tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21755078692648942742024-02-07T22:26:38.661-08:00PostnihilismTesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-7863366628266411242019-02-15T14:47:00.004-08:002019-02-15T14:47:48.052-08:00What Do We Do About All These Celebrities?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sometimes we love to
hate them, sometimes we love them, sometimes we are confused and think they are
our personal friends, but I personally see the turning regular people into some
sort of demigod to be problematic. I’m sure you’ve all seen images of famous
people, larger than life, being photoshopped into heroic or dramatic poses by
and for a public that can’t get enough of them, their wisdom, their opinions,
their brands. Mirror neurons in our brain encourage us to be like them, copy
their mannerisms and catch phrases, in the hopes of becoming more like them, or
perhaps just being mixed up by passers by as being like them, or having what
makes them desirable, their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gravitas</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While I acknowledge I
too am human with the same habits and desires to be something more, to look up
to these people that have been isolated out as worth more attention than the
average person, someone who resembles an ordinary human but through deeds or
sheer persistence and facepower (being seen over and over again until<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we think we know them) they work their ways
into strangers hearts. Some of them seem deserving. Some of them seem like
attention seeking bottom feeders. But their persistence pays off regardless.
But is there even a problem with this?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I think so. I think
that they become influencers, and for those that have done special
accomplishments that has bettered humankind as a result, they probably do
deserve this attention. But easily the most damaging things celebrities have
done are become synonymous with product placement – where they root for or
endorse a brand of something that quite clearly did not help them become
successful, since they were not an ambassador for that brand when they were
toiling in obscurity, working toward but not yet achieving that success. With
our sucker-like brains and its habit for mimicry, we easily conflate the two,
and unless we have the awareness of being influenced by product placement,
incorporate those products into our life if there is a chance, any chance, that
it might make us more successful. This is the most obvious, and most damaging
aspect, as far as I can tell, but let me tell you about a much more insidious
problem – when they have reached a point where they may be surrounded by yes-persons
and feel everything coming out of their mouth is nothing less than genius.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’ve studied science,
and, as a by-product of such, I’ve studied among that the history of science,
specifically scientists, doctors and early researchers. And I noticed a
somewhat disturbing pattern, at least from those that became famous in their
own day. That pattern goes as follows: the scientist works hard proving and
disproving theories, opening the way for new research, develops these
groundbreaking ideas, which branch out to still new theories. So far so good.
But quite often, and I think this seems to happen a lot, they go off the rails
somewhere. They start pushing theories that they have not tested, but firmly
believe in, becoming so entrenched in them, that upon reflecting on them in
history books, they seem quite clearly to be mad or somehow afflicted. Their
theories go so far off their own deep end, they are never properly tested by
the celebrity-scientist, merely pushed about as fact, and are never picked up
in scientific circles, published research papers, etc. They seem to be dwelling
in some sort of alternate universe, where they adamantly believe these phony
facts alongside the other facts that they had quite decisively proven earlier
in their career. Nobody else with credibility will touch them, but they go on
believing this. Why?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As far as I can tell,
it’s because their famousness reaches some critical mass, where they no longer
have the presence of mind or perhaps ego, such that they believe every theory
they have is above reproach, factual, as real as the earth beneath their feet.
And I can’t help but think they were worshipped as heroes, in a very similar
manner to current day Instagram models and science-ish celebrities on TED talks
and YouTube.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One science celebrity
comes to mind as falling into this pattern. I won’t mention their name, because
there are many more examples than just theirs, and I don’t want to pick on any
one in particular or try to drag down their name – that isn’t the point of
this. But they have followed the same pattern as these high-profile scientists
I’ve only learned in books. When I first learned about them, they were small
time, but very intelligent. I enjoyed their lectures which they had uploaded to
YouTube, and I think they were great, being a subject matter expert and
eloquent speaker. Very quickly though, once they became famous, they started
branching into other things – subjects adjacent to their specialization, topics
of the day starting with politics but then bleeding into popular culture, other
celebrities, relationship problems, dieting, pretty much anything you can
imagine. Their eloquent speaking and charm, whether a natural gift or
developed, carried them far, and at some point, listening to their video where
they were giving their opinion on religion, I realized I had not been
subjecting this person to the same scrutiny that I listen to people’s ideas,
they at some point simply began <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">washing
over me</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That revelation made
me uncomfortable. I renewed my critical thinking as I listened to new videos
and evaluated them, realizing not only did I not agree with them, but they had
no basis in rationality and fact, and were not provable, or even in many cases,
useful. I unsubscribed, feeling like I had been poisoned to some unknowable
extent, and was sad and cautious. I was so smitten by the fact that a scientist
was being elevated to celebrity status, that I didn’t realize their progressive
change, a metamorphosis into something else, not quite a celebrity, but no
longer a scientist either, in a way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They fell into the
same pattern, surrounded by people telling them their shit doesn’t stink, they
have untold numbers of self-help books they could fill with their wisdom to
help people of all shapes and sizes to time immemorial. I believe yes, they
have the same trappings as those scientists of old, that their theories are
above testing and are to be held a self-evident. Not good, not worth my time or
willingness to regard. I would now have to carefully sift through everything
that would now fall from their mouth, critically mull it over and give or take
away from its value based on what I know and understand. This is a good thing,
for me, but just makes me more aware about how others are processing not only
their words, but the words of anybody and everybody who becomes famous. People whose
loftiest goals are to sell out to the biggest bidder, to throw off the shackles
of the work they may have in the past seen value in, in favor of 30 second
product placements of their own products or those willing to pay them, massive
companies who see the value in celebrities slipping in mentions of these
corporations in positive light. There’s value in that for them, obviously, but
does it influence their long-term reputation. I’m still not certain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So where is this all
going? If I were to entertain my most fanciful of ideas, my thoughts drift to
the French Revolution, a time where all the fanciful celebrities (Royalty,
Nobility, Socialites, the Otherwise Rich) were dragged over to the town square
and were beheaded. But will our society ever get sick of all of them at once,
decide to be over and done with them in the most violent means imaginable? Part
of me hopes so, but not because of some benevolence or eagerness for humans to
“succeed”. It’s probably partly jealously, partly stomach-churning nausea at
the thought of the broader idea of SELLING OUT, the exchange of their
credibility and authenticity for cash, dooming those around that look up to
them to waste their hard earned money on junk. What could be any more
satisfying than another revolution, ushering in a new golden age, where in
order to prevent celebrities from jacking our rational thought processes and
desire to succeed, we as a society see fit to erase the very idea of celebrity
from our lives, a Shiva-like destruction with the intention of remaking things
for the benefit of all, erasing them from mainstream thought, save the morality
tale of the dangers of achieving celebrity for it’s own sake, remembered with a
shudder of long past regret, remembered because it was a way of life we never
want to fall back into again.</span></div>
<br />
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-24479975441219209612017-02-05T16:39:00.000-08:002017-02-05T16:39:29.860-08:00Dealing With Corruption<!--[if !mso]>
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Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that many first world
governments are at all-time highs in terms of corruption. Income disparity in
first world countries is rising, and many of the laws being passed by
government only serve the interests of the few wealthy people, not the common
good that is the purpose of government. When corruption is apparent at the
highest levels of public servants, what is needed is clarification of existing
laws, and reworking of what is considered bribery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To get a better handle on what is considered bribery, the most
succinct and easiest to understand definition I find useful to work with is “a
person using public resources for private gain”. Often this takes the form of a
public official (who have access to public resources) accepting a bribe in
order to give priority to access to those public resources. The bribe may could
come from an individual, a company, or any other organization, basically any
other person who can benefit from the favor. These sorts of relationships are
rampant in first world countries such as Canada and the United States, and I
will be focusing on these countries in particular in my discussion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For example, recently in the United States a bill was voted
down to import cheaper drugs from Canada, while the vast majority of voters
supported the motion. Clearly when senators are voting against the will of the people
who voted them in, there is something else going on in the background. Monster
pharmaceutical companies seemed to have played some part in this, as they had
the most to lose by the legislation to reduce drug costs.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In this essay I want to focus on real practical ways that
first world governments could push in to place to reduce corruption in the
entire structure. In theory, at least everyone regardless of their political
alignment and affiliation can agree that reducing corruption is a good thing,
since there seems to be convincing proof when you make a critical examination
of corrupt goings on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">According to the United Nations Bureau for Policy and
Programme Support, the first step in recovery from corruption lies in
identifying where corruption is costing the most economically. This could be in
terms of actual dollars that have fallen in to the hole of corruption, or can
be more subtle such as wasted labor. That seems like it could be difficult to
measure. Luckily they have formulated a list of suggestions based on past
corruption case studies. Here are some starting points:</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span>Tax and customs revenues may be far below the
levels needed to carry out basic government services, such as adequate payment
of public servants</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span>Eliminate pointless business regulations that
generate bribes along with ineffective regulation in socially beneficial
programs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span>Massive infrastructure projects encourage
inefficiency, and so need constant streamlining and improvement of procedures
for project approval</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span>Lack of credible institutions that may be helpful
in finding out complaints and enforcing the law</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuElcpT0bmh5NMkCSjJUjbcya200Mw-LU0eMoGcTbHD__qcUXgAnpFv2S0_DBoNDbFrH9ZEj9r3CR-jUEnZXzwZqwOIrkTInk77D9ipwNSlicDewOFmZLJz0w6PqH8dHiLQBFVSHO6ZUg/s1600/discretionary_spending_pie%252C_2015_enacted.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuElcpT0bmh5NMkCSjJUjbcya200Mw-LU0eMoGcTbHD__qcUXgAnpFv2S0_DBoNDbFrH9ZEj9r3CR-jUEnZXzwZqwOIrkTInk77D9ipwNSlicDewOFmZLJz0w6PqH8dHiLQBFVSHO6ZUg/s200/discretionary_spending_pie%252C_2015_enacted.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTxKEl7O4-NqNDowji9ELGPLdiv3yTcdaBzbGmdl285JQO46T4SmxmrNj0hfGvw_b1TM5Q0go23CecEU1MS-Ij7XnjKGxRJWgoBIJJzNKHuNrZfR3rGto9l6nIx_4W-53uBpaVq7JNJo/s1600/Canada+tax+spending+2013-14-e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTxKEl7O4-NqNDowji9ELGPLdiv3yTcdaBzbGmdl285JQO46T4SmxmrNj0hfGvw_b1TM5Q0go23CecEU1MS-Ij7XnjKGxRJWgoBIJJzNKHuNrZfR3rGto9l6nIx_4W-53uBpaVq7JNJo/s200/Canada+tax+spending+2013-14-e.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">United States Budget (2015) vs. Canadian Budget (2013/14)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It’s always dramatic to see the United States spending pie,
as it quite clearly indicates, if nothing else, a lack of balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A 6% budget on Government spending does seem
small, and while we would need more discrete numbers to make any sort of
definitive judgement calls, it does give you an indication that it could be a
problem. Canada’s spending by comparison is so much more confusingly laid out
that it indicates that it is greatly in need of simplification, as Canada is
rehashing a system of government from Great Britain in the 1800’s. Even if you
were to argue against Canada having a relatively high level of corruption, it
would be difficult to argue that the spending patterns are simple, clearly laid
out and no funds are being wasted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So by my very basic corruption assessment, I can already see
some glaring holes. But what are some useful ways at looking at why things have
become more corrupt?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Peter John-Perry’s book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Political
Corruption and Political Geography</i> says</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In contexts of rapid
and often individually bewildering growth and change political corruption
functions as a way of delivering essential services which the legitimate system
cannot or will not provide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think the rate that social and technological change is
hurtling forward at could qualify us as being in that situation. It also seems
that social progress, that is, the way our society functions, doesn’t seem up
to speed with the change in technology and the way our day-to-day lives play
out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So after the initial assessment, where are some places to
attack the corruption? There is actually a considerable list. Here are some sensible
solutions I found:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Reducing Incentives
for Payoffs:</b> Government programs need to be scrutinized on a case by case
basis. Given the circumstances and the policy, how easy would it be for
corruption to occur in this particular program? Obviously if it is something
that is doing a lot of public good you want to retain it, but you could
restructure those programs to make them more transparent, reduce bureaucracy
and reduce the power any one individual public servant has over decision
making. Clarifying laws to make them less open to interpretation also has a
potent effect. Other programs, for example prohibition in the USA between 1919
and 1933 need to be eliminated entirely, because it created a huge black market
and criminal activity while doing little or no real public good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Enforcing
Anticorruption Laws:</b> Make it clear what the penalties are for giving
bribes, as well as accepting them. Create anticorruption commissions that are
detached from the current politics and faces involved can put out a strong
message.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Reforming the Civil
Service:</b> Pay rates for civil servants need to be comparable to equivalent
jobs in the private sector to attract appropriately skilled employees. Pension
benefits are only received after they retire in good standing. In some cases
you may want to create extra fee-for-services, so that people can pay extra for
priority in getting their item taken care of first. This isn’t a great solution
but does remove the need for someone to pay a bribe for something they will try
to get done faster regardless. Whether this reduces real corruption overall
could be debated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Checks and Balances</b>:
Protection for individuals against the state i.e. Whistleblowers! Implementing
a veto power to stop legislation that may favor one group too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Independent auditing of government project
spending. Greater transparency through Freedom of Information Acts. Reform of
campaign financing rules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In every investigation on corruption I read, there was
always one key factor to implement any solution. It seems like the real
indespensible factor is to install people at the highest ranks who actually
have a vested interest in fixing the system and making it less corrupt.
Exemplary leadership with integrity and a sense of public duty to make the
right decisions, and of course also skilled politically and administratively.
The community needs to do their part as well, adequately informed that can
share and benefit from these public figureheads. Citizens must believe they
have a stake in the enterprise that is their city or country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Another suggestion which came up repeatedly is the role the
international community could play, in doing things like putting more checks on
controlling illicit funds, but from what I have seen from international
organizations such as the IMF or World Bank is that they seem to be involved
solely for their own gain. Thinking they would take steps to prevent global
corruption seems little better than wishful thinking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">More importantly, the Media, another institution that has
been noticably letting people everywhere down, also plays an important role
with daily reminders and updates in matters people really need to know about.
Not only that, but another role as the way media can turn issues and events
into scandal, with the end result being public outrage something that prompts a
response from the public to let the government know that they need to do
better, and things need to change immediately because of the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>consequences of civil unrest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A country serious about fighting corruption first pushes
forward in collecting a detailed assessment to determine where corruption is
most harmful and where it can be most effectively attacked. Find out how
corruption affects the public’s daily lives and then move with real, effective
actin to address those issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-52312903855571603632016-01-17T12:45:00.000-08:002016-01-17T12:48:00.207-08:00China and the Idea of Social Credit (Sesame Credit)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31ksrZndR_TI5xA28iDZ7DNSAyXiZ1bUk_5Uql-Pyj8se51b_6_hFCLon6xSxQk3FzqzEs6EL1xZowie8xZv2PdsLWYleCLEtzkNIjEVgVjjVybOyoXNJzt3y4CAC645K6JS_SKTIR1c/s1600/sesame+dollaz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31ksrZndR_TI5xA28iDZ7DNSAyXiZ1bUk_5Uql-Pyj8se51b_6_hFCLon6xSxQk3FzqzEs6EL1xZowie8xZv2PdsLWYleCLEtzkNIjEVgVjjVybOyoXNJzt3y4CAC645K6JS_SKTIR1c/s320/sesame+dollaz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In December
2015, news leaked about China rolling out a new social credit system called
Sesame Credit. Sesame Credit is currently in a voluntary testing phase, but
will become mandatory in 2020. Previously in China, your actions were only monitored
by government agencies (that’s why anything coming or going out of China’s
internet is so damn slow), but Sesame Credit will score your information based
on what the government considers productive versus idle/lazy/wasteful/illegal –
represented by a number between 350 and 950. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sesame Credit amalgamates material known about
an individual from their government and judicial records, internet usage,
spending, and social media. There are lots of articles about the basics of the
system, so rather than repeat what every other site says, I encourage you to do
some background reading about what we know so far. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/12125/alipay-sesame-credit/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/12125/alipay-sesame-credit/</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34592186"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34592186</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What I want to talk about is, does this matter?
Is it important? What are the implications? Are we living in, as every other
editorial website has ever so cleverly quipped, 1984?</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The sesame
credit system obviously seems despotic, invasive and unnatural, but is it new?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To sum it
up, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not really</i>. Credit ratings based
on your financial history have been around since the early 1900’s, and are
fully integrated into North American lifestyles. And while other systems don’t
seem nearly as invasive as China’s proposed system, they are still pretty damn
invasive, especially in a culture where you don’t typically talk about how much
money you make or how much debt you accrue. Credit record systems are important
in a society centered on loans and spending, and major financial institutions
can easily know everything about your debt, the loans you have taken out and
your repayment behavior. This data can affect things such as your ability to
get a cell phone, insurance, a car, or anything where payment will be assumed
to occur in trust. However, while the theoretical question being addressed in
the case of credit ratings would be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Can I
trust this person to pay back their debt?</i> It seems like China is asking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is this person a “good” person as defined by
the state?</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">China, on
the whole, is a very law abiding culture, and systems of social control have
existed for all of the country’s<span style="color: red;"> </span>recorded
history. The Mandarin symbol for “good” is a pictogram of a woman and child,
weaving the idea of having a wife and children in with the very fundamental
concept of “goodness”. Confucianism, one of the oldest recorded philosophical
traditions, emphasizes putting one<span style="color: red;">’</span>s
responsibilities toward others ahead of one’s own interests and<span style="color: red;">, </span>generally<span style="color: red;">, </span>being
virtuous. “I</span>f the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be
given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no
sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them
by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover
will become good." (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism</a>) Really
then, a social credit system attempts to move toward obedience to the state as
a guise of pursuit of virtue and away from obeying laws out of fear, which was
Confucius’ ultimate goal.<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Wikipedia points out, the rulers would
spread their virtue to people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and
rules. You can certainly see a Confucian influence on this type of system.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To help
understand the similarity between the proposed sesame credit system in China
and current private ventures that already exist in control of private
corporations, let’s take a look at the major aspects of the sesame credit
system currently being discussed and how they compare to systems in place in the
rest of the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Traditional credit
information such as major assets, debt, bank and credit information is scored.
This can be used to determine if they can receive a bank loan or sign on to a
lease.</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is
exactly how the North American credit rating system is set. Financial
institutions share information about you (their patrons) with each other and
give you a score based on your debt, assets, repayment and bank information to
determine if they can trust you with yet another loan. This has never been
formally in place in China, and so the concept seems as reasonable as it is in
other countries, however reasonable you might deem it to be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Internet usage is
monitored to determine what kind of person they are, lazy vs productive based
on what they spend their money on, and where they spend time online.</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Spending
habits and spending time online is already very closely scrutinized by a number
of organizations, and selling marketing data continues to be ridiculously
profitable. Governments have already admitted to sniffing everyone’s packets
for the purposes of protecting us from terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Meanwhile, monetization of spending and examining
where people’s eyes look for the purpose of selling them more junk are a much
higher priority for private corporations monitoring us. That information can be
sold for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a lot</i> of money when it is analyzed
for targeted advertising, or to prompt people to spend more money. For decades
now, people have been entranced by earning “points” on their shopping cards,
such as Air Miles, Shoppers Drug Mart and Safeway cards. These were just the
beginning: nearly every store now has some form of “points”, or way of tracking
your spending by requesting your phone number or email address when you buy an
item at the till.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Even more
insidious, credit card companies and banks have held the lion’s share of your
marketing data for your whole life, as the most convenient way for you to pay
for items is using your credit or debit cards. All the items you buy (and the
day and time you bought them) are conveniently indexed for credit companies and
banks to sell off to other companies, or to target you in further advertising
and promotions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As for
assessing the type of person you are -- none of that is important in places
like North America, where you can do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">just
about</i> whatever you want with yourself, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as
long as it doesn’t impact your ability to be a productive citizen</i>; that is,
you can hold down a job, pay your bills and invest in the economy. That’s the
main reason why hard drugs are still illegal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Advantages of high
scores: faster loan approval, deposit not required for hotel/cars, VIP
reservations, prominent dating profile, fast tracked travel permits</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is the
carrot at the end of the social credit stick, and I have to admit some of these
advantages would be pretty good (fast-tracking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anything</i> you need to get through the government sounds amazing).
However, if it is anything like our current credit rating system, only people
who already have a substantial amount of wealth will be able to take advantage
of these benefits, as people with little income will be unable to substantially
increase their scores. One of the problems with gamification is that you can’t
make things too easy, or everyone will have all the benefits and there will be
no motivation to improve. Either getting these scores will be impossible to
achieve except for a small percentage of elite Chinese, or the system will
start to ‘push back’ the benefits, and make the scores higher and harder to
reach. Either way, the bottom 90-95% are pretty much screwed no matter how hard
they try (in which case the real question is, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will the average person figure this out, or just keep trying against
the odds?</i>)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Poor people
may appreciate the improved chance of loan approval, but what is the point of
the other perks if you have no money to begin with? How would this possibly
motivate them? How is this anything but another perk for people who are already
wealthy?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A national database
will merge information on every citizen, including tax information, traffic
tickets, academic degrees, and medical records</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To be
honest, I’ve always wondered why this has never happened in North America. Is
the government really unable to compile data on education, criminal records,
taxes and health records? I understand there are a lot of privacy laws in
place, but it does seem like society could benefit from merging these pieces of
information. Other than an infringement of privacy, I’m not really sure what the
downside of this could be, and the advantage could be that things might
actually get done faster.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Now that I
mention it, a form of this actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
now taking place in the United States; a new “Threat Score” has been created (<a href="http://disinfo.com/2016/01/metadata-comes-home-with-new-threat-score-policing-tools/">http://disinfo.com/2016/01/metadata-comes-home-with-new-threat-score-policing-tools/</a>).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This new
system, starting as a piece of software called “Beware” in the California
Police Department, analyses and scores data such as arrest reports, property
records, commercial databases and social media posts to calculate an
individual’s threat score. This is already in place in the U.S. Expect it to
catch on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Certain professions
will face particular scrutiny, including teachers, accountants, journalists, veterinarians,
tour guides, doctors, government officials, reporters, CEOs and statisticians.
People with low scores will be barred from these positions.</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This has
already been trending in North America: the idea of a publicly accessible
database of individuals’ experiences dealing with professionals. There are
multiple websites where you can rate your doctor, professor, job placement, funeral,
landlord, agency or boss. EBay and other shopping websites allow you to rate
sellers. LinkedIn and other job websites let people snoop on one another, and has
started using Salesforce’s employee performance review system to assign scores.
The substantial difference is that Sesame Credit is overtly stating that your
social credit score can prevent you from getting high ranking jobs, while
outside of China, although it isn’t being said explicitly, you can be assured
that any potential employer will read every scrap of gossip about you online
they can find (LinkedIn, Facebook, or just a good old fashioned google search),
which can also prevent you from getting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ANY</i>
job at all. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Your rating can be
raised by using Alibaba’s money system, Alipay.</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is one
of the stranger sounding decisions to affect your Sesame Credit score. By
simply purchasing a specific brand of online currency, your score goes up? I’m
not sure if this is the case, but if it is, it seems very corrupt. However, the
Sesame Credit system is created by Alibaba’s parent company, Ant Financial, so
maybe this is their way of recouping costs. Again, only people with a lot of
money to spend, or people racking up large amounts of debt, will be able to
improve their score this way. I can’t see this feature being sustainable as it
will be easy for critics to point out as a flaw in Sesame Credit’s measurement.
If all you have to do is buy their money to increase your score, then the
system has no true measurement ability at all. This feature seems like it could
be a fabrication, but only time will tell.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Score can be lowered
by posting political opinions without permission, describing history
differently from the ”official” one, or publishing news embarrassing or
contrary to the Chinese Government, whether it is true or not. *Note: This
aspect of Sesame Credit has not been verified, and could possibly be just
speculation. But, assuming a worst case scenario, let’s suppose it is true.</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Similar to
making terrorist threats or whistleblowing government secrets to sites like
Wikileaks, it is no surprise that the right kind of dissent can be an
arrestable offense, or at least set off a red flag on the profile the
government has on you. It is no secret that if you are sharing secrets online,
the people behind the secrets will get upset and find you. Sure, the Chinese
government is already very strict about what is considered worthy of a red flag
for suspect/detainable material, but this is not new, and this is no secret.
And unless you plan to follow in the footsteps of Ai Wei Wei, Chinese citizens
probably already take precautions to avoid this type of unwanted attention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Score can be modified
by the people you associate with online, depending on what their scores are can
lower your score if theirs is lower, but it is not clear if it can raise your
score or not. Again this item is more speculation than fact and has not been
verified by Chinese authorities. However, even if these associations do not
directly lower your score, a person will be more aware of them, and may end
connections to people on the fact that the state does not approve of them as a
person.</span></i></b></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Okay, this
one is potentially scary, as they seem to be taking the next step to shape the
social lives of China’s citizens. However, it seems much more likely that the
system would not directly impose these rules on your credit score and instead would
merely imply that you should reconsider your friendship with certain individuals.
People concerned with their score will already be the type of person to rid
themselves of damaging friendships. People who are indifferent to the effect on
their scores will continue their friendships, so I suspect this will not be
directly implemented in the long term. Even if you have to remove someone as a
friend on social media, it doesn’t stop you from being friends in real life,
and people are already becoming familiar with the logic of adding and removing
friends from particular accounts (and setting up fake or secondary accounts)
for different reasons.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Gamification of the
score by being able to download the app to show your score to others, and play
a game where you try to guess if your score is higher or lower than your
friends/acquaintances/enemies?</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
gamification can serve a few different purposes, first of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all by sharing scores to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>put social pressure on to “keep up with the
Joneses”, and secondly to try to appeal to people with a predisposition to
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>appeal of gaming and to give them a
motivation to strive for this particular high score. To try to convince a
gambling addict to stop gambling so he can improve his social credit score
would be a misguided approach, since gambling appeals to the idea of luck and
an easy solution to financial problems, while improving a social credit score
would require hard work without a guarantee of a reward. This may have an
appeal to gamers, but I can’t imagine the ‘rush’ of increasing a social credit
score would compare to the rush of fragging bozos in an online video game.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Other speculation:
while they may have lifted China’s one child policy, it is always a possibility
they could tie the ‘privilege’ of child birth with social credit score.</span></i></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sure, this
seems insidious for anyone with the fundamental belief that everyone is
entitled to have children. But unfortunately, in the present day, the earth is
dealing with problems of overpopulation and raising a child now is incredibly
expensive. The problem here would more rest with the concept of eugenics, in
that the state would be controlling the right to breed by only giving the
privilege to obedient citizens, breeding further obedience in future
generations, while the party overlords and their children continue on the path
of European style nobility.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Making Sense of Social Credit: A Global
Perspective</span></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To attempt
to address the problem of how a society will be affected by the imposition of social
credit, let’s look at another prominent problem – the rise of heroin use.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ever since
the Opium Wars in the 1800’s, heroin use has been cracked down on in China.
However, since the 1990’s there has been another surge in opiate addiction
despite potentially harsh consequences. Possession of any amount will guarantee
you prison time, and possessing 50+ grams or proof of trafficking can result in
the death penalty (</span><a href="http://www.kcba.org/druglaw/pdf/ChineseDrugPolicy.pdf"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.kcba.org/druglaw/pdf/ChineseDrugPolicy.pdf)</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Yet,
despite China’s harsh drug penalty, drugs continue to be used, for as long as
people have known of their existence. Currently there are about 900,000
registered drug addicts in china, but total regular use estimates are as high
as 12 million. With a recorded population of 1.376 billion, that is 0.9% of the
population (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade_in_China#Drug_law_enforcement_agencies_and_legislation"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade_in_China#Drug_law_enforcement_agencies_and_legislation</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Compare
this to neighboring country Pakistan, where 4.2 million people are addicted to
narcotics, according to a 2014 assessment. With a population of 199 million,
that’s 2.1% of the population. More recent estimates are closer to 6.45 million,
or 3.2% (</span><a href="http://www.medicalnewspk.com/report-on-drug-abuse-statistics-in-pakistan/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.medicalnewspk.com/report-on-drug-abuse-statistics-in-pakistan/</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">). </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Trafficking heroin can also be punishable
by death in Pakistan, and Pakistan has similarly draconian drug possession
penalties to China. So while having drug use rates 2-3 times higher than what
is reported in China, drugs are also more available, as Pakistan is as a major
exporter of opiates and is next door to the largest producer, Afghanistan. Understanding
Pakistan’s drug problems through the drug’s availability and government corruption
can help us understand China better. China has very strict control on the flow
of information coming out of the country, so more specific details about
government corruption and true opiate usage rates may be far from accurate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Point
being, despite the despotic rule that has been going on in China, a substantial
number of deviants in the form of dissidents, drug addicts and corrupt
government officials more than prove that systems of control are not effective
in completely eradicating deviance from cultural norms. Although the
implications of a social credit system are rightfully dreaded, time has proven
that people will find ways to dissent against forms of social control. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Sesame
Credit system seems more as if this system serves to give people with money
more perks and incentives, rather than to motivate the average citizen to tow
the communist party line. For a country that claims to be communist, China’s government’s
actions seem to function more like the world’s largest corporation; only now is
China stepping up their efforts to understand their citizens as consumers -- opening
up ‘opportunities’ for people to take on more debt, engage in only state-approved
activities, and spend their credit granted ‘perks’ (which all just happen to consist
of ways to spend more and more money). While these are things to be concerned
about, these tactics <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> used by
corporations outside of China, only with more diffused and seemingly-benign
methods. If you feel like something needs to be done about the manipulation and
data collection of everyday citizens in China’s Sesame Credit system, ideas to
thwart the systems that are currently in place in your own country seems like
the best place to start.</span></div>
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Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-79686890967188160742015-10-12T12:57:00.001-07:002015-10-12T13:04:26.265-07:00Hollywood in the year 2015Whenever I think of Hollyw<span style="font-family: inherit;">ood, the song always kicks</span> in:<br /><br />Hooray for Hollywood<br />That screwy, ballyhooey Hollywood<br />Where any office boy or young mechanic<br />Can be a panic, with just a goodlooking pan<br />Where any barmaid can be a star maid<br />If she dances with or without a fan<br /><br /> it ends with<br /><br />You may be homely in your neighborhood<br />But if you think that you can an actor<br />See Mr. Factor, he'd make a monkey look good<br />With a half an hour, you'll look like Tyrone Power<br /><br /> Who is Mr. Factor? He made custom wigs and make-up in Los Angeles. In the year 1909, he is selling the next best thing to cosmetic surgery called "Max Factor's Antiseptic Hair Store".<br /><br /> Anyways, the gist of the song is, come over to Hollywood, any Joe can be a star. Hollywood puts you right in an area which is both central to all 4 studios scattered in western L.A.<br /><br /> This song was made a long time ago, and a lot has changed. I’m sure you’ve heard stories of famous people getting their big breaks by moving to Hollywood and playing/performing/auditioning until a talent scout gave them their big break in the industry. I had imagined a place where it might not necessarily be glamorous, but was full of life of people trying to enthrall people passing by, with a lot of local music, posters on poles of every street corner, and just generally dressing and acting like they want to be noticed. Throw in some street performers, street preachers, salesmen handing out flyers for shows and tours, and some general mental illness, and I had figured it would be self-sustained around the clock street level entertainment and overcrowding that would wash over me any time I left my hotel room.<br /><br />What ended up finding was very little of that, with the actual street space divided into major areas, noticeably defined by the walk of fame spanning about a 10 block area as well as some of the intersecting streets in the very core. On the east side it very noticeably ends with car dealerships, and becomes clearly separated as you cross the L.A. Expressway.<br /><br />Past here is a run-down looking area with plain looking apartment buildings and small houses with plain functional architecture from maybe the 60’s or 70’s with strip malls and chain stores you find anywhere in the US. Hollywood also borders with little Thailand, with more Thai restaurants than you could possibly need, even if you lived there your whole life.<br /><br /> Back in Hollywood proper, entertainment levels are still pretty much at a minimum. At any time of the day the tourists are at ever increasing levels as you walk the glassy cement stars with celebrity names arbitrarily placed, likely some egomaniacal lottery of time, space, good genetics and nepotism. I could write a physics dissertation on what The Walk could tell us about chaos theory, but that isn’t really relevant. What this is supposed to be about, is Hollywood’s cultural relevance, and let me tell you, at least at this point in time it isn’t.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Unless you
go a few blocks north of the strip, you won’t see much local life, just
tourists. The highest concentration of tourists is at the Chinese Theatre,
where people literally clog the streets and entrance with their unflattering,
bland and baggy clothed bodies as they take pictures with the biggest named
celebrities feet and hand prints in the cement, take pictures of the 10 ‘street
performers’ dressed as spider man, take pictures of themselves at the entrance
to the Hard Rock Café, and take pictures of themselves in front of the
Hollywood sign wallpaper at the entrance of the Hollywood Wax Museum (hey guys<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>the actual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Hollywood sign is just over there).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That’s
right, if Hollywood has a culture, the summation of the culture is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tourists, give us your money</i>. Not that
it’s any better or worse than touring anywhere else, say China, where they have
basically the same idea of getting as much out of tourists as possible, while
actually providing surprisingly little content – everyone I have heard who has
visited China says the same thing - the food is great, but not much else going
on.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And well, while
we found a few tasty places to eat, Hollywood doesn’t even have that going for
them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What they
do have going for them is a hundred years of mythology<span style="font-family: inherit;">;</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">f</span>ables
of glitz, glamour and celebrity<span style="font-family: inherit;">;</span> film making<span style="font-family: inherit;">;</span> cutting edge music and wealthy
lifestyle<span style="font-family: inherit;">s</span>. Mind you, none of those things are there (at least not anymore), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">except for the signs and symbols of those
things</i>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sure, there
are still film studios in the area, but they aren’t the film and TV epicenter they
once were. Movies are filmed all over the world now, and the industry has
dispersed to new pockets internationally, due to globalization and cost cutting
by everyone after the big boom finally subsided combined with plummeting costs
of electronics.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I say
signs and symbols, I’m talking about the obvious things, such as attractive
neon, big, blinking or oscillating in color. But more importantly are the ideas
seeded in our culture, ideas of wealth, power, fame and importance, associated
with this very specific and relatively small space. The Hollywood Stars are a
great example of this. Is it a physical location you can go to, where you can
see something unique? Yes! But do you need to go there to experience what this
unique thing has to offer? Not at all. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Walking
along the stars, I found myself asking myself: do I look down at the stars, so
I don’t miss a particular celebrity I know or admire? But if I look down, I’ll
look like an obvious tourist instead of the locals who act like the stars don’t
exist, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like anyone who lived there long
enough would do</i>. When I happened to look down and see Jerry Lewis, I
thought <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ohhh, this is important! Now
what? Do I take a picture?</i> I couldn’t conceive of anything else I could do
to commemorate the event. I didn’t end up taking a picture. All I thought of
was: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">who cares?</i> I mean, I think the
guy was a talented performer, but did the star change my relationship with him?
Nope. I could just write his name on a piece of discarded cardboard, and take
my picture with that. There was no real difference. But the important thing is
that moment of confusion, where you think it’s significant or important.
Meeting or befriending a celebrity would feel like an accomplishment, and
taking a picture with a celebrity would commemorate that, where you could point
at the picture, the way you would at a graduation ceremony or after running a
marathon, and you can point to that picture and say “yeah! I did that!” What is important is that the walk is the smoothest thing I have ever walked on, and so still holds importan<span style="font-family: inherit;">ce</span> for being a skateboarder's dream.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Finding a
star on a sidewalk is nothing like <span style="font-family: inherit;">an ac<span style="font-family: inherit;">tual event</span></span>. You didn’t accomplish anything, other
than making your way to a famous locale. It’s nothing to look at, just a cookie
cutter star with cookie cutter font that is in the arrangement of a name you
happen to recognize (trust me, there are plenty of names in stars on the walk
and you will have no idea who they are). But instead of stalking and bothering the
celebrity, you can go to this star on the sidewalk that has no relation to the
celebrity themselves - other than the name – and stand on it, stand beside it,
take a picture, natter on with your friends about all the great or shitty
things the celebrity did, all the while, the actual famous person is removed
from the process. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">From the
celebrity perspective, then, I can see it as a great tool in the quest for
being left the fuck alone. It can at least deflect the most pedestrian celebrity
fans, giving them a sign that they can shower with strange affection, comments,
and other dull mechanical aspects any famous person has to struggle with. In
that sense it is a brilliant invention, a kind of social technology to deal
with the less glamorous aspects of fame.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But, back
in Hollywood, yeah, there’s not much going on. Mind you, there are still some
legitimate places for entertainment, like The Fonda Theatre, which had a lineup
around the block on a Tuesday night to see Mac Miller, or the Pantages Theatre
doing yet another run of the blockbuster musical Annie (but <span style="font-family: inherit;">was</span> closed
when I was there). I’m sure there were smaller places off Hollywood with local
music, I just couldn’t find them in the limited time I was there. And there was
some more local life if you are willing to walk a few blocks north of Hollywood,
such as Franklin, where there is a bit of local city life.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As for the
main strip, I can only imagine anything resembling local culture such as
artists, musicians and real performers had picked up and moved elsewhere. Music
venues shut down, replaced by stores selling bongs, fake emmy’s and California
Republic t-shirts. Wherever tourists are in high concentration there is money
to be made, but tourists are less interested in real culture, but rather in
their after effects or cultural artifacts. Anyone producing real cultural products
or experiences would likely go out of business or move to another part of town
with more reasonable rent or a more interested audience. Only the kitchy
remnants of past glory are what draws people there, and will fill the desires
of visitors, because it’s what they have come to expect. </span></div>
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</span></span>Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-17632737645195661662015-05-01T20:33:00.000-07:002015-05-01T20:39:09.716-07:00TED Talks Are Kinda Creepy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieinM-rbk2BMtBY_TdKGU7C8eshjap-zbm7-9UqikAn6YsXda4u-1McD2Uxi-1DgoejQzenVF4V7pwitMNsERTCcJPvZACe1dxwwkuiYXUCjmWE3fIiOV7YfOLOrmyQ-I0qmic-L1Z20Y/s1600/Monica+Lewinsky+the+price+of+shame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieinM-rbk2BMtBY_TdKGU7C8eshjap-zbm7-9UqikAn6YsXda4u-1McD2Uxi-1DgoejQzenVF4V7pwitMNsERTCcJPvZACe1dxwwkuiYXUCjmWE3fIiOV7YfOLOrmyQ-I0qmic-L1Z20Y/s1600/Monica+Lewinsky+the+price+of+shame.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame?language=en">The Price of Shame</a> fit into the category of Technology, Entertainment or Design?</td></tr>
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I got creeped out at TED talks and stopped watching them a
couple of years ago, but only recently after seeing an advertisement for a
recent TED conference did I start thinking about why they bother me. Believe it
or not, this actually ties in with the fact that I grew up in a religious cult
(guess which one) and around this same time I've been remembering some of what
my brain had been going to a lot of trouble to erase. TED talks are getting to
a point where a strange kind of religious spin is applied to their ideas. Not
only direct ideas, but also in the styles of cadence and rhythm religious
ceremonies have. Benjamin Bratton called TED "middlebrow megachurch
infotainment"[1]. Take a look at this 2015 Vancouver TED conference
promotion[2]:</div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Truth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In our fast-changing world, a
reliable grasp on the truth is hard to come by. Take the following widely held
beliefs. True or false?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">— The news is bad.<br />
— Nature is good.<br />
— Technology is no fun any more.<br />
— Growing inequality is inevitable.<br />
— Privacy matters more than transparency.<br />
— Our kids will be worse off than we are.<br />
— We've lost the battle against Big Brother.<br />
— Physics is becoming incomprehensible.<br />
— We've left it too late to prevent a climate crisis.<br />
— The political right has run out of decent ideas.<br />
— Robots will destroy more jobs than they create.<br />
— The genomics revolution arrived too late to help me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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The religion I grew up with
always threw around the word truth with a capital T, as if it were some sort of
verbal life preserver. Like you got more points the more religious psychobabble
you can spout to your neighbour. But what I consider worse than just putting
moral thinking in to what is supposed to be scientific and academic based
presentations, they are very blatantly picking and choosing very specific ideas
to "challenge", that is, they are essentially creating their own
ideology. I can easily say that TED is pushing the agenda related to
challenging (that is, replacing) the above beliefs, and answering what they
present as "the big questions".</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I ask all kinds of questions. But "the big
questions" are still there from the beginning of recorded civilization,
precisely because they are unanswerable, not for lack of people trying to
answer. The fact that so many different people from so many different places
and backgrounds have their own answers to all the big questions <i>and don't agree with one another</i> should
be good evidence that none of them are right, otherwise the correct one would
become apparent. The fact that there is a never ending discourse shows the
argument has not settled into agreement, as arguments like the shape of the
earth or properties of its movement have eventually become irrefutable.</div>
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<br /></div>
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ANYWAYS, another good question, "why do TED talks cost
so much?" was asked and answered on the ted.com web site archive[3]. Tickets to TED conferences cost $8,500,
(x1200 seats at the recent convention if you want to do some fun math[4]).
