SilentBird
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"Sweet dreams every once in a while..."
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The Endless Void
- Thread starter SilentBird
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SilentBird
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In the beginning, there was nothing...
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SilentBird
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J. Krishnamurti quotes
"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
***
Questioner: “Sir, what do you want us people here in this world to do?”
Krishnamurti: “Very simple, sir. I don’t want anything. That’s first. Second, live, live in this world. This world is so marvellously beautiful. It is our world, our earth to live upon, but we do not live, we are narrow, we are separate, we are anxious, we are frightened human beings, and therefore we do not live, we have no relationship, we are isolated, despairing human beings. We do not know what it means to live in that ecstatic, blissful sense. I say one can live that way only when one knows how to be free from all the stupidities of ones life. To be free from them is only possible in becoming aware of ones relationship, not only with human beings, but with ideas, with nature, with everything.”
***
“Understanding of the self only arises in relationship in watching yourself in relationship to people, ideas, and things, to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.”
***
“Can there be a feeling without thought? Can you ride a feeling without directing it, seeking to change it, calling it good or bad? Try it.”
"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
***
Questioner: “Sir, what do you want us people here in this world to do?”
Krishnamurti: “Very simple, sir. I don’t want anything. That’s first. Second, live, live in this world. This world is so marvellously beautiful. It is our world, our earth to live upon, but we do not live, we are narrow, we are separate, we are anxious, we are frightened human beings, and therefore we do not live, we have no relationship, we are isolated, despairing human beings. We do not know what it means to live in that ecstatic, blissful sense. I say one can live that way only when one knows how to be free from all the stupidities of ones life. To be free from them is only possible in becoming aware of ones relationship, not only with human beings, but with ideas, with nature, with everything.”
***
“Understanding of the self only arises in relationship in watching yourself in relationship to people, ideas, and things, to trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.”
***
“Can there be a feeling without thought? Can you ride a feeling without directing it, seeking to change it, calling it good or bad? Try it.”
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Inscrutable Memory
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SilentBird
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Pinch in the Sky
I
Stretching high they look down with intense alien eyes – the few lights that follow the road to the summit of the reserve. The skyscrapers and houses below collectively make a soft, humble connection with the black sky. A small fountain is a prominent feature of the reserve. Water trickles from its top level into the pool. Drips and drops tap-dance in perfect choreography.
Below the northern side of the reserve is the city. In the centre an ominous looking tower – an illegitimate child of the city, out of place in this environment. Volatile in nature, it contrasts with the carefully contained power of the efficient network that surrounds it.
Inside, loathsome and tragic creatures abound. There is Nev, the remorseless entrepreneur who resembles an unhealthy Chihuahua, and his dim girlfriend he affectionately calls Dogface. These are just two of the human-animals who reside in the tower, which is known to its residents as ‘The Castle.’ They are indicative of the tension that pulses within its walls. A dynamic arranged dominant and submissive characters.
The Castle is the home of Arnold. It has been for most of his life, though he knows just one of its rooms. It is a warm, well air-conditioned room, but the décor, bed and chair are all clinical white. Here, Arnold is tied to a bed. And a zombie tickles him with a feather, which is passed, zombie to zombie, like in a relay.
The number of zombies participating in Arnold’s torture is difficult to determine. They are all very similar and there has been too many to make an accurate tally. Hundreds of zombies probably have passed through his room by now. All of them are soulless and sexless. They are human-like in physical form, but lack particular human features such as genitalia and nipples. Also lacking are eyes, a mouth, nostrils and open ears.
While one of the zombies tickles Arnold with a feather, another sits freely on a chair, by his bedside. This cold companion shows him photo albums containing happy snapshots – pictures that show the wonders of nature and ‘the joys of the human experience.’
One would think viewing these pictures would be a relief in Arnold’s situation. This is not so, because these albums have been shown to him for the past twenty-seven years. Each album contains the same pictures as any other, but at different angles. The supposedly new angles he fails to determine as any different from the confusing myriad of ones before. The similarity of the barrage of photos tortures him, making his mind spin.
