“doom loops”

A Satyr's day . . . a tiny bit cooler today here in TulseyTown . . .

“… when we’re talking about “neo-monarchical” Trumpists, I’m working on purging the word “conservative” from my vocabulary. Because that’s not what they are.” – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, August 2, 2024. BTW, the article contains a link to an excellent video discussion.

Technologies that promise progress actually creates regress. It gives you stale bread when you want a fresh loaf. Cultural “doom loops” are everywhere. – Ted Gioia

McLuhan warned us: moving forward at the speed of light while navigating in the rear view mirror of an old Ford is not to be recommended.

The Earth is About Used Up

like a sodden tampon & no place to throw it away

… I'm trying to drunkenly steer through

potholed streets into the suburban garage

of your ears though you probably already

know what's upwith the earth,

but I'm telling you because

because because because because because

The earth is about used up.

– Kim Addonizio, Now We're Getting Somewhere: Poems, Norton, 2021.

Face time . . .

It's Freya's day . . .

“Say it to my face . . .” – Kamala Harris, summarizing Trump's withdrawal from his commitment to debate her. In Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American

. . . people are going to notice that Trump loves 130-word sentences with no discernable subject or predicate. Vanity prevents him from wearing glasses so he can’t read the teleprompter and so he keeps giving the same 90-minute rant. . . . Well, whatever. Taylor [Swift], do your duty and wear a Harris button and let’s get this done. – Garrison Keillor

A milestone birthday: James Baldwin was born on this date 100 years ago. Here's another look at his legacy.

Time Lapsed

Grizzled grey old man ——

ball capped, beak-nosed and silent

—— listens to a tune in his head,

contemplates his coffee keeping time

with his thumb on the rim.

Woolworth waitress wrapped in today's winter coat sale:

She will take him home.
— jab

Hope is a thing with feathers, because . . .

It's Odin's day . . . using a Xerox for the weather heat-hammer . . .

Hope is not a wish, but an intention.

Today in 1944, the author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry disappeared while flying reconnaissance for the Allies. He's remembered as the author of the classic The Little Prince.

Poet and novelist Kim Addonizio turns 70 today. Another of my fave/influencers, she was born in 1954 Washington, D.C.

And, J.K. Rowling turns 59. She was born in 1965, Yate, near Bristol, England

Here Are 52 Reasons to Fear that Technological Progress Is Reversing – Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker

I really like feeling something when I stagger into a poem

& having a place to lie down & cry.

– Kim Addonizio, Now We're Getting Somewhere: Poems, Norton, 2021.