Ok I'm going to start of by saying that I whole heartedly agree with the principle that the "stop Kony", movement is trying to achieve. It is a noble cause and I'll be the first to denounce child abuse and child slavery. Moreover it is a smart campaign in the way that it is using social media and good old fashioned awareness and fundraising activities to get its point across.
The reason I was so incensed by the campaign is the pure and unabashed naivety of it. Do you honestly think that the removal of one terrorist leader will restore safety, or even some kind of unity to the world? Do you honestly see this as such a key thing that all other problems in the world can be addressed like this in a year on year basis? Hell, do you honestly still think that peaceful protest can achieve anything?
OK
It is just so darned stupid and processed and designed to emote a reaction and get you to open your wallets for the "cause", yet it ignores so many problems. So many that I'm going to list them in an easy to read and understand section.
Reasons STOP KONY is stupid
1. Uganda has problems OTHER than Joseph Kony
This is a logical first port of call. President Yoweri Museveni, war hero twice over, president since 1986 is emerging as a self serving and corrupt official, largely leading the country into a state of high inflation and crushing of freedom of speech. Arguably, these are issues that a modern Uganda has to face, and by simply painting the face of Joseph Kony as the only problem that Uganda faces, undermines a real need for reform within the country. This was apparent 8 years ago when constitutional reforms made it so he can run for as many terms as he sees fit. Add into that, the detaining of political opponents, deploying riot police at peaceful protests, and his connection with anti-homosexuality groups, this has led to several EU countries removing financial backing for Uganda(Reuters 2005). This in a time where inflation has reached 30.5%(Buisness week, 10/2011). The problems which Uganda faces are far wider than a guerilla fundamentalist with a penchant for child soldiers.
2. Africa has so many problems, to narrow it down to even one country is inexorably naive.
If we compare the Africa of today, to that of even 20 years ago, there are signs of change, yet it is hardly lifestyles of the rich and famous for the vast majority of the continent. Here's a small list.
Somalia famine and tribal war. Oh and the lack of any government in a large section of the country.
Famine across half the continent, lack of modern systems for food, water, healthcare, even clothing.
To say that Africa has its fair share of problems is like saying hedgehogs are not very cuddly. To be so naive as to say that all we need to do is abolish this one maniac, it will bring the entire world into order is frankly ridiculous for any charity, let alone a multi million dollar company.
3. The company themselves are not the most reputable
As Visible Children so eloquently put, the company is one-dimensional and ill advised. Not only that, they are a symbol of the modern overbloated, overstaffed charity. as a non profit organization, there finances are public. Last year alone they spent over 8 and a half million dollars. Only 32% went to direct services within Uganda, the rest going on staff salaries, those really well produced emotive videos, and transport.
Besides that the company is supportive of military intervention, to the stage that they actively spend money on rearming the Ugandan army, and making those connections to US legislation. This in a country with a leader who is beginning to appear to have no wish other than to rule until he dies.
'I think I've been fairly clear on why I don't enjoy the sentiment that this campaign has brought about. if you want some more evidence check this tumblr feed out, its far better written and sourced than mine.
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com.nyud.net/
4. The imagery draws comparison with very key things
watching that really well produced video was a bit of a queasy thing for me. The imagery is of the modern western world coming to the rescue of the poor African state. This alone is a dangerous idea, in that we use this to make ourselves sleep easy at night, thinking that we have done our part to save the world.
And the imagery of Hitler! the genocide intervention charity (www.genocideintervention.ne), has found evidence of genocide in 5 countries, Sudan, on Uganda's northern border being one of them. Yet we are let to believe that genocide is not worthy of mention in order to protect the children. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that killing of children and the use of child soldiers isn't a bad thing. I'm saying that its in no way as bad as the eradication of a race of people. If anything the campaign is clearly designed to tug on heartstrings, because animals and children somehow need more help than an entire race. It's selective in he information it gives you, so as to maximise its profits towards its single minded goal.
One final point I do want to make is this though. The way that this campaign has swept across social media in the last 2 days is simply amazing. For a charitable company to achieve that is, a first I guess. But it doesn't make any of the countless other causes any less real, or any less needy. Joseph Kony is a terrible sick person, and regardless of this campaign he more than likely will go on being a bane on humanity till the day he finally dies, but because of one campaign making us feel better about ourselves, do we turn a blind eye to genocide and government sponsored eradication? Thats the scary thing here, if we all get sucked up into this one thing, we run the risk of thinking that nothing else is a problem, even those that are, arguably, more horrific and more pressing.
Peace out guys
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Hurt
Ok
Originally this was gonna be a blog post about some really interesting subject like depression or optimism or which cheeses go best with mature coke. But I was on the internets earlier(always a bad start), and I came across a bit of a problem.
