05.02.08
Posted in music, personal at 12:57 am by ryganas
So, it seems like forever since I’ve written anything… and since that point in time everything has changed.
I’m now living back in Edmonton. I’m employed, but have decided to give up the regular job-world for academia: I’ve applied at various institutions and programs, hoping to get into “Honors Anthropology” for the fall. I bought a MIDI keyboard and Logic Studio – and am in the process of making music (however slowly) on my own. My book is coming along, and I think I’m actually HAPPY with the first 50 pages -> which is a nice place to be at.
But that’s not why I’m writing this particular note. I’m writing this because I have plans on starting up a caveperson-centric webpage and wiki. Also, I’ve found myself listening again to a heavy music group called “Kayo Dot”. I really dig them because of their rich textures, beautiful melodies and full/heavy sound juxtaposed with moments of delicateness.
The astute listener would be reminded of “Godspeed You Black Emperor” upon listening, but I think that Kayo Dot surpasses them in a number of ways.
I’d like to go on and give a critique of their album “Choir for the Eyes” but I think I’ll end this post now… Just because.
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10.20.07
Posted in personal at 5:41 pm by ryganas
All animals respond to fear in two ways: “Flight or Fight”. Of those ways, “flight” can be further broken up into: “freeze or flee”. By this I mean to say that some animals run away in order to escape predators while others freeze without moving a muscle.
The only time that freezing works is when dealing with snakes or perhaps a bear that thinks you might be threatening it’s cub… But other than those few instances, completely freezing is the worst thing you can do, as it simply makes you an easy snack.
We are, of course, merely animals and because of this fact, we respond to fear in exactly the same way that other animals do. This is important to consider because while we don’t have as much in our physical environment to be afraid of normally, we do have a lot to consider when it comes to our personal lives. The two main fears that drive each and every one of us can be broken down into two fear categories: “Fear of failure” and “Fear of success”.
So let’s recap my premises:
1) Animals have two basic fear-responses: fleeing/freezing or fighting
2) Humans are animals
3) Humans have fears based both in the physical world and in our individual mental world
4) Of the fears in our mental world, the two largest groups are “fear of failure” and “fear of success”.
Why are these things important? Because I seem to have the two worst combinations of fears and fear-responses. I’m afraid of success and my response to that is to freeze.
so what now.
(?)
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10.11.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:16 pm by ryganas
Alright, I think the journalism rants will have to wait until later. They were taking too long to write and I kind of stopped caring about them. Perhaps they’ll be resurrected one day. Who knows.
I’ve moved to Vancouver though. I suppose that’s new(ish) and fairly significant. I’m here to do writing, music and other mixed media art-type stuffs. So far, I’ve been slightly less productive than I would have hoped, but the trade-off is that I’ve been meeting a lot of good, creative people involved in different aspects of the art scene.
Now that I’m moved in and settled (and past that whole anti-journalism kick) this should be updated more frequently. Hooray.
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08.17.07
Posted in culture, politics at 12:59 am by ryganas
The nine core principles of journalism are as follows:
1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens
3. Its essence is a discipline of verification
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience
These sound like good and noble principles to follow upon first glance. Through closer inspection, however, one begins to see that these principles have either been severely compromised in recent years, or proved to be downright outdated.
In the next few days, it looks like I will be going through and discussing some of these principles. It’s important for me to do this because over the past number of years I have been increasingly displeased with the state of news coverage in the western world. So, without further adieu, here’s where I think modern journalism is going wrong.
1. Truth.
1.1) The PR’s: Public Relations and Press Releases
The very first principle of journalism states that journalism must pursue factual truth. This ‘practical truth’ is, supposedly, different from the philosophical truth (ie: there is no truth) but the lines between philosophical and practical truths are often blurred. Every issue that a newspaper reports on has elements of practical truth and elements of philosophical truth. Truth can be skewed via disinformation imparted by an individual (or group) to a journalist. Disinformation can make it difficult for journalists to discern fact from fabrication, and in turn journalists may become conduits for lies in their pursuit of the “truth”. Let me explain with some history:
In the 1950′s, Big Tobacco was starting to get some bad press. So, a Public Relations (PR) firm by the name of Hill & Knowlton was contracted by tobacco companies to counter the scientific findings with a pro-smoking campaign. This campaign proved immensely successful and began the modern age of companies overtly lying to consumers in order to sell harmful products. The most recent incarnation of this symbiosis can be seen in the climate change denial movement.
