. . . that he kept his word, no more, no less.At the time, Bush's approval rating soared to 86%.
America was united. Now, not so much.
12/6/07
Imagine . . .
. . . that he kept his word, no more, no less.At the time, Bush's approval rating soared to 86%.
America was united. Now, not so much.
12/5/07
Geneva Schmeneva
This is nice.
"Non-compliance with the Geneva Conventions remains official US Policy, according to leading Habeas Corpus lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights. Systematic denial of Red Cross access to prisoners remains."
12/3/07
Philosophy of Fundamentals and Taking Liberties
It would not be called fundamental if it were not believed to be always true. A condition is fundamental because it is basic, a premise, understood to be the case, always. Like supply and demand. Like how to read. Like simple mathematics. Like trust. All are fundamental. Until there is a major paradigm shift, or the sun starts rising in the west, the fundamentals are always required.
I believe I barely qualify in calling myself a musician. In fact, I’m a drummer. A drummer is to musician as a kicker is to football player. No respect. But I am a musician nonetheless.
As a drummer, and as a musician, there are certain fundamentals to be respected. You have to stay on the beat. You have to respect the dynamics of the song. You have to please the listener.
I occasionally play in a duet with an acoustic guitar player on Fridays nights at a small bar and restaurant in St. Louis county. On a recent Friday night, during a break, I got into an interesting discussion with the guitar player about the fundamentals of musicianship.
He was complementing me on both my fundamentals and my musicality. I was playing within myself and I was pleased that he noticed. I took this as an opportunity to explain my philosophy of drumming. I told him that I believed that it all starts with the fundamentals: I have to fit in with the music, I have to maintain a steady beat and I have to be a pleasing performer. That is my fundamental job as a drummer. I could be flashy, I sometimes am flashy, but I feel that I first have to earn it. If I am playing, doing my job, sticking with the fundamentals, then I may sometimes earn the right to take some liberties. By liberties, I mean an interesting, different, creative and yes, sometimes flashy, fill. I may not have the best skills, the fastest hands or the fanciest equipment, but if I am getting the job done, and can continue to get the job done by respecting the fundamentals, then I can sometimes show off a little. Be creative. Do something to make the audience swoon. Have a drum solo. But I can only do this if I continue to remember the fundamentals.
By contrast, a drum machine is steady. A drum machine is programmed to stick with certain fundamentals. Some drummers are not as good as a drum machine. Some are better. But the bad drummers fail the fundamentals, no matter how fast and flashy they play. So what can make me preferable to a drum machine? Because I am human. I can do more than a drum machine. I can be creative. But it only works if I never forget the fundamentals. Otherwise, just go with the drum machine.
Why should anyone care about the philosophy of drumming, or guitar playing (the guitar player completely agreed with me)?
Because what is true for music is true for internet stocks, the housing market and the supply and demand for tulips. It’s fine, and beautifully human, to take some liberties with the regulations and the financial structures that frame those markets. It's great to make the people swoon. It's great to take liberties and be fast and flashy. But it only works if the fundamentals are respected. When they are not respected, the fundamentals don’t go away. Rather, they come crashing back into our reality and people get hurt. It’s not nice to mess with the fundamentals.
I believe I barely qualify in calling myself a musician. In fact, I’m a drummer. A drummer is to musician as a kicker is to football player. No respect. But I am a musician nonetheless.
As a drummer, and as a musician, there are certain fundamentals to be respected. You have to stay on the beat. You have to respect the dynamics of the song. You have to please the listener.
I occasionally play in a duet with an acoustic guitar player on Fridays nights at a small bar and restaurant in St. Louis county. On a recent Friday night, during a break, I got into an interesting discussion with the guitar player about the fundamentals of musicianship.
He was complementing me on both my fundamentals and my musicality. I was playing within myself and I was pleased that he noticed. I took this as an opportunity to explain my philosophy of drumming. I told him that I believed that it all starts with the fundamentals: I have to fit in with the music, I have to maintain a steady beat and I have to be a pleasing performer. That is my fundamental job as a drummer. I could be flashy, I sometimes am flashy, but I feel that I first have to earn it. If I am playing, doing my job, sticking with the fundamentals, then I may sometimes earn the right to take some liberties. By liberties, I mean an interesting, different, creative and yes, sometimes flashy, fill. I may not have the best skills, the fastest hands or the fanciest equipment, but if I am getting the job done, and can continue to get the job done by respecting the fundamentals, then I can sometimes show off a little. Be creative. Do something to make the audience swoon. Have a drum solo. But I can only do this if I continue to remember the fundamentals.
By contrast, a drum machine is steady. A drum machine is programmed to stick with certain fundamentals. Some drummers are not as good as a drum machine. Some are better. But the bad drummers fail the fundamentals, no matter how fast and flashy they play. So what can make me preferable to a drum machine? Because I am human. I can do more than a drum machine. I can be creative. But it only works if I never forget the fundamentals. Otherwise, just go with the drum machine.
Why should anyone care about the philosophy of drumming, or guitar playing (the guitar player completely agreed with me)?
Because what is true for music is true for internet stocks, the housing market and the supply and demand for tulips. It’s fine, and beautifully human, to take some liberties with the regulations and the financial structures that frame those markets. It's great to make the people swoon. It's great to take liberties and be fast and flashy. But it only works if the fundamentals are respected. When they are not respected, the fundamentals don’t go away. Rather, they come crashing back into our reality and people get hurt. It’s not nice to mess with the fundamentals.
Where Have All the Really Good Enemies Gone?
This one does not appear to be quite the threat that we were told. We are at war after all. We need a new good enemy. Is North Korea still scary?
We need fresh fuel for the fear.
11/30/07
Bad News
". . . only 16 percent of born-again Christians, compared to 43 percent of Catholics and 30 percent of Protestants, believe in Darwin's theory of evolution."
Evolution is central to our understanding of how life works. It can be complex, particularly as we add to our scientific understanding, but it is very easy to grasp the basics. Here are two good sites that provide a wealth of information:
TalkOrigins
Understanding Evolution
But instead of educating Americans about the truth and beauty of the theory of evolution (as we supposedly do with the "3R's"), we confuse people with ignorant behavior and beliefs.
The bad news and undeniable truth is that religion encourages Americans to believe things that are not true and to deny things that are true. And America is among the most religious, and sometimes stupid, countries in the world.
I don't want to be anti-religious. I am simply anti-stupidity.
Should we continue to tolerate the massive denial of science and other true things because people's "freedom of religion" is protecting stupidity? I say believe what you want, but do not brainwash children and do not let your fantasies rule over truth, no matter how useful your lies may be.
This pisses me off. I don't want to have to tolerate or have respect for people's stupid beliefs. It just encourages others to cling to their stupid beliefs. For example, serious presidential candidate and Southern Baptist minister Huckabee said: "Oh, I believe in science. I certainly do," he said. "In fact, what I believe in is, I believe in God. I don't think there's a conflict between the two. But if there's going to be a conflict, science changes with every generation and with new discoveries and God doesn't. So I'll stick with God if the two are in conflict." At a recent debate, Huckabee proudly raised his hand when the moderator asked if any of the candidates believed in stupidity.
Perhaps the motivation for avoiding the study of evolution is the concern among many believers that it inexorably leads to athiesm, and then they will lose their salvation and risk an unpleasant eternity. I can understand that. In fact, many of the proponents of atheism, including Richard Dawkins in his book "The God Delusion", explicitly use evolution to disprove many of the arguments for the existence of God. Given the strong beliefs and assumptions about life held by many religious people, this may indeed be a compelling reason to shy away from scientific knowledge - in order to sustain your faith beliefs and, of course, pass on those beliefs to the children.
But is this motivation a good enough justification for avoiding the truth and promoting lies, such as Intelligent Design? I say no. I SHOUT NO! There simply has to be a better way. Some scientists who believe in God promote a philosophy of "God in the gaps", or Stephen J. Gould's "non-overlapping magisteria" (the "NOMA" view), wherein they feel that science and religion appropriately address different domains of knowledge and that therefore there is no necessary conflict between them so long as each sticks to its own domain. I don't find that very satisfactory. However, I think that, for now, this view will have to be sufficient as a way of moving our culture forward. But I am not the one who will have to make sacrifices. It is those with demonstratively false beliefs that will have to give ground. Give up the stupid fantasies and join me in embracing the beauty of evolution and scientific knowledge. In the meantime, those of us who truly believe in the importance of education, including science education, should be shouting from the rooftops to stop the madness.
By the way, an interesting debate on the phenomena of religion is here.
Click on comments below if you think I am stupid.
Evolution is central to our understanding of how life works. It can be complex, particularly as we add to our scientific understanding, but it is very easy to grasp the basics. Here are two good sites that provide a wealth of information:
TalkOrigins
Understanding Evolution
But instead of educating Americans about the truth and beauty of the theory of evolution (as we supposedly do with the "3R's"), we confuse people with ignorant behavior and beliefs.
The bad news and undeniable truth is that religion encourages Americans to believe things that are not true and to deny things that are true. And America is among the most religious, and sometimes stupid, countries in the world.
I don't want to be anti-religious. I am simply anti-stupidity.
Should we continue to tolerate the massive denial of science and other true things because people's "freedom of religion" is protecting stupidity? I say believe what you want, but do not brainwash children and do not let your fantasies rule over truth, no matter how useful your lies may be.
This pisses me off. I don't want to have to tolerate or have respect for people's stupid beliefs. It just encourages others to cling to their stupid beliefs. For example, serious presidential candidate and Southern Baptist minister Huckabee said: "Oh, I believe in science. I certainly do," he said. "In fact, what I believe in is, I believe in God. I don't think there's a conflict between the two. But if there's going to be a conflict, science changes with every generation and with new discoveries and God doesn't. So I'll stick with God if the two are in conflict." At a recent debate, Huckabee proudly raised his hand when the moderator asked if any of the candidates believed in stupidity.
Perhaps the motivation for avoiding the study of evolution is the concern among many believers that it inexorably leads to athiesm, and then they will lose their salvation and risk an unpleasant eternity. I can understand that. In fact, many of the proponents of atheism, including Richard Dawkins in his book "The God Delusion", explicitly use evolution to disprove many of the arguments for the existence of God. Given the strong beliefs and assumptions about life held by many religious people, this may indeed be a compelling reason to shy away from scientific knowledge - in order to sustain your faith beliefs and, of course, pass on those beliefs to the children.
But is this motivation a good enough justification for avoiding the truth and promoting lies, such as Intelligent Design? I say no. I SHOUT NO! There simply has to be a better way. Some scientists who believe in God promote a philosophy of "God in the gaps", or Stephen J. Gould's "non-overlapping magisteria" (the "NOMA" view), wherein they feel that science and religion appropriately address different domains of knowledge and that therefore there is no necessary conflict between them so long as each sticks to its own domain. I don't find that very satisfactory. However, I think that, for now, this view will have to be sufficient as a way of moving our culture forward. But I am not the one who will have to make sacrifices. It is those with demonstratively false beliefs that will have to give ground. Give up the stupid fantasies and join me in embracing the beauty of evolution and scientific knowledge. In the meantime, those of us who truly believe in the importance of education, including science education, should be shouting from the rooftops to stop the madness.
By the way, an interesting debate on the phenomena of religion is here.
Click on comments below if you think I am stupid.
11/20/07
11/1/07
Buffalo Values and the American Hero of our National Discourse
Why oh why can't we have a great national discourse equal to the potential greatness of American democracy?
Here is one insight.
"But that's what passes for being a "tough" interviewer these days: the pose of confrontation rather than genuinely challenging questions, the query designed to embarrass rather than enlighten, the worship of, rather than the challenge to, conventional wisdom. "
Here is one insight.
"But that's what passes for being a "tough" interviewer these days: the pose of confrontation rather than genuinely challenging questions, the query designed to embarrass rather than enlighten, the worship of, rather than the challenge to, conventional wisdom. "
10/23/07
Freedom
Freedom can be measured in numerous ways. The first way, which I prefer, is to start with the First Amendment to the US Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Take freedom of the press. What country has a less free press than North Korea? Entria now ranks last at #169. Burma is stuck at 164, but still ranks higher than Cuba and Iran. Iceland and Norway are tied for first.
The US is just under Nicaragua at #48.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Take freedom of the press. What country has a less free press than North Korea? Entria now ranks last at #169. Burma is stuck at 164, but still ranks higher than Cuba and Iran. Iceland and Norway are tied for first.
The US is just under Nicaragua at #48.
10/17/07
Still The Same
Still a shame. From today's press conference:
"QUESTION: Thank you, sir. A simple question.
"BUSH: Yes?
"QUESTION: What's your definition of --
"BUSH: It may require a simple answer.
"(LAUGHTER)
"QUESTION: What's your definition of the word torture?
"BUSH: Of what?
