Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thoughts On being Superficial
Indie hipster people are superficial too, deciding if you like people based on where they got their clothes, what they eat (vegan, veggie ect.), what type of music they listen to, and if their political views fall exactly in line with yours, counts as superficial. Just because the style of a hipster is supposedly anti-mainstream doesn't make less superficial if you choose your friends, or significant others based on if they look cool enough for you.
The worst is when you judge someone by their music taste, i am a firm believer that the music you like is just a part of who you are. It talks about the experiences you have gone through, reflects your mood, but most importantly the music that speaks to the deepest part of you, isn't based on what is cool or not, its just a part of you. Sometimes we need upbeat dancing music, and other times music that just narrates the day, but the most important thing is just because you like a song not in a designated cool genre shouldn't have to be hidden from your friends.
Indie hipster politics is just as hypocritical. Blindly believing another mindset, even if its not the mainstream view does not make you suddenly a independent thinker. To think independently you actually have to think about what you believe in and not just blindly accept another world view.
I'm not saying that everyone in the indie hipster community is superficial because in every group of people, some of them are truly smart independent good people, and some people just want to be a part of the group, its how all groups work. Its just I think people fail to realize even if you don't subscribe to a mainstream group it makes you an independent, suddenly not superficial person, when so many of those people really are. I don't think being indie automatically makes you judgmental but I just want to point out that to be an independent, freethinking person doesn't mean you have to be indie or even not mainstream, it just means you have to be you, and part of that is understanding why you believe what you believe and choosing friends based on who they are as a person, and not what they look like. And I guess if who you really are is fitting in and just wanting to be cool in a superficial way, then that's totally fine, just be upfront about it, you can find others that are just like you to be cool and superficial with.
The worst is when you judge someone by their music taste, i am a firm believer that the music you like is just a part of who you are. It talks about the experiences you have gone through, reflects your mood, but most importantly the music that speaks to the deepest part of you, isn't based on what is cool or not, its just a part of you. Sometimes we need upbeat dancing music, and other times music that just narrates the day, but the most important thing is just because you like a song not in a designated cool genre shouldn't have to be hidden from your friends.
Indie hipster politics is just as hypocritical. Blindly believing another mindset, even if its not the mainstream view does not make you suddenly a independent thinker. To think independently you actually have to think about what you believe in and not just blindly accept another world view.
I'm not saying that everyone in the indie hipster community is superficial because in every group of people, some of them are truly smart independent good people, and some people just want to be a part of the group, its how all groups work. Its just I think people fail to realize even if you don't subscribe to a mainstream group it makes you an independent, suddenly not superficial person, when so many of those people really are. I don't think being indie automatically makes you judgmental but I just want to point out that to be an independent, freethinking person doesn't mean you have to be indie or even not mainstream, it just means you have to be you, and part of that is understanding why you believe what you believe and choosing friends based on who they are as a person, and not what they look like. And I guess if who you really are is fitting in and just wanting to be cool in a superficial way, then that's totally fine, just be upfront about it, you can find others that are just like you to be cool and superficial with.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Growing Keyboard
Can you grow cress in a keyboard?
By: Johannes Hjorth, November 24th, 2005
(Svensk version, 中文版本)
My colleague Erik Fransén went away on the Society for Neuroscience conference in the USA for two weeks in the middle of November. Those of you who know Erik probably know that he enjoys playing practical jokes on his friends from time to time. This time it was Erik's turn to be on the receiving end.
I started off by locating an unused keyboard. This was not very hard since I work at the university's computer science department. The next step was to remove all the keys (easiest done with a screwdriver) and dress the inside with a soft cover of cotton.
After dressing the inside of the keyboard I put the keys back. Of course I just had to permute a few keys, but not too many since I wanted it to look like a normal keyboard at first glance.
After that it was time to pour the cress seeds into the gaps between the keys. The seeds required some blunt persuasion to take their places. An old creditcard came in handy. This took far longer than I had expected. The reason I did not place the seeds directly on the cotton before replacing the keys was that I wanted the cress to come up between the keys.
Fast forward a week with a healthy spray of water every morning and evening.
If you look closely you can see the letters "Erik" and "Hjälp?" in the picture below (which means "Erik help?" in Swedish). The observant reader also notes that the keyboard maker is not very good at counting anymore...
Erik looks a bit worried...
...but the cress looks healthy...
"I'm going to bring my keyboard to lunch tomorrow. I like cress."
Only one keyboard was harmed during the making of this joke.
Featured on Mobuzz December 16th, 2005.
Back to the main page
By: Johannes Hjorth, November 24th, 2005
(Svensk version, 中文版本)
My colleague Erik Fransén went away on the Society for Neuroscience conference in the USA for two weeks in the middle of November. Those of you who know Erik probably know that he enjoys playing practical jokes on his friends from time to time. This time it was Erik's turn to be on the receiving end.
I started off by locating an unused keyboard. This was not very hard since I work at the university's computer science department. The next step was to remove all the keys (easiest done with a screwdriver) and dress the inside with a soft cover of cotton.
After dressing the inside of the keyboard I put the keys back. Of course I just had to permute a few keys, but not too many since I wanted it to look like a normal keyboard at first glance.
After that it was time to pour the cress seeds into the gaps between the keys. The seeds required some blunt persuasion to take their places. An old creditcard came in handy. This took far longer than I had expected. The reason I did not place the seeds directly on the cotton before replacing the keys was that I wanted the cress to come up between the keys.
Fast forward a week with a healthy spray of water every morning and evening.
If you look closely you can see the letters "Erik" and "Hjälp?" in the picture below (which means "Erik help?" in Swedish). The observant reader also notes that the keyboard maker is not very good at counting anymore...
Erik looks a bit worried...
...but the cress looks healthy...
"I'm going to bring my keyboard to lunch tomorrow. I like cress."
Only one keyboard was harmed during the making of this joke.
Featured on Mobuzz December 16th, 2005.
Back to the main page
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