What Good Can Come From "Black Friday"?

From an economic point of view "Black Friday"-- oh, and yes, it's going to be in quotes everytime because I can't take the name seriously; is a boon for business. Last year in the UK alone, 1 billion pounds was spent online. (For perspective £91 billion was spent online overall, in the UK) and statistically it is the biggest shopping event of the year... according to the BBC... whom you would expect to not be paid to say that.

However, economics and socio-economics are things I know very little about.

I wonder if "Black Friday" is beneficial to most businesses or if it's mostly an annual stride toward Amazon's monopolisation of every major market. I'd also like to know how sustainable a system, that encourages such ruthless consumerism, is on the other 364 days of the year. Alas, I don't have any answers or thoughts that would be considered meaningful to those who are in the know. Besides, I'm here to talk about the positives!

First of all I'd like to say that I work at a video game store in a shopping center in the UK. I didn't see any riots or old ladies being used as "queue shoes" with which to increase the savvy shopper's traction. It was horrendously busy but people were civil and, seemingly, aware of the ridiculousness of the situation they put themselves into. I asked everyone that came to talk to me in the store if saving however much money was worth the time they would spend in the queue. Maybe it is for some. Everyone I asked, however, left the store after our chat (with a smile on their face) and I didn't sell a damn thing.

Me Directing a Customer to the Deals

People buy stuff! I've tried drafting explanations for why this is the case, from the top down in an eloquent and and concise manner. I can't. The original sentence was "People like to buy stuff" but I'm not so sure how true that is either. It's a complicated sum.


It's Human Nature!
It could be that getting things is something that a human is wont to do. The economic system we live in and the overlap with an age of hefty disposable income certainly facilitates that behaviour.

However, if that were the case should we expect to see rationality in buying patterns? Sensible buying habits facilitate long term purchasing power but (with the aid of credit cards) we don't see that happen. The brain of some individuals sacrifices rationality for the purchasing of more stuff.

The reason that happens is because we aren't rational beings. A lot of people, given the chance, will eat until they are too fat to walk. Even more will ignore our most primal responsibilites if we were hooked up to a heroin machine.

The will to buy things can be somewhat equated to an addiction mechanism. But, wait! People eat all the time and stay healthy. Not everyone who drinks becomes an alcoholic. There must be something that "convinces" humans to go that extra mile beyond just buying groceries and quality, functionable clothes.

As well as my next big point it is worth mentioning that most people's disposable incomes are larger than they once were and credit cards allow us to go beyond the limits of our source-able money. This means that our brains have a greater chance to obtain momentum in the establishment of a behaviour. That is to say that the more we are able to buy the more we are able to reinforce the connections between synapses that represent that buying behaviour.


PAAAAVLOV!Is it a behaviour that is taught? We live in a world of increasingly complex advertising campaigns from companies whose profit margins rely solely on what you do with your money. Companies no longer advertise themselves on how good their wares are (if they ever really did) but instead try to hit you in the more primitive parts of your brain. Nostalgia, love, happiness.

"Three for two puppies!? What about your orphan children? Do they come with innocence?"

A product's aim is to become a part of your life; your identity. A picnic isn't a real picnic without coca-cola. You're not a person of status without a car. Define your particular status through scarcity i.e VW Polo to a Bentley Fancymobile.

Extrapolate the mechanism behind an individual's taught affinity with a particular brand, through an individual's association of "attainment"* (one example being a car) and it's not hard to see how the pursuit of things as an abstract concept can be ingrained and idealised by proxy- if not by intent.


It's Complicated.Whether it be through facilitation of buying power or increased pressure to buy, it is obvious that a consumerist culture can be damaging. People will work jobs they hate, to buy things that they believe will make them happy, because they feel they should. There is an expectation towards affluence and for the majority that is impossible by definition of the system. The economic culture we are born into creates different strata of wealth with the most populace being the poorest and then commands every strata to move up, beyond where they started.

The truth is that it's super complicated and blaming consumerism on the two highly simplified factors above isn't good enough. The answer(s) lie somewhere between the two as well as a bunch of other points that I'm not smart enough to know about. Unfortunately, my vast inability to provide a full and proper explanation on this topic is only barely surpassed by anyone's disinterest in a full and proper answer. So, I will continue.


