neonvincent

My comment on Retrotopia: A Change of Habit

@Dan The Farmer: "[B]ecause I have no taste and my clothing ranges from quirky to functional, I'm concerned I might be taken for a hipster. This worries me." Maybe, but I doubt it as you probably lack the irony inherent in their fashion sense. Even so, it could be worse. You could be dressed like one of the Steampunk fans ejected from San Diego area mall. The mall used rules designed to keep gang members out. The middle-class and mostly middle-aged people were astonished that those rules were used on them. Ah, the privatizing of the commons! Speaking of gang members, I wonder if they'd be as upset that the FBI declared the fans of Insane Clown Posse, a hip-hop band, a gang? The band was so outraged that they sued the FBI on behalf of their fans. A lot of the discrimination they allege was also based on the fan's clothing. As I wrote, it could be worse.

My comment on Syriasly.

The reaction on the left-leaning blogs I've read to Putin's initiative in Syria can best be summed up as "please proceed Mr. Putin." They think that Assad is Russia's problem and they're looking forward to someone else doing the dirty work of cleaning up ISIS/The Sith Jihad. That Putin doing so instead of us pisses off the neoconservatives and other interventionists is just frosting on the cake to them. In addition, at least some in the progressive blogosphere are hoping that Syria turns into a quagmire for Russia. Better them than us!

On the domestic front, I hope all of you on the East Coast are weathering--pun intended--the heavy rains from Hurricane Joaquin. We even got some here in Michigan Saturday and Sunday, but the main effect as far as the locals were concerned was Michigan-Maryland game being moved up eight hours to avoid the worst of the storm. Ah, Americans and their screwed up priorities!

My comment on A Landscape of Dreams

Your observations about computers causing more problems than they solve when it comes to employment is one of Crack's 5 Shocking Ways The World Is About To Change. Even the futurists who don't truck with what they see as doomerism agree that computerization is one of the major things that is driving down employment. The author also implicates computers in decreasing privacy and people giving up power for convenience, resulting a major shift in power. About the only future trend that is neither completely appalling nor computer driven involves insects as a food of the future. That last might be healthier for both people and the planet; profit may be another matter entirely.

On the topic of the second half of the essay, the reaction on the left-leaning blogs I've read to Putin's initiative in Syria can best be summed up as "please proceed Mr. Putin." They think that Assad is Russia's problem and they're looking forward to someone else doing the dirty work of cleaning up ISIS/The Sith Jihad. That Putin doing so instead of us pisses off the neonconservatives and other interventionists is just frosting on the cake to them. In addition, at least some in the progressive blogosphere are hoping that Syria turns into a quagmire for Russia. Better them than us!

My comment on Bang, You’re Dead

Our host did a good job of tying the current situation into his view of the issues facing America. There are other countries with as high a proportion of guns to people as the U.S., such as Finland and Switzerland. Even Canada (Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!) has a lot of guns in the hands of its civilian population, albeit mostly rifles and shotguns for hunting, as handguns are generally illegal. They don't have the high number of firearms deaths the U.S. does, even accounting for their smaller populations. If it weren't for the increased driving because of cheaper gas, this year would have been the first in which guns killed more people than cars in the U.S.. Instead, we have to look for something in the culture. Isolation leading to anomie, along with a good dose of toxic masculinity colliding with frustration and failure, look as good a set of culprits as any.

Speaking of frustration, tomorrow night is the first of the Democratic debates for presidential candidates. As I have been advising for months, the best coping strategy for the current election cycle may be to drink heavily while watching. To that end, I have drinks and drinking games for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Bottoms up!

My comment on Retrotopia: The Scent of Ink on Paper.

I'm glad to see that the Toledo Blade has survived the Second Civil War to become the paper of record for a nation. Right now, I'd be happy just to have it survive the current crisis in print journalism which has been causing papers to downsize, merge, and fold. As for there being fifteen newspapers in Toledo, I'm amazed. New York can barely manage that now. Given that diversity and how newspapers cater to their readership, there might be a mid-Twenty-First version of the "Yes, Prime Minister" monologue about who reads the papers for American newspapers in which the Toledo Blade is read by people who run the country.

As for the incident with the Brazilian satellite, the good news is that countries can still afford spaceflight in your future. The bad news is that affordability may not be what kills off space travel; the Kessler Syndrome will. That's the thing that a lot of viewers missed about "Gravity." It was really about the end of crewed spaceflight. That didn't stop NASA and its astronauts from praising it. I'm sure if "The Martian" wins Oscars next year to go along with its box office, they'll come out in droves to congratulate it, too.