Truly Universal Christmas

Yes, even I need to take current events into the account, and whether you like it or not, the fact still remains that some days are just worth writing about. The last really important even recently was probably Christmas.

Although I am no fierce Christian myself, it got me thinking. Obviously, for Christians, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the savior and son of God… For the more secular part of the society, Christmas is about having a good time with your family and getting presents (actually, I suppose this is really the same for Christians, it’s just that they also have Jesus as a bonus).

So, I was wondering, wouldn’t it be cool if all the nations in the world agreed on some international secular Christmas. Like a day when people are nice to each other, give and receive presents, and stop having quarrels for just a day. I know that most ‘Western’ Countries automatically take this day to be Christmas, but a lot of Muslims, for example stopped fighting during the Ramadan (I think that was in Afghanistan a couple of years ago).

I suppose an idea of an international and universal ‘Peace and Presents’ Day (a new name would have to be picked as to remove the religious implications of calling it Christmas) is not so horribly revolutionary, but there is one slight problem. I suppose most people in Europe and North America would assume that this day should coincide with Christmas, since they really don’t want to buy extra presents for their kids who would get presents for birthdays, Christmas and the ‘Peace and Presents’ Day – not that the kids would mind. I suppose other countries would also like to have their important days to be the most important day in the world. The Chinese would protest that their calendar is different every year and hence cannot fix a day on our calendar. Cuba and Venezuela would see this as yet another imperialist idea to exploit the working masses and the list of objections would just go on and on.

So really, either we all convert to one religion (which is a really BAD idea) or we can forget all about universal Christmas. Frankly, as long as there’s vacation, good time with one’s family and friends and at last, but not least, presents, you can call it whatever you want, but I’ll probably love it.

Peter

Why I Love Team Rocket

In the beginning of my blogging time, way back two years ago, I started with a loose series of articles ‘Why I Like…’ I meant to take that further, but I did not. It never occurred to me that I would go to that era to find ideas for 2007. But things like that happen all the time and little old skool stuff never killed anyone.

So, why write about Pokemon. To be honest, that show really pisses me off. The plot is always the same; the running jokes are actually quite lame and too repetitive in character. The characters are too flat for my taste and there is very little development. The show was OK when there were just 150 Pokemons. Now there’s 500+ and growing. The Pokemons’ names and powers are progressively more predictable and stupid. (No, I am not a critic; I’ve just got common sense).

Yet there’s something I really do enjoy about the show. Team Rocket. I do think that after they got blown up for the nth time by Pikachu, it’s not as funny anymore, but there’s more than what meets the eye.

Somehow, Team Rocket remind me very much of today’s pop-rock bands. They try so hard to be bad, to cause trouble for the establishment, to get the recognition they think they deserve. I’m not saying that all bands are like that, but quite a number is. They use predictable devices (tattoos, Mohawks and organizing wild parties), even their music is all the same. Team Rocket always sets the same kind of traps, recites their poem (which is the high point of any Pokemon episode) and use that stupid balloon in shape of Meowth’s head to try to get away.

The sad part is that while Team Rocket is ‘funny’ (in a way) and we laugh at their stupidity, we often seem to worship the pop-rock gods, thinking that these people will cause a revolution, change the way we think or at least make us think. Sadly, this hardly happens, because these pop-rock creations are just a vehicle for fame and money. Music is a side issue. As long as it is load, has guitars, catchy (though often shallow) lyrics and a Parental Advisory sticker, it’s good enough . Team Rocket and pop-rock bands aren’t really rebels, they just try to make money acting that way. That’s as just as bad as when an unnamed American pop-princess pretended to be a virgin in order to appeal to the public. Revolutions should not be started by posers, and if they are, they do not last very long. Couple of years ago, every ‘cool’ girl used to wear a tie over her normal clothes (a la Avril). Today the same girls participate in an equally new cool craze, a craze that has just as much value as the ones before.

Thankfully, it seems that recently, there is some real talent popping up and making a name for themselves in the business. Let’s hope that the wave of commercial pop-rock and commercial music in general is losing force. But it’s far too early to judge. All I can do is wait…

And that’s why Team Rocket is so much better, funnier and that’s why I love them.

Peter

PS: And that’s me, a Madonna fan, criticizing commercialism in music industry. So I really think it’s that bad.

Dystopia High Characters 1: Dominica Jones

Last time we talked about Andy Rogers, the chameleon in the outcast group. We already mentioned that Andy’s strengths are the flexibility of the character and plenty of space for further development.

