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.

From this morning’s walk…

Curved concrete curb moving from upper left to lower right, asphalt on the left side, grass on the right.

Elongated rectangular patch in an asphalt driveway.

Concrete sidewalk with gravel on the left and right.

Egg roll wrapped in wax paper and left on a stone surface.

Books in a plastic bag, pink peony flowers in a glass jar by the door of a used bookstore.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) - IMDb… a really lovely tale in a Cinderella sort of way. Nicely done.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) - IMDb

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) - IMDb… a really lovely tale in a Cinderella sort of way. Nicely done.

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) - IMDb

I find some of my music through Pitchfork. Generally speaking, Rap/Hip-Hop isn’t my beat so I don’t listen to a new Rap album unless it has a really high rating. 8.9 on this one. I like it…

Blessing offered on the occasion of my nephew’s high school graduation:

Antonio Machado

Traveler, your footprints

are the only road, nothing else.

Traveler, there is no road;

you make your own path as you walk.

As you walk, you make your own road,

and when you look back

you see the path

you will never travel again.

Traveler, there is no road;

only a ship’s wake on the sea.

May the road you make be long, beautiful and full of joy. There will, no doubt, be challenges and disappointments along the way, but stay true to your road and persist. And don’ t forget to enjoy the journey as you go.

From this morning’s walk…

Three pink/white peonies against a background of their leaves.

Spent peony blossom.

Curved linear stain on concrete sidewalk.

Large tropical plant leaf against the sky.

Rectangular patch of concrete sidewalk.

Last night I read from my What Intelligent Life Is Made Of blog series at an open mic event. I mentioned Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit monk who wrote The Phenomenon of Man. Afterwards, a woman told me her grandfather had worked with him on Peking Man… an unexpected degrees of separation moment!

From this morning’s walk…

Pink-purple globe allium reaching full glory bloom stage.

White amorphous stain on concrete sidewalk.

Rectangular concrete patch in midst of brick paving.

American flag and tree reflected in glass surface.

Two circular tables with glass surface reflecting a tree and buildings.

From today’s walk…

Rectangular paper on the ground, grass top three quarters and concrete bottom one quarter of picture.

Glass Art Deco type lamp shade.

Demolition debris pile.

Demolition debris pile, mostly concrete blocks.

Backpack and jacket tossed onto stone and brick steps.

Today’s fix for the peony addicted…

Pink peonies and red roses.

And so begins our effort to eliminate plastic from our lives. We’ll start with the weekly throw away stuff from the supermarket.

The plastics industry has long hyped recycling, even though it is well aware that it’s been a failure. Worldwide, only 9 percent of plastic waste actually gets recycled. In the United States, the rate is now 5 percent. Most used plastic is landfilled, incinerated, or winds up drifting around the environment.

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/05/plastics-recycling-failure-microplastics-pollution-study/

Peonies in our garden… @circustiger

Pink peony.

Deep pink peony.

Spent peony blooms.

Medium pink peonies.

Light pink peony with yellow center.

Classic French omelette with chives and tarragon, homemade sourdough bread with cream cheese, chive blossoms sprinkled on top.

Tarragon and chives fresh from our garden for our eggs this AM.

Tarragon and chive blossoms on a cutting board with knife.

From this morning’s walk… flowers are from our front garden…

Pink peony flower closeup.

Purple globe alliums.

Overflowing trash can on the day after Memorial Day.

Wadded white paper towel on concrete sidewalk.

Butter Head Salad Company window graphic.

Closeup of tree bark with early morning light and staple.

What’s for dinner tonight…

Striped Bass in brown butter/caper sauce.

Sautéed snap peas and mushrooms.

Striped bas in brown butter sauce and sautéed snap peas with mushrooms… all purchased at the farmers market this morning.

As a result, the future has fallen from view, replaced by a sense of stasis. And so has the past, which ought to be a resource but has become so weightless that it might as well not exist at all.

– Ted Gioia on Alvin Toffler and Future Shock

Reading: Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici 📚

We can see, in other words, that the human body and not the steam engine, was the first machine developed by capitalism.

Reading: Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici 📚

The course of scientific rationalization was intimately connected to the attempt by the state to impose its control over an unwilling workforce.

Very excited… have confirmed that hashtags placed in notes in Kindle import to Obsidian smoothly… a game changer for organizing highlighted material when imported!

Some pics from yesterday…

Landscape with boat, dock and shack.

Shadow selfie with bridge railing on water below.

Pink beach rose. They come in white too.

The National Hotel on Block Island from the beach below.

Fish The World trailer parked on street.

From this morning’s walk…

Landscape with rubber dingy in foreground and Narragansett Hotel in the background.

Small boat tied up to a dock and reflected in the calm water.

Landscape of docks and boats.

Boat reflected in the water.

Yacht reflected in the water.

When a Single Person Controlled the Copyright on All Music (Even Blank Music Paper)

But the saddest conclusion I draw from all this is that musicians themselves can be just as oppressive as governments or bureaucracies if you give them too much power. Of course, there’s little risk of that happening in our current musical culture.

From today’s walk…

Landscape with houses and cellphone tower in background, no parking sign in foreground.

Looking down the curved end of a galvanized metal traffic guard rail at the support post and the stream being guarded.

Landscape with utility poles and power company buildings.

Early morning sunlight on three tree trunks.

Landscape with water and boats in the foreground.