The Dark Passenger (laa laa laa laa lala lala)

Unfortunately, society/media is so focuses on current witch-hunts dredging the the past or over-reacting, while a new tragedy/atrocity is slipping through the cracks... reactive not proactive, we never understand culture, until after we have experienced. Is each generation just having a party and leaving their kids to clean up the mess? No one individually will admit it, but it seems that collectively we care more about markets than kids, commerce than poverty, success than protection, sorry to say, as it doesn't sound nice, but I think it would be better to have the conversation than just say nothing, we outsourced the mobile low wage jobs to our proletariat overseas, but keep our underclass in the first world, to bombard with lotto, alcohol... and other pollution that increases GDP...




Pros and Cons of being an over-thinker:

never get bored
good company for oneself

over analyse everything
can't control it





"...what the mind can do with itself when confronted with horrors it cannot dismiss and cannot change."




in a world of....

disagreements, denial, delusion, aggression, power hungry control freaks, chaos, arguments, scientific whaling, wild weather, franken-storms, debt, prostitution, bullying, rape, incest, suicide, murder, mental illness, addiction, death by fire, slavery, torture, terror, trench/tribal warfare, collateral damage, friendly fire, mass executions, female circumcision, abortion, euthanasia, vivisection, dismemberment, addiction, hangovers, infant mortality, global warming, explosions, abduction, sexual assault, king rats, Jimmy Saville, Joseph Frizl, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot, Leopold II, Idi Amin, other serial killers and power abusers, cancer, Ebola  aids, the next super virus, massacres, holocausts, famines, apocalyptic destruction, rampant consumerism, absolute shit, media saturation, novelty academic intellectualism, underground conspiracies, the disintegration and reintegration of the family, human-made catastrophes, and the potentially regenerative nature of human violence. Isn't a little black humour, deflection and deconstruction appropriate?

don't be so negative, it is such a turn off. Wash your mind out and fill it with nonsense...

Psychic Traumas

First World Problemos

Don't you hate it... when you feel like shit and you don't really even know why....

Why do humans continually need to feel part of something larger than themselves...

 I consider myself intelligent and not particularly mentally deluded (but I guess that's debatable), but even I have difficulty separating reality from illusion sometimes. Feelings, rumours, subjectivity, groups, leisure, social interaction is a very complex game. At times I don't know how well I am doing. I am a bit of a perfectionist. I try to focus it, in a good way to help me find faults, that need to be remedied. But it also causes me to see faults more glaringly that shouldn't really worry me, as much as they do. So double-edged sword I guess. But being a perfectionist like that also means that I want everybody to like me (you wouldn't think so from this blog though, haha) so when I am not sure if I am liked or not, I start thinking stupid shit, which attracts paranoia which then leads to more negativity and such crap. So the purpose of writing this bollocks out, was the hope that by defining and attempting to explain these feelings, it might alleviate my inner tensions that stalk me, waiting for me to trip, so they can swoop in and attack en mass. Group mentality of an individual that will lose it in the end. Do we all die alone? But pathetic questions like that, are what cause us to distract ourselves so much in the first place. Like, ya know, all that weird shit that you're not into but other people are.... So all that stuff doesn't seem that relevant or key to "real-life", where "real-people" hang out in "real-communities". But when it comes down to it, humans used to have to struggle for survival. Now a lucky few (relatively speaking) of us don't  have to fight in a literal jungle or hunt food, survive attacks from other predators, etc... so were coming up with a whole lot of other 'crazy' ways to spend our time, like reading, talking, writing, listening to music, but now I'm just explaining the very basic nature of our so-called leisure. Reminds me. I haven't read a Kurt Vonnegut book for a long time...

Limited Lifespan

Nonsense of the week:

(-Attention Span Deficit Fruitcake-)

undefined
well intentioned

cost benefited
sugar coated
spoon fed
watered down
bubble wrapped
hermetically sealed

eco friendly

fair trade

free range

organic

alone


Abbreviations of the day:

• TTP - Taking the Piss
• ADED - All day everyday

Semantics Vs. Semiotics

white noise
pink noise
brown noise
blue noise
red noise


Proof that blogging can be informative and entertaining or neither...


Whats the difference between publicity and advertising?

Some things I do (or don't do) because I am too lazy
Some things I do (or don't do) because I am too busy
is there a difference? there is in motive, but not outcome....

Existential Threat

This Mortal Coil...


cut and pasted from somewhere else: (but of interest to me)


(QUOTE: e.g. from another source)

 New evidence shows that prior to the widespread use of artificial electric lighting, folks went to sleep about two hours after sundown, slept until around midnight, and then woke up for an hour or two before going back to bed and then waking up in the morning with the sunrise.  They effectively enjoyed a “first sleep” and a “second sleep.”

The weird thing is, since the invention and widespread use of artificial electric lighting, we’ve forgotten all about this divided sleep pattern.  We’ve come to think that sleeping through the whole night is normal and natural.

Psychologists and historians now agree that it isn’t.

“For most of evolution we slept a certain way,” sleep psychologist Gregg Jacobs told the BBC this week. “Waking up during the night is part of normal human physiology.”  Jacobs went on to note that waking periods between sleeps constituted times that folks were forced into restful and relaxing activities. He offers that this pattern of sleep / waking relaxation / sleep probably played a large role in helping people to regulate stress naturally.

In his book At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past, historian Roger Ekirch explains that before the onset of electric street lamps, night was universally regarded as a dangerous time to be out and about.  The darkness made the likelihood of calamity for those who chose to venture from their homes much more likely: getting lost, falling into ditches, accidentally starting fires and other mishaps were all common tragedies.    Therefore, people awake between their first and second sleeps were likely to do quiet, relaxing things: lay in bed, pray, meditate on their dreams, talk or make love with their spouse, or write in a journal.

“Today we spend less time doing those things,” Dr Jacobs remarked. “It’s not a coincidence that, in modern life, the number of people who report anxiety, stress, depression, alcoholism and drug abuse has gone up.”

If you’re experiencing anxiety, stress or depression you might experiment with taking your sleep rhythms back to the two-period pattern.  The busy pace of modern life has made it popular to devote less time to resting and more time to work and socializing, but surviving isn’t thriving, and our quick pace of life could be destroying our wellness.

