The open air library is once again open!
The Open Air Library on the highest mountain of Buyukada is once again open. Kerem aka Argos Libertos managed to open it again after the police forced him to shut it down last year but they were no match to his persistance. Kerem cured well from his jump from 3 high in the centre of Istanbul and could walk well again after being operated, first half year with help of a stick. His library has now signed works of dutch poets Arjen Duinker, Tonnus Oosterhoff, K.Schippers and Alfred Schaffer who by means of Bart van der Pligt were kind enough to donate books. When you’re in Istanbul you should surely stop by and please bring a book or two!
Atlantida, by Olga Mink and Scanner
A multi-channel video with immersive sound work, that addresses the themes of silence and landscape with location recordings of each of the seven volcanic islands captured in high detail. Its ten minute duration presents an ethereal sequence of scenes that resonates with the glory of the natural environment. Mink and Scanner captured the idea of silence and human intervention, by creating traces through different areas which addresses the existence of the real and imagined landscapes that they’ve confronted and readjusted throughout their journey…
Atlantida, Installation at 2nd Biennial of the Canaries 2009 from Olga Mink on Vimeo.
The work of Christian Faur
One of the most special artists I’ve seen this month is American artist Christian Faur.
Faur is an artist that developed his own colour-code language to communicate with and he also makes works that uses scientific and mathematical formulas. Also special are the portraits he builds out of colour codes with nothing but crayons. Faur proves to be a many-sided and interesting contemporary artist and I got his permission to show some of his works here.
Christian Faur – Just Paper II / 2008
This is the work of Faur that touched me most. It’s made from torn pieces of paper stuck on a foam background. It’s the well known image of the tower of Guantanamo Bay. What makes the work special is that it’s build from the shredded constitution of the United States of America. Marvellous.
Christian Faur – Continuum / 2001
Faur also has a number of paintings based on mathematical and/or scientific formula. They come close to something I would call visual poetry, and very startling visual poetry indeed, that also has a scientific background. That background and fascination for the laws of nature sounds trhough in most of Faur’s work. Some of his work is also strongly conceptual; he has published an essay of Wittgenstein translated into his own colour language:
(original handmade artists book based on the text “Remarks on Color*” by Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Also special are the works that are build from hundreds of coloured crayons, which again contain coloured codes which will probably yield hidden messages when they are translated from the colour language Faur has constructed:
The Wind, the wind, 2007, Hand Cast Encaustic Crayons, 3 Panels at 19.5 in x 19.5 in each
The Wind, the wind, 2007, Hand Cast Encaustic Crayons, Left panel 19.5 in x 19.5 in.
In short, Faur is a fascinating artist that developed his own language and tries to grasp the forces and formula behind our realities. He definatly deserves the attention of a wider audience. Please take a look at his website:
Amsterdam plane crash: Turkish airplane ran out of Fuel
According to Turkish News sources that cite acting Mayor Michel Bezuijen of the Haarlemmermeer municipality, the turkish airliner that just crashed in Amsterdam crashed because it ran out of fuel.
9 people died and about 50 were seriously injured. Ran out of fuel? On a routine trip from Istanbul to Amsterdam? If this is true it proves that the Airline industry are taking dangerous measures just to survive the current economic conditions: just try to fly with less gas, mr pilot.
Shouldnt there be some sort of control on planes that they have enough fuel for the journey before they leave? It’s a strange story, and it effects me because I often fly with Turkish Airlines.
De Ex Libris works of Serik Kulmeshkenov
The Kazakhstan born graphic artist Serik Kulmeshkenov is one of the few artists that keeps the ex Libris craft alive, a special genre within the arts. Ex Libris are special book seals people use to personify their person book collection. The works of Serik Kulmeshkenov are excellent examples of why this craft should never disappear:
Ex libris Natalya Chebotar / size 90mm x 90mm, 2005.
Ex libris Sergey and Irina Khrapov / size 80mm x 105mm, 2008
Ex libris Paul Elliott / size 65mm x 82mm, 2008.
These and many more magnificent Ex libris works you can view at the website of Serik Kulmeshkenov. Every serious book collector should have such an emblem, in my opinion.
Novo Universalis develops theory about the human ego
You have developed a new theory about the human ego?
Yes. We have observed that there are two types of egos in people: the fluid ego and the stagnant ego. The stagnant ego is an ego that never changes, irrelevant from its size. It can be either a big ego or a small ego, it’s main characteristic is that it’s always the same. The fluid ego, on the other hand, is an ego that is always changing its size.
Why would it be better for an ego to change its size?
The ego is like a plant or any other living thing: as soon as it stops growing it is dead. Stagnant is just another word for dead. The stagnant ego is the major psychological problem of these times. There are countless people with stagnant egos and the stagnant ego by nature is a product of and can only survive in a propagandized environment.
Why can the stagnant ego only survive in a propagandized environment?
Because it was bred in such environment and thus its inventory is build out of exactly the same ingredients. Take an example, it is clear from various comments on the web that Israel can’t do anything wrong for some people. The interesting thing about that position is that it’s so blatantly unethical that one cannot possible draw any other conclusion than that the ego who utters such mindlessness is both dead and dependant on the propagandistic environment it was bred in. Fact of the matter is that the stagnant or dead ego is actually made up of that propaganda and would cease to exist if it wouldn’t repeat it. For this reason the stagnant ego is bound to the very thing that created it, and it need to endlessly repeat it’s formula over and over again.
Isn’t it crude however to declare these people dead?
These people aren’t dead, their egos are. As soon as something stops growing it is dead. We are, however, pretty sure their bodily functions are otherwise still in order.
So what exactly is the ego according to you?
The ego is the island of the known. It is all that we are. It is not the thing that separates us from reality, as a lot of people think. What separates us from reality is the stagnant ego that cannot adopt to circumstances. This stagnancy is very problematic, for it needs falsities by definition to survive. Thus, the world gets more and more corrupted by stagnant egos that can only survive by means of a constant bombardment with propaganda and lies.
So what can we do with our own ego to make it fluid?
First of all you need to understand that the ego is a chain of events, that it encompasses all we know. From that point of view onward it is a question of seeing every phenomenon in the world as a part of ones own being. That’s why the fluid ego takes responsibility for everything it does, while the stagnant ego sees everything in passive mode. As the ego is all that we are, anything we do to the outside is something we also do to ourselves. Hence, it becomes important to take very good care of ourselves as well as the world.
The masses/ the herd, however, constantly fling accusations towards the fluid ego, since the herd is dependant upon the stagnancy of its inhabitants. Once the size of the egos becomes unpredictable the herd loses its functionality.
Isn’t such a fluctuating ego rather a sign of madness?
Mad people are simply normal people who chitchat in an alternative direction. They chitchat vertically instead of horizontally, for example. Both are equally uninteresting and there is in fact very very little difference between either. It’s senseless chitchat, just not horizontal/social.
Work of Josefina Muslera
Josefina Muslera is a painter from Argentina, who makes interesting drawing and paintings. She writes about her own work:
I grew up in La Rioja (Northwest Argentina), next to an ancient olive wood , close to the “powerful” Andes mountain chain. An area of high temperature, surrounded by generous nature in its raw nakedness, unpredictable, contrasting and heartbreaking; I lived and interacted with their wild “worlds “organic and inorganic, their myths, sharing with people in love with their land. Earth full of spirituality. Since then, I can not express myself and create but from the relationship between the body lived sensation (sensory body), the conscience and dramatic emotion of things, and their reciprocal influence on me. I believe in the idea of love as a force and energy alive, joining and separating incessantly, and within that, becoming incessant the power of instant creation, “Instant strengthening the real moment.”
More work can be seen on her weblog, posted below the images. These are two works I liked:
Visit Josefina Muslera’s weblog
Playmobil Security Checkpoint
Comments by Loosenut from Amazon:
I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger’s shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger’s scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said “that’s the worst security ever!”. But it turned out to be okay, because when the passenger got on the Playmobil B757 and tried to hijack it, she was mobbed by a couple of other heroic passengers, who only sustained minor injuries in the scuffle, which were treated at the Playmobil Hospital.
The best thing about this product is that it teaches kids about the realities of living in a high-surveillence society. My son said he wants the Playmobil Neighborhood Surveillence System set for Christmas. I’ve heard that the CC TV cameras on that thing are pretty worthless in terms of quality and motion detection, so I think I’ll get him the Playmobil Abu-Gharib Interogation Set instead (it comes with a cute little memo from George Bush).
Novo Universalis develops theory about the birth of the Universe
Novo Universalis wants to present a new theory about the birth of the Universe, why?
We are a think-tank of poets, artists and philosophers and our goal is to solve all world problems, including problems of scientific and religious nature. The birth of the Universe is one of the significant events to solve.
Why would we need a new theory about the birth of the Universe?
In December scientists have finally discovered evidence for the theory that the Universe is expanding at accelerating speed. This is strange, since the Big Bang in explosion model would not produce a Universe that expands at accelerating speed. Space has little resistance, but the debris we call stars would eventually slow down. That they do not slow down but accelerate is strange, because accelerating requires energy. Where is that energy coming from? The current generation of scientists invented ‘dark matter’ to explain this acceleration but this explanation does not satisfy us. A new theory is needed.
So what new theory do you want to present?
The Universe was not produced by a ‘Big Bang’ in the classical sense. It was the result of two ‘meta particles’ colliding and producing a super collision reaction. The idea that the Big Bang is a singular phenomenon is largely based on monotheistic thought patterns. What happened here is that two meta-particles (from now on called ‘Novounitrons’) collided at massive speed and produced what we know now as ‘The Universe’. We are, therefore, all living in a giant collision reaction. Because of this the particles do not expose behaviour as expected, and hence they can accelerate rather than slow down because the reaction is still taking place.
We all live inside a massive collision reaction?
Yes. Caused by the Novounitrons, which collided at incredible speed. This also explains the conditions necessary to form black holes. We stimulate scientists to investigate the accelerating speed at different parts of the universe. They will find that the Universe expands much more faster into some directions than into other ones. This is because the Big Bang was not a classical explosion but a high speed collision one.
So what exactly are these Novounitrons and why have we never seen one?
We are living inside of the debris of two Novounitrons. The reason we can’t see any other ones is that they are so incredibly huge and incredibly far away. There is no need for parallel universes as there is with more classic black hole theory. But in our opinion every sun is a black hole in a parralel universe, and vice versa. Stars therefore don’t die, as these scientists seem to think, but they rather fase in and out of different parallelities.
So what is the purpose of these Novounitrons?
They are the particles of one Meta-atom of the Meta-Universe.
The work of Alexandra Crouwers
One of my favorite artists at this moment is Alexandra Crouwers. Her work is fantastic, actually, no matter if it’s her drawings, installation works or animations. Here are four examples of an installation artwork she did, more work of her and drawings/animations can be directly viewed on her website through the link below the images:
Visit the website of Alexandra Crouwers
Two pieces by Charles Goff III
The American sound artist Charles Goff III, known from the Taped Rugs initiative, has turned two of my older poems into sound works/songs. Both are very interesting and I encourage Loewak readers to freely download both. The first one is based on the poem ‘Classical Music’ and the second one is based on the poem ‘I am the law’. I will possibly do a future collaboration with Mr Goff III and I will keep you all informed about those efforts.
Download (Right click – save as)
More work of Charles Goff III on the Taped Rugs site
Trespassing by Olga Mink
Triple channel video that is part of “The Nature of being” by Scanner and Olga Mink.
This video is based on the idea how we memorise and connect data stored in parts of our brain. Intercontextual information is created within moments, memories, images sounds, that have occured in the past. The video touches the subject of how people share a single event together, yet experience “reality” completely different. Subjective.
trespassing [part of Nature of Being] from Olga Mink on Vimeo.
‘Tuin’ by Eva Mouton
Eva Mouton is a Belgian artist and poet, this is her work ‘Tuin’ (garden) which I find very effective in its simplicity:
Eva also has her own website here: Evamouton.be, with drawings and funny anecdotes in Dutch.
Benders record top 5 of december 2008
This month we move more in the direction of Avant-garde music. Please note that the mentioned records aren’t (necessarily) records that have been published in 2008; they are merely records I have discovered and listened to in this month and which I find special enough to recommend.
1. Fausto Rometelli – Professor Bad Trip
Fausto Rometelli is an Italian avant-garde composer that, unfortunately, died at the age of 41. This record, which appeared in 2003 is the piece ‘Professor Bad Trip’ played by the Belgian Ensemble Ictus from Brussels with Georges-Elie Octors, conductor. This work was inspired by the Belgian poet Henri Michaux and is a fantastic listening experience! Hybridation, mixing contemporary and rock music, distortion, saturation, psychedelic inspiration, “dirty” harmonies are the main words to describe his non-formalist musical universe. It is one of the most interesting works I have heard lately.
2. Jean Michel Jarre – La Cage / Erosmachine (EMI Pathé)
I think this was the first single of Jarre and I think it’s pretty hard to find. It is a great work, I like it much better than most of his later works. Both tracks are fabulous: hypnotic rhythm patterns made with concrete sounds, dark vibes, early synth waves, progressive layers of weird sounds, tape manipulations. Definitely a collectors item.
3. Bernard Gerard- Tempo (Unidisc)
This is a fantastic record with funky, minimalist psychosomatic avant-garde music. Unfortunately its even harder to find than the previous record so I doubted about mentioning it, but if you have the chance to lay your hands on it you sure should, especially if you are into weird 70’s soundscapes! It appeared on the Unidisk label.
4. The Art Ensemble of Chicago – Reese & The Smooth Ones
This is experimental jazz, but really good one! The entire record is one big improvisation. The Art Ensemble of Chicago is one of the most inventive, funny and creative groups that was out there around these times. Must have for any avant-garde jazz lover, and a very good listen for anyone else too, really.
5. Funkfu – Psycho Funk vs Rare Grooves 1970-1976
This isn’t really avant-garde but it’s one of the best funk records ever! It contains rare to find and forgotten tracks of several 70’s masterpieces of funk: The Lords of Percussion, Hippy Skippy Moon Street and other bands – one of the most played records in my collection! It appeared in 2001 on the Big Cheese records label.
NU on Social Darwinism, Obama, Education and War
What does Novo Unversalis think of Social Darwinism?
We are against such ideas, like Nietzsche was. The idea that the ’strongest always survive’ is a delusional fabrication of Evolutionists. The opposite is true, as Nietzsche rightfully observed: all our institutions and traditions are centered around the idea to make anything ’strong’ or ‘high’ impossible.
The irony of our western states is that they in fact are not very different from the communist states they used to deplore. As an individual one has to serve the collective for 60 years, after which you are ‘rewarded’ a few years of freedom to enjoy yourself. The difference with communism is mainly that capitalism succeeded in surrounding this position with superior illusions.
The illusion industry of the West is in such state now that it can accomplish miraculous things, such as present a 50-year-long Washington insider multimillionaire as an advocate of change.
How does Novo Universalis see the Obama phenomenon?
Unfortunately we do not think he will make any difference. The fact that he has pegged his cabinet with old insiders and hardliners, under the cheers of Dick Cheney, points to the same illusion machine mentioned above. But the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a good testcase. If Obama doesn’t come out and condemn it we can safely say he’s just another media puppet.
So are you a pacifist movement?
We are not against war per se, but we are against unsportive war. The idea that there would be something ‘desirable’ in battling a stone age tribe with an overkill of modern technology is exemplary of immense spiritual corruption.
We would like to create a different sort of education system where the prime focus does not lie on ‘pumping machine knowledge’ into kids but developing character qualities in our young people, qualities of chivalry, heroism, honour. A Spartan education system that focusses on the highest possible qualities, where philosophy, poetry, fysical skills and test of intelligence are created that do not exist only on paper. After this spartan eduction, when they reach the age of 18, they will be free until they are 35 years old, so they can enjoy their life at its full height. After that, they are supposed to serve community for the rest of their lives. They will be glad to, out of a feeling of gratitude. In the current situation, the idea of service is not one out of gratitude but out of the old suspended fear model – it’s simply the transgression from the ‘have a boring life and you’ll be rewarded after death’ of christianity to ‘have a boring life and you’ll be rewarded when you’re 65′ of modern kapitalism. It’s not essentially much different.
