Grawlix Not Included (Or Authentic Passion Expressed Authentically)

DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing" fuckin' blows me away. Just heard it here.

(Sorry for the French, or New Yorker. Blame Hugh over at gapingvoid for ruining my sense of propriety with blogging. I'll use it sparingly. I want it to have the impact I mean for it to have. "$#@&!" just doesn't cut it.)

"Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt", well, shit, the whole album, makes my neck tingle. I'm not sure what it is though. I just am in awe of his mixing. The way he layers the sound seemlessly, the way he creates melody with loops and rhythm with scratching, man!

I love what the WWW has become. I can discuss its future with Jarvis and Godin, I can chat about my artwork with teenagers wanting to try it too, I can connect with people looking for the coolest gift, I can remind myself of kickass music.

I can be inspired to be creative.

What can YOU do with the WWW that blows you away?

SRV is also for the woman's anniversary gift to her husband. I get to paint Jimi today!

Peace.

SOLD - Stevie Ray Vaughan 07/25/08

(Just) Do It

I'll have a painting to post later today, I swear. But right now I'm feeling energetic, like I've got something to say, so I'd better say it before the moment's past.

That's kind of what I want to say: don't hesitate. Do it. Don't even wait for the "just". Do it. What's the worst that can happen?

Call a friend simply to say "I love you, have a good day" (call, don't text it).
Table dance (do the Conan).
Add a comment on a blog you've just found (not necessarily mine).

There's freedom in being free. Push boundaries, break out of your box, break the damn box. Be inspired, allow it in. Get scared, get your pupils wide, don't blink (you'd think I like rollercoasters).

Be timeless, out of time, in the "now".

Live. Oh, and make your own LAUNCHcast station. Share it too.

Peace.

Cybernetics And Peace

Continuing to listen to my new LAUNCHcast station, Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name Of" reminded me of something else I wanted to share of me. At UCLA I majored in Cybernetics (since renamed), which fundamentally was the study of control and communications of systems biological and non-biological. Back then the cool yet nerdy example was the character Data on Star Trek. The coursework was big picture stuff: understanding ecology, statistics, and theoretical computer science's concept of The Internet.

Control. How do we model the human heart and its interaction with a new drug to help it work better? Create a theory, turn it into math, throw tests at it, get feedback, modify the theory, redo the math, continue testing, and so forth. Control the situation, the system.

Can't control humanity. Even Hitler with his focussed, passionate charisma could not change what was true, what was inside individuals. Yes he, and all of history's evil dictators corrupted those willing to "do what they told ya", those willing to look at people based upon labels and groups rather than tolerate individuality, but society will give people their just desserts eventually.

Now, communication can effect change. I latched onto this side of my major, realizing how amazing the possibilities of The Internet were. This was when browsers and email were in their initial versions. Dialup bulletin boards gave way quickly to Usenet as students and early adopters quickly pushed the boundaries of computing power and revolutionized how humanity flows. Telnet and chat clients began to explore what today we take for granted in communicating with all the variations of social media. It's incredible to think back and see how society has layered on top of The Internet a whole new method to reach out, to listen, and to be heard. This can theoretically lead to endless tolerance and compassion, lead to acceptance of self and others, lead to

Peace. Help "make it so".

Keep Hope Alive

For some reason techno hits my emotions hard. There's something primal about it. The Crystal Method's "Keep Hope Alive" sends waves down the back of my neck and tears down my cheeks. I've started to rate songs, bands and albums, developing my own Yahoo! LAUNCHcast station to share what inspires my art.

Listening to such a raw form of human communication made me think about our world's condition. Recently I was responding to a blog post about world peace, and I came up with the realization that it's not about peace as in an end to war. It's about inner peace, inner hope for Life. Eastern beliefs focus on acceptance, recognizing the perpetual existence of opposites. I can certainly attest to the fact that everything and its opposite are more present than ever. They pull the pendulum of Life into swinging so far around they almost touch at the top. Human war and conflict will never cease until individuals stop worrying about everybody else and focus on their own inner peace. Accept yourself. You are perfect as you are, as Life made you. Live and experience your piece of Life and find peace. Others can and will take care of themselves.

Gandhi Lived this. His methods weren't about imposing his will on others, they weren't about treating a symptom. They were about treating the cause of his suffering, his drama. Get right with yourself. Let others be. Individuals are here for a reason, Life living lessons. Learn from yours, learn from others. Then there can and will be

Peace.