"QUESTION: The word torture, what's your definition?
"BUSH: That's defined in U.S. law, and we don't torture.
"QUESTION: Can you give me your version of it, sir?
"BUSH: No. Whatever the law says."
Naturally, "whatever the law says" is a secret.
"QUESTION: Thank you, sir. A simple question.
"BUSH: Yes?
"QUESTION: What's your definition of --
"BUSH: It may require a simple answer.
"(LAUGHTER)
"QUESTION: What's your definition of the word torture?
"BUSH: Of what?
"QUESTION: The word torture, what's your definition?
"BUSH: That's defined in U.S. law, and we don't torture.
"QUESTION: Can you give me your version of it, sir?
"BUSH: No. Whatever the law says."
Naturally, "whatever the law says" is a secret.
9/28/07
The Whole World Is You
"The whole world is you. Yet you keep thinking there is something else." --Hsueh-Feng
9/11/07
9/11
One year ago today, I gave a speech at my Toastmaster's club in Phoenix. While I spoke, I had two photographs circulating through the audience - one showing a close-up of a wall that had pictures of missing loved ones; the other was a panoramic picture of Manhattan at night with those two spotlights at ground zero shining high up into the sky. Several people in the audience told me that I should deliver this speech again on the sixth anniversary of September 11, 2001. Here it is:
Pictures on the Wall
I wrote a short song, but I won't sing. We'll call it a poem. I call it Pictures on the Wall.
Two lights into the sky
Where the towers once stood
It's night and I just sigh
This light does me no good
Two bright lights into the sky
Where the victims once stood
It's still night and I must cry
Is there hope for the good?
Oh, there came heroes, hope and strength
But I just see the pictures on the wall
While the fires burned for months
No reason, no reason at all
Yes, we had two bright lights shining proud and high
Up into that Manhattan sky
But I still see the pictures on the wall
While the fires burned for months
And we all just cried
It's still not over; we're not over it at all
I'll never be over the pictures on the wall
I'll never be over the pictures on the wall
My friends, a lot of time has passed, and we continue to be strong and have hope for the future. But I cannot forget. We meet on the fifth anniversary. Today I remember the pain. It is imprinted and easily felt. Today especially, after so frequently hearing it for such a long, long time, sometimes so carelessly tossed about, it actually hurts to say it or hear it. 9/11. September 11, 2001. I remember clearly. As we meet on this day, I need to connect to the raw feelings I felt on that day, five years ago. So I remember.
There is integrity in my feelings. It's authentic. I remember the purity of my anger and my agony. It's real. It's true. It's what I felt five years ago. It feels the same today. I need to remember, or eventually I might feel nothing at all. It's what we all need to do. Remember.
But there have been so many distractions. 9/11 dominates our foreign policies, our domestic policies, it's affecting our lives in many ways, whether expected or not. The first round of 9/11 movies has now been released. That's just the way it is. Like Pearl Harbor and the World War II generation, this tragedy and this era will spawn an industry, feeding our entertainment, our culture and our politics for generations. So much has become entangled with September 11, 2001. The images we share, the stories we tell, and the history we shape together will forever define that powerful day.
Our history, of course, is still being written. And the stories are still being told. Dramatic controversies, brutal wars and tough elections are constantly swirling around us. So many people live in fear. So many are pushing fear. All of this clamor can be dark and confusing. But my memory is distinct. It is bright and clear.
It is difficult to even have a conversation about 9/11. There are so many questions and so many opinions. How could this happen? Who can we trust? Where is the hope? There is so much noise; too many distractions. But my memory is always a comfort. It is true and clear.
I will not let this noise alter my connection to what happened. We got hit hard. Some lived through this, while many others, tragically, did not. But I was one of the victims. All of us are victims. Our children are victims. Their children may not remember, but I promise to remember my pain. It is still imprinted and easily felt.
Please, I implore you, on this day, to pay no attention to all the noise. Go back to that day. Remember, and feel, and let everything else go. Forget war. Forget the news. Ignore the voices telling you how you must react. Tomorrow, you can dive right back into the noise and swim wherever you like. But today, please don't take comfort from the distractions.
I challenge you: Face the feelings you had while you lived through this horrific act of terror. I say that we owe it to the victims, we owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to the generations to never forget. Why? Because the honesty and the clarity of our memories must live, and those memories must inform the future that we create. While we will, of course, engage in the noise as we grow together, we must never allow ourselves to get lost in fantasy and fear. We must not get lost in the noise. We must stay connected to the truth.
My memories connect me to what I know is real. So I have gone back, and I have said it out loud. Today, I remember the pictures on the wall while those damned fires burned for months, and we all just cried.
Time has gone by, and I am not over it. The pain is imprinted and searing.
Tomorrow, I'll see the two proud lights shining high into the sky.
Tomorrow, I will see hope.
But today is the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001. Today I remember.
Pictures on the Wall
I wrote a short song, but I won't sing. We'll call it a poem. I call it Pictures on the Wall.
Two lights into the sky
Where the towers once stood
It's night and I just sigh
This light does me no good
Two bright lights into the sky
Where the victims once stood
It's still night and I must cry
Is there hope for the good?
Oh, there came heroes, hope and strength
But I just see the pictures on the wall
While the fires burned for months
No reason, no reason at all
Yes, we had two bright lights shining proud and high
Up into that Manhattan sky
But I still see the pictures on the wall
While the fires burned for months
And we all just cried
It's still not over; we're not over it at all
I'll never be over the pictures on the wall
I'll never be over the pictures on the wall
My friends, a lot of time has passed, and we continue to be strong and have hope for the future. But I cannot forget. We meet on the fifth anniversary. Today I remember the pain. It is imprinted and easily felt. Today especially, after so frequently hearing it for such a long, long time, sometimes so carelessly tossed about, it actually hurts to say it or hear it. 9/11. September 11, 2001. I remember clearly. As we meet on this day, I need to connect to the raw feelings I felt on that day, five years ago. So I remember.
There is integrity in my feelings. It's authentic. I remember the purity of my anger and my agony. It's real. It's true. It's what I felt five years ago. It feels the same today. I need to remember, or eventually I might feel nothing at all. It's what we all need to do. Remember.
But there have been so many distractions. 9/11 dominates our foreign policies, our domestic policies, it's affecting our lives in many ways, whether expected or not. The first round of 9/11 movies has now been released. That's just the way it is. Like Pearl Harbor and the World War II generation, this tragedy and this era will spawn an industry, feeding our entertainment, our culture and our politics for generations. So much has become entangled with September 11, 2001. The images we share, the stories we tell, and the history we shape together will forever define that powerful day.
Our history, of course, is still being written. And the stories are still being told. Dramatic controversies, brutal wars and tough elections are constantly swirling around us. So many people live in fear. So many are pushing fear. All of this clamor can be dark and confusing. But my memory is distinct. It is bright and clear.
It is difficult to even have a conversation about 9/11. There are so many questions and so many opinions. How could this happen? Who can we trust? Where is the hope? There is so much noise; too many distractions. But my memory is always a comfort. It is true and clear.
I will not let this noise alter my connection to what happened. We got hit hard. Some lived through this, while many others, tragically, did not. But I was one of the victims. All of us are victims. Our children are victims. Their children may not remember, but I promise to remember my pain. It is still imprinted and easily felt.
Please, I implore you, on this day, to pay no attention to all the noise. Go back to that day. Remember, and feel, and let everything else go. Forget war. Forget the news. Ignore the voices telling you how you must react. Tomorrow, you can dive right back into the noise and swim wherever you like. But today, please don't take comfort from the distractions.
I challenge you: Face the feelings you had while you lived through this horrific act of terror. I say that we owe it to the victims, we owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to the generations to never forget. Why? Because the honesty and the clarity of our memories must live, and those memories must inform the future that we create. While we will, of course, engage in the noise as we grow together, we must never allow ourselves to get lost in fantasy and fear. We must not get lost in the noise. We must stay connected to the truth.
My memories connect me to what I know is real. So I have gone back, and I have said it out loud. Today, I remember the pictures on the wall while those damned fires burned for months, and we all just cried.
Time has gone by, and I am not over it. The pain is imprinted and searing.
Tomorrow, I'll see the two proud lights shining high into the sky.
Tomorrow, I will see hope.
But today is the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001. Today I remember.
8/25/07
Freeeeeeedom!
Freedom to Hate!
Where does the hate come from? From all of us, in ways big and small.
How does it get incited? In a million little ways. Alone, or in a crowd, it grows, validated sometimes by the popularity of the source.
How does it end? Call it out for the bullshit it is when you can.
I used to like Nugent. Back in the 70's.
Full rant transcript in comments.
Where does the hate come from? From all of us, in ways big and small.
How does it get incited? In a million little ways. Alone, or in a crowd, it grows, validated sometimes by the popularity of the source.
How does it end? Call it out for the bullshit it is when you can.
I used to like Nugent. Back in the 70's.
Full rant transcript in comments.
8/24/07
8/22/07
George Bush Makes Sense
Quotes:
"A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear and the victory must be overwhelming." Source
"Our nation should be slow to engage troops. But when we do so, we must do so with ferocity. We must not go into a conflict unless we go in committed to win. We can never again ask the military to fight a political war” Source
Too bad he said these things before he became President.
"A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear and the victory must be overwhelming." Source
"Our nation should be slow to engage troops. But when we do so, we must do so with ferocity. We must not go into a conflict unless we go in committed to win. We can never again ask the military to fight a political war” Source
Too bad he said these things before he became President.
8/21/07
Forgive The Progress
A tiny slice of a possible future reality, here.
I struggle agreeing that "The printed page is giving way to the networked screen.", per the site's mission statement.
Then again . . . .
What is a book, now?
Has it been fading to history? The age of the printing press will have only ruled for five or so centuries?
And before the book, it was elite hand-written manuscripts. Those wonderful royals, and scholars, and monks. Consider the era of the early Bible - those manuscripts were so special and in the hands of so few. So sad the loss to a way a life with the coming of the press. Pardon the pun intended.
What becomes of the perfect civilization they (we) have invented?
Before the written words, there was language. Before that, there were only simple symbols and sounds. For hundreds of thousands of years, the way these animals we are could make do - and make do we did - was by asserting our clever ways, sharing ideas, adapting for millenia and using the basics at hand: sticks and stones, rock tablets, pictures, cave drawings, art, dances, songs, stories and grunts. Communication perfection. So sad for the sudden loss of status for the artists and storytellers when the change set in to finally culture us with words and grammer. Another loss of another way of life. And the horror! we surely felt with the next change - refinement from the printed books. Now the gutwrenching information age changes are upon us, with the final empowerment of universal knowledge. More barriers come crashing down.
Broadband for all! (Freedom for all? Equal justice for all?)
We will change. In huge ways, like we always did before. Changes bring change; it's not that hard to understand. Or is it?
So of course we should we embrace the change, as we inevitably will, right? Or, shouldn't we fight for a while longer to go back to (stay in?) the stone age?
The answer: Forgive the progress, but never forget.
I love the past and I love the future. And so do you.
A good book in the right room is forever. It's something to read and hold, to smell the age of the pages, to see the dancing and the faces of the characters in your imagination. The warm fire is crackling and lightening the words. You flow in the glow and remember. (But surfing the net and drowning in the data is nearing nirvana.)
Another warm image: a vinyl record album, with it's wonderful cover and inner sleeves - some with lyrics you can actually read without help from Walgreens. (But downloading the latest song is pretty good too - better even: I can color laser print the album art to frame for my music room. Never done it, actually, but I could.)
All precious memories, before the times of changes. Those singers and storytellers and writers. I love them still. And sticks and stones, and dance, and art, and I always love to grunt.
Now as we get dragged through yet another time of change, in our inexorable march to greater cultural sophistication, technological mastery and magically coordinated cooperation (Adam Smith's invisible hand and our collective brain), we will decide to take those single steps on our longest journey, sometimes blind and bloated and bleating all the way. We post the words to our little pages during our short stay - always staying within the natural narrative of the story of humanity. We have always done so, and we are always glad we did. We move forward. It's who we are.
Some say - but it's another long story for another long day - that we are all marching toward the singularity, and soon. Maybe.
What I know is that ideas grow and then live forever. The basics we use in our own age are special to us. They will be treasured, even if they no longer lead the way, even if we let them fade away. What has been lasting is humanity.
But still, our ways will always flow, and ebb, and stop or grow. We build on what was past, and make it better. Deep down in our genes and in flowing through our memes, we appreciate that. We know; we are proud of the civilization we are inventing. And we smile at our pictures of the past. Tonight, I'll have happy dreams of how my child self stayed up too late with E.B. White. After I post this on my blog. Weird.
Oh, the knowledge and memories that we enjoyed, and that our progeny will treasure their way during their times.