People argue about things that are based on opinions formed by incorrect information.
That is, people are misinformed, and then they go on the internet, and vent. And when they vent, they inherently frustrate someone else, which means that everyone argues, and we are left with something like this:
What this video shows is that the internet is filled not only with idiots, but idiots who don’t know when they are wrong. Also, said idiots have learnt very bad grammar. Now this poses the question, what shall we do with these festoons of the internet? Or how should we rehabilitate them?
To be perfectly honest, there has always been a massive section of society I feel, have no real use. These people should be disposed of, preferably from a high height, onto spikes.
Perhaps what we should really be doing is using message boards to send out educational messages of love or harmony. Rather than arguing about things that we know nothing about, we should have a crack team of super, nay, UBER nerds who surf the internet constantly commenting and addressing the inaccuracies of the internet. In this way, we can control the internet, and gain back a portion of society.
And then the bastards can start to pay their taxes.
The reason I got angry about the internet in this way was cos of a song that Leona Lewis is releasing. Basically, it is a cover of Hurt originally by Nine Inch Nails.
Here’s a link:
Now I like this song. In the kind of way I like toast. It’s alright, but I won’t wax lyrically about it like it’s the best thing ever. Neither will I dismiss it as a terrible piece of pop, cos, to be frank, Leona has an awesome voice and it rings of depth, if not pain and misery.
The things that are annoying me, are people firstly, stating that Johnny Cash wrote it. It was of course written by the awesome Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails. To some extent that is the definitive record I guess. The thing is, if you scroll anywhere on the internet, you find fudgetards, of the sole opinion that that is not the case. This is where we, the normal minded people, need the power of the UberNerd. The UberNerd would be respected enough that he decides the winner in a comment post argument, he is the end of the argument, he is the law.
The other thing that annoys me is that people, including the “great”, NME magazine, are stating that the record has more in common with Johnny Cash’s 2002 version of the song. Ok so you can compare them all, here’s the original songs:
Listening to the 3 versions together, common sense would dictate that there is only one answer. The internet is blinded by love for the late great Man in Black. They refuse to acknowledge that Leona ‘X factor’, Lewis, could have anything to do with a song about suicide and drug abuse.
The reality of it is, from a technical point of view the NIN version is just like Leona’s. It maintains the off key 4th note in the hook, the piano paints a beautiful picture. The key factor more than anything is that the chorus resembles this image of triumphant love rising above it, in all its tragic majesty. It moves you and the crowd, it makes you feel warm and gives you hope. It is very much about this person being the only good thing about this persons life.
If we take a look at J. Cash’s version, it is more than anything a tribute to those who have stood there with him. It doesn’t build to much, all it is, is him and his voice and that piano. The piano is the backbone, maintaining that that one person, in this case his late wife June Carter Cash, is the one who kept him to his point. This is no triumphant release, he is albeit as humble about his life as he is reflective. The final note, that he as a person would not change a thing if he could go back, is the real crux of the song. The track abruptly ends, and we are left with an old mans memories.
Honestly I can’t see how you can really draw comparison between the three records in such a way. I have been rambling for a good while I think, but to be honest, I love the song, it is one of my favourite tracks of all time. Also, the video for it is one of the finest musical montages I have ever seen, and it gives me shivers every time I watch it.
OK, I’m done now.
Might not update this for a while, gotta work on a concept project that I thought of.
That said I might write another tomorrow.
Go cuddle some kittens
Peace out J
Originally this was gonna be a blog post about some really interesting subject like depression or optimism or which cheeses go best with mature coke. But I was on the internets earlier(always a bad start), and I came across a bit of a problem.
People argue about things that are based on opinions formed by incorrect information.
That is, people are misinformed, and then they go on the internet, and vent. And when they vent, they inherently frustrate someone else, which means that everyone argues, and we are left with something like this:
What this video shows is that the internet is filled not only with idiots, but idiots who don’t know when they are wrong. Also, said idiots have learnt very bad grammar. Now this poses the question, what shall we do with these festoons of the internet? Or how should we rehabilitate them?
To be perfectly honest, there has always been a massive section of society I feel, have no real use. These people should be disposed of, preferably from a high height, onto spikes.
Perhaps what we should really be doing is using message boards to send out educational messages of love or harmony. Rather than arguing about things that we know nothing about, we should have a crack team of super, nay, UBER nerds who surf the internet constantly commenting and addressing the inaccuracies of the internet. In this way, we can control the internet, and gain back a portion of society.
And then the bastards can start to pay their taxes.
