Small groups or individual "console cowboys" can wield tremendous power over governments, corporations, etc.

Today I ran my virus checker program and discovered there were 20 viruses on my computer, most were probably benigh and quickly disposed of, I mention that to point out the truth of this statement. Individuals and small groups still can wield the power in this computer age. Between Virus, Trojan horses and DOS attacks, there is a great deal of power in this individuals. For the most part they are free to operate without the fear of arrest. Occassionally a few are found and dealt with by the laws of the land, but these are the exception. Consider as well some of the hackers, such as Kevin Metnick, he has a certain celebrity status and is viewed as a hero by some. The fear of virus still prevails. Although it should be pointed out the reason for the plethora of viruses is because the dominant operation system of the world is so buggy and full of holes its more of a hobby rather then malicious intent.

The power of these individuals is great and it keeps the security apparatus well used and well financed.

The coalescence of a computer "culture" is expressed in self-aware computer music, art, virtual communities, and a hacker/street tech subculture. The computer nerd image is passe, and people are not ashamed anymore about the role the computer has in this subculture. The computer is a cool tool, a friend, important human augmentation .

Another truism, computers are truly the new cool tool. The culture of computer is spreading and entering the mainstream, just think of the latest blockbuster movie, how much of it is now Computer Generated? The music of the computer is finding its way, there are those who love electronic, ambient, noize, thrash and all that is good in this style of music. Also, how many pop stars would be revealed as the talentless gorms that they are without the magic of computer enhancements. The computer nerd image is gone, it is cool to be with computers. In fact for many of us, we would be lost without our computers, and they are all over the place now. The image of the computer as this huge beige box on a desk is no more. Our subculture is inspired by computers, we talk with others through our computers and deal with life, giving our opinion of matters through our computers. This is the age of the computer and interconnection, and it's not to be feared.

The world is splintering into a trillion subcultures and designer cults with their own languages, codes, and lifestyles. Computer-generated info-domains are the next frontiers.

How true is this statement, there is the resurgent of the 'tribe' in our culture. People are identifying with their unique group and I suggest to you this could be anything, music, dress, location of friends, communication methods, people are seeing themselves part of smaller groups, but groups that can converge to form mass movements. So here we go, the tribe and the mass movement existing, in fact strengthening each other in ways not imagined. I suppose it could be argued there was always identity in the smaller groups, but i think it's become even greater. Perhaps it has to do with the transition of our age, things are changing and what used to be the pillars of a society are being rocked to their foundations. What people realize is the traditional forms are there any more, so they seek solace in the small group where they can hang out and feel comfort.

domains, certainly it was in the early nineties, people were staking out all sorts of domain space. Now I wonder if there are so many that it's no longer the final frontier, but rather suburbia of the information superhighway, remember that cliche. My it seems dated now, although that may be due to the fact that the Internet is such a part of our lives we expect it. We are no long all 'gosh, wow' over it like we were in the early 90's. The domain staking was a big business, grab a name before some large corporation did and basically hold it for ransom, or rather sell it back to them. However this lasted until the establishment of ICANN, to stop this sort of thing and bring order to chaos. Probably a good thing. The domain is still important, in fact I can't think of why anybody or any company would not want a web presence. That would be so 1980's now wouldn't it?

There IS better living through chemistry. Just ask Barry Bond.

The U.S. is a big bully with lackluster economic power. The first part is easy to understand, they are and have a long history of being bullies. I'm not saying that Afghanistan and Iraq are the first and only. No the history of US intervention is long and not that honourable. Just ask Spain when the Spanish-American war was based upon the charade of the sinking of the "Maine". Go through the history of Central and South America, I don't think you'll find one state that hasn't enjoyed US intervention. Alright so maybe Costa Rica but still the list is long that have had the Marines invite themselves. Perhaps the most deceitful is Chile and the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. He great sin was being an avowed Marxist and wanting to nationalize the Copper industry, what a cad. Even though the US military got their noses bloodied in Vietnam it hasn't stopped their desire to intervene when and where they seem fit. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Soviet power which is being touted as a victory of western ideals, A bit yes and no, part of the victory was due to the overspending by the Reagan government, they forced the Soviets to keep up with military development and couldn't. Also the people of the Soviet Bloc no longer bought the lie and turned their backs. It is a triumph of the spirit of people.

