Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you.

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I.

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

~ Joanna Kantharia

Dear Big Content,

I love your movies. Especially the ones that are all s’plodey and where stuff flies off the screen. And I love your records, the Led Zeppelin catalog in particular. I’ve always been a good customer: I don’t infringe, and I’m loyal to a fault. But I do have a few questions for you.

First, why do you treat me and my friends like punks? We buy your stuff. But you make it really hard to do it in a way that fits with our digital reality. I’m looking at you, movie and TV peeps. You really want me to accept the violation of a decades-old consumer compact whereby we could rent a movie on the same day it was available to purchase? Do you really think that making me wait TWO MONTHS to be able to rent Mars Needs Moms on DVD (I’m not even talking streaming) is going to drive me into Best Buy to plunk down for the petrochemical disc? Do you secretly like piracy? Because that’s exactly what you’re encouraging.

And music guys: how come you create the conditions where there are only three companies that can afford to offer your wares? Do you know how much fucking money you’re leaving on the table by clinging to your prehistoric licensing terms? Once upon a time there was this disruptive, infringing technology called radio. Completely freaked song publishers out. They wanted to force every broadcaster to pay an individually negotiated amount for every spin. In hindsight, that seems not only inefficient but imbecilic. Maybe the government needs to step up and prod you goofballs towards more internet-friendly terms. I bet you could even keep your car service! Now, I know that you fought the phonograph. And the CD. And the MP3. But you don’t have much fight left in you. So the time to get your shit together is probably now. And yes, me and my friends will be paying VERY close attention to make sure that the artist splits are fair. Because frankly, I’m not all that convinced that you’re providing much value anymore. Consider this your opportunity to be cut into the future while you still have a chance.

And would you please get a basic grasp of how the internet works? Why are you so keen to demonize an entire class of technology? Let’s take search for example. I can look up a recipe to make hash brownies. Or I can look up a recipe to make regular brownies. Now, we all know that those criminal scumbags offering the former must be dealt with in the severest possible manner. But what you’re proposing is like blowing up the entire library because you don’t like that the card catalog system tells you which shelf has the book on hash brownies. Are you really this boneheaded? I get that you’re jealous about Google making bajillions from search. But is that a reason to compromise a mechanism upon which millions of global internet users rely? I guess it’s true what they say: the entertainment industry isn’t all about the money — it’s about ALL the money.

Also, could you please stop pretending that the SOPA/PIPA debacle was about Silicon Valley vs. Hollywood? (Or, as you prefer to characterize it, homespun creators vs. Google.) Literally millions of internet users — many of them copyright holders — had issues with your overreaching bills. They didn’t jump into a controversial intellectual property debate because they wanted to. They felt compelled to, due to the fact that big-money industry lobbying groups like yours were attempting to speak for them.

So kindly cut it out.

I want to be your friend. But you don’t make it easy. The arrogance, belligerence and outright bullying that you employ is hardly endearing yourselves to an entire new generation of creators and rightsholders. If I wasn’t so goddamn genteel, I’d go ahead and list some of that stuff. But unlike you, I have a modicum of class.

Consider this a friendly bit of advice from someone who cares. The road you’re going down leads to disaster and heartbreak. But it’s not too late to turn around.

Your pal,
Casey

You can’t say the ruling Mullahs don’t have a sense of humor. In response to US demands that Iran return a RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone that went down over the eastern part of Iran, the country’s leaders have agreed to send back a toy version worth about four bucks.

The drone’s capture back in December 2011 sparked some debate in intelligence and military circles about whether to launch an operation to destroy it, or simply leave it in Iranian hands. The former was decided to be too risky, so the US ultimately chose to send a formal letter requesting the drone be returned. The same week they also sent letters requesting Justin Bieber stop being so damned adorable and for Tim Tebow to convert to Satanism.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials claim to have finished extracting data from the unmanned aircraft. They also plan to file a lawsuit against the United States in US courts for alleged invasion of their airspace. Good luck finding a friendly bench, fellas.

