frames per second than the first TV heavy duty cameras. And thanks to innovations like YouTube or Ustream.tv you can broadcast yourself globally at no extra cost …
On 31.3.1999 the amazing movie "The Matrix" was released – and it new cultural icon for the Internet age was born.
It’s theme is certainly an old one: a heroes descent from ignorance to full power. This was hardly a new tale. And Keanu Reeves was already used to playing messianic roles.
But the setting of the Matrix, it’s environment and Kafka-like mentality hit the Zeitgeist of the final days of the last millennium. It was sexy, it was sterile, it was brutal, it was naked, it was inhuman, it was technical.
The underlying theme of a technology overpowering humanity was nothing new either, but this newest incarnation of this story was even harder to ignore than older scifi flicks. We do live in the age of the Internet, we live in the age of total computerization, we also live in a interconnected – disconnected human society.
The Matrix perfectly touched our own ignorance: how we love to enjoy the perfect illusion of a hedonistic life before we die. We don’t like to wake up and see how reality really looks like.
Everything is an illusion got a new meaning with this movie.
PS: Too bad that the other two parts are basically a remake of itself.
The world leaders met and the protestors come as well. It’s a modern ritual and a boring one. Suddenly all protest groups come together and shake their angry fists against those "ugly" politicians. And many people joined in this time, because of the financial crisis.
Well, I applaud your protests. The pressure from the streets is still necessary, because Mousetivism on the Internet hardly works.
But please – try to build a smarter political protest movement. The G20 / G7 / G8 protest seem too automatic – you sound more like Pavlov’s dog, ready to drool and bark when the bell rings.
And I don’t think you need to protest against politicians and bankers alone – why don’t you divert some anger at ignorant consumers and voters as well. Unless voters pay more attention to politics and the economy nothing will change. We need to own our societies and put some effort into understanding and shaping it. Most people just don’t care – and so they are basically handing their money and their future to the politicians and bankers – unchecked and uncontrolled.
Power always needs checks and balances. And a good citizen should never be ignorant or lazy.
Can any commercial encyclopedia survive in the age of Wikipedia? Maybe if you are selling a specialized product, but generic commercial encyclopedias are a thing of the past.
I owned several editions of the Microsoft Encarta. It had great specials and functions that Wikipedia (still) doesn’t have. So I am a bit sad seeing these innovations gone.
But I am pretty sure they will come back to Wikipedia some day.
I read your eMail – Dalai Lama!
New Scientist: Chinese spy network infiltrated embassies worldwide
BBC News: Major cyber spy Network uncovered
Bad enough that the great Firewall of China suppresses it’s own people. Bad enough that western companies like Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and others support such measures. But it gets worse …
China – like probably every big nation – loves to spy and so they built a giant computer spy bot network. It seems like that China can’t afford or built such a big "weapon" like the American NSA. So they simply infected thousands of other people’s computers and made them their involuntary spy bots.
China is growing ever more paranoid and suppressive. When will this totalitarian regime finally fall?
Dutch MP Geert Wilders and British MP George Galloway are not very popular with many people. Although they both come from extreme right and left of the political spectrum they have been the victim of the same "sickness" that’s currently gone mad in international politics: extreme political correctness.
Geert Wilders has been refused entry into Britain in the grounds that he is pushing religious hate against Muslims. His movie "Fitna" will hardly win any love in Muslim countries – but it is far from being an extreme hateful propaganda movie it was labeled. It actually points out many bloody passages in the Koran in visual contrast to footage of Islamist Terrorist attacks. Not very charming, but a very effective piece of film making.
George Galloway has worked the "other side" – supporting many Arab groups and talking to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. He was recently refused entry into Canada on the grounds the he is a threat to it’s national security.
In both cases the reasons for refusing legitimate Members of Parliament of an allied country to enter were stupid – and pushed through by extremist political correctness.
Yes, Messr Wilders and Galloway are extreme activists themselves. Although I don’t support their points of view I think they are important politicians. They try to confront the public with their views and they actually "do" something instead of just looking at poll numbers and pleasing the crowds.
