Ridiculously busy week or two, a little in the way of business, a lot in the way of life’s rich tapestry of pooh. Mum’s medical condition is weakening, her memory is almost breathtakingly bad – like a 10 minute loop of drivel sometimes. Other times lucid and happy, then in a beat depressed and confused. Sis and I have been taking her to a Memory Clinic via NHS; I fear it’s not really helping her much, though it’s useful for us to see that there are others in the same boat. Not sure how this will all play out. We have our annual trust meeting on Weds evening, which will be ineresting…

Just had a call from credit card company – a fraudulent transaction on a card we hardly use. Looking back over a year or so of use, not really anyone “small” or “vague” – and virtually no internet use. Unsure how this can have happened; the cards are stopped and nothing has gone through. Hmmm. Worrying. I needed some more worry.

We (Skinbat Scramble) will be performing something in some shape on 30th December at the Forum. Started a poster for it today, RGAF, ODB, the elusive Brutai… year ending.

Last weekend to Blackpool for P’s national Ballroom and Latin Finals. Lovely ballroom, everything great, though she didn’t get through quite as well as we expected, which was a bit upsetting for us. The judging was all a bit weird, to be honest, with some very strange decisions and eliminations. Ho, and indeed, hum. Before we got to the ballroom, we had to suffer the earsplitting alarm going off in our hotel – at 3.30 and then again at 6.30 in the morning, whipping us from sleep and sending us down the fire stairs into the deserted bowels of the Victorian building and out into a rain-spattered windlashed seafront. Something of the Dunkirk spirit was present in the sleepy and half-dressed guests as we were told it was a false alarm. Things were not quite so jolly the second time around. However… in the zombie-like walk round town the following day, we did manage to hit our favourite Blackpool shop – WHO – for lots of sci-fi vinyl figure action, which proved expensive, but covered several Xmas present vacancies.

As usual, tempers flared over the correct preparation and presentation of P’s hair. I really must go on a hairdressing course soon, otherwise I’m taking some clippers and shaving it off before the next comp.

Good question.

Although I cannot lay claim to having a definitive answer on their motivations, Apple recently made waves with regards to computer warranties. According to reports from Apple customers, the company is sticking to their claim that smoking (cigarettes, pipes, cigars etc) within the vicinity of their laptop and desktop computers nullifies the computer warranties.

Does this make sense? Is Steve Jobs trying to be funny and nobody has realized the joke yet?

Before going any further, I should preface that I myself am not a smoker and am using my own personal Macbook Pro to write this post. Therefore, I have not developed a nervous tick while writing AND taking a drag for a nicotine fix. However, with that said, I think Apple is wadding into dangerous waters with this mysterious warrant voiding policy. I have elaborated on my reasoning below:

> Where is the evidence of a DIRECT link between smoke (casual, not as in a building fire) damage and Apple product destruction?

> As indicated by Apple owners who have contacted Apple, why is there no mention of this policy in the warrant materials?

> If smoke is so harmful towards Apple computers, why aren’t a plethora of other substances cited in warranty material as being capable of nullifying warranties?

(When was the last time you read a car warranty stating the radio, navigation system or the power door locks would be harmed by the act of smoking AND consequently nullify the warranty??)

> If Apple begins enacting and enforcing this mysterious policy, will it set a precedent for all computer manufacturers?

Smoking is harmful to humans, this has been scientifically proven through numerous scientific outlets. Computers however are not made of flesh and blood. I am wary of Apple’s motivations behind such a policy that seems to be cloaked in mystery. The company is not needing to pinch pennies by voided warranties as Apple’s profits have been riding high recently. So what gives? Is this an attempt to send a statement to their customers that they should change some of the choices they make, such as lighting up? I am curious for an answer. I am not Steve Jobs and neither can I try to formulate the exact motivations behind Apple’s decision to enforce this move. As an Apple customer, the move seems misguided as the intent is unclear and potentially invasive on customers personal lives and the decisions they chose to make.

I hope the air will be cleared on this topic when Apple is more forthcoming about the influence of smoking on its products.

