A long time ago, in a universe much larger than our own, a giant star collapsed. Its implosion crammed so much mass and energy together that it created a wormhole to another universe. And inside this wormhole, our own universe was born. It may seem fantastic, but a theoretical physicist claims that such a scenario could help answer some of the most perplexing questions in cosmology. Read the whole article at ScienceNOW: Does Our Universe Live Inside a Wormhole? @ ScienceNOW.
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For the world to tackle truly important problems, people have to stop looking to religion to guide their moral compasses. Questions of good and evil, right and wrong are commonly thought unanswerable by science. But Sam Harris argues that science can — and should — be an authority on moral issues, shaping human values and setting out what constitutes a good life. Video after the cut.
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Evolution is a term to define only one organism and that’s the self. The self is the universe, the self is the alpha and omega, god, and infinity, and that’s the only thing that evolves because we are all part of the self. Nothing goes through an evolutionary process alone or without direct benefit to the whole. So when you begin to think that there’s this controlling elite, this controlling hand behind the curtains leading the planet to destruction…
When you think the end is near, the apocalypse, Armageddon, and when you think we as a species are doomed, it is not they, it is you that brought this about, and for a very good reason. You are evolving. Stop blaming everybody and everything else. Quit panicking about global tyranny and natural disaster and pay attention, because the world is telling you something; it’s tell you exactly what is wrong with you and how to fix it. (Excerpt from the film)
The Shooting War: Images from the World’s Most Acclaimed Conflict Photographers
The Devil is living in the Vatican, says the Pope’s chief exorcist. Well if that’s the case, burn down the Vatican and burn the hypocrits that live there. Problem solved.
Let us strangle the last king with the guts of the last priest – Denis Diderot
The 10 Most Addictive Sounds in the World
Top 10 Non-branded sounds:
1. Baby giggle
2. Vibrating phone
3. ATM / cash register
4. “Star Spangled Banner”
5. Sizzling steak
6. ‘Hail to the Chief‘
7. Cigarette light and inhale
8. “Wedding March”
9. “Wish Upon a Star”
10. Late Night with David Letterman Theme
via The 10 Most Addictive Sounds in the World | Fast Company.
For more than three and a half centuries, the death of René Descartes one winter’s day in Stockholm has been attributed to the ravages of pneumonia on a body unused to the Scandinavian chill. But in a book released after years spent combing the archives of Paris and the Swedish capital, one Cartesian expert has a more sinister theory about how the French philosopher came to his end.
Read the whole article @ the Guardian.co.uk Descartes was poisoned by Catholic priest
Few people realise the immensity of vacancy in which the dust of the material universe swims. – H. G. Wells
From The War of the Worlds
Cutting yourself:
I am an expert. I have sliced off thumb tips and fingernails. I have shaved paper-thin wafers of my knuckle and buried a breaking/cimeter knife an inch and a half into my forearm. If it weren’t for the stainless steel chainmail “butcher bra” that Josh from Fleisher’s bought me for Christmas last year, I might not be alive to write this essay, having perhaps bled out from one of the many horrible chest wounds averted by its Mithril magic.
How to Wield a Knife – The Atlantic Food Channel. (Via kottke.org)
“He had had the boudoir walls covered with bright red tapestry and all round the room he had hung ebony-framed prints by Jan Luyken , an old Dutch engraver who was almost unknown in France.
He possessed a whole series of studies by this artist in lugubrious fantasy and ferocious cruelty: his Religious Persecutions, a collection of appaling plates displaying all the tortures which religious fanaticism has invented, revealing all the agonizing varieties of human suffering – bodies roasted over braziers, heads scalped with swords, trepanned with nails, lacerated with saws, bowels taken out of the belly and wound onto bobbins, finger-nails slowly removed with pincers, eyes put out, eye lids pinned back, limbs dislocated and carefully broken, bones laid bare and scraped for hours with knives.
These pictures, full of abominable fancies, reeking of burnt flesh, echoing with screams and curses, made Des Esseintes’ flesh creep whenever he went into the red boudoir, and he remained rooted to the spot, choking with horror.
