It's been a while

since the last time I've gotten around to post something on here. Quite a while, actually. Probably the longest while I've ever put writing on here off, but well, I'm busy as fuck. I've got four books to write, am doing sports, working, and continue to write regularly for GonzoToday, all of which combined makes scribbling on here utterly impossible. 

But I've gotten all my chores done for the day, and can therefore just sit back for a minute and let the words flow from my brain, through my veins, and onto this fucked up laptop that hasn't been working properly since Christmas. There are so many things to say I don't even know where to start; for one, I've moved up my flight date to China to the first of July, and am therefore swamped in various kinds of preparations. I'm also working as a waiter these days, which is possibly the best job for the kind of money I'm making there, but also means that on most days I come home with my energy fully depleted and unable to produce a coherent line of thought, much less write one down. I've also taken to smoking again, which is just another vice to add on my long list, and therefore not all that bad. Although I have to say that cigarettes are the devil's playmates, and I certainly loathe the addiction, there are still so many things my insane cerebrum perceives as positive about them that I cannot seem to fully stop. I'll have to find some sort of a middle-way I can take there in order not to fuck myself up all too much and still not having to give up the smoking. Or I'll manage to just stop again, which would of course be better. At least I've stopped betting unreasonably large amounts of money on soccer games, which is a huge relief for both my conscience and my wallet. There are not many things going on in my life besides my work, my preparations, and GonzoToday at the moment, which means that there isn't so much to write about either. 

Although I do have a topic that's been lingering in my mind since a job I've had a few weeks ago; I was at some sort of fancy private bank where a few artists displayed their works and the bank's clients dined for free. Serving these money-ridden, arrogant pricks made me realize just how little ability to handle money these people actually have. First of all, they're letting their money rot away in a bank, which shows that they have no clue as to what to do with their money anyways. Secondly, these snobby bastards have somehow, somewhere gotten so entrenched in the notion that their money makes them morally and socially better than everyone else that they're now just looking down on anyone they deem "too poor" or "too weird" to associate themselves with. I mean I offered some of these bastards something to drink or eat and they just took it with their head raised slightly higher, not looking or god forbid talking to me. I was a fucking peasant in their eyes, and I can simply not understand how blinded one can be by some worthless fucking slips of paper. It is just so damn sad to see how we have 90% of the world's population starving to death, and then these rich fucks have the audacity to look down on someone bringing them free food. It's mind-boggling madness to me, really. These people do not have one shred of human dignity left in their filthy bodies, and I can not understand how these kind of people are what we're being taught to strive for. Big money is a good dream, don't get me wrong, I myself am trying to get as rich as I can, but this dream was somehow blurred and distorted in our everyday society to mean that striving for money is striving for materialistic decadence, and that's what's being glorified on the news, and in pop-culture. It's sad, really, to what level we have stooped. We used to understand that with great power - monetary influence in this case - comes great responsibility, but apparently this understanding has been lost, we have been deluded by the influence on TV and in movies, and are now aiming for the power, but not willing to take on the responsibilities anymore, and that is breeding a culture of people that have such a large financial wealth, but no idea and no drive to do something good for others with it, and that just cannot stand. I'm not loathing someone for being rich, why would I? If that person's has paid his or her dues, and gotten rich by doing something he or she knows how - great! But please, prior to getting rich, understand the responsibilities that come with it - if you're rich and you do nothing but sit on your ass all day, then I loathe you, your existence, and everything you stand for. Arrogance is something that I really, and thoroughly despise, and, working in the field of "Haute Cuisine", I see so much of it each and every day, and have therefore developed a burning passion to purge the earth of those snobby fucks with a stick so far up their ass that it tickles their nose once and for all. 

Ha. A good, old-fashioned rant is just what I need to unwind sometimes. And it really did the trick, I'm now so much at ease that I'm getting sleepy... Ah... This will have to wait, first going to smoke then go to bed now...

...and I'm back. Took two whole days to actually find the time again, but I'm slowly working through this post so as to have it done by Saturday, which is the day on which I'll hopefully be able to upload it. Anyhow. I am quite anxious as to finally get the fuck out of Europe and back into wonderful Asia again, let me tell you that. There is nothing that takes more toll on my creativity than being surrounding by these energy-sucking parasites of Europeans again. I had forgotten just how annoying, arrogant, selfish, and utterly distasteful German people can be during my 7 years in China, and now that I've been back here for almost two years, I am so fucking eager to get back East that I'd take the next plane if it weren't for money and preparation needing to be gotten and made. There's literally nothing else holding me back here. With a few good friends of mine and my parents being the obvious exception. 

I complain too much, I know. There are some great things about being back in Germany, too, but the disadvantages clearly outweigh any positive points I could possibly find. Politics alone drive me mad here. It's not like it's better in Asia, politics suck all over the globe, but at least it's not this hypocritical lie-fest that we're being subjected to in our oh-so-free Western culture. It boggles the mind how many fucking lies and misrepresentations of facts some suit-wearing assholes can fit into a single sentence. I fucking hate that in the Western world it's all about how something sounds or how someone looks instead of about the content of the sentences and the personality of the individual. And I know that I'm repeating myself for like the billionth time with this, but, well, it's not like anything's changed since I've last approached this topic, so I might either not have reached the right people or they didn't give a fuck last time and need to be reminded of their own hypocrisy. 

