Duality of Humanity Exhibition

Obey has this cool new exhibition in the spirit of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket i.e. the peace sign with “Born to Kill” next to it.

The title of the show is the picture above called “Duality of Humanity” of a kid soldier with a flower in his hat.

Very interesting imagery and something I love… Artistic criticism and commentary, all in one. The website looks pretty cool too :)
: Art, Activism, Obey

Music: Independent vs. Commercial

The whole Independent vs. Commercial culture in music is nothing new. It’s been going on for decades. That’s why the same people that listened to Bob Dylan would listen to Immortal Technique, The Roots, Mos Def, Pink Floyd. Truth generally doesn’t command a large audience and that is essentially what the independent artists sell, except a few who are just wannabe commercial sell-outs.

What exactly is a commercial sell-out? Pandering to the masses need to instantly gratify all of their natural urges with reckless abandon… Sex, Drugs, Money and a general culture and mind-set of Celebrity-worship and getting-it-at-all-costs or get-rich-or-die-trying (sound familiar?). The independents, even though some may have record deals, they are not as wide-spread as others for one simple reason… they sell something not so popular, the Truth.

: Pink Floyd, Immortal Technique, Mos Def, The Roots, Independent, Commercial

Open up an Ice Cold Ramadaan Coke…

Coke’s new initiative to get at its consumers involves tailoring its product to hit the Muslim community in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco, Tunisia, and other countries with a great many Muslims.

Check the image above which shows Coke’s Official Ramadan Packaging. Well I guess some Muslims would definitely agree that it is pretty good to break ones fast with an Ice Cold Coke. Interesting concept. Coke’s also targeting the 21010 World cup here in SA and also Christmas, etc. Some of these activities Coke’s been doing for ages, but this is the first time I’ve heard them targeting Muslims in Ramadan.

There’s no doubting that the opportunity is there, I just wonder how many Muslims would wise up and actually say… “WTF? I am NOT a Target Market!” Same tactics, different market. I would say that it does war m me up to the brand knowing they’re making something specifically for a Muslim kid like me, but there is definitely a piece of me that’s a bit uncomfortable being so blatantly targeted.

In all likelihood I don’t think we’ll see the Ramadaan Coke in South Africa. The Muslim population is too small to justify the change I would guess, although there is an opportunity if they target Muslim wholesalers and retailers, we got tons of those here.

Peace!
: Coke, Marketing, Ramadan, Ramadaan, Muslims, Advertising

Hamlet: The Facebook Edition

The king poked the queen.
The queen poked the king back.
Hamlet and the queen are no longer friends.
Marcellus is pretty sure something’s rotten around here.
Hamlet became a fan of daggers.

- – - -

Polonius says Hamlet’s crazy … crazy in love!
Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.
Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.
Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.
Ophelia removed “moody princes” from her interests.
Hamlet posted an event: A Play That’s Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family
The king commented on Hamlet’s play: “What is wrong with you?”

This recently came up on McSweeney’s: Hamlet (The Facebook News Feed Edition. Absolutely hilarious. This is what would probably happen if Facebook was around during Shakespeare’s time.

Muhammad is worried about people who have too much time on their hands…
: Shakespeare, Hamlet, Facebook, Funny

Writer’s Block

I don’t know what it is but lately I’ve just found myself absolutely blank when it comes to writing something down. I know I have a lot of interesting things going through my head but nothing seems to materialise on paper or anywhere else.

I have pinpointed the problem though… the lack of me putting things on paper is very closely linked from my lack of reading recently. I had stopped reading and at the same time stopped writing. Just yesterday I was reading one of Neil Gaiman’s stories on the Matrix and boom, the writing bug hit me again. It was just the way he wrote and the content… it was the same stuff which goes through my head but only his short story was to the point and painted such a cool picture with so little words it really inspired me.

So here I am writing about not writing. That must be a cop-out of sorts, but there is a learning here if you missed it a paragraph or so back. If you want to write… read.

Word.

More pen to paper to come :)

Peace!
: Writers Block, Writing

What was your favourite Limmerick as a kid?

I can still remember English Class… getting an entire lesson in the poetry section devoted to Limmericks. I also remember my favourite becuaause it was so ingenious…

There was an old man from Nantucket,
Who kept all his cash in a bucket.
He had a daughter named Nan,
but she ran away with a man.
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

I loved that one and remember repeating it to everyone I met after that… as most kids do, some things never change :)

So what was your favourite Limmerick? or Haiku even… pick your poetic structure, just tell me. I love language and ingenuity.

And here’s a modern one you might not get, but its pretty cool.

: Limmericks, Limmerick, poetry, Language, Writing