Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Concrete Jungle
This song should be playing on the radio, all day, every day, until such time that the power-drunk, self-satisfied, blow-dried college boys and girls, who have this country in a death grip, shut their freaking pie holes and go back to whatever holes they crawled out of. Thank you Robert Nesta Marley, for being more of a human being than the "educated" ruling class could ever hope to be.
No sun will shine in my day today
(No sun will shine.)
The high yellow moon won't come out to play
(Won't come out to play.)
Darkness has covered my light (and has changed,)
And has changed my day into night
Where is the love to be found, won't someone tell me?
'Cause life, sweet life, must be somewhere to be found, yeah
Instead of a concrete jungle where the livin' is hardest
Concrete jungle, oh man, you've got to do your best, yeah.
No chains around my feet, but I'm not free
I know I am bound here in captivity
I've never known happiness, I've never known sweet caresses
Still, I be always laughing like a clown
Won't someone help me?
Cause, sweet life, I've, I've got to pick myself from off the ground, yeah
In this here concrete jungle,
I say, what do you got for me now?
Concrete jungle, oh, why won't you let me be now?
I said life must be somewhere to be found, yeah
Instead of a concrete jungle, illusion, confusion
Concrete jungle, yeah
Concrete jungle, you name it, we got it, concrete jungle now
Concrete jungle, what do you got for me now?
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Drug War Propaganda
From the DEA History website:
"In 1972, Timothy Leary (center) was brought to justice by DEA Special Agents Don Strange (right) and Howard Safir (left). Leary, a psychology instructor; was fired from his post at Harvard University as a result of his experimentation with LSD. In 1969, he founded a clandestine drug-trafficking ring, known as the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, that became the largest supplier of hashish and LSD in the United States."
Now mind you, I'm no fawning Learyite, but he at least was able to articulate some very important humanist values through some of his work. Whether you considered his advocacy of mind-altering chemicals to have been irresponsible or of great importance to a changing social system, you cannot deny that he spoke his mind loudly and at great risk to himself. Which at least puts him head and shoulders above the deeply conservative Drug Warriors that are wreaking havoc with people's lives by continuing to propogate the myth that all (non-prescription, illegal) drug use leads to HORRIBLE TRAGEDIES FOR SOCIETY!
Even a cursory glance at the DEA History website reveals the deeply disturbing attitudes of the agents of our so-called "Justice System." Rigid, arrogant, xenophobic... And surely since Li'l Bush's acendency to the throne of the Executive Branch, he's packed the place full of stiff, rabid hippocrites like John Ashcroft.
Thanks for keeping the US safe from free thought and dissenting opinions, you freaking jerks.
Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities
I picked up this re-release a couple weeks ago. Some very nice Sylvian/Hassell pieces on here. "Words With The Shaman" is particularly nice.
"After Brilliant Trees I really wanted to further explore the relationship with Jon Hassell and Holger Czukay developing themes which surfaced during the recording of that album, as everything I do tends to contain the seeds for the next project." -- David Sylvian
Alchemy Index Possibilites
Post-human Systems
"The familiar New York City cockroach predates the city's geography. It has survived ice ages, earthquakes, famines, and floods. It has watched the dinosaurs come and go. It has resisted determined efforts by mankind to remove it even from individual buildings. It would survive a nuclear attack. It will probably outlive all other contemporary fauna on Manhattan, including humans." -- Jaron Lanier
Combinatorics
Hooks, Clamps and Vices, Padlocks and Combinations, Padlocks and Keys, Door Locks and Handles, Dials and Gauges...
Activity in Story Mode take precendence over Free Mode, so do all you can in Free Mode to unlock characters when you can
Unlocking Secrets
Monday, June 28, 2004
Mathematike
A civilization is like a great river flowing through time, nourished and strengthened by many rich tributaries from other cultures. Let us project our imagination backward to a few thousand years. We are invited by the mathematics society of Greece, the birthplace of many mythical gods. We ask them a simple question: "Who created mathematics?" They respond "Mathematics begins with this half-mythical figure of Pythagoras. Science Begins with him. Western philosophy begins with him. He is even the first to use the word mathematike. Before him there was only mathemata, which meant knowledge or learning in general."
Marvin Gamble's Math History website