Harmony Korine har gjort en ny film som heter Trash Humpers. Den visades under Stockholms filmfestival och jag kunde förstås inte låta bli att se den. Ända sedan jag såg Gunmo har jag gillat Korine – i teorin. I sina verk och sin framtoning framstår han som en konstnärlig vilde som inte har något till övers för konventioner och som inte skyr några medel. Han är så cool att han till och med fått en låt uppkallad efter sig av ultracoola japanska sångerskan Kahimi Karie.

Filmen är rakt igenom ful. Inte det minsta ful-snygg, bara genuint ful med skakig VHS-kamera, svaj, “tracking”-linjer, utsmetade bleka färger och obefintlig ljussättning. Meningen är förstås att efterlikna en riktigt sunkig hemmavideo. Det är konsekvent genomfört med undantag för eftertexterna som visserligen är riktigt videofula, men ändå på gränsen till ful-snygga. Miljöerna och karaktärerna är smutsiga och äckliga. Någon dramaturgi existerar inte överhuvudtaget. Det är “entartete Kunst” och performancevrål i kubik.

Vi följer ett gäng gammelsminkade personer i fula kläder som under de 78 minuterna ägnar sig åt att ha sex med soptunnor, vandalisera teve-apparater, lägenheter och lysrör (och steppdansa i spillrorna), trakassera en liten pojke i kostym, kasta smällare, recitera förvirrade ramsor (“make it, make it, don’t take it!”), misshandla dockor, mörda, supa, ha mer sex med soptunnor, tvångsmata ett homosexuellt par med pannkakor dränkta i sirap, sjunga julsånger med överviktiga prostituerade, etc, etc. Det är smutsigt, trashigt och så långt från god smak som man rimligen kan komma. Filmen blir egentligen aldrig stötande, mest bara komisk.

I ett uttalande om filmen säger Korine:

I remember when I was a child there was a small group of elderly people who would hang out in the back alleys and under bridges by my house. They always seemed to be getting drunk and dancing. One night I looked out my bedroom window and saw a group of them humping trash cans and laughing. It sounded like they were speaking a strange invented language. This is a movie about them.

Werner Herzog gjorde 1970 filmen Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (den internationella titeln är Even Dwarfs Started Small). Det finns helt klart många paralleller mellan den och Trash Humpers och jag misstänker att Korine var ganska så inspirerad av den filmen. Korine är ett uttalat Herzogfan och Herzog själv spelade även en av rollerna i Korines Julien Donkey-Boy.

Jag såg Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen för flera år sedan på Cinemateket och blev nästan chockad av förstörelsen som utspelade sig på duken. Cyklade hem som bedövad och kunde inte avgöra om det jag just sett var genialt eller den största kalkon som världen skådat. När jag senare pratade i telefon och skulle beskriva filmen så brast det för mig. Jag började skratta så mycket att vi var tvungna att avbryta samtalet. Sedan skrattade jag oavbrutet i en halvtimme. Det är en av de största filmupplevelser jag varit med om.

Filmen är fullkomligt sanslös; skoningslös; kompromisslös. Den är som en enda lång surrealistisk mardröm eller feberyra. Den utspelar sig i och omkring en avlägsen institution av okänd art där en grupp dvärgar (eller små människor) löper amok i ett eskalerande och allt mer kaotiskt upplopp. Bakgrunden till kaoset och målet med deras revolution förblir oklar. Karaktärerna (som alla spelas av små människor) krossar fönster, sätter eld på växtligheten, tjuvåker bil runt, runt på området, trakasserar en grupp blinda dvärgar, anordnar tuppfäktning, har matkrig, dödar grisar, korsfäster en apa, etc, etc – allt ackompanjerat till den lille mannen Hombrés ondskefulla skratt. Filmens avslutningsscen är det mest bisarra jag någonsin sett, som en scen tagen direkt från helvetet eller apokalypsens skälvande kaos.

De två filmerna har en hel del likheter: avsaknaden av dramaturgi, anarkin och den renodlade visuella formen – det är verkligen film, rörliga bilder utan en bakomliggande berättelse, utan handlingsdrivande dialog eller stämningsmusik. Tyvärr är inte Trash Humpers i närheten så bra och omskakande som Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen.

