The Question

This is a song I wrote and was thinking of playing for the class but never really got around to it. Here are the lyrics and you can listen to the song at www.myspace.com/saverock . Hope you enjoy!

The Question

Anywhere but here my heart said to me
I'm not in the place I need to be
So I pack up my belongings and I jump the train
The bitter chill at my window and the pouring rain

Every once in a while when I'm driving I can never seem to run from
These telephone wires I feel they remind me of a crashing plane
Now I'm lost in this countryside I'm speeding past these
Golden tipped fields in their solitude their beauty is like
A burning white falling star.

Past my window are the rolling hills wet with rain
The shiny green reflects the way it used to be
Before the drone of the cities and electric lights
I see an ancient land the place of a beautiful sight

So here we are moving down this twisting road we're moving so fast
I can barely watch the scenery before it burns up in our wake.
Every once in a while I get caught up in my endless thoughts looking for an answer
to figure out how we came upon this empty place.

Oh are we ever going to see the world the same way again moving under these stormy skies which light up all through the night?
Or am I dreaming of a time which is never to return from the past? have we done it now? Will it ever be the same again?

We fly...through the fire. Are we ever gonna put it out?
Or will it swallow everything we hold in our hearts?
Are we searching for answers we won't ever find?
Or are we dreaming of a time which ended long ago?
Are we ever going to figure it out?

The beauty in Life

The following is a story about all the trials and triumphs of life. It tells of the adventures, the travels, the different dimensions. This is the telling of a wondrous thing. A thing made so perfect in the midst of the universe. The Greeks described the heavenly movement of the heavens as the best example of the beautiful. It is a study of art and awareness. However, it is as much a tale of real life events and occurrences, just as much as it is a written tale meant to incite the imagination. Who indeed can separate the writing of a story or tale from the actual real life events which are going on in the author’s life? Every action is necessarily preceded and followed by another action, in a seemingly endless chain of consecutive events. All occurring at the exact seam time all across the universe, or rather, occurring at completely different times, but on a level which makes them all appear as if they are all happening and working together to form the basis of an existence which we humans tend to call – reality. It continues onward into the ever expanding reaches of space, and flows forever forward through the mystifying existence of the space-time continuum.

To tie this back into our class discussion, and a little bit of art history, we turn to a German philosopher from the 18th century. In Georg Hegel’s “The Philosophy of Fine Art”, he states very adamantly that a beautiful, manmade work of art is of higher rank than any product of nature. He firmly believed that in order for something to be truly beautiful, it must be endowed with the mind and spirit of man. For this reason everything which has undergone the passage through the human mind, such as a work of art, is better than any element of nature. My argument is that although man has created many works of art which are considered to be beautiful, nothing man could ever create will be as truly beautiful as nature. I believe that nature provides the best examples of beauty in our world and therefore, as human beings we owe it to ourselves to do our best to capture that beauty in works of art. Hegel claims that nothing can be beautiful unless it is the product of a conscious human mind, but I believe that it is the human mind which is the key to seeing the overwhelming beauty found in nature.

Art of Adventure

The following is taken from an article titled: What Should I Do With My Life? Following is a response to it.

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It's time to define the new era. Our faith has been shaken. We've lost confidence in our leaders and in our institutions. Our beliefs have been tested. We've discredited the notion that the Internet would change everything (and the stock market would buy us an exit strategy from the grind). Our expectations have been dashed. We've abandoned the idea that work should be a 24-hour-a-day rush and that careers should be a wild adventure. Yet we're still holding on.

There's a way out. Instead of focusing on what's next , let's get back to what's first . The previous era of business was defined by the question, Where's the opportunity? I'm convinced that business success in the future starts with the question, What should I do with my life? Yes, that's right. The most obvious and universal question on our plates as human beings is the most urgent and pragmatic approach to sustainable success in our organizations. People don't succeed by migrating to a "hot" industry (one word: dotcom) or by adopting a particular career-guiding mantra (remember "horizontal careers"?). They thrive by focusing on the question of who they really are -- and connecting that to work that they truly love (and, in so doing, unleashing a productive and creative power that they never imagined). Companies don't grow because they represent a particular sector or adopt the latest management approach. They win because they engage the hearts and minds of individuals who are dedicated to answering that life question.

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I originally wanted to write this in a facebook note, but despite my best efforts, I could not find the application. However, I’ve been using office for years now and it’s always done me well before. What I’ve just realized now, or rather have been on the process of discovering are some of the deepest and most profane truths, only evident upon very careful and prolonged investigation. More specifically, the inner working of this North American, consumeristic fucking capitalist corporate mass media network communication culture. This overlying network of communication allows the instant transmission of information to just about anywhere on the globe and beyond. It’s amazing, but it’s also very distracting. Sometimes we can get too caught up with what is happening on the higher level of consciousness known as our grand and ever present electronic and mass media communication systems.