Argh. I don't post for two months or so, and then my big comeback post is the above repetitive bullshit. Big disappointment, I know. But all of my creative juices are currently being put into the books and articles and interviews and video scripts and so on that I'm currently writing, which is why only the dull left-overs scraped off of the last unused parts of my worn-out brain actually arrive here, which actually saddens me, but has to be treated as an unchangeable fact for now. I hope I'll be less busy at some point in the next couple of months and be able to produce some quality content for you guys again! Until then, please just hang on and enjoy the good music below: 

Die Antwoord - Fatty Boom Boom

-> Well, Die Antwoord is quite clearly unlike anything I have ever posted, but I immensely enjoy their music, and especially their message; they're the blueprint for anti-establishment. They were signed with Interscope Records, but decided to drop that label when they were to be forced to cooperate with a popular artists. And the above video is their response to being asked to open for Lady Gaga, which is a pretty awesome fucking answer if you ask me. Anyway, great song, talented and authentic musicians, and a simply weird, freaky video... Enjoy! 

Die Antwoord - So What?

-> This track illustrates my reason for liking Die Antwoord quite well, I think. It's a great, old-school style Hip Hop track with a great carpe diem kind of message, which really speaks to me. Plus it is just shows the raw, creative potential within this group, which I think is virtually limitless. These are two really good rappers come together with a great DJ, and they do everything from sad love songs to energetic rave music, which is another reason why I enjoy them so much; they diversify, they don't stay on the same boring path all the time, and that's what makes them so awesomely unique! Enjoy!

Jetta - I'd love to change the world (Matstubs Remix)

-> This sounds like an angel came down from heaven to sit down at a mixer and make a heavenly sound straight outta paradise. I cannot put into the words the cosmic buzz listening to this song gives me, it's orgasmic, really. This is really a wave of beauty that crashes through your eardrum and straight into your brain, drowning out any thought and giving you over to an emotional roller-coaster that leaves you exhausted, exhilarated, cranked up, and hungry for more... Enjoy!

Tove Lo - Habits (Hippie Sabotage Remix)

-> With a name like "Hippie Sabotage", I expected something a bit different, but was positively surprised - this is perhaps the best remix of this otherwise rather dull song that I have heard. The great build-up to the soul-freeing hook that just screams drug use in excess, but also encompasses that spiritual, dreamy part of the brain that forces you to think about what you're doing and how you're doing it. I don't know, this song just evokes a lot of interesting feelings, especially when listening to it under the influence. Plus this remix just brings out the very best of this tune, so... Enjoy!

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

-> Well, I remember posting the Gus Black acoustic version of this song on here, but not the original song, which is a huge error on my part for which I apologize! I don't think that there's much to say to this song seeing as it is simply a pure classic that should get everyone wet between their legs. Enjoy!

Iron Maiden - The Trooper

-> I am on my classics trip once again, and dug up this old gem. An energetic, riff-laden masterpiece of epic proportions. The opening riff alone is one of the most memorable in history, and the rest of the song continues in like fashion. There is seldom a person who wouldn't list "the trooper" as one of the first songs when asked if he or she knows any good Iron Maiden songs. This tune has truly stood the test of time, and is an all-time classic that shan't ever be forgotten. Enjoy!

Well, it has really taken me a lot of time to actually get through writing this, and it is by now not Saturday but Monday, but what the hell, at least I managed to finally post something again. I think I will have to reduce the interval of my posts to once a month, because in my current situation nothing else is really possible, for which I apologize. But well, I hope that you've enjoyed this post nevertheless, and that you'll keep on following my blog until I have time to post on a weekly or bi-weekly basis again.

Peace!

2015 already?

The year 2014 really flew by, didn't it? It seems like I barely read the words "January 1st, 2014" on the screen of my mobile phone, and all of a sudden I am back in Amsterdam celebrating the New Year 2015. 

And what a fucked up year 2014 was. We saw the outright demise of all things most of us used to take for granted, except of course those willing to question what they saw, because they had known all along; the CIA torture report, the NSA scandal, the rise of the originally US-financed ISIS, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. The fall of capitalism, the undermining of citizens' rights, excessive police brutality, fracking, free-trade agreements, increased fascism, Ebola, the revival of the Cold War, and of course the ever-lasting greed of mankind slowly propelling a small number of psychopaths into power whilst oppressing the rest of us.

