too much?

I recently acquired 90gbs of music off a friend of mine, pushing my total music library to about 140gbs. iTunes tells me that I could listen to 88 days worth of music without ever hearing the same song twice. Imagine - almost 3 months of listening to music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and never hearing the same song twice. It boggles the mind.

But the downside is, I'm overwhelmed by my own collection now. Before, I knew almost every song that I had: if someone asked me if I had a song, I could tell them by memory, or if someone asked what was playing, I could usually tell them. But now I have no idea what's in my library.

It's weird how that happens. People are so attached to their music, and how it constructs their identity so now that I've got so much music that I didn't go to the effort of individually picking out and purchasing/downloading, I don't feel much of an attachment to it. Listening to the library on shuffle, I can tell when one of my own songs comes on, and I feel calmer than when some random thing comes up. So yeah, I guess I'll just have to deal. And spend about a year getting to know all these new artists.

dichotomies...

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about technology, sociology, and gender. This is really interesting stuff! Who would have thought - starting 7 years ago in a music degree in piano - that I would be so interested in the social aspects of technology...but it's very fascinating. It's mostly common sense when you think about it, but we take technology very much for granted. Especially when it comes to how it perscribes gender roles.

Admitedly, I'm sure everyone has questioned at some point why there are such distinctions between girl and boy toys (especially in youth), but it really is amazing the extent to which these differences socialize us into our stereotypical gender roles.

The dichotomies of men/woman, technology/organic, nature/city are played out endlessly in the field of technology: men use technology as a way to gain power over nature (or woman). They mark themselves as the object of power over technology, and subsequently, women accept the normalized role of the technophobic. Power relations being played out in such simple items as electric shavers.

But if technical competance is the domain of the male - where men can tinker - where does the iPod fit? There are no discernable parts that can be taken apart and re-assembled. Without risking sheer failure of the device, there is really no good way to see what goes on inside. In this sense, it would be a very feminine device. What are the implications for women and the acceptance/usage of technology, then? Is the iPod an easy/appropriate way for women to usher themselves into the realm?

Another note/dichotomy: cyborg/goddess. The feminist association with the goddess has traditionally been pitted against the vision of the cyborg. But why can't a woman be both?

starfish!

So as not to bore you with more photos of another trip to the highlands, here's a collection of photos from the highlands. Okay, it's more like a random post of me as starfish all over the highlands.

another trip to the highlands...

(I tried to post this earlier, but the site didn't want to upload my photos...so this will probably be a shorter version)

So this week we decided to rent a car for the night and do a little tour of the highlands! We had some amazing weather, and some great sights. I had more to say before, but now I can't remember!! ha ha...Anyway, enjoy the photos!

Glen Coe:


A crazy sign at the start of the trails in Glen Nevis. Only slightly alarming, but I guess they have to make sure they cover everything:



Glen Nevis:



Ben Nevis - the highest mountain in the UK:



Urquhart Castle on the Loch Ness. It's really pretty up in this area of the highlands. Basically, as I've mentioned before, it's really sad that all the trees in this country have been cut down and somewhat replaced with artificial forests. But the further north you go, the more natural the forests are, and you can get a better sense of what the country was like hundreds of years ago.



The Loch Ness. One of the most beautiful lakes I've seen in this country so far.





Fort George - a fort built by the British after they won the battle at Culloden. The body of water is the North Sea. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the dolphins that apparently hang around.



We went for a free tour/tasting at the Glen Livet distillery. Here's the 750pound bottle of whisky they had for sale at the gift shop.



Scottish weather at its best:

daffodils!

These photos are a tad old, but I figure I'd post them anyways. I took them on my birthday, and since then managed to contract the mumps (!!), so, here they are now.

Edinburgh is apparently full of daffodils in the spring. They seem to be planted by hand, considering many are in interesting patterns, but that must've been quite the job to plant them all. These are photos of the flowers on the hill surrounding the castle. It was a great place to just hang out and lie in a field of flowers!

Enjoy!

