Hello all...how are we doing today? I have some interesting mind-food today that manages to embrace everyone's inner intellectual AND their inner revolutionary. How could it get any better than that? I don't know that it could. I'll first off give a link to a tres bien muy bueno article I found, then I will cut and paste it to death, and give you the important parts of it, for those of you on a schedule who don't want to devote more than 5 minutes of your life to the betterment of yourself as a person. It's understandable. First off, LINK.

Secondly: cut 'n' paste frenzy:
(All written by Jim Rovira)

As I was driving to a jobsite with my supervisor one day he started giving me, off the top of his head, some pretty shrewd social analysis in the form of simple observations. He told me how dependent everyone was on "the system." By this he meant everything we take for granted on a daily basis: electricity, cars, gasoline, maintained roads, grocery stores, the police, telephones, computers. . .the list could be multiplied indefinitely. His point was that we've become dependent upon these very things for our very survival. If all the grocery stores closed, tens of thousands of people would literally starve to death unless someone fed them. We were all, as a result, slaves of the system. We're sheep waiting to be slaughtered or enslaved, and if and when that time comes there won't be much we'll be able to do about it. This is, I believe, the central concern of the Wachowski Brother's latest blockbuster movie, The Matrix, largely because of an incidental connection made within the movie to a book by French sociologist Jean Baudrillard.

In one early scene, Thomas Anderson (a.k.a. Neo, played by Keanu Reeves) opens a copy of Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation to a chapter entitled "On Nihilism." ... Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation is probably the best starting point for a philosophical and sociological approach to the movie's content.

The very world of the matrix was a "model of simulation" given the feeling of the real, done so for the sake of maintaining control and reducing human beings to "coppertops," energy sources feeding the system upon which they are dependent for their survival. This is the world in which we live. We work to earn money, spending the money in grocery and clothing stores, paying our mortgages, living as model citizens (just as Neo was pressured to do) for the sake of our survival. We take money from the system and feed it back into the system, like cattle fertilizing the ground upon which they graze.

These are the decisions we must face in our real world environment. Recognizing that we're enslaved by a system is the first step. The next step involves a willingness to sacrifice safety for freedom. Both these steps were taken by all the film's protagonists, is there something beyond them? The chapter of Simulacra and Simulation entitled "On Nihilism" advocates terrorism as the means of "checking in broad daylight" the mechanisms of control, but observes that the system is itself nihilistic and can absorb even violence into its indifference. Thus, to Baudrillard, the problem seems insoluble.

This advocacy of terrorism explains the violence permeating the film. Does the film point to a solution? At the end, Neo has realized his identity and power within the matrix and has, we are led to believe, ended the program. But what then? Within the world of the film literally millions of people are in pods, unaware of their true condition and not ready for the real world as it is. What would happen to these millions should the system suddenly shut down? The world is not capable of feeding this many people all at once, much less are the people themselves ready to be awakened. Should Morpheus and Neo shut down the program and condemn millions to death? Is such an insurrection justified in the service of humanity? Especially when the only alternative is to allow the system to run as it is, and this too is unacceptable. What needs to happen in the world of the film is that the mind of the system needs to be controlled by human beings again. The malevolent computer needs to be lobotomized and then controlled. It needs to be stopped from breeding more human beings, and those in pods need to be awakened as they are able. Those unable to adapt could be allowed to live out their lives to their VR end. When they die, they won't be replaced. Within a generation the computer could be shut down.

But the matrix within which we are caught is already controlled by human beings, however much they may be just as malevolent and control oriented as the A.I. of the movie. What options do we have? When Neo finally realized his power to control the matrix, he plunged himself into an Agent and exploded him from within. Terrorism fails because it attacks the system from the outside and endangers those caught within it. Not only is insurrection in service of humanity morally unacceptable, it is doomed to failure. As Umberto Eco observed, no revolution that interrupted our soccer matches could possibly succeed. When people feel threatened, by and large they are willing to sacrifice freedom for safety. We tolerate martial law in wartime. Our only hope is that the realization of the individual within the system means the lobotomization of the system. We may remain within a matrix, but knowingly, aware of our power to control it and refusing to be controlled.

----End of Article

So...it should now be very evident that the slavery suggested by the Matrix is much more real than you ever thought. This, my friends, is why it is necessary for us to free our minds. This isn't some kind of new age mail-order touchy feely BS...this isn't just old hat antiestablishmentarianism. These are the truths of our modern society. The institutions that were built for mankind's betterment have taken over our lives, and now control us. We are not free; we are slaves to a means that has strayed from its end. Although some might like life within the system, with its comforts -- the cow becomes very fat and happy before it is taken to be slaughtered -- this fattening is nothing compared to reality, to true freedom.

I found a very interesting and worthwhile website earlier today in my wanderings...it's a definitely worth bookmarking or saving in your favorites or whatever the case may be for your internet browser. It's one of the very few completely unbiased news sources I've found in my life. Enjoy:

Spinsanity

Everyone have a nice day...

Hey kids! Guess what we're going to do today? We're going to go racist-hunting!
Do you live in Nebraska? Do you have some free time?
Stop by the Brotherhood of Klans KKK office in Omaha, NE at 6112 Elmwood station and firebomb them! They don't deserve to live!
Or, if you're in Lincoln, say hi to the National Socialist German Workers Party, the local neonazi group, and be sure to take along some guns to shoot them with!
My favorite thing to do when I'm bored is killing racist pigs and making the world a better place. It's the new thing to do, it's not hate, it's counter-hate. You know, the Bible says do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Well, if I was that ignorant and racist and worthless, I would want someone to put me out of my misery. No, really.
I was happy to learn that Nebraska only has 4 recognized hate groups, the 7th lowest in the nation. That's not bad, but about $100 worth of ammunition could put us at the lowest! Now that's something to work for!
But wait a second...am I condoning violence against hate groups? Hmm....that wouldn't be politically correct! Oh well.
Am I kidding? Am I?

....Am I?


-Odhav, I just read your blog, and I think you're forgetting that nonviolence is the way to peace and happiness.


-Screw that, lock and load!


And a little random tidbit for ya...the most disgusting thing in the world. And yes, of course, it comes from Iowa.

HERE

Be sure to read below for today's less violent and more intellectually stimulating fare.

Today's lesson: If Jean Baudrillard started a cult, I would join it.

"...Reality itself founders in hyperrealism, the meticulous reduplication of the real, preferably through another, reproductive medium, such as photography. From medium to medium, the real is volatilized, becoming an allegory of death. But it is also, in a sense, reinforced through its own destruction. It becomes reality for its own sake, the fetishism of the lost object: no longer the object of representation, but the ecstasy of denial and of its own ritual extermination: the hyperreal.

Realism had already inaugurated this process. The rhetoric of the real signaled its gravely altered status (its golden age was characterized by an innocence of language in which it was not obliged to redouble what it said with a reality effect). Surrealism remained within the purview of the realism it contested - but also redoubled - through its rupture with the Imaginary. The hyperreal represents a much more advanced stage insofar as it manages to efface even this contradiction between the real and the imaginary. Unreality no longer resides in the dream or fantasy, or in the beyond, but in the real's hallucinatory resemblance to itself."

An excerpt from Symbolic Exchange and Death, originally published in Paris, in 1976.

Currently I am reading "Simulacra and Simulation" by Jean Baudrillard, which is about the aforementioned hyperreal. Let me see if I can summarize it somewhat, although it is a concept that takes a whole book to develop. It's not kiddie stuff.

If I was to (somewhat) succinctly sum up Baudrillard's thesis, it would be this:

Our "postmodern" society is defined primarily by the destruction of the real through the formation of the "hyperreal." This hyperreal is the abstraction of society and its application as a circular, tautologistic model of reality. Modern pseudo-capitalist ideals have completely permeated our society, objectifying and commodifying every aspect of our lives, including the social, political, and intellectual. This total commodification has resulted in 'the means' and 'the end' becoming one and the same, with the means eventually totally replacing and destroying the end. Thus real meaning is lost, as the system becomes a self-propagating and simulated model of real society. What then proceeds in our society is a meaningless simulacrum, a copy without an original, that simulates the normal procession of society, hiding the fact that the real end, to which capitalism and our society were means, has been lost.