All of this makes one wonder why, with such sophisticated technology, there isn’t some kind of destruct mechanism on these drones. I suppose the lack of such a failsafe is why “military intelligence” remains an oxymoron.

Ah well, at least the President will have an interesting new paperweight for his desk in the Oval Office.

Regular readers will be familiar with Canadian futurist and ethicist George Dvorsky, whose excellent site Sentient Developments explores topics related to science, technology, human performance and the moral imperative to expand rights of personhood to certain non-human animals. We’ve linked to SD dozens of times over the years, and George was even good enough to let us do some guest blogging back before we got too busy to populate our own damn site.

George is also the Chairman of the Board at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies as well as the program director for the Rights of Non-Human Persons Program.

We’re happy to count George among our personal friends, which makes it that much more fun to tell you about his podcast, which we listened to all the time back in the day. Besides the cool discussions, we were always really impressed with George’s choices in music for the program. (Dude’s got some big ears!) Now the podcast is back in full force, and we encourage you to check it out. The official feed is here; you can get it through iTunes right here.

Another pal, Michael Nordstrom (aka Nerdstrom, aka Mondhexe, aka fifty other things), has taken his obsession with über-legendary kaiju character Garamon to an absurd and fairly fucking awesome new level. Already the proprietor of fan site Garamania, Nerdstrom is now attempting to become Garamon.

We’re not kidding.

Check out the Kickstarter page for The Becoming of Garamike project, through which Nerdstrom is attempting to raise a mere $2,200 to get a couple of pro sculptors and makeup artists to help him, erm, make the transition. Here’s the official description:

Yes, at last… no longer content to merely document and celebrate the world’s favorite clunky, crusty, fish-lipped, oil-belching, high-rise-wrecking meteorite monster… I, Michael Nordstrom (Nerdstrom), Proprietor of Garamania, being of warped mind and highly costume-tolerant body… have decided to becomeGaramon (actually, Garamike).  Working with ultra-talented professional sculptors/make-up artists Michael Ridge and Michael Turner and a whole lot of alginate, foam and silicone, I will be alchemically transformed into a being as outwardly Garamonic as I could ever hope to be. Our design honors the original suit while adding some cutting-edge components (including the face, which will be a form-fitting silicone masterwork of Gara-expressiveness).  Our goal is to complete work on at least the initial phase (head, hands, feet and tail) by the opening night of GARAMANIACAL, the all-Garamon, all-Pygmon art show I am curating for FOE Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts (the current image for this project is a section of an incredible painting by Jason Edmiston, which will be on display at the show).  On opening weekend, my hope is to be a Gara-transformed barker and ballyhoo-er, stomping the snowy streets of Northampton to connect the public at large to the show, turning them on to works of Garamonstrous art that they didn’t even realize they needed in their lives (but they do… they definitely do).  The funds you contribute will help us meet this goal, as well as further us on the road to completing a full suit in the foreseeable future.

Backers should know that this will not be a short-term transformation.  Once granted the powers of Gara-becoming by Ridge and Turner, I will be able to become my Gara-self at any time, night or day… I plan to fully inhabit this suit, mustering all of my performance experience to truly bring it to life as a Gara-character unto itself.  Just as Jandek was Ready For The House, I am Ready For The Suit. I have a slew of mindbenderly projects in mind for my Gara-persona… YOU, the audience, will:

THRILL! at the sight of Garamike hosting a delightfully art-damaged musical variety show, to be produced for local cable access (also to be broadcast online);

GASP! while watching Garamike deliver gripping, novel musical performance art happenings to delight and inspire legions of like-monstrous folk (again, to be captured on video for cable and online broadcast);

GUFFAW! at frequent photoplay amusements featuring Garamike, to be posted to Garamania… and much, much more!

This may sound strange, but is it really any weirder than, say, Dolly Parton’s face in that thar new singin’ contest movie?

Best to both of our buds in their quest for excellence!

The stock market has sure been twitchy lately, hasn’t it? But that’s not all. What with the economic turmoil in Europe, the perennial threat of our own government being shut down by further gridlock in Congress, relentlessly radical statements and completely insane “plans” coming from various presidential candidates, it’s easy to see why people are just scared shitless. I know I am.

But enough of that negativity. If we’re going to move forward and heal, we need a potential future to focus on, something besides imagining ourselves running screaming into the night. Let’s see what the art of Tarot has to offer in the way of guidance. Here is my latest reading.

1 Present: The Moon
Things may not be as they seem, and we all know they probably aren’t. But that doesn’t stop us from howling at the moon about it.

2 Crossing: 6 of Swords
A long journey — not a fun one. We’re stuck on this trip until it’s over, friend.

3 Goal: 5 of Swords
We want to totally kick the ass of this recession. Hopefully it works like that. Apparently, that is how we’re approaching this problem.

4 Distant past: King of Wands
Oh remember when we all thought we could just elect the right guy president and we’d have a perfect future? Wealth, productivity, and an honest, hardworking government working for our best interest? This card does.

5 Recent past: 7 of Cups
Dude, we’ve been living a fantasy. We thought we’d get all our wildest dreams just like *poosh* but it didn’t happen, did it?

6 Future influence: 6 of Cups
Yeah, we’re pretty much stuck on our childhood fantasies about the American dream — and that’s what’s going to have the biggest influence on this year’s election.

7 Questioner: 4 of Pentacles
We want our damn money. If we already have any, we’re holding on to it for dear life. If we’re looking for money, watch out, because we think we’re pretty hardcore.

8 Environment: 7 of Wands
People are freaking out, you guys. People are ready to kick some ass and start some shit. It’s like that.

9 Hopes: The Star
What do we want? Apparently we want, more than anything, hope. We want an answer to our prayers. A light to shine in the darkness. And that’s a big deal.

10 Outcome: The Tower
What’s to come of all this? Well it’s not going to be sunshine and roses right away. Shit’s going to get real. But the only possible solution is a do-over — destroy what we know, and create anew. Not at all a small thing.

There’s been tremendous buzz around director David Fincher‘s interpretation of the novel Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — the beach book to end all beach books. By now, anyone with a pulse knows that Fincher’s film follows a Swedish movie that received high marks from critics and audiences. Having just seen the American translation, I can say outright that it tops the Swedish version, and also manages to improve on Stieg Larsson‘s original novel in a number of ways.

Larsson didn’t exactly do filmmakers any favors with his clunky and overly-descriptive yarn. In between lengthy inventories of what characters had for lunch (usually any combination of Aquavit, small sandwiches, coffee and something called Billy’s Pan Pizza), the author delivered unflinching observations of murder and degradation, particularly those acts committed against females. His real contribution to literature, however, is the introduction of an indelible character named Lisbeth Salander — a petite and ferocious young woman who has been chewed up and spat out by institutions ostensibly there to protect people like her. The novel strongly suggests that Salander may be a high-functioning autistic, which may make her the first officially Aspergian detective hero (though I’ve long suspected Sherlock Holmes). In Lisbeth, Larsson created a character both irresistible and off-putting, characteristics that would be difficult for any actress to evoke — particularly when said heroine doesn’t do a lot of talking.

Noomi Rapace played Salander in the Swedish film, and did a fine job of it. Still, Rapace’s portrayal made Lisbeth’s behavior seem like a choice, rather than the product of systematic mistreatment, an iron will or neurological wiring. She was also likely a bit too old for the part. Numerous characters in the novel are continuously surprised — often at their own peril — to discover that this antisocial creature who is often mistaken for a young teen is such a dynamo. Rooney Mara, on the other hand, captures every nuance of this hard-to-pin-down character — from autistic inwardness to intellectual curiosity to explosive rage.

It helps that Mara is physically closer to the Salander in the book, painfully thin and angular, with features that nevertheless could be seen as attractive if not for the deliberate attempts to obscure them with body mortification and a yanked-up hoodie. Credit must be given to whoever designed her wardrobe, which improves greatly on the dated techno-nihilist look of the Swedish film. Fincher and Co. must have spent some time observing pissy crustpunks and misanthropic hackers in real life. (Insert OWS joke here.)

What Mara really brings to the role is ice-cold detachment and a palpable lust for information, especially that transmitted through electronic devices. With precision comportment and a credible Swedish accent, Mara embodies Lisbeth Salander on a cellular level. Whether she’s piecing together clues at superhuman speed, enacting rough justice upon an abuser, or engaging in rapacious lovemaking, this Lisbeth is a force to be reckoned with. I’m still somewhat in awe that a relatively unknown actress could pull off such an arresting performance.

Fincher’s filmmaking style is perfect for at least the first tale in Larsson’s trilogy. The mood is chilly and pensive throughout, and mostly manages to avoid the book’s narrative stumbling blocks. I’m not sure what kind of impression will be generated in viewers who haven’t read the novel, but I’m guessing there’s enough intrigue to entertain. Fincher manages to thread the book’s numerous characters and subplots together in a way that Larsson would have done well to take note of, were he alive to see it.

Daniel Craig is also fantastic. His Mikael Blomkvist is a huge improvement over the Swedish actor, and definitely more likable than the character in the book. (It’s pretty clear that Larsson was writing the fantasy version of himself — a heroic whistleblowing reporter who is, despite advancing middle age, irresistible to women of every conceivable variety.) But it’s not Daniel Craig’s movie. It’s Rooney Mara’s, and she positively owns it. It’s also nice to see Robin Wright as Erica Berger, Blomkvist’s partner at Millennium Magazine (and in the sack). She, too, is leaps and bounds above her predecessor.

If you even marginally liked the book, I expect you’ll really dig the movie. If you’re one of those people who rolls their eyes at American “remakes” of foreign films, get over it. Fincher’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is simply superior.

In fact, I look forward to seeing it again this weekend.

I’ve censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet — legislation that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop internet censorship, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/15233/uncensor

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Welcome to the first post of my new series! In Dispatches From the Mat, we will examine the lifestyle and philosophy of yoga, and what makes up a fully developed yoga practice (hint: it isn’t being able to stand on your head). I hope you will be part of the discussion and join me in the search for union, for the true Self and the true nature of reality.

There is a passage in the Katha Upanishad with which I deeply identify. Yama, lord of death, has granted young Nachiketa three boons, in reparation for the three days the boy waited at Death’s palace while Yama was away. Nachiketa’s first two requests were fairly practical: a return of the love of his father and instructions on how to properly practice a ritual which leads to spiritual development. For his third blessing, however, Nachiketa asks for the secret of death. Yama answers by saying, “That’s over your head, boy, ask for something else,” but Nachiketa sticks to his guns. Yama tries to tempt him with wonderous offerings:

Ask for sons and grandsons who will live a hundred years. Ask for herds of cattle,

elephants and horses, gold and vast lands, and ask to live as long as you desire.

Or, if you can think of anything more desirable, ask for that,

with wealth and long life as well. Nachiketa, be the ruler of a great kingdom,

and I will give you the utmost capacity to enjoy the pleasures of life.

Ask for beautiful women with loveliness rarely seen on earth, riding in chariots,

skilled in music, to attend on you. But Nachiketa,

don’t ask me about the secret of death.

To which Nachiketa answers:

These pleasures last but until tomorrow, and they wear out the vital powers of life.

How fleeting is all life on earth! Therefore keep your horses and chariots,

dancing and music, for yourself. Never can mortals be made happy by wealth.

