5IT, 12/1
1. The fact is: Silicon Valley is a Democratic stronghold.
"Even the GOP acknowledges it has plenty of work to do to woo Silicon Valley. 'If you look historically at who people donate to, it’s really been 9 or 10 to 1, Democrat to Republican — we haven’t done as well,' said [Rand] Paul, who has been working to set up a new West Coast outpost. But the senator stressed the GOP still has plenty to offer, especially on tax issues that matter to tech titans’ bottom lines."
2. A list of interesting questions to ask about the morality and politics of technologies.
"33. What are the potential harms to myself, others, or the world that might result from my use of this technology?
34. Upon what systems, technical or human, does my use of this technology depend? Are these systems just?
35. Does my use of this technology encourage me to view others as a means to an end?
36. Does using this technology require me to think more or less?
37. What would the world be like if everyone used this technology exactly as I use it?
38. What risks will my use of this technology entail for others? Have they consented?
39. Can the consequences of my use of this technology be undone? Can I live with those consequences?
40. Does my use of this technology make it easier to live as if I had no responsibilities toward my neighbor?
41. Can I be held responsible for the actions which this technology empowers? Would I feel better if I couldn’t?"
"The smell of creosote is the first premonition of rain in the Mojave. It stinks, until you learn to associate it with rain, and then it takes on a kind of magic. The leaves of the creosote bush produce the smell, a potent resin that drips onto the ground with the downpour and acts as an herbicide against competing plants. The smell is more reliable than weather reports."
"With words such as ‘organism’, ‘cell’, ‘fabric’ and ‘regeneration’, Japan’s Metabolist movement articulated a distinct and idiosyncratic aesthetic for their projects and defined a new architectural vocabulary. Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower is an exemplary expression of this vocabulary. However, from the moment of its completion in 1972, the utopian structure was a fascinating yet wholly anachronistic remnant of a past future, struggling to survive. In 2013, we had the opportunity to live there for almost a year, to share the experience of everyday life in the building with its remaining residents."
5. A three-month production for an audience of one.
"When I Left the House it Was Still Dark (2013) was a long durational, ephemeral performance made for an audience of one. The creative process for this performance, as with other Odyssey Works projects, is an act of attentiveness and devotion. The team spends several months studying the participant before beginning to compose a set of experiences designed to move him or her in a profound way. By immersing themselves in the life of an individual and creating fully participatory experiences, Odyssey Works establishes a new paradigm for the relationship between artist and audience. Traversing theater, literature, visual art, music, dance, dream analysis, web hacking, and a myriad of other forms, Odyssey Works has been creating performances for an audience of one for more than a dozen years, inserting themselves into the lives of individuals, hoping to change one life at a time. Between the months of July and September 2013, Odyssey Works created a performance specifically for Rick Moody, an author living in New York City."
Today's 1957 American English Language Tip
copulative, (Gram.): 'linking.' Copulative verbs are such as, like the chief of them, to be, join a complement to the subject (He is king; we grow wiser); among them are included the passives of factitive verbs (This is considered the best). Copulative conjunctions are those that make a combination (and), NOT a contrast or alternative (but).
The Credits: 1. politico.com 2. thefrailestthing.com 3. boingboing.com 4. failedarchitecture.com / @agpublic 5. mai-hudson.org
The Smell Is More Reliable