A quest for meaning, a search for answers, the pursuit of life, beauty and humanity in an inhumane world. *Edit* Do no Harm.
Today I went to google and found something new: a link to photo management software called Picasa. I can't explain how pleased this made me - this is exactly what I've been looking for. You see, my family and I bought my mom a digital camera for her birthday (or was it xmas?) last year, and I've never really been able to successfully teach her how to use all the software with it. She has been quite pleased with it but hasn't really been taking full advantage of the potential, and so after months of frustration Google comes out and recommends some software for the management of your photos. Well you guys already know that I trust google... and lo and behold, it's pretty awesome. Right away I've got this beautiful thumbnail collection of all my photos organized by date. I'm telling you, if you have a lot of photos it's well worth your while to check out the program.
Well, once again I am filled with hope at the burgeoning Winnipeg underground music scene. I went to Charlies on Friday night to see a firend's band perform only to be blessed with 3 fantastic acts, all of which encompass the Winnipeg vibe. Wormhole, my friends band, brought a throaty yell to a rock and roll crowd that hasn't been seen in years, Tele presented a youth and sound that is unique and harmonious compared to today's pop music; top it all off with Inward Eye, a fresh energetic band of brothers rocking the small club scene and you've got a rock night of heaven. I'm telling you, I haven't been as rejuvenated by such music in a long time, and it personally makes me proud to see these future stars rocking it out in little old Winnipeg. What the hell is happening to our little unknown community?
If you're ever having an internet discussion with an anti-environmentalist and they pull out a study conducted in the name of science by such and such or at this or that institute which clearly shows how the problems of the environment are trumped up tomfoolery, just head to your trusty exxonsecrets.org site and start doing some searches. This website has very carefully documented all of the financial contributions between exxon and the various 'think tanks' and other such institutes. It's hard to argue for the unbiased nature of a particular study if they're getting major donations from the oil company with the most to gain from our continued energy dependence. If the current chairman of Shell admits that the threat of climate change makes him "really very worried for the planet", then perhaps even the hardcore denialists should wake up and smell the burning oil.
While browsing a 'competitor', a passionate poster (Chris Buors) of my new WinnipegForums.ca had casually posted a response intimating that individuality was inherently superior to any kind of collectivism. I had to respond.
You cannot make bold statements like that without backing them up. How, in any way, is collectivism inferior to pure individualism? While on our own we can be quite talented, the greatest achievements of our species are created when we work collectively towards unifed goals. Look at the pyramids, the great wall of China, the transcontinental railroad, the internet, etc. These are all impressive productions of mankind that were only created through collective work.
Indivuality is great, don't get me wrong. Personal liberty is something that we must all strive for. I think, however, that if we keep in mind the goals of our society as we make our own personal choices in life, we should be able to strengthen both at the same time. If that involves sacrifice in the now, then perhaps the series of connected events that occur from your actions will come back and help you out when you're in need. You can call it Karma, but really it's just waves and echos in a vast complex web of life.
Your Liberatarian philosophy is also only interested in the life of one individual. You believe the generations of children that follow us are irrelevant, the consequences of our lifestyle are their burden and not ours. If you lose sight of our struggle here on Earth as a species then you only become interested in your own personal comfort level. What if though the oil you consumed driving down to 7-11 meant the difference between survival and death to a forsaken future where every drop of energy was precious? Can you live with the future deaths of those people?
To follow the path of personal liberty at any price is to ignore the voices of our future, to lose the respect of our unborn grandchildren. I personally don't want this generation of people to be despised 50 years down the road for our living our lifestyle the way we do. I would much rather reduce my consumption now and live happier knowing that it might mean more to someone else in a time when I'm no longer here.
Shameful, I know, but I'm going to be echoing Wally's blog once again because he's found something really nifty and cool. I've mentioned in the past a tool I use to keep track of noteworthy URLs: Spurl to track them and del.icio.us to display them. Enter Extispicious, a cleverly designed category display tool.
This is my noosphere.
This is Wally's.
If nothing else, you should start using those tools because I tell ya, it's damn handy to go back and find a URL that you thought was interesting but can't remember anymore. Plus it's portable! No need to worry about emailing links to and from work. ;)
Wally sent me a most interesting article on the failure of symbolic thought. I haven't finished reading it but it's full of good quotes already:
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Yep, a long and tricky read but it seems to be worth it.