Saturday, January 25, 2014

advanced genius

jason hartley - the advanced genius theory: are they out of their minds or ahead of their time?

the wikipedia entry on the advanced genius theory

a few years ago rip and i "argued" about how metallica was no longer good and how their saint anger cd was proof of that. i said that the band had maybe progressed past the level that rip was at. people evolve, obviously, and so do bands. problem is that maybe the fans and the band don't evolve together. music is a pretty person experience, after all.

so imagine my surprise upon reading "the advanced genius" theory to see that apparently this was actually a theory! btw, i do NOT think that metallica is genius. and the book itself wasn't all that awesome either. the wikipedia entry sums up the book pretty well.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

sacrifice

quotation from frank dikotter - mao's great famine: the history of china's most devastating catastrophe, 1958-1962

mao believed that during a famine "it is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill." i know that a lot of people who disagree with this statement, but really, isn't this the best way? why share meager and much needed resources just so everyone will suffer? isn't it, in some ways, more humane to kill the weakest so that the strongest can live longer? i guess that a big problem with this type of thinking is that it eliminates the possibility of unexpected change in the situation: donated food, reversal of bad weather, whatever... you can't unkill someone now that an hour after their murder, help arrives.

there's also the huge problem of who to kill first. the sick and feeble (of body) would probably be the first since their bodies are already compromised. the really old (especially women who are post-menopausal) would probably go next since they are of less "physical value" to society (they may be the keepers of our history but they sure can't do heavy lifting). next should probably be the mentally challenged who aren't good with physical labor. and of course, you should at some point start eliminating children. as long as the adults aren't permanently sterile, they can also produce more kids. men should probably also be eliminated more than women since most women can only have one kid a year while men have no such limitations. in the very end you should be left with a handful of youngish men and a larger group of women.

it's easy for mao, in his nice house with plenty of food and blankets and family secure, to say that to sacrifice half a nation so the other half can prosper is the right thing to do. but who could ever be so cold? the "best" solution would be for volunteers. and before you scoff at that, remember that seniors in japan did it as did the inuits (maybe). of course, no infant or mentally infirm would volunteer themselves so we really are left to murder, not suicide.

and on another topic, tho certainly related, if you're interested in learning a bit about cannibalism, this was a pretty good read.

Monday, January 13, 2014

quotations

frank dikotter - mao's great famine: the history of china's most devastating catastrophe, 1958-1962

"...this book shows that at least 45 million people died unnecessarily between 1958 and 1962."

"when there is not enough to eat people starve to death. it is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill."

"in russian there is a distinction between liudoedstvo, literally 'people eating', and trupoedstvo, or 'corpse eating'. it is a very useful distinction, one which introduces much-needed nuance..."

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

not a word

i knew that space cuts out past members really quickly. and i knew it would happen. but i was stull surprised by how completely i dropped off their radar. on fb, anyway. i put up hawaii photos (cause g was in them too) and i didn't get a single like from anyone on space. it was... wow. lol. i dunno. i mean, i haven't even officially switched teams yet!

k, my neighbor, is also with space. sorta. he's thinking of retiring because competitive paddling simply takes too much time. he's missing out on his daughter's childhood, he says. so, in other words, he's not leaving because of drama. anyway, so the other day he was at the beach paddle boarding and oc1-ing with his family and he runs into space. a few of them ignore him completely. he hasn't even decided if he's leaving the team yet! i wonder if other teams are like this too? hahah, maybe i'll find out in another five years when i leave guppies for i-don't-know-what-team!

i'm really glad i took a year off between space and guppies but man oh man am i not looking forward to march when i show up at my first guppies practice. they're the practice slot after space, so i'll definitely be running into them. i haven't checked the schedule yet, but it was would be even more awkward if we end up taking their boat. ::shudder::

Saturday, January 4, 2014

love you more

i can't believe i've never blogged about this (i did several searches and couldn't find anything. but i did find this vaguely related post)! but i've long heard (and agree with) the statement that in an ideal relationship, a man loves a woman more than she loves him back.

i've always thought it was because "men get better with age. women just get older." or something to that effect. in other words, it's easier for a man to start over in mid-life than a woman. ...thinking about that now, i guess it doesn't really follow that therefore a man should love a woman more than she loves him back. ...but anyway!

l and i were talking about it the other day and she said that it's because women seem more willing to overlook a man's faults. and they're more willing to live in unhappiness. i guess that means that it's easier for a man to fall out of love with a woman. which is why, from the beginning, he should love her more. that seems to make a lot of sense, honestly. this plus that she can't start over anyway. ...sounds like all women are unhappy in their relationships but are too scared to leave their man because she'll be jealous he'll find happiness before her.