Soundtrack of today

Today's top 10 is inspired by the picture to the left.

1. Just Dance - Lady GaGa (pictured)

2. You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate

3. Danger (High Voltage) - Electric Six

4. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - The White Stripes

5. Come Undone - Robbie Williams

6. Feel Good Time - Pink

7. I'm A Slave 4 U - Britney Spears

8. Dude (Looks Like A Lady) - Aerosmith

9. Playmate Of The Year - Zebrahead

10. Beautiful Stranger - Madonna

More awesome Star Wars stuff

Kanye's Akira

The original music video for Kanye West's "Stronger" was heavily inspired by the movie Akira. This video takes the next step and blends the movie and the video together, and the results are amazing -- especially for those familiar with Akira (and if you're not, do watch it! It's a classic).

Also, compare this video to the original from Kanye and Daft Punk!

Ultimate Sith

Watch. Listen. Adore.

Grog smash

Grog no like you.

You think you so clever. Grog hit your head with big sword. You no clever then.

Come 'ere, Grog wants to hit you. Don't run. Grog angry.

Please. Grog says don't run.

Darn. Smartguy got away. Faster than he looks.

Grog still angry.

Grog hit stone with big sword.

Ouch. Grog hurt.

Stupid stone.

Grog hit stone again.

Ouch. Grog hurt again. Sword broken.

Grog go home. Grog find other sword.

Grog bored.

Obligatory listening

Today's top 10.

1. Queen Of You - Monster Magnet
2. Change (In The House Of Flies) - Deftones
3. Loverman - Metallica
4. King Kill 33' - Marilyn Manson
5. Anything But This - Static X
6. Make Me Bad - Korn
7. 1stp Klosr - Linkin Park
8. Mann Gegen Mann - Rammstein
9. Heaven's A Lie - Lacuna Coil
10. Cry For You - A Perfect Circle

Athe

Beware: Subject may cause anxiety or anger. Please treat with care.

Atheism. Obviously, it is not another form of religion, devoted to the adoration of the goddess Athe, but what, exactly, is atheism?

Literally, atheism is a belief without a god.

Surely that sounds simple enough, but what implications does that have? Certainly there are as many different subtleties as there are people who call themselves atheists, so allow me to explain my own.

Atheism is a belief in a world where there is no god, there was never a god, and there never will be a god. That world is our world; the existence as we know it.

Since the dawn of mankind, there have been numerous religions with numerous gods -- some religions claim there is one god, others claim many. This, however, does not mean that all those people were right.

Gods were, more often than not, conjured up by active imaginations for all the then unexplainable phenomena people encountered. Thunder and lightning were the work of a god; the miracle of birth was due to a goddess; if one performed some ritual to this god or another, one would do better at hunting or fighting.

It was not untill much later that the concept of one god, and an all-powerful god at that, became common. A creator, who for that merit alone should be worshiped.

What a load of crap.

Pardon my French, but whoever said that god wanted to be worshiped? Imagine the pets you might own, to every day thank you for everything they received from you -- a pleasant home, good food, and love (I'm assuming this, obviously). For one, it would be silly and a bit unnerving. Also, it would be a waste of time, since without the idolizing, you would probably care just as much for them.

And, more importantly, creation takes place before worship. If one does not worship zealously enough, the creation cannot be unmade.

That is assuming there is a god of some sort. I already stated that I do not think there is.

Gods are often convenient ways to explain events or actions that cannot be easily comprehended. The human mind is simply unable to comprehend all of nature -- and by nature, I also mean physics, chemistry, natural disasters, and astonomy. Obviously we are making good progress in trying to understand the natural laws of the world, but it is doubtful we'll ever know everything -- as most religious people would agree.

However, unlike the assumption of religions that "therefore" there is a god, I say that there is none. Nature works according to its own rules, even if we will never know them all. It merely means that the things we cannot explain (yet) appear to be godlike. But they are not. They are merely unexplained.

Does this mean morality, by many to be believed to be based in religion, can be tossed out of the window? No, far from it -- but that is the subject of another time.

Remember -- there is no god. Now stop worrying and live your life, dammit.

A good conversation

Hey, how are you? Nice to see you. Please, come in. No, don't be shy, make yourself comfortable. Yes, you can take off your shoes. Just sit down and relax.

Now, I haven't seen you around lately. I admit, I am to blame mostly for that; I don't regularly visit this place anymore. Despite my best intentions.

