May 19th, 2012 -- Protest
Police around the country continue to treat protestors as Terrorists. Most recently are the Chicago police actions against anti-NATO protestors.
Are we surprised? We, the people of the United States are taught from a very early age that Freedom is worth fighting for. The Boston Tea Party and our Decoration of Independence are just two example. Even today, in this climate, our teachers from Kindergarden to Post Graduate levels tell us that Freedom, Equity and the like are the rights all humans should have.
Yet, some place along the way our own very government saw how dangerous this really is. The problem is that We The People are smart. We read. We think. We can see that all three branches of the US Government are bought with corporate cash.
And so our very police have turned against the people. Normal every day people are arrested under false and misleading charges. The police apply Terrorism charges to people over what? At worse: Nothing at all. At best: Petty vandalism. The very same petty vandalism that we have been told is the Right thing to do.
This is no longer really about just "Occupy". Anyone that has protested Logging, Plastic, Politics, GMOs, and the like know that the police are corrupt. They, the police, and the corporate government want to protect just one thing; their pocket books.
Wake up. Take action. Think. Dream. Make the world a better place.
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(. .) Rav
May 14th, 2012 -- Needless Critic
You you ever bought anything and told people about it, then you know all about the Needless Critic. You buy a iPhone and people rag on you for not getting some Android; or you buy Android and people rag on you for not getting an iPhone. The same thing goes on with virtually everything like Coke vs Pepsi, PC vs Mac vs Linux, Canon vs Nikon, Car A vs Car B.
Are we all such corporate sluts that we become free real life advertisements? Often, even, at the expense of friendships. What you are is, I’ll say it bluntly, stupidity. Stop being a corporate zombie!
What ever happened to being happy someone else is happy about their purchase? Beyond that, however, I think it stems from a deep seated insecurity. Seeing your friend go in a different direction than you can be unsettling. It reminds me of the Scandinavian concept of the Utgardr (Outsider) vs the Innengardr (Insider). This view of the world was needed in an age where any outsider was a potential treat. None the less even then there were rules on hospitality known as hostcraft and guestcraft.
Today in the Age of Trolls there is no falling back on civility. Not when we want to polarise every issue into black and white.
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(. .) Rav
May 8th, 2012 -- Binary Sunset
A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away...
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I’m going to date myself on this one. I first laid eyes on a binary sunset in 1977. I was in Pasadena and my YMCA big brother took me down to the theatre on Colorado Boulevard to see Star Wars. I was seven years old and confused when the manager came out and told us the film had been stolen.
We drove a mile away to the two theatres on New York Drive. My big brother was so unsure we would not get tickets that he left the car running and me in the car to guard it. He was right and we had to put it off. Fail.
I had no idea what Star Wars was but all of this made me want to actually see the movie to see what all the madness was about. It isn’t every day that all the adults lose their minds and become little children in line for the movies. I just remember seeing very few children.
A few days later I was back and sitting in a darkened theatre. This was back when screens were amazingly large, good movies were in Technicolor, and the theatres only played one movie because they only had one screen. Star Wars was one of these good movies in special Technicolor.
What made me pause then and what still chokes me up today was the Binary Sunset. To me it was real on so many level that my little seven year old mind could hardly grasp it. There, on the screen, was a kid like me.
People tell you you can’t do things. You can’t join your friends. You have to do chores. When no one is looking your mind goes off into a deep longing for more. There has to be more! There has to be something that will bring change into our lives. It was profound for me and the stirring music put a point on it.
This is why I often had problems with people, humanity, getting dragged down in work, money, politics and the likes. I see the human spirit as a Luke Skywalker. We need to get out into the larger world, the larger universe, the entire galaxy. Let the damn droids take care of the moisture farm if it needs to keep running.
I live in Hawaii. I used to live in California. I know great sunsets. They all are judged to this moment. All to often I feel like I’m stuck in the most banal of all worlds. If there is a bright centre to the universe, you are on the planet furthest from.
Comment? Send me a tweet on twitter!
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(. .) Rav
May 7th, 2012 -- Money
Money and Wealth. Why do we need it? It seems like and outdated system. We live in an age where -everything- can be made by robots. Why not have them do the work. People can volunteer their time to systems that can not be automated.
In a moneyless system we can stop acquiring things we seldom use. Rather than stores why not just have libraries? Rather than new computers or phones why not design upgradable systems?
Just something to think about. In this modern world there is no reason for anyone to go hungry, not have a home, or go without -- except greed for money and wealth keeps it from happening.
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(. .) Rav
May 4th, 2012 -- RIP Adam Yauch
Today Adam Yauchof aka MCA of the Beastie Boys passed away. I’m not going to talk about Adam however. There are a lot of sites and news people that can cover it better than I ever could. What I will say is I’ll miss Adam and that I enjoyed a great deal of the music the Beastie Boys made.
What I will talk about ties in to yesterdays blog entry. Today people are saying things like “who cares”, “I don’t listen to old music”, “Beastie Boys suck”, and really a lot worse things. Why? To troll or be an asshole.
Yes, we live in a world where people take extreme pride in being shallow, vapid, and an asshole towards others. Someone dies and you take the piss out on them? Really?
Maybe it reminds these people too much that they too are mortal and will one day die. That is a lot to take in when you think the world revolves around their shining ego.
What is true, then, is that when they themselves die there will be those that just as gleefully dance upon their graves as well.
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(. .) Rav
May 3rd, 2012 -- Empathy and Compassion
All the years I’ve been around, 41 for the morbidly curious, I’m hard pressed to remember a time where there was less empathy and compassion in the world.
Back in 1974 is one of my earliest memories. I was 4 years old and had not yet started school. I stayed at my Grandmothers house during the days while my mother went to work. On this rare occasion when it was time to go we stopped off at McDonalds for a burger. This was actually a rare occasion and back then McDonalds had food fit for human consumption.
I tripped on a speed bump and skinned my knee in the parking lot. This sort of thing happens a lot when you are a little kid and you just had soda filled with pure cane sugar.
A McDonald’s employee, a kid himself as he was just a teenager, came rushing out of the employee door. He told the grown-up that they had a first aid kit. Then leading me right into the kitchen they put me up on the shining stainless steel counter and proceeded to clean, iodine, then bandaid my knee.
These days the fear of law suits, germs, strangers, malpractice, would keep any of this from happening normally. Back then my only fear was that they were setting me on the stove. I was a kid and thought the metal counter was a grill.
In the end I was given a replacement drink since I had spilled mine and sent off. Back to my Mom I went with my purple iodine stained knee.
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While many teens today seem either vapid or violent, it is really the adults too. People lack empathy and compassion. People would rather beat up people that are different than be friends. People assume the worst and give their worst in return. It is no wonder people cheer when they see police beating down protestors with night-sticks, flash-bang grenades or beanbag guns. People cheer when others lose jobs, homes, lives; then make snide remarks.
In all aspects of our lives the world could benefit from a return to civility. Embrace empathy and compassion.
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(. .) Rav
May 1st, 2012 -- May Day
For everyone that does not know, on the first of every month I move the previous months blog into the Archive section. So you can find April in there if you wanted to look at older entries.
Right now I’m spending the start of my May Day not doing any work or being a consumer as part of the Occupy movement. I’m also enjoying watching Tim Pool’s live stream.
As I watch the NYPD are doing the typical harassment of protestors. Here in Hawaii they have planned a May Day as well as part of the local Occupy here in Honolulu. Sadly people here all have dreams of being the 1% and refuse to take part in any type of Occupy. There are a few people, mostly people from the anti-Monsanto frame of mind.
In other totally unrelated news we are just 15 days away from the launch of Diablo III. A lot of people are really looking forward to that. I’d be more excited if is wasn’t $60 and if it allowed offline play. Everyone these days wants to own their customers rather than just let them play a game at home.
Got comments? Shoot me a tweet on twitter. Don’t be shy.
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(. .) Rav