The reason I got angry about the internet in this way was cos of a song that Leona Lewis is releasing. Basically, it is a cover of Hurt originally by Nine Inch Nails.
Here’s a link:
Now I like this song. In the kind of way I like toast. It’s alright, but I won’t wax lyrically about it like it’s the best thing ever. Neither will I dismiss it as a terrible piece of pop, cos, to be frank, Leona has an awesome voice and it rings of depth, if not pain and misery.
The things that are annoying me, are people firstly, stating that Johnny Cash wrote it. It was of course written by the awesome Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails. To some extent that is the definitive record I guess. The thing is, if you scroll anywhere on the internet, you find fudgetards, of the sole opinion that that is not the case. This is where we, the normal minded people, need the power of the UberNerd. The UberNerd would be respected enough that he decides the winner in a comment post argument, he is the end of the argument, he is the law.
The other thing that annoys me is that people, including the “great”, NME magazine, are stating that the record has more in common with Johnny Cash’s 2002 version of the song. Ok so you can compare them all, here’s the original songs:
Listening to the 3 versions together, common sense would dictate that there is only one answer. The internet is blinded by love for the late great Man in Black. They refuse to acknowledge that Leona ‘X factor’, Lewis, could have anything to do with a song about suicide and drug abuse.
The reality of it is, from a technical point of view the NIN version is just like Leona’s. It maintains the off key 4th note in the hook, the piano paints a beautiful picture. The key factor more than anything is that the chorus resembles this image of triumphant love rising above it, in all its tragic majesty. It moves you and the crowd, it makes you feel warm and gives you hope. It is very much about this person being the only good thing about this persons life.
If we take a look at J. Cash’s version, it is more than anything a tribute to those who have stood there with him. It doesn’t build to much, all it is, is him and his voice and that piano. The piano is the backbone, maintaining that that one person, in this case his late wife June Carter Cash, is the one who kept him to his point. This is no triumphant release, he is albeit as humble about his life as he is reflective. The final note, that he as a person would not change a thing if he could go back, is the real crux of the song. The track abruptly ends, and we are left with an old mans memories.
Honestly I can’t see how you can really draw comparison between the three records in such a way. I have been rambling for a good while I think, but to be honest, I love the song, it is one of my favourite tracks of all time. Also, the video for it is one of the finest musical montages I have ever seen, and it gives me shivers every time I watch it.
OK, I’m done now.
Might not update this for a while, gotta work on a concept project that I thought of.
That said I might write another tomorrow.
Go cuddle some kittens
Peace out J
Monday, 28 November 2011
The Place Where Dreams Come True
Hey Guys,
Frank Sinatra once sang that life went in Cycles, that always there's laughter and then the tears. Life has a habit of not letting you go smooth, always hiding something else around the corner.
The song always made a lot of sense to me. I mean it is a pretty simple sentiment. Life comes and goes, we all exist in a larger scheme. Listening to it tonight, it kind of struck me. I go through cycles myself. I'm kind of in the middle of one now, and that is perfectly normal for me it would seem. As normal as eating 6 Mars bars in a row on a whim. But hey that happens I guess.
I am going somewhere with this, I promise.
After that I started to think about how we all look at things differently. I recently had one of my colleagues (I know right, I'm employable! who woulda thought it) called me bipolar to some extent. I understood what they meant by that so I disn't really take it as an insult. But what it got me thinking was this:
Why do we need to label people in such a way?
I know it was a completely innocent comment, but at the same time it was a clear observation that I acted in some way different from that person. And for that reason I was assigned a label, a title, a name, a derogative term even. It's as though as a race we can't stop ourselves from differentaiting all the different people until we are little more than bricks in a wall, numbers in a machine.
I know it may seem a bit funny that I should react so strongly to a harmless comment as such, but it really angers me in principle. As people we have a society that accepts everyone, but makes sure they are labeled and filed accordingly. We're constantly referring to people as gay, straighr, ugly, pretty, crazy, free-spirited, wasted and so many other terms, it seems to me that we spend far too long trying to file people away, and not enough time getting out what they have to say.
The other thing I wanna talk about is a pretty major story I guess. I'm sure you've all heard about the death of Gary Speed on Sunday.
If not:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15910648.stm
Now I don't really wanna add too much to what has already been said, other than his loss is a tragedy to football and his family, and my thoughts are with them at this time. The point I wanna make is to do with how no-one knew what was going on with him.
Obviously we don't and may never know the exact reason that Gary Speed took his own life. It's also clear that no one expected or knew anything about it. This asks the question, how does a person hide so well?
In our society, that we habitually, pigeon hole and number people, we still can't identify those vulnerable to themselves. I find that quite shocking. I find it a disgrace in fact, that we as humans, find it easy to criticize and make fun of difference. Yet we struggle to acknowledge those who are different, those who need help and those in need of a label to help them cope.