Läste någonstans att det egentligen var meningen att äldre människor skulle spela sociopaterna i Trash Humpers, men att Korine inte kunde hitta några som ville medverka. Det är synd, Korines maskförsedda och sminkade polare klarar inte av att ge filmen den ambivalens som dvärgarna i Herzogs film så effektivt framkallar. Man får en känsla av att det hela är för konstruerat och uttänkt, lite som ett ambitiöst YouTube-projekt av några film- eller konststudenter.

I Herzogs film pendlar man mellan metafilmiska dubier kring huruvida filmen är usel, ett skämt eller ett mästerverk, och en svindlande fascination inför bilderna. Man försöker förstå den värld som man just fått en insyn i. Vad vill personerna i filmen uppnå? Vad handlar det här om, egentligen? Och efteråt: vad var det som hände?

Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen är en genuint märklig film. Den försöker inte vara konstig, den är bara väldigt, väldigt konstig och bisarr. Det har inget med äkthet eller autenticitet att göra, sådana ord blir meningslösa i det här sammanhanget (och i alla andra sammanhang är de oftast helt ointressanta). I efterverkningarna av de bisarra, irrationella och anarkistiska bildsekvenserna anar man en svag förnimmelse av frihet. Jag tror det är den man söker och i bästa fall finner i de här filmerna. Korines film når inte riktigt bortom de halvtomma provokationerna till den allra yttersta graden av sällsamhet som krävs för det.

Men jag fortsätter nog att gilla Harmony Korine – i teorin – även i fortsättningen.

Dokumentbranschen är ingen dans på rosor. Det fick jag bittert erfara en höstdag i oktober efter att ha blivit avskedad under förnedrande omständigheter från Norton Dahmers Oslokontor. Som en slagen och bespottad man återvände jag till anonymiteten i Shinjukus trånga och svärmande neonkvarter. Utan vare sig jobb eller vänner visste jag inte vad jag skulle ta mig till.

Så börjar min novell Att handskas korrekt med dokument. Den kom femma i Mitranias årliga novelltävling och nu finns den publicerad i senaste numret som just kommit ut. Mitrania publicerar främst texter och noveller inom fantasy och science fiction och med en rejäl dos god vilja kan man möjligen placera movellen i den senare genren. Mest av allt är det nog en ganska spårlös historia i absurdistisk tradition. Det kändes bra att läsa den igen, jag tycker nog om den lite.

Den får mig att längta tillbaka till Tokyo.

Stay on time, and look good doing it with this analog V02 watch by VOID.

SOURCE: SneakHype

I have chosen darkness
in it
poetry swells,
literature breeds
dark and oppressive
I breathe in an atmosphere of coal
black ash swarms in metaphors and
contradictions
beating heart that’s become
sullen with life
I choose obscurity
like the ambiguous rose
within an unmovable abyss
I choose the ungraspable void
where borders and objects
interfuse with phantasmagorical thoughts
leaving no content, awaiting an obscure name –
in this dark dream
the Mysterious
is like wine
flowing through the veins
of whatever I am.

nihilistic poetry

Some more goodies I picked up yesterday and today:

Left

Eyes: Duh! – Real Eyes – Hazel (Dollarbie)

Scarf: Duh! – Coarse Wool Scarf – Olive

Outfit (incl. Shoes): #20.The Stax Graaah’s

Right

Sweater: Butterdish – Thanksgiving Freebie

Pants: Qidem – Kutxi Outfit (Midnight Mania Prize)

Shoes: =Void= Phyton Skull Sneakers (L$ 9 on XstreetSL)

Hot off the presses, here comes the most (possibly the only?) DJ friendly Realicide record you will find.  This is definitely something that won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I think it’s a brilliant crossover of raw punk and electronic hardcore.  The message is everything here and Realicide have plenty to say.  But it’s not the cheesy DHR “start the riot motherfuckerzzzzz” kind of message that you might expect.  This is almost more like self help for those disenfranchised with society’s constructions.  Instructions for breaking free, if you will.

Realicide is known, first and foremost, as a live act.  But the translation of their music to a DJ friendly format is actually very well done here.  The sound quality is good, with the gabber kicks hitting nice and hard, and the tracks have been restructured in a way that makes sense for us DJ types and casual listeners alike.  On a basic level, this is pounding, bass laden mid-tempo gabber that will whip the right crowd into a moshing, fist pumping frenzy.  But, perhaps more importantly, the message here is an extremely positive one about not following trends, not sitting passively by, and about actually living life instead of simply watching others do it.  That’s what I take from it anyway, and I think it’s really god damn refreshing to have a record cross my turntable that actually makes me think.

Realicide is a multifaceted venture, and I’d highly recommend checking out their website if you’re looking for some good reading material or more info on what they’re about.

“The Choice Is Yours EP” can be purchased in the U.S. at Wrecked, directly from the label, or at a Realicide show near you.  Overseas, I expect it will pop up at Praxis.

FANTASIA IS A “HOMEWRECKER”?

Star Magazine is reporting that
Fantasia Barrino is dating a
married man. Antwaun Cook, a 30-
year-old father of two, allegedly
left his teacher wife and their 4-
and 1-year-old sons — and moved
into the “American Idol” winner’s
$1.3 million mansion in North
Carolina.

MOTOWN’S 50TH DRAWS GORDY, STEVIE,
ARETHA

Motown Record’s 50th anniversary
was celebrated in its Detroit
hometown Saturday with an all-star
lineup of talent from the historic
label joining non-Motown Motor City
heroes to perform in concert.

GAYLE KING TO FILL OPRAH’S DAYTIME
VOID?

It certainly pays to have the title
of “Oprah’s Best Friend.” According
to the New York Post, Gayle King is
reportedly meeting with CBS to
discuss plans for a possible talk
show after “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
exits in 2011.

Oprah’s new cable network OWN will
debut in January 2011 — eight
months before Oprah Winfrey’s
syndicated talk show airs its final
episode and three years after the
joint venture with Discovery
Communications was originally
formed

I quit smoking four years ago, but before that, I was a dedicated smoker for a solid decade. Luckily, I never had any Mac trouble that would necessitate a warranty replacement during those 10 years, or I might’ve been out of luck. Apple (s aapl) has denied Applecare warranty service in at least two separate instances due to the effects of secondhand smoke, according to Consumerist.

In both cases, smoke was to blame for repairs not performed, but not because the malfunctions the computers suffered were due to damage related to cigarette smoke. Instead, the fact that the Macs had existed in houses where people smoked had resulted in the machines being labeled health risks, which was grounds for repair personnel to refuse to work on them.

It’s unclear whether or not smoking is specifically covered in the terms of Applecare, but it appears that the grounds upon which service refusals have been made is the classification of nicotine as a hazardous substance on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) list. At least, that’s what one of the people affected heard from Steve Jobs’ office, though she clearly disputes the logic used in that justification:

Dena [from Jobs' office] did advise me that nicotine is on OSHA’s list of hazardous substances and Apple would not require an employee to repair anything deemed hazardous to their health. However, OSHA also lists calcium carbonate (found in calcium tablets), isopropyl alcohol (used to clean wounds), chlorine (used in swimming pools), hydrogen peroxide (also used to clean wounds), sucrose (a sugar), talc (as in powder), etc…as hazardous substances.

Consumerist couldn’t get an Apple representative to make an official statement regarding the company’s policy on Macs used in a smoking environment, but considering the similarity of both responses to the inquiries of the two people affected, Apple repair personnel at least reserve the right to refuse service, even if they don’t always choose to exercise that right.

As a longtime smoker (who never smoked indoors anywhere I lived, mind you), and as someone who’s had to get the cigarette smell out of at least one car before selling it, I can see people objecting to working on a computer that’s been saturated with smoke for an extended period. The smell isn’t pretty, and it might feel like the machine might be hazardous to your health — feel being the key word.

I’m no scientist, but I’m assuming it isn’t like the Apple techs cracked the case and a puff of smoke shot out. Is there really a significant danger associated with the inert remnants of what smoke leaves behind? I remain highly skeptical. Anyone else ever run into this excuse for refusing an otherwise valid Applecare repair?

