Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Doll Face

Another pop culture identity video

Dove Evolution

Another video depicting the stupidity around shaping ones identity through popular forms of media :D

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Friday, October 16, 2009

A LITTLE WHILE

TEMPO: ~80BPM (I think)


                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
Well she wakes up in pain
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
And she tells you that she doesn't mind
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
Oh its cold outside
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
She wishes she was mine
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
Oh I don my coat
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
There's a dark cloud hiding the sunshine
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
But there will always be a ray
                                              E    (077600) (x02200)

e-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-x
B12-x-10-x-7-x-5-x-0-x-5-x (let ring)
G-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
D-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
E-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

E (077600) (x02200)

e-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-x-x-x
B-5-x-3-x-2-x-0-x-x-0-x-x
G-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-2-x-0-x
D-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
E-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

                                              E    (077600) (x02200)
She will always make you feel at home
When you visit her family
I will never be alright
Absent from present company
Don't worry I have my umbrella
Keep me dry from the rain
This walk is not in vain

e-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0
B-12-x-10-x-7-x-5-x-0-x-5-x (let ring)
G-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
D-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
E-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

E (077600) (x02200)

e-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-0-x-x-x-x
B-5-x-3-x-2-x-0-x-x-0-x-x
G-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-2-x-0-x
D-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
E-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Well she wakes up in pain
Anger boils her veins
Trying to share her play
The pain pushes the little girl away
Wishes there was more time
Well she's got alot fight now
She'll love you till the end of days

(Asus2 increase beat, I think 120BPM)

Ooooooh   I.........
e-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-x-x-x-x
B-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-x-x-x-x
G-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-x-x-x-x
D-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-x-x-x-x
A-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-x-x-x-x
E-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Oh I will be there soon
Just a little while
Oh I will be there soon
Just a little while
Oh I will be there soon
Just a little while
Oh I will be there soon
Just a little while
Oh I will be there soon
Just a little while
Oh I will be there soon
Just a little while

Thursday, October 15, 2009

TO POST OR NOT TO POST

Been working on bits and pieces of a very emotional blog post. Tough to write .. dunno if I should even go through with it. I began linking pics and ... hrmph.. I dunno.. It feels good to write it out. Seems to help. Today sucked though... a last minute decision to hit up Tim Horton's coupled with driving laziness (not to turn around but go straight) brought us right up through school alley. Not thinking, Kevin and I drove right by Ally and TK.
Now this is the consequence of a series of coincidental events all lining up. I decided to let Kevin drive back. He likes driving the little beast anyways and I was growing irritated of driving all day. This choice made sure that I was in the passenger seat and not having to care about my surroundings; free to gaze around at suburban scenery. Kevin never saw Ally and Tk, 'cause he had to pay attention to the various cars and people. This choice, along with feeding the coffee addiction and the choice to go straight rather then just loop around the circle and hit up timmies on Baseline. The only bonus was that the coffee was free. :)
However, I didn't even bother drinking it (till right about now! btw, cold timmies sucks ass!!). Came home and started swallowing wine. Now considering I barely touch booze - you know I'm little skiddish if I don't bother cracking a joke or razzing somebody, don't saw hello, and b-line for something with alcohol content!
Generally, I can take emotional strikes and blows fairly well. But this.... this leans on me.... hell, I've tried going out on a couple of dates... 1. I can't shake the feeling that I'm cheating on someone 2. I can't help but keep thinking about her. Obviously not ready ... not fair to me.. not fair to others... Perhaps I shall complete this post .. considering I can whine and moan for this many words .. It'll probably help. ....... Afterall, our time here is short. The measure of our life is done so by our actions, and our accomplishments while we are here. Thus, dealing with my emotions seems to be the logical conclusion. Otherwise, I can not properly focus. With that in mind, I suppose my attempts are burying and forgetting is what is lengthening the time I need to heal... heal .. hrmph... never in my most wildest of dreams did I ever think it would end this way. Ever ... even thinking about the potentials of failure, never did I think this height of drama... ever .... argh! and this civilian job offer... to be network monkey again..... now that would be quite the circle!!!

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

THE MEMORIES ARE NIGH

Like a heartbeat in a horror movie. Each pump is a little louder then the last. The memories of a time of bliss, of a hopeful future .... No matter the echoes, the statements and advice of others, I still miss Alexandra. I miss her daughter, Teagan. I miss our first and only trip together. I miss closing down the amusement park at West Edmonton Mall together - what a roller coaster champ she is. I miss Ally and I's road trips. Montreal, Sudbury ... adventures of Ottawa... even a lame Halloween party was fun - she was there. I miss ... I miss alot of things. I miss kneeling in front of her. I miss putting on the ring. Every time I am in my car, all I can think of is, here's the wedding money. Whenever I put gas in it, here's the funds I was looking to put aside for Teagan's education fund - so that she would not be hard up for cash as I was going through school, should she chose to. I miss buying her shoes... watching her headbutt Kevin in the tummy. And now.. the civilian job offer, portable to Van ... seems fruitless and pointless. Why? 'Cause I might as well be full-blow military now. Too much has happened, too much invested and its promises and future fits what I feel now.

As it was then, as it is now, I still go to sleep and wake with thoughts of her .....

For those that read this blog.. prep for sappiness and "emo" rants for the next bit... for this is my sketchpad

In Pace Requiescat ....

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

THANK YOU

I wish I could be somebody different
'Cause then I could be there lying next to you
I wish I could make another wish
I'd reverse a decade and change how all those cards were played

Now I trip over misty emotions
A wire guarding relics of scattered illusions
I prick my brain
And let trickle all that I bleed in vain

I wish i could be a moment
Lost in something that I never really knew
I wish I could be a fish
To swim past all the strings that have been frayed.

Knocking at my door
Is a heart pumping shivers in ice cold veins
I learned this from her lore
Separate dissociate coldness at the reins

I should be relieved
I learned to fill this hollow with a coldness then conceived
The last piece that I needed
To behave as I am needed harsh relentless unrelieved

I should thank you for this gift
The last token to cross this human rift
My dissected heart now bleeds
Watering life into the creature of your seeds

BLARGHADY BLARGH BLAR

This is a far more emotional month then anticipated. It is very tough to concentrate and pluck through these papers. Most of them are easy, which is a bit disheartening. 12 months ago, I ... argh.. the past... like an emptiness now... with echoes of raindrops .. I need to change the scenery, I just can't do homework in this room. This feeling of "something is missing" will go away with time, I know... but still... the thing with time healing.. well, for lack of a better expression .. simply takes time... my patience these days is very thin. Suppose I wish I could give time a kick in the butt. Well... blah....

