Messaging in non-standard places

Here’s two for starters:

1. The “Reference” bit in a money transfer, e.g. as accessible by RBOS’s internet banking service. (Any short text; will cost you.)
2. Morse-code by telephone ring (advanced level).

Protesting close to parliament

As you’re probably aware, to protest near parliament these days you have to ask for permission. Mark Thomas recently played around with this, seeing how the system worked…

Officer: Let’s have a look. What have you got here? You want a demonstration to defend Surrealism.

Mark Thomas: Yeah, I do. I can have a demonstration about anything I like.

O: Indeed you can. I just didnae know surrealism was under threat!

MT: It is.

O: How so?

MT: Because we have a government of paradox. We have a government that seeks peace through war and protects civil liberties by eroding them. This is a paradox. This is absurdism. Absurdism is the enemy of Surrealism. Ergo it is under attack.

O: I wish I’d never asked.

[Thanks James---and this gentleman for saving me typing]

The world is like a ride…

“The world is like a ride at an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, ‘Hey—don’t worry, don’t be afraid ever, because this is just a ride…’ And we … kill those people. Ha ha, ‘Shut him up. We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up. Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account and my family. This just has to be real.’ It’s just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn’t matter, because—it’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.”—Bill Hicks (You Tube here)

Burbuja at Sónar 2007

Video over here