Plague Poems – The Sixtieth Week
Were we asleepwe could be forgivenfor believing dreamsto be realityfor babbling nonsensefor the havoc causedby our snoring somnambulismsleepers cannot be blamedfor what they doalas we who are awakehave no excuse. … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Ninth Week
Though the plague continueslife has returnedto normal(in very many places)for normalis the description we useto describe our worldwhen the crises that surround ushave ceased to be extraordinaryand have instead becomethe … Continue reading
They meant well (or, why it matters who gets to be seen as a “tech critic”)
“We need technology to live, as we need food to live. But, of course, if we eat too much food, or eat food that has no nutritional value, or eat … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Eighth Week
Whenever I hear it saidthat the time has cometo take off our masks(at least when out of doors)I prepare myselffor the plague to continueeven longer. * Our impatiencein the springwill … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Seventh Week
Begin every weekby telling yourselfthat perhapsnext weekwill mark the plague’s end. With such an attitudeyou can find the resolveto continue trudging aheaduntil you find yourselfat the start of next weekwhen … Continue reading
Plague Poems – the Fifty Sixth Week
The less we speak about the plaguethe more we sayabout the plague times. * Only a cynic refuses to be impressed by the well executed cleanup that occurs in the … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Fifth Week
Forgive meI do not meanto ruin your weekwhen it has only justbegunbut you should knowthat the case number(yet again)are rising. * After more than a yearunhappily stuckinsidehow easy it isto … Continue reading
Progress for the status quo – on the Chamber of Progress
“There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloaking ourselves in technological glory.” – Neil Postman A … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Fourth Week
That which makesthe tragedy unbearableis that the worldcarries on. That which makesthe tragedy bearableis that the world carries on. * Two signs hangin the shop’s windowthe first reads“mask required for … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Third Week
Let not your excitementfor your impending vaccinationconvince youthat this avoidable tragedythat this historic failureshould in any waybe hailedas a success. * When first they told meto stay homeI was willing … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-Second Week
It is not that this week marks the anniversary of the plague but that this week marks the anniversary of our no longer being able to pretend that the plague … Continue reading
Broom-Scrolling? Assume-Scrolling? Bloom-Scrolling? – what comes after Doom-Scrolling?
“The true path is along a rope, not a rope suspended way up in the air, but rather only just over the ground. It seems more like a tripwire than … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifty-First Week
Though words of warning had been spoken they were said at a low volume you can be forgiven for failing to hear them over the loud assurances not to worry … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fiftieth Week
Some outlets claim that half a million have died as of yesterday. Some outlets will claim that half a million have died by this day’s end. Some scholars quietly suspect … Continue reading
“into the lifeboats” – a review of Nomadland
“You could not have been born at a better period than the present, when we have lost everything.” – Simone Weil Having been forced to flee, a weary traveler returns … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Ninth Week
In the winter it becomes dry so very dry in my apartment the skin on my hands cracks my throat grows raspy every winter I intend to but forget to … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Eighth Week
It is unwise to celebrate in the lifeboat mistake not your relief at being plucked from the waters with the safety of the shore you remain at sea and lifeboats … Continue reading
How to keep from getting distracted when you are trying to read
There is far too much going on these days. Truly, the world is being very inconsiderate. How can someone like yourself be expected to get any reading done when there … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Seventh Week
After so many weeks spent huddled indoors it is a strange pleasure to stay inside buried under blankets drinking hot beverages watching the world through your windows yet it is … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Sixth Week
Eventually a week will begin the way they used to with you rushing out the front door keys in hand already late hot coffee burning your hand as it spills … Continue reading
The joke was on us – reflections on Trump’s presidency
“There is laughter because there is nothing to laugh about. Laughter, whether reconciled or terrible, always accompanies the moment when fear is ended. It indicates a release, whether from physical … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Fifth Week
That you have become so accustomed to waiting for the world to get worse does not adequately prepare you for the moments when your fears come true. * In my … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Fourth Week
Where once every ten thousand deaths gave rise to despairing cries as such large round numbers easily quantified the tragedy eventually four zeroes no longer proved shocking and now ten … Continue reading
Authoritarian and Democratic Technics, revisited
“The viability of technology, like democracy, depends in the end on the practice of justice and on the enforcement of limits to power.” – Ursula Franklin I. Is technology a … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Third Week
Some claim that we should be thankful to be in a new year but thus far the only thing that has changed is the date I have written on my … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-Second Week
Every winter sickness finds me though I get the flu shot take vitamin C supplements and always wear many layers every single winter sickness finds me this I try to … Continue reading
My Favorite Books from 2020
“The only thing that goes against my pessimism is the fact that we still carry on thinking today.” – Max Horkheimer 2020 was a really great year…for books. For just … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Forty-First Week
You need not say thank you to those who threw you overboard to those who told you to tread water to those who left you to drown simply because they … Continue reading
A Hell of a Year – Reflections on 2020
“I do not believe that things will turn out well, but the idea that they might is of decisive importance.” – Max Horkheimer 2020 was a hell of a year. … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fortieth Week
There have always been disasters made by men what sets this moment apart is that we know the names of the men who allowed this to become a disaster. * … Continue reading