Books and songs and all our things. They just keep changing. We are born and we die and we each witness a small slice of reality - only a page from the human story. Over the long term, haven't these changes been for the better? After all, we are the best we can be.
Then again . . . .
What is a book, now?
Has it been fading to history? The age of the printing press will have only ruled for five or so centuries?
And before the book, it was elite hand-written manuscripts. Those wonderful royals, and scholars, and monks. Consider the era of the early Bible - those manuscripts were so special and in the hands of so few. So sad the loss to a way a life with the coming of the press. Pardon the pun intended.
What becomes of the perfect civilization they (we) have invented?
Before the written words, there was language. Before that, there were only simple symbols and sounds. For hundreds of thousands of years, the way these animals we are could make do - and make do we did - was by asserting our clever ways, sharing ideas, adapting for millenia and using the basics at hand: sticks and stones, rock tablets, pictures, cave drawings, art, dances, songs, stories and grunts. Communication perfection. So sad for the sudden loss of status for the artists and storytellers when the change set in to finally culture us with words and grammer. Another loss of another way of life. And the horror! we surely felt with the next change - refinement from the printed books. Now the gutwrenching information age changes are upon us, with the final empowerment of universal knowledge. More barriers come crashing down.
Broadband for all! (Freedom for all? Equal justice for all?)
We will change. In huge ways, like we always did before. Changes bring change; it's not that hard to understand. Or is it?
So of course we should we embrace the change, as we inevitably will, right? Or, shouldn't we fight for a while longer to go back to (stay in?) the stone age?
The answer: Forgive the progress, but never forget.
I love the past and I love the future. And so do you.
A good book in the right room is forever. It's something to read and hold, to smell the age of the pages, to see the dancing and the faces of the characters in your imagination. The warm fire is crackling and lightening the words. You flow in the glow and remember. (But surfing the net and drowning in the data is nearing nirvana.)
Another warm image: a vinyl record album, with it's wonderful cover and inner sleeves - some with lyrics you can actually read without help from Walgreens. (But downloading the latest song is pretty good too - better even: I can color laser print the album art to frame for my music room. Never done it, actually, but I could.)
All precious memories, before the times of changes. Those singers and storytellers and writers. I love them still. And sticks and stones, and dance, and art, and I always love to grunt.
Now as we get dragged through yet another time of change, in our inexorable march to greater cultural sophistication, technological mastery and magically coordinated cooperation (Adam Smith's invisible hand and our collective brain), we will decide to take those single steps on our longest journey, sometimes blind and bloated and bleating all the way. We post the words to our little pages during our short stay - always staying within the natural narrative of the story of humanity. We have always done so, and we are always glad we did. We move forward. It's who we are.
Some say - but it's another long story for another long day - that we are all marching toward the singularity, and soon. Maybe.
What I know is that ideas grow and then live forever. The basics we use in our own age are special to us. They will be treasured, even if they no longer lead the way, even if we let them fade away. What has been lasting is humanity.
But still, our ways will always flow, and ebb, and stop or grow. We build on what was past, and make it better. Deep down in our genes and in flowing through our memes, we appreciate that. We know; we are proud of the civilization we are inventing. And we smile at our pictures of the past. Tonight, I'll have happy dreams of how my child self stayed up too late with E.B. White. After I post this on my blog. Weird.
Oh, the knowledge and memories that we enjoyed, and that our progeny will treasure their way during their times.
Books and songs and all our things. They just keep changing. We are born and we die and we each witness a small slice of reality - only a page from the human story. Over the long term, haven't these changes been for the better? After all, we are the best we can be.
8/16/07
What is Reality
Not exactly Matrix, more like SimCity.
"Dr. Bostrom assumes that technological advances could produce a computer with more processing power than all the brains in the world, and that advanced humans, or “posthumans,” could run “ancestor simulations” of their evolutionary history by creating virtual worlds inhabited by virtual people with fully developed virtual nervous systems. "
Doesn't really change anything though; it's real to me, to us, irrespective of a Prime Designer, or not.
"Dr. Bostrom assumes that technological advances could produce a computer with more processing power than all the brains in the world, and that advanced humans, or “posthumans,” could run “ancestor simulations” of their evolutionary history by creating virtual worlds inhabited by virtual people with fully developed virtual nervous systems. "
Doesn't really change anything though; it's real to me, to us, irrespective of a Prime Designer, or not.
8/12/07
Non-Trivial Paragraph
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
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