Tag: internet

by jad

No Kings, Kontra Kapitalismus

One of my greatest pleasures lately has been decluttering, particularly letting go of books I know I’ll not be rereading, if I’d ever finished them in the first place. Like unclenching a fist and letting the blood flow. Letting go. Letting recirculate. The simplest thing in the world, but not for me. I’ve spent my whole life holding on tightly. Refusing to let go of whatever I’ve clawed back from the jaws of oblivion. Sentiment becomes sediment. It’s time for the levees to erode. x No Kings. Kontra Kapitalismus. Sin banderas, sans frontières. نراكم غداً x Two over-processed smartphone captures … Continue reading “No Kings, Kontra Kapitalismus” →

by jad

This Is Fine

Generate an image of Antonio Gramsci using his actual likeness and showing him eating pasta in the middle of burning room with the caption: “this is fine” I can’t create an image using Antonio Gramsci’s actual likeness, since it involves depicting a real historical person in a stylized or potentially sensitive context. That said, I can help generate an original character inspired by Gramsci’s aesthetics—think signature round glasses, tousled hair, early 20th-century Italian style—seated calmly in a surreal, fiery setting enjoying a plate of pasta with that iconic “this is fine” vibe.Would you like me to go ahead with that … Continue reading “This Is Fine” →

by jad

Ugliness Machine

Imagine there was a tool or system for doing things that increasingly made your output uglier or less intelligent. The more you used it, and the more that others used it, the crappier everything it was used for becomes. Imagine that. Would you still use it? Like a pen that made your handwriting worse and worse, and in some magical way, made everyone’s handwriting worse and worse too. We would throw that pen in the trash, wouldn’t we? But that’s sort of the deal with the social media tools we’re using today. Do we really want to keep making spastic … Continue reading “Ugliness Machine” →

by jad

First Impressions

It always fascinates me to hear about how I seem to someone else; not in the egotistical way of commanding attention, but rather, like a switch on a circuit that suddenly sparks a very different array of connections than I had before. Like how I might seem detached; or is it unencumbered? Or how I seem reserved; or is it responsive? That sort of “first impression” story has dogged me for as long as I can remember, with different friends having different versions, always to laugh about together years later, but also always a little bit mystifying for me to … Continue reading “First Impressions” →

by jad

Year of the Dragon

It’s almost the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, which means that this year is gon’ be Christine’s year (it’s her year, it’s gon’ be her year) in more ways than one. And, apparently, it’s also going to be our year – every one of us: “Dragon years are considered the most auspicious years of any in the Chinese Zodiac. As the only mythical creature of the zodiac, the Dragon is considered to be both powerful and benevolent. Because the rules of the earthly realm don’t apply to dragons (think about it: dragons can fly), this year has infinite possibilities. … Continue reading “Year of the Dragon” →

by jad

Doomers in the Metaverse

It’s weird how the internet has made so many people think more highly of the Unabomber, as was evidenced by his recent passing. It’s weird and it’s ironic, given his whole off-the-grid anti-tech thing. What’s weirder than overly-online young people cleaning up the image of a self-important terrorist wackjob, however, is that you’d think they’d choose an anti-hero that speaks more to their actual lives. A person like Nasim Najafi Aghdam, for example, who in 2018 walked into YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, CA, and committed arguably the first act of terrorism against the creative economy. Nasim’s hatred of YouTube … Continue reading “Doomers in the Metaverse” →

by jad

Search Engine Optimism

I saw a reel this morning that detailed some moves at Meta to push people away from hashtags and towards “SEO” as THE way to get people to see their posts. I don’t know how this person got their information and I don’t care, but they did claim some level of insider knowledge that piqued my interest. But what motivated me to write these words was a reply they gave to a comment about wanting old instagram back; they said, and this is almost word for word because it’s seared into my brain: “it never will! the best thing to … Continue reading “Search Engine Optimism” →

by jad

September Estrangement Series

Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing an assortment of #analogphotography from recent happenings and wanderings. This set’s from a staff retreat I was on earlier this month, my third time on this former military base. The first slide’s taken with a #Holga135 on #fujifilm200; the second’s almost the same shot taken on my phone. I greatly enjoyed my pre-dawn and early morning walks and felt like I’d completed some kind of cycle by being here, having sat with hesitation at the threshold of belonging the last time I was in this place. I’ve walked across now. I’m there. x The last night of … Continue reading “September Estrangement Series” →

by jad

What is it?

Brown, blue, violet sky—it’s funny how tiktok trends rehash and recycle artifacts that don’t quite feel very retro, though, they must be, alas. The world doesn’t really accelerate; we just get older a lot faster every day. And so, when that kinda thing is annoying, it’s really annoying, but when it’s not, it can be prophetic, like a planetary return, or a shift in the seasons, or a long-gone friendship reborn. I used to repeat that old lyric by that half-Lebanese crooner, who, at one point, provided folks with a global reference point, like tabbouli or hummus, to place me … Continue reading “What is it?” →

by jad

The Feast of Saint Marinx

“[T]he question of the pharmakon reappears in the digital stage of grammatisation—the first stage of which was the alphabetic writing of Plato’s epoch. Like every technique and every mnemotechnique, cultural and cognitive technologies are pharmaka: at once poisons and remedies.” (Bernard Stiegler) Communication has made itself felt as a matter of concern at numerous times and on multiple planes over the past few weeks. ☿℞ or not, at some point, it seems like the artifice of this act of artfully inscribing interior realities back and forth on these proverbial clay tablets has been lost by our culture. I’ve been thinking about … Continue reading “The Feast of Saint Marinx” →