Happiness = Productivity

Excerpt from the article Top 10 reasons why happiness at work is the ultimate productivity booster...

Here are the 10 most important reasons why happiness at work is the #1 productivity booster.

1. Happy people work better with others. Happy people are a lot more fun to be around and consequently have better relations at work. This translates into:

* Better teamwork with your colleagues
* Better employee relations if you’re a manager
* More satisfied customers if you’re in a service job
* Improved sales if you’re a sales person

2. Happy people are more creative. If your productivity depends on being able to come up with new ideas, you need to be happy at work. Check out the research of Teresa Amabile for proof. She says:

If people are in a good mood on a given day, they’re more likely to have creative ideas that day, as well as the next day, even if we take into account their mood that next day.

There seems to be a cognitive process that gets set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent, and original thinking, and there’s actually a carryover, an incubation effect, to the next day.

3. Happy people fix problems instead of complaining about them. When you don’t like your job, every molehill looks like a mountain. It becomes difficult to fix any problem without agonizing over it or complaining about it first. When you’re happy at work and you run into a snafu – you just fix it.

4. Happy people have more energy. Happy people have more energy and are therefore more efficient at everything they do.

5. Happy people are more optimistic. Happy people have a more positive, optimistic outlook, and as research shows (particularly Martin Seligman’s work in positive psychology), optimists are way more successful and productive. It’s the old saying “Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right” all over again.

6. Happy people are way more motivated. Low motivation means low productivity, and the only sustainable, reliable way to be motivated at work is to be happy and like what you do. I wrote about this in a previous post called Why "motivation by pizza" doesn’t work.

7. Happy people get sick less often. Getting sick is a productivity killer and if you don’t like your job you’re more prone to contract a long list of diseases including ulcers, cancer and diabetes. You’re also more prone to workplace stress and burnout.

One study assessed the impact of job strain on the health of 21,290 female nurses in the US and found that the women most at risk of ill health were those who didn’t like their jobs. The impact on their health was a great as that associated with smoking and sedentary lifestyles (source).

8. Happy people learn faster. When you’re happy and relaxed, you’re much more open to learning new things at work and thereby increasing your productivity.

9. Happy people worry less about making mistakes – and consequently make fewer mistakes. When you’re happy at work the occasional mistake doesn’t bother you much. You pick yourself up, learn from it and move on. You also don’t mind admitting to others that you screwed up – you simply take responsibility, apologize and fix it. This relaxed attitude means that less mistakes are made, and that you’re more likely to learn from them.

10. Happy people make better decisions. Unhappy people operate in permanent crisis mode. Their focus narrows, they lose sight of the big picture, their survival instincts kick in and they’re more likely to make short-term, here-and-now choices. Conversely, happy people make better, more informed decisions and are better able to prioritize their work.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 2.5 License.

YouTube FAIL, Google Next?

Today (on Thursday, December 18th of 2008), at 2pm PST, YouTube pulled the plug on their #1 Channel--FAIL Blog. FAIL Blog put out a call for assistance in the matter, which had not been communicated in full to them, and they were brought back online. The original story is here:

http://failblog.org/2008/12/18/youtube-fail/

What does this mean for the rest of us? I am far from alone in how often I use YouTube for posting media content and sharing video. If YouTube's #1 Channel can be brought down, and without warning or explanation for why it is being done, then this can happen to anyone and everyone. Also, for the majority of us who are not major channels, the likeliness that our account would be re-instated is not very probable.

Sadly, a trust has been broken. I'll still use YouTube, but always now with another eye on what other service may be a better option. Worse, this is one of many Google-owned companies. Blogger is another. This reflects on each of those in no good way. It is such a big "error"--if indeed it was--that I'm concerned that a policy change, a change towards "backing off from any risk at all", may be implemented. Most major companies do it. Google, up until now, has been an exception to this approach. I'm not even sure now what could change that trust.

