Sunday, September 23, 2001
Friday, September 21, 2001
I've been reading a lot about no limits freediving (ever see the Big Blue?) — this is where people dive down with no gear (just holding their breath) to depths well below five hundred feet. At this point their heart slows to a standstill, blood directs only to their brain, and their lungs fill with plasma to compensate for the pressure. Just to make it clear how deep this is, scuba divers don't generally go below 130 feet for safety reasons… and they have gear!
Anyway, I was reading Francisco Ferreras's, Umberto Pelizzari's, and Kristijan Curovic's homepages, and it struck me that there are profound similarities between the experience of deep diving, and the experience of suspension. I found the following quote on Umerto's page:
"From the depth of 0 to 100 metres and even deeper, headlong into the abyss the heart beat gets slower, the body disappears, and all the feelings take a new form. The only thing that remains is the soul. A long jump into the soul, which seams to absorb in the universe. Every time I re-ascend is making a choice: it's me who re-finds myself in my human dimension, metre by metre, to come up then to see the light again. It often happens that I am asked what is there to see deep down in the sea. Maybe the only possible answer is that one does not descend in apnoea to look around but to look into oneself. In the abyss I look for myself. This is a mystical experience bordering the divine. I am immensely alone but it feels as if inside of me there were all humanity with me. It is my being a human-being that surpasses the limits that are looked for becoming absorbed in the sea, which melts into itself and re-finds itself."
I'm doing my best to try and really understand these experiences; free diving, suspension, psychedelic journeys, body modification, and even things like extreme endurance sports — these things are doorways and I can't think of anything more essential than really understanding what's on the other side.
Thursday, September 20, 2001
I just remembered that I was going to post about my latest pile of mail. I got two envelopes with three rolls of film in all — in about an hour I'll wander down to West Camera and drop it off. I like dealing with West Camera because they really couldn't care less what I develop… I developed photos of me helping chisel off a guy's finger and they didn't have me tossed in jail.
Anyway, I got my plugs from Wil at the One Stop Freak Shop. Wow. He's really got that computer controlled milling machine figured out — the workmanship on these is stunning. Check out his website — he's got a zillion different designs of custom plugs, and given what they are, they're pretty cheap as well.
By the way, all you plug makers — I wear 2″ plugs — if you ever want to send me some I'll be glad to review them here.
I also got a shirt from Sean's Church Social on September 2nd… I sent him a shirt in return, so I hope he got it.
And now to the really exciting piece of mail! I don't know who it's from and I don't know what's in it (I suspect a book, but that's obvious). Ryan wanted me to open it, but I'm waiting until I'm “legally” allowed to. Thank you to whoever sent it!
Oh, and I'll likely do an experience update today… Then I think I'm going bowling with Rachel, Dave, Saira, Jenny, Clive, and some people who for some insane reason don't have an iam page. If you feel like party crashing we're at the Bowl-A-Rama on Bathurst, I think between Eglington and Lawrence… We'll probably be there around 8:45 or 9:00 pm.
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Reprinted from the Project Drop Out, Tune In webpage)
We are currently finalizing the purchase of land in Ontario, Canada. Over the summer of 2002 we will build at least one self-sufficient earthship on this land. This will be done not by contracters, but entirely by untrained volunteers.
So… Do you want a “summer job”? We can't pay you, but you will be fed and housed, and you'll get in shape and learn lots of new skills. You'll also get to be a part of something very special — you'll see how an investment of under $25,000 can be turned into a self-sufficient environmentally responsible house on beautiful land, with no mortgage!
You can stay as long or short as you'd like — you don't need to stay all summer. You can even come just for a few days if you'd like. For those that stay for the entire summer though, we are entirely open to the concept to shaving off land from our lot and helping you build a ship as well.
This offer is open to everyone. If you'd like to come up for the summer, or a weekend in the summer, or whatever you have time for, I promise you you'll see something that'll open your eyes.
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
I really hate dressing up. I almost lost it when my mother wanted me to dress up for graduation. I was very unhappy when I was told I'd have to wear slacks for Ryan and Corrie's wedding. It makes me feel like I'm being told that there's something wrong with the way I decide to dress normally, and that to fit in with “proper” society I have to conform and use elaborate clothing to hide who I am… On many levels, it makes me feel opressed. So why am I willing to dress up for ModProm?
Two reasons:
First, I see ModProm's dressing up sort of like I see Halloween. It's all for fun — it's not to try and meet some standard that society has decided is proper. I'm not doing this to try and meet some standard that has no bearing on my life, I'm doing it because it amuses me.
Second, I see taking the prom dresscode and appropriating it as an act of social revolution. Normally these events are about covering up tattoos and piercings, and trying to “look good” in some perverse way that speaks of society, not of the individual. This takes that and subverts it — it says to the world, don't try and tell us how to look. We can have fun and get all dressed up, and SHOW OFF our tattoos and piercings. If you've got a backpiece, wear a backless dress!