Try limiting your use of electric light and appliances (including televisions and computers) after sundown.  Experiment with going to bed right after dinner at about 8 pm, and set your alarm for midnight.  At midnight, get up and journal, pray, or meditate by candle light.  After two hours, put yourself back to bed and set your alarm for dawn.  Wake up when the sun rises and go about your day.  You’ll get about 8 total hours of sleep, and your body will sync with the same patterns that kept humans happy and healthy for thousands of years before electricity.

(UNQUOTE: back to me again...)

Ok, so I will stop the copy and pastey paste and write some stupid stuff of my own instead, I guess..

It's so good when you wake up in the middle of the night and realise you can go back to sleep for hours!
Or you just wake up and suddenly remember it's your day off! Yus!

Spirited Debate Hijacked by Trolls?

If you've read this this blog before and/or pay attention then you might have worked out I am not American, but I like to keep up with US political discussions, even though it's degenerating faster and faster into finger-pointing, name-calling and utter futility, or was it always like that?


I probably shouldn't do this, but could not resist the urge... to reproduce (cut/paste) other peoples comments without their permission or knowledge, but hopefully they would forgive me in the circumstances...
arhhhh political comment threads the most unsavoury blood sport


(re: recent Pretraeus 'scandal'...)

harp3339 said...
Send a man to an isolated war zone then send a real good looking woman that is attracted to a uniform to spend time with him and act surprised if he reacts normally. I don't get it, democrats defended congressman wiener, president Clinton, Barney and some even tried to defend candidate John Davis and now they attack the general like a mob stoning a woman for infidelity. He didn't lie or deny but did the honorable thing, admitted his mistake and resigned. I hope boy gets girl and they live happily ever after. I assume his wife is no Hilary and kicked him out, which he does deserve.

November 14, 2012 at 12:31 a.m.

blackwater48 said...
PETRAEUS SHOULDN'T RESIGN

The FBI reported that its investigation into the Patraeus affair found no criminal behavior. If that's true, I don't see why he's out of a job. While military code is strict, to accept the CIA post the former 4-star general had to retire from the Army.

If he's qualified we shouldn't let him walk. What he did was dumb but it's not against the law to exhibit poor judgement. Here's a fact: divorce rates are high for troops deployed overseas including commanding officers.

In the meantime we can all eagerly await the next realty show, 'Real Housewives of Tampa Bay,'

November 14, 2012 at 12:52 a.m.



(re: republican party self-reflection/rethinking post-2012 election thumping...)


miraweb said...
Not while there remains one libertarian, one weather system, or one tax return that can be blamed. Never surrender!

November 13, 2012 at 12:02 a.m.


David_Franks said...
Do Republicans even cast reflections?

November 13, 2012 at 12:07 a.m.



AndrewLohr said...
And have liberals nothing to reflect on? Benghazi? Solyndra? The utter failure of the stimulus bill to keep joblessness below 8%? The utter failure of the Constitution to give Congress power to regulate health care? (If it's that great an idea, amend the Constitution.) The benevolence of murdering unborn babies? The hypocrisy of requiring ID for everything but voting? The arrogant pride of putting bureaucrats between doctor and patient? Repent, you makers of disaster. (Please.)

November 13, 2012 at 12:26 a.m.



Rickaroo said...
Self reflection?? Are you kidding me? That's something that only liberal wusses do! Real Amurikans (and we all know that only conservatives are real Amurikans) don't reflect. They shoot first and ask questions later. Or rather, NEVER ask questions.

And they certainly don't apologize! They just shoot, spit, climb on their hosses and giddyup go. Oh yeah, and they wave the flag, thump the Bible, and create wars for the poor to fight in (keeps them grubby takers off welfare and food stamps at least). But self-reflect? Nah. Why self-reflect when you're already the purfekt

Amurikan, right?

November 13, 2012 at 12:42 a.m.


blackwater48 said...
NO APOLOGIES

More than just the title of Romney's autobiography, it's also at the core of republican political strategy. Never apologize and never admit a mistake; just blame the other guy.Andrew just offered a perfect demonstration of that technique. Andy could have said that the GOP has been damaged so badly they even lost the Cuban-Amerian vote in south Florida. He could have said the republican base is shrinking, the complexion of America is changing, and republicans have to have a serious reassessment or they'll go the way of Whigs and Mugwumps. But he didn't. He just blamed democrats over and over again.

When you use real arithmetic, not the math republicans tell themselves to feel better, the numbers should be frightening. But go ahead, blame Rush, blame the media, blame Romney, blame the campaign strategists, blame down ballot candidates, blame whomever and whatever you want.

"The Fault, Dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves."

November 13, 2012 at 1:12 a.m. permalink suggest removal


harp3339 said...
Join Obama and blame Bush, seems to work pretty good.

November 13, 2012 at 3:36 a.m.


ricardo said...
In 2008, the GOP nominated moderate John McCain and lost and got pummelled by Barack Obama. Four years later in 2012, they nominate another moderate Mitt Romney and get hammered again. In 2016, they need to change course and nominate an extremely radical right wingnut.

November 13, 2012 at 5:39 a.m.


timbo said...
Another stupid cartoon. Obama was elected because of minority racism. If he was white Romney would have beat Obama like a government mule. Democrats always play the race card. Minorities have too many cultural problems too be preaching to republicans. A wise thing to do would be to emulate a successful culture. Instead of making excuses.

The sad thing is that the Rino dominated GOP is falling for this crap. The domination of conservatives in 2010 and the failure of two liberal candidates in 8 years doesn't seem enough to convince this idiots that more conservative is the way to go. You can't out liberal and out-pander the democrats.
This advice you are getting from your enemy the democrats is only meant to manipulate republicans. Do you honestly think they are trying help us beat them?

November 13, 2012 at 7:19 a.m.



dude_abides said...
Yes, timbo, yes! Hard right turn! Yank that freaking wheel! That's not a ditch, it's a new way forward, the GOP-HOV lane!

No, wait, bypass the cities completely!
November 13, 2012 at 7:30 a.m.





timbo said...
dude......now that was good advice......thanks

November 13, 2012 at 7:41 a.m.




daytonsdarwin said...
The shattered reflection was the image of religious whack-jobs like Akin, Bachman, Palin, and Mourdock, and the Republican Inquisition "God and Jesus" uber-fundies who scared the bejesus out of otherwise political conservatives and moderates.

