Just Amazing

WISDOM Trailer from Andrew Zuckerman Studio on Vimeo.

New favourite blog,
http://www.brainpickings.org/

Why Good Is More Popular Than Great

I always wondered why bad music is so successful.  So many people complain about how such repetitive, unoriginal/creative music can get multi-million dollar record labels, and why so many people buy into it.  Especially after listening to CJSW, I learned there are so many beautiful songs our there.  Bands creating lyrics and sounds so full of emotion and ... awesome, and then you turn on a top 40 station and hear crap.  Where is the justice?

This got me thinking.


I really don't want to think that people are stupid.  If I've learned anything, people are stupid until you learn about the pain they've suffered, then the things they do seem like it really was their only option.  Once you do that, and rule out the occasional mistake we all make, there aren't many stupid people left.  Those special leftovers are generally saved for politics *shudders*.

Anyways!  The point is there is a reason and it hit me.  Sometimes we don't need great, we just need good.  Especially in Calgary, you get a lot of people who work too long.  There is lots of money to be made, and oh do they make it, but it leaves everybody pretty tired at the end of the day.  We need that first beer, we need to sit our ass down and just be.  We need that second, no requirements, no responsibility, just a refreshing drink and that good tune in the background.

Enter mediocre music.  Great music doesn't fit here, it carries the responsibility of being understood, being properly appreciated, and great music has to be found.  Right then, at that moment, we'll take just about anything as long as its decent.  North American society seems like it's always so high strung it'll generally take just about anything, all the time.

Everybody loves bad music sometimes.  So maybe next time you hear yourself complaining that people are so stupid for buying such bad music and perpetuating a horrible cycle, remember that sometimes you need that music too.  And if you really feel there should be significant change, stop downloading music and go watch some bands play live.  Regardless, here's a cool TED talk about music too, seems appropriate, plus if I keep adding videos of actually cool shit to my posts then maybe you'll be distracted from the silly points I make!

Dojo Workhorse - Something I wish I could be

"Music was invented to confirm human loneliness" ~ Lawrence Durrell


Amen


SHOT AT THE DARK - Dojo Workhorse from Shot at The Dark on Vimeo.

I've always wondered what the purpose of loneliness was, to push you towards other people?  It's not like its the best motivator in the world.  Maybe it's just a part of love, and who knows what the hell that's supposed to be.

Worth watching

Video for you!



"My name is Verena. I've made a video to the song "Lesley Gore On The T.A.M.I. Show" by the wonderful, one and only CFTPA. The girl in the video is me, by the way :-) Story of my life... Enjoy!"

Good Morning Interwebz! (12:30 is morning to me)

So, I've completely neglected my blog for a couple months, as you do.  But I feel it is not a lost cause, I've just had a hectic life and this didn't seem important enough.

But I have a tasty little video I'm stealing from TED again, because that site is so impressive.  This one is about patternicity, how we see patterns in everything, or sometimes in nothing.  And how this can lead to a powerful genius or insanity.


So think about this, and it'll lead into a later post about why we need struggle.

The First Follower

  One of the most important parts of a community being successful is actually being able to combine it's resources and accomplish a task.  Sometimes the tricky part is picking the right task to use our resources for, and to make these decisions we need leaders.  If you ever sit back and wonder why you voted (or didn't...) for some idiot politician who's sending you and your community to ruin, this is why.  Someone has to be the one who says "This is what we're going to do" for one simple reason, asking everybody for every single decision, it's expensive.

  Now, it doesn't end there, in the video below you can see that the one thing greater than the leader, is the follower, specifically the first.  So next time you see someone do something crazy, see someone do something brave, maybe consider being the most important person in what it is they are doing.  In that you can do something great, you can start a movement.

Beauty out of a thought

Here's to hoping