We shared a dream that night. A tornado pursued us. The sky was orange and the world was græy. Cars flew over head and parked airplanes from some unknown airport dragged down the street. There were flashes of lightning, blood pink as light filtered through a hand. The trees were a flurry of forces and the tornado itself was dark, desolate, void. Imminent danger filled our souls with adrenaline but our bodies stood entranced by a chilling emptiness, futility. For a fleeting moment we became death and oblivion. We passed and we awoke. We remember everything.

Part I – [link]

I saw this video on youtube.com and found it fascinating.

“My VERY POSITIVE Abortion Experience”… I just like the sound of that.

“My VERY POSITIVE Abortion Experience”.
aka: executionize you rights!

It was a sunny day in march. I was singing a song as I went along the road, walking past smiling people and stopping at every window to see what was in store. I was young and happy with all my life in front of me, and just to know that I was going to make sure something else would not have it’s life in front of it made it all the much sunnier, happier and gayer.

The abortion doctor, who was an amateur actor on the side, sang as I entered the Family planning clinic.
“Hello”, he said with a glee and what seemed to be a whimsical little dance. He couldn’t help but smile as I saw it, and I couldn’t help but smile either. This would be the start of a wonderful day, with lots of memories and stories to tell.

The people who was gathered inside his bright coloured waiting room was all ready for a laugh and was eager to meet new people and share their pregnancy stories. Mine was as simple as it was funny. I had been drunk at a party, and this guy came up to me and later came inside me. They all laughed as I played with those words. I even got a huge hug from one of the teenagers as I told it. All was good and right.

One of the stories that was shared that was not as fun, but was a story we all could grow on, came from a shy skinny young girl who sat in the corner. She had escaped from home, since her father was abusive and her mother was a drunk.
“Now there’s an abortion that should have been”, I could remember thinking but still trying to keep a serious face as her story was not suppose to be funny. She had later become a whore and she earned more by having the Johns in her without condoms so she became pregnant at regular basis and had been there many times.

“So you could use a punching card, couldn’t you?”, I said and we all laughed at my funny way at looking at things.
“Yes”, she said, “but I got aids now so I won’t be needing it for very long”

This last part started to provoke me, because I felt that she tried to ruin my VERY POSITIVE Abortion experience with her bleakness. Some people just cant be happy, you know, they have to problematize everything. This woman deserved her misery, I had read so in “the secret”, so I decide to focus on someone else. Someone who looked forward to having it removed.

“Life is to short”, I thought as I stroke my belly “to focus on sad things. I bet my foetus would agree with me” and with that thought I was suddenly back again laughing and dancing with the abortion doctor. People cheering and applauding for me. The sun shone so bright! Everything was fantastic. You get such energy from knowing you are going to get rid of a tumour of troubles. Yes… life, you know… fantastic.

“This is our right, am I right?”, I screamed from the top of my longs as I stood on top of chair. “Abort more!”, I continued and more positive energy entered the room.
“No one is going to take our rights away! NO ONE! GIRL POWER”, I shouted for all to hear. The power of deciding life and death. I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait for it to be removed. A tingling all over, excitement for what was to come, life… you know… FREEDOM! LOVE!

Finally it was my turn, and I turned to the crowd of happy people and raised my hand for recognition. Love, was the only word to describe this day. Love and the colour green. I would do an art project later where I would make an interruptive dance to celebrate my positive experience while painted green. It’s what an artist do.
The dance would be me having my hands representing the flow of the menstrual falling down, down, washing away the pain and responsibility from the middle-age and instead greeting a brave new world where woman could be free to be a sexual creature to. I would try as an artist to convey the importance of abortion, to tell young people that abortion is an experience that every girl should have. To become a woman is to drink once menstrual flow and to have a positive abortion experience. Bush and other demogogs would never again steal our chance of experience POWER and keep US down. FREEDOM etc.

Oh, such lovely pictures. I wish you could have been there and shared it with me. But I will try to tell you, as best as I can, the sensation of abortion. The doctor took me in to a white room, with pictures of happy adults smiling. No kids in any of them. There was also a picture of a clown who juggled bottles. A real aesthetic experience. He guided me to a cosy chair and I took my seat. He then gave me a shot and a pill. He then looked at the clock and we waited.

