Apologies for the lull. I'm about to give birth to a new blog, one that needs a new home. It's a blog I'm far more qualified to write, and one that I will be able to update far more regularly. No more details for now. I want to build up the hype.
STAY TUNED. SO TO SPEAK...
2.15.2008
U.S. will attempt to shoot down doomed satellite.
US 193, a dud reconnaissance satellite carrying secret imaging equipment, is in a decaying orbit, expected to fall to earth next month. The military has decided to shoot it down, using a missile fired from a cruiser in the Pacific Ocean. (1)
The military and the federal government have been fervently making the case that this satellite carries highly toxic fuel called "hydrazine," which sounds scary, and could allegedly kill lots of people if allowed to fall to the surface.
They assure every foreign government that this is a necessary, non-aggressive action in the interest of protecting everyone.
But usually, we just let busted satellites break up in the atmosphere. That happens fairly regularly. The U.S. hasnever shot down a satellite before not tested anti-satellite weapons since the Cold War (wiki).
Only one country on earth has: China.
Is this a veiled attempt to answer China's space weapon, or a national security measure?
It doesn't matter. Either way, it's the beginning of an arms race.
EDITED 2/18: I didn't research anti-satellite weapons carefully enough
The military and the federal government have been fervently making the case that this satellite carries highly toxic fuel called "hydrazine," which sounds scary, and could allegedly kill lots of people if allowed to fall to the surface.
They assure every foreign government that this is a necessary, non-aggressive action in the interest of protecting everyone.
But usually, we just let busted satellites break up in the atmosphere. That happens fairly regularly. The U.S. has
Only one country on earth has: China.
Is this a veiled attempt to answer China's space weapon, or a national security measure?
It doesn't matter. Either way, it's the beginning of an arms race.
EDITED 2/18: I didn't research anti-satellite weapons carefully enough
2.13.2008
Socionomics
Check out this video from the Socionomics Institute, a funky new economic think tank that has some insecurities about its mysticism.
In short, their theory is that humans obey the fractal, spiral patterns underlying all of biology and observable in every corner and on every scale of our observable universe (wow, how radical), and that our economic activity can be explained by herding behavior, a natural biological result of this pattern. They examine popular culture, war, politics, and stock market trends, and they argue that these are actually effects of overall social moods, as determined by natural growth patterns, rather than causes, as mainstream economic theory assumes.
I thought the film was wonderful. It was such a relief to see plain-speaking, scientifically-minded people with advanced degrees acknowledging the Underlying Pattern in such an enthusiastic, mystified way.
The one thing that seems rather arrogant about this group's approach, though, is the full, unrestrained extension of the idea that the "general human trend is upward." Their demonstration of the spiral surrounding the fractal pattern wasn't clear; it showed a spiral going around and around, intersecting once each turn with a "stock market" line that merely went forward and upward. It seemed as though these guys wanted this pattern to predict an upward, outward human trend with no end in sight, and if we're really, honestly following evolutionary models here, that's a pretty gross error.
Judging by predictors in evolutionary history, we're about due for a major extinction here on Earth (1)(2). That's an event driven by factors wholly outside the influence of "social mood," but fitting very nicely in the fractal, spiral pattern found on every observable scale in our universe, the pattern about which socionomists seem mystically enthusiastic, as I am.
I had a teacher in high school who liked to plot history on a different but related graph, in which the X axis is "frequency" and the Y axis is "intensity." This gives us a strongly descending curve. Events of relatively low intensity happen very frequently, but cataclysms occur very rarely.
I'm not saying this means we're doomed; who am I to say? But I think it's fair to temper this socionomic wonderment with the notion that systems exhibiting this natural growth pattern are, occasionally, violently interrupted by the regular "impulse waves" operating on a larger scale. We have no way of knowing whether to expect technological singularity, extraterrestrial encounter, the Revelation, or other positive, transhuman experiences, or an comet impact. All we know is that, throughout Earth's history, something has periodically knocked off the dominant organisms and rearranged evolution.
Now, the question is, are humans just glorified herd mammals, or are we something unprecedented?
In short, their theory is that humans obey the fractal, spiral patterns underlying all of biology and observable in every corner and on every scale of our observable universe (wow, how radical), and that our economic activity can be explained by herding behavior, a natural biological result of this pattern. They examine popular culture, war, politics, and stock market trends, and they argue that these are actually effects of overall social moods, as determined by natural growth patterns, rather than causes, as mainstream economic theory assumes.
