we want it mechanical
but that’s a recent desire
(relatively speaking)
the easy truth is
that it’s a lyric, a line
break, an assumption…
neither this nor that
never one thing for too long
(relatively speaking)
you’re here now
and so am I
let us kiss under the wavering moon
let us understand nothing
They got wild chickens in Hawai’i
They got robot cars on Mars
They got luminescent fish in the deep
They got meat made out of veggies
They got talking frigerators
But they ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
No, they ain’t found a way
No, they ain’t found a way
They ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
Oh, I wish that they might
Find a way to ground your flight
But they ain’t found no way that keeps you close to me
They got dogs that speak to humans
They got kitties using toilets
They got pills that make the sour things turn sweet
They got doorbells always watching
They got facial recognition
But they ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
No, they ain’t found a way
No, they ain’t found a way
They ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
Oh, I wish that they found
Some way to keep you hanging ’round
But they ain’t found no way that keeps you close to me
Yeah, they got pillows that play music
They got millions of flavors
They got light to whiten up your crooked teeth
They got islands getting drowned
And they got countries a’fire
But they ain’t found no way that keeps you close to me
No, they ain’t found a way
No, they ain’t found a way
They ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
Oh, I wish that they would
Find a way to keep you here for good
But they ain’t found that way to keep you close to me
They ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
They ain’t found a way to stop you being free
No, they ain’t found a way to tell you how to be
They ain’t found way
Never gonna find a way
That might make you stay
They ain’t found a way to keep you close to me
I never knew a sweeter melody
Than the one that called me home
I never knew the mind of god
Except when I was stoned
I never knew the rain would fall
Until the drops darkened my coat
Now I’m telling you a secret
The only secret that I know
I never felt the rocky path
Underneath me when I roamed
I never thought to hold your hand
While you were standing close
I can’t forget the way you looked
Traveling down that road
So now I’m telling you a secret
The only secret that I know
I never had a single care
I never stopped, I never slowed
I never wanted anything
Except to hear you say, “Don’t go”
I never shed a single tear
Least that’s how the story goes
And now I’m telling you a secret
The only secret that I know
The sticking point: people often strenuously resist such diversification efforts, in part because the associated cognitive dissonance can be so extreme and uncomfortable. “My personal opinion is that this is not an individual property,” said Galesic. “Most of us are just trying to fit in with the people we need to collaborate with, who are around us in a particular environment. I don’t think that people are inherently closed-minded. So a lot of that can be changed by changing the social environment.
Technologies are not distinct from the people who use them. They are, as Marshall McLuhan told us, extensions of ourselves. As such, they will embody the biases that we apply through their design and use. No tech is neutral by design or effect. They make some actions easier and others harder, and it takes extra effort to notice and correct those biases.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-two-myths-of-the-internet/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
A selection of 365 short bits, extracted and compiled from various studio writings, notebooks, voice memos, letters, stories, and essays.
Quite enjoyable and amenable to your on-the-go lifestyle.
I only wanted eyes of gold and a smile made of diamonds.
You only wanted to not grow old and keep your soul a’shinin’.
You did not need another life to fill your broken heart.
You watched the old man in the moon for signs that you should start.
The old man’s voice was soft, though he was a good-for-nothing bastard.
You kept clinging to the past as though it’d help you heal much faster.
So soft that moonlit voice, like a rope of silk and satin.
When the old man spoke, you shook and could not say what happened.
The moon revealed, “There are many people like you in this crumbling world.
They don’t care for their future, thinking all is double toil.”
“Don’t mistake me for a man, lest I take your only life.
Don’t mistake me for a man, lest I take you for my wife!”
You said, “As long as you shall light me, I’ll forever be just fine.
Your pale caress will be enough to corral my wandering mind.”
“And even if I lose control some nights from here to when,
Regrets will never stop me from standing with you here and then.”
First, Zuckerberg tried to portray this whole issue as “choices…around free expression.” That is ludicrous. This is not about limiting anyone’s free speech. This is about giving people, including some of the most reprehensible people on earth, the biggest platform in history to reach a third of the planet. Freedom of speech is not freedom of reach. Sadly, there will always be racists, misogynists, anti-Semites and child abusers. But I think we could all agree that we should not be giving bigots and pedophiles a free platform to amplify their views and target their victims.
Second, Zuckerberg claimed that new limits on what’s posted on social media would be to “pull back on free expression.” This is utter nonsense. The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law” abridging freedom of speech, however, this does not apply to private businesses like Facebook. We’re not asking these companies to determine the boundaries of free speech across society. We just want them to be responsible on their platforms.
If a neo-Nazi comes goose-stepping into a restaurant and starts threatening other customers and saying he wants kill Jews, would the owner of the restaurant be required to serve him an elegant eight-course meal? Of course not! The restaurant owner has every legal right and a moral obligation to kick the Nazi out, and so do these internet companies.
The good news is that things like Baldwin Groceries are an opportunity to de-brainwash reactionaries and racists, showing them that the “socialism” they’re been terorrized with all their lives is actually the stuff they love best about America: the letter-carrier they see every day, the VA that takes care of them, the library and the high school and the roads.
