Bootwhistle
After trying my darnedest (I'm aware of the language) to avoid reading any news, I became so bored that I spent about an hour looking at news stories from the wonderful world wide web. It seems blogging has come under scrutiny in a number of incidents, Apple sued to find the identity of bloggers who released product information, bloggers attacked the mainstream media and the media of course fired back, and microsoft is implementing censorship on blogs originating in China. My favourite quote concerned salivating morons (bloggers) who made up a lynch mob prevailing, this was due to harsh critisism from the blogging community (really why do people care?) over some comment made by a CNN news executive that was take out of context. After reading the article I realized that while blogging is quite an easy way to voice opinions... it reminded me of my previously expressed beliefs... en masse people are 'salivating morons'. Nowadays having access to a computer and internet does not an intelligent person make. On the one hand I'm flabbergasted that a community of bloggers could force the resignation of an respected news exec, but then was that really an effective or even purposefull use of that power. Blogging is great but I have to admit it doesn't require much thought or forces bloggers to in any way think about what they are writing. While I'm sure that there are some bloggers who carefully review issues before ranting like foaming madmen (no disrespect intended to actual raving madmen), most seem to take a more reactionary - dare I say American, approach. The same sort of issues surrounded email and perhaps still do, people would often send of emails without thinking about the consequences, in many cases out of anger or a misguided sense of humor. The unlucky found themselves unemployed since they never stopped to think about what they were saying in their mails. That's the problem with technology, everything is so instant that people need to step back and realize that we have a brain to reason... not enable a return to animalistic reactionary impulses. Speaking of which I think I'm hungry, maybe I'll go hunt a rabbit.

Sometimes there are things that are just too much, or really I get upset because I watch too much tv... but anyway, on the BBC today there was an inordinate amount of time spent on a news story that I couldn't really care that much about. I even refuse to acknowledge the name and subject as that would perpetuate an already overblown coverage of this case (lets just say it involves a celebrity acting inappropriately). What galled me to no end is that they even went so far as to interview the jurors in the trial... what the hell is going on? Am I alone in thinking that there is no possible way that could be a good thing, and the media had the idea that maybe they didn't get enough access since the judge read the jurors notes in private. If only as much interest was shown in events that truly mattered *cough* iraq *cough*. Then after thinking a while, I remembered why the media covered this 'circus' in the first place... the masses are friggin idiots. I do include myself in that category, it is increasingly becoming my opinion that no matter how intelligent individuals are as a collective they are dumber than a sack of rotten potatoes. Democracy is great, a wonderful ideal for a utopian world... which is why it doesn't really work in reality. It is based on the idea that there is an informed and engaged electorate, which is hardly ever the case. While dealing with daily life keeping up with politics and screening out bullshit takes a back seat to earning a decent wage, taking care of family and then trying to enjoy what little time there is left for some relaxation. When people show up at a voting booth whatever opinions they have are made from quick impressions and various political ads, which are about the biggest piles of bullshit around - with news being a close second. Seriously, to consider any televised news fact is akin to drilling holes in your head because you have a headache. All news is biased, next time you listen to the news and listen carefully to the wording, the language used couches opinions that try to put forth a particular viewpoint... some stations are a little better than others but none are guilt free. One has to always questions what is being said and especially what is being left out of the conversation. Ahem, getting back to my original point... uhm, lets see... it was about the media being controlled by the influences of ratings and how stupid people are to demand news about the fake lives of celebrities rather than the life and death struggles taking place around the world. So I repeat, the masses have the collective intelligence of a rotten sack of potatoes... on acid... or crack... whichever is worse... ah lets just say both.

Bootwhistle
Time seems to be flying at an alarmingly fast rate recently, it almost seems like yesterday I was taking an ungodly bus ride to come to Victoria BC. Now almost a year has past and am currently living in summer residence with a few other people from the same floor of my building... actually I really don't have too much worth blogging about personally... politically and internationally there are some incredibly stupid and annoying things going on but I don't have the energy right now to actually get angry over them. Is this a sign of the times? The fact that governments can get away with so much is that people aren't able to summon enough energy to care? It makes sense, people rarely know what they are even voting about, a case in point occured when I was working as a voting clerk at the BC provincial elections. There was a referendum vote about whether or not there should be a reformation of the voting system, we were told before hand what it was about but then also told we could not in any explain it to people to asked what it was. Apparently there wasn't even any advertising about it! Of course most people hadn't a clue about what the heck this thing was about so I'm sure they just guessed and did their ballot, a few people declined the ballot since they didn't know what it was about but to state again that was a minority. Actually I probably should make an effort to find out the results of that referendum... nah, too much effort to take an interest in politics, besides what does it matter anyway?

I would like to say that nothing much is going on, in a sense that is true when looking from one persepective... unfortunately an object seemingly at rest is still under the influence of a number of forces. Bah, enough with the metaphors they give me a headache... I suppose I've recently requestioned the puprose of existance, not that I"m in any way qualified to do so... just have a lot of time on my hands. The further one steps back to look at the "big picture" the more one loses a sense of self.. or perhaps realizes the insignificance of their own existance. Then again why should people be worries about whether or not their lives have any meaning, not being particularly religious I don't prescribe to the "god's will" thing... in fact I'm more of the opinion god really has no plan for us... so while I still believe in god that doesn't mean I think he has a personal stake in who wins this years grammies.
Ranting is fun, you honestly don't have to make much sense as long as it is semi-literate and has a bit of an angry edge to it... moving on. I believe I started this post in order to crystalize my thoughts on existance, to that end this post has failed utterly, sigh, well let's take another look at our life's purpose from a societal view.

Step 1: Be born, learn how to conform and integrate into society, learn skills to
benifit said society

Step 2: Find employment in order to survive in society and buy goods in order to support the economy.

Step 3: Decide on a socially acceptable life partner and procreate as much as financially viable.

Step 4: Procede to die in a manner that causes the least amount of expense and inconvience to society.

This might be a little cynical but when you get right down to it... that's basically the sum of ones expected existance. I've noticed more and more that the idea of our place in society is to be an individual block that is self-sustaining and easily replacable... and in one sense that is logical from a purely mechanical view of our civilization. Whether or not it is the best or 'right' view is not for me to question, rather it is "do I want to be another block in society?". Sure one can live ones life in total fufillment, have a nice job a beautifal wife a couple of kids , throw in a dog and maybe a weekend cottage... but is that the purpose of my existance? Just to perpetuate the society I live in? And society isn't something that you can live outside of and exist very comfortably... I love my modern convieninces, and computer games, and television, and yes even McDonalds... what I can't decide on is how I can live in society without falling into my own little block, or replacable cog. Ah well, this is making my head hurt so maybe I'll just go and watch fight club or something. later.