Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is coming soon. December 21st to be exact. If you are not a astronomer you can just refer to it is a the most depressing day of the year. I woke up this morning and the sun was already setting. But hey look at the bright side, after the 21st the days are just going to get longer. Especially if your travelling to the southern hemisphere on vacation ;)

24p

If you know what 24p is read on, if you don't know don't waste your time;

I think 24p is kind of cheezy. It doesn't have a film look, that's forsure. But the slower shutter speed is a pretty cool effect. What I don't understand is why only 24 frames per second. It would be a lot cooler if it was variable, 20 frames, 21 frames.....60 frames. That would make for some cool footage. Your never going to duplicate or outdo film trying to mimic it. You have to create something that film can't do.

As for the progressive, now that's actually cool, because fucking around with deinterlacing shit is a waste of time and video quality. 60p is the way to go. Amazing video quality and amazing for slow motion.

Syriana

Finally, A hollywood movie that is not ridiculously far fetched.

This Guys Kicks Ass

http://www.bullshido.net/modules.php?name=Links&file=viewlinkinfo&id=92

Sattelite Image of South America

I linked the booba and kiki wrong, it is supposed to say that 98% of people choose the spiky one to be kiki and the purple one to be booba. It proves that people relate sounds to shapes. Read more...

Dance Rock

Yes! I'm all about dance rock these days...

Booba and Kiki

One of these shapes is called Booba and the other Kiki. Decide which is which and then click the image to check your answer.

Don't Glorify It

A lot of people refer to the situation in Iraq as a war. I think that's bullshit. Don't glorify it and says it's a war. All it is is mass murder. Iraq doesn't have an army, it is just US and UK raping and pilaging Iraq for it's resources. How many women and children have to die to justify the overuse of gasoline in North America and Europe?

Waking Up Cameron

White Faced Hornets

You might have seen this one before but if not you can laugh at my misfortune. hah

Water

I had a chance to see Water the other day. It is an amazing film. I don't know if it is a co-production between India and Canada or not. But the director is a Canadian woman (Deepa Mehta) who immigrated from India. The images and music are breathtaking. Really that's all I look for in a movie. The plot can suck as long as it's got pretty pictures and nice music. Although, I also like co-productions. They seem to be less one sided than uninantional films. In addition to that film is international artform. It always has been and it always will be. It began with the Lumiere brothers' first public film screening in France of Arrivée d'un train à la Ciotat(1895). It was a short film of a train arriving at a station. Many saw it as a symbol of modernity. Within a year of it's release modern countries in Europe and the Americas had produced similar films. After a few more years film was world-wide. The first Argentinian film is called "The Argentine Flag (1896)" and it's about the Argentine flag. In my opinion you can't be a film enthusiast if you don't watch lots of foreign films. It's like your only looking at one colour in a huge painting.

Live From Elk Island

Thanks to Cam for holding the mic.

Who's America is it?