Donor membership is $17,000 per year. Patron membership is $150,000 for 5
years. There were 3 upvoted answers attached to this question, none of which
actually address the question of why they cost so much. We are talking about a
non-profit organization (The Sapling Foundation) that owns TED earning over $45
million dollars in 2013[5].</div>
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<br /></div>
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Another way to ask the question is "What is the money
that TED conferences earn used for?" Ninety-seven percent of The Sapling
Foundation's expenses are administration expenses [6]. Because Sapling is non-profit,
the profits are reinvested back in to the company, and they are also
unconditionally tax exempt. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here is a theory of how a non-profit might work:</div>
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1. Start a non-profit, get all your friends that have
disposable income to donate to your charity. </div>
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2. Contributions are tax deductible by donators, and the non-profit
ensures they are tax exempt. </div>
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3. Do whatever your donor friends want to do with the money.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. Throw a party for yourself, make sure to write it off.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought I would look around a bit more and maybe I could
find some tidbits online about how their money was being spent. I found another
answer from Quora:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #999999;">Building on Kamrin's great answer, TED is
owned by a nonprofit, the Sapling Foundation. The conference itself makes
money, but we pretty much spend it as soon as we get it -- on video editing and
hosting for TED Talks, which is expensive, and on supporting all the other
worldwide initiatives Kamrin mentions above. And TED pays fair salaries &
benefits to staffers, and pays our interns, which is important to me :)</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #999999;"> </span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You spend all your money on video editing? It is no secret
TED pays its' high profile speaker, the Billy Gates' and the Billy Clintons'
big fees for showing up and giving a talk. I wonder how much they charge? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What bothers me almost as much as the religious overtones is
that other feeling of familiarity accompanying TED talks - no, it isn't (just)
that all TED talks sound the same, have similar formats, on-cue applause, and
the same narrow range of "inspiring" topics - it's that it's the same
canned mush that has become staple format all over the TV, internet, books and
magazines. Some optimal cookie-cutting device has been created by the endless
marketing cycles of capitalism, and have told producers of content that this
will make them the most money. While presenting themselves as science, they do
not provide the same avenues normally afforded to the audience - critical
questions to get to the meat of the matter, and call people out when they
aren't being entirely factual. I could dedicate an entire blog to just criticizing
a new TED talk every post, and point out
line by line all of the opinions stated as facts, unsubstantiated claims and poorly
drawn conclusions that go nowhere. They never suggest any real change, just an
tweaking the status quo in some insignificant way because of a pet theory they
have. TED talks aren't a journey, they're a predictable walk around the block.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also don't understand the continuous lack of engagement at
the end of the talk. Okay, you have the audience inspired, what kinds of things
could they be doing to make the world better? Are you conducting a study where
the audience could log in and participate by doing a survey? Could they assist
with data analysis or help track down resources to help research and
development, or provide other networking connections or collaboration? I'm sure
their primary concern is money, but people who may be sincerely interested in
furthering a cause might not have extra cash to dole out, but may want to
donate time or other resources.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are lots of videos that are plenty inspiring, if that
is what the mass appeal really is. What people could really be trying to get
out of videos are a type of friend that has the exact same interests as
themselves. It's like attending a dinner party where Malcom Gladwell entertains
you with a "facinating" anecdote about mustard. People want the idea
of rubbing elbows with famous intellects or genuinely charming and talented
individuals, via the internet stream.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I conclude, let's think back before TED to the last
big group of smart people that wanted to change the world. That would be Mensa...remember
them? What have you heard Mensa has been up to lately? Not much of anything, they
just seem to like hanging out with other people like them. The TED speakers
Mensa-esque clique have just infused their nerd club with some Andy Warhol,
because they are smart enough to know that is the thing to do to make money and
impress people.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end what I have to ask is, can an entity be doing
things beneficial to society, while also making immense amounts of money? Or is
the profitability coming at some higher cost? I don't know, because IT'S A BIG
QUESTION. I am inclined to distrust large corporate entities because making
money tends to trump everything else.<br />
<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: x-small;">References<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[1] - <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/we-need-to-talk-about-ted">http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/we-need-to-talk-about-ted</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[2] - <a href="https://conferences.ted.com/TED2015/program/">https://conferences.ted.com/TED2015/program/</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[3] - <a href="http://www.ted.com/conversations/17828/why_do_ted_conferences_cost_so.html">http://www.ted.com/conversations/17828/why_do_ted_conferences_cost_so.html</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[4] - <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/03/11/TED-Talks-Money-Magnet/">http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/03/11/TED-Talks-Money-Magnet/</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[5] - <a href="http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/943235545/">http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/943235545/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[6] - <a href="http://www.nonprofitfacts.com/NY/Sapling-Foundation.html#detailedReports">http://www.nonprofitfacts.com/NY/Sapling-Foundation.html#detailedReports</a></span></div>
Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-23515840295136904712015-02-15T21:46:00.000-08:002015-05-01T20:39:26.795-07:00Mercury (Thimerosal) in Vaccination Shots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCh6QLwhffIl6sVladjowh4MWKFtu4Bcg-opZOrrBG8XnX_bm-ehtDE110f1DblYu7GWJ6Nad2KS2fWl7V-43oxj1WdrJfNWONN-LA9HZrjPpSOL6IttzWtjF5Zz4N8gBBun9-0W7lqqo/s1600/syringe_by_kawiko-d4ny7qe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCh6QLwhffIl6sVladjowh4MWKFtu4Bcg-opZOrrBG8XnX_bm-ehtDE110f1DblYu7GWJ6Nad2KS2fWl7V-43oxj1WdrJfNWONN-LA9HZrjPpSOL6IttzWtjF5Zz4N8gBBun9-0W7lqqo/s1600/syringe_by_kawiko-d4ny7qe.png" height="320" width="189" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something that really bothers me about the media is the idea
that it is considerably difficult to challenge what is stated by news agencies
as fact. For example, I don't know if ISIS exists or is a story created by the
media - when I read alternate-from-the-mainstream media sources such as Al
Jazeera, they never use the term ISIS. Historically, I don't even know for sure
if the media have <u>ever</u> had any true balance and thoroughly covered topics
I'm interested in. The only way I would understand anything at all about modern
geopolitics would be to go to the actual places and talk to people there, but
that seems really dangerous and expensive. Something I do feel I have some
control over and confidence from a fact based perspective is science. I can
look up scientific articles, and find out if results of studies are actually
matching up with what science and health
sources are saying.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That said, what the media have been all abuzz about lately
are vaccinations - apparently 1 lone unvaccinated woman is to blame for the
return of smallpox in North America after visiting Disneyland. I have read and
heard a few different slants on the story, but something that comes up again
and again is the mantra that vaccines are safe, and the anti-vaccination
movement is to blame for children not getting vaccinated, after some people protesting
that the vaccines may be inducing autism spectrum disorder. And although we are
told scientists keep repeatedly saying vaccines have been found to be safe, no
articles by the media give any details, just the subtext of "take our word
for it, scientists know what is best for you and have already figured
everything out for you, don't worry your pretty head about it." It is
always these sorts of "trust us" generalized, unsubstatiated
statements that act like a red flag for me. So I wanted to dig a little deeper
and see what I can find out in real research.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I remember when the anti-vaccination movement was gaining
traction in Canada, I was in University and the elderly lady who ran the health
food store I frequented gave me a pamphlet about it. From what I remember most
of it was fluff that could be dismissed, but something I always remembered
reading on it was that they use mercury as a preservative in vaccines. As a
biology major I was learning about the devastating effects of mercury on ocean
life, particularly on how it bioaccumulates in fish, so fish higher up on the
food chain like tuna hold the most mercury because of all the other fish they
are eating all contain smaller amounts of mercury, and are held in the tuna's
body until it gets to your dinner plate.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Something I didn't
understand at the time until I started doing this research here, is that there
are different types of mercury. The type that accumulates in organisms such as
fish and humans and is very lethal is called <b>methyl mercury</b>, while the type that is used as a vaccine
preservative is <b>ethyl mercury</b>. Chemistry is certainly not my strong suit,
but Wikipedia assures me the major difference is that ethyl mercury has not
been found to bioaccumulate. That's good right? Well, I'm not sure, so I
decided to start looking for articles on ethyl mercury and see what I could
find out. Interestingly, there are not many studies to be found on ethyl
mercury, but that being said here are some studies I was able to find relevant
study information on. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The first of such studies I found takes place in Iraq, where
Iraqi farmers have been given wheat seed preserved with ethyl mercury (again as
a preservative). In 1961 starving Iraqi farmers ate seeds laced with <i>ethyl mercury p-toluene sulphonanilide</i>. The
seeds were donated to Iraq for planting, but it was too late in the planting
season, and farmers were used to making bread out of their leftover seed, and
were not fully aware of the consequences of eating the mercury laced seeds,
because it is odourless and tasteless. Although it may not bioaccumulate, there
were profound health effects on people who ate the seeds, and many required
emergency treatment. Most notable problems patients had were disfunction of the
kidneys, gastro-intestinal tract, skin, heart, muscles. The most constant
problem was nervous system problems including disturbance of speech, cerebellar
ataxia (loss of muscle movement and co-ordination) and spasticity (Jalili and
Abbasi, 1961). It's important to keep in mind though that they were ingesting
much more mercury than the amounts found in vaccines.</div>
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<br />
Next I found a study on pheasants published in 1972, and
they found that concentrations of 12.5 parts of mercury per million was
sufficient to kill adult ring-necked pheasants within 2-3 months of feeding
(Spann et al., 1972). At smaller doses, 4.2 parts of mercury per million
reduced egg production 50-80% and increased embryo mortality. Again, pheasants
are much smaller than people, but I think we can say that ethyl mercury is not
completely harmless.</div>
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<br /></div>
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An important review of serveral studies by Dorea found
studies that showed potential synergies with<br />
exposure to multiple toxic
compounds. These toxic compounds could be introduced through combination of
breast-feeding, food, or other sources in the local environment, combined with
ethyl mercury from vaccinations may influence neurodevelopmental outcomes
(Dorea, 2012). He noted that ethyl
mercury has a short half-life and so is unlikely to be measured in blood, and
also pointed out the disturbing lack of literature in studies on the specific
exposure to small amounts of ethylmercury derived from TCVs(vaccines). When
studies with young children are properly adjusted for exposure to mercury in
vaccines, subtle neurodevelopmental effects can be demonstrated. Something
important to think about is not just the effect of ethyl mercury alone, but combined
in the body while being exposed to other toxic chemicals such as lead and
cadmium, which in our pro-pollution society can be quite common, especially in
poor urban areas and industrial production centres. While one toxin may be seemingly
harmless, combined with another can be much more lethal.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Another study looked in particular for links to autism. This
is because many signs and symptoms of mercury exposure correspond to autism
(McGinnis, 2001). The study also indicated gut disease with inflammation is
common in autistic children, and is in nearly 90% of regressed autistic
children. Exposure to inorganic mercurial compounds have been shown to cause
injuries in animals to intestinal mucosa and the colon, as well as deposits of
antibody in the intestine. It would definitely be interesting to look for
relationships between gut disorders and autism, gut disorders and vaccination,
as well as the prevalence of gut disorders in modern times compared to previous
decades.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is in this study I also learned about Thimerosal, the
name for the specific mercury based compound used in vaccines. So I decided to
do another round of searching for articles on this term, and see if I could
find some more relevant articles.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Thimerosal - What are Known Effects?</div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2012 there was some backlash from the scientific
community in response to the movement against vaccinations. The paper mentions
that a treaty by the United Nations Environment Programme could have banned thimerosal
as part of the effort to restrict human and environmental exposure to mercury (King
et. al., 2012). However, the World Health Organization's Strategic Advisory
Group, backed by some of the scientific community recommended thimerosal be
exempt to avoid disruption to the global vaccine supply. There was some
argument that it would be unjust to allow it to be used, since wealthier
nations have phased it out. The counter argument is that "the real threat
of injustice comes from considering the removal of this currently necessary and
irreplaceable compound from the global vaccine supply, and the avoidable
increases in morbidity and mortality that would inevitably result from
disruptions to vaccination programs targeting already marginalized populations
in LMICs(Lower-Middle Income Countries). " Basically a moral argument that
it is for their own good as well as the greater good, and no mention about how
to deal with the potential problems that will come from the mercury exposure
down the line.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The statement by the scientific community the last paper
refers to the commentary article in the very same publication by Orenstein et.
al., on Global Vaccination Recommendations and Thimerosal (2012). They say
"Overwhelmingly, the evidence collected over the past 15 years has failed
to yield any evidence of significant harm, including serious neurodevelopmental
disorders, from use of thimerosal in vaccines. ..The Institute of Medicine, and
others have concluded that the evidence favors rejection of a link between
thimerosal and autism. Careful studies of the risk of other serious
neurodevelopmental disorders have failed to support a causal link with
thimerosal. " They go on to explain that the main problem with removing
the vaccine is costs, increasing manufacturing costs for vaccines from
200%-500%, reduce manufacturing capacity and increase transportation and
storage space costs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The next study I looked at examined 196 infants and their
mothers who attended ambulatory prenatal clinics in the 1st and 2nd trimester
in Krakow (Mrozek-Budzyn et. al., 2012). Vaccination history and child
development were measured in 1 year intervals over 3 years. They reported only
observing adverse effects in the 12th and 24th months of life, with no effect
found in the 36th month. They do admit that in populations with higher
co-exposure to other neurotoxic elements even a subtle negative effect can
indicate greater risk of developmental delays, an important point I mentioned
in a previous study, and something I'll return to later. The plausibility of
the harmful effect of vaccination on child development was a sufficient
argument to remove thimerosal from all infant vaccines in the USA and EU years
ago (Canada also ended up banning thimerosal). The results of the study showed
that TCVs should be replaced by Thimerosal-free formulas in countries that can
afford it economically.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Some interesting studies were done in Japan and have found
some substantial results on rats. They found prenatal exposure to thimerosal
caused a significant increase in serotonin and dopamine content in the rat`s
brains as adults (Ida-Eto et. al., 2013). This indicates lasting neurochemical
impairments to the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems of the brain.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The results of another study on rats found premature rats
receiving 65.6, 98.4 and 131.2 ug/kg (micrograms per kilogram) of thimerosal
displayed abnormal functioning of spatial learning and memory (Chen et. al.,
2013). They concluded that their study was consistent with previous studies
demonstrating that exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines in
susceptible populations, such as premature infants, may be associated with
neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in the United States, another study evaluated children
aged 7-10 and their mothers, and found no significant associations between thimerosal
exposure from vaccines early in life and typical measures like intelligence,
verbal memory, executive functioning, speech and language, fine motor and
behavior regulation (Barile et. al, 2011). However, they did find a significant
association between exposure to thimerosal and the presence of motor tics in
boys. They admitted the measurement of the tics was limited, but still
significant. A major problem of the
study that wasn't mentioned however, was that the study was attempted for 3648
families, of which 1985 refused or were unable to be contacted. At the end 1047
were retained for the final sample. We don`t know why so many refused, but it
is always possible that children with the most health or mental problems were
refused by the parents, because they had enough to deal with as it was without
participating in a scientific study. As a general rule of thumb in statistics,
if less than 50% of the original sample do not participate in the study, then
the results are considered unreliable, because factors related to the study may
be influencing who is and is not interested in participating in the study.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, one paper reported recent studies suggest that
children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have abnormal sulfation chemistry, limited
thiol availability, and decreased glutathione reserve capacity (Kern et. al.,
2013). Limited thiol availability suggests vulnerability to Thimerosal . The
associated behavioural and developmental outcomes found in autism are plausible
as mercury toxicity, since the brain is a target organ for Thimerosal's toxic
effects as well as a target organ for the bioaccumulation of Mercury. They
concluded that Thimerosal should be removed from all vaccines.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can see from this not at all random selection of studies
there is still a lot of unclarity about the exact health implications of
vaccinations including thimerosal. These studies represent a large bulk of the
research done on effects of thimerosal and ethyl mercury, and so for starters
it must be said that more research needs to be done in this area. We also need
to ask the question, why are there not more studies? It has been known for a
very long time the detrimental effects of mercury on human health, so it seems
strange that mercury would be used without the thorough research to determine
its efficacy and health outcomes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Related to this are the cries from the "scientific
community", whoever this may be comprised of, stating that it is safe,
while themselves not stating any research backing this up. There seems to be a
purposefulness behind the lack of hard data, again leading to the claims that
it is for the greater good, without addressing the problem, that is, how do we
reconcile doing these vaccinations knowing the health risks that will come down
the line. Whose problem is it? Are there considerations that need to be taken
outside the simple need to vaccinate everyone?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That said, the fact is that vaccines do contain less than 1
microgram of thimerosal. All of the studies with doses administered to test
animals were much larger amounts, and those animals have considerably less mass
than humans. A study using comparable amounts, or at least tests with 1
microgram administered. Studies also need to be done to better understand what
synergies are happening between ethyl mercury and other toxic compounds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, it needs to be pointed out that now, in first world
countries at least, there is reason to believe that vaccinations should indeed
be safe from health concerns, because thimerosal was removed from vaccines in
the United States, Canada, the European Union and possibly other countries. Thimerasol
is not required as a preservative if vaccines are stored in single dose vials. However,
every opportunity that scientists, doctors, and health experts have to express
this is lost - they never talk about this point. Why? Because they would be
admitting that previous vaccine doses containing mercury did pose health
concerns, and despite this they are still being used in 3rd world countries -
because new vaccines that do not contain mercury are much more expensive. Single
dose vials require more packaging, shipping and storage. Economic reasons seems
to be the only reason now why we use mercury containing vaccines at all, and
because our modern world holds economic concerns is our primary concern, the
cheaper vaccines will continue being used for the foreseeable future.</div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u>
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">References<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Barile, J.P., Kuperminc, G.P., Weintraub, E.S., Mink, J.W.
and Thompson, W.W. 2012. Thimerosal exposure in early life and
neuropsychological outcomes 7-10 years later. Journal of Pediatric Psychology,
37(1): 106-118.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chen, Y., Wang, J., Zhang, J., Li, S., He, L. Shao, D., Du,
H. 2013. Effect of thimerosal on the neurodevelopment of premature rats. World
Journal of Pediatrics, 9(4): 356-360.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dorea, Jose G. 2012. Neurotoxic metal coexposures and neurodevelopment.
Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(6): A226.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ida-Eto, M., Oyabu, A., Ohkawara, T., Tashiro, Y., Narita,
N. and Narita, M. 2013. Prenatal exposure to organomercury, thimerosal,
persistently impairs the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems in the rat brain:
Implications for association with developmental disorders. Brain &
Development 35 (2013) 261-264.</div>
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Jalili, M.A. and Abbasi, A.H. 1961. Poisoning by ethyl mercury
toluene suphonanilide. British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 18(4): 303-308.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Kern, J.K., Haley, B.E., Geier, D.A., Sykes, L.K., King,
P.G. and Geier, M.R. 2013. Thimerosal exposure and the role of sulfation
chemistry and thiol availability in autism. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health. 2013(10): 3771-3800.</div>
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King, K., Paterson, M. and S.K. Green. 2012. Global justice
and the proposed ban on thimerosal-containing vaccines. Pediatrics, 2013;131:
154-156.</div>
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McGinnis, Woody R. 2001. Mercury and autistic gut disease.
Environmental Health Perspectives, 109(7): A303-A304.</div>
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Mrozek-Budzyn, D., Majewska, R., Kieltyka, A. and
Augustyniak, M. 2011. Neonatal exposure to thimerosal from vaccines and child
development in the first 3 years of life. Neurotoxicology and Teratology,
34(2012): 592-597.</div>
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Orenstein, W. A., Paulson, J. A., Brady, M. T., Cooper, L.
Z. and Seib, K. 2012. Global vaccination recommendations and thimerosal.
Pediatrics, 2013;131: 149-151.</div>
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Spann, J.W., Heath, R.G., Kreitzer, J.F. and Locke, L.N.
1972. Ethyl mercury p-toluene sulfonanilide: lethal and repreoductive effects
on pheasants. Science, 175(4019): 328-331.</div>
Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-11314394849229434172014-12-25T18:03:00.002-08:002014-12-25T18:14:41.066-08:00Mary Poppins is Screwed<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPbzcp9nIvAseiSnHwkKI_ZQXgS-vTLlOYTnhyphenhyphenNmYT5r1GtmQyTeAuWeGyjt7GZPH1mudHEF7tUYRXn6-4SdgioFErNgdyGELq6FsaT0g62vaOwIEbPmZrUmiy-iMvKAp-7eFLSs_Ulg/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-11-19-18h14m52s113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPbzcp9nIvAseiSnHwkKI_ZQXgS-vTLlOYTnhyphenhyphenNmYT5r1GtmQyTeAuWeGyjt7GZPH1mudHEF7tUYRXn6-4SdgioFErNgdyGELq6FsaT0g62vaOwIEbPmZrUmiy-iMvKAp-7eFLSs_Ulg/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-11-19-18h14m52s113.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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Imagine it's the year 1910. You are a middle aged white man,
a financier rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams, married with two beautiful
children. Only, there's a problem: you haven't the time or desire to raise
these lecherous offspring. And the last nanny just up and quit for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no reason</i>! What is the solution? The
sensible course of action is to use your freemason connections and perform a
ritual to summon a powerful wind demon who can look after your kids for you!</div>
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That is the premise of the epic Disney tale, Mary Poppins.</div>
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I didn't read the books, but based on the film, you could
argue that Poppins is some sort of unknown mystical creature, or a witch, but
let's face it: there is something more sinister to her. She is incredibly vain,
unyieldingly demanding, and all too interested in shaping the minds of
neglected children. Although the movie is positive and upbeat, awash in
everything Disney, I just ask you to consider the possibility that the story is
somewhat different than how it was presented, along with unanswered questions.
How did this family become so fabulously wealthy? Was it by honest means? Did
they have help? Is it possibly to be involved with the highest level of banking
and financing without being influenced by powerful organizations such as
Freemasons, the Illuminati, the Gnomes of Zurich?</div>
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The father/financier, listed in the credits as "Mr.
Banks" (what a clever name), never indicates having any connection with
Poppins, and doesn't talk to his family about anything related to it, besides the
obvious discomfort that comes with trying to hire a nanny. But why would he? He
hangs out at the bank and Royal Exchange all day with stuffy old men, I
wouldn't put it past him to put on some robes and invoke some dark rituals
involving pentacles, silver daggers, silly dancing, that sort of thing.
Probably a lot more fun than hanging out with his family, too.</div>
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If you are willing to accept, even ever so remotely, this
possibility, then please continue reading. I proudly present to you:</div>
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<h2>
<b>Mary Poppins: Demon of the Wind, Harvester of Lost Souls</b></h2>
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Mary Poppins flies in on an umbrella and blows all of the
competing nannies,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who have been waiting
in line patiently all day, away to God only knows where using wind magic, then
goes in to the house and beguiles the dad in to the nanny position they have
been advertising. The undertext implies she was responding to the ad which was
made up by them and quickly torn up and discarded by their father. But what better
way to win over their trust than convince them she is on their side? She is no
lesser servant of evil, and immediately sees the weakness of the one who summoned
her, their father, immediately planning her revenge on those who would dare to
demand her services.</div>
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The action begins as she shows off her wicked power to the
children, and that they too can invoke the harmless seeming magic.</div>
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They get on with their day and head down to the park where
they meet up with Poppins' friend, a homeless drug addict. Dick Van Dyke steals
the show, dancing, singing, cracking jokes; the total package. He is always
ridiculously happy about nothing, anything and everything, and he really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> likes to dance. He participates
gleefully in Poppins' induced hallucinations, right at home with his cartoon
animals and animated carnival machines. It is unclear with his drug of choice
is, since crack and meth haven't been invented yet, but it could be any mix of laudanum,
alcohol or some form of ephedrine. Here he is trying to walk in a straight
line.</div>
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They pop into the chalk drawing and do all sorts of wacky
shit, including driving some horses on the merry go round and having them pop
off and ride around. The interesting part here is where Poppins animates merry
go round horses. Everyone else's horse has their eyes open, but Mary's horse
has its eyes closed, as if sleeping (see picture at the beginning of the article). If anyone has any theories as to what this
signifies, I'd be interested in hearing your ideas.</div>
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They sing and dance some more with some cartoons, and
eventually the magic journey/hallucination ends and they head home. The kids
are too excited to sleep, and Mary denies that anything "magical"
ever happened. The kids get upset but she easily sings them to sleep with her siren
song.</div>
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The next day a fucking dog comes to tell Mary her uncle has
laughed himself up into his high ceiling loft. As you can expect, hilarity
ensues. When they get home Mr. Banks is able to clear the cobwebs of her
charming away and attempts to get Poppins under control, but is no match for
her dark magicks. She resumes uncoiling her corrupting essence over the
children by telling them about a bag lady that feeds pigeons. They fall asleep
again, their souls tainted a shade darker.</div>
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The next day they head to the Bank, with Mister...Banks to
make a deposit, but her influence is still felt - the children rebel against
their weak excuse for a father and his masonic pals. The evil power surround
them like a dirty, foul blanket to such an extent that they induce panic and
confusion in the crowds of patrons nearby, causing everyone to withdraw their
savings. The masons sense something is amiss and dispatch policemen to capture
the children, but they slip away, eventually finding an obliterated Dick Van
Dyke who has been getting high inhaling fumes while cleaning chimneys all day. </div>
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He stumbles them to safety and then decides to clean the
chimney in their house, which they, reunited with Mary, who rewards their bad
behaviour by having them all fly up to the roof, wander around, climb oily
smoke stairs, sing and dance with a bunch of dirty men. Finally, the neighbour,
an eccentric ex-military man who has clued in to Poppins' shenanigans, shoots
fireworks at them, likely blessed by the Bishop of Canterbury. </div>
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Meanwhile, Mr. Banks is in deep shit with his buddies over
the chaos and confusion caused by his children. He knows he needs to do
something, and so tries one final time to fire Mary.</div>
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Still no match for her, she has turned his mind to limp,
misshapen putty. He heads to the Royal Exchange to meet his fate. I know they
have been talking about the bank the entire movie, but you can tell it is the
Royal Exchange, not the bank, by comparing these photos.</div>
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Symbolically they break his hat and his umbrella. As you
probably recall, Mary Poppins also has an umbrella that she uses to fly with. Clearly
there is some connection between the Poppins entity and this stuffy, secrative,
old organization. They fire Banks and he finally snaps.</div>
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This is where the directors' cut ends. Of course it is a
Disney movie, so they somehow tack a happy ending on this, for some reason they
just forget about it and everyone is happy and still rich. Mary leaves, fully
broken from the weak enchantment summoning her in the first place, knowing his
children will grow up to be vile minions of darkness.</div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-5712761972504821562014-10-11T18:27:00.000-07:002014-10-11T18:27:22.542-07:00Happy Days is Screwed: Season 2 Episode 13<br />
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In this series, I attempt to demonstrate that the show Happy
Days follows the concept of the fantasy world of the 1950's United States, and
is full of pro-US ideology and rife with heavy handed statements about
morality. Happy days was made from Season 1 starting in 1974. Oh yeah, and so
you don't miss anything, the clips are played at 1/3rd speed, and so are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">screwed</i>, as in the technique used by DJ
Screw to acquire a unique style and feel. He was called DJ Screw (RIP 2000)
because he used a screw to modify the speed on his turntable. I love his hip
hop mixes, and I love things slowed down. What follows is the summary of:</div>
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<span style="font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 115%;">SEASON 2 EPISODE 13: Fonzie's Getting
Married</span></div>
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In this episode the Fonz makes a big announcement; he, the
teenage Fonz (they are never clear on his age but he is in the same grade as
Potsie and Richie and Ralph, who are in high school) is getting married. The
gang has a huddle with him in his office:</div>
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Yeah, that's right, the Fonz thinks that men should only
marry virgins. This becomes a point of contention when, uh-oh, turns out Howard
(AKA "Chips" Cunningham) saw her strip at a hardware convention. If
this doesn't sound like something a family man like Howard would do, you don't
know Howard very well. To find out for sure if it is her, he will recognize her
laugh:</div>
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Is Howard actually joking, or just explaining what he thinks
about bums? Well now Howard's worst fears have been confirmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has to tell Richie:</div>
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Eventually they tell Fonzie, who naturally doesn't believe
them. They go to the "strippers", 1950's style, to scope out the
action:</div>
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We never find out what happened to them when he caught up to
her. Howard sizes up The Lone Stripper and runs for it:</div>
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Fonz drinks in the
reality of the situation, man's up and gets over it. Richie has other things on
his mind:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyDPsaELLO6Cytv8gS_l33dn9HZVqthWlhMreLIi_F4Y_YWWa0yLnh0R4tRuhsBwzfOVvxyiue2D5iwT7vaeg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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And Howard is also busy:</div>
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At least Marion knows how to have a good time.</div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-8566650822729148012014-09-22T21:20:00.002-07:002014-09-22T21:23:09.423-07:00Are Guns N Roses still relevant?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY-VZTPfgBCsFx0UruTaYPLXnE3SoD5GDnGjVysiTXfa6_5BQlDam31aDSt6MXx9xbClef65aAm_wW8oQeiUm0Mk62i2lJE-B9vTsJidRqDFBmM9JXqH9Uf3if0cd6YsEOLCVSwdX3Ec/s1600/AxlSlash1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGY-VZTPfgBCsFx0UruTaYPLXnE3SoD5GDnGjVysiTXfa6_5BQlDam31aDSt6MXx9xbClef65aAm_wW8oQeiUm0Mk62i2lJE-B9vTsJidRqDFBmM9JXqH9Uf3if0cd6YsEOLCVSwdX3Ec/s1600/AxlSlash1.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sometimes, I feel like the last person alive under 40 who likes Guns N Roses. Maybe it's just the nostalgia, good memories hanging out in my friends basement with Use Your Illusions on repeat. Or eleven years old getting on the full school bus awkwardly looking for an available seat while Axl Rose screamingly inquires: Do you know where you are?<br />
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Yes Axl, yes I do know where I am. I'm in the jungle, I'm a small child, I'm going to die.<br />
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I grew up in a redneck-y tourist trap of a town, where my peers had aspirations of making good money at local Lumber Yard so they can afford to drive around big trucks and do massive amounts of cocaine. A noble calling, but my stick-in-the-ass type religious upbringing told me that was all kinds of wrong - combined with my dislike of the smallness of the area's mentality (I learned later there are many many places that are exactly the same - this is the world we live in). I left that place and never wanted to go back, but I never stopped liking Guns N Roses. I've been revisting them, as I do periodically, but with so much video footage compiled, I could see lots of different performances of their songs live, and interviews at different points of their career - mostly with Slash, I think Axl pulled permission on a lot of his personal footage, or never allowed it in the first place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18ZIo-Ds_jJl6rZLXVhpgLz1BZdxtRWzBKPfPbkS215XyCkZGqd6xR8IgyOUhe244ahyhhhnUEt7haSdjEcFEucXHMl2CNGPvwOWS3AC7bMvCii8_AvwuZAGV0B3pBN9lviSOpYTjqr0/s1600/AxlSlash2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18ZIo-Ds_jJl6rZLXVhpgLz1BZdxtRWzBKPfPbkS215XyCkZGqd6xR8IgyOUhe244ahyhhhnUEt7haSdjEcFEucXHMl2CNGPvwOWS3AC7bMvCii8_AvwuZAGV0B3pBN9lviSOpYTjqr0/s1600/AxlSlash2.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a></div>
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Chinese Democracy has some songs I do quite enjoy, but obviously lacks the visceral feel of the riffs in Appetite and the Use Your Illusions. Obviously the earlier life stuff is great, and much more enjoyable compared to more recent shows (2013), which is too processed and has no viscera, but doesn't sound bad at all. Since the band broke up, and Chinese Democracy took a very long time indeed, most people have forgotten about Guns N Roses. Even my friend who was a huge fan has not even given Chinese Democracy a test listen. Without Slash, the band is nothing to him. While they left most of their fanbase heartbroken, they are still interesting to check out, and the songs I used to like still sound great to me.<br />
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I've been paying special attention, first, to Axl's dance moves - he sings about being super tough through the stories of his life and being on the streets, all the while wearing more ambiguously tough clothing (black wifebeater, leather pants, bandana). With all these signs, symbols, mannerisms of a badass, he still somehow manages to happily <em>bop</em> about the stage, wiggling like the bait bucket at a fishing derby, chirping in a friendly manner to the audience about something that happened to him recently, or someone he dislikes, and sometimes just general words of encouragement and camaraderie - like any good host. His on stage presence doesn't quite match up, but that was a good thing. He was "your" (the audience's) buddy, at least for the time he was up there. Sure he trash talked people on stage, but he hated on "that guy" who doesn't get down with the likes of us. Then he would wiggle some more and kick a cowboy boot heel at you to let you know he was having a good time.<br />
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Something else remarkable, and worth you and I knowing: apparently the scene in Los Angeles was so competitive for bands playing in the area, that the clubs would not hire you - instead you had to raise enough money to buy the entire roll of tickets for your show ($500) and sell as many as you could so you could recoup the money. They had to bust their asses promoting themselves enough to sell out the tickets, by flyering, postering, and probably a whole lot of selling to people they knew. This is on top of writing songs and playing really tightly, consistently well. Schmoozing and self promoting meant their 24/7 party lifestyle was work of a sort, at least in that critical period before they made it big. They needed to play those shows to prove what they could do, and their show got big enough with the LA music scene crowd that when the record execs put feet on the ground to find out what was going to be the next thing, they were pretty much already in.<br />
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Another key factor to their huge appeal stated over and over was their authenticity. They sang about partying as hard as a human could party, but at the same time completely different from another famous partier Hunter S. Thompson - Never anywhere do interviewers ever verbally make a connection there, but their lifestyle influenced their creative and commercial work in some similar ways. Axl's lyrics on Appetite sounded like they could have been written on a napkin, hiding out at a diner in the early morning to make sure whatever fallout from the night before had blown over. There was, and is, always an introspective aspect to it I like, while not particularly glorifying drugs (but still singing about them because they were such a big part of their lives), and simultaneously celebrating while also hating on women. It has an emotional charge, is all very believable and sound very much like their lives. This, it has been said, is what lead to their broad appeal and gave them a more fantastic sound than other bands of the time, where they are spilling their heart and guts out to you, not only on the album, but every single time they performed. They are a rags-to-riches rockstar American story tale.<br />
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Guns N Roses has a lot in common with Michael Jackson. Their super fast, super huge rise to fame and massive audiences, with a huge marketing campaign and promotional war machine. While they had a don't ask don't tell policy regarding drugs, and I'm sure they dressed themselves, the promoters controlled all the other aspects of promoting, tours, stage setups and keeping the hype up. The way they were run between the two sets of artists worked pretty much the same way.<br />
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Michael Jackson drew on a lot of the style and bad boy imagery, having slash-style guitar solos, taking bits of the scene and aesthetic following Guns N Roses Hollywood strip cultural scene when they got signed. MJ took it in his own direction, incorporating it with other elements he liked as well as the dancing and performance elements, instead taking it to the level of sterile art form. His look and visual style are captivating, but also belong in the "History" museum he created for himself, even as you were hearing it for the first time. Guns n Roses differed in the sense that they seemed to express themselves in a singular sense where they were distinct individuals who seemed to know who they are, while Michael seemed to flow quickly from one fad to the next, dipping in to so many spheres of influence, the constant sense of change seemed to be the only singular defining factor throughout his career.<br />
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Still, by the time the Use Your Illusions albums were created, conflict as well as differences emerging between what band members wanted had begun to disrupt their sound. Without the unifying street influence defining themselves and their music, Axl wrote about more abstract concepts about his life that had been caused by fame, wealth and unimaginable influence. The sound was good, but very different, and I think a certain amount of change is reasonable for any band to stay relevant past a few years. However, when you think about what the large part of their fanbase was, it isn't hard to imagine them being disenchanted with something that forced them to think complicated thoughts. Use Your Illusions still had enough talent put in to it by really hard working band members, but according to the history of the time, the differences had fractured the band enough to be irrepairable. Although fans wouldn't learn until years later what had been going on, insiders say you can hear the sounds of the band breaking up in those albums. There are a lot of melodic, sad, or at least introspective songs, again what they were actually going through. They had put everything in to those albums, and they were not able to follow it up. I think even if they had tried to make another appetite, nobody would have liked it. Unless they had all forsaken their vast wealth and gone back to living on the streets in L.A. There's no substitute for authenticity.<br />
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It's also difficult to measure by today's yardstick, considering how little longevity modern artists have in terms of popularity. Guns N Roses can still draw large crowds (at least internationally) by name recognition alone, but will the next big rock band have such an fascinating rise and blowout? It is the stuff of myths and legends.<br />
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<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-68408430277506467042014-04-07T22:34:00.000-07:002014-04-07T22:34:30.153-07:00Dario Argento vs Hitchcock<br />
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You can't read anything about Dario Argento without someone
spouting the rhetoric that he is the "Italian Hitchcock".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While both of these directors made an
impressive number of films and broke new ground in filming techniques and
visual aesthetic, if you really sit down and compare their careers side by
side, you'll see it isn't good comparison or even an adequate comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was prompted to look deeper in to Argento's
career when I decided to watch Dracula 3D, an unbearable budgeted badly made
scary movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Previous to that I had seen
Suspiria and Inferno, definitely 2 of his best films.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bigger than those old films with strong
contrasting colors and delicate, luxurious imagery that fills your eyes to the
brim with texture and color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>D3D had
some of that, but lacked more noticably in aspects where Argento had a
previously bad track record in like plot, character development, and the
ability to act.</div>
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As the movie went on, it became very apparent that Suspiria
and Inferno were not an indication of where he had taken his career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Generally great directors are only given
larger and larger budget as even their very name draws ticket sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this movie, Dracula's green screened
castle was flat and brightly lit and monster transformations would look scarier
if they were a hand puppet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No money to
even afford an aesthetic, his hallmark and what made him famous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you sum up his career in a scatter plot
based on production budget and box office earnings, you get shapes like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLmDcMJ7dWYClFo8kE2btz3hK1w_RrECZUqETdU_aI9nAiZojmuur7kkf6LPoTZFsDfVL5z55Q64HVvJKNq8ylaiuFK9AV0qTwTox9k5Y1VDzNDcLAkkSax-6tQ5NR6Oc3gTtrHJZnyU/s1600/Dario+Argento+cost+vs+box+office+gross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLmDcMJ7dWYClFo8kE2btz3hK1w_RrECZUqETdU_aI9nAiZojmuur7kkf6LPoTZFsDfVL5z55Q64HVvJKNq8ylaiuFK9AV0qTwTox9k5Y1VDzNDcLAkkSax-6tQ5NR6Oc3gTtrHJZnyU/s1600/Dario+Argento+cost+vs+box+office+gross.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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The blue line is the quickly cresting and dipping budgets,
while the slouching red L is the money his movies took in over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not at all flattering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare that to hitchcock, who made movie
studios ungodly amounts of cash, with the ridiculously peaking Psycho making
inflation adjusted earnings of $476,516,129, that's almost half a billion
dollars.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbSTwT1DsaCxt5I7GpDO8tBCOjbYCG_uzTVCoZQXdmWpdQa_lLXkLa2K3pMhq1w9JRCIswev55J0P3a_rVYj1EHeOeUbiCgYByrxG-HMJZYVCD_AW5IXsKUGTOypZ5h7SBv_CPglgWO0/s1600/Hitchcock+production+and+box+office.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbSTwT1DsaCxt5I7GpDO8tBCOjbYCG_uzTVCoZQXdmWpdQa_lLXkLa2K3pMhq1w9JRCIswev55J0P3a_rVYj1EHeOeUbiCgYByrxG-HMJZYVCD_AW5IXsKUGTOypZ5h7SBv_CPglgWO0/s1600/Hitchcock+production+and+box+office.png" height="360" width="640" /></a><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The graph for Hitchcock <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">STARTS</i>
with one extra zero on the first number of the Y-axis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next take a look at scores based on Rotten Tomatoes
scoring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, pay attention to the
trend lines that give voice to each man's career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In both sets of graphs Argento is red &
blue and Hitchcock greys.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-30414788599834006622014-02-15T21:50:00.002-08:002014-02-15T22:25:12.374-08:00At the Whim of Movie Execs: The Rise and Fall in Horror Movies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEbil3rNtcdX5Hn2nJE4RX6AlPDuazO0bW1nY6cqr91he1mA6OTNHBioDnL7CA4r6mjYyg3vXgKaPPrWIzqI_O8hjFghDAuZ7rXCR11aYMRfJ6V1IeydvtdRFHPEk6SAlSLJTfinoHLI/s1600/US+horror+movies+made+by+year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1F5Vm6-1SPaTNdTP8VceE_w0xptn1lAUf1dmWbaLS55Xc8UCNg3luOVjm3ilPI5cca5mJuBqeRnpQdLyJXfazB51CasexhyLjWvROfJCoqYhf8yEQU9EQQxiQow0x71tE9EoYOhhanoA/s1600/the-conjuring-money-shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1F5Vm6-1SPaTNdTP8VceE_w0xptn1lAUf1dmWbaLS55Xc8UCNg3luOVjm3ilPI5cca5mJuBqeRnpQdLyJXfazB51CasexhyLjWvROfJCoqYhf8yEQU9EQQxiQow0x71tE9EoYOhhanoA/s1600/the-conjuring-money-shot.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The graph below shows the number of horror movies made in
the US as a proportion of all movies made worldwide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The horror movies (blue line) may not be
completely accurate because it was just my physical count off of Wikipedia, but
it is still useful to measure yearly changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
After the great surge in all movies made worldwide in 1981-1982, the
trend is a slow, steady increase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horror
movies stay most consistently around the 30 movie mark, even before the 1980's.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The relative proportions show the peak in
Horror movies made in the US in 1987 and the much more enormous movie explosion
in 2008 - 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, the
latter happened right during the subprime mortgage crisis, which you can
visibly see by the dip in movies made worldwide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This also shows the rise in the torture porn
subgenre of horror movies, initiated by Saw (2004) but kicking off a massive
surge in horror movie making.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This surge
is the 5-6 times as large as the horror movie average! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even Scream (1996), the largest grossing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">slasher</i> film of all time, did not kick off
any kind of significant increase in movie production in this genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would guess when one movie is successful
enough, it draws attention and they try to pounce on the trend to make more
money, but this is not always the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So why did Saw cause a renaissance in horror movie making in this
instance, but Scream did not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEbil3rNtcdX5Hn2nJE4RX6AlPDuazO0bW1nY6cqr91he1mA6OTNHBioDnL7CA4r6mjYyg3vXgKaPPrWIzqI_O8hjFghDAuZ7rXCR11aYMRfJ6V1IeydvtdRFHPEk6SAlSLJTfinoHLI/s1600/US+horror+movies+made+by+year.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Shortly thereafter it looks like this money making could be
sustained ( as the market was saturated), audiences tired and moved on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2013 actually the lowest number of horror
movies were made in the US since 1979. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
of those movies are really terrible anyway, but I'd like to think that through
sheer numbers the chances of an unintentionally good movie was increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2008-09 I liked Cloverfield, Pontypool and
Drag Me to Hell, and that's about it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other spike in 1987 represents the peak and subsequent
exhaustion in the popularity of slasher movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another important landmark and also resulting in audience boredom as the
movies get worse and worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
Scream was seen as an exception to the slasher genre since they could not
return to making more pointless slasher movies, but a one-time (read: 4 movies
and counting) self reflective critique and rejuvination of slashers was
acceptable, but could not be capitalized on outside of that series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if someone will eventually come out
with a similar satirical look at torture porn similar to what Scream did with
slashers.<br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjob2WHN24razyN1PzgesGIVizymIWARKY4ijU3dCnWqf6dB3beYCdU9apLP6P15jSK9rbM7aDZHnDkeBSbXW5WfawiHOakK7fyRbEciaeBpn0vXuKG51HoZNlYmCRmG7vLGf_i2C54s94/s1600/LOG+US+horror+movies+made+by+year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjob2WHN24razyN1PzgesGIVizymIWARKY4ijU3dCnWqf6dB3beYCdU9apLP6P15jSK9rbM7aDZHnDkeBSbXW5WfawiHOakK7fyRbEciaeBpn0vXuKG51HoZNlYmCRmG7vLGf_i2C54s94/s1600/LOG+US+horror+movies+made+by+year.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking at the LOG function of the data looks pretty
interesting as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For total movies
made, it shows a steady rate that movies are generally being made at since
1981-1982.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The log total horror movies
made, however, is too complex for me to really comment on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spikes in 1987, 2008, 2009 are still
obvious, but all I can say at this point is that the rate that the US makes
horror movies fluctuates pretty wildly, and I have no idea why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously budgetary concerns in funding are based
on a combination of "good" scripts combined with the greed of the
production companies for where they think they can make money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So let's take a look at some top grossing horror films in
the past few years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are trying to
figure out why the dramatic drop in horror movies in 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That year was actually pretty good for horror
movies, with the Conjuring made a ridiculous $318 million dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contrast this with Scream ($173 million) and
Saw ($103 million).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what prompted the
cut in horror movie production?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
doesn't seem immediately obvious by looking at 2012 numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prometheus made over $400 million dollars,
but had a huge production cost ($130 million) and was part of the Alien series,
possibly the most profitable of Sci-Fi series'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also while it is technically horror, you could argue that the fact that
it was horror was not a factor in the draw of audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pair that with the 2nd most profitable
horror movie of 2012 (Paranormal activity 4, $142 million) and you could see
that may not add up to being useful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
actually don't fully know the film cycle, and someone in the industry could
correct me, but I imagine there is a 1 or 2 year window generally in movie
production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we look further back to
2011 things start to fit together a bit better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Paranormal Activity 3 grossed $105 million, but if you discount it due
to the fact it is a series, the next movie Insidious (positively reviewed and
considered a success, I haven't seen it) grossed $54 million, a huge step down
even from 1990's standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If movies on
average have a 2 year cycle from green light to theatre release, then the
numbers seem to fit.</div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-45142097916550243012014-01-31T18:44:00.000-08:002014-01-31T18:45:17.003-08:00What the fuck is Obama doing?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITLR8Ttia_Alu7gNx4W2_1e7KCfGGlpK0Pz04PFoaQSZyF8trlAGq5Hpd4rmtfFfqMW0XrA4TxWd33YM7wI2pf37-Wr8qDbZ-FYk4eBg2yO_v5offnPxcojXBK0gj7Kcc4u6SeNXp-lM/s1600/obamasip.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITLR8Ttia_Alu7gNx4W2_1e7KCfGGlpK0Pz04PFoaQSZyF8trlAGq5Hpd4rmtfFfqMW0XrA4TxWd33YM7wI2pf37-Wr8qDbZ-FYk4eBg2yO_v5offnPxcojXBK0gj7Kcc4u6SeNXp-lM/s1600/obamasip.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ever since the State of the Union address I have seen a lot
of hate for Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the US it is
hitting him from every direction in the States, but I am under the impression no
one outside the US seems to care much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If I were to sum up every article I read on the topic, it's that people
are disappointed that there has been no real substantial change which I guess
people think was his main promise and not just a campaign slogan or catch
phrase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You, the American that voted for
him, thought he actually would do something besides maintain the status quo,
but that is not something he is able to do, because he is not calling the
shots, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were so severely
disappointed in Obama's health plan thing, it almost seems like it was
purposely done badly to put people off of the idea of affordable
healthcare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pharmaceutical companies are
in the business of making as much money as possible, and they have a powerful
lobby in government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the fuck is
with the lobby system?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems to me
like it doesn't matter who is in presidency because they are just supposed to
do the dirty work of telling people they are fucked and there is nothing
anybody can do whups.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, in a true effort to understand Obama's position and
arguments I have to go to the heart of Democrat sentiment: Jon Stuart's Daily
show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will watch ALL of this weeks
(January 27-30 2014) episodes and see what I can learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ok, wish me luck.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi ok I'm back, The Daily Show was not very helpful,
unfortunately, but should not be a surprise, they just said a bunch of nice
things about Obama and that everyone else is just upset because he tried to
work with congress and got shut down and now he is evoking Executive Order to
get things done because he just don't give a fuck anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When interviewed, Nancy Pelosi could not
explain why they could not get a proper health care website set up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess it sums up what I already said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just have no explanation, and just nothing,
nothing to say about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody has
answers and a plan to deal with problems effectively, isn't that the main
problem with government?</div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-79181810538844016972014-01-21T15:53:00.000-08:002014-01-21T15:53:31.905-08:00Collaborative Leadership and Proportional Representation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3YftFprOl9tw-VYzxlQ4zrqrYXTUZ0HI-onGcUA5D6MXmBaDW_-fkQ2ZQ7lhIgj_x3kHbaiLLZBfEBCjMrZNZbC_eDPu1cU-OGIjSjEeXenkFgMPcxecCt2ZroBf_igzhgyE88bT6cE/s1600/football+huddle.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3YftFprOl9tw-VYzxlQ4zrqrYXTUZ0HI-onGcUA5D6MXmBaDW_-fkQ2ZQ7lhIgj_x3kHbaiLLZBfEBCjMrZNZbC_eDPu1cU-OGIjSjEeXenkFgMPcxecCt2ZroBf_igzhgyE88bT6cE/s1600/football+huddle.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems to me that people are sick of Canada's government
as it stands today, and not just because of the Conservative Party of
Canada. While there has been more
unrest about the government than there
has been since the Conservatives took power.
While people acknowledge the Conservatives are governing horribly in
almost every measure imaginable, the other major 2 parties aren't trusted either,
for legitimate reasons (previous scandals, lack of experience). Still there is little talk of changing the
underlying system of government we currently use. Alternatives have existed with successful
present day examples of governing democratically, without any one party having
total control. I suppose there are still
a lot of big unanswered questions when it comes to proportional representation
as a legitimate form of government.
Questions like, why do coalitions have a bad reputation in Canada? Why are majority governments seen as a good
thing? What would collaborative
leadership look like?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proportional representation is an extension of the parliamentary
government system originating in Britain in 1707 which is used by many
countries today, particularly those of the British commonwealth. In this government system MPs are elected in
proportion to the percentage of votes that a political party receives,
resulting in several political parties working together to form a government,
because no party can form a majority on their own, and encourages many small
instead of consolidated to big parties that don't really know where they stand
on most issues. The government lasts
until the next election or until the parties can no longer work together and
the government collapses. At this point
a new coalition must be formed or a new election commences. This makes for better, balanced laws because
no one party can ram through legislation without serious debate and revisions,
so people must reach consensus, more closely matching what the countries'
citizens actually want and expect from their government. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, the vast majority of countries that use the British
parliament system actually now use coalition governments, including the
majority of European and Asian countries, many more than use the winner-take-all
dominant party system that is in use by Canada and the U.S. And in fact in Canada a coalition was actually
used back in 1864, so it's not like Canada has never employed this system
before. It is strange though that now in
the collective thought, coalition is seen by many as bad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main criticism of coalition is that the government seems
self destructive and ineffective, unable to carry out their responsibilities of
passing legislation and keeping the country functioning. But we know from our own experience that our
supposed "sound, stable majority" has done nothing in the past year
but ram through an omnibus bill that no sane person would normally have passed
without debate and revision. Not only
has the Canadian Conservative government shut down democratic dialogue by using
their heavy handed majority to ram through legislation, but since they have
been accused of wrongdoing and scandal, they have blocked and prevented efforts
to answer questions about what was really going on regarding the scandal, and they
are shutting out the media and other political parties, even to the point of
proroguing parliament 3 different times since they have been in power. There are also many things the government has
done that most people are not even aware of, such as the 2013 FIPA agreement,
containing guarantees that Chinese buyers would have the legal right to sue
Canada in private settlement of inhibition to its activities by that government
(including provincial or municipal for whom the federal government would be
liable). Does that seem like a more
effective government to you? The main
obstacle is the parties need to learn to work together, but is that a bad
thing?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I don't know the answer for certain, it seems like
many Canadians are opposed to a coalition government because they don't want to
think about and deal with government and politics as little as possible, and
keep it out of their day to day life. With coalitions they would expect things to be
more uncertain, and politics would be more in your face. This is the only reason I can think of, other
than that Conservative ads may have just beaten their opinion in to the
collective consciousness of Canadians. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What we should want from our government, any government, is
that they follow through with promises they make during the election, to
research, discuss, debate critical issues and current events to improve the
functioning of our country. We obviously
want our governments to be transparent and accountable, and what better to hold
people to account than the other parties who at least share in more power, when
their hands are not tied and they are able to access the resources they need to
answer questions and solve problems as they arise such as the senate
scandal. Imagine how differently that
would have played out if all three political parties took a share in power and
were able to properly conduct inquiries and come to a consensus on what the
problem is and how best to approach and solve those problems. Shutting down parliament solves no problems
only kicks the can down the road when the issue has then snowballed
further. The senate scandal would not
have got to the point where people are writing cheques to cover incorrect
expenses, because the audit would be conducted sooner and senators held to
public scrutiny sooner. The problem with
majority governments is that it only serves one group - the political party
that holds the power. We need to move
power away from parties, because they do not truly represent the will of
Canadians, just one aspect of it, and twists away from doing the will of
Canadians to serving their own interests.
Political majorities do not work effectively because the government
essentially becomes the political party ideology, and no one persons beliefs
are completely in line 100% with a political parties ideology. Only by having the parties hold each other in
check and to account can you be sure that what they are doing is on the level
and serves the public benefit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coalition government falls under the greater umbrella of an
emerging management concept in business - collaborative leadership. For example, Valve software has no management
hierarchy, and what does that do? It
decentralizes power, encourages creative thought so people are more likely to
experiment. The ultimate form of
collaborative leadership is to the point where power has been distributed to
voter participation. With massive
amounts of technological power already being in the hands of the average person
in smartphones and computing, the next logical step is to increase voter
participation. With an established,
secure system of ensuring one vote per registered citizen, online referenda
where people can at least voice their opinion to MPs and at most actually vote
on issues, similar to Swiss voting system of direct democracy. Done via smart phone and streamlined to
accommodate constant verified voting on all issues, the current technology can
minimize costs and our billion dollar spy agency can provide counter intelligence
to prevent hacking, and include CSIS involvement in doing something actually
useful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2011 CPC was found in contempt of parliament,
and the government fell, but were then re elected to a majority
government. Why did this happen? This is an important question and needs to be
addressed first before we can begin to mend </span></span>Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-41367963903903265362013-12-10T17:32:00.000-08:002013-12-10T17:32:32.063-08:00Canada: The Political Situation 2013
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsmlDqT_5qOzMc-1qDt3YcGmKUhSSr7N-uPUP0qe90Y9LHl3XJVkAQF5qpxN522TiB4vc1oNnfRrmYMN0vdcwJuptB0rgDlFgraVSpkw4buxpJ6qIDz1S4dwsatl4KktTY9xPidgmhIk/s1600/poopflag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsmlDqT_5qOzMc-1qDt3YcGmKUhSSr7N-uPUP0qe90Y9LHl3XJVkAQF5qpxN522TiB4vc1oNnfRrmYMN0vdcwJuptB0rgDlFgraVSpkw4buxpJ6qIDz1S4dwsatl4KktTY9xPidgmhIk/s1600/poopflag.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems to be a problem that the Canadian Conservative
Party of Canada (CPC) does not live up to their own ideology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this essay I want to go through their
party platform and beliefs of the CPC and see how and what they have been doing
since they took office in 2006, to see how their actions compare to the words
and rhetoric.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Wikipedia, it is very difficult to nail down the
beliefs the CPC holds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For starters,
they want to more closely match US foreign policy - sort of - except we know
when the US intervened in Syria and Libya, Canada allied with the Americans
only as cheerleaders - didn't actually do much of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They foster strong ties to China and are
aggressively pursuing trade agreements with Europe and other countries around
the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the actual benefits
of these trade agreements and why they benefit Canada are not talked about
specifically, we are told repeatedly that it is good for Canada's economy and
we will benefit more as a result <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in some
way.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Conservatives also mention in their platform that they are
in favour of abolishing the Senate, but in actuality they advised to appoint
Michael Fortier to the Senate in 2006, and filled all 18 seats that were vacant
in 2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every Canadian with a
television, radio or internet connection knows how that is working out for them
at the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still in the midst of the
Senate Scandal, they are refusing to call an inquiry, declining options to have
people connected to the scandal testify, and generally trying to act like it is
all going to go away on its own, when their own rise to power happened as a
result of the Liberal Sponsorship Scandal in the early 2000's. That idea of
SCANDAL, how to deal with one and how to avoid one, should have been the first
lesson they had learned before taking power, yes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nigel Wright, one of the 4 people whom the
conservatives condemned as the ONLY people involved in the scandal, even he has
not testified .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I could not
come up with much of anything he has said or done since writing the $90,000
cheque of his own money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently he
is a shrewd, intelligent, rich guy who actually recruited Steve Harper when the
current party was being formed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harper
conversely promoted Nigel to the party Chief of Staff after winning party
leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This guy is not an idiot,
and he is very well connected by his past to the current Prime Minister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that he is not saying anything
speaks volumes to me: this guy wants to avoid the limelight at all costs, so he
can do whatever it is he does innocuously in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very difficult to pin his activities
down, but he doesn't seem to concerned about having his name dragged through
the mud in this case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously there is
still quite a bit going on, and he seems very capable of avoiding any sort of
news reports.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next I want to mention one huge campaign promise the CPC had
was at the time of the Sponsorship scandal and wanted to implement measures to
hold government to account, including the parliamentary budget office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of the PBO being an aggressive
watchdog, nipping at the heels of government and keeping things in line it
seems like some sort of sad pathetic inbred toothless cur, with a failing liver
and weak ankles and probably also crossed eyes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another big campaign promise conservatives like to toot
their little tug boats about is lower taxes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As it turns out, the government decided to tax income trusts in fall of
2006, effectively breaking one of their election promises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The government did lower taxes federally, but
announced that the growth of future health and social transfers to the
provinces are tied to economic growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This forces the provinces to raise their own taxes via methods such as
the HST, and doesn't really solve any of the problems associated with lowering
taxes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Conservatives like to use the phrase stewards of the economy
- this branding seems pretty effective because anybody I talk to who admits to
voting conservative seems to think that they are fiscally confident and wise
managers of wealth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also think that
any other political party will destroy Canada's economy, but there is no actual
basis to think that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can say that Auditor
General Michael Ferguson was unable to find 3.1 billion dollars in
antiterrorism spending between 2001 and 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THEY LOST 3.1 BILLION DOLLARS.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The conservatives can also take full
ownership of the fact that they misrepresented the costs of the f-35 jets,
which as it turns out would end up costing $25 billion plus maintenance. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On another topic conservatives can be heard bleating about
is making a smaller government - Since in power Harper has actually <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">increased the size of cabinet to 39
ministers.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combine that will
expansions of the senate, the addition of the PBO, and the bloating of the
deficit by funding government stimulus, the government has only gotten larger
during their period in office.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I cannot argue the Conservatives have perused related to
their platform is the promotion of traditional religious and cultural values
.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harper has firmly taken the
"progressive" out of conservative, by making a huge stink about the
royal wedding, queen's jubilee, re-re-naming the Royal Canadian Air Force and
Navy...because we want to go back to remind ourselves we are a British colony?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exporting our resources on behalf of a
country whose only gifts to the world are banks, stock exchanges and
pharmaceuticals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canada is now choosing
to define itself by the past in a way that is probably not at all flattering to
First Nations, some of whom are getting a flashback of colonial times in the
process of protesting shale gas exploration on the East Coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By and large many Canadians <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seem</i> to be enjoying this retro-ification
of Canada's culture, possibly because it is the only few things that really are
associated with Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They certainly
can't tout environmentalism or peacemaker stereotypes that previously defined
Canada (although I'm not sure exactly when this was - maybe in the 70's and
early 80's?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be interesting to
talk to young Canadians to see how they define themselves within the context of
their country's culture, because that is a mighty big black box to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One 'victory' conservatives like to talk about is their
fulfilment to reduce gun controls and scrap the long gun registry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one will not be put to rest easily, in
part because Quebec and the CPC don't quite get along, but also within the
historical context of the Polytechnique shooting in December 1989.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That province is still fighting the gun
registry abolishment in court, and trying to hang on to the records that they
have already collected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the issue
seems to have passed in the rest of Canada, Quebec seems willing to fight tooth
and nail to hang on to these records in any way or court possible, and if they
can establish even a small foothold in keeping those records the Conservatives
will find it very hard to shake it by 2015.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another campaign promise Harper has done with his whole
heart is in the promotion of the energy and gas sectors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I found out the Canadian government<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was spying on Brazil and reporting the
information to oil companies, it became very evident to me who Stephen Harper's
bosses are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn't a genuine
conservative want to "conserve" their environmental resources and
protect it from outside influence, rather than selling them off and destroying
our other resources in the process?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the promise of enhancing crime and law enforcement, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the senate scandal has made one thing clear:
the CPC are doing everything in their power to hinder justice and obscure the
truth - criminals in this case are given a blind eye, and they don't see
anything wrong with that, no need to call an inquiry, no need for people
involved to testify and find out what is actually going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course conservatives will push for higher
sentences for blue collar crimes such as drug possession, shoplifting and
vandalism, while the less visible but much more costly white collar crimes such
as industrial espionage, environmental regulations, manipulations of the stock
market, property and construction, tax evasion, and crimes by politicians have
got no such attention, no new bills passed, no tightening of loopholes to bring
the rich and powerful to the conservative party perception of justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those super-prisons they were bragging about
starting in 2009 will not be housing Rob Ford or other powerful individuals or
corporate decision makers who profited in the 2008 market collapse and job
destruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead they will hold
petty thieves, small time drug dealers and the mentally ill while the owners of
the prisons profit from the influx of criminality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Internet surveillance is finally becoming a reality as the
release of documents by Snowden revealed the extent of collection and analysis
of users' internet usage both in the United States and Canada (and presumably
most or all other countries with internet access).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a long time surveillance of all kinds has
been getting a hard push, under the pretence of terrorism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether or not the loss of all privacy is
"worth it" in the long run is an issue that will only grow as the
surveillance becomes more elaborate and more intensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm sure all sorts of dirt will be found on
who is sleeping with who, who is using which drugs, and other (mostly)
victimless crimes are brought to light and a perverse sense of justice, as the
number of criminals increase and another excuse given to fill up super-prisons,
I'm not sure what point has to be reached before a serious debate begins on if
this is the direction people generally want to be headed in.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I've already mentioned, there is still a stalwart base
that will vote conservative regardless of the obvious criminal activity and
lack of transparency on the part of the CPC in their time running the Canadian
government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The few conservatives I have
spoken with and comments I have read express that they feel the CPC is their
only choice in Canada's electoral system, that other parties will "ruin
Canada worse" or squander Canada's resources more so than what is already
happening now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can't say with any
certainty that the Liberals or the NDP would manage spending and the economy
any better than the Conservatives have, but nobody with any fairness can say
they will manage things any worse, either, since they actually haven't been
given an opportunity to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall the
Liberals had a VERY good spending record during their long period running the
country, and the NDP have yet to have been given a chance FEDERALLY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being as scrutinized as they would be, it
seems to me like an NDP minority would ensure a very responsible spending
policy, since it is such a contentious issue constantly being parroted by the
conservatives as the holy grail of government responsibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would argue that until they have been given
a chance, you can't know with any certainty how good or badly they would
perform the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And given that the CPC
has squandered every opportunity to create a transparent, responsible,
accountable government, we can't collectively sit on our hands and say
"well we can't hope for anything better", because we CAN do something
better: what needs to happen is that our very fundamental system of government
is the problem, and by changing the way the government works in a more broad
sense external of which political party is in office, we are capable of
bringing a new concept of government in to the world, a system where people can
make their voice heard and actually bring back democratic values to a system
that is obsolete, broken, and thoroughly corrupt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In future posts I hope to discuss ideas for
Canada's political future in more depth.</div>
Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-2752454885125257692013-11-14T18:35:00.001-08:002013-12-10T17:37:28.306-08:00The Biggest News Story of 2013 (Canada Edition)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0o2zF1R1c_McKywGRpp71tFwd2n2UC5QhOlMbRr-WGo8B2zuEbG61U2svwRQf9GK9QAeSgHqcdmu4QmJZbcTU1cs9di2Vo36zSIQSj3RNqd1g2OPcJ26Oh5iblB9qY0Og7zqAqtppozY/s1600/Csis648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0o2zF1R1c_McKywGRpp71tFwd2n2UC5QhOlMbRr-WGo8B2zuEbG61U2svwRQf9GK9QAeSgHqcdmu4QmJZbcTU1cs9di2Vo36zSIQSj3RNqd1g2OPcJ26Oh5iblB9qY0Og7zqAqtppozY/s320/Csis648.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
It seems only most natural that in the year 2013, the Information Age of humans, that the most important news story got a mere passing blurb, a thoughtful microponder before being buried underneath the drag-it-out-to-the-middle-of-a-field-and-beat-it-with-a-bat story that is the Senate scandal or human accident Rob Ford. This story distinguishes it self from the others as being a story with no build, no foreshadowing, no deadly political repercussions, and no lives lost (even if those lives would have been only military personnel).<br />
<br />
The story I'm referring to lasted about a week in October, when the country of Brazil made allegations that Canadian security officials (specifically, CSEC, a Canadian establishment controlled by the Ministry of Defense) were not only <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/09/us-usa-security-brazil-canada-idUSBRE9970P720131009">spying on Brazil's energy and mining ministry</a>, but they were also giving that information over to private energy (aka oil mining and gas) companies in Canada. When questioned, Ministry of Defense spokesperson Jean Paul Duval said "It is standard practice for security agencies to discuss issues with Canadian industry in order to protect lives and sensitive infrastructure from terrorism and other threats". Not an at all relevant statement when you are talking about commiting industrial espionage.<br />
<br />
<i>This is a big deal.</i> This is not the Cold War. We are not spying on "The Enemy" with opposing political and social ideologies (although 20 years later we still have only the haziest of ideas of what the Cold War was actually all about). Brazil is supposed to be an ally and trading partner, the capital letter B in the BRICS, a buzzword to describe countries playing catch up to the advantages held by first world countries in Europe and North America. Our leaders, under better circumstances, would tell us that Brazil is trying to imitate us in a most flattering way, to climb up out of poverty and catch up to first world countries technologically and economically. So by stealing their secrets regarding energy prospects, could this be seen as a snub to Brazil, taking what advantage we can from them before kicking them back down from where they surfaced? CSECs Canadian brand of spying is actually part of the larger five-eyes network that includes the US, Britain, Australia, New Zealand. None of the articles I read implicate involvement of the other member countries, but it is reasonable to presume at the least they aren't going to say no to free information.<br />
<br />
Five eyes aside, handing over sensitive information that CSEC agents <i>knew</i> could damage relations between our countries if it was found out is both telling and at least a bit disturbing. Not only are they giving particular companies an advantage with that information, but we don't know what, if any, limits there are for what information they giving away. We only know about Brazil because the Brazillian government caught them and blew the whistle. This information sharing from public organizations to <i>very particular</i> private interests has no real limits, because you and I have little way of knowing what is going on.<br />
<br />
On top of all of that, CSEC is a Canadian Government operation paid for with Canadian tax dollars. We are paying for an oil company to extract information from our allied trading partner, ruining our countries reputation, so that this particular company can get some sort of advantage, to the obvious end that they don't have enough money. Can not some argument be made that since CSEC gave that information outside of government operations that it needs to be made public domain, or that it needs to stop happening, full stop? And do not the media (ie the CBC) need to push harder to find out what is going on and what else is being used with this misappropriation of spy funds? I don't expect any accountability or transparency from our government, but when nobody else seems to care, even the media who I would think would be looking to expand news stories out of their self-interest, what other options are available?<br />
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-64809225958599332712013-08-23T17:02:00.002-07:002013-12-10T17:43:11.256-08:00Tampa the book<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii84C-UGBx4dOQ1qzzH5T4Nr4OKeRosI34VyPH47QhMyB2aWA2xdusW3Edus-Qwn67cAC1eg4-JP8s94PKCMnhJlt2oFELCwa_OduAzu2zxI4fwJYNKjKwZh_WjkSbJvHq3J3IPvJbhsE/s1600/shirt-button-hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii84C-UGBx4dOQ1qzzH5T4Nr4OKeRosI34VyPH47QhMyB2aWA2xdusW3Edus-Qwn67cAC1eg4-JP8s94PKCMnhJlt2oFELCwa_OduAzu2zxI4fwJYNKjKwZh_WjkSbJvHq3J3IPvJbhsE/s1600/shirt-button-hole.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being the edgy and controversial dude I am, I decided to
get ahead of the bandwagon and read <i>Tampa</i> by Alissa Nutting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I go on and tell you any details about
it I have to get two things out of the way: One, I hate fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DEPLORE it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I enjoy sharp dialogue and well written, clever passages that make me
laugh out loud with how clever they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Raymond Chandler is the standard that I hold all fiction to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because this tittilation happens so few and
far between (but does happen)I find it very discouraging to read any fiction,
and I generally regard it as an almost assured waste of my time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second thing is, I primarily wanted to read this book for
the sex scenes, to see if a 26 year old "hot" schoolteacher having
sex with a 14 year old borderline <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(giving that one to Alissa, hmm? - Ed)</span></i>
prepubescent boy could be erotic and turn me on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out she really can't, or maybe she
didn't want to, in which case she totally dropped the ball on that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is just the first of a wave of
50-Shades-of-Grey-with-a-Shamalan-twist clones that printing presses and
electronic publishing software will churn out for our generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something to look forward to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To her credit she does lift some ideas from <i>American Psycho</i>,
she does not steal enough to make her novel entertaining, and does attempt to
put us in to the mind of a beautiful 26 year old psychopathic pedophile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She masturbates while thinking a lot about
boys, which I'm sure most people have done, but then takes the next logical step
and plans her entire life and career around molesting boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
else around her are just inconvenient tools whom she is incapable of having any
feelings for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe there are mental
illnesses that make people that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
Bret Easton Ellis showed us, reading about people with mental illnesses is
pretty fascinating because they have bizarre, very particular personality
qualities that usually make them interesting to read about, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Willis">WesleyWillis</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage">Phineas Gage</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Alissa
decided to pick the most excruciatingly boring of psychopathologies, and
proceed to write almost two hundred and fifty pages about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you enjoy similes that involve the words like and as you
should definitely read <i>Tampa</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm going to tell you another reason you should read the
book:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there is an idea in it that is
fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part way through the book she
wants to get rid of the boy she had spent the first half of the book seducing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She goes on to seduce another boy, but the
implications of her reasoning why she loses feelings for the first kid is
interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She finds him unpleasant to
be around, he becomes less intimate and rougher and emotionally distant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these are because of, the result of,
the ideas she gives to him and the experiences she subjects him to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She at no point dwells on this, that she has made
him in to a person she is incapable of tolerating, the same way she regards her
husband and possibly also other adult men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think she is talking about male female relationships in general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we are young to the dating scene the first
few people we have intimate contact with form a very lasting impression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very easy for people to become frigid
because of early relationships when sex was not good, and have poor future
relationships, spreading that negativity to others who may have been
impressionable or new to the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are capable of shaping our future experience and be willing to make
another attempt by keeping an open mind, instead of perpetuating an endless
cycle of misdirected revenge or confusion of our own animalistic
tendencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, or at no point whatsoever do we find out
anything about the main pretty lady person's past because the writer thought it
was probably a bad idea to give them any sort of empathy, explanation her
behavior or anything that would accidentally develop her
"character". </div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-26992298847421081372013-08-19T15:01:00.000-07:002013-12-10T17:39:01.792-08:00Century of the Self and Simulacrum<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWey-028oYWP51x7F6qKEQ4Dhm49mNAEtRexODczQij1NH_M8fZAN86XghwHQEcNTLoz3sNVvwlgTlj6yfHLVYEKF-nvx8GokJYkTR8Cr121iQJ6k3lEDpFVJ0LS76KejuP4pz0O8_oTY/s1600/03-Disneyland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWey-028oYWP51x7F6qKEQ4Dhm49mNAEtRexODczQij1NH_M8fZAN86XghwHQEcNTLoz3sNVvwlgTlj6yfHLVYEKF-nvx8GokJYkTR8Cr121iQJ6k3lEDpFVJ0LS76KejuP4pz0O8_oTY/s320/03-Disneyland.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my last entry I discussed how Adam Curtis' observations
in his insightful documentary series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Century
of the Self</i> could be used to interpret political situations throughout the
2010's in America, and how a world was created where the average person's
priorities were misdirected based on irrational, unconscious emotions centred
around consumerism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This world is
promoted and reiterated by Big Media to maintain a passive population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it turns out, the basis of these theories
are based on classic theory of social analysis, deep thinker and sociologist
turned philosopher Jean Baudrillard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Writing on the relationship between people and objects in the late 60's,
consumerism in 1970 and politics and culture throughout the rest of his career,
Baudrillard's most famous work was a book in 1981, Simulations and Simulacra,
writings that served as inspiration for the Matrix movies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Humans relationships to objects have changed as the roles
and functions of objects have evolved alongside us, serving as limbs, sensory
objects, or changing how we in turn interact with a third object.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Objects originally bought for a primary
function begin to serve a secondary function, and suddenly the secondary qualities
becomes the object's primary purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Baudrillard uses the example of a refrigerator, where all old fridges
used to be white, once they introduced fridges in different colors, suddenly
you must select a fridge based on the color scheme of the rest of the
kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fridge becomes an accessory
to the kitchen's ensemble, and by proximity becomes a statement made by the
people who live there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A person can
express themselves by the arrangement and relative colors mixing about the
kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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This analysis continues in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Consumer Society</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Simulations</i>, where personal expression
is solely done through the purchasing of items in the full spectrum of
imagination, and this is but one component of the Simulacrum, where we live in
a "hyperreality" where mass production and consumption has created a
fakeness or series of reproducible clones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This ubiquity of copies of objects changes the way we think about
objects, believing in the reproducibility of everything and so attributing a
disposability and temporariness of everything around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A striking example he uses is Disneyland, a
hyperreal fantasy that we (as a society) not only use to escape the
"reality" that normally surrounds us for a while, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">also reaffirms in our minds that the reality
we normally inhabit is not a simulation.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This conviction that we are living in a more "real" reality is
what allows us to continue living in it, and not questioning why the things
around us have to be the way they are.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Century of the Self</i>
examines Bernays marketing techniques, but otherwise paints a similar picture
where social order is based around consumerism, and where objects are given
relationships to powerful emotional symbols based on self-expression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you keep stimulating that irrational
self you can maintain the relations of power and control the animalistic forces
by keeping them engaged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bernays
pioneered the technique of marketing research, meeting with volunteers and
encouraging them to pretend they are consumer products and act out their
relationships with the products.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Similarly, political marketers encouraged people to talk about policies
and how they felt about them, encouraging them to act out these relationships
as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the creation of the
simulacrum that surrounds us presently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Not only are people engaged in this hyperreality, they are
completely immersed in a reality created by the forces of media, big business
and government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Advertisement campaigns
create emotional attachment by conveying unspoken ideas, encouraging self
expression and activity through the purchase of products.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Curtis uses the example of the World's Fair,
creating a Disneyland-esque atmosphere, while surrounding the visitor with the
icons of consumption and self-expression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-15750764275490997762013-06-13T20:04:00.000-07:002013-12-10T17:40:32.203-08:00Freud and Mass Media<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYFrsnbNA8Gg-kRITwDBcXnMWMEv4g7Ug9RcaaNOsckYor6SwQq1fjcyixCeS-9Lj2M0LbDnph3WWfTatJR9sifgejbOig5P0Cl1EbV346Ddy809XQZiAX2daQWWXMTTa1_TC8bvuxjQ/s1600/broadcast+tower.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYFrsnbNA8Gg-kRITwDBcXnMWMEv4g7Ug9RcaaNOsckYor6SwQq1fjcyixCeS-9Lj2M0LbDnph3WWfTatJR9sifgejbOig5P0Cl1EbV346Ddy809XQZiAX2daQWWXMTTa1_TC8bvuxjQ/s1600/broadcast+tower.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recently I've been watching documentaries by loyal BBC
employee and all around adept documenter Adam Curtis.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His voice soothes like every story he tells
were a bedtime story, and he has the patience of 8000 Terracotta soldiers.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am amazed at his ability to provide quality
factual programming while somehow avoiding censorship.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His best known work is Century of the Self, a 4 part journey
following the effect of psychoanalysis on consumer culture and world politics.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my next few posts I'm hoping to tie
some of the ideas of his documentary with other pieces of things I've
found.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What I've been focused on mostly
on the role of the media, what it is and what it actually is doing.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Curtis points out very early in the first few
minutes Freud's (love him or hate him, this is important) deduction that
information was driving human behavior in indirect ways, at an emotional and
almost animalistic level.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His nephew Ed
Bernays used this information to create market consulting and eventually focus
groups, <i>finding out what people's unconscious ideas were relating to objects,
and then giving people what they wanted but didn't realize it was what they
wanted</i>, in the form of consumer products like cigarettes and cake mix.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The idea is that you play to people's
irrational emotions, because they knew what the people they were targeting
wanted and presented the product as a means to get what it is they really
wanted.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is important for
understanding advertising, to begin with, but related and also important is
that the news media plays to irrational emotions, too, and there is no reason
they wouldn't use similar tactics.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But what would be the media's end goal?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To sell more papers?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Print barely exists any more, and although
many institutional news sources have complained about steep drop in newspaper
revenue, somehow they manage to scrape by and carry on their messages.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm used to the media never ever telling me
anything critical about the media, because maybe that does not sell as many
papers, and so I was surprised when I found <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/06/05/f-rfa-macdonald-partisan-truth.html">this article</a> written by Neil
Macdonald on CBC news (June 6, 2013).</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As
the CBC correspondent in Washington, he wrote an article here discussing his
confusion around media coverage in the United States, the fact that the
American army sexual assault scandal received little or no coverage, while the
IRS scandal is getting constant priority coverage by all the major American
media outlets.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even though the media does enjoy referring to news (as
referring to news coverage of the news or the media talking about the media)
and sporadically commentating on the effect the media has, in a general way, it
is rare that someone talks about what it means in the broader context, let
alone as problematic.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the end, Neil
asserts the media does not cover it because American's aren't interested in the
story.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He surmises the reason American's
are not interested is because it is somehow communicated to their society as a
whole not to be interested, not to care, it is embarrassing.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The IRS story is only embarrassing for some
people, problems in the military is embarrassing for all Americans.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But is anyone outside of America concerned
either?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The American army is huge and
has exerted a massive influence as long as the country existed. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nobody seems to indicate that they care about
the news story, nationally or internationally, and I suppose it will be gone
rather quickly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Century of the Self, Curtis states that the position of
democracy in America became one where they want to maintain the current
relations of power, and <i>they could do it by stimulating the psychological lives
of the public </i>(ie war on communism), that is, stimulating particular emotions,
the same "irrational self" that was being used to convince the
advertisement-viewing public to buy products they don't need.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only by this application, the emotions
invoked can sell people on the decisions of the president so it can do what it
wants to do.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A faction of Americans
want to believe Obama ordered the IRS to destroy his enemies.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have not been able to see any of the news
footage on the military rape charges or the IRS scandal, but if we apply the
ideas in Century of the Self, then we can clear Neil Macdonald's confusion
through the explanation that the emotions invoked by the media are perhaps
apathy while covering the military court coverage, and invoking strong
bipartisan emotions like anger for the anti-Obama camp and maybe even some
other emotions for people that still like Obama.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neil ends his articles drawing some poignant conclusions, all
the while having no idea why this is being done.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe he is savvy enough to know the answers
but not be the one to break kafabe.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Even the media doesn't believe what they
are saying... they don't believe their own claims... Those of us who try to do
our job properly are just dupes."</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
can't tell if the last statement is a cynical joke or if he honestly believes the
existence of pure journalism in mainstream media.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My guess would be he likes his job and wants
to keep it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-45617952304545230062013-01-17T19:00:00.000-08:002013-12-10T17:42:01.412-08:00The Future of Social Networking (Surrogate 2.0)<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwF1LhYaWa0NwJ-g65rvQRKx6e-kkLO5yLfEidi0DOMKf-Co-LA4kUMLhD9lEhp022ewyZ6KKfWpa_dhMnZhm1UY8rRAjWXZKld4VpLONd-QGLLk1ioSHwoYk7BPGZq9594ZpHeOqcvOg/s1600/fed+up+in+a+suit.jpg" />On the internet, sometimes the most popular people are quite often people who, by consensus, are annoying, stupid, or straight up ridiculous. This is not constrained just to the internet, nor is it anything new (for reference see: Howard Stern, Alex Jones, or the collective media concept "TMZ"). Like other more easily recognizable forms of consumption, the internet simply facilitates the desire to watch a train wreck from a safe distance. Of course not only does the internet make it happen, but it happens faster and more effortlessly, so you can fit this entertainment in more easily in between going to work, sleeping and masturbating. <br />
<br />
I'm convinced the purpose of Web 2.0, with social networking and sophisticated multimedia integration is to make massive amounts of money and collect personal information and psycho-social profiles from you. However, a welcome side effect to this is that one can easily find many sources of entertainment, people frantically petitioning your attention in an attempt to validate their online existence, shedding petty, unnecessary human hangups like "dignity" and "introspection" in favor of pushing the post button a few seconds faster. And while clicking through a particularly funny rant I eventually came across a web site with facebook comments and found a comment sort filter called "facebook rank".<br />
<br />
I had never heard this term before, although I am well aware that for however long now fb has been sorting people's news feeds using something called "edgerank". Without going in to a lot of detail, edgerank basically works like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cms.searchenginewatch.com/IMG/145/181145/facebook-edgerank.png?1308287744" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cms.searchenginewatch.com/IMG/145/181145/facebook-edgerank.png?1308287744" height="114" width="320" /></a></div>
And higher score = higher up on the page and more likely to be there. If you want to read more about how this works and how to exploit it, you can surf on over to <a href="http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2079706/Facebook-Ranking-Factors-How-to-Gain-an-Edge-in-the-News-Feed">this website</a>. It is pretty interesting stuff, but not what I'd like to talk about. <br />
<br />
The point is, I read through a few sites like this, advice towards marketing departments and aspiring Andy Warhol types who think thousands of likes and upvotes and whatever will help sell their shitty art, or at least draw enough suckers to their website so Adsense will support their lifestyle. The sites give tips, how to get legit people visiting their site, generating the much desirable buzz that will keep their edgerank bumped toward the top of the pile. But they also give some other advice, less reputable methods of achieving the same end. This largely consists of hackers (or any kind of programmer, really) writing program to automatically "bump" existing posts, post other media, and make comments using vaguely human sounding AI. Not only that, but using google images and some face recognition software, programs that could create new profiles, which could then subsequently make posts, comment, etc. There has already been a wave of this happening years ago, I'm sure it happened to you too, someone you don't recognize with 1 picture and a bland, generic profile tries to friend you. Facebook managed to suppress it somehow, to some extent, but it won't happen forever, especially once corporations with big money see value in it. And as artificial intelligence develops, not only will the bots get smarter and better at evading deletion by posting realistic status updates, photos, etc. but the AIs may themselves start to reproduce via social network. I'm certain the first real artificial intelligence will aquire millions of followers, and say and post really really really stupid shit.<br />
<br />
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-15440855694700494212012-07-23T18:56:00.000-07:002013-12-10T17:43:57.794-08:00Values<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjQWy3ev1e0rgwBf_pN486EBSNcchvoyzLthThScQGjUVzvs74CrmD3Fg96RcVonxPENLOIczAQZO2vE6lK7P2dQbcAwGLmhl3g1k_mSxrAFM_j-CbKfBBGAm68dBolHgu-vVYbbpYBM/s1600/values.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjQWy3ev1e0rgwBf_pN486EBSNcchvoyzLthThScQGjUVzvs74CrmD3Fg96RcVonxPENLOIczAQZO2vE6lK7P2dQbcAwGLmhl3g1k_mSxrAFM_j-CbKfBBGAm68dBolHgu-vVYbbpYBM/s320/values.jpg" height="304" width="320" /></a></div>
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I got to thinking about the concept of values reading a book
called The Mastery of Movement by theatre director Rudolph Laban.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book is a technical manual on
understanding movement for the purposes of acting, miming movements as a method
of communicating to an audience ideas action and intent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to being renowned in theatre, his
concepts are also used in Psychology by researchers studying body language, as
he has a detailed, codified system of explaining movement that I still don’t
comfortably understand.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In context, Laban talks about values as being important to
understanding and portraying a character, because people strive after things
that have value to them, and so those values create motivations to expend
effort and orient their behavior in that direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding what that character values
affects the movements that person will take, direction, facing, and how they
will treat people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Desire for value also
precipitates <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">conflict</i>, either
internal conflict within themselves between contradictory values or the values
of society, and external conflicts between two or more people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you observe the conflicts between two
people or groups, that can give you information about what values those people
hold, and what their goals are regarding the values they are attempting to
achieve or uphold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the context of theatre, values that audience members
observe by actor movement and actions can evoke emotion or a partisan perspective
in the person viewing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sympathy,
antipathy or apathy are all possible when the actor communicates his character,
but is dependant on whether the observer can relate to the experience based on
their own life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I think the
goal of any art is to evoke any combination of strong emotions in the
spectator, and so the audience needs to be taken in to consideration before any
kind of presentation, in that they should be able to relate to it in some way.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A personality can change temporarily on the path to
advancement towards a value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example,
a gentleman can be harsh in dealing with a particular difficulty, or a
talkative person may become silent around of certain people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However their personality will eventually
revert to their ‘true’ personality as they progress towards their value or the
situation changes and they can no longer advance towards the value, or perhaps temporary
resolution of the conflict supersedes direct advancement toward the value.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Inner attitudes, based on the values an individual or
character holds, are most visible in small areas of the body, sometimes only
barely visible, but is especially obvious in the eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People often feel the need to be deceptive so
any obvious movements could be disguised or omitted, except in pro deceivers it
will still be visible by micro expressions most often in the eyes and
face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good example of this is a drug
addict, one of the most stigmatized stereotypes in our culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A junkie may be a good liar, tell you they
need money for something else or explain away their looks or behavior as not
being caused by addiction but instead some other plausible reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, when presented with their drug of
choice, the addict’s eyes will fix on the drug and follow it if it moves around
without being aware they are doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is what the person values, and society is critical of it for being
a petty, shallow, self-destructive value compared to more highly held values
like power, wealth, fame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is also
where the seven deadly sins of Christian ethics comes from (gluttony, sex,
sloth, etc), because repeated sin is believed to destroy the grace and charity
within a person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The person’s worth in
society is relative to how able they are to be useful or beneficial within that
society, and the incorporeal ‘body’ of society are the values that are taken
for granted by the average person as common knowledge and natural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People immersed in sin are in a poor position
to help others, because that value erodes the value of charity.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This got me thinking about present day examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are the values held by someone who is
using their cell phone all the time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do
they value social contact, or is it a narcissistic appeal that they have more
control over the social experience in that it will be more oriented about them
or their needs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not as overt as
the seven sins, narcissism was alluded to in recent interpretation of
Psychologist Abraham Maslow theory of the Hierarchy of Needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you proceed higher and higher up the list,
that is most of your basic needs fulfilled such as food, shelter, security,
being loved, there could be a dark side toward self-actualization, as many
physical needs are met people turn inward in a sense, and perhaps they become
less motivated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not everyone has
the tools or the capacity to become self-actualized, and instead they stall out
part way up the hierarchy and, having no apparent motivation, fixate on themselves,
in a particular way, as the only value that remains in their life.</div>
Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-69119908324922668802012-07-16T14:10:00.001-07:002013-12-10T17:46:08.524-08:00Apophenia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I find there are very rare chances in my day to day life to
meet a really crazy person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure,
Victoria is full of the homeless and lots of drug addiction of course, but it’s
not the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course where I work
downtown lots of disheveled shuffle past, making random noises or half walking
half dancing from the crack rock, but if movies and TV have taught me anything
about mental illness it is just not quite the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what makes mental illness even more
interesting is the cultural context totally affects how people in that culture
interact with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some cultures
people who mutter, hear voices, or have other collections of behaviors that set
them apart from the average person are revered or treated as touched by divine
or supernatural forces, or just generally treated special in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In North American Eurocentric culture however
they are treated as having a maladaptive problem that must be dealt with, like
back pain or high cholesterol.</div>
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Of course this involves drug related treatment, and it seems
like our society is at the point where any abnormalities or behaviors that
don’t fit the norm need to be medicated, either at doctor direction or desired
by the patient themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And let’s be
clear, this is the same culture that has normalized people imitating The Jersey
Shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess having excessive over
tanned skin and ugly haircuts isn’t enough to have someone committed to a
mental hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, as with
most other illnesses, it is more important that you are socially functional
than any other sort of problems, mental or physical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being productive, having a job and some sort
of friends and family life need to be hindered in some way before anything can
be considered problematic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
probably why prohibition was revoked, and why many people choose to self-medicate,
because as long as you can hold down a job and aren’t beating your wife, nobody
cares enough beyond that how well you are doing or how you feel about this life
you’ve been thrust in to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many
functional alcoholics do you know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are few fates worse than not being able to fit in or get along with people
around you, which is probably why people will do whatever it takes to change
themselves, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">including self-medicating</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even homeless people value their
relationships with their fellow peers, and I’m sure some people who are
addicted to hard drugs do them because it makes them feel like they can fit in,
or at least participate in their subculture on some level.</div>
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The internet probably maintains the best chance for having
an interaction with a sincere, down to earth Lovecraft style crazy person,
since neither you nor they have to leave the house for this to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while if you spend a lot of time online
you might be lead to think our civilization is at the apex of crazy people, I
would guess this isn’t actually so, since people are just more apt to be open
about their craziness online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure
many people have enough intelligence and discipline to confine their personality
quirks online, and come across as perfectly normal when face to face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recently though while reading recent Psychology literature
on Emotional Intelligence I came across a term I’ve never heard before called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Apophenia</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a condition in the scientific grey
area of crazy-but-not-quite-diagnosis-crazy, studied in the context of the more
extreme version as schizophrenia, described as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random
or meaningless data</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good example of
this would be conspiracy theorists like 9-11 truthers, or Jim Carry in the
movie The Number 23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like many
constructs of psychology, this can have a wide spectrum of implication, and
taken to extremes, can make a person’s lives problematic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my mind this seems to relate back to the
problem of thinking you are unique, special or especially lucky, such as
gamblers who think they can see the pattern in games of chance or finding
images of the Virgin Mary in water stains and chicken nuggets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taken to a less harmful extreme are people
like film students, who (in my personal favorite example) interpret a movie
like The Exorcist as being some sort of metaphor for homosexuality, where two
male ‘lovers’ exorcise the female from their lives, with the possessed girl
being a corrupt, physically ugly being of power trying to confuse and control
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this is a fascinating
interpretation, neither the writer nor movie director had any intention of
making this the underlying theme of the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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There has been some interesting research in apophenia, such
as a study by Mintz and Alpert (1972) where they found that 40% of non-clinical
participants hear the song “White Christmas” when played white noise and given
a simple suggestion, and that those who are prone to hallucinations are more
likely to hear it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another study using
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (basically rubbing powerful electronic
magnets across your skull) found that stimulating the left lateral temporal
cortex reduced the perception of meaningful information in noise, and since TMS
has an inhibitory effect it is thought that this type of thinking originates in
this area (Bell et al, 2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Sure, by the strict definition of apophenia, overanalysis of
what is going on around you may be a symptom, but I don’t think anyone would
argue this is a mental illness…it’s creative thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Creativity itself is just connecting two
unrelated ideas, and forms the very basis for progress and new ways of thinking
in human existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really, everything
we do as humans can be thought of as over interpretation…any other animals just
seek food, shelter, mating and relaxation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are different in that we are constantly striving over mentally
conjured ideals to give us purpose, but is that not just extreme over
interpretation of the world around us compared to the lives of the lions and
the tigers and the bears?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apophenia
drives us to philosophize a higher meaning and gives rise to more complex forms
of humor – such as upping the ante in repetitious humor by making the joke
progressively more convoluted and complex, tying in less and less related ideas
until the joke does not even resemble itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Overthinking things just seems to be a component of creativity, and
might just be its very essence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing
things that aren’t there are, depending on the situation, both genius and madness,
the very root of paranoid – the only thing that sets them apart is application
– applying apophenia to engineering problems such as architecture, energy or
food production can make you a wealthy, benevolent savior, but apply it to
social relationships, government regulations, secret testing and political
intrigue and you become a paranoid schizophrenic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference, I suppose, is between the
practical, physical, directly useful, vs. abstract social order and what are
they up to and what really happened at this historical moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking history at face value is almost
certainly not what actually happened, as we know that the victors write the
history books, but for reasons that aren’t clear to me this is frowned on at
large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is re-examination of social
policy frowned on for some deep rooted genetic level reason, or has the idea
just been pounded in to our heads for generations as to be seen as a natural
belief of order?</div>
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While the treatment of mental illness has many beneficial
applications and has been helpful to people…epilepsy comes to mind as a good
example, I can’t help but think of how much creativity as a whole we are losing
to overmedication and stigmatizing minor mental illness…things like strange art,
bizarre new inventions and radical social theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While many people feel like the problems they
struggle with daily like depression and anxiety strangle and stop them from
leading full lives, these problematic states often lead to amazing novel ideas.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWszsaVJhXCGbt3kEEolkpY5N0rymrnk_mzcpDwBs4Tn-DbbfROOLdIULYNo4jFsLvbO3CFf8BCF8T7BLBKL3ast9_JzaU5iEDxPXA35KZJnXDBPvLekixG_toajpNaxutpD7kb5G1Eqk/s1600/crazyhair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-70814786068706754762012-07-05T18:56:00.001-07:002013-12-10T17:49:27.249-08:00More Food Type Things Out To Kill You: Tofu and Distilled Water<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNUOetXQdCppp_mr96JQ3OqLRwk-hIx2XI75y1XdiSP8x5FvLIEHiYXpNKSGAu5SqwhfRQ74N3JzzWtaIbZHvEG1Lkpydt5rIo2kqWaORolAkAtZHLRUIsjB-l3CsHCE7gxuDeWIlcUM/s1600/tofu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNUOetXQdCppp_mr96JQ3OqLRwk-hIx2XI75y1XdiSP8x5FvLIEHiYXpNKSGAu5SqwhfRQ74N3JzzWtaIbZHvEG1Lkpydt5rIo2kqWaORolAkAtZHLRUIsjB-l3CsHCE7gxuDeWIlcUM/s320/tofu.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
I wouldn't call the people I work with health nuts, but food comes up often, possibly because we talk over lunch, or maybe the average person just cares more and more about what exactly it is we are all putting in our body. Where in the past you just assumed that if something is marketed as edible it is actually food, many people understand that processed food is saturated with strange chemicals, flavors and preservatives that take a long term toll on your body, because, well, your body needs actual food and gets confused by the foreign objects it finds boiling down in your stomach juices and passing along down the magical water slide we call the intestinal tract. Substituting sugar and vegetable oil for other more expensive or high calorie ingredients can take its toll on your body, and the organic/raw/unprocessed food revolution we are still in the midst of has wizened many people to at least a basic understanding of nutrition and eating better = feeling better.<br />
<br />
Recently in conversation with 2 people I work with have separately brought two things that even the very healthy regard as staples: distilled water and processed soybean or tofu. Let me tell you what I've just found out:<br />
<br />
Tofu has all sorts of shit going on with it. I've known for a long time that legumes (family of plants including beans, soy, peas, peanuts) have had it in for people, namely from the lectins they contain, proteins that bind to your intestines and block them from absorbing other nutrients, leading to malnutrition, diarrhea, nausea, bloating and so on if beans are not properly soaked and cooked. Tofu, or soy in general, also contain phytohormones that mimic human hormones, particularly estrogen. These fake estrogens have been linked to increases in breast cancer for women, and decreased testosterone production (feminization) in men. Apparently soy products can also cause imbalance in Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, and perhaps even other hormone function as well, considering how little we actually understand hormone function. According to<a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/18/what-s-so-bad-about-tofu.aspx"> this interview</a>, the problem is that they don't ferment tofu in North America and so this is what is causing the problem. In Asia, where they have eaten tofu for ages, the tofu is properly fermented so does not affect them. Nevertheless, it is not really a problem as long as you eat tofu in modertation.<br />
<br />
Distilled water holds a different problem...while the water has been purified of all the bad things that can be found in water, the distilling process also gets rid of all the minerals that are natural in spring water, for example. Our body can absorb minerals from food, and other sources like multivitamins, but not to the same extent as vitamins that are already dissolved in water. Drinking distilled water gets even worse than that...imagine water as being little containers that can hold bits of solids. In distilled water those containers are empty, and water is ALWAYS trying to fill those containers. That means when you drink distilled water, it is actually leaching minerals from your body and into the water, which gets flushed through your body faster than regular water. <a href="http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutdemineralized.pdf">This study</a> from the World Health Organization reports that studies of distilled water on rats have negative effects on their digestive systems, and leads to increased water intake and more frequent urination. According to the report, the most important loss of minerals is in calcium and magnesium, and distilled water should be remineralized to be considered safe drinking water.<br />
<br />
There is no need to panic, in moderation neither of these things will kill you, only after a protracted period of time is it considered a health risk. A varied diet can help you avoid particular problems with foods that are a known health problem, or even with foods that could be found problematic in the future.Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-28602190754059949622012-06-26T14:17:00.001-07:002013-12-10T17:50:44.135-08:00On Friday the 13th<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdqMbJWDpLTu2DRGzh1kveTKoaYs6J6ZubsbELibCd_7BZRF31GEvGCfg-uYBZDqZBfFkyc4Dv2EYM0f2LGkHsamg_0qF6fNLFlM_SFZZXM6fSXDn-xbRayZUwl4tVCJoSOuwNfUCni0/s1600/Jason+Spine.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdqMbJWDpLTu2DRGzh1kveTKoaYs6J6ZubsbELibCd_7BZRF31GEvGCfg-uYBZDqZBfFkyc4Dv2EYM0f2LGkHsamg_0qF6fNLFlM_SFZZXM6fSXDn-xbRayZUwl4tVCJoSOuwNfUCni0/s320/Jason+Spine.png" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I’m trying to write a slasher short story, and doing
whatever the writer equivalent of flailing is in the process, I thought it would be a good
time to watch all the Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> movies. I enjoy many horror movies, but slashers are
definitely low end by anyone’s standards.
This is because they often lack characters, good dialogue or interesting
mythology. Originally devised to cash in
on the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween, Friday the 13th (named after
Jason Voorhees’ birthday, the day his mother took revenge) has horrors of
Crystal Lake, something much more appealing to me, compared to the cracking one
liners of Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play, etc. and gore porn angle of
more modern horrors like Saw. In fact,
in watching the entire series, it seems only in more recent movies that focus
on the gruesome visualization of people dying in bizzare ways or with quirky
murder weapons. This is more evident if
you compare the 2009 Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> remake, although the deaths are
more drawn out and gruesome it is still a far cry from the movies that make
suffering and special effects the movie’s entire purpose.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t get me wrong, the Friday the 13ths aren’t
“interesting” by any means. With a few
exceptions the movies follow the formula they helped to pioneer: a sandwich of
careless/clueless people murdered one by one between two measly slices of a
bare bones story, ending with one or two survivors at the end of the movie
where they think they kill the killer for good, often in some epic
fashion. The movie is interspersed with
scares, some real and some false (like a cat flying through the camera shot
like a paratrooper, or a practical joker up to whacky antics) all the while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">most</i> of the people who end up dying have
sex, do drugs, or commit crimes (something that becomes more pronounced during
the late 80’s early 90’s when the crack epidemic/crime wave was peaking in big
US cities – an interesting piece of cultural history really noticeable in many
movies of that era). An interesting
aspect in reflecting on all the people Jason Voorhees had killed are the many
exceptions of the ‘rule’ that they establish that sinners are being
punished. Couch potato rednecks are
killed in their homes, friendly teens rejected by their peers are killed
alongside the popular kids who teased them, and of course the inept law
enforcement – enough to reject any kind of idea that Jason could represent any
sort of just angel of death. The
innocent die alongside the guilty, and except for Part 8 (in New York where
apparently people wearing hockey masks with exposed spinal cords are mundane
enough to be ignored by passers by), every single person coming across Jason is
killed, unceremoniously, without hesitation, and sometimes with surprisingly
little camera time devoted to their slaying.
Even though it is a slasher series, I was often surprised with how
little blood and guts I had to sit through, since I prefer the classic off
camera horror approach leaving more to the imagination.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could devote as much time as Star Wars nerds do dwelling
on problems with the movies like continuity, inconsistencies, and things that
don’t “make sense”, but what would be the point? After all, Jason pretty much just acts like
an invincible juju zombie killing everyone in a forgotten quest to avenge his
mother’s death – or perhaps just a never ending attempt to seek motherly
approval by killing those who would never meet her high standards of moral
code. But the glaring problem rearing
its head throughout the series I HAVE to bring up is this: Jason was supposed
to be drown as a child, something we are reminded of in most of the movies, yet
the killer is an adult Jason who lived in a shack of stitched together house
pieces (at least in part 2, and also looked really, really cool). In Part 2 (and also the 2009 remake, which is
a remake of Part 2 not Part 1) they state at the beginning that he survived the
drowning and instead witnessed his mother die, and eventually took revenge on
his mother’s killer by somehow tracking the girl down to her city apartment and
stabbing her in the head with an icepick.
I have no problem with him being able to find people, teleport around
like a wizard, being super strong and invincible, but if he drowned in the lake,
shouldn’t he be a little undead kid? And
if he never drowned, why didn’t he find his mom, yet saw her beheaded? And why would they keep referring to him
having drowned, being the most pronounced in part 8 where the main character of
that movie has nightmares about learning to swim in Crystal Lake and the
drowned boy version of Jason grabbing her leg, haunting her dreams and giving
her visions? They try to address some of
these issues in Jason Goes to Hell (technically Part 9), but that movie doesn’t
fit properly (it was made by New Line
Cinema not Paramount like all the others) and completely loses the feel of the
other movies so I can’t help but instinctively reject it’s explanations.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No one has approached me to write Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>
fiction yet, but I would say what happened after Jason drowned in the Lake,
Mrs. Voorhees got a replacement child – maybe by kidnapping, adoption, or some
sort of pact with Evil – and raised him as Jason. Heck, he may have even helped her do some of
the killing in the first movie, hiding offstage during her confrontation with
Alice in the last half hour of the movie.
It could explain his supernatural powers and helps everything fit
together since he may never have been a normal boy at all.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Incidentally the entire sequence after Mrs. Voorhees reveals
in the first movie is one of my favorite and unintentionally funny series of
scenes in horror movie history. Mrs.
Voorhees sets the standard for a ruthless killer turning into a hesitating
bumbler and Alice constantly bopping the murderer and running away blubbering
still makes me chuckle and could actually be believable as someone who would be
panicking and fleeing for their life.
Making mistakes like unbarricading the door at the sight of the jeep,
running away from the vehicle because there is a body in the passenger seat,
and running back in to her cabin and turning off all the lights and closing the
curtains – when every other light on camp has been turned on – I got to say is
pretty damn funny but also manages to make good, agonizing suspense for someone
who doesn’t know what is going to happen in a theatre in 1980. The sequences lasts for a half hour, 1/3 of
the entire movie. Also I have no idea
why 20 rifles were in an unlocked storage shed in a camp for kids – maybe rifle
training is standard at kid’s camps in the US?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, some of the movies in the franchise hold up under
the test of time more than others.
Obviously the first one is great for a few different reasons. The mysterious ‘unseen’ killer is really
effective and was groundbreaking for its time.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpYFZtiOdn8&feature=related">The orchestral music is also top notch</a> and something I really noticed
compared with bland modern day soundtracks, including the 2009 remake (which is
full of the typical ‘modern’ ambient noise and industrial music similar to
every other modern horror), part 3, part 9 and 10. The high pitched violin accompanying glimpses
of the killer or the unexpected stab add tremendously to the scare factor and
tension, and inevitable doom to chase scenes and other badness. I cannot emphasize enough how much good music
adds to a spooky movie and I hope directors who are serious about making good
movies pick this up.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something else I want to draw your attention to in scary
movies is the ‘seriousness’ in scenes. I
think that if you want a movie to retain its scariness and rewatchability/long
term quality the serious factor is important.
The characters have to interact with the situation in a realistic way,
and the director also has to portray the scene for what it is, that is if it is
a serious situation like a murder, people involved need to treat it that
way. A murder should be a frightening
experience and that should be conveyed to the audience as well. I already mentioned the scary music is an
excellent way to facilitate this, but the characters, unless they are hardened
by a life of war or crime would probably react quite severely to being stalked
by a murderer in the middle of nowhere.
Some of the movies handled this bang on, while others suffer from a lack
of that serious factor, giving the movie a campy feeling (where characters do
not react in a believable manner to the situation they are in) or removing the
fright from a scene for the audience.
Any scary movie where people aren’t getting scared is a missed
opportunity, n’est pas? It is possible,
however, that screening audiences respond better to these, but I don’t know the
criteria for selecting test audiences…are they completely at random or are they
people that actually want to be at a scary movie? If that is the case, then all screened movies
would not be scary because they would want to appeal to the broadest audience
possible, and the majority of people probably don’t want to be scared I
think. And it’s those little touches
that change a movie from being a romp to beholden of terror.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, while the first movie captured the essence of a
scary movie where everyone is stalked and murdered and hits all cylinders very
well, Part 7 is still my favorite. The
New Blood does all the old things right, with good music, visuals and the
serious factor, but adds something new, a girl with psychic powers. More than just a gimmick, this adds a new
level of the supernatural to movies that lack any mysticism at all save the killer. It is someone who can actually stand
toe-to-toe with Jason and makes for some cool special effect sequences and
makes the showdown sequence at the end a lot more fun to watch. Some of the other episodes of Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>
are lacking an climactic ending or feel short, while 7 feels satisfying. Parts 3, 6, 8 and 10 suffer from an overabundance
of campiness and are mostly horrible soundtracks, although the ending for 6 was
well done, the kids in the camp cracking wise deflated any suspense and made
them feel like they were a part of the audience and were never in any danger. Part 2 was pretty good and felt like it stuck
to the roots, and 4 and 5 were all right and told the story of Tommy Jarvis
which made part 6 less sufferable as well.
Part 4 has a great, more subtly terrifying ending, having Jason get
hacked to pieces by a prepubescent Cory Feldman and sets up the future movies. Part 5 was kind of confusing but also
refreshingly different storyline, I really need to rewatch it. Part 8 feels like they just go off the deep
end like they are trying to be ridiculous with purpose. Consistently Jason shows a homing instinct to
go back to Crystal Lake, but this time boards a boat headed for New York. The movie turns him in to some sort of strange
anti-hero, killing drug dealers, rapists, etc. and takes on a strange form of
postmodernism, as it feels <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like Jason knows
the camera is on him</i>, following him around as he goes about his business
stalking victims and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">even stopping to do
purposeful poses</i> after kills. Part 9
– Jason Goes to Hell - isn’t really a Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> movie and is
more this parasite horror movie tied to Jason Voorhees name. Part 10 completely isn’t even worth talking
about but is just more of the same from 8…let’s put Jason in space ok whatever.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In retrospect it seems extremely strange how horror movies
had evolved to the point where the killer becomes the main character, but that
seems to just be a byproduct from any protagonists having to die, combined with
wanting to make sequels to reuse the ‘formula’ and brand name to make
money. As a result people often end up
cheering for the killer, and being desensitized to people being killed, because
they have little or no back story, so why would you care about them? Also you can’t cheer for any of the other
characters because you know they are going to die and do little of merit while
they are alive. Do horror movies create
a desensitized populous, or is their popularity a product of it? I’ve already made up my mind, I just wanted
you to think about it for a minute.
Ready for what I think? Senseless
violence, justice, brutal murder, people being jerks go at least as far back as
the bible and probably further. The very
existence of this series of movies has never been about storytelling or brain
washing, just about making money. Corrupting
youth is a distant, unintentional side effect, like smoking cigarettes. It’s only through the sheer volume of movies
that they have managed to tell bits of a story, created a few characters, and
created a bit of lore. And that’s just
the nature of reality. Good things come
about as a side effect that was never intended.
Like, penicillin and shit.</div>
Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-71381404126564783762012-03-04T15:13:00.002-08:002013-12-10T17:51:46.451-08:00Regarding Air Canada<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBsAmk3lsBNiZy4bdyXDZf2grGdzXGGBr6BsAbCNaU1tWi9ORcwNBTAu1bU7TWaW66IsglWoHVde3fb1BKIGZGLmjxHxbAyBNwTWJcLI8Pzhyk7k3m3SBStTgzxg5raOy7X7v2vFgG14/s1600/airplane_gadget_confusion.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBsAmk3lsBNiZy4bdyXDZf2grGdzXGGBr6BsAbCNaU1tWi9ORcwNBTAu1bU7TWaW66IsglWoHVde3fb1BKIGZGLmjxHxbAyBNwTWJcLI8Pzhyk7k3m3SBStTgzxg5raOy7X7v2vFgG14/s320/airplane_gadget_confusion.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716184319431680802" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 220px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a>If you are Air Canada management wondering about ways to cut costs, improve efficiency or, heaven forbid, increase customer service, I have good news for you: I know what the problem is. <br />
<br />
The problem is with your operations. Airport operations are currently being run by either the willfully ignorant or completely incompetent. One of the two. With my new job I was sent to Winnipeg for two one week excursions, and both times I flew from Victoria to Calgary, Calgary to Winnipeg, and back Winnipeg to Vancouver, Vancouver to Victoria. The first time there was smooth...no complications, weather was good, etc. On the way back the airplane was late arriving to Winnipeg due to "unforeseen delays" by an hour, which didn't affect my schedule since I had to wait a few hours for my connecting flight in Victoria anyway. My second trip, however, was a different story.<br />
<br />
Victoria to Calgary, again, was smooth. Victoria almost always has great weather, and it was only lightly raining when we left. When we arrived in Calgary, however, it was the middle of a snowstorm. This was mid February, mind you, not at all unexpected for a winter stricken hell hole like Alberta. Leaving the Calgary airport was delayed because we had to wait to get de-iced...sensible and a necessary precaution. What happened next confused the hell out of me. After de-icing and driving around the 'strip at a snails pace, we wait in line for our turn to take off....for about an hour. At the end of this hour, snow falling just as hard as when we arrived, the captain makes an announcement - we will need to de-ice the plane again, but because we have been idling so long, we also needed to refuel. With groans and contemptuous remarks, the passengers resign themselves to their fate of being trapped in Calgary on a hallway with wings and chairs with nothing they can do but groan. Another hour later, we are finally airborne - effectively doubling our 2.5 hour flight. One thing lead to another and it was midnight by the time I got to my hotel, starved from not being able to access real food all day because I have been at airports, yet being trapped in a city where restaurants don't stay open past 12.<br />
<br />
Looking back at the situation, it makes no sense to me. The ground crew at the Calgary airport were supposedly caught "off guard" by snow...falling in February...in Alberta. Really? Air Canada, in business since 1936, has never implemented any preparedness protocols for snowstorms in one of the snowiest populated places on Earth? On top of that, they decide to de-ice the plane, then leave it in the queue while crossing their fingers that, despite seeing how many planes are in line to take off, and how long each take off is taking, hopefully maybe they will perhaps get the chance to lift off before snow builds up on the plane again. Can't this be easily solved by creating a system where planes are de-iced just before they take off. Sure it may slow things down a tiny bit, but it would easily prevent these rediculous delays. I also find it strange that one hour of idling burns enough gas that a plane is no longer safe to make a 2.5 hour flight. I always was under the impression that planes had massive amounts of extra fuel to ensure they could stay in the air much longer than they needed to in case of emergencies, even enough to fly all the way back to their point of origin. <br />
<br />
Now I'm going to put passenger convenience aside in my argument. Sure, people were pissed, but considering Air Canada has a near monopoly on flights in Canada, it's not like people can show their contempt by using someone else's services. What boggles my mind is, with all the complaints from Air Canada about how flying isn't profitable with rising fuel costs, and threatening unions because they want decent wages, they are still not able to cut costs that are easily avoidable. Hey, here's an idea guys - instead of demonizing unions and trying to pay your workers sweatshop wages, why not try and eliminate easily avoidable massive costs by actually running things smoothly? When our flight was delayed, fuel was burned, the plane was de iced one extra time, and you had to pay all of your staff involved overtime for all the extra time involved. Not to mention the effort rerouting the plane and trying to fit it in at new departure and arrival times, no doubt interfering with other flights to some extent. To an outside observer like myself, it looks like no one is overseeing the smoothness of overall flow from departure to arrival, as well as planes getting to where they need to be in a timely manner. It looks like pure, unbridled incompetence, and it is costing everyone a lot of money.<br />
<br />
That was the worst of it. But then guess what, on the way back, the airplane was delayed AGAIN arriving in Winnipeg due once again, on the very same day of the week, just two weeks layer, to "unforeseen delays". Hey guess what, by the time this happened, even I had foreseen it was going to be delayed. The entire experience just left me feeling that pretty much no one at Air Canada with authority cared whether or not massive amount of resources were wasted with bumbling, or that people would be inconvenienced by flight delays. People arriving in Vancouver missed their flights, and Air Canada happily paid for their hotel rooms and taxis to wait for the next flight in the morning. Hopefully their were enough extra seats on their flights the next day, or else what would they do, send a whole extra flight to make sure people were able to complete their trip?Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175507869264894274.post-4152673665152297722012-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:002013-12-10T17:53:31.567-08:00On Becoming a Musketeer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9SgBqo3ts9wKnbSaXqNieYVFDl7UulBbHQ37CptGmAkPBD-btwuAMoAqSd-esRfFtQqEUL4SKJ_hdY0Wh8pbW0L-QGVciqFUl33NunUIQJawe3jK1mbmaBT2iainZ_vq4OULMZLYFcM/s1600/musketeer2.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9SgBqo3ts9wKnbSaXqNieYVFDl7UulBbHQ37CptGmAkPBD-btwuAMoAqSd-esRfFtQqEUL4SKJ_hdY0Wh8pbW0L-QGVciqFUl33NunUIQJawe3jK1mbmaBT2iainZ_vq4OULMZLYFcM/s320/musketeer2.gif" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697621472189319890" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Every once in a while, I need to be reminded that Hollywood hasn't become an utterly festering pit of despair when it comes to great storytelling of classic and new tales - it has always been that way. And for all the beefs I have for the average movie full of terrible dialogue, mediocre acting and almost no character development, they do usually hit on the sights and sounds, costumes, music, explosions and special effects. If you need proof of this, watch any older movie, pretty much at all. There are always exceptions obviously, and you should remove probably 10% of all movies because they either have exceptional special effects for the time it was made, or some other attribute listed above that makes it exceptional for it's time. That being said, it still doesn't set me at ease sitting down to watch a new movie of any sort knowing I'm going to subject myself to more of the same for reasons I am still not sure of.<br />
<br />
That being said, subjecting myself to the 2011 reprise of The Three Musketeers made me particularly irritated, not at the giant computer generated airships or dialogue which seemed to progressively demean every actor who uttered them, but because 20 minutes in I was completely convinced that what I was watching in no way resembled the original story, a bastardized string of action sequences and wonton killing that would make Conan the Barbarian start to question the sanctity of life and Indiana Jones wondering who would spend that much time setting up highly artistic elaborate traps. It seemed like a patchwork of all the most popular movies of the last 30 years - DaVinci Code style pseudo mystery treasure hunting, Matrix style rotational slow motion fight scenes, all the while taking the seriousness of the situation with the stride of the appropriate Loony Tunes character.<br />
<br />
With all this in mind, I was determined to find out what the deal was with the original story, mostly so I could make fun of the movie and point out in all the ways it is WRONG. However, as it turns out, I jumped the musket and the reality of the situation is that the movie followed the original story in many ways:<br />
<br />
-d'Artagnan is the "stranger coming to town" to become a musketeer<br />
-he runs in to the head of the Cardinal's guard and is almost killed by him<br />
-he then schedules duels with all 3 musketeers the first day in town, then they all get in a fight with the Cardinal's guards<br />
-Milady de Winter is involved in a plot to start war between France and England - Milla Jonavich, shame on you, probably the silliest of all the characters, all of her scenes could have been in Resident Evil: Musketeer Zombies<br />
-probably some other stuff but can't write about since the movie was mind numbing and I never read the original story<br />
<br />
I know what you're thinking: QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE LIST!<br />
Still, more than I had expected, and it is quite amazing they were able to put all this together while maintaining little or no integrity and a schlockfest of stupidity, cardboard cutout characters and absurd violence.<br />
<br />
Now, my main gripe with the film was that it is or was supposed to be portraying a particular period in history, while simultaneously having no resemblance in terms of technology, manner of speaking, ideology, believability or even in any attempt to portray actual people from history as close to reality as possible, such as the Cardinal Richelieu for example. The Cardinal happens to be the embodiment of pure evil, as demonstrated by putting a skeleton pope with a crucifix and a reaper's sickle on the prow of his guard's airship.<br />
<br />
As it turns out, it is probably just me getting older. The next nearest adaptation, the 1993 3 Musketeers made by Disney stars Tim Curry as a Wile E. Coyote style Cardinal, attempting throughout the movie to grope women and torture children if not bound by the producers and their PG 13 rating, and actually still comes across somehow as more evil than his 2011 counterpart.<br />
<br />
The 2001 movie The Musketeer probably shows the least amount of effort, dispensing with all of the other characters but d'artagnan in a Japanese style shoot em up. In 1978 the Soviet's made a musical version, and in 1957 there was a Mexican comedy based on the original story. Anways, point being there has always been absurd revisions and changes to classic stories.<br />
<br />
So why does it get my goat so much, why do they seem like such abominations to me? I can only guess that the contemporary "version" of a retelling of a classic story does (and will) speak volumes about the current state of the society it was conceived in, and made for. It represents all of us, preserved for all future generations, and like other stories and characters of popular culture like Dracula 2000 or the new Conan the Barbarian, speaks nothing but ill about the society we are in, where mindless fighting and gore planned around a loose character concept and a setting that is similar to present day in ways it seemingly should not be. Do I find it hard to care about the characters in more modern movies simply because they seem to lack personality, or because they remind me too much of the present. I don't really believe the latter, but it's just an idea.Tesla Death Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02412014753150516785noreply@blogger.com0