Aren’t these ideas rather naive and impractical?
In what sense? Listen, there will never be any ‘change’ unless we change the system itself. It’s perfectly all right with us if you don’t want any change, but then you should stop complaining about it. You either want change, then you have to change the current system (media democracy) – or you don’t want change, fine, but don’t come complain to us when the New Dark Ages arrive.
But your ideas are naive in the sense that, for example, all war is by definition unsportive
That is a nonsensical idea with no basis in reality. Any General that prides himself from winning a battle between Goliath and David is not a general worthy of its name, in fact in our opinion he is not a general at all but a coward. You cannot understand the ethics of war until you have thoroughly studied classical masterpieces such as The Art of War by Sun Tzu. The problem is not, and has never been, war itself: it is the wrong immoral and corrupted application of war that is the problem. Without any chivalry, honour and dignity there simply is no real masculinity. A real warrior looks the enemy into his eyes. Real wars do not know any ‘collateral damage’.
Novo Universalis solves the Israel problem – televise the situation, brains instead of bombs
What solution does Novo Universalis propose for the Israel problem?
Like all ethnical conflicts the Israel situation essentially is only solvable if people realize how silly they really are. For this reason Novo Universalis wants to propose to completely televise the situation on the ground. We are currently in a situation where Israel and Palestina are constantly in the centre of media attention, which is a sort of attention that works very addictive. Israelis feel they are important, important enough to bomb other people. Palestinians likewise feel they are important, important enough to shoot rockets. So there is lots of media attention but its the wrong kind of media attention: it’s the sort of media attention that makes people think they are somehow important.
What we need to do is get game-concept masters like Joop van den Ende involved. He has some great concepts, like programs in which people do partner-swaps, or where israelis have to be palestinians for a week and vice versa. Joop will make lots of programs and they will all be sold and watched by zillions of people, which in turn will make it profitable for both sides to discontinue their sillyness since they can make more money with Joop’s gameshows.
But what about the militants and the rockets, what about the bombings as retaliations?
These occur because these people find themselves and their tribe more important than the tribe on other end of the street. It’s tribalism in a pure and barbaric form. To battle tribalism you need to do what for example the CIA does in Afghanistan: they give Viagra to the tribal leaders to make them compliant. Extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures. Adding Viagra to the drinkwater in both Palestina and Israel is a great idea. Another great idea is to break down the wall and instead dig a canal there and make beaches on either side. When that’s done, build ultra cheap holiday resorts there. When the militants have to cross beaches full of ‘Oben Ohne’ material they will find it much more hard to feel important about themselves.
But these measures are absurd!
No, what’s absurd is carpet bombing, killing, shooting rockets, and hate , hate, hate just because of people who think they are somehow important, while its pretty obvious they are not.
But it seems to us you are greatly marginalizing the problem by presenting the fake ‘just don’t take yourself serious’ solution in a complex political situation
We are pointing out that the root of the whole problem lies in tribalism and the idea that ‘others’ are somehow less important than ‘us’. This whole belief is enhanced by the media attention, which in fact greatly supports the whole idea of importance. The German philosopher Nietzsche pointed out that what humans call an ‘ego’ is in fact not a singular entity but a chain of events, that the human ego is always a group phenomenon and that having a ‘large ego’ simply means you have an ego that is out of line with the group consensus. What we are dealing with here is an Israeli ego that is defined as a victim, under constant threat, and a Palestinian ego that is defined as a victim, under constant threat. It is very easy to solve the actual problems, but no one wants to solve them, because the Ego requires the problems to survive.
Easy to solve the problems?
Yes, absolutely. Take for example this supposed ‘rocket attack problem’ which is always used as an excuse to bomb and attack the other side. What you need to understand about rocket attacks is that they are a great means to maintain a constant level of feeling threatened. Another thing you need to understand about rocket attacks is that you have no means of knowing who actually fires these rockets. They could be fired by Hamas, they could be fired by intelligence agencies who want an excuse to attack. Moreover, for some reason these 5000 rocket attacks had only a handful of civilians as victims over the years, meaning that the chance one would be killed by being run over by the city bus is probably larger. And yet, here we have a nation living under the constant ringing of alarms, a 24 hours a day panic, a constantly threatened ego.
Now, instead of looking for a solution to this supposed ‘rocket attack problem’ like building a rocket shield that would take care of the problem, we see that the ’solution’ is supposed to be ‘wiping out a political organisation’. It is clear that these ‘rocket attacks’ are therefore the perfect legitimacy for the existing powers to maintain their position.
The same is true for this supposed ‘colonisation’ – with modern day technologies and architectural renewals it is very easy to create new space without the need to occupy more land.
So you see, solutions aren’t hard. What is ‘hard’ here is the fact that no one wants any solutions.
This is because both sides are addicted to being victims, the same is true for the Palestinians as well. They could easily solve their problems if they weren’t so addicted to their victim status and if they started to think instead of doing silly stuff.
Now, if you want to stop this ‘victim ego addiction’ you have to stop feeding it the wrong sort of energy, the sort of energy that says ‘yes, you are incredibly important, the whole world is turning around Israel, the whole world is turning around Palestina’…..
