Saw this on MetaFilter today. . . if you have a last.fm account, I think it's relevant:

"Did Last.fm Just Hand Over User Listening Data To the RIAA?"

On the subject of fear

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

- Dune

Some tunes, a blog, and a universe

Check out Central Processing Universe. This guy has some quality tunes, really good stuff if you're into electronic/IDM. I really dig 'flowetry' and 'There is More to This', which combines a nice flowing synth and a gentle kick-drum pulse with some T Mckenna clips in the background, need I say more?

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I greatly enjoyed reading Dimitry Orlov's newest blog entry, entitled, "Social Collapse Best Practices" which was a talk given 4 days ago at Cowell Theatre in Fort Mason Center, San Francisco.

"If there is one thing that I would like to claim as my own, it is the comparative theory of superpower collapse. For now, it remains just a theory, although it is currently being quite thoroughly tested. The "theory states that the United States and the Soviet Union will have collapsed for the same reasons, namely: a severe and chronic shortfall in the production of crude oil (that magic addictive elixir of industrial economies), a severe and worsening foreign trade deficit, a runaway military budget, and ballooning foreign debt."

"So, what is there for them to do? Forget “growth,” forget “jobs,” forget “financial stability.” What should their realistic new objectives be? Well, here they are: food, shelter, transportation, and security. Their task is to find a way to provide all of these necessities on an emergency basis, in absence of a functioning economy, with commerce at a standstill, with little or no access to imports, and to make them available to a population that is largely penniless. If successful, society will remain largely intact, and will be able to begin a slow and painful process of cultural transition, and eventually develop a new economy, a gradually de-industrializing economy, at a much lower level of resource expenditure, characterized by a quite a lot of austerity and even poverty, but in conditions that are safe, decent, and dignified."


In parting,

At that hour when all things have repose,
O lonely watcher of the skies,
Do you hear the night wind and the sighs?
Of harps playing unto Love to unclose
The pale gates of sunrise?

When all things repose do you alone
Awake to hear the sweet harps play
To Love before him on his way,
And the night wind answering in antiphone
Till night is overgone?

Play on, invisible harps, unto Love
Whose way in heaven is aglow
At that hour when soft lights come and go,
Soft sweet music in the air above
And in the Earth below

- James Joyce

Observe the Eego

What a beautiful day it turned out to be here in Western PA. The temperature rose to a perfect 73 degrees (22 degrees Celsius) and I'm here at the library sitting with jeans and a. . . gasp. . . T-Shirt on! Who'd have thunk it?! Because the usual array of snow, ice, and slush is out of the way (for now), there are children playing outside, people are walking their dogs, and couples are out strolling about the town. The humans have come out of their caves! The Sun is shining and my spirit feels energized!

So yesterday was eventful because I visited the local supermarket (Safrans) and picked up a bunch of food, which came to $53.00 (my highest grocery expense to date). 53 dollars is fucking expensive, man! I'm trying to eat as healthy as I possibly can, but unfortunately, Safran's does not sell much organic food so I'm stuck with consuming food produced by the aggro-industrial mega-whores for now. This simultaneously stimulates my incentive to grow my own food; which I'm in the process of begining. I plan on growing some cucumbers, tomatoes, tangerines, herbs, and various other greens which will most likely take place when summer rolls around.

The reason I say "stuck" is because as of today, I have no viable means of transporting myself and the food to and from the desired location. This is soon to change, though! My bike is finished with its repairs (I regret not fixing the thing myself), so I should have it soon! Hopefully I'll be able to find some decent organic stores nearby once that's all taken care of.

Kind of strange that the majority of western society is completely disconnected from its food sources. This is probably a good thing, though; considering the fact that if we actually saw HOW our "food" is created and manufactured, the majority of people would be horrified. Then again, this infortmation is already out there - people simply don't care.

While I'm on the subject of food, I'd like to direct you to an article by a guy named Michael Pollan, who begins the essay with the header, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Very intellegent guy who speaks very conciously about health, the way humans interact with their environment, and. . . well. . . plants! I'll leave it at that, check it out!

A belly full of Kratom brings the midnight goodness

You might be thinking what I'm thinking
Have I ever thought a thought you haven't thought?
Have you ever felt a feeling I haven't felt?
Are we all not sisters and brothers?
Time to rise, brush, cloth, work, eat, enhance, and fade
We must realize that we are spinning the wheel

A philosophical question; the biologic mysteries
The tides of braided DNA, spiraling through the crystalline ocean - a rainbow staircase

The grand replication inoculates its form code
The code becomes atomized; living dots!
The molecules perform their dance; nobody is watching
Increased intervals of connectivity and acceleration
an inevitable process, the path is chaotic