Did you know there are millions of blogs that don't get updated? Someone optimistically started some blog, for friends, work, special interest, or just because it was the thing to do at that moment. Now, years later, most blogs have never had a second posting and a lot are all but forgotten.

I do not want my blog to share that fate.

To be perfectly honest, not many people read my blog. That's fine; I am glad for every visitor. I am glad you are here, because it means I'm not alone in here. Although talking to oneself is not as bad as many people seem to think.

This blog is not about any special interest; not any one in particular, anyway. It's not some work-related information or a way to "connect" with the rest of the digital world. Basically, my blog is about one thing: me.

Apparently you are interested in me. Now, don't take that the wrong way. "Interested" does not necessarily mean "wanting a romantic or physical relationship". It merely means the things I write interest you in some way.

This could be that you find my writings insightful, my jokes funny, or my links useful. It could also be that you find my posts annoying and you keep visiting this place to either remind yourself why you find it annoying or you just keep waiting for something that you do like. Either way, my blog, and therefore I as a person, captivates you and makes you want to read on.

You've been reading all of this, right? That must mean something caught your interest. Or perhaps you're waiting to see if all this rambling will, at last, end and something truly interesting comes up.

Well, it doesn't get any better than this. Trust me. If you're bored, stop reading.

Honestly. Do stop reading. It's ok. Don't apologize; I will never know.

Still here?

Actually, there is something interesting at the end of this post. But I wanted to make sure the not-truly-interested people would be gone.

The interesting part is...

Drumroll please.

...the interesting part is that I have no idea what I'm talking about. Ever.

You just wasted your time reading the stuff that I wrote, while I don't even know what I'm saying. But apparently, it makes sense to you.

There is a fine line between brilliance and insanity, but also between knowing having no clue and knowing exactly what you mean. I'm on one side of the line, and you're on the other side.

Please, take me to your side. Enlighten me. Explain to me what I truly mean. Because I'm truly at a loss.

Funny stuff

Do not underestimate the power of the Empire

Turning to the Grey Side

Despite the many many similarities between the Star Wars galaxy and our own world, there is one obvious difference.

There is no fine line between good and evil in the real world.

In fact, it could be argued that everything, every action, every person, is both good and bad -- or at least, neutral.

Even a seemingly good action can be bad, despite intentions. Is giving money to poor people a good thing, or does it merely justify their inaction? It can be said that it even inspires others to evil, like other poor people to rob him of his recently acquired wealth.

At first, what might seem good, bad or even neutral, has the potential for many things. A rock, a neutral thing, can be used for the good act of building a house, or can be used for the bad act of hitting a person on the head. And more often than not, the same action has both good and bad consequences.

Good is a point of view, just like evil.

More importantly, though -- it's far more easier to switch from good to bad (and back) than it appears in Star Wars. Once a person commits an evil action (which I claim happens daily) it is not hard to "turn back to the light". The next action usually suffices.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes -- but do they really? Their evil ways become good through the progress they achieve for themselves. And the Jedi likewise do good, only to have their actions be evil against the Sith. Two wrongs do not make a right.

I daresay we live in a grey world. No black and no white. Which is not to say that our lives are boring -- the different shades of grey are far more interesting than the black or the white.

Weeds

It never ceases to amaze me how people think about drugs.

Last night, I watched the movie Grizzly Man; perhaps you have heard of it or seen it. I recommend it. Timothy, the central person in the film, admits to having been addicted to alcohol. But what struck me was how his parents seemed to ignore most of that, but instead talked about how he once tried to smoke marihuana in their house. His father "naturally" put a stop to that.

As if cannabis is far worse than drinking too much.

Do not misunderstand; marihuana is harmful in many ways. In the Netherlands, its dangers ares often underestimated and it is frequently seen as not addictive. That is, sadly, wrong.

However, the fear of cannabis in the United States seems to be far too great. One or two joints do not scar you for life. Obviously, much depends on your age, since cannabis does prevent normal mental development, but a (nearly) fullgrown person will not be harmed much.

It is odd, then, how all drugs are considered to be evil in a society where alcohol, a notoriously dangerous drug, is perfectly acceptable. This is not just America (although the USA are arguably most black-and-white in their views of drugs), but most of the Western countries, and many non-Western countries as well.

In my view, the Dutch approach to softdrugs is therefore more suitable. Not completely legal (as is often thought), the use and possesion of small doses of marihuana is tolerated; the well-known "gedoogbeleid" (a policy of not prosecuting this minor offense). Cannabis is sold in so-called coffeeshops.

This policy is now under discussion. To be honest, it has always been under discussion, but now more widely. One of the government parties believes it is best to erase the whole thing, and another party believes in a larger policy, where the government itself grows and sells the marihuana. A clash in the Parliament is inevitable.

The "gedoogbeleid" is under attack, more than before. On the one hand, this is sad, for it appears to be a very effective policy (the number of people addicted to marihuana is lower than in most other Western countries and there is a smaller black market in cannabis). On the other hand, it is always good to review a policy after a while.

I'm interested to see what will happen to our world-famous policy regarding to drugs. And if alcohol on the other hand will be given its rightful place in government policy.

What's to blame for the death of Michael Jackson?

a. Sunshine;

b. Moonlight;

c. Good times;

d. Boogie.

(For more tasteful and tasteless jokes on Michael Jackson, visit this site.)

Randomness

Click here if (or when) you're bored.

Ten reasons why everyone should aspire to being a turtle

10. Turtles are laidback and easygoing.

9. Turtles are not going anywhere fast.

8. Turtles can be great martial artists -- if they can be bothered to learn stuff.

7. Turtles surf the ocean waves. Awesome dude.

6. Some turtles live for more than a century.

5. Turtles are at home anywhere. They carry their home with them. And they're never naked, either.

4. Turtles have survived since the time of the dinosaurs. They must be doing something right.

3. Turtles cannot be stabbed in the back. They've got a shield, you know.

2. Turtles are cute. Period.

1. Turtles don't grow unwanted body hair.

Whispering to brown eyes

Dearest,

You are cuter than a box of kittens,

Sweeter than chocolate-covered sweets,

Prettier than the fairest supermodel,

And hotter than the hottest sun.

.

What I like about you, though,

Is your special kind of charm.

Your wit, your high intelligence,

talking with you is intoxicating.

.

I know it might be

Frowned upon or strange,

But I just cannot help myself

When I look upon your face.

.

I know you're close to me, so close,

But I crave to have you closer.

To touch you, kiss you, hold you,

And never to let go.

.

I guess that we will never be,

But I dream it all the same.

I hope that we will sometime be

A couple, sharing dreams.

Passion of the Sith

Peace.

I hate the word. Obviously, peace is regarded by its advocates as the ultimate goal, the pinnacle of being.

Peace is a lie.

Sure, a place can be peaceful, and a person at peace. But that is merely a fragment of reality; a camera that focuses on one particular thing -- a subjective truth at best. The eye of a storm is peaceful, yet it cannot be denied that the world around it is not.

This is especially true for people. While individuals may be at peace, the people as a whole are generally not. This is not a bad thing -- restless people try to improve their position, which is of benefit to the whole civilisation, the entire culture. This energy, this restlessness, is often described as 'passion'.

There is only passion.

Naturally, there is not just passion -- most individuals find a balance between peace and passion -- but in a people, passion is most prominent, most important, to that people. Only through passion can we evolve.

Passion is therefore the key to impoving ourselves and our surroundings.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Strength -- not merely muscles -- is what allows civilisations to thrive in hostile climates, amongst competing peoples, from corruption from within.

Walls and soldiers are merely figureheads of a culture's strength. Its true core lies in its people, holding fast to a belief that they can and will endure, no matter the odds.

And against all odds, people often do endure. And grow. And become more respected or feared, and powerful.

Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.

The more powerful a civilisation becomes, the more adept at improving its situation it will become. And this increases its power over potential rivals.

A powerful enough people can conquer the world -- though keeping it is more difficult by far. But more importantly, power is a self-supporting system.

The powerful always seek more power. By definition, this increased power will come from others. They obviously do not want to hand over their might, but attempts at regaining it will be futile if there is a great enough difference in power and ability.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

When one is more powerful than anything or anyone else, one is free to do whatever they want. Nobody can stop them.

The chains of the past, the shackles of that struggle for life, fall away.

And yet... they have no Force.

The Force shall free me.

What does that mean?

I believe, that it means that the Sith Code is true even without the Force. It is true for both individuals and peoples. Whether they act forcefully or gently, their entire existance could not exist without that struggle, that power, that passion that fills their being.

We are all Sith.

Video time

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