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Friday, June 21, 2013

Intermission

Well, Daily Quoters, tonight marks my final post for about 8 weeks.
Tomorrow morning I have my final exam, which means I am not sleeping tonight.
Twelve hours later I am on a flight to Madrid, Spain - as such, I am somewhat of a mess right now.

I dedicated my incredibly scarce time to this project in December 2012, and since 2 December 2012, I've posted every single day for over six months.
The blog has gained a respectable following, and I am confident that the exponential curve will grow in my favour in the months (or, gasp, years?) to follow.

Feel free to revisit some of the old content - this material never goes out of style, its hardly contextual and the variety means that you have over 150 articles and topics to choose from at your leisure.
I urge you to enjoy this blog to its fullest extent once (most of you) finish your final exams and run into some free time.

I will be back in 8 weeks, with a head full of material (that I will read on the plane) and a fresh mindset with which to spilleth my creative juices unto thee.

Until then, take it easy - and if it's easy, take it.

AV

Thursday, June 20, 2013

20 June 2013

A few days ago, we posted about a fantastic documentary from Vice about the 'winning' of the Afghanistan War, and the subsequent formation of a piece-meal national army.

As for today's edition of Throwback Thursdays, we go back to the end of January, where we put up a very substantial post on the Syrian Civil War. It was another 3-part Vice documentary, but this one was far more provocative.
Some of the footage of this one left me shocked and disgusted. It's quite moving, and there are some pretty graphic images.

Spend a sobering hour on this doco, or just skip to some interesting bits. It's all quite moving, all of it.


21 January 2013

Recently, a coworker received the sudden and crippling news that her first cousin had been shot dead in war-torn Syria. Like a blood-soaked butterfly effect, this supposed civil war is hitting ever closer to home.

Today's Daily Quota is a consolidated collection of a six-part series titled Ground Zero Syria.

This series follows Vice Magazine videographer Robert King and he spends some time with Syrian civilians and rebels, camera in tow.
Those of you who have never heard of Vice are in for an enlightening treat. Their website, and particularly their YouTube Channel, is packed full of interesting stories, documentaries, how-to guides and general shit-talk. Each are bite-sized and very much empathetic towards the short attention spans of the internet proletariat.

I must warn everyone, many of these images are graphic and very distressing, even to my standards. King doesn't hold back on scenes of civilian casualties, especially women and children.

Each episode focuses on a different facet of the anti-Assad movement; ranging from the civilian-run hospitals, to the child victims, to interviews with representatives of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo.

Readers must also be aware of the heavily anti-Assad position of the publication. There is a lot of conflicting information out there about the Syrian civil war. We must remember that Vice is an American publication targeted at contrarian American audiences.


Below is an episode guide. Each episode is only about 7 minutes long, but you can't stop at one.

part 1 : Assad's Child Victims VICE commissioned renowned photojournalist and videographer Robert King to embed on the front lines with the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo. War-zone chaos ensued. In this episode, Assad forces hit Al Qusayr with a rocket attack while Robert is filming - it was targeted directly.
part 2 : Burning of The Old Souk Amid a fierce battle between Assad's security forces and Free Syrian Army insurgents, fire swept through the old Souk of Aleppo, a historic covered market and World Heritage site. Rebel fighters and activists have reported that the blaze was sparked by the use of incendiary mortar rounds by Assad's forces. 
part 3 :The Atrocities Within Aleppo's Field Hospital  The atrocities and war crimes currently ripping Syria apart at the seams are evident inside a field hospital in Aleppo, the country's largest city. Inside the hospital exhausted doctors indescriminately treat civilians, members of the Free Syrian Army, and captured Syrian Army troops alike.
part 4 : Under Fire for Bread in Alepp Every day the men, women, and children of Aleppo, Syria, must risk their lives to stand in line and hope that they can buy a kilo of bread to survive another day. Many of the bread factories in Aleppo have been destroyed amidst fighting between the Free Syrian Army and Assad's troops. The few that remain are staffed by brave souls who risk their lives every day to ensure the local population has basic sustenance. 
part 5 : The Bombing of Aleppo's Dar al-Shifa Hospital On November 21, Aleppo's Dar al-Shifa Hospital was bombed and destroyed by the Syrian Army. This is the same makeshift hospital where, weeks ago, VICE and videographer Robert King reported on human rights abuses and war crimes against patients (including children) being treated inside. It was completely leveled by the rocket attack, and Robert was on the scene to document the fallout.
part 6 : The Free syrian Army During his time in Syria throughout much of 2012, videographer Robert King followed Aleppo's Al-Tawhid Brigade as he dodged bullets and rocket fire to learn more about the largest brigade of the Free Syrian Army. Somehow Robert managed to track down Haji-Mara, the Al-Tawhid Brigade's commander, for a rare interview, during which the former-businessman-turned-freedom-fighter espouses the many difficulties the rebels face against the alleged brutality of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