Global population reduction policy/ Reversal of pension model – Part 1: Economy (Novo Universalis)
Novo Universalis is a literary think-tank, created by Dutch poets Martijn Benders and Samuel Vriezen. Our purpose is to solve all world problems and ensure and build a corpus of universal literature by the process of universal objectification.
Part I. Economics
How would Novo Universalis formulate the core problem of today’s economical crisis?
It was caused by a giant Ponzi scheme set up by Neocons. The idea was to grab as much money as they can before shit hits the fan. The problems we now face are postponed problems, they were already apparent in 1999. On a larger scale, it is also caused by the incredibly naive idea that ‘eternal global growth’ would somehow be possible without cannibalizing our planet and its resources faster and faster. That’s of course utter nonsense and a good example of what sort of idiocies prevail when one declares all ideologies dead. The idea that what currently is known as ‘democracy’ and ‘capitalism’ are the final answers to the problems of existence points to a creative bankruptcy that is even worse than any economical one. We need to stop this nonsense as soon as possible and start to think. We need a new ideology.
So what solution does Novo Universalis have?
In general it is not hard to find solutions. The hard part is rather to overcome the inertia of suspended belief, People love to believe bullshit, because it sanctifies their existence.
The current economical model, partly based on the Ponzi scheme of eternal debt, will cannibalize itself faster and faster. People who tell you that these sort of crises are cyclical are not telling you the whole truth. They are cyclical, but they are also accelerating, which is why this decade we already had 2 major economical crises. Next decade we will have 2 or 3, until the point is reached where the world economy is in a permanent state of crisis. To avoid this we need to leave the insane model of eternal growth and the model of the debt based economy.
What’s the alternative?
Firm measures that ensure the quality of our societies and their surroundings. First and foremost: a global rule of maximally one child per couple, like the Chinese have implemented. We need to start see reality instead of dreams: and this reality is that this planet can maximally support 2 billion humans, resource-wise, and that by letting the population grow out of control we are destroying the planet and ourselves. Population control measures are the only humane way of preventing this.
Who will then pay the retirement money, support the old population?
The retirement money based on speculations and interest constructions model will soon be redundant anyway. What we will see and what we are already seeing is that people will have to work longer and longer, first till 70, 75, 80, there will be no end in sight. The idea is that you are a slave 80% of your life so you can start to enjoy life when you are too old to enjoy it. It is a form of collective insanity.
It is better to reverse this model: people are free until they are 40, so they can enjoy life when its still enjoyable, and afterwards they have to work hard as long as they are still able to / until their death. That model makes much more sense, and moreover it means that diminishing population is now actually a profitable thing.
What does Novo Universalis think are the dangers that lie ahead?
We think that dividing the world into 4 power blocks was a really bad idea. We much prefer the old model were the world consisted out of a lot of countries. We think the United Nations are a colossal failure. The dangers in the current situation are primarily:
1. The country with the largest, by now not payable, debt on the planet also has the largest military. Their idea is that they can keep wasting money since the ‘debt’ is so high it has become a fiction rather than a reality. By having the largest military apparatus they ensure that this model is possible without anyone complaining too hard. The dangers of this model are very obvious: they will forever feel the need to ‘prove their militairy superiority’ by proxy wars so no one gets the idea to ask their money back. In short, they aren’t planning to pay, which is why they feel they can waste money on all and everything.
2. Resource wars will soon inevitably start, when resources get scarce. Nuclear power is no alternative, since Uranium is just as limited and will run out almost just as soon. If we want to tackle the Energy problem we need to get rid of the patents for this sector: because now, if someone patents a new energy technology, they have the power to simply destroy the whole planet by not implementing it – e.q., a large oil giant can finance research, patent the technology, and keep it dormant as long as they make oil profit. This is not a situation we can afford right now.
3. The ecological problem / Climate change: this will be largely adressed by our population redux policy. Half the world population uses half resources, half the energy, half the pollution. More research needs to be done to develop cleaner technologies, efficient solar cells, efficient wind energy etc.
Free the Shoeman Muntader al-Zaidi now! 14 December International Shoeday!
Muntader-al-Zaidi faces up to two years in prison for throwing his shoes at George Bush. There are also several reports that says he is being beaten and tortured after his capture. We demand that he will be freed right now, because no sane person in the world wouldn’t want to throw his shoes at George Bush. Al-Zaidi is an icon of freedom of expression and 14 December should worldwide be declared as national Shoeday!
The dream of the fisherman’s wife
I remember I once saw a pornshoot with a girl and an octopus in a bathtub which I found very artistic and exciting. Today, I saw this amazing artwork on Linh Dinh’s weblog about the lower half of the human body:
The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife. C. 1820. 6 1/2″ x 8 3/4″ by Katsushika Hokusai
What a touching image! There is more work of this artist on this website
My five favorite records of november 2008
These are the five records I’ve played the most in November 2008 – not records that have appeared in that month.
‘Jazz Samba’ of Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd is one of the best Jazz records I own – They are samba’s and Bossa Nova played by the two American jazz musicians Getz and Byrd and the result is incredible – this is some of the smoothest, perfect jazz you will ever hear. It sends shivers down my spine every time i hear it and makes me wanna slowdance through the room with whomever is unfortunate enough to be there. Classic record.
‘Campanitas de Cristal’ from the legendary pioneer of Latin Jazz in the 40’s, Noro Morales, head of the famous El Marocco club. This is a record that can’t miss in anyone’s collection when you like Latin Jazz or Latin music. Great big band sound, tight performances, notable is the piano performance of Morales himself. Unfortunately this record is no longer available but it exists out there in digital form.
