Thursday, November 20, 2008
A Human Being
Robert A. Heinlein
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Embryo
More clips of the event at YouTube.
The Embryo Of War.
This very funny clip of priests of different christian denominations fighting it out in the streets of Jerusalem is probably humorous because of the huge contrast between the (supposedly holy) costumes and the (violent) posturing and attitudes.
But it also underlines how faction wars begin. It could be just an accidental aggravation during one of these street fights that will start ill feelings, needs for retaliation and things like that. And Bam! you have a religious war.
Now that's all we need, Catholic and Orthodox nations at war, Greece and Turkey now united, supported by Russia, at war with Italy, supported by Europe and the USA. There must be something in these people's "books" that tells them how wrong their differences are, at least something to the effect that they are somewhat brothers. Mmmm... don't these two read the same book?
Actually I think they choose to overlook the good advice and let instead their hurt feelings guide their actions, oblivious to the real consequences. Revenge, retaliation, restitution of justice, all suddenly seem more real, important, urgent, than their religious and moral pretense , than those virtues they claim ownership upon.
And war becomes part of the sacred fantasy.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Music
Using the above ZuneCard you can listen to some of the music I like.
Music is Art.
It is one of the things we do to ourselves, as humans, to exercise our imagination and to provoke emotions. For the performers it promotes creativity - an abilty that can be used in other fields as well - and for the enjoyers, it is interpreted immediately and it can mark memories.
I greatly enjoy listening to music, it's a way to control or influence my moods, and to stimulate memories when I listen to older songs. I'm mostly interested in new music however, stuff that reflects our current condition, stuff from all over the world and from all genres.
I'm even interested in religious music, as, beyond its insidious propaganda, it also reflects the big existential puzzle humans have had to deal with as their self-awareness emerged.
Music is important, like litterature and visual arts. It is something that we do to ourselves - so better be aware of what it actually does to you, that we leave for posterity - and mark our collective memories with, that we use to try to understand the world and ourselves.