Giggle With Woody.

What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet.

What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists?

The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep.

Thought: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.

More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to utter hopelessness and despair, the other to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to choose correctly.

I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead- not sick, not wounded - dead.

Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.

I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.

I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.

Unbearably lovely music is heard as the curtain rises, and we see the woods on a summer afternoon. A fawn dances on and nibbles slowly at some leaves. He drifts lazily through the soft foliage. Soon he starts coughing and drops dead.

The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people. Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more.

Don't knock masturbation -- it's sex with someone I love.

I hate reality but it's still the best place to get a good steak.

Eternity is a long time, especially towards the end.

There are three rings involved with marriage. The engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering.

Riddle Me This, Boywonder...

There are three men in a boat
with four cigarettes
but no matches.
How do they manage to smoke?

Today's Lesson.

Somewhere Under The Rainbow...

A whole host of webcams... people in offices, on the road, lighthouses and whatnot. Stockholm, Lisbon, Chicago... see overviews, have them sorted by countries, look at the Stuttgart Airport or the UAS in Hamburg. A trip around the world delivered to your desktop - remember: you saw it first on Roller Derby.

The Good News.

Here's a more positive aspect of the world we live in - a film featuring our planet. No plot, no dialogues, just plain pictures and a beautiful soundtrack. Go to the Movie Database, for example, to read more on Baraka (meaning breath of life in Sufi). Or go buy / rent it.

A must-see!

SHELL In Nigeria - Blood In Our Gastanks.

Money makes the world go round. For some, it means go under.

The following is a transcription I did on Channel Zero's Video-Mag dealing with Shell's involvement in Nigeria. I believe the video was issued 1997, and it can be watched / downloaded here. (There's also part two). For those interested in Nigeria's recent history, go here. I picked up this issue linked to at this site called Believe Without Believing. You'll find the links to this video under The Corporate Globe / "Shell in Nigeria" which also holds a link to a smaller version of part 2 for those of you on dial-ups.

On June 12, 1993, The Federal Republic of Nigeria held presidential elections that would usher in a new attempt at civilian rule. Full of hope and renewed faith, the people of Nigeria went to the polls to cast their votes. As the votes were tallied it became clear that the winner would be Chief Moshood Abiola, but the military under General Babaginda, along with his second in command General Sani Abacha, annulled the elections and denied political power to Abiola. Soon after, Abacha seized power and took control of Nigeria - in true dictatorial fashion had President-elect Abiola arrested and charged with treason. The people of Nigeria are once again living under military rule. "Chief Abiola's election and the eventual swearing in as the President would not have been the final process - it would have started the process. Unless this injustice is corrected there will be no light at the end of the tunnel." - Jumoke Ogunkeyede, Chairman of United Committee to Save Nigeria, New York.

This is more than a story about political dictatorship. Rather it is one of corporate complicity in the suppression of basic human rights and the struggle of a people to win them back.


Jumoke Ogunkeyede: "Abacha is going uncurbed, he's been doing whatever he wanted to do, in Nigeria, in South Africa, in all of Europe, paying for advertising spaces, paying people up to 5 million dollars a month to suppress the voices of democracy. I think you could go back to how ITT and Allende worked together in Chile, and Shell is getting to a situation where they actually are the senior partner in the rulership of Nigeria. Shell is importing ammunition for the government of Nigeria, to kill the people of Nigeria,..., and actually if you look at the bullet that killed Mrs. Abiola, it probably could be traced to one of those imported for the government of Nigeria by Shell."


Since 1958, when Shell first struck oil in Nigeria's Ogoniland, they have extracted an estimated US $ 30 billion worth of oil from the region. The 500,000 Ogoni farmers and fishermen received little from Shell except a ravaged environment. Once fertile farmland has been laid waste by oil spills and acid rain. The Ogoni landscape is dotted with puddles of ooze the size of football fields. Between 1976 and 1991, 2976 oil spills blackened the Niger Delta, an average of four a week. Virtually all species of wildlife in Ogoniland are rapidly vanishing.

MOSOP - the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People was formed in 1990 with a mandate to provide peaceful resistance to the social and environmental crimes directed at them. Ken Saro-Wiwa was the movement's founder. As leader of MOSOSP, Saro-Wiwa became the spokesperson for the Ogoni people.
As early as February 1993, Shell was concerned enough about MOSOP to recommend an internal memo that the surveillance of MOSOP's leaders be increased in order to avoid further "unpleasant surprises". Despite these pressures, MOSOP continues to speak out against Shell's practices, which led the Nigerian military to take action in 1995. The most significant brutalities against the Ogoni have happened after Shell expressed concern about perceived threats to the Nigerian government. A memo signed by Major Okuntimo of the Rivers State Internal Security Task Force, dated May 12th 1994, states:
"...Shell operations still impossible unless ruthless military operations are undertaken for smooth economic activities to commence..." The document goes on to recommend the "wasting" of Ogoni leaders. Ken Saro-Wiwa was arrested ten days later. Saro-Wiwa and eight others were hung in November 1995 after a military tribunal.

A group of pro-democracy activists founded RDIN, an outlaw radio station dedicated to the overthrow of the Nigerian dictatorship and their transnational oil partners. RDIN transmitts from 7 to 7:30 am and from 4 to 6 pm, which is when the government-run Radio Nigeria airs its main newscasts. RDIN broadcast:
"The Nigerian government is oppressing our people by daily feeding them lies and misinformation. That we must counter effectively. We must give democracy a very consistent clear voice so that our people will know they have not been forgotten."

Mike Fleshman (Trade Union and Human Righrs Coordinator, Africa Fund, New York) about the Nigerian government: "They don't have many good arguments, but they've got a lot of money to spend. So the Nigerian government has got quite a sophisticated lobbying in media operations in the United States. They spend eight or nine million dollars a year on it, and they got half a dozen lobbies and law firms on retainer in Washington working on their behalf. And because they have got tremendous resources at their disposal they have been able to embody(?) the ????, so for example they have run eight page four colour newspaper inserts in most of the major American press in the United States over the past few months. And because a great many people in the United States, black and white, simply don't know that much about Nigeria, it's possible for the regime to put over a very misleading, even ridiculous presentation to North Americans."

Jumoke Ogunkeyede: "If you look at Shell, it don't think they have any responsibility to Nigeria than make the money. If you look at the pipeline in Ogoni, it's so corroded, acid rain is falling on the people... they couldn't care less, and they always have good statements to put out to let the people feel good. You could call it feel-good-statements, like "We are doing all we can!", "We are not doing this to the people...", but then they will go tomorrow and do the same thing. As a matter of fact, Shell will invite the Federal Government of Nigeria "Please help us curb these people, they are disturbing us from making money from your country!". And Abacha will pass (...?) on people. Example is what happened when the MOSOP were protesting, they were hoping to... planning to protest, ... they had the governor seal up the whole place and they killed a lot of people." (End of part 1).

From encyclopedia.com:

A small success was achieved in Apr., 2002, when Abacha's family agreed to return $1 billion to the government; the government had sought an estimated $4 billion in looted Nigerian assets.

Holy Hole In The Donut!

Wired.

Good afternoon, strangers! It's been a while, and with quite some posts in the pipeline - may I point you to a source of interesting informations on technology, culture, business and politics? As you may have found out by now, I'm always keen on news one doesn't get from the usual sources. And you might already know about wired.com - then this one is sort of an old hat for you. If not, then you might want to hop over to check it out and bookmark it. Well worth a look - in fact, as much so that I decided to add a permanent link to the motley collection on the right. Now what?

A Completely Different Story.

Some of you fellow readers might recall me posting a story here called "They're Made Out Of Meat" by Terry Blisson. I just happened to find a site devoted to Free Speculative Fiction Online with a T.B. section. So, if you like interesting reads, check it out. Here. While I go sleep... g'night.