Anxious to defend Israel, ready to bomb Iran, can't wait to invade Syria, throw Palestinians and non-Christians out of Jerusalem, and make Old Testament Christianity the law in America.

Killing for the Glory of Gawd and Jebus.

November 13, 2012 at 8:28 a.m.




miraweb said...
A Farewell to the "Southern Strategy"

Republican operatives have used some form of the race-dividing Southern Strategy since Barry Goldwater’s team invented it in the 1960s. That’s nearly 50 years of race baiting aimed at under-educated, white rednecks.

The Southern Strategy tapped into the ludicrous belief that black people are dumber, lazier and more venal than white men. It helped secure victories for Nixon, Reagan, and George Bush Sr. by fomenting the view that white people needed to band together to keep black people from stealing the national cookie jar.

But it fell entirely flat this time. Apparently, you can call the President a Muslim-Socialist-Kenyan-Anti-colonial-Black-Nationalist-Terrorist-food-stamp-lover who worships at the feet of his Southern Baptist, Anarchist Pastor.

But you can no longer expect to be taken seriously by a large proportion of voters when you do.

Columnist Jimmy Zuma

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/110812_dyingmemes/something-died-election-day/

November 11, 2012 at 1:18 a.m.

Snappy Answers to Questionable Stupidity

When did common courtesy become so uncommon?

What is the point?

Do we really always need one?

Some of my favourite things are pointless...

it is highly subjective though

like most of my topics

and the rest

Some drugs (p.s alcohol, nicotine, caffeine are drugs as well as things that you buy at a dance party... a pharmacist or are given in hospital to anaesthetise or relieve pain) ...make you wanna talk to everyone you ever loved. Others make you feel like you already are...

DIY Dentistry

Random Playlist/mix tape for the day:
(it's all about the order)

'Breezeblocks' - Alt-J
'Bang Bang Bang' - Mark Ronson & The Business Intl
'Simple Song' - The Shins
'Transdermal Celebration' -Ween
'Trembling Hands' -The Temper Trap
'Five Seconds' - Twin Shadow
'Tesselate' -Alt-J
'The Puritan' - Blur
'212' -Azealia Banks
'Hold the Line' - Major Lazer
'Trick Me' - Kelis
'Ghosts' - he Presets
'Saint Etienne' - Language Lab



p.s don't get too deep into MMO games or you might find you have less time to spend on other matters...
got a new job though and so far it's pretty sweet, could just be the honeymoon phase, but I'm hoping not, I can definitely say it is an improvement on the last one, that was shitty as... but I did it for roughly seven years, so I guess I can't moan too much, but during that time I spent four months in South East Asia, survived several massive earthquakes and a car crash, had two nervous breakdowns and got a whole new perceptive on everything, but those are other stories for other venues of other lifetimes of other dimensions, of not wanting to tell anyone that there is no way they can actually prove this life is real, but don't want people to use that as an excuse to not give a fuck, cos it seems pretty real and the consequences of what we do later on are real as fuck... religion is a good starting point for looking at the world but you have to combine compassion and charity with a broad knowledge of the worlds of science, academia, the arts and not close your mind to new ideas, but really challenge every thought, prophecy, prediction, method, stereotype, excuse, pretext, if it doesn't work after careful thought, reject it and keep moving forward, expose all actions to scrutiny, if a pattern or habit is good, then keep it, if not then you should really not.... but it's a bit of a balancing act really.. so just take on board what I've said, but mix it with other things you know to be true and then look for the next way we can improve things, without hurting what we've got.. remembering our brains are full of chemicals before we even start putting more in there...

Yo Mama!

I not sure if many of you would be interested in satirical websites about current NZ politics...But just in case you would like to defy my predictions, here are a few I found out about, in the last month or so....

• Imperator Fish
• The Dim-Post

and if course if you would like a liberal slice of US politics in postman Pat style cartoon format, always go see Clay Bennett, I have had a link to these for a long time here, neatly disguised by the title: Editoral Cartoons from Chattanooga, on the right side bar type thingy...

poke fun of those in power

Some Velvet Morning

Live through this...


Ok so I only got to 40 days in a row of the haiku thing...
but I still think it was a pretty momentous personal accomplishment anyway...






Day 37 - 8-10-12
Title: Thirty Seven (Unwritten Letters)
thirty seven thoughts
run away from their master
some best left unsaid




D a y  3 8 - Ninth of October
Title: Thirty Eight (The Great Debate)
no matter what state
you cannot escape your fate
with a thirty eight




day 39 - 10th of the 10th ofthe 12th
title: Thirty Nine (they used to be cool)
are hippies now a
less dominant subculture
thirty nine roach clips




Day 40 - 11th October 2012
Title: Forty (a nice round number)
forty not fourty
merely so by convention
common misspelling



End of sequence... (for now)
Made it to 40


New Stuff:

Possible future topics of discussion:

Sleep is quite a fascinating thing...
that we seem to know relatively very little about
recharge, reorder, replenish, repent?
We just accept that a third of our lives will be black out
circadian rhythms, I miss my second sleep.

Resistance, Rebellion, and Death.

Can you justify your actions?

Haiku updates for Days 29 through 36 (of 100):

Day 29 - 30/09/12

Title: Twenty Nine (tragic disaster)

went to work that day

those twenty nine men of Pike

never to return

Day 30 - 1st October Twenty Twelve

Title: Thirty (years)

still young at thirty

an age I don't want to be

the end of childhood

Day 31 – 2^nd Oct

Title: Thirty One (Cynical excuses)

Thirty one thousand

People killed in Syria

Damn veto power

Day 32 - 3rd Oct

Title: Thirty Two (Shoppers)

Thirty two people

went to the market that day

most bought shiny things

Day 33 - 4th Oct

Title: Thirty three (Stars)

thirty three uppers

downers screamers laughers then

Buzzy McBuzz Buzz

Day 34 - 5/10/12

Title: Thirty four (Crumbles)

rust neglect decay

thirty four years without care

old infrastructure

Thirty Fifth Day - 6th Oct 12

Title: Thirty Five (Animations)

magical comrades

thirty five repeats a day

of Finn and Jake time

Day 36 - 7-10-2012

Title: Thirty Six (placebos)

my hypothesis

thirty six experiments

no more conclusions

God Damn Pinko Liberal Commie Class War

I've seen my brothers working
Throughout this mighty land;
I prayed we'd get together,
And together make a stand.

