Althought the text is usually referred to as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a more accurate translation is "Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State."
I have had a few near-death experiences of differing character. One time I experienced what I can only describe as a Clear Light state. There was actually no consciousness, no sense of self, no thought, just permeating white light.
Although my "bardo state" was ultimately a function of my brain activity, I came to completely understand William Blake's quote:
"If the doors of perception were cleansedevery thing would appear to man as it is - infinite."
Ancient Mayan civilization is one that I never get tired of learning about. Despite the astonishment I feel when trying to understand their cosmic systems, I can't really buy into this idea that there is some sort of 'Doomsday' scenario that will fall exactly on a specified date.
Supposedly, the date December 21, 2012 is the end of a cosmic cycle that the Mayans called a baktun (144,000 days). I tend to think that this is just a measurement like our century & millenium, which means time will probably continue on after 2012- just like after "Y2K."
However, there is a part of me that wonders about the greater significance of these meticulously calculated astronomical cycles.
Western measure of time is disconnected from the longer, yet regular workings of the universe. Beyond the solar year of 365 days, our measures of time are basically arbitrary.
Despite our exponentially expanding knowledge base, I think ancient people like the Mayans had a much different sense of natural time and the infinite nature of the universe.
I knew when I heard that President Obama had unexpectedly won the Nobel Peace Prize that people would be very surprised. I also knew that it would absolutely infuriate the usual unreasonably cynical cretins who simply can't stand Barack & his novel ability to speak in complete, coherent sentences.
With my own ears, I heard people questioning "What has he done?!?"... so I knew the legion of short-sighted & self-centered buffoons in the media would be predictably disparaging this amazing honor for America, it's President & it's people.
The idea that Obama hasn't "done enough" to deserve this award is infantile. Barack Obama has literally reversed the entire world's perception of America & it's purpose in the world. Many feeble-minded pundits have been crying that "This is just recognition for not being George Bush!" That is a perfectly good enough reason to get the award!!! We went from having a dry-drunk, half-retarded, belligerent asshole in charge of the world's most powerful military, to someone with the intelligence & eloquence to miraculously reverse the world's seething and justified hatred for the War Monkey and his money & death-worshipping neocon cabal.
The only reason an American should be opposed this honor is if they are a war-profiteering defense contractor or a partisan Republican crybaby. This is a clear win for America.
Of course, there is the fact that this Nobel Peace Prize recipient is waging two inherited wars of extreme logistical & strategic difficulty with continuing civilian casualites. Even I had to ponder the situation deeply to reconcile this paradox. Luckily, I constantly entertain paradoxes in my mind, so it's not that difficult to accept.
The Nobel committee has obviously partially awarded this as a motivation for America to pursue as peaceful and non-destabilizing of an agenda as possible. Also, the depth of vision for a progressive world that Obama has presented on behalf of mentally stable Americans has obviously inspired enough people worldwide to warrant this honor.
Predictably, this recognition, and the adulation that comes with it, will provide fodder for those who believe that Obama is really an agent of manipulative evil- & perhaps the archetypal Anti-Christ himself.
I'll be the first to say that anything is possible- he just might one day sit on a throne in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem as the Satanic King of the World.... but I doubt it!
For now, I think Obama is an amazing leader that America & humanity desperately needs at this critical time. I'm proud to have voted for the guy & hope that he can continue his agenda of trying to reverse the massive failings of rule by America's regressive 'right-wing' movement.
First of all, let me say that I'm a fan of Barry. His job is one that I would not want under any circumstance, because of the inhuman problems & schedules involved. I've said that I haven't been a supporter of all his policies, but I believe he's doing what he thinks he can to steadily improve things from the nearly decade-long disaster of Bush's regressive, plutocratic rule.
The worst part of the deal is the fact that it is physically impossible to please every group & faction in the country, no less every individual. Obama is getting called a Socialist, Facist, Nazi, communist, Muslim, Islamo-fascist, & whatever label sounds sufficiently anti-"American".
