However, some people are flat out ridiculous in where they see racism. It’s like they actively seek out ways to take offence for the purposes of standing above everyone else. “Oh look at me, I’m so moral and great and kind and better than you.” It’s a little bit pathetic, and just a little infuriating. Not that it takes a lot to get me irritated, but that’s an irrelevant point. I’d rant about pancakes if I had enough material (and they weren’t so damn delicious). But this has been getting on my nerves a lot lately, and some of the arguments I’ve read have been so mind bendingly stupid it makes me want to murder something fluffy, point at it and scream at people “Look at what you’ve done! LOOK AT IT!”

The final proverbial straw was this post. Read it, I dare you. Knowledge of the music is irrelevant. For those who think it’s a case of tl;dr (shame on you), I’ll sum it up for you. Because Daniel Graves uses black paint to portray the darker side of emotions, he is making unintentional racist undertones and giving a racist meaning to his video. That, my friends, is really stupid. That argument is so astronomically ignorant and desperate for attention it is a wonder the website didn’t collapse under the strain of trying to support it. It is a perfect example of looking to be offended so you can take the white knight approach and look a hero.

Look at how offensive I am.

Now, I’m sorry. I really am. Clearly the person who wrote that blog post is well educated and means well. It’s well written, well constructed and gets her message across with ease. Doesn’t mean it’s not god damn stupid. There’s a difference between having a differing opinion and flat out making stuff up. In fact, I maintain that someone who sees racist undertones in such a video as the Inhuman one is a closet racist themselves. I absolutely, wholeheartedly mean that. Black has always meant darkness, coldness, death and evil not because black people are bad people. It’s because it’s in human nature to regard the darkness with caution. A pitch black cave is dangerous, disturbing and terrifying. The bright outdoors, however, are comforting and warm. Clearly nature is racist. How dare we have evolved to avoid dark areas, clearly we are avoiding such places because those black people are bad and evil.

Moving onwards to the person’s side bar, I cement my belief that this person exists on the internet solely to act the Paladin and save the poor downtrodden minorities from the evils of music. Nobody classifies themselves as that many stereotypically ‘different’ things without trying to prove a point. Even if it’s all true and they are an anti-authoritarian, ‘queer’ (you realise that’s not the correct term, right? So much for being accepting and all that) vegan person, why the hell is it entirely necessary to tell everyone unless you’re hoping you to get some backing by proving just how much of a minority and anti-mainstream you are. But I’m just an evil, meat eating Fascist. Clearly I’m wrong.

This is not the only blog post which commits the crime of white knighting for people well capable of taking care of themselves. This is another offending criminal. I came across this blog post a long, long time ago. It’s a sign of how mind numbingly insane the argument is that I still remember it enough to find it again through Google.

Why so serious?

What’s the first thing you see in that image? Is it a representation of Obama as the Joker from the amazing Dark Knight film, the agent of chaos who is responsible for bringing a whole city to its knees and killing countless numbers of people? Or is it a whiteface representation of Obama?

If you chose the second, you need to watch more movies. I cannot even express in words the insanity it must take to look past the obvious and say “Yup, that’s the same as blackface. Some racist stuff right there.” It’s a shame, because like Little Miss “I’m So Different” above, this blog is well written and clearly the owner is intelligent. But this argument, this statement is so filled with stupidity and a desperate need to be seen as a champion for the oppressed it makes me weep for the future of all mankind.

Racism is a dreadful, horrid and utterly unforgivable crime. But god dammit people, it’s not everywhere. You don’t need to try and find offensive messages in everything. As a species, humanity as improved massively and we don’t need to be as careful and afraid of offending people anymore. There’s a trend I’ve noticed where most of the people who cry “racism” are white, well off individuals themselves.  About as far from “minority” as one can get in the Western world. That should say something.

Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic.