This is probably one of the best records of Chavela Vargas, one of the most tragic voices and great singers in the Mexican tradition. ‘Noche Bohemia’ an unmissable, grand record that did set a new standard for vocalists in the Mexican tradition. There are very few voices out there that sing on this level.
Aw, Maria Dolores Pradera, the most awesome Spanish voice in my opinion. This record is very very good. It infuses your bloodstream with a taste of ‘Mediterranee’ that’s so acute your ears will turn into gondolas and your brain into shrinking olive in the sun. Ay!
If you love the American sound, and I do, or if you like Bluegrass music this record is an absolute must have. It might not be the best bluegrass record out there but it is certainly a very good one and above all a very classical one. The best songs are ‘The other side of town’ and ‘Angry man’ – that last one is one of the best country/bluegrass songs I know.
The ‘Diplomacy 2.0′ program of the US government
Maybe you are one of those people who have noticed that, when one visits public debate sites, such as for example the BBC ‘have your say’ website there seem to be an awful lot of morons around who seem to completely buy the US government propaganda. Previously I thought this was due to a bad education system or because of the brain-shrinking qualities of fast-food, but todays news sheds a new light on these sort of comments: the US government spends 900 million dollars a year on a ‘Diplomacy 2.0′ program. I quote:
‘Government paid employees subscribe to websites to infuse them with ‘reasonable opinions’. They actively participate in public debates in order to counter ‘extremistic thoughts’ and present a positive view on American policies.’
Source: www.nu.nl
900 million dollars a year, at an average wage that would be around 15.000 guys sitting at their computers typing government-positive comments all day. And of course these persons are not known as ‘government employees’ they pretend to be average joes, intellectuals, whatever.
Apparently ‘Freedom of speech’ just doesn’t suffice. We, the people, need to be guided into what sort of opinions are deemed okay by the government. You know, moderate opinions. Everything that supports us. All the rest is extremism.
The next question is: does this opinion Gestapo also use the IMDB site? There seem to be a massive amount of idiots there praising the worst sort of hollywood trash, while bashing independent and foreign films.
Diplomacy 2.0 – how incredibly Kafkaesque!
The lovely brenda
One of my acquaintances on facebook is Brenda Staudenmaier, and she posted this picture today which I think is very beautiful:
the lovely brenda collaboration with faro exhibited at alphabeta nyc nov 2008
New and Collected poems, 1931-2001 by Czeslaw Milosz
Recently I purchased 8 collected works of various poets. I am of course still busy reading and interpreting these poems but I can already say that ‘New and Collected poems, 1931-2001′ by Czeslaw Milosz, published by HarperCollins.com is one of the best Collected works I have ever read, and in fact just might be the best poetry book I now own. I was already familiar with the work of Milosz but this book really demonstrates what an incredibly talented and diverse poet he was. I rate him far above any of his contemporaries, and anyone who loves great poetry simply can’t afford to have at least one of Milosz’s collected works (there are others) – what I can tell you though that this particular one is very complete, well edited and contains translations of over 20 different translators, which is usually a more safe choice than depending on a single translator. Milosz in my eyes was perhaps the most important European poet of the 20th century and he’s certainly my favorite. You can buy this work on Amazon for a meagre 13 dollars! I will cite one poem, under the poem is a link to purchase the book.
To my daimonion / Czeslaw Milosz
I.
Please, my daimonion, ease off just a bit,
I am still closing accounts and have much to tell.
Your rhythmical whispers intimidate me.
Today, for instance, reading about a certain old woman
I saw again – let us call her Priscilla,
Though I am astonished that I can give her any name
And people will not care. So, that Priscilla,
Her gums in poor shape, an old hag,
Is the one to whom I return, in order to throw charms
And grant her eternal youth. I introduce a river,
Green hills, irises wet with rain
And, of course, a conversation. ‘You know,’ I say,
‘I could never guess what was on your mind
And I will never learn. I have a question
That won’t be answered.’ And you, daimonion
Just at this moment interfere, interrupt us, averse to
Surnames and family names’ actualities,
Too prosaic and ridiculous, no doubt.
II.
My daimonion, it is certain that I could not have lived differently
I would have perished if not for you. Your incantation
Would resound in my ear, fill me,
And I could only repeat it, instead of thinking
About my bad character, the decline of the world,
Or about a lost laundry ticket.
And it seems that while others loved,
Strove, hated, despaired,
I have only been busy with listening intently
To your unclear notes, to change them into words,
I had to accept my fate, today called karma,
For it was as it was, though I did not chose it -
And get up every day to honor the work,
Even if there is no guilt of mine in it and no merit.
III.
Two five-year-old boys before a poster of a nightclub,
On which a buoyant girl adjusts her garter,
Say something to each other or just stare
At the saurian whiteness of the thigh.
Daimonion, remembering my childhood fears
On this earth of adults, I grasped who you are.
In their night of distant shooting, fires on the horizon,
Coarse laughter, grapplings, harsh breathing,
The heart of a child is troubled. And you, a wanderer,
Your pity is so strong that you avert your face.
You are a friend of the innocent and the defenseless
Who long for the Kingdom, as was that young rich man
So pure that he blushed hearing a lewd word,
And really suffered from it, and probably for that reason
After his short life, they raised him on the altars.
