January 20, 2004

Boogaloo

The dance basically means to do simple weird movements with your feet, hips and body (kinda like speaking in tongues, in dancing). It makes sense only to the dancer who is doing it at the moment. A good example is James Brown.

-- Sonny Watson's Dance History

Posted by brainsik at 08:02 AM | TrackBack

January 06, 2004

Revelation of Possibility

ah. well, it reminds me of when i get that rush in my chest, as if a giant wave of water and oxygen and possibility were moving through me, connecting me to the past, the future, and other beings.

-- Sasha

What some of us tech steeped peoples go through from time to time when we think about the possibilities of social technology. A great revelation of the possibility of things. Naively, i feel it is akin to something like satori.

I want to believe this feeling is related to the process of cellularization and interconnection we see in the natural world. That there is a similarity between why we find the view from a mountain top so beautiful and the idea of beings becoming increasingly interconnected so exhilirating. I like to believe it is a deep recognition of an underlying, universal structure.

Posted by brainsik at 01:39 PM | TrackBack

December 30, 2003

Germane to recent life philosophies.

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

-- Robert F. Kennedy

It's more rewarding biking through a crowded street rather sitting in a padded cyclo. Though both are surely interesting.

Posted by brainsik at 12:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 26, 2003

Putting People in Possession of Knowledge

It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth.

-- John Locke

This quote reminds me how knowledge is passed around in geek communities. It is not enough to explain that someone is wrong, we tend to require backup (references) of our claims and sometimes will forgo even the mention of why someone is wrong and just yellout "RTFM!".

It appears this line of reasoning is also becoming a staple in grassroot organizations. It is the mantra of truthout (where the quote was found), can be seen as the footnotes in the Daily Misleader, and was one of the operating principles in the Matt Gonzalez mayorial campaign's attempt to educate the voters (instead of muckrake the opponent).

Perhaps a product of an online world where providing reference links is part of our writing system and a response to the FUD we find ourselves constantly bombarded by.

Posted by brainsik at 02:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 22, 2003

Dancing Sand Grains, Ringing Earth

For an earthquake this size, every single sand grain on the planet dances to the music of those seismic waves. You may not be able to feel them, but the entire planet is rung like a bell.

-- Ross Stein, Calif. Earthquake Rang Planet 'Like a Bell'

Posted by brainsik at 06:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack