When people reveal themselves (as artists inevitably do), they move us forward, positively.

Gord Downie Interview

http://exploremusic.com/exclusives/a-guided-tour-through-the-grand-bounce-with-gord-downie-himself/

Something for nothing...

Is the order of the day. Coke Zero...all the coke taste with zero calories. Fucking right!

What's in it? If not food...

***

Amazing how much better it feels to create things of value and ingest food of value.

***

The Z List is a new social networking site for the edgier, club oriented 18-30 crowd... yourself included possibly. The creator of the site says it rewards people for having the most pictures, hits, etc because everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. Everyone wants to be noticed by someone they don't know.

The ego gets a slight jolt from this type of energy. Something like:
A: Hey it's you, the guy/girl with the most pictures on Z list! What's your name again?
B: Yeah fuck I was up all night for the past week scanning all my old pictures, going out every night and making my friends take pictures of me... Just made the cut-off time for the contest."
A: Wow, pretty busy eh.
B: Yeah well when you're famous it comes with the territory.

Grandfather God

I accidentally typed in "ticketmaster.ca" and this is what it took me to:

http://grandfathergod.com/

Through experience we learn that good things come from bad, and bad come from good. We learn that life is un-judge-able, and that balance seems to permeate all things (though from micro to macro scale this balance can be difficult to see).

So I theorize that the physical contraction of our world (in the form of downscaling buildings, infrastructure, and systems) will coincide with non-physical growth.

Throughout my life (and for decades before) the 'developed' world has consumed and constructed without much thought, and this obsession with all things material - sex, consumption, power - has come at the expense of hearts and minds.

The tide is turning, and hopefully the physical suffering of contraction will for many be accompanied by a spiritual and energetic renewal.

A child without a family, place to live or sleep, roams. He or she does not stop for long, for the body's needs constantly beckon. The freedom of having nothing to do is fully tempered by the fear of endless survival. To be able to stop, sit, relax, is paradise. On those rare occasions, the spark of hope is born. Injustice is found everywhere, as people and things surround the empty human vessel, who is skilled now yet wholly unworldly in their eyes. Their heart is closed, it cannot be touched after breaking so many times.

Yet, in time, there is found to be a presence that exists, always. A person learns the patterns, the patterns give way to growth. A child is forged by their cage.

Kunstlercast 108: The Virtual Realm vs. The Authentic

Crary (host): How do you think this emphasis on the virtual realm affects the tangible realm?

Kunstler: Well, there's been one overall effect that we have not come to grips with as much as we may like it or find it appealing, or find it ingenious...it's just not good enough. And we gotta stop kidding ourselves that virtual life is as good as real life. And you know, what it's doing is it's impoverishing us.

...

Kunstler: I'm very conscious lately of the difference between having my head stuffed externally with other people's thoughts and ideas and conversations, and having my own conversation in my own head with reality and imagination.

Crary: What do you think the effect of having all this instant gratification through the internet has had on our society and what is it leading us towards?

Kunstler: I think it makes us very impatient and I think it makes it hard - it's turning us sort of into ADD nation... Of people who cannot keep their minds on a task long enough to see anything through. And it may be what's responsible for so much of the political discord that we're now suffering through - this inability to think through and address problems like the healthcare dilemma, the taxation and finance and fiscal dilemma, etc.
...
The diminishing returns of this kind of extremely advanced and refined technology is that you end up in a situation where - I'm sorry to be crude - But ah, you've got a whole nation now that's kind of mentally masturbating for huge amounts of time every day. You know I don't think that people need to be "productive", in the sense that - you know we're not termites, we're not slaves, we don't need to be making stuff and doing stuff and achieving and accomplishing stuff constantly, but you know we do need to get some things done and there are some things involved in the makings of culture which are extremely engaging and important but which require sustained attention.