Watching Lewis Black’s beginning-of-pandemic stand-up special … there’s a duality to the experience now. “It’s been so long, wow” and “we never (or I, anyway) quite got back to normal.” Understandable this time. I’m still pissed at all the things lost from before 9/11 though.
Ducked out of the bubble again.
Re-watching Slacker, for the first time in a long time, and it is kind of terrifying how relevant it is.
"Why.are.there.periods.in.my.iPhone.searches" Me three!
Finished reading: A Regular Guy by Mona Simpson 📚
Daniel Ellsberg. ¡Presente! It is a story I’ve alluded to too many times in too many places, a boring one at that (I had no role except to be there) but I had lunch with him in early March 2003. He was discussing with my then-boss his premeditated protest outside the White House of the imminently expected invasion of Iraq.
Regular programming will be interrupted
Just Stop Oil protesters interrupt opera at Glyndebourne festival (The Guardian): “Our highest priority was the safety and security of everyone on site and we would like to thank our staff and performers, whose calm and professional response kept everyone safe, and disruption to a minimum.” I’m with the demonstrators on this. I think everyone’s highest priority should be the climate crisis. This doesn’t mean one can’t wind down and go to an opera, but only if and until society actually realigns to this priority, expect the rest to be interrupted lest we keep thinking everything is fine.
Keep it dumb, dummy.
Will it be possible to buy a dumb electric car? No Internet Protocol dependence and certainly no fucking ChatGPT? I don’t mind contemporary local computer-driven safety features—not talking Model T dumb. I like the idea of bringing extra brains and network connectivity to the vehicle with me (e.g. via smartphone) but entirely optionally. I’d still like to go for a drive without anyone but… the CCTV and imagery satellites and drones knowing where I am.