A Conclusion
This is it! This is the section where I get to the main point that I alluded to in my click-bait title! What positive things can Black Friday teach us? Well...

A starkly horrible event can elucidate a certain artifact that was there all along, or validate the existence of a problem amongst the majority,

The sheer magnitude of death and pestilence in WWII (and to an extent, WWI) destroyed the notion of war being an honourable duty to your country. WWII arguably imbued a certain fearfulness in regards to nationalism in Western Europe. Though Britain is more culturally lenient on this matter, (I think having been deprived the true horrors of the war) I know people from other European countries that view their national flag at anywhere other than an embassy with a raised eyebrow.

War journalists and a free press showed an entire generation of Americans the ugly side of war by providing images from Vietnam. The ensuing, massive shift of public opinion was unprecedented, and much to the annoyance of some of the earliest critics of the war. Why couldn't people have exercised their empathy and come to feel that way before the proof of concept was available?

When Belgium and the Netherlands are underwater, Bangladesh needs somewhere else to live and there isn't enough space to grow food, more people will eventually come to extol the value of living more sustainably.

These awful things hold up a mirror to our actions and appropriately shock us into belief with the intuitive clarity of the image. In the riots of "Black Friday" I see something horrible. Something sinister and far reaching of which the participants seem oblivious.

Nonetheless, I also see hope in the faces of the people that are shocked and fearful of those that would break a jaw for a cheap Xbox. Their negative experience and consequential PTSD might form the foyer of the rabbit hole and in the discussion of their thoughts certain aspects of the world they live in may become apparent when, had they spent their time comfortably, could very well have gone unnoticed.


Hmm.
Yeah. I haven't particularly convinced myself, either. The "Good" in the title refers to a partial liberation from the desire to buy stuff. People have written books about why that might be a good thing. Perhaps I'm a dusty principled product of an upbringing closer in some respects to a post war upbringing. However, for all of my inability to argue intellectually I feel assured making the statement of, "If people are fighting for things that won't sustain their lives, something is amiss."

I suppose, really, that just shows that I would do better as a beatnik humanities student than as a scientist or designer.

Ah, well. If you made it this far: Well Done! I really am appreciative that you would take the time to read my stuff. Now, the internet is calling you away! Begone.

Josh.



*It could be obvious status posturing or something more abstract e.g. a bigger TV that most people won't see, and if they do, would be unlikely to ascribe to status, and more to fiscal progression... which I suppose is a sort of status... but not an in your face sort. Jesus... I have to think this stuff through.

An Unexpected Mechanism of Language.

I have recently started a contractual transcription job for some guy. I'm not going to advertise him because it's self help of the slimiest kind and I don't want him getting undue exposure but during the time spent transcribing I had an interesting thought.

I can be a wordy sort of person- if you've ever read any of my crap you would know that. The reason I am so wordy is because I am seeking clarity and precision in what I say. Unfortunately the main formats with which we transfer information from brain to brain- especially when it comes to complex thought- are very lossy, meaning a lot of information can be lost in the transfer. Simply refer to your favourite forum of choice (I recommend vaguely anti/pro religious videos on youtube) to see this incredible phenomenon at work.

So, whilst watching this guy and noting down every last botched sentence he spouts I realised that he continuously said the same thing over and over again, in slightly different ways. Although I disagreed with what he was saying I realised that the reason he did that was as a kind of verbal brain massage. Self help, if the help offered is fine, is most likely to fail due to the person not really following through. That's obvious! Changing the structure of your brain, especially for deep-seated behaviour, is super tough and reading an inspirational quote or cool idea will not change that structure though it might flood your brain with good feels.

The snake oil salesman kept saying the same thing over and over again, not to instill a particular idea- like a formula or line of poetry- but in order to perpetuate the mode of thinkingthat he is trying to cultivate in his audience .

It's not quite the same as copying a behaviour because deeper thought is not so easily mimicked- I think it was a way of entertaining the audience's minds, keeping the ball rolling if you will, in order to stupefy disbelief.

Hold on, I suppose that's what a mantra is isn't it?  Urgh, this job is melting my brain.

Hungry-Man Review.

Here at Josh's Blog Enterprises we're focused on hard hitting journalism. We believe that a good review cannot be boiled down to a scaled rating at the end; however we know that if you're reading this you're probably too lazy to read allll those words and decide if the review is a reliable one. The Hungry-Man takes 8 minutes to prepare. You can read this review in less!

LET'S DO THIS!

So, I'm going to be in America soon. In advance I decided it might be prudent to prepare my colon for the inevitable blitzkrieg that will be wreaked upon my entry to the states. The Hungry Man is something that me and my girlfriend have laughed about each time we've seen it in the shop. Perhaps because we assumed it to be a symbol of corporate machismo. Well, Sara was away and I was indeed a Hungry-Man!

Already looks ravishing! 

The Hungry Man meal is different to many other ready meals (I guess- I've never really had any) in the way that it forces you to think. It both forces you to make hard decisions and to find ways around challenging circumstances. The first challenge was  whether or not I should use the oven or the microwave; instructions for both methods were provided! I opted for the microwave as I thought it was more in the spirit of things and was left wandering through the mists of wonder upon reflection of how oven preparation is supposed to take 26 minutes longer.

The second problem was how I was instructed to remove the film from the brownie only and poke holes only in the potato and peas. There is only one film and it is only stuck down along the circumference, not the partitions so I was unsure of :-

A) How to remove the film from the brownie only and
B) How only poking holes in the vegetables would make a difference to the steaks burgers when there is no separation between the components- especially seeing as I had to remove the film from the brownie.

I cut the film out around the brownie and just stabbed holes in everything.

Cook everything for 3.5 minutes then remove the brownie.

Chris' inferior healthy meal.

After cooking the meal for another 4.5 minutes after removal of the brownie I was ready to eat. I did a quick publicity shot for which Hungry Man agreed to pay me royalties for and got to eating.

Exactly like on the packaging!

Hungry-Man's final form.

Pffff.

Well, it was better than I had thought but not as good as I would have hoped. For the investment of a minuscule amount of time in comparison to the minutes each Hungry-Man bumps off of your life you can learn to cook cheaper and more delicious meals for yourself. You have only one life and plenty of time, you have the capacity to learn new skills, skills that can benefit yourself and others. Skills that can make you a source of inspiration or hope to your friends. It really is in your best interest to not buy this meal and instead make something more of yourself

5*'s! 10/10 WOULD BUY AGAIN!

NEXT TIME- KRAFT MACARONI AND CHEESE!

I wish I could say that it even tasted like anything.

4/20 in Vancouver 2014: A Review.

4.20PM- The Fog of War.

For those of you that don't already know 4/20 is a day of the year on which many people protest the illegalisation of weed. A quirk of the backward North American date system means that the month goes before the day and as such 4.20 PM is the time of the day when the crowd lights up for the peak of the festivities. 

Festivities!

A relatively small offering.

The event was quite incredible. The crowd was vibrant and consisted of many different kinds of people, at least in appearance. It was very interesting to see a small police presence in conjunction with street vendors trying to sell MAMMOTH bags of weed- the legality of weed seemed more like a clerical error than an ethical issue that had ever been thought about. Wandering around the stalls was good fun, there was a lot of energy, a lot of people and it was all a great novelty.

I spoke to a few people that were very nice and interesting people, at the same time there were many people that were evidently dead behind the eyes. I think, at least metaphorically, this observation is representative of the two pro-weed parties. I don't know what the relative size of each demograph might be but I think there is group that seeks legalisation more for ethical reasons and a group that seeks legalisation for eventual personal gratification.

The legal status of marijuana is an important one. It represents more than just getting high but I fear that concept is lost on most of the people attending the event.

"ROOT'IN FOR PUTIN" ?
Your guess is as good as mine. This wasn't the only mixed message at the event.

