Subliminal Advertising on 10. Seriously.

Network 10’s coverage of the ARIA Awards (28/10/07) contained subliminal ads for several major sponsors. Their logos appeared in single frames of 1/25^th of a second, hidden within the transition graphics.

The coverage was produced by Roving Enterprises, production company of impish multi-millionaire Rove McManus. They are trying to pass the buck to Network 10, but the transition graphics were integral to the ARIA coverage, appearing on the screens behind the presenters, so they’ll have a job denying complicity.

Is McManus the new Steve Visard? Same toothy grin; same ‘I’ll be your best friend’ persona; same drive for wealth accumulation.

This carefully premeditated brainwashing scheme was unequivocally unlawful and would likely have involved ‘partners in crime’ from Network 10, Roving Enterprises and the advertisers concerned: Telstra, Toyota, Olay, KFC and Chupa Chups. (The involvement of the advertisers is given away by a statement from KFC: “...this was a new technique designed and developed by the broadcaster.”)

But don’t hold your breath for any serious punitive measures from TV watchdog FreeTV. And while the blogosphere may — rightly — give the protagonists some bad press, let’s not forget the old saying: There’s no such thing as bad publicity. Numerous blog posts carrying the advertisers’ logos could even be their desired outcome — hence the colourful allegory of my caption, above-left!

The Guru is appalled by the immoral conduct shown by the broadcaster. It’s an attack on free will, the bedrock of the free thinker — you. In the words of Dr Caroline West, Department of Philosophy, University of Sydney:

Subliminal advertising is banned because it is a form of mind-control: it aims to influence us in ways that we are unaware of, and consequently that we could not choose to resist even if we wanted to.

Links: The culprits, the MO and the social consequences in The Arias: Ten’s Breach of Trust.

Blog Action Day 2007:

Dawn of the Second Age of Enlightenment

The 15^th of October, 2007 is the first Blog Action Day. Many thousands of bloggers around the globe are joining forces to raise awareness of a single issue — this year the environment. Just as importantly, it is about demonstrating the power of unity, and the ability of a united world to change for the better. The Guru has signed up to be a part of the event — one that holds great promise.


The First Age of Enlightenment

In American Dream; Global Nightmare we looked at the aspirational vision of America’s Founding Fathers – one of wisdom, unity, integrity and freedom — and how their society sadly transmuted to one of stupidity, divisiveness, self-interest, and oppression. This corruption, though, was a result of the new experiment of capitalism, and not an inherent weakness within the foundations that had been laid. And the inspired thinking of Abraham Lincoln and others was made possible by The Age of Enlightenment.


Thinker with a green background —
Rodin’s Thinker (1879-89) ponders hard
Philosophers, thinkers and statesmen of the day were inspired by the quantum leap in scientific understanding gained from the work of Sir Isaac Newton. They realised that if intellect could win out over centuries-old dogma in the area of physics, there was no reason not to apply new thinking to old problems in all fields of scientific endeavour, as well as law-making, government, morality, and so on.

They also saw that the Roman Catholic Church had been holding back man’s potential, stubbornly clinging to a Medieval view of the world. The philosophes rejected many aspects of Roman Catholicism, including the concept of original sin and emphasis on a hereafter. The Church wielded great political power (something of an understatement for the horrors of the Inquisition!) and dissent was a dangerous business. No wonder, then, that activists of the Enlightenment used the motto ‘Dare to know!’


The Second Age of Enlightenment

The first Enlightenment was difficult to propagate because most people were illiterate, and were indoctrinated from an early age by the Church. Today, over seven out of ten adults in the world have at least basic skills in reading and writing, and (thanks partly to internet cafés) a similar number have internet access. And the truth, as Mulder would say, is out there!

Today’s widespread lack of enlightenment has very different causes. In the developed world, these include apathy, biased media reporting, individual and government self-interest, corporate lobbying/manipulation and information overload. And the religious dogma of old remains, notably in the US. The good news is that there is a strong movement for change. People the world over (even the CEOs of huge multinationals, historically some of the worst offenders) have realised that unchecked Global Warming would be disastrous for all of humanity — including them.


Latter-day Newton, Stephen Hawking,
is no lightweight
Blog Action Day is an opportunity for individuals around the world to realise that the ultimate power rests with them collectively, not the corporations, not lone countries, not even the reckless and inept leadership of the one remaining Superpower. They need only become free thinkers to achieve unity, because the answers are the same for all of us.

Tackling climate change is humanity’s ultimate test. It will cause us to re-evaluate our values, philosophies and moral codes. Priorities will change. ‘Continuous economic growth’ will be seen for what it is — an oxymoron. Collaboration will strengthen local and global communities. Sustainability will become the watchword. In short, enlightenment will prevail. For us to have any chance of sustaining a population of 6.5 billion it has to.