Woodstock.

Well, I came upon a Child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, Tell me where are you going?
This he told me:

Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm,
Gonna join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Well, then can I walk beside you?
I have come to lose the smog,
And I feel myself a cog in something turning.
And maybe it's the time of year,
Yes and maybe it's the time of man.
And I don't know who I am,
But life is for learning.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon.
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

By the time we got to Woodstock,
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bomber death planes
Riding shotgun in the sky,
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are caught in the devil's bargain,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

© 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Same Old, Same Old...

These last couple of days I've been wading knee-deep through, well, crap basically. Some of which I'll bring to your attention at this here blogrock soon... in the meantime, may I ask you to visit "Make Poverty History" which you simply do by clicking the white band in the upper right corner. You may think, oh no, not this 'peace to the world and feed the poor' skit again... well, forget your retentions for now, and watch the well made little films they have here first. Simply listen to what others have to say, people like Nelson Mandela, Lenny Henry, Bono, John Cusack, Mos Def, Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, Liam Neeson, Michael Stype, George Clooney, Isaac Hayes... the list is endless. "We're not asking for your money, we're asking for your voice!" I think it's about time to make a difference, for each and every one of us, so why not start right now? You don't even have to leave your comfy chair, an opportunity you shouldn't refuse: add your signature to The One Declaration, like all the aforementioned already have. A special Thank You! goes out to Miss Tipsy for making me aware of this and reminding me I'm still alive!

Do More With Less.

Confessions of a Wal-Mart Hit Man. A must see! If that rings a bell, and you haven't been there already, pay a visit to Robert Greenwald's blog. It's just good there's people like him.

The Truth Is Out There. Somewhere.

If you aren't much into getting entangled in new knitting techniques or don't really care about ways to spend your money in the shortest amount of time possible, but rather wonder sometimes what's going on around you, then I'd like to recommend this blog: Believe Without Believing. It has a plethora of very informative links that might add to your perspective. One that caught my attention was this one, number three in a series of interviews that you might not see in the media. I haven't waded through all that's on there, but from what I have seen so far, this one clearly stands out. One way or the other. Do yourself a favor, have a look at it. And have a nice day.

And The World Looks Away.

Exactly one month ago an earthquake struck Pakistan - a poor third world country bordering India, China and Afghanistan. The Google results (link above) show one CNN report ranking 4th (Oct. 10th) and that's about it, more or less, one BBC and some sites along with Al Jazeera and Islamic Relief. No headline news, I guess. Death toll varies, but considering the inaccessible area the numbers probably exceed 100,000 (if not much more - UNO stated 87,000 yesterday plus 75,000 injured). That's not the end of the story, as these days winter hits Pakistan, meaning temperatures of -20°C (-4 F) and up to ten ft of snow. As you might imagine, housing there is not anywhere near as stable as we are used to, so most of the "houses" in that area are destroyed - reports say three million people became homeless. Four weeks later, many of the victims still have no food, no tents, no warm clothes, not enough water, no medical supplies, no hope. They're facing death, either by starving, freezing, dehydration or injury. These next days may increase the number of deaths to over two million if those people won't get support miraculously. The quake crisis overwhelms Pakistan, writes BBC, but somehow the world isn't interested. The industrial countries are very hesitant with their support, much different to the Tsunami, as are western relief organisations as they fear the financial risks. We're complaining about gas prices to fuel our SUVs, and those people don't even have a tent to die in. If that's humanity - crap on it! We don't deserve to get away with it.

Right Said Fred.

"Right," said Fred, "Both of us together
One on each end and steady as we go."
Tried to shift it, couldn't even lift it
We was getting nowhere.
And so we had a cuppa tea and

"Right," said Fred, "Give a shout for Charlie."
Up comes Charlie from the floor below.
After strainin', heavin' and complainin'
We was getting nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea.

And Charlie had a think, and he thought we ought
to take off all the 'andles
And the things wot held the candles.
But it did no good, well I never thought it would
"Alright," said Fred, "Have to take the feet off
To get them feet off wouldn't take a mo."