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For many months, the GEO600 team-members had been scratching their heads over inexplicable noise that is plaguing their giant detector. Then, out of the blue, a researcher approached them with an explanation. In fact, he had even predicted the noise before he knew they were detecting it. According to Craig Hogan, a physicist at the Fermilab particle physics lab in Batavia, Illinois, GEO600 has stumbled upon the fundamental limit of space-time – the point where space-time stops behaving like the smooth continuum Einstein described and instead dissolves into "grains", just as a newspaper photograph dissolves into dots as you zoom in. "It looks like GEO600 is being buffeted by the microscopic quantum convulsions of space-time," says Hogan.
If this doesn’t blow your socks off, then Hogan, who has just been appointed director of Fermilab’s Center for Particle Astrophysics, has an even bigger shock in store: "If the GEO600 result is what I suspect it is, then we are all living in a giant cosmic hologram." More @ http://www.newscientist.com
“Exit Through The Gift Shop” is a film by Banksy and it’s supposed to have its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s billed as “the world’s first street art disaster movie”. Here’s the trailer.
Like estate sales or cat burglary, Peter Ross’s photographs of William Burroughs’s possessions provide a glimpse into the material world of someone we thought we knew. In the interview (link below) Ross explains how the pictures (see here for the complete collection) explore the myth of the man through a selection of weird, touching, and often unexpected possessions found in Burroughs’s windowless New York City apartment, preserved since his death in 1997.
Even in its hour of utter devastation, Haiti, the western hemisphere’s poorest country, teaches the rest of the world some valuable truths.
This Caribbean island nation of nine million people has right now a third of its population cut off from basic supplies of food, water, medicine or shelter. In the blink of an eye, the earthquake that hit the country has buried a capital city of three million people under rubble for which the eventual death toll may be between 100,000 and 500,000. Just like that.
Like shutting the proverbial stable door after the horse has bolted, the US and other world powers are promising to send emergency aid to Haiti. Well intentioned no doubt. But where was the aid and economic development assistance to Haiti – over half the population live on $1 a day and 80 per cent are classed as poor – in the years before this calamity? Read on…
Source: Finian Cunningham – www.globalresearch.ca
A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read ‘The Lost Symbol’, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it.
- The Economist (via peterwknox)
“But that I may reveal my heart entirely to you, my friends: IF there were gods, how could I endure it to be no God! THEREFORE there are no Gods.
“Weariness, which seeks to get to the ultimate with one leap, with a death-leap; a poor ignorant weariness, unwilling even to will any longer: that created all Gods and backworlds.
“A new pride taught me mine ego, and that teach I to men: no longer to thrust one’s head into the sand of celestial things, but to carry it freely, a terrestrial head, which gives meaning to the earth!”
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a 19th century literary masterpiece and key philosophical work by Nietzsche. Zarathustra descends from his cave in the mountains after ten years of solitude, brimming with wisdom and love and wants to teach humanity.
The individual lessons and sermons delivered by Zarathustra cover most of the general themes of Nietzsche’s mature philosophy, though often in highly symbolic and obscure form.
Also freely-available on Thoughtaudio.com
Download [Audio + E-book - 122 MB]:
http://rapidshare.com/files/325396436/Thus.Spoke.Zarathustra.Nietzsche.Audiobook.rar
Download [E-book - 826 KB]:
http://rapidshare.com/files/325403429/Thus.Spoke.Zarathustra-Nietzsche.pdf
Five years since the Tsunami – The Big Picture – Boston.com
Five years ago, on Boxing Day, December 26th, 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake hit the seafloor of the Indian Ocean, causing tremendous waves of seawater to rush ashore as devastating tsunamis that left 230,000 people dead across 13 different countries – the fifth deadliest natural disaster in recorded history…..