The musicians on stage were great. I was expecting boring, predictable reggae but in fact they were fun and exciting. There were volunteers on stage dressed as spliffs, dancing and smoking at the same time- they looked great. It was funny. But when anyone came on stage and started some simplistic diatribe on drug law I became quite embarrassed. I couldn't see the point in getting the crowd to shout brain dead slogans, and the whole shouting at Harper (the prime minister, who was not present) made the whole event seem like a child in its parents clothes. The very presence of the event and the public flaunting of the law is message enough.

All in all the event was fun however I think the message was well and truly swallowed up by an immature sense of rebellion. I am in favour of the legalisation of weed- there's no point making criminals where there logically wouldn't seem to be any- but I do find the sometimes moronic weed culture to be a huge turn off.

To me the injustice of the War on Drugs does not originate from the quashing of an individuals "rights" to get high. The injustice is the consistent placement of opinion over science by governments either because they are uninformed or because they know that voters are uninformed. In the arrangement of Vancouver's initial 1995 4/20 event a proposed whole day affair was shunned by one of the founders as "decadent"- that word is an excellent descriptor for what was essentially a protest.

If this had been a celebration of weed in itself then the tone would match the message but campaigning for a change of law in this way, bearing in mind the personalities of those that hold the law in their hands, is not a prudent way to effect change. I leave you with the musical culmination of the event, I think it explains the past two paragraphs better than I can in words. See below for lyrics.

Lyrics-

I like smoking pot 'cus it makes me feel good

My First 10km Race.

How Long does a 10k Take?
Well, it varies for everyone, of course. Compare yourself to the below paragraph to get an idea of where you lie.

I had a standard base level of fitness before I started training about 10 days before the race. I could already climb a flight of stairs at a quick pace without getting significantly out of breath and in the 10 days before the race I went for 4 runs, the longest being about 7 kilometers. Before those 10 days I didn't really run any long distances. Maybe the 500m or so from the bus stop to home.

I finished the race, which was mostly flat, in 59 minutes. Also, I ran in boots because I am poor and can't afford trainers.

Any kind of race is a test for the mind and body. You need to be able to manipulate your limbs into some sort of running motion and you need to be able to do that motion for longer than 10 minutes but beyond that I would say running is mainly a mental exercise. Here are some tips!

Eat Food! (Just Not Too Much)
When things get uncomfortable it is your brain that will get you to keep running, not your legs. It is important to remember that and take care of your mind before a race. That means eat something light- if you're like me you might get angry when you are hungry... hangry, if you will- this is something you would do well to avoid. If, like I did, you were to eat way too much before running, leading you to feel like throwing up for a lot of it, you could do with...

Getting More Sleep!
Another compounding factor is sleep. The amount of sleep you need is genetically determined and you cannot alter your normal sleeping time without sustaining losses to your concentration. Get enough sleep before you run! I did not get enough sleep before the race and as a consequence my focus waned severely throughout. I had a slight injury, felt sick and was VERY aware of it because I wasn't able to concentrate on running. Instead, for a lot of the race I had to put most of my attention towards keeping my amygdala in check in order to avoid giving up.

Though my case study is not an exact science the below actual scientific article (as presented by the mainstream media) is as close as you can get! Check it out and at the very least read the last paragraph. It is VERY important to understand that sleep is a limiting factor of ability perhaps as much as sunlight is a limiting factor for plant growth.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sleep-t.html?_r=0

Feel Da Rhthym, Feel Da Rhyme...
During the race me and my running partner were passed by many people that were listening to music. We eventually passed them breathing very heavily, heads down, slowing down. I hypothesise that they were running to a beat that was too fast for them to keep up with. If you don't listen to your body- your breath, your heart rate, your stride length and feet- you will be unable to adapt and optimise. It's like ignoring a "check engine" light in your car.

Sure, it might get you pumped but in the end if you aren't able to keep up with your "best of drum and bass" playlist you are only hurting your own efforts. I prefer to run without music as you are able to find your rhythm. Rhythms have to be able to change! If you're going up a hill you might not be able to keep up with your stride or you might have to break your one breath every two strides rule but that's good! It means you are doing the best that you can.