I’m talking, of course, about the SOPA and PIPA bills. Voices wiser and more charismatic than mine have already added to the cacophony of anti-SOPA sentiment which is flooding the internet. Knowing what to believe and what not to believe is hard enough for people well versed in Internet terminology, so I won’t spam you with links and lecture you on the dangers of these two bills. TotalBiscuit over on Youtube was kind enough to create this fantastic video for you to peruse and educate thyself with.

This is not, what some people will have you believe, an exaggeration of what these bills threaten to do. Google, Facebook, Yahoo and hundreds of other major internet companies have come out against the SOPA bill, and when that many companies who know what they’re talking about speak out against something, you better be listening. Contrast it with the immense ignorance from the congressmen who will be voting this in, some of whom seem proud about not understanding how the internet works on the most basic level, and there really shouldn’t be any way this bill can stand up by itself.

But I’m not here to speak out against SOPA and PIPA. As I said, enough people have come out against it, and I’m all the way over here in Europe. I can’t do much other than spread the word. There is, however, something I can fight against. And that something is ACTA. ACTA, to make things simple, is effectively the European form of SOPA. A bill which tries to fight online piracy, but in doing so leaves far too much in the hands of those pushing the bill. The Act is just way too open and easily abused, which is exactly the problem SOPA has, and if we here in Europe let it through it is setting us on a slippery, slippery slope towards censorship.

As with SOPA, wiser and more legal-savvy people than I have already spoken out and written long articles about the dangers of the ACTA bill. ACTA is every bit as dangerous as SOPA, and its been pushed through by people we did not elect. It’s already made it through to the EU Parliament, which is our last (and only) chance to stop it. Everyone in Europe has a representative in parliament, and it’s up to you to email, write and call them about your opposition to the bill. These people have to represent you, and they want to be re-elected. Let them know that you will not let this stand.

This is probably the last chance we have. Once legislation like this goes through, it’s almost impossible to get rid of it. If ACTA doesn’t stop  here, then we’ve already lost.

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever.”

-1984, George Orwell

Wait, what? Secret projects? OH LOOK DISTRACTIONS:

My Top Albums of the Year

3. Swallowing the Sun

I already sang the praises of this one before it was even released so you shouldn’t be surprised it’s making it onto this list. Distorted Memory didn’t win me over with his first album, I just found too…trancy. But this one is several kinds of awesome. With a mix of both tribal music and EBM, STS is a rarely unique album among the various bands I listen to. Highlights: Raven Eyes, Swallowing the Sun, Awake Sleeping Giants.

2. The Transhuman Condition

Encephalon’s fairly…unknown. They’ve only ever released a demo with four songs, but one of them managed to become famous and caught my ear. Then, after no less than four years of waiting, they finally released their first album. And man was it worth the wait. There is nothing wrong with The Transhuman Condition, absolutely nothing. The main vocalist has an incredible talent, and the differences between songs is astounding. This is an album everyone needs to hear, and if there’s any reason it’s not number one, is because it’s not quite…brutal enough for my tastes. Highlights: Lifetime of Puppetry, The Transhuman Condition, Drop Dead.

1. Anthem for the Great Self Destruct

This, this, is an opening album. I have honestly no idea where I heard of Cryogen Second, I think I happened across them by sheer fluke many years ago on MySpace and he won me over with his single song Antithetical. Between that happenstance meeting and today, Cryogen Second has one EP and one Album to its name. And what an album this is. Anthem is everything I want from an album. Brutal, noisy, angry and filled with nihilistic lyrics, Anthem is a winner in every way in my books. From the brutal, fast paced Antithetical to the slow and ever so slightly chilling title track, Anthem is one hell of an explosive introduction. I like my music brutal, and Cryogen Second delivered this in spades. Kudos, sir. Kudos indeed. Highlights: Antithetical, Anthem for the Great Self Destruct, Machine.

It’s hard.

