I guess I have time for an extended end of the year free form shpiel. I'm really out of practice, honestly, tasting my output before it rolls off my keyboard of late. Not everything needs to be shared and I am trying to be a bit more measured about what to hold inside.
I was thinking the other day about how time slips by. Before too long, all the boomers will be extinct and Gens X,Y, Z and M can have at it. I don't have my hopes up or the future for a variety of reasons, predominately environmental in nature but perhaps we can be pleasantly surprised?
As we move forward at technological lightspeed our personal conventions are changing. McLuhan was right, the medium is the message and it changes human behavior in ways that heretofore would be unimaginable. All of our successors on this here earth have never known a world without email or the internet yet ignorance of history and general incompetence seems to be at its zenith.
Even with a powerful computer at the end of everyone's arm.
Because history is now whitewashed and shaped by those that control our respective media silos, truth be damned. Ahh, truth, that illusory thing that we called reality, now on sale to the highest bidder. That and general apathy and stupidity anyway. Anyway, our methods of communication are certainly changing and I got sobering news of that the other day.
My friends know that I always say, "I am a talker, not a texter..." It is easier for me. I prefer to talk in human voice with someone than text. It is called a real dialogue as opposed to a staggered monologue. The word dialogue comes from the Greek dialegesthai to ‘converse with.’ In my book converse means to exchange spoken words but I am admittedly old fashioned.
Anyhow I was told the other day that it is now deemed gauche to call someone on the phone without texting first.
Really?
If this is true, I think it sucks.
If you have something to say to me, please call. Let's have a pleasant chat, shall we? If yoou canmake the time.
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I guess if I am on an end of the year bitch session I should relay some other things on my mind that are bugging me.
Like AI.
What a great tool for people that lack their own artistic vision or have no interest in that reality thing we were talking about earlier. Why bother with it when ChatGTP can give you a reasonable facsimile that may or may not be riddled with errors but is good enough to fool a good chunk of the audience a good amount of the time?
What a bunch of bullshit.
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The Trump administration is now talking about revoking Somali immigrants' citizenship. I have no doubt some fraud was committed in Minnesota, I have no idea of the scale. Might be enormous. People need to be prosecuted.
But like all peoples, there are good somalis and bad somalis, like in every culture. We are a nation of immigrants, back to the first inhabitants crossing the Bering Strait 10 or 20kya. To single out a people like this seems un american to me.
Substitute, Italians or Irish, or Jews, Chinese, Blacks or Indians or any other particular group that you yourself might actually belong to and think about how you would feel?
I've known some wonderful Somalis in my life, some in hijabs.
We are better than this.
Trump recently called for more immigration from nordic nations, let get some more hot women, right? Oh and white South africans.
If I didn't know better I would think the administration was just trying to exclude the browner shades of humans from our shores. What is that called again?
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I am back to my winter cooking regimen. Made my first pot roast the other night.
Not as much fat but not a lot of difference.
Still expensive at almost seven bucks a pound.
Roasted chicken the next night and rack of lamb tonight.
I love cold weather cooking.
Gives me a chance to get the dutch oven out.
Short ribs soon, freezer is packed!
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I haven't been to a dentist for four years. My guy retired and my hygienist lost his foot to diabetes.
Leslie found me a dentist yesterday. I have a little gum emergency. Going to be a bit expensive, four deep cleaning sessions.
But I like her. The ordeal starts Friday.
Remember to take care of your teeth.
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I wish you all the best of New Years.
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