Today is 25th December.
A day that people, no matter if they like or hate, remember. Christ's birth.
However, I find something more important about that day. Today is, in a way, like St. Valentine's day, only better. And while you are asking yourselves, "What the fuck?!", let me explain.
Each year, on the 25 December, we are reminded something extremely valuable, something precious. Or at least, we are given the opportunity to remember that something (we all know that out of 6.5 billion people, there is bound to be one psychically poor person that will not get the idea).
It is something extremely, as if almost unnaturally simple, something crucial and absolutely logical. Obviously, I'm talking about something that humanity ignores; that thing is too simple for our complex thinking.
On 25 December, we are reminded to give /like on St. Valentine's we're reminded to love/. Without question, without any thought 'why' (or at least, it should be like that), we simply give what we can. On the days around Christmas, for a very short window of time, we actually behave... in a good manner towards everybody.
"Merry Christmas!" You hear, "Happy holidays," wishes and relaxed smiles.
Some claim that Christmas is naught but a pagan festival for the rising of the sun (the days start growing again, just a couple of days after the longest night), they say that it's not really something we should celebrate.
I would say nothing but the fact that not celebrating this wonderful day is punishment enough for being against it. Because on that day, we're reminded how we should treat others every day, how we should stop reading only the 'take' part of the "to give and take" part and notice the first bit as well.
On that day, our Sun is truly rising. And my wish to you would be for every day to be like today.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
What separates Man from God?
Power, knowledge, wisdom, rationality... but most importantly, immortality. In a world where the body is a cult for which we sacrifice the souls of many x-virgins and the bodies of equally as many gingers (sorry, couldn't pass by, internal joke, no offense), what utterly should divide Man from God (or at least, Man thinks so) is that God would possess yet another dream of Man -- immortality.
Technically, Man has some sort of immortality. And that would be history. Especially with the invention of the Internetz (perhaps the Internet IS a God, after all?), a man's life could be kept in others' memories even more efficiently. Even if he or she would be forgotten, St Michael of Internet would keep his soul (=history), until somebody some day finds it, only to revive it from the ashes.
But for Man, this is not enough. Adam recalls Heaven and he's pretty certain that there were no corpses in there. And if there were no corpses, then there were no deaths either. No death, eternal life. Great. Shame somebody went for the golden Apple instead of the juicy steak. At any rate, Adam lost his physical immortality and now wants it back. Science wants it back. Everybody wants it back.
Or do they? I may be stupid enough to comment on immortality at the age of 18, when death is pretty far from me (hopefully, hopefully), however, I notice that quite a lot of people look at immortality as 'not dying'.
And why would anybody not want to die?
The whole beauty is in the loss. If you can't lose, then you don't really win either, do you? I mean, it's like wanting to play the poker game of a lifetime, but with no money. And gambling without anything valuable isn't quite the same, is it?
Death is the only thing that is absolutely certain to happen in our lives. I will die. You will die. The person next to you will die. It's only natural. And, to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. Because this is the perfect gift for mankind -- a gift that gives value, meaning to life, morality even. Every single thing that a person does in his life is in accordance to the fact that he might not have the same opportunity again. That he or she may not live to see another dawn in some distant tomorrow. Doesn't have to be a live-for-the-moment type, but facts are facts -- we know our time is limited. So we cherish it; and to be sure our time would be cherished by the others, we cherish the others' time in return -- common interests (sounds pretty much like business, yes).
Life is nothing without death, just like death would be nothing without life. They are the two sides of the coin. And I'd like my coin intact. So, to you, scientists who seek to stop death -- just go out and grab a burger instead, guys. It's better for all of us ('cept for your stomachs).
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Freedom.
That is the only thing that man's agreed upon. In modern days, we've decided that, since it's no longer in fashion to simply order around people and force them to go fight to their deaths in some foreign place (a noticeable moment in a man's evolution in history has been the moment when so many millions of people had died that he finally asked himself -- "Why?"). As I was saying, as that is no longer an option for politicians to use and abuse, then it's the opposite -- give everybody free will. And then of course, manipulate it.
Recently, I, and probably many many other people who are far more intelligent/ older than me, have realized that neither man, nor woman likes being free.
Freedom is something we've rarely truly possessed and when we do finally have it, it becomes something we like to see blasted into pieces... We're horrified by the idea that it can be taken away, because we've all agreed that it is our duty to pass it on to others willingly. I can almost hear somebody calling out on the market, "Want my freedom? 4.99$, only today! Buy me, get my children for free!"
We've decided that if we'll visit Death earlier than our bodies would expect, then it might as well be our choice instead of somebody else. It might actually be something we want to do. We're tired of dying for other causes that aren't ours. We're tired of having to travel the Globe because a man whose name is now used as a curse word in some places has the inner urge to show the people from the Middle east that his **** is bigger than theirs. Retardedly slow, yes, but eventually, we did it. We've made the step not to want our freedom taken.
So now that we've figured out we don't want some evil despot above our heads dictating our every move, what do we do with our new-found freedom?
Why, give it to somebody, say a freedom adviser, who will use it wisely. Or at least, he tells us so.
It is just so simple when you don't have to make the choices -- when you leave that to someone else, when you leave your freedom to someone else. Then, if he/she screws up, we can blame him/ her as well! And, of course, if we can't blame him/her, we can always blame God, just in case so that we're sure we aren't the ones who made the choices. I could give examples here, but the issue at hand isn't about what is consistently thrown at us as information, it isn't in what I know, what we all know. It's in what we don't know. And the fact that we don't want to know. Because knowing makes things harder and ignorance is bliss, or so the knowledgeable say. Knowing means being able to choose all by yourself, without any manipulation, which is basically having a choice without being able to blame anybody if it turns out a bad idea.
Oh how hard it would be to actually stop and think about the "why?" in our lives that should be fast, progressing, constantly updated, emancipated, independent -- independent from your friends and family, but not from your country or the people who have the money in your country, etc. etc. etc. Nobody asks himself, "Why am I chasing/choosing/saying/doing this?" and when the deed is finally done, nobody asks himself, "Shouldn't I turn back and see if doing it didn't do more harm than good?" Nobody stops and takes a look at his life, pondering is it right or wrong by their own judgment because everybody's too busy rushing through it. We don't think on our actions, that takes time! We just do whatever person A tells us to, no questions asked, because there's no time. Being forced to live as quickly paced as possible, we've ignored our freedom and just picked the first option -- give it to somebody else.
Now, somebody might say that thanks to all the technology, people have started to become weary about manipulation. However, they haven't noted that the manipulators also know that and dedicate a lot of time and definitely a lot of money (of which they have by tons) into making their manipulation unnoticed. And we've ignored that, because we're comfortable with it, as long as it's not too obvious. It's like an unwritten rule that has made its way after we've given our freedom over.
But ignorance is bliss. And freedom -- too much to bear.
P.S. To anybody who is thinking at the moment how knowledge and freedom are connected, well -- if you're presented with only one option because of the lack of knowledge, then you're not really free to choose, are you?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
However, my subject will not be faith. It will be its child -- something that has come out of faith and yet has nothing to do with it. Sometimes, I find it even gets as far as possible from faith, as any child should do at a certain point.
That child's name is religion.
You see, once again, I am not interested in what people believe in. It's their freedom to do so, therefore I do not care, as long as they do not care about me either.
My concern today is more likely to do with, quite bluntly put, how people use it or more precisely put, abuse it. It would seem that one type of abuse unites all people that have/are or will believe in a higher power, no matter race, skin color, accent, religion or intellectual capacity.
And that thing is called blame. To elaborate more, that thing is excusing yourself with someone else who should be held responsible for every single action that you have or will do on this planet.
People do a lot of things in the name of God or because of God. Even more interesting though, it would seem that even if some do not believe in Him (or Her, or It), they hold responsible that same deity for the actions of His believers. Some kill excusing themselves with God, others blame God for being killed and everybody altogether blames God for having to watch such extremities.
God gets stick for everything -- from serious issues as war, poverty, hunger, misery and general disorder to everyday problems such as running out of gas, not getting that job spot you've always wanted, not getting an A++, losing the girl and having to cope with bad weather. Everything that is even slightly irritating or troubling is because of God.
When it gets to finding reasons for our failures, we've got everything figured out.
However, when it comes to good deeds... Well, that's when a lot of people suddenly forget God. A lot of people still don't, notably, but the majority of people are too busy shouting random sounds or thinking how truly awesome they are ("Man, I'm awesome!") to remember the same person who had been responsible for all the trouble so far.
Once again, it would appear that the very first reaction of a person that just succeeded is to think "I deserve this!" Do you now? You're entitled to everything good, because you've suffered at a certain point in your life? Well, what about John over there? He's suffered too, but he lost what you just won. Oh, don't feel guilty for that. Don't blame yourself for taking everything from John. Blame God. That's what John is doing.
Whatever you do though, do forget the two apparently unimportant words 'free will'. Because apparently we're pretending that the moment when God gave man (and woman) free will never happened. Now that moment is just a blank spot in history. We never turned 18 (or in some countries 21), we never got old enough to take responsibility. Anyway, why should we take responsibility? It's so much easier to have the best excuse ever, right?
Hey, it wasn't my fault! It was because of my spiritual dad, who lives in the clouds!
Humanity has existed for quite a while now. But we, humans, are smart. We've stopped pointing fingers at each other. Oh, no, we're better than that. We've figured out that if everybody blames their neighbor, then everybody's other neighbor will blame us.
That's why we started pointing fingers at the only being that will not speak back -- God.
If you ask me, I'd prefer if we could blame God. But we can't, because we have free will. Because supposedly, we can distinguish good from bad. It's what eating that shiny apple got us, according to some interpretations. One of the rather big jumps for mankind has been to decide that no spiritual entity decides its fate. "I can do whatever I want to!" Or at least that's how it started. Then people saw what they'd lose from sticking up to such a statement. Therefore, I'm certain, somewhere there's a secret document of conduct. And it's probably saying:
In a world ruled by man (or woman), God gets the stick. Taking responsibility is simply too much for us at this stage.
Eating the apple got us free will, but no responsibility. Perhaps eating a grape will do the trick this time?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Again, since my creativity title-wise has been defeated by an image of a very famous grandad with a hat, I'll just leave him as a title. First things first, though:
What I'm going to write about today is a very old topic in its essence -- Being told what to and what not to do. However, don't worry, my concerns aren't morals, nor laws, no. It's something far less... well, bluntly put, far less serious and far less boring.
I'm talking about... well, let me quote:
"How can you like playing that?"
"How can you enjoy lifting weights?"
"How can you watch that much TV/movies/whetever?"
"How can you dedicate that much time into anything at all?"
Why should I dedicate time into something I enjoy, you ask? Isn't that quite a silly question? And this isn't just about me -- like always, I'm talking in general here. To me, all these questions sound like a big pile of bull, which could be worded like "I want you to enjoy yourself by doing this and this!"
My question would be "Why should I do something other than what I enjoy in my free time?"
I ask you: how can you not understand that people do what they enjoy (outside their work) because they enjoy it? You ask me how can person A play games for four hours a day, or more? Simply because he/she enjoys it. He relaxes by doing so. It's his leisure activity. From his/hers point of vue, why should he do anything different?
Why can't people accept hobbies that do not match theirs? I mean, if you don't do what most do, then you suddenly don't fit the pattern, do you? Oh, dear lord, whatever shall we do now. Reading is barely accepted, writing -- practically in the weird zone, but that activity doesn't really matter because almost nobody does it anymore (reaching a stage, where people with a lot of diplomas have decided that literature should have meaning and it's worthless if it's just for leisure purposes). Playing games is considered as 'nerdy', listening to music as 'lonely' and 'unsociable', playing any type of instrument -- awe-inspiring (ofc, not that kind of awe that makes other people respect the person, but rather that type of awe that is more like a synonym for 'file under different - weird people').
"You should be outside, talking with others in your spare time! Not doing anything listed above! I would at least."
Has anybody not thought about the mere fact that maybe, just maybe, I, and probably a lot more people, don't want to do what most do? Actually, I'd probably spend a lot more time at home. While for a lot of people being out is Paradise, for me five, six hours spent with anyone but a selected number of people that I know since the dawn of time means Hell. It bores me. It annoys me. Sorry, but this is my way of getting at least some rest from the permanent chains that are society.
Why should I stop doing something that I enjoy? Why shouldn't I do it? It's my choice.
And this stereotype-for-leisure trend is only getting worse. People are starting to tell me when to have fun, how to have fun, WHERE to have it even on a bigger scale -- where to spend my vacations, at which exact school year I should be doing most of my parties, how should I do them. I mean, giving a holiday once in a month, which is practically saying 'have fun on that date', is generally regarded as good, but saying "you should have more fun this year than any other" is getting a bit too far. And I've heard the latter. It's like telling me I should be growing up this school year (which I've also heard). My answer to that is, "Okay, so at what day do I get to stab you in the face? Must be on the leisure list, no?"
I mean... damn! Can't I simply have fun when I want to, how I want to, with whom I want to? Isn't this my goddamn time off?
In my opinion, and what I personally do when somebody tells me something along the lines of "I personally can't imagine myself doing that for enjoyment, how can anybody enjoy it?"
I tell them:
"It's quite simple, really. Everyone is not you. Shocking twist, but deal with it somehow. Think you'll live."
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Finally, a post in English. First though, a note to my (potential) non-English-reading readers.
Ако не разбираш/ не искаш да четеш постове на английски, погледни по-старите постове. Част от тях са на български.
I'll use this instead of any other title. Because it is better than any other title.
What struck me some time ago, like a week or so, was a sentence. A single sentence, which could practically give you a very good idea of what exactly people pay to become a full time member of society.
I really hope you don't stop reading now. Bear with me for a while. Yes, it's one of those anti-society rants, yes, I'm still a part of that same society I'm ranting about... But! Here's the but that's always expected. I believe me, as well as you, the readers, are grown men or more probably women (sorry, folks, world ratio men to women is 40:60 percent, so there's a higher chance that my reader will be a woman) have the perfectly available choice to decide exactly what and for what to pay to become a part of society.
God, that was a long sentence.
Anyway, what struck me was the following sentence in a site that supposedly has some content of "unpopular belief". Lo, and behold what was there, what was in that site that many people would call "bad, stupid, brainless and occultic even":
(with a bit of paraphrase)"We tolerate your beliefs. We tolerate your standards and your religions. We tolerate you. All we ask for is that you do the same -- leave us alone, in peace. We do not oppose your beliefs, we do not mock them. Please don't mock ours."
Now, is it me, or is this quite more intelligent than let's say, half of the fanatical Christians (emphasis on fanatical). It would seem that, just because some beliefs are shared by more people, this majority feels like it should impose its beliefs on everybody else... Convert into believing in Jesus Christ or crucify the non-believers.
Btw, I'm not having anything specific against Christianity specifically, and I'm not an atheist, I'm just against what people do "in the name of God" (although they should add "... and a lot of gold/epeen).
Which returns us to the picture. Yes, it's a picture of zombies. Yes, zombies are mythical, unusual, outside of society creatures, just like whoever wrote that citation (or at least, close to a citation) if we simply stop at that. Unusual, mysterious, not exactly fitting in ("Doh, he/she's like .. a zombie!!!").
However, as to the part of "randomly, brainlessly chasing people that actually use their brains and simply throwing masses and masses of beings until there are no thought left alive"... You probably see where I'm going. As always, like somebody quite smart said... people are driven by two things -- their fears and their sense of entitlement. And it would seem everybody feels entitled to crush the minority's beliefs. I actually searched for a picture where a zombie was chased by a mob of people.
After all, they(the "zombies" in our case) are the minority, right? Who cares about them?
And, since the majority wanting to crush the minority is a fact... we can only hope that society doesn't really have a pyramidal structure (intellect-wise), where the few are actually the smart ones. Since they will soon be extinct.
Ah well, who needs a functioning brain anyway? You can just do whatever everybody else is doing, right? So don't worry. Quickly line up, everybody! Step right up for society! Line up, hand over your brain, you won't even need it anymore... After all, once you're in the angry mob of mostly clueless people chasing after the outsiders, you won't really need anything, will you?
Thursday, August 06, 2009
If you can not read nor understand Bulgarian, please scroll down to one of the lower posts in English.
Пост на български, за който вероятно ще съжалявам утре, но...
Става дума за някои неща, които доста ме учудват наскоро. Опитвам се да ги разбера, ама леко не ми се получава в най-общата картина (специфичните случаи са по-лесни).
Та, към темата.
По време на израстването на що-годе възпитаните деца, те евентуално се сблъскват с фразата "Бъди учтив(а)/мил(а)/и т.н. с хората (хората в най-общ смисъл)."
Тази фраза звучи доста приятно, нали? Доста семпло. Даже леко утопично.
Истината е, че резултатите от тази фраза най-често са доста различни от впечатлението, което горенаписаното оставя.
Някак си хората не могат "просто да бъдат мили, учтиви и т.н." Всичко е сякаш зад привидната си простота, тази фраза всъщност звучи по-скоро като "Абе, казвам ти да бъдеш мил(а), защото просто си знам, че иначе би бил прекомерно гаден и ми е ясно, че като ти я кажа, ще бъдеш 50/50... Но всъщност изобщо не очаквам да я вземеш присърце. Бъди възпитан(а), мил(а) и т.н., 'ма само когато има келепир, монетка да се пипне."
А т'ва е друга история, нали?
За хората, които ме познават -- не се оплаквам, това мое наблюдение няма да ме промени, аз съм си такъв. Това не е масивно оплакване. Просто наблюдение.
Просто наблюдение, че хората някак си очакват един от друг да са гадни и с подобни изречения по-скоро гледат да наклонят везната с мъничко. Не с много де, със сигурност не с много. Това все пак би било прекалено, нали?
Защо хората не могат да бъдат "просто" такива. Да го правят ей така. Добре де, не ей така, защото в крайна сметка винаги действията целят някакъв резултат, някаква отплата за старанието един вид. Обаче защо тази "отплата" не може да бъде усмивката на нечие лице? Сякаш хората искат да им е сложно, все едно чувам дете на 5 (ментално на 5, физически няма значение) да казва "Не искам да ми е толкова просто!"
Съответно същото е и с приемането на жест (просто някакъв жест). Гледаш така какво ти дават, ама леко присвиваш очички "Какво ли иска сега па тоя от мен? А? Хм...." и леко мърдаш с очи, оглеждайки се. Въпросът е дали обектът на жеста после ще реши, че видите ли, май нещата са "безопасни" и може съвсем спокойно да 'зима на аванта.
"Як" социум, а? Направо супер.
Кофтито е, че дори хората, които иначе биха били "просто мили и учтиви" в последствие биват деформирани от околните. Искаш да си щедър с хората, да им правиш жестове? Няма проблеми, клиентела винаги ще се намери. Даже ще се редят за опашка. Освен ако не изглеждаш подозрително добър. Тогава хората ще се почесват по тила, мислейки си "Абе, твърде много добро не е на добро... Я да отида при другия, дето ми иска парите..."
Егати пародията.
Ако трябва да следваме Библията (нещо, което аз не правя, но което все пак би дало добър пример), нищо чудно, че Адам и Ева не е трябвало да познават добро от зло. Ако не познаваха, щяха да са еднакви с хората, независимо какви са те или каква би им била реакцията. Май този Бог си е знаел, че хората не могат да понесат нещо толкова голямо още. Следващият път, когато някой ни предложи/ние си вземем огън/забранен плод, аз лично ще откажа.
Но това е, ако сме по Библията. Аз лично мисля, че всеки може да се постарае поне да е малко по-добър към хората. Без да гледа за келепир. В крайна сметка, не е толкова трудно, нали?
П.П. Става дума за по-голямата част от обществото, а не за отделни личности. Това, надявам се, е ясно, нали?
П.П. Номер 2: Не, "всички останали са такива" не е извинение да търсиш облага от всяко твое действие. Освен ако не обичаш да ходиш на четири крака и да издаваш специфични звуци, съдържащи само буквите "б" и "е" (като да предпочиташ гласната) и да обичаш да следваш голям чичка с гега безпрекословно.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Actors. People who act. Duh.
That's sometimes the real problem, though. Some actors don't really act, but just take a role that they're very suitable for.
Jim Carrey and all of his idiotic films.
Hugh Laurie and all of his roles where he's supposedly the evil guy, but then turns out to be damn smart, not to mention good, the good guy behind the curtains, or in other words, the new type of superhero.
You look at those people and you say "Those aren't actors. They pretend to be the same guy, all over again. That ain't what acting is about."
You agree, no?
Well, if you do agree, here's what I have for you.
You're wrong. Very, very, very wrong.
Terry Pratchet's books from the Disk (which is well placed on top of four elephants, who are on top of a giant turtle) say quite frequently that faith gives birth to its own beliefs in the world of the Disk. Meaning, first comes faith and out of it is spawned its object of belief.
In our case, it means that those actors are searched for such roles mostly. That doesn't mean they aren't good at anything else. It simply means they're the best there is for this unique type of role. And the fact that they could excel at pretending to be other types of characters as well... it seems nobody cares.
You see, my misguided friend, acting is a business. Actors make a living out of it. And the rest is supply and demand. People want Jim Carrey's ways of proving all those Anatomy books (especially the parts about facial grimacing) wrong and so he does that.
People want Hugh Laurie to be the "House" type of character and voila -- he's House.
Supply and demand. That's all to it.
Alas, few notice that. All they see is the majority of roles a certain actor takes and bam! - he's labeled.
There's more to it, though. Sometimes the actor wins one round and gets to play something different.
Unfortunately, you can't have both things at the same time. Meaning most people don't notice it's exactly this actor playing this odd-for-him role, mainly because they don't expect him to be there. So they remain completely blind (shocking twist, as a friend says) to the fact that this actor they already labeled as incompetent actually can act.
Do you remember Stuart Little? The film about the talking mouse who faces the wrath of the cat mafia? Sounds lame, but it's actually a good movie. One of those for the whole family, yet 'whole family' here doesn't mean that the parents fall asleep in the middle of the movie. Seriously, it's not bad.
See the man? This is Hugh Laurie. Oh no, it ain't no lie. He's shaved and he's smiling. His clothes are very modest and he's surrounded by happy children.
So much about him being a bad actor. But people won't see that, because they won't realize it's really him, even if the Cast Credits hits them on the head... twice.
And what of Jim Carrey? Watch "The Truman Show" and then speak.
Yep. People like labeling other people with barcodes. I guess it's only natural, but...
Isn't the whole idea of civilization to overcome most of our "only natural" and yet, highly unlogical actions? I personally am tired of stuff like "Code 042203784, name: Jim Laurie, cost: 3$49c, use: Comedy."
There isn't enough time in one lifetime to get to know better everybody around you. But when it comes to judging work, please be objective.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
If you can't read this, please scroll down. There's a hopefully nice story there. Hopefully, because it's mine, so I can't be exactly objective about it.
Българската гъвкавост и умение на българина да се приспособява към всяка ситуация.
Това се води като едно от най-добрите ни качества. От много хора съм чувал едва ли не, че българското племе би могло да оцелее на Марс, да си направи зеленчукова градина на Нептуновите ледове и да си пуши цигарата (защото какъв Българин си ти, ако не пушиш?!?! Как така?! Надценката на цигарите само означава, че няма да ядеш и толкова. В крайна сметка, на кой му е да яде...) на места, където, за да я запали, няма да има нужда от запалка.
В общи линии нашата гордост е, че колкото и да ни мачкаш, тъпчеш, убиваш, изнасилваш физически и психически (макар по-скоро всичките тези действия да са по-скоро в психически аспект, все пак съществуват и във своя физически такъв), ние пак виреем.
И ето точно в този момент на този патетичен разказ за БГ Сървайвърите в моя малък мозък светна една червена лампичка. После започна да мига, за да пести ток.
Значи, каквото и да ни правят и мачкат, ние сме горди, че издържаме. Гордост, породена от факта, че издържаме, а не от факта, че правим нещо по въпроса.
Просто казано, ние сме горди задето умеем добре да ни мачкат. Една изтривалка за обувки от добър материал, страхотно качество, не се къса никога, поема колкото прах и кал отъркаш в нея и най-вече е вечно в намаление 70%.
Скорошен пример: Най-високият процент гласували пълноправни граждани в един град в България е 50%, общият процент е към 35%. Сега тук някой може да каже "Да, ама общият процент на гласувалите в целия ЕС е 45%".
На това бих казал две неща: Първо, при нас този процент вероятно ще пада, защото младежта в по-голямата си част не желае да гласува (а тя е уж най-активната част на едно общество) и второ... Познай кой дърпа надолу този процент. Bulgaria & co.
Но този пост не е предназначен да говори за изборите. Той е малко по-генерално насочен.
Защо все трябва да ни тъпчат? Защо веднъж през живота ни вместо да се изтриват в нас, не вземем пък да станем? Макар да не дръзвам да се правя на Възрожденски писател, във всеки случай посланието им се е изгубило през годините. Или ние просто сме си свикнали да ни тъпчат. В крайна сметка ние ще се приспособим, нали? То си е вече наследствен белег.
"Кой съм аз, че да променя каквото и да е?"
Ти си народът. Ти си избирателят. Ти си. Или поне се предполага от теб да бъдеш. Ако не ти, кой?
Забрави за синдрома "другият ще ми оправи кашата". Защото на другия отдавна му е писнало и той от десет години е зад граница...
Имаш ръце, още не са закърнели. Вземи твойте проблеми в твойте ръце веднъж в живота си поне.
И не, трудът, положен при лакиране, не се счита.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Hello. It's been a while since I last posted here. But I must say, I haven't forgotten about this place. Some things have kept me off, though. You know, these little annoying things in your life that keep popping up. If life was like walking on a street, these are the things that suddenly show up from underground (no, not zombies) and try to trip you.
On a positive side, although I don't have some major problems to state, I will not turn this into a diary either.
That is why, I will post here a short story of mine, around 1000 words. It's not THAT much...
The title, you already know... The Usual (yes, those are the same two words that are on the very top of this post). I know it's not perfect, I know. Any criticism that you might have is quite welcome.
Right...
Ashes. Piles of ash in a cave. That, stranger, is what’s drawing people to this place.
Universal law states that one day somebody will come and reignite a fire from them. Thus causing the rebirth of a phoenix that will restore order, peace and most importantly, wealth.
In this case, it means that we make a fortune from selling lighters outside the cave. Want one?
We also make a lot of money from helping people out with the angered ghosts. Dead people dislike when the living attempt to burn their ashes. Yeah, we rarely get the same customer twice. Usually the wraiths are quite peaceful though and only scare people away, without doing any real damage. Except that one time when we confessed the spirits don’t actually kill. But that day we had hungover from last night and the customers were really annoying, so we couldn't bother. You know, one of those days. And who’d think the customers would die? I mean, it wasn't even their fault. At least I think so. Personally, I blame the section in universal laws about bad luck and irony.
You’re asking what’s so special about those ashes? Well, most just know that the ashes are mysterious. Okay, I admit it. They think it’s the ashes of a phoenix. And who am I to ruin their hopes and dreams of fiery birds? Besides, most intelligent people very well know that phoenix ashes are almost extinct. And even if found, they would definitely not be shown in caves to just any person.
There is one day in every month though, when we block the entrances and only let those that remember or have heard the truth. Obviously there are no phoenix ashes here. Just an old place used to throw the ashes of the deceased. More importantly, here lies… Oh, I think that you’ll get a better picture if I tell you the whole story. Yes, you should go and grab a cup of tea or hot chocolate, I’ll wait. Hey, get me a cup … aw, missed him. Damn.
Oh, you had heard me? No? Then how thoughtful of you, thanks. I simply love hot chocolate. You’ve got to love those aliens who brought it with them here. Now, about the story…
Once upon a time, there was a tyrant. Or at least that’s what people labeled him to be. There were only two problems of his rule really. The first was that he had killed the previous king to rise to that position. But that is kind of a necessity for any tyrant – be it king, queen, emperor or an entire parliament, you need to kill somebody of the highest rank to get to that position. Basic knowledge.
The second problem was that the tyrant was not more than a man. Meaning, he made usual mistakes. Then again, anybody who can command alone an entire kingdom would probably want slaves, beautiful women dancing naked around him and would make people give him the finest food and drinks. It’s only natural to want the best, but the majority of the people – peasants – dislike that. As for the rest… well, there wasn’t much freedom of speech, but the country prospered. People didn’t starve, there were no wars or at least, none significant. Except for that one time when a country half the size had proclaimed war. Quite suicidal of them, if you ask me. Anyway, things were relatively good. To be fair, they were even better than they had been with the rightful king, who had been a pig and an idiot.
Alas, this is not where the story ends. Again, universal laws had to interfere. People, like always, wanted what they didn’t have – freedom. I don’t really understand why. After a rebellion they would live in worse conditions. A potential civil war could cripple the country for a decade, or more. The only valid reason for that could be that us humans only want things we don’t have.
Naturally, this wish of theirs was the reason for two events. First, the king of the “neighborly” kingdom decided to help that "righteous cause". Those that are more aware of the situation would suppose he was the one who started the whole freedom movement, but that's another subject.
Second, a hero was born. Metaphorically speaking, because universal law can’t really wait as that hero is literally born, then starts walking and chewing with his own teeth and all that stuff. But when our hero was actually around the age of twenty five, someone – probably a mage -- somewhere decided to give his talents a little push, just enough so that he could reach sufficient enough powers to challenge the tyrant.
Then followed the usual.
You know, our hero challenged the tyrant and failed. But then somehow survived and gained access to even more power. Then, he came back for a rematch in the castle, now all pumped up and confident that he was going to win.
Round two though was a bit different. You see, the tyrant was aware that the usual might happen, so he prepared a bit. He had bought a book -- “Tyranny and you” for one. Alas, amongst the good advice it gave -- concerning the miracles of boiling oil -- the book also influenced his speeches. So when the “good” guy came, the tyrant started speaking like in any other story… You know, those long speeches full of sentences like “You dare enter my domain?”, “My powers are beyond your imagination!” etc.
Anyway, the plot of all common old stories, born when Fate’s kid was rather new to the job and not quite innovative twists-wise, dictated the exit of the epic battle. The tyrant initially beat up the little hero, but then he started blabbing how nobody could defeat him. While talking, the protagonist gathered his strength into one almighty spell and managed to turn the tyrant into ashes.
These ashes.
Oh, I see you’re still wondering why people come on that one special day, if these are the ashes of an evil, ruthless dictator.
Well, the answer is that the hero was a peasant. To our regret, he didn’t prove to be one of those hidden-and-unfortunate peasants that turn out to be great leaders. Rather, he remained the usual peasant that hasn’t got the faintest idea what to do with power. So the people ended up with another retard for a ruler, hoping the old one would somehow come back. That’s why they gather here on every second Friday of the month, to make a tribute.
So, do you want to pay a visit? You want me to close the entire thing for today? Well yes, I could do that, but… well you know, I’ll need something to cover the money I would receive from usual visitors. Oh, by the way, what was your name? Sorry, but I don’t really remember the moment when you told me... No? Ah well. Come, I’ll accompany you.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Scripts of movies.
I've seen a lot of movies in my life, naturally. Not as much as true fans, alas, but still, a significant amount.
Now, I know that it (as in, plot) has all been done before. Vampires in year 3234!!! Done. Aliens in the past! Done. Alien Nazi unicorns fighting for the freedom of raccoons on fire with lightsabers! Probably done, but rejected. I know that there is no such thing as a genuinely 'new' plot that makes some sense.
What I'm getting at, though, is that some plots get overused. And since I'm a fan of fantasy and Sci-Fi, let's delve into that.
First rule I've always seen in those movies: Aliens are bad. Unless there are so many of them, that eventually one out of 9001 is relatively friendly. Rest just want to kill. Always. It's kind of like that "one black guy only" rule in some movies, so that they don't get law suit on their heads.
Second rule: Any society that is not humanity is evil and wants to destroy us. Now, why they want that, I do not know. They always have a reason for it, though. Always our world that needs destruction. Hey, why don't you try Mars some day? Yeah, the public is used to Earth and wants to see how it gets endangered by other species, but should it all be about certain money income? Money income for the movie business is a must, yeah. But shouldn't they consider the fact that more could enjoy a film based on not-so-overused subjects?
Why doesn't anybody try thinking outside the box for just one time and make them complex beings? Why must they always be like the classic prototype for an antagonist? You know, the smart, beautiful, with good taste and a thirst to kill everyone around him guy. And let's not forget the urge to die from a dumber opponent after months of planning that sole evil scheme. Why should everything alien to us be unfriendly? Or even if it is, why should it be such because of its nature and not because of ours?
I know, I know, you'll pinpoint me to one or two good movies that have done so. Compare them to the amount of flooding garbage that is just like in the above-mentioned.
What is so wrong with simply meeting a species with complex society? You know, with one part of it which rejects others simply because they are different and another part of it which accepts us for who we are, and let's not forget the middle, unconvinced part. Why should every different fiction species be either too friendly or too unfriendly, or too smart/primitive? Why can't they be complex? Like here.
Why must vampires be either shiny and gentle or evil and cruel? Why can't they be complex either? Although there are some recent improvements in that section. Like Underworld, where they have minds and use them.
Death got free from that grasp, thanks to Terry Pratchett and some TV series etc afterwards. Why can't every creature do that? Why can't they simply be rational beings? Why can't they stop and ask themselves "What am I doing? What will this cause? What has this caused so far? How would it change me? Is it my place to do this?" Instead, they seem to have a little chip in their heads appointed to "Seek and Destroy" or "Oh golly look, human love! I can't possibly destroy such beauty!"
What I'm aiming at is, at the moment other intelligent species are described only in the two possible corners -- too good and too bad. Am I the only one who wants something in between, something more realistic? I know, I know, if you make it look realistic, it will be. But it could always be much more. Because things aren't just black and white. Maybe it's just me, tired of those 2 extremes; maybe it's only me with some need for gray. I don't know anymore.
*Treat this as an opinion only.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Before I start, I must say I've done some thinking about this subject. I think I'll post it in both languages. First comes bulgarian, of course, so if you can't read this, then either wait for the next reply or scroll down.
Та, започваме от заглавието отново:
Религия 2.0, делта версия.
Около Великден гледах един сериал. Там не толкова милият Сатана трябваше да си прибере обратно един избягал грешник, който е такъв единствено, защото не спазил тази Б(б?)ожа заповед:
[20:17] Не пожелавай дома на ближния си; не пожелавай жената на ближния си, (нито нивата му) нито роба му, ни робинята му, ни вола му, ни осела му, (нито никакъв негов добитък) - нищо, което е на ближния ти.
И сега, само аз ли си мисля думичките в комиксите, заменени от красноречиви картинки (като бомба/бесило/чук етц.)? Не вярвам да има човек на земята, който да е спазил напълно и тотално тази заповед. Да не говорим, че според нея няма такова нещо като невинно дете. Особено ако не е единствено дете в семейството.
Да, онзи път на 3 годишна възраст, когато пожела играчката на брат/сестра ти, те праща в Ада до края на вечността.
Не ме разбирайте погрешно, аз мисля, че тези заповеди са знак за огромен човешки прогрес. Еволюционен скок даже. Метаморфоза, ако щете. Не само това е един от първите толкова масивни гидове на човешкия морал, но ... ами представете си. Един ден човек колел и бесел каквото види, хуни се размотавали насам-натам. На следващия ден чул "Не убивай" и решил да се подчинява на заповедта /в една трета от случайте, защото все пак всичко това се развива преди идеята за полицаи без пистолети (или каквито и да е полицаи) и преди идеята за възрастни съдии с перуки и подкупни кръвопийци... имам предвид адвокати (не се обиждайте, но повечето -- не всички -- от вас са точно такива. Факт)/.
Както и да го погледнем обаче, тези заповеди вече не се вписват. Просто не стават. Какво, да не би като погледна жената на съседа или някое момиче, което си има гадже без да знам за това, съм извършил грях равен на убийство (все пак заповедите са с еднаква тежест)? Или вече е на точкова система - 1 наказателна точка за пожелаване, 2 за кражба, 3 за убийство. Дали продават талони за такива неща? "Охо, побратим, прегрешили сме, виждам... Превишена скорост, пожелаване, работите в събота... лошо. Ще трябва да пишем акт..."
Като се замислих още малко, нещо ми дойде наум.
Имало едно време религии, споделяни от много различни хора.
Една от тях била update-ната, upgrade-вана или там каквото от 0.1 в 1.0 алфа версия. Дошъл един брадясал чичо и казал "Споко, деца мои, язе ви избавям от греховете". Човекът е бил гений, о да, независимо дали вярвате в ДНК тестовете му за бащинство (тогава се провеждали с кръстове вместо с игли) или не.
И точно тази вяра оцеляла. Защо (освен простият факт, че гърците му дават простичко за произнасяне име -- К/Х/ристо)?
Защото на хората като им писнало да бъдат прецаквани (били ги, ***** ги и сръбска музика) от боговете, дошъл един Пророк и оправил положението. Верите, които нямали такъв късмет (или дори да са имали, го (късмета) убили за богохулство - "Хей, Зевс е милостив" - СМЪРТ! И това е вариант, няма как да знам), изчезнали или станали само част от историята на държавата. Помним брадясалия брат на Зевс от Отвъдното, ама не го почитаме, нали? Или поне повечето от нас... Нали?
После от голямата общност на християните се появили мохамедани. Те не премахнали напълно християнството, защото то може да се тълкува достатъчно широко, че все да запази core феновете (Все пак "Не убивай" е доста универсално), а и нека бъдем честни - поповете са лъгали на поразия. Все едно де, появила се 1.0 бета версия на религията. Приемала алфа версията (християнството), ама не се спогаждали точно. Човек с алфа версия не може да играе онлайн от един отбор с човек от бета версията (Алфа е 1вата версия на една игра, бета е 2рата бтв, дето излиза след нея с леки подобрения). Сега, аз не казвам, че бета версията, т.е. мюсюлманството, е по-добра. Но казвам, че тя е малко по-нова (като започнем от там, че тя приема Иисус и е по-скоро като завършек, като печат на Пророците -- на мен лично печат ми звучи като патент леко -- после трябва да се позовеш на оригинала или да платиш за правата).
Аха. И после к'во? Има алфа и бета версия на 1.0, ама последното подобрение в системата е преди 1400 години(горе-долу, 'айде сега..). Верите започват да имат сериозни търкания с обществото и неговите закони в днешно време. Защото, видите ли, обществото си перка напред и не му дреме дали религиите ще наваксат с прогреса. То си има свои нужди, а и вече си има свои закони. Кога ще излезе така очакваният Expansion Религия 2.0, кога ще има продължение на серията? Кога ще има нов сезон, нова книга? Да не би музата на всички потенциални пророци да е умряла (или отишла да пие кафе)? Какво се случва, защо няма нови пророци?
И докато си задавах тези въпроси, нещо друго ми изскочи в мозъка (точно преди да видя нещо сладко или блестящо и да се разсея от темата тотално).
Ами ако пророкът се е модернизирал? Не не, освен Папа-мобил (или батмобил)... Говоря за психическа модернизация. Може би той (или тя, тъкмо няма да могат да съдят системата за дискриминация. Може даже да е готина азиатка - и не, черните вече получиха президент; а правилата са ясни - само по един, като във филмите. Черен президент. Азиатка пророк.) се крие между нас и само ни казва някакви неща, които да са ни като морален гид ("Насам, група.") към светлината (влака) на края на тунела. А може би, само може би, той/тя не е само един/една този път. Може даже и да си има лозунг, казващ:
Добре дошли в невероятния свят на медиите...
Или
Медиите -- Църквата на XXI век.
П.П. Ако случайно си набожен(набожна), моля не се обиждай. А ако случайно не намираш логика в това, което пише тук... Никой не е казал, че трябва задължително да е вярно. Макар че ми харесва да мисля, че има капка логика. Мерси за прочита.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
If you can't read this, then please go to the post below. It is in English.
Така. Последният пост на български беше за реклами. Да тръгнем от там.
Виждате ли това малко, невинно и очевидно с много глупави родители детенце? То се появи наскоро на рекламен постер, залепен на входа на училище.
Това детенце ме накара да се замисля, "Що за родители биха се съгласили детето им да се снима така!?".
Тъй като гледам все пак да съм обективен, се замислих първо за евентуалните причини за това ритуално убийство на социалния живот на момченцето.
Така на детето се отварят врати в живота. Така цял нов свят му казва „Здравей!”. Освен това родителите му получават значително количество пари (или поне така предполагам, иначе би било странно... Нека просто кажем „значително количество” за тях).
Това е много хубаво като причина, нали? Да, ама не. Това дете би било ебавано (с извинение за думата) навсякъде. После, то всъщност ще се промени толкова много преди да може да се възползва от тези новосъздадени връзки, че те няма да имат значение (Добър ден, изберете мен за рекламна кампания с тийнейджъри, защото се снимах с Вас преди 15 години; тогава бях на 3). Да не говорим, че това си е чиста доза егоизъм от страна на родителите: "Вижте, това е нашето дете". Да, това определено е Вашето дете.
Разбирам, това нещо е положително за много от децата. Представете си да беше хубава реклама... Къде обаче спира да бъде положително и започва да е просто "child abuse"? Мисля, че никой не си дава сметка. Или поне никой от значение за съдбата на детето.
За мен тази снимка си е чист abuse. Това е гавра с детето. И как така родителите не са се сетили да зададат този толкова очакван въпрос: "Каква е рекламата? Нашето дете добре ли ще изглежда или ще изглежда като от постерите за побой над деца (дете-панда, дете-индианец и така нататък)?" Защото аз съм напълно убеден, че тези родители са питали единствено "Колко плащате?" А може и да е дете на директора, който просто не иска да плаща изобщо. Оферта, мммдааа...
Горкото дете.
Казват, че родителите от предното поколение са били гадни и строги. Само нещо не ми е ясно. Тези гадняри са мислели за децата си поне, винаги, а сегашните супер-родители – не. Как така?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Noting that I still do not hold any whatsoever desire to turn this into a diary, this article starts just from there. Months ago, on a show I watched, the fans moaned (=QQed) that there was not enough action. Today, I saw complaints that there is too much.
Human satisfaction. I am coming to think it must be an illusion for so many people. People that call themselves 'realists', people that think they're views are objective about the situation. On and on they go about what they are missing, what they would like not to see.
These people hate every single boss out there, every possible superior is suddenly the bad guy; meanwhile, they are always the victim! Awww... Poor guys/girls... Yes, sometimes we all fall into that trap, but that is normal. What isn’t however, is when this is constant.
See? The teacher clearly hates me, although my work is flawless, he put me an A= (if such a mark exists). Oh, and remember when he gave me that look which said 'FINISH HIM!' ? I have the worst of luck, my cell just ran out of batteries, the cable stopped right in the middle of my favorite soap. There is too little action, there is too much action, the fan base (amount of fans) is too big, the fan base is too small and last, but not least, somebody ate my cookies!
I repeat, sometimes there is a very valid reason to not be pleased with something. I am now. That being said though, when this reaches the level when everyone ceases to say anything positive, I think things might have gone wrong.
The teacher hates you, does he? At least you have a teacher. At least your school isn't suffering from bomb attacks. At least security doesn't fear suicide bombers or terrorists. Your cell just ran out of batteries - at least you have a place where to charge it in peace. But your cable stopped, oh noes!
Big wow. Is that worth complaining for one week? One month? Think a bit what you have. And, although my examples were a bit specific, take this into the bigger picture. Consider all the things that you claim to be big problems. Then, consider the amount of time you spent on moaning about them. Realistic? Give me a break.
What’s worse, it might reach a stage where nothing is as good as it should be anymore. Somehow, I don’t know why, people are convinced that if they keep moaning about things they can not change, they will feel better. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the mistake was in me.
Shit happens. It's not pleasant. And if it’s not pleasant, why do you constantly bother yourself with it?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Before you think anything else - no, I'm not turning this blog into an e-diary and I don't plan to. I won't talk about how I met someone whom I haven't seen since 10 or so years, saying "It's such a small world!"
Simply because it is not a small world.
The world is huge. The people/ ideas given by people you could see is a very big number, one that would surpass this entire post.
Let's take for example the ideas first - book plots. I've visited some sites about writing recently and they claim the same thing: everything has been done before. No matter what you think of, somebody has thought of it already. Or, let's say you're into fashion - golden rule, know the previous fashions. Why? Because you never know what old idea could become new again (but when you do, you'd already know what to do).
But enough about ideas. Let's talk about people. You know how you met that guy whom you stopped seeing years ago..? I bet you were like "Oh my god! It is such a small world! I didn't think I'd see you again!" and then continue saying random stuff that don't really matter and that in no way will make the person want to see you again. He/she probably won't want to see you again, no. Why is that? Because you haven't changed. Because he hasn't changed. That's truly the reason why you met again. And why you won't meet again. Both of you are the same people. You had something in common once and you still have. That's why you eventually bump into each other again. But, if he or she had a reason to stop seeing you... then don't expect much (ofc, sometimes it's just "I don't know why we stopped seeing each other").
"Yes, but I met him at a bus stop!"
That might be because you live in the same town. It's a small chance yes, a very slim one, but consider the fact you haven't bumped into him for 10 years, when you could've. 10 years, that's 3650 days. How many times a day you pass by a bus stop a day? Yup, it's only a matter of time.
The world is not small. Man, however, and his perception of the world, are. A person doesn't change, even though he could so easily. All he has to do is be fair to himself. And don't go on telling me about how it's that hard to do as a task. It isn't. You're probably working/ studying with a lot of people together. I bet you speak a lot with only 1/10 of the people. Do an experiment.
Let's say you think you have a great dressing style. Not saying that you don't, but do this experiment. Go to somebody who is outside your usual group and ask him/her what he/she thinks of your clothing. Then, before he (or she) says anything, repeat at least a couple of times that you need an honest and fair opinion and not just "It suits you" usual answer. Repeat it a couple of times, so it gets into his head. Then listen carefully. Now, it might not be as good as you would imagine. It might be good, but it might have some remarks. Listen carefully and try to understand why he thinks so. Don't start yelling at him/ her, but instead say a "Thank you" and think for a while. Just an example of how you could change your view, widen your world. Accept criticism.
That's all it takes to change. But nobody does it. It's considered impolite. People are rarely objective. Oh no. It's so much easier to think you're quite well in everything you're doing. After all, you're not seeing any mistakes, right? It must be good... And is it your fault that the world suddenly shrunk?
P.S. Thanks are due to brainwagon, who originally uploaded this picture on some blog, so that I could access it from Google.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Looking at the title, you're probably wondering what's it have to do with the date.
Today is 21 March. Today my sister got even older, her 2nd decade was achieved. And, although I say it in a manner that wouldn't suggest it, I am very pleased that my sister has a birthday, so much that I couldn't skip at least a couple of lines on a post, dedicated to something completely different. I'll try and sum up my love for my sister with this sole sentence: the fact that she is born today means for me that this day will be forever good, no matter what happens in the future.
Apart from her birthday though, this day is also the day pronounced to be dedicated for the war (yes, it is a war) against discrimination and more specially, against racism.
I couldn't find any suitable racism-concerning photos, so I picked this one. But it's a day mainly for the war against racism. Ageism and all the other -isms aren't that famous yet.
First of all, let me say that I am absolutely 100% against discrimination of any kind. I could even agree if my very own grandmother goes bungee jumping (sorry if I made a typo in bungee).
Now comes the 'but' part, though. I dislike where the 'discrimination' propaganda has reached.
It has become a publicity means. VIP persons use the phrase "I am against discrimination!" to get famous most of the times. Politicians use it for those means as well. In general, a lot of people aren't really against any sorts of -isms, but they just want to sound like they do. Attention whores. Like the people quoting Einstein, about which I spoke on my first proper post in English.
Also, some parts of the 'war' against discrimination has caused such on their own. I'm referring to the picture. Things have reached such a state, that sometimes certain people are ignored, because there MUST be a woman/black person/young/old person/etc. The latter aren't fit for the job, not because of their age/sex/colour of the skin, but simply because they don't have the qualifications. Because of law suits though, the company is obliged to have at least one of the aforementioned to not go to court.
Example. If the company is newly formed and there is just one last spot, let's say assistant. There are few of these 'discriminated' people working in the company, if any. And if such candidates arrive to the interview, they're the ones to get picked, no matter how suitable they are for the job.
What I'm aiming to get at is, by all means, be against discrimination. But be against it in its full meaning. Because as far as I know, at the moment its definition should be "Let one black man, one woman, an Asian, a cripple and a too young person in your company, so that they can't sue you; feel free to discriminate for all the rest of the job spots, though".
Racism before - "Hey, nigger (sorry for the word), come and peel off the potatoes". Racism now "Hey, these are black guys. Pick one, but not more and take them into whatever they're needed for. Pick just one, no matter if he's suitable or not, by random. If we're lucky, he might be suitable. If not - ah well, at least nobody can say I'm racist".
Today is "Against discrimination day". My advice: Think about those words in its full meaning. Don't just walk on the surface of the problem. Treat everyone equally. Don't give anyone any advantages based on their gender, colour etc. Be fair. To everyone around you. By all means, hire women, old ladies or gentlemen whose teeth are long gone, hire young boys or girls who have just reached adolescence, hire Asians, black people. But do it because of who they are, not how they look. Leave the prejudices behind. Do that and you'll see that suddenly, your group has all types of discriminated societies. Because the world is full of such capable people.
P.S. USA PRESIDENT IS BLACK, ZOMG!
Friday, March 20, 2009
If you happen to be absolutely unable to read, not to mention understand, the language below, then please refer to the post below it, which happens to be in Еnglish.
A това би трябвало да е и първият пост на български.
Той ще бъде свързан с рекламите, които ние ежедневно виждаме. Първоначално негативните неща, после и хубавите (О да, има!).
Всички знаем качеството на рекламите. Голяма част от нас вече знаят и защо те са направени толкова глупави и безсмислени или в най-добрия случай - най-случайното/ненамясто нещо, което някой някога е виждал. Да, добре, това се набива в човешкото съзнание също така. Тук обаче има един огромен пропуск, който много хора не виждат.
Какво се случва, когато всички реклами станат невероятно тъпи?
Спират да се различават. Докато преди беше лесно да се впечатлиш от нещо просто неочаквано, сега трябва истински талант, за да се набие рекламата с глупостта си. Казват, че било лесно да си тъп. В случая на PR-ите обаче трябва да си гениален, за да измислиш нещо достатъчно тъпо. А е ясно, че не всеки е гений. Следователно, вече има висок шанс новата реклама - не, не старата МЕГА ТЪПА реклама, която служеше за виц около 2 седмици, а новата, която никой не е забелязал още, да остане в сянката на онази друга мега тъпа реклама, защото тя е още по-безсмислена.
Естествено и за жалост никой не се сеща, че в момента няма такова нещо като "добре направена" реклама, т.е. изисква се много малко, за да бъде тя такава. Това не е пазарна ниша, о не. Това е огромна дупка, яма направо! Но кой да се сети?
Но нека да видим реакцията на потребителя. Окей, ясно, най-тъпите са запомнени. Какво се случва с по-голямата част от рекламите обаче? Ами... дразнят го. Той превключва канала, отива да си направи пуканки, отива да отдели цялата изпита(досега) бира, поръчва си още едно, решава да прегърне (или да плесне по задника) жената, накратко - малките неща, които човек прави, когато има около 5 минути за убиване.
С 2 думи - рекламният ни бизнес съква. Смешното е, че дори не се печелят толкова пари така. Защото хората не мислят в перспектива. Човекът си измисля рекламата, нали? И то забележително бързо! Да, ама не се сеща, че една 'хубава' (тя не може да е красива, но ми писна да повтарям добре направена, а и наистина закъснявам) реклама ще му даде повече работа, да не говорим, че тя би била най-добрата инвестиция в живота му, особено взимайки предвид тази пазарна яма в този бизнес. Стига се до там, че компаниите се усещат да искат високо качество, ама няма кой да им изпълни поръчката (имаше кастинг, доколкото чух, за реклама на Nescafé 3 в 1).
Сега за нещо позитивно.
Нашите реклами може да са по-зле от вида на един тираджия след целодневен престой в един гаден и задушен ТИР (не, нямат нищо общо двете, но все пак мисля, че схващаш какво искам да кажа), но поне са кратки. В чужбина те са поне 15 минути. Ок, интересни са, но се повтарят в един рекламен блок по 4 пъти. Аз лично съм по-навит за 5 минутна пауза.
И сега се чувствам значително по-добре - не е толкова зле да знаеш, че има нещо, което е по-добро тук.
И да, като един истински българин отделих 4 реда да говоря за положителното и 28 за отрицателното на родното. Патриотично.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Okay, enough about the boring intro then. I didn't really want to write today, but I had to: after all,the blog is way too new.
Hm...
Okay, it will be an old subject of mine, which might (and probably will) annoy me, but for the sake of you, the readers... I'll do it (yes, you should be giving me chocolates or pizza in return for that sacrifice).
Recently, I've noticed a trend in the internetz: Quotes that make you look 'cool'. I'm talking about those quotes that appear next to the avatar of a person.
Seriously, do you actually like or think about what you write there? In 90 percent of the cases, it's something along the lines of "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former ". That's said by Albert Einstein and I swear to whatever god is out there, if I could, I'd shoot on sight the person who wrote his words for all eternity. The other is "I love you!!!!!!!!!! I can't live without you, you're my soul, sun, moon" after just one or two weeks of even knowing the girl (I bet if he was given some truth serum, then the sun, soul and moon will be replaced by the words "I simply like having sex with you that much), which is a bit too much for a teenager (usually they write these things). Of course, exceptions exist.
About the first: Damn. My personal thoughts : The majority of these posters think that it makes them cool and intelligent, but it's so obvious that they don't look up to Einstein all day and that they direly want to look better than the rest, yet it's so obvious that it becomes pathetic. There are exceptions - if you're really into these kinds of stuff or if it's not such a famous quote, but something fascinating that nobody ever heard of, then that makes you look interesting. The former makes you look like an attention whore.
And "I love you!!!" spam... Seriously, do you love her? You might like her, but for a week or two you probably don't even know her. And yet, I keep seeing comments like "I can't live without you", "you are my shining star in the darkness", "you are my spring in the winter", etc. Coming from teenage boys. After a one week relationship (It is acceptable, if it's a long term thing, yeah, but one week?).
Damn.
And thanks for reading. Now, I must fulfill a quest. For my mother asked me to buy a pizza. I kissed her and asked myself "Since when do I need anyone to ask me to buy pizza?!".
Hello and thanks for reading this, it's the very first post I'm making. / Малко по-надолу е същото, ама на български.
First of all, a bit of info that I like to write, so that when newcomers come, you could always redirect people to this post.
Posts will be in two languages: English and Bulgarian. The info originally had to be the same in both languages, but then I decided - meh, I can't be arsed and the posts will become too long. Instead, posts in Bulgarian will concern problems inside the country. Posts in English will concern general things.
Also, if I think of any more useless boring things you will never read, I will post them here.
So much for the boring intro. I'm making a new post, not containing such dull things.
Ъъъъ... Хай. Благодаря за любопитството, но този пост няма да съдържа кой знае какво. Всъщност, нищо важно.
Това, което написах по-горе всъщност вече би трябвало да е очевидно - постовете могат да бъдат написани на 2 езика. На български от уважение и на английски от нуждата ми за популяризация (да не говорим, че езикът, който ползвам, е доста флууднат от чуждици... очевидно). На български освен това ще бъдат и постове за проблеми в България - като например нови закони, въведения, вечерни часове или Music Idol (да, толкова зле е). На английски ще бъдат по-универсалните постове.
Ъъъ... да, толкова засега. Ако не бях толкова отвеян, щях да се сетя за другите глупости, които трябваше да запълнят този пост.
А и бтв... asile (първоначалното име на този блог, сменено на 2рия ден) означава подслон. Не, това го нямаше в английската версия, но аз си знам просто, че българинът няма да потърси в гугъл. Не че сега има значение.