Rules of Engagement, part 1

As if anybody but me cares, I have a few quirks of grammar, syntax, spelling, and so on, that I use, and that I would like to share, just in case you see something out of the ordinary and feel like bringing it up.

So, in no special order:

1. I always use the serial comma.
2. I almost always say "towards", and I most often say "besides".
3. I use logical punctuation with quotation marks. That is, I position periods and commas either within or without the quotation marks depending on their relation to the quote itself.
4. I use the pedantic formation "et c." because "et" and "cetera" are two separate words. You may also see me use "&c." as a short form.

If you feel that I've made an error, please let me know. If you are right, I will certainly apologize. Read on..!

When?

Before
Then
Earlier
Right now
Now
Currently
Presently
Shortly
Soon
Later
Eventually
Late
After
Never Read on..!

What Do I Know about Power? Part 1: Individuals

Lying awake in bed late Sunday night after Ken Reaume's CD release concert at Sneaky Dee's (which was awesome, by the way) when I should have been sleeping, I thought of Power and how it affects peoples' daily lives. I've thought about it for a few days now, and here is part of the result:

Obviously power always acts in our lives. Some say that all of our relationships are based on power, and I am inclined to agree. So why do we only talk about power at the fringes of daily life: in government, law, war, et c., and even then only offhandedly, as though it doesn't affect us? I think I say "we" fairly because I never have conversations about power with any of my friends or acquaintances, and I never see discussions about power on common internet forums. This may be because I don't initiate such talk, or perhaps there is a conspiracy afoot and all of my friends talk about power only when I'm out of the room. But I don't think so. I think that among the general populace, few talk about power except in the senses that I mentioned. That is, few seem interested in individual or even communal power. In fact, I think we actively avoid thoughts of power in our daily lives because they make us feel weak, insignificant, and unhappy (did you think that was just how it's supposed to be?).

Let me put it this way: as humans, we often feel that we have little to no control over the events in our lives. This seems natural to me, since there are countless things that happen to us daily for which it would be difficult for any person to assume full responsibility; e.g., slipping on an icy sidewalk and injuring oneself, winning the lottery, a family member or pet dying. These are events that we usually attribute to luck or chance and remove from the realm of choice. There are other things though, which are well within our power, that we also attribute to luck: certain sicknesses, the quality of our relationships, whether or not we get that promotion, et c. When we treat this latter type of occurrence as lucky, we detach ourselves from our own actions, we become passive, rather puppets being controlled by an unseen puppet master than actors giving life to our roles.

This has many negative effects. For example, feeling that I lack control in my life--that I do not have the power to make things go my way--makes me passive. As a result, I repress my desires since I feel like it is beyond my power to achieve them, and this makes me feel weak and sad. I look around and feel that everybody else has more power than me, and even the slightest sign of success in others decreases my confidence. So I look elsewhere to feel good about myself. I try to find other areas where I can exert control and feel powerful. This might be in the family through verbal or physical violence; it might be in the workplace through corruption or sexual harassment; it might be in the community through vandalism or theft. These are all recognizable areas where individuals step over the line, and for which they might be prosecuted. But there are more insidious avenues where I might more easily look to use my reduced power.

Rather than externalize my repression, I can internalize it and remove my attention from the outside world to the inside world. I can focus on pleasing myself rather than trying (inevitably unsuccessfully) to offer pleasure to the community. This, I believe, is the more common reaction; not surprisingly, because it is where power intersects and conflicts with identity--how we see ourselves and how we relate to others. I can shop (and I am assuming this to be the most popular sublimation, especially as it facilitates the others); I can watch TV; I can drink alcohol and take drugs; I can eat; I can have sex with a stranger or masturbate to pornography; I can play video games, which is increasingly commonly among both sexes and all ages; I can consume celebrity gossip; I can go online and build up my virtual persona or take part in a virtual community; I can gamble; and so on, and so on. These are all more or less socially acceptable activities, and (in my opinion) there's nothing wrong with them in and of themselves. They allow us to control our own immediate pleasure and take our minds off of our frightening feelings of insignificance. They allow us to feel alive and in control, if only for a while. However, they are also anti-social, by which I mean they focus on the individual and diminish community. They take our minds off of our real needs and desires--our creative and passionate impulses--and our responsibilities: to ourselves (mind, body, and soul), our families, our communities, our countries, and the world.

Increasingly, individuals are defined by the things they buy, the shows and movies they watch, the games they play, their appearance, their partners, et c., rather than by the things they do and believe; in turn, this determines how we interact with others, defining our relationships. Obviously, this factor plays a very important when it comes to society. And eventually, I'll get to that.
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I'm speaking very generally still here, and I hope to go into much greater detail about interpersonal power dynamics at another time. Maybe after another pre-sleep inspiration. Also, I'm sure most or all of this is recorded in various philosophers' and psychologists' work; if anybody has any references, let me know and I'll try to incorporate them.
Read on..!

At the risk of sounding pretentious

Wouldn't it be great to be the first to do something, anything?

I'm not the first online opinionist certainly, and I won't be the last.__I'm not even sure that I approve of all the blogging going on.__But that uncertainty actually plays into my intentions with this online journal - call it a magazine of the personal, if you will.__I would like to use this opportunity to discuss the internet itself: its several parts and their effects on culture and society.__A particularly pressing question in my mind is: what are the results of millions of people expressing their unadulterated opinions to the world at large without perhaps a second thought to the consequences?__I am greatly interested in the psychology of anonymity, and I wonder what kind of world we are collectively creating by individually posting our immediate thoughts for all to see, whether it's through a blog, a web forum, or something like Digg.

So, I am going to edit myself to the best of my ability.__I am going to avoid judging as best I can, and when I do judge, I will try to make it very clear.__In short, I hope to "reveal art and conceal the artist" (Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray).

In no way will this journal be limited to this topic though, as my interests wander far beyond the borders of the internet (thank goodness), most recently to thoughts of Power, Resistance, Freedom, God, Et c.__Please feel free to look around and contribute if you please; the internet is a lonely place, and it's nice to see a friendly face.__Indeed, I am only here because, like everybody else, I want attention, too.__I want people to notice me and tell me that I've got something to say, anything; and this seems to be the way to do it at the moment.

In fact, we are each of us the first to do everything and the first to do anything.__Each time we do anything, it is the first time.__Every day is new, and every moment is ripe with life.__Maybe I can convince you, my non-existent audience.
Read on..!

Intercity squabbles ruin lives

This is a letter I wrote last year to Adam Vaughan, Toronto city councillor for the riding of Trinity-Spadina, a very large area where I used to live. Unfortunately, I received no response.

"
Hello Mr. Vaughan,

I would like to say that I appreciate the work you have done in this diverse and extremely busy ward. I have become increasingly frustrated with politics in this city (and region, province, and country!), and from what I have seen, you have added a measure of integrity to the process.

But of course, if everything were great, I probably wouldn't be contacting you!

I read this morning that there has been some sort of resolution reached in the ongoing squabble between Mississauga and Toronto regarding airport limos and taxis and where they may or may not pick up passengers. That resolution is that Airport Limos will no longer be allowed to pick up passengers in Toronto for their long drive back to Mississauga. (As I understand, the reverse is currently true and Toronto cabs are not allowed to take passengers from the airport to Toronto.)

I'm not sure where you stand on this issue, but personally I find the whole thing petty. This "resolution" seems more like it's out of revenge rather than thinking of the good of the region or its citizens. I can imagine no good reason why any cab, be it a taxi or a limo, should have to drive one way on its 30km trip with no passenger. To me, this flies in the face of reason, good civic relations, traffic responsibility, and our environmental plan. It is simply a waste of time, money, and resources.

Now, I am not concerned with "who started it", or anything like that. I am concerned that we reach an intelligent solution rather than continuing with this pointless politicking.

I am contacting you because you are the councillor for my ward, but I will certainly contact Mr. Moscoe, who I understand instigated the current solution, if that is more appropriate.

Thanks very much for your time! I look forward to hearing your take on this issue.

Regards and season's greetings,

Adam Gorley
"
Read on..!

The new music industry model

If you haven't heard of "Guitar Heroes", you're probably Amish—which is fine. But if you haven't heard of the open-source Guitar Heroes-style game "Frets on Fire", then you are missing out on the beginnings of what will be a huge story in the coming years.

That story is "interactive music", and I'm pretty sure that it will evolve into an alternative music industry, eventually to mate with and eat the current one, producing a freaky and amazing bastard offspring.

The point is, in Frets on Fire, you can make your own songs, add your own songs, play your own songs. You can give them to other people and they can play them. Other people could "cover" your songs, sample them, remix them, and give them back to you, just like with "real" music, but in video-game format, which makes everything better and more real.

And now (actually for a while now), you can actually create music with the guitar controller that comes with Guitar Hero. There's a band called the Guitar Zeros who have been playing live shows using two guitar controllers and a drum kit (and various computer equipment).

It's only a short step to a version of one of these (types of) games that allows players to improvise (solos!) and be judged on the quality of their improvisations, or to write songs on the fly and be judged on those also. And much more, of course

But the real advantage and interest here is that if musicians can write and create songs and immediately release them to a willing market of gamers, well, I think they'd give major traditional label artists a run for their money. Of course, any indie artist can release stuff about as easy as 1-2-3 as it is, but the market is limited. People are listening to music less and playing video games more. If the two are combined—voila!—a massive new market, and a product really worth paying 99 cents for.

The Guitar Zeros

An interview with the Guitar Zeros Read on..!

The Honourable Mr. Ernie Eves is a buffoon, and his government is full of idiots for supporting him

I e-mailed this message to several friends five years ago, with the subject: "Difficult times, do not read if easily angered by anti-dubya Bush sentiment". The title above was the title I gave the message.

It was still early in my "active" political life, and goings on in my world could still incite me to write an angry missive and forward it to people I though might care.

I didn't have a blog at the time, or I might have posted it there. And now, I found it languishing in my e-mail archive, and I thought I'd offer it a more worthwhile place.

Below is the full (but newly edited for typos) text.

"
Mr. Eves and his cabinet, unfortunately in power in Ontario, have gone the route of the Honourable Mr. Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta, by sending word to the American Ambassador Mr. Paul Celucci that they fully support the United States war effort despite the federal government's condemnation thereof.

Although all the members of the Tory government will no doubt deny it, it is difficult to erase the perception that this support is based entirely on monetary concerns. Indeed it is nearly impossible to miss or mistake this notion, as the economies of Ontario and Alberta rely significantly on investment by our neighbours to the South.

Certainly we are all allowed to have a difference of opinion with our national government—this is the hallmark of proper democracy—but it is at times like these that further divisions of opinion at the higher levels of government reveal all the more cracks and leaks in our country’s political well being.

Why would any provincial government go out of its way to officially state its support for an illegal war that is none of our business? The answer, if it is not the one I described above, may be difficult to ascertain.

The Canadian (and American) public has spoken overwhelmingly against the war, and has supported the Liberals’ decision to remain outside the arena of war, so this is a tough issue to stand by on the electoral front, especially with a provincial election looming.

Mr. Eves said, in a letter to Mr. Celucci, “I want to reiterate that I share your expression of disappointment in the response of the Canadian government. Having grown up in a border community, I appreciate the close relations we in Ontario have with our American friends.”

Obviously, neither of them understands that close relations imply honesty, trust, support, and maybe even friendship; all of which we are more than willing to give of ourselves. Indeed our support and hospitality following the attacks on the WTC and pentagon was enormous, and if that is to be so quickly forgotten…

We cannot be guilted into joining an illegal, immoral offensive. The same rules that apply to us regular folk should apply to our higher-ups, and most would agree that we should not be cajoled into joining a compatriot in a theft or vandalism or a murder.

It is our duty as “close relations” to confront and challenge our friends, not to be yes-men. Those who play that role are merely adding to the perception of the U.S.A. as an international bully.

Apparently Mr. Celucci suggested that if Canada were to go to war, the United States would lend all the help it could. But this statement is foolish in this circumstance (and perhaps any) because the likelihood of Canada declaring war, especially under illegal conditions, is next to nil.

It seems clear that all of this talk of support for the war from select provincial cabinets really amounts to a lot of political grandstanding; but if not for the general population—those who will elect our next governments—who are against the war, then for whom? It is all for the industries who take advantage of our plentiful resources and our lax environmental enforcement; who lay off thousands while their CEOs take home record-setting bonuses; whose products we don't need…

There are plenty more problems fomenting and fermenting in Eves' Ontario these days, many of which seem to aid the rich (supposedly for the good of us all). So why, Mr. Eves, are you and your cabinet giving your official support to the U.S. government and its war?

As a related aside, one of my favourite cabinet ministers (and my preferred candidate in the Tory leadership campaign ;), the Honourable Mr. Jim Flaherty, said, Americans “were expecting us to act like friends in this time of crisis, that we would be there for them.”

This doublespeak seems prevalent among certain groups of our elected representatives these days, but what exactly is the “crisis” that he is speaking of? And if indeed there is one, of whose devising is it?

Also, it has turned out that Mr. Klein was premature in his letter to Mr. Celucci. In his letter, he suggested that he and his entire cabinet was behind the U.S., but not long after he was chastised by several members of his caucus who did not want their names attached to any such declaration.
"

Read on..!