What’s going on in China? Where are the voices of the chinese? Why does this country have a solitary voice? I really don’t know too much about China, but I feel that my life has had more brushes with this mysterious culture than the average North American. However I still feel that my personal contact with chinese people and their large percentage of our earthly population has been somewhat lacking. I’ve been chatting with a video gamer named DavisLee for over a year now but he has been quite restrained in showing his true ‘self’. I invite Davislee to tell me something about his life.. 😉
Also, I’d like to talk about thinking and the mere act of contemplation. This is a trait that we as all homo sapiens share. I know I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking and I really do hope I’m not the only one. I invite all of my buddies out there to let me know that they’re at least listening to what I have to say (or better yet to let me know they still exist.. )
Man that’s one of the big problems I’m having with traveling. The regret of lost contact. I really do wish I’d done a better job of keeping in touch with my friends that I’ve met across the world. Although we’re all pretty spoiled relatively speaking we still are a great bunch people and I know that any of you out there than knows one of us knows that we’re good people as well. That’s why I’ve felt that my life is so blessed! I’ve always had really good people surrounding me wherever I’ve gone. The best of society as far as I consider. At least compared to the characters on TV – however my reality of the situation is that I can only ever know the people around me. It’s a fundamental law of communication, really. A lot of the time it feels like we really are connected in a way that we can’t yet detect. I think I’m going to have to place that link again because damned if I don’t think that’s cool. To be honest it blew me away the first time I read it – I was getting shakes like I’m getting right now. God damned pot.
I’ve been thinking about internet traffic lately. It seems to me that there’s a lot of crap going out there on the internet, but at the same time there’s a lot of interesting possibilities that are bubbling to the surface of this lake of poo. I see lots of amusing stuff from time to time but I also see a lot of crap. The Media has everyone jumping at shadows purely for sole game of selling Nikes. The sweet alure of money, the pursuit of the American dream. The scary part is that it’s slowly becoming the American nightmare. I see these people that have worked so hard to make so much money compared to the rest of us and yet they aren’t seemly making any difference. Everyone knows who the richest man in the world is and yet we barely know anything about his ambitions. He is one of the most powerful men and as much as there seems to be some kind of philanthropy it always has a business related edge. I would love to see all of our celebrities charitable donations because that kind of thing would be nice to know about a person.
There’s a lot of charities out there. For me it’s just too hard to pick the right one. I think that’s something that’s really individual about every person – we all have our own seperate goals. I would really like to think that most people are setting goals that are beneficial to society but I have a sinking feeling that most aren’t. I know I myself am not doing enough – I’m sitting here on my computer, typing away at a bright screen. I could be helping to build communities in africa or pamphleteering the streets of washington. My problem is I don’t know what to do. I really think I need to be told what to do. I’d like to hear what everybody has to say about everything. I enjoy conversations so much. I think I spend the greater part of my day constantly communicating with people. It’s such a strange concept to go from only being able to talk to the people within your immediate area to being able to talk to people from around the world. I try to push the whole talk thing on everybody, but let me tell you it’s worked wonders for me. I’ve been talkative all my life and I find myself so content sometimes. I really think I feel content with the path that humanity is taking, the progress that we’ve made. Yet at the same time I’m concerned because there also seem to be a sizable amount having trouble adapting to new memes. I only hope that the slow rate of information absoption can somehow be increased with technology. I truely think that all these wonderful things we’ve learned will come in handly for future tests. I think humanity is being tested, by the way.
What is it about cooperation? As much as one human is capable of accomplishing on their own think about what two can produce. And a hundred. And a hundred thousand. The capabilities of the human species boggle my mind. We have done so much and improved so incredibly that it can be viewed as a constant source of inspiration. This will be my legacy. I am part of something greater than just me, and yet I can still maintain my individuality. It’s a beautiful image of cooperation instead of competition. Not that competition never got us anything, however agressive competition can be directed in a non-violent arena. Enter the internet.