WATCH IT HERE

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

19 June 2013

Today we look at a topic that has completely blown out from its niche community and gained enormous interest amongst young and old - mixed martial arts, but in particular, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

Today's Daily Quota is a series of videos from some of the titans of the sport. Today's contributor Marko is a long-term trainer, competitor and advocate of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I've seen him talk about this sport with such passion that it's hard to hide your respect for it - even with as little knowledge about it as most.
Check out Marko's contribution below, and watch these videos to gain a better understanding of a sport that we're bound to see a lot more of in the years to follow:


If you have ever seen the UFC or ‘Cage Fighting’ then you have witnessed the evolution of Jiu Jitsu. Originally from Japanese origins, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as of the last 50 years has been lead by the Gracie family of Brazil. BJJ is a grappling Martial Art, somewhat similar to Judo, Greco Roman Wrestling and Freestyle Wrestling.
Why have all these forms of combat been so valuable to society’s for thousands of years? Martial Arts is one of the only direct forms of contact we have with our ancient ancestors. If you are a Martial Artist you understand the value of constantly developing your mind and body... it’s the time of day where you face reality, you leave your ego at the door and put your skills, training and honour on the line; if you have earned victory then you receive victory, if not... you get your ass kicked. Simple formula with no political influence, no strike of luck and no bullshit.

Note:
-  Rickson Gracie is one of the most respected figures in the Martial Arts world, he has been an ambassador of BJJ and a great fighter with over 400 matches under his belt.
-  Kron Gracie is Rickson’s son, he carries his father’s legacy and is a notable figure in the competitive world of BJJ.
-  The final video is one of Joe Rogan giving a speech after receiving his Black Belt from Eddie Bravo; must watch.




Tuesday, June 18, 2013

18 June 2013

Long-time Daily Quoters will know that we've discussed Vice in the past, especially their geopolitical pieces on Syria.
Yes, these are turbulent times we live in, and one can be forgiven for holding the notion that the world is turning to absolute dog shit - to put it in eloquent terms.
Source: The American Scholar
Today's Daily Quota jumps back into the Vice archives, albeit a more recent piece. It's called 'Afghanistan - This is what winning looks like' (a cheeky allusion to Obama's famous words, which were, funnily enough, pretty similar to Nixon's 'victory with honour' when the US lost the Vietnam War)

This full length documentary that follows a British journalist behind the scenes of the debauchery and corruption that plagues the US effort to train up a new Afghan Army from villagers and volunteers.
Here's the Vice blurb:
"This Is What Winning Looks Like" is a disturbing new documentary about the ineptitude, drug abuse, sexual misconduct, and corruption of the Afghan security forces as well as the reduced role of US Marines due to the troop withdrawal.
This is a great documentary. It's got some incredible footage, and the viewer can't help but find some of the conduct quasi-comical - especially the culture clash.

Bottom Line : This doesn't look like Winning at all.

Check out the full-length video below:



Monday, June 17, 2013

17 June 2013

One thing that a lot of my Greek friends pride themselves on is ancient Greek storytelling - Homer and his epic stories (see, that time it was used correctly); Aristophanes and his tastefully backhanded insight into gender politics; the philosophical workings of Aristotle, Plato, oh the list goes on.


Ah yes, good times.
However, does every story have a structure? Are we arrogant enough to believe that we can encompass a finite list of ways in which a story can be told? 
Author Kurt Vonnegut seems to think so.

Below we have the rather condensed and rather colourful adaptation of his attempts to graphically depict types of storylines. The original explanation is brilliantly explained by Lapham's Quarterly here, but as you can see, it has been simplified and colourful picture have been inserted to pacify the masses whose next distraction is but a notification away.

Have a look, and maybe even read the article above - it's a great bit it knowledge to have stored in the ol' intellectual piggy bank (which, hopefully, is flourishing!) 
The full resolution image can also be found below.

VIEW THE FULL RESOLUTION IMAGE HERE

Sunday, June 16, 2013

16 June 2013

Well Daily Quoters, this is the last edition of Superficial Sundays for almost two months.
Why? Because your faithful and reliable broadcaster is heading to Europe 12 hours after his final exam.

As such, The Daily Quota will be on hiatus till mid August!
Although I don't anticipate anyone missing me too much (one can hope).

Whatever the case, today's trivial Daily Quota is dedicated to all law students who are in the same boat as me - the Procrastination Boat. It's kinda like the Titanic, except its intended destination is a Distinction average. Needless to say, it shares the same fate as the one that was heading to New York City.

The folks over at Survive Law often post funny, informative, and sometimes trivial stuff that law students might find interesting. Today, it posted The Semester Summarised in Memes.
Very appropriate that it will actually proliferate procrastination.

Ah well, set the sails!

VIEW THEM HERE

Saturday, June 15, 2013

15 June 2013

As if being in my third week of exam mode, and thus third week of 5-hours sleep a night, wasn't enough reason to be sardonic, we reach yet another edition of Sardonic Saturdays on The Daily Quota!
Today's Daily Quota is a super-short film titled Journal of an Epidemic. It's a pretty freaky 3-minute 'timeline' of a global epidemic that has wiped out the human race, short of one man. This video serves as, what appears to be, an introduction to a future series narrated by the (only) protagonist. 

It's chilling, engaging, and for an amateur short film, very, very well done.
The end is nigh, folks.

WATCH IT HERE

Friday, June 14, 2013

14 June 2013

Today we have a very special edition of Filosophy Fridays for all of you Daily Quoters out there.
Philosophy os a strange kind of profession - it can be undertaken by anyone, is undertaken by everyone in a huge chunk of our conversations, yet it is widely dismissed as a real profession.

How can something to widespread, so retrospectively influential to our ideologies and social systems, be dismissed as such? What kind of people become philosophers by profession?

Today's Daily Quota comes from contributor Nick - a close friend of mine, an philosophical sparring partner, and the perfect man for the task.
Take it away!


When looking back at human achievement, one can see that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Appropriately, humans have become more interested in “higher” aspirations -Water from a tap, electricity from a socket and shelter built by contractors (called contractors for very good reasons); all for the purpose of achieving other things. 

Education has pushed and pulled this idea along, creating opportunities to produce better planes, medicine, and bridges, though arguably at some cost to our self worth. What has been taken by universities and morphed into an idea?: University = Job. True to say Lawyers, Doctors, and Engineers cannot operate in their chosen field unless they are qualified.

This weeks article is related to the debate of philosophy as a profession versus hobby. The Philosophers’ Magazine recently published an interview it conducted with Nigel Warburton, a newly resigned Professor of Philosophy at the Open University UK, and co-creator of Philosophy Bites podcast.

Other than discussing the mediums Warburton has used over the last few years, it talks about his experience as an academic and why he has left.

The question I want raise on this week’s Filosophy Fridays is: Who ought to do philosophy? Is it simply a matter for academics to ponder and squabble over minutiae, or is it an activity for all of us? 

The most recent advances in philosophy have tended to rely on mathematics and logic, descended from Aristotle and slightly harder for mere mortals to comprehend, though not out of reach. What really is in question is people’s commitment to philosophy i.e. how interested they are. As Socrates said, “the unconsidered life is not worth living”. Socrates was supposedly untrained, but did establish his own school in his later years.


Thursday, June 13, 2013

13 June 2013

Another edition of Throwback Thursdays on The Daily Quota, where one can be grateful that I didn't empty my recycle bin.
Today we go back to the end of January 2013, onto a light-hearted, albeit dark topic - the evolution of The Dark Knight.

Batman fans, rejoice!

28 January 2013

I fucking love Batman. I don't know how else to say it.
My bookcase has an entire tier dedicated to Batman comics, graphic novels and memorabilia pieces. Batman statues accompany Lionel Hutz statues in my study.

As such, today's Daily Quota is an article I dug up from the July 2012 edition of The Atlantic. It's titled How the Dark Knight Became Dark Again and explores the evolving image of Batman from the Golden Age of comics, through to the Adam West caricature of the 60's, up to Nolan's most recent revamp.
For those of you that have read the comics before, you'd know that most of them are very dark indeed. Any Joker adaptation since Alan Moore's The Killing Joke has been melancholy, psychotic and outright disturbing. Batman has to keep up with his foes, lest the Biff! and Pow! days return.

What I love about this article is the articulation of an otherwise 'childish' fictional character; who is often dismissed as one without merit.
Nolan has done much to resurrect Batman from the postmodern shambles of the 90's; his sole intention being to restore the 'Dark Knight' character that first emerged in the 1980's through such writers as Alan Moore and Frank Miller.

This article is fantastic. It's on the ball, it's well researched and it's a real treat for any Batman fan - Nolan or otherwise.


READ IT HERE

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

12 June 2013

When you look back on your life, what are some of the regrets that you have?
Do you have any? Or, are you like me and 
Perhaps you're still young, or perhaps you just aren't a very nostalgic person.

Whatever the case, it's always an interesting topic - although ironically, the advice is swept aside by the young and useless to the old. Such is life.

For today's Daily Quota, we take a look at a recent Slate crowd-sourcing initiative titled 'When People Look Back on Their Lives, What Are Some Common Regrets They Have?'
It basically only provides two readers' opinions, but it opens the gates for more thought-provoking self-reflection.

One of the contributors split his 'regrets' into three categories:

  1. Things that you did that you wish you hadn't.
  2. Things that you didn't have but wish that you did.
  3. The heavy cost of the time you've wasted.
Have a read, and get nostalgic!




Tuesday, June 11, 2013

11 June 2013

This August, I'll find myself prolonging my Euro trip (at the expense of my second semester) to tour Paris and other parts of France - in particular, Normandy.
Normandy in Northern France is famous as the 'drop zone' for the Allied D-Day Assault on the Germans in June 1944. As a modern history buff, I'm very much looking forward to this leg of my trip.

Today's Daily Quota is a recent publication in Life Magazine titled 'The Ruins of Normandy: Unpublished Colour Photos From France 1944'.
This series collects 17 rare colour photos from Normandy, including some great shots of the beach landing boats - famously included in all depictions of the bloody Omaha Beach Landings - and some vibrant shots of French villages after they've experienced Allied bombing. 

A fantastic collection, and a real treat for history buffs or curious parties alike.

VIEW THEM HERE

Monday, June 10, 2013

10 June 2013

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle"
  - Edmund Burke    
Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontent (1770)

The quote above is often attributed to the famous quote "evil prevails when good men do not act" - the origins of which nobody seems to know conclusively. 
I've always said that apathy will be the death of us.
Well, it depends who is being apathetic - if the bad guys are apathetic, happy days; but they rarely are.

Most of you would have heard of the recent leak of a classified US surveillance program called PRISM. This has been the biggest exposure of US government surveillance since Wikileaks and Cablegate back in 2010. 
Given the gravity of this information, The Daily Quota will dedicate a huge post to this leak within the week.

However, what really distresses me is that no one seems to know about it - or if they do, they are either quiet about it, or they just don't care. Not a single comment. Half a day of mainstream media exposure. Obama even admitted they were doing it - but it's 'okay because it's legal'.