Ha. It seems like the developments of this year literally force me to rehash the same old topics again and again. It's just getting worse. I have heard so many stupid utterances by unreasonably powerful people this year that I see no way things are going to stay the way they are for much longer. We're on a slippery slope, heading straight to hell. People are getting pissed off at a system that is slowly beginning to show its rotten true face, slowly beginning to show that it is no longer upholding the values it was created to protect, slowly beginning to show that it is made up of greed, corruption, and egomania. Which is nothing new to a lot of people, but unfortunately not enough people feel the need to bring on changes. Of course there are protests and riots all around the globe, but they're always dismissed by force or rhetoric and therefore those who used to be in power remain in power, and the damn population still votes for those retarded fucks. I simply don't get how a majority of the people can actually vote for those that have proven again and again to be unable to represent the voters' will. And I'm not even talking about Obama here, he has done a few very good and a few very bad things, but the actual issue is the whole Democrat/Republican debacle; neither of them have remotely done what they claim to stand for. It's time to find an alternative. Same thing for Germany; the Christian-Democratic-Union coupled with so-called German-Social-Democratic-Party (they somehow forgot to include the whole "social" and "democracy" part in their political policy) have been in power way too long, and the other parties don't really show any differences in their program either, so we're in somewhat of a rut. I can't emphasize the importance of change once again here. 
But that's of course not remotely everything; we also saw the rise of a couple of cruel terrorist organizations (Hamas and ISIS), that both used to be US-financed, but then went rogue and started attacking America with its own weapons. Which has happened quite a number of times, and could have taught the US government long ago that funding renegade movements usually does not yield the results that they hope for, but apparently they're too stubborn to learn from their mistakes.
Furthermore, we saw Russia being turned into the root of all evil once again by smart propaganda. I don't want to glorify Russia here, they have done some questionable up to downright horrific things in their time, and have some very conservative laws that do not really seem to fit in our time anymore, but they are not the main aggressor in the newest scenarios unfolding in Eastern Europe at the time. The NATO expansion to the East has been going on for a few decades now despite many critical voices from within the US government, and poking a sleeping bear with a stick will eventually get it to react. Russia reacted by "taking back" Crimea by means of a democratic referendum, which then sparked multiple movements also wanting to join Russia. And then the US just installed a new "democratic" government in Ukraine, of which some ministers are openly affiliated with major Nazi parties and networks! And now Europe is being entangled in some economic sanctioning scheme directed at the Russians, which is just stupid strategically. An alliance between Europe and Russia would be much more viable for both parties than a European-American partnership could ever hope to be. But thanks to Europe's head being so far up America's ass, we're facing a new Cold War that might actually turn hot this time, seeing as the propaganda is much more elaborate and the fronts are more hardened than ever.
Oh, and let's not forget the past few months which saw multiple unarmed African-Americans get shot, including a twelve year old child, by police men. For some cases the reports are obviously unclear, and I am not one to just generalize an entire group of people, but these cases show that racism is still much more present within the American everyday life than one would believe possible in the 21st century, and that it is an issue that still needs to be evaluated over and over. The war on drugs is partially responsible for this as well, mind you. There are less African-American than Caucasian drug users, yet there are more African-Americans rotting in jail cells for drug-related offenses. The profiling used by the DEA is clearly racist, and gives police an easy excuse to target ethnic minorities for strip searches, which obviously leads to those minorities feeling mistreated and unrepresented by those that should protect them and their rights, and that is something that cannot possibly stand! All citizens have to feel that all governmental organs are serving and protecting them, not just a few, otherwise the entire system of democracy and freedom doesn't mean shit.
And finally, we also saw the Ebola virus cripple West Africa, and we saw just how short the attention span of the media is when it comes to an actual crisis. Ebola was in the news for a couple of months at best, and all of a sudden it disappeared. Not from Africa mind you, the people there are still suffering, and there are still people there trying to help, and funds are hopefully still going there too, but the media's attention just switched to more violent and sensational stories and completely started ignoring the virus it made out to be the "biggest epidemic of modern time" just a few months ago. It's ridiculous, really. And then those damn tunes that are made to "help" the affected regions by donating part of the profits to charity. I mean I don't disagree with the essence of these actions, but if you want to help the people, then just donate to some medical NGOs instead of buying a fucking song which will also make some musicians, producers, and label bosses even richer. The whole thing is just perfect promotion: crappy singers are selling millions because they appear in such songs, which is why these tunes are in themselves corrupted and used by those people to gain more fame than they deserve, and that is just pathetic. So yes to helping those regions crippled by Ebola, and no to phony charity song projects. 

But of course there were not only bad things in 2014, there were quite a few personal highlights, and a few global things went quite well too. For example, the legal status of cannabis. Things improved quite drastically last year, and I am sure they will skyrocket in 2015: more and more states are thinking of legalization, Uruguay and Portugal have shown that liberal drug regulations are the right way to go, and there are more and more experts in all fields speaking up for the green plant. And in Germany there are now pro-legalization ads running in a couple of hundred cinemas all over the country, right before blockbusters like "The Hobbit". It has also been a good year in terms of the overall opinion on drug use generally. People that have been sworn enemies of the dreadful plague they believe psychoactive substances to be are now speaking for a more lenient approach, because many are starting to realize that prohibition is criminalizing the wrong people and allowing the actual criminals to make billions of dollars by being the only supplier for a gargantuan market. And those wrongly criminalized are branded as, well, criminals for life, and will always be looked upon with suspicion, and furthermore receive a 'training in crime' when imprisoned seeing as they are living in a confined space with all kinds of sick people, forced to join a gang in order to survive the time there. So a friendly pothead that got caught a few times too much goes to prison and comes out a hardened criminal with new knowledge on all kinds of illegal activities and not many perspective besides a gangster's life due to his criminal record, which he only got for being thrown in jail for burning some plants and inhaling the smoke. 
But I'm getting off topic. I told myself to do less rambling in these posts, and I'll try and stick to it a bit. I was talking about the general consensus on drugs slowly drifting towards a more lenient approach that focuses on education and emancipation of drug users rather than their wrongful criminalization. We're not there yet, not by a long shot, but we're seeing the first signs, the first underground tremors of an earthquake that will eventually spawn a tsunami of reforms regarding psychoactive substances, and it's nice to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. And of course there's always the usual suspects trying to hinder that development, but it's somewhat like Domino; once the first piece falls, all others will follow. And I don't know how long it's going to take, but I'm sure it will happen, and I guarantee that the world will be a better place for it.

Anyway. There's also some personal highlights this year that I would like to share with you: I am more and more sure of needing to get the fuck away from studying, and rather focus on finally starting to build my own career, on my own terms, and not in some goddamn company where I work so that my boss can make tons of money, just so that I can retire when I'm seventy and "enjoy" my few years of lousy retirement. Hell no. I'm thinking of signing up for an online degree in freelance journalism, expanding my blogs, work freelance, do some small jobs to make ends meet, and get back to Asia, preferably Shanghai. I can't take the European way of life. People here have so little ambition, they cannot think outside the box; it's school, study, work, marry, retire, die, and I can simply not do that! And the mentality of the population, especially Germany, is so fucking apathetic, it's unbearable! Everything is stagnating, everybody is afraid to do their own thing and take risks, all everyone wants is diplomas, jobs, security and routine, and that just pisses me the fuck off!
I wasn't born to pay bills, I was not born to work for some rich ass-wipe! I want to travel, learn, write, see things, just fucking live, and not merely exist, and seeing the people at university and all round me just existing, essentially wasting their lives on some bullshit diplomas so they can work for other people, never leave their home country (except for the obligatory trip to Majorca every year), and at some point just slowly rot on their couches living off their lousy retirement funds, really makes me sick to my stomach and drains my energy up to a point where merely existing doesn't seem all that bad anymore. Shanghai is just so much different from that, most people there are there to make their dreams come true, to live out the American Dream in its original essence, to truly live and make an impact on the world. Shanghai is where things are happening, Asia generally is, and I don't see any reason to miss out on that. I love writing, I love Shanghai, I love Asia, and I don't see why I should not at least try to tailor my life to suit these passions in a way that I can still make ends meet and live comfortably. Which is why I am seriously contemplating making some money until the end of the academic year, then leaving the rotten village I am currently living in, quitting the studies I don't enjoy anyways, and going to Shanghai on a student visa to just do my thing and try to build an existence doing what I enjoy. And if that doesn't work I can always go back to studying seeing as I have the advantage of being young. I still have a good chunk of my life ahead of me, and I've always lived by the maxim of not ever regretting not having tried something I think could enjoy, so I just need to get off my ass and finally make things happen. No more working to get a diploma, no more learning things I have absolutely no interest in, just hard work to get to my goals, and then enjoying the fruits my labor will hopefully yield. 

But I don't want to bore you with details of my plans for the future any longer. It's getting late, and I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll just add the music in the morning and post this thing by evening. Few is really left to say, except that I wish all of you reading this a happy New Year, and I really hope that whatever you're trying to do, whatever things it is you set to accomplish, that you succeed at all of it, and that things turn out for the best. Selah.

  
Dilated Peoples - You can't hide, you can't run

 -> This is pure old school right here! Such an epic tune with an awesome beat and the amazing artists of Dilated Peoples filling the track with great, meaningful rap, it's hard not to love it! Plus the beat is such a neck-breaking piece of awesomeness, that, coupled with aforementioned rap, you cannot not listen when this bad boy is played, so...Enjoy!


Marco Polo feat. Masta Ace - Nostalgia

 

-> And here is one more track that is old school as fuck! The legendary Masta Ace together with Marco Polo and a scratched-up sampled beat that underlines the funky awesomeness of this tune simply deliver their message straight to the heart of any real Hip Hop head! And the rhyming is mind-boggling too; "People in the audience, Masta Ace the name/ I write rhymes and insert them inside your vein/ They run through your bloodstream, get inside you brain/ 'Cause I first put my name up inside the train/"! If that's not fucking awesome, I don't know what is, so... Enjoy!

Jack Johnson - Good People  

-> This is just such a true song on so many levels. Firstly, the number of people I would deem 'good' is actually receding, at least here in Central Europe, and that song expresses just that. Secondly, the good people have mostly disappeared from TV and the news, simply because yellow journalism has become the norm, and the tragic stories of murderers and rapists attract a much larger, more easily sensationalized crowd than stories of the good neighbor who helped get kitty down the tree, and so they're the ones that make the newscast. Which is sad. We shouldn't constantly be shown the bad people, because that creates a negative sentiment in the population, and that just sucks. But anyway, this is a really cool song, so... Enjoy!

Warren Zevon - Keep me in your heart for a while

  

-> A beautiful Warren Zevon song right here. This is the kind of timeless music that would fit at any given occasion, ranging from birthday to funeral. Zevon just has that exceptional voice and is in essence a great musician, which makes his songs so amazing! I really, really enjoy this song, it has this strangely positive vibe to it that coupled with the melancholy in the lyrics makes for an interesting ride. Enjoy!

Spag Heddy - Pastanian Express

 

 -&> "THIS IS PASTA", orgasm-inducing drop, melody, more pasta. That's pretty much what this pure bit of Drumstep filth has to offer, and it does not disappoint in the least! This song has an awesome melodic part, coupled with such epic drops and funny, well-used vocals! I really enjoy Spag Heddy's work, and this one is no exception! Awesome tune, great artist! Enjoy!

KDrew - Bullseye 

 

-> Wow! Just wow. This is one of those fucking filthy tracks that you stumble across every few months or so at best! A great melody brought on by those wobbly high-pitched notes, entangled in a maze of amazing bass and drops, fused into four minutes and ten seconds of musical awesomeness and pure energy, propelling those listening to push on and go forward! I fucking love this kind of music, this is why I always include electronic music on here! Epic track, amazing artist... Enjoy!

So, this concludes today's entry, which turned out to be a whole of a lot longer than I had expected it to be, but seeing as I think I have touched on some interesting issues it should still be manageable as readers. Oh, and you have probably seen the changes that I have made to the blog: layout and theme has been altered entirely, and I have decided to embed the actual video for the selection of songs at the end of each post, which I think will be much easier on you guys' eyes, and make the whole page more attractive to potential readers. But the entries will remain the way they always have been, I have no reason to change the way I convey my message on here entirely!

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this post, liked today's musical selection, and that there are some things in this entry that you can take away for your own life, you know the deal...

Peace!

Some stones are better left unturned

if you don't want to see their parasite-ridden underside, that is. But isn't that parasitic abscess, normally hidden from the eye, as much part of the stone as its polished, usually visible surface? Why would one not want to know of that aspect? Because it is much easier to tolerate a pretty rock than the rotting remains of one, I suppose. And as long as you can fool yourself into ignoring the ugly mess below the surface, you will be sure that the stone's underside is akin to, if not an exact replica of, the visible part. Which is exactly what's going on in so many forms in our world: ugly truths are flipped so as to make them radiate positively, and the public at large would much rather see and believe the pretty illusion than dig down to the fucked up crux of the matter and see the shit that's really going on.