Sadly the US has been very selective where to intervene. There have been many places that could have used US intervention but none was forthcoming. Consider Rwanda but after the debacle of Somalia, they didn't have the stomach. We have to remember that by nature the US believes in isolation and will only intervene when a situation impacts them directly.

What about them being a lacklustre economic power, again this was written in the early 90's who wasn't a lacklustre economic power? The rest of the decade demonstrated this was false and I think today there is still a shine on the economic prowess of the US. The NYSE and NASDAQ are still the hearts of the world economy, nations still want to trade with the US. The US dollar is still the currency of choice, no matter how hard the EU tries, people are not that interested in the Euro. The name says it all. Economics are cyclical todays powerhouse is tomorrows nation on the corner with a sign reading, 'will intervene militarily for food'. Just consider their cultural economy I would suggest the world does watch US television, movies and listen to US music, often to the detriment of local media and culture. In fact they US is very protective of its cultural power, they demand free access to everything they produce to the world.

I should temper what I say with this comment, I am not anit-American. For too many years Canadians identified themselves as 'not being Americans', and certainly those who claim to be nationalists are often strident Anti-Americans, and usually have television programs on CBC. However any culture or nation that defines themselves by the negative will not last because too often the realization has to come that what they oppose they have become. Consider Canadian culture, what is it? I'll tell you, it's "Friends" with a Molson Beer commercial. This is why I almost never watch CBC Newsworld, they became too obvious in their bias. They hate the Americans and everything the US does and stands for. Now really, if I wanted to watch North Korean television I 'd learn to speak Korean, but to see my tax dollars go to such blatant propaganda is annoying.

Hmm, I seem to have gotten off topic, then again, it's my blog and I'll write what I want. In fact I was thinking about going on about the CityTV and CBC connection and how painfully boring Toronto is in their continual quest to be 'hip'. I'll save that for another time. Just remember the words of Neil Young, 'keep on rocking in the free world'.

Peace

I'm going to look some more at the "Cyberpunk Manifesto", the next line is:The new battlefield is people's minds. Here is the truth, how many billions or trillions is spent by political parties, corporations, marketing companies and government to know first of all, what I think and secondly to manipulate my thoughts. Polls are done all the time to calculate what I think about various issues and then governments spend money to either enhance my thoughts or change it. Then there is advertising, this is driven by manipulation, to change my thinking. Why should I choose this product over that? It all comes down to marketing and manipulation. The battlefield is our mind. All powers know that. Our most valuable commodity is the couple pounds of grey matter between our ears. I'm reminded of the words by the Apostle Paul:And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God He understood that manipulation is the name of the game and our most important duty is not to allow them to squeeze our thinking so that we conform to the world. What the world does need now is non-conformists, because it the only thing that intolerated today. O yes, the powers enjoy the eccentric and the trendy, because they can usurp and pre-empt them, remember when the fashion world grabbed and destroyed 'grunge'? They will take whatever is on the street and use it for themselves. The battlefield is our minds, be dilligent and protect the high ground.

The next comment may be one that needs to be changed, The megacorps ARE the new governments. When this was written and for almost the rest of the 90's and into the 21st century this looked true. Megacorps had more power, the Philip Knights, Ted Turners and Bill Gates of the world were it rulers. The power these men and a few women controled was immensed, they set up factories where they wanted and got governments to dance to their tunes. Later on we witnessed the development of the "CEO as RockStar" with all the pomp, glitter, fawning attention and entourages that usually followed pop stars. However, I want to suggest this has changed, the world is not run by SonyCorp, or Microsoft, or Nike. What happened? A few things like the book 'No Logo', for one, then the 'Battle for Seattle', and the whole ant-globalization movement for another. then the Anti-MAI movement. In case you're not sure, the MAI was a plan to make the world safe for investment and the profits of huge mega-corporations. The world became a scary place for those who wanted total freedom for companies to loot and pillage. The publicity of No Logo and the revelation of sweat factories doing the bidding for Nike, Gap etc has made people aware of inequality and the fact unrestrained capitalism is evil. People became aware of the danger of unbridled and uncheck megacorps. As for the CEO as rockstar when the annual summit of the rich and powerful at Davros was IMPORTANT news, with full treatment by Entertainment Tonight, that changed with things such as Enron, WorldCom, Parmalet and the image of the CEO changed from rockstar to indited felon. I got to admit there's something sweet about seeing the rich and powerful hauled off in handcuffs. Add to it, the fact that the recording industry is now begging and pleading with governments to use its power to stop the downloading of music, we see that megacorps are not the new government. In some cases, with the bursting of the tech bubble, a lot of corporations can't control stockholders meetings, let alone the world.