Apathy will, indeed, be the end of us - and we probably deserve the fate that we will be dealt.
Today's Daily Quota is a comical prequel to this week's upcoming PRISM post. It's a light-hearted comic from the folks over at Joy of Tech which highlights the hypocritical nature of everyone's response. The sad this is it's not only true - it's a significant rarity. 




Sunday, June 9, 2013

9 June 2013

The end of the week deserved an intellectual cheat meal - enter Superficial Sundays on The Daily Quota, where we pursue the trivial.

Nothing brings out the pursuit of the trivial in a human being like procrastination - particularly for Tort Law. As such, all of you lucky Daily Quoters will gain an insight into what is making me procrastinate.

Today's Daily Quota is a webpage that hosts some of the most famous tongue-in-cheek comics on the internets - Cyanide and Happiness. The humour is dark, inappropriate or so-bad-that-it's-good.

Flick through the collection via the link below.

VIEW THEM HERE

Saturday, June 8, 2013

8 June 2013

Welcome back to the long-weekend edition of Sardonic Saturdays - where every silver lining has a cloud.

Every time I leave Sydney I notice something about the people sitting around me in a restaurant, cafe or  cannabis clinic. No one is on their phones. I'm very much used to the smartphone being glued to my hand, the only organ outside by body - probably a sign of a Type A Personality...or OCD.
Today's contributor David doesn't hold the same attitude to the smartphone. Or perhaps he does, but he just writes to well to the contrary. His blog TakeMeToYourReader provides an avenue for a very coherent rant, and proves what I've told him a few times - his best writing comes out when he's shitty.

Here's a sample:
You see, instead of exposing the world to your ignorant braying on yet another topic, you can look at the ubiquity of the mobile phone as an opportunity for some self-reflection – even if all that means to you is turning on the front-facing camera. Sure, you might have the latest Smartroid from that chink company in Korea, but you still can’t manage to make a phone call without fumbling open at least seven other apps, can you? To paraphrase Maurice Switzer, it’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and confirm that you are indeed just another garish blot on the genetic landscape.
Ah yes, it appears that Saturdays are Sardonic for others too.
Check out his blog post via the link below!

READ IT HERE


Friday, June 7, 2013

7 June 2013

Do you want to recite philosophers in casual conversation, but just don't know where to start?
Would you love to get a crash course on some of the big names in three minutes?
What if the crash courses are somewhat vulgar, offensive and existed solely to take the piss? Definitely yes? Well, okay then.
S Peter Davis has released a number of such videos on his Youtube Channel under the title 'Three Minute Philosophy'.
They are pretty amusing to watch, and conjure up a giggle every now and then. He basically goes over some of the main theories from some of the heavyweights of philosophy - in amongst racism, profanity and consistent swipes at the validity of their theories in a modern context.

These videos even come with the disclaimer 'Warning! Not a viable alternative to an actual philosophy degree!'. Well, that's a shame.

Whatever the means, they do give a very entertaining insight into some of the big philosophers and their respective theories. Despite the malarkey. 
Below we've provided the 3-minute take on Aristotle.
Have a look, and hope that you learn something in-between the involuntary lols.
Filosophy Fridays for your Saturday mornings - only on The Daily Quota.


Thursday, June 6, 2013

6 June 2013

Another Throwback Thursday on The Daily Quota, where we pay homage to some of the classic posts from the past.
Today, we have dug up a Sardonic Saturday post from 27 April. We here at The Daily Quota love monkeys, and we also love pictographs, so that better way to convey our disdain for society than by encapsulating it as a monkey experiment?

27 April 2013

Welcome, Daily Quoters, to another edition of Sardonic Satudays - where every silver lining has a cloud.
Today's Daily Quota is a delightful little piece that, I believe, is a great anecdote for many things in society - approaches to science, approaches to religion, but most notably, society itself. 
Note that the image below was used to apply to 'Marine Corps' - but it's one of those things that can apply to many situations.

Although the pretty little pictures outline the experiment, the link below is to the book where this experiment was initially conducted. There is, however, some uncertainty as to the book's sources - with one viable solution being that the entire experiment was hypothetical!

Quite interesting, nonetheless. Have a read!


Source: Hugelol.com

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

5 June 2013

Wednesdays - they're the 3pm of the week. When it isn't very close to home time, and you're starting to crash from lunch and coffee.
You need a quick pick-me-up!
We have just the thing.

One of the most popular videos on CollegeHumour is one titled '100 Greatest Movie Insults of All Time'. Again, it speaks for itself. It's a 10-minute collection of 100 of the greatest insults in the history of cinema as assembled by CollegeHumour

They range from playful jabs from Monty Python to some serious streams of profanity in Goodfellas
The one which makes me giggle every time is from Bad Santa: "You're an emotional f**king cripple, your soul is dogsh**, every single thing about you is ugly".
Another is Alec Baldwin's 'always be closing' speech from Glengarry Glen Ross - this was his only role in the entire movie and it won him an Oscar.

Warning: very course language in some parts. But I think that was obvious, wasn't it?

The full 10-minute video is below.


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

4 June 2013


Suave magni maro turbantibus aequora ventis
e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem;
non quia vexari quemquamst jucunda voluptas,
sed quibus ipse malis careas quia cernere suave est.

Pleasant it is, when over a great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another's tribulation: not because any man's troubles are a delectable joy, but because to perceive from what ills you are free yourself is pleasant.
- Lucretius Book II Line 1
They say that perspective is everything.
Make everyone else poorer, and we feel richer; slow everyone else down and we seem sped up.

In today's Daily Quota, we give ourselves a reason to count our blessings the only way Westerners know how - comparative wealth. Recently, TIME posted a photo-reel titled 'What the World Eats, Part 1'.

It's basically a collection of photographs from families around the world, in front of a week's worth of food. It's quite interesting to see what each culture's diet consists of (especially the colourful and excessive Americans). However, separate from all the intrigue lies a very sobering lesson - we are a very lucky country.

Have a flick through the album via the link below, and let us know what you think about Lucretius' statement.

VIEW THEM HERE

Monday, June 3, 2013

3 June 2013

Once in a while an area of scholarship is shaken up by a big new thing - an item or discovery or theorem or experiment or something that either gives everyone a new reason to get excited, or is provocative enough to incite publicity.
It could be in physics with the recent discovery of the Higgs boson, or in nutrition with the Paleo Diet and acidity trends, or in micro-biology with new research on nano-technology and stem cells, or even in fashion when one artist pushes the boundaries.

Today, we discuss the newest fad that's gotten everyone excited - from geologists to miners to chemists to entrepreneurs - graphene, the super-mineral.

According to this introductory video below, it holds next-to-miracle powers for daily consumption, including super-conductivity, strength, weightlessness, the ability to filter everything except for pure water, and a wealth of other attributes that might make this the most valuable mineral for modern life.

However, Gizmodo had recently burst everyone's bubble when it revealed a potentially fatal flaw in graphene's composition. 

Whatever the case, a very interesting thing to know - especially if one is thinking of investing in a mine anytime soon...



Sunday, June 2, 2013

2 June 2013

A lazy, rainy end to the week - a perfect backdrop for Superficial Sundays, where we pursue the trivial.

Due to an upcoming Administrative Law exam, I've been doing nothing but studying and drinking coffee (one of those is enjoyable). It has taken quite a toll on my well-being.
In fact, to quote myself, "this is why I drink macchiatos - in case I get the sudden and uncontrollable urge to drown myself in my coffee"

But fear not, Daily Quoters, I am still here. For now.
In the spirit of my crapulence, Today's Daily Quota is a fun pictograph from DogHouseDiaries titled 'What Your Coffee Says About You'.
It's trivial, it lacks any substance, but hey, it's Sunday.

Enjoy!


Saturday, June 1, 2013

1 June 2013

Sardonic Saturdays on The Daily Quota - where every silver lining has a cloud!

Today's Daily Quota is short and sweet - well, given the theme, it's somewhat bitter.
It's an article from the glorious Cracked titled '14 Smart-Sounding Movie Lines that are Actually Total BS'
It's basically a collection of movie quote nitpicking. Here Cracked is the annoying guy in your group that corrects the most trivial of errors in a movie - and if you don't know anyone like that, then it's you.

They've picked up some errors in Fight Club, Back to the Future and, of course, Star Trek.
Just the thing to liven up your Saturday night. Ahem.

READ THEM HERE

Friday, May 31, 2013

31 May 2013

Welcome back to Filosophy Fridays for your Saturday mornings.

Today we look at a famous, albeit brief, motivational speech from the most Western Eastern philosopher in recent times. The Daily Quota has alluded to his work before, but this is a much more well-known speech.

It's called 'What if Money were no Object?' and it bascially asks that very question - if money were out of the equation, what would you be doing?
What would you like to be doing - either as a profession, or with the free time you have from not working as hard?

It's a simple question, but remarkably weighty in its requests. We often pick a comfortable lie over a harsh reality, and it is often because we're afraid of answering this very question...

Watch the 3-minute recording below and start your weekend with a dash of enlightenment.



Thursday, May 30, 2013

30 May 2013

Welcome back, Daily Quoters, to the second-ever Throwback Thursdays.
It's time again to go back to the Recycle Bin and restore some of the crème de la crème.

Today's Daily Quota is from the end of December 2012 and it discusses the philosophical and social differences between Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World.

Which dystopia do we live in now?

29 December 2012


Welcome to Sardonic Saturdays, where every silver lining has a cloud!

What if I offered you a device that I said will make your life easier. What if this device was able to track your location, record everything that is being said, even when it is switched off?
What if this device was able to construct an identity that knows you better than you know yourself? Your curiosities, your vices, your favourite foods, your thoughts, your friends and your enemies?
What reasonable person would accept such a gift?

Now what if I were to offer you a brand new smartphone.
It has GPS for your convenience, and your favourite location and history is tracked (again, for your convenience). You can do all of your communication through your phone - emails, texts, calls, Snapchat...
It also gives you direct access to social media like Facebook, so that you can share your thoughts without filter, share your location without concern, voice your ideology and carve yourself an extroverted identity. Everything will be in your phone. Your life.
All of this is stored for you by Google, and is offered for free. Because hey, they're a charity.
Who would say no, right?
Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

There's a reason why authorities love iPhones - they don't have removable batteries.
Happy Days.

In recent times, a lot of attention has been given to online privacy; whether it be on social networks or financial institution or the authorities granting themselves power to monitor your browsing.
These are the times we live in, and I guess this movement is a product of its context.

Whatever the case, an equal amount of attention has been given to two works of literature that best encompass people's fears for the future; Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World.
These works are multiple posts in themselves.
Both depict (contextually) futuristic dystopias where populations are kept in check, where classes are formed in stone and where order is maintained.

Today's Quota is not a summary of these works, but rather an interesting comparison between them.
Activists worry about a future where we are all watched, monitored, and kept in order by coercion. However, they have neglected to see that we willfully succumb to such a future.
It is not the Illuminati that is to blame, but rather...us.

Until tomorrow, keep those smiles beaming.
The cameras can't detect you if you're smiling.

VIEW IT HERE

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

29 May 2013

Here at The Daily Quota, we only ask life's big questions - What hurts more: giving birth or being kicked in the balls?
A tough one, but not without some resolve.
Today's Daily Quota is a video from ASAPScience titled 'Childbirth v Getting Kicked in the Balls' - it's pretty self-explanatory.
One of my favourite myths 'busted' is one that's been floating around the internet as of late - 'the most a human body can take is 45del of pain (the 'del' isnt even a real measurement...), and giving birth is 57dels while a very hard kick in the balls is 9000dels'.
Yep, none of that makes any sense; from a scientific view or a logical one.
The video goes on to draw links between the different pains, and how they may send nerve signals to other organs (thus why you can throw up sometimes after a hard kick to the balls).

Although it comes to a somewhat underwhelming conclusion, it's a pretty good view if you have 5 minutes to spare.
Check it out below.



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

28 May 2013

As long-time Daily Quoters might know, cyber warfare is a recurring theme on The Daily Quota - partly due to its relevance to future geopolitics and partly because some of the resources at my disposal are just so good. 

