Sewers of Babel : braineel

Here are some selected images from Martin Waugh's "Liquid Sculptures," they are in essence photos of liquids in various states of activity. There is much more to be found on his site linked above.

Here is a short tidbit from Waugh's artistic statement from his site:

I orchestrate these sculptures by accurately aiming the drops and releasing them with precise timing. As nature takes its course, I photograph the unfolding forms using a digital camera and electronic flash.

I instigate the myriad of shapes by varying the drops' trajectories and manipulating their physical properties. Color, viscosity, and surface tension are controlled with dye, glycerin, and soap.

I composed 401k (audio linked in title) as a tribute to William S. Burroughs shortly after his death, I thought it might be time to share it. Those of a more mystical bent will enjoy the fact that I was visited by Burroughs in a dream. We sat together on a park bench and spoke, eventually he told me, "well you know i gotta go . . ." and he looked off kinda sadly, rose, put on his hat and placed his jacket over his arm and turned around to give me a hug. As we broke the embrace he gave me a paternalistic kiss on the lips, I slipped him the tongue He looked at me strangely then half-smiled and walked into what I knew to be eternity.

Ethanol may not be the solution many think it is.

Low corn prices and high oil prices, and a government subsidy of 51 cents per gallon have fuelled unprecedented growth of the ethanol industry. In the case of the U.S. ethanol industry, fossil fueled trucks ship the fuel halfway across the country from the population sparse corn belt to population and car dense states like California and Texas. Science magazine found only a 13% reduction in CO2 emissions for bioethanol over gasoline (and only 11% for E85 fuel). U.S. government federal records show a single ADM corn processing plant in Clinton, Iowa generated nearly 20,000 tons of pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds in 2004. The EPA considers an ethanol plant as a "major source" of pollution if it produces more than 100 tons of any one pollutant per year. From an emissions standpoint it is far preferable to drive a fuel efficient gasoline car than a low efficiency flex fuel vehicle running on E85.

E85 fuel is not a solution. It is a distraction, like hydrogen vehicles. Further, every E85 vehicle is also a gasoline-compatible vehicle. It will maintain demand for petroleum as long as it is on the road. If you want to end oil addiction you have to get rid of the things which use it.

This eye-opening article gives a brief overview of what ethanol/E85
is, how difficult it is to make, distribution problems, and tells of who is behind the push to consider E85 a mile-stone in alternative energy and why it should not be seen that way.

Here is a more viable use for corn.

Here is one for the books, how about we consider for a moment that the proliferation of democracy, as those in the currently in power in the united states envision it, is flawed, consider momentarily that the U.S. is founded on much more than simple democracy. Constitutional democracy, is the rule of law in the United States of America, and that there were certain precepts foundational to the establishment of said government, for instance the fact that the majority of folks balked at the idea of a constitution without a "bill of rights" attached, or that instrumental to the idea of "American democracy" is a key ingredient, "separation of church and state" which no right thinking muslim would agree to, and which i fear no RIGHT thinking U.S. citezen would agree to. Screw gun contol, the next arseface in a hummer that cuts me off in traffic will be met happily in a non-partisan ak-47 to their righteous bung-hole. As I am known for saying "rock and roll, lock and load, it's the end o' the world Ma!"

Stop waging wars on broad concepts: "drugs" "war" and even "poverty." This manner of naming causes or movements "wars" is absolutely absurd and destructive. War on a vague concept such as terrorism is ridiculous, unwinnable, and dangerous. Apparently this empty rhetoric of the "War on Terror" has great sway over folks in the west to such a degree that perpetual surrender of civil liberties and the ideals of freedom, on which many of the west nations thrive, is not only acceptable but prefered over latent feeling of fear. The a vague [though realistic] fear of an attack in civilian populations, has allowed the passage of legislation any thinking person must reject.

Western Policy promotes the democratization of foreign states and the replacement of religious rulers while at the same time diminishing liberty, borrowing from countries that are not democratic [China] to wage war on an idea, a war with inmumerable fronts in dozens of nations, at the same time fearlessly wielding such terminology as "axis of evil" and even "Crusade" as if none of us has read a book. What I think is most wonderful is that in the U.S. all of this is being led buy a devoutly religious man whose holy text has made a majority of its followers believe the world would end within their life time.

Can terrorism be stopped? Can Poverty? and about drugs I laugh . . . why stop there? Let's start some other fights we cannot win and hurl resources at them: War on foul language, War on prostitution, War on God, the War on Evil . . .

I not saying that something should not be done to adress terrorism, poverty and drugs, I am saying that calling our efforts to resolve these problems war is a step in the wrong direction.

Do an image search for patriot, the U.S. is not about us anymore, we have abandoned the wonderful intellectual tradition of the west in favor of new patriotism and patriotism is an act.

Such Grace alas, as many seek
I am withall though naught I speak.
The many pleasures flesh canst bear
I love as wholesome though not fair.
Foulest time that will debauch
I call my own and eyes I watch.
In chasms gritty lust-shot and wanton
I am long-standing as any phantom.
Whether the boom shall reach a farther shore
I leave as another lovely devil's chore.
Erase all spasm before entering such gates
I yet forebear the great and old disgrace.

1. braineel

an insidious thought: a meme.

Christianity worms its way into your head, like a braineel.
tags meme thought insidious spread viral virus infectious
by Sean Roberts Key West Dec 22, 2005 email it

These are my words and my definition as submitted to urban dictionary and urbandictionary.com verbatim and credited to someone else . . .

Braineel is brian lee anagramized, as i sought good anagrams i saw it and it popped! because . . . I had hear of a monster in dungeons and dragons called a braineel. . . {}

I thought it was so cool, and most of my web prescence is in that name. As the word meme began to have prowess as a term describing what it had itself become I bound the notion to my moniker. In a fit of shameless self-promotion i submitted this definition (i mean this exact one) to urbandictionary.com.

Here is one net result

I am outranked by my own writing to a larger site and not credited.