Czeslaw Milosz, from: ‘Facing the River’ published in 1995
Buy New and Collected Poems 1931-2001 by Czeslaw Milosz
The Global Superpower is in fact a Global Underdog
The Global superpower is in fact a Global Underdog
One of the greatest faults of the generation that grew up in the 50’s and 60’s, which now, through Obama, is about to be replaced by a new generation which I call the multitasking generation (MTG) – one of their greatest faults was that they invented the American Dream as an answer to World War II. The American Dream always has been a denial, a negative quality on itself: the idea that ‘Anything is possible, anyone can be anything’ as a life philosophy is so ridiculous, not because it is false but because it’s simply always true, everywhere. Anyone can be anything anywhere in the world. That last part, the ‘anywhere’ is exactly what is missing out of this ‘American Dream’ – according to their projections this very simple idea is ‘only possible in the US’. Let us look at this idea very carefully, because what we see here is incredibly typical; let us imagine a small town where 500 people live, including farmer Johnson, who always teaches his family that only on the Johnson Farm anyone can be anything he wants, while out there, on the other farms, this quality would be somehow lacking.
It is not very hard to see how ridiculous this idea really is. But instead of focussing on how false the idea of the American Dream is it is far more interesting for us to look at why it was a ‘denial of service’ after the horrors of WWII and why, in effect, the American Dream is in fact an expression of the utmost inner uncertainty, of a massive inferiority complex the entire United States suffers from. Let us start with the latter.
America, a fugative state, has always had a love-hate relationship with Europe. Europe represented the Slave Masters they broke away from, Europe represented Law and Order, whilst they represented Freedom and Opportunity. The relationship of the American with the European is therefore primarily the relationship a former slave has with his old master: he ridicules him, but deep inside still fears him. There is a giant inferiority complex hidden in the citizens of the US, which is exactly why they behaved as they did the last couple of decades: no one sane would behave as if he is the ‘cop of the town’ unless he has some sort of complexion that makes him believe that, by behaving that way, he will gain the respect or admiration of the others.
The simple laws of psychology say that anything that needs to be stressed is a signal of disease. In Holland we have a proverb that reads ‘Goede wijn behoeft geen krans’ which means as much as ‘Good wine doesn’t need to be advertised’. The more a person stresses that he is ‘free’, or ‘great’, or ‘admirable’ the more suspicious this person gets from a psychological viewpoint, since anyone who is really free or admirable doesn’t need to tell himself or others such messages. The fact that it is stressed so often points to a process of hypnotism: but why the need to hypnotize oneself, and what is being hidden here?
What is being hidden is a monumental inferiority complex. It is a well known fact that aggressive macho’s and violent people almost always behave operating from such complexes. Because authority, real authority, is calm and serene. When someone gets mad, gets ridiculous, loses his nerves this is a degradation of his authority, you can ask any teacher that. The worst possible thing you can do in class is exactly that. So, in this light, isn’t it typical that ‘the American Dream’, which consists of the most bland of observations one could possibly summarize (Anyone can be Anything) is formulated as the answer to WWII? Isn’t that exactly the great tragedy that took place in the latter half of the 20th Century for which my generation, the Multitasking generation that has its first Beacon in Barack ‘Blackberry’ Obama, must face? The idea that all we need to get by is that ‘Anyone can be Anything’, and only in the US to boot?
The reality is that we are far, very far from even starting to see how this massive inferiority complex is going to get worked out. As long as it is not recognized, it will just get worse.
America isn’t a global superpower. They cant even get a piece of desert under control. They are a global Underdog, and hopefully someone somewhere will find a big enough mirror to show them.
Martijn Benders, Dutch Poet and Writer, Istanbul 24-11-2008
Pure
Pure
My soul’s so disgustingly pure
that angels skate on it, all day long,
in eights and zeroes, not daring to even sing
or lift each others little skirts while the snow
is settling in, and when I throw up
over your naked breasts, clouds
come from my mouth, clouds, not even white
but horribly blue, like the sky, like the light
from a boys room: infinity!
Tits and clouds, clouds and tits,
so pure, pure. This is the soul
even God can’t confess to
without falling asleep.
This is me, but now.
Martijn, 19-11-2008
My five favorite records of last month
Not in any particular order of favour:
Oana Catalina Chitu, Bucharest Tango, 2008
This is a great record that appeared on the Asphalt label. Oana sings old Bucharest Tango music as it was played before in Rumenia.
“Bucharest Tango” is a unique album, one that resurrects a lost music, the sound of Romanian Tango as played in Bucharest cafes and parks, restaurants and clubs across the 1930s. Oana Cătălina Chiţu (pronounce Kitsu) and her musicians combine the lost tango songs of that era with the folk ballads of Maria Tanase (1913-1963; the Romanian Piaf).
Oana was born in rural Romania and grew up listening to her father sing the lost tangos. Visiting relatives in Bucharest she found they had old gramophones and scratchy 78 recordings of the tangos. She began to memorise this beautiful, vanished music. At the same time she loved the songs of Maria Tanase, the tragic diva of Romania, whose voice once haunted the nation. No other singer of the younger generation from Romania has been able to approach both the tangos à la romanesque and Tanase’s ballads so authentically yet freely.
Probably the best Romanian accordion player these days – and already a living legend! A must have for all accordion admirers! Compilation from the archives of Electrecord, Romania.
The Album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest in Leipzig.
What is Melingo the Magnificent’s recipe? Take a pinch of Roberto Goyeneche, the passionate tango singer known as “El polaco”, for some true tango roots, mix him up with a bit of Nick Cave, the bad seed of the underground, some Tom Waits for an arty vibe, add a little Gainsbourg, and all these growling, throaty voices and lived-in faces will give you some idea of the devilish Melingo, an old rascal who isn’t actually that old, though he’s infinitely roguish.
His tango is built on a bed of rock. That’s the way it is in today’s Argentina. It began in the 80s when he was cutting his teeth on the turbulent alternative rock scene born of military dictatorship and collapsing moral order and featuring groups like Los Abuelos de la Nada (the ancestors of bugger all!) and Los Twist. So is Melingo off his head? It’s more complicated than that. The impish singer with the enormous voice is also a sparrow chilled by the damp morning mists of the river Plate.
Ok, this is probably maybe not the best Jazz record around but its definately one of the coolest Jazz records you could find. It’s really really groovy, atmospheric and totally blows my brains out.
Drummer Chico Hamilton introduced many top young players during his years as a bandleader, but few probably realize that Larry Coryell made his recording debut with Chico a year before joining Gary Burton’s quartet. This CD reissue brings back Coryell’s initial appearance on record, and at times he sounded oddly like Chuck Berry (especially on “The Dealer”). Also heard on this set are altoist Arnie Lawrence, bassist Richard Davis, organist Ernie Hayes (on two numbers), and, on his spirited boogaloo “For Mods Only,” Archie Shepp making a rare appearance on piano. Most of the performances still sound surprisingly fresh, especially the explorative “A Trip,” making this an underrated but worthy release.
From Neocons to neodems: Change is happening!
One of the first things Obama did when he was elected was promote some rather hawkish long time career democrats as his staff. The rigid pro-Israeli Rahm Emanuel, who voluntarily joined the Israeli army to serve became his chief of staff. Secretary of Finance? 3 nominees, all 3 straight from the Federal Reserve Bank. Having someone from the Federal Reserve as a head of finance is like having someone from KLM be the head of Schiphol Airport. It’s essentially corrupt.
Now, one of the first things Obama lets us know, besides that Iran is still on the list, is that the rockets will still be installed in Poland. Excuse me? Is this supposed to be someone with an agenda for ‘change’? He doesn’t even sound like someone from another party than Bush – in fact probably most Republicans sound more revolutionary than he does. Do me a favour and look at a world map. Now, draw a line between Iran and, say, Paris. Does the line cross Poland? Of course not. The only countries a rocket installation in Poland would protect against Iranian missiles are Norway and Sweden.
What a strange kind of ‘change’ we have here. We have a weird, provocative plan to build a rocket defense system at the Russian border. Then a ‘new president’ comes out and the first thing he lets us know is that this plan won’t change. Wow, that’s rich. I bet Norway and Sweden are going to be really happy to feel safe & protected from Iranian missiles.
Laibach – LAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGE
It happens rarely that I hear a record that hits me so hard upon the first hearing that I’m simply hooked from the first moment I hear it, but LAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGE is simply their best record in years and perhaps the most brilliant Laibach work ever made. I’m completely spellbound by this record.
The Album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest in Leipzig.
Bach himself lived and worked in Leipzig from 1723 till the end of his life in 1750. In this period he also wrote the Art of Fugue, one of his most mysterious and baffling works. The Art of Fugue is a collection of fugues and canons that display the full gamut of fugal transformational techniques, such as augmentation and diminution. The theory that the work was intended as an intellectual exercise rather than for performance is borne out by the fact that no instruments are specified in the score. But although the Art of Fugue (the title was not Bach’s own) reveals Bach in his most academic and puzzle-solving guise, it is no mere pedantry and there is much here of great energy and inspiration. Since Bach did not specify any instrumentation, the big question is: what instrument or instruments should the Art of Fugue be played on? There are many keyboard recordings, but versions are available for everything from saxophone quartet to orchestra. Since the work is very much based on mathematic algorithms, Laibach decided to use computer and computer program as the key »instrument«, providing a very special electronic interpretation and showing that J.S. Bach with his work could as well be understood as the pioneer of electronic, techno, computer music.
For more information the Laibach website
Fatta Morwanna
Fatta Morwanna
Will Obama find Osama or a Drama for his Kamma,
will Osama be the Lama or Obama duda Bamma,
think i’m gonna do da fonne with ma runna who is wonne
but Obama is da Slamma widda Gamma of a Shamma.
Think I’m gonna do da fonne with ma runna who is wonne,
but Osama bome Mamma wida Hamma ini Pijama
See ya hum into da womma wida hummer that is gonna
Slamma Mamma duda Wamma what a Dramma fo Osama.
Will Osama do da Bamma or Obama do da Slamma?
Me knickin up da Kamma juz to fin a betta Jamma.
Will Obama and Osama be the Samma? Marihuana?
Think I’m gonna do da fonne with ma runna who is wonne.
Is Obama dan di Fatta an Osama di Morgana?
Is Osama dan di knick and di Fatta Marihuana?
Think I’m gonna do di wonne with a honne that is bonne,
Fo di Fatta is di Batta and di mary is a Wanna.
Will Osama do da Bamma or Obama do da Slamma?
Me knickin up da Kamma juz to fin a betta Jamma.
Is Obama dan di Fatta an Osama di Morgana?
Di Fatta is di Batta and di mary is a Wanna.
Martinus ‘Kwesi’ Benders
Voting machine becomes new president of the US
From the Onion News Network: