Beyonce, money and Beethoven

According to his biography Beethoven was forced to study music by his father who wanted to turn the young boy into a prodigy in order to help increase the low income of the family.
In the beginning Beethoven didn't like studying the musical instruments but his father made him practice day and night which led to boy to tears.
But for our lucky the genius kept this career.
Some centuries later would a father encourage his son to be a musician?
Would a father buy a guitar, a bass or drums to his boy with the same aim Bethoven's had in mind?
It doesn't sound probable. He would rather boss the lad to become  a footballer and make him practice till tears.
The world don't value great culture anymore, on the contrary, money, propaganda is destroying real art.
In the music spectrum clones are doing what is expected from them and those who become rich in this field lack not only talent but creation. Their souls are bought - reference: Beyonce. 
I think about Beethoven. He worked hard to keep his profession... and the irony of losing his hearing. Still it was in silence he wrote his most important master pieces.
As far as money is concerned he didn't care about it and what we cherish is the wealth of his imagination.

Image: Ludwig van Beethoven in his Study; from a painting by Carl Schloesser. (circa 1811)

Aldous Huxley warned but we didn't pay attention

He predicted everything. We have been watching it all happening but keep pretending it will happen to other people.
Here we are losing our freedom  - "the prize for freedom is eternal vigilance"  says Huxley on 12:53 - the totalitarian globe is getting closer; we are addicted to drugs that alter our minds; we are constantly bombarded by propaganda, we are being watched and classified; we are being murdered; we are being genocided because of overpopulation;* the heads of states are being put in power according to Huxley's advice "All we need is money and a political candidate that can be coached to look sincere."; we don't know who we elect  "persuaded below the levels of choice and reason"; advertisement is controlling us beyond rationality... ato the interview. 
Democracy is no longer our system for a long time. Brave new world.

*We have to remember that Huxley was a eugenicist. Interesting that Bill Gates blames overpopulation as number one cause of all evils. 

The globe has few parts where people live. There is a vast territory for billions.

Mrs Huxley talks about the sad but peaceful death of Huxley on the same day of Kennedy's assassination,
Nothing left to say. R.I.P. Aldous Huxley.

Sophia the humanoid robot and Saudi Arabian citizenship

"I am happy to be around intelligent people who happen to rich and powerful... I know humans are smart and very programmable." Sophia's recorded voice says.

My Two Cents:

Disgusting with a touch of criminal, spiced with arrogance and... ignorance. The robot obsession goes hand in hand with transhumanism and eugenics.
The way this thing is being promotes, not a toy but as something very serious astonishes me.
No future for humans as we know. I've been reading some comments
and some people salute "Sophia" - Greek for "wisdom" - is creepy.
These people didn't play with Barbie and Ken when they were kids.
This robot went to UN and just received a Saudi Arabian citizenship. The American robot being Saudi Arabian is ironic or they mean something.

We need a new humanism.

The robot has a site: 

Sane Progressive banned from Youtube: It affects all of us

To Debbie and all of those who are being censored.

Anti-surveillance masks to protect your identity

URME SURVEILLANCE: Indiegogo Campaign from Leo Selvaggio on Vimeo.

Anti-surveillance mask lets you pass as someone else
By Leslie Katz
May 8, 2014

Uncomfortable with surveillance cameras? "Identity replacement tech" in the form of the Personal Surveillance Identity Prosthetic gives you a whole new face.

If the world starts looking like a scene from "Matrix 3" where everyone has Agent Smith's face, you can thank Leo Selvaggio.

His rubber mask aimed at foiling surveillance cameras features his visage, and if he has his way, plenty of people will be sporting the Personal Surveillance Identity Prosthetic in public. It's one of three products made by the Chicago-based artist's URME Surveillance, a venture dedicated to "protecting the public from surveillance and creating a safe space to explore our digital identities."

"Our world is becoming increasingly surveilled. For example, Chicago has over 25,000 cameras networked to a single facial recognition hub," reads the URME (pronounced U R Me) site. "We don't believe you should be tracked just because you want to walk outside and you shouldn't have to hide either. Instead, use one of our products to present an alternative identity when in public."

The 3D-printed resin mask, made from a 3D scan of Selvaggio's face and manufactured by ThatsMyFace.com, renders his features and skin tone with surprising realism, though the eyes peeping out from the eye holes do lend a certain creepiness to the look.

Creepiness is, of course, part of the point here, as the interdisciplinary artist takes a his-face-in-everyone's-face approach to exploring the impact of an increasingly networked world on personal identity.

"When you wear these devices the cameras will track me instead of you and your actions in public space will be attributed as mine because it will be me the cameras see," the artist, who's working toward his MFA at Chicago's Columbia College, says on a recently launched Indiegogo page for the products. "All URME devices have been tested for facial recognition and each properly identifies the wearer of me on Facebook, which has some of the most sophisticated facial recognition software around."

It turns out some states have anti-mask laws. And Selvaggio -- whose earlier project You Are Me let others use his social-media profiles -- says he's considered the possibility that anyone wearing his face in public could engage in illegal activity.

Human robots: good or evil?

I still haven't reach a "verdict" about the human robots. I will wait to check more opinions, how
these creeters will interact with humans and gather more info.
But I have to confess I'm a little bit scared. These are not toys. I believe we are in desperate need of a new humanism.