Now here’s my science fair project; I will travel to a distant land, over many oceans. I will take a giant leap away from home and everything that I know dear. Plunge into an unknown (but quite well researched) land full of mystery, adventure and travel. I will learn a completely foreign tongue and embrace a new existence full of culture and novelty. And after a few months of adapting to their culture just imagine the perspective one would gain on one’s own country. The difference in perspective would be so enormous that you could not possibly imagine what it would be like to travel home at that instant because you had been so used to living in that community and trying [desperately at times] to learn and speak a new language with as many inhabitants of the new land as possible. After a prolonged amount of time, perhaps a year or more, it would seem like one’s past life is but a collection of memories, a distant land. But what an adventure! I believe in novelty and exploration as means of living an intriguing existence. I think the sooner we can implement the art of adventure into our days, we will be able to live much more fulfilling and meaningful lives.

That is my project and the process has already begun. I will keep a record of all accounts and perhaps share some of the most particularly enlightening aspects of it. At some point, I will post some pictures when I find some great ones.

Decline of Interpersonal Communication and Spirituality

One of the most frustrating things about the dramatic increase in the rise of social networking devices/programs such as cell phones, MSN, and facebook is the inevitable decline of interpersonal communication. We are no longer required to talk to eachother face to face in order to maintain our relationships. The Bauman article discusses the rampant rise of individualism and the decline of meaningful, long-term relationships. He gives a few reasons for this phenomenon: 1) quantity is valued over quality (this includes relationships), 2) virtual relationships are easier to enter/exit, and 3) the idea that long-term relationships are a trap to avoid at all costs. We live in a world where we are always looking for our next immediate "entertainment fix", and unfortunately many people can't seem to find that excitement in meaningful relationships anymore.

Another result of the rise of virtual, network relationships is that communication is becoming more and more about organizing schedules and meet up times, or talking about what shows were watched on television the night before and less and less about the deeper and more significant things in life that we should be cherishing, but aren't. The less we think about existential issues in our lives, the less we learn about ourselves and the natural world around us. We need to get back into thinking about our soul and our place here on Earth and get back on the path to spiritual discovery.

Absolute: A form of activism in the education system

The following if an email I sent to Absolute; a very socially and globally conscious motivational entertainment organization who uses an exciting arrangement of entertainment media to captivate high school audiences and instill upon them messages of good morals, social responsibility, and the importance of the self. www.absolute.org.

These values compare nicely with some of Hannah Arendts' ideas. The need to use very fast-paced and highly visual presentations in order to maintain the attention of high school students, could be seen as a penetration of the mass entertainment culture into the sphere of education. Any group wishing to captivate the attentions of high school students, need to be aware of what it is that young people will respond to in terms of an entertaining presentation. The concept of action and the idea of actually doing something has to be stressed.

Here is the email I sent to Absolute:

Hello,

My name is W**** ***** and I'm writing this email as a response to the coincidental situation last night which brought me into contact with your organization's contact information. Last night I was part of a movement towards the universal and very realizable goal of abolishing poverty on this planet. I played guitar along with my band, The Very Excellent Goods, in the student center of McMaster University for the 'Stand Up and Make Poverty History' campaign. Halfway through our set, a woman approached our bass player and gave him a small sheet of paper with this email address along with a mailing address and the website name.

I did some research and watched some of your promotional videos. You seem like a very well organized and professional group of motivational leaders who are true believers in the causes that they are working towards. As time goes on, I begin to realize more and more that the best way to incite change is to do it using more intimate and personal forms of communication. It has to be exciting, captivating, and very visually stimulating. It has to be a spectacle that the audience can latch onto and derive meaning from. And above all, it has to leave a long lasting feeling of positivity and joy. We have to give these kids something to hope for. A happy person is someone who has hopes and goals to look forward to in the future and knows that through a combination of hard work and believing in yourself, you really can accomplish your dreams.

We find that music is one of the best and most accessible forms of communication. The medium is the message, so to speak. Music is a universal communicator and everyone can find something to appreciate about positive, meaningful music. The messages contained within the music will be inspirational and thought provoking. The spectacle will be entertaining and energetic. Some of my fondest high school memories are actually the times when we would get really good motivational speakers in to come talk to us, and I think it's so neat to combine that with professional live music and a much more visual show.

I am going to gather together a band resume and will send it to your mailing address which was given to me last night. Thank for your time! Take care,

W*** ******

-I'm currently awaiting a response.

Social Activism and Entertainment

We sure have had some interesting classes as of late. I love this whole idea of pushing the boundaries of our conventional education and taking the course in new and unique directions. It seems very fitting that a course about social activism should take this non-conventional avenue. I enjoyed out time with "quasi" activist Jon; he had some neat ideas and definitely a good drive. I thought he tended to blame a lot of societies problems on this all encompassing "government" who seemed to be out to get everyone but he sure has charisma.