Like any public official, Obama's philosophies & policies can be categorized with any disparaging label, as long as a rationale can be given. It doesn't even need to be a logical or justifiable rationale as long as other people buy into it.
This whole thought process led me to wonder if Obama, the Master of Propaganda himself, could be so persuasive that he actually smoothed-talked "Socialism" into seeming like a patriotic American value!?!
I've been wanting to make a crazy sort of Bizarro anti-propaganda poster that combines iconography of Soviet communism with the red, white, & blue of the good ol' USA.
The inspirational, yet appropriate, slogan "We are All in This Together" came to me as a way to offset the negative connotation of "Socialism." Then, I heard Obama use that exact phrase in his TV health care speech! At that moment I thought, "Ok, well that settles it. I gotta make this stupid thing..." So, I sat down recently & put this poster together one night last week.
I tried to make it as visually 'American' as possible- with flag colors, stripes, stars, a font similar to our currency's. The pose & spikes of the star crown resemble the illuminating Statue of Liberty. Beams of compassion for his people stream out from the heart area while he holds the O Sun logo at his stomach, pregnant with possibilities for the Republic. (or maybe he's just playing ball in front of a crowd?...)
The patriotic & positive tone of the poster twists the perception of Socialism as a negative force against American society into a proud American virtue.
On the other hand, the stars and strong red color could also give the sneaking suspicion of Communist activity lurking just below the surface. (I might as well point this out, since Glenn Beck would probably figure it out anyway.)
The stars also form a subtly menacing barbed wire-like border, while the big star behind Obama's head make devil horns that can only be explained by the fact that Obama is The Anti-Christ. Of course, the focus of the image is our deceptively friendly El Presidenté, surrounded by the adoring Liberal mobs that blindly follow our Dear Leader. He's an evil trickster, that Obama!
Anyway, this was just an absurd, fun idea to get off my mind & into the Internets.
Like I said in my last post, ancient cultures are a huge interest of mine. Being able to directly visualize historical scenes around you would be crazy. Imagine having a neural-networked Apple iThink transmitting signals that could link right into your brain's visual system to virtually immerse you in an environment. You could walk around an ancient temple and have a 3d model superimposed on your perspective of the area.
Anyway, that would seem to be one possible outcome of emerging technologies that are being used to re-create lost cultures like the Aztecs and map existing 3D structures using thousands of photos:
So far, I've only been out of the country once- & it was one of the best times of my life. My family all took a trip to Riviera Maya in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in 2006. I posted a summary of our vacation when I got back.
The highlight of the trip for me was our day trip to the ruins of Chichen Itza.
Ancient cultures have always been a source of fascination for me & the Mayan civilization of Mexico is one that sparks endless curiosity in my mind. I was just watching Apocalypto again at my parents' house the other night on an HD movie channel. I still think it is a stunning depiction of classical Mayan society.
Seeing the remains of this unique culture firsthand was an experience I'll never forget. I have alot of great photos that I'll have to upload soon. My brother took video of the site as we walked among the amazing ruins & has finally uploaded a couple segments he edited to his Youtube channel- MicProsVideos.
The first video shows some of the resort & the drive to the site. The second video highlights the footage of Chichen Itza itself.
Both the greatest & worst thing about the Internet is that everybody can have a voice.
You have your skoalrebels giving their barely coherent opinion, but you also have voices of reason, too. Bernie Sanders is the Independent Senator from Vermont & the first Senator to identify himself as "socialist." Regardless of what labels he or anyone decides on, he always makes rational points regarding the issues being discussed when I seee him on TV.
As a commercial artist, my usual instincts are to design for maximum visual harmony. In college one of my professors said that you have to know the rules to break the rules. So, examples of really "bad" art & design often amuse me since it's all subjective in my mind, anyway.
I forget where originally I saw this now, but this link has 20 really good selections of horribly designed websites:
It's definitely one of the greatest creative tools ever developed. My brother has a Youtube channel & it's a wonderfully free medium. Ordinary people now have tremendous power of self-expression that such an accessible service provides.
Of course, the main reason Youtube exists is to provide mind-boggling, crazy, entertaining content: Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama
In my random web browsing, I came across another absolute gem in the Youtube diamond mine. This video is from the ridiculous show "Wife Swap" & this little bastard has had enough of his temporary "new" mom.
Someone made a comment about the kid in the video saying that he's a real-life Eric Cartman, which is right on.
To ensure this videos place in the Pantheon of Youtube Classics, a parody has been made in the form of a spectacular remix that made me laugh out loud. I came across this on Ebaum's World.
I defy you not to sing "Bacon...is good for me!" in your head after hearing this:
This is as good as the other memorable episode of a wife-swapping show... the gross crazy ultra-religious lady staying in the house of a Punk Rock type family:
I've been a huge Howard Stern fan since I was a teenager. I originally bought Sirius satellite radio mostly so I can listen to his show, although the music content is great, too.
A few years ago, there was a Howard Stern Film Festival, so my brother & I put together a skit in which we were the fanatical right-wing leaders of an anti-Howard Stern organization called H.A.H.A: "Haters Against Howard Alliance".
The clear forms are beautiful in their own right, but the bit of text accompanying the article made me think a little deeper about the ideas being conveyed. These glass representations are visually pure in the sense that microorganisms don't possess perceivable 'color' like they are often shown in illustrations or enhanced images.
We rely on visualization to conceptualize phenomena outside our range of normal vision, like viruses that are artificially colored or Hubble pictures of nebulas that are enhanced by NASA.
Ultimately, everything is just our perception.
The artist's website has more amazing images of the various sculptures of viruses & bacteria:
Was it just "Insanely Obnoxious Interruption Week"?
I try not to disparage other people, but when you're a jerk, you're a jerk. Kanye West and Rep. Joe "You Lie" Wilson have together shown that being a selfish, loudmouth fool is a quality that truly transcends race & culture.
All I'll say is that he should have taken a hard look at himself when South Park destroyed him with the "Fishsticks" episode, featuring perhaps the funniest & most humiliating diss possible. I can't listen to his crappy songs without starting to sing "Gay Fish" in my head. Unfortunately he hasn't gotten a grip on his ridiculous ego & it cost him any last bit of public respect.
I would mostly like to forget about this "Jackass" as our Dear Leader correctly observed, but I saw a collection of Internet Memes with Kanye West that was too crazy to pass up. It's great how quick people make these kinds of parodies-
I was really looking forward to going- despite the light rain- & it ended up being much more impressive than I expected. Since I love nature & art, this was a truly enjoyable experience. Besides spending a relaxing day with my parents, I got to take in a feast of visual wonders.
My main objective was to take alot of photography. I ended up taking over 200 pictures & uploaded most of them to my Google Picasa album. The hi-res images are public under a Creative Commons license. They can be zoomed, downloaded, or you can press the "Full Screen" button for a slideshow:
Well, I know alot of people are critical of President Barry, but I still think he's The Long-legged Mack-daddy!
I don't agree with several policy directions so far, but I think as a figurehead for American society & a functional executive, he is an improvement- to say the least. If you don't agree, watch clips of Dubya's greatest hits. I have no doubt that there are people who think John McCain & Sarah Palin would have made this country better, but there are also people like THIS, so anyway...
Obama's address last night mostly was to give a sense of purpose to the whole healthcare debate.
It has to be understood that the Obama administration is one piece on the chessboard of global human society. They can't be blamed for the entirety of these ongoing complex issues & Obama himself can't be expected to blow everybody's minds with some sort of supernaturally wise solution that makes everyone's eyes glaze over with wonderment.
Speaking of eyes glazing over, I knew when now-historic maniac Rep. Joe Wilson yelled out to everyone's disgust, that people would be freaking out about it. Even if you legitimately think that Obama's policies are going to be troublesome for the country, do you have expose yourself as a raging undisciplined ass to the entire planet of other human beings? Now Glenn Beck is going to have to be completely nuts to top this guy.
Barack is a better man than me. If that idiot yelled during my speech, I'd point at him and yell back, "Shut Up, Bitch!!! I'm talkin' now you sorry fool!!!"
On a slightly more serious note, If I was Obama I'd ban health insurance companies altogether (no offense to insurance companies). Then reallocate all the responsibility & personnel to *GASP* The Government.
"..but that's invasion of privacy & I don't want gov't in my business!" would be one silly argument against gov't run health care.
Do you have a SS# or driver's license? Get a grip, the gov't already knows citizens key info, so at least keep it in the hands of one source instead of various corporations created to make money off the very well-being or sickness of people. I would argue that gov't is the main modern entity that should hold collective responsibility over the health of the population. The entire concept of private or for-profit health services is pretty bizarre.
Of course, Obama is trying to (rhetorically at least) tread the noble middle path that addresses concerns of all parties while achieving what he believes to be an overall goal. I would personally favor an even more "liberal" approach & my approach would be that of the great progressive voice in Congress, Dennis Kucinich.
Another great advocate for a single-payer system in this country is Rep. Anthony Weiner who has been a forceful & logical guest on several of the news shows to explain what Obama should have really been pushing for all along.
As I was driving home from work, I saw crowds of schoolchildren with zombie-like expressions marching down the road holding their fists up in the air & wearing red berets. They were chanting, "Socialism! ...All Hail Obama! ...Socialism!"
What the hell is going on?!?!?!?!
*Update: I think I found the answer on Crooks & Liars - Today, it turns out that all the innocent children of America were exposed to
It turns out he is actually an influential politicial guru whose whims are acknowledged by the most powerful administrative body in the world, the U.S. White House.
I'm not really sure what this guy said that was wrong. He called Republicans 'assholes'? That could be only a half-truth... In Beck's case, he's a self-righteous asshole. As far as the 9/11 controversy- I would think that all of the "Big Government"-hating patriots in Glenn Beck's audience would appreciate that Jones questioned the 'official government story.'
Obama and his staff obviously have realized the overwhelming prestige of someone like The Pastey One, who possesses the intelligence & strength of character to call the popularly-elected, Harvard-educated, mixed-race President a 'commie racist'.
That is why the tyrannical, fascist Obama Administration bowed down to the moral force that is - Fox Punditry.
I've commented on him before (& not always negatively) but I recently made myself endure a stupifying clip on BagNewsNotes from his TV show. It made me wonder why Fox doesn't just give David Icke a show.
This is use of the most loose of random associations to make....WHAT POINT?!?
Is there some kind of insidious Commu-fascist mind virus that covertly manifests itself through metropolitan art?
As a professional graphic artist with extensive knowledge of the use & interpretation of symbols, I find this "analysis" by the "Pastey Purveyor of Paranoia" to be bordering on non-sensical. There is no substance between the connections between the symbolic art in NYC & the ideology of the current administration- except that he believes there seems to be something there.
...or maybe he knows these "connections" are absurd... and is purposely trying to short circuit what functioning brain cells are left in his regular audience! Either way his incoherent presentation is insulting to my artistic & rational sensibilities.
Symbolic language can be interpreted literally an infinite number of ways. Sometimes there is definitely subversive meaning embedded into art of all kinds, but sometimes a farmer & worker are just a farmer & worker- not symbols of some insidious foreign ideology.
When I was in 1st grade, my teacher gave me personal assignments that were pretty advanced. I remember one in which I had to describe the meaning of the yellow stars, hammer, & sickle on the red Soviet flag. My aunt was a librarian so I called her up & she helped me. Therefore according to Glenn Beck, my retired aunt & I are communist conspirators.
Seriously, what is the difference between Beck's segment & this video?:
As the human experience continues to expand into the macro scale with developments like the growth of the Internet, we also are creating images of phenomena on the micro scale, also.
This headline from the Daily Mail reads almost like a haiku:
I have to question though what this means in the sense that we are trying to perceive force patterns and geometries more so than looking at solid "things" like bugs under a optical microscope.
