The Truth About Love

There are 3 kinds. The chemical imbalance of “in love” love - that unbearable, irresistible, only other person in the world illogical mania.
Then there is the quiet settled down respectful, tolerant co-dependency. Then the love given to myriad others of all ages and genders.
The first exists on it’s own - is selfish, consuming - wonderful in youth but dangerous to the second kind if allowed to flower a second time. If you manage to develop the fleeting first into the second you are one of life’s winners - regardless of financial or other accomplishments.
How much of a man or woman you are is measured by the third - not received but given. Pursuit of celebrity (or other types of prestige like amassing wealth) is the mistaken belief that the opposite is true.

Catholic Priests

Amazing isn’t it how if you suppress all the rainbow of possible sexualities bar one, then leave the only respectable course for anyone non-vanilla to cloak their differences by declaring celibacy and joining the priesthood - you are going to get a far higher proportion (than the mainstream) of sexually different people as priests.

Firstly, this makes the Church’s failure to acknowledge that some people are naturally gay somewhat farcical. Gay priests are victims - the damage is to them, being made to feel unfairly sin filled and evil - and always having to cover-up who they really are.

There is second group however, who are not so benign - those interested in children rather than adults (whether straight or gay - I make no distinction here). Being attracted into the priesthood - perhaps with the desire to “be good” - these people are both allowed to be in charge of vulnerable groups of children, and are made completely unaccountable.

There are undoubtably many fabulous Catholic priests out there - with a multitude of sexual preference. However, the obstinate refusal of the Church to acknowledge this mix will continue to produce victims - both within the clergy, and outside it.

function-one:

m1n3cr4ft:

the lego minecraft set to be *unveiled on february 16th this year! stay tuned for more information :)

Lego + minecraft

function-one:

m1n3cr4ft:

the lego minecraft set to be *unveiled on february 16th this year! stay tuned for more information :)

Lego + minecraft

Lessons From Psychology #1

That thing that you’re focused on right now? It’s not as important as it seems.

This is an important message (but not as important as I believe it is…) Look back at the last thing that really stressed you out. It was the end of the world at the time - but it’s not now, right? Relationship-wise; you couldn’t bear to be without your first love - and maybe he/she’s still a fond memory - but it’s wasn’t a life-or-death relationship in the end.

Recognising things aren’t as important as they seem is a monumental struggle… once I have heard a great record, all I want to do is write and record music - it’s urgent and it’s all that matters. When I watch a moving film similarly, or read an amazing text - all that compels me is this desperate NEED to create. Whilst this adds healthy drive to my otherwise easily distractable nature, there are other times when this psychological phenomenon is as unwanted as a coffee machine in a sauna.

THIS IS FOR THE MEN: When you’re hot and really the only thing that could possibly bring fulfilment is _____ (<— fill in the blanks here) - indeed it seems what life itself must be all about - IT’S NOT. Realising this when you’re horny is hard enough thing - accepting it as reality even harder. I’m not saying you’re all about to go out and commit sex crimes - just that the monumental frustration everyone feels from time to time is OK - it’s just part of the way our psychology is wired. You can’t fix it - and, actually, expending too much effort essentially trying to get laid is not helpful either. Repeat after me: This isn’t your natural state! It feels like it, OH yes. But it’s not as important as it seems. By a long way. So have a wank, and go do one of other things you really love. Doesn’t seem appealing right now? Well, trust me - it will be. And I for one am off to listen to some music, or maybe go watch Moon…

See also http://norwichmusic.com/post/12129478714/uea-possibly-stopping-mmus-degrees

saveueamusic:

Welcome to the Union of UEA Students ‘Save UEA Music’ blog.

We’re going to be posting here about why it’s important to stop the University from closing this amazing school, and what we can do to make this happen.

Let’s try to build massive support for this cause; it’s the biggest thing to happen…

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

hi james leeds.

well, i thought “if i don’t do it right now while its fresh in my mind and raining, it’ll never get done”, so i wrote and recorded a song for your friendly competition. i hope it meets the criteria of drama, though its not exactly “crammed”, but it is about a murder, and is one only one minute … well 1:06.

anyway, i opened up a new file in logic which i had to title and because i had no idea what i was about to write, for inspiration i randomly opened up a book i have called ‘the fairy tales of hermann hesse’ (which is brilliant by the way, if you don’t know it) and immediately saw the seductive couplet “doomed gondola” so decided to write something around that. after 3 hours and 4 beers i’ll call it done as i can’t think of what else i can do with it.

right so, speak soon,

love james

This is interesting for musicians - especially the unsung but excellent ones I know - that you can be amazing, but without context the public will not see or hear it:
http://www.jeffbridges.com/perception.html
The converse is also true - for every @sargassotrio or @onwardolympians there is an Ed Sheeran or X-Factor winner&#8230;

This is interesting for musicians - especially the unsung but excellent ones I know - that you can be amazing, but without context the public will not see or hear it:

http://www.jeffbridges.com/perception.html

The converse is also true - for every @sargassotrio or @onwardolympians there is an Ed Sheeran or X-Factor winner…

Tags: Joshua Bell

TedxLondon Disappointment

Dear TED,

    I was hugely disappointed as an attendee of the TedxLondon conference and felt compelled to write to you about this, as what could have been the beginnings of an urgently needed revolution in education was hijacked by technologists with presentations which at times verged on advertisements.

Sir Ken Robinson’s pre-recorded video pieces were excellently lucid (as was the Southbank Centres Jude Kelly) - clearly outlining the need to figure out how to get personalised, holistic education into the mainstream - even relaying an anecdote about distilling learning to it’s core essential parts and only building from there if it adds value. This was at times farcically at odds with the actual content of the day. Outside of Sir Ken there was not a single mention of personalised learning, or getting back to basics. Quite the opposite in fact - presentations from the organiser on his “cool” Kinect tech and Bjork’s new iPad apps were just two examples of the overwhelming focus on technology. How could the organisers miss the point so magnificently? Either they did not understand the original TED talks that supposedly inspired this meeting, or they had their own agendas - as it was clear that the problem with today’s education is not enough tech! (and I say this not as some tech-scared teacher, but as a geek with my own web startup) Indeed, the recent New York Times article on the failure of technology-centric classrooms in Arizona to deliver any real improvement expose the folly in this http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=laptops%20in%20schools&st=Search )

You ought to be embarrassed to be associated with such a sham, especially as we so desperately need to have the very conversation that was not had. As a society we need to do MUCH better than #tedxlondon if we want an education system that provides future generations with the fulfilling lives they deserve - and the economy with the innovators is will find are indispensable.

I am left feeling demotivated, disillusioned and lonely in my desire to see these ideas (of which many great thinkers, not just Sir Ken but Barry Hymer, Isaac Asimov et al are converging upon) turn into actual systems of schooling.

Connecting the dots between the London Riots and the Financial Crisis

No-one seems able to figure out what the current riots in London are all about - least of all those actually rioting. It’s certainly more than the flashpoint of a police shooting - but if this is the straw that broke the camel’s back, what is the camel?

Men - real men, not just geeks like me (& you no doubt) - have been finding life increasingly difficult as the UK de-industrialised. The pre-industrial trades of blacksmithery, cobbling, etc have long since gone, and as boat yards and pits shut; furniture (and everything else) was made abroad, what was their left to do? Besides joining the army, the range of jobs are either demasculating or imbued with less-and-less honour. Where now the boy who longs to be a Postman?

The left-wing are just as guilty as the financiers and right-wing politicians for remodelling the economy - encouraging everyone to go to university to become part of the “knowledge” society - or whatever it was called - for the new meritocratic elite could be joined by people from any class! …so long as you are smart. This new elite is somewhat fairer than the old upper-middle-class reign but it is still elitist - and what really grinds is their self-satisfied justification. They don’t even SEE that they are the elite - “well I was brought up in a hole in the floor…” that’s great, but you are one of only a handful of rich, famous people who got successful - there are millions - MILLIONS - more who were not blessed with your looks/intellect/wit who are still in one of those floor-holes.

And boy have boys been hit by all of this. It’s not PC to consider any boy an underdog, yet the turning away from boyish work toward call centres and service industries we are leaving a heck of a lot of boys without jobs to do. The narrowing of what is termed a “successful” life to wealth or fame means there is no pride in even doing these jobs if they were available. What’s more, the movement of education away from vocational toward intellectual subjects is leaving many young men both disinterested in learning and feeling like failures - which comes first is chicken and egg.

And they feel it. Men have a drive to provide, yet they can’t get a job. They want act well, but there is little prospect of much in the way of wealth or respect. They will never afford to own their own house - not like the skilled craftsmen or miners they might have been in a previous generation. They can’t provide for themselves let alone a family. They are - by definition - not part of the meritocratic elite, so they can’t necessarily find the fancy words to explain how they are feeling - or understand why it is. They don’t know what to say, but they just WANT TO BE HEARD.

And so to the riots. Is this isolated thuggery? The right will simply wish to lock them up. The left will want to start community programs to save the next generation. But they are already screwed. As are the generations to come until our focus swings back to manufacturing; craftsmanship; respect for men. Is that likely to happen? No. Can we do anything about it? Not much. Is this unrest likely to re-occur/get worse over the coming years. Yes, very likely. Will our politicians + other driving forces of society (like £1k+ celebrity tweeters) understand it? No, that’s highly unlikely.

Interestingly, the towering edifice that is the house-of-cards modern financial system is also blipping this week. (I’ve written before on these failings) Those Financiers who made millions upon millions moving all of those jobs to China and elsewhere; re-gearing the economy to grow using financial services and great volumes of debt; those who did more damage to our local high street businesses than any riots ever will. Their actions - and the actions of governments to allow this rich-person’s greed to drive our western countries forward is starting to unravel - in both an economic and social way.

Determinism/Free Will

If a deterministic system becomes sufficiently complex, then free-will/randomness can be modelled so profoundly it is indistinguishable from actual free will - at which point it becomes immaterial to talk of a distinction.

Like complex software sitting atop binary circuits