Affirming your resolve

Why do we have to wait until some predetermined day before we decide to put a plan in place to change the bad habits that hinder our potential? I certainly don't.

I am certainly not waiting until I am old and decrepit before (hopefully) planning to ensure my final years are not too troublesome. Maybe it is my distaste for working for someone else that agitates my desires to find a shortcut to early retirement. So far, so unsuccessful ... but I am trying.  

It bewilders me that there are not more people questioning why their world seems to revolve around a 9-5PM 'jail sentence' and, in particular, doing nothing to change the situation. I think people have fallen into a distorted form of Stockholm Syndrome whereupon they actually enjoy being confined to their cubicle and  enjoy whittling away the long business hours with solitaire and coffee breaks.

How many of you can honestly say that your life-long dream was to work in an office? I know when I was growing up I wanted to be a pilot, computer programmer (guilty) and maybe an artist. I never thought of writing because I always held authors in such high esteem. Maybe it was a lack of confidence that made me so reticent to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) but I pushed through and created something that I am proud of even if not everyone is as appreciative. This is but one step. One stepping stone towards a path of  independence but, as you know, you don't climb a staircase with just one step. 

My ongoing resolution is to succeed in being capable of independence, even if that freedom simply allows me to remain in my cubicle because, hey, it's pretty comfy and I'm pretty sure meetings are therapeutic for my mental well-being.

Unravelling the thread

I don't usually like the King of the Hill series but, the episode I am about to discuss, I do. For those not in the know, It's from the mind of Mike Judge of Beavis and Butthead 'fame', Daria and the most excellent satire Idiocracy. I would describe this series as a realist's interpretation of The Simpsons but with a more subtle humor and bitter-sweet after taste.

This episode covers the story of Hank's wife Peggy and her attempts to rehabilitate herself after a plane crash. Her rehabilitation is agonisingly slow and she loses heart with the lack of progress. That is, until Cotton (Hank's father) decides to take up Peggy's cause. He does not treat her with kindness or patience, but rather, insults and the heartless goal for her to help herself, even if that means having her crawl on her belly to do it. I know the story is schmaltzy but I guess I must be a sucker for it because I liked it ... or at least I liked the message.

In its essence, it is about pushing through the can'ts and won'ts that frame your perception until all that is left is will and can. I don't wait, I don't wish, I don't hope, I don't dream, I aim, I target, I conquer. You are only limited by your desire to succeed and as long as you keep trying it is only a matter of time till you succeed^*.

^*success is not necessarily guaranteed :)

Letting go

I have recently made a rather large change: I've accepted a one-year secondment in the US. Alongside this acceptance, I've also given up my apartment and (pretty much) all my worldly possessions. It is quite scary and also quite liberating to be happy to be able to travel so light but logically it made sense as well. It would have cost me a bare minimum of $2,000 to put my stuff in storage ... and probably the same amount to ship it to America. I managed to sell all my furniture, TV, PS3 and stereo for $2,000 and have now (theoretically) made about $4,000 on the deal.

I now have a suitcase full of clothes, my work laptop, roller blades and tennis/squash racquet. Everything else has been liquidated. The few personal items that I couldn't take were shipped to my parents' place and now I have the ability to start again. For those that are following my progress, I also managed to write a bit on the flight over. I'm now at about 14% (note the progress meter to the right) and having a bit more free time and minimal distractions should allow me to quickly put a sizable dent in what remains.

Tipping the balance

I am progressing nicely through the next book. I think the pacing and writing is comparable and, now that the mythos of my world has been established, I can focus more on character development and the trials and tribulations of what Zed goes through to avoid unrest-threatening situations.

I have the plot worked out and it's just a matter of painting by the numbers and hopefully injecting the same level of fun dialogue and neurotic musings that the first one did. I think if I had to put the first as a basis of five for the litmus test, I would say this next book would be a seven. There are more characters, more perspectives, more story arcs and more is seen of the world. Of course, I don't want to go all Michael Bay on this book and think, naturally, that more is always better but I do think that the story will benefit from this broader scope.

