november's m3

ac and dell - modern love (wasted)
matthew dear - elementary lover (feat. mobius band)
julian lynch - just enough
how to dress well - can't see my own face
bibio - ambivalence avenue
best coast - when i'm with you
the xx - crystalized (the neon lights remix)
delorean - stay close (sun airway remix)
evan voytas - sad, like hearts can be
astrud - nostalgia es una arma
glitch mob - drive it like you stole it (king fantastic remix)
theophilus featuring solange - flying overseas
twin shadow - for now

also:
century of the self series from bbc and...
the ascent of money are some interesting videos...

Camus_The Myth of Sisyphus

Now the main thing is done, I hold certain facts from which I cannot separate. What I know, what is certain, what I cannot deny, what I cannot reject—this is what counts. I can negate everything of that part of me that lives on vague nostalgias, except this desire for unity, this longing to solve, this need for clarity and cohesion. I can refute everything in this world surrounding me that offends or enraptures me, except this chaos, this sovereign chance and this divine equivalence which springs from anarchy. I don't know whether this world has a meaning that transcends it. But I know that I do not know that meaning and that it is impossible for me just now to know it. What can a meaning outside my condition mean to me? I can understand only in human terms. What I touch, what resists me—that is what I understand. And these two certainties—my appetite for the absolute and for unity and the impossibility of reducing this world to a rational and reasonable principle—I also know that I cannot reconcile them. What other truth can I admit without lying, without bringing in a hope I lack and which means nothing within the limits of my condition?

the price of winning v. 2.008

this is what obama and mccain spent in 2008 for their elections. also, included is the uk and australian elections in 2005 and 2010 respectively. lastly, meg whitman (R - CA) has spent nearly $140 this year only to be trailing in the polls. it seems as if money doesn't buy you love or a spot in the cali governer's chair these days. regardless, she used to run ebay (former ceo) so the last thing we need is another rich republican in office anyways. this chart is compliments of bbc. my thoughts obviously do not represent their opinion, but they should.

tontería de una familia real

     yesterday marked a day of an extreme anomaly, a sign of how are world is changing. i have heard colloquially that are world is becoming more conservative. i think this may be true economically and politically, because of concentration power in the united states, europe, and the middle eastern countries that have a stronghold on oil and other important resources. the same can also be said for the political corruption that takes place in many african countries and even potentially, though this is arguably more complicated, in the 'bric' countries. regardless, i think that culturally we are divided in a large way. a large majority are certainly be headed more to the right (led in america by palin and glen beck), but one can certainly make the case that many subcultures are gaining steam and pushing the envelope to the left. a few countries have legalized gay marriage, for example, including my current home country, spain, my favorite countries, norway and sweden, and the country i hope to retire in, portugal. last year, my home state of iowa became one of only five states in the entire u.s. to legalize gay marriage as well. though the above is seemingly tangential it demonstrates that even if tea party conservatism is rampant, some places are beginning to budge on culturally liberal issues. enter the story of the day:
     prince saud bin abdulaziz bin nasir al saud of saudi arabia was arrested earlier this year in the uk, and yesterday was found guilty of murdering his servant. this is incredibly interesting for a variety of reasons. first, i don't believe i have ever heard of a prince being prosecuted for anything illegal before. in fact, he was under the assumption that he had royal immunity to any kind of punishment. well, according to the british judge that sentenced him that certainly was not the case. next, the servant that was beaten to death did not just have a trivial connection to the prince, but was apparently was his manslave. prince saud, whose mom is just one of fifty kids of king saud (who died in 1953), was gay. this blew me away. as you should know, homosexuality in saudi arabia is considered extremely shameful and is, in fact, still illegal and prosecutable under law. furthermore, because he was found guilty in the uk, he must spend 19 years in prison there, where he will subsequently be released and, then, most likely prosecuted in his own country for the "offense" of being gay. it is likely that he will be exiled, barring some miraculous leftist turn in the middle east regarding gay rights, but can seek refuge in the uk if he so chooses.
     thus, what seems astonishing to me is that not only was royalty justly prosecuted, but that he likely left his country to "escape" from his identity and express the true colors of his sexuality. unfortunately, like most rockstars his lavish lifestyle of cocktail parties and champagne baths caught up to him when the power went to his head. let me make it clear it wasn't because he was gay, but rather because he was irresponsibly wealthy and undeniably ignorant. you can break any rule and buy your way out of it, but you just can't kill anyone apparently. i wonder if those in saudi arabia know about what really happened? were they lied to about this anomaly? if they do know what is the word on the street, the talk of the town? do they make a precedent of him? what kind of reparations must be made if they do not so choose to denounce him, which is admittedly optimistic and even more unlikely? is going to prison just a blessing in surprise (use your imagination here)? what is to be of prince saud bin abdulaziz bin nasir al saud, the gay arabian prince? any thoughts?

october's monthly mix of music (m^3)

odisea - cabros
lcd soundsstem - can change
dadalú - asunto de la damas
el gunicho - bombay
ceo - illuminata
sleigh bells - rill rill
the tallest man on earth - king of spain
yacht - i'm in love with the ripper
esdcbcp - voluntud de oro
miike snow - black and blue
smoke city - underwater love
gayngs - the gaudy side of town
james blake - limit to your love

parochial schools

i have been rather critical of my high school education, and today while studying for the gre i stumbled across this word and its definition (one that a study website gave me, though there are admittedly other definitions that supposedly are more appropriate to defining my high school). i thought it was amusing so i thought i'd share it. attached is a picture of what came up after googling parochial schools in iowa. i chuckled.


parochial (adj.) - narrow-minded, concerned with only local matters

the 2nd school listed (beckman high school) would fit that definition quite well. god, i love small towns. 

Speaking of South America...

NPR - Traveling Down the Amazon

I wanted to write about this, but I had a hard enough time not breaking down into tears. Corruption from mining, poisonous mercury spreading cancer, how that gold watch you bought your mom is supporting this, etc. It is a pretty amazing story so I highly suggest you take a listen to this four-part series.