I love Google. I hope this event was simple an Epic FAIL on the part of YouTube, and one that will never be repeated. I don't believe that... but I want to believe it. It is a sad day nonetheless. Yet, nonetheless, I think I'll post a YouTube video after this post to help remind myself how much I really like the service.

Socrates

Socrates, quotes
I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.

There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.

You will know that the divine is so great and of such a nature that it sees and hears everything at once, is present everywhere, and is concerned with everything.

Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods.

Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.

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Note: It is unknown whether Socrates was real, or simply an imaginary tool used in transmitting early philosophies. If real, then it is unknown just how real the image we have of Socrates is, or how far distorted from the source it has become. The image taken is from a bust of Socrates in the Louvre, edited by myself. The quotes are verified translations from surviving works attributed to the name Socrates.

Heart of Prajnaparamita

The Heart of Prajnaparamita Sutra

Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, meditating deeply on the Perfection of Wisdom, saw clearly that the five aspects of human existence are empty, and so released himself from suffering.

Answering the monk Sariputra, he said this:

Body is nothing more than emptiness,
emptiness is nothing more than body.
The body is exactly empty,
and emptiness is exactly body.

The other four aspects of human existence --
feeling, thought, will, and consciousness --
are likewise nothing more than emptiness,
and emptiness nothing more than they.

All things are empty:
Nothing is born, nothing dies,
nothing is pure, nothing is stained,
nothing increases and nothing decreases.

So, in emptiness, there is no body,
no feeling, no thought,
no will, no consciousness.
There are no eyes, no ears,
no nose, no tongue,
no body, no mind.
There is no seeing, no hearing,
no smelling, no tasting,
no touching, no imagining.
There is nothing seen, nor heard,
nor smelled, nor tasted,
nor touched, nor imagined.

There is no ignorance,
and no end to ignorance.
There is no old age and death,
and no end to old age and death.
There is no suffering, no cause of suffering,
no end to suffering, no path to follow.
There is no attainment of wisdom,
and no wisdom to attain.

The Bodhisattvas rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and so with no delusions,
they feel no fear,
and have Nirvana here and now.

All the Buddhas,
past, present, and future,
rely on the Perfection of Wisdom,
and live in full enlightenment.

The Perfection of Wisdom is the greatest mantra.
It is the clearest mantra,
the highest mantra,
the mantra that removes all suffering.

This is truth that cannot be doubted.
Say it so:

Gaté,
gaté,
paragaté,
parasamgaté.
Bodhi!
Svaha!

AychEff Zero

The Art, Writings and Music of Zero
(aka, AychEff Zero; aka, DJ Chad Is a DJ)

Blogger: http://happyfunpak.blogspot.com/
Blogger: http://physiac.blogspot.com/
MySpace Music: http://www.myspace.com/oppositecityoperator
ADHD Revolution: http://adhdrevolution.blogspot.com/
customInk: [link]

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[ Content is copyright Chad Young ]

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Video:

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Audio:

DJ Shadow - Blood on the Motorway (HF Zero vs HF Prime Mod)
click here to download from Drop.io

HF Zero vs HF Prime - Chad's House
click here to download from Drop.io

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Written:

"Yards" [excerpt]

I will sometimes observe the contents
of that cup,
curiously holding it up to the sun--swishing the
liquids into a
whirlpool.

And at the end of the day, when I have
nothing left to do,

I
will often wonder at
what
it means--


what
the
fluid actually represents.

It seems the only things I do know anymore, is that,
when I step
underground, I am proud--

that, when I pour water into a glass,

I am happy,

and that when I shower in the evening, with the idea of
another day
before
me,

I will think of the fountain,


and smile.

