Fear of maths and the need to belong

Give a kid a bag of sweets with instructions to hand them out. The division becomes remarkably precise. Tell a kid to slice up a chocolate cake, and that the largest slice will go to his or her arch-nemesis, and the exercise of geometry becomes amazingly accurate.

Interesting times

It's been a year of personal turmoil and a large amount of work. I haven't updated this blog much in the last few weeks, but I'll begin doing so from now on. I find I'm in a much more comfortable place now, with a future that is starting to look more relaxed than it has for a long time.

Movie night: Get Out

A lunatic, who lives in imaginary worlds, refuses to leave his padded cell, in spite of his shrink's misperceived attemps to get him out. It's in French, but the images are quite eloquent enough. Seven minutes, and the ending is a surprise.

Voting in the US for non-US citizens

So what's the point of this riff? The fact of the matter is that politics and issues have gone global, not just between politicians squabbling between one another, over tables at international gatherings, or with terrain and military forces as their playing pieces. Global politics is now the playing field of the ordinary Facebook or Twitter citizen.

Fun with paranoia

Of course, if no fear exists, it is easy enough to manufacture one that suits your specific purpose. In the words of advertising giant, David Ogilvy, “If you want to sell fire extinguishers, start a fire.” If you want to sell health bread, ask mothers if they are feeding their children well enough. If you want to sell bizarre Swedish ‘performance enhancers’, ask a man if he is well endowed. If you want to convince people to vote for you wherever ‘here’ is, ask your voters if they really trust a bunch of people half a world away.

Movie night: Bad Egg

A little bird topples an egg from a nest and unleashes a bit of a nightmare. An award-winning four minutes from Big Animation.

Mindset Cafe: 2013-02-08

Humanity's oldest known ancestor, mini flying Cthulhus, deadly dragons (with a gruesome picture) and bad news for African forest elephants.

The future is history

The importance of nostalgia lies in recognizing the value of what you once had. Today nostalgia is being replaced with a contempt of what has become obsolete. At least cars still have wheels, but how long will that last?

Movie night: Lutins

Have you ever felt that your home has a soul of its own? In this six minute production, a homeowner and a sprite battle it out for a home.

Mindset Cafe: 2013-02-01

Bigfoot in the swamps, the secretary who became a king, I'll never be Hemingway, love of my kindle, scorching weather and the scent of dead writers.