Sdtrk: ‘Beat surrender’ by the Jam

What’s that, you say? Actroid-chan is now available for rental? Well, then. *big grin*

I think it goes without saying that I have dibs on her first..

(Info in Japanese at http://www.kokoro-dreams.co.jp/ng/actroid/20040721_actroid2/20040721_actroid2.html; movie at the topmost link here)

Sdtrk: ‘The event horizon’ by Air Miami

Right, I can’t believe I’ve not mentioned Eero Aarnio up until this point. Even if you’re not entirely familiar with 20th Century Modern architechture and design, everyone has seen his most famous work at some point or other, such as the Ball chair pictured below.

Aarnio was – and still is – one of the pioneers in using plastic in industrial design. Plastic material set the designers free to create every shape and use every color they wanted. This gave birth to objects oscillating between function and fun – but always fascinating ones. [..] Sitting in [the ball chair] is a special experience, because all surrounding sounds are softed down, and it gives a certain feeling of privacy. Aarnio himself has a ball chair with a telephone in it, and some people had it fitted with speakers.

The very first time I recall seeing one of the fantastic ball chairs was during the mid-Eighties. I was watching this strange-yet-engrossing show on our local Canadian telly station called ‘The Prisoner‘, and apart from the notable fact that No.2’s office/control room was swanky in that austere, Bond-supervillain kind of way, you’d usually see No.2 seated in a ball chair in the centre of the room. Very ace.
Years later, a retro furniture store opened up in nearby Ferndale, and they had the most beautiful and well-preserved ball chair in their window — white exterior, black interior, a matching footstool, plus built-in speakers with a line-in jack for your hi-fi. O yeah. After enquiring as to how much it was, I was told it was $800. Needless to say, I blanched at the time, but upon reflection, for a chair of that calibre, that’s actually a semi-reasonable price.

The chair’s long gone now, of course. Alas!

Sdtrk: ‘Will you be staying after Sunday’ by The Peppermint rainbow

And Happy Victoria Day, Canada! When I move to you in five years, you’re gonna have to esplain to me what that holiday’s all about. (Or rather, aboot.)

Went to the eye doctor on Friday, as I have a chalazion on my left lower eyelid. Actually, I’ve had the bastard for almost two months now, but I’ve been financially unable to have it seen to. Hurrah.
A chalazion, if you’re not familiar with it, is just a fancy Greek name for an eyelid zit. It doesn’t hurt unless I squint real hard, but they’re fecking annoying, and rather damaging to my already-tenuous opinion of my self-image. Mine is currently the size of an airsoft BB, and if I glance to the left and down, I can see it. Mnyeh. I’ve had them before, back a couple of years ago when I was working in the Blood and Serum Mines at Quest diagnostics, and they were hateful back then, too. Since I had really good health insurance through my job, I went and had ’em scraped out. That’s right! The eye doctor clamped on some Clockwork orange-style lidlocks, flipped my lids inside out, and scraped out the offending material. I went in one week to have one done, then went back next week for the other. Thanx to modern localised anaesthetic, the procedure didn’t hurt a lot, it was just very pinchy. So on 6 June I’ll have this one done. I should take before and after pics, so you will know what a chalazion looks like..

I’ll attempt to write something not steeped in nausea later on. Some people are still digesting lunch right now!

Sdtrk: ‘faire-le-mariole’ by Popporu

One of my favourite music styles of all time is Noise/Power-electronics. Bands like Merzbow, NON, Masonna and whitehouse give me the horn like no-one’s business. So when I was browsing through the fantastic Prelinger Archives recently and ran across free .mp3s from a group called Popporu, I was enthused. And y’know what? These guys are ace beyond all reason.

Download the ‘Mother Sue-Ellen’ album and give it a listen. Old-school power-electronics for the win! CAVEAT: If you’re unfamiliar with Noise, you’ll definitely want to turn your speakers down upon your first listening. Over time though, you’ll not only get used to it, you’ll love it.
Now, imagine me saying all this to you whilst dressed as Pinhead from ‘Hellraiser’. Hopefully, that should give you some impression of what you’re about to embark on

Sdtrk: ‘Groovy spacy ’70’ by Christine 23 onna

Well, this is certainly interesting. (nicked from Brian)

I’m not as much of a Nihilist as I thought I was! I don’t know whether I should be proud or ashamed.

Upon reflection, I think the hedonism charge sticks. When I think of a typical hedonist, I think key parties, swingers, and enough recreational drugs to choke a horse, and I’m thinking, well, that can’t apply to me, as I neither drink nor do drugs, and I barely smoke. But then, I considered what I was discussing with a mate semi-recently: I find it shameful that, as human beings in the 21st Century, we are still governed by societal conditions where we have to work in order to live. No work = no money, no money = no food. We have the (burgeoning) technological means necessary to eliminate a lot of unskilled jobs through mechanical methods, namely through the use of robots and other automata. Of course, the question that usually follows that statement would be ‘So what are unskilled labourers supposed to do for money, then?’ Simple. Retun to school, and take courses for an actual career, instead of a mere job.
I look at it this way, cashiers, service station attendants, fast food workers, etc — people don’t normally aspire towards jobs of this nature, and to be honest, most people in these positions are crap at their jobs anyway. For example, if we had automated fast food places that were to accurately record your order and swiftly assemble it using a series of conveyor belts, dispensers and robotic arms, that would guarantee customer satisfaction. Wouldn’t you rather receive your made-to-order food package from a charming and personable Synthetik similar to Actroid-chan, rather than dealing with some pimply-faced teen who’s desperately trying to apologise for the fact that you ended up with a Big Mac in your bag, when you’re actually at Burger King?
Plus, a whole new job market just opened up right there — someone has to know how to maintain the Synthetik and the food assembly machinery, as well as restocking, changing the drink syrups, refilling the napkins, etc. I wouldn’t want to eliminate all jobs, just a lot of the shittier ones..

Ultimately, I believe that humans shouldn’t be spending 60% of our lives working, but instead, we should be enjoying ourselves through intellectual pursuits or other means, as long as our pursuits of happiness don’t cause harm to others. ‘If it harm none, do as thou wilt’ is the operative phrase here. Humans should be spending their time, money, and energy on living, not working. I mean, even if you choose to spend your free hours masturbating to the Weather Channel, then as long as you’re not harming anyone, and you’re at home with the blinds drawn, then wank for great justice, my friend!
And think of it this way, if you were able to spend less time at a dodgy job you aren’t enjoying, you could be spending more time developing your hobbies into things that could make money for you, which is guaranteed to make you happier. Some people enjoy cooking. Some people enjoy writing. Some people enjoy creating artwork, while others enjoy squirrels. If you’re having fun while working, it’s not really work..
So yeah, wow. A hedonist. Never really thought of myself in that context, but it doesn’t seem really ill-fitting.

In case you’re wondering, yes; I spent all day yesterday listening to my Joy division box set

How can I find the right way to control
All the conflict inside, all the problems beside
As the questions arise and the answers don’t fit
Into my way of things, into my way of things

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