I don’t share Alexie’s convictions in today’s WORK, or at least I’m not convinced it is necessarily so. Give the usual nod to the predictable irony that I learned of this poem—and enjoyed Alexie’s reading (he’s a fantastic writer)—on…Facebook.
WORK
“The Facebook Sonnet”
Welcome to the endless high-school
Reunion. Welcome to past friends
And lovers, however kind or cruel.
Let’s undervalue and unmend
The present. Why can’t we pretend
Every stage of life is the same?
Let’s exhume, resume, and extend
Childhood. Let’s all play the games
That occupy the young. Let fame
And shame intertwine. Let one’s search
For God become public domain.
Let church.com become our church.
Let’s sign up, sign in, and confess
Here at the altar of loneliness.
—Sherman Alexie
—from “Moyers & Company” broadcast watch and listen
WORD(S)
sousveillance /soo-VAY-ləns/. noun. A play on the French words sur (above) and sous (below), sousveillance is essentally “undersight”, surveillance from below (the hierarchy) rather than above. It is the recording of an activity by a participant in the activity, typically by way of small wearable or portable personal technologies." More broadly, it refers to people doing the watching rather than governments or other organizations watching from above. Even if you’re too busy doing last-minute shopping—or perhaps especially if you are busy doing last-minute shopping—you can participate in World Sousveillance Day on Christmas Eve.
“Mann further distinguishes between two forms of sousveillance: in-band, which arises from within an organization, and out-of-band, which is external to the organization and frequently arises from the perceived failure of surveillance mechanisms within institutions. It is not coincidental that ‘citizens videotaping police brutality and sending copies to news media’ is used as an example of the latter form.” (Torin Monahan)
“Sousveillance isn’t just a response to surveillance, it is the wellspring of freedom.” (David Brin)
WEB
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Not sure about “worst” but…umm…not good. → The 23 Worst Children’s Book Titles In The World
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“…though it will be tempting to dismiss Ex Machina as a kind of nihilist Weird Science wallpapered over with intellectual pretensions, Garland also genuinely grapples with ideas about artificial intelligence and technology.” → Maria Bustillos on the new movie Ex Machina
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“…the most perfectly surrealist works of literature are the type samples issued by the great type foundries of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.” → “The Dawn of Surrealism”
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Today in 1992, four Los Angeles Police Department officers are acquitted on charges of excessive force in the beating of Rodney King, sparking riots that would result in “53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses.” It’s hard to process the events in Baltimore—and so many other places—23 years after this decision and as we approach the anniversary of the murder of two Alaska State Troopers, one of whom was a friend and a good man. Deep waters.
WATCH/WITNESS
Untitled, Atlanta, 1984. Photo by Harry Callahan.
See more of Callahan’s work online from the George Eastman House and the Pace/MacGill Gallery.
REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES
- Reader B. puts forth a candidate: “‘Crooning a low threnody to her pawky trade.’ I’d nominate this for a contest to determine The Ultimate Cormac McCarthy Sentence.” — That might be a contest I need to figure out how to run. So many candidates…and I need to think of an appropriate prize.
I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback and all manner of what-have-you. Just press ‘Reply’ or email to: clippings@katexic.com.
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