This is the 'picture' of the pentacene molecule imaged by an atomic force microscope:
This is the molecule recreated in 3D:
Finally, this is what the atoms look like when you get REALLY, REALLY close:
I learned it was the Birthday of The Internet today - from The Internet itself! (Isn't that like someone you know reminding you that it's their birthday?..)
Of course, the actual date of creation for what has since become the Hive Mind of humanity has been disputed.
However, the initial connection of data-transmitting cables was similar to the first neurons growing in an embryonic brain.
When I was little, the 60's seemed like ages ago. Now I'm like, "1969, the year the Internet was invented was only 9 years before I was born?!?" Ahhh yeah, getting older...
I can say pretty confidently that I would rather been born here in the Information Age than 99% of other known periods of human history.
In my last post I linked to an article encouraging us to disconnect from mass media in order to maintain perspective.
However, like everything in life, this cannot be seen as an absolute mandate, because their are a number of TV productions that are meant to be enriching for both the mind and even the spirit.
The episodes I watched were "FLESH AND BONE" about relics of dead holy beings, and "SHAPE OF THE GODS" about the practical & sacred value of pyramids from around the world.
What's great about the show is that it explores the theme of the episode from the context of many cultures and time periods in a way that is well-produced & fascinating to a polymath information sponge like myself.
I would highly recommend watching the video clips & 'tuning in' to the show for a potpourri of great information about ancient cultures like the Egyptians, Mayans, Tibetans, etc./ religion & the occult/ social customs throughout the world / and an engaging hostess.
The only criticism I can speak of is that, as a traditional Egyptologist, Ms. Kooney asserts the narrative that the Great Pyramid of Giza was a burial chamber for King Khufu.
I have already addressed the "Meaning of Life™" & recently saw the Dalai Lama's own excellent response to this idea that our lives have some ultimate "purpose."
To avoid over-simplifying the problem, he splits it into an ultimate aspect and a practical aspect.
After he finishes picking his nose while thinking about it...
He says:
• "On a deeper level, I DON'T KNOW..."
• "but the immediate purpose of life is EXISTENCE!"
This is simple, penetrating wisdom that is one of the reasons I consider the Dalai Lama a major influence on my own views.
Some may find those answers to be totally obscure, but it is as close as human language can get to the essence of the situation.
Of course, like any religion or sect, there are sides of Buddhism that can be considered 'dark', but these aspects of life can be understood & sublimated like anything else.
You learn in school that the days of our week are named after Roman & Scandanavian gods. However, for some reason, the entire concept of having these periods of time named after ancient gods started seeming strange, like I was thinking about the cyclical Mayan & Aztec day glyphs.
Our perceptions of time and the descriptive terms such as days, seconds, weeks, etc, are taken for granted, but really have a huge influence on every aspect of how we experience life.
Although I grew up writing & drawing with my left hand, when I went to in college all the computer lab mouse pads are set up on the right side of the computer, so I just adapted to using my right hand.
Now, as a professional, I still always use my right hand for the computer mouse, but write & draw w/ the left. So I've evolved into ambidexterousity.
When I heard about this funny holiday, I immediately thought of 2 diametrically opposed principles...
On the other hand, I've also always been curious about the reasons for the sinister connotation of the left hand. I always felt that being left-handed was unique in a cool way.
A Danzig song I used to rock out to in high school, Left Hand Black, embodies that darker side of the coin:
My brother saw G.I. Joe and liked it. I'm not too interested in seeing it, but I used to love the toys & the TV show when I was a kid.
My parents had a yard sale this past weekend & in cleaning out the attic, we pulled out boxes of G.I. Joe stuff that made up a big portion of me & my siblings toy collection.
Especially being mostly a toy & game designer now, I can appreciate how cool those action figures and vehicles were.
Anyway my friend sent me this video full of hysterical cameos & overall silliness. The costumes & obscure references are really well done, though.
One of the many websites I visit for interesting stories & information is called "Reality Carnival". Its is simply a list of thought-provoking sites by author Cliff Pickover.
I've seen alot of good stuff on there but recently a few links really caught my eye...
