Month: January 2008

  • Mark Twain on Memetics

    Not sure how memes work?
    This Wikipedia entry might help as well:

    A Literary Nightmare” is a short story written by Mark Twain in 1876. The story is about Twain’s encounter with a virus-like jingle, and how it occupies his mind for several days until he manages to “infect” another person, thus removing the jingle from his mind. The story was also later published under the name “Punch, Brothers, Punch!”

    The story is significant in that it is a fairly accurate description of a meme, and how it can replicate itself in a short time, thus acting like a virus in some respects.

    (In a nutshell, the story goes a little something like this)

    The narrator, Mark Twain, sees a catchy jingle in the morning newspaper. The jingle promptly attaches itself to his mind, such that he loses concentration and can no longer remember what he ate for breakfast, whether he ate at all, and what words he was going to use in his novel. The jingle mentally incapacitates him, until, a few days later, he takes a walk with his friend, the Reverend, and inadvertently transfers the jingle to the reverend’s mind. As this happens, Twain experiences a sense of relief, and returns to his normal life.

    Some days after Twain was cured, the Reverend visits him; he is in a terrible state, as the jingle, which keeps on repeating in his head, has already disabled his concentration. He tells Twain of some incidents where the rhythm of the jingle influenced his actions, such as when churchgoers started swaying to the rhythm of his homilies. Taking pity on the man, Twain decides to cure him, and brings him to a meeting of university students. The Reverend successfully manages to transfer the jingle from himself to the students, curing himself and, at the same time, continuing the diabolical cycle of the jingle.

  • Your own Album meme!!

    I’m not too clear on the series of fortunate hyperlinks that led me to the blog of AtomicMrX – but I’m glad whatever happened, happened! I found this cool meme-post on his page (which he got from This Boy Elroy, who, in turn, got it from… you know how memes work).

    The idea is to combine the following steps (chaos theory anyone?) to create a brilliant new album:

    1. The first article title on this (random) wikipedia page, is the name of your band.
    2. The last four words of the very last (again, random) quote is the title of your album.
    3. Finally, the third (you guessed it, random) Flickr picture – no matter what it is – will be your album cover.

    Easy.

    My band, Render Plus Systems, will soon have an awesome cover for their debut album “Taking hold of it” – based on this photograph by »Ŗǿćҝ ĢĩяŁ«™:

    I’m too lazy to fire up Photoshop right now – but you get the picture ;0)

  • awesome feature from iafrica.com

    Different worlds? Maybe not…
    Jerome Simelane [Thu, 03 Jan 2008]

    I am a guy and he is a guy. We are from different worlds. Ja well, no fine — what the hell do I mean? Well, here’s the question: To all straight people, how many people do you know that are gay and your friends?

    I am the first to confess that I never thought about it. Now, having watched a few episodes of ‘Will & Grace’ I feel I’m qualified to talk on this subject simply because I can laugh myself stukkend while watching the show.

    It is a great programme, with sarcasm and satire that most open-minded people can relate to. It is both liberated and liberating.

    I never thought I would watch a ‘gay’ sitcom and catch myself laughing and that got me thinking that the whole issue about straight people not relating to gay people is overstated.

    In reality…

    One of my life-long friends just recently came ‘out’ to me. What I find disturbing is that his revelation made me uneasy at first. Okay, maybe not uneasy but I was shocked and flabbergasted.

    This oke, with whom I was so close, was gay and had been all along. It took me some time to process but I realised that it was not up to me to be judgmental — rather, I should be supportive.

    Fully aware of the stigma of being gay, lesbian, queer, moffie, or whatever (who knows what homosexuals are called these days) made me think that my friend (and I still refer to him as my bra) was going through identity hell. He didn’t need me to let his revelation get in the way of our friendship.

    Which brings me to the next question: “What is so strange about someone being gay?”

    Being heterosexual, I don’t expect others to say: “Hey, mfowethu, look, I’m straight!” Duh! That is no revelation to me, it’s like second nature. Which proves we tend to judge others, make assumptions and reach conclusions based on our own beliefs and way of navigating the world — and that subjectivity is so wrong.

    What’s the difference?

    Back to my friend: We hang together, talk about politics, cars, sex, blah, blah, blah. In actual fact, there is, or rather there was, no difference that was ‘out there’ for me to evaluate.

    Believe me, he is not a sissy or trying to be what he ain’t. Now I know that whenever we talked about J Lo’s behind, he was busy picturing Denzel Washington’s eyes or Brad Pitt’s torso and probably devouring Vin Diesel.

    But he’s still a guy’s guy to me — we haven’t stopped hanging out, drinking beer, chatting… (although I have to admit its hard to concur whenever he says, “That guy is cute”).

    So I guess if I’m going to be a friend I would have to hook him up with a decent, good-looking, to-die-for guy. I have no flippin’ clue where I might find such a person, but I am making an effort. And, whoever said that “plenty of fish in the sea” thing was lying. Sometimes there aren’t.

    True friends

    The saying, “you cannot choose family” should actually also extend to friends. We hit it off from the beginning and we have grown to know each other very well. A true friend would not desert another friend based solely on the fact that you are now attracted to a different gender.

    That he was secure enough to come out is an indication that he trusts me and I admire and have a lot of respect for my bra. Not a lot of people can do that.

    And even though this piece is entitled, ‘Different World’, how different are we, really, as people? So if you’re a guy and struggling to relate to a gay friend, here’s some advice — get some microwave popcorn and watch ‘Will & Grace’.

    I am a guy and he is a guy. Full stop.

    iafrica.com | highlife | his life | features Different worlds? Maybe not…

  • Everything is easier in America…

    Apparently, you can even do a course on “How to be gay” over there!
    Check this out:

    >> A course taught by professor David Halperin at the University of Michigan has been getting some attention recently. “How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation” examines “the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay male identity” via writing, studying it as a “sub-cultural practice”, and conducting some sort of self-reflective class experiment.

    It’s actually a class that has been taught, and has inspired controversy and discussion, for a few years.

    “In particular, we will examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be gay: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style, and political activism. Are there a number of classically ‘gay’ works such that, despite changing tastes and generations, all gay men, of whatever class, race, or ethnicity, need to know them, in order to be gay? What is there about gay identity that explains the gay appropriation of these works? What do we learn about gay male identity by asking not who gay men are but what it is that gay men do or like? One aim of exploring these questions is to approach gay identity from the perspective of social practices and cultural identifications rather than from the perspective of gay sexuality itself. What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or subjective dimensions of gay identity, including gay sexuality, that an exclusive focus on gay sexuality cannot? At the core of gay experience there is not only identification but disidentification. Almost as soon as I learn how to be gay, or perhaps even before, I also learn how not to be gay. I say to myself, ‘Well, I may be gay, but at least I’m not like that!’ Rather than attempting to promote one version of gay identity at the expense of others, this course will investigate the stakes in gay identifications and disidentifications, seeking ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be gay.”

    Then there’s the alternative method: six beers, an off-campus party, and that hot freshman from down the hall you’ve been studying from afar. <<

  • I was just offered some…

    Directions for Use:
    Ensure baby’s bottom is clean and dry.
    Spread Fissan Baby Bum Cream liberally
    over the bottom after every nappy change.
    (?)
    (I love my Mom!!)

    Blogged with Flock

  • Apparently, some (str8?) men need (more) help

    The page cannot be displayed because you need to approach some women

    The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Your Mom told me you’ve been online for way too long and you
    need to go out and approach some women.


