Wednesday, February 27, 2008
...schoooool....
In the 18th century, public education (as we know it) climbed like Grendel out of the slimy waters of industrial society. This newborn and fast-growing entity was based on the invention and evolution of machines and mass-production. Items could be produced more precisely, quickly, and cheaply than ever before. Just like the new work order, the new educational systems were designed to produce thousands and thousands of identical drones, built for a specific task- running the machines. Thus, the method of public education grew to match industry. But, machines have no capacity for creativity. Why bother to encourage an superfluous attribute? Out went the promotion, and even tolerance, of independent thinking.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
the horrible void and destruction of materialism
as I write this, humanity continues its furious race towards self-destruction
Western 'civilization' is based on the desire and accumulation of money, and therefore the desire and accumulation of stuff. People want more things, no matter how wasteful. This vicious mindset of greed replaces thought- there has never been a bigger market for objects with no use. Items like this epitomize the heights of waste that modern capitalist society can surmount. How can anyone find any reason to buy anything of that sort? Maybe it can satisfy a bizarre niche within an artificial demand. Could we live without it? Yes. If we did not have such things, would our quality of life change? No. Does it involve artistic expression and the exploration of the human mind? Fuck no.
Can you imagine the waste that resulted from the creation of the golf-santa?
First, someone devised the idea. A hideous waste of time and brainpower.
Secondly, it was designed. A waste of time, engineering, and resources.
Third, production began. An absolutely terrifying waste of natural resources, and an equally terrifying production of pollution.
Fourth, amazing amounts of energy are wasted in the transportation to the buyer.
Our civilization is doomed.
It remains a mystery to me how we came to be in this position.
I feel so despairing and sad when I think of people attempting to fill the holes in their lives with consumerism. Has human emotion become so shallow that it has been replaced with bigger tvs, luxury cars, and trips to wal-mart?
As far as I can see, people spend most of their lives in the pursuit of, and working at, unfulfilling jobs, purely for the purpose of making money so they can buy crap that they don't need. Then they try and assuage their unhappiness by purchasing ever more, in a horrible cycle.
tbc
Western 'civilization' is based on the desire and accumulation of money, and therefore the desire and accumulation of stuff. People want more things, no matter how wasteful. This vicious mindset of greed replaces thought- there has never been a bigger market for objects with no use. Items like this epitomize the heights of waste that modern capitalist society can surmount. How can anyone find any reason to buy anything of that sort? Maybe it can satisfy a bizarre niche within an artificial demand. Could we live without it? Yes. If we did not have such things, would our quality of life change? No. Does it involve artistic expression and the exploration of the human mind? Fuck no.
Can you imagine the waste that resulted from the creation of the golf-santa?
First, someone devised the idea. A hideous waste of time and brainpower.
Secondly, it was designed. A waste of time, engineering, and resources.
Third, production began. An absolutely terrifying waste of natural resources, and an equally terrifying production of pollution.
Fourth, amazing amounts of energy are wasted in the transportation to the buyer.
Our civilization is doomed.
It remains a mystery to me how we came to be in this position.
I feel so despairing and sad when I think of people attempting to fill the holes in their lives with consumerism. Has human emotion become so shallow that it has been replaced with bigger tvs, luxury cars, and trips to wal-mart?
As far as I can see, people spend most of their lives in the pursuit of, and working at, unfulfilling jobs, purely for the purpose of making money so they can buy crap that they don't need. Then they try and assuage their unhappiness by purchasing ever more, in a horrible cycle.
tbc
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
songwriting
I'm a pretty awful lyric writer, but at least I can do better than anything currently on the top ten iTunes downloads. Pop song lyrics are the most cliche, illiterate garbage I have ever laid eyes on. Please, no one ever listen to any of it ever. You will live a longer and happier life.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
college spam
more mail in the past week than I have received in my entire friggan life.
Tampa Bay decided to emphasize the fact that most of their students wear flip flops, and seemed to put a lot of effort into personal expression through footwear.
I will not be going to Tampa Bay.
I will also not be going to Alfred University. What the hell kind of name is Alfred?
"I have a degree from Alfred"
"Who is Alfred?"
"Alfred was my school."
"You named your school Alfred?"
etc.
St. Lawrence dedicated their entire letter to telling me how to obtain a free St. Lawrence hat and newsletter. That was all.
They must be desperate.
*I just attempted to get my free hat, but apparently they don't give them out anymore. Don't expect my application, St. Lawrence. No hat, no student.
