2011-09-29

Paul Barlow's art and Bassically by Ryan Farish

Triumph (Small Tree)
It's amazing how many good things we discover by accident, this is the first though that came in my mind after seeing "Triumph" by Paul Barlow. Only after I began to control my amazement I started to go through a list of his works and didn't find one that I didn't like. Most often I try to console myself with the idea that a particular work by a particular artist will someday and somehow grow on me, but this is not the case with Paul's artistic achievements.

He was born in 1988 and is from the United Kingdom. He says:
In my work i choose surrealism because of the freeness, the mysticism and the depths of the subconscious. My main goal is to create and realise unknown worlds, feelings and thoughts which are higher than words. My work is also a kind of spiritual journey, by playing with the world and materials i am createing something higher than mere physical existence. Feelings of beauty, life, lonliness, wonder, happiness, existence all feelings that i cannot put into words are spilled out into my images.
Pursuit
Formation
The Kite
Nightfall
Night



To go with the pictures we also present to you Bassically by Ryan Farish, from his album entitled Daydreamer. If you are into electronic music you will love this, if not, you will undoubtedly get the taste of it.

2011-09-26

MICHAUD, Michael - Contact with Alien Civilizations

Humanity was never alone, it had its gods, angels, demons, but wanting to understand life forms that are not from this planet is something very new, through this we might even learn some things about us.

"Over the millennia, our thinking about extraterrestrials has evolved from metaphysical speculation to scientifically testable hypotheses. Yet we still have no proof. At the philosophical and scientific levels, the most durable feature of the controversy has been the split between “Copernicans,” who argue that Humankind does not occupy a special place in the universe, and “Aristotelians,” who believe that we do. During the Enlightenment, philosophical speculations wrestled with another fundamental question. If there are intelligent beings beyond the Earth, some of them might be more intellectually advanced than we are. How, then, could Man be the measure of all things?"

2011-09-24

Whatever Makes You Happy (personal thoughts)

Today we will talk about happiness. Merriam-Webster defines happiness as: 2.a. A state of well being and contentment: joy ; 2.b. a pleasurable or satisfying experience. Most people limit themselves to the second definition which reflects a limited understanding of their own self and that is why the term happiness is coined to this basic meaning. The act of buying new things, this consumerist heaven, just to get that feeling that you are good, you are finally happy after all that hard work is only an illusion and it grows in a mind that is not given access to equilibrium. 

Many of us chase temporary changes in a continuous sadness that resemble the idea of well being and believe that's all to it. One of the first decisions someone must take is to start a "war" with dependence, of any kind. To kill a dependence on something is not never doing that thing, but controlling when you want and how much you want. For example if someone has a problem with alcohol and suposing his health permits, he must try to control his urges and never make a habit but drink moderately. Sure, the idea is not to be dependent of anything, period and never do conscious harm to one's health.

Health is very important because it keeps our body "operational" as a vehicle for our life/soul/mind, spiritual or not, you get the picture. One of my concerns is the inequality in the world because few have plenty and many have little. In most western countries vegetables and fruits begin to have no smell and taste because in the process of growing them, farmers use chemicals that hastens their growth and so many Europeans actually eat fruits and vegetables that have little or no vitamins and minerals and above all, could lead cause cancer. In Africa thousands, millions die from starvation even if there is plenty of land to feed all the population of Africa and even double that sum. We should always choose nature. Another health problem is sedentariness. What do all these have to do with health? Well, imagine a fat person sitting on a couch and eating junk-food while buying useless things on ebay, now think of a child with no food, almost no water, trying to survive in a war-torn country searching for work in order to live. The first will be happy when his new things are delivered and the child will be happy when he will finally eat something. To be poor and to be wealthy are the same things dressed in different clothes.

