"A true pilot must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship." - Plato
"I suppose the philosophically inclined can argue that science requires a sort of faith, but hardly the kind that governs religious thought. Personally, I've never understood the perceived need to wed science and religion. Politically expedient? Sure. But it's fundamentally dishonest, both to scientists and theologians." - Mac Tonnies
Mac in Los Angeles with actress Veronica Reynolds, May 2006.
"Sex drive is perhaps the ultimate con. While it can lead to wonderful things (or so I'm told), it's essentially a hormonal undertow, faceless and mechanistic." - Mac Tonnies
I'm always happy to highlight the work of my friends, so here are the first two webisodes for the new comedy web series Chum Per Hour, which features my pal Christina Cuffari.
The way that people create content has changed a great deal in the past decade with the advent of the Internet. While it hasn't yet altered the fundamental nature of the dynamic between content creators and content managers - the networks for TV and the major production companies for film still rule the roost - it has provided a valuable platform for people like Christina and her friends in Chum Per Hour to get their work seen on their own terms, and build an audience.
More choices, and more voices. A very good thing, indeed!
"The survival of democracy as we know it hinges increasingly on the inherently decentralized nature of the Internet. So I'm annoyed by Netizens who remain forever anonymous behind "clever" usernames and handles in a vainglorious attempt to keep their "real" lives and online lives discreet. If you have something important to contribute to the datasphere, speak out! Use your real name! The Net is not one big chatroom; it's one of the central forces keeping our world from dissolution at the hands of mega-corporations, chomping-at-the-bit neo-fascists and "protective" watchdog government agencies out to fulfill the usual list of Big Brother power fantasies." - Mac Tonnies
As anyone who has read or heard one of my rants against Internet anonymity is aware, I couldn't agree more. People need to take ownership of what they say, and write, or else it's worthless. How can I respect someone's opinion when they don't have the courage to put their name to it?
The answer is that I can't, and I don't.
After all, John Hancock didn't sign the Declaration of Independence "IHateGeorgie47".
New music video by my friend Jon Mullane. It was directed by my old pal and fellow adventurer / bon vivant John Rosborough, who has worked on most of my projects over the years, and made me look better for being there. Kudos to everyone who was involved!
"The world we've created for ourselves is a shadow of our reproductive imperative, and our institutions are symptomatic of our devotion to our short-lived physical selves. The activities of a typical day betray our dedication to maintaining reproductive viability. But the chemical phenomenon that gives the single-celled amoeba its raison d'etre seems somehow less-than-noble for a species that has evolved the singular and promising faculties of foresight and imagination. I think the human species is approaching a point where the need to create (in the biological sense) will be superseded by the sheer pleasure of thought itself. We will continue to be creators. But our slavish attachment to the physical world and all of its superficial excess will be left behind as we plunge forward, breaking down the perceived barriers between mind and brain, thought and flesh, sentience and circuitry." - Mac Tonnies
In 2003 and 2004, I produced and directed a television series called The Classical Now, which was broadcast originally on Bravo in Canada, and later on SCN and the Knowledge Network. The series, which was hosted by my good friend Will Fraser, featured young Canadian classical musicians performing and chatting about their work and their lives, and it was probably the best work I've ever done.
The following clip is one of my favourite moments from the show. It features pianist Ian Parker chatting with Will about the variations on themes that you can find within different pieces of music.
When you can inform and entertain in my business, that's a good day!
Irish alternative folk singer-songwriter Claire Prendergast is my latest random YouTube discovery, part of a process where I'll input a string of words in the YouTube search engine, like "ukelele" and "folk", or "accordion" and "radiohead", and see what pops up.
Claire does some very charming cover versions of songs by artists such as Radiohead and A-ha, which I quite like, but it's her original material that really captured my attention... after all, how can you not like a young Irish folk singer who writes songs about "zombies, polar bears and shovels"?
Corporatized pop music has become so pervasive, to the point where it now exists as a sort of soundtrack for our lives, that we rarely if ever are exposed to music from other genres, or from the rest of the world. Accordingly, I've decided that every now and then I'll be posting a video of some of that "other" music, like this wonderful and haunting piece on the morin khuur, a traditional instrument of the Mongol people, just to remind myself, if no-one else, that there is more to music, and culture, than the "pop tart" du jour.
In the 21st century, everyone will have their own cult of personality, to one degree or another, which through increased and enhanced social networking will coalesce into groups of similar types, or mega-cults, if you will - so I've decided to to get a head start on the masses and formalize mine!
What is Paulism?
When I figure it out, I'll let you know. In the meantime, stay tuned (and check out past and future posts tagged "Paulosophy")!!
"American culture is the manic combination of exultant hubris and profound gloom." - George Friedman
Friedman is one of the world's "big thinkers", an Alfred Thayer Mahan for the 21st century. His book, The Next 100 Years, is a thought-provoking, must-read analysis for anyone interested in geopolitics, and where the world is going in the century to come.
Here he is talking about what he sees happening in the next ten years or so.
Is Friedman going to get all of the details right?
Of course not.
But on his prediction for the big picture - that the 21st century is going to be the American century - I think he's spot on.
