The Next World War

This rant sprouts from the documentary film "Supermarket Secrets", a strong piece of investigative journalism concerning the UK food retail industry that came out a few years ago. I watched it with disbelief and tears in my eyes, disgust, then anger. This poor little apple that is not perfectly symmetrical like the snobby faces of its sick consumers and the supermarketeers who rationalize their system by pointing at the "demand" of these consumers. This one misshapen apple, thrown to the pigs or left to rot while a billion people are starving, should enrage billions. And once they are enraged they might start to see that it is not only this apple. It's everything. The entire food production and the entire non-food production. Wasteful, environmentally disastrous, unsustainable, disgustingly "efficient". The whole system should be taken down. Not "dismantled" but blown up, carpet bombed, nuked into oblivion.

Commercial Break

It's time for a short commercial break. Get comfortable in your chair and watch the wonderful products. Don't believe the communist propaganda that commercials are made to seduce people into buying stuff they don't need. Commercials are essential to life and without them even the most basic human functioning would be unthinkable, we would all live and die in caves, deprived of our basic human needs and desire. Without television commercials we would no longer experience desire, and become apathetic, defenseless against the threat of communism. Without radio advertisements we would stop to recognize our ability to be political beings. And without billboards and print media ads we would lose our sense of self. We have made it a number one priority to defend the right to make this society more livable which as per the above findings means turn this entire country into a canvas for commercials.

Ducks on Dawkins

Our Reflection is sometimes quite astonishing.

I got carried away a bit by a series of "related videos" about Richard Dawkins and his quest to extirpate religion. His eloquence is mighty and delightful, and I do agree with most of his arguments. Of course science offers a far better explanation of natural phenomenons, and its supremacy in predicting the future is self-evident. With experiments that must be essentially replicable in the lab, and the continuous effort to identify and eradicate every bias, science is the best thing since sliced bread.

Ugliness

Is it ugly to snitch pictures from the web?

Beauty is not eternal, neither is it projected on a blank, neutral canvas by the mind of the visual, auditive or tactile beholder. It is an in-between: between the recognition of eternal abstract truths perfectly embodied in a work of art, and the unique creation of the one-time sublime by the conspiring individual minds of an artist and her admirer. Beauty is the entanglement of the spirit of abstract perfection and the spirit of the wondrous captivating singularity, one force in line with the universe, a total remembrance of the truth of being, the other force a violent forgetting and being overwhelmed by that which lays beyond our reach.

"OMG!" look at these ads on Huffpost.

Advertising on "Huffington Post", December 6th, 2011

The 99% are 1%. The majority of the people is not on the streets, but sits at home watching sit-coms. And that is not just some politician's quote.

What is the real sentiment of "the people"? To get a good indicator, we would have to assess their interests, their hopes, wishes, desires, fears, worries, their faith, habits, and hate. Where should we start?

The advertising industry itself ($400 billion USD as of 2011) has already done it better than we could. All we need to do is take a look at the sponsored links on websites (yes, those annoying messages we've trained ourselves to avoid looking at) because what the machines that put them there assume the average reader's interest is, is probably pretty close to what it actually is.

Minor Inconveniences

Caravaggio - The Sacrifice of Isaac

Can we all contribute a little bit to make the world a better place? It sounds easy, and it feels good. There are thousands of web sites and campaigns clamoring people into donating a few percent of their wealth to the Good. There are even courageous politicians who dare to ask people to drive a little bit less in cars that are a little bit smaller. After reading these first three sentences, I am quite sure you felt these are the words of a cynic, am I right? You had this discomforting feeling that a disillusioned sore soul was sneering at you, someone who was once, in a former life, a hypermoralistic puritan. Am I right?

Humane Recycling

We love recycling. We promote every transition of the prevalent system of exploitation and resource depletion to something more in harmony with the planet and her fragile cycles. Recycling is a new way of being, and well understood it is a truly sustainable way of living together with the landbase and ecosystems that support us. Understanding re-cycling well means to differ it from mere down-cycling or converting stuff into less valuable stuff somewhere down the energy chain.

Animals.

If there is any justice beyond human justice, the human race should be eliminated yesterday.

Picture of a symbolically tortured animal (homo sapiens "sapiens")

Animal welfare activists don't shy away from coining their message in radical slogans. We all know horror stories of illegal PETA activists setting fire to legitimate pork factories or chicken breeding facilities, and we shiver at the idea that such terrorists are allowed to publish their campaigns in our magazines. What are they fighting for, anyway? There is nothing remotely comparable to human desolation and misery hiding under a pig's hide, is there?

Fast Forward

It's not something to say aloud, but I sometimes have a hidden desire to fast-forward history. I read a lot of projections and predictions about the future, some cynical, some knowledgeable, most admitting that we simply cannot know what is coming.

Except these few certainties like climate change, global competition for food and energy resources, and major economic crises.

Pay Me Because You Like Me (not vice versa!)

I will put a little image right next to this line, on which you can click if you want to express your appreciation with real money. Directly, without having to stop reading, going to the bank, opening another website, writing a check, or sending the maid for some loose change to give to the poor writer who's at your doorstep with his pamphlet. You can express your gratitude instantly.

Hölderlin and Neil Young

Dreams and dreamers are of all ages. They are standing on the strong shoulders of their culture and bury their gaze in the stars. Let's say that again because I like it. They are standing on the strong shoulders of their culture and bury their gaze in the stars.

Perhaps you decided to read this because the names in the title awaken mirthful associations. Well, I am not an expert on Hölderlin and Neil Young, but they have something in common. They wrote the most dreamy quotes I know.

The Club of Fifty-Six

Some people die too young, they pass away much too early, before they have come to realize their full potential. For rock-stars, the viral age seems to be twenty-seven, age at which some of the most intensely expressive musicians died. We all remember Joplin, Cobain and Winehouse.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was a creative genius, and to his honor I decided to write this edition of my virtual musings, introducing the notion of the Club of Fifty-Six.

Non-destructive Travel

There has been a lot of fuzz about our "carbon footprint" and most articles on non-destructive traveling start and end with quoting our unsustainably high carbon dioxide emissions on international flights. The obvious result of these well-intended pieces is that readers can't hear it any longer and lose interest in non-destructive travel altogether.

The climate isn't getting any cooler but our heads should. You should have a warm interest in leaving behind a healthier planet, or this article is not for you.

Daily Social Media Fairness Sessions!

Imagine you're a wealthy shop owner and you hear about this "thing", this new technology that strongly amplifies every voice raised on it and thus promises to lure paying customers into your business. Wow, you think, I don't wanna miss this boat, and you ask how much it would cost. "It's free", some bearded hippies yawn at you and that makes you feel uncomfortable. You want a decent service from this "thing" and you will pay for it. "Alright", a trimmed hipster tells you, "here's the deal". And you sign a contract with the new "thing" which will boost your sales eventually.

Towels and Hooks

Two things are important in public toilets and similar confinements we find ourselves in for distinctively private affairs and these things are towels and hooks. Why write about them? What can we possibly gain from it? If you're not interested in towels and hooks, stop reading and enjoy your day. It's about metaphysics, perhaps. These things are so common that we don't perceive them as long as they're there. Their absence however, can cause some significant inconvenience.

Try using a public bathroom with a muddy floor and no hooks. Do you keep your overcoat on? Hold it in your hands? Do you put your briefcase on your knees, perhaps put it on the water reservoir? Or after you've washed your hands and there's nothing to dry them with, will you simply wipe them on your trousers, risking the frown of many onlookers once again in public? These are simple, everyday questions and we normally don't ponder them since towels and hooks are always available.

Probability Practise, helping the Poor

Can we help the poor simply by increasing the probability that a skillful independent helper or her organisation finds them?

William Easterly, the development economist and author of "The White Man's Burden" makes a famous distinction between "Planners" and "Searchers". The Planners have led most of the development efforts over the past 40 years - and failed on many occasions. We are going to make a similar distinction here in an attempt to explain how we think social media should work to support grass roots initiatives.

Why I like cooking

This is not a recipe blog. There are far more knowledgeable cooks maintaining interesting blogs like this one here.

