Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Underwater Sculpture Gallery
Artist: Jason Taylor
Stunning underwater sculpture park created by artist Jason Taylor in Grenada. The sculptures were placed 2-8 meters underwater for scuba divers and snorkelers. The sculptures celebrate Caribbean culture and history.
website: http://www.underwatersculpture.com/
Stunning underwater sculpture park created by artist Jason Taylor in Grenada. The sculptures were placed 2-8 meters underwater for scuba divers and snorkelers. The sculptures celebrate Caribbean culture and history.
website: http://www.underwatersculpture.com/
Grenada
Synchronicity & The Law of Attraction
"The Secret teaches us that we create our lives, with every thought every minute of every day. Living The Secret offers tools and ideas to help you live The Secret and create the life of your dreams." - "As The Secret has swept the world and touched millions of lives, we have received so many stories of lives being transformed into joy." -The Secret
We shouldn't underestimate the power of synchronicity. "Synchronicity" is usually thought to be the opposite of "coincidence." Coincidental events seem to have no rhyme or reason. But, The Secret proposes that by consciously applying the Law of Attraction you can change every aspect of your life. Synchronizations seem to be perfectly orchestrated to arrive at exactly the time we need them, as if by divine order.
Perhaps you can remember a few events or experiences that were to "trippy" to write off as mere coincidence. Like instances where you were thinking of a certain person and you ran into them. Or you were thinking about Pizza and someone at work ordered it. Or you were missing your parents while walking to school and upon arriving you were sent home, because bombs fell out of the sky and destroyed it.
Or you were hungry and wished a food drop parachute would land, then all of a sudden, you found a vulture who was also hungry at your side.
When things like this happen, it can sure make you wonder about the concepts of destiny and free will. Are events like these truly pre-destined? Orchestrated by an intelligent universe? Or are they purely accidental?
Obviously, there are no concrete answers to those questions.
And it also might be obvious that I'm being somewhat satirical, but seriously...
I've also experienced uncanny synchronicity and I always remind myself to take my "Conformational Bias*" into account. Part of me believes that everything is an illusion and these synchronizations are hints to that. Another premise I entertain is that it's me aligning myself consciously or subconsciously through my senses including my very real sixth sense.
*Confirmation Bias
Several years ago when it seemed easier for me to point things out in others than in myself, my girlfriend was pulling into a busy COSTCO parking-lot. (Yes. I know. It's a very spiritual place ) Anyhow... For the umpteenth time she got so giddy and said "See! I Always get a good parking spot!" With a big beautiful smile.
That got me thinking "Really?", though I didn't say anything to her at the time. That would mean "the powers that be" took over the mind of a customer shopping in the store who was involuntarily caused to leave because we needed a parking spot. (To entertain this further) I then thought... The customer who just vacated the parking lot must have been caused to drop their keys, and while picking them up noticed the time causing them to rush to the checkout-line. Where, perhaps another handful of customers were incited to leave, because other people who were "conscious of the universe" needed Rock Star parking. It would also mean their free will was momentarily suspended, and I'm not a fan of taking someones free will from them. There is something to synchronicity nonetheless...
So, I think it's more a synchronization of the self. Elephants are one of my favorite animals. Though I'd love to see one I don't think one will appear at my gate looking for peanuts (there is some practicality involved in this mysterious phenomenon). BUT, I do believe that if I keep thinking about an elephant I might consciously or subconsciously make my way to a place where the sight of one is more accessible. And the "Conformational Bias" in me might notice an elephant pendant, an elephant in a Zoo pamphlet etc. Acknowledging all that, I don't dismiss the magic that happens in silence. As I don't pretend to know everything there is to know, and my admiration of science has not blinded me to it's rigorous yet one sided perspective of the three dimensional universe. If science has taught us anything it's that there's a lot more to life than meets the eye, as exemplified by "The Double-Slit Experiment".
The Double-Slit Experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc
The synchronous events in my life have become something I briefly acknowledge and often overlook. Because I know that their roots are nourished by me doing the "right" things. If i don't do the "right" things they won't happen.
I agree that our thoughts have some control over what happens to us, and more so in societies where the vast majority of our days are lived in peace. But I know that there are people who never thought of a bomb, or a tsunami even destroying their house, yet it happened. Perhaps because instead of just needing a parking spot there were people who needed the whole lot. Awareness of the subtle world does need a peaceful "playground" if you will, in order to develop.
In closing I leave you with an excerpt of an eloquent lecture.
"Whenever you're successful with something you're proud of your success. That means in some way you're taking the credit for your success isn't it? Whenever you fail... It must be Gods will. Or anything you cannot understand must be Gods will isn't it? "
“The apocalypse is not something which is coming. The apocalypse has arrived in major portions of the planet and it's only because we live within a bubble of incredible privilege and social insulation that we still have the luxury of anticipating the apocalypse. If you go to Bosnia or Somalia or Peru or much of the third-world then it appears that the apocalypse has already arrived.” -Terence Mckenna
Notes:
The Secret: http://www.thesecret.tv/
Defense for Children International (DCI): http://www.dci-pal.org/english
Representative Press: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynWjYHP91gA>
World Hunger: Map
Monday, June 22, 2009
Serenade For Winds - 3rd Movement
Resurectasong
I was just a kid when I heard this song, and to this day it is still my favorite song.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsart], full name Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over six hundred works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. Visiting Vienna in 1781 he was dismissed from his Salzburg position and chose to stay in the capital, where over the rest of his life he achieved fame but little financial security. The final years in Vienna yielded many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and the Requiem. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Mozart always learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate—the whole informed by a vision of humanity "redeemed through art, forgiven, and reconciled with nature and the absolute".[2] His influence on all subsequent Western art music is profound. Beethoven wrote his own early compositions in the shadow of Mozart, of whom Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years".
I was just a kid when I heard this song, and to this day it is still my favorite song.
This version:
Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner
Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner
As performed by: Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields http://www.asmf.org/
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsart], full name Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over six hundred works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. Visiting Vienna in 1781 he was dismissed from his Salzburg position and chose to stay in the capital, where over the rest of his life he achieved fame but little financial security. The final years in Vienna yielded many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and the Requiem. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Mozart always learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate—the whole informed by a vision of humanity "redeemed through art, forgiven, and reconciled with nature and the absolute".[2] His influence on all subsequent Western art music is profound. Beethoven wrote his own early compositions in the shadow of Mozart, of whom Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years".
Denialis® - Sleep Aid
(mediaclone) 1, 2, and 3 mg tablets.
Back in the day when the Bush administration started driving a tank towards the decline of the economy and over the Bill of Rights and The Constitution, before he handed the controls over to Obama who's driving it now... I made a little commercial for a drug I invented named Denialis®, the successor to Ingnorzital®.
Back in the day when the Bush administration started driving a tank towards the decline of the economy and over the Bill of Rights and The Constitution, before he handed the controls over to Obama who's driving it now... I made a little commercial for a drug I invented named Denialis®, the successor to Ingnorzital®.
The Law Offices of Bagram, Milgram, & Nuremberg
The Nuremberg Defense is a legal defense that essentially states that the defendant was "only following orders" ("Befehl ist Befehl", literally "order is order") and is therefore not responsible for his crimes. The defense was most famously employed during the Nuremberg Trials, after which it is named.
Question: How capable are people of falling prey to do irrational things by the order of authority?
Answer: Very!
Audio commentary by Dan Carlin http://www.dancarlin.com/
The Milgram Experiment
The Milgram experiment was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. The experiments began in July 1961, three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Milgram devised the experiments to answer this question: "Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?"
Milgram summarized the experiment in his 1974 article, "The Perils of Obedience", writing:
The legal and philosophic aspects of obedience are of enormous importance, but they say very little about how most people behave in concrete situations. I set up a simple experiment at Yale University to test how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to by an experimental scientist. Stark authority was pitted against the subjects' [participants'] strongest moral imperatives against hurting others, and, with the subjects' [participants'] ears ringing with the screams of the victims, authority won more often than not. The extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority constitutes the chief finding of the study and the fact most urgently demanding explanation.
Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.
If at any time the subject indicated his desire to halt the experiment, he was given a succession of verbal prods by the experimenter, in this order:
1. Please continue.
2. The experiment requires that you continue.
3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.
4. You have no other choice, you must go on.
If the subject still wished to stop after all four successive verbal prods, the experiment was halted. Otherwise, it was halted after the subject had given the maximum 450-volt shock three times in succession.
