Mental Masterbation
Playing with Chains of Illusions
So When is an "Expert"

So When is an "Expert"  Wed, Oct 30 2002  

Not and Expert


It's when they give their misguided opinions (needing something to say, but saying nothing) on a subject that is not related to their area of knowledge. I believe this is called creative dissonance and it is a disease that further adds links to our chains of illusions.

posted by Me | 12:54:56 PM
Thanks For the 30 Second Sound Bite

Thanks For the 30 Second Sound Bite  Tue, Oct 29 2002  

It appears that dumbing-down is the credo of the day for some media outlets like the 6 o'clock news. The absolutely terrible events that occurred in Russia. A theater full of people are taken hostage by rebels with nothing to lose (even their own lives). Was this a suicide mission-ABSOLUTELY. Was their a chance for negotiations-UNLIKELY.

There was at least one human bomb (a person in other parts of the world known as a suicide bomber) which implies a willingness to blow-up real good and take as many hostages with them. So here is the dilemma, you have people willing to die for their cause and you have the world audience wanting action. This is not a Hollywood movie where everyone survives and all the antagonists die. This is real life where hostages die and options are limited. Maybe the only option was to save as many people as possible.

Now for the 30 second sound bite (scan if you must). There is a group of misguided people willing to kill otherwise innocent victims. Their cause is freedom for their country. Add the fact that the aggressors (against the state) are willing to sacrifice their lives. This is a damned if you do and damned if you don't scenario on the world stage. The government has limited options:

1. Give in to the demands-not in the realm of today's geo-politcal possibilities.
2. Wait for the aggressors to begin to kill the hostages and wait for the hostages to be killed one-by-one or in groups.
3. Take pre-emptive actions and minimize the collateral damage (a euphemism for unintended death of non targets).
4. Do nothing.

So action was taken, hostages were killed. Remember this is not a Hollywood movie. Mission is a success. Tragedy for the unavoidable loss of life. For those that say or even dare to imply that loss of life could/should have been avoided have never been confronted with this situation. It is so easy for people to be critics and to say "I would have done it a different way". Everything is easy in retrospect and not so easy in real life. What is even more insulting are some academics/experts with little understanding of hostage situations and terrorism that offer their good opinion for us to believe.

Portrayed by many media outlets-Russia uses some "mysterious" gas to render all people unconscious and without treatment progresses to death. Extreme exposure is most likely immediate death. Now the story is no longer about saving people's lives, it's about a deadly "nerve agent" and how unthinkable it is to use this type of tactic. Comparisons between Iraq and Russia's actions are now being offered for public consumption. The demonization process has just begun. The media offered us expert opinions from every field except for hostage taking and negotiation. Why because no one thinks that the general public wants to hear that the actions were correct for the situation. What people want to hear are incompetent actions and the errors that were made-this does make for on-going viewership (perhaps as more errors are disclosed). After all an audience that is presented with a "correct-actions" story no longer needs to listen so ratings go down. Sure I am rambling now and bringing in unrelated topics so it's time to end as it just becomes intellectually frustrating to be consistently fed misguided information.

posted by Me | 12:53:17 AM
Forgetting History?

Forgetting History?  Sat, Oct 26 2002  

As America prepares to go to war, there seems to be a prevailing attitude that is reminiscent of the 1930's. I believe this was called "APPEASEMENT". War was not an option except for the foresight of distinguished individuals that understood a threat not yet apparent. The storm clouds of destruction were fast approaching on the distant horizon. The keepers of the faith held a determined vigil against the illusions of the masses. After all, if the Germanic state was given what it ideologically wanted, that state would leave us alone in "Peace". What was it that this state wanted, we may never know. But what we do know is it did not get what it wanted and the result was war quickly swept across the European skies.

In humanity, there exists an illusionary "hope", that everyone can and will act in a civilized manner even when threatened. Maybe just maybe when the ostrich sticks it head in the sand the predator won't see it. However unlikely this is, it still can happen that the ostrich is lucky today and maybe tomorrow, but without action on the ostrich's part (like fleeing) its technique for saving itself from harm fails to work.

So it comes down to arguments and premises, where the coming storm is about oil, terrorism, islam, christian fiefdoms, oppression, democracy, dictatorships, totalitarianism, acts of belief for religious demagogues and above all the imposition of one society's belief systems upon another.