The bottom line is by all means push yourself but remember there is a difference between pushing yourself and being pushed. That goes for trying to keep up with that obviously better trained runner too. Set a goal and be ready to move beyond it if you can.

Get On Up, It's Bobsled Time!
I hope the above is useful to you, whoever you are. If you are thinking of running a race then my best advice is just give it a go. Make sure you don't box too far above your weight in case you hurt yourself. Be ambitious if you would like and just give it a go. If you are trying to be aware of what your body is doing then you are on an excellent track.

The best thing I have gained from doing this race is that the things that I learned carry over into many other areas of life. I hope your experience is as positive as mine.

Good luck.

Josh.

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

I don't mean the title in the hippy kind of way where love makes the world go around but rather in a cold pragmatic kind of way.

It used to be my opinion that working in groups made everything harder. This thought was influenced in many different ways through my life in education. Team sports mostly resulted in competitiveness within the team and group class activities resulted in freeloading and arguments over tasks that could be accomplished by one person quite easily. Most importantly the standard of teamwork, or rather tribalism, was set by petty political leaders and teenage cliques.

HOWEVER, I now live in a house of 20 something's (and a 40 something landlord) and working together makes things easier for everyone. Just doing a favour for someone, like cleaning their dishes or giving them a beer results in equal, sometimes greater, payback. There is something to be said for that feeling of not having to do something because a friend did it for you. Actions can speak louder than words and in this case they most certainly do.

This favour economy only really works for people that like and respect each other. I can't see it really working with strangers or as some sort of grassroots revolution to change the world however I think it is still important to remember or even consider that kindness does pay- not in a karmic, bullshitty sort of way but if you are nice to those who know you or those you would like to know (hey, sometimes even strangers) you will probably get something back at some point and more importantly it's easily traceable- not hippy bullshit.

Most importantly with small favours and mutual respect you garner the efforts of your friends for those big moments and favours, when you really need another human being to help. You can buy that help with money or pleading but it really is awesome when someone helps you move out, or get to a job interview on time, or dispose of a body because they want to, not because it would be easier to do so than put up with your complaining. I think that kind of friendship is often put down to being cool or admirable enough to deserve it but I am coming to understand it as being deserved by the actions in-between the egos.

I dunno, if you think you're around people that respect you feel free to give. You might (hopefully(?)) be surprised.*

Josh.


*This prooooobably won't work if you are in high school. Most people are only just learning that people other than themselves even exist but it's really good practice and as long as you make sure that you're not taken advantage of it's pretty good practice for the future. Take it from someone that lives life with a healthy dose of misanthropy.

Part 2- How Music Works!

Still with me? Excellent! Let's crack on.

Keys and Scales
What is a key? A key in its simplest and perhaps least precise definition is a sequence of 7 notes. This sequence makes up the primary notes that a piece of music will be composed from. There are both major and minor keys- both having a formula to construct them with. As with animals all notes are created equal but once you put them together some are more equal than others- there is a sort of hierarchy between the notes of a scale- meaning that some notes will work "better" in different contexts than others. Hopefully this sounds interesting as I will be writing about it in a subsequent post.

The first thing you need to know is what a semitone (halfstep) is. If you remember from the last episode it is one fret on a guitar-like instrument, an adjacent key on a piano and more of a mystery on a viol family member. A tone (wholestep) is one more fret/key/mystery than a semitone. The difference is the Jaws theme and Frere Jaques.

I include the arrows to emphasise that the (semi)tone is the distance between the notes. These gaps are referred to as "intervals".

So, if you were to start on any note on your instrument and followed the formula above you would be playing a major scale and at the same time sketching out the notes of a key. Keys and scales are almost one and the same. You might want to think of a scale as a tool to make music and a key as a way of describing or describing music if the dualism first strikes you as confusing.

The above is the formula for a minor key.

So, what can you do with this information? Well, most pieces of music most of us are likely to encounter are written in one definite key that might change throughout the piece. If you know what notes make up a key and if you know where the notes of the key fit in on your instrument you are theoretically able to improvise, compose or at the least better understand the music that you are playing or listening to.

So how do you get to learn the keys and by extension their scales? I will elaborate in the next post!

Josh.