In Milgram's first set of experiments, 65 percent (26 of 40) of experiment participants administered the experiment's final 450-volt shock, though many were very uncomfortable doing so; at some point, every participant paused and questioned the experiment, some said they would refund the money they were paid for participating in the experiment. Only one participant steadfastly refused to administer shocks before the 300-volt level.
Notes:
Stanley Milgram: http://www.stanleymilgram.com/milgram.php
Government Should Make Bagram Documents Public, Says ACLU: http://www.aclu.org/safefree/detention/39442prs20090423.html
Nuremberg Trials: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials
Nuremberg Defense: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Defense
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Festival of Lights
A sensational installation of art light
The tradition of the Essener Lichtwochen (Light Weeks) started on December 3rd, 1950. It is a festival of lights via light art installations. Every year a different country is asked to put on the show and every day they are assigned a different theme to tackle.
Essener Lichtwochen website: http://www.lichtwochen.essen.de/html/e_historie.html
Essen, Germany: http://www.essen.de/english/Leben_E/PortalLeben_E.asp
The tradition of the Essener Lichtwochen (Light Weeks) started on December 3rd, 1950. It is a festival of lights via light art installations. Every year a different country is asked to put on the show and every day they are assigned a different theme to tackle.
Essener Lichtwochen website: http://www.lichtwochen.essen.de/html/e_historie.html
Essen, Germany: http://www.essen.de/english/Leben_E/PortalLeben_E.asp
Friday, June 19, 2009
"19" ● Paul Hardcastle
Resurrectasong
In early 1985, the release of the dance hit "19" brought Hardcastle acclaim and chart success. "19" was a straight-forward dance record, featuring stuttering samples of television narrator Peter Thomas speaking about Vietnam war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Initially unhappy about having his voice used in this way, Thomas later relented and allowed the single to be released.) further: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hardcastle
In early 1985, the release of the dance hit "19" brought Hardcastle acclaim and chart success. "19" was a straight-forward dance record, featuring stuttering samples of television narrator Peter Thomas speaking about Vietnam war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Initially unhappy about having his voice used in this way, Thomas later relented and allowed the single to be released.) further: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_HardcastleRush Limbaugh
Foolish People
"I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark." -Rush Limbaugh
I don't know if you know this or not, but when you're listening to his show and many others like his radio show, the calls are being screened. He likes to pick callers that will help him drive his point home and usually doesn't allow callers who disagree with him through. On the occasions that he does let a caller who opposes his perspective speak, he makes sure it's someone nice and dumb. So... Forget about it if you think that what you're listening to on his show reflects anything in reality. I do listen to parts of his radio show as well as other dogmatic propagandists radio hosts, from time to time. I call it "Checking in with stupid". One should never loose sight that The Rush Limbaugh show is made possible by stations that make Billions of dollars every year such as Cox Enterprises/Cox Radio: So his idiotic statements are well funded.
"Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?" -Rush Limbaugh
”This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation, and we’re going to ruin people’s lives over it, and we’re going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I’m talking about people having a good time, these people.” – in response to prisoner abuse at Abu Grahib. -Rush Limbaugh
There's a job opening for a new call screener on the Limbaugh show.
Rush Limbaugh gets owned by a military veteran caller.
Nuremberg Trials : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials
"There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492."
"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." --on an ad by Michael J. Fox endorsing Claire McCaskill for Senate for supporting embryonic stem cell research
"You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray" [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed.
"I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back; I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark." -Rush Limbaugh
I don't know if you know this or not, but when you're listening to his show and many others like his radio show, the calls are being screened. He likes to pick callers that will help him drive his point home and usually doesn't allow callers who disagree with him through. On the occasions that he does let a caller who opposes his perspective speak, he makes sure it's someone nice and dumb. So... Forget about it if you think that what you're listening to on his show reflects anything in reality. I do listen to parts of his radio show as well as other dogmatic propagandists radio hosts, from time to time. I call it "Checking in with stupid". One should never loose sight that The Rush Limbaugh show is made possible by stations that make Billions of dollars every year such as Cox Enterprises/Cox Radio: So his idiotic statements are well funded.
"Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?" -Rush Limbaugh
”This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation, and we’re going to ruin people’s lives over it, and we’re going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time. You know, these people are being fired at every day. I’m talking about people having a good time, these people.” – in response to prisoner abuse at Abu Grahib. -Rush Limbaugh
There's a job opening for a new call screener on the Limbaugh show.
Rush Limbaugh gets owned by a military veteran caller.
Nuremberg Trials : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials
"There are more acres of forestland in America today than when Columbus discovered the continent in 1492."
"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." --on an ad by Michael J. Fox endorsing Claire McCaskill for Senate for supporting embryonic stem cell research
"You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray" [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Ghosts of the Ostfront
Both Napoleon's army, and the Germans underestimated the great distances and harsh climate of Russia. Freezing cold, and sweltering summers, and the rainy seasons in between that turned the roads into a soup that could swallow canons and vehicles.
I was walking on the southern steps of Russia listening to the snow crunching beneath my shoes when my guide told me to stop. Staring off into the distance I could see for miles and miles. Then my guide told me to look down. As my eyes adjusted to the blinding white of the snow I began to see shapes. My guide picked up one of these shapes, and I saw that it was a bone... A human bone. We began walking around this field picking up thighbones, clavicles, jawbones, and skulls. They were everywhere! Not just bones, but horse shoes, leather straps, and jackboots. Then my guide said "This is a tiny tiny fraction of how far this bone field stretches." Looking off into the horizon I could see bones sticking out of the earth for miles and miles. "This Bone Field is a monument", he said. "Not a monument that was planned out, or carved out by an artist but a monument none the less. This Bone Field is an inadvertent commemoration of an important event with many many many lessons to teach people today.
Tens of millions of bones.
Podcast
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part I: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-27---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-I
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part II: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-28---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-II
Wiki WWII East-Front (Ostfront): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part I: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-27---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-I
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part II: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-28---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-II
I was walking on the southern steps of Russia listening to the snow crunching beneath my shoes when my guide told me to stop. Staring off into the distance I could see for miles and miles. Then my guide told me to look down. As my eyes adjusted to the blinding white of the snow I began to see shapes. My guide picked up one of these shapes, and I saw that it was a bone... A human bone. We began walking around this field picking up thighbones, clavicles, jawbones, and skulls. They were everywhere! Not just bones, but horse shoes, leather straps, and jackboots. Then my guide said "This is a tiny tiny fraction of how far this bone field stretches." Looking off into the horizon I could see bones sticking out of the earth for miles and miles. "This Bone Field is a monument", he said. "Not a monument that was planned out, or carved out by an artist but a monument none the less. This Bone Field is an inadvertent commemoration of an important event with many many many lessons to teach people today.
Tens of millions of bones.
Podcast
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part I: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-27---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-IGhosts of the Ostfront - Part II: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-28---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-II
Wiki WWII East-Front (Ostfront): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part I: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-27---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-I
Ghosts of the Ostfront - Part II: http://www.dancarlin.com/hhredir.php?show=Show-28---Ghosts-of-the-Ostfront-II
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Bill O'Reilly
Foolish People
News is becoming like the Jerry Springer Show.
It doesn't feel good to be labeled without evidence.
Roger Ebert wrote an article eloquently, entitled "The O'Reilly Procedure".
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/06/the_oreilly_procedure.html
Excerpt: "There is little comfort to be had from today's polarized shouters. They are discontented, and they think you should be, too. They inspire fear and suspicion. There is a conspiracy, and you are the target. Dark forces are at work. There was a time when ordinary Americans would have been deeply offended by the way O'Reilly speaks about their President--any President."
News is becoming like the Jerry Springer Show.
It doesn't feel good to be labeled without evidence.
Famous Quotes
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"
"Be quiet! I'm right and your wrong!"
"I stand for good! You stand for evil!"
Indiana University research study of, O'Reilly during a six-month period. Published in the Journal Journalism Studies...
"The seven propaganda devices include:
* Name calling -- giving something a bad label to make the audience reject it without examining the evidence;
* Glittering generalities -- the opposite of name calling;
* Card stacking -- the selective use of facts and half-truths;
* Bandwagon -- appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd;
* Plain folks -- an attempt to convince an audience that they, and their ideas, are "of the people";
* Transfer -- carries over the authority, sanction and prestige of something we respect or dispute to something the speaker would want us to accept; and
* Testimonials -- involving a respected (or disrespected) person endorsing or rejecting an idea or person."
This video is boring to me, but it's what's funded by a billion dollar media.
"Be quiet! I'm right and your wrong!"
"I stand for good! You stand for evil!"
Indiana University research study of, O'Reilly during a six-month period. Published in the Journal Journalism Studies...
"The seven propaganda devices include:
* Name calling -- giving something a bad label to make the audience reject it without examining the evidence;
* Glittering generalities -- the opposite of name calling;
* Card stacking -- the selective use of facts and half-truths;
* Bandwagon -- appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd;
* Plain folks -- an attempt to convince an audience that they, and their ideas, are "of the people";
* Transfer -- carries over the authority, sanction and prestige of something we respect or dispute to something the speaker would want us to accept; and
* Testimonials -- involving a respected (or disrespected) person endorsing or rejecting an idea or person."
This video is boring to me, but it's what's funded by a billion dollar media.
Roger Ebert wrote an article eloquently, entitled "The O'Reilly Procedure".
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/06/the_oreilly_procedure.html
Excerpt: "There is little comfort to be had from today's polarized shouters. They are discontented, and they think you should be, too. They inspire fear and suspicion. There is a conspiracy, and you are the target. Dark forces are at work. There was a time when ordinary Americans would have been deeply offended by the way O'Reilly speaks about their President--any President."
Nikola Tesla
(10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943)
The Man Who Lit Up The World
Have you ever been wrongfully blamed for something you didn't do? Have you ever had your name dragged through the mud by someone else for their personal gain or amusement? Well... If your name were Nikola Tesla, the person doing this to you would be named Thomas Edison, and I did the numerology on Edison's name. In numerology "Thomas Edison" breaks down to "Punk Bitch".
Many people believe that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Throughout school I was told by my teachers, and read it in history books that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. But, that's not true, matter of fact it's a blatant lie. It was Nikola Tesla who invented the light bulb, and that's not all Tesla did. Nikola Tesla was a Serbian immigrant who arrived in America in 1884, had four cents in his pocket, some mathematical computations, a drawing of an idea for a flying machine, and a head full of genius concepts. He was an inventor of many things, an electro-mechanical engineer, a humanitarian, a poet, visionary, and did some of the most amazing things EVER! But, the most unfortunate decision of Tesla's life was to go work with Thomas Edison, a man known by those who worked for him, more as a "Thief of ideas than as an inventor of anything that was in any way useful."
In modern terms Nikola Tesla would be know as a "Bad Mutherf**ker!" and Thomas Edison would be known as a "Biter" and a "Hater", and probably a duchebag. The history books depict Thomas Edison as a heroic figure. Edison needs to be dethroned of that heroic title, as the rightful owner of that seat is Nikola Tesla.
Both of these men were experimenting with electricity. But, Tesla's work was far beyond anything that Edison was doing.
In November and December of 1887, Tesla filed for seven U.S. patents in the field of polyphase AC motors and power transmission. These comprised a complete system of generators, transformers, transmission lines, motors and lighting. So original were the ideas that they were issued without a successful challenge, and would turn out to be the most valuable patents since the telephone.
Telsa was using Alternating Current A/C. The power that comes from our wall outlets is AC, the more common, efficient kind.
Edison was using Direct Current D/C. The power that comes from batteries.
With the breakthrough provided by Tesla's patents, a full-scale industrial race erupted to see who's chosen technology would be used to power the United States, Tesla's alternating current, or Edison's direct current.
Meanwhile, a murderer was about to be executed in the first electric chair at New York's Auburn State Prison. Professor Harold Brown had succeeded in illegally purchasing a used Tesl
a generator in order to demonstrate once and for all the extreme danger of alternating current. The guinea pig was William Kemmler, a convicted ax-murderer, who died horribly on August 6, 1890, in "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging." The technique was later dubbed "Westinghousing." The company who funded Nikola Tesla's work. Of course some people always have to take a perfectly useful invention and do something sinister with it. But...
In spite of the bad press, good things were happening for Tesla & Westinghouse. The Westinghouse Corporation won the bid for illuminating The Chicago World's Fair, the first all-electric fair in history. On May 1, 1893. That evening, President Grover Cleveland pushed a button and a hundred thousand incandescent lamps illuminated the fairground's buildings. This "City of Light" was the work of Tesla, and twelve new thousand-horsepower AC generation units. The Tesla polyphase system of alternating current power generation and transmission was proudly displayed... For the twenty-seven million people who attended the fair, it was dramatically clear that the power of the future was AC. From that point forward more than 80 percent of all the electrical devices ordered in the United States were for alternating current.
Tesla's AC generators gradually replaced Edison's DC battery system because AC is safer to transfer over the longer city distances and can provide more power.
This is only the beginning. Nikola Tesla's work became far more interesting as his life progressed. He went on to create a tower that would send electricity to everyone for free. But, J.P. Morgan, his funder, pulled out of the project when he realized he wouldn't be able to put a price tag on everyone's electricity. Tesla kept designing marvelous things into his old age. J. Edgar Hoover, the president at the time knew of his great work, and upon Nikola Tesla's death the government confiscated all of his work... Who knows how or if it's been implemented since then. There are many places to read about Nikola Tesla, his work and his life. Here is one place: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/index.html But, if you'd like to read about how much of a little bitch Thomas Edison was you won't find much. So far I think I'm the first person to call Edison a little bitch.
The Man Who Lit Up The World
Have you ever been wrongfully blamed for something you didn't do? Have you ever had your name dragged through the mud by someone else for their personal gain or amusement? Well... If your name were Nikola Tesla, the person doing this to you would be named Thomas Edison, and I did the numerology on Edison's name. In numerology "Thomas Edison" breaks down to "Punk Bitch".Many people believe that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Throughout school I was told by my teachers, and read it in history books that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. But, that's not true, matter of fact it's a blatant lie. It was Nikola Tesla who invented the light bulb, and that's not all Tesla did. Nikola Tesla was a Serbian immigrant who arrived in America in 1884, had four cents in his pocket, some mathematical computations, a drawing of an idea for a flying machine, and a head full of genius concepts. He was an inventor of many things, an electro-mechanical engineer, a humanitarian, a poet, visionary, and did some of the most amazing things EVER! But, the most unfortunate decision of Tesla's life was to go work with Thomas Edison, a man known by those who worked for him, more as a "Thief of ideas than as an inventor of anything that was in any way useful."
In modern terms Nikola Tesla would be know as a "Bad Mutherf**ker!" and Thomas Edison would be known as a "Biter" and a "Hater", and probably a duchebag. The history books depict Thomas Edison as a heroic figure. Edison needs to be dethroned of that heroic title, as the rightful owner of that seat is Nikola Tesla.
Both of these men were experimenting with electricity. But, Tesla's work was far beyond anything that Edison was doing.
In November and December of 1887, Tesla filed for seven U.S. patents in the field of polyphase AC motors and power transmission. These comprised a complete system of generators, transformers, transmission lines, motors and lighting. So original were the ideas that they were issued without a successful challenge, and would turn out to be the most valuable patents since the telephone.
Telsa was using Alternating Current A/C. The power that comes from our wall outlets is AC, the more common, efficient kind.Edison was using Direct Current D/C. The power that comes from batteries.
With the breakthrough provided by Tesla's patents, a full-scale industrial race erupted to see who's chosen technology would be used to power the United States, Tesla's alternating current, or Edison's direct current.
It was at this time that Edison launched a propaganda war against Tesla's alternating current.
Tom Edison told people that direct current was like a river flowing peacefully to the sea, while alternating current was like a torrent rushing violently. Edison took Tesla's technology and even had a professor named Harold Brown go around talking to audiences... and electrocuting dogs and old horses right on stage, to show how dangerous Tesla's alternating current was. They even electrocuted an elephant to death (Awe! Hell No! I love elephants!), and this did what Edison set out to do. It incited public fear in Tesla's invention. 
Meanwhile, a murderer was about to be executed in the first electric chair at New York's Auburn State Prison. Professor Harold Brown had succeeded in illegally purchasing a used Tesl
a generator in order to demonstrate once and for all the extreme danger of alternating current. The guinea pig was William Kemmler, a convicted ax-murderer, who died horribly on August 6, 1890, in "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging." The technique was later dubbed "Westinghousing." The company who funded Nikola Tesla's work. Of course some people always have to take a perfectly useful invention and do something sinister with it. But...
In spite of the bad press, good things were happening for Tesla & Westinghouse. The Westinghouse Corporation won the bid for illuminating The Chicago World's Fair, the first all-electric fair in history. On May 1, 1893. That evening, President Grover Cleveland pushed a button and a hundred thousand incandescent lamps illuminated the fairground's buildings. This "City of Light" was the work of Tesla, and twelve new thousand-horsepower AC generation units. The Tesla polyphase system of alternating current power generation and transmission was proudly displayed... For the twenty-seven million people who attended the fair, it was dramatically clear that the power of the future was AC. From that point forward more than 80 percent of all the electrical devices ordered in the United States were for alternating current.Tesla's AC generators gradually replaced Edison's DC battery system because AC is safer to transfer over the longer city distances and can provide more power.