So let me explain, and by the very nature of this statement, I am explicitly stating "truths" or "facts" and implicitly telling you why you are incorrect. So I won't. Just remember history and understand for yourself that it now takes only the madness of one to cause the destruction of the civilization that we know today!

posted by Me | 03:01:14 PM
Meditation and Prayer

Meditation and Prayer  Thu, Oct 24 2002  

Often times when we hear resonant truth, we might actually take the time to listen. So this is what I learned today.

Prayer is when we speak to God


Meditation is when we hear God speak



So it is often said I really can't hear you!

posted by Me | 09:04:42 PM
So What Have I Learned Today?

So What Have I Learned Today?  Wed, Oct 23 2002  

Appreciation is often expressed as a "thank you" or a series of "thank you's". Afterall we have been taught that if one is good more is better! Is this the case with gratitude, that when someone does something for us, we must express our undying appreciation by giving thanks over and over again. I think not. It has become apparent to me that anything that we overuse becomes worn out and has less value. Perhaps this is the same with many "thank you's". The more we use it when it is concerned with one specific event the less value the thank you actually has.

Come to think of it, when we thank God or the Universe for our abundance, we thank God/Universe only once, yet we have many unique things to be thankful for. Is it that God only needs to hear us once, or is it God that knows our true intentions?

This is truly something that I have learned today!

posted by Me | 04:53:28 PM
I Have a Question

I Have a Question  Tue, Oct 22 2002  

So I'm sitting watching the news. Sure just another unbiased media opinion, and there is a report on the terrible shootings that have occurred in the Washington area and I was stunned by a comment by one of the agency's spokes person. It seems now that an FBI employee was shot and unfortunately killed, it became "personal". I guess when everybody else was being shot and killed it wasn't personal and just a job. Did this spokes person really mean to say this to the public. Or did he mean to say something different. Was this meant to say that now they will become more vigilant in their duties to protect the public or does it say that they were performing a "normal" investigation for the current circumstances. I just don't know. Okay this was more than one question, and everyone will have to draw their own conclusions, but I must say that John Walsh AMW fame clearly takes every story personally as he has lived through his own pain and appear to be able to empathize with passion.



Any way, the other thing that I need to mull over is the "Suburban" vehicle commercial. It is definitely portraying a native to the deep far north that seems to hunt seals with a spear. So there is a seal pup all alone on what appear to be frozen water. And you see a person walking towards the pup with this spear-like object, okay it looks like a weapon. As this person draws nearer to the pup, he raises his spear and then begins to crack a hole in the ice to allow the pup's mother to come through the ice. All this time, there is some sort of rambling that gives the impression that the native person was going to club the baby seal and he is courageous that he did not. Well I guess if you can afford a suburban vehicle in the far north you must be doing really well and probably eat in the best restaurants and do not have to hunt for a living. I guess the reports about natives of the north living in abject poverty and killing themselves are untrue. They must be quite well off to be able to afford a $40K plus vehicle. This is just insulting...

posted by Me | 01:02:39 AM
I am NOT Paying Attention

I am NOT Paying Attention  Mon, Oct 21 2002  

It was maybe 20 years ago, when teachers were teachers and not psychologists. I didn't know that you could read a couple of pamphlets from a drug company and become an expert in identifying ADD or (I don't want to teach I want zombie) student. Where did this crock come from. Children are learning to explore the world. They are not supposed to have the attention and concentration levels of adults. Afterall this is a learned event. Besides, I probably wouldn't want the attention span of most adults. Think about the male of the human species that sits in front of the idiot box (tv for short) and constantly channel surfs. Where's the attention here. Quick let's get a pamphlet and a marriage counselor and diagnose the majority of the male population as having ADD. Perhaps this explains how people drive their cars. It really is just insulting for a teacher, trained to teach to become a clinical pyschologist with the power to say whether your child is an ADD candidate.



Just think about it. You are sitting in a meeting that is absolutely boring. Does your mind wander? Are you half listening? Do you sit there thinking why am I in this meeting when there are 100's of problems that I need to fix. And guess what you begin thinking about those problems. It seems that you are suffering from ADD. Quit instead of investing in hi-tech stocks, invest in the drug companies and let the teachers make your child brain dead. This isn't funny, it's pathetic.

posted by Me | 11:41:55 PM
 

It came from the universe where I got to sit and listen to 20 somethings talk, and to hear things that have echoed in my life from long ago. It reminded me of the freshness of spirit that I once had before I got older and wiser (hehe). My life has become a series of introspections and yet life is out there and they reminded me what it is like just to sit and laugh and to be good story tellers for the shear reason of telling a story and not to create some deep and often esoteric meaning that really I only understand. I learned a great deal last night, but mostly upon introspection (here I go again, why am I privileged to be on Maslow's hierarchy) is that sometimes face value is all that matters, I guess what I am trying to say is, it is the moment that counts and not the reason. Afterall when things happen, they don't happen for a reason, we search for the reason afterwards just to be funny.

