With the weather here lately, my thoughts have lingered on the power of water, floods, and the terror they hold. Until now, floods of this magnitude were something that happened elsewhere. I mean, yeah, occasionally a river would overflow, back up, spill over, whatever you want to call it. But serious flooding had never crossed most people's minds. The weather of the past two weeks has shown just how damaging they can be in a modern society. Major cities struggling with containment, houses destroyed, lives lost and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.
New Orleans after Katrina was even worse. A major US city, one of the busiest port cities in the nation nearly wiped from the map. The aftermath was a fools errand, but the destructive capacity of water was shown in full force. Arguments have been made about global warming, how much of an impact mankind has on the weather, and what not. But those are topics for a later blog. This one has a slightly more positive slant.
In the aftermath of such flooding, it makes me wonder how mankind ever survived to begin with. And it fills me with pride in being human. Imagine the first settlements that later developed into cities that humans began to make. All around rivers with fertile flood plains. Those first real signs of mankind's potential in a zone that the dangers were known. The people who settled there knew that their lives depended on the river and its cycles. They lived every day knowing that the rivers should flow by normally, except at the times of year when it was supposed to flood. They charted, the observed, and they used logic to draw wonderfully skilled and accurate conclusions about their world that amaze even us.
That's one of the things that really pisses me off about people that try to say the pyramids and all the other great monuments of ancient history were built by aliens. The people that lived then were no dumber than we are today. They didn't have the technology that modern man has, but they had all the brain power to accomplish great feats. How does Stonehenge align so perfectly with the sky? Because the people who built it lives depended on knowledge of the world around them. They charted everything they could to make their lives easier, and those beautiful observations drove them to record it. And their religions gave rise to ceremonies around the symbols, trying to exercise some control over a world that they could observe and think about and draw conclusions over, but that their control was limited.
But that is another topic for another time. The fact that they understood the cycles came not from any mystic connection with Nature, but from the realization that their lives hung on a very thin balance. They could see the cycles, follow them, but at any point freak storms could send the river swelling, and those civilizations could have been wiped away. Mankind could have vanished in a torrent. It is no wonder that flood myths are so wide spread. They come from the knowledge that everything that made us who we are could be taken away for no reason at all, completely randomly.
It is a wonder that we have survived as long as we have. The fact that we did learn to control our envirornment so is a testimate to what people can do when we put our minds to things. When we dare to dream and take the risk to reach our full potential. That belief in mankind, in humanity, in a drive to do great things is what is lacking so often in the modern consciousness.
You know, I'm sure the ideas were much clearer in my head than my fingers have decided to put them out on here. If you think I'm a rambling fool, then leave a comment, if you think something else, also, feel free to comment.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A revelation on Revelations
After much thought about a subject that should be an easy answer, a realization dawned on me about a subject that has absolutely no relevance to anything to do with the first subject. The first subject is more than slightly personal and quite boring, so won't be talked about here. But the second subject is much more interesting and earth shattering. I have finally figured out the popularity of both Biblical and non religious doomsday prophecy.
It's a subject that has always fascinated me mainly because I couldn't understand why anyone would want the world to end. Given where I am from, it's a popular subject and people are all about the saving before the end times. As much as people try to wrap it up in a message of hope, it has always come off like the largest load of bullshit in the world. The popularity of the "Left Behind" series, pseudo-documentaries on Armageddon, 2012, televangelists preaching the end is near...it all rang as completely meaningless drivel of the highest class, to be laughed at but never taken seriously. The fact that so many people do made me shake my head and gave me a ton of laughter. But now that things have clicked, I am more disgusted about the subject than I have been about anything in a long time.
Yesterday, I realized that the appeal is in complete apathy. A total lack of caring about the future. It hit me like a kick in the balls and I wondered why I had never seen it before. It's the perfect justification for greed, slovenly practices, and a complete lack of caring about tomorrow, about the future of the planet, and about the next ten generations. People convince themselves that the end is just around the corner, so there is no need to do anything to help the world, to contribute, to think ahead in a positive manner. It is such a radical idea for me because it is so far away from the way I think about things, from the way anyone who is sane and has half a brain should think about things.
Yes, I'm well aware of the history, that every generation for at least the past 2000 years has thought that they were in the last generation to survive. These were normally very local, very confined systems of belief that died out with the death of those preaching it. They have always been wrong, but yet the belief persisted. But with today's wide spread ease of communication, more and more people are roped in, and the message is pounded in from angles that have never been available before. Even those who aren't religious have their own pseudo scientific classification of belief about a coming apocalypse and are pumping those fake facts for all that they are worth. And due to the growing popularity of these beliefs, very few people are standing up and calling it the bullshit that it is. And this disgusts me. How the hell can people be so lazy, so greedy, so narrow minded that they can't see the future for all the bright possibilities it holds? For all my cynicism, I do have the highest belief in mankind. Not because of any divine providence, or mistaken belief that we are the highest possible rung on the evolutionary ladder. But because we do have sentience, the ability to think and effect the world around us.
The world needs long term thinkers. It needs people to speak up, to press the idea that today's actions will have effects 100 years from now, hell, 500 or 1,000 years from now, just like events from our past shape who we are today. That we are responsible for our time on this planet even more so than in the past. We have a duty to ourselves, to our posterity, to do what is best based on given data, on facts, on reason. Not to act on the short term lunacy which we are so easily taken by. We hold more power to change the world, for better or for worse, than at any time in the past. Actions must be thought through for the future, for possible impacts, for the things that we can see and those we can't. We must be willing to alter our ways of doing things, our thought processes, our lives and our actions for what could be. People need not be afraid of change, of ideas being turned on their heads, of abandoning beliefs that have no logic behind them at all.
Am I arguing for a total abandonment of religious thought? No way. It is a fundamental part of humanity to make up stories, to believe odd things, to try and make sense of our place in the world. Ethics, religion, morality, creativity all need a place any future that I would want to live in. That is what so many "skeptics" and "rationalists" refuse to see. They get stuck in their own narrow view of things and cling to certain principles that have no more basis in fact than most religions.
And that is why I take refuge in science fiction. Good scifi can highlight the wonderful dreams of humanity as well as it's darkest nightmares. It serves to inspire and to warn in a way that no other form of literature or other media can. Star Trek is probably the most well known example of bright and shiny sci-fi. It shows mankind as what it could be, in its highest form, reaching for the starts, reaching for beyond. And that is the message that is lost from every other facet of life today. There are few Jeffersons, Paines, or Rousseaus any more, whose ideas of hope and prosperity swept through the world three centuries ago. Politicians thing small, leaders think small, and that makes citizens think small. Religious leaders that once served to provide hope, preach despair and offer solace only in the coming end. Philosophers find the most dismal views of humanity to be the most proper, wrapping themselves in relativism and 'science based' metaphysics. Only in sci-fi do we get the sweeping, hopeful, bright vision of humanity that religion and philosophy has provided in the past.
Yes, I am probably a romantic and a fool for ever believing this. But I would rather be such than be a naysayer. To wrap myself in simple human greed is to sell out imagination and hope and is for fools who can't see further than their next desire. To believe that the world will end without any reason and to base all action on getting prepared for that is the behavior of an idiot. To plan for, to change, to adapt, to dream and to hope in the highest is the proper action for a well meaning human being.
It's a subject that has always fascinated me mainly because I couldn't understand why anyone would want the world to end. Given where I am from, it's a popular subject and people are all about the saving before the end times. As much as people try to wrap it up in a message of hope, it has always come off like the largest load of bullshit in the world. The popularity of the "Left Behind" series, pseudo-documentaries on Armageddon, 2012, televangelists preaching the end is near...it all rang as completely meaningless drivel of the highest class, to be laughed at but never taken seriously. The fact that so many people do made me shake my head and gave me a ton of laughter. But now that things have clicked, I am more disgusted about the subject than I have been about anything in a long time.
Yesterday, I realized that the appeal is in complete apathy. A total lack of caring about the future. It hit me like a kick in the balls and I wondered why I had never seen it before. It's the perfect justification for greed, slovenly practices, and a complete lack of caring about tomorrow, about the future of the planet, and about the next ten generations. People convince themselves that the end is just around the corner, so there is no need to do anything to help the world, to contribute, to think ahead in a positive manner. It is such a radical idea for me because it is so far away from the way I think about things, from the way anyone who is sane and has half a brain should think about things.
