Maybe I'm worshipping

Patti Smith and her band saying goodbye, cc-by-sa Laura Hilliger

Last night I saw Patti Smith in concert and transcended time and space back to fourteen year old me – rebel beat poet, punk with a grunge wardrobe and a lot of black eyeliner. It wasn't a phase in life, it was an awakening. It was a time when I inhaled a mishmash of intellectual influences and art and music. A time in which my confused, underdeveloped brain grew some serious roots. Those roots that I complain have felt old and brittle in the last years. I complain that my rebellious spirit has been relegated to adult-appropriate response. Relegated though, by whom? Sometimes I just want to scream at myself – "they" don't have the power, the people have the power.

This morning, I'm still processing the utter legend of Patti Smith, and the reemergence and my relationship to the girl who listened so closely all those years ago. I learned some new things at this concert:

There are no fewer than 4 generations of people who understand that Patti Smith is an icon for good reason
She brushes her teeth right before she comes on stage because she "feels bad for the microphone"
There was a picture of Walt Whitman above Allen Ginsberg's bed
Patti Smith was most definitely on the Johnny side of the whole Johnny vs Amber thing. Apparently yesterday was Johnny Depp's birthday, she dedicated a song to him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Patti Smith, at 77, has an absolutely unbelievable presence. Her voice, her confidence, her humanity. Jesus (died for somebody's sins, but not mine)

“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.” Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

How badges can change the world > https://blog.weareopen.coop/how-badges-can-change-the-world-73529560caa3
Put your name on the list and be proud of it > https://www.laurahilliger.com/leadership/put-your-name-on-the-list-and-be-proud-of-it/
Demands and Responsibilities > https://www.laurahilliger.com/writing/demands-and-responsibilities/

Maybe I'm a simulation

a robot I drew like 10 years ago. CC-BY-SA Laura Hilliger

In other news, I spent some time anthropomorphising hot air balloons and wishing they would have a duel. That's a one-off. There's nothing else to say about that.

People who believe that we're in a simulation, or that they themselves might be convincing pieces of software, really need to spend more time in awe of the natural world and their own brains. AI isn't scary, it's ridiculous. Then again someone reminded me this week that they put semi-automatic weapons on top of robot dogs, so I guess AI is scary. It's not scary in and of itself though, do you know what I mean?

What IS scary are the humans. The horrifying array of things we do to each other and with technology. Ship of fools indeed.

They’re putting guns on robot dogs now > https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/14/22726111/robot-dogs-with-guns-sword-international-ghost-robotics
Inside the Bitcoin Bust That Took Down the Web’s Biggest Child Abuse Site > https://www.wired.com/story/tracers-in-the-dark-welcome-to-video-crypto-anonymity-myth/?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Ship of Fools > https://lauriepenny.substack.com/p/ship-of-fools?s=r

Maybe I need help?

I've been busy lately. It's summer, I've been to three concerts this week! I'm going back outside now. The internet isn't my real world. Not today it's not. And you?

World's largest plant discovered in Australia > https://www.ksl.com/article/50415279/worlds-largest-plant-discovered-in-australia
With ‘The Far Side,’ Gary Larson Pioneered the Art of the Meme > https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/with-the-far-side-gary-larson-pioneered-the-art-of-the-meme
It was a good day > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Was_a_Good_Day

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