The climate change denial movement is championed by companies and governments that wish to refute scientific data about climate change. Their primary reason for doing so is because they believe that changing their polluting ways is too expensive. Companies and governments hire PR firms to provide disinformation to journalists For example, many of the same PR firms that worked for big tobacco in the 1950′s, 60′s and 70′s now also work for the American Petroleum Institute. These PR firms use PRESS RELEASES to communicate particular viewpoints to media outlets. Distribution of the press release is the exact moment where practical and philosophical truths converge; and it is this moment which can kill journalism’s most important principle (obligation to the truth). After-all, if journalists consider bogus scientific studies, they lose the ability to credibly disseminate “truth”.
This first principle, “Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth”, is also a theme that underlies the other eight principles. For instance, the concept of “truth” is the most integral part of Principle Three, which states that: “Journalism is a discipline of verification”… This suggests that journalists should seek out multiple sources and fact-check in order to convey truthful information. Multiple sources can be hard to come by (as in the case of scientists denying global warming, or claiming that cigarette smoke is harmless). So, in the attempt to prove themselves unbiased, journalists will often reference press releases distributed by public relations (PR) companies. These press releases, which are clearly biased , are often given equal consideration to information disseminated by field experts. We observe that by attempting to refer to many sources, journalists sometimes do the opposite of what they’re intending, and actually dilute (or completely misrepresent) the truth.
1.2) The SS’s: Subjectivity and Censorship
This will be continued tomorrow.
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08.15.07
Posted in culture at 10:31 am by ryganas
This entry was originally entitled “Does anything not suck?”. In it, I was about to lament the state of creativity in the world:
The music scene sucks beyond belief these days. “Which music scene sucks?” You might ask… “All of them.” I would reply.
Hollywood movies are even less interesting than they’ve ever been (who thought that was possible) and I’ve not seen a single movie advertised since Pans Labyrinth that I’ve wanted to watch -> and that was a Spanish film anyway.
Nothing is happening in the world of literature besides the ongoing suckfest which is the Harry Potter series. I remember people originally making the point that “Well, at least it gets people reading again!” – but that isn’t even remotely true. I have yet to meet or even hear of a single individual who read the Harry Potter series and then fell in love with books in general. No one has ever done this. Instead, they read the series and afterwards say things like “I don’t really read – except for Harry Potter.” – And I feel like putting a drill bit through my face.
Television… Is too depressing in too many ways to properly describe here. Reality shows are still popular, and the other day my eyes literally just about exploded as I saw a brand new show called “Singing Bee”. Think Karaoke meets Footloose meets the most useless human beings you have ever seen assembled in the same room for the sole purpose of creeping the living fuck out of you.
Even my old mainstay – the news – isn’t what it used to be. OR perhaps it’s EXACTLY what it used to be, and that’s why I find it lacking. Journalists still naively pursue “The Truth” – despite the fact that truth is subjective and “the truth” is completely relative on virtually every social issue (Remind me to rant about ‘how bogus the principals of journalism have become’ tomorrow…).
So where does one turn in these times of stupid, derivitive, and un-inspiring stimuli?
To CBC radio 2 for its recent symphonic programming which has been really kickass as of late and more importantly, the BBC Documentary series, PLANET EARTH.
This documentary is filmed entirely in HD and it features the most amazing wildlife footage I have ever seen. The composition of the shots is absolutely stunning: For instance, there are virtually no static shots in the entire series – even the time-lapse photography features panning cameras!! How do you pan a camera that’s exposed to the elements while in time lapse mode? With great difficulty.