Took its feet off, even took the seat off
Should have got us somewhere but no!
So Fred said, "Let's have another cuppa tea."
And we said, "Right-o."

"Right," said Fred, "Have to take the door off
Need more space to shift the so-and-so."
Had bad twinges taking off the hinges
And it got us nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea and

"Right," said Fred, " Have to take the wall down,
That there wall is gonna have to go."
Took the wall down, even with it all down
We was getting nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea.

And Charlie had a think, and he said, "Look, Fred,
I got a sort of feelin'
If we remove the ceilin'
With a rope or two we could drop the blighter through."

"All right," said Fred, climbing up a ladder
With his crowbar gave a mighty blow.
Was he in trouble, half a ton of rubble
landed on the top of his dome.
So Charlie and me had another cuppa tea
And then we went home.

(I said to Charlie, "We'll just have to leave it
Standing on the landing, that's all
Trouble with Fred is, he's too 'asty
And you never get nowhere if you're too 'asty.")

(c)1962, by Myles Rudge (lyrics) & Ted Dicks (music)

All Around My Hat.

Words are incapable of describing what I am about to tell you: way down deep I'm shallow. Right or wrong, that's a message! You have the distinction of being the only one who is not exceptional, and I am certain of it, but I may be wrong. Let's take a second look to get a first impression: the situation is probably a lot worse than it actually is. The Avant-Garde is Passé. While these words may seem rather trivial, their importance cannot be underestimated. Like they say, there's more to photography that meets the eye. If you think about it long enough, you'll see that it's obvious. The main trouble with impossibility is that it is never total. Now let's hear the voice of the great silent majority on this. Life should have a purpose, however meaningless. If everything goes perfectly, something's wrong - there's nothing new in originality. A little pain never hurt anyone. I am a firm believer in optimism; because if you don't have optimism, what else is there? Just because I have nothing to say is no reason why you shouldn't listen. How do you expect me to do something original if you won't tell me what? If God intended man to understand the human mind, he wouldn't have given him one! I am myself, and I'm going to continue to play that role - I'm not leaving the party until I get home! (You may steal this from me...) Remember: a preposition must not be used to end a sentence with. In restrictive clauses, "that" is that word which should be used instead of "which". Whether you mean it or not, be sincere! Don't give up hope - there's a chance the inevitable won't happen. As the saying goes, the best time to do a full day's shopping is in the morning. It pays to buy things you dislike: they last much longer. No more wine or women, but you may sing all you want to. And if you don't say no, it doesn't matter to whom. If you're going to be idealistic, it might as well be about something that's practical. Remember - an insane asylum cannot be a success if it is run by sane people. Any truth doesn't tell the half of it, like reasons for existence are usually provided for things which do not exist; they would be wasted on things which do. In absolute monarchy, any leader can be a fool, but in absolute democracy, any fool can be a leader. You know, every once in a while it never stops raining. And then, no matter where you go, there you are.

If I don't see you again - auf wiedersehen!

As Time Goes By.

It has always caused me curious emotions looking at pictures of old times. Nostalgic, wistful... especially when there are people to be seen, frozen in time as they stand there, talk, maybe looking towards the camera. I always start to wonder what might have happened to them, how they might have felt considering the circumstances, and compare significant spots to what they look like today. On this one, there are loads of people, though invisible... but they've been there. Got the photo off this site dedicated to the HAPAG line - lots more there! That page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the Hamburg America Line, so if you're interested... above you see the Orinoco entering the Hamburg harbour in 1928.
Those were the days my friend.

Murphy's Brother-In-Law.

That's me, mate. Yep. The fact I'm citing Helge Schneider uncommented, choosing his legendary interpretation of the old Animals classic says it all. Or maybe it doesn't. Still no mail from David Byrne. It's getting cold outside, and dark at nights. Besides that, Ford and Fiat are developing a subcompact. Good luck, say I. Who are they gonna sell it to? Song of the day: Badda Dan Dem / Vybz Kartel. Vybz Kartel is the most talented DJ and currently the hottest commodity to step out of Jamaica this year. Say some. Yadda yadda, he needs somebody mashop his beats. Badda Dan Dem mos def is a cool track, though. Finally, a riddle - what is this world coming to?

House Of The Rising Sun.

There was a house in New Orleans,
they called me Rising Sun.
My father was a loner,
and I, I am the son.
My mother was a taylorman,
way down over the ocean.
And I, I am the House of the Rising Sun -
you can call me by my name.

© Helge Schneider. Wer sonst?

Talking Egg. Head.

Well, I'm not calling David Byrne an egghead. How dare I. But as I was channel hopping last night and tripped over his radio stream... honestly, I found that unbearable. And so I gave it another try tonight - it was even worse, I tell ya. Now musical taste is arguable, and then it is not. It's simply personal. But seeing the idol of my faded youth picking tracks like Last Night A DJ Saved My Life just makes me wanna puke. Then there's The System (You Are In My System). Yuk. Well, and a lot of yesterday's heros with just the wrong songs. He calls that 'old school club music' and pleads "These songs may have been what folks were referring to when a certain portion of the population held up “disco sucks” banners in the 80s. These self-proclaimed music critics often stated that what bothered them was that these songs were made by machines (they often were, and proudly so) and therefore lacked sincerity or realness. I think what they were really afraid of was the fact that many of these songs emanated from a mostly Black and often gay subculture — a combination which was so unimaginably scary that its musical representation simply had to be fought off at all costs."
Hum. If you knew me, Dave, you'd know also that I'm quite open-minded when it comes to music, and I don't care if what I hear is generated entirely by machines or put together by Shirley & Spinoza. As long as it is just good. And a lot of that stuff you're presenting is just plain old boring crap, record company designed artificial buck generating lifeless fashion crap.
You're talking about a mostly Black and often gay subculture. But Gap Band, Salt-n-Pepa, Commodores, Cameo, Indeep (!!), Jermaine Jackson, Sheila E. and most of the rest ain't no subculture, dude. Evelyne Champagne King - subculture? Not a single De La Soul track, no Prince, S.O.S. Band, Chaka Khan, Trouble Funk, Soul II Soul, Afrika Bambaata, BDP, EPMD, Eric B. & Rakim, Grandmaster Flash, LL Cool J, N.W.A., Newcleus, Dazz Band, Earth Wind & Fire, Parliament / Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, and why not throw in some whiteys - where's The Clash, Public Image... I could go on for hours. To cut a long story short - your selection sucks, as it is cheesy and doesn't groove most of the time. But your... journal (I'm not supposed to call it blog, I understand) is quite a read at times. Well worth a look. I hope you don't mind I listen to something else while I browse it. Sleep well, old chap!

Egg Head.

So. I seem to be the David Letterman of the blogosphere, as far as the late night thing goes, mind you. Pitch black, city sleeps. I just like that a lot, as the hectic and noisy street life turns into some peaceful sleeping creature, with the occasional siren downstairs passing from left to right (well, some of them actually passing from right to left, you know). In the background, I'm connected to Soma FM, an internet radio station with a variety of channels to please the listener off the beaten track, being delivered nice groove salad through a tiny telephone wire. Loads of zeroes and ones being put together and converted into sound. I could always switch channels to see (or hear, in this particular case) what's on David Byrne's office playlist. Which turns out to be some old fashioned funk stuff dribbling along. I wouldn't even try to motivate my employees with such... inconsequential whatsit if I was him. But I ain't, so I let him do his thang and change to Pig Radio. What's in a name. If you could hear what I'm hearing, you wouldn't believe it, so I'm involuntaryly switching to Sing Sing Radio. That's better, Rudeboy! Where was I? The sleeping city... everybody's sleeping, except me of course. But I've lost what I was going to say... write. So I have to come up with something, but what? All of a sudden, I am lost in the city of sleepers... maybe it's the Chablis' side effect. I don't care, it's too late already. Don't even bother to read this... Good night everybody!