This is only the beginning. Nikola Tesla's work became far more interesting as his life progressed. He went on to create a tower that would send electricity to everyone for free. But, J.P. Morgan, his funder, pulled out of the project when he realized he wouldn't be able to put a price tag on everyone's electricity. Tesla kept designing marvelous things into his old age. J. Edgar Hoover, the president at the time knew of his great work, and upon Nikola Tesla's death the government confiscated all of his work... Who knows how or if it's been implemented since then. There are many places to read about Nikola Tesla, his work and his life. Here is one place: http://www.pbs.org/tesla/index.html But, if you'd like to read about how much of a little bitch Thomas Edison was you won't find much. So far I think I'm the first person to call Edison a little bitch.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Our Mistaken Expectations
Lecture by: Dan Gilbert
Dan Gilbert presents research and data from his exploration of happiness -- sharing some surprising tests and experiments that you can also try on yourself. Watch through to the end for a sparkling Q&A with some familiar TED faces.
Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research, and explains in his accessible and unexpectedly funny book, Stumbling on Happiness.
Dan Gilbert presents research and data from his exploration of happiness -- sharing some surprising tests and experiments that you can also try on yourself. Watch through to the end for a sparkling Q&A with some familiar TED faces.
Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research, and explains in his accessible and unexpectedly funny book, Stumbling on Happiness.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Recounting Election Fraud
In case you even care about this kinda crap. I try and pretend I don't, but I do (otherwise why would I even be writing about this right?), and sometimes I hate that. You can stand in one of four places when it comes to the subject of politics...
(a) You deeply care and get involved, because the decisions of others affect your life.
(b) You kinda care and kinda get involved, because you are mostly in control of your life.
(c) You are above it and don't get involved, because you are in complete control of your life, and are handling the issues within it.
(d) You are a homeless schizophrenic and don't even know what I'm talking about cause your not even reading this.
(a) People can be as annoying and dogmatic as a religious person trying to convert you. Yet, (a) people are indispensable and unbeknownst to (b), (c), and (d) people, they are the ones keeping government from becoming totally fascist and tyrannical. Furthermore, in the arena of politics (b), (c), and (d) people are the slackers, while (a) people pick up their slack.
(b) People are walking the fence between realizing that the laws they live by are being decided for them, and pretending that it won't affect their lives in any significant way. They're often described as being balanced, and "Having a good head on their shoulders".
(c) People may have a 30,000ft. view of the world. They artistically see the bigger picture. They realize that it's all temporary and have faith that "it's all part of a greater good", but run the risk of living in denial. OR they are wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, live in the Netherlands area of the world and can bankrupt (a), (b), and (c)'s banks if they wanted to. They also run the risk of living in denial. (d) people usually don't have bank accounts.
(d) People are self sufficient, totally live by their own rules, and often their own reality. Therefore their own government. They have Facebrook & myspace friends, but for real. They are also able to hear built in sound effects and soundtracks. (a), (b), and (c) people strive to be like them, but are shy to admit it so they they cloak the act of talking to themselves by wearing a Bluetooth.
(a) People are still reading this and are thinking of ways to critique what I've written so far in the comments section.
(b) People are thinking about going to another web page, but are wondering if I'm on to something.
(c) People if they're still reading this (which I doubt), are thinking of ways to cheer me up, but don't realize that I'm already happy.
(d) People are writing this...
(a) People will know what all this jargon means. (b),(c), & (d) will have trouble understanding this section in descending order.)
Bush narrowly "won" the November 7 election, with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (with one elector abstaining in the official tally). The election was noteworthy for a controversy over the awarding of Florida's 25 electoral votes, the subsequent recount process in that state, and the unusual event of the winning candidate having received fewer popular votes than the runner-up. It was the closest election since 1876. On January 6, 2001, a joint session of Congress met to certify the electoral vote. Twenty members of the House of Representatives, most of them Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus, rose one-by-one to file objections to the electoral votes of Florida. However, according to an 1877 law, any such objection had to be sponsored by both a representative and a senator. No senator would co-sponsor these objections, deferring to the Supreme Court's ruling. Therefore, Gore, who was presiding in his capacity as President of the Senate, ruled each of these objections out of order.
(Everyone understands pictures and motion pictures.)
This film is how we do revolution, but nine years after the fact.
Link to full film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyJeLO3-fbI
Interview with film producer and star "Kevin Spacey": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET1xQx7peAE
While all this was happening the vast majority of America was watching it on T.V.
RECOUNT is a 2009 film about these events:
Link to full film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyJeLO3-fbI
Interview with film producer and star "Kevin Spacey": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET1xQx7peAE
An election was stolen in year 2000, in the U.S. and Americans didn't do anything about it. It seems that people in other countries care more weather or not they are being deceived by their government. So we must be a people comprised mostly of (b)'s, (c)'s, and (d)'s.
When people in Terhan, Iran suspected voter fraud they flipped the f**k out! Men and women alike were being (a)'s.
Links to what I'm talking about:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html
Terhanlive.org: http://tehranlive.org/
Terhanlive.org: http://tehranlive.org/
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html
11 Things Most People Don't Know About Ché Guevara
It seems the days of the classic "revolutionary" figure are over for now. Today revolting often implies putting a controversial bumper sticker on your car, or wearing a t-shirt with a political a message on it, as well as creating and signing petitions, and sending out mass emails etc... One aspect of Ernesto "Ché" Guevara that's intriguing to the western world is what he represents. Ché represents things that most people in our comfortable society are to chickenshit to do. But, this shows progress, because revolutions in Ché's time were mainly fought with weapons (and that wasn't long ago but things are changing fast). If man is to progress it's only logical that the new battles increasingly be fought with strategy and intelligence.
Ché Guevara is loved and loathed at the same time. Here is a list of lesser known facts about Ché.
Mr. Lynch
The name "Ché Guevara" is the icon of icons for freedom fighting. But Ché’s birth name was Ernesto Lynch. It makes one wonder how much of an effect a name has on ones life? (Quite a bit I think. Change your name to Hitler and you'll see what I mean.) His surname comes from the fact that his family was half Irish. Ernesto Lynch is pictured above at the age of 22.
Stinky Ché
Ché Guevara as a youth was nicknamed “Chancho” (pig) because of his bathing habits (or lack thereof) and the fact that he proudly wore a “weekly shirt” – ie, a shirt he changed once a week. All through his life people commented on his smelliness
Geeky Ché
This is a photo of Ché's fake passport. He shaved his head to look like a bald man, and changed his name to gain entry into what would ultimately be Bolivia. The country he was executed in. He had to go into an airport restroom to re-shave because stubble was starting to show on his head.
Guevara was quite geeky. He loved playing Chéss :-) and even entered local tournaments. In between hanging out with his chess buddies, Ernesto would read poetry which he loved with a passion. His favorite subjects at school were mathematics and engineering. If he were a teenager today he would be really into computers, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Indy Music.
Irish Ché
Though Guevara is best remembered for his actions in Cuba, he was actually born in Argentina to wealthy parents and he never became a Cuban citizen. When he was born, his father said “the first thing to note is that in my son’s veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels.”
Dr. Ché
In June of 1953, Guevara completed his medical studies and graduated as Doctor Ernesto Guevara. While studying he was particularly interested in Leprosy.
Ché in New York
In 1964, Guevara traveled to the United States to give a speech to the United Nations in New York. You can watch a portion of it in the video clip above. Whilst there he condemned the US for their racial segregation policies: “Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?”
Ché Had Five Children
Ché had one child with his first wife, Hilda Gadea, a daughter who was born in Mexico City on February 15, 1956, and he had four children with his second wife, the revolutionary Aleida March. Pictured above is Camilo – Che’s son.
Ché's Hands Were Cut Off
After his execution, a military doctor amputated Che’s hands. Bolivian army officers transferred Guevara’s body to an undisclosed location and refused to reveal whether his remains had been buried or cremated. The hands were preserved in formaldehyde to be sent to Buenos Aires for fingerprint identification. (His fingerprints were on file with the Argentine police.) They were later sent to Cuba. (That's fawked up huh?)
Ché's Rolling In His Grave
The high-contrast monochrome graphic of Ché's face has become one of the world’s most universally merchandised and objectified images, found on an endless array of items, including t-shirts, hats, posters, tattoos, wallets, purses, necklaces etc... Ironically contributing to the consumer culture he despised. The original image was snapped at a memorial service by newspaper photographer Alberto Korda. At the time, only Korda thought highly of the shot, and hung the picture on his wall, where it stayed until an Italian journalist saw it, and asked if he could have it. Korda obliged.
