Co-host of Plutopia News Network, Blogger at Unshaved Truths, Digital Culturista, Futurist, Dharma Wrangler
Originally published at rewired.com It’s a hassle to edge past 50 and realize that the dreams pumped into your head by "the dreamer fthp" (see Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, where SF authors form a kind of dreamer caste as seen by elephant-beaked aliens) prove bogus… specifically dreams of space travel, alien contact, … Continue reading "2001 Blues" The post 2001 Blues first appeared…
I should probably be cranking out alerts about the dangerous instabilities within the human component of our tiny planet right now, but others are doing that pretty effectively. Instead I’m thinking how we might work on ourselves, how we might explore the nature of consciousness, perception, reality. If we’re more self-aware, if we understand the … Continue reading "Pondering" The post Pondering…
“The map is not the territory…” ~ Alfred Korzybski Recently driving my 2025 Elantra Hybrid to a meeting with an author friend who’s in town for research, I used Google Maps to find the most efficient route through morning traffic. I do this all the time, but this time something caught my eye that I … Continue reading "Virtual Trees" The post Virtual Trees first appeared on Jon Lebkowsky .
New Orleans is one of the most culturally and racially mixed cities in the South, with a majority Black population, a growing Hispanic community, and deep historical roots in African, French, Spanish, and Caribbean cultures — all of which continue to shape its food, music, architecture, and identity. We’ve been on vacation this week, and … Continue reading "Way Down Yonder" The post Way Down…
Originally published in the last issue of Whole Earth Magazine (aka Whole Earth Review), Spring 2003 History In the sixties and early seventies my g-g-generation caught fire with concern for the environment; we added it to our charm bracelet of concerns which included world hunger, the Vietnam war (and, for that matter, all goddam wars), … Continue reading "Being Green in 2001" The post Being…
A talk presented by Jon Lebkowsky and Kevin Welch at ACTLab 2019. Online communities preceded social media as a way to participate meaningfully online – truly social spaces like the WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), supporting sustained interaction over time. This was an important aspect of community: a consistent set of members building history together, … Continue reading "ACTLab 2019: Making…
Originally published in 21C, 1997 The global Internet’s awash with email lists, chats, and online conferences for discussion of governance and what goes with it: the politics of issues and of personalities, trad partisan thrashes, visionary thrusts (e.g. Barlow’s Declaration of Independence for Cyberspace), theoretical rants and practical spins. But is this all just talk … Continue reading…
I created the list below for the State of the World 2018 conversation (which is something I do every year with Bruce Sterling). 2017 was a nervous year of overwrought blustery political cultures, a year of normalized psychosis amplified by media distortion, a year in which we all learned to live in the upside-down, losing … Continue reading "On the Radar, 2018" The post On the Radar, 2018 first…
This is my RSVP for IndieWebCamp Austin, and I hope you’ll join me there! I’ve been an active proponent of an IndieWeb meetup in Austin, and my company, Polycot Associates is an IndieWebCamp sponsor. The ability to share and acknowledge content has always existed, and a decade ago it was common for users to create … Continue reading "IndieWebCamp Austin – December 9-10, 2017 – Austin, Texas" The…
We were watching the excellent new Amazon series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which featured Lenny Bruce as a catalyst for Mrs. Maisel’s decision to do standup comedy: “Do you love it?” she asks him, and he shrugs. The first episode in the series shows how the best standup depends on authenticity, and maybe on love. … Continue reading "Fiction that Bleeds Truth: Lenny Bruce" The post Fiction that…
[I posted this on Facebook, seems it struck a nerve based on the likes and responses. Reposting here, perhaps time for a blog revival.] I argued in the early 90s that the Internet would connect creatives on the fringes and fringe communities would form and have more impact on social and political cultures. What I … Continue reading "Was the development of the Internet a wrong turn?" The post Was…
Here’s a list of trends I see going into 2015, created for this year’s “State of the World” conversation. Privatization of outer space: A number of companies are developing spaceware, and there’s one nonprofit that’s formed to colonize Mars by 2023 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_One). Is the investment entirely speculative, or do we have clear business models driving … Continue reading "Trends…
In 2013, The New Yorker published a revealing, troubling piece called “Taken,” an in-depth investigation into the practice of civil asset forfeiture, where American citizens can have their property (cash, cars, homes) confiscated by police, even though they haven’t been charged with a crime. Now John Oliver on HBO takes on civil forfeiture: The Institute … Continue reading "Civil asset forfeiture,…
Saw this at bOING bOING (via Cory Doctorow) and ported it over here: In comments on the video at Youtube, someone posted this Bukowski quote: “I think my writing is really pretty fucking powerful stuff but I think after I’m dead and safe, they’re going to trot me out, I’m going to really be discovered … Continue reading "Bukowski" The post Bukowski first appeared on Jon Lebkowsky .