I felt that Andy needed another person in the gang to balance. A person who is clear about their goals, someone with a lot of talent and potential, someone who knows what they want. Someone who does not need to undergo massive changes, but someone we’ll need to learn to appreciate over time, and someone, who with small character development can become a real favorite. I also needed to make someone more ‘normal’ to balance for Andy’s plain weirdness.

Dominica, in my mind, quickly became a dominatrix-esque character in my mind, without the sexual undertones, of course. Trimming down the details and making her seem like an emancipated bitch (who can soften down) took some time, but in the end, she is quite a whole character.

Dominica Jones

• Gender: Female
• Age: 16
• Eye color: blue
• Hair color: blond
• Religion: None
• School: Dystopia High

Dominica was the first ever outcast in her school. Although Dominica is very good looking, she keeps a lot of distance. She is a real ‘ice queen’ and treats most people like dirt. She has a very forceful personality and expects people to fall with her plans. She wants everything, the sooner the better. The reason she did not make it into a group is mainly due to her individualism and lack of warm, spontaneous personality. In some aspects, she is almost inhuman, but she can be quite sympathetic and always fulfills her promises. She is loyal to her friends, but has the ability to piss them off with honesty.

Bradley St. Jay/ The Big 2008 Revamp

Who is Bradley? And why am I writing about him?

It’s actually quite weird. I have never met him, I don’t really know what he looks like and his real name could be anything in the world. By now you might have guessed that Bradley and I know each other via the internet. It was in late 2003 when I discovered that my Hotmail e-mail address comes with a profile page (after the profile they added the space, but that’s all known history). I suppose my profile was a bit weird, containing very little information and since I was too lazy to put up my own picture on there, I just used images that I got on the internet.

During the months my profile image was Warhol’s oh-so-famous Marylin, Hindenburg on fire, a tissue and lots of other stuff that has very little to do with me. One of those images was a really nice (graphically) USSR flag with the letters CCCP in a really cool font. And guess what, something happened back then, because I got a comment form someone saying: “Why did you put the USSR flag on your profile?”.

Well, since then I have herd from a friend of mine (who happens to have a CCCP jumper) that people wearing this symbol are often taken to be communist, haters of freedom and democracy. But back then, I just replied: “It just looked cool, you know.” And so I came into contact with Bradley St. Jay, a guy of roughly my age who claims to live in Florida, but was born in New York City. From his e-mails over the years, it seems he’s very proud of his New Your City descent, even though I have no idea why.

I usually don’t maintain email friendships very well, but it was different with Bradley, probably because I never felt I had to write to him, or perhaps because our correspondence was about two/three sentences a month.

So, why bore you with the details of my acquaintance with Bradley. Well, because I have decided that he will become a contributor to this blog, I have seen some of his stuff on his Windows Space and it’s quite good (probably better than mine). He is quite fierce about not letting anyone but his friends see it, because as he claims, “outsiders would not get it”. In 2oo8, he promised to write 10 pieces, and 1 piece will be published every week (Honestly, how much longer can you expect me to come up with all the ideas).

This blog will therefore get a new name, a new image and a new “About Us” page sometimes around Christmas or even earlier.

Looking forward to Bradley’s first piece on here.

Merry Christmas

Peter S (& Bradley)

One Of These Days

One of these days will be the best day in your life. Or at least, in my life.

One of these days, I’ll start to take things seriously, I will focus more on my studies. I will sort out my life and will do more exercise. One of these days I will start eating more fruit, be more helpful to others. Basically, one of these days, I will certainly become a better person. I will also get part time job to earn some extra money.

I am quite looking forward to one of these days, although I realize that without any initiative on my part, one of these days will never come. I am simply too lazy and wait for everything to come my way. Not that this approach to living is not advantageous. It certainly helps me to lower my short term expectations and allows for a stress-free lifestyle. The problem is that in the long term, it won’t get me that far.

Procrastination. A beautiful word for a twisted process. But I know that all will be well in the end. Because one of these days, I will find the will power…

So you see, I’m kinda screwed:)

Life should not be taken too seriously. The ruthless justify their behavior by saying: “I’d rather live as a tiger for a year than a 100 years as a sheep”. I say: “I’d rather spend one year doing absolutely nothing than a 100 years working really hard”. Or maybe do nothing for half a year, and then working for the 50 years. That makes a nicer balance, doesn’t it?

Peter

Formstudy 1.6

The last of the form study creations you’ll see this year.

The idea was pretty simple, a three dimensional composition consisting of the main space defining elements (line, surface and a volume).

With my love for the abstract and straightforward and the ability to attach things at right angles to each other I created this little something.

Unlike some of my earlier efforts, I actually like it, it is very minimal, but has some great details (like the wooden sticks that are actually a part of the expanded polystyrene volume and the volumes in one of the sections only touching at their edge and not surface).

