Yearly Archives: 2018

Terry Oldfield – Be Still

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This is calm, transliterated into sound. In just a few words, the song delivers a message that is more meaningful than entire libraries of human imagination. Mystic choirs lay upon gentle percussion while chasing the playful song of Terry Oldfield’s magical flute.

You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Terry Oldfield’s album :).

https://terryoldfield.bandcamp.com/track/be-still^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6kjPIwHs8M^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/3sVqdn1swHyRjfmtZKJ00b^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/81719388^

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Mentatul Switched to A2Hosting

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After about 13 years with the same web hosting company (IX Web Hosting, over in the USA), it’s time to move on. IX has been purchased by the infamous EIG. I didn’t know exactly how infamous they are, but I did notice when the quality of service instantly decreased to a staggering degree. Not only was the migration of my websites handled in an unprofessional way, with stuff breaking all over the place, but support answering times had increased to more than 48 hours. Sometimes, I’ve waited for 4-5 days for them to answer my tickets.

This led me to document myself a bit about Site5, the company which presumably had acquired IX. Well, guess what… Site5 is just a cover for a larger entity called EIG. In the experienced webmaster’s world, EIG are known to be among the worst hosting providers. It’s not that the performance is bad, but it’s definitely sub-par with the prices they ask while the answering times, professionalism and support staff attitude is also way below the competition.

What’s truly wicked about EIG is their insidious and aggressive strategy of purchasing web hosting providers with a good name. They get their customers and unfortunately, many of these customers stay in the EIG world even if they try to switch to another provider, simply because EIG controls a HUGE number of brands (about 70 at the time of this writing).

To see what all this is based on, please read this review of EIG:

EIG Review

Fortunately, this spring when the acquisition occurred, I just had about 4 months left in my contract. During the past week I’ve been busy migrating all my websites over to A2Hosting^, after a review of 2 other web hosts. The migration went fine and A2Hosting support staff & performance is way up there while the price I got for my first 2 years of hosting is really good. Even better, the site is now hosted in Europe.
I wish A2Hosting stays away from EIG!

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Free Bleeding (Menstruation)

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Even though it’s obvious that such a practice exists, living with free bleeding in the “civilized” world (read: “taboo world” or “rigid culture world”) can be tricky. What is free menstruation you ask? Well, here’s an interesting read:

https://helloclue.com/articles/culture/whats-all-fuss-about-free-bleeding-why-does-it-matter^

Do I have an opinion about the practice? No! But I do have an opinion about people who make a fuss out of this: oh yes!

It’s another person’s body and clothes. That person is allowed to do whatever they want as long as they are careful to not interfere with another’s property (and this covers hygiene too). So, as long as this is a private matter of the person, society cannot interfere. And just to be clear: if you see a blood stain between a woman’s legs and you don’t like it, look away. It’s not anybody’s right to dictate how other people dress or look.

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Florence And The Machine – Leave My Body

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This dreamy and melancholic song larva wastes no time metamorphosing into a bright, powerful flutter of sound, repeatedly crashing into the ground before lifting itself to the heavens. The vocals really stand out on this one; a fountain of light shining fearlessly in the face of life’s ultimate outcome.

“I’m gonna be released from behind these lines
And don’t care whether I live or die
And I’m losing blood, I’m gonna leave my bones
And I don’t want your heart it leaves me cold
[…]
I’m gonna leave my body (Moving up to higher ground)
I’m gonna lose my mind (History keeps pulling me down)
Said I’m gonna leave my body (Moving up to higher ground)
I’m gonna lose my mind (History keeps pulling me, pulling me down)
I don’t need a husband, don’t need no wife
And I don’t need the day, I don’t need the night, the night
Don’t need the birds let them fly away
And I don’t want the clouds, they never seem to stay
I don’t want no future (Want your future)
I don’t need no past (Need no past)
One grand moment (One grand moment)
Is all I ask”

Unfortunately, I can’t find any way of purchasing the album digitally from any ethical shop (such as BandCamp).

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2kYXbXPKYI^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/5Ew15rnMFzIytOKVQOQuk7^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/54067881^

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Pesticides Harming Bees Banned in Europe – Major Win for Our Ecosystem

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Good news is even better when it arrives unexpected. In a major win for our ecosystem, the European Union has banned the use of neonicotinoids^. Other than the fact that the use of such poison is another example of arrogant human interference in the environment, this category of pesticides is destroying bee colonies^ worldwide. Bees are responsible for pollinating^ a majority of our crops, so a major bee die-off would seriously impact our food supply. When it comes to respecting our ecosystem, it’s lovely how Europe leads the way!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/27/eu-agrees-total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides^

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Samael – Nautilus & Zeppelin

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Music can be a scientific laboratory. As the melody unfolds, the artists embark upon a musical experiment that really needs to be heard to be believed. This is a metal song, but it is submerged underneath 20,000 leagues of organic and spiritual evolution. At that depth, the echoes of an infinity of egos melt into a droning hymn to life, death, good and evil.

“Let me glow, let me flow
let me grow in you heart
in your mind
in your soul
anywhere, anytime, anyhow
when you want, when you need, when you know
I will be there for you
I will be there with you

The sea navigable
the sky has no limits
for those who are able
for understanding what does fit
to the world they’re heading for
to the life they’re looking for
let me take you on board
let me sail you to the shore”

Unfortunately, I can’t find any way of purchasing the album digitally from any ethical shop (such as BandCamp).

