Belated Post: Watch me rock out.

Haven't had a chance to finish writing the new articles I've been planning (I keep getting overloaded at work), so I figured I would post a new video I recorded tonight.



Enjoy.

-WFL

Sexuality and (or/in/as/of) Art

The above image is composed from DOA.110907: Shannon, 3. View the entire DOA series here.

Art is something that tends to command at least a certain amount of respect from most people in today's world. If you can create a beautiful piece that is easily appreciable (regardless of medium), then you have a skill that will attract people. Attracting people tends to be a good thing, especially if you are trying to make some money being creative.

Some artists draw in unwanted (well, usually unwanted) attention regarding their art, however. Artists such as Mapplethorpe had a bevvy of onlookers, both appreciative and accusatory, envious and abhorrent.. and sometimes, lustful and prude.

Sexuality can be considered quite the taboo subject in many cultures, and there are always people who will shake their head in disgust when viewing a creative exposition that might have even a slight hint of sexuality visible. It is understandable, however - people who choose to avoid sexuality in public do so because of an observed societal disposition towards deviant behavior or impure pursuance. Many people believe that the understanding of sexuality should be reserved to the bedroom with their one, true love - which is a beautiful ideal to hold.

The problem with the aforementioned belief is that it is a shotgun approach. Instead of pursuing self control, understanding tasteful applications and education regarding sexuality, blinders are donned and a world filled with potential beauty is hidden from sight.

Personal beauty and psychological motivations of all forms can, and should be appreciated, idealistically. Rather than throwing a blanket over society to prevent a few people from discovering they have a self control problem, perhaps it should be considered that the problems we face as a whole can be coped with as a whole.

After all, some men find saggy old women in red hats incredibly arousing. Should we banish old women and red hats to deal with the problem, or hold each other accountable, building a stronger community in the process?

Artists and art fans need not fear the aesthetics of sexuality. Like wine, you can acquire the ability to appreciate it, over time - and only if you worry that you might gain an inappropriate addiction should you consider abstaining - and then you can look towards your fellow human beings for help and guidance.

-WFL

Link Discussion: "Security Monkey" and "OSNews"

There is one critically important thing you need to know about Information Security: Experience will be one of the greatest tutors in your career. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that you can learn from others' experiences, too - and that is where A Day in the Life of an Information Security Investigator comes in.

The Security Monkey (AKA Chief) has provided you, the reader, with a vast amount of information in the form of guides, checklists, and his stories based on his experiences in InfoSec. If you have any interest in the IS or IT industry, you owe it to yourself to read through his entire Case File Index. Clear, real world examples of security problems are presented in an entertaining detective story style that make you hit refresh on your RSS reader constantly just waiting for the next installment of his latest case.

OS News isn't quite what it sounds like, but it does cover a large amount of news on the Operating System industry, in the form of reviews, press releases, speculation, and link discussion. If you are an IT geek (developer, hobbyist, administrator, or student), I suggest you add OSNews to your RSS reader - you'll find a number of interesting stories and commentary on various tech products and happenings. Since it still has a relatively small (and dedicated) community, the discussions tend to bring a lot of useful information along with the regular news releases without overwhelming the reader.

-WFL

A status update that won't fit into a single twittering.

Now would be a good time to give a status update. Something that can summarize what is going on right now in my life, as far as my productivity is concerned.

The website is still being worked on. I have yet to find the time to work on the backend CMS rewrite, but the layout is getting plenty of attention and will be updated soon, hopefully.

Thus far I haven't had had too many problems writing updates for this blog, obviously - keeping to my once a week update rule. The writing has been hackish, I will admit - I tend to rush these things, because of time constraints. This weekend I may try to crank out another link description update, but no guarantees.

Made some purchases this morning to round out some holes in my recording setup - new cables, new preamp, and some guitar accessories (strings, a new brass slide, picks, etc). Going to start cranking out more of the new albums soon. I'm actually restarting the When I Became Aware album to coincide with a "record an album in one month" contest. Can't remember the website for it, so you'll have to deal with that :) Google is your friend. I'm going to be lazy.

Haven't worked on much art lately. I've been too burnt out from my day job to even think about it. I'm prepping for more DOA shots - I've got 3 models coming up. One will hopefully be shot this month, while another will be shot once spring goes full swing (see that, I rhymed.. amazing). I'm giving up on digital painting - There is not near enough time to do it anymore, and I've forgotten nearly everything I knew about how to do it (it has been about 4 or 5 years since I did one).

That's all I've got for now.

-WFL