At its worst, we are a clearinghouse of information, feeding the ever-hungry maw. Low low prices, everything must go. Meaningless, stripped of context, slipping into the ether and dismissed outright as spam. The more content that we cut, the closer to this model we become.
In addition to reading her blog I highly recommend following Melissa on Twitter. She's always been an honest and intelligent voice writing interesting content, now she's free to write in her own voice.
I recently discovered the plethora of talks Kim Stanley Robinson has done about how human society may conceivably operate in the future.
Unlike many other science fiction authors Robinson embraces the complexity of human evolution and our relationship with technology. His books do not read like science fiction action movies, rather they are epic speculations looking at all the frameworks of society including the economic and political systems and how they may be forced to change and adapt as a result of the global environmental crisis and new technologies.
Robinson says he is an optimist, you can take this as such in that many of his books take place in a future where humans have managed to survive beyond peak oil, global warming, and global Capitalist-Feudalism.
In this particular talk* Robinson outlines many of the realities humans will be forced to address and what the future 200 years from now might look like. If you've read his most recent novel 2312 many of these ideas will be familiar to you.
*FYI it's a fairly lengthy talk, don't let that discourage you from watching it, but be forewarned it's not just for passive consumption.
Survival will be determined by localities. Communities will have to create collectives to grow their own food and provide for their security, education, financial systems and self-governance
Once again Chris Hedges iterates what I keep hearing from progressives and people worried about the state of the world: we need strong communities to survive.
I linked to this article on Twitter the other day and got a lot of criticism due to the pessimistic nature of the article. Many feel that this "doomsday" attitude is something that every generation feels and that it is unfounded. This may be true, however I'd argue that there is significant evidence that ecological crisis will be the catalyst for radical global change. Even if you don't believe this is the case it's hard to debate Hedges main point that encouraging strong communities is the best way to safeguard the future.
My remarks are from an email I sent to the Uniter. If you're interested in the whole email here it is:
The orange-brown colour palette and general decor gave you the sense that you were walking into a basement den from 1979. The couches near the fireplace were quite possibly the cosiest place to drink outside of one's own home. Better than home though The Lo Pub was always packed with familiar faces. The Lo Pub was more than just another bar, it was common ground for local musicians, artists, progressives, urbanists, and beer drinkers.
On any given night you could walk in and see a whole crowd of your friends. It was closest thing I've ever experienced to Cheers. Maybe not everyone knew your name, but they recognized you and acknowledged that you're a kindred spirit.
I never felt awkward going to The Lo Pub alone, in fact usually looked forward to sitting down at the bar to nurse a pint of St. James, read through the local weeklies and catch up with Jack. I knew I could always count on hearing some great tunes and running into some friendly faces.
Jack gave a lot of young up and coming bands a shot to rock the stage. As patrons he exposed us to new music we might otherwise not have heard. The location had the advantage of forcing bands and fans to mingle with each other. There was no backstage, no greenroom for bands to retreat to, as a result artists and fans co-existed as one. The Lo Pub was a place that encouraged conversation and a sense of community.
I'm going to really miss The Lo Pub, not because I'll need to find another place to drink, but because there will now be a void in the local music/art community.
It feels like Grampa sold the house to move to a nursing home and now the new owners are ripping up that old familiar basement den to turn it into a workout room.
I wish Jack all the luck in the world with whatever he has planned for the future. Hopefully he creates something as wonderful and important as The Lo Pub, because Winnipeg needs those kinds of places, and needs people like him.
If you weren't at the Lo Pub on Saturday night you missed a spectacular show. Before the last band of the night, Still Lights, were about to take the stage I heard the sound guy say that Jack, proprietor of the now defunct Lo Pub, wanted to say a couple of words. I quickly headed to the front of the stage with my phone to capture what I knew was bound to be a touching moment. So here it is.