Random musing:
Feel free (for those who have read my book) to give me suggestions or ideas for what you would like Mr Zed (or Chase) to do next. You never know; I might just add it to the story (and credit you in the book) :) Alternatively, if I'm 100% enamored by your idea, you might even become one of the characters in my story!

Fear and loathing

Ah, the wonders of Karaoke. Some people are terrible, others are average and very few are good. And yet it doesn't stop them singing, whatever their categorisation. I'm not sure which category I'm in (hopefully not the terrible one) but I do enjoy singing. I did my first public Karaoke a few days back and I enjoyed it. With a captive audience (they had to finish their beers), I tried my best to capture The Pixies, Nirvana, The Doors and The Eagles. I'm not sure whether I succeeded but I enjoyed it - I even got a fist bump for my efforts.

People in my group were (and still are) hesitant about singing in public - they hate it. I enjoy it. Maybe it's the fear of being ridiculed that compels them to keep their singing voices under lock and key. For me that's a reason to challenge the world to critique. I thrive on criticism - maybe because I'm a masochist, but the only way to improve is to be told your weaknesses. I do care if I subject others to my caterwauling but I do love singing; imagining me in the bands that I love and bringing something different to the original performance, whether intended or not.

I would recommend that everyone pushes their boundaries and hopefully discovers some new talents (or must-try-harder areas). To hell with anyone's opinion; just get up and live.

Of mice and men

I think I understand America now. I think I understand why they would come to believe that their country is the best in the world. When it comes to the sport, the spectacle and the overall production of orchestrating thousands of spectators, food and excitement, they are second to none. I cannot help being impressed by the adrenaline and thrill when the local team scores a goal / home run / power play. At those moments it all makes sense.

Now that I am situated in California, I headed out to Disneyland for a day. Embarrassing fact: I didn't even realise that it existed until my colleague pointed it out to me. Even though I'm almost 34, I still have managed to retain my child-like wonder (some would say immaturity) so I relished the opportunity to go on all the rides and rekindle my childhood once more.

The first ride we went on was a boat ride through the 'dangerous waters' of Africa ... which translated to a few poor man's animatronics and little else. We were accompanied by a tour guide who had probably done this ride a few thousand times. He was probably one of the most grizzled, cynical and near-suicidal hosts I've ever come across. And he couldn't have been funnier. He brought a deeply sarcastic and well-worn Bill Murray impression to the Groundhog day-like proceedings. For every twist and turn he had been given a few thousand takes to perfect his stand up. I am unsure whether Disney would agree but I thought he was brilliant.

The final shows for Disneyland were amazing: synchronised audio, music, story, lighting, fireworks. So outside of the basic premise of watching a collection of explosions, a story had somehow been interwoven (themed by various Disney stories). Pretty amazing. This was followed by the show at the Disney's California Adventure (opposite Disneyland) that was a water show, with various streams of water synchronised to music - Bellagio eat your heart out. It also had various elements seamlessly woven together to produce one coherent experience.

And so, from the grizzled host to the impressive final shows, they showed an amazing ability to surpass simply showing off fireworks, water spouts or cheap animatronics. They were able to transcend their basic mediums so the basic elements became meta to what they actually wanted to show: the human spirit and the desire to do more.

Forge the habits for your future

This video is amazing/harrowing/frightening/inspiring.

It follows the story of a smart, intelligent woman who is struck down by Multiple Sclerosis in her life. Only through her determination, drive and undying desire to do everything in her power to reduce (and possibly reverse) her deterioration, she rediscovers what modern society has seemingly forgotten.

She is the 'canary in the mine'. She is a warning sign for all those who believe what we eat nowadays is healthy. I think even if we can make some effort towards a better diet, we can all lead better lives. Spread the word and ensure that this message isn't swallowed up by the corporations profiting from our lack of insight.

Musings for your mind

Outside of intellect, training, an ability to stage your story and write believable characters and good dialogue, there is another tool that you need:

Imagination and hard work

There is a website that helps with the imagination part: oneword.com. As for the hard work, you will still have to look to yourself for that.

