Courage of your convictions

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, of Pussy Riot, who is not only still in jail, but hasn't been heard from in some time - here's a link. Arrested for the brazen expression of free speech, and fighting for her rights. When one person fights for their rights, they fight for us all. But there are often consequences - like getting sent to a Siberian gulag. Would you dare stand up for your rights in the face of such risks? Do you dare express yourself boldly in the face of power?

Femen does. Click below for proof.

The Plural of Apocalypse

Well, we're here. The Serpent rises tomorrow at 11:12 UTC (so close!), 6:12 AM in God's Time Zone, EST. First, I made it - a victory in and of itself! Second, it's bullshit. But I believed in it a long time ago, half-ironically, but alas, half-seriously. No longer, but the damage is done. So I will use tomorrow as you should: re-dedicate yourself towards self-improvement, and the improvement of your family and community. Further, one - you! (and me!) - should strive to expand your notion of family and community. I view all of life as my community, and try to live with that mindset. It's tough, of course, but it's necessary for all of us if we are, collectively, going to rise above our primate instincts and become fully and truly, Human. We want that, right?

It's easy to look back into history and see the flaws of all the failed nations, empires, religions or societies over time, and equally hard to look at our own society or nation and see those flaws. The very same flaws that could lead to our own destruction. Since it is unlikely that the world will end tomorrow, let us instead focus on a more localized definition of apocalypse, which is societal. Societies rise and fall, over time. Some are more successful than others for a variety of reasons, but nothing lasts forever. The apocalypse is the end of your society. The ancient Maya. The Assyrians. The folks on Easter Island. Rome. Westernized Persia.

Iranian college kids in the early 70's. Look like typical 70's college kids, right? No longer. That society is gone. Destroyed.

Famous Iranian actors from the early 70's. Skin and hair, showing! No longer. Westernized Iran is gone, replaced by Mullahs and religious police. And this is a theme in many different apocalypseseses - the rise and triumph of religious fundamentalism. It's the scourge of our species and we need to fight against it at every junction. Alas, we appear to be losing.

Behold! There once was a time when Israel promoted tourism in Palestine. And why not? A beautiful land with metric tons of history. But alas! After getting tantalizingly close to real peace in the late 90's, this area has... degraded.

The reality today, with little reason to be optimistic for the future. Sad, and only getting sadder.

So count your blessings while you can, and appreciate all that is good with your society. And the things you find wrong with your society? Address it. Organize. Get involved. Speak up and out. Religious fundamentalism is always a minority movement that wields power far beyond their numerical representation in any given society. People power works, if the people get out on the streets.

So don't accept your apocalypse! Fight it, every day.

Peace be upon us all. Good luck, and good night.

Soviet Strong

A few things: As long as there is scarcity of resources, Communism cannot work in the large scale. If there were no scarcity of resources (AKA Star Trek's "replicator" which takes elements then fabricates items on command - take heed of the development of the 3d printer. It's the beginning of the replicator), then pure Communism is a must. Everyone's equal in the scheme of things, there's no money, everyone's happy and their children are nurtured and healthy, education for all, entertainment for all, science for all: The Soviet future, one in which every single person is a sovietnik. Look it up. And enjoy these pictures.

I've got a ton of Soviet propaganda art on the old HD "Cloud" because I find it stunningly beautiful. The style of it. Gorgeous and inspiring and awesome now that the USSR is no longer an immanent threat to end the world.

This might be one of Galactus's heralds. Make no mistake: It was the Cold War that created NASA and got man on the moon in ten freaking years  - which is simply incredible. A staggering accomplishment that shall echo in history for as long as we have it. Since the fall of the USSR records reveal what many suspected of the Soviet space program: more duct tape and spit than fearsome space conqueroring machine. They had some smart folks (also some NAZI's just like the USA) and the power of the state behind them, and the Soviet space program accomplished great things - first satellite in space; first animal in space; first man in space; first woman in space. Remarkable stuff, but as soon as NASA was funded and the space race began in earnest, the Soviets could not keep up. Not enough bucks, you see. The crippling affects of the past 30 years had caught up to them. And so it was the space race that truly began the fall of the USSR and its empire. Yay, space! Because in truth the USSR was mostly awful, though with many positives. But still mostly awful and worth fighting. Yay, also, America!

Also too:

At last! It's time someone actually took the fight to the KKK and any other race based hate organization. In a tolerant society you've got to tolerate almost everyone, be they religious, atheist, man, woman, black, red, yellow, white, gay, straight, lame, hipster, uptight, etc. But the one person we as a society cannot tolerate is the intolerant. Those who would seek to limit the rights of others, for whatever reason. They are the enemies of tolerance and must be opposed wherever they rear their hoary heads, for they are poison upon the body Tolerance and if given enough sway can end it. So, tolerance for all! Except for the intolerant, who must be opposed vociferously and actively.

Ergo, go Black Panther! Fuck the CSA.

There is but one

World Devourer, and The Silver Surfer is His Herald. But also Nova, Gabriel, Morg (The Executioner), and Firelord, among others.

Are Ye right with Galactus, mortal? If not, get yourself so soon, as He's hungry, and He could return at any time. Maybe in 6 weeks?

Zod's just a Kryptonian thug, by the way.

111111

A Kurt Vonnegut tattoo, obviously worn by a Vonnegut devotee. As am I, though I have no tattoos. Vonnegut rocked my 20 year old mind back in the day, as I'm sure he's done to many others. One of the handful of people in this world I can without hesitation say his work changed my life. This passage stood out for me, for personal reasons. I quote again from "Breakfast of Champions":

I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.
Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.
So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.
What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.
And all music is.

Now, for personal reasons, 11/11 was an important day for me too, and after I read this passage, I decided - way back when - to commemorate it every year. And Lo! I have done so, by starving. Fasting it's called, and I'm doing it right now, and believe you me, it sucks. Go 24 hours without eating and find out. No fun.

But fun is not the point. Rather, it's the suffering. Temporary suffering. Chosen suffering - I could eat at any time, but choose not to. I choose not to in order to keep this day apart, special. And like any holiday or commemoration, this is done in order to lift yourself out of the day to day, step back, and look at your life. Look at what you take for granted. What you do and don't appreciate - for instance, can you honestly say you appreciate the food you ate today? Or was it part of the overall mundane day to day existence you live everyday, and since you live it everyday, you take it for granted?

And that's the point. Taking things for granted is a curse, and the only way to break it is to force yourself to appreciate even the most mundane aspect of life. Breathing. Eating. Sleeping. Warmth. Friends. Love. Etc. All of these things and so much more could be taken from you at a moment's notice, maybe never to return, and then - and usually only then - will you appreciate that which you've lost. So, start appreciating these things now, while you have them, before you lose them. Because you will lose everything, eventually. It's only a matter of time.

I don't really love that Dirty Water

Yeah, hockey! That was fun. Like all sports except Baseball, hockey is a form of football, plus some basketball and American football. On Ice. I enjoyed watching the Bruins playoff run and might become a full time hockey fan. Well, actually, probably not, but it's fun to contemplate. I mean, really: Defining yourself by mega million sports corporations? Lame.

For example:

This is Sully. Or Murph. Or Fitz. He's defined by this artificial tribe that's been created over the last 20 or so years: Boston, sports, Irish, etc. I'm sure he'll love the tats in the year 2033.

It's all symbols, fluffery, distractions. Distractions have their role, no doubt, but as a primary focus, not so good.

This is a thing, by the way, that was no doubt born circa 2003, 2004 with the Red Sox run for the championship: Believe. I want to Believe. Believe in Boston. Believe in flimsy tribal allegiances to drive sales.

This is the Wheel of Karma, of course. But also another "Sully's" brand Boston product. $$$

Having moved back to Boston in 2000, I've witnessed firsthand all the major sports championships, and the subsequent "Celebrations". And I propose the reaction of the Boston Police to the these celebrations over the years parallels the changes in America as a whole. As in - 2001, the police were totally caught off guard, and the Sullys went joyously wild. By 2004, the black clad Storm Trooper look had been perfected, but not the tactics - the Troopers were caught in a defensive position, and lashed out, killing a few, injuring many. By 2005, they learned to be "preemptive", sealing off all the Celebratory areas ahead of the game's finale. 2007 and 2008 (Red Sox, Celtics) featured a jaded, tired, going through the motions pantomime of the riots of 2001-2004. No one was really into it. And now, 2011, so much has changed. Gone was the black armor riot gear. Gone were the preemptive squad lines. Gone was the clubbing and gas and sandbag guns. I just watched in some disbelief on the TeeVee the Boston cops, in reflective orange safety jerseys, calmly guiding drunken Sully's off the T entrance, even helping them climb down. The news hairs were agog, they kept describing the evening as "Community Policing" as opposed to "Militaristic" tactics.

