Supaza89's Xanga

About time

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:52:54 GMT

Well its about time i updated. Its been a fairly busy few weeks leading up to may, however now i'm on study leave i'm really not doing very much at all. I've taken my usual rantings at society and dedicated a whole site to them, so a lot of my productive thinking has been going there. I've been to Canterbury and back, of which i will put photos up.
This is bridge crossing a small river that runs through a park right behind our house.

This is another bridge, crossing a different river. Probably one they used to throw peasants in back in the day. I'm sure if you searched the bottom you've find a load of them. Its that sort of old school town.

The main high street is very cool. Cos the town is so old, it has castle ruins and stuff all over the place, and all the houses are old medevil ones. They are all twisted and bigger at the top than the bottom. Well not all. . but a lot of them.

Finally. . on the left of this picture you'll see my two future house mates. Jamie in the background, and Chris with the enourmous meal. I'm sure you St. Albans people will meet them someday.

Cheers Za

Wordpress

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:08:58 GMT

I'm currently very busy on my latest project. "Make Wealth History" which can be found here.

I'll update on here when something other than my ramblings at society has drawn my attention.

Cheers Za

Make Wealth History Cont.

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 09:48:51 GMT

Here is another great problem with our society in relation to our wealth. Our attitude.

(Please read this, despite it's length it has something people need to know.)

We all know that a majority of people in this country, and indeed much of the western world are rich. Although many of us may think we are poor in relation to the people around us, we are still taking 3 times our fair share of the worlds wealth. There is only one way in which the western world is going to start backtracking, and thats if we start with ourselves. If we don't have the motivation to do anything, then how can we ever expect anyone else to be persuaded.

I think as Christians it is a perfect chance to be an example. To show that we are concerned for the world God has made, and the people that live in it. So many of us, even Christians live everyday the same as any non-Christian. We pollute the same amount, we are just as rich if not richer than many non-Christians. Many of us even exploit the poor countries through the products we buy in complete ignorance as to which sweat shop its been produced in. How many of us think about these things when we shop? Do we think "How has this product been made, and who am i supporting when i buy this?" or do we think "Oo. . that Columbian chocolate looks nice. . .I'll have that!".

We are always told that we need to stand out and be an example, yet so many of us have fallen into the trap of living the same lifestyle as the non-Christians. We may live different lives, but our lifestyle needs to be different too. So many of us have been caught up in the Capitalist way of life that we must succeed, we must get possessions, we must get ahead of the other guy, get that promotion, status, you name it. So what then do we make of what Jesus' says in Matthew 6: "Do not lay up treasures for yourself on earth"? How many of us do this? Whether we know it or not?
(We all spend money in shops that specialize in selling us exactly what we don't need, but give us what we want)

I think we've all forgotten one of the principals of the Christian life, and its something that is not, but should be addressed in churches. We are not taking care of God's world.

Looking after God's world was the reason he made man. He made Adam to look after everything he had made. We are destroying, and corrupting God's world more and more everyday, and in most cases, its impossible to tell the Christians from the non-Christians as the culprits. We Christians in England live rich, and comfortable lives, yet how much do we complain about taxes and fuel prices? How much more do we have than thousands of other people in the world? We've got caught up in the non-Christian lifestyle, and seen to forget that its bad thing. We need to step out of that lifestyle. We need to be the ones to start stepping down like i said in my last entry. The only way things will begin to change is if Christians go back to the basics of looking after God's world, and its people. Not chasing the same goals of the non-Christians.

In stepping down, we are separating ourselves even further from the rest of the world. We'll be completely going against the flow. But isn't that what we're meant to be doing already? "Consider how we can live with less, so others can have more". Don't choose the high prestige career, choose a simpler life.
(Literally, money doesn't grow on trees, but it is that easy to get hold of. We just pretend it isn't because we've lost all perspective of what "hard" actually is)

Now when we think about it, we realize our sinful hearts. The more you think about it, the more annoyed you'll get because you'll see that the goal you've been chasing, are currently chasing, or are intending to chase (be it occupation, whatever) is not the way forward. The question is, are we going to be selfish like the rest of the world? Or step back and actually try to do something for the poor? We all know every step up for us, is a step down for someone else. How much of what we do is exploiting others?

There are those of us that think we aren't really doing anything to make the world worse, but aren't really doing anything to help it either. Well the more we don't do anything, the more we're making it worse. Its so easy to say "The government must take action", but how can we expect a non-Christian government to do anything? I've mentioned in previous entries about how they exploit the poor, and we all know thats not about to stop. We also can't expect the "rich" to pay extra. We can say "make celebrities pay more, because they are rich", but we must also make sacrifices. We can't draw the line at our own income. Everyone is poor in their own eyes, so therefore who is rich? We're always first to point the finger at the rich, but you never know whose pointing a different finger at you.

We've got to step down, and give to the poor, whatever our income. If we don't, thats hypocrisy. Like i said at the start, the majority of the people in the country are actually "stupidly rich", and thats the problem. We might consider ourselves poor, but we still take more than our fair share.

The response we will get from this is negative. Like everything else in the Christian life, it always goes against the flow of what the rest of the world is doing. In more cases than not, if you're not going against the flow, something is wrong. This idea threatens everything we've worked for, and no-one wants to step back from their achievements. If Christians won't do it, how can anyone blame non-Christians if they don't comply? aren't we supposed to set the example?

So in conclusion. Christians are just as responsible for poverty as non-Christians, and therefore i think that its our duty to do our best to fix this issue. We can all say "you can't tell people to give everything up", but where did this "you just can't" attitude come from? It comes from our desire to hold on to our "treasures", and are deep down inside looking for the best excuse to push the problem away. The simple fact of the matter is, we can should be telling people they need to be poorer. Heres a fact to think about: The majority of the world lives off $2 a day
I probably spent ten times that amount on the last t-shirt i bought.

We can afford to cut back

Cheers Za

(This entry is a combination of mine and Jeremy's ideas and points)

Make Wealth History

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:01:19 GMT

This is the campaign i think we should start.

For years, with the support of the government and media, we westerners have been telling ourselves that poverty is the worlds biggest problem. Many natural disasters around the world are exacerbated by the fact that the country in which it happens is very poor. I remember the Kashmir Earthquake a few years back, and the media telling us that the situation was made worse by the fact that most people were living in houses, unsuitable for the tectonic activity of the location. There is no denying the fact that here, the economy of the local people meant that they were unable to build houses strong enough to withstand an earthquake. They were poor, therefore defenseless.

California and Japan boast about how they've built hundreds of buildings strong enough to withstand earthquakes of up to 9 or 10 on the richter scale. This is due to the fact that they are rich. They have the money to pay for stronger buildings. In this case, and yes indeed many others poverty is the problem. Thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved every year if poverty was "history". The rich have the advantage.

Poverty poses many problems. Economies can't grow, and therefore can't compete with western standards. Poor countries are stuck in a ditch, and need help. (i know i used the ditch example in my last entry, but its still valid)
Heres the current problem, as i see it.

(I gave the West big heads on purpose)
The problem we have, is that there are all these countries that are supposedly poor. We are telling hundreds of countries and governments they aren't doing good enough, and aren't meeting our standards (We seem to think we are the model society). As seen in my stunning diagram, the west is on the scene, looking as if they are going to help the situation, but aren't really bothered about doing anything. They are there to say they helped, but are doing JACK. So there are all these campaigns and the like to "make poverty history" which throw money into that ditch, and hope that it will fill up enough, for the "poor" countries to get out.

Somewhat like this:

This method, which we are currently trying, means that if everything goes to plan and all the governments pull through, we should be able to pull every poor person out of that ditch, and to the same level that we are at. We've think the only way to solve the problem, is by making the poor, as rich as us.