And booth worked within the legal framework of their countries. But they were both simply inconvenient fellows.
I am very disappointed in Britain and Canada to crumble under the pressure of political correctness – just for pleasing lobbyists (Islamists in the UK and an Jewish support group in Canada).
SHAME ON YOU!
Side note: Funny enough Galloway supported the ban on Wilders.
Ah, Claris Emailer – anyone remember that program on the Mac? It was great and it simply worked. It remember it very fondly and used it a LOT.
But back in the late 90’s our computers were puny compared to today’s powerful machines.
New Scientist: Spanking ‘brings couples together’
Quote:
SPANKING is stressful at first, but it could bring consenting couples closer together. That’s the implication of two studies of hormonal changes associated with sadomasochistic (S&M) activities including spanking, bondage and flogging.
So beating each other up can be a good thing – if it’s for pleasure and fun. NOT for solving your anger and angst
Highly interesting documentary about how the "western style" of warfare developed and how it engulfed the world with it’s bloody style.
Some interesting insights in this documentary. This is not just for military buffs, but anyone interested in history.
Click image for the full size of my Twitter penis.
Finally a web tool that will help some people to really measure if their public efforts have penetrated the blogosphere.
I think this site is brilliant: http://www.epenis.nl/
PS: I especially love the function of measuring other people’s penis and immediately twittering the result.
PPS: How to make friends and influence their penis length.
Art Documentary from 1972 – Episode 1/4
From Wikipedia:
Ways of Seeing was a 1972 BBC television series created chiefly by writer John Berger and producer Mike Dibb, that gave rise to a later book of the same name. The series and book criticize traditional Western cultural aesthetics by raising questions about hidden ideologies in visual images.
Nature hasn’t built us to sit in the same position and stare at a 19"-Universe. We are built for movement and endurance, not pushing pieces of plastic.
On one side we try to tell kids that there are no monsters, but on the other side we have to educate them about the real monsters out there.
Parents face the difficult task of explaining the complex reality of violence and brutality in our world. But also what it means to be peaceful, deal with monsters and also to protect yourself.
Consumerism sometimes produces strange products, I don’t see a large market for this thing here in Europe.
The Recession hasn’t started this trend – but it certainly will push it ahead. More and more consumer products don’t include more and more features – but less. They go for a new minimalism that is just enough to finish the task at hand.
I think it’s an excellent trend. We need smaller, smarter und simpler products – in addition to over-engineered thingies like the iPhone and the Hummer.
Small is beautiful was always a design mantra, but “This will do” should be another one. Products that will do the job without any bells and whistles – which save cost, material and energy.
Excellent visual design! I love how the graphical title sequence blends into reality.
I wouldn’t call it “Love” – it’s called obsession or being a control freak Darling!
The story of the Tibetan people is a tragic one and one of most enduring political crises of our days. Since the Dalai Lama had to flee – he tirelessly toured the globe to promote the Tibetan cause. He is the face of Tibet – and no other spiritual leader (apart from the Pope) has so widely recognized like him.
But what will happen when he (and his generation) dies. Will politics return to business as usual and the Tibetan case will simply be history.
Britain has recently accepted China’s rule over Tibet – a sad decision. But China’s stubbornness and the other countries greed to get into it’s markets are a bad Omen for a Free Tibet.
Today we had heavy storms and crazy weather. Still no sunshine or warmth. Damn! I am sooooo in the mood for green leaves and blooming flowers.
Why have we invented Spring Cleaning – I keep my place in the same messy condition all year!
As your progress in life it becomes harder to be amazed and feel "the magic of life". Sure, they all talk about their inner child and that they are "still young inside". But your brains capabilities to learn and understand already go down after you turn 30 – not to speak of each individuals personal quirks.
