Thank You To Some Old Friends...

I went out yesterday to get a replacement computer for my lightning struck system (I'm assuming as the computer mysteriously stopped functioning just after a storm).

I went to the great retailer from which I had originally purchased it and they handled my return quickly and gracefully.

The sales staff then quickly fixed me up with a replacement system which was perfect and functions great, if not even better than the last one. I am very grateful for the service offered by the store, the diversity of its employees which made it like the United Nations of computer stores.

Before I finish this post of thanks, I'd like to talk a little bit about memory, recognition and situation. Sometimes in some situations it is better not to address people you know or recognize from the past not because of any issues between you but to preserve the safety of their situation and I mean in regard to stalking by some people. When you've known people in an industry you tend to remember their faces and yesterday I encountered a few such faces which I thought I'd say hello to in a sort of directly hidden context.

Years ago during the dawn of microcomputing, I worked for a distributor (first in the warehouse as an order picker then as a junior technician). In that day and age, the fastest machine on the PC side of the fence was the 386 DX25 which ran at 25 Mhz and had a built in math coprocessor and was roughly around $3000 to $5000 dollars for a nice machine with all the fixings. The consumer level machine was the 386 SX16 (16 Mhz) and without the math coprocessor meaning anything with floating point calculations would take a bit longer (avoid running large spreadsheets on Lotus 123 or Quattro). Memory was purchased as DIPPs which were the chips that look like little bugs with a variety of contacts that look like legs. You needed to buy them in multiples of 8 and if your machine required parity, then you had to buy a ninth chip. It was around $300 for 256k or memory and most PCs at that time were still under 1 MB at 640k (because the Dos and ROM Bios memory space was allocated in the top 384k portion of the system). Some machines like the higher end one might have had 2 MB more either allocated as EMS or XMS depending on what you were running application wise. Windows at that time was still in prerelease, shipping as a scaled down version with desktop packages like Aldus Pagemaker because it was not finished being developed. It all ran on top of a 16 bit Dos, and even Windows at that time was a 16 bit GUI (not a full operating system). You needed to be concerned with mouse drivers for Dos too. So there was a lot going on at that time.

The VGA/MCGA card had just come out allowing your PC to produce onscreen a whopping 256 colours from a palette of 16.7M colours.

Working where I had been working, I was on the forefront of this wave which heralded the mark of its entry into portable and home computing. The networking technology at the time was all based in Novell's IPX/SPX and Novell certified network techs were an important part of any computer team. Of course universities had been using Unix based systems with X Windows for graphical interface and TCP/IP but most businesses were operating on either ethernet or token ring based network topologies which required test tools like BNC loopback connectors and BNC terminators. Much different than the RJ-45 based Cat-5 and 6E network cabling most common nowadays. Fibre optics was completely not available for networks unless you were in the military or rocket science.

I was trained as a programmer by the Government (after prematurely dropping out of school). The Government picked up the ball and sent me away to learn about the mechanics of technology and programming before arriving to work for the distributor, I had been using technology since my early childhood as my parents were musicians and my father a keyboard player. I had a natural affinity for such technology and my father used to let me write synth patches for his onstage performances. My parents became the highest paid bar and lounge act in the country. All that after coming from the absolute bottom (my single mother raised two boys from low income housing), eventually working her way up to buying their first home with my father when I was 8 or 9. So I have always been around persistence, creativity and technology.

At the distributor I worked for, I worked with a great team of people, both in the warehouse and then again when I was promoted to technician. The staff were very knowledgeable and the sales team were highly trained and just as knowledgeable especially in application of the technology for their customers needs. So it was a pretty awesome time to be around with lots of opportunity.

I loved my job so much that on my lunch hours, I wrote graphics demos to show off the new vga cards features (which the demos were then added to the showroom PCs thanks to the sales staff who saw them). After working in the warehouse, I'd recognized an area where potential product identification discrepancies could occur (the system was great as was the MIS department head Pierre as were the warehouse manager Chris, the senior picker Rob, and the receiver Darrell, all of whom I collaborated with voluntarily on an idea to improve the means of accurately being able to identify products during the picking process). So I wrote a database application that interfaced with the VAX mainframe (non-invasively) to access the product codes and descriptions (which ran and managed the whole country's product inventory and accounting system), which would then print a label for each of the products during the receiving process that synchronized the vendor's product identification with that of our internal product codes. This resulted in a forty percent improvement of product picking errors and around a 10% improvement of inventory discrepancies during audits. 