Now if you're thinking that i'm going tell you how we should all do our bit for poverty, (and help) like i may have mentioned before. You're wrong!

The world is not capable of holding a population as big as 6 billion (current population of the world), all living at the same standard as us. If everyone in the world lived at the same standard as the US, we would need 3 planets with which to take resources. In other words, the method with which we are trying to end poverty will not work, even if there was a massive international effort (which will never happen).
I now propose my idea:

Its not making poverty history that we need to do. Its making "Wealth" history. I know most people in the UK, and the media enforces this, look at poor countries and have pity on them. They say "Oh, look at that situation, look how bad it is, how poor everyone is", and in very few cases give some money to some charity. This is exactly the problem! We are looking at the whole situation from the wrong angle. Its the wealth and greed of western society that has put the poor where they are. There is no possible way for the poorest people in the world to live at the same standard as us, therefore there is only one solution. The west must back track. My diagram shows that if the richer, greedy countries come down to a happy medium above the "poverty line", but below what we are currently at the world is even.
There is no doubt that the worlds resources are all limited, and so we need to stoop down a level, using less resources. This creates global sustainablility where the rich have come down, and the poor have gone up. It can't be merely the poor getting rich, like we are trying to do. We must get poorer.

Now one thing remains. Us. Who is really prepared to lose what they've got to help the poor? How many people, even those involved in the "make poverty history campaign" are willing to step down? If this method was put into place, would we then see if our governments genuinely care? If we care?

Every step we take backwards allows the poor to go up.

Cheers Za

Developing Worlds

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:32:22 GMT

Heres something i've been wondering for a while now. Firstly. . .what is the meaning of a developed country? We are constantly informed of how the "poor" countries out across the seas are in desperate need of developing. The thing is, who ever stopped to think who put those so called "undeveloped countries" in their situation in the 1st place?

We are to blame for that. Us "westerners" are purely to blame. We constantly say these countries need help developing, and indeed they do, but simply because thats what we've told them they need to do. We've created a global environment that is impossible for anyone below our standards to compete with. We go raise money through charities, go abroad, and think we can tell everyone that they need developing. All African countries (as an example) are trying to develop, so they can become like the states. The West has created an image of perfection and "development" that all countries strive to get, and never question their need for it. The only reason the countries need help developing in the first place, is because we've made them believe that is what they must do. Now they are on an impossible climb to perfection, which of course, the west will never let them reach.

For example, look at this picture:

Lets say, this village is set in the middle of nowhere. It has its own economy, leader, and village community. They live off the land, and the world ticks by on the other side of those mountians, and niether them, nor anyone else knows what is going on. Now ask yourself these questions . . . do those people need to developed? Do they need cars? Do they need genetically enhanced food? Sky scrapers? What do you think the crime is like here? Whats the average age someone dies?

Since when did the idea of perfection turn from that, into something like this?

Look at the picture below, and ask yourself the same question. Just add "Why are we persuading people to develop into this?"

The western "developed" countries have infiltrated non developed countries, and given them a taste of a life that looks amazing. The simple fact is, some countries are richer than others. The worlds resources are not evenly distributed. A country in the Middle East will be richer due to its oil, than that of West Africa, not necessarily due to population size, or the size of the country, but simply because they have something the other country doesn't.

Why then, are we persuading so many "undeveloped" countries to strive for development such as ours when

A: they don't have the money/resources to do so

B: We would crush anyone that remotely threatened to gain any strength over us. We benifit too much of the developing countries to ever actually let them develop? (ie. Weapons trade)

The problem is now, we've told so many people they need to develop, and so many countries are in mid-development, that we are now realising that not everyone is going to make it. China and India (Having the worlds biggest population) will overtake the UK and US development/economy wise before 2020. Other countries who've started their development, are now in extreme debt, and can't get out. Their stuck in a ditch we've dug for them, and to help them out we are giving them more spades.

Developing countries have lost what they had in picture one, to try and get whats in picture two. What they have now, and will probably have for the rest of our lifetime, is picture 3.

I just don't understand how our governments are supposedly working so hard to help these countries when they are the ones that put them there, are holding them there, and are telling them everything will be ok if they buy our guns.

Cheers Za

Magicians

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:13:23 GMT

I went to see this film the other day.

It was an entertaining film, but all it did was remind me of how amazing "The Prestige" is. That film dwarfs this one in so many ways, even though The Illusionist is also a good film. The acting is very good, and Edward Norton is the man, even though he doesn't do very much acting. Just lots of sitting and staring. Some parts of the film i found really predictable, while others completely unexpected, so i suppose there was a pretty good blend.

I can see why these two films weren't released in the same month, as they were originally intended to be. A: Because they are both based in the same era (Victorian London), with magicians and B: Because "The Prestige" is so much better, no one would have gone to see "The Illusionist".
The Prestige came out today, so psyche!

Anyway, i'm not going to continue, and do another entry on films because thats been done many times before, by myself and others. I will however leave you with one film which i think actually looks funny, and this next picture will probably answer all your questions about what film that actually is.

Cheers Za

World Mapper

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:31:30 GMT

Heres something interesting.

This is a normal world map, as you've all seen before. This shows the proportion of land distribution between the countries, and is the one most commonly used in lessons. What you never see is what follows below.

This one shows the world in terms of the population of each country, rather than the land it owns. Notice China and India have pretty massive populations.

Now this map shows the world in terms of money. The richer the country, the bigger it is.

America and England look pretty confortable compared to Africa. Bearly a smudge.

This map shows the amount of money the countries spend on making weapons. Funny enough it looks similar to the map above it. America is making loads and loads of weapons.

Finally, a map which shows the number of deaths that occur because of those weapons.

Basically Africa buys all the West's weapons.

Thats just a little something that made me think about the current state of the world we live in, and some of the harshest injustices which go on. I mean the difference between the population and the wealth maps is sad, not to mention some of the others. Considering these are based on stats from 2002, i still think there are a lot of things that us "Westeners" have got wrong, and far too much of it goes un-noticed or is ignored because of our confortable lifestyles. We just can't get the perspective of whats going on because its always "so far away" or "none of our buisness". The media doesn't help. News programs only tell the viewer what they want to hear in order to rake in their viewings and money. You never hear what happens abroad.

Just something to think about.

Cheers Za

(these maps came from www.worldmapper.com)

Update

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 12:58:09 GMT

There is a new movie in "MY VIDEOS" for those who are interested. Its not long, and quite amusing, titled "Bear movie". Most of you can guess what that is i'm sure.

As for this entry, there really isn't much to say. I'm working hardcore on my last drama piece at the moment, which leaves little space for anything else. At some point Mike intends to take some pictures or something of our rehearsals and stuff, so i may do an entry on that.

Other than that, nothing much has been going down that most of you don't already know about. Last weekend was Beth and Chloe's 18 birthday party. Mike already talked about that, so i won't bother.

We also went round to the Saunders house on Thursday to hang out with Ben before he cruises off to far off lands.

We played a game of Settlers of Catan (as demonstrated by Jonno stealing "The Longest Road" card off Tom) and generally just sat around talking. T'was good fun. Anyway, thats all i really have to say. It's body sog time.

A prime thing i noticed yesterday.

I'm stoked for spring!

Cheers Za

This xanga PULSE thing is pretty cool. I like!

Medic!

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 09:18:26 GMT

Internet has been down for the last three weeks, so i've not updated. I'll be updating as soon as i have some prime stuff to arrive joy with.

Cheers Za

Snow

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:44:55 GMT

About freaking time!

This was at about 9 in the morning, cos everyone was noisy and woke me up. I wasn't too annoyed.

It was pretty deep this year. The deepest i've ever seen it, but thats not really saying much considering i lived in the tropics for 16 years. I would say what happened and stuff, except Mike wants to do that on his entry, so i'll leave him the best pictures and the story this time. Hach!

Cheers Za