jonny dover

"Sound" from SoundCloud on Vimeo.

This explains, at least partially, the reason I think John Cage's 4'33" is perhaps the most moving piece of music ever written.

http://cameronneylon.net/blog/how-to-waste-public-money-in-one-easy-step/ is worth reading. Let's create a better world.

I am not a fan of science fiction. Too often it is used in this Jetsons way where a regular, fairly boring story is told and the sci-fi part is there as the background. Thanks to nanotechnology or brainwave scanning or whatever device, we get to have a protagonist with super powers, or there is a threat constructed for humanity that arises from a misuse of technology. These stories fail, and they fail because science fiction is used as a crutch. It's one of any number of ways that the story can be executed. You could just as well tell most science fiction stories in Flintstones fashion, or with a wizard taking the role that technology plays.

Happily, this is not the case with Surrogates. This movie finds its technology integrated into not only the core of the narrative, but the core of what this particular piece of art means. It holds a mirror up to us, encouraging meditations on what it means to be human and what it means to relate to our creations. It asks questions that are vital to our very understanding of who we are. It is through these that it succeeds not only as a film (because that is surprisingly easy) but as a piece of art. One ponders about the nature of his interactions with the world itself. While there are some ham-handed foreshadowings, the story is a profoundly thoughtful one. I dearly love it.

The fields of science and punk rock share some surprising similarities, according to the people who love both.

I'd known about Greg Graffin of Bad Religion but a few of the other punk/science folks they mention are new to me. I love it when my interests come together!

The ever-clever Charlie Brooker produces a filthy, riotous recount of many of the points addressed by Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety. Tip of the hat to Open Culture.

There exist massive industries dedicated to convincing you that material possessions are the same thing as status which is the same thing as identity and those are arguably the two worst lies ever told.

A minute and a half of well-crafted bliss. Give it a spin.