Yeah. Exactly. And I know why:

Obama. He's the antidote to the craziness of 2000-2008, and it's working. Slowly but surely, we, as an artificial tribe called America, are pulling back from the brink. Believe it.

Peace and Love and Lack of Burning Cars, y'all.

T Minus 11:14, 11:13, 11:12...

These are scary days for the manned American space program. We are about to give up our access to space, and wait for private industry to get us back up there. Or Russians. I'm hoping for the Japanese or the Chinese since it seems without some breakthrough in technology, only a nationalistic based space race will get us into collective gear.

There's a lot of development in the private sector, and NASA will now act more like a venture capitalist/philanthropist, providing grants, funding, and for the best options, large purchases of services. And over many years I'm quite confident private space vehicles will be the norm, and far cheaper to build and fly than the current Shuttle. And I'm sure someone, someday well into the future, will make a go for an asteroid, since if one were able to capture a good size asteroid you would have more metal and other minerals than has ever been used by humanity, ever and for all of time. You'd be beyond rich. But that's well down the road.

Alas, since we seem to be motivated by greed and fear, then a good old profit motive/fear of the other doing it first will work, I'm sure, eventually. It's just a question of, how soon?

Could be years. And we - America - will be grounded on Earth. Sad state of affairs since Apollo and my childhood dreams of how freaking 2011 would be. But, we've got iPhones and iPads, so I guess it's all not so bad...

Also, and by way of apology, sorry! I'm in the final stages of the construction of my mountain Fastness, or Redoubt, if you will. New Gondolin rises! And soon shall be my abode. Till then, I remain, your's in Redshirtedness.

Simulated Suffering

Sorry for the long absence! I've been exploring the concept of "simulated suffering", whereby you intentionally choose an action which causes you some suffering, in the hopes of learning/growing from the experience. We do this all the time of course, but there are degrees. And it's the degrees - and the intention - which matters.

Consider running, or jogging. I'd put that squarely into a "simulated suffering" category. You are willingly making yourself uncomfortable, in order to advance physically and mentally. That's the concept!

So, I see many people justify tattoos from this perspective - the pain of getting a tattoo makes you remember it, makes you learn the lesson you're trying to teach yourself. I have no evidence one way or the other whether this works. It might!

But I would like to describe two basic techniques (in addition to the technique already mentioned - exercise): Meditation and fasting.

1. Meditation. You might not think of this as suffering, but to your normal mind, it very much is. Meditation is suffering because the time spent meditating could be time spent by the mind obsessing about whatever is to be obsessed with that day. You are forcing yourself to not think, not talk, not move. These could all be considered degradations done to you by another, but because you are choosing (choice is key here), this becomes a simulated suffering. Again, the idea is by taking time each day to "suffer" - here, meditate - you come to appreciate the normal world far more. Like with...

2. Fasting. Ever gone 24 hours without eating? If you're healthy enough, I'd recommend you try it, at least once, to see what it's about. It's painful, and can be filled with real suffering. But, once done, that mountain climbed, you'll come to appreciate everything in a way you did not even realize before. You'll come to cherish that small snack you have before bed, or the breakfast that is made for you, or the nice lunch near the park...


And that's the goal: We are living a miracle, the greatest gift that could ever be given. We are alive. Yet! The vast majority of us utterly take this for granted, and instead focus on whatever pathetic delusions we've created for ourselves to whine and moan about. It's obscene - but I do it too! We all do.

So, the work is: Take yourself out of your normal perspective, intentionally put yourself in a different perspective, and see what you learn. Do this often enough and it becomes habit. Once it becomes habit, it is you. 

I challenge you to think of ways in which you might implement this thought in your own life. What "simulated sacrifice" can you come up with?

The best example of this of course is the "You don't know what you have till it's gone" School of Living, wherein when you are sick, you can think of nothing else but how wonderful it is to be healthy. But when healthy, you rarely give it a moment's thought, right?

We must realize this miracle as an everyday experience. This is one way to get there: Make yourself suffer - within bounds, constructively, for a purpose; but suffering all the same. Because as far as I can tell that's the only way any of us learn.

Armistice Day - 1111

“I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

“It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one and another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

“Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ day is not.

“So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don’t want to throw away any sacred things.

“What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.

“And all music is.”

- Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions 

1111 Never Forget