We've been hearing a lot about Chinese hackers recently, especially in the Australian news. However, think-tank Mandiant have put together some limited resources and great methodology, joined the dots, and have identified what appears to be the elusive cyber-warrior division of the Chinese PLA.
Mandiant began researching one particularly sustained cyber attack on the US and other Western countries which it had code-named APT1 (Advanced Persistent Threat 1). Combining quantitative data and some intelligence, it had discovered that a lot of the activity from this group (ranging from a few dozen operators to a few thousand) was coming from a vicinity suspiciously close to the PLA's 'Unit 61398'. 
Could this be the infamous PLA cyber division?
Here's their succinct conclusion:

Conclusion
The sheer scale and duration of sustained attacks against such a wide set of industries from a singularly identified group based in China leaves little doubt about the organization behind APT1. We believe the totality of the evidence we provide in this document bolsters the claim that APT1 is Unit 61398. However, we admit there is one other unlikely possibility:
A secret, resourced organization full of mainland Chinese speakers with direct access to Shanghai-based telecommunications infrastructure is engaged in a multi-year, enterprise scale computer espionage campaign right outside of Unit 61398’s gates, performing tasks similar to Unit 61398’s known mission.
It's interesting to see how some joining-the-dots can yield very important results for Western military, civilians and businesses - and all made public via the link below. Have a read of the report (I recommend the Executive Summary and the first few dot points for the time-stricken).

READ IT HERE

Monday, May 27, 2013

27 May 2013

Everyone has their favourite paintings - the ones you know the name of in several languages, the ones you throw around conversation like a matchbox in a tornado, or in my case, the ones that monopolise your desktop backgrounds.

My personal favourite is Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.
Painted in 1942, it is said to portray the sombre quiet that swept the US following the announcement of the Pearl Harbour attacks. The feeling is definitely captured, however, I love this piece for its silence, its tranquility, and its inherent voyeurism. A coffee, a late hour of the night and your own thoughts - sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

Like an iconic piece, there have been loads and loads of (pretty awesome) parodies.

The full resolution image can be found here, and the Wikipedia page here.




Sunday, May 26, 2013

26 May 2013

Sydney is currently amidst the enchantment of the Vivid Sydney Festival, famous for its light show. 

As open-minded as it is to share music, ideas and a breath-taking display of light, news has emerged that some photographs have been censored and deemed excessive for the eyes of the public.
I am personally against such censorship, but one must remember that not everyone as as desensitised to such content as Gen Y.

I had a flick through some of the censored content, and some of these photographs are incredibly confronting. However, they are as stirring as they are confronting - many conveying strong political messages, particularly those relating to the Arab uprisings.

Today's Daily Quota is a collection of those censored photographs as provided by Sydney Morning Herald

VIEW THEM ALL HERE

Friday, May 24, 2013

25 May 2013

Welcome back to Sardonic Saturdays - where every silver lining has a cloud!

Today's Daily Quota comes from the blog from the website of Protein 180 - a relatively new supplement that contains only whole foods and grain-fed whey. It's supposed to be a substitute for mainstream body-building supplements.
In this piece, they ask the question 'How Safe is our Drinking Water?' - a fully loaded query, and one in which a single post is grossly insufficient. 

Guy talks to naturopath and nutritionist Tania Flack about the effects of flouride on our bodies, and tries to find the rationale for putting it into our water supply - despite 90% of the developed world rejecting this process.

If you're interested in this topic, or if you're just a conspiracy theorist that just needs to beef up their arsenal, then this is a great, digestible piece on the topic.

READ IT HERE

24 May 2013

Yep, he's in that painting!
Another Filosophy Friday for your Saturday Morning!

Today we take a look at Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea and one of his most famous paradoxes - The Dichotomy Paradox, or, the Paradox of 'cutting in two'.

He coined this term theorem whilst taking a walk to the park. After noting the time to travel one half of the trip, he then noted another half, and then another half, and so on.
Basically, he managed to qualify a descending exponential curve - always halving, but never reaching zero.

Admittedly, the video explains it a bit better - complete with diagrams and videos!