The Eye of Iapetus

Web presence

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:33:52 GMT

Unlikely I will update this journal anymore. Probably just using this account for posting to communities/commenting etc. If you're interested in my work, you can find me here:

Lux-Solis.net: Portfolio of photography, film and design work.
Beyond Illusion: Photoblog, updated semi-weekly.
Artblog: Art I like or am inspired by.

silentinfinite on Flickr
silentinfinite on MySpace

Email: beyondtheclouds(at)gmail.com

I am always interested in meeting people with similar ideas or a similar worldview who want to collaborate or just talk.

Dawn of a Dead Aeon (Promo Clip)

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:39:25 GMT

Ok here is the trailer for the Absence of the Sacred music video we have been working on. It's also on Youtube here. If you are in Singapore, maybe you want to come down for the video premiere which is at DXO on March 6. More details at the Absence of the Sacred myspace. Events details are also on Facebook.

Artblog

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:07:11 GMT

I started a new blog recently at a.lux-solis.net where I post about art that I like. Maybe you'll like some of it too. Check it out.

MacBook Pro DVD drive

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:42:18 GMT

In case anyone reading this is thinking of buying a MacBook Pro...

There is an incredibly frustrating problem with the region code on the DVD drive*, mainly that there's absolutely no way to get around it so far. Okay at least no way that I'm aware of. And I've done a lot of googling.

A couple of blog articles here and here. Read the comments on these posts.

I'm not going to go into how unbelievably ridiculous this is, considering that universal DVD players are so easily available and that it's so easy to get around the region code problem on a PC. I mean I totally forgot region code even existed for a few years. Now I can't play original DVDs that I actually paid full price for nor can I watch stuff that I've borrowed from the library.

Suffice to say that it's really really disappointing to encounter this on such a fine computer that's far exceeded my expectations in almost every other area. If anyone has managed to find a way around this, I would greatly appreciate if you let me know.

*This is the drive I'm using: HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N

Time Cube & Gene Ray

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:00:48 GMT

Surely you have heard of TIME CUBE!?

Some reasons why it is the best website of all of cubic time (because linear time is an evil lie):

"Evil Ass Educators Suppress Time Cube,
and dumb ass students condone such evil.
Cubeless institutions are spreaders of evil,
and students lack mentality to challenge it."

"I bestow upon myself the "Doctorate of
Cubicism", for educators are ignorant of
Nature's Harmonic Time Cube Principle
and cannot bestow the prestigious honor
of wisdom upon the wisest human ever.
- Dr. Gene Ray"

"Since I have informed you of Nature's
Harmonic Time Cube 4-Day Creation
Principle, your stupidity is no longer
the issue. For now, the issue is just
how evil you are for ignoring Life's
Highest Order, and just how long the
Time Cube will allow you to plunder
Earth before inflicting hell upon you."

"YOU KNOW WHAT!!!
You are educated stupid as
teachers lack intelligence.
Truth is Cubic.
Time is Cubic...
Life is Cubic....
Form is Cubic..
Family is Cubic..
Village is Cubic..
Evil is cubeless.
Self is cubeless.
God is cubeless.
Language is a human invention
of an evil cubeless singularity."

Ok but seriously, I think this is my absolute favourite:

"Truth about Santa Claus debunks
Santa God. God evolves from Santa."

And I would totally buy one of these clocks.

Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:50:09 GMT

What a great song! I love her voice. Stupid video, though.
Nice live version here.

remix.nin.com

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:52:17 GMT

http://remix.nin.com/

is finally open. I think it's such a great idea. I'm listening now and the fan mixes are actually pretty good.

I think the move to sell Year Zero Remixed with a DVD-ROM that includes all the multitrack audio files was a really good idea. I mean that's something I wouldn't mind paying $20 for. I'm really, really tempted to buy it but I don't think I will.

Paul as Mario

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:51:42 GMT

Paul as Mario, originally uploaded by pauldkeiser.

Vertebrats - 'Left in the Dark'

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:14:57 GMT

I really like this right now. Such a simple, but great song.

The Day The World Went Away (Still)

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:48:02 GMT

Someone on youtube had the sense to pair this lovely video with the acoustic version of The Day The World Went Away from 'Still' (I never really liked the version on 'The Fragile' as much).

