Monday, July 18, 2011

"Green" Activism and its History

Green activism has been around for millions of years, it is second nature to the earth itself. To renew, to recycle, to rid of the old toxicicity and create new health. This nature, this behavior would then be adapted and copied by the inhabitants of said ecosystem. Why not? As it is only "natural". Our own bodies! The way our bodies operate, the organism is an ecological friendly and "Green" living example. From there on, after the many years and tribes flourished in this planet, many new behaviors were adapted. These behaviors were only "actions" copied from an "actor", the human only copies and modifies after the years but never creates! The constant travel and spread of these people and their behaviors allowed them and others to see their way of life. They, the people, with the nomadic style of life were able to see different behaviors and were able to imitate them and take them to where ever they moved. The people learned from their surroundings as to how to live in this new place, they quickly adapted to their surroundings, as it is only of human capacity to do so! As the tribes flourished behaviors spread, ideas came and went, the tribes would then later develop systems of trades, only copied this idea from nature. The people traded ways of life, they traded language, they traded ideas, and they shared what they knew! Living at peace with the one! Living according to the rules and limits of nature!
From these tribes, cultures and ethnicities originated, with a set of beliefs proven to be correct according to their habitat, for now they had settled and built a static "home". (This of course also copied from nature; a home) These tribes, over the years would prove and modify their beliefs, their behavior and would then use to them cal them truths and laws to which abide to. Still, they followed THE WAY, they were observants for many years and were able to identify THE WAY. In short, they lived true to their nature! They were "Green" as we would vulgarly say today! It is then, with this image in my mind that I question as to why the prostitution of our own nature? Why the commercialization of our own selves? Why must we sell and advertise who and what we are? Where did we go wrong? Surely, I might be incorrect in some of my logic but that is where YOU come in. Can you see this? Can you see the pattern, the way? Do you agree that the idea of being "Green" is nothing more than true nature to the human being? How did we lose this nature? Is this what they call Evolution? Adapting? What is making us come back to this primal instinct/behavior? Why now?

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Old Paper-The String Theory.


The String Theory is a fascinating new theory that has revolutionized the world of physics since the last twenty years. The String Theory basically claims that taking in account the force of gravity and current knowledge of physics the smallest unit; smaller than the atom and quark everything is made of strings. This monistic metaphysical belief has its roots since the early pre-Socratic era of philosophy. The String Theory can be “dissected” and studied for what it is, just another attempt of a philosopher to make true of the world. This is exactly why we must stop to analyze and look back on other theory such as the one in topic and ask, “Has it worked? And will it work?” Whatever may be the answer we must not forget that it is only a theory and still in the process of experimentation.