I thought the film was wonderful. It was such a relief to see plain-speaking, scientifically-minded people with advanced degrees acknowledging the Underlying Pattern in such an enthusiastic, mystified way.
The one thing that seems rather arrogant about this group's approach, though, is the full, unrestrained extension of the idea that the "general human trend is upward." Their demonstration of the spiral surrounding the fractal pattern wasn't clear; it showed a spiral going around and around, intersecting once each turn with a "stock market" line that merely went forward and upward. It seemed as though these guys wanted this pattern to predict an upward, outward human trend with no end in sight, and if we're really, honestly following evolutionary models here, that's a pretty gross error.
Judging by predictors in evolutionary history, we're about due for a major extinction here on Earth (1)(2). That's an event driven by factors wholly outside the influence of "social mood," but fitting very nicely in the fractal, spiral pattern found on every observable scale in our universe, the pattern about which socionomists seem mystically enthusiastic, as I am.
I had a teacher in high school who liked to plot history on a different but related graph, in which the X axis is "frequency" and the Y axis is "intensity." This gives us a strongly descending curve. Events of relatively low intensity happen very frequently, but cataclysms occur very rarely.
I'm not saying this means we're doomed; who am I to say? But I think it's fair to temper this socionomic wonderment with the notion that systems exhibiting this natural growth pattern are, occasionally, violently interrupted by the regular "impulse waves" operating on a larger scale. We have no way of knowing whether to expect technological singularity, extraterrestrial encounter, the Revelation, or other positive, transhuman experiences, or an comet impact. All we know is that, throughout Earth's history, something has periodically knocked off the dominant organisms and rearranged evolution.
Now, the question is, are humans just glorified herd mammals, or are we something unprecedented?
2.08.2008
Try DATING tonight!
Want to find a mate you can trust? Want to choose a partner based on more than a drunken first impression? Do you prefer conversations to disinterested copulation?
Then try DATING!
DATING is an ancient tribal ritual proven by thousands of years of practice. The secret is in the DATE, a prearranged meeting between two star-crossed young lovers-to-be at a restaurant, movie, cultural event, or other meeting place. The DATE is a comfortable mix of the public and the personal, perfect for setting up that get-to-know-you atmosphere. The DATE's stimulating setting provides a reliable topic of conversation, a comforting relief from those ghastly moments of silence. You and your love interest can't help but get to know each other on a DATE!
In this 21st Century World, it's easy to feel as though we don't have time for DATING. There's so much wild and crazy stuff happening all the time, we think we can't focus on one thing for more than a couple of minutes; everything else would pass us by! But if you're like most people, you're vaguely unsatisfied by today's drunken "hook-up" atmosphere. You want something more out of your love life!
Just ask Mary from Providence, RI:
"I used to set out on a Friday night not knowing whom I'd wake up next to on Saturday! Now that I found DATING, there are no more nasty surprises! Thanks, DATING!"
- Mary, Providence, RI
Or John from Foxboro, MA:
"Before I tried DATING, life was hard. I couldn't get anyone to sleep with me unless we got totally wasted first. But now, since I heard about the DATE, it's easy! All it takes is a little conversation!"
- John, Foxboro, MA
These testimonials come from real, live people just like you! If their stories sound familiar, give DATING a try! You've got nothing to lose!
The best part about DATING is that each DATE comes with a special Quality Guarantee. Don't enjoy yourself on a DATE? Can't come up with anything interesting to talk about? Spill red wine down the front of your DATE's shirt? No problem! Just say "I had a great time tonight. Thanks for coming out with me," and leave it at that! No harm done!
To order a DATE, just call your crush's cell phone number. Calls are toll-free on nights and weekends, but evenings fill up fast, so call tonight! You can have the perfect DATE for the low price of ONE MEAL, TICKET, or DRINK, depending on the kind of DATE you choose. For the DELUXE DATING EXPERIENCE, try paying for your partner's DATE, too!
But wait! There's more! Don't want to spend any money? Nothing good playing at the Multiplex tonight? You can have a world-class DATE, ABSOLUTELY FREE! Just find a nice place to sit and chat, meet your future love there, and wing it! It's totally up to you!
So come up with a nice DATE, and try DATING tonight!