Tampa Bay decided to emphasize the fact that most of their students wear flip flops, and seemed to put a lot of effort into personal expression through footwear.
I will not be going to Tampa Bay.
I will also not be going to Alfred University. What the hell kind of name is Alfred?
"I have a degree from Alfred"
"Who is Alfred?"
"Alfred was my school."
"You named your school Alfred?"
etc.
St. Lawrence dedicated their entire letter to telling me how to obtain a free St. Lawrence hat and newsletter. That was all.
They must be desperate.
*I just attempted to get my free hat, but apparently they don't give them out anymore. Don't expect my application, St. Lawrence. No hat, no student.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
learning and public education
two unrelated concepts
Despite the determined, but decidedly lackluster, attempts of public education systems to inform me what I should know and how I should go about learning, I learn best on my own. Constantly forcing me through a circus of projects, activities, and assessments does not improve my mind. I, and I suspect most people, learn and retain information by making connections. The more words, concepts, and memories I can connect new ideas and data to, the easier it is to recall and make analytic use of the information I learn. I think most often about things I like, and therefore learn about them easily. By attempting to mold me into a curriculum form fit for a non-existent average, traditional schooling merely crushes my fiercest efforts to learn and create. This is what causes such a general lack of interest in intellectualism in today's youth. By the time they reach college and are presented with opportunities, they are conditioned to exert themselves as little as possible. Instead of choosing inspired, flourishing pathways of learning, they slide through the easy and worthless tasks, content to live in a habitat of desk jobs, middle management, and mediocrity. We must change this attitude. Students must not be coerced into false beliefs and irrelevant systems. What the system dictates does not matter. What the student dreams of matters to the utmost.
*Note- In my personal experiences I have suffered the absolute extreme of the above mentioned problems (in NZ), but also treated to some of the most inspiring and excellent teachers (at CVU.) I'm sure that my high school experience is of an unusually high quality. Still, I object to the paradigm.
Despite the determined, but decidedly lackluster, attempts of public education systems to inform me what I should know and how I should go about learning, I learn best on my own. Constantly forcing me through a circus of projects, activities, and assessments does not improve my mind. I, and I suspect most people, learn and retain information by making connections. The more words, concepts, and memories I can connect new ideas and data to, the easier it is to recall and make analytic use of the information I learn. I think most often about things I like, and therefore learn about them easily. By attempting to mold me into a curriculum form fit for a non-existent average, traditional schooling merely crushes my fiercest efforts to learn and create. This is what causes such a general lack of interest in intellectualism in today's youth. By the time they reach college and are presented with opportunities, they are conditioned to exert themselves as little as possible. Instead of choosing inspired, flourishing pathways of learning, they slide through the easy and worthless tasks, content to live in a habitat of desk jobs, middle management, and mediocrity. We must change this attitude. Students must not be coerced into false beliefs and irrelevant systems. What the system dictates does not matter. What the student dreams of matters to the utmost.
*Note- In my personal experiences I have suffered the absolute extreme of the above mentioned problems (in NZ), but also treated to some of the most inspiring and excellent teachers (at CVU.) I'm sure that my high school experience is of an unusually high quality. Still, I object to the paradigm.
pop media v. real art
New artists rise to the general spectrum through corporate promotion, not through dedication or inspiration. The industry tells people what they want to hear through promotion and the creation of faux-band images like MCR. People need to learn to elevate their minds beyond the confines of corporate selection, and at least decide whether they truly appreciate the art, or whether they simply employ its facade as a social and mental narcotic.
When you listen to a song, can you hear nothing else? Does it grip your consciousness, and leave an imprint on your psyche? Or does it just wash across your ears and fall away?
This state is not helped by modern music production techniques- the policy of most producers is to create a shimmering, sugar-coated diamond of perfection. This, to me, is missing the point. Art is not about mathematical precision and scientific procedure; art is about humanity and empathy. We smother the art in packaging, steal its breath, and leave a shell. A shell of scintillating beauty, perhaps, but there is no feeling, no life, and the inherent mystery unique to living things is gone. I don't mean to deride the use of technology in art, or anything of the sort. (Pro tools kicks ass!) I advocate its use, in fact, but to enhance expression, not to synthesize perfection.
Consequently, indie music is suppressed by the corporate media. Too much thought is bad for the industry- we need for people to realize they can actually think for themselves and decide what they want to hear. That would hopefully precipitate the industry fragmenting enough to allow artists the recognition they deserve
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