  
            Philosophy as some might refer to it, is the father of all sciences, the starting point for every branch of studies; biology, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, etc. Major breakthroughs in science, math, and technology have occurred in the last centuries for it had not been for philosophers. Great thinkers leave their legacies; their studies for future generations to discover the many enigmas of this world. Their work is a starting line for those who think alike and want to put an answer to age-old questions. Since the beginning of time many have wondered and wondered, some have not only wondered, but set out on a journey to discover the truth. Of the many journeys taken, physics, the study of how matter reacts in earth in relation to time, space, and energy. Physicists are always trying to find molds that will fit into how the world reacts and make it rational through math; their recent theory, the sting theory, does exactly this. The theory of the Strings is relatively new in the world of physics; but its principle is no stranger in the world of philosophy. The theory of the Strings can be explained and related to philosophy by its most basic idea, the idea that the whole world is made out of strings. This is why when viewing the String theory under a philosophical perspective, the grains of such idea is simply one involving the monistic metaphysical theory that the world is made of one thing. However it should only be left at that, for it is a philosophy explained with some mathematics, we shouldn’t entirely depend on such observations.
            Human nature compels us to contemplate and ask about our provenance; why are we here? Early Greek philosophers certainly left a vast number of dilemmas for future philosophers who would answer with math and science. Take for instance Empedocles, a Greek philosopher part scientist from 500 BC. Empedocles was the first to argue that matter, the consistency of things, was made from elements. Empedocles proposed elements were Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, from these “basic” elements everything in the world was constructed. “How from the mingling of the elements, The Earth and Water, the Ether and the Sun So many forms and hues of mortal things Could thus have being, as have come to be” (Leonard, 1908). Democritus, who would come a few decades after Empedocles, would take this idea a step farther. Democritus noticed that when taking said element, for example a rock, inside this rock even more small particles were present. These observations led Democritus to discover what he called the “atomos”. He described the atomos as the smallest unit of the whole and believed the atomos to be indestructible. “The material cause of all things that exist is the coming together of atoms and void. Atoms are too small to be perceived by the senses. They are eternal and have many different shapes, and they can cluster together to create things that are perceivable. Differences in shape, arrangement, and position of atoms produce different things. By aggregation they provide bulky objects that we can perceive with our sight and other senses” (Nahm, 1962). Years later after Democritus had discovered the atom; Epicurus came and took his idea only to perfection it.  Epicurus not only agreed with Democritus, but also came to the idea that in fact the atoms were responsible for the makeup things. And it wasn’t only atoms that predetermined what could be created or not, but it was the “swerve” that randomized the outcome. The “swerve” was Epicurus solution to how things changed; for him nothing ceased to exist but only changed. “The universe has always been the same as it now is.’ This principle is known to us as the law of indestructibility and uncreatibility of matter” (DeWitt, 1954). What many infer from such claim is that nothing can be destroyed or created. Which would lead to French chemist Lavoisier to the “Law of Conservation of Mass” which basically re-states what Epicurus had found; that matter cannot be destroyed, it only changes but its consistency stays the same. All of these basic observations done by early philosophers lead future scientists to work with such findings. Today not only do we have more than four elements, we have more than one hundred. Democritus was not far when he stated that the atom existed but today not only do we know that the atom exists, but also that it is in fact the essential being for anything. These ideas, Democritus, Empedocles, and Epicurus lead to what we know as today the Law of Conservation of Energy. There seems to be a relation between scientists and philosophers, scientists are philosophers who make true of their beliefs through not only observation but also mathematics.
            In an online Physics and Astronomy Forum called PhysLink.com, a person by the name of John asked, “What is the String Theory and who came up with it?”According to Brent Nelson, M.A. Physics, Ph.D. Student, UC Berkeley, the theory dates back to 1986 when in a September 1986 article of Scientific American by the title of ‘Superstrings’ Michael Green first introduced this concept. Brent Nelson points out that the string theory is one of the theories that seem to explain many things, it is still in everlasting change because of new technology that modifies certain aspects of the theory. The string theory is basically a theory that states that the whole world is made up of various types of strings. These strings react to various forces that act upon these ropes, thus making them move.  This theory as of right now is one of the most commonly used to study physics; it is sort of a temporary answer to the question of what is this world made of? In another website Alberto Güijosa, a researcher from the Department of High Energy Physics of the Institute for Nuclear Science at Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM), further explains this concept. “Ordinary matter is made of atoms, which are in turn made of just three basic components: electrons whirling around a nucleus composed of neutrons and protons. The electron is a truly fundamental particle (it is one of a family of particles known as leptons), but neutrons and protons are made of smaller particles, known as quarks. Quarks are, as far as we know, truly elementary” (Güijosa, 1998). Normal matter can be described as such; however, when presented with the problem of gravity, there seemed to be something missing. “The essential idea behind string theory is this: all of the different 'fundamental ' particles of the Standard Model are really just different manifestations of one basic object: a string. How can that be? Well, we would ordinarily picture an electron, for instance, as a point with no internal structure. A point cannot do anything but move. But, if string theory is correct, then under an extremely powerful 'microscope' we would realize that the electron is not really a point, but a tiny loop of string. A string can do something aside from moving--- it can oscillate in different ways. If it oscillates a certain way, then from a distance, unable to tell it is really a string, we see an electron. But if it oscillates some other way, well, then we call it a photon, or a quark, or a ... you get the idea. So, if string theory is correct, the entire world is made of strings!”