YouTube (poor quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGRPUlB70rQ^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/1TXIlrx5i4ri9WOMsGsTWP^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/108935800^

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Reef Death

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“One-third of the 3,863 reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef — the largest, most extensive reef system in the world — went through a catastrophic die-off after a searing heat wave in 2016, according to a newly published study in the journal Nature. A bleaching event in 2017 devastated even more of that reef, and the cumulative effects have killed an estimated half of the magnificent system in just two years.”

It’s a quote from the article below, a work that fits in the “doom and gloom” category. But unlike articles about Planet X, the “unavoidable catastrophic” eruption of Yellowstone or the reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles, this is “real doom and gloom”. Corals around the world are dying at an alarming rate. This can lead to sudden, disastrous effects on the ocean ecosystem (and thus, the entire planet).

Even though a small number of coral species benefit from higher heat and acidity tolerance, the significant world-wide drop in coral density will affect oceans in ways that might seriously disrupt, among others, our food supply. It’s hard to predict how this will affect the Earth’s population. Even for those that don’t eat fish (like myself), a shortage of fish will result in increased demand (and price) for all other foodstuffs.

Personally, I quit eating fish long time ago due to the fact that most fish I can find in shops comes from waters where there is a high risk of pollution. It’s going to be a while until I can trust eating anything coming from an ocean where humans have dumped their experiments and industrial residue for centuries:

http://www.businessinsider.com/coral-reefs-great-barrier-reef-dying-from-bleaching-warming-2018-4?r=US&IR=T&IR=T^

Additional reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral#Threats^

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Solar Fields – Mystic Science

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Now here’s a trip if there ever was one! This baby will take you away, far away and then even further away and when you think it’s done, it’ll take you another couple of Universes away and just when you thought you landed, it’s gonna take flight again and drag you another dozen Universes in X directions at once, where X is the number of multiverse dimensions you’re in, factorial!

Musically, what we have here is a steady and unstoppable flowing song of devious construction. Layers upon layers of deep, suggestive sounds are quietly shifting into existence. I’ve measured the song with my Spirit Buoyancy Meter and it scored a juicy 83 kiloquantiverses. Not bad, not bad at all!

You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Solar Fields’s album :).

https://ultimae.bandcamp.com/track/mystic-science-origin-2007-24bits^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiw9xnp0xIY^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/4yRp0IVmlg0fE31dyCVb90^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/65190255^

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China’s Social Credit System

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Something big was set in motion in China. It’s called the Social Credit System^. It leverages the latest in technology in order to build something akin to a criminal record, except that it’s updated much more frequently (possibly even real-time in certain cases). It doesn’t only cover crime, but pretty much any action that the government can track, online and offline:

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4?r=US&IR=T^

As we know, China has an extremely well-developed tracking & censorship apparatus. Through the Social Credit System, even minor social offenses such as jaywalking or smoking outside designated areas can be turned into punishments that can seriously affect one’s life. In the article below you can find a rather shocking video (well, not entirely shocking to me since I suspected this was coming^) about the country’s highly developed video surveillance system:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-china-is-watching-its-citizens-in-a-modern-surveillance-state-2018-4?r=US&IR=T#9-tracking-peoples-social-media-posts-which-can-be-linked-to-the-users-family-and-location-10^

The punishments that the Chinese have come up with for citizens who stumble into a low social credit are deviously inventive. They can ban people from getting transport tickets, throttle internet speeds or even prevent them from getting certain jobs or education. The question is, how long until similar systems are deployed all over the planet?

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/social-credit-system/^

As usual with such schemes, there are advantages. It’s safe to assume that such a system can improve social accountability and online behavior (for example, cyberbullying can be tackled more effectively). Unfortunately, since it’s China we’re talking about, the rules for having a good social credit are set by a government that suppresses criticism through any available means.

What’s worse is that most judgements regarding a person’s social credit will be done by software. And since these programs aren’t even remotely intelligent yet^, there will be many mistakes made. I wonder if the Chinese authorities will allocate the appropriate manpower to address appeals by citizens against the decisions made by these algorithms.

This is a risky path that the Chinese are taking. It is also setting a very dangerous precedent for our civilization. It tempts governments today to increasingly rely on surveillance and punishment rather than educating and supporting a person’s healthy development. Free societies will always have an advantage when it comes to innovation. And in the Information Age^, innovation is what creates winning nations.

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Limp Bizkit – Hold On

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Let the soft and warm guitar throttle you down. Indulge in the soothing ear-massage offered by the gentle percussion. Quiet down and take a trip down the memory lane with what is probably Limp Bizkit’s most melancholic moment. It’s also one of their best songs and quite different from what this hip-hop-metal band usually puts out.

“You keep your distance,
I can’t deny you.
I got the feeling, can’t satisfy you.
I got your picture on the wall.
I got the picture long gone.
You keep your wishes, (keep you wishes)
I’ll keep my feelings.
There goes along the one that kept me breathing.
I’m waiting for you,
I know your leaving.
I still adore you.
You never need me.

Hold on.
I’ve found another way to let you go, away.
Hold on.
You’ve find another way to bleed my soul, away.

The things you told me,
To hear you speak.
I’m burning slowly,
I’m growing weak.
You bring me closer to, yesterday,
Yesterday’s a million miles away.”

Unfortunately, I can’t find any way of purchasing the album digitally from any ethical shop (such as BandCamp).

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hoq1qF204UU^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/5waSESEJmc22mPNv1ULR4e^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/104011182^

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