"Perplexis" [excerpt] Perplexis lives at three-o-nine West Chiltonberry way with her seven older brothers who do nothing everyday. (Now, for all of those unaware of how a 'nothing' is defined, it's really just a synonym for life without surprise. --and, if surprise is what we use to keep our lives intriguing, then nothing's just a state of mind where something's always fleeting.) So, everyday Perplexis walks to school and then to work, where her mind is always busy and her brothers do not lurk. For, though she loves her brothers more than anyone could know... --with every inch they sink to waste it tears apart her soul. It seems each passing moment strikes a thousand listless hours. As Lexis watches helpless as her brothers' minds go sour. So, walking home from school one day, consumed with riotous anger Perplexis formulates a plan to free them all from danger. --and on the morn of Halloween with jacket-bundled-tightly She gives away her precious things and sets upon the highway. For waiting round with 'hopeful' thoughts has worn away her patience. Thus Lexis now has set upon the trek to reparation.

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Fashion:

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[re-presented with permission]

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with thanks to Skybreak for introducing me

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Updates:
[2010.06.24] - Updated "Perplexis", turning it into an excerpt to better fit the many different versions of the poem. Old audio player died. Updated and added the new Zero vs. Prime track.
[2009.03.29] - Massive image losses due to ImageShack expiration. Migrated "Scar", "Successica", "HF Metropolis" and "Perplex" to Picasa and backed them up. The majority of all other images were lost. Added excerpt from "Yards". Reduced Custom Ink images to two shirts. Updated links. Updated audio player.
[2008.05.19] - "Successica" and "Scar" added to the visual works. With thanks to Kyrie for taking the foto of "Successica"... and to Chadwick for painting it just to remind the rest of us who the real frakking genius is here.

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Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Book: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Author: Charles Seife
Rating: 5/5

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Heresy within Numerology

"Zero" falls into a very narrow category of books that can be considered a work of art. From the cover to the interesting last name of the author (near to that of Cypher) to the chapter titles to the way that each consecutive chapter integrates with its predecessors. Do not be fooled by the deceptive size of this book, as the thoughts it inspires may fill your notebooks and empty the ink from your pens.

The book centers on the twins--Zero and Infinity. These two heretics are abhorred by nature, yet have been sirens to many of the greatest minds this world has ever known. It begins with the chapter "Null and Void", where the implosive power of Zero disables the USS Yorktown. Once the book has opened with such a display of power, it immediately travels backwards in time to when mortals first discovered these two forces. It then follows a trail paved with lunatics who dared seek the twins.

Even the non-numerically oriented should find inspiration and insight buried between the lines and diagrams of this book. The admixture of mathematics, physics and philosophy--even alchemy--leaves open this book's audience to varied membership.

On a closing note, I've worked with high school drop-outs who are trying to get their GED but have difficulty with the math. I've used this book on multiple occasions to get them interested and burning for math so that they want to gobble up every number. It really is an amazing turnaround for an unnecessarily dry subject.


...rate my review here

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V for Vendetta

Movie: V for Vendetta [Amazon DVD] [Amazon Blu-ray]
Director: James McTeigue
Rating: 5/5

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warning: spoilers

Penny for the Guy?

I haven't read the graphic novel. I expect this lends a great deal to why, for me, this movie was bloody soul-striking.

I'm a revolutionary, not an anarchist. Given the choice between statism and anarchy, however, I'd take anarchy in a heartbeat. "V for Vendetta" is the tale of one man's vengeance with the ultimate aim to liberate a nation, running in tandem with the existential journey of the woman who is forced to take his side. They are V and Evey.

Incorrectly marketed as an action movie, this is more a drama and an obvious political commentary on the state of the world. To me, the most important aspect of this story is the journey of Evey, who begins the movie living a life of fear. Her journey begins with a flight out of terror, until she is forced the face her fear and, eventually, her death.

When at last she is given death, the growing parallels throughout the movie combine, until the visions of V's breaking and Evey's breaking unite in fire, in water, in screams and in tears. In this moment, I knew that I loved this movie.

Others will follow what is purported as the main story until its end, marked by its own inspirational terror and beauty. The price of blood is blood, and the character V is one of flesh and blood. Knowing this, the end is apparent.

To revolutionaries, anarchists and all those who have ever broken entirely only to find something "else" just behind the curtains of life--this movie is waiting. To those seeking an action movie with car chases and bullets firing in every other scene, this movie will disappoint.

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Spiritual Enlightenment: the Damnedest Thing

Book: Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing
Author: Jed McKenna
Rating: 5/5

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Amoral Spirituality

What is no-mind? Everything! It is the one no-thing above "things" that matters. So simple and small a thing, yet what an integral shift as to be irreversible. This singularity of an event within the self--this alone--is enlightenment.

McKenna sets out to draw the line between mysticism and enlightenment, continually journaling multiple experiences that serve to calibrate the reader to this perspective. Those attached to any belief that is not based on paradox or balance should either steer clear or enter into this reading prepared to break.

For fellow epiphany junkies, cook up the needle and crack this baggy open. This is one of the best batches I've injected in or out of rehab clinics. The choice phrase of "The First Step" I have already adopted to describe just that--a person's first step outside of themselves, beyond attachment and into an awareness of the absolute.

Jed does not directly comment on the last gate ("last" because there are no doors beyond it that cannot be opened). He does, however, mention the experience of returning only to find his discarded ego where he'd left it. Putting it back on is like taking on the part of a character in a play, except those who've not passed through the gate believe the play to be reality.

It is, again, as if you are simply wearing your own skin.


...rate my review here

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The Church of Conscious Harmony

ConsciousHarmony dot Org

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So I've got this record. I'm known for attacking institutionliz(ed/ing) systems such as churches and political parties. If it breeds dependency and robs individuals of their power, responsibility and accountability, then it's likely that I've spoken out against it at least once. That's why it was a large shock to those who know me when they heard I was waking up at the crack of doom to attend a Christian church on a Sunday morning. I've been back four times... and I'm not a Christian.

He asks, "Why do we need community?"
With a pause, he continues:
"To be sure that we're not all crazy on the same day."

You can see why I like this place, can't ya? Humor combined with insight gets me every time. The fact that I never felt threatened or preached "at" means there are no negatives pulling away from this positive. In other words: "it's all good".

The Church of Conscious Harmony is not exactly "near" anything, but its proximity to the expansive Austin highway system means that you can get there if you want to. Because of this, their congregation is not neighborhood dependents just looking for any cult to give them their weakly "god dose" to fill the hollowness that comes part and parcel with the absence of an independent spirit. Instead, those who attend Conscious Harmony are there because it's their choice (choice being a facet of independence)... often by traveling quite a distance.

The church sits amid the outer forested hills of Loop 360. On my last visit, fog blanketed the hills, trees and houses that surround the church. The grounds afford striking views of the land from many walkways and portholes. The architecture and landscaping are an admixture of European, Native American and Zen. In Austin, the best of things are found in fusion. The design of a place is the reflection of its intentions. If this was all I'd've had to take measure with, the church would've already won me over.

I'll go more into the philosophy of the church a bit later...
...but first... storytime...

A quick introduction to our players. Hekate is the source from which the branches of Brandon and I have come into this congregation. Through me, the branches of Gaea and Jill were brought in. Along with Hekate comes her twins--Rayne and Serra--who happen to be two of the main reasons I've come on Sunday (as I rarely get to see these two lovelies otherwise). Finally, we have Tim, who sits in a central, elevated chair in the sanctuary and speaks with the congregation. There are more faces (Amanda, Barbara and more come to mind), but these will do for starters.

Now, to set this stage in motion. Sunday began before we got there, with cooks preparing food in the kitchen for those coming early enough to make the nine o' clock breakfast. Don't miss this part, because the food is spectacular and gives time to talk with many of the interesting members of this community. Also, removing the distraction of hunger increases focus on the sermon. Well played.

Lights blink in the dining hall at a half-hour 'til ten, when everyone will be gathering in the sanctuary. They blink again at fifteen 'til as well. We took the twins to the nursery, playing with them until an attendant joined us... when we had to break Hekate away from her other two aspects. It was time to leave for the sanctuary.

My first really huge plus is given out on the grounds of how much meditation is done, and how nearly everyone enters into silent meditation while awaiting commencement. Once started, there's at least one more group meditation (though many meditate during songs while listening). You can feel the energy difference in the sanctuary--an amplification of the pervasive calm throughout the grounds. To other sensitives in the Austin area, the sensation is reminiscent of the feeling when entering the sanctum of the 360 Buddhist Temple (if not up to that level of infusion).

The songs can use some work, although "Invoking the Spirit" is a favorite even in its simplicity. The others come up short due to this same simplicity, which does eliminate the need to pull out a book to sing from. Pulling out a book would have the negating effect of focalizing each person on the text within the book instead of unifying their attention as a group. At the same time, the other songs don't achieve the same harmony as "Invoking the Spirit". The solo songs that I've heard have all been beautiful in their instrumentation and lyrical meaning. There has been at least one of these every other week I've attended. Lastly, on this musical note, I think there's been a few lyrical changes (for the better) to "Amazing Grace" since last I heard it. Bravismo!

I was originally neutral on the use of the Christian Lexicon, then became very, very positive in how quickly many of these concepts (most of which can easily be given to exclusiveness instead of openness) were clarified and talked about. Without this lexicon, it wouldn't be a Christian community. Clarification changes everything. To add to my giddy delight, Tim speaks with a selection of words taken from psychology and from philosophical works without limiting the conversation solely to the Bible. One of my four weeks in attendance, the Bible was pulled out only twice (the second time being for the Christian Communion, ergo, a requirement). I should note, however, the first time it was pulled out...

The first time was to read a verse from the Beast of Tarsus (Saint Paul, Saul, The Apostle), who most know I have a personal vendetta against. The Beast turned a teaching of Light into breeding dependencies and victims, advocating the place of slave and master, claiming there be but one life, subjecting women to silence and much, much more. Yet Tim was quick to clarify the passage he read so that everyone understood the symbolic meaning instead of the surface level impression that most would take from it. In the end, the use of the Christian lexicon, the clarification of meaning and the additional sources of cosmological knowledge all get good grades from this little judge.

A complaint was raised within our group against the tithing. Since it's only a basket being passed (and without mention of duty or any other source of guilt), I am for it. Putting the option out there is expected, as otherwise the knowledge of how to give back to the church could easily be missed. Also, I know that the church focuses on Native America and other disenfranchised members of our species. In that manner, I'm not against the intention behind the tithing. It does say that the church doesn't have external businesses or other ways to bring in the required funds to manage itself, which is a dependency the congregation will reflect. This negative mark leaves me neutral on the issue. I would hope that the goal is to move towards self-sustaining, which means that tithing may not be a permanent part of this community.

After the sermon, there's coffee and juice in the dining hall.. . and a lot more talking... and playing with the twins. Also, the book store is open. There are many Eastern books mixed in with Christian theology as well as philosophy and select works from Native America. Closing Sunday worship in this form of communion leaves the entire day on a high note, making the experience an enlivening part of the day instead of a drain.

Time to return to the philosophy, as the communion only covers the global "body" of the church. There's more.

The church states that it stands on two legs. There I agree, although I'm going to re-calibrate it to my own measure. One leg stands in the global realm, taken from cosmological books such as the Bible, the works of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky and many more. The other leg stands in the local realm, focusing on personal development (mostly through "The Work" expounded by Gurdjieff and refined by Ouspensky, from the Way of the Sly Man into The Fourth Way). The third aspect (my addition) is centering prayer meditation as a unitive force. In this way, the spiritual grounds of Conscious Harmony reflect that of the Reality Principle (∞, 0 and 1). Interestingly enough, the Reality Principle was on the CD that Hekate gave me and is displayed at the top of this post. This symbol was a large part of why I agreed to join Hekate here in the first place.

There have only been a few times when I was questioning the stance taken on independence, so I am mostly positive towards the overall philosophy. It seems there is an internal philosophical contradiction that hasn't been worked out between the Self and the World. It's a common contradiction that doesn't actually exist, however most cultures code our identity with expectations that don't align (or contradict) with the spiritual (universal). Patience, reflection and intentional decoding can clarify the contradiction. Mostly, however, personal development is held as an interest of the community, and so my measure on these grounds is positive.

Because Tim uses multiple sources from which to approach a topic--whether they be books, a dance or the Rolling Stones concert or the Bible--the worldview the congregation is exposed to is an expanding one with many perspectives. This is a huge positive mark! Finally, Tim has talked on multiple occasions on how leadership through example is what each member should take out into the world; not conversion. This last positive ranks so highly with me that I've become a proselytizer for the church even though I can't easily attend myself.

Only in Austin. Only in the city with the motto "Keep Austin Weird" would I ever expect to find myself backing a Christian Church. Because of my stance against such organizations, I don't easily give the power of my word to back any of them. Yet I gladly suggest that any spiritual creatures in the Austin, Texas area visit "The Kerby Lane of Christianity".

Natalie calls these types of Christians "Moby Christians". This is sourced from the open-minded Christian essays written by the electronica artist Moby. I've adopted this term due to her. The Church of Conscious Harmony seems filled to the brim with Moby Christians of the Austin Weirdo variety. I say "The Kerby Lane of Christianity" because Kerby is one of the best representations of the Austin Wierd Scene. The scene is built on the idea of taking any ordinary everyday aspect of life in a city and making a weird version out of it. Kerby itself takes the idea of an IHOP or a Denny's, then transforms it from an old-school grocery store into an organic grocer such as Whole Foods. Conscious Harmony takes Christianity and brings out its more healthy and fun ideals, then builds a family out of them.

Accept no replacement.

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Note #1: This review covers only the global aspect of this community, based entirely on my experiences with them on Sunday worship. I haven't taken part of "The Work" of Gurdjieff on Thursday evenings, so I haven't reviewed it here. Andre Oukenav, a Russian friend, turned me on to Gurdjieff in 2003. From my limited experience with his teachings and praxis (as well as those by his student Ouspensky), I would still endorse this "work". It is designed to elevate an individual out of the Realm of the Accidental (chain-reaction) into alignment with the Life Force. While I may have taken the Sufi route to reach this goal, the amount of positives I've seen come out of this "work" are enough to pique my curiosity and to turn others towards it.

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Note #2: For clarification, I stated that "I am not a Christian". You can judge for yourself whether or not that statement is true. My belief is that you ARE the Christ... that Jesus wasn't lying when he said "whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do". I've seen the Christ born into one culture after another, taking and being given one name after another. The name makes no difference to me. The word is the same.

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with thanks to Hekate for introducing me

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Welcome

For the most part, this blog isn't about me per se, but about those things that strike me so hard that I feel inspired to share them. Be it the arts, politics or science, Mall of Me has been built slowly since 2006. I have no aim to blog every day. Expect quality over quantity. Here's a quick intro...

Right: On our right, you'll see the tags (causatives) for the site. I'll go into details on each tag a little farther down. The archive of posts is just below the tags, followed by my Top Three picks from the worlds of the written, the seen and the heard. "The List" is just below those, filled with books on personal development that can actually be applied to life as a praxis. Posts that have been deleted (as well as the reasons for deletion) are listed in the Pathic Purges. My signature and the Polyamory Awareness and Acceptance Ribbon round out the right column.

Left: No Speaken El Engles? No problemo. Clicka da flag most close to your language and Google will translate for you. I should mention now that I'm offensive and speak (badly) more languages than are likely healthy. I click the flags anyway... mostly because I love cultures and I can learn from them by reading what I've written in other languages. We do large features for very specific artists (some music, some visual). I have one lined up who's art was writing. The list shifts around as they are updated and as new ones are added. Below the features are blogs that may do guest posts here or who we just like in general. You can find places where Mall of me has been cataloged in the WW.Infektions area, then track visitors on the world map below it.

Here is a brief description of each label used as causative:

• Audio: Any entry focused on music, an opera or a speech would all go under audio. If it goes in the ear as a foci, it gets labeled as such.

• Code: Code is the software side of technology, and can be related to the memetic coding of the human creature or of a computer. There's no differentiation, but technology is the manifest symptom of the code.

• Comedy: Anything that makes me laugh and tends towards the lighter side of life is going to get the Comedy label.

• Experience: If you have to experience "it" to understand "it" (or if it requires physical action--dancing, climbing, building), then it goes under "Experience".

• Mathematics: Don't ask.

• Mythology: Anything that taps into a mythos or religion of the world will be labeled with the "Mythology" causative. Because these are so ingrained in our cultural coding, mythos has a huge affect on both art and science.

• Objective: While there's no attainable objective-view, I use the "Objective" causative when I'm presenting the work of another without my own commentary or judgment call directly expressed. I leave others to decide for themselves.

• Philosophy: Anything that taps into the intellectual sensations and beckons the mind to ask, think and act will be quickly labeled as "Philosophy". It's one of my favorite drugs.

• Politics: If it has to do with war, economics or government, then it is going under "Politics". As everything is political, my use of this is in the global, ruling sense.

• Subjective: If I'm reviewing or expressing heavy opinions, it goes under subjective. I'm a hard judge. The Austin poetry slam scene refers to me as "the Russian judge". Most things on Mall of Me will not be lowly rated unless my aim is to deter. Five out of five is the highest rating.

• Technology: I'm a technophile and actively participate in movements coordinated in bringing about the replacement of this species thru technology. As such, anything I post having to do with cyberpunk, human enhancement or anything else having to do with technology will be labeled as such. h+

• Tragedy: Tragedy can have humor, but its path lies in the pain and joy born from passion and desire. Catharsis is my favorite form of tragedy.

• Transcendent: Very rarely there comes along something that transcends the genre it was formed in. It is no longer "just a movie" (e.g., "The Fountain"), no longer "just a book" (e.g., "House of Leaves"), no longer "just a party" (e.g., "Burning Man"). These things often defy description and they'll likely come with the "Transcendent" causative.

• Video: If it teases the eye (no matter whether a pictures or animation), it goes under video. As a fire wyrm, I have a particular weakness to videographic sources, and so there's a lot of "eye candy" under this label.

• Walkthru: Walkthrus are guides that I've put together. They're designed to take a portion of how I operate with a tool and explain how others can apply it. While potentially useful, they are completely subjective and may not be for everyone. As such, I suggest that none should follow them.

• Written: While technically translated via the eye, "Written" causatives are meant for the psychology of the being--in grades of intellectual and emotional. Written can cover news feeds, books or just a quote.

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A Note on the Forth Turning: This is the forth evolution of Mall of Me since 2006. Besides basic layout changes, there are now options to share as well as express various states of like and dislike. I may be phasing out the idea of temporary posts (previously, the causative "temp.post"), but may retain this facet. I'm moving more towards the idea of large features and mini-features and keeping my "self" out of it even more.

Long gone are the days of Google Ads on this blog and there hasn't been a shout widget since the third evolution. No more feeds from Fark or Dilbert... and Last.fm hasn't had a quality sound player for years. Deleted. Sending mad shout outs in love to all the artists who've shared their amazing works here and to every one of you who have stopped by from the far corners of the world.

If you're an artist and would like to be featured, contact me. Be sure to include links to your galleries, audio players or writings. Also, include permission to re-post content as well as the titles of pieces or songs that this permission applies to (if it's limited). I can't guarantee a full feature, but I also can't resist promoting anything that I love.

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