See, in Science Fiction, one can be extravagant in the extreme. You have a whole galaxy, possibly more, in which to set your stories. Up until now, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve written stories based in a galaxy where rules don’t exist and everything is brand new and never seen before. Not so with humanity. When one is trying to envision humanity in the future, it’s constrained by what we know of human existence. We’re not suddenly going to develop psionic abilities, and building a future based on the current day is difficult and restricting.

With an alien race, I have a clean slate. I can dictate biological quirks, cultural oddities and it’s much simpler to imagine how my own creation will change and grow over the course of history. How it will react to the challenges it will face, its strengths and its weaknesses. I can get as over the top as I like, or as simple as I like. A unified race, or one with divisions within itself. Either goes. Humanity? Not so much.

Humanity is fractured, and with realistic eyes activated one cannot legitimately find a way for that to change. In fact, by expanding into the stars that’s ever more likely to occur. Mars is several hundred days travel away, the nearest star other than Sol is several hundred years away. Writing and crafting a culture with this in mind, with its feet grounded in modern day humanity, is a tough challenge one has to face if they intend to include humanity in any science fiction setting. You can’y just handwave away the different religions, cultures, nationalities and languages for the sake of plot. Well, I suppose you could, but it makes things…boring. I suppose the difficulty in crafting a future human race is a good thing. It means, with all variables taken into account, humanity of the future will be as exciting and interesting to read about as humanity of the now.

It’s not just humanity’s propensity for being different to itself that makes things difficult. It’s ability to adapt and change at the slightest push is another stumbling block for a writer (such as yours truly). As our technology has changed, so too has our collective culture. The humans of today are different to the humans of 100 years ago, or even of a decade ago. In 200, 300, 1000 years, how different will we be? Cybernetics, consciousness transference, interstellar travel? How will these things effect our race as a whole? If we encounter alien civilisations, assuming we can even recognise them as intelligent life, how will we react. Will it unite humanity in an “Us vs Them” fashion, or will it divide us between those who abhor the alien and those who welcome it?

I know most people reading this won’t care about these questions for the same reasons a writer would. But they’re big questions none the less. Our technology is evolving at an ever increasing rate, and science is becoming a daily part of people’s lives every day. Look at how Facebook aided revolution in Egypt, for example. Knowing how humanity is going to change, how we are going to change is important. At the very least, it’s an interesting set of questions to ask yourself.

Or at least, I thought they were. I’ll go back to my hole now.

I was there for all of thirty seconds when I realised I was hideously out of place. I wasn’t wearing nearly enough fake hair or black clothes. No fish nets either. Daaaamn. Talk about under dressed, I’m disappointed with myself in the extreme. Still, the opening act rolled on and I focused on them rather than the guy in tight leather trousers and glow in the dark contact lenses. Alibitrax turned out to be pretty awesome, plus they’re Irish. So instant cool points there. Plus, the singer dared the audience to get naked. So some extra cool points there too. Some pretty good music tempted to buy their CD, and since it was only 4 euro I’m comfortable with the worth of my purchase. Indubitably. Overall, I’d give Alibitrax a solid 7/10 for their performance. I’d certainly be willing to go see them if they showed up in Dublin again at any rate.

It was about this time that the more normally dressed people showed up. Reinforcements! I don’t wish to sound cruel, I don’t give a damn what people wear (so long as they wear something), but when you’re the only person wearing jeans and a t-shirt you start to feel out of place. Coupled with being one of the smallest guys in the club? Yeah, instant “I shouldn’t be here D: ” moment right there. Nothing that can’t be cured with a couple of shots.

Then came the headlining act, Aesthetic Perfection. I cannot state enough how much I love this guy, and to be there for the first show of his first headlining tour in Europe? Schweeeet.

Daniel Graves is probably one of the rare breed of guys who can make music trouble on stage one of the most awesome parts of the show. I’ve often heard of how he has a hell of a stage presence and is just an awesome and lively guy when you seem him on stage, and every word of it was true. He’s awesome. Really energetic, great with the crowd and has an awesome sense of humour too. It’s a wonder this guy hasn’t had a headlining act in Europe before. A wide selection of tracks were played, most of them from the new album All Beauty Destroyed, which is in no way a bad thing. I love that album, and every song from it was powerful and extremely well performed on stage. Coupled with some songs from older albums (in particular, the Great Depression from A Violent Emotion), every aspect of AP was covered and when they finally left the stage I think I may have died for a moment. I’ve never been so god damn tired in my life and I’ve certainly never been that into music while at a club before. Aesthetic Perfection gets a 9/10 easy. Maybe even a 10/10, but I’m a jerk like that.

NEED MOAR CONCERTS.

November is NaNoWriMo, for those not in the know. Alas, I don’t have the time to do it this year. College eats up your life like some kind of horrible daemonic parasite of doomy doom doom. Yes that’s a real thing, shut your face. I’d love to get involved in the event, mainly because it means I’d finally get a frikkin’ novel finished for once and not just a thousand half finished short stories. But until my design and college work is done, I just don’t have time to devote to a full novel. Never mind getting it finished in a month. Still, I applaud everyone who is getting involved, and if you are partaking in the event be sure to leave a comment and let me know.

Game Design has stagnated. I have a terrible computer for it, and it’s difficult to code a game when your computer can barely handle five year old games. It’s a shame, but at least I can still write stories and work the mechanics out on paper so that when the coding comes my project will be well thought out and easy enough to implement. Hopefully. Programming never works out as you’d expect.

I’ve a busy month lined up, even setting aside the birthdays people have been kind enough to throw my way. I need to finish a bunch of assignments, and I’m trying again to submit some work to short story magazines in time for the Christmas schedule. Aesthetic Perfection are finally coming to Ireland, and I will most definitely be attending the concert. Great act, people need to get the albums now. A couple of nerdy things too, like the release of the update to Codex Necrons and as a result more models for me to buy and paint and lose battles with. Huzzah! Plus I have an evil plan for a Minecraft map. Lots of work, lots of projects to get done before Christmas. Time to get started, eh?

This should be an interesting month.

Ha. I crack myself up.

But the book does raise some interesting points regarding the evolution of life and all that good stuff, typically how we shouldn’t assume that aliens will need water, or carbon. Or heck, even a planet. It drives home the point that we are unlikely to ever see a humanoid alien, let alone one we should be capable of contacting in any meaningful way, shape or form. The book is far too long to go through everything it explains and discusses, but for anyone looking to write science fiction, or alternate earth history, this is a must-have.

I’ve been focusing mainly on humanity and their erstwhile allies the Maekari (WiP name) in said universal construction, given that they’ll be the ones most encountered. Evolving the Alien has somewhat thrown a spanner in the works with my original image of the Maekari, making me realise how silly it is to have a race as human looking and acting as the Maekari were. Despite living on an Earth like world.

I’m not normally one to stick to hard science fiction, but I also like having some semblance of thought put into my races. I don’t want to take the somewhat typical route of everyone being anthropomorphic animals, or humans with bumpy heads, and construct races which are humanesque, complete with leaders, cities and defined social castes. I’m trying for something really crazy with this. While the Maekari are (and need to be, for various plot based reasonings) easily understandable and still unnaturally human like, the other races of the galaxy (the Saethians, the Angels and the Arkhosim) are all quite different. From magnetic based creatures born inside stars, to crazy sulfur based organisms, the Black Horizon universe is (hopefully) going to be one hell of an interesting place.

Assuming I can pull this off.

Was a slightly more eventful than usual weekend for me, between one thing and another I was decidedly busy from Friday to Sunday. Bowling on Friday, free too which was nice. Free arcade games (I suck at racing games, but goram I’m an awesome sniper) and free pool. Fridays at bowling are awesome. Sunday brought along the longest single period of time I have sat in front of a tv in a long time. Not that that’s too bad. Pizza + comedy tv = awesome.