"strange humanoid experience"

So after living in Scotland for about half a year, the Sasquatch has returned to my life in full force. See previous post for the birthday-fighting-off-Sasquatch manual, but now people are alerting me to the fact that the Sasquatch has been spotted on film in Tofino.

Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOKwyT_xrU

Now personally I would love to belive, but to me this mostly looks like a bear wandering through the woods. It's a shame it's not better video quality.



On another note - Sasquatch at the beach!

absurdism...

So I've decided that I need to start reading some absurdist literature. I haven't read any as of yet, but from what I can tell, I think absudism is a very intriguing philosophy, in theory.

From what I can find, absudism maintains that human life is essentially meaningless, but as humans we strive to find meaning in life (often through religion), or come to the conclusion that life is meaningless alltogether. This realization can potentially be very depressing for people, which could lead to the removal from an absurb life, aka, suicide.

The importance is to realize that life is absurd, and to find meaning within the moments we have - appreciate the beauty around us.

As someone who finds more wrong/confusing with organised religion than good/easy to accept, I find this "ism" very appealing. I can see the drive that people have to find meaning, but I also believe that it is entirely selfish for people to believe that this whole universe was created solely for us. The world is much more complex than we can understand, and we are but a mere speck of dust in comparison.

On the other hand, I am also too much of an agnostic to entirely discredit the possibility of a higher power of sorts. As long as the questions of the universe are still to be answered, I will still harbour thoughts that something beyond our comprehension has played a part.

It is the meaning of the moments of beauty which I really enjoy in absurdism. As I have mentioned before, nature is a large part of my spirituality. Why should I spend hours of my time praying through blind faith, when I can go outside and experience life for that it has to offer? I can see the complexity of the space surrounding me, and appreciate that I am but a tiny piece in the puzzle.

Experience the beauty that has manifested itself in our little planet, and appreciate it for what it is.

back to the hills...

Went back to the Pentland Hills on Sunday. It was exciting to actually get to the tops of some of the peaks! It was also exciting to miss the bus that comes every three hours home, only to end up walking another 4km along the road to the nearest pub. Yes, that's right, I walked an hour in the mist to get a delicious Bailey's Latte. Mmmm.

It wasn't the best day for a walk, seeing as the wind on the top of the peak was stronger than any I had ever encountered before, and the rain was moving sideways, but all in all it was a very fun outing!

We met up with a youth group of sorts, most of them visiting from other countries, and a couple people who aparently live in my building whom I've never met and a Scottish-local. It was great to encounter a young scottish local that enjoys the outdoors. I was starting to believe that all young Edinburgh-types fall under the "ned" category! Ha ha...anywho, enjoy the photos:

The trail up the first peak:



Me conquering the first peak. About to be blown off:



The descent:



Random scenic photo of the distance:

back to the bigfoot...

So, seeing as there is only a month until my birthday, I found it necessary to undertake measures on how to defend myself in the event that the Sasquatch has tracked me down in Scotland and decided to wage an attack on me. I'm sure Sasquatch is thinking, "What better day then her birthday??"

Lukily, I received this card which gave step-by-step instructions to defend myself if such an event were to occur!

Excellent!

dying??

Well, as someone who usually gets sick once a year (in April after essays and exams are done), I have found it VERY unusual to be sick for practically the past six months. Or in other words, since I arrived in Scotland.

When I first got here, I just brushed off the lightheadedness I felt reading at my desk to poor lighting, and the sinus flu to not sleeping and drinking (ahem) too much. But now that it's six months later and I've suffered through countless sinus infections, bronchitis and labyrinthitis (!) I've had enough.

And this week, to confirm everything I has suspected, I found open mold in the hallways outside my flat! So, yes, basically I'm slowly dying from toxic mold. Pleasant!

pigeon minions?

Top news story of the day: radio-controlled pigeons.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/27022007/80-132/bird-brained-china-scientists-learn-fly-pigeons.html

Apparently they have found no practical use for these pigeons.

This is the funniest thing ever! I don't understand, do the scientists sit around and think "Hmm, what would help out humanity more: a cure for cancer, or, radio cotrolled pigeons!!"

That being said, who WOULDN'T want one??

the highlands!!

Last weekend me and 9 friends went on a tour of the Scottish highlands. It was a very fun trip, and we had amazing weather (considering it is Scotland). I didn't get to see Nessie (although I managed to get into the Loch Ness up to my knees) but I did learn a lot about Scottish history, and saw Hamish the Heilan Coo.

Loch Ness in the morning (and now, with swan!):

Glen Coe (glen means valley). It is very disconcerting to me the lack of trees in Scotland. And the trees that are there are obviously for industrial purposes. It is kind of sad in a way that almost a whole country's worth of trees could be cut down. Anywho, I'd really like to go hiking in Glen Coe at some point in the nearish future.


Generic Castle, and road leading away from generic castle:




I've always been intrigued by neolithic stone circle-type arrangements. So I was very excited when we got to see this ancient Pagan Cairn and standing stones:



The Atlantic Ocean from the view of the bus:



Fort Augustus, a little town on the Loch Ness, and where we stayed the night:



A little interesting fact about the highlanders: they loved to fight naked! Our tour guide told us many battle stories about the highlanders just whipping their kilts off to fight! Ha ha. Especially funny to me was the "shirts battle". So named because the highlanders took their kilts off and let their little buddies fling freely. Now, if i were a man in battle, I would think it would make more sense to take my shirt off, and leave the kilt on! But that's just me...

pentland hills..

So today I went back to the Pentland Hills to do a little hillwalking. It was a great little walk across the Pentland Park. And on the way we saw many a sheep! And a strangly dense "forest" of trees. I would have really liked to go into the mass of trees to see what it was like inside!

Tomorrow - the highlands!

the great outdoors...

After doing my first bit of "real" travelling to Barcelona, I've decided that I like travelling to cities, but I think that I would still prefer to travel to remote destinations which have more nature than city to offer.

Interesting architecture intrigues me to a certain extent, but it cannot hold my attention like that of a perfectly orchestrated mountain. In Barcelona, my favourites part by far was seeing the mountains from Mountserrat and the Meditteranean Ocean from the Castle. I couldn't care less about actually seeing the castle or the monestary on the mountain. They hold their own with historical value, but they cannot compare to the natural landscapes.

And frankly, I see nothing wrong with this. I still would love to travel anywhere and everywhere, but for the landscapes more than the cities.

Another note on this thought: natural landscapes versus religious buildings. I can totally see why they would build a monestary on top of Mountserrat - the view alone is a tremendous spritual experience, but why do most of the tourists not see it this way? Many people mill around the outdoors giving the natural landscape a respectful glance, but do not feel the spiritual connection they are looking for until they actually enter the monestary, or, the main church hall (where silence is the rule) for that matter? Basically, what I'm getting at is why do religious buildings contain religion? Why can't spirituality be contained in the outdoors, in nature? Is religion supposed to be checked at the door? If one believes in a "god" I'm sure he is not merely contained within the walls of a building.

If one is truly spiritual/religious, it shouldn't matter if one is in a building or beholding a natural wonder. If anything, the latter should hold one's faith more, for that is such that a higher power has ultimately created.

barcelona...

So this weekend I set foot for the first time in continental europe. Or, more specifically, Barcelona!

It was a great trip, lots of sights, and lots of fun. I was especially glad, though, that we had people with us who spoke Spanish. While a lot of the people there could speak a little english, I was not fully prepared for how much english would not help me in another country.

Anywho, on to the sights!

Friday we saw a castle overlooking the Mediterrnean Ocean (Montjuic). The view was amazing - I couldn't help but imagine myself way back in history gazing over the ocean at boats etc.



The "main drag" in Barcelon had some amazing street performers:



And another view from that day of the ocean coastline from ground level:



Aparently under Barcelona is an ancient roman city (well, remains of it anyways). So of course we had to go see that! The remains were very interesting, but I really enjoyed this old painting:



The next day we went up to the monestary on Montserrat:





The next day was our last day, and so, a short day - but we still managed to fit in a bunch of Gaudi and an Arc de Triomf:







And possibly one of the coolest things we saw all trip: a human tower!