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

LAUNCH CONTROL KIT

Well, I went overboard and spent about $65 on making my own launch control kit. I started out by using a doorbell as what completes the circuit. However, I went with a light switch :P I'd post the schematics, but its basically like wiring up a light switch and a light-bulb. My power source is a cheap wal-mart utility battery. Looking forward to launching that E engine! Bastard engine cost me 15$!! So it better be good! If I had more time, I'd get in to mixing my own propellant. But I'd probably blow myself up and horribly disfigure my body with scars! So I'll stick to buying ... For now ;) Perhaps I'll befriend more weapon tech ppl - and get the scoop on cheap chemicals - MWAHAHAHA

Anyhow, I'm fixing up the chutes for the "Mad Pirate", Got a bigger chute for the payload, to compensate for the added weight. If this works as well as I hope, I'll be building a 2-stage rocket. :) Hopefully I'll be launching on Thursday or Friday.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

NEW PICTURES

Posted new pics at Skitch!

THE SOUND OF RAIN

The sound of rain
Smashing upon the deck
Leaving in its wake
Streaming trickles of fate.

To bead upon a window
To gather as a puddle
To wash a final blow
To nourish what lies below

The sound of rain
Mesmerizing captivating
Hypnotic drums stain
The painful flash of days lost in vain

To bathe in its drops
To let emotions erupt
To let the calm subdue
To sleep to its tune

The sound of rain
Crashes outside again
Once to remind me of my home
Twice to remind me of a lost home

This the sound of rain.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

FEUDALISM

Within this text is an outline of the social structure of feudal society, along with the customary controls over authoritative and allocative resources. The foundation of the feudal economy is agriculture. Therefore, wealth and power derive itself from landownership. In order to maintain and perpetuate society, it was necessary to control the output of the land. The peasants and their labour, were the human machines that worked the land producing wealth for the higher classes. Therefore it was of great importance to chain the peasantry to the land and to their lords.

Feudal society organizes itself through a series of parallel ladders, where those at the bottom pay tribute to those on the higher step. The peasants, mostly slaves and serfs, represent the lowest echelon of society. The next step above this wretched class are the lesser nobles. These families are landowners and would generally be a vassal of a greater lord. The next step is a similar relationship, however it is a lord and vassal relationship between the greater nobles and the Monarch. Sayer explains, “The summit of feudal society became ordered as a hierarchy of lord-vassal relations, extending form kings, through the greater lords – counts, dukes, barons – to lesser nobles, down to the humbler lord of the single manor.” (Sayer, 1993, p.75).

We note a series of parallel social ladders, as the Monarch did not necessarily have complete visibility within the lands of his vassals. By way of example, we may refer to Sayer's description of King Philip VI of France's survey of his kingdom. Attempting to figure out his own tax base, the King's survey did not include many of the lesser lordships as well as six of the greatest fiefs. A great King of the medieval era did not possess the political power necessary to properly gather demographical data in his own lands in order to levy taxes. (Sayer, 1993, p.77) Sayer describes a Lord as a “[...] local sovereign, and this devolution of political, juridical, and fiscal powers was central to each individual lord's personal domination over his peasants.” (Sayer, 1993, p.76) Consequently, the Monarch's primary economic survival derives from the wealth generating from within their own lands. Anderson writes, “His economic resources would lie virtually exclusively in his personal domains as a lord, while his calls on his vassals would be essentially military in nature.” (Anderson, 1974, p.88).

Simply, the feudal society rests upon landowners leveraging agricultural output from the workers renting from their land. Hilton describes, “A peasant economy is one in which the large majority of the population consists of families who cultivate crops and rear animals on their individual holdings.” (Hilton, 1973, p.56). Anderson adds specificity, by describing the peasant in this mode of production. He writes, “The immediate producer – the peasant – was united to the means of production – the soil – by a specific social relationship.” (Anderson, 1974, p. 86). This social relationship consists of workers, either slaves or serfs, providing the lord a payment in the form of surplus goods, labour and later in the feudal era, cash payments. These payments, much like the mafia of industrial society, provided them with security during violent and turbulent times. The matrix of social dependency required a system of inequality in order to create wealth for a minority of people. This inequality is maintained by control over authoritative resources and allocative resources.

Allocative resources are productive forces, the generation of economic wealth. Control over the spheres of production, primarily accomplishes itself through landownership. Lords, the greater nobility, the Monarch and the Church all removed the ability of the lower class to own land. Each worker was forced to pay tribute by surrendering crops, labour and money in order to maintain some basic subsistence and security. Furthermore, these labourers were forced to surrender their body as military units in times of war. Monasteries increased their control over the nobility through landownership and usurping the fruits of the labour from the peasants. Sayer describes rent as a responsibility hooked to tenancy, what was owed in return for living. He notes that “Rent took three main forms: direct labour services on the lord's demesne, an obligation to work a stipulated number of days per year, rent in kind, or a portion of the crops produced within the peasant's own holding; and (far less common until later in the medieval period) rent in cash.” (Sayer, 1993, p.78).

Furthermore, the internal judicial system of the lord of the land permitted him the ability to further control the productive forces. Agrarian societies rely heavily on the ability of their land to grow crops and grazing areas for their animals. Consequently, regulation of common grazing areas fell into the lap of the lord. This regulation of these areas, was of great importance to the communities that found themselves in close geographic proximity. Grazing rights, during the feudal era, translates into the nobility's capacity to dictate which families were allowed to send their animals for extra feed. Furthermore, the importance of these areas created a secondary regulatory system amongst the local community. The families became very closed to accepting new comers into their lands, as that meant sharing more grazing area and time. Hilton explains, “Even where the actual forum for these decisions was the court of the lord of the village, it seems normally to have been the villagers as much as, if not more than, the lord who operated the controls.” (Hilton, 1973, p.60).

The upper classes of society held very little regard for the peasant class. Hilton tells us that “The gentry and nobility regarded peasants as different creatures from themselves, almost as a different race.” (Hilton, 1973, p.60). We can therefore assume that, imposing methods of social stratification to nail down a system of inequality, most likely held very few moral quarrels amongst the noble population. Patriarchy, education and hereditary social class are examples of control over authoritative resources. These systems permitted the gentry the ability to perpetuate social inequality.

Some will argue, that the male domination in a feudal society is necessary for a dual support system, designed to maintain an agrarian method of production. Women would clean, tend to the children, cook and mend clothing in order to support the men who worked the fields, looked after the livestock and were called to war. The clergy further entrenched this system by claiming that it was ordained by God. The Clergy would use biblical accounts of history in order to entrench the natural order of a subservient gender. Marx would argue that this is simply an ideology used to maintain an economic system (Marxist, 2000). Furthermore, he would claim that patriarchy came about by way of historical determinism. Therefore, this would mean that the feudal system of patriarchy was not necessary, it simply came about as historical habit. Regardless of its origins, the system did force authoritative control into the hands of men. Consequently, unless born into nobility, women would only have a support role, consisting of maintaining materialistic necessities for the labouring men. In turn, men would promote agricultural output and thus generate wealth for the landowners.

As well, the Church held the monopoly on literacy. The Christian hierarchy, one of the greater land ownership classes, was able to use its power to manipulate society into believing in the divine order of things. The vehicle leveraged to accomplish this feat of ignorance, was the denial of basic education. The peasant class was denied the ability to learn how to read and write. The multitude of priests and churchmen acted as gatekeepers, administering the sacraments, the path to salvation (Hilton, 1973) rather then disseminating literacy. As these people held the holy chalice of education within their private realm, the imposed ignorance obliged the peasant to believe in the instructions of the clergy. “All these preachers exhorted their audiences to be diligent in all the necessary practices of their religion and to observe the moral code promulgated by the church. In addition, they explained in simple terms what was the nature of the society in which men lived.” (Hilton, 1973, p.75). Pursuant with a Marxian dialogue, this process further alienated the peasant class from themselves and allowed them to believe in a world that was better then the one in which they lived. Therefore, the shackles of false consciousness (Marxists, 1968) allowed the peasantry to continue toiling with very little protest as they believed a happier life awaited them upon death.
Further entrenching the permanency of the feudal system of inequality, is the hereditary nature of one's social class, the caste system. This denied people any kind of social mobility. An individual born as a peasant was essentially condemned to the harsh life of the peasantry. Hereditary class was also supported by family land inheritance. Should you be born into a family who lived for generations on a specific holding, you were further sown onto a class by being shackled to an inherited prison. There was a social and cultural expectation that you would toil and work the land in order to perpetuate the generation of wealth for the lord of the land. Indeed, any refutation of these responsibilities were met with harsh consequences. Hilton elaborates, “A strong sense of family right also implied the consequential attitude that the family should be able to devote all of its labour to the cultivation and maintenance of the holding. This feeling lay behind the objections to the acquittal of rent obligations in the form of labour services on the lord's demesne, though other factors, such as the equation of forced labour under the coercion of the lord's bailiff with serfdom or slavery, were involved as well.” (Hilton, 1973, p.66).

However, patriarchy, education and hereditary social class alone, cannot completely bind a peasant into a position of dependency. Peasants were also excluded from public law and their courts. This removed any form of justice for the common labourer, save through their immediate families. The nobility closely regulated the labourer and bound them to their customary law, thus any true sense of freedom was simply a romantic concept. (Hilton, 1973). Therefore, the peasant was forced into a servile way of life with the sole purpose of providing rent to their respective lords. Hilton notes that “The three most common obligations, often used as a test of servility, were: a restriction on marriage outside the lordship, other than with the lord's permission; the right of the lord to take part or the whole of the tenant's chattels at death, thus emphasizing that an unfree person had no rights of ownership in property; and the payment of an annual tax, the capitagium or chevage, as a recognition of the tenant's perpetual subordination to the lord.” (Hilton, 1973, p.80). By manipulating the expansion of a family, removing any rights to property and insisting on annual taxation, the lord successfully bound the peasant and his future generations, into a perpetual state of servitude. This forms the infrastructure of the control over authoritative resources.

Consequently, feudal society was able to perpetuate itself by controlling peasant's social and geographic mobility. Divinely rooting their bondage to the nobility, the upper classes were able to lock the working class into centuries of toil and servitude. Women and men of common hereditary classes were unable to secure any property or any rights. Institutions and customs excluded the peasantry from any mechanisms of social mobility and acquisition of greater wealth. The draconian control over land and title put the absolute control of allocative resources into the hands of the upper classes. Marx provides us with an eloquent summary and conclusion of the production of inequality. He writes “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”. (Marx, 1998, p.34).


References


  • Anderson, Perry. (1974). The Feudal Mode of Production. Canada: University of Athabasca

  • Hilton, Rodney. (1973). The Nature of Medieval Peasant Economy. Canada: University of Athabasca

  • Marx, Karl & Engels Frederick. (1998). The Communist Manifesto A Modern Edition. New York: Verso

  • Marxists Internet Archive. (1968). Engels to Franz Mehring. Gestamtausgabe: International Publishers. Retrieved August 11, 2009, from http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1893/letters/93_07_14.htm

  • Marxists Internet Archive. (2000). A Critique of the German Ideology. Progress Publishers. Retrieved August 11, 2009, from http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german- ideology/ch01b.htm

  • Sayer, Derek. (1993). The Sociology of Power and Inequality Study Guide. Canada: University of Athabasca

Sunday, August 16, 2009

ROCKET LAUNCHES

Well I decided to resurrect an old hobby of mine - ROCKETS :) Three launches with C engines and 2 with Ds. Tried to fire off an E engine and couldn't get enough juice to the ignitor. SOOoo!!! I've decided to NOT spend the 60$ to buy one and I'm just going to make my own ... I will be using three alligator clips, a 12V battery and a doorbell. Should cost me under 25$ I'll post the operation when I get to it this week.

Friday, July 31, 2009

STATE OF NATURE

This text discusses various interpretations of the state of nature from the perspectives of political philosophers and social critiques. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau write in detail their interpretation of the state of nature. Marx offers more of a social critique rooting his conclusions through a historical progression. John Stuart Mill writes about embracing the state of nature in order to preserve our individual rights and Mary Wolstencraft outspokenly critiques Rousseau's misogynistic epitaph of the noble savage.