It is an unfortunate truth of our world that most people seek comfort and luxury, as well as all sorts of pleasures, as opposed to seeking wisdom or lasting joy. Those things that we are taught to want, that our senses most desire, are very difficult to turn our backs on. I am as guilty as the next person — and was even more so when I was younger — of falling for the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” ploy. Putting myself in Nachiketa’s shoes, I doubt I would have held fast as he did. The offer of beautiful women is tempting, but the offer of beautiful women skilled in music? That would likely have broken me. Especially as I may have been a little nervous to begin with, what with the whole speaking-to-the-Lord-of-the-Dead thing.

But Nachiketa has the right idea. he knows that all these pleasures are empty. He knows that they drain the natural energy (prana) that fuels us. Bodily pleasures are hard to turn down, but they lead to the desire for more bodily pleasures, whereas wisdom leads to the search for more wisdom. When we learn to turn ourselves away from the constant need for pleasure and luxury, we will find that we are more aware of what it is that we actually want, and that those wants come from a place far deeper than the wants of the body and senses.

This is key to a true yoga practice. In understanding what it is we really want, and in recognizing the wants that come from the Self as opposed to the self, we are tapping into our absolute nature, that exists beyond our bodies. It is this nature that was not born, that will not die. The goal of yoga is not to be strong or flexible or sexy. It is to gain knowledge of reality. All lower goals, all sensual desires, are merely illusion (maya). Yoga literally translates as “yoke,” meaning the joining of our minds and bodies in their true nature. When we begin to move beyond the illusion of our lives, we see reality, and it is a beautiful thing.

WARNING: If your vehicle has one of these saccharine-sweet, stick-figure family stickers on it, it is a portent of DOOM and must be removed and destroyed immediately! I know, you probably thought it was just a whimsical, 21st-century way of saying “Baby on Board,” but as it turns out, the Universe is not such a whimsical place. I’d advise removing these stickers at once to avoid attracting your worst nightmares. If you have the clever ‘parody’ version where the family is all skeletons, I’m afraid this doesn’t make much difference — you have invited the same horror, only in a marginally more ironic manner.

Take care, and beware. If it’s any condolence, there’s still nothing out there that cares about your honor student.

Aries (March 21-April 20)
You know what they say: There’s no time like the present. Better get going with that big taxidermy project now, before you completely lose your nerve.

Taurus (April 21-May 20)
That Manhattan you’ve been thinking about all day might be just the thing. But you should try it with Canadian whiskey this time. You’re welcome.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Time to lay low for a bit. Remember how you used to like playing ‘fort’ with the couch cushions? Yeah. It’s fort time.

Cancer (June 21-July 21)
If you keep picking at it, you’re only going to make it worse. I’m just saying. No really, stop it.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 21)
Well congratulations! Everyone pretty much thinks you’re as awesome as you suspected. But next time you should pick up the tab.

Virgo (Aug. 22-Sept. 21)
Give it some more time. I know you’re really impatient, but a watched pot doesn’t grow legs and develop sentience overnight. Also you have to leave some really funky stuff in it.

Libra (Sept. 22-Oct. 21)
You should probably just not leave your bathroom for about a month. We both know why.

Scorpio (Oct. 22-Nov. 21)
We get it, you’re really intense and ‘different’ — the rest of us still appreciate a heads up before you creatively destroy our everyday lives for your art.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
That dog you saw last Tuesday has the soul of your great uncle, and he was trying to tell you something. Learn to understand his beautiful new language.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Hang in there, champ. Everything is falling into place. Soon they’ll be eating out of your hand. Just don’t freak out if you still don’t get exact change.

Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19)
You have some mighty grand ideas, some of which aren’t even crazy. Figure out which ones those are and totally go for it.

Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20)
Whoa, calm down. Don’t do anything rash. You’ll feel much better after you re-read the Harry Potter series.