The point I'm trying to get at is that we all spend so much time interacting with each other, judging each other, labeling each other. In this period, where we have an all time high of suicides, especially in the young male demographic, can't we as a race start to look out for each other?
What we lost in Gary Speed, I can only attribute to one factor. That no one noticed. And that is the real tragedy, that we as people have forgotten to notice each others existence anymore.
Why have we let it get that way?
Peace out
Frank Sinatra once sang that life went in Cycles, that always there's laughter and then the tears. Life has a habit of not letting you go smooth, always hiding something else around the corner.
The song always made a lot of sense to me. I mean it is a pretty simple sentiment. Life comes and goes, we all exist in a larger scheme. Listening to it tonight, it kind of struck me. I go through cycles myself. I'm kind of in the middle of one now, and that is perfectly normal for me it would seem. As normal as eating 6 Mars bars in a row on a whim. But hey that happens I guess.
I am going somewhere with this, I promise.
After that I started to think about how we all look at things differently. I recently had one of my colleagues (I know right, I'm employable! who woulda thought it) called me bipolar to some extent. I understood what they meant by that so I disn't really take it as an insult. But what it got me thinking was this:
Why do we need to label people in such a way?
I know it was a completely innocent comment, but at the same time it was a clear observation that I acted in some way different from that person. And for that reason I was assigned a label, a title, a name, a derogative term even. It's as though as a race we can't stop ourselves from differentaiting all the different people until we are little more than bricks in a wall, numbers in a machine.
I know it may seem a bit funny that I should react so strongly to a harmless comment as such, but it really angers me in principle. As people we have a society that accepts everyone, but makes sure they are labeled and filed accordingly. We're constantly referring to people as gay, straighr, ugly, pretty, crazy, free-spirited, wasted and so many other terms, it seems to me that we spend far too long trying to file people away, and not enough time getting out what they have to say.
The other thing I wanna talk about is a pretty major story I guess. I'm sure you've all heard about the death of Gary Speed on Sunday.
If not:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15910648.stm
Now I don't really wanna add too much to what has already been said, other than his loss is a tragedy to football and his family, and my thoughts are with them at this time. The point I wanna make is to do with how no-one knew what was going on with him.
Obviously we don't and may never know the exact reason that Gary Speed took his own life. It's also clear that no one expected or knew anything about it. This asks the question, how does a person hide so well?
In our society, that we habitually, pigeon hole and number people, we still can't identify those vulnerable to themselves. I find that quite shocking. I find it a disgrace in fact, that we as humans, find it easy to criticize and make fun of difference. Yet we struggle to acknowledge those who are different, those who need help and those in need of a label to help them cope.
The point I'm trying to get at is that we all spend so much time interacting with each other, judging each other, labeling each other. In this period, where we have an all time high of suicides, especially in the young male demographic, can't we as a race start to look out for each other?
What we lost in Gary Speed, I can only attribute to one factor. That no one noticed. And that is the real tragedy, that we as people have forgotten to notice each others existence anymore.
Why have we let it get that way?
Peace out
Monday, 21 November 2011
Funny thoughts that I've just been thinking
Hey guys...
I gonna start by saying that I'm gonna be a bit sporadi with this one. I have a lot on my mind and I just kind of wanna spurt it all out there. No wait. Not spurt, that sounds wrong. I just wanna express it all. Yeah. That sounds middle class enough.
So yesterday night I had a bit of a mini movie marathon. That is, I watched 2 movies back to back. Firstly I watched Remember the Titans, following it up with Field of Dreams. Now I'm sure a lot of you have watched Remember the Titans, and some of you Field of Dreams. In fact a lot of people haven't even heard of Field of Dreams. Now that is a shame, since it is a brilliant, cheesy, emotive and over the top film. I love it to bits for a couple of personal reasons as well as a genuine love for the American Sports Drama. It is the kind of film with just inspirational, lovely, infinitely quotable lines about self belief and glory that really stand the test of time.
Well as I was watching Field of Dreams, it kind of struck me, why aren't there as many of these films anymore?
That is, why aren't there as many feel good, all-american, family sports orientated dramas? Why is it, that I can no longer go to the cinema and watch a non-comedy knowing that it will leave me with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart? The only film I've seen this year that generated that feeling for me this year, was Real Steel, a film mocked by one of my friends as being "cheesy american shite".
The thing is, its not as though we as cinema goers have all become miserable old farts; comedies are doing better than ever. In particular, R-rated, or adult comedies, are taking a much larger share of the bocx office than ever. The all-american sports drama is dying. And it is being killed by a brand of cinema, that is in no way as beautiful or emotive of the American Dream.
That's right, Dance movies.
Basically, Hollywood is killing the great American Sports Drama, in order to be more "street". Now I guess that is ok if they are sending the same messages. The Mighty Ducks for example, taught me that you can't erase the past. But you can become better then that and redeem yourself. You Got Served taught me..... not to sleep with my best mates sister. Ok another example, Rocky taught me that it ain't over till it's over, that every dog will have its day and most crucially that somewhere, deep inside Sylvester Stallone, there was once a half decent actor. Step Up taught me.... how not to make a movie.
Maybe its me, but I just cannot get the same universal values from a movie about a bunch of kids dancing like freaks, that I do from underdog tales of people given up on and downtrodden. They inspire and guide me, and they give me hope above all things. A great bit of cinema hits home in your emotional gut, not just you cerebral cortex. If anything, I just think its a shame that Hollywood seems to be forgeting about heart, and focusing on body popping and connecting with the youth.
The main other thing I've been thinking about is time. Not so much in terms of how it runs out or the like, but more how its all relative. For example, recently I was in an emotionally active period with someone(paha how amibgous is that?). At the time I should have acted. But I didn't, and I didn't even realise I should have done for 26 hours, upon with point my reaction was such:
What it got me thinking is, that if I had made that descision, which in retrospect, was definately the right decision, the events of that moment and all those after would have been, to some extent, completely different. For one, I wouldn't have been banging my head against the wall.
In that same respect, how much of our lives come down to these kind of twitch reactions and decisions? The reality of it is, that as einstein said, to each action there is a reaction. So by that, we can say that everything has consequences, fairly simply. What I want you guys to take from that is this:
Life has a habit of throwing a million options to you, yet you only see a few at any one time. Why not take a different one for once, and see where you end up?
Peace out
I gonna start by saying that I'm gonna be a bit sporadi with this one. I have a lot on my mind and I just kind of wanna spurt it all out there. No wait. Not spurt, that sounds wrong. I just wanna express it all. Yeah. That sounds middle class enough.
So yesterday night I had a bit of a mini movie marathon. That is, I watched 2 movies back to back. Firstly I watched Remember the Titans, following it up with Field of Dreams. Now I'm sure a lot of you have watched Remember the Titans, and some of you Field of Dreams. In fact a lot of people haven't even heard of Field of Dreams. Now that is a shame, since it is a brilliant, cheesy, emotive and over the top film. I love it to bits for a couple of personal reasons as well as a genuine love for the American Sports Drama. It is the kind of film with just inspirational, lovely, infinitely quotable lines about self belief and glory that really stand the test of time.
Well as I was watching Field of Dreams, it kind of struck me, why aren't there as many of these films anymore?
That is, why aren't there as many feel good, all-american, family sports orientated dramas? Why is it, that I can no longer go to the cinema and watch a non-comedy knowing that it will leave me with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart? The only film I've seen this year that generated that feeling for me this year, was Real Steel, a film mocked by one of my friends as being "cheesy american shite".
The thing is, its not as though we as cinema goers have all become miserable old farts; comedies are doing better than ever. In particular, R-rated, or adult comedies, are taking a much larger share of the bocx office than ever. The all-american sports drama is dying. And it is being killed by a brand of cinema, that is in no way as beautiful or emotive of the American Dream.
That's right, Dance movies.
Basically, Hollywood is killing the great American Sports Drama, in order to be more "street". Now I guess that is ok if they are sending the same messages. The Mighty Ducks for example, taught me that you can't erase the past. But you can become better then that and redeem yourself. You Got Served taught me..... not to sleep with my best mates sister. Ok another example, Rocky taught me that it ain't over till it's over, that every dog will have its day and most crucially that somewhere, deep inside Sylvester Stallone, there was once a half decent actor. Step Up taught me.... how not to make a movie.
Maybe its me, but I just cannot get the same universal values from a movie about a bunch of kids dancing like freaks, that I do from underdog tales of people given up on and downtrodden. They inspire and guide me, and they give me hope above all things. A great bit of cinema hits home in your emotional gut, not just you cerebral cortex. If anything, I just think its a shame that Hollywood seems to be forgeting about heart, and focusing on body popping and connecting with the youth.
The main other thing I've been thinking about is time. Not so much in terms of how it runs out or the like, but more how its all relative. For example, recently I was in an emotionally active period with someone(paha how amibgous is that?). At the time I should have acted. But I didn't, and I didn't even realise I should have done for 26 hours, upon with point my reaction was such:
What it got me thinking is, that if I had made that descision, which in retrospect, was definately the right decision, the events of that moment and all those after would have been, to some extent, completely different. For one, I wouldn't have been banging my head against the wall.
