Stolen PoststsoP

Science can be introduced to children well or poorly

During the last two centuries and a half, physical knowledge has been gradually made to rest upon a basis which it had not before. It has become mathematical. The question now is, not whether this or that hypothesis is better or worse to the pure thought, but whether it accords with observed phenomena in those consequences which can be shown necessarily to follow from it, if it be true 

— Augustus De Morgan

In Augustus De Morgan and Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan (ed.), A Budget of Paradoxes (1872), 2. 

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Mr. Hillaire Belloc has pointed out that science has changed greatly, and for the worse, since it became popular. Some hundred years ago, or more, only very unusual, highly original spirits were attracted to science at all; scientific work was therefore carried out by men of exceptional intelligence. Now, scientists are turned out by mass production in our universities. 

— Anthony Standen

In Science is a Sacred Cow (1950), 23-24. 

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Join in

It is getting more difficult to enter this blog. Security questions, also not supporting the browser I use. Geezzz, life on Internet gets difficult.

The security question that you will have to answer is also everybody


so now i am here taking over this blog , nor really sure what i wanted with this , in fact i wanted to write about negative product placement and started to read about mail art , a rather big thing in the 60 and 70 , but it died a slow dead because of the internet . Have been wondering how it would be possible to get people to use normal post again , like in sending letters or gifts.

Dr. Martens

Mass amounts of Dr. Martens littered the fluffy snow

Canvas and leather

Oxblood never looked this good on white

- Petriv

From:  BoneFarm Scripa Sinclair

bonefarmproductions@yahoo.com

BoneFarmOfTheOblique@Blogger

To:
Mr.  Abbie Hoffman
83rd Dead Zone
TheUniversalMorgue


DEAR ABBIE,
You were right:"DEATH IS BETTER THAN THIS VISION".
But its interesting!
      Think about Duchamp with that urinal way back in 1903.  He came from France to shock and mystify the NYC art world with a urinal!  A urinal!  Right there and then he made a move that convinced people of the objects indifference to art.  Now, art can be anything declared to be art, at least if it is declared by an artist.  It was as though he made art reality and reality art.
Sincerely,
Scripa Sinclair aka MotherHuckster

The persistent gaze (view from the emperor)

Locked
Entangled
I behold the vortex
I stand on the edge
I realease my anger.

just because you made it doesn't mean people will pay attention. creative efforts require EFFORT, yo.

Please stop writing whiny blog posts about how hardly anyone is contributing to the blog. This does not inspire sympathy, it inspires contempt.

Some ideas to get more traffic to this blog and potentially more contributors:

• Paid advertising (might work, might not)
• Posting something daily or at least consistently: this is a matter of math. Search Engine Optimization. More content = more searchbots locating your content = showing up in random searches.
• Tweeting the blog address.
• Something about facebook.
• DO NOT POST blog posts about blogging or engage in public whining. Passive aggression is not an attractive trait and are much more annoying than you realize.
• Putting the blog address on postcards, bookmarks, business cards, community bulletin boards with tear-away blog address strips, craigslist, etc.
• Develop a marketing plan (see above)
• Do not believe that internet success relies on random luck. It's math and hard work. Just because you have built it and you think it's an awesome idea does not mean everyone else will also think the same.
• Write a press release about it. Do this often (see "Develop a marketing plan"). Your local public library should have books about marketing, SEO stuff, how to write a press release, etc. Or you can just steal the books you need from your local bankrupt bookstore.

 

Twelve months on....

and this blog is still sort of going.  No one's really posting though so, maybe it really isn't.  I'm going to keep it up though. 

Who knows what another year might bring?

Probably not much.

And the world looked on in horror

I'm wondering when this headline is going to be front page again.

How to become a successful porn star

For women: go to the gym, get breast implants, fake orgasms convincingly, enjoy being exploited, convince yourself you aren't being.

For men: be born with an enormous penis.

Motivation

I've been getting up early the past three months, to go running before work.  I've been pretty consistent and have lost about 5 kilos because of it. 

This morning, however, the rain was pissing down.  'I'm going to stay in bed,' I thought and turned over.  But my body had other ideas.

'I need to go to the toilet.' 
'Let me sleep.'
'But I need to go to the toilet, NOW.' 

So, sighing, I got out of bed and went to the toilet.  As I was listening to the rain, I remembered reading an article from a personal trainer about motivation.  She said there was no real such thing.  It was just a matter of doing.  One sentence I clearly remember, was her writing, 'Do you think I'm motivated when I wake up and hear rain on the roof?' 

Such was the morning.  What could I do?  I felt guilty.  So I put on my gear and went running.  It wasn't bad.  Not too cold and not too wet. 

Came home and felt better. 

Motivation.

"Yay" Us...Not "Boo" Them

Why is it that people feel like they need to knock the other side down in order to bolster themselves?  Giving politicians a pass (whether they deserve one or not) there's no need for it in sports, advertising or...well, life.

Researching women in computer science, I see a lot of the Men vs. Women attitude.  Who's better?  Are you kidding me?  Can't we all just get along?

Acknowledging that many men are damn good programmers doesn't take away the fact that many women are damn good, too.  Saying that University of Oregon Ducks ROCK as a football team doesn't mean that the OSU Beavers suck.

Here's my question.  Why is it that we have this inherent need to trash the opposing side?  In sports, isn't it a little more powerful to say that *they're* good, but *we're* still better?

it still works

posting is still posible. Great!

Hand held

The laying on of hands, is it still like the leaving of a ghost?  One to one in another realm, I've seen some things that you wouldn't want described with a smile on your face.  And I've seen others than can be described no other way.  For is not the laying on of hands the laying of foundations?  The laying of respect?  Truly, I do not say these things lightly.  The laying on of hands.  The laying on of life. 

There's interesting things afoot.  I'm going to be 45 tomorrow and I've got a feeling.  A feeling something really good might happen this year.  I don't know why; I've had these feelings before and nothing has come of it but, things are definitely going to change this year.  Whether I'M going to change is a different matter.

Success is failure is success

Interesting post below this one.  And one that shares a fair point.  When I began this, I didn't know what would happen.  I wasn't sure anything WOULD happen.  But, a few people started taking it over and things were kind of interesting.  The only thing was, it was exclusively mail artists.  I didn't want it to be a niche thing but, it's sort of turned out that way.  However, in the past few months, not even mail artists have been here.  I wonder if that's because I've been lazy with MY mail art.  I haven't done anything for quite a while now but I've received a bit of stuff from others.  That, by itself, isn't fair of me.  I also haven't been contributing to this blog; mainly because I hoped that so many people would take it over, that I wouldn't have to do too much.  I see now, that this is folly.  What I'm going to have to do, is try to write in the blog more regularly which, in turn (I guess) is going to inspire more people to gravitate toward it.  Thereby, insuring some sort of success as an outcome.  Let's see what happens and who arrives. 

I am not so sure if this blog is indeed a success.

No one ever seems to leave comments. There is no engagement. There is no conversation taking place. Is anyone actually paying attention. Not a question.

I have to decrease the time I spend online. Social media means that I have learned things about people that I really don't need to know. And that I'd rather not know.

The answers

are in a lot of numbers but the numbers themselves don't tell you anything.  Risks are always risks but what's a good risk and what's just foolhardy?

Playing a game of chess

It's cold today.  It's the middle of summer and I'm cold.  I'm the first to admit that I don't like summer anyway but, to me, this seems highly....unusual.  Maybe I'm just used to the last few summers when the drought really kicked in and we had four or five days of over 40 in a row.  I mean, we had heaps of rain last week but it was still hot.  Hot, sticky and muggy.  Horrible weather.  On the whole, I think I'd prefer the cold to last week.  But still....it's summer.  Summer is supposed to be hot.  Summer is supposed to have sun.  There's no sun out.  Only clouds.  Grey clouds.  More rain on the way.  More flooding to contend with.  But of course, global warming is a myth.......

2011

First post for the New Year. 

When I began this thing, I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I think that it's been something of a success.  Quite a few people have posted on it and quite a few others have changed things around. 

I am most excited to see what will happen in the coming year.

Keep the ideas comin'!

Merry Christmas

and happy new year. 

That's all.

I don't remember

A friend of ours is a mechanic and he usually tunes our car.  He's had it for the past week, coz a few things have needed doing on it and finally brought it back last night.  He gave us the bill but, as it's Xmas, we didn't have quite enough money for him. 

He told us that, don't worry about it, pay me the rest when you can.  But I'll remind you because I know you'll forget. 

But, we never forget to pay him.

Except now, we've been wracking our brains, trying to think whether we've missed something.  And neither of us can come up with anything. 

So, did he say this to piss us off, or because we owe him some money but he expects us to remember, rather than him telling us how much we owe? 

krismas list. bah humbug.

Every year, my mother-in-law asks for a "wishlist" for Christmas gifts.

First thing on my list every year: don't want to make a wishlist.

This woman has been my mother-in-law for over ten years. I would prefer that if she wants to buy me a gift, she, oh, I don't know... puts a little of her own thought into it. I'm not 8 years old, waiting for Santa. I'm in my 30s. I have a job. If I want something, I will buy it or save up for it. I don't need people to buy me things.

Here is what I want. Mixed in with some things that I need:

A stockpot. I need to make large batches of chilis and stews and soups and freeze them. We spend too much money on food. I need to get practical.

Tupperware, or containers that can be put in the freezer.

Shoes and boots from John Fleuvog.

New exercise clothes.

Groceries.

A full time job with benefits instead of the part-time job with no benefits I currently have.

A full time job with benefits for my husband, instead of the no job he currently has.

Student loan payments.

Donations to Amnesty International, the Red Cross, local foodbanks, and local homeless shelters.

Postage stamps. If the woman paid any attention at all, she would know that I send a lot of mail.

Stationery.

A nice pen or maybe a few nice pens.

A deal between family members that we will not buy Christmas gifts for anyone older than 18, unless we really want to. Is it possible to have a Christmas without that sick feeling of obligation?

December 2010

And so, it's the beginning of Summer - my least favourite time of the year.  I can't take the heat; I often think I should have been born in Sweden or Russia.  I love the cold weather but I think that it's mainly because it's much easier to warm up than to cool down.

However, now that I've said that, I do like the fact that it's the first day of summer.  It isn't hot, it isn't cold, it's just right.  It's a Goldilocks day.  Sure, it'll get hot but, right now, summer's all right by me. 

Besides, it's December and December also means Christmas.  And Christmas in Australia means lots of lights, lots of fake snow and lots of shopping.  It also means that people are a little happier than they were last week but, that won't last. 

For now though, I say bring it on. 

Just like Marcel

I've just entered the Brunswick Gallery's Small Works exhibition; essentially on the proviso that all works will be accepted.  So, just like Marcel, I'm entering a readymade sculpture.  It's a  piece of house cladding and I've called it 'Readymade after Marcel.'  It won't win anything, nor will it be sold but it will HAVE to be accepted for exhibition, because the conditions of entry say so. 

This should be quite amusing. 

Don't forget

It's Armistice Day tomorrow.  Remember to have your minute's silence at 11. 

You know what I hate?  People who use the excuse "I've been really busy lately," when the actually mean that they've been too lazy to do anything. 

You know what I hate more?  The people who use this excuse who are, in some small way, trying to run a business.  Let's say it's a record label, or a publishing company, or an arts hub; anything where you can buy something, pay for it using PayPal and then wait until you get your goods. 

I do this a lot.  I'm kind of a searcher of underground subjects; be they art, music, books or culture.  If it's on Myspace or a website somewhere and something is offered for sale, I'm there buying it.  So, I spend quite freely and use services like Myspace and Paypal a lot.  And, most of the people who run these things are pretty good.  I get my stuff in a reasonable amount of time and in good condition.

But not always.  Sometimes you have to wait.  And wait.  And fucking wait.  And when you enquire where your stuff is (that you've already shelled out money for!) it's always the same lazy, lame fucking excuse: "I"ve been really busy man and haven't had time to go to the post office..." 

I actually get these replies.  Tell you what, if you're too busy to go to the post office to provide me with something that happens to be part of your INCOME, then don't bother fucking selling anything.  Better yet, if you're advertising something and accepting payment for it but don't have it in stock, THEN DON'T FUCKING ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. 

It isn't that hard is it?  And, let's face it, the main reason I hate that excuse is the old quote: if you want something done in a hurry, give it to a busy person.  And it's true.  Someone actually busy, always manages to find time to do everything. 

It's only truly lazy who still use the I'm really busy excuse.  Here's a clue for you pal: we're ALL fucking busy. 

Ok Then

I've changed things back a little because I want everyone to be able to use this blog, not just a few smarties who want to make it harder to get into. 

Let's see what happens from here.  Remember, this blog is literally for EVERYONE, not just Mail Artists.  Everyone can enjoy posting on here. 

Hmmm

It seems that whoever changed this template also made it trickier to sign in to this blog to write things.  Well, I've manged to do it, let's see who else figures this out. 

New Newspaper

Throw him a line why don't you?

Has the time come for the end of the apostrophe?
    
I'm a grammar Nazi.  I'm a proud grammar Nazi.  It's something that's quite easy to be in this day and age.  You only have to search any site that allows comments from people to realise how easy it is to be a grammar Nazi.  Increasingly though, I'm being made to feel that, being a grammar Nazi, is a bad, bad thing.

I'm all for English evolving.  The last thing I want to do is stand in the way of words.  The last thing I really want to do even, is stand in the way of grammar.  I mean, just check out how I've worded the last sentence.  Better men than me have put forth the case that jumping on people's grammar is a poor substitute for self expression.  And I think they're right.  But I just can't let go of some things that make writing what it is. 

One of these, is the apostrophe.  It's the little ' you use, so you don't have to write do not.  Or it is.  Or you are.  It makes writing simpler. It makes writing fun. But it's increasingly being devalued.

How many times have we read someone making a statement that starts 'your wrong you know?'  Or 'dont worry about it,' or even, 'I just cant do it.'  You know what they're trying to say.  You can read it and interpret it but, is that really the point?  Doesn't reading that make your eyes and brain hurt?  I read some articles and it's like I'm trying to read a foreign language. 

But is this just something that's my problem?  Because I'm over 40, I've gone through the school system when it was still important to teach kids how to spell and construct a sentence.  These days, it's obviously not so much.  And, I'm not talking about text slang - that's a completely different topic that I'm actually fine with.  Let's just keep it to phones ok?  I'm talking about actual writing of the language so that's it's readable and clearly understood.  How do people learn English these days?  And I'm not just talking about kids, I'm talking about those who use English as a foreign language.  Are they taught about apostrophe's?  Are they taught how to construct a sentence? 

I don't want things set in stone.  English is the most mutable language in the world; the last thing I want is for that to change.  But don't try to stop me being a grammar Nazi either.  I think some things are worth preserving.  And I think proper use of the apostrophe is one.

Fart for Fart's sake

blurrrb

New Blog to Steal

When you are stealing this blog, don't forget to enter a note as well in the other blog at:

http://stealthisblogagain.blogspot.com/

When you are at it, just make this the largest stolen blog!

Mail-Art changes all the time

When I read statements that Mail-Art after the 90-ies didn't change I always get comfused. Didn't a new communication form enter the playing field of the Mail-Artists and weren't they acting towards the influences of e-mails and websites.

Nowadays these are all integrated as I notice on things like the IUOMA ning site. Mail-Art changes all the time until there is no communication between people anymore. That won't happen.

Shocking quote!!

I just read a shocking statement on Mail Art on page 71!...

"The Golden Age of correspondence art is behind our backs. The wave of unbridled creativity brought about by the first intensive exploration of the different postal formats and constitutive elements (postage stamps, rubber stamps, postcards, envelopes) has reached a peak in the late Seventies and early Eighties, then mail art mostly repeated itself with diminishing freshness. If you want to find new imaginative postcards today, you should look in the field of graphic design (e.g. the anthology Postcard) rather than in mail art publications. Trough habit and repetition, the original mail art concepts and ideas have been spread too thin, and there is a noticable lack of new ideas, recruits and ambitious schemes in the field. What can you do with a bunch of trading cards, apart from collecting them in an album?."



Shocking! What to do when you have missed the 70's-80's Peak because you where listening to music instead of mail arting, or simply because you might have walked around as a toddler those days... Do the younger and the inbetween-generations repeat the old guard or does the old guard repeat themselves, not seeing the new developments?

Shocking! Prefering graphic design (commerce!) above the good old - be it repetitive or not - cheap paper cut stamp stick draw paint trash postal objects...

Shocking! A Mail Artist who does not know what to do with a bunch of ATC's???
Build huge card houses! Wallpaper your neighbour's house with those! Cut them into faux postage! Send one forward to ME!
(and what's wrong with collecting small sized cards in an album?.. I wish people would send ME such small sized postal objects instead of those larger-than-A4 envelopes, with which we cannot build card houses and which do not fit in my ring binder albums...)

Conclusion: I LOVE the writer of this statement (I mean it!) and I would be delighted to receive just an ordinary mail art snail mail card from him!

