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More dreams forgotten and not written down
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Dreams
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More dreams, half forgotten and not written down, carelessly thinking that they would linger in memory. Last night I watched a movie - Ironically entitled "Happiness". Perhaps you've seen it. Billed as a comedy that somehow is a little too dark and overpowering, it put me out of sorts.
SO 2 dreams, one - a simple recipe card with a table of italic paragraphs on it, perhaps 5 rows by 7 columns. I can't remember what it said.
And two: I am at a friends, sleeping over with a girlfriend in an attic, somewhere in the country, a farmhouse, old bed, exposed wood and beams. And I get out of bed to go outside, at the foot of it is a garden spider, large and bulbous, the kind that spin their webs in front of your porch light, it climbs up it's web and hides behind a support. The bed fills the attic, I have to squeeze past the spiders hiding place to go outside.
Something is happening, there is a party, it is dark, I run into another ex, it's her place, we arrange to meet, later on, groups of people over the hill in the field, still dark outside, something is going on. I shouldn't be meeting her, but I feel doomed. . .their is sex, but no passion, no eroticism, the details elude me, we are to meet again, dissatisfaction, in the attic my dream girlfriend is still sleeping, but there is something I'm not realizing, I don't know what it is, it's eluding me and both of them have disappeared. The spider is upstairs waiting and I must go back to sleep.
2 dreams, neither satisfactory.
Beyond the 5 Senses
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Link of the day
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Today it's both a link and a question. Or, perhaps less a question than an idea - we are used, as humans, to the 5 senses, classically divided as Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch and Smell. This is, however, a short list, for a more thorough list I'll send you (yet again) to Wikipedia.
Now as we all know animals frequently have a different range of senses, dogs, famously, can hear sounds that people cannot, some insects and fish can see in wavelengths that are invisible to us. For a rather complex example try this: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513210456.htm link- a Mantis shrimp that can see not only in UV and Infrared but as well polarized light.
And there are of course those senses - whether real or imagined - whereby we are able to read one anothers thoughts (ESP), or see into the future (Precognition) - but the existence of these is still much debated. But, for an exercise, try to imagine adding a sense - what would it be? Think of how much of our world view and "perception" is colored by our senses, so, if you had to invent a completely new one - not an enhancement of an existing one [like the abiltity to see in UV, which is simply a broader range of vision]- what would it be? And, having invented it, how would it affect your view of the world?
Harper Cuts Funding to the Arts
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2867
Can you tell the Election is coming? But, in defense of one of the more common complaints I've heard against Harper is the cuts in funding he's made towards the arts. Being an artist myself who derives not a penny from the government grants I was at first a little disheartened to think that this well might be drying up before I had myself a chance to drink from it.
But then I took a few minutes to reflect. What is the government's role in the arts, anyways? Perhaps I listen to CBC too much, where any threats towards funding the arts seem raise fears that we will lose our national radio. This would be bad. But in a smaller, more local way, what authority does the government have to spend our money on Art? What kind of art would the conservative government encourage? [see picture above]. And perhaps we should view this not as a threat towards the arts, but as a chance for us all to empower them - take the promised tax savings and buy a painting, not a print. Read a Canadian author. A lesser author, not the great Atwood or Davies. Or see a play. And here we all stand to not only be the patrons of the arts, but reap their benefits as well.
On the advantages of Meritocracy
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 4817
Forever we are reminded of the "Priviledge" we have of living in a democracy. And, compared with many parts of the world, it is indeed a priviledge. But perhaps we can do better.
Democracy, as originally practiced by the Greeks, was not true "Democracy" as we argue for it today. The people selected their leaders, this is true, but only a select few, slaves and many others were not allowed to vote. Those who did vote had the leisure and time to support those candidates who represented their best interests.
Imagine, then, a world in which votes are weighed up by how much we know. We all have the right to vote, but before voting we have to answer a short questionaire about the politicians, the parties, the issues at table for the election. And, should we answer correctly our votes are "counted" - we are aware of what the issues are, and so have the priviledge of self-determination.
Should we fail the questionaire our vote is discounted. We did not know the issues, hence we could not be given the priviledge of self-determination.
Technology exists to make this happen - aside from (legitimate) fears that such a system could be manipulated or biased (but can't all systems?) how much different would our government be if only those who knew something about it participated in it?
Disagree? Consider this. You are piloting a plane, with every passenger given an equal say in what you do at the controls.
Would you prefer to be the pilot, or the passenger?
Or you're being operated upon for a tumor in your head, and the medical theatre is open, the surgeon will do whatever the visitors suggest...
Something to consider, anyways.
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