Delerium - Mythologie

Delerium – The Seven Gates Of Thebes

Weekly Song,

Apparently the (more famous) Egyptian Thebes is known as “Thebes of the Hundred Gates” whereas the “Thebes of the Seven Gates” is located in Greece. As far as I’m concerned, Delerium could have picked any ancient city as title for this song.

Despite the fact that this melody is a contemporary electronica ambient creation, the deep, thoroughly grounded bass, the mysterious choirs and the ghosty piano manage to conjure an aura of ancient knowledge. There are music warlocks at work here. Let yourself be carried away within their spell.

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Corporations vs The Public

Corporations vs The Public

Corporations, ,

Back in September of 2017, I met Oliwer, a Norwegian Green Peace activist looking for donations in Stockholm. He told me that they’re trying to stop the Norwegians from drilling for oil in the Arctic. He also told me about how a powerful, profitable company involved in logging is attempting to disrupt the environmental organization by suing it for a massive amount in damages to their business.

I asked him to tell me more, as it was hard to understand for me how such a thing could even work. My image of Green Peace was that of a world-wide, semi-decentralized network of agents (mostly volunteers). It’s hard to kill such an organization, especially given the volunteering aspect. Unfortunately, most money still leaves a trail (I’d switch to donations via cryptocurrencies if I were Green Peace).

I promised the man that instead of donating money, I’ll donate time and do what I do best: investigate and write. The case he told me about is only one of the many times corporations and even governments have went after Green Peace. It is, however, one of the most ridiculous (although admittedly not as ridiculous as when the government of Australia tried to basically pay a corporation to sue Green Peace).

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Pink Floyd - The Division Bell

Pink Floyd – High Hopes

1 CommentWeekly Song,

A solemn and immortal song that can be a catalyst for hope or a one way ticket to melancholy. There is innocence and wisdom here, shining from within the amazing musical craftsmanship. The melody is both delicate and monolithic, vulnerable and unstoppable. Word for word and echo for echo, a choice waits in perfect balance.

The song’s message is all the more meaningful as this was to be Pink Floyd’s last song for a long time. It’s the final track of their last album, The Division Bell. Even though in 2014 the band came back with The Endless River, that album is comprised of mostly recycled material so I think of The Division Bell as their last proper album.

Like with the other Pink Floyd songs I’ve featured, I am tempted to write more. Unlike other times, I’ll break under the temptation and say that this song has brought me to tears more than once – and for the most part, those were tears of joy.

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Amazon is Interesting

Amazon Is Interesting These Years

Corporations,

Every decade or so, we get a couple of very interesting companies to keep an eye on. I’m not referring here to being profitable (even though that’s often the case). It’s about being interesting, as in ground-breaking, mind-bending, evolutionary. This is not a recipe for long-term success, as these companies can either become nearly-unshakable, established names, or end up fading into mediocrity.

Amazon is most definitely a company to watch out for. It has historically been doing quite well for itself, but as this decade approaches its end, things are getting really interesting. Here’s a very well written and thought-provoking article about the firm.

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The Global The Carbohydrates Injection

Our Warming Atmosphere Makes Plants Less Nutritious

Ecosystem, , ,

It is said that “you are what you eat”. That stands true not only for humans, but for everything that eats. It’s well known that at optimal temperatures and humidity, plants thrive given light and carbon-dioxide. It was considered that one of the perhaps positive effects of global warming would be that plants would grow faster. This self-balancing property of our ecosystem could even contribute to cleaning up our atmosphere, as more plants would eat more CO2. That may very well hold true, if it wasn’t for desertification.

However, even though plants do thrive thanks to having more carbon-dioxide available, they apparently are not as nutritious. This is an extremely important finding, because, like the linked article points out, “increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is reducing the protein in staple crops like rice, wheat, barley and potatoes, raising unknown risks to human health in the future”.

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Ugress - Unicorn

Ugress – Harakiri Martini

Weekly Song,

Careful, this one gets straight to business! And that’s just fine, because Ugress has a lot of work to do in the space of less than three minutes. It’s a funky sound pill that you can easily squeeze into the ear between two interruptions at work. The video Ugress attached to the song is as excellent as it can be for such a playful song. I’m not sure if it makes me want to dance or play. Is there a difference?

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Daring to Imagine Cyberwarfare

Daring to Imagine Cyberwarfare

Technology, ,

Computer viruses and hacking have been around since the dawn of the Internet. But while some time ago the platform was used almost exclusively by academics and the tech-savvy, the Internet is now quickly becoming one of the central technological pillars of our society. Particularly in developed countries, countless vital social systems are now connected to it, ranging from the run-of-the-mill residential heating system to critical infrastructure such as hospitals, public transport and even military.

In the same time, the skills and tools in the cyber-soldier’s arsenal have greatly increased in potency. Even more importantly, the interest and will to compromise connected systems has increased exponentially in the past decade. Some years ago, the Internet was home to mostly petty crime and the occasional larger security breach. Now-a-days, state actors such as the United States, North Korea, and pretty much all major powers and nation-states involved in military conflicts, train and make use of cyber-hacking squads.

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Earth's Tune

Earth’s Humming a Little Tune

Science,

Well, it’s only “little” when considering the ultralow frequencies involved. In fact, it’s a massive tune. It’s a world-wide phenomenon and probably as old (thus long) as the Earth itself. The linked article summarizes years of research into a perpetual hum that has been detected in places such as Antarctica, Algeria and on the floor of the Indian Ocean.

The coming decades will clarify the relation between our body and certain facts about the environment on this planet, particularly previously-hidden “features” such as this humming. I’m going to keep my ears on the ground for more news about the Earth’s song. See what I did there?

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