(Güijosa, 1998). Such theory seems to be the answer when faced with the problem of gravity, as already stated. This is why the String Theory is causing such a revolt amongst the physics world, because they finally seem to have answered one of many questions. This theory seems to be  perfect fit to describe as to what the world is composed of, however numerous amount of calculations to determine if such thing is true have been done over the past thirty years. Still, since the first time mentioned, such theory has not been proven, it is still in the testing.
            So far the String Theory shows lots of similarities with many early philosophers and their idea of what The One was. The One, that which is everything the only thing that stays never-changing, in other words; the constant variable. For Thales the Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher The One was water. Thales believed that everything in the world; trees, animals, mountains, etc. were constructed from water. Heraclitus claimed that the one was the changing, that everything itself is ever changing. That in fact everything in this world was partially made of changing. Parmenides believed the one was a mysterious substance; this mysterious substance was in all. The mysterious substance didn’t really answer anything it was just a way of explaining Parmenides reason for the one. Zeno another pre-Socratic philosopher stated that the one was actually ideas in general. Zeno thought that it was our ideas that shaped what the world looked like. All of these philosophers viewed life in a monistic view; their metaphysics stated that they perceived reality to be made of only one thing. Like these philosophers, physicists believe that the world is made of one thing; in the case of the String Theory, strings.
            String theory as already explained; contains the main metaphysical idea that the world is made of strings. This idea is also viewed in the historical context of philosophy; they both share the same elementary ideas. The only difference is that physicists do not mainly focus on the ideas or observations of the world; they do not contemplate, in the other hand; they make calculations based on observations. For several centuries we have trusted what these persons have written and said. Our whole educational system has been majorly based upon philosophies proven by observations and mathematics. John Locke argues that science and its views is nothing more than a person’s point of view on the world, just like any other person would. More importantly is that theories based on observations cannot be one-hundred percent accurate.  They cannot be taken into full consideration because even our senses can fool us, we cannot be certain in fact if what we are seeing is true. Locke in one of his epistemological claims argues that in fact knowledge is the agreement of our ideas. “We have hitherto considered those Ideas, in the reception whereof, the Mind is only passive, which are those simple ones received from Sensation and Reflection before-mentioned, whereof the Mind cannot make anyone to it self, nor have any Idea which does not wholy consist of them. But as these simple Ideas are observed to exist in several Combinations united together; so the Mind has a power to consider several of them united together, as one Idea; and that not only as they are united in external Objects, but as itself has joined them. Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call Complex; such as are Beauty, Gratitude, a Man, an Army, the Universe; which tough complicated various simpleIdeas, made up of simple ones, yet are, when the Mind pleases, considered each by if self, as one entire thing, and signified by one name” (Locke, 1894). This claim certainly makes one think, and truly analyze in deep what is science? In this case, the String Theory is nothing more than a person trying to make true of the world he perceives. Which makes us think? “What else has been nothing but opinions? What really have we learnt?” Well some may argue that knowledge does not exist, that is purely just recollection of experiences from our souls. Others argue that in fact we do have knowledge and that sciences prove many things in this world. Which one applies?
            The String Theory is simply yet another metaphysical philosophy; it is only an attempt to explain the world. However one cannot disregard that for the past centuries these ideologies have seem to work and helped us understand more of the world in which we live in. Perhaps it is not only just an attempt to make the world rational, maybe it does work. History has proven to be favorable for the sciences and the philosophies that support its cause. Whatever may be the case, one thing is clear; that in fact philosophy is all around us. Philosophy may be unappreciated by many, forgotten if you may; but it is still present in all aspects of our lives. If not for philosophy never would we learn about chemistry, physics, nor would anything may have been discovered. If it not had been for the philosopher inside every great inventor, scientists, mathematician, politician, etc. society would indeed fall apart. A world without philosophers would simply be pointless; “the goal of every generation of people on this planet would be to duplicate, as closely as possible, the beliefs of previous generations. Lacking habits of philosophical criticism and independence, the Old Way would be not only the Best Way but also the Only Way. Philosophy began, and continues to develop, by ceaselessly arguing that there are far better ways than the Old Way” (Company, & philosophie, 1999). Philosophy is the only window that humans have that enables us to peek into what reality might be. Philosophy as used by such scientists should be a tool to be used when trying to find an explication for our problems. It should be used to examine our way of life, our society, and perhaps help us understand the habitants of the world so that we can live in harmony.
           
              

Reference Page
Company, H.W., & philosophie, Université. (1999).International philosophical bibliography. 1999.
DeWitt, N.W. (1954). Epicurus & his philosophy. London, Bombay, and Karachi: Geoffrey Cumberlege: Oxford University Press.
Güijosa, A. (1998, December). What is String theory? Retrieved from http://www.nuclecu.unam.mx/~alberto/physics/string.htm
Leonard, W. E. (1908). The Fragments of Empedocles. Chicago, IL: The Open Court Publishing Company.
Locke, J. (1894). An Essay concerning human understanding. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
Nahm, M.C. (1962). Selections from early Greek philosophy . Cambridge, England: The University Press.



Now, the question, to you, the reader. What do you think that our reality, our universe, our existence is composed of? Matter? An idea(s)? An emotion? Nothing? There is no such thing? Or what? I want to hear from you!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Despierten Ya Mexicanos!

Pues aqui les vengo otra vez, ya hacia mucho tiempo que no escribia por aqui. Hoy les tengo algo aca chido. Hemos estado un poco ocupados, no hemos tenido tiempo para sentarme y escribir como lo hacia antes. En fin, aqui les va una cancion de Ignacio Lopez Tarso, que mas bien que cancion; narracion. Aqui les va, Ignacio Lopez Tarso con Despierten Ya Mexicanos!


Cancion Revolucionaria-Despierten Ya Mexicanos
Despierten ya mexicanos,
los que no han podido ver,
que andan derramando sangre
por subir a otro al poder.
¡Pobre nación mexicana!
qué mala ha sido tu suerte;
tus hijos todavía quieren
mas en la desgracia verte.
Mira a mi patria querida,
nomás como va quedando;
que esos hombres más valientes,
todos los van traicionando.
¿Dónde está el jefe Zapata?
¿Qué esa espada ya no brilla?;
¿dónde esta el bravo del Norte
que era don Francisco Villa?
Fueron líderes primero
que empuñaron el acero;
hasta subir al poder
a don .
pues cuando subió al poder;
 y Zapata
los quiso desconocer.
Yo no he visto candidato
que no sea convenenciero;
cuando suben al poder
no conocen compañero.
Zapata le dijo a Villa:
–Ya perdimos el albur;
tu atacarás por el Norte,
yo atacaré por el Sur.
Ya con ésta me despido
porque nosotros nos vamos;
que termina el corrido:
Despierten ya mexicanos.
Dicen los que saben, que la verdad es eternamente incambiable, eh aqui en estas estrofas un mero ejemplo. Esta cancion la puedes escuchar ya sea en la epoca de la revolucion o ya hoy en dia y la situacion aun no ha cambiado. Ya hace mas de cien años que esta cancion fue escrita y uno podria jurar que fue ayer que la escribieron. Aqui el escritor manda un llamado a todos los mexicanos que duermen mientras la vida sigue. Despierten! Miren! Abran los ojos! Que acaso no ven? O nada mas NO QUIEREN ver? La cruda realidad es que hay muerte eh injusticia a nuestro alrededor! El narrador continua con la gran proclamacion de que la lucha por el poder es la cuna de la desgracia de nuestro poder. Uno tendria que notar que esta observacion no solamente aplica a Mexico si no a todo el mundo! Pero para eso, al rato lo desenvolvemos completamente.