Anyway, thanks for the good service at the computer shop and it was great to see those old friends again and maybe if the future holds it right, we'll see each other again under much better and more ideal circumstances.

As far as the stories are concerned, I am trying to sturdy myself up to work on them because when I do, there will be a great deal of attack from the members of this cult as I do. So they will be coming soon. So new chapters for Butterfly Dragon and A Lady's Prerogative very soon. I'm trying to sneak them in but the local stalkers watch me very closely and whenever I do, they're on me like a pack of wolves.

Stay Safe And Be Well
I am Brian Joseph Johns and this is http://poetryandfiction.blogspot.ca.

Copyright © 2015 Brian Joseph Johns

Thoughts On Women And Men And Understanding. Thank you Anita.

I've been reading and following a bit about someone named Anita Sarkeesian, an outspoken media philosopher and feminist and sometimes critic of how women are portrayed in media.

Interestingly enough, I read that she is also a victim of cyber abuse as well unfortunately and very much undeservedly considering the nature of her efforts. My abusers and stalkers usually target me in real life and rarely if ever online and always in numbers. I thought I'd express some of my views on media and sexism.

I think most guys are pretty good when it comes to their treatment of women but there are always a few that make a bad name and sometimes some things just slip by without much thought at all by even the most sensitive of us.

Our impression of how we deal with and treat women is impacted by what we take in from media sources up to an age and point that I think we are the most impressionable. It is in this time that learning about relationships with members of the complimentary sex are very important and relating their feelings to ours.

Ultimately though I think that as we get older, our ideas of relationship are influenced by sexuality and how we perceive and often fantasize about the sex we are attracted to and hopefully are more focused around the person they are than and over idealization of our visual desires. Often we are attracted to the person that our mind loves and we find that person very visually appealing. The concept of a shared idea of visual sexuality will always exist and change in society as it has many times throughout history and is often represented in our art and media (See Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet and Vargas for example). Nudity and the human body are not any part of ugliness at all and make up part of a whole concept.

How women are treated or presented on the other hand within the context of any media form is something to think about and especially the age group to which that presentation is targeted. Media in all of its forms has a history of growing and maturing with society and as such, books, radio, television, movies and now video games have all gone through that process from their conceptualization through to their maturity. However that process requires voices to be active and express grievances so that it will help all sides grow and understand one another. Ultimately what someone like Anita does for video games and media will bring more women into gaming and from that stand point, it is a good thing for us all. Its kind of nice to rescue each other.

In terms of mature sexuality, I believe that`s not a liability of human existence like some people but a device in the language of the expression of love. However in most media forms that expression as it starts is often objectified for an audience in sacrifice of plot, story and meaningful characters that the audience actually care about in order to lure them on the basis of their hormones rather than their minds. This is usually the case until it matures as a form of media and many have already gone through this transformation. We see in modern media such books, television shows, movies and directors that take all their characters seriously rather than relying on type casts or stereotypes to reach the audience in regard to both the nature of people and the various gender identities. Many of the ideas that hinder progress run rampant through society as we speak (such as those who attempt to peak hate amongst others socially mostly to control them) but ultimately in the long run the better sensibility that takes people in this holistic idea will win.

Sexuality will always have a place in our media and there will likely be exploitation to go along with it as long as people are not educated not just about sex, but about actually developing empathic relationships with members of their complimentary sex (by that I mean the sex one is attracted to) and ultimately with both sexes. As a device for building tension in the plot or character interaction it can be quite effective as long as its context is not lost. Play will always exist and play can be fun with a partner as long as it is mutual.

To help some guys better understand what it must be like for some women, here's a thought.

I wonder what it would be like if as guys, we had to wear our sex organs out in some form of "display" in front of us to be thought of as "attractive", kind of like a push up bra for our privates, maybe with a pair of tight shorts or something so that women could whistle at us and give us cat calls or comment about us if our privates were "too small".

I for one would lose out often because I am not overly well endowed and I wonder how that would make me feel in comparison to other guys that were. That would be the case if guys wore their privates like some women are pressured into wearing or baring their breasts. Hopefully for most people their sense of self esteem isn't related to the size of the their genitalia or other parts of their anatomy but rather their whole being. Personal beauty can always be captured by good artists, and not because they make it better than it is, but rather they are good at seeing it for all its glory both inside and out.

So if guys were exposed in a similar manner, there might be a different attitude from many of them, and unfortunately it has been women who've had that to bare for the rest of us (seeing as that part of their anatomy is often subject to conjecture because it is prominent), so naturally I'd listen to what they have to say in that regard.

