The trees shiver off their last leaves,
And shed all memory
Of warmth.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Woman is the Nigger of the World
John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it...do something about it
We make her paint her face and dance
If she wont be a slave, we say that she dont love us
If shes real, we say shes trying to be a man
While putting her down, we pretend that shes above us
Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you dont believe me, take a look at the one you're with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Ah, yeah...better scream about it
We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that shes too unworldly to be our friend
Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yeah...alright...hit it!
We insult her every day on tv
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When shes young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...if you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yes she is...if you believe me, you better scream about it
We make her paint her face and dance
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it...do something about it
We make her paint her face and dance
If she wont be a slave, we say that she dont love us
If shes real, we say shes trying to be a man
While putting her down, we pretend that shes above us
Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you dont believe me, take a look at the one you're with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Ah, yeah...better scream about it
We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that shes too unworldly to be our friend
Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yeah...alright...hit it!
We insult her every day on tv
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When shes young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...if you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yes she is...if you believe me, you better scream about it
We make her paint her face and dance
Monday, December 17, 2007
And The Devil Will Drag You Under
"The fact that the rats had been created and placed in the maze did not automatically make them inferior, just less powerful. But only at the moment--not absolutely less powerful."
-Jack L. Chalker, And The Devil Will Drag You Under
-Jack L. Chalker, And The Devil Will Drag You Under
Friday, December 14, 2007
March for a Cause, not a Claus
Public events can unify residents of a community, which may give them a deeper respect for their neighbours. And creating fun events for children is always very important. But in an age of acute environmental awareness, needless parades seem archaic; the waste and greenhouse gases created give parades a dinosaur-sized carbon footprint.
Christmas parades, in particular, are the epitome of Western civilization’s gluttonous lifestyle, and it is time people rethought their expectations of entertainment. Parades laugh in the face of nature and poverty. Granted, food was collected at the recent Santa Clause Parade, but that seemed an afterthought to the real priority—advertisement.
Organize a parade for a hero, or a cause—not floats with Dora the Explorer. Parades are just another chance for corporations to promote their products. Christmas is the biggest consumer scam of all time, and events that promote it just exemplify greed.
While 300,000 people came out for the Rogers Christmas Parade on November 20, only a small fraction of that showed to the Vancouver Remembrance Day ceremonies on the 11th. Entertainment is the only thing worth rallying for in Canada, it seems.
Hundreds of Buddhist monks marched down Burma streets in September, risking their lives in a reach for democracy. In contrast, the West only unify when it’s time to see Santa on his greenhouse gas-spewing float.
Parades are either the ultimate show-off or the ultimate embarrassment to the Western countries. Roads are blocked, cars are detoured through longer routes and a huge amounts of garbage is created, not for a cause—but for Santa Clause.
Christmas parades, in particular, are the epitome of Western civilization’s gluttonous lifestyle, and it is time people rethought their expectations of entertainment. Parades laugh in the face of nature and poverty. Granted, food was collected at the recent Santa Clause Parade, but that seemed an afterthought to the real priority—advertisement.
Organize a parade for a hero, or a cause—not floats with Dora the Explorer. Parades are just another chance for corporations to promote their products. Christmas is the biggest consumer scam of all time, and events that promote it just exemplify greed.
While 300,000 people came out for the Rogers Christmas Parade on November 20, only a small fraction of that showed to the Vancouver Remembrance Day ceremonies on the 11th. Entertainment is the only thing worth rallying for in Canada, it seems.
Hundreds of Buddhist monks marched down Burma streets in September, risking their lives in a reach for democracy. In contrast, the West only unify when it’s time to see Santa on his greenhouse gas-spewing float.
Parades are either the ultimate show-off or the ultimate embarrassment to the Western countries. Roads are blocked, cars are detoured through longer routes and a huge amounts of garbage is created, not for a cause—but for Santa Clause.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Being Human is Still Glorious
Humans have been taking a lot of flack lately. We are blaming ourselves for soiling our own nest, polluting our only home—destroying the planet Earth. But humans are the ultimate example of nature corrupting Nature.
Humans are still a part of Nature, and Nature is the most glorious entity possible. Nature, in whichever way you view it, creates the most beautiful, incredible things, like waterfalls, flowers, eagles—and humans.
To turn against humans is to turn against Nature. All creatures deserve equal chance on this planet, but it does not mean that other creatures have to realize this fact. Predatory animals will hunt until their prey is decimated, without guilt—all for the sake of self-preservation. But in doing so, the predator does not realize that it is hunting itself into extinction. Nothing is immune to fault, and this is the fault of Nature, and a fate that humans have shared.
Evolution has granted us the means to destroy our creator—but who says that if lions ruled the world, they wouldn’t cause even more havoc? Our minds have developed faster than our bodies; we are superior minds with bestial hearts—these are things we cannot control.
It has been said that war is human stupidity at its best; but war is also humanity at its most primal. Animals have territory just as we have borders, except ours are marked with concrete walls instead of piss and smell. Even the most seemingly complacent of creatures will fight to its death to maintain its territory, just as millions of people have done over human history—so we conquer because we can, and we should be proud to have lasted this long.
Some god is kicking himself for giving us so many creative traits, because we have surpassed deity status—humans are now mortal gods. Have you ever seen a god portrayed with a Blackberry, or anything that seems remotely modern? No—because we possess what any god could not create, and our creativity and curiosity have granted this.
So, as we have destroyed beauty, we have also created it—a sort of beauty replacement. Even in primeval ages, sub-humans were depicting their kills in the most aesthetically pleasing way they could on the walls of their caves. As our current waste and wars pile up around the world, humans are still trying to express their creativity in ways that make up for the ugliness of our polluting habits.
Humans have evolved so much that they no longer have to be in the same vicinity to kill one another. We have tamed other creatures and made them our slaves. We have developed ways of communicating over vast distances without getting out of our luxurious homes. We are amazing.
Nature is a cruel place, and humans have obviously not escaped this reality. We may be mortal gods, but Nature is the one real law we must obey. We can try and overcome its ways, but in doing so we will only destroy ourselves. The world may be our oyster, and ours to destroy, but we as a part of nature will perish with our achievement.
Have we reached the pinnacle of human society? Do our rapid advancements correlate with the worsening storms, a sign of an impending split between nature and man, which will result in an ultimate battle that will destroy all life? No.
Humans as a race are only guilty of naivety. We didn’t realize how much impact we were having on our home, just as a pack of wolves devours the last elk in the forest. So that is a fault of Nature’s, not ours. We have survived by conquering the world, and that is the greatest achievement of all time.
Anti-human advocates promote their views by way of talk, but they still continue to reap the rewards of being human. Celebrating birthdays, being involved in relationships and even breathing are all activities that anti-humans should not participate in—if you are anti-human, you better kill yourself fast, because you are what you are against, and every moment you live is a hypocritical action. To hate humans is to hate yourself.
Every individual human may not deserve admiration, but as a race, humans deserve respect. We have only done what nature has allowed us, and when Nature has had enough of its creation, it will let us know—unless we destroy Nature first. Humanity may be a plague on the Earth, but it is a disease the Earth asked for.
Humans are still a part of Nature, and Nature is the most glorious entity possible. Nature, in whichever way you view it, creates the most beautiful, incredible things, like waterfalls, flowers, eagles—and humans.
To turn against humans is to turn against Nature. All creatures deserve equal chance on this planet, but it does not mean that other creatures have to realize this fact. Predatory animals will hunt until their prey is decimated, without guilt—all for the sake of self-preservation. But in doing so, the predator does not realize that it is hunting itself into extinction. Nothing is immune to fault, and this is the fault of Nature, and a fate that humans have shared.
Evolution has granted us the means to destroy our creator—but who says that if lions ruled the world, they wouldn’t cause even more havoc? Our minds have developed faster than our bodies; we are superior minds with bestial hearts—these are things we cannot control.
It has been said that war is human stupidity at its best; but war is also humanity at its most primal. Animals have territory just as we have borders, except ours are marked with concrete walls instead of piss and smell. Even the most seemingly complacent of creatures will fight to its death to maintain its territory, just as millions of people have done over human history—so we conquer because we can, and we should be proud to have lasted this long.
Some god is kicking himself for giving us so many creative traits, because we have surpassed deity status—humans are now mortal gods. Have you ever seen a god portrayed with a Blackberry, or anything that seems remotely modern? No—because we possess what any god could not create, and our creativity and curiosity have granted this.
So, as we have destroyed beauty, we have also created it—a sort of beauty replacement. Even in primeval ages, sub-humans were depicting their kills in the most aesthetically pleasing way they could on the walls of their caves. As our current waste and wars pile up around the world, humans are still trying to express their creativity in ways that make up for the ugliness of our polluting habits.
