YouTube – Imagining the Tenth Dimension
You CAN get there from here … if you fold through the dimension above
Turn out the light
The Doors – When The Music’s Over
Jim Morrison’s 1966 ecological message – still great after all these years:
What have they done to the Earth,
What have they done to our fair sister?
Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn,
And tied her with fences and dragged her down.
So when the music’s over,
Turn out the lights.
Crying Over Spilled Semen
Psychology Today: Crying Over Spilled Semen
The finding that women who do not use condoms during sex are less depressed and less likely to attempt suicide than are women who have sex with condoms and women who are not sexually active, leads one researcher to conclude that semen contains powerful—and potentially addictive—mood-altering chemicals.
A day in the life of an atheist
A day in the life of an atheist | Corrente
Being an atheist and all, I killed a few dozen people this morning, took all their stuff, and urinated on some priceless art.
Music = Comedy plus Time (with a V8 engine).
They say that laughter is caused by a shock, and that when we realise we are safe, we laugh. A good joke takes us by surprise, it twists what we expect- the outcome is not the anticipated ending.
Good music i believe does the same thing. Our musical tastes are expanded when a common sound takes a new twist. We also seem to like music that conjures up the past, even the recent past. A good tune is almost never interesting on the first listen, and a crappy tune we digest and get bored by after only a few plays.
cover of the punk band “Dead Kennedys” single “holiday in cambodia“
Not funny? But you are safe..
Music also seems to be innate, we all like some of it. Even the dumbest understand music. Not everybody likes abstract art, yet music is totally abstract. Music seems to beat the time of our lives -starting with our mothers heartbeat. As we get older some music we have listened to in our past makes a short cut to memories in our brains, much as a smell from our childhood can take you right back to buried memories.
I wonder if rock and roll will survive the internal combustion engine? The rise of rock and roll could be linked to adolescent access to dads car in an affluent America of the 50′s. “Driving” power cords on a Stratocaster sound similar to an engine (just play “Born to be wild” by Steppenwolf or L.A Woman by the Doors ). If you are driving in the USA, there is good driving music and there is crap driving music- non of it can be played on an acoustic guitar.
When the oil runs out, and assuming we can still light up our ipods, will hard driving rock music still be popular? Bach could never understand modern music, but maybe after a year or so on a road trip across the USA in a car with a big V8- he might understand why.
So when the oil runs out will we all get into new age humming. And after the last memories of the car have died off, will our descendants wonder what the hell we were listening to.
Oh, and just in case you think i have dropped a rod – I also think one of the first punk songs was the batman theme song from the 60′s TV show. Just have another listen to “You’ve got my Number” by the undertones.
lucky post
OK well i have absolutely nothing to say, I just wanted to make a post with a bunch of sevens in it – can not imagine why – perhaps just the thrill of knowing that this post will appear at exactly 7,07 on 7/7/07.
Geek thrills are pretty sad.
The Cutty Sark, Google and Cape Town
scantily clad witch
As a younger lessgrump man, I spent over a year sailing the Atlantic, eastern USA and Caribbean as deckhand, mate, engineer and sometimes acting Captain of a 175ft three masted topsail schooner (the: Port Bougainville /Eric Borgman). It was an amazing time, a private vessel sailed by professionals (mostly). My teachers were the Portuguese ex bosun of the Sagres, Gesuino (Jesuino?) and Captain Jack Showers (not Sparrow, I met him later). I learnt a lot about the tall ships that sailed at the end of the 19th century. The clippers like the Cutty Sark and the famous iron masted P ships that rounded the Horn to Chile were the pinnacle of engineering- the end product of a millennia of refinements to the art of moving cargo across inhospitable oceans with just the power of the wind and iron men.
I have seen the Cutty Sark at Greenwich and while its a magnificent site, one cant really appreciate her as she sits in dry dock, the underwater lines can perhaps be appreciated by a student of naval design (most sailors), but the hull looks a bit squat out of the water, its a cargo ship remember. I am sure that only when you see her afloat and sailing can the real power and beauty of this tea clipper become apparent. The recent fire is a tragedy, sailing or squatting I certainly hope she is restorable- I have a hope they will restore her to full sailing capability, I would give my left nut to be passed by her on the ocean, but i doubt that will happen.
I was doing a google search for the Cutty Sark and used a useful new search criteria, if you are looking for anything that may have a history or chronology, just append “view:timeline” (without the quotes) onto the end of your search term. Look at the timeline for the Cutty Sark . I was interested to see that the Cutty Sark was re-rigged and renamed the Maria do Amparo in Cape Town after being dismasted off the Cape of Good Hope in 1916. I will be in Cape Town in a few days, perhaps a glass of scotch to the scantily clad witch is in order.
Legend has it in sailing circles, that the exposed breasts of a young women will placate the sea- hence the proud carved protuberance on the semi-naked figure below the bowsprit, well you can see the sailors mind at work here; should they come across a wench, the first thing to do is get them out and point them at the sea. Some believe this to be myth, but i can personally attest to it’s veracity.
Colony Collapse Disorder
Via Treehugger – No tinfoil hats for bees a more balenced view of -Colony Collapse Disorder – a Moment for Reflection? » Celsias
Storm in US over chocolate Jesus
BBC NEWS | Americas | Storm in US over chocolate Jesus
Now- in the run up to what the Christians call “Easter” a chocolate Jesus is about the funniest thing that I can imagine, puts our modern condition right in perspective. Hey, much more chocolate than your average bunny, and the icing on the cake (or lack thereof), as reported by the BBC “the sculpture, unusually, depicts Jesus without a loincloth.” -classic. I wonder if it’s hollow.
It also occurs to me that in the run up to Aprils fools day, the BBC could have really hit the sweat spot with this one…
McNaught
I have just been watching comet McNaught in the early evening sky – it’s pretty impressive awesome here in Smithfield, bright, with a long feathered curved tail, but then I don’t suppose there are better places than the semi desert (in the middle of nowhere) for sky watching- except of course the ocean on a calm night (in the middle of nowhere).
Have a look at these photos from South America – pretty much the same as we have been watching here.
Bright comet appears in night sky
spacetoday.net: Bright comet appears in night sky
Gather your disciples, put on your nike’s and break out the lethal cool-aid, the brightest comet for 30 years has appeared in the night sky!
Why Are Atheists So Angry?
And while we are contemplating the big questions – here is an interesting exchange from both corners:
Day 1 (Sam Harris): Why Are Atheists So Angry? | Jewcy.com
Much as i admire Sam Harris’ argument, and think that its very necessary to vocalise his view- in a time when fundamentalism from Texas to Afghanistan is buggering minds and nations.
I just wish that when discussing Gaad, that Gaad was first defined. Is Gaad the sum of everything, and is this sum-of-everything-being actually interested in the bedroom antics of your average Texan, or Iranian? Does seem kind of unlikely. Is Gaad a dimly perceived natural law of the universe that could aid your actions in life. Is Gaad in the universe or is Gaad apart from the universe. Enquiring minds want to know.
Well i guess the nature of Gaad would be another discussion. But i do wonder- if they could actually define what they meant by Gaad, then perhaps each side of the discussion would be able to understand what the other side is going on about… Doesn’t the Koran have something about the secret names of Gaad?
HalleLager
Truthdig – An Atheist Manifesto
Truthdig – An Atheist Manifesto
I am becoming so intolerant of intolerance – this manifesto is well worth linking to again.
Letsatsi game lodge
As part of the annual Scorpio dinner, Barbara invited us all to lunch/brunch/dinner at Letsatsi – the web site needs some work, it doesn’t convey any real sense of this amazing game lodge. Unfortunately we were far too bloated from the endless buffet courses to take up the offer of a game drive.
Hard Rain
When the rains came this evening I was in the mood to watch it, a reaction that’s hard to find living in England. But I was quite happy to spend a few hours sitting on my stoep in the fading light, thunder flashing windmill silhouettes through a sheet of rain.
The windmill is a totem of South Africa’s “Free State”. High and dry, cattle are watered from tanks attached to these wind powered pumps with the minimum of fuss. Here in a small town, many gardens are equipped with their own windmill/reservoir combos. These friendly beasts rumble away at the bottom of the garden in the slightest breeze. I must investigate the proper maintenance of my own (rented) monster. They may look neglected in the landscape, but eco-power is expensive to replace.
A phone call from a neighbour – the rain is a cause of celebration – “great, wonderful rain” lets enjoy it. Winter is the dry season and spring is here. Any English thoughts of inconvenience are banished. Release from tension can be felt through the cerebral activity of the lower atmosphere. The light show is spectacular.
Sitting surrounded by the rain and wind, I am almost taken back to sailing days. It is foolish on a small boat in the middle of an ocean to blame the weather for any inconvenience. A spark of fear and excitement must galvanize tired bones when bad weather approaches, it may be here to stay for a while, don’t fight it, fight for your lives.
Most offshore sailing (as apposed to hanging around in bars sailing) is, after you have done everything to make the boat safe, about watching weather. Every change in cloud or wind means something. A wave pattern coming from another direction may indicate a storm over there, – you know it does, but will it be coming this way? A shift in the breeze is the edge of a great swirling lump of atmosphere, part of the ocean “system” you may be transversing.
At sea with thunderstorms around and the only metal pointing up into the air, you are pretty much expecting cataclysm. A lightning strike means the end of the world as you know it, at the very least it’s the end of a small fortune in electrical gear, the radios and nav aids, not to mention computers and sundry electronic toys. The gear that was telling you what this bad boy was up to, is gonna get fried, what the hell are you doing here? At worst it’s going to blow a hole in the bottom of the boat – put your wellies on.
But nothing wrong with a good old storm and plenty of sea room. Any blow smacks you in the face with reality; you are in it and enjoy it. Live for taking a sailboat from here to the next bar, peering through stinging rain to see if the next cloud is darker- more wind, or that island that disappeared with the first line of squalls.
But I love my stoep, I could call it a patio, but its not. A patio brings to mind the many variations of garden and home improvements in the UK. A stoep in Africa is formidable, more like the cockpit of a boat, a place to watch the weather, to breakfast and lunch (dinner is in the kitchen). Inevitably its open to the elements, a galvanized iron roof – as are all the roofs here, supported by sturdy pillars with a table for tea and vices. I like my back stoep, with a view of the garden, the mountain in the distance, birds bugs and windmill, all busy in the weather.
Lightning
Yesterday the afternoon thunderstorms just passed around Smithfield, and as evening descended the show was in full swing. This was the view over my garden wall.
Here is the “artistic” rendering
The rains have arrived
One of the problems this time of year for computer users are the thunderstorms – these wonderful dragons fly over the hill in the afternoon, drop much needed rain and disappear by evening.
The video quality is crap – but the sound track says it all
Keep a Cat? Feeling Neurotic?
A Nation of Neurotics? Blame the Puppet Masters?
Toxoplasma gondii is an extraordinary creature, whose exploits I’ve chronicled in previous posts , an article in the New York Times and my book Parasite Rex. This single-celled organism has a life cycle that takes it from cats to other mammals and birds and back to cats again. Studies have shown that the parasite can alter the behavior of rats, robbing them of their normal fear of cats–and presumably making it easier for the parasites to get into their next host.