Ché's Money
Guevara remains a beloved national hero to many in Cuba, where his image adorns the $3 Cuban Peso. In his native homeland of Argentina, where high schools bear his name, numerous Che museums dot the country, and in 2008 a 12 foot bronze statue of him was unveiled in his birth city of Rosario.
St. Ché
Guevara has been sanctified by some Bolivian farm workers as “Saint Ernesto”, to whom they pray for assistance. The Catholic Church does not consider Guevara to be a saint and strongly opposes the adulation of him.
Ché Guevara is loved and loathed at the same time. Here is a list of lesser known facts about Ché.
Mr. Lynch
The name "Ché Guevara" is the icon of icons for freedom fighting. But Ché’s birth name was Ernesto Lynch. It makes one wonder how much of an effect a name has on ones life? (Quite a bit I think. Change your name to Hitler and you'll see what I mean.) His surname comes from the fact that his family was half Irish. Ernesto Lynch is pictured above at the age of 22.
Stinky Ché
Ché Guevara as a youth was nicknamed “Chancho” (pig) because of his bathing habits (or lack thereof) and the fact that he proudly wore a “weekly shirt” – ie, a shirt he changed once a week. All through his life people commented on his smelliness
Geeky Ché
This is a photo of Ché's fake passport. He shaved his head to look like a bald man, and changed his name to gain entry into what would ultimately be Bolivia. The country he was executed in. He had to go into an airport restroom to re-shave because stubble was starting to show on his head.
Guevara was quite geeky. He loved playing Chéss :-) and even entered local tournaments. In between hanging out with his chess buddies, Ernesto would read poetry which he loved with a passion. His favorite subjects at school were mathematics and engineering. If he were a teenager today he would be really into computers, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Indy Music.
Irish Ché
Though Guevara is best remembered for his actions in Cuba, he was actually born in Argentina to wealthy parents and he never became a Cuban citizen. When he was born, his father said “the first thing to note is that in my son’s veins flowed the blood of the Irish rebels.”
Dr. Ché
In June of 1953, Guevara completed his medical studies and graduated as Doctor Ernesto Guevara. While studying he was particularly interested in Leprosy.
Ché in New York
In 1964, Guevara traveled to the United States to give a speech to the United Nations in New York. You can watch a portion of it in the video clip above. Whilst there he condemned the US for their racial segregation policies: “Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?”
Ché Had Five Children
Ché had one child with his first wife, Hilda Gadea, a daughter who was born in Mexico City on February 15, 1956, and he had four children with his second wife, the revolutionary Aleida March. Pictured above is Camilo – Che’s son.
Ché's Hands Were Cut Off
After his execution, a military doctor amputated Che’s hands. Bolivian army officers transferred Guevara’s body to an undisclosed location and refused to reveal whether his remains had been buried or cremated. The hands were preserved in formaldehyde to be sent to Buenos Aires for fingerprint identification. (His fingerprints were on file with the Argentine police.) They were later sent to Cuba. (That's fawked up huh?)
Ché's Rolling In His Grave
The high-contrast monochrome graphic of Ché's face has become one of the world’s most universally merchandised and objectified images, found on an endless array of items, including t-shirts, hats, posters, tattoos, wallets, purses, necklaces etc... Ironically contributing to the consumer culture he despised. The original image was snapped at a memorial service by newspaper photographer Alberto Korda. At the time, only Korda thought highly of the shot, and hung the picture on his wall, where it stayed until an Italian journalist saw it, and asked if he could have it. Korda obliged.
Ché's Money
Guevara remains a beloved national hero to many in Cuba, where his image adorns the $3 Cuban Peso. In his native homeland of Argentina, where high schools bear his name, numerous Che museums dot the country, and in 2008 a 12 foot bronze statue of him was unveiled in his birth city of Rosario.
St. Ché
Guevara has been sanctified by some Bolivian farm workers as “Saint Ernesto”, to whom they pray for assistance. The Catholic Church does not consider Guevara to be a saint and strongly opposes the adulation of him.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Health Insurers Hold Billions in Tobacco Stocks (NEJM)
In case there is any doubt that insurers place profit above health, consider their investments in tobacco.
Volume 360:2483-2484 - June 4, 2009 - Number 23
New England Journal of Medicine, shows that U.S., Canadian and U.K.-based insurance firms hold at least $4.4 billion of investments in companies whose subsidiaries manufacture cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and related products.- Tobacco products currently contribute to the deaths of 5.4 million people worldwide annually, according to the World Health Organization. Tobacco use is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attack, lung disease and cancer.
- Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Financial Inc., which sells life insurance and long-term disability coverage. With total tobacco holdings of $264.3 million, Prudential Financial is a major investor in three tobacco firms, including Reynolds American, whose subsidiary R.J. Reynolds manufactures Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes, and Philip Morris, maker of the popular Marlboro brand.
- Sun Life Financial Inc., based in Toronto, sells life, health, disability and long-term care insurance. It also owns slightly over $1 billion in stock in two tobacco companies, including $890 million in Philip Morris.
- London-based Prudential Plc, which offers health, disability, and long-term care insurance, has holdings of $1.38 billion in two tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco, which markets Kent and Lucky Strike cigarettes.
- The researchers also itemize the substantial tobacco holdings of Northwestern Mutual of Milwaukee and Massachusetts Mutual Life of Springfield, Mass., along with those of Standard Life Plc, a health and life insurer based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Boyd and his co-authors, Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler at the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, culled their data from Osiris, a proprietary database of industrial, banking and insurance companies. Osiris draws upon Securities and Exchange Commission filings and news reports from providers like Dow Jones and Reuters.
"Although investing in tobacco while selling life or health insurance may seem self-defeating," the authors write, "insurance firms have figured out ways to profit from both. Insurers exclude smokers from coverage or, more commonly, charge them higher premiums. Insurers profit - and smokers lose - twice over."
The same researchers, all of whom are affiliated with Physicians for a National Health Program, first published data about the "tobacco-insurance company connection" in 1995 in the medical journal Lancet. They say that because private, for-profit insurers have repeatedly put their own financial gain over the public's health, readers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom should be wary about insurance firms' participation in care.
They add, "These data raise a red flag about the prospects of opening up vast new markets for private insurers at public expense, as has happened in our state of Massachusetts, whose recent health care reform is often cited as a model for national reform."
More information: "Insurance industry investments in tobacco," J. Wesley Boyd, M.D., Ph.D.; David U. Himmelstein, M.D; Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H. New England Journal of Medicine, June 4, 2009. Link: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/360/23/2483
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Have Scientists Discovered a Way of Peering Into the Future?
Deep in the basement of a dusty old library in Edinburgh lies a small black box that churns out random numbers. At first glance the box looks profoundly dull, but it is, in fact, the ‘eye' of a machine that appears capable of peering into the future.
The machine apparently sensed the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre four hours before they happened, and appeared to forewarn of the Asian Tsunami.
"It's Earth shattering stuff," says Dr Roger Nelson, Emeritus researcher at Princeton University in the USA. "But unfortunately we don't have a box for predicting the future that we can sell to the CIA. We're very early on in the process of trying to figure out what's going on here. At the moment we're stabbing in the dark."
Dr Nelson's Global Consciousness Project - originally hosted by Princeton University - is one of the most extraordinary experiments of all time. It aims to ‘sense' whether all of humanity shares a single unconscious mind that we all tap into without realising it. Some might refer to it as the mind of God. But the machine has also thrown up another tantalising possibility: that scientists may have unwittingly discovered a way of predicting the future.
Although many would consider the project's aims to be little more than fools' gold, it has still attracted a roster of 75 respected scientists from 41 different nations. Researchers from Princeton - where Einstein spent much of his career - work alongside scientists from universities in Britain, Holland, Switzerland and Germany. The project is also the most rigorous and longest running investigation ever into the paranormal.
"Very often paranormal phenomena evaporate if you study them for long enough," says physicist Dick Bierman of the University of Amsterdam. "But this is not happening with the Global Consciousness Project. The effect is real. The only dispute is about what it means."
The project has its roots in the extraordinary work of Professor Robert Jahn of Princeton University during the late 1970s. Professor Jahn was one of the first modern scientists to take paranormal phenomena seriously. Intrigued by such things as telepathy, telekinesis and ESP, he was determined to study the phenomena using the most up to date technology available.
