Monday, December 29, 2014

twisted

It is without doubt crucial to the survival of the human species that we upskill in the area of diy food production and problem solving.  In the western world, our social system seems efficient and inclusive, out freedoms have been hard-fought, but it's easy to forget that consumerism is wasting staggering amounts of finite natural resources.  The packaging we routinely throw away, the crap we buy in cheap shops, the unnecessary journeys..

Composting is the best way to dispose of biodrgradeable products and plastic wrappers found on vegetables can be left in the supermarket. They really annoy me.  In fact I had a near combustion moment one time in a giant shopping centre in Romania, carfour or something, because it was forbidden or impossible to purchase vegetables without individually bagging them.  I almost tussled with the checkout lady over it, but in the end I had to submit and use their stupid bags. 

But you've probably read preachy rants on this topic before and if not I doubt you got this far before you clicked your way onward.  Hmm.  How about a nice video, for this is the entertainment age..

So that's how it goes.  We're all a bit twisted I suppose.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

corporate sponsorhsip of the arts...and everything else

The majority of great artists were poor in their own lifetimes, relying upon some kind of sponsorship/patronage from wealthy clients, the source of whose income I am sure they did not have the luxury of questioning. In this age of branding and mass disinformation, every business with a public profile is keen to enhance its own reputation.  Cultural affiliation has long been accepted by society's grandees as a way of concealing or distracting from bad behaviour in other arenas.

Indeed from JD Rockefeller through JP Morgan and onwards, we all could name a rogue's gallery of famous philanthropists. Out of the massive profits accumulated by corporations and individuals through unnecessary exploitation of resources, human and natural, shady dealings, outright crimes and through what passes for 'good business acumen', it costs a fraction to erase unpleasant memories and divert critical attention elsewhere.

So I can see simultaneous pointlessness and merit in exposing the degrading behaviour of organisations like the Tate gallery in London (currently fighting efforts to reveal the extent of their sponsorship deal with BP) who really ought to know better and value their public mandate more, but at least it is highlighted and ridiculed in Britain. Here in Ireland such intimate relations between public and private bodies usually go unquestioned and any whiff of corruption is dispelled by media groups who may be observed to hold themselves faithfully and obediently in thrall to corporate interests.