Humans have evolved so much that they no longer have to be in the same vicinity to kill one another. We have tamed other creatures and made them our slaves. We have developed ways of communicating over vast distances without getting out of our luxurious homes. We are amazing.
Nature is a cruel place, and humans have obviously not escaped this reality. We may be mortal gods, but Nature is the one real law we must obey. We can try and overcome its ways, but in doing so we will only destroy ourselves. The world may be our oyster, and ours to destroy, but we as a part of nature will perish with our achievement.
Have we reached the pinnacle of human society? Do our rapid advancements correlate with the worsening storms, a sign of an impending split between nature and man, which will result in an ultimate battle that will destroy all life? No.
Humans as a race are only guilty of naivety. We didn’t realize how much impact we were having on our home, just as a pack of wolves devours the last elk in the forest. So that is a fault of Nature’s, not ours. We have survived by conquering the world, and that is the greatest achievement of all time.
Anti-human advocates promote their views by way of talk, but they still continue to reap the rewards of being human. Celebrating birthdays, being involved in relationships and even breathing are all activities that anti-humans should not participate in—if you are anti-human, you better kill yourself fast, because you are what you are against, and every moment you live is a hypocritical action. To hate humans is to hate yourself.
Every individual human may not deserve admiration, but as a race, humans deserve respect. We have only done what nature has allowed us, and when Nature has had enough of its creation, it will let us know—unless we destroy Nature first. Humanity may be a plague on the Earth, but it is a disease the Earth asked for.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Media, Death and Civilized Blood Sport
Death is a private matter. A person’s last moments are their most personal—time to say good-bye, to make amends and to savour the life flashing before dimming eyes. But modern media has made what should be reserved for family and loved ones a public event.
Then again, death speaks loudly. If people need to make a statement, or shock others to action, then showing the reality of human demise is the way to go. Watching someone die on TV or the Internet can be like looking into a possible future. People ask themselves: Could that be how it will end for me?
People watch simulated death all the time on movies and video games. They are being desensitized with every gory scene they view or every virtual bludgeon they give to Xbox opponents. But is this the way people prepare themselves for their own impending doom?
Throughout history blood sport has been hailed as the ultimate entertainment. Romans, Mayans and many other cultures show that people love to watch gladiators slice through a slave or see a crowd stone a criminal—people have been watching people die since people were people.
So, how come it now seems so wrong to publicly present a person’s last strangled breath? Wasn’t that prime entertainment back in the day? Death still lives on as entertainment in films such as Faces of Death and Traces of Death.
To stress an issue, to prove a point or to get some answers, broadcasting death is the way to go—it is the ultimate emphasis. One only needs to look at this past month to see how death can turn incidents into atrocities.
In Japan, there have been incidents of dolphin culling. But after seeing the video highlighted by Hayden Panettiere, with the ocean turning violently crimson with each wave and each mammalian life taken, people are now aware that it is an atrocity of dolphin slaughter taking place, not just an incident.
The same is true for the taser incident at the Vancouver International Airport. Before the video came out, the public thought of it as just another tasering incident. But the film shows otherwise, and the strangled last breaths of the dying man reveal even more.
People relate to death because it happens to everyone—death is human. But is viewing death humane?
Besides a few cases of extroverted suicides, living creatures don’t usually go somewhere public when they know they are about to die. A family pet will go lay in a corner, a terminal patient will attempt to go home—as common as it is, death is still a mysterious thing.
But some living things do not get the dignity of a secluded death. Robert Dziekanski, the Polish immigrant who was tasered YVR, did not get that luxury. Neither did Eugene Armstrong, an American whose decapitation was posted on the internet.
It is hard to choose between respect for the dead and knowledge for the living. In October of this year, a 405-year-old clam was dredged from the bottom of the sea, which ironically died while scientists were counting its rings to determine its age.
Death finds everyone—it just matters if there is a camera around when it does. And with cameras posted everywhere from the street to cell phones, there’s a good chance someone will record your last breath.
Then again, death speaks loudly. If people need to make a statement, or shock others to action, then showing the reality of human demise is the way to go. Watching someone die on TV or the Internet can be like looking into a possible future. People ask themselves: Could that be how it will end for me?
People watch simulated death all the time on movies and video games. They are being desensitized with every gory scene they view or every virtual bludgeon they give to Xbox opponents. But is this the way people prepare themselves for their own impending doom?
Throughout history blood sport has been hailed as the ultimate entertainment. Romans, Mayans and many other cultures show that people love to watch gladiators slice through a slave or see a crowd stone a criminal—people have been watching people die since people were people.
So, how come it now seems so wrong to publicly present a person’s last strangled breath? Wasn’t that prime entertainment back in the day? Death still lives on as entertainment in films such as Faces of Death and Traces of Death.
To stress an issue, to prove a point or to get some answers, broadcasting death is the way to go—it is the ultimate emphasis. One only needs to look at this past month to see how death can turn incidents into atrocities.
In Japan, there have been incidents of dolphin culling. But after seeing the video highlighted by Hayden Panettiere, with the ocean turning violently crimson with each wave and each mammalian life taken, people are now aware that it is an atrocity of dolphin slaughter taking place, not just an incident.
The same is true for the taser incident at the Vancouver International Airport. Before the video came out, the public thought of it as just another tasering incident. But the film shows otherwise, and the strangled last breaths of the dying man reveal even more.
People relate to death because it happens to everyone—death is human. But is viewing death humane?
Besides a few cases of extroverted suicides, living creatures don’t usually go somewhere public when they know they are about to die. A family pet will go lay in a corner, a terminal patient will attempt to go home—as common as it is, death is still a mysterious thing.
But some living things do not get the dignity of a secluded death. Robert Dziekanski, the Polish immigrant who was tasered YVR, did not get that luxury. Neither did Eugene Armstrong, an American whose decapitation was posted on the internet.
It is hard to choose between respect for the dead and knowledge for the living. In October of this year, a 405-year-old clam was dredged from the bottom of the sea, which ironically died while scientists were counting its rings to determine its age.
Death finds everyone—it just matters if there is a camera around when it does. And with cameras posted everywhere from the street to cell phones, there’s a good chance someone will record your last breath.
Miga-chu, I Choose You…As the 2010 Mascot
Everyone say “Nee how” to the official mascots of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.
Almost immediately after their unveiling on the morning of November 27, Internet message boards flooded with mixed reactions to the three new characters. But by saying mixed, it is meant that the response was negative with a very light sprinkling of praise.
These new mascots look more like Asian cartoon characters than West Coast icons. The fact that they are not concrete animals, just imaginary creatures, reflects the ongoing theme of 2010's unrealistic goals and confused outlook. Sumi (an animal spirit) is a horrible rip-off of Haida culture; Quatchi (a sasquatch) looks like a cross between the Kokanee spokesfoot and Barney Gumble from the Simpsons.; and Miga (a sea bear) looks like the result of a panda bear and cat mating gone awry.
Two of the creatures, Sumi and Miga, can transform. Is the “transforming creatures” idea just a grab for more dough? (“Well, you’ve got the bear-form of Miga, but what about the whale-form? Gotta collect ‘em all!”) Or was it that VANOC just couldn’t make up their minds about which animal to exploit?
The selection for the official mascot can be difficult. The chosen creature has to be able to participate in all of the Olympic and Paralympic sports. It also must be appealing to children, as kids are the biggest market for the mascots in toys and apparel. This explains why a salmon was not the best candidate, as fish would only be able to participate in the Paralympic sports due to the fact they do not have two legs. Anything edible was also not a good choice, because whichever meat market the mascot reflected might take a financial hit since children would protest to eating “Sammy the Olympic Salmon” or “Venison the Olympic Fawn.”
A trip to the 2010’s mascot website offers a more thorough introduction to the three freaks of nature, and passing a cursor over their pictures reveals the distinct voices of each. Sumi sounds like he is excitedly discussing VANOC’s habit of legally pursuing small businesses in Vancouver (Sue me!!), Quatchi repeats his name in a voice vaguely reminiscent of Ludo from the movie Labyrinth and Miga is a blatant rip-off of Pikachu from Pokemon.
Internet polls suggested the “spirit bear” was a popular favourite amongst the public, along with the killer whale, harbour seal and raven.
The two previous Canadian Olympic mascots were Amik the Beaver (1976, Montreal), which looked like a turd on a stick, and the brother and sister bear team of Hidy and Howdy (1988, Calgary), who probably hindered the Spirit Bear’s chance at becoming the mascot of Vancouver.
The Olympics are a venue for sport, but they are also an excellent place to showcase national and international issues. VANOC had the chance to present a mascot that could make a strong statement, but they seem to have enough controversy on their plate. An Inukshuk holding a club and a dead seal would have been a good representation of Canadian life. Drawing from current events, “Timmy the Taser” could’ve been the new mascot to greet our foreign guests at the airport.