When all is said and done, this is the wildlife documentary to end all wildlife documentaries. It’s engrossing, clever, astounding – and features the most vivid colours imaginable. It’s far and away the only thing worth seeing these days… And you can see it on CBC Newsworld a few times each week -> or just go down to your local groovy video store and rent/buy it. Also, make sure to ask for it for Christmas. Unless your Jewish, in which case threaten to convert to Christianity if someone doesn’t purchase it for you. Seriously. It’s that good.
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08.10.07
Posted in culture at 11:33 am by ryganas
I was riding up the elevator to my apartment and an older gentleman who was riding with me saw me text messaging.
“Do you think you could live without that?” he asked.
Well, of course I could live without it. I would be able to bump into my friends at our usual hang-outs if i needed to talk to them. My cafe isn’t completely dependent on telecommunication technology (if our debit and credit card machines went down, we could switch to cash). Of course life would suck a bit more and it would take longer to get certain things accomplished, but life would go on.
There is, however a larger point to be made about text messaging, and accessibility to instant communication in general. It’s that even though the information we exchange may not be important (ie: “I’m having a bad hair day, how are you?”) it’s still information and it’s still touching base with ones social/political/business network. As ones network spans out, a funny thing happens. People empathize with one-another and moods, perspectives, attitudes and feelings tend to synch up.
This is important because it alters the way that human beings operate. It takes humans operating as tight family units (or semi-large tribes) and reorganizes them into a world-wide pulsating collective, or rather, collectives.
And herein lies the issue of the day.
If the world was operating as a singular, plugged in collective, it would be easy to establish widely accepted norms and rules. People would bounce ideas and moods off one-another and slowly form would take shape and there would be a unifying of perspectives. Of course the world isn’t a singular collective as the title to this blog would suggest – it’s MANY collectives which may or may not be related due to geographic location. And each community tends to be insular.
A community may be comprised of the super-wealthy, political powerhouses, religious extremists, the disenfranchised and impoverished, or simply witless yuppies – but they tend to not communicate often (or effectively) with the other communities around. So each collective may be on the same page with themselves, but be at complete disharmony with the rest of the world.
There’s two ways to look at this: The first is that this lack of dialogue between communities is a bad thing, as it leads to misinterpreted actions and inter-community conflict. The other perspective would say that cultural diversity a GOOD thing (despite the propensity toward conflict), because without diverse viewpoints, the world would fall into a homogenous mega-culture which may or may not have values and goals which are “positive”.
Personally, I would like to see some sort of middle path. It’s good to have a variety of groups, each with a unique perspective and specific norms – BUT – once groups become completely insular, their reality becomes skewed… Communication within the group becomes self-refrencing and perspective is lost. It would be ideal for all the disparate groups around the world to maintain their identities while still touching base with one-another. That would have the potential of creating a world in which differences are accepted, even if they weren’t always understood.
The global ant colony is made up of a number of different players and instant communication is a tremendously powerful tool. What needs to happen is an understanding that there exists a potential to have dialogue across communities. Even if the information passed is simple and not extremely important, it is still establishes shared experiences and fosters empathy. That understanding of commonality and unity is crucial in helping a world of compassion and understanding evolve.
Osama: How r u?
Bush: wtf u bomb us?
Osama: i h8 j00
Bush: y?
Osama: u r teh suk.
Bush: omfg?!
Osama: u r invading us !!
Bush: Nono! i r lub teh cheap 0ils.
Osama: me 2. i lik teh monies tho.
Bush: I gives u teh monies and stays away?
Osama: k. I lub guns.
Bush: I gots many guns.
Osama: gimme.
Bush: k.
Osama: ‘Somebody set us up the bomb !!’
Bush: lolz! ‘Move every zig !!’
Osama: LMAO
Bush: rooflecopter!!
Osama: Come to my CS server.
Bush: k.
And there we see how text messages, as mind-numbingly stupid as they often are, can save the world.
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08.02.07
Posted in economy at 11:53 am by ryganas
Well, the markets have gone through what can be understatedly described as a “minor correction”. This all has to do with housing markets in America, and the fact you had a lot of people getting mortgages who probably shouldn’t have had the chance to purchase anything but a tent. So stocks going to hell… What does that have to do with us in Canada?
It has EVERYTHING to do with us in Canada.
I remember a time in High School sitting in a classroom during Social Studies, wherein the idiots at the back were complaining “but what does this have to do with me?”
What couldn’t properly be explained to them was the notion that just because something isn’t tangible, that doesn’t mean it’s not real. Wars in other countries can cause commodity prices to rise, which impacts peoples decisions on what to spend money on (and in fact how much disposable income they’ve left). This directly influences the economy, the job market and stock market(s). So, even if you don’t have stocks, events in other nations directly affect you.
Now, back to today…
Turmoil can be both a good and bad thing: In times of conflict or uncertainty, profits can be made… For instance, just the other day I found myself looking forward to hurricane season because that’ll bump up the value of my stocks…
A bit calous? Perhaps… But then again, a lot of the people affected by the hurricanes will be poor Americans. The same poor Americans who shouldn’t have been awarded mortgages, but were – and have negatively affected my stocks. Therefore, they OBVIOUSLY deserve what they’ve got coming to them.
And now we see there’s order and a plan, so I can sleep well at night… My only regret is that I didn’t buy into Oilexco at $3.00/share.
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07.30.07
Posted in music at 8:38 pm by ryganas
Now, by and large I’m not a fan of modern music in any direction it’s going these days. Electronic music doesn’t feel as innovative and creative as it once did. Rock music is still just rock and top 40 remains uninspired and goofy (umbrella-ella-ella-ella…. seriously?).
The exception to this trend of boring, bland music comes from an unusual source (for me) – electro. The electro sound started gaining popularity over the past few years. I never thought much about it, and in fact rather disliked it. Lately though, I have been hearing a few tracks that I really enjoy.
Two tracks in particular, Naked Punch (mashtronic remix) by Beckers & D-nox and The Things You say (Dirty South Remix) by Cicada have really grabbed a hold of me. They’re crunchy and hard, yet funky. Naked Punch is wonderfully layered and textured. As far as dance music goes, I highly approve of this new direction.
Now just wait for cocaine to make a comeback.
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07.26.07
Posted in family at 11:38 pm by ryganas
My grandfathers cousin Danute passed away in Lithuania today. She was the closest Lithuanian family member to him still alive. Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for my grandfather when he finds out the news.
I met Danue twice: The first time was when she came and visited Canada when I was nine years old. The second time was when I visited Lithuania when I was 24.
She struck me both times as amazingly genuine and outgoing – even though we couldn’t communicate through words (she didn’t know English, and I haven’t learned Lithuanian yet). She was inquisitive, happy and playful even though she had a hard life.
She was a school teacher before WW2. After the war ended and The U.S.S.R remained in control of Lithuania she was sent to two different work camps. She suffered extreme hardships in the camps including the loss of some extremities due to frostbite, and the loss of a child due to malnutrition.
Decades passed in the work camps and she was sent home to Lithuania, but was not allowed to teach at her former school… And so, heartbreakingly, she was forced to work as the schools custodian.
Despite her difficult life, she was filled with an obvious love and passion. She never bemoaned the fact that her entire life was robbed from her; she simply made the best of the situations she found herself in.
Though I only met her twice, she has impacted my life directly and in a substantial way. My memories of her are vivid, even the ones from when I was only nine. I’m sad that I cannot be in Lithuania for the funeral.
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Posted in misc at 8:42 pm by ryganas
I’ve been working on a story that I hope to eventually try and get published. I’m proud of the idea and the characters so far and I think that it has the potential to be one of the best personal projects I’ve ever worked on.
The story itself is imaginative and epic in feel and tone, but it’s hard to capture a feeling of wonder, excitement and magic when ordinary life feels so dull, boring and monotonous.
On the one hand I want to use the story as a way to break out of ordinary reality, but on the other hand it’s hard to envision an interesting and captivating story to tell when boring days pass in this heavy heat. Some inspiration would be good to find somewhere… Then again, perhaps I’ve just been watching too much television lately, and not getting enough sleep.
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