The internet has quietly been uniting us for the past 15 years. But it’s been more to do with a guy in California downloading a dodgy film from Thailand or a kid in Austria playing Doom with a mate in Fiji. The importance of blogging is articulately summed up on the Blog Action Day website. It is helping to foster free thinkers and encourage discussion, both important in overcoming the biggest obstacle to enlightenment in the 21^st Century — apathy. Let the motto for the Second Enlightenment be ‘Care to know!’

American Dream; Global Nightmare

On July 4^th, 1776, the thirteen original American States declared independence from Great Britain, famously expounding the inalienable rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”.

The document, which became known as the Declaration of Independence, set out grievances against King George III, who had ignored his Prime Minister’s advice and brought in harsh new taxes for the American Colonies and impeded autonomy.

It was written with noble intentions (the original draft even determining to abolish slavery), and ended with these words:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

So the original vision of ‘Happiness’ was a communal one — “All men are created equal” and the wealth of individuals can be pooled to help the whole community. It was the socialist ideal. Within that context, and that of acting honourably, self-determination was paramount, and the limitation of government powers was set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

This was an effective formula for happiness. We are happy when we have individual freedom and know we are doing good for the community. We are free to put in the effort to improve our lot, but need never deal with the guilt of abandoning others in need.

1776 also saw the publication of The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, the book that ushered in the age of capitalism. He theorised that private competition free from regulation generated wealth more efficiently than a government-regulated economy, and that self-interest would naturally lead to the best outcome for society, as if by an “invisible hand”; there would be a steady increase in the standard of living.

Capitalism seemed to fit in with the philosophy of the newly formed United States — freedom from State interference; improving your lot; serving the interests of society. It became integrated into the emerging society, replacing the initial socialist model.

But capitalism exists through inequality — for one person to get richer another must become poorer. The richer person also acquires power. Big business wins out over small, driving it bust or taking it over. The masses end up working for big business. They have the vote, but government aims to leave the economy alone, under the principals set out in The Wealth of Nations. Within the corporations, only the shareholders get a vote, and they vote for higher returns. To achieve ever-increasing profit, the corporations pay small wages, require long working hours and lay staff off whenever they can. ‘Homeowners’ quickly discover that it’s actually the bank that owns their home when they fail to keep up the mortgage repayments.

Today, most of the most powerful people in the world run corporations or hold huge share portfolios. George W. Bush is powerful, but his agenda is to push capitalism and Christian values onto the rest of the world.

Capitalism is not sustainable. Firstly, if the biggest businesses continue buying out smaller ones you eventually end up without competition; there are only a small number of huge multinationals and they’re all in cahoots. Secondly, the natural resources of the Earth are finite — you cannot continue manufacturing goods to meet a demand you have carefully created because the materials will run out. And you cannot rely on an ever-increasing world population because the food to feed it will similarly run out.

In Global Warming Q&A we looked at the geophysical reasons for climate change. But it’s a world economy based on an American model of resource-intensive capitalism that is the root cause.

It’s time to start living within our means.

Susannah’s Regrets

It is said there are only two pains in the world: pain of discipline and pain of regret.

What, sadly, many people discover too late is that the pain of regret hurts far more. It’s a crucial role of parenting to make the connection between motivation and reward — the payoff of achievement. But the ’90s and ’00s have been all about instant self-gratification — the Playstation leaves a typical ’tween or teen no incentive to, say, devote years of dedication to learning a musical instrument. And because the Playstation (or iPod, computer, etc.) is typically not earned, the kid is done a disservice. It’s called being spoiled, and it’s a Western pandemic.

After adolescence it’s time to party. And have lots of sex. And at the age of 30 you begin to feel an overwhelming sense of regret. This is what Susannah is going through, and there are no easy answers.

It started weighing on Susannah’s mind back on Day 31: “...when I was younger I was always like, ‘Oh, Suzie's pretty; she doesn't need to study; she doesn't need to worry about those sorts of things’... And looks fade,” she confided to Nick. “...what have I really got to offer? I'm not really particularly passionate about anything; I feel quite shallow and like I haven't really led the sort of life I think I should've.”



“It’s time to go, Malibu Susannah!”
On Day 35, she welled up, and was comforted by adoring fellow mirror-kisser, Thomas:

Susannah: “I'm really scared.”

Thomas: “What are you scared of?”

Susannah: “I'm scared of going back [into the outside world] and hating everything, and feeling disappointed in myself.”

Thomas: “What would you be disappointed for?”

Susannah: “I just feel like I just whittled away all my time, because I just thought it would last forever, and it doesn't, and all of a sudden you wake up, and you're, like, ‘Oh my god, I'm 30, and what have I done with myself? Partied a lot.’”

Fading Sunshine and a Disturbed Mind

Sunshine is a film that stays with you. Flawed, certainly. But it is forgiven much because it dares to stare into the abyss.

Danny Boyle’s epic film is ostensibly about a last-ditch mission to save Earth by rejuvenating a failing Sun — a manned ship, the Icarus II, is to guide a huge payload directly into the heart of our sun. But ultimately it’s about the huge existential challenge of facing our fragile existence in the vastness of the Universe. A journey of a mere eight light-seconds, it nonetheless takes the crew to the edge of insanity. And our galaxy, one of some 20 million, is over 60,000 light-years across.

The abyss as experienced by the crew is a vast fireball, over 300,000 times the size of Earth, burning into the psyche. But also being faced is the consequence of failure: environmental catastrophe and mass extinction — humankind included.

Where 2001: A Space Odyssey (a film it borrows from heavily) envisions awe-inspiring new horizons, Sunshine contemplates awful oblivion. It is a film for our time.


Links: Review by Jake Wilson, The Age

Love vs Sex: The Live Final

Oh yeah, this isn’t TV; Gretel, I won’t be needing you after all.

OK, so no live final. But from my previous posts on this subject you may be wondering if I’m implying it’s ‘better’ to have less partners. Am I ‘morally against’ having lots of sexual partners? Will fewer partners mean more happiness? How many is too many? Whoa, back up!

Firstly, a reminder of what these posts have been about: the search for love. A lot of people are looking for love in the longer term, but for now want S.E.X. — and lots of it! Well maybe one day there’ll be a pill that’ll allow us to fall madly in love on demand. But for now I’m here to tell you: your plan won’t work!

Am I ‘morally against’ having lots of sexual partners? No. (Although when it comes to the sort of figures Charlie Sheen boasts, it’s hard to see how things like STDs can’t be a factor, so that seems like putting his own pleasure above the health of others.)

Will fewer partners mean more happiness? Maybe. A long-term relationship with your soul mate could lead to great happiness. And one night stands, for instance, can be soul-destroying, ie being stood up. Love is not about being happy, in the conventional sense; it’s about a fundamental feeling of wholeness, which trumps any transient pleasure. Love is a very big subject — more on Guru soon. And if you have a burning question, remember, you can always ask. (I can point you towards some very effective creams!)

How many is too many? 43. Just kidding. There’s no exact number of partners that ‘trips’ something in the brain to ‘switch off’ the ability to fall in love. As I said, it’s cumulative. But most people, after 43 partners, will not be able to fall truly, madly, deeply in love like you see in the movies.

Yeah, I know, it sucks.

Celebrity Love vs Sex

There seems to be a Celebrity version of just about every contestant-based show on TV. (OK, so there’s no Celebrity Dancing With The Stars!) But fear not, I’m not going to do a Celebrity version of each post. This is basically a continuation of Love vs Sex, using some hapless celebs as fodder...

Celebrity personal lives have a habit of being disastrous. And ‘media intrusion’ is not generally the real culprit — it’s all about notches on bedposts.

Call me psychic, but I wasn’t altogether surprised to hear that things didn’t work out between Charlie Sheen, who claims 5,000+ conquests, and ex- porn star Ginger Lynn Allen. Ditto Gene Simmonds, the Kiss singer who claims to have bedded 4,600+ people, and Diana Ross.

Jordan fancied settling down, so changed her name to Katie Price and found a nice guy to marry. She likes that he loves her. But if (or when) she fancied a sea change, no problem! (We may have to wait a year or two for that one to play out, though.)

Jamie & Katie, from Australian Big Brother 06 are another reality series hook-up that happened before our eyes. Katie said she was a virgin, while Jamie bragged about sleeping with over a dozen people during a few weeks abroad. Katie fell hopelessly in love with Jamie, who was flattered, but also felt cornered. The relationship went into meltdown soon after they left The House, ie soon after Jamie’s pool of potential conquests increased from one or two to thousands. Katie was widely derided as unintelligent. But she got what so many seem not to — when it comes to your cherry, you can’t have your cake and eat it!


Continued: In the conclusion, Love vs Sex: The Live Final, The Guru answers such perplexing questions as ‘How many is too many’ and ‘Will fewer partners mean more happiness?’ He also has another go at ‘boil on the backside of humanity’ Charlie Sheen...

Love vs Sex

Sex. Small word; big subject; massive uptake! Yes, as people in the industrial world turn away from the yoke of religion, they stop briefly at the chemists before shacking up with some like-minded person. “Why not?” is the reasoning. “Sexual compatibility — it’s very important. Once I find that, the love will follow.”