My hope is that one day Trent will release an entire album full of piano music. Anyway, this is really one of my favourite music videos. Beautiful images.

Non-entity, Acoustic

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:35:26 GMT

I like it.

Nine Inch Nails - Something I Can Never Have (Closure)

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:54:22 GMT

Uh, I like this song a lot but it always makes me think of Blade Runner for some reason. Anyway, all of 'Closure' is on youtube now, so I finally got to see it. It's okay, though I was totally disappointed with the shooting and editing - really unprofessionally done.

I was listening to Pretty Hate Machine earlier. I can't stand the cheesy 80s samples on it and I really only like three songs, being this one, Sin and Head Like A Hole.

The acoustic version of this song from 'Still' is nice, too. I like 'Still' a lot.

Show desktop

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 09:56:50 GMT

I just discovered the Windows equivalent of apple + H purely by accident.

It's Windows key + M.

Jeremy Enigk - 'Set It On Fire'

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:23:10 GMT

Beautiful, beautiful song from the United States of Leland soundtrack, which remains unreleased. I acquired a copy of 'World Waits' shortly after it was released last year and I have been listening to it pretty consistently since then. I love this album so, so much.

I have been meaning to say something about Jeremy Enigk, but I don't know what there is I can say. If I were to write honestly how I felt about his music it would probably sound rather exaggerated and cheesy. I find it hard to talk about things that I like the best. Like 'The Fountain' and Soderbergh's 'Solaris'. And this music. It makes me feel better about everything.

Free mp3s of 'Been Here Before' and 'Oh John' at lewishollow.com.

11 albums from the 90s (that defined most of 10 years of my life)

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:56:12 GMT

I absolutely love 90s rock, so I wanted to write about some of my favourite bands. I tried to be fair and include only one album from each band, though that was pretty difficult. At some point or another I loved each and every one of these bands so much. All this music meant so much to me in my teenage years. It's got such a great spirit and there's a certain nostalgia, innocence and emotional rawness/intensity to it that I don't find in a lot of newer rock music.

There are other bands I was listening to in my teens that I didn't include and these are Nirvana (naturally because of their popularity and accessibility the first grunge band I really loved), Hole and Veruca Salt. But that music doesn't really sound so great to me anymore, so I left it out. And I wanted to include Tori Amos' 'Boys for Pele' because it was such a fantastic album, but it sort of doesn't fit in, I feel (the inclusion of Depeche Mode already being a little bit strange). And I haven't been able to stomach her music for a really, really long time now.

Anyway, on to some excellent, excellent music. In order of release date, because I would never be able to organize them in order of preference. Also, a video or two (or three) from each album (or artist!).

Soundgarden's Screaming Life
(May 11, 1990)

The thing about Soundgarden is that while I had a ton of their mp3s (this was back in the days of Napster), as far as complete albums were concerned I really only had this one and 'Superunknown'. And I would definitely have to choose this over 'Superunknown' because I think that album is way too inconsistent - although there are incredible tracks like 'The Day I Tried To Live' and '4th of July', there's crap like 'Half' and 'Head Down' (seriously Ben Sheperd, WTF?). Also, I was briefly listening to my brother's copy of Badmotorfinger at some point, before it mysteriously disappeared and I remember it to be much, much better than Screaming Life. Unfortunately I can barely remember most of the songs from that album because I didn't listen to it enough before it went missing (and because I was in a state of mind where I didn't really want to listen to Soundgarden to be perfectly honest). Wow, I'm writing some real nonsense here, huh... Anyway, Soundgarden are such a great band, musically! So it's kind of a mystery why I never really got into them as much as I probably should have considering how much I enjoy the music. I think I may have a problem with Chris Cornell's vocals, sadly :( Anyway 'Screaming Life' is incredibly raw, and somehow I love the shitty production values on this one.

And here is the video for Nothing To Say - pretty much the song that got me interested in Soundgarden to begin with.

The Smashing Pumpkins' Gish
(May 1991)

This is without a doubt my favourite Pumpkins release, and I only discovered it relatively late (only a year ago!). Siamese Dream is still only second to this (and I loved that when I was 15). The songs on this record are by far their most energetic and ... optimistic, even. Nothing as dark as 'Bodies' or 'X.Y.U' from 'Melon Collie' - always difficult songs for me. There's the impossibly awesome 'Bury Me' and then there's 'Snail' - which really epitomizes the Pumpkins' sound (at least for me). Like 'Screaming Life' and debut albums in general, full of really raw, pure energy. Not as well organized (but far more consistent, I think) than 'Siamese Dream' and 'Melon Collie'.