posted by Me | 11:41:30 PM
 

So why do people go onto the Springer show. Is it their 15 minutes of fame (after all, if this hour has 22 minutes then they get about 8 minutes of fame). I could fill a whole blog with things that I could make up that are funny, insulting, rude or downright ignorant, yet I think that this is just another example of "still life" on celluoid. There is a certain artistry to the Springer show, in the foreground you have people who are obviously who they say they are (but lie to themselves). Yet in the background (the audience) you have people who are just one step away from being the people on stage. And the viewing audience is saying thank GOD this is not me. I am better than this. So for us, the audience it is our chance to be superior in a world where we are just average and of course we need to feel superior in a world where we are becoming clones of each other. If you think I am wrong, just go to your clothes closet and look for your pair of Nike shoes, your designer Gucci handbag (or knockoff) , your Tommy Hilfigger underwear and of course your whole section of Burberry patterned stuff. So now that you've taken an inventory, how average are you. Who's drum are you walking to (your own) or some brand label that you think defines who you are.



So yes, I have 3 pairs of Nikes (Air Jordans in its many different flavors-gee these make me jump higher), I don't have a Gucci bag, but I got the watch and of course I have the TH socks or before I forget (I use it so little now) I have the Mont Blanc pen (maybe this pen is too average, afterall I can buy it at the Office Depot). So like every one else I am marching to someone's drum, just not my own. Geez I'm rambling. Time to stop before this entry turns into real still life on a digital screen.

posted by Me | 11:39:42 PM
 

So I'm sitting hear watching the Rosie show and a woman is thanking Rosie for flying her down to the show. It seems that this woman was close to death. And through the grace of her "GOD" she was spared so that she could be on the Rosie show (this is real "funny"). And better yet at her deathbed, her mother of 83 years prayed to GOD to take her instead of her daughter's. I didn't know that GOD served the purposes of the individuals, and better yet I did not think that GOD actual had a head count on the number of souls that are let into heaven (a very christian ethos, don't forget there are only so many places-maybe 10-on the bus to heaven and the more souls you save here guarantees you seat ). In fact I did not know that GOD would sacrifice one person for another (I thought this type of trade was for some other dark entity). Was the mother of the dieing(sp?) daughter will to make the ultimate sacrifice of her own life so that her daughter could live. Maybe? I think the mother made the choice that she did not want to suffer the loss of her daughter and suffer the human pain and grief.



So if it truly is a sin to take someone's life, would it not also be a sin for GOD to take someone's life. Don't we die because we have chosen to die, or we have experienced what we are supposed to and we chose our exit point. It's just funny how life is. Oh ya and here's another thing once I think about it, GOD is all seeing, all knowing and all powerful bascially omni-everthing. So how is it that GOD can lose in the battles between heaven, (purgatory) and hell. An entity that is omni-everything would not worry, care or give a rat's ass about anything like soul-count.



Maybe in the end the whole world is a funny place to live.

posted by Me | 11:37:45 PM
 

No things don't happen for a reason. Things just happen and I look for reasons afterwards, perhaps to justify my experience/existence. Maybe just maybe living is about moments of experiences and how we deal with them. To me Zen is the level that one strives to attain. Yet you only know you have attained this level when you are there. So if I ask the question, have I attained a level of peace and tranquility, I guess I have not attained the Zen level of the masters. So I still wait to hear the sound of the one arm clap. And when I hear it I know I have attained this level. I need to find a guide to practice, which is the path to the Zen masters. Again living is about experiences and moments, once the moments are over they no longer exist.

posted by Me | 11:37:19 PM
 

I now have a reason to live. I found out why I channel surf and it has nothing to do with an attention deficit disorder which I am constantly being accused of. It has nothing to do with the human genome or anything that I thought was nature. It's all about nurture. Way back in the hunting and gathering days, the male of the species was responsible for constantly surveying his surroundings and looking for food or threats. The female of the community was responsible for organizing and gathering all the stuff that was important to the community. She would have to pick up everything at a moments notice and move to another location.


