I’ve been buying books for a while and whilst this is always a good thing, I thought that it would be enjoyable, and useful, to revisit or to read for the first time, some of the classic novels and books that are made available on the free ebook site like Standard Books or Project Gutenberg.
Recently I downloaded an ebook of short fiction by E. M. Forster with the intent to read The Machine Stops. Which I did in very short time.
Given this was published in 1909, and despite its failure to see some of the inventions that followed its publication over the decades, it is eerily prescient in its presentation of a dystopian vision of being run by “the machine”. When you consider the current oligarchy, the surveillance capitalism, and the concentration of power of the everyday lives of billions exerted by a handful of individuals with no elected authority or accountability (beyond losing a few dollars on the share) it is food for thought.
And even the lecturers acquiesced when they found that a lecture on the sea was none the less stimulating when compiled out of other lectures that had already been delivered on the same subject. “Beware of firsthand ideas!” exclaimed one of the most advanced of them.
“Offload your thinking for the machine to do, and free your mind to think other things.”
Those that do end up not thinking anything.
Trickle-down economics was just Trickle-down fascism.
I hope you can see that now.
Avignon : A photo essay
I spend far too much time reading. Reading books, articles, blogs. So much so, I don’t produce enough of my own stuff. So, inspired by a blog I just read, I thought I’d write a quick photo essay.
Recently, I had to make a journey to Avignon in the south of France. One day, I was at a loose end, and being not far from the center, and it also being the festival of Avignon, I took a couple of hours to have a walk around the old town and take a couple of street photos. I’m not a photographer, and I don’t have a decent camera any more. So the shots were all taken on an iPhone 14 Pro. Not the greatest in the world. To make things more interesting, I decided not to deviate from the default focal length and shot in black and white (set in the camera app), but in DNG in case I wanted to have an image in colour. All the photos have been cropped and only lightly edited to bring out shadows or highlights.
I like the idea of self-imposed constraints to try to force me to look harder for more interesting images and place myself more thoughtfully when taking a shot.
A local had given me a tip about where I could park for free and take a free park-and-ride bus that would drop me off near one of the ancient entrances to the fortress city. I was so close, I could have walked. Which is what I did on the way back.
Entering the city, it was obvious why Avignon is considered a beautiful place to visit. The streets are narrow, full of character, and full of characters. After a short walk, I stopped at this square. The geometrical shapes of the spire, the trees and the onlooking buildings felt like a good opportunity. I’m a little shy and don’t like imposing myself too much, so this felt like a good loosener shot to try.
The beauty of Avignon is the myriad of small alleys and back ways that are all over the city. This felt like a good opportunity to take a photo with people, without breaching privacy too much. I liked the shadows and texture of this shot.
In another square, a couple of musicians were busking. They were also promoting that evening’s show in one of the seemingly hundreds of venues that were hosting performances during the festival. Sadly, I only had a couple of hours free, but I did drop a couple of coins into the hat as a thank you for them letting me photograph them.
I don’t know why I looked at this door, or why it attracted me at the time. I think it was about the shadows. I liked the inverted L-shape of the shadow from the sun of the afternoon, casting a contrast on an already dark door. You can’t see it in black and white, but the door was virtually back in colour. I liked that it had posters all around the frame too.
Another geometrically interesting shot of another corner of a square. Nothing amazing. I just liked the details, shadows, and shapes. The plants add another layer of texture that the walls of the building can’t, making for another interesting contrast.
I’ve never tried this idea before. Namely, taking a shot from low down to emphasise the street and the cobbles. I think it turned out OK, but I think it is a little over exposed, washing some of that beautiful cobble texture out. Another edit might help. I’ll see.
Another alleyway shot. This time, three protagonists. Each looking in a different direction. The gentle curvature suggests a gentle exit. The sitters were previously talking to the man leaving the scene, so I waited a couple of seconds for him to start walking before taking a snap. Luckily, I captured the moment the woman looked at me and her friend was still looking at her, whilst the gentleman walked away.
I really like this shot, but I think that a different crop, slightly tighter, could add more to it.
Once funds permit, I’d like to purchase a new camera, but that won’t be for some time yet.
I want a small rangefinder and am torn between a couple of ideas. Leica D-Lux 8, or a Fujifilm X100vi / Fujifilm X-E5 with a pancake prime.
If you have not been to Avignon, and you have the chance, you should go without hesitation. A lovely place, even if you have no intention of taking photos.
Everyone is a grifter now. And I fucking hate it.
If it’s not “merch”, it’s “Buy my course” (… on how to grift). It is “Go to my Patreon to get exclusive ‘content’”, who gives a fuck?
Have you seen the tidal wave of videos on YouTube (and other video services) that basically lie to your face about what they are?
“This one thing changes everything.” No, it doesn’t.
“Hilarious …” (mildly amusing).
“The truth about …” That’s a lie.
“The genius morning routine that changed my life”. No, it didn’t.
“First time hearing …”. No, it isn’t you liar.
“Game changing …”. Slight improvement on something inconsequential.
“… DESTROYS …”. Grow up, you fucking child.
“World’s best EDC setup”. Scouts is for kids (and trainee perverts).
Content creator has to be one of the most odious lies people tell themselves when putting out stuff on the Internet. You’re not a “content creator”. You’re not even a creator. You’re a cog in a machine that atomises and devalues you, your art, and all the people that might interact with you.
I fucking hate it.
Just when you thought that Mark Zuckerberg couldn’t possibly become a more odious specimen than he currently is…
Zuckerberg wants Meta to launch its own prediction market, report says
Prediction markets are the worst form of gambling that not only deliberately and systematically hide the consequences, funnel winnings to the top, buy they actively incentivise poor behaviour at the highest levels, with deathly consequences, creating self-fulfilling prophecies that have absolutely nothing to do with “prediction”.1 I doubt they are legal in Europe. But I also doubt we are not doing enough to ensure their cancerous nature is not expanding in Europe, which is already polluted (beyond repair?) by irresponsible and dangerous gambling sites.
We are in very dangerous times.
If you’re offloading meeting transcriptions to your ai of choice, you’d better be hyper-vigilant of the output generated, as it will inevitably attribute something it made up as your speech, and if it goes down in record you’re going to have a hard time walking that back.
It could cost you dearly.
The low-level anxiety that today’s tech causes is a problem that we should all be mindful of, and put in place strategies to deal with.
I used to be enthusiastic when a new tech product was announced.
Now I am immediately sceptical, looking for how it is going to lock me in, sell my personal information, trick me into ever-increasing payments, threaten me with DCMA if I dare to ‘modify’ it to my uses, … The list goes on.
The irony of the Meta (née Facebook) employee’s outcry at being surveilled by their employer is fascinating.
What did you think you were building?
“… And then they came for me
And there was no one left
…”
Just wait and see. Once the current era of political turmoil in the US is over, the Cyberlibertarians will use the authoritarian bent of this government as a ‘proof’ that governments should stay away from them, using the same sleight of hand of that idiotic Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace “… I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”1
But they are hoping that you forget that they themselves were the biggest enablers of an authoritarian and neofascist government. Don’t let them. Call them out at every opportunity. Laugh in their faces at their abject stupidity. Castrate them financially. Actively boycott anything that they are involved in. They deserve worse, but we can only exercise the legal tools we have at our disposal.
Never forget.
-
The fact that the EFF still uncritically publish it on their website is a sign of where they really are politically. It’s a fucking disgrace and they should annotate it with the subsequent critiques that show how it is not worth the electrical current powering the pixels on your screen. (I refuse to link to it). ↩︎
Just a timely and helpful flow chart, if you’re thinking of doing it:
