Time travel isn’t possible, because time doesn’t exist as we think of it, a linear progression from past to future. Instead of reality existing at a point of time which slides along like a needle on a line, there is always only now, like a centre around which things move and change, but the totality of which never changes. Things progress and change, but the past is forever lost and the future forever unknown.

One moment writes the next, and the present proceeds. Time is merely change, and change is constant.

Reality is made of the ever-present now. The consciousness of all beings exists at once as shards of the totality, reflected in the prism of the world. Consciousness, tied to reality, tied to itself, can’t depart from the now.

Also, the past does not exist. It did, when it happened, but now it’s now.

You can’t isolate a part of the change and impose it on another part – you can’t rip off a part of the consciousness.

It would be really cool if time travel did exist. Here are some flawed ideas about how it could.

The most likely, is that you can send inanimate objects backwards. But as reality is one thing, even matter being imbued with consciousness, I doubt this is possible. If you could, you wouldn’t be able to change the present. Whatever you changed changed the present because it happened back when. No competing timelines sorry Community.

As for sending things forward as well, this seems less possible than backwards. What happened happened – it is known. What will happen isn’t.

Least likely is that you can send conscious beings backwards time. Matter has consciousness, but beings have a more specific, condensed consciousness. But really, if you can or can’t send one, the same would apply to the other.

Except you don’t, because then you’d suck at everything and help no one, least of all yourself in living an interesting, enjoyable life.

Due to my constant, definite proclamations of the worth of many things, not the least vegan food items, I’ve come across a few people who have suggested to me that some things only suck to me, and not necessarily to others.

The way you see things is a gift for other people like you and not something you should hide. That said, Criticism must always be graceful, private and constructive, something easy to forget. People work hard on their art, whether it be food, music, furniture.

In a changing world, where nothing exists outside of multiple historical and personal contexts, it’s true that there are no objective measures (besides viability I guess).

But people are people and if the world was a smoothie, its ingredients aren’t blended, were all still berries. So the world stays colourful, flavourful and we learn from each other instead of being mashed into each other.

So raise your voice in praise and considered condemnation.

Visitors know which websites have been thought out and designed with skill, because they’re easier to understand and use. People appreciate and respond to quality. Your business will be associated with the your website. If it’s great, that’s a head start for you as many aren’t.

The web is full of messy websites that are hard to use, look old, don’t make sense and don’t work on phones. Don’t have one of these. If you don’t have a great website, you’re lucky if it isn’t actively hurting your business. The worst case scenario is that you will lose customers.

A great website is the foundation of a successful modern business. It’s cliche but true. Most people find businesses online. You need your potential customers to feel respected and cared for, right from the start.

It took me seven years to get here but now I only design great websites. I love what I do not least because it empowers you to do what you love too.

All my life, “oh James, what a voice.” “You’re really going places. One day, I’ll be able to say I know James Morrisey.”

But nothing came of it. Well, I had a few shots. But never the “right” shot. Nothing I was happy with. Nothing I said thank you for. Nothing that went anywhere.

Until recently I thought I’d be able to turn things around. I tried singing, right here. I was surprised to hear the rasp in my own voice. All I needed was fifty dollars a day, and I would be back on my feet in no time. I counted one thousand five hundred people walking right past me, every weekday afternoon. Only fifty of them had to flip me a dollar.

I knew I was good at singing. It wasn’t a lie. But I knew it too well. So well, that I didn’t sing. I mean, it was true – I was great – but I hoarded it. Until recently. Until it was too late.

Jacob was his name, the man who opened and closed that last door on me. It wasn’t actually that long ago but every day is so long now it feels like a decade. One night I just didn’t show up. The next night I did, but there was someone else standing at the mic.

The day it all went bad nothing really happened. I just realised it was too late. When I looked in the mirror, the lines on my face seemed to spell “failure.” I wasn’t old. Or ugly. But there was something between me and everyone else, like a sheet of glass. I could talk to them, but we couldn’t connect. The things I truly wanted were suddenly, all together, out of my reach forever.