One of these new technologies was a humble looking black box known was a Random Event Generator. This used sophisticated technology to generate two numbers - a one and a zero - in a totally random sequence, rather like an electronic coin-flipper. The pattern of ones and noughts - ‘heads' and ‘tails' as it were - can then be printed out as a graph. Pure chance dictates that the generators should churn out equal numbers of ones and zeros which produces a more or less flat line on a graph. Any deviation from this shows up as a gently rising curve.
During the late 1970s, Professor Jahn hauled strangers off the street and asked them to concentrate their minds on a number generator. In effect, he was asking them to try to make it flip more heads than tails. It was a preposterous idea at the time, and to many it still is.
The results, however, were stunning and have never been satisfactorily explained. Again and again, entirely ordinary people proved that their minds could influence the machines and produce significant fluctuations on the graph. According to all of the known laws of science, this should not have happened - but it did. And it kept on happening.
Dr Roger Nelson, also working at Princeton University, then extended Professor Jahn's work by taking the machines to group meditations, which were very popular in America at the time. Again, the results were shocking. The meditators somehow caused dramatic shifts in the numbers.
From then on, Dr Nelson was hooked. Using the Internet, he connected up 40 random event generators from all over the world to his laboratory computer in Princeton. These ran day in day out, generating millions of different pieces of data. Most of the time, the resulting graph on his computer looked more or less like a flat line. But during the funeral of Princess Diana something extraordinary happened: the graph shot upwards and reached for the sky. It was clear that they'd detected a totally new phenomena. The concentrated mental effort of millions of people appeared to be influencing the output of random event generators around the world. But how? Dr Nelson was still at a loss to explain it.
In 1998 he gathered together scientists from all over the world to try and understand the phenomena. They, too, were stumped and resolved to extend and deepen Jahn and Nelson's work. The Global Consciousness Project was born.
Since then, the project has expanded massively. A total of 65 Eggs (as the generators have been named) in 41 countries have now been recruited to act as the ‘eyes' of the project. And the results have been startling and inexplicable in equal measure. The Eggs not only ‘sensed' the moment that Princess Diana was buried, but also the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Kursk tragedy and America's hung election of 2000. The Eggs also regularly detect huge global celebrations such as New Year's Eve. Even more bizarrely, they sense the celebrations as they sweep through the Earth's different time zones.
The project threw up its greatest enigma on September 11th 2001. As the world stood still and watched the horror of the terrorist attacks unfold across New York, something strange was happening to the Eggs. Not only did they register the event as it happened, but the characteristic shift in the pattern of numbers began four hours before the two planes hit the Twin Towers.
"I knew then that we had a great deal of work ahead of us," says Dr Nelson.
The same happened with the Asian Tsunami. Twenty four hours before the tragedy unfolded, the characteristic shift in the pattern of numbers began. Curiously, it was at around this time that animals in the path of the tsunami began fleeing for their lives. Very few animals were killed in the tragedy, as you may remember, leading some to ask whether they had somehow foreseen the disaster.
So does the Global Consciousness Project really forecast the future? After all, cynics will quite rightly say that if you look at enough data then you will find correlations with something. After all, our world is full of wars, disasters and terrorist outrages, as well as the occasional global celebration.
The team behind the project say that they've thought of this. Using rigorous scientific techniques and powerful mathematics it is possible to exclude these chance connections. And they believe they have done so.
"Good scientists will ask what mistakes we've made," says Dr Nelson. "We're perfectly willing to discover that we've made mistakes. But we haven't been able to find any, and neither has anyone else.
"Our data shows clearly that the chances of getting these results by chance are one million to one against. That's hugely significant."
The Global Consciousness Project may have generated an incredible amount of compelling evidence, and garnered the support of eminent scientists, but many remain sceptical.
Professor Chris French, a psychologist and noted sceptic at Goldsmiths College in London, says: "The project has generated some very intriguing results that cannot be readily dismissed. I'm involved in similar work to see if we get the same results. We haven't managed to do so yet but it's only an early experiment. The jury's still out."
Strange as it may seem, there's nothing in the laws of physics that precludes the possibility of foreseeing the future. Time may not just move forwards - but backwards too. And if time ebbs and flows like the tides in the sea, it might just be possible to foretell the future.
"There's plenty of evidence that time may run backwards," says Professor Dick Bierman, a physicist at the University of Amsterdam. "And if it's possible for it to happen in physics then it can happen inside our heads too."
As a consequence says Professor Bierman, forecasting the future may not just be possible - it's something we do routinely without even realising it.
Dr John Hartwell, working at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, was the first to uncover evidence that people could sense the future. In the mid 1970s he hooked people up to hospital EEG machines so that he could study their brainwave patterns. When these people were shown emotionally charged cartoons, characteristic patterns flickered through their brainwaves. Strangely, these patterns began to emerge a few seconds before they actually saw the pictures.
But it was to be another 15 years before anyone else took this work further. Dean Radin, working in America, connected people up to a machine that measured their skin's resistance to electricity. This is known to fluctuate in tandem with our moods, indeed, it's this principle that underlies many lie detectors. Radin repeated Dr Hall's work whilst measuring skin resistance. Again, people began reacting a few seconds before they were shown the pictures. This was clearly impossible, or so he thought, so he kept on repeating the experiments and getting the same results.
"I didn't believe it," says Professor Bierman. "So I repeated the experiment myself and got the same results. I was shocked. After this I started to think more deeply about the nature of time."
Bierman then devised an experiment to settle his mind once and for all. He decided to use a hospital brain scanner to peer inside people's minds as they were shown a series of photographs. Each person was randomly shown erotic or violent pictures, or neutral images of white fluffy clouds. Each of these pictures produced unique patterns in the patient's brainwaves. In effect, you could see inside the mind as it reacted to each picture.
What is remarkable is that the patients began reacting 1-2 seconds before they saw the images. This is clearly impossible, or so we're taught to believe. And yet it happened time and time again.
Obviously sceptics would love to demolish Bierman's work but have so far failed to do so. Nor is his research a one off that can be casually dismissed. To make matters even more intriguing, Bierman says that other mainstream labs have produced similar results but they are too frightened to go public.
"They don't want to be ridiculed so they won't release their findings, says Professor Bierman. "So I'm trying to persuade all of them to release their results together. That would at least spread the ridicule a little more thinly!" jokes the Professor.
If Bierman is right, then sensing the future may help explain such things as deja vu, intuition and a host of other paranormal phenomena. It may also open up a far more interesting possibility - enhancing psychic powers using machines. Just as we have built machines to replace muscle power, may we one day build a device to enhance psychic abilities?
Dr Nelson is optimistic - but not for the short term: "We may be able to predict that something is going to happen. But we won't know exactly what will happen or where it's going to happen," he says.
But for Dr Nelson, talk of psychic machines is of far less importance than the implications of his work for ordinary people. We may all be individuals, he says, but we are also part of something far, far greater.
"We're taught to be individualistic monsters," he says. "We're driven by society to separate ourselves from each other. That's not right. We may be connected together far more intimately than we realise."
Article from:
http://www.newsmonster.co.uk/paranormal-unexplained/
have-scientists-discovered-a-way-of-peering-into-the-future.html
More: noosphere.princeton.edu
Global Consciousness Project
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Why I'm Proud of My Nationality
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Weather your parents are from Argentina, Puerto Rico, U.S.A, or whichever from the multitude of nations your parents could have done it in. It made you who you are today. As uncomfortable as it might make some of you to think about your parents doing it, I'm happy to say that MY parents only did it to make babies, since they we're Catholic. And no other time did they have sex (That's what I tell myself anyway). I live in the United States of America. And by birth I am an American citizen. I'd like to take this time to shed light on the humble pride of my accomplishments, as the journey was difficult and long.
My father was born in the Guanajuato area of MX. And later moved to Mexicali shortly after his father was designated a piece of land by the government there. So they naturally enterprised on this and moved to the west of Mexico. My mother on the other hand was born in Mazatlan MX. Her mother was from the Veracruz area of MX, and her father a northern Italian man who stowed away in a ship during WWII with seven friends and landed in the gulf of MX. Though not from the same states of Mexico my parents both achieved to be members of the Mexican nation.
Both my mother and father moved to the U.S. in search of something different. They were not impoverished, but lived average lives for their time, which meant hard work at a young age. While kids in the U.S. were watching Howdy Doody my father was helping to build a road. They met in Los Angeles CA, where they did it and made yours trulies. But, it was not that easy...
See... I was torn in two literally! Half of me was in my mothers egg, and the other half was in one of my fathers spermatozoa. I had (YUCK!) I had to travel through my fathers shaft and into my mothers cervix, while competing with all these other little Mexican slowpokes. Obviously I was smarter and faster than them. Why? probably because my parents were doing it in California, and people in California have a lot of organic food. The others must have not gotten all the nutrients I did. But, I will admit. That I did trip one of the little sperm twerps on my way to my moms fallopian tube, and I lied to a group of others by telling them they were going the wrong way. Haha! They believed me. You would think that we were all brothers since we came from the same twin planet of my fathers balls, But FAWK THAT! It's a doggy dog world up in here!
Upon the home stretch it was down to me and a few other little (s)punks. This is when I went full throttle and left them in the dust! And as I tried to enter my mothers egg. I could feel one tugging on my tail. Once I got inside I told him I was sorry, and that If I could let him in I would but it doesn't work that way. Better luck next time amigo!. I said, "I'm on my way to being an American!" while giving him the finger! I probably shouldn't have done that because karma did come back to haunt me.
You see... Although the pregnancy was going great, since my mother was a non-smoker, non drinker, and she fed me a variety of healthy Mexican food like Tacos, Cilantro, Frijoles, Agua de Jamaica, all that stuff that's synonymous with the USA apparently. I could also hear them playing various styles of Mexican music and the occasional sound of a helicopter. And THIS is when it became a close call. My mother's mother became ill, and my mother suddenly had to take a trip to Mexico while eight months into the pregnancy. So I kicked and punched to no avail! My mom still took the trip. Kicking and punching all the way there. Needless to say I became frustrated. Somehow I knew Morse code, it must have been from a past life. So while in Mexico I punched. U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, Over, and over again FOR WEEKS! I had about one week left, when suddenly my mom burst into song about forbidden lovers, that sounded like a waltz to me, but none the less it had the same pulse. ● ● ▬, ● ● ●, ● ▬. ● ● ▬, ● ● ●, ● ▬. She must have heard me! Because Within three days we were on a bus on our way back to the United States. While waiting to switch buses near the Mexico/U.S. border town of Tijuana MX. I heard my mother comment to my father on the phone how I must have not liked Mexico because I was punching the whole time. "I like Mexico just fine mom, but I didn't go through all this chit to be born THERE." I want vaccines n' chit!
And that is when things took a turn for the worst at the Tijuana Bus Station. My mother started thinking that she was going into labor, and they called an "Ambulancia" to take her to the hospital. The hospital was less than a mile away from the border. And I knew this because I could clearly hear the guys in the rusty ambulance listening to an American radio station. "Oh. No's" I thought to myself. If I get born in Mexico I'm gonna have to be proud of Zapata, Aztecs & Mayans, and the chicks won't find me exotic here! I'm gonna have to wave the Mexican flag high and proud. And though I like the colors much better... "Wait! What Am I thinking!?" I snapped out of my rationalizing and returned to my pounding.
U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, Over, and over again until I suddenly became very drowsy. Apparently my mother had been given a sedative and I fell asleep stammering
U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ ..... U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ .
When I came to, I was just born. Some guy was slapping the shit out of me and I cried like a baby! Not because he was slapping me but because his name tag read "Dr. Rodriguez." and his nurse "R.N. Alvarez". How sad. I was studying American history for 8 months straight. 8 months of pride, of righteous wars for freedom and democracy I will no longer be a part of. I'm gonna have to criticize them like every other country and brush up on my Mexican history, and find Mexican things to be proud of. Cause nobody will love me if I'm a non proud, self hating Mexican. Ugh! And the Morse code for Mexico is SO LONG!
M▬ ▬ E● X▬ ● ● ▬ I ● ● C ▬ ● ▬ ● O ▬ ▬ ▬ I cried myself to sleep.
No matter what country, It felt good to be in my mothers arms. Some time passed, and doctors and nurses handled me gently. Perhaps it wont be so bad here. Perhaps I wont be seen as an underclass if I could be a doctor in Mexico like Dr. Rodriguez. While I fell in and out of sleep I dreamed that one day I would successfully be granted American citizenship and become the producer of a nation wide hit show like 24, American Gladiator, The Simpson's, or COPS.
The day came to finally leave the hospital. As we drove away and unto the streets my eyes were drawn to all the colorful Mexican store signs which read "Carniseria La Mapola", and "Mercado Juarez", and I found it surprising how many Gang-bangers and Low Riders were on the streets of Tijuana. I was like WTF? And this is when the most amazing thing happened! My father suddenly stopped the car because a Mexican man was trying to carjack the person in front of us. There was yelling and loud sounds of gunfire but for some reason it didn't phase me. Out of the blue police cars came to a screeching stop, and the sound of a helicopter overhead. The police jumped out of their cars and proceeded to severely beat the wounded assailant. I was about to fall into a deep depression because of how violent the police seemed to be here, but instead I chit my pants! Not because I was a baby. But, because to my bewildered surprise the police cars read LAPD! And I realized I was born in the United States of America after all! I WAS AN AMERICAN! Suddenly, the police officers violent behavior seemed justified. Also, suddenly, I started to feel sentimental about the 4th of July, and as the cops held the carjacker on the ground to cuff him I tried to yell "Wetback!" but, it came out "Goo! Goo!".
Much later in life my mom revealed to me the full story of what happened. It turns out that the hospital in Tijuana was at maximum capacity, and that my mother was not due until the next day. My father came to pick her up in Tijuana and drove her back to Los Angeles.
(So as you can see. This is why I am proud of my accomplishment of being born in this nation. You might think that being born in a third world country where people are starving to death with no vaccines is luck of the draw. But as I've illustrated, from spermatozoa, to fetus, to infant. I was in complete control of the situation.)
Goliath Flores
Weather your parents are from Argentina, Puerto Rico, U.S.A, or whichever from the multitude of nations your parents could have done it in. It made you who you are today. As uncomfortable as it might make some of you to think about your parents doing it, I'm happy to say that MY parents only did it to make babies, since they we're Catholic. And no other time did they have sex (That's what I tell myself anyway). I live in the United States of America. And by birth I am an American citizen. I'd like to take this time to shed light on the humble pride of my accomplishments, as the journey was difficult and long.My father was born in the Guanajuato area of MX. And later moved to Mexicali shortly after his father was designated a piece of land by the government there. So they naturally enterprised on this and moved to the west of Mexico. My mother on the other hand was born in Mazatlan MX. Her mother was from the Veracruz area of MX, and her father a northern Italian man who stowed away in a ship during WWII with seven friends and landed in the gulf of MX. Though not from the same states of Mexico my parents both achieved to be members of the Mexican nation.
Both my mother and father moved to the U.S. in search of something different. They were not impoverished, but lived average lives for their time, which meant hard work at a young age. While kids in the U.S. were watching Howdy Doody my father was helping to build a road. They met in Los Angeles CA, where they did it and made yours trulies. But, it was not that easy...
See... I was torn in two literally! Half of me was in my mothers egg, and the other half was in one of my fathers spermatozoa. I had (YUCK!) I had to travel through my fathers shaft and into my mothers cervix, while competing with all these other little Mexican slowpokes. Obviously I was smarter and faster than them. Why? probably because my parents were doing it in California, and people in California have a lot of organic food. The others must have not gotten all the nutrients I did. But, I will admit. That I did trip one of the little sperm twerps on my way to my moms fallopian tube, and I lied to a group of others by telling them they were going the wrong way. Haha! They believed me. You would think that we were all brothers since we came from the same twin planet of my fathers balls, But FAWK THAT! It's a doggy dog world up in here!
Upon the home stretch it was down to me and a few other little (s)punks. This is when I went full throttle and left them in the dust! And as I tried to enter my mothers egg. I could feel one tugging on my tail. Once I got inside I told him I was sorry, and that If I could let him in I would but it doesn't work that way. Better luck next time amigo!. I said, "I'm on my way to being an American!" while giving him the finger! I probably shouldn't have done that because karma did come back to haunt me.You see... Although the pregnancy was going great, since my mother was a non-smoker, non drinker, and she fed me a variety of healthy Mexican food like Tacos, Cilantro, Frijoles, Agua de Jamaica, all that stuff that's synonymous with the USA apparently. I could also hear them playing various styles of Mexican music and the occasional sound of a helicopter. And THIS is when it became a close call. My mother's mother became ill, and my mother suddenly had to take a trip to Mexico while eight months into the pregnancy. So I kicked and punched to no avail! My mom still took the trip. Kicking and punching all the way there. Needless to say I became frustrated. Somehow I knew Morse code, it must have been from a past life. So while in Mexico I punched. U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, Over, and over again FOR WEEKS! I had about one week left, when suddenly my mom burst into song about forbidden lovers, that sounded like a waltz to me, but none the less it had the same pulse. ● ● ▬, ● ● ●, ● ▬. ● ● ▬, ● ● ●, ● ▬. She must have heard me! Because Within three days we were on a bus on our way back to the United States. While waiting to switch buses near the Mexico/U.S. border town of Tijuana MX. I heard my mother comment to my father on the phone how I must have not liked Mexico because I was punching the whole time. "I like Mexico just fine mom, but I didn't go through all this chit to be born THERE." I want vaccines n' chit!
