iTunes U--good stuff

iTunes' university lectures are giving me plenty to think about. Stanford's "Philosophy Talk" radio is inane and stupid, but "The Heart of Nonviolence," a two hour interview with the Dalai Lama, provides plenty to think about. I always picture the Dalai Lama as a white-haired man-on-the-mountain, closer to the gods than to people, but what struck me hearing him speak was his humanity. His voice was young and strong, and although English was clearly a struggle for him he injected humor into what he said which gave his words an immediacy and relevance which I did not expect. At times he grew impatient and switched to Tibetan (I assume), letting the translator take over when he had more to say than his limited vocabulary allowed. The Dalai Lama's message and actions speak for themselves on, perhaps, a higher plane of truth, but his strength is in his mortality. It seems in most religions, man seeks to climb up to God, with priests higher on the ladder than most, shrouded in a mist of ritual. This man's manner was different; it was as if he was standing at the base of the ladder, trying to coax God down.

I like what I've seen from MIT and Berkeley so far--an intro psych course and a digital art/culture course, respectively. Right now I'm listening to a lecture on "cyberpunk counterculture," which is really not so extreme as the name suggests. It does raise fascinating points on how elements of identity (particularly race) find themselves transplanted to an online environment. After all, who wants to see elves hanging out with dwarves? Talk about unnatural!

What ends up happening here is that, just as factors in the real world (race, social status, money) determine our interactions, they have mirrors in the online world (avatar race/appearance, "newness" to the specific world, speed of internet connection). It also discusses roleplaying different people and whether doing so increases our knowledge of what being that *kind* of person would be like, or if we merely continue to play our stereotypes and learn nothing.

Some fascinating cases I hadn't heard about: A man who reconsidered and renounced his Christianity considering moral dilemmas in Final Fantasy VII, an asian man who plays an asian woman pretending to be Bruce Lee (talk about identity confusion...), and the website http://www.rent-a-negro.com/, a joke website about the hypocracy of white people and the singular, almost possesive "black friend." Another fun link from cyberland: http://myeve.eve-online.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=481, a massively multiplayer game hires a PhD economist to look after its online economy.

So...

So I've posted a lot of links to things I've been looking at and doing recently, but really haven't said anything about what I've been thinking lately.

It's the end of the first week of summer break and already it feels as though it's been going on for months. Doing something everyday with other people in an unstructured, chosen environment makes each day seem like a week, although not in a bad way. However, I do feel the need for some change, because as much as I enjoy simply spending as much time as possible with friends who I won't see for a while agian, I do feel myself falling into a routine with a distinct lack of purpose. Writing helps, shopping/reaserching for college helps, but in the end each day feels full but not fulfilling.

Next week is the 4th of July so that should be the pinnacle of social interaction with people coming in from out of town et cetera, but (at least) after next week I want to start realizing the "activity" I gave myself this summer: traveling. I'm mainly thinking of baby steps right now, to build up to lengthier travel later on. I'd absolutely like to visit San Fransisco, and Mette (a family friend) suggested Santa Fe, which sounds like a cool place to visit. My thought at this point is to spend a few days in a place, staying in a hostel overnight.

But for today, I'm still sitting at home. More restless than bored.

At the moment

By some strange fluke of fate, Warbucket.com has provided links to something with intellectual merit, which I'm checking out right now. It's pretentious as shit and I'll get bored with it eventually, but right now, these links seem pretty cool:

http://www.oculture.com/ has all sorts of cool audio/video files. I downloaded Ulysses as a free podcast.

http://www.damninteresting.com/ has some damn interesting stuff, all highly random and bizzare. Occasionally, I care.

http://best.online.docus.googlepages.com/ is cool, with documentaries on everything for those who have the time. Lots of good BBC stuff, some less good, all with snazzy graphics.

Also, I have discovered a (new?) section of the iTunes store called "iTunes U" which I've used to get some lectures from Berkeley and Stanford for free. I am a sucker for free goodies, and this seems to be a great way to look up topics of interest before getting to college.

Because everyone does it...

Saw a couple of movies in the theater today (never hopped movies before, but I figured it was an important teenaged experience), so here are my reviews--because everyone does it.

A Mighty Heart: Political movies seem to just flash information at the audience to make the proceedings seem "real" and give the characters something to look at and emote to. Pakistan is beautifully portrayed as a city stuffed to bursting, but the plot unfolds the exact same way every political mystery unfolds (if you can call something a mystery when you’ve seen the ending all over the news). While the sum of the parts may be trite, some of the parts (Jolie’s scream...those who have seen the movie know what I’m talking about) go beyond political melodrama to real human drama. FOR: Those who enjoy "politics" movies.

Evan Almighty: It starts well enough, with Steve Carell and Morgan Friedman and a decent concept. Then, we get family values. The most interesting part of this family film for me was the portrayal of the teenager in the family. The teenager in this movie is seen as just a "larger kid". He smiles with the kids, gives hi-fives, plays with them, and is an integral, sulk-and-glare-less guy. But we all know what makes a teenaged guy: a lower voice and trendy clothing! Infantilization continues on screen... FOR: Steve Carell fans only. Don’t bother.

AND: Finished the book Glasshouse by Charles Stross (http://www.amazon.com/Glasshouse-Charles-Stross/dp/0441014038). Sure, its trashy Sci Fi (it begins with sex with a four-armed, blue woman), but explores interesting territory including the idea of "the singularity," when humans build intelligence greater than their own, in this case by turning people into code and re-building them with modifications. It's also a great exploration of memory--the main character has had his own wiped, and through the novel the relationship between a person's memories and their identity is explored nicely. A quick read, good FOR: Those who enjoy sci fi, psychology, easy fiction.

This sci fi ideas in this novel are pretty good--check out the article A Digital Life in ScientificAmerican.com: http://sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=CC50D7BF-E7F2-99DF-34DA5FF0B0A22B50 about the problem of memory and the prospect of digital memory.

First post

As per the title.

This blog will hopefully be an exploration of my thought processes as I encounter new stimulus for as long as it lasts (the blog, not the stimulus). Basically what every blog does. Hopefully this one is interesting.

I have a heavy tendancy towards privacy, but hey, it's the digital age! I have a facebook, now I have a blog. Since I seem to have acquired a real-world identity in these last years, it's about time I had a virtual one.

I owe two blogs everything for making me think of this as a medium for thought and communication that has the potential to be intelectually useful:

1. Marginal Revolution: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/. An economics professor on everything. Absolutely everything.

2. Ben Casnocha: The Blog: http://ben.casnocha.com/. An entrepreneur not much older than myself, on many things with vigor.

Thank you to these blogs--check them out.