Then we'd own those banks of marble,
With a guard at every door;
And we'd share those vaults of silver,
That we have sweated for

(Banks Are Made of Marble - Pete Seeger)


Why is it that the poor are "fighting class warfare" when they are just trying to survive...
Whereas if people build up vast amounts of wealth and don't share it, that's cool...

Well to me that's totally fucked, if you really think about life, doesn't it make sense that society should be judged on how it treats the weakest? Trickle down doesn't work, it's trickle up bitches, like Henry Ford observed. If you pay workers enough to purchase products then they will and everybody wins, well except the environment  but we seemed pretty determined to fuck that up too, so whatevs.... I wish everybody had a good work ethic and took personal responsibility for themselves, but that doesn't seem to be realistic, so should we just unleash poverty and let that sort it out? Our proletariat now live in the third world where our products are made. Should we care less about people because they are on the other side of a line on the map? Or because they speak a different language? Our system wants a certain level of unemployment to keep wages low, we exported our slavery. Poverty is not an individual problem. Starvation is caused by lack of distribution, not shortage. But thinking about that stuff just makes me angry. Might go and count my money.

Is it ironic that the news of MLK's death caused riots across America?


Planned Shrinkage

Twist n Shout

Life is happy
Life is sad
Life is in between

Go with it

Micro Financing (Punk Is Dead)

Qualitative Easing continued... see earlier posts for context (or don't, what do I care?)

Days 22 through 28... hopefully they aren't getting worse...

D-22  23/09/12
Title: Twenty Two (Intentions)
telescopic sight
twenty two calibre gun
let god be the judge



Day Twenty Three - 24-9-12
Title: Twenty Three (enigma)
what is the time now
twenty three minutes past ten
that clock is broken



24th Day of 100 - 25 Sept
Title: Twenty Four (hour coverage)
constant stimuli
must fill vacuum at all costs
twenty four seven



Day 25 - 26/09/12
title: Twenty Five (The Best Number)
one point two five score
quarter of a century
twenty five times one




Day 26 -27-9-2012
Title: Twenty six (values)
fortnights in a year
alphabet post square pre cube
twenty six red cards



Day 27 - 28th Sept
Title: Twenty Seven (transit)
the Saturn return
Jim Jimi Janis Kurt went
club twenty seven



D a y  2 8  - - 29/09/12
T i t l e : 2 8 ( r h y m e s )
straight late date wait mate
plenty great twenty eight rate
hate fate state debate

Good Show Old Boy

__Another Haiku Dump of Non-Epic Proportions (or so they say...)__

--Days 14 through 21 of 100--

- Day 14 - (15/09/12)
Title: Fourteen (Good Friday)
last days of jesus
fourteen stages of passion
stations of the cross


Day 15 - 16 sept
Title Fifteen (fame spiral)
viral bandwagon
famous on the internet
fifteen minutes of shame


Day 16 :-| 17-9-12
Title: Sixteen (scandals)
legal in some states
sweet sixteen in the summer 
silence is consent


Day 17 - 18.09.2012
Title: Seventeen (going back)
seventeen again
ignorant and innocent
why did I do that


D:18 19-9-12
Title: Eighteen (struggles)
eighteen sixty one
crisis precipitates change
sad distracted year


19th Day - 20th Sept
Title: Nineteen (Scenarioes)
fine nineteen degrees
cloud clearing this afternoon
maybe possibly


Day 20 - 21/Sept/2012
Title: Twenty (predictions)
seeing the future
not twenty twenty hindsight
I wish I could know


([Day Twenty One]) {22/09/12}
Title: Twenty One (responsibilities)
get serious now
twenty one age of the key
access the rat race





...are we going on a journey?
not even half way there yet sorry...
 should we just give up now?
and do what instead?
never mind, carry on...
 push on through man

The Death of Television (Auto-tuned Reprise)

[Day Ten] 11-09-12

Title: Ten (ways to sin)

a rule book for life

specific but out of date

the ten commandments

[day eleven][12 Sept 12]

TITLE: Eleven (Cameos/casinos)

rat pack then brad pitt

stars teaming up for crime spree

oceans eleven

D A Y 1 2 - - 13 - s e p t

title: Twelve (scare tactics)

twelve angry monkeys

killing on a death pannel

that does not exist 

{D.a.y 1.3 - 1.4-0.9-1.2}

Title: Thirteen (Stitches)

unlucky for some

thirteen black cats break mirrors

under a ladder

Pre-existing Conditions

The Saga continues... (for now)

[Day Seven] - 8/9/2012

Title: Seven (Chakras)

days seas notes wonders

the magnificent number 

seven deadly sins

[Day Eight] - 09/09/12

Title: Eight (Ohh eight)

eight bits to a byte

ask Henry the octopus

he counts on his legs

[Day Nine] - 10/09/2012

Title: Nine (Lives of Dante)

what do we do next

your guess is as good as mine

nine spheres of heaven

Jon Stewart For President

[Day 6] - 7th september 2012
Title: Six (Clint Eastwood)
the man with no name
saved towns with a six shooter
now bickers with chairs

Birds Flying High, You Know How I feel...

Day 5 of 100 haiku(s) continues...

Ok so it is day number five and I seem to be coming up with ideas, they are just tending to be on the darker side. Not necessarily on purpose which is a little bit worrying, or not, depending on your point of view I guess... it's funny adding something new into your routine each day. Usually easy to find a good time, but occasionally not.

06th-September 2012* -Day 5:

Title: Five (Greasy Pieces)

five ways to make eggs

scrambled poached fried hard-boiled smashed

fuck uncle Bully

p.s - Sorry if you don't get it. It's an NZ thing.
p.s.s - Sorry if you are offended by profane language, but I'm not really writing this shit for kids yo.

*Day - Month - Year - should be the agreed format for dates, none of this month then day funny business!

Hyper Transparency

Can the momentum continue?