Buddha Wild Monk in a Hut by Anna Wilding
Buddhist monks aren’t usually described as wild(at least not in our urban dictionary), but director Anna Wilding’s intriguing feature documentary debut stirs up the meditation room a bit. Buddha Wild explores what really goes on behind the monastery doors, touching on hot-button issues like the roles of women, racism, and celibacy in a monk’s daily life. Buddha Wild is a refreshing synthesis of Eastern and Western politics and culture, without a nibble of Hollywood cheese.
“The religion of the future should transcend a personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both natural and spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description… If ever there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.” – Einstein.
Buddha Wild provides viewers with a well-judged glimpse into the monastery world of the Buddhist Monk and the real world of those who follow the precepts and principals of Buddhism. The documentary centers on the life of the Buddhist monks. They are a kind lot of warm hearted and enlightened men. Buddha Wild is a journey of discovery.
The monks were clearly enamored by Ms. Wilding and their generosity of information from taboo subjects exhibits this fact. A well judged mix of seriousness and humor. “Anna Wilding was compelled to make this upbeat film to counteract racism she witnessed in a region”. (Excerpt from cultureunplugged.com)
The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world? A new debate, presented from London by Zeinab Badawi
(Aired November 7, 2009 on BBC World)
It stands up for the oppressed and offers spiritual succour to billions say the Church’s supporters. But what about the Church’s teachings on condoms, gay sex and women priests, ask the detractors. Speaking for the motion, Archbishop John Onaiyekan and Anne Widdecombe MP. Speaking against the motion, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry.
Called “the perfect place to die,” the Aokigahra forest has the unfortunate distinction as the worlds second most popular place to take ones life (the first is the Golden Gate Bridge).
More @ http://atlasobscura.com
Interesting, are all American Presidents now getting a Nobel Peace Prize when they don’t start a war ? At least that douchebag Bono is not getting honored A it’s a brave new World, but please don’t stop asking questions.
Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize @ Google News.
Bill Maher takes on the current state of world religion.
World Cinema Foundation: Great website from Martin Scorsese dedicated to preserving and restoring neglected films from around the world. Most of them will be available for online viewing.
All text taken directly from online Christian fundamentalist forums.
A Roman Catholic archbishop says that the abortion of twins carried by a 9-year-old girl who allegedly was raped by her stepfather means excommunication for the girl’s mother and her doctors. Despite the nature of the case, the church had to hold its line against abortion, Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho said in an interview aired Thursday by Globo television.
“The law of God is higher than any human laws,” he said. “When a human law — that is, a law enacted by human legislators — is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion have incurred excommunication.”
The Law of God ? Did I miss something ? did God came down from his hiding place and wrote this Lawn down somewhere ? Who is Mister Sobrinho that he can force an alien law up on Humans ? It is time that these black brothers start to realize that their time of dictatorship is ending. We humans are definitely able to judge for ourselves, we don’t need alien laws forced upon us. There is no authority but yourself!
What a Crackhead this Sobrinho, man of God, but then maybe they can be glad to be excommunicated, then who wants to be in this sick club of frustrated old man anyway.
You can read some articles here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com
http://www.foxnews.com
http://news.scotsman.co
Now reading: Brad Warner “Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip
Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the
True Dharma”.
Zen teacher and punk bassist Brad Warner had a tough year: He lost his dream job, his mother died, his grandmother died, and his marriage fell apart. In “Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate”, Brad follows the form of his first two books, mixing his real-life adventures with Buddhist philosophy and pop culture examples. He applies the Buddha’s teachings to his own real-life suffering, deconstructing the popular image of the Buddhist Master.