If you have ever had the chance to delve into Spanish American literature you most likely would have found copious amounts of manifestos, declarations and think pieces about "America." The authors weren't talking about the United States of America (of being the key word). They were refering to Spanish America, or if they are open minded all of Latin America. I know what you're thinking. "America is the USA, home of the brave, manifest destiny, big cars, big tits and hamburgers." Well that's partly true. Both the countries of Spanish America and the United States refer to themselves as Americans from America. Ok ok, so there's a conflict, who wins? The Spanish were first to arrive in the New World when Colombus arrived in the Domincan Republic in 1942 (Even though he Colombus was born in Italy). So the Spanish were here first, if you don't take into account the vikings quick stop in Canada. Secondly, there are also more people in Spanish America than there are in the USA, so Spanish America wins again. But in my opinion it is pretty stupid that either of these groups refer to themselves as America. No one country or group of countries is America, America is a land mass which can also be refered to as the New World. Every country in the America shares similar political and cultural history. There are descendents from all of the civilizations of the old world scatered across the Americas. Vancouver has the largest Chinese population outside of China. Sao Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Panama has a strong Chinese community. Peru had a Japanese president. There is a large African influence in almost ever country especially US, Brazil and Cuba, and the Carribean. All of the countries have a native population. And lastly all of the countries have a strong european influence. If you ask a Brazilian student how many continents there are he'll tell you 6. Antartica, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. They don't see North and South America as being seperate, its just the Americas. This is a progressive view and in my opinion the only acceptable one. So many people try to break the Americas up into north/central/south, latin/anglo-saxon. I think drawing all these imaginary lines is problematic. Take for example the term Latin America. When people use this term what they really want to say is Spanish America. What about all the countries in Central and South America that don't speak Spanish? Belize (English), Suriname (Dutch), French Guiana (French), Guyana (English), and Brazil (Portuguese). They are always overlooked. Same with North America. I'm sure Quebec doesn't like to be lumped in with this english conglomerant. So what am I trying to say? Put away your petty differences and realize that all countries of the Americas are equal and share relatively identical history when you compare them with the rest of the World.

Finished University?

With so many requirments needed to graduate, students are often left confused as to when they are done their their degree. Did I take enough 400 level courses? Will the university accept my D mark from another institution? What about my exchange credit? Well, I think there is a simpler way to know when your done. If you understand the concept of an inefficient hierarchy, you're done. You've figured out the inner workings of your marvelous post secondary institution. Now it's time to enter the work world to understand the following concepts;

meaningless growth of the corporation
The importance of profit and the unimportance of human life (especially in countries less developed than that of the coporation)
total disrespect for the enviroment

After that you're ready for retirement and some new concepts like

the denial of a wasted life
finding inner peace after the corporation has deemed you useless in your old age
and last but not least disenchantment and death

Tom Cruise

Tom has got a little crazy in his old age. If I was his manager I would tell him to just ride out his career on the famous movies he's made. If he keeps up with this scientology shit they're going to burn him at the stake.

Canadian Government

I think it is about time that the Canadian government gets some balls and stands up to the USA in the softwood lumber debate. Nafta has ruled that the US government owes the Canadian government $5 billion and they won't pay. I think Canada should stop the slow transformation into US's 51st state. Everyone is too worried about their pocket books to protect national culture. US's influence in our economy is much stronger than it was 10 years ago. We have been slowly fooled with higher paychecks and false United States values. Everyone knows our economy is weak in that it is almost entirely based on trade with the US. If we don't act now and diversify trade with other large nations of the world, Canada's sovereignty will surely be lost. I suggest an end to NAFTA. It has only served to exploit Canada and Mexico. To replace this economic entity I suggest a free trade agreement that includes all the countries of Americas, with the exception of the USA. In addition to this we should increase trade with other large countries in the world. These being China(pop. 1.3 billion), Japan (127 million), India (1 billion) and Brazil (186 million). The most unfortunate part of this is that we Canadians will not go out on own and build ourselves an economy. We will continue to reach into Daddy's pockets for help, even if he doesn't give us the allowance we deserve.

Props to Jack Layton on the acoustic set. I'm going to download it on limewire.

Neil Young

Heard some of Neil's new album today. Yep he's still a musical genius. I heard he has like a million songs sitting in his basement unreleased, etc. Ok maybe not a million but a fucking lot man a fucking lot. Really this post is inspired by my haloween costume which is of course Neil Young. It sucks, but I've got some wranglers, cowboy boots and a sleeveless plaid shirt, oh and some sunglasses.

Did I ever tell you the time I met Neil in a dream once. I saw him on the street and he warned me about some dude, I asked him for an autograph and he just walked a way. I'm so stupid, Neil's not a about the shit, I ruined it.

Well,
http://www.neilyoung.com/

"A little love and affection in everything you do, will make the world a better place with or without you" - Neil Young

Mid-Terms

I love studying for mid-terms, how else do you find wierd stuff like this

http://www.cannabisculture.com/forums/uploads/720191-racoon2.gif

At the Movies with Peter Mettler

Sorry for the delay....Blogger's block, you know how it is.

