xiaolong2-blog

[xiaolong2-blog]

A shiver in the workshop of the brain

Drawings and prints by Lee Bontecou Title: Michaux, Miserable Miracle

[xiaolong2-blog]

the obsolete timeless argument

mac vs. pc: the argument that spanned a decade, and ended without anyone really noticing... it's over. steve jobs won. and he's not even around to see it. apple macs are everywhere, apple is everywhere - they own the markets they enter. laptops, mobile phones, portable music players, tablets, even desktop computers to an extent - they win. people love apple products. i don't love apple products. they work well, i accept that. they do their job to a high standard [apart from itunes, which just fundamentally sucks]. apple tech runs well, looks nice and doesn't break all that often. but i remain a faithful pc user, and will hold on for as long as humanly possible. in a meeting a few days ago, someone was using an ipad to search the internet, show examples of images, search definitions of words, etc. and i commented that ipads, iphones and macs are the 'root of all evil'. i said that i hadn't had proper conversation with an apple user in a very long time because they were too busy texting or browsing or 'apping'. the person replied that maybe it wasn't the technology halting conversation; that maybe it was the person using the tech. i then proceeded to realise that it's all well and good slamming apple products because 'steve jobs is an evil mastermind who just wants to make money and control people and ok bill gates does too but pcs are still better' BUT i didn't have a true reason for my beliefs and dislikes. so i thought about it. and eventually came to a conclusion that upset me more than any of the points i'd made in previous mac vs. pc brawls: macs are pretty - they look nice. and i've always claimed that that's all there is to them. there is no substance - no way of hacking into the inner workings [that i can easily figure out anyway]. i'm a bit of a geek - so hacking, tweeking and generally personalising my computer has become a daily routine. i couldn't do this on a mac. and i realise now that most mac users don't want to do this. they can't be bothered to faff around with program settings and code and user interfaces - they want it there in front of them, complete and ready to go: they want instant access. pcs show you their inner workings, if you know where to look. but it's not that hard to find. i've installed programs of questionable legality on my pc, messed around with the user interface, even used the 'command prompt' thingy a few times. and i enjoy all that - it involves using my mind - problem solving, creativity and patience [and some considerable googling skills]. and this is what i've come to realise that i dislike the most about macs and the 'apple culture': you don't have to think to operate a mac or an iphone. it's all there laid out all pretty in front of your face, ready and simple to use, no thought required. 'pcs are so complicated. they're just a hassle.' i've heard that twice this week from mac users who have had pcs shoved at them because of some technological emergency. and then everyone is amazed when you show them how to access my computer in two clicks: 'how did you do that so fast?! finder looks so weird and complicated. god i miss gestures.' it also shocks me that 5 years ago everyone in my class at school knew everything about pcs and could operate them with ease. you don't forget how to ride a bike, so how can you forget what the start button is? because of this i'm convinced that agreeing to the apple terms and conditions instantly puts you under some kind of idiot-spell where most brain function shuts down and attention span decreases to, wait what was i talking about? in this insta-world of thoughtless fingertip access to anything and everything you could ever want, i will continue to use my shitty little pc which crashes all the time and runs out of battery and never looks neat - because my neck works too hard supporting this head of mine to let 3lbs of brain go to waste. OUT.

[xiaolong2-blog]

THE GREATEST SCI-FI FILM EVER MADE. oh wait...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nln7d/Secret_Universe_The_Hidden_Life_of_the_Cell/

its happening billions of times over, ever second of every hour of every day.

wondrous stuff.

[xiaolong2-blog]

"reload. lets start somewhere and go everywhere. get on a train and nap the journey through. broken dreams of destinations unknown. we're travelling through dimensions towards the kingdom of open. so much to absorb along the way. arrival is unexpected and wonderful. let's go exploring. we're in the place where the moonrise tickles our toes, light spills over valleys and mountains of dust. shapes and colours form space and time, we are here, it is now. let's find some adventures. we are traversing the void, unsure of which way is down. but its ok, because the moon shows us where to step. solid footing on the edge of the unknown. it fascinates us, flares imagination, destroys fact whilst confirming fiction. it's not scary. unnerving yes, but not scary. it intrigues our souls, demands our attention. we must look within this non-space, accept what it offers. we do not look away. we dont blink. let's go forward, along the path, wander some more. we come to a choice. a fork in the road. so many choices. this is no fork. this is a place of infinite possibilities. we must not choose, we must take every turn. let forces beyond comprehension be trusted. let's go this way. now we are here. here is good. here is exciting and holds the key to yet another part of this thing known as reality. it's not real, oh no. there's no sense here, no logic. there's a start and a finish and a middle, and the imperative: now. it's happening, forever and always. all at once and not at all. there are no queues here, no waiting and no wondering. there is only what is now. let's continue, forever in now. don't look back, we've already been there. ahead is now, but blurred. its not quite clear what it holds. let's be now in this moonrise kingdom. because it's now when everything happens, and now is eternal. we are adding to now. let's add something good."

[xiaolong2-blog]

[xiaolong2-blog]

my bedroom window acted as a wetsuit dryer all summer

[xiaolong2-blog]

[xiaolong2-blog]

[xiaolong2-blog]

lao wolfskin

[xiaolong2-blog]

incense nights

[xiaolong2-blog]

this is the day we swam all the way to Aggie and found two starfish. they were big and white and weird and awesome.

[xiaolong2-blog]

[taken by caz] Devoran.

[xiaolong2-blog]

find the full set here: Flickr

[xiaolong2-blog]

[xiaolong2-blog]

[xiaolong2-blog]

b+w filmy series coming right up