Peace

I've been spending some time re-read Gareth Bramwyn's Cyberpunk Manifesto again. A fascinating declaration that set the stage for the development of the cyberpunk movement in literature and culture. Certainly cyberpunk began with the writings of William Gibson and a bit later Bruce Sterling, it also influenced cinema with movies such as "Blade Runner", "Johnny Mnemonic", "the Lawnmower Man" and more recently "Matrix". In music, we had Billy Idol releasing the, in my opinion, excellent "Cyberpunk" CD and the growth of electronica.

I wondered if the Manifesto is still relevant and correct for now the first decade of the 21st century. I looked up the meaning of 'manifesto' and according to Dictionary.com it means:"A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature." So with that in mind I began to look at the document and ask myself is this still relevent or do we need something else? Let me say I am familiar with the other Cyberpunk manifesto that was produced by Christian As. Kirtchev. Since it had a later publishing date, 1997 vs 1992, it may be a truer manifestation of things as they are, but I want to concentrate on the first one, since it is the template.

The opening words are all you would want in a grand manifesto: "The future has imploded onto the present". How true, William Gibson is quoted as saying the future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed. And we would say this is true, the future is here, but sometimes not there, yet, or haven't even started yet over there. This is true locally and globally. For every wired community, we have another place where the 20th century, let alone the 21st is a unconceived concept. Yet for our culture, the future is here, although not necessarily in ways we thought, I mean we don't have flying cars yet. Yet the future is now I was watching an episode of "All in the Family" and Archie was talking on a phone..a rotary phone...and there was only one in the household. This is only 30 years ago. It's funny, how many homes have only one phone and I will say it's not going to be rotary. As well, how many people are eschewing landlines and going totally wireless? The future is in telecommunication and it's here.

The second line of the manifesto deals with the fact there is no nuclear war. Today this is true the nuclear threat is no longer with us. I grew up under the threat of nuclear war, hey I remember getting a book in grade 4 on how to build your own bombshelter, how cool is that. The major nuclear powers don't seem interested in blowing each other up anymore, Gareth speaks of real estate as the cause, I think trade and wealth are more likely. I understand nuclear war plays heck on one's trade balence. The more nations trade the more they don't want to blow each other up. There are those 'rogue' states that possess the bomb however their weapons are only a couple and they usually have spent their whole military budget on them and don't have the money to deliver a payload. This is not to say the threat is totally gone after all a nation with the bomb and nothing to lose may figure it's a great way to go out in blaze of glory. Of course this nation would be punked pretty quick so they may take out a city, but their whole nation will become a very large radioactive waste site.

I think I'm going to stop now, but I'll say more about this manifesto later.




Peace

I came across an interesting article regarding the state of the music industry in Australia. While all we hear is how bad it is with everyone downloading music off the internet and sales are down, this article claims the opposite. The points out that sales figures indicate sales of CD's were up last year. What is also interesting is the reaction by the ARIA (Oz's RIAA), they downplayed it! I guess they didn't want the facts confusing people. The ARIA has been particularly aggressive, going after the people of Sherman Inc., the people behind Kazaa. Yet there seems to be no need for these methods. people are still buying music. Now they must come to grips with reality, P2P is not their problem. The real problem is a total lack of creativity in the industry. There is no 'new' acts that will take the music world by storm. Everything is reduced to formula & marketing. risk has been replaced with study groups, and no one honestly cares. What they should be doing is embracing the techology as a means of presenting the new, the experimental & the avant garde. We want to be stretched and not forced to hear the 'variations of a theme' that follows the style of the day.