And here is Rhinoceros. I can't get over how young (and happy) they look in this one. I mean Billy has long hair. And a performance of Bury Me from 1989, no less!

Pavement's Watery Domestic EP
(Dec 15, 1992)

So I realized it really wasn't possible to choose between 'Slanted & Enchanted' and 'Wowee Zowee'. The problem with Pavement's releases is that they're generally really, really inconsistent. Almost every release has songs that are unbelievably fantastic and songs that are complete unlistenable crap (well at least to me). I was tempted to put 'Westing' here instead of this because I really do like a lot of early Pavement, but there is a lot of stuff on that album I really can't stand. In spite of everything, I have to say this - this simple 4-track EP is perfect. I love every song on it and absolutely cannot find any fault with it whatsoever. Unfortunately I couldn't find any of these songs on youtube.

So, here is a live performance of Grounded - one of the reasons I love 'Wowee Zowee'. And also, a live performance of Debris Slide, one of the great songs off of 'Westing'.

Depeche Mode's Songs of Faith and Devotion
(Mar 23, 1993)

Definitely my favourite DM album and remarkably consistent, too. Come to think of it, the only thing on this that I don't like is 'I Feel You' - the stupid video further ruined it for me. Urgh, and 'One Caress' is super lame as well. But songs like 'Higher Love', 'Rush', 'Walking in My Shoes', 'Mercy in You' and 'Judas' are so strong and well-written that they more than make up for it. Anyway, they have a live version of this entire album out too (I was so thrilled to find it) and it's pretty good. I suppose it's kind of weird to include this album here, but I want to anyway. Many, many late nights spent listening to this record. What a strange emotional atmosphere there is to it...

And as far as 'In Your Room' goes, I've always preferred the video version to the album version. And I can't not include the video for Walking In My Shoes. Also I must include that I find Dave Gahan to be a great vocalist but also a very silly man.

Pearl Jam's Vs.
(Oct 19, 1993)

I got into Pearl Jam far too late. Um. The reason for this is stupid and maybe I'm not going to go into it here. Anyway I got back into grunge after a long time last summer, and it was all thanks to one live video of 'Alive' on some TV show. I love 'Ten', too of course, but I think 'W.M.A' makes me prefer this album.

Here's the video for Go and a 1992 performance of Leash. And from that same concert, here's Once, just because it's one of their best songs.

Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral
(Mar 8, 1994)

Honestly, what is there to even say about this album? What can I say? It's without a doubt one of the best albums I own. I mean, I know Trent isn't a very intelligent guy obviously, I'm fully aware that it's not very bright music (hey if I was into intelligent music this list wouldn't even exist), but man... At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot I'm going to say that this album is really fucking intense. And like Filter's 'Short Bus', I don't listen to it often because it brings back some pretty horrible memories (again, this is exacerbated by some of the crazy shit that went on two months ago when I was last listening to it... suffice to say this really hasn't been the best year for me).

This is the best NIN release. It doesn't compare to anything Trent has done before or since. This album strongly reinforces an often-suppressed need to break stuff. Or something. Words fail me. I get goosebumps when I listen to this. That good, yes. I don't know, but I guess when it comes to Trent Reznor, my brain ceases to function. Nine Inch Nails is certainly my biggest guilty pleasure... And I'm not afraid to admit it anymore!

Incredible performance of Reptile, from Woodstock 1994. And Mr. Self Destruct from the Closure DVD (which I don't have. And can't get even on torrent. If someone can send it to me - or point out a well-seeded torrent at least - I will be really happy and do something nice for you). Intense is an understatement. And, how hot was Trent in the early 90s!? Argh. I know I need to see them live at least once before I die.

I can't describe or rationalize my love for Nine Inch Nails.

Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary
(May 10, 1994)

God, it's really strange writing about this and listening to it right after listening to 'The Downward Spiral'. I know I said that it would be really difficult to rank all these albums in order of preference, but now I see in this list two albums that stand out the most: 'The Downward Spiral' and this one. And they seem to be at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Jeremy Enigk's music (regardless if it's with Sunny Day, The Fire Theft or his solo work) has always seemed to me to be quite regenerative.