I happened to rent Gambling, Gods and LSD the other day and was left with an empty feeling in my stomach. Why did he make this film that melts addiction into religion into sex into gambling into lsd into nature? I felt like anything I set out to do was meaningless as it was merely avoidance of the real questions in life. Fortunately I rented it again and watched the directors commentary. He says that he began his journey with four concepts in mind. These being transcendence, the denail of death, illusion of safety and our relationship with nature. After I realized his mindset I saw the film in a different way. During this second viewing it was impossible not to notice how the nature scences overpowered the rest of the film. The colours in these scences are truelly vibrant, reminissant of magic mushrooms. I can only imagine that a person fully intune with nature could see colours this way. With this realization I saw the bigger picture. Its right there in front of us everywhere we go. We are busing searching for something, something to make us feel whole, but its always right there in front of us. Nature.

The coyotes are screaming so loud right now, it freaked me out. It sounded like a crazy lady outside my window. I think I'll have to step outside into the darkness.

http://www.gambling-gods-and-lsd.ch/

Seeing the World Through Different Eyes

We often assume a sort of superiority over the other life forms on this planet. What we don't realize is that many of these species are gifted with senses far beyond our own capacity. Humans are capable of seeing a relatively small segment of the electromagnetic spectrum. Many birds and insects are capable of seeing well into the ultraviolet segment of electromagnetic energy.

Birds have distinct markings which are invisable to humans. The example below shows two visions of the same bird. We assume the bird is black, but this is only partly true. What the bird sees is quite different.

Insects also have this capability. Flowers have instictively adapted ultraviolet colour patterns that act as bulls eyes for busy little bees. The two pictures below show the same flower under regular and ultraviolet light. It serves as a guiding device for bees carrying pollen.

The petals look uniformly yellow to us, but they're not.

Here's a link with some more examples of flowers under uv light.

http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_flowers_list.html

Indoor Gardening

If you happen to live north of 30 degrees latitude (or the southern hemisphere equivalent), chances are your growing season is pretty limited. Why not take it indoors? You could be enjoying fresh tomatoes year round, not to mention some skunk weed and maybe a mescaline containing cactus or two. It's a pretty simple process. First off you need a suitable location. A 6ft x 6ft storage room would be perfect. A 400W Metal Halide would fill this space perfectly, but would also work in a 4ft x 4ft room. That's pretty much all you need, but don't forget a fan for ventilation. 6ft x 6ft is about 12 square feet, so that means you could grow 12 different kinds of plants in there and maybe some fresh basil and tyme on the shelfs.

How much is it going to cost? Let's investigate further.

- 400W Metal Halide Kit (Bulb, reflector, ballast) - $220

- Xmas light timer from Canadian Tire ~$5

- Fan (the kind that sit on the table or floor) - You probably have one

- Energy to run this light 16 hours a day, 365 days a year.
0.4 kwh x 16 = 6.4 kwh/day
6.4 x $0.08 (price of electricity in alberta) = $0.512/day
$0.512 x 365 days = $186.88

$186.88 a year. Not to bad, but call it $200 because your going to be running a fan as well.

Don't waste your money on that certified organic stamp, grow it yourself and you'll know what went into it.

Equinox Continued

I just found some good pictures to explain the phenomenon. Here's one showing the way the sun sets at different times of the year.
And here's another that shows how the light hits the earth. This picture is not quite the equinox, but shows how the amount of day and night is equal in both hemispheres.

Equinox

The fall or autumnal equinox is approaching. At this point the length of the day equals the night for every location in the world. After this point the night will become longer than the day in the northern hemisphere and the opposite will occur in the southern hemisphere. Many cultures who are/were more in touch with the planet than we are regard this event as one of four important celebrations that mark the passage of the year. The others include the vernal equinox and the summer and winter solstices (the longests and shortest days of the year respectively, in the northern hemisphere).