Pobre Nacion Mexicana es la frase correcta! Pobre gente de la cual los poderosos se burlan cada dia! Es la historia sin fin. Es la historia de un pueblo de gente que jamas aprendera a disntiguir entre la realidad y el sueño! Como dice aquel dicho, "Nos durmieron con un cuento" y no despertamos, pero el sueño como todo aquel sueño es un recuerdo vago de lo que tal vez reconocemos como la vida real o como algo que nada mas no sabemos que es. Pero esta presente y lo seguira, porque el espiritu de el humano es libre y jamas sera apasiguado! Siempre habra esperanza! 
El narrador cuenta que nostros mismos, los hijos de la patria somos los que nos perjudicamos. Esto tambien es cierto, es como aquella linea de personas que andan siguiendo a un ciego; se forman detras de el. Para que se forman? Pues quien sabe? Hay estaba este pelado enfrente! Pues nos ponemos! Las personas detras de el son videntes! Ellos si pueden ver pero por pereza y por la falsa idea de que estan haciendo algo bien pues nada mas ni la lucha le hacen. No sean asi! Miren a su alrededor! Abran los ojos! Nos dice el narrador! Observen bien a quien siguen, sepan a donde van! No se vayan a lo puro guey! No somos animales! No sean yunta! De aqui todos somos culpables! Deberiamos aprender a ser buenos "judios" en el sentido de que uno es responsable de las acciones de el otro. Claro, esto solamente funcionaria en teoria, ya en practica seria algo bastante rigoroso de seguir.



Que le a pasado a la patria, a esa nacion llena de guerreros, de gente trabajadora? Que le ha pasado a nuestra gente que hoy, en vez de ser correcta, quieren ser chueca? Que hizo cambiar a la gente? Que fue lo que los hizo querer ambicionar las cosas no transendentales? La necesidad. Las mentiras. El sistema es lo que arrincona a la gente a tener que vivir una vida vacia. Los hombre valientes de los que el narrador habla mueren dia a dia por la hambre, por la necesidad y por las manos de aquellos que buscan la facilidad de la vida galante. Al final del dia, todos somos esclavos a el sistema, a la vida. 


Donde estan? Se pregunta el narrador, donde estan aquellos hombres ejemplares. Aquellos cuya mision en la vida era Despertar a sus compatriotas? Donde estan las figuras, las leyendas, los ultimos? Donde estan esos que despertaron por si mismos por gracia del destino? Donde estan esos que buscan la igualdad y libertad de todo poder? Muertos! Estan muertos, igual que la idea de el vivir simple, de vivir justamente con lo necesario y de estar en harmonia con la vida. Verdaderamente poderosos aquellos los que despiertan y reconocen "La Vida" observan y viven en harmonia de acuerdo a las leyes! (Daoismo)
Y de regreso a el presente, el narrador continua. No hay ningun candidato, ninguna persona que busque el mandato, el poder por razones justas y correctas. Jamas habra alguien asi mientras tengamos este modo de vida! Jamas! Y siempre son asi. La Historia Sin Fin!

Se Despide el narrador. Pero no para siempre, porque al igual que los Revolucionarios sigue el ataque. Sigue la Lucha incesable por la harmonia. Seguira esta Revolucion Humana en pie mientras siga vivo el espiritu y la alma humana.
Estaremos Dormidos! Pero todavia tenemos a ese sueno que nos recuerda de la realidad.
No descansaremos.
El Despertar Vendra!


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hello Motherfuckers

What is up? Well I have been really busy lately and I love it! There has been a couple of things in my head that have been just stuck there. One of them is curse words, dirty words, or bad words. I just cant understand when, why, or who labeled these words as "bad". Most importantly, why? Well, I would contribute more to this but I really dont know where to start. You might have noticed that I dont really care about these "bad" words because of the title. Anyways, just dropping by and checking in, laters!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Damage Inc.