Here are yesterday's and today's Haiku (is that the plural of itself?)

4th Sept 2012 (Day 3 of 100?):
Title: Three (Why Here?)

how can we help you?
three fingers of whiskey please
this is a church sir

---{[<--=_--;{};--_=-->]}---

5th Sept 2012 (Day 4):
Title: Four (Jazz Funk Fusion)

post punk folk break step
all genres are pigeon holes
four to the floor mix


wonder how painful/challenging/rewarding this is going to be....

Quartz, Parchment, Shears

100 Day Haiku Adventure

3rd Sept 2012 (Day Two):

Title: Two (together alone)

tranquil seclusion
just two of us forever
Josef Fritzl said

Oh no if I'm resorting to talking about Fritzl on the second day, then how dark will this sequence get? It was just a random idea I got and couldn't reject. Wanted to bring out the dark sinister side of the line "just two of us forever" but might have gone to the extreme. But it happened so there is no point denying it or not thinking he could possibly be one of the worst humans ever, outside of wartime. How did that happen though? And for so many years. FFS

Patterns Within Patterns

OK so I heard this idea on the radio this morning about doing something over and over again for 100 days. Lot's of other people have done this recently in NZ as part of the "100 day Project". Basically picking some sort of (hopefully enjoyable) creative task or process, and repeat it everyday for one hundred days in a row. So I wanted to pick something that is challenging enough that I will want to do it and stay motivated, but not something that is so difficult that I won't be able to insert it into my daily life or complete on a repetitive basis. Something unrestricted enough to allow 100 days of exploration, but not so general that it will lose all meaning and be given up. Different phases of emotion will be gone through, but the work will have to remain constant. So I could possibly draw something, take a photo, write something, paint something, make something; possibilities can go on toward infinity...

but I have deciced to write a Haiku a day for 100 days, titled 'One' to 'One Hundred'. Hopefully, that is if I can complete it! The only restriction being that each day's haiku will be titled by the number of that day and it has to use the number of that day somewhere in it.

Ok so without futher adieu, this shall be day one's attempt:


2nd Sept 2012 (Day One):
Title: One (Pole position)


alone by itself
is the loneliest number
single, hole in one


let's see if I can stick with this... doesn't mean I am going to put them up on here daily, just means I will write one each day, but eventually they will go on here for annoyance, posterity, etc...

Knowing Silence Will Speak For Her

Alligators on a train

I'm Not The Walrus

are you?

elephant in the room

advertisement break

online discussion forum

bogged down by name calling
monsters in the swamp
crabs in a barrel
stagnant trolls

ignorance and fear
have had far longer to take root
than science and reason
which are relative newcomers
to the fray

are there certain things we have to think about?
or can it all be ignored forever?
don't think about it

sometimes you just have to go for it...

custard eye

far better than hello goodbye

Right Of Asylum

When a diplomatic row between the United Kingdom and Ecuador, is sparked by the threat of extraditing an Australian to Sweden, so he can be possibility be sent for trial in the United States of America, for leaking info sourced in Iraq; that's globalisation for you.

Free Pussy Riot

My 2 cents/DNR

I usually give my views less overtly and more indirectly that this, but the current conversations in media and societies that I monitor are escalated beyond reason toward ignorance, arrogance and shouting...

abortion is not great but it's her choice
gay marriage is not going to harm heterosexual marriages
euthanasia is not pleasant but ends suffering
drugs can be addictive and harmful, but so are alcohol and tobacco
keep your own morale crusade to yourself
let people have their own opinion
people should be able to decide for themselves
as long as their descison does not harm others
we should pretty much get to please ourselves
theres no excuse for discrimination
don't try to tell me God's opinion
I don't think he would appreciate your tone
stop telling others what to do

Rube Goldberg Machine

Mission Creep
Division and Anger


Anxious Narcissism
Lifestyle Maintenance

Elegant Solutions
Diminishing Returns

Don't Feed The Trolls
You'll be judged

"it's always funny when the joke is on someone else...

wars unite people against a common foe
just like sports

cos we always need an enemy right?

to unite the group and such

or take their resources

whatever way we can

(ab)use our power

Post-Post-Post-Post-Post-Post-Post

Post-Modern, Post-Apocalyptic, Post-Coitus, Post-Olympic, Post-Rock, Post-Punk, Post-Grunge, Post-Dubstep, Post-Graduate, Post-Traumatic, Post-Everything, Post-Racial, Post-Cultural, Post-American, Post-Colonial, Post-Cold War, Post-Millennial, Post-Op, Post-Structuralism, Post-feminism, Post-Kyoto, Post-Hiroshima, Post-Haste, Post-Zionism, Post-Dated, Post-Mortem, Post-It, Post-Liberal, Post-Industrial, Post-Commercial, Post-Post-Modern, Post-Man Pat

Bo Xilai

"the figure at the center of the drama whose fall from grace earlier this year plunged into disarray the party's plans for a smooth reshuffle of is top leaders"

"the elephant in the room that this entire press release is dancing around—they clearly don't want to imply his culpability in this"

former party chief of Chongqin and until recently a leading candidate for promotion
once seen as a high-flyer tipped for top office
ousted Politburo member

above the law?

"China’s leaders have also tried to ring-fence the scandal, presenting it as the solitary case of an errant senior official."

Timeline

Provincial Reconstruction Team

Unrepentantly postulating theoretical incursions into unknown territorial waters of knowledge and powerlessness. Usually starting an argument or debate, then going on a tangent and not completing...

Alternative histories, other ways of living.
Not being hooked into the 'system'.

Too alternative for the mainstream, but too mainstream for the alternative.

Then and now introducing some odious and divisive buzzwords in the tune of an eighties song for those with a tenuous grasp on modern history:

Mass shooting, proxy war

assassination, holocaust

Vietnam, J.F.K

World War II, M.L.K

Woodstock, Watergate

Cover-up, motorcade

Abdication, renegade

abortion clinic, hand grenade

Freedom fighter, terror raid

genocide, space race

9-11, Middle-East

religious clash, R.P.G

Suicide pact, W.M.D

AK-47, Wiki-leak

Israel, Palestine

Iron Curtain, Breadline

Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia

local conflict, deadly drama

Nepotism, abuse of power

trade dispute, napalm shower

Mates rate, space dust

date rapes, fake lust

We didn't start the fire... it was just a Billy Joel song.

