Gaming and politics

 Every time a certain type of tragedy happens, I wait for the inevitable lazy journalism that people pick up on:"...aaaaand he played video games." EVERY TIME.

Usually from people who do not even know what variety of games there actually are and who do not play themselves. But it fits a certain repetitive mindset and message. If someone does something horrible to others, the narrative goes, he is from a bad cult like authoritarian abusive family, an online introvert, (so are many bloggers), and video games.

Untrue. People do not think about the fact that 15% of the population harm others because their brains are psychopathic, so video games fits a certain profile in the public image. 

Perpetrator liked to knit for hours on end is just not that sensational.

A person who wants to harm others will latch on to whatever crazy ideology they find and seek out anything that reinforces it. Whether it's a video game, violent TV show or an online forum is irrelevant.

If the violence isn't inherent a game will not alter a person to commit heinous acts. It will not disinhibit like alcohol or drugs, if anything it's a deterrent.

In trying to think of examples, I thought of Bioshock. An game that came out in 2007 and educates. It critizises Ayn Rands objectivist philosophy. Want a perfect world where you can do whatever you want? Here you go. The promise of utopia becomes a disturbing hellscape. Teens who play the game learn a little history, have lively online discussions about the dangers of drugs (plasmids), hyper-capitalism and anarchy. All societal models that if brought to extremes will be monstrous. The game helps them "get it". Years later they're still discussing it and reaches them in a way that a history class might not. Please watch these three minutes:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p2SpC-Wq_no&pp=0gcJCRsBo7VqN5tD

Bioshock also teaches morals. Choices have consequences and it even confronts the gamer with the postmodern suggestion that games guide the gamer out of their free will if they choose not to use a certain object.

Here is a quote by the wealthy industrialist and antagonist who created Rapture. Very reminiscent of a certain techbro.

I game. I escape to different worlds, solve puzzles cooperate with extra terrestrial, I learn, I think. I marvel at the art work, laugh with friends, make choices, improve reaction time and hand eye coordination. I go on adventures, I fly and jump and climb and a healthy mind is very well aware that gamers harm pixels not people. Some games are too violent, I stop playing them. But at the end of the day the benefit I get out of it outweighs the time.

Please as always; if you wish to discuss current events rather than video games, no names of individuals.

Surrealist Wildlife Art

 With the invention and subsequent popularity of photography, stilife and wildlife art no longer commanded the prices they once did. In addition, the aristocracy were gone and with it their patronage. Wildlife in particular was not considered fine art and at most sold for five figures.

There's a resurgence at the moment as very talented wildlife artist are incorporating abstract elements to make them more interesting to collectors.

Another trend in a surreal world is surrealist wildlife and botanical. Here's a whimsical and colorful collection by Jon Ching, who is using nomenclature to illustrate his paintings. "Jelly fish"; beautiful and clever. Feel free to share your favorites.

https://www.boredpanda.com/surreal-animal-paintings-jon-ching/

Another collection of clever Cartoons by Canadian artists Timanddraka. Theoretically not wildlife but amusing nonetheless.

https://www.boredpanda.com/nonsensical-wildlife-illustrations-timandraka/

And of course a musical flower by Dali, who could draw and paint everything. I'm assuming it's a trumpet flower or Easter lily accompanying hymns?

My cat, art and flower therapy is going exceptionally well.

Art and visual journals

 Art journals, junk journals visual journals travel journals bullet journals sketchbooks visual journals scrapbook...These are but a few search terms that can be looked up.

This is not my work but while looking up images, I got distracted and this amazed me:

Its called hyper or photorealism, even more impressive because cutting around the sparrow's head makes it look like it is walking across the page. This is similar to what I draw or paint, but takes an incredible amount of time.

Once I start a painting, I'm in the endorphin flow, everything falls away and it must be completed. Leaving out all of my supplies until the muse strikes did not work and I stopped painting for a while.

I was also getting disenchanted with contemporary art, walking into an exhibit where red string was conceptualized to mean something and there were no new truly creative ideas.

Over a decade ago the library had a display on art journals. I leafed through them and....checked out everything that I could. Page after page of the gaudiest, tackiest, kitschy crap imaginable. Journals with fabric, ribbon, buttons. Colorful untalented scribbles and doodles, Zentangles. Pure visual eye candy. Illustrated poems, photographs. Did I mention tacky? It was fantastic.

We all draw paint and collage as children those who are not artistically inclined stop. When Keri Smiths wreck this journal came out I thought there was no way anyone would buy it. They became bestsellers. Along with it my art MOJO was back. Finally, I had the motivation to sit down 15 minutes a day, incorporate tickets and scrap paper. If I did not feel like drawing, I would lay down gesso on art journal pages to resist all the things I was going to glue on, paint and sketch and use supplies not good enough for professional work. Of course buying all the Japanese art supplies fueled creativity and my motivation to create just for the sake of creating was back. I was having fun again.