Plus with (bad) experience with are more more careful and are harder to surprise. And there actually isn’t that much new stuff under the sun. Especially adult cynics will it find very hard to get enthralled …
So to find something as an adult that is truly amazing and inspiring becomes harder (unless you constantly play the "awesome" type of person").
We can’t "empty" our minds – although meditation and other techniques are nice to quiet down the "inner monkeys". But with age comes wisdom and knowledge that should be used to drill deeper and explore the complexity of life.
You won’t be so naively thrilled like a little baby about the inner workings of the Cosmos, but nature and human art offer incredible depth that is worth exploring.
Does it still take a whole village to raise child?
In modern countries the old "system" of learning from your parents, your younger and older siblings, relatives, friends, the elders and the rest village are almost gone.
Most kids grow up with single parents without any siblings. The modern family network usually is very small and doesn’t offer a "full set" of relatives. Even the grandparents show less and less interest in their genetic offspring’s anymore.
Sure we have schools and universities to learn at. But they teach us not much about life – they mostly transfer only knowledge and facts. Sure, there is social interactions, but not the Wisdom of the Tribe.
But was is the Wisdom of the Tribe. Today we would call the "Tribe" your "social network" – but it should really include your extended family (genetically and spiritually). It’s wisdom is how to handle life, how to deal with problems, an understanding about each persons "essence" in the tribe, growing up, listening to old stories, adapting family histories and finally taking responsibility for your own life. The tribe also teaches you how to deal with death – diving into spirituality and creating your own mythology for your own mental survival.
A great way to learn about real life?
Most of these things are left to shrinks or anti-depressants. Television provides most of the myths in form of fairy tales and heroes we model our life’s after. In a sad way more kids have been impressed by James T. Kirk than by their own fathers or anyone in their families.
Many generations living together as a tribe give each other a chance to learn from each others current state of mind and problems of their current phase in life. It’s learning by watching and relating – young with old.
Today we hardly have such intimate insights into human life – it’s either from a distance or from TV.
Josef Fritzl is currently on trial – but can there be justice? Like in all cases that involve violence there is no way to "make it good again". Pain, death, abuse and all forms of violence can’t be healed by punishing the evil doers.
So how does society deal with monsters?
Old versions of law were based on revenge – an eye for an eye . You inflicted pain – and the law punished you with even more pain. Seems logical – and stupid at the same time.
Today we are more "humanitarian" – we "remove" monsters from ordinary society and lock them up. Physical punishment is rare – instead we just punish them by a slow death or by stealing their life.
Human society always had to deal with the reality that monsters and murderers are not stopped by laws or even capitol punishment. The victims will never be healed or really compensated what happened to them (not to speak of the bloodlust of the mob).
The real evil is that there is no healing or compensation for victims. A harsh truth.
Click image for a bigger bird.
The most depressing think about winter – apart from the cold and xmas – is the lack of colors. You only get get the grey shades ranging white to black.
Spring´brings the colors back – and most of the colorful birds!
The world economy is in a downward spiral and the blame game is in full swing. Bankers vs Tax Payers. Pundits vs Big Government. Free Marketers vs Socialists.
It’s all rubbish! Let’s have a look how we ended up in this big mess and what we should learn for the future.
How many colors do we have: white, brown, red and so called yellow (has anyone ever seen a yellow Asian person?). And we are only uni-color: no patterns, no stripes, no dots, no gradients … boooooring!
| 1. Click player below to start the music.
2. Click the image to dive into the art. 3. Study for four minutes this great piece of art and all the drama. |
John Charles Dollman (1851-1934) is hardly a well known Master and he has only produced a few interesting paintings – but this one of my all time favorites (I think that Chimp near that temptress is just brilliant) .
The Temptation of St. Anthony is an old subject, painted by many great artists. I am actually not sure which St. Anthony they depict, because there are so many Saints by that name – but this one should be the right one: St. Anthony the Great:
According to Athanasius, the devil fought St. Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women, which he overcame by the power of prayer, providing a theme for Christian art. After that, he moved to a tomb, where he resided and closed the door on himself, depending on some local villagers who brought him food. When the devil perceived his ascetic life and his intense worship, he was envious and beat him mercilessly, leaving him unconscious. When his friends from the local village came to visit him and found him in this condition, they carried him to a church.
My favorite spiritual festival, because it’s completely mad and colorful – just like any religion.
More? Great images from India, HoliFestival.org and the Wikipedia entry.
So called emerging countries and giants like India and China all face a dire water situation. Bigger urban areas and better food (read meat) need more water. But thanks to environmental destruction, over population, river poisoning and ever sinking ground water level water is becoming a very expensive commodity.
Especially China is having huge problems with poisoned lakes and river. Several time they had to supply big cities with fresh water, because the natural supply was undrinkable.
But the real question is: is there enough water for drinking, food production, waste disposal and hygiene for such a huge population?
Actually there is:
A 2006 United Nations report focuses on issues of governance as the core of the water crisis, saying "There is enough water for everyone" and "Water insufficiency is often due to mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of investment in both human capacity and physical infrastructure".
Once again it’s our own idiocy causing the problem and thirst and death for million of people (unclean water).
But we still have NOT succeeded on global scale to sustainable water usage. Most of our methods of pumping out of the ground or using it are bad for the environment and cause long term problems.
It’s a complex topic and should be more in the headlines instead of celebrities. Everybody needs water and even rich countries like the US have serious challenges to face.
More? Wikipedia Water Crises
Sure Honey, it’s safe here … and we are only watching!
Each year thrill seeking tourists kill themselves despite explicit warnings and signs at dangerous places. Bored rich westerners are willing to do literally everything to get an “exciting” vacation.
Too bad that Lions in Africa actually eat people, as well as Sharks and Crocodiles in Australia …
I say let them die, time to trim the herd anyway.
Being a hairdresser for old grumpy woman must be one of equal torture to the inner rings of hell.
All that moaning and bitching of your clientele until the finally snuff it. You become unwilling witness to every unimportant medical incident and family squabble in human history. Who wants to hear all that?!
I am slowly recharging my batteries from almost a complete winter of flu, snot and coughing. Damn you viruses! Finally the weather is getting better as well. Can’t wait for summer …
Doctors don’t know everything about health – and often lead very stressful and unhealthy lives. Hardly good role models to follow.
Plus it’s your body that heals itself – most medicine just supports your own health system. So be responsible and keep yourself in good shape, don’t expect someone else to offer a quick fix for years of abuse of your own "temple".
And you should never trust just one doctors opinion when it comes to important decisions like operations. Visit at least another expert – if you can afford it …
More and more dirty details about the Bush Government surface: military dictatorship, eavesdropping on a grand scale, war crimes, Cheney assassination squads …
More and more government workers and military are brave enough to come forward and confess their deeds and orders from the Bush Government.
Let’s see if America has the stomach for it’s own rule of law and honesty?
India today is certainly a big success and one of the biggest upcoming powers (apart from it’s eternal rival China).
But is it the India Gandhi wanted? The message of religious tolerance and non-violence seem lost, there have been many fights and massive massacres between Hindus and Moslems in recent years. Would Gandhi have approved of a massive military and Atom Bombs?
Gandhi also preached Anti-Statism (ergo Anarchism) and India is one of the most bureaucratic countries on earth.
And what about the still ranging poverty and newly spreading consumerism? Not very spiritual …
Revolutions seem to eat their Children and forget their Fathers …
Have played a board game lately? Apart from families with kids it seems a forgotten kind of entertainment. Instead of playing with your PC, XBox or whatever over the internet, why not invite some friends over and have a purely analogue evening? It’s much more fun to cheat playing a board game …
Click image for a larger Annie.
Her style, her voice and her artistic expression are highly impressive and electrifying. Madame Lennox also was a great (new) role model since her huge impact with Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" video and album.
Although she made many pop songs, that range from silly to raunchy she was never a consumerist blow up doll like Madonna.