I have no idea what kid of grade I got, but I hope it’s not all that bad. I am confident I did not fail , but that’s about it. I’ll know more next year.

Merry Christmas

Peter S

Update 24/1/2008

I got 8/10. Yay. Three cheers for me. 

The Myth

Sometimes, I am amazed at the amount of free time I have. One of my friends called the amount of my output ‘impressive’, so I guess I DO have too much free time. But that’s neither here nor there. What I realized lately was my amazing ability to act like an accomplished writer. I know that i am, in fact, a bit clumsy in my grammar, my arguments often don’t make sense (even to me) and that what I write is usually completely random.

Let’s assume that we all want to be better individuals. There is nothing wrong with that. Self improvement is a very admirable thing. But we also need to take into account that people are impatient. I don’t know about the rest of you, but if I could chose, I’d rather have it all right now. So we bluff. We act and pretend like we’re already there. Or, in order not to anger any of the readers, I act like that. I apologize for that, but I suppose if you want to make it to the top, you have to exaggerate and bluff your way up there. So I decided to publish my top 10 entries so far and i went pretty well. But of course, in the cosmic sense, my top ten is even less interesting than breakfast.

How many pop stars diverted our attention from their poor singing by being hot? More than enough. How many people act like rock stars even if they really didn’t do anything in their life? I suppose a lot of us act more important than we are. Just watch Super Sweet 16. What makes a 15 year old American rich girl think that James Blunt will come to sing at her party? But come on, if you think you can get James Blunt, why not go for someone more expensive. Why not call Brad Pitt and Angelina with Kids to make a cameo. Or have Madonna throw you a huge show with Micheal Jackson doing the choreography. Maybe invite Paris Hilton; I’m sure all she’d need from is a couple of millions (I think Brangelina, Madge and the King of Pop would be just a bit more expensive).

So, it seems that many people do a lot of things to seem impressive, to create a myth about themselves. The difference whether you try to make the myth all by yourself (like me in my case) or whether you need others to help you (like that American girl in SS16) is not all that important when you look at the goals. We both want to be remembered for something that we created. We want attention. but the myth we create is like a shield. It’s nice and shiny, so people will naturally flock to see it, but slowly the person behind it is forgotten. It is not the person we admire, it is the myth they create. And the more people flock to see, the more the myth feeds upon itself, unless it becomes completely irrelevant what the person behind the myth did, is doing and whether they are doing it well.

Examples are found everywhere, especially in showbiz, but also art (Warhol), architecture (Le Corbusier), literature, politics(you know the whole cult of personality) and many more. Most of the time this myth is not something that should worry us, but it is quite pleasant to be known for something. Sometimes, we just shake our heads about some myths and try not to laugh (or cry?) about it, just like in the case of Paris Hilton. And very rarely, a myth can be quite destructive. Hitler was so crafty that when he re militarized Rhineland in 1936, he had the whole world believe that he had a proper army and that he wanted peace anyways, which is one of the reasons that the Brits and Frenchies did not stop him. Appeasement lead to WW 2, which lead to the Soviet occupation of eastern Europe, which totally screwed over many countries, including Czechoslovakia where I was born.

So, beware of myths. Especially when a person with a lot of power creates a strong myth about themselves, it’s better to check your facts before you decide (not) to act. I’m not saying that we should beware of Paris Hilton (I can’t see why anyone would care), but we do need to beware of the people with real power, the leaders, who can start wars, but also end them. Never let someone fool you, because once they do, it doesn’t have to end pretty.

Peter

Words

‘But the upper classes, they know it’s just words. It’s “pass me the facking grouse” all the time with ‘em’

Rita from Educating Rita

I think that the fact that I started really learning English when I was 11 has a lot to do with the kind of words I use. Especially curses.

I have no trouble saying the F-word occasionally to spice up a conversation. I’m not saying that every other word I say or write is a curse, but I noticed that my English friends, even when agitated, swear very occasionally, and not at all during a normal conversation.

But I don’t consider myself rude. In my own language, I would never say the F-word. It seems that it’s really the nurture which shapes our vocabulary. If you lived your whole life with (decent) English speaking parents, you are probably less likely to use swear words in your casual conversation. But when you start learning a new language, your parents aren’t there to tell you what words you should not use. Your teacher never says: “Now children, this is how you say the F-word in Spanish/French/Japanese. But do not say that word, or I’ll have your parents ground you/reduce your allowance/bury you alive.”