How does a “real” Zen Master deal with death, divorce, job loss, and personal discord? How does he perform the work of trying to help others get over their tough times while going through some pretty heavy pain of his own? How do you sit and meditate while your world crumbles all around you? Warner also explores whether real Buddhism exists in the West, travelling around North America in search of authentic Buddhist practice. ‘While I’ve found shining examples of the Buddha’s way in prisons and at heavy metal shows‘, he writes, ‘I’ve also seen sad perversions of Buddhism in temples and among those supposedly propagating the Way in America. Authentic Buddhism doesn’t always come packaged the way we imagine it should’. This isn’t another esoteric book about the ancient, venerable, and exotic philosophy of Buddhism. It’s a book about what it means to live your life as a real human being. According to Warner, although Zen does not offer the kind of pie-in-the-sky ‘ultimate solutions’ many religions and cults promise, it does provide a real and exceptionally practical way to deal with what life dishes out to all of us. In fact, he says, Zen practice and philosophy provides the only truly rational and realistic way to live a balanced and happy life.
The bassist for the punk band Zero Defects, Brad Warner is a Zen priest, filmmaker, and Japanese monster-movie marketer living in Los Angeles. The author of Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality: Punk Rock Monster Movies & the Truth About Reality and Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen’s Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye, he is also is also the director and producer of Cleveland’s Screaming, a documentary about the Ohio punk scene. He teaches Zen in Santa Monica and writes a monthly column for Suicidegirls.com.
Available at Amazon Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma. You can read an excerpt here.
Now reading: Thank You and Ok!: An American Zen Failure in Japan – David Chadwick.
David Chadwick, a Texas-raised wanderer, college dropout, bumbling social activist, and hobbyhorse musician, began his study under Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1966. In 1988 Chadwick flew to Japan to begin a four-year period of voluntary exile and remedial Zen education. In Thank You and OK! he recounts his experiences both inside and beyond the monastery walls and offers insightful portraits of the characters he knew in that world—the bickering monks, the patient abbot, the trotting housewives, the ominous insects, the bewildered bureaucrats, and the frustrating English-language students—as they worked inexorably toward initiating him into the mysterious ways of Japan. Whether you’re interested in Japan, Buddhism, or exotic travel writing, this book is great fun.
To learn more about the author, David Chadwick, visit More about David Chadwick
• 841,000: I have a large cat in my pants.
• 3,300,000: I have a large uterus.
• 112,000: I have a lovely bunch of coconuts (lots of swallows surfing the web).
• 256,000,000: I want to die.
• 3,160,000: Why do I fart so much.
Read the article here: Google Proves Humanity Is Sick and Sad, Yet Absolutely Hilarious [Google Insight]
Dammit, it is a strange world we are living in.
SoundTransit is a collaborative, online community dedicated to field recording and phonography. On the “Book” section of the site, you can plan a sonic journey through various locations recorded around the world.
Click to hear: Hamburg – Anuradhapura
Departure: Hamburg, Germany with Lasse-Marc Riek “recordings from “the hamburger dom” / “fair of hamburg”, listen to many various sounds. the sounds are together like in an soundscape-composition.recorded in may 2002, hamburg/germany”
via London, United Kingdom with Matthias Kispert “A cavernous space with walls covered in graffiti, the skate park at the South Bank Centre is somewhat reminscent of the sites of prehistoric rituals. In this place, youngsters daily worship the cult of the four wheels attached to a wooden board. Recorded for the D-Fuse project Undercurrent.”
Arrival: Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka with Andreas Bick “Young monks chanting in a monastery in Anuradhapura.”
A poll, conducted by OnePoll, that quizzed over a thousand UK teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 showed that they on average spend over 31 hours surfing the web. Depressingly, it appears teens are spending over 8 hours a week not only browsing pornography but also cosmetic surgery, emotional support and weight loss sites.
Breakdown of the average teenager’s time online each week
* Downloading music 1 hour 40 minutes
* YouTube 2 hours 2 minutes
* MSN 3 hours 29 minutes
* Chatrooms 2 hours 5 minutes
* Virtual World sites 1 hour 55 minutes
* Homework/research 3 hours 10 minutes
* Shopping 1 hour 49 minutes
* Auction sites 1 hour 28 minutes
* Cosmetic surgery 1 hour 8 minutes
* Soft porn 1 hour 40 minutes
* Dieting/weight loss 1 hour 35 minutes
* Family planning/pregnancy 1 hour 32 minutes
* NHS Direct/Health 1 hour 22 minutes
* Samaritans 1 hour 1 minute
* Dating 1 hour 15 minutes
* Social networking 3 hours 47 minutes
Ellie Puddle, Marketing Director of CyberSentinel said:
“The alarming thing about this research is that it shows that teenagers are obviously exploring all sorts of topics as a result of modern-day pressures [and] they find it easier to go online to conduct their research than asking mum and dad for advice.”
For me this shows that this whole idea about a social networking and social web like chatrooms, virtuall worlds and dating sites, probably takes away a even more important social aspect of their lives: talking with people, hang out on the streets, do sports. So yes that is from people of my generation depressing to see that happen.
Family planning/pregnancy, ok but watching Soft porn ? !!! come on …
Now reading: Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World – Kevin Kelly (Wired Author) In many ways, the 20th century has been the Age of Physics. 1 Out of Control is an accessible and entertaining explanation of why the coming years will probably be the Age of Biology — particularly evolution and ethology — and what this will mean to most every aspect of our society.
Just finished reading Klunen by Kluun and Don’t know much about Geography by K.C Davis.
Klunen is a Dutch book that I really enjoyed reading, the paperback is a collection of short stories by Kluun. He talks a lot about Brabant which reminded me about my childhood there. Note to self; Need to get his other books as well1.
Don’t know much about Geography, “by the King of knowledge” (Amazon), KC Davis. To be honest a bit of a boring book. Not much that triggered my intrest or was surprising me. Most of the stuff in there was not new to me, and I did not pay very well attention in the Geography class. 2
Starting now with a new book; Introducing Evolutionary Psychology3, hopefully this book will help me to better understanding of our word…
Happy Chinese New Year, 2009 is the Year of Ox
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. This year, the 15-day Chinese New Year begins today, ushering in the Year of the Ox. According to Chinese belief, the Ox is a symbol of wealth and success through hard work and resilience — a welcome sign considering the entire Worlds economic difficulties.
- A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
- A bright’s worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
- The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview
“The God Delusion” caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. Within weeks it became the most hotly debated topic, with Dawkins himself branded as either saint or sinner for presenting his hard-hitting, impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types. His argument could hardly be more topical. While Europe is becoming increasingly secularized, the rise of religious fundamentalism, whether in the Middle East or Middle America, is dramatically and dangerously dividing opinion around the world. In America, and elsewhere, a vigorous dispute between ‘intelligent design’ and Darwinism is seriously undermining and restricting the teaching of science. In many countries religious dogma from medieval times still serves to abuse basic human rights such as women’s and gay rights. And all from a belief in a God whose existence lacks evidence of any kind. Dawkins attacks God in all his forms. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children.
“The God Delusion” is a brilliantly argued, fascinating polemic that will be required reading for anyone interested in this most emotional and important subject.
Get The God Delusion
@ Amazon
Patches of matter in the universe seem to be moving at very high speeds and in a uniform direction that can’t be explained by any of the known gravitational forces in the observable universe. Astronomers are calling the phenomenon “dark flow.”
The stuff that’s pulling this matter must be outside the observable universe, researchers conclude.
When scientists talk about the observable universe, they don’t just mean as far out as the eye, or even the most powerful telescope, can see. In fact there’s a fundamental limit to how much of the universe we could ever observe, no matter how advanced our visual instruments. The universe is thought to have formed about 13.7 billion years ago. So even if light started travelling toward us immediately after the Big Bang, the farthest it could ever get is 13.7 billion light-years in distance. There may be parts of the universe that are farther away (we can’t know how big the whole universe is), but we can’t see farther than light could travel over the entire age of the universe. wow! More here .
(Abstract) Initially panned by many critics for its violent content, David Fincher’s Fight Club may seem like the most unlikely film to incorporate the tenants of Zen Buddhism. However, if one looks beyond the surface, issues like fighting against capitalism, saving people from themselves, creating a world-wide equilibrium, and suffering to gain enlightenment are all present in Fight Club. This alone may not be enough to prove an air-tight connection between Zen Buddhism and Fight Club but the film’s characters, structure and storyline can also be linked to key aspects of the Zen Buddhist doctrine. By exploring these multiple connections this paper provides a different, if not completely opposed, view of what could be one of the most controversial and ultimately misunderstood films of the last decade.
Jan Cremer
Jan Cremer was born on 20 April 1940 in Enschede, just before the Second World War swept over the Netherlands. His father Jan Cremer senior had many professions and was also a travel writer, photographer and journalist. It was him that Jan Cremer inherited his urge to write; the love of drawing and reading came from his Hungarian mother.
After the difficult war years in Enschede, Jan Cremer became a ward of the state and at the age of 14 he was sent to work in a factory. There followed a short intermezzo with the marines, after which he sailed on tramp ships, mainly to Russian ports. After his matelot period he travelled through Germany, Italy and France, finally landing up in Paris in 1958. Between jobs he studied for a few months at art academies in Arnhem and The Hague, where as later in Paris he took lessons in free painting and later specialised in printmaking techniques.
From his earliest days Jan Cremer was an original, obsessive artist who lived for his work. At this first solo exhibition in De Posthoorn gallery in The Hague in 1958, the critics – still not fully recovered from the CoBrA riots – spoke of a ‘wild animal’. A year later he exhibited in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, followed by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
He subsequently stayed for three years on Ibiza, connected with the ‘Grupo Ibiza’. In the meantime Cremer worked on his first book ‘I, Jan Cremer’. Published in The Netherlands in 1964 it caused a real cultural revolution and has since sold millions all over the world. There also followed more than a hundred exhibitions of his artworks in museums and galleries not only in The Netherlands but in many other countries. Cremer wrote more books, but also kept on painting, abandoning the abstract style of peinture barbarisme in favour of paintings of tulip fields and other aspects of the Dutch landscape.
There followed many years of travelling and painting, during which he wrote travel stories for leading newspapers and magazines as well. Jan Cremer stills manages to combine his work with his wanderlust. Sometimes he is away for six months of the year, although lately he has been staying more often at his home in Amsterdam.
http://www.jancremer.com/
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Cremer
Hyperspace - Michio Kaku
Parallel Worlds – Michio Kaku
Physics of the impossible – Michio Kaku
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of America’s greatest philosophers. In his essay, Self Reliance, Emerson stressed the importance of individualism and the importance of living by your conscious. A man should not conform or live a life of false consistency.They should march to the beat of their own drummer.
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude after own own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
The “Positivity Blog” recently had a rather compelling overview of Bruce Lee, Productivity Guru.
And from the same site this lame article: gandhis-top-10-fundamentals-for-changing-the-world, but then I would fight Gandhi….
Estimated World Population to Pass 6,666,666,666 Today.
- Paul Trynka Iggy Pop’s life has been one of extraordinary highs and terrifying lows. Infamous for his wild ways, he is also a towering figure of the rock scene – hugely influential, charismatic and provocative. Every ‘mad, bad, dangerous to know’ rock star owes a debt to him, and the stories of his shocking behaviour are legendary. But Iggy Pop is also, to a large extent, a construct, the alter ego of the quietly spoken and intriguing Jim Osterberg: the kid voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ by his classmates. So what turned this charming, well-mannered, straight-A student into a poster child for rock ‘n’ roll debauchery? Iggy Pop: Open up and Bleed reveals the truth behind the myths. Former MOJO editor Paul Trynka tracked down the star’s friends, family, lovers and fellow musicians, conducting over two hundred and fifty interviews, unearthing countless new stories about Iggy’s rollercoaster life, his music and his often misunderstood friendship with David Bowie. From this impeccable research he creates a fascinating portrait of a man at war with the world and with himself. The book also features dozens of never-before seen photos.
@ Amazon and @ Zweitausendeins (German translation)
Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who co-wrote “2001: A Space Odyssey” and won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 90.
@yahoo
The Hounen festival at Tagata shrine is one of the most famous (or infamous?) festivals in Japan. Amongst foreigners visiting Aichi Prefecture it is frequently referred to as the “penis shrine”, or “Japanese penis festival”, primarily due to the ancient Hounen Matsuri (a festival celebrating fertility and renewal), which is held here every March 15th.
Every year on March 15 a huge two and a half meter wooden phallus is carried the short distance between two shrines attracting visitors from all over Japan and international media attention. The festival is fun with a lot of sake drinking, however the background of the festival is rather more serious. A shrine is a place of worship. It houses divine spirits and preserves the memory and practice of many aspects of Japanese culture.
Since the invasion and illegal annexation of Tibet (1949-1951) 1,250,000 Tibetans are murdered by the Chinese terrorists..An as for to day the killing still goes on. The question arises why the Olympics were awarded to China, why why ? And why, why are people still supporting this event ? Fuck you China, this is not acceptable we will boycott the Olympics. Also from their position, the athletes should call attention to human rights abuses and say; No we wont go there and say fuck to china!
The Olympics and Crimes Against Humanity Cannot Coexist in China.
More about Tibet in the news:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/tibet
http://www.tibet.com/
(By saying fuck to china, I dont say “fuck” to the Chinees people, food, country, their rich culture and history but to the repressive, totalitarian and capitalist Chinees regime. )
“There are some strange summer mornings in the country, when he who is but a sojourner from the city shall early walk forth into the fields, and be wonder-smitten with the trance-like aspect of the green and golden world. Not a flower stirs; the trees forget to wave; the grass itself sems to have ceased to grow; and all Nature, as is suddenly become conscious of her own profound mystery, and feeling no refuge from it but silence, sinks into this wonderful and indescribable repose.”
-Herman Melville, from Pierre, Or The Ambiguities
Artistic genius, political activist, painter and decorator, mythic legend or notorious graffiti artist? The work of Banksy is unmistakable, except maybe when it’s squatting in the Tate or New York’s Metropolitan Museum. Banksy is responsible for decorating the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cites throughout the world. Witty and subversive, his stencils show monkeys with weapons of mass destruction, policeman with smiley faces, rats with drills and umbrellas. If you look hard enough, you’ll find your own. His statements, incitements, ironies and epigrams are by turns intelligent and cheeky comments on everything from the monarchy and capitalism to the war in Iraq and farm animals.
At Amazon: Banksy – Wall and Piece and at Wikipedia
Journey to the End of the Night (Voyage au bout de la nuit, 1932) is the first novel of Louis-Ferdinand Céline.
This semi-autobiographical work follows antihero Ferdinand Bardamu through his involvement in World War I, colonial Africa, and post-WWI America (where he works for the Ford Motor Company), returning in the second half of the work to France, where he becomes a medical doctor and sets up a practice in a poor Paris suburb, the fictional La Garenne-Rancy. The novel also satirizes the medical profession and the vocation of scientific research. The disparate elements of the work are linked together by recurrent encounters with Léon Robinson, a hapless character whose experiences parallel, to some extent, those of Bardamu.
As its title suggests, Voyage au bout de la nuit is a dark, nihilistic novel of savage, exultant misanthropy, leavened, however, with an ebulliently cynical humour. Céline expresses an almost unrelieved pessimism with regard to human nature, human institutions, society, and life in general. Towards the end of the book, the narrator Bardamu, who is working at an insane asylum, remarks:
…I cannot refrain from doubting that there exist any genuine realizations of our deepest character except war and illness, those two infinities of nightmare,”
A nameless detective, still mourning the loss of his wife, investigates a mysterious death in a Buddhist temple, but his logical, left-brained crime-solving skills are useless in the intuitive, non-linear world of Zen.
While attempting to question the inhabitants of the temple — Ed, a monk with an attitude and secrets to hide; Jane, a beautiful, mysterious, bald femme fatale; and the Master, an infuriatingly obscure Zen teacher, who does a lot of strange things with oranges