Hobbes and Locke create a fictitious world, the state of nature, in order to imagine humanity's existence prior to the imposition of government. Hobbes, primarily an individualist, believes that the Commonwealth is necessary in order to limit the chaotic tendencies of the state of nature. This reflects his perception of humanity living in conditions of perpetual conflict while still in the state of nature. Conversely, Locke argues for a government opposing absolutism. His argumentation roots itself in his description of human beings in his state of nature; a natural freedom permitting each individual to do as they see fit with themselves and their possessions outside of any regulatory body or persons.

Both of their descriptions of the appropriate style of government focus a great deal on property, justice and patriarchy. Moreover, Hobbes and Locke declare that the advantages of civilization are not possible without government. Consequently, they note the differences between civil freedom and natural freedom. Civil freedom is our ability to gain the arts, education, ethics, logic and reason as a result of the institutions of government. Natural freedom is our ability to freely choose as per the whims of our desires and wants.

Rousseau continues this dialogue. However, his philosophical argumentation of the state of nature and government follow a different path. Unlike Hobbes and Locke, Rousseau argues that political authority is not found in nature. Rather the imposition of political authority and its institutions were done by force. Force is a physical manifestation of strength and is not found in the state of nature. Rousseau's natural state paints a picture of a noble savage, people living together peacefully. The only form of authority found in nature is that of preservation and the tie between child and father. He describes, “The oldest of all societies, and the only natural one, is that of the family; yet children remain tied to their father by nature only so long as they need him for their preservation.” (Rousseau, 1968, p.50). As such, Rousseau sees humanity forming a social pact when the obstacles in the state of nature are so great, that each man does not possess the individual strength to preserve themselves. (Rousseau, 1968, p.59)

The bonding of naturally free individuals into a civilization is the foundation of Rousseau's perception of individual rights; there are none. He sees civilization as a collective limiting private rights. In this idea, Rousseau somewhat resembles Hobbes. They both see the civil body as an entity that limits the excesses of the state of nature. However, Hobbes believes that an absolute authority over people must exercise its strength only to the degree of limiting the chaotic excesses of the state of nature. For Rousseau, those excesses are individual rights. He explains, “[...] for if rights were left to individuals, in the absence of any higher authority to judge between them and the public, each individual, being his own judge in some causes, would soon demand to be his own judge in all; and in this way the state of nature would be kept in being, and the association inevitably become either tyrannical or void.” (Rousseau, 1968, p.60)

Rousseau's idea of a civil society rest upon a communal framework working toward the greater good. He notes that in the state of nature, we are physically free individuals. However, it is only upon the implementation of the social contract that rationality and morality can flourish. Consequently, by relinquishing our physical freedom in the state of nature, we are able to shuck the husks of impulses and possessions, gaining property and civil liberty through civil society. Rousseau elaborates, “What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and the absolute right to anything that tempts him and that he can take; what he gains by the social contract is civil liberty, which is limited by the general will; and we must distinguish also between possession, which is based only on force or 'the right of the first occupant', and property, which must rest on legal title.” (Rousseau, 1968, p.65). Therefore, like Hobbes and Locke, Rousseau agrees that the sovereign state affords us protection. However, he also believes that the sovereign affords us our capacity to reason and use morale judgement. Thus, we are not individuals reaching our full potential unless we participate in the greater collective of civil society.

Continuing along the dialogue of a communal society, we must focus our attention on an industrial era social thinker, Karl Marx. Rather then putting forth a model of social organization founding itself on a fictitious state of nature, Marx sees the current state of society dividing itself into two classes, the capitalist bourgeoisie and the worker proletariat. For him, social history traces itself through a series of class struggles, oppressors and the oppressed (Marx, 1998). Rousseau states that “Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.” (Rousseau, 1968, p.49) and Marx proclaims, “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.” (Marx, 1998, p.77). Both of these social critiques see the liberty of humanity stemming from a strong collective.

Marx's social critique focuses primarily on a political and economical mode of analysis. The perpetual class struggle enslaving the average man cements itself in a superstructure duality of ideology and mode of production. By way of example we can use love and marriage. Love is the ideology, the faith necessary to promote marriage, the mode of production. Religion plays a similar role; numbing the masses into a belief that there is a better world then here and thus accepting the harsh living conditions of the present as a natural state (Marxists, 2005, para.5). Marx labels this illusionary belief as false-consciousness; a state of mind imposing itself on humanity thus forbidding people from seeing reality. Consequently, we are enslaving ourselves voluntarily.

With people believing that the current social landscape roots itself in veritas, the working slaves continue to toil, producing more wealth for the oppressing class. Industrial society bestows upon the bourgeoisie the ability to produce goods at a scale never before seen through mankind's history. Therefore, the sale of the product, minus the marginal costs of materials and the minimum wage, permitting the proletariat some form of basic subsistence, equals surplus value. Surplus value is the profit resting upon the back of the working class. Consequently, wage-labour produces capital, not property. The bourgeoisie can dictate their profit by scaling their cost of labour up or down. The less you pay for labour, the more profit you acquire. However, for the proletariat, this translates into a form of slavery. Robbing them of their right to property and convincing them that it is acceptable by way of false-consciousness, is one of the many powers of capitalism.

Endemic to this economic system are forms of alienation. Marx highlights four types of alienation: products of labour, process of production, species-being and self. Summarizing, alienation is a social construct the keeps humanity segregated from our natural state. Indeed, Marx does echo, though faint, the fictitious state of nature of his predecessors. Jonathan Wolff in his book, Why Read Marx Today?, offers an excellent description of alienation. He describes alienation as a four spoke umbrella consisting of alienation from the product, from the process of production, from our own species and from our own self. The first is the capitalist production mechanics that distance the worker from the objects he produces, permitting no control over its usage or sale. As well, the proletariat alienates himself from the process of production. This second spoke of alienation describes the process by which the worker lose their skills and reduces themselves to nothing but minuscule robots repeating mindless tasks with little to no knowledge of their place in the scheme of things. Alienating our selves from our own species is a two prong attack. First, we distance ourselves from our social relations. We see ourselves as individuals consuming the fruits of production rather then a cooperative spanning the entire globe building upon past knowledge and current technologies. Second, it is the removal of our natural, free production. Outside of capitalism, humans “[...] produce in accordance with their will and consciousness [...]” (Wolff, 2003, p.35). Conversely, our current state of production is a tormenting chore accomplishing itself in a monotonous mechanical fashion. This type of alienation oozes into the final piece of the puzzle, alienation from self. This is an expression of our tunnel vision. It illustrates that we think of ourselves as individuals who get jobs, earn money and then spend it at various stores. However, the pursuit of our self-interest is impossible without some form of community. In other words, “we use our species-life as a means to individual life.” (Wolff, 2003, p.37).