I wasn’t who I wanted to be. I wasn’t the real me. I’d given in too often, to the bad side.

Still, I waited, I hoped. I sat there and waited for chances to fall into my lap, for doors to open where I sat, where I lay. Until this morning, I legitimately thought they would. It seems so funny right now, as a strange peace sets in. It’s ironic really, this peace. I’ve been complacent and arrogant for so long, numb to everything around me. And now, even to myself. And now, I’m numb to that.

Am I choosing to die? I’m not even sure. It feels a bit late now to be doing anything about it. What did I do that was a mistake? I can’t even put a finger on it. Was it everything? Am I the mistake? It all looked so hopeful at the start. But if I look at it, it was always doomed. I was always me. Selfish. A few redeeming qualities drowned in a latent but blossoming need to avoid pain and seek pleasure.

It’s too late now to change anything, I’m slipping from the world even now. Even this coat can’t get rid of this shiver, right in my core.

But just this afternoon I said thank you for the first and last time in my life. I forgot my greatness and my pain for a moment and thanked her for the coat she laid at my side. “It’s a cold day” was all she said.

And then, I sang. It was ugly, it was rough, it was mixed with tears and it didn’t rhyme but it was the best song of my life. It was the song I was born to sing.

I could have thanked someone ten years ago. How different would my life have been?

But that’s not how it went. I’m glad things worked out the way they did. I’m glad to be going like this. I’m happy to be thankful.

I went for a group interview at a company I love the other day. Even so, there was the distinct, familiar and slightly disconcerting feeling at I had entered the mouth of a machine. Or maybe crawled up the ass, but whatever.

A machine means momentum. It means purpose. It can create things on a scale that individual parts, or smaller machines (or dumber ones) cannot. We need them.

Traditionally, work has been very difficult for me because it has meant subjugation of all aspects of the self that don’t serve the product or process, or contorting the self to fit the purpose for which you are being employed. This act of self-contortion, for whatever reason, has never seemed worth the money, and I guess by extension, not even made worth it by the threat of mortal peril.

As difficult as it is, I’ve been working on this by slowly convincing myself that the “self” I defend so instinctively is actually a crust of fears, hopes and memories, around a much nicer centre. It might not be a bad thing to challenge the crust and exercise and identify with the centre.

Still, like all change, it’s not easy. Will I be able to adapt to the requirements of life before it’s too late? At this stage, all I can say is “probably.”

With the release of their third EP, Haunted House, Knife Party have brought more of the signature sound that many of us can no longer live without – grooving, funky, at once clean and dirty, massive, subtle and progressive dubstep.

They make a gifted pair. Looking at them you wonder if they’re really the guys who put these tracks together. They look kind of average. Just goes to show, I guess. However, I’ve declared them (to myself, and now to you) the best producers of electronic music I’ve heard at the moment (although an upcoming track from Kit Fysto has me wondering…).

Their Haunted House EP follows up a tour they did with several other big dubstep names, and includes three new tracks and one rehash of an old favourite: Internet Friends (the one you’ve probably heard… “you blocked me on facebook and now you’re going to die.”)

Power Glove is the headliner here and was the first to get fans excited. An earlier version of the track leaked online however the EP version includes more variations. It moves from a grandiose Ensemble choir chanting and rumbling classical hits mixed with a thundering, clapping themed beat with psycho themed synths, to a jungle interlude, more murderously stabby synths, through to a downright funky interlude and back again. How it all relates to a 1990s Nintendo accessory is anyone’s guess. It’s a lasting favourite of mine getting heaps of repeat listening. Despite it’s obvious coolness, it’s not KP pushing their boundaries. Still, for producers of dubstep, as usual, there’s heaps to learn amongst the audio waves.

LRAD follows up (which assumedly stands for something but who cares), kicking off with a great melodic synth symphonic that sounds automatically destined for house stations worldwide (and frankly designed for it), something that sounds a little new for KP. A great rise, drop and then we get something different – a stark, funked up rough beat and some more horror themes that hat tip to early 90s techno. The track has some nice touches, such as the thin, reso, rising synth before the drops, and the jungly hits in the second stark rough bits, but wouldn’t shazam it. This is the “Sleaze” of the album, a track that’s listenable but not as moving as the rest. But doesn’t really go anywhere massive.

On to EDM, or Electronic Death Machine. Here we have truly innovative KP displaying all their flair and talent. This track rocks. The theme is cliche but it’s done well and doesn’t pretend to be more than it’s not, a big, filthy, future themed robopocalyse anthem complete with whirrs, grows and clicks. The sound is KP but fresh. A pleasant surprise is the jungle interlude. It’s completely different from the rest of the track but adds contrast and colour to the track and leads gently back into the robot induced comatronica to follow.

Not much to say about the Internet Friends VIP mix except why. You had a new track for us… why give us this? Frankly it’s not as listenable as the original because my ears keep expecting that and they get much… less. Originally Baghdad was slated for the fourth track on the EP. Hoping I get to hear soon.

Two great tracks that will stand the test of time, push the genre, and give us what we want: more and better Knife Party. One OK track that I will skip most of the time and one useless track I will think about deleting but probably wont.

The point is, there’s a fine line between caring for others feelings and worrying what they think about you. It’s not productive to live in fear of others, but its no good to carry disdain.

The key is to bravely stand as yourself, while at once forgiving anyone who reacts defensively (or otherwise unpredictably or unpleasantly) to you. To fight a battle while at once understanding the position of the enemy, means to have no enemy at all.

Because everyone is disagreeing with you on some level, they are also tolerating you on some level. Most of the time it’s outweighed by other types of affection. But on the intellectual level, people will always find a way to rile each other up.

Because our ideas and opinions evolving, we should understand the disagreements between each other are also not permanent. We should respect each other for each having conviction, but also have the sense to drop the potato when it gets too hot.

Even people fighting on the same side of an argument, or social dichotomy, will disagree on how to argue. If everyone knew that everyone else was just like them under the transitory illusion of mentality, how would that change things?

But what kind of foundations do we lay? Are we building a future based on fear? Are we choosing well worn paths in life simply because we’re told we’ll die if we stray?

If a foundation is rotten, it hardly matters what kind of building is erected. There’s a disconnect between it and the earth – a liability that can fault and make the entire structure vulnerable to the truth.

The truth? That part we skip on, that part that was decided for us, and we didn’t take time to properly prepare.

We still live in a culture where the dominant voice is one of fear, drumming the certainty of scarcity into our skulls with persistence.

The world is progressing and together we are building on the efforts of our parents and grandparents to make it a nicer place.

Our view of the world is a foundation we build early. It takes courage to change, because it only happens through experience.

So breathe, have heart, stand up for what you believe in, be patient with folks old and young, strive for whatever world you want despite the world that is. Don’t ignore the contradictions in life, especially when you’re young, because you’ll regret later.

It’s easy to feel left out of the ‘real world’ and lose confidence in yourself. So most importantly, have heart. Work for what you want.

Yes, I heard. It barely registered, until countless people and media started blathering about it.

The truth is I was desensitised to this a long time ago, desensitised to the imaginings of the horror for all involved – the victims, the injured, the deformed, disabled and their families. The first arrivers. It all plays through in my mind, from the first blast, in slow motion.

I don’t know. I think about these things when I read the reports. I’ve been thinking about them for a long time, every time. My family used to make me feel stupid and weird for being upset by things not directly connected to me. I guess to intelligent, sophisticated first world citizens compassion and the emotional response it brings is a bit cliche. Because of this I’ve never understood them, or completely trusted them, or felt like I belonged with them. Some part of their humanity has been utterly corrupted, and I can’t be at ease around them. Or many others.

I feel honoured that somehow I am willing, or have been made willing, to contemplate such things. To at least imagine how people suffer. To be able to wish for an end to violence, “collateral” damage, and not so collateral damage. To understand that in the world I live in, none of us are safe, and we have a duty to improve things.

