Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Miyamoto Musashi's Principles of the Way of His Ichi School of Strategy


  • Do not think dishonestly.

  • The Way is in training.

  • Become aquainted with every art.

  • Know the Ways of all professions.

  • Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.

  • Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything.

  • Perceive those things which cannot be seen.

  • Pay attention even to trifles.

  • Do nothing which is of no use.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea

The Shape of Days

George Orwell's description of the Ministry buildings in 1984 (similarities highlighted):

"The Ministry of Truth -- Minitrue, in Newspeak -- was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 metres into the air. From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

The Ministry of Truth contained, it was said, three thousand rooms above ground level, and corresponding ramifications below. Scattered about London there were just three other buildings of similar appearance and size. So completely did they dwarf the surrounding architecture that from the roof of Victory Mansions you could see all four of them simultaneously. They were the homes of the four Ministries between which the entire apparatus of government was divided. The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs. Their names, in Newspeak: Minitrue, Minipax, Miniluv, and Miniplenty.

The Ministry of Love was the really frightening one. There were no windows in it at all. Winston had never been inside the Ministry of Love, nor within half a kilometre of it. It was a place impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating through a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests. Even the streets leading up to its outer barriers were roamed by gorilla-faced guards in black uniforms, armed with jointed truncheons."