It's present day and I sit down comfortably in front of the TV and begin hunting and looking for the appropriate prey which happens to be a football game. I go to the next football game, because my prey isn't doing anything (a TV commercial) and see if the next prey (next football game) is more appetizing. My other half comes in and starts talking to me (all while I am hunting) so I ask, where is the such and such. The response is, "it's in the top left hand drawer where it's alway been", OK could you get it for me. Small victory, the prey won't be scared away and I can devote my full attention to surveying my surrounding. I am slightly distracted and slightly annoyed but immediately begin to click to the next football game, next football game, next football game, all in a matter of seconds. I've decided that I need to sharpen my skills to make sure the surroundings are safe to the sake of the community at large, got to make up for lost time.

I know that there is a funny moment in here somewhere, but my nurture just stops me from seeing it.

posted by Me | 11:35:48 PM
 

I always thought that advertising was meant to induce sales and marketing was to create a position in the consumer's/sheep's mind. So what I am trying to figuring out is how the current TV ads induce someone to buy and how do the companies actually track their ROI. I guess since we are the feeling generation (look at Maslow's hierarchy for our North American Society-most of us are in the self-actualization of life), advertisements are supposed to give us a feeling, not a reason to buy. Is it because there is a certain amount of attention deficit or we have all learned to tune out the white noise and the only way to get our attention is through something shocking yet unrelated. How many of you have seen a commercial and remembered the commercial and not remembered the product sponsor. So is this just wasted bandwidth?



As the masters of tested advertising taught us (which we have forgot) that we respond to sex, greed, fear and honor. Which can be further broken down to healthcare, money, self-improvement, marriage, get ahead, child care and popularity. I think that I am being insulted by advertisers who just want me to bleet and become a sweater that everyone else is wearing and I am astonished at the amount of useless advertising and money wasted. How does this happen, well let's see. I am going to pretend to sit in a meeting where your next advertising campaign is going to be released to the eagerly awaiting JQ Public.



I see what the ad agency has presented and they ask for my opinion which counts alot since I am footing the bill. So I say, you know I like the ad with the redhead, it gives me that passionate feeling. I really don't like the blond, it reminds me too much of the california lifestyle and I don't think that the brunette will attract enough attention. Great the ad agency says, let's go with the redhead. Well look what just happened, I have just imposed my tastes on a campaign that is going to directly affect the bottom-line of my company. This is like buying a stock on a feeling "I just know that it going to do well" and I lose my shirt on a feeling. If I hold onto the stock long enough it will comeback. So the "redhead ads" didn't do very well, no increase to the bottom line. But how would I know anyway, since the pull for the ad has no mechanism to test response. So I call the ad agency back in and say, the ad hasn't helped us. And the answer is "it just takes time" to build a position in the consumer's mind. Maybe we should do a series of ads.



Now I need to be right so I go with the idea and now I am just being FUNNY.


We all have our funny moments, but in the end someone pays and it's generally us.

posted by Me | 11:32:41 PM
 

I think I learned to do this when I was a young lad. It was from watching too much TV. It's difficult to say why this happened, but it did. Could it have been because I missed Woodstock, no I didn't even have a personality, just an infused cultural bias to North America. Oh how I needed to be same as everyone else. But the fact is in a visual sense I was different. I learned at a very young age to tell myself lies and still continue to do it to this very day. I call it being funny. And are there alot of funny people out there. If you don't know what I mean, think about this I am almost sure you have experienced this sometime in your life (if you are young enough). This really only started to happen when the layaway plan changed into have it now and pay for it later.



I'm shopping for CD player and have found the exact model with all the features which I have convinced myself are really benefits (this piece of electronics is sure going to make me happy-this is funny #1). I'll wait though, its around Christmas and prices are always higher. Boxing Day arrives and it's on sales as I knew it would be. The gods have smiled on me, now my life will almost be complete (still funny #1). So I go down to your "Buy From Us Today and You Are Our Best Friend" cheapie electronics (we'll forget who you are tomorrow-warranty what warranty) store. I am going to save over 50 bucks. So I head down to my Best Friend and buy the saviour of my life. There it is taxes in and a savings of $62.58. What a deal, I might as well go and pick up some music CD's since I have an extra 63 bucks (funny #2). I found all those Woodstock hits that I was looking for and it cost me less than ordering from Time (I am a megacorporation) Warner/AOL. I only spent the $63 that I had saved by waiting for a boxing day sale. So I actually got the CD's for free. (funny #3)



The fact is I didn't save any money because my bank account is now minus $200.43. In fact the CD player did not change my life at all.


So I guess I'm just funny.

posted by Me | 11:32:12 PM
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