Peace

Decided to start the task of cleaning out the garage. You may be thinking this will be dull blog, however, continue to read, I'm trying to set the mood. As is my case, I decided to bring out the portable radio and slip in a CD. My choice was governed by one I found while going through one of the many boxes still infesting the house, it was a Ralph CD.

Let me say I am a big fan of Ralph. If you've never experienced Ralph, just follow the link. He's a very cool guy that lives out in Vancouver. He publishes a very cool little poetry, jazz zine caled: "Ralph", and he puts out CD's. When not looking after the growing 'Ralph' empire, he works as a freelance graphic artist for recording companies. I remember picking up an early copy of "Ralph" and immediately falling for this guy's work. Anyone who can put together a zine of poetry and personal thoughts is okay by me. In many ways, he the inspiration for my own poetry/publishing endeavour. One of the greatest joys was putting an issue together called 'A Celebration of Ralph'. I had the joy of interviewing and reviewing his then new CD "This is for the Night People". He is a great guy and I encourage you if you enjoy your coffee hot, your jazz cool, to discover Ralph.





Peace

I attended a "workplace Harassment workshop" today, and before you starting thinking how painful that must have been, I want to say I was impressed with it. There seems to be a maturing in the matter of harassment and it is a good thing. I remember attending my first harassment seminar and the message was that anything you did you could be viewed as harassment by someone. It was the case of harassment, like beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Your innocent statement could get you into a world of hurt. Now it is viewed that one incident may not be harassment. It's like there is a desire for people to kind of grow up and not be so quick to grab the mantle of 'victim'. That was the trouble with the 90's in particular everybody was running around claiming to be a victim.

This is not to say the issues of harassment have vanished, there is always somebody who is going to treat someone else wrong and often the attack will be due to the fact they are different. The message is to treat each other with respect. Or as I mentioned to one of the instructors as I thanked them for the seminar, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Those seem to be good words to live by and operate a business with. Treat each other as humans and respect them.

Another part I thought was good is that mention was made of men being harassed by women and same sex harassment. So the issue of sexual harassment is being viewed as not just a male problem but a problem of all. People are people and instead of this being an opportunity for male bashing, and to be honest I'm convinced some of the people I've had to listen to are more anti-male then anything. In fact one instructor I'm convinced hated men, but because she was a woman to open my mouth would get me into some horrible trouble. I didn't like her, of course I thought she was rather a fascist too.

Again, it's all the way you treat people. Treat them well and all will be well. Now if only we would learn that in all aspects of society.


peace

I've been thinking that my blogs are perhaps a bit too serious and so with this one I'm going to lighten up a bit. Yesterday, being Easter Monday and a day off I decided to do some golfing with my son and two others. It was a glorious sunny day albeit a bit cold and a fair wind was blowing. You know what, any time you can get out on the links, it's a good day. Being the first time of the season I was ready with my excuses and horrible shots. The game went well, I shot under 50 for 9 holes and didn't lose any golf balls. I missed all the water and even had some nice drives, approaches and putts. In the same breath I had some rotten drives, approaches and a few 'yips' on the green.
The shot of the day came from Jeremy. He teed one ball and drove it over 300 yards. In fact he was on the green, just behind the flag. The three of us just stood there and laughed, it was a great shot. He even birdied it. This was a classic tale of gripping and ripping. I figured if he had hit the flag it would have been a hole in one. On a par 4 too and it wasn't a short par 4 either. It was a good par 4 straight with no problems.
We did scare some Canada Geese along the way and had just a generally good day. I was pleased to par the two par 5's so that's not a bad way to start the golf season.
This just the day after the Master's and that was exciting. I thought it was good last year with Mike Weir winning, but this was suspence. The story should be Ernie Els played good enough to win, but Phil Mickelson played just that much better to be the winner. Very exciting. I loved the interview afterwards when Phil, after dealing with his third dumb question said, "I just want to get what he's got..." referring to the Green Jacket.
Golf, you got to love it.

Had a marvellous weekend, with Good Friday and Easter being the centre of the celebration. The churches I attended had good crowds and heard again, through song and the spoken word, the wonders of Easter. I think what brought it home to me was the song, 'When He was on the Cross, I was on His mind'. What a profound truth, He took the lash, the beatings, the crown of thorns, the nails, the spears, all to give me salvation. I know this is an oversimplification but it's true. Please understand, this is not the ravings of an egotist, the but consideration of a sinner, marvelling at the truth of the gospel.
What a thing to consider,"He who knew no sin, became sin for us". That is the joy of the Easter season. I can be forgiven and set free, all because of Jesus.