Yes, I'm well aware of the history, that every generation for at least the past 2000 years has thought that they were in the last generation to survive. These were normally very local, very confined systems of belief that died out with the death of those preaching it. They have always been wrong, but yet the belief persisted. But with today's wide spread ease of communication, more and more people are roped in, and the message is pounded in from angles that have never been available before. Even those who aren't religious have their own pseudo scientific classification of belief about a coming apocalypse and are pumping those fake facts for all that they are worth. And due to the growing popularity of these beliefs, very few people are standing up and calling it the bullshit that it is. And this disgusts me. How the hell can people be so lazy, so greedy, so narrow minded that they can't see the future for all the bright possibilities it holds? For all my cynicism, I do have the highest belief in mankind. Not because of any divine providence, or mistaken belief that we are the highest possible rung on the evolutionary ladder. But because we do have sentience, the ability to think and effect the world around us.
The world needs long term thinkers. It needs people to speak up, to press the idea that today's actions will have effects 100 years from now, hell, 500 or 1,000 years from now, just like events from our past shape who we are today. That we are responsible for our time on this planet even more so than in the past. We have a duty to ourselves, to our posterity, to do what is best based on given data, on facts, on reason. Not to act on the short term lunacy which we are so easily taken by. We hold more power to change the world, for better or for worse, than at any time in the past. Actions must be thought through for the future, for possible impacts, for the things that we can see and those we can't. We must be willing to alter our ways of doing things, our thought processes, our lives and our actions for what could be. People need not be afraid of change, of ideas being turned on their heads, of abandoning beliefs that have no logic behind them at all.
Am I arguing for a total abandonment of religious thought? No way. It is a fundamental part of humanity to make up stories, to believe odd things, to try and make sense of our place in the world. Ethics, religion, morality, creativity all need a place any future that I would want to live in. That is what so many "skeptics" and "rationalists" refuse to see. They get stuck in their own narrow view of things and cling to certain principles that have no more basis in fact than most religions.
And that is why I take refuge in science fiction. Good scifi can highlight the wonderful dreams of humanity as well as it's darkest nightmares. It serves to inspire and to warn in a way that no other form of literature or other media can. Star Trek is probably the most well known example of bright and shiny sci-fi. It shows mankind as what it could be, in its highest form, reaching for the starts, reaching for beyond. And that is the message that is lost from every other facet of life today. There are few Jeffersons, Paines, or Rousseaus any more, whose ideas of hope and prosperity swept through the world three centuries ago. Politicians thing small, leaders think small, and that makes citizens think small. Religious leaders that once served to provide hope, preach despair and offer solace only in the coming end. Philosophers find the most dismal views of humanity to be the most proper, wrapping themselves in relativism and 'science based' metaphysics. Only in sci-fi do we get the sweeping, hopeful, bright vision of humanity that religion and philosophy has provided in the past.
Yes, I am probably a romantic and a fool for ever believing this. But I would rather be such than be a naysayer. To wrap myself in simple human greed is to sell out imagination and hope and is for fools who can't see further than their next desire. To believe that the world will end without any reason and to base all action on getting prepared for that is the behavior of an idiot. To plan for, to change, to adapt, to dream and to hope in the highest is the proper action for a well meaning human being.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Book Review: Sandman: Book of Dreams
Alright, it's been a while since I've written anything like this, but here we go, book review combined with soul searching. Fun stuff no? Book of Dreams is a companion volume to Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic series. It's a collection of short stories by various authors about Morpheus and the other Endless. It's an amazing read that really fucked with my dreams. Both those sleeping and awake.
Certain stories stand out in both style and disturbance. The first story is a well written little dream of love. Light and playful, with just a hint of the depth that is to follow. Dreams of lost loves and those unrequited haunt me this time of year. The story made me face some of those feelings and although it wasn't my favorite or the best written of the collection, it did bring a smile to my face, bittersweet as it may be.
The best two stories were also a couple of the most disturbing and most uplifting. "Seven Nights in Slumberland" is about a boy's quest to fulfill desire, both his and others. The path the child follows is amazingly moving and quite detailed, the hero's quest in microchasm. In his journey through his own dreams, the child meets all of the Endless minus the missing one. Each shows him something different, each testing the resolve that one may have. Death being of course the most beautiful, light hearted opinion availible. And in this journy the author captures the essence of Gaiman's characters in a way that no other author I have ever read has. The quest is full of challenges, of despair, of choice, and of a child discovering what it is they really want. The universality of the story is moving and it's extremly well told.
The other story that stands out for its creepily wonderful value is called "The Writer's Child." It center's around a young girl and her teddy bear and her family. I really dont' know how to describe it without coming off as a total sicko, but it's extremly touching and moving and just jaw dropping story. But the part I really enjoyed was a reference back to one issue of Sandman where it mentions that poets often mistake Morpheus for Apollo, and the price that is paid for certain strokes of genius. The line of responsibility is drawn and care is given and when must boons be asked. It's just a really beautiful story and I dare anyone to not be disturbed or have at least one messed up dream after reading.
Yeah, not really sure if any of this makes sense at all, but I can hope that it does. Go out and get this book if you have read and enjoyed Sandman. And if you haven't read Sandman, then go out and find a copy of it now. It will change the way you see comic books forever.
But the main thing I wanted to say in this blog is the amazing skill that these authors have in exploring the dark corners of the mind and the messed up dreams and Sandman inspires. I mean, it really messed with my dreams in ways that nothing ever has before. But I was never able to draw anything useful, anything more from the dreams. I bow to those who can. The artists, the writers, those who are so much braver than I am.
Certain stories stand out in both style and disturbance. The first story is a well written little dream of love. Light and playful, with just a hint of the depth that is to follow. Dreams of lost loves and those unrequited haunt me this time of year. The story made me face some of those feelings and although it wasn't my favorite or the best written of the collection, it did bring a smile to my face, bittersweet as it may be.
The best two stories were also a couple of the most disturbing and most uplifting. "Seven Nights in Slumberland" is about a boy's quest to fulfill desire, both his and others. The path the child follows is amazingly moving and quite detailed, the hero's quest in microchasm. In his journey through his own dreams, the child meets all of the Endless minus the missing one. Each shows him something different, each testing the resolve that one may have. Death being of course the most beautiful, light hearted opinion availible. And in this journy the author captures the essence of Gaiman's characters in a way that no other author I have ever read has. The quest is full of challenges, of despair, of choice, and of a child discovering what it is they really want. The universality of the story is moving and it's extremly well told.
The other story that stands out for its creepily wonderful value is called "The Writer's Child." It center's around a young girl and her teddy bear and her family. I really dont' know how to describe it without coming off as a total sicko, but it's extremly touching and moving and just jaw dropping story. But the part I really enjoyed was a reference back to one issue of Sandman where it mentions that poets often mistake Morpheus for Apollo, and the price that is paid for certain strokes of genius. The line of responsibility is drawn and care is given and when must boons be asked. It's just a really beautiful story and I dare anyone to not be disturbed or have at least one messed up dream after reading.
Yeah, not really sure if any of this makes sense at all, but I can hope that it does. Go out and get this book if you have read and enjoyed Sandman. And if you haven't read Sandman, then go out and find a copy of it now. It will change the way you see comic books forever.
But the main thing I wanted to say in this blog is the amazing skill that these authors have in exploring the dark corners of the mind and the messed up dreams and Sandman inspires. I mean, it really messed with my dreams in ways that nothing ever has before. But I was never able to draw anything useful, anything more from the dreams. I bow to those who can. The artists, the writers, those who are so much braver than I am.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
DragonCon 2009
Having survived a rough 4 days of con, I am back home and awake tonight. It was a rough and wonderful weekend that had its high points higher than any highs, and the low points were lower than I've ever been before. Lessons were learned and things probably could have gone better, but they could have been worse as well.
Highlights first...got to meet someone I have been chatting with online for many many years now. It was great to finally get to see them face to face. Just hope they'll still want to talk to me now.
I got most of the autographs that I wanted. Most of whom were authors. Diana Gabaldon was an amazing person. Wonderful speaker, gracious, friendly, and happy to sign and talk and pose for pictures. Really enjoyed the reading that she gave from her new book. Also had artwork for the upcoming Outlander graphic novel. There were some amazingly beautiful works in there. Some of the style I didn't like, but it was a definate femine appeal to it, as opposed to most comic art. And no, I wasn't the only guy in the panel, there were a couple of more. Not many though. Charline Harris was nice, if a little frazzeled by the end of the line, which is where I was. She was supposed to cut off at 100 people, but ended up stopping somewhere above 200. Long wait in line, but worth it. Also got Malcolm McDowell's autograph, and he just seemed really cool. Was happy to talk and take pictures. Very cool guy. Probably still going to have the nightmares about him though.
Hanging out and the costumes were great this year. Still get amazed sometimes at the work, detail, and effort that people put into things. It just makes me wish that I had the talent for it. My own meager attempt at making a costume this year turned out not working well. But there were some amazing ones to look at. Took a ton of pics that I will get uploaded as soon as possible.
Made it into Adam Savage's panel on Sunday. That was great. Very interesting topic to begin with, highlighted by his appearance. He was just as funny and crazy as he seems on Mythbusters. Wish that he had been there for more than just a couple of hours. He would have been interesting to see more of.
Even I worked on my people skills some. Talking to people, generally being nice, forcing myself out of my shell some...yeah it was interesting. Most of the times the attempts at being quick and witty came off as lamer than a one legged goose. But occasionally got some wonderful conversations in with some amazingly interesting people. Large range of backgrounds and identies at the Con. Would love to see an actual study done on it scientifically.
Now lowlights...mostly focusing on bits of stupidity preformed by me. Before I even left on Friday, I kicked a box and broke my little toe. It ended up swelling in the boots that I was wearing, which weren't that comfortable to begin with. So definatly going to walk with a limp with that on top of the standard Con feet abuse. Learned a lesson about trying to rehydrate with burbon....I wouldn't recomend it. Missed Arc Attack again this year. I want to see the damn singing Tesla Coils!!! Maybe next year I won't try rehydrating on burbon before their show. lol
That pretty much covers everything. Was a stressed, painful, most relaxing fun weekend of the year. My only regret is that I didn't start going earlier in my life. Wish I had learned the value of fun when I was suposed to be having fun. Hope it's not too late to start some things. Looking forward to next year already.
Highlights first...got to meet someone I have been chatting with online for many many years now. It was great to finally get to see them face to face. Just hope they'll still want to talk to me now.
I got most of the autographs that I wanted. Most of whom were authors. Diana Gabaldon was an amazing person. Wonderful speaker, gracious, friendly, and happy to sign and talk and pose for pictures. Really enjoyed the reading that she gave from her new book. Also had artwork for the upcoming Outlander graphic novel. There were some amazingly beautiful works in there. Some of the style I didn't like, but it was a definate femine appeal to it, as opposed to most comic art. And no, I wasn't the only guy in the panel, there were a couple of more. Not many though. Charline Harris was nice, if a little frazzeled by the end of the line, which is where I was. She was supposed to cut off at 100 people, but ended up stopping somewhere above 200. Long wait in line, but worth it. Also got Malcolm McDowell's autograph, and he just seemed really cool. Was happy to talk and take pictures. Very cool guy. Probably still going to have the nightmares about him though.
Hanging out and the costumes were great this year. Still get amazed sometimes at the work, detail, and effort that people put into things. It just makes me wish that I had the talent for it. My own meager attempt at making a costume this year turned out not working well. But there were some amazing ones to look at. Took a ton of pics that I will get uploaded as soon as possible.
Made it into Adam Savage's panel on Sunday. That was great. Very interesting topic to begin with, highlighted by his appearance. He was just as funny and crazy as he seems on Mythbusters. Wish that he had been there for more than just a couple of hours. He would have been interesting to see more of.
Even I worked on my people skills some. Talking to people, generally being nice, forcing myself out of my shell some...yeah it was interesting. Most of the times the attempts at being quick and witty came off as lamer than a one legged goose. But occasionally got some wonderful conversations in with some amazingly interesting people. Large range of backgrounds and identies at the Con. Would love to see an actual study done on it scientifically.
Now lowlights...mostly focusing on bits of stupidity preformed by me. Before I even left on Friday, I kicked a box and broke my little toe. It ended up swelling in the boots that I was wearing, which weren't that comfortable to begin with. So definatly going to walk with a limp with that on top of the standard Con feet abuse. Learned a lesson about trying to rehydrate with burbon....I wouldn't recomend it. Missed Arc Attack again this year. I want to see the damn singing Tesla Coils!!! Maybe next year I won't try rehydrating on burbon before their show. lol
That pretty much covers everything. Was a stressed, painful, most relaxing fun weekend of the year. My only regret is that I didn't start going earlier in my life. Wish I had learned the value of fun when I was suposed to be having fun. Hope it's not too late to start some things. Looking forward to next year already.
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