Upon logging into the site, you are prompted to write for one minute about a single word at the top of the screen. This pushes your mind into neutral, allowing your words to flow freely. By limiting your ramblings to a single minute, it forces your sub-conscious to react to the word. You don't have enough time to formulate something cohesive, but your sub-conscious does. You might think this is useless, but some of my best writing has come from these sub-conscious expeditions. Your ability to write will improve, even if what you write on this site doesn't.

I highly recommend a spending a few minutes a day limbering your mind. Your writing will improve and your readers will appreciate it :) 

Love triangles: so hot right now

I lazily gaze across the YA genre and I cannot help noticing a pattern emerging. The story is usually about a heroine who secretly pines for an aloof stranger and has a best friend (that she ignores) who is also, coincidentally, hot. Turmoil ensues and both her friend and the stranger admit their love for her whereupon she finally chooses her suitor. What drama.

When I was a young lad, my choices were a little more varied. Authors wrote what they wanted to write, rather than who their target demographic was or whether vampires were, like, sooo hot right now.

It amuses me to see authors explicitly stating the age of their hero/heroine (sixteen or seventeen). I shouldn't need to know their age to be able to relate to the story. If it was well-written, you would be drawn in irrespective of whether you secretly pine to be the protagonist or happen to be the same age. I think if JK Rowling were to write Harry Potter now, her agent would ask her to focus on Hermione (who would coincidentally be seventeen) and revolve around the dilemma of choosing between the affections of a mysterious older man with piercing blue eyes (whose name we shall not speak) or her best friend Harry.

I can see it now. The public would love it and we would all get a blow-by-blow account that transpires across seven books until the magical moment that she finally decides. And she would be seventeen throughout the story, even though many years of angst and drama would pass (they live in a magical land where time stands still) ... because adults are gross.

Doesn't that make your skin crawl? Anyway, this is more of an impetus towards the authors out there. Ignore your agents, ignore the trends, write what you are passionate about and the result will be spell-binding. The readers will love you for it and I will too.

Internet: meet my novel

It is so easy to get your novel into the hungry hands of blog reviewers. They are always so receptive to the rabid requests of the random indie / self-published / e-book-only authors that want their next 'masterpiece' reviewed.

The review request process works more like an interview or marketing or even an application to a publisher. These blog sites are professional, much to my dismay. I am also competing against 'legitimate' novels for the reviewers' time, which makes the problem of getting my novel into their hands a little harder. Although, I think if I ran a book review blog I would do the same. If I could read the next JK Rowling or the next Joe Blow, I know which one I would choose.

It seems obvious now.

Pushing your limits

I watched the Australian Open Men's Final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and it was everything a final should be: A test of will, a test of skill, a test of focus and a test of human limits. In the end the match took almost six hours and each second was hard-fought (outside of change of ends).

No, they are not bowing to the head of Kia Motors

Having seen the match that Nadal played against Tomas Berdych leading to the match with Federer, I would have said that he was the man to beat in this tournament. I don't think I've seen anyone hit the ball that hard, that consistently and that much on the line. Nadal has finally learned how to hit a ball (that isn't looped) ... but I digress.

In comparison to Nadal's run, I think Djokovic had it a bit easier with less pressure leading to the final - it could have made the difference. When it comes to 5+ hours of running and pounding shots into the corners, having that little extra in the tank might have made the difference when it came to the final set - Nadal had finally run out of steam.

The final set was a sea of breaks and break-backs, with Djokovic getting the final break from a 30-15 scoreline. Serving for the match, he had pressure on his serve with a 30-40 break-point, but was able to fight back to win the next three points. Djokovic was the champion although both deserved the prize.

The most humorous / telling moment was the point where both players had to wait for the sea of back-patting antics to sponsors to conclude while their legs spasmed uncontrollably. I must admit I found it funny, but couldn't help admiring them. Considering just a few short minutes earlier they were running full-steam and looking close-to unstoppable, it was amazing to see the pain they were in. It is a testament to all those that saw it that this is a moment you should appreciate - they didn't save anything for the swim back and neither should we.

As an aside, the Women's was apparently between two screeching harpies - I don't know who won, but the only thing I'm sure of is that Women's tennis lost. As always, humour is the best medicine for something that irks ... or a shotgun. Also, I created a facebook page - feel free to lend your support here. 

I object

I am not sure that any mass protest has ever resulted in a major reform of the situation they so adamantly object to. Maybe they think they're standing for reform, but it is only really those in power that have any chance of making a reform. If you are not one of those people, you truly have no power.

Despite the injustice of pepper-spraying some seated non-violent protesters, this is a perfect metaphor for the lack of power they wield in their futile attempt for change.

They can bang their drums, they can occupy the financial districts, they can shout into their mega-phones and the only thing you will see is a blinding lack of change or reform.

I honestly can't think of one situation where a protest has ever changed a situation. Maybe they've postponed it, but only for a short time. The only things that have ever changed are those that have happened to coincide with the general consensus of the population. Having a few thousand people being angry is never it. The only way you change a situation is by actually doing something about it. 

Protesting is not it.

Vote for someone who isn't in it for themselves, or the powers that support this representative, is one way. Although, in modern democracy, it is almost a pointless exercise. For me, personally, it's like choosing which flavour of sh** tastes the best. Either way, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

I think the only thing we have any control of is our own lives. Rather than sitting in the cold in a make-shift tent trying to be angry for weeks about something out of your control, you can do something to better your situation in life. Become financially independent, find something you really want to do, find your source of happiness, run for government - change the world around you from the inside.

This is the only way to make any real change for your future.

Publishing like a champ

In preparation for the 'imminent release' of my first novel, I thought I'd investigate what I can do to get the most exposure when I publish my book into the ether. I think, outside of writing something which people actually want to read (very important), the rest relies on your target audience being aware your latest 'masterpiece'. There is no point writing a book like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, if the only people that read it are pot smokers who think it's something to do while high.

The main thing for getting the word out is, apparently, blogging (ahem), enabling the prospective customer a chance to read a portion of it, distributing to as many eBook publications as possible and getting influential book sites to review your novel.

Blogs

The blog is a good medium - you can discuss your characters, you can paste excerpts to whet their appetite. You can do a lot to promote your book, but only as long as you have a large-ish reader base.

eBook Publications

I think, outside of the well-known ones, like kindle, nook, iTunes, there is another which seems to be pretty good.

Smash Words

The first thing, which is pretty compelling, is that 85% of the revenue goes straight to you - and that ain't shabby. The second is that it supports all the major eBook readers, as well as PDF's and even plain text. The third is that you can allow your reader to read a good portion of the novel before they even purchase it - that makes things a lot easier so you know what you're getting when you plonk down your hard-earned cash. Coincidently, the majority of the story was written over the course of November, which happens to be the month of NaNoWriMo.

Book review sites

Rather than listing each one, I'll give you a link to a list of book review sites:

100 best blogs for book reviews

For popular blogs by authors, I think this is pretty compelling:

Top 50 blogs by authors

References and further reading:

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

Amanda Hocking: How to do what I do

Bare bones guide: How to launch a new ebook for sale

The one major thing that I missed was to send out ARC's (Advanced Review Copies) and to drum up some excitement leading up to the release of my novel (shame on me). Well, lesson learned. So don't forget that no one will care if you've written the next Harry Potter if there is no lead up. Start early and drum up interest before the book is released.

My dysfunctional hero

Mr Doug Stanhope: In my most coherent, eloquent, salient, antagonist-minded moment, I'd hope to be a tenth as capable as you.

He's a stand-up comedian, chronic drinker, drug user and a staunch believer in excess.  Or, as he calls it, excess in moderation.  He's also hilarious.

I find his mind amazing to follow.  He takes Zoloft and sleeping pills so he can sleep without his thoughts keeping him awake.  Sure, he's sensational (if you watch some of his stuff), but he is somehow able to twist this sensationalism in such a way that you can't help understanding his point.  He's like a current-day bene gesserit, able to use 'the voice' to sway your mind.

Even though the two of us don't appear very similar on the outside, I think we're almost the same.  His views are mine, his perspective is mine, his brain is mine.  The way we choose to handle the infliction caused by our thoughts is different, but the symptoms are the same.

Off topic ever so slightly:

Speaking of symptoms, watching TV in America is a depressing activity. I've seen this ad for a drug for depression called 'abilify' which, apart from hurting my brain at the double-speak-esque name, hurts my head in other ways.  This is an anti-depressant supplement. So if you are still depressed with your current anti-depressants, here's something that'll take you 'to eleven'.  But it's a small price to pay, as long as the symptoms are treated. Does anyone else see a problem with that previous sentence?


"Yeah you're fine - you got no symptoms!  You're great!  Now just repeat this treatment till you got no symptoms of life."


I'd like to think we're beyond the point of treating symptoms and actually looking at the cause, or is that being far too presumptuous? It then goes onto say that in some cases it can increase the chances of suicide, stroke, coma or death... I'm sorry.  Is this meant to help or just get you further along the path to your final demise?

Anyway, rant over - back to Doug.

I have a feeling that, despite his apparent excesses, he'll be another Keith Richards.  Where he, despite all probability, remains alive far beyond what should be clinically possible.  I think, ironically, he lives to spite himself.  It's a wonderful contradiction.

Here's a list of his 'cleaner' material:

Doug Stanhope on Media-generated Celebrity
Doug Stanhope on Fear in the US News Media
Doug Stanhope on Late Night US TV
Doug Stanhope on Saving the Planet

Anyway, Doug's an amazing comedian and he deserves at least a few minutes of your time.

The curse of an easy life

I personally feel that I would have succeeded far more if there were more hurdles in place to my success. I sometimes think my life is too easy. I know a good number of examples where people have succeeded from a less-than-ideal starting point.

Take Kyle Sandilands: an absolute tool but a successful one. He started as a street kid and is now a multi-millionaire, despite the general public's abhorrence towards him. Lil Wayne, Richard Pryor, Katt Williams - all revered in their field of choice but all with terrible lives growing up. I think those troubles in early life motivated them to push themselves. To ensure that they would never have to feel that pain or maybe to gloss over the loss in their early lives.

It seems that even with success it sometimes isn't enough, with self-destructive tendencies rearing its ugly head at the least opportune moment. A lot of theses successful people realise too late that success doesn't necessarily equal happiness; but I would rather be successful and unhappy than unsuccessful and unhappy.

As the great Charlie Sheen once said about success:

"People say it's lonely at the top, but I sure like the view"

..not that anyone should try to emulate the life or lifestyle of Charlie Sheen.

Since my life has been pretty charmed, it does nothing to motivate me to get out of such a 'bad' situation. I think the only way that I keep pushing forwards is by tricking my mind into believing my current situation is not enough. I strive because I want more. I want success, I want financial freedom. All quite admirable but I think even if I weren't able to reach this, my life would still be pretty darn good. Hopefully I'm the only one that has such a distorted view of happiness and success. But darned if I don't want a less-easy life.

Musings for life

I'm always fascinated by the the things that motivate people. I'm even more surprised by the things that motivate me at times. Writing, for me, is an organic process. Sometimes I go into a post or story without any vision of what I am about to write. It could, quite possibly, turn into a rambling incoherent mess but I'm still fascinated by it nonetheless. The thought that I'm somehow tapping into my sub-conscious rather than writing with a preconceived plan amazes me. I can't help but think that I'm a vessel for my sub-conscious thoughts. My brain is my muse, apparently.

When I was about six years old I wrote a story that was submitted for a competition. I don't think I ever thought of winning but I was going to write the best I could as I've always been competitive. The basic story revolved around a gorilla that befriends and follows me to school and then joins me in a swimming pool. I'm not sure what motivated me to write about that but my sub-conscious somehow did. I ended up writing one of the best stories for my year and was forced to read the story to the whole school.

I think, if I'd known about that, I wouldn't have written it as well. Addressing my school and telling that story was not my idea of a reward. I read it self-consciously but the students seemed to enjoy it, laughing at the point where the gorilla jumps in the pool with me. I'm not sure what my muse was for that story but it resulted in my achievements being recognised.

Which brings me to current day. I'm writing a book and it has been almost a completely organic experience.  It has almost all been written as if I am purely an eye witness to the events, rather than following a structured set piece of preconceived ideas, story arcs and notions. I travel with the characters in my book, chronicling their journey, rather than creating it. That thought is amazing to me. Some of the best parts of the story have come to me unaided. I would like to think that there is still structure to the story, as I do massage the words and pacing, but the underlying thoughts and ideas are extracted from the ether.

Do you find yourself questioning where your motivations come from? What motivates you to do something in your life over all others? What are your muses for life?

Survival of the fittest

When did that expression lose its meaning?

It no longer means anything in the world we have today. In the physical sense, there is basically nothing left to threaten the weakest, meekest or disease-ridden. Take the lion. The male lion can only maintain his pride as long as he's the strongest. The one most capable of protecting his lionesses and cubs. As soon as there is any sign of weakness, his throne is relinquished to the new strongest male and so on.

'The circle of life', to use a line from that corny Disney film.

Now if you're the weakest in society, you might not have a pride of lionesses, but you're still able to survive.  There are prescriptions, treatments and cures for pretty much any of the things that can inflict a person. When did it become 'survival of the person with the best medical care'? To top it all off, they can then pass on their tainted DNA to their children. It's perverting natural selection for their selfish need to 'protect' their bloodline.

A mans' worth is now based either through fame, money or being physically attractive. Sure, it's good to have those attributes, but that doesn't measure any of the attributes you should truly be gauged on. Strength of character, the ability to think, the ability to empathise or strive forwards are a true measure of self-worth.  I think it's the society we live in which has perverted the meaning of 'the fittest'.

Maybe we need to have a gladiatorial test of a man's strength, intelligence and drive to prove their worth as a prized catch. A similar thing would have to be devised for women, too. Then there would be a ranking system that would rate a person. Just as you have a credit rating, you'd have an eligibility or 'fittest' rating. It could be that if the rating was too low, you were no longer able to pass on your DNA.

Take Gattaca, one of my favourite films. The basic story revolves around a fixation of a man's worth by their DNA. Their future was determined by their strength of DNA which would determine what kind of role they were eligible for and who they could socialise with. The film concludes with a man, that despite having weak DNA, becomes a 'DNA elite' through subterfuge and strength of character. He is able to exceed all expectations despite being ranked weak within this society.

There's a quote that I think is brilliant:

'I never saved anything for the swim back'

His strength of character was such that he was so determined to reach his goal that he'd put everything on the line to succeed. Now that is a persons' worth that needs to exceed his lifetime.

So in conclusion, it's not that we save people who are weak, it's that the weak of character are able to continue their bloodline, destroying future generations in the process. The ability to procreate should be a privilege rather than a right. I think anyone who is willing to push their limits beyond what they should be capable of is worthy. Anyone who strives for a better future is something we should preserve. You can always do far more if you don't save anything for the swim back.

Compunctions

Apologies for the drunken ramblings in the near future:

This is a shorter post relative to the previous, although no less poignant.

Why is it that you have a greater compunction to help if you're inebriated?  Why is it that you require alcohol to feel compassionately towards your human man?  Why is it that you only feel compassionate once you've had a few?

I really don't know.  Could it be that your ability to rationalise overrides your ability to rationlise.  Could it be that your rational self thinks too much.  Is it only if you're inebriated that everything becomes clear?

I think it's relative to your ability to empathise.  Your abilities to relate to your human man override your need to understand why they need money.  You give because it's the right thing to do.

Is that so wrong?  I personally don't think so,

At least in this state of mind...

Material worth

One of the mantra's that I live by is a quote from the film Fight Club:

At first it doesn't seem to make sense, until you start thinking about it. The more you do, the more it becomes 'relevant', the meaning becomes clear.

My interpretation is that, alongside the accumulation of possessions, your freedoms are compromised. Take the scenario where you buy a nice white sofa which fits in perfectly with the rest of your decor. With this 'great sofa', the following concerns come to mind:

• 'Scotch guarding' your couch to protect against marking
• Avoiding *anyone* putting their feet up on it
• Maybe getting a plastic cover / throw rug to protect it from wear
• Avoiding drinking red wine / eating anything that could stain it.
• Being reticent to move, as the sofa now fits in 'so nicely' in your current home
• Getting insurance to ensure that if it's stolen / damaged in some way, you can get a new one
• Paying the sofa off before the interest-free period expires (possibly)

It seems like a lot of things to consider just for a 'new sofa'. Now, take that new car. You now have to worry about parking, fuel, scratches, other drivers, your driving, servicing your car, keeping your miles down for high resale value, choosing the right colour also for high resale, choosing the right model for high resale etc. So much is geared towards not losing money, or maintaining the items that you purchased so they remain 'new' for as long as possible. Outside of the basic function of sitting on the lounge, or driving the car to get to point B, how much of the other things consume your mind? Maybe I just think too much, but I'm sure at least a few of the things on the list have crossed your mind at one time or the other.

The other Fight Club quote that seems fitting is:

"It's only once you have lost everything that you are free to do anything"

There seems to be some value in that quote, too. Even though those mantra's are high on my thoughts each day, I don't follow them to the letter. I am human, after all. I have things, I have things that consume my mind. At times I feel as if there would be merits in removing these items from my life, but as long as I live in a society that can't work without these things, I will always be shackled by a need to have things. I wouldn't be able to blog unless I had computer of some kind. I wouldn't have a job unless I could dress appropriately, I wouldn't be able to make a coffee without a kettle. All things that you 'need'.

I think at some point, there will need to be a change; either from choice or necessity. What will happen if, and when, that time comes? What things can you truly not 'live' without? What is your material worth?

Hope for the future

The inspiration for the post today:

Who would think that one speech from a comedian, of all people, would be deemed within the world of youTube, as the 'greatest speech ever made'? It definitely propels you to do 'something', what you interpret it to be is probably more of a subjective thing, as it's not 100% clear.

The speech is rousing, but I feel like the overall message somehow gets lost, although it's hard not to well up in the carousing words of Mr Charlie Chaplin playing, what looks like, some kind of fuhrer.

He starts out saying he doesn't want to be an emperor or rule but then goes onto to tell you what you should do.


He talks about the things we should work against; greed, bigotry, the alienating advancements in technology and displacement of the human connection.


He then states that we need to reconnect with fellow man as those that oppress are pushed to the side. You as an individual will need to make personal choices, choices to fight for those that attempt to oppress, those that attempt to treat us as cattle, those that destroy blindly, those that put up barriers.


He then states that we have the power to create happiness, the power to reconnect and create a future through advancements in technology.

At the most basic interpretation of the video, it seems to be both an argument for and against technology, which seems kind of funny. By my assessment of the current day world, we're still at the introduction to the speech - no change has occurred outside of the back-patting antics of those that tell you they care. And who are we to question?

Spending my time in a big city, I come across a good number of homeless people begging to get through the day, let-alone the week. A lot of them are grizzled, a lot of them are in need of a fix, but some are different. There is one in particular that appears to be the happiest person I know. He doesn't have an iPod, he doesn't have a stock portfolio, but he always seems to be smiling. He smiles with his eyes, which is rare these days. I'm a firm believer that you can tell a lot from the mouth and the eyes, and his seems to encompass pure happiness.

He doesn't beg, exactly, but he does make those around him aware that he is in need. The only thing he does say is 'have a good day', while smiling at you. He might be the world's best con artist, but it's hard to pass him without a strong desire to give him everything in my wallet. Other homeless people that beg almost get incensed if you pass them by without giving something; like it's 'their right' that you provide for them. Not him. He doesn't appear to be in need of anything other than a hot meal and to provide for his partner in life: a dog. That dog probably takes the compunction to help further, as it's the most devoted animal I've seen. Always looking towards her master with undying focus. I can tell it's a she because she's got pink toe nails and is wearing a tailored coat that looks like it cost a lot more than the man's entire wardrobe.

The thing that motivates and inspires me that there is still hope is not technology, it's a homeless man.