One of the ideas I was left with is how much we depend on entertainment in our lives. These days, we won't walk halfway across the room unless there's some kind of entertainment value in it for us. It seems silly to say but I would recomend to Jon that if his campaign is going to succeed, he had better make it darn entertaining in the process.

Recovering the full range of human power.

After reading the article Debord, Cybersituations, and the Interactive Spectacle, I began to look around me and realize how much the "spectacle" has invaded our everyday lives and how much most of us actually do not even realize it. It is very easy to look at a culture that is not your own and to point out what is right and what is wrong. However, I believe it is much more difficult to step back and take a look at one's own culture and to criticize it. So much of what we do, we simply do not question because it is "normal" and it is the way it is. Especially once something like the spectacle has pervaded every aspect of our lives, it is almost impossible to discern the spectacle, from the natural. Our life has become an accumulation of spectacles and we don't even realize it!

One of the points the article makes is that the idea of the spectacle as a tool of pacification that stupefies social subjects and distracts them from the most urgent tasks of real life. I believe that the only way to break free of this subtle but very real form of control, is to consciously put yourself into situations where you are acting on your own accord and creating your own situations. Get out of the city and go camping for the weekend, or stay in with your friends playing cards instead of going to the bar. Get together with musicians and jam, sing, and create your own music! humans are capable of far more than the average person realizes. Through revolutionary change, we need to recover the full range of human power.

The Secrets to Mobilization

The advent of print media brought many huge social changes into the drama that is human existance. As literacy rates in the Western world began to rise in the 18th and 19th centuries, more and more people had access to information and society gradually became more transparent. This new emerging society has been classified as the beginnings of the information age, where power lies with whomever has access to the most relevent information.

One of the biggest changes incited by print media and rising literacy rates was that it was now much easier for strong minded individuals to spread their views regarding a certain social situation and to print their opinions and to mobilize others towards their cause. Through the media, large groups of people have been able to recognize a common "frame alignment" and mobilize together to evoke some sort of social change.

As discussed in the Snow article, a group must share a similar perspective before they can mobilize. These frame allignments usually revolve around social or political realities and through the frame allignment process the groups' message can be added upon, amplified, and eventually transformed as need be. The Vietnam war in the 60's provided an issue for activists to coalesce around and so became a means of creating a common frame allignment for protestors to mobilize against.

Social Activism and the Media PART ONE - Mediated vs direct access societies

In Modern Social Imaginaries, the author talks about Benedict Anderson's very insightful discussion on the nature of the modern society. He stresses that society is a simultaneous happening of events which as a whole, make up the system in which all the members inside of it live out their lives. He insists that in this model time is exclusively secular, and does not consist of periods of higher time. In other words, in our modern horizontal society all time is valued equally and it is unrelated to any "high points", where seemingly ordinary events would be seen as greatly significant or particularly pious. In past times, such "high points" would have been mediated by kings or high priests and would have been held with the highest reverence. The ancient Aztecs give us a good example of a "high point" in time* (see bottom of page).

However in the modern direct access society, we have instantaneous access to information thereby making society transparent and horizontal. There is no obvious centre, unlike the Kings of old. It is crucial to take a decentralized perspective when thinking about the modern society. In ancient regimes such as that of France, there was always a central figure, the king, who would act as a central node which binded the society together beneath it. The king would also act as a connection to the divine or "high time".

Our society is quite the opposite where each one of us is equidistant to the centre and are immediate to the whole. This is what is known as a direct access society. We have moved from a vertical world of hierarchies where information is mediated through a central apex, to a horizontal direct access society where power lies within the individual. The rise of the individual has led to a rise in human rights, education, self awareness, entrepreneurialism, etc. Rather than being simply a cog in the system, we each feel like we have a purpose and endless possibilities before us...or do we?

Come back next week for part two of this tantalizing exploration into the nature of our modern society and its' relation to the media.



*The Aztecs of 15th century Mexico had a way of dealing with the problem of the leap year. There was a period of four or five days in between the end of the year and the beginning of the next year which was to be treated with the utmost solemnity. The Aztecs believed that it was during this time that the Gods would deliberate the future of humankind and if they were deemed unacceptable, would be struck down. Time became incredibly more significant and the people would look to their Reverend Speaker who was essentially a king and religious symbol.

The Riches of Space

The world is here for us. We are a product of the planet itself. We are part of it, and that cannot be helped. We are the product of some great grand design, so infinitely complicated that any feeble attempts (although grand for us little creatures) we try to make in regards to attempting to unravel some of the delicate methods of construction and operation of the world we live in just gets swept away into the far reaches of space. However, regardless of the futility of it, it is still fun to think of such things. Especially my favourite subject currently, the idea of an active consciousness. As far as we know, humans are an extremely conscious race. It's our splendid blessing and our biggest curse. We have become so aware of our own surroundings and our own existence that it ceases to bewilder us anymore. Society has reverted into extreme order and conefficience based on the flow of currency. It's a lot of work, moving around merchandise the way we do, or moving around trillions of mb's of date through the network of telephone wires, computer networks, fiber-optics and satellites. All the goods, and all that information has to inevitably go somewhere. We complain about garbage dumps because they're unsightly and bad for the environment, but just think of all the stuff in our own houses! All the huge skyscrapers in downtown Toronto. They're all full of plastic, metal, paper, concrete. Right now we don't consider that garbage, but what happens to it if we humans go away. What would happen to Toronto if all of a sudden, everyone just up and left. What would it be like in 50 years? 200 years? 1000? I picture a vast green structure, giant trees growing up the middle of collapsing buildings. The rafters would become a haven for birds of all kinds. Specs of dirt would blow in and accumulate, giving way to meadows and forests covering the asphalt and the streets. The soil would be added upon by the tiny minute little particles of meteor dust, which tend to drift in from interplanetary space gradually build up. This can increase the worlds total weight by 30,000 metric tons of cosmic dust a year . The largest of these dust particles (about 1/10 of a millimeter in diameter), if placed in the palm of your hand, would be just barely visible to your naked eye.
This brings us to another very important point and that is the subject of space: the final frontier. Humans as a species, are very resourceful. It is our largest and most beneficial asset. From the moment we raised our first club we became an animal obsessed with material posessions. With objects that somehow are able to make our lives just a little bit better. It's what we've been doing from day one. Fire was a big step. That took the longest time but once human beings could create fire at will, the rest was all downhill. And here we are today, with everything that we could possibly want. If a person could be brought here from the year 1000 C.E., they would probably lose their minds. That would be a good character for Will Ferrel or maybe even Ben Stiller to play. A Roman soldier come to modern day North American city. Back to topic, we have ingeniously found many ways to to utilize our raw resources and created a multitude of objects and idea's based on the forever elusive goal of the progressive advancement of humankind. We have quite literally conquered the Earth and we having nothing to do but spread and multiply. At the rate we're going, the Earth will not be able to sustain us in another 100 years. That being said, why should we put all our eggs into one basket so to speak. If one day the Earth decides to stop functioning for us, are we to admit defeat and simply disappear, along with everything that we have ever done or ever would do, given the chance? I say we find a way to get off this rock. If we could find a way to send people to other parts of the solar system to live in a habitable environment, we could ensure our species own survival if something were to go away on Earth. Nay, if we could seek out other planets suitable for human habitation and were able to colonize them, we would in a sense become invincible. If we were able to spread ourselves out throughout the galaxy, it wouldn't matter if something catastrophic happened to an entire planet, because there would be many more planets to break the fall. We would live forever, always moving, always spreading out further and further throughout the fast infinites of space. We would probably survive until the end of time. Or mare accurately, the lifespan of the universe. Eventually, the universe will have expanded so much, and stretched itself so thin, that there simply won't be any energy left in it. The universe will cool, and as stars slowly die out it will gradually blacken. I'm sure if humans ever managed to survive until that late stage in the Universes life cycle, they will have found a way to harness the energy of a star. These dying stars would be minded for their heat and nuclear energy and we would subsist of them until the day when there were no more stars left. Imagine that. The last star in the universe going out. The last bit of light. But at least we'll be able to say that we were there to see the end. We were the ones who got to watch the end of the universe. And then what? What happens after that?
For now, maybe we should consider concentrated our time and energy in thinking about our present state, and strive to create ways to make it better. We'll get into this soon, and that is the idea that success is not only possible, but is actually the best course of action to take for you to take. It benefits you and everyone around you. It is possible to achieve your dreams, it just takes focus, concentration, and directed consciousness. Simply envision your desires within your mind and watch yourself achieving your ambitions. Set your mind and your energy to work for you. A little experiment could be interesting. Think of something you would like to get a hold of, or of a person who perhaps you haven't seen in a while and would like to see or talk to again. Keep your goal in your mind and sub-consciously stay alert to paths that present themselves to you which will take you closer to achieving your goal. If someone invites you somewhere, go with them. If you catch a persons eye, say hi to them. And one must always remember to stay open to new possibilities. Be adventurous and be observative. Pay attention to your energy as it flows in and out of you. Be conscious of what you do with your own energy and how you receive it. When it all comes down to it, it is sometimes easier to sum it all up by doing simply this: do good onto the world, and the world will do good onto you.

e.r