Another important aspect of this time of year is that the sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west. Just in case you're lost in the woods right now.

The mayans created one of their temples in such a way that at the exact time of the equinox the shadow looks like a snake crawling down the steps. When it reaches the bottom the shawdow connects to a large serpent head.

So, the actually date of the equinox is Sept. 22, 2005, 6:23 P.M. EDT, but the conditions can be observed already and should last until Sept.25th. So get out there and celebrate.

Some Links:
Mayan Calendar Information (it's more exact than ours!)

Plants vs. Pills

Both plants and pills contain chemicals capable of altering human consciousness. Since the beginning of time foreign substances have been taken by humans to stimulate the mind and body, to reduce pain and to gain a higher spiritual consciousness.

It is my objective to prove to you the superiority of plants over manufactured pills. Let's look at 3 categories (Stimulants, Pain Killers and Psychodelics). The clearest advantage to plants is safety. The second clear advantage is their potency and effects. The amount of human research put into plants far succeeds that of manufactured drugs. Let's compare some dates.

MDMA (Extascy) was invented in 1898, now compare that to the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) who's use dates back to 1000 BCE. That means Peyote has been cultivated and manipulated by humans for over 3000 years. To me a plant which outdates the bible not only confirms its superiority but also encourages its use. Which would you trust more a substance humans have know about for 107 years or a plant humans have used for 3000 years?

In the field of pain killers we can compare opium against codeine (a derivative of opium that is commonly synthesized). Codeine was first isolated from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) in 1832, where as the use of opium dates back to 1300 BCE. We can only assume that throughout the 3300 years of opium use that the plant was altered to heighten and maximize its effects. The has been few modifications to codeine in the last hundred years, only the combination of it with other drugs (ie. Tylenol w/ codeine).

Lastly, the isolation of caffeine into pill form is a relatively recent phenomenon. Where as scientists believe the use of caffeine containing plants dates back to 600,000 BCE. In addition to this we know for sure that yerba mate was used in South America since at least 1500, as well as the coca leaf (non caffeine containing) which dates back to 3000BCE.

The superiority of coca leaves and yerba mate is that they contain copious amounts of vitamins, amino acids, fiber and minerals. The nutrition content of these plants is so great that they are superior to foods which we deem as nutrient rich. It would be entirely feasible and healthy to survive on coca tea or yerba mate alone.

In the case of peyote we see a bouquet of alkaloids. The cactus contains over 50 active alkaloids. Some of these alkaloids are inactive alone but when taken in combination produce effects which are literally “mind blowing” to modern scientists. Most of the alkaloids show similar chemical structures with slight variations. Some of these alkaloids are mescaline, tyramine, mordenine, dopamine and N-methyldopamine. A great analogy for this bouquet of alkaloids would be a set of analogous colours as seen below. Each alkaloid is different but fits together in a analogous set.

Where as a synthetic chemical such as MDMA would comprise of only active chemical constitute and therefore could be seen as just one colour.

We can also compare this concept to a musical note. A computer can synthesize the musical note of A at 440hertz with precision, but this computer generated note instills little emotion. Where as an acoustic guitar or any other musical instrument for that matter will produce several frequencies which by themselves do not sound like A, although in combination produce a A note of 440hertz. The richness of this particular note induces a far greater feeling of emotion than that of the computer synthesized version.

This same concept applies to opium which contains more than 6 active alkaloids including morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine, narcotine and narceine. In combination these alkaloiods produce a pain killing effect far stronger and reliable than manufactured versions.

As a last note we can see plants as gifts from god, the creator, the sun or whatever you believe in. Considering a peyote cactus produces an active dose every 5 years, the sheer rarity and biological chance of such an event outweighs anything you even imagine of manufacturing. If you happen to have to have an encounter with a peyote cactus consider yourself extremely lucky.