Well it was a great Easter weekend! The meetings were well attended and I was reminded again of the wonder of this weekend. I think what came home was the song "When He was on the Cross, I was on His mind". That reminds me, it was for me that Jesus died and rose again. This is not the claim of an egotist, but a humble sinner realizing the marvellous truth of the gospel. It was for each of us.
What a wonderful thought.

I got Mairix:Revolutions on DVD this week. I have been a fan since the first. I love all of them, in fact after I saw #1 I told my family that this is pure cyberpunk^ leather, cool sunglasses, rain & 'guns, lots of guns'. It was an amazing movie.
Now with 'Revolutions' it's over. I enjoyed the 3rd because it give a proper ending. Neo wins because he destroyed Smith by becoming him & destroying him. The Christlikeness comes through sine Jesus "He who knew no sin became sin for us. He destroyed Smith by showing Smith had no power over him. Neo liberated the people by overcoming & with his 'death' set free. Of course the question is did Neo die? I should imagine that is discussed in a few places.
Other thoughts, I'm glad the club scene was short. I hated the rave in Zion from 'Reloaded', and I believe I'm not alone. The battle for Zion was incredible & the final confrontation was spectacular.
Thank you W. brothers for giving us this wonderful trilogy.

To continue my thoughts of yesterday, another hero is Nelson Mandela. Here is a great man. Here is a man who could have answered hatred with hatred, if you can remember the days when he was released one of the fears bandied about was that should blacks gain power in South Africa,it would be payback time. There is something in our nature that would say it would be in their rights, they suffered horribly under aparteid and if any group deserved restitution it was the blacks. What did Nelson Mandela do, he built a peaceful interracial nation. He took the hatred that could have been and turned into peace and equality. This is not to say South Africa is a perfect nation, there are still troubles and problems, then again, what country doesn't have problems?

I was reading a biography of him, here's a quote: "Nelson Mandela has never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he has never answered racism with racism. His life has been an inspiration, in South Africa and throughout the world, to all who are oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation". You can read his biography here. Let me encourage you to take the time to do it. Yes I do know he was leader of a group that was involved in violence, the Umkhonto we Sizwe would be considered a terrorist group today, as it was then. However what was the real terror? A group demanding freedom and equality or a government that decreed that a sizable part of a nation did not belong, all because the colour of their skin. Sometimes we get our titles mixed up and call 'good' evil and 'evil' good, only because one side or the other has the power.

Thank you Nelson for demonstrating there is a great power then hate in this world, and it's the power of peace and equality.

Peace

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

Today I'll be listening to the song "Pride (in the name of love)" by U2. The reason being, besides it my favourite song, it the emphasis; today I remember the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. You may wonder why would a white middle age, middle class Canadian remember this day? I do because of the importance the example and teachings Dr. King has had on my life. He reminds me, each and every day that we are all created equal in the sight of God. I will be honest I will never experience the level of persecution and bigotry he and others had to experience but I can look to him and see that here was a man was shaped and overcame the conditions that could have warped him. He simply asked for one thing, that all men be created equal.
I read recently someone has suggested that people stop listening to King's great "I have a dream speech" , my question is 'why'? I believe here we have the distillation of the motivation of his life. His desire, equality. He told of wanting to enjoy the words of the Constitution that all men are created equally. what a marvellous demand, that we treat each other as equals, not as inferiors or superiors, but as equals. His other moving speech was his last one. He realized something was going to happen and he tells the people he has seen the glory of the coming Lord. Perhaps that's the appeal, Dr. King was a prophet of God, not as in the foretellers, but one called by God to bring the nation and people back to where they should be.
Today I remember, that equality is for all, today I remember the demands of equality can be death. Today I remember that though the Dreamer is dead, the Dream lives on.

Peace

So the reaction continues to the von Finckestein ruling continues. My understand is the CRIA is muttering 'appeal', while everyone else is dancing in the streets and downloading with vigour. I took the opportunity to re-read the decision and it still is fascinating.
What has been mentioned by everyone but the CRIA is the levy we pay on blank cd's, dvd's and cassettes. as well as mp3 players and that sort of thing. So we are already paying for music piracy. My understanding is the funds go into a large pot and are to be doled out to the various copyright holders, the musicians and songwriters for example. I'm not too sure of the formula but I suppose it's weighted heavily on those who are the big names. The odd thing is most people who download only download the independents, or older material because of the lack of availability of this material.
A point that hasn't been raised is the collusion of the Big 5, have you ever noticed it doesn't matter who produced it, all CD's are the same price? Tell me there's no such thing as price fixing going on. They have been burning the consumer for the last 20 years and now they're screaming about a few people downloading 'free' music.
I should point out that I do buy CD's, especially classic rock CD's and the odd indie material. There is still something nice to holding the product and enjoying the full experience. If I can give one message to the CRIA it's this, get over yourself, you lost too bad so sad. They can throw around all the numbers of disaster they want, but remember they are the ones who failed to come up with a workable plan for selling music over the Internet.

Peace

The news is filled with the decision of Judge Konrad von Finckenstein to declare the downloading of music legal in Canada. It is an interesting conclusion, he mentions that "...I can't see a real difference between a library that places a photocopy machine in a room full of copyright material and a computer user that places a personal copy ona shared directory linked to a P2P service." This is quite a comparison and certainly not one anyone ever considered. After all what have we all used photocopiers for but to copy copyright material. I didn't think this sort of ruling would take effect but obviously this judge considered something else besides what the standard propaganda that comes from the recording industry. It all stems from the fact the CRIA, our version of the RIAA, wanted the names of some nefarious swappers from various ISP's. I thought they would lose due to the new Privacy Act which forbids the release of names of subscribers. However this is quite the victory. It's kind of nice to know that I don't have to worry about the music police taking down my door. I can say I support the judge on the privacy issue, it seems what the CRIA wanted was permission to engage in a fishing expedition, they were saying in effect, 'give us the names and accounts of people and we'll find the guilty perps.' I believe this sort of behavior would be illegal for law enforcement officials. So our computers are safe from the prying eyes of the CRIA. What makes very interesting reading is the Judge's decision, he seems to think that just because a person places a song on a shared file, they are not responsible if someone downloads it. He also defended the right of 'fair use', that is since I own the recording I can make a copy of it.
I think the opinion which sunk the CRIA is this one: "The mere fact of placing a copy on a shared directory in a computer where that copy can be accessed via a P2P service does not amount to distribution". So just because it's posted in a shared file it doesn't mean I expect or want it to be downloaded. Perhaps this could be considered quite a stretch and giving the benefit of the doubt to people who do that, still it's the ruling and the law.
Overall this is an incredible decision and it could be argued one based upon common sense. Perhaps now the music industry will consider working with the technology instead of fighting against it.
If that wasn't enough a study released from the University of North Carolina points out that file sharing didn't cause the collapse of CD sales. They believe that there is no impact on sales which seems to question one of the chief beliefs of the Recording Industry. This begs the question what is causing the decline, perhaps price, perhaps the fact people are sick of the garbage that is called 'music' today? All this goes back to the fact that people are tired of being bullied by the recording industry, tired of the tripe that coming from the major labels and being ripped off. Listen, the industry has been making a killing for years on the basis of an over-priced commodity and now the chickens are coming home to roost.
This tells me that now is the time for creativity to be used to develop a proper platform that will give people access to the music they want at a reasonable price. Get with it RIAA/CRIA and call off the dogs.
This is my opinion and if you want to react to it, give me an email, I'll be glad to read and discuss it with you.

Peace

Happy April Fool's Day everybody. I hope the pranks and jokes have been both corny and painless. I was thinking that the way this spring has started Gaia is taking full advantage of this day and really giving it to us. If it's warm and dry where you are, enjoy it.
I looked up some interesting history about this day and I want to quote it for you: 'The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1. Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1. These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.'
I haven't inflicted anyone with anything today, maybe it's my age, I'm getting old, cranky and cynical to devise schemes. Still I hope someone does something to me, I need to laugh.
I should say I think it's great to have one day we can do all those dumb things and get away with it, so have a great day and have a whole lot of fun.

Peace