P.S.1. Before scolding on the text above, you should read the whole article. It is worth reading!
And then you understand my huge admiration for the article's author! And then you will agree! ("p  (how the #&%  do I create a smiley on this blog??)
Cross-over rules!

P.S.2. There was life after Sonic Youth (that is: Nirvana, irl).
There was life after U2's Boy (October), there was life after the Cure's Three Imaginary Boys (A Forest / Seventeen Seconds - reviled by the early Cure fans).
Sonic Youth survived Nirvana.
U2's still alive.
I love music.
And Mail Art.

I don't want to collect ATC's.
I never listened to the Joshua Tree neither to Rattle and Hum.
The last record I bought from one of the formentioned was Daydream Nation.
Zen Arcade is older than Daydream Nation and sounds newer (er, faster)!
Now it's your turn to steal a new blog from this blog.

Changes in Mail Art

Everyone involved in mail art should read the article 'Ch-ch-ch-ch-change (and Face the Strange) in Mail Art', by Vittore Baroni, starting on page 68 of the Mail Art 1988-2008 Overview book! Also should do the ones with their heads full of nostalgia who forget to look forward. And the people who always want the newest gadgets and forget to look backward.











(And no, I am not Vittore Baroni and No, I did not write or edit the book and do Not work for Lulu). (Yes I'm a young-old person, something 'between generations' or something like that... somehow in crisis??)

Shock and awe

I was reading an article the other day, reminiscing about the '90's and I thought, 'are we there already?'

It seems as though looking back has become our new way of looking forward.  Except these days, we're not looking that far back are we?  I guess it's all to do with the new Pop Culture paradigm that we're all so fond of.  It's the easiest mark to judge against.  Your knowledge of Pop Culture is your cool factor.

It always has been though.  Who you like in bands, books, films, TV etc; that's who you are as a person in the eyes of others.  Sure, it may not be fair but we all do it.  Even if we say on the outside that we don't, on the inside?  Yeah, we all know we do it. 

This article was referencing Nirvana - of course - and comparing them to the last great Youth explosion.  As with most writers talking about this sort of thing (and it's something the writer admitted himself) everyone uses the 'it'll never happen again' thing as more a reference to themselves.  It'll never happen again FOR THEM.  Something I totally agree with.  But then he went on to say that, he truly didn't think something like Nirvana could happen again because, with the Internet, nothing is really hidden anymore.  Even if you purposely don't have a website, or Myspace page, or Facebook, you can still be filmed by someone with a camera and go up on YouTube.  You might not be seen instantly but, the fact that you're there, makes keeping a secret of a good thing that much harder.

But I don't necessarily think of this as a bad thing.  I think it will be subverted somehow; things like this always are.  There will be another Nirvana again and it will happen in my lifetime.  I don't know how but I know it will happen. 

One thing I do know though - it won't be me.

Yeah

I keep finding myself having lots of things to say, until it comes time to actually open this blog and write something.  Maybe it's the pressure, I don't know but everything I think about, that I think is interesting enough to write about all goes out the window. 

And what you're left with is this. 

Must try harder.

Steal This Bookmark

I created this bookmark a couple of months ago. To steal it for yourself, simply print it, cut it out, fold in half and secure with double sided tape. Enjoy! :) TC

To STEAL or NOT TO STEAL, that is THE question...

First I thought this would be a joke, then came to the blog to find out you guys weren't kidding! So, I've made my own little design edits and here it goes...for now. Let's see how long before someone comes along and messes up my brilliance. Here's a little something "stolen" from the web. To steal, or not to steal, that is the question...

Oops, Barbie lost her head while skinny dipping!

Drowning In Drivel

Another day and another packet of wver thin drivel cakes.  Let's heave them aboard mateys and splice the yard arm and whittle the main brace.  Scurvy swabs!  The thing with earwigs is they always get the notes all wrong. Some are brown and wrinkly and some post their lettuce in the salad bowl by mistake.  You cant have a rotating chicken for very long without it taking off and landing in your greenhouse.

yellow like the sun, silver like the moon.

My friend looked at this and said that it symbolized the
beauty in this world going "down the drain,"

but I think fish are just as beautiful as roses, even lifeless.

It's the climate I tells ya

It's Spring but it still feels like Winter.  What's going on world?  You'd better get it together, coz I'm having problems knowing what to wear at any given time.

don't steal women's life!

http://clochart.blogspot.com/