This, of course, is a thesis and not an explanation. It might make some sense at this point, or it might make no sense at all. You have to read the book to really learn anything! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a very thought provoking and mind bending interpretation of modern society. Although it does have a tendency to be somewhat dry and overly academic at times, once you have become acclamated with the writing style, it is very enjoyable. It is probably one of the most thought-provoking and interesting books I've read. Here's the information on it:

Simulacra and Simulation
by Jean Baudrillard
Translated (from French) by Sheila Faria Glaser
ISBN: 0472065211

Well. Today is July 23, 2003. Ten days after my last blog...and t minus 26 days until my departure for New York City. I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little about me, because I don't to enough of that here. First off, here's a satellite photo of where I'm going in New York. It doesn't look too amazing, well, because it's a black and white satellite photo...but trust me, it's very amazing in real life.


Here ya go.

Here's a better area shot:

Here

Just to give you an idea from whence this location derives its excitement, I give you this satellite photo, of what's going on just under 10 miles southwest of the former location:

Here

Hmmm....that seems to be none other than...Midtown New York City! Not a horrible place to spend 4 years of one's life.

And in case you're ever in the area, be sure to stop by HERE

Until next time...

Just a couple updates for today...first off, in my last angry political rant, I commented on how the Bush administration had not yet found a scapegoat for their lies regarding the war in Iraq. It seems that my prediction that they would do so was right on. The story on how CIA director George Tenet has been set up to take the fall for this massive blunder of the Bush administration can be found here.

The most interesting part about this story is that Bush still "stands by" Tenet and the CIA. So not only is the Bush administration hoping that we will be content with a scapegoat, they are hoping to not even have anyone really stand responsible, or have to answer for anything. The Bush administration must really think the American people to be stupid...I guess pretty soon we'll see if they're right.

Secondly, check out the new "Person of the Week," which can be found to your left. You can click on the person's name, and you will be led to more information about that person or their achievements. Hopefully you figured that out, though, when Einstein was still hanging around over there. Also note that in calling that section "Person of the Week," by week I mean however long it takes me to decide I should put a different person up. Just so you're aware...that's what week means from now on. Don't like it? Too bad.

I'm aware that I'm slacking on the blogs lately a little...but hopefully you will all forgive me when I revolutionize our world...if you're into that kind of thing. Next up, some comedy!

Click it! Come on...dont' just sit there...click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Damn you! Click. Click.

And Odhav's guide to happiness for the day --

If you see someone who's in the KKK, shoot 'em!
If someone cuts you off in traffic, give them the bird with a smile.
Conformity is the disease that turns many human minds into one machine.

The lesson -- fight with all your strength for what is right, don't let stupid people ruin your life, and don't be a sheep.

In the past weeks I have made greate progress in the development and presentation of Free Equitism. Though I have not yet decided how long the presentation paper should be, most of the fundamentals are now established. As a teaser, I will give you an exerpt from what I have so far.

No one can truthfully say that a child born into poverty has an equal opportunity to succeed as the child of a billionaire. This is simply not true. The chains of poverty are as real as the chains of racism, sexism, or any other harmful inequality that has existed in our society. In response to the inequality of poverty, our society has taken upon itself the task of helping, through welfare systems, those born without the benefits of sufficient income. This is a noble effort, but this method of helping fails irrevocably because it does not attempt to solve the problem; it merely treats the symptoms. Herein lies the fundamental problem.
It is the total inequality of opportunity in our society that makes political equality, as well as true freedom, unattainable. In a society where every man was given a truly equal chance at success, there would be no inherited poverty, and therefore every human would be able to determine their own future. In such a society, a man's success or failure would be his alone...not the endowment of an unjust social structure. This is true freedom. If our country is to truly be free, we must strive for real equality. We must build a society in which all men are literally created equal, thus living out the real meaning of our nation's creed.

Hope you found it interesting and revolutionary ;)

Until next time...

Having been blinded by stupidity for the past 3 days or so, I just now realized that developing a revolutionary new economic system, political system, and economic structure that will make the world a better place is not reason to slack off and merely contribute to the world. I must be cynical and angry, and make fun of the world too...my apologies for this lapse in my normally good judgement. Todays rant...too easy to resist -- George W. Bush

Well, just when you think George II has taken blatant, dishonest stupidity so far that it cannot be taken any further, what does he do? Well, he takes it a little further. The White House just publicly recognized that a key argument for the war in Iraq, which was also part of Bush's State of the Union Address, having to do with Iraq allegedly trying to buy uranium from Niger, is completely false. This same "evidence" was cited by Condoleeza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld on other occasions as a major factor in the decision for war. Things have not gotten so desperate as to resort to finger-pointing as of yet, but no doubt Cheney, Bush, and Rumsfeld will soon be unable to simply dismiss criticism as they have thus far, and there will be a sacrificial lamb...probably someone much further down on the food chain than those who really should be held responsible. No matter who they choose as a scapegoat, the underlying and important fact that has been verified yet again in this matter is the complete incompetence of the Bush administration. Let's just do a run-down of Bush's most significant failures as President since 9-11:

The "USA Patriot Act", the act that contains violations of more than 4 amendments from the Bill of Rights, is signed into law after being pushed quickly through Congress by the Republican majority and strong pressure from President Bush. (Please note that this Bill recieved strong bipartisan support, showing the worthlessness of both political parties. Also noteworthy is the fact that the ~250 page bill was passed in less time than it would realistically take for the representatives to thoroughly read the bill.)

Osama bin Laden is not captured in Afghanistan.

President Bush alleges the possession of massive quantities of WMD's by Saddam Hussein. To date, no WMD's have been found in Iraq.

President Bush launches a pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, the first such invasion in United States history. This invasion violates the U.N. Charter, and goes against hundreds of years of international diplomacy, setting a precedent for pre-emptive attack of any nation that is deemed a "threat" by the attacking nation.

Saddam Hussein is not captured or killed in the invasion of Iraq.

George Bush, a "republican", sets a ridiculously high (~22% larger than Clinton's) budget, as well as a record deficit.

U.S. soldiers continue to be killed in Iraq, an estimated $3.9 billion per month of our federal budget goes towards Iraqi "reconstuction." Of the 160,000+ soldiers in Iraq, Rumsfeld says that very few if any will be coming home in the "forseeable future."

U.S. soldiers remain scattered in Afghanistan, attempting to keep the peace and root out al Qaeda.

al Qaeda remains as strong as ever, launching attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

Regarding the guerilla attacks that have resulted in as many American deaths since the "end" of military operations in Iraq as before, President Bush says "Bring 'em on."

President Bush's claim that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Niger is proven to be completely false, and based on forged documents.

Of the reaons for the war with Iraq cited by the Bush administration, only one justification -- the least legitimate -- the argument for the "liberation" of the people of Iraq, remains valid, although its correctness is called into question by widespread protests in Iraq against U.S. occupation.

...actually the list goes on and on, but it's getting late and I'm getting tired.
Just so this doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth if you're a "Republican" (real republicans should know by now that Bush isn't a real republican) or the Bush-loving type, check out this link...it should be very informative for the left and right alike.

Partisan Hokey-Pokey

I would like to announce that I will now be dedicating a great deal of my time to the formal presentation (it is already completely developed) of a new economic and political structure, which I hope will one day come to be the dominant system in our nation, if not the world. The system is called Free Equitism. As implied by its name, it is based upon the concepts of freedom and equality. At its root it is an attempt to fully realize the ideals that our nation was founded upon, such as equality and freedom. It is very similar to our current system; concurrently it is a totally new and revolutionary system. It is a system made to actualize the potentialities of democracy, thus creating a truly free society in which no one group dominates another, and in which no citizen is born into the prison of poverty. In this system, the government will not claim a third or more of the citizen's hard-earned money, as our current government does. Likewise, the stagnant, cancerous, and corrupt political structures of our nation will be purged, and once more embody the ideals intended by the founding fathers. Although Free Equitism has the same base principles as those found in our consititution, it is also progressive and introduces very fundamental changes in our social and economic structures. Free Equitism recognizes the basic flaws in our political and social systems, and fixes them in order to bring about a more free and prosperous society. I have told you what Free Equitism will bring to the world...now you must wait for it to arrive, and for it to revolutionize life as we know it.

First off, I apologize for ODHAVBLOG having fallen silent for the past week or so; I have been out of town. The good news is that my break has given birth to an entirely new idea, which I will need to develop further before it can be introduced to you here. A hint, though, is that it will be an undertaking larger than any other project undertaken by myself in the past. Whether or not it will reach fruition I leave to the future, but in my present state of excitement about it, I cannot see it slipping through the cracks. I don't expect mere expectation to help you through this day, after a week of inactivity, so I'll now give you a little brainfood, although nothing too profound, to hold you over until I can update on the "biggie" in the works. Enjoy these random items...if you will.

Black Panthers Coloring Book

On a lighter note

***Very interesting***

The site at which the above article is found