The easiest way to get comments online, is to make a spelling mistake....

Guns or Butter?

Ours is NOT to do or die. 

Ours is just to reason WHY?

The stench of compromise is preferable to the stench of death*




 *except apparently, in case of every war or armed conflict that has ever been, is currently unfolding or will ever occur in the future.

Governments seem to spend far more on military armaments, than education, culture or measures to combat poverty. So spending many more dollars to start a war rather than to stop one. Prevention is better than the cure, unless that prevention is mutually assured destruction. Can't we all just get along? Well obviously not, but can't we all focus a little less on killing people who don't speak our language or participate in our "Free-trade" agreements? Ok well, it's not really so much, the people on the ground  in the populations who want to kill others, but somehow they always end up with leaders that would rather use soldiers than diplomacy. The two World Wars didn't need to happen, but I can hardly imagine how the world would be if they hadn't. The whole system was cruising for a bruising clash, to teach itself how bad war is. Nationalistic rivalries and imperialistic jealousies, seem to trump shared humanity when it comes to the crunch. Just do what the media tells you and it will all be fine, for them.

Whenever there is another unexplained tragic horrible shooting massacre, that seem to occur frequently. Blame violence in society caused by Hollywood, video games, the internet, trench coats, hidden messages in music, Gothic subcultures, or anything the kids are into these days. But never, ever, EVER... blame guns or threaten to restrict their distribution or sale, if you ever want to get elected in America. From my cold dead hands, but you have to kill me first and I have a cache that would make David Koresh a bit nervous. So blame Batman, and try to only use your AK only for self-defence, or turning off light bulbs.

Partially Privatised

Variety is obviously 'the spice of life', or so we've been told. But is it really? I mean really?

Or is it really...



Variety is the spice of inconsistency
Variety is the spice of sex
Variety is the luck of change
Variety is the way of nature
Variety is the business
Variety is difficult to categorise
Variety is hard to predict
Variety is not where you left it
Variety is the fuel of comedy
Variety is reason for our differences
Variety is unexpected and scary
Variety is just around the corner
Variety is coming next Tuesday
Variety is a vagabond
Variety is on a plate
Variety is magical
Variety is a word
Variety defies definition
Variety creates interesting juxtapositions
Variety hates uniformity and lists
Variety loves company and misery
Variety emits and submits
Variety deludes and excludes
Variety denies and supplies
Variety does what it wishes
Variety can be harmony
Variety will set you free
Variety is hard work
Variety rocks

The End Of History

You can find where these quotes came from yourself, I'm obviously admitting I didn't think them up originally, as some of them are quite famous or infamous in their own right or transitioning toward a common cliché for some. But one person's cultural touchstone, is another's idea of academic torture.  I could go on tangents at any time and frequently do. Some could have multiple sources. As it's all getting quite derivative and multi-layered in the world of everything. Pop will eat itself and we will all enjoy the show. So, why should I spoon feed you and say where they all came from? I mean we can all use a search engine these days, can't we?
I mean really.... Anyway quotey-time-time!

• Never on schedule, always on time.

• Jesus died for somebodies sins, but not mine.

• We have met the enemy and he is us.

• We are the music-makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.

• I was the Dreamweaver. But now I'm reborn. 

• No one's gonna love you more than I do.

• The things we fear most have already happened.

• Everything that's made, is made to decay.

• None of this matters.

Critical Thinking

It's raining and pouring down in an absolutely filthy way, where I am currently

I can hear rain attacking the windows and wind bullying trees outside.

But to tell you the truth it gives me an excuse to be inside and do eff all.

I mean I could be doing that with sun coming through the windows,

but it always makes me feel slightly guiltier, like I am wasting daylight or sun...

Yet, If I am doing something I want to do though, is there any harm or wastage?

Weather-related Mini-Playlist:

Take a Run at The Sun - Dinosaur Jr.

Catch the Sun - Doves

Catch Up in The Sun - Beach Pigs (NZ)

Book Car Service

Rantfest:


People stick to old familar ways...

Nothing dates faster than the ultramodern, the cutting-edge...

Don't want it how it is now, want it like a mythical past.







Suffix collections:


-als:

Fundamental
Environmental
Ecological
Economical
Social
Political
Financial
Philosophical
Visual
Aesthetical
Spiritual
Personal
Emotional
Existential


-tions:

Meditation
Concentration
Reflection
Motivation
Conception
Contemplation
Situation
starvation
Conservation
Promotion
Preservation
Consternation


-ines

Iodine
Equine
Asinine
Intestine
Nicotine
Caffeine
Codeine
Cocaine
Morphine
Nectarine
Crystalline
Submarine
Amphetamine



Bric vs Piigs:

Brazil
Russia
India
China

Portugal
Ireland
Italy
Greece
Spain




Random Bits:

"A mask is a lie you wear on your face"

“Accept that all you can do is change yourself.”

“God is a concept by which we measure our pain” -John Lennon

  The 12th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century, and the 3rd of the 2010s.

  Lease the atmosphere for pixelated messages...

Exercise. Relaxation. Sleep.

Maintain well-being.

Perpetuate quality of life.

Increase resilience.

Help yourself.

Do stuff, then don't.

Sneak out for a break.

Get amongst it.

Grab it.

Be nice to it.

Sort it into genres.

Plan, organise, lead, control.

Flexibility, strength, self-delusion.

Snappy slogans for modern living.

Handy hints for enjoying existence.

Figure out what's important.

The Power of Habit...

Cosmic Glue

No cause for conCERN

All the large Hadron particle collisions paid off! Smashing...

Big ups to the Higgs boson for keeping us all together!

Giving mass to the masses since ages ago.

Found it hiding in some protons.

Inappropriate Timing

Toadstools

Editorial Independence

"I feel a nostalgia for an age yet to come..."

"It's not so much what you didn't say,
but the tone of voice you didn't use,
when I never heard what you didn't say."

Hiding behind words and trying to fool you.

Nonsense is under-rated.

Holiday Panoramas

100 Years Today

...since the birth of Alan Turing.