    Please, try the following:


    • Don’t click the Refresh button. Go outside now.
    • To go outside, first click Put On Shoes. On the Wussy tab, clic Time to Make a Girl’s Day. The Ass is Plastered to My Chair setting should match those provided by your pickup coach.
    • If you are addicted to information, try to cut down a bit.
    • Click the Make a Commitment button and approach one woman every day. It gets easier with every approach.
    • If you would like to be happier than you’ve ever been before in your entire life, click
      Go Out Into the Real World
    • There are many hot women out there in the real world who are tired of wussies who won’t come up to them and talk to them. If you are unable to get up, click back and pay for a coach to kick your ass.

    HTTP Error 404 – File or Directory not found.

    Internet Information
    Overload (IIO)


    Technical Information (for a better life)

    • Go to ApproachAnxiety.com and perform a title search for the words Fear, Overcome and Exhilaration.
    • Open Coaching Help, which is accessible in the Coaching Section, and search for topics titled Push Me into Approaches, Show Me How to Do It, and Understand My Irrational Fear.

    Blogged with Flock

  • Becoming Insane

    I absolutely love this! Who’da thunkit?
    (And it has nothing to do with recent events. for truth. promise. really…)

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6hL6fkJ1_k&autoplay=1&rel=0]

    Embedded Video

  • Time Warp

    I was going to post something profound for the New Year… and got stuck. Spent a whole day listening to old albums and browsing Facebook.

    Who remembers Jam & Spoon? They had a track called “Right in the night” and I can’t seem to get it out of my head! (Well, funny that… I couldn’t get it out – till I typed that line! Now I’ve got Kylie in there!!)

    Jam & Spoon:
    Right in the night
    Right in the night
    Right in the night you’ll find
    That if you want to fall in love you’ll fall in love

    Right in the night
    Right in the night sweet thing is what you’ll get
    When you fall in love, you fall in love

    Fall in love with music, fall in love with dance
    Fall in love with anything that makes you want romance
    Make a little softer on the way that you go
    Just think that everything you touch could turn to gold

    Fall in love with everything that you would love to love
    You know that laughter is a kind form to wake you up
    So don’t make me feel unpleasant like you do
    You know that everything will fall right back on you

    So fall in love with everything, fall in love with life
    Forget about your troubles and be a little nice
    You will not see me if you don’t want to look
    Just come and get me in my big big bed of love
    Big big bed of love

    Right in the night
    Right in the night
    Right in the night you’ll find
    That if you want to fall in love you’ll fall in love

    Right in the night
    Right in the night sweet thing is what you’ll get
    When you fall in love, you fall in love

    So fall in love with stories if fairy tales are true
    Innocence is part of what you’re losin’ with your youth
    Show a little confidence, show a little class
    Don’t kiss the past, the past ain’t gonna last

    Just fall in love with passion, fall in love with lust
    Fall in love with all the things you’re always dreaming of
    Fall in love with music and you will get by

    Right in the night
    Right in the night
    Right in the night you’ll find
    That if you want to fall in love you’ll fall in love

    Right in the night
    Right in the night sweet thing is what you’ll get
    When you fall in love, you’ll fall in love

    and now… Kylie!
    La la la
    La la la la la
    La la la
    La la la la la

    I just can’t get you out of my head
    Boy your loving is all I think about
    I just can’t get you out of my head
    Boy it’s more than I dare to think about

    La la la
    La la la la la

    I just can’t get you out of my head
    Boy your loving is all I think about
    I just can’t get you out of my head
    Boy it’s more than I dare to think about

    Every night
    Every day
    Just to be there in your arms

    Won’t you stay
    Won’t you lay
    Stay forever and ever and ever and ever

    La la la
    La la la la la
    La la la
    La la la la la

    I just can’t get you out of my head
    Boy your loving is all I think about
    I just can’t get you out of my head
    Boy it’s more than I dare to think about

    There’s a dark secret in me
    Don’t leave me locked in your heart

    Set me free
    Feel the need in me
    Set me free
    Stay forever and ever and ever and ever

    La la la
    La la la la la
    La la la
    La la la la la

    I just can’t get you out of my head
    I just can’t get you out of my head
    I just can’t get you out of my head…