I chose this title from among others because something perverse, charming, and strange seemed to be going on in these pleasant interludes with Tim Harrell, and I couldn't figure out what that was, and so, I gave up and went with the vanilla option! ‘Tim the Voyeur’ was enticing, but slanderous. ‘Spying' or ‘Surveilling with... Continue Reading →
Digital Warfare on The Impoverished
Harpers Magazine included an excerpt in its January 2018 issue from Virginia Eubanks’ book Automating Inequality, just published by St. Martin’s Press. According to Eubanks, government officials, using sophisticated computer technology, are now able to routinely ensnare poor people in the digital equivalent of the poorhouse of yore by tracking them down, monitoring them, stereotyping... Continue Reading →
Helseth’s Hurricane Concert
When I joined Facebook a few years back, I entered the name of Tine Thing Helseth, the Norwegian Trumpet player, on my list of favorite musicians. Others included The Grateful Dead, Suzanne Erens, and The Band. Three of my favorite Helseth pieces from that period are Fanfare, Nobel Peace Prize Concert of 2007, Eternal Story,... Continue Reading →
Awkward Allies: Religion and Science
In an earlier blog essay, Religion and the Credibility of Science, I argued that religion and science are fundamentally opposed to each other. In the book Abdication: God Steps Down for Good, I make the same claim, but with a twist, namely that the two, while antagonistic, are also allies of one another! How can that... Continue Reading →