Bruce Sterling’s state of the world: actually pretty dull so far. But he has form, and I have faith.
Category: Uncategorised
Steal this journey
Tube strikes make the unions pretty unpopular.
What if the unions instead had a (publicised) day of turning a blind eye to fare-dodgers? That would still cost their employers plenty of money, but would presumably fill the public with enthusiasm rather than hatred.
The main problem would be that while there’s plenty of legal protection for strikes, there’s much less for employees refusing to perform some part of their job. Doubly so since London Underground undoubtedly already has disciplinary procedures in place for staff who help fare-dodgers. Also I’d imagine many tube employees not being too keen on people who don’t pay.
Still, it’d be a nice change from strikes. Have any transport unions tried this kind of thing, elsewhere in the world? What was the result?
Untitled
Nice to know that oil industry salaries are still enough to piss off people they’re trying to do business with, even in Kazakhstan:
On ending the call, [Kazakh Vice-President] Idenov explained he was talking to British Gas (BG) Country Director for Kazakhstan Mark Rawlings who had missed the deadline to deliver a letter about arbitration on the Karachaganak super-giant oil-field project (reftel). Still clearly steamed, Idenov XXXXXXXXXXXX “I tell him, ‘Mark, stop being an idiot! Stop tempting fate! XXXXXXXXXXXX Idenov asked, “Do you know how much he (Rawlings) makes? $72,000 a month! A month!! Plus benefits! Plus bonuses! Lives in Switzerland but supposedly works in London. Comes here once a month to check in. Nice life, huh?”
Protected: 2010
Protected: Wake with an ache it’s another year gone
Untitled
Wobbly in the Shell:
The army of production must be organized, not only for the everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to carry on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.
Witch House
JWZ on Witch House as an after-tremor of goth:
the current batch of “Witch House” bands, which is a micro-genre that was invented about six minutes ago that seems to be comprised of an odd mix of late-80s goth, shoegaze and trip-hop, as if Love is Colder Than Death were covering Jesus and Mary Chain while the singer from Rosetta Stone tried to rap…it’s just about the only thing that remotely qualifies as “goth” that has come out in the last ten years.
Protected: back in berlin
Reith rolls in his grave
Adam Curtis:
TV now tells you what to feel.
It doesn’t tell you what to think anymore. From EastEnders to reality format shows, you’re on the emotional journey of people – and through the editing, it gently suggests to you what is the agreed form of feeling. “Hugs and Kisses”, I call it.
I nicked that off Mark Ravenhill who wrote a very good piece which said that if you analyse television now it’s a system of guidance – it tells you who is having the Bad Feelings and who is having the Good Feelings. And the person who is having the Bad Feelings is redeemed through a “hugs and kisses” moment at the end. It really is a system not of moral guidance, but of emotional guidance.
Product Red
Jesus. This really isn’t a parody:
Product Red, styled as (PRODUCT)RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express (UK), Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics (UK & International), Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark (US) and Dell. It was founded in 2006 by U2 frontman and activist Bono and Bobby Shriver of ONE/DATA to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate AIDS in Africa