Hey there, reader who i hope exists out there and is actually reading this. Hi! Anyways lets get down to what i really like talking about, music!
I am a big Metal fan and the greatest Metal band without doubt, in my opinion, is Metallica. Who hasnt heard a Metallica song? Well anyways I would like to take one of their songs and post the song and lyrics so that people who have and who have not can understand the genius that is Metallica. This time, the song is Damage Inc. by Metallica of the 1986 album, Master of Puppets. The lineup of the band for this song was James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich. The song's beginning is one of the most different, weird, beginnings that this album has. One could very much be confused when listening to this song because of how it starts out. To describe the sound, I would say that it is similar to horns or something like that. But, now with the power of the internet we can go back in time and ask the great Cliff Burton.

 CLIFF: On this album it's the intro to a song called "Damage", done all on bass. It's about eight or 12 tracks of bass, a lot of harmonies and volume swells and effects and stuff. I would hesitate to call it a bass solo, it's more just an intro, but it is all bass.

After this sweet, psychedelic intro we got from Bass Virtuoso Cliff Burton we are prepared for a great ride. As the bass intro begins to dies down; a stronger, sharper and way more aggressive playing starts with both guitars of Hammett and Hetfield accompanied by the drums of Ulrich. The sharp, hacksaw-like rhythm progressively builds up into a non-stop frantic battle-cry. The drums incessantly create a rhythm that pounds into the listeners gut, heart, and mind. The guitars pierce through the mind as they play away into a powerful rhythm. The bass follows very rapidly, almost deafened by the other instrument's power. This frantic song is similar that to a march of a devastating army. This army becomes the image that dominates the rest of the song. The army rips away through any obstacle that dares not move from the dark army. One can use the already seen images of a terrible army that was seen not so long ago in a history class. The army is that of a greyish color with dark black boots in a death march that eventually becomes into a full-on stampede of death. A grayish blob that destroys everything suddenly becomes the norm in the scene. Hetfield's voice then introduces us to this army. Who they are. What they do. Their main purpose. Everything that they are. The lyrics start to present this image that has already been instilled to us by pure imagination. The lyrics manage to paint the picture in great detail. It talks about a force like no other. 


"Dealing out the agony within

Charging hard and no one’s gonna give in
Living on your knees, conformity
Or dying on your feet for honesty
Inbred our bodies work as one
Bloody, but never cry submission
Following our instinct not a trend
Go against the grain until the end

Blood will follow blood
Dying time is here
Damage incorporated
Slamming through, don’t fuck with razorback
Stepping out ? You’ll feel our hell on your back
Blood follows blood and we make sure
Life ain’t for you and we’re the cure
Honest is my only excuse
Try to rob us it, but it’s no use
Steamroller action crushing all
Victim is your name and you shall fall


Blood will follow blood
Dying time is here
Damage incorporated
We chew and spit you out
We laugh, you scream and shout
All flee, with fear you run
You’ll know where we come from

Damage incorporated

Damage jackals ripping right through you
Sight and smell of this, it gets me goin’
Know just how to get just what we want
Tear it from your soul in nightly hunt
Fuck it all and fucking no regrets
Never happy ending on these dark sets
All’s fair for Damage Inc. You see
Step a little closer if you please

Blood will follow blood
Dying time is here
Damage incorporated"
An incorporation, a force that destroys everything that tries to live. This "something" represents ultimate evil in our world. The violent riff goes along with the savage lyrics that profess violence. Every time that the song reaches a climax, the marching sound starts again to build up. This army seems to not have an end, only short periods of "breaks" only to frantically continue the attack. The song reaches its half-time, here the voice Hetfield talks about this army as if he is one.  He sends a message to those who dare stand against this power; only death. At the end of their motto, he whispers a "Go!". After this whisper, a wave of a violent sounds commences. Hammett's guitar sends off the the strongest attack. This maniacal guitar solo rips away through everything, like a death ray it consumes everything. Meanwhile, the stampede continues. Hetfield resumes with the introduction, he finishes strong just like the beginning of the song. With one last message to us all, who they are, "Damage Inc."