Egg.

The Song of McGillicudie the Pusillanimous or
Don't Worry James Your Socks Are Hanging in The Coal Cellar With Thomas.

Where should I go, what should I do
now that I know I cant get away from you.
Everyone has something to hide from themselves.
Now its too late to go back go right on, I feel so alone.
What should i say, where should i look
isnt it great now everythings gone black,
perfectly safe, feel quite well.
Why dont you just go to hell
back where you came from.

McGillicudie the Pusillanimous etc is a fast-moving improvisation song in 5/8 constructed on the chord of F Minor.

Egg's members:
•Dave Stewart (organ, piano, tone generator)
•Mont Campbell (bass, vocals)
•Clive Brooks (drums)

Sleeve note: "The music on this L.P. is not dancing music, but basically music for listening to. It is harmonically and rhthmically complex, designed to be as original as possible within the confines of the instrumental line-up; so it's pretty demanding on the listener's attention." .....Released 1970 on Deram (Nova Series) Cat. No. SDN14

By the time this record was released, the members of the band all were 18 years old

The Plague.

Oh dear, just looked away for a couple of minutes and they'd all go bazerk and freak out all over the place. September 18th 2005 was the day that German voters went out to make their voice be heard, and it was a shy, maybe tired, tiny little voice that couldn't decide between pestilence and cholera. And dysentery maybe. [If you wonder what that is - it's a severe form of diarrhea] Admittedly, a hard decision to make. Basically, the votes casted were like 222 seats for the Social Democrats (SPD), and 226 for the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU). And some for these, some for those. I won't go into further details, but it's obviously a vote for a so-called big coalition, as no other combination of political parties were ready and/or willing to talk to each other. So that's what they think democracy should look like. Now when I checked the news today, I learned that Edmund Stoiber (chairman of the CSU) packed in his soon-to-be job as minister in the still to be formed new government (yes, you're right it's like six weeks after elections), because (officially) Franz Müntefering - chairman of the SPD - refused to stand for another term in office. Now why is that, you might ask, and you are not alone here! Well, there was a new secretary general to be elected, and Münte's preferred candidate (proposed by him) lost against Mrs. Nahle (female power dawning on Germany). Those were only preruns, as the candidate still has to be approved by the SPD, but Münte obviously was so pissed about the fact that his preferred choice didn't make it, that he sort of quit. Now, coalition negotiations still aren't finished, far from, and both the frontmen of Social Democrats and Christian Socialists (hahaha, really funny naming we have, no?) - the latter being sort of a splinter party of the Christian Democrats - acting funny. In fact, making it quite possible that we're facing re-elections in March. Now the last elections had been announced - and made possible by some clever, smart even, trick chancellor Schröder performed - in May. So because of election campaigns and all that being prepared shortly thereafter, we're sort of without a proper government since then.
And now this. Political future in Germany is pitch black, dears, and hardly anybody in charge up there in the Bundestag cares to notice. It's a farce, a burlesque, and those well paid polit-clowns give a shit. Now everybody is "surprised", "concerned", "speechless", some even think this is a good thing for the SPD to happen so the party could be restructured and maybe work on a new orientation (as they had lost a significant number of votes). Hello?!? Anybody home??? This country is close to filing bancruptcy and some knuckleheads consider restructuring and new orientation to be top of the list? Worse even, people sit there in agony, afraid of the future, while all the well (over?) paid managers and whatnots declare Germany (well, the Germans) as worldchampion in complaining (actual wording!). If you'd ask any of them, they couldn't tell you what a liter of milk, a bread roll, or potatoes would cost, let alone a flat or how much an average worker has left of his paycheck after paying all his bills. It's no exception, though, corruption and incompetence rules all over the world. That's why there's still wars and poverty, while world production exceeds what is needed to feed everyone on this planet. Good night, everybody. Really. Gebauer - wo bleiben die Nutten?