Oh how I used to love maths

For precisely these reasons:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/take-it-to-the-limit/?src=me&ref=homepage

The problem is with age, is that you completely forget the things that you used to find exciting and fascinating when you were younger, because you just assume that you know them. And even if you now have an imperfect knowledge of them, you just assume that it is because you can't really remember them properly. But because it seems like a step backwards to go and relearn them again, you're happy with your imperfect memory of them, mainly because the bulk of your learning is set, your philosophies and priorities are somehow set, and you don't really want to go back and rethink everything. Mainly because it's a massive drag and has no practical application to your life - just as you expected most of school was when you were there.
I don't think I really miss those days when I was young and ignorant of learning, I just wish that I wasn't constantly reminded of how in the world I have no complete knowledge of, and especially how it's a constant Sisyphean task trying to know everything about the world. Even if most of that knowledge may be abstract and wholly impractical, it's real in some way, and it's a shame that with every avenue I venture through and recognise, there is a new, wider avenue that opens up at its end.
I remember once being told that Beethoven, on his deathbed, said something in the sense of the fact that he feels as only he has only begun to understand the world and there is still so much he hasn't yet mastered. And then there are the rest of us, who have to live in the knowledge that if Ludwig so moaned, we really aren't trying hard enough or seem to be content with too little.

Song 10

Note: Never get the singer to direct the video.
Great song though.


Beach House "Silver Soul" from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

Song 9

Really pretty video, nice song.


Fleet Foxes "Mykonos" from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

Talking of horrible things going mainstream...

I meant to post this yesterday, but didn't for some reason. In any case, here is yesterday's bile:
In the WSJ today, another conservative seemingly comes out in favour of Sarah Palin as a valid candidate. I fear this may be some kind of trend, as a party devoid of any sensible leadership begins to grasp at straws.  What seriously annoys me, however, is that Republicans still have interesting candidates and a compelling ideology, but they are destroying it by listening to their increasingly socialist-resembling rabble. Urgh. It makes my blood boil that people are so inept at seeing the complexity of governing that they would prefer waste over some kind of attempt at streamlining as Obama has tried to do with healthcare. The US has one of the most inefficient markets for healthcare, it's deeply troubling and needs sorting out, and people are calling some kind of attempt at removing market inefficiencies socialism?
I have serious issues with the healthcare bill that has been passed (namely the cynical pandering to the left by Obama on some issues), but my main issue has been with the nature of opposition which was and is completely undignified. The counter-arguments that I've heard by the Republican party have been some of the most shocking examples of a party which is so mixed up between what is a truly socialist and what is a populist agenda that the sum of all its parts does not constitute any kind of reply. The continuation of that fact is the seeming embrace of people like Sarah Palin, who have no coherent world-view either and it all makes for a scathing slap in the face to serious conservatism, which should be about tempering society to responsibly embrace new realities and not a soulless opposition to debate. They both go against what Protestantism was all about in the first place, and their opposition to the idea of a more streamlined government, flies in the face of supposed support for capitalism.

Image 3

There are some other great ones on this site also, but this has to be the most shocking.
However, I see that paedophilia is seemingly going mainstream, so maybe, in a few years...

Song 8

Ok, four things here:
1. Why did they remix it when the previous version was superior?
2. While this video does look good, it feels like it's an idea for another completely different song and I don't think it captures the playful spirit of the song at all.
3. I'm glad they re-released it, but why not wait another month until the summer really hits?
4. I'm getting really tired of the 1st person perspective in filmmaking these days. I get why it's seemingly so popular, but it just seems wrong to be so overused in a media which works best in objective mode.

That is all. Also, this was my favourite song of last summer, so a) I'm like so ahead of the times, b) I'm a douche (cf. point (a)), c) I wish I could have directed the video.

Ugly as f*ck

This must be a truly horrible place to work. I mean, sure, you can say that you can't really do much with cubicles and boardrooms, but still, colour is not always the answer. I don't know what it is, but it seriously is reminiscent of McDonald's to me.

Ahmadinejad

Just very quickly about this:
I love the outrage people feel when Ahmadinejad does it, but the fact that people in the western world actually buy into these conspiracies seems to leave most people pretty cold.
One day, I would like to meet the dark overlords of our world and tell them what a horrible job they are doing at being subtle about their operations - seemingly every moderately-educated teenager has uncovered their plans.

Song 7: I frickin love this song at the moment

And I love the shot of the salami at the beginning. Salami always makes a great party.

Great re-imagined posters for films

Brilliant posters - just came across this today.

From www.ollymoss.com