2012: Nothing to worry about

“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today; it’s already tomorrow in Australia.” – from The Peanuts by Charles Schultz

This post isn’t about the movie, it’s about the very real fear that some people already have for the date of December 21, 2012. I wouldn't mention it if I hadn't heard people talking about it. Once again some people are predicting the "end of the world" on that date. And hey, that’s only a few days after my birthday so it’s kind of exciting.

I’m also sure that another group of people is deciding how they will make some money off of this ridiculous fear. It happens all the time. I myself have lived through at least four end of the world predictions starting when I was sixteen. Yet even then, I had the sense to know that end of the world predictions are nothing new. More importantly, they’ve never happened. This time it’s based on the Mayan calendar. Yes, a calendar used by the same people that failed to predict the demise of their own civilization.

Are there Earth devastating events to worry about? Sure. Are numerologists, psychics or religious leaders able to predict them? Absolutely not. They never have and they never will. So relax. Here is a good website listing many end of the world predictions for the last 2000 years.

However, there are real threats to the viability of our small planet. For instance, large asteroids can and have intercepted our planet. Changing the chemistry of our planet’s atmosphere is a bad idea. Nuclear wars are not an answer to anything and radioactive munitions are not toys. We even have stars in our galaxy that are close enough that, while maybe not turning our planet to ashes, could still deliver some nasty surprises to life on Earth. And regardless, there’s certainly no point in losing sleep over any of this.

One more thing, I’ll bet each person $100 that the Earth does not end in 2012. There will be no alien ship arriving to transform Earth. There will be no evolutionary unveiling of a noösphere. There will be no awakening or apocalypse of bodies and minds. The magnetic pole of Earth will not suddenly reverse. There will be no Planet X falling through our solar system. I will take bets on any of these and I will expect payment because I have a lot of school loans to pay off.

- Just a peasant

Okay – one purpose

When I arrived back in the Midwest, I wasn’t even in the lab yet and already being invited into new projects. But on the train here, I focused on only one objective: to complete the PhD! No designing new games. No studying for the MCAT. No reading anatomy textbooks. No writing music tracks for video games.

Finish, finish, finish – this thesis.

- Just a peasant

Photo of some winter meadow in the Rocky Mountains - sunny and very cold.

Twinkle Party – with Misaki Ito (伊東美咲)

Yea! Misaki has her Twinkle Party up and running. Not that I could ever get in to one of her parties but its still good news for fans. I’m not sure, but I still think her site, the 'diary' part at least, is mainly for girls you know - fashions, jewelry, make-up, etc. No problem. I was once scolded by a singer, a very cool dude, for my lack of knowledge about perfumes. I’ve since tried to educate myself about such things.

For all the regular Misaki Ito fans, and I do get quite a lot of them to this site, there is a link to in the sidebar as well. Her site is written in Japanese but you can get a translation of her posts by using Yahoo Babel Fish. The translations get kind of crazy sometimes but you can at least keep up with her thoughts or lifestyle or new appearances or whatever.

For those who watched Densha Otoko (TV series) and have asked, “What does "kitaa” or (kita) mean? It is an exclamation that means something like “It finally arrived!” or “It finally happened!" or "This is it!” Twinkle Party is here – KITAA!

And speaking of Densha Otoko – I have a train to catch.

- Just a peasant

I don't where this photo came from. It just looked nice.

Update: a new Misaki Ito television show Putting out Vigor (元気を出して) will be out. I think that's the right translation. More later.

Leaving Oregon - again.

I must say goodbye to my good friends here.

The train is a nice change of pace from absurd airports and cramped planes.
See you guys later.

- Just a peasant

Photo of my Totoro companions

Where is my hiking hat?

“. . . no matter where you go, there you are.” – from Buckaroo Bonzai

So now, in a couple of weeks I have to move back to the snowy Midwest to finish my thesis. I’m pretty sure that I will never have a regular home. Everywhere I live is only temporary. I seem to belong nowhere. I wish I had a yurt. Yet it’s always been this way - even growing up. And even though I’ve changed careers, I am still a nomad – a mercenary - of sorts. I have grown accustomed to, and even have a preference for, sleeping on couches. I am careful not to get too comfortable in any one place.

When I count all the times I was on the road as a musician, it totals out to 54 months. That’s four and a half years of living out of suitcases. And in between those tours and traveling I kept everything in boxes. Mostly books. I love books. It was the same in college too. I’ve been to five colleges. And it was the same in marriages and divorces and with girlfriends and fiancées. I’d rather not count all those up. And nothing has changed today except that I keep less and less stuff each time. Fewer things and fewer relationships. Fewer and fewer attachments every year. I am an atheist caught up in a Zen parable. I am careful not to unpack too many things.

I’m always a little sad to go but I’m not complaining because I love traveling too. I really like living in new places or finding new challenges. Actually, I just can’t see myself any other way. I loved being on the road when I played music and remember the other musicians that hated it. I loved being in Guam and digging holes in the impossibly hard ground of that coral rock island to plant a bunch of coconut trees. Antigua was a small adventure too - especially where the streets had no names but could be identified by each unique pack of stray dogs that diligently patrolled them. I once lived on a sailboat in southern Florida where I speared red crabs or blue fish for breakfast and watched glowing yellow creatures swim through the water at night. I traveled to the restaurants of Shimonoseki in Japan to eat as much fugu (puffer fish) as I could possibly find. Later I wandered the quieter streets of Hachioji and then through the towering glass elegance of Tokyo as the summer heat gnawed on my skin and I remember listening to the incredible feast of amazing sounds in the train stations and other buildings. I wanted to stay in Japan forever with all those cool people, mechanical melodies, and endless rainy days.

So where will I finish this chaotic journey I wonder? Where will I be when I watch my last rain fall? But most importantly, who will I be - when I draw my last breath?

- Just a peasant

Photo: I found my hat. Time to go.

My definition of Art

We had an interesting debate yesterday over the question, “What is Art?”

My summary was:

Art is when the creative impulse transcends the process of the medium.

- Just a peasant

Photo of Cirque du Soleil's Alegria from The Cirque Tribune website. Here is a link to a Youtube video clip of the hula hoops performance by Elena Lev.

Fallout 3 - I love it!

Fallout 3 is awesome! I spent so many hours playing this RPG-FPS from the very first day it came out. My real world productivity declined as my characters roamed the nuclear wasteland of the Washington, DC area. I skipped real world meals as my characters sustained themselves on radioactive water and insect ‘meat’. I completely lost track of time while my characters scrounged the post-apocalyptic ruins for any trace of ammunition. My real world dreams were filled with VATS combat and bloody explosions. This is what a video game is supposed to be. It was totally worth it! I bought both the regular edition then went and got the special edition with the lunch box and bobble head you see above.

This game is by Bethesda Softworks, the makers of Oblivion, which is also really great though a completely different genre and setting. But what’s amusing to me is that I just can’t play an evil character. My characters have to always do the ‘right thing’ - help people not hurt them etc. etc. However, in Fallout 3 this is good because I kept gaining positive karma which influences other things in the game.

I give it a 92 out of a 100. (I subtracted 5 points because Misaki Ito (伊東美咲) is not in the game. What did I tell you people?!!).

- Just a peasant

My Vault-Tec boy bobble head pictured above. If you play the game you’ll realize the significance of the bobble head dolls.

Happy New Year from Oregon

We had a large amount of snow this year which is unusual for Portland. The car sat in the driveway for a week and a half. This was the state of my neighborhood for most of the holidays.

I hope everyone has a good year.

- Just a peasant