In that same respect, how much of our lives come down to these kind of twitch reactions and decisions? The reality of it is, that as einstein said, to each action there is a reaction. So by that, we can say that everything has consequences, fairly simply. What I want you guys to take from that is this:
Life has a habit of throwing a million options to you, yet you only see a few at any one time. Why not take a different one for once, and see where you end up?
Peace out
Monday, 14 November 2011
I love you baby!!
Hi guys,
So recently I was thinking, why is it that some people just replace their stuff without any due regard to it.
I know that I can't even get an upgrade without going all misty eyed and wistful. I was practically bawling the day that my Playstation one (the small one) died on me. All that came flooding back were all the many games that I had completed and the major achievements I had managed on it. The device was a part of my memories and I loved it.
But at the same time, I can give you so many examples of when people just dispose of things with no regard for it. It's just an item, it has no meaning to its owner. Like when my neighbour crashed his car, his first question was what courtesey car was he getting. Didn't he for one second think of the car that had been carrying him around since he passed his driving test, 4 years prior, and how it was being treated?
I feel like this might be me flogging a dead horse, so I think I'll give you another example. Actually a horse is a good example. Imagine you had a horse. A relaible work horse. The kind of horse that would carry you from A to B, pick up C and shift it to D. And one day that horse just died. Doesn't matter how it died or where. It just died. You'd be heart broken,, devastated even. But you wouldn't do the same for a combine harvester if it broke.
The point I'm trying to make is this. What difference does a bit of flesh and blood make? Is it such that a portion of society can't love their tech?
Let me tell you another story( a regular Scherezenade tonight aren't I?). I had a car before. It was a 2001 plate Skoda Fabia, with a dodgy power steering motor. It took ages to heat up, was kind of cramped, and it had dents all over it from my erratic driving.
Her name was Faith.
The fact that I named her was key to me I think. As much as she had problems, she was my car, my friend, my loyal accomplice. In fact I hardly think I can say she had problems. She had flaws, and and fallicies. She was an imperfect car. And in that respect she had character. I knew what to expect from her, and she gave me all that and more. In fact, she was an unbelieveably reliable, fun to drive car. She had a chirpy spirit that I enjoyed so much, she gave and gave and never asked for anything back.
To be honest, I loved that car because I allowed myself to. It because I trusted that car, I believed in that car, I loved that car. Because I allowed myself to, I gave that car a name, a character, a soul. If anything, because of my own demeanour, I fell in love with a mechanical beast.
Why don't more of us do that?
So recently I was thinking, why is it that some people just replace their stuff without any due regard to it.
I know that I can't even get an upgrade without going all misty eyed and wistful. I was practically bawling the day that my Playstation one (the small one) died on me. All that came flooding back were all the many games that I had completed and the major achievements I had managed on it. The device was a part of my memories and I loved it.
But at the same time, I can give you so many examples of when people just dispose of things with no regard for it. It's just an item, it has no meaning to its owner. Like when my neighbour crashed his car, his first question was what courtesey car was he getting. Didn't he for one second think of the car that had been carrying him around since he passed his driving test, 4 years prior, and how it was being treated?
I feel like this might be me flogging a dead horse, so I think I'll give you another example. Actually a horse is a good example. Imagine you had a horse. A relaible work horse. The kind of horse that would carry you from A to B, pick up C and shift it to D. And one day that horse just died. Doesn't matter how it died or where. It just died. You'd be heart broken,, devastated even. But you wouldn't do the same for a combine harvester if it broke.
The point I'm trying to make is this. What difference does a bit of flesh and blood make? Is it such that a portion of society can't love their tech?
Let me tell you another story( a regular Scherezenade tonight aren't I?). I had a car before. It was a 2001 plate Skoda Fabia, with a dodgy power steering motor. It took ages to heat up, was kind of cramped, and it had dents all over it from my erratic driving.
Her name was Faith.
The fact that I named her was key to me I think. As much as she had problems, she was my car, my friend, my loyal accomplice. In fact I hardly think I can say she had problems. She had flaws, and and fallicies. She was an imperfect car. And in that respect she had character. I knew what to expect from her, and she gave me all that and more. In fact, she was an unbelieveably reliable, fun to drive car. She had a chirpy spirit that I enjoyed so much, she gave and gave and never asked for anything back.
To be honest, I loved that car because I allowed myself to. It because I trusted that car, I believed in that car, I loved that car. Because I allowed myself to, I gave that car a name, a character, a soul. If anything, because of my own demeanour, I fell in love with a mechanical beast.
Why don't more of us do that?
Monday, 7 November 2011
Why don't you just work.......
Hey,
So recently I had a job interview. Well actually I had two.
Well I had two interviews for he same job. I got the job cos I'm awesome but then I turned it down cos I'm a bit wrong in the head.
Believe it or not, there is a point to this post and it is coming soon.
Out of the two interviews I intended to go by public transport on both occasions. The location was within the congestion charge zone so I didn't want to pay those costs by driving in. Take the bus I thought, make it cheap and cheerful. Well for my first interview I left my house 45 minutes early, for a 20 minute journey, a long time before the afternoon rush hour.
I spent 20 minutes waiting for a bus, after which the only one that went by, was so packed, it didn't even slow down let alone stop. At that point I realized I was at risk of running late. I made a judgement call and drove in, paid the congestion charge and did well in the interview.
I did so well in that interview, they invited me back that Friday for 9AM.
Now this time I was prepared for a slog, since I was heading into the rush hour. Leave like an hour early or something for it, take no risks and that.
So I left my house just after 7.30 in the morning, heading into the buisness sector of London. Little was I to know that the city was against me in every sense.
I think at this point I should point out, I don't exactly live in the sticks of London. By driving, I can be in the City within 10 minutes. Of course it takes a bit longer by public transport, but that is given.
My overall commute into the city on that fateful day was an eventful one. It began, in the rain. No less than three of my required buses, simply ignored the temporal reality of the bus stop I was waiting at. At this stage I made a judgement. I'm not gonna make it am I? I chose then, lets take a detour. So I take the bus to the nearest tube station, a solid move, surely.
Alas, I was unable to board a total of 4 trains due to overpacking. And when I did get on one, I got sweated on by a rather lovely hairy Greek bloke, whose economy my taxes were probably rescuing. For the whole 20 minutes of sweaty, rocky and sticky travel, I asked myself, why is it like this?
London Transport is one of the largest drains on taxpayers money. On top of that, it drains from fuel duty, congestion charge, and even pension funds. Out of all this flootsam and jetsam, how have we ended up with a system that invariably, ceases to work two times a day? You might argue with this sentiment, but it's true.
What if, for example, your car decided to stop working or work at 20% of it's capacity when you most needed it? Or what if, your taps decided to stop working when everyone was making a cup of tea during the X Factor? We wouldn't accept it in so many other mediums if something stopped working when its busy, so why do we accept it with something as expensieve as public transport?
Sadly, i don't really have many answers. We do need a better underground service overall, and I can accept that it is on its way. The thing that really irks me however , is the bus service. What the bus service needs to be doing is taking a long hard look at it's routes and timings, and deciding which are really neccesary. I understand why there are lots of the bus that take me to the station, but why are there so few of the bus that takes me right to the city first thing in the morning?
On top of that, some of the routes are wholeheartedly pointless. Arriva and Stagecoach each run a route that starts in Whitechapel, East London. Despite their differing ending points, they actually share 70% of their route. At what point did TFL make the decision that they were both neccesary?
Well anyway, after I got out of the train I realised I had 5 minutes to travel 15 minutes on a bus. So I decided to do the first smart thing I had done all morning: I got a cab. And needless to say it was mighty comfortable and I arrived at my destination in comfort and style. I went on to thrill the life out of my interviewers adn dazzle them with my skills.
Also, they shared my love of kittens.
Peace out
So recently I had a job interview. Well actually I had two.
Well I had two interviews for he same job. I got the job cos I'm awesome but then I turned it down cos I'm a bit wrong in the head.
Believe it or not, there is a point to this post and it is coming soon.
Out of the two interviews I intended to go by public transport on both occasions. The location was within the congestion charge zone so I didn't want to pay those costs by driving in. Take the bus I thought, make it cheap and cheerful. Well for my first interview I left my house 45 minutes early, for a 20 minute journey, a long time before the afternoon rush hour.
I spent 20 minutes waiting for a bus, after which the only one that went by, was so packed, it didn't even slow down let alone stop. At that point I realized I was at risk of running late. I made a judgement call and drove in, paid the congestion charge and did well in the interview.
I did so well in that interview, they invited me back that Friday for 9AM.
Now this time I was prepared for a slog, since I was heading into the rush hour. Leave like an hour early or something for it, take no risks and that.
So I left my house just after 7.30 in the morning, heading into the buisness sector of London. Little was I to know that the city was against me in every sense.
I think at this point I should point out, I don't exactly live in the sticks of London. By driving, I can be in the City within 10 minutes. Of course it takes a bit longer by public transport, but that is given.
