I’m sorry about the lack of updates, these last few weeks have been pretty busy for me. Along with trying to get to bed a little earlier I’ve been furiously practicing for an upcoming pool tournament. I wish I could say I was preparing to go school some players but the reality of the situation is that my team and I aren’t the best, in fact we’re second from the bottom. My personal record started off well but I’ve lost many games in the last while so I’ve been pushing myself to go out more. So I have been. Did it do the trick? Very doubtful.
Some links to consume:
Make sure you read get your war on if you haven’t already. If you’re bored you can go through the archives to get a brief reminder of the peaks of U.S. politics over the last year or two. Trust me, it comes right back.
Apparently religious intolerance goes both ways. Say the magic word though and get a free pass out of the media spotlight.
This guy Spade at Hammerdown details some of the frustration I feel with the state of American politics. I mean really, is this just some joke down there that the rest of the world doesn’t get?
My del.icio.us is a link of all the sites I’ve been to that I found noteworthy. This database is courtesy of Spurl who shares his data (and conversely my data) with del.icio.us, however, I like the layout of my links with del.icio.us better. Enjoy! There’s lots of good reading in there (like this goodie 😛 ), categorized and everything.
I’m going to start working on another piece. Another bit of light fluff I’m sure, something to brighten your day with. Man I don’t know how I can spend so much time laughing and having a good time with my friends and be so dour and gloomy online. I guess when I’m with my friends the worries of the world are washed away, but when I get connected all the signs are pointing to more and more hurt in the world. It scares me, it really does, but then there are friends, there are socials, there are lazy evenings on the deck and it’s hard to care so much.
Monthly Archives: April 2004
This is not a meme
There’s not much that can be said of Winnipeg that’s different from the rest of the world. Personally, I feel that Winnipeg spends most of it’s time absorbing other traditions fom cities and countries afar. There are though a few activities which remain unique to Winnnipegers. For example, do any of you attend socials of families to be? This is what I have been doing the last two nights: participating in a uniquely Winnipegan activity – the wedding social.
The wedding social is generally thrown by the groom and bride with heavy participation from the parental units. Entry is usually $10 and drink prices are below the bar average. Friends and family of the bride and groom are the ‘core’ invitees, however the ‘inner sect’ is encouraged to sell tickets to their friends in order to raise as much money for the wedding as possible. A chinese aution is held with 10-20 gift packages, ranging from collections of movies and popcorn to a basket of ‘pampering products’ including nick-nacks and chocolates. Sometimes there is a ‘grand prize’ – be it an xbox plus games or a dvd player and TV combo. Tickets are cheap and prizes are drawn at around midnight. Everyone goes with the intention of purchasing a fair amount of tickets in order to support the upcoming wedding.
Weddings can be expensive, and eveyone attending knows that the next one could be for their own, so they contribute a lot. Most socials are in a hall or gym, the odd one is held at a bar. Friday’s social was situated in a gym, tonights was in a bar. Needless to say this weekend has been a bit boozy for me, so I’ll cut this short and head to my comforting bed. If ever there was an idea that the rest of the world should adopt, this is it. It’s small, it’s fun and it brings people together. There is nothing quite as productive at bringing old friends back in contact then a wedding social. It’s harmless and fun, and it helps fund the already expensive weddings. Why don’t you think about it next time you or someone you know gets married?
What can I say, I’m a Blog Whore
Welcome to the Noosphere
Life is a strange phenomenon. We are born in this Universe, we exist in this Universe, we perceive this Universe, we die in this Universe. Many accept this as a certainty and give it no more thought. Some question the nature of our reality as they learn more about the world around us. A few understand that our current path is leading us to the eventual destruction of our society. In my mind that is not even a questionable fact, the evidence of global and social catastrophe loom in the horizon like a fork in a river. The choice has to be made or the current will lead us to a waterfall and our eventual doom. Many have given up, seeing the prophesized Armageddon and the ensuing ‘Rapture’ as an easy out from the problems of the world – “Why worry about the destruction of Mother Earth if I’m not going to be here?” The problem is that it’s not that easy. In the end we’re all human and we all have to deal with our choices; I just wish that more people would realize that their choices have profound ramifications on future generations.
