Ashamed to be human

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Stig

Today I saw a video on YouTube that made me cry. It made me feel dirty. It made me feel like Leeloo in The Fifth Element, researching war.

In the video, captured within the last couple of days, you can see Egyptian military police, armed with riot gear, savagely beating protesters. Beating them with their sticks. Kicking them while they are down. Stomping a woman in the chest while she is being dragged across the ground.

At one point, one of the “law enforcers” jumps, stomping down with both feet, on a man lying on his side.

These people are psychopaths, but I still wouldn’t want anyone to do to them what they are doing to these protesters. There are NO extenuating circumstances for these actions. There is NO excuse for beating someone like this. There is NO way to justify jumping on another human being!

How is this even fucking happening?!?

Today I am ashamed of being a human being…..

Update:

It’s been a few hours, I’ve calmed down a bit. Rationally, I know that shit like this goes on all the time. But reading or hearing about it just isn’t the same as seeing moving pictures. Seeing it happen makes it real on a whole new level. And it’s still so fucking wrong….

Truth is the first casualty of war

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Stig

Today marks the beginning of the first hearing in the case against Bradley Manning, the US Army private who is accused of leaking almost half a million documents and two videos to WikiLeaks, including the horriffic video dubbed “Collateral Murder“.

A couple of days ago, The Huffington Post published a very moving piece by Graham Nash titled Bradley Manning Is “Almost Gone”. I highly recommend it.

“Regardless of whether you think that Manning is right or wrong, innocent or guilty, hero or villain, saint or sinner, he is a human being and should be treated as such.”

What really brought tears to my eyes, though, was the song “Almost Gone” (The Ballad of Bradley Manning) that Graham Nash and James Raymond has recorded. Together with the accompanying video, it paints a very sad picture of the U.S….

Tell the truth and it shall set you free….. Yeah, right….

Please go read, watch, and listen.

And please show your support for Bradley Manning in any way you can.

Sharing is Caring / Christmas Cash

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Stig

People who know me know that I talk a lot about copyright reform, free content, open culture, and alternative funding. I’ve thought about sending some money to several people and groups for quite some time, but I’ve just not gotten around to it. And frankly, I am a bit disappointed with myself. It’s time for me to start putting my money where my mouth is.

This christmas, I’ll be donating to, and buying from, some of my favorite artists and causes. I will start with pledging amounts here on my blog and on Facebook. Then I will initiate the actual transactions. By pledging the money publicly, I’m hoping to inspire you to do the same.

Personally, I’m planning on spending about €50. I’ll just take a few days to think about how I’ll divide the money. A fiver here and a fiver there is not much, I know, but that’s why I’m asking you to take part!

Please, join me and show the world that sharing is caring. Share some money with the people who share their works with you.

I’m not trying to guilt or force anyone into anything. If you want to join in, that’s great! Give whatever you want to whoever you want. If you don’t want to join in, that’s fine too. I just ask you to be sincere. If you pledge an amount, please go through with it.

Here are some suggestions on how you can support your favorite creators and causes:

Donations
Buying merchandise
Paying for premium content
Buying songs or ebooks from iTunes, Smashwords, or wherever, where the creators get a fair slice of the pie

Give as much or as little as you want, to whatever artists, groups, causes, or random people you want!

Sharing is Caring

/Stig Rudeholm

Photo by Krystal T on flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krystalt/
Licensed under a “Creative Commons – Attribution” license

Album of the Week: Heartbroken

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Stig

Download and listen for free!

This week’s soundtrack is a really nice goth album called Heartbroken by One Dice. It is brand spanking new and is the band’s first full length album. If you want to support One Dice, you can buy an extended version of the album, with 13 tracks, at their bandcamp site. You can listen to all 13 songs there, and if you decide to buy the album you can pay as little as €1 or as much as you want. Included in the purchase is a 24-page booklet (PDF, I guess) with lyrics and photos. A very nice way of adding value for those who pay for the downloads.

I find the music very moving and the female singer’s voice sothing and hypnotic. I am seriously considering buying the extended version, as I really like this album.

Have you found an album at Jamendo.com that you would like to share? Please tell me!

Sunday Comic: Watermark

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Stig

A Sunday Comic on an actual sunday? Surely not!

Yes! It’s true, I am actually posting this sunday comic while it is still sunday.

Here’s another favourite Mimi and Eunice comic strip from the archives of Nina Paley!

This is pretty much what Watermarking and DRM are all about. You take a perfectly good product and make it less usable and less enjoyable for the people who actually paid for it. In other words, you punish your paying customers.

In case you didn’t know, pirate cake generally comes without the pee, thus tasting a lot better. So, is it any wonder that a lot of people prefer pirate cake?

Album of the Week: Seismograph

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Stig

Download and listen for free!

This week’s pick is Seismograph by Philos Deploys. It is listed as “dark electro”, and it will not be to everyone’s taste, I’m sure, but I think it is really, really good.

Someone once said that there’s a music for every mood, and a mood for every music. I agree. This is not what I listen to every day, but when I’m in the mood for some dark german electronica, this fits the bill perfectly. It’s got a bit of Rammstein in there, as well as a bit of Depeche Mode. I love it.

As always, you can download and listen to this album free of charge at Jamendo.com!

Enjoy the music!

Sunday Comic: Balance

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Stig

Ok, so once again, it’s actually monday here in Sweden…. But hey, in a large part of the world it’s still sunday, so this post still counts!

Here’s another favourite Mimi and Eunice comic strip from the archives of Nina Paley!

Ever noticed how most corporations pushing for stricter legislation to “protect creators” never actually create anything themselves, except lawsuits?

Stig Rudeholm

Random thoughts, rants and ramblings…

Monthly Archives: December 2011