Marx believes that social emancipation, freedom of all people, accomplishes itself through a communal system that destroys capitalism, a regime of alienation. Moreover, he goes on to note that the emancipation of people can only see fruition through a revolution spearheading itself by the working class, the proletariat. The intelligentsia and artisans can think and dream of a Utopian society but cannot implement the new society. In his Thesis on Feuerbach, Marx writes, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” (Marxists, 2002, para.11). The proletariat must be the nucleus of the revolution in order to doff their chains of slavery and don the halo of freedom. It is through this revolutionary conflict that the working class will grasp the potential of their true strength and see their natural communal interdependence.

Standing in opposition to a collective organization of society is John Stuart Mill. Rather then advocating a heavy foot of government controlling individual will, he promotes individual rights as the guarantee of our civil liberty. Earlier forms of government perceive civic liberty stemming from the protection of society from the state of nature. Progressing forward in time, Mill notes that a democratic republic is the most preferable form of government (Mill, 1985). However, plaguing this system is the will of the masses imposing itself on the minority; tyranny of the majority. Mill elaborates, “Society can and does execute its own mandates; and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practises a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life and enslaving the soul itself.” (Mill, 1985, p.63). Therefore, in order to secure civil liberty, individual rights must find protection and security within the current government.

Perhaps a rebuke at Marx, John Stuart Mill takes a stab at communal property while simultaneously defending freedom of speech. He writes, “An opinion that corn dealers are starvers of the poor, or that private property is robbery, ought to be unmolested when simply circulated through the press, but may justly incur punishment when delivered orally to an excited mob assembled before the house of a corn dealer, or when handed about among the same mob in the form of a placard.” (Mill, 1985, p.119). Mill is claiming that an individual should be free to do anything so long as their actions do not directly or indirectly bring harm to another individual. Freedom is our ability to chose and experiment. Our author believes that our progression as a species comes from our own experimentation. As we are fallible beings, we must test to come to conclusions. Thus our assertions are products of inductive and deductive logic, the father of the contemporary scientific method. Therefore, in order for advancement as a whole, we must be free to express our opinions and then perform our actions without the heavy foot of government restricting our movements.

Mill observes human nature as a biological entity, a life form requiring food and mobility to grow. Stagnation causes atrophy, a weakening of life itself. In order to grow and expand, the life form must be free to exercise all of its faculties. Our ability to perceive, judge, deduce, logically reason and draw moral conclusions comes only through practise, our choice making capacity (Mill, 1985). Mill highlights, “The mental and moral, like the muscular, powers are improved only by being used. [...] Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all side, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing.” (Mill, 1985, p.122 – 123) Conversely, authors such as Hobbes see human nature from a structural perspective; a machine with specific motivators instigating movement.

Firmly standing in opposition to Rousseau is Wollstencraft. Like Mill, she believes in individual rights. Specifically, she sees an individual acquiring liberty and freedom through education. Denying women their right to knowledge damages the whole society. Wollstencraft believes, “[...] that all the writers who have written on the subject of female education and manners from Rousseau to Dr. Gregory, have contributed to render women more artificial, weak characters, then they would otherwise have been; and, consequently, more useless members of society.” (Wollstencraft, 1996, p.21).
She notes that women currently linger in a sedentary life, weakening their entire being and cramping their growth. Stagnation of one of the sexes is against the state of nature, knowledge is equal to both genders in a natural existence. Consequently, women “[...] ought to endeavour to acquire human virtues (or perfections) by the same means as men, instead of being educated like a fanciful kind of half being [...]” (Wollstencraft, 1996, p.38). Lack of education breeds ignorance and tyrants capitalize upon the opportunity stemming from this deficit. Wollstencraft believes that this inequality is the source of the subjugation of women. Conversely, education allows for the body to gain strength and the subsequent expansion of the mind; strangling the key ingredient of powerful tyrants, which is blind obedience. (Wollstencraft, 1996)

The majority of the state of nature theorists, see the age prior to civilization as a time of divine existence; lacking only in the luxuries put forth by civilization. This assumption is commonly the foundation of the logic of limiting individual liberty. Wollstencraft notes that such a concept is lunacy. Eloquently, she explains, “That the society is formed in the wisest manner, whose constitution is founded on the nature of man, strikes, in the abstract, every thinking being so forcibly, that it looks like presumption to endeavour to bring forward proofs; though proof must be brought, or the strong hold of prescription will never be forced by reason; yet to urge prescription as an argument to justify the depriving men (or women) of their natural rights, is one of the absurd sophisms which daily insult common sense.” (Wollstencraft, 1996, p.12). She maintains that it is the lack of a good national education interest which keeps society on the edge of absolute ignorance. Teaching women from birth that they are weaker and subservient to men as well as ensuring that men believe to be superior in virtuous faculties, perpetuates the general will to acquiesce to the fables preaching a natural sanctity to patriarchy. This idea is similar to Marx's concept of false-consciousness. A grimoire of false beliefs that impose themselves through the puppetry of the upper classes onto the ignorant minds of the working class.

Earlier understandings of the state of nature influence authors of political philosophy. They either provide a target for a rebuke or ideas to build upon. From Hobbes to Wolstencraft we can see the fictitious concept of the state of nature providing a platform for an argument. Marx, though more subtle, uses his theories of alienation in reference to humanity's distancing from the state of nature. Our other authors' argumentation orbiting the sphere of the state of nature is easier to decipher.







References



Marx, Karl & Engels Frederick. (1998). The Communist Manifesto A Modern Edition.
New York: Verso

Marxists Internet Archive. (2005, February). Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's
Philosophy of Right 1844. Paris: Karl Marx. Retrieved July 30, 2009, from
<http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm>

Marxists Internet Archive. (2002). Theses On Feuerbach. Brussels: Karl Marx. Retrieved July 30,
2009, from <http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/index.htm>

Mill, John Stuart. (1985). On Liberty. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada Ltd.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. (1968). The Social Contract. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada Ltd.
Wolff, Jonathan. (2003). Why Read Marx Today?. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.

Wolstencraft, Mary. (1996). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Dover Publications Inc.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 2 DISAPPOINTING

Whoever they have as writers, need to be fired! Season 1 was good. The characters were still in development, you can tell that they hadn't quite figured out their target audience. Even though many of the episodes were predictable, they still managed to squeeze in some good cliffhangers. Here is my rant about the crap in Season 2.

1. When Laura K Hamilton can write a better screenplay, there's a problem!!
2. They follow the formula, 'cause Season 1 didn't hit predicted ratings, Season 2 has more sex.
3. The Sookie character has been demoted to two emotive stances a) on her back /w legs in air b) the aloof look on her face -> see point #2
4. If you lack the ability to properly write a philosophical or social critique in your script, don't try! 'Cause those of us that do, will simply laugh at you....alot!! Moore did it well, but he also ended up becoming enemies with Paramount -> take note!
5. If you are going to try and write a horror television drama, then draw upon some of the masters - not the losers! Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Aleister Crowley, -> They knew how to scare people with words! Hitchcock knew how to do it on film. Shakespeare has all the basic plots spelled out for you in simple formula! Following the crap from Sex in the City, Gray's Anatomy and Days of our Lives and you'll hit your target audience, but alienate the cult following the pays to show up at things like Comic-Con or Dragon-Con. True... you might end up scoring with some of the followers of Buffy. But at least that show didn't try and take itself seriously or make any attempts at tackling social or philosophical issues. It knew what it was, pure teenage entertainment - and that's what it delivered; teenage over-the-top drama, relationship triangles with demons and vampires. Therefore, the show was entertaining!

True Blood is in a state of an identity crisis. This is bad, as you'll lose continuity in your story. Look at the Dexter series. You can tell when the writers no longer had books to base the drama. However, it did not lose continuity and maintained the growth of the characters and the main idea of the drama throughout the seasons. True Blood, in my lowly estimation, is failing.

-- update --
A few of my friends and a family member have pointed out that the True Blood novels far exceed the television puke we are currently subjecting ourselves thanks to HBO.

Friday, July 17, 2009

NEW CAR SHOTS

I uploaded pics of the new car on twitpic.








Wednesday, July 15, 2009

GOOGLE CANADA

Yes yes! I know I know.. car pics!! they are coming I SWEAR they are :D Unfortunately I can't find my damned USB cable. It has mysteriously floated away into never never land! Oh, and the microwave oven rant is on its way. Still in draft form. Keep in mind people that I'm still doing mad homework and thus sometimes just can't be bothered with the bells and whistles.
Anyhow, while bored with digging up citations for a paper, I decided to be one of those google search geeks. What I found was quite interesting. Here's a snapshot!






I found it very inspiring! I mean other then the searches for "Does Canada have a constitution", I thought overall the searches were quite intelligent. The searches for culture and identity tingled my curiosity bone!! It brought me back to this 2nd year sociology class I took on Canuck culture. Anyhow.... it would just be rambles from now on.. so voila! A google screen-capture :P

Sunday, July 12, 2009

NEW CAR

Hello word wide web people! I'm just posting a quick entry about MY NEW CAR!! YES !!! I bought a brand spanking new Toyota Corolla 2010 with 6KM on it! Virgin, brand new! Of course... its not really mine .. :P The bank is letting me drive it, insure it and put gas in it so long as I make my payments :)

I should be taking possession of it on Monday or Tuesday - I'll have pics online then.

Cheers

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

YOU TUBE VIDEO

Well.. while I'm nursing academic boredom, I thought I would post my favorite YouTube video from TheSin :) happy truckin'






Sunday, June 28, 2009

UGHT!

Well, Friday night, rather then doing something social and fun .. I fell asleep on my keyboard. Printing hundreds of useless characters over dozens upon dozens of pages. After four years of study, I loathe, Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, Freud, especially Nietzsche - useless exitensia-somethingorotherdumbandstupid!! I hope you are all burning somewhere for having put us students through such exhausting monotony!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Books

I have come to the sad realization that, after the 1970's, very few books were written that are actually worth reading .....

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

HOW TO MAKE COFFEE

But I am a blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul; and I felt then that I should survive to exhibit what I shall soon cease to be - a miserable spectacle of wrecked humanity, pitiable to others and intolerable to myself. - Mary Shelley


Oh how could Mary Shelley realise that she etched out the idea that would be the mantra for the generations of the post-modern future. Nietzsche, Freud and a host of others helped lay the foundation of an ideology based upon a mistake. Usurping the intellectuals and the wise for a fast food delivery system spitting out social philosophy. The strong, now lazy, can barely read, figure out how a compass works or why the microwave makes things hot (oooo I smell another rant there!) These are the fools that I see putting hot water in their drip, cone filter, coffee maker!! Makes me want to cry ...

First we shall begin with the most simplest and logical reason as to why not put hot water in the reservoir. Brewing time!!!

Ohhhh yeah! That sweet smell and yummy taste comes from the water slowly dripping through the coffee grinds, grabbing all that flavour and delicious energy giving caffeine and makes its way to your pot sitting on a hot plate. If you put hot water in the reservoir, well then, you don't get brew time. The water shoots through the system and splooges all over your coffee; much like a virgin having sex - time is everything here! If you pour in hot water in your coffee maker, you end up with coloured water. YUCK
Unless you are a cunt hair on acid and you want to stare at the funny looking shades of brown then stop wasting coffee and buy a kaleidoscope. This little knick-knack kept my parent's generation entertained for days on end!

Uh oh .. there's that damned comic book store voice again .. "But I'm saving energy by pouring hot water in first." NO you .... argh ACK!!! You aren't saving anything. The energy is primarily drawn by the hot plate. If you want to make hippy coffee and save the nukes for war rather then electricity, then get one of those coffee makers that don't have a hot plate. Or better yet, a coffee press. That's what I use :) I boil my water in a kettle, the pour in with coarse ground coffee. Let sit. Then press and drink! YUM!!

As my lord and master would say, "Good tasting coffee for ALL!"

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

AN ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGN

I was about to write a rant relating to coffee and what temperature of water to use for best results. I know I know .. sounds simple... but alas, if you think so, then you have far too much faith in our school system. You are also furthering my weeping as I lose more hope for our future generations. But don't worry, I'll be tackling that topic in the next blog.... along with my sobbing for the future!

For now, I'm going to be less ranty and repost this clever advertising campaign I stumbled across. I thought it was genius!!! The tagline is "A middle school program opening minds to math and science. Figure this. Image that" I found it while procrastinating on homework, and perusing http://adsoftheworld.com The originals can be found here.






1 of 2 on my favorites list :)




2/2 on my favorites list :)









Monday, June 22, 2009

HOT AND COLD: WHAT FREEZES FASTER

Fact or Fiction


Quite often throughout the years, many people have come up with their own theories about what freezes quicker, hot water or cold water. "Well I saw in Reader's Digest ...", one says. "Oh, but the Home Living magazine said ...", quotes another. "Well I heard from someone who's taking chemistry that ...", dominantly states another participant.
No matter what theory presents itself, I find myself always repeating. "No matter what, before water can freeze, it must reach a temperature near 0 degrees Celsius!" To which my statement is invariably rebuked, "But I tested in my freezer ..."
Now, I commend anyone who runs home experiments! Right on!!! They are fun and get you in the habit of recording information. Now, if you do the freezer test, you must make sure that "All things are equal". This means that, the freezer must have an even temperature, not one side warmer then the other (should you place the trays away from each other) Make sure your trays are identical and make sure that whatever you lay them on top, is identical as well. Preferably, just the plastic base of the freezer. Also, do not open the freezer door ever 5 minutes!! This will ruin the experiment. If you can't figure out why, then bother with it and start reading a grade 8 chemistry book.
Now .. moving on :) There are specific circumstances where hot water WILL freeze quicker then cold water. One, if the water is near or at boiling, evaporation will help. Why? 1. A high amount (let's say 'y') of calories will be spent evaporating a certain weight of water. Say 1 gram for measurement purposes. Spending all this energy will cool the water down quickly. Moreover, evaporation will mean that there is less water to freeze. 2. If you have something of equal mass under the tray - say another tray of frozen ice-cubes, this will quicken the freezing process. This is because of the heat transferring to the ice under it as well as the evaporation. That's a lot of energy expelling very quickly. But really, you are just shooting yourself in the foot. I mean, if you are trying to get "quick ice-cubes", all you are doing is losing water and making your freezer work harder. So you are spending more money, to get smaller ice-cubes!
Oh no... I'm hearing a smart ass somewhere in the background ... "But what about Mpemba effect!?" The sound of the comic book store Simpson's characters raps upon my ear drums. "Sigh ..." Now are you seriously going to comeback with the grade school kid and his ice-cream milk crap?? Seriously?!?! ARGH!!! okay... fine!!! I admit that the question still remains largely unexplained. HOWEVER, there are some things we can conclude. Yes, evaporation will only account for a small percentile of energy loss (or heat loss in our case). But keeping with what is stated above, we know that we are losing some water to evaporation. Where? Well heat rises last I checked, so that means we are losing from the top. Also, our second point informs us that the heat is transferring to the coldest points. Thus, we are also losing heat from the sides, the bottom as well as the top. "So what! Hot water can still flash freeze and the question still remains unanswered" [Oh that voice is really getting to me!] OK Genius! Yes I do concede the question is still unanswered, but we know that our heat is leaving from the outer portions of the would-be cube. That means the water will freeze from the center first and then out. Cold water on the other hand will freeze from the outside in. Thus insulating the middle from the outer cold.
Now I should technically get into the flash freezing .. but I won't.. WHY?? Because, my earlier point still remains!! You are still spending more energy then is necessary to cool hot water to make ice-cubes, smaller ones might I add! So unless you are a theoretical physicist or any other physicist for that matter - Who the FUCK cares!!! Quit bugging me with this question, as from now on, I'm just going to tell you "Go read my blog!"



Cheers :)

References:

Sunday, June 21, 2009

POEM FOR THE ROOFTOPS OF IRAN

I stumbled on this poem while burning time on YouTube. Of course I decided to look up the Iran protests and see what I could dig up beyond what I could find on LiveLeak. Not really a religious or spiritual kinda guy, but I thought this was worth it.

The user that posted it is mighterthan The account was created on June 18th, 2009. Enjoy!!


Poem for the Rooftops of Iran - June 19th, 2009




Addendum - Sunday 22h07 MST
I just noticed that one of the blogs I subscribe to also has this video posted. Check out Poem of The Week - they have the translation posted as well.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

THE FOURTEEN VIRTUES


  • Auctoritas - The sense of one's social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria.

  • Comitas - Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.

  • Clementia - Mildness and gentleness.

  • Dignitas - A sense of self-worth, personal pride.

  • Firmitas - Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one's purpose.

  • Frugalitas - Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly.

  • Gravitas - A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness.

  • Honestas - The image that one presents as a respectable member of society.

  • Humanitas - Refinement, civilization, learning, and being cultured.

  • Industria - Hard work.

  • Pietas - More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others.

  • Prudentia - Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.

  • Salubritas - Health and cleanliness.

  • Severitas - Gravity, self-control.

  • Veritas - Honesty in dealing with others.


The fourteen virtues of Marcus Aurelius


Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.
The Boondock Saints

Thursday, June 11, 2009

DARWIN QUOTE FOR THE DAY

"When we reflect on this struggle, we may console ourselves with the full belief, that the war of nature is not incessant, that no fear is felt, that death is generally prompt, and that the vigorous, the healthy, and the happy survive and multiply."
-- Source: ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

FOR THE TNG GEEKS OUT THERE


Felis Cattus, is your taxonomic nomenclature,
an endothermic quadruped carnivorous by nature?
Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills, and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

O Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

Data, "Schisms"



Tuesday, June 09, 2009

NDP IN NOVA SCOTIA

Well who would have thought! An NDP majority government east of Ontario. That is a remarkable feat. Following from here in Alberta, I was convinced the Liberal party was going to replace the Tory party in another minority. WOW! I stand corrected!!!
This Globe and Mail article is pretty good. The comments on it are passable, but nothing out of the ordinary or anything that jumps out at you. What I like about Dexter's policies, echoing the article, is that he moves the NDP away from the fringes of the left. In today's world climate, strong left or right wing policies will get you no where.