Perceptionalism Quotes
These are some quotes I’ve come across since I’ve started my philosophical voyage that reinforce some of the concepts of perceptionalism. (The emphasis in the quotes is mine).
This little book is a sequel to The Doors of Perception. For a person in whom ‘the candle of vision’ never burns spontaneously, the mescalin experience is doubly illuminating. It throws light on the hithero unknown regions of his own mind; and at the same time it throws light, indirectly, on other minds, more richly gifted in respect to vision than his own. Reflecting on his experience, he comes to a new and better understanding of the ways in which those other minds perceive and feel and think, of the cosmological notions which seem to them self-evident, and of the works of art through which they feel impelled to express themselves. In what follows I have tried to set down, more or less systematically, the results of this new understanding.
-Foreword to Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley
Brothers, have no fear of men’s sin. Love a man even in his sin, for that is the semblance of Divine Love and is the highest Love on earth. Love all of God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery of things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
-Feodor Dostoyevsky
… and we see, concretely illustrated, the impossible paradox and supreme truth – that perception is (or at least can be, ought to be) the same as Revelation, that Reality shines out of every appearance, that the One is totally, infinitely present in all particulars.
–Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley
Much apologies
I’m working on a longer entry and I’ve forsaken frequent updates as a result. There’s much to talk about, much to discuss, though not on this site at this time. 😉 I will however point you in the direction of a high quality piece on the Israel / Palestine conflict courtesy of Blogamy. She lays it all out in a very logical fashion, but leaves the question of how we’re going to fix this situation. That of course is the big question, what to do about the middle east.
At any rate, I have not disappeared, I’m just working on something of a larger piece that I want to make sure is also of higher quality. I’ll be back soon enough!
Memes
As you may or may not be aware, Google has recently announced it’s entrance into the free email market, most likely a direct response to the increasing competition from Internet portal giant Yahoo and Software behemoth Microsoft. While Yahoo offers 10 megs with it’s free account and Microsoft’s Hotmail offers a measely 2 megs, Google has promised one Gig (1024 megs) of space to retain emails online. Along with what will probably be an inovative and intuitive user interface, Google will serve up advertisements based on keywords in your messages. This move, of course, has privacy advocates in an uproar. Accusations of Big Brother and 1984 have been bandied about the internet faster than links to Janet Jackson’s nipplegate.
What a load of bullshit.
RFC 2012
Well I’ve delayed and procrastinated, two of my best skills. I wield these tools with the razor accuracy of a sushi chef, I wittle away time and put off my internal deadlines with impressive accuracy. I wanted to do a big post about any one of numerous topics but I couldn’t settle on a particular thread, so I come to you, my faithful readers with my hat in my hand and ask this simple question:
What do you want to read here?
I’ve enjoyed talking about a wide variety of topics over the last six months, but is there any particular topic or subject that you guys have really appreciated, that you would like to see more of? Now’s your chance, this is a request for comments. I want feedback, negative or positive, a little progress report if you will. Do you want me to talk more about my philosophy, or dip into a more spiritual realm? (Eventually those two seem to merge…) Do you want me to talk about the environment and the damage we’re doing to it? Do you want me to add my voice to the political pundits and give my perception of the current events? Do you want me to throw out a few new ideas? (I’ve still got a few!) Future societies, possibly technologies? Thoughts on evolution and our eventual destiny? Predictions of doom and end-of-times? What do you guys want to read, because at the end of the day I am but your humble servant and I always have something to talk about. I guess I need a bit of direction, right now I seem to be blowing all over the place.
Let me know, and tell a friend! Hah, I am the biggest blog whore out there.