My overall commute into the city on that fateful day was an eventful one. It began, in the rain. No less than three of my required buses, simply ignored the temporal reality of the bus stop I was waiting at. At this stage I made a judgement. I'm not gonna make it am I? I chose then, lets take a detour. So I take the bus to the nearest tube station, a solid move, surely.
Alas, I was unable to board a total of 4 trains due to overpacking. And when I did get on one, I got sweated on by a rather lovely hairy Greek bloke, whose economy my taxes were probably rescuing. For the whole 20 minutes of sweaty, rocky and sticky travel, I asked myself, why is it like this?
London Transport is one of the largest drains on taxpayers money. On top of that, it drains from fuel duty, congestion charge, and even pension funds. Out of all this flootsam and jetsam, how have we ended up with a system that invariably, ceases to work two times a day? You might argue with this sentiment, but it's true.
What if, for example, your car decided to stop working or work at 20% of it's capacity when you most needed it? Or what if, your taps decided to stop working when everyone was making a cup of tea during the X Factor? We wouldn't accept it in so many other mediums if something stopped working when its busy, so why do we accept it with something as expensieve as public transport?
Sadly, i don't really have many answers. We do need a better underground service overall, and I can accept that it is on its way. The thing that really irks me however , is the bus service. What the bus service needs to be doing is taking a long hard look at it's routes and timings, and deciding which are really neccesary. I understand why there are lots of the bus that take me to the station, but why are there so few of the bus that takes me right to the city first thing in the morning?
On top of that, some of the routes are wholeheartedly pointless. Arriva and Stagecoach each run a route that starts in Whitechapel, East London. Despite their differing ending points, they actually share 70% of their route. At what point did TFL make the decision that they were both neccesary?
Well anyway, after I got out of the train I realised I had 5 minutes to travel 15 minutes on a bus. So I decided to do the first smart thing I had done all morning: I got a cab. And needless to say it was mighty comfortable and I arrived at my destination in comfort and style. I went on to thrill the life out of my interviewers adn dazzle them with my skills.
Also, they shared my love of kittens.
Peace out
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Cameras that could end the world!!!!
So I recently got my hands on the new Nikon J1 compact system camera. And I created an opinion on it. It feels nice, that is all.
That's all I can say I like about it, it feels nice to hold in the hand. The layout of buttons is nice and it has a nice weight to it. Other than that, it strikes a question.
Who or what consumer market is this damn thing aimed at?
The reason I say this is that everything seems just so...... Half arsed. There's a dedicated video button, which only works in video mode....
It can shoot 60fps full res...... For about half a second......
It can do super duper slo mo video..... In unwatchable quality.
All of this points to me that Nikon wanted to do something a bit different with their first mirror less system camera. They seemed to want to create a camera that looked like it could do nothing, act like it could do a lot, but overall not really do anything.
So essentially, Nikon have created a device that is aimed at no one, designed for everyone and will be used by..... Someone?
Cos it comes back to the first point I made I guess. The device is a sexy bit of kit. It is, and this is the key thing I guess, iPod sexy. That means that despite its obvious shortcomings, it will sell. It will probably, have an initial hardcore following, saying it is the future and that all other devices are inferior and that it is the bees knees so to speak.
The problem is that the device doesn't really do anything new or exciting. It simply puts its sub par features in a nice shell, that may dominate the market. If you may recall, a device dominating a market leads to stagnation in the market. So let's face it, the problem this camera poses, it may strangle the market.
And strangling markets, like strangling kittens, is just not cool.
That's all I can say I like about it, it feels nice to hold in the hand. The layout of buttons is nice and it has a nice weight to it. Other than that, it strikes a question.
Who or what consumer market is this damn thing aimed at?
The reason I say this is that everything seems just so...... Half arsed. There's a dedicated video button, which only works in video mode....
It can shoot 60fps full res...... For about half a second......
It can do super duper slo mo video..... In unwatchable quality.
All of this points to me that Nikon wanted to do something a bit different with their first mirror less system camera. They seemed to want to create a camera that looked like it could do nothing, act like it could do a lot, but overall not really do anything.
So essentially, Nikon have created a device that is aimed at no one, designed for everyone and will be used by..... Someone?
Cos it comes back to the first point I made I guess. The device is a sexy bit of kit. It is, and this is the key thing I guess, iPod sexy. That means that despite its obvious shortcomings, it will sell. It will probably, have an initial hardcore following, saying it is the future and that all other devices are inferior and that it is the bees knees so to speak.
The problem is that the device doesn't really do anything new or exciting. It simply puts its sub par features in a nice shell, that may dominate the market. If you may recall, a device dominating a market leads to stagnation in the market. So let's face it, the problem this camera poses, it may strangle the market.
And strangling markets, like strangling kittens, is just not cool.
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