Synthetic risk taking

There was an article in the Sunday Age near another piece about the deaths of young drivers. It suggested that teenagers and young adults cannot properly process risk. The author Reid Sexton quoted an academic from Monash Uni, Simon Crisp, who used the prase above. It refers to a lack of 'real' risk in young peoples lives and experience with only the mediated kind where energy packs or special effects determine the outcome. This is probably true, actually hurting yourself can be an education, as can achieving calculated risky goals. It's as important to understand and respect your limits as it is to push them. For this I have a suggestion.

Skate

board

-ing!


and maybe riding a BMX too.

...
Skateboard photos by Brooks Fritz & Jefferson Todd
BMX photo by Brinx
Original article at The Age

High-Rise

A blog about abandond places reminded me of Ballard.
This one's from the Ukraine, but could be almost anywhere...

"Above all I’d like to examine the psychological modifications which occur without the knowledge of the inhabitants themselves, to see to what degree the mind of someone who drives a car or lives in a concrete high-rise has been altered"

...
Photo by Artemco
Interview quote from ballardian.com

Hideous to the eye

Cave snubs Jackson tribute in favour of Fawcett

Goth-rocker Nick Cave stunned revellers at Britain's Glastonbury music festival on Sunday (28 Jun 2009) after he failed to pay tribute to fellow musician Michael Jackson - choosing to dedicate his set to late Charlie's Angels star Farrah Fawcett instead. ... As the shocking reports reverberated across the globe, Glastonbury organisers insisted the weekend music bash would be dedicated to Jackson. But there was one rocker at the event who failed to remember the pop icon - Nick Cave confused the crowd at his set by paying tribute to Fawcett, and totally forgetting to mention the Thriller hitmaker. As he took the mic on Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage, he told fans, "We'd like to dedicate this set to the late, great... Farrah Fawcett."

...
From nick-cave.com

Wise up suckers!

Much like PWEI (look it up) suggests, shitty pop culture and the 24hr news cycle does not encourage an informed perspective on history. In one sense we* are encouraged to elevate novelty and put the nonsensical hyper- before otherwise useful words. Also we can find ourselves subject to the whims of richer older (mostly) men who, elected or otherwise, would tie us down in their recieved view of how the world works, and what is best for us all. So when the wind rips down the chasm that separates progression and tradition and chills us to the bone, what are we to do?



We use our critical faculties, we might look for progression and new ideas from those who have a sense of history, as novelty for its own sake quickly becomes tiresome. We also may benefit from considering what has gone before in terms of practical outcomes and apply this knowledge ourselves. Here are two of the most interesting articles I have read lately, that suggest or describe the employment of similar strategies, but may not be what you expect. I suggest you print 'em as they deserve attention. Endorsement or disagreements might be forthcoming upon request.

The First Lecture
Reality Sandwich | The Process is the Product
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*My 'we' is probaly not as general as 'I' would like
Image by Memeht Karatay

Signs and portents

High Value Detainee #1

Saddam Hussien wrote poetry in his cell after his capture by American forces. He also denied responsibilty for the 9/11 attacks or even meeting Osama Bin Laden, describing him as a Zealot. I am only really suprised about the poetry.

The CIA has recently released the summaries of a series of interviews and 'casual conversations' conducted with the former Iraqi President. These are hosted at the National Secuity Archive at George Washington University.

Referring to Hussein as 'High Value Detainee #1' these read like a Ballard short story as the dispassionate writer summarises what must have been hours of direct structured interviews and a few briefer encounters by FBI agent George L. Piro. In these Hussein dismisses the use of body doubles, and whilst having the airconditioning in cell fixed claimed to lived simply and that the numerous palaces in Iraq were not really 'his' and were in fact constructed to give his formerly agrarian nation a chance to develop it's architectural skills.

Hussein repeatedly claims that he did not have WMD's and frustrated the UN's inspection plans largely so as to maintain a psychological and tactical advantage over Iran. He is surprisingly candid about other high-ranked members of the Ba'ath Party and shares a joke with the American agent over his description of one of Hussein's collegues as a used car salesman. This is a remarkably direct insight into one of the major figures of our times, and contained also in these documents are his insights into how to rule a nation, deal with troublesome neighbours and manage vacillating allies. However a lot of these interviews concern the history of the Ba'ath party and the war with Iran, and much appears to remain undisclosed. It is unlikely that these 26 documents represent all that was discussed before his trial and subsequent execution.

A mysterious Portal

Nobody has any time to waste, not even when you’re fucking around on the internet. I don’t and I wouldn’t waste your time either, believe me. So when it is suggested that it might be worth watching this 4 minute film clip, take it seriously.



This is an amazing live performance by the Brisbane band Portal whom I had sadly not heard of until recently. I think they describe themselves as death metal, which I know little about. To my ears this is like an event in a post-apocalyptic Olympics. It’s the heavy metal equivalent of those 14 year old eastern European girls with the streamers. How the fuck do they make such pretty shapes when the thing’s trailing 6 meters behind them? I don’t know and I have no idea how Portal train for their event either, but it payed off. If you aren’t already experienced, prepare to have your mind blown. If you're turned off by words like death and heavy and metal just watch anyway, it's life enriching. Go on, look at that headgear, you wont regret it...

. . . P o r t a l A b o d e . . .

Telepathic insects

As a previous post title may have suggested there has been some late night Giallo going down over here. The film 'Phenomena' (1985) from Dario Argento may not strictly conform to the genre but it's a ripper anyway. No spoilers follow, but it's total fucking madness. I am convinced that Dario just writes scenes in order to produce the shot and some of these are unbelievable. This movie is full of genuinely unexpected moments (not all of which are plot holes), strange ideas and features a rocking soundtrack featuring both Motorhead and Goblin! You know what Molly would say - Do yourself a favour.