But I'm not going to get into the aspect of mass-media-manipulation that is inherent to the issues at hand quite yet. I'll start with another aspect, namely the personal auto-deception many of us - including me - are falling victim to, which is in itself just a pathetic little charade our brain is playing with our minds. Let's take myself as an example: these past weeks have been horrible; I stayed up too long, smoked too much, slept too little, and did not eat enough. Yet I, our rather my demented cerebrum, have - has - somewhat managed to press the notion that I am actually feeling and living quite well to the very front of my cerebral lobes, thereby deluding myself - me - to a shudder-inducing degree. Of course I realize that I am just fooling myself - hence this post - but the inevitability of falling in the traps of auto-deceit has come weighing down upon me in the interim leading up to this realization, and that is something I have always striven to avoid: the loss of control, or rather the lack of realization in my thinking. But that might be a rather melodramatic way of portraying things after all. In the end, it's not like deceiving yourself leads to a complete loss of coherent thought. It does however, lead to you essentially misjudging yourself and the things happening to you, which might lead to self-neglect, as it has happened to me. I am just not taking care of myself lately, I feel. Although I am doing sports each and every morning, and have cut down on all chemical psychoactive substances, I know that I could do a lot of things a lot better: I could, for example, start going to classes again; I could eat more and go to bed early, and I could just not smoke any cigarettes. The problem here is that I simply do not feel like it. I don't even see any actual reason to do so, which is weird because I know that there are plenty. Shit, it's like I have this reasonable side that's compelled to drastically alter the way I go about living my life right now, but on the other hand I also have this fuck-you-all-side that tells me to just keep doing what I like until I find something actually productive that I enjoy doing. I'm guessing that neither of those ways is going to make me happy though. It's as always going to be a compromised middle between the both of them that will make for a comfortable ride. But this tangent is not entirely relevant to the topic to be honest. What I was getting to is actually the auto-deceit and its power within human nature: we like thinking that everything is fine, and our brains are stupid enough to produce endorphins as soon as we decide to like something, meaning that deceiving yourself into believing you're feeling fine will eventually make you feel fine, simply because our brains are primitive as fuck when it comes to emotions. Which is in all likelihood also the reason why I'm not enticed to change my way of living right now; I have gotten so used to it that my brain is now producing endorphins where it would have made me aware of misery just a few weeks ago. And that is the actual danger of deceiving yourself: at some point deceit turns into belief and then into conviction, meaning that tricking yourself into feeling a certain way might ultimately result in you actually feeling that way in similar situations from that point on. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it might lead to weird up to downright questionable behavior in some cases.

But enough of this. What I haven't gotten into yet is the aspect of the mass-media, which have degenerated into filthy, smut-ridden, propaganda-spewing, war-instigating, government-controlled, brainwashing little puppets. Facts are being misrepresented, people are being misquoted, one-sided and biased reporting has become the norm, and all just to create a new common enemy, to distract the population from the dying economy, to distract the people from the failure of capitalism, to distract us from the evils of free market and the privatized bank system. And no, I am not a communist although the previous sentences might suggest that to some, I don't like to think in terms of political orientation to be honest, I just like to think logically; and logically speaking, you cannot possibly rationalize the free market capitalism any longer. It has failed. The middle class is essentially gone, the poor are getting poorer, and the rich have isolated themselves with their own schools and their own fenced-off and guarded compounds. And yet politicians are still in favor of not taxing these people more heavily. And yet politicians are still not doing anything about companies taking away public money (taxes) by "smart geographical re-distribution of their returns", ergo taking them to Luxemburg, Cayman Islands, etc. Companies are officially bragging about evading taxes, and nothing is being done about it. That money could have gone into better education, new infrastructure; it could have been used for public needs. But instead, it went into the pockets of those that already have more digits on their bank accounts than words are able to express. Is anyone upset by this? Yes, many people are. Are governments taking serious steps to address this problem? You bet your sweet ass they don't. They're profiting from it too! Oh, and of course there's proof to all of this: you may check the "panama corporate database", and you will see for yourselves, which names are registered there; and for Germany, you can check the annual report of the "Commerzbank", in which they pat themselves on the back for having evaded taxes. Mind you, this bank was saved by German taxpayers' money, and now they're refusing to pay theirs? That is just fucked up. And again, the government is not doing anything about it.
But I drifted off-topic there. The media are turning things around. For example, Russia is made out to be the root of all evil lately. Now of course, Russia is not a great example of a peaceful, non-militarized state, no-one is going to deny that. But still, the US is equally aggressive, and the greatest war instigator of this century, and they're not being criticized as heavily for their actions in the whole Ukraine debacle. Fact of the matter is, the NATO has promised the Russians long ago that they would not expand eastwards, and yet they did. A step that former US Secretary Of Defense Robert McNamara, amongst more than forty former senators, cabinet secretaries and ambassadors, heavily criticized in an open letter to president Clinton. So, naturally, Russia is going to feel threatened and try to extend its sphere of influence as well. And please don't be so naive as to think that 'Russia doesn't have to fear the NATO expansion as long as it behaves', because that is just bullshit. Tell that to the bombed remains of Syria and Algeria. Anyway. I am not condoning Russia's behavior either, but it's not like they're the main aggressor we need to be afraid of. The foreign policies of NATO states have actually revived the dead and buried corpse of the Cold War. People that have lived to see the actual Cold War are reminded of the anti-Russian propaganda from back then when watching the news today. And that already says quite a lot if you ask me. Selah. 

Well, this entry took quite some time to finish once again, but well, as long as it's still November I have managed to keep my promise of posting twice a month, which is something. But I am really eager to write some more in the future, and I hope I will succeed at doing so. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this post and that it has shown you some things. I don't want you to rely on anything you read here though, especially not when it comes to political things: do some research and develop your own opinion! Just be sure not to stop your research at the first source you find, and be sure to use sources from both sides, so that you can form your own differentiated opinion on it. 
But enough preaching for today, here's some good music for you:

The Hieroglyphics - You Never Know
-> I've recently rediscovered The Hieroglyphics, and cannot believe how I could not have gotten into them a lot more way earlier! Amazing old-school Hip Hop, awesome beat, great flows, deep message, and just all in all mind-boggling. I love this kind of Hip Hop most, and will probably just stick to that for all songs in this post, so sorry to all non-Hip Hop fans out there! Anyway, great tune, legendary artists, 'nuff said!

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
-> Another amazing song, I am not sure if I haven't featured it on here before though, if that is the case please let me know!
Anyhow, this track is just so insanely great, the jazzy samples, the raw beat, the inspiring vocals, everything! Enjoy!

The Hieroglyphics feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - At The Helm 
-> Awesome fucking song! Deep message, amazing flows, raw old-school beat; this tune has everything I love about Hip Hop incorporated into its cocoon of greatness! "Rap ain't about bustin caps and fuckin bitches. It's about fluency with rhymin ingenuity"....Enjoy!

The Pharcyde - Drop 
-> Legendary artists, awesome song, and a great video, that was actually shot with them walking backwards and then reversed to make it look they're going forward, hence their "goofy" way of walking as on YouTube commentator put it. Anyhow, amazing track that definitely needed featuring on here, so... Enjoy!

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - If You Must 
-> "It's important to practice good hygiene, at least if you want to run with my team!" A song about cleaning yourself properly! Funny topic, realized amazingly well by Del, and just all in all a great tune that you'll definitely... Enjoy!

The Pharcyde - Pandemonium
-> From the Street Fighter soundtrack from 1994, as you can see in the video description. Still, this song takes me back, used to love that movie, and the track in itself is also close to perfection, amazing flows, dope beat, and all in all real old-school Hip Hop that I love! Enjoy!

This post turned out to be a bit shorter than I had expected, but well, at least it's appearing within a reasonable time-frame. Plus I have to say that I am quite happy with what I wrote here, and hope that it is as enjoyable for you to read this as it was for me to write it. I'll try to write more regularly in the future, but I've said that so often by now that this promise has somewhat lost its value. So, not minding the redundancy, I hope that his post holds some truths or values for you, that it entices you think a bit, you know the deal.

Peace!

Food For Thought #5

“...most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution.”            - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Well, I am once again in doubt about anything related to social intertwining, and in delay in regard to my own personal deadline, but no-one is really buying that I am actually trying to stick to that anymore, are they?
I mean, I can have as many good reasons as I want to, the fact of the matter remains that I have not stuck to a deadline since like, forever. Except in the first few weeks when I posted almost daily. But well, I'm lazy. And busy. Bad combination to begin with, but try cramming a blog into that. Still I feel that I have a certain obligation to post at least close to my deadline on here, seeing as I have by now established somewhat of a readership I hope, and I am not one to disappoint. So, here I am again, typing on my broken laptop abusing the WiFi of my favorite Coffee-shop. But whatever. You've heard that a thousand times by now. Not anymore in the near future though, seeing as my internet at home has finally been installed and I am now able to procrastinate even more using the convenient method of online streaming. What a wonderful world. I will probably have some government henchman knocking at my door soon enough to get his hands on all the filthy copyright infringements I have stacked up in my time. Fuck that though, it's not like he'd actually find anything of relevance. Or even of enough illegality to sue me. At least not digitally that is. 

Hah. I should quit this line of thought, the internet is crawling with parasitic law enforcement trying to grab whatever tiny piece of supposedly illegal activities their dirty little paws can reach. And I am no mood to have these assholes on my back. And well, there's a little something called "Freedom of speech" and an additional bonus of "artistic liberties" I can take. So fuck you very much, whatever government control-freak is reading this.
Anyway. My mind is drifting between topics, and I cannot for the life of me decide which one to pick for today's Food For Thought segment. Which is by the way something I haven't done in quite a while compared to the regularity in which the last four of these posts appeared, so I decided to have a go at it once again. I actually had a topic in mind when I started typing, but I am unsure now that I've typed a couple of words. My uncertainty regarding my choice of a topic stems from the variety of themes that are offered to me by my surroundings on a daily basis. I'm at times literally so overwhelmed with bullshit that I cannot even decide what to rant about here. Asides from the crazy shit that's going on in Europe whilst the masses are so focused on the world cup that they're barely noticing it. Russia is stopping its delivery of gas to the Ukraine, but that news is drowning in a tsunami of world cup frenzy that has taken hold of every major news station in the country it appears. But well, that's their problem. It is possible to stay informed and those who fail to do so can put the blame entirely on themselves. Not that this tangent has anything to do with the actual topic, I am just filling the time I need to come up with just that. And it's working. To some extent.

I think I will discuss the frightening way in which we're slowly moving towards total governmental control of the masses. Which is not a new topic by any means, I've gone down at least parts of that road in earlier posts, but what's been going on lately on this piece-of-shit of a planet is really angst-inducing to say the least. I mean, we've had the NSA-scandal. But has that really spawned any actual laws restricting this institution or have any actual punishments been laid on those responsible for invading every single fucking citizens privacy? Nope. And it goes on. Snowden is up for prosecution by the U.S.-government whose very foundation he was trying to preserve by exposing the fucked up spying methods of these primates with way too much power in their paw-like hands; the NSA has secret surveillance bunkers in Central Europe; and the German constitutional court has been working together with these spies in order to gather private data on German politicians and the German people themselves. And as if that was not bad enough, that very same court has declared that it is of "vital importance" to further develop methods to listen in on any kind of electronic communication because the internet is considered an "uncontrollable hub of political extremeism" and so-called "cyber-terrorism". These fears obviously rightly justify the invasion of millions of peoples' privacy. Right. 
But it doesn't stop at that. The NSA has been working on a quantum-based PC that will allegedly be able to crack any kind of encryption. So as soon as this project is completed, you can encrypt and secure your messages and data as much as you want - the US will be able to crack the code and read your mail - even if you're just writing your Aunt that her cupcakes were "the bomb". Oh and that Facebook etc. are using user data quite liberally is no secret or surprise to anyone anymore. We're essentially constantly being monitored and watched. This is Big Brother on a global scale. Or much rather, it is the slow realization of what Orwell's 1984 had predicted a long time ago. We've reached 1984. We're already past it actually. Not only is our physical motion being tracked, our thoughts and beliefs are also checked against a government-issue blueprint and if you don't fit, you're disposed of. "Fixed" or "rehabilitated" as they like to call it. But it's actually a systematic disposal and/or brainwashing of those opposed to the state of total submission to the government that those in power are striving to achieve within the population. Doesn't this sound familiar? Total acceptance of the system of those in power, only selective access to information, and government-standardized conformity? Sounds like a bad mixture of 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. And indeed, it also sounds familiar because I've approached this, or an at least similar aspect ultimately resulting in this topic in earlier posts. But apparently just writing about it doesn't help. The people in power will constantly change, but in the end it all comes down to the same exact mess that is being laid upon us by some corporate puppets. And the puppeteers are the same as always, the usual suspects: huge-ass industries, banks, and oil-sheiks. They're the ones controlling the worlds most important resources, they're funding the worlds governments, and they're therefore also controlling them. This is not some lunatic bullshit like the Illuminati-fad that has swept the nation after the Dan Brown novels were released, but much rather just a careful conclusion made from a few years of watching, listening, and reading. If you have half a brain and a semi-functional mind you'll be able to piece it together yourself. Most politicians are actually part of supervisory or administrative boards of major industrial and financial players, so their decisions are obviously biased towards what's favorable for aforementioned firms. And that alone should be fucking illegal if you ask me. But well, as always, money will prevail. And prevailed it has. Iraq/Contra; Iraq/Syria; Osama Bin Ladens weapons; Richard Nixon; all fraudulent, dangerous, and/or criminal activities that all only happened because of money's evil fucking influence on peoples' minds, behaviors, and decisions. And the list goes on and on, I am just citing some examples that have recently caught my attention, most of them in the works of Hunter S. Thompson. 
But what do we conclude from this mess that the world's offering us? How do we go on knowing that some control-hungry motherfucker is constantly watching our moves, evaluating our thoughts? Well. Personally I have always found solace in the fact that albeit being able to monitor my thoughts, they still lack the ability to actually control them. They might be able to direct them by printing falsified news stories etc., but if your frontal lobe capacity exceeds that of a common single-cell organism you'll be able to find out what's actually going on by doing just a little bit of research. And well, if your privacy is important to you, you know the obvious steps: don't log into Facebook when you're on the move, turn off your GPS and mobile networks, and simply don't use any form of internet-based communication when you're doing something you don't want people finding out about. Further, encrypt your data as long as it still makes sense to do so, and delete metadata of pictures that you don't want to be traced back to the place of their taking.
But I am not here to lecture you on online safety. You should know these things yourself. And this tangent seems somewhat off-topic in retrospect anyway.
No, the actual conclusion, besides finding solace in the fact that you're still in charge of your own thoughts, are that we need to defy the fucking system that creates this somber 1984 control we're being subjected to. How the fuck can governments be claiming to be acting in the interest of their people when they're the only ones their people need to be afraid of nowadays? I mean, let's look at my favorite example: the prohibition of psychoactive substances. Drug users need not fear the possible side-effects of the recreational enhancement they're taking part in, but only the repressive governmental organs trying to put them into a confined space with rapists, murderers, and all other kinds of sick fucked-up people. If the government truly cared about the people, they'd legalize and regulate those substances, and put more effort into preventative actions. But no, that would be "immoral". Funny, that the people making the most depraved and morally-bankrupt decisions on this planet are the ones telling us we can't smoke a joint because it is morally wrong? What the fuck? Politicians are willingly deceiving us for money and power, are engaging in war with countries that did not call for it purely out of monetary and influential reasons, and then have the fucking nerve to call drug users criminals? For fuck's sake, in what kind of a fucked-up nightmare are we living anyway? I mean I understand the basic human need for happiness. And as long as the human is kept in blissful ignorance, an emotional state resembling just that is achieved. Add the exploitation of the natural fear for hunger and loss of shelter to that, and you've got the explanation for peoples' blind acceptance of their leaders' fascist methods. We don't want the truth, because we like our comfort zone to remain just that. Comfortable, cozy, and not disturbed by any nuisances such as a fight for freedom. We've got what we need: Food, shelter, entertainment. Why ask for more? Why bother trying to be actually free when just serving the mans will is much easier? Well. If you really need me to answer these questions for you, the system has already won and you're hopelessly caught in the grip of their manipulative, controlling network. Still, there's need for a general wake-up call when it comes to our society. Because the dystopian realms of V For Vendetta, Brave New World, and 1984 are slowly moving into a sphere that is getting too close to reality for my taste. We are already slaves to an economic wheel that grinds us down to ever-competing clones, we are slaves to our watches, and helpless in the face of industrial giants controlling the government that we're supposed to be in charge of. So why is nothing happening? What final spark is needed to set off the ticking time bomb that we're supposed to be? "The people shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people" as fictional character V so nicely put it. And that statement holds so much truth that has just been lost in our days. We are supposed to be the ones electing and controlling the politicians, they're supposed to be acting at our bidding, and not the other way round. But we can elect whoever the fuck we want nowadays, they'll still move the political landscape in the same direction. And this powerlessness only stems from an overall apathy that has taken hold of mankind. We're not empowered individuals. We're fucking clones working in a mechanical system serving a purpose whose existence we're not even aware of. So please, somebody, anybody just wake me up and tell me I've fallen asleep whilst watching a dystopian movie of sorts. And although I know that that's not going to happen, and that some major shit will have to go down before anything changes, I also realize that I cannot offer a feasible solution to any of these issues. I am after all just some guy in some apartment typing words on a broken laptop, watching Lucky Number Slevin on national TV. A nice movie by the way. But of no concern for this topic...

