Who am I?

     It would seem the new pass time of our culture is self-expression via the internet. I have been in the business of self-expression for some time as an artist and graduate of Art College some time ago. That's not all though, we are all many things, not just what we chose as a career, that's the beauty of life.

     The title of this blog "Beautiful World" comes from a great old DEVO song, one of my favourite bands to this day. There's a lot of truth to what they said "It's a beautiful world we live in, a sweet romantic place, beautiful people everywhere, the way they show they care,... they way they comb their hair." I know! Just have a look at TMZ these days! Of course DEVO was being sarcastic, a beautiful world for you but not for me as the last lines of the song go. I remember the video ending with scenes of riots and atomic bombs and the stop animation rose growing from bud to full bloom to total decay. OK, I'm not that morose, that kind of thinking did inform my adolescence though. There is sarcastic truth to it, it may be a beautiful world for you but it is not for everyone. I like to think I give both sides of a story their fair chance, and in this insanely polarized world of made up news and political dog fighting I don't think rationality has a chance anymore. My dad was pretty good at pointing out inconsistencies in logic (or the Bible) TV shows and movies. I remember going to see ET the Extraterrestrial with him and he commented "if ET could make all the kids bicycles fly why didn't he just fly up to the spaceship?" I know, I try to carry this tradition of ruining movies for people to this day. I learned to sharpen my critical thinking skills in Art College, what do you think we do? finger paint all day? No, studying the art process involves much more, criticizing other works, and your own, learning self censorship, self editing was the popular term, knowing your influences and others, and most of all respect, something our society lacks. Self respect, respect for others, respect for ideas and history and the ability to put that into a perspective that makes sense personally. Does society practice any of this anymore? To me it looks like people spout any disgusting shit they want because it will gain attention or money and I'm looking at the right-wing personalties out there when I say this, and a little at some of the younger generation, who apparently have nothing better to do than bully others online, because they haven't expanded their minds since Grade 3?

     Yeah, this stuff makes me worry a little about our world, where we are going, can people even think for themselves anymore? This is why I have chosen to Blog.