People want to feel safe, not radical. An example, of what I hope to be their style of government, was the NDP's opposition to the utility rate conservation surcharge. These things always irritate me!! The companies will benefit in the short-term and long-term from profits due to conservation measures. Paying for the infrastructure change and/or modification should not be incurred by the customer. This is jumping along the lines of theft in my books. You can read about Dex's opposition here.

It will be really interesting to see how Dexter implements the changes he is suggesting on his platform. Personally I am a fan of bullets 4 and 5. I would wager that the tax reduction on energy and a commitment to build up road infrastructure scored him some big votes in the rural sector.

I haven't been able to dig up who he is naming to cabinet - most likely because he has yet to name them :P Anyhow, I thought this voting history snapshot was pretty interesting. Cheers everyone.



Here's a snapshot of election results from Nova Scotia dating back to 1970


  • Oct. 13, 1970: Liberal 23, Progressive Conservative 21, NDP 2.


  • April 2, 1974: Liberal 31, Progressive Conservative 12, NDP 3.


  • Sept. 19, 1978: Liberal 17, Progressive Conservative 31, NDP 4.


  • Oct. 6, 1981: Liberal 13, Progressive Conservative 37, NDP 1, Independent 1.


  • Nov. 6, 1984: Liberal 6, Progressive Conservative 42, NDP 3, Cape Breton Labour Party 1.


  • Sept. 6, 1988: Liberal 20, Progressive Conservative 29, NDP 2, Independent 1.


  • May 25, 1993: Liberal 40, Progressive Conservative 9, NDP 3.


  • March 24, 1998: Liberal 19, Progressive Conservative 14, NDP 19.


  • July 27, 1999: Liberal 11, Progressive Conservative 30, NDP 11.


  • Aug. 5, 2003: Liberal 12, Progressive Conservative 25, NDP 15.


  • June 13, 2006: Liberal 9, Progressive Conservative 23, NDP 20.


The above information is from CP

Thursday, June 04, 2009

AS RELIGIOUS AS I GET

As I lay my ass upon the couch
I pray the Lord for Detroit to pounce
Upon the Penguins something fierce
So I may watch the replays of Crosbey's tears.
Should the heathens win before I wake
Please Lord burn the Penguins at the stake!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

MY JOB

What is it that you really do in your job?

My job is "sucking it up" and overcoming adversity. It is about subordinating oneself to the good of the group and persevering in order to survive what the mind creates as an adverse situation. This is what soldering is all about.

Spoken a by a troll lost somewhere in depths of our eastern countryside

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

CADETS DE GASCOGNE

This is from Scene VII, Act II of the play Cyrano de Bergerac, a French comedy play. It is a favorite of mine, so I figured a post was well worth the homage.

Ce sont les cadets de Gascogne
De Carbon de Castel-Jaloux;
Bretteurs et menteurs sans vergogne,
Ce sont les cadets de Gascogne !
Parlant blason, lambel, bastogne,
Tous plus noble que des filous,
Ce sont les cadets de Gascogne
De Carbon de Castel-jaloux :

Oeil d'aigle, jambe de cigogne,
Moustache de chat, dents de loups,
Fendant la canaille qui grogne,
Oeil d'aigle, jambe de cigogne,
Ils vont, - coiffés d'un vieux vigogne
Dont la plume cache les trous ! -
Oeil d'aigle, jambe de cigogne,
Moustache de chat, dents de loups !

Perce-Bedaine et Casse-Trogne
Sont leurs sobriquets les plus doux;
De gloire, leur âme est ivrogne !
Perce-Bedaine et Casse-Trogne,
Dans tous les endroits où l'on cogne
Ils se donnent des rendez-vous...
Perce-Bedaine et Casse-Trogne
Sont leurs sobriquets les plus doux !

Voici les cadets de Gascogne
Qui font cocus tous les jaloux !
O femme, adorable carogne,
Voici les cadets de Gascogne !
Que le vieil époux se renfrogne :
Sonnez, clairons ! chantez, coucous !
Voici les cadets de Gascogne
Qui font cocus tous les jaloux !


Wikipedia link

Saturday, May 16, 2009

OF YOU

This was written quite a few years ago and rehashed over and over again. Chord progression is pretty simple with a bit of palm muting.


.....E...............................A
1. Sometimes I think you're really mean
.....B7.......................................E
2. Like an acid droppin' harpy in a salad dream.
.....E............................A
3. Couldn't be too far from the truth,
....B7...........................E
4. I got it from you in a children's book.

Don't you worry its about the same
You couldn't change me that way anyways
Don't you worry its like anything else
I'm living like a mouse behind a shelf

Sometimes I think you're really cute
Like a rainbow with no love to mute
Can't you see that you cut those dreams
Like butter under a French guillotine

Don't you worry its about the same
You couldn't change me that way anyways
Don't you worry its like anything else
I'm living like a mouse behind a shelf

Sometimes I think that you're really mean
Like an acid droppin' harpy in a salad dream.
Couldn't be too far from the truth,
I got it from you in a children's book.

Can't you see I'm a human being
I've got feelings and a few dreams
Can't you see I"m a human being
I've got feelings and a few dreams

Sunday, May 10, 2009

IN PACE REQUIESCAT


With all the universe and no time,
Our fairy-tale, my Lady, be divine.
Sitting on top of mountain peaks
Staring down a valley bleak
The havoc wreaked by Ghangis Khan,
Holds no cup to being your pawn.

Had we all the universe and all the time
Perhaps our fair-tale, my Lady, would rhyme.
One thousand leagues under the sea,
Are eleven mermaids swimming in glee.
Those swimming angels when they sing,
Scream a song, my Love, of a forgotten ring.
On their floor they do etch
An oceanic poem sketch
On the eleventh of the tenth each year
On the midnight hour these words appear



"This is the Queen of Queens,
Gaze into my spell sweet fools
Forever in love as my tools"



If only we had a small piece of earth
Perhaps this tale may have a better birth.
Alas it is told with a short life as such,
With cryptic rhymes as a linguistic crutch.
To be buried alive with no life,
Forgotten in time wounded by strife.