maps

the creation of digital worlds, primarily found in video games like second life and so on, is surely one of the major cultural developments of recent times. the major development is collective experience. lots of people experiencing the same place and things. this is different from sim city or CIV games where you fabricate cities/worlds but you are the only one who sees them or engages with what you have created. when you have the equivalent population of spain entering these digital worlds every day, its a force to be reckoned with.

i am waiting to hear about the first electronic dictator or the first social revolution within world of warcraft. or the digital human rights bill in second life.

middleground

i love the idea of purgatory. my understanding is that is was inserted into catholic doctrine as a fund raising tool for the church. there is something amazingly bold and inventive about that. a whole other level of existence canonized to raise money. and purgatory doesn't seem that bad. i suppose its no heaven, but then again its no hell. probably pretty boring but if you are the type of person that can entertain themselves than you would be just fine. sort of like living in delaware. not the most exciting state in the union, but by no means the worst. and like purgatory, eventually you can move.

sales

burial rituals are a strange thing. putting dead things into the ground or burning them until they are ash make sense on an instinctual level. the cycle of life thing. but preparing bodies to be viewed for say a funeral is very strange. i understand the function, allowing people to say goodbye, to get some closure, but its a strange last image of someone and pumping them full of formaldehyde or whatever is very peculiar.

i have seen tombstones that have photos of the deceased person on it. how does one choose this image? presumable they specified that they want this on their grave and they have a photo chosen before they go. if they have led a long life then how do they choose from a life of photos? do they choose from an image from when they were happiest or maybe from when they were best looking?

a friend of mine is not an organ donor because he doesn't know what he might need in the next stage of things. its hard to argue with thoughts like that.

underfoot

when the smoking ban first came into play i didn't mind. it was easier on my lungs and i had to do laundry less frequently. but the more time that passes the more i miss the days when you could smoke indoors. i think there is a significant cultural loss when you cut smoking completely out of the picture. smoking is primitive in the best way. putting fire close to your face and inhaling smoke. its has been a staple of social interaction and a facilitator of contemplative talk for centuries. if a bar wants to choose to be smoke free then so be it, but they should also have the choice to allow smoking. i imagine the more interesting conversation and happenings would take place in the bars that allows it.

smoking is bad for your health sure, but no one goes to the bar for their health... at least not their physical health.

class photo

i am constantly astounded that there are the human race is so equally divided between men and women. with all the division within our species, be it man-made, cultural or geographic, nature still oversees us to the extent that we create an equal proportion of both sexes.

song: dirty projectors, no intention

massacre

when I think about divine intervention I often think about massacres.

you are all important.