Status:
The sun is out and all my friends are going on about how the sun is out with big smiles on their faces (or big smiley emojis, because let’s face it I don’t see people in person much these days). I’m happy for them but can’t share their unbridled enthusiasm. Sure, it’s nice to be outside when it’s warm and not-wet, and as someone who gets up late I’m looking forward to lighter evenings, but I’ve never been one of those people that gets SAD. I’m this grumpy all year round.
I think today would normally have been a crash day as it had some of the signs. But it wasn’t a crash day. I can cautiously say I’m flattening the curve (to coin a phrase) on my boom and bust cycle.
I’m mildly obsessing over how annoyed I was with the first two episodes of Paradise, so much so I’m tempted to watch it out of spite. Hopefully I’ll get over this soon.
Overnight listening:
Reading:
- Catherine Opie and her astonishing photographs of queer America. - that photo of Diana Nyad is amazing.
- 25 years of iPod brain - I could (and maybe should) write a short book about how mp3s changed how I engaged with music over the 2000s, and how that suddenly stoped with effects I’m not too happy about.
- Why attack Iran? - “Given the stupefyingly overt corruption of the Trump administration, one must ask whether the United States armed forces are now being used on a per-hire basis."
- The last idiot who earnestly believes in the American Experiment. (via) and Learn With Ms Rachel review – undoubtedly the TV event of the year for millions of us - both of these address something I’ve been pondering today. Why do we teach kids a very specific distinction of right and wrong and then, as they turn into adults, do everything we can to dissuade them of this?
- Intelligent Life of Earth - “The more something is repeated, the more true it is. It’s why propaganda is so successful."
Clearing the tabs
I’ve had these open in my browser for over a week but haven’t had the capacity to digest them properly for posting above, so I’m declaring bankruptcy and posting them un-read. Having skimmed the intros I’m pretty sure they’re worth reading, but even so, click at your own risk.
- A.I. Isn’t People - How many Reddit posts does it take to learn to read?
- How did we end up threatening our kids’ lives with AI? and Taking action against AI harms by Anil Dash
- “In 2016, there was no way any of us could have charged for a link round-up.” - Delia Cai, writer of Deez Links
- What technology takes from us – and how to take it back | Rebecca Solnit
- Will Fungi Thwart the Destructive Rise of the Anthropocene?
- The Kingdom of Misfits
- What does it mean to make something?
- New Ferality - Seeking new ways of being wild in new nature
- Centrist imaginations - on Bari Weiss and The Free Press
- Fifty Years Ago, Kraftwerk Talked Tape, Paranoia and the Human Machine
- Another London, by Hari Kunzru - Excavating the disenchanted city
- Inside voice: what can our thoughts reveal about the nature of consciousness?
- The Slow Death of the Power User
- What is a token - AI is meant to seem like magic. But there’s no such thing as magic. It’s all illusion. So, allow me to spoil that illusion for you.
- Actually, the left is winning the AI debate
Watching:
- Noah Kalina: Holes in the Archive (20:57) - talking about the Farm Security Administration photo archive.
- GERALD YOUTUBE VIDEO (19:45) - Twenty minutes of Gerald potting on his seedlings.