The new Era
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Winter is over…
This weekend we have had splendid summer weather, so the blog has been pimped with some brighter colours to cheer everyone up! 
Twitter explained
Following yesterdays post about Twitter, I read an article on Techcrunch from where I qoute this:
People feel like they know you, while you actually give up very little personal information. You get intimate connections with as many people as you want, but on your own terms. People can follow you, without you following them.
Suddenly, I realize what it is. It is a way of pseudo-intimacy where you can create the illussion that you are connected and know someone, without the need to take any risks of being personal. You hide yourself behind the mask of doing.
I ask myself, is this actually intimacy? Do you know someone just because you know what they do?
Or could it be, that intimacy is when you allow yourself to stand naked in front of someone, being vulnerable knowing they have the power to hurt you? Could it be, that the real purpose of twitter, is to create a feeling of connectivity with other people, just to avoid that painful feeling of loneliness inside you? To avoid the fact, that ultimately, you are all alone.
Twitter: Am I missing something?
I am a guy that usually likes to try out new things, new products and web stuff, just to see if they can be fun or useful, but it seems I’m missing out of something.
The new service everyone talks about nowadays, Twitter, has apparently grown by 95% in march.
Twitter is an online tool where you in 140 letters can tell people interested the answer to: What are you doing? Everytime you do something, you twitter it from your computer or cellphone to keep people knowing what you are up to.
I don’t know if this is the final evidence that I’m no longer one of the curious young people in the world, but has now turned into the established that resist every kind of change, but I JUST DON’T GET IT!
Why would anyone be interested in constantly telling people what you do in only 140 letters? Why would anyone be interested in contantly following someone what they do? Most of the time, I don’t even care what I’m doing myself and if I found it interesting enough to tell anyone else, 140 letters is not going to be enough…
Could someone tell me what the use is of this thing?
Entertainment is just not so entertaining anymore…
Today was the beginning of the second season of the new most exciting soon to be TV-series The Pirate Bay Trial.
The first season ended with the courts in Sweden sentencing all four contributors to the pirate bay to one year in jail and to pay 30 millions to the entertainment industry.
The second season startet with the media revealing that the judge might have an hidden agenda, being members of the same copyright organisations as the lawyers who work for the entertainment industry. If you can buy a verdict with money, why should I follow the law, one might ask? Many big newspapers such as the Independent, Le Monde and The Guardian, all over the world are writing about this.
In a way, the logic, actions and ways of dealing with all this from the entertainment industry is funny. It is almost like they want to look bad and loose all this in the end…
This is one of the most interesting stories I have seen in a very long time!
The buzz on the internet is huge, some speak of the similarities to the revolution of the 60′s that I reflected on a few days ago, and there are more comments and bloggings about this than any other subject at the moment. The membership numbers of the Pirate Party that is trying to get into the European parliament on the 7th of June and the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) next year has exploded. It is now the second largest party in Sweden (although this might not mean that more than a few percent of people will actually vote for them!). After all, the big political parties in Sweden that hold seats in the parliament today all have people with the same values as the Pirate Party. They don’t push these issues forward as vigouriously.
The Pirate Bay trial has in a way become similar to Big Tobacco, and when those who haven’t been much into all this before become aware of what this is all about, the “revolution” might no longer be only an idea…
It’s going to be fascinating to follow this…
Me in glasses
Apparently, my sight is getting worse, so I might need glasses, these are three pairs I have tried out:
So what do you think?
Learning the guitar, or singing, or…
For some reason, today I started thinking about learning to play the guitar.
I have always wanted to do that, but all my efforts went down the drain, because I hardly made any progress. I did however, make some effort both with the guitar and the bass. Other ideas I’ve had for some time is to join a choir and sing.
It is obvious that I’m always looking for something to do. A big restlessness within me that is never really satisfied. Pacified for some time maybe, but never really satisfied. In order to satisfy this restlessness, my mind comes up with hundreds of different things I can do to change my current situation, but so far, none of them has worked.
I tend to not begin any of these things, or quit almost after I have begun, because what is the point in writing if I can’t get published? Why keep on blogging if I can’t get paid for it? Why learn to play an instrument if I’m not going to be the next big thing? Why dabble in politics or become enlightened unless I can change the world?
If everyone thought like that, nothing would ever get done. Or, maybe, because they think like that, they actually get a lot done!
Where am I going? What is it really I’m trying to become?
What’s wrong with this?
Lucidity of Helios
Tip: Turn on this youtube clip while reading…
Last night, I was still tired from last weekend, so I decided to have a relaxing night on my own.
I found a new band called Helios, and their album “Caesura” and “Eingya” turned out to be the most perfect relaxing music for an evening like this.
I turned off the light, lit up some candles and then I laid down on my bed on my shakti nailmat, watching the Ketali incense swirl away above the candles, creating a beautiful play of smoke in my room.
My body started to relax and my mind became light and easy, listening to Helios, which without question is a new favourite of mine.
After an hour, I got up and turned it off, putting out the candles and getting back in bed for a long nights sleep. 
A weekend of partying
It has been a good but hectic weekend.
Friday started with a Dart competition with people from work at a Rock bar and Pool hall next to Odenplan. We had a lot of fun, but I left the others partying because I had to get up early on Saturday.
I took the train to Västerås early Saturday morning to meet up with with some friends for a boys only day. We started up with beer and lunch at home of one of the guys and then took a cab downtown for the first activity, fencing. Fencing was hard but fun, and it didn’t hurt too much getting hit either, so even though we would stand no chance against someone with some practice, after a few hours you could notice an improvement in your skills.
After the fencing we went to an English pub to watch the game between Aston Villa and West Ham and have food and some more beer. Can’t say I was too interested in the outcome of the game, but the food was good.
After the game was over we went had rented a Relax & Spa place for some jacuzzi and sauna, and drinking some more beer and drinks which was soothing for your aching muscles from the fencing. It all ended at a bar, then some night food and home sleeping at my parents place.
Today I have rested and also met up with some friends for coffee before getting on the train back home.
The café evenings I started a few months ago has been going on quite nicely. I have arranged about one evening a week and except for one time when I was the only one who showed up, there has always been a few people coming. Not the same people every time either, so I have to say that it is ”working”.
Most of the events has been in Stockholm, with a break when I was in India and a few weeks where I was too busy, but I have now had three events in Västerås too, and today five other people showed up. Some days it’s just a short thing with casual talk, and sometimes we sit there for a few hours, speaking about what comes to mind, and I like it that every time is different and how people that I know but doesn’t know eachother get to meet and how the interaction plays out. Some of these people would probably never have met otherwise and it makes for interesting situations and as long as there seems to be some interest in this, I’ll keep on doing it.
Opinions
During easter I wrote a long post about the on-going debate about copyright and illegal filesharing which is very much in the news at the moment here in Sweden.
I have posted them on my blog as five different posts, between 8-12th of April.
After publishing them, I noticed the thoughts coming at me, saying that these posts show how much I’m still stuck in beliefs and opinions, and how am I ever going to drop all concepts about this world? I have pondered some about this, and have been meaning to write a post about it.
I don’t know why it would be wrong to express an opinion, but perhaps this is something I have thought not to be especially spiritual. In the end I did publish them, ignoring my mind going back and forth: “this is good, this is bad, this is this or this is that”. I am noticing how strong these back and forth thoughts can get. But aren’t they all just thoughts in the end? What difference does it really make what role you are playing in this play of life?
Whichever direction these thoughts are going, I am being kind to my self.