Why, then, does this blog write about cooking? To be sure, I do love cooking for reasons other than the psychodairy this blog serves at times. The smell of fresh rhabarber, a good garlicky hummus, a Lao noodle soup, fried tofu, Korean kimchi, palak paneer... Being busy in a crowded kitchen cooking with friends, telling political jokes while cutting shalottes and dancing to the roaring sound of a blender - I like it a lot.

Imagine a Planet of the Apes

The premisse is interesting and not so far-fetched as it was at the time of the original movie, given what our laboratories achieve. So I expected an engaging narrative around hyperintelligent apes demonstrating how to outsmart the humans by being incredibly cooperative. I expected a visionary tale of wisdom making us silent in the face of the idea of the apes surpassing us in the evolutionary race.

But they weren't more than a growling horde, really. It was like the movie showed that even sublime intelligence can't find a way to overthrow the system and that all protest is in vain.

The final key scene on the bridge was hardly inspiring. The apes climbing on the cables and taking the police by surprise, the mean ape that was treated with the more powerful brain regeneration drug was just plain stupid mean instead of dangerously, insidiously persuading the others. Imagine a genius dictator who has all the empathy it takes to win over everybody and exploits it to control all the others. They could have shown how the genius ape had to turn evil because his overabundant intelligence made the world and all its challenges, both social and theoretical, appear boring to him. The director could have explored sociopath character traits and focus more on the primate's interaction with each other. It would have been so fascinating to see how the apes operate on much higher levels of empathy and social intelligence, we could have been mesmerized by their mind-bogglingly subtle conflict resolution skills, and smiled at an occasional wink of irony to world leaders of human kind.

A lot has been written about Hollywood simplicity by Zizek and all that. I would just like to get the word out that they missed a chance for a great movie here.

In favor of diversity, multifariousness, and heterogenity

There is an old joke about a German, a Frenchman and an Englishman telling each other the word for butterfly in their native tongue. "Butterfly", the soft-spoken English gentleman whispers and you could almost hear the movement of a perfect specimen in his voice. "Papillon", murmurs the Frenchman, and his friends are enchanted by the word that mimics the essence of the beautiful insect so well. They both look at the German, who clears his throat and barks "Schmetterling", while slamming his fist on the table.

In fact, the word for "butterfly" is very diverse as they are native in so many regions and there are over 180,000 different butterfly species. And the word sounds beautiful indeed in most languages, from the Spanish "mariposa" to the Italian "farfalle" or the Korean "nabi" and the Dutch "vlinder", all words seem to adequately express the elegance of the butterfly.


Here you can see for yourself. I omitted the name of the language since it is irrelevant, it is the sound that matters (alphabets uncommon for the Western eye have been transliterated):


Dealan-dè Papallona Ya-k-é Titli Kupu-kupu Tximeleta Bebe Papalotl K'aalógii pumarina Talubang Motyle  Bum ngày Paru-paro Cheshuekry´lye Alibangbang Påwion ttlfa Kipepeo Dagfjärilar tarralikitaaq  Rhopalocera  Papilio Kukupu Lepkék Lípalala Flinnerkene Metulji Perîdank  Képinek al‘rby aabrit Pillpintu Drugiai Zvinsparni Szmaterloki Peteleškes Hevavâhkema Pilpintu Borboleta Dnevni metulji Fiðrildi Papiyon Bolboreta Petaloyda Sommerfugl Liblikalised  Perhoset Panambi Leptiri Skoenlapper Pumarina


All these pretty denominations, all this verbal sophistication greatly enriches our world - I wouldn't want to live in a world where I would have to refer to these beautiful creatures as annoying flies that are attracted to butter, or "Schmetter", the root of the German Schmetterling.

Energy Saving - the Alaska Way

produces heat (and light)

If you listen carefully you can hear some politicians murmuring about saving energy, suggesting we should ride our bikes more often, insulate our homes a bit, or unplug unused electronic equipment. Some brave public folks even go as far as invoking ideas that are anathema to consumer society, such as a slightly smaller refrigerator.

But all their solutions, even applied consequently across the population, will hardly have any discernable effect other than the sarcasm, bitterness, hypocrisy and guilt it would produce.