PseudoNeoPostModernism

Just to prove that office buildings do house some humour and that the ol’ Christmas cheer is omnipresent, Raiffeisen and Orange are bickering over which one of them will get Santa’s attention first.

Otherwise I am devastated that there is no snow yet despite all the puddles having frozen on the sidewalks and such. It’s a shame that with all the holiday decorations that have been put up around town, all the Christmas trees and pretty lights, there’s no sign of any such precipitation to give the full Xmas feel. Top it off with a harsh wind and a permanently clouded sky and it all makes for a pretty depressing scene. Ah well, there is still hope.

Poor quality aside, these are just one-two hour sketches for practice.

An astonishing smudge of grays and blue hues mashed with brown geometrical shapes betraying that which lies beneath: nothing more than useless dust, innapropiately thought to be that of stars, asymmetrical and sensless jabbering of bodies in tight, cramped public means of transportation. Sleepy frozen windshields of abandoned cars rusting away in the cold and bitter urban mornings, decaying under the sharp-toothed afternoon sun of lonely Sundays watching over the theatre. We are nothing more than what we think ourselves to be, pointless in the grande scheme or lack of thereof, slow walking , manufacturing sleepy hollows for every single one of our callous offspring, pulling at their hair in ways unknown to human fingertips until now. Kisses overflowing with subtle lust and masked saliva, lips crushing skin and guitar strings and we have nowhere to turn to for affection now. What is this about? What are we supposed to see in this incoherent poor excuse for an existence lacking everything from base to substance. Ten years pass as quickly as summer break, and we break free from the dirt and spoiled water contrived of flesh and no more anorganic jibberish unrelated to that which is the common origin. Spit is everpresent, flags torn above our heads for they mean nothing. What is this about anyway? Don’t expect too much from people, it will hurt them and wound you like a silver bullet through a chocolate cake and oily tegument, like bronze arrows through nihil and seringe needles through innocent veins. Let the low tide sweep your nosebleeds and gather them inside us like honey from distant flowers. Summing all of this up I find myself not existing, unreal and halucinogenic manifestation of nothingness that shouldn’t even be named for it has none, one thousand hours of staring will do nothing to enlighten my perception of my own persona and no surjectivity exists in my vital functions. What is this about, in the end? What is this about.

Upon reading a thread dedicated to making fun of architects I came across this little ditty:

In the year 2006 , the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in Northern Ireland(but it can be anywhere in the world) and said, “Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans.” He gave Noah the CAD drawings, saying, “You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark. “Noah!” He roared, “I’m about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?” “Forgive me, Lord,” begged Noah, “but things have changed. I needed Building Regulations Approval because the Ark was over 30m2. I’ve been arguing with the Fire Brigade about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbours claim that I should have obtained planning permission for building the Ark in my garden because it is development of the site even though in my view it is a temporary structure, but the roof is too high. We had to go to appeal to the Secretary of State for a decision. The Local Area Access Group complained that my ramp was going to be too steep, and the inside of the Ark wasn’t fully accessible, then the Department of Transport demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem. All the decent trees have Tree Preservation Orders on them and we live in a Site of Special Scientific Interest set up in order to protect the owls. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go! When I started gathering the animals, the RSPCA sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. Then the County Council and the Environment Agency ruled that I couldn’t build the Ark until they’d conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I’m still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission on how many BMEs I’m supposed to hire for my building team. The trades unions say I can’t use my sons. They insist I have to hire only CSCS accredited workers with Ark-building experience. To make matters worse, Customs and Excise seized all my assets, claiming I’m trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.” Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, “You mean you’re not going to destroy the world?” “No,” said the Lord. “The Government beat me to it.”

Ever believed in altruism? In friendship? Unselfishness? Forget those. Forget everything you’ve ever known about them. There is no such thing. What is altruism, first and foremost? Wikipedia defines it as “unselfish concern for the welfare of others”. However it does not take into consideration the fact that humans are inevitably and undeniably selfish by nature from the moment they are born. Wikipedia goes on to say: “If one performs an act beneficial to others with a view to gaining some personal benefit, then it is not an altruistically motivated act.” What can be included in “personal benefits”? A number of things. From the immediately obvious such as financial or any other physical rewards, to the more psychological and subtle ones such as happiness, affection, emotional security. We make friends because we need friends. We need them for moral support and much more. We behave in a particular way that will maintain the friendship because we need the friendship. We keep secrets because we want our own secrets kept. We loan money because at some point we want to loan money ourselves. We make favors because we expect to have them returned. We treat people that are close to us in the way we want them to treat us. There is no altruism in this. The concept is only hypothetical and unapliable. Deny this and be a hypocrit. It really is of no importance. We will continue to fake unselfishness, most of us not even realising that on a subconcious level they are more or less thinking of themselves in one way or another, because people need to believe that altruism exists. That people can be noble, above egoism and self interest, that their friends treat them well for no particular reason and expecting no real reward. You can choose to do that and get burned by everyone around you. Or you can choose to expect that every single one of the people you surround yourself with will want something in return, one way or another.

So let’s toast to altruism, it’s the best idea the christians have ever had. Why did Jesus save humanity? Because God sent him on Earth to do it. It was his duty. His destiny. He had to. Want to go to Heaven? Live forever in blessed harmony and virtue? Believe in Him. You might be a good person, but as long as you don’t worship God, you have no passport to Eden. So if one of the most fundamentally altruistic religious ideologies is profoundly mistaken about the nature of unselfishness, what else is there to prove?

Ever believed in virtues? In wrong and right? In bad and good? Ever believed in altruism, in free love and the good nature of humanity as a whole? Forget everything you know. Because in the end, all you know is an illusion.

There are no such things.

I’ll give myself this: I can do a lot of stuff if I choose to supply a little effort in achieving said stuff. The problem is getting myself to actually do stuff. I’m a lazy bitch. There is no denying it. But there is hope for patching this up. It’s called motivation. What I generally lack. Well, I’m trying to emphasize on the existence of the concept for the moment.

I don’t know what to write about besides that.