Erin / Pragmatica profile picture

Erin / Pragmatica

Erin's Interzone.

About Me



I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went - and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation ...

- Lord Byron, excerpt from poem: Darkness (1816)
Byron wrote Darkness in July 1816. View the entire poem . It's worth the read! I love this type of dark, soulful, visionary writing. Visually, I enjoy the sinuous organic modernism of stunning Art Deco, and transhumanist postmodernism.
As for me, I'm an introspective intellectual type, yet also outdoorsy and down to earth. When I'm not out horseback riding, gardening, or saving the planet, I like to chat with my friends in the virtual reality world Second Life , or post and moderate on The Spiral message board, under my usual alias: Pragmatica. I also blog from time to time on Betterhumans .
I've had quite a few questions answered in the NIN band chats, but this one from [10_02_2006] remains my favourite and makes me chuckle:
pragmatica Trent: Are you going to keep wearing eyeliner from time to time on tour? We love it when you do.
Trent_reznor just for you. p.s. I always have fish-nets on under those pants i wear
This autographed NIN guitar played and smashed by Trent at the London show I attended has a new home on my living room wall. I won the charity auction. Proceeds went to the New Orleans Restoration Fund. I also have some other memorabilia such as Ministry, MSI, and Josh Freese drumsticks, an Aaron North guitar pick, and autographed ticket stubs.

My Interests

Horseback riding, photography, video production, creative writing, gardening, alternative energy, caving / spelunking, information overload for the fun of it, traveling, transhumanism , and the VR online world Second life .

I'd like to meet:



Trent Reznor, Avi Ghosh, Darren Aronofsky, Ray Kurzweil, H.R. Giger, Robin Finck, David Suzuki, Bono, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Dr. Dean Ornish, James Cameron, Dr. Stephen Hawking, and any eloquent & talented individuals.

Below is a video of me up front at a Second Life concert (the singer is Shadowjack , singing live)! :)

Music:

My favourite as far back as I can remember has always been (and always will be) Nine Inch Nails, and my second favourite is the talented young independent musician Avi Ghosh, who fronts dEFY. A few others are The Birthday Massacre, The Beatles, Mindless Self Indulgence (live only), MUSE, Kill Hannah, Modwheelmood, Family Force 5, Elvis Presley, Type O Negative, Slipknot, and Depeche Mode.

Movies:

Pi, Dead Man, The Abyss, Metropolis, Kissed, eXistenZ, Videodrome, the Qatsi trilogy, Last Night, The Matrix, Blade Runner, the Professional, Un Chien Andalou, and Harold & Maude.

Television:

I used to watch Queer As Folk until the show ended. Now, I avoid the aim of the cathode ray tube's electron gun. TV is a mind-numbing, obsolete, advertising-saturated medium.

Books:

The works of Isaac Asimov. Also, writings from the Renaissance and the 1800s. I'm currently reading the oldest written story in the world, Gilgamesh, by the Sumerians (3500+ BC). The Old Testament borrowed heavily from this. I enjoy poetry by Byron and Wordsworth.

Heroes:

Ray Kurzweil , my friends and family, and anyone who inspires me, or who puts exceptional talents to use in this world, leading by example.

My Blog

Thoughts on virtual reality / Second Life

Hello everyone! For two or three months now I've been an active member of the rapidly-expanding online world called Second Life, so I figure I've logged enough hours and accumulate...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:06:00 PST

Movie Review: The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky

Yesterday I saw The Fountain at the Toronto International Film Festival. General themes present in this film include: immortality, death, the human condition, terminal illness, mental illnes...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:44:00 PST

6-show NIN tour and MSI concert retrospective

Hi everyone!  My string of concerts in June and July is now over and I've had time to get caught up. Here I am, finally blogging about my experiences. NIN went on tour again this summer for an am...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:36:00 PST

Aaron North jumped on me in Detroit! (NIN story)

Hi folks. It's been a while since I posted a blog because I've been attending NIN shows each weekend, then editing video footage of them all week long.  Needless to say, that has been keepin...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Wed, 28 Jun 2006 06:06:00 PST

MINISTRY concert in Kitchener - review!

It was a good show at Elements night club last week, on Wednesday, June 7, 2006.I started off grabbing a bite to eat with some fellow Spiralers before the show at a pita joint adjoining the venue.&nbs...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Mon, 12 Jun 2006 06:49:00 PST

The Birthday Massacre concert was fantastic - watch my video!

Last night, on Thursday April 13th, I attended my first Birthday Massacre concert.  It took place at a club called the Funhaus, in Toronto.  The Funhaus is located on Queen St. W. near the w...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Sat, 15 Apr 2006 07:00:00 PST

Back home from my NIN road trip. Many stories!!

Last week, four of us loaded up my little Toyota ECHO and went on a road trip to follow our favourite band of all time, Nine Inch Nails, to three concerts in a row.  Two of the fans car...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Wed, 15 Mar 2006 05:13:00 PST

Anything at any price.

Hey everyone! First something more serious, second something more decadent. Has anyone else noticed the increasing tensions between Muslim countries and the West lately?  Plus, the instability in...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Sat, 04 Feb 2006 04:01:00 PST

Nine Inch Nails Toronto = AMAZING. See my tour video!

On Thursday, November 10th, I attended the Nine Inch Nails concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.  It absolutely blew me away.  It was one of the most amazing experiences...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Sun, 13 Nov 2005 04:38:00 PST

30 is the new 20, right? + Bif Naked pics

I turned 30 today, but since "40 is the new 30" I suppose "30 is the new 20".  So I'm still 20 - things are ok :) ha ha ha. If you haven't already, take a look at this photo gallery of shots I to...
Posted by [Erin / Pragmatica] on Thu, 13 Oct 2005 03:16:00 PST