Imagine if we were on display like that and then judged by our size. I think you'd find that a lot guys would behave much differently and you'd probably have a lot more men talking about sexual exploitation.

Listen to what she has to say because in the end, its only going to be good for the gaming community because more women will feel welcome because they won't be subject to confidence issues regarding how they will be accepted. They're always welcome to the game and as we see more games and media sources recognizing this, the more time we'll share in those media sources.

Stay Safe And Be Well
Brian Joseph Johns

PS: I was not possessed or controlled by anyone into posting this. Just another way that thieves of what other people say and do operate. If you believe it, then you're believing a lie and chances are there's many more that such ideas are built upon.

The Thief 2015 Version

A thief once came into my life,

and took away by point of knife,

my love of illusion, an inner wealth,

my love of life, my mental health.

I searched to and I searched fro,

for that thief had left me low.

A blade of lies, hilt of deceit,

what thieves take leaves none discrete.

To take one's things can leave a mess,

and more their value heightens distress.

But when they take parts of your life,

experiences claimed by good and strife.

Parts of your being which you did sew,

your seeds for future none would know.

You give them life and keep their home,

before they've blossomed the thief is gone.

To wear your life as if their own,

to bear your past, leave you unknown.

Your words and deeds have built their throne,

while they've left you without home.

I never stopped my vigil against this beast,

for ae'r my loss not be their feast.

When I told my friends of all this strife,

They merely said: "I guess that's life".

Brian Joseph Johns

I wrote a poem like this in 2001 and published it online (I've long since lost that version of it along with another poem called Revolution, which secretly became quite popular), The thief in this poem is really a group of people who try to take things from you by deceiving you and others of the original creator of whatever they attempt to take. Some believe that the creations of others comes from the proximity of others to you but this can be foiled by the thieves, who try to always make their influence appear the best, often in mockery of other cultures like Japan, Korea or even China and Thailand who believe that your behaviour after an interaction indicates your level of respect for them and they are all cultures for whom I have a great deal of respect and care.

So a group of people have made that into a group based game of affecting or swaying that perception by affecting your behaviour after interactions with certain groups in order to favour those of the people attempting such a thing unfortunately. The same people do so by trying to imply their control over you when you do good after such an interaction. So what it comes down to is that when you write something for someone you care about, its stolen by such people as being their own. These people by the way (illegally) monitor computers for such content to take by such means, taking it even before it gets published online because their eavesdropping system catches it before hand. They're not Government by the way. It is usually a group of people close to where you live that do so or at least have access to this eavesdropping (which can see the contents of your screen or log your key strokes). So it is this group that sees what you do, then makes it a game of taking it from you socially while abusing you.

So those are the thieves.

I actually started writing and pursuing it as a hobby that I took seriously (on and off) from the time I was eleven though I`d started writing stories when I was around five or six. I'd been invited to an extra curricular writing class at school when I was eleven. The school was Kingslake Public School and I had a great and very inspiring teacher there who noticed that I enjoyed creating worlds, drawings and poetry (poetry and doodles literally covered my school books front and back back in 1978). It was a great class that I enjoyed, and did well at, landing a few pieces of my work in the school foyer at the time. Not bad for a nerd.

Nothing Taken

Just in case you think it gone,
you'll see in like that its quite strong.
No keen sense hath to it been so lost,
much more than so be winter's frost.

Some dragons leave while others stay,
this dragon will always find a way.
None these words have fled my mind,
for of their like you will not find.

In any verse that's left this tongue,
May I grow old? I'll still feel Jung.
This word's play isn't for give or take,
Nor will you find that within it fake.

Words stretched hither from a branch,
to fall their length before your stance.
You may climb within a day,
or you may fall, 'pon the ground you lay.

Some do learn from what they read.
Yet others feel their only greed.
To take the credit for what they've nought,
Take from again by whom its wrought.

Lay their claim by blood much better,
an heir to theft that's unbefettered.
For if you take from those unknown,
use it to keep those who've much grown.

Who would believe these by words gone?
Much has your like by taken song?
No muse will find you in your heart,
For its not there. From you I part...

Brian Joseph Johns

The Power Of Public Figures...

The iconic powers of a public figure are vast to say the least. They can result in great good or result in pressures that no normal human being could ever hope to cope with and have the ability to help bring attention to things that very much need the light of day.










Recent examples are like this one with a (currently) viral video making the rounds of what a superhero like Robert Downey Jr. and Albert Manero, a Collective Project student who founded Limbitless, both of whom presented Alex Pring, a seven year old boy with a prosthetic limb.

Ambassadors for the workings of projects like the Collective Project, which need public attention and support. Remember that one of the most influential persons in the world of physics is Stephen Hawking, and without the technologies that helped him to communicate with the rest of the world, none of us would have benefited from his insights into the nature of the universe and its many mysteries. Understanding what Stephen has to do just to be able to communicate is just one facet of the extra hurdles that some people go through to take part in this world like the rest of us.

The importance and the beginnings of projects like the Collective Project are imagined in the minds of people like Stan Lee, Gene Roddenberry, Mary Shelley, George Lucas, William Gibson, Arthur C. Clark, HG Wells, Jules Verne who are read (or watched as the case may be) by many different people who have gone on to start projects that make such things possible. The stories and characters become inspirations for people and can sometimes spawn the dreams that make them possible in reality.

[Author's note: When I wrote this post, I hadn't actually read this excellent article by Janice Kay of ScienceFiction.com which talks about some of the direct influence of science fiction writing that has manifested technologies in the real world.]

Over time, the nature of how we consume stories changes and as it does, the stories that drove us in the first place make their way into the next form of media. Often bringing these stories to these new media forms is a challenge and art form in itself. Radio broadcast production plays of books most certainly were in the 1930s and 1940s radio serials. 

Eventually they made their way to film and in each incarnation of a new form of storytelling, a new kind of artist was born to each to bring those stories to life. Live perform and acting has to be one of them because the interpretation and then personification of a character that everyone has read and has their own understanding of is a difficult task. Everyone has their own preconceptions. When an artist "gets it" exactly as everyone imagined is great. When they bring it to life though, that is when something magical happens. 

That is the power of the performer and actor (I am referring to box sexes when I say actor). To iconify and bring to life someone that we've known through our stories. Don't forget though that there is a person inside that performer too. Ultimately it is their heart and being that enters into the responsibilities that go along with being an icon or hero and those responsibilities are not small and as I said at the top, they are a pressure sometimes that no ordinary human being could handle. Much like the Stephen Hawking and Alex Pring are no ordinary human beings to be able to overcome their extra hurdles to become heroes of their own.

Sometimes the pressures on our icons and heroes becomes a weight that nobody could bare alone. Sometimes some bad people purposely make that weight a little too hefty and those people burst, perhaps saying something they did not mean or said in the heat of the moment, that might become news worthy. 

I think that the important thing to remember is that under those heroes and public figures, are people trying to cope with the enormous responsibilities that go along with that life. There are also sometimes some people who want to see them break and there are people who help that process along. When someone does, remember that is a human being who can likely handle more pressure than most people who are capable of dishing it out would ever be able to cope with and live. So next time we read about someone who broke down publicly in some way, why not think about the pressures that go along with their responsibilities in public life, and those that are just the result of those wanting to break them.

Then think about the fact that those same people have the ability to bring light and inspiration to projects conducted by brilliant people, seeking to help people who have extra hurdles that few of us have, that give voices to geniuses like Stephen Hawking or prosthetic limbs to people like Alex Pring.

So for the positive inspiring stories we saw and read today, remember for stories of the ones who stumbled and fell, that they are humans dealing with super human responsibilities sometimes and there are those that want to make them stumble or fall. Remember that they'll get up and brush themselves off. We all fall. Even the fallen have their day too though and when they do, they'll shine their light on something good that needs it.

Don't go too hard on those that get filled up a little too much and then burst. We all have our limits.

Thanks to people make those dreams into reality.

Stay Safe And Be Well
Brian Joseph Johns

Happy Family Day!

Happy family day to my long lost family! I wish it was a bit warmer here in Toronto (-16 feels like -22 The Weather Network).

I spent most of my weekend keeping warm and ended up not doing much writing (none at all). It was a weekend with Sid Meier's Civilization V (one of my favourite strategy games of all time).

I will be working on ALP:WO this week as well as continuing the story of TBD2:TDB which both would thematically be good for today's holiday. Look forward to the Archive getting some attention soon as well.

To all my friends, family and allies out there and those in the world of art, creation, literature, media, music, expression and performance, have a great day!

Stay Safe And Be Well
Brian Joseph Johns

Happy Birthday to the Canadian Flag!

Well it was fifty years ago that the National Canadian flag day was born.

Thanks once again to Google, who often are the carriers of the best news of all, and always we're greeted by it in their art.

Thanks and Happy National Canadian Flag Day!

Brian Joseph Johns