Onto more important crap you probably care about.

I’m considering a new website, being pushed into it more like. An online short story magazine of sorts. It’s still very much in theory only, I don’t even have the money saved up for the URL or hosting, which tells you how far along the plan is. I’ll be sure to keep you informed, since I’ll be looking for authors to submit short stories as soon as it shows up. Assuming it shows up. It’d be pretty cool if it did, since I love working on websites. Gives me something to do with all that time I should be being more productive.

That’s all my news. Also, everyone should check out the Dabbler’s Archive. Because goram the info there is awesome. Explosives, Personality Disorders…what’s not to love? Thus far this one on nuclear weapons is my personal favourite. Because NUKE IT FROM ORBIT! It’s the only way to be sure.

A lot of noise has been regarding CERN’s most recent announcement regarding their OPERA experiment between them and Gran Sasso in Italy. To put it simply, CERN is of the impression that their scientists have witnessed Neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, which is supposed to be the universe’s speed limit.

“This result comes as a complete surprise,” said Antonio Ereditato, spokesman for OPERA and a professor a the University of Bern, in a statement.

But he didn’t dwell on the research’s implications: “The potential impact on science is too large to draw immediate conclusions or attempt physics interpretations.”

Read more

Obviously this is pretty huge news, and science fiction fans are already crying out about the possibilities of Warp Speed and colonisation of space by humanity. But let’s slow down and examine this closely. I’m as excited as anyone, believe me. This is massive and I love the advancement of science. The fact that physics could be shaken apart is immensely interesting to me, but I also don’t want to be disappointed.

There are a lot of things which could be wrong with this. CERN are NOT stating this is definite. Even they admit they’re probably wrong, they just can’t figure out how. They’re asking the scientific community to check and see if CERN have missed anything. If, and only if, do things turn out to prove this true, then the world of science is going to explode with excitement. I don’t expect a significant answer within the next 6 months at least. Probably much, much longer than that.

And even if it turns out to be true, and repeatable, that doesn’t mean we suddenly have access to faster-than-light technology. These are Neutrinos, they don’t interact with matter so it’s not like we can build things out of them. Especially considering they’re tiny. It would be like building something out of electrons. Neutrino ‘sails’ are also probably out, again because neutrinos don’t interact with matter in any meaningful way. This is starter knowledge, there’s no discernible way we can use it.

But that’s where everything starts. Useless, but interesting knowledge.

If Neutrinos can accelerate to faster than light speeds, breaking the rule that matter shouldn’t be able to do so, why can’t other things? If neutrinos are circumventing Special Relativity in some way, we might be able to find out how and replicate the occurrence. Things build up from there, and eventually we have usable large scale technology.

I’m not going to pretend that’s the likely outcome, but I am hopeful that it is. I hope this is the start of something amazing, I hope that physics advances in a new way, and I hope that our understanding of the universe is shaken to its foundation.

It’s really good. Like really really good. Considering this is Cryogen Second’s first full length album, it’s damn near perfect. I won’t write a full, multiple paragraph review of it. I’ll save that for when I eventually get off my ass and finish that review section of my website. Which will be done eventually, I swear it. Instead, I’ll give some unprofessional opinions.

If this album was a woman, it would be crazy psycho bitch with the body of a goddess. Anthem is brutal, fast paced and relentlessly nihilistic. And I love it. Starting with Theory which segues into Divide, Anthem begins strong and literally assaults your ears with barbed wire and delicious anger. Delicious, delicious anger. I mean, this thing never lets up. It’s song after song of nihilism and aggression, up until Nihil, the second-to-last track on the album. Which ends things with a nice calm piece.

But that’s not why I love it, Antithetical, If I Had My Way, and Anthem for the Great Self Destruct are why I love it. Listen to them. Over and over again. Do it.

Download it now dammit. Have I not it made it clear that this is amazing and you should give all your monies to Cryogen Second?