• code-breaker
• mathematician
• father of modern computing

if not for him then we might not be doing what we're doing right now....

he even got his own google doodle for the day

what an honour

Tango Bravo Lima

Unfortunately history is riddled with exploitaion, greed, slavery, corruption, colonisation etc... but the ones who are trying to tell you that are communist/marxist/socialist types that are only picking the bits of info that suit them... I guess it takes too long to explain, but they are right but the masses will never believe them!

a bit like the matrix, but it's just credit/debt instead of a plug in the back of ya head, but they may get the technology for that soon and give it a try...

But I guess that is not something you want to dwell on for to long, it's not the sort of thought that will get you through a hard day at the coalface. But I guess a challenge there for us to try and break the cycle, depending on your level of cynicism.

Power to the people. Right on!

Third-party Loophole

Hash-tag Activism

Brand Ambassador
Chequebook Legislation

Integrated Marketting
Commercial Loyalty

Encouraged Apathy
Ingrained Misinformation

Corporate Manslaughter

Inherited Privilege

If I was being polite I would say monarchies are irrelevant, quaint or redundant.

Remnants of a time of 'Divine rule', powerful dynasties and dominant bloodlines.

But really they are a celebration of inequality and blind allegiance to authority.

Isn't it time for taxpayers to stop funding the lives of the rich and famous?

How can Britain justify spending so much on Diamond Jubilee activities for Queen Liz (...and the Olympics come to think about it), when they are in a time of grave austerity and can't afford public services. Raising the costs of tertiary education, reducing welfare entitlements, reducing corporate accountability, weakening labour protection laws. Deregulation for Murdoch mates and other stuff to help the banks and screw the masses. Everybody just laps it up. As if I needed another reason to hate Paul McCartney and all the other chumps on stage waving inanely and thanking the old dear. Ok that last bit is a tad overly negative, but really I am critical of the way the majority of the western world just swallows it all down. Classless warfare.

Transit of Venus

Completely Unconnected Randomness:


Excess Breath Alcohol
Opiate of the masses
Austerity v Stimulus
Oh sweet nothing
Highly Observant
A plethora of poo
Empty platitudes
Feed the ducks
Words losing all meaning
Back to the bad old days
Poorly conceived visual analogies

Seditious Thoughts

Burn the truth
Slash the state
Resist the Urge
Stop the party
Nah, just kidding eh

Revenge is never a good thing, but I always want it!
Feels like retribution is a substitute for justice
not a source of satisfaction for the avenger
But it just seems like some people or fictional characters
would deserve a good kicking, but where is the line?
vengeance, karma, retribution, viscous cycles
It's a slippery slope

Ultimate Insult

What's the scenario?

(a) voice
(b) time
(c) mission
(d) star


(a) enter
(b) space
(c) violation
(d) social


(a) movement
(b) science
(c) security
(d) dichotomy


(a) party
(b) cosmic
(c) Thesaurus
(d) charm


(e) sick session
(f) silver tsunami


Felt it?

Subtle Melodrama

Beyond redemption?
Is there such a thing?
A point where rehab is impossible?
Is capital punishment ever necessary?
Do we allow cycles to continually dictate everything?

Constant Stimulation

= flexible labour market = lack of collective bargaining = low wages = lack of collective bargaining = 

Unrelated  non-sentiments:

I read an article the other day about an Iranian dude on the run, that they referred to as the "Salman Rushdie of Rap" or "Rushdie of Music". Because he has had a fatwa placed upon him, due to his lyrics challenging the religious rulers of the Islamic republic. etc. etc... Anyway the term "Rushdie of Rap" made me think of alternative personality-career-cross-overs, such as:

• "The Pythagoras of Painting"
• "The Nostradamus of Weather-forecasting"
• "The Brittany Spears of Politics"
• "The Bowie of Brain Surgery"
• "The Bart Simpson of Media Ownership"
• "The Machiavelli of male Modelling"
• "The Adolph Hitler of Parking Enforcement" 
• "The Jesus of Professional Sport"
• "The Scrooge McDuck of Finance Ministers"
• "The Michael Bay of Party-organisation"
• "The Richard Branson of stamp collecting"
• "The M.C Hammer of Empire Building"
• "The Jon Stewart of Line-dancing"
• "The Orwell of Ornithology"
• "The Colbert of Colonoscopy"
• "The Oprah of Telemarketing"
• "The Mel Gibson of Thumb-wrestling"
• "The Will Smith of Sandcastle-Building"

How to wreck a nice beach?

Steampunk

Shower Scene: (experiment in extremely-short storytelling)

Gavin turned on the shower and watched as the water fell suddenly to the whiteness below. Splashing quickly then sliding down the drain out of sight like it had been waiting ready for that exact moment. An army of H2O propelling itself forward, each soldier parachuting out to accomplish its mission. He often had silly thoughts like this while he waited for things, it seemed like life involved a lot of 'waiting', where you can't do anything for one moment or so, then the system reboots gifting you a million options but bugger all time to use them. The water reached maximum hotness, so he adjusted the temp to just the right status and jumped on in.

After the initial acclimatisation and joy of the hot water, the shampoo and soap routine can begin. Showers are one of those simple pleasures that never gets boring, just one of those mindless daily things we all do and never find the need to really discuss. Because, well, the aim is simple: get clean. Not something you need to over-think. But that is one of those nice wee ironies of life, over-thinkers don't get to choose what they over-think about. So on the odd occasion they may find that they end up analysing the mundane, the banal, the stuff that everybody else just got on with, without being curious. It didn't happen all the time of course, but sporadically Gavin would get stuck in obscure thoughts. Like when did people first start taking showers and how serious historically, were humans, about hygiene. Apparently only a few generations back whole families shared bathwater, but in modern times it seems almost abnormal not to shower daily. Not that he'd done a survey or anything, but he could just tell by looking around at the people in his office that with the amount of bodily preparation they attended to they must shower everyday to achieve this. Sometimes he could skip a day on a weekend, but never more than one in a row, his hair and by default his forehead just got too greasy for his liking. This was partially behind the reasoning for his new 'shower at night' routine, which was current being trialled. You see if Gavin washed his hair in the morning before work, he felt like it went a bit dry and sort of fluffy, which he disliked. But if he didn't wash it his hair would get a bit oily. So the solution that seemed to work was to wash it at night and then wake up with bed hair, but because his hair was quite short the bed hair looked like it was meant to be that way.