Other more valid representations of West Coast life include:
“Hastings the Hobo”
“Jimmy the Needle”
“Pokey the Pine Beetle”
“Ricky the Rice Wine”
“Peter MacKay the Dog”
“Emerson the Defective MP”
“Bobby the Bedbug”
Whatever people think about the choice, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief with the discovery that VANOC did not go the Power Rangers route that Beijing 2008 did—or did they? (Miga could be Jingjing the Panda’s sister.) But unlike Vancouver, Beijing did choose animals (fish, panda, antelope and swallow) that are edible—probably because trying to find an animal the Chinese don’t eat would prove far too challenging. They even added Haunhaun, a “child of fire,” for easy accessible cooking of the other mascots.
So, like them or hate them, get ready for another two years of Sumi, Quatchi and Miga bombardment. Don’t worry; they are only out to kill you—with love.
Almost immediately after their unveiling on the morning of November 27, Internet message boards flooded with mixed reactions to the three new characters. But by saying mixed, it is meant that the response was negative with a very light sprinkling of praise.
These new mascots look more like Asian cartoon characters than West Coast icons. The fact that they are not concrete animals, just imaginary creatures, reflects the ongoing theme of 2010's unrealistic goals and confused outlook. Sumi (an animal spirit) is a horrible rip-off of Haida culture; Quatchi (a sasquatch) looks like a cross between the Kokanee spokesfoot and Barney Gumble from the Simpsons.; and Miga (a sea bear) looks like the result of a panda bear and cat mating gone awry.
Two of the creatures, Sumi and Miga, can transform. Is the “transforming creatures” idea just a grab for more dough? (“Well, you’ve got the bear-form of Miga, but what about the whale-form? Gotta collect ‘em all!”) Or was it that VANOC just couldn’t make up their minds about which animal to exploit?
The selection for the official mascot can be difficult. The chosen creature has to be able to participate in all of the Olympic and Paralympic sports. It also must be appealing to children, as kids are the biggest market for the mascots in toys and apparel. This explains why a salmon was not the best candidate, as fish would only be able to participate in the Paralympic sports due to the fact they do not have two legs. Anything edible was also not a good choice, because whichever meat market the mascot reflected might take a financial hit since children would protest to eating “Sammy the Olympic Salmon” or “Venison the Olympic Fawn.”
A trip to the 2010’s mascot website offers a more thorough introduction to the three freaks of nature, and passing a cursor over their pictures reveals the distinct voices of each. Sumi sounds like he is excitedly discussing VANOC’s habit of legally pursuing small businesses in Vancouver (Sue me!!), Quatchi repeats his name in a voice vaguely reminiscent of Ludo from the movie Labyrinth and Miga is a blatant rip-off of Pikachu from Pokemon.
Internet polls suggested the “spirit bear” was a popular favourite amongst the public, along with the killer whale, harbour seal and raven.
The two previous Canadian Olympic mascots were Amik the Beaver (1976, Montreal), which looked like a turd on a stick, and the brother and sister bear team of Hidy and Howdy (1988, Calgary), who probably hindered the Spirit Bear’s chance at becoming the mascot of Vancouver.
The Olympics are a venue for sport, but they are also an excellent place to showcase national and international issues. VANOC had the chance to present a mascot that could make a strong statement, but they seem to have enough controversy on their plate. An Inukshuk holding a club and a dead seal would have been a good representation of Canadian life. Drawing from current events, “Timmy the Taser” could’ve been the new mascot to greet our foreign guests at the airport.
Other more valid representations of West Coast life include:
“Hastings the Hobo”
“Jimmy the Needle”
“Pokey the Pine Beetle”
“Ricky the Rice Wine”
“Peter MacKay the Dog”
“Emerson the Defective MP”
“Bobby the Bedbug”
Whatever people think about the choice, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief with the discovery that VANOC did not go the Power Rangers route that Beijing 2008 did—or did they? (Miga could be Jingjing the Panda’s sister.) But unlike Vancouver, Beijing did choose animals (fish, panda, antelope and swallow) that are edible—probably because trying to find an animal the Chinese don’t eat would prove far too challenging. They even added Haunhaun, a “child of fire,” for easy accessible cooking of the other mascots.
So, like them or hate them, get ready for another two years of Sumi, Quatchi and Miga bombardment. Don’t worry; they are only out to kill you—with love.
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