Ordinary Terrestrials Putting Crop Circles to Shame

August 9, 2008 By Tom

Mac Tonnies’ blog tipped me off to “the largest sand drawing on Earth.” Check it out!

Very impressive stuff…though not quite as impressive as the Olympics opener yesterday. That three-hour spectacular display of epic magnitudes of machinelike human precision and techno-majestic creativity almost made me want to enroll in the Communist Party. (I kid!) It was extremely powerful, moving, and is definitely worth finding a video of online, for those who missed it. I suspect it might have been the fullest, most beautiful display of worldcentric unity and human ingenuity that this planet has ever seen. Or at least the largest and most expensive. If the Chinese wanted to convince the world that they’ve become fully capable players on the modern (orange vMeme) sociocultural stage, they’ve certainly got my vote. Now, whether or not that’s a good thing remains to be seen… Here’s hoping they move through this stage of development quickly, on their way to peace-and-love lovin’ postmodernity, at which point they’ll reel back in collective horror at their human rights treacheries, apologize to the world, and then — 1/5th of the human population that they are — make their karmic recompense by helping to lead our species to the post-postmodern stars…


Comments

4 Comments so far

  1. ~C4Chaos on August 9, 2008 11:47 pm

    i agree (except for that enrolling in the Communist Party part) :) i got goosebumps while watching the performances. it’s an amazing display of collective intelligence and synchrony.

    then i find myself asking, is this amazing level of coordination only possible with people under communist rule? how much do (Chinese) genetics play are role on this? how much does religion and philosophy contribute to this level of coordination (e.g. that tai chi performance was mind blowing).

    and then i remember that China is the oldest *continuous* civilization in the world. it may still be catching up to West as far as economy is concerned. but if there is such as thing as collective cultural memory and wisdom, then the Chinese culture got the edge. it’s interesting to see China’s evolving role in the world stage in the years to come.

    ~C (for China is awakening)

  2. Tom on August 11, 2008 12:24 pm

    Hey C4,

    That’s a really good point. You could feel China’s age vs. ours, viscerally, whenever NBC would cut to a commercial break. I’m sure Chinese TV has some stupid commercials too, but there was something about the contrast between the beautiful Chinese artistry, carrying with it millennia of tradition & weight, and the crass American cultural interjections that was just painful. America may be more developed in some ways (some parts of America, that is), but we seriously lack the depth and weight that time alone seems to instill in a culture. In the natural hierarchy of Earth, we are still a young nation, and it’s becoming more and more obvious, I think, as globalization increases and cultures begin rubbing up against each other like never before. Still, our relative youth and lack of eons of cultural baggage could give us an edge, too… I pray we elect Obama. :)

    -Tom

  3. ~C4Chaos on August 11, 2008 1:16 pm

    LOL on your last sentence. i couldn’t agree more. especially after seeing Bush evangelizing in China :)

    ~C

  4. ~C4Chaos on August 12, 2008 2:55 pm

    btw, this op-ed from David Brooks captured the essence of what we’re discussing here. see http://bit.ly/3HFrxA

    in geeky integral lingo: Americans = Upper Quadrants; Chinese = Lower Quadrants

    ~C

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind