The insanely boring life…

A few weeks ago I installed Ubuntu Linux and decided that it will be my main Operating System for the months to come. I thought that I might pledge my allegiance to Linux and the Open Source community by taking this step.

I was not a complete Linux idiot and as time progressed…well…at least my knowledge of Linux didn’t DECREASE, however, it didn’t increase much, either. I used Linux as my main operatng system for about a day. I suddenly found that I needed to scan a page of sheet music to send to a friend. Lo and behold, my scanner (which is a CanoScan LiDE 500F) is not supported. So, there went my vow to stick with Linux.

About a week of continuous Linux usage (I felt very proud of myself), I saw that I needed to print a photo. Wait. Let me clarify: I didn’t NEED to print the photo, but I really wanted to. Anyway, so there I was, trying to get the printer to work, when I finally came to the conclusion that Linux does not support my printer very well. I have the Canon PIXMA ip5000, and the only printer driver available in Ubuntu in the PIXMA series was the ip4000 Printer. I decided to install that driver and hope for the best.

Well, at least I got a printout, albeit an ugly one. The printout was terrible, to say the least. Not only was it horribly distorted, but the colours just were not working correctly. I finally got the distortion to stop by fiddling with the driver, but the colours were never meant to be. At that time I considered myself lucky that I could, at least, print text, as long as the text was black.

I found myself back in Windows XP, not only printing the photo’s, but printing them on actual photo paper (those small ones that look like actual prints from the photo labs).

So, I cheated a bit, I’ll admit.

But that was only the beginning. The sole thing that drove me away from Linux can be summed up in one word: MIDI.

Yes, Timidity is nice, but when you have an external MIDI keyboard and you try to use that to produce your MIDI sounds, well, let’s just say that it is not going to work. I might just be stupid, but I am smart enough to know that you should make it as painless as possible for the end user, which is something that Ubuntu failed to do for me. So, here is my list of things that is WRONG with Ubuntu that seriously needs attention:

• Scanner support: One word – Terrible.

• Printer support: Better, but still terrible. I can only imagine the trouble one has to go through if you buy a NEW printer.

• Less command line: I am not scared of the Terminal, but when you have to start planning your day around it, then it is not fun or productive. The GUI is the way of the future, even if Linux geeks thinks it makes accomplishing tasks faster. I disagree. I like to know what I am doing. If some random person tells me to paste something into command line for some or other feature to work, then I have the right to wonder what is going on with this world. Even if it takes slightly longer to do something the GUI way, it at least means that I know what I am doing.

• Make it easier to insert special characters: I use special characters a lot, and in Windows XP, all I have to do is press the relevant key combination. If I try that in Linux, for the love of me, it will not work. Now, every time I have to go into the “Special Characters” section of OpenOffice to insert one.

• I don’t know what to call this, but here goes: In Windows, when I insert a USB device, like my V3 RAZR, I can put it in any USB port available without having to reinstall the driver or having to tell the application which USB port to use. In Linux, though, when I try the same thing, the silly thing does not recognize it. I have to tell the application in question which USB port is being used at the time. That makes life that much frustrating.

• Multimedia keys: I like them. Get over yourself. It is nice having to control my program from it. In Linux, it is useless. I might as well use the multimedia keys to scratch my bum. It will have more use, at least. I tried everything, but unless you have a fairly standard one or a fairly popular one, you will have to suffer.

• Numlock on by default: This might seem trivial, but I like numlock. I have never seen an OS where you have to fiddle with text files to get numlock on by default. And then the system has the audacity to say numlock is on, when they keyboard clearly says that numlock is off. Why is the green light not on?

• MIDI: All those above things are trivial – unimportant – when compared to the MIDI problem. Why is this completely ignored. Why is it that the moment you say the word “MIDI” in the forums or in the IRC chat room that everyone pretends you don’t exist and runs away? It seems to have become a taboo topic. And don’t get me started on an external midi device. Why is it that something so basic in both the MAC Operating System and the Windows line of Operating Systems is such a dark art in the world of Linux. It might just be me, but if you can get an external midi device working without fiddling with insertcomplicatednameoffilecombobulator or the commandlinesomemorecomplicatednamesconservulator, then please let me know.

Before I start, you need to watch a movie. This movie is available on DailyMotion and is separated into 5 parts. Here are the links to the parts:

• Jesus Camp - Part 1

• Jesus Camp - Part 2

• Jesus Camp - Part 3

• Jesus Camp - Part 4

• Jesus Camp - Part 5
  

That film is a real eye opener, and that is what I am going to talk about today. I am going to talk about the extent to which religion will go just to make sure that that particular religion has power in the community, in the government, in the world and, most disturbingly, in the children.

There are people in this world who call themselves “Evangelicals” and this film explains what evangelicalism is all about. Let me explain: It is a Christian denomination who believes in conservatism, creationism and brainwashing. Yes, you read correctly: brainwashing. It is one thing to believe that evolution does not exist, that science (and I quote) “proves nothing” and believing that we do not need to worry about the state of the earth because 1) Global Warming does not exist and 2) God is coming soon, anyway, so what is the point in being concerned…BUT it is a completely different thing if you start brainwashing children to believe the same thing and to alter their spiritual and political beliefs.

Far from what religion is supposed to be, it has evolved into a monster. Where is the original thought that religion should be separate from the state because, after all, we live in a free country. The point of democracy is completely thrown out the window when organized religion starts taking over.

In America, 20% of the entire population calls themselves “Evangelicals.” That means, that because they will all vote for a certain political party, that political party is guaranteed to be in power. That is what organized religion is, and that the evil of it all. George W. Bush has nothing to fear, as long as he continues the “conservative” route he is currently taking. But wait, if that is not enough to disturb you, then read on.

Brainwashing. That is what the film is about. As a child, you are required, by law, to have fun. To live a child’s life. These children are 10 years old and they should not live the life that they are forced to live. In the film, they attend a camp that is lead by a woman whom I will call Crazy Lady. Crazy Lady is probably the roundest person I have seen in a while, physically. I usually have no problem with that, but when she starts speaking about “fat, lazy Christians should get up and preach the word of God” and “fasting” I cannot help but stifle a laugh. The irony is overwhelming.

So, she continues to preach to these children, and all of a sudden, she just says, completely randomly, that Harry Potter is evil. Not only that, but “if Harry Potter lived in the Old Testament, he would have been killed mercilessly.” That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said about the bible. But wait, there’s more! The whole Harry Potter display was apparently a direct message from the holy spirit.

But the comedy act just keeps getting better and better. I cannot help but laugh when she and her brainwashing group starts praying over the chairs “and to let the blood of Jesus Christ wash over them.” Nice. But the funniest thing, by far, is when she says: “Devil, I know what you want. In the name of God, you will not ruin the minds of these children. And God, please bless the microphones, the audio equipment and the Powerpoint Presentation.” And then, she starts speaking in tongues and she looks like she’s is having a seizure. The irony, of course, lies in the fact that not only is she the one ruining the minds of the children, but she is doing the Devil’s work for him. Why? Because the one sure way of turning the world against you and your message, is to promote brainwashing children.

So, I am speaking of brainwashing, but I have not yet said what the children are being brainwashed for. The answer is shockingly simple. The children are firstly thought to honour their parents and to accept EVERYTHING their parents say without question as the ultimate truth. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Only, the parents are teaching the children that dinosaurs did not exist and are faked in order to prove that God does not exist, they teach their children that science is a load of dung and “does not prove anything” and evolution is just another scheme to prove that God does not exist to try and counter the 7-day creation theory in Genesis. So, their parents are guilty of feeding the children false information in regards to what is proven by man and science and what is said in the Bible. Some people just don’t understand metaphors. So, what harm does that have on the children, you may ask? Simple: If they are in school, they will counter anything that a teacher says about those subjects, and other subjects. By doing that, they will grow up to be illiterate about the world around them in regards to science. Not to mention the low marks they will get by refusing to write exams on those subjects because it counters their belief.

Of course, the suffering of the children does not end there. Have you ever heard of a child that has political beliefs? These children do. They are thought by the Crazy Lady to vote for a political party. George Bush’s conservative Republican party, to be precise. In a few words, she tells the children to vote for him because of so-and-so reasons, but in the same breath she says that if they vote for another party, they will, in effect, live an afterlife of eternal damnation and servitude in the deepest depths of Hell. Scary? Not quite.

Children are thought to pray in tongues. Normal thing for them to do, I suppose. But the poor children start crying from apparent intensity. They are as red as tomatoes and crying freely. Just when start thinking “oh, the poor kids,” I see them going to prostitutes and telling them that “God talked to them” and he wanted the “prostitutes to know that they are going to hell. Have a nice day.” And a little 10-year-old girl wanted to have them repent their ways. Now, if some random girl came up to me and started saying that I am going to Hell, then I would have to question the sanity of girl. But it gets better. She actually goes over to a few people sitting on a park bench, and she asks them “If you were to die right now, would you be going to Heaven?” The guy, being a little shocked, says “yes” and she looks skeptical. She walks off, and a says to her friend, “They are probably Muslim.” The people on the bench hearing this, of course, looks like someone slapped them with a wet fish across the face.

So, what do you make of all this? I believe that there are limits to how far you push children to do your bidding. I firmly believe that if you are going to use children to do your work, then at least let them do it knowing both sides of the argument. I don’t just mean religion, but about the world in general. Children cannot be expected to be saints, and since that is what Evangelicals believe, you can only imagine the hell these kids go through just to please their pastors and parents.

Before I end this article, I thought I should leave you with a little story. The Evangelical kids are lying in their camp bunks and telling ghost stories to each other. All of a sudden an adult comes in and tells them that they are going to Hell for telling things that do not honour God. In a similar incident, an adult takes the child by the head and shakes him violently, speaking in tongues, telling the Devil to leave the child alone and to stop filling his head with evil ghost stories. The adult thought the child was possessed by Satan himself because he was telling a ghost story.

Think about that.

So I have been on my summer holiday since Friday the 17th. Anyway, so I am happy to be on holiday, who would complain…but…

I am so bored! You have no idea. Just sitting here doing nothing. Why, I was even inspired to write a blog post about my boredom. I only have two months of boredom left. I don’t want to wish them away, and yet I don’t wish to sit idly by and watch them go by. I am as poor as a church mouse and that means that the mall is out of the question until the first of December.

At least I have tomorrow to look forward to. Yes, tomorrow is our annual Ratanga Junction day. Me and three friends to a theme park (which is a lot of fun, albeit a bit expensive) every year. Tomorrow is the day when we will go this year. It is always a lot of fun and a tan is guaranteed. So, after that I will post about that.

But that leaves the rest of the holiday. If only I knew what I am going to do for all that time. I suppose my daily schedule looks like this:

1. Wake up
2. Eat breakfast
3. Sit in front of the computer
4. Eat dinner
5. Get dressed
6. Get dressed in pyjamas
7. Go to bed.

Unless I go to the movies or do something special, that will be my day. How exiting. I might read some fan fiction or perhaps some books.

I only recently found out that Andrew Lloyd Webber (one of my favourite composers) is working on his next project called “The Master and Margarita“. It is surprising that he says in his blog post (I never even knew he blogged) that he will most likely turn this Russian novel into an Opera, which is an interesting turn for a musical writer. I can personally not wait for this to become a reality and when it comes out I will most likely see it. I am in South Africa, but the Really Useful Group says that production will most probably take 3 years, including writing. At that time I will be out of the hell hole some people call a country.

Anyway, back to the topic. If you want to know more about the novel, check out this Wikipedia Article.

This is a very good day. I can finally close the door on my first composition. I now have finished everything related to it.

Here are the possible ways to view/download it:

• You can download the PDF of the sheet music here.
• You can download the midi file here.
• You can download the audio file (of me playing it) here.
• You can watch the video (of me playing it) here or here.

Expressions are not tied to a key is my first composition, and I hope that there will be many more to follow. I am working on one as you read.

If you hadn’t heard about this already, then shame on you if you consider yourself a fan. This beauty (Voldemort excluded) is the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Teaser Poster. And do you know what that means? It means that we are just a few hours away from seeing the trailer. The teaser trailer débuts tomorrow (the 17th of November) in the film Happy Feet. And that means us South Africans will have to wait a longer while for it. The image below has been scaled down to fit on my blog, so you can click on it to see the higher resolution one.

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED GO HERE FOR THE NEW VERSION.
This is a video of me playing my own composition. It is called Expressions are not tied to a key.This is the first musical piece which I had to write. Remember, I am still in grade one music, so adjust your expectations accordingly. You can view the video here on Google Video.You can also listen to the MP3 (1.8 MB) (which i recommend you do) by clicking here. If you are much to lazy to do that, you can view the video file below:

This is a logo that was made with a logo generator which is a parody of all Web 2.0 logos. I find it very funny, indeed. It has the mirror effect, the primary colours and the infamous beta tag. Hilarious!

I have just finished reading “Dis Ek, Anna” (Translated, it is “Its me, Anna”). I have never read a book so fast. I read the whole thing in one day (Sunday, today).

Anyway, what is it about, you may ask? It is about a girl named Anna. Her parents divorce because her father fell in love with another woman. After which, her mother remarries and Anna initially likes this new man and his son. But…she soon finds out that he is not a very friendly man. (Do not read further if you plan to read the book. Spoilers ahead). He starts to touch her in places that are off bounds, especially to your own step-daughter. This continues, and when she is a teenager, just when she starts her periods, he starts to have sex with her at night. Her mother and brother are unaware of this. And it gets worse, for not only does he have sex with her, but is is also verbally and physically abusive towards her and his son. Her mother believes that it is right, in a way. And still, she goes on knowing nothing about how she is raped at night.

So, when she is sixteen, she falls in love with a guy (who is really nice) and she finally has her first kiss. This infuriates her step dad, and he forces her to give him a blow job that evening. After which, she tries to kill herself by overdosing on pills she received from the doctor to calm her nerves. So, her mother is concerned. Whoop dee doo. Her mother has a baby with this man, and soon after, Anna becomes the local school slut. Her step dad still “giving her lessons” in the evening. She finally screams out for help to her mother one night, and when she tells her mother, she gets a beating that almost kills her. Her own mother does not believe her.

She then catches her step dad kicking her baby sister’s private parts, and she is completely disgusted. When she tries to tell her mother, she is kicked out of the house. She also finds out that she is pregnant, apparently with his child. She goes to live with her ex-boyfriend’s parents, who believes her and cares for her for the next few years. Anyway, she completes school, she studies interior decorating through the post and owns her own business. She never trusts men, and goes out of her way to hide her perfect body, as it were.

One day, she hears a knock on her door, and there is the sister whom she was never allowed to see. The sister blames Anna for her being raped by her dad. She is of the opinion that if she didn’t leave, then she would not be raped (a vicious circle). Anyway, she stays at Anna’s house for one night, and kills herself in the morning. She then finds out that her sister was also pregnant.

And then, well, she goes to kill her step dad. She looks into his eyes as she kills him. (I must admit that I felt a great sense of satisfaction. I only wished she killed her mother too [I'm evil]).

The sad thing about this book is the fact that the whole thing is a true story. The writer never gives her real name, and calls herself “Elbie Lotter”. I presume she changed the character’s names as well. I suppose it would be rather embarrassing for the step dad to have his real name in the book.

She does say in the end notes that she fabricated the part about killing her step dad. She says, and I quote, “God beat me to it. He died of natural causes.” Now, it might just be me, but she is suggesting that she really wanted to kill him. Nice. I would too.

Anyway, I would REALLY recommend the book. There is an English translation, if you don’t understand Afrikaans. I think everyone should read this book. I was really moved by every single line. I am never one to comment on such things, but the punctuation usage and sentence structure, in particular, was astounding. I have never seen someone write like that before. I am sure if the writer writes another book, I would surely notice the style, because it is quite particular.

This is the very first record on the Internet Movie Database, and it is called Carmencita. Anyway, I have watched the movie, which is a total of 2 Minutes long, and I can’t seem to decipher what it is actually about. The movie was originally found on the National Archives and Records Administration, and it has been uploaded to Google Video for your enjoyment. It is very bad quality, but you can understand that when you know that the movie was made in 1894. Amazing, though.

Ok. Something interesting to note, though: Fred Astiare is the person with the 0000001 url.