Damage Inc. is one of Metallica's greatest song from the album Master of Puppets. The music, the arrangements, the sounds, the lyrics, the tone, the space and time produce a vision of a world comparable to ours. Master of Puppets is an album filled with resentment towards the powers that seek to dominate society. Master of Puppets, as the title indicates, is an album dedicated to that something that seems to makes us do what it wants. It can be argued that it might be the government, or it may as well be one to another, whatever; it is up to the listener to take out the meaning of such album. Damage Inc. is the song, the hymn, the battle-cry of that something that seems to tear us apart. It makes us "conform" to its rules. We fall to our knees only to live subject to its rules. We dare not stand up for if anyone does, they will know their name. "Damage Incorporated". The only business that this industry provides us with pain and malevolence. They, Damage Inc., are destined forever to work amongst blood and bile to only handicap. The lyrics continue to point out the industry's business. Blood will follow blood. One after the other, this something is in charge of taking lives and in doing so gains great pleasure. 
"Blood will follow blood
Dying time is here
Damage incorporated
We chew and spit you out
We laugh, you scream and shout
All flee, with fear you run
You’ll know where we come from" 
To them, this is simply a hobby. This is what they live for, what they were made for, and they profit. There is simply no way of defeating this force. When I listen to this song, in its entirety, I experience a great deal of things. I smell, feel, hear, and see the music and words. I see a movie in my head that lets me experience this as  I was in it myself. Damage Inc. exists for the only purpose of human suffering. They do what they most like, They live for nothing else, they care for nothing, they are evil in its pure form.



What do you think about this song?
How does it make you feel?
What do you think this Incorporation is?
What?




Saturday, February 12, 2011

Collage Continued

So I am posting the picture and narrative of my collage so that you know what the fuck I was trying to do. This is an assignment for school! So there is some stuff in there about school and directed to the teacher. I dont know why I only do such things when I have assignments, I wish I did them on a regular basis. Well here goes!

















Life Collage

            Believe me when I say that I had never done a collage that I liked until I managed to do this one. Throughout my school years I would get the Collage assignment in my arts classes and did average, the usual poorly-cut-messy-glued-on magazine ads on a piece of paper that managed to get me a passing grade. Now that I think back I can’t really say I was the artistic person during those years. But times changed and so did I. This collage is how I see the world. I started out with an old black binder that I must have had since I was in seventh grade, hidden somewhere in the closet. This binder has no value to me except that it reminds me of school and who I was, so I decided to keep it, to see when I would use it. I stashed it away in the closet, recycled, for maybe one day it would still serve me. This binder has one side nearly ripped from the-whatever it’s called that unites it to the other side. I thought, “I can’t turn this in like this, its halfway coming off”. I bound it together with some sort of masking tape, hell, at first I tried stapling the flap together, but that didn’t work. So I am sorry if you get a cut with some staple around there. I also managed to deface the already disfigured flap by ripping out the plastic cover out of anger, because the damn staples wouldn’t go through. So with the canvas “ready” I went to work. I stared at the binder for nearly two hours while I tried to think in silence what I could do with it, that didn’t work. So I thought I should take my mind off of it for a few seconds, I cleaned out my work station from old papers of the last semester while listening to some music. In this soon to be trash I discovered my old anatomy workbook; here I picked out the diagram of the human brain. I had a brain now and an idea of where I was going which brought me to placing the image of the earth on the brain. Well, before that, I unconsciously pasted the earth on the binder, five minutes later I remember about the brain and had to cut part of the carton along with the earth from the surface. The earth inside the brain is a symbol for what I believe sometimes our universe is like. It is my own metaphysical explanation to our universe; I sometimes believe that your own mind is the universe, each mind make up our reality. 115 Million Of minds are what the universe is made up, (this is the approximate number of all the human beings that have existed on this planet since the planet has existed). Of course this is a monistic view that does not fully explain some things in the universe. Soon after this I hit the wall again; I did not know what else to do. As I was becoming angry I went into the old habits and found myself looking through old magazines that I had collected over the years. I came out with my older brother’s collection of Maxim, FHM, and Lowrider Magazine along with some other magazines. In a European Car Magazine I discovered the “Hold on tight. Then let yourself go” ad and felt relief. This ad was for a Jaguar or some other fancy car like that and it featured the five holes on the page with the shift stick on the other side and I thought it was just perfect for what I had in mind. This ad came hand in hand with what I envisioned; our world. In a materialistic world where nothing matters more than riches and whatnot, this ad spoke of it. It is Buddha that professes the truth that suffering comes from unearthly desires. And it is Karl Marx with his ideals that warns humanity of the fetishism of commodities. When I see this handle for ones hand in an ad for an expensive car it brings me the vision of the millions of human beings who have and will die in the name for a false ideal. We have, for too long, given priority to everything that holds no real value to our nature, we have become alienated of our own and in doing so we have given no real value to human beings. Like this ad says, we hold on tight all of your lives only to let go of all these material things when we die. We should, instead, accumulate goods for the soul; the intellect, ideas that we can hold on tight to and never let go even until our bodies decay. After this crude reality I strove forward to portray the act of new life as naturally as I could. I used wooden matches to portray the sperm painted with red, with the exception of one. This one sperm is Hegel’s “Super-Man” he is the one that does not follow the herd, he is the thinker; the one. This sperm is actually reading the message of “Hold on tight...” and is actually thinking about its message, even if it means losing the race to exist. The other sperms are covered in red, blood, while the other is clean and intact. The material the match is a tricky one; it is a potential fire, a potential destruction, but it is also potential for light, potential warmth; these are lives good and bad. The pawns came next, this image I found in an FHM magazine which was also an ad for a car. This to me represents the logic that is life. Pawns, the everyday person, must be the ones to be sacrificed, while the higher powered pieces stand back in commodity waiting for a direct attack from one of the same or higher status. You barely see a pawn checkmate, for this is evident in both life and game. After this, came the tower of death, it is what it is. This image from a Mexican Car magazine is really an oil refinery sucking the earth’s resources. The image alone speaks for itself; in this scenario sucking from the brain, exploiting the mind of its resources. For millions of years brilliant minds have been lobotomized, voices silenced, and ideas destroyed; this represents the death of it all. I thought that this destruction was necessary for the balance of the message that is in this collage. It is with this same idea that I came upon the syringes stabbing into the brain. The brain, once intact, is now savagely penetrated and corrupted with money. Finally, as a proper welcome sign I included the “Now Entering the Universe” sign. At this point, the collage still did not feel finished so I went on and took a little time off. I tried to think again why this image did not seem complete and I knew a little bit of me was needed. I painted the remaining spaces black and filled them in with yellow, white, and red small dots watered-down a bit for a natural look. Now I had to fill the remaining spaces with something of my own, so I considered something simple and close to me. I wrote down on notepads some of the songs that I had been listening to as I was doing this collage. I wrote down “Jump in the Fire”, “Damage Inc.”, all by Metallica close to the Tower of Death for their vision of the evil forces. “Orion” by Metallica followed and was placed in the dark starry realm of space. On the brain I posted “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne for its message of hope for people in the world. Along with the sperms I posted “Do the Evolution” by Pearl Jam for its portrayal of human existence in both the music video and lyrics. On the “Hold on tight…” ad I placed “Wake Up” by Rage Against the Machine for its call to attention for everyone; that we should realize what we hold on to. On the top right corner I posted more songs that speak of truths. I have “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, a song which calls to an end of false beliefs. There is also “Dazed and Confused” by Led Zeppelin, a song about liberation from everything that obscures the mind. And last but not least I have The Doors with “People are Strange”, this song sums up what human relations have come to. Together, all these symbols create a picture,almost an animation for what I see in life. This is life through my eyes in a collage.