Honestly, I don't have any words for how this album has affected me. Now I see how stupid it is to even try and write about music. When it's this close to you, there is really absolutely nothing to say.

Videos for In Circles, Seven and a live performance from 1999 of Song About An Angel. Too bad he doesn't really have the voice he used to in the last video. I do prefer the studio version of that song.

Yeah, I love Jeremy Enigk. More than Trent Reznor, even.

Mad Season's Above
(Mar 14, 1995)

Um... I don't actually own this album - but I've heard most of the songs from it! And there is no way I could compile a list of albums from the 90s and not include this one simply because it epitomizes grunge for me. Anyway Mad Season is the side project of Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees). I first heard of them when someone sent me Above and I was really into Alice in Chains so there was no way I could ignore a band with Layne on vocals.

Video for Lifeless Dead and a performance of Long Gone Day with Mark Lanegan (!) on vocals, too.

Filter's Short Bus
(Apr 25, 1995)

Well, you know what I think of this so I'm not going to repeat myself. I have to agree with these guys though, when they say that 'Short Bus' is a "living, breathing, ungodly beast". Haha!

Video for Dose (yes, again, because it's such an awesome song) and a video of Hey Man, Nice Shot with Richard Patrick looking like a younger, hotter version of Claire Bennett's father.

Alice in Chains' Self-Titled
(Nov 7, 1995)

Also referred to as Tripod or the Dog album or whatever. Now, this is certainly Alice in Chains' best and strangest offering. And it's ridiculously consistent, which is why I picked it over the more popular 'Dirt'. I used to own a cassette version of this which I would listen to every day on the shitty bus ride home from school during the first few months of 2001. 'Nothin' Song' and 'Head Creeps' were two songs I really loved from this one, mainly for the absurd lyrics ("nothin' song sticks to your mouth like peanut butter on the brain").

Needless to say, I was heartbroken to hear of Layne's death. I know it's retarded because it's not like I know the guy or have ever met him or anything. But all the same, it's so sad to watch the old videos.

Video for Again (stupid video, but it's nice to see Layne) and a performance of Heaven Beside You from the Unplugged.

And Got Me Wrong from Unplugged just because it's a beautiful song. And I have to include Junkhead and Would? from an MTV performance (I'm guessing 1992 or earlier) because they're some of the best live videos I could find on youtube. 'Junkhead' is so depressing, but a great song nonetheless.

Screaming Trees' Ocean of Confusion
(May 24, 2005)

Well, this is basically a compilation of songs originally released between 1989 and 1996 and I think it's pretty much impossible to talk about 90s rock without mentioning the Screaming Trees. Unfortunately this is pretty much all I've heard from them. Still, I like it enough to include it here. Like Pearl Jam, I found out about them relatively late (last summer) but I did listen to this album quite a bit. I really, really wanted to get 'Sweet Oblivion' but couldn't find it anywhere (story of my life). I know I need to order a ton of CDs from Amazon one of these days, but I never have the cash anymore.

Videos for Nearly Lost You and Shadow of the Season. And I'm going to include All I Know because I think it's crazy that they didn't include this on the album!

Yeah, you know this has taken up way too much of my time, but it's ok. And I realize I sound kind of stupid and I wish I could articulate myself more... clearly or eloquently. But it's ok.

I've realized in these last few weeks that I really do love music more than anything else in the world.

Filter, for the very last time

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:12:08 GMT

Man, I just want to say that although there are a few of the newer (i.e. post-'Short Bus') Filter songs that I don't mind, their second and third albums are mostly awful. There were a couple of songs that seemed promising and nice in a rather ordinary way ('I'm Not The Only One', 'Where Do We Go From Here' and 'My Long Walk to Jail' to name a few), but mostly I just really hate what I've heard from their second and third albums. And I've tried to be as objective as possible in this matter. 'Take A Picture' and 'Miss Blue' are simply unforgivable. Also the general stupidity of the lyrics really, really bothers me. It makes me fear that the more I listen to them, the dumber I'll become.

