Vexen Crabtree’s blog

Hiding in London

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:38:59 +0100

I've been staying at my friend's house in London, in Croydon... and although I've gone into London proper just to go to the British Library, I haven't told anyone I'm here at all! One reason is that I had to recover from Thursday night out in Blandford, Dorset, where I drank *way* too much, after many months of abstinence (most the year, really).

Anyway, I miss London, and travelling around. Thankfully it is nice staying here at Shuri's house, peaceful and relaxing, and she and her petmale are both clever and knowledgeable about stuff. And have lots of books too!

Anyway, then I stayed up until 5am talking to people online... I've been offline so much, I have loads and loads to catch up on! Because I've been working abroad (in unpredictable places) the times I've been online have been the only time I've been able to keep in touch with my friends.

Well next year it'll be different, because I'm moving back to England from Germany. Can't wait! (Apart from the squalor, obnoxious people, bad road system and all that!)

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The Anti-Religious Forces Driving Secularisation

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:26:12 +0100

I have moved page Anti-Religious Forces: Specific Factors Fuelling Secularisation page to my new www.Human Religions.info website and lightly edited it.

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The UK Teenage Pregnancy Rate

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:04:01 +0200

On my page "An Analysis of UK Trash Culture" by Vexen Crabtree (2004) I've added a brief comment on UK teenage pregnancy rates:

The Institute for Public Policy Research reported in 2007 that British teenagers are the worst behaved in Europe. In 2006 it reported that between British, French, German and Italian youngsters, the British are near the top of every table comparing drugs, drink, violence and promiscuity. The UK has the highest rate of under 18s pregnancies not only in Europe, but in all the developed world except for the USA. The Daily Mail reported we "are more likely to binge-drink, take drugs [...] and start fights". "38% confessed to trying cannabis, more than five times the rate in Sweden. British teenagers are also bigger drinkers, with 27 per cent admitting to getting drunk regularly. In Italy, the figure is five per cent and in France it is just three per cent".

The page contains proper references.

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Hellraiser quotes in Solitary Experiments tracks

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:44:36 +0200

I have noticed three tracks from the EBM/darkwave band Solitary Experiments to put on Hellraiser: Film samples used in music tracks I own (Vexen Crabtree)

Here is a copy of the new text on that page:

Track Pandora's Box on "Cause & Effect" (2004), CD1, track 5

Sample: "The box. I don't know what it's for, or who made it, or why. I only know what it does."

This sample opens the track, and then repeats another sample a few times, where I think the female lead is quoted as saying "it hurts".

This is a dancey EBM album; but not particularly tuneful. Its pleasant moments are in the electronic synths which are sometimes beautiful; and the slower tracks ooze meaning and mysticism, with a hint of sadness. There are inspiring samples throughout all of this album, most of them are not from films that I know. Despite the beauty, the percussion and rhythm is generally harsh.

Track Miracle (Headscan remix) on "Cause & Effect" (2004), CD2, track 5

This track samples Pinhead explaining that the box 'holds the key to unknown pleasures'. The sample is faded into the background as the track opens, and is hard to make out. This remix is a harsh electronic take on the original, more like alien industrial trance than either nightclub music or EBM.

Track Bleak Prospects on "Final Approach" (2006), track 4

This is another track that opens with a sample in the background. It quotes Pinhead from Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth, in the scene where the nightclub owner is talking to the statue. "Appetite: sated, desire: indulged". The sample is repeated at 2min20.The track is a slow electronic stomp, once again quite harsh (but nicer than the two tracks mentioned above), and featuring a female vocalist in parts. This is living-room music, rather than nightclub.

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Is a religion better for being well-behaved or for being truer?

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:39:40 +0200

Is a "better" religion one that improves people's behaviour (pragmatists would say so!), or is a better religion one that is close to the truth (idealists, unite!)?

Religions that are appealing probably fit in the former category, whilst potentially dry and academic religions (and science) fit in the latter case. I reckon the 'masses' will nearly always hold dear religions that are mostly appealing and only secondarily accurate.

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It's alive!

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:19:56 +0200

Most journals and blog sites are blocked by the very heavy firewall that exists in this country... but I just found that Vox works!

I will have normal internet access later this year.

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Tired

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:33:48 +0200

Was up at 2am (after getting away from the Gate only at 10pm), to man the security desk... after my shift finally finishe at 9am, instead of sleeping, I went off into London because the thought of staying in my temporary work accomodation in Hounslow was so depressing, I'd rather be knackered than there.

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Stupidity!

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:36:01 +0200

Human Stupidity pages by Vexen Crabtree:

Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant.

The Devil's Dictionary

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Some notes on Sleep

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:50:07 +0100

I'm slowly finishing the wonderful book "Neuroscience" (Bear, Connors and Paradiso), all about the brain, and thought I'd share three of the random things I've noted:

To quote from a book by James Horne entitled Why We Sleep, "Many people feel that, despite 50 years of research, all we can conclude about the function of sleep is that it overcomes sleepiness"
Some animals (but not Humans) can die from lack of sleep.
Us humans spend about 1/12th of our lives dreaming.

I've added these to "The Biology of Dreaming" by Vexen Crabtree (2005).

I haven't got a page about the biology sleep in general, just about dreaming and nightmares and dream analysis and the like. On the same website is a dream diary containing dozens of my most epic and fascinating dreams, although I (unfortunately) haven't been having them for a few years now. Too busy!

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TV Violence - R. Gross

nobody@vox.com(Vexen Crabtree) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 00:35:06 +0100

"Field experiment [studies are those] in which children or teenagers are assigned to view violent or non-violent programs for a period of a few days or weeks. Measures of aggressive behaviour, fantasy, attitude, etc. are taken before, during and after the period of controlled viewing. [...] Almost without exception, they confirm the results of laboratory studies - in general, children who view violent TV are more aggressive than those who do not. [...]

The longitudinal panel study [can] tell us about cause and effect and which normally uses sound sampling methods. The aim is to discover relationships which exist over time between TV viewing and social attitudes and behaviour and so it is concerned with the cumulative influence of TV -[...] for example, in a 20-year follow-up of 400 children, heavy exposure to TV violence at age eight was associated with violent crime and spouse and child abuse at age 30, at all socioeconomic and intelligence levels (Huesmann and Eron, 1984). Sims and Gray (1993, cited in Newson, 1994), in a paper presented to the House of Lords Broadcasting Group, pointed to a vast world literature linking heavy exposure to media violence to subsequent aggressive behaviour. [...]"

Quote from "Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour" by Richard Gross, p424-426

Added it to: "The Mass Media: TV and Video Violence" by Vexen Crabtree

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