Even love is not true happiness. We like the idea of being in love because it creates an imbalance in our bodies, wonderful as it may seem, in the end it will fade away. Guess I am trying to get to inner peace as the best definition for happiness, I wonder why not more people search for this because even the quest for it gives many benefits. I sometimes feel happy when I am sad, it seems like a contradiction but you must go through the experience to really know what I am talking about. I recently went to a concert of Yasmin Levi and she practically said the same thing, nice to see another human-being enjoying his/her sadness. Don't be afraid to let go of your illusions.

Once again I finish with this: time is the most important thing you have, don't waste it, learn, think, evolve.

Ryan Farish - Aran


Article image by Alice vel. Hazel

2011-09-18

Lesley Hazleton, on reading the Quran

I really enjoy browsing through the long and attractive list of TED speakers and once in a while I find one that I feel I must share with as many people as I can. This is the case with Lesley Hazleton, a British-American writer that focuses especially on the history, religion and politics of the Middle East. Some of her books are "After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split" and "Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother". What's interesting about her is the openness she transmits when talking about subjects largely perceived as "taboo" at the moment. Enjoy this very enlightening video about the Quran and the process of studying it from a non-Muslim perspective. As Lesley points out, there are even some Muslims that do not actually understand the text, referring here to fundamentalists.

2011-09-15

Avantasia - Dying For An Angel

Germany rocks and this song is part of the evidence which I recommend you all examine immediately. Avantasia is a project started by Tobias Sammet who is also vocalist at Edguy. To make matters worse, Dying for an Angel features Klaus Meine known as being the frontman of Scoprions, a band everyone on the planet knows and most love. Rock is universal, rock is forever.

2011-09-11

Joris Delacroix - Take Your Time (feat.Nancy)

It's time to relax with a nice electro song and a good video. Enjoy.

Find Joris Delacroix on MySpace and Facebook.

2011-09-08

SOUTHGATE, Beverley - What is History For?


Most of the books that we will present here will be historical in nature so it makes sense to start with a text that addresses the question of what history really is.

Charting the development of historical studies, Beverley Southgate examines the various uses to which history has been put. While history has often supposedly been studied ‘for its own sake’, Southgate argues that this seemingly innocent approach masks an inherent conservatism and exposes the ways in which history has, sometimes deliberately, sometimes inadver- tently, been used for socio-political purposes.

This copy is for educational purposes only, help spread culture and human development.

2011-09-04

The Iranian Miracle

For the past few months I watched the news amazed at the speed at which Iran is catching up with the 'western world', the country is now the largest industrial and knowledge producer in the Middle East and all thanks to sanctions. This reminds me of China when one hundred years ago it also realized the importance of modernization, I am confident that as in the case of China, Iran will undergo a similar social transformation adopting a more egalitarian point of view, eventually becoming a 'secular theocracy'.


Many people believed that when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power he would of become more like a guide, not imposing sharia. The threat of American intervention in Iran transformed his role in a more authoritarian one. I would like to remind all of you that the history of this nation, like the history of many other countries rich in natural resources, is filled with interventions from foreign powers seeking privileges. Think how far Iranian society would of advanced if the Persian Constitutional Revolution was not repressed by Russia and if the 1953 coup supported by Britain and America never happened. History is a box filled with infinite amounts of treasure and we must open it before looking out the window.


Iran is expanding its non-oil industrial sector at an ever increasing speed with a dozen new factories and power plants opening this year and an estimated total of 2 million workplaces to be created in 2011 alone. The country started an enthusiastic space program and the defense industry, while not too technologically advanced, is becoming self-sufficient and adapted to the needs of the region. The IMF congratulated the Iranian government for its economic reforms, almost every month festivals of all kinds are held to promote culture and science while abroad Iran is making a strong presence in these fields. As far as foreign relations are concerned, Iran is making many friends, among them are Iraq and Egypt.


With all the sanctions, this country seems to enjoy an economic boom and that is why I want to say again that the West needs to take Iran serious and start a real dialogue that can lead to progress and peace on both sides.




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