Spring Cleaning The Internet

It can't be done. I quote the grate Joe Rogaine™ from the classic 90s sit-com News Radio, "Dude, you can't take things off the internet. That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool." And it is. I sternly agree with the likes of Doug Stanhope when he attacks the popular notion amongst the mainstream news media that "child pornography is rampant on the Internet", as if the Internet is a mad house of child porn. You can't even check your private e-mail anymore without seeing immature genitalia everywhere!

Doug and I have seen a lot of things on the Internet (yes, like him I've even seen cock fingering) but we've never seen child porn. I (nor he) deny that it's probably out there because sick freaks of all sorts still exist and most likely can jam keys on their desktop. What we are saying, however, is that if child porn is so rampant and it's so impossible to get things off the Internet then why am I not revolted by child porn at every click? It might seem that big news media corporations might have it out for the Internet? Muddying things up in the public eye? We'll see about that, jerks.

And why can't we know whatever we want to know? If the information is so important, it certainly isn't our fault for knowing about it. A bit of logic passed down from my father as to why he never kept up with religion, even at a young age, was that "when they started to talk about God judging my thoughts, I knew it wasn't for me." And isn't this the main fear? That we might eventually know something and give a damn about it to change the dynamics of power would ruin their parade of money and excessive influence. Better to keep us poor and dumb-- keep telling us everything we're doing is wrong and dangerous. People are easier to push around like that.

In the last 50 years the majority of freedom sucking skinbags have also been empowered and it's not easy adjusting to power for everyone.

For some people it's awkward and kinda sticky but for others that maybe hadn't noticed it and are just now getting into the whole idea, it's pretty neat. But it can get to be too much! ZeFrank started as a video blog and was intended to only last a year but as time lurched on and zefrank got better at talking to nobody that nobody would turn into somebody. And he got better at it. I caught the buzz right in the middle of the year long extravaganza and became addicted. I'm still saddened by the loss (yes, it did end in a year as planned); the guy was funny, highly entertaining and there's now no more of him. But as he became more empowered, he found it odd; he didn't expect so much and started to worry whether he could keep going at the same pace (with the same success).

Thank god anonymity takes off a lot of that pressure. So many of us are/can be heard while never even considering that who we're speaking as isn't who we are. Perhaps the power betters some of us and even worsens others (think: internet addictions that break up relationships/marriages or stunt life choices) but in the end it is this tool, the Internet that we can use as we please. It is a multifaceted tool at our ever present disposal which can not only make us celebrities (internet royalty) but can also tear us down under the weight of its power.

Use it or be used by it.

Learnapedia

As has been mentioned, this blog is a part of my Media & Communications Studies course (370) and because of that I get a lot of topics that I comment on from here. It's one of the more interesting courses I'm taking because it's based on material such as whether or not Wikipedia and other such toolings of The Interbutts are good or bad? Have people gotten dumber? Is it this newfangled series of tubes that's ruining America? And what the hell is a Washington Post?

To everyones surprise, the founder of Wikipedia (Jimmy Wales) thinks his e-child is awesome and can kick your e-child's ass. Not only that but he also thinks that his e-child is the future of the WORLD WIDE WEB and is singlehandedly making our lives better. And while sucking your own cock isn't masturbation and is, in fact, homosexual, I think Jimbo Wales has a point. Being a narcissist doesn't mean that you're inherently wrong. Because I'm almost always right. And modest.

Jacoby is wrong and Wales is right but the greatest thing is that their argument is on The Internet (ironic, eh Jacoby?) where anyone and everyone can get informed to any degree they want (or that's available to their ability to use a web browser) and weigh in. Like me, right now. Even though no one reads this blog, they could very easily; how easy would it be to find an essay I wrote on paper 2 years ago? And why are you going through my garbage? And in this way, one could say that The Internet is a flea market of intellectualism.

I don't think more people have really gotten any smarter in the last 50 years, in that there are roughly the same percentages of people around the world as smarter or dumber than the rest of the populations. For example, let's say America was 70% dumb and 30% smart in 1958; I don't think these percentages have changed much at all. There are more people to compose that 70% and/or 30%, certainly, but overall there are just as many smart jerks as there are dumb jerks. Have most of them become smarter? Of course! That's progress. What? You don't believe in progress?! Anti-intellectual.

I go to Google all the time for all my immediately information gratification. It usually brings me to Wikipedia and since it loads faster than Wikipedia's browser I just take the connected flight. I do not, however, use imitative crap like Encyclopedia Dramatica (as referenced above) for any other reason than explaining The Internet to outsiders and to a less indoctrinated audience because Google doesn't scrape the bowels of The Internet like a single user can given a few cold beers and an hour alone. E.D. is a cancer to the shadowy underbelly that makes The Internet so exotic because it exists to inform others of an area that should not be taught; it should be discovered. However, I am safe from being a big hypocritical jerkoff because no one reads my blog. And that's O.K. because it's better than a private journal and people used to do those things back in the 50s. What a buncha morans! if you don't get the joke then you lose the game.

Hey Ho

Just chiming in again about another blog of mine.