The best part about DATING is that each DATE comes with a special Quality Guarantee. Don't enjoy yourself on a DATE? Can't come up with anything interesting to talk about? Spill red wine down the front of your DATE's shirt? No problem! Just say "I had a great time tonight. Thanks for coming out with me," and leave it at that! No harm done!
To order a DATE, just call your crush's cell phone number. Calls are toll-free on nights and weekends, but evenings fill up fast, so call tonight! You can have the perfect DATE for the low price of ONE MEAL, TICKET, or DRINK, depending on the kind of DATE you choose. For the DELUXE DATING EXPERIENCE, try paying for your partner's DATE, too!
But wait! There's more! Don't want to spend any money? Nothing good playing at the Multiplex tonight? You can have a world-class DATE, ABSOLUTELY FREE! Just find a nice place to sit and chat, meet your future love there, and wing it! It's totally up to you!
So come up with a nice DATE, and try DATING tonight!
2.06.2008
Tuff Gong
Roots people, it is Bob's birthday today! Let his memory serve as a force for healing across all nations and a cause for celebrations and groundations.
PEACE. ONE LOVE. OM.
Super Tuesday.
I've been quiet for the last few days, because I'm working on a longer piece, but I want to respond to the results of Super Tuesday.
First of all, I'm proud of the Republicans for, by and large, voting for their most sane candidate. I'm a little bit uncomfortable with the amount of delegates Mike Huckabee has received, but I can rest assured that John McCain is way out in front, and even the insufferably bland Romney has more delegates than Huck Norris. I don't want John McCain to win the election, but at least I won't have to worry about being tried in the Supreme Court for heresy if he's the nominee.
Secondly, I want to proudly point out that, although Georgian Republicans voted for Huckabee, Obama stomped Clinton in my home state (1).
Lastly, I just want to thank Democrats across the country for defying the electoral and media mechanisms that try to simplify our political system and grind it into little meaningless soundbytes. We did not let one media orgy on one Tuesday in February decide for us who our nominee will be. This is an ongoing conversation that will go on through the year, and in the end, we will be able to feel confident that the candidate we end up nominating should be the next president of the United States.
Because we are above infighting!
Right y'all?
Right?
First of all, I'm proud of the Republicans for, by and large, voting for their most sane candidate. I'm a little bit uncomfortable with the amount of delegates Mike Huckabee has received, but I can rest assured that John McCain is way out in front, and even the insufferably bland Romney has more delegates than Huck Norris. I don't want John McCain to win the election, but at least I won't have to worry about being tried in the Supreme Court for heresy if he's the nominee.
Secondly, I want to proudly point out that, although Georgian Republicans voted for Huckabee, Obama stomped Clinton in my home state (1).
Lastly, I just want to thank Democrats across the country for defying the electoral and media mechanisms that try to simplify our political system and grind it into little meaningless soundbytes. We did not let one media orgy on one Tuesday in February decide for us who our nominee will be. This is an ongoing conversation that will go on through the year, and in the end, we will be able to feel confident that the candidate we end up nominating should be the next president of the United States.
Because we are above infighting!
Right y'all?
Right?
1.31.2008
Fish Company Dada Puddle Spawn.
Last night, my friends all went to the Fish Company to dance. They also planned to drink like fishes. I stayed home and watched the fishes swimming in their fluids up the sidewalk stream. It would have been quite easy to catch one of these lazy fishes. I plucked on the strings of a guitar and wondered whether it was still fun to dance in this world, or if all the sopping fishes flopping on the floor made things too slippery. Dancing in a school of spawning fishes sounded sticky. I was much too clean and dry.
1.29.2008
Buteo jamaicensis
I was sitting at my desk working just a minute ago, when this guy flew up into the tree right outside my window:
Sorry about the blur. My camera sucks, and I had to use max digital zoom to get in close enough.
Sorry about the blur. My camera sucks, and I had to use max digital zoom to get in close enough.
1.27.2008
Buttering the sky, cont'd.
I posted this poem for lack of anything coherent to say, but now that I've posted the poem, I can say something coherent about that.
This poem speaks to me of overwhelmingness, a time-honored human experience for which we desperately need a better English word. I'm relieved that Hafiz could be overwhelmed by making breakfast, because his was a vastly more capacious heart than mine, and sometimes, when I make breakfast, I'm afraid to open my mouth and expose my insides to the outside world. It makes me wonder how people do it.
