A glimpse

A spark of passion

A shedding of tears

A dripping of blood

A glimpse into eternity

A step into oblivion

 

Inspiration, mes chers lecteurs! Isn't it a beautiful thing?.

Rêves doux!

Rant, And I hadn't published one in a while, had I?

Bonsoir, mes chers lecteurs! It's been a long while since my last rant.

Here it goes.

So, I got on the subway, and this lowlife gets on and starts going "blah blah, I'm no thief, I'm no swindler, I'm a beggar, give me money" in one of those pre-written speeches that all of these people seem to use. Mind you, he was talking on an expensive mobile phone as he stepped on. Either we hasn't as needy as he led on or it was stolen, in any case, what was this imbecile halfwit thinking?

Not only that, but also he was putting a demanding hand in front of anyone he could (the tube was packed).

This reminded me, in a way, of those beggars who pretend to be blind to gain the sympathies (and money) of those around.

Argh.

And to top things off, when I tried to get off, I had to fight a tidal wave of humans who wouldn't let me off because they wanted to get on without letting anyone off.

Morons.

I really do hate having to push my way through a crowd.

</rant>

Rêves doux, chers lecteurs.

Moratorium on death penalty?

Bonsoir, mes chers lecteurs! How are you tonight? I imagine you saw the title. Here it goes. There is a proposal for a global moratorium on death penalty in the UN. Supporting it, some 88 countries,incluiding Mexico, the whole of the European Union, Venezuela, Austalia, Phillippines, about eight African countries, another ten Latin American countries, and some others. I wish I could be more specific but I have so far been unable to find a list of the countries that favor this moratorium. Opposing it are China (execution central of the world) The US, Singapore, Botswana, Jamaica, Iran, Egypt and others.

Anyone of you, mes lecteurs ever heard the opinion of the Marquis de Sade on capital punishment?

"A State that kills has no right to condemn murder"

I wonder if that is true. Anyhow, in my humble opinion, this particular moratorium should be ratified. Executions not only seem barbaric, it's also an incentive. If a criminal knows that what he or she did will get him (or her) executed, then said criminal will have nothing to lose, and increase the criminal rampage.

Also, there is the point of miscarried justice. If you find out that the person in jail is innocent, you let it out, but if you execute said person, there is no way to bring him or her back from the dead is there?

Too bad no one comments, I would love to get some feedback on this issue.

In case you want to read more, go here, here and here.

Rêves doux, chers lecteurs, see you tomorrow!

It would have been beautiful...

But it was cancelled. Bonsoir mes chers lecteurs! Tonight I bring you a page from recent history.

                 

                                THE X-33

It was a prototype for the larger VentureStar, which was meant to be a successor for the aging space shuttles. It was a Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO, meaning no additional rockets or tanks to take it to space) reusable launch vehicle. The prototype was intended to test an array of new technologies meant for new space vehicles, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the design. The VentureStar would not only be utilitarian but also commercial.

Sad news is, the design had some flaws, and the prototype was left at 85% completion when the project was canceled in 2001.

A damn shame if you ask me.

Sadly enough, once the shuttles are retired, they will be succeeded by the Orion which I imagine will sport the latest technologies, but looks like the Apollo, but they say the Orion will be taking people tothe moon in 2020 and subsequently to Mars. Hopefully!

I really do wish I can get to orbit one day.

Rêves doux, chers lecteurs!

News from beyond...

The atmosphere, that is. Bonsoir mes ches lecteurs! How are you today?

For a change, today I bring you, not rant or controversy, but some nice news. I assume you know about the International Space Station, a collective multinational effort at having a human foothold in orbit.

This is it.

                   

Today they installed a new module in the ISS, a research module, I believe. here are the pictures of the installation:

                   

                    

                    

Beautiful, is it not?

Oh, mes ches lecteurs! I wish I could be up there! Oh well, all in good time, maybe I will.

Further news here.

Alas, mes ches lecteurs, it is time for me to fall, but fret not, I shall rise again tomorrow. Rêves doux, rêves d'espace, particulièrement!

Au revoir.

 

Well, seems like a fitting punishment...

Bonsoir, mes ches lecteurs! How are you tonight?

Tonight I bring news about justice in Mexico, or at the very least law. I heard on the news today that Congress is discussing the usage of "Chemical castration" specifically the medicine called Depo-Provera to punish pedophiles and rapists.

I've been looking a bit into this, and I find the idea interesting, considering the fact that the offenders would actually be "cured" of their raping impulses. Along with a few side-effects. Curious?

Weight gain, fatigue, thromboembolism, malaise, hypertension, mild depression, hypoglycemia and liver enzymes gone berzerk.

I'm a bit divided on this issue. While the prospect of curing a sex offender is a rather positive one, the state should have no right to tamper with the body of any of its citizens.

Now, if the criminal voluntarily agrees to take the treatment, it would be another story, but I suspect it to be a highly unlikely event.

So how do we define the state's rights? Some would argue that a criminal should have no rights, but the road from there to summary imprisonments and no privacy is very short.

Then again, it may be argued that it is honestly done with the best interests of both society and the offender in mind, given the fact that through the treatment, said criminal would be completely reformed. Hopefully.

This is one complex topic, n'est çe pas, mes ches lecteurs? I hope I do get comments on this one, but I know no one reads this anyways.

But hope dies last

Au revoir mes ches lecteurs.

And after a long day...

A nice post, mes ches lecteurs! You see? I'm keeping my promise of posting daily (even when no one reads this). Anyway, has any of you been hearing of the environmental disasters that have occurred recently? Two come to mind, one is an accident, and one is the force of nature. The oil spill that will make the Black Sea earn its name, and the state of Tabasco which has become pretty much one big swamp. I've been seeing images from both incidents, and it's not pretty. I'm quite certain that the coast near the spill is going to become a dead wasteland, the same happened in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez spilled. But, no sense in worrying too much. This planet of ours will probably keep spinning long after we become fossils and are studied by our evolved descendants. Anyhow, not much to rant on today, so I'll be sleeping now, rêves doux, mes ches lecteurs.

Oh, and lest I forget!

I won a ticket to the coming VNV Nation concert here in the City, mes ches lecteurs! It is nice when one has a bit of good luck, is it not?

Well, it had to happen, sometime...

Bonsoir mes ches lecteurs! I hope you read this, before reading the rest of this post. In my opinion it was only a matter of time before an issue like this came up. Do we forbid them or do we protect them? Science is not too far from successfully cloning human beings.

My question is: What the hell is everyone so afraid of?
A cloned human would still be a human, the only different thing would be that it would have the same genes as someone else, and even that is not unheard of. Twins fit that same description. So, what's there to fear? Most of the opposition I've heard has a religious basis, something long the lines of "blah blah artificial humans have no soul" or "blah blah we shouldn't be playing god". But I see no real reason to oppose them. Not only can cloning be a great option for those that cannot have children (i.e. sterile or gay couples), but cloned tissue can be a great lifesaver (i.e. liver or heart damage). So why oppose it? (I'm hoping for some good comments on this issue). In my humble opinion, not only should they not ban it, but indeed take a bold step towards the future and ensure the rights of cloned individuals.

Oh well. Time will tell. For me though, it is time to sleep, as I'm rather tired. Do comment, please.

Rêves doux, mes ches lecteurs, I'll be seeing you tomorrow

Morningstar?

Bonjour, mes ches lecteurs! I know it's a bit early for me to be posting, but since I'm going to be out late, I did not want to leave you withoud the daily post (that no one reads). So, want to hear about my day? Wow, no hands up on account of no audience. Oh, hell, I'll tell you anyway. Today, there's going to be a gothoid masquerade event, and I'll be going. These days I rarely go out at night, which in my opinion is a damn shame. Oh well. I'm hoping for some good fun and I hope there is. I'm a bit bored, to be honest.
I do believe that is all for today, not too irrelevant for your taste, I hope.
Au revoir mes ches lecteurs. See you around.

Back, without a vengeance

Well, if there were dust in the internet, this place of mine wold be covered in it. I'm sorry for my absence, mes ches lecteurs, but I've been busy, either with work or with a TV series I acquired. I'm going to try and type here every night, though I remain certain of the fact that no one reads this. Anyway, my readers, what have you been up to? No good I imagine. I've been watching videos, trying to finish a book I've been reading at a snail's pace, and reinforcing my dislike of mac (through work).
In order:
1.- The aforementioned series.
2.- Ten days that shook the world, a chronicle of the russian revolution from the point of view of a resident of Petrograd
3.- New client who has 6 macs, that crashed a few times.
Nothing quite so interesting actually. Oh well. Comments and insults welcome, and I hope to read at least one.
Bonsoir, mes ches lecteurs, et rêves doux.

Aw, hell!

Tragedy has struck yet again! This time, in the form of a dead hard-drive. Yes, as you may or may not imagine, my laptop’s hd is toast. *Sob*. I’m hoping to be able to rescue my data after cooling it down for a while. With some big luck, that is.
Anyhow. Now I’m gonna have to buy a new one. which will cost me 1k, but hey, it’s 120 gb. guess you can’t ask for much more (Except for my data which I wish I can recover).

A glimpse of Mexican history, and the way the church has always attempted to hold their power over politics by any means possible

Bonsoir, mes ches lecteurs! (or the lack thereof, as surely no one reds this) Those of you familiar with Mexican history will have surely heard of the Cristero Wars, also known as the Cristiadas (for those of you that don’t speak Spanish, the term refers to the wars of those who support Christ).
The Cristero Wars were a series of open revolts against the Mexican government by people who opposed the anti-clerical laws established in the 1917 Constitution of Mexico (this is the current constitution of Mexico). The laws stated, in various articles that:

-Education must be secular (Part of article 3, still in effect).
-Monastic religious orders are outlawed (Article 5, modified since, this part has been derogated).
-Public worship outside church buildings is forbidden (Article 24, modified since, this part now reads: “Ordinarily, all religious acts will be practiced in temples, and those that extraordinarily are practiced outside temples must adhere to law.”).
-The right to own property is restricted for religious organizations (Article 27, modified since, this part has been derogated).
-Priests and religious leaders may not vote, may not wear their habits, and may not comment on any political situation (Article 130, modified since, it still holds many restrictions for members of the clergy, but was softened).

These laws, while active since 1917, were not stringently applied until 1924, when President Plutarco Elias Calles was elected.

Now, it is important to note that Church and State have been officially separated in Mexico since the 19th century. I take the precaution of making it known because a British friend told me he honestly believed that the Catholic Church continued to be the State religion to this day. He found it was not through recent events that I have previously discussed in my blog and will discuss further in this post.

Now, back to subject.

On July 14, 1926, catholic bishops openly called for a boycott on economic activities. This boycott collapsed by October 1926, as boycotters lacked economic support. In an open violation of Mexican sovereignty, Pope Pius XI ordered bishops to resist the government and to work in having the “offending” laws changed. The hostilities escalated, with armed uprisings backed by the Church in Durango and Guanajuato, which were forced to use guerilla warfare against federal forces. In the meantime, rebels in Guadalajara were slowly and quietly increasing their numbers. The rebellion started in Guadalajara on January 1 1927, and the region became a focal point in the conflict. The rebels were led by the head of the Mexican Association of Catholic Youth, Rene Capistran Garza.

The conflict became a war, with clergymen at the head of the rebels opposing the government. The local priests and bishops mostly endorsed the armed revolt and the Vatican had yet to openly endorse or condemn the rebellion.
It is important to know that, while there were a few summary executions carried out by the government, the secularists did not set fire to the train, killing 51 civilians on board; a rebel priest did. This irreparably damaged the public’s opinion on the rebellion.

The rebellion was waging a losing war and a peace process ensued (supported by the Vatican, no less). As Elias Calles’ term was nearing an end, the process was followed by President Elect Alvaro Obregon, but he was murdered two weeks after his election, by a Catholic rebel.

In the end, the government agreed to be more lenient in applying the anticlerical laws, thus ending the rebellion.

Fast-forward to 2007.

Some of you must surely have heard that there was trouble in Mexico City, because the local congress was deciding whether to modify the laws forbidding abortions.
In the end, despite heavy protest from the church and the ignorant fanatics, the reforms were approved. As you may know, Mexico’s religious majority is catholic. The pope called for civil resistance to these (much needed) reforms.

With this I know of at least two occasions in which the Vatican has openly attacked Mexican Sovereignty.

As I mentioned before, the pope during the time of the Cristero War, also called for civil resistance.

Some may say that is far from being an attack on Mexico’s sovereignty, but I disagree. To put this in perspective, if president Calderon were to openly call for Mexican immigrants in the US to resist the American government, the Mexican government would be righteously and deservedly condemned for violating the sovereignty of the US, and it would be acceptable to put a stop to such an intrusion. In return, the Vatican, through a head of state, has twice (that I know of) violated the rights of a country (to put it nicely). Why is this hypocritically tolerated? Because the pope is a religious leader? Not only is it tolerated but also permitted. They allow a country to force its moralistic view of the world and their prohibitions on other countries, under the pretext of religion.

It appears that religious leaders do not care who they trample in order to preserve their power.

One final thought on the Cristero War before I go to sleep. I understand the leniency in the enforcing of the anti-religious laws was necessary to prevent any further bloodshed, but certain laws were quite correct, and would still be so now. I once before mentioned that religious education should be forbidden, as it deprives a child from his right to choose his religion, leaving it in the hands of others.

Au revoir mes ches lecteurs! I promise not to let it be too long before my next post (even though no one reads this =P )

A que ya lo veian venir!

El titulo de esta entrada, queridos lectores, es porque quién me conoce sabe que tiendo mucho al rant (algo asi como sermon quejoso emocionado), y quien vive en la ciudad de Mexico sabe que hay muchos que se oponen a la despenalizacion del aborto. Quienes caen en ambas categorias, seguro ya oyeron mi opinion al respecto o esperaban un post de esta naturaleza.

Mi posicion al respecto es a favor de la despenalización. Yo no me opongo al aborto. Por el contrario, pienso que asi habria menos niños en estado de pobreza. Hay gente que se opone al aborto, pero entienden que es una cuestion de decision personal, y por tanto no se ofenden por la despenalizacion del mismo... peeeeero... nunca falta el idiota que pretende forzar su opinion personal sobre alguien que no la comparte. Pues si, hay gente que busca evitar que entre en vigor la reforma que despenaliza el aborto en el DF (cuando deberian de hacerlo constitucional para que sea en todo el pais).

El sitio ahi anunciado es un rollo mareador de "abortar es malo" que aunque tiene pinta de ser cientifico, los intereses y actitudes teistas se le notan a leguas. Hablando del tema, los teistas del pais estan tratando de que la muchedumbre ignorante se oponga a la despenalizacion del aborto. Por supuesto, si no tarde o temprano se les acabaria la gente ignorante que se encarga de mantenerlos y de darles poder. Es por eso que tienen propaganda especialmente dirigida a este sector que carece de la capacidad de razonar por si mismo.


Con una gigantesca ilustracion de lo mas kitsch, por no decir horrorosa en el centro, que pretende ser un feto sobredesarrollado, con el titulo "Plegaria de un alma". El texto de los lados es una retahila de necedades como "No me mates, mamá", "todos somos niños de dios" y demas insensateces religiosas. Con solo oir hablar al señor taxista , entendi porque traia tan sordido emblema en su vehiculo. A final de cuentas, NADIE tiene derecho de decirle a la gente, sean teistas, doctos, o legos; que hacer con su cuerpo. Esa decision corresponde solo a la persona que va (o no) a abortar. Asi que, señores teistas: Metanse en sus propios asuntos! Su trabajo es decirle a quien sea lo suficientemente ignorante como para hacerles caso que deben de creer en amigos imaginarios. La politica no les incumbe. Espero que se apruebe esa ley. Es lo menos que puede hacer el gobierno por nosotros, y honestamente, creo que un poco de respeto a los derechos humanos no hara daño.

Considerenlo, queridos lectores. Yo me retiro.

A fascinating concept

I have recently come across a concept that I find quite interesting. It is named transhumanism. To be more than human, to improve ourselves through science and technology. I will research more on this current and its authors. Needless to say, the concept itself it quite alluring to me.

Tecnophilia at its best

My dearest readers, you cannot even begin to imagine the joy I felt when I found out about this.
Are you ready? here goes...

Mexico City will have free citywide wireless access to the internetby 2008!

This, dear readers, has not been done by any city of the oh-so-first-worldly US. The only country to have done this is Zaragoza in Spain, and, Zaragoza is but a small town compared to this megalopolis of ours. Those of you who are less loving of technology will probably dismiss this as irrelevant news, but this is really grandiose and magnificent! The pure concept of physically living within such a vast wireless network, together with the possibilties that this brings make me burst in joy. Just imagine this, anyone who has any 802.11b or g device would never have to be offline again! Imagine having such a permanent vinculum with the global network. That of course was already possible, but the cost of mobile broadband services is grossly prohibitive and limited to laptops only. Soon we will have this kind of access from laptops, wi-fi enabled pda's, nintendo ds's and psp's.

The new government of the city is proving its worth quite fast.

Well, mes ches lecteurs, I hope you rejoice upon this announcement, as I have. LLAP, and have beautiful nightmares.

Lurking around

Mes ches lecteurs! I'm back yet again, with more words for you which will probably never be read. This days the city has been in an odd state of calm, as most of the riffraff has set out to travel on this spring break. It was needed. The city is much better like this, as it is good to be left uncrushed in the subway every now and then. The nights are more quiet than before, and I could only wish that all the people that left would not return (except for my clients, I do want them back!).

I just recently managed to get my hands on the soundtrack of C&C. It is just beautiful!

Well, that pretty much sums it up. I better go to sleep now, as I must prepare for what promises to be a week of hellbent work and possibly one or more nights of caffeine. See you around the net

Concern

Bonsoir, mes ches lecteurs! (I do believe no one reads this stuff, but hell, it doesn't hurt to be polite, does it?). The future begins to darken up a bit, enough to quell my worries. But, alas, the worries are back. A passing idea on a new place to call home drove me to fret once more. Income insufficient, future uncertain. And I bloody hate this feeling, specially when I find myself still living at someone else's while my 22nd birthday draws closer yet. And to be honest, I'm afraid, yet I have no choice but to push harder up the hill and hope I don't trip in the way. See, what I fear is not that work exceeds me, but that it doesn't. I have now come to understand how my father feels.
Very well then, let's continue the struggle. In the meantime, I will leave you with this particular quote (Bonus points to the one who tells me where I took it from and who the quotee is).

"Time is the fire in which we burn"

And now I retreat to the comfort of my subconscious.

Long since

My dearest readers (if any). My most humble apologies for the wait to which you have been subjected. So, for the sake of your entertaintment, today I type without a purpose, to where the words and my mind may carry me.
Into eternity! (well, that may be a bit exagerated).
I find the concept of proportion fascinating. It's the human way of adapting everything to our level of perception. One might say a cat is small, yet the same cat is large in comparison to an ant, pretty much in the same way our planet is humongous, but minuscule when compared to the vast and trackless expanse of our infinite universe.
And speaking of universe...
The mind is an oxymoron in that it is infinite as the universe, but in turn quite limited. Our thoughts and perception are limited to that which we see, so simply imagining the distance between Earth and Mars is a difficult task. We may know the number of kilometers from here to la Planète Rouge, but it is hard, if not impossible to envision it. The study of physics requires a fair amount of abstraction that few are able to achieve.
Also on the topic of the mind, there is a song I'm particularly fond of, Equilibrium (by Tristania).
A part of the lyrics go like this:


I swim in you
In your dark rivers
Dive in your mind
Search for your monsters
Search for resistance
Sink into the mud
Dance in the halls of insanity
Yet madness is
Your highest deed
Your vanity


Lovely, is it not? O have I not danced those halls before, taking vain pride on my senseless dance.
On that note, dear readers, it is time for me to withdraw from this side of our magnificent global network. Please, do comment. I promise to write more often.

¿Quien...

Bueno, pues, queridos lectores. ¿Que les puedo decir? Hay una persona existiendo temporalmente aqui en casa de mis abuelos. Esa persona se cree con la autoridad de retirarme mis llaves. Llaves que me costaron cien pesos. Ahora, normalmente no la detesto, entiendo sus razones para ser como es y para molestarme como lo hace; pero hoy en particular estoy enojado. Quien chingadas madres se cree para quitarme MIS llaves! "Pero es que no pusiste el candado en la cochera". Carajo! Obviamente no puse el estupido candado! No tengo coche, no salgo por la pinche cochera, salgo por la puerta para humanos. No acostumbro fijarme en eso. "Y no cerraste la puerta que da de la casa a la cochera". Vaya. Una vez. UNA MALDITA VEZ QUE HAGO ESO Y ME DECOMISA LAS LLAVES (que yo pague). Bueno pues no volvera a pasar.
Me vale madres quien vaya a entrar y quien vaya a salir, voy a poner ese candado las 24 horas, y no va a haber momento en el que pase yo y no este. Pudo habermelo pedido por las buenas, y por las buenas me hubiera fijado. Pero no. Quiere ese candado ahi? ahi va a estar. Y ay de ella si se le ocurre reclamarme.