Anyway. The essential message I am trying to convey here is that we're moving closer and closer to being completely controlled and supervised by governments gone rogue. And that we'll need some sort of major happening before any of that changes. Not meaning that I want you to start attacking government officials and buildings, but rather something like forming a party and working the system to destroy or at least properly reform it from the inside-out. Or at least do something for Fuck's sake!

But it's getting late, and I am getting tired. Plus I am once again not really feeling... well per se. Which is due to some recent turmoil that has once again been throwing me off track lately. Yes, as mentioned in the very first sentences, social intertwining is turning ugly on me once again. Or at least I think so, I am actually simply baffled by some of the things I have been exposed to lately, starting with being ignored leading to being barely contacted then to myself ignoring which did not affect the other party in the least bit. And now everything seems to have reset itself, and all is supposedly right again. Or is it? Am I just mindlessly perpetuating a status quo because I feel that that is the way it should be? Or am I actual still part in a viable symbiosis that enriches both parts within it? And that that is something I actually have to ask myself pretty much says it all, doesn't it? Although I cannot for the life of me imagine that that's the case. I don't want this ship to sink again in order to restart at haven once again like it has a couple of times now already. On the other hand I don't want it to crash and go down forever like the Titanic did either. So I find myself, as usually, at an impasse. Too fucking bad. I am just going to go on and see where this path leads me, I am too exhausted emotionally to keep digging into what I believe to be seeing in this context. If shit happens, I'll notice when it does, no need to have an inner shit-alarm going off at the slightest of farts, to keep that metaphor alive. So I am once again choosing the path of least resistance, like electricity would. Trust me though, in this intertwining this is the best way to go. Things tend to sort themselves out, and albeit knowing this to be untrue in most aspects of life, in this particular case it most definitely is. 
So, I am just going to wait for the banshees to cry for my relationship, and if there's enjoyable time left until that I am looking forward to it, and if not, well, that's just life. As fucking cliche as that fucking phrase is.

But fuck all that. My vocabulary is starting to recede to only swearwords, my eyes are getting heavy, and my thoughts are starting to slowly drift off into a comfortable lull of nothingness... So I hope I managed to open some eyes with this Food For Thought, which I know slightly differed in style when compared to the others. But I kept to the normal underlying concept that has always been present in these entries. And well, I hope I approached these topics, well-known from earlier entries, in an angle that was different enough as to not bore but rather entertain and educate you.

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” - George Orwell, 1984

So, this concludes this Food For Thought which was not overly long but of adequate length I suppose. As expressed above I hope I was still able to entertain you and appeal to your reading aesthetics.
And as always, I'll leave you with some good music: 

Bob Dylan - The Time They Are A Changin' 
-> I chose this version on YouTube for a reason. Because asides from simply being a really cool and nicely melodic song, it also holds some great truths that are also being conveyed in the movie Watchmen which was based on a comic by Alan Moore, the same guy who brought us the original comic for V For Vendetta. And the movies made from these comics are almost equally political and controversial, meaning that if you haven't seen or read either of them, go do so now, and... Enjoy!

Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky 
-> Well, this gem right here was played at Hunter S. Thompson's funeral, which is pretty damn awesome to say the least. And besides that, the song in itself is really awesome, makes me feel like riding a motorcycle at high speed whilst high on speed down some lonely-ass motorway in the American countryside... Never done that before, but that feels like the kind of song to do it to, so... Enjoy!

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa - Young, Wild & Free 
-> Blablabla, mainstream, too often heard, blablablabla, save it! This right here is the first Weed song that has been nominated for a fucking Grammy award. And that is a huge fucking accomplishment if you ask me. Besides from that, I frigging love Snoop, and also enjoy Wiz Khalifa's work, so this by now classic tune needed featuring on here, and well the timeless carpe diem message it delivers obviously speaks to me, so... Enjoy!

Jay-Z - 99 Problems 
-> If you're reading from Germany, this song (like some others in previous posts) will not be accessible to you due to some fucked up people with no life working for a bloodsucking parasite called "GEMA". Well, fuck them I say. "unblockyoutube.ws" (Have Adblock installed before accessing this page!!). And you're good to go. Besides that, I cannot believe I have not had this song on here before, and well - it's a classic tune full of humorous lines, with a political nudge here and there, and an awesome catchy pre-hook line: "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one!"... Enjoy!

Secoya - Run 
-> "Old but gold" seems to be UKF's policy for its latest uploads, but I like it! Epically vocalized track with awesome drops and nice melodic goodness in it! I love this synthesized voice combining with electronic melodies leading to drops of epic proportions, and UKF is a constant source of just that! Awesome upload by them, great artist, great track, great everything basically! Just an awesome tune, so... Enjoy!

Eptic - Space Cats
-> Once again UKF does not fail to fucking amaze me! This song is so fucking filthy and awesome, I can barely find the words to describe it. An interesting melody, coupled with a hard-hitting bass that is playing Frisbee with the remains of my burned-off ears... Just grand, grand music, from a great artist, uploaded by the greatest channel for Dubstep music on the web! I am getting this tingling sensation in my stomach when I listen to this, which means that I am going to listen to this so much that I can't stand hearing it anymore... Enjoy!

Well, this turned out to be rather jumpy, erratic and shallow for a Food For Thought segment, but well I do hope it still holds some value for you and did not bore you to death. I am just happy I managed to finish this thing now, and would once again like to extend my apologies to you guys for taking eleven days to actually post again... But well, seeing as my internet at home is back up, I might get around to posting more regularly in the near future! 
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this FFT and are a little smarter because of it, or were at least enticed to rethink a couple of things, you know the deal...


Peace!