The world’s getting smaller and our excuses for differentiating among humanity are too.

I’ve always thought and said that the worst thing about 9/11 was that it happened. It doesn’t matter who the perpetrators where. Whether it was an inside-job, or the result of an evil conspiracy, makes no more difference than if it were angry middle eastern extremists. In both cases something is seriously wrong with our world, no one more wrong than the other.

Of course Boston is terrible, horrible, sad and regretful. Moreso for anyone involved in any way. Perhaps moreso for Americans in general. But until we start expressing shock and horror at the actual causes of problems, the results won’t go away. And there are worse results than what happened today.

Whatever the causes are.

I was going to post some pictures of the aftermaths of various bombings. But I wish I hadn’t subjected myself so won’t subject you. It’s worse than it is in your mind. These horrible events are culminations of wrong in the world, where hatred has coalesced and manifested.

In truth I’m sorry to write this, to post it, and that anyone has read it. There is so much good in the world, and every day this is what I look for.

Although in truth, not. Most of the time I am worried about the silly details of my own life, in such a way that doesn’t even help me, let alone others. I procrastinate with the computer, hiding in a digital world where even I don’t know that my heart is stone.

1. Work

No matter what work I find, I’ll be grateful and do my best to perform the job asked of me, day in, day out. I won’t bring emotions into play, I’ll tip-toe politely, if not warmly, around personalities that don’t agree with mine. I’ll keep myself positive and upbeat – I won’t let emotions stand between me and the work, no matter how I’m feeling. I’ll remember to be grateful and *create value* for the person who’s created work for me. If necessary, I’ll keep looking for better jobs, and stay positive.

2. Friends

I suck at choosing friends, so I’ll try to be a better friend to those who choose me. I’ll be a supporter. I’ll be social, going to events and meeting new people.

3. Love

Here’s the important bit. Biology suggests to me that this should be the focus of my attention – and it should, but not in the sense of needing another person to make me happy. I’ll refine the attitude that I can make myself happy. If it’s the will of the powers that be, I’ll share that happiness with another. There is of course the gnawing feeling of needing another. I’ll focus as much of that energy I can into becoming a confident independent person in the meantime, even though it’s unlikely I’ll be able to entirely suppress the 17 year old kid who seems unwilling to move out of my head. Forgiveness and acceptance might be necessary in order to mitigate damage here.

4. Design

I’ll actively look for people to help with my design skills instead of making them a source of income. Been there tried that, it’s not working for me. Let me instead make it a gift to share.

5. Music

I like making music. However I think it may be time to take a break. Let’s explore the world of music that’s out there. Maybe start finding and collecting new music? Maybe learn how to DJ? Maybe blog music, playlists, mixes etc.

6. Spirituality

I like where my spiritual journey has taken me. I’m don’t feel that far ahead in any aspect of my life compared to where I was when I started (in many ways I’ve come full circle), but I like the fact that I don’t care. Continue the practice quietly, humbly and live a normal life. Keep the mind quiet in daily life making use of the method you already know.

7. Sociology

Care more for others, in the active sense. Give back more to those who need it. Without fuss or fanfare. Not excessively, not obviously, just the right amount.

8. Physicality

There’s no denying it, age and the associated side-effects are on the way. Start thinking you’re nearly 40. That way it won’t be that bad when you get there. Take care of yourself. We know you’re no athlete, but maintain a strong internal, passive health as much as you can. Find some light sports to enjoy, to get you outside and moving. Wake yourself up in the morning with some movement.

9. Habits

Coffee should become a social drink only, for health and mental peace. I should get up closer to sunrise, if for no other reason than to breathe fresh air.

10. Other

Stop telling yourself you’re retarded or that there’s something wrong with you or your life. Just navigate life with awareness of your limitations, and a positive attitude. Everyone has their own shit to deal with – the type and amount of it don’t matter so much as inner-confidence, self-forgiveness, and the willingness to get on regardless.

And on that note, a final summation:

LIVE WELL.