Meaning is context bound, but context is boundless.

— Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, Second Edition by Ken Wilber a.co/f9VedRW

On the inevitability of hierarchy…

Thus, even those who embrace heterarchy or radical pluralism are making deep and profound qualitative distinctions, even though they denounce qualitative distinctions as brutal and vicious, even though they deny the notion of frameworks altogether.

— Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, Second Edition by Ken Wilber a.co/f66Z38A

essaysonattentionpaid.com/2023/06/1…

Notably, it features Elon Musk opining that we will need a universal basic income because so many jobs will be taken over by robots. According to Musk, people will now have time to pursue their creative selves. Retirement for all. He is also bullish on the arrival of AI that will “far exceed” the intelligence of human beings, saying it will be here in as soon as five years. This video was made two years ago. So, 2025-6 for the arrival of super intelligent AI?

essaysonattentionpaid.com/2023/06/1…

Notably, it features Elon Musk opining that we will need a universal basic income because so many jobs will be taken over by robots. According to Musk, people will now have time to pursue their creative selves. Retirement for all. He is also bullish on the arrival of AI that will “far exceed” the intelligence of human beings, saying it will be here in as soon as five years. This video was made two years ago. So, 2025-6 for the arrival of super intelligent AI?

From this morning’s walk…

Fading peony blossom.

Blossoms and leaves on a green picnic table.

Street scape with cars, buildings and Key Food sign in the distance.

Flowers and reflected sky in a window.

Self reflected in a window and mirror across the room of a restaurant.

Notes on what a banana republic is…

reason.com/volokh/20… #politics-us #45th #vladimir-putin #authoritarian

Giving high officials impunity for criminality is actually a hallmark of authoritarian regimes. The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin routinely commits war crimes and other violations of law without fear of prosecution is a sign of the degeneration of that country’s political system, even if some trappings of constitutional government remain.

Overheard on the street… young woman to her friend, “that’s called a speaking indictment.” Permeating the consciousness of the young men and women on the street!

A couple of cardoon plants for my vegetable garden!

Cardoon plants.

From this morning’s walk…

Water drops on the hood of a Land Rover.

Morning sunlight through wicker shelves creating grid patterns.

Beacon, NY labeled socks in gay pride colors.

Gay pride flags in a shop window.

Red Infinity sports car parked on the street.

Silver formal dress in a shop window.

Having read half the Justice Department’s indictment of 45, what astonishes me more than anything is how he hasn’t been caught up by his stupidity before now?

Had the desire to understand nuclear family vs extended family…

The term nuclear family was popularized in the 20th century. In the United States, it became the most common form of family structure in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Since that time, the number of North American nuclear families is gradually decreasing, while the number of alternative family formations has increased; this phenomenon is generally opposed by members of such philosophies as social conservatism or familialism, which consider the nuclear family structure important.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family

What’s for breakfast… Tuscan inspired spaghetti frittata, made with quinoa spaghetti, bok choy and cheddar cheese.

In other words, Jack Smith went big. This is not a trivial case and these are not trivial charges.

…and then there’s news that the case has been assigned to Judge Canon… hmmm…

https://open.substack.com/pub/morningshots/p/indicted-again?r=3lmw0&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

In the creative signage department…

From yesterday and today…

Petals from a peony on the sidewalk.

Blue shoes on the edge of a pink tub.

Circle and rectangle composition of manhole cover and sidewalk repair patching.

Bright yellow crosswalk signs and white pavement markings.

Building demolition site.

So, we are having an air quality event due to wildfires in Canada. This is what the view down the street in front of our house looked like this AM…

View down the street in Beacon, NY, mountains partially obscured by wildfire smoke.

And this is what it looks like this afternoon…

View down the street in Beacon, NY. Mountains totally obscured by wildfire smoke.

When it is said that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” the “greater” means “hierarchy.” It doesn’t mean fascist domination; it means a higher (or deeper) commonality that joins isolated strands into an actual web, that joins molecules into a cell, or cells into an organism.

Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, Second Edition by Ken Wilber

From this morning’s walk…

Streetscape with mountains in background obscured by haze from the Canadian wildfires.

Parking lot, light pole, jet passenger plane flying by in the distance.

Green fish dish lying on sidewalk.

Boards lying across circular patch in sidewalk.

Streetscape with U-haul trucks and car wash signage.

Twisted metal ladder, tarps and detritus against brick wall.

Strawberries imbedded in pastry on a display shelf.

A new accordion book, Everyday Mandala…

Reading: Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici 📚

Just as the Enclosure expropriated the peasantry from the communal land, so the witch-hunt expropriated women from their bodies, which were thus “liberated” from any impediment preventing them to function as machines for the production of labor.

My niece Shaina and their wife Bettina at the James Beard Awards last night. They were a finalist for best chef in NY. They didn’t win but just being there is an amazing accomplishment!

Two women on the red carpet at the James Beard Awards.

From this morning’s walk…

Fading peony blossom.

Fading deep pink peony blossom.

Roses through glass.

Looking up the facades of two buildings at the sky.

Weathered board and leaf detritus gathered around a chain link fence.

Young man wearing a sweatshirt that says…

Let it happen, the world is yours.

Not sure this isn’t the problem with most of humanity. We act as if the world belongs to us. We are of the world. We can’t possess it. But we can do a lot of damage thinking we can.

Food porn… broiled bluefish in a tomato, olive and caper compotez

Broiled bluefish with tomato, olive and caper compote in an elliptical baking dish.

Sautéed bok choy with ginger and crushed red pepper.

Reading: Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici 📚

Magic was also an obstacle to the rationalization of the work process, and a threat to the establishment of the principle of individual responsibility.

Perhaps one of the most important connotations of magic is that the world is animated, interconnected. Capitalism sought to break apart this animated world both to exploit it and to disconnect people from it so as to make them more reliable (exploitable) workers.