In fact, this is what we miss. Not that we need some omnipotent moral authority to tell us what’s right and wrong, but we do need to understand that there really are people offended by those words. We should know that although it’s possible to insert certain words and phrases into your sentence structure, it should not be done just like that and that some consideration for the native speakers must be given.

Here, this side of the argument breaks off, and we begin with the counter-argument…

Just like Rita says in the play, they are just words, and the meaning that we gave them is the meaning they carry. That doesn’t justify their common use, but we must understand that words are meant to be spoken and written. It’s a bit of a hypocrisy really. You say: ‘Here you have all the words in the world, but there are special seven words (thirteen if you’re a sailor – Mr Krabs) you must never use’. Why invent them in the first place. Shouldn’t it be better to not include them in the dictionary and try to forget all about their existence? No, because besides the fact that this would be very 1984-esque, we must realize that everyone is offended by something else. Besides the 7 crown jewels of foul language, there are countless other words that some groups of people consider offensive; such as racial slurs, childhood nicknames (‘brace face’), or names for things we’d rather never had (fascism, H-bomb).

So you cannot be all surprised if someone like Madonna says: ‘People don’t want to hear “fuck” on television after 10 PM?’, because, she’s essentially correct, even if completely rude. Young kids should not be watching after 10 PM, and if you know that someone will say the F-word in a show, you can change the channel (see how good you have it, people who live in dictatorships usually don’t even have this trivial choice and have to listen to obscenities of their leaders all the time).

So, it is possible to avoid the F-word and the other infamous words. And, judging by my English friends, who are exposed to swear words on TV about as much as I am, I would suppose that if you provide guidance early on, your children will not grow up to be foul mouthed brats.

I suppose that we’ll have to deal with these words until the end of time, and maybe that’s not bad thing. They teach us respect and self-control, something that cannot be said about words like ‘bunny’ or ‘kitty’. And don’t worry, only a small portion of grown ups (usually in showbiz), like Samuel L Jackson use curse-words to earn living (because he’s tired of those motherfucking snakes…), and the chance that any kid is the new Samuel L Jackson is really slim indeed.

Peter S

Form Study 1.5

This form study assignment was about the most artsy thing I’ll ever do.

We were basically given a cardboard plate 40cm by 40 cm with 3 large areas, each are shaded in a different way. Our job was to add elements to make it pretty.

My idea was to have something Mondriaan-esque, so I pasted brightly colored rectangles to the composition. The order is essentially random, even though it has to be said that the elements are always lined up parallel to the sides of the board and are often aligned in a given direction. The mirroring pieces in the composition ask for the active involvement of the spectator and always create a unique personal experience.

There’s not much else to say, except perhaps that I got 8/10 and the teacher commented on ‘how much is happening in there’ and that it’s quite bright, but I guess that’s OK.

OMG, They Stole My iPod 2/ The Most Obscure Sh*t Ever

The following took place 30 November 2007. Kind of.

If you did not, then you certainly should read the entry called OMG, They Stole My iPod! You Bastards. You just really need the background info.

So I suppose that the grocery retail industry has, in fact, been stealing my iPod and looking at the kind of music I have there. I am, naturally very frightened, as I should be, because if I wake up one night, and see one of the ninjas stealing my iPod, he might throw some Asiatic weapons at me and kill me.

So how do I know I’m being followed?

I usually do not notice the music they play in these shops, but they just happened to be playing Madonna’s 1987 Causing A Commotion. OK. After some research, I actually found out that in its day, Causing A Commotion was quite a hit in America and the UK. But now, after 20 years, I assumed it was forgotten. I mean, sure, we still know Madonna songs like Like A Virgin or Material Girl, but not Causing A Commotion. That is like the most obscure sh*t ever.

We all know Micheal Jackson for Thriller and Billie Jean, but we don’t play his minor hits from 20 years ago. Therefore, someone is following me, it cannot be explained otherwise.

And it’s not just here in Holland. I noticed during the summer, that one radio station in Slovakia played only the ballad Rain from Madonna’s oh so massive repertoire. If the 1987 song was a hit, then Rain was poop. Not that it’s so bad, it just comes from one of Madonna’s less commercially successful albums (due to SEX) and during its time (1993) it was a minor hit.

So it seems there is a global conspiracy that’s trying to steal my iPod and make everyone listen to the kind of music I like. For your sake, I am keeping my iPod under lock and key in a Swiss Bank safe. Not that I am ashamed of what I like, I just know the majority of population doesn’t. So why do they put obscure songs that no-one remembers, knows or wants to hear on the radio? Did the global conspiracy copy my iPod Library and left the iPod with me to give me a false sense of security. Let’s keep the music on the radio temporary, and let’s keep the fan favorites from 15-20 years ago on our iPods.

Peter