Static Live Magazine December 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Fearing Technology in a Time of Plague By Hank Harrison Living through the worst pandemic in history and technically the most wide sweeping plague in World history can’t be easy, many people can’t cope… but it gets worse if you are afraid of computers and technology; if you are angry because too much money is spent on space exploration and advanced engines of war and destruction; if you are upset because your bank computer spit out the wrong balance; if the app on your phone locks you out; if you are harboring thoughts of computer sabotage or hacking, you are undoubtedly a normal human being suffering all the symptoms of alienation in a screwed up world. In spite of all of this crisis one should not be afraid of the technology itself. There is nothing to be afraid of because electricity has been with us for many centuries. The virus will be gone soon, if you define ‘one more year’ as soon… and when the Pandemic I over all of the devices, machines, bulbs, glowing wires, automatic, autonomic and atomic reactions will still be here. Let us not fool ourselves. Electricity is more important than all of the computers and handheld gadgets on Earth and infinitely more dangerous than any virus. In fact electricity, when out of control, is dangerous in both a political and a bio-physical sense. Recently several massive forest fires in California were started by mismanaged electricity, and people are subconsciously afraid of it. We plug up household outlet sockets so that crawling and curious infants can’t insert metal objects into the plug slots. We panic in a rolling blackout because the company who brings the vital power to our homes might be screwed up. Recent research has shown that Sudden Crib Death is traceable, in part, to static electrocution. Electroshock therapy is used as punishment in some mental hospitals and has been employed successfully in brainwashing and, lastly, electricity is the focus of the energy crisis... because natural gas and fossil fuels are obviously nasty, awkward, imprecise and scarce. But why are we afraid of computers? Sometimes they make us seem ignorant, but actually, computers are nothing more than elaborate light bulbs run by electricity and light bulbs are nothing more than a thin wire glowing in a vacuum. In a general sense, light bulbs are electronic. The study of “Electronics” is the study of discovering ways to put electricity to work. It was discovered long ago that raw electricity could be manipulated in many ways. It can be sliced into sections, made to shoot out in bursts, made hotter, made cooler, faster, slower and it can be made fatter or skinnier depending on the final result one wishes to attain—but at all times, mankind is ostensibly the master of the electronic device and its power source. At no time can the light bulb do anything on its own, it can only go on and off then eventually burn out. Even artificial intelligence relies on the information supplied by humans. People who believe that computers are living human beings are neurotic, confused, dispossessed souls with a bleak outlook at best. They are cinderheads who have been tricked into signing over their human rights. To fight against any monstrous contraption is probably futile but to sit and wait for it to eat you is boring. Many people die of ennui each year. Millions of people feel depressed, cheated, defeated and helpless because computers have sorted them out and rejected them. They don’t see themselves as part of the big program. Welfare recipients get a payment each month from a computer, not a human
eing. Funds for education are given on the basis of average daily attendance counted by a computer. It seems like there isn’t anybody home any more. And lately we seem ruled by the portable communication Dick Tracy and Star Wars pocket computer device known as our cell phone, especially since during the pandemic we rely on computers to deliver our meals, groceries and toys to keep us busy during lockdown. Will working and learning from home become the norm? Some people thrive under these restrictions but for millions, life is emptiness! The stainless steel computer, on the other hand, is dust free. It is alone and never gets lonely. It never rusts and men and women seem irrelevant by comparison. This feeling of irrelevance cannot, however, be a valid emotion. But, actually computers are very passive and very dumb. In a technological society every advance, indeed every failure, is a reflection of every man and woman in that society. Every human being is, then, a reflection of his Weltanshung (world view) and every system is the reflection of an ultimate system, which may take many forms. In a purely technological society there are only three theoretical sizes: Things infinitely larger than our imaginations, Things infinitely smaller than our imaginations and Things roughly our size. One of the drawbacks to technology and science is that they keep our imagination tied down to certain tried methods which psychologists call reality, but when reality changes it gets scary for some folks and those who roll with the punches thrive and grow, it’s the way evolution works and this pandemic is a mutating factor, a lot like electricity or the lack of it. Because knowledge is power, the technological elite get lots of money. After World War II they were called the Nouveau Riche. But even the Nouveau Riche are riddled with anxiety because the technology is always lagging behind their needs. Techno logical greed in its many forms spurs the rich man onto newer and greater gluttony, and computers can be programmed to aid him in his quest. It is nice, however, to know that anxiety breaks everybody down before we glote too much, some people grow obese, some turn to alcohol or some other drug. In a technological society the wise soul realizes that there are more events than there are systems to explain those events and realizes further that the ultimate
Page 1: The Joshua Light Show Cannabis Chro
Page 5 and 6: 54 What’s in Your Phone 58 Unappr
Page 7: 3401 S. Atlantic Avenue, New Smyrna
Page 11 and 12: Rock History as 2020 By Rick De Yam
Page 13 and 14: Roth heard me that night; the look
Page 15 and 16: MUSICIAN’S COOKBOOK THAI CHICKEN
Page 17 and 18: Live Music - December ‘20 4th - C
Page 19 and 20: Light Show By Bartholomew Betelgeus
Page 21 and 22: cohort designed a rear-projection s
Page 23 and 24: Onward, Always! By Billy Dean As a
Page 25 and 26: Catch RIGGS, GUY, & INTERN STEVE Th
Page 28: MUD ROOSTER’S BLUES By David Dequ
Page 31 and 32: HOLIDAY CROSSWORD 1 1 2 2 3 4 3 5 6
Page 33 and 34: Saturday, December 19, 2020 31 Supp
Page 35 and 36: You can find some very talented out
Page 40 and 41: way to view the world is to see all
Page 42: Rocktails Van Halen fans can often
Page 45 and 46: By Phillip Kippel/ Photo Credit Phi
Page 47 and 48: source of escapism and a way for pe
Page 49 and 50: By Matthew Anscher But even under t
Page 51 and 52: February, 1978 My friends were talk
Page 53 and 54: Fashion = Decades By Jamie Lee Musi
Page 55 and 56: What’s IN Your Phone? Most Used A
Page 58: UNAPPRECIATED BY RANDY PEPPER Since
Page 61 and 62: Moments Missed on a Holiday Stage-
Page 63 and 64: Happy Holidays e Media, LLC

Static Live Magazine December 2020

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?