People throw around words like "intense" and "epic" all the time these days to describe experiences of being alive. To me, this is a postmodern American recognition of the most obvious thing in the universe: that being alive is amazing. When we view our experience mindfully, with clarity, attention, and full appreciation, we realize things like our own mortality, the impermanence of our bodies, our dependence on others, and, gosh, those things are intense, man! And Hafiz has picked a perfect example here of a common "epic" experience: breakfast. We wake from dreamy oblivion and, suddenly faced with a swirling world of responsibilities, we get a little fear in the pit of our stomach, which we recognize as hunger, and we confront this awesome fear with breakfast.
But I eat breakfast anyway, and that fear turns to excitement as the salty richness and silken butter texture meld with the tiny serrated teeth of the toast and my stomach swoons with nourishment. Without that crazy fear, the satisfaction would be severely diminished.
The fear is overwhelming, though, and that's exhausting. I think most of us run around exhausted. We wear out our awareness, so it's deadened to the craziness of making breakfast, refueling our precious bodies, or doing anything else of such great importance (i.e. anything). The degree to which we're aware of the importance of every single thought and movement we make is the degree to which we are bathed in craziness.
This gives us three options:
But Hafiz was an option #2 kind of guy, and all of his poetry gently invites us to join him in that pursuit. Compare"Buttering The Sky" to this commercial. Which would you rather have for breakfast?
This poem speaks to me of overwhelmingness, a time-honored human experience for which we desperately need a better English word. I'm relieved that Hafiz could be overwhelmed by making breakfast, because his was a vastly more capacious heart than mine, and sometimes, when I make breakfast, I'm afraid to open my mouth and expose my insides to the outside world. It makes me wonder how people do it.
People throw around words like "intense" and "epic" all the time these days to describe experiences of being alive. To me, this is a postmodern American recognition of the most obvious thing in the universe: that being alive is amazing. When we view our experience mindfully, with clarity, attention, and full appreciation, we realize things like our own mortality, the impermanence of our bodies, our dependence on others, and, gosh, those things are intense, man! And Hafiz has picked a perfect example here of a common "epic" experience: breakfast. We wake from dreamy oblivion and, suddenly faced with a swirling world of responsibilities, we get a little fear in the pit of our stomach, which we recognize as hunger, and we confront this awesome fear with breakfast.
But I eat breakfast anyway, and that fear turns to excitement as the salty richness and silken butter texture meld with the tiny serrated teeth of the toast and my stomach swoons with nourishment. Without that crazy fear, the satisfaction would be severely diminished.
The fear is overwhelming, though, and that's exhausting. I think most of us run around exhausted. We wear out our awareness, so it's deadened to the craziness of making breakfast, refueling our precious bodies, or doing anything else of such great importance (i.e. anything). The degree to which we're aware of the importance of every single thought and movement we make is the degree to which we are bathed in craziness.
This gives us three options:
- Minimize our awareness by exhausting, intoxicating, or distracting ourselves, such that we can go about our business on zombie autopilot and not appreciate anything. Call this option the 5-Hour Energy option.
- Push through the fear, push ourselves to expand our capacity for awareness, and get used to the simple fact that life is a breathtakingly gorgeous and damned crazy experience.
- Go crazy.
But Hafiz was an option #2 kind of guy, and all of his poetry gently invites us to join him in that pursuit. Compare
Buttering The Sky
Slipping
On my shoes,
Boiling water,
Toasting bread,
Buttering the sky:
That should be enough contact
With G!d in one day
To make anyone
Crazy.
On my shoes,
Boiling water,
Toasting bread,
Buttering the sky:
That should be enough contact
With G!d in one day
To make anyone
Crazy.
1.24.2008
Inflation.
If you're worried about the decline of the U.S. economy, here's something to keep in mind.
Zimbabwe's central bank just issued a $10 million bill, and you'll need a couple of them to buy lunch... today. A month from now, it could be worthless. That's inflation. Americans are only seeing what it's like to fall from total global hegemony.
Zimbabwe's central bank just issued a $10 million bill, and you'll need a couple of them to buy lunch... today. A month from now, it could be worthless. That's inflation. Americans are only seeing what it's like to fall from total global hegemony.
New Dispatches
Let it be known that Jonathan, the yin to my yang, the Ron Paul to my Ralph Nader, my former partner in the tag-team blogging blitzkrieg that was WiredOpinion.com, is still throwing down at New Dispatches under the mysterious moniker of "The Writer Guy." I suggest you make his blog your homepage, so you'll always know exactly what's going on in the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)