There are many names for different methods and different reasons to create them. These are the visual journals of wildlife photographer Peter Beard, who used photographs and negatives he wasn't happy with to write and doodle on.

Peter Beards Journals

Beard also called them a waste of time, underappreciating the therapeutic value of these journals. Taschen published a two volume set, which I bought for inspiration.

I have about 28 journals on the go. Different themes and topics. As life sometimes works I ended up teaching art journaling for goal setting and art therapy. As far as addiction goes this is a healthy one to have.

Any experience with journaling, feel free to share.

If anyone is interested in some of the instructional books, let me know, I'll add them to the post.

This is Danny Gregory. After a tragic event, he started drawing at 40. I like his earlier stuff better. He's a little verbose now.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=F5viqBfh3PQ

Books for inspiration

1000 Artists Journal pages by Sokoff

An illustrated life by Gregory

Field notes in Science and Nature

There are many more depending on interest.

Humor: Artificial home

 

This made the rounds a little while ago; AI designing a home. Well...it's actually funny. Turntable in the kitchen? Really?

Besides the obvious bathroom in the kitchen  problem what else can you find other than everything and how would you function in it if you had to?

After wearing a safety harness to the second floor bedroom, I'd bungee jump to use the washroom because the railing was designed by Escher.

What if the new world disorder doesnt happen?

Codexusai The smaller wave

 The analogy that we've been given, By whom? and the one we collectively repeat is the titanic and the iceberg. Repeat it often enough and people convince themselves that it'sthe future is inevitable.

The analogy that fits better and that my brain came up with is a tsunami. Writers and journalists were warning us about all the negative changes that were coming. 

Bob and Nancy are sitting on a beach enjoying their much needed vacation. They read the warning, but decide that the tsunami of information is just fear mongering. Better to ridicule and gossip. The problem with many writers including those who wrote about negative changes was the lack of concrete advice. 

Bob and Nancy decide to leave it to others, after all, what can they do? Every now and then media continues to warn, Bob and Nancy agree with the article, chat about it and do nothing. One can get off the beach in time. The tsunami appears. This time journalists are riding the big wave for clicks and financial gain with impending doom scenarios.

Experts and volunteers provide the solution, immense water gates go up, the flow of doom and gloom is stopped until the tsunami momentum is diminished. The future is not set in stone.

Books AD 2025

 

When I initially did a search on books and clip art. AI initially provided kiddi images of books in primary colors, then books with flowers until I found this image. I didn't want to spend a considerable amount of time looking for the right image but my search terms in the past think that that's what I was looking for. I posted this one out of lassitude.

I was fortunate in that my parents had a library, there was a constant supply of books and my personal library probably contains about 5000 books, which does not come close to the actual books I've read. Books are knowledge. Knowledge is power and my concern that buying digital books is going to be a problem is coming true. They are no longer yours to keep gift or pass on, you're paying a small rental fee to buy them and if that particular ebook device goes under good luck with the purchases that add up quickly. I like the convenience and when it comes to tech thrillers, I'm not interested in keeping them.

Right now with the school year starting we're talking about books then forget the topic. I miss bookstores that one could browse through to find something interesting, people discussing books from the best seller lists and connecting.

There is a trend of posting the amount of books a year that one has read as an incentive to read. 

Behavior is not changing. We are told how to change it and to replace it with poorly written articles and an onslaught of 'news' on our digital development ices (devices). This is what I am talking about. Choices that are being made for us and terminology that is being selected for us so it becomes what we think about.

A few years back when various countries were fleeing their own, publishers responded by publishing and promoting nothing but diaspora stories. A decade ago when Twilight and Hunger games took off, the amount of shelving space devoted to young adult supernatural romance was bigger than the fantasy science fiction section combined. The geeks are aging I'd like good adult themed (philosophical) sci fi.

Then comes generation alpha brought up in a digital ADD world while people are told to reduce their libraries, which reminds me of my favorite scenes in a mediocre movie: the library before and after an apocalyptic change.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JDD1mUjUjBk&pp=0gcJCRsBo7VqN5tD

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0CWZ7ywzDnA

Books as the remnant of civilization. Let's not end up there.

My friend Fred

 Fred came into my life when I was temporarily petless. In fact I almost swallowed Fred the first time we met and then had to rescue her.

 I was having my morning coffee with milk, placed the mug down beside me, wrote something, reached for the half empty mug and there was Fred swimming for dear life. I reached in with a Kleenex, lifted her out and placed her on the windowsill where she eventually crawled away. The next day Fred was back. This time she carefully hung on to the side of the mug to drink.

 I left her net alone in the corner that she had claimed amazed at how much it caught. For a few weeks she showed up everyday then for months afterwards more sporadically. Always at the same time. Sometimes my left over coffee provided some extra protein for her. Other times she just waved her front legs at me. I waved back. "Mornin' Fred".

I enjoyed her company. She became an individual. We had mutual respect for eachother and she was the cheapest pet I ever had.