Enjoy the background contrast and critical commentary.

The War on Democracy

In keeping with this theme against democracy, please enjoy this film.

I'm going to assume you watched that video. Isn't that neat? A full documentary at your fingertips and it's all for free. Though, it's funny how big mean organizations try to hide information from us. This video makes several perfect examples of how information about events and news from South America and Central America is manipulated to impress upon us, the audience, an agenda that exudes money and power. Did I say funny? I meant faggy (no offense real fags*).

People who have motive to gain additional power or maintain power should not be trusted. The Internet is the most powerful communicative tool for democracy and if you're not digging into the deep dark soil then you're missing out. Stop going to the same places that you usually visit and start exploring everywhere else because the web is an ever expanding landscape created by mostly us. And porn. But you and I could make some porn. I like where this is going.

*I'm a firm supporter (no pun) of homosexuals. Go team!

Really Real And Real, Consumer

I discovered the issue of fluoridation a few months ago and found this recent development interesting. Hard not to fold up a tin hat when you read this sort of news. When I see things like this I sometimes think of Sicko. Despite what you think of everything else in the film, you have to love Tony Benn-- the guy is wicked smaaht.

I was surprised that his interview and name weren't more popularized after Sicko was made popular. Then again, most people know about TED Talks but how often do we discuss them. Well, I try but then no one talks back. Assholes. I mean, really, when smart people come around and their brilliance or deep thoughts are broadcast and/or made available to the masses, what happens? It feels like nothing. Damn system, keeping me marginalized and oppressed! Well, fuck 'em. These are questions and thoughts you should be having as to "why are things the way that they are?" And sure, maybe we'll all break out our Reynolds Wrap by the time we reach our conclusions but at least we'll have something more to say. There's not enough real argument today. The dynamics of argument range from complete belligerency to supreme apathy with very little in between. It's a bimodal mess. Tony Benn is just a big wooden spoon that gets the pot stirring. TL; DR:

Extended Tony Benn Reeeeemiiiiiiiix:

Oh, and about the Poop Cult

I've been meaning to make it more apparent that I'm also blogging about media for an AMST class which can be seen here.There are some overlapping videos and discussions and I would rather not post the same things twice if I can (videos, subject material, pictures). To think, I've gone so far without blogging only to suddenly do twice as much.

Update: Now that it's over, AMST 325 was a class that covered ground but simply didn't get me to where I want to end up. I was already fairly familiar with things. It's a class I would've liked to hear the instructor talk more about than the students because while we're submerged into this popular culture it is not always apparent to us what it is that is either going on or attempted to be explained to us. I don't know if many people know much about post-modernism, post-structuralism, or late-consumerism but it would have been nicer if the discussions of those things had more to do with their conceptual cores than their mundane, anecdotal, face-value summations. If the study of media and culture can show us anything it's that there is more going on than what we immediately see as going on.

It is with that is mind that perhaps I should explain about "Poop Cult." It is an obvious corruption of Popular Culture where I am referencing the popular notion that popular culture is filled with mindless crap. While this is true, it is also deceiving. My invention is ushered from my memories of Beavis & Butthead, two of the most premier popular culture icons of my generation. Where people find disgust and abhoration for Beavis & Butthead is where they cease to appreciate or even understand what the show is saying. It is not idolizing the modern teenager, it is mocking them severely. The greatest irony of the program was that the audience it insulted watched it the most! This seems to hold true for Mike Judge and his socially relevant creations & commentary where he moved onto. King of the Hill has a strong "good ol' boy" following, every office rat and smarmy movie goer saw Office Space, and only the smart-assed culture snobs saw a movie like Idiocracy where the smart-assed culture snobs get bred out of existence by ultra-reproducing morons.

And if you can't appreciate that, kill yourself.

Another painfully black & white post!

Sometimes two topics are better mashed together into one:
We, the semi-unwashed masses of The Rogan Board™, declare that the internets (all of them) are for the lack of having a life, liberty to jeer others, and pursuit of porn. Well, until Joe up & decided to cancel the porn rule. See, The Rogan Board™ used to enact a rule for newcomers that they must post pornography within their first ten posts. It is still in strong agreement of many who browse The Rogan Board™ that one can tell a lot about a person by what sort of porn they enjoy and are willing to share with others. And I could tell from my first few glimpses of the place that "these crazies are my sort of people".

It all started for me one year ago. I was looking around for information about DMT and isolation tanks when I found a lot of material coming from this guy: Joseph Rogan. I knew him from his stint on Newsradio as well as Fear Factor but didn't really enjoy him as an individual until I heard some of his stand-up, read some of his blog posts, and watched some of "THE JOE SHOW". In the pleasure valley that is the forum there is much to be shared: pictures of the day, videos, news articles, and gossipy personal interest discussion; This place is called "Shit Talking 1o1". The alternative forum is Special Ed, where many have been sent to reform their retarded ways. We're somewhat elitist in that sense, but it's all fairly understandable.

The community on his forum are mostly comprised of people that I can either tolerate, enjoy, or admire to some extent. It has a surprisingly deep well of information which is a welcomed change. I can go to the "Yes, I even steal comic books" thread and find or request just about anything on the subject. A friend of mine runs that particular thread, though it resides in "teh tard forum", and it is particularly well received. It's good to visit the inmates, check in on progress and all that, watch them fight for a loose bagel or such. The moderators of the forum are reasonable people but their human. Though, if a person gets all bent out of shape because of a 'tarding or some sort of negative feedback then they're quite obviously not made for The Rogan Board™. We're a tough skinned folk. We can look at gore and laugh, though some members have turned into little girls as of late.

This little nook of the internet is pretty well self regulated. Even if a mod doesn't come along, the community is pretty even handed with the ridicule. But with everything social, there are variants. Back when I joined, Joe Rogan had called Carlos Mencia out for being a joke theif & a hack. I wasn't aware of this web-social event until I'd joined for a few days. The board had become flooded with a certain ilk of parroting Mencia haters, "Joe good job!", "LOL Tell him Joe", "Joe!!!!1! Can I wash your back?!!/?". The join date of "February 2007" had become a stamp of persecution, being that the flood of "newbs" had the native community irritated. This has perhaps happened again in recent weeks as I've felt the board has been lacking in interesting fiber. I'm noticing a lot of new, not so stimulating, people. However, I doubt it's a seasonal influx more than it's myself becoming tired of the place.

I've had my run, and I still visit for the interest and hope that I'll find something funny or mentally stimulating. Maybe I'll come back to it fired up with enjoyment but lately I've been sinking back into a nerd hobby from my past: Warcraft III's DotA & the related community. MOON ROCKS!

Music development & Ishkur

Before I move on to the next blog post, I wanted to share something. I've been a great appreciator of music and sound ever since I could hear; my mother loved '60-'70s Rock and my father liked the big band crooners. I've never been a big stickler for name referencing, dropping, or even the deeper qualities of music nerd-ship but I have been on the prowl for delicious noise since I was old enough to influence my parents' pocketbooks. Hard to believe, some of the first music I had my parents buy was punk and pseudo-punk: Greenday's Dookie and Kerplunk, Misfit's Walk Among Us, and I remember my mother's friend's much older son liked Guttermouth so I got a live album of theirs (I didn't comprehend what "Live" implied, bad acoustics and low screaming fans-- which worked for that album at least). It's not that I didn't like the music either parent was listening to (my father also had an appreciation for older country: Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Hank Williams Jr.) but rather that I wanted more music and they just weren't listening to anything else. And they still didn't even when I started to, so it became a personal thing for me in a way; I had all the time in the world to understand and appreciate the music that I was listening to.

Which brings me to Electronic music. I know there are tons of people that "don't get it", don't like it, and don't have any clue about what they're talking about. The latter includes people who claim to enjoy Electronic music and are partially responsible for the great confusion. What great confusion? Why, the great confusion that plagues the population of mankind as to what in the hell this E-lec-tron-ic music is! And boy are you lucky that I found a solution, rather, that this fellow named Ishkur made a solution for you (all).

Now, if you've been browsing the Evolution Control Committee's website like you should be then you may have already caught this. It is Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music. and it is comprehensive. Begin with the basics and then click the tutorial (read all 14 pages of history). Once you've completed the ground work you can move on through: House, Trance, Techno, Breakbeat, Jungle, Hardcore, and Downtempo. He's done an impressive job of organizing the time lines and relative connections between super-genres and sub-genres. Ishkur even provides various samples of each musical styling and a hint of commentary as to their value to music in general. I've thought of myself as fairly well versed on the subject but Ishkur has done far more homework than I even comprehended as relevant. But it is (relevant). Really. His critiques are poignant, wholly agreeable, and encourages readers to continue their surf through the annals of Electronic music history. It's examples like this that make me wonder whether people create things like this out of sheer ingenuity or through perseverance of completing a final project or dissertation.

Enjoy the time sink and if you have any leftover knowledge when you're finished, just put it in a box and save it for later. It tastes better the next day.

No, that's O.K., I like having responsibility.

I do not feel the government should regulate the content of any media, particularly the domains of the world wide web. I think the control exacted upon various forms of media strip the national community of its intelligence and common courtesy. An example of radio regulation can be analogous to simple conversation: if a person is talking then it is best to allow that person to finish before the listener begins; if a person is broadcasting at a certain frequency that another wishes to broadcast at, then that person should wait for the then current broadcaster to finish. The simple practice of manners amongst people can free themselves of these regulating bonds. These bonds restrict what others can say to their audience, and almost more importantly: what the audience can hear. Any audience.

As for the internet in particularly, I can't see why the government should parent children or parent parents. More than that, I can't see why it is anyones' responsibility to regulate what another person sees. If the person viewing or hearing any given stimulus does not like it then that person has the free will and brainpower to stop. Censorship deprives the society at large of proper stimuli that may better shape us as a people; simply because something is generally displeasing or earnestly horrible does not equate uselessness. It has always been my view that the "negative" things in life are exactly what make those "positive" things so damn appealing. I don't think I'll ever find away to argue against that.

Pending Update