And that is when things took a turn for the worst at the Tijuana Bus Station. My mother started thinking that she was going into labor, and they called an "Ambulancia" to take her to the hospital. The hospital was less than a mile away from the border. And I knew this because I could clearly hear the guys in the rusty ambulance listening to an American radio station. "Oh. No's" I thought to myself. If I get born in Mexico I'm gonna have to be proud of Zapata, Aztecs & Mayans, and the chicks won't find me exotic here! I'm gonna have to wave the Mexican flag high and proud. And though I like the colors much better... "Wait! What Am I thinking!?" I snapped out of my rationalizing and returned to my pounding.
U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ !, Over, and over again until I suddenly became very drowsy. Apparently my mother had been given a sedative and I fell asleep stammering
U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ ..... U● ● ▬ S● ● ● A● ▬ .
When I came to, I was just born. Some guy was slapping the shit out of me and I cried like a baby! Not because he was slapping me but because his name tag read "Dr. Rodriguez." and his nurse "R.N. Alvarez". How sad. I was studying American history for 8 months straight. 8 months of pride, of righteous wars for freedom and democracy I will no longer be a part of. I'm gonna have to criticize them like every other country and brush up on my Mexican history, and find Mexican things to be proud of. Cause nobody will love me if I'm a non proud, self hating Mexican. Ugh! And the Morse code for Mexico is SO LONG!
M▬ ▬ E● X▬ ● ● ▬ I ● ● C ▬ ● ▬ ● O ▬ ▬ ▬ I cried myself to sleep.
No matter what country, It felt good to be in my mothers arms. Some time passed, and doctors and nurses handled me gently. Perhaps it wont be so bad here. Perhaps I wont be seen as an underclass if I could be a doctor in Mexico like Dr. Rodriguez. While I fell in and out of sleep I dreamed that one day I would successfully be granted American citizenship and become the producer of a nation wide hit show like 24, American Gladiator, The Simpson's, or COPS.The day came to finally leave the hospital. As we drove away and unto the streets my eyes were drawn to all the colorful Mexican store signs which read "Carniseria La Mapola", and "Mercado Juarez", and I found it surprising how many Gang-bangers and Low Riders were on the streets of Tijuana. I was like WTF? And this is when the most amazing thing happened! My father suddenly stopped the car because a Mexican man was trying to carjack the person in front of us. There was yelling and loud sounds of gunfire but for some reason it didn't phase me. Out of the blue police cars came to a screeching stop, and the sound of a helicopter overhead. The police jumped out of their cars and proceeded to severely beat the wounded assailant. I was about to fall into a deep depression because of how violent the police seemed to be here, but instead I chit my pants! Not because I was a baby. But, because to my bewildered surprise the police cars read LAPD! And I realized I was born in the United States of America after all! I WAS AN AMERICAN! Suddenly, the police officers violent behavior seemed justified. Also, suddenly, I started to feel sentimental about the 4th of July, and as the cops held the carjacker on the ground to cuff him I tried to yell "Wetback!" but, it came out "Goo! Goo!".
Much later in life my mom revealed to me the full story of what happened. It turns out that the hospital in Tijuana was at maximum capacity, and that my mother was not due until the next day. My father came to pick her up in Tijuana and drove her back to Los Angeles.
(So as you can see. This is why I am proud of my accomplishment of being born in this nation. You might think that being born in a third world country where people are starving to death with no vaccines is luck of the draw. But as I've illustrated, from spermatozoa, to fetus, to infant. I was in complete control of the situation.)
Goliath Flores
We Want Your Soul
Adam Freeland
Tell us, your habits, your fads, your fears
Give us, your address, your shoe size, your years
your digits, your plans, your number, your eyes
your schedule, your desktop, your details, your life
Show us your children, your photos, your home
Here... take credit, take insurance, take a loan
get a job, get a pension, get a haircut, get a suit
play the lottery, play football, play the field, snort some toot
We want your soul
Here's boy bands, here's Mackers, here's Britney, here's Cola
here's pizza, here's TV, here's some rock and some roller
watch commercials, more commercials, watch Jerry, not Oprah
buy a better life from the comfort of your sofa
Here's popcorn, here's magazines, here's milkshake, here's blue jeans
here's padded bras, here's armpit wax, here's football shirts, here's baseball caps
here's live talk shows, here's video games, here's cola lite, here's ten more lanes
here's filter tips, here's collagen lips, here's all night malls, here's plastic hips
We want your soul
Your cellphone, your wallet, your time, your ideas
no barcode, no party, no ID, no beers
your bankcard, your licence, your thoughts, your fears
no simcard, no disco, no photo, not here
Your blood, your sweat, your passions, your regrets
your profits, your time off, your fashions, your sex
your pills, your grass, your tits, your ass
your laughs, your balls, we want it all...
We want your soul
Tell us, your habits, your fads, your fears
Give us, your address, your shoe size, your years
your digits, your plans, your number, your eyes
your schedule, your desktop, your details, your life
Show us your children, your photos, your home
Here... take credit, take insurance, take a loan
get a job, get a pension, get a haircut, get a suit
play the lottery, play football, play the field, snort some toot
We want your soul
Here's boy bands, here's Mackers, here's Britney, here's Cola
here's pizza, here's TV, here's some rock and some roller
watch commercials, more commercials, watch Jerry, not Oprah
buy a better life from the comfort of your sofa
Here's popcorn, here's magazines, here's milkshake, here's blue jeans
here's padded bras, here's armpit wax, here's football shirts, here's baseball caps
here's live talk shows, here's video games, here's cola lite, here's ten more lanes
here's filter tips, here's collagen lips, here's all night malls, here's plastic hips
We want your soul
Your cellphone, your wallet, your time, your ideas
no barcode, no party, no ID, no beers
your bankcard, your licence, your thoughts, your fears
no simcard, no disco, no photo, not here
Your blood, your sweat, your passions, your regrets
your profits, your time off, your fashions, your sex
your pills, your grass, your tits, your ass
your laughs, your balls, we want it all...
We want your soul
Monday, June 08, 2009
HOME - A Date With The Planet
"Humankind has not woven the web of life.We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect."
-Chief Seattle, 1854
After ALL this... The spirits of the innumerable deceased Native Americans must be thinking that the civilized settlers are finally understanding what they were talking about.
The industrial revolution said "Let's dig a huge ditch and build a bridge over it, so we can finally walk across!"The artist has always carried the responsibility, weather known or unknown to them, of externalizing the meeting place where the hard world of matter flirts with the soft world of the soul. Our understanding of the world, our pace of learning, and our pace of living move faster and faster, so fast that the speed of sound can be left behind with the singer. Our knowledge is deep enough to know that these words painted on your screen are simply dances of light. And the only thing we can say for certain is that we're perceiving them.
In today's world scientific introspection is breaking down the illusions of matter. The scientist, through the course of history has, rightly or wrongly, been labeled as someone with hard and crude views of life. The scientist increasingly finds himself sewn together with the artist. The closer or the more distant he or she peers the more artistic scientists need to be in their approach. In turn artists have had their own stigmas throughout history. They are crazy! They cut off their ears and send them to chicks. They drown in their own vomit. They have unprotected sex. etc... But, today's artists are more responsible than that and find themselves faced in the same predicament. The more the artist perfects his craft the more he or she finds a "science", or method to their madness.
In these modern times the artist employs more tools born out of science than ever before such as computers, lights, and sound systems. Although the medium an artist employs is not the art itself (Who can say what art is, or isn't anyway?) the artist increasingly finds him or herself interdependent with science, usually in the form of technology.
(My only complaint about this is the f**king Auto-tune! Ugh! ... If you don't recognize, you're in a lot of trouble if you ask me.)
Lets do away with the "Mad Scientist" view of genius, and lets make benevolence, and philanthropy prerequisites in order to deem someone or something "genius". Now... This documentary "HOME" is F**KING GENIUS! And it's a story of all of the above, Art, Genius, Madness, and the illusions we've been living by, regardless of what you do.
Direct link to movie: HOME
Film-makers website: http://www.home-2009.com
"We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being." -Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Direct link to movie: HOME
Film-makers website: http://www.home-2009.com
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