These albums are the only mental stimulation available to Arnold. They are the only part of the outside world shared with him, and are shown to him time and time again. To him, they have no value as worthy objects.
If Arnold had a choice to look at something else, he surely would not hesitate to do so. If he had a choice, he would gladly send these albums to a furnace and watch them burn until they are ash, NEVER to ridicule him again. Arnold sometimes imagines he has a pen and the photos are blank pieces of paper. These items would serve no practical purpose however. For his hands are tied to his bed, thus preventing him from writing a desperate note for help…
II
Arnold has come to expect that nothing would any be different after so many years. But one particular day, he has a surprise greater than any other surprise – a fully formed human female enters the room. She has beautiful human holes. Vivid clothing adorns her body. He admires her flesh that is real in colour. The visitor is a complete human! Arnold knows the difference between male and female – that he is male and she female. He feels an urge to touch her. This is his first experience with an adult female since being cast aside twenty-seven years ago. This makes the encounter even more poignant.
After the necessary introductions and confirmation of Arnold’s identity, the visitor declares, “…Well, Arnold, there seems to be an error in administration. You are free to go. I can only offer apologies for the mistake. There is no compensation for errors such as these, but I’m sure being free to explore life outside is compensation enough.”
She moves towards Arnold’s bed and crouches to untie his hands and feet. Patiently she waits as he pushes himself upwards, into a sitting position. He rotates his body and drops his feet onto the floor. Arnold slowly tries to stand. After several attempts, he considers that his wasted muscles may not be capable of the task. His purpose, however, gives him strength, enabling him to stand despite his weakness. He follows his saviour out of the room – still in a state of shock.
Upon exiting the room, Arnold finds himself in a corridor and looks back. He sees an orange brick wall with no door from where he came. Staring at the wall, he wonders, “How did I get through? Did I go through a door that suddenly disappeared once I got through? Or did I actually walk through a wall?
He turns to find his rescuer gone. Without any door in sight, she seemingly had vanished. Arnold is momentarily stunned and stays there, standing completely still. He then snaps out of his wonder and proceeds to walk down an apparently infinitely long corridor. As he walks, two images become more defined with each step. It is a shady looking couple hanging around, ready for a hustle. “Hey baby, I’ll show you a good time,” the female offers to Arnold, with distinctly cheap decadence.
Arnold walks onwards displaying no interest. Behind him, her male companion brands her. “Nobody is interested anymore, you dismal ****. Just look at yerself.” The intimidating display causes a sense of fear to enter and envelop Arnold. This throws him into a panic. His walking pace becomes ever more frantic. Fear fuelling every step, he moves with increasing speed. He begins to run.
With reality and illusion clashing, the brick walls to either side turn into mirrors. Black lines, like ink being sprayed by water pistols, shoot across them, ever faster. Colours emerge from the mirrors. The coloured oily shapes unsuccessfully fight to blend with each other, causing them to constantly mutate. The tension heightens. White hologrammatic balls enter the chaos. Chasing Arnold, firing through him and penetrating the walls with piercing electric noise. Suddenly it all stops…
Arnold makes a fall of several metres to land in an indoor pool. He is in a cavern, obviously still within the bounds of the Castle. The cavern, lit by florescent tubes is filled with beautiful, well-tendered shrubs. Almost covering the walls, the plants allow for a few brick to be visible.
Spotting an inviting corner, Arnold paddles to the opposite end of the pool. He sits on a ledge just under the water surface. A man appears from behind a bush and swims over to Arnold. He places himself next to him. Arnold lifts his head to make eye contact. He sees no life inside of the man’s eyes and a sense of dread creeps into him.
III
Back in his white room of twenty-seven years, Arnold sometimes looks at his hosts. Is there anything different this time? Yes - but only just. Occasionally, bright pinks, yellows and greens appear over the pallid shells of the pitiful entertainers. This happens though very rarely and for just a few holy moments. Arnold wonders… what could happen…
I
Stretching high they look down with intense alien eyes – the few lights that follow the road to the summit of the reserve. The skyscrapers and houses below collectively make a soft, humble connection with the black sky. A small fountain is a prominent feature of the reserve. Water trickles from its top level into the pool. Drips and drops tap-dance in perfect choreography.