People are starting to loose faith in the internet. A few have seen what is was before, when it was pure, but as powerful people come on board they bring with them their own baggage of evils, the tools that they used to get them where they are today. I remember a time when everything was new and exciting but most importantly everything was free. It may seem like a pipe dream but I think that with a lot of perspiration we can probably work together to provide everything we want free of charge. Most people are just looking for entertainment in some form or another. It’s not an evil distraction, I don’t think – as long as we don’t use it as an escape from reality, because as much as we’d want otherwise the reality we’re living in is the one we have to change. The key point though is balance. Moderation. Everything in moderation. Once you overinduldge you’re leading yourself down a path of gluttony, which as all of us good ‘christians’ must know is a Sin.
The thing is though I don’t think that all forms of ‘gluttony’ are a sin. Take information for example. Can you really know too much? Is there a point where you have to slow down the intake, or is it possible to take it all and to hell with the consequences? I read a lot, and I encourage anyone who’s listening to do the same. I read as much as I can because in my eyes you can never know to much. The lazy sin of saving that work for the ‘afterlife’ when you’ll suddenly know ‘everything’ seems like a load of crap to me. I suppose the problem is that you never really know if what you’re reading is the truth or not. It’s really gotten to that point for some of us, I know. We read and read and read but it’s all tainted, it’s all biased in some direction or another. There’s been a general lack in accurate reporting, in allowing the audience to form their own opinions when presented with just the truth. Maybe it’s a lot easier to sell SUVs if you taint information in a certain way. Fuckers. What are they going to do with so much money?
Anyways, it’s late. I suggest all of you hop on Kazaa and search for a song called One Thing by Finger Eleven – Studio 97 version. I’ve listened to both their released version and the studio 97 version and I can tell you this – I’ve haven’t heard more heart and soul in a long time. It’s well worth a listen despite the shitty radio dubs.
So yeah, I’ve been all over the place here. That’s the nature of me I guess. I’m always all over the place. I guess I just need to find a cause, but as of now I’m still searching. I know it’s out there but I’m starting to lose hope.
Woah, that was a lot of information to digest. I think I’ve met my quota for the day. You spoke about many things, but I think I’ll comment on only a few.
First of all, you should come to Toronto. It’s like China Town all over the place. I don’t mind it acutally. The Chinese gals are awfully cute, teehee. The guys are not bad looking either Davis Lee ;). And they are pretty good conversationalists too, as much as I have spoken with them, which is not that much….. I’m taking a history lesson this semester (world history) and apparently China has been in a 150 year revolution, so much of the organization of that country probably occured right after the WWII. That means it can beconsidered 60 years old right now, because besides Hong Kong, and a few other western ports, it was in a revolutionary chaos for a long itme. I am glad that China will one day become a force to counter balance America.
I myself do think that the rich must donate to charities (and not to panhandlers). But many charities waste much of thier funds on admin costs etc, so you have to be wise in who you deal with. I really hate to see children suffer, so I think that when I do get more money, the first charity I will support is the Foster Parents Plan (it’s a non-religeous charity). I do have some money in the bank, but at 30$ a month… it’s either save a childs future, or get a lite-speed internet connection. I am guilty of greed. :(. I make promisses all the time, but If I wanted to, I could totally get a parttime job to support a child in need. Man, if I had someone make me, I’d do it, but I can’t get a job without that extra motivation. Whatever, can’t let that stop me from sleeping at night (oh man, am I an example of the downfall of society or what?)
I heard on the news that Bill Gates has donated 100 million (peanuts for his 47? billion net worth) to aids research in Africa or something like that. I was supprised… maybe GCP had some influence on him! lol. I don’t know what to think of GCP however. The mind is a powerful thing. I won’t doubt it’s power, but I have yet to see proof of colective thinking… to cause things to happen… without saying a word.
Internet Traffic has a lot of bad stuff, but as long as there are cool people such as those on TheGreatMilenko (We are lucky) it doesn’t seem so bad. Even though trash is common place on the net, it’s very easy to decipher and ignore. The pros of the internet far outweigh the cons. Free music! yay!
Finally, travelling and friends. Man, friends are come and go. There are a very few that should be kept, as one can’t have the time to develop a personal and meaningful relationship with everyone they meet. I think it is very important to travel and let friends go, and meet new friends. It would be a total shame if you didn’t travel and see how amazing the world is just because you are afraid of losing friends. I can’t wait to travel after University… Toronto is cool, but I want to get as far away from America/dullsville as possible. Maybe i’ll visit Quebec, or maybe Japan. teehee. It’s probably a fact that where one lives is probably the most comfortably dull place to spend their life. Go and spend a few months in a new country with a new culture, and get a new perspective on life. You can always return home and see your friends whenever.
Oh, one more comment: this edit window has to be a heck of a lot bigger, I can’t see how much I wrote… I don’t want to over-write, or blabber on… but I’m am very opinionated… I hope I don’t seem too accusing or deffensive/offensive.
-Bubu 8)
Hey don’t worry about ‘overwriting’. Damn that’s what this site is all about! Write your opinions and be happy to participate.
As for the global consciousness project, you should check out the 9/11 blurb.. I can’t link (damn html frames!) but it’s there somewhere and it’s pretty interesting.
Are you talking about China or about Hong Kong? A lot of the people we know (I’m talking to you Bubu) are from the former amazing urban metropolis.
Well both actually.. that’s an interesting dynamic really.. The people from Hong Kong and the integration with China. I really wish I knew more about how all that was going, but the great Firewall of China seems to be an effective blockade.
True self, eh? *talks about China and stuff like the others with long posts8
Well that’s hardly enlightening…. A little more please. What do you do man?
LOL DAVIS!
No, Juxta, I mean China as a whole, not Hong Kong. As you know, HK was a port owned by the British Empire until 1997. There were many ports carved out along the side of China, each owned (stolen) by various other European powers. While most of China was in a mess, those western ports were protected (by the Powers) from all of the revolution.
It’s a strange situation – here you’ve got all these people who have been born under english colonialism and now they’re reintegrating it back into the country. I wonder what it’s like for them? What are they experiencing?
What is the population of China? 1.3 Billion?! That’s near 1 in 5 as far as world population goes. Quite amazing that we in the west know so little about the lives and beliefs of this large chunk of the world population. Bah. Who am I kidding… that’s not amazing at all. We in the west tend to know very little about *anything* outside of North America.
Side note: I believe the number of Muslims worldwide is approaching 1.2 billion. Yet another large group that we know very little about.
Absolutely. Don’t forget India. There’s half of the population of the world and as much a mystery to me as anybody else. And yet in this increasingly smaller world we still hold back the floodgates so to speak..
its horrible to say, but do we really care about the people in India and China? I mean some days i do, but most of the time I’m glad to be here, and not knowing them and about them. Because I think to know something is to begin the quest to understand it, and its fun and intereting but does it take its toll on our lives? do we need to understand things we may never experience? should we focus on what we are and have, instead of what may be, or whats out of our realm of experience?
hmmmmmm (and the chin is scratched)
In this increasingly more connected world ignoring cultures that seem so distant will only breed resentment and anger when their culture comes to dominate.. and dominate it will, purely by force of numbers.
It’s no longer possible for us to just sit in our homes and ignore the presence of so many people. Every single one of them has the same right to exist as we do. Surely we should make an effort to understand them?
Well, its still kinda good in HK with that one goverment/two systemst thingy…
Well how exactly does that work? Wasn’t there a massive protest a couple of months ago? Of course our stupid media doesn’t cover anything like that…
Yeah, there was…no one was expecting that, the HK government was going pass some law, which nobody liked I guess and lots of people protested and so the government either, can’t remember, postpone or killed the bill….
And the rest of the world ignores it all…
If you understand, things are as they are. If you do not understand, things are as they are.
We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions. Understanding people requires an open mind.