Then it came. A power strengthening in my uterine. Then came the flow. The flow of life and death. It was all red of me and the smell of fresh freedom! Love, freedom and power again and again for what would seem like an eternity. I couldn’t describe it as anything but a holy experience of cleansing. A strong cleansing from the blood and the whiteness of the room that I knew had to be stronger than any religious experience.
“This is life”, I thought. “Life is blood flowing, and cunts crying because men had to penetrate them!”

I started to cry because of the beauty and I looked up into the ceiling with look of relief. I can’t describe it better so I have to say it again. It isn’t an orgasm, it’s just a feeling of freedom. Abortion is freedom, love and the colour green. Every girl should have one, to know the feeling. If I ever get pregnant again, I would have another one. And this time I would wait longer, because they say that the feeling get’s stronger to.

I work hard to have the rights of woman extended, and of course I also work hard for the abortion laws to be more open-minded as I am. This is why I have a project to keep the laws away from our bodies and to make it legal to have abortion until birth. There are scientific facts that state that there is no life until birth, and I work hard to make it so. And when I succeed in this, and I will if you woman will join me, then I will go even further. There are other scientific facts that state that an infants mind is not developed until it’s at least one year of age. I will with woman of the worlds help, fight for woman to have Shaken baby syndrome legalized as a form of abortion to.

So women of the earth, help me to make every girls dream come true and have their own very positive abortion experience. As I like to say; “You are not a free-thinker, unless you think like us” and ain’t that the truth?

open source!!!

http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

========

I am willing to be ignorant,
to embrace ignorance
as an activity not a fact.

No one instructed me in this.
I was taught to take action,
apply what I know and not wait.

Learning not knowing has
been, is slow, is the reception
of new matter, of transmission
from elsewhere, sitting in
the train, watching the
landscape move.

Not being ignorant for a while
until I know, but continually
unknowing even while actions
are carried out, having an
awareness, a recognised stream
of emptiness flowing always
alongside my Socratian self.

========

========

No wonder we know for
sure that the word comes
from god, or the great tree,

or some thing or being
beyond and behind
or above the word

so powerful that when
we hear it we partake
of its divinity.

No wonder we know
that all words are creations
and being written or spoken

are recreations,
and being seen or said
again, fall further from

their origin; that
the word is only visible
for an instant

it evaporates cannot be kept,
nor resorted to,
cannot be offered as proof

or dangled as enticement;
beautiful words flash from our
mouths as bubbles

from fish,
as seeds in the wind
already in decay

before they convey birth,
everyone knows to ignore
the contamination of interpreters.

========

When something issues forth
from the void, from no visible
or understandable source

we know it is sacred
and immortal, because
having no beginning

it can have no end,
we can easily agree
to this, listening when

we speak or read,
hearing only so far back
before words vaporize.

We hear them issue forth
not seeing or knowing
an end for any let loose

to dance away from us.

========

The idea or remembrance of something
outside, beyond, not cosmically
significant, not requiring years of
yoga, or fasting, the ontological
recall of something else
of elseness, of elsnessness,
the emptiness into which
such remembrance can come,
undefined, without specific aim,
the idea or remembrance,
the listening, I forget now
what it was I wanted,
or wanted to forget.

========

A Void
There is a void no one can fill,
a gap, a distance no one can bridge,
there is no movement, everything is still,
beyond my reach so far you went,
all that remains is your faint scent,
i am not moving, anymore anywhere,
the world passes by, as if i am not there,
my life is empty, there is a void,
a hollow right here, so deep inside,
no one can see, no one can fill,
everything is moving, but i stand still,
i move no where, i see no one,
i have fallen somewhere deep inside,
in a void which is growing wide.

yamini

The hurt passes while I was captured by the reflection and strategy mirrors an incapacity to allow time to breathe, to stretch my arms and hold the space and mimic the tapping fingers beating a voice in a void silent and yet not ignored and so while the hurt has passed the little smudge remains