He realised his mind had drifted off as he finished washing the remaining soap off and getting those last few blasts of hot water at the face. In a moment he would unfortunately turn the water off and reach out for the towel located close by. Dry off and go to bed. But for some reason it just seems more natural to shower in the morning, he guessed because he uses it as a way to wake up...

add/rewrite?

Alan Partridge Ah-haa

Knowing me, knowing you:

insulting the guests

and accidentally alienating the audience

In the funniest way possible!

Was just explaining to someone the other day, 

how funny that was.

Hook Me Up

Without a fixed point of anchor, we would all drift out to sea...
I'm worse off by myself, I prefer your help

Play. Film. Story. Project. War. Meal.

Famous for being  famous
Disaster within a disaster
Party inside a party
Crisis sandwich
Emergreme

Palindrome of swirling chaos

I may be a little sad, but I'm not like full blown pissed off

But maybe that would help sometimes...





http://www.cyberspike.com/clarke/chicktow.html

Honey and Vinegar Realty

the tackiness of commerce
we all just let it happen...
won't let you trick me twice
the inevitability of economic progress
the intention to continue to be
some gave all, all gave some
drift to oblivion

I don't know what I want but i want it now
don't be sorry, just be better.

we have things to do before we sleep

don't stop me now
keep it unreal

"All hobbies suck, but if you stick at it for long enough you might kill some precious time."
"Coin collecting is just like life, it stopped being fun a long time ago."
-Homer J. Simpson

Empathy vs. Sympathy vs. Apathy

“So far, I am having real trouble making up names for my characters. Ok I am actually also having trouble giving the characters characteristics too. Then it’s thinking of what will happen to them… like do I make it plot driven or character driven? Everything has to have an arc, doesn’t it?”

Steve was pondering starting his creative written exercises again, but he didn’t know where to start. Tony breathed out his bong hit and passed it back to Steve. But before he started his next toke Steve continued with his frustration:

“Like does everything have to be significant? I know my dialogue is gonna sound phony as hell, and when I use the word phony, I’m always tempted to throw a couple of goddamns in there… and I haven’t even read ‘catcher’ in years.” He was about to light up but instead continued his thought rant.

“Like do I try to give them names that mean something or just make them into strong characters, so that that carries the meanings I want to express? But if I keep up all this overthinking, I will never start writing anything, that’s all I know for sure right now.”

They were sitting on the couch again, talking about what they could be doing; instead of actually doing it, as debate and conjecture seemed far easier than actually doing stuff. It was just after sunset and they had finished work for the day. As Steve finally had his next toke, Tony broke the conversational silence. “I always wanted to name a character ‘Dean Moriarty’, but would that be pretentious?” He blurted out.

Steve almost choked in a mild fit of laughter. Then sniped back...

“Pretentious? Why don’t you just write a list of the books you’ve read instead, or name your work: ‘Please Associate Me with Kerouac, ‘cos he was Famous.’  You have only read ‘On The Road” anyway.”

Tony was only ever so slightly embarrassed at Steve’s derision.  And chimed back “Have you ever tried to read his other stuff? I just don’t have a big enough pharmaceutical collection to find the significance of a drunken Buddhist.”

                “Harsh call bro” Retorted Steve.

                “No I don’t mean the man no disrespect or anything like that. I mean, I guess you need to have a harsh life or some pretty heavy shit go down on you, before you can really write what you feel. And same goes for understanding it, like you can sympathise all you like, but you’ll never really empathise with the truth of it all.” Tony's' thoughts seemed to trail off into the distance as he realised the significance of his own statement. Steve took over the conversation, back on his own train of thinking. “It seems like it would be way easier to write a song or a comic, than write a whole book. I mean you can just sketch the outlines and let people pile whatever meaning they want into your holes of ambiguity. But with a novel you have to give the reader almost everything. Usually a backstory, strong character types that English teachers can analyse in 50 years’ time and a plot that perfectly unfolds slowly throughout the chapters and then draws you right in at the end. It’s just too much to think about, and I don’t even know what I want my characters to say or do. I don’t even know what message I want to give my audience, if any.”

Tony tried to tame this burden of significance that Steve was creating. “Maybe you could just start with a short story with two characters, having a bit of a chat?’”

                “Well I could do that, but who the fuck would want to read that kind of bollocks Tony?”

                “Just stick it up on the internet somewhere, there’s so many bored people out there looking for distractions from their own dramas, they will read anything. Well you know what I mean.”

                “Cheers man, that is like ultra-comforting indeed. I can imagine the critical comments that would generate. I mean have you noticed how much everyone seems to argue on the net? It’s like everyone just enjoys having a big whinge and a tearing other people’s ideas down these days. Or just blatantly insulting people for perceived homosexuality or that whole 'go-back-to-where-you-come-from' crap.”

                “I told you not to read the comments on YouTube dickhead.  Haters always gonna hate dude. Can't stop that, like war and glaciers. Death and taxes... But anyway, forget the criticism, I mean everyone has to start from somewhere, even if your first few attempts are absolute bullshit. ”

                “I repeat ultra –comforting man, have you thought of being a guidance counsellor or something? The general enthusiasm generating machine you are!”

                “I already work in a call centre; everyone unloads their emotional shit all over you, even if they have called the wrong phone number.”  

They both started laughing and looked outside as a plane flew off into the distance. “But in all seriousness how awesome would it be to create characters, people actually cared about?”

“I’m sure they will have shitty names though.  Or just sound like it's me having a conversation with myself in my head though, so what’s the point in reading or even writing that? I will just try for total deconstruction anyway. Pulling all the atoms apart, without ever fixing a molecule. Words slicing through the pretence but really just in a practice way, anyway. With no greater meaning keeping it together, just a grab-bag cluster of extinct references of stuff from the previous century and occasionally this one. Boring!”

“Dude, who are you?”

“Founding member of over-thinkers anonymous.”

“Nuff said…” They smiled at the dusk and thought of the hills and beyond, in the least cheesiest way possible, but no plot twists ensued for fear of clichéd overuse and it definitely wasn't all a dream.