I’m afraid not; it doesn’t work like that. Each sexual partner you have ‘dilutes’ the degree to which you can love any one person. And increases the difficulty you will have remaining faithful to them.

The reason is that love (romantic love) is all about pair bonding, and pair bonding is all about knowing that you’re with the right partner — one with whom you can successfully raise strong offspring to adulthood. The more partners you have, the more difficulty you have committing to one. You like the body of one, the personality of another, the finances of another, the sex with another, and so on.

And if you happen to find all those things in a single partner, after a while, when the novelty has worn off, and with only diluted love to glue things together, the enticement of new pastures wins out, buoyed by memories of past liaisons.

The evidence to support this is all around us — celeb news, friends & family, and the reasons for the failures in our own relationships. What’s surprising is that it’s just not discussed. There’s plenty of talk about religious, moral and social values, STDs, pregnancy, etc., but none about the simple concept that we’re all searching for love, yet many of us are shooting ourselves in the foot!

Well, all that’s about to change! At Guru, there’ll be plenty of posts about love and sex — after all, they’re my two favourite subjects!!!


Continued: In Celebrity Love vs Sex we find out why Charlie Sheen is a knob, what’s causing Jordan to screw Peter André over and why Katie from BB06 is a sweetheart...

The 39 Steps

There are, of course, 39 Steps to enlightenment. However, what with meditating (in the form of watching the new Battlestar Galactica), chanting (lines by The Cat Empire) and accumulating wisdom (a secret process involving ants, rye bread and acetone) The Guru has little time for posting them.

Here you will find a regularly updated list of all Steps posted to date.

1. Visit The Guru’s Guru often


2. Massage your ulna

That’s it for now. But don’t worry — Step 38 is ‘Patience is a virtue’...

In The Beginning...

Arguably* the most widely accepted creation theory is this:

In the beginning all was guacamole.**

However, The Guru takes the Zen approach to creation theories – however appealing. Here are some bite-sized nuggets from his philosophy:

• Meaning and purpose are not reliant on a created universe


• That life is wondrous and precious is empirically true


• Concepts of a hereafter detract from making the most of life


• Our minds are hardwired to believe in deities, but these varied beliefs have a history of causing conflict and clouding sentient thought


• Enlightenment requires tolerance, free thought and self-determination (unlike religions)

Plus, of course, guacamole only keeps for about a week, so it would’ve gone off.

* It should be noted that many advocates of this theory are not vocal in its support for fear of being stigmatised.

** Some have asked “From whence came the guacamole?”, “By what hand did it come into being?” or “How grew such a plenitude of avocados?” These are nonsensical questions, for the beginning is, by definition, that which has no past.

The 39 Steps (Part 1)

There are, of course, 39 Steps to enlightenment:

Step 1: Visit The Guru’s Guru often

Step 2: Massage your ulna

Here at The Guru’s Guru, we embrace a daily dose of fruitiness. Does it focus your alpha waves? Centre your ch’i? Cleanse your chakra? Well, new thinking requires new terminology. So, we say it “massages your ulna”.

Be sure to do one of the following every day:

• Stick a Post-It Note saying “Post-It Notes” on a Post-It pad


• Read a random paragraph from a Jackie Collins book out loud


• Peel an onion wearing only a snorkel mask


• Exclaim wistfully to a ticket inspector “My water was just a curiosity to you!”


• Hop zigzag down a corridor, grinning widely


• Visit a chiropractor and ask to see their back-catalogue


• Sway gently from side to side while your train is at stations


• Ask someone directions to 1952


• Laugh hysterically at a scene from Two And A Half Men


• Set your watch 1 hour and 23 minutes fast


• When the phone rings, answer it by saying “Hi, can I speak to Jerry Maguire?”

Or you can try going freestyle (taking care, of course, not to mess with anyone’s karma). Share your ideas with others by commenting to this post.

Other Steps to be, um, revealed over time.

Q: Why am I here?

A: You are searching for answers.

The internet can be a handy thing. Want to know the length of Alaska’s Yukon River? No problemo – Google will happily spew out the answer (2,897 km) in under a second. How many Rutherfords in a Curie? Too easy: 0.00027027. You might have more trouble finding out the name of that groove between the nose and mouth, but the word philtrum will out in the end.

But ask a question like “Is there a god, and, if so, is he pissed at me?” or “Where are my keys?” and all of a sudden the curtain gets drawn back, and we find that Google isn’t all-knowing after all, just a latter day Wizard of Oz.

Well, breathe easy, web-surfer, for you have finally found the site that can answer all of your questions...