fiveSEVENfive

Haiku really speaks to me. There is something about the form, how the best poems nest meaning within meaning and spark so many thoughts with so few words. I wrote this one years ago.

Sociology

Ancient ruts cause my
cart to follow forgotten
men on this fresh day

I also enjoy SciFaiku, for what I feel are obvious reasons.

There Can Be Only One

Trying to find holy ground on the internet? Church of Fools may save your neck. The church is a 3D representation that allows you to interact through an avatar. During their first two days there was a lot of profanity (imagine that) and even a visit from a blasphemy spouting Satan. Mind you, this is a serious irony-free experiment.

I envision a day when Neo-Televangelists work the pulpit asking for Pay-Pal donations and dispensing healing through broadband. “Someone in our congregation just had his PC cleansed from a virus. Halleluiah!”

My Evil Twin is Nicer than Me

You don’t need a primer on parallel universes. You may, however, need an experiment that shows their effects in the privacy of your own home. So I give you, the parallel universe test. It’s probably crackpot science but, heck; it gives you an excuse to buy a laser pointer.

Many thanks to NeoTheo(b)log for the link

Outsourcing My Memory

I misplaced my mobile phone today. Nothing tragic, it was in my wife’s purse. It did throw off my day something awful. For one, I don’t have a home phone, so I had to run around looking for free phones to use to call people. So it ends up I missed a message that would have informed me that my evening plans were cancelled.

Having said this, my evening went well. I washed my car, read some, and returned home to French bread, a glass (or two) of wine, and with a reason to post something. So Pat, my friend, stop worrying.

What I seemed to dwell on most today was the loss of my memory (also known as my phone). I had about three people to call today, which is inconvenient when you don’t have their numbers. I haven’t memorized a phone number in years because I have a phone. I was also fretting about my schedule. Was I forgetting to do something today? My phone knows; it’s logged into the calendar. Even while I was reading I needed my phone. Some ten-cent word came up and I was going to learn the definition through a Google glossary search. What a pathetic creature I am, incapable of anything without a mobile phone. I’m going to name it Munnin.

Nostalgia for the Future

Remember when Pac-Man was new? It was so bright and so beautiful. Who can forget the cacophony of whining children as they begged mom for just one more quarter. I will always cherish the slick feel of a pizza grease covered joystick.
Well, the Man is back and he roams the streets of Manhattan. Oh, how I have been waiting for these days. The idea of digital games overlapping the real world is so fascinating. What will happen when a million people are playing hundreds of different games simultaneously?

People need a certain level of comfort in their day. That comfort is found in our understanding of the actions made by everyone else. When a man walks down the street talking into a mobile phone, we take it in stride. When that same man is mumbling incoherently and waving his arms, we cross the street. The layered-reality of future interactive games will add new challenges to our lives. Potentially frustrating social interactions will occur when individuals meet but observe different realities.

Man, that’s so cool.

Testosterone

Listen to this. I’m serious. This American Life has done a show on the effects of testosterone. It is fun, interesting, thought-provoking, everything TAL is known for. If you’re a human, you are most likely affected by this chemical (yes, women have testosterone too). So find out a little about yourself. It’s healthy.

A note: Testosterone is Episode 220, found in the 2002 archive section

Westerners Want Cosplay!

Have you ever visited Disney World? Within E.P.C.O.T. Center there is a strange place called the World Showcase. It consists of over the top tributes to various countries. You won’t find anything like the U.S. of A at the World Showcase (except for the workers, their attitudes, and the Almighty Dollar). No, each and every building, costume, and meal are straight out ETHNIC.
One day, while pondering Disney’s view of the world, I had an epiphany. The World Showcase is a model of the occidental unconscious. This is what we expect and strive for. We demand that every people group recognize and embrace the same values as ourselves. Is your country poor? Make T-Shirts for Americans! Prostitute your population to the needs of those who are better off. Sure, we want you to be true to your cultural heritage, but that means eating native foods on the weekend and wearing a sarong, in the name of all that is comforting don’t think differently!
Here we are, drowning in weight of our consumerism and we want to “help” other nations by bringing them into the same cycle.

Less of a rant next time.