There are many critics of globalization as a hegemony of corporations. Though the critiques are valid and very insightful, there are few alternatives that have been presented to replace corporate globalization with democratic globalization. Here is a possibility. It attempts to propose a world democratic spirit that can be a bulwark against acts of hegemony and control by specific interests.

 
I have just recently seen Dancer In The Dark directed by Lars Von Trier. Once I have seen this movie, I am surprised that it only got a best song nomination at that year's Academy Awards. It should have at least been nominated for best picture or best director, and maybe should have won instead of Gladiator. It just shows how big business has overcrowded how films are made.

 
The interaction of complexity, entropy, and social structures is explored in this article. It deals specifically with the element of change and those who support or oppose change. This can have wider consequences in terms of international hegemony and the ability to prosper in a more complex world..

 
In the spirit of a previous posting that explained the Banach-Tarski paradox is this attempt to properly define infinity. It employs terms that are non-mathematical in order to fully explore what mathematical infinity really is for the layman. It is also the first part of a larger work which may appear here in the future.

 
Within science fiction there is the opportunity to create artificial languages. These new languages must be based on some sort of internal logic in order to convey meaning. One example is the slang of Nadsat from A Clockwork Orange. Another example comes from an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both show an ingenuity that is part of the play of imagination within the entire genre of science fiction.

 
This is a review of a different kind of science fiction. Super Flat Times by Matthew Derby is a story of a future that tries to deal with its past. It is written in a style that draws attention to itself, and is probably the type of literary science fiction that is usually in the fiction section of bookstores instead of the sci-fi section.

 
The current legal struggle between the federal and some state governments over medical marijuana has continued even after the arrest and one day symbolic prison sentence of Ed Rosenthal. The legality of voter approved referendums are slowly gaining the upper hand proving that democracy still has precedent over a federal War on Drugs. But it shoould be noted that beside the medical and recreational purpose of marijuana is that of enhancement of art, music, sex, and food. This demonstrates that marijuana has more positive aspects than any conceived negative qualities.

 
The application of the open source movement to areas outside of software can be considered as the use of open source intelligence. This would mean the use of the open source model in organizing groups in terms of social and political action. What would distinguish these organizations of people would be a lack of hierarchy and the direct connection of subgroups to all other groups. The result would be a high amount of adaptability.

 
The model of reality that is implied by Buddhism has a certain resonance with the model of the Internet. This is an article that explores reality as set forth by Indra's Net and how the Internet as virtual reality works on the same principles.

 
The Banach-Tarski Paradox is a mathematical puzzle that is explained and solved in this article. What is also great is that it is explained in terms of a physical model for those who are unable to understand it in terms of abstract mathematics. It is an interesting example of a mental problem that can help keep the mind fit and durable even if it is not in your area of expertise.

 
There are various collections of science fiction on the Net. This is one that has been organized like the periodic table of elements. Each element is a story that has that respective element as its theme. Here is a sample of a collection of short stories that are historical in setting. They are related to the genre of steampunk in certain ways.

 
Every once in a while, one comes across Java applets or Flash animations that are interesting or fun. Here is an example of the former and here is the latter.

 
Here is a concise description of the ideas of Georges Bataille. He was a man who wrote interesting fiction and multidisciplinary nonfiction. He contributed to the Surrealist movement as well as expanding upon the philosophy of Nietzsche. He even proposed an economic theory based on sacrifice rather than production and consumption.

 
Hunter S Thompson has just finished a new book. His life and his words have been truly illustrative of the later part of the 20th century in America. By his free-wheeling mood of paranoia and strangeness, he described the eccentric nature of our country. Change has increased incredibly, and that is what one feels in Thompson's works.

 
It demonstrates the condition of our civil liberties when police officers go under cover at a fast food restaurant to observe if people are breaking the law, with no pre-existing evidence of any crimes. Under the gaze of the authorities, no one is innocent. This is only a few steps away from total martial law. However, there are some times when the first amendment wins despite police pressure. These victories are the pathways for making the police more accountable to the people, and not to the repressive Patriot Act.