The Mezzanine Floor

No apologies to John Lennon, but nothing to kill or die for sounds rather boring.

I mean, at the heart of any story is conflict, whether internal or external. I’m not advocating war or bloodshed, I’m just quoting Lennon’s own postmodernist view, as spoken by George S. Patton:

“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”

Would Lennon defend his cause strongly enough to die for it knowingly?

Does George S. Patton want everyone to think the same as he does?

Is there no end to postmodernists’ self-contradiction?

I think I feel a parody coming on…

Next post expected, ooh, let’s say tomorrow.

(Apologies for the belated post.)

Yesterday, I bought the, erm, “new” Switchfoot album, Nothing Is Sound. (More on that later.) Some of you may remember the debacle over Sony Music Group’s installation of a controversial Extended Copy Protection system on various CDs, one of which was said Switchfoot album. Eventually, Sony had to recall such CDs, as XCP was (to a certain extent) a rootkit. Part of the problem, though, was that in order to be safe against illegal copying, it disabled actions which were legal.

Some of you may know about the pervasiveness of (possibly unnecessary) CCTV cameras in the British Isles: the average UK citizen is caught on camera over 300 times per day. Which, of course, could (feasibly) be turned into a Big Brother-ish regime in the name of security.

So, some questions…

#1. How far is too far when it comes to security measures? When does it start to infringe on “rights”?
#2. Does CCTV actually work… is having so many cameras worth it?
#3. Does CCTV also make you look heavier than you really are?

Please let me know what you think… and not just on the last question, either.

…it’s not adieu, just a farewell until roughly Saturday. Please comment on my previous posts and surprise me for when I’m back…

Next post expected on Saturday.

Speaking of Switchfoot, they seem to be caught up in the fad of more cowbell…

Next post expected in a few seconds.

I thought that this was pretty related to the last two posts, but I’m going to keep it simple…

“A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of what a straight line is.” - C. S. Lewis, paraphrased.

There cannot be a concept of evil without a concept of good.

There cannot be a concept of wrong without a concept of right.

There cannot be a shadow when there is no sunshine.

Switchfoot, are, once again, right on the mark.

And, once again, this reinforces the idea that postmodernists should be slapped really hard…

Next post expected in a few seconds.

My friend Carole said of the subject of my last post: “7/7 is, like, Doomsday!”

It is a very odd coincidence that in the Doomsday Algorithm, devised by Mr John H. Conway, the Doomsday of a year falls on 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12, though not, unfortunately, 7/7.

Next post predicted tomorrow: “Dry Eyes in the Pouring Rain”.

One year ago today was 7/7.

I was in America at the time… I woke up to the news.

I still remember it as one of the most complex days of my life; I was dispirited in the late evening (not just because of the bombings), yet an extremely happy event happened at the very end of the day, and I went to bed smiling, despite almost breaking down half an hour before…

…and when I look back upon that day, I remember the positive more than I do the negative.

…and stemming from that, RockNations has risen up to counter the waves of apathy in the youth culture, reaching out into the schools and colleges of Bradford. This year, the annual conference is set to be the biggest festival ever to come to Bradford… and it’s the best week an empty, scared/scarred teenager could spend to get their life back. (Now, why does that description remind me of Mandy?)