I have to say though, that Army of Anyone is actually much more tolerable. And I think it's cool that they're making music as if the last ten years didn't even happen. They have a good late-90s alt rock sound with some decent songwriting. And Richard Patrick's vocals seem to have improved quite a bit. Nevermind that he doesn't actually even look like himself anymore in their video for 'Goodbye' (below). I actually find myself somewhat liking Army of Anyone...

I still think 'Short Bus' is a fantastic and powerful album though it still brings up too many horribly negative memories and emotions (much more so now after all the crazy stuff that was happening 2 weeks ago when I was listening to it) for me to be able to listen to it as much. But I guess that just kinda proves how effective it is, in a way. I just don't get how everything could degenerate so rapidly music-wise for Filter after that. It doesn't make sense and it bothers me. Really, these are the kind of things I'm thinking about when I'm awake at 5am.

And so ends my very, very brief liking of Filter. I actually wanted to write about how much I adore Jeremy Enigk and his music but I didn't think that anything I would be able to write would do justice to his work... So instead I decided to tell you all one more time that Filter's music post-'Short Bus' is mostly nonsense. And that Army of Anyone really aren't so bad.

And don't even get me started on Chris Cornell and that trainwreck of a band Audioslave. I also refuse to listen to his new solo album because I don't want to believe that it's coming from the same guy who did Screaming Life. What a weirdo that guy became since Soundgarden broke up.

Pavement - Major Leagues

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:55:39 GMT

So when I was 16 I used to have this huge crush on Stephen Malkmus. Ok, maybe Discretion Grove is a video that better illustrates his appeal.

If I had to pick a favourite Pavement album... I wouldn't be able to choose between 'Slanted & Enchanted' and 'Wowee Zowee'. When I was 16 I was obsessed with Pavement for a couple of months and procured every single album with the exception of the last one... Now I can't even remember what that was called. ('Major Leagues' being the only song that I liked from that CD, and I do own that single, which includes an okay cover of 'Killing Moon').

'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' and 'Brighten the Corners' I found pretty ... homogenous. Although both had a few brilliant tracks here and there - like Gold Soundz from the former and Stereo (pretty much the song that got me into Pavement) from the latter.

So I don't know why I find myself listening to Pavement of all things at 5:45 on a Saturday morning... Maybe because I was checking out some Veruca Salt videos (and I can't remember what started that) and remembered they had a rather hilarious cameo in Pavement's video for Painted Soldiers. Or maybe because I was feeling rather strange after watching The United States of Leland for the second time - great film, by the way, I'll probably write about it tomorrow.

Goodbye, Demonoid :(

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:59:20 GMT

"The CRIA threatened the company renting the servers to us, and because of this it is not possible to keep the site online. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your understanding."

http://www.demonoid.cc/
http://www.demonoid.com/

OH GOD NO!!!!!!!!!!
This is really depressing :'(

Pain bodies

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:46:27 GMT

U2 covers

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:47:48 GMT

I don't often admit it, but I was completely obsessed with U2 around the time I was 12. I can't really listen to them anymore, though, doesn't really interest me... But I'm still kinda disappointed with Saul Williams cover of Sunday Bloody Sunday. I don't get this whole Niggy Tardust thing...

That said, Richard Patrick sang on a cover that I really liked - of Pride with Flyleaf, some alternative 'metal' whatever band. Talk about some great vocals (I try to ignore the obnoxious female singer).

Non-entity

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:47:16 GMT

I do love this song. It's pretty atypical for a Nine Inch Nails song. But man, what a great sound! And exactly how I feel right now.

NIN 1990 Interview for French TV

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:32:29 GMT

"On peut slammer et c'est dangereux"

God, I love this interview. The editing is unbearably cheesy and Trent actually says "We preach positive hate". The French subtitles and VO are a definite plus too. And I honestly think that was a really good look for Richard Patrick. Too bad I can't say the same for Trent.

Chris Jordan, The 11th Hour, Iraq in Fragments

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:42:56 GMT

Cell phone chargers, Atlanta 2004 (44x66")

Circuit boards, Atlanta 2004 (44x66")

"The pervasiveness of our consumerism holds a seductive kind of mob mentality. Collectively we are committing a vast and unsustainable act of taking, but we each are anonymous and no one is in charge or accountable for the consequences. I fear that in this process we are doing irreparable harm to our planet and to our individual spirits."

Container Yard and Mt. Rainier, Tacoma 2004 (44x70")

Spent bullet casings, 2005 (44x82")

"As an American consumer myself, I am in no position to finger wag; but I do know that when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake."

- Chris Jordan in his artist statement.

Earlier, xnoybis passed me a link to Chris Jordan's work online which I found to be rather terrifying. I think it's an example of really good 'political' (for lack of a better word) art and I find such art quite necessary.

Anyway, on this topic there are a number of things I feel I need to organize my thoughts on. I saw An Inconvenient Truth relatively late, only a couple of months ago. Of course, it was really shocking (assuming that everything is at least approximately true) and it confirmed this deep underlying intuition or feeling that something very big is underway. I've always felt since I was a child that there would be some sort of huge change or shift during my lifetime and it really seems that right now as a species we are right on a verge of a massive paradigm shift.

Lately (in the past few years), I have come into contact with many books, films and sources of information that have confirmed this point of view. I have been thinking about both World Wars a lot, looking at war photojournalism from the Afghanistan Civil Wars and the Vietnam War, looking at the paintings of Giger and Beksinski (whom to me have really captured the essence of the 20th century)... I have been wondering about the nature of man - why there seems to be something incredibly corrupt lodged in our being, something that spoils things. And of course that's something I've experienced first hand, too, just by being a human being. Having the best intentions and then watching ego take over and ruin everything.

I wonder every day if transcendence into a higher state of existence is possible. I wonder why the world is the way there is and why there is so much suffering. As much as I am convinced about the negative aspect of humanity, I'm convinced that we have fantastic potential too - just look at how far our technology has come in such a short time. And I think the activation of this potential is somehow linked to our ability to experience compassion and empathy. Sometimes I find myself in this strange state where, contrary to normal perception - all things seem to be one. Rarely, I've experienced this but usually it occurs spontaneously. Sometimes during meditation or when absorbed in natural surroundings. It's a state that's hard to describe or make sense of and I wonder what it means.

Last week I managed to catch two good documentaries - The 11th Hour and Iraq In Fragments. I liked them both. 'The 11th Hour' was similar to 'An Inconvenient Truth' but focussing more on finding renewable sources of energy and very much focussed on what we can do to make things better. To be honest, when I found out that it was created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, I didn't have very high expectations of it. So it was a lot better than I expected. During the first few minutes of the film (if I'm not wrong) the viewer is bombarded with images of industrial society and natural disasters... I felt really moved by that and it reminded me both of Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka. It's kind of strange how we, by our very existence and ways of life, are basically the lifeblood of this society we don't even understand. We don't understand the full implications of life in an industrial society.

As for 'Iraq in Fragments'... First of all I want to say that it proves hands down that great films can be made on DV. It's absolutely beautifully shot:

Other than that, it was pretty depressing to see how human beings have to live in some parts of the world. My first reaction was despair - realizing that people in the first world, with so many resources and freedoms at their command are still just as unhappy. But it also made me think about how much we could do - how much positive change we could affect if we just had the motivation to. After watching something like that, I just can't go back to my normal life, I can't simply be concerned about stupid things like degrees and jobs and social standing (not that I have really cared about those things too much in the first place).

There are so many things I want to say, but I guess I can't say them all now. So many thoughts that are difficult to collect, process and make perfect sense of.

When pigs fly

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 06:00:34 GMT

"Maybe taking the money out of music is the only way to get money back into it. Maybe it's time to abandon the notion of the rock star - of music as a route to fame and fortune. The best music was always made by people who weren't in it for the money, anyway. Maybe smart, talented musicians will find ways to make a good living with or without CD sales. Maybe the record industry execs who made their fortunes off of unfair contracts and distribution monopolies should just walk away, confident that they milked a limited opportunity for all it was worth, and that it's time to find fortune somewhere else. Maybe in the hands of consumers, the music marketplace will expand in new and lucrative ways no one can even dream of yet. We won't know until music is free, and eventually it's going to be. Technological innovation destroys old industries, but it creates new ones. You can't fight it forever."

- When Pigs Fly: The Death of Oink, the Birth of Dissent, and a Brief History of Record Industry Suicide by Rob Sheridan.

Bobcat Goldthwaite

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:57:27 GMT

"I still have all of my baby teeth"