Jon Stewart is definitely great, but even I wouldn't go quite THAT far, even rhetorically. However a recent Time poll showed a result that I can agree with, even though Stephen Colbert might disagree:
I almost never watch the network news, and I'll change the channel if the cable news is airing what I consider to be worthless content.
The world we live in is often absurd & approaching the news from a strictly serious, respectful angle only gives a false sense that the many clowns(<Warning: Clicking here may cause nightmares) in public life are "serious" & should automatically be given respect.
Comedy Central's political comedy lineup is a great because there are plenty of smart, funny people who appreciate an irreverent look at current events. Satire is a sublime form of information that can have a powerful effect on public opinion. Although he tends to play the simple goofball alot, Mr. "Stewart" is in a very unique position to expose, humiliate, & scorn the most powerful people on earth with no real consequences. He's the modern political court jester for the entire country. It's a pretty awesome thing when you think about it....
I was never under the illusion that remnants of America's collective "Bizarro Bush" mentality (or lack thereof) would completely disappear after the last election.
Unfortunately, life is messy & there will always be countless disagreeing viewpoints that may seem crazy to other people. I try to balance on that tightrope of viewing things from a cosmic, Dr. Manhatten-esque perspective, while always simultaneously trying to internalize the endless practical "real" concerns of humanity.
Although I hate the idea of labels (I'm registered as an Independent), my social & political sensibilities would probably be characterized as Progressive, although many things aren't so clear cut. for example, in economics I consider capitalism to be a practical system, but also believe there should be extensive regulation & oversight... Not only are there gray areas, but I try to see the whole spectrum of color, too! :)
I've always considered myself someone who appreciates wisdom, integrity, humor & creative thinking. That's why when people like the 'birthers' or 'health care rabble-rousers' come to my attention, my overwhelming instinct is to think, "these ignorant fools are focusing their anger in the totally wrong direction."
Not to say that Congress, or even Obama, shouldn't be taking heat for their decisions. However, people freaking out about "Socialized Medicine!" just end up seeming like disruptive shills for Big Insurance & Pharma. Those are the only players with a stake in maintaining the status quo of an immoral & impractical profit-based health care system.
In a way, it is good for elected officials to see The Mob passionate & pissed off... but not if it only serves to prevent intelligent dialogue and problem-solving from taking place by shouting ideological talking points.
The hysterical, ridiculous woman at the end of this clip whining about Obama's birth certificate & "getting her country back" made me want to smash my own head in. When she started screaming the Pledge of Allegiance along with the rest of the hollering f*cktards, I realized this was truly DEMOCRACY™ in action. In the age of Youtube, any emotionally-charged ignoramus can made his/her completely misinformed opinion be heard by millions! God Bless America!
It's all good though- because like I said, life is messy, & there will always be arguments until we are all subdued into "The Collective". It's better for people to be able to have a voice, as long as there are also other voices that can all variously dispute, agree, or state their total indifference. These "town hall" events, though, are starting to seem more like the Sarah Palin hate rallies.
I feel that all the nitwits wasting their time complaining that Obama hasn't proved he's a U. S. citizen should take the time to get to better know their hyper-ventilating leader:
Even if somehow there was a vast conspiracy to cover for 'Barry the Manchurian Candidate', I don't think that screeching wig-wearing freakazoid would've been the one to uncover it. Besides, after her 'Kenyan Birth Certificate' has been proven to be a truly inept forgery, Ms. Taitz has hightailed it back to Tel Aviv, Israel. Perhaps she knows her remarkable hackery is about to turn into a splattering shitstorm, or perhaps she is the Mossad's worst agent provocateur ever.
Whatever.... let the idiocy continue. It makes me feel like an enlightened genius watching people get worked up about the latest FoxNews-driven outrage.
Speaking of which, I'll end my rant about the sad state of political discourse by saying that Glenn Beck has accomplished an unimaginable feat.... By calling Barack Obama, the mixed-race President, "a racist"- he outdid that bonehead Sean Hannity by saying the most obnoxiously, astonishingly idiotic turd of verbal crap I've experienced in recent memory.