Below the northern side of the reserve is the city. In the centre an ominous looking tower – an illegitimate child of the city, out of place in this environment. Volatile in nature, it contrasts with the carefully contained power of the efficient network that surrounds it.
Inside, loathsome and tragic creatures abound. There is Nev, the remorseless entrepreneur who resembles an unhealthy Chihuahua, and his dim girlfriend he affectionately calls Dogface. These are just two of the human-animals who reside in the tower, which is known to its residents as ‘The Castle.’ They are indicative of the tension that pulses within its walls. A dynamic arranged dominant and submissive characters.
The Castle is the home of Arnold. It has been for most of his life, though he knows just one of its rooms. It is a warm, well air-conditioned room, but the décor, bed and chair are all clinical white. Here, Arnold is tied to a bed. And a zombie tickles him with a feather, which is passed, zombie to zombie, like in a relay.
The number of zombies participating in Arnold’s torture is difficult to determine. They are all very similar and there has been too many to make an accurate tally. Hundreds of zombies probably have passed through his room by now. All of them are soulless and sexless. They are human-like in physical form, but lack particular human features such as genitalia and nipples. Also lacking are eyes, a mouth, nostrils and open ears.
While one of the zombies tickles Arnold with a feather, another sits freely on a chair, by his bedside. This cold companion shows him photo albums containing happy snapshots – pictures that show the wonders of nature and ‘the joys of the human experience.’
One would think viewing these pictures would be a relief in Arnold’s situation. This is not so, because these albums have been shown to him for the past twenty-seven years. Each album contains the same pictures as any other, but at different angles. The supposedly new angles he fails to determine as any different from the confusing myriad of ones before. The similarity of the barrage of photos tortures him, making his mind spin.
These albums are the only mental stimulation available to Arnold. They are the only part of the outside world shared with him, and are shown to him time and time again. To him, they have no value as worthy objects.
If Arnold had a choice to look at something else, he surely would not hesitate to do so. If he had a choice, he would gladly send these albums to a furnace and watch them burn until they are ash, NEVER to ridicule him again. Arnold sometimes imagines he has a pen and the photos are blank pieces of paper. These items would serve no practical purpose however. For his hands are tied to his bed, thus preventing him from writing a desperate note for help…
II
Arnold has come to expect that nothing would any be different after so many years. But one particular day, he has a surprise greater than any other surprise – a fully formed human female enters the room. She has beautiful human holes. Vivid clothing adorns her body. He admires her flesh that is real in colour. The visitor is a complete human! Arnold knows the difference between male and female – that he is male and she female. He feels an urge to touch her. This is his first experience with an adult female since being cast aside twenty-seven years ago. This makes the encounter even more poignant.
After the necessary introductions and confirmation of Arnold’s identity, the visitor declares, “…Well, Arnold, there seems to be an error in administration. You are free to go. I can only offer apologies for the mistake. There is no compensation for errors such as these, but I’m sure being free to explore life outside is compensation enough.”
She moves towards Arnold’s bed and crouches to untie his hands and feet. Patiently she waits as he pushes himself upwards, into a sitting position. He rotates his body and drops his feet onto the floor. Arnold slowly tries to stand. After several attempts, he considers that his wasted muscles may not be capable of the task. His purpose, however, gives him strength, enabling him to stand despite his weakness. He follows his saviour out of the room – still in a state of shock.
Upon exiting the room, Arnold finds himself in a corridor and looks back. He sees an orange brick wall with no door from where he came. Staring at the wall, he wonders, “How did I get through? Did I go through a door that suddenly disappeared once I got through? Or did I actually walk through a wall?
He turns to find his rescuer gone. Without any door in sight, she seemingly had vanished. Arnold is momentarily stunned and stays there, standing completely still. He then snaps out of his wonder and proceeds to walk down an apparently infinitely long corridor. As he walks, two images become more defined with each step. It is a shady looking couple hanging around, ready for a hustle. “Hey baby, I’ll show you a good time,” the female offers to Arnold, with distinctly cheap decadence.
Arnold walks onwards displaying no interest. Behind him, her male companion brands her. “Nobody is interested anymore, you dismal ****. Just look at yerself.” The intimidating display causes a sense of fear to enter and envelop Arnold. This throws him into a panic. His walking pace becomes ever more frantic. Fear fuelling every step, he moves with increasing speed. He begins to run.
With reality and illusion clashing, the brick walls to either side turn into mirrors. Black lines, like ink being sprayed by water pistols, shoot across them, ever faster. Colours emerge from the mirrors. The coloured oily shapes unsuccessfully fight to blend with each other, causing them to constantly mutate. The tension heightens. White hologrammatic balls enter the chaos. Chasing Arnold, firing through him and penetrating the walls with piercing electric noise. Suddenly it all stops…
Arnold makes a fall of several metres to land in an indoor pool. He is in a cavern, obviously still within the bounds of the Castle. The cavern, lit by florescent tubes is filled with beautiful, well-tendered shrubs. Almost covering the walls, the plants allow for a few brick to be visible.
Spotting an inviting corner, Arnold paddles to the opposite end of the pool. He sits on a ledge just under the water surface. A man appears from behind a bush and swims over to Arnold. He places himself next to him. Arnold lifts his head to make eye contact. He sees no life inside of the man’s eyes and a sense of dread creeps into him.
III
Back in his white room of twenty-seven years, Arnold sometimes looks at his hosts. Is there anything different this time? Yes - but only just. Occasionally, bright pinks, yellows and greens appear over the pallid shells of the pitiful entertainers. This happens though very rarely and for just a few holy moments. Arnold wonders… what could happen…
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Note to self: you can do it.
SilentBird
Well-known member
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Noam Chomsky quote
If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Goebbels was in favour of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favour of freedom of speech, that means you're in favour of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise.
If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Goebbels was in favour of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favour of freedom of speech, that means you're in favour of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise.
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SilentBird
Well-known member
The Scream by Edvard Munch
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SilentBird
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Mask
He is the type of person who believes talking to himself to be less dangerous than conversing with others. Through this mistaken belief he creates a dialogue that bears him little respect. He does not know this though. This form of self-torture he practices is so subtle that it is beyond his capacity to comprehend. Habitually he constantly insults himself this way. He sentences himself to live alone and unhappy.
This young man, in his practices is rapidly becoming less young by doing so, in a way that is tragic in its wastefulness. He may eat healthy meals. He may walk and bike frequently. He may offer himself to others. He may take certain pride in his appearance. He may be tidy and meticulous with his home and possessions. But he is killing himself.
The frame of his life is minute. With ingenious creativity he fashions himself into this shrinking frame. Until now, he has been able to fit inside. But now, he realises his quandary and starts to devise a scheme that is (to him) intricate and liberating.
He will create a new self. Not as he has done before, where he changes patterns one by one. This kind of evolution is unjustly cruel in its snail pace. But he will do something altogether different. He will destroy himself, utterly, completely. He will turn off his projected image and a supposedly identical replacement will appear.
It will be simple. All he will need to do is will himself out of existence and his replacement will take over. The replacement will be a vibrant, happy young man. People will marvel at the transformation. They will wonder after many years how he changed so suddenly into the person they always wanted. Of course, to this man’s knowledge only, there will be no transformation at all. He will be replaced by an imposter.
The imposter will be a very convincing replica of the old man. A doppelganger so joyous to witness that it wouldn’t bear considering how it came to be. It would be inconceivable to anyone but him that such a thing could happen anyway.
His death and switch to new life takes an instant…
The young man wills his new-self into being, beckoning him to step outside of the old man’s form, leaving him invisible.
The young man watches his new-self walk back down the path from where he came. The old-self feels his presence quickly fade.
He is the type of person who believes talking to himself to be less dangerous than conversing with others. Through this mistaken belief he creates a dialogue that bears him little respect. He does not know this though. This form of self-torture he practices is so subtle that it is beyond his capacity to comprehend. Habitually he constantly insults himself this way. He sentences himself to live alone and unhappy.
This young man, in his practices is rapidly becoming less young by doing so, in a way that is tragic in its wastefulness. He may eat healthy meals. He may walk and bike frequently. He may offer himself to others. He may take certain pride in his appearance. He may be tidy and meticulous with his home and possessions. But he is killing himself.
The frame of his life is minute. With ingenious creativity he fashions himself into this shrinking frame. Until now, he has been able to fit inside. But now, he realises his quandary and starts to devise a scheme that is (to him) intricate and liberating.
He will create a new self. Not as he has done before, where he changes patterns one by one. This kind of evolution is unjustly cruel in its snail pace. But he will do something altogether different. He will destroy himself, utterly, completely. He will turn off his projected image and a supposedly identical replacement will appear.
It will be simple. All he will need to do is will himself out of existence and his replacement will take over. The replacement will be a vibrant, happy young man. People will marvel at the transformation. They will wonder after many years how he changed so suddenly into the person they always wanted. Of course, to this man’s knowledge only, there will be no transformation at all. He will be replaced by an imposter.
The imposter will be a very convincing replica of the old man. A doppelganger so joyous to witness that it wouldn’t bear considering how it came to be. It would be inconceivable to anyone but him that such a thing could happen anyway.
His death and switch to new life takes an instant…
The young man wills his new-self into being, beckoning him to step outside of the old man’s form, leaving him invisible.
The young man watches his new-self walk back down the path from where he came. The old-self feels his presence quickly fade.
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Critical Mass
Assembled while sectioned in a psychiatric ward in 2006.
Assembled while sectioned in a psychiatric ward in 2006.
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SilentBird
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SilentBird
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Flight
This bird in a cage, the door is open, too scared to venture out. The steel bars comfort, the cold, scratched floor protects me from falling. I remember yesterday, taking a tentative flutter outside. There I was natural, guiding myself through the sky and trees, effortlessly exploring, touching on confidence.
I become tired and the fear returns, it is all I can do to fly with all my might to my cage. My sanctuary, before I fall, before I am attacked, before I have to fend off anything real or imaginary.
And I hold onto the bars, firmly steadying my claws, tying myself into elaborate knots of fear. Tangling and untangling in understanding and confusion. Until the next brief flight I search for courage.
I close my eyes and hold my breath. For a moment I hear myself breathe deep and soft and I hear the other birds in the trees sing their sweet song.
This bird in a cage, the door is open, too scared to venture out. The steel bars comfort, the cold, scratched floor protects me from falling. I remember yesterday, taking a tentative flutter outside. There I was natural, guiding myself through the sky and trees, effortlessly exploring, touching on confidence.
I become tired and the fear returns, it is all I can do to fly with all my might to my cage. My sanctuary, before I fall, before I am attacked, before I have to fend off anything real or imaginary.
And I hold onto the bars, firmly steadying my claws, tying myself into elaborate knots of fear. Tangling and untangling in understanding and confusion. Until the next brief flight I search for courage.
I close my eyes and hold my breath. For a moment I hear myself breathe deep and soft and I hear the other birds in the trees sing their sweet song.
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SilentBird
Well-known member
"You have no idea of the danger you and your chums are in, do you?"
Clip from The Bank Job starring Jason Statham - 29th Feb - YouTube
Clip from The Bank Job starring Jason Statham - 29th Feb - YouTube
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Watchmen opening scene
by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Bill Hicks quote
Here's what you can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defence each year, and instead spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, for ever, in peace.
Here's what you can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defence each year, and instead spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, for ever, in peace.
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SilentBird
Well-known member
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SilentBird
Well-known member
Calvin and Hobbes
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