Captain Planet, he's a hero! We gotta take pollution down to 0.

The world, specifically South Africa, has been focused on COP 17. Nations have been trying to come up with solutions to the combat climate change, enforce climate justice and find ways to prepare nations that will get most affected by climate change during this conference. I am aware that certain organisations, like the Global Humanitarian Forum, have been trying to enforce climate justice without much success for a while now. The Global Humanitarian Forum (link) was headed by Kofi Annan and the Swiss Government. GHF featured speakers such as: Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, Wangari Maathai, Mary Robinson and Dr Samual Kobia. It was supposed to be officially launched in 2009 to demand decisive action at the post-Kyoto Protocol talks later on that year.

Nothing happened there, in fact the program was shut down in 2010. This further enforced my idea that we all need to make a difference. I'm not saying that we should become radical Greenpeace people but we have to try something. Every single small thing you do adds up if everyone does a *small thing. Friends of the Earth is one such organisation with this mind.
Friends of the Earth are an international organisation dedicated to educating people about Climate Change and things they can do to help slow it down. They also make use of petitions to make wins for planet earth. Here's a link to their UK website (http://www.foe.co.uk/) and also to their South African website (http://www.groundwork.org.za/). I have never heard of Ground Work before (the South African version of Friends of the Earth) but I'll be sure to get involved with them. They made this video with Catsnake, a film production company, that I'd like you to see. The video forms part of their campaign to halve rubbish in landfills by getting it recycled.

*For instance I will try: recycling at home, brainstorm ideas for products that could assist with the climate change crises and start saving for my bunker in Mount Kilimanjaro for when the effects of climate change are severe.

A Love Story… In Milk from Catsnake on Vimeo.

Made by Catsnake (www.twitter.com/CatsnakeFilm) on commission from Friends of the Earth (www.foe.co.uk).

www.foe.co.uk/lovestory

Written and produced by Stephen Follows (www.stephenfollows.com)
Directed and edited by Danann Breathnach (http://vimeo.com/danannbreathnach)
Music composed by Michael Csanyi Wills

Black Tuesday

#Black Tuesday


Sad day for South African democracy. 

Drop The Bass

I made this picture to represent how dubstep makes me feel. It's random, colourful and beautiful in it's own way. Some of it's conventionally beautiful like the aspect of remixing popular songs. Other sections are clean breaks from all that we know. Dubstep has texture, range, smooth vocals and hard beats. It's mind-blowing. 


The last thing you should note is that I used song lyrics to represent dropping the bass. 


My favourite electro (mostly dubstep) tracks at the moment are: 


Funky Chicken - Liver


Earthquake - Labrinth feat. Tinie Tempah (Noisia Remix)


I Can't Stop - Flux Pavilion


Whisper - Liver


It's Me - Aqaudrop


You Need Me, I Don't Need You (Gemini Remix) - Ed Sheeran


Got To Know (Squnto Remix) - Flux Pavilion 


Lights (Wired Dubstep Remix) - Ellie Goulding 


Eastern Jam - Chase & Status


Time - Chase & Status


Imperial March - Dirt Monkey


Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites - Skrillex 


It's Not Our Fault - HAEZER


James Bond - HAEZER


Go check them out on youtube, soundcloud or beatport. 

"Erase Everything" - Geoff Hendriks

I'm supposed to be studying but my brain has temporarily shut down from panic and lack of understanding. I decided in the time that it is rebooting I will write an entry about the phrase that inspired my blog. It's this badge: 

I got it from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York earlier on this year and have had it pinned to one of my handbags. I always get asked what it means every time someone sees it and to be honest I never really gave it any proper thought. I would normally just mutter something like, “You must erase everything in your life like the badge says,” or “I don’t know, that’s what Geoff Hendriks said.”

As I got this badge from an art museum I figured I had to look into it, like it's an artwork. My understanding of art is that we can all look at something and get our own interpretations from it. I still suck at getting my own interpretation, because my mind has been conditioned to see only a few alternatives not an expanse of ideas. Being at MoMA made me slightly uncomfortable because I realised I couldn't "see". Still unsure of what was right I went and checked out Geoff Hendriks. He’s an artist of course and he chose to paint sky imagery in everything he did. The mediums ranged from objects (as you’ll see in the picture below) to plays. 

Geoff Hendriks

Skygun, 1968

(Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery)

I still do not know the exact context in which Geoff Hendriks said, “Erase Everything.” It is a hard quote to track down on the internet, and I would really like to know what he meant.

My interpretation of the “Erase Everything” quote is this: In my ideal world, I would erase everything that made me unhappy or angry. It would be the final step in forgive and forget. I could create a clean, new canvas to paint my life on. Imagine being able to start again, no grudges, no expectations of failure, loving everyone and trusting everyone. Or maybe I would just erase things or people who do not fit in my life.

But as I thought more about this magical life eraser, I realized it would be pointless. This is my sometimes angry, rational side speaking. Sure, I would love to never feel sad and to forgive people quickly, but if I kept erasing people’s mistakes, I would end up sad for the same reasons all over again. What if I just kept erasing and erasing until I erased myself, like rubbing a hole through paper or painting over mistakes until they turn into a thick, unsightly layer on a canvas?

And what if everyone had access to this eraser? Would we forget big events like World War II and end up repeating the same mistakes? I do not think the written records would disappear, but people might forget how those events made them feel. We need those feelings, painful as they are, to keep such tragedies at bay.

So when I thought of a blog name, Erase Nothing came to mind immediately. I realized I have to keep everything because everything matters. Happiness holds more value when we have experienced sadness. Forgiving someone by choice, rather than erasing or forgetting them, ultimately means so much more.